More of the writing meme
Jan. 28th, 2012 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lenora_roseI don't have time to write short, it seems: doing these fast made them run long...
5: Main Character Bio:
He was born Gaion Tanek the Third, son of Gaion Tanek the Second (King of Serath) and Sarr Ryan. Sarr was the daughter of the King of Cerissa, and the God Ro* -- who is considered the primary God in Cerissa, and a traitor and blasphemy in Serath. Gaion II kidnapped her, both for "lust" for her, and for the damage it did to Cerissa and to her mother deity -- she accepted marriage to him to end an already incredibly disastrous war, and in hopes of eventual escape. She allowed Gaion II to conceive a child on her, thinking, wrongly, that she'd have no qualms about abandoning the baby, and with an heir, he wouldn't pursue her. Instead, she gave over the idea of escape to raise her son the way she wanted, and make him something other than a copycat of her spouse. Also to hide the fact that Ro was one of the Gods to bless him. The other deity -- the Goddess of Wisdom, whose symbol is the snake -- to bless him gave him the name Ketan Tolkagift -- the first name being a kind of drowned ghost, the second being Germainesh for either a poisonous tongue or a snake -- when he was twelve.
Physically, Ketan is tall and strong, though, being a teen, he's still on the lean side. He's pale-skinned and unfreckled, like most Cerathic people, and has black hair (its style changes from cropped short to long enough to braid during the course of events). He has a longish face, and his eyes tilt down a bit at the outside, giving them a slightly droopy look. He started to grow facial hair young, so by Soldier, he sports a goatee.
Due to the Goddess, his face rarely shows much expression, and (once out of infancy, when he was a bit more normal), he has literally laughed few enough times to keep count, and hasn't ever cried of which anyone is aware, including himself. Having trained his body for a long time in courtly gestures, dance, and fighting, his body language tends to be more expressive but very controlled. His voice is deep and rich, and deeper and better when he sings -- which he undermines by mostly singing the sorts of songs military men sing.
Personality-wise, the first word to come to mind for most people is "Reserved", and his inability to use most facial expressions exacerbates this. Add a lot of courtly training in etiquette and courtesy, and he's usually mistaken for older than he is.
He has a strict private code of ethics, which he's stuck to in the face of deitys' disapproval, and is harshly self-critical when he does fail it. His sense of humour is dry and self-deprecating.
Trained as a warrior from childhood, he has no qualms about killing in battle, in self-defense (including pre-emptive self-defense, which could be considered cold-blooded), or in defense of relative innocents, but he has huge issues with people who use violence against civilians or children.
He tends to be genuinely interested in other people, for all he usually holds back and watches rather than asking them about themselves, and doesn't judge people as lesser for reasons like gender or position in society when there are criteria like basic incompetence and assholery to judge them by instead. He's pretty good at working with people he doesn't like, if they're good at what they do. He's straight as a straight thing -- but more, he *likes* women, rather than just lusting after them.
* Ro is the only deity of the eight to change gender on a regular basis, being the God of Borders (and therefore also of breaking down borders). There are three Gods, three Goddesses, Ro who changes, and a genderless one.
6: Main Villain Bio
Melottia Selovasdottir Vrashdivesk (Willow Swallowsdaughter of the Riverflood) was mistress of the hunt for the capital city of Germaine - a role that's as high as one can go in the human ranks of that country without marrying the King or being an Artisan - and a Dragonchild wizard of unusual power, which of course gets her more respect than anyone but the King in the non-human circles. Then, when the King's first wife died, she managed to catch his eye and marry him. Now that her husband has also passed on, she's Regent to the thirteen-year-old Trädolen, and inarguably the most powerful human woman in the country - and arguably the most powerful, period.
Germaine is genuinely overpopulated and badly strained for resources, considering its long winters and overly hilly country, but the magical border around the country and its reasons for existing make solving this problem slightly more difficult than just going to war against the neighbours -- and sending people off ot a distant colony is impossible. Melottia thinks she has an answer, though it takes time and has already offended one of the non-human peoples involved.
She's also ruthless in pursuit of her goal; it seems to her perfectly reasonable to help foment rebellion in Serath just to distract the other nearby countries from her doings at home and in a third land. Or to kill or manipulate people in her way.
Melottia is highly intelligent, with the flaw that she overcomplicates her short-term plans in pursuit of long-term goals. She's very charismatic, in the polished manner of the Perfect Hostess, and tends to be able to read at least surface motives and personalities rather well.
She doesn't quite see people from other countries as real people, and people who've made an enemy of her or dislike her she drops into the same category. She genuinely cares about Germaine as a whole, which would be a shock to some of her enemies, who see some of her more ruthless behaviour as damaging to the land and its people.
Melottia is stunning, as in, no really, there isn't a more beautiful woman around. She's an auburn redhead, which is rare in the Germainesh people from which she comes, and even more rare among the Cerathic, whch means most of them see it, if they see her hair at all, as even more exotic (Married and widowed Germainesh women wear scarves that are supposed to cover their hair completely. Letting it show is either considered a sign of slovenly dressing or of what can be politely called excessive flirtatiousness. She sometimes deliberately lets a bit show, and nobody would ever consider her the least bit slovenly). Germainesh people tend to short and stocky; in her case, stocky turned into a full-fleshed Hourglass figure, in cultures where lots of hip and breast is the feminine ideal. She wears her nails long, and slightly sharp. She prefers other weapons, but she's not against using her sexual appeal to achieve her goals -- mostly by playing the unobtainable object of desire rather than by actually seducing anyone. (She also just genuinely enjoys flirting, and will do it for no better reason than that it's fun. Sometimes even villainesses just want to have fun.)
7: A third important character's Bio
Theo is Ketan's cousin. He was raised for his first several years as if he were only another fosterling among many in Maulder, running with a crowd of children (though with his father privately grateful that Theo seemed to take a leader's role on his own). At seven, his father finally decided it was time to train his son properly for his future role. Then, when Theo was nine, his father died, and his uncle Fauzien, who was acting as his regent, decided he wanted Maulder for himself. Theo escaped the murder attempt and fled to the capital, where the King took him in as a foster son, raising him alongside Ketan as near-peers (Theo is three years older, so Ketan outranking him isn't as useful as it might be). In spite of some bumps along the way, Theo is for a long time his cousin's only true friend, and always one of the staunchest.
Theo is about the same height as Ketan, but thinner, with a shorter body and longer limbs. Super-gangly, but fast and agile. He doesn't look graceful but his motions are precisely aimed (he's the better warrior, though most people underestimate him). He's got brown hair pretty consistently worn long, an a neat beard once he's old enough to grow one. With finer cheekbones and longer lashes than his cousin, he's the more handsome of the cousins -- helped by his ready smile, and hindered by the fact that he has no-really wolf-long canines.
Theo is generally friendly, and cheerful of manner; as he observes once, even when things get bad enough for him that he's considering suicide, he *still* comes across less dour than Ketan. However, he's intensely emotional, in good and bad ways; he can be violently angry, and see above re: suicidal.
He's good at crunching numbers and spatial relations in his head, which helps him somewhat with strategy and logistics, as well as taxation and other such things related to running a territory.
For better and worse, his primary trait, though, is absolute loyalty. To his lady (the best description of his sexual orientation is monogamous), to his royalty, to his friends. This gets him in way more trouble than anything.
5: Main Character Bio:
He was born Gaion Tanek the Third, son of Gaion Tanek the Second (King of Serath) and Sarr Ryan. Sarr was the daughter of the King of Cerissa, and the God Ro* -- who is considered the primary God in Cerissa, and a traitor and blasphemy in Serath. Gaion II kidnapped her, both for "lust" for her, and for the damage it did to Cerissa and to her mother deity -- she accepted marriage to him to end an already incredibly disastrous war, and in hopes of eventual escape. She allowed Gaion II to conceive a child on her, thinking, wrongly, that she'd have no qualms about abandoning the baby, and with an heir, he wouldn't pursue her. Instead, she gave over the idea of escape to raise her son the way she wanted, and make him something other than a copycat of her spouse. Also to hide the fact that Ro was one of the Gods to bless him. The other deity -- the Goddess of Wisdom, whose symbol is the snake -- to bless him gave him the name Ketan Tolkagift -- the first name being a kind of drowned ghost, the second being Germainesh for either a poisonous tongue or a snake -- when he was twelve.
Physically, Ketan is tall and strong, though, being a teen, he's still on the lean side. He's pale-skinned and unfreckled, like most Cerathic people, and has black hair (its style changes from cropped short to long enough to braid during the course of events). He has a longish face, and his eyes tilt down a bit at the outside, giving them a slightly droopy look. He started to grow facial hair young, so by Soldier, he sports a goatee.
Due to the Goddess, his face rarely shows much expression, and (once out of infancy, when he was a bit more normal), he has literally laughed few enough times to keep count, and hasn't ever cried of which anyone is aware, including himself. Having trained his body for a long time in courtly gestures, dance, and fighting, his body language tends to be more expressive but very controlled. His voice is deep and rich, and deeper and better when he sings -- which he undermines by mostly singing the sorts of songs military men sing.
Personality-wise, the first word to come to mind for most people is "Reserved", and his inability to use most facial expressions exacerbates this. Add a lot of courtly training in etiquette and courtesy, and he's usually mistaken for older than he is.
He has a strict private code of ethics, which he's stuck to in the face of deitys' disapproval, and is harshly self-critical when he does fail it. His sense of humour is dry and self-deprecating.
Trained as a warrior from childhood, he has no qualms about killing in battle, in self-defense (including pre-emptive self-defense, which could be considered cold-blooded), or in defense of relative innocents, but he has huge issues with people who use violence against civilians or children.
He tends to be genuinely interested in other people, for all he usually holds back and watches rather than asking them about themselves, and doesn't judge people as lesser for reasons like gender or position in society when there are criteria like basic incompetence and assholery to judge them by instead. He's pretty good at working with people he doesn't like, if they're good at what they do. He's straight as a straight thing -- but more, he *likes* women, rather than just lusting after them.
* Ro is the only deity of the eight to change gender on a regular basis, being the God of Borders (and therefore also of breaking down borders). There are three Gods, three Goddesses, Ro who changes, and a genderless one.
6: Main Villain Bio
Melottia Selovasdottir Vrashdivesk (Willow Swallowsdaughter of the Riverflood) was mistress of the hunt for the capital city of Germaine - a role that's as high as one can go in the human ranks of that country without marrying the King or being an Artisan - and a Dragonchild wizard of unusual power, which of course gets her more respect than anyone but the King in the non-human circles. Then, when the King's first wife died, she managed to catch his eye and marry him. Now that her husband has also passed on, she's Regent to the thirteen-year-old Trädolen, and inarguably the most powerful human woman in the country - and arguably the most powerful, period.
Germaine is genuinely overpopulated and badly strained for resources, considering its long winters and overly hilly country, but the magical border around the country and its reasons for existing make solving this problem slightly more difficult than just going to war against the neighbours -- and sending people off ot a distant colony is impossible. Melottia thinks she has an answer, though it takes time and has already offended one of the non-human peoples involved.
She's also ruthless in pursuit of her goal; it seems to her perfectly reasonable to help foment rebellion in Serath just to distract the other nearby countries from her doings at home and in a third land. Or to kill or manipulate people in her way.
Melottia is highly intelligent, with the flaw that she overcomplicates her short-term plans in pursuit of long-term goals. She's very charismatic, in the polished manner of the Perfect Hostess, and tends to be able to read at least surface motives and personalities rather well.
She doesn't quite see people from other countries as real people, and people who've made an enemy of her or dislike her she drops into the same category. She genuinely cares about Germaine as a whole, which would be a shock to some of her enemies, who see some of her more ruthless behaviour as damaging to the land and its people.
Melottia is stunning, as in, no really, there isn't a more beautiful woman around. She's an auburn redhead, which is rare in the Germainesh people from which she comes, and even more rare among the Cerathic, whch means most of them see it, if they see her hair at all, as even more exotic (Married and widowed Germainesh women wear scarves that are supposed to cover their hair completely. Letting it show is either considered a sign of slovenly dressing or of what can be politely called excessive flirtatiousness. She sometimes deliberately lets a bit show, and nobody would ever consider her the least bit slovenly). Germainesh people tend to short and stocky; in her case, stocky turned into a full-fleshed Hourglass figure, in cultures where lots of hip and breast is the feminine ideal. She wears her nails long, and slightly sharp. She prefers other weapons, but she's not against using her sexual appeal to achieve her goals -- mostly by playing the unobtainable object of desire rather than by actually seducing anyone. (She also just genuinely enjoys flirting, and will do it for no better reason than that it's fun. Sometimes even villainesses just want to have fun.)
7: A third important character's Bio
Theo is Ketan's cousin. He was raised for his first several years as if he were only another fosterling among many in Maulder, running with a crowd of children (though with his father privately grateful that Theo seemed to take a leader's role on his own). At seven, his father finally decided it was time to train his son properly for his future role. Then, when Theo was nine, his father died, and his uncle Fauzien, who was acting as his regent, decided he wanted Maulder for himself. Theo escaped the murder attempt and fled to the capital, where the King took him in as a foster son, raising him alongside Ketan as near-peers (Theo is three years older, so Ketan outranking him isn't as useful as it might be). In spite of some bumps along the way, Theo is for a long time his cousin's only true friend, and always one of the staunchest.
Theo is about the same height as Ketan, but thinner, with a shorter body and longer limbs. Super-gangly, but fast and agile. He doesn't look graceful but his motions are precisely aimed (he's the better warrior, though most people underestimate him). He's got brown hair pretty consistently worn long, an a neat beard once he's old enough to grow one. With finer cheekbones and longer lashes than his cousin, he's the more handsome of the cousins -- helped by his ready smile, and hindered by the fact that he has no-really wolf-long canines.
Theo is generally friendly, and cheerful of manner; as he observes once, even when things get bad enough for him that he's considering suicide, he *still* comes across less dour than Ketan. However, he's intensely emotional, in good and bad ways; he can be violently angry, and see above re: suicidal.
He's good at crunching numbers and spatial relations in his head, which helps him somewhat with strategy and logistics, as well as taxation and other such things related to running a territory.
For better and worse, his primary trait, though, is absolute loyalty. To his lady (the best description of his sexual orientation is monogamous), to his royalty, to his friends. This gets him in way more trouble than anything.
