(No reason for the picture. This is more of a prophecy I hope to use in a future trilogy that explains the reason Windemere’s magic works the way it does. Almost forgot it existed though. A side note is that Mylrix was the first fantasy world I made in high school and it was replaced in college by Windemere. The way the world looked is actually what I now call Pre-Great Cataclysm Windemere. The name was moved to the plane of magic ruled by Gola.)
Most people have heard about woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers. Those are the usual predator and prey animals you hear about with Ice Age stories. Thanks to the animated ‘Ice Age’ movies, people know a few others, especially if they have kids. So, what are some other creatures that an author can pull from? (All images taken from Google Image Search.)
The above characters are probably who many people thought of when they saw the title, but I’m thinking about the actual creatures. I’ve seen many posts over the years about dinosaurs in fantasy, but not about Ice Age mammals. They do make appearances at times and nobody bats an eye that much. Why is that?
Well, first thing we should do is make sure we are all on the same page as far as Ice Age mammals. Woolly mammoths, dire wolves, saber-toothed tigers, megatherium (giant sloth), and more fall under this category. They are the huge and hairy versions of some modern species. Perfect for cold weather and hunting the fledgling humanoids who really only showed up near the end of the Ice Age. I think we have a good enough picture right now.
I remember a movie long ago that had mammoths helping to create a pyramid, which got people to learn that both existed. Not that mammoths helped build the pyramids at Giza, but they only went extinct about 10,000 years ago. Smilodons (saber-toothed cats) went extinct 8,000-10,000 years ago. Compare that to the dinosaurs who went extinct 65 MILLION years ago and you can get an idea as to why we might be okay with Ice Age beasts in fiction. Our ancestors were alive alongside them, so they don’t seem as unnatural and bizarre as giant lizards with spikes for thumbs.
We also see modern versions of these animals and they look closer to these beasts than the dinosaur descendants. So, we can believe and understand them more, especially if they are in fiction. A reader might not question why a modern elephant is in one area and a mammoth is still in icy areas. We know how the fur was an adaptation for survival, so it makes sense that they would still be in there. Perhaps our world not being that different from Ice Age times is another factor to how this works too. We can see how both versions can live in a world that might be like ours and have really cold regions too. It’s just how we learn about things, I guess.
It’s interesting how Ice Age animals are accepted in fiction similar to a dog or cat showing up. Here we have another possible reason for why readers will just accepted that they are there. Real world animals existing in a fictional world is fine. They’re the ‘real’ beasts while the monsters are still treated as abnormal even if they are regular aspects of that world. Mammoths would fall into the ‘real’ beast category because we are used to seeing something like them. Could be a residual memory of humanity about living alongside them as well, so we don’t feel as removed from their existence as we would about dinosaurs.
Guess a final possibility is that dinosaurs have to compete with dragons for being giant lizards. Ice Age animals don’t have fantasy counterparts to fight for niches, so they can just be there. Even robotic versions of themselves in science-fiction don’t really fill the gap that they can step into. I’ve heard a lot of people ask why have dinosaurs when you can have dragons. Nobody ever said ‘why have a saber-toothed tiger when you can have a griffin’? Might just end up with saber-toothed griffins, which doesn’t really work.
Figured I know enough tea drinkers to make this post with an audience. Also, it’s getting cold, so the holiday works. Wish it was hot cocoa day, but cold beggars can’t be choosers. So, what’s your favorite tea? (Mine is currently a Rose Lemonade tea.)
Panic attacks were the theme of the week. All happening around 3 am and preventing me from getting back to bed before work. I could have used Zzzquil to help, but I’m trying to not go back on that after using it for 22 months. This meant a lot of exhaustion during a week where I needed energy.
That isn’t to say I didn’t accomplish anything. Darwin & the Demon Game hand edits are almost ready to be typed in. Got 7 pages to go, which I could have finished if Sunday went smoothly. Around the time I finished making my lunch, I got a call that forced me to abandon my food and editing. So, I managed to finish the final battle chapter, but the closure one couldn’t be completed. Tried a few times during the week with only a single page getting edited. Might have time tonight to complete it though, so we’ll see if I can start printing Darwin & the Beast Collector.
The rest of the week was rough because it was really rainy, which set off my sinuses and made me tired. This meant the 4 appointments for my son, 1 appointment for me, my son’s winter concert, and a field trip took a massive toll on me. Managed to get out early on Monday, Thursday, and Friday to try mall walking before work. It wasn’t bad for 30 minutes or so. Helped me get the daily Pokemon Go stuff done and have a quiet period at the start of my day. As quiet as it can be when you’re in a relatively empty mall with Christmas music still playing.
Can’t say anything else really amazing happened. Didn’t even get to finish watching all of ‘Arcane’, which I might do this weekend when my son is asleep. This is making me realize that I never picked a series to watch during New Years Eve since I’m on my own. Only reason I’m going to make sure I make it to midnight is that I might get a call from my son afterwards. As for the show, I’m leaning towards another anime, but I’m finding that I have no urge to watch anything. For that matter, I don’t have an interest in doing anything either. Just worn out and mentally shot, which will change after 6 days of resting and 6 days of having my son. I’ll probably have finished watching ‘Penguin’ by New Years Eve too, so that’s out.
I did finish all of my holiday and December birthday shopping. Now it hurts whenever I buy food or gas since I know my accounts took a hit before they could recover from the car repairs and new laptop. Bought a bunch of cheap lunches that I can heat up during the break to avoid hitting up fast food every day. This will allow for more editing and Pokemon time too. Keep thinking something else is going to come up during the 6 days I don’t have my son. Probably not important or just minor things.
Next week is the last week of school before the break. I already know I’m entering it fairly battered. Really hope the panic attacks stop because I don’t want to take a day off at the finish line. Came close this week, but a few work situations made me suck it up and not make things worse. Got a sleep doctor appointment this week, which could help with the situation. Still, I’m going to keep an eye on how I’m feeling and not push myself to the point of collapsing as soon as break starts. Lots of edits to type in, Pokemon to catch, and . . . Whatever else happens.
Think I’ll take some time to look at the ‘end of year’ posts I made and see if I have to add anything. 2024 is continuing the body blows and haymakers, so I don’t know if I should bother adding to the ‘this sucked’ list. Really just dragging myself into 2025 and praying it doesn’t decide to be a darker sequel. There are ways things can be worse and I know of a few events next year that are going to prove challenging. Maybe the 2020’s are just a nightmare in general.
So, what are the goals of the week?
Finish editing Darwin & the Demon Game.
Spend time with son when he isn’t studying.
Make ice cream bread for work.
Complete more February blog posts.
Finish watching ‘Arcane’ and start in on ‘Penguin’.
Pokemon Go for exercise. Stationary bike if I can’t do much of it.
I’ve always wondered this when it comes to some stories involving a set location that has either high levels of science or magic. These are the ones where at least one person dies in every adventure. Not always random people too. You get named characters introduced in an episode and they are killed at some point. They had lives, connections, and an existence in that world. Then, they’re gone and are sometimes joined by others by the time the problem is solved.
While I get that this helps to raise the stakes in stories, it does come with a curious issue for me:
Why would people still live in these areas or attends these schools?
In the real world, a high death count would drive people away from an area. Only those who are unable to move away or believe they will be fine will stay. Yet, I can’t see many seeing the stats on these places and wanting to put their lives at risk. Some stories play this off as ‘the rewards outweigh the threat of death’, but that is not as common a mentality as one would imagine. Not when person flat out see or are affected by the lose of a community member. I can’t remember any stories where one or several people are killed in an incident then the next one has fewer characters due to a few deciding they want to be somewhere safer. It’s not even a discussion most of the time.
Now, I do know that this is for a story to continue. Heroes are heroes because they don’t give up. Same goes for their allies who might stay simply because they trust in their heroic friend. Still, the surrounding characters don’t really seem to run away. Is it just how humans work though? We have people living in regions where natural disasters are common and they’ve come to accept that fact. Many just shrug when a tornado or hurricane is coming. Guess if you survive enough, you just assume you will make it through and have to rebuild. Not sure if this falls under blind acceptance or pure stubbornness though. It could explain why this is found in fiction too without there being much discussion.
On the other hand, I do think there should be conversations about the possibility of leaving if the death count is high. 5 people being killed in a day by a magic spell run amok or a robotic experiment going berserk should have some people questioning their decision to stay. Perhaps it isn’t important if it isn’t the main characters doing it, but you don’t even see a mention of the tension at times. Nobody is scared of the next accident taking their life. Could it be that everyone thinks they’re the main character and will be safe from whatever happens? Lots of psychology to consider here when writing a story that continues after such events.
Personally, I don’t really know what to do here. Having a story stop because everyone is scared is definitely not a good idea. Yet, moving on with no mention of the fear and tension feels lazy. There is a simpler middle ground with having the emotions talked about and showing unnamed characters leaving. You don’t really reduce the population since they appear solely to be departing. Seems the easiest and cleanest way to tackle this and put a handful of readers at ease. Good chance that I’m not the majority in thinking about this problem.
So, what do you think about characters staying in areas with a high risk of death?
Legends of Windemere 