Below are some ideas with a basic plot and a lot of interest on my part. Feel free to pick from any of these and we can expand on the plot together!
The Witch of Holden
Witch & Childhood Best Friend
Magic is a choice, the priests would inform the reverent masses. His harsh eyes would linger on the youth ducked into their mothers' sides. A warning - a threat. His eyes would linger on one child in particular. He would later speak of how he could sense the evil that lurked beneath the child's eyes. He would show remorse that he could turn the ill minded youth to the light; that he had let them linger near the others of his age. For surely they must have been greatly tempted to follow in the child's path… especially the one that clung to them.
Magic is a choice, the masses would whisper as they scorn the child. The priest had them all convinced - even the child's parents. They were evil - it was only a matter of time. Eyes followed the child everywhere. Every action, every word, every moment was scrutinized and scorned. The village had turned against them… all except for one. Their dearest friend - their
only friend. The child would hide what they were even more desperately when they were with them. They would hide the fire that flickered beneath thin fingers, the flowers that bloomed in their wake, how the forest trees would bend to greet them. They would not scare their friend…
no, never them.
Magic is a choice, the child would mock the priest in his final moments. It had been a long time coming. A single push too far had been all it had taken. A fire had spread through the church and left only the child and the priest at it's mercy. The child knew they would never escape the wrath of the village as the fire began to roar. All they could see was yellow and red, but the fire never touched them - it didn't hurt. All they could feel was the warmth that the village never gave them.
Magic is a choice, except for when you're born with it. The witch told themselves as they strolled out of the church to the waiting eyes of the masses. They had never learned a spell or made a pact with some dark creature. Yet the fire answered their call and the flowers bloomed at their touch. They had never had a choice before, but now they did. The witch refused to let the village hurt them anymore, but they could never hurt them either - not while their only friend remained there.
The forest beckoned and the witch answered.
—
For this one, I don't have much in the way of a plot yet - mostly just a world to base it in. I do have some ideas - the childhood friend could have been accused of witchcraft or perhaps they left to find their friend after their parents got sick. I don't think this would work with multiple characters, but I'm willing to adjust to allow so for those interested.
The God Slayer
God & Mortal
For a thousand years, the world was ravaged by a war waged by the gods themselves. Plagues, famine, great storms, and hoards of monsters made the planet - once a place of great beauty - into a wasteland. And still, even when humanity dwindled in numbers and their prayers stopped; even when mortals began to claw at the doors of paradise; even when rivers began to dry and the forests began to die - they would not stop. It took the desperation of three gods - the goddess of nature, the goddess of the sea, and the god of the sky - to bring an end to the needless conflict. Their very creation was all but gone when they descended from the realm of the gods and offered their dearest children a gift.
Blood.
Golden ichor from their very veins to turn mortals greatest warriors into creatures never before seen. They asked their children to storm the gates of the celestial plane and tear the other gods down from their thrones. The three would remain here, on Earth, to heal the planet and restore their children to their former glory.
Within five years, most of the old gods were felled. The few that remain - save for the Three - fled into the mortal plane to create their own place. Small realms born from the gods remaining power were hidden amongst the far reaches of Earth. The warriors that once stormed the home of the gods now hunted down all that remained on the order of the Three.
God Slayers they became known as. It has been five hundred years since the destruction of the celestial plane and still many remain. The God Slayers roam endlessly in search of their foes, but even they can only do so much. Even they need help - clerics blessed by the Three, scouts to run ahead, and soldiers to fight alongside them.
—
For this one, I'm looking for someone to plot this out with, though I do have some basic ideas so far. One character would be an old god hiding from God Slayers. They can be the god of anything - war, death, life, time, etc. The other character would be a mortal in service of a God Slayer - a cleric, scout, or soldier - who stumbled their way into the hidden realm. The god/goddess locks the mortal away in the realm to prevent them from telling their Slayer of its location.
This can probably work with multiple characters too - two gods and two mortals. The gods could be siblings and the mortals work under the same God Slayer.
The Hollow House
Ghost & House Sitter
It looked like an easy job, if a bit lonely. Housesit the old manor of some old, widowed socialite located deep in the forested mountains for a large sum of money while the lady went swimming in the Bahamas for winter. It would be cold - the snow must get bad that far up the mountains - and lonely. The nearest town was thirty minutes away by car. There would be no staff to talk to, no children to watch, no pets to look after. Just an old house…
So why did it feel so…
unnatural to look at. Something about this place raises the hair on your arms; makes you turn your gaze behind you to meet the eyes that are endlessly staring. The older woman was kind as she gave you the rundown of the job - do not leave the house unless absolutely necessary. Food will be delivered weekly. No friends, lovers, or family over. No leaving the house after midnight. Odd, but the woman was a strange one so it was hardly surprising. Something about her eyes made you wary. Thankfully, you wouldn't see her again for three months.
It really did look like an easy job.
Of course, that means it isn't. Something causes the house to creek late at night. Something causes scratches at the doors and windows while you try to sleep. Something speaks in muted whispers when you stare out into the darkness. Something giggled when you screamed. You felt like you were going insane until one night the whispers and the creeks and the scratches and the laughter all stopped.
Silence.
And then footsteps. Soft thumps across hardwood floors that came to a halt behind you. You could feel their - its - cold presence sweep over you. A voice that whispered right in your ear.
Run.
—
It probably doesn't seem like much of a romance at first, but I have the idea that the older woman killed a lot of people and that there are dozens of ghosts on the property. All but one - her first victim - are confined to outside the house and are very, very angry. The first victim tries to scare the housesitter away to save them, but when that doesn't work they approach them.
I am all for making this full gothic, full modern, or anywhere in between as far as when goes.
The Coyote of Atkin
Outlaw & Upper Class Character
They had planned for every possibility. Went through exactly how this heist should go down. Where to find the jewelry and the bonds. When the rich man kept his gold and where his wife kept her pretty necklaces. It should have been straightforward. Quick and easy money followed by a night of celebrating - they would be one step closer to living the life they always wanted
They rode in under the cover of night. The posse had always been small, but they were enough for the job before them. The house should be empty - the rich man and his wife in the city for a play, the children gone to the sister of the wife, and the ranch hands out at the local bar. They stole what they could, even found several bars of gold. It went exactly as planned… except when they found someone staring at them in the darkness. One of the rich man's children had not gone with the others. Their oldest - the outlaws noted. The adult heir to the family fortune, born years before the others to a different wife.
They would never admit it, but the posse panicked. They couldn't afford the law to come after them at the moment, not with everything they had stolen recently. They knocked the heir out and tied them to the back of one of the horses and fled. They would figure out what to do with them later. It only occurred to them the next day that kidnapping the heir of a rich man - a man currently running for mayor - would be even worse than stealing from him.
—
For this one, I have the basic workings of a plot. The heir gives the posse - especially the main outlaw - hell while they try to figure out what to do with them. The posse are just thieves that lost their old livelihoods and are now in too deep. I figure the main outlaw falls in love with the heir/heiress and eventually convinces them to become an outlaw like them. However, I am absolutely open to other suggestions.
Honestly, just classic cowboy/western stuff.
In Memoriam
Assassin & Disgraced Knight
It had been a year since they last saw their face - eyes closed forever in eternal sleep. It had been a year since the king exiled them in rage and sorrow for failing their duties. They could still remember the tears in the man's eyes, the wailing sobs of the queen, the blank stare of dread in the now crown princes. They had failed to save the princess when it mattered most. They had failed…
They could not bring her back, but they could find the one who took her away. An assassin they never saw the face of - only a glimpse as they jumped out a window. It took a year to find out who it was and where they would be. A year to follow the only clue left behind - a calling card. The thing was crumbled and destroyed and worn to bits from constant touch. It was all they had to find the assassin… and all they had left of the princess. Their armor had been stripped of her sigil, their cloak torn away, their sword taken by the king. They were naught but a vagabond now - disgraced and exiled.
It shouldn't shock the knight that the trail led them to such a dark place. A kingdom run by a tyrant where citizens fear for their lives in the shadow of the king's talons - his personal assassins. It was one of them that had done this to the princess and it was one of them that would face their end.
—
For this one, I have a whole bunch of plot bunnies. The main ideas I have however, are that the knight infiltrates the king's guard and gets close to the assassins - the King's Talons. They attempt to discover which assassin is responsible all while falling for one of said assassins - that assassin being the one responsible. The knight eventually finds out and wars with themselves over what to do. From there I imagine it can go many ways.
I'm absolutely open to make this one either medieval or fantasy. I think I'm leaning more towards fantasy, but I'm open for either.
