This is the running list of NPC/bonded riders that are being sent “home” from the Vella Crean.
These are just ideas: if you would like to use some, but not all the points, please feel free! The only ask I have is that they be local Vella Crean residents or Projects, so that I can worldbuild connections.
Please let me know via discord once they have been homed. I’ve used celebrity face claims (name listed below the photo), but there is no hard reason to use them. It was just what inspired me, when writing the character.
Dragonflight
Light Court Diplomat Arasi and Light Court Female Blue Pravitath
Human, 17
Arasi is a pretty, gentle looking young woman that people often think they can walk over her. She laughs it off, but beneath that sweet and pleasant exterior is a pretty sneaky and strong willed young woman.
Her parents are dragon riders from Pern, council members who have served alongside Naeodin since the Vella Crean was a Weyr. When she was born she was raised side by side with Vaero, Mia’s son — and when the Death Court wars started and Mia returned from the dark fog of grief and insanity, the Light Court leader treated Arasi as her own, giving her lessons in leadership that was normally reserved for Court heirs.
Arasi has claimed the Kurenanshekusai siblings as her own, and is very careful to make sure that they have a good time at the Vella Crean. She finds their stories of home intriguing and delightful, and has asked Mia and the council for approval to follow them home.
Arasi believes being a new world dignitary will help her polish off her skillsets a bit more, and what better place than by the side of her new two favourite people?
Tiyanni
Light Court Healer Nadio and Blood Court Brown Sahalth
Human, 22
Nadio is the youngest child of three, and he has big shoes to fill.
His father, only known as the Steward followed Naeodin from Pern and has very strong, traditional Pernese roots. His mother was a Nexus explorer who soon settled on the Vella Crean, and is currently the Head Healer of the Light Court.
His sister followed in his fathers footsteps: during very dark times, she was the lynchpin that held the council together, and is currently absent, attending the checkerboard ball.
His brother is a little bit of a black sheep: politically savvy and looking to build a stronger powerbase than both of their parents combined, he’s sworn his political allegiance to the Dark Court, and is at Dawn Watch Weyr, standing as a candidate for the first second generation Imperial clutch.
Nadio has big shoes to fill, because everyone in his family seems to have some type of strong political ambition or position.
But Nadio is… well, Nadio.
He is a quiet and mild mannered healer with a strong eye for detail and very, very good at multitasking. When he is not learning by his mothers side or guiding younger apprentices, he can be found going through their inventory lists, making sure all manners of goods are properly stocked. He has a brain that can take in numbers and has a near accurate inventory count at all times.
He is polite, and very well spoken. Maybe that was why he was chosen to look after Jaeti and Teija. He seems to know exactly what to do and what to say, and curiously, almost by magic appears whenever they need him.
Nadio is privately very excited at the thought of moving to Nidus Ryslen. He thinks he can do his family proud as a representative of the Vella Crean, but most especially, thinks that there are a lot of things he could achieve for himself away from his family.
Retta
Lost Child Arietta – Dark Court Bronze Viranth
Human, 15
Arietta does not think too much of her life before the Death Court wars. She lost her parents in one of the original skirmishes, before they knew exactly how devastating the Death Court dragon’s blue fire could be, and when she lost the home she had known, she fled to the streets.
She knew there was the couple who ran the inn, taking in children and caring for the very youngest, and she also knew the Blood Court had started their own quiet movements, building a foundation for the “Lost Children”. But Arietta scorned the gesture. Too little too late.
She is a very smart, very sneaky young girl, fully capable of surviving by herself. When she comes across a child who needs more than the streets, she makes sure that they find their way towards the Varus Couple or the Blood Court: in her own way, she is keeping the streets safe, and the protecting the children of the Vella Crean.
Now bonded to a dark court brown, the dark court welcomes her with open arms. But she would rather leave the Vella Crean and the terrible memories behind. She is quiet excited to see what the future will bring, and is delighted at the thought of following Finn and Amaryllis on their adventures.
Neishai
Moira The Amplifier – Light Court Red Indriyath
Project, Prime
Moira is a beautiful, sassy and rather “too big for her skin” kind of woman. She’s vivacious the type who could carry of tousled hair and clothing a size too large without looking lazy or unkempt. She has beautiful curly hair that holds just the right amount of disarray, and one day, she is going to teach Moshe how to arch her brow just so.
Moira is not a new Project. She delights in telling people that she is much, much younger than Monique, and that after all, you should never ask a lady for her age. But her nickname is the Amplifier, and it seems, in some way, shape or form, she operates pretty much like a battery or energy source.
Moira thrums with energy. If Moshe needs just a little boost to reach her potential, or maybe Voivode wants to ramp up his ability, she’s your girl. No one is quite sure how Shy managed it, and Moira likes to say it’s just her infectious and bubbly personality.
“I motivate people” she would say, skimming a finger over your cheek and you would feel a little jolt that might feel equivalent to a triple espresso shot chased by a kitkat bar.
She is one of the few who talks back to Shy and would cheerfully fetch Ari to teach him a lesson. Moira is following Moshe and Voivode home, less an official representative, more a nosy parker who has decided that she is exactly what this family needs.
Nomi
Siochain The Dove – Dark Court Bronze Qiraath
Project, Young
Siochain is nicknamed the “Dove”. Shy says its because despite his outward appearance Siochain is supposed to be a bringer of peace. That is what the Linyaari are famous for, aren’t they? Of being peace keepers? (Ari believes that it is similar to the Trojan Horse, and that perhaps some dumbass has taught Shy sarcasm.)
He is a Linyaari DNA based Project. It started as a game to see if he could fix the the genetic quirk that caused the colour bleaching, then it became a point of pride. He had suffered too many humiliations recently, and his pride needed the one win.
Maybe he took it a little bit too far. Siochain has color. He has silky raven hair and skin touched a creamy shade of gold, and his horn! Well. So maybe this is where Shy took it a bit far. He delighted in the thought of “fixing” the genome that bleached color unwillingly by turning it on as a conscious genetic quirk that would allow Siochain to change the color and patterns of his skin and hair.
Siochain hasn’t quite mastered his own ability yet. Sometimes when he is startled, his skin mottles into spots and rosettes. Anger seems to deepen his hues, and irritation can often bring up a very frosty layer to his hair. It’s quite delightful.
It doesn’t help that Siochain has a bit of a temper. He is … well, the other Projects would say he is quite the charming pacifist. But maybe not up to Linyaari standards. He likes to bare his teeth and snap at people, and does have a tendency of encroaching on personal space. Try daring him to do something stupid. Double dare him. He’ll do it.
Phe
Aptronym Chaotic Good – Blood Court Red Ehsaath
Project, Young
Aptronym is inherently good. She is a little bit mischievous, and she has a very strong protective streak that sometimes means things need to go “boom”. She is the oldest of the three Projects, and likes to lord it over the others.
Beautiful, sensual, and with a very, very familiar streak of utter chaos that will inevitably get them all into trouble sooner or later, Aptronym’s strong ability is fire. Electric charged, make things go “boom” fire, and she wields it with a very polished hand.
Her goal is to protect Xiao Shy and his new court. Send her into battle and she will come out beaming, a trophy in one hand and the head of the leader in another. She is not the most diplomatic, although she knows precisely when to keep quiet. (Just because she knows when to do it, doesn’t mean she will actually do it though…)
Aptonym Lawful Good – Light Court “Red”(Purple) Ashath
Project, Young
Aptonym is a sweet and innocent Project. He is babied by his siblings, and definitely does not like the limelight. He is Shy’s answer to: “but what if I need to contact them urgently and they are outside of cell service range?” an extremely strong telepath, he is able to send and receive thoughts and images across the Nexus: which means, (maybe it is not a good thing?) Xiao Shy will be only a thought away from those he calls his allies.
Not as widely advertised is Aptonym’s ability to send and receive physical objects across the Nexus. Really Shy, Xiao Shy is going to be fine. Don’t worry about him.
What could go wrong?
Euonym Neutral Good – Dark Court “Red” (Brown) Arushith
Project, Young
Eponym is of the three, the most careful. He traces his lineage to one of the very first Projects: Imraan the Architect, and is able to mold and conjure the most delightful and fantastical of things. Where Imraan seems to be able to control all elements, Eponym’s abilities are narrowed down to all metals, which suggests that Shy may have been tampering with Kotor’s genetics. Again.
Descending from a First and a metal elemental, Shy has sent Eponym along with Xiao Shy to ensure that Apoleoth is always protected. Who better than a Project who could build weapons with his mind? (Combine it with Aptronym’s combustible spark and… well, they could try to burn the entire Nexus).
Despite this, Eponym does not like to use his abilities for such purposes. Rather, he uses them to build bunkers. Safe homes in the Nexus. Maybe a new ship …? After all, Apoleoth’s retinue is growing larger, and they do need a place to call their own.
Cel
Asha the Thief – Dark Court Green Aasharith
Human? 28
Asha is a very pretty, small framed young woman who is very good at being quiet and sly, picking up rumours and knowledge. She is less Mata Hari (if you need a laugh watch her try to flirt. It’s like a car crash you just can’t quite tear your eyes away from), more a elusive ninja who seems to vanish in a puff of smoke between one minute to the next.
No one is quite sure where she is from. Asha claims to herald from some small, modest world in the Nexus, but she’s been very mysterious about her exact background. At the Vella Crean, she claims to be 100% human. Maybe there is a little bit of glamour and ‘don’t look here’ magic mixed into her blood, but not enough to be picked up by other magic users.
She calls the inn at the Vella Crean home. Sometimes, she is away for stretches at a time, accomplishing missions and trading knowledge for power and shiny jewels. But she’s tired of the roaming, and looking to settle down, build a family/crew that she could be part of.
Jerival the Hunter – Blood Court Purple Zulfeith
Human, 35
Jerival is an augmented human of some sort. He doesn’t quite know. He grew up assuming everyone was like him, then he met the other humans and realized well, they are quiet the weak and pathetic bunch, aren’t they?
Jerival was a very entrepreneurial bounty hunter who used to call the Vella Crean home: until somehow the planet disappeared for ten years and he couldn’t find it. Suffice to say he has a few abandonment issues. Maybe that’s why he makes sure to visit every week, and has quite an impressive collection of teleportation and ‘beam me back home Scotty’ charms and talismans.
Jerival is a very strong, very fast human. Asha swears that she has seen him grapple with the golems for fun, and one time, she said she saw him toss a blue Death Court into the sky, throwing him out of the city with nothing more than his bare hands.
He is a bounty hunter, and he makes his money hunting down and catching monsters of the large and snarly variety. For a “human”, he seems to have very thick skin. Literally. It takes a lot for Jerival to bleed.
He has no interest in the politics and the events that surrounding the courts, but he has very strong feelings about making sure that his home is protected (and that he never gets kicked out again).
Vansir the Healer – Light Court Blue Khayalth
Project, Young
Vansir is a quiet, pretty man. Tall, raven hair, pale skin. His eyes are often a soft, gentle shade of brown, although when he activates his gifts they do shift into the signature molten gold of a Project.
Vansir is a very young, not yet ranked Project. Rycroft and the others may call him “The Healer”, but he insists with a pained expression that is only “A” Healer, and doesn’t have the ability to claim the title of a Ranked Project yet. (OOC spoiler: Eventually he will. Vansir will be The Healer, and Shy will be proud).
He started visiting the inn just out of curiosity. Monique had particularly taken a liking to Rycroft, and every one knew that the single Imperial Queen (sorry, KING) needed to be protected. So he had started visiting this small, unassuming tavern to keep an eye on the goings on and then gossip, only to realize he quite liked it here.
Vansir wants to change the world. He wants to protect people and create happy endings, and he thinks he has found his own little tribe, who seem to make him more at ease than the other Projects in the Labs.
Zekiran
Dima the Lucent – Light Court Purple Arayath
Project, Ancient
Dima is one of the older generation of Projects. She remembers the times when the Vella Crean was young and untouched, and she dreamily speaks of her travels with the other elementals. Exploring new worlds with Tiskaya, the child of wind or watching worlds form and fish evolve to walk on land. No one is quite sure what her root power is, but Shy refers to her as Dima the Lucent, and it has stuck.
Dime is able to manipulate light and crystals. Oftentimes, it can be a frivolous party trick where she can make multicoloured crystals “bloom”, shattering the room with fractels of light. In a… unusual way? Crystals seem to grow and blossom around her like mushrooms (although Dima would not appreciate the comparison).
She is pale and beautiful and helpless looking in the way older Projects can be, entirely at odds with the power that thrum underneath their skin. Dima is perfectly able to protect herself, thank you very much: (the mushroom thing, it’s definitely a fungal thing. Have you seen the jagged and black crystals she has blooming in the corner of the greenhouse? From Death Court bones).
She likes to travel the world, and has decided that the Vahh family have very interesting and unusual abilities and secrets that she wants to better understand.
Molly
Athani – Dark Court Brown Preyasith
Human, 15
Athani’s parents are both dark court riders who count themselves fortunate in having their family remain intact. Both are delighted that their daughter has also bonded with a dark court: although they are not sure how they feel about her “leaving the nest” so soon.
Athani grew up in the prime of the Death Court wars. To her, this odd period of peace is odd and unusual, and she is waiting for the other shoe to drop. Believing war to be the norm, she can now, explore? And travel? Athani is not quite sure what to do with all of this freedom.
Since a very young age, she has had a very strong affinity and thirst for knowledge. Particularly in botany. Over the past few months, Whistle the Landscaper, one of the oldest Projects in the Labs has taken her under his wing, and has been teaching her of plants from all over the Nexus.
(He’s promised to visit her, and to continue his teachings wherever she goes).
Athani’s interest in botany is less on the fact that she likes seeing green things grow, more in the applications of herbal tinctures and mixtures. She is absolutely fascinated at the thought of the medical implications of some of the wild and rare herbs, and hopes one day to make a salve that would cure even the most stubborn of Death Court burns.
When she is not off trying to collect new horticultural samples, she is in her makeshift lab, trying to figure out the best combination of ingredients. Sometimes they are successful, other times less so (ask Whistle and he will tell of her innocent attempt of making perfume that turned into a stink bomb. The Lab still holds a grudge at that little mishap.)
Icari – Blood Court Green Suramayath
Human?, 15
Icari is one of the most precise people you could know. She seems to have tomes of knowledge inside her head, and is a voracious reader who could probably quote back any book she has read in her entire life. Icari thinks that she is human. She doesn’t really remember her parents, her mother was definitely not native to Peru though, and her father… well. She hasn’t seen him since the Death Court wars started.
Icari is a child who calls the blood court home, and coincidently, enjoys spending time with Emra, the Archivist. Her favorite activity is helping the Archivist track down and copy ledgers, writings of histories and genealogy of prominent families in the Nexus. Tracing blood lines, writing up timelines, and creating beautiful tomes, hard copy books bound in leather and gold.
Book binding is a particularly delightful task to her, the patience and care required to create beautiful tomes of permanent work a passion. She has a bit of a temper though, and most people who have worked in the archive room have been told off a fair amount of times for not doing it right.
“Excuse me, I don’t think you’re doing it the way you’re supposed to.” Is a very, very common phrase that you will hear Icari mutter. She means well, she just wants to make sure everything is done perfectly.
Viselios – Light Court Purple Nilayath
Augmented Human, 16
Viselios mother is a light court dragon rider, and her father, if scuttlebutt is to believed, is Kekova the bounty hunter, adjacently affiliated with the Labs in one way or another. Viselios doesn’t really care: her mother and her aunts and her sisters are her family, and she rarely missed the lack of a paternal figure in her life.
She grew up at the Vella Crean, her mother making sure that she was safe and protected from the Death Court wars. Maybe it was because she had too much free time on her hands, but Viselios often found herself in the underground caverns, reaching books on rocks and minerals, and enjoying the way she could turn flint into fire.
She looks like a very distant, delicate girl, but there seems to be something slightly not human about her. Viselios has a way of listening to rock and metal, or being able to hone in streaks of gold that run through the mines in the planet and also catch other odd deposits underground. Maybe, when she’s older, she’ll be able to manipulate it herself. But so far, Viselio’s ability seems to extend only so far as to notice when the ground underneath her is “different”.
She’s looking to travel to new worlds, to discover if other worlds also taste and smell the same, and see if she can expand her abilities a little bit. Maybe one day she’ll run into her father again, but the Nexus is a large place, and she’s not holding her breath.
Starfyre
Bari – Light Court Red Cassaruth
Project, Prime
Bari is a little bit of a stiff and proper gentleman. He follows the rules and the regulations, and if you wanted to know precisely who you were supposed to greet the various Court leaders, what degree was acceptable for a bow and just how a King and Queen Court dragon differed, Bari is your go to man.
He probably has a very fancy and frou frou name. Nalia knows it, but she’s careful not to anger her uncle (on her fathers side, no less), and so she refers to him respectfully as “Uncle”, and almost everyone else has their own nickname for him.
Very, very few people call Bari, Bari.
His older brother is the Steward who runs the council and really, the Vella Crean. Of very old and prestigious Pernese stock, he considered himself too old to bond a dragon, and definitely, dragonriding had been something that was not on his to do list.
But Cassaruth gave him such beautiful rainbow faceted eyes, and really, what was he supposed to do?
Naeodin the Empress returned from her recent jaunt to Clan Vecira with the desire to keep the clan close by. To not let decades pass without word, and definitely, to unite Court dragons. Bari is off as an emissary (what he thinks he can achieve, and why he is being sent there, he does not know), but Bari is off to learn as much as he can about the clan and the resident queens, see where the Vella Crean could be of support, and cement much more personal ties with this offshoot of Vella Crean court dragons.
JKat
Yan Yu The Lark- Blood Court Green Nainsooth
Project, Prime
No one really knows how old Yan Yu is. She looks very much like Shy, and she is definitely who the March of Madness must have mimicked for her appearance. All they know is that this very mysterious Project is never really around for long. She is like wild storm that visits every so often, bringing stories, trinkets, and rumours for the Scientist to unravel. Unlike many of the other ranked Projects who are able to hide their molten gold eyes, Yan Yu doesn’t. Her eyes are always molten gold, although she does like to hide them behind a pair of very dark glasses.
Yan Yu is also known as “The Lark”. Can she shapeshift into a bird? No one has seen her to so. Can she speak to birds? Maybe, because animals do seem to understand her. Ari is very sure that Yan Yu is named the Lark because of the mischief she causes. She likes to meddle, excite, tempt, and while she claims the years have mellowed her, Yan Yu still likes to look for adventure.
And wherever Yan Yu goes, adventure follows.
She is very strong, very long lived, and is full of interesting knowledge. Yan Yu is mildly telepathic, enough to catch and receive thoughts of others in the same physical vicinity (but not across great distances), mildly telekinetic (for useful things like, bringing the cup of coffee in from the other room, pouring herself another glass of wine) . She does have a strong affinity with “flying beings”, which is not limited to birds, but also seem to extend towards dragons.
For now, she’s decided this little queen rider needs a baby sitter and protector, and a mysterious world that was separated from the Nexus for a decade? Well, it sounds like just the place for her to start her next adventure!
Dray
Vakov – Dark Court Blue Ruosheth
Project, Prime
Vakov is tall and brooding, with plenty of “growl growl snarl snarl” vibes that have most of the human residents of the Vella Crean keep their distance. He is an Old Project: he remembers the times when there were only a few of them, when Faust was a guest, not a resident, and when the Weyrwoman of Istabitha’s had red hair, not silver.
Vakov is not Ranked: he has no title, and he is fine with that. He considers himself as part of the important backbone of the Labs: a senior Project with the memories and wisdom to stay out of Shy’s way, but respectful, nonetheless. He has the temper of a large and ancient dragon crammed into a humanoid form, and bristles with power. But while he is an able enough telepath, he doesn’t seem to have any remarkable talent. (OOC Spoiler: imagine a very big, very old asian dragon who is now human. Maybe one day he will shift back, but so far he seems to be perfectly happy playing a strong and grumpy humanoid male).
Vakov has decided that this particular group of court riders need his help. Plus, he wants to keep an eye on Ortega. He remembers when the boy was sweet and eager, when he had been so bright eyed at being tasked a very important mission.
He’s not sure why Ruosheth has picked him, and the bond seems a little tenacious. Are they really a proper dragon and dragonrider? Maybe it’s a fragile bond that will grow over time. Whatever the case, he will take care of his Ruosheth and his new “charges”, and see what he can make of this “Balespawn”.
Mystic
Michel Nahish The Advocate – Dark Court Brown Lankeuth
Project, Ancient
Most of his conversations with the Scientist starts off with the following words:
“You Arrogant Twat”
Michel Nahish is a Project. He doesn’t shy away from this fact (hah! Pun intended), because when he is particularly surprised or pissed off, his eyes do take on a certain molten gold hue. But it’s never been something that is high on his mind, because most people forget that he is actually Shy adjacent.
Michel has spent most of his tenure at Naeodin’s side. First, negotiating trade deals for Istabitha’s Weyr as a young trader, and now as the Advocate, running a team of highly professional if someone cut throat negotiators whose skills run the gauntlet. Trade discussions and intra-Nexus agreements, seconded candidates and emissary rules, and (probably the most difficult), Shy Paperwork.
Oh. Shy Paperwork.
This demon lawyer has laid what he thinks is a brilliant foundation to keep the Vella Crean running smoothly, but he’s been looking for more interesting and exciting projects. What better place than by the Red Mage’s side?
Michel Nahish considers himself loyal “to the cause”, to Shy yes, to the extent that he has been covering for that troublemaker, but he is a very old soul, and considers himself quite far beyond it. Well, except for the maybe occasional swipe. He is probably one of the very few people who can get away with swearing at the Scientist. Ari can threaten, Monique can tease, but Michel. Oh. He can shove Shy off his high horse faster than dragon can between.
He has a very affectionate relationship with Naeodin. While once they may have been equals and peers, despite her more physically advanced age, he treats her like a young daughter or a niece, and finds that most of the time, he would be on her side, if anyones.
The Red Mage and Tris’Hath entirely has been somewhat of a mystery to most Projects, and while he won’t admit it, Michel is very much looking forward to seeing what it is like, here. And meeting the Red Mage himself.