Peacebringers Outline
May. 28th, 2012 05:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kasihyaBecause if there's one thing that rewriting The Eleventh Hour, and Paramedical Phenomena have taught me, it's that I am most emphatically not a pantser. I write much better with an outline. And with Camp NaNoWriMo starting in a few days, I intend to take advantage of the gaping hole left by no longer zipping through Paramedical Phenomena at a proper pace by rewriting the parts of Peacebringers that need to be rewritten or written.
THE PEACEBRINGERS OUTLINE
1. On day one, NEIRIN and Taran go experimenting with wall-climbing and second-floor thievery. They get spotted, and split up; Neirin escapes by utilizing tiroethyr solidarity. Taran, who has the bowl, gets caught. Neirin goes to their home to wait for him, but he never shows up.
2. On day one, TANWEN is running around the city with Mairwen and Kieve, or hanging out at the market. Actually, her chapter is pretty solid. Andras arrives as the market closes because he was dropping off his ward. Initial conflict over their claims on Rhydwen is established. (Maybe there’s a prologue that shows the night that Rhydwen and Bran died, and Delwyn left with his family. Or at least, have that written, so it’s out there.)
3. On the day before yesterday, SIARAS is making a speech about Tanwen when he is arrested for it. While making the speech, he makes note of several people, including someone fitting Neirin’s description. He manages to talk his way out of being executed after badly wounding one of his captors. In prison, he meets Taran, along with a bunch of other petty nonviolent criminals. He plots and schemes how to get out of this.
4. On day two, TARAN languishes at the market, panicking and going over his relationship rules with Neirin and trying to pull himself together. He’s put up for auction, and thus meets Tanwen, Rhydian, Andras, and Mabyn. A little bit later, they add Siaras as well. This way, the reasons behind their purchase are established. He is dragged back to the Sisawain family, and meets Mairwen and the rest.
5. On days two and three, MAIRWEN reacts to the new arrivals of the sullen Taran and the attractive, engaging Siaras. They eat dinner together, and Siaras talks politics with the adults while Rhian pesters Taran until he snaps. Mairwen yells at him for that, Myfanwy does nothing, the two of them snipe, and they all go to sleep. The next day, Mairwen has to teach Taran how to carry their slings, and then she goes about flirting with Siaras.
6. On day two, NEIRIN is hanging out by the market place in order to see if Taran will appear — he just wants to know what’s happened to his brother. And then he notices Tanwen and Andras, whom he recognizes from Siaras’ speeches, and he pesters Tanwen. He presents himself as an enthusiastic future subject, loyal brother, and begs her to simply let him be her servant on the road to Cyfalaf. Against Andras’ wishes, Tanwen acquiesces. She does this as more of a calculated PR move, and with every intention of letting him go when they get to Cyfalaf. En route to Cyfalaf, the whole thing with Angharad goes down, and Neirin proves himself capable of being useful.
7. On day four, TANWEN, Neirin, and Andras arrive in Cyfalaf. This is another chapter that remains mostly intact. She arrives in the palace, and puts off Neirin’s requests for employment by telling him to wait in the city and come back tomorrow. She goes and gets settled in the royal suite; then attends the dinner, where she meets Emlyn and Gethin is introduced. Afterwards, she hides in her rooms.
8. On day three, SIARAS is busy gleaning information about his new situation. They stop in a small village for the afternoon, and Siaras sits by Owain, studying under him to learn the trade as quickly as possible. He talks to and monitors Taran, who is struggling with food and with Rhian. At the end of the day, he leaves a message at the inn for an informant, letting them know what’s happened to him.
9. On day five, TARAN and the Sisawain caravan reach their next major destination, the city of D. They wander through the town; a bout of unsuccessful cooking means that Taran becomes homesick, and hazily attempts to escape. He makes it about halfway across the city, and then he is caught and brought back to the market. The adults are angry, and Rhian is saddened by it.
10. On day five, MAIRWEN lives out the day that Taran tries to escape. She suffers the indignity of having her wares pawed through and inspected by the security at the marketplace. She also watches and pokes fun as Siaras and Kieve try to out-flirt each other: with the locals, and with each other. Then it gets serious as they discover that Taran has gone missing. When he shows up, Mairwen is angry with him for running and upsetting Rhian. This gets her into trouble with her elders.
11. On days four and five, NEIRIN manages to sneak into the palace, and is put to work in the kitchens by relay from Tanwen (as I’ve already written). He sleeps in the kitchen, and then the following day, goes poking around the palace until he finds Tanwen. She is coming from a meeting with her new advisors, displeased, and he asks her if she’s considered yet. She sets him a task to do: find as many different ways to creep into the palace and report back, and this is how she will decide whether or not he is useful. He sets off to do that.
12. On day five, TANWEN justifies her reasoning to Andras, and how it cuts both ways. They then discuss the meeting which she just left, which dealt with a lot of religious concerns that “her people” had over a “heathen” ascending. It’s clear that Andras thinks the same way as them, but hides it — or tries to — from Tanwen. She ignores it, but it causes tension. She dismisses him and goes to her room alone, but Betrys enters and calls her down to be fitted so that the ceremonial garments for the feast slash coronation slash wedding in a few days’ time can be worn. Cut to after that, when she is released, and goes down into the crypts to visit her sister and mother in their tombs.
13. On the sixth day, SIARAS wakes up early, and slips out of the houses to visit the early morning merchants by the docks, and proselytize. His departure wakes Rhian and Taran, who accompany him and listen to his speech with rapt attention (It’s one for the common folk). Rhydian is the one who finds them, with a panicked Mairwen in tow. Rhydian is worried because this city is one over which Cyfalaf has a tenuous hold, and it has no love of Tanwen, so it’s best not to attract anyone’s attention like Siaras is doing. Siaras notes this, and leaves the information an a prearranged location as the caravan leaves the city.
14. On the sixth and seventh days, MAIRWEN prepares for the imminent arrival of the supply carriers. They’re going to meet in a relatively isolated area, to prevent thievery when they’re in transition and vulnerable. The supply carriers arrive, and they’re a bunch of second cousins on Mabyn’s side, who bring tidings as well as goods from their southern home base. The family gives them news in return. It’s news about the state of loyalty in the south, or attitudes, and of the preachers (from Siaras’ wider organization) that they’ve met along the way.
15. On the eighth day, TARAN composes an imaginary letter to Neirin, has a conversation with Siaras about it, and falls a little bit for Siaras for being nice to him. Then he goes on to do a whole lot of cooking for the two caravans, and listens to Rhian telling him endless stories, until finally he can get a word in edgewise and tell her about Neirin. It’s mostly for his own benefit, but it’s clear that she never actually thought about him having a life of his own before he came.
16. On the fifth to eighth days, NEIRIN summarizes his adventures in breaking and entering. He meets various characters, gets into trouble, but three days later, he has been made aware of how much better at this Taran is, misses him terribly, and has found eight ways for a small, unremarkable person to enter the palace; as well as figuring out when certain places are unguarded. He reports back to Tanwen by climbing in her window while she’s chatting up one of the servants (Andras temporarily not present). Neirin waits until the servant is gone, and Andras returned, before he presents his information to Tanwen. She’s a little startled, but agrees to take him on, in return for freeing his brother when the Sisawain caravan visits Cyfalaf next. Andras “suggests” making it official with a seal. Later, Neirin admires the seal on the webbing between thumb and index finger that will disappear after the deal has been finished — when the Sisawain arrive in Cyfalaf in a year and a bit.
17. On the ninth day and continuing until the thirteenth, TANWEN wakes up, and the ceremony begins. She and Andras get ready — he’s on particular alert throughout — and go outside. The party begins with the priests in the temple, who make speeches and prophesy and go through the motions. Then comes the part where Tanwen ritually consecrates herself to the Enwythau gods, which is tricky and something she thinks is stupid but politically necessary. This ceremony is tied into the marriage that follows, also in the temple. After that comes drinking and partying for the rest of the week, which passes by in a summarized blur until Tanwen is sick.
18. On the tenth day, SIARAS and the caravan encounter the wild celebrations in the next city, owing to the coronation ceremonies in the west. They camp outside the city in order to wait until life resumes as normal and they can do business. Siaras goes into the city with Mairwen and Kieve; Owain and Aelwen go in separately; and Taran is kept behind and Rhian isn’t allowed, either. Hijinks ensue, Siaras lets slip that he used to be a whore, and then the fun stops when Kieve gets into a fight for Mairwen, racially motivated, and breaks an arm. Siaras talks their way out of them getting arrested and tattooed.
19. On the tenth day, TARAN is kept behind with the family. He gets fed up with Rhian, and winds up roped into helping Myfanwy sort medicinal supplies. They end up talking, though mostly it’s Myfanwy going on for too long off a simple question, and then Taran listens in spite of himself. It ends with the teenagers bringing Kieve back to camp, and Taran helps Myfanwy set Kieve’s arm. Small moment where he forgets to be miserable.
20. On the fourteenth day, MAIRWEN spends the next three days making hangover remedies, and then she and Aelwen go into the city to sell them cheaply. (I think that Aelwen is a little like Ellen, and that she and Mairwen get along really well.) They barter them for leftover money, food, and bread.
21. On the fourteenth day, NEIRIN recovers from the party, which somehow ended in him sleeping on the roof of the temple. He hangs out, then has to find a way down. When he accomplishes this, he heads to the kitchens and is put to work cleaning up, while paying close attention to the things that everyone has to say about their new monarch. Reviews are mixed. He is sure to try to befriend the servant in whom Tanwen showed an interest. (Her names is also Ceir.)
22. On the fourteenth day, TANWEN finds herself wishing for one of her family’s remedies. Later, she freaks out at the reality of everything that has happened, and drags Andras on a trip to the lake, leaving Emlyn behind without any warning. She spends the day swimming and trying to get a grip; he spends it writing a letter to his ward. When they get back, Neirin is waiting with his reports. Once she’s dealt with him, she goes on to have her first sober, cautious conversation with her new husband.
This is the end of part one. Part two picks up about one month after this.
THE PEACEBRINGERS OUTLINE
1. On day one, NEIRIN and Taran go experimenting with wall-climbing and second-floor thievery. They get spotted, and split up; Neirin escapes by utilizing tiroethyr solidarity. Taran, who has the bowl, gets caught. Neirin goes to their home to wait for him, but he never shows up.
2. On day one, TANWEN is running around the city with Mairwen and Kieve, or hanging out at the market. Actually, her chapter is pretty solid. Andras arrives as the market closes because he was dropping off his ward. Initial conflict over their claims on Rhydwen is established. (Maybe there’s a prologue that shows the night that Rhydwen and Bran died, and Delwyn left with his family. Or at least, have that written, so it’s out there.)
3. On the day before yesterday, SIARAS is making a speech about Tanwen when he is arrested for it. While making the speech, he makes note of several people, including someone fitting Neirin’s description. He manages to talk his way out of being executed after badly wounding one of his captors. In prison, he meets Taran, along with a bunch of other petty nonviolent criminals. He plots and schemes how to get out of this.
4. On day two, TARAN languishes at the market, panicking and going over his relationship rules with Neirin and trying to pull himself together. He’s put up for auction, and thus meets Tanwen, Rhydian, Andras, and Mabyn. A little bit later, they add Siaras as well. This way, the reasons behind their purchase are established. He is dragged back to the Sisawain family, and meets Mairwen and the rest.
5. On days two and three, MAIRWEN reacts to the new arrivals of the sullen Taran and the attractive, engaging Siaras. They eat dinner together, and Siaras talks politics with the adults while Rhian pesters Taran until he snaps. Mairwen yells at him for that, Myfanwy does nothing, the two of them snipe, and they all go to sleep. The next day, Mairwen has to teach Taran how to carry their slings, and then she goes about flirting with Siaras.
6. On day two, NEIRIN is hanging out by the market place in order to see if Taran will appear — he just wants to know what’s happened to his brother. And then he notices Tanwen and Andras, whom he recognizes from Siaras’ speeches, and he pesters Tanwen. He presents himself as an enthusiastic future subject, loyal brother, and begs her to simply let him be her servant on the road to Cyfalaf. Against Andras’ wishes, Tanwen acquiesces. She does this as more of a calculated PR move, and with every intention of letting him go when they get to Cyfalaf. En route to Cyfalaf, the whole thing with Angharad goes down, and Neirin proves himself capable of being useful.
7. On day four, TANWEN, Neirin, and Andras arrive in Cyfalaf. This is another chapter that remains mostly intact. She arrives in the palace, and puts off Neirin’s requests for employment by telling him to wait in the city and come back tomorrow. She goes and gets settled in the royal suite; then attends the dinner, where she meets Emlyn and Gethin is introduced. Afterwards, she hides in her rooms.
8. On day three, SIARAS is busy gleaning information about his new situation. They stop in a small village for the afternoon, and Siaras sits by Owain, studying under him to learn the trade as quickly as possible. He talks to and monitors Taran, who is struggling with food and with Rhian. At the end of the day, he leaves a message at the inn for an informant, letting them know what’s happened to him.
9. On day five, TARAN and the Sisawain caravan reach their next major destination, the city of D. They wander through the town; a bout of unsuccessful cooking means that Taran becomes homesick, and hazily attempts to escape. He makes it about halfway across the city, and then he is caught and brought back to the market. The adults are angry, and Rhian is saddened by it.
10. On day five, MAIRWEN lives out the day that Taran tries to escape. She suffers the indignity of having her wares pawed through and inspected by the security at the marketplace. She also watches and pokes fun as Siaras and Kieve try to out-flirt each other: with the locals, and with each other. Then it gets serious as they discover that Taran has gone missing. When he shows up, Mairwen is angry with him for running and upsetting Rhian. This gets her into trouble with her elders.
11. On days four and five, NEIRIN manages to sneak into the palace, and is put to work in the kitchens by relay from Tanwen (as I’ve already written). He sleeps in the kitchen, and then the following day, goes poking around the palace until he finds Tanwen. She is coming from a meeting with her new advisors, displeased, and he asks her if she’s considered yet. She sets him a task to do: find as many different ways to creep into the palace and report back, and this is how she will decide whether or not he is useful. He sets off to do that.
12. On day five, TANWEN justifies her reasoning to Andras, and how it cuts both ways. They then discuss the meeting which she just left, which dealt with a lot of religious concerns that “her people” had over a “heathen” ascending. It’s clear that Andras thinks the same way as them, but hides it — or tries to — from Tanwen. She ignores it, but it causes tension. She dismisses him and goes to her room alone, but Betrys enters and calls her down to be fitted so that the ceremonial garments for the feast slash coronation slash wedding in a few days’ time can be worn. Cut to after that, when she is released, and goes down into the crypts to visit her sister and mother in their tombs.
13. On the sixth day, SIARAS wakes up early, and slips out of the houses to visit the early morning merchants by the docks, and proselytize. His departure wakes Rhian and Taran, who accompany him and listen to his speech with rapt attention (It’s one for the common folk). Rhydian is the one who finds them, with a panicked Mairwen in tow. Rhydian is worried because this city is one over which Cyfalaf has a tenuous hold, and it has no love of Tanwen, so it’s best not to attract anyone’s attention like Siaras is doing. Siaras notes this, and leaves the information an a prearranged location as the caravan leaves the city.
14. On the sixth and seventh days, MAIRWEN prepares for the imminent arrival of the supply carriers. They’re going to meet in a relatively isolated area, to prevent thievery when they’re in transition and vulnerable. The supply carriers arrive, and they’re a bunch of second cousins on Mabyn’s side, who bring tidings as well as goods from their southern home base. The family gives them news in return. It’s news about the state of loyalty in the south, or attitudes, and of the preachers (from Siaras’ wider organization) that they’ve met along the way.
15. On the eighth day, TARAN composes an imaginary letter to Neirin, has a conversation with Siaras about it, and falls a little bit for Siaras for being nice to him. Then he goes on to do a whole lot of cooking for the two caravans, and listens to Rhian telling him endless stories, until finally he can get a word in edgewise and tell her about Neirin. It’s mostly for his own benefit, but it’s clear that she never actually thought about him having a life of his own before he came.
16. On the fifth to eighth days, NEIRIN summarizes his adventures in breaking and entering. He meets various characters, gets into trouble, but three days later, he has been made aware of how much better at this Taran is, misses him terribly, and has found eight ways for a small, unremarkable person to enter the palace; as well as figuring out when certain places are unguarded. He reports back to Tanwen by climbing in her window while she’s chatting up one of the servants (Andras temporarily not present). Neirin waits until the servant is gone, and Andras returned, before he presents his information to Tanwen. She’s a little startled, but agrees to take him on, in return for freeing his brother when the Sisawain caravan visits Cyfalaf next. Andras “suggests” making it official with a seal. Later, Neirin admires the seal on the webbing between thumb and index finger that will disappear after the deal has been finished — when the Sisawain arrive in Cyfalaf in a year and a bit.
17. On the ninth day and continuing until the thirteenth, TANWEN wakes up, and the ceremony begins. She and Andras get ready — he’s on particular alert throughout — and go outside. The party begins with the priests in the temple, who make speeches and prophesy and go through the motions. Then comes the part where Tanwen ritually consecrates herself to the Enwythau gods, which is tricky and something she thinks is stupid but politically necessary. This ceremony is tied into the marriage that follows, also in the temple. After that comes drinking and partying for the rest of the week, which passes by in a summarized blur until Tanwen is sick.
18. On the tenth day, SIARAS and the caravan encounter the wild celebrations in the next city, owing to the coronation ceremonies in the west. They camp outside the city in order to wait until life resumes as normal and they can do business. Siaras goes into the city with Mairwen and Kieve; Owain and Aelwen go in separately; and Taran is kept behind and Rhian isn’t allowed, either. Hijinks ensue, Siaras lets slip that he used to be a whore, and then the fun stops when Kieve gets into a fight for Mairwen, racially motivated, and breaks an arm. Siaras talks their way out of them getting arrested and tattooed.
19. On the tenth day, TARAN is kept behind with the family. He gets fed up with Rhian, and winds up roped into helping Myfanwy sort medicinal supplies. They end up talking, though mostly it’s Myfanwy going on for too long off a simple question, and then Taran listens in spite of himself. It ends with the teenagers bringing Kieve back to camp, and Taran helps Myfanwy set Kieve’s arm. Small moment where he forgets to be miserable.
20. On the fourteenth day, MAIRWEN spends the next three days making hangover remedies, and then she and Aelwen go into the city to sell them cheaply. (I think that Aelwen is a little like Ellen, and that she and Mairwen get along really well.) They barter them for leftover money, food, and bread.
21. On the fourteenth day, NEIRIN recovers from the party, which somehow ended in him sleeping on the roof of the temple. He hangs out, then has to find a way down. When he accomplishes this, he heads to the kitchens and is put to work cleaning up, while paying close attention to the things that everyone has to say about their new monarch. Reviews are mixed. He is sure to try to befriend the servant in whom Tanwen showed an interest. (Her names is also Ceir.)
22. On the fourteenth day, TANWEN finds herself wishing for one of her family’s remedies. Later, she freaks out at the reality of everything that has happened, and drags Andras on a trip to the lake, leaving Emlyn behind without any warning. She spends the day swimming and trying to get a grip; he spends it writing a letter to his ward. When they get back, Neirin is waiting with his reports. Once she’s dealt with him, she goes on to have her first sober, cautious conversation with her new husband.
This is the end of part one. Part two picks up about one month after this.
