A Narrative is the force that drives Myths into action. It is a story that has taken on a life of its own, pulling those with the narrative spark into its arc and compelling them towards its conclusion.
When a Myth is drawn up into a Narrative they are driven and focused, looking to achieve their goal and complete the story. This is especially true for each Myth’s first Narrative, but like any story that goes on long enough, eventually things get more complicated.
Narratives are not created by Myths. They arise from the stories humanity tells, taking shape in Otherside as reflections of those stories and seeking out suitable participants to bring them to life. A Narrative will pull Myths into it through circumstance, coincidence, and narrative pressure, placing them where the story needs them to be.
Structure of a Narrative
Every Narrative has a shape. A beginning that draws participants in, complications that test them, and a conclusion that resolves the story in some fashion. How that conclusion looks will vary enormously, but the Narrative will always be pushing towards it. Myths that resist the pull of a Narrative will find circumstances conspiring against them until they are drawn back into the story’s current.
Narratives also bestow rewards on those who see them through. Like a sip from a cup, participants take something of the Narrative’s power with them when the story concludes. This power feeds both the Myth and their legend, helping them grow.
Types of Narrative
Narratives come in many forms, each with its own shape and demands.
- Odyssey. A journey, with the destination as much a transformation as a place.
- Conspiracy. Something is hidden. The truth must be uncovered before it is too late.
- Adventure. Straightforward in its ambitions, if rarely simple in its execution.
- Tale. Smaller in scale, more personal in stakes.
- Drama. The conflict is between people, not forces.
- Opus. The grandest of Narratives, spanning great stretches of time and consequence.
Protecting the Narrative
Narratives are resilient but not invulnerable. Repeated interference, careless use of edits, or deliberate draining of a Narrative’s spark can corrupt it, creating what is known as an Incoherent Narrative. The Alexandrians are the most common cause of this kind of damage, though they are not the only ones.
The Courts take the protection of Narratives seriously, each in their own way. The Dayiani believe a Narrative should be allowed to tell its story as intended. The Sharak treat it more like a colouring book, following the broad shape while playing with the details. The Aramaru tend it like a garden. The Obo-Igi observe and record, stepping in only at the most narratively significant moment. The Carthaeni use Narratives as a tool, entering them with a specific purpose rather than out of any reverence for the story itself.
