A Fantasy Character Born from History

As a historian, I always make it a point to blend reality into each writing project. One of my passion projects is an epic fantasy series that I've devoted the past thirty-two years crafting and developing which I'm currently shopping around both as books and complete story bible.

They say to write what you know and that's why one character in my stories holds a place in my heart. Growing up, my late grandfather used to share his stories about his time serving in the Pacific campaign. He always started with the two buddies who lived across the street from him in Pittsburgh, the three of them grew up together and as they got older decided that the best solution to solid work would be to enlist in the military. Before shipping off, Grandad took ill and was held back from enlisting while his pals moved forward. Both friends kept in touch with him during his recovery and in a bragging letter wrote that they were transferred to Hawaii and stationed aboard the BB-39, U.S.S. Arizona.

Once he was cleared and later informed that his buddies are among those who remain "still on watch", he made a vow to avenge the deaths of his friends. Which he did starting at his deployment to Guadalcanal where at Iron Bottom Sound, he earned the moniker "Triggerhappy Harry" when he swung his AA gun hard enough to break the bolt thus pivoting a full 360 degrees while chasing a Kamikaze and accidentally blowing off the upper ten feet of his own ship's funnel! As he used to say, he "gave them hell for what they'd done!"

Of his time in service, a faded photo is in my collection taken of Grandad as he stood in the remains of Nagasaki only days following its destruction. Each Memorial Day we'd toast to honor the fallen and each December 7th, we'd do a secondary toast to the lost friends.

As a writer, the perfect solution in character development is observation, which is why within The Chronicles of the Dragons Bane, is a warrior king named Latarian. Short tempered, charges headfirst into battle and fights until the battle is resolved. Besides his brute strength, his recognized weapon is a five bladed battle axe named Retribution which he crafted from the weapons of his fallen brothers in arms and carries it using it as a reminder of a bond forged and lost in battle.