Category Archives: Books

Mythic creatures, part 9: hydras

Ever read Greek mythology? Well, we’re about to dig deep into one of the mythic creatures belonging to that culture. For this post, we’ll be focusing our attention squarely toward one particular creature.

The hydra.

This beast is well known for it’s multiple heads and it’s ability to grow two heads to replace a severed one. Other than that, they carry a lot of the traits that dragons do.

Well, that’s all I can say about this one. Make of this post what you will. Follow, comment, like. Peace out yo!

Mythic creatures, part 8: phoenixes

Okay everyone, I know that it’s been awhile since I posted. But I’m back to posting again (from a new laptop, I might add) and today I want to talk to you about my favorite of all mythical creatures. What’s that? one might ask. Well, I want to talk about the phoenix.

Chances are, your familiar (at least in part) with this beast due to the popularity of the Harry Potter novels, as Dumbledore has a phoenix.  Branded as a bird of fire, the phoenix is gifted with the blessing of immortality. Or rather, the ability to regenerate itself from its ashes to be born again.

Due to this ability, some may say the phoenix is symbolic for rebirth. For that reason, I’ve used the phoenix as a Royal Crest in my forth-coming novel: War of Redisy. But not to digress, phoenixes (from what I’ve seen) do have drawbacks from being born again after death. If they do die, they cannot simply regenerate over and over again into the same, fully grown beast of fire. If one dies, (according to the Harry Potter films/novels,) they come back as a baby phoenix, meaning after death they’re pretty much useless in combat.

However, the rebirthing ability is something that writers everywhere could use in different ways. Do they have nine (or another number of) lives that they can live before their ultimate death? Do they continuously regenerate? It’s up to you.

Well, that’s all for now. Laters. 🙂

Mythic creatures, part 7: griffins

Hey everyone! I just wanted to yatter a bit about another one of our iconic fantasy creatures. Griffins. They are bird like beasts with four legs and at least one pair of wings (some will say they have the body of a lion).

They come from myths of the Middle Ages, and are used in some architecture in Europe (this can be a good idea on a descriptive note). Whatever you plan to use this post for good luck! I know that this is a short post, but that’s it for now. Follow, comment, like. Peace out yo!

Mythic creatures, part 6: dragons

Hello, everyone! I’ve gotten passed the bulk of human-like fantasy creatures that I wanted to talk about. Now let’s move into some non-humanoids before I finish up the rest of the humanoids in this segment. For this post… DRAGONS! That’s right. The most famous fantasy creature of them all.

In some ways, this creature defines fantasy. From The Inheritance Cycle to Dragon Riders of Pern, to various tales like The Hobbit and Harry Potter, dragons are there. There are dragons out in the mountains, dragons in caves; dragons that breath fire, ice, and lightning. My point? Dragons vary from story to tradition.

One thing that must be pointed out, however, is that there are two different traditions where dragons are involved. In some cultures, they are greedy and have a mountain of gold somewhere. In others, they are wise and are to be respected. To be honest, my advice is to research this beast before including one in your story, unless you want to make up your own mythology (you can do that, you know).

Well, that’s it for now. Follow, comment, like. Peace out yo!

Mythic creatures, part 5: gnomes

Hello, all! In this post, I’d like to talk a bit about another humanoid fantasy creature, called a gnome. Although they are nowhere near as common in fantasy as elves, dwarfs, or perhaps even halflings, they do have a few novels that they can be found in. A good example is the Bran Hambric novels by Kaleb Nation.

Usually, you see gnomes with cone-shaped hats, in a garden. In some traditions, they are up to no good. But one thing’s for sure. And in at least one tradition they are created–not born–by a magic system known as alchemy. In this tradition, they are considered spirits.

They usually live underground, which may be a reason you don’t see them much in fantasy. I will admit that even in novels where they do not appear, they are at least mentioned in passing.

Well, that’s it for now. Laters!

Mythic creatures, part 4: halflings

Here’s another installment in my mythical creatures segment. In this entry, we’re talking halflings. You know, Hobbits? Well, okay, the term Hobbit belongs to the Tolkien estate, so in our fantasy novels, it’s a pretty good idea to use that term. But anyway, what are halflings? Well, let’s start off with talking about what they look like and what they do.

  1. Big, hairy feet.
  2. Half the size of a human (hence the term halfling).
  3. They love smoking a pipe.
  4. Quiet, country life.
  5. They love ale.

These are all things defined in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Now, obviously, you’re free to do with this kind of race what ever you want. But these are the most common things that I see pop up. Therefore, you got a starting point.

Now, one thing I will add is that this creature is different than any other in that it was invented in the 20th century, and therefore may be subject to copyright. But like I said, the term Hobbit belongs to the Tolkien estate. That means that you just can’t use the term Hobbit. Because let me ask something. Someone is short with big, hairy feet, and smokes a pipe. Does that mean you break the copyright law if you put someone like that in your fantasy novel? I don’t think so. Food for thought.

Mythic creatures, part 2: elves

Okay, so for this post I’m gonna yatter a bit about the most cliched fantasy creature out there. Elves. Before I begin, I must do a bit of history on this fantasy trope, because there’s a bit of variation from story to story on what elves really are. In some traditions, they are similar to pixies (0r fairies). In some, they have wings but otherwise seem like the tall beings we generally see. In Shakespeare, they appear like fairies, while in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, they are tall, majestic beings that are the intellectuals of the world.

To be honest, there isn’t much else I can say about this particular race. They are what you see in movies, or video games, or books. They are what you make of them. Because they are so vague in how they are defined, you can really make up everything about them. You can make up their anatomy, but as a general rule, make sure they are related to something you’ve seen before, because that way the reader knows what they’re reading about.

Well, that’s all for this post. Laters.