A human prince who hates his elven upbringing.

Act 1

Dramatic question - Can the main character save a kingdom he loves from destruction, or will he need to give up what he wants and accept who he is?

Central Change - The young woman will need an escort back to her home, and the main character will accept.

Reluctance/preparation - Once the main character finds out that the young woman is a princess of the human kingdom, he fights with himself over helping the young woman. If he doesn't help her, she will die or be captured by the men after her. If he does help her, his upbringing can be uncovered. If this happens, he would need to accept who he is.

Game Changer - The main character will agree to help her back to her kingdom but only to the walls. He hopes to escort her back to the kingdom's walls without her finding out who he is. During the trip, the main character gets into combat with other men, and small things will slip out of who he is to the young woman. She will see things like a tattoo, a specialized sword, and names used by the other mercenaries and enemies. She will then realize she is being escorted by one of the best swordsmen in the world and demand he enters her father's castle to help defend the kingdom.

Act 2

Problem 1) If he refuses to enter the castle, the honor he has established as a mercenary will be tarnished, but his identity will be safe.

Problem 2) If he enters the castle and helps with the defense, his identity can be blown, but he can still try and hide his identity because she only knows him as a human mercenary.

List examples that will change the course of events - The main character will join the princess inside the castle, where she will introduce him to her father. Her father then wants a demonstration of the main character's sword skills and asks his blade master to duel for proof of his swordsmanship. The main character will try and perform poorly to throw off the king, but the king will recognize elven sword movements in his fighting style and calls him out on it. The main character, not having any other choice, admits that he was raised in the elven kingdom but not by who and his status there.

Change the stakes - This will change how his men act around him. While he was a mercenary, they knew he was an elven prince, but he wanted them to treat him like a captain and no other. Now that his elven upbringing has come out, they start to talk to him less like a mercenary and more like a real soldier. They will show him the respect he deserves. He will also train the guard in swordsmanship, defense, and scouting, to prepare for the Dark Lords war. Eventually, the Dark Lord sees that the kingdom is training for war, and he marches early. He wants to destroy the kingdom before a good defense can be made. The scouts will report this to the King, and he will eventually ask the main character if he can ask for any help from the elves or other mercenaries. The main character agrees but doesn't promise anything and will send the letters.

Force the central change - When the king asks the main character to send the letter to the elven kingdom, the main character will come to a crossroads. If the elven army is sent to help him defend the human kingdom, it proves to everyone that he is a prince of the elves. If the Army does not come, then he is genuinely forgotten and can go on living life as a human mercenary, however long that is.

Shane Quinn

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