The TALEs OF aRALUEN
SYNOPSIS
A Realm of Resonance
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Welcome to our first world build and animation project. The Vale of Araluen is an enchanted land that is home to our imaginary HQ as well as a multitude of magical creatures and plants. It was inspired by the beautiful forests of Scandinavia, the tranquil lochs and glens of Scotland and ages old fairy tales.
The project will comprise of a series of short stories about each of the creatures and their habitats - think David Attenborough documentaries but set in a fantasy world. Our central character is a Phoenix called Ember who you will meet in the first tale.
The theme that runs through this series is ‘the mythology of the phoenix song’. We will be exploring various versions of the mythology and using a different aspect to inspire and inform the story and music for each tale*.
You can follow the entire production process as we create each tale via our Production Pages, Studio Diaries (coming soon!) and Journal Posts.
*If you would like to know more, please read the series Prologue below and the more detailed versions within the production milestones of each individual tale.
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Tale Production Pages
EPISODES
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Prologue : Concept and Theme [Complete]
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Episode 1 : The Phoenix [In Production]
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Episode 2 [In pre-production]
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Episode 3 [Planning]
Journal Posts
Follow our progress and adventures as we create the series
Want to read more? Explore our Journal
Glossary
Place Names
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Araluen {a-rah-loo-en} : is an aboriginal word meaning ‘place of the singing waters’, ‘place of the lilies’. It’s a beautiful and evocative word that I hope to do justice with ‘The Vale’.
Visken {vhisk-en} : is derived from ‘Viskar’, a Swedish verb that means ‘to whisper’. Perfect for an enchanted forest that protects its inhabitants.
Seren {se-ren} : is the Welsh word for star (and also a girl’s name). I’ve often thought while looking up at huge mountains like their peaks point to certain special stars, so this is why our mountain range is called the Seren Mountains.
Moln {mol:n} : is the Swedish word for cloud. The perfect place to hide a lot of endangered magical creatures who are regularly hunted, a cloud valley.
Elvene {ell:ve-ne} : is derived from the Norwegian word for rivers, elver. The Loch in the vale has multiple rivers that run into and out of it so it became known as the lake of rivers; Loch Elvene.
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Creatures
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Phoenix : A symbol of rebirth, renewal, and overcoming adversity. They are highly intelligent and fierce protectors of their territory, but they are loyal and affectionate to those of pure heart.
These are a work in progress and we will reveal each one with their respective episode.
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Myths
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These are a work in progress and we will reveal each one with their respective episode.
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Plants
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These are a work in progress and we will reveal each one with their respective episode.
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The past week dear reader has been one where a lot of the threads I’ve been pulling on and working with have …