Fechin & Azar are characters in Raven Chronicles. Their story has a Hades & Persephone theme.

Fechin tries to do what he thinks is the right thing, but veers into a gray area at times in how he goes about it. As King, even just the acting King, and a son of Morrigan, he’s used to people obeying him. He gives orders and lets others sort out how to do what he says. He’s got a lot of responsibilities and everyone wants something from him, whether it’s a favor or to murder him. I’m not even sure he really wants to be King. At this point, he just thinks he’s a better choice than Vilkos, and well, he’s right about that.

With Azar, I tried to write a naive girl. Sometimes that’s tricky because if a character is too naive it’s easy to cross into the Too Stupid To Live category.  Azar is taken from everything she knows and is forced to figure out a new life in a place she doesn’t understand and where a misstep could end with her death. It was key to the story that she learn quickly to adapt to her new circumstances while at the same time hold on to enough of her genuine niceness to influence other characters, Shisti in particular. That was not actually my plan in the beginning. Shisti has become one of those characters who has taken on a life of her own.

Having Azar around is teaching Fechin to live his life rather than be the person everyone expects him to be. Azar is learning things too, mainly how she has to think of her well-being before anyone else’s.