Lead- What makes Aranthar a compelling lead?
Aranthar is a fallen hero. He’s at the stage in his life where he’s reflecting on where his mistakes have brought him. Most people have this sort of self-reflection, where they examine how their lives could have turned out if things had gone differently.
However, do not let him dwell on past mistakes. He must be conscious of them, and express regret but if he dwells on them and whines he’ll lose reader empathy. So its important that he accept his current lot in life, at least in the beginning. Like Mal his aspirations have faded, but his funadamental honor is still locked somewhere inside of him. It will come out under the right circumstances.
People also like the underdog in most situations. They want to see a hero who is out matched and put in unfair situations. He can have the occasional flash of discouragement, but needs to meet these challenges resolutely without complaint.
Aran also needs to have a glimmer of conscious. People like reading about people who do the right thing, but even more so about people who reluctantly do the right thing. They want to be bad, but can’t. Think Han Solo and what made him such a compelling character. He was selfish, but in the end his conscience forces him to act unselfishly and we see what he is really like.
Objective- What is Aran trying to accomplish?
Aran’s life is clearly at a cross roads. In the beginning he just wants to earn enough coin to keep drinking and afford feed for Cassie. He doesn’t look beyond today. However, its clear that he does feel guilt about what happened back during the war.
He hates the vampyr, which is the one thing capable of getting him to leave his existing life. So when he becomes aware that the vampyr have returned his objective will become stopping them at all costs. He must discover their plans and thwart them.
This objective is layered with concern for the people he once loved. Briana, Dahlia and Gavin are all people he loved during the war. All three are in danger from the vampyr, but refuse to believe it. He must save them at all costs. This is a clear objective easy for the reader to understand, and easy for them to empathize with. Who hasn’t made the mistakes Aran has, and who wouldn’t do anything to protect their loved ones especially if it meant redeeming themselves.
Conflict- What challenges will Aranthar face?
The vampyr plot to run their church & discredit the knights is nearing completion by the time Aran fights the vampyr knight. He is just stumbling into the plot, yet it has nearly come to fruition. This makes Aranthar the underdog right off the bat. As the reader becomes aware of the plot through Arie & the priest’s perspective they will see how outclasses Aran is.
That’s the primary backdrop- Aran learning that the knigthood is going to be overthrown, that it has been infiltrated by the vampyr and that he must stop it at all costs. The knigthood itself will be a major obstacle, as they see him as a traitor and a wastrel and refuse to help him. His only ally on the inside should be Briana, who is flouting the will of her sister, father and soon to be brother in law Cameron.
In addition to the knighthood as a whole there are specific oppositions Aran needs to face:
Dahlia was his one time lover from the prologue. She is now engaged to Cameron, and hates Aran with a burning passion for deserting the knigthhood when it needed him most. When they finally meet she will deride him scornfully, and refuse to listen to his pleas that she and the knighthood are in danger. She won’t outright try to kill him, but will make it clear that if he continues to interfere he will be arrested and killed.
Gavin is old and tired. He is less direct opposition, but his apathy will count as opposition. Have Aran work hard to break into the castle to find Gavin, but when he finally does Gavin’s mind appears to be clouded. Aran suspects binding, but has no proof and not enough time to investigate.
Cameron will be one of the chief antagonists. He is Dahlia’s new lover, so the reader gets to watch The Bad Guy make time with the woman they want to see Aran end up with. He is Arie’s number one tool in bringing down the knighthood, and has risen to success due to his vampyr blood. He will be both a physical and phychological confrontation. In the end it should be cameron who captures Aran and has him embraced by Arie.
Arie is the most powerful enemy that Aranthar has to face. She is a binder of considerable skill, controls Cameron and is the ultimate architect of the church I still need to name. She hates the knightood with a burning passion, and Aran even more for killing her father. Once she becomes aware of him she will do everything in her power to destroy him.
Father SoAndSo of the church. Aran will originally trust the father, but it will of course be revealed in the middle of the book that the father was in league with the vampyr the entire time.
Knockout- How will the book end?
Aran has to find out about the vampyr, find out they run the church and find out that they are plotting to overthrow the knighthood before he passes through the second doorway. As he is learning all of this and stakes are getting higher he will be captured.
This capture results in his conversion into a vampyr, the single worst thing that could occur to Aran. He is horrified. He wakes up as the binding ritual is being performed by a series of acolytes and Arie herself. He breaks free and manages to kill a few acolytes. Arie flees and gets away, but Aran can’t pursue because he needs to deal with Cameron assuming control of the knighthood.
Aran will track down Cameron, who is about to kill Gavin. He has recruited Briana to assist him, as she is the only knight in the order willing to work with him. They find Cameron, but Dahlia tries to stop Aran. Briana engages her while Aran races after Cameron, who is about to kill Gavin and seize control of the order.
It’s important that the reader think Cameron has the upper hand. If I’ve had Aran best him early in the novel, something must have changed that gives Cameron the edge. He needs a powerup of some kind so the reader doesn’t think Aran can win.
Aran’s conversion to a vampyr should be the only thing that gives him a prayer, and he should realize this in the text. He must embrace the thing he hates most to save those he loves, and to keep the order from being toppled and replaced by a church loyal to the vampyr.
Aran’s battle with Cameron should be flashy and in the open. This will create a number of problems, the largest of which is that the knighthood will know that both he and Cameron are vampyr. The punishment for such a crime is death, which means even if he should win the reader knows Aran will be put to death by the laws of the very order he is striving to save.
