WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY CHARACTERS

L’Evallier, Chief Elf, one of the most noble of his kind, is effectively the Queen’s conscience.  He sees it as his duty to be her gallant knight which, to him, also means making it very clear to her when she’s wrong.  He cannot be bribed or threatened.  Nor will he abbreviate any words (though the Queen will if under stress or in a hurry) but his wife, Melanbury, has brought a new dimension to his life.  As ever, it was an arranged marriage.  She’s almost as noble as he is but there is one crucial difference.  L’Evallier is crazy about Melanbury.  She, to begin with, is terrified of being in the same room as him, making Eileen wonder what her parents told Melanbury about sex, but  eventually the marriage is consummated. L’Evallier experiences a lot of frustration before that point (!) and is aware he’s not supposed to show emotion.  He’s not sure he should feel any emotions either but Melanbury changes that. It’s Melanbury who gradually helps L’Evallier to become less of a stuffed shirt while still being a gallant, honest knight to the Queen.


Rodish, Chief Dwarf, is close colleague of L’Evallier and is equally honest and incorruptible.  He speaks his mind to Council colleagues and the Queen though not quite as abruptly as L’Evallier.  Likes a decent beer and imports good quality stuff from earth.  Brankaresh, Chief Wizard, knows he cannot bribe either Rodish or L’Evallier and that they both want to do the best they can for their communities.  Rodish eventually pays the price for standing up to evil when the Witch and Brankaresh try to overthrow the Queen.  Brankaresh sets Rodish up to be killed by the Witch, who thoughtfully leaves him in a gibbet in his constituency that Rodish had gone back to defend. But even the Witch leaves a note saying Rodish fought well…. Courageous to the end, Rodish is the dwarf’s dwarf.