Ireth
Myth Weaver
How do you guys feel about characters deliberately presenting an untrue version of events? Not in terms of an unreliable narrator, and not with malicious or deceptive intent. Here's my specific example: a man makes a deal with a Fae to tell an interesting, entertaining story in exchange for valuable information that the man needs. The man takes a snippet of his own backstory and gives it a fantastical twist, such that it's hard to say what's true and what's invented (and I the author don't make it entirely clear elsewhere in the text either, except for a few things).
The Truth: As a teen, Vincent fell for a beautiful girl named Christine; they met at a professional performance of Phantom of the Opera, and bonded over their shared love of music and theater. During college, they had the lead roles in a production of Phantom; it was after the final bows of one performance that Vincent proposed to her, using a song from the musical, and naturally she accepted. They were married later that year, and lived happily for two years afterward. Christine became pregnant with their first (and only) child; the pregnancy went well, but the delivery was difficult. Five days after giving birth to a healthy baby girl named Ariel, Christine passed away in the hospital with Vincent and his brother Dom at her side. Vincent gave Ariel the middle name Christine, in memory of her mother.
Meanwhile, a Daoine Sidhe named Lóegaire came to the mortal world in search of a child to claim for his own, as Fae often do. Drawn by the sound of Vincent's last song to Christine, he and his two comrades lay in wait outside the hospital. But Lóegaire grew impatient, and climbed in through the window of Christine's room; his comrades followed, and the three of them attacked the two brothers. Christine was already dead by that time. Vincent and Dom fought back, killing one of Lóegaire's comrades and wounding the other two Fae; they realized what their enemies were upon seeing their blue blood. Lóegaire, realizing his mistake, retreated with his surviving comrade and the corpse of the other. Vincent took a piece of jewellery that had fallen from the dead Fae as a reminder of the incident. Ariel was unharmed, and the three humans returned home safely. From that night on all of them believed in the Fae.
The Story, as told by Vincent and Dom to Chim the Pooka: "Once upon a time, there was a young knight of the realm of Albion, Sir Vincent, who held the love of a beautiful golden-haired maiden named Christine. Both Vincent and Christine were talented singers; often Vincent would serenade his lady from below her balcony, and she would sing along with him. They had a special song that they used to express their love most deeply. Thus their love bloomed like the most beautiful rose.
"As many couples do, Vincent and Christine had a language all their own. Christine's estate had vast gardens full of red roses, which she would pluck and tie with her finest ribbons and give to her knight, and he would return to her. Every color of ribbon held a different meaning: pink was a declaration of love for the other; yellow was a request for company; blue meant that the giver was in need of comfort; black meant that the giver was angry with the other; and white was a plea for forgiveness.
"One of the other knights soon became jealous of Vincent's and Christine's love, and longed to have Christine for himself. He spied on the two lovers, learning of the messages they sent by means of the roses, and began intercepting and altering them so that Christine would believe Vincent no longer loved her. Fooled by the imposter's cunning plot, for weeks Christine sent Vincent nothing but black-ribboned roses, and he responded with endless white-ribboned ones, and asked her why, but received no reply but 'You know why.' Vincent then decided that he had to see what was going on for himself.
"When Vincent came to his lady again, she refused to see him, and at his insistence, she told him of the messages she had received. Thus he learned of the plot, and one night he caught the imposter in the act of stealing some of Christine's ribbons and roses. Vincent then challenged the imposter to a duel with Christine as a witness, and emerged victorious.
"Soon Vincent decided to propose to Christine, and did so through an elaborate reenactment of his duel with the jealous imposter, and finished with their song of love. Naturally, she accepted, and they lived happily in wedded bliss. Two years on, Christine came to be with child, and though it brought much joy to their household, there came circumstances neither of them had expected."
"It came time for Christine to deliver, and a daughter was born to them. But soon afterward, they were attacked by a vicious three-headed dragon, who wished to kill Christine and steal the baby for itself. Vincent fought to defend his wife and child, and eventually defeated the beast, severing one of its heads and claiming one of its scales as a trophy. The baby survived unharmed, but Christine succumbed to her wounds, and Vincent named his daughter in her honor. She grew to be as lovely as her mother, and she and Vincent lived..."
"...happily ever after."
The Truth: As a teen, Vincent fell for a beautiful girl named Christine; they met at a professional performance of Phantom of the Opera, and bonded over their shared love of music and theater. During college, they had the lead roles in a production of Phantom; it was after the final bows of one performance that Vincent proposed to her, using a song from the musical, and naturally she accepted. They were married later that year, and lived happily for two years afterward. Christine became pregnant with their first (and only) child; the pregnancy went well, but the delivery was difficult. Five days after giving birth to a healthy baby girl named Ariel, Christine passed away in the hospital with Vincent and his brother Dom at her side. Vincent gave Ariel the middle name Christine, in memory of her mother.
Meanwhile, a Daoine Sidhe named Lóegaire came to the mortal world in search of a child to claim for his own, as Fae often do. Drawn by the sound of Vincent's last song to Christine, he and his two comrades lay in wait outside the hospital. But Lóegaire grew impatient, and climbed in through the window of Christine's room; his comrades followed, and the three of them attacked the two brothers. Christine was already dead by that time. Vincent and Dom fought back, killing one of Lóegaire's comrades and wounding the other two Fae; they realized what their enemies were upon seeing their blue blood. Lóegaire, realizing his mistake, retreated with his surviving comrade and the corpse of the other. Vincent took a piece of jewellery that had fallen from the dead Fae as a reminder of the incident. Ariel was unharmed, and the three humans returned home safely. From that night on all of them believed in the Fae.
The Story, as told by Vincent and Dom to Chim the Pooka: "Once upon a time, there was a young knight of the realm of Albion, Sir Vincent, who held the love of a beautiful golden-haired maiden named Christine. Both Vincent and Christine were talented singers; often Vincent would serenade his lady from below her balcony, and she would sing along with him. They had a special song that they used to express their love most deeply. Thus their love bloomed like the most beautiful rose.
"As many couples do, Vincent and Christine had a language all their own. Christine's estate had vast gardens full of red roses, which she would pluck and tie with her finest ribbons and give to her knight, and he would return to her. Every color of ribbon held a different meaning: pink was a declaration of love for the other; yellow was a request for company; blue meant that the giver was in need of comfort; black meant that the giver was angry with the other; and white was a plea for forgiveness.
"One of the other knights soon became jealous of Vincent's and Christine's love, and longed to have Christine for himself. He spied on the two lovers, learning of the messages they sent by means of the roses, and began intercepting and altering them so that Christine would believe Vincent no longer loved her. Fooled by the imposter's cunning plot, for weeks Christine sent Vincent nothing but black-ribboned roses, and he responded with endless white-ribboned ones, and asked her why, but received no reply but 'You know why.' Vincent then decided that he had to see what was going on for himself.
"When Vincent came to his lady again, she refused to see him, and at his insistence, she told him of the messages she had received. Thus he learned of the plot, and one night he caught the imposter in the act of stealing some of Christine's ribbons and roses. Vincent then challenged the imposter to a duel with Christine as a witness, and emerged victorious.
"Soon Vincent decided to propose to Christine, and did so through an elaborate reenactment of his duel with the jealous imposter, and finished with their song of love. Naturally, she accepted, and they lived happily in wedded bliss. Two years on, Christine came to be with child, and though it brought much joy to their household, there came circumstances neither of them had expected."
"It came time for Christine to deliver, and a daughter was born to them. But soon afterward, they were attacked by a vicious three-headed dragon, who wished to kill Christine and steal the baby for itself. Vincent fought to defend his wife and child, and eventually defeated the beast, severing one of its heads and claiming one of its scales as a trophy. The baby survived unharmed, but Christine succumbed to her wounds, and Vincent named his daughter in her honor. She grew to be as lovely as her mother, and she and Vincent lived..."
"...happily ever after."
Auror
