Just like in Luke Eidenschink’s magnificent illustration1 above, we are like Adventurers, choosing our individual path and seeking our heart’s desire. This path is often scary and requires sacrifice . . . but is the only way to find the treasure we seek . . . our true selves.
Rediscovered Realms invites you to walk this path together.
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There’s an age-old story about an Adventurer who forsook his world for another to become what the new world wanted.
The new world promised so much.
But although this new world didn’t immediately deliver, the Adventurer had already hung up his gleaming sword and soon had forgotten who he once was, what he stood for - what he once dreamed about.
Ages passed.
Youth fleeted. The world changed beyond his former recognition.
The Adventurer had lost his way back home.
Worse yet, he was drained, living a half-life full of uninspiring toil and fear - fear of loss, fear of displeasing the powers that be, but most of all, fear of being stuck and not living up to his potential.
Fortunately for this Adventurer, his former mistress, Adventure herself, did not forget about her noble-hearted companion.
She had waited patiently all these long years, cherishing the love he had once shown her.
She called across worlds - silently in his dreams and whispering to him during his waking idylls, expectant he would one day return and claim her and his former glory.
Though his ears remained true, he could not truly hear her, for the cobwebs of broken-promised-time still shrouded the weary eyes of this Adventurer and kept his true destiny from himself.
Until now.
One chance encounter was all it took.
Which led to other auspicious encounters.
A conflagration of these hallowed trysts suddenly erupted - sparks of intense joy flitted into the Adventurer’s eyes, melting the cobwebs and rekindling a flame somewhere deep within.
An unbidden memory dripped down onto the bonfire, hissing loudly.
Then, a roaring flood of joyous unlocked primal recollections washed over the Adventurer, quenching the flame without - but not within.
Wisps of cleansing smoke encircled & ensorcelled, sending spiderlings scurrying.
Long-lost feeling & strength returned to the Adventurer’s numb & lame sword arm as he shrugged off the web-like shackles he only now recognized.
Recovering his rust-laden sword from within a buried chest filled with his former world’s keepsakes, the Adventurer, for the first time in ages, felt his Lady’s call, clarion-clear, urgent, yet gracious.
“Come back to me,” she pleaded.
The rejuvenated Adventurer’s heart swelled, agedness departed as he held his sword high and realized he had a choice before him:
Would he boldly answer her call to re-enter his now unknown but magical world full of potential & wonder,
or,
would he put the sword back into the chest,
lock it up,
and lull himself back into the hope of fulfillment in the prison-like mundane world he grew old in - the dull draining arachnid abyss of bold broken promises?
So,
what will you do, Adventurer?
Statue of Victory on the city war memorial in Northernhay Gardens, Exeter, UK.
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I found that my interest in fantasy came in two phases. When I was a youth and a young teen, I consumed a great deal of fantasy book, DND, gamebooks, etc. But as I got older and grew interested in more "adult" pursuits (girls, travel, drink, etc), I left my fantasy behind.
However, once I grew older, settled down, got married, had kids, etc. I rekindled my interest. Obviously, a lot of it is nostalgia, pinning for my lost youth, but also a more adult appreciation. I find that most modern fantasy is not for me. It feels too "artificial". It has lost the spice of the past.
Luckily, as your site points out, there is enough unknown material from the past to discover (or rediscover).
That are is magnificent!
Nice bit of prose, JQ.
I found that my interest in fantasy came in two phases. When I was a youth and a young teen, I consumed a great deal of fantasy book, DND, gamebooks, etc. But as I got older and grew interested in more "adult" pursuits (girls, travel, drink, etc), I left my fantasy behind.
However, once I grew older, settled down, got married, had kids, etc. I rekindled my interest. Obviously, a lot of it is nostalgia, pinning for my lost youth, but also a more adult appreciation. I find that most modern fantasy is not for me. It feels too "artificial". It has lost the spice of the past.
Luckily, as your site points out, there is enough unknown material from the past to discover (or rediscover).