Ireth
Myth Weaver
Two of the characters in my latest WIP, Eirikr and Ardghal, are in a sort of father/son relationship that grows throughout the story, and I'm wondering how to write that most effectively. The background of these two is this: Eirikr and his family (brother, sister-in-law, wife and daughter) live at the human settlement of Þorpstein, in Faerie. Six years after their arrival, Ardghal arrived and befriended them; he had been cast out by his own family for having magic, but Eirikr, being a mage himself, gladly took him in.
Over the past four years prior to the start of the novel, Eirikr has grown to love Ardghal and view him as a son, though he has not said so yet. Only at the resolution of the story will he slip up and call Ardghal "my son". Ardghal initially had a few reservations about viewing Eirikr as a father, since his own father was not very loving to him at all, but by that point he has come to accept Eirikr as a foster-father. They do not go on to address each other as "father and "son", though their relationship is still very familial.
My question is, how can I portray this father/son type relationship with the subtlety I really want? These two are not the protagonists of the story, though they have important roles throughout. I'm slightly afraid that they won't get enough screentime to get across that they have that kind of relationship, given that the story will of course be focused mostly on the MC, and he often interacts with other people besides Eirikr and Ardghal. Other characters do get their own POV sections, which is where I'm hoping to develop this relationship, without being too ham-fisted about it, or detracting from the main storyline. Any thoughts or advice on how to do that?
NB: To be clear, Ardghal is a young adult at the time of the story (21-22 years old), and he first arrived at Þorpstein at 17. Eirikr's daughter is a couple of years younger than Ardghal (19-20). Eirikr himself is 42-43 when the story takes place.
Over the past four years prior to the start of the novel, Eirikr has grown to love Ardghal and view him as a son, though he has not said so yet. Only at the resolution of the story will he slip up and call Ardghal "my son". Ardghal initially had a few reservations about viewing Eirikr as a father, since his own father was not very loving to him at all, but by that point he has come to accept Eirikr as a foster-father. They do not go on to address each other as "father and "son", though their relationship is still very familial.
My question is, how can I portray this father/son type relationship with the subtlety I really want? These two are not the protagonists of the story, though they have important roles throughout. I'm slightly afraid that they won't get enough screentime to get across that they have that kind of relationship, given that the story will of course be focused mostly on the MC, and he often interacts with other people besides Eirikr and Ardghal. Other characters do get their own POV sections, which is where I'm hoping to develop this relationship, without being too ham-fisted about it, or detracting from the main storyline. Any thoughts or advice on how to do that?
NB: To be clear, Ardghal is a young adult at the time of the story (21-22 years old), and he first arrived at Þorpstein at 17. Eirikr's daughter is a couple of years younger than Ardghal (19-20). Eirikr himself is 42-43 when the story takes place.
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