World-Building: Enneaverse-Harnessing Creativity

This is another in a series of posts on using history to help you worldbuild. The Enneaverse is what our world would be like if characters from myth, legend, and literature had all co-existed. A world of superheroics.

I have found that one of the greatest impetus for creativity is the juxtaposition of two seemingly unrelated facts. Earlier this semester, within a couple of days of each other, I learned that one of the first historical references to the English archer Robin Hood (or Rabunhod) was in 1261, and that Japanese tokusō Hōjō Tokimune reigned over Japan from 1268 to 1284. The two were contemporaries, which means that they theoretically could have teamed up. Instantly I had an image of the pair fighting back-to-back, fending off a zombie infestation. To add a little more superheroic flair to it, I leaned into the fact that Tokimune led the defense against a Mongol invasion in 1280 which failed partially because of a typhoon. What if Hōjō Tokimune had limited aerokinetic powers? This scene just got more cinematic. Robin Hood delivers arrow after arrow, while Tokimune alternately slashes away at the zombies and uses his powers to keep the horde from getting too close to them!

“Hood-Dono, my friend. We certainly have stepped into it.” Hōjō gestured with his free hand, the wind rising up and pushing a pair of the shambling zombies away from them, and he stepped into the space created and slashed at a third. “Perhaps you may want to switch to the sword? Your arrows do not seem to be having the same effect as they do against the living.”

Robin chuckled, shaking his head as he dropped the bow and drew his long sword. “I don’t think it’s going to matter much unless Nasr is able to trick Asmodeus into giving up.”

Of course the fact that they (along with the Anatolian trickster Nasreddin Hodja that Robin mentions) were, historically, separated by around 8500 miles was a challenge to them ever teaming up, but that is a discussion for next time!

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Reading through George Washington's Farewell Address, it’s hard to imagine a more prescient look at the nation 230 years later. Not only did he see the dangers of political parties, but he also counsels on quite a few topics that currently divide our nation, and his conduct

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Dying of Dysentery: Lessons from History

For the celebration of America’s semiquincentennial, the New York Times published an article about video games that explore the nation’s history. Highlighting mostly franchise superstars like Fallout, Red Dead Redemption, Bioshock, and Assassins Creed, the article also mentions a few lesser celebrated games like Where the Water Tastes

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What If Jamestown and Plymouth went the way of Roanoke?

I Cannot Tell a Lie: Washington Knew What He Was Talking About

This Border State Showed-Me I Have Much To Learn About the American Civil War

Dying of Dysentery: Lessons from History