“Sya Omga had one regret: being able to kill her father only once.”
We meet a new character in the second scene of Three Immortals, and although no connection to the first scene or protagonist Kel Chaada is obvious, we can assume this lady with play a major role. We looked at opening sentences in the previous article, and Sya Omga has a memorable opener. She is an abuse victim, setting herself free by killing not only a father but a powerful monarch of an interstellar empire.
When I wrote Sya Omga’s character sheet, I considered making her the protagonist and to re-structure the story to be told from her perspective. While this could have been fascinating, the approach had one major problem: Sya knows too much. As we learn in this scene, she grew up in the center of power of a major interstellar nation, a child in a royal family.
If George Lucas had told Star Wars from Leia’s perspective, it would have been a different story than starting off with the moisture farmer and power converter aficionado Luke Skywalker. Luke and Kel share an important ingredient: they are smart and resourceful, but they lack access to the bigger picture. They hold no influence or power and have no insights about how the fictional galaxy works. As a character they have the opportunity for growth, they can learn new skills, uncover the truth, find hidden knowledge, foil a sinister plot. Most importantly, they can take the reader, who is new to the distant future galaxy, along for the ride. We are part of the discovery and can be surprised by the reveals. Much more fun than tagging along a walking exposition bomb.
I discarded the idea of making Sya the protagonist but compromised on giving her character more point-of-view (POV) scenes and chapters, like this one, when we meet her for the first time. This compromise was also a major decision point for the novel (and the rest of the Galacticide trilogy): Alternating POVs. If a character was interesting and important enough, we would not only get introduced to them through Kel’s eyes and thoughts; instead, they’d get their own voice. Three Immortals would end up sporting 5 POV characters. Following novels have even more.
This is the stuff I like to read, a breadth of different perspectives, seemingly unrelated plots which will intertwine, then fuse. As I mentioned in the previous article, my preference for reading became my style for writing and I find it fair to let readers know early on that POV changes can happen.
The conflict between Sya and her father has been resolved in the past. It is reasonable to assume the rebellions and the dissent her late father was brutally suppressing might not simply go away along with his demise. More conflict. A large stellar nation, politically unstable, the head of state disposed by his own kin. More drama ahead. Will we get a break in the next scene?
Spoiler: No (you saw this coming, didn’t you?)
See you soon for scene 3, continuing the analysis of Sya Omga’s Role in Three Immortals.
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