#3E-fringe idea

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Song

The 3E exam was Toyama’s most difficult day. Afterwards, he always had to do a difficult counseling and comfort session with all the students about their visions. And for some who didn’t make the cut, his sessions would include brainwashing and memory wiping to make them forget everything about Cassell so they could go home and continue their lives, ignorant of everything they experienced here. 

He made his way back to his office and sat behind the desk.

He sighed and cleaned his glasses while he waited. No one ever knew what was going on in there. Only those who were monitoring with the cameras namely EVA. Whatever happened, the medical team was ready to take care of it.

But he felt the muscles in his neck were tense and his heart was beating faster than normal. His analytical brain told him he was worried about Tigre. Even though he told himself it was pointless to worry about him, that his fate was with the College now, he couldn’t stop.

So he spoke to himself in casual calm language. “I think its time to admit, that your care for that boy has gone beyond what is professional.” He slid the glasses onto his nose. 

“You could barely leave him there properly without tears coming right? That’s why you left so abruptly. Right now the test is starting and his dragonblood is waking up. He might attack the students inside once he realizes what he is. And then he has no future. You tried. You did all you could. But it’s possible he was doomed from the start.”

“But the heart will do what it will do. Heh... you’re not immune, Toyoma-kun.” He chuckled to himself. “But you cannot drink. Your students will need you now more than ever. You can go drink later.”

The phone, a traditional rotary, rang loudly in the silence. He picked up. “Toyama speaking.”

The raspy inhale told him who was speaking. Schneider’s voice came over the earpiece, “I can patch you into the feed. I would like you to watch.”

“Watch the boy turn into a monster? I don’t think so...”

“That’s not what’s happening. I’ll send the link to your cell.”

Toyama’s cellphone let up and he cradled the landline against his ear while he clicked the link provided.

The video feed showed the classroom. 

Normally the 3 E was absolute mayhem as each of the students’ minds were lost in the sound, like listening to a favorite song, the mind wandered and the body followed and they were compelled to write down their visionary inscriptions on the paper or on whatever other surface they could find. But what Toyama saw made his jaw drop in shock.

Tigre was singing.

He wasn’t just singing, he was singing with a smile of rapturous joy, tears pouring down his face. He wasn’t writing down his answers, he was singing them, speaking each dragon word in turn. As the dragon verses shifted, he would listen briefly and his eyes closed and he would hold in hands to his chest, his face beaming with joy before belting out a full throated perfect rendition of that Yanling.

Toyama felt his eyes burn and quickly blinked away tears for a moment. Relief washed over him like a flood and his smile started to echo Tigre’s. He felt proud that Tigre was succeeding. He wasn’t just performing well on the test, but he wasn't being violent. Quite the opposite. He was joyous, happier than Toyama had ever seen him.

But then in the next moment Toyama’s blood ran cold.

Dragon language wasn’t just words. They were commands. They could impose a rule upon an area to control the elements. They could command a forest to burn. They could command a storm, a drought, a flood, an earthquake, or lightning. Some abilities were so strong, they would destroy the user. If it wasn’t for the restriction placed on the use of this sacred speech by the College’s alchemical array, Tigre would have joyfully sang out and destroyed the entire college and possibly all of Chicago.

“Dear... God...” Toyama whispered. “Is he a Dragon King?”

“No. If he was, we would have erased him and shoved his body in the Ice Cellar. But he is a hybrid of Dragon King level resonance. He’s different from the other hybrids in other ways too. We’ve run other tests. Nothing about this man is natural... and yet everything is.”

“Is this why you have brought him here? Why you were interested?”

“I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you. We’re still studying. In the meantime, you should probably go out to meet him. He doesn’t have anyone else to talk to.”

Schneider hung up the phone. Toyama was brought back to reality. Yes he did feel fond of Tigre... but he was still a doctor and Tigre was his patient. He would have to carefully maintain his mind so he didn’t go berserk and bring ruin to the college. He stood up and made his way back to the library. When he came back outside, the thunderstorm had intensified. Lightning cut across the sky and thunder roared, as thought the sky itself were cracking apart. The trees swayed heavy in the wind.

----

When Tigre came out of his trance, his throat hurt, his jaw hurt and his face was sticky with tears. He was shaking and exhausted. He wasn’t at his desk any more but standing in the middle of the room. He wanted to see Toyama and tell him that he wasn’t mad at him for leaving him alone. So when he found him waiting outside, he ran up to him and hugged him, babbling uncontrollably all sorts of silly things while Toyama told him to get some rest while stroking his hair. 

He suddenly realized after that that other students were filing out. All the other students looked exhausted and limp. He turned to them with a joyous face, but they all just flinched away from him, looking at him with tear streaked faces. Even Porsche, who seemed vibrant and sassy before, hugged her two sisters while crying uncontrollably. Celeste glared at him accusingly and Tigre flinched away. 

“Don’t mind them. Most people don’t experience joy like yours.” Toyama pulled him away from the other students. “I will have to go help them with their feelings.”

Tigre was confused. Why would anyone be sad about what he’d just heard? “Toyama-san, I saw something amazing. You knew right? You knew what I was!”

“I had no idea exactly what you were.” Toyama said patiently. “No one did. Your vision is one that’s personal to you, something deep in your heart.”

Tigre reached up and touched his chest. “But... I don’t have anything there.”

“Maybe that’s...” Toyama wanted to say ‘for the best’ but he didn’t finish his sentence. “I have to go. You’re a student now, so you’re free to roam about as you like. Stay out of trouble. Okay?”

“Okay...” Tigre said meekly and watched Toyama walk towards the three sisters. Only Celeste wasn’t crying, she only looked extremely angry.

No one was happy, except for him.

He walked out to stare at the pouring rain in the entrance. He looked up at the sky that also seemed to be sad. But why? Those voices in his head were still ringing. He could recite every single word. But he whispered them, staying quiet. He continued to whisper those sacred words into the grey. They were still beautiful in his ears.

“Do you not have an umbrella?” 

His dampened mood rose again! “Chu Zihang!”

Without thinking he hugged the flinching man who just tolerated it. 

Tigre released him quickly. “Oh... I’m sorry.”

“It’s normal to be emotional after this. I’m happy you made it. The results will take a few hours to process, but Schneider sent me to congratulate you. He’s my mentor.” Chu Zihang’s eyes were dark and not the yellow he remembered.

“You wear contacts too.” Tigre realized.

“Yes. Toyama explained?” Chu Zihang raised his umbrella. It was large enough for both of them as they walked. He was calm like a granite stone. Tigre was a raw nerve of emotion.

“Yes. I remembered looking into your eyes and feeling something through them like what I heard today. No wonder I recognized you! You  really are my brother! But for the other students, they were very sad. I don’t... understand why...” He looked back at the Library that was shrouded in the rain.

“You’d have to ask them personally. I can’t speak for them. When my dragonblood awoke, I saw a very disturbing image myself. And then something tragic happened. So that memory is sad for me too.”

“Is that why its raining?” Tigre mumbled.

Zihang tilted his head. “I don’t think emotions can effect the weather. Though many people associate rain with sadness. In truth a tropical wave has been pushed up from the gulf by the jet stream.”

“Oh.” Was all Tigre should say, understanding nothing.

“You’re still shaken up. Let me get you something to eat. You’ll be hungry.” 

"Ah! You’re right! My stomach is growling a lot!” Tigre said in shock.

“You must have resonated very strongly. You were just standing there in the entrance to the library staring into space and now you didn’t realize you were hungry...”

“It was wonderful.” He breathed. “I wish I could listen to it again. I’ll listen to it forever.”

Chu Zihang glanced down at him and didn’t comment.

“Have you been out of the hospital long? Why didn’t you visit me?” Tigre bounced along deliberately splashing in the puddles.

“I was recovering still and then after that, Schneider kept me updated on your progress. I couldn’t visit you because visits were not permitted while you adjusted to life outside of prison.”

“Oh... we’re going to your dorm?” He asked recognizing the residential building. 

“Yes. I want to introduce you to a few of my friends. One of them, Lu Mingfei is also looking forward to seeing you.”

“Oh Okay... neat.”

Chu Zihang opened the door to the dorm and there were many people there! It was like a party! When he saw all these people. He was moved to tears again! He covered his eyes with his arm. “Sorry!”

One of them, a dark haired Chinese boy chuckled. “Don’t worry. Everyone cried at my 3E. You’re fine.”

Chu Zihang introduced him. “This is Lu Mingfei. He’s the president of the Student Union...”

“Kinda sorta... really I just kinda hang out here while other people do things for me.” He said bashfully.

A tall muscular blond grinned. “I’m Finger Von Frings.”

“And I’m Susie. Congratulations. Sounds like you passed.” She was a petite Chinese girl, making her the third Chinese in the group.

“I’m Zero. Pleasure.” Said a soft spoken blond girl with a Russian accent, who looked bored to be there.

“This is for you.” Chu Zihang handed him a small box covered in paper and a ribbon, like one of those Christmas gifts he’d seen in pictures.

“Thank you... can I open it?”

“If you want.” Chu Zihang mumbled.

Tigre pulled the ribbon and then opened the box after carefully shredding the paper. Inside was a brand new tablet computer. “It will be useful for studying.”

“Wow... thank you!” He laughed. Then he paused. “What is it?”

[inthepineforest-blog]

So I’ve got this long-suffering idea in my head about the mod I’d like to make for Skyrim if I actually had modding skills, and it’s basically this- a new-lands mod on an isolated archipelago, separated from mainland Tamriel by a supernatural, unceasing storm front and cut of from Tamrielic history, but peopled by her castaways. Unfortunately the dream in my head FAR outpasses anything I could conceivably create, and I don’t really expect anyone to read anything I post about it, but I plan on using mah tumblr to deposit all the crack I’m going to write about it anywho.

Warning- There is a heck of a lot of cracky fanfic about something that exists only in my head behind the keep reading, but if that’s your thing I hope you enjoy.

Bellanfell, Illvidreth- An Outsider’s Perspective

The Journals of Cassian Marcellus, formerly of U. Gwylim Press

It is the Tamrielic year 3E 380, and I have found myself washed ashore in a strange new land. I had been en route from Wayrest to Solitude when our ship, a slow moving Breton trading vessel, was pulled off course into the western seas. The mate was the first to notice the storm which the currents seemed to pull us inexoriably toward. Before we knew it, we were under the weather, beaten down by freak waves and pelted with hailstones. Buoyed up and down by the raging ocean with the ferocity of Kynareth’s own rage, I could do naught by hunker below, when I heard the reef tear the keel to splinters. A reef, here, in empty ocean pulled far from sight of the High Rock coast! As the ship began to fall to pieces, I must have dove through a hole on instinct, and gone limp in the frigid water.

When I awoke, I was lying on the sands of an unfamiliar beach. A forest of oak and birch lay before me beyond the rocks, and the remnants of my ship decorated the shore with tatters and spars. In some act of cosmic balance, I was quickly discovered by a kindly local shepherd, who lived not far from the beachhead and often went to watch for cursed travellers like myself. Upon being nursed back to relative health in his cottage, I asked where in Tamriel I could possibly be, only to learn that I wasn’t at all! Here, beyond the fringe of the western sea and isolated by eternal storms was an island settled by shipwrecks and castaways, peopled by driftwood.

The island I had washed up on was known as Windsend, and home to the twin towns of Flotsam and Jetsam, and let it not be said that the locals were not aware of themselves. Windsend is but part of a larger archipelago, known to the locals as Bellanfell, or Illvidreth- either way, a rough eytmology is “Storm-land”. After thanking the shepherd for his kindness and retrieving what I could from the washed up remains of the ship, I, and a few others who had found their way ashore, made for the largest island, known if it is thought of at all as the Mainland. Since I have made my academic career of documenting the people of Nirn, I may as well continue in this new world, and hope that these journals may help some future castaway in learning about Bellanfellic society.

A History of Settlement-

The consensus on who first settled in Bellanfell seems to be rocky at best. Two major groups seem to have a claim to it; the Vindurlings of the north and the Velodmer of the western island Velodfer, though the Na-Diren of the southern mainland seem to have arrived not long after. The narratives are very similar- it seems that a few ships from a larger force became lost in the storms and currents- in the Velodmeri case, from the Chimer exodus to Morrowind, and in the Vindurling case, from the Ysgrammorian Return from Atmora- and found themselves washed up, alone, in a new land. Proving that some things are the same everywhere, these ancestors to Nords and Dunmer immediately fell to fighting when exploring parties came across one another in the wilds.

Somewhat later though likely in the very early first era, the first and only intentional crossing was made- Nedes enslaved by Direnni High Elves and facing invasion from Nordic forces built a hasty armada and fled, in the hopes of finding land in the western sea. A small force of Direnni ships sailed after them, but both found themselves caught in the storm and shipwrecked. It seems the Nedic survivors outnumbered the elven, for the two forces found themselves evenly matched in this new land and, forced into unity by the raids of their neighbors, established a foothold in the southern mainland. A branch of this new society seem to have split early and become the Moradmer of Hyarnum, on the eastern coast.

The next large group of people to arrive were Yokudan settlers, aiming for Hammerfell but pulled off course like many before them. It seems the Nedic-Direnni society had a firm grip on the south by this point in history as the Yokudans were not able to blaze the warrior path across the land as their cousins did in Tamriel, and in fact largely integrated into Na-Diren society. A nomadic faction splintered off and migrated to the grasslands south of Hyarnum, intermingling with the Moradmer there, and that region is still largely the home of their pastoralist descendents.

The west coast, between the volcanic ranges of the Vindurlings and the great lake of Alatilin, seems to have changed hands multiple times. First a battle ground between the Vindurlings and the Velodmer, it seems to have been settled by Nedic speaking peoples in the mid First Era expanding from the Na-Diren in the south. It was later reconquered by the Vindurlings, who founded the city of Arkast, and fortified the region against the Velodmer. In a similar fashion to their Bretony cousins, the nedic Gondrini assimilated their northern rulers and a new national identity emerged from the fusion of nedi-altmeric and atmoran. However, the area remained a battle ground for the other powers of the archipelago, and maintained its independence by building a robust martial culture, Bellanfell’s first true standing army, and an advanced series of fortifications. 

The Kingdom of Gondrinfel fell from stability right around the turning of the Third Age of Tamriel. A combination of earthquakes, internal division, and increased pressure from the Na-Diren kingdom of Athnilin saw the fracturing of Gondrinfel, and the countryside became a haven for bandits. The last king of Arkast died in battle in T. 3E 243, as the city was sacked by Vindurling pirates. Their leader, Hodniak Spear-Breaker, declared himself overlord, and used the city as a base of operations.

It was in these relatively recent times that the last major migration of Tamreillans seems to have taken place. The island has seen a constant stream of shipwrecks, as sailors of all flags have gotten pulled away navigating around the coast of High Rock, with a handful of survivors integrating every decade or so- often enough to keep Tamriel in the knowledge of the populace, infrequently enough to make Tamriellans a rariety. But in T. 3E 288, half a legion seems to have lost its way from Uriel V’s expedition to Akavir, thought downed in a freak storm. The missing ships in fact crashed ashore in Bellanfell, predominantly on Windsend. 

The surviving Legionnaries quickly regrouped, and the mixed company of Tamrielic races constitute the largest migration since the First Era. The regrouped Cyrodilic Legion voted as a block to stay together, and offered their services to the people of the archipelago as a means of support, using their expertise as fighting men, road-builders, and blacksmiths to quell banditry and revitalize infrastructure, predominantly in the south. After getting back on their feet, the Legion under Legate Mennia Pelagius moved with the blessing of the Kingdom of Athnilin into Gondrinfel, and liberated the populace from the bandit overlords. In a desperate move to escape, Pirate King Ionnas Hodniakson is thought to have set Arkast ablaze, and while the Legion succeeded in capturing him and his followers, the city burned to the ground.

The Legion was dispatched to mop up the remaining pirates, and Legate Mennia oversaw the rebuilding of the city under the eyes of the Town Elders. Tension rose once again as the King of Athnilin began to make demands of what he thought were his new subjects. The Legate asserted both the Legion and the Gondrini’s independence from any throne or fief, and was named Lady Protector by the City Council. The Legion fort built by the ashes of Arkast was christened Cyrodinium, and the rebuild town became absorbed into it. Led by the new Lady Protector, the Legion served to fend off a series of border raids by the slighted King of Athnilin and the enterprising Vindurling lords, and have remained independent.

Bellanfell Proper- The Mainland

Kingdom of Ath-nilin

Cyrodinium

Carcuillin

Hyarnum

Eldinbrum

Velodfer- the Western Island

To be added to...

[postapocalypticflimflam]

So I'm just starting to play DnD and Gammaworld looks sick as frick, do I need to get a lot more experience in basic before expanding out and trying to play GW and if not, what are some of the essential guides and books to start campaigning?

That’s a big, broad question and I’ll do my best to answer without being so vague as to be useless.

I don’t know if you’re new role-playing games in general and it’s just D&D that’s new to you, or whether you’ve just begun gaming and D&D is your first. It matters a little: some editions of Gamma World borrow D&D rules, so if you know your D&D, that could give you a leg up. If you’ve just begun to D&D, I might infer (correctly?) that it’s D&D 5e you’re playing. Unfortunately, there is no edition of Gamma World that is based on a D&D 5e rule-set. The most recent edition to Gamma World (its 7th edition) came out in 2010 and was based on D&D 4th edition. Gamma World 6th edition, before that, came out in 2003 and was based on the d20 version of D&D 3e. So if you know D&D3 or D&D4, there is a Gamma World that has familiar rules. If you’re playing D&D 5e, sadly that doesn’t exist. (Yet?) As you can see, there were five Gamma Worlds before the d20 version; if you search Wikipedia for ‘Gamma World’ there is a list of the editions with a little bit of detail on each one. If you are interested in either of the two most recent versions, they’re both available as PDF from drivethrurpg.com whereas all the older editions are out of print and you’d need to get one used from nobleknight.com or eBay or the like - some get expensive. So that’s basically it for the rules angle.

As for “expanding out”, I’m not sure exactly what you mean, but if you’re asking if it’s different from running/playing D&D, the answer is an ambiguous “maybe” - which isn’t very useful. Gamma World has been around for almost 40 (!!) years - 1st edition was published in 1978! In that time, the focus and vibe of the game has changed and “evolved”. The first few editions are inspired from sci-fi (science fantasy) from the 1950s to the 1970s; they’re kinda wacky, and focus on the idea that radiation can give you mutations, which is more like the comic books than “realistic” science fiction. (Which isn’t a criticism of the game; it was by no means trying to be realistic. But some people have knocked the game because they feel it’s “silly” because radiation “doesn’t work like that”.) Later editions of the game, however, have gone to some lengths to make the background more plausible; in 6th edition (I think it’s 6th) the mutated world comes more from nanotechnology run amok, as opposed to radiation. The designers of that edition must have felt that radiation causing mutations reflected the game’s old-school origins, and that newer gamers (being, presumably, younger, and unaware of the tone of 1950s-1970s goofy sci-fi) would balk at the (perceived) silliness.

If you’ve been checking me out here on Black Ray Gun, you’ve probably figured out that I prefer the old-school late-70s/early-80s version of the game with radiation-inducing super-power mutations and ray guns and so on.

What I’m saying is, I guess: you run/play Gamma World along the spectrum of 1970s science fantasy to something more modern and palatable to an audience looking for something more “plausible” (whatever that means).

(I should point out that it if sounds like I’m busting on the “plausible” version of Gamma World, I am - I don’t like it. I should also point out, however, that I’m not very familiar with the 7th edition [the “new” D&D4e-compatible one] but I have gotten the sense that it makes some kind of return to the tone/vibe of the kind of old-school Gamma World I like, but I never played it because I never played D&D 4th edition. If you know D&D4, read some reviews of Gamma World 7e to see if it sounds old-school, assuming that’s the vibe you like the sound of.)

(There’s no word, so far as I know, of WoTC releasing a D&D5e-compatible Gamma World. I think it’s a fringe game with limited appeal, but for what it’s worth there have been seven editions in 40 years, with at least three of those seven being compatible with one version of D&D or another.)

So running a Gamma World basically means picking the older or newer school of background and rules you like; goofy radiation or less-goofy nanotech-run-amok? Black Ray Gun (at the risk of sounding immodest) is a good place to start for inspiration for the old-school. And once you choose the tone/vibe you like, running the game is like any other: get your group together, make some characters and dive in. Compared to other games, Gamma World can actually have a lot in common with D&D: it’s science fantasy and your players can be  inexperienced ambitious would-be adventurers out seeking fame and fortune..

For example: Spells = mental mutations. Racial abilities = physical mutations. Magic swords = ultra-tech “vibro blades”. Monsters = robots and mutant beasts. Gold pieces = domars. Magic items = Ancient artifacts. Thieves and Wizards Guilds (etc.) = cryptic alliances. See? You don’t have to do it that way, of course, but many Gamma World games can follow a D&D adventure pattern; you could almost certain adapt D&D modules to Gamma World with little effort.

Finally, required/recommended books. As for which gaming/rules books to get, that depends on what’s I’ve just said.. What tone do you want? Which editions sounds like the best fit? How much do you want to spend? (Editions 1 through 5 are out print and potentially spendy, the d20-compatible 6th edition included six books, each about $10 in PDF, whereas D&D4-compatibe 7th edition is just one book, so cheaper.) I can’t recommend the books you need to start, since I don’t know which Gamma World appeals to you most. Likewise, reading for inspiration is also hard to recommend: different authors/books/comic/movies inspired different Gamma Worlds.

I hope I’ve answered your question adequately. Feel free to send me more Asks if you have more questions or comments or observations. And I’m super glad you’re finding Black Ray Gun inspiring!

Good luck, and let me know how it goes.

[topfygad]

Arriving at LUX* South Ari Atoll Maldives

Proper after a whirlwind tour of Sri Lanka, we boarded our hour flight to Male, the money of the Maldives, or as I prefer to cellphone it, Heaven on Earth! The Maldives have continuously been my greatest honeymoon place and it nearly didn’t come to really feel precise to final however not least be there! I basically skilled butterflies as I used to be so excited to be trying out (and honeymooning) in a spot which has been at one of the best of my bucket itemizing for so long as I can keep in mind. For our honeymoon we had wholly splurged and booked 7 nights at LUX* South Ari Atoll in an individual of their Intimate Pool H2o Villas. I actually do not take into account I’ll at any time neglect a second of our seaplane tour in extra of the beautiful islands and atolls of the Maldives, to touchdown at LUX* and observing our overwater bungalow for the beautiful very first time. The Maldives have been being honestly probably the most magical of honeymoon locations and each equally of us have agreed quite a few cases contemplating the truth that that it was actually value each single cent for a honeymoon working expertise in paradise that we are going to positively certainly not neglect about.

LUX* offers its firm the usage of their private lounge on the Male Worldwide Airport seaplane terminal though prepared to your seaplane. Our pretty LUX* host who fulfilled us on the airport swiftly checked us in for our seaplane flight previous to whisking us to the lounge. It was the proper spot to unwind following travelling and a style of what was to come back on the trip resort. The lounge is beautiful, vibrant and trendy with complementary selfmade sandwiches, desserts, macarons and different sweets in addition to modern espresso and a great deal of different drinks. There are additionally showers and loos so you may clean up, and simply take complete fringe of the outstanding lotions, scrubs and sprays from the LUX* spa line. We felt splendidly pampered and refreshed by the point we’ve been known as for our seaplane.

The seaplane trip from Velana Worldwide Airport with Trans Maldivian Airways was an working expertise we’ll always remember! Trans Maldivian Airways basically function the best fleet of seaplanes on this planet which we’ve been really amazed by. I consider the pilots must have an individual of the perfect positions within the atmosphere, all of them have on shorts, are generally barefoot and get to journey all above this excellent area each single single working day!

The flight from Male to LUX* took about half an hour and each 2nd of the journey was breathtakingly pretty as we flew in extra of the atolls and islands of the Maldives. Seaplane transfers aren’t low-cost however they’re effectively value it and are additionally the quickest mode of transportation to your trip resort! For our return flights to LUX* we paid USD$449 every particular person. It is usually important to keep up in ideas that the seaplanes are little and in the event you actually do not stay inside simply the bags restriction of 20kg for each human being for checked baggage + 5kg for hand baggage then you may be charged for each single further kilogram of bags.

About 30 minutes quickly after utilizing off we started to descend and earlier than lengthy might see LUX* island! We have been being now in awe of the overwater bungalows and I feel I actually squealed after we noticed all the employees members lined up on the jetty waving to our seaplane! We shortly recognized out that LUX* has over 300 personnel, they usually have workforce from virtually each single state in the whole world, all of whom are extraordinary and went over and previous to ensure we had the best proceed to be!

As you may see we have been being fairly stoked to have lastly arrived!

We happy Daisy who checked us in and ran us by means of each factor we wished to know in regards to the island, the holiday resort and most significantly, our all-inclusive package deal deal! As soon as we ended up checked in we have been taken all through the overwater walkways to the overwater bungalows! The h2o was so stunningly blue and crystal very clear and we couldn’t think about what number of fish we observed on this temporary stroll!

Our water villa was the sixth from the suitable within the photograph under which meant we didn’t must stroll as effectively a lot which suited us flawlessly! We fell in adore with our water villa the second we noticed it and in our upcoming submit I’m more likely to be sharing all of the pics and unbelievable extras which arrived with our ingesting water villa! We’ve got been lucky sufficient to proceed to be in some very great locations across the whole world, however I really have no idea if we’ll ever regulate to greatest our h2o villa at LUX*.

The second we skilled checked out our water villa and I’d managed to a bit calm my pleasure and cease squealing, we made the choice to have a look at out the island and of program have some cocktails! Once we have been being trying into which resort to order, we seen a ton of resorts by no means begin off the all inclusive bundle till the afternoon/time for supper and end at 12pm in your remaining working day. Our flights to the Maldives arrived early within the early morning and our flight dwelling wasn’t till ultimately late at night time time and so we have been being actually happy to see that LUX* begins off your all-inclusive deal from the minute you arrive till the second you go away in your seaplane!

Our to begin with halt was Lagoon Bar! We favored the laid-back beachy vibe at Lagoon Bar and the chilled-out tunes they performed! Lagoon Bar was undoubtedly one explicit of our widespread wining and consuming venues all via the 7 days and it was one in every of Dan’s favourites on the island, primarily because of the truth of all the surfboards. It was under that I uncovered my favourite cocktail, the Pineapple and Passionfruit Margarita mmmmmm! I can’t inform you how quite a few I had at some stage in the 7 days, however I’ll inform you that they’re splendidly refreshing and candy!

After a number of cocktails at Lagoon Bar we wandered up by means of the island to our up coming finish, Veli Bar! Under we had a mouth watering lunch and an excellent deal far more cocktails! Veli Bar can also be an extra really neat bar which is open all through the daytime for drinks and meals stuff. It was by the island’s most vital pool and was the best place to swim, drink and dine devoid of getting to maneuver extra than a handful of metres… discuss relaxation!

Quickly after lunch, we headed again to get pleasure from our ingesting water villa and have our first dip in each of these our infinity pool and the Maldivian waters! We have been being in actually like with the Maldives from the minute we arrived and instantly after investing our preliminary few hrs trying out a few of the island and indulging in tasty meals stuff and cocktails, we understood that we by no means wished to go away!

Hold an eye fixed out for our up coming put up precisely the place we’ll be displaying you thru our epic overwater villa, whole with personal infinity pool and cinema!

Have we satisfied you to extend the Maldives to your bucket file?

from Cheapr Travels https://ift.tt/2DSzeEc via IFTTT

[poetryofchrist]

2 Samuel 23

Poetry. David's oracle. What does it begin with but governance! Let no one say that we can vote for a carnal person and expect good governance. Let no one say that because church is separate from state that we are not to be responsible for our leaders and the actions we have taken part in. Church is separate from state because church does not know what it is doing. Church is divided from itself and persecutes those who are different. This is what it is to be not-church. Church must change to do what is right in the fear of God, not simply to act without responsibility and live in its own prejudice. Why would David begin with righteousness and the fear of God? If it were not that governance, God's priority, would be poor at best in the line of the succession of kings (verse 5). This being poetry, we don't hear what must or must not be done. We must figure it out. Then we rehearse the roll of David's champs (a gloss I have not used). There is violence and it is easy to read into the text an I'm better than you attitude. Why would one reference in the margin 1 Samuel 17 as the incident in verse 9 as JB does? That seems like a shot in the dark. Why would one translate in verse 9 עלה as retreat (JB, NIV) or gone away (KJV)? This stem always has the idea of going up not away. JB and NIV are not rendering the Hebrew, but the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 11:13. They do admit this in a footnote but it would seem more honest to put the reconstruction from the parallel in the footnote. What will readers do in an edition that hides the footnotes? They will believe in some fringe thread of English inerrancy! I find myself asking, who is Yahweh that this violence is considered a great salvation? Yahweh appears to me to represent the emerging hope of the group (נפשׁ) that represents the chosen over the period of the canonical history. The history has been constructed around that hope. Some of this history, if literal (and why would it not be in part), is no different than the actions of a brutal ruler today against his own subjects. For there is no ruler who destroys today who is not genetically and socially related to a plurality of peoples under governance. This chapter is like 'successful' clan warfare, or gang violence, or suppression of opposition by the stronger over the weaker. It is like strong man politics. Why would we celebrate these champions as if might were right? Perhaps it is not for nothing that the poetry, verses 1 to 7, precedes this section. The Philistines, like Amaleq can be read as parable (משׁל, also govern.) So what governs us? Self or other? The tension is unavoidable. And what spirit are we of? There are a number of spelling issues in this list when compared to 1 Chronicles 11. I wondered for a moment if Hiddai הדי and Huri הורי are the same person but with the dalet changed to a resh and a mater included. But a very detailed analysis would be required. The word by word view might help.

2 Samuel 23 Fn Min Max Syll וְאֵ֛לֶּה דִּבְרֵ֥י דָוִ֖ד הָאַֽחֲרֹנִ֑ים נְאֻ֧ם דָּוִ֣ד בֶּן־יִשַׁ֗י וּנְאֻ֤ם הַגֶּ֙בֶר֙ הֻ֣קַם עָ֔ל מְשִׁ֙יחַ֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב וּנְעִ֖ים זְמִר֥וֹת יִשְׂרָאֵֽל 1 And these are the words of David, the last ones. An oracle of David the son of Jesse, and an oracle of the valiant, upheld concerning the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the pleasure of the psalmists of Israel. 3c 4C 12 32 ר֥וּחַ יְהוָ֖ה דִּבֶּר־בִּ֑י וּמִלָּת֖וֹ עַל־לְשׁוֹנִֽי 2 f The spirit of Yahweh spoke in me, and his speech was on my tongue. 3e 4A 7 8 אָמַר֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לִ֥י דִבֶּ֖ר צ֣וּר יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מוֹשֵׁל֙ בָּאָדָ֔ם צַדִּ֕יק מוֹשֵׁ֖ל יִרְאַ֥ת אֱלֹהִֽים 3 The God of Israel said to me, the rock of Israel spoke, Who governs for humanity, ... righteous governing in the fear of God. 3e 4B 15 14 וּכְא֥וֹר בֹּ֖קֶר יִזְרַח־שָׁ֑מֶשׁ בֹּ֚קֶר לֹ֣א עָב֔וֹת מִנֹּ֥גַהּ מִמָּטָ֖ר דֶּ֥שֶׁא מֵאָֽרֶץ 4 Then as the light of morning, sun will rise, morning without thick clouds, from the luminous, from the rain, vegetation from the land. 3e 4C 8 16 כִּֽי־לֹא־כֵ֥ן בֵּיתִ֖י עִם־אֵ֑ל כִּי֩ בְרִ֨ית עוֹלָ֜ם שָׂ֣ם לִ֗י עֲרוּכָ֤ה בַכֹּל֙ וּשְׁמֻרָ֔ה כִּֽי־כָל־יִשְׁעִ֥י וְכָל־חֵ֖פֶץ כִּֽי־לֹ֥א יַצְמִֽיחַ 5 Though my house is not so with God, yet a covenant everlasting he set for me, arranged in all, and kept for all my salvation and all delight, though it does not grow. 3e 4C 6 27 וּבְלִיַּ֕עַל כְּק֥וֹץ מֻנָ֖ד כֻּלָּ֑הַם כִּֽי־לֹ֥א בְיָ֖ד יִקָּֽחוּ 6 But the worthless, as bramble sequestered, all of them, for a hand they will not take. 3e 4A 11 6 וְאִישׁ֙ יִגַּ֣ע בָּהֶ֔ם יִמָּלֵ֥א בַרְזֶ֖ל וְעֵ֣ץ חֲנִ֑ית וּבָאֵ֕שׁ שָׂר֥וֹף יִשָּׂרְפ֖וּ בַּשָּֽׁבֶת 7 For anyone touching them must be inlaid with iron or the timber of a spear. And in fire they will be incinerated where they sit. 3e 4B 15 11 אֵ֛לֶּה שְׁמ֥וֹת הַגִּבֹּרִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר לְדָוִ֑ד יֹשֵׁ֨ב בַּשֶּׁ֜בֶת תַּחְכְּמֹנִ֣י ׀ רֹ֣אשׁ הַשָּׁלִשִׁ֗�� ה֚וּא עֲדִינ֣וֹ הָֽעֶצְנִ֔י עַל־שְׁמֹנֶ֥ה מֵא֛וֹת חָלָ֖ל בְּפַ֥עַם אֶחָֽת 8 d These are the names of the valiant that are David's. Who sat on the seat, a Taxkmonite, head of the equerry, he was Adino the Etsnite. Over eight hundred he profaned at one time. 3d 4C 13 34 וְאַחֲרָ֛יו אֶלְעָזָ֥ר בֶּן־דֹּד֖וֹ בֶּן־אֲחֹחִ֑י בִּשְׁלֹשָׁ֨ה הַגִּבֹּרִ֜ים עִם־דָּוִ֗ד בְּחָֽרְפָ֤ם בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים נֶאֶסְפוּ־שָׁ֣ם לַמִּלְחָמָ֔ה וַֽיַּעֲל֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל 9 And after him Eleazar, child of Dodo, child of the Axohite, among the three valiant with David when they reproached the Philistines gathered there to battle, when the men of Israel came up. 3d 4C 14 32 ה֣וּא קָם֩ וַיַּ֨ךְ בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּ֜ים עַ֣ד ׀ כִּֽי־יָגְעָ֣ה יָד֗וֹ וַתִּדְבַּ֤ק יָדוֹ֙ אֶל־הַחֶ֔רֶב וַיַּ֧עַשׂ יְהוָ֛ה תְּשׁוּעָ֥ה גְדוֹלָ֖ה בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֑וּא וְהָעָ֛ם יָשֻׁ֥בוּ אַחֲרָ֖יו אַךְ־לְפַשֵּֽׁט 10 B He arose and he struck against the Philistines until his hand was weary and his hand cleaved to the sword, and Yahweh undertook a great salvation in that day. And the people returned after him but to pillage. 3c 4C 37 13 וְאַחֲרָ֛יו שַׁמָּ֥א בֶן־אָגֵ֖א הָרָרִ֑י וַיֵּאָסְפ֨וּ פְלִשְׁתִּ֜ים לַחַיָּ֗ה וַתְּהִי־שָׁ֞ם חֶלְקַ֤ת הַשָּׂדֶה֙ מְלֵאָ֣ה עֲדָשִׁ֔ים וְהָעָ֥ם נָ֖ס מִפְּנֵ֥י פְלִשְׁתִּֽים 11 And after him Shammah, child of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines gathered toward Jawbone, and there was a parcel of a field full of lentils, and the people withdrew before Philistines. 3d 4C 12 33 וַיִּתְיַצֵּ֤ב בְּתוֹךְ־הַֽחֶלְקָה֙ וַיַּצִּילֶ֔הָ וַיַּ֖ךְ אֶת־פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים וַיַּ֥עַשׂ יְהוָ֖ה תְּשׁוּעָ֥ה גְדוֹלָֽה 12 But he stationed himself in the midst of the parcel and delivered it, and he struck the Philistines. And Yahweh undertook a great salvation. 3e 4C 20 11 וַיֵּרְד֨וּ שְׁלֹשָׁ֜ה מֵהַשְּׁלֹשִׁ֣ים רֹ֗אשׁ וַיָּבֹ֤אוּ אֶל־קָצִיר֙ אֶל־דָּוִ֔ד אֶל־מְעָרַ֖ת עֲדֻלָּ֑ם וְחַיַּ֣ת פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים חֹנָ֖ה בְּעֵ֥מֶק רְפָאִֽים 13 And three of the thirty came down first. And they came at the harvest to David, to the cave of Adullam. And the revived of the Philistines were encamped in the valley of the titans. 3e 4C 27 14 וְדָוִ֖ד אָ֣ז בַּמְּצוּדָ֑ה וּמַצַּ֣ב פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים אָ֖ז בֵּ֥ית לָֽחֶם 14 And David was then in the fortress. And the garrison of the Philistines was then Bethlehem. 3e 4B 7 10 וַיִּתְאַוֶּ֥ה דָוִ֖ד וַיֹּאמַ֑ר מִ֚י יַשְׁקֵ֣נִי מַ֔יִם מִבֹּ֥אר בֵּֽית־לֶ֖חֶם אֲשֶׁ֥ר בַּשָּֽׁעַר 15 And David intensely desired, and said, Who will give me a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem that is at the gate? 3e 4C 9 15 וַיִּבְקְעוּ֩ שְׁלֹ֨שֶׁת הַגִּבֹּרִ֜ים בְּמַחֲנֵ֣ה פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים וַיִּֽשְׁאֲבוּ־מַ֙יִם֙ מִבֹּ֤אר בֵּֽית־לֶ֙חֶם֙ א��שֶׁ֣ר בַּשַּׁ֔עַר וַיִּשְׂא֖וּ ��ַיָּבִ֣אוּ אֶל־דָּוִ֑ד וְלֹ֤א אָבָה֙ לִשְׁתּוֹתָ֔ם וַיַּסֵּ֥ךְ אֹתָ֖ם לַֽיהוָֽה 16 And the three valiant split the camp of the Philistines in two, and they drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was at the gate, and they bore and they came to David. But he did not consent to imbibe it, and he spilled it out to Yahweh. 3e 4C 43 14 וַיֹּ֡אמֶר חָלִילָה֩ לִּ֨י יְהוָ֜ה מֵעֲשֹׂ֣תִי זֹ֗את הֲדַ֤ם הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙ הַהֹלְכִ֣ים בְּנַפְשׁוֹתָ֔ם וְלֹ֥א אָבָ֖ה לִשְׁתּוֹתָ֑ם אֵ֣לֶּה עָשׂ֔וּ שְׁלֹ֖שֶׁת הַגִּבֹּרִֽים 17 And he said far be it from me, O Yahweh, to do this with the blood of persons who went in peril to themselves. And he did not consent to imbibe it. These things the three valiant have done. 3e 4C 34 11 וַאֲבִישַׁ֞י אֲחִ֣י ׀ יוֹאָ֣ב בֶּן־צְרוּיָ֗ה ה֚וּא רֹ֣אשׁ הַשְּׁלֹשָׁ֔ה וְהוּא֙ עוֹרֵ֣ר אֶת־חֲנִית֔וֹ עַל־שְׁלֹ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת חָלָ֑ל וְלוֹ־שֵׁ֖ם בַּשְּׁלֹשָֽׁה 18 And Abishai, brother of Joab, child of Tseruyah, was himself head of the three, and he unleashed his spear over three hundred profaned. Aand he had a name among the three. 3e 4C 32 6 מִן־הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה֙ הֲכִ֣י נִכְבָּ֔ד וַיְהִ֥י לָהֶ֖ם לְשָׂ֑ר וְעַד־הַשְּׁלֹשָׁ֖ה לֹא־בָֽא 19 From the three, was he not more glorious? And he became their chief. But till the three, he had not entered. 3e 4B 14 6 וּבְנָיָ֨הוּ בֶן־יְהוֹיָדָ֧ע בֶּן־אִֽישׁ־חַ֛יִל רַב־פְּעָלִ֖ים מִֽקַּבְצְאֵ֑ל ה֣וּא הִכָּ֗ה אֵ֣ת שְׁנֵ֤י אֲרִאֵל֙ מוֹאָ֔ב וְ֠הוּא יָרַ֞ד וְהִכָּ֧ה אֶֽת־הָאֲרִ֛י בְּת֥וֹךְ הַבֹּ֖אר בְּי֥וֹם הַשָּֽׁלֶג 20 And Beniah, child of Jehoiada, son of a man of ability, of many works from Qavtseil. He himself struck two lion-men of Moab, and he himself came down and struck the lion in the midst of the well on the day of the snow. 3c 4C 21 31 וְהוּא־הִכָּה֩ אֶת־אִ֨ישׁ מִצְרִ֜י אִ֣ישׁ מַרְאֶ֗ה וּבְיַ֤ד הַמִּצְרִי֙ חֲנִ֔ית וַיֵּ֥רֶד אֵלָ֖יו בַּשָּׁ֑בֶט וַיִּגְזֹ֤ל אֶֽת־הַחֲנִית֙ מִיַּ֣ד הַמִּצְרִ֔י וַיַּהַרְגֵ֖הוּ בַּחֲנִיתֽוֹ 21 And he himself struck an Egyptian man, a man to see. And in the hand of the Egyptian was a spear, and he went down to him with a sceptre, and robbed the spear from the hand of the Egyptian, and slew him with his own spear. 3e 4C 26 21 אֵ֣לֶּה עָשָׂ֔ה בְּנָיָ֖הוּ בֶּן־יְהוֹיָדָ֑ע וְלוֹ־שֵׁ֖ם בִּשְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה הַגִּבֹּרִֽים 22 B These things did Benaiah, child of Jehoiada, and had a name among the valiant three. 3e 4B 13 10 מִן־הַשְּׁלֹשִׁ֣ים נִכְבָּ֔ד וְאֶל־הַשְּׁלֹשָׁ֖ה לֹא־בָ֑א וַיְשִׂמֵ֥הוּ דָוִ֖ד אֶל־מִשְׁמַעְתּֽוֹ 23 From the thirty he was more glorious, but to the three he had not come. And David set him up about his fame. 3e 4B 12 10 עֲשָׂה־אֵ֥ל אֲחִֽי־יוֹאָ֖ב בַּשְּׁלֹשִׁ֑ים אֶלְחָנָ֥ן בֶּן־דֹּד֖וֹ בֵּ֥ית לָֽחֶם 24 Asahel brother of Joab, among the thirty, Elxanan, child of Dodo of Bethlehem, 3e 4A 9 9 שַׁמָּה֙ הַֽחֲרֹדִ֔י אֱלִיקָ֖א הַחֲרֹדִֽי 25 Shammah the Xarodite, Eliqa the Xarodite, 3e 3g 13 חֶ֚לֶץ הַפַּלְטִ֔י עִירָ֥א בֶן־עִקֵּ֖שׁ הַתְּקוֹעִֽי 26 C Helets the Paltiite, Ira, child of Devious the Tekoan, 3e 4C 13 אֲבִיעֶ֙זֶר֙ הָֽעַנְּתֹתִ֔י מְבֻנַּ֖י הַחֻשָׁתִֽי 27 Abiezer the Antothite, Mebunni the Xushty, 3e 3g 15 צַלְמוֹן֙ הָֽאֲחֹחִ֔י מַהְרַ֖י הַנְּטֹפָתִֽי 28 Salmon the Axohite, Swiftie the Dropper, 3e 3g 12 חֵ֥לֶב בֶּֽן־בַּעֲנָ֖ה הַנְּטֹפָתִ֑י אִתַּי֙ בֶּן־רִיבַ֔י מִגִּבְעַ֖ת בְּנֵ֥י בִנְיָמִֽן 29 f Xeleb, child of Baanah the Netophatite, Itai, child of Contention of Gibeah, the children of Benjamin, 3e 4A 10 13 בְּנָיָ֙הוּ֙ פִּרְעָ֣תֹנִ֔י הִדַּ֖י מִנַּ֥חֲלֵי גָֽעַשׁ 30 Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the torrents of Gaash, 3e 4B 16 אֲבִֽי־עַלְבוֹן֙ הָֽעַרְבָתִ֔י עַזְמָ֖וֶת הַבַּרְחֻמִֽי 31 Abialbon the Arbatite, Azmaveth the Barxumite, 3e 3g 15 אֶלְיַחְבָּא֙ הַשַּׁ֣עַלְבֹנִ֔י בְּנֵ֥י יָשֵׁ֖ן יְהוֹנָתָֽן 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the children of Yashen, Jonathan, 3e 4B 16 שַׁמָּה֙ הַֽהֲרָרִ֔י אֲחִיאָ֥ם בֶּן־שָׁרָ֖ר הָארָרִֽי 33 Shammah the Harorite, Axiam, child of Watcher the Hararite, 3e 3g 15 אֱלִיפֶ֥לֶט בֶּן־אֲחַסְבַּ֖י בֶּן־הַמַּֽעֲכָתִ֑י אֱלִיעָ֥ם בֶּן־אֲחִיתֹ֖פֶל הַגִּלֹנִֽי 34 Eliphelet child of Axasbi, child of the Maakatite, Elyam child of Axitophel the Gilonite, 3e 4A 14 12 חֶצְרַי֙ הַֽכַּרְמְלִ֔י פַּעֲרַ֖י הָאַרְבִּֽי 35 Xetsrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 3e 3g 12 יִגְאָ֤ל בֶּן־נָתָן֙ מִצֹּבָ֔ה בָּנִ֖י הַגָּדִֽי 36 Yigael child of Nathan, from Tsobah, Bani the Gadite, 3e 4C 13 צֶ֖לֶק הָעַמֹּנִ֑י נַחְרַי֙ הַבְּאֵ֣רֹתִ֔י נֹשֵׂ֕א כְּלֵ֖י יוֹאָ֥ב בֶּן־צְרֻיָֽה 37 g Tseleq the Ammonite, Naxari the Beerotite, the bearer of cargo for Joab child of Tseruyah, 3e 4B 6 16 עִירָא֙ הַיִּתְרִ֔י גָּרֵ֖ב הַיִּתְרִֽי 38 Ira the Yiterite, Scab the Yiterite, 3e 3g 10 אֽוּרִיָּה֙ הַֽחִתִּ֔י כֹּ֖ל שְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים וְשִׁבְעָֽה 39 Uriah the Hittite, totaling thirty seven. 3e 3g 13

from Blogger https://ift.tt/2MlUTKF via IFTTT

[dragonrajafanfiction]

The Cassell Cynics Chapter 3

@hectabdr

@hectab

Hana Sato walked back into the administrators building alone and shrugged when the Guderian, Manstein and Schneider all sighed at once.

“Hey, I tried.” She said.

“You were gone for such a long time. I got my hopes up.” Guderian lamented. He looked at the CCTV footage. Nathan Phillips was still where he had been all afternoon, but now he seemed to be sleeping. More likely he was just too stoned to sit up straight.

“Did you find out anything?” Schneider asked.

“Well...” She shrugged. “I found out that he’s C-ranked, he doesn’t believe he can actually slay any dragons, and he’s planning on dropping out and having his memory wiped.”

Guderian visibly paled. “Dropping out?! No one ever drops out!”

“I was going to ask you that.” Hana winced. “Do you know of anyone who’s ever actually dropped out?”

“Dropping out is easier said than done. It takes an extremely strong will to do it. Hybrids are fundamentally different from other humans.” Schneider’s voice was very soft. He spun a pen in his hand and his eyes turned distant. “A young person will feel an intense loneliness, the desire to reach out and find people like them without hearing anyone speak to them in a way they will understand. It doesn’t matter if it's a school like Cassell, or a private club, or a religion. Hybrids will wander and search until they gather together out of loneliness and the need to be with those of their own kind. For someone to experience the company of other Hybrids and then to turn away....” He paused, not finishing the sentence.

Guderian sighed, mournfully. “It seems so impossible. But it's true, he hasn’t joined any clubs, and shows no interest in any classes. Shows no interest in any girls.”

“The feeling is mutual. He’s has a reputation of uselessness on a level higher than Fingel Von Frings.” Manstein said. “Few on the faculty want to deal with him. Much less the students.”

“Perhaps that’s intentional. If no one sees him as useful, it's easier for him to disappear.” Schneider said.

Manstein spoke up. “Toyama has said that it is very rare for someone to be able to resist the ‘Cry of the Blood’ but it can happen. If the dragon blood purity is low enough then he might not feel the Blood Cry so strongly. Perhaps he is actually of C-rank and you two are having wishful thoughts.” Manstein huffed.

“Wait, you’re not sure what rank he is?” Hana’s eyes darted back and forth from face to face.

Schneider cleared his throat loudly. “His willfully negligent behavior is unusual for a C-rank and is intriguing enough to investigate. You see, low ranking hybrids are not usually this stubborn. We thought perhaps we could retest him.”

“He seemed pretty normal to me…” Hana responded. The three professors all stared at her. “I… I mean, some of the things he said were things I could understand. He doesn’t like the fact that people are here just to score what he called ‘social points’. He feels he’s here just to please his parents, but because he’s no use to the Cassell Mission it’s pointless for him to work hard. It’s not that he’s rejecting anyone. He seems to know that when the big missions come along, he won’t be called up. So there’s no point in being at the top of his game.”

“There are no useless hybrids at Cassell.” Schneider said. “In order to stay here you have to be above average, answering six out of the ten questions on the 3E exam. If he were just an ordinary Hybrid or possessed only garbage dragon genes, then he would not have been acceptable at all and we would have rejected him. He should know this.”

“I don’t mean to be argumentative, but he’s kind of right.” Hana said. “A-ranked students are called up in dire emergencies only. The last emergency we had, it was only A through S rankers. Since when was a C-ranked student sent on an A ranked mission? Wouldn’t that be the same as sending them on a death trap? No one is going to send a C-rank to kill a dragon king. It just doesn’t happen. What’s more, everyone knows that a B ranking should be the lowest grade on the Campus, for someone to get a C or an F like Fingel, it’s a joke to the whole college and no one would want to be caught dead hanging out with him. The only reason I could sit and talk to him was because I’m already a reject. I can’t get any lower, right?”

The three professors looked at each other in turn. 

Guderian rubbed his chin. “Perhaps you can talk to him again! He seems to like you! He doesn’t usually hold a conversation with anyone for very long!”

“Uh…” Hana smiled. “Honestly, I think I’m better off handling this escort mission alone. He’s made it very clear that he’s not interested in doing the assignment.”

Guderian gasped. “Oh right! The assignment! Yes… about that. Don't worry about that.”

Hana’s jaw dropped in confusion. “What do you mean don’t worry about it?”

“Um… the shipment was delayed. Yes… delayed. So you don’t have to worry about the assignment. More importantly, I think Mr. Phillips can use another interview from you. And we’ll make that your assignment!”

Hana sighed in disbelief. She crossed her arms. “When will this assignment end and how do I know I got a good grade?”

Manstein and Schneider both glared at Guderian and the man flinched. “I uh… heh… The assignment will be complete after this last interrog-... I mean, interview. And you’ll receive a full completed mark for my class.”

“I’ll take it!” Hana beamed. “Now if there’s no more, I have to get ready for my assignment!”

------

“So you were right. There probably wasn’t any cargo assignment at all.  They’re just really interested in the idea of you dropping out.” Hana reached over to dip her pita bread in the tzatziki sauce. “I think I got assigned to you because I was the only one with no social clout you might talk to. So now, talking to you is my assignment.”

“I don’t get it. Why do they care?”

“It’s not because of their ego. It’s because you’re unusual! It’s weird for hybrids not to want to be with Hybrids. The fact that you would willingly want to drop out and fantasize about it? It got their attention. I think they feel they might be wrong about your ranking. You’re C-ranked but you don’t act like it. Plus, it’s not possible for a C-rank to get into Cassell. The lowest rank they’ll accept is B. Officially. Fingel was A ranked when he joined but was demoted after. You were accepted as C… that’s strange. Did they say why?”

The spring air was still chilly but Nathan kept the window open in his dorm. The smell of garlic was strong from both the Greek and the Italian food. Hana and Nathan sat around a table full of half eaten styrofoam clamshells. Nathan sat back, his arms resting on the back of the used sofa, against the open window, shamelessly without a shirt, in the same pants he’d worn all day. His brown hair was roughed by the wind but he seemed to like it that way. “No.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter what happened.”

“You had to resonate at least somewhat… right? C isn’t nothing.”

Nathan let out a breath and stood up to go to the dark kitchen and he returned with a beer. “You’re just going to go back and report everything I say. So why should I tell you anything?”

“Worst case scenario, you actually don’t belong there, this is all a mistake and they wipe your mind early. Best case scenario you find out you’ve been under-ranked all along and you can actually go on the dragonslaying missions and you can shove it in the face of all the people who looked down on you.”

He sat back down on the couch. “Both of those scenarios kinda suck.”

“You’re all about reality and truth, right?” She said, “If you really don’t belong here, you shouldn’t be here. If you do belong here, you should be here. If you’re as low ranking as you believe you are? Brain washing should be no problem. But if you’re strong? Having your memory wiped could cause intense anxiety and depression. Because you won’t be able to silence the blood-cry, no matter how hard you try. Hybrids always find each other. Only you will be miserable because you’ll be locked out of the world you belong to. Once you leave Cassell… you can’t come back. People may look down on you because you’re ranked C… but Fingel is ranked F and he’s not leaving. They haven’t kicked him out. Probably because he wouldn’t survive on his own out there. What do you think your chances are?”

Nathan took a drink from his beer. “I know that.”

“I’m on your side here. Just tell me what happened. I won’t tell the professors. I promise. They just said I had to complete the interview. Guderian didn’t say I had to tell them anything.”

He put the bottle down at the table. “You go first then. What did you see on your exam?”

“I was running down an unusually long corridor. And I just kept running and running until I got to the end and I saw myself. Only… My clothes were covered in blood and I was crying tears of blood. I was crying like...the kind of crying where you’re exhausted and you want to stop but you can’t. I felt like I knew what I was crying about, but I couldn’t… say it. Something terrible that shouldn’t be spoken. An incredible guilt. And I deserved what was coming to me.”

Nathan lowered his bottle from his lips. “Sorry…”

Hana just shrugged her shoulders. “Okay. It’s your turn.”

“Okay… don’t tell them, okay? Promise me.” Nathan’s eyes seemed to darken and Hana realized that perhaps she’d managed to convince him to talk. 

“I won’t. I promise.” Already her mind was fielding several different ways she could talk and somehow get away with it. Mentally, she crossed her fingers.

“I’ll hold you to it.” He tilted the bottle at her. “Anyway, I just… saw one dragon. It wasn’t that I saw a real dragon, I just got a sense of what they were. And I thought about how I’d been running behind my brother trying to keep up with him and my status obsessed parents. But when I saw what real power was? I was like… screw it. Everyone is just… rats on a wheel. So… I just stopped. I stopped writing.”

“What do you mean you stopped? You… stopped taking the test in the middle of it?” Hana's jaw dropped in disbelief for the second time that day. “How could you stop?! The visions are uncontrollable.”

“It was hopeless! I felt the deepest hopelessness you can ever feel. Like you were digging a hole thinking you almost reached the bottom and all you see when you look down is more and more dirt and you understand that you’ll die before you reach the bottom! So you just stop!” He slammed the beer on the table. “It wasn’t something I could control or think ‘okay next question’. It was like the universe reached out and said. ‘No.’ There was no choice. Once you understand what we’re up against? You’ll get it. But… I hope you never do.”

Hana couldn’t pull her gaze away from the haunted look in his eyes. They were the eyes of a crazy person. Maybe it was the fact that they were ringed with dark circles and red rims or the moonlight that made his skin look paler than usual. He certainly looked like someone who had a bad trip.

“I can look at you, Hana… and I can tell you flat out. If you meet a real dragon? You’re dead. You don’t understand what these things are. They look real, with eyes and skin and heart and lungs… but that’s just the … physical outward… manifestation of … some sort of Eldritch Abomination!” He fought to find the words to express what he remembered from the 3E. He was so defiant and stubborn before but now that was all gone. “You THINK you can kill these things because you don’t… understand…”

He leaned forward, his eyes were the most intense she’d ever seen. Hana leaned away from him.

“Cassell college is a joke. On a fundamental level. So yes. I’m getting my memory wiped. Because C ranked… A ranked… forget it. We’re toast.”

“You’re not C ranked.” She said, her voice shaking. “You’re not… And you know it. But you’d rather run away… You’re just like Fingel...”

“I think you’re right about that. But Fingel either doesn’t have the guts to cut and run or they won’t let him. The same way they won’t let me. They send you here to stop me from going. But you’re on my side right? Then you tell them the truth and tell them that ‘Yep! Nathan Phillips is just a C-ranked idiot. Just let him hang out here and cut him loose.’ You’re on my side. Right?”

“You really mean that Cassell can’t win?”

Nathan shook his head slowly.  “Not a chance. Not a snowflake's chance in hell. You’re on my side right? Please Hana. Just… tell them I’m a useless C.”

----

Hana stepped out of the dorm. The wind blew and ruffled the skirt of her uniform. She looked at the stately buildings and prime real estate. She had three assignments due the next day, and a presentation due after that. But a long shadow was suddenly cast over her future at Cassell. 

The shadow by the question. “What if he was right? What if it was really all hopeless? Cassell’s mission was to slay dragons but if it was impossible...”

She turned her face up to the single lit window. Nathan’s window was still open and even though she was outside and he was on the second floor, she could smell the weed from here. 

If I ever meet a dragon, I’ll bow down and say, “I welcome my scaly overlords!”

“You were serious...” She whispered. She turned and walked away, her lone figure receding into the night.

[topfygad]

Arriving at LUX* South Ari Atoll Maldives

Proper after a whirlwind tour of Sri Lanka, we boarded our hour flight to Male, the money of the Maldives, or as I prefer to cellphone it, Heaven on Earth! The Maldives have continuously been my greatest honeymoon place and it nearly didn’t come to really feel precise to final however not least be there! I basically skilled butterflies as I used to be so excited to be trying out (and honeymooning) in a spot which has been at one of the best of my bucket itemizing for so long as I can keep in mind. For our honeymoon we had wholly splurged and booked 7 nights at LUX* South Ari Atoll in an individual of their Intimate Pool H2o Villas. I actually do not take into account I’ll at any time neglect a second of our seaplane tour in extra of the beautiful islands and atolls of the Maldives, to touchdown at LUX* and observing our overwater bungalow for the beautiful very first time. The Maldives have been being honestly probably the most magical of honeymoon locations and each equally of us have agreed quite a few cases contemplating the truth that that it was actually value each single cent for a honeymoon working expertise in paradise that we are going to positively certainly not neglect about.

LUX* offers its firm the usage of their private lounge on the Male Worldwide Airport seaplane terminal though prepared to your seaplane. Our pretty LUX* host who fulfilled us on the airport swiftly checked us in for our seaplane flight previous to whisking us to the lounge. It was the proper spot to unwind following travelling and a style of what was to come back on the trip resort. The lounge is beautiful, vibrant and trendy with complementary selfmade sandwiches, desserts, macarons and different sweets in addition to modern espresso and a great deal of different drinks. There are additionally showers and loos so you may clean up, and simply take complete fringe of the outstanding lotions, scrubs and sprays from the LUX* spa line. We felt splendidly pampered and refreshed by the point we’ve been known as for our seaplane.

The seaplane trip from Velana Worldwide Airport with Trans Maldivian Airways was an working expertise we’ll always remember! Trans Maldivian Airways basically function the best fleet of seaplanes on this planet which we’ve been really amazed by. I consider the pilots must have an individual of the perfect positions within the atmosphere, all of them have on shorts, are generally barefoot and get to journey all above this excellent area each single single working day!

The flight from Male to LUX* took about half an hour and each 2nd of the journey was breathtakingly pretty as we flew in extra of the atolls and islands of the Maldives. Seaplane transfers aren’t low-cost however they’re effectively value it and are additionally the quickest mode of transportation to your trip resort! For our return flights to LUX* we paid USD$449 every particular person. It is usually important to keep up in ideas that the seaplanes are little and in the event you actually do not stay inside simply the bags restriction of 20kg for each human being for checked baggage + 5kg for hand baggage then you may be charged for each single further kilogram of bags.

About 30 minutes quickly after utilizing off we started to descend and earlier than lengthy might see LUX* island! We have been being now in awe of the overwater bungalows and I feel I actually squealed after we noticed all the employees members lined up on the jetty waving to our seaplane! We shortly recognized out that LUX* has over 300 personnel, they usually have workforce from virtually each single state in the whole world, all of whom are extraordinary and went over and previous to ensure we had the best proceed to be!

As you may see we have been being fairly stoked to have lastly arrived!

We happy Daisy who checked us in and ran us by means of each factor we wished to know in regards to the island, the holiday resort and most significantly, our all-inclusive package deal deal! As soon as we ended up checked in we have been taken all through the overwater walkways to the overwater bungalows! The h2o was so stunningly blue and crystal very clear and we couldn’t think about what number of fish we observed on this temporary stroll!

Our water villa was the sixth from the suitable within the photograph under which meant we didn’t must stroll as effectively a lot which suited us flawlessly! We fell in adore with our water villa the second we noticed it and in our upcoming submit I’m more likely to be sharing all of the pics and unbelievable extras which arrived with our ingesting water villa! We’ve got been lucky sufficient to proceed to be in some very great locations across the whole world, however I really have no idea if we’ll ever regulate to greatest our h2o villa at LUX*.

The second we skilled checked out our water villa and I’d managed to a bit calm my pleasure and cease squealing, we made the choice to have a look at out the island and of program have some cocktails! Once we have been being trying into which resort to order, we seen a ton of resorts by no means begin off the all inclusive bundle till the afternoon/time for supper and end at 12pm in your remaining working day. Our flights to the Maldives arrived early within the early morning and our flight dwelling wasn’t till ultimately late at night time time and so we have been being actually happy to see that LUX* begins off your all-inclusive deal from the minute you arrive till the second you go away in your seaplane!

Our to begin with halt was Lagoon Bar! We favored the laid-back beachy vibe at Lagoon Bar and the chilled-out tunes they performed! Lagoon Bar was undoubtedly one explicit of our widespread wining and consuming venues all via the 7 days and it was one in every of Dan’s favourites on the island, primarily because of the truth of all the surfboards. It was under that I uncovered my favourite cocktail, the Pineapple and Passionfruit Margarita mmmmmm! I can’t inform you how quite a few I had at some stage in the 7 days, however I’ll inform you that they’re splendidly refreshing and candy!

After a number of cocktails at Lagoon Bar we wandered up by means of the island to our up coming finish, Veli Bar! Under we had a mouth watering lunch and an excellent deal far more cocktails! Veli Bar can also be an extra really neat bar which is open all through the daytime for drinks and meals stuff. It was by the island’s most vital pool and was the best place to swim, drink and dine devoid of getting to maneuver extra than a handful of metres… discuss relaxation!

Quickly after lunch, we headed again to get pleasure from our ingesting water villa and have our first dip in each of these our infinity pool and the Maldivian waters! We have been being in actually like with the Maldives from the minute we arrived and instantly after investing our preliminary few hrs trying out a few of the island and indulging in tasty meals stuff and cocktails, we understood that we by no means wished to go away!

Hold an eye fixed out for our up coming put up precisely the place we’ll be displaying you thru our epic overwater villa, whole with personal infinity pool and cinema!

Have we satisfied you to extend the Maldives to your bucket file?

from Cheapr Travels https://ift.tt/2DSzeEc via https://ift.tt/2NIqXKN

[topfygad]

Arriving at LUX* South Ari Atoll Maldives

Proper after a whirlwind tour of Sri Lanka, we boarded our hour flight to Male, the money of the Maldives, or as I prefer to cellphone it, Heaven on Earth! The Maldives have continuously been my greatest honeymoon place and it nearly didn’t come to really feel precise to final however not least be there! I basically skilled butterflies as I used to be so excited to be trying out (and honeymooning) in a spot which has been at one of the best of my bucket itemizing for so long as I can keep in mind. For our honeymoon we had wholly splurged and booked 7 nights at LUX* South Ari Atoll in an individual of their Intimate Pool H2o Villas. I actually do not take into account I’ll at any time neglect a second of our seaplane tour in extra of the beautiful islands and atolls of the Maldives, to touchdown at LUX* and observing our overwater bungalow for the beautiful very first time. The Maldives have been being honestly probably the most magical of honeymoon locations and each equally of us have agreed quite a few cases contemplating the truth that that it was actually value each single cent for a honeymoon working expertise in paradise that we are going to positively certainly not neglect about.

LUX* offers its firm the usage of their private lounge on the Male Worldwide Airport seaplane terminal though prepared to your seaplane. Our pretty LUX* host who fulfilled us on the airport swiftly checked us in for our seaplane flight previous to whisking us to the lounge. It was the proper spot to unwind following travelling and a style of what was to come back on the trip resort. The lounge is beautiful, vibrant and trendy with complementary selfmade sandwiches, desserts, macarons and different sweets in addition to modern espresso and a great deal of different drinks. There are additionally showers and loos so you may clean up, and simply take complete fringe of the outstanding lotions, scrubs and sprays from the LUX* spa line. We felt splendidly pampered and refreshed by the point we’ve been known as for our seaplane.

The seaplane trip from Velana Worldwide Airport with Trans Maldivian Airways was an working expertise we’ll always remember! Trans Maldivian Airways basically function the best fleet of seaplanes on this planet which we’ve been really amazed by. I consider the pilots must have an individual of the perfect positions within the atmosphere, all of them have on shorts, are generally barefoot and get to journey all above this excellent area each single single working day!

The flight from Male to LUX* took about half an hour and each 2nd of the journey was breathtakingly pretty as we flew in extra of the atolls and islands of the Maldives. Seaplane transfers aren’t low-cost however they’re effectively value it and are additionally the quickest mode of transportation to your trip resort! For our return flights to LUX* we paid USD$449 every particular person. It is usually important to keep up in ideas that the seaplanes are little and in the event you actually do not stay inside simply the bags restriction of 20kg for each human being for checked baggage + 5kg for hand baggage then you may be charged for each single further kilogram of bags.

About 30 minutes quickly after utilizing off we started to descend and earlier than lengthy might see LUX* island! We have been being now in awe of the overwater bungalows and I feel I actually squealed after we noticed all the employees members lined up on the jetty waving to our seaplane! We shortly recognized out that LUX* has over 300 personnel, they usually have workforce from virtually each single state in the whole world, all of whom are extraordinary and went over and previous to ensure we had the best proceed to be!

As you may see we have been being fairly stoked to have lastly arrived!

We happy Daisy who checked us in and ran us by means of each factor we wished to know in regards to the island, the holiday resort and most significantly, our all-inclusive package deal deal! As soon as we ended up checked in we have been taken all through the overwater walkways to the overwater bungalows! The h2o was so stunningly blue and crystal very clear and we couldn’t think about what number of fish we observed on this temporary stroll!

Our water villa was the sixth from the suitable within the photograph under which meant we didn’t must stroll as effectively a lot which suited us flawlessly! We fell in adore with our water villa the second we noticed it and in our upcoming submit I’m more likely to be sharing all of the pics and unbelievable extras which arrived with our ingesting water villa! We’ve got been lucky sufficient to proceed to be in some very great locations across the whole world, however I really have no idea if we’ll ever regulate to greatest our h2o villa at LUX*.

The second we skilled checked out our water villa and I’d managed to a bit calm my pleasure and cease squealing, we made the choice to have a look at out the island and of program have some cocktails! Once we have been being trying into which resort to order, we seen a ton of resorts by no means begin off the all inclusive bundle till the afternoon/time for supper and end at 12pm in your remaining working day. Our flights to the Maldives arrived early within the early morning and our flight dwelling wasn’t till ultimately late at night time time and so we have been being actually happy to see that LUX* begins off your all-inclusive deal from the minute you arrive till the second you go away in your seaplane!

Our to begin with halt was Lagoon Bar! We favored the laid-back beachy vibe at Lagoon Bar and the chilled-out tunes they performed! Lagoon Bar was undoubtedly one explicit of our widespread wining and consuming venues all via the 7 days and it was one in every of Dan’s favourites on the island, primarily because of the truth of all the surfboards. It was under that I uncovered my favourite cocktail, the Pineapple and Passionfruit Margarita mmmmmm! I can’t inform you how quite a few I had at some stage in the 7 days, however I’ll inform you that they’re splendidly refreshing and candy!

After a number of cocktails at Lagoon Bar we wandered up by means of the island to our up coming finish, Veli Bar! Under we had a mouth watering lunch and an excellent deal far more cocktails! Veli Bar can also be an extra really neat bar which is open all through the daytime for drinks and meals stuff. It was by the island’s most vital pool and was the best place to swim, drink and dine devoid of getting to maneuver extra than a handful of metres… discuss relaxation!

Quickly after lunch, we headed again to get pleasure from our ingesting water villa and have our first dip in each of these our infinity pool and the Maldivian waters! We have been being in actually like with the Maldives from the minute we arrived and instantly after investing our preliminary few hrs trying out a few of the island and indulging in tasty meals stuff and cocktails, we understood that we by no means wished to go away!

Hold an eye fixed out for our up coming put up precisely the place we’ll be displaying you thru our epic overwater villa, whole with personal infinity pool and cinema!

Have we satisfied you to extend the Maldives to your bucket file?

source http://cheaprtravels.com/arriving-at-lux-south-ari-atoll-maldives/