The Festad is a mythological land populated by people called Mir'i. The land goes through three ages of growth followed by one age of decay before a Mir named Nular-in dances and sings the destruction of the plague ridden land and creates a new land.
As a child, I read many mythologies, fantasies, folk-tales, and novels from all over the world: the Americas, Africa, South Pacific, Europe, and Asia. J.R.R. Tolkien's books were some of my childhood favorites. His works inspired me to begin seeking and creating my own lands and mythologies.
My first attempt at an alternate reality was a miniature, anthropomorphic realm based on the hero's journey of a coffee bean.
However, not until I became acquainted with Wagner's tetralogy, Der Ring Des Nibelungen did I start creating stories and operas based on my own mythological world. Although inspired by Wagner's operas, I was also disappointed by them. His mythological realms were Eurocentric, patriarchal, and heterosexual. I wanted to create a land that represented my more diverse racial, sexual, and cultural background. So the Festad was born.