Esgalduin

When I first moved to my homestead I decided to convert the satellite image of the property into a fantasy map. Both to distract from the stress of renovation, and to get a feel for the land and its inhabitants.

In the four years that I’ve been here that fantasy world has grown and I’ve come to refer to its denizens as Veldfolk; the field mice, fire finches, skinks, red toads, chameleons, cork lid spiders, snouted cobras and many more who live in the field and river forest. They lead simple lives in a complex world. Fighting the battle against polluted rivers, harsh pesticides from neighbours, and an ever encroaching destruction of the wild habitat they call home. How do field mice fight against the large scale monoculture farm that will demolish their home for the sake of profit? How does the toad protest a blackened river full of chemical foam? How can the chameleon outrun the RoundUp sprayers?

The fantasy answer is that the big folk who cause these problems magically disappear and the smallfolk inherit the world. This answer creates a lovely blank slate to tell stories without the bothersome presence of mankind. The real answer is that we make changes in our daily lives to take into consideration the smallfolk. We protect them with our choices. We take care of the world that we share with them before it becomes too late for either of us.

A hand drawn fantasy map