Fantasy Favorites | This or That

Portals to New Worlds

A Fantasy ToT Challenge Response

So, Jacinta Palmer thought it’d be a hoot to challenge a whole gaggle of fiction writers (isn’t that the term for a group of writers?) to a This or That Challenge, initially spawned by Brett Jenae Tomlin, focused on our love of fantasy worlds.

Given my love of creating worlds, how could I refuse?

So, here I go!

1. Dystopian or Enchanted: I love enchanted worlds! You can create drama and perils, making it semi-dystopian, but the overarching feeling is still positive. I think that’s the joy of fantasy worlds: they offer a world of joy and wonder.
2. Vampire or Dragon: First, read or watch the Swedish Let the Right One In (not the American remake!). The novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist opened my eyes to what a vampire horror story should be like, and if you ignore the suggestive child molestation clues in the novel, the story contains a sort of Beauty and the Beast tale to boot. Highly recommend reading or watching. That aside, I hands-down love the idea of dragons as individuals, characters, heroes or villains. They are the Batman of the fantasy world — rich and physically powerful, and a drive to do good (or not).
3. Sword or Bolt of Fire from your Fingers: Swords are great and all, but who wouldn’t love the ability to cast Burning Hands and shoot fire from your fingertips?! Maybe this is just the D&D nerd in me, but this one isn’t even a contest.
4. Mind Reading or Crystal Ball: While mind-reading might seem incredibly useful and immediately applicable, I’ve always had a soft-spot for magic systems that were drawn-out, deliberate and meticulous. Scrying with a crystal ball satisfies all three of these. What’s the point of a story if you can just figure out who the bad guy is by just thinking about it?
5. Broomstick or Winged Creature: See #2. Winged creatures add both a breadth of scope to a story by vastly increasing the area viewed or traversed, but also adds a potential companion or pet. Then consider that the winged creatures will need to be fed, housed, and cared for (hopefully) and you suddenly have a more fleshed-out story without writing a single word! A flying hippo-shark-potamus, anyone? Besides, broomsticks are old hat. I like vacuums!
6. Runes or Tarot Cards: I’m sensing that I have a ‘type’, because I would choose Runes for this. Like #4, runes are usually ancient knowledge, require study and research, and basically reward the user for their hard work. Tarot Cards leave things up to fate, and I don’t trust her!
7. Under an Oath or Stolen Memories: I remember reading The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence in high school. The narrator was an old woman with a failing mind and a knack for making things up, so you can’t even trust the words of your own storyteller! A great concept that I’ve only briefly experimented with, but seems like a lot of fun. For this one, though, I’d have to go with Under an Oath. In my *ahem* rather extensive D&D career, I’ve loved roleplaying righteous paladins and honorable heroes with a code of ethics that the Dungeon Master can easily manipulate. Can be a plot hook or the beginning of a character backstory. Love oaths in story writing.
8. Rainbow or Waterfall: Waterfalls! They combine physical forces with a magical element that awes us. I’ve always loved Niagara Falls, and dream of visiting Victoria Falls one day.
9. Enchanted Object or Cursed Object: The gamer in me hates disadvantages and cursed items, though many stories make it work in favor of the hero. I’d have to side with Enchanted Object. In my Wreth Series, the hero Wreth Fallot is interred in a magical Spirit Chest after his death so that his successor Bethany may still press him for advice and colorful banter — when he’s feeling up to it! In my CYOA adventure The Hero of Pendown, a holographic AI named Ketal also might count as an enchanted object — though you can’t touch him, per se — guiding the Hero towards the next part of the quest.
10. Seer or Warlock: I admit I’ve never played with the idea of a warlock — generally considered to be a magic user who offers his soul to a demon or higher power in return for powerful magic. I’ve dabbled in Seer characters in stories and games, and they’re pretty fun. So that’s my final answer.
11. Dungeon or Banishment: Banishment centers the story around the character rather than the location, so I’m gonna have to go with that. There are also immediate questions that have to be answered before the story can move forward. Where do you get banished to? And who banished me?
12. Soul Sucking or Demon Torment: Like, through a straw? Both of these options are strong contenders for slightly different reasons. With my Wreth series, and many stories I’ve read, using a powerful magic slowly consumes your soul, your very being, and needs to be rationed very carefully or you risk insanity, infernal servitude, or even death! So with this in mind, I’ll choose Soul Sucking.
13. Portal or Time Travel: Portal, no contest. My Wreth series utilizes interdimensional portals. Pendown uses a wormhole to suck the hapless crew of a space Ark into another dimension. Time travel — as Star Trek has taught me — gets really messy, with paradoxes potentially creating whole new alternate realities…
14. Undiscovered or Forgotten: I’m going to cheat here for a quick second and say BOTH. Undiscovered could also be forgotten, such that the characters who forgot would find a location or thing technically undiscovered. But I’m nitpicking here, I’ve already decided on Forgotten in my mind ;)
15. Enchanted to Sleep or Cursed to Ride: Enchanted to sleep just sounds so peaceful to me. Maybe not great for storytelling (Tell that to Sleeping Beauty!) but I’ll write an epic just as soon as I get up from my magical slumber…
16. Diary or Grimoire: How much more BADASS would my grade school English class be if we were told to write a grimoire rather than a diary?! Though I doubt any good will come of it, I choose Grimoire all the way!
17. Kraken or Mermaid: Being one of the editors for The Kraken Lore, I am contractually obligated to feel torn at this choice. However, I’d have to go with Mermaid, because I haven’t had too much exposure to this concept, and might like to explore it more at a later date.
18. Haunted or Re-programmed: I’d pick Haunted only because it suggests an antagonist to fight. If my hero is reprogrammed I’d have to write a long story arc about discovery, and I’m kinda lazy honestly. But I’d read the heck out of that!
19. Historical or Future: Gah! So hard to choose! With a gun to my head, I’d choose Historical, but the future holds so much potential too.
20. This World or Another Realm: What a silly question to ask us, Jacinta! It’s Another Realm all the way!

Thanks for this awesome challenge, Jacinta Palmer! I hope I passed the test (It was a test right?).

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