Odelmaar

Odelmaar is something of a heavy in Swords of Fire: Traitor. It is Odelmaar who opposes Khirsha's grandfather in matters of family policy. It is Odelmaar who ever seeks harsher punishments for Khirsha and Kelso.

Swords of Fire: Traitor doesn't give us a lot of background information on Odelmaar. What we know is that he is the sovereign over Mines. He appears to be quite wealthy. He seems to support Prince Johahnen as successor to the Azuan throne. He was second in the competition to be Head-of-Family to Khirsha's grandfather.

There are no current stories devoted to Odelmaar to fill in his background, although if they were I am sure they would be interesting. He shows up at whiles in Tavaar's Background Story. Particularly after Tavaar leaves the military.

In Tavaar's Background Story we see a completely different man. But is that not often the way of stories, both real and otherwise?

When I originally introduced Sovereign Odelmaar into the saga I did not particularly like him. Back then I was creating "good" and "evil" characters. Odelmaar would have to wait nearly fifteen years before I allowed him to become a real person. Same with Khirsha, Abrin, and all the others. But whereas I had to show the failings of Khirsha and the other "good" characters, it was necessary to show Odelmaar as something other than a power hungry sovereign. I did this by writing Tavaar's Background Story. In it, we see Odelmaar dealing with is wife, parents, and children. This shows us his human side. It showed me. Then I rewrote Swords of Fire: Traitor, knowing more about Odelmaar. His character was much more believable.