Monday 14 July 2014

Ephemeral Magic

I'm watching the film Loch Ness, a personal schmaltzy favourite of mine. I'm sure it's badly put together and not as long as my mind seems to make it, but whenever I remember this film, all I think of is heartwarming drama and more importantly, the mystical Loch.

I've been to Inverness and stayed near the Loch, and I can honestly say that some of the early scenes of that film, looking out over that dark expanse of water are true to form. It really does feel magical, and much of the highlands are this way. Somewhere you can imagine the lines between the worlds blending, where a leyline feels less a whimsy and more something you can feel from the land.

In many places in the world where you can somewhat escape the hustle and bustle and loud noises and loud lights of civilisation, where you go back to a few lightbulbs and stout stone or wooden walls - or sometimes even packed clay, you can see it. It's not that science is wrong, it's just that the world is bigger than us. It's not that magic is real, but just that there are more things out there that we can't explain.

And when I see these places I feel the wonder. The wonder of someone opening their eyes and seeing something they could never explain. Something they never wanted to explain, just share.

And it's that wonder I feel I should try to capture. I write fantasy, but I don't want to be caught up in the modern conventions at the expense of that. I want to take to those old places like those cherished writers of my youth, those whispering mountains, those subtle dells, those ancient ruins.

Perhaps I do write other worlds, perhaps there is a lot of light, and chatter, and a little violence to go along with the grand gestures. But if I can, only once, give someone that sense of wonder, that feeling of standing on top of a mountain and looking down at a sweeping scene that makes you feel like you could just fly away.

Well, that would be just grand.

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