As you walk through the field of dancing bears, you’re hardly able to notice the rest of your surroundings until a glint of something catches your attention.
It occurs to you that whatever is flashing in the bushes not far away is spelling out Morse Code, which you were taught by a goofy, amateur magician a few years ago in exchange for helping him to load and unload his caravan, with the dual benefit of traveling a respectable distance with him.
short, short, short, short.
short.
short, long, short, short.
short, long, short, short.
long, long, long.
“…Hello,” you whisper, still in awe of the choreographed movements of the great beasts all around you, but attracted now toward the unknown glimmering.
Finding a path between the barrage of pirouettes and grand jetés, it isn’t until you’re right in front of the bushes that you realize the foliage here isn’t colored in the predominantly green tones you’re familiar with. Instead, every leaf and pine needle shines with violet shades and midnight blues in the twilight.
Actually (now you’re notice it), even the snow is more of a pale lavender than white, and the dark purple sky is tinged in the distance with cotton candy whirls of icy blueberry, frozen grape, and arctic mint.
“Where is this place?”
“Bearis,” a hushed voice startles you.
A man appears from behind one of the bushes, wearing a handsome, ankle length jacket with ornamental buttons, over a smart vest and tie.
“How did you do that?” He asks.
Racking your brain to think of what he could possibly be referring to, you stammer out a feeble, “Do—Do what?”
He responds by launching into a story about how the bears here have been at odds with humans ever since the royal heir of this land was taken as a cub by an evil sorcerer, emphasizing that those with wings denote who are part of the noble court.
“No one has seen or heard from the cub in so many years, and I haven’t seen the bears near a single human ever since then without them turning aggressive. But you…” His eyes take in your humble appearance. “You just walked right through a whole slew of them and not a single one snarled or growled even once.”
Not sure how to respond, you open your mouth trying to find some words, but wind up giving a half hearted shrug instead.
There’s nothing overtly unsettling to you about this man, so you continue to listen patiently as he explains more about how the family of royal bears are especially on high alert right now.
Apparently the sorcerer who used dark magic to cubnap the heir was vanquished, but not before laying a curse that would allow him to come back from the land of the dead to take unequivocal control over the domain should the heir not return to claim their rightful position before the winter solstice after their eighteenth birthday.
“Which is in three weeks,” the man tells you. “What’s more is that the sorcerer’s soul is set to begin returning to a physical form little by little each day beginning at the start of December, which of course we’ve just entered into, so everyone has been understandably stressed wondering how quickly he’ll be able to come back into his power and start wreaking havoc again.”
Task:
Anxiousness aside, finding yourself in a fantastical situation reminds you of the fairytales you grew up loving that transported you to far away lands. For this task, post a Research piece below using 100 words or more, offering any historical or symbolic significance of a fairytale you enjoy.
Alternatively you may write a Letter in 150 words or more from the perspective of one fairytale character to another!
This task is worth 15 beans/sapphires, with an additional 15 bonus beans/sapphires for completing all Week One tasks by end of activity. Deadline is 11:59pm (HOL time) on Thursday December 21st.