Hear ye, hear ye! Gather ’round. All lads and lasses are hereby cordially invited to attend the fantasy job fair. Bring your resumes, unique (and sometimes remarkably strange) skill sets, weapons, and references. Oh, and don’t forget your sense of adventure. If there’s one thing fantasy occupations have in common, it’s that no matter how dull they seem at the start, adventure is always waiting just around the next corner. Today’s fantasy reflection question: 
For me, this was a bit of a no-brainer. Don’t get me wrong, there are scads of awesome, exciting fantasy occupations out there. Assistant Pig Keepers. Dragon Slayers. Chosen Ones. Ringbearers. (Actually, let’s not become one of those …) But for me, there’s no contest. I would want to be a Dunedain Ranger. Admittedly, it can be a bit of a thankless job at times. Few people were as misunderstood and mistrusted as the Rangers were in Eriador. Yet the very people who called them “Long-shanks” and “Strider” were still breathing free air because of the sacrifices made by the Rangers. *sigh* You just have to admit. They are pretty cool. Who wouldn’t want to be a ranger? How about you? What would be your chosen fantasy occupation? As always, free free to respond in the comments. You are also welcome to share this post on your blog, please just link back to my original post. Thanks! :)
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I'd want to work in the Houses of Healing, since I'm somewhat of an herbalist. Or, I'd like to be royal janitor of Minas Tirith, and if they aren't hiring, Meduseld, or Cair Paravel. Who wouldn't want to have the keys to a freaky awesome castle.Or, I'd be a gardener. Adventures pop up easily in that line of work.
Ooh, that would be cool! You could have lots of fun conversations with Ioreth about her sister. :)
I just found this blog yesterday :)
I'd want to be a lady in waiting to Lucy Pevencie in Cair Paravel. While being a ranger, or dragon slayer would certainly be cool, I'd be killed the first day on the job.
Glad you stopped by again, Kaira! Always pleased to meet new folks! Welcome to the fun.
That's a good choice. I feel like you'd have plenty of excitement tagging along as Lucy's lady-in-waiting without having to dash into the thick of the battle every time. :)
I would want to be a bard. I don't think I quite have what it takes to be a hero, and I would get bored being a princess, and I wouldn't want to work in a forge or any of the other various apprenticeships my favorite characters all end up in… so either, I would want to be the one along for the ride, writing down the stories and turning them into ballads (and helping out when I could), or I'd want to be the unnamed person who is responsible for raising and training all the horses that our heroes ride as they set off on their quest, adventure… things. :) Without that horse trainer, the heroes would all have to go on foot!
Ooh, story idea!!!! :)
I would without a second of hesitation be the horse trainer. After all that is what I want to be in the real world. :)
Fun choice! Yes, horse trainers are quite necessary and so often undervalued in fiction. Y'all should definitely remedy that.
I would want to be a traveling merchant specializing in finding and trading treasures and information. With magic bags that could carry as much as I wanted.
That is a very useful idea!
Like moonbeam hollows! :)
"And information" … so we have a spy on our hands, eh? :) Sounds like an adventure-filled job with lots of mileage, new faces, and plenty of furtive meetings huddled around a table in the common room at the local inn.
The magic bags are a definite must!
It would be awesome to be a Dragon Rider or a Ranger, or maybe an Amaran wizard. Adventures, travel, protecting people . . . all pretty exciting stuff.
But I think my top choice would actually be something a little more low key: assistant to Imraldera in the Haven- preferably, of course, helping her with her library! Though I'd like to be a bard as well, and I think I'd be good at it. I could definitely see myself chronicling the doings of heroes and knights and such, and maybe going along with them for adventures to make sure I get the full story. (Maybe I could be both Imraldera's assistant and a bard- it would actually work out quite nicely, I'd think.)
Both a chronicler and bard? Cool idea, there is actually a job like that: you can be a seanachie!
Coolness! Thanks for pointing me to that! *makes a note to put a seanachie in a story sometime*
Isn't seanachie the coolest word ever? And it would be a very cool job to do!
I love that word. Seanachie. I would want to be one, but I think I kind of need a singing voice.
I fancy the idea of being the scholarly sort; librarian or historian, something along those lines. I would have information animal, vegetable or mineral, I'd know the kings of my land and I'd quote the fights historical in order categorical. But I would do things like forget to put on my shoes when I go out, and search everywhere for my glasses when they are right on my head.
Haha. Love this. Brilliant. Just brilliant.
The first thing that came to mind was the Queen's Thief, since the position is currently unoccupied. : ) I like it because it's fairly ethical for a thief, and I could indulge my dramatic streak.
Ooh, good choice. I like how you're concerned with the ethicality … ethicalness … (whatever) of being a thief. It shows you have a good heart. I'm sure you'd make an excellent Queen's Thief! :)
Why, thank you! : )
Good choice! I thought of that myself…
While I want to say I'd love being a chronicler or keeper of records of some sort, I also think if I lived in a fantasy world I would want to EXPLORE that world, too … so maybe a traveling chronicler, roaming the land and gathering information about its different people and creatures and customs and tales. Love this question/post!!!
Oh that would be cool! Probably quite dangerous too … so you'd have plenty of excitement! :)
That sounds lovely! Can I join you?
Wandering a world of fantasy appeals to me more than any other job on this list…
Was that you giz on the poster above? Cool pic! -Natalyn
Thanks! :)
I'd like to point out as someone who has spent time in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan in the real world, that some of the jobs that would be cool to read about in a story would be significantly less fun to do yourself. A bit of danger is fun–deep and constant danger wears thin pretty quickly for all but the most exceptional of people…
I'd either like to be a bard, kitchen helper or peddler of magical objects. Not very ambitious, I suppose, but I love to sing, bake and examine unusual objects. Also, you never know when these seemingly mundane tasks will lead to something amazing.