Alex’s past lives

Alex’s past lives and discussions about them.

All of Alex’s known past incarnations, in order of appearance.

> “Officers kept getting killed. I got moved up to replace them. Battlefield commission. Guess I was doing something right.”
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— Simon, *Good Intentions*, Prologue

See also: Simon
Simon (~1921–April or May 1945 CE) was an American soldier tanker who served in 2nd Armored Division during the Second World War. He earned a battlefield commission to lieutenant and fought in North Africa and Western Europe.⁠⁠ It is probable that he had completed high school and studied a semester at college before joining the army.⁠ He met and engaged Marie in Paris, but turned down a staff job in order to stay with his unit.

He led his men to protect a group of Roma from a larger German force, and was mortally wounded after taking a bullet for George Upton—his tank driver—outside the tank.⁠⁠ During his final moments, he was cradled by Elena. She noted that he had “musician’s hands” and observed that he would have to “be through this again” at least one more time before he would finally be happy.⁠

### John

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> “Tell me how love is a sin, Henry,” John sighed painfully. “Tell me how locking up a woman who was forced to marry me and breaking her heart serves a greater good than what they have together.”
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— John, *Good Intentions*, chapter 13

John (~1075–June 3 1098 CE) of Normandy was a peasant who joined the First Crusade and participated in the Siege of Antioch. He joined the crusade after discovering his wife Katherine’s infidelity and pressed his friend Henry into keeping it quiet for him. He became an excellent soldier and fighter who often was called to enforce order with deadly force among the crusaders.⁠

During the sack of Antioch he confronted six men-at-arms who planned to open up the bellies of captured Saracen women at the insistence of Lydia, posing as a French noblewoman. He slew four of them before being stabbed in the back by Lydia.⁠

His belongings were returned to his wife, who married her lover William a year after his death. Their newborn son would later be named after him.

### The Athenian

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> “He wasn’t as eloquent as Miltiades and the other leaders, but he spoke well. They valued that in those days, you know. Public speaking. Men valued generosity and honor, self-control and respect for women and elders, but above all they cared about persuasiveness and skill in battle. By the grace of Heaven, he had all of that.”
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— Hannah, *Good Intentions*, chapter 13

A nameless Greek farmer and Alex’s first known incarnation. He loved a girl who had married a wealthy but abusive man. It is implied that proto-Alex killed the abusive husband. He married his beloved, but the Persian invasion intervened. He fought and died at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, where he had argued that Athens should confront the Persians early without waiting for reinforcements. During the battle he died saving Aeschylus, later known as the father of Greek tragedy, from a mortal blow.⁠ He had a very low opinion of Sparta.⁠

Hannah served as the guardian angel of this incarnation. She described him as having generosity, honor, self-control, respect for women and elders, persuasiveness, and skill in battle.⁠

### Tom Graham

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> ““She took all my money from my room,” Tom mumbled. “With what she had, it’s enough to get her back to Ireland.” After a moment, he said, “I shouldn’t have called her a whore.””
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— Tom Graham, *Good Intentions*, chapter 14

A piano player who lived somewhere on the American frontier in the late 19th century and worked at the Royale—a brothel and saloon. He was an experienced barfighter and had experience with revolvers.⁠

Tom’s lover Siobhan worked as a prostitute at the Royale. After she had been raped by Danny Ambrose and a fight with Tom over her work she stole his savings to and returned to Ireland. After she left, Tom decided to confront the Ambrose gang, the group of criminal outlaws dominating the area. He killed or maimed several of its most dangerous members before being killed himself, which allowed the rest of the gang to be arrested.⁠

Tom’s skill with the piano was notable and he seldom required a music sheet to play.⁠ He knew several classical piano pieces.⁠ Tom’s experiences with bars and drinking has also influenced Alex to be very moderate with alcohol.⁠

### Scipio

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> All Scipio wanted was his freedom and a fresh start. Revenge on his wife and her lover might have been nice, but a new life with a genuinely decent woman would be nicer.
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*Good Intentions*, chapter 14

A soldier who lived during the twilight of the Roman Republic (~50–45 BCE). A skilled soldier who was scorned by his superiors and his wife for being too merciful with their enemies. During Caesar’s rise to power, Scipio was cornered by his wife and her friends and sold as a slave to Opilio.

When the household was attacked by Opilio’s creditors, Scipio saved his owner and his owner’s son. He was in turn murdered by Opilio to serve as a scapegoat.⁠

### Skorri

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> “And what does Gunnar say?”
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> “That Skorri fights with strength beyond his size. That he snuck past the Danes on many nights. That Skorri feels no pain from blades or fire. That he once saw Skorri so eager for a fight that the lad chewed on the edge of his shield. That the only thing Skorri loved more than battle was his wife.”
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— Valgard and Sibbe, *Good Intentions*, chapter 15

Skorri was a Norseman who lived sometime during the Viking Age (793–1066 CE). He gained a reputation of raiding in his youth before marrying Halla.⁠
He accompanied a final raid to end a feud involving his chieftain Thialfi, but was abandoned by Bjorn and Unferth while covering the retreat of the band.⁠ Halla remarried upon being told of his death. However, Skorri survived the winter in hiding and returned. The pregnant Halla was thrown out by her new husband upon Skorri’s return, and Skorri and Halla sought out a new lord—Valgard—where they could live.⁠⁠

However, Valgard’s sons raped and killed Halla. In revenge, Skorri set fire to Valgard’s hall while blocking the only exit.⁠

Skorri was a ferocious, skilled, and smart fighter and had gained a reputation as a berserker.⁠ He was also a good goatherd.⁠

### Will

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> “Or better yet, tell his cracker wife an’ daughter!” Will shouted, then muttered, “Yeah. Tell ’em you owe your ass to a darkie.”
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— Will, *Good Intentions*, chapter 16

An African-American man (~1950–~1970 CE) who grew up in poor conditions in Detroit and fought in the Vietnam War. He returned for a second tour after he discovered his girlfriend four months pregnant with another man. He sacrificed himself to cover the retreat of Alex’s grandfather, Roy Carlisle after their long-range recon patrol had been ambushed.⁠⁠

### Aidan Shanahan

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> No one deserved to die alone in a muddy pit.
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— Adian Shanahan, *Natural Consequences*, chapter 2

Aidan was an Irishman (~1895–~1916 CE) serving in the British forces during the Great War. Aidan went into No Man’s Land to recover wounded despite orders. Upon finding Captain Westerbrook, his commanding officer, he discovered that Westerbrook had married Aidan’s girlfriend Chelsea back in London. Aidan still helped Westerbrook, but is shot himself by a sniper. Westerbrook returned to the lines, abandoning the dying Aidan.⁠

## Unknown identities

Alex has several more memories of unnamed prior incarnations. One was a Zulu warrior whose wife was killed by Shaka for not showing the proper grief during Nandi’s funeral.⁠ Another was a villager whose wife cheated with the priest who officiated their wedding.⁠ A third was a sailor who joined a lady leading a mutiny.⁠ Xun, a Chinese surname, had close combat skills.⁠

## In chronological order

Approximated timestamps added where necessary.

1. (~470 BC–490 BCE) The Athenian
2. (~75–~50 BCE) Scipio
3. (~800–~1000 CE) Skorri
4. (~1070–June 3 1098 CE) John of Normandy
5. (between the 16th–18th century) Unknown sailor
6. (early 19th century) Unknown Zulu warrior
7. (late 19th century) Tom Graham
8. (~1895–~1916 CE) Aidan
9. (~1920–April or May 1945 CE) Simon
10. (~1950–~1970 CE) Will

## Themes and patterns

In all of these incarnations but the first—the Athenian—his guardian angel was Donald.

There are a few common themes and patterns running through Alex’s incarnations and his own actions. He changed the lives of those around him for the better.⁠ His life was usually short and violent, a pattern strong enough that it was notable to both Hannah and Baal.⁠⁠ Hannah also noted a pattern of being unlucky in love. His loves often abandoned him, but also sometimes for good reason. In those cases—the Athenian, Skorri, John, and Tom—he was able to both understand and forgive them. Jealousy and possessiveness do not appear to be strong emotions for him.

Another pattern was that of unselfish actions of to help anyone in need, apparent with Scipio, John, Aidan, Simon, and Will. He also tended to be well thought of after death, which fits John, Tom, Simon, and Will.

There is also an element of class. Alex notes in a fight that he never learned “the fancy shit” and that “even swordfights are all about class disparity”.⁠ There are no known nobles or aristocrats among them, and many were also illiterate.⁠ There is only a single mention of education between them, of a single semester at college.⁠

Alex’s life fits the above patterns very well, both in circumstances and in personality. He was helpful to a fault.⁠⁠ He was planning on going to the army rather than to college after high school.⁠ His family was dependant on food stamps for at least part of his childhood.⁠ He had bad luck finding or forming romantic relations, partly through his own behavior.⁠ He loved Taylor, who was treated badly by her boyfriend.⁠ He also had a strong sense of fairness and a will to intervene in unfair situations or to those in need.⁠

There are two break points for Alex from these patterns. The first was his failure in the enlistment evaluation, where he subconsciously resisted Donald’s influence.⁠ The second was his intervention at the Sacred Heart Cemetery, which led to an overabundance of love, economic security, and the removal of Donald’s influence.

## Theories

Simon’s actions during World War 2 broke the curse that Malike had cast on Onyx in a past life.⁠ At the same time, Elena’s blessing of Simon and her spell to let them find each other again might have broken the hold that Donald held on Alex’s soul and fate.⁠⁠

Some examples of the connection between Alex and Onyx are their very rapid firiendship, that Onyx and Elena appear as one person during the ritual to settle Alex’s past memories, and that Simon briefly appears during one of Onyx’s dream, ready to protect her against her family.⁠⁠⁠

Alex has different relations and closeness to the people he used to be. Skorri and sometimes Will comes to the fore when fighting or stealth is needed, but Alex takes some amused pride in Skorri’s goatherding skills too.⁠⁠ Tom has influenced him with moderation towards alcohol, throwing bottles and other objects, and piano playing.⁠ Simon seldom appears, but did so when confronting neo-nazis.⁠ Will’s memories proved traumatic when meeting Roy Carlisle.⁠

As such, it is probable that the memories largely come to the fore in specific situations that trigger them.

## Notes

1. ↑ The story of Shaka’s atrocities over Nandi’s death is poorly sourced and heavily disputed today.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3  *Good Intentions*, Prologue
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2  *Good Intentions*, chapter 17
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1  *Personal Demons*, chapter 4
4. ↑ *Halloween for Life*
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5  *Good Intentions*, chapter 13
6. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 18
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4  *Good Intentions*, chapter 14
8. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 12
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 *Skin*
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3  *Good Intentions*, chapter 15
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 1
12. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 7
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1  *Personal Demons*, chapter 6
14. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 16
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1  *Personal Demons*, chapter 1
16. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 2
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 10
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1  *Past Due*, chapter 27
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 “Outsourced”
20. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 12
21. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 26
22. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 8
23. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 9
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1  *Good Intentions*, chapter 11
25. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 12
26. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 13
27. ↑ Elliott Kay on Twitter, December 31, 2018
28. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 20
29. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 2
30. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 6
31. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 1