posted
This is probably a really stupid question, but asking them no longer bothers me... In my fantasy novel, I have several instances where I need to communicate over great distances. And I'm stuck as to how one would do such a thing... I mean, I certainly can't have a postal system just as I can't use Owl Post (though for the life of me, that is the ONLY thing popping in my head, LOL). I'm open to suggestions, both historical (how'd they do this in the medieval period?) to fantastical. I appreciate all insight!!
posted
Postal system isn't as ludicrous as it sounds - stick a few relay stations with fresh horses every few miles along well-maintained roads and you can send messages by word or script very quickly over long distances. It's late here, and I'm tired, but a figure that comes to mind is that these can achieve speeds of 120 miles per day. The Romans used it, and the Assyrians used it. It wasn't so easy in the mediaeval period due to the large numbers of different ruling estates, but travel could still be relatively fast, so long as the roads were well maintained.
Homing pigeons can also be used to carry messages - the crusaders found the Arabs using this method of communication, and made it a habit to try and capture such birds so that forged messages bearing wrong instructions could be sent.
Another simpler way over local distances is sound - churches don;t have bells because they make a nice sound - it's a deep low resonance that can travel over a few miles radius of open countryside, calling those on the outlying farmsteads to worship.
posted
Along with pigeons, foxes were used to carry messages too - I believe.
As for the story being Fantasy, you can do whatever you want. Make up a cool system using a spell. You could have real, genuine, windtalkers - or perhaps a magically created Pigeon that can relay the message directly into a persons head or some such rubbish. Just make something up! That's why we all love writing so much isn't it?
posted
Visual signals also work, signal fires date back to ancient times, and semaphore stations can communicate over miles in clear weather if properly situated.
Different types of signal would be used for different purposes. Signal fires would usually be laid ready in outlying fortifications to indicate attack, while private letters would be carried by couriers (liveried in peacetime), whereas declaimation of holy days and celebrations would be announced by ringing bells. Pigeons can be notoriously unreliable, for a variety of reasons, so make sure that you put such messages in code (which fits in with the fact that usually you want to use them to send or recieve secret messages).
In a fantasy setting, you can always have the use of magical items, such as magic mirrors and such, that would allow communication (I have always regarded this as one of the more likely uses of magic--something not completely incompatable with our understanding of natural law). A lock of hair bound in a magic crystal could let you know if a loved one was alive and well, no matter the distance, or a pair of silver rings might allow two people to enter each other's dreams.
posted
I read A LOT of fantasy, the nature of communicating over distance generally depends on the nature of the story. If you have magic users that is quite commonly the most effective, although comes with an expense. Telepathy centers is another possible answer, I have only seen something like this once but it worked well, similar to how we used telegraph. From the center I would use runners to relay to the individual person the message was meant for. Elves are notorious for long legs and make great runners, as do most animals in fantasy. Hope this jogs a direction for you. Enjoy Corinna
Posts: 17 | Registered: Jul 2002
|
posted
I love the windtalkers idea--it sounds like something out of the hobbit. I also like the idea of fast elven runners, and when I read that I imagined them being engulfed in a sphere of lightbefore disappearing of in a great white blur of speed.
For my own ideas, however, which I admit is somewhat like the mirror idea, I like to use a system of communication when all one must do to commuticate over long distances is look into a source of water, whether it's a cup, a puddle, or a pond. This someone has to be magically versed, however, and in my stories, not everyone can be, ususally.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
