How did life in your fantasy world begin? How did technology and society progress throughout the years? In some cases, the denizens of your world may have been guided by intelligence from other worlds. Today, I would like to talk about a possible origin for life and society in your fantasy world.
The book Chariots of the Gods was written in 1968 by Erich von Däniken postulated that many technologies, religions, and societies were influenced by extraterrestrial visitors, also known as ancient astronauts. While in our world, most of the evidence to substantiate this theory is circumstantial, in a fantasy world, it may be the truth. Many works of science fiction include some ancient race of interstellar travelers who either seeded life on Earth or helped us to advance our technology. The Forerunners in Halo, the Old Ones in Warhammer 40k, the Eternals in the recent Marvel movie, and the list goes on. These creatures left humans on the Earth to grow and prosper for many reasons and gifted them technology to assist with their development.
The denizens of your world may or may not know about their origin, or they might have legends of beings from the sky bringing them to their planet long ago. If they were deposited, do the advanced people who placed them there visit? If they do, how do they move about the planet? Do they come as powerful beings, brought on pillars of light and flame? Or perhaps they move about their children in a guise, as to not draw attention to themselves.
Some potential story hooks to use with this world origin are, of course, the return of these powerful beings. Do they come in peace? What do they want when they return? And how do the power structures of your world react to these powerful beings interrupting the status quo and shaking their sense of power? There are many reactions the characters could have, and the best part is, you can bring your fantasy party to outer space for some sci-fi adventures if you want!
If you want some examples of this sort of storytelling, I recommend the new Eternals movie from Marvel, and Dune is also a great example of technologically advanced people interacting with others from a less advanced world. Tell us about the origin of your world in the comments!
