Played by: Kay

Pronounced: ree-AIR-uh

Nickname: Ree

Sex: female

Rank: weyrbrat

Age: 7

Birthplace: Fort Weyr

Mother's Name, rank, location: Thera, green rider, Fort Weyr - deceased

Father's Name, rank, location: R'iegan, bronze rider, whereabouts unknown

Foster Father: F'inis, bronze rider, Free Falling Weyr

Siblings: half-brother Rajildan, 11, weyrbrat, whereabouts unknown

Significant others: N/A

Children: N/A

Height: 4'2"

Build: Slender, and generally lacking in the baby fat that most children her age have. Riera has undergone many hardships, and she has had to live with strict food rations or no food at all, so she only ever eats what she absolutely needs to stave off the worst of the hunger.

Hair color/style: Chocolate brown and wavy, falling to mid-neck length and framing her cute, rounded face.

Eyes: Grey and wide, as if she is in a state of constant fearfulness, anxiety, and suspicion.

Complexion: Fair, with a spattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

Anything you feel would help describe your persona better: Riera is very much a tomboy, and she absolutely refuses to wear dresses or pretty bows or anything of the sort. Instead, Riera wears the type of clothes that a young boy her age might be expected to wear, and it is not uncommon to find her with a skinned knee from climbing a tree or running too quickly over the wet stones near the lake.

Habits: Getting into fights, stealing trinkets or jewelry that she likes, and disrespecting anyone older than her who tries to tell her what to do. She also has the bad habits of chewing her fingernails and spitting in public--habits that F'inis is working very hard to train out of her.

Hobbies: Climbing trees, swimming in the lake, cleverly escaping from grown-ups, and most of all being by herself. Riera is a loner, and she hates to be around any one at any time--except, perhaps, when she is with F'inis. She dislikes dragons in general, along with firelizards, and she is terrified of flying. She does, however, enjoy the company of less intelligent beasts, such as canines or runners, and she likes to talk and sing to them when no one else is around to hear her.

Personality: Riera is the sort of young girl who would be described as a "problem child." She throws fits and tantrums for no apparent reason, whether she gets her way or doesn't. She gets in fights with other children and often fights very nastily. Any kind of authority is hateful to her, and her defiance only makes things worse. Above all else, she hates strangers, even if they are kind to her. She has been known to strike out physically on occasion, when she feels that she is not being listened to. The truth of the matter, though, is that Riera is a very lost and lonely little girl who has no idea what to do with herself now that her mother is dead. Many a night, she cries herself to sleep, or suffers from terrible nightmares about the shakes and the chaotic Turns that followed. The only people she trusts are those she knew at Fort Weyr before its destruction, and Bronzerider F'inis, her new guardian, is included among those few. For F'inis, Riera is the picture of a well-behaved, sweet little girl, and around him it is almost as though she is a totally different person from the Riera who screams and lashes out at strangers.

Background: Riera was born the result of a short-lived relationship between her mother, Greenrider Thera, and her father, Wingleader R'iegan. Thera was nine Turns younger than R'iegan, only fifteen when she bore Riera. Although R'iegan repeatedly professed his love for Thera, the reality was that he was a man easily enticed by a pretty face, regardless of whether or not that pretty face belonged to his weyrmate. When Riera was less than a Turn old, Thera left R'iegan on the advice of her young bronze weyrling friend, F'inis. Shortly thereafter, R'iegan was demoted from his position as wingleader due to his excessive drinking habits before threadfall, and it wasn't long before the bronze rider had transferred out to another Weyr along with his son Rajildan, who he'd had by another woman. Riera immediately grew attached to F'inis, who was only a Turn younger than her mother, and the trio was virtually inseparable over the next handful of Turns, along with Greenrider Tr'ent, who was F'inis' other best friend.
       It seemed for a while as though Riera would have a normal childhood after all, despite her father's recklessness. F'inis grew closer to Thera over the Turns, and he frequently acted the part of a "big brother" of sorts for Riera. Tr'ent, too, was like a sibling to the little girl, and they were all happy and content. Just before Riera's fifth birthing day, however, tragedy struck. The shakes devastated the Northern Continent, wiping Fort Weyr off the face of the planet. Riera survived thanks to the heroism of F'inis, but her mother was lost in the crumbling ruins of Fort. Unfortunately, F'inis had sent Riera with another Fort rider to Telgar Weyr, which also suffered the deadly earth shakes. In the confusion and panic, the Fort rider was killed by falling debris along with his dragon, and Riera was hastily evacuated with a Telgar blue rider before anyone could even ask her who she was.
       Riera and the blue rider, K'orvak of blue Evith, ended up at a refugee camp outside of the remains of Igen Weyr, which was headed by the young son of the late Igen Weyrleader. With much coaxing and persuasion, K'orvak eventually gained Riera's trust, and the young girl clung to him as her only friend. Trouble arose in the camp, however, when K'orvak disagreed with the group consensus to loot from Holds in order to survive, and in the scuffle that followed, K'orvak was killed. Riera was now six Turns old, and with K'orvak's death, she grew terrified of the other riders and threw terrible fits. L'nod, a bronze rider who had sympathized with K'orvak, took the child under his wing and convinced the others not to abandon her somewhere in holder territory on their next raid. However, L'nod was not to gain Riera's trust the way K'orvak had. Riera would not make that mistake again. For a Turn, she lived in constant fear for her life, always wondering if soon L'nod would betray her and have her forsaken in the middle of nowhere.
        Then, one day, she heard the riders talking about a hold called Mid-Areth on their return from a raid. The Lord Holder there was on his deathbed, and Free Falling Weyr had sent an envoy headed by a certain Bronzerider F'inis to conduct the elections for his successor. While Riera knew nothing of the political complications, she recognized the name of her old "big brother" immediately. She demanded that L'nod take her to find Bronzerider F'inis, a demand which L'nod refused until Riera's tantrums threatened to deteriorate his sanity. At last he agreed, and seven-Turn-old Riera was taken to Free Falling Weyr where she was reunited at last with F'inis, who swore to her to protect her from harm and to raise her like his own child. Although Riera is immeasurably happy to be back with someone she knows she can trust, the dark shadows of her past haunt her at every moment, and she has a long way to go before she will be ready to let go of the grief and fear that still seize hold of her whenever she is forced to be in the company of strangers.