Rykieran D’Assan

Rykieran D’Assan (Rye-Keer-An Deh-Ahh-Sen) is one of the teachers the Legends have. He is passionate about dragons, especially about Sigrun and good friends with Geffin, looking up to the Rider. A bit childish, he is the opposite of his stoic companion. He tends to ride a mule name [INSERT NAME HERE].

Age: 63

Weapon Propensity: Once skilled with the sword, he now prefers a staff made of oak.

Secondary Skill: Magic

Appearance
Rykieran, more commonly known as Ryk, once had glossy black hair, and piercingly blue eyes. Since the days of his youth, his hair has turned gray, but the vibrancy of his eyes has never faded. His face is wrinkled and old. Some of these wrinkles come from the toils of his past, but most of them come from laughter. When he smiles, it's as if his whole face smiles with him, and the expression in his bushy eyebrows is especially defined.

Beneath the heavy robes he wears are many scars, both physical and emotional. There was a time when he wore the armor of a knight, but he hung up his sword a long time ago. Now he prefers simpler clothing, more discreet weapons, and less violence. Despite growling old, he still has most of the muscle he did in his youth. If not for his achy bones, he'd be a force to be reckoned with.

Personality
Through the years, Rykieran has never lost his love of adventure. There's always been a fire burning in his heart, begging to see more and push the limits of the impossible. Even now, he feels little fear, and loves the thrill of flying more than anything in the world. However, around youngsters he is much more calm, compassionate, and wise. He has a certain weakness for the young, and wants to nurture them and help them grow.

History
Rykieran was raised just outside of the Coldwind Forest, among grasses and open plains. His family were sheep owners, and every year they would sell wool, mutton, and garments woven by his mother. When he was ten years old, his parents taught him to be a shepherd. He would watch over the sheep day and night, protecting them from coyotes and the occasional wolf. These predators were nothing compared to the dragons, however.

His parents had little fear for him, usually. They weren't scared that he stayed outside at night, fighting off the wolves. It didn't bother them that he sometimes came across rattlesnakes in the rocks. But the dragons? That was the one creature which he was told to never approach. His father used to tell him, "Fight off a hundred wolves if you must, but should a single dragon come... Let it take every lamb."

There were nights when he would sit in the crags, watching as enormous wings swept over the fields. Sheep were snatched as easily as flies, but Rykieran found himself fascinated. Dragon sightings were rare, but that didn't keep him from watching for them. Soon, he started to  look forward to seeing dragons. He noticed that they were different, and varied in shape. So he began to keep a journal, in which he wrote down everything about the different dragons he saw. He discovered patterns in which dragons came in different seasons. Ryk noticed that some dragons slaughtered the sheep mercilessly, and others took only what they needed. Some were curious, and they played with the lambs instead of eating them. They had personalities, minds, intelligence... And he was enraptured by them.

Occasionally, he'd find a tooth, scale, or claw in the fields after a dragon came. He began to keep these, an learn even more in secret. When his parents found these items under his bed, they questioned him and he told them the truth; that he had been studying them. At the time, he was sixteen. Just old enough to be thrown out and start a life on his own.

No one needed a shepherd with foolish ideas in his head. Work was hard to come by, and he discovered that it was easier to live in the forest than in a city. He traversed the countryside, and ventured into the mountains. The closer he came to the lands of the dragons, the more his heart tugged at him to go farther. Eventually, he took that leap, and stepped foot into Oerk. Once he was there, he never looked back. His home was where the dragons were... Even though they didn't take kindly to him.

Despite his efforts, and endless attempts at friendship, no dragon felt the same tugging in it's heart that he did. It's a sore point of pride for him. But even though no  dragon ever requited his friendship, he did become good friends with a man much like him. Geffin Haust was raised by dragons, and he shared a bond with Sigrun, which Rykieran envied. Together, the three of them dreamed of a world where dragons and men lived together in peace, and harmony.