1. Lea`Brooks

    Lea`Brooks Contributor Contributor

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    Does this seem like a plot hole?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Lea`Brooks, Apr 30, 2016.

    The novel I'm currently working on is a fantasy involving three gods: Avani (life), Aeron (death), and Veiro (spirit). They require a certain balance of power, so if one becomes too strong, the others grow weak, unable to do their jobs properly.

    Hundreds of years before my story takes place, there is a war between countries. The fighting leads to many deaths, thus strengthening Aeron and weakening the other two. He becomes so strong that his very presence kills the land and people around him. There is no choice then but to trap him and bury him, so that he no longer has such influence on the world. The balance is then restored and Aeron is still able to do his duty while imprisoned.

    When my story starts, someone has discovered Aeron was buried and seeks to raise him, thus bringing chaos to the world. The first book is following the MC as she attempts to thwart this raising, but she unknowingly fails. The second book (and possibly the third if I have the content) will follow her as she tries to trap him once again.

    Originally, I was going to take the typical route and make Aeron a villain. He was going to be angry at his imprisonment and seek revenge against those who trapped him. But today I started thinking... Maybe he isn't angry. He has no control over his strength. Yes, he chooses who lives and dies, but it's mostly from old age or illness. If someone is cut in half in battle, he very well can't allow that person to live... And he doesn't control the will of others either, so if a war breaks out, he's just as helpless as everyone else.

    So Aeron must understand that balance of power is important, right? So I thought, maybe he understood and accepted his imprisonment. Maybe he knew there was no other choice than to become trapped, so that he wouldn't involuntarily kill innocents, thus making him stronger and the others weaker.

    So going with that, I decided that those who raised him would start a war to once again build Aeron's strength and make him a weapon. (Btw, I just pictured an epic scene of this too!) But then I realized... This may be a problem, possibly likened to a plot hole. Or.. Maybe not quite but something that could annoy the reader.

    Humans don't know about this balance of the gods. Humans (in the current time) don't know he was buried either. They found some ancient text explaining it and decided to use it to their advantage. Raise him, then use him as a weapon while they build his power. However.... If he hadn't been buried, they wouldn't have had the opportunity to use him like that. He wouldn't have been near enough to be captured. So... If the gods had just unburied him after the balance was restored, couldn't they have prevented this entire thing? The reason I had him remained buried originally was so that he wouldn't seek revenge. But now that I don't want him to seek revenge, I worry it seems pointless to keep him underground. But I need him to stay underground, otherwise my entire story never happens.

    Make sense? Is that something that would annoy you as a reader? Should I go back to my original plan of him wanting revenge or stick to the new one of him being a victim?

    Note: The gods in my story are very much like Greek gods in their abilities. They live somewhere mythical on earth, they are not all powerful, all knowing, or all good. But they understand the world would fall to chaos without them, so they try to work together as best they can.
     
  2. theoriginalmonsterman

    theoriginalmonsterman Pickle Contributor

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    It sounds like a better idea to make him the victim rather than a villain. It would only make sense that these gods would be able to understand what they're capable of and do their best to prevent chaos. It's not so much a plot hole more that it's an issue with the character's actions. Perhaps there's something preventing them from freeing Aeron, or maybe Aeron decides it's better for him to stay underground to prevent anymore disasters. Something a long those lines could work out. That's really all I've got though.
     
  3. IHaveNoName

    IHaveNoName Senior Member Community Volunteer

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    I like him being a victim, too too - it would make sense for him to come to terms with his situation (possibly after a cooling-off period) and realize that it's best that way. Maybe he even prefers being there (I assume he's in a cavern or something, not just trapped in a box?).
     
  4. Lea`Brooks

    Lea`Brooks Contributor Contributor

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    That's kind of what I was leaning towards as well. They aren't stupid. They are aware that the balance is necessary. If Aeron becomes too strong, then Avani becomes weaker. So many people die while she's unable to produce new life. Eventually, most of the population would be dead before the balance could be restored. They understand that, so Aeron agrees it's safer for him locked away, where he can't be influenced by war.

    Weellllllll.... :rolleyes: He's pretty much in a cage. I picture it as a crystal, his body locked inside, and buried underground. But it isn't uncomfortable for him -- it's magic after all. He's locked in his own mind, a delusion I guess, where he has a house full of rooms and luxuries and whatever he could need. He can still do his business from inside there, knowing he's trapped, but not minding it. I don't know if that makes sense at all, but... Yes, he's in a cage. lol But it doesn't bother him.
     
  5. IHaveNoName

    IHaveNoName Senior Member Community Volunteer

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    Okay, I get it. He's basically like Jeannie from the old TV show I Dream of Jeannie - she was stuck in a lamp, but it was still well-appointed with couches, rugs, cushions, and such. But... do the death mages know this? Or do they just think "He's trapped in this block of crystal, and we must free him!"
     
  6. Mikmaxs

    Mikmaxs Senior Member

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    I really like the idea of the gods being sort of clumsy giants who can't control their own strength or power. The image of an immortal god of death being overwhelmed by how deadly he is and willingly accepting imprisonment in a permanent state of stasis is incredibly evocative and interesting.

    Is it possible that, when he was 'Freed', it wasn't so much freedom as it was 'Out of the frying pan, into the fire'? That is, he was released from his cage, but only allowed into a slightly larger cave that still lets people exercise control over him?
     
  7. Lea`Brooks

    Lea`Brooks Contributor Contributor

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    That's the plan! :D While typing the idea in the first post, I saw an image of him chained like Jesus in a cave. So then the second book would be about my MC trying to free him from the clutches of the badies who seek to use his magic for ill.

    Now I just got figure out why they want him! Which is proving more difficult than I expected...

    My first thought was that they don't know or care. They just want him so they can use him. Whether he's a prisoner or comfortable isn't something that really crosses their mind.
     

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