I'm so excited I finally get to show off this character! Aella is the newcomer of TITANIOUS Book Two, joining the cast as a new mentor for Gabriel– as well as his thematic mirror in this segment.
Trials of Olympus is, admittedly, a story I struggled to piece together, because I was unprepared for the many ways this story would evolve. I stopped going with my original plan of having it follow a MOTW format, as I noticed that writing and developing it, the words I was putting to page were starting to grow organically. That was when I realized that if I just stuck with my original plan, and just go with the same story structure and repetitiveness, I would've left myself unsatisfied, because there was a whole room filled with potential that I wasn't going into.
And with that, I created Aella. The whirlwind mistress, and daughter of Ares. I was watching a ton of Shaw Brothers films when writing, so I naturally made her an expert martial artist (as a descendant of the god of war should be!), but with her being a mirror to Gabriel, someone who's shown disdain for his mortality in pursuit of his godhood, Aella is someone who clings to her humanity, because she is scarred by her godhood. I won't say too much, but there is a beautiful scene between the two in the second book that genuinely had me breaking down in tears as I was writing, because I felt the pain that I've managed to project into them that they've been carrying for so long.
And with a character like her, I knew there'd be no one, and I mean NOBODY better than
@blankspotato to draft her design. I've worked with her before on several pieces, and the way she designs her characters has this balance between vulnerability and strength that just feels so compelling, as if the two are rooted within one another. To me, that's Aella, and the essence of Titanious. Being as strong as you can be, not just because of your inner strength, but your imperfections and the hardships you've endured. How you react and respond to these speak so much of who you are as a person, and I feel like in an age where everybody and everything is so uncertain, that's the message I'd like to convey.
Tell us what you think of Aella!