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So the novel I'm writing is in (multiple) close third person perspective, or limited, as the whole action is seen through the eyes and thoughts of a given character. The issue I'm having is that it all starts with a prologue, in which the character must remain totally unknown to the reader (until later on in the book).
The reason why it must remain totally unknown is because he plays a vital role in the plot, and his identity should only be revealed as a major surprise, kind of a plot twist in the story. So in the prologue we have this mysterious character, where any information such as name (doh!) or title or role could give away his identity.
The scene starts with the character looking at distance from a balcony, soon after the sunset. In the first paragraph, the reader sees the distance through the character's eyes and interpretation, so it starts with a description. Then, the character gets introduced (by the narrative voice) and the reader only now learns that the description was through this character's feelings. Here is my current transition:
"(...) and there was nothing but silence. He raised his head, trying to discover their way. The silence was much too unsettling to him." (please mind that the novel is in a different language, so translation is rather approximate, just to get the idea).
The character then changes impressions with a man sitting behind him. Through the course of the action, the reader learns that the unnamed, untitled character is a middle-aged male, a leader of some kind (rather an important figure among his folks), who keeps running from something. That is about all the reader should know.
The limited perspective of this character will only appear in the prologue, as the character will be dead for the rest of the book (prologue happens a couple of years before the actual plot begins to take place and its actions is what triggers the plot).
I have tried writing in first person, doesn't work. Can't remove the prologue either. Can't write in omniscient third view, it gets way too impersonal. By all means, it must remain in limited third view and the actions must be presented this way.
I have no idea however of how to avoid the over usage of "he", "him" and whether it's good and alright to introduce him as shown above in the transition. How can I introduce him other than "He raised his head, trying to..."? It seems a bit rough, abrupt this way.
I guess I just don't like the "He" as being the first reference to the guy, neither as being the only reference for the rest of the prologue.
(4)More posts by @Ravi5107385
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Could you use a pseudonym for the unnamed character, something he can go by that obscures his other details? Something like Strider/Aragorn from LoTR.
As @TomDacre suggested, you can just use indistinct descriptive nouns in place of "He", such as "The figure", "The man" or "The traveler". Then, you can take the focus off of the character by moving deeper inside to look at his motives and beliefs.
(...) and there was nothing but silence. The traveler raised his head, trying to discover the way. The silence was much too unsettling to him. Too many dangers use silence as cover. Crickets or the stirring of leaves would be one thing, but not absolute silence. It's never good when life gets this quiet.
You could refer to him with descriptive terms in addition to pronouns. "The dark-haired man ran through the streets...", "'Relax', said the man in the coat, 'I'm not here to hurt you'", etc.
One approach to this is to adopt a 1st person "minor character narrator" -- a character who is peripheral to the plot, but is an observer. If he/she doesn't know who your mystery character is or his/her significance, the reader can't, and it doesn't get awkward to hide what the narrator character doesn't know.
An example of this is Aronax in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea -- the main plot involves Nemo vs. the world, but Aronax knows only what he observes about Nemo and the Nautilus. He's involved, but peripheral to the main action.
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