Auryn's Reluctant Hero King Brown Animuth

Enigmatic Rorschach Egg

Perfect symmetry and sharp contrast blossom across the surface of this egg, its gleaming white interrupted by swirls of pure black. Butterflying out from a central point, their vague shapes tease the imagination: is it the shadow of wings passing across the surface, or a tree reaching upwards? Are those dark, malevolent eyes, or a pair of firelizards dancing in the wind? Somewhere beneath the interpretations lies the truth, like a secret waiting to be unlocked.

Hatching Message

Enigmatic Rorschach egg quivers dramatically, a crooked crack appearing along the length of its shell that expands unevenly in all directions. After what seems like an eternity of hesitation, the entire egg seems to explode in a shower of shards, leaving its occupant to tumble head-over-wingtip onto the sands in a sprawling heap.

Reluctant Hero King Brown Dragonet

Inherent hesitation is prominent in the halting tumble of neckridges the dark, rich color of freshly tilled soil. They stand at attention like a nervous rank of soldiers, tremulous atop the landscape of much warmer tones of brown. The hue darkens slightly at the subdued crests of his headknobs, serving as striking accents for the whirling draconic eyes that are just a little larger than more normal proportions might require. Down the long, gangly neck and narrow back, his hide takes on the appearance of aged leather, mottled unevenly as if by wear, sometimes camouflaging the essential physique. This dappled look becomes even more apparent through the spread of his oversized wings but steadies to an even shade of deep brown along the narrow length of tail. The underbelly and deep chest, meanwhile, take on an almost rosy tint, though only in the light of day, and give way to lanky legs that awkwardly lead to darkly taloned paws just a little too large for his body.

Public Impression Pose

From the sands, Reluctant Hero King Brown Dragonet huddles, tailtip twitching tremulously but otherwise almost perfectly still in the midst of the tumult surrounding him, his great saucer eyes whirling yellow as he timidly regards the candidates. Suddenly his mother's nose bumps his hindquarters, startling him enough so that he lurches forward skittishly. Damp wings unfurl in a panic, immediately pulling him off his already precarious balance, and his overlarge back limbs scrabble forward in a desperate attempt to right himself. At last he tumbles to a stop, trembling from tip to tail, and finds himself eye to eye with winter's dusk… and the trembling ceases.

Private Impression Message

With a clatter and a pulse of sudden emotion, a presence enters your mind before the surge of agitation and nervousness abruptly abate. A calming sense of completeness overwhelms, building slowly into an upsurge of adoration as whirling, panicked eyes slowly fade to a most contented green. A shrill voice, so very male but so very excited, suddenly announces, « Auryn, I am Animuth. »


Welcome Auryn! Sure, she may have been here all along, but we're looking forward to getting to know Auryn all over again in her new role. Often challenging, sometimes acidic, but always a pleasure to play with, we're delighted to present Auryn with a lifemate of her very own to love, cherish and torment her.


Egg Inspiration

This egg is based off of the Rorschach Inkblot test. <http://www.rorschach.org/>

Name Inspiration

Animus facit nobilem - The spirit makes (human) noble

Animuth you will recognise as a name you requested, as it was Latin for 'courage'. However, the actual meaning goes a lot deeper than that. 'Courage' is but one translation, 'mind' is closer and 'spirit' (as in the above quote) is better still. The dictionary entry goes on into other variations such as the 'rational principle of life in man' and 'the seat of feeling'… but perhaps you're starting to get the idea?

While animus may have enjoyed such weight of meaning in the ancient Roman Empire, it acquired further significance in more recent years, thanks to Carl Gustav Jung. In Jungian philosophy, animus represents the masculine aspect of the female personality. Could anything be more perfect for a female-ridden brown? (By the way, anima is the feminine aspect of the male personality—so don't let Auryn think this is a one-way process!)

More information on anima/animus can be found here: http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/anima.html

Mindvoice

When at peace with the world, Animuth's voice would rather closely resemble that of Robbie Coltrane. (He plays Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies.) He would sound cheerful and engaging, with very much the deep voice of a most definite male. Usually. It is perhaps at these times that Animuth might most closely resemble that dream brown Auryn often imagined herself Impressing. His mindvoice would be splashed liberally with the clean and cheery scents of the outdoors: meadows and trees, the mountains after a snowstorm, perhaps even the delicate whispers of wildflowers when he is in a particularly good mood.

Of course, such times are not the only times in a dragon's life. While frustration does not come easily to Animuth, fear most certainly does. At these times, that deep, manly voice will squeak, squeal and break, sometimes reaching the upper ranges of a young child. (Think: an excited Billy Connolly) As if to amplify such things, the dank scent of fear might wind its way throughout his mindvoice, ringing with flashes of panicked yellow or nervous orange. It might not at all be uncommon for him to scream at climatic moments, such as the flaming of Thread, only to lighten with relief until the next clump appears.

It is at these times Animuth will most need Auryn's reassurance and support, as much for his sanity as for hers, because Auryn's confidence and love will often be the only things that can bring her lifemate's fears back down to Pern. His total trust and adoration for his rider could likely mean he would seldom speak with any person other than Auryn. But time will tell.

Physicalities

Animuth is built like a large, gangling dog. He seems to be all odd proportions, with a long narrow body but a deep chest, skinny legs but broad feet—and his big wings will never sit comfortably when folded. This will be much more pronounced throughout his first Turn or so, but even as an adult, these proportions will not even out entirely.

It's hardly surprising then that when he walks it isn't exactly with poise and elegance. His big feet clomp if he remembers to pick them up, and shuffle if he doesn't. He'll be very prone to tripping over his own wings, particularly before those muscles are developed enough to hold them high comfortably. And there's a definite /shimmy/ to his hindquarters that often suggests they're going in a completely different direction from the rest of him. He will grow in spurts, with his hind legs sometimes growing more quickly than his forelegs, and vice versa. Needless to say, there might be some serious growing pains along the way. Thankfully (for everyone), the growing does stop at some point, and with it comes much better understanding and control.

In the air, things are a bit easier—he may not look any prettier, but his progress is certainly more stable. He'll still have to go through the process of learning how to balance each of his ungainly appendages, but he /will/ achieve a steady and efficient movement in flight; you may notice a more pronounced 'bobbing' when he pumps his wings compared to other dragons. Hopefully, Auryn doesn't suffer from seasickness! Don't expect any tricks and agility from him. Attempts to mimic the manoeuvres of his smaller clutchmates will only end in disaster.

Personality

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear."
-Ambrose Redmoon

Animuth is undoubtedly going to need a lot of support to realise his full potential, and Auryn may struggle to fully recognize this. Butdare we suggest it?she's not exactly perfect herself. Opinionated, argumentative, domineering… all of these could be used to describe Auryn, anddelving into psychology and philosophy againall of these are symptoms of an unindividuated woman unconsciously possessed by her animus. Jung believed that with conscious development of her animus, a woman could master these unpleasant qualities and convert them into logic, independence and leadership ability!

Well, we're not going to hold our breath for Auryn to become a paragon of strong independent womanhood as soon as she walks off the Hatching Sands, but perhaps by deliberately trying to manifest her own courage and confidence into Animuth, she may temper her more irrational outbursts of temper and, ah, sulkiness.

In the meantime, Auryn must be wary of too much, too soon. Animuth will always find things easier to face with Auryn believing in him. However, don't expect him to be first to do anything newas far as he's concerned, that's what Ikth is for!and don't push him to outdo his peers. The feeling that he's failing you will only send him into depression, and that's something you're going to have to work on hard as weyrlings if you want to be ready as a fighting team come your first Fall.

"Although Courage is an unwilling hero (one of the highlights of the show is Courage's cowardly screams at significant moments), nevertheless he tirelessly embarks to rectify the situation. By coming to the rescue despite his cowardice, and in the face of overwhelming odds against him, the small, pink dog exhibits to the viewer the true meaning of courage." - "Libertarianism in Cartoons: Courage, the Cowardly Dog" by Barry Fuller <http://solohq.com/Articles/Simpson/Libertarianism_in_Cartoons_Courage,_the_Cowardly_Dog.shtml>

Yes, this is most definitely a Courage dragon. How could we resist? While you know him better than we do, the theme that seemed to stand out most was that his love and loyalty have the potential to overcome his more natural timidity — his love and loyalty to Auryn, to his wing, perhaps eventually to his Weyr. One moment he may jump at the unexpected appearance of his overly long tail in the corner of his vision; the next, he might be facing down the largest gold in the Weyr, just to stand up for his rider or clutchmate.

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow."
-Mary Anne Radmacher

"Fanfare for the Common Man" - Aaron Copland
<http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.100010429/default.html>

Animuth is no common dragon, though he might sometimes appear that way to those who do not know him well enough. Perhaps because of this, it will be all the more extraordinary when he rises above those expectations. However, with the mentality of a rear guard, it will not usually occur to Animuth on his own that he could be up in front, fighting against the foe in the thick of the battle. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Every front line needs that protective line of defense. At times, it is even that last line that saves the day. Only with the combined effort of both Auryn and Animuth will the common guard become the reluctant hero, diving in where the need is strongest.

Actually, taking up a position towards the rear of the formation during Threadfall to watch people's backs (trust us, some clutchmates like Ikth will need it) would be an excellent niche for Animuth. However, if Auryn has any aspirations about being Wingleader some day, weyrlinghood might be a good time for a test run to gradually nudge him forward in line. Gently, now.

Aside from the random shrieking at inopportune moments, Animuth's bravery might actually be most apparent during Threadfall. His loyalty and instinct can do much to help him overcome the terror of the moment, though the moments just before and after Fall might be something else altogether. The pain and horror of the aftermath as injuries are treated will likely do much to unnerve him. The end of the Pass might come as something of a relief!

But then there are flights. How relieved will Auryn be when Animuth's instincts and mating instinct combine to form a most dubious technique? Will his desire for the female overcome his wish to steer clear of the other chasing dragons—particularly those intimidating, larger bronzes? Perhaps it is just as well he's one of the Weyr's largest browns, otherwise he might never catch. As it is, he would likely prefer green flights, as those golds can so easily intimidate him. Although he'll probably have his fair share of chasing in goldflights, that sheer deference to gold dragons « Please, ma'am, after /you/ » could quite possibly squash that necessary edge required to actually catch. But perhaps if he wanted it badly enough…

"Promise me you'll always remember: you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
Christopher Robin to Pooh, A.A. Milne

Never forget, a lifemate is a two-way street. While at first, Auryn will need to be the nurturer and protector for her dragon, with time they will come to reinforce one another. Animuth will learn how to return the reassurances he has received, giving both rider and dragon a shoulder to lean on and a hand to help the other up when they fall. At times, his love and adoration will become so strong as almost to be a distraction from all else —perhaps even a little disconcerting to independent Auryn. However, life is always a long and difficult road; what better way to travel it than with a lifelong friend?

Credits

Name: Pyrene (and You!)
Egg Desc: Uriala
Dragonet Desc: G'deon
Messages: Pyrene, Pidgery, and G'deon
Puppeteer: Pyrene
Inspiration: Pyrene, Pidgery, and G'deon

Clutchmates:
Liza (Lizabet) and green Ikth
I'anex (Eitanex) and bronze Feitoveth
Eshe and brown Strakath
V'enn (Ruvenn) and green Casseth

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