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YOU are a Storyspinner!
So much of what Storyspinners do is invisible. Entering in and out of Secret Portals. Encounters with invisible guides and guardians. Even keeping your invisible Book of Secrets. So it can be really helpful to have a visible place to go that is in on the Secret and can give you some guidance and encouragement for your adventure.
This is where the Secret Bookshop comes in.
It looks like an ordinary bookstore. Though really, there isn’t anything very ordinary about a bookstore. All those books in one place make pretty powerful magic. But sometimes a bookstore has even more magic and it is a Secret Bookshop that’s underneath that ordinary bookstore disguise.
There are some clues that you are in a Secret Bookshop. The door is going to be different in some way. Unusual doors are a big clue that you’ve found a portal of some kind. But in a Secret Bookshop, it will be a doorway that leads to all the other doorways. Those other doorways are books of course. So in some respects, EVERY bookstore or library is a Secret Bookshop or a Secret Library.
But some of them know they are portals into other portals and they have a little extra magic. There is that unusual door, that’s clue one. Then the people you meet inside are usually just a little bit different. Of course, they are Storyspinners, but they may also be members of the Council. Don’t be scared by that. At least not yet. There are A LOT of Council Members. A lot of Invisible Creatures hiding out in the Visible World. Not ALL of them are against Storyspinners writing the world. Some of them are Secret Agents here to help you.
The tricky part is knowing who can help and who will try to stop you.
So it’s important to check out your bookstore carefully. Owl and Raven have laid out some clues for you to figure it all out.
Here are some things to look for:
An entrance into the Gnome realm. Most bookstores have entrances into the easy realms like the Time Traveler’s Science Fiction realm, the Wizard’s Fantasy realm, and the Shapeshifter’s Fairytale realm. Even Superheroes are generally represented. But the secret power of Gnomes isn’t as commonly recognized. If a bookstore has a Gnome Home then it is almost guaranteed to be an entrance into the Secret World.
An Invisible World Map. There is going to be some kind of a Map to the Invisible World, often disguised as a calendar of events. Events and holidays are time-based portals that will help you enter a particular season. A great example is Halloween in the month of October; this holiday event really helps you enter into the Monster realm. Those fiendish Monsters always make it easy to enter their realm.
But there are lesser-known Event Portals for Pirates, Wizards, Faeries, and Time Travelers. Look for a bookstore calendar of events that contains some of these. If a bookstore has a Time Traveler’s New Year Ball that doesn’t happen on New Year’s then you know you’re in the right place!
The People. And now back to the people who run the Secret Bookshop. You probably remember that the wizarding world inside the pages of the Harry Potter series existed right beside the muggle (aka regular unmagical) world. But muggles who were paying attention would notice certain clues that a wizard was in their midst. A flourish in their style of dress that was just a little eccentric. A cloak or an odd hat or carrying an umbrella when it wasn’t raining.
Secret Bookshop staff will also dress in unusual ways.
Once you know what to look for you’ll start spotting Storyspinners and Council Members all over the place. But the Secret Bookshop is important because it is a safe place. Here you’ll get guidance for each monthly expedition. You’ll also find important supplies aka books and gear for Storyspinners.
Books and Gear for Storyspinners
Let me say right away that you don’t need to buy anything to be a Storyspinner. You have everything you need in the Invisible World — Wizarding Zaps, Thought Bubbles, Shapeshifting Costumes, A-musing ideas; you have everything you need and more.
But just as it can be helpful to have other Storyspinners to chat with, sometimes it can be helpful to have physical supplies to more easily complete the Secret World tasks at hand.
This is where Books and Gears for Storyspinners come in handy and Secret Bookshops are the place to get them. Most Secret Bookshops will have at least some of the following:
- Time Traveler Supplies
- Wizard School Supplies
- Faery Tea Party Supplies
- Superhero Supplies
- Gnomekeeping Supplies
- Even Monstertaming Supplies
Each realm is a little different and has slightly different requirements. If you go to the Wizard realm, you are likely going to Wizard School to learn how to bring magic out from the Invisible World into our world. There are supplies that can help you in your magical task.
Potion-making supplies for example. It’s not that you can’t Magic and Muse all the supplies you need — you can and you will. But sometimes it can be helpful in the beginning to start with a curated set of supplies.
Visit a Secret Bookshop for that. We’ve got a list of the Secret Bookshops we know, and you’ll be discovering more as you adventure out into the world. Likely there is one in your town. Especially if your town is Ashland, Oregon.
TO BE CONTINUED: Ashland, Oregon & the Storyspinner Year
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