Finally A Bad Guy Worth Mentioning

I'm sure you've noticed by now that I have a tendency to vote for the eviler guys in movies. In the Lord of the Rings I was voting for the Nazgul, actually, I really like the Nazgul. I'd be totally creeped out to actually meet them in person, but they inspired a lot of my characters, so I like them.
 (Nazgul, this is the Witch King, in case you didn't know :D, Amaarzar's best bud, the Witch King is one seriously evil wraith!!! Also, NOT my picture, if it's yours, awesome pic, it's totally credited to you. I claim nothing of it!)

Anyway. If the bad guy is anything like a wraith, I usually like them. I don't however like the cheesy cartoon villains, ugh, they irritate me so much! I really don't like modern-day villains either...too predictable, they're going to get a gun and blow things up, big deal, we already knew what was coming, I prefer the more subtle bad guys, the ones you don't realize are a bad guy until after they're pulled out the gun, or in the case of my books, a dagger.
My main bad guy is Amaarzar and I've really struggled with him. At first, it felt so dark and evil to even think about him. He's a wraith, and back then, I really didn't understand what it meant to be undead like that, now, I feel slightly sorry for him now that I understand. The first time that I really thought about him was on my birthday two years ago when I was telling my sister his original name, Amar, and I distinctly remember saying something brilliant like, "Sounds evil right?"
My sister must've rolled her eyes and said something along the lines of, "Not scary enough, it doesn't have enough of a ring to it, try...Amaarzar."
Amar went out the window and Amaarzar stuck, then he pretty much went to bed in the back of my mind because I didn't think about him until I actually needed him later in 2012, he appeared once or twice, probably insanely frustrated by my lack of ability to recognize him for what he really is, a creepy, conniving, seriously evil, dude. I didn't realize that he was the real bad guy, not the sultan, it was Amaarzar pulling the strings.
Why am I mentioning all this? I feel like it, so there.
Just kidding, really, I'm marveling over how far Amaarzar has come, he started out as a dorky cartoon villain and now, yikes, if I were in the same room with him, I'd be terrified out of my mind! Amaarzar is a devil in his own making and form, his core is anger, his whole being composed of undeniable wrath. He holds a grudge so deep, it's more deadly than any of the poisons he brews to maim, and he's sneaky. He doesn't remove political enemies by killing them, no, he changes their point of view so that they agree with him!
That's why I'd be afraid of him, first off, he's a freaking wraith and they're terrifying enough to begin with! And then I'd be afraid that he'd start playing mind games with me, and I wouldn't know how to resist. I think that a defeated enemy is not a dead enemy, but one changed his beliefs and points of view so that they're not against you anymore, when they die in their beliefs, they're a martyr, when they switch sides, they're a traitor to themselves even if they don't realize what they've done!
That's what Amaarzar does. He gets into your head and whispers enticing words to you so that you're pacified and eventually switch sides, those that disagree too strongly, he removes from the scene.
He's come really far from this character I was so frustrated with because I didn't understand him. Now I think he and I would have some common ground, we both have a hard time letting go of the hurt others have caused on us.
Sorry, I'm still marveling, I introduced Amaarzar for the first time in the series this morning and I'm amazed at what a little devil he is! He's going to the Secret Keeper to try and cause him to switch points of view and Amaarzar knows some pretty juicy things about the Secret Keeper that the Secret Keeper doesn't even know! Woo, nothing like a bad guy to get those creative juices going, can't wait for the rest of you to view Amaarzar in his nasty halo of evil.
He comes around in the end, sort of, but he certainly doesn't trade evil for good. He understands exactly what he is and is more than happy to stay that way. Better than being full of emotions, like humans and the rest of the living.

This music is pretty much Amaarzar's theme song to me, it fits him perfectly. He's a raging fireball of contained anger and a soul wracked in indescribable grief.
And here's a picture I drew of him, just so you can see.
Yes, I'm aware that it's sideways, but I can't figure out how to rotate it, so tip your heads a little :)



Amaarzar