We come to the next character in my story that I will talk about. Her name is Caitren, and she is the second main protagonist in the story, behind Adroegen. Caitren is the youngest member of the company, at eighteen years of age when the story begins.
To start, I will say that the task of writing Caitren in the story presented some challenges. The trouble in writing her was that in the first book, or at least the first half of the first book, she was a little out of character. If I were to describe Caitren, I would say that she has an innocence to her, and the heart and spirit of a child. Caitren is normally a very delightful young lady who loves many things, and she carries an enormous heart that she does not hide. She grew up in the hidden village where the story begins and has lived there all her life, however Caitren has always longed to venture out and see the many wonders that the world holds.
However, as I have said, she is rather out of character in the first half of The Fleeing Company. When the story begins, Caitren’s father leaves the village to find any news of what has taken place in the outside world, and Caitren is not allowed to go with him, even though she wants to go along and see what is beyond her home. Then the night Adroegen visits, a pack of goblins razes the village and Caitren, along with the others of the company, while grieving at the loss of fellow villagers, are forced to leave home and run from the goblin chief. Caitren worries that her father will not know where she is and that she might never see him again. Though she gets to leave home and see the outside world, it is not at all in the manner that Caitren wanted.
Caitren cannot sleep on a soft bed each night or eat good food, and she is exhausted as Adroegen forces her and the others to cover much distance each day as they run from the goblin chief and his pack. Caitren is also forced to fight at times, which is something that Caitren will find herself to have no love of. And as a result of these things, Caitren grows frustrated and angry at times, which are feelings that she is not at all used to having.
Amidst such trial, however, Caitren does see some wonders in the outside world that her heart had always hoped to see. As the venture goes on, she grows used to the difficult days of travel, and as she does so, the world becomes wondrous to her, and Caitren begins to act like her true self again after being quite out of character for roughly the first half of the book.
Caitren’s innocent nature presents quite a difficulty, because fighting and killing are not quite actions of one with an innocence to them, and anger is not quite an emotion of a more innocent character either, at least from what I have read of such characters in fairy tales. Some might argue also that innocence is something where once someone loses it, they cannot get it back. For Caitren, with each enemy she is forced to fight and kill, it may seem like this childlike spirit may be growing lost as she discovers that the outside world is filled with much more danger than she ever knew.
If I were to sum Caitren’s character up, I think I would say this: She possesses the heart, innocence, and spirit that only a child could possess, and she in naturally filled with happiness and love. However, there is a constant attempt, not by anyone in particular, but rather by the world at large, to take that innocence away from her.
Caitren’s heart is endlessly tested, as there are many attempts at upsetting her. She is kept home all her life and is not allowed to see the world and all the wonders that it has, then when Caitren finally does leave home, it is in a far less ideal manner than what she wanted. Upon leaving, Caitren does not have good food and endures unending travel, is separated from her father, and has no choice but to use a sword. The trial that Caitren will face in the long term is that the world continuously attempts to take away her innocent nature, and Caitren’s struggle is to not allow that to happen. Caitren does have to face and defeat goblins and other foul creatures, as all in the company are forced to, however her ultimate fight will not be with a sword. Rather, Caitren’s greatest fight will be to protect the heart and spirit that she possesses, from a world that is filled with much evil that will seek to take those things from her.
I think I will conclude on Caitren here. The next character that I will speak of is Edelbir, a simple one who enjoys the toil of everyday work, but is unable to live such a simple life when the goblin chief attacks his home. That, however, will be the next post. Until then, farewell and take care.