WEBLEY! WE’BEY! We’ve delighted in your character, in your RP, and in your sweet disposition! We’re so excited to have you and we’re even MORE excited to Impress you in Igen’s first PC Search Cycle! Did you think you would actually get away?? Hah! We’ve snagged you, captured you, and called you Saytomarth’s! We’bey’s life is doomed — er — just starting now!! ~ Eiko, Hannah, Tuli

Clutching Pose

Jivayath definitely doesn't like the way Vergora is looking at her. She really doesn't like the way that Vergora is looking at Sadaiya; she turns to hiss at the other dragon, but at the last minute backs off, sense and protective instinct winning out. Especially since she has another egg to lay — she has to be quick, wow the crowds, stake her claim on these sands, after all — and there's enough room in the hole she's made to safely store another.

Casualty to Prohibition Egg

Shades of brown weave together across the shell of this smallish, barrel shaped egg, forming the illusion of dry, rotted wood. Accents of green-tinged brass ring the rotund middle of the rough-textured shell, as well as the top and bottom, reminiscent of aged wine casks. Hints of burgundy and amber seep 'round the bottom, where the egg rests in the heated sands. Despite the heady expectation of fine, aged alcohol, the only feeling this little egg gives is that of dry, parched disappointment.

Hatching Message


Casualty to Prohibition Egg has given its last shimmy. All those small movements were simply the build up to what is to come. With a sudden explosion of energy, the egg is a wild, spastic thing! Zigging and zagging, wiggling and waggling, turning upside down and flopping all about! There is no small crackling along the ovoid, oh no, simply a loud CRACK that has the shell dismantling and showering down to the sands. In the place of that egg stands A Queen's Thirst for Blood Green Dragonet. With her head held high and eyes swirling red, she wastes not a second before moving away from the remains of her captivity.

A Queen's Thirst for Blood Green Dragonet

Flawless in posture and position, this willful creature defies the camouflaging canopy of her rainforest hide: tiny, but fierce! Verdant greens cascade from wedge-shaped head to sweep peerless emerald down the slope of jagged neckridges, a glittering armament of spiked spine. The supple strength of character is writ in the soft underbelly loam that tumbles over narrow chest, curves about rounded barrel and disappears into her flanks. Fearless courage lifts wings heavensward heedless of obstacle or ramification, for they are marvels of aerial engineering: beauty and function and sweet, wicked danger manifest in translucent hues of malachite. Deception is for the weak, and she is anything but: all that she is lies in proud display, fiery passion and a bold gaze of savage nobility.

Public Impression Pose

A Queen's Thirst for Blood Green Dragonet does not waver in her resolve. She marches by candidate after candidate, not even giving them her barest of consideration. There is no need to sniff about the white-robed figures, trying to find her sister. Oh no. For this is a dragon who already knows her future, already knows what and who she wants. There is no rush to her movements, simply proud steps that bring her closer and closer to the dark, curly haired candidate. The male candidate. The male Candidate who calls to her unlike any other, who will be her heart-sister and man-at-arms. Finally, she reaches her destination and stands tall in front of Webley, raising her own swirling gaze to that of the young man. Kneel before me, for you are now mine!

Private Impression Message

There is no gentle introduction between dragon and rider, no subtle or light touches to aid the adjustment that is the sheer confusion that is sharing one's mind with another. One moment it is just you alone in the confines of your own mind, and the next there is another there, forcing her will upon you! « Webley? No.. You are We’bey now. I expect you to obey this. » Her voice slaps into being, the distant sound of swords clashing on an ancient beach echoing behind the very words she speaks. Heat emits from her very presence within your subconscious. Flames reach up from her mental bonfire, licking at every inch of your thoughts and leaving no place unmarred from her intrusion. The smell of burning wood, along with the crackling of the roaring fire, soaking into every ridge and cranny. The conquering is complete, Webley is no more, We’bey has emerged from this binding of two beings. Smugness radiates now, as well as the tinkering feeling of acceptance, respect, and just a little bit of love. « You may call me Saytomarth, for that is my name. We will make a strong team, you and I. I hope you are prepared, for it is battle I crave! Let’s be off! » Finally the invader ebbs just a tad, taking of residence in the back of your mind. And there she will say, for all time.

Egg Inspiration

The prohibition movement! What Roaring 20s theme would be complete without the ban on Alcohol!

Theme Inspiration

The dragonet theme this clutch is… Ancient Civilizations! As you might imagine, it meshed beautifully with your own request of a fierce Amazon centered in Greek mythology. A few possibilities were tossed around, including Ancient Greece itself, as well as Ancient Carthage, before we settled on a slightly more out-of-the-box decision: one of the likeliest contenders for the inspiration of the Greek myth of the fearsome Amazons, ancient Scythia.

The tough Scythians were a nomadic herder people inhabiting much of central Eurasia, including modern day Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and a large chunk of southern Russia. Warlike and stubbornly independent in the best nomad tradition, the Scythians provided a particularly tough nut to crack for their southern neighbors in the expansionist Persian empire. Which leads us to the subject of Tomyris.

If Herodotus is to be believed, it was Queen Tomyris of the Massagetae (a tribe of Scythian origins) who proved the final undoing of Cyrus the Great. After Cyrus attempted to invade and conquer her homeland, capturing and causing the death of her son and general, as well as a large portion of her army, Tomyris challenged the great Persian emperor to a rematch. Though outnumbered, the Massagetae got the upper hand, and Cyrus lost his head — and Tomyris stuffed it, and the rest of his corpse, into a wineskin filled with blood. To quench his thirst for it, she said.

Ferocious queen and determined leader, Tomyris seemed a natural choice to inspire your Amazonian Saytomarth! We’ve worked bits and pieces of other Amazons of myth and fiction in, too, from elements of Melanippe in her mindvoice to a touch of Atalanta in her feelings towards flights. There is little soft to your Satyomarth, but there’s much to admire — and, hopefully, much for you to love!

Description Inspiration

When Hannah approached Q’fex and said: okay, make a fiery, passionate, amazon-warrior, there was a little discussion to pin down exactly what was to be designed. What came of it: a warrior-queen green in the spirit of Aevryscienth herself. Q’fex fancies that somewhere back in the lineage, Aevryscienth is represented in Saytomarth’s bloodline. Her colors are inspired by the colors of the jungle and the malachite butterfly:

sayto1.jpgsayto2.png


As for the rest of her…. She’s proud, your Saytomarth: the strength of her personality is in every visual line, every transcendent curve, from the proud tilt of her head to the arrogant flare of her wings. She is the jungle-cat ready to pounce, a little slice of Southern come to rest at Igen.

Name Inspiration

Webley! We’bey! We started with an idea: Queen Tomyris of Scythia, one of the potential places where the Amazons were located thousands of years ago! We started with some ideas, but when we came across the phrase, To'marisning Aytgani, which means “The Sayings of Tomyris”, we knew this was the way we wanted to go!

We did different combinations. Nothing worked. Until we stumbled upon Saytomarth.

And it just *fit*. It had all the qualities you wanted: Nothing soft and sweet, not too hard to spell, not too hard to say, and most importantly it has a solid length! And it flows real well with We’bey.

Now onto the rest of the inspiration, we are proud to present your Saytomarth! May you love her as much as we have loved writing her!

Mindvoice

It starts with a whisper in the darkness. A single flickering flame that illuminates the sands of an ancient beach. This single flame in the midnight darkness expands to be a bonfire that shines fire-orange light across these ancient sands to trees even more ancient and somehow different to what you’re used to Webley — or should we say We’bey? A ferocity comes to play as the image of a painted woman dancing around this bonfire manifests. Her face is hidden in shadow but her war cry is unmistakable.

sayto3.jpg


That war cry, We’bey, is for you. It’s a song of joy, of pain, of celebration. But see, she’s not alone. Not only does she have you, but she has her sisters. Like ghosts, faceless nameless sisters gather around her, around this special place within the link between you and her that forms this mindlink. Her sisters are the greens in her weyr, the females that you might collect along the pathway of your life, but they will all collect within her mindvoice, kept and treasured even when they have long since turned to dust in terms of your relationship (or her relationship) with them.

Call it a quirk of her mind, for she may never remember all the greens she comes in contact with, but her mental sisterhood will grow. Nameless, painted women.

sayto4.jpg


Which means, We’bey, you’d better watch out. On when she’s a baby, the ferocity is contained to just her mental representation. But as soon as she meets her clutchsisters, the game will change. Daylight, twilight, the ancient beach will be riddled with the sounds of weapons. Spears whistling through the air, the clang of short swords. The image of one-bare-breasted women whose faces lie in shadows fighting in the jungles that border the beach upon which she makes her mental mindscape — oh yes.

“Saytomarth… um… you’re keeping me awake…” you might try to remind those first few nights.

The clang of steel against steel, the whisper of a spear racing through the forested jungles that ring the pale-sand beach of an ancient, black sea. « What? How am I keeping you awake? » Her husky tones are patronizing, speaking to you like a small boy trying to control his sister.

“I mean you are very loud!”

The sounds of weapons, of fighting, of female war-cries fade into the whisper of the shadows of twilight. Warmth from eternally burning bonfires set along this ancient beach flare, tickling your mind. Fickle as she is, her sudden acquiescence worries you, but you don’t know why. « Okay. Good night, my We’bey. » The image of a painted woman with one breast bared to the world dances in joy and celebration around that bonfire… in celebration yes, but also in feral, cunning glee.



Never, ever, ever, ever try to control her. Okay, you’ll have to at some point, but pick your battles! Because she will rage against the injustices against females by Igen and by the world in which she was born. Just because she’s green and a girl.

”Don’t worry, Saytomarth, we’ll get our chance next time.” By the time you try for wingleader or wingsecond, you will be used to the rages of fire and passion that she can fly into. So you better be quick to try to stem the storm!

Gone is the ancient beach — well not gone. It’s there, dancing out of view from the rough porthole of the ship upon which she’s trapped. Slavers — men — hold her down, preventing her freedom. Of choice! Of rank! Her phantom sisters run along the shores, chasing the ship, shooting arrows and spears that never quite reach. « It’s my time! » Her voice is a howl of rage. Fire licks at the ships bottom as those who’d try to keep her caged manifest as evil-doers in her landscape. She struggles to break free…



And you struggle to hold onto her. To keep her from doing something that would just get her (and you!) in trouble. Oh, We’bey… she’s a fighter. And when she feels that she’s been wronged, be prepared to have to break her free of her imprisonment — from the males that hold her captive on her inner ship, where freedom (her beach) is just out of reach.

sayto5.jpg


Otherwise, you will have to deal with the discomfort of her anger and the piercing calls of her phantom sisters all throughout the long days and nights until she’s forgotten. While her sisters don’t actually exist and don’t actually have weapons, their sharp little mental manifestations are uncomfortable to feel jabbing into your own mind when you’re trying to sleep… eat… seduce…

When she’s troubled, the black seas will crash against the ancient shores, but never will the bonfires burn out. Oh, they might burn low in times of true hardship, but never will the passion of her fury die out. She’s a handful, but she’s your handful.

Let us not forget about the males… To all the males she deigns to share that mental link with, they will be faced with her ever-growing sisterhood of phantom sisters. Weapons raised. Focused eerily upon the intruder who dares to touch upon the unspoiled beaches that form the visual representation of Saytomarth. Perhaps it is wise for you to warn those males who may want to talk to your warrior in those first days of babyhood. Before she’s gotten the control…

When Jovianth’s mind touches her, the fierceness of Saytomarth’s mental aggressiveness is honed on him. The few phantom sisters that she’s collected retreat to the shadows of the jungle that borders the sweep of white-sand beach, but the glints of metal on the tips of spears, on the ends of arrows, cannot be denied. He’s prey — all males are prey — so all of her attention is honed upon the blue.

» Saytomarth… « You may try to warn.

Your warning may work — or it may not — but if it does, her control slips enough that one arrow flies free, coming out of the jungle to land upon the dingy that all males are held to when they touch Saytomarth’s mind. Did it hurt? Did it warn him of her prowess as a hunter? A touch of satisfaction lingers when she whispers, her nameless sisters giving husky laughs in the background, « Serves him right, We’bey… »



For you are the only male she tolerates. You are the only male who isn’t relegated to a dingy on dark, choppy waters. To look upon the lush lands of her inner self and covet. No matter who they are, if they are male, they will never step upon those pristine beaches. For her sisters…? Why, her sisters have free reign of the borders of her existence. Whether they are true sisters or not — for she does not distinguish between clutch sisters and other sisters; they are all sisters — or whether they are gold or green; on two legs or four, if they are female, they are cherished here.

Males… well. You’ll often find yourself eerily alone, hidden at the edges of the jungle with so many female eyes watching you. You; the only male allowed past the waters of the black seas. We hope you’re ready, We’bey!

However, it is during the epic battle of dragon against Thread that her mindscape really soars, painting the skies in such richness that you might even have trouble flying Thread the first few times until you realize that the phantom sisters aren’t really there, but that their spears help direct you and Saytomarth to your ultimate goal: the fierce burning of thread.

She’s fierce, your Saytomarth. Woven of fire and water, passion and compassion, threaded with the golden thread of love. Love for you. Love for her sisters. And she will revel in it; a wild queen that dances to a song that you’ve never heard before, on the ancient shores of a long-past beach, where black seas rage and the skies above shine brightly with Rukbat’s brilliance or glint softly in the hour of dawning twilight. Above all, she is your warrior-queen, We’bey.

sayto6.jpg

Physicalities

Saytomarth is not a beautiful dragon, nor is she an ugly dragon or a wallflower dragon. She is a striking dragon; beautiful in a sense. Her attractiveness derives from the same origin as when a powerful Southern feline tears down its prey, leaving any voyeur a sense of awe-inspired glory in the miracle of nature. Compared to Kyara’s Liareth, she would not have that ageless beauty, per se. Yet Saytomarth has a feral charisma that’s hard to ignore, even harder not to see.

From the moment she’s shelled, you’d better be on your toes. Saytomarth stalks the world as she would large game prey, reveling in the feel of her muscles, in the way her wings move just so, and the whip-like way her tail can swat at the things around her. Each step across those hatching sands chews the ground, grinding it between her toes as she is not a gentle dragon. However, this theme will carry on into the rest of your life, for she is willful, powerful, and of a stubborn mind of her own that even you cannot break down.

When she’s a baby, she will be a calamity in the barracks.

“Sayto-!” You’ll get part of her name out the moment before she’s destroying something simply because she wants to test her wings out.

Wind howls across the ancient beach as Rukbat sets sail behind the horizon letting a blast of orange light be the final breath of a dying day. Fires flicker, dance, casting their shadows upon the phantom sisters that let loose their warrior’s cry. « I got it! Did you see! I got it! » Her strident voice, husky and rising from contralto to mezzo-soprano in pure, unadulterated glee, pounds into your thoughts as the black seas churn.

“But yes… you got… but you killed the oil pot and now we have oil to clean up…” You may be at a loss for words, your numb thoughts allowing you to stutter out… “Sayto…”

Still her revelry will not be denied. Neither will her destructive tendencies — oh she never means it, We’bey. Well, almost never..



She’s a wild creature and she acts it; but always woven through her acts is the good of her sisters. Poor Jovianth’s going to bear the brunt of some of her tendencies to attempt to override what she doesn’t agree with, especially the first time he receives favor when she doesn’t. Beware the wrath of your warrior-queen’s ire, for it will come — let us hope that you’ve learned the art of redecoration!

Fire and passion manifest in the physical world as a pure zest for life that eclipses a great many dragons. However, in terms of size she’s closer to a smaller oldtimer than not, sitting comfortably larger than nowtimer greens but still small enough that some may, ah, mistake her ability to get into trouble.

Oh We’bey, you’ll have to remind the weyr that despite her size, your green has power. She’s built more like a powerful feline than with the butterfly’s delicate structure. Her muscles are strong, compact, and will aid in her ability to fly Thread longer than her peers of equivalent size. She’s not given to fat, see, for all the energy within and all the desire to be outside and doing stuff, you’ll find that you have to feed her more in order for her not to get too thin.

sayto7.jpg

So imagine this in form, only colored in those luscious greens!


Getting her to eat will be a trick, too. For she’s far too busy championing her sisters to have time for food. Oh, she’ll like a nice bloody hunk of meat like any other dragonet, but you’ll have to come up with some pretty tricksy ways to get her to sit still long enough to eat. She’s kind of like Kehemath in this way — but unlike Kehemath’s penchant for play your Saytomarth is driven by the desire to show the males around her that being female is not being less. So she’ll not be satisfied by the toys that kept Kehemath’s attention at bay, but perhaps Sienna will know a few tricks to keep a highly intelligent, driven girl entertained that leaves you moments of peace!

Because you’ll need them, We’bey. That and you’d better learn to eat on the go, because Saytomarth has no more desire to wait on you to eat than she does herself!

Dear, dear, We’bey. You’re now a greenrider, and according to Igen’s hierarchy, that’s sometimes thought of as the lowest of the dragonriders, but your green… she does not think this is true. So, she’ll compete — and actually come out on top most of the time — her fellow blues, and she’ll struggle to be as good as her larger chromatic counterparts — the browns — though success is very rare here just given the sheer size difference. Despite being smaller, she is equally capable of pitting herself against the blues, however. She’s more nimble in the skies, and easily maneuverable on the ground. Her flaws lie in two places: 1) Temper and 2) Her tendency to act before she thinks.

A stillness has come to the beaches of her mind. Even her phantom sisters have disappeared into the jungles, keening a sound of fury and impotence that chills the bones. « I cannot even best the fattest dragon in Igen for stamina! Imevharameyth can last longer in flight than I can! It is not fair! » Husky tones carry an innate grief at her inability to overcome nature’s limits, the warrior’s dance around the beach’s bonfire laden with sadness and a sense of failure.

”No, no, Sayto!” Perhaps her babyhood nickname stuck for how many times you’ve tried to yell out Saytomarth and only got to Sayto before her destruction was complete. “You’re better than he is, it’s just that he is so much larger. You need to think about how quick you are. How easily you will be able to get to the Thread. He is a fat boat of a dragon who will get scored waaaaay before you!” It will be up to you to encourage her, to not let biology break that fierce spirit.

« You really think so? » Moments of vulnerability are rare and never exposed to anyone but you. Beware, however, if you act wrong or don’t appreciate just how difficulte it is for Saytomarth to open up… well Hell hath no fury greater than a woman scorned — or in this case angry!

”Yes, yes I do. Now come and show that fat slob just what a green can do!”



She’s a fierce warrior, We’bey, and after time passes and she proves herself, even the biggest doubters of Igen will not be able to say that she’s not fighting dragon material. The warrior in her is for the weyr, however, but when it’s just you and her… oh, the world is so different.

This is when you’ll find all the hidden spots of beauty on your lifemate. The way her talons have this faint irridescent glitter to them under Rukbat’s gentle caress. The way the light of the moons adds a touch of ethereal quality to the verdant greens of her hide, making you question whether she’s real. The fires of her linked mind remind you very quickly that she is, indeed, real.

In the solitude of your weyr — and it is when you get your own weyr that you’ll discover her secrets — you’ll find that her hide is warm enough to cocoon and softer than it looks. That the proud stance of her body hides an innate grace that can allow her to take the smallest steps and look like a Lady doing it. Not that she’ll be caught dead looking graceful in public. But when you’re alone — whether in the solitude of Igen’s night-time desert or on the ledge in the deepest hours of night when everyone’s sleeping — she’ll be given to dance. It’s a dragon’s dance, to be sure, without the finer tuned movements of your human hands and feet. Yet a feral beauty is lent to the way her body will move, her wings will vane and collapse back against her back, the way her tail will move. If anyone were to ever discover this secret of hers — and she’ll prefer to dance around a fire, so be prepared to learn how to make bonfires! — perhaps Kyara would best understand.

So you see, We’bey, you might be among the greenriders of Igen weyr, but your Saytomarth is your dream made flesh; born for you and found that winter’s day on Igen’s Hatching sands from a gold four hundred turns in the past and one of Igen’s very own bronzes.

She’s your joy, your compassion, your rage, your fury, your warrior’s spirit all rolled into one: Saytomarth. Whether she’s flying or fighting, hunting or training, she does nothing halfway. For her, it’s all or nothing; so in the physical world, she excels, giving others the sharp edges of her warrior’s temper, and bonding with her sisters to champion their causes. Still, in the quiet of the night, she’s there for you, and you alone. It is in this stillness, snuggled up against the warmth and softness of her side, that all your secrets can be shared. She is yours, We’bey.

Personality

Anything you can do,
I can do better.
I can do anything
Better than you.

No, you can't.
Yes, I can. No, you can't.
Yes, I can. No, you can't.
Yes, I can,
Yes, I can!

Anything you can be
I can be greater.
Sooner or later,
I'm greater than you.

No, you're not. Yes, I am.
No, you're not. Yes, I am.
No, you're NOT!. Yes, I am.
Yes, I am!

— “Anything You Can Do” - Annie Get Your Gun



From the very moment Saytomarth breaks shell and binds the two of you together forever, there will be a constant battle of wills. We’bey versus Saytomarth, Saytomarth versus We’bey. While she both loves and respects you as her rider, she also sees you as her greatest opponent. Just by being male, you are the very thing she must constantly try to overcome. To try to prove to you (even if you might not need the proving) her worth and greatness. Her gender will always be used against her, and with that comes the smaller stature that comes with being a green dragon. She knows very well that by choosing you as her dragonrider, she has doomed you to the life of a greenrider. Always to be ordered about, never to be truly in charge. It’s something she strives to change for all of Pern, not just the progressive Igen Weyr. This one challenge is easily the most important task she has set for both herself and for you. The desire for change burns within the very ichor in her veins and is the main reason for her more aggressive personality.

More the reason she will push you, We’bey. Push and push and push! Trying to make you become all that you can be, while at the same time continuing her own personal growth. She is not one who is known to be polite, your warrior queen green. Often Saytomarth will be barking out orders, expecting them to be obeyed. This is where the battle between rider and dragon will start, because surely there will be times that her commands will not be what you want to do. It’s in her nature to expect others to bow down to her fortitude, for there was never before a green born with the sheer force of will to contend with even the mightiest of bronze dragons. You and her will clash, often, though always remember with every contention between the two of you there is an underlying current of mutual respect.

“Though the sex to which I belong is considered weak you will nevertheless find me a rock that bends to no wind.”

- Queen Elizabeth I



Saytomarth is an enigma during a time when females are considered lesser folk. When smaller, chromatic dragons, while still viable, are seen as weaker in the wake of their larger siblings. This is a green who breaks all the molds, shatters all the stereotypes, and constantly strives for bigger achievements and greater conquests! And of course, as her dragonrider, you will be dragged along for the ride. Whether you like it or not. Her personality and attitude, the sheer amount of force she can exude at times, is easily that of a dragon in charge, a queen, if you will. Only her hide is quite green. It matters not, for she is not one to feel ashamed at her color. She’s a proud green dragon, happily showing that chromatics have a large and productive place in the Pern of Now!

As stated, while you are her rider, you are also her adversary. The same can be said for every other dragon, but in particular her clutchsiblings and in the future, her wingmates. She’ll always try to out do them. She will want to be the first to fly, the first to have a clean landing, the first to go between. Saytomarth must always be first, in all things, or at least one of the best. And should another dragon cross the proverbial finish line before her? Prepare for your queenly green to explode in a fit of temper! Because oh, her temper, Faranth forbid, her temper! It is epic, full of flame and fury! It is Saytomarth’s greatest flaw. She has no control when she gets angry, when something does not go the way she intends. This is much different than her usual desire for you (and others) to listen to her commands. This is when she is made to look the fool, when another dragon or rider heaps an insult on either you or herself. That is when this green’s tenuous hold on her ire is released and she gives her rage free reign to hack and slash those who dared to insult herself or those she cares deeply for! What’s more, she will never, ever back down from a fight. She has no qualms with using her teeth and talons to draw blood. It will take all of your control to try to rein in your green’s ferocious personality at these moments.

“We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat. They do not exist.”

Queen Victoria



It is in Saytomarth’s nature to protect others she deems weaker than she. Like any great monarch, it is her duty to ensure the safety of those she has decided to shelter beneath her proverbial (and literal) wings. This of course does not simply just mean those smaller than her. Even her larger clutchsiblings or wingmates fall into this category if they have a gentler constitution. The soft-hearted, the meek, the small, the fragile, all of these people and dragons will find themselves thrown behind Saytomarth’s considerable presence. She is the shield between those who wish to belittle or harm the ones your green has sworn to protect.

This actually lends itself to some slight issues between you and Saytomarth when it comes to… smal animals. While one would not exactly call your green an avid animal lover, there is something just so very meek about a baby animal that calls to her to scoop up and take home. If you are lucky, We’bey, it will be a baby feline or canine, possibly abandoned from its owners or parents. If you are unlucky, you’ll find your weyr and ledge full of newly hatched tunnelsnakes hissing and trying to take a hunk out of your leg should you disturb their hiding place beneath your cot.

I warned you that I would quench your thirst for blood, and so I shall.

- Queen Tomyris, after stuffing the corpse of Cyrus the Great into a blood-filled wineskin



Saytomarth has a black-and-white comprehension of right and wrong, one that — at least at first — has little room for mercy. As a young dragon she will not flinch to bring tooth or claw to bear when her gall rises at some perceived miscarriage of justice. She likely won’t do… significant… damage, but it will nevertheless prove a problem for you, and for your clutchmates. Saytomarth wants JUSTICE done, even if it comes at a cost — sometimes, even if the cost is to her. Because if she becomes convinced she’s committed (however accidental) some injustice (however petty), she will be the first to march herself to the Weyrlingmaster and request (demand) justice be done, and take her punishment with grim satisfaction.

Part of the problem is that she has a warrior’s honor to go with her warrior queen’s heart. (Though she will probably never admit it, she may find certain amongst the male enemy, those like Dhioth and Chekalveith, to be… well… likeable is too strong a word, but respectable, in the way they too share her honorbound worldview.) Not only doesn’t she see the shades of gray that dictate mercy: she doesn’t WANT to. In this, of course, you may clash. Son of Igen that you are, We’bey, you see grays everywhere — and this completely confounds her. Over time, she may come to terms with it, and come to see a well-placed lie as possessing a strategic value she can admire. Or she may not, and you will find yourself in the awkward ranks of those riders (Igen has so many of them!) who can’t quite share EVERYTHING they get up to with their lifemates.

Yet sometimes… and it will rare at first, but as she ages and finds balance within herself, it will begin to happen more and more… Saytomarth is capable of a queen’s wisdom as well as a queen’s rage. You’ll see it in her moments of compassion, when her pity and protectiveness is stirred — she will prove herself surprisingly eloquent in speaking on behalf of the weak, guarding them not just with tooth and claw but with well-chosen words. You’ll see it in flashes of practicality, when she focuses her energies on the general good. You’ll see it even, at least occasionally, in the advice she might choose to give you, when you find yourself struggling with your new place in life or with a challenge further down the road.

Those moments of compassion and wisdom never last, of course. Saytomarth is a gyroscope with its axis on ‘fierce’. But then, your fiery-hearted warrior queen wouldn’t be herself otherwise, would she?

Thread

Come of age just as a new Pass dawns, Saytomarth is a warrior born and bred, and the skies are her battlefield. If First Fall chances to come before she is able to participate in it, she will never forgive the Red Star the slight. If she is amongst the first dragons to rise against the ancient enemy, she will never stop bragging about it. These inevitable battles she must face are not mere instinct for her, nor pure necessity. This is what she LIVES for.

Never one to cede an INCH to those who dismiss her gender and color, Threadfall will give Saytomarth a quandary she may never fully come to terms with. Her size dictates that she will rarely be permitted to fly a full Fall. Her pride dictates that she should stay. This is a conundrum for her, and she’s going to tend to make her problem YOUR problem. Though she will NEVER admit to it, there might even be the occasional flash of… disappointment… in the form she otherwise takes a warrior’s pride in. Why can’t she be just a liiiiittle bit bigger? Why can’t she have just a liiiiiittle bit more stamina? She’ll be particularly irate if her brother Jovianth is permitted the privilege that she is denied — particularly as she never dislikes Jovianth more than when he’s strutting around post-Flight.

You will probably not be terribly surprised to discover Saytomarth has courage in the face of peril. A little too much, even. She will never be one you must goad to fly, your warrior queen, no matter what catastrophes afflict her: for you, the challenge will be in getting her to lay down her arms, retreat, and set aside her pride to ensure she lives another day. Sometimes, this is easy: she is not a stupid dragon, and strategy comes naturally to her. She might have an easier time learning formations than you do, in fact. Sometimes, she is able to distinguish the calculated risk from the foolish one. Firestone is a thing she can use cleverly, sending forth sharp short bursts of flame into the heart of the enemy.

But if a Fall begins to go poorly, if those she loves begin to suffer? Her temper will flare. Oh, that temper of hers. It’s always been her fatal flaw, hasn’t it? And in battle, it can become a bloodlust of epic portions, a rising tide of RED that coaxes her to drop every restriction and ignore every weakness. Sometimes it will seem as if she would fly straight to the Red Star herself, if you would let her. And it is when things begin to go wrong, We’bey, that you must shine — or suffer the consequences. Perhaps the battles of will in everyday routine are Saytomarth’s subconscious way of preparing you for the (literal) fight of your life: teaching you how to read her, how to coax her, and even (sometimes) how to force obedience. She will rage, when it happens: but in the ashy aftermath, when she can look back and see what might have been, that she may swallow her queenly pride and, very quietly, thank you.

There is one other thing that will - with a little luck, and a little time - help Saytomarth learn to master her bloodlust herself. And that is the very comrades whose pain so infuriates her. Saytomarth’s sense of responsibility is great, and her urge to protect is great. From the start, she will be one to move heaven and earth to come to the aid of a comrade. (Her beloved green sisters, especially — but in Fall, even the least of males is worth championing.) If she can be convinced that she must master her bloodrage for their sakes - and it won’t be easy - she will try. Here, you may find yourself not fighting the battle alone: her sisters Vazirynath and Liareth will likely prove especially helpful, but there are many around the Weyr with wisdom she may slowly choose to listen to. Though… not without an uphill climb.

Flights

Given her limited esteem for males, it should be little surprise that Saytomarth has limited esteem for flights, too. Like, for real. She kind of hates them, just a little. Or — well, let’s be specific. She’s fine with the lust itself. She likes the actual sensations of the flight. She enjoys the bitter tears of losing males. She definitely enjoys the sex.

But getting caught? By a male? NOT COOL.

First she’s proddy. Saytomarth will be flabbergasted to discover that she, unlike Liareth or Vazirynath, tends to err to the long side on proddiness, at least as far as greens go. Not the sevenday ordeals of golds, certainly, but expect her to take four or five days on average. She becomes hypercompetitive as her hide brightens. For the first — and ONLY, until the next cycle hits her — time in her life, expect her to seek out male companions during her free time… not to flirt, you understand, but to CHALLENGE. If a male wants Saytomarth’s attention, he had damn well better be up for a race, or feats of strength. She scorns outright flirtatiousness (though she might be coaxed to take the occasional offering of dead animal), and will send the dragon who tries to win her esteem with flattery back to his weyr with his tail between his legs. Only the strongest should consider themselves contenders for HER hand.

Her flights are lightning fast, and the red banner of battle gets unfurled — which is to say, Saytomarth is a terror of the skies. And she revels in it. All the acrobatic powers of the green form are on display, all the speed, all the wiles. All the fragile strings holding back the full force of her competitive itch and delight in battle snap, and she revels in these, too. Some greens pull a Jekyl and Hyde during a flight: Saytomarth is never more herself.

Still, she is a green: her flights don’t tend to last very long. And once she IS caught… Well, uh. Once the euphoria fades? Saytomarth is almost invariably furious. Some male interloper dared catch HER? The moment — the MOMENT — her lust fades, she is out of there as fast as her wings can carry her, to take herself (and her rumpled dignity) back to her weyr. And you, We’bey, are going to find yourself facing a problem: because Saytomarth expects you to attend to her in these times of shame. Whether or not you’re actually done with your half. Coitus interruptus draconis? Completely and painfully possible. You may find yourself wanting to seek out some tips from the riders of wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am dragons (see: Dhioth). Because you’re certainly not getting any help from Saytomarth herself.

But, well… the thing about Saytomarth is that sometimes she really enjoys a good excuse to get angry. She doesn’t like a good chance to get depressed. To be caught after a long flight by a slow-and-steady bronze or brown is humiliating for her, once the initial lust has receded: to falter by reason of her own exhaustion is unforgivable, and if that happens, she’ll have little to say but snarls in the aftermath. To be caught by clever strategy, though — that’s different. Because then she can get good and worked up about the DISHONOR of the victory, and rant, and plot, and perseverate. She’ll keep going until you long for a mental mute button, and the bitching will last until the draconic memory bubble finally (mercifully) pops and she moves on to other things.

And though she professes to hate hate hate HATE it… over time you may come to suspect she’s kind of enjoying herself. Just a little. Don’t tell anyone.

* * * *


In summary, your Saytomarth is whatever you want her to be. The Amazon Warrior-Queen who defends her sister’s rights through the test of time. The woman who rages against the constraints in nowtimer-Pern, the lifemate to drive We’bey crazy, the sky’s the limit and what we have done here is hopefully provided a starting point for you to build your lifemate on. Where you go from here, why it’s up to you! This inspiration is merely a guide to light the way in your RP journeys; feel free to use all, part or none of the inspiration as Saytomarth is for you and you alone! We hope you enjoy her as much as we enjoyed making her!

Credits

Name: Hannah, Tuli
Egg Desc: Hannah
Dragonet Desc: Q’fex
Messages: Lendai
Puppeteer: Hannah
Inspiration: Eiko, Hannah, Tuli, Q’fex

Clutchmates:
Vashae and blue Jovianth
Kyara and green Liareth
I’yn and green Vazirynath

Harper's Tale's 65th PC Clutch
Igen Weyr's 1st PC Clutch
Sadaiya's gold Jivayath and W'rin's bronze Valiuth
Vergora's gold Kohleth and N'thu's bronze Itzquintlith
July 12th, 2013