How Fantasy Creatures Can Alter Human Interaction With Nature
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

How Fantasy Creatures Can Alter Human Interaction With Nature

For every fantasy writer, he/she must utilize zoological research to materialize his/her story's setting.

142
https://youtu.be/Q4i754tIJ7A
YouTube

A key component of world-building is not just what types of fantasy creatures should be included, but how to find the connections between them, the environment, humans, religion, and geopolitical entities such as kingdoms, empires, city-states, and tribes. Creatures such as dragons, griffins, and mammoths can change warfare, migrations, human survival, and the very ecology itself.

The Targaryen dynasty especially proved this point, by escaping the destruction of Valyria and settling in Westeros. Though they did more than setting up their own little nation on Dragonstone Island, rather they conquered the entire continent of Westeros and subjugated entire kingdoms, all through the use of dragons as instruments of war. This can only be possible in regions like pre-Targaryen Westeros when there was no presence of dragons or any other form of the animal capable of fighting against such creatures because it would mean that there would be no defense against conquest by the dragon-riding invaders.

A foreign invading group would bring disasters foreign to the native population. This parallels the use of guns and diseases brought by Europeans when conquering the rest of the world. In the case of the Americas, the indigenous population was not immune from smallpox until the Europeans brought it, which indirectly decimated them.

If foreign agents like diseases can cause this type of damage to entire populations in the real world, then foreign creatures, such as dragons, can prove to be apocalyptically destructive in the fantasy world. A notable example of a dragon that fits that description is Smaug from "The Hobbit" who conquers an entire castle of dwarves and converts it into a lair surrounded by a hoard of gold. This is when fantasy creatures cannot be tamed and become a destructive force.

When these creatures are tamed, they retain a symbiotic relationship with their human captors that transcend use as weapons. In the case of Victor Milan's "Dinosaur Knights," (which is a fantasy novel that replaces dragons with dinosaurs) the hides of dinosaurs are made into protective armor, which would make sense considering how dinosaurs are also used as instruments of war and the only rough surface that can protect the owner from a war-hadrosaur's bite is the skin of a dinosaur who's skin is already adapted enough to withstand bites and scratches.

The uses for attack and defense would ensure that there is a cycle of dependency between humans and dragons. Of course, the use of dragons would go beyond being used in warfare. If these types of creatures have the ability to be domesticated and rode by humans, fly at great distances, and breathe fire, then the possibilities of traveling the world would be quite literally boundless. This is especially true when Jaenara Balaerys, a Ghiscari dragon-rider, explored all of Sothoryos, one of the continents of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series.

Can you imagine that level of exploration becoming more commonplace as more creatures are introduced? This would be where readers would find a more clandestine and complex system of warfare which consists of entire theaters of war consisting of dragons. While there would be ground warfare with armies of cavalry and phalanxes, there would also concurrently be dragon-riders from above.

Even though fantasy creatures do not exist in real life, it can be argued that the very image of them was enough to change human interaction with nature, by inspiring superstitions, mythologies, and sigils on coats-of-arms. The inspirations for dragons also existed within the real-world, specifically by theories that dragon myths came from ancient observations of dinosaur fossils, which lead to the speculations of a race of dragons (and what leads Milan to include dinosaurs in his fantasy series).

Of course, this opens up Pandora's box, but all of the world's evils do not pop out, but the creatures from every mythology around the world. Not to be too political, but a lot of the most popular fantasy works consist of mythological creatures from European interpretations, such as dragons, dwarves, elves, etc. If European dragons can exist in a fictional world, who is to say that Chinese dragons cannot also exist in this world? If multiple mythologies can exist in one cosmopolitan mythopoeia than the possibilities would be endless when it comes to migration patterns and cross-breeding.

What if dragons become an invasive species, by outcompeting all the other animal life and out-consuming all of their prey and plant life? If one were to apply eco-literary theory to dragons in mythology, it can be argued that they would be catastrophic to humans and the environment. Perhaps the human civilizations would focus less on their own squabbles and more towards that scaly threat to their crops and livestock.

However destructive dragons are to everything living and nonliving, it is definitely obvious that these creatures define the animalistic power within fantasy. Dragons do more than provide the fantasy label, rather they dramatically reshape the connection humans have to the biosphere in their world. The existence of dragons plunges the reader into a world of epic uncertainty, leaving behind the doldrums of daily life and into the world where humans and creatures that represent the former's power can exist.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

14096
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

944499
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

121687
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lots of people sat on the cinema wearing 3D glasses
Pinterest

Ever wonder what your friend meant when they started babbling about you taking their stapler? Or how whenever you ask your friend for a favor they respond with "As You Wish?" Are you looking for new and creative ways to insult your friends?

Well, look no further. Here is a list of 70 of the most quotable movies of all time. Here you will find answers to your questions along with a multitude of other things such as; new insults for your friends, interesting characters, fantastic story lines, and of course quotes to log into your mind for future use.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments