Fantasy Faire Past: Cerridwen's Cauldron

Fantasy Faire 2017 is coming soon! A short while ago the themes for ten worlds were announced, and this seemed a good time to reflect back on the past creations of some of the people making their windows into the infinite this year.

I wanted to start with Elicio Ember's Cerridwen's Cauldron. Although Ember said he had to step back from creating a sim this year, he's been a staple of years past and he makes amazing windows into fantastic realms. His worlds are always marked by brilliant colors, glimmering patterns in cut glass, striking architecture, great heights and depths, and wild plants which defy gravity. His Sea of Mer (see the end) was the first Fantasy Faire sim I ever took pictures of and blogged about, and it will always hold a special place in my heart due to that.

What's most fascinating, looking back, is seeing the jump in skill and technology from year to year. I've become so much more sophisticated, and so has the faire itself.

2014 Fantasy Faire: Fairlands Junction

It's the end to another Fantasy Faire - long past in truth. I had a great deal of fun, though as always time was cramped and I wished it was two, even three weeks instead of the bare eleven days we get. A number of stores have their donation items still out, so keep a weather eye for things you might have missed during the faire proper and see you all next year!

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Location: Fairlands Junction
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire: Sanctum

I walked for some time before the land ended before me - marking the end of my journey, or at least so I thought. My foot clatters against a small stone bowl, spilling must of the water into the thirsty stone, and I lift it gently in both hands to dip into the ocean, refilling it and leaving it back where I had found it, the damp imprint of my hands left on the edges even as I straightened again. It looked like the end of the world - a wide swath of water from within which fire belched forth, running redly to steam itself black in the sea. The smells are equal parts sulfur and salt, purity and fire all in one. After long moments of breathing in the mingling scent, I notice a glowing light at my feet drawing me upward, and turn toward it. There is nothing but a breath of salt and sunlight beneath my feet, and yet I continue to walk upwards into the sky.

Nothing could have prepared me for what lies between red and sulfur, and gold and sun. A village - stone and greenery stretching out with total disregard for gravity.

Life blooming in midair.

The denizens are quiet, polite, disinterested. Soft greetings and goodbyes as I pass through, and my Lindens are as good here as any other place, but everything is oddly transparent and bloodless - as if only partial lives are being lived all around me. I feel vivid and explosive next to the mildness which surrounds me.

At the center of town, another of the streaming paths of light falls into the center of town - ignored by the inhabitants. Weeping figures are on either side of it, and they don't move as I approach - nor do those standing still and looking upward as if toward some wonderful or terrible thing. Beneath my feet, the stairs of light chimed gently with each step I take upwards, and seem to continue unendingly into the sky.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Location: Sanctum
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire Hunt Part Two: Palace of Tears Walkthrough

The Fantasy Faire is doing a two part hunt again,  and only the second half is available. The Hunt continues until the 18th, so you don't have much time to wrap it up - sorry I got this out so late. The HUD still costs 250L and is for sale at the Palace of Tears. It's fairly complicated, with a variety of menu options, and the HUD Instructions covers that, as well as a series of notes and encouragement to click on the sponsors links at the bottom.

I had an error with my HUD so that for some reason, despite the fact I finished the first half, it reset to halfway through the first half which could no longer be done. I chose to repurchase the second HUD, so I don't know if continuing with the original HUD changes anything at all. It at least starts at the same place - finding the Bard Queen and speaking with her. Like the first half of the hunt, this one has cutscenes; the transcripts are available through the "History" button.

One note up front - I have now run most of the hunt multiple times due to crashing and sleeping. Unlike some other HUD based hunts, removing your HUD and putting it on again clears the progress you've made instead of "locking" it. If there's one improvement I hope they make, it's some way to save progress as you go; since this hunt is so time intensive, the likelihood of crashing is high and after the fifth time I did the first half of the hunt I was not behaving in a ladylike manner. The only nice thing is that the puzzles all remain solved - though you have to make it "wrong" then "right" again to trigger moving on. Despite this technical difficulty, I really enjoyed this hunt - especially the puzzles.

NEW OBJECTIVE: Talk to the Bard Queen in the palace's gardens.

[BARD QUEEN] And so it came to pass that after a thousand years of rule, the Emperor finally started to age. He sent away the courtiers, who served only to flatter him, and kept his counselors close. Then, after another generation, they were sent away as well. In time, only the most trusted servants were permitted to enter his presence. And now he has not been seen at all for a week.

The Eternal Empire is in chaos. No successor has been named, and now the lords and ladies strong enough to take the crown are drawing the lines for civil war. Thousands will die, unless...

Well, hero, unless you help. The Emperor cannot have left the Palace without being seen, so he must be in there somewhere. Can you find him? Help us, hero. Search the Palace.

Save us all...

Deoridhe: I need to find some clues first... I guess the throne room may be a good place to start.
NEW OBJECTIVE: Find the Emperor. Look for clues.

Now is the time to seek all over the building for various clues as to the Emperor's disappearance. As you click things, there is a response from your HUD, and sometimes your view changes to focus on a detail, or widens to focus on a place.

Deoridhe: Here is the throne room. It appears that the Emperor is interested in art...

Deoridhe: Ahhh, the Unicorn. Symbol of the Empire, you know. Except when it's crowned like this one – that's for the Emperor himself. Hmm.... it might be worth trying his private rooms. They'll have the same marking.
NEW OBJECTIVE: Look for clues in the Emperor's bedroom.

Deoridhe: This must be the Emperor's private bedroom. Now if I were going to have a hiding-place, this is the sort of room I'd want it near. Perhaps there's some kind of switch?
NEW OBJECTIVE: Look for a possible switch...

Deoridhe: Hmmm... it seems that I can move these...
NEW OBJECTIVE: Solve the puzzle to proceed.

The hints are found by clicking on the images on the little puzzle.

NEW OBJECTIVE: Examine the keyhole.

Deoridhe: Ah-ha – a keyhole! But we need a key... Hmmm. There has to be a spare, right? But powerful people get smug, and the Emperor's a tease. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of clue around here.

NEW OBJECTIVE: Find the right key for this keyhole.
Deoridhe: So yes, that's him. In the crown jewels, too – very swish! But what's he holding there? Sceptre in one hand and...

This is where things get a little confusing. I'm assuming that if my first HUD had worked I owuld have already had the key, but if you purchase the second HUD you need to find it. I spent ages looking at where his right hand might be, all over, clicking everything I could find, and after a good night's rest I tried a door I had noticed in the main hall, but which I assumed was only part of the end game. Wrong. Click on the door between the stairs in the entrance hall to get to the Treasure Room.

Deoridhe: The crown jewels... full of riches from all around the world.
Mysterious Key acquired.
Gold acquired.

The next step is to head upwards again. The next step is a little confusing - the first time of using an object. Stand near the keyhole and click the "inventory" tab and arrow over to the "mysterious key". The click "use." Your camera will be taken over again (by now, clicking on things, you should be used to that) and will focus on the door hidden behind the portrait. Click on the door and you will be teleported through it.

Deoridhe: It's working! It's opening!
NEW OBJECTIVE: Open the secret entrance and look for the Emperor.

NEW OBJECTIVE: Talk to the emperor.
[EMPEROR] Who..? Well, no matter.

They poisoned me, you know. Slow, but certain. I sent them all away so they couldn't give me any more, but... but I think I've had enough. There's a cure, you know, in the library. But it's in code, and I can't understand it. Help me... please?

Deoridhe: Hmm! So I need to find a recipe in the library?!...
NEW OBJECTIVE: Look for a recipe in the library.

Now it's down to the library, which is a few doors down from the Throne Room. It's a lovely room full of books, and the recipe isn't difficult to find.

Deoridhe: The palace's library, filled with all sorts of books. Romance, Action, Potions, Myths, Magic...
Potions Book acquired.
 
Deoridhe: Great, it's in code. Typical. Honestly, do these people have so much time on their hands that they can't just write down a recipe? There has to be an explanation of how to decode it around here somewhere. NEW OBJECTIVE: Find a way to decode the recipe.

Don't leave the room - the cryptokey is on the ground in the library.  Once you click on it, another puzzle will open up on your HUD - and in this case, the word you are trying to reproduce you have seen many times in many different ways as you went - and it's seven letters long.

Deoridhe: Right, so it's a sprig of Rosemary, a Mandrake root, a lump of gold, and some powdered sulphur. And we'll need an alchemist's or wizard's lab to mix it in.

Deoridhe: They should have the sulphur as well, so that's something. Best find the other three ingredients before tracking the lab down.

NEW OBJECTIVE: Find the following ingredients:

Rosemary ☑
Mandrake root ☑
Gold ☑

The items can be found all over the building - and you may have found some of them already. The first is someplace warm where you haven't been in the plotline yet. The second hides around the castle, dancing out of the ground. The third is key and I already picked it up in this walkthrough. If you, like me, already had everything, you have to "refind" something in order to trigger the next step of the hunt.

Deoridhe: The royal kitchen... It must have all sorts of ingredients, for all sorts of preparations... or at least some...
Rosemary acquired.

Mandrake Root acquired.

Deoridhe: Finally! Got everything!
Deoridhe: Hummm... The ingredients need a wizard to mix this. If only I knew where to find one... Perhaps someone around here knows one?
NEW OBJECTIVE: Find a wizard. Talk to someone who may know one.

This one is kind of obvious. Of course, if you're me, you've been back to click her about a half dozen times already.

[BARD QUEEN] You have ingredients, but need somewhere to mix them? This at least I can help you with. Speak to the wizard Fimbalius. The doorway will take you to his gardens, but you must find your way to his tower yourself.

Now, for the first time all game, clicking the door next to the Bard Queen lets you open it and clickt he tantalizing doorway beyond. You end up in the "maze". Cleverly, they've put a level at the top of the maze, so even if you have wings, flying over isn't an option. That being said, it isn't the most difficult maze to solve, and with [this image] it will be much easier.

You read... "Speak, friend and enter."

Hope you know your Tolkein.

You hear "You may enter..."
NEW OBJECTIVE: Talk to the wizard.

[WIZARD] Honestly, you put a maze outside your front door and people still keep managing to barge in! Adventurers, I ask ye!

Wait, the Emperor sent you? Oh, right. Well, I suppose he's better than the alternatives. If you've got everything you need you might as well be getting on with it, I suppose - the workbench is over there.

Well, don't just stand there gawping at me, get on with it!

You don't actually have to do anything - just look at your local chat.

Deoridhe: Perfect! I better hurry back to the palace now...
Cure acquired.
NEW OBJECTIVE: Return to the Emperor and administer the cure.

To get back down, click on the shiny door and it will teleport you to the front of the maze. Click on the door you just came through, and it will teleport you down to the Bard Queen. Run back to the Emperor's Room and just click on the picture to go through the door again (no need to use the key). Then open your inventory and use the "cure" you got.

[EMPEROR]

You have the cure?

Thank you! Yes, this is the stuff. I do at least know what to do with it now.

You have done me a great service, stranger, and I am grateful. Go to the treasure room and take what you will as a reward.

Perhaps one day, when there is need, I may see fit to call on you again...

NEW OBJECTIVE: Retrieve the treasure...
Master Key acquired.

Now it's back to the Treasure Room, where you got the gold, and possibly the key. When you click on the treasure boxes, your inventory will become inundated by awesome stuff.

You have Won!!! 

Art in the Throne Room:

Secret Garden at Imaginaria by Peace Edenflower-Switchblade

Mermaid by Mena Lancaster

A Siren's Call by Naniel Finlayson

Up by Gidge Adagio

The Secret Lives of Dwarves by Davie Frequency

I Loved a Maid Fair as Summer by Anabelle Marquis

2014 Fantasy Faire: Turned to Stone

The Fantasy Faire itself is over, but tendrils of good will and good wishes continue on into the future - not only swinging around to next year, but also in the form of the second half of the Fantasy Faire Hunt (First Half Guide Here) in the Palace of Tears. It also continues in many of the Faire Stores, where Fantasy Faire Donation boards are transplanted when the Fairelands close. My skin was a release for the Faire from Fallen Gods - an amazing stone skin texture which came with an outfit and eyes (not shown). I was so very glad that it included SLink appliers for the skin - the effect is as flawless and wonderful as I had ever hoped, as you can see from my perfect stony fingers above. I don't see a sign of this particular skin at his store, even in an extended Faire Donation Option, but if you like this skin just check out the myriad of wonders he has available to all - and if you meet any noobs, let them know about his Newborn boxes; for the first seven days, you can get a free skin. I layered over the stone rainbow sparkles from Folly, and they look quite lovely and give me a bit of a glow of health - setting me apart from those scary angels who might eat your time. Check out her store for a run on Fantasy Faire Donations - we're still counting up to a final total.

My hair is another faire donation, this time from Wasabi Pills, one of my perennial favorites. It's a lovely, curving style which I thought set off my stone skin beautifully, and had a lovely braid detail that I simply fell for. I also really liked the forehead line and center part - it really makes me look the part of a stone statue, doesn't it? It's now available at her main store for purchase. My gown is from Sakide, and I picked it up my first day in the faire and then took forever to figure out a look for it - this will be a continuing problem, as my Fantasy Faire Folder is quite brimming with gorgeous things. Sakide has all the RFL vendors out, so you can find a wide variety of options at her main store, including this one. I love the design - from the short skirt, to the sweeping train, to the face that the belt and skirt are color changing between several options - I chose gray here, but there is black, pink, purple, gray and white all available to you. To this final look I added a couple of items from the depths of my inventory. First, a gorgeous set of jewelry from Elemental Earth Designs with a large, chunky quality which I thought looked like something a statue might wear if she got to choose. Secondly, I added these fun shoes from Eclectica which are some of my favorites. I adore the teardrop shapes on the framing of the shoe in particular.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Fallen Gods, Lacrimosa (Fantasy Faire)
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Darienne (Fantasy Faire)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Earrings: Illusions, Mystic Chains
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Seelie
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & feet
Nails: A:S:S, Royal Purple
Jewelry: Elemental Earth Designs, Kiowa Set
Clothing: Sakide, Maestitia Dress (Fantasy Faire)
Shoes: Eclectica, Crush Velvet Pumps

Pose: Exposeur

Location: Sanctum
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire: Wiggenstead Mooring

Unexpectedly, I slowed as I fell through the thickening clouds, and on my back my wings stirred into actions enough so I could hover down slowly. This new world was as round and soft as the previous had been hard and angular, the ground spongy beneath my feet and the rocks unexpectedly pliable to the touch. Islands floated here, too, but without the enormous pillows above them - instead they simply bobbed gently in the breeze, stable and gentle.

It took several islands before I became used to the sensation of walking. The softness of the ground led a bounce to every step - nothing quite close to a bound but significantly more than a step. Few others were about, all of them at a distance bounding along between islands and bridges, the rattling and creak of the wood a gentle counterpart to the bells and jangles hanging from roofs and sides of buildings. By now my limbs were feeling leaden, my eyes heavy, and exhaustion dogged my heels like an old friend. It wasn't long until I was looking here and there for a place to rest, and I happened across what looked like a wintering cottage down a ladder under one of the bounding islands. It was but a breath before finding relaxation and complete unconsciousness.

Voices and curious eyes woke me.

In a moment I moved from dreams to waking, looking up into the curious eyes of the creatures surrounding me - their faces a perfect amalgam of human and other animals, their size small enough to explain why my feet were hanging over the end of the bed I had selected. I was surprised at their kindness; had I come home to find a stranger in my bed, I'm no sure I would have shared food with them, nor given them directions for the route through my land. It was with pockets heavier with food and the well wishes of my tiny new friends which gave lightness to my feet as I passed between glowing grasses and into the mists.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Location: Wiggenstead Mooring
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Sale Event Ending on the Fourteenth

Asteria Creations has been having a sale which will be ending very soon - on the fourteenth. I highly recommend swinging by; a bunch of outfits are marked down to 55L for just a couple of more days. It's a wonderful time to pick up those sleek outfits you've been missing, and a few extra just for fun.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: LCKY, Lynlee
Bow: Love, Desu Bow
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Earrings: Illusions, Mystic Chains
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Mock, Pantone Fall eShadows
Lipstick: Senzafine, Sirene
Wings: Silent Sparrow, Fluffeh Wings
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: Dark Passions, Koffin Nails
Shirt: Asteria Creations, Rock Top (On Sale)
Skirt: Asteria Creations, Rock Skirt (On Sale)
Shoes: Boom, Olycena Bow Pumps

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Fairlands Junction
Light Settings:
Water Settings:

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire: Flitting About in Wiggenstead

Wiggenstead Mooring was a charming sim, with large, rounded islands for each of the stores and narrow hanging bridges between them. It was easy to get turned around - one bridge looks much like another - but the little details like fences and piles of rocks are really quite charming, and I especially liked how the floating rock stores had different little details upon the top and dangling from the sides. I wanted a bright and cheerful outfit to match, and so I pulled out something I picked up on the first few days of the Faire - this gorgeous dress and puffy wings from Epic. It's a tutu style, which means you had better put something on underneath or you will develop a fast following - I ended up adding a set of panties from Cupcake in a shiny gold lame. The whole Epic outfit combines a translucent-seeming color with sparkles, and it's quite one of my favorite finds for the faire - I always like Epic's over saturated colors, but in this case the shape and color together are simply smashing. The slightly tamer panties, though, inspired me to calmer accessories - I echoed the bright yellow in the gems of my Aisling crown, but the gold itself is a softer, gentler hue. I really love the fade from a sort of shadowed-gold to something brighter, as well, and the butterflies all over it simply made me gleeful. I was able to fit in the lovely collar which comes with it as well, this time, which made me very happy. It fits well, with an open metalwork which makes it easy to adjust to necks great and small.

I pulled the shade of my hair from the crown as well, the brighter gold on the tines perfectly matched the shade of hair from a new store I just found out about called KOY. I love the curls of this hair, and the angled but simple front which made it a perfect base for the Aisling Crown, while the hair still had some lightness and playfulness in the rigged curls. I also pulled out these wonderful shoes from Sax Shepherd Designs, which I adore as much for their hanging jewels as for the wide variety of hues I can tint them into. I went with opal and diamond this time, shading the rest of the shoe in white so that no darkness could undermine my look. The final, and bounciest note, though, is my nails - from A:S:S. I've been looking for something cheerful enough to bring out these rainbow nails, and this was definitely the time. The rainbow band is bright and cheerful, and the nail set also has every color of the rainbow as a base - in this case I chose orange. I really had a lot of fun putting together a Summer Faery Look, and I hope you enjoyed it too - and enjoyed the fantastic Fantasy Faire, which is now winding down.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: KOY, Kyra
Crown: Aisling, Sumiana
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called
Lipstick: Pink Fuel, Metallic Lipsticks
Wings: Epic, Celestial Butterfly Wings
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: A:S:S, Rainbow
Clothing: Epic, Sparkle Faery Tutu
Panties: Cupcakes, Fringed Panties
Shoes: Sax Shepherd Designs, Mata Hari Jewelled Stilletos

Poses: Adorkable Poses

Location: Wiggenstead Mooring
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire: Asperatus

Somehow, clouds became firm below my feet, and then firm became metal, and then metal became stairs. Unfamiliar metal, hard beneath my soft shoes. It bit into the soles of my feet, leaving odd patterns impressed on the flesh as I moved into a world more alien than any which had come before - a world of spinning things high in the air, and enormous bags that floated as if they had wings. Everything was hard, and most things were square except the floating pillows in the sky, and the floating clouds I had walked through when I came.

My feet slipped and slid as I moved between quantities of people, slipping all but unseen amongst them. My fingers trailed over glass, cut beautifully into so many shapes then fitted together with dark marrow. Steam drifted up around me, obscuring me in clouds as I was pushed through what seemed like an evergrowing hoard, it's voices staccato and hard as the world it existed within. A moment, a turn, a misjudgement, and an elbow sent me falling over chain and down into cloud.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Location: Asperatus
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire: Future Found

I'm only wearing a couple of Fantasy Faire things, picked up along my wanderings through Asperatus. Tucked in my hair is this fun and animated hair stick from Curious Kitties, and I really adore it. It spins and sparkles, and the ribbons are flexy so they curve beautifully as it moves. My other accessories include some lovely wings from Una which I've shown many times before - they are a longstanding favorite, and though the black hides more of the details than the other shades, it is a lovely counterpart to my gown and the flowers tucked into to joins are so adorable. My lipstick is one of my favorite reds from L. Fauna, and is one of the few bits of color in all the black; the other bright red is in my nails, an oldie but goodie from A:S:S - one of my favorite nail color stores. The shades are always so vibrant, and the styles so interesting.

My clothing is also a Fantasy Faire donation item, and it is a really charming Victorian era gown in rigged mesh. It comes in a variety of colors, but I'm showing off the simple black with gold buttons - it also can have silver buttons - and I paired it with some boots from Lassitude & Ennui from the same era. I really love the layers to it, and how the bustle is fit over my skirts. The length is also really fun, long enough to be decorous but short enough that I can show off my shoes. I just wish the bustle section and gown had come separately or were mix-and-match in some manner; it would have been really fun to be able to combine different colors either through wearing two different, rigged things, or by tinting them separately. All in all, though, I look a proper Victorian Miss in dress, even if I can never aspire to be one in behavior.

The last day of Fantasy Faire, and I'm slowing down; I won't be able to do everything I'd hoped I would, with posed pictures taken on every sim, but I will be able to take pictures of every sim, so that's something. I'm on the last sim in my rotation, and my Fairlands story is beginning to pick up some speed, so hopefully I'll be finished before the Fantasy Faire Flickr Group is closed again, and everything rolls up for a year.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Magika, Safe
Hair Stick: Curious Kitties, Elemental Hair Stick (Fantasy Faire)
 Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick: L. Fauna, Red 1
Wings: Una, Steampunk Wings
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: A:S:S, Glamour Silk
Clothing: Lassitude & Ennui, Henriette (Fantasy Faire)
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Phoebe

Pose: !bang

Location: Asperatus
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire: Medhir Woods

It wasn't until the music started fading away, that I realized the ship and it's party were leaving without me. Left in the hollow of a pair of stairs, dancing between benches and water, the lightness of my feet faded with the music as the dragon drifted away across the sky - already too far away for my voice at any volume to reach them.

It was a moment of dislocation as tangible as a bone breaking.

Once my breath had returned and the pain had subsided, I took stock of where I was, the village wild and wooded around me with a few people walking past intent on their business. There was neither the emptiness of what now seemed an age ago, nor the bustle of the mountain city. I was an aimless minnow among salmon as my feet attempted to find the path again, but I was drawn not to the snug buildings shaded by brilliant evergreen but rather to an arching bridge over the waters, and the canvas within.

My fingers trailed over paint, long dried, tracing a gateway not yet seen and not yet known. The sun was soft on my face, an orange so burnt it turns everything faintly red. Even the green of the lotus leaves was softened sweetly by the sunset. I waded among the flowers, their heads heavy with seed, and the water was warm and wet on my fingertips. Moments later I'm back on the path, feet light with remembered song, past figures in stone holding lanterns and upon paving stones worn by the gentle weight of a village life.

Wild winds and falling leaves surrounded me as I leave houses and inhabitants behind. It felt as if I had passed without a trace, the world left as it were before I came. The breeze carried faint laughter to my ears as the sky itself came down to meet me - clouds and light joining into a pathway upwards into the sky. Stepping onto it is like stepping onto air itself, and I was borne upward into a new world.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Location: Medhir Woods
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only