How awesome would it be to fly on a winged horse or ride on the back of a unicorn?

You’d have to be crazy to turn down an offer like that.

There are plenty of cool ways to get around in spec-fic settings, with spaceships, teleporters, and the T.A.R.D.I.S. gracing the worlds of sci-fi. In steampunk, you get flying ships.

But this is Fantasy Favorites. When it comes to fantasy, however, what methods of travel come to mind? Riding on horses? Walking? Sailing the uncharted eastern seas in the Dawn Treader?

Nothing to stir your blood or make you tingle with excitement—except the last one.

But hold on a moment. Don’t let the ordinary options fool you. Fantasy is loaded with unique ways to get around. Not between worlds, as the Pevensies did when they entered the wardrobe, but within the world itself.

I mentioned flying on a winged horse, which Digory and Polly had the pleasure of experiencing in Magician’s Nephew. How about Gandalf riding on the great eagle Gwaihir in Lord of the Rings?

Or, to top them all, imagine the thrill of sitting astride Aslan as he bounds over the countryside, the air whipping in your face, the land rising and falling as if you’re plying the giant waves of a turbulent sea.

Forget shuttlecraft and automatic cars. That would be amazing.

BUT.

It doesn’t gain Fantasy Favorite status? Why not? Because of a series known as Wheel of Time.

Travel in Wheel of Time

The worldbuilding was by far my favorite part of these books, and included in the package were some nifty ways to see the world. Like, oh-my-gosh-this-is-incredible type stuff. I’m going to focus on the top two.

1. THE WAYS

Yes, that’s what they’re called. The name might ring with the dusty tones of the unimaginative, but the concept is anything but boring.

Imagine living in a world where you could travel along pathways existing outside reality.

The Ways are accessed by Waygates, which involves trees, talismans, and a shimmering entrance. Waygates also happen to be as hard to break as the One Ring, so they stay put even as the areas around them develop. Some are in quiet fields or nestled in the woods. Others reside in random places like basements.

The Ways are a place of darkness and danger, where crumbling bridges held up by air and fading Guiding posts threaten to confuse the traveler. Getting lost in the Ways is a bad idea, because…

Machin Shin—the Black Wind.

The greatest terror of the Ways.

A living force that preys upon any who dare enter the Ways, and devours any in its path. None can escape its deathly touch, and as it grows nearer, amid the roaring wind you can hear the screams of its previous victims.

Not your safe and cozy ride to the grocery store.

Why risk it? Since the Ways operates outside the normal laws of the world, it’s possible to travel for a day and emerge several hundred miles from where you started.

That’s pretty dang cool.

2. GATEWAYS

This is fantasy’s version of a teleportation device. Gateways form by weaving threads of the One Power, which in essence punches a hole through the intervening space and creates a portal between two locations. The weaves can be tied off, leaving the gateway open for a time before it shrinks and disappears.

In other words, gateways are wormholes, bored through space, allowing people to step through them and cover dozens or hundreds of miles in a single stride.

Talk about getting around.

One catch in creating gateways is that the channeler needs to be familiar with the distant location and memorize the location where they open the gateway.

Another aspect of gateways is their deadly nature. You see, gateways have sharp edges. Razor-sharp. If one opens inside or near an object, the edge of the gateway slices through anything in its path.

Not only does it function as a slick doorway to anywhere, it doubles as an effective weapon.

Summary: the Ways and Gateways are EPIC, and have the honor of winning the category of favorite method of fantasy travel.

What would be your favorite way of getting around in a fantasy setting? I would love to hear your thoughts.