by matthewbrownstorie

The tales of high fantasy take readers on a journey to worlds of magic, wonder, and adventure. The majority of fans will agree that this subgenre begins with the man known as the father of high fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien. He was, among many things, the author of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. These stories are the baseline for high fantasy. Many authors have taken up the pen to give us even more. Let's take a look at a few elements that make high fantasy what it is.

First, we normally have a world similar to ours in that it is earth-like with mountains, lakes, trees, and fields etc. In addition, there is this wonderful thing called magic here! Also, there are different races and creatures in the imaginary world that further distances our world from theirs.

"Yes," said Aragorn, "we shall all need the endurance of the Dwarves. But come! With hope or without hope we will follow the trail of our enemies. And woe to them, if we prove the swifter! We will make such a chase as shall be accounted a marvel among the Three Kindred: Elves, Dwarves, and Men. Forth the Three Hunters!"
-Aragorn, The Two Towers.

There are many races that high fantasy stories cling to, but let's discuss some of the classic ones. First, we have humans who let us, the reader, enter the world and make believe that we could actually live in this fantasy universe the author has created. Next, we bring in the elves. Much of the light and magic of high fantasy comes from the elven race with their pointed ears and amazing feats of grace. Dwarves are stout warriors and crafters usually dwelling under mountains. They are known for their own magic, humor, epic beards, and the mining of precious metals and gems. Hobbits, or halflings, are a much smaller version of humans. Albeit a bit sneaky, they are just regular folk who like a comfortable bed and food and drink and books—very relatable to the average reader. Together, or alone, characters like these go on extraordinary adventures and the author shows us the very bright world with the darkness that is trying to take it over.

"My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!"
-Smaug, The Hobbit.

Trolls, goblins, orcs, spiders, necromancers, wargs, demons—these are the forces of evil. They are the darkness of the world and they want to destroy the natural beauty that the good, yet flawed, characters are trying to protect. There normally is no gray area here save for dragons in more modern high fantasy worlds. Dark, vile monsters and characters threaten the peaceful world.

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass."
-Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring.

When it comes down to it, magic (and lots of it) is where it's at for this subgenre of fantasy. In most tales there are wielders of magic like Tolkien's Gandalf the Grey, Terry Brooks' Allanon the Druid, or Ursula Le Guin's Sparrowhawk. Also, some characters may carry magic weapons like Sting, or something more rugged like the Elfstones of Shannara. Magic can often be the very center of the story plot, such as the one precious ring in The Lord of the Rings. Magic has that lightening-fast way of taking us out of the real world and into far away realms so expect plenty of it.

"Under the night the trees stood tall before them, arched over the road and stream that ran suddenly beneath their spreading boughs. In the dim light of the stars their stems were grey, and their quivering leaves a hint of fallow gold."
-Regarding Lothlorien, The Fellowship of the Ring.

The majority of high fantasy novels have massive worlds with deep history to constantly remind us we are no longer on earth. They might have many kingdoms, multiple foreign languages, and libraries of old legends. Here again we will see the light and the darkness that will be represented in the author's vision many different ways depending on the adventure you choose.

Here are a few classic high fantasy authors you may have heard of:

C.S. Lewis – The Chronicles of Narnia
Terry Brooks – The Shannara Series
Anne McCaffrey – The Dragonriders of Pern
Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman – The Dragonlance Chronicles
Robert Jordan – The Wheel of Time series
Ursula K. Le Guin – The Earthsea series

The cloak that is high fantasy grows as time goes on. Tales may be a bit lighter, say in the world of faeries (which actually holds its own perils). They may also dig a bit deeper into caverns of darkness for the unaware. Some stories like The Hobbit are shorter, while there are some tales with many tomes in a series for us to delve into. What they all surely do is give us a balanced fantasy story for us to enjoy.

On a personal note, I write high fantasy simply because I've always loved reading them. Tales of battling knights, powerful wizards, dragons, and quests to save the world are my favorite. I love bringing a group of interesting characters together and have them battle a dark, intriguing enemy.

Example of High Fantasy on Wattpad:
The Whispering Woods by matthewbrownstorie

Synopsis:

Ten years have passed since darkness cloaked the Whispering Woods. Madness awaits all who enter.

Tamberlain. A small trading town on the border of the woods scrapes by with what they can from farming the eastern fields and fishing Lac Dualdon. A place four companions-once bound by adventure, magic and gold-called home.

Otis Stonesinger is a dwarf healer and military strategist. Haygen takes pride in his mother's human side, but has learned to embrace his barbaric orc heritage. The faeling, Wesley Whiteknuckle, was born into the world of assassination and thievery. Finally, Kayla, a mystical elf trained in the magic arts.

Spread far across the lands for a much-needed rest, a tragedy brings the four friends back to Tamberlain only to be thrust into a war they never saw coming. What brings this new evil to the land? The Whispering Woods hold the answers.

Excerpt:

Kayla told everyone to take a knee and she began her story, "As you all know I've spent the last couple years learning at the Towers of Ulmaka. I was accepted into the Order of Fire soon after." She lifted up her right sleeve showing a circular brand burned into her skin with arcane symbols none of them knew. "I've never stopped looking for the answer to our questions about the woods. Sadly, I do not have all the answers for the curse of the woods is a relatively new occurrence and not much lore is known. However, I have discovered a way to pass safely through them."

"What do you want us to do?" asked the half-orc. He drew Icebane hoping it was something to do with cutting or chopping.

"Stay still. I must cast a ritual here before we go in. I must continue casting without interruption until nightfall. If I'm distracted, or injured, I will need time to start the ritual over again. We will be on our own."

"We'll look after you," Otis promised, "don't worry over that."

Kayla pushed the end of her staff into the dirt and dragged it through the earth making a circle around the four of them. Then she made several arcane marks within the circle. She then removed a small clay teapot from her bag and placed it in the middle of the circle. Ignoring the strange looks from the barbarian and the look of overwhelming awe from the small assassin, she began the ritual enchantment. She murmured her mystical lines repeating them in quintet fashion over the teapot. Next, the wizard added a bit of charcoal and a torn insect wing. As she rose to her knees her voice grew into a violent scream and her veins pulsed on her smooth neck. She raised her staff and speared it into the ground.

They all stood in awe as hundreds of bright purple butterflies erupted from the teapot. Many landed on each of them exploring them while the rest fluttered and bobbed no more than twenty feet away. A smile of wonderment crept across their faces.

"I've never seen anything more beautiful," said Wess.

Haygen picked one off his shoulder. "Hello there little bug."

Otis said, "I've seen many things in my time, but nothing like this. No, nothing like this."

"It worked," said Kayla exhausted yet staring in a trance. Her blue eyes faded from joy to focusing back on the arcane spell. "Do not harm them for they will protect us."

More on High Fantasy:

DragonCon 2019: Heroes of High Fantasy

https://youtu.be/4dvclLol2Bg

Fantasy Map Making, Step-by-Step

https://youtu.be/2q-eDLiqtdg

Why I Write about Elves: Terry Brooks at TEDxRainier

https://youtu.be/fExrstN8TEg

Music:

https://youtu.be/fMRIX9ydDeo