Three Twisted Knots

A dream, a reverie

If you would venture where the Spirits Cross
Be sure to have your wings on: you will need
To cross a gorge wide as a giant’s step
And with one broken bridge, a gust of wind
Could make you miss your stride. Only the rocks
Would welcome you. Like I said: wear your wings.

The land itself is haunted: that’s my view.
I dreamed a battle when I landed there
That rent the land. That bridge was all that held
One side of Spirits Crossing to the other,
And now it is a ruin. What transpired?
Only the willows know, and they are still.

The Spirit Lamps—some say they are corrupt—
Illuminate the land like amber coals
And stand suspended on their heavy chains
Yes, I said ‘stand suspended’. You’ve not heard
The stories of the Crossing’s Spirit Lamps?
Don’t mind those tales; the Lamps are mysteries,

But if you want to hear one, I have time.
I know the story of the baker’s boy
Who longed to have a Crystal of his own
And so he sawed and hacked and cut the chain…
Then wept to see the Lamp float far away
A child with a balloon, the people say.

Now, if you venture far enough, you’ll find
A temple to some seem-forgot goddess,
But if you poke your head in, you will see
Fresh offerings each day. How can that be
When all else here looks eerie, undisturbed,
And empty? No-one knows.

And then there is the mystery of the gorge,
The Spirit Crossing’s corpus callosum.
Cut deep from waterfall’s descent to branch,
Only the willows keep continuum:
The river, rocks, the barely-there trunk bridges,
So different from the solitary halves.

And when I flew, with fireflies my torch,
Into the Gorge itself, I felt the pull
Of many tiny spirits flickering
As magic calls to magic, and I heard
Their lonely voices wish for company.
I stayed (in dream-time, hours? Or a wink).

Until I was surrounded by the brilliance
Of dozens, maybe hundreds, of heart wisps.
They drew their glows to me, inconstant flame
That I could be for them; they rose and fell
Like waterfalls of light, they circled me
And greater were we as a whole than parts.

And so I charge you, challenge you, fae seekers:
If you find Spirits Crossing, wear your wings,
And let the wind and water show you where
The broken land has knit itself together.
And if you linger longer in the Gorge,
Then you may dance with wisps where Spirits Cross.

Notes & Credits:

About the Region:

Spirits Crossing is one of 22 regions at the 2023 Relay For Life of Second Life Fantasy Faire, sponsored by The Looking Glass and designed by Marcus Inkpen and Sharni Azalee.

This post is really all about the region, unlike most of my other posts this Faire. Always, a place has hidden splendours, and I love to investigate them and bring them into the light. Gracious thanks to Marcus Inkpen for providing me with some of the lore behind Spirits Crossing, and to Sharni Azalee for bringing the whole thing into focus with the flick of a wisp. These beautiful places never cease to inspire and move me, and even though my characters don’t always seem the most gracious folk, I feel especially that in a world which to me seems often dark and scary, our Fantasy Faire Worldbuilders bring the light.

What’s Gwyneth Wearing?

Items featured or available at this year’s Fantasy Faire:

• Wings: Aii&Ego, Fairy Wings, with textures from the Moon Ripple recolour HUD. Both are available at the Aii&Ego Store in Szystrum Synod.
• Dress: Petrichor & Ersch, Taravie Dress. Available at the Petrichor Faire Store in Fungalmire
• Foot Wraps: rainnn: Serene Ribbons Pointe Shoes. Available at the rainnn Fairelands Store in Nysaris.
• Body Shine: rainnn: Kiari Crystal Body Shimmer (Opal). Available at the rainnn Fairelands Store in Nysaris.

Other Fancy Stuff:

• Skin: Moth & Moon, Edie, in T1. Available at the Moth & Moon Main Store.
• Hair: Magika, Alvilde. Available at the Magika Main Store.
• Gwyneth is styled on a Maitreya mesh body (petite) and a Lelutka EvoX Gaia mesh head. Her ears attain their shape through Clover’s clever Lelutka Fantasy Ear Deformers, available on Marketplace.