Sometimes things just will not lie down. It’s been a while since I created any artwork, but this idea would not leave me alone.
 A world of myth and legend, nestled in the woodland between rivers—where quiet creatures stand watch over the fading edges of wonder.

While humans bustle through life, these guardians keep the balance. They move through shadow and leaf, ripple and mist, walking paths older than memory.
I dreamed it first in fragments—a fox at twilight, an owl circling above, a badger emerging from the hollow. Then came the river voices—a kingfisher darting like prophecy, a cormorant rising from the depths, a swan gliding like a living sigil.
It felt like folklore, but not one I’d read. More like something passed down in silence, through instinct and bone. The Woodland Realm came from that place. Not a story I wrote, but one I remembered. A quiet kingdom where fur, feather, and scale carry ancient vows.

At the centre of it all lies the Ember Crown—forged from coal embers and river-gold, shaped in the twilight forge of Far Hearkening Rock. It rests on a moss-covered altar deep in the Grove of Silence, glowing with the forest’s will to endure. The foxes guard it, for its flame is the forest’s resistance.

This series is my way of honouring them—those unseen guardians who walk beside us, even when we’re too busy to notice. You’re invited to walk beside me as they emerge. Join me in the shaping of this sacred realm between rivers. Each portrait is a step deeper into the myth. Together, we’ll uncover who these guardians are, what they protect, and why they’ve chosen to reveal themselves now.
 As the guardians rise, so too do the elemental currents shaping their world:  
🌲 The Hollowing in the woodlands
🌿 The Fraying in the hedgerows
🌫️ The Dimming of the Skies
🌊 The Stillness along the river
Each one carries a truth, a tension, a memory. 

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