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  • The Sirens of Atlatia: A Look Into My Magical World

    “I have seen them riding seaward on the wavesCombing the white hair of the waves blown backWhen the wind blows the water white and black. We have lingered in the chambers of the seaBy sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brownTill human voices wake us, and we drown.” -T.S. Eliot Intro to Atlatia The world…

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  • The Fantasy Romance Phenomenon: Why We Can’t Get Enough of Love

    “What is honor compared to a woman’s love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms . . . or the memory of a brother’s smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and…

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  • The sand between Smithe’s teeth was insufferable. The old pirate ran his tongue through his mouth attempting to wash away the grainy sensation; yet more wind blew, and more sand filled every crevice of his body. Everything was gritty and dry. The entire crew was covered in it. Tiny grains of sand rubbed together between…

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  • Pirates: The Origins of the Swashbuckling Sailors from the Bronze Age to Julian Blackwell

    Where there is a sea there are pirates. -Greek proverb Why Pirates? For much of history, tales of the sea have included our favourite mischievous and mysterious sailors; pirates. Pirates are bold, daring, fearsome, yet continuously alluring to us. My first pirate tale was Disney’s adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, which enthralled little me…

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  • Fantasy Maps: Windows Into Magical Worlds, How I Learned to Create Them, and How You Can Too

    “I speak to maps. And sometimes they say something back to me. This is not as strange as it sounds, nor is it an unheard of thing. Before maps, the world was limitless. It was maps that gave it shape and made it seem like territory, like something that could be possessed, not just laid…

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