Saturday, October 4, 2014

Heinrich, the Black Horseman

Heinrich, the merchant prince and the man on the black horse, is another incredible character I loved writing for in my book On Black Wings. He is the second-in-command of the plotters on the bad guy's side, but he is also the first of the horsemen Jessica meets.

She meets him as she appears looking at her own grave, and at this point she is tired, broken, and in a mental state where she just failed to save her family. She's given up in a way, her wings useless, her fate uncertain, and her life shattered and adrift. There is a subtle bit of manipulation going on here by Heinrich by bringing her to in in this state and at this place, so immediately there should be a motive not to trust him, but she doesn't care, so her defenses are down.

This is the longest chapter in the book as 4,000 words, but it just flies by for me because it is so gripping and tense in her post-breakdown haze. I did the most editing here to shorten, but so much was critical a lot survived the cut. Most of it, in fact.

Heinrich is a reasonable, practical man. That should be enough to give you pause. But she can't, she is out of sanity and energy and she could care less about her life or the next nightmare she stumbles through at this moment. Her husband has just tore into her, she watched herself die, her children are lost, and she just cannot take it anymore. The title of the previous chapter, "It's His Turn to Cry" should give you a big clue on her mental state, she is just about out of care right now.

He does the rebuilding of her in evil's image, or at least he starts. He's reasoning with her, trying to lecture her, teach her the meaning of why she is here and why she was chosen. He plants seeds, he twists her perceptions, and most importantly, he tells her she is already dead. This is a key point in the book, she lost faith in life at seventeen, so this is why she is her new younger self. She may have kept on living years after she died, got married, and had kids - but only in body - not in spirit. This is where the train stopped for her.

Again, if you see her future self as a projection of her dreams, it makes sense, and it gives her that first break with the future. If you see her as her older self trapped in a younger body, this is a terrible, horrible realization. She takes it as the latter, still trapped in that mindset, and she breaks down further. Things only get worse for her here, as all the things she feared, and worse, come true.

He also plants another seed which stays with her, that her going back in the past has made things worse. Her insistence on holding on to the past is keeping her from reaching an end to her suffering. Think about that line. It's a truth and a manipulation all in one. Heinrich is one of the four, he's a merchant of death, and he is smarter than her by leagues. He outwits her, which I know isn't hard given her current state, but the seeds are planted here for her future betrayal of her friends.

She becomes a bad girl in this chapter, and that sticks with her through until the end. There isn't really a way out, except through her actions. She never really has a point where she monologues against this man and King Tanas, she shares her doubts and hatred for them after they turn on her at the end, but again, there is that open question of were they really trying to help her?

Later on, yes, we realize they have a huge self-interest at heart here, and they want her to be a part of the master plan. They still likely have hopes of this at the end, and Heinrich's fate is left open for many of the same reasons I left Tanas' fate open. We need to be conscious of the 'merchants' we deal with, beware of those who sell weapons which could become self-fulfilling prophecies, and be socially conscious of who we deal with and what they are doing to our world. Yes, there is a heavy progressive theme here, but really, it is a wholesome, grass-roots, be aware of what you are buying and supporting message that I feel is important for people to be aware of and shop with a clear conscious.

And the scene ends with War coming down and ruining everything. There's a reason for that too, it is the book's first WTF moment, and it is meant to shock and up the ante on just what she is getting involved with. She ends the chapter near-death from just looking into War's eyes from a distance, and we now realize what we are up against.

And at that point, she is closer to Death than she realizes, as the next horseman manipulates her and rebuilds her into the image of the angel of death they want her to be. Evil corporations without your best interests at heart? There is a message here, yes, as she mindlessly clicks-through her 'user agreement' with Heinrich and her soul is sold down a path of evil.

Be careful who you deal with.

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