Every character is affected by The Winds of Change
January 18th 2009 21:40
Tonight I'll speak about the characters which my fantasy story Winds of Change are all about.
All the main characters live in a nation called Akura, which functions much the same as Medieval England did. Akura is locked in conflict with its neighbor nation, Inguro, over complicated matters that I won't talk about tonight. The war's been going on for a long time, and the Ingurans are slowly advancing, having laid siege to the Cloudspire fortress, Akura's primary and best defense against invasion.
Philippe and Maria, a well-educated middle class couple and their friends, live in Old Haven, a small town in Akura's forested heartland. Philippe works as the town's smith. He comes from a long line of skilled smiths who can make almost anything from metal, which is good, since Old Haven's too small to afford any other smiths, and too far away from a prominent city to have things shipped. So he's really important.
He and Maria are in their early 30's, and well-educated and well-read thanks to their parents' influence. Philippe's father and forefathers were also good warriors, and many of them had served in the military in various wars. Philippe is in possession of his family's sword, passed down from generation to generation, but he himself is a pacifist. Although he was raised to be skilled with a sword, he doesn't believe in killing and never wants to be involved in war. Maria is a happily content wife who acts as the perfect complement to Philippe's personality.
But when the Akuran 14th Regiment comes to town to stay for a few nights on their way to help the situation at Cloudspire, things take a turn for the worse. Dumath, the hard-nosed, tight-fisted Commander of the regiment meets Philippe in the bar and can intuitively tell that he has the mark of a warrior. Dumath becomes obsessed with convincing Philippe to join the war, but when Philippe refuses, Dumath uses drastic measures. In short, Dumath blackmails Philippe into being drafted into the Regiment as punishment for a crime that was orchestrated by Dumath. (But the good characters don't figure this out until a long time later)
It becomes clear that Dumath is a ruthlessly efficient and brilliantly manipulative schemer who will stop at nothing to make sure his regiment is the strongest, and that he will gain the most honor on the battlefield. With Philippe gone, Maria has lost her support pillar and crumbles, spiritually, emotionally, and financially. The news of her pregnancy just before Philippe's departure only makes things worse, and now she has to depend on her friends Isabelle and Autumn, and the town's "Grandmother" figure Old Gertie for support while she tries to find her own strength.
On the road with Dumath and the 14th Regiment, Philippe meets many new faces in the Regiment and in the towns they visit, some friendly and some not-so friendly. Henry, a knight, is sympathetic with Philippe and they become friends; Thomas, a young boy, is drafted later, and forms a father-son mentor relationship with Philippe; Arkanis, a war wizard from the distant land of Krogard, helps the cause and befriends Philippe. Aside from dealing with serious moral questions about warfare and killing, and coping with his wife's absence, he must always be wary of Dumath and his wiles and prepare for the conflict at Cloudspire. Arkanis is a mysterious young wizard who seems to have ulterior motives for joining the war, but at least he's friendly, whereas Dumath is sinister and aloof.
Aside from the plot elements of this story--which I'll talk about next Sunday--this story is mostly about the characters just described and their friends and how they change and grow (or diminish, in some cases) through the trials that face them. The story is about them living through this war more than being about the war itself. The theme of this book is very much about finding one's inner strength, and the importance of relationships and faith. Everyone will grow in some ways, but there will be a cost.
As far as the writing goes, I've finished the introductions of Thomas and Henry and Coran (a skilled knight who is following in Dumath's footsteps), and a duel between Dumath and Philippe as punishment/discipline for a bar brawl that Philippe was a part of. Philippe was able to overpower Dumath with the sword, at which point Dumath knocked Philippe out with a well-aimed punch. While Philippe is good, it's shown later that Dumath allowed it to happen, since the point of the duel was discipline and not death. The story hasn't gotten to the point of Arkanis' introduction yet, but I have thoroughly written Arkanis' character, and am even writing a short story about his past.
Dumath, while it looks like he's the villain of the story, is actually not the villain. He's a very complex, multifaceted character with a troubled past which will bring itself out as the story moves on. Like I said last Sunday, the overall story is cosmic in scope, and the true villain is much more evil and twisted (and obscure) than Dumath. And no, the villain is not a Sauron-like figure in the least. He--or it--is a very complex "villain" that is never truly understood, and whose identity isn't revealed in Winds of Change until very late in the story.
I haven't written as much about Maria's story, though she does play a prominent role in Winds of Change. Events will happen at home, much more subtly than on the battlefront, but will still be very important. She discovers that she has latent magical abilities, which a close friend will help her develop just in time for when she needs them most. Also, her and Philippe's child plays a prominent role in the plot of the story, too.
I've talked about the major characters and (vaguely) their place in the story. Next Sunday I'll speak about Winds of Change's sister book, Visions of Destiny: its characters, its conflicts. Tomorrow I'll speak about the magic in my world of Argul, how it's similar to magical systems that's come before, and how it's different (or how I plan to make it different.) Have a good night!
All the main characters live in a nation called Akura, which functions much the same as Medieval England did. Akura is locked in conflict with its neighbor nation, Inguro, over complicated matters that I won't talk about tonight. The war's been going on for a long time, and the Ingurans are slowly advancing, having laid siege to the Cloudspire fortress, Akura's primary and best defense against invasion.
Philippe and Maria, a well-educated middle class couple and their friends, live in Old Haven, a small town in Akura's forested heartland. Philippe works as the town's smith. He comes from a long line of skilled smiths who can make almost anything from metal, which is good, since Old Haven's too small to afford any other smiths, and too far away from a prominent city to have things shipped. So he's really important.
He and Maria are in their early 30's, and well-educated and well-read thanks to their parents' influence. Philippe's father and forefathers were also good warriors, and many of them had served in the military in various wars. Philippe is in possession of his family's sword, passed down from generation to generation, but he himself is a pacifist. Although he was raised to be skilled with a sword, he doesn't believe in killing and never wants to be involved in war. Maria is a happily content wife who acts as the perfect complement to Philippe's personality.
But when the Akuran 14th Regiment comes to town to stay for a few nights on their way to help the situation at Cloudspire, things take a turn for the worse. Dumath, the hard-nosed, tight-fisted Commander of the regiment meets Philippe in the bar and can intuitively tell that he has the mark of a warrior. Dumath becomes obsessed with convincing Philippe to join the war, but when Philippe refuses, Dumath uses drastic measures. In short, Dumath blackmails Philippe into being drafted into the Regiment as punishment for a crime that was orchestrated by Dumath. (But the good characters don't figure this out until a long time later)
It becomes clear that Dumath is a ruthlessly efficient and brilliantly manipulative schemer who will stop at nothing to make sure his regiment is the strongest, and that he will gain the most honor on the battlefield. With Philippe gone, Maria has lost her support pillar and crumbles, spiritually, emotionally, and financially. The news of her pregnancy just before Philippe's departure only makes things worse, and now she has to depend on her friends Isabelle and Autumn, and the town's "Grandmother" figure Old Gertie for support while she tries to find her own strength.
On the road with Dumath and the 14th Regiment, Philippe meets many new faces in the Regiment and in the towns they visit, some friendly and some not-so friendly. Henry, a knight, is sympathetic with Philippe and they become friends; Thomas, a young boy, is drafted later, and forms a father-son mentor relationship with Philippe; Arkanis, a war wizard from the distant land of Krogard, helps the cause and befriends Philippe. Aside from dealing with serious moral questions about warfare and killing, and coping with his wife's absence, he must always be wary of Dumath and his wiles and prepare for the conflict at Cloudspire. Arkanis is a mysterious young wizard who seems to have ulterior motives for joining the war, but at least he's friendly, whereas Dumath is sinister and aloof.
Aside from the plot elements of this story--which I'll talk about next Sunday--this story is mostly about the characters just described and their friends and how they change and grow (or diminish, in some cases) through the trials that face them. The story is about them living through this war more than being about the war itself. The theme of this book is very much about finding one's inner strength, and the importance of relationships and faith. Everyone will grow in some ways, but there will be a cost.
As far as the writing goes, I've finished the introductions of Thomas and Henry and Coran (a skilled knight who is following in Dumath's footsteps), and a duel between Dumath and Philippe as punishment/discipline for a bar brawl that Philippe was a part of. Philippe was able to overpower Dumath with the sword, at which point Dumath knocked Philippe out with a well-aimed punch. While Philippe is good, it's shown later that Dumath allowed it to happen, since the point of the duel was discipline and not death. The story hasn't gotten to the point of Arkanis' introduction yet, but I have thoroughly written Arkanis' character, and am even writing a short story about his past.
Dumath, while it looks like he's the villain of the story, is actually not the villain. He's a very complex, multifaceted character with a troubled past which will bring itself out as the story moves on. Like I said last Sunday, the overall story is cosmic in scope, and the true villain is much more evil and twisted (and obscure) than Dumath. And no, the villain is not a Sauron-like figure in the least. He--or it--is a very complex "villain" that is never truly understood, and whose identity isn't revealed in Winds of Change until very late in the story.
I haven't written as much about Maria's story, though she does play a prominent role in Winds of Change. Events will happen at home, much more subtly than on the battlefront, but will still be very important. She discovers that she has latent magical abilities, which a close friend will help her develop just in time for when she needs them most. Also, her and Philippe's child plays a prominent role in the plot of the story, too.
I've talked about the major characters and (vaguely) their place in the story. Next Sunday I'll speak about Winds of Change's sister book, Visions of Destiny: its characters, its conflicts. Tomorrow I'll speak about the magic in my world of Argul, how it's similar to magical systems that's come before, and how it's different (or how I plan to make it different.) Have a good night!
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Comment by Andrew Kerstetter
A New Poetics
Inkwing
Cinemuscle
Sorry about all the grammatical errors. I don't usually check these posts for errors, since I write these informally, but tonight there were a lot. I still don't have time to correct them, but I assure you, in my actual projects I am much more aware of errors and style, hehe.