Note: How to Write Ancient Fantasy Settings first appeared in MetaStellar’s Writing Advice of the Week column on April 12, 2026.
Fantasy, high and epic fantasy in particular, introduces lots of unique settings through vivid description and fascinating characteristics. But some fantasy settings are older than others. Much older. When you’re working on your own fantasy setting, you might want to make your setting feel old. But how do you do that? Read below for the following steps on how to make your fantasy setting feel ancient.
Add Relics from the Past
There are multiple ways you can add relics to your fantasy setting that automatically make things older for both your characters and your readers. By relics, I mean just about anything from the ancient past that characters can come in contact with, which also provides readers with an understanding of how much time has passed. Here are a few examples I’ve come up with as examples of a relic.
- Ancient swords and weapons (particularly ones that are broken, rusted, or just haven’t been used in ages)
- Ruins from a kingdom that had been abandoned centuries ago (especially if people have only heard legends regarding the people and the culture)
- Legends and tales of the past (believe it or not, you can include these in your story without info-dumping or diverting from the plot)
The key to including all of these examples is to introduce these relics organically into your story. How do you do that? Here are two ways:
- Introduce the relics as part of the action. The most important thing to remember is that you need to avoid info-dumping and just generally putting in random information that readers don’t need at the moment. Yes, the world is cool, and you need to do some worldbuilding, but the inclusion of these details needs to have a purpose. So introduce them within the action that is currently taking place.
- For example, let’s go back to the ancient ruins I mentioned. Imagine your main character enters ruins and finds a strange sword there. The introduction of both the ruins and the sword becomes part of the plot, so any information you divulge to the readers will be important. This is especially true when your character is performing the action of finding the sword. When this is important to the plot, you have an organic way to introduce something that makes your story setting feel much older than it is
- Introduce something ancient through (relevant) stories. This is different from basic exposition. The stories you include enhance the action and are relevant to the current scene in your story. At least, they should. So when you introduce a legend or a myth, make it relevant to what’s going on.
This all goes over relics of the past, but there are other ways to make your story feel older. Let’s move on to another method.
Weave History with Mythology
The next thing you need to do is focus on comparing your history with myths and legends. Because recent history for your world makes sense, but when you want to make your story feel ancient, you need to include both mythology and history, which gives your story a deeper and broader view. You can do this by weaving history and mythology together to create a background for your world that feels much bigger than readers will see on the page.
The key is to allow your readers to fill in the blanks. You don’t want to include everything, especially all in one story. In the case of making your story setting feel ancient, introducing relevant aspects of both history and greater mythology means only filling in the blanks that readers need for the time being. So when determining what to include, think of the following:
- Important recent historical events. Whatever event that just occurred that readers should know about, especially if it affects the present day in your story
- Important ancient historical events. Things that happened long in the past that have then become legend
- Important myths disguised as history. Stories that may or may not be true that can still affect the present or at least retain some importance to the plot at hand
These three things extend from the present to the past to create a tapestry of stories that makes your plot feel more ancient when you include them. Readers get the sense that your world has existed for a long period of time. However, it’s important to determine what to include and what not to include. I mentioned before that including legends and myths, like ruins and things like that, helps make your story feel older. But how do you include both myth and history while still keeping up the pace with your story? Here are a few tips:
- Create parallels between the past and present. You might have a legend or myth that’s relevant to what’s going on in the scene you’re writing. However, you also want to create parallels between now and then. In this case, it’s good to include them at the right moment. For example, if your main character is a knight, include a legend about another legendary knight who had to go on a similar quest. This makes for a good inclusion of history/myth.
- Include references throughout your story – you don’t need to include all the information. Stuffing every story that takes place in your world is too much, even for the longest book. However, references to something important throughout the story allow the reader to pick up clues along the way. These are the basics of good exposition, which I also talked about in a previous article.
Making your story feel ancient is all about knowing what to include and when best to include it. As you develop your story, you’ll be able to go through your drafts and add more. You’ll also contribute to an overarching story that feels much older than it looks. Keep writing and don’t give up.
Happy writing!
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