Character Sketches - Hindsight, Part Two

Readers have high praise for Hindsight. A recent commenter said, "Awesome! ...an epic adventure that you wrapped up perfectly." This post wraps up the (belated) character sketch posts for Hindsight, too. Enjoy!

Tadhg

“Shall we darken tomorrow with yesterday’s sorrow? Life is short. It’s brutal. But I’d prefer not to spend mine in misery.”

Birthdate: 331
Age at the time of this story: 27
Physical Characteristics: 6’2”; 186 lbs; blond hair; blue eyes
Titles: None

Tadhg is desperate to control his outcomes and protect himself from further hurt. As an indentured servant to Lord Zandor, he must bite his tongue and do as he’s told, harnessing his strong-willed nature to bend to the will of his master. He appears taciturn and fierce, but beneath his stern exterior beats a loyal heart, and he extends deep devotion to those few he learns to trust. Staunchly independent and determined to avoid close connections with anyone, Tadhg’s primary goal is to be left alone.

A fisherman by trade, Tadhg is a skilled navigator and sailor, with an abiding love of the sea. After facing personal tragedy in his birthplace of Daghain, he is eager to abandon his dark history and seek a new start. 

“The storm that hit our ships was the worst I’d ever encountered, and I’ve faced many terrible storms. We herded everyone into the holds, leaving only experienced sailors on deck, and every soul on board feared we would sink. I lashed myself to the mast, lest the massive waves swamping the vessel should sweep me overboard, and I was attempting to furl the sail—a hopeless task. That’s when I saw her.

“Now, she’d have you believe she had exited the hold, but no passenger would leave safety below to face Manannan’s wrath. No, she came out of thin air. From the Otherworld? A manifestation of the gods? She’s most likely a Cailleach, as the Mystics say.

“Whatever she was, she was in grave danger of washing overboard, and she would have, had I not grabbed her and held on. And now, I wish I had let the cursed beauty drown. Perhaps the Cailleach has cast a spell on me, but the enchantment is thorough, and I’m ensnared. Damn her.”

Logan McGuire

“History takes its course, and opportunities to change its direction occur at pivotal moments, like a train when the switch machine moves the rails.”

Birthdate: 1981
Age at the time of this story: 39
Physical Characteristics: 6’0”; 190 lbs; dark brown hair; blue eyes
Titles: Archmystic

Logan is principled, self-disciplined, and has an intense personality. He worked hard to attain his position of Archmystic, and he enjoys commanding others. Schooled in history, magic, religion, and holistic medicine, he holds a day job as a licensed naturopath in a private clinic—a contemporary extension of his ancient training.

Logan has seen more than his share of supernatural occurrences in Caledon. His few experiences with the Saorsa Mask convinced him that the magic was growing dangerous, and the artifact should be retired. Logan ordered it concealed in the caverns in 2017 and allowed it to be sealed in the secured area with the Dragon’s Fire after the disaster of 2018.

Though the Mystics have long fallen from prominence in Caledonian society, Logan believes that the Order must scrutinize cultural and political events and intervene with the gods when necessary. Although most Caledonians have forgotten the influence the Mystics once wielded, Logan knows the power is still his, just muted in a modern time.
When he discovers that someone has found the hidden mask, his dismay knows no bounds.

“When Bronwyn sent me the photographs, I knew they weren’t a hoax. That insidious face I had hoped never to lay eyes on again set my stomach quivering and froze my heart. Had Lauryn possessed it, fine; but to have it in the clutches of a commoner… unthinkable! Lauryn couldn’t see the danger; I heard the flippancy in her voice. How could she know? She had no reason to care.

“But it won’t take much for the mask to wreak irreparable harm on Caledon. It is overcoming the spell we put on it to bind its powers; cursed thing! Its power is immeasurable; its destruction, impossible. We would incur the wrath of the gods.
​
“But we, the ones who understand and respect its magic, must possess it. Outside Mystic circles, the Saorsa Mask is dangerous. Lethal. If history tears and time collides with itself, the world will end…”