Gerrard Capashen - Creation and Archetype

Creation and Archetype

Before the Weatherlight saga, characters in the Magic: The Gathering cardgame were generally alluded to only vaguely, and overarching plots were generally kept somewhat simple, such as the fall of an empire. The origin of a continuous storyline where the plot would be relevant and communicated through the cards came from conversations between (at the time) developer Mark Rosewater and editor Michael Ryan. Due to the need of the game to switch locales regularly, the same cast needed to be able to visit a variety of places. This led into making the main characters the crew of the skyship Weatherlight as their "plot hook."

Rosewater and Ryan began an interest in the works of Joseph Campbell around this time, and decided that their story would be a telling of the famous archetype "The Hero's Journey." Gerrard would be the archetypical hero taken from his destiny, yet forced to return to it. According to Rosewater, fitting into this role meant "Gerrard needed to be of a noble birth yet have been taken away from it as a baby. We needed a villain that was blood-bound to Gerrard. We needed a dark home for our villain." This villain became Gerrard's dark mirror Volrath, Gerrard's adopted brother.

As for personality, Rosewater and Ryan decided to make Gerrard a rogue. Gerrard would be stubborn, independent, and contrary, but would be willing to do the right thing if backed into a corner. For additional dramatic weight, Gerrard would fight to avoid his "destiny" which, in his early life, only killed his loved ones. His destiny was tied to the Weatherlight, which Gerrard learned was part of the Legacy, a collection of artifacts. To escape it, Gerrard abandoned the Weatherlight prior to the beginning of the story. It was only to save his friend Captain Sisay that Gerrard is forced to adventure with the Weatherlight once more, beginning the Weatherlight saga.