CHARACTER INSPIRATION: Emil, God of Pestilence

Emil, the God of Pestilence is the final character from my new Balance of Time series that I want to introduce to you. He is the God of Pestilence and is the most elusive of the four characters.

Most of my characters have certain small details that are inspired by real people, but Emil is different. He's the only character I've written who is largely based on someone from my past. Thankfully, this person (who shall be known as C) is no longer in my life, as he was a manipulative asshole, which you'll discover when you encounter Emil!

I was easily swept along by C. Although I can now identify all the red flags and can't imagine how I was ever so outwardly stupid, I didn't recognize them at the time. The effortlessly cunning exploitation was perfect for Emil, so the God of Pestilence is basically C in disguise...with a few twists!

Although the world ends up bracing against the wrath of both Pestilence and Famine, Emil is the main antagonist. Unlike Adrielle who is compassionate, though slightly misguided, Emil is greedy and craves more power. He has a need to feel superior and cannot stand that there are other gods, particularly Sperantia, with more power and a higher perceived ranking than him.

Unable to take direction and orders from anyone else, he decides to ignore the rules of the balance, telling himself it's to prove to Sperantia and the other gods that he is limited only by the restrictions placed upon him. Yet, in spite of his ever-growing ego, he can't create the drastic results he wants on his own, and he's forced to elicit the help of another god.

One that can easily be manipulated and controlled with only a slight amount of effort on his part.

Enter Adrielle. She craves affection and yearns to give attention to someone in return. Such a connection is frowned upon among the gods, and Emil uses her weakness to his advantage. Under the guise of affection, he convinces her to join him in destroying the calm of the balance, and she's too naive to see that she's also destroying herself in the process.

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