Islands of Pern

Luralee

Name: Luralee
Age: 14
Gender: Female
Rank/Craft: Drudge
Residence: Ithaca Weyr

Description: Luralee stands at four feet five, having had her most recent growth spurt at the age of twelve, and weighs around 85 pounds. She's still growing, but nowhere near as quickly as she once was! Her skin is dark toned; were she on Earth Luralee would be considered of African descent. She has dark brown hair that she keeps cropped closely around her head, and eyes of only a shade or two lighter.

Her hands have a few scars where she's nicked herself with a blade while working in the kitchens. These are all small, light brown marks that are only noticable from very close. Luralee has callouses at the base of her fingers, and more on both of her feet.

Luralee wears mostly grey clothing, that being the color that would show stains and dirt the least. It doesn't really compliment her, nowhere near like her one nice outfit for Gathers does, but it's something she can wear without fear of it getting destroyed in the kitchens. The only piece of "jewelry" she has is a pretty green stone thread on a castaway piece of cording.

When she speaks, it is usually in a slow, soft manner with a noticable accent. To listen to her, one would think that she was in no hurry at all to say whatever it is she wishes to impart. Not to mean that she can't still give loud orders to the kitchen's rodent-hunting felines!

Personality: Luralee would do anything for her parents, including walking out in Thread if it would help them in some way. Theirs is a close knit family, despite their status and ranking on Pern. She is a faithful protector of her family, as well as animals, and is quick to come to the defense of either. One of her greatest blessings, and perhaps curse, is that when a family member is even slightly hurt, she will try her hardest to have them rest while she takes over their duties.

She is the type of person to bottle up her emotions. So as to not worry her parents, she keeps her emotions under wrap, only to have them burst like a dam down the line. When something has made her angry, she is more likely to sit and seethe than to try and work out the problem.

Background: It all started in Tillek Hold. Her parents were holders there, and found themselves having less and less land with each passing year. With an exploding population, the Lord Holder found himself hard pressed to keep all of his tenets fed and housed. When she was five, her parents gave birth to another girl, and at the age of seven she was blessed with a younger brother.

She took classes at the Hold, and returned every afternoon to help her parents with the work. She started out with the simple tasks, like bringing water out to her parents, or bringing in carts, or weeding. As she grew older, she learned how to plant and plow, and harvest the crops. Learning how to tend the small amount of animals they owned took little time at all, and was a favored task.

When Luralee was 9, her parents decided that the Tillek Lord Holder would just keep cutting up their lands until they had nothing left, and it would be best if the family moved. Living so close to the coast, they heard of the news of a new hold, Founders' Tip Hold, and decided to give it a shot.

They booked passage with a ship bringing cargo to the Western Islands. The first day of the journey went smooth, but a storm appeared on the second day. When the boat looked as if it were about to sink, Luralee and her family were placed into a small lifeboat with as many of their possessions as was possible to grab. Unfortunately, what the storm didn't take away from them, fate soon did.

They made landfall after a harsh day with little food and water, but it was in the wrong part. They were mobed by a group of holdless, and the rest of their possessions were taken from them. Her father was seriously hurt trying to defend against the holdless, and it was only due to the threat of Threadfall if they were caught that none of the females were raped. When her mother tried to protect her father, the holdless beat on her as well.

They ended up at Founders' Tip Hold with nothing but the clothing on their backs. Her father and mother both needed to recuperate and heal from the ordeals, and neither would be strong enough to work their own land for many turns to come. And so having no other options, the family became drudges. Luralee tried to do as much work as she could, so that her parents could rest.

Three turns of drudgework went by quickly as the days rolled into one another. Word came to the Hold of another Hold, Ithaca, being founded. And with it came a Weyr. Thinking that life would be better at the Weyr, Luralee's parents managed to be included in the staff sent to help get it running. Two more turns passed by just as quickly with the only difference being in the location, and perhaps the size of the kitchens.

Reserved Characters:
Mother - Darlee, 33, Drudge
Father - Lurre, 36, Drudge
Sister - Sarna, 9
Brother - Monle, 7

Last Updated: 10/31/2004