“You are a monster.” Kanin’s deep voice droned in my head again, as I forced myself to move, to walk away. “You will always be a monster, there is no turning back from it. But what type of monster you become is entirely up to you.”
― Julie Kagawa, The Immortal Rules

Allison Sekemoto is a wonderful character.  She is brave, snarky, sarcastic, defiant, and tough.  She is also very loyal and once you become her friend, she will do anything to help you or keep you safe.  She is very driven and can be harsh and cold in order to survive.  She hates what she has become and longs to be human again.  She continually fights to keep her humanity, but the lust for blood is strong.  The name Allison means noble or truthful and these descriptions fit her perfectly.

Allison is small, only 5 feet tall.  She has asian features,  dark straight hair, and pale skin.  She is very beautiful and gets to carry around a katana.  How cool is that?

Allison goes by Allie most of the time.  She was living in New Covington, which is one of the vampire cities, as an unregistered.  She lived with a small group of street rats.  When savaging outside the city walls, Allie finds a basement full of food.  She convinces the others in her group to go with her outside the walls to get the stash of food.  They are attacked by rabids and while she lays dying, a vampire finds her.  His name is Kanin.  He gives Allie the choice to die as a human or live as a vampire.  She chooses to become a vampire and Kanin becomes her mentor.  She goes on a journey, not only of self discovery, but to save humanity as well.

Now we ask the question:  Friend or Foe?

Does the character do things that cause good or bad consequences?

Allie doesn’t intend to do things that have bad consequences.  She always has good intentions, but sometimes things go wrong. Just like when she took her group of street rats out of the city to get food.  Only one survived.   If they had been able to retrieve the food, they would have been well fed instead of starving.  She thought it was worth the risk.

Do they perform acts for gain or to help others?

Allie really tries to help others, but she is a vampire.  She is constantly fighting the thirst for blood and sometimes she loses control.  Allie is very selfless.  She would give up her life to save those that she cares about.

Are there personality traits noble and with good intent?

Allie is extremely noble and she always has good intentions, but sometimes things go wrong.  When that happens, she does her best to make things right.

Is this character dishonest?

The only time Allie was dishonest was by omission.  She was traveling with humans and failed to tell them that she was a vampire.  They eventually found out and she had to earn back their trust, which she did.

Did the character feel guilty about their poor actions?

Yes, she did and worked hard to try and fix things.  She always feels remorse and tries to be stronger.

Does the character kill without thought or reason?

This is a tough question.  When Allie is in control of the monster, the answer is no.  But there are a few times when she loses control and she has killed during those times.

Does the character permit selfless acts?

The answer to that is yes.  Allie is very selfless.  She would do almost anything for the people she cares about.  She intends to save the world, if she can.

Does the character only consider their own interests?

No.  Allie is always thinking about what is best for others, even at the expense of her own safety.

Does the character do things out of revenge?

Most of the time the answer would be no, unless someone purposely harmed someone that she cared about.  In that case she may very well act in revenge.

Are actions or intentions more important?

As the old proverb says:  The road to hell is paved with good intentions.  The problem with good intentions is that they very often go awry.  Allie has good intentions and isn’t afraid to act on those good intentions.  Sometimes her plans go awry and people get hurt.  No one is perfect and we all make mistakes.  The secret is to learn from those mistakes and continue to move forward towards our goals.  That is exactly what Allie does.

Is Allie a Friend or Foe?

I think she is a friend, but if she ever lets the monster out, she would be a formidable foe.

Allie is one of my favorite characters and I love The Blood of Eden Trilogy.

What do you think?

Magnus Damora

Some said that Magnus was just like his father in looks and temperament.
He’d disagreed until today.
He WAS his father’s son.
He was cruel.
Manipulative.
Deceptive.
Violent.

Magnus Damora is a tall, handsome fellow, with black hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. He has a scar that runs down his face from cheek to his mouth. He’s a complicated character from Falling Kingdoms. And who might this complicated, handsome guy be? No more than the dark prince of Limeros. He’s a young boy that continuously tries to seek his his father’s approval. An eighteen year old that is heir to the throne, and still has much growing up to do. He has a sister named Lucia whom he has conflicted, obsessed feelings for. This love is forbidden and unnatural, of which he is quite aware of. Because of this forbidden love, Magnus attempts to conceal his feelings,  not only his obsession for his sister, but also other compassionate emotions that others may view him as weak if they knew. He keeps so many dark and dangerous secrets, that it turns him quite cold and heartless. He’s a difficult person to read, to truly understand what his true feelings are and what his motives could be. Lucia is pretty much the only light and happiness in his life, which could explain his unwarranted feelings towards her. Magnus is a very dark character, and very loyal to his father King Gaius to a fault. He’s arrogant, brooding, confident, sarcastic, sensitive, and very easily annoyed. Magnus is a character filled to the rim with so much inner turmoil. Surprisingly, even amidst all this darkness and evil that Magnus is surround by, he has a compassionate part of him that he hides with angry words, but shows in his actions.

Excerpt from Falling Kingdoms:

A storm of emotions swept through Magnus. He wanted to push the woman out of his room and slam the door in her face. But he couldn’t. If there was something else he needed to know about Lucia…

“Tell me,” he growled.

“Ask me nicely.”

He trembled from the effort it took not to reach out and crush the woman’s throat.

So let me ask: Friend or Foe?

To determine the validity of my decision towards his character establishment as a possible hero, or the evil villain, I’ve comprised a list of questions to ask myself this very question.

Does the character do things that have good consequences? or bad consequences?  

In Falling Kingdoms Magnus actions result in some circumstances good consequences and others bad. However overall in the first book, he does do some pretty bad things. He kills without thought. He’s selfish and arrogant. He loves his sister, even though he finds out later she’s adopted. But he does good as well. He tries to save someone before they can be hurt by his father. He he cares for his sister and protects and defends her to a fault.

Do they perform acts for personal gain or to help others?

Magnus is extremely self-centered in this book. He strives to please his father and to show that he will one day be a worthy king. He does help others twice. One time to save someone, and the other to protect his sister. Both of these were selfless acts, though I’m sure concerning the servant girl he would try and deny trying to help her.

Are their personality traits noble and with good intent?

I wouldn’t call Magnus a noble character. I wouldn’t necessarily say he has good intent. But he is extremely loyal to his father, despite the villain his father is.

Does the character consider only their own interests?

Magnus spends a great deal of time considering his father’s interests and what he can do to earn his father’s admiration.

Does the character permit selfless acts?

Yes. Magnus does perform two acts of selflessness in the first book.

Did the character feel guilty about their poor actions?

It doesn’t go into too much detail, but I do believe there is at least once instance where he does feel guilty. He starts justifying why he did something. He tries to convince himself that what he just did was the right thing and that the other persons actions towards him were sound.

Does the character kill without thought or reason?

Oh yes! I do believe he does!

Does the character do things out of revenge?

You know what’s interesting about Magnus? I wouldn’t call him a vengeful character. He doesn’t go out of his way to hurt people because someone may have wronged him. Now he does follow his father’s orders blindly, but not out of malice intent. More to appease his father.

Does the character strive to get what they want by any means necessary?

I do believe he does. And he hurts people along the way.

Does the character stand by as others perform horrendous acts?

Yes. He know’s what kind of monster his father is and yet he does nothing. Honestly though, he really isn’t in a position to where he can oppose his father. If you can’t beat them, join them right?

What happened to the character’s childhood that has helped to create who that character is?

Magnus was abused both verbally and physically as a child. I do believe that this has majorly impacted him. I think that with all the darkness in his life, and his sister being the only one that has shown him love and compassion, it completely makes sense why he would latch on to her. He’s aching for someone to show him the light and bring him out of darkness.

My verdict:

Based off my responses, Magnus Damora is classified as a “villain”. However, I think he has the makings to become someone more honorable, especially after reading the continuation of his story in the Falling Kingdoms sequel Rebel Springs.  

Magnus Damora is one of my all time favorite characters! I just love his complexity, and I love seeing his transformation. I cannot wait for the third installment, Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms #3), which will be released December 9, 2014!!!

Let me ask you just one question . Is Magnus a hero, or a villain?