The Characters of the Knight and the Squire
Our Story follows an exiled knight and his adept squire, unaware of his lord’s excommunication, The sudden rift in their relationship confuses him.
The Knight is a man whose lived his entire life wrong. Since childhood, he was raised to become the greatest soldier in his king’s army, to which he achieved great success in. Yet, for some reason, decades later, he decides that it is all wrong. Violence, expansion, fear, this is all he sews. Horrified, he abandons this path, but what else could he possibly do with his life?
I wanted his design to reflect his military upbringing. His haircut is soldierly, his face is slightly swollen from years of fighting. Yet his eyes carry an uncertainty in his ideals.
The King shares many traits with his son. He is studious, observant, and always learning. Where he differs from his son is that all of this is in pursuit of prolonged power. He took in the Knight, almost like a son, and raised him to be the greatest commander of his army. His actual son is being raised to replace him, acutely aware of his age and waning power.
The King is visually designed after the Squire, meant to serve as an opposite to him. He is a glimpse into the potential future held for the Squire.
The squire has lived for a similar purpose, but his “fate” is much higher, as he is the heir to the King, his son and his prince. In a merit-based society, his father doesn’t believe in rule solely by birthright. His philosophy is that his heir to experience all levels of military so as to effectively command them all.
The squire is inherently curious because of this, making him both knowledgeable and willing to learn. Despite this, he has no real passion for rule, and largely only does so because it is his duty as the next King of France.
