Stamped by Nyx

Dear Inkwalkers,

Have you ever looked at a sunrise or a field of lush grass and wildflowers and thought, ‘This feels like something straight out of a fairy tale‘? Or maybe you have walked down a wooded trail and felt as though you had stepped into an entirely different world?

The idea that fantasy is only interwoven into books and movies is insane. Fantasy is woven into our everyday lives in the simplest and most bizarre ways. The way that the wind sings as it blows through a thicket of leaves and branches, the way that city lights flicker like a million fireflies at night, or even the way strangers meet and form unbreakable bonds. Magic is not always wand waving, spell casting, or fire inducing. Magic is in the small, fleeting moments of life that make us stop for a moment and wonder.

As writers and dreamers, we chase these moments and hold onto them the moment it is within reaching distance. We pull inspiration from the fantastical and the ordinary to craft them into a world of our own. The divide between fantasy and reality is not as big as we think it is.

~Nature’s Enchantment~

The way morning mist rolls over meandering hills carries a feeling that is hard to describe unless you have seen it yourself. Pictures can capture glimpses of its beauty, but not the way it settles over everything – blinding you just enough to obscure what lies ahead. It feels like the cool breath of ancient spirits waking from a deep slumber, stirring the Earth around them. As they rise, they offer an elixir to the land, a gentle offering to help the world awaken with them.

Bioluminescent algae glows a brilliant blue in the ocean’s darkest hours. The new moon or dark nights is the best time to observe nature’s quiet reminder that even in life’s darkest times, there is still light. It is as though the Earth herself has woven a spell into the waves, turning the sea into a living and touchable constellation. In those glowing waters, the universe is whispering an ancient truth. It is nature’s spellbook coming to life, offering a guiding hand through the unknown.

The way fireflies dance at night is mesmerizing. A silent symphony of flickering lights. They are like tiny lanterns illuminating the edges of a hidden faerie realm, guiding you to a doorway between worlds. With each gentle glow, they beckon you to join them in their waltz beneath the stars. They twirl in the air like whispers of ancient magic, offering their light so that you always know where to step.

~The Power Of Stories~

Have you ever noticed just how many ghost stories exist? Nearly every town has whispers of haunted houses, abandoned buildings, or places where the past refuse to fade. The reason probably does not lie in the spirits themselves, but in the emotions they leave behind. Intense feelings such as love, sorrow, fear, or joy, are embedded like ink scratched too deeply into a page of a journal. These emotions replay over and over, looping through time like an endless picture book. It turns mere walls and hallways into echoes of lives once lived. Maybe ghosts are not just lingering souls, but the remnants of moments too powerful to simply erase from existence.

The way folktales and legends are passed down feels like an inherited form of magic – an intricate thread connecting generations across time. Every culture, community, and family carries its own collections of stories to pass down. Folktales and legends are whispered by firelight, sung in lullabies, and are etched into the fabric of one’s tradition. Every time it is spoken, it breathes life into something ancient to keep it alive for those who come next.

~The Power Of Stories~

People, like the Earth, have seasons. The Earth is constantly casting a spell, shifting from one story to the next, and we draw inspiration from it to create art and to live life. There are times when we bloom like flowers at the start of Spring, stretching towards the sun, growing in its warmth. And there are times when we blaze with passion hotter than the sun in Summer. The moments of change, when we shed what no longer serves us, is much like leaves falling from trees that are going into a deep slumber. It is followed by the quietness of Winter – a time for rest, reflection, and renewal. The Earth is a storyteller, whispering its patters from times of old. It reminds us to create, to paint with the colors of the seasons, write with a voice that can be heard over a storm, and compose music that echoes the pulse of the tides.

Old ruins, forgotten alleyways, hidden doors, and over-grown paths spark curiosity like no other. Secrets are whispered through crumbling stones and ivy-covered walls. Each crack and weathered carving carries echoes of memories, waiting for someone to uncover them. In their quiet solitude, these places are not truly abandoned, but suspended in time, waiting for someone to listen. The silent invitation to imagine what once was and what could be lay open for those who dare to venture down a path less traveled.

~Music as a Spell of Its Own~

Everybody has that one song that transports them to a different time, place, or memory. Music is more than sound – it is something that is woven into your soul in the form of a melody. It is a force that lingers long after the last note fades. Sad songs, happy songs, angry songs… Each one is an echo of the emotions we have felt, like a mirror to the experiences of our lives. Whether you create music or simply listen to it, it becomes an audible extension of your soul. It speaks a language that is understood across the world and forms unbreakable bonds.

Musicians create enchantments, extension of themselves, that ensnares the senses and stir the soul. From the first melancholy chord of a violin to the last reverberating beat of a timpani, musicians can weave a spell that transcends sound. They have the power to evoke such strong emotions it can bring a person to tears, rekindle forgotten memories, or ignite a fire within yourself. It is a form of magic that reaches into the depths of the human spirit, reminding us that we are more than flesh and bone- we are feeling, dreaming, and endlessly connected. Even nature hums her own melody in the form of rustling leaves, crashing waves, thundering storms, and birdsong throughout the day. Music not only belongs to humanity, but to the world as it inspires life to grow and thrive.

In books and shows, fantasy is drawn from these everyday intricacies. From the way fireflies light up the night to a song that makes you remember the best day of your life. Magic is all around us. Spells are spoken in rhyme like a song; magic comes from the energy of the body and the Earth; and mythical creatures are created in the images of beasts that once roamed and still roam the world today. We draw inspiration from these things to create worlds upon worlds, expanding life into something so much more.

“I do believe in an everyday sort of magic – the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we’re alone.“

-Charles de Lint