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Persona Name: Jhalis Former Name: n/a Rank: Master Glasscrafter Gender/Sexual Orientation: Male/Hetero Age: 59 Location: Tuock Hold Birthdate: I150.05.10 Birthplace: Telgar Weyr Parents: Nora, midwife, deceased R'bard, bronzerider of Thanobth/former Weyrleader of Telgar, deceased Foster Parents: n/a Siblings: Jeni, healer, 57, Telgar territory; Noranat, Cotholder/husband to Jeni, 62, Telgar territory; E'lrad, brownrider of Norith, 52, Telgar Weyr; Rina, cook/weyrmated to E'lrad, 45, Telgar Weyr; Numerous other half sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews and cousins. Children:Daughters: Ydari, 45, cotholder's wife; Liatha, 41, cook; Zira, 35, greenrider of Siranth(All in or around Telgar territory and Weyr); Son: Worrain, 16, Tuock Hold, apprentice glasscrafter; Weyrmate/Spouse: Nirina, 50, artist, Tuock Hold Others: Granddaughter Telnia, 16 (Liatha); Grandson Horast, 15 (Ydari); Granddaughter Samina, 13 (Ydari); Granddaughter Karan, 10 (Zira) Physical Description Eye color/shape: Brown Hair color/style: Jhalis's short, wavy, dark brown hair and beard are streaked with gray, framing a large nose, somewhat thin lips, bushy eyebrows and hooded brown eyes with wrinkles abounding. Height/Weight/Build:Jhalis is an imposing man (6 foot, 220 lbs), partially due to genetics, but mostly because the work he does requires a great deal of strength and stamina. After all, holding 10-20 lbs of glass on the end of a long pole for hours is hard work! He doesn't have the very strong, well-muscled body of his youth, but is still in very good shape for his age. Complexion: He tans well, but is noticing his face is going ruddy with age. Still, his wife doesn't seem to mind, so neither does he. Distinguishing Marks: The most noticeable marks are the old burn scars on his large, blunt hands. A few of the scars on his palms have traces of green pigment imbedded in the skin. Handedness: Left Jewelry/weapons: He still has the first piece he made so long ago, a lock of hair from each of his children, the ring Nirina gave him on their joining day, and various bits and pieces of things collected over the years. When it comes to his personal life, Jhalis isn't as neat as in the glass shop. Even now he can't seem to pick up his clothes despite much berating from his wife. Clothing: Jhalis tends to wear lightweight, close-fitting clothes. His shirts (of which he has 4) are usually V-necked with laces, long sleeved which he roles up, and rarely tucked in. Pants are looser, and are usually worn tucked into a pair of paint splattered old boots Earth tones abound, especially greens, blues, and browns. Over this he wears a heavy leather apron for protection, but rarely gloves. Only his gather clothes (which he hates wearing) indicate his rank. Black pants, boots, and green shirt with an embroidered black vest with cut glass fastenings are worn only on special occasions and when Nirina nags him enough. Background Jhalis was the firstborn of a true love match. His mother, Nora, was a midwife, stationed at Telgar Weyr when she met R'bard, a bronzerider there. He was instantly smitten, and after a long and drawn out chase, they were weyrmated. Jhalis grew up surrounded by the best that love is; strong, sure and romantic. Aside from his father's dragon flying an occasional gold, and once becoming a Weyrleader, they remained faithful to each other until her death. The bond produced two other children, Jeni and E'lrad. Growing up in the Weyr was heaven for Jhalis, being able to explore all the wonderful nooks and crannies. But one of his favorite spots to visit was the weyr of one of his father's wingmates. The rider had been an apprentice at the Glasscraft Hall before impressing. On the rare free time, he would create small pieces of stained glass and tell Jhalis about his apprenticeship. The young boy loved to hear about the masters and journeymen working as a team to turn raw silicon and colorants into fluted works of art using only heat and human breath. When he was old enough, Jhalis applied to join the hall. He was accepted, and found the work much more difficult than he had ever imagined. Also, a rank apprentice wasn't allowed to blow glass. His job was to clean up shattered glass, sort them from the bone piles and add them back into the kilns. Not very glamorous, but Jhalis found he enjoyed the work, dedicating long hours to learn all he could. Fairly well like and always ready to lend a hand, Jhalis learned quickly and showed promise. Eventually he worked his way up to being an annealer, gatherer and handling the paddles. As the Turns passed, the heavy work gave the boy muscles that belied his age, which usually attracted the notice of the occasional kitchen maid or drudge. But the time he had entered into his journeyman rank at age 18, he had already had several relationships and 2 children from separate women. The 2 daughters, named Ydari and Liatha, knew nothing but kindness from their father when they saw him. He would spend any extra marks on treats for them. Eventually, Jhalis convinced the women to foster his daughters out to his aunt and uncle, cotholders in Telgar territory. Life stopped cold for he and the rest of his family when his mother died that Turn. Devastated, his father, who at that time was the Weyrleader, resigned and spent several months in seclusion, grieving deeply for his lost love. Jhalis threw himself into his work, giving himself no time to think about his beloved mother. It was on one of his marathon work sessions that he became careless from fatigue and burned his hands. He was not severely injured, but the accident woke him up with a vengeance. Taking some time off from his studies, Jhalis spent several sevendays with his father, helping them both to overcome their grief and learning to remember Nora's life with love, not regret. It was during this time that Jhalis was Searched for the clutch hardening on the sands. Reluctantly agreeing, Jhalis went through the Candidate training and wore the white robe to the sands. Though he didn't impress he felt honored at having been searched. Not wanting to stand again, Jhalis returned to the Glass Hall to continue his journeyman training. He progressed from annealing work (which he had grown to hate), to blocking and blowing where he could add some creativity to the work. He was allowed to take small commissions and work on his own occasionally. His Masters were beginning to notice his gifts for design and innovation. As a result, Jhalis was given more responsibilities. Some of these were to mix the various colorants to produce the carnival glass the hall was famous for. One memorable time, Jhalis was given the chore of creating a particular blue hue for a goblet set a master harper had commissioned. He succeeded beyond expectations, and the hall received a large influx of orders for that color as a result. This pleased the masters, but earned Jhalis the envy of a couple of the less gifted journeymen. Accidents then started to happen that would disrupt Jhalis's work. Pieces that were bound for the annealing oven would be left out and shattered, blowpipes would be blocked with clay, tools disappearing from his workbench at critical times. Jhalis bore the pranks grimly, not wanting to involve the Masters in what he considered his personal affairs. But that wouldn't last. It came to blows one day when a piece he had been making was damaged while he watched. He had had enough. Jhalis knocked one journeyman out and sent the other scurrying to lie to Master Harin and Master Darvin about what was going on. The truth was uncovered eventually and both journeymen were relocated with only a warning for Jhalis. He soon found his life much easier as he had gained new respect from his coworkers. No one wanted to mess with the big glasscrafter. And it was clear here was a man who would walk the tables to be a master by his 30th turn. Well, they were almost right. A few weeks after he turned 32, Jhalis became a master glasscrafter. In that time he had become one of the lead gaffers in the hall with his own team turning out excellent pieces that sold well. He had also become the father of another daughter, Zira, by that time. He had something of a reputation among the kitchen workers, but no one had ever caught his heart. Corny, but true. The next ten years would see more of the same, with Jhalis becoming better known in his field. Eventually his older daughters married, and Zira impressed a green dragon, making him very proud. In his 35th turn a journeywoman artist, Nirina, transferred to the hold. She had come to paint the portraits of the Lord and Lady of Telgar and learned quickly to avoid the amorous advances of the new master glassblower. He was fascinated by her strength of will, not to mention certain parts of her anatomy. It took a lot of chasing and rejections before he realized she wasn't interested in the temporary. By then, neither was he. They were married soon after. Life would never be the same. For the next 13 turns, Jhalis and Nirina continued to explore their relationship and crafts. Nirina became a master, and both transferred to Southern Boll Hold, where Jhalis taught for a time. Nirina would sometimes travel without her husband as her work was commissioned from nearby holds. The road wasn't always smooth for them, but they were committed to making a good life for each other. The only real problem was children, or the lack of them. Both wanted them, but the few times Nirina conceived had all resulted in miscarriage. Finally, when Jhalis turned 43, a baby boy arrived. Worrain was born healthy, but Nirina nearly died as a result. The couple had been told that she couldn't have any more children. But they didn't care. They had Worrain. Jhalis doted on the baby. He loved all his children, but this was a son and the only child from his love. This might have caused some jealousy amongst Worrain's sisters, but they were too busy having children of their own. A few years later, Jhalis received word that the master glasscrafter of Tuock Hold near Mornings Dawn Weyr retired. The position was offered to Jhalis. This was an opportunity he had unconsciously been waiting for. For some time, the need to run his own shop and teach his own way had been nagging at him. It took some convincing, but Nirina (who didn't want to leave) agreed to relocate. All would have been fine if the Hall had been kept up. Unfortunately, the old master had let things become dangerously run down. The journeymen were used to doing what they wanted despite safety considerations. Pieces with dangerous checks had been left unbroken in the bone pile, chemicals left uncovered and in the open, and firelizards running amuck throughout the shop. It took him a good year to bring the shop up to basic working order. All the while, Jhalis muttered and complained to his wife about incompetent journeymen and interfering Lord Holders and so forth. But Nirina knew he secretly loved the challenge. They settled in for the long haul. The years passed and Worrain and the Hall grew around each other. Jhalis was always pleased when his son showed interest in glass working. When Worrain was old enough, he became an apprentice glasscrafter like his father. Nothing could have made Jhalis more proud. It was hard for a while on the young man, as some apprentices tried to accuse him of favoritism, but that stopped soon. In truth Jhalis worked Worrain harder than the others and had high expectations for his son. It caused a rift between the normally close family, and finally needed Nirina's intervention to smooth them out. Life settled and had been going fairly smoothly up till the present day.
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