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World Realms

Addison

Auror
Most fantasy worlds have more than one realms. There's the physical realm, where we live and have the adventure...or not in this world's case.

There's the usual realms: heaven, hell, Otherworld. Depending on your world there could even be the world where the monsters under the bed live.

I'm hitting a bit of a snag with the realms of my world. There's the physical realm, the Otherworld, the Spirit Realm (you know in magic how wizards summon fire spirits and elementals, they're from this world), the Underworld/Hell, the Aether/Heaven, then there's the Wasteland. A realm of my own creation. It's where creatures and experiments of WW2 went. (This is a world where magic has been a part of life since the Celts to present).

The snag is the Old Realm. In the world's history there were a fair population who thought the world inventions and such were perfect as is. They fought the addition and change of life. The Wild West wanted to keep its horses, bands of outlaws, saloons premiering their new siren singer. The wish was granted, with cowboys existing while others got to enjoy their Ford trucks. The hang up is: is the Old Realm a completely separate realm like Otherworld and Hell? Or are there several Old Worlds all around the world just heavily protected? Kinda like Lithuania (if my geography is correct. A country that governs itself while residing in a country.

Right now I see it as an entirely different realm, but I'm afraid it takes something away from the urban fantasy feel of the story. Thoughts?
 

WooHooMan

Auror
Lithuania is an independent country. I think Hong Kong might be closer to what you're talking about.
I think you might be just be describing the Amish, honestly.

Personally, I think the other realm thing is more believable (and interesting). However, instead of the people within the realm choosing to be there, I think it'd might work better if there's something else controlling it.

I don't know what kind of "feel" you're going with in this story since you didn't describe a story.
 

Ban

Troglodytic Trouvère
Article Team
Your geography is waaay off. Lithuania is a fully independent country.


Anyways, I don't understand what your goal is with the "Old Realm". Is it a form of afterlife? Is it a collection of people within our world? You need to provide more information if you want good advice.

Besides that I also can't figure out what the wasteland is either. "where creatures and experiments of WW2 went". Does that mean that it is a parallel universe and if so how could and did that universe experience the same WW2, despite the presence of magic since the time of the celts. Or is it a form of afterlife as well, where past horrors of our universe go to when they lose relevance?
 

K.S. Crooks

Maester
I think Vatican City is the example you're looking for. An independent state residing within another country (Italy). You could make your place a floating island (in the air or on water) that moves to different regions of the world. Or have the world invisible to most and accessed though a special passage like in Stardust and many other stories.
 

Addison

Auror
Alright, here's a description of the world this story takes place:

It's our world, same continents, same religions, oceans, historic figures. The catch is in this world magic never disappeared. It's been part of life since the celts. The Indian Trade company traded steel for cauldrons. Safari's were held to hunt tigers and chimeras...chimeri? The Salem Witch Trials hunted real witches (although some innocents were accidentally killed), the French Indian war was fought with magic by the french and shamanism from the indians. The industrial revolution brought the assembly-line factory to help make flying brooms, it revolutionized medicine and alchemy. In the civil war big foot and Tarasque dragons fought with the north, while Voodoo priests and undead helped the south. Getting the idea? Imagine all that leading to the year 2016.

Part of the back story is the most powerful sorcerer at the time, not Merlin, had a gift of foresight. He lived during the second World War. He saw all the different things the war was churning out. Pre-spelled wands (they had a short life span) armored flying carpets, new spells for battle, clockwork golems, lycanthropes which changed on different moons. He saw that the world was getting dangerous, unbalanced and crowded with all the new magic stuff. So he enacted a huge spell, the biggest in history. A spell which would send the magics, the overcrowding, to a different yet parallel and accessible realm. You know how a mirror shows a reflection, or the water surface? He used those as doors and blank canvases for the worlds. In one went the overcrowding, so mermaids, cowboys, druids, nagas and the aztec could live in peace and flourish. In the other went the WW2 creations that threatened both worlds. The werewolves which changed on the new moon, vampires who burned in moonlight, not sunlight, golems from electricity and sand. This world is the Wasteland.

The Wasteland is the most difficult realm to enter. The only allowable reasons for a person to enter is military training, or a criminal on a life sentence or facing execution gets a fighting chance in the Wasteland. Some alchemists, biologists and such go there for study and such.

The world the overcrowding went to is the Old World. Easier to access, but rules apply. Usually those who go into the Old World can't bring technology or such things from the primary world. So hypothetically, all game boys, cell phones, pre-spelled wands and such would have to stay behind.

The Old World is where I get hung up. Is it a separate world entirely, like the Otherworld where only they fey live, or Hell? Or would it be like Lithuania/Vatican City? The stories which take place in this world are Upper Middle Grade..bordering on YA urban fantasy. A rag tag group of flunkies and outcasts have to find someway to work together without killing each other. They're trying to get to the bottom of a thief ring, which is personal for the main character because they stole his late father's jacket. The only item he has of his dad's.

So, with that said and hopefully giving a sense and feel for the story, which is better for the Old World? An entirely separate realm or Vatic City like areas?
 

Queshire

Auror
Well, if the problem was overcrowding then it makes sense to have it be a different realm rather than just a place on Earth, no? Since if it was just Australia or something it wouldn't really "solve" overcrowding.
 

Smajdalf

Scribe
I think the realms are realities, dimensions, time and worlds. We can say that if I'd be a traveller in all of these, it would look like:
I visited Vallhalla in the Spectral realm at 1233
b.c. in 7th dimension. Complicated, isn't it?
 
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