Markal

Strategy/RPG game (Male, antagonist, main character)

“Wisdom and strategy are eternal; passion and loyalty both fleeting and weak."

Trusts only himself and his manipulation of others; is disdainful of those who let passions and oaths control their lives. He believes not merely that the end justifies the means, but that means do not need to be justified.

  1. Brief history: Markal was once an influential member of Haven’s royal House; a the same time he was also the secret leader of Haven’s Necromancer Lodge.
    Markal is old and experienced.  He served the previous king Alexei and was a protégé of Alexei’s wife, but was never liked by Alexei or Alexei's son Nicolai and never found favor with the Peers of the Realm (who despised him, Godric included) or the Priests of the Light (who were suspicious about him – rightly so).  Nicolai decided to exile Markal when his mother the queen died.
    As the leader of an embattled, hated, and feared people he will really only feel secure when he is in control – he cannot trust others to act benevolently towards the Necromancers.
    He sees Nicolai’s death as a perfect opportunity to seize power. The ruling nobles (including the high priest of the Light) are away from the capital to wage war with the Demons, and Isabel is desperate enough to trust him. With Isabel’s help, Markal hopes to achieve his lofty goals…
  2. Character arc during the game:
    1. Initial motivations: Become the shadow behind the throne in the Griffin Empire, take revenge on Nicolai (who exiled him) by turning him into a Vampire (his pawn), and take revenge on the Magi by using the Griffin Empire’s army to crush them.
    2. Experiences: Conquering the Mages and killing Cyrus (confirmation of his power and the rightness of his beliefs), gaining Nicolai as his pawn and Isabel as his puppet (success, self-satisfaction).
    3. Final motivations: Killed near the end of the game by the four factions opposed to him.
  3. Character diamond:
    1. Cold and calculating
    2. Patient, almost passive
    3. Unctuous, smooth, persuasive
    4. Vicious and vengeful
  4. Examples from literature:
    Dumas’s Richelieu; Shakespeare's Richard III; Mary Shelley’s Dr Frankenstein; Flagg in Stephen King’s "Eyes of the Dragon"; Varis in George Martin’s "Song of Ice and Fire"; Galen in Robin Hobb’s Royal Assassin trilogy; Brand from Zelazny’s Amber; Tokugawa in Clavell's "Shogun"
  5. Movie Examples:
    David Carradine (Bill) in "Kill Bill", Scar in "The Lion King", Charlton Heston as Cardinal Richelieu in "The Three Musketeers", ...
  6. Voice:
    In the style of Christopher Lee (Saruman) in "The Lord of the Rings"