Aoren is September's Featured Character!

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Aoren is September's Featured Character!

Postby Mirage on September 1st, 2014, 4:22 am

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Attention Mizahar!


Keeping with tradition the Founders and Regional Storytellers have come together and chosen this months Featured Character! This month, as you can see, it is none other than Aoren! He has been around on Mizahar for a while now, and his character is unique and fascinating in his own special way. Without further ado, lets get to the interview :)


1. You have been on site for quite a while now, so I am sure you have seen and experienced much while you were here. Lets kick this interview off with a bit of a retrospective analysis. How has your character Aoren changed and adapted over these last couple years? Is he still similar to how he was when you first started RPing him, or has he undergone some major changes that make him a new person entirely?

I can say with all certainty that Aoren has changed dramatically from the time when I first wrote him. When I first created him I had very little in hand as far as the deepest workings of Aoren’s mind went. I knew where I wanted him to go but had no firm grasp on where he’d come from. When I first started writing him I displayed him as being terribly scarred by events that had transpired in his past.

He was little more than a displaced orphan who had just lost his makeshift family, desperate to find any scrap of news on the whereabouts of a missing surrogate sibling. He didn’t like people because of all the terrible things he’d Seen them do! And so on and so forth. The silliness of it all makes me chuckle when I look back at it. However, rather than scrap him I chose so iron out the wrinkles and a lot of this is no longer the case.

The more I’ve written with Aoren, the more he has interacted with people, the more I’ve come to discover that he is a man accepting of both Life and Death, a true believer in the will of Time and Fate. Whereas he was once closed off and reserved because I wanted him to have a dramatic past, he has since matured into a man who accepts the cyclical nature of Life.

Whereas he was once just awkward in social situations for awkward sake, he is now a much more sociable individual with a little charm and wit in his own way. At his core though I understood that with the whole of his being Aoren would be a rather humble, easy-going individual with a compassionate soul and wisdom beyond his years. That aspect of his character is the single most defining feature about him and it has stuck through from inception to the present.

Overall, I would say that Aoren is most definitely not the same man today when compared to who he was when I first created him.

2. Gnosis marks are not exactly a rare occurrence on Mizahar, but it is not often that we see a player with marks from different gods/goddesses. Did you intend to have Aoren become as seemingly faithful as he is, or did he somehow become that through your threading? In addition, how do you feel his faith affects Aoren's character and his decisions he has made in life?

Initially I was going to have Aoren be entirely devoted to Avalis to the exclusion of all other deities. A pox on the fool who would dare to impede upon his unyielding and resolute faith! I think we can all see how that turned out. Truthfully speaking even after writing Aoren for over a year, I still hadn’t changed my mind. What changed my mind? I approached a DS and they denied my application for a second Mark of Avalis explaining I didn’t have a real grasp on worshiping the deity.

They were right. I did not know about Avalis, Aoren’s primary deity, as well as I should have. The DS at the time though had reviewed some info on my CS and proposed he try to garner the attention of Avalis’s sister instead. It made sense. Aoren worked with medicine at the time. He’d become a somewhat stalwart fellow and generally speaking he is a good person. So launched the Gnosis Quest resulting in the Healer’s Mark on the right side of his face. By the Quest’s conclusion I had learned things about Aoren I had not known before.

As a result, faith has come to define Aoren. Not in overt ways as one would expect but subtle ways that manifest over time born as a result of his connection to his deities. He is a teacher and an advisor. He is mildly aloof. He is very reflective. He is rather inquisitive and is possessed of an appreciation for life’s treasured moments. I would say those qualities are what one would come to expect in a Seer. On the other hand he is compassionate. He is very merciful when it would be easier to resort to brutality. He tries to negotiate when it would be easier to shoot first and ask later. He is also humble and yet brave in his own way. He believes in uplifting others to their highest potential. In my head those are qualities one would expect to see in a Healer. And Aoren is not this way by accident.

In my head a Gnosis mark is more than just a fancy sticker a God or Goddess places upon the flesh of a mortal imbuing them with snazzy powers. It is my belief that it is an impression made upon the very soul of the individual. As a result of this the characteristics that deity brings into manifestation throughout the world are amplified in the person. I firmly believe that has a lasting effect of a person’s disposition. An effect that becomes more prominent the longer that connection is maintained.

So, in answer, faith more than defines Aoren. It’s part of who he is. It is who he is because it is how he lives his life every day.

Sorry! That turned into an extremely long winded blurt-a-thon!

3. Again a sort of follow up to 2, you also have a number of magics, but unlike most mages out there Aoren does not seem to have an absolute focus in any one field. Was the concept of magic a big influence on your creation of Aoren, and how has your growth in these various magical disciplines effected or changed Aoren over the years?

Ah, magic. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t very fond of it. However, acquiring a plethora of disciplines was originally not my intention. When I started I never thought I’d seen Aoren using anything more than Reimancy with any proficiency. How wrong can a guy get? Aoren’s grasp on magic has only recently come into fruition really. First, let me explain why Aoren learns any disciplines of magic.

Aoren only learns a discipline of magic when he comes into direct contact with it. He pursues learning it for one of two reasons: he either wants to be able to defend against it or it piqued his interest. For instance, he learned Reimancy because he was prompted to do so by his sister. He learned Glyphing to better enhance his Reimancy. He learned Shielding because he saw a Mage-Knight use it to protect citizens, Auristics because Matthew explained it would help him understand people better and as a result how to help them more, Hypnotism because he’s met several Hypnotists and believes it can help him distract patients from pain, and Spiritism because he’s met several less than friendly ghosts and was even forcibly possessed by one.

Now, when it comes to studying magic that’s exactly what he does. He studies magic. Or to clarify, djed and the various ways it can be augmented and manipulated. The only way to do that is approach it from a broad perspective and trickle down into how each discipline affects djed. The consequences of his studies have left Aoren enamored with magic, horrified by it and somewhat knowledgeable about it. If I had to describe Aoren in regards to his magic, I would simply call him a Wizard meaning he is a practitioner of magic in the most scholarly sense of the word. If I had my way we’d see Aoren in a tower surrounded by books containing his theories, concocting arcane rituals to explore abstract concepts or tinkering with his newest idea for a magical potion.

Such a take on magic has certainly affected him. He’s become a very intelligent individual as opposed to remaining a simple, country boyish sort of guy when I first envisioned him. This however, is balanced with his rather spirited and easy-going demeanor.

4. Beyond Aoren's magical ability he is also very well rounded in other skills, with a good amount of experience in both combat and survival related skill sets. It is not often that we see a character so well balanced. Usually we see character who lean in one direction or another, those who can create craters with magical might but cant survive a day outside of the city, or vice versa. How do you think Aoren came to be as balanced as he is? Did you plan it this way, and if so what are some tips you can offer for creating a character that even out like yours does?

No, I did not plan it that way. Like most of my plans, Aoren refuses to go along with them. He's rather stubborn that way.

Aoren is a product of his encounters. The skills he has beyond his starting package have been accrued because of his interactions with the people around him. Very rarely do I enter a thread with a finely crafted idea of what I want to transpire. I usually just approach a character who seems interesting and would be fun to interact with. The ideas typically spring forth from there. It was only after interacting with other writers and people here on the forums that I began to form a reason for why Aoren would be a figure of balance in mind, body and spirit.

When I look at Aoren, I see the Seer he could become and the Healer that he very much already is. Coupled with those two fundamental aspects of his character he becomes a very monk-like and sagely figure in my head. The result is a life lived in pursuit of harmony and balance. I know that when I think of a monk in my head I see a disciplined fighter, a wise counselor and a sagely scholar. So, I do my best to convey all aspects of what I see in that regard into Aoren as a character.

All I can say in regards to making a balanced character is to simply let them be shaped by their experiences. Don’t cling too strongly to one idea in your head. Give the character their spirit but let their experiences change and affect them as your own would.

5. This one is of particular interest to me. In your CS you have a very extensive Relationships section which lists all of the people I assume Aoren has come into contact with. Tell us a bit about how these contacts and personal relationships have come to shape Aoren into the person he is now.

People! Yay! Initially Aoren avoided people. He avoided them like the plague. This is most certainly no longer the case. Aoren has become a very social individual. Every person he’s ever met has made an impact on his character in one way or another. For instance, he’s met a number of people interested in pursuing more than just casual friendship with him. None of those people stuck around very long and as a result he’s very closed off with his affections. He’s met several mage characters. Some weren’t all that bad. Most were less than honorable people. Growing up believing in the tenants of Syliras, he strives to not fall into the mad, fireball throwing, wicked wizard category. And so on and so forth.

Besides, when I sat down and really thought it out being anti-social just didn’t make sense on a forum role-play website. But I had already made it part of Aoren’s character and had been role-playing him that way for some time. How did I change that? That nifty, wonderful, Socialization skill. The more points Aoren got, the less of a homebody, anti-social introvert he became. His conversational abilities increased in direct correlation to his social skills. That resulted in him going out to meet more people. What happens when you meet more people? You garner more life experiences and at his core, Aoren treasures those moments.

6. Now that we have picked through the player, lets dig deep into the character himself! What do you believe Aoren's biggest dream is? What does he strive to do with his life, and how does he hope to get there? Of course with this kind of question we have to include the opposite. What do you believe is Aoren's biggest fear, and what might be his greatest obstacle he will have to overcome as he continues on down his chosen path?

Aoren’s biggest dream is rather simple, though he himself is not. He wants a family. He wants a sense of belonging and community. In essence, he just wants to be happy. In his life he strives to simply help others in needs to the best of his ability because he has not yet found his fundamental purpose in life. It’s part of the reason he’s so impressionable when it comes to his experiences. Because he has no definitive purpose, he’s prone to giving whatever crosses his path a try in the hopes he finds it.

Aoren’s biggest fear are storms. Rain and thunderstorms do not sit well with Aoren which is surprising for a Drykas, I’m sure. I came to this conclusion quite by accident really as did the circumstances surrounding it. Unintentionally practically every life-changing event in Aoren’s life has been preceded by a storm. Whenever one is on the horizon he gets a chill up his spine and feels a change coming his way. I haven’t quite figured out why this is, it’s simply just taken place this way through the course of writing.

His biggest obstacle right now is exactly the road he is currently on. He’s searching for his place which is an obstacle in and of itself. If that’s not enough though, Aoren is limited by the belief that he will never amount to anything special in the world. His whole mentality is that he exists to uplift others at the moment without truly being uplifted himself.

7. If you could describe Aoren in one word, what would that word be?

Unpredictable. I will leave you all to draw your own conclusions as to why.

8. If you and Aoren could sit down in a room together and discuss anything in the world, what do you think you would talk about? What would you like to ask him face to face, and what do you think his answer would be?

Oh my goodness! First question? Why, in the name of Avalis, did he not get out and explore the world sooner? His answer? Because I had not yet learned all of what Syliras had to teach me.

Haha, overall I think our conversation would revolve quiet heavily around me trying to convince him to teach me how to do a proper handstand. To which he would of course agree and throughout the course of the lesson he would be very encouraging while I make a complete and total fool of myself. Beyond that though I would simply spend most of my time getting to know him even more than I already do, likewise he would do the same. Our topics would become rather philosophical and existential.

9. Chat wants to know... if you were a fruit, what kind of fruit would you be?

A pink lady apple. Because they’re classy and I am a classy broad.

10. Final question! You have been around Mizahar for a while now, so do you have any advice for the players out there about how to keep the story going even after its been going for so long? How do you keep yourself fresh with new ideas for your character? Do you have something in particular that inspires you to write for Aoren? We are all eager to know :)

Here’s my advice, let the story write itself. Have where you want to start, form an idea of where you want to go, let journey teach you things you weren’t expecting.

Don’t be afraid to approach a character just because you think yours and another will clash. Often opposing characters bring about some of the most interesting encounters. Don’t be afraid to take a seat and just write out simple, everyday occurrences. It is from the ordinary that we craft extraordinary and there are ideas, lessons and adventures to be found in just being normal that might surprise you.

It’s okay to lose. Coming out the victor is of course, awesome but there is often more to learn, more to work with, and more to develop when one ends up on the bottom.

As for my inspiration for Aoren? Music. I find music that matches the tone of what I am trying to write. It puts me into the mood and mindset of the scenario.

11. As always the last question is all yours. Step up onto your soap box and tell the world what is on your mind. The mike is yours. Take the stage!

-grabs the mike excitedly-

Here’s to all of you Mizahar kooks!

Can I just say that I am floored by this honor. Absolutely floored by it. Thank you. Thank you very much! I mean that sincerely. The biggest thing I have to say to everyone is don’t give up. I’ve been on Mizahar for a little over two years now and the adventure has been a blast, it has been a little rocky, and it has been a little frustrating. When I first arrived on the website I was very new to the forum role-play genre and was incredibly intimidated. I felt outclassed and out of my league. (Do those both mean the same thing?)
Anyways.

I didn’t let that stop me. I made mistakes. I got an ear chewing sometimes but I kept a positive attitude, brushed off the dirt and approached the problem from a different angle each time. Mizahar is an extremely dynamic and ever growing community with fantastic people, hilarious personality, heartfelt stories and compelling mysteries. Here’s to everyone, really! Because each and every one of you contributes to the world of Mizahar and makes it that much more incredible. The adventure is just beginning and together we will all make it worthwhile!

Now enough of my long-winded rambling!

–drops the mike and high tails it out of there-

Warm Regards,
Aoren
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Aoren is September's Featured Character!

Postby Gossamer on September 1st, 2014, 9:51 pm

Grats! Lovely interview.
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Aoren is September's Featured Character!

Postby Adelaide Sitai on September 1st, 2014, 9:53 pm

There is hardly anybody who deserves it more!

Congratulations and a great interview. :)
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Aoren is September's Featured Character!

Postby Eleazar Victor Syroin on September 1st, 2014, 9:57 pm

Well done Aoren! :D
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Aoren is September's Featured Character!

Postby Kismet on September 1st, 2014, 10:03 pm

Congrats Ao, way deserved <3 *hugs so tight!* I love reading what you have to say!
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Aoren is September's Featured Character!

Postby Khara on September 1st, 2014, 10:16 pm

Congrats Aoren on both the Feature and the very informative interview, was a delight to read!
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Aoren is September's Featured Character!

Postby Caelum on September 1st, 2014, 11:12 pm

*applauds wildly* Great interview!
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Aoren is September's Featured Character!

Postby Edreina on September 2nd, 2014, 12:51 am

OH MAH GAWD CONGRATS, BAE!!! :P
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Aoren is September's Featured Character!

Postby Redd on September 2nd, 2014, 12:58 am

Yay! Congratulations Aoren! You deserve it. ^.^
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Aoren is September's Featured Character!

Postby Seran on September 2nd, 2014, 1:10 am

Congratulations Ao, hope we see each other IC! Keep the posts coming too! :D
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