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Ka'tran- Grandmaster, Guild of Miners
Writers of D'ni MOO [connect]
Kat is the first character I ever played on a MU*. She has gone through several transformations. She started as a young Storyteller, then quit guild work altogether to be a regular citizen, one of only two non-guildsmen on the game. At one point, I decided it would be fun to have my own guild, so she became grandmaster of the Caterers. When the game slowly dwindled and then had an increase of activity around 2001 I returned to the character, but at this point she became a Great Lord, retired from before. Then the server crashed. When the game was born anew, Kat was a completely different character, now head of the Guild of Miners.
Description:
The woman you see if of shorter-than-average height for a D'ni, but no less graceful
than others of her race. Under the cloak and other layers, she has a slender, but muscular
build--surprising for someone of her age, well past the prime of one's years. Her face is
ghostly-pale, but not unusually so for a people that dwells below the earth. The fair skin
of her face and neck shows lines of both age and sun exposure; it is rough like a
sandstone. Still, pronounced features poke out: a long, straight nose, icy-pale but wide
grey eyes. Her hair, too, is pale. Once it was a light brown, but now the years have
peppered it with silver strands. The woman keeps it pulled back in a braid twisted into a
large bun, for if it weren't like this, the hair might reach past her knees.
The top layer of clothing is, of course, a guild cloak. The wearer is rarely seen in
anything but the black-with-slate trim everyday cloak of the Miners, and she wears this
garment now. The black tends to show rock dust more than other colors; a telltale stripe
of the lighter substance marks the too-long hem of this cloak. At the silver clasp are two
guild symbols, one on either side. The cloak hides a drab brown skirt and a nondescript
blouse. The only ornamentation of any sort is a silver ring with a green gem that the
woman wears on her left hand.
History:
Near the end of 7306, Ka'tran was born to Aifan and Galenah, an upper-class family of
D'ni. Her father, Aifan, was then one of the high-ranking Guildmasters in the Guild of
Books; he expected, for many years, to become Grandmaster. Unfortunately this never
happened, but for his whole life he waited, deluded by one statement once said about his
being favored by the then-grandmaster. The successors to this position ignored him, though
he treasured this belief that in each coming year, he would be the head of his guild, not
realizing that everyone thought his too old for the job, and his ideas outdated and worn.
Part of Aifan's expression of his frustration unwittingly came out on his loving wife, who
was far too clever of a woman to be kept at home to entertain the high-ranking guests they
would have to their home. Galenah insisted that their eldest daughter, Ka'tran, join a
guild as early as she showed signs of being able to walk and talk. Although secretly Aifan
hoped that their next child would be a boy, Galenah's growing belly produced only another
daughter, the same month that Ka'tran was initiated into the Guild of Miners. This was
mostly her own choice, since, when her mother explained to her what each guild dealt with
(in the simplest way, because at the time, she was but 5 years old) the child reacted most
excitedly to the Miners. For of all things, Ka'tran most liked rocks. When they visited
the family age, Kat (as she was called as a nickname) would sit on the beach and instead
of building castles in the sand on the lakeshore, she would examine the rocks most
closely.
So it was that Kat, at age 6, became a Miner. As her sister Arithe grew up, Kat tried to
explain to her why, exactly, the stone walls were so fascinating, and why she too should
like this. (Often these attempts were greeted with no more than a gurgle and a smile, but
as Arithe grew, it looked more and more like she would not be joining her sister in her
love of the silent stones that were their home.) Arithe preferred music to contemplating
geology and mining, and as the two girls grew older and their interests diverged, so they
grew apart. Aifan favored the more graceful of the two, Arithe, while Galena loved them
both, but shared a spirit with Ka'tran. This caused some contention between the daughters,
when they fought over which parent loved them more, and sometime around when Ka'tran
became a full Guildsman their competitiveness became apparent: Although Ka'tran was the
elder child by 6 years, and should, of course, gain promotions first, Arithe was jealous
of this.
Arithe eventually became a full Guildsman herself, wrote a few mediocre pieces of music,
and then quit early to marry a man named H'dina. This was about the time when Ka'tran lost
contact with her sister, and moved into a guild apartment. The only person in her
household who still talked to her was Galenah, and even their contact wore thin for a
while due to the inconvenience of going across caverns to visit. Ka'tran, meanwhile, soon
began teaching young initiates and devoted her life to doing so. Any free time she might
have, she spent exploring. Guild ages, public ages, back tunnels of D'nianywhere that she
could spend in solitude, away from the noise and troubles of everyday life.
It was a brief and torrid (and most definitely private) relationship with a young Surveyor
that marked a change in Kat's life. The whole affair began and ended in two years, when
they realized that they were too similar to belong with one another. The end left Ka'tran
devastated, and she plunged into guild work, suddenly becoming one of the most productive
members. Not only did she train the younger members, but made several discoveries that
improved mining techniques. Soon later, she became a Guildmaster, and henceforth, mining
was her life. She never married, only occasionally spent time with others from outside her
guild, and rarely, if ever, saw her family.
Ka'tran was surprised to find out that she was the leading candidate for Grandmaster at
almost the end of her second century in 7497. Involved only in guild work, and never
council dealings, she would have been happy with her job forever. But when the previous
Grandmaster, Jeleri, retired and became one of the Great Lords, Kat suddenly found herself
thrust into his position and onto the Council. The same year, her father took ill and
died, and fitting to a person of her stature, Ka'tran received the house, and it remains
unfilled to this day, since she occupies only a small part of it.
Since becoming a council member of relatively high status suddenly, Ka'tran has been
learning the politics of D'ni and trying to balance her work, public life, and private
desires. For at this level, can one devoted to a "dirty-handed work" really find
happiness in paperwork and politics?
Persona:
Once Ka'tran was known as one of the less-public figures of her guild: a name on an office door, a name connected with important discoveries and events, a name familiar only as 'Perhaps she once taught me as an initiate.' This reputation was not based on nothing; the woman was indeed quiet and kept mainly to herself and a few trusted individuals. Now, however, with her promotion to Grandmaster, Kat has had to become much more outgoing. Diplomatic and poised in public, never clumsy, she has proved her ability to lead the guild and be a member of the council, if not one of the more outspoken members.
Description from c. 1998, history from 2001.
Description:
Ka'tran is a woman of light build, but her height sets her an inch or two above the
average D'ni woman. Her skin is as pale as most of the people around her, but it seems
older, as if her age is beginning to show now. Deep blue eyes are set deep into her long
face, framed by dark eyelashes and eyebrows, although eyes as large as this must struggle
to see. On top of her nose are balanced her visual aids, a small, but somewhat thick for
the light wire-oval frames that hold them. Her dark brown hair, mostly grey now is parted
neatly down the center, then tightly bound into a bun at the moment, and the remaining
hairs are pinned in with a small bone clip. Her body is long and thin, as with the rest of
her limbs, which could be described as bony. Her hands are as graceful as the rest of her
frail-looking self, but they are rough from many years of working with them.
Ka'tran wears an ankle-length cloak of a shimmery, thick material
in a golden color. The edges are trimmed in olive, the color of her former guild, the
Caterers. Beside the clasp at the high collar is one emblem, signifying her rank as a
Great Lord.
History:
Ka'tran was born to a middle-class D'ni family. Her father was a senior guildsman in
the Archivists, and her mother a guildmaster in the Analysts. At an early age, she took
after her mother and older sister, who was also learning to be an Analyst. She often
travelled with her mother on trips to ages, including her family's private age, where she
learned the art of botany. Instead of joining the same guild as her mother and sister, she
became an apprentice to the Caterers, a place where she could apply her knowledge of
plants. Although she found other guild functions such as cooking rather dull, she
delighted in the more scientific pursuits and eagerly took on challenges in transport and
storage of food, and of course, improved agriculture. By the time she was 80, Ka'tran had
become a guildmaster.
Due to her heavy involvement
in guild work, Ka'tran rarely had time for a social life. At this point, she still lived
in the family house on Ae'Gura. One day, however, by chance she bumped into one of her
childhood friends, a Linguist named Ehnihr. The resumed their friendship, and had a brief
affair, but this did not last long. Eventually, Ka'tran moved out into her own house. Her
rise through the guild's ranks continued, and by the time she was 150, she had become the
grandmaster of the guild. This position lasted for about 70 years, until she retired at
the age of 224, mostly due to stress from her job as well as a personal incident.
Persona:
Ka'tran is quiet, dedicated, and logical. Generally she does not speak out, but is able to hold a long conversation when probed. Also, her general passive nature can be deceiving, for she is not a follower, and will vehemently speak up when she has an idea. Thus, when she sets herself upon a task, she will continue to do that as far as she can. However, at time she loses her train of thought, but this is not to be confused with a flaw in integrity. And although this woman is rational, she does not think solely with her left-brain, for a spark of creativity is always necessary to have an idea.