Character Highlight: Alaris Callen
May. 26th, 2011 07:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
n_wilkinsonIn pondering which character to highlight today, I realized two things. One) I needed to highlight a female character for once. And Two)... I don't have many female characters. Huh. Quite the pickle. Sure, I have dozens of female minor characters, but only a handful of female main/leading characters. Strange that. Or not so strange if one considers my contempt for fictional female characters.
Therefore, today I bring a highlight of an original female character that I actually like. I created her, so that makes sense, but still, she's one of so few. Obviously, I need to correct this matter.
Alaris Callen is from my fantasy series War of the Animum. She's the leader of the "good guys" so to speak, the "good guys" being a motley collection of humans, animus (humans connected to gods) and anima (the gods connected to said humans). As the first person to recognize and accept her animus (though one could argue for Frost actually recognizing his first, we'll save that for another time), Alaris is in the unique position of being the only one who knows precisely what's going on.
When we first meet Alaris in the second story, The Advent of Courage, we met her as head of a temple, a priestess of high regard. Alaris was born in this very same temple, to a priestess and a soldier who were legitimately wedded. Her mother is still alive and serving the temple; her father died years ago in a border skirmish. Alaris had a falling out with her mother regarding Alaris' role in the war and their last parting did not go well. This is something that still weighs on Alaris, especially since a lot of her mother's disapproval eerily echoes Sleet's reasons for being an unwilling participant in the war.
Alaris doesn't have any brothers or sisters, but her fellow priests and priestesses have served as surrogate siblings to her, and one woman in particular is her best friend, close enough that they are like sisters. She supported Alaris' decision to fight against Balaam.
Tall for a woman, Alaris carries herself very well and considers her height a blessing. Her hair is light brown and long, reaching almost to her hips, though she most commonly wears it in a high ponytail. Her eyes are a very sharp blue, and she has a light, lean build with very little effort on her part. She has a great respect for life and Alaris is a vegetarian. She's also the same age as Frost, in her mid-30's.
Her anima is Hephaestion, who has the element of Life, and Alaris' magic is appropriately geared toward healing and recovery. She has very little physical skills, though she can defend herself with some hand to hand if necessary. She knows a few offensive spells, but they are limited to repelling and reflecting, per Asclepius' blessing.
Alaris has known Raven for several years now, and she relies on him as both a frontline fighter and a guardian. Raven owes her a great debt -- which is why he considers himself in her employ -- but as for why... that should be saved for Raven's highlight. Alaris does, however, consider him a good friend, however exasperating his behavior might be sometimes. For the record, there is nothing romantic between Alaris and Raven and the idea of it is amusing at best.
Alaris loves to read and is fascinated by all of the old stories -- those completely fiction, those based in part on truth, and those that are completely truth. Especially the ones that the anima can tell her.
You can read more about Alaris and the war in my ongoing fantasy series War of the Animum where in recent fics, she's even started to get her own POV scenes! Questions? Feel free to ask!
Therefore, today I bring a highlight of an original female character that I actually like. I created her, so that makes sense, but still, she's one of so few. Obviously, I need to correct this matter.
Alaris Callen is from my fantasy series War of the Animum. She's the leader of the "good guys" so to speak, the "good guys" being a motley collection of humans, animus (humans connected to gods) and anima (the gods connected to said humans). As the first person to recognize and accept her animus (though one could argue for Frost actually recognizing his first, we'll save that for another time), Alaris is in the unique position of being the only one who knows precisely what's going on.
When we first meet Alaris in the second story, The Advent of Courage, we met her as head of a temple, a priestess of high regard. Alaris was born in this very same temple, to a priestess and a soldier who were legitimately wedded. Her mother is still alive and serving the temple; her father died years ago in a border skirmish. Alaris had a falling out with her mother regarding Alaris' role in the war and their last parting did not go well. This is something that still weighs on Alaris, especially since a lot of her mother's disapproval eerily echoes Sleet's reasons for being an unwilling participant in the war.
Alaris doesn't have any brothers or sisters, but her fellow priests and priestesses have served as surrogate siblings to her, and one woman in particular is her best friend, close enough that they are like sisters. She supported Alaris' decision to fight against Balaam.
Tall for a woman, Alaris carries herself very well and considers her height a blessing. Her hair is light brown and long, reaching almost to her hips, though she most commonly wears it in a high ponytail. Her eyes are a very sharp blue, and she has a light, lean build with very little effort on her part. She has a great respect for life and Alaris is a vegetarian. She's also the same age as Frost, in her mid-30's.
Her anima is Hephaestion, who has the element of Life, and Alaris' magic is appropriately geared toward healing and recovery. She has very little physical skills, though she can defend herself with some hand to hand if necessary. She knows a few offensive spells, but they are limited to repelling and reflecting, per Asclepius' blessing.
Alaris has known Raven for several years now, and she relies on him as both a frontline fighter and a guardian. Raven owes her a great debt -- which is why he considers himself in her employ -- but as for why... that should be saved for Raven's highlight. Alaris does, however, consider him a good friend, however exasperating his behavior might be sometimes. For the record, there is nothing romantic between Alaris and Raven and the idea of it is amusing at best.
Alaris loves to read and is fascinated by all of the old stories -- those completely fiction, those based in part on truth, and those that are completely truth. Especially the ones that the anima can tell her.
You can read more about Alaris and the war in my ongoing fantasy series War of the Animum where in recent fics, she's even started to get her own POV scenes! Questions? Feel free to ask!
