Shogun

Asked by Caine.

For his backstory, I knew that I wanted it to contain fire, since he had fire abilities and I wanted a way to explain that. I also wanted to make sure that it was believable and, at least to some degree, relatable. Everyone gets overwhelmed at times, so I'm sure most readers would understand the stress from all of his responsibilities. Granted, most people wouldn't go as far to try to fake their own death to escape it, but, still, it's not inconceivable. As you read, instead of escaping from the fire, he ended up actually dying. I felt like having him survive his escape wouldn't cause as much of an impact. Plus, it's symbolic of the ultimate consequence for giving in to stress and letting it consume you, just as the fire 'consumed' him. Years later, he 'wakes up' from his death with a newfound appearance, showing how stress changes you to the point where you can become unrecognizable. This is the point where he realizes the errors of his ways and tries to cover them by hiding in the forest, but all this does is worsen how he feels. Eventually, he must face his problems head on and take back his responsibility.

Asked by Caine.

It really depends on who it is that is trying to talk to him. For most others, he would tolerate it. He would respond, usually hoping to end the conversation as quickly as possible. He wouldn't just rudely ignore them, although he would probably feel a bit uncomfortable and perhaps paranoid that they would recognize him. Sometimes, he may find a few travelers that he more quickly feels comfortable with and he may even befriend them, but he wouldn't give out much personal information. He may not even tell them his real name. If it was someone he knew from before he died, though, he would probably try his best to pretend that he didn't hear them. If they didn't take the hint and leave him alone, he may even just run off. He might want to talk to them, but he would be too afraid to let them know that he is still alive, in fear of how they would react and how his family would react if word was spread to them.

Asked by Caine.

Yes, I do have plans for him! I'm working on a story idea featuring him as one of the main characters. The other main character is my character Ryker, who is a prince from another kingdom, but the king is his step-father and has two biological sons, so it unlikely that Ryker will become ruler himself. The king who is Ryker's father, King Minkley, is actually one of the main antagonists of the story and is verbally abusive towards Ryker, since Minkley has a deep-rooted dislike towards though he he perceives as 'weak,' due to events in his life which led him to believe so. Some of King Minkley's backstory is actually a parallel to Shogun's backstory - he ran away from his responsibilities as next-in-line-for-the-throne (although he didn't fake his death like Shogun), but, unlike Shogun, he was caught. After that event, Minkley's parents would constantly call him 'weak' for what he did in his youth. Bitter from this torment, King Minkley now wants to prove his parents wrong, even though they have passed, and rid his kingdom of what he considers to be 'weaknesses.' In his bitter rage, he had been plotting for the last few years to attack the Kingdom of Arwyn (Shogun's home kingdom), to show his strength and also as revenge for the death of his first wife, who actually had died on the same day as Shogun. The flames from Shogun's attempt to escape had burned through the door and across the hall to her room, where she had been staying in wait for a diplomatic meeting the next day. Eventually, Shogun will learn of King Minkley's plan. Despite running away, Shogun still is ultimately loyal to his family and his kingdom, so he must find a way to stop this plan using his new powers before Minkley's plot can bring about violence and destruction. There's also more to the story, but I don't want to reveal that just yet until the whole story is outlined and wrote out in detail. These ideas are not set in stone and they are subject to change.

I know I ended up writing more about my other characters in this answer, but, while not all of it directly relates to Shogun, this is very important to his story as a whole.

Asked by TheBottomOfTheTrash.

Yes, Shogun's brother Mercutio is in line to be the next king, however, their father King Monty's judgement has been blinded by grief, which has caused him to act irrationally and not think to train Mercutio like he should. The king believes that someone purposefully set Shogun’s room on fire to kill him, although this isn’t truly the case, and he’s so distracted by his obsession to find his supposed killer that he seems unable to concentrate on the real problems, such as his surviving son’s mental health. Mercutio does have some training, since both brothers had some training as they grew up, just in case, but Mercutio doesn't have as much training as he should. The queen has tried to train Mercutio some herself and she has attempted to convince the king to join her in Mercutio’s training, but to no avail. Without the both of them to train Mercutio to be king, his training isn’t nearly as effective. Due to his father paying more attention to avenging his dead brother rather than to him himself, Mercutio feels discouraged and unready to lead, but he, stubbornly, won’t let his parents or his kingdom see it.

Asked by TheBottomOfTheTrash.

The dynamite that is strapped to Shogun's back is not there by his choice. When he rose from the dead, it was attached to him, though he doesn't know how it got there or why it is there. He has tried to pry it off, but it doesn't seem to be able to be removed.

Honestly, I haven't fully decided on its purpose. It would probably be something that helps him further along in his story, if I decide to even keep it in his design. Really, I'm considering removing it from his design or just making it optional. I haven't decided for sure yet, I'll see how it goes further along in the development of him and the story he is in.