Inside the Character: Eadën Vangûard

So apparently a lot of people want to see an ItC on Eadën from The Cycle of Time. I haven't dealt with that story in a while, so this could be interesting to see how much I remember/get feelings over Eadën (then again, it's not hard to get feelings over Eadën). I will try to avoid spoilers but know that he is a big character in The Cycle of Time so there is bound to be some secrets or storylines revealed.


P.S. Some of you ask, I answer: the ¨ above the "e" in Eadën's name is part of the language I created for the elves in Janíza (the land that The Cycle of Time is set in). Normally, the ¨ represents the natural sound of a letter (like e says "eh", a says "ah", etc.) and is used in longer, more complicated names to help with pronunciation. You may be saying, "but Eadën's name isn't complicated it's just 'eden'." This is true. However, since he is royal, the ¨ is used more as decoration. Call it fancifying royal people's names in this case.

In case you were wondering what the other symbols mean:
¨ = natural sound
ˆ = no sound
´ = long sound (e = ee, a = ay, etc.)

Otherwise, words are pronounced normally.

Fun trivia: In elven, Eadën's name is actually pronounced "ee-AY-den", with a long "a" sound. However, humans are bad at language apparently and read it as "Eden". ;)

Okay. Language rant over, you can skip that. Bye.


1. Who would play Eadën in a movie?
Honestly? I don't know. I haven't found his actor yet, but I have a few pics of drawings and stuff that resemble him so here ya go.

This would be Eadën most of the time...tired, sharp featured, and hair in disarray.

However, he does have moments like this...

Where he is very creepy looking when he wants to be.

Eadën is an elf, by the way.

2. What color is his hair?

Eadën's hair is described as glossy black and wavy/curly in texture. It is cut loose across his forehead, so you can usually see the wave. He rarely combs it since he's kind of a traveling man, so it's kinda a mess sometimes.

3. What color are his eyes?

Those who have read the current draft of The Cycle of Time: The Journey (lookin' at you, Rachel) are well aware that Eadën's eyes are very, very blue. Sky-blue; azure almost. They are extremely bright and are actually a bit shocking at first.

4. What is his body type?

Per elven norm, he's lean, but muscled, and quite tall (think 6'7"). And he's extremely angular. I think I described him as looking like "a string was tied to his spine and it was pulling him upwards constantly" or something like that. His shoulders are sharp, hipbones jagged, and his silhouette is all edges and corners. He is also very pale, and his skin is described as having almost a silvery sheen to it.

5. Does he have any piercings/tattoos? 

None mentioned in the book, that I can recall...however, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a tiny meaningful inked something-or-other on his skin.

6. What's the most attractive thing about him?

Since he comes off as alien-ish with his elven self, only some find him attractive. However, the most attractive thing I find about him is either his eyes or his super-sharp facial features. Think STRONG JAWLINE. VERY. STRONG.

7. What is the ugliest thing about him?

Okay, trying not to spoil anything, so read on if you dare. He has a really ugly scar wrapping over one side of his torso from mid-stomach, over shoulder, and down back. It's from a wound that was deadly but of course he magically lived through it (I know, I'm working on it...).

8. When he smiles, what does it look like?

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL that never happens. Eadën has had a very hard life and he doesn't like joy. However, it is notable that he has extremely white and amazing teeth.

9. What does his laugh sound like?

LOLLLLLLLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLLLL no.

10. What is his normal speech pattern?

He has kind of fancy-talk (but not as fancy as the fairies). He's pretty articulate despite not having attended most of his childhood schooling.

11. How does he express/handle anger?

Hrm...he's kind of emotionally dead, honestly. Granted, anger would be one of his most-felt emotions, but he doesn't show it much. If he gets angry enough to react towards someone, he would probably either kill them or like flip a table or something.

12. Does he cry?

Only on special occasions I suppose. He's used to sadness so it's only rare that he cries, but when he does it's usually like silent, and he just tenses up as tears stream down his lil face.

13. What would make him cry?

In the novel, Eadën struggles with feeling unworthy of his place in life and guilty over the choices he's made. It is these issues combined with longing to please/live up to his deceased father that makes him cry in the book. So yeah, stuff like that.

14. How easy is it for people to read his emotions?

Unlike Jay (whom, as I've mentioned, people who know him can tell by his physical cues how he feels), Eadën is completely unreadable and people hate him for it. He can hide almost any emotion, even from his own wife.

Character Beliefs

15. Is he religious?

Not particularly. I think he follows a religion, but not very strictly.

16. How does he view those of other faiths?

He doesn't care what you believe.

17. What are his core values?
Eadën's core values would beeeee.......hmmmmmmmm...........probably loyalty, or striving to be a better person. Idk if those are "values" or not, but they're things he's always focused on.

18. How willing is he to fight for those values?
In theory, Eadën would fight for anything if he believed in the cause. However, if he's discouraged or defeated...he finds it difficult to get back up sometimes.

Likes and Dislikes

19. What is his favorite food?

He's vegetarian, actually. He really likes fruit.

20. What is his favorite color?

Probably green. He really loves being out in nature, so green has become a calming color for his turbid mind.

21. What is his sleeping preferences?

Eadën is definitely not picky when it comes to sleeping. Actually, he really doesn't sleep much at all. I think in the book once he went several days without sleeping a wink. You can imagine he was grumpy and emotional about it, too. Anyway, he doesn't sleep much because he has nightmares...yikes. Poor bb.

BONUS: What position does he usually sleep in?

Probably on his side, or stretched out.

22. What type of music does he listen to?

Eadën was never one for arts and crafts and math and writing. He was always out on the field perfecting his swordplay and footwork.

Character Introspection

23. When is his birthday?

I'm not sure of the exact date, but he was born in the summertime.

24. What family structure did he have growing up?

Eadën was supposed to be born dead, so he's been sort of fighting for his life ever since he was a wee babbie. You see, elves are biologically capable of having only one child in their lifetime, so Eadën was more than a miracle child, especially since he was alive when he was born (albeit weak and wailing). His older sister doted on him for much of his childhood, and his parents, the king and queen, didn't see much harm in him skipping his classes and romping out in the sun if it meant he would get stronger. However, after a while his older sister realized that their parents paid more attention to Eadën than they did to her and...well, the rest is history.

25. What is the worst thing he has ever done?

um idk probs burning down half of janíza and earning the title ember because all he left in his wake was embers but u know idk

26. What is the best thing he has ever done?

Attempting to turn his messed up life around, even though it meant leaving everything he loves and knows and jumping headfirst into danger.

27. Has he ever been in love?

Once...long story short, he had taken a young ten-year-old human girl prisoner when she decided to start talking non-stop to him for weeks since she was bored and he visited the prison every day. She ended up spurning his turn-around, and he helped her escape. About a decade later, they married, despite his elven nearly-immortal aging and her short life span.

28. What is his biggest goal in life?

To stop the war in Janíza and finally settle down with his little fam-fam. :3

29. What does he believe is his greatest vice?
Without a doubt, black magic. It is an addictive form of magic and he used it for a long time and struggles to fully separate himself from its consumptive power.

30. What motivates him most?
Probably his daughter, Clairê, and his wife, Linnea. He doesn't find anything redeeming within himself, so he simply focuses on staying alive and keeping Linnea and Clairê safe.

31. Is he objective oriented?
Most definitely. Goals have pretty much mapped his life out since before he can remember. Goals give him something tangible to work towards, I suppose.

32. Would he rather be a good person or a great person?
Great. However, I think he is realizing that he may only ever be a "good" person...to himself, anyway.

33. Would he rather be hated for who he is or loved for pretending to be someone else?
At one point, he lived for other people's acceptance. However, he's grown quite a bit since then and now I think he realizes that not everyone will love him for who he is. He still struggles with that, though.

34. Is he an extrovert, ambivert, or introvert?
Introvert, definitely.

35. Is he creatively expressive?
Yes! But only in one form: SWORDPLAY. He literally has the best form when he's using his sword, and his footwork is always flawless and it's said he looks like he's dancing some ferocious panther dance when he's fighting someone with a sword. He works constantly to be the perfect swordsman.

36. What is his disorder?
Where do I start. He's addicted to black magic, he's got PTSD basically from war and being like cut in half and his sister hating his guts and being evil, I'm pretty sure he's got major depression if we're being clinical here, and...and... *CRYING WILDLY*

37. Is he materialistic?
Seeing as he's only ever had any real possessions while he was still officially a prince, no, he's not particularly caught up on possessions. He does have a few possessions that he will probably hurt you if you touch them though.

38. What is his learning style?
He's definitely a visual learner. If he watches someone do something, he can probably replicate it pretty well.

39. I am a ______. How would he finish this sentence?
"I am a failure." (NOOOOO BB WHY U SAI THAT NO STOPIT)

40. Life is an act of _______. How would he finish this sentence?
"Life is an act of deciding when to stand up and fight back and when to kneel and take it."

OTHER

Theme song: "Cold" by Aqualung

Pinterest boards:
Eadën's board
The Cycle of Time board

Wattpad stories:
Excerpt of The Cycle of Time: The Journey
Janíza's Hero (short story)
Embers