Recent content by Mordred Lung Silver

perhaps all of history can be defined by the conflict between different social classes :p Marks aside. Politics and violence are two sides of the same coin. Governments form out of violence, to impose their monopoly on violence, and are tolerated because they offer a predictable reduction in...

What types of swords would you like to see depicted more or less in fantasy fiction? I'd like to see fewer katanas and more nagimakis: fewer long swords and more estocs: fewer gladius and more dachian falxes, for example. Does the simplicity make it the protagonist weapon?

I think that "magic" generally means either something perceived externally as mysterious, and effective, OR, something now recognized as ineffective. For example, astrology, alchemy, thaumaturgy, and phrenology, were all thought of as part of "natural philosophy" until some of the rituals or...

Anime characters aren't just exaggerated in a fight, they are exaggerated in everything they do. If you want to foreshadow absurd physical acts in combat, start by introducing absurd emotional volatility or absurd training. I think the bigger question might be, what is the magic "something" that...

I agree that naming a character is an indicator of their importance. I would say that it should probably coincide, roughly, with when the reader is likely to agree with that importance. In other words, when is this character someone the reader wants help keeping track of, in and of themselves...