How Good Vibes Free The Mind To Wander …
Busy day, phone ringing, things to do and places to be! You’re late, but the lights turn green. You hit the gas, join the freeway, changeup twice, shift lanes and pass those big-ass rigs like a formula 1 pro. Don’t worry. You got this! Stress ain’t where it’s at. Now, cruise control… Time to relax, unwind, forget that phone and let the music find you!
Time for Sirius FM or that battered Eagles CD gathering dust in your glove compartment. You fumble, turn dials, fret and cuss, but then you’re there. In the zone. The music finds you, and… as the road ahead clears, so does your mind…
Back when dinosaurs walked the earth, my folks went through a classical music phase. It didn’t last. But the telly was banned, and yours truly had to sit silently in a corner and absorb, (‘enjoy’ was the word they used) Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, and Beethoven. They were old school, back then.
The thing is, when you sit, (as told) and listen, and stop twiddling your thumbs, then something truly magical happens. You become a storyteller; you cannot help it. Each croquet and quaver lead you through a labyrinthine journey compiled by a heady mix of orchestration and imagination.
Robin of Sherwood was a brill series in the 80’s that fused an evocative soundtrack by the fabulous Clannad with myth, mystery, and magic. Just one example of how good vibes enhance stories and take you to that magical place where imagination frees the soul…
Here’s a Wikipedia link to the series
If you’ve never seen Robin of Sherwood check it out. Okay, it’s a bit dated now, but the atmosphere of myth and magic oozes. Ignore the bad mullets, hair extensions, and hammy 80’s action scenes. Actually, they are quite funny. Focus instead on the mood and Clannad’s haunting tunes. Moya Brennan’s voice adds an almost elvish mysticism. (She’s Enya’s sister by the way.) But that’s apropos of nothing!
Folklore Corner
Below is the first of many weekly snippets I’ll be sharing about folklore.
Legend says that the Kingdom of England will fall if the Ravens desert the Tower of London. So please do keep feeding them!
Mercenary
Episode Two: A Moment In The Woods
Villa wasn’t the word that sprang to mind. Vioyamis was a vast, gleaming mass of white marble surrounded by lush gardens, statues, verandahs, gazebos, and arbors — not to mention the vineyards and orchards and olive groves where birds piped cheerful, amid the chime of fast-moving streams. This merchant lived well. And so for a time did Corin an Fol. But then everything changes in this life.
He was stationed at the north end, aside the servants’ quarters. A bunk to rest his long bones, a seat and table for dice, ale, and cleaning Clouter, aside from that a small window where birds peeped in, whitewashed walls, and a dreary painting showing an ‘elf maiden’ washing her vest in a river under a tree. It looked expensive. But art wasn’t Corin’s thing really.
Nalissa’s expansive boudoir lay at the far end of the south elevation. Twenty minutes walk away. The servants were silent, but their eyes were sharp. Corin kept that in mind most of the time. But discretion and big swords rarely went hand in hand. Warrior is what warrior does. You just can’t help being who you are. And so the inevitable happened…
Her head resting in his lap, Corin stroked Nalissa’s ample hair as she closed her eyes and yawned. Above in the trees, bees drummed, and squirrels chattered. Autumn had arrived, and Corin wondered how long they could do this. Of course, they were careful, keeping to the woods, or else a less frequented tavern in the town, just fifteen miles away. But Silon’s spies were everywhere, and Corin didn’t want to bugger up a good career, or worse get spiked by vengeful steel. But Nalissa was worth it. She was a cracker!
Silon owned several taverns in Port Sarfe. There had been some trouble with tenants and Corin had been tasked to straighten them out. It hadn’t taken much once he’d strolled inside said establishments with Clouter’s pommel scraping plaster from the ceilings. The ‘contract’ had gone well down in Permio, and Corin knew he was a prime asset to the merchant. But he dare not get complacent. Trouble was around Nalissa that was easy.
“Do you love me, Mercenary?” Nalissa did this now and then. It was total nonsense; he didn’t love her, and she didn’t love him. Just a game they played. A dangerous game.
‘Of course, I do,” Corin grinned with gargoyle charm, looking up just in time to see Silon’s hounds yelping, yomping, and slavering their way, the Huntsmaster hard on the tails, big stick and horn in hands…
You can learn more about Corin in the V.I.P Lounge. Join the fun and get Gray Wolf, his first adventure FREE when you sign up –– just click this Instafreebie link
And you can check out the Legends of Ansu books by clicking here Amazon.com
See you next time! JWW.
