Character Interview w/ Auren Trask

Tell us a little about you and the world you reside in?

The Serpent Isles are an island chain in the far north of my world. There are other land masses, mostly islands, around the world, but we are far from any of them. We are the most advanced culture on our world as well. Some of the other islands have primitive cultures, but the other islands are not very hospitable places to live. The wildlife is much too dangerous to coexist with on some, and the climates are too harsh on others. We are not sure why our culture seemed to thrive and advance, while others that remain are so primitive, but there are legends that suggest shadow stalkers played a role in that, if you believe in such things.

What is it like to be a kid growing up among the Serpent Isles?

Boring…at least on Appolia. I think I live in the most boring town on the coldest island in the Serpent Isles. We only get about a month of warm weather, and it never gets warm enough to swim here. There’s lots of skiing and snow related activities, but I’ve never been into that sort of thing. I don’t really like the cold. I like rock climbing, rappelling, and caving, though. Kado takes me camping on a different island every summer, and we do all kinds of stuff like that. On Appolia, I spend most of my time studying and trying not to get myself into too much trouble. Kado keeps me busy studying a lot of different things outside of school as well, so I don’t have much time for my friends.

You have a very protective foster father. Do you ever get the urge to rip your hair out, when it comes to dealing with him?

Well, no. I like my hair right where it is. I might consider ripping his out on occasion, though. Wait, never mind…that would not end well. We do butt heads a lot, though, and quite often I let my friend, Jade, talk me into breaking the rules. It’s great fun, until I get caught, which with Kado doesn’t take very long. Sometimes I swear he can read my mind.

In episode one you have two very unique friends. Can you tell us about them and how you met each?

I met Jade Tobin and Deakan Nix on my first day of school when I was six years old. We connected right away and have been inseparable since. Sometimes I think with the way the two of them bicker, they might like each other, but I’ll never tell them that. It might take a cataclysmic event to get them to admit they have feelings for each other.

Jade is generally quiet and reserved, but at the same time very mischievous. She is someone you can trust with your innermost secrets, and she is a lot of fun to be around. She has very laid back parents, except that they tend to shelter her from the harsh realities of the world. She tends to be too trusting, and she can’t understand cruel people. Violence terrifies her.

Deakan is the exact opposite. You can always count on him to be running his mouth, except when he’s around his father. He’s very obedient and well behaved around his dad. It’s like he has two different personalities, but I’d bet any amount of money that the person he is away from his dad is the real Deakan. He always seems to have something to prove and has a tendency to really dislike authority figures.

Your foster father spent many years training you. Do you feel glad after your experiences about having this training?

I would say I feel relieved more than glad. I don’t know what I would have done without the training to fall back on when my friends and I were in trouble. But the training itself has always been very difficult and limiting to my social life. So it’s really been a blessing and a curse.

Interview provided by: Kathryn Jenkins

Synopsis:

Shadow stalkers, a shamanic-like race of humans, are believed to be extinct. Their power was so feared by the people of the Serpent Isles, an island chain in the otherwise barren north that some people prefer to pretend that they never existed.

The Galvadi, a society of religious zealots, wages war on the Coalition, who oppose the empire's immoral practices. The Galvadi believe the Coalition is hiding a young shadow stalker who is destined to enslave the people of the Serpent Isles. But only one man knows of this shadow stalkers current location, and he is sworn to protect this child of prophecy.

Auren Trask always knew there was a secret about her past, but she was content to live a normal life. Then a camping trip with her friends turns to disaster when they find themselves on the run from a Galvadi invasion. With the help of Auren's foster father, Kado, they manage to escape, but then he reveals, to Auren, the secret of her past. A truth that will change her life forever.

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