How would someone found their own League of Nations or ICC? Obviously, they'd need help, but with what? What obstacles other than other nations going 'A what now' or 'No, I want to be able to attack without anyone else's permission' or being so mean they couldn't even qualify? Would large-scale magic be a factor in any of this?
First off, what is ICC? A quick google search brought me to International Cricket Council...I assume this isn't what you mean. I don't see a problem with an international League of Nations. There have been several different types of similar councils among people of a like culture. The Iroquois did this, the catholic European nations were known to work together through the Pope, Arab leagues were common, etc, etc. It becomes different when you're trying to make a true League of Nations, as in everyone in the world. Can you imagine Muslims and Christians trying to get along in 1300? Despite the cry of the pacifists that "we all breathe the same air" or any other dime phrase, the fact is people around the world are different. Really different. Those differences can be extremely difficult to overcome, sometimes impossible, when trying to make decisions together. And yes, magic would be a huge factor. How can one, let's say very magic oriented nation, agree with another nation who has a religion which finds magic usage to be abhorrent? How would those two ever reach an agreement?
Can you imagine Christians and Christians getting along, for most of the past two millennia? The early church was rife with schisms, and the Celtic church (which had very largely Christianized Britain before Augustine) suffered a take-over by the Catholic church. Then there was the bloodshed that attended the reformation and the rise of Protestantism. And it was still a force in recent years...my wife is Catholic, I am Protestant...my wife's family would have had to make confession if they had committed the sin of attending a wedding in a Protestant church...! In 1907, a conference on arms control passed a motion that you couldn't use aeroplanes for the delivery of armaments...but most of the attending nations declined to ratify it, so nobody was breaking their word when WWI saw fliers dropping bombs and firing guns at other combatants!
Indeed. You have pointed out why getting anything done between allies is hard enough, let alone those of differing view points. There is a reason countries have full time employees in their respective state departments. Even now, there are only a handful of nations that are largely modern, progressive, and tolerant toward different beliefs. Fantasy is largely set in a realm where there is basically no tolerance. And thanks on the ICC. My mind simply didn't make the connection. Forgive my ignorance. Glad we're not talking about Cricket as I know next to nothing about it.
Fantasy is largely set in a realm where there is basically no tolerance. Can you expand on that (I'm always interested in views on fiction versus reality that is deeper than 'not true versus true')?
Fantasy is largely based in the middle ages. This differs from story to story as fantasy is a very large genre, but if you're talking high fantasy, middle ages is where most stories live (at least the most popular). If you look from Wheel of Time to Game of Thrones to The Lord of Rings, you will find distrust, racism, and intolerance. It's obvious between the elves and dwarves in LOTR, thick with the distrust or outright hatred of the Aes Sedai in Wheel of Time, and multiple themes of racism and prejudice are present in Game of Thrones (such as the life of Tyrion or the horrible treatment of slaves). When you make the backdrop of your world similar to life in the middle ages you undeniably must take on a certain level of intolerance and ignorance present in humans who lived during those times. These are the ages when people were accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake, Muslims and Christians waged constant warfare with each other, Mongols started building the largest empire ever known by killing everyone in their path, etc. Any difference of thought, opinion, or religious views will not only be met with distrust but sometimes outright hostility. Or...that's the way I look at fantasy at least.
I never really put those two things together. I knew a lot of fantasy was based on the European middle ages, but for the most part the racism seemed more an opportunity for gags or a soapbox and were't made to imitate the middle ages fear of diversity, but was there for cheap pathos (GOT excluded, the racism is much more mixed into culture than I've seen in a lot of stories). My story isn't EXACTLY based on the middle ages. The fantasy world skipped them, but in doing so, some places didn't develop ideas of freedom or economics and only advanced in technology. It's serfdom with penicillin and nylons and body armor and mongols with tanks and mustard gas. The whole plot is someone trying to bring modern peacekeeping tactics to people who never invented the stock market or radio.
Can urban fantasy be in a fantastical world? If it is, then replace steam with clock and you've hit the nail on the head. (Would agents or audiences be interested in clockpunk?)
