Home

Characters:

	Liesana
	Rilna
	Wyn
	Morallen

Projects:

	The Harper Biographies
	Tips for Stablehands:
	Physical Therapy: An Introductory Guide:

Other Stuff:

Character Sketch Gallery:

Like what you see? Don't like it? Just enjoy writing emails? Regardless, send me a message at

icefire_147@yahoo.com

I'll probably write back, if it's not spam or random flames.

Miralwyn's What Darkness Lies in the Hearts of Men Blue Vorkoroth

New!!! A Picture of Vorkoroth!

Yes, I know I can't draw, but I did it anyways. Behold my painful little black and white pencil sketch of Vor. Perhaps I might get ambitious later and colour it in Photoshop. but for now, don't laugh too hard.

Clutchmates:

N'zgul (Nazagarul) and bronze Ringwraith (NPC's)
Sii'kyn (Sikkyen) and brown Sidramuntalath
Kirana and brown Byndareth
Olia (Oliana) and brown Roherith
Tevya and blue Kihaelth
Fyria and blue Urzketh
Zia (Azia) and blue Diulnyth
Jiu (Jundi) and blue Tsulryth
Sage and green Pixareth
Lhana and green Zhesteth
S'titch (Settitch) and green Entymeth (NPC's)

--------

Miralwyn! (or can we call you Wyn? ;) From day one we've been besotted with you (and not just 'cause you hate ferrets and love tunnelsnake soup), and we had to have you Ride for us. We've given you the blue – though Pyrene will probably never speak to you again ;) – and the who you wanted, and hopefully a little bit more. Something that'll keep you discovering Vorkoroth for as long as you play, keeping him always fresh and interesting. This is not, however, the ultimate line in How To Play Vorkoroth – it's just a suggestion, something to work with. The bond that develops between you and him is up to you to fill in – anything you don't like, in any part, feel free not to use. By the same token, add little things if they come up in RP or you just plain like 'em. Most of all, enjoy Vorkoroth. We made him for you, and he is yours. :)

HRW SearchCo 2002: The Fellowship of the Llamas

--------

Celestial Starlight Egg

Star-pricks of light burst through the flimsy darkness of velveteen ebony that encompasses this egg. A sparkling flurry of activity traipses over the Cimmerian shell in star-fashioned filigree, mingling together luminous constellations, twisting galaxies and astral explosions of starlight. A super-nova of twirling, whirling, swirling points glimmers against the nighttime backdrop of blackness, misting the dainty egg with a starlit sheen.

Celestial Starlight Egg rolls to a stop, and What Darkness Lies in the Minds of Men Blue Dragonet slips like a second shadow out of a crack in the back. Softly he treads upon the Sands to carefully scope out the line of candidates in white, filled with confident purpose in his private reconnaissance mission. Subterfuge, my dears. Subterfuge.

What Darkness Lies in the Minds of Men Blue Dragonet

Sleek, clean lines are traced in tarnished steel, gleaming bright against the secretive navy of his hide. Form follows function in the simplicity of his face, neither overly snub nor equine-long, eyeridges hooded slightly over unsettling gaze and headknobs contoured close to a short, broad neck. A noble filigree, feathered like a crest of honor, hides in the surreptitious shadows of low-dipping neckridges and sneaks across boxy shoulders and swell of breast. There is only slight narrowing at his waist, leaving his short tail to taper abruptly to its fork, efficient and slick. Thickset limbs plunge into polished boot-black around his paws, silver starlight in his talons tiptoeing in the comet-streaked heavens of wings.

Public Impression Message:

The piercing eyes of What Darkness Lies in the Minds of Men Blue scan the shifting knots of white-robed hopefuls one more time, sizing them up with a keen spy’s scrutiny - or is he peering into their souls with that unnerving gaze? Whatever peers back from grey eyes intrigues first invites, and at last ignites him. Aha! Found it! There you are, Miralwyn!

Personal Impression Message:

It starts out as a hint, then progresses to a whisper, until you’re suddenly aware of some other presence that’s stolen unnoticed behind you to hiss in your ear. << So it is. Miralwyn. >> A flush of confidence as the voice creeps into the safehouse of your mind. << Wyn! >> A dashing chuckle, oozing with debonair charm. << I’ve got a secret for you: I’m Vorkoroth and I’m yours! >>

Egg Inspiration

Well, I thought we needed more eggs, and this egg idea came to me while I was taking a shower. I like the word "celestial" a lot, and I like the picture that came to mind when I thought of what the egg might look like. And it's really enjoyable to lie outside during the summer and just stare at the sky.

Why the Celestial Egg? Well, you liked it! ;D Of course, that's not all... The egg is full of energy, pulsing and throbbing on cosmic universal levels that most of us never think about, and when we do, we get vertigo from the height. ;) This is Vorkoroth's world, however - a dizzying input of energy, a galaxy of life with him at the center.

Name Inspiration

Vorkoroth, Vorkoroth... We all know where Vor comes from (and oh, it's just so fun to say - to purr, to growl, to put on a stodgy aristocratic accent and declare, "I'm Vor, madame..."), and 'koroth' comes from the Russian name 'Korotoi', meaning 'short'. We also liked the k and r sounds - kind of like Vorkosigan. ;) The 'Vor' and 'kor' sounds echo each other, and the name just kind of rolls off the tongue. I pronounce it the way I do Vorkosigan, with stress on the Vor – VOR-kor-oth – but you can say it any way you'd like. :)

Description Inspiration

It's mostly Miles, but not entirely. For instance, his body is not so conspicuous - not overly sparkly, and drabber than rich and full in color. He's cut and trim like a fightercraft, but he's got power: more of a pocket warship. There's that Lord Auditor's disturbing gaze, but it's mostly and effect of his eyeridges. Could be fun. ;) He is a worldly spy along the lines of Corran, however, for there's comets in the canopy of his wings, echoing the hope of so many officers (and would-be riders) for the infinite borders of sky and space.

Theme

Vorkoroth is a bit Vor, a bit Miles, a bit Corran, and Security man to the bone. That's why we chose 'What Darkness Lies in the Mind of Men' for his theme – as professional intelligence men, both Miles and Corran deal with everything from interplanetary war to assassination attempts to bribing raffles at social events to show a single girl a good time and spare everyone embarrassment. He doesn't exactly walk on the wrong side of the tracks or drag himself through the underbelly of society, but Vorkoroth's motives are his motives and his secrets, even if he has a knack for knowing everyone else's.

Mind Voice

When Vorkoroth’s successful at keeping up his debonair, slick spy façade, his voice will be low, sometimes angrily grating or passionately intoning in baritone, but ultimately smooth as silk. It’s a mindvoice that’s so suave it’s capable of hiding the many flaws the words it carries may contain. Sure, what he’s saying may not always make sense, but who cares? He sounds sexy. Other times, though, he’ll trip up, or panic, or forget his cool exterior for hyperactive enthusiasm, and at these times, a funny, squeaky tone of voice will race around your head, talking way too fast. It conjures up imagery of comets and zooming spaceships (or dragons!) and other galactic, manic things. Sometimes, when he’s plotting, it may just disintegrate into incoherent chatter and fade into the background like stardust into deep dark space. Either way, it’s inherently loveable, and one of the most charismatic and memorable features of Vorkoroth.

The new car/spaceship smell of fresh leather is the most obvious, almost overpowering other nuances, like expensive cologne (only the best for Vorkoroth) - musky, slightly floral, pure class. We suggest Gucci’s Envy or Aqua di Gio next time you visit the cologne section of the store, if you want an exact smell for your little charmer. And there’s something alcoholic woven into his presence; in fact, it's the undeniable tang of Corellian whiskey - Whyren's Reserve, maybe? When he's turning on the charm, the sweet, rich flavor of vweliu nuts and ryshcate add their own special touch. It gets headier - almost flirtatious in and of itself - when he's being particularly unctuous. After all, scents do work on the mind in mysterious ways.

You won't have much of kaleidoscope in your head when you talk to Vorkorth, because his thoughts don't run to many colors. In general, they are better expressed with gradients, usually tinted in the 'livery' of High Reaches – a coincidence, perhaps? Cool blues and blacks usually lap in smooth colors, sometimes like seas, but also the shimmer of satin or the darkness of skulking shadows. When he's being flippant or tripping someone up, countless variations on white ripple about, like a scimitar Cheshire-cat grin. Watch out when he's excited, however: silver, steel, chrome, and countless bright metallics burn the retinas of your mind's eye, blue flame of afterburners tracing every thought.

Physicalities

Don't let his size fool you - while Vorkoroth's not the longest from nose to tail, or the broadest from wingtip to wingtip, or even the highest from ground to shoulder, he's probably stronger and brawnier for his size than nearly all the blues and nearly half the browns. If there's one word to describe him, it's powerhouse. Blues are the workhorses of the weyr, and Vorkoroth is a workhorse among workhorses. Part of it comes from his personality: that constant supernova of mental and physical energy bubbling in him.

One would think it takes a great deal of food to fuel that drive, but Vorkoroth eats sparingly, and often with disturbing irregularity. << I just don't have time to eat now, Wyn. I will eat later, I promise. >> There's really no such thing as 'later', with dragons. He rarely ever gets to the point of being malnourished, but it is something you'll have to watch out for. He eats quickly when he has to, however, killing neatly and wolfing food down fast, so hunting really isn't something you have to schedule plans around. If he can, though, he likes to go out into the wilds and track down food, just because it is more of a challenge. << Who wants food that just walks up to you and begs to be eaten? >>

Vorkoroth is not deformed, like Miles, but he is a little abnormally short - as dragons go, anyhow. He is a bit more compact, from nose to tail, than his clutchmates, and he comes in towards the end of the ranks when you line him up with other blues. Some greens may, in fact, be wider of wingspan or longer than him, but he makes up for it in bulk, looking bigger simply because he is so muscled - not rippling muscle, but a kind of sturdy bulk that one finds reassuring in henchmen and bodyguards. Only... pocket-sized.

He’s like one chunk of condensed, fluid muscle. And, like the proper intelligence agent he is, he has complete and utter control over the machinery of his body, possessing the capability to slip into spots you wouldn’t think possible, to press his body up against walls and disappear into shadows, to leap easily over a fence, or a rock, or, you know, other dragons. And all done with ease so natural it’s barely noticeable.

Your blue has quite a few military/spacey touches: all that silvery, star-shiny steel gray on his body, and the glimmery metallic bits that are both a combination of some very Vorish military decoration and all of Miles Naismith's hidden awards. The silver isn't garish, though - it's more like a watermark, only shining when the light's directly on it, and the rest of the time just a faint shimmer that seems like a permanent just-oiled coat. You'll have to be careful, there, to make sure you didn't forget to oil it - Vorkoroth's a big help with that. << Wyn, you forgot to oil my neckridges. Again. What am I going to do with you? >>

He's not vain, but he does take pride in his appearance out of simple necessity; he doesn't want to look sloppy or anything too much less than inspection-worthy. It's not always an option, but if he's going to be messy, he'd rather it show a job well done than carelessness. Bathtime, then, is a regular part of your day – almost a ritual, just after eating. Vorkoroth is quick about it, not one to sit and soak – but sometimes he'll decide to play 'submarine' with other unsuspecting dragons and riders, because he blends in surprisingly well with the lake bottom. And let's not even get started on the interesting stuff that's been underwater for Turns...

One special area, to you and to him, is right underneath his jaw, where it meets his neck. There you'll find a pair of insignia, in bright and gleaming silver - eyes of Horus. Not surprisingly, it's his favorite place to be scratched or touched, so if you ever need to calm him down (or win an argument), a few scritches there and he'll be in the palm of your hand.

Personality

Vorkoroth is, unforgettably, passionately - almost hyperactively. He will never be a lazy dragon, content to lie around and soak up sun like Alymath or Mneoth; just existing is a task in itself. While he may not begin every morning at sunrise, pacing around your ledge with his hands clasped figuratively behind his back, and greet you with << Come, we have much to do! >>, you'll never have the luxury of claiming you're bored again. (Especially not at the 'Reaches.)

"Well, at least he'll stop bouncing off the walls, and give us all a break," said Mayhew cheerfully. "Oh, was that liquor of yours a stimulant?" asked Elena. "Couldn't you tell?" chuckled Mayhew. "Not really." Mayhew's laughter faded. "My God," he said hollowly, "you mean he's like that all the time?"

Luckily, this mile-a-minute mind is balanced out by a keen desire to learn -- no, to know. He's not one of those 'why' dragons who want to know whywhywhy about everything from the sky to spinners; he’ll figure it all out himself, thank you very much. Rather than constantly asking you about it, he’s confident enough in himself to observe and draw his own conclusions from something. Nothing fascinates him more than people; first of all, they're impressed by him in a way other dragons aren't, and he knows they're no competition. Secondly, they do (in his opinion) things that are always amusing and positively perplexing. Don't be surprised if you find him snooping about in the shadows of ground weyrs with his head at the infirmary door, or peeking into the living caverns to see what's going on. Vorkoroth’s 'investigating' will be a great source of information (aka gossip) for you. He seems to possess the ability to be everywhere at once, and to know what’s going on in everyone’s head, without anyone ever remembering him being around or asking about anything.

He is no scholar, and neither is he a detective. If something odd is going on, he has no grandiose ideas that he will solve the case and come out the hero. Vorkoroth is motivated by a selfish sort of preservation instinct, balanced out by his altruism when it comes to saving Pern. If there is one thing he can do, it is think in circles around other dragons and juggle information with lightning speed. He sees life as a never-ending game of one-upmanship, and the only way to win the round (if not the war) is to be able to drop juicy gossip or correct someone at just the right point. Vorkoroth isn't ever intentionally cruel, however; he just has a bit of a Napoleonic complex (to bring up another famous Short Guy), but instead of conquering Europe, he likes to leave an impression on the others that he's brilliant, even if he's just learned how to do it five minutes before. <<Your straps don't seem to be tight enough, Zhesteth... but just try this and loop that there – see? You would have thought of it, eventually. >>

"Quite. Plus your rather irritating habit of treating your superior officers as your, ah..." Cecil paused, apparently groping for just the right word. "Equals?" Miles hazarded. "Cattle," Cecil corrected judiciously. "To be driven at your will."

However, he's not always a 'manipulator par excellence', and is more likely than not to stick his foot in his mouth or trip himself up when he's busy dancing around dropping his two cents. If he ever seems the most manic around you, that's only because he enjoys (on some level he can't quite understand) the way you can expertly poke holes in the grandest of his oratories, and because he loves you and you love him, it doesn't really matter. You two may have your spats like an old married couple (or Miles and Ivan) but the blows are superficial. But if whatever green is sparkling in his gaze this sevenday makes a snarky comment to him, even if he's barely seen her - count on him to sulk. For days. He's not going to sit around and mope, no, but he'll be touchy and testy to everyone, even you. Some definite Horus-eye scratching is called for, here.

In his lucid moments, he'll have a knack for revealing startling insights about people – or dragons – that he learned earlier, or for finding a solution to the problem you've been having. Most of the time, however, he's off on some wild goose chase, hunting for problems that aren't real. You'll have to rein him in, more often than not, but it will get easier as the Turns mount. He looks to you for a sense of order in his life, because he is often chaotic. A little bit of you will rub off on him, and make him more stable - but a little bit of him may rub off on you, too.

Pink Floyd - Learning to Fly

Into the distance, a ribbon of black
Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reeled
A fatal attraction holding me fast, how
Can I escape this irresistible grasp?

Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted Just an earth-bound misfit, I

Ice is forming on the tips of my wings
Unheeded warnings, I thought I thought of everything
No navigator to guide my way home
Unladened, empty and turned to stone

A soul in tension that's learning to fly
Condition grounded but determined to try
Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I

Above the planet on a wing and a prayer,
My grubby halo, a vapour trail in the empty air,
Across the clouds I see my shadow fly
Out of the corner of my watering eye
A dream unthreatened by the morning light
Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night

There's no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, A state of bliss
Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I

When it comes to flying, Vorkoroth is downright obnoxious sometimes. He's convinced - and it's almost true - that he's got it all worked out to a science in his head, and when the time comes, he'll be flying rings around the others – it's just something he knows. So you'll have to remind him to do his wing exercises, and to listen to the weyrlingmaster, and to stay in formation even when he's not leading, and not to fly so high or so fast when he is. Mental energy will, after all, only take him so far. Your blue has no patience for other who might be slow to fly or for riders who get airsick – and it's not like he's got a huge amount of sympathy to begin with. He's neither speed demon nor a daredevil in the air, per se, but there's some somatic suggestion that what dragons Do is Fly, and he must always Do.

Vorkoroth has innate military tendencies, and when fighting Thread, they come out in force. He's often the first to know when Threadfall is coming (you wouldn't even need charts, if you had him) and when it falls over Fort, or even as far as Ista, he becomes agitated by not being able to single-handedly sear the menace from the skies. Faranth help you if you're ever grounded during a Fall, for Vorkoroth will be insufferable. Fall he takes with utter seriousness, from making you check every strap joint three times before you even leave your weyr to taking extra firestone. << Just in case. >> Part of him lives to fight Thread. He doesn't love it, any more than Aral Vorkosigan liked to fight. You have no bloodlust on your hands here with Vorkoroth. It is, however, his element - and it will affect you, too. He has a pilot's instinctive spatial sense; he knows where the Thread and his wingmates are at all times. He doesn't have the maneuverability of the greens despite his smaller size, but his heart burns with a passion so dear that be sheer will – not to mention his natural endurance – he's a champion Threadfighter.

You are infinitely precious to Vorkoroth, Wyn. Those eyes, unnaturally unnerving even for a dragon - which shine with that utter clarity of intent that can intimidate or wheedle - are utterly transparent to you. He can't hide a single thought if you but ask, and often you get more of a confession than you bargained for. It is because of this mental vulnerability that he expects you to look after him, especially when he comes back to you with some social faux pas booboo and is looking for you to bandage it. You are his Wyn, who can handle anything for him. << But they don't have to know that. >>

Flights:

Flights are an odd time for Vorkoroth - he is, despite his all-around detachment from the world, a romantic when it comes to the women (or, well, greens). When one is out of season, he's marginally more polite to her than other dragons. It's a touch of sexism, on his part – he doesn't hurt 'gurls'. But when the poor girl is in season... he is the epitome of cultured charm and class: the formal click of heels together, the low bow to a beautiful woman, the bright eyes looking up into the face as he kisses her hand. He does not write sonnets to her heart or trumpet love from the Spires, but in your mind there's mercury fireworks and nervous banter from his head-over-heels infatuation even as he plays it cool. It happens almost invariably – the green becomes his alpha and omega, but almost always they never live up to his expectations of the perfect female. As soon as the pheromones have worn off and the lassitude of the flight is gone, he seems to forget why he went after her in the first place, and often leaves. Abruptly. This may earn him the reputation of a love 'em and leave 'em type, but it's not true: he never really did love them in the first place.

"You're both very twisty," said Elena doubtfully. "And, er, short. You seem to kind of enjoy figuring her out."

There will be greens, however, that continue to fascinate him after the flight, but it's never any wilting flowers or vapid bubbleheads. It's the sadder but wiser girls for him – the headstrong ones, the confident ones, and the still waters that run deep. With them, Vorkoroth comes as close to monogamy as dragons can (sometimes a polygamy, and Faranth help you if any of them run to jealous streaks). It's not surprising, either, for him to find sisterly relationships with the greens he can stand – especially his clutchmates. His loyalties extend to include them as well, from offering choice bits of that third herdbeast to making sure that their flights went well. Vorkoroth can drop his spiky Vor armor in the affairs of love, and a surprising tenderness leaks through.

<< Honestly, Wyn, I just want to be sure they're being treated right. I'm not soft. >> Snort.

-------

Welcome to the 'Reaches, Wyn! We're so glad to have you and Vorkoroth with us, and we look forward to many Turns of laughing, playing and knowing you. Clear skies!