xoxoSilent and stalwart, Brand is nothing if not a soldier. He serves in the undead legions, sworn to an eternity of service under the King of the Dead, Hades. Extraordinarily gifted with a sword, obviously trained from boyhood, he would have the bearing of a man with great power were it not for the grimness that defines him. All soldiers have names, but the undead legion is not a place for memory or sentimentality. No exception to this rule, the warrior defeated once by death now fights mindlessly for the victory of his leader. As of late, however, he has noticed considerable consciousness of himself. Perhaps due to the changing of leadership and the newly sworn loyalty to the great Mistress of All Evil, Maleficent, some memory of who he might once have been leaves a shadow of a doubt in the mind of this soldier. In dreams he knew he never had after death, visions of a great wizard urge him to awaken from a sleep he hardly knows.
Model: Boyd Holbrook
Story: The Sword in the Stone (Disney)
Linked Profile: The Fallen King
From: Sola Fide
Commentary:
xoxoThe Sword in the Stone was by no means influential in my childhood. I remember finding the voice acting odd and the animation a bit choppy (something I respect now, but kid opinions are vicious, right?). When invited to join this roleplay based off of the Disney-verse and medieval war times, I originally asked to play a female character whose presence in the storyline had already been established. I ended up not getting the part, so to speak, but I was given the opportunity to make my own character and I think that was the better decision.
xoxoThe story of King Arthur in general is pretty pervasive, being one of those long standing tales of heroism and greatness in the Western world. Admittedly, most of what I know comes from reading assignments from english and history classes or media like movies and tv shows. I've been very tempted to pick up more since I started writing out the first draft of Brand's biography blurb. It's also been a long time since I've seen the Sword in the Stone and watching it would definitely give me a bit of a base to work with.
xoxoOf course, I'm talking all things Arthur when this guy doesn't even remember that he is the man himself. As previously mentioned, his story takes place during a great war in which he died, four years before the events of the roleplay. Arthur fell against the forces of Chernabog whilst fighting alongside his cousin and ally, Prince Phillip (of Sleeping Beauty fame). Brand was born from this death, an undead soldier in an army led by the God of the Dead, Hades. Unthinking, mindless, soulless, he had no personality at all until the fall of the very same leader. Though a dark mistress by the name of Maleficent took control of the army with ease, Brand was changed for it. His struggle comes from within as he begins to slowly remember who he was and come to terms with the fact that he is dead and hanging on only by the will of those who would have him do war for eternity if necessary.
xoxoThrough some small conversations with other writers in the Out of Character thread, I've sort of decided to send Brand on this "man vs self" storyline where he tries to figure out who he is and whether or not he wants to know. Other characters he knew in life will serve as points of reference in his memory. Because he has been separated from them for so long, both physically and metaphysically, he will struggle to remember for a time.
xoxoAt the same time, Merlin is in peril and though he calls to the man who was once Arthur, he loses more of himself each day. (If I'm reading it right.) This plot belongs to the main author of Sola Fide, who has written him as caught by the Evil Queen (from Snow White) within her magic mirror, which feeds off of his power to fuel all of her deeds. He has a great wellspring of magic, but all have their limits, even wizards. Though Brand might struggle internally, he still understands what it means to be honor bound. If there is anyone he should still be loyal to, it is the wizard who now calls him back in his time of need.
xoxoPersonally, I feel like the challenge of this character is to not get into the pit of angst and self-pity with him that I have with some of my other recent characters. I've sort of lost my ability to write sad characters living life like it's normal, (if I ever had it) and so a lot of my writing lately has been a lot about a character constantly thinking about the challenges of their lives. There's a bit of myself in that, and I think it needs to stop. My problems are so minuscule, especially in comparison to literally dying and being brought back to life in some pretty grim sense. Before this becomes too personal an entry, however, I will end the rant.
