Discovering Valdelluna 2 – Goldeen Ogawa

Part 2: My Travels in Valdelluna

At Further Confusion 2014 my good friend Moth Monarch gave me a beautiful little handmade journal, and the moment I held it in my and I knew here was my way back to Valdelluna.

“My Travels in Valdelluna” continued much as “Just Beings” had begun, but it being a much thicker book, took a bit longer to finish. I had Other Things going on at the time (writing Professor Odd, writing Driving Arcana, traveling in the real world!) and had less time or inclination to go off down monsterholes into this little corner of my imagination. But in those early page I found some of the key locations that would eventually help solidify the identity of Valdelluna as a place—and its purpose.

Leaning Head Hill, Dragonslanding, and the Rabbisage were all discovered here.

This was also where I found the Rabbitbirbs and where the Fluffernutterkins began coming into their own.

Then in October 2015 I endeavored to create a whole visual story within the larger adventure. Every day that month I drew a picture from a day in the life of Earbrella and the Fluffernutterkins.

I wrote *Inktober Fin* at the end of it, because it had been inspired by the “inktober” hashtag and all my friends were doing it. I later learned that theme had been formalized into something that didn’t align with my values, but it got me to realize that Valdelluna could be much more than a collection of related doodles.

And then 2016 happened.

I think it’s telling in retrospect that all three of the additions to my *Travels* journal in 2016 depict creatures sitting on rocks looking or reaching for something.

2016 was the year my WoMo broke her shoulder, the year I uprooted myself and moved from my childhood home in California to my adult home in Oregon, the year I entered my first adult relationship, and of course the year our authoritarian nightmare began to take shape. Hardly surprising then that the transplant shock stopped most artistic growth for the following year.

But like a resilient plant I wasn’t dying in 2017, I was just putting down new roots, and in 2018 I was able to bloom again. I started taking subscribers on Patreon, and from the first one of my goals was to use that platform as a motivation to continue my travels in Valdelluna

The Great Guardian Tree, long a staple of my mental landscape, found its way to Valdelluna. 2018 was also the year I met Teagrum, Beanhorn, Sunbrow, and the year the Fluffernutterkins grew up into creatures of their very own. And at the very end of it I found the Sun Bridge.

And there was more to come.

2019 introduced me to Cookie Dragon and Boulda, the Lampiter, and I got to see Ramskull and Mister Spinner and Teagrum again.

I found my way to different environments.

Earbrella got to do a lot of reading, and the Fluffernutterkins developed further. Which led me to someone truly remarkable.

The Curious Babe is the reason I have fond memories of the COVID shutdown.

At the same time I found Eabrella, the Fluffernutterkins, and Jingle Whiskers living their best lives.

At the end of it, getting through 2020 felt like a victory in of itself. If I’d known what challenges 2021 would bring I might have taken another year of lockdown. But as always Time did not give me as choice in the matter.

2021 marked the end of an era: my beloved cat Aether fell ill in the Spring and after a brief remission succumbed in July. But the ordeal brought me closer to old friends, and through it all Earbrella and hers were there to help.

During Aether’s illness we had to travel to Portland for vet care, and there were hosted by my friend Kiki and all her cats. She also had a cherry tree, which I helped harvest. Earbrella and Teagrum took it a step farther.

By the time I reached the end of Travels in Valdelluna I had not only a pretty good understanding of the beings who lived there, but also of the location itself.

Suffice to say, when it came to Valdelluna I now knew where I was going.

Something is always beginning. — I closed the book on my travels in Valdelluna.

I have run out of paper, but not out of ideas!
There is more to see in Valdelluna but that is for another book to show.
This journey was made possible by the generous support of friends, family, and my subscribers on Patreon.
Thank you all
we will see you
on the next
adventure.
G Goldeen Ogawa
July 22 2021 — I closed the book on my travels in Valdelluna.

Now it was time to bring Valdelluna to everyone else.

Making Valdelluna

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