NaNoWriMo Prep 2018

Day 9 - Plot: Rising Action

Initial Refusals: An adolescent boy (Gerfried Samuels) infiltrates the Esout palace during the negotiations to gather information from Princess Janette of Esnorh. However, he gets caught by the guards and Janette’s treachery as a rebel spy is discovered. The negotiations end abruptly without a favorable resolution.
Sebastian is shocked to hear of Janette’s treachery. His views of a joyous and glorious world crumbles to dust, and he spirals into a crippling depressive episode. He takes some time to process the news.

The Choice: Emperor John dies due to his illness and Sebastian ascends to the throne. After the coronation ceremony, Sebastian hears other nobles criticizing his lack of action towards Janette and Gerfried, who are locked in the palace dungeon. He decides to carry out the sentence for treason, but he cannot bring himself to have both the princess and the boy killed. He asks the Esnorh regent, who is loyal to Esout, to choose which traitor would live. The regent chose Gerfried. Sebastian releases Gerfried on the condition he should never set foot near Esout again.
On the day of Janette’s execution, a group of Esnorh rebels and Wesnorh soldiers storm the palace. The Esout battalion managed to chase them out oddly quickly. However, Sebastian discovers Janette and Gerfried have escaped in the chaos.

Point of No Return: Sebastian’s popularity after the raid plummeted, but this didn’t discourage him. Instead it drove him to join the battlefield to face his enemies head on. He gained Hollen Bleu, an Esout loyalist from Soutland, as a military confidant. It would be Hollen who gradually reinforced Sebastian’s knowledge in military tactics.

Up Until Climax: Other military positions aside from those filled by Sebastian and Hollen was held by nobles throughout the southern continent. They saw Sebastian as an expendable leader whose military incompetence would make themselves more favorable to the public. Hollen often commented on these ulterior motives to Sebastian, but Sebastian insisted he would prove them wrong by his own actions. Over time, Sebastian’s relationship with his family in Esout started to weaken. Only Esther, Madeline, and Oscar sent him letters regularly asking him to take a break from the war and return home.