It seems that the Salem Witch Trials and King Arthur are neck and neck. Both have amazing potential with the plots I’ve laid out. Either way, the MC will play a major character this time.
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@rose-court
Thanks for the explanation. That being a Middle Eastern story would make sense why I never heard of it but it sounds very interesting.
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If it’s not a spoiler, by Salem Witch Trials, do you mean the historical ones or as depicted in The Crucible?
King Arthur is in the lead with 27%! Yes!!
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Maaan, I was so certain that the Salem Witch trials would be the most interesting, but that dry as bone Wikipedia page entry on 1,001 Nights has managed to pique my interest.
I think it’s because of my love for folktales.
The main reason I’d like to see the Salem Witch Trials is because of the atmosphere of paranoia and backstabbery (why yes, I was an English major, how did you know) in what was once a tightly knit community–fascinating! The events themselves have become so fictionalized that I dare say it’s possible to completely bastardize the names, characters, and sequence of events but people will still accept it because it has entered the public consciousness not as a singular tragedy, but as an example of the darkness of human nature and religion.
That said, a flashback inspired by 1,001 Nights actually has the potential to be a much more lighthearted story in comparison to the Witch Trials, the Trojan War, and (dare I say) the Arthurian legends (unless you’re Percival or Monty Python), so perhaps it might not fit as well tonally as the other options. Still cool tho.
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I poured over the Crucible; it’s one of my favorite plays second only to Oedipus. I would combine both fictional and historical aspects of the story; of course taking several creative liberties.
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Hm…why do I have a feeling if the Salem Witch Trials wins we’ll be the ones burning at the stake 
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We don’t burn people at the stake in America! We’re civilized–to the gallows! More fun that way. 
(Burning “witches” at the stake had long been outlawed by the 1600s, when the Salem Witch Trials began.)
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All the possible choices sound really interesting; as far as I’m concern, no matter which one wins, whatever role the Bearer plays will likely be a interesting one.
Though I did personally choose Hercules myself, mainly because we were told at one point that he would actually be appearing in the story. I don’t know what the Bearer’s possible life would be like in this particular past, but if it ended up being a existence that was connected with Hercules, it’d be interesting see how he reacts to meeting the current Bearer.
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My mind is riveted by the possibilities of who the Bestow-er/ Bearer could have been. With Arthur You could be him or Guinevere, who has a great cog wip on the forum.
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Um, doesn’t all Bearers die by the time they turn 18? And the Essence are basically reincarnations once both Bearers and Bestowers dies? It’d be pretty confusing if we met Hercules if he was the Bearer at one point.
Never mind, I completely misread it. I thought you mentioned Hercules being the Bearer, my bad.
Maybe Guinevere and Lancelot? Or Arthur and Mordred?
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Pretty sure we’d be a person that meets Hercules in some way, not a person who is Hercules himself in regards to that story.
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Yea but isn’t he now a God. May you could find him on Olympus. Otherwise you are right the bearer cant be someone who had a historically or generally accepted long life.
Well at the end of his story, it was mentioned that Hercules became a full god so it’s possible that we’ll meet him at some point. Also it was mentioned a while ago that we might meet Helen as our current reincarnation and she might be one of the ROs.
I can’t help but to think the bromance that could happen between my MC and Hercules, particularly in tests of strength since that’s Aegon’s highest stats and he really loves to fight.
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We could maaaybe be Mordred but not the main three. Since Mordred is Arthur’s son in many tales, it would make Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot (who also has a son, Galahad) at least fourteen years older than Mordred, and Bearers and Bestowers don’t often live past eighteen.
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Well, I just did some cursory research (went to Wikipedia), and, yeah, most of the accused were hanged. The rest who weren’t Giles Corey died in prison. Seeing as the MC doesn’t live past the age of 18, they’ll more than likely have to face the gallows in such a scenario.
There was one man that was executed by having a bunch of rocks laid on him when he was tied to the ground then slowly crushed to death. Pretty morbid I know but that’s the death I remember the most from the Salem Witch Trails that I learned about in 7th Grade US History class.
Just putting this out there:
If I’m remembering things correctly, it was stated that MOST Bearers/Bestowers die by the age of 18 due to their bodies being unable to handle the full power of the Essence.
Which means while it is very common for the two halves of the Essence to die barely hitting the age of adulthood, there may have been some rare cases where they were about to live a bit past the age of 18 due to some odd reasons/circumstances.
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Ohhhh sheeeeet.
So what if…the Bestower/Bearer in this cycle were nearing eighteen, and their powers going haywire as well as their rapidly declining health are what everyone mistook for witchcraft, and that’s what started the hysteria in this universe?
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