A Complex Anti-Hero
We finally get to the meat of the antagonist. I know I could have selected a flat, non-textured villain for my antagonist, but that is so boring. My next choice was a multifaceted villain, but that is still kind of flat. Then I moved him toward an anti-hero versus a true villain, and I felt like I was getting closer to what felt right for this narrative. The nuance of motivation finally began to flavor my antagonist in the direction with which I felt comfortable. Today, I finally found his motivation that felt honest and real, yet kept my opposition for my protagonist.
Enter Alaster Keane, businessman, husband and father, struggling with a world seemingly overrun with Offlanders. His introduction includes a minor conflict with others of Eldriko over the treatment of the Offlanders, but Alaster moves past that confrontation.
When next we see Alaster, we meet part of his family. Recent discoveries fill Alaster with hope for his economic future, and the future’s so bright, he has to wear...well, you know. It isn’t too long before that future takes a dark turn that will color Alaster’s motivation from this point on. In some ways, his life moves from optimistic to an emotional roller coaster.
Alaster has several children, which we meet two...a son and a daughter. Both have the same business sense of their father, and both have a close relationship with their father, in their own way. When his optimism is dashed by events one day, he finds his world thrust into a deep darkness that makes him susceptible to believing tales and myths that he would normally dismiss...myths that place him on an unlikely journey for a man of logic. He is soon on a journey that mirrors, to some degree, that of our protagonist. These parallel quests ultimately result in clashes and conflicts as they pursue the same goal, with different motives.
M. Alden Phillips - Author
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