Now Alaen is hard to do. How does one summarize their MC and most complex character without giving a play by play of the entire novel?

Alaen is the newly-crowned king of Nalycia. As a minor (with less than a year before the age of majority), Alaen is under the regency of his uncle, Volcor. As his father died, he warned Alaen that Volcor would want to either control the throne or kill both Alaen and Atharielle to get it for his own. At his father's insistence, Alaen promises to play the fool so that his uncle thinks he will always be able to control him. He hates this masquerade, especially having to keep it secret from Atharielle and having to hurt her with his "carelessness" to make his charade believable.

Alaen was sent to battleschool at the age of fourteen(?) to learn how to fight and to one day wrest power from his uncle. Everyone else is told that he went to court to learn statesmanship, however. He is a fairly competent fighter. He met Saen there, and they became the best of friends.

After his father's death, Alaen goes to the Athulian court to learn how to live in a foppish manner and fool those in Nalycia into thinking he was at court the whole time he was in Athulia. He meets the rest of the royal siblings there and is drawn into their circle. He finds that Sylve fits neatly into the hole in his heart made by his sister's rejection, and he comes to love her.

Alaen wants nothing more than to take his throne back from his uncle and rule the people as they should be ruled. He is willing to do practically anything to fulfill his father's wish that he should be an independent ruler. Alaen's friends would tell you that he is good-natured and fun to be around, but that he takes life seriously.

Until his masquerade began, Alaen's relationship with his sister was extremely close and loving. He deeply respected his late father, and, with Atharielle, despised his uncle.

Character:
- High standards
- Driven to succeed
- Vulnerable to criticism
- Hard worker
- Susceptible to self-scrutiny and self-doubt
- Attempts to prove himself
- Unruffled, calm
- Flexible, warm, trusting
- Good-hearted
- Prefers not to take risks
- Tries to see the good in people
- Dislikes being alone
- Productive
- Willing and able to take responsibility for own life
- Good sense of humour
- Ethical; high standards
- Uses physical activity to combat stress
- Maintains a strong support network
Strengths:
- Intrinsic motivation
- Willingness to work hard
- Friendly and open
- Accepting
- Responsible/mature
- Ethical
- Willing to sacrifice for others
Weaknesses:
- Easily doubts himself and his actions
- Can become stressed when life requires him to stick out his neck
- Can be taken advantage of
- Reliant on others' company
- Thin-skinned

See also: essence map, picture

Please direct your questions to Alaen himself so I can simultaneously work on his voice.

How do you express emotion?

What is one thing that's happened in life you'd change?

*looks at author* I assume my responses are confidential?

Me: *gives confidentiality sticker*

In that case... I tend to bottle it up inside and not let other people see it at all. When I do express it, I give the impression of being depressed and discouraged. Sometimes, sometimes I cry a little, when things get very bad.



*rubs back of neck absentmindedly* That would depend if you mean my life or someone else's. *voice quiets* If my life, I'd have my father back again. He wouldn't die before we were ready to remove Uncle Volcor from power. If anyone's life, I'd have my father born healthy and strong, so that Uncle Volcor would never have any power over us at all.

What do you fear the most? What would you give to regain the relationship with your sister? Would you have it that you had never been king at all, or are you happy with the position?

I fear losing everything I've fought and sacrificed for. I fear that I'll fail to bring Father's plans for Nalycia to fruition.



I'd give anything that wouldn't put her life in danger. *sighs* Unfortunately, the restoration of our relationship could cause my playacting to be revealed and result in our deaths.



I wish that I wasn't the king now. In a year or two, I'd be perfectly happy with it. But I was shoved into the position before I was ready, and my father and my plans to rid ourselves of my uncle's chokehold have suffered as a result.

What do you hope your relationship with your sister will look like after you come to the throne and get rid of your uncle? Do you think she can forgive you for deceiving her? Have you ever considered bringing her into the plan? Why or why not?

Do you see yourself marrying Sylve someday? Which side of you does she know?

Who is there in your life that you feel the need to prove yourself too?

Did you miss your status when you went to the battleschool?

Will you tell me a story about something you and Saen did together after you became friends? (Zoe, see, it is a question... )

What's the most humiliating part of playing the fool?

I hope, I hope she'll understand and that we can be just as close and tender as we were before Father died. I don't know if she'll be able to forgive me, her world is so black-and-white. I don't know if it will all be worth it if she cannot. How it hurts to see the pain in her eyes.

I wish I could tell her, but I don't trust her acting abilities. Uncle knows how starkly she views right and wrong. I don't know if she could pretend to have the same reactions she's having now if she know the truth. It could be the difference between life or death.



Certainly. She's a caring, understanding woman, and we get along well. She's perhaps more lively than I'm entirely fond of, but perhaps I've been alone with the books too long. *smiles* She knows who I really am. No masks are necessary at the Athulian court.

My people. I need to prove to them that I can be the good king they long for, but I can't if I want to live. It is a terrible thing; in order to live now, I have to prove myself to be something other than what I am, yet when Uncle is gone, what then? My reputation will be set, in their eyes. The battle will not be done when I shake off Uncle's chains.



Not really. It's something I inherited by providence, rather than something I have a right to. Every man is equal, be he king, laird, or commoner; we just have different roles.



Me: How can I resist the lovely Juliet's adorable faces?

Well. *blushes* I'm afraid we weren't always well-behaved. My first year at battleschool, there was another Athulian at the top of the students' pecking order, rather than Saen. He wasn't commander until the next year. Well, he was kind of arrogant and rubbed Saen and I the wrong way. One day we got kind of tired of it and filled his sheets with ground up itching ivy. Did we ever get a hiding for that. *grins mischievously* You should have heard him, though. He whined about itching for a week afterwards.

Or if you want a story about when we were good, there was our first practice bout. It was my first time actually facing someone with a sword, and I was still rather bookish. We had wooden swords, and I was able to get a few good swings at him, but then he got this impish smile and a twinkle in his eye. Next thing I knew, his sword came cracking down on my hand. I shouted at the pain and let my sword drop, only to have him drive the tip of his sword into my ribs. Och, I howled fit to set a dog singing. I suppose, if you change the details a bit, that's the way all our matches went. *smiles wryly*



Can I say all of it? *thinks* If I had to pick one thing, I suppose it would be pretending to be a weakling. I'm a warrior, ma'am, not a spineless boy that doesn't know the point of a sword from the hilt. Perhaps I put too much stock in my strength and ability, but I hate pretending I don't have it.