12-16-02 @ 11:39 am EST

This entry was originally posted 12-15-02 @ 1:58 pm EST. I'm editing it for content and typos. Because you know I can just never leave a typo well enough alone...


...And then IE6 kept crashing every time I wanted to look at the online users list. I had to completely reboot.

I want to brainstorm a bit on the new native characters who will show up in Return To Manitou Island. The story's growing a bit clearer in my mind and more characters keep appearing. I read a tiny, tiny bit that clarifies the deal between the Ojibwa and Iroquois and Hurons.

No major spoilers here, so don't worry.

CROOKED CREEK: Awwwww!! Crooked Creek is a plump little Islander who one day, on a joke bet from her friends, decides to go courting...Francois LaCroix? She simply moves in at his cabin and makes herself at home according to custom...it's not like the baffled voyageur has much choice, at first. They're a cute couple, however, and Charmian is just as surprised to find her out front of Francois's cabin, doing chores. She doesn't like to talk much as she's rather shy, but can be extremely friendly toward those she trusts...and she has a VERY POWERFUL bear hug. (She's like Rithukh'het of The Ameni Chronicles given human form. Gah!) She grows rather fond of Charmian, and has the habit of inviting people in to eat...she LOVES to cook for people.

MORNING STAR: Morning Star, along with several other women of the Iroquois, was kidnapped from her band and treated very brutally as they were transported across country. The other women didn't make it...Morning Star did only because she went along with her tormentors. Then, her CAPTORS became CAPTIVES when one of Black Elk Horn's parties attacked them...it turns out the Iroquois and Islanders have an enemy in common. Morning Star was among those brought back to the camp on the Island (apparently some of the Islanders have found ways to travel on the mainland?), practically unconscious from her injuries. Nobody really wanted her...except for Stick-In-The-Dirt, who stepped forward and offered to take care of her. She was handed over to him without argument, and thus fell into his care.

The thing is...Morning Star reminds Stick of his dead wife, Rain-On-The-Leaves, so of course he falls in love with her. At first, she's terrified to find herself in the hands of yet ANOTHER enemy tribe...but Stick can be pretty convincing that he doesn't mean any harm. (He's not really that threatening of a guy, admittedly...) Eventually, the feelings are reciprocated, though Morning Star has a longing to return to her people...this spells trouble. I don't believe she acts on this desire in the storyline, however. When a battered Singing Cedars is put into Charmian's custody, she hands him over temporarily to Morning Star, believing that if the Iroquois will trust anybody to tend to him, it'll be another Iroquois.

Morning Star is very quiet and soft spoken, still dealing with the traumas she went through following her capture, but kindhearted as well, and torn between her two tribes.

SINGING CEDARS: The primary Iroquois character. This is the way I BELIEVE it will happen. The Iroquois are the enemy of the Islanders (who are modeled after the Ojibwa, but aren't Ojibwa, not technically), and in the story, there has been greater travel to and commerce upon the Island. Charmian's surprised when she gets her first glance of town; it's a lot more bustling than it was the last time, with French, British, and natives of different tribes frequenting the place. The main hub of activity is the fur company, which also functions as a meeting place, newsstand, and tavern.

The Iroquois have gotten wind of how profitable the Island might be, and send some spies along to check the place out. One of these is Singing Cedars. While the men are gone from Black Elk Horn's band (remember that Black Elk Horn takes Yellow Turtle's place as chief), the women and children mysteriously disappear, with signs of violence. (Remember this is just TENTATIVE. I came up with this scenario last night, and I could always ditch it come tomorrow.) Immediately the Iroquois are suspected, as they are known to be in the area. All of them manage to escape, but for Singing Cedars, who is captured and brought back to the camp. He's tied to a post and Black Elk Horn is ready to cut off his scalp, do other unpleasant things to him, when--"STOP!"...it's Charmian. She's been doing a little reading up on the customs of the local tribes, and demands to be allowed to adopt Singing Cedars to spare him from death. (As she's been informally adopted by Black Elk Horn's band, and is technically also a victim of the attack, she has this right.)

Needless to say everybody else is quite shocked, but Black Elk Horn bows to tradition and hands the captive over. Charmian promptly whispers to Stick-In-The-Dirt, "NOW what do I do?"

And so Singing Cedars ends up in Charmian's debt...throughout the story, nobody really trusts him, and he doesn't really trust anybody else. Charmian had a good reason for sparing him though, as she believes the Iroquois really AREN'T the ones behind the women's and children's disappearance...it was something more sinister...

Singing Cedars is a taciturn, sharp-faced person...always with an unpleasant expression, and very little to say. He ends up having to tag after Charmian a lot of the time, and appears to resent this fact. I shan't say much more about him...that will have to wait for the sequel. :)

WALKS-ON-THE-SHORE: AKA "The Crazy Huron" or "The Mad Huron." Charmian first meets this odd character as he's carrying goods for Gautier (a voyageur character). He appears very put-upon and burdened...but it turns out he's got a lot more spunk than that. The rumor is he's crazy, and his behavior seems to verify this; at one point when Charmian commands him to act crazy to distract another character, he promptly confronts that character and proceeds to gnaw on his arm like a rabid dog. Some people say he's a Wendigo.

The Hurons were originally the allies of the Iroquois, a brother tribe, and were not very nice to the Ojibwa. Then the Iroquois turned upon them for no reason whatsoever. Devastated, the Hurons had to turn to their former enemies, the OJIBWA, for help. They blackened their faces and tore their clothes and made themselves look as pitiful as possible to gain sympathy, and it worked...though the Ojibwa made it clear they also remembered what the HURONS had once done to them, in the past. Whenever the Iroquois and the Ojibwa fought, the Hurons made a point of reminding their new allies of the atrocities the Iroquois had committed upon them.

They sound a bit opportunistic, don't they.

Shore, as Charmian calls him, is an interesting character that I think I'll like. You can't be certain if he's really crazy, or if it's just an act. You can never be sure what he's going to do next, nor how insane it will be. At one point he picks up Charmian and tosses her into Lake Huron with hardly any warning, so she has every reason to be wary of him also!

When with Gautier, Shore appears to be a toady, yet when on his own or with the other native characters at the fur company he's a completely different person.

I have several other characters in addition who need names; until then, I'll just give their brief descriptions:

AN ELDER: Old man, Island tribe; long white/gray hair. Charmian runs into him in the woods but thankfully apologizes, as it turns out he's a Bearwalker...a dreaded shapeshifter. Good guy? Bad guy? Who knows...

AN OTTAWA: Somewhat stocky in appearance; frequents the fur company, where drinks are regularly sold, and which functions as a sort of tavern/meeting place in town. Frequently drunk, and the butt of Walks-On-The-Shore's weirdness. The two KIND of seem to be friends...kind of...

A POTAWATOMI or MENOMINEE: Another frequenter of the fur company, but not a drunkard like the other one. Sharp like a tack.

A ONE-EYED MAN: Could be either of the above, or a different character altogether. Kind of grizzled and gossipy.

There may be more...but I started this entry too late and have to go now. I have no time to proofread, so I will come back and edit this later on for typos and more information. Bye until then...


ADDITION: All right...I'm back. Time to talk about the unnamed characters. I'm a bit unclear on them. The old man, the Bearwalker (Makwamosa), I'm positive about, but the others confuse me a bit. I KNOW there will be a drunkard. Most likely the Ottawa character. But the Potawatomi (more likely than a Menominee, as the Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Ojibwa were very closely affiliated) and the one-eyed man puzzle me. Should they just be the same guy? I'm not sure yet. What's more unsettling is I have yet to come up with names for any of them. *sigh*

Well, maybe I can try to think of some now...firstly, the old man. What would be a good name for an old man who's a shapeshifter? He lives by himself, I know, and has long snowy hair. Probably walks with a staff. Heh, Walks-With-A-Staff? Just joking. I've already got, after all, Walks-On-The-Shore.

Hmmmmmmmm...something to do with his age or appearance. Of course when he was young nobody could know how he'd look when old, but he could always have changed his name. I think I remember reading that they would do that if they accomplished some sort of deed that made it necessary to change their names, later on.

Snow? Gray? Something? Truthfully, I've gotten nearly sick of nature terms and colors as adjectives, as that's almost all I used when starting out. Hmmmmmm...

How about Snow Hawk or some such? Snow Hawk or Snowy Hawk? As in a sharp old bird the color of snow. Hm. Might work...I'll have to think about it. Remember the Richingtons, and how I now think they're going to be the Leeds. (Don't know if I spelled that right. "Leedses"?)

Now, the drunkard. I think I have a good name for him: "Chief." As in, just "Chief." That's what everybody started to call him when he began hanging out at the fur company, so it stuck as a nickname. His real name probably isn't necessary; he probably doesn't even remember it anymore! When people jokingly named him Chief, he just liked it and kept it. So I suppose that takes care of the Ottawa character.

I'm thinking now that I would like the Potawatomi to be the one-eyed character. I'm picturing him as kind of short and wiry and weasely [sic?]. Granted, the native characters who hang out in town aren't as noble seeming as the ones who live in the woods, doesn't it appear? That damn fur company.

I'm truly stuck on this guy...hm. Like Shore's nickname is "The Crazy" or "The Mad," his will be "One-Eyed." (Oh, I should mention that he has TWO eyes, but is just blind in one, or else has a glass eye instead...nobody walking around with an empty socket here...eegh...) Ak! Do you know what just popped into my head for some bizarre reason? "Moves Clouds." I have NO idea where that came from, nor why it should be his name. "One-Eyed Moves Clouds" sounds doofy. ^_^ Of course, they could just give him a full nickname like they did for Chief. One-Eyed Jack or some such, like he's a pirate.

Har, "One-Eyed Lafayette" or "Pierre." Keep in mind who he's hanging out with at the fur company.

Eesh...I need to end this entry now.