The flow of time in fantasy worlds.
Fantasy is a huge genre, but with few exceptions (”The Iron Dragon’s Daughter” comes to mind) there are very few fantasy worlds that have any sort of modern setting, and even less of these feature a world that develops over time. However, the world of Arathria will evolve over time; the mythos of the world will expand from a primitive state all the way into a futuristic setting. However, the bulk of the stories about the world will be about a clichéd medieval period. It will be done this way to allow a complete universe to form. There must be a beginning, middle and end to create a full mythos.
Most other fantasy worlds focus on a single time period (plus or minus a few generations) and are sprinkled heavily with references to the ancient past where things more fantastic and mythical happened. However, I hate how this is done. Why say that this and that happened but not show its repercussions?
Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman
This book asks the questions what would Einstein’s dreams be like leading up to the publishing of the Theory of Relativity. Lightman is kind enough to give us quite a few short stories that are written in a powerful and insightful way.
The stories includes scenarios such as what would happen if time ran at different speeds in different towns. Although the stories on the surface sound fanciful and utter rubbish they dig deep into modern society and in a very subtle way critique they way people live their lives. Lightman also brings up many of the doubts people have in their lives and portray both the questions and answers in an insightful and entertaining way.
