In between academic brain-bursts and workouts thought I'd throw in a bit of stuff on the various characters in my stories, particularly the Dunheasa series with a mixture of (mostly) human characters from an alternate version of this world and epic long-standing heroes.
Killer Parakeet is one of the oldest characters I've had -- the first stories I recall writing about him were about 20 years ago. Explosive tempered but otherwise well-meaning, Killer is also probably one of the characters who's changed the least over the years. Over the years he's grown much more martially inclined and flatulent as well as having a bit more of a detailed background than "an oversized mutant anthropomorphic parakeet". He's easily one of my favorite characters, especially in the more light-hearted, comedic stories. I don't know what the post-
Swan-Song timeline will hold for him but considering he lived at least 3000 years in my stories, there's plenty of time for many, many stories where he's either a star or a co-star. The typical Killer Parakeet story tends to revolve around him getting into trouble for any (or all) of the following: getting drunk, excessive flatulence, or chewing on something inappropriate like a real parrot.
Black Swan is another long-standing character, her origins sometime in my early teens under several different names. Originally she was an amoral mercenary who was motivated by power and took delight in double-crossing anyone who wasn't a friend of hers (ie, anyone other than Killer Parakeet and a few others). Later she became a character haunted by past atrocities and her attempt to escape from the heroic destiny held for her because she knew she would end up either dying or being stuck in a lifestyle she despised. Like many other characters, there were many other characters in other books that inspired her: Kitiara uth Matar from the Dragonlance series and Artemis Entreri from R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf books, just to name a few. Her True Name is Gilrain, which hasn't changed in all these years, and her use-name, Black Swan, hasn't gone too far from her original use-name, Night-Swan. I don't know what it is but something about black swans and dragons fitting well with her, hence her symbol, use-name, and her "true" form. Her sword also was an early part of her character development, complete with it only coming back to life when she redeems herself from her past dark deeds.
Cylithera Eaglestrike's first known incarnation prior to her creation in D&D was in my late teens. The original character was named Cylithera Falconhand and she was more of a swordswoman, inspired by R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden and the Caltech fencing team. Later on as I started sketching stories and poetry around her character, she somehow took on the role of an archer, albeit a rather postal one (just ask anyone who's played D&D with me). Somehow, I thought an eagle fit her better once she took on more to the vigilante archer aspect, having also gotten a bit of inspiration from San from Hayao Miyazaki's
Princess Mononoke. I love one person's description of her at that stage: San crossed with Robin Hood gone completely postal. Later on though she became more than just a vigilante, but someone who would eventually embody the ideals of archery and hunting before I really knew what was going on. She has gone through many different incarnations over the years, ranging from crazed vigilante to staunch wilderness defender determined to destroy civilization to a cruel goddess of archery and celibacy to a protective archery goddess who does whatever it takes to protect the wilderness and her followers. Of all the deities, she is by far the one I'm most closely bonded to. She is also the character I see as one of the closest to my own voice, although her views start to diverge from mine a bit after the events in
Swan-Song.
I'll probably start sprinkling more of these over time but I thought I'd just post bits and pieces pretty erratically.
