I was talking about fantasy, wasn’t I? Before a bunch of stuff happened? I made plans to talk about why I love fantasy in all it’s forms and take you though some of the bits I love most.

So today, quite late, I want to talk about traditional fantasy. Or high fantasy. Whatever you want call it.

This is the sort of fantasy that involves distant lands, crazy races/species and often make believe languages. Think elves, dwarves, dragons, goblins and orcs. Think The Lord of the Rings, Eragon, Dungeons and Dragons (the films, not the game) and Fab Fables. Think low technology, horses, and hand made clothing of mostly leather and cotton. All sorts of fun stuff.

I haven’t read as much of this stuff as I thought I had. I’ve spent the year gathering more fantasy to me but there are gaps. Lots of things that I feel I should have read and yet no managed to. Anything by Anne McCaffrey for instance. More of the Forgotten Realms books by RA Salvatore.  Pretty much anything by Brandon Sanderson.

There are lots of holes in my knowledge that I intend to fill. And there’s plenty of reason to do it because once Saar’s Legacy is complete it will be time to turn towards high fantasy. I want to explore the world I created almost ten years ago. I want to touch of the characters spawned from my RPGs and tell their stories in full. Why to daemons have the gift of magic? Why are elves so aloof and scornful of humans? Why is the human king so paranoid about the vampire threat and why does his pet mage refuse to meet with outside the daytime hours? 😉

There is something so beautiful about a world that is made up, utterly fake and yet brought to life by the skill of a good writer. About foods, animals, flowers and countries that exist nowhere but on the page. But most of all, the people who populate these stories are a special brand of hero in my opinion. There’s something almost soft and tender about them and yet so strong. Solid. I suppose the same could be said for heroes of any urban fantasy, but the setting makes all the difference. I relate to them far more strongly because their lives, wants, needs and desires are so much like mine at their core, even though their worlds are vastly different. Most of all, traditional fantasy allows me to see more of myself in different peoples and creatures and dream of ‘what if’. Something all good stories should be able to do, wouldn’t you say?

More next week. 😉