Sometimes, you write a passage and realize that it's an ~important~ one. Not just for that moment, or even that book, but for your series as a whole. This passage, spoken to Vlad Dracula by Nikita near the end of Red Rooster, is one of those biggies for Sons of Rome, and a personal favorite, too.
"You arrogant idiot. The world's broken a thousand times. You missed most of it while you were asleep. It always breaks, and stupid people always die trying to keep it from breaking, and it always mends itself in the end. I can live through that. I have. But I won't live without him."
Writing can feel like walking through a minefield drugged and blindfolded, but this was, even in the initial draft, one of those "ah, yes, this, good" moments for me. For a few reasons.
Some history:
I really, really like the idea of dropping figures from history into the present. Does anyone remember Mystery Science Theater? One of my favorite episodes ripped to shreds a film about an airplane with time-traveling capabilities. My favorite quip, though I hate that I've forgotten who delivered it, was, "Hey, we can send Bob Saget back in time to meet Charlemagne!" Teenager me thought that was priceless. But also! I remembered it. Tucked it away for later.
I have zero desire to ever write about time travel. But I am writing about vampires and other immortal beings, and have always wanted to. So time traveling wasn't an option, but Sons of Rome was built on the fledgling idea, from way back, of "what if a few important figures from history were actually vampires and are actually still alive and might need to get back in the politics game again?"
And that leads us to the passage above, and the fight between Nik and Vlad.
I love the setup. Here's Nikita, who's over a hundred years old, who was a very threatening, deadly, terrifying person in his mortal life. He's just kicked down the door, and is mowing down guards, and how scary: one of Stalin's Chekists, in the flesh, super strong, has stormed the manor. What's scarier than that?
The answer is Vlad the Impaler. Vlad the Impaler is a hell of a lot scarier than that. And Nikita is hopelessly ill-equipped to handle him.
Superficially, that's fun to have the chance to tell.
Nik's statement hints at something much larger than a cool matchup, though. At this point in the series, Nik is fairly nihilistic. He's gone from - as a human - someone who put all his hope and effort into a political cause. One that, ultimately, failed. He was a drop in the ocean, and he managed to get almost everyone he loved hurt or killed in the pursuit of that goal. Now, seventy-five years later, he's met one of the monarchs he fought for, and is disgusted by him - but mostly disgusted by himself. His own naivete and faith in one system over another. Right now, Nik is looking out for himself. For his pack, his family, his Sasha. He doesn't give a damn about wars, or causes, or anything that doesn't affect his people. In this instance, Vlad is the physical embodiment of a kind of ruling system he no longer believes in...but which will roll over him and crush him all the same. There's that desperate fear: that once again he'll be leveled by the rich/ruthless figures who hold power over him, just the lowly foot-soldier in someone else's war.
He isn't totally hopeless, though. As long as he can help his loved ones, he will, no matter how futile the effort is. And that is a message that speaks to the bigger picture of the series as a whole. And the way I'm approaching world history within it.
Because it isn't a time travel story, but one that moves only forward; the character journeys are all about learning from the mistakes of the past. The world has never been a peaceful place. No nation, no group or population has ever been purely good or purely evil. There have been some truly evil people throughout our history; but there's been lots of gray. Lots of failed attempts, and flawed morality, and good intentions twisted into monstrous executions. We can't change that. We can't pin the blame on one person, or one country, or one moment in history. And so we go on, and we learn. And for these characters there's the will to do it better, in a world that is, ultimately, safer and more accepting than it's ever been before. It's about characters living with regrets, and finding hope.
Nikita finding an identity that isn't rooted in a system is such a huge part of his character journey. And we get to see lots of good growth on that front next book, in Golden Eagle.
Until then, thanks for letting me walk down memory lane with Red Rooster.
And don't forget that Dragon Slayer is now live!
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