Dispatch # 4: Meet The Cast, Part I
Wherein We Introduce The Reader To The "Band Of Five"
Names are important; they are more than just words, they shape and colour the things they name. - George R.R. Martin
A Note To The Reader
Please note that virtually everything pertaining to this story and book - The Other Side Of The Sun - is subject to change or revision over time, to improve the story and/or to conform to some newly discovered fact-based reality. Because I am as human as you are, rest assured that I will be unsurprised to discover that errors might exist in my dispatches.
Should you, the Informed Reader, identify something that you believe or know is in some way inconsistent or reality-impaired, you may write to me directly at me@beturpin.com to share it. I seek constructive criticism, not destructive criticism… Grace for Grace, please.
Today’s Topic: Meet The Cast, Part I
Greetings, Dear Readers!
Having possibly overwhelmed you with much detail in last week’s Dispatch about Glyphs and Languages in the Known World, I thought I would shift gears use this Dispatch to give you a brief overview about some of the characters who will be appearing in my upcoming novel, The Other Side Of The Sun, starting with the 5 leading characters. In later Dispatches I will also introduce some supporting characters plus some bit characters.
Before I get to the top line cast members, first permit me to briefly discuss how I develop characters for the story.
About My Process Of Creating Characters
(If this part doesn’t interest you, feel free to skip down to the meet the cast…)
I first learned how to draw up characters many decades ago, when I used to play the roleplaying game, Dungeons and Dragons. For those unfamiliar with that game, D&D was and still is basically a form of improvised storytelling, using random chance based on the rolls of dice to make decisions about whatever happened next. Initially I was just a player, but by 1980 I was a gamemaster running the games for groups of friends. I gamemastered for as many as 25 people at a time, but usually 3-6 players were more the norm. It was lots of fun.
As a gamemaster, I would create so-called Non-Player Characters (NPCs) by taking a blank character sheet, filling in the blanks detailing various statistics about their abilities, then on the back of that sheet I would write down a quick summary of what the character’s pre-game history was like, what and who they liked and disliked, what their strengths and weaknesses were, etc. Whenever a new character was needed, I’d reach into my NPC folder and pull out a sheet, and voila! A new character entered the game. Sometimes other players would adopt one of my “prefab” NPCs and they would take it over from there.
As part of that process, I gave each NPC a name, and included either a graphical representation or a textual description of the character so I could visualize who they were. I often used interesting looking real life actors or other sundry public figures to serve as their avatars. Each character had to have just the right name and face before they enter the story. The only thing that has really changed over the years is nowadays I can use computer files and PNG files instead of paper forms to create them.
And Now… Meet The Band of Five
I currently have over 170 characters drawn up for The Other Side Of The Sun. Submitted here for your perusal are a few of them. For today we’ll just give a brief description and an image of the five lead characters in the book.
I originally called this group the Five Man Band, a commonly used trope in modern fiction writing. But since two of my topline characters happen to be young women who would likely push back about using that moniker, I renamed them the Band of Five. That’s not a formal name for them by the way - I’m not writing a comic book here. I just like to call them that informally.
At the beginning of the The Other Side Of The Sun, these 5 characters will all be in their late teens (16-17ish). The images of the characters displayed below probably illustrate what they will look like once they reach their early to mid twenties, meaning they will look a bit more weathered than they probably would be at the very beginning. Still, the images pretty accurately portray each character as they are, so I’m going with them.
Rêvin Telkirk, Squire
Rêvin Morel [pron. Raven Moh-rell] was born in Fyrx [Fear-th], a town in the Goin Barony of the Kingdom of Bryn.
Rêvin never knew either of his parents, and he wants to uncover their identities and discover their past, as well as his own. He’ll be in for some surprises when he finds out someday.
Rêvin was brought to the Isle of Meldûn [Mell-done] as a newborn by his adoptive mother, a very young wetnurse named Ama. Ama soon married Baglin Morel, a local ostler (horse stableman) who ran the stables at the Inn By The River, a coaching inn that has been in Meldûn since before there was a Meldûn. Growing up in the family business, Rêvin became a stableboy at the Inn. He is quite skilled with horses and other mounts, very good at trick riding on horses, and also a good study at swordfighting, thanks to informal training given to him by local knights and other swordsmen as well as practicing with his friends.
Rêvin dreams of becoming a knight someday… but as the rock band AC/DC says, it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll!
Rêvin’s defining traits include tremendous courage, tenacity, and perhaps most importantly, a surprising degree of wisdom beyond his years. He’s a serious young fellow who has a gift for leadership.
Lysela Angbroda, Ranger Apprentice
Lysela Angbroda [Lee-sell-ah Ang-broh-dah] looks pretty badass in the picture above, and in fact she is pretty badass. But she does not start out that way.
Lysela was born in Meldûn to a family trapped in the Unfree peasant caste, and begins life as a humble dairymaid, milking goats and cows on the Isle of Meldûn. She is 3rd generation Unfree, and a fraternal twin sister to Brin Angbroda (see below). Their mother died when she and Brin were 12 years old.
Her grandfather Beril Angbroda was himself born a Freeman farmer, but due to an unfortunate misjudgment, he had to sell the entire Angbroda family into Unfree status to save their farmland. He was never able to redeem his family’s freedom. In the book Lysela will earn Free status early on, but the bigger challenge will be to lift the rest of her family out of the Unfree caste. She will not rest until that happens.
Growing up in a farming family, Lysela was gifted at handling animals generally, enough to have some basic veterinary skills. She’s good on horseback, though Rêvin is perhaps slightly better in the saddle than her. She has always been a bit of a tomboy, and proved to be a quick study in brawling, swordfighting, and especially archery. Lysela earned early notice as a prodigy at the bow and arrow when she won the archery contest at the Meldûn Tournament a couple of years ago at the age of 14; she was the youngest competitor to ever win, as well as only the second woman to earn the title. The first woman to do it was Alya Kronar, a local ranger who won 3 times so far, most recently a year ago.
Lysela always wanted to become a female knight, like the famous Vêla Not-A-Lady [first name Vay-lah], the Knight Protector for the recently crowned Queen Ydela [Ee-dell-ah]. Her Unfree status has made that career choice effectively impossible, so she ends up training to become a Ranger, which proves to be a occupation more suitable to her skills and mindset.
Lysela’s defining traits include a tomboyish mindset, a biting sense of humor, empathy for the underdog and the downtrodden, and a belief in doing right by others. She is usually the peacekeeper and moral compass of the group. She is Rêvin’s best friend and his chief confidante. Some folk misread their relationship as having a romantic component, which Lysela pushes back against… although Rêvin secretly does love her. Nobody (not even me) knows where this relationship will ultimately end up.
Modo Rostar, Squire
Modo Kiburi Rostar [Moh-doh Kiboo-ri Roh-star] was born in Meldûn. He is the son of a ranger named Medrik Rostar and weaver Myla Rostar [first name Mee-lah]. His grandfather, Enguvu Rostar, was a a merchant who hailed from the faraway southern Alako Islands and initially resettled in the southern Brynish city of Lorê [Low-ray]. His father Medrik the youngest of 9 children, was a bit discontented from life in Lorê, so he found his way to Meldûn as a young man and became a ranger there.
Modo is himself familiar with the many skills required to be a ranger, but he has never aspired to become one himself. Instead, through his friendship with Rêvin, Modo managed to find work as a stableboy at the Inn By The River. The two spend much of their free time practicing swordfighting and riding horses. Modo is probably a better brawler than Rêvin, as he is very good at wrestling and a bit heavier. Modo aspires to become a knight - which as a born Freeman he could do, with the right word and proper funding from an esteemed sponsor. But Modo secretly fears the possibility he might not be cut out for knighthood, because so far he's been better at controlling draught horses than at riding horses.
Modo’s defining traits include a sense of humor, being a bit prideful, and being quite stubborn at times. He rarely backs down from a fight, even if he knows he will lose; sometimes Lysela and Prya (see below) have to either talk him out of the fight or give him suggestions on workarounds to beat otherwise formidable opponents. Modo also doesn’t like spiders much, and can be suspicious of Mages, although he does trust Kryd.
Brin Angbroda, Aspirant Mage
Brin Angbroda was born in Meldûn to the Angbroda family of farmfolk, which as previously mentioned is trapped in the Unfree peasant caste. He is Lysela’s fraternal twin brother, born a few minutes after her. Their mother Anys Angbroda died when they were 12 years old. Brin was especially close to her, and the loss changed his personality significantly. Previously he was a gregarious, happy child; afterwards he became more introspective and withdrawn.
Brin is usually the quiet kid these days, but Kryd has also observed early indications of his potential as a future Mage. Brin’s status as Unfree currently prevents that from occurring unless his status changes. In the meantime, Brin spends much of his time working as a farmhand with his uncle Brems Angbroda, who like him is something of a man of few words. The rest of his time is spent either hanging out with Kryd or hanging out with the others.
When the Band of Five are faced with an early confrontation, Brin initially runs away while the rest stay and fight back. This hesitancy costs him dearly, as he becomes shunned by his family and the community while the others are celebrated. When his surly, alcoholic grandfather Beril Angbroda excoriates Brin being a coward, Brin runs away from home - making him a fugitive, and a target for the Bloodhounds (bounty hunters). He unknowingly falls under the influence of an evil Archmage named Mordax. Lysela, Rêvin and Modo seek to turn Brin away from this journey towards darkness, with help from Kryd.
Brin’s defining traits include a preference for solitude most of the time, being soft-spoken and laconic, and a desire to avoid undue attention. His fears and resentments could send him down the path of evil. It could go either way.
Prya Atma, Mage Apprentice
Prya Bîjanka Atma [Pree-yah Bye-yahn-kah Aht-mah] was born in Meldûn. She hails from a family of accomplished artisans. Her father Samir Jaŝên Atma [middle name Yah-shain] is a pre-eminent master gunsmith, and her grandfather Talavar Viŝad Atma [middle name Vih-shahd] is a one of the world’s best master swordsmiths. Prya is also the granddaughter of Dypa Devi Atma [first name Deepa], a veritable Renaissance Woman who is a master weaver and clothier as well as a noted physician, apothecary, astronomer, culinary master and herbalist. Prya also has an aunt, Navi Bona Atma, who is an accomplished printer, writer, inventor and metalsmith (growing up around a master swordsmith does that).
But Prya was and is a little way different from all that. While definitely knowledgeable in the areas of medicine, clothing, and metalsmithing, from an early age Prya showed a gift and passion for the esoteric field of metaphysical discipline known colloquially as The Skill, which many people think of as “magic”. After proving to be a problem child for her parents, Dypa Atma arranged to have the great archmage Kryd take on Prya as an apprentice, where she proved to be an exceptionally gifted student. Along the way Prya befriended the others in the Band of Five, and when she’s not studying with Kryd she’s either hanging out with them or learning about something interesting from grandmother Dypa.
Prya’s defining traits include a craving for knowledge and insight, and an unwillingness to put up with BS from anybody. She’s not a B, but her middle name comes from a word meaning “fierce” for a reason!
More Character Introductions To Come Later
I plan to introduce other characters in future dispatches, including a few mentioned in passing here, including Kryd, Dypa Atma, Alya Kronar, Vêla Not-A-Lady, Queen Ydela, and Mordax, among others. Stay tuned…
Conclusion
That concludes today’s dispatch!
If you liked it, please feel free to mention it in comments or send me an email at me@beturpin.com if you want to share something more detailed with me.
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Thanks for reading!
— B.E. Turpin
Yes, and father is a gunsmith (a highly rarified occupation in setting). Alya and her uncle Jador will be customers of both.
I love every character
I think I will like the guy who was the outcast for being weak