Character Introduction: Marta

Welcome to my second character introduction!
Marta is perhaps my favorite character; I know, unsafe to have favorites, but I can't help it. She intrigues me, and I still haven't found out everything about her yet. ;) She might be a little harder to do an introduction for without giving too many of her secrets away, but I shall do my best.

Character Introduction:Marta

1. What does she look like?

Marta has very dark brown hair that is always pulled back into a long braid, deep-set brown eyes, and olive skin. She is about 5'9 and slender but well-built - she has to be for living in the trees and hunting her food with a bow. She has a strong jawline and cheekbones, but her face is still extremely feminine and rather beguiling to others.


2. How old is she?

Again, I'm not certain on the ages yet, but Marta is definitely around nineteen years of age.

3. In three words, describe her personality.

Loner. Strong. Distrustful (of others).


4. Who IS Marta?

Marta is a fire breather. If you've read the overview I posted on this book, you will know that the fire breathers were hunted down by the men of King Ewan of Drasia and slaughtered. Marta's village was one of the first attacked, and she witnessed the murder of both her parents. She was the only one to survive in her village of fire breathers, and she was 'five' years old. (Fire breathers age differently than man; while she is only about nineteen years old and the purge happened twenty years ago, she was at the maturity and build of a five year old. They grow rapidly in the first four-five years and live longer than man does.) With no other fire breathers of surrounding villages to aid her, Marta fled deep into the forest and lived in a tree for two years to escape the king's men, only coming down to kill a small squirrel or rabbit for a meal. She has lived in various parts of the forest ever since, striving to cope with her young feelings of loneliness and bitterness. Through this, however, she learned to quell her bitterness towards the kingdom and focus her energy on mastering the art of archery, crafting her own bow. However, though her anger had been tucked away, it didn't mean it was gone forever; she still fights feelings of taking her revenge on the inhabitants of the castle.
Having lived practically her whole life alone, that is of course what she prefers. She does not care for any sort of person invading her space, and is extremely private of her camp, wherever she may make it; unfortunate fools who dare try to take over her camp. She has also devoted her life to protecting small, outlying villages from a group of pillagers who also have made camp in the woods. She protects one particular village, though the reason I can't reveal just yet ;) Aha - Marta has a secret.

Marta is also interesting because it is possible she is part of a legend, a prophecy. There are different abilities in the fire breathers: Some have extreme gifts in fighting with their fire, some are healers, and others are "seers" - they display the past and the future in images through the fire. It is said in the legends of these people that one day a great warrior will rise from them; the most powerful fighting fire breather to have lived. Marta's parents were the leaders of a community of fire villages throughout Drasia, making Marta a kind of princess, and it was speculated when she was younger that she would be this warrior. Marta doubts the prophecy, but does not completely throw the notion away. She simply is waiting to see what will happen in the future, and if this will be her.


5. Does she have any habits?

Marta has a habit of going completely silent with no warning, even in mid-sentance. She is either remembering back to her past, or the pieces are coming together in a problem and she must have total concentration.

6. What are some things she treasures?

Peace and quiet! Falling asleep in a tall tree, watching the sun go down and listening to the forest. Honesty. Privacy.

7. What does she passionately hate?

Betrayal. Tyranny. Plain old bullies, haha. People who chatter.

8. Any special markings, treasured items?

She crafted her bow herself and is definitely a treasured item. She also wears a necklace which bears significance, but this is a new idea to me so I'm still working on what exactly I want. Fill y'all in later ;)

9. Would I describe Marta as a likable character?

I think so. Marta is a character who shows herself through expression, not words, which can be refreshing. Her quiet personality adds a hint of mysteriousness to her character and brings questions up in your mind, which personally I love in a character; if they don't cause you to ask one single question, what good are they? Underneath her strong, silent personality, she has fire (no pun intended), wit, and wisdom, which calls for some fun times in both writing and reading.

10. If she had one quote to describe her, what would it be?

Ah, the wonderful pinterest has provided me with so many different amazing quotes that fit her beautifully, but since I must pick one, I would say this quote keeps coming back to me: "Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it." (credit to whoever came up with this, I don't know who.) As I mentioned before, Marta has tucked her feelings of anger and bitterness towards the king deep within her so she will not do anything she will regret, and has also made herself "numb" to her past - both the destruction of her village and other things that have scarred her. What will happen when the past comes back to haunt her? Will her strength prevail, or will she break?

Marta's pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/wildwestfantasy/character-board-marta/

Thanks for reading :) Ivanya will be next, either Saturday or next week (yeah, I said just one or two a week..forgot that things get boring when all you can do in a day after having your tonsils out is lay on the couch, haha) and she such a fun character to write, so I hope you'll come back for hers!