New Fiction Idea #12

Inspired by a painting, curiously enough.

Title: Family of Ibro (could be changed)

Genre: Fantasy

Protagonist: Gavin Ibro, a 16-year-old with the family's typical short, dark hair and green eyes. He can be quite impulsive but is very compassionate. He's very easily upset and not afraid to cry. He has a good build, though he wouldn't dare hit anyone.

Other Main Characters: Shara, Gavin's mother. She's sweet but strong and devoted entirely to the family's cause. She's rather gaunt and naturally has an accumulation of scars.
Angus, Gavin's 18-year-old brother. Though they have many siblings, Angus is the closest to Gavin and has the best sense of humour.

Antagonist: Clark Seeley, a military leader who seeks revenge against a political faction, and those who work for him.

Setting: Typical medieval fantasy. Magic-users are a fairly large minority, and each brand of magic is limited to one family, with foreign blood somewhat diluting the power. The Ibros (and they're always Ibros—if a man marries into the family, he must change his surname) have the ability to take upon themselves the sufferings, physical and emotional, of others, including madness and death. This ability is relatively automatic when sufferers are close, though for others farther away, each Ibro can establish a connection to one or many people and erase their suffering even after they have moved away. Over the generations, the Ibros have built familial philosophies and systems dedicating themselves to this work.

Plot: Clark wishes death on those who stunted his rise to power, but he cannot do any harm to them while the Ibros are in town. He drives most of the family away, but Gavin and most of his household, along with a few very dedicated cousins, remain. They try to set up connections with Clark's political rivals while avoiding detection, for at this point Clark has vowed to kill any lingering Ibros.

Point of View: Undecided. Likely one centred on Gavin, though.

I feel like this could turn out to be quite interesting. I certainly don't have time to write it at the moment, but I may try writing some random scenes and seeing how I like it (and posting them here, of course).