rktho
Troubadour
I'm writing a story about dragons. There's only two major characters who aren't one species of dragon or another, and that's the villain's pet snake and the godlike, omniscient being-- basically, me. That's not the important part, though. It's just some basic context.
In my book, a dragon named Ginzaekh and his two friends find a crystal that takes them on a journey where they learn of the existence of two wizard factions that have gone into hiding. They run into Ginzaekh's uncle, who becomes a mentor to them later in the series. Ginzaekh's cousin, Dav, tags along with them and becomes part of the group, with invaluable knowledge of certain languages and places from his family's travels.
Anyway, he's not THE protagonist, but he's fairly important. I'm giving him a romantic arc that goes along these lines:
He's in love with this dragon named Narta. Dav is friends with her whole family. Sort of a Harry Potter and the Weasleys situation, except Dav's not an orphan looking for a family, he just really likes them. He's best friends with her brothers, and her dad reminds him of his grandpa.
Narta's been distant with him lately, and Dav is severely concerned for their friendship. When Ginzaekh and the group run into them, they stay at their house for the night. However, Narta's father tries to steal the crystal they're trying to return, shattering Dav's trust in him. We find out later that he's one of the good wizards and he's trying to destroy the crystal because it's basically the villain's Horcux. Dav, heartbroken, dies without knowing the truth when the villain kills him.
However, Dav is brought back to life in the next book because the villain turned back time to give himself his old body. As a result, the crystal is never stolen, and anyone who didn't follow him back in time loses their memories of what happened. So only Ginzaekh, his friends, and Dav's father know what happened in the first book. Dav, who was dead, remembers nothing.
Dav learns that Narta's dad and brothers are wizards, along with his own parents. He confides in Narta's brother, who tells him Narta is most likely not interested in him. Dav is worried because Narta wants to study overseas and he'll never see her again if she leaves.
At the end of that book, the final battle ends in mutual defeat. The protagonists must go into hiding from the villains' wrath, while the main big bad, severely wounded and humiliated, is left to die by the other villains and swears revenge against both sides, going rogue. As a result, all the good wizards and their families go to live in the same house where they will be protected. This leads to Dav and Narta interacting daily.
Narta is still distant, though she doesn't seem to dislike Dav and is friendly whenever they happen to have a moment of conversation. However, for the most part, she seems to avoid him when she can.
The villains find the protagonists and destroy their sanctuary, sending them on the run. Dav comes to the realization that Narta is avoiding him because she knows Dav's feelings for her and doesn't want to tell him she doesn't reciprocate them. Dav approaches her and says he just wants to be friends and that she doesn't need to be afraid of his feelings.
So Dav's friendship with Narta is restored, and he's finally at peace with it.
It's at this point that Narta leaves for her own safety to join the wizards' families, who are travelling across the sea to escape the villains. She never reaches them, as she and her escort are apprehended by the villain.
Should I kill her off at this point?
I've certainly contemplated faking her death at this point, having her escape with no indication to the others that she's survived her imprisonment. But what if I killed her off for real?
Would it be too much? Would it make Dav's arc with her feel pointless or give it more impact? I'm planning on killing Dav's father as well, which would not only hurt Dav but Ginzaekh, the main protagonist. His death is a must. Narta's not so much. With Dav's father and the other characters I'm planning on killing off, would Narta's death feel like too much? Or unnecessary?
In my book, a dragon named Ginzaekh and his two friends find a crystal that takes them on a journey where they learn of the existence of two wizard factions that have gone into hiding. They run into Ginzaekh's uncle, who becomes a mentor to them later in the series. Ginzaekh's cousin, Dav, tags along with them and becomes part of the group, with invaluable knowledge of certain languages and places from his family's travels.
Anyway, he's not THE protagonist, but he's fairly important. I'm giving him a romantic arc that goes along these lines:
He's in love with this dragon named Narta. Dav is friends with her whole family. Sort of a Harry Potter and the Weasleys situation, except Dav's not an orphan looking for a family, he just really likes them. He's best friends with her brothers, and her dad reminds him of his grandpa.
Narta's been distant with him lately, and Dav is severely concerned for their friendship. When Ginzaekh and the group run into them, they stay at their house for the night. However, Narta's father tries to steal the crystal they're trying to return, shattering Dav's trust in him. We find out later that he's one of the good wizards and he's trying to destroy the crystal because it's basically the villain's Horcux. Dav, heartbroken, dies without knowing the truth when the villain kills him.
However, Dav is brought back to life in the next book because the villain turned back time to give himself his old body. As a result, the crystal is never stolen, and anyone who didn't follow him back in time loses their memories of what happened. So only Ginzaekh, his friends, and Dav's father know what happened in the first book. Dav, who was dead, remembers nothing.
Dav learns that Narta's dad and brothers are wizards, along with his own parents. He confides in Narta's brother, who tells him Narta is most likely not interested in him. Dav is worried because Narta wants to study overseas and he'll never see her again if she leaves.
At the end of that book, the final battle ends in mutual defeat. The protagonists must go into hiding from the villains' wrath, while the main big bad, severely wounded and humiliated, is left to die by the other villains and swears revenge against both sides, going rogue. As a result, all the good wizards and their families go to live in the same house where they will be protected. This leads to Dav and Narta interacting daily.
Narta is still distant, though she doesn't seem to dislike Dav and is friendly whenever they happen to have a moment of conversation. However, for the most part, she seems to avoid him when she can.
The villains find the protagonists and destroy their sanctuary, sending them on the run. Dav comes to the realization that Narta is avoiding him because she knows Dav's feelings for her and doesn't want to tell him she doesn't reciprocate them. Dav approaches her and says he just wants to be friends and that she doesn't need to be afraid of his feelings.
So Dav's friendship with Narta is restored, and he's finally at peace with it.
It's at this point that Narta leaves for her own safety to join the wizards' families, who are travelling across the sea to escape the villains. She never reaches them, as she and her escort are apprehended by the villain.
Should I kill her off at this point?
I've certainly contemplated faking her death at this point, having her escape with no indication to the others that she's survived her imprisonment. But what if I killed her off for real?
Would it be too much? Would it make Dav's arc with her feel pointless or give it more impact? I'm planning on killing Dav's father as well, which would not only hurt Dav but Ginzaekh, the main protagonist. His death is a must. Narta's not so much. With Dav's father and the other characters I'm planning on killing off, would Narta's death feel like too much? Or unnecessary?