Time to talk about my writing again. This week I’ll be talking characters.




I should throw a quick primer up in case someone stumbles upon this without seeing the previous posts. These posts are about my attempt to write a novella, which itself would be the first part of a full novel. You can read the previous posts here and here.

If you want a short version instead here it is.

This is a story about a boy who was promised to a religious order. When he came of age he ran a way instead. Adventures followed.


Our main character, our hero, is Token (Male age 12). He starts the book unnamed. The Brotherhood of the Tree chose him while he was in his mother’s womb. In doing so they took claim of him. As such his mother was not allowed to give him a name. Naming him would have shown an emotional attachment as well as motherly influence.  Neither is allowed for one chosen by the Brotherhood.

So what does that mean?

It means that Token, I’ll get to how he got that name later, wasn’t really raised. His mother clothed and fed him but she didn’t show him loved. She treated him with distance. To her he was an asset to be cultivated.

The same goes for the people of the village. They were never mean to the boy. They showed him kindness but never compassion. He was something to be protected and looked after but not interfered with.

Thanks to this he grew up with a sense of independence. Which explains his reluctance to give himself to the Brotherhood.

Token spent his child hood exploring the outskirts of the Great Forest. The village was not a home to him. He knew he was safe there, for the time being, but he never felt at ease in the village.

He was confused by the people of the village. He saw how they treated the other children. The love and care that was bestowed on them and then how he was treated. Always kept at a distance but never mistreated. It was hard for a boy to understand.

Still, he gained a sense of compassion from the villagers. He understood that helping a person in need is the right thing to do. It is one of the tenets of his personality. The other is that some people are beyond helping and some simply don’t deserve help.

Token isn’t a doe eyed, naïve child. Having spent most of his youth in and around nature he understands the cold facts of life. He understands death.

He spent a lot of his time hunting and trapping. Token didn’t enjoy being with his mother, he knew how a mother was supposed to act, and the way his treated him hurt. So he spent much of his time exploring.

He watched the men and women of his tribe and learned. Token was always very quiet. He was able to observe the hunting parties without be seen. This skill allowed him to get close to different creatures and learn from them as well.

One of the first things Token learned was hunting, killing, was a solemn act that should not be taken carelessly. The people of Sharlem prided themselves of killing kindly. They were fast efficient hunters that put as little stress on their prey as possible.

The people of Sharlem were archers. They would climb high into the trees and take their prey with a single shot from afar. It would never know it was in danger and would be dead before it could register pain.

Token didn’t hunt that way.

The people of Sharlem were hunters and trappers by trade. They were not known as craftsmen. Except for when it came to bows. A Sharlem bow is a prized item. No other bow in the five countries shoots as straight or as far.

These bows are made in secret and given to the people of Sharlem when they reach 10.

Token was not given a bow. He was a Brother of the Great tree, or he was destined to be, not a person of Sharlem. He tried to watch the bows being made but he was unable to sneak into the bow maker’s hut.

This meant that Token had to find a different way to provide for himself while in the Forest.

The people of Sharlem were also great trappers. They trapped certain beasts so that they could harvest ingredients for medicinal purposes. These creatures were never killed. Instead their hair, nails, feathers, scales, and even in certain cases tails (when the were capable of re-growing them) were taken.

Token could easily trap any animal, how the traps were made was not kept secret, but killing the trapped animal’s felt wrong to him.

Instead Token learned to hunt from nature. He stalked his prey silently and would pounce when the time was right. With a quick deft hand he would end a creature’s life. Eventually. At first his attempts were less successful.

When we meet Token he is a highly skilled hunter, trapper, and knows how to make many medicinal mixtures.

He also knows how to make a stone blade. This is a lost skill for most of the people of Sharlem. Metal is easily available in all 5 countries. But a few of the older members of his village still practice this lost art. Token observed a master of it many times and is now very adept it.

Token is a loner, not by nature, by nurture. He had no friends so he became comfortable being alone. He isn’t awkward around people having been around them plenty. But his silent nature can be a little off putting for people. He can also be very direct forgoing some societal politenesses.

All in all Token is a good person with a slight feral edge. He isn’t animalistic but can be primal at times.

He want’s the one thing that he has seen in both his village and nature. Freedom. Token will do anything to have it.


Kakura (Female age 17) is the first character Token meets and is the one to name him. She is a warrior of Nijon. Though a young woman only 5 or so years older than Token she is an accomplished and blooded fighter.

When we meet her she is injured, having survived an encounter with a wild Drake, and in need of help.

Nijon is a country known for it’s warriors. They are the most skilled in the five countries. From youth they are taught only how to fight. Hunting and wilderness survival are seen as being beneath them.
Due to that Kakura is near death when she finds Token. He helps her and in doing so makes a friend.

Warriors of Nijon are taught to be proud but not be hampered by pride. Kakura is no different. She is aware she needs help and is accepting of it.

She is a friendly warm person. Unlike Token she was raised in a loving home and taught by caring masters. She sees Token as an a skilled individual but also as a child who has suffered. Kakura quickly grows to like him.

She sees naming him as a way to heal him slightly. Token, for his part, finds himself in an odd place. He, for the first time, has a friend.

Kakura is a big part of the beginning of this story. She is the first person to show Token kindness and compassion. While she isn’t in this part of the story very long she will have a bigger part to play soon.


The last of the three big characters in the story so far is Joseph (Male Age 37). He is a member of the Brother of the Great Tree and along with two others was dispatched to retrieve Token.

Joseph is Bwaian. They are known as great warriors. Not as skilled as Nijonese but stronger and more tenacious.

However, Joseph was raised by the Brotherhood and doesn’t have the tenacity of a true Bwaian warrior. He is still very strong and just as intelligent as the normal Bwaian warrior.

He has a strong allegiance to his two companions but is well aware of their flaws. He is also saddened by the work they do. He feels for Token but doesn’t understand his reluctance to join the brotherhood.

Joseph experienced the same childhood as Token but took solace in the belief that his suffering was a small price to pay for the honor of serving the Great Tree. 

Joseph, like Kakura, is going to a big part of this story even though he won’t be a major player in this volume.

There are more characters to come but these are three that have appeared in the few pages I’ve written. Speaking of which I’m still only at 17.

Next week will be about the Great Tree and the Brotherhood that serves it.