Let's Explore the Fantasy Universe of Voyshala

By Tim Voigt

Voyshala is an imaginary world of dreams, worlds, and nightmares.  Here in this book we will review the nature of fantasy writing and also explore the author's unique creation of the world of Voyshala.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tim Voigt
• Release date: Apr 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215523322

Book preview

To JRR Tolkien for inspiring fantasy authors through the ages.

Epigraph page:

'Fantasy is a world of dreams.  It is about adventures where a person's wish or dream can come true.  It arises out of Man's hopes, wishes, dreams, and wonders, becoming a vision of what he would like to be, of what he wants his world to be.  Fantasy can grip people like so few things.  It will give him hope for the future, an ideal for himself to fulfill, a cause he would fight for.  It can entice people, draw them in, and cause delusion that it perhaps can be reality, where Man hopes and dreams that fantasy becomes reality.'              -talk on fantasy

Dedication:

Fantasy is a rich world of the imagination to write in.  It is an age old form of storytelling literature that would begin in ancient times.  It would have its source material in fables, myths, folklore, the occult, superstition, and much more.  It would morph into a literature telling fantastic stories of heroes, quests, kings, dragons, magic, and more.  It would know great authors like JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, and modern stars.  It pervades the world in video games, memorabilia, works of fiction, conventions, and much more.  It is a fascinating world to discover yourself, imagination, mystery, and adventure. 

Overall this work is a new addition to the worlds, universes, and dreams of fantasy writers.  This world is dubbed Voyshala as a voyage into fantasy it is.  For this, this work is dedicated to fantasy writers of all ages who love fantasy, write in it, and make it part of life.

Enjoy.

Tim Voigt

A fantasy is a dream.  It is an adventure you want to go on, someone you would like to meet, a state of life you would like to have, or something compelling anyway.  It captivates the person having the dream.  It will not let go, it can seduce and entrap, therein lies the danger of fantasy.  A fantasy must be understood of its dream and its possible nightmare.  It is a reflection of you, the dreamer enticing you and compelling you to seek it and realize what it is. -talk on fantasy writing

Preface:  Fantasy

There is in literature a genre devoted to dreams of the imagination.  It is collectively known as 'fantasy'.  It involves writing stories like fable, folklore, epic adventures, and much more.

Fantasy draws upon its source material from the collected works of Man like:

-folklore -creation myths -historical settings -mythology -the paranormal -the occult -superstition -religions -philosophy -children's stories -fairy tales

-history -legend -Greek philosophy and religion -Viking myth -politics -science fiction -comedy -Ancient Egyptian religion -Celtic myths -paleontology

-archaeology -cosmology -physics -science -mathematics -biology -psychology -astronomy -space exploration -Christianity -Buddhism, and much more.

Fantasy contains within it alot of epical themes like:

-witches -dragons -magic -sorcery -magical places -historical settings -monsters -gods -magical objects -quests -legendary creatures -treasure hunts

-save the world -creation myths -fantasy powers -legendary heroes -villains -the supernatural -the superstitious -anti-heroes -royalty -druids -little people

-soldiers -enchanted forests -magical potions -quests for gold and gems -sinister plots -demons -the underworld -Heaven -Hell -angels -centaurs -satyrs

-gorgons -magical foods -mysterious domains -lost continents -lost civilizations -mystery islands -the occult -pharaohs -spirits -fate -afterlife -werewolves

-vampires -ghosts -goblins -UFOs -giants -dwarves -elves -leprechauns -flying reindeer -trolls -bigfoot -horror -fears and nightmares, and much more.

The collected works, legends, and myths of Man would combine and be collected to inspire the subject known as 'fantasy'.  It would manifest in worlds of wonder, magic, the occult, heroes, villains, epic stories, and inspirations that would shape writers for ages.  Today fantasy would become an epic fad in literature with epic novels, video games, figurines, role playing games, and spinoffs of many kinds.  The reading public has a fascination for fantasy dreaming of new worlds, heroes, and adventures ever still.

In literature, there would appear many writers who would pen a work in fantasy or inspire something using fantasy in some way.  Authors who would become famous in this activity are JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, L Frank Baum, JK Rowling, and many others.  Their works would pervade the world in fantasy fads, spinoffs, and much more.  Famous 'worlds of the imagination' that would resonate through fantasy and literature go by names like Oz, Middle Earth, Narnia, and much more.  Overall fantasy literature is filled with many thousands of works that have intriguing imagination, epical characters, and of course fantastic adventures sure to entertain anyone into fantasy.

In psychology, there are topics known as psyche, dream, nightmare, consciousness, mind, imagination, creativity, and originality.  Their full nature has not been understood.  Within them lurks the secrets of human achievement and invention.  Fantasy derives from them particularly imagination.  In all fantasy has its origins in the imagination of Man, his musings, his dreams, his fears, and more.  The whole history of Man would somehow combine to form his imagination and in some sense inspire fantasy.

Fantasy is found almost anywhere.  It is more than a literature into things fantastic, it is also a popular culture fad, a movement, a kid's activity, a hobby, and an interest that captivates many.  It can manifest as almost anything like the following:

-board games -trading cards -video games -role playing games -memorabilia -magic acts -paranormal research -occult movements -a blend of fantasy with some other genre -posters -comic strips -cartoons -comic books -fantasy art -figurines -conventions -family traditions -holidays -ceremonies -groups -statuary -mood music -Celtic gatherings -societies and organizations -megalithic sites, and much more.

Fantasy is today big business and a popular culture fad.  It is found everywhere ranging from film to video games to holidays.  It would give to society epic creations like Santa Claus, Old Man Winter, angels, the gods, the Easter Bunny, Paul Bunyan, Jack Frost, elves, bigfoot, werewolves, Dracula, Frankenstein, ghosts, and more.  Fantasy would be used to make cartoons, comic strips, toys, games, video games, action figures, etc.  Many companies make it business to capitalize on fantasy ranging from film studios to toy companies.  Fantasy attracts many disillusioned with ordinary life and they turn to it for relaxation, enjoyment, or escape from routine.  Fantasy is found seemingly everywhere from billboards to kitsch to theme parks.

Probably fantasy's biggest fad is Christmas.  It features the exploits of a jolly old elf known as St. Nicholas, but more famously known as Santa Claus.  He lives at the North Pole in a castle with worker elves in his employ.  He maintains flying reindeer who deliver toys worldwide on Christmas eve for boys and girls.  It is a holiday filled with many themes of kitsch and dream, that it is probably the most commercialized holiday and drama of fantasy in the world.  Its influences are found seemingly everywhere and influence many industries during the month of December.  It is one of fantasy's most dramatic events and themes.

Many holidays generate a fantasy fad in someway.  Christmas originated Santa Claus, elves, flying reindeer, etc.  Easter originated the Easter Bunny.  Halloween originated macabre things like jack o'lanterns, zombies, vampires, and ghouls.  Fantasy and holidays often intertwine to inspire the other and become part of the life of people into both.

Folklore is the totality of folk myths, old wives' tales, fairy tales, legends, and heresay stories a society may have.  It can refer to anything like seeing legendary monsters to fables.  Folkore is found most anywhere as part of a nation's heritage, something the people learn as kids.  Folklore can be enriched by superstitions, the occult, legends, ancient stories, religion, and more.  Folklore in turn inspires fantasy.

Subjects like the occult and the paranormal would inspire fantasy immensely.  Fantasy would borrow on its themes of magic, the psychic, witches, wizards, love potions, enchantment, and much more.  These subjects would have their own origin in human superstitions.  The world is today filled with many nations and peoples who maintain their own traditions of myths, the occult, and the psychic.  It is from this that fantasy is itself enriched of its themes ranging from voodoo to Viking myth to African occult beliefs.  Fantasy tends to be a sponge of fantastic ideas, dreams, imaginings, and enchantments ever increasing.

Superstition has always been part of the reality of Man.  It would manifest in all manner of things like black cats, the evil eye, broken mirrors, omens, invoking the gods, belief in the supernatural, luck, fate, incantations, magic, spells, and curses.  Belief in this would be persistent and thrive in primitive tribes wherever.  Today superstition is largely abolished due to the fact that many of its beliefs are not real.  However ages persist in believing its dictates.  It thrives where lack of education, loss of science, and the occult thrive.  While mainly disbelieved today, its beliefs have found use in fantasy and by fantasy writers.

The supernatural has always been a key part of fantasy.  It is overall the belief in a reality 'higher' than the ordinary universe, of Nature, it literally means 'above Nature' or greater than Nature.  It often collectively refers to a vast array of issues like magic, God, spells, the gods, curses, the psychic, wizards, witches, and anything involving magic.  The supernatural has been found absorbed into the beliefs of many societies like Ancient Egypt, the Vikings, the Aztecs, and many more.  Its themes have found use in many fantasy tales.

Death and the afterlife has always fascinated Man.  He has conceived things in fantasy like the Grim Reaper, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Heaven, Hell, the underworld, angels, demons, etc.  His imagination has conceived all kinds of magical thing in fantasy regarding the afterlife.  In paranormal studies there is an issue known as the 'near death experience'.  It discusses 'dramas' that could be real or imaginary about what it is like to experience the afterlife. It and other themes of death have inspired immense amounts of fantasy stories.

Throughout the ages, primitive tribes would believe the paranormal was a 'reality'.  They would believe in ghosts, levitation, enchantment, incantation, hexes, curses, and magical powers of many kinds.  These beliefs would underlie many movements known to history like alchemy, witchcraft, druidry, sorcery, voodoo, astrology, etc.  Fantasy would borrow on this subject to craft characters into magic like wizards and witches.  The paranormal underlies many fantasy epics lending an atmosphere of the magical and outlandish to stories that are already fantastic by nature.

Many ancient societies would be mystified at the universe.  They would invent 'worldviews' where the universe sprung into existence by the will of God, action of the gods, the appearance of a world tree, the cracking of a cosmic egg, or the action of some 'imaginary divine animal'.  They would create elaborate cosmologies of the gods, a world tree, the actions of spirits, or something 'fabulous'.  In time all these views would be disbelieved, however their visions of the universe would be used in fantasy writing.

Throughout history, many ancient societies would maintain religions worshiping beings known as the gods.  They were essentially superbeings who lorded some aspect of Nature like weather, sky, sea, underworld, forests, Earth, or what.  They would 'live' on enchanted mountains or elsewhere away from people.  They would be worshiped in prayer, temple, song, and idol.  As to where they came from or if they ever existed, history would not know.  How ancient peoples came to worship gods is not known.  Despite this, the gods and their actions would makeup many stories enshrined in mythology.  The gods are found in the religions of societies like ancient Egypt to Rome to the Aztec Empire.  Religions to them would decline mostly, but some still survive.  Today the gods are largely disbelieved in science.  However stories of the gods would go on to become epical stories in fantasy.

Fantasy beings have always been a major theme of fantasy.  They are exotic beings born of magic, living in a fantastic domain, of gaining a fantastic nature.  Some are imagined as unbelievably wise, powerful, long lived, supernatural, possessing superhuman strength, or having superqualities.  Fantasy would imagine and create many kinds like Old Man Winter, Jack Frost, Mother Nature, the gods, Father Time, the AntiChrist, Satan, demons, angels, or something else.  Often the fantasy being lives on a magical mountain, in the sky, in Heaven, in Hell, or some place mystical.  Here the fantasy being has magical qualities and can often interact with elves, dragons, ordinary reality, witches, Satan, angels, or what.  This generates stories of fantasy nature.  Many authors make a career out of a fantasy being being a hero, a villain, a mage, a king, a slave, or something else.

Superhumans have long been a form of fantasy.  They are imagined as men somehow coming into the possession of superpowers, supermind, longevity, invulnerability, immortality, invincibility, or what.  They may go on to be superheroes, champions of good, villains, connivers, seeker after power, or what.  They may take to wearing special clothes, of adopting a cause, and being a character fighting crime or what.  Famous such characters are Superman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, the Flash, the Green Hornet, etc.  Many were invented in the 1930s and 1940s and even now more are being conceived.  They continue to being a mainstay of pulp fiction, science fiction, and of course fantasy.

Voodoo would begin in Africa as traditional beliefs, shamanism, superstition, and occult practices.  In time, Africans would get enslaved and sent to the Americas where they transplanted their cultural religions to found societies like Haiti.  African religions would become entangled with Christianity, nature worship, the