I ran onto a writing teacher who is also a very talented
writer of high fantasy. OK. I know, this is the Western Fictioneer blog. But
some of the things he (David Farland) teaches are worth sitting up and
listening to.
This is a wicked post, so lets talk about antagonists, those
wicked people who make life so hellish for the ones we love (you should always
love your protagonist).
Here’s what Farland says about creating an antagonist (from
his book, Million Dollar Outlines 2013 Edition): The antagonist is normally a
person who wants to coerce your character to follow a life path that is
soul-destroying, even though he may gain some short-term goal. Antagonists are usually
older and far more powerful than the protagonist. The antagonist in Star Wars was the emperor, in The Lord of the Rings, Dark Lord Sauron,
and in Harry Potter, Voldemort.
Aha. Some light begins to dawn. Or should we say, some light
begins to wane?
Now, in addition to an antagonist, you need a contagonist or
some contagonists. Farland says, “The contagonist in your story is a powerful
character who normally is allied with the antagonist, and is often his most
powerful underling.”
He continues: “The contagonist typically sees potential in
the protagonist, sees that person as a younger version of himself, and will try
to become a guide to the protagonist.”
Note this: Though the contagonist may seem allied to the
antagonist, their goals may differ.
Got that?
Farland has written a lot. One of his series is The Runelords. From it, I think we can
learn a lot about building or creating a mighty, totally ruthless, greedy,
exceedingly powerful antagonist.
The hero is Gabon. A young prince who is destined to become
the Earth King, but is now just a young prince.
The major piece of magic in Farland’s fantasy world is the
ability to give and accept endowments. A person could endow another with his
sight. The endower would then be blind, but the endowed would see twice as
well. In theory, there is no limit to the number of endowments a person can
accept. And the endowments might include brawn, stamina, hearing, glamour,
metabolism, and more. The lords of the realm receive endowments from their
subjects . . . the catch is, if the endower dies, the endowed loses the
endowment. This concept was very interesting to me. Especially when the
invading king first appeared. This is where we get to see what real wickedness
is like.
I don’t underline much in a novel, but I could not help
underlining this statement: “Men who believe themselves to be good, who do not
search their own souls, most often commit the worst atrocities. It is only when
we do evil in the belief that we do good that we pursue it wholeheartedly.”
The invader is Raj Ahten. Let’s see how he attacks the walls
of Sylvarresta Castle. I quote from Farland’s book The Runelords.
Lord Raj Ahten himself gave a shout, reining in his
stallion, and such was the power of his call—for he bore endowments of Voice
from hundreds and hundreds of people—that his words carried clearly even this
high on the citadel, even blowing on the wind. He sounded kindly and pleasant,
belying the threat inherent in his deeds.
“King Sylvarresta, people of Heredon,” Raj Ahten called, his
voice as fair as the tinkling of a bell, as resonant as a woodwind. “Let us be
friends—not combatants. I bear you no malice. Look at my army—“ He spread his
arms wide. “You cannot defeat it. Look at me. I am not your enemy. Surely you
will not force me to squat here in the cold tonight, while you dine beside your
hearths? Throw open your gates. I will be your lord, and you will be my
people.”
The antagonist’s words were so enticing, in so many ways,
the defenders started throwing their weapons off the walls of the castle and
began to lower the draw bridge.
Watch.
In keeping with her own feelings of anger, down at the
gates, Captain Derrow let a bolt loose at the Wolf Lord. Derrow’s bolt flew
with incredible speed, a blur of black iron that would have driven through any
other man’s armor. But the speed and strength of Raj Ahten outmatched him. The
Runelord simply reached up and caught the bolt in mid-air.
A few moments later, the Wolf Lord takes the castle over.
His cousin is the queen, but she refuses to kneel to him. He
also demands the wit endowment of King Sylvarresta. The queen tries to kill him
with poisoned fingernails. His endowments of metabolism let him oust the poison
and heal the scours in seconds. He kills her. Then he explains to the king.
Raj Ahten said, “My condolences, Sylvarresta. You see that I
had no other choice. Of course, there are always those who think it easier to
kill or die, than to live in service. And they are correct. Death requires no
effort.”
Already we are at page 181 of a novel that runs 613 pages
long.
Farland uses what he calls the Hourglass of Evil. He says:
In the beginning, evil is seen to be ‘distant’ from the protagonists. The Orcs
are rampaging in distant lands in The Lord of the Rings, while in The Christmas
Carol, Scrooge is asked to donate money to orphans in a distant country.
But as the tale progresses, the evil draws closer to the
protagonist. Black riders enter the Shire, poverty strikes in the homes of
Scrooges employees.
Eventually, at the end of the tale, evil is seen in the
hearts of the protagonists. Frodo discovers that he cannot give up the Ring at
the Crack of Doom, while Scrooge learns that his own selfishness lies at the
heart of the troubles around him.
Thus, there must come a turning point where your character
sees the evil in himself and resolves to either change or is destroyed. It is
only when evil is subdued in the hero’s heart, that changes can be made abroad,
and good can sweep over the earth.
May your antagonist forever gain in wickedness and may all
your protagonists wear white hats.
I thinks that books become even greater when the antagonist is someone you love to hate. I have always believed that the good ones believe they are right and see no harm in what they do. Their ends justify their means. Most interesting post. Doris
ReplyDeleteCharlie, I loved this post. Your Wicked Wednesdays are among some of my favorite posts! I antagonists are usually so evil that they would never see their own "evilness"--or if they did, they'd be proud of it. I have one antagonist in one of my contemporary books that is dangerous, though, in another way. For whatever reason, he opens up a bit to the heroine, and though she's seen the evil firsthand that he's committed, she empathizes with the horrible life he's had, etc. He does do one good thing by releasing some of the children that are hostages, so he's not pure evil, but probably about 99.9%.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, wonderful post, and I always learn something new from your supreme evilness...
Cheryl
Great post, Charlie. I think that a really wicked villain keeps you reading in the hope that they will get their comeuppance. Thanks for the tip about Million Dollar Outlines. That seems to be a book that I need to get.
ReplyDeleteKeith
I learn something everyday. Very good post Charlie. I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteJerry
Great post, Charlie. Lots of insight into the wicked. And, the really wicked are the most fun to write about.
ReplyDeleteIn our genre, there is plenty of room for thoroughly wicked antagonists who think they either are in the right or what they do is "for" the right, that their being totally in charge, for example, will make everybody happy, as long as they do exactly as told.
ReplyDeleteSomething wicked this way comes. Great post, Charlie.
ReplyDelete