Creating the Korninti Elders

Edition 40

I love the creation of characters and all the complexities that go with them and for Guardian: Rise of the Gods, the characters were indeed very different from my past works.  The Korninti were challenging and for them to exist in their state of duty and responsibility, there had to exist a focal point for that dedication to duty.  That lay with the creation of the four elders. 

When I started to plan the role of the Korninti and their home on Uis-Valla, they had to be at the centre, the control point for all life to exist within the galaxy.  Therefore, I wanted the elders’ role to be more than just leaders of their people – ceremonial heads, that keep a hierarchy in existence, they were going to be responsible for the essence of life itself across all the ten realms, maintaining harmony among order and chaos.

Deciding on what essences that each of the four elders would have, was based on what would best determine the character or quality of life. I therefore decided on Wisdom, Strife, Healing & Love.   

Wisdom

Wisdom, was placed with the most senior elder of elders, who had the knowledge of all life that exists within the ten realms, and of the Kuboran Galaxy itself. Mursulla represents the wisest, with experience, knowledge, and good judgement.  The Korninti looked to her for guidance and direction. Her character may even be portrayed as a mother figure, which had not been the original intention, but Mursulla grew into that role as she developed.  

Strife

Strife, I placed with the strongest of the Korninti elders, with the ability to defend and battle. Soulep represents all that is difficult, conflict and hard times that we experience in life.  Strife bows to wisdom, but is equal in the sense of it, and it can be asked, does wisdom and strife, at times overshadow each other?

Healing

Healing can be represented in the sense of physical or mental wellbeing.  Garab Té represents the power of healing, therapy, and sense of wellbeing.  Although his character is created to be emotionally stoic, reflecting on the high responsibility to replenish and keep the numbers of the Korninti restored.  Without healing, it could be stated that the Korninti are vulnerable.

Love

For love, I had wanted to move away from the traditional sense of love conquers all, love heals all, love wins, etc.  In this case, Sarek, who represents love, is created to be the weaker of the other three elders. Sarek, represents empathy, creating the loving bond that connects all Korninti together. It is a character I wish to develop further through the evolution of the saga, but in a way that is different.

The four essences of each of the elders moves beyond Uis-Valla and radiates outwards to all life on each realm. A balance is created between wisdom, strife, healing, and love, to create harmony in life. However, as perfect as the elders might appear, their creation has specific roles and if one of them were to falter or become extinguished, then it would have a massive impact not only for the Korninti but for the entire Kuboran Galaxy.  

Am I drawing parallels with our own existence?  Very possibly, as life as we know it exists of a plethora of emotions, very often triggered by life itself or our perception of it.  Without that balance, which we often try to achieve, we have vulnerabilities, either as an individual or as a society.  I am interested to see where I take these elders as the saga moves forward.