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Joshua Skinner-Salington (32)
Project: Fantasy novel (Soluna trilogy Book 1: Dark is Noon)
Known as: Josh
Real name: Joshua Skinner-Salington
Group affiliation: Salington family, Skinner family, Greentop
Physical description: Joshua is an infant when the book begins, but over the course of the book grows to his mid-teens. Joshua’s almond-shaped eyes and olive skin makes him stand out among the people of Greentop who commonly have pale skin. He also stands out for being unusually handsome. One outstanding feature is that Joshua has two birthmarks. One is a nearly perfect circle on his right shoulder, the other a crescent on his left.
Of course, there are times Joshua is covered in scales with fangs and claws, but we’ll save that for another time.
Personality: Joshua is curious and confident (which sometimes gets him into trouble). So far in his life his quick-thinking and physical gifts have been enough to get him out of most scrapes, though sometimes he has to rely on his charm and personability. He is unconsciously cocky – he has not yet realized that everyone else in the world isn’t as gifted as him and that others can feel threatened by his exceptionalness. He is brave and selfless, as well.
Note his confidence will be shaken when he comes to realize he isn’t exactly the person he thought he was.
History: Joshua was left as a baby at Greentop by a man named Minyune who said he hailed from a faraway land. Minyune had very little to say about the child, other than the child’s parents were dead and that the infant was in danger from enemies of his family. As Minyune seemed completely exhausted, they sent him to bed while others cared for the child.
During the night Minyune vanished leaving behind a note:
“Protect the child and make him one of your own. I will lead away his pursuers, but he has a special destiny and others may come. Keep him secret. Raise him to be good, strong, and brave – he will need all of these qualities when his time comes.”
Beth and Tom sent scouts to try and find Minyune to no avail. Seeing no other choice, they began to care for the child. While they discreetly tried to uncover more of his background when they could they were cautious due to Minyune’s warning. Caring for the child became loving him and at some point they realized he was their son. Though the Salington royal family would never recognize him as one of their own, the people of Greentop were perfectly happy to have the extraordinary boy around. Beth and Tom loved him dearly, as did (to Tom’s surprise) Pitch.
Beth and Tom told Joshua the truth early on about how he came to be their son, including their belief that the Goddesses of Destiny arranged it. Joshua had a fairly idyllic childhood, though he was gifted at both finding and extracting himself from trouble. He would have been hard pressed to find a set of parents with more knowledge to share, and he loved Greentop and its forests. Occasionally people might comment on his unique physical characteristics, but Joshua took these to be either innocent (forgivable) or ignorable.
At some point, however, it became clear that Joshua was truly extraordinary. For one thing, he started to show a strength that was well beyond his musculature. By the time he was 14, he could lift roughly as much as his grandfather (Pitch). His memory and senses were unusually acute. Most unusual of all when he was enraged or in danger his body would change. He’d grow tough scales to protect his body, claws on his fingers, and fangs. Once he calmed down or the danger passed, he would revert to his usual form.
Beth and Tom advised their son to keep these things a secret. While Joshua had always been curious about his origin, the family agreed that they time had come to explore his history in earnest.
Then the Darkins attacked and an ancient prophesy suddenly seems very important. Joshua seems to meet the requirements of the prophesy – is he the Soluna?
Role in the narrative: Joshua is one of our protagonists and drives much of the plot. Read the inspirations section below to better understand his place in the story.
Abilities: Already covered in history above – but he is superhuman in strength, mind, and senses. He also transforms into something of a monster when enraged or in danger. Note – he has not yet reached his full potential.
In addition to that, his mother and father have made him into a Swiss army knife of a person. He has many skills both wild and civilized.
Inspirations: Hulk and werewolves likely inspired his physical transformation. The main inspiration, though, is Cambell’s monomyth. Several of the story ideas I have start with the monomyth. After all, the story is likely retold so often in part because it has all the elements of a story we all enjoy. On the other hand, if I follow the monomyth I risk being cliché and having no surprises. Therefore I have a few story ideas (including this one) where I think I can tell the monomyth but with some twists. In this case, Joshua is in every way the standard hero by design (and not just my design – by the design of another character). He is not the Soluna – he is a red herring deliberately placed by Minyune. Well, the kind of red herring designed to be deadly to those who fall for it.
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