Technology and Life in the Fantasy World

So I missed my bi-monthly writing groups both in person and online yesterday, but that didn’t stop the email questions from coming in. One question or rather the same question submitted by various people grabbed my attention, “You always talk about technology in your fantasy worlds, but why? It’s a fantasy world, a place of magic.”

I imagine that my writing companions pushed back from their keyboards with the smug satisfaction that they have stumped me, the writer who preaches the importance of technology in fantasy worlds.

Let’s examine the definition of technology before I answer this question.

tech•nol•o•gy (tɛkˈnɒl ə dʒi)

n., pl. -gies.

1. the branch of knowledge that deals with applied science, engineering, the industrial arts, etc.

2. the application of knowledge for practical ends.

3. a technological process, invention, or method.

4. the sum of the ways in which social groups provide themselves with the material objects of their civilization.

5. the terminology of a field; technical nomenclature.

[1605–15; < Greek technología systematic treatment = téchn(ē) art, craft, skill + -o- -o- + -logia -logy]

tech`no•log′i•cal (-nəˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl) tech`no•log′ic, adj.

tech`no•log′i•cal•ly, adv.

tech•nol′o•gist, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Technology is a must in your fantasy world, it allows for those characters and sundry nations that populate the world the ability to live the lifestyle you have imagined for them.  I know the static argument goes something along these lines, “But my world has magic in it, not technology.”

My retort to that simply is, does magic do everything and can everyone access and use it?

The answer for the most part is “Of course not. Magic is special and unique.”

That is when I know I have them, as I begin to patiently explain that if magic is for a very special few, then technology is for the rest of the world.

Without technology the erstwhile heroes and villains would not have their weapons or armor. The process of mining ore, smelting it, and shaping it are all technological advances. The stereotypical longbow carried by the elves requires technology to shape the bow, and craft the arrows.

Architecture, yes I said architecture is a huge technological advancement over the people of the world huddling in damp caves. They have cities with castles bulwarked by their stout walls. Sailing ships that travel the world seas are marvels of technology, and the ability to guide the brave sailors through those harrowing straits via the stars is a marvelous technological feat. The concept of the points of light in the sky slowly revolving across the darkness, (I assume that most worlds have a day and night cycle) and can be tracked and used as a guide is not some mere feat. It takes skill and an understanding that many people today take for granted or even worse could care less about.

Spell books! Let’s talk about spell books. Language and the written word are a technological feat, and one that every race in the world, presumably, has gone through in order to develop a sophisticated alphabet.  

The domestication of horses and livestock are technology at work, as is the concept of agriculture, farmers and ranchers are in your world providing their wares because of technology.

Even in a world full of magic and mystery, technology is present, and if incorporated with care can breathe depth and add a touch of realism that may be glossed over by the reader, but they will instinctively appreciate those touches because they add familiarity and comfort to the world.