 MarinusTopic: The Politics of Fantasy
There's always politics. In fantasy, sooner or later, it will creep in. In fact, it's sometimes the fundamental motivation of a story. Politics, like anything else, has its own stereotypes:1) The fat, corrupted leader - usually inept, this one has little understanding of wider ramifications and takes little interest in international affairs. He has, however, honed his skills at the art of embezzlement down to perfection. Not friendly. 2) The ambitious leader - powerful and motivated, a dangerous enemy or a powerful ally, though in the end they owe their allegiance to no-one but themselves and their country. Most often a villain, they are insanely powerful themselves and generally hold sway over an advanced nation. 3) The Council - usually mercantile, its focus is on profit to the exclusion of everything else. Individual members are often corrupt and serve only their own interests and can easily be bribed. 4) The Good King - salt of the earth, a good ruler of a peaceful land. Friendly if approached in the right manner, easily accessible. 5) The Bad King - quintessentially evil, he rules his lands with an iron fist of hatred and brutality. A dictator; his whims and wishes are law. Often has a large army/secret police force to ensure his reign is not brought to a premature end. Always a villain. 6) The Puppet King - not evil, but not exactly good, either. Often repressed and held as virtual prisoner in their own palaces, they do not wield power themselves, rather, they are controlled by a member of the court or a shadowy outside interest. --------------------------------------------------- The Court/Senate/Whatever Court: A group of nobles close to and serving the ruler of the land. Essentially. A court has several subdivisions, in accordance with noble rank: At the very top of the noble heap (excluding the ruler) are Princes. Children of the ruler, they hold considerable power and are either ambitious, greedy and cunning or fair and just. After the Princes come the Dukes. Dukes also double as Grand Viziers or close advisors to the ruler. They are usually either irretrievably corrupted and hold lots of power, or straight as an arrow and repressed by the rest of the Court. Marquesses tend to be under-represented in fantasy as the title is generally not as well-known as the others. It is more commonly used for ladies of the court, although the correct address is 'Marchioness' in that case. They tend to be older and have a fearsome reputation and high social standing. They are also usually highly intelligent and politically savvy. Earls also tend to be older gentlemen, running to seed somewhat and reminiscing about the 'glory days of the blah blah blah.' They are mainly for ornamentation. Viscounts - these seem to always come in two flavours; dashing and debonair or greasy, oily and sly creatures. Viscounts often have access to more information than their seniors; what they lack in power or social standing they gain back in influence. Barons - Almost universally considered evil, the Baron is usually a supporting villain in the story, wrecking things to the best of his ability. Senators - see 'The Council' only there's more of them. ----------------------------------------------------- If you are planning to include politics of any sort in your story; as a prelude to a war or as a reason why something happens, try at least to make it interesting. The reason 'because we can' while it has been the basis for quite a few wars in the real world, has become overused. Consider, perhaps: 1) Racial history; was there some pivotal event in the distant (or not-so-distant) past that caused such emnity? 2) Beliefs; some of the most horrendous wars in history have been started over differences in religious belief. 3) Culture clash; when cultures collide, the result is almost never pretty. For example, one race's entire government may be built on the principles of free speech, democracy and freedom, while another's may be constructed on a single figure of power and slavery, a practice repulsive to the democratic race. Race X might therefore go to war with Race Y to free the slaves. An interesting question to ask might be 'Do the slaves mind being slaves?' They might enjoy it. Or at least, not complain too much. 4) Anything else that fits and you can make work. As with anything in writing, it's all subjective. If clichés are written well, they can buoy up a story, carry it and continue it. Just be sure you're happy with the reasoning behind it all. And remember, your rulers are not cardboard cut-outs. The world does not only exist in black and white; there is always grey. A good king may take delight in sinful pleasures, a bad king may only appear so to other nations; he may care greatly for his own people or those close to him. A bad king may work alongside you if he sees that it would be beneficial in the long run. Everyone has an agenda; it may run parallel to your hero's own or diverge completely, but it will never be exactly the same. Always think of reasons why people would help one another. For example, a rich trading country's ruler might decide to aid you in your quest because the breakdown of trade in the world would cost much more in the long run than the cost of aiding in the war. ---------------------------------------------------- Peace takes just as much effort, if not more, than war. Peace is a constant struggle to maintain; any country's ruler, at some point, gets imperialistic ambitions, and to repress such ambitions requires a strong ruler or several very powerful nations in a trusting alliance that would crush said country in an instant. Peace can easily be broken down into war; it's much harder to build it back up again. That's all I can think of for politics at the moment; it's not my strong point and I'm sure there'll be writers who have better hints than me. |
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