KINGS BACKGROUND.
GEOFF: The “First King”. He didn’t grow up into a wealthy or noble family but a middle-class one, and as a kid he met Jack and then eventually Ryan a few years later. The three called themselves the “Gents” as a reference towards the future, where they planned on being wealthy. But Geoff eventually split from them after he joined the military, and eventually managed to rise into power as King. He invited Ryan and Jack to live within his castle, and things were good for a while before he and Ryan had a particularly explosive argument one day, and Ryan left. Geoff was angry about it afterwards, Jack taking the brunt of it and deciding it best to give Geoff his space. Geoff is the Guide, but Geoff isn’t aware of the power or the role that he’s been given. The Gods wanted to use him as a pawn to cause events in the world that they wanted to see, but didn’t expect for Geoff to be completely independent of any influence and going about things his own way. They managed to manipulate events in Geoff’s life that in turn affected others, causing in the situation today: the world at the verge of a major war. Geoff is very protective of Gavin but he knows that something’s not quite right with the other man, and Geoff is wary of Michael but wants to explain and apologize to him about the past. It’s up to Geoff to guide the others into their own roles, at which point he will have no control anymore and it’s up to the others to decide what course of action they want to take. That, or Geoff does not guide them to their designated roles, at which point anything can happen.
MICHAEL: Or better known as “Mogar”. He rose to power quite suddenly in the eyes of the East, or the “civilized world”, but in the Wild Lands where his kingdom lies, it took a good nine years for him to achieve Kingly status. He mostly did it to prove a point to the other Kings, and to ensure his chance for revenge at Geoff, Jack, and Ryan. He’s assumed to be the son of the Gods, although in the future he finds out he isn’t. He was both blessed and cursed by them, and in the future he’ll face a very heavy decision and a conflict that he must solve by himself. It’ll be the turning point and decide what happens to not just himself but the others. Either he “forgives” Geoff and sides with him, finding out the truth of what happened in the forest all those years while keeping the world from going to war, or he sides with Gavin and starts one. The only King Michael is close to and trusts inherently is Ray.
GAVIN: A wanderer that doesn’t remember his childhood, only memories from the age of 8 and on. He has met all the current Kings and Jack but is only really close to Geoff, Michael and eventually Ray. Eventually Gavin rises to power as well, silent but dangerous and claims the land between King Ray’s and King Ryan’s as his own. No one saw it coming, which is how he so easily became King, and his man Kingdom’s focus is on technology, besting the others in it. He’s a bit of an enigma, with no real alliances despite the ties he has to three of the four other Kings, and from the shadows stirs up the pot to causing problems and tensions. He and Michael become quite close especially, and Gavin eventually tries to convince Michael to become his ally and start a war against the other Kings, trying to mask his true intentions by telling Michael it’s his chance to finally get revenge. Gavin is the godling,although he doesn’t know it either. He’s the neutral character, the wild card, the one that can cause the destruction of the world if he manipulates the others into the right places. While Michael is rumored to be a son of the Gods but isn’t really, Gavin is the one no one suspects to have any hidden talents or gifts but actually is a descendant from one of the Gods, the trickster God. It’s why he doesn’t remember his childhood, and he’s not meant to either (although it’s possible).
RAY: Ray is even more of an enigma than Gavin, although he’s been around as King longer. He has good standing with all other Kings which is a feat in itself, either because they respect or they fear him. Unlike the others who claimed empty land as their Kingdom, Ray fought to become King, overthrowing the old one with such ease and at such a young age that he successfully sent his message to the others - he was not to be taken lightly. Also unlike the other Kings, Ray has no single strength that stands out, instead excelling at all parts of skills - fighting, strategy and crafting. The only skill he’s pretty useless in is magic, as he’s never been able to pick it up. It’s his main weakness, one that he’s taken great care to not letting the others find out. Ray is close to Gavin and Michael especially, the only two Kings who actually know him. Ray is a neutral party in the tense atmosphere of the oncoming war, but doesn’t like what Gavin is up to either way. Ray, unlike all the others, is completely human. He has not been gifted or cursed by the Gods, which is what makes even the Gods impressed by his strength and skill, because it’s all completely from himself. It leads to complete free-will and the ability to be either an outsider or a key player in future events. He can completely shift what happens if he made the right moves. [More to come on Ray as I figure his story out better.]
RYAN: Ryan was gifted with the power of sorcery from the Gods, and eventually becomes a Warlock because of it. He’s possibly one of the most powerful magic users, matched only by two others (one of them Lindsay) and eventually casts a spell that he assumed would lead to one of the Gods to helping him, and it did summon someone that offered him great power and knowledge. Ryan accepted the offer, trusting the God’s word, but the God was really just a very powerful, very mischievous higher-ranking demon masked as a God. Ryan did gain greater power in terms of magical ability and more knowledge in what to do and what could come, but the more powerful he becomes and the more knowledge he absorbs, the more mad he becomes. It’s a curse that he’s trying desperately to get rid of by finding a cure, but he’s thus far come up empty-handed. The “knowledge” part isn’t just what he can learn, but what he can see. He has black-out visions sometimes that are very violent and painful and tolling on his health, although Ryan can barely remember what he sees and can’t control what he sees or when he gets the visions. Learning to control his curse is a pivotal part of his story and the overall result of what happens, as Ryan will see important events in the future that reveal who Geoff is, and who Gavin is, and by informing Geoff about what he is, Geoff can try guiding the others away from destruction. But whether or not Ryan will be capable of doing it before the madness takes him over completely is unknown at the time.
JACK: The “second hand” to Geoff, although not inherently present. He in the borders of the Kingdom as a blacksmith and builder. He’s known for his skills in both crafts, and the weapons he makes are comparable to none. Jack used to travel with Ryan and Geoff up until Geoff became King, at which point Jack became his ‘right hand’ along with Ryan, until Ryan left and things began to crumble between all three of them. Jack was the first of the Gents to find Michael, and reported it to Geoff who saw him as well a few years later. Jack is mocked a lot by everyone for having no important skill and no Kingdom of his own, although he was blessed by a few Gods who worked together in creating a gift for him and only him. Jack’s fate doesn’t lay with a crown and a throne, but in something inherently more grand in the scheme of things and far more influential. He’ll also be a pivotal player in the events, although not in causing them but in helping stop them, whichever way things go. He’s a power player and the exact opposite of Gavin. Gavin a descendant from a trickster God, and Jack the creation, a blessing through-and-through, from well-meaning Gods who caught wind of the Trickster Gods plans.