Shocktrooppers

Plot points/Scenes

The basic structure of Shocktroppers is (without getting into spoilers for the actual novel) is the following:

Every of the 14 characters has a POV that leads to them taking the decision to join the tournament and pic one of two sides in the war to come.

The first PoV is the Jon Lorde chapter called “Highway Star”. And starts with him and his usual shenanigans, taking notes on the town and the history that surrounds it. Telling his entire day until the faithful moment when he decides to make fun of the noble of the city, kick starting all the plot. In the next final scenes people start to flock to his side, making comments and remarks that he (and the reader) doesn’t understand but will plant the seeds for the chapters to come. Because you see, the way that information is managed and delivered is key to the success of the novel and its structure.

The second PoV chapter is told from the perspective of Kavilard, telling his stress attack with organizing the week long festivities, his dark secrets and status as a necromancer. He starts to have more and more pressure under his shoulders, with people against him to make his life impossible and to break him under the pressure that he has, and so when some smallfolk bard is mocking him and his authority he over reacts and lash out against him. Little does he knows that the chain of events that he unleashed will turn his life in a 180 degree angle. He, unlike Jon, has to convince people to join his side, contracting and obligating some people to aid him in the war to come. The difference in characters starts to being drawn.

Finally, when the PoVs are over, two more chapters are added called “The War Councils” were the two groups of 7 warriors discuss what actions to take, and how to fight in the incoming duel. Each one talks about his views on life and start to wonder if all this circus serves a purpose. Jon has to face the reality that sets upon him, now this is something that surpass him.

Finally the penultimate chapter is the long and awaited climax were the two sides clash with each other in a storm of fire and blood, a firestorm were maybe one character that you like will be dead by the end.

And the last chapter will be a "What about __ life"?

Themes

Six degrees of separation

"The day I killed your father was the worst day of your life...for me? It was tuesday"

This quote holds a great deal of value to me, it perfeclty encapsulates the goal of the novel. It represents to me how diferent characters can view diferent plot points with entirely diferent eyes, giving new context to old information that kepts it from being old or useless. A change in camera can make the feel of a scene compeltely diferent, and this is how im gonna do it.

Structure

Exposition

The Shattering War shocked the world to its core. It was a war that gathered the five mayor empires of the time and pitted them against each other in a furious melee that lasted twelve years. Armies of all places of the known world crossed every border and raided their enemies, more than two million troops were dispatched to fight a bloody war that had theaters in the entire world. The casualties were enormous, like pitting the Holy Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, France, Spain and the Great Heathen Army all against each other at the same time. Yes, it’s a logistical nightmare. Like a antiquity era world war.

The five empires an its client states were left with huge debts to pay its army’s and the workforce that took care of them, and so the war ended with mass desertion when 1.5 million troops were left without pay for two years in a row. The empires officially surrendered and a silent and gloomy peace was created, with the world still on fire and no one to stop the fire.

In one small town the God-Emperor of the Eastern Edekhan Empire, the Great Chief of the Haudenosaunee-Minotaur confederacy, The Hegemon of the Kalermanian League, The Supreme Overlord of the Mumblerian Underempire and the Seraphim of the Holy See reunited to put an end to the war. They gave back all the territories won during the war and decided to put an end to the conflict. They will sell a great deal of land to individual owners to pay the troops and let the free market resolve the situation while they were recuperating loses. The empires were left to crumble in economic debt, great famines, loss of manpower, rampant crime and piracy, civil revolts and the shifting balance of power.

And so, the Aura Pax Accords was set into motion. All the five mayor kingdoms signed and started 100 years of uninterrupted peace, because nobody had money to pay troops and wage war. The balance of power shifted from the old empires to other kinds of places, like merchants and mercenaries, people who had money left to pay for protection. Merchants were starting to become a force to be reckon with, and so the Republic of Sevastool was created, a confederation of individual ports and cities that the mayor empires controlled and didn’t had any kind of rigid political system, this means that every city that had a patrician or mayor elected as their ruler and not an imperial vassal of any kind.

One family that buy a large amount of land from the Edekhan Empire was the Korkavand family, a family of slaves that had bougth their freedom fighting against the Minotaur’s and killing many of them during the war. They bought the land in which the Aura Pax Accords was signed and erected the city of Deluv in its place, meant to be a trading hub for all the people in the world, as a reminder that after the war they can only be peace among the races of the world. They ally themselves with the Merchant Republic, and the Korkovand Family became the first human family to have power in the form of a kingdom. The first human king ever, Alaric Korkavand, The Founder. His descendants would lose almost all power that he acquired, and when the novel starts the city of Deluv is mostly controlled by patricians and merchants, with Kavilard Korkavand the current head of the house, being merely a figurehead.

One hundred years had pass since the end of the war, and each year to commemorate the city throws a huge party in the name of peace and freedom. But this time it’s the year 100 after the war, it cannot be a mere party. No, it must be the best party of all times, it must be the biggest of all and the most luxurious, the most hedonistic and the most great. And so, a great amount of people flock to the city when all the taxes are eliminated for the coming week long festivity. The ruling families send messages to all the corners of the world, inviting all who they can to this lavish party. The city prepares for debauchery and party, an army of bards is called upon to entertain them all, dancers and artists are called upon to delight the eyes of everyone. Its going to be a week to remember, and after that, the city´s economy will have a dramatic boom that will propel it to regional superpower. The prestige and money made from such a party will outshine the huge spending.

Conflict

The conflict starts when the Bard Formerly Known as Jon Lorde was drunk and singing with his band his last hit song called “Lightning Lady Hawk”, when the entourage of Duke Korkavand arrived at the Odeon. There, he deeply mocked the human duke, calling him “incestuous as the edekhans that grant his ancestor his title” because that seemed like a good idea at the time. The duke, seeing himself openly mocked by a common bard and fearing the loss of prestige and public opinion he started to insult the bard. But, of course Jon was a bard, even if drunk he could spar with the duke using insults. Until the duke challenged him to a duel to the death to fight his honor. If he truly was a bard he would gladly die without retracting, because words are what gives him food, and so they must be sacred to him.

Jon was scared shitless, he never had to fight anyone and always avoided conflict lying and cheating his way out of troubles. But now his name as a bard was at stakes, because there he had a massive audience like never before, and seeing him fail at an insult exchange like that would mean the death of his career.

Rising Action

But, in his defense, one friend of him took his place. He volunteered himself as the one who would fight the duke, to save the life of his friend in the duel to the death.

But the duke somehow misunderstood that, he thought that they wanted to have a two on one battle. To even the odds, the sister of Kavilard, Ryela Korkavand, the warrior princess, joined him as his partner. Jon and his friend at the news of the new challenger were even more afraid, and so they started to call upon all who hated the Korkavand couple, to find the best warrior that could fight in their behalf. Seeing this as a way to get rid of a political enemy, the ruling patricians of the city send the two of them an assassin to help them kill Kavilard in the duel, masking as an ally of the two of them that genuinely wanted to help them. Kavilard forces the Sheriff of the city, the minotaur Rus the Anvil, to fight for his side.

Both sides scrambled to find someone to help them in their impending duel, until the entire city was in a panick with these two forces running amok to kill each other.

Components

Goals

Cedric wants to be the best warrior in the world, he is young and stupid, dreaming with a challenge that befits him

Vrizian dreams with something that would relieve his misery

Kavilard feels that his house is about to break and he needs to maintain order

Jon just want to have a good day

Ryela now hates the life of a noble and wants to get out, but his brother dosnt know

Roxelana knows that her end is nigh

Porcelana is afraid that the end is nigh

Rockhir is looking for a war criminal that Kavilard is protecting in one of his powerplays

Django is escaping a war beyond the Ultramar sea, escaping justice and horrible experiments dealing with cloning facilities and necromancers

Malevolde is looking for the same person Rockir is looking, she is a necromancer from a coven rival to Kavilard´s and needs to find that person to uncover the secrets that he knows

Rus the Anvil is tired of a long life of war and misery, just wants to live in peace and hates Kavilard

Hooks

The same day that the festival starts the old Caravan of Vrizian steps into town. Now they are poorer than ever and he regrets his past actions and having forgotten about his family when he married and became a better person. No, he was not a better person if he forgot about his family but still told himself that he was a changed man, he lied to himself and now must do something about it. In the tournament to come he will gamble all that he and his family has, if he wins the tournament he will receive innumerable riches and coins that will propel his family out of poverty.

Kavilard has marked him own grave, his enemies want him dead and now in a tournament literally to the death they can finally kill him. Roxelana and Porcelana are called into town for this, their mission is to infiltrate the tournament and kill him. Of course this thing will be the final mission of Roxelana because she intends to bend it to make it the final exam of her pupil Porcelana.

About Rockhir, Django and Malevolde. One man stares at the horizon looking for his judge, jury and executioner. His hands are shaking with fear, he doesn’t want to say what he knows, things that must be better left in the grave. This town is out to kill him, and he has no other choice but to comply with the one who is protecting him, or things may be worst.

Lionel is a simple and cold man, he sees the status quo as something sacred, remembering the old days of his house and the Edekhan Empire and shedding one single tear that later freezes in his cheek. He sees rebellion as something for the degenerate and weak lesser races. But stills respects House Kavilard because one hundred years ago the Emperor was kind enough to grant them their own lands and power. If the emperor says so they must be worthy of respect. And so, when other degenerate races start to rebel against them he has to honor the old pacts that binds their peoples together and answer the call.

Ryela wants her brother to left her alone, she has almost no money because the fucker is sexist, not an egalitarian like the Edekhan Empire. In a patriarchal society she cannot work or earn any money. And so, like Vrizian she gambles everything that she owns to make enough money to escape this shitty life that she has.

Jon Lorde is someone that is always causing trouble and not paying his due. He always talk his way out of troubles like a rogue, laying and convincing people not to kill him when he is being an asshole. And now, this particular problem cannot be talked out, he must learn to face the consequences of his actions.

Stakes

If Vrizian loses he will lose more than he could ever imagine. He and his family that are now reunited will suffer in disgrace, they will starve in a couple days. He tries to be a good person and don’t go back to his old ways.

Cedric will have his reputation ruined if he fails, a failure of swordman and his journey will be all for nothing.

Rockhir is fighting a revolution, he is and will always be an outlaw, a robin hood like figure, and so another corrupt warlord will escape justice if he fails.

Ryela will be condemned to a boring life if she fails, or worse, death. Poor little rich child with no love, her life is so difficult.

Django is haunted by the crimes that he had committed and fears that if certain person finds him the world will be a little closer to Armageddon. He fears that maybe there are fates worse than death.

Lionel and Kavilard are putting at risk the wellbeing of their royal houses, their status as capable leaders and their role in society, they cannot afford to lose.

Jon Lorde if he surrenders he will be marked as a coward and an idiot that can insult but runs away at the first sign of danger. He is that actually, but only he knows it.

Roxelana knows that she has nothing to lose and nothing to fear. Who wants to live forever? Porcelana doesn’t want to do it but she must…she has never failed on a mission and this is not going to be her first time.

Malevolde is a pawn of a higher power, a dark shadow that the world will soon know. She and her coven are amassing an army and resources to launch a war but…against who? This is a one in a life time opportunity, someone who was working with a rival coven now is vulnerable. The information that he holds is too precious to kill him for it.

Rus cannot neglect his work, he is a man of his word and lives by honor. He cannot just say no to the duke and his request…or can he? Is all of this show worthy of the trouble? Does he really has so much to lose if he says no?