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- Fantasy Races -
There are two things in which all creatures in Fantasy Milieux are classed as: they are either a fantasy creature, like a unique being or perhaps not so much so developed and more like an animal. Or they can be a fantasy race, which is like us, for example elves or goblins. We do, however, tend to prejudiced with shape and the values of humans. We define race using the following race:
N.B. The last two are the most critical in defining a race.
1: DWARVES Dwarves are shorter than humans are and sometimes misshapen, with heads or shoulders larger than a human's. They tend to be bearded, and are identified with the underworld as their homes. In Norse Mythology, dwarves live in the caves of Nidavellir and are wonderful craftsmen. 2: ELVES One of the most common fantasy races in legend and literature is the race of elves. They appear in a variety of fairy tales and have different appearances according to different legends. They all appear to possess magic. Some are benevolent and some, malevolent. 3: FAIRIES Fairies are pictured in folklore as diminutive supernatural creatures, generally in human form, dwelling in an imaginary region called fairyland; and the stories of its interventions through magic in mortal affairs. The term fairy is also loosely applied to such beings as brownies, gnomes, elves, nixies, goblins, trolls, dwarfs, pixies, kobolds, banshees, sylphs, sprites, and undines. The folk imagination not only conceives of fairyland as a distinct domain, but also imagines fairies as living in everyday surroundings such as hills, trees, and streams and sees fairy rings, fairy tables, and fairy steeds in natural objects. The belief in fairies was an almost universal attribute of early folk culture. In ancient Greek literature the sirens in Homer's Odyssey are fairies, and a number of the heroes in his Iliad have fairy lovers in the form of nymphs. The Gandharvas (celestial singers and musicians), who figure in Sanskrit poetry, were fairies, as were the Hathors, or female genii, of ancient Egypt, who appeared at the birth of a child and predicted the child's future. 4: GIANTS Giants are towering superhumans, often portrayed as having immense strength but not much wit. They are present in a range of literature. In one example, however, the power of three by Diane Wynne Jones, we are portrayed as giants but we don't realize this until half way through the book. The titans, in Greek mythology, 12 children of Uranus and Gaea, Heaven and Earth, and some of the children of the 12. Often called the Elder Gods, they were for many ages the supreme rulers of the universe and were of enormous size and incredibly strong. Cronus, the most important of the Titans, ruled the universe until he was dethroned by his son Zeus, who seized power for himself. The other important Titans were Oceanus, the river that flowed around the earth; Tethys, his wife; Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory; Themis, the goddess of divine justice; Hyperion, the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn; Iapetus, the father of Prometheus, who created mortals; and Atlas, who carried the world on his shoulders. Of all the Titans only Prometheus and Oceanus sided with Zeus against Cronus. As a result, they were honored and the others were bound in Tartarus. Eventually, however, Zeus was reconciled with the Titans, and Cronus was made ruler of the Golden Age. 4: GOBLINS These little mischievous creatures appear in many folk and fairy tales. They often are depicted as wearing caps and misshapen and bowed. They are associated with the Earth element and live among tree roots and cracks in roots. Although they are meddlesome, they're not usually dangerous. 5: MERMAIDS Many people used to believe that mermaids were as real as any other creatures. They were said to love singing and have magical powers. People thought that they were dangerous, using their beautiful voices to lure sailors to death by drowning. However, there are a couple of tales of men who gained power over a mermaid (why did they have to do that? Spoils their whole invincible image. Probably some chauvinist pig's idea). By taking their mirror or comb (that bit's too silly for sure). Then they got married and he took her to live on dry land. I have to say what?!? To that too, the mermaid must have been pretty immobile! 6: TROLLS Similar to giants, Trolls are the popular bad guys in legends. When Thor was not fighting giants, he was off fighting trolls. Trolls are often large in size, thought not as big as giants are. They're associated with rocks and being rocklike in both durability and intelligence (sounds like some of the people nowadays, maybe we crossbred?) Trolls usually live in caves or mountains, through sometimes they live under bridges and devour poor little goats (the three Billy goats gruff). 7: GNOMES Gnomes are similar to dwarves and are depicted as having more human proportions than dwarves. Like dwarves, they also live underground. 8: OTHER RACES There are plenty of other creatures that you can nab from legends out there and it's worth taking a look at some of them before you start writing. I haven't put them down here simply because I haven't the time.
9: LIST OF MYTH AND LEGEND CREATURES Writers of fantasy and horror are usually looking for obstacles for their heroes and what's better than a good old monster? Below I've written a list of creatures from various myths and legends around the world, you should be able to find definitions on the web.
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