Daniel Clifton

***Sergeant Daniel Clifton*** is one of three main antagonists in the novel; *Cataclysm: Definitive Edition* (and the original), he is not present within the current story, as he died before the events of the book, however he is very important to the character development and the events surrounding Robert Charlton, before the novel and at the beginning of the story.

***“I can’t believe the bastard’s killed ya mum!”*** - Daniel Clifton to Robert Charlton, shocked at what Wolfe's Company, had done to his mother (*Chapter 8: Venomous Nights)*.

## Pre-Book History:

Daniel Clifton was born in Southwark to the sound of the reconstructed bells of Saint Mary-le-Bow Church, making him a Cockney.

Daniel's father was a soldier in the British Armed Forces and gained Daniel a position in the army when he left formal education in the year 2213.

After graduating the military training in late 2213, Daniel was sent all over the south of Britain to fight what the government branded as rebels.

Daniel's father retired in 2217 and gave Daniel high praise during his retirement ceremony, which gave Daniel a lot of credit with his superiors, due to his father's good reputation.

From 2213 to 2225, Daniel had been on many tours and helped gain land in the name of the British Government. These tours took Daniel to South Wales, Jersey, Guernsey, Cornwall, South-East, South-West, Midlands and the Pirate Town of Hampton. The Pirate Town of Hampton was a struggle to take, but once taken it allowed the British Government the ability to take their former island territories back, which included Jersey and Guernsey.

Daniel Clifton in 2221 took part in the Normandy Expedition. There the British Government spend millions of pounds, the most they had ever spent on an expedition, to finance the army to go and explore Normandy, France.

The Normandy Expedition proved to be a financial disaster, Daniel Clifton and the rest of the expedition landed where Calais was located before the cataclysmic event was, however found nothing but rubble, ash and ruin. In 2222 the expedition was called off, however the British Government placed a manned outpost in France, which they called New Calais.

In 2223 Daniel was stationed in North Wales. There the North Welsh Tribes inflicted humiliating defeats numerous times in a row to Daniel and his forces. After each defeat the superior officer was stripped of rank and a new commander was put in charge. It got to the point that Daniel was placed in charge as an Acting-Sergeant. He too lost his engagement to the North Welsh Tribes in 2225.

Daniel was stripped of his sergeant rank and taken to Camp Blackwood, out of favour with the army, and placed in a guard duty role at a coal and timber camp. From the year 2225 to 2227 Daniel was very popular with the camp and interacted with many of the camp workers, falling in love with Robert's mother.

Once innocent, Daniel Clifton began to sexually assault and later rape Robert's mother on a daily basis, while at the same time teaching things to Robert that his father could not due to his father being in the mines all day and night. Robert's mother dared not tell his father, fearing their citizenship would be revoked and they would be sent to fend for themselves in the northern Midlands or past the Hell's Passage, back to the North-West where they came from.

In February of 2228, when Robert was fifteen-years-old, Camp Blackwood came under attack from the rebel and deranged Wolfe's Company. Camp Blackwood was utterly destroyed, Robert's mother and father were both murdered and Daniel Clifton stuffed Robert into a crate so that Rob would not be found and survive the ordeal.

Daniel Clifton returned for Rob the following morning and drafted him into the British Army in March 2228. Daniel has risen to the rank of Sergeant and Robert was never granted the permission to leave Daniel's Company. In 2231 when Rob was eighteen-years-old, Daniel's Company were upgraded into the Clifton Northern Expeditionary Force, tasked with regaining Wolfe's Fort and scouting the north.

Robert was dragged to the north, the birthplace of his parents and the C.N.E.F. managed to reclaim Wolfe's Fort from a gang that occupied the fort. Throughout 2231 and the early part of 2232 Daniel began to delve into madness and would begin to raid the lands north of the fort, killing, raping and stealing from defenseless villages. This angered many of his followers and in March 2232 the angry soldiers led by Robert confronted Daniel about his ways. The argument escalated and a mutiny occurred, where Robert killed Daniel Clifton by stabbing him to death with a bayonet after a vicious fight.

## Appearance & Personality:

### **Physical Appearance:**

* **Eye Colour -**Blue
* **Hair Colour -**Blond
* **Hair Style -**Slicked / gelled back
* **Facial Hair -**Stubble
* **Skin Colour -**White.
* **Height -**6'0" (182.69cm)
* **Weight -**12.5st (180lbs)
* **Accent -**Cockney
* **Age (in 2238) -**41-years-old.
* **Other Features -**Daniel had very strong and defined jawbone and cheekbones.

### **Attire & Arsenal:**

Daniel Clifton wears the standard uniform of the British Armed Forces, back from the 21st Century. There had only been more for a few more modifications when it came to the uniform's webbing as well as the helmets, which Daniel is not seen wearing in his one and only dream scene.

### **Personality:**

Daniel is a ego-maniac and abuser of power. Daniel believes in his own grandeur and delusions so much he believes them to be truth, making him a sociopath and a psychopath at the same time. Daniel is power hungry and cannot stand being looked down on.

Due to all the horrible images he had seen over his many years in service to the British Government, Daniel Clifton developed P.T.S.D. which further increased as it was not identified and further ignored by Daniel, turning him legitimately insane.

## Biography:

Daniel Clifton is dead by the beginning of the novel in 2238. Daniel never meets any of the other antagonists or any of the protagonists of the novel.

## Trivia:

* Daniel is physically inspired by Rutger Hauer, after the actor's performance in the film *Blade Runner*.
* Daniel was originally going to be a Northerner, to sympathise with Robert, yearning to return North, however he was changed to a Cockney, so he would be alienated up North, much like the other soldiers in the expeditionary forces.
* Daniel shared the same fate as Commander Wolfe, they both went insane and then were both subsequently killed by their subordinates.
* Daniel was originally going to be the Flesh Lord, however this was changed due to time and the fact that the Flesh Lord is never revealed.
* Although Daniel is only seen once, in a dream, within the novel, Daniel and his death have a significant influence over Robert's character development throughout the novel.
* Daniel was originally going to be Robert's uncle, however this backstory was changed somewhat and given to Freddy Coplan.
* Darryl M. Finch-Ellis desired to put in Daniel's death as a second dream for Robert, however this was taken out due to the scene having no place in the narrative, with Darryl believing it slowed down the pace too much. Darryl M. Finch-Ellis has stated that if he released another version, like a special edition, that he would add more scenes, including a dream sequence that would show Daniel's death.
* Daniel wanted to kill all members of Wolfe's Company, to avenge Robert's mother's death, which is the sole reason for Daniel keeping Robert by his side, adopting the young lad, and taking up the challenge of leading his own expeditionary force up north.
* Daniel is the only main character to be born in London.
* Daniel's constant nicknaming of Robbie for Robert was what made the nickname unbearable for Rob later in life.
* Daniel began to suffer from severe P.T.S.D. (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) which caused his descent into madness.
* Daniel's favourite song is; *Blur - Universal*.