#20 – Amanze

A neophyte to war, Amanze is not the ideal, stereotypical warrior. He is caught, between his father’s desires for him to bring the family prestige and honor by becoming one of the Kasai tribe’s elite warriors, and his own feelings of conflict about making warfare his life’s work.

The son of a advisor to the tribe’s leader, Amanze is one of two children, and from the beginning his father has expected great works from him to live up to, and increase the family’s name. When he showed little aptitude at words or trade, his father turned him towards martial studies, which he undertook largely to please his father and to try bring his family the fame and power that would allow them to improve their station.

Fun-loving and irresponsible, for all of his work, it has always been unlikely that Amanze would ever become an elite warrior, but he forced himself to learn the basic skills of a warrior. Amanze’s greatest failing is always looking for a shortcut, rather than putting his head down and bulling through whatever challenge he is facing.

Now 19, Amanze has been tasked with helping patrol the tribe’s borders, just as tensions have begun to increase between the Kasai and their neighbors, the Loumana. Now, as the possibility of having to use his abilities to their intended purpose becomes more and more real, Amanze is simultaneously hopeful that he will have a chance to prove himself to the tribe, and terrified of being killed trying to do so.

Lanky, and a strong runner, Amanze has the features of many of the tribe’s best spearmen, and has always found himself most comfortable with various kinds of pole weapons.

For all the ways he can be exceptionally frustrating, Amanze is not dumb, as his father has sometimes alluded to. He is actually an incredibly quick thinker on his feet, a prankster of great ability. A fine liar when calm and in his element, when placed under pressure, his poker face has a tendency to crumble quickly.

Tags: warrior

Category: 2012, Fantasy