All references to the world and characters of Pern™ based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are copyright© 1967 by Anne McCaffrey, all rights reserved. The Dragonriders of Pern® is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey and used here with permission.
D'ney's Brown Nhaeth
Dragon: Nhaeth
Color: Brown
Dam: Sayurith
Sire: Sanath
Egg: Carpe Diem Egg
Egg Desc: Aline Desc, Amber and Gamma Tweak
Hatchling: Self-Conscious Lt. Barklay Brown Hatchling
Hatchling Desc: K'mra and Gamma; Noa and Gamma tweak
Messages: Amber, Hotaru and Toria; Gamma tweak
Dragon Inspiration: Gamma and Noa
DragonSong: "Angel" by Sarah McLaughlin
Carpe Diem Egg (Aline Desc, Amber and Gamma Tweak)
The red glow of dawning light crowns this egg with a melting fire beneath a star crest of
silvery gray that spills its light down the shell, splitting it twain, tip to base. Shadow
shrouds one hemisphere, darkness blending, concealing, coelscing to black; dawn flames the
other, lightening from the midnight meridian to a hopeful sunrise brightening of uncertain
yet expectant pristine white. There in the warm glow of palest ivory, nurtured in the heat
of new sands, the light of the sun incubates to perfection its resolute potential --carpe
diem, it asserts, seize the day!
Self-Conscious Lt. Barclay Brown Hatchling
Inky dollops of dusty rose salmon coalesce the creases of his vast expanse of seasoned
black cherry hide, cluttering into gangly extremities seeped in sepia before vanishing
beneath a facade of dusky darkness. Sleek sheets of lengthy mocha-washed wings drizzled
with an ethereal edge of frosty pink coral veins engulf him, cluttering the smooth,
rounded ridges that bud from his elongated neck and rosewood headknobs, leaving only a
whim of the large, expressive eyes that light his nervous triangular head. Hints of deep
well metallicy limn his soot-smudged physique, creating golden glimpses that overshadow
the disproportions and discrepancies and glitter the lengthy starscape frame from rich
hazelnut tail to clever ebon talons with heroic motes of succulent, suffering
incandescence.
Hatch_msg
Carpe Diem Egg seizures violently, splintering at the cusp between night's shadows and
day's hues. The shell disintegrates quickly as a newborn head dawns over a ragged edge.
Within a moment's gasp, the gap is wide enough to allow the glistening form trapped
beneath to finally break through: Self-Conscious Lt. Barclay Brown Hatchling lurches
forth.
Impress_msg
Self-Conscious Lt. Barclay Brown Hatchling pauses before the hazel-eyed girl, tilting his
head in almost nonchalant curiousity while his very existance probes the girl's inner
layers for that special link. He is not long in Chosing, rather it's a matter of laying
claim upon the soul in front of him. The instant their patterns of inner selves match, he
moves to capture the gaze of Dallaney. His key fits her lock perfectly as gazes clash and
then meld, and in that instant she is his; and he is hers. There will be no more being
left standing for this mahogany-haired weyrling; she has been claimed.
Impress_name.msg
A soothing warmth trickles into your soul, persistantly touching and feeling; searching
for your elusive Self. Then with an overwhelming suddenness the dam breaks, flooding all
your senses until your Self becomes swirling sienna, vibrant coral melon, and brilliant
scarlet. Amongst the riot of color comes a rich esoteric voice, reverberating through your
very soul, until all you know is that ethereal voice that speaks so intimately with your
very being. << My mind has spun dreams of gossamer of my perfect One. Your soul
speaks to me in a way that can only mean you are the One. >> There is a long
heart-stopping pause , and then the voice returns, a near whisper of it's former self.
<< I am Nhaeth. I am the mate to your soul. Together we shall ride the waves of
dreams. It was pre-ordained. >>
Mind Voice
Nhaeth's voice is the voice of the gruff charmer, edged with wisdom and backed by the deep
undertones of a bass drum. Think Sean Connery, a creature of nature, instinctual and
intelluctual in equal measure, but with a great sense of humor and a preference to
chatter, even going off on tangents should he be in the mood for it.
Mind Scent and Color
Nhaeth's mind smells like an artist's palette and splashes with its colors, full of
swirling siena, vibrant coral melon dollops, bright scarlet blobs
Personality
While Nhaeth has an outwardly quiet and technical nature and a clever, inventive mind
attentive to detail, he also has an idealistic, adventurous, sensitive nature, a desire
for culture and the refinements of life, a deep mind and the talent to excel in highly
inspirational lines of endeavour as a dramatist, musician, writer, or artist. He works
well in a relaxed environment, equally well at tasks involving people as he does at tasks
involving writing, mathematical, or analytical skills that require concentration such as
studies in threadfall patterns, weather, smithing, astronomy and similar technical fields
of interest and scientific studies. But he can also be lifted by beauty in all forms, and
is at the most creative and unintentionally humorous when inspired, often saying something
and then wondering why everyone is laughing, not realizing his own wit until /after/ the
fact. A creature of nature, instinctual and intelluctual in equal measure, his
insecurities, nonetheless, are tantamount, and he will constantly draw strength from your
support and uplifting. He'll often try to cover these insecurities with a constant
babbling chatter, lighthearted and very insightful but often amounting to nothing more
than chatter whose tangents have tangents.
His creative, inventive nature and loose lips can get Nhaeth in trouble as a young dragon:
not only will he drive dependable-I-think-the-system-works-fine-the-way-it-is Dallan nuts
with his constant barrage of new and exciting ways to change things, he'll find it
difficult to be patient, practical, and systematic, preferring to act impulsively as the
spirit moves him. Desiring to be free from detail and monotony, he'll find it difficult to
finish what he starts if it does not hold his interest, but if it does, he'll follow it
through to the very last end. For their sheer potential, for example, he's fascinated by
everything made by the smithcraft and learns to distinguish the smith knot early, often
wandering after the stray smith or two <<Peekabooooooooo. Does that thing
work?>> Because of his adventurous nature, Nhaeth will be attracted to working
outdoors in nature, where he can experience the peace and serenity he so much desires and
the freedom to explore and express himself. And this will grow in him a love of the
beauties of nature, experiencing peace and relaxation in outdoor activities, and /reading/
--especially tales of adventures and heroes and scientific explorations.
Perhaps because of his constant insecurities and poor sense of how to interact with folks
or how he fits in with the rest of the dragon and human race, Nhaeth often comes off shy
as a youth, but he compensates for this shyness by devising a rich fantasy life. But he's
no homebody! In fact, he loves escaping to some far off place with his lifemate whenever
he has a chance and will treat his lifemate to a constant barrage of daydreams and
whatifs, flights of fancy he'd never be able to handle in real life. And this will take
him off on all matter of adventures, sometimes without permission, which will get Dallaney
into all /manner/ of trouble until she learns to control him, understanding that in his
deepest mind, he sees himself as the hero just wanting and waiting to burst through but
too self-conscious and afraid to actually /be/ all that he can be. This fear won't last,
though. He might be a little quavery in youth, before the notes are learnt, but the hero
will get there eventually, you may be sure of that. And it is this love of new ideas and
images that fosters his second great love: because of their erratic images and
excitability, Nhaeth will /love/ firelizards from almost the moment of his hatching and
will know every /bit/ of firelizard gossip almost immediately.
Nhaeth may have a brilliant mind, but he also has a completely fallible memory and will
often jump into things without thinking, especially if it's to help a wingmate. During
brief stints he'd recognize himself as being brilliant, and then lose it. Though he is
very clever, and even as a young dragon has a better aptitude for retaining his thoughts
and ideas than most dragons, he's easily frustrated by his limited memory, even if it's so
endemic to his species. As a result, he may take to journal writing very early on in his
youth, and since he lacks fingers to do it, he may insist that /you/ keep the notebook
handy at all times to write his thoughts down in. <<Oooooh! Butterflies have four
wings! Write it down! Write it down!>> (unlike you, he'll take to reading and
writing as well as he does water, and you may learn to read and write better just out of
pure self preservation, maybe even teaching him how to write himself just to get a little
rest). Nhaeth just feels and senses so much that he does not fully understand and cannot
express, but he /so/ delights in the mystery of it all. He has a wealth of emotions tucked
up in there, ready to share with his lifemate and fellow dragons --if he could just get
them out!
But even as a dragonet, his sensibility, humor and desire to learn will help him. He'll be
the one who will bring his 'mate around, showing off his shiny neckridges that don't itch
any more, and that puny wingsail that promises to be so flexible in the air. Like the Lt.
Barclay he is modeled after who has a nearly unsurmountable fear of transporters to the
point that he will wear himself out riding shuttles instead of beaming, Nhaeth will have
one great fear associated with betweening << Aw, come on. Flying straight's the way
to go. >>, and a plethora of other smaller phobias <<EEK! GET THAT TRUNDLEBUG
OUT OF HERE!>> which he tries very hard to overcome and often forgets when a friend
is in need. In fact, he'll be a buoy in times of pain and shock for all those around him;
even if he can't understand all of it, intuition allows him to guess that his clutchmate's
rider's cousin has hurt his 'mate, or that the weyrlingmaster has been too strict with his
charges of late.
At those moments, he'd champion all causes, sometimes speaking before he's thought out the
consequences --and he'll kick himself afterwards for these blurtings, and actively seek to
"fix" his loose lips as he grows, something that will make him a great diplomat
in his adulthood. Still, this blurting out of his surface feelings and thoughts and trying
to reign them in all the time is complicated in his youth by the fact that he can find it
difficult to express his deeper thoughts and feelings verbally --it is much more natural
for him to express his deeper thoughts in writing. His own memory isn't much to speak of,
but he's willing to pry--lifemates are /so/ useful sometimes. And the more new thoughts
and experiences he gathers, the better he likes it and the more he wants to share. Nhaeth
will chatter you to death!
As an adult, his ability to gather information on people and events almost instantly from
firelizards and people will help him hone a keen sense of tact and diplomacy. Nhaeth may
feel sort of insignificant, but he's still a brown, so he'll be prone to positions of
leadership that don't put him directly in command. Though Nhaeth will share Dall's love of
the security of a home and family, will be fond of children, and, as a parent he will be
fair and understanding, he will just /shine/ in any position dealing with the public, such
as Search Dragon, Watch Dragon, Sweeper, Messenger, or Envoy Transport Dragon. As he has a
diplomatic and tactful manner and possesses a charming, easy-going nature which puts
people at ease (he hardly ever gets angry and sees humor in most things), people (and
firelizards!) will be drawn to him because they feel that he is patient, kind,
understanding, and responsive. He will be very effective when handling people and serving
in a humanitarian way, and don't be surprised to come out of the living cavern and see two
or three dozen firelizards perched on every ridge available. When he moves, a whole flock
of them will lift off.
But there is a much deeper side to Nhaeth than that of firelizard perch. While Nhaeth is
honest and responsible and appears calm to others, one weakness that is paramount in his
life is his lack of self-confidence and initiative, something which causes him to put
things off and avoid facing issues and at times suffer inwardly with nervous tension. His
large size may come in handy when bolstering Dall's shaky sense of security, but inside,
with all the wonder and experiences and largeness of the world that Nhaeth just yearns to
know and experience, he feels very small in the overall picture of things, something that
you'll have to help by lending him a bit of Dall's steady sense of Self. While he may
/appear/ to be calm and debonair, it's all an act. You'll have to work with him constantly
on this. Self-consciousness will prevent him from feeling at ease in positions of
/impromptu/ expression, but his expressive, affectionate nature responds very quickly
through his feelings and he'll shine every time --except when he gets jealous or
possessive! <<AHEM! What do you think you are doing with that vtol-bitten scrawny
runner? I /hope/ you aren't planning on riding it. I could munch him in one bite!>>
He wants the best, but lacks the confidence and aggressiveness to materialize his desires.
Procrastination is a weakness he /owns/. So often he will be inclined to avoid issues and
to leave things undone until the last moment --when you are forced to take action. This
will be a push and pull relationship, because although he has good business judgment, a
lack of positivity and confidence will be a source of difficulty in making decisions in
business dealings for him --he is not aggressive in his dealings because he does not like
to create issues.
Taken as a whole, though, Nhaeth is Dall's perfect buddy --active and outdoorsy enough to
set her tomboyish side off, yet sensitive and deep enough to help her reclaim the girlhood
she hasn't come to terms with just yet. He's not matter of fact like she is at all, but
he'll be her partner according to the true-blue rules of brotherhood (and yes, he'll think
of her as a boy, just like him)-- not a sidekick but a comrade who's willing to take up
arms in the name of duty with a bond of empathy less-lighthearted than most, but
completely devoted. Mix in a dollop of creative indulgence, a flicker of freedom-seeking
adamance for the sake of contradiction, and you have quite a stew in there. It's ironic
that he's a bit of a coward at times, like your father, and his indulgences into his own
creative and inventive mind makes him more than a little flighty like your mother. Package
everything together, and we'll have a ready-made time bomb. Suspicious-looking, no? But
when all is said and done, he is completely likeable, probably for his humanity and
fallibility, completely devoted and loyal to his clutch, his wing, his lifemate and his
weyr, and genuinely caring about them though he hides all his emotions inside him. In the
end, he will always manage to draw on that bit of something inside himself that just makes
him a grade A hero.
Physical
Nhaeth is a paradigm of extremes: extremely spindly, extremely long, extremely
intelligent, extremely inventive and adventurous of form while flying. He'll trekking
anywhere and anyweather, over the known world on a wing's notice and doing it /well/. As
they say, to boldly go... Because of his length and streamlined body type, he's very
aerodynamic and aquadynamic, slicing easily through air and water alike. Nhaeth's flying
technique will grow as he does. When first learning, limbs will be everywhere. He'll try
to 'claw' through the sky rather than flap, as if he could take big handfuls of air and
pull himself up. It'll take a good deal of practice to get those wings flapping both at
the same time, synchronized. As he evens out, the revelation will come that he can fly
slick as oil on water, if he just keeps his limbs tucked in. The wings will provide
propulsion and the tail whips out like a rudder. After all, he /is/ an engineer. Warp
speed ahead!
Water before air, however. Swimming will be picked up as a youngster, before his wings are
even sturdy enough to lift him. This fact might just help in training, considering the
weightless, floating sensation one gets when submerged. Dallan will have a time explaining
to her superiors that they're going swimming to practice flying skills! As a young dragon,
his wings and tail will be so lengthy that they drag the ground. Part of puffing up his
self image will be your reminders to stand up straight, lift his tail, get those wingtips
up! <<But it's too /hard/...>>
He's also a very clumsy dragon as a youth, knocking over things with his tail, not quite
gauging his strength at times and thinking he is more insignificant physically than he is.
On land, his stride has a certain caution to it. He knows that things tend to break when
he's around them, and draw scorn. So, as much as he can manage, he'll keep his belly and
head low to the ground as if attempting to escape notice. No prancing or trotting here.
It's a slink, with his forelegs reaching far in front of him, and his tail held behind for
balance. Perhaps it's because of his constant insecurities and poor sense of how to
interact with folks.
Nhaeth isn't all too sure of how he fits in with the rest of the dragon and human race.
But like Dall, from hatching to death, he'll gradually ripen into adulthood and maturity,
constantly in the throes of the growth and life process. Be it physical, emotional or
intellectual, no one part of him growing at the same time! First a tail, then his claws,
then his ego, then a wing, then his courage, then a leg, then another wing, then a
headknob-- no one part of his physical appearance is ever balanced in youth. Lengthy...
and lopsided. <<Can we see the dragonhealer today? I think my brain is
growing.>>
He's also a relentless hypochondriac, often getting sympathy pains that can be very
debilitating until his lifemate points out how silly he is. Though he is inclined to
incessant hypochondrias and more likely than not to indulge in rich foods that lack proper
nourishment, he's generally healthy in other areas. But Nhaeth can't resist the
porcines... Those round, pink-skinned beasts will be his indulgence of choice. No
feathers, no fur, just rich, fatty meat. They're nearly impossible to come by in Igen.
Because of his eating habits, Nhaeth will often have problems with constipation and
irregularity until he learns to control his fluids, and will have to be purged and cleaned
up after "accidents" often as a young dragon. As an adult this will all
change...some. He never loses his hypochondriac nature nor his affinity for eating things
he shouldn't; but once he starts flying between, he learns to compensate.
And oh, the itches! It's all part of his lopsided growth process. Grand stretches of hide
will be left pulled too tight, or hang to loose. It leaves plenty of places for dry, flaky
skin to hide out. His most-requested spots will be the joints: where his front legs attach
to his chest, where his wings attach to his back, and that little crease of skin at the
base of his huge neck. When these spots nag him, he'll nag you. Nhaeth, in all his worried
manners, will want to know if such itches are normal for a dragon. << Maybe I'm like
an onion! One day a whole layer will come off, and I'll be something totally different
underneath! Oh dear, oh dear...>> It's an easy excuse for immediate Dall-attention.
Nhaeth will go crazy if you manage to get some of those snazzy scented oils from the
healers, too. In his mind, if you gotta oil, oil in style. A solid couple of hours of
nightly scratching and oiling will be the routine. Just consider it bonding time, where
you can learn your dragon's every nook and cranny, as dry and itchy as they may be.