Basic Information
In mythology, the term Power of the Land serves to define a mystically powerful individual who tends to be associated to a particular geographical area, much like a more personalised version of a genius loci. Typically the relationship between location and power is hard to entangle - in some cases, the power may be basically mortal outside their bounds, in others a tie to the land makes the already powerful more so. The concept of places of power also applies here - if "the land" is too small, you may just be dealing with someone with a large place of power, whilst a larger domain, especially with areas of greater and less potency within it is more the thing.
Baba Yaga is probably the most famous power of the land in consideration, although some versions of The Green Man qualify and an archetypal Fisher King probably should as well (arguably the Fisher King is a subtrope: The Lord of the Land). Other mythic characters also qualify - often those "good" and "evil" "fairies" that fairytale monarchs are obliged to interact with on various social occasions.
Sources
Game and Story Use
- Note the fairytales - it is best to deal politely even with the more malevolent powers of any land with which you are involved. Indeed some of them may be relatively safe and even disturbingly helpful if treated with courtesy and according to tradition.
- Imagine, for example, if Sleeping Beauty's parents had, in fact, invited the evil witch/fairy and thus obliged her to provide an appropriate gift rather than a curse. What she might have considered appropriate could have made for a story in its own right…