Originator of Character:Barbara Cummings
Name: Rahirah
Soul name: N/A
Race: Elf
Gender: Female
Origins: Born in Tower Mountain
Household: Trailingstar (Household elder)
Hair color/length/style: Wheaten blond, wavy, to just below ears, one lock always in her eyes
Eyes: Green with gold flecks
Skin: Very fair, tans very lightly
Height: 4'6"
Build: Very slender, wiry
Voice quality/speech mannerisms: Light, clear soprano. Pleasent but untrained singing voice. Speech is normally casual and somewhat colloquial, but she can become very formal when nervous.
Other physical attributes: Heart-shaped face w/ prominent cheekbones, extremely large eyes. Eye color changes with mood and environment, becoming more gold when she is angry or excited. Very quick, neat and precise in her movements; rather birdlike.
Parents: Reevirah and Taywar (D) of Tower Mountain
Siblings: Vaynyar, also of the Tower
Other relatives: Vayree, aunt; Eylar, uncle; Vallaree and Nalkor, cousins; Ayla, cousin.
Current mate(s): Piet, Shadowbourne, (from NH 13 to 26) Tanyel (off and on)
Recognized?: Yes, to Tanyel
Previous mates: A number of lovemates, Nalkor in particular
Children: Frodis, daughter; Shahn, son (D)
Closest friends: Tanyel, Vallaree, Nalkor, Longshanks, assorted humans, every hawk in the eyrie.
Special talents: Gliding, animal bonding
Skills: Hawkriding, hawk breeding and training, woodcraft, hunting and plant lore, herbalism as applied to hawks, leatherworking/harnessmaking, ex-Declared with all the combat training thereto attatched.
Hobbies: Plays the recorder well enough not to send listeners screeching into the woods. Some gardening. Excellent swimmer, disasterous sailor ("No, Rahirah, pull the other... [CRASH!!] ...rope.")
Weapons used: Talon whip, hunting spear, knives, short bow.
Bondbeast: Windshear, female giant hawk
Jewelry worn: Gold neckband set with beryls.
Clothing: Usually wears one-piece jumpsuits or short tunics with calf-high soft boots. Favorite colors still green and gold.
Special possessions: The wooden recorder which belonged to her father, and a bronze and malachite belt clasp in the form of a striking hawk superimposed on something that suspiciously resembles a peace symbol-- her Declared badge.
Personal info: Rahirah was born in Tower Mountain, where she was a member of the Declared and served as unofficial assitant to a succession of hawkmasters in the eyrie. Though she had always loved the Outside, the most important factor in her decision to leave and settle in New Hope was her desire to be with Piet; he and hawks are the two great loves of her life, and as far as Rahirah is concerned the lost dwelling of the High Ones has nothing on anyplace where she can have both of them. She and Nalkor manage the eyrie at New Hope and train both hawks and prospective riders, and run a `messenger service' among the various holts. Rahirah was once one of Lord Tyaar's Declared, and keeps in practice; she thinks of herself as a hunter more than a warrior but is nonetheless very dangerous in a fight. Though not much of a strategist she makes a very fair tactician, and is adept at spotting and seizing spur-of-the-moment advantages.

Rahirah is an exceptionally strong animal bonder with a particular affinity for hawks; she talks to them with every appearance of expecting them to understand her and has been known to coax completely wild birds into captivity and calm within a few days. She gets along well with and likes animals in general, but is something of a `hawk snob' as far as bondbeasts are concerned. There has been some speculation over the years that Rahirah is an animal sender. If so, the talent is completely unconcious, and for that reason does not work particularly well on animals with whom she does not identify emotionally. She is New Hope's hawkmistress, training young birds in the business of carrying riders, training new riders how to care for their mounts and supervising the breeding, raising and doctoring of the holt's hawks. She is also a harnessmaker of some skill.

In the early years of New Hope Rahirah is still somewhat reserved and wary of becoming friends with the other elves there, but as time passes her natural ebullience reasserts itself. The subject of her father's death and her part in it is still extremely painful for her, but Rahirah has for the most part put her Tragic Past firmly behind her. High-spirited, cheerful and adventurous, she takes her responsibilities seriously but intends to have as much fun as possible discharging them. She has the gift of being childlike without being childish, and strangers meeting her for the first time usually underestimate her age drastically. She can be fiercely protective of those she cares for, and realizing this, makes an effort not to be overprotective-- on the other hand, as Tanyel has been known to complain, people who take their year-old daughters gallivanting all over the countryside on hawkback have a strange idea of what others need to be protected from. Her domestic arrangements since coming to New Hope have been somewhat convoluted; her lovemating with Piet became a threemating while Shadowbourne was a member of the household, and she and Tanyel still consider themselves lovemates despite the fact that he is a permanent resident of the Tower.

Rahirah can be infinitely determined, and anything she sets out to do is usually accomplished. She is a straightforward person by nature; though circumstances have forced her to learn something of intrigue she is not good at it and does not like it. She took on the responsibilities of running the eyrie and of being household elder without fuss and has proved extremely competant at both; though she has never had any real ambition towards leadership she is a very good one and has come to realize that she likes being able to make decisions. In council she is neither deferential nor aggressive; she realizes that most of the other elven members are older and more experienced, and keeps this in mind, but she quietly refuses to let anyone run roughshod over her. She is very much devoted to the ideals of New Hope, and is very close to the humans of her household. Due to her own past experiences, she is very much an advocate of welcoming `prodigal sons' even if she doesn't particularly like them personally; (Dove, for example) though it should be noted that there are very few people she dislikes, and she generally makes a determined effort to like them anyway.

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