Help needed with story

[Babar]

I made up a story for this game I am planning. As of yet it is all on paper. It is a fantasy type story set in a completely different world.
The world is being invaded by outsiders. A wiseman/wizard guy who is wanting to save his world does some incantation/spell/spiritual call for help and is answered by the spirit of the World's first ruler who tells him that his (the ruler's) blood children must join forces and go to the beginning of the world, where the answers to their problems will be revealed. The ruler was said to have 4 children who went their seperate ways and created 4 seperate clans/tribes that occupy the world. The wiseman/wizard sends out a dream, hoping that the direct descendants of the 4 children answer, as their identities had been lost after all that time. The dream reaches 4 youths, unknown to each other, who make their journey to the wiseman/wizard.
I am satisfied with this as the basic story, but I would not mind some helpful C&C, as it is still all on paper. My problem is that the way I designed the game, most of it will be the JOURNEY of those 4 youths (who will be the player characters), which does not have any direct connection with the actual story. Can I get some help with how to connect it to the story, or add stuff so that it becomes relevant? Thanks in advance..

[nope!]

why don't you use some flashback/cutscenes or "altenative payable rooms" -like in the Max Payne's nightmare?

Dreams inside the dream, visions of future or messages (papers, messengers) from the wizard will show to each character a little part of the story (not necessary in the order)...using a different graphics style to show the discontinuity with the actual journey.

[Andail_unplugged]

Basically you say that all you've come up with so far concerns just the "intro" or the premises of the story.
These sound pretty functional - albeit pretty exploited in the console RPG-world -  to me, and I have no problems seeing how they would fit in a fantasy game.

The game itself will have little to with those premises, apart from being based on them, naturally.

I don't see the problem here. All you have to do is continue to come up with material for the actual plot; incidents, scenarios, npc:s, puzzles etc that fit in the mood that was set up by the intro.

Here's some question that could help you elaborate your story.

1. Will the player alternate playing the different characters, or choose one in the beginning and stick with him/her?
2. Will the characters interact with eachother, and possibly also need eachother's help?
3. Where and how will the game end? Is it enough to reach the wise man, or will the game continue after the journey to the beginning of time? (or whatever it was, sorry if I was confused here)
4. Will there be action elements, or just puzzles? Will the game be "lethal" or not?
5. What will motivate the player/main character to go on? Will there be personal reasons, or just the epic mission sort of story?
etc.
Good luck.

[Babar]

Thanks for all the ideas. I have sort of made up a complete basic story, I just did not want to post the whole thing . The player will play as each character, one after another until they all reach the wizard. After that he will tell them to go to the beginning of the world, where the player will then control all the characters together, on their journey there (see another journey that adds nothing to the plot, but is most of the game). The end of the story will be when they reach there, and do whatever they are supposed to (I have already got an idea for that, but I dont want to divulge that either).
I have very much borrowed from the RPG genre, as you guessed  , and I realise that the game might be more suitable as an RPG, but I am making an adventure. It is a rather epic mission type of story. It will also be leathal (as in it will be very possible to die in it).
I have placed a lot more emphasis on the characters. The four descendant children will each be from a seperate clan, and have different styles of speech, skills, physical features, and will solve the puzzles in their own special way. The second part (when the journey to the beginning of the world will see them coorporating with each other to pass all the different puzzles.
*EDIT* I just read my post and realised how much it sounds like LOTR.....4 youths from 4 seperate clans out to save the world... Really! It just came to me now! I was not borrowing anything from it! Not that it matters even if I did, but I did not!

[Penguinx]

What if the characters are recognized along the way as being the 4 decendents heralded in their ancient religion/culture? People could react accordingly spewing bits of info as they go. Other people could oppose them and their heritage and be out to stop them from completing the journey (possibly a secret society responsible for the 'end of the world.'). Kinda cliche, but it could work.

Also, what's to say that one or more of the characters wouldn't be opposed to this 'journey on a whim'. What if one of the quests was played as a character sent by the wizard to convince the straggler to come along? The character sent by the wizard would be informed of the plot and could pass it on, furthering the story.

[babloy_unplugged]

thats a good idea. I didn't think of including a group that would actually oppose them. Some guy could here the wiseman while he was sleeping, and then conveyed the mesage to others in his group. I don't want to make it so that all the youths are known as the one in the prophecy, but I can include one of them who knows of his heritage, and he can be the one who is reluctant to go, being spoilt and soft.

[Das Plans]

Hey, great idea.

Even if the storyline might be a little exploited, I´m still under the impression, people like clicheés... well, at least I do.  

I really don´t have anything crucial to add. The only thing is, that I would love to "see" a "scene" in which one of the ruler´s children visits a place, you have visited before, playing one of his brothers.
Talking about clicheés: The offspring, you´re playing right now always doubted if the dream he had was a real message from his father, or maybe a trap, or maybe just pure nonsense. At some point of his journey he gets to place, where one of his brothers left something behind - intentionally or not. He looks at this item and is kind of relieved. "My god, Whatshisname was here. So the dream WAS real."

Well, that´s some improvement... I just like the idea of visiting certain places again to bring the four different plots together towards the moment the four actually meet. That´s all.

[Ryukage]

Even if the storyline might be a little exploited, I´m still under the impression, people like clicheés... well, at least I do.  

Cool cliches are good, stupid cliches are not.

I agree with the suggestion of having the four characters cross paths a few times before reaching the wise man, either by directly meeting and then going their separate ways, or by passing through the same location at different times.

Having four people from totally different cultures go to a distant land and have to work together for a common goal also provides great potential for characterization and interpersonal dynamics, do try to do it justice.

Having some other force actively trying to inhibit the quest will definitely make things more interesting.  And if that force is some kind of secret society, it provides potential for many surprising plot twists along the way: betrayals, people not being who they appear to be, etc.

With regards to tying things together, maybe the four characters should already have gotten some inkling of the problem before they reach the wise man, so that they already know they have a job to do and aren't just going on this quest because some crazy old nut told them to.  In fact, instead of (or in addition to) being called by the wise man in a dream, maybe they could set out for unrelated reasons of their own that end up leading them to the bigger problem.