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Fantasy Dictionar
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Fantasy Dictionar
Fantasy Dictionary
Writing a fantasy story often involves world-building: creating the setting in which your story takes place. Physical location is an important part of this phase—the house, cavern, mountain, forest, town, ship, island, or any other space your characters inhabit. But it is more than just a place. Building a world may mean thinking about the history, art, music, language, clothing, and customs of the story’s people—how they earn a living, what they do on holidays, and what everyday objects they use.
Of course a writer can’t design every aspect of a culture. If you did that, you’d never get around to writing the story! But here is the key: you want to think carefully enough about these things so that the reader believes your fantasy world goes on beyond the edges of your story. You want this imaginary world to feel real. And you do that with some well-placed, clear, creative details.
So let’s do some world-building! Please come up with objects, places, words ... any ideas for a fantasy story’s world. Tools, animals, types of clothing, dwellings—any of these and more may become necessary elements in our story! You may suggest as many as you like, or even post a strange word and let others suggest meanings. If you want, you can also write a sentence using the word or describing the fantasy place. Here are two examples:
haloris – a lantern that gives off both light and a pleasant scent. It is used by people who live near the swamps to counter the odors of mud and decay.
“Quill’s boots sank into the moss, deeper at each step, and ahead she could see a swamp, moonbeams glittering on pools that lapped around the tree roots. Catching the stench of stagnant water, she pulled the haloris lamp from her pack and set it alight.”
gnawk – a large, black bird with a raucous cry and uneven feathers that always look ruffled and untidy. Gnawks have a fondness for pecking and chewing on rope, and they are notorious for setting free dogs and farm animals tied with ropes. They unmoor boats tied to docks, and have been known to free certain fortunate prisoners.
Can you see how story ideas practically ooze from your Fantasy Dictionary, once you get your imagination going?
submitted by Fred Durbin
(April 23, 2014 - 10:11 am)
(April 23, 2014 - 10:11 am)
yellow fruits shaped like garlic cloves which you eat.
(July 3, 2014 - 3:55 pm)
This is my 1st time--well, second, actuually, since I deleted the 1st by accident- so don't be too judgmental.
Moonbird- A bird like a hummingbird, but black with silver streaks, drinking only the nectar of the Moon Bloom.
" The Legend is the Mother Moonbird gave birth to the stars, which are eggs waiting to fall to the earth and hatch. "
Moon Bloom- A bloom which only opens in the light of the full moon. Emits soft light.
Kiv- Small, intelligent winged squirrels.
" The Kiv chirped. The elf nodded. Leaping forward, the Kiv slashed her sword through the air."
Aruve- The land of dreams and sleep, where people between life and death linger.
Deéy- a rock-like egg meant to hold a present, or precious thing. A good disguise. No one knows how to get things inside them.
" The blue-gray rock cracked. Everyone gasped. A tiny golden locket was among the wreakage of the deéy."
What do you think ?
(July 3, 2014 - 5:55 pm)
Cool ideas! I like the Moon Bloom idea :D
(July 12, 2014 - 4:37 pm)
Thanks!
(July 13, 2014 - 4:58 pm)
I really like your idea about the moonbird and the moon bloom and how the stars are eggs waiting to fall to the earth and hatch. I also like the idea for the land of Aruve. Maybe this land could be associated with underground places in the real world and can be reached through caves and deep bodies of water.
(September 21, 2014 - 1:40 pm)
Possible names for the world:
Gallice
Avisera
Auribia (desert)
Somnia
Faven
Patira
Castale
Cymri
Isran
Magical Creatures/Beings:
Fynns: Fairies, but they're tiny. As in, one inch max. They live in forests, in large communities. Though usually very flighty and scared, they can tell the future and if they like you, will come out and whisper your fortune in your ear. Because of this, fynns are considered lucky.
Kerwynns: Majestic birds, their feathers can fix anything, like illness or poverty or even... a bad fortune. However, they are extremely rare and have never been seen: only if they approve of you will they swoop down before you, drop a feather, and swoop off in a blur of royal blue.
(July 3, 2014 - 10:11 pm)
I like the world name Cymri a lot.
(July 4, 2014 - 3:18 pm)
Thanks!
(July 6, 2014 - 1:33 pm)
lastre- someone who posseses magic
ex. He smiled cruelly when he realized it- she was a lastre.
treklas- someone who is cursed
ex. "I am a treklas. You cannot help me."
nanan- a term for love or comfort
ex. "Nanan can be found anywhere and everywhere, especially when you least expect it."
treke- a curse
ex. The treke rebounded, leaving her with herself and only that.
regong- something that should be dead but isn't
ex. "Is it true? You're alive? You are now a regong?"
(July 4, 2014 - 9:41 am)
fizzyplumed- confused
sheamer- someone who can make anything out of stone
lumica tree- a tree that grows very quickly, only when the moon is at its highest point
bryll- a very rare creature to see, formed when moss grows on the highest branch of the lumica tree
winnigruff- a black bear with a turtle shell that it usually hides in
sputflam- a fiery creature that always extinguishes and burns again, usually found near campfires
sabralune- a waterfall that flows upward instead of downward
barler- a sheamer's apprentice
journe- a person who travels on quests to search for rare monsters
klyger- a monster hunter
Halomus- The creature of the sun, very kind, and one of the most legendary and wanted creatures in the world. Klogne is the other one. They say if you see her, you can harness the energy of the sun
Klogne- Pronounced like the word "cologne." He is the other most legendary and wanted creature in the world. He is very mischievous and mysterious. If you see him, you can harness the energy of the moon. Halomus and Klogne are siblings but are also enemys.
amarola- a flower used for poison potions
forlor- a flower used for sleep potions
trasica- a flower used for hypnosis potions
pyronisi- A flower used for exploding powder. The second "i" in pyronisi is pronounced like the word "fly" or "science."
(July 4, 2014 - 10:23 am)
fizzyplumed- confused
sheamer- someone who can make anything out of stone
lumica tree- a tree that grows very quickly, only when the moon is at its highest point
bryll- a very rare creature to see, formed when moss grows on the highest branch of the lumica tree
winnigruff- a black bear with a turtle shell that it usually hides in
sputflam- a fiery creature that always extinguishes and burns again, usually found near campfires
sabralune- a waterfall that flows upward instead of downward
barler- a sheamer's apprentice
journe- a person who travels on quests to search for rare monsters
klyger- a monster hunter
Halomus- The creature of the sun, very kind, and one of the most legendary and wanted creatures in the world. Klogne is the other one. They say if you see her, you can harness the energy of the sun
Klogne- Pronounced like the word "cologne." He is the other most legendary and wanted creature in the world. He is very mischievous and mysterious. If you see him, you can harness the energy of the moon. Halomus and Klogne are siblings but are also enemys.
amarola- a flower used for poison potions
forlor- a flower used for sleep potions
trasica- a flower used for hypnosis potions
pyronisi- A flower used for exploding powder. The second "i" in pyronisi is pronounced like the word "fly" or "science."
(July 4, 2014 - 10:25 am)
I have a place idea.
Sarsvik - A slummy port town that once was bursting with life. Shops that long ago bosted many riches and foreign wonders now display only dust and the ocasional homeless wanderer in their shattered, grungy windows. New trade routs were established, and the town was left to rot. Scattered with abandoned, crumbling buildings, every scrap of wealth that remained has been long since snatched up greedy thieves and gangs that roam the stenchy streets. Crime is lurking behind every corner, waiting in the shadows for a new victim, or an old one it hasn't molested in a while. The perfect place for blackmarket dealers, evil scemes, and dirty secrets; that is, if you can outwit the crafty criminals.
(July 4, 2014 - 12:50 pm)
Invisibail- A being that can see and get to invisible things without trouble. "She could get to and see the man because she was an Invisibail."
Crov- A being that is able make anything invisible, including itself. "The man must have been a Crov in order to make this so."
Wrotern- A being that is able to make the writen word true. "Fable hated being a Wroten. If only she had been born different. If only the prophecy did not exist. Then Fable would not be afraid of herself and she would be like everyone else."
I hope you like these. If anyone comes up with more powers and cannot find a name for them, just tell me and I can help.
(July 4, 2014 - 5:45 pm)
Gruntler: A dwarf peddler. They often wear grimy clothes, and when asked their name, they grunt in reply. Hence the term "gruntler".
Taw: Wanderer slang for someone who doesn't leave their hometown. Often regarded with a sense of distaste among the wanderers.
Resbeke: Someone who is cursed
(July 4, 2014 - 6:47 pm)
sheeo = Shadow man
sheea = Shadow girl
Writoy = A boy/girl who makes the future with pen and paper. only few are alive.
reigonay = king
reigonayine = queen
guhibah = the land in which the characters live in.
Sheha = witch
tuhireah = man eating monster.
(July 4, 2014 - 8:55 pm)