Warners App

[wingsunbound]

Online handle: Rin
Age: 18+
Preferred contact: act3soliloquy

Character name: Tchoukkuna Yanoi
Canon and canon point: Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Flyers of Gy" from the book "Changing Planes". There is no canonical timeline - it takes place during a near-future AU era of Earth, in which a human visits a parallel universe and the world of Gy.
History: Gy is a world not unlike Earth, with a path of technology, civilization, art, and history not terribly divergent. Children go to similar schools, live in similar red-brick tenements, work the same dull salaried jobs and lead otherwise very normal, human lives; aside from being a people covered entirely in feathers instead of body hair.
One in one thousand Gyr children develop wings, usually around the age of eighteen. It is a long and painful process in which the body restructures itself, the bones hollow out, and the Gyr does not always survive. Tchoukkuna, or "Kuna", is one such unfortunate soul. The flightless people of Gy consider wings to be a terrible affliction or deformity, and many of the tribes in less developed parts of Gyr perform rituals ultimately resulting in the winged Gyr's death to keep them from suffering in life.
Kuna was born into the Southern tribes, not far from the Marches of Merm where heroic tales are whispered of a flyer that survived their rituals escaped into the skies. Tales more modern-minded youths like himself held dear.
Tradition in the steppes is such that a young flyer is allowed to develop their wings, though they are kept bound and untrained. When they are fully formed, the youth is taken to the highest peak or cliff, unbound, and forced off the height, expected to fly or die; even if they do fly, the villagers' spears, arrows, and rocks await them.
Once the pride of his parents, Kuna grew swiftly, and was a tragic loss so far as his family was concerned once he showed signs of becoming a flyer. Despite the misgivings of the elders in the tribe, Kuna's popularity among his peers earned him secret allies. Where other flyers were bound so their wings atrophied, ensuring their deaths falling to the rocks, Kuna's friends unbound him at every possible chance, letting the youth exercise when he was able, even if he couldn't actively train. When the day finally came for his "first flight", one of the young men - his closest and dearest friend, Gallo - pressed a small knife into his hand and begged him to escape when he could. None of them could have suspected how wrongly it would all go.
Panic set in when the village marched him to the nearby cliffs over the great valley river below. When his wings were released, Kuna lashed out, fighting for all his worth. His own father tried to restrain him and cast him to the rocks below, and they both went over the edge. He was not strong enough to save the other man; in truth, he did not even try. The absolute shock over the turn of events gave Kuna enough time to get out of range of most thrown weapons, but numerous arrows struck him, sending him spiraling into the ravine. The last thing he remembers is seeing his father's horrified face as they both plummeted to the sharp rocks and frothing waters below.
Personality: Tchoukkuna was always a sweet, mild-mannered child. He tried to make his parents proud and aimed for a place among the priests and shamans of his tribe.
While always appearing to be very devoted to the traditions of his people, Kuna spent a great deal of time with the other village children and was often as influenced by them as they were by him.
Kuna helped other children with their studies, kept them out of trouble, played games with the youngest and spent countless hours helping the older children cope with the erratic emotions that come with maturing. The others, meanwhile, filled Kuna's head with ideas of the cities beyond the steppes, of theater and music, colorful clothes and great swells of people; nothing like the small herding village they lived in. His friend Gallo in particular liked to steal off to the nearest city, claiming to be out hunting, only to return with old magazines and newspapers, later laying out in the fields with Kuna and fantasizing together about running away to see skyscrapers and great plays.
As much as Kuna longed to find himself instead of just tirelessly maneuver his way up the ladder of dubious tribal success, honor and filial piety kept him grounded. Despite the great, secret sorrow and longing he felt inside, Kuna was always the sort to take the weight of the world on his shoulders and smile through it. His problems were never as bad as someone else's.
Always the gently smiling boy, Kuna was never one to be punished - though occasionally scolded - and always went out of his way to help those around him. He practiced shamanic rituals with genuine enthusiasm, eager for all forms of knowledge and experience. In his youth his family believed he would be a great leader some day; after his wings began to grow they dismissed all of his passion as the selfish and mindless drive of the flyer, ashamed they had not known sooner. While crushed by the sudden disgust he faced, Kuna managed to continue believing in his parents love for him, right up until the bitter end.
In short, Kuna is an inherently kind young man, full of deep passion and deeper loyalty, even if undeserved. He loves intensely, gives freely, and exemplifies all of the best aspects of flyers so often overlooked by those on the ground.

What are they in for? Manslaughter. Patricide.
Pick a number from 1-99: 17
Inventory: Breeches, tunic, small-clothes, seashell jewelry (earrings,bracelets,necklace,anklets), ceremonial obsidian and horn dagger.