Sword and Sorcery is a literary genre that emerged out of the early 20th century by blending elements from the Adventure and Horror genres with major influences from early archeology and theosophy, as well as folklore and mythology, often written in a gothic literature fashion with heavy themes of existentialism, social critiques, questions about agency, and expressions of free will. It is a sub-genre of weird fiction, and the parent of fantasy. It is also known for its utilization of eastern story telling techniques and religious story telling concepts such as Divine intervention, often employing the Deus Ex Machina trope.