SPELLBOUND

Lying back on the mountaintop flat rock platform, still warm from the hot day's sun, I watched the full moon rising slowly out of the distant ocean. Giant flying elephant and dragon clouds moving across the horizon created spectacular patterns of ruffled lacey silver and black velvet on the vast shimmering Pacific expanses as it rose. Another Winter solstice.

How many more full moonrises, solstices,....., I wondered, pulling myself up on my stick as the cooling rock at last released me.

The memory of a special place nearby suddenly nudged my consciousness. Yes, that cave, I must visit it again, it might be the last time I could walk that far.

The huge moon rose higher & brighter as, scrabbling among the edging bushes, I finally found the entrance to the narrow path down into the steep, deep gorge.

Shafts of light piercing through the overtowering rainforest giants all around lit my way as I slowly probed and pushed through the lush understory ferns and made my descent.

I came to the silver whispering creek and, carefully picking my way along its banks,I followed a tiny trail defined by the luminous fungi & glowworms until I came to the place where the waters widened and flowed mercurially over a large smooth rock, suddenly disappearing through a round water-worn hole. [link] I could hear the roar from below as it dropped sheer into a deep pool.

Ah yes, this was the place. The memories flooded back. I knew where I had to go.

Scrambling under the ledges, down, down, I followed the roar of the plunging waterfall and finally gained access to the cave I sought below.

As if for the first time, I gazed awestruck at the amazing scene before my eyes.

Ultimate magic - a perfect crystal moonstruck column, formed by the waters descending vertically from the roofhole above, plunged into the dancing moonspeckled centre of a dark circular cave-floor pool.
Maxfield Parrish could not have created better!

Scintillating tiny fireflies hovered winking in the surreal light, zooming on the air currents around the crystal shaft.

The deafening song of the plunging waters drowned out all else, echoeing profoundly, amplified by the oval cavern walls.

Then it all came back and I was taken to that time, aeons ago it seemed,when you and I stood spellbound here in this same place, grokking and sorbing, enfolded in eachothers arms, enraptured in this magic, so many full moons ago.

Ah Windfish, my love, what magic holds you spellbound now.


Chronicles d'Anu - Xanadu - The Last Years



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More Chronicles d'Anu [link] [link] [link] [link] [link]


In the Heart of the Volcano is another gradient version here [link]
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Apophysis 2.06c beta 3D Hack

This evolved as I played with flame parameters from ID

Postwork with star brushes in PSCS2.