User blog:Astar Goldenwing/8 Facts About...

I’ve seen these posted on DeviantArt a lot, and so I thought: why not to do the same with my Redwall characters? It would allow me to share some interesting facts that didn’t made their way into the stories proper yet, especially the development process, and I could update more often with such snippets while the proper chapters are in the work. And you can suggest the next character or characters about which you want to learn more in the comments, though personally I’d prefer to do such posts for characters that don’t get as much screen time as the mains. So, what do you think of the idea?

But for now, let us begin with our first characters: Wavehound Streamdiver and Seabird Galedeep from ‘For Freedom’. 1. In my original ‘sketch’, Wavehound and Seabird’s names were Waverunner and Sea Silence respectively. You see, I originally thought up the story in Russian, and so the names had to be translated when I decided to improve my English by writing it in English and posting it on the Wiki. Wavehound changed his name because I saw that someone else on the Wiki had a character named Waverunner in their story, and while Sea Silence sounds graceful, it’s too long for a name, so I changed it to Seabird.

2. Wavehound and Seabird’s names really stand out among traditional otter names of Green Isle, but there is an in-story explanation of it. Wavehound belongs to Streamdiver Clan through his father, but his mother was the last member of Wavehound Clan which, along with some other smaller Clans, almost completely died out after the conquest of the Isle by wildcats. Wavehound’s mother died soon after his birth, and to honor her and her Clan and to make sure they would not be forgotten, his father gave him this name. Seabird, born into slavery, was given her name by her parents in hope that even though they themselves were slaves, one day their daughter would be free as a bird and able to live by the sea as a Galedeep otter should.

3. For a long time Wavehound and Seabird didn’t have a fixed designs since I just used to not dwell on how exactly they looked. I suppose it was Sayna’s influence that made my imagination kick off, since her characters are always so descriptive. After that, their designs changed quite a few times in my mental eye, though it wasn’t reflected story-wise. Wavehound was established as being tan-furred early on, but his eye color changed from gold to amber to brown and he gained a lighter underbelly later on. Seabird started out grey-furred and blue-eyed, but when I decided that I don’t want her to look like Moska’s long-lost sister, she became brown-furred and blue-eyed. Eventually, in her final and my favourite design Seabird has dark brown fur and dark amber eyes.

4. In my original ‘sketch’, Wavehound and Seabird were supposed to eventually become a couple, but as I began to actually write the story and Wavehound and Sea began developing as characters, I realized that was not going to happen, just because they don’t fit together. It’s not that they dislike each other – quite the opposite, they are good friends, but they just don’t view each other romantically, and Wavehound is too focused on protecting their fellow slaves and fighting Fort corsairs to think about romance at all. Plus, they are way too different – different enough to balance each other as partners and friends, but too different to make a romance work.

5. I didn’t plan on it, but Wavehound and Seabird’s personalities provide an interesting contrast. On the one hand, we have Wavehound who has more radical way of thinking – it’s not that he’s reckless, quite the opposite, his meticulous planning of the slaves’ escape prove that, but he is more prone to take calculated risks and more willing to go to the end to reach his goals. Seabird, on the other hand, is more composed and thoughtful and willing to be content with small things if they mean safety of her friends. She is also more compassionate compared to Wavehound’s harsher demeanor, hardened by the life in slavery.

6. Appearances of Wavehound and Seabird are also built on contrast, though this one is intentional. Being members of Streamdiver and Galedeep Clans respectively, Wavehound is tall but lean and slender, sinewy and physically capable but not very imposing, while Seabird is large and strong ottermaid, broad-shouldered and muscular. Let’s say that I wanted to reflect their origins in their appearances, plus I really like subverting gender stereotypes.

7. Wavehound is a river otter while Seabird is a sea otter, but this isn’t brought up in the story, aside from showing in their Clans’ names, since Redwall books never accent the difference between these species except for several remarks in ‘High Rhulain’ and ‘The Rogue Crew’. And since river otters can live along the coast, provided they have the source of fresh water, I always kind of assumed they are not different species. That being said, otters of Streamdiver and Galedeep Clans do have physical differences, as evident by their looks, but they have much more in common.

8. Despite all their differences, Wavehound and Seabird share a dream so bold that they don’t often dare speak of it aloud. They dream that one day, when all their fellow slaves on Terramort Isle are free and the power of Darm Deathtrap is overthrown, they would sail out to Green Isle and liberate it from the tyranny of wildcats. They don’t know how they will manage it or when or by what means, since their current position is difficult enough, with Fort soldiers on their heels and their friends in danger, but that’s the goal they have in mind.