Rising Dragons

Mark and Thirak

It should be noted that this will probably have a few other points along with my normal stuff.

Character Ramble - This is it! This is my first one! This is the brilliant one that I wrote first and holds a special place in my heart. It's one I've taken a look at a few times, and I wrote it before I finished A Dragon's View. This is a rant basically, and it isn't so much about their story as about them, who they are, what made them - it's about perspectives and twisted words and just how easy it is for something to be seen as A but really be something else entirely.

What I want to show in A Dragon's Redemption is Mark and Thirak's journey and character development.

Ultimately, Mark started his life as the way most kids do. He was a little boy with a hope for a future. He was competitive; he wanted to do better than his older brother. He was constantly treated like a little kid, and he had so much potential. Here's the thing, right? Mark is what we all are, human. He was young and he stayed young. He had ambitions and somewhere along the way, things didn't seem so straightforward. Nothing ever is overly straightforward. Mark was innocent, once. He had a mother and

a father and a brother. He was very much just a young boy who looked up to his brother who seemed so perfect, so likeable. Mark worshiped his brother, he loved him and thought the world of him. Too bad reality isn't exactly like that.

Mark's discovery of the white dragon is very much a symbol of corruption within our society. The white dragon doesn't quite force Mark to do anything, but Mark is in awe (and so very, very naïve that he doesn't understand that the white dragon has done bad things; to Mark, the white dragon has been treated badly and he wants to be a hero – and as a dragon rider he might be – and he'll do all he can to help those who have been wronged; it's just like in the books, the legends, the myths) of this dragon. Mark does his best to help, and he believes that this white dragon is telling the truth.

And slowly, ever so slowly, the white dragon starts meaning something more to Mark. Because, here's the thing, Mark is very much a lonely little boy who loves his older brother so much, but he's also bitter because his brother doesn't have much time for him. He loves them and they love him, but sometimes that needs to be shown and people need to be reminded of that every once in a while.

The white dragon starts becoming a mentor-like figure to Mark, a friend, someone to confide in. Thirak, although less sure, feels the same connection. He's connected to Mark and Mark's emotions, that link is something that isn't easily ignored. It gets to a level where Mark will go to the white dragon instead of his older brother for help; it's when the white dragon knows she has more influence and power in regards to Mark. It's kinda where everyone lost, I think.

See, it's not as simple as Mark is good and now he's evil. Those terms are subjective, objective. And look, these aren't excuses. They aren't meant to make you feel bad for Mark; this isn't a search for pity and empathy. This isn't Mark's redemption. These are reasons. Yeah, I'll be one of the first to say I view Mark as evil, but it's important to note that society made him into this. This is what he turned into as a result of others' actions.

Mark killed his brother. He thought he was doing the right thing. They had drifted apart somehow and that bitterness has been nurtured into hatred and confusion – he was a lost boy before he realised his family didn't care overly much about him (and maybe this isn't true, but we only see things from one perspective, so who is to say it isn't?). Mark broke down anyway, because he had worshiped his brother, he had loved him, resented him, loved him in spite of it.

Thirak is the one I chose for redemption, not Mark. And yes, maybe that's because Thirak is the dragon, but there's no reason why they both could've had redemption; except, there is, actually. See, here's the thing. Mark's mind is – I don't want to say warped or twisted, because that implies he didn't choose this (and he did), so I'll say his mind is – cold. It's not cold because he doesn't love (and he does, he does so much that it hurts because they scorn him, turn on him, betray him, hate him – and how does he know what isn't, if no one will tell him?). It's cold because it's hard, it's cunning, it's a soldier's mind. He knows his fights and why he does it. Mark's brave and strong and he believes he's doing the right thing. He's smart and cunning and all too human. He hurts and he cries but he can't break down or fracture because he's come so far and done so much. He believes in his cause. He cares for it and no one can say he didn't, because he did, he does.