Collective+plot+outline


 * __ Plot Outlines for the Inca stories: __**

Jack Howard— "My character, a farmer named Inti who has two daughters (Cuca and Cava) and a son (Apo), kills another man (Chopec) and steals his wife, leaving his young children (Yutu and Titu) orphans. Later, my farm becomes very unprofitable, with animals becoming sick and corn growing badly. My son Apo and daughter Cava are chosen by a priest (Ayar) to be sacrificed to remove the curse from the town. When they are about to be killed, I confess to the murder I committed, but the sacrifice continues. Afterwards, I am taken to a high cliff and thrown off, leaving my one daughter (Cuca) an orphan.”

Nick Marin— “Apec, the chief of Chinchero, a village near Cuzco, is concerned because there is a growing feeling that there is a curse on the village. Apec’s wife (Sura) fell off a path this most recent winter and injured her leg, so she walks with a limp. Apec has consulted the village priest (Ayar). Furthermore, Apec wishes his daughter Mani to marry, since she is 13 years old already, but she is not interested in men yet and acts too much like a child. One day, a mysterious stranger named Zambo comes to the village, explaining that his old village was destroyed in a fire and an earthquake. It is immediately obvious that two local girls who are friends have fallen in love with Zambo, and this love triangle is upsetting the community. Apec invites Zambo to his “palace” (a large dwelling similar to the others in the village) and has tea with him, explaining that he cannot stay in the village because he has not proven himself, and strangers cannot be trusted. However, Apec suggests that Zambo take a job herding Alpacas up on the mountain above the town. He can stay in Apec’s hut on the mountain and he will be able to earn a living. Apec’s daughter Mani has seen Zambo and is fascinated by his long, lighter, hair and dark eyes. One day, Zambo escapes from the village and goes exploring up the mountain, where she falls down a ravine but is rescued by Zambo and two friendly Alpacas. Zambo brings Mani home to her father, who invites him to stay in the village and work as his assistant. Although two local girls wish to marry Zambo, he chooses Mani and they are married.”

Kiley Tevlin— “

Bolin Wang— “Yutu, a beautiful orphan girl, has lived without the love of a mother and father, who died when she was very young. She has only her brother, who is often angry and solitary, and one friend, another girl named Cuca. One day, Yutu and Cuca separately observe a tall handsome stranger (Zambo) walking up the road to the village. At once, they each fall in love with the stranger and this causes trouble in their friendship. Just when it seems their friendship will be ruined forever, Cuca discovers that her younger brother and sister are to be sacrificed to the gods to lift a curse from the village. Feeling sympathy, Yutu is kind to Cuca and helps her prepare for the awful day. Suddenly they both discover that Zambo is to be married to Mani, the daughter of the chief. The very same day, Yutu discovers that Cuca’s father Inti was the very man that murdered Yutu’s father and stole her mother—in fact, that Cuca is her half-sister! Apec, the chief of the village, has Inti punished by throwing him off a “punishment cliff”. Yutu and her brother invite Cuca to live with them from now on, accepting them as their sister. Yutu decides that the gods have given her a more better even than best friend for life, in compensation for the loss of her mother.”

Alex Bridle— “Zambo, a stranger—a tall, dark-eyed man with long, unusually light hair—walks into town and is immediately spied by two girls, Cuca and Yutu, each of whom fall in love with him. The chief of the village sees how this can cause disharmony and he does not trust Zambo, so after inviting him to tea, he banishes Zambo to a high field in the mountains above the village where he will earn a living herding Alpacas. Zambo, however, does not complain, and quickly grows to like the solitary life in the mountains. One day, however, the chief’s daughter steals away from the palace. She has seen Zambo several times, and fallen in love. Trying to find her way up to his farm in the early spring, she falls into a ravine and is injured. Two of Zambo’s alpacas find her, and because Zambo must find each alpaca each night, and two of them are missing, Zambo finds the girl and rescues her, bringing her back to the Chief’s house. The Chief shows his gratitude by giving Zambo a new job in the town and after an interruption involving a sacrifice and the punishment of a murder, Zambo and Mani are married.”

Yiyu Shi— “Apo, a small boy, son of the farmer Inti, is excited for the spring. He enjoyed playing next to the fire and spending lots of time with his sisters during the long winter, but every day the snow melts a bit more and he is excited to go hunting guinea pigs and riding Llamas again. This year, he is bigger, so he will be able to help out more on the farm. One day, a priest comes to the house and speaks with his father for a long time. Afterwards, his father is angry and drinks too much. The next morning, Inti (the father) calls for Cava and Apo to come and sit down with him. He explains that there will be a very important holiday and Cava and Apo will be given new clothes and the best food. He tells them to learn a new song to sing during the festival. The priest Ayar comes by the house to help them practice the song of prayer. The next day, early in the morning, Inti and Cuca help Apo and Cava prepare for the ceremony. The chief of the village and the head priest come to the house and all of them walk up to the ceremony place high above the village. They eat, sing, and pray. Finally, the time comes when the priest takes Apo and Cava to the stone stage and the village sings to them and they sing back to the village. When the sun is at its highest, the priest raises his large stick above his head and brings it down hard on Cava’s head, breaking her young skull. A second blow slays little Apo, and the bodies are thrown off the cliff into a deep lake. The whole village stays in prayer until the sun has set and the stars come out.

Ryan Conery— “A story of an ambitious young priest named Ayar. The sun god speaks to Ayar and tells him how to rid the village of the curse that has been hurting the people, plants, and animals. He speaks of the gods’ message to Apec, the chief, and the chief decides that they must obey the gods. It is Ayar’s job to make sure that the sacrifice is done perfectly, with every detail as the gods wish. Ayar is sure that this will please the gods, but it will also be very impressive, and priests from all the local villages and even from Cuzco will hear how Ayar defeated the terrible curse and how the gods spoke to him. Maybe Ayar will some day be asked by the high Inca to be a priest in Cuzco! Ayar speaks with the Inti, the father of the two children who will be sacrificed. Ayar thinks that it is bad that Inti’s name is the same as the Sun God, but perhaps there is a reason for this coincidence. The next day, Ayar makes sure that the children are ready, and on the following morning, he and Apec bring Inti’s family to the place on the mountain where the ceremony is held. During the ceremony, just before the sacrifice, the father of the children admits, in a high wailing voice, that the curse is his fault, not the children’s. He admits to committing a terrible murder and asks that the children be spared. The gods cannot be refused, however, and the father is tied up with string and the ceremony is completed. The next day, Inti is cast from a different cliff, the cliff of punishment, and the shame and guilt is removed from his family forever. Inti’s remaining daughter leaves the farm and moves in with Yutu and Titu, her newfound brother and sister.

Mr. Harvey— “Titu, the orphan brother of Yutu, feels angry at the world, but powerless to change it. He tries to find peace despite his hard life. Finally, he discovers who is to blame for his bad luck, but he forgives him and learns to accept the life that is given to him”

Minye Chen— “The story of Cuca, a 14-year old girl who lives on a farm with her father Inti and her younger sister Cava and brother Apo. Her mother died when her brother was born, and her father uses her for household chores and child care. She is best friends with Yutu, an orphan girl two years older; she does not like her father, so she always visits Yutu in town, in the market or in Yutu small living space. One day, a handsome stranger walks into town, and Cuca is one of the first people to see him. He is unusually tall, with strangely light hair and dark eyes. At the same time as she watches him on the path into the village, she feels that someone else sees them, and she turns and sees that her friend Yutu is also watching the man—and she has just seen Cuca watching him also. From this first glance, it is clear to Cuca that both of them are in love with the same man, and this has suddenly broken their friendship. The man is banished to an Alpaca farm high above the village on a mountain, and the girls almost never see him. Then, one day, the man returns with Mani, the chief’s daughter. Suddenly, however, the priest announces a village religious ceremony and Cuca discovers that her brother and sister will be sacrificed to lift the curse that is on the village. Yutu comes to her and tries to make her feel better, because Cuca is sad to lose her siblings. Cuca is forced to help Apo and Cava dress, put on special makeup, and learn songs and prayers for the ceremony. The next day, the priest and chief come and bring the family to the high cliff where the ceremony is held. At the ceremony, just when the priest Ayar is about to kill the chilren, Cuca's father cries out that he is the guilty one, not the children, and he should be punished for bringing the curse to the village. Cuca discovers that a long time ago, her father Inti murdered Yutu and Titu’s father and stole their mother. Inti is tied and left in the grass near the village. The next day after the ceremony, Cuca’s father is thrown from a punishment cliff and Yutu and Titu embrace Cuca and invite their newly discovered sister to live with them.”

Chih-Lo Su— ““Cava, a girl, son of the farmer Inti, loves her older sister almost as her mother. She doesn’t remember her mother, who died during the birth of her younger brother. Her father is an angry farmer who seldom says anything, and sometimes hits her for not obeying quickly enough. One day, the local priest comes to visit and has a long talk with Inti. Afterwards, her father is angry and drinks too much. The next morning, Inti (the father) calls for Cava and Apo (her brother) to come and sit down with him. He explains that there will be a very important holiday and Cava and Apo will be given new clothes and the best food. He tells them to learn a new song to sing during the festival. The priest Ayar comes by the house to help them practice the song of prayer. The next day, early in the morning, Inti and Cuca help Apo and Cava prepare for the ceremony. The chief of the village and the head priest come to the house and all of them walk up to the ceremony place high above the village. They eat, sing, and pray. Finally, the time comes when the priest takes Apo and Cava to the stone stage and the village sings to them and they sing back to the village. When the sun is at its highest, the priest raises his large stick above his head and brings it down hard on Cava’s head, breaking her young skull. There is blood and pain, and the whole village thinks that Cava has been killed. However, Cava still lives. Her whole body feels sleepy, and she cannot move at all. The priest picks up her body and throws her off the cliff into a deep, cold lake that has big chunks of ice floating in the water. Cava feels the cold water all around her and on her face, and then she sees the night come rushing towards her and she feels as though she is in a deep sleep. While she sleeps, she feels the cold all around her and she dreams that she rises high into the sky, so high that she can look down on the village and see the people singing and the sun setting and the yellow stars coming out one at a time. Then, the dream fades away.”