Immortality

First off, I should mention that Rostland's immortality is no secret. (And there will be no spoilers ahead for that matter.) While we don't actually meet him until Shadows and Embers we learn very quickly about his secret. When I first started the series I had no idea I would ever create an immortal being. At one point there were faeries involved in the story, but I decided against them because it seemed unrealistic (even for a fantasy realm). I wanted people to be able to relate to the story and to Celestria's adventure.
However, in Rostland's case he was special. I actually wanted to take on the challenge of creating an immortal character because it offered hope and new conflict. Over the years I'm read briefly about immortal beings, but when creating Rostland I made certain I did not do a lot of research. I wanted to come up with my own terms and conditions for the immortal beings in my series. After all, this is what can make them more memorable. I remember reading an author's post once about how she wrote her books about angels, and she mentioned avoiding all books and lore about angels. It seems odd you would want to ignore that kind of thing, but when it comes to creativity I think it truly does help a lot. You are able to work with more ideas and be more open to other possibilities. Knowing only basics about immortality helped me shaped Rostland and the remainder of the immortals.
Now you would think with his existence a lot of problems would be solved quickly -especially battles. However, Rostland has his strengths and weaknesses. He's also lived for centuries and wants to make the wise choice. He can't be throwing himself at an enemy if it puts others in harm. More importantly, I also decided on the one way in which he can die. If you want to know the exact details, I encourage you to read the books.
All in all, I'm very pleased I took on the challenge and decided to allow this into the book. I know it is a supernatural type of person to have in the series. After all, who can relate to a man who has lived for centuries? The important thing to remember is Rostland's immortality does not take away from his humanity. He has morals and feelings like anyone else, and I too have learned more about him as I work more on the series.
If anyone I hope this will open readers minds up to more possibilities for the series. There have been magical creatures, weaponry and more, and who knows what else awaits?
What are your thoughts on immortality? Share in the comments below, and if you already read the books share your thoughts about Rostland. What role do you think he will serve in the upcoming book?
Lindsey R. Sablowski

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