Ethan (Guardians of Time)

Ethan Roberts is one of the lead characters in the Guardians of Time series by Marianne Curley. He is one of the narrators for the first book in the series, The Named, which introduces the world of the Guardians of Time.

The Named (Book 1)

Ethan is introduced in the prologue of The Named, the first book of the trilogy. The prologue follows 10-year-old Sera and 4-year-old Ethan as they rush to watch a rare flower bloom. After watching the iris, Sera is attacked and killed by a monster who calls himself Marduke, and the scream of young Ethan begins the transition to the first chapter, which opens with sixteen-year-old Ethan, one of the novel's narrators, waking from a nightmare. Ethan lives with his parents, Laura and Shaun, in Angel Falls, Australia.[1] It is later revealed that Sera, Ethan's sister, died of an aneurysm twelve years prior to the beginning of the story and that Ethan has recurring nightmares about her death. It is after his sister's death that Arkarian, a 600-year-old member of the Guardians of Time, takes Ethan in for training. Unbeknownst to his family, Ethan is a member of The Named, an elite team of prophesied soldiers from the Guardians of Time (the Guard).

As a member of the Named, Ethan travels through time in order to ensure that history happens as it should. The Guard is in place to protect history from the Order of Chaos, an army devoted to creating as much chaos and discord as possible. He has been with the Guard since childhood, a "very rare occurrence", according to Arkarian.[1] After years of devotion to the cause, Ethan feels he is ready to receive the Guard's highest honor, the power of flight. When Arkarian promises him good news, he assumes he has finally achieved his goal, only to be let down. The letdown, however, is softened by the promise of his own apprentice, Isabel Becket. Ethan worries that Isabel, the sister of his former best friend Matt, may not be suited to the Guard due to his memory of her being "a pest".[1] Arkarian encourages him to give her a chance, reminding him that he has not seen her in quite some time. He grudgingly accepts.

At school the next day, Ethan realizes that Isabel is in his history class, taught by his least-favorite teacher, Mr. Carter. Carter is exceptionally hard on Ethan, annoyed by the way in which Ethan has a straight A average but appears to not pay attention in class. Ethan has an inherent distrust in the man, and does what he can to stay out of the teacher's way. While in the back of Carter's class, Ethan attempts to gain Isabel's attention and interest by using his power of animation to spin a pen on his desk, which successfully attracts the attention of Isabel, Mr. Carter, and Rochelle, Matt's girlfriend and the reason that Ethan and Matt are no longer friends. Realizing he has broken the Guard's code, he runs off to discuss with Arkarian.

Using his behavior in class as a way to get Isabel's attention, Ethan successfully talks Isabel into going for a walk with him so that he can show her his other power, that of illusion, and explain the Guard and her role. They begin their training and form a strong friendship, although Isabel has been fostering a crush on him since childhood. Ethan is vaguely aware of Isabel's affections, but only sees her as his true best friend. Their training and friendship is made difficult by Matt, who does not trust Ethan. Matt believes that Ethan was once after his girlfriend, who intentionally broke the two friends apart. Despite their difficulties, Ethan successfully trains Isabel and the two go on several missions to the past together. One of those missions was to make sure King Richard completed his tasks. In a difficult turn of events, the success of their mission resulted in the near death of King Richard, and Ethan, citing only his instinct, breaks the Guard's code a third time to save him.

Throughout the story, various other members of the Named are revealed to Ethan. He learns that Mr. Carter is the coordinator of the Citadel, the palace in which time travel occurs, when Carter speaks at Ethan's trial for using his powers in public. He learns that Rochelle is a member of the Order, and was being used as a spy by Marduke, a high-ranking soldier in the Order, and the man responsible for his sister Sera's death. Ethan also discovers that his father, Shaun, was also a member of the Named who withdrew after Marduke, his former partner, murdered Sera. In a fight against Marduke and his soldiers, Ethan shows the full extent of his power by creating an illusion of Neriah, Marduke's daughter, to distract him, kill him, and win the battle. This move, and the bravery it required for Ethan to save the king, earned Ethan his wings by the end of the book.

Throughout the Trilogy

The Dark is told from Isabel's and Arkarian's point of view, so there is less background for Ethan. His close friendship with both of them keeps him highly relevant throughout the story as it follows him, Matt, and Isabel's trip to the underworld to save Arkarian from Marduke's soldiers.

The Key is told from Matt's and Rochelle's point of view, and through Rochelle there is more development. It is explained that she and Ethan are soulmates, and that she was placed as a spy by Marduke in order to hurt him because of Marduke's vendetta against Ethan's father. Despite defecting to the Guard and admitting all she knew about the order, Rochelle is still not trusted by most of the Named, although Ethan stands up for her several times.

Powers

Birth Powers

  1. Animation - the ability to move objects with his mind
  2. Illusion - the ability to create illusions and even bring them to life for a short while
  3. Trusting Instinct and the Prophecy - the gut reactions to various instances show that Ethan is acting under direct influence of the prophecy, such as saving King Richard, who ends up being the leader of Veridian.

Given Powers

Weapon

Ethan is given a Bow and Arrows, which, when combined with his powers of animation, can hit any target at will.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Curley, Marianne. The Named.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.