Dragonstones, Doorbells and Texas Dudes

Sea serpent and a crab by O. Van Soest (Age 10)
Colored pencil and Micron pen on paper

The final week of adventure opened with the smallest enrollment of the summer--two brave adventurers who faced the threatening mists of Terra Incognita on their own. It's amazing how much suspense can be created with only three of us. We were able to take the story further and deeper, so we were "off the page," improvising new material, more often than we were "on the page."

The Dragon's Eye Ventures Facebook page has an album of beautiful photos from the week--the shadowpuppetry was especially stunning. A delightful sea chart was created by one of our two artists, complete with a whole array of hilarious sea monsters. The origin maps were simple in shape and design, yet full of wonderful photos of family journeys.

Here are just a few of the things the three of us learned during this final adventure:

1)  Dragons are not always willing to part with their dragonstones, even for a good cause--like saving the world. World's End may be someone's idea of a good time.

2)  Doorbells don't always signal welcome guests, and even the lords of the underworld can make a foolish mistake. ("Ruh roh ... is that a dragonslayer at my doorstep?")

3)  And finally, the next time you decide to become Bob Marley the Texas dude, make sure the mist isn't listening. Mist has an impeccable ability to mimic any creature. You may find yourself coming back to haunt you.

A week of laughter, fun and wonderful solutions to every challenge thrown by the mist.

Trails, Tents and Turtle Trouble

Secret messages were passed back and forth
in this niche within a tree. This message
had the feel of raven's foot magic.

A trail of open-letter and zigzag codes led the detectives into the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota for the August 2012 adventure Turtle Mountain Dreams.  Were the Mavens of Mystery doing the tracking or being tracked? A little of both, as secret messages were passed back and forth. Having a rain and lightning god of unknown origin on one's tail can be a little unnerving, but the detectives managed to fend off the occasional freezing bolts sent their way.

Tenting and nature huts were part of the fun this week--and an album of images may be found on the Dragon's Eye Ventures Facebook page. Shadow puppetry, turtle mountain maps and a rare Book of Secrets from a mysterious shadowmage added some artistic style to the week.

Origin Maps for Terra Incognita

Origin map by Raphael Foye

I love entering uncharted waters with the Dragon's Eye detectives. This summer, Terra Incognita: The Unknown Lands brought us into new territory with an exploration of eight world tree myths. We had one basic art project for the entire week: The origin maps that each child constructed for the final challenge of the mystery.

We started with a map of the map--a plan that laid out the design of the book. The books trace each artist's journey from birth until today, with the center block representing either their birthplace or their earliest memory of place. The different branches of the book then follow the journeys from that place, with pockets to hold special memories, people, pets and other secrets that hold special meaning.

The books were stunning--and I'm so pleased to share pictures of them on the Dragon's Eye Ventures Facebook page. I've been imagining this project for almost five years now, slowly working on the ideas behind the case and testing different ways of making the bookmaking accessible. So it was deeply satisfying to see the group's enthusiasm and commitment to the project.

Most satisfying was the final game, where the individuals each shared their book with the others. The attention the group gave to one another was wonderful to see--and the books were truly stunning as they unfolded in such interesting and varied ways.

Whimsy & the Roll of the Dice

The 100-sided Die

The 100-sided die carries its own bit of mystique.  Most people have never seen a 100-sided die, and the usual first response carries just a hint of disbelief. "Whaaat?"  Until you've seen the cleverly-engineered sphere with its hundred facets and numbers, the very idea of it remains a bit elusive.  Even then, it takes a quick lesson in finding the zenith to understand how it actually works.

The 100-sided die came as a gift from a child back in the days when Dragon's Eye was the Detective's Club.  Since then, it has been rolled again and again over many years of adventures. In that time, I have seen the number 100 rolled only three times.

I have seen the number 1 only once--and I'm pretty sure I rolled it the last time, because we laughed our heads off.  I was known at the time for my low rolls.

So when a group rolls a 100, followed by my roll of a 1--it is a very rare event.  And yet, this is what happened last week.  A roll of 100 by the detectives, a roll of 1 by me acting as the Empress of Chaos opposing their spell.  We started laughing so hard that it became clear that the driving force of the roll was whimsy.  We celebrated with a whimsy jewel--a rare variation of the dream jewel that produces magic of a whimsical nature.  Whimsy is a gift of chaos--a bit unpredictable yet delightful fun.

I can't give details about the follow-up use of the spell without revealing secrets that might provide forewarning to the next group, but let me just say that the whimsy jewel lived up to its chaotic reputation.  It worked, but in an unexpected way.

A full life emerges from a mix of effort and luck--a combination of planning and serendipity.  This is one reason that we use the dice in Dragon's Eye Ventures.  The heroes must activate the Path of Honor to earn the jewels that power the spells, but in the end, the roll of the dice determines the outcome.  When they fail, the mavens of mystery must dig deep to find another solution--a much-needed skill in life, facing failure without crumbling, continuing the journey even when you think defeat is inevitable.

But once in a blue moon, something delightful happens in the roll of the dice.  A 100 and a 1 appear one right after the other. The result:  Golden laughter.  Whimsy grins with the gleaming grin of a Cheshire cat.

Thank you to the four mavens of mystery for the gift of laughter in our first Maine adventure.  That was a legendary roll in the Dragon's Eye realms--and the story will be told again and again!

Children's Artwork from Session I: Star Chronicler's Journey

The Dragon's Eye heroes travel the Daning River in a magical
silver boat.  Two of the four heroes are using
their invisibility spells.

Drawing by Luis Machado.

The Dragon's Eye Facebook page has images from the participants of our first adventure in Maine.  Session I featured four brave adventurers who faced the demons of chaos in "Star Chronicler's Journey."  We were off the page as often as we were on it--and I saw several solutions to challenges that were unique to this group!  I won't provide details, so we don't spoil anything for the next group to face the same story.  Let me just say that the escape from the lightning cages was especially clever, and the Oroborus has not seen a group travel through the space-time continuum in quite the same way.

Our Dragon's Eye Facebook page is public, so you should not need an account to view the images.  The link to that page is here.

Introducing Ike Voorhees

Ike Voorhees

Dragon's Eye Ventures begins its first session of the summer on Monday, July 9.  I am pleased to announce that Ike Voorhees will be joining the program as a volunteer for four of our adventures (Sessions I, III, IV and V).  This adds another player into the game, which always means more good fun!  It's not easy to play two characters at once--and now Ike and I can share the roles! With the detectives and two adults playing parts, we have drama once again.

Ike is a young artist whose work never ceases to astound me.  His skills and imagination are amazing, and his art comes with a deep sense of story--so he's a natural fit for the Dragon's Eye program.   He will add a great deal to the adventures, and our young artists will reap the benefit of his rich imagination working alongside their own.

Here is his bio:
 

Ike Voorhees

Ike was creating art beginning at age 3.  His earliest mentor was Susie Wren of Georgetown, ME with whom he took art lessons from age 7 through age 18.  Ike was educated at a Waldorf elementary school where the curriculum was art-based.  He pursued his art studies at Waynflete School in Portland, ME where his art instructor referred to him as the “best draftsman Waynflete School has ever seen.” Ike spent the summer of his junior year of high school learning mask-making from Rebecca McNulty in Brunswick, ME and he has interned with Harpswell artist, Kate Beck.  Ike is currently a senior at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, majoring in art with a focus on printmaking.  In addition to art, Ike has an interest in history, space, Eastern religions, and the Middle East.