Ninth Harbinger Of The Rains Bronze Lihauth

Caught adrift somewhere between this world and the next, time-worn copper melds with something a little more corporeal to animate this large, long-limbed dragon, a patina long-formed streaking soft greens along his belly and chest. Mist clings to his hide, lending an ethereal touch to husky shoulders and well-defined, muscular haunches, drifting silently over his bronzen neck and curling in tendrils down to the smoothed tip of his tail. Wings, subtly luminous like dulled metal, bear spars dipped in seafoam, even as sparkling minerals dust membranous sails that remain otherwise a pale, soft shade of peach. Silver-touched, his movements remain languid and vaporous, as though fog's effort to cloud his hide twined too much about his large feet and glittering talons.


Egg Name and Description

Imperial Magistrate Egg
Turquoise and cerulean blend in a pattern born of intricacy, bold waves and curves flowing into a picturesque mosaic of aged marble over the shell of this rather large creation of Kilaueth's. Each stroke and line varies from the one that preceded it, creating the impression of soft, dusted blue mountains that meet the swirls descending from the heavens above. Below churns the sea, its once brilliant jade dulled to a faded patina, an echo of dynasties bygone. But the brilliance of the predominantly blue shell is no match for the sudden flare of luminous, sun-touched hue that shines from around the middle of the egg - golden fury personified, undulating shapes take on the forms of guardians of some long forgotten age, furled protectively about the ovoid as if to cradle it in their fiery grasp until they are needed no more.


Hatching Message

Shifting enough to finally dispel some of the sand around it, Imperial Magistrate Egg seems to hardly make its small, first movements, mountains and sea undulating with each little wobble. If one didn't know better, one might say that the shell itself is stirring, the first outward sign of life within. Then again, it could have all been a mirage - moments later, it stills.

The golden markings on the Imperial Magistrate Egg cling tenaciously to the shell, even as cracks rapidly form all over it. The guardians seem to writhe as the egg trembles mightily from the forces within, movement almost visible just beyond the largest crack. Soon. Soon, it promises.

Imperial Magistrate Egg shatters into a thousand shards with one last effort: Dust-blue mountains and ancient sea crumble to the sands - lost, forgotten in the wake of the creature who stretches egg-wet wings and raises its head to regard the world into which it has so suddenly emerged.


Impression Message

Your vision blurs gradually, an onslaught that, at first, could simply be attributed to the heat of the sands. But there's a familiar rush that rises within you as something flows fluidly into your mind, a gentle stream moving over rocks with natural ease, just as if his presence has always been there - steady, soothing, caring. « /There/ you are, » a baritone says softly. « Ah, yes. You are just as I knew you would be, Ch'tra. Come, now, I need nourishment, and we must help the others. » And as rapture fills your being, your stomach mirrors his all-consuming hunger, a void soon empty no longer. His name, a constant flow against the backdrop of the gentle rain that begins in your mind - Lihauth.


Personality

"Rain! whose soft architectural hands have power to cut stones, and chisel to shapes of grandeur the very mountains." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Lihauth, from your very first contact with him, seems an ephemeral creature. While most weyrlings go through the period of incredulousness that comes with Impression, you may be there a bit longer than most. Given Lihauth's mental presence, you may often find yourself wondering during those first few days - perhaps even the first sevenday - whether you and he are really there together in the weyrling barracks. Eventually, you'll come to find that amidst all that quiet, there is a soft susurrus of underlying sound that indicates that yes, he really is there. The whisper of rain in the back of your mind will come to be a familiar sensation as you both become acclimated to one another.
For all that he is a creature with seemingly simple needs, Lihauth has hatched into the world with intent and purpose behind his well-deliberated movements and choices. Inherently aware that you and he will both have the power to make a difference, he will no doubt encourage you, even during weyrlinghood, to do whatever it is you aspire to. The sky, literally, is the limit.

"For the man sound in body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather; every day has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously." ~ George Gissing, "Winter," The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, 1903.

Even with noble visions of doing grand things for the both of you when you're out of the barracks, Lihauth nevertheless has some peculiar oddities that will come out as he grows. During weyrlinghood, you'll notice that he has a great fascination with the water. It's not so much that he loves to swim - which he does! - but he seems far more interested in watching the water, observing to you the way that it moves, how it sounds, where it's going. From a young age, he will show remarkable concern for the environment and harbor a deep-seated respect and admiration for the power of nature. Xanadu's coastal weather will fascinate him, and should he ever witness flooding, his serious outlook on the situation will be tempered with a strong sense of understanding - to him, the weather becomes almost like a being incarnate.

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?" ~ J.B. Priestley

Lihauth will find a special sort of enchantment in snow. Being brought up in the coastal area of Xanadu, he'll always be curious about this idea of water being made solid, which will likely result in the two of you one day taking a trip to High Reaches, Fort or anywhere else where snow is a regular occurrence. Delighting in literally all sorts of weather, he will gravitate toward spending as much time out of doors as possible, enjoying the feeling of a muzzle upturned toward the falling rain, the fleeting brush of snow, the ethereal caress of the wind as it breezes by.

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky." ~ Rabindranath Tagore

Rarely given to excessive displays of temper, Lihauth generally exudes a pleasantness that makes him easy company, easy to talk to and the sort of dragon that others may grow to confide in. At the core of his ideals is a sense of continual improvement - how to best help others and ease the environment and atmosphere around them to improve their quality of life - and yours, by extension. It is all of these things that would make him a good candidate for a leadership role among his brethren - whether you and he end up serving as a weyrlingmaster, a wingleader, Weyrsecond or even Weyrleader, he will fall into your new role just as naturally as he made himself known to you on the sands that fateful day.
Should he ever witness anyone being disrespectful to the environment around you - to nature, the weather, or slighting you, his temper will be great indeed. The object of his wrath should run and take cover, for since he rarely gets truly angry, he tends to unleash the full force of his temper whenever he is angered.

"The sun lay like a friendly arm across her shoulder." ~ Margorie Kinnan Rawlings, South Moon Under

Lihauth is peculiar when it comes to mating flights. He won't give chase after a female until he sees the elements favoring her just so. Perhaps Rukbat happens to strike her hide in such a way that it makes her gleam that much the brighter - perhaps Timor or Belior lends her form an ethereal beauty that suddenly sends his ichor pounding. Maybe the rain falls past her in just the right way to make her look suddenly irresistable. Whatever the reason, he is always careful in his pursuits, choosing his females with a weathered eye and using his excellent weather-sense and connection with the thermals to his advantage. Despite his size, he has the potential to be quite successful in any flight, simply because he will have an innate knowledge of how to best utilize the air and the weather around him.
Courteous ever afterward, he will remain with the lady whom he catches until you and her rider part ways in the morning, generally caring for her with as fatherly an air as he can manage. Should he form an attachment to one in particular, he may simply linger longer with her, be more attentive and tell you how glad he is when you and the female's rider spend time together. Of course, should the rider be female and you like her every bit as much, he'll be twice as gladdened.
To the end, Lihauth is yours - devoted to bringing a new sense of color and appreciation of the simple things that are around you into your life, encouraging you to aspire to higher things and simply caring with his enormous heart - a heart where you, Ch'tra, shall always hold the highest seat of honor.


Mindvoice

Misty Benevolence
Sunrises, fog-kissed mornings, mist over the waters - Lihauth's mind is generally all benevolence, intent on presenting a soothing front, usually with the soft sounds of gentle rain. His calm rationale is found in the steady babble of bubbling brooks - a sense of peace in the soft, airy notes that drop not quite at random, as though a soft flute were lilting, lingering within him. In anger, deep, brassy gongs resonate with the force of his displeasure - brooks that were once peaceful overflow into torrential floods, while his gentle rains will turn to raging storms, sweeping monsoons that rush forth in unchecked temper. In grief, blank whiteness will overtake his mind, clouded fog that moves in a susurrus, barely present.


Inspiration

The theme for this particular clutch was, believe it or not, dragons. Yep, dragons! With the hatchlings based on a type of dragon and their eggs, on the dragon's habitat, I decided to work with the concept of the Chinese / Korean dragon, whose roots in mythology and folk lore are quite fascinating. Imperial Magistrate Egg was thus born, mostly based off of an image of Nine Dragon Screen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DatongJiulongBi.jpg).

Lihauth's personality and much of his mind description comes from the general characteristics attributed to the Chinese / Korean dragon - that is, both were once held in high regard as the local "sea dragon king, " as the local deities who oversaw agriculture, who affected the rains and were in charge of water-related weather phenomenon. Admittedly, I also pulled on some of the imagery that Guild Wars: Factions evokes with its soundtrack and Shing Jea island - it was too closely related for me to resist putting it in!

Finally, the name. You asked for a name that would be easy to pronounce and had some meaning in it. So, after doing a bit of searching, I came upon the Hawaiian name Lihau, suitable for both boys and girls. Lihau means "gentle rain, cool, fresh" in Hawaiian, which was something that I felt would fit particularly well with your misty, rain-bringing bronze. Even though the origin itself is not closely related to East Asia, I especially enjoyed how Lihauth would sound, as it reminds me very much of the Chinese "hello, " nee-hao. I've thought of his name as being pronounced lee-HAOth (or lee-HOWth if that's easier to see), but you're welcome to find your own pronunciation, of course.


Credits

Name Ninth Harbinger Of The Rains Bronze Lihauth
Dam Gold Kilaueth
Sire Bronze Hesketh
Created By Nicca
Impressee Chaitra (Ch'tra)
Hatched Sun Apr 20 16:23:31 2008
Xanadu Weyr
PernWorld MUSH

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License