Name: Weyrleader Y'rud

Played by: Kay

Pronounced: yuh-ROOD

Nickname: Rudy

Sex: male

Rank: Weyrleader

Age: 41

Birthplace: Ista Hold

Mother's Name, rank, location: Elethiel, drudge, Ista Hold - deceased

Father's Name, rank, location: Yandred, Master Miner, Ista Hold

Siblings: brother Yaldeth, 47, lesser Lord Holder, Southern Boll territory; sister Andele, 40, green rider, Ista Weyr; brother Elthed, 35, Master Miner, Ista Hold; sister Ellia - deceased

Significant others: Salina, Sr. Weyrwoman, Ista Weyr

Children: son Y'vren, 22, bronze rider, Ista Weyr; son Eldin, 8, Ista Hold; son Serin, 5, Ista Hold; daughter Allina, 3, Ista Hold

Height: 6'1"

Build: Light-weight but sturdy. Y'rud is not a particularly muscular man, but he has an imposing appearance nevertheless and often seems even taller than his true six feet.

Hair color/style: Y'rud's mop of short, brown hair is swept across his forehead and back from his face, always kept neatly in place. Though he doesn't yet consider himself to be "old", a dusting of grey peppers his hair, mostly from the stress of running a Weyr.

Eyes: Dull hazel, Y'rud's eyes display the apathy and weariness that have marked him as a result of the trials of the times.

Complexion: Dark tan from the tropical Istan heat.

Anything you feel would help describe your persona better: Y'rud dresses sensibly, not at all infatuated with the romanticism of his position. He wears a belt knife on his person at all times; made somewhat paranoid by the pressures of the shakes, he is fully convinced that it would not be beyond a disgruntled holder to attempt to harm him.

Habits: Y'rud can be a rather stubborn and impatient man when annoyed, and he has a habit of cutting people off in the middle of their sentences if he feels that he has already surmised what they are going to say or that it is not worth his time to listen. "It'll be done my way or no way at all," is Y'rud's common thought, and he lets everyone know it. He also has a tendency to stretch himself thin by multi-tasking to an unhealthy degree, and he rarely leaves his desk before the early hours in the morning.

Hobbies: When not actually involved in wing drills or threadfall, Y'rud likes to spend his time planning out intricate wing maneuvers and threadfall tactics in an attempt to heighten the efficiency and hone the skill of his flights of dragons as they cover fall. He is also devoted to his family and enjoys spending time with his children when he can. Lately, of course, his time for such activities has been almost completely replaced by continual stress. Whenever he thinks he has a minute of peace, Y'rud always seems to find something else that needs to be done first.

Personality: Though a good leader with rigid discipline, Y'rud is a moody, melancholy man whose days are spent mostly in a deep gloom. He is easily irritated by those who he believes are wasting his time or are inefficient in their work, and he is usually seclusive and keeps to himself. The only company he enjoys these days is that of his weyrmate, Weyrwoman Salina, or any of his four children. Y'rud punishes riders who step out of line when he's watching, hoping to make them examples for the rest of the Weyr, but his almost lethargic unconcern for those who break the rules out of his sight and his custom of turning a blind eye more often than not has encouraged a, "Don't get caught," attitude in Ista Weyr. Y'rud's main talent as a Weyrleader shines through in his management of wings during threadfall, and he has been able to defy the odds and keep enough dragons in the air to fight threadfall for both Ista and several territories of the destroyed Weyrs. His skill in this area, however, has made him a micro-manager who chafes at the thought of delegating too much responsibility to his wingleaders. The strain that post-disaster Pern has placed on this middle-aged Weyrleader is obvious, but he is determined to maintain his authority and continue to serve Pern as well as he is able.

Background: As a young man, Yelrud's largest aspiration was to one day become a master miner like his father. When a Search dragon arrived from Ista Weyr one day and Searched him, however, that changed forever. At first Yelrud resisted the Search, accustomed to Hold life and hesitant to accept change. At his older brother's encouragement, however, Yelrud finally accepted and was brought to Ista Weyr to stand for the next clutch. After one unsuccessful Hatching, fifteen-Turn-old Yelrud Impressed and became Y'rud of bronze Olanth. After weyrling training, Y'rud rose easily through the ranks as the wingleaders acknowledged his skill with tactics and wing maneuvers during drills, strange for a Hold-born boy who had been reluctant to accept Search!
       When Y'rud was nineteen, a green rider bore him a son, whom he named Yilvren. Much later, this son would Impress a bronze of his own, a fact which makes Y'rud very proud. At this point he was serving as a wingsecond to the Weyrleader, but he disliked the Weyrleader and was constantly finding flaws and errors in his methods. By this time, Y'rud already had hopes of succeeding as the next Weyrleader of Ista one day. It was not much later that Y'rud met Salina, then only a candidate at Ista Weyr. She reminded him of his little sister, who had died from a rare case of firehead when she was about Salina's age. Y'rud became protective over Salina, the way an older brother might, and she became one of the few people that he would spend time with outside of wing drills. After Salina Impressed to her gold Kimuth, Y'rud began to realize that his feelings for her were more than just brother-like affection. He hesitated to act on his feelings, not only because Salina was now restricted by the one-Turn weyrling ban but also because he was eleven Turns her senior and feared that Salina would dismiss his approaches. After the ban was lifted, however, Y'rud took his chances and told Salina of his true feelings for her. Only a few Turns after Salina graduated from weyrling training, when Y'rud was thirty-two, they became weyrmates.
        Unfortunately for Y'rud's ambitions, this turn of events prevented him from attaining the Weyrleadership of Ista. Though he encouraged Olanth to chase, the bronze never gave his all the way he did when Kimuth rose. Olanth sired several clutches by Kimuth, but Y'rud remained only a wingsecond. Salina gave birth to Y'rud's second son, Eldin, and three Turns later to his third son, Serin; both children were fostered with Salina's parents at Ista Hold. Y'rud was actually demoted from his position as wingsecond on charges of insubordination to the Weyrleader. Though a few wingleaders protested on Y'rud's behalf as a brilliant wing manager, the Weyrleader refused to promote Y'rud. He was left a mere wingrider. The sharpness of Y'rud's frustration with the current Weyrleader's inefficiency (in his eyes, at least) and his avid distaste for the Senior Weyrwoman was dulled some by his devotion to Salina and his willingness to sacrifice his ambition for his family.
       A Turn later, the Senior Weyrwoman of Ista Weyr died when her queen rose with the Senior Queen of Free Falling Weyr and went *between*, making Salina the new Senior Weyrwoman. A few vexing months passed while Y'rud waited for Kimuth to rise, as the old Weyrleader retained his authority until then. When Kimuth finally rose, Olanth caught her as expected, making a thirty-seven-Turn-old Y'rud the Weyrleader of Ista at last. Y'rud has held the position ever since, as no bronze but Olanth seems able to catch Kimuth. The new Weyrleadership was celebrated with another child of Y'rud and Salina's, this time a daughter whom they named Allina.
       Since the shakes, Y'rud has lost some of his vitality but remains as steadfast in his authority over the Weyr as always. Though he has been lucky enough not to lose any family, the sheer, defeating statistics that stand against the dragonriders has been enough to depress his spirits in the face of this insurmountable task.

Dragon Information

Name: Olanth

Age: 26 Turns

Color: bronze

Personality: Olanth was born to be the lifemate of a leader. Due to a dragon's short memory span, Olanth has not retained the sorrow from the shakes that Y'rud has, and Olanth prefers to remain optimistic in light of tragedy. This bronze is excellent at giving orders quickly, and he is also nearly as charismatic as a queen dragon. Thanks to Y'rud's tutelage, Olanth does everything swiftly and efficiently, and he moves with a natural grace that is uncommon for such a large dragon. Olanth is very much Kimuth's bronze, and though he still chases in other gold and green flights, he rarely wins any other female.

Where impressed: Ista Weyr