Roughdragon
Minstrel
I'm working on a story where my characters travel and fight legendary monsters and myths. How do I introduce these monsters without taking away the mystery surrounding them?
Sorry I took forever to reply: What I meant by myths and monsters is that how can I introduce beings from my fictional world? Do I do it by side conversation? Do I have the character read a book?
Sorry I took forever to reply: What I meant by myths and monsters is that how can I introduce beings from my fictional world? Do I do it by side conversation? Do I have the character read a book?
Ah, I see.
Maybe how you do it depends on what kind of role those mythical creatures will play in your story and your world building. Are they never encountered (before the story begins), that is, the subject of myth for the inhabitants of your world but not something anyone alive has actually seen? Or are they a very present reality, encountered occasionally, or perhaps a part of current religious practices and magical endeavors?
The monsters that the story will focus on will be equivalent to how we see the Kraken, Cthulhu, or the Wendigo. They'll be myths told to children to scare them into behaving, but in reality, they're real.
Roughdragon, how do your characters first meet up with the creature? I'm assuming at some point they actually encounter the thing.
OK, so along the way they might spot a Cadaverous Cow. The characters go, did you see what I saw? That can't be. A Cadaverous Cow is just a legend, right?
Maybe they shrug it off. Saw it at a distance. Were drunk at the time. Whatever.
But further on they encounter other creatures from legend. They react to each as they see it, but soon enough, maybe around the campfire, they start wondering about other, scarier creatures. Like Grim Griffons or Eponymous Egrets, or even Alliterative Alligators. Or even Rough Dragons! This lets you establish some anticipation of More To Come.
In short, while you can choose to explain Things beforehand, it's also possible to present them as the characters encounter them.