CANDLES FOR
WANDERING MINDS

They say the canopy above gets so dense that even the sun cannot pierce through to reach the carpeted moss covering the dark floor below. This enchanted woodland is as ancient as the world itself, and a place of even older, deeper, magic. Life thrives here - you wander the brambled underbrush passing figs and picking juicy berries. You are comforted by light birdsong and the chirruping of distant forest life. Yet, you cannot shake the feeling that you are being watched. What secrets might you uncover beneath these timeless trees?

This land of blazing sun and bitter nights is vast and unforgiving. Yet, there is a beauty to its harsh landscapes and scorching heat. Its starlit skies are unrivalled and there is a quiet defiance to everything that grows, from great citrus trees and sweet sandalwood, to the hidden creatures that thrive here. The people too that call this place their home are some of the most hospitable you’re likely to ever meet. They have carved out a great trade network that spans the desert bringing soft silks, patterned steel and exotic spices like saffron from far and wide. Will you brave these endless sands?

Jagged mountain ranges reach up, splitting the very sky. The peaks are blanketed heavily with snow, and the first dustings have begun to sprinkle the aspens and towering pines further down. The temperature is just starting to drop, as summer’s warmth fades. There is a brisk, fresh chill on the air, and you are thankful for your thick garb. A melody of blooming wildflowers is nestled underfoot and jasmine juts out, daring to resist the frost. Will you dare to push on to the other side?

A tower of smoke billows from the cobbled-stone chimney, while the roaring fire within calls to locals and travellers alike. Glasses, polished to a mirror sheen by a studious barkeep, line the shelves, though the smell of oft-spilt whiskey still permeates the air. Among it all, there is a sweetness too - warm and faintly spiced - and you realise it would be no hardship to linger here a little longer. To listen to the many tales told around its tables. Who knows what adventures those stories might hold?

Deep below, in the dark, lost, forgotten places of the world are delves. Their great tunnels are hewn from slate which may hide unfathomable secrets. Lichen covers the ancestral stones, and the deeper you press, the staler the air becomes. The musk is foreboding, yet you oft catch the flow of air carrying the soft scent of amber, urging you on. Long-spent torches line the walls, yet the stains of their smoke linger. Do you dare venture further to discover treasure or misfortune?

Nothing ahead but leagues of open sea. The old ship’s timbers groan and rumble as it rears up in defiance against the roaring waves. The swell drives a fine sea spray onto the deck, leaving the taste of salt on your lips. Gulls cry and circle overhead for any morsel that may hide in the tangled seaweed below. Great grey clouds billow above the horizon, as you pass stalwart shipwrecks and wandering driftwood on adventures of their own. What adventures lie beyond that horizon?