Yesterday, I talked about how my epic fantasy multi-series arc, The Amüli Chronicles, came to be, and in that post, I discussed two of the main characters in the Soulbound arc. While I'd like to discuss the Soulbound arc as a whole, now just isn't the time. With only one book out and Parts One and Two of the second book slated for release this year, I'd rather wait and let the series mature a little before I write a post about it.
So, today, I want to discuss Clae Vojtech, the protagonist of The Soulbound Curse--or at least, one of them.
Clae's origins, as you probably read yesterday, are formally from when a friend of mine asked me to draw and create my dream boyfriend. While this worked well to give Clae a foot in reality, I suspect he existed in some part before he was ever drawn, an amalgamation of various characters from books, movies, television, and my own personal thoughts and feelings.
The Clae who exists today, however, is notably different from the boy I created when I was fourteen. In what ways has he changed? Well, firstly, his physical appearance has evolved quite a bit over time. Take a look (oldest two at right).
Even this doesn't represent the newest version of him, though, just a few of the changes made between his origin and the illustration I did on the left in 2007. The below is a better example of his current physical appearance.
That's better! The massive scars, the more accurate physical age, and the action he has here all portray him pretty accurately from The Soulbound Curse. Clae isn't a smart lad, and he admits that a few times throughout the novel. He also realizes he has a temper and jumps to conclusions quickly, which is one of his major character flaws. After meeting Eti, Clae attempts to reel in some of his personal flaws. Even then, he doesn't always succeed.
This is in part due to his age and what he's been through. In The Soulbound Curse, Clae is fifteen. Fifteen. That's an awfully young age to have to deal with many of the issues Clae faces--the most major of which is Soullessness (similar to death, but more akin to being comatose). He's extremely aware that if he cannot go to Earth to find and meet his Soulbound human (the human who carries his soul), he runs the risk of becoming Soulless.
All amüli fear Soullessness. Most humans fear death, but the Soulless end to an amüli's life isn't as final as death. When you're Soulless, you still experience things; you can see, hear, think, and smell, but cannot speak, cannot move, cannot interact with life, and your body decays slowly. Eventually, over a prolonged exposure to being Soulless, your mind begins to fade and you go mad.
Clae sees this with his mother, Jartia. When his father was killed, Clae's mother's soul died, and so she became Soulless. While Clae often visits her, the vision of what came to pass and how he could end up terrifies him. Because he's so young, he makes the decision to save himself from that hell rather quickly--and rashly--without trying to find out why the Amüli Republic's oligarchy decided not to let him go to Earth.
This quick reaction to his situation is often Clae's response to many problems. He doesn't like to think things through, and often it seems like he doesn't care about the consequences of his actions. That's not entirely true; in fact, he cares very much. Being impulsive is his way of trying to solve problems quickly and his attempt at making people like him, which rarely pans out in his favor. Having grown up as a ward of the Republic, though, Clae never had the best social etiquette. Certainly he was taught how to act as a representative of House Aneys--arguably the most powerful amüli House in the country--and he tries to maintain that image to the best of his abilities, but he is still young and still learning how to act when not in a formal setting.
So many of Clae's flaws lie in his age. As the Soulbound arc progresses, readers will have a chance to see what happens to him as he ages, and to learn how he deals with problems in the future. I think that it's important for readers to remember his age, though, as they go through the series alongside Clae. Remember being fifteen and how well you could make choices? ;) It's quite a bit different from being an adult, that's for sure!
Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll enjoy The Soulless King once it's out!
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