: A villain that doesn't even know the hero's existence? In the story I'm writing, the villain is a tyrant who is taking over control of the world (a very small one, with only two continents)

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Remember that just because the villain doesn't know the hero --very likely in this scenario --it doesn't mean that the hero doesn't have a personal connection to the villain. Not only is this often found in fiction, it's not necessarily rare in real life: People tend to get fired up about a larger injustice when it becomes personal.

You can make this more or less direct, based on your preference. For example:

The villain makes a new law, and the hero's mother ends up losing her job and starving to death.
The villain's entourage comes to town, and one of the soldier's horses tramples the hero's mother to death.
The villain stops at the hero's mother's coffee stand, refuses to pay for his drink, and then torches it to the ground, with her inside.

The villain probably doesn't care about or remember even the most personal of these incidents, but it's the biggest tragedy in the hero's life. Compare the climatic fight scene in The Princess Bride between Inigo Montoya and the six-fingered Count. For Inigo, the death of his father reshaped his entire life. For the Count, it was just another Tuesday (warning: TV Tropes).

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By all means. Your story can definitely start with the villain not knowing about the hero.

However, I think it's important that the hero's opposition to the villain doesn't go unnoticed. After all, what kind of hero is that? Probably one that needs to up the ante several steps.

I think at the latest the villain should become aware of the hero is at the midpoint of the story, where the hero usually goes from reactive to active mode. In essence, the hero starts to doling out serious harm to the villain which will force the climax and the final confrontation.

For an example of a story where the villain doesn't know about the hero from the start see Braveheart. Edward Longshanks doesn't know about William Wallace from the start, but he surely becomes aware of him as the story progresses.

If the villain doesn't know about the hero, I believe the conflict risks getting a bit impersonal. On the other hand, there are stories where the villain isn't a person (it could be a storm, a shark, Mount Everest) so if you want the villain to be a natural force you could go that way, however, it seems that would make the protagonist seem a bit small... I think. (Check how stories like Jaws deals with this... how about Moby Dick?)

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The idea that The Villain knows the Hero that is coming for him does make for a much more dramatic entrance. One might as the author go so far as to put the Villain as a possible winner too...keep your reader on edge.

Some readers might actually prefer the Villain to win even.

The Biblical Tale of the little kid with a stone taking down the Cyclops is timeless though.

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Maybe have their first encounter go as such. They don't know each other. But the villain might kill someone the hero has a personal attachment to, and so it gets personal next time. Good luck!

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It sounds great. I think what's throwing you is that you're expecting to get the story from both protagonist and antagonist perspectives. Just focus on the hero. His or her story will have the great arc, the joys and losses, the striving, the ultimate success (and the emotional payoff you're looking for). It's completely fine if we don't get the villian's half of the story.

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