Rihan -Lord Holder of Telgar River Hold & Heir to Telgar

:: OOC ::
Moniker:
JQ
How did you hear about us?:
CoFounder


:: Character Information ::
Name:
Rihan

Pronunciation:
Ree-Han (Soft R, soft A)

Title:
Telgar Heir Apparent & Lord Holder of Telgar River Hold

Honourific:
N/A

Age/ Turn of Birth:
29/ 473 AL

Gender:
Male

Place of Birth:
Telgar Hold

Place of Residence:
Telgar River Hold

Craft:
N/A

Occupation/ Role:
Lord Holder

Character Aspirations:
Aspires to complete the building of Telgar River Hold and to follow in the footsteps of his father and become the next Lord Holder of Telgar, being able to properly fulfill his duties in that station. He also wants to be a good husband and a father, and desires to provide, protect and help others, like the holdless, by bringing them into the Settlement.


Family:
✣Father: Lord Holder Matoi  (448 AL)
✣Mother: Lady Holder Nanao (450 AL)
✣Siblings: Brothers Kade (25/ 475 AL), Ermon (479 AL/D)
Sisters Silisse (476 AL), Kiyone (482 AL) and Ririn (484 AL)
✣Children: N/A
✣Other Significant: Grandfather, Hiran (father’s father) (425 AL)(PNPC); Wife,  Lady Eolyn of Igen Hold (Played by Kate); Jungi, caravan master’s son (474 AL); Kondo , Swords-master he’s trained under since he was young, who is now Commander of the Guard (455 AL) (PNPC); Toshiro, First Division Captain of the Guard (473 AL); Uncle & Lord Holder Hirate of Southern Telgar Hold (450 AL) (PNPC); Aunt & Lady Holder Eun of Southern Telgar Hold (446 AL) (PNPC); Drien, Steward of Telgar River Hold

Appearance:


✣Face: Gackt Camui
✣Hair: Black, neatly trimmed, kept short in back and with longer, stylized bangs in front, cut at a nearly chin length
✣Eyes: Almonde shaped eyes of stormy grey that reflect an innate intelligence.
✣Height: 6’ 4”
✣Build: Very lean and athletic musculature. His muscles are not bulky because of the types of activities he chooses to keep himself physically active, and for the fact that he prefers eating mostly vegetables and smaller amounts of meat.
✣Other Notable Traits: Across his mid to upper back and shoulder blades, a tattoo artfully depicting the Telgar Crest which, in this rendition, is loosely encircled by a crimson thread, which appears almost as lines of blood in an odd ring across his back. The tattoo has a potent meaning for him personally and it is tradition
✣Style of Dress: On a daily basis he can usually be found wearing a slim-fitting, long sleeved shirt  of black or otherwise neutral colour with a pair of well-tailored pants that blouse loosely over the tops of mid-calf  or about knee-high boots. A more colourful but complimenting  robe is worn over the rest of his attire, measuring to just below knee length. The robe is semi-fitted and its collar either crosses over the chest, wrapping around his torso, or in alternate style, could be buttoned up the front to a short mandarin collar. Sleeve lengths vary from sleeveless to long depending on the season. The robe is characteristically slitted up the sides and back, creating long coat tails of a sort, that whirl about him with any great movement, revealing a crimson lining on the underside in very bright contrast to the typical subtle shades he wears otherwise.  A wide belt, sometimes layered with secondary sashes for colour contrast, ties around his midsection  at the waist, knotting in the back.  The belt may be used to secure his sword or other items to his persona.  Usually a medium-sized folding fan is tucked at the front of the belt and perhaps a long-knife at the back. Otherwise, a long sword and shorter blade are situated at the left hip.
For formal occasions, Rihan’s attire becomes more ostentatious and he wears the knots of his Hold and rank of birth.In the winter months, he dons a coat of black leather which measures to about mid-calf length, sporting a slit several inches up the back for ease of movement and Riding. The coat secures asymmetrically across the front where lapels are lined with black animal fur except across the lower left of the collar where streaks of white fur add stylized contrast.

✣Possessions usually found on persona:
✣White Gold Telgar Signet Ring
✣(Will one day inherit a secondary ring from his father, which is an heirloom with a ruby in its setting)
✣A medium-sized folding fan of Navy Blue-lacquered paper over which is hand-painted a beautiful rendition of the Telgar Crest. Its outermost spokes are crafted of ornately ornamented iron painted in pale gold-leaf, the inner spokes being made of one of Perns hardwoods. This is typically kept tucked under the front of his sash/belt or for ease of access.
✣About half the time, he wears a sword under his belt that is used for ceremonial purposes as well as for fencing practice, which he attends frequently.  The hilt of the sword is adorned with a crimson tassel and a telgar crest, symbolic of his position in the hold.


History:
✣Rihan was born the eldest son of the Lord Holder of Telgar. His parents took the holding while they were still fairly young.  The family operated under a strict hierarchy and instilled into their children and those around them, a great sense of respect, honour, duty, responsibility, and an appreciation for education and work ethic.  Like most children, Rihan never fully understood these things until he grew older, so , throughout the earlier parts of his childhood, he spent a lot of time  playing pranks on others about the hold, sometimes much to the adult’s disgruntlement.

For many years, Rihan’s father did not pay him much heed, that is, until the day he was considered an adult, and of age to begin learning the tasks of managing a hold. At that point, Rihan did spend more time in his father’s company however, it was the Steward who typically spent time educating him on hold matters. Rihan’s father had the final say in all matters of the Hold true enough, but without his direct involvement, this continued to leave Rihan feeling somewhat distant from that half of his parentage, yet he always desired to be closer to his father; perhaps that is why he has always seemed so determined to please his father.

Relationships with his siblings have been fairly normal, though after reaching the age of 12, his time with them was much less as far as recreation and personal involvement until he turned 14 and was given allowed real personal time again.


✣Training in hold management began for Rihan as a drudge. This would probably seem very odd for many Holders, but his father was very strict with him regarding the expectations he would have to uphold as the heir to Telgar. Being heir, meant having an in depth appreciation of all walks of life there, and all processes that had to happen in order to operate the Hold successfully. So, the first two turns of his training were spent doing drudge work. This was also his father’s way of breaking his son down and building him back up into a more finely tuned specimen of Hold heritage. Time spent in menial tasks was not looked down upon as much as it was seen as a method of humbling one’s self in order to improve on one’s attitude and gain a greater perspective on life before taking on even more difficult tasks -almost like a ritual cleansing.

This process left Rihan feeling as though he’d been disowned by his family since his parents often treated him almost as though he did not exist as their child at all.  Rihan did not understand their reasoning for this until he was older, and at the time, it pained him emotionally. Even though he was still treated by most others who feared reprimand otherwise with greater respect than a servant should have been, when he did something wrong, Rihan  was typically admonished more harshly than others, because not only did he do wrong, but one day, the well-being of his family and of others would depend on him and he could not afford to do wrong.

During this time, it was the Steward responsible for much of his training who seemed to share the most sympathy for the boy’s situation and therefore, he began developing a closer relationship to his father’s Steward than with his own parents. Part of the Steward’s job at this time was to monitor Rihan’s mental state since he was going through a lot of stressful changes, so he was allowed to treat the boy in a more sensitive manner.
Later on, there were certainly times that Rihan was able to spend in private with his father where his father showed his love and concern for his son and they could grow closer together. Their meetings still typically included some matters of business before they were able to relax in each other’s company.


✣The early years of Rihan’s life were spent assisting the Hold Steward in tasks to begin preparing him for greater responsibilities. After the literal drudgery from ages 12-14, the continuation of his training jump started him into a new reality. After that point, he was suddenly a holder’s heir again, his father and Steward forcing him to step into a much different arena where he could hold his head high. Any show of subservience that’d been instilled in him from the last two years of servitude, were no longer allowed. It was as if he’d passed some great invisible threshold being reborn into a new life.


✣About the age of 18, the same age he might have entered a journeymanship for a craft, Rihan took on his first Stewardship assignment by himself, being left to manage the Hold’s Weyr tithes. Gradually, new tasks such as managing the Hold’s trade operations have been added. More recently, deciding he’d like a change of pace, he requested being able to take on a minor holding by himself. Thus far, about two years of planning has gone into where they will build a new hold, how the building will be financed, architectural design, who will staff it and follow Rihan there, etc. In order to accommodate for the new holding, Rihan being the one to oversee it’s progress, previous tasks have been handed over to his brothers.

More recently, Rihan appointed his cousin Drien to the position of Steward of Telgar River Hold. He has been able to take with him several people close to him from Telgar Hold to the new Telgar River Hold to serve him there personally. That includes cooks, fencing teachers/ weapons masters, drudges, craftsmen, etc. Builders have begun giving rise to the main structure and fortressing walls, but it will still be another two years at least, before the holding sees full completion of its main structures. The location of the new lesser holding is just shy of 40 miles south and east of Telgar Hold itself, near the Telgar River. Cotholds were built first to make accommodation for the farmers and craftsmen who will be contributing to the hold’s completion and making sure the population there sustainable. The people there have been growing vastly in numbers as preparations have been made to begin more projects there. Rihan has spent much of his time over the past two turns either living at the new holding or traveling back and forth.


✣When Rihan takes time away from the worries of building a new hold, his time is usually spent exercising other talents rather than resting. One might think that at such an age, romance might also have been a greater focus to him, but the thought of romantic relationships were never encouraged growing up, and he was given little time for them. Romance was also somewhat discouraged because, as the heir to Telgar’s holdings, it was always assumed there would be an arranged marriage in his future. Even if this were not the case however, Rihan always keeps himself occupied with pursuits that are proper for his rank which leave him little time for conjuring the fantasies of such pairings -perhaps he distracts himself from it purposefully, though at his age, he is beginning to wonder if he’ll ever wed at all. It is common for Rihan to enlist his time for reading and games of strategy as well as for solo sports such as fencing, riding Runners, archery, court-dancing, practicing some form of music and writing poetry.

For the most part, he practices music (voice and sometimes instrumental) because it is imperative as the future Lord Holder he have an in depth knowledge of the classical ballads, history and art native to their territory in order to be an outstanding example of Telgar’s citizenry and help preserve such things for future generations.
He does not consider himself highly adept at dancing or instrumental musical talents though he is probably more educated than most of the general public in those arenas as far as formal education.

Rihan’s preferred pastimes are outings on Runnerback and fencing. It is also common for the swords-masters who have taught him growing up, to keep him on his toes by unexpectedly drawing their blades on him for a spar. As they’ve moved into the new Telgar River Hold -though yet unfinished- a number of his acquaintances from the Guard followed him there along with a small garrison of Telgar’s Guardsmen


✣ In the last turn or so, Rihan has also become married to the daughter of the Lord Holder of Igen. Just prior to their wedding however, Lady Eolyn and her handmaid were kidnapped by the rebels. Rihan and Zahir, the Igen Lord’s son, led a rescue mission to save both girls from certain death. It was not without losses that they brought the girls home safely, but it made Rihan even more glad, when the wedding day finally came. Eolyn was greeted by a magnificent reception in Telgar River Hold.

Since then, Eolyn and Rihan experienced an unfortunate miscarriage of her first apparent pregnancy, but Rihan remains hopeful of their future together. Even if the eyes of both their parents are always upon them, in the hopes of a future heir to Telgar, and so that future relations remain positive between the territories. Rihan however, has no lack of patience for Eolyn, given his deep and enduring love for her. Nor do he or his father seek to make her miscarriage an issue with the Lord of Igen.



Personality:
✣Rihan is very driven and goal oriented. At this point in his life, he has achieved a great amount of self discipline in order to attain his goals.
✣Typically seems fairly laid back and outwardly disaffected by the stresses of life. At times he seems rather serious -when he’s deep in thought- but more often than not, he is simply serene. This is a word that can frequently describe his appearance as well as his mental state. For turns, Rihan trained himself, with the use of that amazing self-discipline, to maintain such appearances even in the face of circumstances that make serenity seem impossible. He has gotten better at this as he’s gotten older and his self-control been strengthened.
This aspect of him might make it difficult for those who do not know him well to be able to tell whether or not they should take him lightly or take him seriously; likewise, it might be hard to tell if Rihan himself was taking things lightly or seriously.
Such an unbothered state also gives Rihan that ‘cool’ quality of refinement to a degree no regular Joe would likely push himself to attain; and indeed, Rihan has become very Refined as he has grown older.
✣Charismatic and confident. He learned what it was like to serve others and now his father has elevated him to a position unrivaled in Telgar except by his father himself. In order to fill the expectations of his father, he must possess the confidence of a leader and the charisma to draw others to him favourably. Likewise, his confidence must not be empty. This seems to come naturally to him
✣Rihan is very respectful of women, but assumes that they have their place, just as men do.  That does not mean either is lesser or greater, it simply means that each must know the role they were meant to play in life and do what is required of them.
✣He feels as though he must constantly strive to earn respect that he’s ‘entitled’ to, lest he be unworthy of it. More than entitlement perhaps, he feels as though others have a duty to show certain respects to him and that it is imperative that others fulfill their duty to him just as he fulfills his duty to them. For this reason, he has little reservation about admonishing those he finds at fault and correcting them so that they may better fulfill their duty to him. He has high standards of himself and likewise, has high standards of those around him.
✣Quiet, contemplative demeanor
✣Studious and Philosophical.
✣Responsible/ reliable. He is honour and duty-driven. It is because of his strong sense of taking responsibility that is is often so quiet and at times more passive than most would remain. In Rihan’s mind, a person is fully responsible for their actions and for whatever they say. Especially as a future holder, he considers that he must be cautious with what he makes himself ‘responsible’ for, because taking full responsibility means following through to the end, the things which he said or did. He does not wish any undesirable responsibility upon his shoulders
✣Thoughtful Motivator of others; he believes that this is part of his duty as a future Holder, to be able to provide the people of Telgar the opportunity and tools to be successful, productive individuals. R’han always looks to find the good and the usefulness in people.
✣Well spoken. Silver Tongued, as it were. He uses this ability to Telgar’s advantage in resolving disputes, trade, diplomacy, etc. He seems to be skilled in the art of persuasion and it is not unheard of that he should use his words to manipulate situations to his advantage.
✣Not highly social, even though he is adept at speaking, he does not prefer being in the company of large groups and does not usually initiate conversation with those he does not know unless duty requires it
✣Seeks harmony and balance in things usually. That includes in his relationships, so he tends to be fairly non-confrontational for the most part.
✣Not accustomed to a lot of physical contact outside of the sports he participates in, so is normally shy about physical display of affection in any manner; a woman’s physical public display might also be viewed as possessing some control over the man, so it is unlikely for him to prefer physical displays anyway



Shortcomings:
✣Though he is given time away from the more pressing tasks of his station, Rihan tends to busy himself at seemingly all hours with some form of educational pursuit. This may be good in that he has created for himself a quest to be continuously learning and improving on his skills however, it leaves little time for good rest. Overseeing the progress of a new hold is also a constant worry in his mind. This paired with the amount of physical activity he tries to keep up with begins to wear on him -mentally and physically. Rihan always upholds an image of strength in the face of the public, but in private, he is gradually beginning to show signs of that stress, even to the point of causing physical collapse. It is something that he sees as a terrible weakness in himself so he remains very guarded about its ever occurring. Any servants or healers who have seen such an episode or assist him at these times are sworn to secrecy. The healers have thus far given him a clean bill of health other than the high stress, though it is something that seems to happen more often in the heat of the summer after he’s been outside for a long time or physically active for too long. His healers have pressed him more to find a Steward of his own sooner rather than later in order to cut down on the responsibilities he must bear on his own in order to keep from seeing an increase in these occurrences, but Rihan has been somewhat stubborn on that account, and won’t hire himself a Steward until he finds someone more than suitable and trustworthy to fill the role.
✣Whatever his sense of reasoning, his sense of entitlement and the fact that he doesn’t speak his mind openly often, can cause him to seem very arrogant. He assumes that this perspective is only taken by those who either lack an understanding of him or those who refuse to be dutiful to their Hold.
While outwardly, Rihan might seem to be the type that’s “good at everything” and “ thinks himself above the rest of the world”, he has high expectations of himself and fears disappointing those he loves and respects; likewise, he fears failing the Hold as a whole. Having grown up under the strict expectations of his father, Rihan still feels as though he lives under that shadow of potential disappointment or wrath. But Rihan uses this as his motivation. Rihan holds others around him up to high standards as well, so may be patient, but if expectations are not eventually met, he is not beyond a very sharp reprimand. He can be a strict taskmaster like his father.


Mannerisms/ Habits:
✣When he is disgusted or irritated or perhaps finds irony, ”Chi!”.
✣Tends to go about many tasks rather ceremoniously, as if each movement held high importance.
✣Hand fan in hand often, especially when he is nervous or bored


Skills/ Likes:
✣[Thought stimulating activities]: Reading & board games like Chess or Shogi, etc. Secretly enjoys poetry and keeps a notebook/journal which contain some of these writings.
✣[Physical exercises]: Certain combat arts, such as deffenseive and offensive techniques with his hand fan, is a particular favourite. Outings on Runners, archery, etc

Unskilled at/ Dislikes:
✣[Disrespect]: Perhaps highest on his list of personality flaws in others, he does not like when people have no sense of respect, whether it be for other people, animals or inanimate things. Respect is a sign of a person’s self-worth to him. If a person does not act respectful, it’s not only a sign of a lack of self-control or perhaps inner turmoil, but a telling sign of that person’s view of themselves.
✣[Socializing]: Though it has been a part of life’s expectations throughout his upbringing, Rihan does not like being made to make small talk with people. It is something he has to force himself to tolerate on appropriate occasions. He doesn’t mind people-watching though, nor being in the more intimate company of good friends.


Fighting Style/ Weapon of Choice:
Rihan’s first line of defense is his fan. Because Rihan tends to be rather passive, always seeking the more harmonious path in life, he is not quick to enter into conflict. When it comes down to it however, fencing is his preference. Rihan is highly skilled in swordsmanship and that makes him even warier about ever drawing his blade.  He would rather use the scabbard and weapon pommel themselves to hinder an opponent before choosing to draw his blade. The formalized us of a sword is more sophisticated than fighting with bare hands, requiring a certain control and methodology that is almost ceremonial. Rihan appreciates the aesthetics such things.

:: Distinguished Persons' Information ::
Character Views on Thread:
Of course there are times of doubt, but overall, he has no real trouble accepting the stories of threadfall being true and that eventually the menace will return. Even if he has doubts, in order to maintain the harmony between the Weyrs and Holds, he’s more inclined to keep his thoughts to himself.


Character Views on Hold/ Weyr Relationships:
To Rihan, it is best to maintain harmony between all of the holds and their weyrs for the good of their people, even if it means a little uncomfortable compromise at times. He holds no disillusionment that Pern’s leadership will always see things eye to eye, but that is why Weyrleaders and Holders must learn respect and compromise, always thinking of the good of their people above anything else.

Experience in Hold Management:
✣Spent early years assisting the Hold Steward.
✣Fairly early on, he took on a few Stewardship tasks by himself, managing the Hold’s trade operations and Weyr tithes. This has been the case for several turns.
✣Over the last couple of turns, deciding he’d like a change of pace, he’s been arranging with his father taking on a Minor Holding of his own, instead of maintaining a role of Stewardship. Gradually he’s given back the responsibilities of weyr tithes and hold trade operations to Telgar’s Steward and taken on pretty much full responsibility for the new lesser holding himself, overseeing all of its processes and construction etc.
✣He now rules over Telgar River Hold as the young Lord Holder, having two Stewards in his service, which reside over the separate districts of TRH. Rihan is also heavily involved in finding the resolution to the Chorong Rebel troubles which have arisen once more.