ORAEYN

I thought I’d do a series of posts on various characters I’ve created. I enjoyed writing the posts about Kamarie and Yole so much, that I thought it would be fun to continue the trend.

So... Oraeyn.

Pronounced: oh-RAY-ehn

Oh, Oraeyn. Young, tall, handsome, light brown hair and green eyes. Oraeyn is the dependable one in the story. He is a very straight-forward character. (That doesn't mean he is without depth, it just means that he is very much the sort of person who is what he seems). He likes knowing what is going on. He thrives on routine and rules. He wants to be a part of the coming battle, but not for the glory and excitement, he desires the ability to prove himself worthy of his training. He sees it as his opportunity to prove himself worthy of his coming knighthood.

Of course he and Kamarie annoy each other at first. Kamarie sees Oraeyn as a strict, rule-following, guardian sent to keep her from having any adventure at all. Oraeyn sees Kamarie as a spoiled, ignorant, helpless princess and is extremely frustrated by his assignment to keep her safe as she travels in the opposite direction of the battle and all it could mean for him.

Kamarie isn’t super helpful, of course, as she overplays her ignorance of practical matters in an attempt to conceal her own secret: that she has been in squire training herself.

Oraeyn complained a lot about her in the beginning, but I told him to stick with it, there was more to Kamarie than met the eye at first glance. I’m not sure he believed me.

However, the two of them were always destined to become friends, once they stopped purposefully misleading and annoying each other.

The discovery of the existence of magic, dragons, and mystery doesn't really shake Oraeyn's world-view much... though it shakes Kamarie's. He is dubious that any of it really applies to him, but is willing to shoulder it should the need arise.

I knew from the get-go that Oraeyn was destined for greatness. His story didn’t change much from the way I envisioned it throughout the writing of the series. Solid, dependable Oraeyn - the kingdom asks much of him, but he is perfectly suited to give all it asks of him and more.

I also wanted Oraeyn to be in awe of Brant... and for them to have a sort of mentoring-style relationship, but I didn’t want their relationship to stay there. Eventually, the two become great friends and equals.

Although Oraeyn is a main character in the first book, it isn’t until book 3 that he really gets the “screen time” that is his due.