I don’t mean that mythology is my story, but that the myths and legends are part of the story. Interpreting myth in light of events in the narrative give me room to reimagine those ancient tales. Simply reinterpret a god or goddess as a powerful magic user. Creatures from other worlds could be mythical animals not present in our mundane world. Battles between divine forces become misunderstood fights between potent wizards. The possibilities are limitless.
Using those ideas, I’ve borrowed stories from around the world and created cultures that depended on magic to survive. When magic failed, those cultures died out too. Survivors had to find new ways to live, join existing non-magical groups, or unable to adjust to the bleak times, perish. Heroes, gods, and monsters from ancient times become figures for modern day concern. The legends of our ancestors have become a road map for the last magical age, and a blueprint for the return of magic.
Fantastic America is a gentle introduction to how those legendary stories can come alive in the modern world. Efreeti and Djinn can coexist with Apache helicopters and Abrams tanks. The internet and scrying for information can compete for accuracy. Worlds we thought were pure imagination, filled with peoples and histories we have no knowledge of, collide with the certainty of science and technology. What could possibly go wrong?