by HannaRossFantasy

Crossworlds fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy which typically involves traveling between an ordinary world and a magical one. It is very similar to portal fantasy - indeed, the line between the two subgenres often becomes blurred, with the main distinction that portal fantasy, unlike crossworlds, can also include time travel.

The main protagonist of crossworlds fantasy usually comes from the ordinary part of the story setting - typically, our thoroughly mundane world - and is transplanted, by supernatural means of some kind, to the magical world, in which the main story arc takes place. Thus in Chronicles of Narnia, for example, the protagonists go through a wardrobe (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe), through a painting (The Voyage of The Dawn Treader), etc. In my own fantasy trilogy, Quest of the Messenger, the magical substance of Stormstone is used for the construction of gates between the worlds.

The protagonists of the crossworlds subgenre can range from a very clear Chosen One trope (I.e., there is an obvious reason why this person and not any other was taken to the magical world), to a totally ordinary person who just happens to be there. There may be hereditary or acquired qualities that make such transition possible - age being one of them as, for instance, Peter and Susan are told at the end of Prince Caspian that they will return to Narnia no more because they are too old.

Either way, the world travelers will usually find themselves in the midst of some very cool stuff, whether it's learning magic, influencing global politics or fighting an evil sorcerer. By the end of the story - and sometimes a lot sooner - it becomes clear that the main protagonist has played a key role in the salvation, advancement or change of the world to which they had been transferred.

As the main protagonist is typically cut off from home entirely, it is natural that thoughts of returning occupy them a lot, sometimes more than anything else, like it happens for Dorothy in Wizard of Oz, whose every effort is dictated by the longing to go back to her aunt and uncle. The Pevensie children in Narnia, on the other hand, do not seem very preoccupied with going back to their families.

Some other examples of crossworlds fantasy books are Alice in Wonderland, Behind the Bookcase by Mark Steensland, and Coraline by Neil Gaiman. As you may have noticed, these are all children's books - and, indeed, as an author who writes adult, dark fantasy in this subgenre I often feel like an oddity. I see no reason, however, why crossworlds should remain an almost exclusive property of Middle Grade fantasy authors. There is certainly room enough for mature fantasy here.

The most challenging element about writing crossworlds and portal fantasy, in my opinion, is the meeting between the two worlds which were not supposed to meet. The system of transport has to be believable (in the context of the story, of course) and not contrived. As for the main character, the one thrown headlong into the foreign world, they should hold some kind of a happy medium between being simply strung along after events they cannot control (boring) and turning out a superhero that saves the world single-handed (exaggerated and tacky).

I have heard some voices claiming that crossworlds fantasy is simplistic and outdated, that it no longer holds the interest of the savvy fantasy reader, certainly not an adult reader. I disagree. Like any subgenre of fantasy, this one is incredibly versatile - anything can happen, from the classic sword and sorcery to magical realism with touches of the dystopian. I hope that authors who write in this subgenre will surprise us with some gems of crossworlds fantasy in the near future.

Example of Crossworlds Fantasy on Wattpad:
Quest of the Messenger by HannaRossFantasy

Synopsis:

"Meet Nicholas Swift, a determined bachelor and a skeptical historian. His work is made of dispelling myths and shedding light on the solid body of fact. When he is told by the residents of a small village about a strange phenomenon that can be observed in the area, he dismisses these rumors as old wives' tales. Sooner than he knows, however, he is drawn into an adventure he neither expected nor wished for as he discovers a magical link between our world and another quite unlike it.

Nicholas finds himself in a land full of loyalty and courage, but also blood-thirst and danger. He meets a king who yearns for an heir, a man who hides a dark secret, and a woman who believes she has what it takes to keep her beloved land safe, but threatens countless lives in the process. In the midst of it all, Nicholas is left to figure out the purpose of his unique fate."

Excerpt:

"Aldon-Sur is a place of learning," she said, "It is also the source of Stormstone, the magical substance that can, as the learned ones say, be fashioned into gates between our world and The-World-Beyond. And there is other knowledge too, more secret perhaps... but you do not believe it, I can see that," she snapped suddenly, and was silent. Thadorn sensed she had half a mind to turn around and walk away, and hastened to speak.

"It's not that I don't believe that," he said, "I just feel we have more than enough work to be done in our own world."

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