Who’s the Elementals of Nordica cast based on?

If you’re an avid reader, especially in the fantasy genre (all sub-genres included), you’ll probably find some well-known book characters within Sion Zona, Lord Tuukka, Lord Col Eriksson, and others. Along with popular television and film characters. Both good and evil, that is.

Today’s post won’t necessarily talk about my book characters. Instead, I’ll cover characters you may have heard of, and characters you may have never read about before — but should.

Sion Zona

Zona reminds me of James Potter and Sirius Black from a personality standpoint. But to a rather refined extent. He’s arrogant, but not so much that he’s a turnoff to some people. He’s cocky, confident of his ability, and well-versed in anything he sets his mind to.

He has a little Steve Rogers in him, and I see a lot of Jess Ballard from E.E. Holmes’ World of the Gateway Series in Sion. Like Jess, Sion can get irrational, especially when under stress. It’s something you’ll see erupt in Wind Wielder often. So if you like fiery protagonists, but not so much that they completely fly off the handle, Sion’s your guy.

Pertaining to real-life inspirations, I primarily based Sion on myself, especially from a physique and interests standpoint. But not so much personality-wise. Oh, and given some of Sion’s recklessness and elaborate schemes, you can even see a little George Costanza in him.

>>>> Meet Sion Zona in Wind Wielder

Rajae “Raj” Worthy

I’ve often described Raj as my most polarizing character. And you will, too. She’s sort of like a Severus Snape slash Dolores Umbridge slash Bellatrix Lestrange. However, just how Sion isn’t as cocky as James Potter and Sirius Black, Raj is not as sadistic as Umbridge and Bella — unless she can justify it.

Raj also really reminds me of Winter Mortis from Rebecca Garcia’s Fate of the Crowns. While I created Raj before I read Fate of the Crowns, I find a ton of similarities between the two characters.

Lord Col Eriksson

Lord Col Eriksson, who insists on going by Col, will remind you of some of the wisest characters in television, literature, and film history. He’s like the Obi-Wan Kenobi slash Albus Dumbledore of the series, with his calm, yet fierce-when-necessary demeanor.

However, Col’s rather cunning and mysterious, putting some of John Locke (from the hit TV series Lost) in him too. A man of faith, but also a man willing to sacrifice anything against forces claiming a greater good, Col Eriksson is also like those characters pulling several strings from behind-the-scenes.

Lord Tuukka

Lord Tuukka is one of the primary antagonists, and he’s a lot like those you’ve come to despise over the years. He’s got a lot of Tom Riddle in him, among other antagonistic characters. A puppet master unlike any other, Tuukka is also akin to Dr. Lowell Stratford from Tracy Lawson’s Resistance Series, and Agatha from Tarah Benner’s Witches of Mountain Shadow. You can also think of him as President Snow from The Hunger Games.

From a looks standpoint, I continually picture Keanu Reeves any time Lord Tuukka enters a scene. Hey, perhaps if the Renegades Epic ever made it big, Reeves would sign on for the role!

Erno Kakko

Erno is that straightforward character who, if you’ve ever watched a comic troupe in action, would play the “straight character” to the off-the-wall antics that the rest of the cast exhibits. Not exactly comic relief, I still based Erno on the character Jerry Seinfeld and his shortness on Ben Stein. He’s just a much younger version of the two. You’ll also see a bit of Tony Stark in him.

Physique-wise, I modeled him after two extended family members, especially in the hair and face, with sharp features and thicker, longer brown hair.

The Core Four

The Core Four is a group of characters that I had a lot of fun with. When you read Wind Wielder, you may think of them as Chekhov guns, given their seeming cameos. However, they’re a group of girls whose physiques I’ve actually based on real-life individuals, those of my once-favorite K-pop band, Blackpink.

That said, you won’t see them based on any actual characters from lit, TV, or films. And no, they don’t share the same personality as their Blackpink counterparts. But they were a lot of fun to create, and they sort of play the role of those characters an author or director will randomly insert into a work.

What about archetypes?

You may make a few correlations to character archetypes in Wind Wielder and the larger Renegades Epic shared universe, but you won’t find anything blatant. So if you’re into, say, the classical archetypes in any work, I will disappoint you. But if you’re a reader who’d rather see something different, then you’re in for a real treat.

Therefore, I created each character in the Renegades Epic, without even considering an archetype. You will find no real correlation here. But as I said, you may find a correlation or two pertaining to specific archetypes in a variety of my characters.

Most characters in the Renegades Epic are…

Highly original concepts. That said, other than the main cast above me, I didn’t necessarily base any other character, and I got an ensemble cast, on anyone major. Perhaps except real-life individuals whose looks I loosely used. Uh, let’s make that very loosely based.

So for characters like Hannah and Timo Kakko, Mikko and Valkyrie Siskonen, Liri Viorunen, Shia Eaglesky, Skyra Beck, and so many others who appear throughout the series, there are no real book, television, or movie counterparts. So if you’re a reader who craves originality, you’re getting a lot of it when you read Elementals of Nordica and any series in the Renegades Epic — not that I haven’t had some fun, that is.

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