My graphic novel concept part 2!
Wow! Did you know there was a text limit on LJ posts? XD anyways, more of the same. read, or pretend to read, and then praise/demean me. I takes attention of all kinds.
In depth character pages:
Miles Atlove-
Again to start, here's the information you've already received about him.
Miles Atlove: The more traditional of my two main characters, and more or less the protagonist of the series. Atlove is a thin, good-natured, bespectacled man in his early twenties. He works as part of a special unit of the English police; the only group that is permitted to freely travel within all regions of London. He openly hates his job, but continues to do it because of the freedom it affords his wife. He's a capable marksman with respectable deductive skills, although he's somewhat out of shape and loaths long physical excursions. Children of all ages seem to instantly dislike him, a fact which has always puzzled him.
He isn't motivated by any altruistic ambitions, so much as by a series of unfortunate events that force him into the thick of the plot's motion. He has an old friendship with Gray, although he admits to being unable to trust him, and grows more suspicious of him as the first half expands. He deeply cares for his wife, but also eventually grows an emotional connection with Amalia, whose allegiance is unknown to him for a long time.
With Atlove, I wanted to present a character who was completely outside of the purgatory conspiracy as a main character. That way, he would learn of the events and people as the reader did, and come into his resolve on the matter as the story progressed. Thus, he doesn't have a deep and connected backstory. Most of his revealed past is presented only to explain his connection to Gray and the reasons he acts the way he does.
Pre Heaven's Rhapsody Atlove:
Atlove was a war orphan living in Wales. Gray finds him on the brink of starvation and brings him to the orphanage he would remain with until adulthood. He has a deep admiration of Gray, though he is always perplexed by the other man's never aging. It is this admiration that leads him to want to trust in Gray, even as he suspects his membership in AFTERLIFE.
Lonelinesswas the most painful part of his childhood, and as a result he feels comfortable when immersed in large groups of people. He enjoys the company of friends, and tends to flirt frequently. His closeness to others is also the reason he longs to keep them safe, and his motivation for joining the special unit.
Appearance and Personality traits:
Atlove's hair is short and light. He wears glasses, and tends to dress with little regard for how he looks. During most of his earlier appearances, Atlove is shown wearing only his "uniform," Which is essentially a white button-up shirt, a tie, and black pants.
His disposition, as mentioned earlier, is designed to contrast with Gray. This is also shown in the fact that Atlove feels he is immersed in society, while Gray is identified with his feeling of being distanced from it.
Design and conception:
My drive for creating Heaven's Rhapsody is wholly rooted in my teenage love of the "V for Vendetta" comic. It was this particular work that made me want to create a story that takes place largely in a post apocalyptic London, and directly influenced my creation of Atlove's character.
Atlove is, when all is said and done, the Evey to Gray's V. (although Gray's character wasn't based on V.) He's a character with whom the reader can identify, and who adapts to the situation he's thrust into to the best of his ability. Also like Evey, he is the one to survive Gray, and carry on his legacy (it is Atlove who enters the final passage in the play.)
Gray:
To start with, here is the data I gave you in my original charter outline:
Gray: An enigmatic and charming man who appears to be in his mid-twenties, Gray is the other character through whose eyes we see the world. He has a distant, almost whimsical outlook on life: taking everything that happens in the world with a carefree smile, and almost never showing anger. Gray seems to be privy to all things and on multiple sides simultaneously. While he claims to be an 'impartial observer', someone who watches events unfold as a spectator at a theater would, he often contradicts this claim on several occasions.
He has a variety of strange habits, smoking being the primary one. I call it strange because his body is actually almost completely immune to the effects of nicotine, meaning that the only way he can support his habit is by re-addicting himself to the cigarettes daily. As a result of this, he often has bouts of coughing- a sound which his closest associates recognize as a sign that he's nearby.
Gray also carries around a journal in which he records notes of the many people he encounters, their goals, and what becomes of them. He claims that it's a real-time play that he's recording for the sake of mankind, and as such has titled it "The end of the world in five acts"
This is the extent of what is known about Gray by the reader as the story starts. During the explanation sequence that starts the second arc, he is one of the characters about whom we learn the most (primarily because the events that are retold are supposedly coming from his notebook, which is revealed to have originally been kept by him as a journal.) This is a shorthand version of his personality and history. Please be patient with the terms and events that you don't recognize, as I'll give you the complete plot synopsis once the character sheets are finished. ^_^
Adam(Gray)-
Before Heaven's Rhapsody:
When Grigori Helix used the human genome to produce two 'genetically perfect' humans, Adam was the male child. He was given the name by his creator, as part of his "declaration of war against god." Unlike his sister (who, as you can guess, was named Eve), Adam was raised by Dr. Helix himself, and as such knew from the beginning that he was artificial. With time, he grew to covet ordinary people, feeling that he was detached from and, in a way, inferior to them. His body was far more resiliant than ordinary, and his mind more capable, but at the same time he felt that it was impossible for him to emotionally connect with others because he was an existance that was not meant to be.
He is reunited with Eve when they are both in their early twenties. They meet when she seeks out Dr. Helix in an attempt to learn more about herself. She finds that the doctor has grown senile in his old age, and grows suspicious of Adam when he mentions that he shares a bond with her. He eventually yields to her, answering her questions about the doctor as well as the 'Umbra Mundi.' However, when he realizes that she believes herself to be the child of Richard's daughter and her husband, he finds he cannot bring himself to tell her the truth of her birth.
When his sister is killed, he mourns her death while at the same time envying the fact that she died ignorant of what she really was. Dr. Helix dies shortly after, leaving him as the head of Umbra Mundi. The war of Heaven's Rhapsody is beginning, and Adam realizes that the doctor was playing his own part in what was supposed to be mankind's end. He decides that as an artificial existence he doesn't have the right to directly interfere in the future of the world, and renounces his position. As he leaves, he vows to see his father's "performance" to its conclusion. During a final conversation he has with Anya (who would be known in the post-war world as "The mind") he reveals that he has abandoned the name "Adam," stating that he's unworthy of a human name. He chooses the alias "gray" instead, naming himself after a cat he often played with as a child.
While Gray uses nanomachines to build upon his body's natural longevity, he never replaces his body with a nanomachine colony like the heads of AFTERLIFE.
Post Heaven's Rhapsody, but prior to the start of the series:
Gray continues to observe as civilization rebuilds itself, the passion of his youth has been replaced with a kind of calm dispassion regarding the world and its people. He encounters Atlove for the first time while living near a makeshift orphanage run by a Catholic nun. He immediately takes a liking to the young man, his instincts telling him that his would be an important role in the events to come.
Details of appearance and personality- I wanted Gray's appearance to starkly contrast with Atlove's, to kind of bring home the point of the two of them telling the same story from different perspectives. Gray's hair is long and dark, and he dresses in a careful and formal manner. Atlove's hair is light and short. He wears glasses, and when not in his uniform (described in his character profile) puts no thought into his clothing.
Another parallel I wanted to strike was the younger, more passionate Gray and the older, more detached Gray. I wanted to show how age and wisdom had calmed him down a lot, and changed his personality somewhat.
Details of his conception:
I got the idea for Gray's character after reading the novel "The portrait of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. For some reason I was really curious to see what would happen if the characters of Dorian and Lord Henry Watton were merged together, and Gray was the result. ^^ (Forgive my strange inspirations. I'm a bit of a book worm.)
Misc:
Gray keeps his journal in a inner-pocket of his jacket, withdrawing it only when it becomes the topic of discussion, or to write in it. Because of the location he keeps it in, this gesture looks suspiciously like he's drawing a gun.
With Gray, the most important thing to remember is to always be mindful of his humorous quirks. I tried to give all of my characters a few silly habits or traits. Something light-hearted to try and draw away from the sometimes smotheringly serious plot.
James Heart
I apologize that this description is so convoluted. I'm not sure why I worded it so awkwardly at the time. >.< Anyway, if the character seems dull or two-dimensional please be sure to tell me.
What has already been said:
James Heart- Reigning king, and founder of the country. He is a man of 30, with short, carefully styled hair and brown eyes. He has a tendency to dress in extravagant fare. He was raised in the chaos of the war near the British embassy in Russia, and gained recognition as a genius of strategy early in his life. When Heaven's Rhapsody ended he focused on maintaining his military rather than rebuilding, and because of this muscle succeeded in forging his country.
He truly believes in divine right to rule, and that he posessed royal blood. His rule is totalatarin, as he believes it is his duty as royalty to govern those whose ignorance makes them incapable of helping themselves.
While he is an intelligent, articulate, and cunning man, he is also extremely proud and narcissistic to the point of complete arrogance. This disposition gives him a tendency to underestimate the threat others can pose to him: a flaw that plays a large role in his undoing.
With a character like James, a small summary like this one is extremely accurate when it comes to portraying his character. He is aloof, majestic, and utterly confident in his ability.
Pre- RH history: As stated above. James grew up near the Brittish embassy to Russia, and wound up being pulled into the various military struggles in the area at a young age due to his father's status in the British Royal Army. Charles (who would eventually become his first Knight and right hand man) served as his tutor and a surrogate elder brother, and it was from him that James learned the importance of order and military strength in the process of gaining power. Because this truth was ingrained in his head at a very young age (he first meets Charles when he's eight years old.) he grows to become a genius of organization, and even though he never fights in the war of Heaven's Rhapsody (the war ended twenty years before the start of the current story, which made James ten at the time) he became one of the most feared generals of the post-war world.
Shortly after forming his army, James returned to his beloved home of England, resolving to turn it into the premiere power of the world once again. He blamed incomplete ideals such as "universal equality" and "democracy" for the weakness of the old nation, and sought to recreate the England of the ancient past, uniting all of the people under the unbendable will of a single man. How he learns of purgatory is never directly revealed, but it's hinted that he was told of it by AFTERLIFE, who hoped to use him in their plans. This fails, however, as James wants only to find the Purgatory virus, not use it. With Purgatory, he would have the deterrent that would cement his young nation's status as the superpower of the new world.
Personality and appearance: I admit, I've put very little thought into his distinct appearance, outside of what little we discussed earlier and the things mentioned above. He dresses in a very foppish and elegant manner, suiting a self-proclaimed king, everything about him is elaborate and fancy.
His character (both in appearance and personality) is symbolized by the bird. He has converted a portion of the palace courtyard into a caged aviary (a fact that should be mentioned above, but I guess I forgot to copy it ^^') which is where he goes when he wishes to think in silence. Only Charles is allowed to approach him when he's within it. He also states that a king's destiny is the same as a caged bird. Both are able to fly high, but destiny clips their wings, and keeps them bound to the needs of men.
Next up is another member of the New British Empire... I admit, he's a favorite of mine, so despite the fact that he's only a secondary character, he receives a fair bit of development as the series progresses. Shall we begin as always?
Charles- In his mid-30s, though he appears to be younger. he has long, silver hair tied at shoulder's length with a ribbon, and large, round-framed glasses. Charles is James' mentor, and the only person from whom the younger man will accept criticism. On the surface, he is one of the lighter-hearted members of the kingdom's council. He loves word play and jokes, is a celebrated poet, and a popular bachelor. He seems to care about people, and it was he who formed the belief that unless the people are strictly governed they will destroy themselves.
At the same time, he seems to possess a sadistic streak. An expert on the mind and body, he is well versed in torture; a talent which he uses personally on Atlove in an attempt to gain purgatory's location.
He is left in charge of London when James departs for Cologne, and is the one who alerts him when Natalia and Irvine begin their revolt.
Pre-series history- Charles was originally a nameless Russian orphan who grew up in the chaos of his country's collapse during the waning years of Heaven's Rhapsody. He was always curious as a child, happily attending his city's academy until it was destroyed, and constantly seeking works of literature and philosophy afterward. He would often be conflicted by his love for knowledge, at times spending what precious money he could find on books rather than food.
Living as an orphan in a war-torn and lawless environment, Charles saw the very worst in humanity at a very young age. He began to resent the primitive beasts men became when law and order were removed, eventually deciding that if a human with freedom would only destroy himself and others, then he didn't need freedom to begin with. This was a belief he would hold for the remainder of his life.
James Heart's mother was the one who saved his life, taking a liking to him for his strange hair color and intelligent green eyes. Once she discovered how articulate and intelligent he was, she accepted him into her family, to tutor her son, and save him from the loneliness of being a child in a world of only adults. Despite only being 15 at the time, Charles admits in a private thought that he always loved James' mother, and it was in honor of his promise to keep her son safe that he pledged fealty to him.
Despite their five-year age difference, James and Charles got along extremely well. James knew little of the world outside his family's home, and was eager to learn everything Charles knew. The young boy eventually grew to share his views about a world of perfect order that protected people from themselves, and it was this view that eventually blossomed into his dream for a renewed Royal Era. Years later, after James had organized and created the New Britain, he appointed Charles as the Kingdom's first knight.
Personality and appearance: Charles always seems to be wearing a very sorrowful expression, especially in his eyes. His clothing is regal, but more modern in style than James'. The color he's represented by is blue.
As to his personality, one of his most identifying beliefs is that he's personally responsible for the successful assassination of James' mother. (which he isn't.) Because of this, he is determined to protect James' dreams. He is also conflicted in that he loves his fellow people, but at the same time distrusts them, and thus seeks perfect order as a means of protecting them from themselves. He's a lover of poetry, and (like Gray on one or two occasions) sometimes quotes verses during conversation, or while walking.
The Soul
here's the original information again:
The Soul- Founder of AFTERLIFE, a man who appears to be in his early thirties, with long golden hair and green eyes. He is absolutely devoted to the message of his organization, with none of the frivolous obsessions of his two collaborators Like all of the top 3, he seems to have a long history with Gray, and seems to come from an age long before the war of Heaven's Rhapsody. He is only shown speaking a handful of times over the course of the first storyarc, and is the man who explains the importance of purgatory to Atlove.
He believes that he is receiving orders from his "priestess", a veiled woman who visits him in his dreams, and remains fanatically devoted to her throught the series. He acknowledges the treachery of his subordinates, as well, but doesn't seem bothered by it
Personality Overview: The soul is a character with a genius IQ, but the emotional maturity of a young child. He's very complex in his simplicity, living only to make his beloved priestess content.
Full character history:
Pre Heaven's Rhapsody-
The Soul (Nathan)- The child of an innattentive pair of very affluent parents, he was a sharp, but very introverted child. He tended to shun the company of others in favor of his dreams of his priestess, who had been visiting him in his this way for as long as he could remember. In these dreams, she often gave him advice on what actions to take in his life, and he obeyed her words absolutely.
Thus is was that when he entered adulthood, and the deaths of his parents left him the heir to their fortune, he obeyed her command and offered the entire amount to the Umbra Mundi in exchange for entry into their group. He was accepted despite his young age, and first encountered Anya (the mind), Remmington (the body), and Gray there.
He earns the disdain of most who work with him because of how bored and disinterested he is in everything he works toward (mainly because he has no personal interest in anything, and only follows the orders of the priestess.) It is later revealed that he looks upon his priestess as a surrogate mother, and that his devotion to her is his attempt to win the love and admiration he could never obtain from his blood parents
After Heaven's Rhapsody:
he is able to force Anya and Remmington into his service, using their organizational and monetary skills to create the AFTERLIFE organization.
Appearance and Personality- "Childlike" is the word to keep in mind when it comes to approaching "The Soul"'s design. All of his gestures and expressions come across with childish innocence. As the head of a somewhat religious organization, he generally appears in a robe, and one of his ears is pierced. Other than that, notes of his appearance identified above are all I've pictured.
conception:
The Soul isn't really based on anyone in particular. I just really liked the idea of having a primary antagonist who was innocent and pure. It seemed like an interesting idea. Some of the people who have read my notes have pointed out that "The Soul" and "The mind" parallel each other, because one looks like an adult but has the mind of a child, and the other has the body of a child and the mind of an adult. I wish I could claim that that was my intention, but honestly it was just an accident. ^^
In depth character pages:
Miles Atlove-
Again to start, here's the information you've already received about him.
Miles Atlove: The more traditional of my two main characters, and more or less the protagonist of the series. Atlove is a thin, good-natured, bespectacled man in his early twenties. He works as part of a special unit of the English police; the only group that is permitted to freely travel within all regions of London. He openly hates his job, but continues to do it because of the freedom it affords his wife. He's a capable marksman with respectable deductive skills, although he's somewhat out of shape and loaths long physical excursions. Children of all ages seem to instantly dislike him, a fact which has always puzzled him.
He isn't motivated by any altruistic ambitions, so much as by a series of unfortunate events that force him into the thick of the plot's motion. He has an old friendship with Gray, although he admits to being unable to trust him, and grows more suspicious of him as the first half expands. He deeply cares for his wife, but also eventually grows an emotional connection with Amalia, whose allegiance is unknown to him for a long time.
With Atlove, I wanted to present a character who was completely outside of the purgatory conspiracy as a main character. That way, he would learn of the events and people as the reader did, and come into his resolve on the matter as the story progressed. Thus, he doesn't have a deep and connected backstory. Most of his revealed past is presented only to explain his connection to Gray and the reasons he acts the way he does.
Pre Heaven's Rhapsody Atlove:
Atlove was a war orphan living in Wales. Gray finds him on the brink of starvation and brings him to the orphanage he would remain with until adulthood. He has a deep admiration of Gray, though he is always perplexed by the other man's never aging. It is this admiration that leads him to want to trust in Gray, even as he suspects his membership in AFTERLIFE.
Lonelinesswas the most painful part of his childhood, and as a result he feels comfortable when immersed in large groups of people. He enjoys the company of friends, and tends to flirt frequently. His closeness to others is also the reason he longs to keep them safe, and his motivation for joining the special unit.
Appearance and Personality traits:
Atlove's hair is short and light. He wears glasses, and tends to dress with little regard for how he looks. During most of his earlier appearances, Atlove is shown wearing only his "uniform," Which is essentially a white button-up shirt, a tie, and black pants.
His disposition, as mentioned earlier, is designed to contrast with Gray. This is also shown in the fact that Atlove feels he is immersed in society, while Gray is identified with his feeling of being distanced from it.
Design and conception:
My drive for creating Heaven's Rhapsody is wholly rooted in my teenage love of the "V for Vendetta" comic. It was this particular work that made me want to create a story that takes place largely in a post apocalyptic London, and directly influenced my creation of Atlove's character.
Atlove is, when all is said and done, the Evey to Gray's V. (although Gray's character wasn't based on V.) He's a character with whom the reader can identify, and who adapts to the situation he's thrust into to the best of his ability. Also like Evey, he is the one to survive Gray, and carry on his legacy (it is Atlove who enters the final passage in the play.)
Gray:
To start with, here is the data I gave you in my original charter outline:
Gray: An enigmatic and charming man who appears to be in his mid-twenties, Gray is the other character through whose eyes we see the world. He has a distant, almost whimsical outlook on life: taking everything that happens in the world with a carefree smile, and almost never showing anger. Gray seems to be privy to all things and on multiple sides simultaneously. While he claims to be an 'impartial observer', someone who watches events unfold as a spectator at a theater would, he often contradicts this claim on several occasions.
He has a variety of strange habits, smoking being the primary one. I call it strange because his body is actually almost completely immune to the effects of nicotine, meaning that the only way he can support his habit is by re-addicting himself to the cigarettes daily. As a result of this, he often has bouts of coughing- a sound which his closest associates recognize as a sign that he's nearby.
Gray also carries around a journal in which he records notes of the many people he encounters, their goals, and what becomes of them. He claims that it's a real-time play that he's recording for the sake of mankind, and as such has titled it "The end of the world in five acts"
This is the extent of what is known about Gray by the reader as the story starts. During the explanation sequence that starts the second arc, he is one of the characters about whom we learn the most (primarily because the events that are retold are supposedly coming from his notebook, which is revealed to have originally been kept by him as a journal.) This is a shorthand version of his personality and history. Please be patient with the terms and events that you don't recognize, as I'll give you the complete plot synopsis once the character sheets are finished. ^_^
Adam(Gray)-
Before Heaven's Rhapsody:
When Grigori Helix used the human genome to produce two 'genetically perfect' humans, Adam was the male child. He was given the name by his creator, as part of his "declaration of war against god." Unlike his sister (who, as you can guess, was named Eve), Adam was raised by Dr. Helix himself, and as such knew from the beginning that he was artificial. With time, he grew to covet ordinary people, feeling that he was detached from and, in a way, inferior to them. His body was far more resiliant than ordinary, and his mind more capable, but at the same time he felt that it was impossible for him to emotionally connect with others because he was an existance that was not meant to be.
He is reunited with Eve when they are both in their early twenties. They meet when she seeks out Dr. Helix in an attempt to learn more about herself. She finds that the doctor has grown senile in his old age, and grows suspicious of Adam when he mentions that he shares a bond with her. He eventually yields to her, answering her questions about the doctor as well as the 'Umbra Mundi.' However, when he realizes that she believes herself to be the child of Richard's daughter and her husband, he finds he cannot bring himself to tell her the truth of her birth.
When his sister is killed, he mourns her death while at the same time envying the fact that she died ignorant of what she really was. Dr. Helix dies shortly after, leaving him as the head of Umbra Mundi. The war of Heaven's Rhapsody is beginning, and Adam realizes that the doctor was playing his own part in what was supposed to be mankind's end. He decides that as an artificial existence he doesn't have the right to directly interfere in the future of the world, and renounces his position. As he leaves, he vows to see his father's "performance" to its conclusion. During a final conversation he has with Anya (who would be known in the post-war world as "The mind") he reveals that he has abandoned the name "Adam," stating that he's unworthy of a human name. He chooses the alias "gray" instead, naming himself after a cat he often played with as a child.
While Gray uses nanomachines to build upon his body's natural longevity, he never replaces his body with a nanomachine colony like the heads of AFTERLIFE.
Post Heaven's Rhapsody, but prior to the start of the series:
Gray continues to observe as civilization rebuilds itself, the passion of his youth has been replaced with a kind of calm dispassion regarding the world and its people. He encounters Atlove for the first time while living near a makeshift orphanage run by a Catholic nun. He immediately takes a liking to the young man, his instincts telling him that his would be an important role in the events to come.
Details of appearance and personality- I wanted Gray's appearance to starkly contrast with Atlove's, to kind of bring home the point of the two of them telling the same story from different perspectives. Gray's hair is long and dark, and he dresses in a careful and formal manner. Atlove's hair is light and short. He wears glasses, and when not in his uniform (described in his character profile) puts no thought into his clothing.
Another parallel I wanted to strike was the younger, more passionate Gray and the older, more detached Gray. I wanted to show how age and wisdom had calmed him down a lot, and changed his personality somewhat.
Details of his conception:
I got the idea for Gray's character after reading the novel "The portrait of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. For some reason I was really curious to see what would happen if the characters of Dorian and Lord Henry Watton were merged together, and Gray was the result. ^^ (Forgive my strange inspirations. I'm a bit of a book worm.)
Misc:
Gray keeps his journal in a inner-pocket of his jacket, withdrawing it only when it becomes the topic of discussion, or to write in it. Because of the location he keeps it in, this gesture looks suspiciously like he's drawing a gun.
With Gray, the most important thing to remember is to always be mindful of his humorous quirks. I tried to give all of my characters a few silly habits or traits. Something light-hearted to try and draw away from the sometimes smotheringly serious plot.
James Heart
I apologize that this description is so convoluted. I'm not sure why I worded it so awkwardly at the time. >.< Anyway, if the character seems dull or two-dimensional please be sure to tell me.
What has already been said:
James Heart- Reigning king, and founder of the country. He is a man of 30, with short, carefully styled hair and brown eyes. He has a tendency to dress in extravagant fare. He was raised in the chaos of the war near the British embassy in Russia, and gained recognition as a genius of strategy early in his life. When Heaven's Rhapsody ended he focused on maintaining his military rather than rebuilding, and because of this muscle succeeded in forging his country.
He truly believes in divine right to rule, and that he posessed royal blood. His rule is totalatarin, as he believes it is his duty as royalty to govern those whose ignorance makes them incapable of helping themselves.
While he is an intelligent, articulate, and cunning man, he is also extremely proud and narcissistic to the point of complete arrogance. This disposition gives him a tendency to underestimate the threat others can pose to him: a flaw that plays a large role in his undoing.
With a character like James, a small summary like this one is extremely accurate when it comes to portraying his character. He is aloof, majestic, and utterly confident in his ability.
Pre- RH history: As stated above. James grew up near the Brittish embassy to Russia, and wound up being pulled into the various military struggles in the area at a young age due to his father's status in the British Royal Army. Charles (who would eventually become his first Knight and right hand man) served as his tutor and a surrogate elder brother, and it was from him that James learned the importance of order and military strength in the process of gaining power. Because this truth was ingrained in his head at a very young age (he first meets Charles when he's eight years old.) he grows to become a genius of organization, and even though he never fights in the war of Heaven's Rhapsody (the war ended twenty years before the start of the current story, which made James ten at the time) he became one of the most feared generals of the post-war world.
Shortly after forming his army, James returned to his beloved home of England, resolving to turn it into the premiere power of the world once again. He blamed incomplete ideals such as "universal equality" and "democracy" for the weakness of the old nation, and sought to recreate the England of the ancient past, uniting all of the people under the unbendable will of a single man. How he learns of purgatory is never directly revealed, but it's hinted that he was told of it by AFTERLIFE, who hoped to use him in their plans. This fails, however, as James wants only to find the Purgatory virus, not use it. With Purgatory, he would have the deterrent that would cement his young nation's status as the superpower of the new world.
Personality and appearance: I admit, I've put very little thought into his distinct appearance, outside of what little we discussed earlier and the things mentioned above. He dresses in a very foppish and elegant manner, suiting a self-proclaimed king, everything about him is elaborate and fancy.
His character (both in appearance and personality) is symbolized by the bird. He has converted a portion of the palace courtyard into a caged aviary (a fact that should be mentioned above, but I guess I forgot to copy it ^^') which is where he goes when he wishes to think in silence. Only Charles is allowed to approach him when he's within it. He also states that a king's destiny is the same as a caged bird. Both are able to fly high, but destiny clips their wings, and keeps them bound to the needs of men.
Next up is another member of the New British Empire... I admit, he's a favorite of mine, so despite the fact that he's only a secondary character, he receives a fair bit of development as the series progresses. Shall we begin as always?
Charles- In his mid-30s, though he appears to be younger. he has long, silver hair tied at shoulder's length with a ribbon, and large, round-framed glasses. Charles is James' mentor, and the only person from whom the younger man will accept criticism. On the surface, he is one of the lighter-hearted members of the kingdom's council. He loves word play and jokes, is a celebrated poet, and a popular bachelor. He seems to care about people, and it was he who formed the belief that unless the people are strictly governed they will destroy themselves.
At the same time, he seems to possess a sadistic streak. An expert on the mind and body, he is well versed in torture; a talent which he uses personally on Atlove in an attempt to gain purgatory's location.
He is left in charge of London when James departs for Cologne, and is the one who alerts him when Natalia and Irvine begin their revolt.
Pre-series history- Charles was originally a nameless Russian orphan who grew up in the chaos of his country's collapse during the waning years of Heaven's Rhapsody. He was always curious as a child, happily attending his city's academy until it was destroyed, and constantly seeking works of literature and philosophy afterward. He would often be conflicted by his love for knowledge, at times spending what precious money he could find on books rather than food.
Living as an orphan in a war-torn and lawless environment, Charles saw the very worst in humanity at a very young age. He began to resent the primitive beasts men became when law and order were removed, eventually deciding that if a human with freedom would only destroy himself and others, then he didn't need freedom to begin with. This was a belief he would hold for the remainder of his life.
James Heart's mother was the one who saved his life, taking a liking to him for his strange hair color and intelligent green eyes. Once she discovered how articulate and intelligent he was, she accepted him into her family, to tutor her son, and save him from the loneliness of being a child in a world of only adults. Despite only being 15 at the time, Charles admits in a private thought that he always loved James' mother, and it was in honor of his promise to keep her son safe that he pledged fealty to him.
Despite their five-year age difference, James and Charles got along extremely well. James knew little of the world outside his family's home, and was eager to learn everything Charles knew. The young boy eventually grew to share his views about a world of perfect order that protected people from themselves, and it was this view that eventually blossomed into his dream for a renewed Royal Era. Years later, after James had organized and created the New Britain, he appointed Charles as the Kingdom's first knight.
Personality and appearance: Charles always seems to be wearing a very sorrowful expression, especially in his eyes. His clothing is regal, but more modern in style than James'. The color he's represented by is blue.
As to his personality, one of his most identifying beliefs is that he's personally responsible for the successful assassination of James' mother. (which he isn't.) Because of this, he is determined to protect James' dreams. He is also conflicted in that he loves his fellow people, but at the same time distrusts them, and thus seeks perfect order as a means of protecting them from themselves. He's a lover of poetry, and (like Gray on one or two occasions) sometimes quotes verses during conversation, or while walking.
The Soul
here's the original information again:
The Soul- Founder of AFTERLIFE, a man who appears to be in his early thirties, with long golden hair and green eyes. He is absolutely devoted to the message of his organization, with none of the frivolous obsessions of his two collaborators Like all of the top 3, he seems to have a long history with Gray, and seems to come from an age long before the war of Heaven's Rhapsody. He is only shown speaking a handful of times over the course of the first storyarc, and is the man who explains the importance of purgatory to Atlove.
He believes that he is receiving orders from his "priestess", a veiled woman who visits him in his dreams, and remains fanatically devoted to her throught the series. He acknowledges the treachery of his subordinates, as well, but doesn't seem bothered by it
Personality Overview: The soul is a character with a genius IQ, but the emotional maturity of a young child. He's very complex in his simplicity, living only to make his beloved priestess content.
Full character history:
Pre Heaven's Rhapsody-
The Soul (Nathan)- The child of an innattentive pair of very affluent parents, he was a sharp, but very introverted child. He tended to shun the company of others in favor of his dreams of his priestess, who had been visiting him in his this way for as long as he could remember. In these dreams, she often gave him advice on what actions to take in his life, and he obeyed her words absolutely.
Thus is was that when he entered adulthood, and the deaths of his parents left him the heir to their fortune, he obeyed her command and offered the entire amount to the Umbra Mundi in exchange for entry into their group. He was accepted despite his young age, and first encountered Anya (the mind), Remmington (the body), and Gray there.
He earns the disdain of most who work with him because of how bored and disinterested he is in everything he works toward (mainly because he has no personal interest in anything, and only follows the orders of the priestess.) It is later revealed that he looks upon his priestess as a surrogate mother, and that his devotion to her is his attempt to win the love and admiration he could never obtain from his blood parents
After Heaven's Rhapsody:
he is able to force Anya and Remmington into his service, using their organizational and monetary skills to create the AFTERLIFE organization.
Appearance and Personality- "Childlike" is the word to keep in mind when it comes to approaching "The Soul"'s design. All of his gestures and expressions come across with childish innocence. As the head of a somewhat religious organization, he generally appears in a robe, and one of his ears is pierced. Other than that, notes of his appearance identified above are all I've pictured.
conception:
The Soul isn't really based on anyone in particular. I just really liked the idea of having a primary antagonist who was innocent and pure. It seemed like an interesting idea. Some of the people who have read my notes have pointed out that "The Soul" and "The mind" parallel each other, because one looks like an adult but has the mind of a child, and the other has the body of a child and the mind of an adult. I wish I could claim that that was my intention, but honestly it was just an accident. ^^