Dragon's Eye Adventures began the 2024 season with
The Winter Queen.We spent February vacation in the art and STEM rooms of the Durham Community School, as part of the Freeport RSU5 Community Programs. Eight dedicated sleuths joined our staff for a story based on Scottish myths about the Winter and Summer Queen.
Over the four days of our adventure, the detectives examined multiple versions of the stories about the Cailleach Bheura (Ky-lee-ach Vee-reh), the Winter Queen, and her eight sisters, who are also Cailleachs. In some stories, the Cailleach is a wise old woman who helps her community. In others, she and her sisters are fierce storm goddesses, who live half the year as raging winter queens and the other half as white serpents who bring spring flowers and summer and fall harvests.
As is the case with so many of the myths I love, this is another story about the constellations Orion and Scorpio. The year is divided into two halves--winter and summer -- with each constellation ruling the sky in their respective season.
If you rise at 4 AM in Feb, you will see Scorpio in the southern skies of Maine, with the red star Antares sparkling between the trees on the horizon. Scorpio will rise earlier and earlier, ruling the summer skies the way Orion rules the fall and winter.
Our Ground Hog's Day was originally a day dedicated to the White Serpent -- who gradually became the Summer Queen known as St. Bride (Bree-deh) in Scotland, and St. Bridget in Ireland. Her response to the sun determined and early or late spring, in the same way as the Ground Hog.
Later versions of this story introduce Angus Og as the Summer King searching for the imprisoned Bride. In other versions, there is a Winter and Summer King who fight over Bride, with the Summer Queen winning her hand at Beltane. Our story focused on the earlier story of the two queens.
Our wonderful team of detectives learned all of this in bits and pieces over the week, uncovering new discoveries each day as they followed Molly the Scotty dog to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the Scotland highlands. Molly lost her voice, but she was able to communicate with her tale and her head, and the maps she brought with her.
She led them to the mountain top, where they saw the swirling storm of the eight Cailleachs and the nine Storm Wolves, circling the mountain again and again and again. A powerful spell kept them guarding the Cailleach's winter abode, where she kept her summer prisoner.
An white-tailed sea eagle named Albi (played by James) was blown back to the detectives by the storm wolves. Our team healed the eagle and soon gained its trust, learning about a secret tunnel accessed by the Corryvreckan Whirlpool off to the southwest.
This is not the first time our detectives have traveled via whirlpool! It will not be the last, either, with trolls on the agenda for April vacation.
One of the more hilarious encounters of the week was with a Serpent lock inside the tunnels, guarding a door. This off-the-page moment involved a question by the detectives that took the serpent by surprise: Had the serpent ever had a break.
Breaks were a point of discussion for our group this week. James had his first job as a Program Assistant, and getting breaks is important for staff but puzzling to those who just want to hang out with one another during our breaks.
This serpent was already puzzled by the detectives. When puzzled or confused, the serpent grew another head, so it could consider the situation with more care. Before we knew it, the serpent lock had a thousand heads puzzling over this idea of a break, and something called a vacation.
Needless to say, the detectives had discovered a very effective bargaining chip. Let them through, and they would take up the cause of breaks with the Cailleach, promising the serpent something it had never had (along with a thank you card, and a trophy for guarding the door so effectively for thousands of years).
Our team solved each problem they encountered with determination and grit. They threw snowy yarnballs back at the Storm Wolves and Cailleachs who tried to stop them. They listened to their Secret Keeper birds and other creatures for bits of advice. They deciphered the runes on the old maps, and treated Nessy and Nelly with great respect, building their courage, compassion, wisdom, respect, and honor into a pile of jewels that couldn't fit into the jewel bag.
Their paper airplanes soured to great heights (and didn't come down). The dice and crackers were stacked to great heights, and the wands balanced magically on one end.
This wasn't on the page (i.e. anywhere in the adventure) -- just our fun during free time! We had a great week, full of sewing, games and story -- and laughter. I'm always delighted by how much we laugh at the funny things that happen along the way.
It felt amazing to be back, telling stories to detectives who dive right into the mystery with the same enthusiasm James and I have. It's really special, this funny little program. I traveled all the way to New Orleans for a national conference on Out of School Time, and didn't find another like it.
There are a few, but ours is extra special. And I thank each and every detective, each family, each staff member for joining me once again in this delightful conjuration of story and fun. James was wonderful as a Dragonmage. His years of experience allowed him to enter into the magic-making side of things seemlessly, and his relationships with our detectives made the week extra special.
Thank you to Chris Guerette from RSU5 Community Programs! Thank you to the Durham Community School for the creative spaces -- we were very much at home in the art and STEM rooms. Visit the Dragon's Eye Adventures Facebook page for images of the Ice Crowns and balancing tricks!
