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Happy birthday @starshinesquirrel !! A merry and magical day to you! ✨

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I love this! :O Thanks so much @lastoftheaufwaders!

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starshinesquirrel

@robinjarvis is an expert at this! :P

The Story of Prince Oliver of the Fir Realm

Lady Alena was the last queen of the Fir Realm. As a young princess, she fell in love with a red squirrel, a minstrel named Carillo. Alena's parents disapproved of the match, because reds were thought to be silly creatures and certainly not worthy to be consorts to the royal black squirrels. The two of them ran off together to elope, and no one heard from them for several years. Then one day, Alena returned. She was in a terrible state, and explained that Carillo had been killed in an attack by Hobbers, one from which she had barely managed to escape. She was reluctant to return to the Fir Realm but she had nowhere else to go. Grateful at the return of their daughter and satisfied that her ridiculous folly was at an end, they restored her status as heir to the Fir, but there was still one troubling matter - her son. She had borne a babe in the time she was away. A half-breed he was, part black squirrel and part red squirrel. Many whispered that nothing good could come from the product of such an unnatural union. Added to that was the fact that he was born in the Ash month, for it is considered bad fortune by squirrels to have a birthday in the time of the unloved 'strangling tree'.

Alena remarried a black squirrel prince of her parents' choosing, and with him she had a daughter, Princess Sariah. In time Alena became the new queen of the Fir Realm. Sariah and her half-brother were raised together. Despite his beginnings, Oliver grew into a handsome young squirrel. He became well-liked and respected as all the misgivings folk had about him were eventually forgotten. He stole the heart of many a squirrel maiden, and was by far the most talented musician in the realm. But for all his talent, he was stubborn and rebellious, often refusing to play the music he was told to for official ceremonies. Silly, overelaborate pageantry he called it. The dutiful Princess Sariah was terribly embarrassed by her brother's behaviour. Oft times they were to perform duets, but he rarely showed up for them, and when he did his reluctance was apparent. He was at his happiest sitting high in the branches of the central oak, gently strumming his lute and singing soft folk songs, usually composed by he himself. His headstrong ways, combined with his naivete, would eventually bring doom upon the realm in the year 1542. Though he played an unwitting role in its destruction, history long maligned him as a traitor, for Bauchan had taken on the prince's form and in that guise opened the land's borders to the bloodthirsty Hobbers.

Afterward the relations between the black and red squirrels were strained. The black squirrels blamed the reds for tainting the royal blood and causing what had happened to the Fir Realm. This all culminated in a long war between the two kinds of squirrel. It is rumoured that it was in the midst of one of these battles that the black squirrel maiden known as Audrey ran up the slopes of Greenreach to become the new Starwife. In the end, the numbers of black squirrels were sorely reduced and the similarly depleted reds were forced to retreat - having been banished from the remaining noble houses. Indeed they went away... never to return, it was said. But as each of the ancient kingdoms was felled by unrelated circumstances and grey squirrels arrived and started to populate the forests, feelings of enmity were forgotten. Reds began to be welcomed back amongst others of their kind. However, the Starwife always knew of course that the reds (and the Fir prince) were blameless, and lamented the hatred that had kept the squirrel cousins apart for so long.

#robin jarvis #the deptford histories #the fir realm #prince oliver #lady alena #princess sariah

Today is the start of the Hazel month. The Hazel is the tree of wisdom, and it was the symbol of Coll Regalis, one of the five royal houses of black squirrels. Coll Regalis was destroyed by the bat army during the reign of Lady Ninnia and she, her consort Cyllinus, and most of their subjects were cruelly slaughtered. The young princess Ysabelle escaped and, after a harrowing journey filled with sorrow, ascended the throne in Greenreach as the new Starwife. To honour the memory of the long gone kingdom, it is customary for squirrels to pursue knowledge on this day by engaging in intellectual activities such as reading.

#robin jarvis #the deptford mice almanack #the deptford histories #squirrel calendar #the hazel month

Today marks the end of the Holly month. Holly is known by squirrels as the prince of trees.

#robin jarvis #the deptford mice almanack #the deptford histories #squirrel calendar #the holly month

I’ve been practicing drawing Ysabelle, both with her hair down and up in braids. You’ll notice that in the only sketch where she’s smiling, she doesn’t have the silver acorn yet... because of course she was at her happiest before it dropped into her life.

#robin jarvis #the oaken throne #the deptford histories #ysabelle #squirrel princess #the starwife #coll regalis #the hazel realm

I decided to do a sketch of the two Deptford characters I love most, Audrey and Ysabelle - rodent girls from different time periods who both held the fate of the world in their small paws.

#robin jarvis #the deptford mice #the deptford histories #audrey brown #ysabelle #the oaken throne

Download Twang LET Plain1.0 font free! - Fontpalace.com offering 50000's of FREE fonts to download to help the millions of designers across the globe expressing their creativity with much more diversity

Want the font used for the Hodder Silver editions of Robin Jarvis’ books? It’s called Twang, and I found it available for free download at this link. :)

#robin jarvis #hodder silver #the deptford mice #the deptford histories #the whitby witches

“What silver shall she wear if all survive the dark months?”

#robin jarvis #the deptford mice #audrey scuttle #the starwife

Available at Amazon.co.uk now: Robin Jarvis Bat Wobblers, Jarvis, Wayland; Fast and Free shipping for Prime customers and purchases above £10

This listing is something I’ve wondered about for quite some time. None are available for sale and there are no images, but I’m guessing these were promotional items, possibly a tie-in to The Oaken Throne since they’re called Bat Wobblers. I wonder if there are any out there that might turn up someday.

#robin jarvis #robiny rarities #the deptford mice #the deptford histories #the oaken throne

Prince Oliver playing his lute.

Outside, from a branch high on the central oak, came the sound of sweet tenor voice accompanied by a lute. It was a handsome young squirrel who was creating this music. This was Oliver, the prince of the Fir Realm. Though the squirrels of that royal house were known for their musical skills, it was generally agreed that his surpassed all others. From an early age he had learned to play the lute, and had begun to compose his own songs, which he sang in a gorgeous voice that captivated all those who heard it. He, however, was incredibly modest about his talent. Much to the dismay of his family, he tended to shun the pomp and circumstance of his high rank.

"Did that sound right to you?" he asked a little bird who had lighted on the branch next to him.

The squirrel boy gave a gap-toothed grin. "The first part could use a bit of work, methinks, but I quite liked that last bit."

The bird tweeted in agreement.

"Perhaps I shall write a song about you next," suggested Oliver. "You're good at composing your own, though, aren't you? I'm sure you could come up with something far better."

"The concert!" he gasped. "I had forgotten!"

Grabbing his lute, he swiftly made his way down the tree.

#robin jarvis #the deptford histories #the fir realm #also here's an excerpt from my wip deptford story

catbearexpress

Ears!

starshinesquirrel

It’s a real life black squirrel! So they’re not extinct after all! I wonder from which noble realm this fellow hails? ;)

#robin jarvis #the oaken throne #the deptford histories #the starwife #black squirrels aren't extinct after all!

Royal Gifts of the Fir Realm

The royal squirrels of the Fir Realm were a long line of talented musicians, and it was a tradition that when they came of age, they would receive as a gift a beautiful, ornately decorated instrument of the type they could play most proficiently. These would be commissioned by their parents from the realm’s instrument makers. Prince Oliver got a lute with fir boughs and cones carved on its soundboard (and how appropriate that they tend to be made of spruce wood!). His sister Princess Sariah received a virginal with the circle of nine firs painted on it.

#robin jarvis #the fir realm #the deptford histories #when squirrels come of age #royal traditions of the squirrels

This song really makes me think of “The Oaken Throne”. I imagine it being from Vesper’s perspective and of course he would be singing about Ysabelle. And not only that, the counterpoint could easily be describing the war between the bats and the squirrels...

War bellows blazing in scarlet battalions Generals order their soldiers to kill And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten

#robin jarvis #the oaken throne #unofficial deptford mice soundtrack #the deptford histories

Prince Oliver of the Fir Realm, Deptford Mouselets-style.

#robin jarvis #the deptford histories #the deptford mouselets #the fir realm

Princess of the Fir Realm. I decided to try a different style influenced by the pen drawings of the Mouselets books. I quite like how this turned out.

#robin jarvis #the deptford histories #the fir realm #the deptford mouselets

They will be bludgeoned to death. And the cull won't even save red squirrels! (98802 signatures on petition)

If you would, please take a moment to sign this petition to save the Starwife’s subjects who are being unfairly put to death. This barbaric cruelty will do nothing to aid their red cousins, who would fare better if a vaccine were developed for the pox afflicting them, and pine forests were planted where they could thrive. As the Ancient once said, “Lies breed distrust, and distrust brings conflict.”

#stop the squirrel cull #save the grey squirrels #the starwife's subjects

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