Did they have a mentor?

Now, mentors don’t all have to be like Dumbledore or Gandalf the Grey.  Can your character have been taught by a grizzled old man of indeterminate age, wielding a staff and dispensing cryptic wisdom?  Sure!  But mentors come in all shapes and sizes, and can lend an interesting aspect to your character’s development.

Some things to consider, if you’re giving your character a mentor:

What kind of influence did the mentor have over your character?

The mentor can be a helpful presence, offering wisdom and teaching your character to be stronger, braver, smarter.  Or perhaps the mentor is more of a hindrance, keeping him from going after his goals until he’s been deemed worthy, whether his reasoning is correct or not.  Perhaps the mentor was actively working against your character’s ambitions.

What was the mentor’s standing in his or her society?  Amongst other practitioners of his art?

Is the mentor a well-respected mage of the Kirin Tor, or did he spend the last ten years living in the forest, shunned by his peers?  Do other hopeful students seek her out, or do her heretical beliefs make her someone most others avoid?  Could he pull strings for your character if the need arose?  (And if he could, would he?)

Did your character want a mentor?  Did the mentor want a student?

Are they together by mutual decision?  By necessity?  Because other parties are forcing them to spend time together, and they don’t have the power or leverage to refuse?

Is the mentor older or younger than the character?

How does any age difference affect their relationship?  Does your much-younger character laugh at the curmudgeonly old crone?  Does your middle-aged character scoff at her teenaged mentor?  Does the mentor think the character’s too immature to learn any of his lessons, or too old to change his ways?  How do they surprise one another and challenge assumptions?

Is the mentor still alive?

If so, how involved is he in the character’s day to day life?  Are they still on speaking terms, or did they have a falling-out?  If they’re not getting along, is one bent on making the other’s life hell?

If the mentor’s dead, how did he or she die?  Does your character need or want vengeance/closure/forgiveness?

Did an enemy send an assassin?  Did your character bring about his mentor’s demise by accident?  On purpose?  Did they die so your character could escape to live another day?  Did her mentor leave her with a task that needs completing?  If so, does she plan to complete it?

There are so very many different scenarios you could play with if you choose to give your character a mentor, and I’m sure there are hundreds of other questions we could ask to help you flesh him or her out even more.  If you have a few hours years to get lost in the clicky labyrinth of TV Tropes, here’s where their page on mentors starts.

When you find your way back to us, tell us — does your character have someone they’d consider a mentor?  Fill us in!