Story Overview
Plot points/Scenes
Act 1: 9 chapters, takes place over 4 months, 1 week and 4 days (from the 22nd of Frostnight to the 4th of Weatherfair)
Act 2: Add number of chapters, takes place over 2 months, 1 week and 12 hours (from the 5th of Weatherfair to the 13th of Starfall) but I might elongate this a bit more to last 2.5 months...
Act 3: Add number of chapters, takes place over 2 months, 2 weeks and 5 days (from the 13th of Starfall to the 3rd of Greyfog) which means I have a problem because they should be back at the beginning of Ghostlight, which is a month later...
Structure
Exposition
We start right in the action, so exposition is never the only thing going on. I'm trying to intertwine exposition with the story to avoid info dumping.
Stuff the reader needs to know: The Characters, what different species there are, sacred relics and magic, twofold soul individuals and their abilities, the position of Drifeyer, storyteller association, what a Zyva is, Auun's and Kishay's backstories etc.
Conflict
The Cup of Prosperity is stolen and Drifeyer wants it back. They trace the thief to Mivian but Mivian denies all claims of having stolen the cup. The royal court is in uproar and they don't know what to do, because Drifeyer's entire "power" is dependent on the cup. They are preparing for conflict in order to preserve Drifeyer's economical power, but all of their close allies refuse to help them because Mivian is a huge military power. They need to think how they can combat Mivian or get the cup back.
Another conflict point is that when Auun does find Kishay, he doesn't want to go back to Drifeyer with Auun.
For Jaaf the point of conflict is that she steals the cup because of the promised reward to help her family out, but when she returns she is punished and thrown in jail instead. She realizes how badly the humans treat the Zyva and wants to change that.
Rising Action
Auun, who wants to help Ebyerel find a solution for the problem but doesn't know what to do either, gets a letter from the StA authorizing him for the exam to (probably) highest rank storyteller. Through that he gets the idea to search for Kishay and his sword, because it's a "cold" story that no one knows the ending to and the sword, legendary, could help Drifeyer out a lot.
The council hates the idea so Auun searches for Kishay on his own (like he'd originally planned). He starts searching for Kishay but doesn't find anything. Then he gets a hint from a scavenger and in the end does find Kishay, but that's where the problems actually only begin.
They get attackd by a mercenary, who has it out for Kishay's sword, almost Immediately and Kishay is forced to flee with Auun. they make a plan to go to the redwoodsand for their ways to part there, but their plans get thrown overboard when they get attacked in the western plains again. They make the decision to try and lose their persuers by going through the eerie fen, but there their problems only get worse. There is a creature in the fen that is bound there and therefore lives off of the life experiences and stories of other people, but by doing that it sucks out their essence and leaves back a blank canvas, a barely living organism. The creature gets Kishay in its hands so Auun has to make the decision to sacrifice his story book to save Kishay's life. Right after that Auun collapses and goes into ASC that was triggered by the strong magic of the place. His body and mind are seperated and he is unresponsive. Kishay freaks out but decides to take Auun to the redwoods asap. There a healer can anchor Auun's spirit with a blood rune, but because Kishay is the most familiar thing to Auun in this world the healer needs to use Kishay's blood therefore binding them together until the rune wears off (which takes quite a while). This forces Kishay again to stay with Auun.
Jaaf returns to Mivian with the cup and gets thrown into prison. There she meets another Zyva who stole another relic and she realizes that the entire system is rigged against the Zyva. She befriends the other Zyva and together they try to escape from the jail, so the start digging.
Climax
I'd argue the climax is right at the beginning of act 3, where Auun and Kishay share their first kiss and Kishay agrees to come with Auun to Drifeyer. It's literally the first good thing that happens to Auun since he's found Kishay. Also Auun calls out to Amias, his patron Spirit, to get a means of transportation because they couldn't take their horses with them when they escaped the train. Amias actually answers and sends two huge ass stags for them to ride. This gives Auun more confidence.
For Jaaf it's her breaking out of jail. She digs deeper and deeper and suddenly the ground gives way to nothing! Turns out the prison is specifically designed for Zyva who are trying to break outand the prison is on a floating island, so that anyone who was trying to flee falls to their death. Jaaf and her friend are saved by a flying sky whale.
Falling Action
Soon after the climax there's another attack and Kishay is forced to cut off a big portion of Auun's hair to save his life, which makes Auun's confidence plummet. They then get attacked one more time and Auun is so furious he kills the attacker, which makes him feel even worse than before. He doesn't want to go back to Drifeyer because he thinks he's a disgrace.
Kishay then has to motivate Auun to continue and tells him that they can't stay where they are and also if they venture too close to Estira he might get killed.
When they pass the Grey Barrens Auun's dreams and all of that stop temporarily because there's a magic vacuum there and his spirit wanderer abilities get sucked into the vacuum as long as they are in the vicinity of the place. This gives Auun time to think more clearly.
They enter Mirkhar soon after and pass through to Brym, where Auun marches right into the HQ of the StA to confront them. When they see that Auun has Kishay in his company, they suddenly want him back because they a) realize that Auun doesn't give up easily and is pretty damn good at uncovering information and b) so they can get their hands on Kishay' story. Auun refuses and they leave to take a ship that brings them back to Drifeyer. Because they both don't have any money, Auun pays for the trip with spirit work.
Jaaf has to steal the cup back and there is likely a confrontation between her and the leaders of Mivian.
Resolution
Auun realizes that he doesn't need the storybook or the StA to be a storyteller, because most of the stories are in his head anyway and he can write new ones and besides, the adventure with Kishay is material for many great stories and at the end of the day he's still the storyteller of the queen and she values his stories. Also the peace of Drifeyer is more important than his status in the StA.
Through losing his hair he also has to take a step back and look at Kaatin culture. Before, he's only been critical of one aspect of the culture but he realizes that the whole hair stuff isn't as serious as they make it out to be and that just because he has short(er) hair now that doesn't mean that he has bad character now. On the contrary, he realizes that the whole journey has made him a better person with more respect and compassion for other people.
They return to Drifeyer and get ready for battle, but then Jaaf appears with the cup and explains the situation and that there's no need for war. But she also explains the situation of the Zyva -> this could be where a possible sequel starts.
Components
Goals
Auun: wants to reach the highest rank of storyteller to show off his status to his parents and show them that he doesn't need to become a spirit wanderer to be successful. Therefore, he wants to find Kishay and get the story out of him what happened after he killed his brother. He also wants to help Ebyerel find a solution to get the cup back because she's one of the only people he actually cares about.
Kishay: Wants to keep himself and the sword away from the rest of the world because he thinks the sword, and by extention he, is cursed and too powerful to be used by anyone. He's also punishing himself for killing his brother and through guarding the sword he tries to repent for his crime. The sword can't really be destroyed with any known power, unless he tried severing the bond between himself and the sword, but that's a) hard and b) would have terrible repercussions for him too, unless he'd pass it on to someone else, which he doesn't want because it's too dangerous.
Jaaf: She wants to make her familiy's life better by stealing the cup and earning the reward, but she gets thrown in jail and realizes that the only way to make her life better is by stopping the humans from exploiting the Zyva.
Ebyerel: She wants to keep peace at all costs because she grew up in a war and lost a lot of things in it, she doesn't want anyone to go through that.
Hooks
The hook is right at the beginning, or at least I hope it is, when Jaaf steals the Cup of Prosperity. This propells us right into the action.
Another hook, for Auun's plot line I guess, is his idea to search for Kishay to resolve the conflict.
Stakes
War with Mivian, decay of Drifeyer's economic power, possible empoverishment of the drifeyan population, chaos and distrust, food shortages, maybe another civil war, Auun's pride and status as a storyteller (maybe there are also some repercussions of the StA when he doesn't take the exam, like maybe it's harder to try again to reach that rank or something), by extention also Auun's entire sense of self and his self-esteem.
The lives of Auun and Kishay are also at stake multiple times throughout the story.
For Jaaf it's her family's well-being, her own life, her freedom and in the end the well-being of her entire species.
Moral Quandaries
In the Eerie Fen Auun and Kishay are in a tight spot. Some kind of creature gets a hold of them and "captures" Kishay or whatever and wants to idk kill him slowly and painfully by sucking the life or something out of him or maybe it's feeding off of stories and personal experiences. Auun can save Kishay if he gives up his storybook, which is his most priced possession and, in a way, his entire life. In the beginning Auun doesn't want to give up his book, but then decides to do it, because Kishay's life and the use he could bring to both Auun and Drifeyer are greater than Auun's storybook.
Kishay later on, has to use his sword and use it to kill, which he's sworn he'd never do again. He has to do it to save Auun's life though. Through that they both have to give up something dear to them in order to save the other.
Cruel Tricks
Auun gets some item at the StA guild house that he thinks is for good luck or contacting the scavenger that sold him the info, but actually it's a tracking device and that makes it possible for the mercenaries to follow them. Auun realizes that way too late though. Turns out the scavenger sold Auun out to the mercenaries and they even appear again themself (maybe it's the one Auun ends up killing).
Jaaf realizes that she's helping the humans who don't have the best for the Zyva in mind at all.
Red Herrings
This would be great for Auun's search of Kishay, but I'm not sure what exactly I should do.
Relations
Protagonists
Auun is the main main character who narrates the majority of the story. Chapters from Auun's POV are written in 1st person.
Kishay Talukhin is what you would call the deuteragonist, or "second in command". Chapters from his POV are written in 3rd person. He's also the love interest for Auun.
Jaaf is another protagonist, in a way. She has her own storyline but fewer chapters than Auun and Kishay. Chapters from her POV are written in 3rd Person.
Ebyerel Fehera Aëndryr isn't a "protagonist" in that sense, her chapters are mainly there to remind the reader of the situation in Drifeyer and make the situation more urgent. There will be maybe 4 chapters in her POV total, and her chapters are also written in 3rd person.
Allies
Neutrals/Bystanders
No explicit characters here yet, but I guess they will meet characters like this on their way.
Competitors
I don't have anything here, but it would be an interesting idea to add, like, one competitor. Maybe another storyteller who also wants to find Kishay or something? Could be a minor point in the story. How about the scavenger actually takes a double role as adversary and competitor here, because she too wants more info on Kishay that she can sell to others. Nilye is actually quite similar to Auun and doesn't have too many morals. Would also be nice to hold a mirror to Auun's face.
Adversaries
The leaders of Mivian and all the different mercenaries, the Storyteller Association to some extent, the scavenger,Nilye who sold Auun the info about Kishay.
Backdrops
Locations
Drifeyer, Hatnar, Deya, Western Plains, Eerie Fen, Redwoods, Thumar, Greiforn, (Leh'cal), Central Wilderness, Grey Barrens, Mirkhar, Brym
Threats
The mercenaries who want to kill Kishay (and by extention Auun) for the sword, Auun's prophetic dreams which are detrimental to his health, strong magic of central Arregeas, the eerie fen and the magic and creatures living there, the grey barrens, the weather and to an extent also Mivian.
Past Events
Civil War of Drifeyer, generally the Age of Fury, Auun's past, Kishay's past, the founding of Mivian, even the blood rune wars play a role, the backstory of the sacred relics.Most important historical events of the visited countries.
Plot type
Story Overview, Plot Summary
Related Organizations
Related Locations
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