In my last post, I shared how the Bible serves as my greatest source of inspiration for writing and story-telling, and The Heir of Ariad is no exception. From his birth almost three and a half years ago, Kyrian of the Rain Realm's character has been shaped by the account of one of my favourite biblical figures of all time. It's a story of adventure, suspense, danger, action, romance, failure, success, loyalty, betrayal, miracles, plagues....
Guessed it yet? Try Moses.
In so many ways, I see Moses as an ultimate protagonist, and I'm not the only one. From Charleton Heston's Ten Commandments to my favourite animated musical The Prince of Egypt, creative minds have been inspired by Moses' journey for years and years. Author Chuck Black's Kingdom Series tributes it, among other biblical accounts, and maybe that's why I jumped at the inspiration to tackle this story myself. His journey is incredible- from criminal to deliverer, royalty to peasant, outcast to leader- but even more exciting than interpreting his story was the task of interpreting his character.
Kyrian has undergone a lot of changes since he first came on the page years ago, but I like to think the character he is now reflects the man that Moses might have been. Getting inside Kyrian's head meant looking to Moses, reading between some of the lines given to us in the book of Exodus and asking the questions: what kind of man would do what Moses did?
What kind of boy grew up in that palace, raised by foreign royalty while outside his walls, his own people were crying out to God for deliverance? What kind of man would ruin his own life to stop an Egyptian from beating one Hebrew one more time? What kind of person would argue with God, beg the the Lord of Heaven's Armies to send anyone else, anyone else but him? What kind of man would stand before Pharaoh with nothing but his faith and his walking-stick, look the king of Egypt dead in the eye and say, "Let my people go"?
With every chapter in Kyrian's journey, I've loved Moses and his saga even more. His faith inspires me, his humility convicts me, and God's work through him reminds me of the truth that God doesn't choose the qualified, He qualifies the chosen.
Of course, The Heir of Ariad is its own story, and Kyrian his own character with his own flaws to deal with. But just like all artists have a favourite subject, I have to give credit to mine. I hope my readers can be touched by Kyrian's story, but even more than that, I pray that it will guide them straight to the God and the servant who inspired it.