The Traveller and the Tower
Part I, A Dream of Time
It was a blasted land void of any life and it held within its scorched earth and cracked stone a trauma that had long ago created it. A storm scoured the fractured plains, it beat against the shards of mountains and whipped up the dust between the ancient monoliths of petrified and twisted trees. The broken rock, the shattered clay, the earth lay in silent torment from the Tower hidden far beyond the horizon.
And it was here, within this desert and falling dusk, that a lone figure wandered. Walking in threadbare rags of memory and half remembered chaos, a lost Traveller, head bowed, continued against the harsh wind. In silence they moved alone in the world burdened by a weight that rest could not give.
Portrait Study of The Traveller Oil on canvas 40 x 51 cm
Portrait Study 2 of The Traveller Oil on linen 40 x 50 cm
The Traveller Oil on canvas 81 x 121cm
The Voice…
…Inhaled, drawing in what was and ever could be; where every possible outcome was resolved into this specific moment, ‘I am the water within rain that falls to this earth, the beacon fueled by the winds of this land. But much more than that, I’m here with you.’ The Voice was so soft, ‘I am here to help.’
Portus Oil on canvas 60 x 90cm
Pharus Oil on canvas 60 x 90cm
Adprehendit Oil on canvas 60 x 90cm
Ventos Oil on canvas 60 x 90cm
The Traveller inhaled the cool air, slowly feeling the fresh taste of their ascending, seeing this world within a new light. A new understanding as the weight resented their new strength as they lifted themself back into the world.
And the Traveller breathed out, rising up, remembering the pain endured throughout the years within their body. They remembered how they had curled away from the world, from themselves. No more. Out of the twisted roots and splintered earth the Traveller pulled from the chasm with an iron grip, earth and root tumbling away as they rose.
Finally standing, the dauntless Traveller felt their past pressed upon them and they finally spoke unto their experience, ‘I let you in.’
A Dream of Time, Upper Dusk Oil on Canvas 90 x 120cm
A Dream of Time, Upper Dawn Oil on Canvas 90 x 120cm
A Dream of Time, Lower Dawn Oil on Canvas 90 x 120cm
A Dream of Time, Lower Dusk Oil on Canvas 90 x 120cm per canvas
‘We move forward’, the Voice softly spoke, ‘The path experienced is yours. Do not let it have its power over you. A shadow will be before you, but there is always goodness too. These first steps are yours. The veil shall blow away revealing and unfolding before you a truly beautiful world. One in which no fear nor doubt will define how you see it. But above all… You are alive.’
The first morning broke upon the land.
‘Will you stay with me?’ They asked.
‘Until you no longer need me, when you have outgrown me, I will be with you. Connect to that which you have lost.’
The words drifted into the world. The Traveller’s Tower awaited as they took that first step forward where they knew they were not alone.
End of Part i of iii