Hey al1! Firstly I want to apologize for the incorrect blog number post above, this is because I have some scheduled posts coming up (it’ll fix itself by the weekend) that I decided to interrupt with this: a post about National Women’s Day!
Secondly, I want to say that I have little to no authority to speak on this subject as a male author. That said, I wanted to contribute in a way that I can, and that’s with the stories of some of my female characters. While they’re written by me, their inspiration varies, many having taken inspiration from women around me or other elements. And though I’ve written them, I often feel like I’m just the writer of their stories. Those happened without me. Those grew in writing until they became something greater than I’d ever planned.
I don’t want to introduce my characters as a means of self-endorsement, but with the hopes that their stories can have an impact. As a male author, I feel wholly unqualified to take into account the whole female perspective, but it’s my best attempt, and I hope to tell the stories of characters who can inspire and create hope. So without further ado…
- Sira Jessura of Orden.
Sira’s story is one of constant hardships and aggravations. She’s a spirit that, as far as she’s shared, died in ‘a time predating our fancy machines.’ As of Sovereign Soul, she grew up in the dark empire of Orden, a place known for its corruption, its evil leadership, and its warmongering need to conquer other worlds. Her brother is Diaboro Jessura, a rambunctious and rude man who believes he owns the world. Her closest possession is Sinistra, a blade she recalls having for as long as she can remember. She has red hair, crimson eyes, stands at a shocking 7 feet tall, and has darker skin.
Sira was a longstanding member of Orden’s armies, and was just a soldier when a younger Vincent Ordenstraum picked her out. As a young man, Sira once succumbed to his demands and let him use her for some time, ensured that their involvement would further her progression as a soldier. Before long, Vincent’s corruption became evident, and Sira was raped viciously. To this day, she bears a wicked scar down her back as a result. She became pregnant. She wanted to abort the baby, but was under threat of Vincent Ordenstraum to carry through. Her squire, Roxanne, and Vincent’s best friend, Kimo, helped her give birth to the baby, after which she immediately fled Orden and never looked back.
The place she first appeared in after fleeing turned out to be Harohto. She figured she could hunt things for money and get on fine, but had little in the way of money or supplies – so she stole the bag of the first traveler she saw (it was totally Ryoku). She left in pursuit of a hunt posted for the Keeper of the Old Forest, but was delayed when she spotted the creature slicing the bridge and throwing Ryoku into the heavily flowing river. She chose to save him, and helped Will take care of him until he awoke. Later, she decided to help Will reunite with his squad in exchange for aid against the Keeper, an entity she quickly realized was far greater than the citizens of Bytold thought. In doing so, and traveling with Ryoku and Will for a while, she decided to declare a vow of Guardianship. It beat staying in Orden, and she figured she liked these two well enough.
In their time traveling together, Sira quickly became even deadlier, bouncing new combat ideas off Will and learning more about her sword, Sinistra. Upon learning Ryoku needed to go to Orden, she began to steel herself against seeing her old emperor – and her son – again, but not alone this time. One thing she learned from Ryoku and her other friends was that being alone all the time was pointless, and she could rely on their strength as well as they relied on hers.
In Book Two: Serpentine Empire, Sira is separated from Ryoku quickly but winds up at the head of a Syaotoan operation, leading a small group into the depths of the Balgena Catacombs in search of an item that could find the next member of the royal line. Though her first attempt at facing her rapist and her son was in vain, she spends Book Two learning, growing stronger, and preparing to avenge herself against the Empire. - Lusari Atella
Lusari is a young girl of Harohto’s Capital, previously studying magic at the academy. Though she didn’t appear to be there for two long, she later tells Ryoku how the girls used to bully her for her magic going awry, sometimes even using magic to compromise her.
When the raiders’ numbers grow and they strike boldly against the Capital, her parents are killed in one of the raids. Lost, alone, and with no way to continue paying for her home, Lusari feebly searches for work, only to wind up cornered by several thugs in an alley. When everything seems at its worst, Ryoku, Will, and Sira step in to fight the thugs and save her. With nowhere else to go, Lusari offers what magic she has to the company, who were just looking for a world-traveler to begin with.
Lusari’s magic quickly grows alongside Ryoku and under the teachings of Guildford. She is often torn between feelings for Ryoku and Will, both of whom reciprocate them in different ways. Other than that, she often feels like a bystander. She feels she can’t relate to Sira’s mottled past, nor can she ease into conversation like Ryoku and Will can. Near the end of Book One, after the events at Syaoto, she mysteriously vanishes.
In Book Two: Serpentine Empire, Lusari mysteriously reappears when Will lands in Rune, trying to find his way to Syaoto. Shortly after, an adversary by the name of Rasiel attempts to drive Will off and ‘recapture’ Lusari, but the pair are saved by a timely interference by Relus. Taken to the safety of Syaoto, they quickly learn that Fon is under siege and rush to its aid. In battle, Will quickly learns Lusari’s magic has grown exponentially in a short time, to a near-mastery of ice and dark magicks.
However, after saving Fon, Lusari asks Will for a favor: she wants to return home to Harohto. Her reasons are ungiven, but Will had promised he’d take her home if she ever changed her mind. And so they go, only to find Harohto in quite a worse state than they left it.
I don’t want to spoil much more of Lusari’s story, but I can leave off with this: Lusari wrestles with a deep inner darkness, one which earns her hatred in many eyes, but she will find a few fast friends who will stand by her as she attempts to free herself of her darkness. - Cleria Nightfang
Cleria is a vampire girl of a noble family, one with the visage of a teenage girl but who might be quite older. Attributed to her nobility, she works for the Werewolf Hunters, a group of vampires who hire passerby and other vampires to help fight their constant battle. She takes quite a shining to Ryoku, but her true allegiance lies with the Timeless One.
Sometime prior to the story, Cleria appears to have had two traumatic relationships: one with Gale Destrow, and one with Varis El’Salandier. Both men wanted her for her body and were unforgiving when she was resistant. Though quite strong on her own, it appears Gale Destrow held something significant over her head and forced her to stay with him. One night, she resisted Gale once more and was beaten within an inch of her life. In fleeing, she was found and given shelter by the Timeless One, who nurtured her back to health. Gale later went on to join The Ritual, a cult of vampires believing humans existed only as their source of food.
Cleria doesn’t get involved with the story too much, but helps train Blanc later in Book Two in unarmed combat. She has quite the rivalry with Sorha. Aside from her past with Varis and Gale, she is quick to flirt with Ryoku, Will, Relus, and Rex, among others.
After some point in the story, she reunites with Varis, a young man who is slowly overcoming his demons. He offers her shelter and safety with the promise that he is trying to be a better man. Again, I won’t spoil too much of her coming story, but I can say this: Cleria starts on a journey of her own sort, a path towards realizing she doesn’t need anybody to be herself. - Kaia Oceyen
Kaia is one of Katiel’s close friends, a water-elemental mage who quite literally sticks to Katiel’s side often. She’s a spirit from Laia who has remained about the same age for a thousand years alongside her sister, Reze – a water serpent.
Kaia has an easy-going, sister-like personality. She’s optimistic and peaceful, preferring either clinging to Katiel or using Reze as a means of transportation. She’s actually quite clumsy on her two regular feet. She treats both Katiel and Ryoku like little brothers, though she’s comically shorter than even Ryoku.
However, beyond her cheery demeanor, Kaia has dark beginnings tracing back to Laia. As a young girl, Kaia’s village of water nomads was destroyed by Zgyruath, the greater demon of envy. Her sister Reze survived, but with such a severe head injury that she was rendered completely unable to speak or move. Desperate to not lose anyone else, Kaia traveled far north in search of magic to save her sister. She found it, but it turned out to be Arramos, demon of lust, under an illusion. He cursed Reze to take on the visage of an ugly sea serpent.
Driven by rage and desperation, Kaia began a journey to try and save her sister and return her to normal, a journey that led her to cross paths with Ryoku, Katiel, and the other members of the Glaciem Resistance. On her journey, she trained with Reze and harnessed the deepest aspects of her innate water magic (something she later teaches to Ryoku!) to become a powerful member of the group. And when the opportunity comes to save her sister, a newfound friend enables Kaia and Reze to speak to each other telepathically – and she learns her sister is happier as a serpent than she ever was as a human. She wants to continue their journey through to the end and harness their unique power to save Laia.
In the future of Sovereign Soul, Kaia remains a prominent character for her steadfast faith, her silent partnership with her sister Reze, and her determined caretaking of her friends. - Dawn Elethel
One of Ryoku and Katiel’s closest friends and fellow Defender. Dawn is a druid and elf, descended from the ancient Laian spirit known as The Light. She’s known for her fierce and loud devotion to her friends, and is an intensely powerful force to be reckoned with. However, she’s gone through a very dark past.
In Laia, Dawn’s kidnapping was the spark of the Laian Revolution. Her mother was murdered and she was kidnapped by Zuroon after a council meeting turned awry. By using her own magic, she endowed bits of her power onto a few choice souls that ended up being instrumental in saving her, and she quickly became a powerful figurehead in the Glaciem Revolution, alongside the heroes who saved her. Through the journey, she grows her elven magic and discovers her heritage as a druid, resulting in her gaining even more power.
Fast forward to modern day. Dawn is reborn as one of the Defenders, but her road to getting there is much rockier. Her father is Brody Elethel, a top cop in Brooks’ police force, and her mom is the equivalent of an evil stepmother, but more permanent. Brody is killed in the line of duty. Fearing homelessness, Dawn’s mother quickly finds a new husband and remarries shortly after Brody’s death – caring little for the mental health of Dawn or her little sister, Alyssa.
Dawn’s new stepfather quickly proves to be abusive and perverted, taking advances on Dawn and Alyssa when they’re quite young and threatening them if they should ever tell their mother. This continues for years, and a young Ronyx is quite perturbed when he discovers this abuse. However, both Dawn and Ronyx are powerless to stop it.
Furthering the torment, Dawn is later kidnapped and raped by notorious gangster Wallace, an event which provokes the early awakening of Advocatos. Unknowingly, it also begins the lawsuit that might end with Dawn escaping her stepfather’s clutches – I don’t want to spoil that too much.
Fast forwarding to Sovereign Soul, Dawn is a giddy and cheerful girl who holds quite a lot of affection for not only Ryoku, but her friends. She also has a wealth of power at her fingertips with her elven-druid blood. Nature listens to her and answers her call, while ancient light magic works constantly within her. When she first discovers Ryoku’s injured, she nearly tears down the gates of Syaoto to get to her. Even Vincent Ordenstraum wouldn’t stop her.
Like the other Defenders (besides Ryoku), Dawn has been a Defender for some time and is well aware of her powers and history, and very little can leave her powerless. She masks a lot of her personal pain with humor and cheerfulness, plus a fondness for cats and bugging people. - Blanc Fereyen
I won’t touch on this one too much, but her story is too strong for me to ignore when talking about strong women. Blanc is a chemically-created daughter to Rasiel, and thus one of the first created Omegas since Katiel, alongside her brother Shadux.
Blanc first appears at the door of the Timeless One, begging for aid – her arms have been removed by someone. Acting fast, the Timeless One uses a push of his magic to grow her new arms, though they are brittle and weak, hardly suitable for combat. As such, Blanc begs to be taught how to fight without them.
Some of the Timeless One’s apprentices come to her aid. Cleria and Sorha, though the two don’t get along, work together in training Blanc how to defend herself and to one day take her arms back. A romance later sparks between Blanc and another female character, who I’ll avoid naming here for current spoilers. (It’s mentioned here though if you’re curious)
This is just a small sampling of some of Sovereign Soul’s strongest women, and I hope that they can go forth beyond my written words and help inspire hope in women of the world. They may be female characters ‘written’ by a man, but I think they go far beyond my words – after all, they write themselves.
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