The antagonist's monologue
The following text is a monologue by the antagonist in a dragon fantasy story, describing how he sees himself from his own perspective. It enters a tiny bit into spoiler territory, but still I wanted to give you a sneak peek into this character. This monologue is not directly part of the story, but more of an exercise in bringing this character to life. Please welcome Balor the Blind.
“Almost 700 years have passed and I still haven't found a cure. I have explored everything. I understand the elements better than anyone. I have even travelled the elemental planes and yet their ultimate secret eludes me. Sometimes I feel like giving up all hope. So many times I thought I was close to a solution, only to be disappointed again.
And the other dragons are no help. They want nothing to do with the stigma of the void. They are afraid of it, afraid of me. As if it were something contagious. Pah. And yet I have done so much for the other dragons. I help their children, prepare them, teach them so they don't meet the same fate as me, and how do they thank me? That they deign to even talk to me?
I have saved the lives of so many dragons, prevented so many from falling victim to the void. And yet, I will never be one of them. I will never belong. Never fight side by side with them to protect the elements, never be welcomed into their temples.
But I am grateful to have retained a tenuous connection with the element of air, even if I have had to pay a high price with my eyesight. Up here in the mountains, where it blows and storms, I feel alive. This is where I belong.
All I want is to be able to see again and feel the connection to the elements in all their power. To shed the cocoon of the void, and be reborn. Just once to see the sunrise in the mountains, with all the light and all the colours.”
His face darkens as he takes a deep breath.
“Recently, I discovered another way that might work, when a young dragon performs its attunement ritual. But I would be betraying that young dragon to the void, and I cannot do that. Or can I? It would make me more of an enemy to all the other dragons than ever. But what if they don't find out it was me? I've suffered the void for centuries, isn't it fair that someone else finally bears the burden? No one will help me willingly. I need a ruse. On the other hand, I have sworn to help the other dragons so that no one else has to share my fate. Can I really break this oath? Is it worth it?”
This work by Marc Riese is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
