Following the river upstream through dale and valley, the man stumbles upon the place he had hoped to reach. Though it was not his end destination, the place he was in was full of food he could eat, for he had heard tales about all the fish appearing where he now stood. Retrieving his fishing rod, he attached the bait and tossed it into the water. The traveler waited as he marveled in how vast the water was. He smiled as he saw the light glimmering on the surface of the water, for he was in one of many fantasy lakes.
Among all fantasy environments, lakes are one of the largest in terms of size. Second only to the ocean, lakes take up a great deal of real estate on a continent. They serve to collect and hold a lot of water, usually coming from the rivers that feed into them, or from the skies above them. They also release some water to prevent overflowing and said water flows downstream, going all the way to the ocean.
When it comes to worldbuilding, fantasy lakes play an integral role. They serve as major sources for water throughout the land. Since they hold a tremendous amount of water, many animals and plants live right next to them. If left unchecked, their populations will explode. Lakes are also magnets for humans, mostly hunters who help control the population. However, many towns and cities are built in close proximity since they have access to a water source that will last a lot longer than a river.
Due to their great size, fantasy lakes conceal a lot of secrets, mostly in their watery depths. Those not underwater can be found among the small, remote islands scattered throughout. Regardless of their location, these secrets spur adventurers seeking glory and fame to come find them.
However, lakes are full of dangers. Large aquatic beasts lurk in the murky waters, eagerly waiting for their next meal. Cliffs can cause the unaware to lose their footing and potentially, their life. Dangerous monsters live around the shores, claiming them as their territory which hinders traveling through them safely. Last and not the least, some dungeons lie on the lakebed and are overrun by monsters!
In the story, lakes can play both a major or minor role, depending on the type of story being told. If the plot features a race that plays a key role in the world, said race will typically live either near the lake or consider it holy ground. Think of the Zoras from The Legend of Zelda. While they’re a fish species, they don’t live in Lake Hylia, instead residing in Zora’s Domain and the lake is where their temples honoring their deities lie, making it a key place to visit during the game. Due to Link having to go there to solve the Zoras’ problems, Lake Hylia thus plays a major role in the story.
Fantasy lakes don’t necessarily have to have a race to play an important role in the plot. They can serve as the site of a major fight between good and evil. Two armies could clash over control of one or the hero can fight the monster of the lake to end its tyranny.
This is the fifth in a series looking at the various types of fantasy environments. If you want to read any of the first four, here they are:
Or you can go to our blog page and see what we have!
Without further ado, let’s begin learning about what fantasy lakes have to offer!
First and foremost, fantasy lakes take up a lot of space! Just look at a map and you can see how large they are. They come in all shapes and sizes, from the small to the ginormous. Nevertheless, their core function is the same: to house an amount of water greater than that of a river.
Lakes are found in a variety of climates, ranging from the tropics to the tundra. There’s even some in places you wouldn’t think that would have them like deserts! An unique aspect of lakes in fantasy is to put them high up in the sky on an island and have water falling on the land below. The climate they’re in determines what kind of animals and plants they’ll draw. Palm trees and alligators will thrive in tropical lakes, not lakes with subzero temperatures.
Due to their size and the climate they’re in, lakes have plants and animals not readily found anywhere else. This means each one of them has their own ecosystem unique only to them. As such, they’re great places to study and learn about the species that live there!
With water constantly flowing into them, fantasy lakes need to release some in order to not flood the area. That water then flows out in a channel that then continues downward, towards the sea. Releasing this water enables all living beings that live downstream to have access to water when they need it.
Their great size makes lakes a valuable resource to be tapped in. Humans dam them up for several reasons:
Fantasy lakes and secrets go hand-in-hand. This is because their massiveness means there’s a lot of places to for things to hide. Secrets that are hard to unearth due to the myriad of dangers found in lakes.
Since nobody knows how deep they are or what’s living beyond what they can see, lakes are home to terrifying, violent creatures. These creatures have lived there for countless eons, growing in size as time went on, and they will not leave the place they’ve called home for all that time. Their formidable appearance frightens all those who come near off. Furthermore, these monsters have no qualms about eating people and animals alive.
Vicious beasts aren’t the only danger fantasy lakes pose. Since they’re considerably lower in elevation than their immediate areas, many cliffs surround them. All it takes is just one misstep for someone to lose their life.
While they have their share of dangers, fantasy lakes are a magnet for explorers and treasure hunters. Their depths and the small islands nestled within are prime candidates to search for secrets. However, they’re also home to strong monsters who’ve claimed them as their territory. They zealously guard the area, eliminating unwanted intruders.
One vital secret lakes hide is dungeons. While some are accessible at the surface, like atop an island, the majority are located on the lakebed. This means those who want to get in must find a way to get there without dying. Some worlds enable this by giving the hero character a mechanism such as a suit or a device that lets them breathe while underwater.
Getting in a dungeon is only the easy part. Surviving it is quite another. These places drip with secrets galore but many monsters call them home and will drive out any unwanted guests. Making it to the end of the temple means facing off against a monster far more powerful than those encountered throughout it. Usually said boss is guarding a priceless treasure and must be defeated before the treasure can be claimed.
In terms of the story, fantasy lakes are interesting in that they can play both a minor or major role. Those in the latter are central to the plot, making them a significant stepping stone on the hero’s quest to stop evil.
In worlds like Hyrule, fantasy lakes play a key role in the story, making them a key battleground between good and evil. These worlds always feature an aquatic race whose responsibility is to oversee the water and ensure they’re clean and pristine and flowing normally. These races are counted among the opposition against the villain. Unfortunately, their opposition makes them one of the first targets to attack.
The forces of evil attack lakes since they are a prime source for life. The villain sends monsters to contaminate the water or restrict access. Those tasked with protecting them like the Zoras attempt to fix things but wind up being unable to. They know something’s wrong but they don’t have the whole picture. This means the hero and his allies must travel there to unravel the mystery of the lake’s troubles.
The culprit is almost always a vicious monster that’s taken up residence in the temple, a sacred place where the protectors of water pray and seek guidance from their deity. After vanquishing the fearsome beast, the lake goes back to normal and the hero informs the water protectors of what happened.
In other worlds, lakes play only a tangential role, since the story is structured in such a way it doesn’t matter if they appear or not. If they appear after all, they act as a backdrop for a variety of scenes. Two characters could be discussing strategy or something else or one character spends time there because it’s the one place he goes to when he needs to be by himself.
The storyline possibilities are endless when it comes to deciding whether a lake will be instrumental in the plot or not!
Fantasy lakes are an essential part of the world’s ecosystem. Due to their large size, they are prime sources of water, one of the basic necessities of life. Animals and plants live right next to them. Humans build communities nearby so they have a constant supply of water when they need it.
They’re found in many different climates, each one containing its own set of wildlife and flora and fauna. The diverse wildlife makes them stellar places to observe and study them.
While they’re massive in size, fantasy lakes have many secrets and dangers. Giant, monstrous creatures live underneath the murky surface, waiting for an unfortunate soul to tip his toe in the water before grabbing him and pulling him down into the depths.
The islands found within have monsters and treasures. But the biggest prizes just might be found in the dungeons where priceless treasure lies, guarded by a sea of vicious brutes led by an even stronger fiend.
When bringing them into your world, decide where to place them and craft the rivers that flow into and out of them. Be sure to put them in places that make sense! Don’t put one where the elevation is flat, otherwise the water will just flow out. Place them in areas where the terrain is uneven.
Make them interesting, fascinating places for characters to visit. Populate them with wild, exotic creatures and flora and fauna. Toss some dangerous monsters and beasts in there as well. They’ll definitely add some excitement there!
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