The Germ of an Idea

The first inklings of an idea for my novel The Last Elf of Lanis came after rereading the Lord of the Rings for the umpteenth time.

I'm a great fan of anthropology, particularly recent history, neolithic and early bronze age. I'm fascinated by the movements of humans in prehistory and the glimpses we have of their day to day life through archeologic digs.

The glimmer of the idea first came as a "what if?" What if Tolkien's Middle Earth were real? How would that reconcile with what we know of the eras intermediary to the present day?

This is when Wealdland began to take shape in my mind.

Wealdland is the fictional world of The Last Elf of Lanis. There is still a land bridge isthmus linking the British isles to Europe. This is a geological fact which existed in the Eemian period, approximately 140,000 years ago. The earth at this time was rapidly retreating from another ice age. The earth has experienced at least six ice ages.

At this time wolves were first becoming domesticated.

Also Neanderthal humanoids were quickly dying out, unable to compete with Homo Sapiens.

These then were some of the elements percolating in my mind as I shaped the world in which the characters struggle for their very existence.

In the realm of the purely fantastical, another "what if?" struck me. In Tolkien's world, the elves were leaving, and magic was fading. Well, what if we followed the story of the last elf to leave our world. This became the spark to set Iounelle, the last elf of Lanis, the mythical land of the elves, on her journey.

Wealdland, although inspired by Tolkien's Middle Earth, is as far removed in time, heritage, and mutation of language as the philosophers of Plato's Acropolis are from the professors of UCLA. You won't find names, places or events from any of Tolkien's works in mine. My conceit is that at least 500,000 years have passed since the end of the fictional world of the Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien's Third Age ends with the Return of the King, leading to the Fourth Age of Man. My novel assumes that that Fourth Age ended with the degradation of humanity to nearly bestial levels. With the passing of an ice age, the Fifth Age begins, in my mythology, with humanity barely able to survive with stone and bronze tools.

Meanwhile, the Neaderthal humanoids, in The Last Elf of Lanis called garonds, although usually nonviolent and shy, have been organized into vicious and efficient armies by the last dark lord of magic, Deifol Hroth.

One of the major themes of my novel is the transition from the magic of incantation and summoning to the magic of science. Which is the topic of discussion of the next blog.

K. J. Hargan

An article about the Weald, a massive forest in the south of prehistorical Britain, and the isthmus which connected it to Europe.

An article about the prehistoric animals of Britain and Europe.

cheers.