Silence.

Before the break of dawn, there is the pure ‘silence of nature’ as a man begins his day.  There are no beeping alarm clocks, no blare of traffic, and it is the noticeable absence of the incessant sounds of technology ~ a staple of our everyday existence ~ that creates greater peace to this calm.

The silence of nature is punctuated by only faint sounds of the water lapping along the skiff and soft squawks of cormorants as the fisherman prepares himself for the day.  Such scenes were common centuries ago, but today are just rare hints of a glorious past.

Nothing captures my interest more than mystical stories of the past.  Stories of folklore that can provide an adventurous path to archaic ideas and faraway cultures: sanctuaries to contemplate what was, what is, and what could be.

Tales from the past, part myth and part tradition, contain so…