Patron (from The Journey)

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Patron (47)

Project: Family movie (“The Journey”)

Known as: No nicknames

Real name: Patron

Group affiliation: The Mothers

Physical description: As one of the Mothers, Patron looks like Mai (Kana and Eri’s mother) with some differences. Patron is younger, taller, and much more muscular than Mai. She wears her hair in a crew cut for no other reason than it is pragmatic for wearing her helmet (vanity is not a vice the Patron possesses). She is a knight and usually wears armor or a tabard. Her symbol is a tree with jewels as fruit – representing life and magic.

Personality: Patron is brave, honorable, and stalwart. There is no one you’d want more at your back during a fight (of course, it is more likely that you are covering HER back). She is also charismatic, inspiring, and a great public speaker.

History: The Mothers have always been as far as anyone knows. Where Okaasan is emotion and Sagemai is mind, Patron represents physical prowess. Most of her time has been traditionally spent as a knight-errant, wandering the kingdom and helping those in need. However, the advancement of the Order of Stability has pushed her into a new role: resistance leader.

Early on she had no reason to oppose the Order, though she was personally surprised that so many were willing to give up their magic (a part of themselves). This concern was reduced when she learned the process was reversible. She could see the nobility in those giving up their personal magic for the good of all.

Her perspective changed when it started to become clear that the Union had more of an effect on people than removing magic. No one reversed the Union, ever. Order communities while peaceful and safe seemed to be cold places of little joy. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when news spread that people were starting to be forced to go through Union (not just by the Order, but by their communities as well). Her knight-errant instincts kicked in once it became clear that the magical people and creatures of the world were becoming in need of protection.

She leads a rag-tag group of magical resistance fighters. While this might sound like a classic story of good vs. evil, it is more complex than that. Many of her followers (and a disproportionate number of them are her most formidable fighters) favor not only stopping the advancement of the Order but also a destruction of all authority. While Patron knows she is doing the right thing in protecting the people and creatures who never intended any harm, she also finds herself allied with the monsters that threatened people and contributed to the rise of the Order.

She is wise enough to see that war is inevitable. So her primary focus is making sure her side isn’t completely destroyed; and she hopes to find the best solution for all after that.

In their quest to find the answer to help the kingdom, Patron and her forces will be the first group the Stotherts visit.

Role in the narrative: As with all the Mothers, Patron represents an aspect of Mai through the eyes of Kana as a young child. In this case, Patron is the fierce protector aspect of Mai. Beyond metaphor, Patron is the Mother most important to the plot, as she leads the magical resistance.

Grant also sees the connection between Patron and King Granite. It is meeting her that will help him discover that he turned into King Granite when they first came to the kingdom because for an instant Kana saw him as the heroic figure she once considered him when she was little. Grant becomes convinced that the personal power he needs to uncover is to build his daughter’s admiration of him again – so that King Granite can save the day. Reconnecting with his daughter becomes a major focus of the plot.

And he will succeed – just in time to realize that the Journey is not about him leading his daughter to have faith in him (his job is to help his daughter have faith in herself).

Abilities: Note Patron does NOT possess any innate magic. She is a champion of magic but not magical herself. This does not mean she isn’t extraordinary. She has the greatest martial prowess in the kingdom (she is the finest swordsperson). She is smart and strategically-minded. She is a gifted leader both in terms of seeing how people can work together most efficiently and inspiring them to do so. She is exceptionally brave and there is no fear she can’t overcome (with the possible exception of the fear she might not be able to save all of those in her care).

She does possess a few magical items. Her armor is very light but almost undamageable (she still feels blows – she could be stuck so hard she is injured even though her armor is not). Her sword, Spellbreaker, can cancel magical effects. This means she can parry mystical lightning bolts and the like and destroy magical shields (Note that the Order does used stored magic for their weapons, so this is important). It is worth noting that Spellbreaker doesn’t absorb/steal magic as the Union does – it simply disrupts the applications of magic (as a result, he is no more deadly to magical creatures than any other sword other than being a counter to their magical effects). Her partner (not possession) horse is called Stepper (full name is “Steps Across the Land like Lightning and Echoes of Thunder”) and is incredibly fast, strong, intelligent, and talks.

Inspirations: I didn’t engage in as much word play in naming Patron. I was looking up synonyms for protector and liked “patron” as it is similar to “matron” (apropos for the Mothers theme). She is inspired by many brave and magical knights: Eowyn, Brianne of Tarth, Arthur/Lancelot/Much of the round table, Odin (magical horse), Shining Knight, etc.