Synopsis
An alien kingdom which held humanity in thrall died in the throes of a terrible civil war. The two human kingdoms that sprang from the ashes of that conflict are now slowly falling prey to sorcerous power manifesting the hatred of their former masters and seem doomed to replicate their demise. A man shackled by the very alien power that is driving both kingdoms to their doom must now step from the shadows and halt the burgeoning civil war to prevent the destruction of both his people and their most bitter foe.
Outline & Design Notes
Setting
The story is set in a small country ravaged by a prolonged war of resistance against occupation by a an expansionist neighbor. The country is old, fiercely independent, formerly prosperous, and was once part of a larger empire which encompassed both it and the agressor nation.
The world is a place of overt magic, with a technological level between that of dark ages and renaissance Europe. Ancient ruins and relics of a bygone age when magic was even more prevalent dot the lands, and areas of almost complete unknown lie just beyond the borders of the old empire, sometimes leaking nightmares into the known.
The Empire
The former empire wasn't human, and humanity was enslaved by the elemental sorcerer's blood magics. Their power has been broken for three centuries and humanity has slowly climbed up to a level of civilization where the pressures of expansionism are growing. The masters are thought of as dark terrors from the past, now long dead, with only their ruins and relics left behind, shunned by all of humanity as accursed. They are a nightmare used to frighten children, but their spectre looms unspoken of among adults and colors all aspects of life in the two countries.
Protagonists
Main Character: Dainen, an escaped slave and elite warrior of the enemy. Bound to his former master by oaths and magical tatoos which have somehow become powerless. This last is a precarious situation and drives Dainen to stay far from the workings of the enemy, but he cannot go too far or he will die. He has purchased an inn at the border furthest from the Source, and runs it under an assumed name. The enemy has no reason to be on the lookout for him, as he is known to have died, but now they have heard rumors and Mako is on his way to make sure Dainen is brought back into the fold, if he is indeed still alive.
Dainen is gruff and unwilling to discuss his own problems. He has great difficulty sharing his emotions. He has come to care about the people of his adopted country a great deal, is in love with Ariande, and hates his former master, but he is empathetic to his former cohorts and would free them if he could.
Dainen fears magics, especially those that coerce or alter perceptions, and fears his former master nearly as much as he hates him. Generally though, Dainen's fight or flee instinct veers toward fight, regardless of what his good sense tells him. He is very pragmatic on the surface, but an honorable and charitable man at heart, one who would give anything to protect his friends. This constant fight between doing the smart thing and following his inner nature is central to his character. He is the reluctant hero. At the start of the story, he is essentially paralyzed by fear that he shall fall back under the enemy's power and be forced to once again be a marauding enforcer, bringing death and misery to the master's enemies. He would welcome death over that fate, but is too much of a survivor to simply kill himself while hope remains.
Dainen is incredibly strong, and agile. An expert fighter trained in many forms of combat and a veteran of many fights and a few wars. He is self sufficient in the wilderness, a strong hunter and decent scout. Mostly, he is pragmatic and just gets things done. He is prone to barely controlled bouts of bestial rage, made worse by his constant struggle against the bands, but he is usually in tight control of that rage and uses it. Others who've seen him fight have called him a berzerk, and his gold-grey eyes and the aura of bestial strength about him have led to rumors he is a wolfen lycanthrope.
Secondary Protagonist: Ariande, a Harper-Scout and former lover of Dainen's. She serves as the love interest, an invaluable font of knowledge, a catalyst to force him back into the fight, and a point of view to see Dainen in a deeper fashion than the reader would otherwise get. Ari is funny, caring, extremely self-sufficient and self motivated, idealistic, and simply the person with the best understanding of what is happening in this corner of the world and its consequences. She has the dual motivation of rescusing Dainen from death and his self inflicted paralysis, as well as insuring the downfall of the enemy's designs on her country.
Ari is an accomplished mage and spell singer, able to weave enchantments and illusions with great skill. She is also an avid historian and arcane scholar, understanding more of the old empire's technology even than the enemy. She has a ready collection of greater and lesser magical tools and would initially appear to be the more dangerous of the duo.
Other Protagonists: A handful of freedom fighter cum adventurers who aid in resisting the enemy occupation. Possibly Dainen's former commanding officer, Caine.
Antagonists
Antagonist: Mako (working name), Dainen's former peer in the elite guard. Dainen's former master and leader of the enemy.
The Bands
Dainen and many of the enemy's followers are magically enslaved to his will. Dainen managed to escape that compulsion and fled as far as he could without dying, as the magic of the marks upon him will snuff his life should their power be broken completely. Currently, the markings are at such a low ebb of power that Dainen is essentially free so long as he doesn't press much further from the Source. As he move nearer to the Source, the markings gain power and the compulsion to return to his master grows. The sites Ariande needs him to visit are tied to this magic, and entering them causes the markings to slowly regain their potency. Without him, though, the wardings on the sites cannot be bypassed.
Dainen must choose beteen his limited freedom and aiding his lover and country, likely at the cost of his soul.
Ariande knows he was enslaved and that he somehow managed to deactivate the markings and fake his own death, but she does not know the details, and does not understand how he broke the power of the markings without killing himself. Dainen refuses to speak of it initially and will not share his fears with her.
Plot
A retired warrior is unwillingly pulled into a struggle for freedom between his adopted homeland and the army from which he defected. He must face his own fears and risk a return to enslavement or lose everything, including the woman he loves, to the growing power of his former masters.
The bad guys are seizing the lands about ancient sites that hold artifacts that will allow their armies to sweep aside armed opposition and supress any civil unrest. Dainen must assist Ariande in acquiring these items first, and then aid the people of the occupied land in throwing off the yoke of the invaders.
Timeline
Ariande finds Dainen in his Inn, living well away from conflict and battle. She comes to beg his help preventing the enemy from acquiring artifacts that would give them complete mastery over the populace. She needs him to get past certain wards which only someone bonded to the enemy can pass. Dainen's emotional scars are evident and he struggles to refuse.
She barley beats agents of the enemy to the Inn, and they confront the two of them there. Dainen is a deserter and wanted criminal. A battle ensues.
Dainen confronts an old rival and peer, now a sub-commander, and is recognized.
Dainen and Ariande escape. The inn is burned to the ground. This is only one portion of the vanguard of a large scale invasion which has been long feared, but which still comes with no warning.
The two struggle to recruit a few more freedom fighters and proceed to the first site to obtain one of the artifacts.
It is revealed that Dainen is bonded to the enemy and that he should not be free of their command, yet he is, thus the enemy's desire to capture him. He bears magical tatoos that bind him as one of the enemy ruler's elite, and these same tatoos give him access to areas of the ancient site which were created by the founders of the enemy organization. The team gets to this site first. It is long abandoned, but guarded by monstrous denizens, traps and wards. Exposure to the wards in this place seem to strengthen the magical power in the tatoos Dainen carries, and thus his bond to the enemy.
Two more sites will need to be raided. The second is beneath a monastery which is still in use, and the group will arrive as the enemy is assaulting the structure. There is a major battle, one of the group dies. The second piece is acquired. The tatoos compulsion grows stronger still and Dainen must constantly fight the compulsion to return to his master.
The group is too late to the final site, and is ambushed by the enemy. Dainen is forced to turn on the others and Ariande barely escapes him. There is a guardian here, however, who Ariande manipulates into releasing Dainen.
The group then must confront Mako's force and recover the final piece. A major battle and Mako is defeated. Dainen's freedom from the bonds is revealed and Mako's entire universe is shaken by the revelation that he can actually be free. Dainen end up letting him go, to send a message to his former Commanding officer.
If this is going to be a series, it could end here. If not, a series of battle field confrontations and guerilla warfare would follow, culminating in the defeat of the enemy.
Synopsis
An alien kingdom which held humanity in thrall died in the throes of a terrible civil war. The two human kingdoms that sprang from the ashes of that conflict are now slowly falling prey to sorcerous power manifesting the hatred of their former masters and seem doomed to replicate their demise. A man shackled by the very alien power that is driving both kingdoms to their doom must now step from the shadows and halt the burgeoning civil war to prevent the destruction of both his people and their most bitter foe.
Outline & Design Notes
Setting
The story is set in a small country ravaged by a prolonged war of resistance against occupation by a an expansionist neighbor. The country is old, fiercely independent, formerly prosperous, and was once part of a larger empire which encompassed both it and the agressor nation.
The world is a place of overt magic, with a technological level between that of dark ages and renaissance Europe. Ancient ruins and relics of a bygone age when magic was even more prevalent dot the lands, and areas of almost complete unknown lie just beyond the borders of the old empire, sometimes leaking nightmares into the known.
The Empire
The former empire wasn't human, and humanity was enslaved by the elemental sorcerer's blood magics. Their power has been broken for three centuries and humanity has slowly climbed up to a level of civilization where the pressures of expansionism are growing. The masters are thought of as dark terrors from the past, now long dead, with only their ruins and relics left behind, shunned by all of humanity as accursed. They are a nightmare used to frighten children, but their spectre looms unspoken of among adults and colors all aspects of life in the two countries.
Protagonists
Main Character: Dainen, an escaped slave and elite warrior of the enemy. Bound to his former master by oaths and magical tatoos which have somehow become powerless. This last is a precarious situation and drives Dainen to stay far from the workings of the enemy, but he cannot go too far or he will die. He has purchased an inn at the border furthest from the Source, and runs it under an assumed name. The enemy has no reason to be on the lookout for him, as he is known to have died, but now they have heard rumors and Mako is on his way to make sure Dainen is brought back into the fold, if he is indeed still alive.
Dainen is gruff and unwilling to discuss his own problems. He has great difficulty sharing his emotions. He has come to care about the people of his adopted country a great deal, is in love with Ariande, and hates his former master, but he is empathetic to his former cohorts and would free them if he could.
Dainen fears magics, especially those that coerce or alter perceptions, and fears his former master nearly as much as he hates him. Generally though, Dainen's fight or flee instinct veers toward fight, regardless of what his good sense tells him. He is very pragmatic on the surface, but an honorable and charitable man at heart, one who would give anything to protect his friends. This constant fight between doing the smart thing and following his inner nature is central to his character. He is the reluctant hero. At the start of the story, he is essentially paralyzed by fear that he shall fall back under the enemy's power and be forced to once again be a marauding enforcer, bringing death and misery to the master's enemies. He would welcome death over that fate, but is too much of a survivor to simply kill himself while hope remains.
Dainen is incredibly strong, and agile. An expert fighter trained in many forms of combat and a veteran of many fights and a few wars. He is self sufficient in the wilderness, a strong hunter and decent scout. Mostly, he is pragmatic and just gets things done. He is prone to barely controlled bouts of bestial rage, made worse by his constant struggle against the bands, but he is usually in tight control of that rage and uses it. Others who've seen him fight have called him a berzerk, and his gold-grey eyes and the aura of bestial strength about him have led to rumors he is a wolfen lycanthrope.
Secondary Protagonist: Ariande, a Harper-Scout and former lover of Dainen's. She serves as the love interest, an invaluable font of knowledge, a catalyst to force him back into the fight, and a point of view to see Dainen in a deeper fashion than the reader would otherwise get. Ari is funny, caring, extremely self-sufficient and self motivated, idealistic, and simply the person with the best understanding of what is happening in this corner of the world and its consequences. She has the dual motivation of rescusing Dainen from death and his self inflicted paralysis, as well as insuring the downfall of the enemy's designs on her country.
Ari is an accomplished mage and spell singer, able to weave enchantments and illusions with great skill. She is also an avid historian and arcane scholar, understanding more of the old empire's technology even than the enemy. She has a ready collection of greater and lesser magical tools and would initially appear to be the more dangerous of the duo.
Other Protagonists: A handful of freedom fighter cum adventurers who aid in resisting the enemy occupation. Possibly Dainen's former commanding officer, Caine.
Antagonists
Antagonist: Mako (working name), Dainen's former peer in the elite guard. Dainen's former master and leader of the enemy.
The Bands
Dainen and many of the enemy's followers are magically enslaved to his will. Dainen managed to escape that compulsion and fled as far as he could without dying, as the magic of the marks upon him will snuff his life should their power be broken completely. Currently, the markings are at such a low ebb of power that Dainen is essentially free so long as he doesn't press much further from the Source. As he move nearer to the Source, the markings gain power and the compulsion to return to his master grows. The sites Ariande needs him to visit are tied to this magic, and entering them causes the markings to slowly regain their potency. Without him, though, the wardings on the sites cannot be bypassed.
Dainen must choose beteen his limited freedom and aiding his lover and country, likely at the cost of his soul.
Ariande knows he was enslaved and that he somehow managed to deactivate the markings and fake his own death, but she does not know the details, and does not understand how he broke the power of the markings without killing himself. Dainen refuses to speak of it initially and will not share his fears with her.
Plot
A retired warrior is unwillingly pulled into a struggle for freedom between his adopted homeland and the army from which he defected. He must face his own fears and risk a return to enslavement or lose everything, including the woman he loves, to the growing power of his former masters.
The bad guys are seizing the lands about ancient sites that hold artifacts that will allow their armies to sweep aside armed opposition and supress any civil unrest. Dainen must assist Ariande in acquiring these items first, and then aid the people of the occupied land in throwing off the yoke of the invaders.
Timeline
Ariande finds Dainen in his Inn, living well away from conflict and battle. She comes to beg his help preventing the enemy from acquiring artifacts that would give them complete mastery over the populace. She needs him to get past certain wards which only someone bonded to the enemy can pass. Dainen's emotional scars are evident and he struggles to refuse.
She barley beats agents of the enemy to the Inn, and they confront the two of them there. Dainen is a deserter and wanted criminal. A battle ensues.
Dainen confronts an old rival and peer, now a sub-commander, and is recognized.
Dainen and Ariande escape. The inn is burned to the ground. This is only one portion of the vanguard of a large scale invasion which has been long feared, but which still comes with no warning.
The two struggle to recruit a few more freedom fighters and proceed to the first site to obtain one of the artifacts.
It is revealed that Dainen is bonded to the enemy and that he should not be free of their command, yet he is, thus the enemy's desire to capture him. He bears magical tatoos that bind him as one of the enemy ruler's elite, and these same tatoos give him access to areas of the ancient site which were created by the founders of the enemy organization. The team gets to this site first. It is long abandoned, but guarded by monstrous denizens, traps and wards. Exposure to the wards in this place seem to strengthen the magical power in the tatoos Dainen carries, and thus his bond to the enemy.
Two more sites will need to be raided. The second is beneath a monastery which is still in use, and the group will arrive as the enemy is assaulting the structure. There is a major battle, one of the group dies. The second piece is acquired. The tatoos compulsion grows stronger still and Dainen must constantly fight the compulsion to return to his master.
The group is too late to the final site, and is ambushed by the enemy. Dainen is forced to turn on the others and Ariande barely escapes him. There is a guardian here, however, who Ariande manipulates into releasing Dainen.
The group then must confront Mako's force and recover the final piece. A major battle and Mako is defeated. Dainen's freedom from the bonds is revealed and Mako's entire universe is shaken by the revelation that he can actually be free. Dainen end up letting him go, to send a message to his former Commanding officer.
If this is going to be a series, it could end here. If not, a series of battle field confrontations and guerilla warfare would follow, culminating in the defeat of the enemy.
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