Three Twisted Knots

From Gwyneth:

Perhaps I have not told you this, but in another life, on another timeline, you might even say in another reality, your Faerie Queen is a musician. Not a famous one, but a good one. It is said that Faeries, while we may inspire great art, are incapable of producing it ourselves. Perhaps this is true for some of my Fae family, but for me, there is always the pull of song, of poetry, always that echoing longing for, well, harmony. I cannot, of course, speak for all of Faerie, but I am certainly capable of creating, and that means we cannot make the blanket statement that the Fae are incapable of creating art of music. That, my dear ones, would be an untruth.

And so we came to Harmonious Glade. From the instant we materialised into the Realm via portal, there was a sense that Harmonious Glade was, somehow, made of music.

At regular intervals along the path, there were crescent-shaped harps, which our guide told us were called Nethermoon Harps. These instruments seemed to be powered by some kind of magic: each one resonated as if the crescent itself were a hollow body, and each one, we were told, played a different tune. They have only to feel a soul’s touch, and they begin their short but memorable melodies.

Above us (and Brán moaned so about not being able to photograph them properly because of the angle and the size and whatever else he says when he is moaning; I just tune him out. It might be possible, he said, if he had something called an aerial rig—and by this point I was glassy-eyed and on the verge of feigning sleep), were two curved conduits that seemed to flow all around the Realm and find their endings in some central location I was sure we’d get to eventually.

Helpfully, Kvit reckoned he could fly up there and see if they were like waterslides. Wulfrich made that face (you know which one) and rumbled something under his breath about pesky birds, but our host just laughed! “If you feel a joy or remembrance that makes you want to slide on the Harmonious Theatre’s Tendrils, feel free. Even though our Realm is one dedicated to remembrance, we don’t stand much on ceremony here. There are no protocols, you needn’t wear special clothes, and as long as you recognise the inherent grace and dignity in every soul in your actions whilst you are here, you will always be welcome.”

I thought about that as we continued toward the great staircases down through buildings to gardens to glade. Clutie asked the question for me: “So, no wearing black to funerals and suchlike?” She gets very Irish when she’s curious.

Our guide, who had explained earlier that names were not common among his people, so we should just call him the guide, made a slow turn to face the demifae. And although his eyes widened with delight, he did not then lose much of his ability to think as some folk do. “That’s a common question when we have visitors from elsewhere,” he admitted. “But little one, what is a funeral?”

“It’s a…” she paused. “Folk do it when….”

Luckily for us all, Nathanial is always able to articulate the meanings of things. He is such a useful one to have around. “Er, when someone dies, most, that is to say, many cultures, at least in our worlds, mourn the passing with a ceremony. It’s often sombre; people dress in black, that sort of thing.”

Our guide did not seem confused by the concept. “We don’t do that here,” he said. “Here, death is life. Everything flows into the song. Souls, the energy of lives passed, feed our land and become the music you hear everywhere around you.” From his voluminous cloak, he pulled a sketch. “Here is how the flow works.” He ran a finger around the flow points, explaining how the energy exchange from souls fed through the Harmonious Theatre and then into the land itself.

“Could we see the theatre?” Wulfrich asked. “We’ve heard about it, of course, but first hand experience is always best.”

“Of course,” replied our guide. “That’s our next stop.”

Well. The sheer size of the Theatre is enough to give one pause. I’m in this photograph for scale, and Kvit is the little white dot.

If you look more closely, the pipes of this silent organ resemble the flutes some of our demifae play back in Awenia.

“It looks like Hallgrímskirkja,” said Friðrós.

“Kezuntheit,” replied Wulfrich.

“It’s a church in Reykjavík,” Friðrós supplied, for once not rising to Wulfrich’s bait. “Fairly new as these things go, but a wonder.”

“We’ve heard that comparison before,” said the guide. “Of course, the Harmonious Theatre is much older. It may be that  Guðjón Samúelsson visited here himself and took the idea back to that Iceland world.”

The symmetry of the pipes awed me. We were all silent as we gazed upon it.

The guide broke our reverie. “Now, if you’ll turn around, you can see our Guardians.”

“Between the Theatre and the Guardians, you can see how the energy moves and is transformed into the music that sustains our Realm,” the guide explained. “And here, in the pool, you can hear our spectral singer.”

We walked closer to behold the singer, and we took time to listen to her beautiful song.

Our guide explained that this song was the manifestation of the Realm itself. “And if you’re very lucky,” they continued, “you may sometimes hear other fragments of this song. I’m told it can be heard throughout the universe; one only has to listen in the right way.”

“But what is this?” I asked, moving to the nearby harp.

“As you’ve learned, each of our harps plays a different melody,” they explained. “And here we do not remember only those member of our own species, but also companions and friends who are with us along the way. The harps change as their remembrance foci change, but this one…” he put a hand to his forehead. “This one is special, and it never changes. it’s here in memory of a companion who was a friend and … a dog, yes. She was, is, Lola, a very special dog, and one of our great Architects, Janire, who is always here making changes and additions to our landscape, has placed it here in perpetuity.”

“Kvit!” I hissed. “Stop dancing on other people’s memorials!”

“I am expressing my joy,” he said. “I am expressing my joy that somewhere here there is a Raven who will be remembered in this way. We are part of the song, too.”

For the second time, our guide smiled. “You have captured it, friend Raven,” he said. “We are remembrance, and we are joy in remembrance. We are joy, and we are sorrow and sorrow made joyful through song. Dance as long as you like.”

Kvit gave me one of those looks.

“Now, this ends our formal tour,” the guide said. “But of course, you are free to wander the Realm and explore on your own. Before you go, you may wish to find one of our waterfalls and let its healing help you internalise our song. We hope you will remember us, as we will remember you.”

With that, he disappeared.

“Well, that was something,” Wulfrich said. “I shall go and find a waterfall.”

We all wandered off to find special places to remember. Kvit and I found a beautiful waterfall out of the way of things.

In silence (for once), Kvit flew through the waterfall and let me think.

I think. I think. I think I shall never forget Harmonious Glade.

Notes & Credits:

Sponsored items are noted with a “*”

• Dress: Belle Epoque, Embla* (Get it at the Belle Epoque Faire Store in Harmonious Glade!)
• Kvit: Expertly portrayed by CKit Falconry‘s Talking Raven* (Get your own raven, and gear to match, at the CKit Falconry Faire Store in Harmonious Glade!)
• Skin: Lumae, Edie, in tone Powder* (Get it at the Lumae Faire Store in Yuum Balaal Grotto!)
• Tattoo: Nefekalum, Alfheim, Winter Edition* (Get it at the Nefekalum Faire Store in Nox Aeterna!)
• Eyeshadow and white face paint: Faeble, Cloudessa, overlaid with Angelic and Dessen ( Get Faeble Faire Store in Yuum Balaal Grotto!)
• Lipstick: Cazimi, Siren Lips, 6 (Get it at the Cazimi Main Store!)
• Hair: Raven Bell, Louise (Get it at the Raven Bell Faire Store in Gallery Gaillard!)
• Ears: Illusions, Elfin Ears and Berocco Ear Accessories (Get them at the Illusions Faire Store in Gwath!)
• Necklace and Earrings: Floro, Maendellyn
• Crown: Goth Grove, Elbereth
• Gwyneth is styled on a Legacy Perky body and a Lelutka EvoX Billie Mesh Head.

Harmonious Glade is one of 18 regions in the 17th annual Relay For Life of Second Life’s Fantasy Faire. Sponsored by Belle Epoque and Harshlands, region design by Kadaj Yoshikawa and Janire Coba.

Celebrating its seventeenth year, Fantasy Faire 2025 is the largest gathering of fantasy designers, enthusiasts, roleplayers and performers in the virtual world. From Thursday, April 17 to Sunday May 4, treat yourself to shopping, dance and theater performances, DJ parties, auctions, questing, our Literary Festival, thematic events and roleplaying as thousands of Second Life residents and creators bring their own visions together to support the American Cancer Society’s vision of a world without cancer.