Persona Name: Sierrata
Gender: Female
Sexual preference: Heterosexual
Persona Age: 22
Birthing date: M4, D15
Occupation and Rank: Retired Goldrider, Sr. Apprentice Weaver
Persona Location: Dusk Forest WeyrHold
Owned By: Jen
Rank Requirements: 3 Post a Pern Month

Physical Description: On the plump side, Sierrata stands 5'5 and weighs about 140 lbs. Her honey blond hair is mostly straight with a touch of curl at the ends. It's constantly getting into her face while she's trying to work, so she usually has it pinned back into a knot at her nape. There's not much there to pin though, since she keeps it trimmed just to shoulder length. Sier's eyes are a deep blue; A few people have commented that she looks like a startled animal, because they're rather large.

She has an average figure - a little on the small-chested side, which has yet to bother her. Her clothes are cut to flatter, something that she takes special pride in, with her weaver background. They tend towards earthy deep golds and browns, as well as some shades of blue and green. If you ever see her in something not of those colors, well, she must be in a daring mood.

Personality: As a child and teenager, Sier was always a disappointment to her family, so she likes to fade into the background as much as possible. Only if she's totally sure of where she stands will she speak up. When she and Serapith were in weyrling training, this trait drove both the Weyrlingmaster and the Senior Weyrwoman to nights of worry; How would their newest queenrider ever be able to lead? After awhile, they forced her to push aside her shyness and discomfort in social situations, however much Sierrata hated it.

She has a temper, but it takes a lot to bring it out, since she hates making a scene. What happens in private is a whole other matter. Sierrata's shyness is her biggest downfall, and yet her greatest asset, since it makes people underestimate her.

On the other hand, she treats those who have gotten close to her with bouts of moodiness. At times childish, others bitter or angry, but most often simply resigned, it's hard to know how to take her. A mindhealer said something she's given a lot of thought to: "You're so insecure in yourself and how people think of you, that you need constant reassurance that they love you. You _expect_ them to prove they don't - by walking out on you when you have these moods, or by not giving the right answers when you ask them if they care." Since Sier hates the idea of this being true, it's something that she's doing a lot of work on, hoping that she can overcome it.

Background: Born the child of a Keroonan beastcrafter, Sierrata was the 'ugly duckling' of her family. Her mother, Asieta, was a spiteful, shallow creature whose entire life had been focused on her appearance, making sure that she was the first of her friends to marry and produce those all important children. When her sixth child turned out to be yet another girl, she was unhappy to say the very least. She wanted to give her husband a son!

That bitterness was turned on Sierrata as she grew, until when the girl was five, Asieta gave birth to her next child - a healthy baby boy. From that point on, Sierrata and her sisters may as well have not even been there as far as her mother was concerned. She considers her oldest sister Tasieri to be her true mother. Nearly ten turns older, her sister was the one who made sure the girls had the things they needed.

Shunned by her mother, and therefore by her father also, she found her only refuge was to keep herself so busy that no one could find fault with anything _other_ than her looks, eventually discovering that she had a talent for sewing. Since she was unable to apprentice to the Weaver Hall, there wasn't much that she could do, other than learn from the other women at Keroon.

Shortly after her 14th birthingday, her father was transferred to Dusk Forest Weyrhold's territory. In the first independent move of her life, Sierrata quietly searched out the local Hallmaster and asked to apprentice. When her parents objected, saying a girl had no business wanting to be a crafter, she appealed to her mother's shallow nature, saying that if Sierrata couldn't be beautiful, she could at least make others more beautiful with her work. She walked out of the room with her mother's assurances that she would talk her father around.

Three turns passed, nearly four, and Sierrata was promoted to Senior Apprentice. Soon, Sierrata thought, she'd be free to do as she liked - as a Journeywoman! Her father had already given up on finding her a husband. A searchrider proved her wrong, asking her to stand as a Candidate for the next Hatching.

That day sent her plans for her craft out the door, for when the coveted gold egg hatched, the newborn queen made a beeline straight for Sierrata.

She worked through her weyrlinghood, doing a lot of growing up in a very short time. Sierrata was unprepared for the complications related to being a goldrider, particularly Serapith's first mating flight. She found herself in a growing relationship with a bronzerider by the name of A'naron, who introduced her to romance before the actual flight happened. Before that flight could happen though, Dusk Forest's Weyrleader was killed in a Threadfall accident that left both of the adult golds in retirement. Before she'd even graduated from Weyrling Training, Sierrata was Dusk Forest's Lady.

Her relationship with A'naron turned out to be lucky for her, since it was J'syn's bronze Mnalith who ended up winning that first flight. Since she and J'syn were on such bad terms, there were several months after her graduation where life was really uncomfortable for Sierrata. Little did she know, it was only going to get worse.

No sooner than she'd gotten settled into her newfound authority, disaster struck, in the form of an earthquake. While Serapith's clutch hardened on the sands of the Hatching grounds, part of the cavern collapsed, destroying all the hardening eggs, as well as trapping Serapith for nearly a day as they tried to release her from the rubble. Sierrata suffered a concussion from a glancing blow to the head, but the small alcove that her bed was in was relatively unharmed. Once they freed her, the dragonhealers confirmed that one of the young queen's wings had been broken, and there were several internal injuries, including one to her lower abdomen.

In the wake of the disaster at Dusk Forest, the majority of the survivors transferred to Dawn Meadows Weyrhold. Unfortunately, their respite there was short-lived, due to conflicts between the leaders of both weyrs. It wasn't long before J'syn and Sierrata, still barely on speaking terms, set out looking for a location to start a new weyr.

Serapith was still unable to fly for long distances, or at any height, so the goldrider was forced to fly with J'syn.

It has been nearly two turns, but they finally found a place that the both of them can agree on calling home.

Attached NPCs:
Artape, 53, Sr. JM Beastcrafter, Father
Asieta, 47, wife, Mother
Tasieri, 29, wife, Oldest Sister/Foster Mother
Rateia, 27, wife, Sister
Petrae, 26, wife, Sister
Isita, 24, wife, Sister
Saisse, 22, Greenrider (Aarinath), Sister
Petaer, 15, Jr. Apprentice Beastcrafter, Brother
Ataisi, 14, Candidate, Sister
Tesar, 10, Weyrbrat, Brother

Dragon Name: Serapith
Age: 4
Riders age at Impression: 18
Color: Gold

Dragon Description: Serapith is a stunning honey gold that pales down to a color very near white on her stomach, with deeper amber tones on her wings and face. With her strong, thickly built form, her build is close to perfection with proportionate wings, neck and tail. Her hide is marred by scars across her belly and tail from being trapped in Dusk Forest's hatching cavern, along with smaller, less obvious ones across her back. Rather than deterring from her beauty though, the imperfections on her back catch the light and almost sparkle like diamond-cut jewelry. The scars on her stomach aren't noticeable from the side, only from underneath. Since Serapith still can't fly well at this point and isn't the type to sprawl on her side in her sleep, very few people have ever seen them.

Serapith lives on attention and loves knowing that everyone adores her. She knows she is one of the rare gold dragons and uses it to her advantage, but that's the worst part of her personality, and one that most people in any weyr are familiar with. She can be sweet and nice to no end but only if she chooses to - which isn't very often. Laziness is a substantial option from time to time, and she'll be the first to tell you that she _is_ doing something when you accuse her of it! She's sleeping, dozing, thinking, or admiring the view, thank you very much! She thinks she always knows what's best for her rider, and is known to take part in her conversations with sharp and sarcastic comments.