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@claire-h, yes I would love to draw both the twins and your 20s mystery girl! I love the ancient setting too – it’s not commonly done. And I like that your main character’s flaw isn’t the usual recklessness and strong will – but rather being afraid and being all-too-willing to compromise.

You know, I somehow knew that the Countess and the sorceress would get picked first… 🙂

@deeprun, I’d love for you to give it a shot! I’ve always wanted to see my characters in color… 😀

 

I’ll give the full list below:

Countess Kyreleis von Eisenfaust –
A tower of a woman at 6’4” with a dominating presence – like a coiled serpent. Definitely on the older side, in her 30s – perhaps into her 40s. She’s no amazon, but she’s definitely athletic and enduring.

Face:
Ice blue, almost colorless eyes, deeply set, narrow and sharply angled (like a snake); a tall, prominent nose – perhaps even hooked (aquiline). High cheekbones and gaunt cheeks. Her gaze is intense and penetrating – not something soon forgotten.
Long, pale blond hair restrained in a long braid (or two) twisted into a large bun – medieval hairstyle, ~ 14th / early 15th century.

Personality:
A clever, affable tyrant and gifted manipulator who wields both love and fear to control her subjects, her soldiers, and those around her – even those she might call friend. Eloquent, elegant, and in control – even over her rage. She is quick to use violence and threats as the situation deems necessary.

In armor:
Full suit of gothic plate, pointed sabatons, black armor in silver trim; her tabard carries her coat of arms, a snake coiled around a flaming sword.

Civilian Clothes:
My imagination is fighting me over how her civilian clothes should look. She’s severe, in behavior as well as dress, but she’s still a lady of high station and needs to look the part. Fancy trim patterns (fur maybe?), Jewelry and earrings perhaps (earrings were a distinctly “abnormal” jewelry in West-Central Europe). She’s cunning and clever, and quite willing to present a more feminine face when engaging in politics with her noble peers and superiors.

————
Erhard – (The Squire)
The golden haired Germanic hero type – a brave young squire burdened with both a slavish hero complex and crippling guilt over past failures. Serves Kyreleis personally, first as squire and then as knight.

Face:
Even as an adult, softer features than you’d expect from a classical hero. Retains a babyish, youthful aspect even as an adult. Blue eyes.

Personality:
As a young man, his big fat mouth gets him into a lot of trouble. Rash, reckless, and a man of his word. Makes a lot of promises he regrets keeping. Also a bit of a snarker. Little of this changes as he grows up into a squire and then a knight, except that his vocabulary improves and he speaks like his rank.

 

Build:
As an adult (early 20s): 5’9”, well muscled, and armored every bit as well as his master / mistress (she makes a sticky point about referring to her as master rather than mistress).
(Civilian clothes are relatively simple: tunic, doublet, hose (pants), leather shoes, and a heavy belt across his waist to suspend his sword, with a dog’s head for the pommel.

As a teenager / squire days (14+): skinny, scrawny, and more poorly dressed – no holes in his clothes, but plenty of patchwork.

———

Sergeant Fritz Haber – (The bodyguard)
A well salted man with some bad childhood habits of pilfering, pickpocketing, burglary, and unlooked for criminal violence. Scarred from prior run-ins with the law, he turned from petty thievery to banditry to finally serving in Kyreleis’ army, where he met a young laundry maid who stole his heart; one thing led to another, and now he’s indebted for life to Erhard as his bodyguard and Kyreleis’ personal attack dog.

Appearance: (30s)
5’11”, lanky, scraggy bearded but finely mustached (takes great pride in the latter). Prominent brow, deep, dark eyes. Diagonal scar from above his right eye to below his left cheek. Missing his left ear, and a pinky off his right hand.

Personality:
A sardonic, sarcastic man who is resigned to being an expendable pawn, despite Erhard’s (perhaps naive) assurances to the contrary. Rarely seen without his sarcastic grimace. Eternally devoted to his lover, Angelin.

————
Myrrha – (The Sorceress)
A troubled sorceress / witch / she-devil / poor unfortunate soul. Born with iron ram’shorns, golden eyes (pure black at times), 1-inch claws (hands and feet), copper hair (metallic) and a thick, five foot long wormlike tail which ends in a webbed three fingered hand with a mind of its own and more strength than the rest of her put together.

All of her patently demonic appendages aside, she is still human. Human, with the power to hear thoughts, control minds and bend elemental forces to her will.

Slim, petite build, but much broader hips and stronger legs than her upper limbs. Pale due to spending a lot of time inside (to get away from everyone else’s thoughts).

 

Face:
Mousy. Thin but pointed nose; large, angled exotic eyes; large forehead, small mouth. No ears; they’re covered by her forward pointing ram’s horns.

Personality:
Extremes. All the extremes.
Her entire life has consisted of involuntarily listening to everyone else’s thoughts and feeling their emotions as her own. She tends to be either cranky, neurotic, or absolutely euphoric as a result (or in full call-an-exorcist mode).
May or may not have the biggest crush ever on Erhard, who reciprocates with difficulty (it’s complicated).
Tolerates Fritz well enough.
Super catty with other women though, especially Angelin, to whom she refers as “Blondie,” “Wishwash” and “Soapy.”

Is also the only character who isn’t really afraid to stand up to Kyreleis.

————
Angelin – (The Maid)
Fritz’s beloved maid, blond, round, cheeky and world-wise, practical, pragmatic – at times manipulative, greedy and selfish, but she learns better, and grows humble and content with a lesser station (from which she then unexpectedly rises). In a world of knights and warriors and heroes, she’s the one who cooks their food, does their laundry, and sews them back up after they get stuck full of holes.

Cuts a “healthy” figure. Not fat; she works too much for that – but she’s no skinny waif either (she does love her pies…)
Just 4 years older than Erhard, so still *significantly* younger than Fritz.

Face:
Broad. Round nose, large(ish) mouth and lips, round, winking eyes. Kerchief tied over her hair for work; hair is tied up in a simple braid for much the same reason.

Personality:
“Whistle while you work,” with a little dash of “bless her heart.” Myrrha unnerves her to no end.

————
Rachel – (The Daughter)
The daughter of Kyreleis’ most powerful (and mistrusted) vassal, Baron Victor von Elkenbrand.
A dark haired girl with a trim athletic build from her most passionate pastime – hunting. What is necessity for the poacher is leisure for the wealthy, and for all of Elkenbrand’s other moral foibles, he is a doting father.
However, she is far from a tomboy who eschews politics for an imagined simple life. She is quite aware of her political value and the expectations laid on her to marry high and marry well. Hunting is her distraction FROM all the courtly intrigue and danger – though truth be told, perhaps she wouldn’t mind a simple life so much…

Appearance: (20s – Erhard’s age)
Brunette / auburn. Horselike – longer face, long straight nose. Thin, wide mouth and lips. Prominent ears. Tends to wear her hair long, perhaps tied back with a braid. Totally-not-inspired-by-Tolkien’s-elves.

Personality:
Quiet and calm. Where others are rash, emotional, cheeky or otherwise undisciplined, she is always in control of her appearance. She’s not calculating per se, but she has a brilliant poker face and a mysterious smile worthy of the Mona Lisa.