Yet another thing that'll never be finished.
So, sometime in high school, I had a dream or something, and it was sort of an awesome story. So I wrote it down, and then went somewhere and typed and printed out a list of the characters and info that I could remember from the dream, and eventually the list ended up in a box under my dresser. I found it a couple of weeks ago and ended up retyping it and adding details and notes to what I originally had. I'd like to see it written, but picking things up after I've quit writing, even just over night, is impossible for me. So, I'm putting it here, on the off chance that I'll see it again in five years or so and maybe add something to it. I think I was probably reading Wheel of Time or something when I came up with this. The bits in red are a secondary plot that I was considering as a possibility to fill in some blanks. I'm not terribly happy with some of them, and left them in red so I know where to delete them if I come up with something better.
Main Characters
Galen The oldest, an apprentice healer, he'll be king. Is tall and strong, with brown hair and green eyes. Galen believes in his oath to do no harm. He works hard in the village and would be content to stay there for his entire life if not for it being destroyed. Seeing the bodies of people he's tended and babes he's delivered forces him to take a stand against King Corby, despite the fact that he really doesn't want to.
Fenlara Fen for short, has red, curly hair, blue eyes, and is named for the goddess Fenlaraine. She is a huntress, a fighter, and when necessary, a thief. She uses two short swords, or throwing knives. Is good with a long bow, doesn't use or carry one unless she has to. Has a short temper, doesn't trust most people. Is a lot like Corby, both physically and personality-wise. He could use this.
Devlin Practically worships his sister, and will do anything she tells him to. Has brown hair and blue eyes, prefers a crossbow to any other weapon. Has an uncanny sense of direction. Is an apprentice blacksmith.
Perion A mage. Fen will hate him, and her death will be at least partially because she can't bring herself to trust him. Actually only injured. He's tall and thin, with dark hair and eyes. He's clever and sarcastic, chosen by Fenlaraine. Perion comes into his gift shortly before stumbling into their camp. Despite Fen's obvious dislike for him, Perion quite likes her, though he rather disbelieves the new voice in his head that tells him he's meant to be with her.
Iliana Galen's betrothed. Also an apprentice healer, her father is the village healer. She's small and slender with long wavy black hair and brown eyes. Quiet unless theres something she's passionate about, and then won't take no for an answer. Spy for Corby. Truly loves Galen, but she's ambitious and believes that when she brings Galen and the others to the capital, Galen will be the obvious choice for heir, making her Queen when Corby is gone.
Corby Short, with curly red hair and blue eyes, grows up in the shadow of his brother Tiergan. Nothing he does is good enough, he cannot go anywhere without being compared to his brother. He's not a fighter, instead he poisons his father and brother and hires mercenaries to kill the people that would contest his reign, including Tiergan's wife Princess Alaina. Women find his personality revolting, and he never marries, because of this and natural paranoia. He's sure if he marries he'll wake up with a knife between his ribs. He's not wrong.
Calix & Abrianna Parents of Galen, Fenlara and Devlin. Calix is nearly thirty and awaiting the birth of his third child when he learns of his true heritage. Tall, with dark brown hair and eyes, he's a blacksmith in the village and is quite content with his lot in life. The village is so far from the capital that they don't see as much of King Corby's depravation, and he is able to justify his cowardice to himself in refusing to take his rightful place. Abrianna is the daughter of a dairy farmer, blonde haired and blue eyed, and perfectly content to stay in the village and raise her children.
Summary
King Bryant and Crown Prince Tiergan of the peaceful land of Negalien are killed by the Prince Corby, Tiergan's younger brother.
Tiergan's wife Alaina is pregnant with his son, Calix, in an estate far to the north of the capital. A messenger arrives while she's giving birth to tell her of Tiergan's death; he's only hours ahead of an army of mercenaries sent by Corby. She sends Calix away with her wet nurse Larissa, and when the mercenaries arrive, claims that the baby was stillborn and the body burnt. {Per custom. The mercenaries aren't smart enough to question this, stillborn babies are burnt quickly to free the spirit to find a new home. The belief is that if the body isn't destroyed, the infant's spirit will haunt the mother and drive her mad.} The mercenaries kill her and burn the estate to the ground.
Larissa raises Calix as the twin of her own daughter Breena in her home village on the western edge of the kingdom. She tells her children the truth when they are adults and she's dying, but Calix has a wife, two small children and another on the way, and believes that he can't do anything to stop Corby.
When Larissa tells Calix and Breena the truth, Mardrin, then apprentice healer, is standing outside the door, listening to make sure his father's patient doesn't strain herself, even though she's dying. He hears the entire story, but keeps it to himself until he is Village Healer, {because Calix expresses no interest in stopping Corby,} training both his precious only daughter and Calix's son to take over when he's gone. He tells Iliana the story, and takes her to the capital to share the story with Corby, hoping to guarantee her a better future than borderland healer.
Calix and Abrianna's children are 18, 17 and 16 when King Corby's soldiers raid the village under guise of collecting late taxes. Breena saves the children and Galen's betrothed Iliana as well as a number of other villagers but is unable to save Calix or Abrianna. She is mortally injured and refuses to allow Galen or Iliana to help her, but tells the three children the truth about their heritage before she dies.
The village is destroyed completely by the raiding soldiers who move on to the next village on the border, so Fen and Devlin convince the remaining villagers to stay in the forest where they're less likely to be attacked further.
The three argue for hours about what to do but it's Iliana who convinces Galen to leave the remaining villagers and stop Corby from destroying more people's lives. Galen wants to stay and help the villagers, Fen is enraged and wants to attack the soldiers, Devlin just wants to make sure it never happens again.
This is all part of Corby's master plan, as he knows he needs an heir. When he hears that his nephew is still alive and doesn't plan to stop him he begins making plans to use one of his nephew's children, given that he's never produced one of his own. The raid is specifically designed to kill as many villagers as possible, but especially Calix and his wife, and to leave Iliana and the three royal children alive. Iliana is specifically ordered to bring Galen and the others to the capital, no matter what she has to do to get them there.
They rely on Devlin's sense of direction to guide them to the capital city, and encounter Perion early in their journey. He wanders into their camp one night lost and confused, {confused because he's just woken from his magesleep and has no clue where he is} and Fen assumes that he's a spy for their Great-Uncle. Fenlaraine's mark on his chest does nothing to convince her to see reason, in fact, it does the opposite, convincing her more firmly that he must be a spy, because by her logic, a spy would fake the mark to garner trust. {They heard stories in the village from people fleeing the capital and larger towns, of spies that report anything treasonous and get people tortured to death.} Galen refuses to let her bind him to a tree and leave him there, as they're quite far away from any villages or towns and deep in a forest, and it's very likely that he'd die of exposure long before someone found him or he figured out how to use his questionable new powers. {perfectly alright with Fen} so they end up bringing him along.
The party will be attacked in the capital, and Iliana will be taken. Fen will be injured trying to protect her, Galen will offer to heal her despite the fact that doing so will weaken him but she'll refuse, and send him, Devlin, and Perion to fight Corby and save Iliana.
Iliana's capture is faked, she returns leading the soldiers who 'captured' her, heals Fen and has the soldiers tie her up and take her to the palace, because Corby wants all his young relations in one place, so he can choose which will be the easiest to use as an heir, and kill the rest himself.
Corby could offer to declare Fen his heir if she helped him. It would irritate her, infuriate Iliana. Could Fen be brainwashed? Could she pretend to be brainwashed?
Nov. 29,2009- talked to sister, who offered a great idea. Iliana is pregnant with Galen's son. She gets exiled at the end of book 1, is completely absent during book 2, book 3 is about her son Tarrin, who has been raised believing that his father is evil and cruel, returns to Negalien to claim his birthright, but as he travels through, learns that his father is really a great king and a good man. Galen is praised as 'Healer of the Land' by his people, who only worry that he's never fathered an heir, nor has he chosen one of his brother's children {Fen's son Hawk is unsuitable because of a soulbond that guarantees he'll leave at some point.} to take his place.
Notes
Mages- Mages are normal people until they're chosen by a god. Any god may choose a mage, but may only have one living at a time. {Corby doesn't like mages, they're killed immediately on discovery on his orders. No new mage has emerged in the kingdom in the last thirty years.} Once chosen they have a permanent, direct connection to the deity that claims them. In the case of Fenlaraine, at least, this manifests as Fenlaraine's voice in her mage's head. Gods can move their mages to places that the gods feel they need to be, but there are rules for this known only to the gods.
Absterix- God of the sea and duality. Symbol is a circle composed of a dolphin on one side and a wave on the other, the dolphin's nose touching the tip of the wave. It appears directly over the heart of his chosen. Not currently important to this story. Sequel maybe.
Fenlaraine- Goddess of strength in honesty, her sign is the unstrung bow, her animal is the doe.
Healers- Healers are born with the ability to heal, but have to be trained to know how to do it without killing themselves, or taking that which they're healing into themselves. They automatically are apprenticed to the nearest healer as soon as their gift is discovered, no matter how many other students that healer has or how far they have to go. In extreme cases, healers can use their powers to kill, but this abuse of their gift makes it disappear completely, no matter the circumstances.
Main Characters
Galen The oldest, an apprentice healer, he'll be king. Is tall and strong, with brown hair and green eyes. Galen believes in his oath to do no harm. He works hard in the village and would be content to stay there for his entire life if not for it being destroyed. Seeing the bodies of people he's tended and babes he's delivered forces him to take a stand against King Corby, despite the fact that he really doesn't want to.
Fenlara Fen for short, has red, curly hair, blue eyes, and is named for the goddess Fenlaraine. She is a huntress, a fighter, and when necessary, a thief. She uses two short swords, or throwing knives. Is good with a long bow, doesn't use or carry one unless she has to. Has a short temper, doesn't trust most people. Is a lot like Corby, both physically and personality-wise. He could use this.
Devlin Practically worships his sister, and will do anything she tells him to. Has brown hair and blue eyes, prefers a crossbow to any other weapon. Has an uncanny sense of direction. Is an apprentice blacksmith.
Perion A mage. Fen will hate him, and her death will be at least partially because she can't bring herself to trust him. Actually only injured. He's tall and thin, with dark hair and eyes. He's clever and sarcastic, chosen by Fenlaraine. Perion comes into his gift shortly before stumbling into their camp. Despite Fen's obvious dislike for him, Perion quite likes her, though he rather disbelieves the new voice in his head that tells him he's meant to be with her.
Iliana Galen's betrothed. Also an apprentice healer, her father is the village healer. She's small and slender with long wavy black hair and brown eyes. Quiet unless theres something she's passionate about, and then won't take no for an answer. Spy for Corby. Truly loves Galen, but she's ambitious and believes that when she brings Galen and the others to the capital, Galen will be the obvious choice for heir, making her Queen when Corby is gone.
Corby Short, with curly red hair and blue eyes, grows up in the shadow of his brother Tiergan. Nothing he does is good enough, he cannot go anywhere without being compared to his brother. He's not a fighter, instead he poisons his father and brother and hires mercenaries to kill the people that would contest his reign, including Tiergan's wife Princess Alaina. Women find his personality revolting, and he never marries, because of this and natural paranoia. He's sure if he marries he'll wake up with a knife between his ribs. He's not wrong.
Calix & Abrianna Parents of Galen, Fenlara and Devlin. Calix is nearly thirty and awaiting the birth of his third child when he learns of his true heritage. Tall, with dark brown hair and eyes, he's a blacksmith in the village and is quite content with his lot in life. The village is so far from the capital that they don't see as much of King Corby's depravation, and he is able to justify his cowardice to himself in refusing to take his rightful place. Abrianna is the daughter of a dairy farmer, blonde haired and blue eyed, and perfectly content to stay in the village and raise her children.
Summary
King Bryant and Crown Prince Tiergan of the peaceful land of Negalien are killed by the Prince Corby, Tiergan's younger brother.
Tiergan's wife Alaina is pregnant with his son, Calix, in an estate far to the north of the capital. A messenger arrives while she's giving birth to tell her of Tiergan's death; he's only hours ahead of an army of mercenaries sent by Corby. She sends Calix away with her wet nurse Larissa, and when the mercenaries arrive, claims that the baby was stillborn and the body burnt. {Per custom. The mercenaries aren't smart enough to question this, stillborn babies are burnt quickly to free the spirit to find a new home. The belief is that if the body isn't destroyed, the infant's spirit will haunt the mother and drive her mad.} The mercenaries kill her and burn the estate to the ground.
Larissa raises Calix as the twin of her own daughter Breena in her home village on the western edge of the kingdom. She tells her children the truth when they are adults and she's dying, but Calix has a wife, two small children and another on the way, and believes that he can't do anything to stop Corby.
When Larissa tells Calix and Breena the truth, Mardrin, then apprentice healer, is standing outside the door, listening to make sure his father's patient doesn't strain herself, even though she's dying. He hears the entire story, but keeps it to himself until he is Village Healer, {because Calix expresses no interest in stopping Corby,} training both his precious only daughter and Calix's son to take over when he's gone. He tells Iliana the story, and takes her to the capital to share the story with Corby, hoping to guarantee her a better future than borderland healer.
Calix and Abrianna's children are 18, 17 and 16 when King Corby's soldiers raid the village under guise of collecting late taxes. Breena saves the children and Galen's betrothed Iliana as well as a number of other villagers but is unable to save Calix or Abrianna. She is mortally injured and refuses to allow Galen or Iliana to help her, but tells the three children the truth about their heritage before she dies.
The village is destroyed completely by the raiding soldiers who move on to the next village on the border, so Fen and Devlin convince the remaining villagers to stay in the forest where they're less likely to be attacked further.
The three argue for hours about what to do but it's Iliana who convinces Galen to leave the remaining villagers and stop Corby from destroying more people's lives. Galen wants to stay and help the villagers, Fen is enraged and wants to attack the soldiers, Devlin just wants to make sure it never happens again.
This is all part of Corby's master plan, as he knows he needs an heir. When he hears that his nephew is still alive and doesn't plan to stop him he begins making plans to use one of his nephew's children, given that he's never produced one of his own. The raid is specifically designed to kill as many villagers as possible, but especially Calix and his wife, and to leave Iliana and the three royal children alive. Iliana is specifically ordered to bring Galen and the others to the capital, no matter what she has to do to get them there.
They rely on Devlin's sense of direction to guide them to the capital city, and encounter Perion early in their journey. He wanders into their camp one night lost and confused, {confused because he's just woken from his magesleep and has no clue where he is} and Fen assumes that he's a spy for their Great-Uncle. Fenlaraine's mark on his chest does nothing to convince her to see reason, in fact, it does the opposite, convincing her more firmly that he must be a spy, because by her logic, a spy would fake the mark to garner trust. {They heard stories in the village from people fleeing the capital and larger towns, of spies that report anything treasonous and get people tortured to death.} Galen refuses to let her bind him to a tree and leave him there, as they're quite far away from any villages or towns and deep in a forest, and it's very likely that he'd die of exposure long before someone found him or he figured out how to use his questionable new powers. {perfectly alright with Fen} so they end up bringing him along.
The party will be attacked in the capital, and Iliana will be taken. Fen will be injured trying to protect her, Galen will offer to heal her despite the fact that doing so will weaken him but she'll refuse, and send him, Devlin, and Perion to fight Corby and save Iliana.
Iliana's capture is faked, she returns leading the soldiers who 'captured' her, heals Fen and has the soldiers tie her up and take her to the palace, because Corby wants all his young relations in one place, so he can choose which will be the easiest to use as an heir, and kill the rest himself.
Corby could offer to declare Fen his heir if she helped him. It would irritate her, infuriate Iliana. Could Fen be brainwashed? Could she pretend to be brainwashed?
Nov. 29,2009- talked to sister, who offered a great idea. Iliana is pregnant with Galen's son. She gets exiled at the end of book 1, is completely absent during book 2, book 3 is about her son Tarrin, who has been raised believing that his father is evil and cruel, returns to Negalien to claim his birthright, but as he travels through, learns that his father is really a great king and a good man. Galen is praised as 'Healer of the Land' by his people, who only worry that he's never fathered an heir, nor has he chosen one of his brother's children {Fen's son Hawk is unsuitable because of a soulbond that guarantees he'll leave at some point.} to take his place.
Notes
Mages- Mages are normal people until they're chosen by a god. Any god may choose a mage, but may only have one living at a time. {Corby doesn't like mages, they're killed immediately on discovery on his orders. No new mage has emerged in the kingdom in the last thirty years.} Once chosen they have a permanent, direct connection to the deity that claims them. In the case of Fenlaraine, at least, this manifests as Fenlaraine's voice in her mage's head. Gods can move their mages to places that the gods feel they need to be, but there are rules for this known only to the gods.
Absterix- God of the sea and duality. Symbol is a circle composed of a dolphin on one side and a wave on the other, the dolphin's nose touching the tip of the wave. It appears directly over the heart of his chosen. Not currently important to this story. Sequel maybe.
Fenlaraine- Goddess of strength in honesty, her sign is the unstrung bow, her animal is the doe.
Healers- Healers are born with the ability to heal, but have to be trained to know how to do it without killing themselves, or taking that which they're healing into themselves. They automatically are apprenticed to the nearest healer as soon as their gift is discovered, no matter how many other students that healer has or how far they have to go. In extreme cases, healers can use their powers to kill, but this abuse of their gift makes it disappear completely, no matter the circumstances.