Fantasy is my favorite thing to read and write, in case you hadn’t yet caught on. But every genre comes with its own suitcase of tropes. I thought poking some fun at them (and at ourselves as fantasy lovers) would be entertaining, so welcome to the first post of a potential series: Autobiography of a Fantasy Character!
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| [image via Unsplash; graphic mine] |
Once upon an unspecified time, I grew up in Quaint Village. It was a rustic, homespun sort of place where everyone was honest and hardworking and appropriately naïve about the greater world. The village lay nestled in a valley protected by mountains on every side, sheltered in every sense of the word.
When I was a very young boy, my parents died in a fire, so I lived with my uncle on his farm and spent my days herding sheep. Absolutely nothing else of note happened during my childhood.
Then I turned sixteen . . . and everything changed.
I began receiving visions, images of bloodshed and suffering that plagued both my sleep and my waking moments.
I also began manifesting mysterious powers. My fellow villagers were frightened and prepared to cast me out for witchery, when a hooded old man–
Oh, right. Allow me to back up. The only other notable thing about my childhood besides my orphan status was the old man who lived at the edge of the valley. He kept to himself, causing wild rumors about his past to circulate amongst the village folk. No one knew who he really was or where he came from, but his cloak and his staff made him look Very Important, so people left him alone. Except for me. I had one run-in with him as a child, which scared me out of my wits and also served to foreshadow future events.
Ahem. I turned sixteen, manifested powers I didn’t understand, and was about to be cast out by a mob of villagers, when the old man spirited me out of harm’s way. We hid in his hut, where he explained in cryptic words that I was special. Chosen, in fact. The world beyond Quaint Village was in dire need of a Hero to save them–and I was the only one who could do it. Of course.
But before I could ask more questions (like, “Why me?”), sudden war descended on Quaint Village. It appeared that my flare of powers had attracted a horde of not-quite-human soldiers. Gasp! The horror! They charged in, swinging massive blades, yelling in a guttural language, and setting fire to homes. And then they did the unthinkable.
They killed a sweet but personality-less friend of mine. A person named Incentive.
“NOOOOOO!” I screamed.
Charged with sorrow and vengeance, I struck out with my mysterious powers in a flash of light. These powers spun out of my control and conveniently decimated the entire horde of enemies, but also injured some of the villagers, including a resident bully who had hounded me for years.
Half of the villagers praised my victory, while the other half glowered with suspicion. (None glared quite so darkly as the bully.) The Very Important old man leaned on his staff and surveyed the damage I’d done, then muttered more cryptic words, something ominous along the lines of, “The old darkness has awakened.” And then he said, “Meet me on the mountain. Your training begins at sunrise.”
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| [via Unsplash] |
That was how I met Mentor.
Afraid and confused, I climbed the mountain the next morning, where Mentor promptly began to rail at me for being late–as all teachers must do–and then launched into a flurry of tests to gauge my control over my powers. I failed every one of them. But each day, I climbed the mountain again for another training session. Mentor was gruff and difficult to please, but he sprinkled the physical lessons with nuggets of grandiose wisdom. He taught me how to harness the energy within me, control the visions, and wield a sword within a week. I was a fast learner. Chosen heroes have to be.
Every time I probed into his past, he dodged my questions, letting only one or two characteristically ambiguous hints slip out.
Once I had gained a basic level of training, another disaster occurred to keep the story of my life moving. More of those not-quite-human soldiers came to the valley, but this time they lay in ambush on the mountain where we trained. In the skirmish that followed, Mentor and I slew every enemy. The last one, as he lay dying, gurgled a warning: “The darkness is watching you, Hero. The final note will be sung . . .” And then he died.
Mentor looked shaken, which was unusual for him. Apparently the warning was the beginning of an old prophecy–about me, of course, as all prophecies tend to be. This is how it went.
Mentor recited the poorly-written poetry with such doom and gloom in his voice that every word was branded perfectly in my memory after hearing it only once. I asked him what it meant, and all he knew was that the “keys” were said to be sealed in a vault far, far away in Distant Land. Or at least, they were supposed to be. The presence of these dark soldiers indicated that the keys had, in fact, been stolen. Nothing would be right with the world until they were restored to their rightful place.
“Who stole them?” I asked.
“Villain,” Mentor snarled. He then proceeded to spend a chapter of my life explaining Villain’s backstory.
Villain and his brother were princes in Distant Land, living in opulence and peace. But Villain’s older brother always bested him at everything, causing a deep bitterness to take root in the younger brother. The more they fought, the more Villain desired the throne, for it would be the ultimate victory against his sibling. To gain the strength necessary to seize it, Villain began dabbling in dark magic and soon grew evil. He killed his father, his brother, and his brother’s wife–somehow their infant child escaped his grasp–and seized the throne for himself. Now Villain reigned Distant Land with an iron fist. He enslaved his people and forged them into an army in the depths of the earth. And, Mentor told me, it appeared that he had snatched away the keys that kept the entire world in balance.
It was now my task to travel to Distant Land to find the keys, stop the Villain, and save the world.
If I refused, these dark soldiers would keep coming for me and endanger everyone I loved. I couldn’t help but think of poor Incentive, killed in cold blood, or the visions of suffering that still attacked me, providing me with both the logical and emotional means to commit to my quest. So with unquestioned resolve, I swore to do just as the prophecy foretold.
Oh my word, this was hilarious!! But so true. Fantasy stereotypes are so prevalent. But you forgot the elves (and dwarves) that are completely copied from Tolkien. XD
Incentive, though. XD I can't even figure out what to say, I'm laughing so hard. When can we expect the next segment of genius?? 😀
Brianna
Haha, thanks, Brianna! ;D I absolutely adore fantasy, and I even love many of these tropes if they're done well…buuuut sometimes I can't help but elbow fantasy in the ribs and crack a few jokes. Elves and dwarves are a'coming, don't you worry!
I particularly had fun with that one! XD I suspect there will be another instalment next month, since people seem to be enjoying this one. Thanks for the comment!
XD XD XD "He then proceeded to spend a chapter of my life explaining Villain's backstory." Oh my goodness, that was amazing! Definitely made my day better. Is it sad that I see so many books I love in that one plot? But you've pulled a lot of the core elements of a fantasy plot and wove them into a very entertaining nod at fantasy tropes.
I'm so glad it brought a smile to your face! I see a ton of books in here too, including my own… Right down to visions, incentive, a chosen one, and a mentor! XD
This is perfect and hilarious! You have summed up at least half of the fantasy stories I read growing up.
LOL, thanks, girl! It kind of feels like sketching a caricature of your best friend–there's enough fondness and familiarity that you can exaggerate without offending anyone. XD
OH
MY
WOOOOOORD!!!!!!!
THIS IS THE MOST PERFECT THING IN THE WORLD. Just… *DIES* You nailed it. You flat out NAILED IT! I can't with all of this! XDDD I love fantasy too (wow, Christine, stating the obvious today, are we?) but…yep. This is pretty much the setup. XD The sarcastic tone of this killed me.
"Absolutely nothing else of note happened during my childhood.
Then I turned sixteen . . . and everything changed." YEPPPPP.
"They killed a sweet but personality-less friend of mine. A person named Incentive." I LOST it there! Incentive. IT'S SO TRUE!
"Mentor recited the poorly-written poetry with such doom and gloom in his voice that every word was branded perfectly in my memory after hearing it only once." THIS THOUGH. THISSSS! I think about this literally EVERY time I read a book or watch a movie or something. These characters are getting VITAL information that, if lost, will be the end of the world and they…don't write it down or anything. They just REMEMBER. If it were me, the whole world would end because I'd toootally forget what the person said. XDD Once I'd like to see SOMEONE not have a perfect memory or actually, MAKE NOTES or something. LOLZ. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who has noticed this!
"He then proceeded to spend a chapter of my life explaining Villain's backstory." *DIIIIIIES* (And Villain's backstory is so spot on.)
All of this was just…I CAN'T! YOU ARE A GENIUS! PLEASE MAKE THIS A CONTINUING BLOG SERIES. I NEED MORE OF THIS HILARIOUS BRILLIANCE!!!
BWAHAHA. I'm so tickled at your comment, Christine! XD The funny thing was, I was at a loss for ideas last night (which is why this post is late… *cough*), and then I just started typing… this. XD
Sixteen seems to be the magical age in all of YA, regardless of the genre, doesn't it? 😛
Lolzy, I had a lot of fun throwing that one in there!!!
RIGHT?! How do the characters remember all of that? In books, rings through their heads with perfect clarity a few times throughout, just to remind the reader. But if it were me receiving information like that, I'd be scribbling notes and all, "Wait, what? Can you repeat that part? Seize… the… keys… that… Villaaaaaain… what was the last word again?" So YES we need to see a hero madly taking notes sometime!
*cackles* *bows dramatically* There's usually vengeance, power, and dark magic involved. 😉
LOL, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I will have to continue this, I see!
Oh. My. Goodness. *Tracey.* This was so delightfully amusing. I giggled to myself throughout the entire post. Let me guess, Villain is Hero's uncle?
I really hope you continue this!
Megan (formerly Lucy Agnes)
Happy to deliver the day's giggle quota! XD Hmmmmmm, now what would lead you to believe that? *wiggles eyebrows*
I've already getting ideas for future posts! 😉
(Oh hey! I'm glad you mentioned what name you used to go by, because I thought you were a new face around here!)
Lol, this was awesome! So accurate!
Haha, thanks, Faith! XD
Oh my word, this is hilarious and so true!! Love this! :))
Thanks, Allison! I won't mention any specific fantasy novels I was thinking of, noooo… (*cough* one of my own WIPs gently included *cough*)
One just has to chuckle at this! All the familiar tropes are here!
…Wait…I'm starting to see some similarities in my own life. Should I be concerned?
'"NOOOOOO!" I screamed.'- I read that part in Luke Skywalker's voice. I couldn't help but snicker.
On a completely unrelated note, would you care for a blog award?:
https://tobeashennachie.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/the-motherly-writers-award/
GASP. BLUE. You must be the protagonist of a fantasy novel! I'd be careful if I were you. There are villains out there who are rather obsessed with their heroic arch-nemesises.
I haven't seen the old Star Wars, but even I know about Luke's yell. XD
Ooh, thank you! I saw that post in my dashboard but didn't get a chance to read it yet!
On the other hand I could be someone's mentor: a quirky, curmudgeonly, cryptic recluse, knows everything, prone to smacking people with sticks… sure sounds like me.
Sounds like more fun, too. ;D But mentors have a high death rate, so be careful!
haha!!! And THIS is why I don't like MOST fantasy. I'm a very picky fantasy reader that says, "Only few can write fantasy well." Great job ;D I laughed 😉
Thanks, Keturah! I'm curious now, which fantasy authors do you like?
This was one of the best things I've read all week. Really made me smile (and giggle like a maniac) when I happened to be REALLY stressed. So thank you. But poor Incentive.
Please write more, I have NO idea what's going to happen next!!
Oh, I'm delighted to have brought a smile on a rough day! It's kind of funny how even a silly post can do that. <3
Poor, poor Incentive…
No idea? Really? Probably a grand quest with predictable interactions with bad guys, maybe some elves, a kidnapping or two, a few magical objects…ah, but now I'm spoiling things. XD
I still can't even think about this without cracking a smile!
Yeah, I'm realizing how many unfortunate Incentives I've seen in my own stories, and it's kind-of embarrassing.
Elves and magical objects? No way! And the MC isn't POSSIBLY related to Villain. =)
Awww!
Don't get me wrong, characters that provide incentive are good–often needed!–but I was just making fun of the ones that exist for no other reason EXCEPT to be an incentive. I think if an incentive character is fleshed out, with their own values and desires and personality, their death/injury/tragedy will have that much more of an impact. ^_^
Noooo, MCs are NEVER EVER related to villains and NEVER EVER suffer an identity crisis because of it! XD
Oh, I didn't feel like you were making fun of me! It was just how ironic how popular these tropes are. =) (I happen to be a HUGE fan of the mentor-dying-right-before-climax plot point, even if it's cliche.)
Noooo, NEVER. ;P
It starts to get kind of funny after a while, all these incentives dying. XD (I like that one too! It's important for the hero to stand on his/her own two feet eventually…and having the beloved mentor die for that to happen can be so heart-wrenching!)
XD
THIS IS AWESOME, TRACEY, AND SO HILARIOUSLY ACCURATE I JUST CAN'T EVEN.
HELP, I'M STUCK IN ALL CAPS.
Seriously, though, this was brilliant, and you absolutely MUST write more of these!!!! xD
Lila @ The Red-Hooded Writer
Gahhh, you're so sweet, Lila!!! Not to worry–there will be more!
(I hope this series won't wreck your all caps key. XD)
Oh my goodness. That was awesome!!! I laughed so hard. ;D
-Mikayla-
Thank you, Mikayla! It was a lot of fun to come up with. XD
Bwahahahahahahaha!
I loved this so much. It was so perfectly true….
I love fantasy, but it definitely has its share of tropes… not that tropes are always bad, of course… I mean, we love these story-arcs, that's why we keep coming back… right? But there is a tragic number of orphans and decimated Quaint Villages and things.
I can't wait to read more of these. (As a side-note, on Thursday, make sure you link this and any subsequent posts you write on the topic in my February is Fantasy Month link-up!!!)
Also, TAG! You're IT! http://jenelleschmidt.com/fantasy-tag-what-if/ (you know… if you want to play)
Yay, I'm so glad, Jenelle!
This is true! I keep ruminating on the essence of tropes–why we love them or hate them, how they work or don't work, why they keep cropping up, etc. I think at the root of most tropes, there is a very compelling reason why we keep returning to them. It's just that when those reasons keep taking the same shape and form, they get stale. But now I'm rambling!
I will definitely be posting more, and I'll probably make sure the next one lands in February sometime so that I can link up again! Thanks for mentioning that, and for the tag too! 😀
How come grumpy old mentors slip into your mind before you have a chance to shut the gates? I've had my share, but thankfully they don't belong to stories I've gotten anywhere with. That, and the chosen one. *hangs head in shame*
I think I'm just going to forego stories with high enough stakes where prophecies, chosen ones, and grumpy mentors are 'needed'.
Grumpy old mentors are some of my favorite characters, so I tend to be a wee bit more forgiving of their tropeyness! (Shhh, that's a word.) And I actually do have a whole series centered around a pair of chosen ones… It's due for a rehaul, but I really do love the core concepts, even if some of the surface elements need work. I know how you feel!
Haha, sometimes that's a good idea! I really do love a smaller-scale, romping adventure.
THIS IS POSSIBLY THE MOST HILARIOUS THING OF EVER. XD
"Villain," Mentor snarled. He then proceeded to spend a chapter of my life explaining Villain's backstory." <~ I'M DEAD. XD
AND YOU ARE POSSIBLY ONE OF THE SWEETEST HUMANS OF EVER. <3
Gotta love those flashback chapters, right???
Oh my goodness, this is HILARIOUS!! Please do more!
So glad you liked it, Grace! There will for sure be more in the near future. ;D And thanks for stopping by!
Wooooow, this reminded me so much of Star Wars in places. And some other stories I've read/watched. XD
I guess the thing about tropes is, like Jenelle said above, they've been used so many times because we like them, but there's a balance to be found between using them, leaving them out, or twisting them so that they don't get stale. I'm half talking to myself as I write this because I'm trying to find that balance for my own original fantasy. 😉 For example, it's a pretty typical portal fantasy with normal girl being transported to another world and having to figure out why, but I'm trying to twist it by not having a prophecy or a Chosen One who is the only one who can accomplish The Task. In fact, others have been transported before her who could have done it, but some of them ran away, some chose non-action and started a new life in the other world, and some tried to help solve the problem but failed and were killed. The problem *can* be solved but someone has to both make the choice to step up to the plate and…you know…survive in the process. I'm almost trying to make it like real life I guess, where God may call an individual to do something but we have the free will to choose whether to answer that call or ignore it and stubbornly do our own thing, if that makes sense?
Anyway, I have to admit that I do have elves though. I like them too much to leave them out. BUT they're not the stuck up, slow talking, ever-wise, vegetarian, dwarf-racists which seems to be the typical thing I've seen done with them. They're a bit more like the fiery/passionate elves of the Silmarillion, minus the racism, plus my own magical ability twists thrown in.
Okay, I've gone on long enough. 😉 This was a fun and thought provoking post, and I look forward to the next ones!
Star Wars certainly gave rise to a few clichés that pop up all over the place now! *cough*Eragon*cough*
Okay, I LOOOOVE everything you said about balancing the tropes and twisting them! That's pretty much been my thought process as well! Your take on the Chosen One sounds a lot more realistic and true to life. Because it's true, most of us are ordinary folks who want to use our lives to respond to God's call on humanity. I hope that fantasy novel goes really well for you, E!
I, too, have a soft spot for elves. Although I surprisingly haven't written any yet! :O "Vegetarian dwarf-racists." TOO TRUE! I love Tolkien's elves, but too many people have written copycats that just…fall flat. (Also, I haven't read the Silmarillion yet but neeeeed to!)
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! <3
I just have to say that your "stuck up, slow talking, ever-wise, vegetarian, dwarf-racist" elves made me smile. Because seriously, those got so popular!
This is hilarious! "A person named Incentive." XD Wonderful job.
Awww, thank you, Abbey! That Incentive bit must have been a flash of inspiration. XD
I DIED.
This post was perfection. Thank you.
PLEASE LIVE. XD
Haha, so glad you enjoyed it, Merie! And that you went all the way back to this old post to read it! <3