Forums » Writing Workshop » Read Thread

So I got the main storyline set out and all, but I'm at this one part and cant connect. Any ideas would be helpful, thanks!            

It's set in a fantasy like style. Theres two worlds: The mortal world (our world) and the Midnight Forest (immortal world)

The main character, Aldwyn, and his family get a letter from their cousins that their Great Uncle Embry has died. When they arrive at the manor where the funeral is, Aldwyn and his cousin, Anna, get bored and explore the house. They end up finding an Emerald Mirror and (This is where the fantasy kicks in) Jay, a cat from the trailer park speaks to them and tells them how to work the mirror. It works, and transports the children and Jay to the Midnight forest. They meet an old man, who tells them their part of a prophecy along with two others from the immortal world and they begin training. Two years later, they travel to Clockwork City, which is a major port city and hire an airship to get around. They get attacked by a monster, but safetly make it back to the ship and take off. They need to find an enchanted book that has a trapped soul, and any question you write in the book the soul writes back to you honestly, as his curse. They need the book to find out where to start their quest, and the antogonist are trying to take over the immortal world by force.                                            

I have a lot of ideas, but does anyone have any helpful advice? Like mythical creatures or plot twist/maybe other realms the mirror takes you? I'm stuck and anything will help thanks!

Mythical creatures;

Wyverns, Chimeras, Ents, Wisps, Cerberus, Griffins, Sirens, Pegasus, Gorgons, Banshees, Phoenix, Golems, Boggarts, Minotaurs,  Hydra, Fenrir, Cthulhu, Kelpie, Nemean Lion, Roc, Sleipnir, Stymphalian Bird, Thunderbird, Valkyrie, Djinn, the elementals, Ghoul, Selkie, Wraiths, Centaurs, Erinyes, Harpy, Lamia, Manticore, Satyr, Sphinx, Typhon, and a few dozens of others.

Naiads, Dryads, Pixies, Faeries, Kitsunes, Kappas, Trolls, Gnomes, Goblins, Unicorns, shape-shifters, Baba Yaga, Rusalka (took me forever to find that one again, it creeped me out when I was younger ... actually, a story I read still kind of creeps me out, it would make a great horror monster...) Fossegrim, Panlong, Kraken... 

Pegasus - unicorns with wings.

Pixies & Faeries pretty much the same thing. There's a bit of a size difference, and pixies have wings, but other than that they do the same exact thing.

I already have a few shapeshifters in my list as well. I would have added a few other things, but they were rather common mythical creatures. I bet there's at least a few in that list that you've never heard of.

Never heard of Naiads, Dryads, or Kitsunes though. What are they?

Edit; And now that you've edited, there are lots of others that I haven't heard of that you're listing.

No. A Pegasus is a horse with wings. A unicorn is a horse with a horn. An Alicorn is a horse with both. xD I can't believe I'm explaining this to you. Also, no. Pixies and faeries are not the same thing. Their origins and attitudes to humans are different. I meant like were-creatures when I said shape-shifters, I'm not talking about selkies or something of the like.

... You're kidding me. Did you never read the Chronicles of Narnia? Or Greek myths? Dryads are tree spirits who take human form and Naiads are water spirits who take human form.

>_> If you played the forest path of GOLAD, you'd meet a kitsune, but kitsunes exist in Japanese myth. A kitsune is a trickster "animal" spirit who usually has the form of a fox and carries their soul in the form of a bright, golden ball. The more tails they have, the more powerful they are. If they gain 9 tails (the max amount) they turn white or gold. They are masters of illusion, they're compulsive in their desire to lead people astray, but they also frequently fall in love with humans and if / when they do, they'll take the shape of a man or woman to be with them. They can be very kind or very cruel. They also occasionally possess peoples' bodies and have to be exorcized, but why, I don't know.

(I'm dead serious, though, about that Rusalka thing.) 

Nope. ^-^ It's either forty-something or fifty-something on my to-read list though. Lord of the Rings should be somewhere in that area as well.

Don't think I've played the forest path then.

Also, what's a Rusalka?

They're spirits of the dead who drowned and they act a bit like sirens. They live in or near bodies of water that are on land, like swamps and lakes, and they can shape-shift to best seduce men (or women in some tales) ... some pictures depict their natural forms as corpse like, with hollow-looking eyes and long, flowing, stringy hair, but they're also depicted as joyful, beautiful, dancing, singing, friendly creatures. Once they seduce someone, they draw them into the water and their hair apparently comes to life, entangling the living humans in it and dragging them under into the depths, then they hold them under until they drown. Also, if they're particularly giddy, they'll tickle you and laugh as you suffocate.

The -reason- I find it particularly creepy is that I read a story about this couple, one of whom was deathly afraid of water, but he slowly managed to get over his fear, day-by-day, to go swimming with his lover because he wanted them to be able to share his lover's favorite past-time. I didn't know what the hell a Rusalka was when I read it, so I ignored that bit, and it's charming and a little silly ... until the last part, where he's slowly being strangled under the water and his lover is all: "I'm so happy, now we'll be together forever because you'll never leave me... never..." and you get the feeling that this drowning is something the Rusalka doesn't even really want to do, something it's not even trying to do, but it's a compulsion. Even though it actually loves him, its very nature forces it to suffocate him.

And there's also the whole 'I'll always have your corpse with me' thing that I just find disturbing.

Wendigo, Adzes, Golems (Yay Hebrew Mythology), Frost Giants, Witches/Warlocks, Yetis, Kelpies, Valkeries, Mummies, Deities from multi-theistic religions, Gargoyles, Hippogriffs, Sekhmets, Aswang, Estries.

Mind-flayers, Beholders, Dopplegangers,  Domovoi, Kolobok, Lich, Dragolich, cikavac, tannukai, alkonost.

Ahuizhotl, Amala, Balam, Baykok, Campacti, Chenoo, Deer Lady, Hoga, Itcuintilpotzotli,
Menehune, N-dam-keno-wet, Nagual, Skinwalker, Ishkitini, Tlatecuhtli, Xolotl, Bigfoot,
Jersey Devil, Mothman, Okie Octopus

I already listed a few of those. (Golems, kelpies, Valkeries)

Oops, sorry.

Ah, the Wendigo. I like that one.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_creatures_by_type

You listed wyverns first, Taco. I respect that.

^-^

Thanks guys this really helped!