Sisters of the Shadows

It’s March 17, Cross’ birthday! This here is a character that will spark controversial discussions in the future. I can feel it.

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Basic Info:

Real name: Alton Clarke
Age in Taurus: 26
Height: 6’2 | Weight: 160 lbs.
Hair: wavy chocolate brown, shoulder length
Eyes: hazel/moss green & wood brown
Human Race: Scottish-Canadian | Species: Demon
Hailing Planet: Havet
Ability: superhuman accuracy, awareness, & agility; tactical intuition
Rank: Headman
Specialties: hunting, archery, analyzation, adaptable, reactive, sneaky
Best friend: Rush
Mentor: Attack & Nail
Soul mate: Sparkle

Three facts about Cross:

1. Cross was the first outsider to be recruited to the Havet Tribe. They had only ever recruited from the Niitsitapi.
2. He taught himself to make arrows and use a bow in order to support his father. They don’t have the best relationship.
3. Rush was the first to accept him when Cross and his father arrived. The others warmed up when Chief Attack recruited him.

My thoughts on Cross:

This is one of those characters that I want to talk about… But I don’t want to elaborate on. You know? It’s not that he’s an insanely crucial character, but a lot goes on in the next two books. It’s still unclear whether we’ll see much of Cross in Taurus, but he’ll definitely appear in the final book.

Cross’ mother passed away due to illness when he was about six. His father was kicked out of colonies left and right for his alcoholism and neglect of his son. Eventually, his father resorted to becoming a hunter for hire; he would hunt animals with a bow and arrow, trade the skins for supplies, and use the meat as currency to obtain fuel, some food, and plenty of whiskey. Cross spent most of his childhood stealing supplies from the colonies they passed through, as his father was often too drunk to hunt. He always seemed to forget to barter for clothes for his growing child, which was yet another reason for the youth to become a thief. As he got older, he began stealing less for necessity and more out of greed, taking weapons and supplies from unsuspecting colonists. He taught himself how to make arrows and to drive a their truck, and by the time he was thirteen he had completely taken over the hunting duties. This further enabled his father’s drinking habit, and the pair had to remain nomads for the next few years as no colony would welcome them beyond the market.

When they eventually stumbled into Poseidean territory, Chief Attack insisted that they stick around. He promised the then seventeen year old that they would help his father if the teen helped defend their borders. He agreed, if only to escape a nomadic life with his verbally abusive father, and he was recruited to the Havet Tribe. Rush helped the newcomer acclimate to life on the reservation; the two trained together and were part of the same scouting squads, so Cross made his first real friend. Rush became like a brother to him; but as it is hinted at in Aquarius–and may be mentioned again in Taurus before it is explained in full later on–their friendship eventually leads them to a fork in the path. Cross makes his decision and sticks to it, but Rush is still frozen at the fork, weighing his options.

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For those of you who don’t know, Cross is a supporting character in my trilogy Saturn Rising, which is the first installment of The Chronicles of Life & Death. The first book, Aquarius, is available now on Amazon as an e-book and paperback. You can even read it all for free with Kindle Unlimited! Learn more here.

Photo by Eugenia Maximova on Unsplash

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