Hi all So I'm beginning to get the rumblings for another story to write and I had the idea of setting it in ancient times but still fiction based. It doesn't have to resemble the Earth as it was, it's just inspired and influenced by those settings. I wanted to ask your opinion on exile. I have in my mind for my main character to be the son of a high noble or even a king but he is born with a twisted leg (does anyone have any knowledge of this) or some defect like that and so is seen as a disappointment. He isn't physically strong nor particularly handsome and is generally written off by his father. However, because of this he trains his mind and becomes very intelligent and learned. The novel starts with this and the relationship with his younger brother who is everything that a boy prince should be. Unfortunately, it starts with his exile quite quickly and I was thinking down the lines of an accidental death. It would most likely be his younger brother. I'm just trying to think of ways that I could convincingly show this while keeping in the mind that he loves his brother (despite the fact he is mistreated) and is certainly no murderer. Accidents do happen, however. I wanted to do more than just play fighting and his brother falling down and hitting his head, so do you guys have any suggestions? Drowning could work, but I was just thinking how to show this. Perhaps they could be on rafts or playing downstream and somehow his brother loses his footing. And he doesn't have to actually kill him by accident, he could just witness his death (maybe his brother is a climber and falls?) Instead of being killed the King chooses to exile him, mainly so it doesn't bring shame on the family and he can cover up the truth but also because it's much cheaper than a royal family. It would be good to hear your opinions... Thanks
Doing my best not to write the plot, I think Shakespeare would have left his younger brother alive and brought the previously weak brother back with a powerful army, or force, or body to challenge the younger for power. Of course, a very angry exile he would be. PTxS But this good set up could go many ways: tragedy, reconciliation, forgiveness, vengeance. That's up to your characters. They will go the way they want. Peace, Tex
The drowning scenario could certainly work, especially if your main character's disability prevents him from jumping in to save his brother. Perhaps he himself is afraid of water after a near death experience of his own in the past, and is paralyzed with fear throughout the incident. After this, exile to a tiny island in the middle of an ocean might seem like an appropriate punishment, to his father at least.
My husband's grandfather was blamed for his brother's death. The grandfather was a 12-year-old walking their dog in the woods with his younger brother. The younger brother had the dog's leash tied around his waist. The dog saw a frozen lake, charged into it, dragging the brother in and drowning him. I think the grandfather lived with the guilt his whole life.
Thanks for your comments guys. I like the Shakespeare way and it's sure tempting to bring back the little brother towards the back end of the plot. Would make you feel like there's unfinished business left between them and skeletons in the closet as well. In this case I want to lean more towards absolute tragedy and stress how innocent the little brother is, but he will spend a lot of time living with it and hopefully find peace by the end. I liked the drowning idea too and his disability will definitely be part of it. I want the MC to feel powerless and responsible but in reality it's not his fault, he can't help his bad leg. The tiny island scenario sounds interesting and reminds me of Napoleon, that is a story in itself I'd like to explore. But I was thinking of sending him to a slave tent where he is picked up by a kindly warrior who takes him to one of the bigger kingdoms leading to my main story which is about two kingdoms at war after 500 years of peace. Thank you for sharing Mckk. That's a really sad story and stuck with me. I certainly don't want to take that idea for my story, but I was thinking along those lines of a terrible accident and not being able to do anything about it. I hope your grandfather found peace and realised it wasn't his fault. Tragedy strikes so unexpectedly and we have seconds to react and that's it.
