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The day, water, sun, moon, night - I do not have to purchase these things with money. — Plautus
Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it. — Lao Tzu
Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. — W. H. Auden
You probably already know that humans are mostly water. Most life on Earth requires water to live. This isn't so hard if you're a fish; it can be a bit more difficult for us land-dwellers to ensure a clean water supply.
But how much do you really know about this essential chemical?
Well, I'd venture to guess that you also know that water is found on Earth in solid, liquid, and vapor forms (to name the three most common phases). And that water freezes (or ice melts) at 0°C (32°F) and boils (or condenses from steam to liquid) at 100°C (212°F).
That's where things start getting complicated, though: it's not entirely true.
Yes, the Celsius scale is based on the freezing and boiling points of water... at standard atmospheric pressure, which is usually what you find at sea level. It's fairly common knowledge that the boiling point of water decreases with altitude. This is because atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude.
What might be surprising to some is that the freezing point of water doesn't change significantly with altitude/pressure—at least not the sort of conditions one might reasonably encounter on the surface, not even at the top of Mount Everest or the shore of the Dead Sea.
And then there's things like salt content or other dissolved solids, which can change both melting and boiling temperatures as well as make it unsuitable for some forms of life.
I mention all this in a Fantasy newsletter not to get all technical and sciencey, but because water tends to be something we take for granted, like gravity and air and a 24-hour day, but which could be different in fantasy (or science fiction) settings. Once you start dealing with other worlds, or other planes of existence, even water itself may behave differently to what you're used to.
You could even imagine an ecosystem that uses something other than water as a base, but unless you're going for pure fantasy, I'd suggest being very, very careful with that: water has properties that other candidate liquids, such as methane (available in liquid form only where it's really incredibly cold). What those are, though, I leave as a research exercise for the reader, mostly because I'm lazy.
Perhaps most importantly, though, if you're writing about life that's anything like we know it, is how fresh water is obtained and transported. Reservoirs? Wells? Natural lakes? Rainwater capture? Moisture farming? Desalinization?
So, yes, we can take water for granted (at least until we can't, at which point it becomes the second most important thing in the world, after air). But in a fantasy setting, it might pay to think about it some more.
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter! https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Last time, in "How to Cook" , I talked about cooking in fantasy settings.
Sadly, I didn't see any comments from the feedback system.
So that's it for me. See you next time! Until then,
DREAM ON!!!
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Fantasy: February 04, 2026 Issue [#13578]
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