Ciredor

Ah...Ciredor. He is the great war hero in the story, but recently plagued with indecision. Should he help the woman he loves fight a seemingly unwinnable battle, or should he safeguard the lives of the remaining soldiers under his protection? Should he risk civil war for the sake of a true and lasting peace--or should he let the uneasy truce they already have stay in place unchallenged? Ciredor is a man with  a lot of concerns on his broad shoulders, yet he still manages to have a fairly cheerful outlook on life.  In "The Beast at the Gate", Ciredor finally does make his decision--for better or for worse. In that way, he's not much different from any of us, who carry on with our lives in the face of adversity, drawing within us strength we never knew we had until we need it.

Aric the mastermind

Aric is certainly one of the most complex characters in The Beast at the Gate. Indeed, I could write a book solely on her and never grow bored. Although she is complex, she is by no means ambivalent. Make no mistake--Aric is evil, period. Where Nephredom may have had some noble underpinnings, Aric is rotten to her flamboyant core. She is an unredeemable and manipulative creature who delights in the ill-fortune of others and schemes for her gain, and her gain alone. The fact that she is both beautiful and intelligent, only serves to camouflage her deadly ways.

Nephredom: ruler, madman

In The Beast at the Gate, Nephredom is a rather complex character whose life is filled with both triumph and tragedy. He is an ambitious man, but he is motivated more by revenge than power. He is also slowly going insane. But without giving too much away, I would say that his madness has certain external causes, and his own arrogance has caused him to ignore the obvious signs. Nephredom is arguably the lead villain in the story, but is by no means the only one.

He is, in my opinion, the most redeemable villain--if such a thing is possible. There is a certain rough nobility in Nephredom that drives him, and in that sense, gives him a degree of honor. Of course, the heroes in the story would vehemently disagree with that assessment.

Nevertheless, what if blind vengeance and hate had not been allowed to take root in his heart? Would he had used his powers for good? Maybe...maybe not. Who knows what kind of life Nephredom would have led if the circumstances had turned out a little differently. Well, technically I would know, but that's a tale for a different time.

Who is Rayna?

Of course, Rayna Powell is the protagonist in the story The Beast at the Gate, but who is she, really? I would describe Rayna as a smart, highly motivated woman but a bit awkward when expressing herself to others.

Like Arstinax, I didn't want to create a stereotypical cardboard cutout of a character. I wanted Rayna to be flawed and nuanced. I wanted her to react to certain situations--not as the "calm, reasonable person" that always does the right thing--but how a real person (albeit a stubborn one) would react under extraordinary circumstances. And those reactions may not always look cool or even smart, but it's human.

I wanted to show juxtaposition, not simply with a modern day heroine being thrust into a pre-industrial world, but show the contrast of a how a logical, scientific-minded person like Rayna could find herself acting very illogical and non-scientific in the right situation. In short, I wanted to explore how wonderfully complex the human mind and emotion can be.