Legends:Farnum

The terrified Overworlder threw their hands up and made a pitiful noise that was perhaps the least threatening thing that Kritten had ever heard. They kept their axe at the creature’s throat, though, just in case, and shouted, “Who are you? What are you doing here? Tell me now!”

The Overworlder whimpered and said something in its unintelligible tongue. As far as Kritten knew, no one had ever been able to talk with an Overworlder, but that didn’t seem to stop this terrified person from trying.

Farnum dreams of running a famous zoo. But though the mobs he keeps are adorable, none of them draws anything close to a crowd. Farnum needs something strange and new—but he’s the furthest thing from an adventurer. It takes a lot of convincing from his friends, but Farnum finally takes a chance and goes with them to explore a lush new biome... which is how he ends up falling down a waterfall and washing up in front of a mysterious purple portal.

That’s part of the beauty of prose is that you can get deep into a character’s head and explore their motivations. Farnum might not be your typical brave and hearty hero, but that’s what makes his story more interesting.

He’s not naturally courageous. Most of the time he tries to avoid conflict, just like many other people would, so I had to put him under some terrible pressure to get him to the point at which he would start showing his true colors.