spellblade/plans.md

# Spellblade Plot

https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/

## One Sentence

A woman realizes the gap between two opposites and their place in the middle.

## Kick in the Pants

> something I feel is missing from this set-up is, what is Alicia's overarching
> motive? What is she doing this for? Why the army recruiting process, and how
> would an underground school help her further her goals
>
> what is it that _moves her_?

> This whole thing is meant to be an allegory for coming out as nonbinary. Her
> goal is to not be so afraid of herself.

## Cover Idea

Use the palette of the nonbinary pride flag, yellow sky, white clouds, Alicia
in purple holding her locus to the sky, black ground w/ yellow highlights. 

## One Paragraph

Alicia is a student at the Zhalram School of Bladecraft, one of two schools
owned by a shadowy organization that oversees the Zhalrami army recruiting
process. Alicia is troubled in her schooling and tries to suppress her innate
magical talents with little success. Alicia finds a spiritualist in town and the
spiritualist encourages her to use her magic in battle, making her team the
cream of the crop (with various social consequences). Alicia gets caught by the
schoolmasters and confronted to admit she is a spellcrafter, leading Alicia to
disagree and coin the term "spellblade"; arguing that she has a unique gift and
she wants to see where it will end up. The teachers have never seen this happen
and deliberate before accepting Alicia and encouraging them to continue down
that path.

- Cover the setting
  - Introduce the bladecraft school
  - Introduce spellcraft and frame it as an "other"
  - Introduce Alicia undergoing a magical awakening
- First battle
  - Accidentally uses powers on the field
  - Leads to victory
  - Get sus by Zekas
  - Tongue-lashing for the absurdly crazy strategy
  - Meal hall
  - Bed, idle thoughts about her magic
- Spiritualist
- Various battles?
  - Flashbacks to her father noticing signs of this happening and teaching her
    how to suppress her gift
    - The magical side would effectively kidnap her from a young age and her
      father wanted to be with Alicia as a kid, the Zhalrami army desperately
      needs spellcrafters for battle with Usill
    - Father died in the aftermath of an avalanche
    - Alicia enrolled in the bladecraft school to get away from home because it
      reminded her of her dad