Dreams of Ydalir is an illustrated novel created by Jenn Campus (Author) and Roberto Campus (Illustrator).
On this website, you will find book excerpts, fictional musings, artwork and imagery, spiritual sidetracks and other things that inspire us and our story.
The Illustrated Novel
Dreams of Ýdalir is an illustrated novel (work in progress) that includes new myths about the Gods of Old Europe. It is heavily based on European mythology. With a deep respect for the classic lore it reveals the legends of lesser known Gods, like Wuldor/Ullr, Sif and Elen of the Ways, and new or as we like to say “forgotten” tales and origin stories of some more well known mythological characters, like Thor and Odin.
The Story
The tale centers around the Gods Wuldor, also known as Ullr, and Elen of the Ways and aims to tell their untold myths. Very little is known about either of these enigmatic figures, but through over a decade of personal research we patch together what is known about them in classic lore and what we have learned from other sources, to create a rich tapestry, including fundamental truths spoken by the Gods themselves to help us humans understand our own place in the cosmos.
We make the stories more relatable by rooting them in the experiences of our human heroines, 17-year-old Fawn in 18th century Scotland and 1990s Juniper living in the woods of Vermont. They discovery their legacy is mixed up in myth and magic. Other parts of the tale are from the perspective of the Gods themselves, which allows the reader to see inside their hearts and minds. Then we package it all in a beautiful format with amazing sketches and illustrations to bring the words to life.
The Illustrations
Every writer needs an amazing illustrator, and every illustrator longs for the stories behind their images to be told. From the beginning we knew that the visual component would have to be as compelling as the story itself. The illustrations rely on the rich imagery of fantasy and comic book artist Roberto Campus to capture the magic, passion, and love in the story.
The main parts of the story are presented in a handwritten journal format, so Roberto researched and refined the style he uses for the artwork based on historical journals of naturalists and artists from centuries past, especially the 18th century, the time period when Fawn’s part of the novel takes place – the idea is that we are reading “Fawn’s journal”, where she chronicles her journey (including her sketches of characters and places) from orphaned and alone to finding out her lineage extends far into the ancient past and is tied up in myth and magic. All illustrations and character portraits will be available as art prints and desktop backgrounds at the time of release.