Planning for Book 2: Chapter 1

[zipp]

I wanted to make this a separate thread from the OOC where people can praise writers or ask OOC questions. I thought we needed a thread specifically to discuss what will be happening in the next, and subsequent, chapters.

Since we're about to start the next book of the West Watch, what is our first chapter going to be about? As I current understand it, the idea is to have an army (probably a scouting force?) of the Chaos Master appear near Eshnar.

[Beowuuf]

And a contingent of the Magnamund Knights' Council with some drawfish allies find it, and are obliterated. Whether some make it back or not would be another matter.

Sounds like Sera Vashin and eviltb should appear on the outskirts of this battle.

[zipp]

Evil TB, are you planning on writing consistently this next chapter? Because you know how I love to flirt with evil. From her trauma, Sera Veshin is a truly neutral character, totally absorbed in her own needs, but meeting up with an evil character and joining with him for a while could offer us some interesting twists.

Character wise, Sera Veshin will most likely join up with the first force that encounters her, so she's open to whichever group that wants/needs to be.

[Beowuuf]

So original Zipp was good/lawful, Cloe was neutral pulled to evil, and Hazelae was chaos/evil. Seems the thing that hasn't happened is a neutral needing to be actively persuaded to being 'good', offering interesting counterpoints to the acceptable definitions of good that are thrown around, that wouldn't be persuasive to argument.

If anyone could write a seduction by goodness, and also have fun puncturing holes in the default conceits of what goodness is, it would be you

[zipp]

Jan 11, 2010 14:51:11 GMT -5 Beowuuf said:

So original Zipp was good/lawful, Cloe was neutral pulled to evil, and Hazelae was chaos/evil. Seems the thing that hasn't happened is a neutral needing to be actively persuaded to being 'good', offering interesting counterpoints to the acceptable definitions of good that are thrown around, that wouldn't be persuasive to argument.

If anyone could write a seduction by goodness, and also have fun puncturing holes in the default conceits of what goodness is, it would be you

Putting it that way, moral quandries do seem to be my area of expertise, don't they?

Yeah, you've pretty much nailed it. Cloe had the strength of world discrimination and the taint of Purple Turtle to draw her towards Evil, but Sera Veshin would be more naturally pulled towards good. It's just that her trauma has left her somewhat unfeeling and self-defacing. She's a survivalist at this point, and not much more in terms of morals or ethics.

Plus she made contact with the sphere wall just as Hazelae's power washed over it. What do you think that may have done......

[Simey]

As a general outline, a scouting force from Holmgard coming across a scouting force of chaos sounds like a decent plan for the next chapter. That way, whatever occurs when they meet can be significant, but not a truly major battle - something we'd want to save for later, I'd've thought.

[Beowuuf]

Oooh, oooh ohhh! even better, you just describe the two forces seeing each other....then the next post in the matter is a time jump of the Holmgard army destroyed, with no indication of how the Chaos armies did it. Shows them to be powerful, without tipping how it happened. Perhaps a subtle indication of the chaos army showing up (like the suggested 'order' in the ranks).

So therefore, when we do have the firtts proper battles, you get the sense of dread from the unknown. Making the indicator they show up even more unnerving. Or something

Infact you could do that once or twice, just getting a little further into the army showing up before cutting away.

Then the third time you have beloved characters in the way

[Simey]

Jan 11, 2010 16:38:09 GMT -5 Beowuuf said:

Oooh, oooh ohhh! even better, you just describe the two forces seeing each other....then the next post in the matter is a time jump of the Holmgard army destroyed, with no indication of how the Chaos armies did it. Shows them to be powerful, without tipping how it happened. Perhaps a subtle indication of the chaos army showing up (like the suggested 'order' in the ranks).

Well, you said it: even better! Love it!

Though somewhereabouts we do need to do NH's big finish, which we oughtn't to string out too long!

But yes, I can see a chapter finishing with the aftermath of a massacre with no one really sure what happened. Then the next chapter begins with various characters fleeing from things, trying to regroup, unsure of the horror that's just been unleashed on them....

Or something probably much better than that!

[Beowuuf]

Hmm, perhaps you can have a clip of Nighthunter's last stand, but it's not clear what he is fighting (giving the effect of chaos all around him) so it sounds big and epic without really tipping the hand of what's hapepning.

Still gotta figure out exactly what his sacrifice would mean. Has to mean something, some plot beat!

[Simey]

Jan 11, 2010 16:53:50 GMT -5 Beowuuf said:

Still gotta figure out exactly what his sacrifice would mean. Has to mean something, some plot beat!

Agreed. Though it wanting to be a plot thing means I'll likely not be much use deciding what it should be! ;D

Could it be discovered later - when we know more about what his force came up against - that his last stand delayed the CM's forces enough to stop everyone else being wiped out?

[zipp]

I think the death of NH's character speaks for itself and is actually MORE powerful if it doesn't achieve some mighty plot thing. Just the fact that he has died will give alarm to the knight's council, probably enough for them to take the threat seriously. Isn't that enough?

[eviltb]

Good call on starting this thread!

To answer, yes once I get ETB out of the Daziarn I will be consistently posting. I like the idea of him meeting up with someone else and joining forces.

While in the start there are such things as "good" and "evil", there is also now "chaos" which threatens to take over everything, so this next book will make for some interesting bed-fellows.

[zipp]

I always wanted to see how Cloe and Beowuuf got along, them both being wolf creatures and outcasts of a sort. Maybe I should reintroduce her into the timeline as well. Makes sense she'd be riding with the armies of the Chaos Master.

Or she could be an enemy to the Chaos Master, but a mistress of Chaos herself, giving us two forces eventually to contend with that are also at war with eachother, allowing for odd and uncomfortable alliances or for the poor folk of Magnamund to be caught between titans.

[Beowuuf]

Despite recent events Beowuuf still sees himself as a Vakeros stuck with a weird body for now. I imagine Cloe being both a wolf and of such different allegiances would not be appealing.

Sorba, however (the actual wolf creature) would be different. He was an outcast, and of course didn't really get any fame, glory nor success for his sacrifices to do with Eshnar in the end. Sorba is always around, it's an entente that Tamas/Beowuuf is allowed to be the dominant one.

If something were to temporarily happen to Beowuuf's mind, or something were to speak directly to Sorba, then he'd be brought to he fore instead. Might be interesting, he's only emerged once, and been seen in flashback a few times.

Then again, do you want to bring her back after ending her run so well?

[zipp]

Cloe's end was very muddled, I felt. She had a great story with Slavemaster and an excellent side story with that maze tournament I ran a long time ago and everything else I kind've consider non-canon with her or at least bizarre occurrences that I never truly finished explaining.

In my mind, she was last seen making a grab for power during the Maze Tournament going after the Heart of the Island stone. There she was confronted by Malphis, who also made a play for the stone, and the two have not really been seen since.

I'd always be happy to bring Cloe back into the story and see what exactly has happened to her since then. She's one of those great random elements to a situation, because you never know what her alliance is going to be.