Part II: The Protagonist
In case you haven’t read it yet, Click Here, to read Part I: The Last Deadly Hour Thriller Series.
I’ve heard it is harder to create a single character for a one-person play, than it is to write a ten-person novella. The process for creating the main protagonist felt like I needed to remove my brain from my head and bounce it off a large boulder several times.
So, I’d have to agree.
Coming up with the story idea is easier than doing God’s job. In other words, creating a person out of nothing. Now that I think about it, except for the molecular part, creating story characters is similar. You must give them a soul, breath life into their words, and decide all their characteristics.
I originally planned on only one main protagonist, but as I wrote, I decided he would need help to accomplish what I had in mind, so two others…ahh let’s say three other characters were born. One, a computer intelligence created by O’Kabu himself, named Charles, and two other human characters to help O’Kabu accomplish his goal in the third book. I will talk about them in a future post.
As you know from my previous post my wife is my sounding board. So, when I told her I had decided to make the novel’s main character a pygmy, she looked at me, said nothing, and walked away. Talk about a confidence builder.
I started The Last Deadly Hour series as a one and done novel. When I was finished it was six hundred pages. I decided to break it up into three or four books, deepen O’Kabu’s back story, and introduce two new characters, Paul, and Jennifer. All three of them are the same age.
When I told my wife that the story just wasn’t right the way it was, her hands went to her hips. “I thought you said you finished it.” I explained to her that the story evolved and needed more characters and that would make it longer.
She smiled; she has such a beautiful smile.
“So, that thing you say to the kids about doing their homework, does that apply to you? You know,” she looked at the ceiling, as if what she was about to say was written there, “If you can’t find the time to do it right the first time, where are you going to find the time to do it right a second time?”
I proceeded to be just like my kids and gave her excuses for why it wasn’t right the first time. And then I ended that conversation with the greatest answer possible.
“Besides, I’m an adult and that quote only applies to kids and their homework.”
As she walked out of my office, a smile on her face, she said, “Oh, I didn’t know that.”
* * * * *
In the first novel I take O’Kabu from birth until he’s around eighteen. Jennifer and Paul appear at age fourteen in their own story lines.
O’Kabu is born to a tribal leader and his wife in Africa in a tribe of pygmies, who live in a very remote part of the jungle where other tribes would not think of living.
O’Kabu’s parents knew he would be different than the other tribal members because it was foretold that he would be the one who would save the tribe from a deadly curse put on them by Nimrod a long time ago. But as he grows, he becomes something his parents never in their dreams would have suspected.
When I created O’Kabu, I wanted him to be different. I wanted him to have a different background than most leading characters, and I knew I wanted a character that was different than your normal hero, so I asked myself several questions, such as:
Male or Female? – I decided on a Male.
Nationality? – African
Background? – He’s a young native born into an African pigmy tribe.
What’s special about him? – He’s the first-born child to the tribe’s leader, but he will never be the tribe’s leader. Instead, his destiny is to save the world from a growing evil.
What is his name? – O’Kabu, which is pronounced O Kaa boo.
What does the main character look like? O’Kabu is much taller than the rest of the tribe’s pigmy members and has the body of a gymnast. His skin is light brown, he has tight curly dark hair, brown eyes, and a handsome face.
Other facts: As he grows, he is taught everything he needs to know to survive within and outside of their hidden area of the jungle. Only two other tribal members have gone beyond their jungle canopy. Both came back. One for good. The other to steal something valuable from the tribe.
As I developed O’Kabu’s story, I wanted him to be honest to himself and the story. Here is a little look into who he is becoming from Descended.
* * * * *
Taking him into her arms, Natana stared into his eyes. They were open. His face scrunched and his eyes blinked. He searched his mother’s face. He was different than the other mother’s babies, exactly as foretold by their ancestors.
“What name have you chosen for him?” the pregnant midwife asked.
“O’Kabu.” Natana said, cradling him in her arms. He stared into her eyes.
“Hunter-Avenger. It is a strong name. Your husband will be proud.” The midwife replied.
Natana couldn’t help but stare at him. The way he looked so deeply into her eyes made her believe he was looking at her soul. It made her happy and sad for one day he would leave her and possibly never return. His eyes were wide. He scanned the area around him trying to see everything.
As they approached the village, her people’s singing grew louder, but not in a joyous manner. The polyphonic sounds of their instruments and voices revealed their anger of betrayal. Four large fires were spaced equally in front of the circle of tribal members.
Her husband, Nanaku, stood inside the circle. Natana would wait until he finished with his brother. Then she would present him with O’Kabu. The one he had waited patiently to meet since the day of their joining.
O’Kabu snuggled in her arms. Her eyes were drawn to his. They were fixed on the fires. His arm reached out and his little hand motioned toward the fire, like he wanted to touch it. Natana realized, it wasn’t the fire he wanted to touch. It was his father. O’Kabu squealed and smiled at her.
Here is a look at O’Kabu when he is fourteen summers old.
* * * * *
Tonaba, O’Kabu’s best friend, sat on the floor in the corner watching O’Kabu prepare for his hunt. Rubbing his chin, he thought about their long friendship. O’Kabu’s tall, slender, and muscled body allowed him to do things other hunters could not. Unlike O’Kabu, he did not do many physical things and therefore was soft.
Tonaba stared at O’Kabu. He wore three rings of beads. The plain tan beads around his neck revealed he was A’oku. The red and green beads on his right wrist meant he was in line to be a leader. A plain white band of beads on his right wrist meant he could hunt small game.
O’Kabu did not like those beads. By the end of the day, he planned on replacing them with a strand of red and black beads meaning he was a fearless hunter.
Tonaba stood and walked over to O’Kabu, his head only came up to his chest. There were times when he felt like a child around him. “It seems you are still growing. When will you stop?”
“I do not know. But I get tired of how our people stare at me as if I am different than them or a freak.”
“You are different than them,” Tonaba said. “You are the one who is to return the Scepter and once it has been done, we will no longer have to worry about the curse hanging over us.”
“I mean in here,” O’Kabu said, slapping his chest. “I am A’oku like every other member.”
“You are. But you are more,” Tonaba reached up and put his hand on O’Kabu’s shoulder. “Even if there was no Scepter for you to return, you would still be more than any member. Because you would become the next leader of our tribe, instead of your younger brother.
“We have stayed deep in the forest where the jungle spirit Jengi protects us, and we are hidden where others will not come. This is for two reasons. It is to protect the Scepter foremost and to allow the descended one to grow and learn before he must return the Scepter.
“Your father and other members spent a great amount of days teaching and preparing you to become a man, a hunter, a leader, and to look at those around you in ways other members cannot. You have never felt a moment when you were not learning. It has been your life.
Your intellect is what most members talk about when they discuss your differences from them. Not your height.”
A surprised look appeared on O’Kabu’s face.
Tonaba let go of O’Kabu.
“Yes, we see your intelligence in the things you do. Others cannot grasp how your father taught you to understand both sides of an argument. To sense when something is right and when something is wrong.
“They have watched you practice battle with the sentries, five at a time and are amazed at your age how you beat them in seconds, and they do not go easy on you. Battle does not only require fighting skills; it requires a level of intellect. You are at an incredibly high level.
“You cannot watch yourself, but to see you fight is amazing to all of us. Your instant flowing reaction to any move thrown at you is mystifying.
“It is like you have already fought that fight and already know the moves you will make without thinking about them. Your style of fighting is intuitive and goes beyond what your father has taught you.
A slight smile came to O’Kabu’s face.
“I stood by your side through much of what your father taught you, but I did not understand, nor could I do any of it. Our members do believe you are different. What you see in their faces is pride and respect for you. In two years, you will determine their future.”
They reached out and grabbed each other’s forearm, the inside of their arms butting up against each other, acknowledging their lifelong friendship. They were born the same month. Tonaba’s mother was one of the midwives who helped bring O’Kabu into the world.
“Tonight, let us get together and celebrate you taking down the leopard. You better return unharmed, or your mother and father will never forgive me.”
“I will.” O’Kabu said.
* * * * *
Throughout the novels, as he matures and becomes a man, O’Kabu runs into many life and death situations . Unfortunately, early on, during a fight with members of a Secret Society called Sodalitas, he loses the memories of his past.
But that doesn’t stop him. He moves forward with his life doing the best he can, knowing that it is his destiny to confront Sodalitas again.
In my next blog, before I blog about Jennifer and Paul, I will tell you about Sodalitas, the ancient evil society that is at work taking control of the world’s governments.
Have you ever looked at certain individuals in our government and wondered…Is that person really considered a good person?
And then you notice several more politicians who are just like him/her.
How many of you have thought, “That’s strange! Are they really working for us, the American people? Or do they have other allegiances with like minded people?
Maybe you’ve noticed that art imitates life. Especially with the TV shows and movies being made. How many times have you seen a movie and thought, “What if they are really doing that to us?”
That is where Sodalitas comes from! After all, we only know what we’re told. If we are told it enough, it’s what we believe and when someone tries to tell us different, we think they’re quacks and a conspiracy theorist.
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post. If so, comment below and let me know what you think of the characters, the action, and the stories in Descended, Sodalitas, and Oracle or to ask any questions.
Until next time, God Bless, Michael