Dracula . . . I think.
With War of Nytefall: Anarchy I pushed the battles a bit more even if they weren’t shown. I wanted to make sure it was clear the conflict between Nyte and Nytefall as heating up. This required giving more attention to the character who was most likely to be involved in the fighting: Titus Winthrop.
For those who don’t remember, Titus is a big vampire and the little brother of Mab. By big, I mean he’s about 7 feet tall and all muscle. He is the leader of the Vengeance Hounds, which used to be a mercenary army. Then it was reduced to a handful of warriors during the Sun God’s crusade waged during Clyde’s absence. Titus kept everything together and has now turned them into a special force within the Nytefall army. Of course, he’s also been put in charge of the entire army. It was either him, Bob, or Lost, so he sees it as not having a choice.
Throughout the series, Titus has been a loyal friend and a leader of small groups, but now I got to show him as a military strategist. He’s nothing like General Decker of Nyte, who is a trained soldier. This actually works to his advantage because he thinks and acts like a mercenary. I used this background to show how he trains in a less structured manner and takes on dangerous tasks for himself. This is the type of leader I like to write because I think citizens and soldiers have more respect for one who is willing to accept risks instead of hiding in the back. So, I had to find a balance between Titus giving orders and doing things himself. I wanted him to be able to delegate work in a similar fashion to Clyde if not better since he has more leadership experience.
Boosting Titus was still a head-scratcher because he’s fairly mild in temperament. I had the same issue with Timoran Wrath in Legends of Windemere. Both are big, powerful men with nothing to prove, so they sit back and speak when they have something important to say. Titus does make his presence known since he’s the one more likely to piece a mystery together if it deals with strategy. In this way, I think he’s a better tactician than he lets on. It also differentiates him from Timoran in that he is thinking of army tactics and consequences instead of small group adventuring. He can really wrap his head around a big picture.
Another thing I got to do is give Titus one of my favorite battles in the series. It was one that I was never sure I’d have happen because I kept switching him out for characters I thought would have an easier time. At the last hour, I decided to let Titus take care of it and challenge myself to use his powers in new ways. He has a inspirational voice, blood that can turn a weapon into an infectious blade, and can create a double that stands back-to-back with him. All really useful, but I’ve noticed that he hasn’t pushed them to their limit very often. It was time to show what he could and I hope people enjoy that when they read the book.
Titus seems to fall into a common subplot in Anarchy. He is struggling to improve as a leader in terms of confidence. Clyde and, to a lesser extent, Mab are doing the same thing in different arenas. So, it’s nice to have so many characters do this and it created a nice contrast in my mind to show multiple paths to the same goal. At least, for those who made it to that goal. 😀
Legends of Windemere 