Thoughts on Tanivel and where he is heading:
In character Goals and Hopes:
Tanivel loves to explore caves, find new rocks, or old supplies, and figure out if they are good for anything. He sees both his parents working hard to fulfill their duties to the Hold. Even though he finds their jobs boring, he does respect their dedication.
He often spends his free time lost in his own thoughts or adventures, instead of spending that time with others or helping them. It’s almost always Levon finding him to do things, not the other way around. One day he hopes to be as good a friend people as he sees Levon being with him. His parents also provide good examples of friendship for him.
Fears and Obstacles:
While Tanivel is reasonably smart for a kid, he’d know more if he’d focus on one area. He knows lots of snippets of things but will need to fill in those gaps soon. He also needs to learn to prioritize things by importance (such as safety), instead of solely by his own level of excitement.
Out of character Goals and Hopes:
I think Tanivel is going to continue to struggle between his duty and his desires. He’s already suffering an imbalance between exploring and safety, and that will continue to be the case until he learns the lessons he needs to. He should take well to his studies, and I’d like to swap out the “Distractible” quirk for something else, but I’m not sure what yet. His young life should be full of lessons on responsibility caused by his adventures and learning how to fit into his social group better.
Becoming a dragon rider will be tumultuous for him. I expect him to still feel the pull of the earth as he takes to the sky. He will probably also struggle finding a new balance to interacting with his dragon and his fellow riders. I do think he will throw himself into his training regardless. I’d like to see him adjust, perhaps serving as an outrider (or whatever is similar) due to his ‘Absolute Direction’ and ‘Farcaster’ advantages early on. I would like for his studies on tactics and leadership to go well and for him to rise in the ranks. I think he will enjoy the analytical aspect of tactics.
Hooks:
- There will need to be some sort of confrontation between him and his parents about being sheltered. Maybe this could come up with Vanket (as Maletin’s mentee), and how he treats the boys differently.
- I’m interesting in seeing “distractable” get changed out for something else as he gets older. I assume that will take at least one more incident of his inattention causing trouble for himself or someone else.
- I’m already expecting some sort of falling out between Tanivel and Levon. What makes it worse from here could be the attention of the Haelan and Beldon, or fighting over a girl. Maybe Levon starts working with Radek more after this.
- Tanivel does want a big find, be it mineral or old gear. He will probably end up competing with Vanket and Radek for this in Sea Cliff.
- Once he’s a dragon rider, perhaps he will set about to search for firestone deposits.