Difference between revisions of "Kalyan Rihera"

Revision as of 20:13, 9 March 2022

Kalyan Rihera is an Andoran Dedicated of the Grey Tower.

Description

Though otherwise quite ordinary looking, the bright red color of Kalyan's hair makes him easy to pick out in a crowd. There is a waviness to it that often makes him appear untidy, and he wears it short to keep it out of his face and eyes. Those eyes are a plain brown, set slightly too close together in a narrow, thin lipped face. He is of an average height and build, and is deeply tanned from a life spent working outside. He can often be found with dirt on his hands and clothing, and is not particularly bothered by this.

Kalyan longs to see and experience more than is possible on the small farm he calls home. A bit restless, and easily bored, he has difficulty staying focused on work unless given sufficient motivation. He has a tendency to daydream, often about books he has read, and can get lost in his own thoughts and questions about the world and the people in it. This can make Kalyan appear to be lazy, but he is a hard worker when he wants to be.

Friendly and sociable, he often seeks out opportunities to get to know other people. He makes friends easily, but can be naive and faster to trust others than he perhaps should be.

He has a talent for working with young children, something he developed from helping to raise his toddler sisters, and enjoys playing games with them as if he were still a child himself.

Biography

n the early morning, Kalyan walked through the rows of his family's apple orchard, rushing to finish the harvest before he and his father left for the day's market. Market days were something Kalyan eagerly looked forward to, one of few breaks in his routine, and the anticipation of it made his feet move quickly through the rows. Everything was going well until he came to an abrupt stop in front of one that didn't look as healthy as the others.

The fruit hanging from it was a dull red, and the leaves curled, turning brown at their tips. The young man frowned, and after watering the tree, Kalyan knelt to get a closer look, brown eyes searching its bark for any signs of disease. While he studied the tree, his mind wandered, as it often did, wondering what it would be like if he could live anywhere else but here. When he rose to look at the leaves above, he was surprised to see that every one was as green as they should be, instead of turning brown as he'd thought he'd seen. It must not have been as bad as I first thought, he observed to himself, shaking his head. The oddness of it quickly left his mind as he rushed down the row, inspecting the trees and harvesting those which had fruit ready to be picked.

He kept working, pushing himself to move fast, until he was distracted by a quiet sniffling sound which was quickly followed by a pair of small arms latching on to his legs. Kalyan smiled, used to the frequent appearances of his toddler sisters. Looking down, he saw that it was redhaired Adina who had fled from the house today. The little girl sniffled, and Kalyan reached down to pick her up, settling her on his hip before looking toward the house. Their mother stood in the doorway, watching to ensure the child had reached him safely. He waved, then looked into Adina's tearstained face. "Having a rough morning, Dina?" he asked, and the little girl nodded. "Want to help me pick apples?" That earned him a smile, and Kalyan swung her high into the air, both of them laughing as he set her on his shoulders. He let her hold the basket, and the short time after that was free from interruptions until Adina picked the last of the apples.

He moved to set Adina just inside the door, but when he opened it, he found Adina's twin waiting there. "I want a ride too!" Adela exclaimed as soon as she noticed Adina still perched on Kalyan's shoulders. Kalyan knew he didn't have much time before he'd be leaving, but he couldn't stand to disappoint his little sister. He reached up, swinging Adina to the floor, then lifting Adela up in her place. They headed outside to the sound of Adela's giggles, but it wasn't long before Kalyan heard his father calling."Kalyan! Help me load this wagon!" Reluctantly, he took Adela back inside and did as his da asked.

Not long afterwards, they arrived at the market and began to set up their stall. While he worked, Kalyan glanced around at the other stalls nearby, noticing with pride that their apples seemed to be just a little larger, their colors more vibrant than anyone else's. It should be another successful market day, he thought to himself. When the customers began to line up, Kalyan smiled and made polite conversation with them. Not long after the market had begun, he became distracted by an uncomfortable throbbing beginning to build in the back of his head. Not now! he thought, but of course, there was nothing that could be done for it. This sort of headache wasn't new to him, and he was as used to them as he could be.

It felt as if bands of ice surrounded his head, only getting tighter with each moment that passed. Kalyan winced, looking up at the man he'd been talking to as his da stepped in to take over. With a mumbled apology to the customer, Kalyan walked away. He sat against the building behind them, his forearms resting on his knees as he laid his pounding head in his hands. His vision blurred, and he shut his eyes, waiting patiently for the ache to go away. When he'd first started having these headaches, he'd tried all sorts of suggestions to ride himself of them, but nothing had worked. Instead, they'd just increased in frequency, interrupting what had been an enjoyable day at the market. It was incredibly frustrating, and all Kalyan could do about it was sit here, clenching his teeth against the pain as he fought not to draw unwanted attention to his state.

His eyes were still closed and his head still pounding when he heard his da say his name. Kalyan opened his eyes and forced himself to look up, only to see that his da wasn't talking to him. Instead, he was talking to the man Kalyan had been assisting when his headache had begun. He wondered what his da was saying, but couldn't concentrate well enough to hear anything else that was said. His eyes closed again, but soon, Kalyan heard the sound of approaching footsteps that stopped in front of him.

Out of curiosity, he opened his eyes just as the stranger his da had been speaking with seated himself on the ground not far from Kalyan. The dark-haired man held a sack of their apples in his hands, looking over at him before commenting, "I've been through this entire market, and your apples are the nicest ones I've seen! Care to share your secret?" Kalyan shrugged, wishing his head would quit pounding already. "I don't know, we just work hard. There's no secret to it."

"No? Have you noticed any improvement in your crops recently?"

Kalyan frowned and shook his head, wincing as a spike of pain lanced through it. "No. Why?" he asked.

Instead of answering, the stranger said, "Your father told me you've had headaches like this before, but it's not just headaches, is it? You've had fevers. Chills. Dizziness...for how long?"

Kalyan stared at the man, wondering how he could possibly know that. He couldn't hide the headaches, but he'd never told his parents about the times when he'd go to bed early, burning with fever, or the dizzy spells that sometimes came at the end of a long day of work.

His mouth opened and closed as Kalyan struggled to form words. "How did you know that?" he asked, still staring. He continued to stare as the man held out a hand, palm up, and suddenly seemed to be holding a tiny flame. Kalyan blinked. Where did that come from? His eyes shifted towards it, drawn to the flicker, and he thought he saw the man smile. "Just keep watching the flame, if you would," he said. "If I'm right about you, and I think that I am, I'll answer all of your questions later." Confused, yet fascinated by the fire that had manifested out of nowhere, Kalyan stared into the flame.

Career History

• Soldier (30 November 2018)
• Dedicated (13 January 2020)