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Character Profile
Doop Longsleeve
Doop Longsleeve assembles a group of people to
retrieve a magical artifact.
Doop Longsleeve craves power. Political power,
magical power, reputation.
Doop wants the magical artifact for himself, but there
are limits as to how he can obtain it.
The things preventing Doop from reaching his goals are the protagonists, more
specifically Gary.
Doop realizes, once the innkeeper’s son defeats the evil god, that he
has picked the wrong orphan boy to fulfill destiny. He has to run away. Never having been
thwarted, he gains a respect for his opponent even as he plots his revenge.
Doop Longsleeve assembles a team of
individuals to find a magical artifact. He makes them believe that one of them is
required to fight a dark god he is secretly allied with. The team passes the challenge presented by what remains
of the order of natural magic. When they find the artifact, Doop lures Gary
away from the others and to the site of the battle. He tries to get the artifact from Gary,
but when that fails, the fight begins. When it becomes apparent
that Gary will win, Doop flees, vowing revenge.
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Character Profile
Gary Thorn
One-sentence storyline: Gary leaves his home and joins a wizard in a quest to destroy a dark
god.
Like any young man, Gary wants adventure, glory,
womanly attention. He also wants the respect of his mentor, Doop.
Gary wants to win his battle with the dark god. He wants
to impress Doop. He wants to win the hand and the heart of the princess, Dierdre.
Throughout the story, Gary is fighting to be accepted as one of the group.
Once the group learns about Gary’s role, they begin to accept him, but he doesn't trust
that. Then Doop lures him away and becomes the enemy when he tries to take the magical
artifact.
Gary goes from being a naive boy nearing manhood to a strong, confident hero. The
team he left behind are genuinely worried for him, which he discovers when they are reunited.
He sees that they were not rejecting him, but trying to protect him. he is hurt by Doop’s
betrayal. On receiving the glory that he had wanted, he realizes that it is not important.
When he returns to the palace, he wonders why he ever tried so hard to woo the princess.
He has achieved all he has, only to realize that the one thing he
wanted, Doop’s regard, is out of reach forever.
Gary leaves his home when he is
selected by Doop Longsleeve to accompany him on a quest. Surviving several fights, and falling in love,
Gary and the team find the magical artifact.
Doop leads him away from the others in the group, playing on Gary’s misgivings.
When they’ve arrived at the supposed battle site, Doop tries to get the artifact from
Gary. Gary denies Doop and is forced to do battle with the dark god. Upon defeating the dark
god, Gary discovers that Doop has disappeared and returns to the team.
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Character Profile
Emeril Forte
A law man accompanies a quest in exchange for
the identity of his father’s killer.
Emeril believes in the law and doing what is right.
Emeril is in this quest for one reason: to find his father’s killer. Doop has
promised that in exchange for his participation in the quest.
Who wins, when doing the right thing means breaking the law?
What happens when revenge and justice are at odds?
Emeril will come to terms with what he has inside of him, a willingness to break
the rules, the laws, without hesitation. When he learns that Jacob Bonney killed his father,
Emeril is forced to put that to the side to achieve a bigger goal.
Having caught Jacob Bonney, Emeril Forte is interruped in his
interrogation by Doop Longsleeve. Whe he is offered the answer to his father’s murder,
Emeril abandons his position in the city watch and joins Doop, along with Jacob Bonney, on
the quest, but not before he is assaulted by Bonney. Four of the team are abandoned by Doop
and his charge, Gary, and all of them are given their payments. Emeril discovers that it was
Jacob who killed his father and he eventually convinces the others to find Gary and bring
Doop to justice.
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Character Profile
Jacob Bonney
A master criminal is caught, then offered pardon and riches to
assist a wizard on a quest.
The acquisition of material worth has become its own end and
Jacob pursues it relentlessly. Since being caught, Jacob needs a legitimate life.
Jacob sees this quest as a chance to leave crime behind and
live a legitimate life without sacrificing his wealth.
He learns that Emeril's father is the man he killed in the past.
He is confronted in this by Emeril.
As Jacob gets to know Gary, he comes to care for the boy and look after him with
the protective attitude of an older brother. Jacob comes to
understand what drives Emeril. He sees how his actions have affected Emeril and he begins to work at making amends.
Jacob Bonney heads the only criminal syndicate in town. When he is
apprehended, salvation takes the form of Doop
Longsleeve. Doop offers a full pardon for Bonney’s crimes, along with a legitimate life, in
exchange for partnering with the wizard as well as Jacob’s captor, Emeril Forte. On the quest, Jacob
learns that he murdered his Emeril's father. Emeril discovers this fact.
Jacob lays his story out, and they plan to bring Doop to justice.
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Character Profile
Moraih Jbanow
The head of a barbarian clan secures his son's future by going on a quest.
Moraih wants his son to succeed him as head of the clan. He wants the
clans to unite as a nation.
Moraih agrees to the expedition so that his son can
succeed him as head of the united clans when the quest is done.
Moraih places his son in charge, knowing the boy is not ready to lead.
Moraih realizes his son was not right to command when the boy is murdered.
Moraih must go to war to avenge the death, even though he is reluctant to do so. He
wants to kill the knight when he learns that the knight’s agreement with Doop was for the
death of the head of the clans, and he learns of his son’s death. He
and the knight have become friends, and he is forced to go to war with the
knight’s people.
Moraih Jbanow is the head of his clan. He is close to uniting the
clans as one nation. Doop Longsleeve offers him the chance to have his son succeed at this
in his place, so he leaves. He befriends a knight of the neigbouring country. He is shocked when he learns that the man’s agreement was for
Moraih's death. He nearly murders the knight when the agreement ends his son's life instead. He is convinced by Emeril Forte to put the
matter aside for now, and deal with Doop Longsleeve.
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Character Profile
Sir Samuel Carrington
A knight accompanies a wizard in hopes of securing his country’s future.
Carrington is honour- and duty-bound to his country and his king.
Carrington has been led to believe that Moraih and his countrymen represent a threat to Carrington’s country. He has agreed to come on the quest in exchange fo the death of the leader of the barbarians.
How can he reconcile the "ravening hordes" he's been told about with what he's witnessed in Moraih?
He comes to see that the barbarians are no threat, but that it is now too late to stop the assassination.
Sir Samuel Carrington is Lord Protector of his country. Doop Longsleeve paints a very dark picture for Carrington’s country’s future. In fear, Carrington agrees to join the wizard’s quest in exchange for the elimination of the threat with the death of the head of the clans. During the journey, the knight befriends the barbarian whose death he has bought. When the group discovers the nature of their agreements, he is more-than-willing to join in the attempt to bring Doop to justice.
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Character Profile
Princess Daphne Holn
A princess develops a friendship with a peasant boy and helps him in his quest.
Daphne is interested in Gary. She is not the object of his attentions (her sister is), but she likes him.
In a frenzied semblance of cyber-stalking, Daphne looks up the prophecies surrounding Gary, Doop, the dark god, and the magical artifact. She learns that there is danger for Gary if he gives the magical artifact to him, and so she wants to send Gary a message to warn him of the fact.
Her sister has always had the easy road. With suitors, with their parents. Now, when Daphne wants something, Dierdre looks to take possession of it.
She comes to realize that if she says nothing to Gary about her feelings, nothing will come of it. So, she resolves to let him know, if and when he returns.
Daphne meets Gary when he has taken a wrong turn and needs to find his way. They strike up an instant friendship, though Gary is more interested in her sister, Dierdre. When Daphne learns that Gary is a child of destiny, she researches the destinies of Gary and his mentor, the wizard Doop Longsleeve. She learns that Gary is in danger because of the wizard, and she learns how to send him a message using magic. When Gary returns in his glory, she resolves to tell him how she feels, but her sister throws herself at Gary and Daphne steps back into the background.
