I am intending to write a series of disc world style short stories. by this I mean that the stories will all take place in the same world but will involve different people and could be centuries apart. there are a few things i need because i'm terrible at coming up with names. a name for a militaristic slightly fascist country a name for a country without a government or laws where society is mostly nomadic and tribal. a name for a very liberal, multi-faith country a name for the world as a whole. i have an idea for a plot that i would be glad for feedback on 3 men imprisoned and subjected to torture for their beliefs (same religion) 1 is a fully trained priest (wont be called this but thats the idea) 1 is a Ned Flanders style missionary/believer the last is a life long believer whos knowledge is basic and is suffering a crisis of faith the story will take place in their cell for the most part and is based around their conversations they are asked every day to renounce their faith, if they refuse then they are tortured, eventually the priest will crack first, he will renounce his faith and return to the world a broken man the second man will last longer but soon after dies from the torture. the third man (and main protagonist) then undergoes a revelation of sorts, re-connects with his god on a deeper level. from here a few things can happen 1) he pretends to renounce his faith, leaves and forms a new branch of his faith 2) he hangs on for a while longer and is rescued by a resistance group 3) he converses with and converts his gaoler (or jailer if your american) who helps him escape 4) any other ideas?
I like 3) the best, but it may be too idealistic for this (seems to me) otherwise pretty depressing story. I don't like 1) because it seems a little like cheating the reader (why didnt the other 2 pretend to renounce?) unless his god tells him the current branch is wrong and he should make a new one. 3) is deux ex machina, never do that. For 4): he has his reconnection with the god, then something happens that gets him the key to his first barrier (his cuffs, key to his cell door, something small). How did he get the key? Was it just luck? the lazyness of the guards? Or something else entirely, a miracle? I like the idea of a subtle hand of god. It's a little deux ex machina, but he still has escape the rest of the jail by himself using his own wits and knowledge of things. Good luck with it
i was thinking it might be a bit idealistic as well. that was the idea, i was thinking perhaps the other two might not have pretended to out of fear of punishment in the next life, you know, the whole die as a martyr thing perhaps your right. that is a great idea. perhaps a 5th option? death and rebirth? lazarus style
If you go with 5) you could turn him into a wandering immortal and use him as a guest character in other stories. Like Hoid from Brandon Sanderson books or Death from Discworld.
