History Main / ReleasingFromThePromise

[[quoteright:226:[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/OrderOfTheStickPromise_8404.JPG]]]]

-->'''Maglor:''' If Manwe and Varda themselves deny the fulfilment of an oath to which we named them in witness, is it not made void?
--> '''Maedhros:''' But how shall our voices reach to Iluvatar beyond the Circles of the World? And by Iluvatar we swore in our madness, and called the Everlasting Darkness upon us, if we kept not our word. Who shall release us?

** This was explicit in the oath, the terms of which were "until death take me, or my lord release me, or the world end."

* In LoisMcMasterBujold's VorkosiganSaga, Miles explains to Elena and her husband that he can't technically free them from their oaths to him, but they can agree to mutually head off on their merry ways.

* In Creator/SeananMcGuire's OctoberDaye novels

* In Creator/SeananMcGuire's OctoberDaye novel ''Rosemary and Rue'', Toby thinks how Sylvester would do this if she asked. So she never will, given changelings reputations as TheOathbreaker.

* In a PGWodehouse ''Mr. Mulliner'' story, after discussion on escaping engagements, Mr. Mulliner recounts how Mulliners, being honorable, insist that only the woman can break it off, and recounts a story about a nephew trying to persuade his beloved to do so after he discovers what he thinks is evidence of insanity in his family.

* In ''Wild Strawberries'', Isak has leant his son Evald a significant sum of money, which he insists that he pay back (even though Isak does not need the money, Evald cannot really afford to pay him back and Evald's wife has attempted to dissuade Isak from asking for the money back), which Evald agrees to do. At the end of the film, after Isak's spiritual journey, he attempts to tell Evald to forget about the loan, only for Evald to cut him off and insist that he'll pay him back.

* In ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}'', when Londo rather abruptly tells Morden and [[BigBad his]] [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu associates]] that he wishes to end their (implied contractual) relationship, Morden rather calmly accepts this, and does some final "settling up with him", demarcating areas of the galaxy where the Centauri were and were not allowed to conquer. Later he seeks [[spoiler: and finds]] a way to reel Londo back in, however.

* In [[KnightAndRogueSeries ''The Last Knight'']], Sir Michael releases Fisk from his obligation to stay with Michael only to have Fisk stay anyway to keep his employer-turned-friend out of trouble.

* In [[KnightAndRogueSeries ''The Last Knight''], Sir Michael releases Fisk from his obligation to stay with Michael only to have Fisk stay anyway to keep his employer-turned-friend out of trouble.

* In ''GirlGenius'', [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090824 Tarvek released Violetta from her obligations to him, his family, and the order so that he could send her into Lady Heterodyne's service.]]

* ''ConanTheDestroyer''. After Conan frees her, Zula asks to ride with him and serve him. At the end of the movie Princess Jehnna asks Zula to be the captain of her guard. Conan releases her from her oath to him (and grants her permission to take the post) with a nod.

* In ''Webcmic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0139.html the team's contracts with Roy specificially stated that it lasted until Xykon was defeated]]. When they believed they had done so, Halley brought this up, but they stuck together anyway. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0294.html When Roy learns Xykon is still alive, he carefully points this out, shreds the contracts before them, and]] [[LineInTheSand says he doesn't want to coerce them]]. They stick together still, having formed a team.

[[quoteright:226:[[OrderOfTheStick http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/OrderOfTheStickPromise_8404.JPG]]]]

* There's an old SonicTheHedgehog fanfic series by Robert Brown and Francis Tolbert (found [[http://proforcefanfictions.com/sonic/rbft/index.html here]]) which has an OC called Dorian Lexford. Snively (one of the villains of the story) saves Dorian's life. Being extremely honourable, Dorian chooses to serve Snively until his debt is repaid. Snively eventually chooses to release Dorian from his debt so that Dorian can be with the woman he loves.

* In JRRTolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Denethor releases Pippin, who refuses it and goes to get Gandalf to stop whatever madness Denethor is up to.
* In LMMontgomery's ''[[AnneOfGreenGables Rainbow Valley]]'', Rosemary and Ellen had promised to stay single together. Rosemary fell in love, and Ellen refused to free her. Later, Ellen fell in love; while she didn't even ask, she told her lover, who asked, and Rosemary nobly agreed to free her and declared she would not tell her love that she was free. Ellen, of course, could not accept her freedom under those conditions. (Fortunately the youngest daughter of Rosemary's love intervened.)
* In LMMontgomery's ''[[EmilyOfNewMoon Emily Climbs]]'', Emily goes to college after promising not to write any fiction when she is there. After two years, a rich relative took up paying the tuition, and the aunt she promised tells Emily that since it was in return for the tuition, she must release Emily from her promise.
* In a PGWodehouse Mr. Mulliner story, after discussion on escaping engagements, Mr. Mulliner recounts how Mulliners, being honorable, insist that only the woman can break it off, and recounts a story about a nephew trying to persuade his beloved to do so after he discovers what he thinks is evidence of insanity in his family.

* The StarWarsExpandedUniverse has a young Han Solo ''attempt'' this with an annoying wookie who won't leave him alone ever since he saved his life. When he attempts to absolve his new companion of any obligation to return the favor, the wookie, by the name of Chewbacca, informs him that [[DefiedTrope he does not have the right]] to release the wookie from his blood debt. [[DoomedByCanon He decides to keep Chewbacca as a traveling companion]] after Chewie saves him from being shot to death in a bar.

* In ''{{Babylon 5}}'', when Londo rather abruptly tells Morden and [[BigBad his]] [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu associates]] that he wishes to end their (implied contractual) relationship, Morden rather calmly accepts this, and does some final "settling up with him", demarcating areas of the galaxy where the Centauri were and were not allowed to conquer. Later he seeks [[spoiler: and finds]] a way to reel Londo back in, however.

* In ''OrderOfTheStick'', [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0139.html the team's contracts with Roy specificially stated that it lasted until Xykon was defeated]]. When they believed they had done so, Halley brought this up, but they stuck together anyway. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0294.html When Roy learns Xykon is still alive, he carefully points this out, shreds the contracts before them, and]] [[LineInTheSand says he doesn't want to coerce them]]. They stick together still, having formed a team.

* In ''OrderOfTheStick'', [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0139.html the team's contracts with Roy specificially stated that it lasted until Xykon was defeated]]. When they believed they had done so, Halley brought this up, but they stuck together anyway. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0294.html When Roy learns Xykon is still alive, he carefully points this out, shreds the contracts before them, and says he doesn't want to coerce them.]] They stick together still, having formed a team.