Okay. So I had a really weird mental crossover that kinda turned into a storyish thing?

So, enter our MC. I'm not sure if it's a guy or girl yet, but we'll call it a him for now. He is quite suddenly discovered to be the heir to a throne, disrupting his happy little life as a pauper wizard person. The problem is, he doesn't want to be a prince. He was perfectly happy as a carefree young wizard. So, he wants to go back to the way things were. Being a prince is very hard work, you know. However, there are people (advisors, foreign entities, etc.) who are trying to take the throne away from him. Since he thinks they're much shadier than he is (all wizards are a bit shady, no?), he determines that until a better replacement can be found, he is going to stay in charge of this kingdom. That isn't easy, though, since his enemies have some supernatural help. To counter this, he tries to summon a [genie--for lack of a better term; I don't want to call it a demon because it isn't really, but it's not an angel... wah] of his own, using the magic he learned as a wizard, hoping this genie will help him achieve his goal of finding a better heir to the throne. The prince/wizard expects it to be either good or evil--I'm thinking he wanted to try to summon a darker critter because these other people are ruthless in trying to assassinate/ursurp him--but it didn't work. He gets instead a "novice" genie, which still hasn't taken a side--the genie is shaped by the desires of its first master into either a force of good or evil. It's sort of trying to "earn its wings", like Clarence in It's a Wonderful Life. The prince/wizard agrees to help this genie help him, so the genie protects him and helps him look for a suitable heir, and the genie gets to "earn its wings".

That's all I got. XD help me. XD XD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grVzHu-_LcU Is that helpful?

I think the premise is great. As far as developing the story, my first question is--what does the MC ultimately learn? What's his character arc?

YES THAT IS BEAUTIFULLY HELPFUL XD XD XD XD XD

no but seriously I can't call it a genie, angel, or demon help me

.....*blinks* what was the question, again?

*pokes MC* >_> I'm thinking it's sort of learning that it's okay to let go of the past and accept when a new chapter opens in your life....I think it ends with the genie deciding that the prince/wizard is fittest to rule after all, after everything that has furthered his character in the story.

That song was the first thing that popped into my mind.

Is summing "helpers" a common thing in this world? Or is this a really obscure thing that your MC does? They might have a completely original name, if they're common in this universe. You might also poke theology and other fantasy works and see if you can find something similar to use as inspiration.

What does the genie learn?

Are you planning on emphasizing the fact that he doesn't want to be prince or does he accept that fairly quickly? Because if he doesn't, would it be fair to say that part of his character arc would be his realizing that he can help the kingdom at the price of his own time/energy/etc.?

And why did he not know he was royalty?

I lahv the idea of a novice genie. XD XD How even.

Mine too, when I typed genie XD

They seem to be common ish, I think. I shall do that.

The genie.... I don't know yet. He's still not fleshed out in my head.


Yes, I am. He does nawwwt want to be in that palace. And yes, that's part of his arc.

Well, as it turns out, he's only half royal. The king had a pretty housemaid... anyway, he was the only son born, and his mother made a case for it, and now there he is. XD

Yaaay

Get back to me when he is more fleshed out in your head. I shall be waiting. <zen kung-fu master face>

Could it be a fairy godmother? Leprechaun? Pooka? There's lots of creatures that grant wishes if you dive into cultural mythology. I like the idea of inventing your own "helper."