Meet the Turrim Cast: Raisa

It’s time to meet Marik’s crew…

Marik’s crew consists of a core built around Oleck, Raisa, and Mouse.

They often hire other members for specific jobs, but these three are the main pillars on which he leans, these three are the ones who call the Valdeun Hawk “home.”

I wasn’t entirely certain who to introduce first, but then I realized that it has to be…

Raisa

When Raisa was 14 years old, the trajectory of her life changed dramatically when her father was killed by Igyeum soldiers, leaving her an orphan.

For the next two years, she tagged along with Oleck, an older boy from her village, who watched over her as if she were his own kid sister. Then their paths crossed with Captain Marik’s, and he invited Oleck and Raisa to join his crew. An invitation they gratefully accepted.

At first, they were not pirates. They actually started out as treasure hunters. Following tips from wealthy clients and patrons, they searched for historical artifacts and lost treasures. For nearly three years, the crew of the Valdeun Hawk tried to make a living like this; however, they soon discovered that there was a decided lack of “treasure” in the treasure hunting business.

As Marik, Oleck, and Raisa all have a pretty bitter grudge against the Igyeum, they turned their skills to piracy… which pays rather better than their previous occupation. Piracy also allows them to annoy and harass the Igyeum forces, which is just an added bonus to their own happiness.

For her own part, Raisa loves her life as a pirate. She loves the freedom of flying wherever she wants, and she loves the little bits of revenge this life affords her. Oleck still treats her like his kid sister and she gets a bit exasperated with him for being so overprotective at times, but she also loves that he cares so much. It’s almost like having a family again.

She’s had a bit of a crush on Captain Marik since she joined his crew, but he’s never seemed to notice and at this point she’s pretty sure she’d die if he ever found out about it.

Raisa is one who feels things very deeply, but doesn’t generally let her emotions show on the surface. More introverted than her crew mates, Raisa prefers to work behind the scenes. She would rather stay with the ship and organize their heists than actually be the face of any of them… though she will play a role if they’re running a con that requires it.

Courageous and shy, Raisa is an interesting character to write. She’s outspoken with her crew mates, and she’s assertive on the job, but her shyness makes her quiet and introspective and her stranglehold on her emotions tends to make her keep people at arm’s length, even when she cares deeply about them.

The Kickstarter is Fully Funded!!

Guys, I’m in complete shock. I got the notification yesterday and I still don’t think it’s completely sunk in that we successfully reached our goal!

We even have a little time left on it, so that’s really exciting, too!

God is super-amazing, you know that? Because this wasn’t me. This wasn’t me at all. I just brought my loaves and fish… HE multiplied them. Using you, dear Reader.

Thank you.

Turrim Archive Project Update:

  • Benjamin has finished the narration of The Orb and the Airship and now we’re listening through the audio for any pesky… what’s the audio version of a typo? Well, whatever those might be called!

  • We’re still tweaking the cover colors a bit for the paperback/hardcovers/dust jackets. Ahhh, the joy of trying to match what’s on the screen to what the printer can spit out!

  • Book 2: Mantles of Oak and Iron is with my proof-reader.

  • Book 3: Hearts of Stone and Steel is with my line-editor.

  • Currently, I am about 2/3rds of the way through the first major content edit of book four: The Prisoner and the Pirate. Raisa features quite heavily in The Prisoner and the Pirate and becomes one of the main characters. You don’t really get to find out her back-story until book 2, but I think it’s okay that I shared it here because I was careful to omit any potential spoiler-info.

  • I hope you are enjoying meeting the cast of the Turrim Archive. Hopefully it whets your appetite to read the actual books.

And that’s all I’ve got for now!