Ireth
Myth Weaver
Looking at one of my longest-running and still-ongoing RPs, I'm fascinated by one character in particular. Cadell, a Daoine Sidhe of the Unseelie Court, first appeared as a somewhat shallow, petty villain who knowingly tortures an innocent human, Vincent, for a crime he never committed. When Vincent's friends and family come to rescue him, Cadell takes quite some time to relent. He later learns of a threat that could devastate the lives of both Fae and mortals alike, is the first to think that a truce between peoples might be mutually beneficial, and convinces his queen to negotiate it. The queen appoints him as the official emissary between her Court and the humans.
All the same, Cadell doesn't regret his cruelty toward Vincent, until he himself is kidnapped by the enemy, imprisoned and tortured, essentially being shown what an ass he was in no uncertain terms. He is also spoken to by the enemy's leader, who tries to sway Cadell to their side. Cadell, being unwaveringly loyal to his queen alone, defies the attempt. Meanwhile, Vincent leads a small group of allies, including both mortals and Fae, on a rescue mission to free Cadell, and becomes instrumental in bringing Cadell home. Cadell later apologizes to Vincent for his cruelty, having seen the error of his ways. Vincent accepts the apology, though does not immediately say he forgives him.
When the long-expected war finally arrives, Cadell goes so far as to persuade his queen's long-time rival, the king of the Seelie Court, to help both the Unseelie and the mortals out. He then leads an army of Unseelie into battle alongside the mortals and Seelie Fae. During the course of the battle he is saved from dying more than once by mortals and Seelie, and even goes out of his way to ensure that an ally whose name he does not even know doesn't die alone on the battlefield.
After the war he reports to his queen, and risks his social standing with her by saying that their Court should maintain their alliance with the Seelie and mortals in times of peace as well as war. More shockingly, he asserts that they should no longer antagonize mortals, nor the Seelie, for their own petty amusement -- something which they have seen absolutely nothing wrong with for thousands of years. He even goes so far as to compare them to their recently-vanquished enemies, which seriously ticks off the queen. She does not punish him, though, and lets him off with a stern warning. It's still uncertain what his status with the queen will be after all that, once she has the time to think about what Cadell said.
All in all, I think Cadell's character arc has been the most satisfying of any I've written, and it's not over yet. Heroes who stay heroes and villains who stay villains are fun in their own ways, and heroes who fall and become villains are interesting, but villains who work at becoming heroes are arguably best of all, in my opinion.
What about you? Anyone else have a certain character they love most of all to see grow and change over the course of their story?
All the same, Cadell doesn't regret his cruelty toward Vincent, until he himself is kidnapped by the enemy, imprisoned and tortured, essentially being shown what an ass he was in no uncertain terms. He is also spoken to by the enemy's leader, who tries to sway Cadell to their side. Cadell, being unwaveringly loyal to his queen alone, defies the attempt. Meanwhile, Vincent leads a small group of allies, including both mortals and Fae, on a rescue mission to free Cadell, and becomes instrumental in bringing Cadell home. Cadell later apologizes to Vincent for his cruelty, having seen the error of his ways. Vincent accepts the apology, though does not immediately say he forgives him.
When the long-expected war finally arrives, Cadell goes so far as to persuade his queen's long-time rival, the king of the Seelie Court, to help both the Unseelie and the mortals out. He then leads an army of Unseelie into battle alongside the mortals and Seelie Fae. During the course of the battle he is saved from dying more than once by mortals and Seelie, and even goes out of his way to ensure that an ally whose name he does not even know doesn't die alone on the battlefield.
After the war he reports to his queen, and risks his social standing with her by saying that their Court should maintain their alliance with the Seelie and mortals in times of peace as well as war. More shockingly, he asserts that they should no longer antagonize mortals, nor the Seelie, for their own petty amusement -- something which they have seen absolutely nothing wrong with for thousands of years. He even goes so far as to compare them to their recently-vanquished enemies, which seriously ticks off the queen. She does not punish him, though, and lets him off with a stern warning. It's still uncertain what his status with the queen will be after all that, once she has the time to think about what Cadell said.
All in all, I think Cadell's character arc has been the most satisfying of any I've written, and it's not over yet. Heroes who stay heroes and villains who stay villains are fun in their own ways, and heroes who fall and become villains are interesting, but villains who work at becoming heroes are arguably best of all, in my opinion.
What about you? Anyone else have a certain character they love most of all to see grow and change over the course of their story?
