History Main / ThePromise

* In LIterature/BetweenTheRivers'' by Creator/HarryTurtledove, the protagonist in a grandstanding moment vows that he won't marry his sweetheart until the completion of the trading expedition he's about to embark on. It seems like a safe thing to do since it's a routine expedition and he wasn't planning to marry her until after he got back anyway. But then the nation they were going to trade with unexpectedly puts a trading embargo on the protagonist's city. And the god he swore by is real, interventionist, and quite willing to make the vow stick.

* In ''Between the Rivers'' by Creator/HarryTurtledove, the protagonist in a grandstanding moment vows that he won't marry his sweetheart until the completion of the trading expedition he's about to embark on. It seems like a safe thing to do since it's a routine expedition and he wasn't planning to marry her until after he got back anyway. But then the nation they were going to trade with unexpectedly puts a trading embargo on the protagonist's city. And the god he swore by is real, interventionist, and quite willing to make the vow stick.

* During the early stages of ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'', [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr.]] extracts a promise from [[PhantomThief Saint Tail]] that 1) she'll always send a CallingCard to let him know when she goes on a heist and 2) [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou she won't let anyone catch her before he does]]. At this point, they're only on WorthyOpponent terms with [[FoeRomanceSubtext some subtext]], but she ends up keeping the promise so diligently that he can even tell that [[FrameUp she's being framed]] if she doesn't send him a calling card. [[spoiler:At the end of the series, after Saint Tail is revealed to have been his own girlfriend Meimi, [[TheDragon Maju]] attempts to mock one of Saint Tail's cards by calling it a "[[LoveLetterLunacy love letter]]", getting him to realize that ''all of them were like that''; while he'd been spending the last half of the series trying to figure out what Meimi thought of him, she'd been sticking to that promise as a way of conveying that she wanted him to be happy and only trusted him to be the one to catch (at this point redefined to mean "[[DeclarationOfProtection protect]]" her. He makes do on his side of the bargain by [[ExactWords literally catching her]] in midair, and during the DistantFinale, Seira refers to their "[[HappilyMarried eternal promise]]" as originating from it, making the entire thing into an allegory for their ability to communicate with and trust each other.]]

** Then Car'das neglects the promise for ''fifty years'', until Literature/SurvivorsQuest.

--> '''Soma:''' ... I've got a favour to ask of you.
--> '''[[spoiler:Julius:]]''' What is it?
--> '''Soma:''' From here. I will set off to fight against my own fate. If I lose the battle... And I become reincarnation of evil, I want you to kill me.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', as Cortana is dying from rampancy, Chief reminds her of his promise to keep her safe. Cortana simply asks Chief what will happen to ''him'' if he can't keep his promise. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Cortana ends up sacrificing herself to save Chief, which absolutely devastates him; he's still reeling from her death even when we see him again in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''.]]

* In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Fëanor and his sons swore a terrible oath to recover the Silmarils at any cost. These Silmarils were three hallowed jewels which Fëanor made, and which [[BigBad Morgoth]] stole. Centuries later the oath destroyed them thoroughly, and resulted in them slaughtering many innocents. Even after the last two surviving sons [[TragicVillain thoroughly hated the oath and wished to stop killing people]] over the jewels, they felt (or thought they were) somehow compelled to continue.
** In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Aragorn can summon the Dead to fulfill the oath of assistance that they did not respect centuries before.
** In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' this is the reason Sam remains with Frodo even with the rest of the Fellowship is scattered. He made a promise to Gandalf that he would not leave Frodo, and Sam is a hobbit of his word. He chases after Frodo's boat even though he can't swim, and nearly drowns rather than break the promise. Frodo helps Sam aboard and they continue to Mordor together.

* In Creator/DanAbnett's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} novel ''Literature/BrothersOfTheSnake'', Priad pledges to the farmers that he will protect them. [[spoiler:Since it is from a cult, and they turn out to be the {{Cult}}, he ends up "revoking the pledge" and slaughtering them.]]
* In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/{{Ultramarines}} novel ''The Killing Ground'', Uriel promises the Unfleshed that he will not let anyone hurt them. [[spoiler:In the end, he can only MercyKill the last survivor.]]
* In Creator/JamesSwallow's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} ''[[Literature/BloodAngels Deus Encarmine]]'', Rafen complains of the [[RedemptionEqualsDeath killings]] because they have promised [[WouldNotShootACivilian to protect such people]]. At the end, he is forced to swear allegiance to Arkio as the reincarnation of Sanguinius -- which is the point at which he realizes the extent of Arkio's transformation and that one of them would die.

* ''Fanfic/OneDayAtATimeFanfic'': In the previous timeline, Jon Kent and Damian Wayne made a promise when they were children to succeed their fathers as Superman and Batman together. Alas, it remained unfulfilled due to Damian dying before he could take up the mantle. Jon, in the midst of his grief, succeeded him as Nightwing instead, and his devotion to his best friend was so strong that he refused to become the second Superman after the death of his father years later, deferring the mantle to Conner Kent instead. After Conner died eight years later, Jon finally conceded to becoming Superman due to there being no other suitable successor at the time.

* [[spoiler: Fitoria]] from ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' makes '''very damn certain''' of this, [[spoiler: [[WellIntentionedExtremist regardless of the measures needed to ensure it happens, especially if it involves killing all four of the Cardinal Heroes in order to summon another "Chosen Few" that will work better if need be]] (three of which are already [[FailureHero beyond pathetic]] when it comes to "working together, not making complete asses of themselves and being unbelievably appalling in letting others manipulate them with sheer ease") All of this she made to a Hero from ages long past, someone she doesn't even specifically recall, the only thing she remembers is how memorable/nice he was to her, among other things that she still keeps her promise '''firmly''' to come the time of the current Cardinal Heroes comprised of Ren, Itsuki, Motoyasu, but most important of all... Naofumi.]] [[spoiler: The promise was to ensure all four Cardinal Heroes work together to defeat the Waves, no matter the situation,]] [[spoiler: but even then she recalls a horrific event that she says will occur which will force the Cardinal Heroes to decide which they fight for: The World, or its People, the latter being a '''very''' thorny path... ]]

* During the early stages of ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'', [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr.]] extracts a promise from [[PhantomThief Saint Tail]] that 1) she'll always send a CallingCard to let him know when she goes on a heist and 2) [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou she won't let anyone catch her before he does]]. At this point, they're only on WorthyOpponent terms with [[FoeRomanceSubtext some subtext]], but she ends up keeping the promise so diligently that he can even tell that [[FrameUp she's being framed]] if she doesn't send him a calling card. [[spoiler:At the end of the series, after Saint Tail is revealed to have been his own girlfriend Meimi, [[TheDragon Maju]] attempts to mock one of Saint Tail's cards by calling it a "[[LoveLetterLunacy love letter]]", getting him to realize that ''all of them were like that''; while he'd been spending the last half of the series trying to figure out what Meimi thought of him, she'd been sticking to that promise as a way of conveying that she wanted to see him and only trusted him to be the one to catch her. He makes do on his side of the bargain by [[ExactWords literally catching her]] in midair, and during the DistantFinale, Seira refers to their "[[HappilyMarried eternal promise]]" as originating from it, making the entire thing into an allegory for their ability to communicate and trust each other.]]

** In the previous season, Takeru promises to Sora that he'd protect Hikari. A promise which he still takes rather seriously in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'', as he is seen putting himself protectively in front of Hikari (episode 3), seemed angry at himself for accidentally leaving her stranded in the Digital World (Episode 7), and doggedly searched for her when she was taken by the Dark Ocean (Episode 13).

A dramatically-made promise that serves as {{foreshadowing}}. The promise [[ChekhovsGun will eventually]] [[LawOfConservationOfDetail be called in]] and action will be [[BeCarefulWhatYouSay required.]]

A dramatically-made promise that serves as {{foreshadowing}}. The promise will eventually be called in and action will be [[BeCarefulWhatYouSay required.]]

* During the early stages of ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'', [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr.]] extracts a promise from [[PhantomThief Saint Tail]] that 1) she'll always send a CallingCard to let him know when she goes on a heist and 2) [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou she won't let anyone catch her before he does]]. At this point, they're only on WorthyOpponent terms with [[FoeRomanceSubtext some subtext]], but she ends up keeping the promise so diligently that he can even tell when [[FrameUp she's being framed]] when she doesn't send him a calling card. [[spoiler:At the end of the series, after Saint Tail is revealed to have been his own girlfriend Meimi, [[TheDragon Maju]] attempts to mock one of Saint Tail's cards by calling it a "[[LoveLetterLunacy love letter]]", getting him to realize that ''all of them were like that''; while he'd been spending the last half of the series trying to figure out what Meimi thought of him, she'd been sticking to that promise as a way of conveying that she wanted to see him and only trusted him to be the one to catch her. He makes do on his side of the bargain by [[ExactWords literally catching her]] in midair, and during the DistantFinale, Seira refers to their "[[HappilyMarried eternal promise]]" as originating from it, making the entire thing into an allegory for their ability to communicate and trust each other.]]

Subtropes include:
[[index]]
* ChildhoodMarriagePromise
* DeclarationOfProtection
* EmptyPromise
* FrequentlyBrokenUnbreakableVow
* HeroicVow
* IfWeSurviveThis
* PinkySwear
* ReunionVow
[[/index]]

* In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow]]'', Soma Cruz asks [[spoiler:Julius Belmont]] to promise to kill him if he turns evil. Thankfully, the person making the promise is reliable and more than strong enough to fulfil said promise if it comes to that. [[spoiler:In Aria's bad ending, Julius turns up in the throne room to kill Soma, and in Julius Mode in ''Dawn'', Julius gets Yoko and Alucard's help to take down Soma.]]

* ''Fanfic/OneDayAtATimeFanfic'': In the previous timeline, Jon Kent and Damian Wayne made a promise when they were children to succeed their fathers as Superman and Batman together. Alas, it remained unfulfilled due to Damian dying before he could take up the mantle. Jon, in the midst of his grief, succeeded him as Nightwing instead, and his devotion to his best friend was so strong that he refused to become the second Superman after the death of his father years later, deferring the mantle to Conner Kent instead. After Conner died six years later, Jon finally conceded to becoming Superman due to there being no other suitable successor at the time.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel III'' -- [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Lloyd Bannings]] told Juna Crawford that "Crossbell has many trials awaiting it. But we WILL overcome them. Juna, I want you to fight and struggle to overcome your own trials as well. And if anything happens, I'll come running -- I promise." Later, if you do one of her bonding events, Rean tells her "If you run into any problems, just let me know. I'll come running -- I promise." This ticks her off that he's reminding her of Lloyd, because she isn't quite ready to accept him yet.

* HoldOnToMyHat

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. In Season 2, the BigBad is revealed to be [[Characters/BatmanDeathstroke Slade Wilson]], who is enacting a promise he made five years ago to avenge Shado's death that he unjustly blames Oliver Queen for. The episode where he reveals that he's [[NotQuiteDead still alive]] and has been [[TheManBehindTheMan manipulating events from behind the scenes]] is even called "The Promise".

* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=287 Coyote promises Antimony she will not be harmed to lure her]] to the [[LostWoods forest]]. Antimony points out that he's TheTrickster and he finds it hilarous.