The Citadel Plot (warning: contains unmarked spoilers)
Complete plot detail
This is the complete, detailed plot of the Citadel, a book currently in progress about the land of Astor-Banthum.
Plot points/Scenes
Tantemtalem and Artemis wake up and get ready to set out. Po (aka Xeni) tells them that they're leading for the first time.
The caravan starts out across the desert. Arlon, Tantemtalem's Wvvelt, isn't cooperating and bites her hand. Tantemtalem's powers are activated and her hand magically heals itself in front of the Battlemaster.
She runs away, but not before she sees Artemis being dragged away by the Battlemaster. Tantemtalem falls asleep in the crook of a sand dune and has a strange dream. Arlon wakes her up and they set off again, fleeing farther away.
They arrive at the Citadel, where Tantemtalem/Cat meets Meew and is shown inside.
Tanoa, the leader, meets Cat and shows her the Book of Warriors, but before she can read it, Ra blows up a bowl of psiehwood and distracts everyone. Tantemtalem is introduced to her, and Ra happily shows her the prophecy.
Tantemtalem falls asleep in front of the prophecy but wakes up the next morning. The others convince her to stay and train with them in The Citadel so she can rescue Artemis from the Battlemaster. They go to breakfast, where Cat joins Meew and Ra's training group. She makes friends with the other trainees, Ulitakanara and Xeni, who had been spying on her caravan and had aided with her escape under the name Po.
Cat trains with the others for a bit then heads to her new dorm room to rest. She has two strange dreams, the first being about a strange boy and the second being a vision of Artemis being tortured. Then, after waking up, she gets the idea that she's supposed to rescue Artemis. She frantically packs and heads to the prophecy room, where she (somewhat sarcastically) asks for guidance and the next part of the prophecy.
Just as Tantemtalem is about to give up, a voice in her head speaks and tells her the next part of the prophecy, as well as saying that she needs to leave now if she's going to rescue her friends. Cat tries to sneak out of the Citadel but accidentally wakes her friends up as well. They decide that if she's going to go, they're coming with her. So the five of them set off across Astor-Banthum on a crazy rescue mission/save the world attempt.
To be continued...
Themes
Lots of combat encounters take place in ruins/wrecks (and ruins are mentioned a lot), which gives the story a vaguely haunted aspect. Snakes are constantly thrown in throughout the book, symbolizing the betrayal that is yet to come (the snake fight in the cave, the snake headed assassins, the snake symbol on the Tavern of the Lost's sign, etc).
Structure
Exposition
It has been six years since the Third War started. Two of the greatest powers of all time, the Citraidarian Empire and the Battlemaster Empire, clashing over control of the geographical territory of Astor-Banthum. During those six years, a prophecy has formed.
You who walk the line between life and death, beware the serpent within. The braveheart, the fiery spark, the light one, the dark one, and she with eyes of ice...all are good, but serpentine blood will kill for you. Listen, traveler, I say to you: evil crumbles at your feet and the shadows will part to let the light through. Make haste! o weary one, the time will come now soon. But hear my message and beware, for there is no prophecy boon.One will die, one will return, one will learn. One will rise, one will betray, one will stay. And that is where this story ends...until Tantemtalem comes.Character Backstories: Tantemtalem: Tantemtalem's parents were a fighter and a medic on the Citradarian side of the war. They died when she was very young during the Attack, and when the Battlemasters stormed the Old Citadel, she was captured by a raiding party and brought to the Castle, which was basically Battlemaster HQ. The Black Knight, the leader of the Battlemasters, saw great potential in her as she grew up in the Castle (as a servant) and gifted her with minor powers. But when she was around 8, Tantemtalem failed to deter a party of rebels who were attacking the Castle and freeing prisoners. The Snake, angry at her failure, wiped her memory of all past events. He banished the now memory-less girl to the desert, where he assigned her to one of the search caravans that was combing through the desert in search of the retreating Citradarians and their base, the Citadel. Tantemtalem befriended Artemis, a young girl like her, and they became very close-almost like sisters. Meeiuwaan: Meeiuwaan was born in the town of Vleka in Banthum to a cobbler and a horsemaster. Her life was mostly ordinary until she turned 11, when bandits and teen gangs raided her town and forced her family south. They arrived at Uppekken, the capital of Banthum, and Meew's mom signed her up in The Citadel's teenager training program (CTAAC), being tired of the girl's constant energy and wishing to do something with her raw talent. Rᴂlin: Ra was the bumbling, happy-go-lucky combat assistant to the lead instructor at the CTAAC (The Citraidarian Training Academy in the Art of Combat) and training to be a priestess at the Citadel itself. She had wound up at the Citadel four years before Catshock did with similar memory issues (though she did remember more about herself-like her name, family, etc) and quickly rose up in the ranks. Ragsnik: He grew up in Astor and at the age of 9 was recruited to be a shipmaster's apprentice for the Callistian Empire. But he was constantly mistreated by the shipmaster and the other (mean) apprentice, so he ran away and found the Hermit's tree, where the Hermit took him in and taught him forest magic as well as combat. Ulitakanara: Ulitakanara was born on Tiri 3, 264 on the frigid island kingdom of Callistia. Her parents were the king and queen of the Empire there; she was the second youngest of four (she had an older brother-9, an older sister-4, then the youngest, a brother who died of Blackwood fever at age two and a half). Her parents did not care for her because they did not believe that she would rise to the throne in her lifetime. She was neglected and left to play with her cruel, older sister for hours on end, but she still got better treatment than the people of Callistia. She was tutored until age four in the combat, science, mathematics, music, diplomacy, and reading, though to little amounts (the Callistian Empire cared little about education, but Ulita's parents thought that an educated girl was better than nothing). Her punk brother, Dunvel, killed her mother and sister when Ulita was two in an attempt to seize early control of the throne. He tried to kill her and her father as well, but they escaped (baby Ulitakanara even cut his arm open in the process)! Xeni:
Conflict
1: The main conflict is the pressure to stop the Serpent King (also known as the Black Knight) and end the reign of the Battlemaster Empire.
2: Tantemtalem is on a mission to rescue her best friend Artemis from the Battlemaster and bring her back to the Citadel.
Components
Stakes
IF Artemis is "not" rescued (according to Tantemtalem) the Serpent King will surely torture her to death or send her off to some far away cavaran.
IF the Serpent King is not stopped, the Battlemaster Empire will mostly keep expanding until they've taken over the entire planet of Cattura.
Relations
Protagonists
Neutrals/Bystanders
Backdrops
Threats
Very high:
High:
Moderate:
Catshock and gang come across an Astorian inn called the Tavern of the Lost, disguised as the "Gold Snake" (which is a hidden reference to Rᴂlin's ultimate betrayal). They go inside to stay the night and find themselves trapped inside a nightmare-ish prison where all the people inside are demons trying to get them to "stay a little longer". The demons were originally real people who were also hooked in by the Tavern and turned into spirits. The gang manages to escape in the middle of the night after some mild peril.
While on the "ferry boat" to Arca/the Castle, they get caught up in a large storm and the ship is wrecked. All of the gang are scattered to different sectors of the island (in groups: Meew, Cat/Ragsnik, Ulita/Xeni). They all survive with minor-moderate injuries.
A group of assasins sent by the Serpent King chases the gang across the desert for quite some time before Tantemtalem and her friends manage to shake them off their trail.
Low:
Very low:
Encounters
Combat / Engagement:
Negotiation:
Discussion / Interaction:
Meeting / Introduction with cast (NPC):
Travel / Exploration:
Investigation:
Romance:
Pursuit:
Planning:
Daring Enterprise:
Riddle Solving / Enigma:
Disaster Mishap:
Survival:
Music (credit to rollforfantasy.com)
Plot type
Book Plot (complete)
Related Characters
Related Organizations
Related Locations
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Comments
Author's Notes
Plot is subject to change...