Storytelling is about characters.  Without them, there is nothing to connect to.  Marshal has come to believe that heroes are not a breed apart.  They are ordinary women and men reacting to extraordinary circumstances.  Certainly, some are better equipped to deal with these situations, but they are just people.  These kinds of heroes, with their flaws and foibles, could be our next door neighbors.  They often are.  And it’s these characters who he loves to put between the hammer and anvil, driving them to face their deepest fears and rise to their greatest pinnacles.  For Marshal, this is what storytelling is about, because we’re all people.  We want to see ourselves in these characters, good and bad..