38. What memory do they revisit the most often? - There’s a few things that come to mind. The most obvious one would probably be that last desperate stand against his uncle Karzis outside the gates of the royal city. He can’t stop obsessing over that one moment, thinking about where and how it all went wrong, what he should have said, what he should have done, convinced that if he had just done something differently, things might have turned out right and he wouldn’t be here today. It was devastating for him. His challenge was an appeal to Karzis honour, and even if he were to die, he would at least die with honour, fighting for a just cause, a king sacrificing his life to defend his land against the enemy. So for Karzis to dismiss him the way he did, it was perhaps the most humiliating thing he could have possibly done to him. Like come on! He could’ve at least afforded him the dignity of a suitably noble and heroic death!And then for his own people to turn on him and open up the gates for this usurper, leaving Sabreas powerless to do anything but watch as Karzis marches into his city to take everything he holds dear. It’s worth noting that Sabreas was just 14-15 years old, devastated by the death of his father and overwhelmed by the responsibilities of kingship thrust upon him. And for Karzis of all people to turn against him; the brother his father held so dear, the man who played with him as a child, taught him valuable skills as he grew up. A mentor. A friend. Family. That betrayal cut deep. Then of course there’s the moment when he first discovered his powers. That very first spark came to him in such a dark and desperate moment, it felt like an answer to his prayers, a divine promise, and he has clung to that belief ever since. It’s something he returns to whenever he’s in doubt, and it keeps him going even when everything feels hopeless. Finally, and less dramatically, there are certainly memories of his childhood, his home and, most of all, his family. He was incredibly close to his sister, and he absolutely adored his parents, and for all that he’s motivated by his own pride and thirst for revenge, he also feels a deep and desperate yearning for home. 42: How badly do they want to reach their end goal? - I think it’s safe to say that he wants it pretty badly. The way he sees it, there is no other option. What else can he do? He doesn’t have a home anymore, and he has no family he can turn to. He obviously can’t have any children, he probably couldn’t even marry a woman based on his own pretty narrow worldview, so he can’t even start a family of his own. He has no land, no wealth, and the only real influence or power he has is reliant on Kharim. So what? Should he just sit around and wait for death? Hell, he doesn’t even have anyone he would trust to perform the proper funerary rites for him so he can at least enter the halls of his ancestors after death (if someone like him would even be welcome in the first place). It wasn’t just the crown that he lost when Karzis usurped his throne, but he needs to take that crown back if he ever wants to reclaim whatever shreds remain of the life he once had. B: What inspired you to create them?- Oh, hm… that’s a pretty good question. He started out as a completely different character, actually, and I’m not sure what exactly inspired that character or exactly when or why I ended up rewriting him so drastically… As for what inspired me to create the character he is today, well… One obvious factor was my growing interest in the history of eunuchs (which was sparked in part by reading The Persian Boy by Mary Renault and in part by an artist I started following around that time). He ended up an interesting counterpoint to Lotus in that regard. But there are many other small things I could probably point to, specific books and movies and pieces of art and episodes of history that all contributed in some small part to his creation, some more substantial, others far more superficial and convoluted. Thank you so much for the questions! I really, really appreciate it! I know it’s taken me forever to answer this one, so here’s a little bonus Sabreas doodle to make up for it: