In the Thanksgiving edition of the Writers Digest email newsletter, there are Characterization Exercises:-
Every person has many facets to his or her character. A good fictional character also is multi-faceted. In order for you to consider all the facets of your characters, write a description of a character as if you were a character witness testifying in defense of this person. Then write a description of the same character as if you were a character witness called by the prosecution. Remember, both parties are discussing the same character, so the characteristics discussed have to be consistent.
So I thought I would do this with one of my more…problematic characters, Marshal Wolf from a British-centric empire which is waging constant war, over-running Africa and sending slaves back o the homeland.
Character Witness
Marshal Wolf is dedicated to success. He is a true stalwart of the Empire and while he has sworn loyalty to the Emperor, and while he stands in the chain of command beneath the political elite, he will let nothing stand in his way – if glory for the Empire can be obtained by subverting these things, then he will do so. The Empire above everything. But never treason
He is liberal in a fascist sense – he cares not what sexual orientation the men and women of his command are, he will happily elevate women, gays and the maimed to superior command if they prove capable of it, and he does not infringe upon their rights even in the middle of a campaign. To him this is the doctrine of Empire – everything to itself, but glory in the Empire.
He cares little for diktats from the central government, not in themselves. Where he sees their worth he will enforce them, albeit in his own way, but where he disagrees with them, or finds them pointless, he will ignore them and de facto challenge them to take him on, trusting to his own success and the glory of the Empire that he bolsters by his actions to defend him successfully.
Some lives are cheaper than others – the men and women of his command he will not waste in pointless assaults, but he does not hold human life in itself to be sacrosanct. Command he sees as a contract – he will preserve their lives from unnecessary wastage if they will give their all to advance his goals. Where other populations are concerned he is a man of honour and of his word – if he spares someone’s life then anyone who takes it is doomed, if he makes a deal with a native elite, then that deal will hold as long as they keep to their side of the bargain, if he frees prisoners, or spares an enemy, then he expects at least obedience if not loyalty from them, and if he gets it, their lives are under his protection.
The economics of Empire are very important to him. Plunder, exploitation and slavery are all the powerhouses of conquest, and he sees nothing wrong in maximising them to the glory of the Empire. Where slaves are concerned he sees it in terms of value – do these men, women and children have a value if they live? If they do, then they live, and are protected – a dead slave is a waste of time, effort and money, a living slave is an investment and a future return. Slaves should have food, warmth and shelter.
The slave markets are a personal delight of his, seeing the culmination of his policies, healthy, fit slaves being sold to owners for the glory of the Empire, and the increased wealth of the traders, an economic boost that generates more wealth in its wake. To him, there is a definite delight, a solid satisfaction, in seeing slaves whom he created when a city fell, finally sell for good money, and head off into fruitful and profitable lives for the Empire, being able down the line, should they prove worthy of it, to once more buy their freedom and become members of the body politic of the Empire
In his own establishments, his palaces and mansions, he practises what he preaches. Women, the maimed, and those with unusual tastes are as likely to be found in senior positions as anyone else, and he cares not what they do in their own time. Slaves abound, but freedmen also, and he is a strong believer in using superior slaves in positions where they will best aid his enterprises, even if he has qualified freedmen or servants who are not quite as good.
PROSECUTION!!!
Marshal Wolf is guilty of unnumbered heinous war crimes, and crimes against humanity. He is a supporter of slavery and has benefitted economically by persecuting the defeated populations of cities his army destroys. He is a supporter of every sexual perversion, and frequently commits treason by acts of omission. He has no loyalty even to the emperor, suborning all things to his own warped view of what is best. He will exploit children in his own households, and commits massacres on a frequent and ghastly scale. He is evil incarnate and the best most of his men can say is that they fear him.
Best Regards
Grey Wolf