[Peter Graham]

Hi Mammon

Really? I didn’t know it was Tolkien who invented the Orc, since it is so often used in games and fantasy worlds. I knew that he created the Hobbit though.

He didn't invent the actual words "orc" or "hobbit", but he certainly created what we now accept as orcs and hobbits in literature, games and so on. I think that the word "orc" appears in Beowulf. Tolkien was a professor of Anglo Saxon and (although not many people seem to know this) was in part setting out to write a mythology of the English. Middle Earth eventually becomes our world - the Shire is based heavily on the rural British midlands. It is therefore perhaps unsurprising that he used the early English texts like Beowulf as a useful resource for names and so on.

He also did much to cement our current notions of dwarves and elves. The idea of dwarves as bearded, stumpy miners who like beer and gold was largely his idea, as was the notion of elves as a high born race of harp-playing crackshots who lived in forests and had pointy ears. The original dwarves of Early English and Norse mythology were huge giants of the netherworld, and elves spent much of the last few hundred years as just another bunch of tricksy fairies.

I think I will first try to work out the cultures and behaviors of the races so that I get a better idea of what I want with them. Then I can think of other names for the races if needed.

Good idea. Any book that uses these motifs too much is always going to be compared to Tolkien, especially if you throw in Dark Lords and quests for good measure. Unfortunately, unless you can write as well as Tolkien, the comparison will always be unfavourable.

Well…I never heard the cows complaining to us:P.

You've obviously never been to an abbatoir...

But I’ll keep your opinion in mind. Maybe I will create different countries so that the Cyrthan do not rule the whole of Kouluu. What I have now is just a sketch.

Bear in mind that Dark Age and medieval kingships had environmental restrictions which don't apply today. Hostile terrain, poor communications and unwilling subjects all serve to limit the actual (as opposed to claimed) authority of feared or unpopular rulers. So your subject-eating bad guys might only exercise nominal control over large parts of their kingdom, perhaps relying on tribute or oaths of fealty from local chieftains and petty kings where they cannot rule direct.

Regards,

Peter