Let Me Introduce You...

I admit it.

    My characters are real people to me. They have personalities, ideals, quirks, motivations, beliefs, good points, bad points. Like real-life people. I just happened to make these people up.

    They're real to me, though, and I hope that, once you read their stories, they'll be real to you, too (a lot of commas right there).

    First, though, you've got to know who they are. So that's what this post is about. I want to introduce you to some of the major characters in my novel, then you can ask questions about them - questions that they can answer in upcoming posts.

    Now, to those intros.

Protagonist: Briannon

    Seventeen-year-old Briannon should be living in Zayvia's castle with her family of nobility. Instead, she's been living with a peasant family since she was twelve. She's left ruling to her uncle and sister - that's the way it's always been, even if it's wrong. But some things are impossible to ignore. When an opportunity to defend her land and revolt against her uncle's twisted ways arises, she dives in headfirst. And that's how she ends up being the one to tell this story.

    She's got the fiery red hair that should mark her as bold and reckless, but she's still hiding in the shadows. She'll question anything, and she can't stand the thought of fighting - or even living - without a cause. She has to be driven by something, something that she understands. Without that cause, she would wither up and die. With it? Just try to stop her.

Deuteragonist: Maverek

    (Trust me, deuteragonist is actually a word. I just learned it. 😁 It's the second-most-important good guy in a story - similar to a sidekick.)

    Maverek has his own agenda: prove to the world he can be somebody worth believing it - but don't get tangled up with anyone else along the way. He hides his past with trained skill and keeps himself distanced from other people just as well. Now he's embroiled in an unprecedented revolution against the most powerful man in all of Zayvia. But he's not only leading the revolutionaries against the ruler - he's trying to fight off the most dangerous attacker the people have ever faced.

    On the outside, he's strong, capable, fearless - and cold. Almost no one can see past his dark eyes or stone heart. While he's busy fending off villains and hiding a deadly secret, he's fighting to keep his walls up high enough that no one can see in. If those walls tumble, he could die.

Mentor: Hawke

    Hawke might be only a little older and much lower in social status than Briannon, but he's always been the big brother. He's been holding his mismatched family together since he was fourteen years old. Briannon and her brother were sent to live with his family years ago - before his mother left them, before his father died. Now it's just him, his blood sister, and the young heiress he claims as a sister. He's in over his head in a secret revolution, but that's just the way he likes it.

    At first glance, he's everything his sisters aren't - reckless, calloused, take-charge, and dangerous. What he lacks in skill he makes up for in noise, strength, and sheer stubbornness. He might be the definition of an unpolished peasant, but that's not about to stop him from doing what needs to be done. And he's not going to pick a fight that he won't win.

Confidant: Indie

    As Hawke's barely-younger sister, Indie's been watching out for him and the rest of their family since she was a child. She hasn't been a child in years. She spends her life taking care of others and fixing everyone else's problems. Getting mixed up in a revolution isn't her idea of a good decision, but she'll find her family wherever they go.

    It seems she's perfect in every way. Beautiful face, winning smile. Fierce loyalty, quiet nature. She's always there to help and to listen, tucking her problems in a corner so she can fix someone else's. Someday that might fail her, but that doesn't matter now. All that matters is keeping her family together - whatever the cost.

Minor Character: Rhys

    Rhys was a young teenage girl who shouldn't have been worried with fighting off all kinds of evils. But her family was torn apart by Zayvia's ruler and his traditions and regulations. She refuses to give in to despair, though. Instead, she follows what's left of her family into a revolution against the very man who turned the course of her life forever.

    She might come across as naive and immature, but she'd never consider herself either of those things. She's fighting off the bitterness every day. She's trying to hold back the rage that lives inside of her. She throws herself into her cause with a fiery spirit just to keep functioning. But no one knows these things. They only see the side of her that she lets them - optimistic, bubbly, enthusiastic about life. That's all they'll ever see, because no one would know what to do with her if they saw the real Rhys.

    Wow. That was difficult for me. I already knew the first four characters pretty well, but I learned some things about Rhys I didn't know... 

   Well, there you have it! The five most important characters in my story (minus the villains - telling y'all about them would be a spoiler!). 

    I'll be busy and not posting for the next week, but, when I get back to it, I'm planning on doing an interview with each of these characters! I'll ask some of the questions, but I also want to hear from y'all! If y'all could ask them anything, what would it be? 

    Ask away in the comments, whether it's a question each of them could answer or a question meant for a specific character!

Looking forward to hearing from you!