Persona Profile: R'kiva

Writer: Iluva

Name: R'kiva
Pronunciation: Ruh-KEY-vuh
Age: 36
Birthday: m9 d19
Birthplace: Far Island Weyr
Rank: Weyrlingmaster Third
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr

Physical Description of Persona:
R’kiva has the tall, square-set shoulders of a man who's always known how to carry himself. There’s no fanfare, no tangible aura of confidence. He moves with the efficient economy of someone long accustomed to a fierce inner drive to get things done. His shoulders are broad and square, a posture honed from a lifetime working with his body and knowing how it moves, where its limits lie. At 5'10" he’s just a shade taller than average, built lean through the middle and long in the leg, with his musculature more dense than bulk, draped close to the body. Old injuries and turns of rider living have shaped him into sharp lines and angles and when he walks, it’s with a long, easy stride, the kind of loping gait that brings to mind a racing canine-- quick-footed, smooth, and deceptively relaxed.

His skin is naturally fair, though it has bleached ghost-pale under Dragonsfall’s weak winter sun. The black of R'kiva's hair, worn just longer than regulation, brushes his ears and nape of neck these days, making that pallor sharper still. There’s usually a wind-tousled disarray to it due to a helmet, as well as the fine, silken texture of it and his eyes are a cool, foggy steel-blue, striking against the dark framework of his brows and lashes, giving a somewhat stony regard when at ease. He’s not without warmth, but there’s little softness anywhere there at first glance.

There are some severe threadscorings down his right side-- a broken scar that stretches from collarbone to thigh, where the skin is smooth, taut, and unnervingly pale, pearlescent like a shell, a tight expanse of tissue that the rest of him is slowly ageing around. Everything that’s supposed to be there is there, but it also tugs faintly at the muscle beneath, drawing his shoulder inward subtly and shaping his frame with a quiet asymmetry. Several Turns on, R’kiva’s (mostly) accepted it, though old habit does sometimes keep him angled slightly to the left in conversation, and he still catches himself doing it.

Emotional Description of Persona:
R’kiva has grit, but not in a loud way. He’s a good-natured man, steady and grounded, the kind who wears his strength in how he endures rather than how he speaks. No one, not even his closest friends, would call him sentimental, yet he can be, in his own way. His care shows up in the details: in the precision of his work, the quiet watchfulness of his gaze, the way he never forgets what matters to the people he calls his own. He’s a stern force when it counts, passionate about his ideals and the duties that anchor him in the present, that give his life shape. When something truly resonates with him, he throws himself at it completely. Dragonriding has always been that constant, the one calling that seems to fit every part of who he is. Discipline is second nature to him, as much a comfort as it is a code, and even in his moments of ease there’s a keen readiness, a quiet tension lurking under the surface.

Mostly, R’kiva is relaxed and reserved, and he's always been the kind of man who doesn’t need to fill silence to be comfortable in it. He’s never been one for talking about himself, either, though given a topic to sink his teeth into, he’ll debate it point for point, toe to toe, with anyone willing to go the distance. His mind is quick, sometimes sharper than his tone intends, and the turns of battle have honed his bluntness into something lean and honest. There’s no pretense in him-- he’s too tired for that and too thoughtful to bother anymore.

He carries a calm seriousness even when he’s at ease. Though his temper still exists, it rarely shows; few ever see it because his anger, like his affection, runs deep rather than wide. Beneath his quiet and focus, he feels things intensely. He just prefers to channel it into motion: into work, into duty, into doing something about it. R’kiva needs direction the way some men need air. Purpose steadies him, and without it, he drifts. But with it, he’s steadfast, sharp-eyed, and wholly present. He listens more than he speaks, observes before he acts, and once his mind is set, little can shake him from it, rarely letting anything cloud his focus once he has it.

History of Persona:
Ralakiva grew up at Far Island Weyr, one of many Weyrbrats raised among the nebulous groups of full, half, and foster siblings. With a bluerider father and older brothers on blues, his own path felt inevitable. At sixteen, to the surprise of no one, he followed it: Impressing blue Dalonth, who gave him his first sense of true purpose.

His life didn’t take any real shape up until then. His childhood was a limbo, a bubble, a path waiting for the next step. It was Dalonth who took a second look at him and Dalonth who saw an ambitious but untested young man and hammered him with steadiness and support in all the ways he needed. It was difficult to see any path set out before him other than 'dragonrider', but with Dalonth he had direction. That blue took R’kiva and turned him into someone _ready_ by the time the Pass arrived. Restless in his youth, R’kiva left Far Island early in the Pass, serving first at Benden Weyr before spending nearly a decade at High Reaches, where the cold and routine suited him. Over the Turns, he earned his share of Threadscores, raised several children, and formed and ended a few short-lived weyrmate bonds, all on good terms.

Midway through Turn 8, his luck (and judgment) lapsed. A widespread but shallow scoring turned serious when he ignored healer’s orders and continued to _between_ before the wound had fully closed. The resulting infection left lasting scars across his right side, and changed how he saw himself. He recovered slowly, both physically and mentally, eventually returning to duty with the help of a mindhealer.

As Dalonth healed from a later wing injury, R’kiva took a gamble and joined Far Island’s Weyrlingstaff, discovering greater satisfaction in the steadier rhythm of teaching. When an opening appeared at Dragonsfall Weyr in late Turn 12, wanderlust and curiosity drew him back into the cold again. He was ready for a change, and a smaller class size out of their junior queen offered a good way to get his feet wet in another frigid new place.

Family and Friends
K'vau, 61, Wingrider (father)
Reika, 9, Weyrbrat (daughter)
Saphiva, 12, Candidate (daughter)
Ralakor, 14, Candidate (son)
V'aim, 39, Wingrider (brother)
Aulima, 20, Candidate (half-sister)
K'viah, 29, Wingrider (half-brother)
I'vala, 30, Wingrider (brother)
Imrala, 63, Cook (mother)
Nirala, 7, Weyrbrat (daughter)

Dragon's Name: Dalonth
Dragon's Age: 20
Dragon's Hatching Date: m11 d23
Dragon's Hatching Place: Far Island Weyr
Dragon's Colour: Blue
Description of Dragon:
Dalonth is best defined by what he is not. He is not impressive. He is not self-conscious; he is not ostentatious. He isn’t particularly proud of bearing, either. He neither wiggles nor struts nor prances nor prowls. He is a loose and free-spirit, a smooth but occasionally still enthusiastic presence that implicitly knows how to make himself at home. He’s comfortable almost anywhere, in any position, and will still full-on sprawl when asleep. Dalonth is, however, versatile-- a rugged, all-terrain, all-conditions dragon. He’s on the bigger side for his color without looking that way, dwarfing a good many of the browns, and packed with the sort of dense bulk that gives more stamina and strength than sleek acrobatics. He’s a force of nature in the air, his staying power unmatched for a blue, and while the pale cerulean of his hide doesn’t usually catch many eyes when he’s still, it makes him an undoubtedly soothing place to rest them.

Wry, gentle, and good-humored, Dalonth is pretty chill overall. Playful with anything smaller than him, he gets along well with Weyrlings and human children in equal enthusiasm. He's a confident, undeniably thorough type, weighing options before actions. He’s also very much beating to his own drum and completely unconcerned with appearances or rebuke. Though a stubborn and strong-willed dragon at his core, a hard spine of steel under an easy exterior, it is in the most subdued and loving way possible. He likes being the quiet springboard, a steady and soothing presence, and he's not easily flustered. He pretty much refuses to be.

Instead, Dalonth much prefers to shape, charm, guide, dialogue, negotiate-- anything other than having to outright force. He knows how to push but rarely ever does. He’s practical, unsentimental by most standards, intelligent without hubris-- he is R’kiva’s rock, full stop.

But-- he will unashamedly admit that he relishes a good primal chase more than any other Pernese joy, even a meal. The moment there’s a beautiful green in the sky, all logic and reason get thrown out the window, and Dalonth unleashes a fury that could knock a wher sideways. He enjoys it just as much as he does hanging out with his fellow males (honest). It’s just the temptation of chasing a wily, experienced green is too much for him to resist, combining all his favorite things-- and he’s nothing if not practical.

Approved: April 27th 2026
Last updated: April 15th 2026

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Persona Profile: R'kiva