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Hello there, everyone! I have an issue….and it’s kind of a big one. So, @daeus, @hope, @catwing, @allison-grace, @daughteroftheking, @ingrid, @emily, @dragon-snapper, @aislinn-mollisong, @anyone, help me out.
So, my story has a sort of “quest” in it. The problem is….I can’t get my guys to leave the safety of the castle. But they have to. And I just can’t get them to leave, short of exiling them, and that wouldn’t help the story line.
Any great idea’s on how to get a messenger and an ex-assassin out of a castle without killing them? They would be much appreciated.
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~Sarah
INTJ – Writer – Artist – Dragon Rider
*vader vibes*
@sarah-anson How far out of the castle do they have to go? And what’s stopping them from leaving? Could they just go to a stroll through the market? Or go visit a sick relative? Or am I misunderstanding entirely?
Well, @princessfoo, they have to go….very far. And they can’t go back, they have to try and find the meaning to an ancient prophesy. I just need something spark their interest and get them motivated on it.
*vader vibes*
Have someone inside the castle need the answer to the prophecy but can’t go themselves so they send the two of them, make it urgent.
Maybe one of them is a history buff, and wants to be there when the prophecy unfolds? Or maybe one of them hears a snippet of the prophecy and thinks, “That sounds like my sibling/cousin/best friend/me.”
Am I any closer to what you need?
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@sarah-anson Maybe you could have one of them have a family history with the prophecy or something else family related? It’s hard to say when I don’t know much about your story. 😉
Thanks for the replies, everyone! My MCs (Kirin and Jax) have to find the answer to a prophesy because there have been reports of Valar(evil flying creatures) in the world, not to mention the threat of war and treason from literally everyone–so they set out to try and find a way to defeat the Valar, since they cannot be killed by normal blades. (Sounds weird, but I promise, it’s not.)
So, basically….I want them to be either forced or ordered out of the castle, and then forced to try and find the ‘cure’ for Valar appearing in the world. They(Valar) were banished by the King during an ancient war, and it’s been thousands of years since then, so they were thought to be just myths(like dragons, Alosrin(good flying creatures), and the King himself). But when they appear….let’s just say the world gets a bit shaken up.
I hope that’s not to confusing for everyone! My book is kind of hard to explain…anyway, thanks for the suggestions!
*vader vibes*
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@sarah-anson That sounds cool. A few more suggestions: People are superstitious. Maybe there’s something connected with the MC’s names that makes the palace people think that they are causing the Valar to come. Or maybe they think that they (because of their names?) are the only people who can defeat the Valar. Am I anywhere close to what you’re looking for?
Oh, I like that, @emily! Well….Kirin’s name is a rarer name, it means ‘bright fire’ in the old tongue, but in the common it just means ‘from-the-land-of-fire’ (long meaning, i know). He was named such because he washed up as a young child on the beach, and the first person to notice him called him ‘kiri’ because of his gold eyes. And the name just stuck…
As for Jax, Jax is also a rarer name, short for Jaxorin. People in my world like to name their children after their most notable trait, or after a famous ancestor. Jax’s name means ‘cat’ or ‘panther’ for a reason.
But yes, to answer that question, Kirin and Jax are tied to the prophesy, but they don’t know it yet…oh, and I should probably tell you–the Valar can only be defeated by swords that have been touched by the Prince’s sword. (It’s an allegorical fantasy, if you haven’t noticed.) And the Prince’s sword is missing, in fact it disappeared right after the Prince did….
*vader vibes*
@sarah-anson So why won’t your characters leave? Do they not care? Do they not think they’re the ones for the mission? Something else?
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@sarah-anson Ok good. I’m slowly getting closer.
@sarah-anson Maybe they’re sent out on a short, unimportant trip (to get snacks or something). But then, they encounter something that makes them unable to go back to the palace. *cue dramatic music*
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The Valar attack the castle? The ex-assassin must use assassin-ish skills to find the thing? and the messenger can be sent with him to make sure that he doesn’t take the thing for himself? @sarah-anson
IMMA KAPEEFER! Til we're old and gray!
@sarah-anson I like @catwing ‘s idea of the Valar attacking, because that gives them reason to leave and find out more. But otherwise, here are my suggestions
1, there is an organization trying to bring the Valar back, and Jax and Kirin find out about it and want to investigate it more, and find more clues along the way
2, somehow Jax and Kirin’s family are interconnected with the Valar, kind of like @emily said, and so they have to investigate it for that reason (like their family is tryin to bring the Valar back and they have to stop them)
3, they get into a fight with someone at the castle, like a rival, who sort of dares them to find out more about the Valar, and as they go on, they realize the stakes are getting higher and they can’t just go back home with the world at risk
4, THEY do something to help bring the Valar back, and have to try to fix it by going on the quest, but they don’t want to tell anyone and they think it was a minor thing. And then they realize how big the situation is when they go on. (Like, if they accidentally release a Valar that was inside the castle)
Personally, I would use a mix of them all.
Jax and Kirin accidentally get involved in a secret society trying to free the ancient Valar from banishment, and their ancestors were a part of this organization. Initially, they help this organization accidentally and the organization somehow gets them to do something very bad to help the return of the Valar (like breaking a crystal one of them was trapped inside or something). They then investigate more about the situation, dared on by one of their rivals, who gets the lord of the castle to ban all study of Valar. Knowing what they have done, they have to continue their investigation to right the wrong they did, but have to do it in secret (this will add some tension to the story). They are then exposed and confined to their rooms by the lord, but they slowly uncover more and more about the Valar (maybe through ancient scrolls) and they have to try to escape and save everything. And also, everyone else thinks the Valar are superstition, so won’t help them. And after they escape, they get chased by that organization they were originally in, who wants revenge on Jax and Kirin for leaving the group and taking valuable information with them.
Not sure if that could help or not
*Giarstanornarak tries to melt chair*
Also, Daeus has 22 turtles in his signature.OOH! I love this! Ok, here we go. INSPIRATION STRIKES!!!!
So, basically everything @sam-kowal just said, but then this. So, the messenger (Kirin or Jax?) loves learning history. So when they hear about the Valar, he really wants to see them, even if it’s dangerous. He also dreams of finding the Prince’s Sword and being a hero. The ex-assassin, however, is the one who brought them back by going into a hidden room and messing with stuff. He doesn’t tell the messenger, but he feels responsible and wants to get rid of them. He doesn’t care about being a hero, but he has a lot of guilt and wants to somehow redeem himself.
They originally are hesitant to leave the castle, but on top of the Valar attack, there is intrigue creeping into the monarchy. The person trying to take over is enlisting the help of the Valar, and when he hears that Kirin and Jax want to get rid of them, he tries to take them down. They escape, and can’t go back or that guy will kill them.
So now they have to figure out how to get rid of the Valar, and the usurper. And probably undergo some character arcs along the way, am I right?
TA-DA!!!
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