I have a subplot where one of my characters is a 17 year old boy living in a type of religious organisation called the Brotherhood who worship the Lord of Light (the one god, only god etc.) Laith is a member, but only because of his magic- he's one of those religious types who is not fanatical, but believes in it because he's never known anything else- he's quite lazy and laid back and just goes through the motions of ceremonies and suchlike, however he has sworn an Oath- as all the Brothers do when they reach the age of 14. (this oath incluces such trappings as celibacy, obligation to remain under the authority and command of the Warrior Priest (leader) all of his life and many more) As such an apathetic guy, he really didn't pay much attention to the Oath he was swearing. However, the boy whom he is in love with is of a higher rank in the Brotherhood: a Fire Warrior- someone under direct fealty of the Warrior Priest; a year older than Laith here, and also more caught up in the trappings of the religion and Oaths and whatnot. There lies the problem; this Fire Warrior, Samar, loves Laith but he is also sworn to the Oath he took (which he takes a lot more seriously than Laith). They were best friends before Samar became a Fire Warrior; and of course; they still love each other. Understand Samar's position; it's enough to drive him crazy caught between loyalty to the religion and love (I'm sure you all know how irrational and crazy love can make you, especially in teenage years with all those hormones :c). What I'm asking is this: Driven mad by being torn between two sides, is it believable that an 18 year old would break his Oath to be with someone he loves? Samar knows the risk he's taking ((penalty of oath-breaking is death if they are caught (which of course, they are)). What do you think? I mean it's not a typical Romeo and Juliet... sorry; Romeo and Julius tragic mooshy gooshy love story waah waah, boohoo thing. It's tragic, yes. But the purpose it to get Laith off his lazy arse and out of the clutches of the Brotherhood- since he's an important character.
Yes, in my opinion it's believable that they'd not be able to resist the temptation to be together if they felt a strong connection like that. The power of true love is notorious for making people do foolish things.
I second that! Whole societies have been brought down for the sake of love and at the hands of older than seventeen year olds! Also, consider that, unless in your society life expectancy is forty and seventeen is a far more mature age than on Earth, you're dealing with the mentality of an adolescent who, while he may sincerely wish to hold to the oath to which he swore, his hormones and emotions will exhibit at least an equally compelling pull on him. And, typically, humans, particularly the younger they are, are very good at rationalizing and justifying behavior. Also typical of human behavior, while the strongly dedicated may be able to overcome physical attractions, the emotional aspects tend to exert a much stronger force on one's behavior. Yeh. As Domino said, "The power of true love is notorious for making people do foolish things."
I'd certainly think it's plausible. Also am I just getting confused or are these both guy? As this sounds like a fantasy series set in some medieval world (correct me if I'm wrong that's just the impression I got.) shouldn't that be just as big a problem as the oath breaking? Such things are generally frowned upon in those settings.
As long as you don't make him as silly as Anakin...I always hated Anakin and how dumb he was. If you don't want your gf to die then don't choke her and go to the dark side. I mean they obviously had very advanced medicine and she only died because she "lost the will to live" because her husband was retarded. As long as you don't do that, you should be fine.
Oh, yeah. Totally. Kids who (think they) are in love do all sorts of stupid stuff. Honour? Diligence? Discipline? It's cool - they're in love. Any older than 25 and I'd start to worry because you'd expect an older character to have more self-control, but at 18 years I don't see a problem with them ditching the collar (or whatever) and pulling down their pants (Because, you know. Kids these days) This was sloppy writing on Lucas' part, mostly because he had stopped caring about the story and just wanted to print more money. I would only ever quote the Star Wars prequels as examples of what not to do. I can't post links here, but the entire trilagedy (u see whut I did thar?) gets ripped a new one by Red Letter Media. MA15+ content, purely because of Plinkett's reviewing style - you can also find them on YouTube.
Yes, it's a Fantasy and yes they're both guys. In fact, this is part of why it's such a serious offence. As well as breaking the celibacy oath, the particular country is very uptight about sex in general, which is why the ones linked to the holy order must be pure. I think if Samar of Laith hit it up with a girl instead of each other, they might've got away with a castration... Aye, they're just young. I have a 27 year old character too, who is the main Protagonist; she's way more sensible than these two. But what're you gonna do? In a sexually repressed society, where the sweet taste of rebellion and passion hovers... ouch. And gawd no- I despise sloppy handling of relationships. Samar will be executed; Laith will witness it before his execution looms; but he'll escape due to his magic making itself useful. He'll certainly loose a bit of that lazy attitude after that, and blame himself for Sam's death- but ultimately he'll try to redeem himself after he flees the country and is woven into the main plot arc... XD
Sounds pretty cool actually. But why doesn't Laith use his powers to save Sam? Or doesn't he have complete control over them?
of course one would!... since so many oath-bound priests of much more advanced age do it all the time for much less noble reasons than 'love' why wouldn't an 18 year old in love do it?
Good Question; the fact is that Laith is a lazy toad, so he's never bothered much to hone or explore his own power; he thinks it's a sort of manipulation of small objects etc- sort of like telekinesis. However, when it comes to the impending death the fight or flight reflex kicks in.
Completely agree. Love is a very powerful emotion, especially when you're young as they are. It's entirely plausible that the Oath would be broken for love. From what you've told us about the Samar character, I think that'd be one of the few (or the only) reasons he'd break the oath. When I saw the thread title, I thought of Anakin instantly and was going to say to not go Star Wars-prequels in the story. Agred, and that's coming from a teenager. Very few fellow teens I know have much self-restraint, in romance or otherwise. I wouldn't quote the prequels, either. The original trilogy, definitely, but not the prequels.
Do they have to be made careless by love and the conflict as simple as be together/break oath outright vs don't? It seems like they could/might try to be covert about it for as long as possible, which could, say, heighten the suspense and tension in the face of the horrific potentiality looming over them, should they be caught? Etc, etc, etc. I don't know if you implied as much, but it didn't seem addressed. Otherwise, I personally am not necessarily sure I'd immediately accept that they were willing to risk their lives for love, even if they were teen-ish. I was 18 not long ago, & I dare say that although passion can be overpowering, self-preservation is not remotely a lesser impulse. Especially in a repressed & punitive society, I imagine they'd be painfullly aware of the stakes of their relationship, even if they were dumbstruck by love. Of course, you may well have already thought of this. I don't assume either way, just my 2 cents. Interesting concept; good luck!
