Summer 2018 Session III: Shadows of Dawn -- Recap

Ravana

The third session of the summer featured a mystery called "Shadows of Dawn." The story drew upon the traditions of Balinese and Javanese shadow puppetry, called the wayang kulit, and the Hindu epic, The Ramayana.

Sita was a shadow puppet who takes advantage of the magical twilight just before the dawn, when a door opened between the shadow realms and our world. She snuck out of the dalang's box of shadow puppets, hoping to find a little time to herself. She didn't realize that she had been followed, and soon found herself abducted--again--by Ravana the sorcerer and his Rakshasas.

Hanuman the Monkey King witnessed this and traveled to the Dragon's Eye Detectives Agency to ask the detectives to find Sita. She wanted to become a hero, so that she wouldn't have to wait for Rama to rescue her (again).

Our Detectives were quite sure they were up for the job. Sita was a very enthusiastic detective, diving right into her first fire spell. The results were spectacular. BOOOOM! Door gone. The noise drew a wee bit of attention from Ravana and his Rakshasas--so Sita had the brilliant idea of turning herself into a little dog, so she could zip through their legs.

The detectives tried desperately to stop Sita, but the little dog took off through the city. Before the detectives knew it, she was rolling another spell. Fire serpents rose throughout the city, spitting fireballs all around them. The city went up in flames, and Ravana and his henchmen were soon busy putting out the flames.

Seeing the devastation she was causing, Sita tried to fix the overkill with a little water spell. She summoned clouds to rain down on the city. She did not know how to turn off the spell, so this soon turned into a flood, and the detectives and Sita were washed out of the city to the seashore.

Taming and training Sita was no easy job, and many a chase ensued as misunderstandings occurred. The detectives explained the need for wisdom to Sita, and eventually, they made it back to the agency, via an origin stone from Terra Incognita.

The detectives set off again, this time to return Sita to the shadow puppet box. Along the way, they encountered the mysterious King of the Yakshas and his jewel-spitting mongoose. This brought them treasures, amulets that could summon help from Hindu and Balinese immortals, such as Indra, Saraswati, and the Barong.

Another encounter with Grami-Devi, a village spirit, brought insight into the reason that Sita's wisdom was missing. This opened a new quest for the team: To restore Sita's wisdom. I won't go into the details of the journey, to save a few secrets for future groups. Let's just say that the final battle included Ravana and hi demons, plus one of the most alarming immortals in Balinese and Indian mythology.

Our detectives called upon their special amulets for assistance, and finally succeeded in defeating Ravana and his Rakshasas. They restored Sita's wisdom, brought Rama and Sita back together, and the immortals threw a party worthy of such a victory.

This was a wonderful week! Our detectives really excelled in their courage, compassion, wisdom, respect and honor. They taught Sita what they themselves had learned--to think with care before taking action. Visit the Dragon's Eye Facebook page for photos of the adventure, as well as photos of the group's amazing shadow puppets.

Summer 2018, Session III: Shadows of the Dawn

Shadows of Dawn
RL McNulty 2018
Micron pen & digital ink

Session III of the Summer 2018 season will run from July 16-20 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Our mystery this week will be "Shadows of the Dawn." The story is inspired by Indonesian shadow puppetry and the Hindu epic "The Ramayana." We'll be playing with Javanese and Balinese leather shadow puppets from my collection, and learning how to make our own from illustration board.

Our story leads into the realms of shadow and light, in search of the Princess Sita. She's been kidnapped yet again, and she's tired of waiting on the Monkey King and her husband, Rama, to send a rescue. With the help of our Detectives, she takes matters into her own hands, unleashing a world of chaos on the ogres.