Worlds of Wonder Author Hop Day 7: Character Interview of King Hakon from Spirit of Fire

Here we are on the seventh and final day of the Worlds of Wonder Author Hop.  I've got a new character interview for you to enjoy, this one of King Hakon of Midragard from the Fires in Eden Series.  All you have to know for the character interview is that Midragard has a Viking-like culture, and King Hakon is an elderly king who is facing an existential threat to his people at the very twilight of his life.  He is one of my favorite characters in the series, as while his body is aged his heart and spirit are strong!

Before we go to that, I want to thank Kimberly Comeau and T.C. Archer, and Holly from FMB Tours, who put all of this together and scheduled things.  I really enjoyed participating this week and hope everyone liked the content that I contributed here.  Thank you to everyone who visitied the blog!  Be sure to stay in touch!

-Stephen

Character Interview with King Hakon of Midragard

King Hakon of Midragard with 2 retainers
and his wolf Heder.
Artwork by Matthew
Perry

I hope you are well, and in good health.

King Hakon: As good as a man my age can be, I suppose.  The spirit of Midragard is yet strong, and that keeps my own strength up.

And that great wolf Heder?

King Hakon: He watches over me always, and still has the energy of a cub!  That wolf has been a dear companion to me through many years.  He is not a mere animal, but rather a friend.

I know you are sensing a very dark time ahead for Midragard.  You have sent an entire fleet to the north to help the Saxans.

King Hakon: The tidings from the north are dark indeed.  A storm has broken over the Five Realms and Saxany, two realms that have Midragard's friendship.

A great force formed from many lands has invaded Saxany.  I had to act, as the Saxans do not have the strength to withstand the invasion for long.  Even with the help of Midragard, I cannot say whether they will be able to hold the enemy back.


Why did you send the fleet, and not hold it back to defend your own shores?

King Hakon: I am defending our shores by sending the fleet north.  If we stay here and do nothing, and let the allies of the Unifier destroy the Saxans and others, we will be alone when the enemy comes to our lands.   We must do everything we can to stand with the other realms that wish to remain free of the Unifier's dominion.

Aid also goes to the Five Realms?

King Hakon: Yes, from the estates of many islands along the trading routes near the Five Realms.  A good number of experienced Midragardan warriors have gone into the afflicted tribal lands.  I do not yet know of their fate.

Messages have certainly been brought to you by very unexpected messengers.  What was it like seeing an Elder?

King Hakon: Long have I known dragons.  They thrive among the Drakkar Mountains within Midragard.  But they are like cubs to a full grown wolf in comparison to an Elder.  I never thought in my lifetime I would set my eyes upon one of those majestic creatures.

Yet the appearance of The Elder in our world is a dark omen in itself.  The Elder drew back from the world ages ago, and have not been seen or heard from until now.  Only something of tremendous importance would cause them to come back into the world of humans.

Will the dragons of your lands take part in the coming fight, especially since the Elder seem opposed to the Unifier?

King Hakon: The dragons know that Midragard gave them a haven, when they could find no rest in other lands.  They revere the Elder, and I know in my heart they will not stand aside when the darkness shrouds our lands.

What are some of the other sources of strength to help defend Midragard?

King Hakon: The Berzerks, and the Ulfhednar.  The Order they are a part of is ancient in these lands, and they are pledged to defend us.  Each one of them is worth a great number of enemy warriors.

There are also many Wizards who have an affinity for Midragard, and they will not wish to see usurpers triumph.

And the Fenraren that Midargardan warriors ride into battle?

King Hakon: The Fenraren are tough and noble steeds.  In each of them is an echo of the great Fenris.  We are fortunate to have them with us during this time.  If the enemy wishes to cross the skies of Midragard, they will not go uncontested.


What are some of your biggest worries at the moment?

King Hakon: Fate has seen to it that Midragard's most difficult hour arrives when my own life is at a very late hour.  I only hope I have the strength to do what is right by my people.

You are regarded as a just and good king.  Why do you think that is?

King Hakon: I do not seek to interfere with the aspirations of the Midragardan people. A king of Midragard is not like the kings I have heard of in other lands.  We are here to lead in times of war, and we are here to help build trade and keep order.  But other than times of war, a Midragardan should have little need for a king.  We are a proud, strong, and free people, and I believe a good king of Midragard allows people to live their lives without interference.

Of course, as long as they bring no harm to others.


Thank you for speaking with me, King Hakon.

King Hakon: It was an honor.  May the All-Father's grace be with you always.

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Worlds of Wonder Author Hop Day 3: Character Interview with Dragol of the Fires in Eden Series

For day 3 of the Worlds of Wonder Author Hop, Holly from Full Moon Bites presented these questions for me to give to one of the characters from the Fires in Eden Series. I was able to reach Dragol, a Trogen warrior of the Thunder Wolf Clan. Trogens are tall, muscular beings with faces that have short, broad muzzles, almost like a pit bull. In this series, they are one of the many lands who have come to fight on the side of the Unifier in a war intended to end all wars, and usher in a new order.  When you first meet the Trogens in Crown of Vengeance, they appear pretty harsh and brutal, but there is a lot more to them, and I hope this interview with Dragol gives you some deeper insight to one of my absolute favorite cultures in all of Ave!
-Stephen



Interview with Dragol of the Thunder Wolf Clan:

 Holly: What single thing or goal do you want most in life?

 Dragol: I want to live a life of honor.  What a Trogen means by honor may be different from what you might understand.  I have found the ways of humans very different from those of Trogens.  Human honor may be different from Trogen honor.  But living an honorable life is the highest goal of a Trogen.  A Trogen with honor will find a home in Elysium in the next world.

 Holly: What do you fear most? 

 Dragol: I fear what every Trogen fears. To never be tested. To never be measured. To never know if my heart is strong or not.  To never know if I am truly worthy of being called a Trogen.  Those are the things to be feared. A life untested is a life not worth living.  I believe it is even worse than it is to fail.

 Holly: What’s your world like? 

Illustration of Trogen upon a Harrak from
Crown of Vengeance.
Artwork by Matthew Perry

 Dragol: The Trogen lands are to the north and west of Kiruva, a human realm, and west of the lands of the Gigans. The Trogen lands are filled with hills and great mountains. Many powerful beasts dwell there, many who our great clans are named after. The Blood Boars, the Forest Wolverines, the Mountain Bears, and others. We live in villages, but we live in the shadow of an ancient enemy.

 The Elves have long oppressed the Trogens. They sailed the seas, flew upon their steeds in the skies, and mastered weapons before my kind existed. When we settled our lands, they attacked us. They have raided us throughout the ages. When part of our lands were found to be rich in the things valued by them, metals and gems, they took that land and enslaved a great many of my kind.

It is not Trogen weakness that keeps us from freeing them. We could not build a fortress, or ships. The Elves would attack in great strength to destroy them before they were completed.

Blade to blade, we can fight them.  But we do not have their high walls or their ships.

We were able to master sky steeds, and we fly upon the great Harraks who dwell in the mountains of our lands.  Since the time of the warrior Marragesh, we have challenged the Elves in the skies.

We live at all times under threat, but our kind are strong, and we have endured.   One day we will find a way to liberate the Trogens held captive.

Our path is not an easy one.  Like a longblade, a Trogen is forged.  The world that we live in is the fire that shapes the iron of who we are.

Holly: Are you presently in love, or do you hope to find someone special? 

Dragol:  It is hard for me to understand what humans mean by love.  Do you mean a mate?  I have yet to find a mate. I will not do this until I know in my heart that I am fully worthy of being a Trogen Warrior ... fully worthy of being one of the Thunder Wolf Clan ... fully worthy of being called a Trogen. Any sons or daughters I have must be born to a father with honor, as I was born to a father with honor and a mother most strong.  I must be worthy of the respect of my mate.  I must be strong for her, as she must be strong for me.

A Trogen life is not an easy journey.  A family is a great responsibility.  Sons and daughters are reflections of those who give them life.  And they are reflections of the clan.  It is not the duty of others to raise our offspring.  It is our duty to raise them and prepare them for whatever may come.  This great responsibility is one that must be shared fully by the two who are mates.  This is why the choosing of a mate is no easy thing, for a female or a male of the Trogen kind.

I do hope that when I return to my kind I can find a mate.  I want to have strong sons and daughters, and a mate I respect, honor, and share life with.

Holly: Sum up your life in the last few weeks in 150 words or less. 

Illustration from Spirit of Fire of a
Trogen Warrior in combat against
a knight.
Artwork by Matthew Perry

Dragol: The fighting had just begun over the tribal lands, the place the humans call the Five Realms. While protecting the huge Darroks sent by the Unifier, the warriors under my command did not heed my command and became reckless when I saw a great force of Midragardan warriors approaching through the skies upon Fenraren steeds.

I did not wish to throw my life away so uselessly when they went against my command and rushed to certain defeat. I landed my steed on the ground and took to the forests where the enemy dwelled.  It was there that I met the Wanderer. He is of human appearance, but I believe him to be a Wizard as he has done much to show he has great powers.

He was like a guide to me, even to the moment when I was taken captive by tribal warriors.  Much has happened since then, and I am still held by the tribal humans as another journey begins.


 Holly: Do you have any words of wisdom you think everyone should live by? 

Live always with honor.  It is hard to explain this to humans.  Trogens do not care for the gold and silver that seems to rule you.  You deceive each other, kill each other, steal from each other over metal from the ground.  The worth of a Trogen has nothing to do with what things they possess.  The worth of a Trogen is measured by what they have done.  Courage ... strength ... loyalty ... these are some of the things that are part of living with honor.  It is earned.  It is built.  It is forged.  It is not given.

Holly:  If you could change one thing of your past would you? If so, what would it be and why?

There is nothing I would change.  I may know and realize more now than I did before.  But the path that led to where I am today brought me what I needed to have the understanding I have in my heart now.  I have always sought to be true to myself.  I have made unwise choices, but I have learned from these times and grown.



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