#creative drive

“Dragons always ruled over parts of civilization. Those lands prospered beyond their what they should have, and never saw war, for their neighbors feared what the locals thought was a god. Outside of the of ring of countries ruled and guided by these dragons was one country that keep their government and daily life simple. Their ruling dragon, Arieth, sought out the country for its potential in fishing, mining, farming, and its isolation from her kin put her mind at ease. The dragons of the circle wanted power, so the competition between them was something she wanted to avoid, and the few humans that caught onto that power struggle amongst their “gods” fled, wanting nothing to do with what may be in store.

Arieth’s country taught the basic wilderness skills necessary to make it to the circle. Many people came to and from other places, making them a travel hub, especially since they were partially on the sea. Arieth never minded the outside help of sirens and mermaids that helped the fishermen, so long as the men came back in one piece. She worked out peace treaties with the local fae, giving the locals an easier time doing that they needed to do to keep the country afloat. As Arieth was more of an oracle for the country, and as she rarely personally intervened unless necessary, she was highly respected. She held everyone to the same standards, heard people out, and helped them based off of how she knew them. Because of this respect and mutual trust between Arieth and her people, the circle didn’t much like it and grew aggressive towards them. The dragons saw Arieth wasting herself on them, saying she let the humans lead her and now shes nothing more than a tool to be used. The other countries people were sheltered from how Arieth treated the outside world as well as her own land, knowing they would run to her for protection and peace.

The build up of aggression from the other dragons eventually lead to their devastation, for the banded together in an attempt to wipe Arieth and her country off the map. Arieth saw this coming, long before the dragons even had influence over humans. She knew her people greed. Arieth, with the help of the fae who she trusted and respected, protected the lands from the circle and the dragons who sought her demise.

No history books to date know what it is Arieth and the fae had done, but it had killed the dragons attacking, and any humans they had brainwashed under their command had went with them, as either a sign of devotion to their gods or they died from unknown wounds. After this battle, Arieth had spent 5 years teaching what little left she had to give to her people, and left. The fae soon disappeared after her, as if her presence itself was the source of their magic.

But few stories say that she gifted the royal line a bit of her knowledge she shared with them and them only, as well as her rumored magic. And for this reason, many come to her country in hopes of unraveling the mysteries, or for a taste of her gift.”

The book closed softly, gently being set down on the table side.

“But Papa, is it really true? Did the dragons all die out besides Arieth, and did she really pass something onto the royalty?” Softly smiling, the father leaned down and kissed his daughters head.

“Who really knows? Perhaps she did, perhaps it died with her.”

The father got up from the bed, bid goodnight to his daughter, and left the room. The story was her favorite, and often asked him to read it to her. The story help a special place in the family, as it was a treasured heirloom, a tradition was formed long ago with it to read their children to sleep with said book. The book was the only known record of then, passed down from the royal line that gained Arieth’s trust, respect, and love. The tradition, was done in hopes of inspiring future generations of their abilities, to keep faith in magic, in the world. The magic held in their blood was tied to that books story, though written without the brutal tragedies of the other lands, it holds the key for every generations beginning of hoping to see the fae again. For the book granted no magic nor taught any, but it helped the individual to hope and train their eyes to see what others cant. And that was Arieth’s gift, the gift of sight.

Suffice to say, we were only able to relieve ourselves of said burden recently. I couldn't believe how significant of a difference it was for me to even talk about creativity to my spouse in just a few days versus the past several years…

This might sound a bit vague, esoteric, to those reading this. I don't want to vent, or even try to elicit any sort of pity from anyone reading this. But as a creative, I draw and write from experience. Sometimes the experience isn't always pretty, and there are still life lessons to be had.

Last weekend allowed us an interesting recovery period in our life. The kind where we had no idea how much our life was just… overshadowed by a constant presence. It often caused me especially to question myself and my feelings a lot, because sometimes, it's easier to assume you're the person in the wrong than to actually confront the issue that you've gotten too weary to address.

But I just had enough one day, and then because I finally decided to be my actual self, it was like the weighted veil was finally off my face. The resulting implosion wasn't without some mental collateral damage, but after some serious processing between Izzy and me, we're back to where we need to be with our art, and damn, does it feel good! Even though we haven't hit all the goals we made over the years, neither of us are mad at the amount of work we got to produce, despite the difficulties that kept challenging our focus and effort.

Whatever challenges you may face yourself, whether artistically or emotionally, just know that no one can take that (e.g. your dreams, ambitions, aspirations) away from you unless you let them. I wish there was an official manual on life skills to be honest, especially on how to ward off energy vampires. But truthfully, that's why this world has and will keeping having creatives (visual and literary). We wouldn't know how to better ourselves if we didn't have examples of people either overcoming or succumbing to their anxieties, fears, and even prejudice.