One idea I had been thinking about for an original story revolves around something that isn’t really covered in most media: The Bronze Age. Sure there’s all sorts of material covering great ancient empires like the Egyptians, Levant, Sumerians, Shang, and Aegean civilizations to name a few, but little is covered around this period in regards to the daily lives of those who lived in these ancient times. My concept takes some inspiration from this time of early human civilization and merges it with some lite fantasy/mysticism elements in a world very similar to our own but different in some significant ways. A lot of story telling elements from this time period consist of great epics concerning the creation of the known universe, heroes overcoming supernatural obstacles, and tales of the gods. My approach to this time period is to take an entirely different route but somehow retain elements from these epics of early human history.
To be specific, rather than having some very powerful hero, the protagonist will be someone of common birth. An unlikely hero faced with a world that is yet know to most of humanity. A world where some fauna are classified as terrifying monsters, lands where humans are had yet to explore, treasures from civilizations unknown to some of the greatest empires this world has ever seen are unraveled accidentally, and technology on the verge of pushing what is possible with bronze metallurgy. This story I want to tell with this setting will compare in epicness to many of the stories of the Bronze Age, but there will be a touch of humanity to try to bring out the characters to a more relatable level. Our protagonist is not the strongest of his people but his willpower and determination to accomplish his quests will be the driving force behind all of his heroic actions.
He will not be alone in this epic adventure as is the case with most legends of the bronze age. He will be accompanied by a girl who he happened to come across under unexpected circumstances and though they will each have their own reasons behind their quests, they will soon find a strong connection between them that goes beyond the realm of friendship. A romance if you will. A Romance mixed with elements of adventure though unlike my defunct fan fiction, this build up to this sort of advance relationship will develop more slowly and realistically. Both characters will have their share of strengths and weakness that they will have to overcome and use together as they go on this adventure of sorts.
The sort of structure I want to have with this story is to be set up in an episodic manner with every new “chapter” going into a standalone plot with a specific conflict, villains (whom may not have malicious intentions to their own actions), and world building to expand this bronze age inspired world. Each chapter will build upon the events and experiences from our protagonists and all chapters will come together in one final chapter where everything will be concluded. The fact of the matter being that this is a story in a world similar to our own bronze age is that everyday life is not by any sense peaceful or safe. This is a world where pillaging, warfare, banditry, barbarism, and slavery is prevalant and accepted parts of life in this world. At the same time, there is beauty to this world from the magnificent man-made structures to the natural scenery where these civilizations exist in. This story will not shy away from the realities of early civilization problems but it will also shine a light to the nicer aspects of life usually not covered in historical context or storytelling. There will be light hearted and dark moments in this adventure, but the overall tone of this story is to be more on the optimistic side of things.
For the time being, I will have to come up with at title for this story, develop the world from the bottom up, research and intrigue aspects from the real bronze age and spin my own ideas and concepts into them, determine a plot for this story, and design the protagonist in some form or another. I might unironically use Koikatsu of all things to design the characters (lmao I know right) since I am incorporating some anime elements to this story. Plus it allows me to work out some details while giving me some restrictions with the Koikatsu character creator to do some nifty things with clothing and accessories. This whole concept is just of some ideas I’m thinking about alongside some 19th century “steampunk-lite” story, a sci-fi military story, and maybe a return to fanfiction writing. It’s all just ideas right now but perhaps I will have it all figured out when the time is right. I do have a gut feeling this particular idea is the one I should consider more so than the others.