Character Interview with Laile and Gregory from The Depths of Atlantis

The celebration of the upcoming release of The Depths of Atlantis by Hannah Carter continues today with more character interviews! Join me as we welcome our next guests, Laile and Gregory.

*audience applauds as the characters enter stage and sit*

The Unicorn Writer: Welcome, Laile and Gregory! Your banter in Depths is one of my favorite things about the book. I know the readers, along with myself, are eager to get to know you both better. To start, how did you two meet and become best friends?

Laile: *grinning* First off, I’m honored to be one of your favorite parts of Depths. I am pretty adorable and hilarious, if I do say so yourself.

Gregory: And humble, too.

Laile: *rolling her eyes* Anyway, I don’t remember ever not knowing Gregory. Our parents were very close, so we were kind of thrust on each other from a young age.

Gregory: I feel the same. It feels like Laile is always there in all my earliest memories. Even our birthdays are only a few months apart. But I’d say we became very close when her parents started taking care of me after my parents died. My grandmother is still alive, but she’s elderly and I know she was overwhelmed trying to take care of both me and my little sister. Cynerra and Damien have taught me so much, and they made me feel like part of the family.

Laile: But not, like, as a son. We didn’t adopt him or anything. That would be weird. *laughing nervously* I mean, I definitely don’t see you as a brother. You don’t see me as a sister, do you?

Gregory: Oh, no.

*uncomfortable silence*

Laile: Anyway, next question?

The Unicorn Writer: How would the other fare on missions without the other?

Gregory: Laile would fare exceptionally well. As a Council-ordained guardian, she’s had years of training and worked very hard. She’s also a gem fairy, which means that she can manipulate the earth—dirt and such. She can even transmute the ground and turn it into jewels. She prefers to use diamond weapons. All in all, I’d say she is very formidable—the only thing she needs me for is to remind her that, on a top secret mission, she should not be humming. And singing will definitely give away your position to the enemy.

Laile: *grinning, blushing a little* Oh, come on, Greg. I couldn’t do half of what I could do without you. He’s a phenomenal wizard and alchemist. My mom’s one of the best alchemists in the world, and I’m a less-than-stellar protégé. But Gregory excels on my behalf.

Gregory: Oh, I’m still leagues behind Cynerra. I just enjoy learning from the masters of the crafts.

Laile: Well, you’d do fine on a mission without me. But—you probably shouldn’t ever attempt it. We’re the dynamic duo, you know? Always together.

Gregory: …*clearing his throat*… Ah, yes. Next question, please.

The Unicorn Writer: Laile, you are a guardian. Can you explain the importance of that title and what you did to earn it?

Laile: I’d love to! So, basically what a guardian means is that I am a Council-ordained bodyguard of sorts. Whenever there are people in need: be it high-profile politicians, people in danger, orphans, or other vulnerable souls—the Council will appoint a guardian to take care of them. I knew from the time I was, mm, maybe—seven, I think?—that I wanted to be a guardian. So I studied lots of diplomacy, geography, various cultures, and passed an aptitude test with my gem fairy skills. I’ve still got a lot to learn, but with my family’s position in the Capital, my age, and the fact that I begged and pleaded a lot—

Gregory: Not to mention that the war has drained pretty much all of the Council’s other soldiers and guardians…

Lalie: *shooting him a stink-eye* Ahem. Like I said, the Council appointed me to be Reanna’s guardian. And I’m not going to waste this chance to go down in history as one of the youngest guardians ever. I’m going to do something really grand.

Gregory: I didn’t mean to imply that Laile was in no way capable or that they’re scraping the bottom of the cauldron when they picked her. But these are highly unusual circumstances, so I’m sure that had something to do with it as well.

Laile: *sweating, mentally putting extra pressure on herself to prove her worth* Ha…um…yeah, next question, please!

The Unicorn Writer: Gregory, is there a magical skillset you want to acquire in your repertoire of spells?

Gregory: Oh, I’m glad you asked!

Laile: And I’m not. We’re gonna be here forever now…

Gregory: One thing I’ve been fascinated by lately are the lost arts. See, years and years ago, before wizards and witches came to the continent of Solis, they lived on reclusive islands. It’s rumored that they could do many things other magical races could not—mind read and speak, use telekinesis, give prophecies, even talk to zephyrs and other spirits—but years of persecution and hiding our magic made these skills more and more rare. Now, we rely mostly on spells to accomplish anything, but we’re not nearly as powerful as the elves. It’s a shame that our more unique talents have been lost. I’d give almost anything to meet someone who could train me in the lost arts.

Laile: Wow, I’ll be honest. That was a shorter answer than I thought we’d get. One time I think he lectured me on the lost arts for two hours—no joke.

The Unicorn Writer: What’s your favorite part of your journey so far (no spoilers!)?

Laile: Meeting Reanna! I’ve idolized her ever since I was a little girl. When she first ran away, I was seven years old, and the story captured my imagination. I mean, a runaway mermaid princess—what wasn’t to love? Now, getting to meet her… it’s surreal. And to know that I’m her guardian… I don’t even know how to process it. It just makes me so excited!

Gregory: Getting to learn new spells with Laeserno. It’s not every day that a spellcaster gets to train under an elf, and I just want to soak up all his knowledge. Even if he is just a violinist, and not the most advanced magic wielder of his kind.

The Unicorn Writer: On Earth, specifically in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of the month of November – which starts in just a few days. It’s a holiday where we acknowledge things and blessings in life we are thankful for. Can each of you tell me the three things you are most thankful for?

Gregory: Obviously, Laile and her family. I don’t know where I would be without them. My family—my sister and my grandmother.

Laile: And don’t forget friends. I wouldn’t want to live without all my best friends—Greg, Aimee, and now Reanna. Sometimes, I’m more thankful for them than I am my own family. I mean, have you met my brother Kal and my sisters Wren and Lark? Some days I want to ship them out to Fiastro. But I’d probably rescue them before a cannibalistic centaur ate them.

…Probably.

The Unicorn Writer: What have you learned, or are learning, on your adventures so far?

Laile: I’ve learned a few shocking secrets about my mom…does that count?

Gregory: And I’ve learned some new alchemy skills…but I don’t think that’s exactly what you’re asking for.

Hannah: Don’t worry. They’ll both learn a lot of things during their adventures…they just can’t share because of spoilers. 😉

The Unicorn Writer: Let’s play a quick round of Would You Rather! First, would you rather fight Atlantean guards with no backup or face a cannibalistic centaur?

Gregory: Oh, that is a hard one. But probably Atlantean guards, solely because centaurs themselves are almost extinct. I don’t encourage the cannibalistic tendencies they’re rumored to have—at least in some sects—but I don’t want to fight a dying magical race.

Laile: Yeah, but if you do fight one—you’d automatically become a legend, just like my mom. So I’m going to have to pick the cannibalistic centaur. I wouldn’t kill it, though. Just knock it around a little. Maybe build it a nice diamond prison cage before it ate me.

The Unicorn Writer: Would you rather be remembered in history for something misinterpreted as bad or forgotten as an integral part of doing something good?

Gregory: Forgotten as an integral part of doing something good. As long as I can go to sleep proud of my choices, then that’s all I ask.

Laile: *sweating* Mmhmm…

Gregory: *rolling his eyes* I know. You’d much rather be remembered in history for doing something misinterpreted as bad, wouldn’t you?

Laile: Well—she did say misinterpreted! And that means that I did the right thing at the time. So I can still live with myself, even if my reputation is sullied. And if I’m controversial, all the more people will talk about me. I’ll probably even get hundreds of books written about me, each discussing me in a different light, and you know how it goes—eventually almost all villains are seen as the heroes.

Gregory: *dryly* Mmhmm.

Laile: *fanning herself* Haaaa… next question, please!

The Unicorn Writer: Would you rather lose all magic for 24 hours or trade abilities with each other for 48 hours?

Gregory: Trade abilities for 48 hours. I’d love to see what it’s like to be a fairy.

Laile: I’d say the same. I’d like to cast an ignis spell for once, or do something that didn’t require dirt.

The Unicorn Writer: Last one. Would you rather forget to bring snacks with you on a long journey or get rained on for a majority of the long journey?

Gregory: It depends. Are you counting all food items as snacks, or would I still be able to have big meals? If I’m still able to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I’d pick forgetting to bring snacks. But if the snacks are the only thing I can eat, it wouldn’t do me much good to have a sunny trip, because I’d die of starvation, anyway.

Laile: Excellent point, but it doesn’t change my answer in the slightest. I’d pick get rained on. I can always shrink myself down to a crystalline size, and water just slides right off of my diamond body when I do that. But really—a trip without snacks? That’s not any sort of trip I want to be on.

The Unicorn Writer: If you could share anything with each other, right now, what would that be?

Laile: *sweating even more now* Oh, uh… I…flying fig-whits.

Gregory: …*clearing his throat* …You’re stepping on my foot.

Laile: OH! Sorry, sorry—um, next question, please!

The Unicorn Writer: Our time together is coming to a close. Thank you both for being here today! Is there anything else either of you would like to add?

Gregory: Just—thank you, Kayla, for hosting us, and for throwing a week long party celebrating Depths of Atlantis. We really appreciate it.

Laile: Yes! And thank you to the readers for coming out to learn more about us. I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Depths to read all about our adventures.

Gregory: Thank you!