D'rani's A Little Spice to Clear the Head Bronze Injolnith

Congratulations Dorian on Impressing a dragon here at Ista Weyr! We’ve hopefully blended a little confident wingman with wise spirit guide to develop Injolnith! This inspiration is merely our ideas of how to play him, but in the end the dragon is YOURS and you can mold him however you choose. Your inspiration team have put many hours of work into creating Injolnith and we are super excited to see how you develop him in your own way. - D’baji, Lida, Pippa and T’ab


Clutching Message:

Jeyth uses her hind legs to create another depression in the sands, wide feet scratching and pawing at the dark grains to make room for another selection of eggs. Settling once more, the junior gold sighs into her position, briefly blocking the view for the galleries with her rather large hindquarters. Moments later and a movement reveals the flicker of color of another egg pairing.

Stay Away From the Light Egg

The palest of pale white coats the ovoid's surface as if light has never touched majority of the egg. That is… except for the very top of the spherical object, where the Istan sunlight seems to have not only tanned its surface but severely scarred it. Blisters of crimson and black peel away from the top while various dark almond stripes appear to grow from the reddened surface. The sunburnt marks eventually blend into the light creams and ivory of the bottom, which seems to have been protected from the scalding light.

Hatching Message:

Stay Away From the Light Egg’s very top surface starts to grow bulbous on top as the sunburned blisters swell with the internal movement. There is no more avoiding the sunlight: soon the surface starts to crack an interior glow with a flash of bronze. Suddenly with one big explosion of shards and egg goo, a snakelike bronze slithers out of the remains.

A Little Spice to Clear the Head Bronze Dragonet

Just as the tunnelsnake who stalks the deepest caverns, so is he long, youthful muscle covering every inch, fitting tight to his lengthy frame beneath tarnished hide, feigned experience. Dulled copper equips the dragon's well-formed headknobs and scowling eyeridges, ages to flat emerald 'round his chiseled jaw, his carved underbelly. Burnished-bright neckridges bristle between desert-sand wingbones, and a sturdy, well-balanced tail, blazoned with sapphire constellations and fluid in flight, reaches far beyond his compact hammered limbs. Forged on long wings, geometric patterns erode over long wingsails from flashing bronze to faded Mayan blue, the insignia of a noble spirit lost but not forgotten in a desert of muted tones.

Impression Message:

A Little Spice to Clear the Head Bronze Dragonet stops a moment to take another survey of the candidate options before he picks up speed again forward. The bronze seems /very/ focused on his target as he slithers forward to a trio of candidates, one Smith seems to be rather direction and so the bronze's head bumps into Dorian a few heavy counts to test the man's strength. Whirling orange eyes of hunger then raise up as best he can to look directly into the Smith's eyes, you show me your hammer, I'll show you mine…

Personal Impression Message:

The black sands of the Hatching Caverns seem to fade into yet another kind of desert; this one much more intangible and a bit hazy around the edges. The haze, tainted by just the slightest tang of spice, seems to become more a storm that fills your mind - leaving your senses momentarily stunned by the overwhelming heat. « Dorian.. » A low bass voice, tambred with just a hint of twang around the vowels, reaches out through the heat, like a douse of cool water. « Injolnith is who I am, and D'rani is who you are. We are together, and I will guide you. » The voice subsides for a moment, and along with it those heated sands, but in another moment just a touch of habanero fills your senses with an undeniable thirst. « I need fed, D'rani. And then we shall talk more. »"

INSPIRATIONS

Name Inspiration:

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Injolnith is a very, very noble-sounding name that means, essentially, ‘The Hammer is my Penis.’ Yup, that’s right. We took the Japanese word ‘inkei’ (penis) and combined it with the Norse ‘Mjollnir’, which is Thor’s hammer. It can be pronounced in-JOLL-nith or in-YOLL-nith, depending if you want more of an accent on the ‘nj’ strange sound, or an easier-off-the-tongue roll.

Egg Inspiration:

There is such a thing as Vampire Disease, or actually called Porphyria, where people receive massive amounts of pain from exposure to sunlight. The results of sun exposure can range from blisters and pain on the skin to abdominal pain, hallucinations and seizures. Historical figures rumored (only rumored) to have Poryphyria include King George III and Vlad the Impaler (possibly leading to the idea that vampires hate sunlight)! It would definitely be no fun to have this disease in sunny Ista! Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porphyria — T’ab

Description Inspiration:

You asked for a long dragon, lean and agile instead of bulky. You also asked for more muted bronzes, and desert colourations. The examples you gave us online were often of armour or artifacts from antiquity, and of course ancient bronze makes anyone (well, D’baji, anyway) think of the Iliad. Besides, one of the greatest heroes of them all seemed to fit fairly well to the heroic spirit-guide you were looking for.

Injolnith is a long, agile dragon clad in armour that’s been forgotten in the desert somewhere, long enough for it to tarnish. The only exception to this is his neckridges, which are a bit brighter. When I was thinking about armour in a desert, it occurred to me that some of it might be buffed shiny by the blowing sands. It also gave me a chance to mention something ‘bright’, ‘cause Homeric prose are full of words like ‘bright’ and ‘flashing’. If you hate them, feel free to knock out that word, but we were hoping they could give a touch of that diamond-in-the-rough feel to your desert bronze.

His wings are by far his most attractive feature. I was thinking of the geometric patterns found on the pyramid in the episode where Homer meets the ‘Space Coyote’, and was sort of alluding to that. I put stars on his tail because there are stars on Achilles’ armour, and I thought it recalled beautifully the night sky of Homer’s little spirit quest. His underbelly, and the rest of him, are far less decorated, muted in both colour and patterning. Finally, I tried to stick to smith-type words and fit them into Homeric phrasing (no pun intended on the Simpsons’ Homer, although it just occurs to me that this is an awesome coincidence), found in the Iliad as translated by Robert Fagles.

And once the god had made the great and massive shield
he made Achilles a breastplate brighter than gleaming fire,
he made him a sturdy helmet to fit the fighter’s temples,
beautiful, burnished work, and raised its golden crest
and made him greaves of flexing, pliant tin.

[Homer, Iliad, trans. Robert Fagles (New York: Penguin Books, 1991), XVIII.710-714]

That was all,
and Patroclus armed himself in Achilles’ gleaming bronze.
First he wrapped his legs with the well-made greaves,
fastened behind the heels withs ilver ankle-clasps,
next he strapped the breastplate round his chest,
blazoned with stars - swift Achilles’ own
then over his shoulder Patroclus slung the sword,
the fine bronze blade with its silver-studded hilt,
and then the shield-strap and the sturdy, massive shield
and over his powerful head he set the well-forged helmet,
and horsehair crest atop it tossing, bristling terror,
and he took two rugged spears that fit his grip.

XVI.155-166

Mind Voice:

“Yes, Beckett? Either there's a dead body or you just wanna hear my sultry voice."
- Rick Castle of Castle


Injolnith’s mindvoice exists as a deep bass voice, with just a dash of a twang, that often sounds as if on the edge between normal talking and singing. In many conversations, his voice will have a fleeting spirit-like quality as it fades in and out within your mind, never does he just appear in a loud voice to surprise anyone. Portraying his personal confidence, his voice will always carry a confident tone. The colors often carried across his mindlink will be desert associated, including a variety of earthen tan tones that mix with soft sky blues, although sometimes tossed in are floral colors of lush greens to blooming pinks and reds. Often associated with the imagery there will be a spirit-like glowing light that flickers with Injolnith’s tones, like a sun that burns brighter with more intense emotions and fades to a mere flicker during calmer conversations.
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With the desert tones, there will be a variety of spicy aromas and almost tastes associated with Injolnith’s voice. These range from the light tingle of a sweet pepperoncini to the harsh burn of an insanity pepper. The spice will typically be saved for conversations with D’rani, the stronger flavors reserved for those moments of supreme clarity just like how hot sauce can be used to clear your congestion, Injolnith will emphasize his more enlightened wisdom with a deep burn. When those tones happen, it would be in D’rani’s best interest to listen (or not).

Physicalities:

“We are not gonna die. You know why? Because we are so… very… pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die. Huh? Look at that chiseled jaw!”
- Mal of Firefly


Injolnith overall will be just on the larger size of bronzes, but he won’t look that way due to his much more stretched out look. Weyrlinghood will put him in an awkward-looking phase and for the first few months he will be a little uncoordinated when it comes to trying to sync up that long body of his on the ground. But with age, and plenty of practice, he will turn from tripping over his tail and wings to a smooth, almost slithering motion across the ground.

His true grace will come the moment he hits the air, though. He was hatched for flight, with long wings and tail, and compact legs that will fit close to his body when he’s airborne. In Weyrlinghood, he’ll take off just as one hatched to fly (hey, he was, just ask him), and it won’t take long for him to start trying out more tricks and turns.

« This is how it is done, Kotoceth, see my natural strength and agility lend to my perfect flying form. »

Beyond just being long, he’s flexible all through his frame, and it won’t take him long to become strong enough that he’ll be able to alter his flightpath in ways that most his length can’t. He’ll love to fly, and he’ll love to test himself against other dragons in the air. He’ll find kinship with Nverath, another long and agile bronze, while little, will be able to keep up easily with most browns, but the super-acrobatic greens like Sarezith and Iqiazath will probably touch a streak of competition in him - no matter how hard he tries, he won’t be able to execute all the turns they do, and will have to make up for it in clever flying and broader motions.

Injolnith possesses very dry skin, desert dry, throughout growth will need to be oiled much more than any normal dragonet, you may even need to hoard some extra oil jars for late night « I itch » messages. Once he fully grows into his body, you will be able to reduce your frequency of oiling but it will still be regular issue of him getting too dry, especially in the Istan sun. After a few months, you will also begin to learn of various points on Injolnith’’s hide that will itch more than others and require special attention scratching. These places aren’t simple locations like next to the headknobs or at the joints, no, they will be awkward to reach areas, like the middle spar of the wing or just on the upper inside of his thigh. Once he gets larger these places may even require a special itching tool (read: stick) to be designed to reach everything.

Personality:

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“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
- Henry David Thoreau


The most important thing to Injolnith will be his moral code, a compass that guides every one of his actions and he will often hold you to the same set of life rules and regulation. He is confident in his beliefs, which will carry into a general self-confidence that Injolnith possesses in all of his actions. Rather than having morals based on external factors, all of Injolnith’s code is internally derived on what is good for you rather than what is good for the world. Most of these fit the common moral codes of Pernese society: help those in need, always work hard, the Golden Rule, etc. But sometimes there will be various morals that Injolnith holds true that are not as common, most of these will be for you (the player) to decide, but one does include his borderline chauvinistic chivalrous code (discussed later).

In terms of leadership, Injolnith possesses a certainty in every decision and emits a strong sense of authority over those decisions. This will make him well suited to any kind of leadership, whether it be a weyrling wingleader or weyrlingmaster or anything else that needs leading. But with Injolnith’s focus on internal growth and exploration, he will require assistance from D’rani to take all of that certainty and moral code and bring them externally to the Weyr. This will cause D’rani to be the main pushing force for the pair’s external success in terms of rank.

In D’rani’s development into a full rider, and beyond, Injolnith will always be there to help guide D’rani’s internal struggles. Injolnith will use his confidence in his beliefs and actions to help mold D’rani into a more confident character, being the moral conscience that sits right inside D’rani’s ear and whispers quick words of wisdom in faded tones. Sometimes these messages will be cryptic and other times they will be direct.

« The early waking herdbeast gets the best pick of the fields, D’rani. »

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Coyote Spirit Guide: There is a lesson you must learn.
Homer: If it’s about laying off the insanity peppers, I’m way ahead of you.
Coyote Spirit Guide: Nope, I speak of a deeper wisdom. The problem, Homer, is that the mind is always chattering away with a thousand thoughts at once.
Homer: Yeah, that’s me alright.
Coyote Spirit Guide: Clarity is the path to inner peace.

As a nod to both the character inspirations of Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly and the Johnny Cash Coyote from The Simpsons, Injolnith will be often enticed to go on both physical and emotional journeys reminiscent of a ‘walkabout’. He will often find himself restless in his weyr, he will feel that there is something that you and he are looking for and it is somewhere out in the world. During your rest time, once you are free to travel, Injolnith will be drawn to go out somewhere, maybe just to the beaches of Ista Hold, but sometimes to the uncharted eastern islands or the frozen wastes of the north. He will go almost anywhere to find that one thing that you two are looking for in life. In this exploration, Injolnith may find kinship with Tyroth in this situation, and you with T’ab, for they have explored the very far reaches of Pern and can provide plenty of insight (and betweening points) to the world. Together, you may never find what he is looking for, but the journey is more important, right?

“It is as hard to see one's self as to look backwards without turning around.”
- Henry David Thoreau


And with true walkabouts, the physical adventure is not the only aspect of the journey, there is also the internal discovery that comes with it. Injolnith will provide guidance to you that will be very internally focused. With him, you will be forced to examine your moral compass, especially in relation to the strong sense of morality that Injolnith has developed, and he will help you better understand your place in the world. Hopefully this will help D’rani come into himself, first by figuring out his own emotions and then understanding what to do when he looks at others.
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"Did you know in the original Greek, 'tragedy' literally means 'goat song'? I know, doesn't make any sense to me either, but whatever that first story was, I can't help but think, bad things must have happened to that goat…"
- Richard Castle

"The point is, there is always a story. You just have to find it."
- Richard Castle


With the inevitable amount of experience that Injolnith will pick up over the turns, he’ll have quite colorful background to rely upon. Be it from his explorations, or passing comments from those he encounters, all of these experiences help to form the dragon that he is today, and form his opinions of things that happen around him. And there is nothing mundane about his theory and reasoning. Nothing is ever simple. Ever. Any questions posed by others will be answered, often times, in a way that might just seem outlandish. Maybe a little exciting, and often far fetched. His speculation will need to be reigned in, or you will find the reasons for the season’s heat wave to be blamed upon aliens, that the wild wherry that got away could possibly be a product of superior breeding from a Herder with an eye to wherry-slipperiness, and that it was a bluerider conspiracy to keep all of the greens to themselves as the reason you lost that flight.
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“Stand back everyone, nothing here to see. Just imminent danger and in the middle of it me. Yes, Captain Hammer's here, hair blowing in the breeze. The day needs my saving expertise. Man's got to do what a man's got to do. Seems destiny ends with me saving you. The only doom that's looming is in loving me to death. I'll give you a second to catch your breath.”
- Captain Hammer


As part of his strong sense of morality, Injolnith possesses a sort of savior complex around females, the constant need to always be saving damsels in distress, to be identifying gold or green dragons and attempt to ‘save’ them from whatever obstacle. And he’ll definitely make it known to not only the female but all those around.

« Oh, Jivayath, let me help you carry that firestone sack. As you can tell, I’ve got these large muscles that are perfect for carry such heavy things. I’ve been working out. »

And this behavior can range from chivalrous to downright sexist. Sometimes a female obviously doesn’t need help, but Injolnith will waltz into the scene with his chest puffed out going to the aid of the female.

« My dear, let me help you down that herdbeast. They are quite large and fierce and you are such a small green, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt. »

And he won’t uphold his code of chivalry on his own, no, he will expect you to follow his same ideals. But hopefully D’rani will be bright enough to not always listen to every suggestion Injolnith makes.

« D’rani, assist that helpless woman with that pot of oil. »
I think she has it under control, Injolnith.
« But look, her hands are small and your hands are so much bigger, tell her that and she’ll understand that you must help her. »

Given Kehemath’s basic theme surrounding a coyote, it is no surprise that Injolnith will find a deeper kinship with her. He will always be… intrigued by her mannerisms and may include her in many of his journeys. Included in this, he also may patronize her more so than any other female, seeking to be the alpha male to her pack.

Flights:

Flights will be an event that blends Injolnith’s quest for the answers of the world and his obsession with saving females from their plight.

With every female that rises, he will insist to you that /this/ flight is ‘the one’, if he wins it then everything will become clearer and your ‘quest’ will be one step closer to being completed. This will thrill him and drive him to take every flight as seriously as possible, and you too D’rani. Some dragons encourage their riders to drink booze *coughTyrothcough* and become lost in lust, but Injolnith will have none of that, he will encourage you to focus with a clear mind on the flight and help him win with your mutual bond.

In addition, Injolnith will see flights as a weak moment in a female’s time and feel like he needs to ‘save’ her from this horrible glowing circumstance.

With all this focus and emphasis put on each and every flight, any loss will be taken hard by Injolnith:

« How could we have failed? We flew straight, and T’ab was drunk and naked and Tyroth still won? What is wrong with me, with us, that we could not catch such a petite green? »

… at least for a little while. Because he sees all of life as a spiritual journey, the next morning Injolnith will eventually shrug off the disappointment and help both of you refocus on the quest at hand:

« It was not our fate, D’rani, we are destined for greater things. Look! That frail girl appears to have twisted her ankle! Let us go save her! »


Credits:
Egg: T’ab
Dragonet desc: D’baji
Messages: Lida
Name: D’baji, T’ab
Puppetted by: T'ab
Inspiration: T’ab, D’baji, Lida, Pippa


D'rani's Bronze Injolnith
Harper's Tale: 57th PC Clutch
Ista Weyr
Pippa's gold Jeyth and I'no's bronze Raeklith
July 30, 2010


Clutch:

A'ru (Andru) and blue Kotoceth
D'rani (Dorian) and Injolnith
Ei'es (Eilem) and green Sarezith
Sadaiya and gold Jivayath
Sienna and green Kehemath
T'sei (Taliesin) and bronze Xhiyanth

NPCs:
Olivia and green Laetith
J'az (Zamaja) and blue Cilioth
P'shel (Pushel) and bronze Shoveth
A'live (Aliver) and blue Neardeth
T'uft (Tuffnut) and brown Snotlouth
Ruft (Ruffnut) and brown Gobberth

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