What About Now? Character Interview - Leo

Leo, far and wide, has been revered as one of the most loved characters from Lonely Moon.  The Lion-humanoid 'Turg' are a proud, honorable species, and when I came up with them, I didn't realize he would be as popular as he has become.  Originally crafted to fit a 'warrior' role, Leo adopted a personality of his own, one I myself can't help but appreciate.  He's strong, caring, protective, and a beast on the battlefield, Leo was one of the ones I'm glad made it out alive.  Without further ado, here's Leo.

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What About Now? - Character Interview - Leo - First Appeared in Lonely Moon
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Me: Welcome, Leo.  Holy shit, you are a lot bigger in person than I originally thought.

Leo: And you are tiny, like this chair.  I will not fit in it.  I will certainly destroy it if I try.

Me: It's pretty tough, just give it a try.  Oh, also, this is your first time on Earth, isn't it?

Leo: Yes, it is.  It smells funny and everyone stares.

Me: Well, they're prolly not used to seeing a big ass lion walking upright in battle armor, screaming about battle and honor and stuff of that nature.

Leo: I would advise you, little one, not to belittle the power behind honor.  The Turg, my people, they value it above all else and have slain in its name.

Me: Yes, I know they do.  Would you like to start?

Leo: Tread lightly, Andrew, though we do not engage in battle that is not honorable, I'm not opposed to, what you say on Earth, 'whoppin you'.

Me: Nobody says that, but I'll take that as a yes...If you had a free day, with no responsibilities, and your only mission was to enjoy yourself, what would you do?

Leo: Turgs do not have 'free days'.  A Turg's day is filled with training, conditioning of the body, combat, and the mourning of the slain.    The High Warriors have made it this way, placed the paths before us.  We do not choose to follow, we simply must.  Those who do not, they must leave the planet, exiled for failure to spill blood.  From a pup, we are shown the valued ways, the ways to achieve and uphold honor, through battle.  Training, for some, ends in death, before glorious battle can be engaged.  They are set free at the setting of the star our homeworld orbits.  Their bodies are consumed, spirits absorbed.

Me: You eat your dead?

Leo: Their death becomes sustenance, a cycle reborn.  On Earth, you bury your dead in the ground.  Where is the rebirth?  Where is the use?  They are left to rot, to be fed on by lower things, 'insects' you call them.  What a waste.  I find that just a strange as you find our customs.

Me: So, if you don't spill 'honorable' blood, they make you leave the planet?

Leo: Yes, that is the creed by which we live.  We do not question, we do not abstain.  I was forced off planet, exiled for my failures.

Me: You refused to kill?

Leo: I did not see the honor in ending a life for the benefit of learning, perfecting a kill.  I could not end my brother.

Me: They made you fight your brother, for training?  They wanted you to kill him?

Leo: This is true.  I could not, and I was made to leave my homeworld.  Our people, we do not have names the way your people do.  Even 'Leo', this name was given by a fallen friend, a human, someone dear to me.  On my planet, our people are known by the number of honorable kills they've brought to the mourning, friends or enemies.  Having none, would be the equivalent to your homeless.  They're considered dishonorable, disgusting things.  They cannot return until their claws, their jaws are stained by blood.  Through Captain Hane's struggle, and that of Earth, I have been welcomed home again.

Me: Next question, What do you believe about God?

Leo: Our deity, the one whom we worship, is not God-like, is not all-knowing the way human Christianity is known to be.  We uplift the one who saved us from our struggle.  The Rebel, the Independent, the first High Warrior.  It is not discussed, and widely, humans aren't allowed to know what I'm about to tell you.  It is sensitive information, and the Aurans are not proud of it.  Thousands of years ago, the Turgs were slave labor to the Aurans.  They used us, our strength, our lack in technology.  We built their cities, their ships.  We raised their hold.  The First, he stood, he fought, and he won our independence.  It is believed, when we die, we become a part of something more, where battles are waged, where honor is plentiful, and where the fallen are reunited.  We are the masters of our own lives.  Fate has no place with us.  Fate is an idea humans use to relinquish responsibilities.  There is no fate, only perseverance.

Me: When's the last time you saw anyone from your family?

Leo: I have not seen them since the exile.  That was roughly one hundred human years ago.  My return was granted after the battle at the Auran moon, your human colony, and I have since escorted Captain Michael Hane home, to Earth, and have been helping with reconstruction.  I plan a return once my services are no longer required, here, on Earth.

Me: One hundred years!?  That's a long-ass time.  How long does a Turg life-span last?

Leo: The average Turg lives to be around three hundred.  I'm in what you humans would consider the late-20's.

Me: Roaring 20's huh?  So, you found your glorious battle with Captain Hane, and here you are on Earth, helping rebuild after its invasion.  When are you gonna' get yourself a girlfriend?

Leo: Mating, for our people, is painful and not at all pleasurable, the way it is for humans.  We do it once in a lifetime, for that is all we can stand.  We do not court, instead, we find a suitable mate, within our range of bloodshed, and we fight.  Should the male win, the female humbly succumbs.  Should the female win, the male must engage her again, or search for another mate to best.  No procreation is done without this feat, or the pup is murdered, for it is born without challenge.  It is born without hardship.  It is born without earning its right to live.  The male, the male earns its child this right by beating the mother in combat, it gives the gift of life by forcing the mother to subdue.  Life is earned, not owed.

Me:  Life is earned, not owed?  That's a very powerful statement.  On Earth, I think we see it as the exact opposite.  It's owed, not earned.  Very insightful.  Well, I think that's about it.  I'd ask you what your favorite song lyric is, but I'm gonna' guess that you don't listen to music.

Leo: Our hearing is three hundred times more sensitive than humans.  The music you listen to, sounds very different to us, and it is not at all pleasing.

Me: Thanks, Leo, for stopping by.  We appreciate you sharing with us a bit about your people and your culture.

Leo: The honor is mine.

Me: Of course it is.  And thanks for reading.  Don't forget to follow @andrew8654 for more updates!  We'll see you next week!
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