I have a character named Paragon who belongs to a feared warrior race called Valkyrians. His kind are greatly feared with good reason. A single Valkyrian can easily decimate an army of a thousand soldiers of any other race. There are several reasons for this. The first is they are the chosen descendants of a powerful god. The second is they possess a dual soul. Their first soul, the soul of earth, is that of the Valkyrian. The second soul, the spiritual soul, is that of an ancient Valkyrian hero. Paragon's second soul is that of Durendal, who was one of the greatest blademasters to have ever lived. This combined with the god's power, has not only made Paragon exceptionally skilled with all manner of weapons, it has made every blade his ally. He can turn a warrior's own sword against him. (In a nutshell, imagine Magneto throwing around swords.) To balance this, a Valkyrian has to have strong self discipline because the more they call upon their second soul's strength, the closer that soul is drawn to the world of the living. This can lead to the Valkyrian losing control of his second soul. It's a very bad thing because the second soul realizes it is dead. Being in the world of the living tends to confuse the second soul and make it believe it is reliving its final moments before it died, which is usually in battle surrounded by enemies. /infodump My problem is I'm trying to think of ways for Paragon to interact with an army so they aren't ready to kill him out of fear. The army stumbles upon him after he has decimated a large band of thieves and saved one of the army's scouts. The only reason the army even manages to capture him is because he is wounded and too exausted to move. They have fought Valkyrians before and are terrified of him. So far I've had the scout befriend Paragon because she is one of the few in this army that has never fought a Valkyrian. She is young and thinks he is very friendly. The leader of the army has their doctor treat Paragon's wounds. She wants to question him to find out what he was doing and why he is so far from his own lands. The second in command believes they should kill Paragon. He hates Valkyrians after losing so many friends/soldiers to them. The weaponmaster has a grudging respect for Paragon becuase of his prowess with different weapons. Later on, Paragon saves the army from being destroyed by a dragon. He uses his power to summon all the nearby swords and turn the dragon into a giant pin cushion. In the process, Paragon begins to lose control to Durendal. To prevent a massacre, he stabs himself with a sword. This event only confuses the army even further over what to do with Paragon, especially after witnessing him stab himself with a sword because they don't quite understand the dual soul thing yet. So can anyone give me further ideas for possible interactions between Paragon and the army so they aren't deathly afraid of him?
You could give him a code of honour - like it is well known that valerians only kill the unjust, or to defend their lands etc. So unless the army falls within the criteria, it would be common knowledge that he would rather protect than kill them. An honor debt because they healed him. Or he could simply give his word... That wouldn't make them cozy, but less afraid... There are the cliches of rescuing someone, or teaching a youngster... But it would still not really take away the potential harm... How would you defuse the threat of a nuke in the middle of your army? Control it, or leave it behind. Paragon is just that with a human face... Which is in a way scarier than a bomb, because he can be irrational... (like nitroglycerin )
Not sure of the topography, but it would be easy to have Paragon sit around and tell stories around a campfire. While it wouldn't defuse the wariest of the troops, it would very much cause the army to get a liking for the Valkyrian. The scout would be the first one to convince him to tell a tale, being new to the army and hearing rumors that he's some vicious warrior. Whoever's guarding him would eventually learn to like him, especially if he tends to be a fairly gentle person (besides combat), and his stories would wind up being an exciting, if sparse, occasion. I also like Froggy's suggestion of a code of honor. His idea works well, unless you don't want Valkyrians to become synonymous with Paladins. Just my four cents... Hope it spawns new ideas for you!
Not sure of the topography, but it would be easy to have Paragon sit around and tell stories around a campfire. While it wouldn't defuse the wariest of the troops, it would very much cause the army to get a liking for the Valkyrian. The scout would be the first one to convince him to tell a tale, being new to the army and hearing rumors that he's some vicious warrior. Whoever's guarding him would eventually learn to like him, especially if he tends to be a fairly gentle person (besides combat), and his stories would wind up being an exciting, if sparse, occasion. I also like Froggy's suggestion of a code of honor. His idea works well, unless you don't want Valkyrians to become synonymous with Paladins. Just my four cents... Hope it spawns new ideas for you!
Would it be possible for the army to have heard rumours about Paragon before? Maybe they hear that he only fights to defend himself or those close to him? Or maybe the only Valkyrians the army has fought were rouges or psychotic or members of a different clan with different rules?
Those are some really awesome pointers. Thanks for the help guys. I think I can manage easing the tension between Paragon and the army better now.
