Nomad of Nowhere Rewrite Project: The Governors
Okay, this was originally a way bigger post, with the governors' thoughts on each other included, but Tumblr was Not Having It, so I'll probably just have to link y'all to the google doc for that. Sorry, I know it's inconvenient, but Tumblr just isn't allowing it even when I cut it into three parts with two governors for each. Anyways, I hope this finally works. Under a read more because Obviously.
Name: Toro the Terrible Age: 230+ Pronouns: He/Him Height: 8”10 Eye Color(s): Yellow Hair Color(s): None (used to be Brown) Race/Species: Centaur (formerly Human) Romantic/Sexual Identity: Biromantic/sexual Role: Governor of Western Nowhere (The Iron Dunes) Powers/Advantages: Fluent in Common & sign language, superhuman strength, superhuman stamina, absurdly high pain tolerance, skilled with all known melee weapons, very intimidating, governor of the Iron Desert, overlord of the Killosseum, one of El Rey’s chosen (can get his assistance if he asks for it/has been gifted with magical abilities), etc. Weaknesses/Disadvantages: Arrogant to the point of bordering on narcissistic, apathetic, selfish, extremely violent, extremely sadistic, thinks very lowly of “citizens” (those who don’t fight willingly), thinks very lowly of non-magic users, poor at actually using magic, dangerously high metabolism, refuses to call for help even when he’s losing, etc. Personality: Even before he was turned into a minotaur by El Rey’s magical tampering, Toro was known far and wide as the most violent and sadistic warrior to ever travel the lands on Nowhere, and he’s maintained these traits throughout his time as a governor. Although a very vicious being, he respects those who are willing to fight or otherwise prove themselves, though it’s hard to get any verbal praise out of him. Admittedly he’s grown rather lazy over the last few decades, preferring to stay in his region’s capital and oversee the Killosseum, but if he catches word of an exciting enough battle or conflict, he’ll be there in a heartbeat… just don’t expect him to use much discretion during the brawl, i.e. even if you’re an ally, he might throttle/run over you if you get too close. Personal End Goal: Above all else, Toro wants to be viewed by all of Nowhere as the most powerful warrior to have ever lived. He doesn’t care that the world around him is dying or about El Rey’s dissent into madness; so long as Toro remains strong, and is viewed as such, nothing else matters. He also craves a warrior’s death; if he dies in any way that doesn’t involve combat, it will destroy him completely.
Name: Lunafer Nightstar (a play on their moon motif as well as a reference to Lucifer) Age: 200+ Pronouns: They/Them Height: 6”9 Eye Color(s): Unknown Hair Color(s): Unknown Race/Species: Elf Romantic/Sexual Identity: Greyromantic/Bisexual Role: Governor of Eastern Nowhere (The Moonlit Prairie) Powers/Advantages: Fluent in the following; (Common, Traditional Elvish, Dwarfeese, and sign language), can control the sun and moon cycle, supernaturally perfect aim with pretty much any gun, governor of the Moonlit Prairie, sheriff & judge of Eclipse Junction, one of El Rey’s chosen (can get his assistance if they ask for it/has been gifted with magical abilities), etc. Weaknesses/Disadvantages: Mute, very low empathy for outsiders, extremely self-conscious of their body, temporarily blinded under the daylight, has soft spots for Gaia & Melinda that can be exploited, refuses to kill someone that doesn’t “deserve it” in their eyes, unhealthily obsessed with justice, etc. Personality: Though they can no longer speak due to a childhood injury, Lunafer is an astonishingly “well-spoken” individual, often being a sort of peacemaker between all the governors; it’s not as surprising once you remember that they’re more or less the sheriff of their territory. They revel in the fear their anonymity causes in the people of nowhere, content to never let another living soul see their face/body, as well as use their intimidation to keep the people in check. Despite their ruthless nature when doling out justice throughout Moonlit Prairie, they are a surprisingly fair judge when they actually talk to someone, and are willing to hear anyone out if they disagree with one of their decisions… they’ll still shoot them if they don’t like the criticism, though. Personal End Goal: They seek to make Nowhere a crime-free country by any means necessary, to the point that they secretly harbor a lot of ill will towards El Rey and the other governors, save for Melinda, who they believe will make for a suitable deputy when the time comes. If given the chance, they will try to usurp El Rey and reinstate a proper judicial system across Nowhere. However, they also wish to find a way to keep all of Nowhere shrouded in nighttime at all hours of the day, though they’re unwilling to do it if it means harming the common folk, hence why they’re so eager to mentor Melinda, having her keep the peace during the daytime while they continue doling out justice through the night.
(Quick note about this next governor; I gave it she/it pronouns that I swap a lot throughout this, so I'm sorry if it's hard to follow. I'm not really experienced with writing characters that use more than one set of pronouns, so please let me know if this is an appropriate way to do so!)
Name: Gaia of the Diamond Clan (earth related names because they appear to be a miner of some kind) Age: 200+ Pronouns: She/It Height: 4”8 Eye Color(s): Blue Hair Color(s): None (used to be Red) Race/Species: Robot (formerly Dwarf) Romantic/Sexual Identity: Homoromantic/sexual Role: Governor of Northern Nowhere (The Cavernous Alps) Powers/Advantages: Fluent in the following; (Common, Dwarfeese, Traditional Elvish, & Y’Dalan), does not need to eat or drink anything to survive, extremely durable, cannot feel pain, unlimited stamina, robotic claws and body make for great weapons as well as tools, can create earthquakes with enough effort, can control the dirt/rocks around her (similar to Earthbending in Avatar), governor of the Cavernous Alps, Overseer of Treasure Quarry, one of El Rey’s chosen (can get his assistance if it asks for it/has been gifted with magical abilities), etc. Weaknesses/Disadvantages: Her reliance on coal to survive limits its ability to leave her region for extended periods of time, struggles to take anything seriously/laughs at almost everything, often gets others hurt through its “pranks” and jokes, in denial of how impoverished and exhausted the denizens of her territory have become, has almost no impulse control, has no qualms against destroying its own citizens/people if it means helping herself, has a soft spot for Lunafer that can be exploited, etc. Personality: After El Rey turned her into a robot and sent it to look after northern Nowhere, Gaia’s major obstacles have been boredom and trying to gather enough coal to keep its body running. She’s not very empathetic or mature, but it honestly prefers getting others to laugh at her jokes rather than be scared or hurt by them. It struggles greatly with controlling herself, especially when its mining operations are involved, leading her to be rather short-sighted with her plans. If you get on its good side, you might not have the most focused of friends, but she will be supportive and offer encouragement as needed. It secretly longs to be liked more by her fellow governors, especially Lunafer, who it sees as her best friend (the feeling is actually mutual, Lunafer genuinely likes it, they just struggle to express their feelings) Personal End Goal: It’s hard to get a read on what Gaia actually wants to have happen through its role as a governor/overseer, but she’s expressed interest in expanding its mining operations to other parts of Nowhere in her tireless search for more fuel. While it’s not overly close with El Rey, she will still obey his orders when they’re given… so long as those orders don’t intrude on its mining or fun.
Name: President Newton (Calcifer) (a name related with science and a name related to a Fae-like creature (Howl’s Moving Castle)) Age: 300+ Pronouns: He/Him Height: 6”4 Eye Color(s): Pink Hair Color(s): Red Race/Species: Half-Fae Half-Human Romantic/Sexual Identity: Panromantic/sexual Role: Governor of Southern Nowhere (The Restless Swamp) (Formerly) Powers/Advantages: Fluent in the following; (Common, Faespeak, & Y’Dalan), expert in all things alchemy, can create a dense fog at will that has hallucinogenic effects, supernaturally talented at most card/gambling games, can fly when in his True Form, skilled inventor, governor of the Restless Swamp, president of the Lady Luck Casino and the city that surrounds it, one of El Rey’s chosen (can get his assistance if he asks for it/has been gifted with magical abilities), etc. Weaknesses/Disadvantages: Very physically weak/can’t fight in hand-to-hand combat at all, starts to panic under enough pressure, severely addicted to gambling, can be killed by anyone who knows his True Name, extremely sadistic, extremely arrogant, easy to bribe, refuses to work with his fellow governors unless El Rey forces him to, etc. Personality: Boisterous and always chasing the high of his next winning streak, Newton is the very definition of conniving, taking great pleasure in one-upping anyone who dares to make a bet with him or otherwise challenge his power. Due to being even older than El Rey by a few decades, he struggles to respect the king and the other governors, seeing them more as foolish children rather than his coworkers. However, once he’s backed into a corner or being scolded by El Rey/another governor, Newton reveals himself to be quite the coward, willing to do anything and everything to survive, often leading him to miscalculate and get himself into even more trouble. Personal End Goal: From the very beginning, he has been the most doubtful of El Rey’s right to rule over Nowhere, or more importantly, rule over him. He would love the opportunity to kill or at least torture the king, but since El Rey knows his True Name and isn’t afraid to invoke it if he steps far enough out of line, there isn’t a lot he can do to him. He’ll settle for tormenting the people of Nowhere instead, both with financial ruin and psychological torture.
Name: Melinda Driller of Nowhere Age: 15-17 Pronouns: She/Her Height: 5”2 Eye Color(s): Green Hair Color(s): Red Race/Species: Human (with a bit of Fae heritage) Romantic/Sexual Identity: Homoromantic/Asexual Role: Governor of Southern Nowhere (The Restless Swamp) Powers/Advantages: Fluent in the following; (Common, Y’Dalan, and sign language), high potential for magic, very good at thinking on her feet, skilled survivalist, high charisma, above average intelligence, quick learner, governor of the Restless Swamp, Major of Brimstone City, one of El Rey’s chosen (can get his assistance if she asks for it; his favorite so he helps her a lot more than he would the other governors/has been gifted with magical abilities), etc. Weaknesses/Disadvantages: Very sheltered childhood, mother & older sister are very overprotective of her, somewhat naive, arrogant, desperate to prove herself, untrustworthy of anyone with authority over her (El Rey and most of the other governors being the exception), under qualified for her position, struggles to be authoritative with the citizens of her territory, obsessed with making the world more fair, etc. Personality: While not too much has changed personality-wise about her since she became El Rey’s apprentice, Melinda is in the process of being groomed to become the all-powerful, governing magic user El Rey wants her to be someday, but it’s a difficult feat for her mentor, as at her core, Melinda believes in freedom and justice for all, especially the innocent citizens of Nowhere. However, she’s easily swayed to be more vengeful if she believes the subject of her rage is evil or would do her family harm. Personal End Goal: Her main focus at the moment is finishing her training under El Rey so she can finally go find her mom and sister, but before then she wants to make Nowhere as a whole much safer and less chaotic, a truly Herculean task, but if anyone has the determination needed for the job, it’s her. While she knows deep down that El Rey has fallen to the “dark side” so to speak, she’s struggling to see him as a full-on villain, viewing him more as a well-meaning stepdad that’s only doing these awful things to take care of her and by extension all of Nowhere.
And that's it! Here's a link to the google doc for the governors' thoughts on each other and major characters, sorry I couldn't get them on Tumblr: Link
Additionally, here's a link to the explanation of how President Newton died: Link