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When people think of their favorite fictional worlds they love spending time in, they think of the cities and other locations that they fell in love in when they discovered them the first time. These places are part of what’s known as fantasy countries and these realms have an outsized influence not just on each other but the story itself. Many tales showcase how decisions made in the past by multiple nations over decades and centuries led to the crisis unfolding in the main plot.
There is not just one country that exists in an imaginary world. Rather there are a number and that number is determined by several factors. While some tales only name them in passing, some incorporate them into the main plot and the decisions the leaders of said places will have lasting ramifications beyond the story itself.
One advantage of featuring multiple fantasy countries is exploring the relationships they have with each other. The type of relationship they have determines how they interact with each other both in peacetime and times of war. Hostile ones are more likely to wage war upon each other whereas friendly ones engage more in trading and purchasing goods from each other.
The problem of having more than one fictional realm in the story is that you don’t want them to be same. Rather, show how they differ from each other. It could be the type of government, culture, and so on. Having each one be unique makes it easier for your audience to remember later on when the main drama in the plot reaches a fever pitch.
This is the tenth article in The Sunlit Hearth series. If you want to peruse our other articles, you can find them on our blog page!
The overwhelming majority of stories have several countries. While some relegate them to minor status, meaning they don’t impact the plot that much, others weave them into the main plot, illustrating how one decision one leader makes for his nation can upend it for better or worse.
Having fantasy countries is a tremendous asset for storytelling. It allows you to explore different aspects of the world that you otherwise couldn’t with the country the plot is set in. For instance, in Lord of the Rings the kingdom of Rohan becomes one of the main players in the War of the Ring. The audience learns about the Rohirrim and how horses are an integral part of their culture as opposed to that of Gondor where horses aren’t as venerated as they are in Rohan.
Besides looking at the culture and way of life in different fantasy countries, the audience also gets to see the geography found within their borders. Some nations are sprawling with sand dunes as far as the eye can see whereas others span lush, tropical islands. These geographical features have shaped the history of these places, making them the way they are in the story.
Just as in the real world, the decisions countries make throughout history contribute to the state of the world that the protagonist of the story finds himself in at the beginning. For example, he could be pulled into a vicious, long-running war between two rival powers clashing for supremacy that started long before he was born or inadvertently be responsible for causing war to break out between two countries due to many years’ worth of suspicion of each other.
While there are many fantasy countries, some stories only name-drop them. This isn’t because they are insignificant in the grand scheme of things but because they are not fundamentally part of the plot. In this vein, they are simply used as a vehicle for worldbuilding, to show the audience that there is a larger world beyond the borders of the country the story takes place in. They also serve to enrich the world’s lore.
Fictional nations don’t just operate in a vacuum or live in complete isolation from each other. They interact with each other and the decisions they make regarding them influences how others perceive them, for better or worse. Many of said choices wind up be consequential and shape the history of the world, essentially laying the groundwork for the state of the world the protagonist is in at the beginning of his tale.
When fantasy countries interact with each other, it is called diplomacy. How that goes is cognizant on the relationships they have with each other. Friendly ones are more likely to make trade deals that enrich them or form economic/military alliances to help protect them from their rival neighbors. This can pave the way for prosperity and the development of new technology that will take the world by storm.
Hostile nations, on the other hand, are more likely to engage in actions that most find distasteful. Negotiations between unfriendly nations customarily fail due to mutual mistrust and suspicion of each other. Some make extensive use of their spies to obtain information that their leaders can hold over them whereas others are all too willing to go to war. The bad feelings from each one are slow to die, if they die at all.
A war between fantasy countries are an extreme action that wind up changing the world forever. It generally occurs after every last potential diplomatic effort to stave it off fails, leaving their leaders with no other recourse but to declare war in order to solve whatever problem they’re having. Countries are willing to wage war on a medley of things such as access to a valuable resource like iron or a border dispute.
Wars in fantasy can span months to years. Depending on the type of technology available at the time, the fighting will occur at certain points of the year, from the springtime to the fall, or at all parts of the year. The belligerents each have a strategy and set of objectives to attain and will keep on fighting until they’ve achieved their aims or driven their opponent to exhaustion.
Exploring an imaginary world wouldn’t be fun if every nation was the same. The fact that each one is different and has its own thing is what makes learning about them fascinating. Smart creators use this to their advantage to come up with memorable nations that feel markedly different than the others and are unique in their own fashion.
One way to accentuate the differences between fantasy countries is to highlight their culture. Show your audience the things they believe in, whether it’s chivalry or sportsmanship, how the people who live there speak and the type of clothes they wear. For instance, in tropical-based places, people are more likely to be laid back and wear cool, loose clothes as opposed to those who dwell in temperate environments where they encounter an array of weather from summertime storms to frigid winter blizzards and they wear the appropriate clothes to match the season.
Another way to showcase how fictional realms are different from each other is to have various types of governments. Many worlds in fantasy have an monarchical form of government though how it operates varies from country to country. Other popular types that appear are authoritarian or democracies/republics. The type of government a country has plays a great role in how its people live. Those living under a democracy are likely to live freer lives, a stark contrast to those whose government is a tyranny where they are monitored constantly.
A great way to signify the uniqueness of fantasy countries is to explore the cuisine. Each realm has a favorite food or a series of different ones its people consume throughout the year. For example, in one nation rice might rule the roost whereas in another one, it is chocolate. Take this opportunity to create amazing dishes that exemplify what they’re all about!
Last and not least is the holidays. While there are some that are worldwide like Christmas, or at least a variation of it, many more are more local-focused. For instance, a country might celebrate the fall harvest whereas another might have an holiday all about spring planting. There’s no shortage of possibilities to use to come up unique holidays that perfectly encapsulate their spirit.
Fantasy countries are prime ground in which to build on and expand the lore of your world. They are the main reason why the world is the way it is at the beginning of your tale. Your protagonist is stuck dealing with the repercussions of decisions made long before he was born and he must deal with them in order to let the world heal and move on.
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