A New War [Milestone #1]

Additional relationships and the growth of existing ones. | Characters should have a handful of allies and/or antagonists.

I've combined the two because they are both heavily similar and intertwine with one another.

So, to begin, Erek has made multiple relationships of varying levels of bonds, instead of writing this out in a clustered paragraph form, I'm going to go for a more simple listing style in order to make this as painless as possible, hopefully.

Friends
Freyleif Jökulsdóttir (Close Friend, Respected) — Freyleif has become one of Erek's closest friends in his current "new life". She was the first person to teach him in real detail in all aspects of being a Quincy-- and even more importantly she has become an intricate part of his reason to keep moving forward. This is proven due to his desire to help counsel, teach, and help the teen through the responsibilities-- taking the steps to do as much as he can for the girl that he see's much of his young self in: too young for too much responsibility. In a similar way, she has earned his trust and respect due to the fact that she willingly takes his blunt words, direct honesty-- and sometimes outright insulting way of talking to others in stride (for the most part), and even when it does anger her, she doesn't allow it to control her and lash out at him due to it.

In many ways, their relationship has become an odd blend of "Big Brother/Little Sister" and "Teacher/Student" going both ways-- Erek in normal ways, encouraging her to mature and grow as a person. Similarly, he's helped her in creating her own techniques and abilities-- building on fundamentals that she didn't have and acting as an anchor of knowledge, and collected calm for her to lean on as she needs. To the point that she even opened up to him about things she had never told anyone before out of fear, and similarly, Erek openly talked about his own past without hesitation due a trust in her, as well as a desire to increase the trust between them as much as possible, and encourage her to look at herself, and her past, to move on.

Building on this to an even greater degree is the climax of this arc-- in which he not only pushes himself to new levels, but does so in order to outright stop Frey when she goes on a rampage within the castle, acting as a wall to protect those weaker around her, as well as save her from killing those that she cared for in her despair-- or made a stupid mistake. In "Honing the Dull Blade" this is further built on when they begin to train and push past the suffering that she had gone through. Helping her better herself, and deal with her pain while trying her best to better her race as a whole.

Alexandra Ryurik (Friend, Curious) — The first Quincy he interacted with after his return, Alex has become someone that Erek has begun to see as a friend-- and trusts her, for the most part. As their relationship has mostly only entered a basic level of "Teacher/Student" but without direct teaching and more simple interaction, exchanging knowledge, and generally being willing to help one another out. Erek has a deep fondness for her never-ending curiosity and is interested in learning more about the girl-- especially considering her apparent friendliness to Amelia, his (possible) future Commander. This has built a solid foundation for future interactions in order to expand this, and create bonds that are deeper than surface feelings and basic trust.

Acquaintances
Chieko Heinrike (Trusted, Curious) — A young Quincy he saved from a Hollow attack that wasn't going in her favor-- Erek has taken her under his wing, in a way. Encouraging her to join the Order, and volunteering himself to bring her to Berlin in order to help establish her as a member. Similarly, they've made plans for training, and sparring together-- in general, we see once more that Erek has taken on a "Teacher" or "Big Brother" role through his desire to help others. They haven't had much in the way of deep interaction, but she has earned a degree of trust due to her upbeat personality, and willingness to talk about herself so that he can understand her to a deeper degree. Of course, battling alongside someone briefly helps tremendously in that area as well in Erek's book.

Dresden Ravenskraft (Trusted, Respected) — Though their interaction was brief, Dresden managed to earn Erek's trust-- he see's his idealism as foolish, but his goals are earnest. Their similar background has also assisted in earning a degree of trust between them, as was the man's willingness to help him through some much-needed spiritual combat experience. However, they have not dipped much into either one of their pasts, problems, ideals, or goals-- as such calling them "Friends" is a bit of a stretch. Still, there is quite a bit of possibility for that growth with future interactions.

Calendrea Hughes (Neutral, Respected) — The interaction with Calendrea was minimal and mostly focused on simply being respectful and trying not to abuse his friendship with Freyleif-- however, despite that she did manage to earn his respect due to her demeanor and emotional control. She certainly left a good impression, even if the interaction itself was brief-- there would need to be quite a bit more given between them for any friendship or real trust to blossom, however.

Rick Rogers (Neutral, Appreciative) — When it comes to Rick, Erek is of mixed feelings-- the man's intellect and creativity have impressed him-- as did his skill in the utilization of reishi control. Similarly, Erek was able to respect the Spartan, or "Trial by Fire" training methods that the man had offered him-- however, despite this, Erek is unable to actually respect the man himself. This is due to his apparent lack of drive to actually make a difference in Erek's eyes-- wasted potential due to a lack of confidence in his work, or a refusal to interact with key members of the Order. Not knowing enough about the man to gauge whether this is due to ineptitude, cowardice, or an understandable issue-- Erek has placed in a neutral zone until he managed to learn more. Despite that, he does trust the man to a slight degree and is appreciative of his help in pushing him past the mental barrier that halted him from proper reishi control.

Enemies
Shinku Kodoku (Neutral, Respected) — Shinku is an oddity when it comes to Erek's relationships-- due to the simple fact that in his mind, the Hollow-breed, no matter what-- are the enemy. Therefore they must be exterminated for the betterment of humanity, and yet, due to the circumstances of their interaction, Erek can't find it in himself to hate the Hollow. Instead, he respects her-- as the first Hollow he has encountered that has pushed him to such a tremendous degree since he had gained his powers and managed to grow as skilled as he has become. She also caused him to find a side of his personality that, for the most part, he had been completely unaware of. The first Hollow to not only have intellect-- but heightened intellect, skill in tactics, and truly cause him to feel the fear of death approaching-- she is a well-respected enemy soldier and possible rival in Erek's eyes.

Crystallizing your character emotionally and mentally in the face of their first major hurdle; this may include the pursuit of Second Power.

When it comes to crystallizing Erek's personality, his emotions, and how he interacts with the world as a character I think I've shown more than enough to express him. This is in part simply due to the fact that his character is such a simple one-- instead of trying to expand that character to heavily, I've instead dedicated myself to emphasizing the traits he does have over, and over. The steadfast soldier, driven by a responsibility to help those weaker than him and do as much good as he can. Haunted, gruff, and not always the most intellectual-- but wise beyond his years, with a knack for looking at things at different angles-- as proven with his many interactions when it comes to Freyleif, and Alex.

That said, despite his simple character there is his first "major hurdle", and in this case I've decided not to go the route of using the Second Power-- as I want his powers, and bloodline to be key driving points to his second major story arc (details below in "Approaching the Future). Instead, I went with my first attempt at a Legendary Challenge (also seen below), in order to force him to realize an aspect of his personality that is key to the usage of his powers, since at the point of the battle-- his actual first power hadn't even awakened yet. Despite his desire to do good, to help others as much as possible, I wanted to have him face the first real development of his life as a character: realizing that he isn't nearly the "Noble White Knight" that, whether he admits it or not, he see's himself as.

The clash with Shinku was designed for one thing: To push Erek to his limits, and well beyond them. Not through an opponent with overwhelming power, but with the goal to create a true "battlefield" in order to make him see aspects of his past-- mangled corpses decorating the ground and all. The key event here is that by pushing him past his limits, he was forced to fall into the baseline instinct that has always been with him, but never strong enough to rear its head and make him realize it. This is not, as he fears, some psychotic desire to maim and kill.

Instead-- it's his warrior spirit. A desire to fight strong opponents, to face challenges and pour everything he has into them. It's not that he enjoys causing the pain because its hurting someone-- it's that he enjoys it because it proves that he's winning. Erek is always calm, collected, the wise old soldier willing to help everyone-- never selfish, always willing to do what was best for the team, not himself. He shows this constantly through his other threads, trying to help others in any way he can-- even at risk to his own well being. Yet, this side of him shows that he is not just that one-dimensional character.

He has desires, he has a competitive streak, a desire to challenge himself, to be pushed to his limits and dominate his opponents. It's not that he doesn't care about others-- it's simply that due to his own mental suppression over the years, thinking of himself has become null and void. This fight broke that door down that he had kept all those suppressed urges inside, but it's more than that. This is a key point of this thread, and of his character, the true "crystallization" of his base personality-- in that even after this "new side" of him rears its head, Erek is not broken down and defeated by it, but instead, he instantly calms down.

Even while in that "feral state" he retains some measure of his normal self, even if he's become a bit wilder. In short, even in the face of a moment that would cause many people to question their own sanity, break down, or even embrace that "new side" of themselves far too much to an unhealthy degree-- Erek, as usual, keeps a level head and considers what it means. He doesn't panic, nor does he reject it, he quietly puts it to the side, and watches it-- thinks about it-- and what it could mean for him as a person, just as he always does with unknown situations. The calm, collected soldier-- even at his weakest and most unstable.

The final climax in "Hell and Back" comes when Erek is forced to return to Berlin to talk to Frey, only to find her rampaging. This is the final point where Erek's personality is truly put to the test-- facing an opponent far too strong for him to truly deal with, even in her delusional state, for any extended period. The idea of managing to properly push her back is overwhelmingly unlikely-- yet, despite this, he not only breaks past his barriers and pushes his control of his blut to new levels to make up for the loss-- but also holds firm to his belief. Even though he knows his words could get him killed, his decision to intervene could end with losing the first real friend he's managed to bond with in years-- he still holds fast to his beliefs and characters in the face of it all, and that determination is what allows him to not only survive-- but help Freyleif overcome her wrath.

The falling action "Honing the Dull Blade" moves this forward, showing that despite their clash, they've only grown closer due to it-- despite Freyleif hardening and maturing, she still has it in her to agree to train with Erek, and better herself under his guidance. Erek passing through a trial by fire, that could have ended in his demise and coming out beyond it without hesitation.

The major conflict and theme of the characters early life is likely present, if only subconsciously.

Now, of course-- part of the major conflict is seen above in the crystallization of his character. However, another issue that is far more pressing for his character has also begun it's foreshadowing-- and that is his past that he claims doesn't matter to him. This being the source of his Quincy blood-- and it begins to hint at issues that Erek himself isn't even quite aware of in the shape of his parentage. It's been many years, and yet due to the unsettled factors of Erek's parentage, there are clear hints in his interactions with Freyleif and Alex especially, that even though he says he "Doesn't care about it" or that he'd "moved on"-- there's clearly more at play in the way he constantly brushes off such things to move the conversation forward as much as possible.

This is because, in truth, Erek hasn't moved past anything-- because he's never even faced these issues. He refuses that they even exist, due to an inert fear that the reason he was abandoned was that he simply "wasn't good enough" or "wasn't worth loving"-- and that is one of the core reasons that Erek tries so hard for everyone else. Secretly, even if he doesn't act like it, he wants to have someone genuinely care about him. He wants to love-- and this is further emphasized in his last thread with Frey where the conversation turns toward that idea: loving someone else.

For the first time he admits that it's not that he doesn't "believe in love" as he initially claims, but that he doesn't believe in it "the way most people do", and this is because of this deep rooted problem. This idea that he was never loved, that he wasn't worth his own parents time. This is still nothing compared to what he needs to consciously decide, but in the back of his mind Erek has begun to think about love-- and from that, we lead into his uncertainty on why, exactly, he cares about digging into his bloodline and its history. It isn't to learn more about his abilities, nor is it to create allies or help the Order grow as he mentally and verbally claims.

It's because he wants to find his parents-- it's that simple. He wants to know why, why he was abandoned, why they left him. He wants to know their names, wants to know who they were, what they were like, the small child inside him that never managed to accept or get over his own personal demons. This also connects to his repressed emotions-- much as the above explanation showed, Erek's mind has a locked away section, and inside that section isn't just his selfish desires to face a challenge. Inside also are his repressed emotions-- frustrations, anger, everything that he refuses to allow himself to feel because of the fear of what allowing them to rear their head could do to him.

The briefest of hints are littered all throughout the storyline-- but repeatedly, they all come back to the one strong foreshadowing: Erek isn't quite as "Calm, Collected, Forgiving, and Mature" as he pretends to be.

The next Major Arc for Erek is connected to the negative aspects of his personality that he has begun to show. Similarly, they are connected to the subconscious issues that have begun to rear his head-- traveling to England in search of his bloodline, parentage, and coming to grips with his ancestors are all going to be major aspects. Through this, the mastery of his power, and the awakening of his second power through accepting at least in part, who he really-- all sides of his personality and his past. Similarly, I intend to greatly expand on his interactions with others, including two possible enemies-- one much stronger than him-- as well as continued conflicts with Shinku, and growth with Freyleif as well as two possible key players in his future developments as allies and students.