My next character I would like to outline has one name:
“Brink”
Well, actually that’s only a nickname. But I won’t spoil his real name for you. If I ever get my story published to some affect, you’ll find out.
You should know, he’s not an elf.
His race I’ve named Omati (oh-MAW-tee). Brink is actually only half, so he doesn’t exhibit all of the physical characteristics of his people, but one major thing he does have are his ears.
The ears are sort of their trademark–long and pointy (similar to elf ears, yes) but they are flexible and move much like cat ears. Brink, as well as his people, mostly express themselves with their ears:
Brink jerked back in fear and stood next to Harlow, his long pointed ears twitching in panic like that of a frightened cat.
Brink’s ears sagged and he swallowed the returning lump in his throat.
Characterized second by their poor eyesight in low-light situations:
Now completely blind from the darkness, he slowly felt, and listened, his way back towards his traveling companions, hoping the dreadful noises he heard were in their favor.
I must admit, he’s probably my second favorite character–Rando being my first–and not just because of his sweet and meek personality. As cliche as it seems, he has near perfect aim with just about any weapon.
Not that he hits his mark exactly on the dot 100% of the time–but he always hits what he’s aiming at.
He–and two of the other characters–work as “Hunters”. Which, as the name suggests, they hunt.
But they don’t hunt your typical animals. They hunt monsters, for a bounty.
Brink begins as the team’s sniper. Always attacking long-range, usually with a gun. Later in the story, he acquires a bow and arrow–essentially becoming Hawkeye. Not without practicing of course, his talent is not completely unrealistic.
To their amazement, Brink swiftly drew an arrow, one right after the other, and all three arrows met their intended targets before hitting the ground. Without warning him, Theodas tossed the rest of the fruit into the air in random directions. Brink, taken by surprise, watched the objects fly through the air with a careful eye. After only a few seconds, he drew three arrows at once and splattered most of the fruit. But not before shooting down the few closest with incredible speed.
His friends stood shocked at his superior skill. “Brink! You’re incredible! Why have you been using a gun this whole time?” Harlow exclaimed in amazement.
The Omati grinned, “I ran out of ammo less.”
“Where did you learn?” Rando asked.
Brink shrugged, “I practiced a lot at the Hunter’s Guild.”
Seems odd for a character with poor vision, right? Of course his superior hearing comes into play, but he’s a character made up of contradictions like that. His genetics are created from two very different and opposing worlds–humans and the omati. I won’t go into their history here, but it’s something that Brink struggles with and has to come to terms with eventually. He has to reconcile his identity and learn to live between them equally.
Yet, despite his inner turmoil he remains kind and gentle, not wanting to inflict his pain on others. In his portrait, I wanted to incorporate that–giving him a subtle smile and distant eyes.
In fact, he even looks a little happy wouldn’t you say?
Let me know what you think in the comments or shoot me an email! And, of course, don’t forget to check back later for a new character story!