A very long time ago, when it was decided to set up settlements in the South, a young man in Bitra Hold decided to take it upon himself to found a small Minor Hold outside of the proposed sight for the Weyr. It was quite a bit away, but still fairly close to the Weyr itself. He was the brother to the then Lord Holder of Bitra, but wasn't going to get anything out of his relationship. He took a few of the people from Bitra and went. He named the Hold after his mistress, Haethis. The Hold thrived as a place for gamblers and gamers of all sorts. Soon it began a small industry of raising some of the best racing runners in the area, as well as hosting the best races and some rather interesting Gathers. They didn't carry the same ominous air as Bitra, but instead held an almost carnival-like atmosphere at times. When the Gatherers left and the races were closed for the season, they went on being the small, hush-hush Hold they were.
The Lord holder of Haethis was Leusan, a man still rich in Bitran Blood. He was a stickler and a gambler by heart, his brother was supposed to have led and not him. He was fairly good at his job, but he was known for being a little less hidebound in his matters. His mistress at the time was the watchrider, a greenrider by the name of Juliana. Juliana would bare him three children, beautiful young girls, before she had to return to the Weyr. Her green, Sashaeth, was still strong, and she was replaced by an old bluerider. That winter Leusan married the daughter of a Northern Lord Holder, Icarra.
Shaethe was the oldest of Lesleun's three daughters with Julianna. They still held their fair positions around the Hold as the daughters of the Lord holder, but they were seen as a bit disgraceful to be prancing around in Icarra's presence. Shaethe held the name of her mother's dragon, which her mother had loved more than her father or any of her daughters. Jailun and Sasianne held more of their mother's name and Sashaeth's name that Leusan's. Icarra, though she felt disgraced by her three step-daughters, didn't show anything. She acted to them as she did to any of the children of the Hold, which was neutral. Icarra was not motherly person, though in the Turns to come she would bare Leusan six children.
After inquiring many Turns later, Shaethe found that her mother's green, and her namesake, had been killed in some of the earliest Threadfalls. Juliana had died only months later, having lost her will and her greatest love. Shaethe was more impressed than saddened by this story, and she felt pride which began the beginnings of her attitude today.
At the age of eight she Impressed her first firelizard. The egg was given to her, and only days later it Hatched a tiny brown. She fed him quickly, then set to the task of giving him a name. It took her many days, but finally she found an old name in the records that she liked. Haeron had his name, and Shaethe was convinced that her dragonrider lineage could be put to some good use, even if she was holdbred.
She started gambling at a very young age, when you lived in Haethis that wasn't a rare occurence. As she grew older she would learn all of the tricks that the young 'apprentices' knew, and she would spend a good deal of her days in the Dining Hall 'studying' with them. It was there that she met Denji and Demire a few Turns later. The two were brother and sister, and their father was the Steward and a notable and respected gambler. The three of them soon became the 'card sharks' in training of the old Steward.
She Impressed another young firelizard at the age of twelve. Green Lian got her name easily, coming from Shilian, the Headwoman who was Shaethe's foster-mother. Shikali's gold was also the flit to clutch young Lian, and Haeron as well.
Shaethe's attitude, however, had grown up with her. She was young, beautiful, the daughter of a Lord holder, and she knew it! She loved to strut around, and she loved the attention it got her. Though she was strictly chaste, she loved to have fun. Fun, however, wasn't always a good thing... She made more enemies than friends with her sharp tongue. A young gambler by the name of Pilar was one of them. The two girls argued often, and one day it turned into a rucous cat-fight. Jailun was one of the only people who witnessed it, and after that the sisters didn't get along very well. Jailun is disgusted with her sister's lack of control, and Shaethe despises her sister for not stepping in- even when the girls turned to knives and ended up giving eachother scars to remember each other by.
Icarra eventually convinced Leusan to announce Laucarr as the heir to Haethis. Most steered clear of Shaethe, beleiving that she would be more hot-headed than usual because of the event. Instead, she celebrated that night. She was not cut out to be a Lady holder, and she knew it very well. She had begun to grow a distaste for gambling, and a forced marriage as soon as she was old enough. No, she had other ideas for her life. She wasn't sure of what they were at the time... but they weren't marriage.
Shaethe's major trouble was gone and done with in her late fifteenth Turn. Pilar was Searched and taken to Asura Weyr that very same night. The Hatching took place mere candlemarks later, and Shaethe was invited to her first Hatching when Icarra was sick and bed and couldn't make it. She sat two seats down from Lord Leusan, with Leucarr inbetween the two of the. She was very excited, however, when Pilar Impressed young green Jhaphath. Most found this confusing to hear about, but it was very simple- Shaethe's biggest nuisance was out of her life.
Then a new one reared it's ugle head. Jailun and Shaethe's dislike for eachother peaked at dinner one evening, and the two got into a hissy fit ending in fists. They were seperated, and for the next three Turns the girls said very, very little to eachother Sasianne acted as moderator between them at most times, but usually they just stayed away from each other.
Shaethe's life was changed quite a bit when a Searchrider appeared at Haethis Hold. She Searched both her and a few other hold girls. Sasianne made her promise to right, and even gave her a journal that she knew Shaethe would never use, but she could always hope. Jailun and Shaethe ignored each other as usual the night Shaethe left, though her other half-siblings all made good attempts at being kind and saying their farewells. Icarra was sick once more, so she said nothing the night Shaethe left. Leusan seemed worried, but he wished his eldest daughter goodbye with only a slight shed of tears.
Perhaps the largest surprise came at the Hatching that followed. Lesleun sat in the Sands, Icarra home with her many children. Sasianne watched down into the Sands, eyes filled with hope for her sister out on the Sands. Shaethe, meanwhile, was a bundle of confused energy. How was she supposed to know what to do at a Hatching?
The small creature turned her head around to look at Shaethe, then proceeded to tumble into the Sand and cause a mess. Before she knew it, Shaethe had run forward and consoled as well as almost scolded the tiny creature! She and Gold Rhysharth were a match made by Faranth. They deserve each other...