Greatheart Character Notes
Sep. 24th, 2007 01:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foxysquidalsoPerhaps you think I have forgotten about my kittymens story, "Greatheart". This is not so! I just have had no time to work on it lately. Here, however, are some character notes I am writing to entertain myself at work (because of this, these notes might be disjointed and uneven, just so you know).
Greatheart has a team of protagonists rather than one major protagonist, although Chester is technically "the hero". Fiorel, however, is reluctant to accept this and challenges him whenever the opportunity arises. Also, Lawrence thinks he is the hero. Acacia and Matthew are more retiring, but they are also of great importance.
If you can read all this, I'll be IMPRESSED.
Chester Greatheart:
Chester is the youngest of the famed Eastlander knights.
The title character, Chester unsurprisingly has many of the typical traits associated with a hero. He is a young man on the verge of coming into his own. He is a warrior with great talent, but also one who is more or less untried. He lost his father at an early age, but has a substitute father figure (Bertrand Goldenhour). He loves his mother and tries to be a good son to her. He is goodhearted and kind, but too impetuous and naive. He can be very blind in some regards. Once someone has earned his loyalty, he is unlikely to view their words or actions with a critical eye.
This blindness is best illustrated by the way he relates to Bertrand and Matthew. Bertrand, who was his mentor, can do no wrong in his eyes. Even when Bertrand does something odd or suspect, Chester does not question him but trusts him implicitly and does as he says, regardless of any misgivings he might secretly have. Chester believes that questioning the older man would be a show of disloyalty. Where Matthew is concerned, Chester has been told (by Bertrand and others) that the young man is a dangerous traitor. Even when Matthew's words and actions show that his intentions are good, Chester remains suspicious of him, at least at first.
Lawrence Timely:
Unlike Chester, Lawrence is not exactly your typical hero. He has no real aptitude for fighting and has been pampered for most of his life. The son of a rich merchant, he is used to getting everything he wants. Although basically a kind person, he is conceited and arrogant. He talks too much, and he tends to discount or talk over the opinions of others. He also doesn't listen very well at all. However, he has a boundless enthusiasm for and interest in the world around him. He is much more likely than Chester to see through deceit. He can appear ridiculous and quixotic, but deep down he is a rather sensible person. Unlike Chester, who relies so much on ideals of knightly honor, Lawrence has a faith in himself that relies on no outside sources.
Lawrence is not the best at relating to others, as he has never had to make an effort to do so. At court, he was sought out and frequently fawned on, as the nobility is slowly declining and has recently begun to cozy up to the growing merchant class, and the Timely Family is one of the most powerful non-aristocratic families in all Eastland.
Lawrence loves his laboratory and his inventions, and above all, what he wants is to be invited into the Axian Academy, one of the highest possible honors for a man of science. As a scientist, Lawrence is well-versed in charm magic, which is a type of magic that involves imbuing objects with various properties. In the Greatheart Universe, most new technology involves charm magic. However, charm magic does have other applications. Anyone can learn the basics of charm magic, but to become a true expert, some inborn ability is necessary. In this area, Lawrence is quite talented. Before his family became "civilized", the Timely clan was well-known for hedgewitchery, one of the earliest forms of charm magic.
Fiorel Winsome:
Fiorel is of Westlander descent but living in Eastland.
The last surviving member of the once infamous Winsome clan, a band of notorious bandits, Fiorel has been a criminal all her life. When she was 14 or so, her family was ambushed and wiped out by the Eastlander Knights. This was an illegal massacre, as, according to Eastlander law, bandits are to be captured, jailed, and tried for their crimes, killed only when necessary. Also, children below the age of 13 cannot be executed for any crimes committed, yet more than a few children were slaughtered. The group of knights (lead by Bertrand Goldenhour) were paid off by the local villages, who did not want to have to go through the trouble of capturing and trying the bandits.
Like all of the Winsome girls, Fiorel had been trained to fight and was the most promising of her parents' many children. Already hardened by a bandit's harsh life at the age of 14, her family's death made Fiorel even harder.
The price of an outsider joining a bandit clan is high, especially for a female, and even more because the only other bandit clans in the area had been the Winsomes' rivals. So Fiorel decided to go it alone. When not engaging in banditry, she spent every moment training. Her primary goal in life is revenge.
Fiorel remained solitary until the day she discovered the young woman Acacia Moral wandering in the wilderness. Unlike most travelers in such a situation, Acacia had been in little danger from starvation, bandits, or wild animals, because Acacia was already dead, one of the "Revived". Animals fear the Revived, and most other people would prefer not to deal with them. As she is already dead, Acacia needs no nourishment, just water to keep her body moist. Magic keeps her alive. Nonetheless, the Revived do need to care for themselves, and they can be sent back to death--and no one wants to be alone. Fiorel had taken pity on the girl, and the two of them became a bandit team. Acacia is the only person Fiorel trusts.
Fiorel fights with broadswords. She is, perhaps, the greatest swordsman in the world. It's just that no one knows it yet. Well, she does.
Fiorel has a fiery temper, and she has little patience for incompetence. She is very distrustful of strangers, especially knights. She thinks Chester is a little snot. She considers Lawrence an annoyance, but better than Chester. She thinks Matthew is all right.
Acacia Moral:
Acacia was the youngest child of a well-to-do Southland family. She was doted on and adored all her life, and when she fell gravely ill, her family was stricken with grief, as the healers could do nothing for her. She was dying. She had lost consciousness, and it was unlikely that she would awaken again. So her parents made a decision. They chose to make Acacia one of the Revived.
Revival magic is unique to Southland. People from other lands often consider the Southlanders "soft", and their culture is marked by a fear of death. So much of their magic involves staving off death, in one way or another. Revival is a particularly drastic form. In order for it to work, the one to be Revived must be ritually killed. Certain rites are involved, and the killing blow must cleanly cleave the head from the body. The head and body are then infused with magic through the neck, and the head is reattached. The neck is bound with magical cloth, and the Revived must continue to wear that cloth around his or her neck, or they will slowly begin to return to death.
When Acacia reawakened, everything was different. Her family had been told that Revival could affect the personality and demeanor of a person, but they had not truly understood what that would mean, or perhaps they had not really believed it. Acacia was quieter, more withdrawn. As she had not been asked whether she wanted to be Revived, she was also angry and resentful. Besides which, the Revived are simply unnerving. Acacia's family tried to treat her as they always had, and Acacia tried to get used to her new life. but it was a difficult process. In the end, Acacia ran away. She traveled on her own for some time, avoiding well-traveled roads and inhabited areas until she finally met Fiorel.
Unlike most people, Fiorel has no trouble dealing with the Revived. It makes no difference to her, and so Acacia enjoys her company. Acacia also has some supernatural powers, due to the fact that she is now a half-magical entity. This has proved very useful to Fiorel, as Acacia has the ability to render people immobile. Which makes it very easy to steal from them. The two of them are close friends. They live, work, eat, and sleep together. Acacia is for the most part very quiet and given to long periods of silent, almost eerie introspection. She sleeps a great deal. Acacia is devoted to Fiorel. Nonetheless, she sometimes contemplates taking off the ribbon she wears at her throat and returning to death rather than extending her life indefinitely.
Matthew Loyal:
Finally, Matthew Loyal. When he is first introduced, he is referred to as "The Traitor Matthew Loyal". This is because he is blamed for inciting a peasant revolt. This story, however, is misleading.
Matthew lived a strange, quiet life. He was raised in relative isolation, with only one older woman for company, Mary Mercy--who was his guardian, not his mother. He knew nothing of his parents, who they had been or what happened to them. He and Mary lived simply. They grew their own food in a garden next to their isolated stone cottage, and they foraged and hunted and fished for any food they could not grow. They stayed far away from other people. Mary told him very little about the world they lived in.
One day, Matthew came back from fishing to find, to his sorrow, that Mary was dead. She had not seemed ill, and he was unsure why she had died. There were no signs of violence or a struggle, but there were signs that someone else had visited the cottage. Mary had made tea for two people, but not for him, as it was ice cold by the time he returned home. Matthew felt uneasy, and after burying Mary and saying prayers over her, he decided to leave.
Matthew had no experience with the outside world, and in the first village he visited, he found certain things about the people's way of life puzzling. When he asked about them and voiced his confusion, people reacted strangely to his words. The things he said seemed to leave a strong impression upon them, and before Matthew knew what was happening, the villagers and farmers of the region were revolting against their liege lords.
The rebellion was suppressed quickly and brutally, and Matthew, as the instigator, was arrested on charges of treachery, heresy, and inciting armed revolt. He was taken at once to Eastland's capital. Once there, the King decided that a criminal of his stature should be tried in Axia, the high capital, so plans were made to send him there with the next merchant convoy. He was assigned a personal escort: the young knight Chester Greatheart. Of course, the convoy is attacked, and Lawrence, Matthew, and Chester are the only survivors.
Matthew is perhaps the primary "plot" character, as much of the plot hinges on his mere existence. As it turns out, Matthew is something known as a "Speaker" (Yeah, I just capitalize English words instead of making up weird fantasy words). His words are imbued with great power (largely of suggestion), and even his casual remarks are able to make people do things. Speakers are very very rare, and Matthew is the first one to be born in centuries. Matthew, however, does not realize that he has this power. Other people, however, do. Because of this, some people are trying to capture Matthew--and others are trying to kill him.
Matthew, as he is a prisoner, is restrained. However, his restraint takes a special form--that of a binding shirt, which he wears under his robes. It is a long, white tunic that usually seems quite ordinary. But the tunic is linked by magic to Chester, Matthew's escort. If ever Matthew ventures too far from Chester's side, the tunic constricts and effectively renders him immobile. It also becomes very, very uncomfortable.
As Chester and Matthew travel together, Chester slowly begins to realize that Matthew is not the man he believed him to be. First Matthew's jailer, Chester eventually becomes his protector and his friend. And also (dun dun DUNNNN), as their relationship progresses, Chester must struggle to understand the true nature of his feelings for the other man. That's right, FEELINGS.
Matthew is a quiet person, which is a good thing, because if he was as talkative as Lawrence, it would cause ALL KINDS of problems, considering what his words are capable of. He is earnest and generally serious, although he has a wry sense of humor. He is also very tall and imposing. Over his binding shirt, he wears dark robes, like a monk.
Greatheart has a team of protagonists rather than one major protagonist, although Chester is technically "the hero". Fiorel, however, is reluctant to accept this and challenges him whenever the opportunity arises. Also, Lawrence thinks he is the hero. Acacia and Matthew are more retiring, but they are also of great importance.
If you can read all this, I'll be IMPRESSED.
Chester Greatheart:
Chester is the youngest of the famed Eastlander knights.
The title character, Chester unsurprisingly has many of the typical traits associated with a hero. He is a young man on the verge of coming into his own. He is a warrior with great talent, but also one who is more or less untried. He lost his father at an early age, but has a substitute father figure (Bertrand Goldenhour). He loves his mother and tries to be a good son to her. He is goodhearted and kind, but too impetuous and naive. He can be very blind in some regards. Once someone has earned his loyalty, he is unlikely to view their words or actions with a critical eye.
This blindness is best illustrated by the way he relates to Bertrand and Matthew. Bertrand, who was his mentor, can do no wrong in his eyes. Even when Bertrand does something odd or suspect, Chester does not question him but trusts him implicitly and does as he says, regardless of any misgivings he might secretly have. Chester believes that questioning the older man would be a show of disloyalty. Where Matthew is concerned, Chester has been told (by Bertrand and others) that the young man is a dangerous traitor. Even when Matthew's words and actions show that his intentions are good, Chester remains suspicious of him, at least at first.
Lawrence Timely:
Unlike Chester, Lawrence is not exactly your typical hero. He has no real aptitude for fighting and has been pampered for most of his life. The son of a rich merchant, he is used to getting everything he wants. Although basically a kind person, he is conceited and arrogant. He talks too much, and he tends to discount or talk over the opinions of others. He also doesn't listen very well at all. However, he has a boundless enthusiasm for and interest in the world around him. He is much more likely than Chester to see through deceit. He can appear ridiculous and quixotic, but deep down he is a rather sensible person. Unlike Chester, who relies so much on ideals of knightly honor, Lawrence has a faith in himself that relies on no outside sources.
Lawrence is not the best at relating to others, as he has never had to make an effort to do so. At court, he was sought out and frequently fawned on, as the nobility is slowly declining and has recently begun to cozy up to the growing merchant class, and the Timely Family is one of the most powerful non-aristocratic families in all Eastland.
Lawrence loves his laboratory and his inventions, and above all, what he wants is to be invited into the Axian Academy, one of the highest possible honors for a man of science. As a scientist, Lawrence is well-versed in charm magic, which is a type of magic that involves imbuing objects with various properties. In the Greatheart Universe, most new technology involves charm magic. However, charm magic does have other applications. Anyone can learn the basics of charm magic, but to become a true expert, some inborn ability is necessary. In this area, Lawrence is quite talented. Before his family became "civilized", the Timely clan was well-known for hedgewitchery, one of the earliest forms of charm magic.
Fiorel Winsome:
Fiorel is of Westlander descent but living in Eastland.
The last surviving member of the once infamous Winsome clan, a band of notorious bandits, Fiorel has been a criminal all her life. When she was 14 or so, her family was ambushed and wiped out by the Eastlander Knights. This was an illegal massacre, as, according to Eastlander law, bandits are to be captured, jailed, and tried for their crimes, killed only when necessary. Also, children below the age of 13 cannot be executed for any crimes committed, yet more than a few children were slaughtered. The group of knights (lead by Bertrand Goldenhour) were paid off by the local villages, who did not want to have to go through the trouble of capturing and trying the bandits.
Like all of the Winsome girls, Fiorel had been trained to fight and was the most promising of her parents' many children. Already hardened by a bandit's harsh life at the age of 14, her family's death made Fiorel even harder.
The price of an outsider joining a bandit clan is high, especially for a female, and even more because the only other bandit clans in the area had been the Winsomes' rivals. So Fiorel decided to go it alone. When not engaging in banditry, she spent every moment training. Her primary goal in life is revenge.
Fiorel remained solitary until the day she discovered the young woman Acacia Moral wandering in the wilderness. Unlike most travelers in such a situation, Acacia had been in little danger from starvation, bandits, or wild animals, because Acacia was already dead, one of the "Revived". Animals fear the Revived, and most other people would prefer not to deal with them. As she is already dead, Acacia needs no nourishment, just water to keep her body moist. Magic keeps her alive. Nonetheless, the Revived do need to care for themselves, and they can be sent back to death--and no one wants to be alone. Fiorel had taken pity on the girl, and the two of them became a bandit team. Acacia is the only person Fiorel trusts.
Fiorel fights with broadswords. She is, perhaps, the greatest swordsman in the world. It's just that no one knows it yet. Well, she does.
Fiorel has a fiery temper, and she has little patience for incompetence. She is very distrustful of strangers, especially knights. She thinks Chester is a little snot. She considers Lawrence an annoyance, but better than Chester. She thinks Matthew is all right.
Acacia Moral:
Acacia was the youngest child of a well-to-do Southland family. She was doted on and adored all her life, and when she fell gravely ill, her family was stricken with grief, as the healers could do nothing for her. She was dying. She had lost consciousness, and it was unlikely that she would awaken again. So her parents made a decision. They chose to make Acacia one of the Revived.
Revival magic is unique to Southland. People from other lands often consider the Southlanders "soft", and their culture is marked by a fear of death. So much of their magic involves staving off death, in one way or another. Revival is a particularly drastic form. In order for it to work, the one to be Revived must be ritually killed. Certain rites are involved, and the killing blow must cleanly cleave the head from the body. The head and body are then infused with magic through the neck, and the head is reattached. The neck is bound with magical cloth, and the Revived must continue to wear that cloth around his or her neck, or they will slowly begin to return to death.
When Acacia reawakened, everything was different. Her family had been told that Revival could affect the personality and demeanor of a person, but they had not truly understood what that would mean, or perhaps they had not really believed it. Acacia was quieter, more withdrawn. As she had not been asked whether she wanted to be Revived, she was also angry and resentful. Besides which, the Revived are simply unnerving. Acacia's family tried to treat her as they always had, and Acacia tried to get used to her new life. but it was a difficult process. In the end, Acacia ran away. She traveled on her own for some time, avoiding well-traveled roads and inhabited areas until she finally met Fiorel.
Unlike most people, Fiorel has no trouble dealing with the Revived. It makes no difference to her, and so Acacia enjoys her company. Acacia also has some supernatural powers, due to the fact that she is now a half-magical entity. This has proved very useful to Fiorel, as Acacia has the ability to render people immobile. Which makes it very easy to steal from them. The two of them are close friends. They live, work, eat, and sleep together. Acacia is for the most part very quiet and given to long periods of silent, almost eerie introspection. She sleeps a great deal. Acacia is devoted to Fiorel. Nonetheless, she sometimes contemplates taking off the ribbon she wears at her throat and returning to death rather than extending her life indefinitely.
Matthew Loyal:
Finally, Matthew Loyal. When he is first introduced, he is referred to as "The Traitor Matthew Loyal". This is because he is blamed for inciting a peasant revolt. This story, however, is misleading.
Matthew lived a strange, quiet life. He was raised in relative isolation, with only one older woman for company, Mary Mercy--who was his guardian, not his mother. He knew nothing of his parents, who they had been or what happened to them. He and Mary lived simply. They grew their own food in a garden next to their isolated stone cottage, and they foraged and hunted and fished for any food they could not grow. They stayed far away from other people. Mary told him very little about the world they lived in.
One day, Matthew came back from fishing to find, to his sorrow, that Mary was dead. She had not seemed ill, and he was unsure why she had died. There were no signs of violence or a struggle, but there were signs that someone else had visited the cottage. Mary had made tea for two people, but not for him, as it was ice cold by the time he returned home. Matthew felt uneasy, and after burying Mary and saying prayers over her, he decided to leave.
Matthew had no experience with the outside world, and in the first village he visited, he found certain things about the people's way of life puzzling. When he asked about them and voiced his confusion, people reacted strangely to his words. The things he said seemed to leave a strong impression upon them, and before Matthew knew what was happening, the villagers and farmers of the region were revolting against their liege lords.
The rebellion was suppressed quickly and brutally, and Matthew, as the instigator, was arrested on charges of treachery, heresy, and inciting armed revolt. He was taken at once to Eastland's capital. Once there, the King decided that a criminal of his stature should be tried in Axia, the high capital, so plans were made to send him there with the next merchant convoy. He was assigned a personal escort: the young knight Chester Greatheart. Of course, the convoy is attacked, and Lawrence, Matthew, and Chester are the only survivors.
Matthew is perhaps the primary "plot" character, as much of the plot hinges on his mere existence. As it turns out, Matthew is something known as a "Speaker" (Yeah, I just capitalize English words instead of making up weird fantasy words). His words are imbued with great power (largely of suggestion), and even his casual remarks are able to make people do things. Speakers are very very rare, and Matthew is the first one to be born in centuries. Matthew, however, does not realize that he has this power. Other people, however, do. Because of this, some people are trying to capture Matthew--and others are trying to kill him.
Matthew, as he is a prisoner, is restrained. However, his restraint takes a special form--that of a binding shirt, which he wears under his robes. It is a long, white tunic that usually seems quite ordinary. But the tunic is linked by magic to Chester, Matthew's escort. If ever Matthew ventures too far from Chester's side, the tunic constricts and effectively renders him immobile. It also becomes very, very uncomfortable.
As Chester and Matthew travel together, Chester slowly begins to realize that Matthew is not the man he believed him to be. First Matthew's jailer, Chester eventually becomes his protector and his friend. And also (dun dun DUNNNN), as their relationship progresses, Chester must struggle to understand the true nature of his feelings for the other man. That's right, FEELINGS.
Matthew is a quiet person, which is a good thing, because if he was as talkative as Lawrence, it would cause ALL KINDS of problems, considering what his words are capable of. He is earnest and generally serious, although he has a wry sense of humor. He is also very tall and imposing. Over his binding shirt, he wears dark robes, like a monk.
