X'hil
X'hil.jpg

Description

X'hil is tall, easily over six feet, and has a wiry build. There's muscle there, but it's subtle, cloaked largely by the length of his limbs. He has light brown hair, which has been cropped short, and blue eyes. He has a light complexion with some freckles, though not many, and a mild tan.

X'hil wears pretty basic clothes, though they look fairly new at least. His pants are long, and of a sturdy brown fabric, while his white shirt is light-weight and somewhat loose. He also wears a beat up old leather jacket, with shoulders too wide and sleeves too short, and a matching pair of gloves.

X'hil's most recent turnday was his 24th, and he wears the knot of a bronzerider and Weyrsecond of Xanadu Weyr.


History

XandK.jpg

Xahil had a very Weyr-based upbringing, his mother a busy greenrider, and his father … well, Xylaihl never said much. Either she didn't know, as she claimed, or she didn't think it particularly relevant. Either way, Xahil never much minded, he grew up happily enough, raised mostly by nannies and fosterers like his siblings before, and after. He got up to the usual harmless mischief of childhood, though he was branded quite early on as a tattle-tale by his peers.

Xahil seemed to have inherited all of his mother's kind-heartedness and honesty, not to mention naivety. He knew enough to know right from wrong, and, as he grew - becoming tall very quickly - he began to get into arguments and minor fights here and there for what he believed. Most often it was defending his mother, and greenriders in general, from the claim, and insult, of being 'just' a greenrider.

As his twelfth turn approached, the nannies began to hint at various crafts and careers, though his only reaction to such gentle nudges and prods was a silent thoughtfulness. His pondering on the matter was interrupted one day by a rider, whose dragon was apparently concerned about Xahil's staring at him - the boy had been staring off into space again - and, somehow, Xahil walked away with a white knot.

It was fine timing indeed, Xahil had barely been twelve - or a candidate for that matter - for an entire day when the eggs hatched, and he very nearly didn't impress at all. He'd been in another argument about greenriders not being 'just' anything with a fellow candidate on the sands, and was paying more attention to that than the hatchlings. Eventually, a large bronze hatchling caught Xahil's attention, which actually managed to shut the boy up for once. Not a difficult task normally, in fact often quite easy, but near impossible when he's passionate about something.

Xahil found his name shortened remarkably easily to X'hil, in fact, it barely sounded changed at all. Kinseth assured his rider that it was different, /he/ was different, and food would be nice, all in the space of a few moments. The lad led his lifemate off in a daze, grinning like a fool. He even managed to put out of his mind the realisation that he'd just impressed bronze in the same Weyr that his mother rode green, for the time being.

Turns passed, X'hil and Kinseth found a place in the Galaxy wing, search and rescue, and it was fulfilling work. But there was that niggling little detail, he still rode bronze in a Weyr where his mother rode green, and these constant paranoid trips away were getting to be a bit of a bother. One time Xvetaoth rose while he was bathing, once while with a woman, and /that/ was awkward. "Oh, I have to go, my mother's green is rising."

Finally, X'hil shook his head, said "No more." and stopped leaving the Weyr during Xvetaoth's flights. If she'd been a normal green, with a glow before she flew, then he'd at least have had some warning, but no, Xvetaoth /always/ glowed, there was never much warning at all. For the most part, Kinseth and Xvetaoth led separate lives. Xvetaoth's favourite place to be was the ocean, bathing, and Kinseth's was on dry land, soaking up the sun. A Weyr is a big place, after all, it's possible to avoid someone for quite some time.

Several flights came and went, X'hil gained a new brother, Xvetaoth rose again, still without Kinseth in tow, and X'hil began to relax. He laughed at his foolishness, he knew that just because a dragon caught didn't mean the riders had to be together. If only he'd applied such logic turns ago!

Next flight, Kinseth chased. He didn't /win/, and X'hil never left his weyr, but it was enough. X'hil thanked the woman he'd been with during the flight, packed up his things, then left for Ierne. Later he sent word back to Xanadu, let his mother know what was going on, and formalised the transfer. It wasn't quite that easy though, he'd just moved away from Xanadu, from all he'd known for the first twenty turns of his life, and he didn't exactly have anything else to fall back on…

The weaver hall seemed to be going through a bit of a rough patch then, as X'hil heard from a friend of a friend who'd once dated a weaver's sister. There was apparently a shortage of materials first, then a plague of lice elsewhere, which required the burning of 'infected' items. The latter led to a sharp rise in demand, though fewer apprentices were signing up, and the Hall was suffering through a number of other little - and not so little - disasters. X'hil more or less kept to himself, he wasn't affected, being neither a weaver nor in an infected area, and he'd gotten in trouble for sticking his nose where it didn't belong far too often.

X'hil's idea of a non-interference policy quickly changed however, when he went to purchase a new outfit and found himself forking over more marks than he felt comfortable parting with, having recently quit his old job and all. He went to the Hall, resolving to get to the bottom of things, and emerged with an apprentice's knot. Not quite the paying job he'd been hoping for, but he'd make enough money on commissions, right? (He /could/ always ask his mother for money, she seemed to do quite well there, but he was trying to make it on his own… And not quite ready to face her, yet.) And besides, Ierne had nice beaches. He found a firelizard clutch one day, attracting a young brown entirely by accident.

Things got interesting when, delivering weaver goods to Ista Weyr, Kinseth took it in his head to chase, and chase he did. The bronze caught Lisle's gold Umniyath, committing his rider to future visits to Ista until the eggs were laid, and then the pair stayed on for a while. X'hil's craft had taken a sudden back seat, though he did try to keep up. Time passed, the eggs hatched, and X'hil departed once more for Ierne, though on much better terms than his departure from Xanadu.

X'hil has recently attempted to patch things up with his mother, after nearly three turns of complete and utter radio silence. So far, he's not trying too hard. He did write her a note, but, instead of giving it to her, he left it in Xanadu's caverns, and returned home with a young blue firelizard. Two months later, Xylaihl still hadn't responded, and he had to wonder if she had even gotten his note. It was around this time that X'hil found himself back at Ista, having been doing occasional transport jobs to scrape together a few marks - apprentices don't exactly get paid, after all. He ran into a few riders who had impressed in the clutch that Kinseth had sired, finally opening up - though not intentionally - about his reasons for leaving Xanadu. And somehow returning home with yet another firelizard.

Time passed, and his craft lessons continued. One such lesson, learning about dyes, ended with the man tasked with delivering a farmer, Cenlia, back to Xanadu. The pair made an exciting detour to acquire some tuber ale, Kinseth keeping lookout over the orchard and providing the most excellent of distractions. When the pair arrived at Xanadu, X'hil suddenly realised where he was, and it didn't take much coaxing to get him to indulge in the ale, to forget his troubles. Weyrwoman Niva joined them soon afterwards, complaining about absentee Weyrseconds and weyrwomen. X'hil drunkenly mentioned he could do better. The rest of the night was kind of a blur, though X'hil woke in the caverns the next morning with a Weyrsecond's knot on his shoulder…

Over the next few months, life became increasingly interesting for X'hil, a multitude of events which eventually drove him to drink. First, there was a series of unfortunate run-ins with sheep, the first of which resulted in a twisted ankle and then a sheep falling on him, the last of which had him shot in the rear by a misfired crossbow. Shortly before the last incident he ran in to his mother, and fled the Weyr, in the midst of a dragon influenza outbreak, winding up in Ierne. There, Kinseth took it in his head to chase, and catch, a rising gold, which turned out to be the renegade Kate's Lusiath. After his sheepish return and subsequent injury, X'hil was confined to the infirmary, and, once word got out about Kinseth's little trip, he lost his knot and the bronze was confined to his weyr. Meanwhile, Griselda popped by, X'hil's old childhood friend, and revealed that he was the father of twins. As if things couldn't get any worse, Kinseth broke loose of his quarantine to chase - and again, catch - Thea's gold Seryth, while both riders were still confined to the infirmary.

Things seemed to be looking up when Weyrleader R'sul gave X'hil a second Weyrsecond knot, which he resolved /not/ to lose again, and even more when Seryth laid a fine clutch of eight eggs. All seemed well, with minor incidents - such as X'hil drunkenly decking a computer crafter - here and there, but nothing particularly major. Until, one day, a caravan of refugees from Rubicon River Hold came to the Weyr, some injured, one fatally. This bothered X'hil, much more than he let on. When Niva and Kilaueth called for riders to go to Hannista Hold and return with their women, he knew he had to go, coaxing Kinseth off of the sands - with much assistance from Kilaueth - to join the expedition. He got injured in the process, kneed in the groin by a feisty holder, but he accomplished his part in the mission, bringing back that feisty hold woman. Little did he know what trouble she'd be. First there was an issue with bathing times, which X'hil resolved by setting aside an hour for holders only, and a second hour for just the women and children of Hold and Weyr. Or so he thought. He found out the next day, when he headed down for a bath after spending too long out in the hot hatching galleries, that the holders had barricaded themselves in, and weren't letting weyrfolk in at all. In the commotion, suds were poured on the floor, and X'hil slipped, but managed to right himself. It was the thrown bucket that he didn't expect, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. He later claimed it required stitches, though the number of stitches increased with each retelling.

The most recent major event in his life was Kilaueth's flight, which Kinseth decided he simply /must/ chase in. X'hil was naturally /extremely/ relieved when Kinseth lost, though not at first. His first thoughts were more typical to flight losses. He buried himself deep in the tavern, and got thoroughly drunk. His foster mother happened upon him then, and dragged him out, sending him away to sober up. He was gone for a month, and since he returned he's been quiet, keeping to himself, and working hard, now as much of a fixture in the office as he had been in the tavern before.


Character Trivia

  • X'hil's most prized possession is a battered old jacket that he believes once belonged to his father. Though older than the man himself, he carries it everywhere, and looks after it very carefully. To date, it has been shot once, and mended at least once.
  • X'hil's fears are numerous. Some - though not all - of the man's fears are: Sheep. Tunnelsnakes. His mother. Very bright shades of green, especially neon. Aeryn. Thea. Niva. Women in general. Alcohol (however he courageously faces it before any other fear). Gambling. His own impulsive and sometimes violent nature. Violence in general. And now, Eledri.
  • His favourite colour is blue, and his favourite season is spring, especially when it rains. He thinks that winter is okay, so long as it doesn't snow.
  • As a young bronzerider with a purse full of marks, X'hil developed a taste for fine food and fine clothes. However, after living broke in Ierne for three turns, he now tends to live a more frugal life. He still salivates at the thought of a particularly exquisite meal, or outfit.
  • X'hil once wanted to be a male model for the weaver craft.
  • Kinseth won his first flight as a weyrling, catching one of his green clutchmates. X'hil was thirteen. It changed his opinion of greenriders for life.
  • The only members of X'hil's family that he really gets along with are his aunt, Zhaila, and his younger brother, A'li.
  • As a child, he and his younger siblings were often sent to stay with their aunt and grandparents at Rubicon River Hold for a couple of months out of every turn. Occasionally they brought friends around with them. Though he has not found it so easy to take time out to visit since he impressed, X'hil never even hesitated about siding with Rubicon River over Hannista in the recent Hold conflict.

Family

Image Name Relation Location Position Dragon
Zanya.jpg Zanya Grandmother Rubicon River Hold Holder
Xhail.jpg Xhail Grandfather Rubicon River Hold Holder
X'ayn.jpg X'ayn Uncle Telgar Weyr Rider Blue Belth
Zhaila.jpg Zhaila Aunt Rubicon River Hold Beastcrafter
Xylaihl.jpg Xylaihl Mother Xanadu Weyr Rider Green Xvetaoth
? Father ? Rider Blue/Brown/Bronze ?
Isabet.jpg Isabet Foster Mother Xanadu Weyr Chef
Xaspia.jpg Xaspia Older Sister Xanadu Weyr Crafter
Xezzara.jpg Xezzara Older Sister Xanadu Weyr Crafter
Xalansho.jpg Xalansho Older Brother Xanadu Weyr Crafter
Xyala.jpg Xyala Younger Sister Xanadu Weyr Candidate
A'li.jpg A'li Younger Brother Xanadu Weyr Weyrling Blue Najimeth
Xylan.jpg Xylan Younger Brother Xanadu Weyr Child
Grahil.jpg Grahil Son (with Griselda) Xanadu Weyr Toddler
Grahilda.jpg Grahilda Daughter (with Griselda) Xanadu Weyr Toddler

Firelizards

Meredith.jpg

Combination of Elements Brown Meredith
A lively fellow this brown looks to be a patchwork of, well, of a bit of everything. He isn't so much brown as having a brown base in there somewhere. Perhaps is it bromide, or maybe just simple earth (though that is not really so simple), within which have become planted bits and smidgeon's of other elements give him life, to give him a flashy flair. He is of average build but boundless energy, some part of him always in motion whether it's the swish of a tail or the craning of a neck to see what it is that is going on next door. Talons are elemental carbon but as sharp as diamonds, a weapon for hunting and defending and he looks well able to handle himself in a scrap if need be. Not that his jovial fellow is likely to be picking fights, and as sail stretch again for the umpteenth time the yellow swirls of sulfur catch the light most playfully through the translucent membrane.

Wraith.jpg

Mummified Mage Blue Wraith
Though small in height, this little cobalt blue most definitely makes up for it in length. He appears stretched, all his features tugged and pulled out of shape. Bands of indigo wrap haphazardly around him, bunching together under his belly before drifting off randomly around his over-long tail like unravelling bandages. His legs seem thin, almost too thin to support his body, and even his feet have not managed to escape the odd stretching of his form - his near black toes and ivory talons combined are almost triple the length of normal firelizard feet. His wings hang ragged, poorly formed in the shell, though when fully opened reveal patches of white mixed in amongst the darkness - little stars waiting to break free.

Elizabeth.jpg

Too Small Too Saucy Green Elizabeth
Packing more bark than bite, it is difficult to be intimidated by such a small little green as much as she tries to show it with her snappy attitude and fearsome glaring. Her body is mostly compacted, though lean, from her short little muzzle, large forehead and buggy whirling eyes to the thin delicate legs attached to her small frame and the short yet thin tail that appears to constantly be in motion. Her wings are short and stubby, nearly always open out to add some much needed size to her body — sails are a forest green that attracts the attention to her more glossy jade body, as if she were nearly always polished to perfection.

Firelizard base-art by Rhasmir, coloured by X'hil.


Dragon

Bronze Kinseth
Golden flashes of lightning breeze across a hide of molten bronze. The spectacular sight of this large bronze dragon is almost magical. He holds himself with a pride bolder than the toughest warrior. Shimmering, shining in the light the streaks of lightning seem to come to life with every muscular movement this fellow makes. No clumsy awkwardness for this one, on land or off, as he carries himself with an aire of royalty. He's bronze, a king, maybe even a god, and he knows darn well where he came from.

Kinseth's straps are on, fitting snugly about his neck and shoulders, with secure 'saddles' for a rider and two passengers, as well as several large leather bags attached to either side of the straps.

Kinseth has a length of 39.97 meters, and a wingspan of 66.62 meters.


Logs

X'hil's page on my personal wiki.

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