by viridianhues

What if Anastasia Romanov was saved from the firing squad by fairies, and came back to reclaim her throne with the help of otherworldly warriors? What if Alexander the Great's empire stayed intact and was ruled by kings with dark magic and deadly chimera armies? What if mermaids sunk the Titanic in order to save their captive queen who was being shipped to a zoo? These are the types of questions that are the basis for the Fantasy subgenre called Alternate History.

This subgenre shows our world, but with a few big differences. Alternate History on its own requires that the outcome of some event in the past is changed, so that all that comes after that will deviate from the historic timeline we know. However, when it is used as a subgenre of fantasy, this means that magical elements or creatures are also added. In other words, the subgenre gives the freedom to do things like turn the tides of historic battles so that winners are now losers due to the brawn of giant troll soldiers.

​Now, as the name suggests, Alternate History stories must have some element of the past in their setting. This does not mean that the story being written must be set in the past (although a large proportion of authors do choose to make it historical). In fact, it can have a contemporary setting or even a futuristic one. However, whatever changes are present in the contemporary or futuristic setting must have come about because of a change the author made to our historical timeline (such as Edison being killed before he could harness electricity, thus making the year 2017 a place where people are still living off the land). Regardless of the time period chosen, it must be different from the matching period in our time as the result of some magically influenced change in history.

​The themes of Alternate History stories focus on examining the "what if"s of history, and showing how changing a moment in time could bring about a better or worse world. It is, essentially, a theme of the "butterfly effect". That is, change one thing in the past and it creates a tidal wave of changes that can make what comes next unrecognizable to us. It also can examine what a certain point in history would be like if magic was present, thus presenting new and interesting solutions or problems.

​The characters that populate these stories can be any sort of character that you would find in any other kind of book. Often, authors will choose to style characters after some notable historic figure (such as Lord Byron), or they will go ahead and make the real historic person a character themselves. However, completely original characters are perfectly acceptable as well. Since authors, for the most part, like to set their books in the past, the characters do tend to follow traditional patterns you would find in normal historical fiction—just with the added bonus of magic.

​Perhaps a fantastic example of an Alternate History story is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. For all the world, it could be a Dickens or Austen novel, set during the Napoleonic War. However, with the addition of fairies, golems, and magicians, it bends history and changes how wars were won and how Englishmen lived. Another example is Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente. This story, spanning many years, imitates Russian history but has the addition of multiple creatures from folklore as well as magic. Lastly, for those who prefer to read their stories with action-packed illustrations, the manga series Fullmetal Alchemist takes a slightly different spin on the subgenre by creating completely new countries. Though these places don't exist in real life, they closely resemble the look and feel of our early 1900s. With alchemy, chimeras, and the Philosopher's Stone, this series takes history on a completely new path.

​As a reader and a writer, I love the Alternate History subgenre. I think perhaps what holds me captive is the sheer amount of "what if" questions that it gives the opportunity to ask. I already am predisposed to enjoy and write normal Historical Fiction, but with Alternate History I can save innocents and change outcomes that were not fair. I can add creatures and magic and create a world of my own, but still stay within the history that I love so much. This subgenre offers me the ability to control something that is uncontrollable, which is the past. Quite simply put, I can put mermaids on board the Titanic and have a magician battle them. Who wouldn't be excited by that?

Example of Alternate History Fantasy on Wattpad:
The Titanic's (Mer)Maiden Voyage by viridianhues

Synopsis:

The brand new luxury liner, The Titanic, is transporting the first mermaiden in captivity to the Zoo of Magickal Creatures in New York City. A magician named Cedric Hughes is tasked with guarding her, but he finds the job more taxing than he thought. The mermaiden has been using her water powers and cunning to create as much chaos as she can. Cedric, with the help of the zoologist Filipa Abreu, must make sure the mermaiden is kept under check, and that nothing happens to the massive ship that is carrying so many people to a new life in America.

Excerpt:

The mermaiden pinned two employees against one wall with a steady stream of water, and held two others off with strong blasts of water.

​If this had been a normal fight, Cedric had read that getting the mermaiden away from water was the best course of action. However, they were in a small room in the hold of the second largest ship to sail these seas. He wouldn't be able to drain her case or empty the room of water. Which meant he'd have to get close enough to blast her with a jolt of a drowsiness spell. Easy enough. Or at least, he told himself this as he launched through the dirty water on the floor and toward the mermaiden.

​She noticed him almost immediately. As he ran forward, she stopped her attack on the two employees with bursts of water, and turned these toward Cedric instead. He pressed his palms together, activating his magick gloves. The white light of his magick whirled into a glowing ball between the spaces of his hands. The jewels on the backs of the mesh gloves slowly filled with light, storing the power so that he could use it without having to charge each time. He dodged the first blast of water while he waited for them to fully turn white, but the second blast of water smashed into his chest. It felt like taking a hit from Big Hen, the mountain-sized boxer who had scared the pants off all the new Brotherhood recruits. Water splashed into Cedric's mouth and nose, and flattened his hair into his eyes. He grunted and shook his head, clearing his vision just as his gloves finished charging.

​The mermaiden wasted no time in readying two new bursts of water, but this time Cedric was ready himself. He waved his hands in front of him, forming a shimmering shield around his body. The water curved off of it, splashing uselessly into the air, as he walked forward. The mermaiden, perhaps sensing that her attacks were no longer doing any good, slowed her thrashing in the case so that she could see. Her murky brown eyes peered at him as golden hair fanned around her. It never ceased to amaze Cedric just how human she looked. If it wasn't for the almost tattoo-like scales that patterned her neck and arms, and the long muddy-green tail that curled around her, she could have been any scantily clad woman in a burlesque show. Of course, just minus the murderous intent in her eyes and the pillar of water she built up from her case.

​She released the two employees she'd pinned against the wall, and used this water to build her pillar even larger. By this time, her tank was nearly empty, with all the water in the pillar, and she held herself up against the glass bottom. Her pillar swarmed above her, swirling in a cyclone that would be too powerful for Cedric's meager energy-shield.

Inspirations:

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Music

https://youtu.be/o5Yr0Fiqgqw