J'nah is a character on Threadfall Mush. Threadfall MUSH is an
online role-playing environment based on Anne McCaffrey's series of
books: The Dragon Riders of Pern. Threadfall focuses on the
ISta Weyr and Hold areas, near the end of the 10th Interval. If you
are interested in Pern or role-playing and would like to find a friendly
place with lots of RP, come try Threadfall.
Background
New! J'nah's Journal. Click Here.
J'nah was born in Ista Hold a little over 30 turns ago as Jonah,
to a kitchen servant named Gisela. If his mother knew who his father
is, she never told him. Jonah has given to a foster family since kitchen
servants have no means by which to raise a family. Doral, the beastcraftman
that worked out of Ista Hold and helped maintain the islands stock,
along with his wife Fogela, took the fosterling Jonah into their home,
along with their 4 other children. They were sympathetic to Gisela
and J'nah always knew his mother, and would work with her as much
as he could when he became old enough. The rest of the time was spent
with his foster father in the beasthall and stables.
J'nah was well taken care of and loved by that family. When Doral
would travel around Pern on business from the BeastCraftHall, the
older sons and Jonah would go along. Jonah saw all sorts of places
on Pern, from the plains of Keroon to the dry deserts of Igen to the
mountains of Benden and Ruatha.. Gisela toiled her life away in the
stony kitchens of Ista Hold, and on Jonah's 16th turn, she died. Depression
followed for the adolescent. He felt as if he had no identity, no
family. He knew that Doral and Fogela cared for him, but that was
not HIS family. He started lashing out at others, and one time his
coldness caught up to him. The steely coldness of a knife blade pieced
Jonah, as he was caught by surprise in a fight over a measly eight
mark. The healers saved him, and Jonah wised up, at least a little.
Life carried on, Jonah worked in the stables and beasthall and assisted
Doral, and was planning on taking a late apprenticeship with the BeastCraft.
Doral was sent to the southern continent to learn some new techniques
being developed., And Jonah went along with Doral and his eldest sons
on the adventure. From Southern Hold, they took a barge carrying a
new variant of runnerbeasts around and started down the Paradise river.
A heavy squall blew in and surprised the travelers. The runnerbeasts
became scared and the barge rocked back and forth, so Doral and the
three boys fought to keep them steady. A whitecap hit the boat, and
the runnerbeasts threw themselves from the boat. Doral and the eldest
son, Dugen became tangled in a mass of harness and were drug under
with the floundering beasts. Jonah and the other brother attempted
rescue, but were unable to find them. They died a mere three hours
from their destination.
Back at Ista, Fogela was struck with grief. She took the remaining
children, some born after Jonah, and went back to her family in Keroon.
Jonah stayed behind, as another great part of his life was now torn
from him. The replacement beastcraftman was a petty man, and Jonah
was relegated to the most menial tasks. A heated argument over this
occurred, and it ended by Jonah breaking the man's stubby nose. He
decided to travel to Keroon, to be with Fogela, but no ship would
take him. So, he went to the only other place that might help him;
Ista Weyr. He stayed on and worked in the Stables there to try to
earn a ride, but other, better things lay in store for him. Jonah
was called in to stand in candidacy for Gold Trinyth's clutch. On
the first day of the 199th turn of Interval 10, a blue dragonet with
a mind deeper than the oceans of Pern bespoke young Jonah, and a new
union was formed. Myrdith and J'nah became intertwined forever, and
J'nah's life had meaning again.
Ah, but life does not stop there. The impression of Myrdith filled
a great void that had never known satisfaction before. But he still
had no sense of family, no one to be close to.
Weyrlinghood was an odd time. They were all busy with studies, and
nothing came about to change things. He was feeling pretty low when
the gather of Lord Corwyn. He went more for something to do, rather
than to have fun. As it were, they had a basket auction, complete
with diner with the creator. J'nah bid on a basket and won, and he
and the young lady dined and it ended there. Only later did J'nah
find the egg hidden in a pouch. But a weyrling has no time for a pet,
and J'nah inquired as to whom might like the egg. As luck had it,
a charming young lady happened by, and J'nah made it a gift to her.
Serriena smiled at him, and his heart malted.
He wasn't certain when he realized how much he truly cared for Serriena.
It was a while before he finished his training, but he still spent
as much time as he could with the light haired beauty. Somewhere,
along the way, that hole in his being was filled by her, and they
became inseparable. They lived happily in the weyr and he and she,
along with Myrdith and Serriena's firelizard Twilight became just
as much of a family as any holders might, and his happiness grew and
flourished.
His purpose became clear when the ancient evil returned, and suddenly
his trained became much more than that. His driving force was to protect
his love, his fighting more than just simple duty. And his responsibility
grew as Serriena got with child. J'nah impression of a blue firelizard,
aptly named Avalanche, added to the wide variety in his life. And
so, the lonely little boy from Ista suddenly found himself with much
more than he ever expected. His duty to his family, unborn child included,
was clear.
Or so he thought. If only life were always as rosy as one tends to
imagine. Thread did indeed fall, and with the transfer of a wingleader,
the spot fell to J'nah, much to his surprise. But even before that,
the child that he had expected did indeed come, accompanied by two
brothers. Three healthy baby boys and a new position had set themselves
squarely upon the bluerider. Thus, his responsibilities had increased
exponentially in just a matter of months, and a man, no matter how
sincere or caring, cannot handle them if he is not prepared. His new
duties caused him to be less and less of a help to his love, who labored
at taking care of the trio. Inside, J'nah was torn and shattered,
unable to help her, for those duties which he had to do were assuredly
important as well, but heartbroken at his inability to do what he
should. Eventually, the lads had to be fostered, for though Serri
was a great mother, she simply could not take three by herself. When
the three were taken to that same boyhood home where he had grown,
Ista Hold, J'nah became a failure in his own eyes. For he knew what
life as a fosterling was like, and he had just condemned his sons
to the same thing because of his own incompetence.
And so it began. Almost the instant that the boys were passed off
to the nanny, it was like some rift had been driven between the two
lovers, though perhaps it had been there a while longer than they
realized. He still felt like a failure, his frail psyche twisted and
convoluted to the point that he withdrew to himself. His duty became
his focus, and all the rage and frustration was pent up, until one
night when the weyrmates erupted in a colossal argument. Serri left,
and never returned, soon asked to stand for the third time upon the
sands. This was to be her last time as a candidate though, as she
impressed Gold Niaryth. Even as Serriena looked up and said her new
lifemate's name to him, J'nah felt lost, his replacement found. New
rivals emerged, for he knew with a certainty that Myrdith could not
catch the gold queen. So, with a self-imposed solitude, he went about
his work, trying his hardest to pretend that there is nothing wrong
at all.
Eventually, the blue rider receding into the background, and one
day Serri, and anyone else from Ista who might have cared found that
he had quietly trasferred to Igen Weyr. Perhaps cowardly, he had left
without saying goodbye.
A couple of years passed, and no one heard from the rider. As far
as the Istans were concerned, he didn't exist. The one day, Myrdith
landed in the Southern Bowl, and his rider quickly strode off to talk
to the Weyrleader. And as quietly as he left, the bluerider was back.
Why? You'll have to find that out yourself.
(If you want to know more about J'nah's life you
will have to come RolePlay with him. Read on for a visual description
of both dragon and rider.)
Descriptions of
J'nah, Myrdith, and Avalanche.
J'nah
A deeply tanned and lean body stands before you, looming
over 6 foot tall. His hair is a light brown, almost blonde, and getting
lighter from all of the sun on the tropical beaches of Ista. You can
tell that it has been cut very short recently, but the coarse locks
are beginning to lengthen again. His eyes are a deep blue, the color
of the night sky on a night lit by the moons of Pern. Those eyes are
the key to knowing him, as they will always give away his mood and
feeling. When happy, you would think they are stars in themselves,
and when sad, they appear diminished, as if the life had been drained
from J'nah. The wide set of his jaw gives his face a stony look, but
the two dimples that adorned his chin soften it when J'nah smiles.
A pure white tunic hugs J'nahs torso, and over his
should hangs the knot of a bluerder of Ista Weyr. Muscular forearms
the same tanned color as his face protrude from the sleeves of the
tunic and continue on to rugged hands with long nimble fingers. On
cold days, a study wool -lined Jerkin closes about J'nah's body, holing
the cold wind out. Black trousers cover J'nah's long legs, protecting
them from not only the sun but the rough underbrush of the flourishing
island. They are held up by a leather belt, form which hangs a steele
belt knife within easy reach of his right hand. Rugged boots cover
J'nah's feet, the well worn leather cracking from age and exposure.
Overall, J'nah appears to be powerful and agile, a must for one who
is a DragonRider of Pern.
Myrdith - Blue Dragon of Ista Weyr
Wizened streaks of wispy periwinkle threaded with aged silver trespass
with gnarled abandon along the rich cobalt of this nobly hued blue,
the brightly dancing shades of sterling trailing merrily from a well-honed
chin in soft curls along the breadth of his chest to tickle the curve
of his belly. Blankets of wingsails billow as a loose robe might flow
sweepingly from his majestically crafted form, the shades and shapes
understated but harmonious as the Master's finest harp - plucked with
such certainty that the musical grace is evident in every nuance of
his demeanor. Crisply cut edges of richest sapphire delineate wingbones
and set the daring curve of his talons into a glittering array of
ethereal blue fire, nothing of warmth to be betrayed in those mystic
shades as they flicker with the barest caress of illumination.
Proudly defiant cobalt stands sentry against an onslaught of darker
midnight that begins its trespassings at the spade of his tail, bespeckled
with a smattering of coldly silver stars that glare menacingly against
the otherwise sonorous mingling of genteel blues - the threat of a
long, perilous winter intimated in the brisk chill of discordant luminescence.
Resonant cerulean will not be so easily overthrown, however, as it
blankets sturdy haunches against the wintry siege, a gently covetous
embrace that both defies and envelops the lesser hues with its velveteen
warmth.
Avalanche - Blue Firelizard to J'nah
All blurred edges and frantic, keening movement, this tiny blue is
a constant whir of activity. The pure periwinkle base of his wet hide
seems almost hidden beneath a wind-lashed cloud of stinging ice particles,
the furious energy of a blizzard's strength tapering into a restless
storm of softer grays and ivories near his flanks -- allowing the
clean cerulean to finally peek through once more. The promise of winter's
end strengthens as it twists up to mantled wings, periwinkle once
again flaring into sun-touched brilliance that ensures the coming
once again of warmth, and solace from the anger of the storm.
