April A to Z Characters: Z

Z is for Zephros.

Zephros is a seed wizard from Solitude, a short story published in Tales of the Talisman. He must work the magic that the twenty-five wizards before him were unable to work. He is, as you will know if you read the story, is totally fitting character to end this month of alphabet fun with.

The lives of thousands depend on him doing what others before him were unable to do. Being a savior is a lonely endeavor and he must use all his wits to solve the problem his predecessors have had with the spell or the remnants of humanity will sleep forever.

No one wants a nap that long.

Likes: Fresh air, success, conversations with the food replicator.

Dislikes: Failure, being alone, endless meals of fortified oatmeal.

Thank you to everyone who shared this challenging month with me. It's been a fun ride through characters past and present.

Spending a little time with all of them has got my percolator working hard on fixing stories I haven't giving much thought to since setting them aside. Now if only my cloning machine worked I'd have time work on them all at once.

April A to Z Characters: Y

Y is for Yanis.

Yanis is an army captain from Sahmara's Sunset. In the rough draft he was simply Captain, but he quickly grew on me and earned a name for himself.

Yanis is a noble and honorable man though disheartened and angry at the world. He lost most of his men to an attack on an Altherian held town that went wrong thanks to a traitor. He has been trying to gather enough Revocheki stragglers to make it home ever since. The men ate his beloved horse in order survive, and while he knows he made the necessary choice in that matter, he's never forgiven them or himself. Yanis takes the MC under his protection and does his best to keep her safe from the others help her make it home.

Likes: His father's sword, his horse, and dead Altherians.

Dislikes: Traitors, being stranded in a country swarming with enemies, and live Altherians.


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April A to Z Characters: X

X is for Xander.

Xander was once one of the Victims of the Knife, but was recently recycled back into Trust.

He once had a big role as a young man that the MC mentors, but it turned out that angle wasn't necessary for the character's growth so Xander, the conflicted and struggling kid, got whacked.

The Xander that returned has a tiny part, but at least he lives on. He is one of the men that works for Gemmen in the guild that takes from the tech wealthy, repurposes and sells to the highest bidder. Some might quaintly call them space pirates. It certainly cuts down on the long description.

Xander works closely with Gemmen as a trusted guard. In his one scene he pulls a gun on the MC due to his questionable loyalties at the time--the MC's not Xander's. He then stands there, being all threatening until being called off and sent along on his duties.

I meant to get Xander into Chain of Gray as well, but the right situation where he would be required never came up. Alas, Ms. Wildstar lost her fawning boyfriend for the benefit of one little scene. Does Xander regret getting pulled from Victims of the Knife for his bit part?

He says, "Hell no."

Likes: Getting back into a novel, getting to pull a gun on the MC, working for the Pirate Guild again without having to go through all the awkward proving himself that he had to endure in his original role.

Dislikes: His tiny part in the story (Not that he's really complaining. Honest.), not getting to do more than escort the MC into a room and then get ordered out of it. (No really, not complaining.) and not actually getting to fire his gun. (Not that he'd want to kill the MC, that's going a bit far, but would getting to actually kill someone be too much to ask? I mean he never really gets to have any fun. Women don't take him seriously in this role. Did that sound like whining? It wasn't. He's fine with everything. Wouldn't change a word. Nope. It's great.)


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April A to Z Characters: W

W is for William.

William is from A Broken Race. William is one of many, the leaders of the fortress that holds the best of the survivors of humanity. "Best" being a relative term.

Williams may be impotent, but they compensate by screwing everyone over when it comes to sharing the workload. They give the orders and sit back to watch them carried out. They control the breeding and who eats when. They hold they keys to the fortress and all it's punishments and rewards.

They even hold the say in who lives and who dies, right down to the hour old infants who don't meet their standards. As long as the wildmen don't get inside, the Williams are confident they have everything under control. But even infants can tell a secret. All it takes is someone to find the wrong one.

Likes: A big meal, a comfortable chair, loose clothing

Dislikes: Simples who don't listen, Jacks who learn too much and women who think for themselves.


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April A to Z Characters: V

V is for Vayen.

Vayen is the MC in both Trust and Chain of Gray. If you won't tell my other characters, I'll admit that he's my all time favorite. We've been together for a very long time, have grown up together and gone through a lot of life changes (and name changes on both our parts).

He shares my humor and my love of a good drink after a long hard day. That's where I have to set myself apart though, because I haven't killed anyone, nor am I attracted to my boss even though I know it's a bad idea. (Nor have I ever been. Euw. I need better looking bosses or at least one I respect.) He might not be a nice guy, but he likes to think he does bad things with good results for the population at large. After all, someone has to get their hands dirty to make a difference.

In Trust, he starts off as a naive young man with an overwhelming job. He manages to grow into it and by the end of the story, make a name for himself. In fact, he might have done that job a little too well.

In Chain of Gray, his actions come back to haunt him. All the things he thought he'd tidied up so neatly have unraveled, dragging him and his family into chaos. Chaos comes in the form of Arpex amongst others. He really, really hates Arpex and the feeling is mutual.

Likes: A strong woman, good sex, having an important position of his own

Dislikes: Being manipulated, being a lab rat, and his family in danger

April A to Z Characters: U

U is for Ulrich.

Ulrich one of the Captain's men from Swan Queen. Brother to Timo and friend of Thin Henry, the three men follow the Captain of the Guard into an exile he didn't realize he was sentenced to until after he'd left. Eager to help the Captain clear his name and remove Kenric from the throne, Ulrich and his friends use their skills with swords to protect the Captain as he tries to secure a force to return the princess to her rightful place.

Ulrich and his two friends were originally very minor characters that grew entertaining personalities of their own. They became well-rounded secondary characters over the course of the first half of the plot and will now require me to go back and alter their introductions to make them a more complete part of the storyline. Darn them. Though really, I love when that happens so I'm not complaining too much. At least not this time.

Likes: The Princess back on the throne, the Captain welcome in his homeland and a warm and willing woman in his own bed.

Dislikes: Eating even one more meal of fish anything, the whore tax Kenric implemented, being far from home.


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April A to Z Characters: T

T is for Timininious.

He insists you call him Tim while visiting Not Another Bard's Tale so you don't keep stumbling over his name. Tim is a wizard who accidentally cursed himself to sneeze golden glitter and things have never gone quite right since.

Tim is between jobs when he sees the Evil Overlord is hiring. Though Tim isn't evil, he does need to eat. In the slow economy caused by the oppressive overlord, he can't be too picky. When he wins a round of 'Do you think your evil' by causing, instead of deadly lightning, a heavy rain of blackberries, (thereby forcing the evil overlords minions to set aside their usual fare of boiled kittens for a healthy meal of fruit. Woo. Evil. ), Tim finds himself favored in the eyes of the Evil Overlord. However that might not be the promotion he'd dreamed of.

Likes: Spells that work the first time, women without mustaches, free black hair dye

Dislikes: Going gray, sneezing glitter, and the thought of eating kittens no matter how long they were boiled in baby's tears.


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April A to Z Characters: S

S is for Sahmara.

Sahmara is from her own story, Sahmara's Sunset. How nice of me to name the story after her, isn't it? This is the first novel I've ever written that I had the title before the story. That's usually one of the last things that comes to me. In fact, I had both the title and the last line. That's also something that is on my last thing list, though more appropriately so.

Sahmara also has the distinction of being the most misspelled character name that I've plagued myself with to date. I've lost count of the different ways I've spelled it. Usually one spelling sticks with me for several chapters before I take a break for a few days and go back to work on the story, thinking, hmm, does this look right? Was I spelling it with the h here or at the end? Some headdesking occurs. Thank goodness for find/replace.

When invaders from Altheria invade Sahmara's country, they rip her away from her sheltered life and take her to their home as one of their many slaves. Lost and alone in a foreign country, she turns to her mother's goddess for help. Her prayers are answered. Sort of. Help comes in the form of a bow, men's clothing and a rag-tag band of soldiers from her own country also trying to get home. There's also the small matter of payment to a blood-thirsty goddess for services rendered.

Likes: Warm furs, sweet confections, being safe and home.

Dislikes: Altherian slavers, blood on her hands, and moldy biscuits.


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April: Behind the scenes

So while my character parade is happily plodding onward, I thought I'd share what's going on behind the scenes.

1. During the flooding last week, despite $200 pump I ran to three stores to finally find one in stock in the pouring rain, getting covered in mud several times and becoming one with the worms in my dirt crawl space, my furnace went underwater just far enough to die.

2. After the days of  rain finally ended, we did not go directly to our long delayed spring. Instead, we reverted back to winter. It's been snowing intermittantly and not above 40 degrees. And I have no heat other than a space heater in the living room.

3. Work is busy as hell. Being self-employed means if it's busy, I'm working. There have been 10 - 14 hour work days (and there have been for the past couple weeks and that includes weekends). Okay, so working like mad has sort of kept me warmish. There is that. Sort of.

4. While all this is going on, it was time for my LAST school carnival yesterday. This means, that while working crazy long hours, I was also at school (where there is at least heat) for 11 hours last week setting up and running the darn carnival. It went very smoothly thanks to some wonderful volunteers from a local church, but I'm soooooo glad it's over. Another last for this can't wait to be done with PTO duties mom. Now there's just a parade, a big field trip and graduation to plan. Deep breaths. It's almost over.

5. Progress on my Camp NaNo novella has screeched to a couple hundred words here and there. I am at 13k of my 25k goal. Will I get there by the end of the month?

6. I'm way behind on crits. Chapters are piling up of some great stories I'd love to be reading.

7. All this culminated in a lovely migraine yesterday that is still with me today and I have a ton of work to do.

Monday will be better, right?  At least the furnace guy is coming in the morning now that the water has drained out of the crawlspace so he can tell me how much fixing my furnance is going to cost. Yay?

April A to Z Characters: R

R is for Roy.

A priest of Hasi, Roy hails from Samarah's Sunset. Roy is a devout man and he's got little patience for Samarah while she struggles to find her place in his group of soldiers. And really, there is no place for her. A woman amongst lonely men makes for more trouble than either of the them want to deal with. Religion only holds not-so-devout men in line so long.

Second in command to Yanis, Roy leads the band of men toward home though enemy territory. He's more adept at wielding sermons and the words of Hasi than a sword, but he gets by enemies attack. He holds control over the food supply, usually meaning moldy biscuits, and the spiritual wellbeing of his charges. At least until they get really hungry.

Likes: His god, order, clean robes and a good meal.

Dislikes: The temptations of a woman, ungrateful men, wondering if his brother is still alive.


See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April A to Z Characters: Q

Q is for Queen.

I know it probably seems convenient for this whole A to Z challenge, but seriously, she doesn't have a name of her own. Maybe she never will. She's simply known as The Queen in Swan Queen. And no, she's not the Swan Queen.

Mother of Princess Maribella and sister to Kenric, the Queen is ailing. She chastises her procrastinating daughter for delaying in her choosing of a husband. The longer Maribella delays, the more chance Kenric will have time to work his way onto the throne. The wedding must take place. The problem is that Maribella's choices are slim. She can't picture herself with any of the menagerie of men her mother has chosen for her.

When the Queen inconveniently dies shortly after their conversation, Mari finds herself without a kingdom and her people under Kenric's heavy hand. Now she has to live long enough to find a suitable husband and convince Kernic to step down without tossing her country into war.

Thanks for dying, Queen.

Likes: The thought of her her daughter on the throne, servants, being queen,

Dislikes: Her brother, her daughter being so damn indecisive, dying.

See all the A to Z challenge partcipants here.

April A to Z Characters: P

P is for Paul.

Paul is the husband of Marion from Devolution, a short story currently in need of some extensive revision and possible expansion into novella territory. He's a good guy for the most part. He makes sure his wife has a nice home in their Plex. They even have a window. Thanks to all his work, they want for very little. The one thing he can't give his wife is a child. Not that he's unable. She's the one who can't clear the approval process. Mental unstability runs in her family and the last thing their orderly world needs is a drain on resources by caring for those who had no right to be born in the first place.

Paul does his best to get Marion counseling and find something more useful for her baby-craving mind to do. If she doesn't quit with her silly dreams and take her medication, he could loose his job and with it, the apartment with a view. He's not a bad man and she's not a bad woman but if you ask either of them, they'll probably tell you different.

Likes: Variation in his evening meals, a wife who comes to bed with him, and his job

Dislikes: Headstrong women, the uncivilized people who live out in the wilds, the thought of moving from his apartment.

April A to Z Characters: O

O is for Olga.

Olga travels through the land of Not Another Bard's Tale. She wants nothing more than to protect her sister, the chosen of the Sheep God, and to find a man who loves her for who she is.

Her sister got the good looks, but Olga got the brains of her Elven mother and brawn of her Dwarvish father. She also has a big sword and she knows how to use it. Unfortunately, the men in town see her as a more of a friend than a lover. In fact, most of them are scared to death of her. When her father sends her out of the country on a business trip, Olga learns that when the quaking men of her town said it wasn't her, it was them, they just might have been right.

Likes: Men who aren't afraid of a strong woman, supportive yet flattering swordswoman wear, and sharpening her sword.

Dislikes: The knight who deflowered her sister, cowards, and men who don't take her swordsmanship seriously.

April A to Z Characters: N

N is for Nickoli.

Nickoli is the station commander in Trust. He is a long-time friend of one of the MCs and both MCs work to stay on his good side by not bringing the trouble that follows them near everywhere to his station. They both use him for information on the star system where he resides as well as using the location itself for sanctuary when they need to get away from their otherwise hectic lives.

He is the father of teenage twins, which he juggles between managing the station and keeping trade routes open within the star system by making sure his station remains neutural territory. Nickoli offers some tidbits to the MC when he is searching out information on his bosses past that allow him to understand her a little bit better.

Likes: Peace, friends that visit regularly, and a good Verian meal

Dislikes: Anything that endangers his station, dangerous people who hang out with no apparent reason, and information that causes him to worry about his long absent friend.

April A to Z Characters: M

M is for Merkeif.

I seem to have a lot of characters with M names. It was hard to choose which one to feature. Seniority had to be taken into account and, Merkeif, long time character from both Trust and Chain of Gray won.

Merkeif's orginal name, way back in the early versions, was Matt. As the story twisted and grew, that didn't work anymore and he needed something with more flavor. Merkeif is the MC's best friend and co-worker as well as a welcome face from home, Artor.

In Trust, Merkeif offers a sympathetic ear to the MC, watches his back, and mediates for him with their Jalvian co-worker who isn't fond of the MC on any level. Their boss may be the force that keeps the three men from killing one another when things get ugly, but Merkeif is the glue that keeps them together on a day to day basis. He's the guy that everyone trusts.

Then comes Chain of Gray. Merkeif gets to explore his dark side. It was fun getting into his head and seeing just what made this dependable guy crack and how far he would go once he had. It really is the quiet ones that you have to worry about.

Likes: A night out with the guys, finding a woman of his own, everyone to get along.

Dislikes: His family getting killed, his best friend deserting him, and not knowing what the hell is going on.

April A to Z Characters: L

L is for Leoric.

Otherwise known as the Mouse, Leoric hails from Swan Queen. Son of Kenric and fellow victim of Kenric's overbearing ways, Leoric is a dimwitted teenager who has sorely disappointed his father by not capturing the affections of the princess and securing his place as her husband.

Fed up with his father's verbal abuse, Leoric convinces the princess to avoid marrying his father by seeking out the banished captain of her army in the hopes of ridding the country from his father forever.

Leoric was never meant to be more than the Mouse, but he became one of the more emotionally powerful characters I've written. It turns out the dimwitted thing is just his way of coping with his father. He's really a good kid.

Though taking a break for my Camp NaNo project this month, I'm in the midst of a total rewrite of this story and happy to be back in this fantasy world with these interesting characters again.

Likes: Playing with his puppy, getting the Princess to smile at him, hiding from his father

Dislikes: His father, having to try to get the Princess to marry him, and feeling inadequate at every turn.

April A to Z Characters: K

K is for Kenric.

Uncle to the princess in Swan Queen, Kenric wants only what is best for his country. He'd also prefer if the princess made things simple and married his son, but she seems strongly opposed to his preferences. That includes not marrying him instead.

When the princess fails to marry before her mother's death, Kenric elects himself as regent to give the princess time to grieve. In fact, he'd be thrilled if she never got her act together so he could actually expand the country that had been just riding the waves of mediocrity during his sister's rule. He's got his eye on a neighboring country that produces fresh fruit year round and wine of great renown. Now, if only he can get rid of that princess, Togarth might go somewhere great.

Likes: Young beautiful girls, good wine, people who do what he tells them to.

Dislikes: His son, the princess, and anyone who stands in the way of his vision of Togarth coming to fruition.

April A to Z Characters: J

J is for Jonquil.

Thank you to all the A to Z visitors who have joined me for this alphabetical parade of my characters. I hope you enjoy it.

Half rock troll, half fairy, Jonquil is looking for love in Not Another Bard's Tale. Her mother said Jonquil was big boned but that didn't make her arms long enough to rip the stupid little fairy wings from between her mammoth shoulder blades. Being a half-breed makes finding love difficult, but that all changes when she spies the most handsome little troll man with a glorious mane of thick, curly hair. He even been brought tasty sheep. (This is Bruce, the not-so-valiant-knight "enjoying" the hairy blessing/curse of the Sheep God for those of you who visited on B day.)

Despite the wreath of roses on her head and her dress of furs tugged low for maximum cleavage, the troll man didn't seem to find her beautiful. His sword hurts and so did his words, but she'll find a way to make him see that they are meant to be together. She just needs a little time. And maybe a new dress.

Likes: Handsome male trolls, flattering dresses for big boned figures, true love

Dislikes: Course hair that no amount of conditioner will help, hearing how she was conceived, pointy swords

April A to Z Characters: I

I is for Ikeri.

Ikeri is from Chain of Gray. Daughter of the MC and his soon to be official wife, Ikeri is two years old at the beginning of the story. She embodies the telepathic gifts of both her parents in a unique package, one they will all exploit out of necessity. Her older brother gets the benefit of her sweet side, and though he maybe stronger physically, she wins on the mental strength.

Telling the story through the eyes of a father, allowed the MC to showcase his softer side as well as flesh out the difficult relationship he and his bonded partner must work through. Throwing kids into the mix coming out of Trust, opened up a whole new assortment of terror and stress for two people used to seeing death, guns and blood everyday.

Likes: Building towers, playing with her Daddy, using her ablities to make her brother and mother happy.

Dislikes: Anything that keeps her Daddy away, when her brother destroys anything she builds, sleeping alone.

April A to Z Characters: H

H is for Hemina.

Hemina is a tree dweller from Children of the Trees, published in Liquid Imagination Magazine. Her people are peaceful and live as one with the trees their goddess has given them. They trade with the ground dwellers from time to time to get things like cloth and grains they can not get from the trees and sky.

When the ground dwellers are insprired by their god to find the female who will give birth to his physical body among the tree people, they invade. Hemina prays for help. If she is to save the world she knows from the god the ground dwellers seek to bring to life, she'll have to rely on her wits and the trees around her because her goddess isn't answering.

Likes: A soft rain, the gentle whisper of the trees, spending time with her father

Dislikes: Axes, fire, and Gods who call her Sweetling.

April A to Z Characters: G

G is for Gemmen.

Gemmen is from both Trust and Chain of Gray. He is the fatherly figure at the helm of the pirate guild (which is a quaint title for the people who take from those who have advanced tech and modify for those that don't). He gives the MC good advice to better his standing at his partner's side.

Not the typical young, volatile, glory-seeking Jalvian that the MC is used to dealing with, Gemmen's maturity offers the hope that the MC's people and the Jalvians can find a beneficial middleground in their efforts to keep the star system at peace.

In Chain of Gray, Gemmen becomes more of a father than a mentor and the emotional depth surrounding the relationship between he and the MC is much deeper. Throughout the storyline that spans both novels, Gemmen helps to shape the MC into the man he becomes.

Likes: A good glass of liquor, seeing the MC squirm a little, knowing that his people are taken care of

Dislikes: His nagging wives, that crazy look the MC gets when he's about to do something reckless, and not hearing from the people he cares about.

The story is coming alive.

In the midst of all this A to Z blogging, I'm happy to say that my Camp NaNo story is coming along nicely. Work kept the words at bay for a few days, but after a word splurge of 3K this afternoon, I'm back on track.

Ideas are flowing. I love when that happens. Let's hope it continues to happen.

6k words into it my 25k goal and I haven't killed anyone yet. Don't worry (or sigh with relief), I plan to. Soon.

Wendy (thanks to Wendy from the A to Z challenge for putting her name out there) has become a main character.

If anyone else has a name they'd like to toss into the mix, shout them out. I have a lot of nameless faces running around in this story at the moment.

April A to Z Characters: F

F is for Fa'yet.

Fa'yet is actually Isnar's last name, but it's how he's known for the majority of Trust and the name by which the MC calls him on into Chain of Gray.

Isnar Fa'yet works for the High Council along with the MC. He's a good friend, confidant and ally. In a rough spot, he's the guy the MC turns to. However, that might not always be the best move.

Fa'yet is a surgically modified Artorian, set apart fom the genetic ideal of the majority of his race by blue eyes and light brown hair. He is a good ten to fifteen years older than the MC and has been a close friend to his boss for the entire length of her employment with the High Council. He is a fount of information on her past and ready with a nerve-balming glass of liquour when she rubs the MC the wrong way.

In Chain of Gray, he grows even closer to the MC, becoming the one he can trust in a world full of confusing changes in loyalites. It's not often you can still be friends with a man you nearly killed, but the MC and Fa'yet make it work despite all the crap the known universe throws at them.

Likes: A good glass of liquor, a neat house and his own space

Dislikes: Long-term house guests, people who try to kill him, being ordered in to compromising positions by the High Council.

April A to Z Characters: E

E is for Emily.

Welcome A to Z visitors. I hope you enjoy this alphabetical parade through some of my characters.

Emily is a two year old kidnapped girl from my short story, Healer, which is currently in the virtual 'to revise' pile.

Emily was shot at a streetside playground by teen gang members doing a drive by. Her new mommy is afraid to take her to the hospital because they might figure out Emily has been kidnapped. When her new mommy hears about a healer named Jillian from the wife of a patient who has just been miraculously cured, the solution becomes clear.

But Jillian has just performed a major healing and she can't repair all the damage the two bullets have wrought on Emily's little body. Her new mommy is going to have her baby back and she won't take no for answer.

Likes: Her real mommy, learning to use the potty by herself, sugary treats.

Dislikes: Her new mommy, getting shot, driving long distances in the car.

April A to Z Characters: D

D is for Darkious Maximus, Evil Overlord Extraordinare, Master of the Nine Darknesses.

The Evil Overlord himself, straight from the dark depths of Not Another Bard's Tale. Well, not straight exactly. He's probably crooked, really, really crooked, but you get the idea.

You can call him DM. It's embroidered on all of his clothing and the uniforms of his minions in case your memory gets foggy while basking his gloriously evil presence.

From the pointed tip of his neatly-trimmed black goatee to the bottom of his black souled boots, he's evil through and through. Don't let him hear that you doubt his evil rating or question the actual existance of nine levels of darkness. He'll have his wizard, Tim, turn you into a corpse frog. You don't want to spend the rest of your days hopping about and croaking "Riiiibrains" do you?

Likes: News that the people of countryside fear him, interior decorating with skulls, finding his long lost son and heir.

Dislikes: Interfering knights, incompetant minions, Sheep Gods.

April A to Z Characters: C

C is for Caroline.

Thank you to all the A to Z visitors who have joined me for this alphabetical parade of my characters.

This creepy little girl is from, Found, a short story published in Allegory Magazine. A five year old girl caught in an alternate plane of grey, Caroline seeks out a friend to keep her company. She wants to play, and in the grey, they can play all they want without anyone finding them or yelling at them to be quiet. Caroline could be the perfect playmate and the grey could be just the thing her new friend needs to escape his abusive father.

Likes: Not having to pick up after herself, reading books, having a friend to hang out with.

Dislikes: The times when her friend goes away, people who aren't nice to her friend and ruining the story by listing the other thing.

April A to Z Characters: B

B is for Bruce.

Bruce comes from the fantasy land of Not Another Bard's Tale. He is a not-so-stellar knight between jobs until he talks a dragon into leaving a tormented town alone. At least, for a little while, while it gets a drink from the lake he directed it to so it wash it's last meal down. He's going to enjoy his glory for every second he can.

This awe-inspiring deed lands him a job as bodyguard for pair of a rich merchant's daughters while they go on a business trip to expand their sheep-themed hotel empire in foreign lands. Things work out wonderfully for Bruce until he discovers that he is the new chosen one of the Sheep God and is now hindered by a flock of holy sheep while on his obligatory mission to overthrow the local evil overlord.

Likes: Mydeara (the previous chosen one of the Sheep God whom he slept with), large breasts, and following the knight code only when it is convenient.

Dislikes: Sheep he can't eat, evil overlords, and female troll-fairy stalkers who can't take a hint.

April A to Z Characters: A

A is for Arpex.

Arpex visits us from the novels Trust and Chain of Gray. For a long time, Arpex was simply known as "the blue creature". After he was upgraded from the creepy creature that threatens the MC in a single scene to a full out Council Member hidden under robes that threatens to eat the MC and does eat his ex-girlfriend and then goes on to play a big role in the sequel, the creature got his own name. Or name for his alien self, really. All Arpex share the same name.

Arpex is described as a tall, blue-shelled biped with small frontal appendages ending in claws. It's feet are sharp, being covered with the same (unfortunately...depending on which side your on) bullet-proof covering as the rest of it. It has no visiable head and speaks the common language only through a speaker box attached to its upper body. It prefers its own language of clicks and hisses, but few seem to understand his threats this way. It has large wings, or jaws depending on if it's eating or flying, that spring from its back which are used to engulf its prey. These wings are edged in sharp talons and secrete a disgusting ooze of digestive acids. Or hey, maybe they're really appealing acids if you happen to also be Arpex.

Likes: Eating soft-skinned things, unflattering bright yellow light, the idea of turning the MC's homeworld into nesting grounds.

Dislikes: A messy plate, slaves that forget their place, brain-dead food.