Guidelines to understand “Fantasy Woods”

Hello all! I found an interesting word document on my computer, and I thought I would share it here. I have not edited it at all, and was written on September 2014.

Hope you will enjoy this deeper explanation of my world.

Here it goes:

Let’s call Fantasy woods the place where my characters come from. There’s a mix of both human and fantasy creatures that live together in our world. It’s not a very original set up and the story is not that great, but it will make easier to understand some doll’s profiles.

About the fantasy creatures that live in the forests and desolated areas of the world, there are a few things you might need to know:

  • Humans in the present time have no knowledge of creatures lurking in nature. Some people might believe, but most think of them as just superstitions. We will call these creatures guardians or protectors (of nature).
  • In the past, both human and guardians worked together and acknowledge each other’s importance to the balance of the world.
  • To become a guardian you have to receive “the call”. If you accept it, your human body dies before you return to nature as a living being.
  • In the past people believed that all children that died became guardians, since they were the purest of souls. Although many children did, many more never got the call.
  • The requisites to get the call are uncertain. It is said a pure soul, a warm heart and an open mind, besides a true love and respect for nature could be enough, but that’s probably superstition.
  • Guardians cannot die of sickness or old age, they start becoming one with nature until there’s nothing human in them besides their mind and soul. Some turn into trees, some into animals that can live forever, if humans let them.
  • The age of a guardian is uncertain, but you can tell how old are they depending on how much they resemble that they feel more attached to (mermaids, for example, are guardians that feel attached to the sea, while centaurs feel horses as their kindred spirits).
  • Guardians’ magic is not a powerful one, but they can make changes to the weather, or change the current of a river if needed, help wounded animals to heal.
  • There’s a few rules you might need to know if you ever step in the deep of a forest: never get on an abandoned boat at the shore of a river, never take a fruit from a tree without asking for permission first and never trust the paths between the trees, just follow the stars and the sun and you will get home.
  • The call has been uncommon in the present. One of the few persons that have been called in present times was Lucas’s mother, but she rejected it twice: the first time Lucas was a newborn so she wanted to raise him: the second she was sick and dying, but she wanted to be with his son all the time she had left in this world.

About the place were all my human characters live, it’s a small village surrounded mostly by forests. It takes a few hours in a car to get to the nearest city.

This is a place where some old superstitions still live, everyone knows the rules of the forest, but very few follow them. Older people still tell stories of guardians that they saw when they were little, tales of guardians falling in love of humans, of enchantments and people that visited their underworld and went crazy.

A dress fit for a fairy

18 thoughts on “Guidelines to understand “Fantasy Woods”

  1. Xanadu

    Hi Alejandra,
    We are so like minded when it comes to our Fantasy worlds it amazes me. I hope you continue writing about yours as I enjoy reading about it so much and I encourage you to take more photos, it really helps to tell the stories. I haven’t written much on mine for quite a while now as I have been side tracked lately with customising, but I will get back to down the track as I do intend making a second photo book.
    Keep on keeping on!
    Hugs,
    X

    Reply
    1. Fantasywoods Post author

      Thanks! I know I should have taken photos, but there’s no forest here hahaha, and I haven’t taken any photos at all since May, so I thought it was better to post it or it would never see the light of day.
      I love your stories and photos too, maybe I should get me some backdrops 🙂
      Hope you get back to writing as well, but I’m also very exciting with your customization projects!

      Reply
  2. Alasse Carnesir

    I’ve been wondering where your username came from and it was very interesting to learn about its origins and the background stories of your character worlds. I really love how your mind works. I found it particularly beautiful about the children’s souls because of their purity. I also get the sense that in the present, guardians and humans can’t live so harmoniously as they would have in the past.

    I really enjoy reading these tidbits about your world and characters. I do hope you will continue to write more. Your story world always makes me want to return to my fantasy roots. It’s always such a tempting call. Thank you for sharing this with us.

    Reply
    1. Fantasywoods Post author

      Thank you for your kind words. I don’t remember why I settled with fantasy woods in the end, but I thought it was simple and it explained everything I wanted in just 2 words.
      I’ll try to write more, but I’m just not very good at it, and my story is so simple that I do wonder if it’s worth to put it on paper haha.

      Reply
  3. Lise Schou

    I like your concept a lot. Simple does not equal boring, at all.
    And considering you only want smaller dolls, it’s more fitting than a deep story full of betrayal and romances XD
    I hope you will share more, if/when you have more 🙂

    Reply
  4. Nana

    Wow, that’s a really great introduction to your world. It’s like an extract from a book, you give such detailed information.
    Somehow the guardians remind me of Kokiri from The Legend of Zelda, and their evolution into Koroks. ^.^
    I can’t wait to read more stories about guardians.

    Reply
    1. Fantasywoods Post author

      Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!! I’m so not familiar with Zelda, I’ve only played one game and it was a zillion years ago!!! Link’s awakening I believe? It was the for GameBoy haha. Haven’t had any big nintendo console since then.

      Reply
  5. Niina

    When I hear the words fantasy and woods, my imagination goes off to another place with fairies, goblins, princess and castles and all kinds of small people. It is like entering Narnia. You never know what you will meet!
    It was lovely to read your thoughts about the words and how you see the place! Thank you for sharing this!

    Reply
    1. Fantasywoods Post author

      I’m glad the words transport you to those places, it does the same for me, that’s why I chose it 😀 Love Narnia btw, though the last book made me cry for months.
      Thanks!

      Reply
  6. Maria // tjassi

    This was really interesting to read and it was a nice introduction to your dolls’ background. I think it’s kinda sad when the younger generations stop believing and that they don’t follow the rules anymore!
    I hope you will post more of your story in the future. 😀

    Reply
  7. Musume

    This is amazing, I loved it!! I think you definitely need a merguardian now!! *is an enabler*
    I love the story and the world you have created, and I’m really curious about it. Hope you will share more! 😀

    Reply
  8. Kaisu

    Fantasy woods says to me fairies, dragons, elf, goblings and all sort of creatures of wonder, I love your description of Fantasy Woods a lot. Imagination is great part of that hobby and this kind of back stories is something that makes characters interesting and gives a lot for the photoshoots. I love your little centaur, so pretty! ^__^

    Reply

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