Monday, June 22, 2009

The Mything Link

While being a youngling, my nose was often found buried deeply between the covers of a book. Most of those books written by Piers Anthony; I was a Science Fantasy nut (and yes, I say Science Fantasy...I'm old school like that). One series I read, which was a favorite re read for me, was The Incarnations of Immortality. An awesome blend of both sci fi and fantasy...truly delightful (I thought I'd add that phrase to make me sound more...mature). Anyway, in one of Piers's novels he stated that long ago dragons were good natured. They ate over-populated herds of wildlife, and lived peaceful existences...no peasants involved. However, their peaceful habitation was soon threatened by knights seeking stature and glory and a lay in the hay which in turned caused dragons to be hunted to near extinction. According to Mr. Anthony, hells denizens offered to hide the dragons in the pits of...er...hell. It was, in all truth physically perfect for the dragons...however...after living hundreds of years in hell, a bit of evil permeated their reptilian coated bodies thus "turning" them evil. So tell me, if you can, where have all the dragons gone?

(Long time passing)

Great beasts of legend can seemingly be traced to authentic scientific explanation. Seasons, sun rise, sun set, drought, famine, disease, and pestilence all laid bare on the table of reason and sanity. Still the stories of myth were based on truth of a sort, were they not? So, where is the link?

Mything Link Number One

Dragons. Hmm. Dinosaurs? Maybe, maybe not. Although dinosaurs were huge, with terrible claws and gnashing teeth, according to science, they did not coexist with us homosaps at all. Good thing too, I think we'd have become homo prey instead of homo erectus. Someone somewhere over that rainbow saw that there be dragons and that them there dragons would swoop from the heavens, grab a cow (figuratively or literally, you decide), and be off. They would unhinge their jaws and flame fields, crops, and houses with chronic halitosis. According to legend, there ain't nothin like the smell of a sulfur laden dragon. So, where is the link? Hmm? Volcanic eruptions? Molten rivers of lava? Ash obscured visions of slippery shadows from the sky?

Mything Link Number Two

Fairies. An excerpt from Wikipedia.com: A fairy (also fay, fey, faery, faerie; collectively, "fae", wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk, and other euphemisms)[1] is a type of mythological being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural If you've never spent the time reading up on the myth behind the fairy, take a moment or two. It's fascinating. Really, it is. There are so many types, makes, meanings, where they came from, and how they got there of fairies. Contrary to popular belief, most fairies don't have wings. Apparently wings are a thing of rarity. Whoda thunk, huh? One myth has fairies actually coming to life as a demoted angel. Some fairies are good, some are not so good, but when push comes to shove, where did they get their beginnings? Is there, like the myths that have come to science, some scientific explanation behind the story? Where's the link little fairy bug, where is the link? By the way, another contrary to popular belief, most fairies aren't tiny or small, but gloriously tall and wonderfully built. Makes you wonder.

Mything Link Number Three

Elves. Heart stopping, beautiful, drop dead gorgeous...yes...all of those came to mind when Legolas peered out from behind his elven bow wearing his elven tights and doing his elven booty shake. Seriously, there was a collective intake of breath the moment his pointy eared head emerged onto the screen. Although the first elf didn't make an appearance in Science Fantasy until the 20th century, they have been here for eons. Legends have them as beautiful and golden as the handsome Legolas, bringing good deeds forth like manna from heaven, and as dark and brooding as the dark man himself, glorifying in deeds as dark as themselves. Most elves are human like, with their extreme beauty being the main distinction. Their existence can be traced as far back as...well...a really long time ago. Where did they come from? What's their mything link? Where did they go?

Where have they gone? How did they get here in the first place? Where did they come from? Real or memorex?

What is your mything link?

18 comments:

  1. Ok, still catching my breath because I LOVED The Incarnations of Immortality. Loved them, lived them, haven't heard those words together in 2 decades... Wow, thanks, seriously. I may need to re-read them (my memory is so shaky). I may re-read them with the girls...

    As to where there be dragons (or fairies or elves - oh my!), I have no theories. I'm pretty content to accept the mythologies that are presented to me unquestioningly. Does that make me a bad little geek girl?

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  2. I know NOTHING about science fantasy, but this blog post was full of "homo" stuff and "fairies." Not that there's anything wrong with that. :)
    macey

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  3. I'm not a fan of Science Fantasy, Science Fiction or Fantasy, but I've always loved fairies. Especially Tinkerbell. She is a fairy, right? LOL!

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  4. I LOVE fantasy. I also have a thing for aliens and alien theories lol. Great post :)

    I wish i knew where they all were, but if i need to visit them I need look no farther than my own book shelf *wink*

    JM

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  5. I never read that series. But it sounds like I'm going to have to look into it.
    I have read one concept on the disappearance of wee folk and dragons is that since we chose to believe in science, they disappeared into a parallel realm. Sometimes they cross back over. I know I have a minahounee(sp?) infestation in my home. They are mischievous house elves that take or move things. I loved this post btw.

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  6. that series sounds super interesting. I tried to read LOTR but it was way too heavy for me. I love the movies and a fave thing around our house is a LOTR marathon.

    and FYI - I think this post showed your nerdy side. lol.

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  7. Oh Tammy, I KNEW you were a kindred spirit, I just KNEW IT!!

    Mimi, homos and fairies make for interesting bedfellows I am told.

    Pam, according to Disney, she is, so I imagine, she is, and a rare one at that! And just to add, I am branching out into the rest of the reading genre, but Sci Fi/Fantasy will always be home to me.

    Jillian, my shelf too, my shelf too.

    Tink, with a name like yours, what else could you believe in?

    Brandy, YOU KNOW IT!!! I'm a huge nerd berd.

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  8. Dragons, fairies, and elves :) I wish they still existed!

    Shawna's Study Abroad

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  9. By the way, did anyone but me catch those horrible horrible type-ohs and baaad grammer mistakes...oh my. I am shamed.

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  10. Alex the scholar--What a fascinating post!

    I cut my teeth on mythology, then fantasy, then sci fi. I loved the Hobbit but never could get into LOTR, I think, looking back, because there were no female heroines.

    My eldest really liked the Anne McAfferty Dragons of Perth series.

    Nowdays, I'm a big fan of speculative fiction.

    I'll have to give the Incarnations of Immortality books a try. Sounds like something I'd really like.

    Oh, I also LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Golden Compass and sequels.

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  11. You are a nerd. I love that, cuz you pull it off with buttloads of coolness.
    But how can you mention fairies without Clay Aiken? Adam Lambert? Perez?
    And how long-lasting do our mythical creatures need to be, before we commit to being awed by them?
    I love orcs, slimy, scary, armor-wearing orcs.

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  12. Ms. Savant, why do you never cease to cause an outflow of sh*ts and giggles when you visit my blog? Orcs, ogres, goblins (which are types of fairies) make the world go round...which is probably why I have an unexplainable fear of bridges.

    Ms. Kathleen, ::blush:: you call me a scholar? I'm fatter...I mean flattered! I have read the Dragons of Pern series more times than I can count on my fingers toes and toes of my little ones. I'm a big fan of that world, and if I could choose a book to be a part of, it would be that one (along with a slew of others), but I"d have to be a dragon rider...nothing else would do.

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  13. that was a good post . . . I agree with you on the dragons of pern, and all the other fantastical creatures. Have you ever read Terry Brooks?

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  14. Yes, Kaye. I've read several of Terry Brooks's series, he's quite the author.

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  15. What interesting thoughts. You're right, where did these come from? I love those fairy doors though!

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  16. I may be 27, but I still believe that everytime you clap your hands you keep a fairy from dying :)

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  17. I am not a science fiction or science fantasy person. I read the Hobbit and love the all of Chronicles of Narnia... my journey ends there. However -
    There are dragons, aliens, knights and other assorted creatures under our beds, in couch cushions and hanging out at the bottom of the toy bin.
    I know because I've seen 'em.

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