#WIPJoy Day Two

Day Two: Describe your main character for us. Well, it's very hard for me to actually say how many main characters there are in The Martyr's Tears, as there are so many important storylines. But, for the sake of sanity, I think it is reasonable to settle on three who are the heart and soul of the series... so far. Here they are from the text of The Martyr's Tears:

The paragon Danielle d’Lavandou:

“She had lost none of her beauty, but the months of hardship had carved away some of the softness and left behind a strength that had previously been concealed. She was noticeably leaner, with a play of muscle under her dark skin that would not have dared to appear on the smooth arms of the noble Marquessa he had known before. And she appeared weary, with frayed bandages wrapped around several of her fingers, her nails ragged and torn, and her flowing hair escaping from the most basic of braids, a far cry from the intricate sculptures that he knew she favored.

The strength suited her in a way that surprised Gwydion. She is no longer unearthly and remote, he realized, as he watched her golden eyes flash with laughter. No longer a goddess. She is real. Such divine cruelty.”

Wyn, a young thief reborn as a spy:

“A young woman with a wide smile and hair the color of the sun, whose leather leggings did little to conceal her slim shape.”

Sir Killock, a Templar knight more at home in the endless wilderness than in any castle or court:

"Killock had not shaved in days, the ragged stubble on his cheeks forming a wiry beard, and his grey-streaked hair hung in confused tangles about his shoulders. A fresh bandage peeked through a tear in his cloak over his shoulder, and dried mud streaked his boots and leggings."

And I could not help including a bonus passage, one of my favorites from The Martyr's Blade, so I had to go and dig it up.

"He was dressed in a worn, grey cloak and brown, threadbare leggings and tunic so faded by the sun that they also appeared grey. His shaggy hair was iron with grey streaked through it, and he wore a scraggly beard that was almost all grey. Yet the man did not appear old or frail. Weathered, perhaps, but he moved easily and wiry muscles corded on his forearms and neck. At his side hung a long blade with a worn and stained hilt, but the man’s hands did not come near it as he approached.

Ránnach re-assessed the man with every step. At first he looked like no more than a vagabond, some huntsman or wood cutter. But ten steps later he appeared more likely to be a soldier or perhaps a bandit, someone well-used to a sword. By the time they drew within speaking distance, Ránnach felt that the stranger was more dangerous than that. He looked severe and sharp, like the steel blade of a knife."