Above It All Bronze Athimeroth
| Above It All Bronze Athimeroth | |
|---|---|
| Impressee | C'wlin |
| Hatching Date: | March 15, 2012 |
| Size: | 37.3 feet |
| Dam: | As True As The Tide Gold Iesaryth out of gold Zaisavyth (MCW) x bronze Leiventh (MCW) |
| Sire: | Backtalking Beaked Brown Arekoth out of gold Iovniath (HRW) x bronze Cadejoth (HRW) |
| Lineage: | Here |
| Egg Credit: | Kinory |
| Dragon Credit: | H'kon |
| Puppeteer: | Devaki |
| Clutch {{{clutch}}} | |
|---|---|
Contents
What's the Matter Egg
Red. The entire shell of this unusually rotund egg is covered in it, the bright crimson of highly oxygenated blood spreading over the surface in a perfectly smooth, even coat. There's a funny sheen atop, giving the impression that this could, after all, just be a massive red stone that's been tumbled and re-tumbled until it produces a polished shine in the right lighting. An uneven blotch of blackness is the only spot that threatens to mar its ominous perfection, tendrils fading ever outward in an attempt to engulf everything. From a distance, it might seem that there's a blood-red eye sitting unblinkingly on the sands.
A strong, sharp talon erupts through the dark spot on the What's the Matter Egg, but it takes a bit more chipping and shoving at the cracks before the red shell completely disintegrates. The bronze hatchling left among the shards carefully rights himself, holding his head high to survey the situation around him.
Above it All Bronze
There's something sinister in how darkly weathered bronze hide mostly masks the scheming curve of this dragonet's eyeridges, the intimidating spread of his headknobs, the terrible sharpness of his muzzle. Equally insidious gloom veils the wicked grip of his fore-talons, while the others have withstood the same burnishing as his powerful shoulders and hindquarters-- the latter so often draped by tarnished wingsails, that his strength may be surreptitiously shielded by svelte and sinuous grace.
Temperament
From the first gust of wind that buffets your mind, there'll be no question that Athimeroth is not nearly as sneaky as he appears. It's not that he lacks the intelligence for it, nor the patience. Rather, it's that he's a dragon of the aether; to him, everything is laid out very simply, both his own desires and those (things or people) that stand in his way. He doesn't expect that others' viewpoints will be different; a situation can only be how it's played out, and spinning it one way or another through clever words and half-truths, as a harper might, serves little purpose to him.
It's not that he doesn't have use for calculation (and if he did, he certainly wouldn't have chosen you as his lifemate). Athimeroth is a planner. How can he not be, with the world laid out before him like a tactical map? He's just not a schemer. His plans are straightforward, and he expects them to succeed. He's often so certain of his victory, of his superiority, as to inform even those he's planning to defeat of his intentions; this may well seem cocky, or even counter-productive, but Athimeroth is just that sure of himself, his abilities, and his determination. Even when he loses battles, he'll rarely doubt his eventual triumph.
Especially in his early days, when he's still learning himself and the world around him, his plans may even seem comedic, the more so when they fail-- and oh, will there ever be some epic fails. If there's a tree blocking his view of something, « I'm going to uproot it. » And when it only bends under his push, and snaps back to thwack him in the nose, oh, will he be angry. « Very angry indeed, » both at himself for his miscalculation, and at those who will (surely) laugh at him. But he won't take more than a momentary break to nurse his wounded pride. The campaign must continue, because he must prevail. He'll put his anger behind his next attempt, use it to fuel his determination, and come back stronger and more able (if not necessarily wiser).
This unusual preoccupation with planning will often get the better of him until you learn to keep him more focused in the moment, and will even edge over from comedic to dangerous-- for both him and you. Nowhere will this be so clear as in your first attempts at jumping between: unless you're careful... well. It could be disastrous.
But in time, through trial and error, his planning may approach elegance in its simplicity. He may find just the right way to insert himself between his competitors and his goal, a way so simple that some of the more cunning dragons might be startled by it, might not even expect it. When those same attributes in which he's had such confidence from day one become polished, practiced, he will be a force to be reckoned with. (Yes, he would choose the Alexandrian solution to the Gordian knot.)
So what is his overall end goal? Like so much with Athimeroth, it's straightforward in the end: power. It's not so much power over others; he can see things clearly, but he is no visionary, and certainly no revolutionary. Maybe you can supply that part, but for Athimeroth, it will always be more about freedom from others, about guaranteeing that no one can force him into anything. Only Athimeroth knows what is best for Athimeroth, and therefore only Athimeroth must be able to tell Athimeroth what to do. He'll chafe against authority from the beginning, bristling under the commands of weyrlingmasters, wingleaders, weyrleaders, even from the queens (after the instinct that forces him to obey all of them has passed, after he's had some time to reflect). He'll grow to feel that the best way to achieve his independence is through conquest of wing and Weyr. How far that might go is very much up to you.
Needless to say, weyrlinghood-- and then wingriderhood, and anything that comes after that in which he's not the one making all the calls-- will be difficult. Your dragon will learn best through his own experiences, will be a handful when given instruction, and thus may learn more slowly than others. He'll be frustrated when you-- even you, his rider, the one he needed out there on the sands-- try to force your will upon him. And Athimeroth will probably never fully understand any need you have to keep things concealed, to keep your cards close to your chest. They're the same cards, after all, no matter where you hold them. Your relationship will be easiest when you're working as equals, when your interests are truly harmonised.
The same is true for his relationships with other dragons. He'll be most relaxed, even sociable, when his interactions with others take place on an equal footing. Although he's not much of a gabber (a dragon of the aether may always remain slightly aloof, more comfortable watching than participating in the more banal things), he'll enjoy simply sitting in the company of his clutchmates, soaking up the sun, taking a dip in the hot springs, enjoying a meal. So long as no one limits where he's allowed to sit, or which beast he's allowed to have, he'll even be able to share, to be courteous enough to make room for others-- provided it's all of his own volition. Really, he can be quite pleasant when just shooting the breeze with dragons who wear their hearts on their sleeves.
Complex dragons will baffle him, and frustrate him to the point of impatience. With you, at least, he has the benefit of being inside your head, and will know if you're playing a double-game of some sort (no matter how useless he may think it). With other dragons, a sudden change of tactic or attitude that actually does greatly alter the situation will anger and disorient him. You can try to teach him to anticipate this, try to make him understand, but in the end... he won't. For him, things are straightforward. It's how his mind works, it's how his perception works, and it's not a thing he can step away from, even with your help. It's hard-wired.
So he'll never understand Rasavyth and his double (triple, quadruple, quintuple...) games, and is likely to be outsmarted by him more than once. He will almost certainly come to like Ilicath, although he might not always appreciate the blue's sense of humour, and Solith with her familiar wind-voice (if she can come to recognize, or at least not overly interrupt, the rightness of his plans). Kazavoth's love of history and ancient stories will intrigue him, and if the brown should ever wish to share some of them, Athimeroth will prove a rapt audience for a time. He'll find Cailluneth's need to be involved (in everything) rather off-putting, and might be emotionally distant... although the two would make for a fearsome hunting team, with her instincts and his ability to read a situation, and you may find he'll start making some effort to be at the feeding grounds when she's there. He's more likely to see Jhorinth as being in the way of his goals - even if it's entirely incidental on the other bronze's part-- and Athimeroth will spend a good deal of his time and training trying to keep a step ahead of him.
Athimeroth may be a bronze dragon, and he may have needs, but flights will not be the be-all and end-all of his existence. Well, not all of them. Conquest is not to be confused with overt competitiveness, and as green flights will have little impact on his end goal, his participation in them mostly depends on his feeling a need to get his ashes hauled. The draw to gold flights is stronger, hard for even an aether dragon to resist. Leadership flights, needless to say, will be of extreme importance, and if he doesn't participate in one, you better believe it's only because either he or you is on a deathbed in the infirmary.
If he does catch a gold, he will (as is so often the case in his interaction with gold dragons in general) be caught between his vaguely anarchist personality and his baser instincts. He'll never sit on the sands indefinitely, at his mate's beck and call. Likewise, he'll never be able to fully break free of the need to help protect his eggs and share the prizes of his hunts with his mate. By the time the eggs are near hatching, you can expect a great deal of pent-up frustration. Clutch-sitting will not be a particularly peaceful time for either of you.
In the end, Athimeroth is not perfect. He'll very much need to grow into himself, and you and he will very much need to grow together. It will be a balancing act, learning how you can help him mesh the draconic instinct that tells him he's part of a whole with his distaste for straight-out commands. It will probably take even longer for you to be able to use his abilities for your own ends-- and longer still for either of you to fully include one another in your world views. But in the end, any frustrations you may have with each other is all bluster. Athimeroth knows that you belong up in the aether with him. That's why he snatched you, above anyone else, off the sands.
Public Impression Message
Above it All Bronze finishes his final survey, and only then deigns to make his way down from his most recent mound of sand and out into the group of candidates. There is no more searching or hesitation; he executes his plan smoothly, marching up to a golden-haired harper and staring him in the face: the one he's chosen above all others.
Private Impression Message
The hot, gale force wind strikes you full in the face, with strength enough to knock a large man down. Red banners snap and pull in the periphery of your consciousness as you feel yourself lifted, dizzyingly high, up and away from the heat and confusion of the sands. His guttural tenor is clipped short by the gusts against which it grates. « I'm so very pleased to have found you. » The winds slacken, and the voice of that bronze hatchling before you turns slightly nasal as he sets you down and himself in motion. « Come, C'wlin. Athimeroth is hungry. »
Mindvoice
Athimeroth's tenor will never have the clear sound that would match the winds that bear it. When angry, the heavy, humid air that assaults from all sides will sink his voice deep down, trap it deep in his throat. When eager, playful, or anticipating, he will have a rough, even gravelly quality as he presses to be heard over the hot, dry gusts that carry along his excitement. In those rare times when he is feeling truly reflective, his voice will raise higher in pitch, even taking on a nasal intonation. His sentiments will always be clearly signaled by colorful banners at the edges of your mind, snapping in those winds when he's roused, floating almost elegantly when he's more or less neutral, and hanging flat when exhausted. You'll figure out which colors signify which emotions readily enough.
Itchyspots
With so much of his hide looking rough, worn, and corroded, you might think that Athimeroth will be an 'all oil, all over, all the time' sort of dragon. But no. As a weyrling, he'll have particularly irregular growth spurts along with the accompanying aches, tending to grow longer of limb one sevenday, broader of shoulder and chest the next, wider of wing yet another, and you'll have to adapt accordingly. But there will be one constant, all the way through his growth, and even afterwards, once he's settled into his full size as a mature adult: those burnished shoulders. Happy polishing! You should be at it for the next handful of decades... at least.
Final Size
37.3
Inspiration
Aether is Athimeroth's element. It gives him a broad (and sometimes superficial) view of events, and also a certain feeling of aloofness and being-- if you'll forgive the pun-- above it all. His simple plans come from Marvin the Martian (as do their initially disastrous results), and his dislike of authority is drawn from Aristophanes' comedy, 'Birds'. His coloration is based on a grimalkin, although his physicality is owed to the gryphon, a creature associated with conqueror Alexander the Great, and which recalled both the Lannister lion and the Wessex wyvern. His name is the result of referring to him as 'Aether Marvin,' until it stuck, with the happy coincidence of resembling the Latin word for winter ('hiems') -- quite fitting for a High Reaches dragon.
Egg inspiration: Red matter, a fictional substance first seen in J. J. Abrams's Star Trek (2009), creates a black hole when it comes into contact with nuclear matter. Don't inject this stuff into a planet's core. Seriously.
