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Post by myrthman on Mar 15, 2010 16:34:30 GMT -5
I came across a problem in my WIP in which I wanted to get a group of people from Point A to Point B. However, my world is vast and I didn't want to detail each leg of a by-foot journey (it might be fun, but I'm thinking of holding a reader's attention too). I also don't want to do cliche things, if I don't have to. So I got to thinking...
What are ways to move a group of people across a fantasy landscape that isn't cliche and keeps a reader's attention? Teleportation is almost too easy. Horseback is only a small step up from by-foot. Thoughts?
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Post by torainfor on Mar 15, 2010 17:05:33 GMT -5
Magic carpet. Airship. Trebuchet. Flying weasels. Cloud-tram.
Excuse me, I need to go write a steampunk story, now.
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Post by myrthman on Mar 15, 2010 17:37:58 GMT -5
Trebuchet!! LOL! Great images!
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Post by torainfor on Mar 15, 2010 21:34:45 GMT -5
Perhaps with glider wings and/or a parachute.
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Post by metalikhan on Mar 15, 2010 23:55:26 GMT -5
One method I used in a story was based on the pseudo-science of ley lines, those lines of "power" (magnetic, thermal, whatever) that criss-cross the globe although not as regular as longitude/latitude lines. Sites where those ley lines converge are supposedly very powerful places where it's theoretically possible to jump from one location to another (oh, say from Stonehenge to the Bermuda Triangle...splash! ) or from one dimension to another. In my story, music was the way to locate and navigate the ley lines.
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Post by myrthman on Mar 16, 2010 18:11:27 GMT -5
That reminds me of the Australian aborigine concept of song lines. They hint at it in the recent film named after the continent. It's a great movie all the way around. Worth a watch! Edit: here's a wiki on Song Lines: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songlines
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Post by tris on Mar 18, 2010 19:51:39 GMT -5
I like the cloud-tram idea. Maybe they travel by windskimmers (think snowboards with sails)
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Post by Andy on Mar 18, 2010 20:20:56 GMT -5
How about Spanish galleons lifted by teams of pegasi (plural of pegasus?)
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Post by scintor on Mar 18, 2010 20:31:31 GMT -5
Don't forget:
Migrating cloud-whales
Desert wind-jammers
Racing Snails (from the Never Ending Story)
Mystic gates in Stone Henge like settings.
Letting fairies take you through the dreamlands.
What in the world did I drink last night and where the heck am I anyways?
Giants throwing gliders.
"The Eagles are coming, the Eagles are coming!"
Friendly Dragons ( or even unfriendly ones under the right circumstances)
Being kidnapped by aliens?
The sandals of Hermes.
Pegasi!
Gummi Bears! (OK now I'm just getting silly)
Becoming one with the wind.
Domesticated Triceratops.
Riverboats!
Being eaten by giant worms while wearing special suits and carrying a purgative.
Joining the Horde!
Earth Elementals
Journeying through the center of the earth.
World gates!
... three months later.
Trickster gods.
Really, it just depends on just how fantastic/realistic you world is!
Scincerely,
Scintor@aol.com
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Post by Kristen on Mar 28, 2010 18:00:29 GMT -5
Wow. That's a pretty comprehensive list, Scintor. I was going to suggest the "...three months later" method, but mystic gates/lines of power are cool. And Migrating cloud-whales, hmmmm...
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Post by journeyman on Mar 28, 2010 20:27:52 GMT -5
Also methane gasbag creatures that poot, er I mean scoot through the clouds. Maybe they could sing or toot softly through whistles in their noses.
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Post by Kristen on Mar 28, 2010 20:45:26 GMT -5
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Post by devilwarrior on Nov 24, 2010 14:32:06 GMT -5
I thought of an idea called "mirage travel" for a desert fantasy novel which allows a character to turn into a mirage. You could adapt this for an arctic novel by changining mirage into one of the northern light like aurora borealis.
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Post by yoda47 on Aug 30, 2011 13:40:29 GMT -5
Having just taken a train trip, I'm putting a steam locomotive in my fantasy story.
It didn't start out as steampunk, but on the train trip I got to thinking. What would happen if one country had magic as part of life, and a neighboring country didn't. So I'm going to explore that as a sub-theam. We'll see how it works out...
Actually, my world does have a "spell-circle" think a cross between a teleportation spell and a Stargate... but they're not going to be used much because I do think it's just a tad too cliche...
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Cat
New Member
Crafting worlds one inkspot at a time
Posts: 40
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Post by Cat on Sept 19, 2011 13:24:57 GMT -5
Ooh, some of these are really great ideas. I'll need to remember these for future use.
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