We all know about the trope of straight white man with a sword in fantasy. And I don’t disagree with it. In the 80’s and 90’s, It was almost the only thing you’d read about. With the modern landscape, this trope fell to the wayside as more diverse voices joined fantasy. (For the Better!) Now characters come from all different backgrounds and have a plethora of different identities that relate with people all over our world.

When I was young, the first character I made was a man with a sword. In D&D, where you could be anyone and anything, I wanted to be a man. With a sword.

The thought of being a regular human, nothing special about him other than grit and courage, having to battle fantastical creatures was what made fantasy, fantasy.

This has culminated over the years to the main character of my book, Claymore. He’s just a guy, who’s life experience has chiseled him into a great warrior. But above his skills in fighting, his quick wit and good plans have gotten him out of a plethora of deadly situations. He doesn’t align himself with any religions, or kings, or any ideals.

He’s the human fighter, plain and simple. But I think the lack of complexity in his design leaves a lot of room open for his character. He’s a fighter who doesn’t want to fight. He always get suckered into helping people out. He’s tries to right poetry, even though he’s awful. And his end goal is to buy his parents farm back for them, and he takes contracts from the fighters’ guild or works as a cook to make that happen.

I hope Claymore can resonate with readers like he does with me. He’s definitely the character I’ve put my self into the most. And I hope that one day, he’s not just seen as a Guts or Geralt knock-off, but that’s a difficult battle.