Ooooh, this is gonna be interesting!
I’m so excited for some Mabysan questions! :D
Sabreas:
33. In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?
- Defensive, definitely.
He might be willing to consider any points of criticism… eventually. Give him a few days… or weeks, and he might actually accept that perhaps there’s some room for improvement on his part. Not that he’d ever admit that to your face, but… he might change how he acts in the future? Maybe?
11. In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?
- Hm, that’s a good question actually…
His confrontation with Karzis outside the gates of the royal city of Mar'Adir must have been terrifying, I’m sure. I mean, he’s 14 years old, facing a much older, more experienced opponent, knowing well that there’s no way he can actually beat him, but convinced nonetheless that he has to do this, that a noble death is better than yielding to an enemy.
So of course he would have been afraid.
But then again, I think the fear might have been, at least to some degree, drowned out by all the other emotions washing over him; the grief of losing his father, the confusion and sense of betrayal at Karzis’ treason and all the overwhelming feelings that come with suddenly being thrust onto a throne you’re ill-prepared for.
Other than that, well…
You’d think perhaps that whole castration thing might be an option, but I think by the time he even started to realize what was about to happen he was so drugged out of his mind he had no chance to freak out about it (fun surprise to wake up to, I’m sure).
His first meeting with Kharim also comes to mind.
Here we have him at like, 18-19 at most, a captive, all alone and helpless in foreign land, with this beast of a man whose intentions he can only guess at (having already been abused by his previous captor). As much as he tells himself he’d rather die than become this barbarian’s plaything I think he doesn’t feel nearly as cocky as he tries to present himself.
I’m sure there’s still plenty of room for even more scary experiences to come along though, considering there’s still so much of his journey I haven’t discovered yet.
Kharim:
4. Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?
- I spent a long time thinking about this one and… I’m really not sure. I mean, there are over 4 decades of backstory here that I’ve only begun to sift through. (So I’m totally not gonna make this up as I go.)
As a young boy Kharim was made to witness the execution of his father, the result of a failed uprising against some local ruler (which may or may not have been related to that asshole Sabreas is sent to as a hostage). His death is pretty much all he can remember of his father. While no doubt a scarring experience in and of itself, it also put a very abrupt end to a mostly carefree childhood. His older brother changed drastically following their father’s death, slowly becoming consumed with his thirst for revenge, dragging his family into further bloody conflict before ending up much the same way as his father. By then I think said local ruler was becoming tired of these bloody troublemakers and decided to finish what they had started before the next in line would come looking for revenge.
Now, Kharim wasn’t terribly interested in revenge, either for his father or his brother, but he didn’t much care to die either, nor allow what was left of his family, at this point including his first wife, pregnant at the time, to be murdered. And I think this is, more or less, where his warlording days started.
16. Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?
- Hm... That’s an interesting question.
I think if you asked him he would answer ‘happiness’ without hesitation, and I do think that in theory he does value happiness over success.
But then again, if he was asked to leave behind all his ambitions to settle down and live a quiet and humble life with his family, I’m not entirely convinced he’d be able to do it.
It’s a bit hard to say because I feel like, as far as he is concerned, success and happiness really go hand in hand.
…Not to mention that, as a warlord in highly disputed territory, being successful is quite literally keeping his head from ending up on a spike.
Karzis:
27. How does your character normally deal with confrontation?
- A bit of a straightforward and boring answer, but he’s very much the kind of man who tackles things head on.
But let’s try to elaborate a little.
Where his brother was flighty and abhorred conflict, Karzis has always been a pragmatic man and he has no time for dillydallying or sentiment.
(I think a lot of courtiers who had enjoyed a great amount of influence over the previous king, and had expected even greater control over the young heir, were in for quite a rude awakening when Karzis took the throne.)
Karzis will find a fair and just solution if possible, but he’s not out to please, and he will make unpopular decisions and make sacrifices for (what he perceive to be) the greater good of the nation.
(And if he believes that the best thing to do in the wake of his brother’s premature death is to fuck his niece and cut off his nephew’s balls, then you bet that’s what he’s gonna do u.u)
I do think his mental state really deteriorates in later years though, leaving him paranoid and withdrawn, so that no doubt affects his ability to deal with confrontation.
41. Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?
- Hm… good question.
On the one hand, he’s royalty, so I’m sure he feels entitled to certain privileges, and have some expectations as to what is rightfully his.
With that said, I’m leaning more toward the latter.
I think that as the second son Karzis always had to work a lot harder than his older brother. Where his brother, as crown prince and heir to the throne, had pretty much everything handed to him, Karzis had to make a path for himself, proving himself useful as more than just a spare. That’s not to say he resented his brother (I think he genuinely loved him), or that he was necessarily treated badly by his family or the court at large, the two just had very different expectations placed on them, and that mentality stayed with him into adulthood.
Sorry that took me so long to answer, my brain has been even mushier than usual lately, and some of these were quite the challenge!
Regardless, thank you so, so much for asking! I did have a lot of fun answering these, and it actually helped me piece together a few more puzzle pieces in this story!