I'm thinking about writing a post-apocalyptic sword-and sorcery war story about a 17 year old who, along with many other young people, was recruited into fighting a crusade and now, after some terrible battles and seeing all kinds of war-time horror, is suffering from, what we would call today PTSD. So, that's the place he'd begin at. Our hero, Lt. Francis Meriwether Cage, who is 17, has killed people; seen people killed and experienced the trauma of people trying to kill him. This kid, who joined the military with dreams of becoming a hero and doing good for his nation, is now depressed, plagued by insomnia, guilt, revenge fantasies and uncontrollable bouts of rage. In short, he's a mess.
Yet, he's still in the military. They are just too short-handed to kick him out.
His nation is called Atlanthium. It's a nation of turnas (normal humans) who are allied with other nations and races (like the fairies) to fight against the Enemy, also called, the Dominion, a coalition of ogres. Cage now hates the war. He no longer thinks it's about good vs evil, just one armed side fighting another for control of land and wealth.
He's thought about running away and trying to go back home. But, he's afraid that now he's in this constant hyper-aware state where he's always wired and ready for a new mission. He tried to calm down by self-medicating, smoking, snorting and shooting the manna plant that released "blue energy". In fact, there's a lot of self-medicating, (drug abuse) going in this military and authority turns a blind eye to it.
He thinks he's at his wit's end and is thinking (again) about suicide. That's when a Special Forces group taps him for a mission. One of the military's commanders, a Lord-Knight named Sir Goeth Faust, that was sent deep dark into the enchanted forests (toxic zone) of a neutral nation to try and support guerrillas who would overthrow the government there, so a new leader would not be neutral but would in fact support Atlanthium's war against the Dominion. But this military commander, Faust, has apparently gone crazy.
Unified a coalition of tribes (primitive head hunter, cannibals savages called the fen) and taken control of them. They worship him like some kind of demi-god and he's ended up attacking both Enemy forces and Atlantium forces alike. Cage's mission (a suicide mission) is to penetrate the forest, find out what went wrong with Faust, save the mission if possible, bring back Faust if possible, kill him if necessary.
So, we have quest story. There's a deeply wounded protagonist, Cage, who needs to find some kind of redemption and healing. He goes on this mission, meets strange characters, makes new friends and allies. Through his adventures he forms relationships that help cure is ill mind. And also, he starts finding out the mystery of how the old world (our civilization) fell from grace and where the new magic of this world (blue energy) actually came from. This knowledge helps him heal the rift between the warring races and bring peace to the lands of the realm.
Yet, he's still in the military. They are just too short-handed to kick him out.
His nation is called Atlanthium. It's a nation of turnas (normal humans) who are allied with other nations and races (like the fairies) to fight against the Enemy, also called, the Dominion, a coalition of ogres. Cage now hates the war. He no longer thinks it's about good vs evil, just one armed side fighting another for control of land and wealth.
He's thought about running away and trying to go back home. But, he's afraid that now he's in this constant hyper-aware state where he's always wired and ready for a new mission. He tried to calm down by self-medicating, smoking, snorting and shooting the manna plant that released "blue energy". In fact, there's a lot of self-medicating, (drug abuse) going in this military and authority turns a blind eye to it.
He thinks he's at his wit's end and is thinking (again) about suicide. That's when a Special Forces group taps him for a mission. One of the military's commanders, a Lord-Knight named Sir Goeth Faust, that was sent deep dark into the enchanted forests (toxic zone) of a neutral nation to try and support guerrillas who would overthrow the government there, so a new leader would not be neutral but would in fact support Atlanthium's war against the Dominion. But this military commander, Faust, has apparently gone crazy.
Unified a coalition of tribes (primitive head hunter, cannibals savages called the fen) and taken control of them. They worship him like some kind of demi-god and he's ended up attacking both Enemy forces and Atlantium forces alike. Cage's mission (a suicide mission) is to penetrate the forest, find out what went wrong with Faust, save the mission if possible, bring back Faust if possible, kill him if necessary.
So, we have quest story. There's a deeply wounded protagonist, Cage, who needs to find some kind of redemption and healing. He goes on this mission, meets strange characters, makes new friends and allies. Through his adventures he forms relationships that help cure is ill mind. And also, he starts finding out the mystery of how the old world (our civilization) fell from grace and where the new magic of this world (blue energy) actually came from. This knowledge helps him heal the rift between the warring races and bring peace to the lands of the realm.
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