OctoPrep 2025

Antagonist Background Story

Assignment #11

"Oct. 11 - "CONTEST ROUND: Antagonist Background Story:"

"Character: CONTEST ROUND: Antagonist Background Story"

Write a story about your antagonist that takes place outside of your novel. The object of the contest is to make your judges understand and empathize with the antagonist's motivations.

If your antagonist is a situation rather than a person, write a background story about that. The Tom Hanks movie ""Cast Away"" famously features only one character (unless you count Wilson), and his antagonist is loneliness. Could you personify loneliness? Why does loneliness exist? What motivates it? How would a lack of loneliness affect survival of the human race? How did it drive main character Nolan to survive for years alone on a deserted island? Loneliness has a job to do. Make us believe it's a valid one.


The familiar smell of books filled her nostrils as she stepped into the library on the third floor. Mother and father were off doing something that court nobles did. Her younger siblings were off either with their tutors or off with the nanny at the park. Her favorite place was the library. It had been in the de Lit family for generations. Family history resided here. Actual history resided here. Old family journals resided here. She felt at home in a place where she often didn't. Her parents were parents biologically and that was it. The nanny, Louilla, was essentially their mother. She raised all six of them. Her parents had been obsessed with being part of the Royal Court. What happened there or why, she didn't care.

Her long white blonde hair was pulled back into a pony tail as she climbed the stairs. The part of the third floor where the library was located, was in the base of a tower that rose four floors. The de Lit's did not fool around when it came to their library. The home they lived in, nearly two millennia old, looked like a modern castle. 30,000 square foot mansion on the northern coast of the Althal Kingdom. Amahle had always been amazed at their home and as a child, been surprised at her parents' lack of it. It had come down her father's line. DeMar de Lit had been the right hand man of King Larmet IX, helping him secure not just the throne, but land, more power, allies, and contracts. King Larmet IX was the king responsible for the continued success of Althal Kingdom being one of the most successful kingdoms on the entire continent. The contracts were to mines and mineral deposits, essentially eternal ones.

As a thank you, DeMar de Lit was granted prized property on the high coast off Lindale where he built his enormous home. The eldest son of the following generations, inherited the home while also inheriting a bottomless inheritance. After entering more modern times, it just fell to the eldest child. Being the eldest child, Amahle looked to inherit the property and the inheritance. She was happy for the library.

She reached the fourth floor, it was the personal floor of the library. It was where the family history, the journals, and the family tree were located. When she returned home from university, majoring in history, she loved to come to this floor and just research her family. Her parents didn't care. They did their duty of having a large family and making sure the de Lit family didn't come to ruin.

Running her fingers over the spines until she came towards the end, where the newer volumes were. She stopped at one: her paternal grandmother's journal. She liked coming to this when she found herself missing her grandmother. She got her into history and how important it was to know the past.

Pulling the volume from the shelf, she took it over to an overstuffed chair in the corner, where a small end table with colored glass lamp sat. She turned it on and opened the book. The quiet comforted her as she got comfortable.

14 of Ghoult 23d12

Journal, I come to you because I can go nowhere else. No one knows I know, so it must remain this way. Thankfully I have you so I can get it off of my chest and never think of it again.

My son's wife, the foolish girl, made a deal with Onteus! Of all the Gods to make a deal with, the foolish girl chose Onteus, the God of Vala. Can you imagine? It was to protect my son. Gods above do I love my son, Ruel, but he didn't inherit smarts. Looks, my goodness yes. Charm? In spades. But smarts? Common sense? No. He made some stupid deal, using the family home as collateral. Violenna called upon Onteus, saying she would use her first born as collateral if he can guarantee the deal works in their favor. Foolish foolish girl!

Come to find out that Onteus did as was asked of him and he came to collect. He didn't want the child, for there was no child to take, but he wanted to make the child. And apparently he did. For Violenna is with child, a daughter, to be named Amahle after Onteus wife, Amalthea. They'll say she's named after the month she'll be born in, Amea, but I'll know the truth.

I might rip this out and flush it. Who knows what could happen if someone finds out about this?

She could feel her heart thud hard in her chest. She closed the journal and set it on the table next to her. Onteus. Onteus. Onteus. Onteus. Onteus. Onteus.

So many things fell into place. So many things made sense. And her grandmother says his name like he's only the God of Vala. He was the original God of Vala, before being usurped by his three daughters, Nadite, Amla, and Iphene. His wife, whom Onteus was obsessed with and gave her everything she ever wanted, Amalthea, was behind it.

An icy anger filled her heart. What could happen if someone finds out, indeed.