Myff

Any ideas listed are open to change, and I welcome all kinds of feedback. My storyboard has plenty of characters, locations, factions, and worldbuilding elements, but right now it is missing the main conflict of the story. Silly, I know, considering that's usually one of the first things people figure out. The problem is that I haven't fully decided what role I want the main character, Malik, to play in the larger story, which makes it difficult to determine what the central conflict should be. In my mind, Malik isn't meant to be the traditional hero destined to save the world. Instead, I picture him as someone who is largely focused on his own goals and journey. While other adventurers, heroes, rulers, and powerful figures are pursuing grand quests and dealing with world-changing events, Malik is often doing his own thing. That said, his path would frequently overlap with theirs. The places he travels to, the people he meets, and the knowledge he seeks would naturally bring him into contact with the larger events unfolding throughout the world. Over time, these separate storylines would become increasingly intertwined until Malik finds himself connected to the main conflict whether he intended to be or not. Malik was an orphan child sold away to secret organization led by a highly intelligent and skilled man named Varen. Varen is a sadistic person who is supplied funding to make the perfect assassins. So, Malik was one of 20 kids who were trained in many things, in cruel ways. Often the kids were set against each other for food, gifts, beds, and clothes. They were trained in survival, observing, being stealthy, Ki use (Ki involves the art of channeling and compressing one's internal energy into specific body parts. By mastering this technique, practitioners can significantly enhance the power and speed of their punches or kicks, enabling even those of smaller stature to strike with formidable force. This ability allows them to effectively challenge larger opponents by maximizing their physical potential. The older you are the harder it is to access. Starting as a child is the most ideal.), hand to hand combat against larger opponents, and how to go for the kill no matter what. Any way to kill an opponent is correct. Dagger to the throat, a poison in the mead, a building catching on fire, traps, ect. Nothing was off limits. The only thing was during actual missions you were limited by mission parameters. The children were to call/refer to Varen master or father and nothing else. Varen was manipulative physically and emotionally. As they got older their numbers were dwindled by children who couldn't make it. At 8 is when they officially started their missions. Before that they each had their vocal cords removed and were left illiterate on purpose. They were trained instead to use a unique sign language and to have very good memory, so if they needed to read a letter, they would memorize the letters and rewrite them without knowing the contents of the letters. They were also given highly experimental alchemical medicines every week that were designed to regulate emotions like anger, provide them more ki usage, and to slightly increase mental focus. Varen would purposely try to anger the children to test them. The children all feared Varen but in their own heads respected him and assumed he was correct. Varen would lie to them a lot. He also hired a very nasty sorcery and swordsmen to train them as well. They sorcery trainings main focus was combat and counters. They were trained to be able to use the correct magic to counter someone else's spell as well as see traps, and how to unprogrammed them or change the parameters of the trap. Varen's organizing would charge insane amounts of money all over the continent to kill anyone; kings, lords, demigods, ect. The children would go town to won looking like child vagrants or not being seen at all. Most worked in duos or solo. The children's advantage was in the surprise. However, if they came across a skilled fighter/sorcery most kids could hold their own but struggled to just kill people were skilled enough to prevent it. The top three children including Malik could go into whole keeps and as long as he had the element of surprise on the most skilled fighter, he could kill the rest of the guards/fighters even if they knew he was coming. Malik was very efficient fighter, and his skill was finding ways to counter powerful or opponents or kill those deemed unkillable. Of course, this usually required some observation phase. Also, Malik only killed those he needed to kill or were in his way. He was personally indifferent about killing people and just saw killing extra people as doing more work. Because this world/planet is 5x the times of earth word is slow to get around. There are whole unhabituated continents or continents with little contact with the rest of the world, so it took many years to pass before rumors of child assassin were even a thing. Now the children were not allowed to be friends with one another, besides a duo mission, most kids were months of travel time apart from each other. However, there was a girl called Needle that Malik had a silent friendship with. She was more outgoing than him, but he liked it when he found out she was working together on something with him. And outside of that Malik liked animals. Initially he just liked watching them, weather it was cats, sea turtles going out to sea, otters playing in the water. However, at one point he found a puppy and during his time there he took care of it and bonded with it. He left the puppy for another family when he left the town. However, his duo at the time snitched on him to the master and the master went and personally found the puppy and killed it in front of Malik. When malik got upset and a tear formed he was beaten and punished. At 15 during a mission Malik comes across a man named Darius. Darius was a master ki user and was so talented he could target ki points on your body and turn off certain functions temporally like Maliks ability to use sorcery. Malik does manage to nearly kill Darius but loses and gets his ass handed to him. Darius is more knowledgeable than the average person, so he knows of the child assassins. So, he offers Malik as place on his farm. So, they fake Maliks death and leave. On the farm is other children of varying ages and a young woman also skilled in ki. The other children are all delinquents though maliks actions are way crazier than anything the other kids have done. The kids work the farm together, learn ki use and a non-lethal combat that Darius has mastered. So, for the next 3 years Malik learns a lot. He grows into a silent awkward teen that doesn't knows about people interactions through years of observation but fails to try and implement his learnings correctly. Now at 18 he still likes animals and prefers them over people. And one day he sees nature magic performed and decides he wants to learn it. The problem is that he is not a Tauren, Nymph, or any other race naturally gifted with nature magic. His ability to even sense it is terrible. From ages 18 to 21, he spends years studying plants, animals, nature spirits, and the natural world while trying to learn how to detect nature magic. Eventually he succeeds and slowly begins learning basic techniques. For reasons I haven't fully figured out yet, the Goddess of Nature, a slumbering deity whom the other gods largely ignore, takes an interest in him. The gods care little about nature magic because they have no control over it. The goddess offers him a deal. Across the world are lost nature scrolls, forgotten teachings, and ancient forms of magic hidden in places most people cannot reach. Entire continents remain unexplored, protected by violent storms and unnatural weather that destroy ships long before they can land. The goddess offers to guide him to these lost sources of knowledge. In return, he will help restore nature magic to its former glory and return it to the world as a respected and powerful magical path. Now in my synopsis I have him later on encounter Needle at age 24. She's upset at learning he's still alive and got away but left her and the other children. She fights and tries to kill his new "family". When Malik saves someone from being stabbed, he leaves his body open to being stabbed. She almost does, realizes internally he was letting her take his life, and instead kills herself, yelling at him to go save the other kids. This can happen in whatever way, but I want him to feel guilty for leaving her and the others behind. This will start his path towards dealing with Varen and the assassins. However, he is still scared of Varen. Like an adult that still fears the parent that physically abused them. During this "quest" he encounter the group of adventures that are investigating Needle because she went on a rampage killing people before killing herself. This is a point where the other people in the story paths cross. Another thing I have written down is Malik has to bond with a sea creature in order to transform and go across the dangerous seas tat lead the continent with potential nature magic and secrets. He does this and, on the continent, he finds new plants and animals. After some time, he finds some scrolls and a temple but is prevented access by a green dragon. The dragon tells him he needs to pass a few tests before entering. The first couple he passes but the last is for him to fight the dragon. He loses over and over again and sadly leaves until he can learn what he needs to learn. In my head I have said that when he approaches Varen and fights him, he learns something and afterword must return to the dragon. I have yet to figure out what he learns though. The last tid bit of info is that on a rare occasion, when facing monsters like demons, and without nature magic to help himself, he does pull out Needles sword and let his inner past self out to deal with the issue. So, I'm just looking for any ideas anyone would have for me to lead m in the right direction, or any changes you wish to suggest I'm all ears.

I'll split this into two posts. This one is regarding my nature magic system. Everything here is still in the brainstorming phase and is subject to change. For context, there are four major aspects of magic in this world, each with multiple smaller branches within them: Sorcery, Divinity, Occultism, and Nature. Sorcery is a scientific magic that "must" abide by the laws of physics. It is a permeating essence that most people have the ability to sense. Trained users must learn elements and their interactions. They can then use the magical essence in the air to create those elements and "program" them into spells of a sort. Sorcery's limits are determined by whether something is scientifically possible and how much Will a person possesses. The more complicated or powerful a spell is, the more Will it requires. Will functions similarly to stamina for magic users. Divinity is power provided by specific gods to their devout followers. Not every god is capable of granting spells, but all divine spells are dependent on the powers of the god providing them. For example, an assassin god might grant abilities such as invisibility or the summoning of a teleporting dagger. These spells cannot be modified or programmed to do anything beyond their intended purpose, and they do not follow the laws of physics. The strength of a divine spell is determined by both the user's devotion and the power of their god. Occultism is a smaller and far less understood aspect of magic. It is a mishmash of mysterious and otherworldly practices, such as reading the stars to glimpse the future, gaining forbidden knowledge, or attempting to open cosmic portals to distant realms. Occult magic is notoriously unreliable, often producing unexpected results. It is outlawed in many places, and practitioners tend to be either exceptionally intelligent, completely depraved, or both. Nature Magic is somewhat of a blend between Divinity and Sorcery. Like Sorcery, it permeates the world, but most people cannot sense it. Those who naturally possess an affinity for it are usually animal-hybrid species, nature spirits, and similar beings. At the point where my story takes place, most people view nature magic as weaker and less useful than the other magical paths. Unlike Sorcery, nature magic is itself a living force. It decides whether an individual will be successful in learning it or not. However, it does not make these decisions based on morality. It only cares whether a person's goals and concerns align with nature itself. Nature provides power but using it effectively requires a deep understanding of plants, animals, ecosystems, and natural life. Most nature magic follows the laws of physics, but there are ancient spells, largely forgotten by the modern world that do not. Two major branches of nature magic are druidism and shamanism. Common abilities include manipulating plants, healing, communicating with animals, communicating with nature spirits, bonding with animals, and eventually transforming into bonded animals. In my story, the main character is a former child assassin who gives up both Sorcery and blades. He decides to pursue nature magic because, due to years of trauma and abuse, he struggles to emotionally connect with people. However, he finds comfort in animals. As a child, he had a puppy that was killed by his master, and that loss remained with him. The problem is that he is not a Tauren, Nymph, or any other race naturally gifted with nature magic. His ability to even sense it is terrible. From ages 18 to 21, he spends years studying plants, animals, nature spirits, and the natural world while trying to learn how to detect nature magic. Eventually he succeeds and slowly begins learning basic techniques. For reasons I haven't fully figured out yet, the Goddess of Nature, a slumbering deity whom the other gods largely ignore, takes an interest in him. The gods care little about nature magic because they have no control over it. The goddess offers him a deal. Across the world are lost nature scrolls, forgotten teachings, and ancient forms of magic hidden in places most people cannot reach. Entire continents remain unexplored, protected by violent storms and unnatural weather that destroy ships long before they can land. The goddess offers to guide him to these lost sources of knowledge. In return, he will help restore nature magic to its former glory and return it to the world as a respected and powerful magical path. What I need help with is fleshing out the deeper details of nature magic. If you have any ideas regarding anything I've posted, I'm always open to suggestions. I've done quite a bit of research, and the things most people associate with nature magic are animals, plants, elements, weather, and spirits. Personally, I don't like elemental magic such as fire, stone, or lightning being part of nature magic. That's already the role of Sorcery in this world, and I want each magic system to occupy its own niche. Overlap is fine. For example, Divinity may grant healing through a god, while Nature magic may also have its own form of healing. I just don't want them to feel identical. Things I currently have for Nature magic include: Talking to animals Transforming into animals you have bonded with Manipulating plants Communicating with nature spirits Animal-aspect buffs or auras Healing (still unsure on specifics) I think the main character is also important when developing this system because certain aspects of nature magic should mesh naturally with his personality and experiences. The MC is between 18 and 40 throughout the portions of the story where he actively uses nature magic. He's a former child assassin with skills in Sorcery and bladed combat, both of which he has sworn off. He refuses to kill people. He is also mute. As a child, his vocal cords were removed to prevent him from revealing information if captured and interrogated, leaving severe scars across his throat. He communicates primarily through sign language. I also like the idea of him using small nature spirits as translators. The spirits can relay his messages to others, but they don't always translate his meaning perfectly and occasionally add their own interpretations. In combat, he is reasonably skilled with a staff, hand-to-hand fighting, and grappling techniques. His fighting style would focus on speed and mobility rather than direct force. Nature magic would complement this by allowing roots and plants to rapidly grow and ensnare opponents, block projectiles, create temporary obstacles, or provide platforms for movement and acrobatic attacks.