Fantasy Beings I Want to See More Of
- Griffins. Granted,
as the lesser-known fantasy creatures go, griffins (or, if you prefer,
gryphons) don't have it too bad. They're not entirely unknown, and there
are some pretty awesome books that feature them. However, they're still pretty under-represented in fantasy. A Goodreads list of the best griffin books has 66 books, while the "Best Books With or About Dragons" list
contains 540 books. Yeah. Big difference. So, why don't we see more
griffin-riders? More noble griffins allying themselves with the heroes
in order to defeat the villain, not out of any love for the hero but out
of their own pride and hatred of that villain? More baby griffins
acting sort of like baby birds and sort of like kittens and generally
being adorable? Am I the only one who thinks this would be awesome?
- Selkies. So they're basically seal shapeshifters? Except different? And I'll take that over mermaids any day, thank you, and not just because seals are adorable. (And yes, I know about The Little Selkie and it's on my to-be-read list, but I want more.)
A lot of the mythology about selkies seems to be tragic, which makes
sense- selkies would work really well in a
torn-between-their-own-people-and-the-humans plotline- but I think you
could work out a happy ending as well. (Oh, and the picture above is
from The Song of the Sea, which is an Irish animated film about selkies that I want to watch so much. Go watch this music video from it and you'll understand why.)
- Kelpies. They're carnivorous water horses, y'all. Carnivorous water horses. Why
is this not a thing? Imagine it: the heroes are short on time, rushing
to get to the villain's castle in time, and then- Oh, hurrah! One of
them spots a small herd of horses by the lake! And what's this? The
horses seem to be friendly! They must have been tame at one time! The
most impulsive one swings astride and- Oh, dragon's teeth BAD IDEA! On the other hand, imagine the character who can actually ride one of them? It'd be a sure sign of just how awesome (or terrifying) he is.
- Banshees. I know of one book- Jackaby- that
used banshees really well, in my opinion, but why don't more books?
They've got a lot of potential. Imagine an army (either attacking or
defending) sending out banshees to wander among their enemies, singing
their terrifying songs, as a form of psychological warfare? Imagine a
young banshee trying to escape the negative stereotypes of her race,
working as a healer and always able to know if a patient can be saved or
not. Imagine a banshee villain who plays up the reputation for all it's
worth. Why is none of this a thing?
- And now, for something completely different: the ittan-momen. Ok, so first, let me say that Japan has some really weird and creepy legends. (I know this because, in trying to remember the name of this thing, I ended up reading about some of the freakier ones.) Second of all: the ittan momen. According to various sources, it's a possessed roll of cotton that flies around and occasionally strangles or suffocates people. Why? I don't know. Who came up with this? I don't know that either. Why do I know about it? Writing research. I didn't end up using it at the time because it didn't fit the situation, but I really want one of these to show up somewhere just so people (including the characters) can be all "What the pumpernickel why does this even exist?" with me.
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)
That last one is genius.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I really want to see Song of the Sea as well. Have you seen the Secret of Kells?
Isn't it, though?
DeleteI have not. Is it good?
Secret of Kells is excellent. It's on Netflix and I'm hoping Song of the Sea will be put on as well. :P
DeleteGood to know. I'll have to look it up, and maybe my roomie and I can watch it next time we have a movie night.
DeleteI think you should write the book about the Banshee healer!
ReplyDeleteIt's on my list! I just have to find the right time . . .
DeleteI agree! There are so many fantasy beings out there. Although dragons are cool, I'd like a bit of variety.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather not have the Ittan-momen, though. That's just unsettling.
I'd like to see more sea creatures, or something really wild- like a serpopard!
Unsettling, yes, but also so weird and creepy that it's funny. Thus why I want it to show up.
DeleteI had to look up the serpopard- that's weird, but I agree, it needs to show up too. :D
Thanks for commenting!
With the exception of the ittan momen, I've researched and wished for more books on all of these creatures. They're all so cool!
ReplyDeleteGryphons actually are featured quite often in my Warriors of Talminia series. They're one of the five main races. I've also wanted to find a story in which to feature the Kelpie's close cousin, the Nokken. The Nokken is a magical Norse being that usually takes the form of either a horse or, more often, a young man. He plays his violin in the middle of a lake and lures people in to their deaths. Or, when he's in horse form, he coaxes people to mount him and then takes them on a wild ride until they meet their doom.
As for the ittan momen, that seems like it would feature really well in one of those modern, slightly-campy-but-still-cool magic busting stories. I have a seed of a story idea that may fit it. :D
That's awesome!
DeleteOoooh. You're currently one of my favorite people right now- I shall have to get around to read the Warriors of Talminia sooner rather than later!
Yay! And yes, a modern story would work well. Or any story that's pretty humorous. :D
Thanks for commenting!
That last one....... O.o
ReplyDeleteBut I'd love to see more chimeras. I don't know why they aren't very popular.
I know, right?
DeleteChimeras- didn't you do some stuff with those? But yeah, they would be cool to see more often.
Thanks for stopping by!
I wrote a book with a cute baby gryphon in it. Just putting that out there.
ReplyDeleteOooh. Have you shared this story anywhere?
Delete