The fantasy novel template

Intro :

This template is designed to inspire the young writer in love with fantasy novels, to grasp the essence of the genre. It serves as a general outline, leaving the bulk of the story - i.e. meaningless details- for the writer's creative zeal.

[ Title ]

[ Introduction ]

The first paragraph of the introduction should be unclear, either starting in mid-sentence of a conversation between two unknown people in a throne room,
Or describing a situation in which other unidentified people are being pursued
By a score of villains through an evil forest, eventually being capture or killed. The events would either take place in the distant past, or currently but with characters irrelevant to the story.

[ Chapter 1 ]

The first chapter revolves around our hero :

Our hero is a [ Man/ Boy ] , who is a [ farmer's son/ farmer/ stable boy/ rogue] barely getting by, yet very generous, kind and so cute you can't help but like him.
In the case of the hero being a boy, he has a single [parent/grand parent/ aunt or uncle/ guardian].
Our hero lives in a quaint village like so many other villages.
This chapter describes some good and bad points on the community, such as how tough it is to get through the winter by selling barley, and how tight knit, and happy the community is during their summer festivals.
At the end of this chapter, the hero goes somewhere, only to discover something is wrong.

[ Chapter 2 to the end ]

The writer may segment these events in any way that he pleases, usually jumping between situations in crucial moments to keep us on the edge of our seats :

- something unexpected happens [ attack on the village/ someone gets kidnapped, preferably the hero's sweetheart or family member/ parent or guardian dies, but not before telling him a dangerous secret / parent dies, grandparent takes over revealing the truth/ due to any of the previous events, the hero must flee in the dead of night ]

- Realization kicks in [ everyone's dead/ people he thought he knew are not what they seem / he is royalty, kept hidden for his own safety, and must now seize his birthright/ he might get sick, injured, or in a coma, in which case realization comes after recovery ]

- Despair [ over the dead/ over that nothing will ever be the same again/ over some dame/ in the case of the injury, he might wake up to the face of a stranger, who is wondering how he survived, and then despair comes ]

- Determination and training :
Our hero grits his teeth and gets busy getting in shape,with the guidance of his [ Rescuers / guardian / his sheer force of will ] . He will grow stronger, and of course he is the best [ archer/ swordsman/ tracker/ pickpocket/magician/ dancer/ all of the above ] his [ rescuers/ guardian/ villagers ] had ever seen.

- The journey :
At some point, our hero will go on a journey, which has many taverns, confrontations, and close shaves. The journey is also the time when someone joins our hero in his quest. This person [ saves our hero's life/ gets saved by the hero/ shows up uninvited and makes himself at home ] , and stays.
In the journey, the hero must suffer a life threatening, mutilating injury, that he recovers from, either scarred or completely healed.

Stuffing :
To his amazement, our hero discovers that [ dwarves/ elves/ dragons/ wizards/ others ] do exist, and they are either allies or bitter enemies, and accordingly, he would either join forces with, or fight any combination of these beings.
The hero's enemy, who is a [corrupt royal/ evil wizard/ (n) orc chief/ pirate/ marauding breserker] , decides to launch an expansive attack, and our hero rallies [ elves and dwarves/ dwarves and humans/ humans and elves/ poor helpless serfs] and is somehow able to form an army to oppose the enemy in the biggest war since whatever.

Twists:
At the climax, some sort of twist must take place, either the betrayal of a trusted ally, or the realization that he is on the wrong side of the confrontation.

The Almighty:
Most fantasy novels involve the "Gods", either by saying they have abandoned mankind, or by placing two gods as the ultimate sides of the battles on earth. The hero is of course on the side of the good, old, wise god.
Tossing in a few demi-gods and saints, monks, and angels happens although not very common.

The End:
Is usually ambiguous, with a general sense of victory, some happiness, and grief over squandered lives. There should always be more work ahead, perhaps in preparation for a sequel, and also the ominous promise that evil will return.