Fantasist's Scroll

An interesting website.

Ricardo Pinto has put up a website to support his series of books, which is really one book in three parts, called The Stone Dance of Chameleon. The third book is forthcoming, but the first two are out. (They are The Chosenand The Standing Dead, in case you’re interested.) I haven’t read either book yet, but the world displayed on the website is fascinating. It has quite a few similarities to Mayan or Incan cultures, but, of course, with a very unique twist or three to them. It really looks like a rich, full world that one could spend quite a bit of time exploring. Certainly, the author seems to have spent quite a bit of time creating it: over ten years, according to his claims. He has a created language and maps of the geography in the books. Not only maps, but actual sculpted models, too!
This website is the first introduction I’ve had to the books, but I’m impressed enough that I might just have to hunt the books down when I get caught up in the reading department. Go see for yourself!

What is the art of magical writing?

Well, I think it would be called “chirography”. It’s not really a popular way to do magic in the West, but the Eastern magi have used it for generations. Taoist charms and such are all mainly written spells on special paper with special ink and blessed by special ceremonies and prayers. Of course, Western wizards have the Runes, but it just doesn’t have the same feel. Runes are usually engraved on stone or wood and they seem so primative with all their sharp angles and simple forms. But, Eastern calligraphy is so flowing and exotic that it just seems to be made from magic.
I was first introduced to this kind of magic via anime and manga. A priestess holds up a strip of paper with Chinese symbols on it, shouts out a “prayer”, and a fireball launches from the paper. What fun! Every so often, I search for information on this, but rarely come up with much. The latest time, though, I found Yellow Dragon Talismans.
It occured to me that this would be a great way to do magic in a fantasy fiction world. It’s not really something that I’ve seen before and it has some nice limitations that generate some good plots. Also, as a writer, I like the emphasis on how magic the written word is! In any case, it’s an idea that captures my imagination, so I thought I’d throw it out for anyone else who might be fishing for an idea for their constructed world.

A little review with a big title!

I recently purcahsed The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Spells & Magic, which is a neat, inexpensive, little book. It’s a very brief, simple encyclopedia of superstitions and magic beliefs that covers a lot of ground. First off, let me say that I don’t think anyone should try 99% of what’s in this book! A lot of it involves either dangerous materials or cruelty to animals. However, as a reference to what the people of Europe thought of or about magic, it’s pretty cool.
There are several sections, each highlighting a different area of magic. Everything from witches to alchemy to the Kabbalah. And, while I have to admit it’s not always the most accurate information, it at least gives a good overview of what was going on. Each section has a little bit of history, a couple of important historical figures related to that particular practice, and some of the general ideas involved.

While this is far from a book of practical magic, it is nice for either a writer or RPG game master who wants to add a bit of color to their work. At the very least, it’s a good reference overview that let’s you decide what general area to focus on and then find more information. If you take it for what it is, it’s a good little reference book.

The rise of civilisation explained.

I finished Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond this weekend. What an amazing book!
When I started this, someone from a mail list I’m on said that it should be required reading for anyone interested in creating a world. I heartily agree. In a short 425 pages, Mr. Diamond shows us how mankind stopped being nothing more than roving bands of “primative” hunter-gatherers and grew into complicated societies. He also shows us how some cultures advanced more quickly than others. Along the way, he explains how history works. What drives massive migration? What allows someone to invent? Why would we need to develop writing and what advantage does it give over people who can’t?
All those questions, and more, are answered in a very logical, easy-to-understand way that was a pleasure to read. In fact, it was a challenge to read during the holidays because each page is so densely packed with relavent information that I felt I needed to devote my entire attention to the page. I’m sure there were important ideas that I missed, so I’ll eventually re-read this one, and I say that about very few books.

As a writer, I found numerous ideas for how a culture might develop in this book. And, along with those ideas, I found a lot of motivations for created people, as well. At many times in history, life has been an adventure, no matter who you were or what you wanted life to be. Mr. Diamond highlights several of those times in Guns, Germs and Steel. For instance, imagine what it must have been like to be some of the first people to colonize New Guinea or Australia using only primative stone and bone tools. Now, imagine what it might have been like with a few differences, like steel. Start writing about those imaginings and, viola, you’re off and running.

No matter how you slice it, Guns, Germs and Steel is a great book that I’d reccomend to almost anyone with an interest in ancient history.

Do they have daylight savings on Mars?

I never realized how much of a problem time and dates can be between planets. Maybe I just got used to the whole “Stardate” concept, or something, but I never figured that Mars having a different rotational period would effect its day. Year, sure, but having a different length day caught me by surprise. Anyhow, I may not have thought of it, but scientists at NASA sure have. This article on Asrobiology Magazine describes what they’re going through to allow for this. It’s quite a challenge!

You can read more about how Martian time works, and differs from Earth time, at Marsbase Dot Net. And, if you’d like something to help you keep track of what time it actually is on Mars, you can get the Mars Time Tool from the Goddard Instituite for Space Studies.

Let’s make some history!

I love timelines. They’re a great way to summarize history and a wonderful way to stimulate sociological creativity.
Using timelines to outline historical development is a technique I first saw discussed in Dragon Magazine as a way to make the game world more “real”. The writer used it to great effect in an example from a post-apocalyptic game called Gamma World. He sketched out a timeline that made a small tribe seem more three-dimensional because they had a history. I think a lot of culture is history, or, perhaps a lot of culture is the result of history.

In any case, I’ve messed around with timelines for some time. In my search for ideas, I came across a little program that would, given a few parameters, generate a timeline for you. Sure, it was random and simple, but it had enormous potential for creativity. So, of course, I had to steal it. Well, at least, “co-opt” it. So, now, I have a simple, web-based version available for free.
Y’all enjoy the new Timeline Generator.

Ever wanted to have a blog recorded in Shire Reckoning?

How about Islamic dates? Well, now, you can do just that in MovableType thanks to my CustomDates plugin. I started with code from a plugin done by zumaidi and posted on the MovableType Support boards. Then, I added a CPAN module by Tom Braun for calculating the date according to Shire Reckoning.

As far as I can tell, no one has done this before. Not sure why no one’s done anything sooner, but I was totally dissatisfied with the lack of a custom date feature in MovableType. Luckily for me, one of the better features of MT is that it’s extendable with PERL. So, I put this little baby together. It’s not perfect, but it does a fairly good job. I still need to make some improvements and add in some more date systems, like Hebrew and the Forgotten Realms, but it’s good enough to release now, I think.
You can see and example of it running at my test blog. Of course, as I add and test new features, that test blog will change a bit.

Enjoy!

No, really, it’s the history of sewers.

Anyone who’s ever talked to me about creating realistic worlds or fantasy settings knows that my pet peeve is a lack of sanitary facilities. No one ever seems to go to the “loo”, as the British put it. Very rarely does anyone venture into the sewers after an alien or mutant. But, a lot of city design is driven by the need to dispose of “waste” in an efficient, and safe, manner. Castles could be attacked via an unprotected privy. Criminals can escape via the sewers. And, more importantly, bad sanitation can cause huge epidemics, not to mention effecting the “quality of life” for a city’s citizens.
Don’t believe me? Well, check out The History of Sanitary Sewers. It’s all true. Every last goopy detail. Great site. A crap-load of information, if you’re pardon the pun! Check it out!