Mansuur's awfully sure of himself, isn't he? Your writing of his POV matches his personality and preoccupations very well, in my opinion.
These parts in particular, I found really illuminated his character, gave him some depth and made me dislike him more:
It was inevitable, of course. The destiny of the Demesne turned upon the Chosen, whether individual Chosen knew it or not - fate itself conspired to place them in positions of power.
...
Right now, however, Mansuur strongly questioned whether any of them were worthy of the destiny they had been born into. Four hundred years of hidden history, and this was what it came to - a bunch of incompetent lickspittles who were cowering in the mud, too terrified to notice that the enemy had fled the field.
...
Maybe that meant that fate itself wasn’t quite sure, which was an infuriating possibility to a man who had built his life on the inevitability of his own ascension.
O_O; He is trying to take Jalon to the dark side! I do not like it at all! :(
And Aseena and Dara are awesome, as usual. I enjoyed Dara's ruminations about what would have been different had he been born with the healing gift. It's something I think about at times - if I'd been born in a more religious family, would I be a believer, or would my skepticism and quest for the provable truth and non-traditionalism have won out? Or would I be less non-traditional and skeptical were I raised that way?Etc. etc.
What's the Word Of God on the powers? Are they linked to innate personality? Or do they shape personality? Or a bit of both? I can imagine, if you manifested healing powers, for example, it would shape your personality a little bit, from the kind of education/training you'd be given.
Every sociopathic asshole thinks he's special. Mansuur actually is. The effects on his already twisted personality have been... unfortunate. ^_^;
Glad you liked the look on his though process. :D
O_O; He is trying to take Jalon to the dark side! I do not like it at all! :(
"Jalon - I am your... second cousin once removed, technically, but let's not quibble!" ;)
What's the Word Of God on the powers?
Well, don't hold me to this or anything, but... :)
My assumption is that personality does play a role in what power you get. Your power is an extension of yourself, so if you become a witch, it's because something in your resonate with the idea of witchcraft. There is a lot more to it than that, and most of it is very esoteric (which is my way of saying that I reserve the right to go "wibbly-wobbly-timey-vimey!" whenever I want to break my own rules ;) ), but I don't think we will ever see a gifted who isn't in some way very comfortable with his or her gift.
(this is also the reason why only Priests develop healing and scrying - the Priests have, entirely by accident and without being aware of it, stumbled upon what amounts to a mental training regimen to cultivate the kind of personality who might get those particular powers)
These parts in particular, I found really illuminated his character, gave him some depth and made me dislike him more:
It was inevitable, of course. The destiny of the Demesne turned upon the Chosen, whether individual Chosen knew it or not - fate itself conspired to place them in positions of power.
...
Right now, however, Mansuur strongly questioned whether any of them were worthy of the destiny they had been born into. Four hundred years of hidden history, and this was what it came to - a bunch of incompetent lickspittles who were cowering in the mud, too terrified to notice that the enemy had fled the field.
...
Maybe that meant that fate itself wasn’t quite sure, which was an infuriating possibility to a man who had built his life on the inevitability of his own ascension.
O_O; He is trying to take Jalon to the dark side! I do not like it at all! :(
And Aseena and Dara are awesome, as usual. I enjoyed Dara's ruminations about what would have been different had he been born with the healing gift. It's something I think about at times - if I'd been born in a more religious family, would I be a believer, or would my skepticism and quest for the provable truth and non-traditionalism have won out? Or would I be less non-traditional and skeptical were I raised that way?Etc. etc.
What's the Word Of God on the powers? Are they linked to innate personality? Or do they shape personality? Or a bit of both? I can imagine, if you manifested healing powers, for example, it would shape your personality a little bit, from the kind of education/training you'd be given.
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Every sociopathic asshole thinks he's special. Mansuur actually is. The effects on his already twisted personality have been... unfortunate. ^_^;
Glad you liked the look on his though process. :D
O_O; He is trying to take Jalon to the dark side! I do not like it at all! :(
"Jalon - I am your... second cousin once removed, technically, but let's not quibble!" ;)
What's the Word Of God on the powers?
Well, don't hold me to this or anything, but... :)
My assumption is that personality does play a role in what power you get. Your power is an extension of yourself, so if you become a witch, it's because something in your resonate with the idea of witchcraft. There is a lot more to it than that, and most of it is very esoteric (which is my way of saying that I reserve the right to go "wibbly-wobbly-timey-vimey!" whenever I want to break my own rules ;) ), but I don't think we will ever see a gifted who isn't in some way very comfortable with his or her gift.
(this is also the reason why only Priests develop healing and scrying - the Priests have, entirely by accident and without being aware of it, stumbled upon what amounts to a mental training regimen to cultivate the kind of personality who might get those particular powers)
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