Randall’s World

The Randall Fox stories take place in a world of anthropomorphic animals living in a culture that is loosely based on Renaissance Europe.

This world has not been carefully constructed prior to the beginning of writing but has been discovered by the writer through the process of creating and writing the stories. As the characters moved through the world and learned how their world looked and acted, I discovered and decided how to form that world. This has led to some oddities, like the fact that after four novellas, the kingdom where most of the action takes place remains unnamed.

A few facts about this world have become clear to me as the writer, even if they are not evident to the readers.

The anthropomorphic animals are aware that they are related to normal animals.  They refer to themselves as “civilized” and the others as “wild” or “domestic.” They also are aware that the wild versions are likely their ancestors.

The word “person” and its plural “people” is not used. This is, in part, a decision I made because I associate it strongly with humans, who do not exist in this world.  Instead, “folks” and “creatures” are used when referring to groups that contain more than one species. If a group contains all or mostly a single species, the group term for that species will be used.

Civilized creatures have a similar lifespan to that of humans. This includes a childhood that lasts for about twenty years, although the culture at the time of the stories will often consider someone grown anywhere between twelve and twenty years old. The age of maturity is more a cultural consideration than one of species.  Similarly, single births are common, with twins and triplets being rare.

In broad terms, creatures fall into five broad height ranges.  Voles, shrews, and similar animals would be considered tiny but are rarely seen. Mice, squirrels, rats, and many birds are small. Cats, rabbits, hares, and foxes are all medium-sized creatures. Sheep and goats are a bit taller. Horses, deer, wolves, lions, cougars, and others are the tallest.  Because of the variety of breeds, dogs can be found in most sizes other than tiny and small.

I hope that these notes about Randall’s world help readers understand and appreciate this world better.

RO/RF