I decided to do some doodles fleshing out Alder and some of the characters important to him throughout his story. He’s my baby, my difficult and mentally ill little son who I inflict much upon. But it’s only because I love him, I promise.
Alder grew up an orphaned street kid named Ostellic in the capital of Seawyth, bouncing around and relying upon the help of other families in the poorer districts of Mesreth to survive. Except one, a young noble girl a couple of years older than him named Aphelia who he made fast friends with. She taught him about the basics of reading, writing, and the affinity for fire magic that he’d been developing. But, one unfortunate lie told out of naivety and a blaze that resulted in Aphelia’s death, Alder was left scarred and with a deep fear of fire. After that he was swept away by a Demi god named Danni (The woman in red) who brought him to a couple struggling to conceive a child that accepted him with open arms, becoming Alder’s new parents. Danni remains important throughout his life, popping up here and there to aid him in his story.
Ronan (Blonde Vesrean) and Mira (Pink haired Olune) are two characters who Alder will meet later on when he’s an adult.
Ronan is one of his closest friends and someone he fights side by side with during the Civil war that forces him from his village as the heirs to the throne threaten to tear the nation apart in a bid to be the one to claim the throne. While Alder is exceptionally talented and formidable with his fire once he’s gotten over his fear of it, he is still missing an eye and Ronan makes up for that by protecting his blind side. They become exceptionally close due to this but jealousy and insecurity on Alder’s part eventually taints that friendship. Only time is able to clear the waters between them.
Mira is a trusted and curious companion that develops a liking for Alder and decides to wander after him like a lazily affectionate cat. At first she had lived as all Olunes do, lounging around and tending to their personal gardens/homes, when Alder stumbled into her home in a frustrated state. He scorched the trunk of her tree, earning a glimpse of the famous Olune vindictiveness. Her anger quickly died when Alder began to vent about all of his stress and admitted one of his deepest, darkest secrets, impulsively driven by emotional weakness and a sense of anonymity. Through this conversation she learned of the concept of reading and found she was rather fascinated by such a thing, beginning to visit and pester Alder for more stories and lessons. She quickly attached herself to him like a lazy but affectionate cat. Mira’s interest in reading only grew until she eventually found herself one of the librarians of the royal library.