Aracelle and Nic: Changing A Character in a Story

Some more editing notes….

When I started NaNoWriMo, I started with minimal notes and character history. I was going to freestyle it; build up the characters as I went. One character I am particularly hooked on was Aracelle, the Seraph. I like her, she’s a romantic but powerful character without being too sappy – I hope. However, when I started writing more about Aracelle and her relationship with Nic, I started placing them in a different setting – a modern setting – as a fledging couple.

Then arrived the magical class idea. Aracelle is a demonologist in the rough draft that is on here, now she is human and a Watcher class Mage. In an idea lifted from many fantasies, Mages have longer lives than us bog standard humans – Aracelle is capable of living about 600-700 years, and her 100 years she will be now is relatively young, but due to the backstory she will have grown up rather quick after her life was pulled out from under her.

This made me ask the question, would that automatically make her cynical. It’s a bit of a cliché that those who have had to grow up pretty quick are cynical however, she is not. Listening to her thoughts, Aracelle just gets on with what is thrown at her – yeah she can be wary but she has Nic to pull the cynical moves.

And what a cynical sod our hero is! But who can blame him – he’s been turned into a vampire by his archenemy. I think I’d be pissed too.

Backstory wise, Nic is our Prince Charming who has turned devil. He utterly adores Aracelle and this continues on after being made a vampire although he tends to keep away from her. He doesn’t trust himself around her but he does maintain his friendship with their mutual friend, Stephen. So when the story means these two have to spend time together there is a genuine concern that he will kill her such is his desire for her. As a vampire, he is bound by all the usual rules – sunlight, stakes, holy water – well blessed water. However, something is changing because he’s just walked into Aracelle’s home without any invitation what so ever.