#And the towns under the city's purview

[radiates-confusion]

When you're sat here slowly but surely planning an underground organisation, realising either you're gonna be up way later than is appropriate for having work in around 12 hours, or you're not gonna have enough time to finish this before you're onto 3 days for a daily prompt instead of two

(All the Day 3:Agent related stuff is apparently in the tags..... This was not initially intentional.)

[curseofthebloodcountess]

I need to organize my thoughts on Immol. I am requesting that my players not read below the cut (unless they intend to help me world build).

Immol Overview:

Immol is a mountain city between Krezk and Tsolenka Pass, which has flourished under Strahd's vampirism. Run by the first vampire spawn, Burgomaster Dagmar Olyavna, Immol has cultivated a special relationship with Ravenloft. Think of it as the New York City to Barovia Village's Washington DC. It's not the capital, but it's the city everyone knows. Granted, Immol is also host to Strahd's westernmost military outpost, Sturmhold Keep, and is part-military base, part-occupied territory, so...

There is a caste system in place, which puts vampires/vampire spawn at the top, followed by dhampir, then Vistani, then Barovian humans, then non-native Barovian refugees/expats/communities. Immol is divided into districts along these lines. Sturmhold Keep, the western part of the city, is populated by vampires (vampire spawn), and is under the rule of Vasili von Holtz. To the north, the Mage District, is overseen by Strahd's bride, Ludmilla Visilvec. The central, eastern and southern portions of the city - Ravnovasie, Krovavy Dvor, Kopka/Old Town, and Blood Market - fall under Dagmar's purview. The Elbrak RIver cuts across the southern part of the city and marks a natural border between the vampiric city and those beyond. South of the river, two communities flourish in very different ways. To the southwest, Bishtograd thrives as a semi-permanent Vistani settlement. To the southeast, Soltoska, the Adventurers' District, merges foreign traditions with a Barovian way of life.

Unlike other settlements in Barovia, Immol encourages trade with other Domains, produces goods in Gothic noir factories, and bows to Strahd's will without significant defiance. It is not a paradise, however. Non-vampire citizens live in fear of monthly, government-sanctioned attacks. Colloquially called The Banquet, vampire and dhampir residents are absolved of violent crime in order to satiate their hunger. Non-vampiric residents barricade themselves indoors or sell their bodies on the eponymously named Blood Market. The Mage District's Academy is always in search of talented mages - some for recruitment, some for experimentation, and some for execution for unlawful use of magic. It is rumored that Lady Ludmilla employs Ba'al Verzi assassins as mage slayers. She collaborates with Sturmhold Keep to create dhampirs for the Barovian Military, which in turn, makes becoming a dhampir a tempting and deadly prospect for the average human who dreams of climbing the social ladder. Soldiers from Sturmhold Keep are sent to mysterious lands, sent around the Barovian Valley to keep peace, and on dozens of other missions, but every one of them has survived Shatterpoint - brutal training grounds at the base of Mount Ghakis. Humans and their ilk work in dangerous conditions in Kopka's factories. The life offered in Soltoska lures some in, but their leader, Father Wobakov, is said to be charming and mad.

Notable Locations:

The Academy: Ludmilla's wizard tower stands tall above the city of Immol and is the first thing that greets travelers along the main road. It sits atop a subterranean school of magic, The Academy, which hosts a limited number of students. Mages must register with the Academy and be counted for a yearly census. The numbers almost always stay exactly the same: for every new mage registered, a less talented one is culled. The mages train to serve Barovia in various ways. Those with lasting value are given the gift of dhampirism or (more rarely) vampirism. All mages live in hope for such a blessing.

Heldenhein - The resting place of the army of the Order of the Silver Dragon. These catacombs serve as a reminder to all who enter Immol what fate awaits those who dare to stand up against Strahd. However, there is a clear respect for the resting knights, which reminds even those most opposed to Strahd that she is nothing if not just.

The Cathedral of Shadows: This imposing cathedral once housed a temple to Mother Night before the devotees of the Lady of Shadows drove them out. A popular religion in Immol, worship of the Lady of Shadows includes the reverence of Strahd von Zarovich as the Lady's prophet.

Central Square: The town square is a place where all can gather and the different classes mingle in local businesses and entertainment venues. However, the fountain of blood at the town's heart serves as a stark reminder of who is in charge.

Burgomaster's Manor: Dagmar Olyavna's home suffers from the consequence of having survived centuries of remodeling and fashion. It is large, due to extensions placed on it over time, but its heart has humble beginnings.

Sturmhold Keep: This fortress once belonged to the dragon, Argynvost. When Strahd's forces conquered this final outpost, Strahd took the fortress for herself and named it for her brother, Sturm. It is now run by General Vasili von Holtz, who strives to emulate Strahd's rule at Ravenloft. The son of Anastrasya Karelova and her long-dead, mortal husband, Vasili is the first dhampir and eager to prove his worth to Strahd.

Dawnspire / The Refuge: The Church of the Morning Lord in Immol is run by Father Wobakov. Its architecture hints at non-Barovian origins and the mixing of traditions within the walls. Father Wobakov has some fierce and incorrect beliefs which he is eager to share with anyone who comes in the church's doors.

The Lion's Den Pub: Once a grand manor owned by Leo DIlisnya, the Lion's Den Pub has become a haven for fallen adventurers and their descendants who want to trade news and stories and who especially want to stick it to Strahd.

Veiloro: The Vistani name for the portal between Barovia and other Dark Domains which exists at the edge of Immol.

Miscellaneous Facts

The Barovian military trains and utilizes native mammoths for warfare.

The Vistani of Bishtograd often directly serve Ravenloft in ways other Vistani do not. Those who do not partake in politics tend to keep herds of reindeer, yak, or sheep or participate in inter-dimensional trade.

The Vistani seers of Bishtograd are descended from Ludmilla Visilvec's line.

Residents of Soltoska often have a mix of non-human heritages added to whatever Barovian heritage they have.

The monthly Banquet serves as vampiric catharsis and social reinforcement of the pecking order. However, wealthy vampires and dhampirs offer considerable pay to humans willing to serve as the main course in their homes. Rumors of blood, sex, and other debauchery make these events intriguing; the gold makes them enticing. It is considered an honor to be the banquet at a fine house, none finer than the Burgomaster's Manor itself.

[panickedpenguin]

Okay so Neil Hargrove was an armorer for a prevailing city, now on the run from bad rumor and maybe the law, when he takes up the job once more at the tiny town of Hawkins. He has his eldest child assist him as his wife and daughter take up mending and dying of cloth. In the big city, the eldest, Billy Hargrove, was able to assist a cohort of armorers all working under the guild, but in this tiny town of horse shit and rotting teeth Billy is forced to live completely under his father's thumb. This brings him daily torment and abuse, along with public shaming when Neil's mediocre work begins to show.

Philip, Duke of Harrington and owner of all the lands for miles to see, goes to visit this new addition to the town. He is pleased to have such a practiced specialist among his small town, deciding to bring along his newly eligible son to watch how his business is done.

And so the Harrington men go the Hargrove armory. Neil trips over himself to prove his worth to the Duke, displaying his best work and repeatedly smacking his son aside with a small hammer. The Duke barely speaks as he witnesses all this, only purviewing the work being done, until he interrupts the armorer's rambling to ask:

"Is the boy for sale?"

A frozen moment of shock passes over the four men present before Neil quickly denies the question and states he could never sell his own blood!

The Duke nods before asserting his need for a personal attendant, as his previous one had aged out, and he couldn't help but notice how strong the boy was while doing nothing but hindering Mr. Hargrove's work. Being the attendant of a Duke is certainly profitable and owed a favor or two, he goes on to say, while Neil is tight lipped and fuming.

Billy himself has staggered back a step and trained his eyes instead on the Duke's horse, tied to the post behind them. He is horrified to realize all too soon that his father would absolutely sell him for a pretty penny, let alone for ample employment to his benefit. He is angry and hurting and wondering if he has anything to even pack.

Stephen Harrington, the Duke's only son and beloved heir to the land, is horrified himself at his father's words, for the absolute insolence of proposing slavery but also for the mere thought of bringing such a strapping young beast to his doorstep, to have the opportunity for Steve to drool over those curls and biceps and thighs every single day??? What an atrocity!

[inposterumcumgaudio]

penelope snug!

So officially, it seems Penelope Snug is supervisor of motilene infrastructure while Jim Watt is in charge of motilene acquisition. However, we have communications between Jim and the boys in the Barrow Holm hatch, who would seem to fall under Penelope's purview if that were true. (See my theory about early motilene distribution and why Barrow Holm has motilene at all). Jubilator operation and maintenance also seems to be run out of the Motilene Control HQ, even though you would think that would fall more under the Doctors' oversight since Jubilators were invented to relieve them of corpse collection duties. Very tangled system of duties and obligations.

Penelope also maintains an office in the Parade District Document Control, oddly enough. Perhaps this means her position is higher than implied, that she oversees broader civil engineering and not just motilene.

In her office, she has three bowler hats.

Imagine! A lady in a council worker's uniform topped off with a bowler hat. That's a look! I eagerly await the fanart concepts.

I think this is one of those things that evolved and got muddy over time, that Penelope might have been meant to be in charge of one thing and kept getting subbed in to others. Penelope also makes me think a lot of BioShock 2's "Big Kate" O'Malley, who is also a supervisor of civic works in Rapture and the first person you find an audio diary from in that game. Parallels are often drawn between We Happy Few and BioShock but I would almost think Penelope could have been an homage.

A thing I think is interesting in comparing the two though is that Rapture did not set out with a specific intent of gender equality but ended up with it by selectively choosing the best people in every field regardless of it. In Wellington Wells, however, that women are able to achieve such high positions in the town is due to its inability to choose from only men. The town suffers shortages in nearly every way, but this also presents opportunity for those who would otherwise be overlooked.

Her correspondence with Verloc shows that the two of them are on a first name basis (Anton, though, not Tony). He even invites her and her husband Richard (whose name he knows and remembers) to dinner, which tells us he can cook. I rather would have liked to think that anyway, since cooking is just chemistry in another room, but he wouldn't be inviting people over if he couldn't.

Funnily enough, the one note we have from Penelope to Victoria lacks both a greeting and a signature, but Penelope does know specifically that Prudence Holmes is on holiday. So it means either Penelope and Victoria are so friendly as to dispense with formalities in their coorespondance... or Penelope considers this to be an interdepartmental memo... to a subordinate. Which, if she's in charge of document control as well might make sense.

The government hierarchy tree in How to be Happy is actually more of an inbred circle so make what you want of that.

Lastly, Penelope's note to Thomas Horner gives us a bit of nuance as to how she runs her crew.

So Thomas is running Jubilator Jousting tournaments on the off hours, which is a misuse of city property that perhaps Penelope was overlooking (and participating in) because it's good for morale. There's a lot of other morale initiatives happening in the Motilene Control HQ so this would seemingly fall under her interests and as long as it's not hurting anyone or getting out and making her look bad...

The problem occurs when Peter Thump loses during the Grand Derby and won't settle his unpaid debts. And this is interesting because in this scene, you're supposed to sympathize with Peter, right? He's being chased by a maniac in a Jubilator, of course he's in the right. But with the knowledge that he's ratted Thomas out not because he owes him money, but because he's not being allowed to bet further until he pays up... It's such a small side story, but it's very indicative of my larger point I'm always trying to make here, that what you're told is never exactly as one side presents it.

Anyway, so Peter rats Thomas out to Penelope and now that there's notes about it, it has become a problem. So Penelope does the only face-saving thing to be done, which is promote Peter to shut him up and tell Thomas to quit with the tournaments.

So Peter has not only fucked Thomas out the money he already owed, but also out of further profits from the tournaments, and presumably a pay raise that would have come along with his missed promotion.

He is a rotten swot, honestly.

And this puts Penelope in an unfortunate situation too because she knows what the actual haps is probably, but this is the bind they are in now. Whether she wants to side with Thomas on this or not, her hands are tied. And what's funny too is, Peter is lying about not being involved with the jousting at all - it's "Other people's money, I mean. I never bet myself." - so Thomas can only lie about being completely innocent of hosting the tournaments in the first place. To which Penelope replies that "If you persist in proclaiming your innocence, then I suppose I don't owe you 10 quid for the Grand Derby, do I?"

Thomas also lets us in on a bit of the discussion had about this:

"Come on! Let's have a "conversation." I'm sorry, no, a constructive, let's have a "constructive conversation." Has my work been "slipping"? Oh no? It's just that I've "failed to improve as much as we would have hoped"? Who the hell is "we" anyways? Have you got an invisible friend, or are you now the Queen of the bloody Pipes?"

Penelope is at home placing wagers on the destruction of her work equipment along with her crewman, but is also fluent in euphemistic (if a bit anachronistically modern) corporate-speak.

I do think the record-keeping is the thing here. If not for Wellington Wells' dependence on written notes, Penelope might have gotten away with firing Peter or transferring him to another department due to "poor culture fit".

[underwentrpg]

SHIFTERS

This earth that has loaned her inhabitants the gift of life itself comes to gift another boon. There are some on this plane who had been blessed with the ability of wearing another guise. The earth, ever-wise in her dealings, have made it so that the person given unto the gift of shifting could only have a guise suitable to their local ecology. Gulch City, having been desert, is home to a sizeable population of shifters whose guises run the gamut of rattlesnakes, coyotes, foxes, wolves, falcons, and other such species endemic to the lands of Nuwuvi people.

VAMPIRES

Before the Fall, the vampires of Gulch City had been subject to the constraints of their physiology, their activities mostly restricted in the nighttime hours. Yet, with the City submerged into an eternal dark, the only lights remaining those powered by steam and early electricity, the vampires found themselves able to flourish more freely in this new environment. Yet with this newfound freedom comes a bane: the cover of eternal night has seemingly made some of their number more brazen, with more and more corpses turning up drained of their blood. Soon, it will reach a breaking point. Soon, questions will have to be asked. For now, however, there is no greater feeling than the unravelling of oneself, at long last.

UNDEAD

Deep beneath the earth, with the city under the careful purview of the Haunted Ones, there are more things in heaven and earth than can be conceived of in one's philosophies. It wasn't too obvious at first. What flukes happened could have been chalked up to miraculous recoveries, a wrong diagnosis by an over-earnest doctor, or perhaps just a miracle one ought not to question too deeply. Yet it kept happening and happening and happening, until people were finally forced to accept this incredible truth: the dead don't remain dead and come back to life — if you can call this twisted, liminal sort of existence life.

WIXENFOLK

There have always been strange magics at work ever since the beginning of man, always carefully hidden by folks who knew to keep their heads down and mind their own business. Some say they have been in this town since the very beginning, for surely the exponential rate of growth and development that the city's experienced couldn't be anything less than magical. Yet, whatever their reasons for hiding, they all now stand as one, having stepped into the light and being the first of the supernaturals to announce to this strange city that there was more to it than meets the eye.

[abrasiveengineers]

Shaping the Infrastructure of Our World: The Essential Field of Civil Construction work

Within the broad realm of construction, civil construction is an essential discipline that shapes the infrastructure that sustains our everyday existence. One of the top providers of civil construction work in India, AEPL (Abrasive Engineers Pvt. Ltd.), is essential in turning designs into the concrete buildings that characterize our towns and cities. This article examines the importance of civil construction under AEPL, emphasizing their knowledge, dedication to quality, and important roles in creating a better society.

Why the Civil Construction work of AEPL is famous 

Laying the Groundwork for Progress: Civil construction work is the planning, designing, and building of the many facilities that support our society. Building the infrastructure necessary for development and connectivity, civil construction is in charge of creating everything from highways, bridges, and railroads to airports, water reservoirs, and sewage networks.  With its vast experience and knowledge, AEPL is essential to the building of these important structures.

Professionalism and Expertise: Because of these qualities, AEPL is a well-known and respected name in the civil construction industry. The organization is proud of its highly qualified engineering team, which is proficient in several areas such as architectural and conceptual design, project management, interior design, repairs, and restoration. Every project is handled with accuracy and attention to detail because to AEPL's thorough approach and dedication to excellence.

Comprehensive Services: A wide range of tasks fall under the purview of AEPL's civil construction work .The business manages every step of the building process, including engineering, designing, drawing, implementing, operating, and maintaining. AEPL's all-inclusive services encompass all necessary elements to realize a project, guaranteeing a smooth and effective construction process for its patrons.

Collaborative Approach: AEPL values cooperation and keeps a close relationship with its clients. Taking into account the client's vision, needs, and preferences, the organization actively involves them throughout the project. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of ownership and satisfaction by guaranteeing that the final product meets the client's expectations. AEPL distinguishes itself as an industry leader by comprehending and incorporating client needs.

Innovation and Quality: AEPL consistently aims to provide innovative and high-quality civil construction work projects. The organization strives to remain innovative by utilizing state-of-the-art technologies, contemporary building methods, and environmentally friendly practices to provide outstanding outcomes. In addition to guaranteeing effective building procedures, AEPL's dedication to innovation helps to create long-lasting constructions.

Safety and Compliance: At AEPL, we take great pride in providing a safe working environment for our stakeholders and employees. Safety is a major priority in the field of civil construction work. The organization follows tight safety guidelines and rules, putting in place stringent controls to reduce risks and dangers. AEPL establishes a safe environment where projects may be finished without sacrificing quality or the well-being of workers by placing a high priority on safety and compliance.

Contributing to the Future: Beyond building actual structures, AEPL's role in civil construction work is about influencing the course of history. By their initiatives, AEPL helps to build infrastructure that is resilient, sustainable, and well-designed to satisfy the demands of both the present and the future generations. By emphasizing eco-friendly methods and utilizing new technology, AEPL contributes significantly to creating a better world for everybody.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, civil construction work is an essential sector that shapes our world's infrastructure, and AEPL is a specialist in it. AEPL creates institutions that unite communities and promote progress by means of their professionalism, experience, all-inclusive services, and cooperative approach. AEPL remains dedicated to fostering a future in which the built environment and the natural world coexist peacefully, via its commitment to innovation, quality, safety, and sustainability. The influence AEPL has had in the civil construction industry is evidence of their commitment to creating a better future for everybody.

[currenthunt]

Supreme Court has approved the Shimla Development Plan 2041

Supreme Court has approved the Shimla Development Plan 2041 that is aimed at regulating construction activities in Himachal Pradesh’s capital city, terming it Sustainable. Shimla Development Plan 2041 - The draft Development Plan for the Shimla Planning Area 2041 was published in February 2022. - The development plan has been prepared by the Town and Country Planning Department of Himachal Pradesh under the AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) sub-scheme of the Government of India. - The plan is GIS (Geographic Information System)-based. It covers Shimla Municipal Corporation and its adjoining areas under the provisions of the Himachal Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act, 1977. - The plan states that “town planning does not come under the purview of NGT”. Background of Legal Battles - The initial approval for the plan was granted by the previous state government in February 2022. - However, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) intervened and issued stay orders in May 2022, terming the plan illegal and in conflict with earlier orders passed in 2017. - The NGT’s 2017 verdict had prohibited construction on buildings above two floors and the attic floor in the Shimla planning area. - The NGT found the scheme violated the ban by allowing more floors and new constructions in restricted areas. The NGT warned of damage to law, environment and public safety if the state continued. - The state government appealed to the Supreme Court, and in May 2023, the Supreme Court directed the government to address objections to the draft development plan and issue a final plan within six weeks. Supreme Court’s Ruling - In January, 2024, the SC gave its approval to the Shimla Development Plan 2041, setting aside the previous orders of the NGT, stating that it was beyond the jurisdiction of the tribunal to direct the state government on how to formulate the development plan. - The court mentioned that the NGT cannot dictate the state government's formulation of the plan but can scrutinize the plan on its merits. - The court acknowledged that the 2041 development plan appears to be balanced and sustainable, but it emphasized that parties are still open to challenging specific aspects of the plan on their merits. National Green Tribunal - It is a specialized body set up under the National Green Tribunal Act (2010) for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources. - With the establishment of the NGT, India became the third country in the world to set up a specialized environmental tribunal, only after Australia and New Zealand, and the first developing country to do so. - The NGT Act provided a specialized role to the tribunal to act on issues where a dispute arose under seven specified laws (mentioned in Schedule I of the Act): The Water Act 1974, The Water Cess Act 1977, The Forest Conservation Act 1980, Air Act 1981 , Environment Protection Act 1986, Public Liability Insurance Act 1991 and the Biological Diversity Act 2002. - NGT is mandated to make disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing the same. - The NGT has five places of sittings, New Delhi is the Principal place of sitting and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai are the other four. - The Tribunal is headed by the Chairperson who sits in the Principal Bench and has at least ten but not more than twenty judicial members and at least ten but not more than twenty expert members. - Decisions of the Tribunal are binding. The Tribunal has powers to review its own decisions. If this fails, the decision can be challenged before the Supreme Court within ninety days. Read the full article

[tjmondigo]

ISRAEL VS PALESTINE

So first let's talk about what is happening between israel vs palestine

Early in October 2023, Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist organization in charge of Gaza since 2006, went to war. Along with murdering and injuring hundreds of soldiers and civilians, Hamas fighters invaded southern Israeli cities and villages across the Gaza Strip border and fired rockets into Israel. They also took scores of hostages. Israel was caught off guard by the strike, but it soon launched a lethal counterattack. The Israeli cabinet officially declared war on Hamas the day after the attack on October 7, and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were then given orders by the defense minister to impose a "complete siege" on Gaza. Since then, Israel has ordered the evacuation of over a million Palestinian inhabitants, and the two sides have engaged in regular rocket exchanges.

https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/israeli-palestinian-conflict

Religion

ISRAEL

As of 2018, the vast majority of Israelis (74.3%) identify as Jewish, with Muslims (17.8%), Christians (1.9%), Druze (1.6%), and people of other religions (4.4%) following closely behind. Israel is the only nation where the majority of people identify as Jewish. Israel is home to a variety of Christian and Jewish faiths, while the majority of Muslims identify with the Sunni tradition. Israel is home to about 41% of the world's Jewish population. It is rare for members of Israel's major religions to convert; instead, individuals who identify as Jews, Muslims, Christians, or Druze almost always stick with the faith they were raised in.

https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/israeli-culture/israeli-culture-religion

PALESTINE

All Palestinians, including those who reside abroad, are Muslims. On an identification card issued by the Israeli government, every resident of the Palestinian Territories must indicate their religion. This document states that 98% of Palestinians identify as Sunni Muslims.1 Christianity is the main minority religion, with an estimated 52,000 Palestinian Christians thought to have resided in the occupied territories as of 2013.2 It is also believed that the number of religiously unaffiliated Palestinians (i.e. atheist or agnostic) in the West Bank and Gaza is very small.

https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/palestinian-culture/palestinian-culture-religion

BORDER

ISRAEL / PALESTINE

The Green Line, which technically divides Israel from the West Bank and was also established during the 1949 Rhodes Armistice Talks, which were held between Israel and Jordan, is commonly viewed as the default border between Israel and a future Palestinian state. The border, which was the first official political division of land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, was superimposed onto the landscape and reflected the outcome of the war. Some adjustments were also made, particularly in the Wadi Ara region to allow Israel to maintain a territorial link between the coastal towns and Afula.

https://fathomjournal.org/demarcating-the-israeli-palestinian-border/

TERRITORY

ISRAEL

The West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip are included in the Occupied Territories, which are under the legal control of Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), with much of the region being under both parties' purview. Violence between Palestinians and Israeli security forces continued in Israel, Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. The PA Basic Law, which serves as an interim constitution, declares Islam as the official religion but asks for respect of "all other divine religions." In the course of the year, attacks outside the Green Line in Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank claimed the lives of 91 Palestinians and eight Israelis.

https://www.state.gov/reports/2016-report-on-international-religious-freedom/israel-and-the-occupied-territories/israel-and-the-occupied-territories-the-occupied-territories/

PALESTINE

The West Bank, which includes East Jerusalem, and Gaza make up the OPT. In the OPT, there are about 4.5 million Palestinians (2.7 million in the West Bank and 1.8 million in Gaza). In order for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to be realized, a sovereign and unified Palestinian state based on the pre-June 1967 lines (the borders that existed before Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza in June 1967) would be established on this territory, with East Jerusalem serving as its capital.

https://ecfr.eu/special/mapping_palestinian_politics/opt/

RESOURCES

ISRAEL

Potash, bromine, and magnesium are examples of mineral resources; the latter two come from the Dead Sea's waters. Phosphates and trace amounts of gypsum are found in the Negev, copper ore is found in the arava, and minor marble is found in Galilee. Small oil resources have been discovered in the northern Negev and south of Tel Aviv since Israel started limited petroleum exploration in the 1950s. In addition, the nation has natural gas reserves offshore in the Mediterranean and in the northern Negev, northeast of Beersheba.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Israel/Economy

PALESTINE

Natural resources abound throughout historic Palestine, including fresh and ground water, arable land, and wildlife. land and, more recently, natural gas and oil. Seven decades have passed since Israel's founding as a nation. These resources have been misused and corrupted in a number of ways. These include common Land theft by the Palestinians during the ongoing Nakba, water exploitation as a result of failed negotiations, and a When gas or oil is discovered in or under occupied land, finders-keepers law applies.

ORIGIN OF THE PEOPLE

ISRAEL

Abraham founded the idea that there is just one God, the universe's creator, which is where the people of Israel (also known as the "Jewish People") derive from (see Torah). The patriarchs of the Israelites are described as Abraham, his son Yitshak (Isaac), and his great-grandson Jacob (Israel).

https://www.science.co.il/israel-history/#:~:text=The%20people%20of%20Israel%20(also,the%20patriarchs%20of%20the%20Israelites.

PALESTINE

The enormous political changes and battles that brought this tiny territory to the attention of the world have had a significant impact on the social geography of modern Palestine, particularly the region west of the Jordan River. Israeli Jews made up nearly half of the population west of the Jordan at the beginning of the twenty-first century, with Palestinian Arabs (Muslim, Christian, and Druze) and other smaller minorities making up the remainder. Despite the fact that millions of immigrants have come since the State of Israel's inception in 1948, the Jewish population is becoming more and more made up of people who were born in Israel. The majority of the Arab population is descended from Arabs who resided in the region for many centuries before the mandate period and during it.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine

NOVA MUSIC FESTIVAL

One of the initial targets of the historic Hamas ground invasion into Israel was the music festival. It might also be the most lethal. Israel's search and rescue group estimated that there had been at least 260 fatalities.

Additionally, militants carried out raids on neighboring settlements, killing and kidnapping locals—in some cases, entire families—while moving from house to house. More than a full day after the assault started on Sunday afternoon, the Israeli force was still fighting Gaza militants in various locations. Seven hundred people lost their lives in Israel, and more than three hundred more were left critically or badly injured. Israeli airstrikes on Gaza has resulted in about 400 Palestinian deaths.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/when-massacre-came-to-a-music-festival-in-israel

ARE YOU A PRO ISRAEL OR PRO PALESTINE?

I'm a pro israel because first of all hamas people are the one who attached first and there are many theories that hamas or other militant people at palestine are kidnapping people specially girls to undergo terrible experience such as rape, abuse and many more.

[fansplaining]

A Note from Fansplaining

If you’re subscribed to Fansplaining on iTunes or another podcatcher, you’ve probably seen that we put out a short statement this week in lieu of a new episode. Because we’re committed to making all audio we release fully accessible, we’ll transcribe the clip at the bottom of this post, below the cut. But fwiw, it’s mostly just explaining what’s in this post:  

Black lives matter. We condemn white supremacy in all its forms. We believe the police should be defunded and dismantled. And we want to make sure everyone who listens to our podcast knows about ways they can contribute to this fight, and ways they can support the Black community (please note that these are U.S.-centric). We’ll be back with a new episode soon, but this is more important than anything we could say right now.

Places to donate

If you’re out of work or have lost hours in the past few months, you may not have money to spare. But even small donations—$5, $10—add up. A few organizations we recommend: 

House of GG, a Black-led organization, is fundraising to build a permanent home in Little Rock, Arkansas where trans and gender-nonconforming people can both be housed and receive leadership training.

G.L.I.T.S. is fundraising to buy two buildings to create a permanent place to house and support Black trans people in New York City, as well as sign leases for space to use in the interim.

Sista Afya, a Chicago-based organization, is fundraising to keep its therapeutic services, social events, and wellness experiences under $15 and to hold large scale events like a free arts festival.

For a larger crowdsourced list, see suggestions here.

Ways to get involved if you can’t physically or monetarily participate

If, like us, you live in New York City, here’s a great resource for actionable things you can do from home. Here’s a national list, though for more granular detail for your town/city/region, you should search social media. Some great google doc action happening right now!! 

As a reminder, when contacting elected officials: 

Always write your own email, rather than use a form. People who work or have worked in these offices strongly advise this, and report that form emails are regularly filtered out, often directly into the trash. 

Always write a postcard rather than a letter. Letters are scanned for things like anthrax and can get held up for days; postcards go straight through.

Ensure you know the official’s position on whatever you’re asking about before you call or write. If they’re already supporting or sponsoring a specific piece of legislation, call them anyway and thank them. They use constituent numbers to show that their positions have a lot of public support. 

Particularly for white and non-BIPOC: reach out to your family members, as much as you feel safe doing so, and speak with them about Black Lives Matter and the issues of the day. If you have language barriers with your family members, or just need a place to start, Letters For Black Lives is a great resource that includes material in many languages.

Stream this video—all ad revenue will go to bail funds, families of victims of racist police brutality, and other Black-led organizations.

Resources on anti-Blackness and racism in fandom

Because we are a fandom podcast, we encourage white fans in particular to continue to listen to Black fans and other fans of color when it comes to racism in fandom. If you’re new to the podcast or haven’t dug into the full back catalogue, we recommend prioritizing: 

Our pair of episodes on race and racism in fandom—especially anti-Blackness in fandom—featured eight different guests. Episodes 22A and B: “Race and Fandom Part 1” and “Race and Fandom Part 2.”

Ebony Elizabeth Thomas was one of our earliest and one of our most recent repeat guests. You can listen to her talk about race, children’s literature, and fandom in episode 7, “The Dark Fantastic” and episode 120, “Ebony Elizabeth Thomas.” Once you’ve listened to these episodes, buy or request that your library purchase a copy of her book, The Dark Fantastic.

Tanya DePass is the founder of I Need Diverse Games. In episode 42, “Fresh Out of Tokens,” she discussed fan/creator interaction and intersectionality in the context of games specifically. 

Rukmini Pande is a well-known scholar of race and fandom. She first joined us in episode 29, “Shipping and Activism,” to talk about the ways that ships intersect with politics; then, she returned in episode 89, “Rukmini Pande,” and discussed her academic work. Once you’ve listened to these episodes, buy or request that your library purchase a copy of her book, Squee From the Margins.

In episode 48, “Con or Bust,” we interviewed Diana Pho and Mark Oshiro, two board members of Con or Bust, an organization that raises money to help fans of color attend conventions.

For further reading, Fan Studies Network North America has put together a great list of resources.

Transcript

[Intro music: “Awel” by stefsax]

Flourish Klink: Hi, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Minkel: Hi, Flourish.

FK: Welcome to not an episode of Fansplaining. Um, we almost completely canceled recording at all, but we decided that we wanted to record a short thing, because we know some people only receive us through their podcatcher or whatever and don’t ever go to our website or our social media. So it felt important that we actually record something short today.

ELM: All right. So, just off the bat, at the risk of sounding like a terrible brand black .jpg with white letters, I think it should be obvious to everybody right now but it’s always worth restating—Black Lives Matter. We strongly support everything that is happening right now. We both strongly believe that the police should be…what word are we gonna use? Dismantled?

FK: Yes.

ELM: Dismantled. Like, we, like, you know—and like, strongly condemn white supremacy, which is the foundation of our country and much of the world.

FK: Right. So… 

ELM: Very broad statement here, but like, you know, it’s definitely worth stating in explicit terms and not couching it around, you know, just to outright state support for Black people and the fight that is going on right now.

FK: Completely. And we really struggled with whether or not to record an episode because, on the one hand, there’s a lot of topics that we think would be really good to talk about that are within the purview of this podcast—stuff like the way people are using social media to organize, stuff like the entire conversation around K-pop fandom and the way that’s been going down. There’s like five things.

ELM: Spoiler, spoiler: It’s been going down poorly.

FK: Yeah.

ELM: Wait, side note: just anyone, please please please, cause I know a lot of people listen to this podcast and are in fandom but are not in K-pop fandom, if an article that you’re sharing about K-pop fans mobilizing doesn’t acknowledge the, like, rampant anti-Blackness happening within those spaces right now, they haven’t done enough research.

FK: Correct. And also, it’s both that and also if you see the narrative that K-pop fans are only bots, that’s also the other flip bad side of the coin.

ELM: Well, we should—now we’re gettin’ right into it. We’re not actually doing an episode. We’re not actually doing an episode. Yes.

FK: We’re actually gonna talk about this at some point in the future. Right now it feels like, you know, just being two white women talking about this stuff feels like not the thing to do right now? And we also don’t want to right now ask Black people to come on to our podcast and talk about things in a deeply traumatic and horrible moment. So we’re going to put a pin in the podcast and we’re gonna come back with all of those topics and a bunch of guests and basically begin to address this stuff, hopefully in a moment that’s less fraught. Is it ever gonna get less fraught? I don’t know if it’s gonna get less fraught.

ELM: That being said, let’s play it by ear! Because I could not tell you what’s gonna happen two weeks from now, but like… 

FK: [sighs] Yeah, I really don’t know either.

ELM: Just, we’ll see. So in the meantime, we are going to put a post on Tumblr so it’ll be shareable, and we are going to include resources—places to donate, in particular places that aren’t getting as much attention. More grassroots stuff that we’re seeking out right now. And also ways to be active and involved for people who don’t have the money or physical ability to be protesting right now, because I am very aware of the narrative of “You should be in the streets! And if not then you should donate!” And it’s like, well, what happens if you are unemployed and also physically unable to get out there? There are so many ways that you can really be, actively lend your support right now. 

So we’ll put those in there, and then also, we shared on Twitter a thread of great resources about anti-Blackness and racism in fandom, and since this is a fandom podcast we’ll be sharing some of those in that post as well, because it’s all connected.

FK: Absolutely. All right, everyone out there, stay safe, stay strong, if you’re in the streets stay in the streets, and we’ll be back when we can.

ELM: OK, bye Flourish!

FK: Bye, Elizabeth.

[Outro music: “Awel” by stefsax]

[sanders-signs]

Intro Post

(Currently on a bus, but I’ll probably fix this up a bit better once I’m at my laptop again)

Welcome to Galatea! The region boasts a thriving Coordination scene, a robust Ranger presence, and the world’s current largest mountain city. Though lacking in unique standard Pokemon, Galatea has one of the largest groups of Legendaries and pseudo-Legendaries.

The Guardian Trio of Hunt, Harvest, and Hearth helped guide and protect the first towns of the region, as well as inspiring the region‘s spirit of cooperation. On the flip side are The Muses (or Patrons depending on the speaker’s views): a loose group of eight powerful ghost types who spend their time hunting talent and spreading their arts. Much like the fae, they occasionally steal away their favorite; unlike the fae, they have great PR. The seven pseudo-Legendaries technically fall under the purview of The Muses, but many have spent generations mingling with their human neighbors and grown more protective.

[oss-crime]

Chapter 2-Project “Ma” –Eve–; Scene 6

Original Sin Story: Crime, pages 56-69

One of the cities that made up the Twelve Royal Capitals was the city of Asmouse.

This town, managed by senate member Ceci Vaju, was the place where the historical backing of the Twelve Royal Capitals was most pronounced.

The people who had once began the excavation of the god’s legacy in this area—Senator Vaju was a descendant of theirs, and he was also a very passionate researcher of artifacts.

Fumbling for a way to more effectively utilize these artifacts, Senator Vaju founded the Royal Research Institute in Asmouse with permission from the previous queen. He entrusted the position of first director to a friend who shared his passion, Horus Solntse.

As their initial goal implied, the Royal Research Institute’s research wound up contributing greatly to the development of Leviantan engineering, weaponry, and living wares. The artifacts could be made to work with magical power, but Horus and the other researchers progressively discovered more effective operating procedures, and brought yet more glory to the Magic Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Senator Vaju and Horus also used the institute to pursue a different avenue of research.

That was “to deliberately create people who have strong magical abilities”. In other words, it was to make a candidate for the next queen be born under the domain of Senator Vaju, and was also necessary research for him to obtain the position of the next senate head.

But that research had proved to be much rougher going than anticipated, and Horus had passed away from illness before they could achieve any results.

Horus had an adopted son named Adam, and he was, too, a skilled scientist. For that reason he was hired on by Senator Vaju as the new head of the institute, and he also inherited their research—the “Next Queen Project”.

--That “Next Queen Project” had now changed its name to “Project Ma”, and was proceeding under the supervision of Head Senator Miroku.

.

…Most of that was inconsequential to Eve.

The important thing was the fact that Eve was, at present, the strongest candidate they had for “Ma”.

Not having much interest in science herself, Eve could only conclude that the Royal Research Institute was a cold, unappealing place.

“Wish I could have had a more comfortable chair.”

Adam gave a slightly troubled smile at Eve’s complaint, handing her a cup with a liquid in it.

“We’ll give that a fix the next time we’re making a device to test magical ability. But for right now this is all we’ve got…Well, anyway, give this is a drink if you like.”

“…What’s this?”

“It’s a drink called coffee. It’s not spread much outside the capital, so it’s understandable if you’ve never heard of it.”

With Eve’s mood souring more under the impression that she was being made fun of as a country hick, she brought the brown liquid to her lips.

“—It smells good. But it’s a little bitter.”

“It’s got a lot of milk and sugar in it. Drinking it should help you calm down a bit.”

“I think I’d be a lot calmer if I could get these wires off my arms and legs.”

“We need them to get an accurate reading of your magic. …It’ll take a little bit of time, so please try to be patient.”

The measuring device they’d used in the village of Nemu was a simpler, portable model.

Though, it wasn’t the fault of that device that they hadn’t gotten an accurate result back then.

“That spoon…is also extremely curious to me, as a scientist,” Adam said, brandishing the blue spoon that Eve used instead of a staff.

“At a glance it looks like a normal, bland item….But it can increase or decrease the magical ability of its owner at will. In other words it can amplify magic and also temporarily put a seal on it—”

“My mother gave it to me.”

“Did she make it?”

“I don’t know. I never learned that.”

“This might also be a legacy piece…Well, we’ll deal with that later.”

Adam set the spoon on a nearby table, and then drew closer to a large box that was next to the chair Eve was sitting in.

“Well, let’s get started.”

He pushed up a lever that was attached to the box.

Suddenly feeling slightly dizzy, Eve fell back a bit in the chair.

“I’m…a bit nauseous.”

“It’ll go away. We have to check to see if that powerful spell you used in the forest…was because of the spoon, or your own magical ability.”

“How…long will it take?”

“Hmm…About an hour, I think.”

“That long!?”

“It’s not like you have to keep perfectly still the whole time. Though you can’t leave the chair. You can drink coffee, or if you’re hungry I can bring you something to eat.”

“Then—” After looking up at the ceiling for a moment, Eve continued, “Can I talk?”

“With me? …Of course, I don’t mind.”

“Then…I want you to tell me something.”

“What is it?”

“About the ‘Witch of Merrigod’.”

Adam’s expression stiffened. “Why would you want to—”

“She’s the one who murdered the father who raised me. Isn’t it only natural that I would want to know about her?”

“What will you do with this information?”

“…Not sure.”

Eve herself didn’t know the answer to that question.

But—

“I can’t just go on not knowing.”

“…”

“Assuming I’ll become queen someday, I mean.”

“…I see. Yes, perhaps…so.” After gazing fixedly at Eve’s face, Adam steeled himself and then started to talk. “The ‘Witch of Merrigod’—Meta Salmhofer was originally an ‘Ma’ candidate.”

“You told me that earlier. But you said she was discarded for being cruel?”

“Yes. If you go southeast of the capital—far, far further east than the village of Nemu where you live, there is a place called Merrigod Plateau. That area is a dangerous region, used as a stronghold by a certain group.”

“…You mean the ‘red devotees’?”

“No, to be accurate those are little more than a single unit of this group. The name for them as a whole—is ‘Apocalypse’. There are some people who say they’re a simple crew of bandits, and there are others who caution that they’re an anti-social organization that seeks to overthrow the kingdom.”

According to Adam, not even the royal capital’s information bureau knew the true situation.

“What we do know is that the leader of Apocalypse is named ‘Pale Noel’. And that he and Meta are lovers.”

“Pale Noel…”

“His age, his appearance…all of it is unknown. Actually, we don’t even know if he’s really a man. Whatever the case, she’s this person’s girlfriend. We needed to exercise extreme caution even to go see them.”

At the time, Adam, Seth, and a few other researchers had gone to Merrigod Plateau with a peacekeeping force led by Gammon following along.

“But…that was a mistake.”

Adam heaved a great sigh.

“We just ended up provoking them. As a result…a small war broke out on Merrigod Plateau. Though that wasn’t what we scientists had intended at all.”

“But that wasn’t the case with the peacekeeping force and Apocalypse…Right?”

“Indeed. Gammon is always looking for glory. It’s like he’s a big bundle of ambition. Even more so after he became the head of the peacekeeping forces. He likely figured he could use his position as bodyguard to crush Apocalypse.”

But his plan ended in failure.

“Meta is an ‘Inheritor of Gilles’. She controlled the soldiers of the peacekeeping force with her power, and they all started firing at each other. Even us researchers, who they were supposed to be guarding, got caught up in it….We had heavy losses. That’s why the institute is still completely understaffed.”

Eve had come along to the institute with Adam, but now that he mentioned it she realized that she hadn’t seen anyone else up to coming to this room.

“How…many scientists survived?”

Adam spread his arms in a grandiose gesture and replied, “Don’t be surprised. Just me and Seth! Though this facility wasn’t very heavily staffed to begin with.”

“I see…How awful.”

Eve had the home where she’d lived destroyed by Meta.

But Adam too had had his friends murdered.

“Yes…Some of them I got along with quite well, and some I frankly didn’t much care for. But none of them deserved to die like that.”

On seeing Adam’s bitter expression, Eve was reminded of her own grief.

“Hey…Just what is an ‘Inheritor of Gilles’ exactly?” she asked, trying to change the mood.

“R-right…An ‘inheritor’ is, well…To put it simply, it’s someone with ‘supernatural powers’.”

“’Supernatural powers’? Unlike magic?”

“In this country there are people who possess ‘special powers’ different from magical power. For example…the white army. We know from our reports that clan has the power of ‘Inheritors of Salem’, able to wield fire.”

“I see…So that was it.”

Eve had always thought that the white army’s usage of fire was through magic, but it appeared this wasn’t the case.

“Among the white army there are people who are magically impotent—that is, they were born without any ability to use magic at all. And yet despite that they are able to use their fire powers just the same as their fellows. …Though I’ve heard that research into the fundamental theory behind it hasn’t progressed very far at present.”

“Is that research conducted here?”

“No. Research into ‘inheritors’ is the purview of Lighwatch Temple. Sir Yegor Asayev, the head priest, is the expert on it.”

“Wow…”

“So, honestly I don’t actually know that much about ‘Inheritors’. Just that they’re divided up into categories by ability, like ‘Gilles’ and ‘Salem’, and that those are based on the names of the god kin—”

At that moment, the box set next to Eve—the magical ability measuring device, started to faintly shake.

“Hey…Is this working okay?”

Eve pointed to the box.

“Hm? …Oh, that’s fine,” Adam replied, gazing at the symbols that popped up onto the box’s screen. “Would you like some more coffee?” he asked her, turning around and noticing that Eve’s cup was empty.

It was a peculiar drink; Eve didn’t find it all that tasty, and yet she kept bringing it to her lips for some reason.

“Yes, please…But before that, one more question.”

“What is it?”

“…Why did Meta go after my father?”

“…That I don’t know.”

His eyes looked somewhat shifty.

Still, Eve couldn’t tell if Adam was playing dumb or not.

“Well then, a different question.”

“You’ve quite a lot of those. I actually have a lot of things I want to ask you, you know.”

“What does the royal capital…or rather, the military, plan to do about Apocalypse?”

“What do you me—”

“They’ve killed a lot of people, right? The people of the village of Nemu, and the people from this institute…’Sin must be punished’…Even I know the laws of this country.”

“…”

Adam took the cup from Eve and left the room without a word.

--In hardly any time at all, he had returned once more with a cup full of fresh coffee.

“Here you go. I put in more milk than last time.”

“Thanks.”

“…They are to keep careful watch over Apocalypse—That is what the military…or rather, the senate, decided.”

“--! Why!?”

“At present, Apocalypse has done no damage to the Twelve Royal Capitals. For the kingdom, the white army and the others are little more than barbarians at their border. The capital’s protection would be imperiled if they moved their security forces against them any further than they have.”

“So you’re saying that as long as the royal capital is alright, it doesn’t matter what happens to the others?”

“…I’m just a mere scientist. What I’ve told you now is just what I’ve heard from Gammon.”

Even if he was involved in a project of great importance to the country, he wasn’t in any position to say much more on the government outside of that—That’s likely what he meant.

Eve could tell that.

She could, but…

“That’s unreasonable. The ruler of a country needs to understand the suffering of its people…I think now I understand why my father hated politics,” Eve muttered, frustrated.

“…”

Adam looked upon Eve in silence for a short while, but eventually he shifted his gaze to the measuring device.            

Then he took up the piece of paper and quill set on the desk and started to write something down.

--Midway through his work, Adam said, still not looking at Eve, “In that case…You should become the ruler.”

“…”

“It seems you have the qualifications for it.”

“So you mean…I can become queen? Has it come up with a result?”

“No, it’s still measuring, but…At this point I’m already seeing some impressive numbers. I think…your magical ability is much higher than that of your father.”

Even so.

No matter how gifted she was, Eve was still just a simple girl who knew nothing of governance.

Would anything change by someone like her becoming queen?

--Appearing to sense her anxiety, Adam set down the paper and quill and drew close to her.

“It’ll be fine, I know it.”

“…”

“I’m sure you can do it.”

“Can I do anything alone?”

“You’re not alone.”

“My father is dead. And the people of my village are gone. I don’t have anyone—"

“—You have me.”

Adam clasped Eve’s hands in his own.

…She couldn’t bring herself to brush aside the warmth in them.

“Do you dislike me?” Adam asked.

“…If I did, I wouldn’t be cooperating with all this…But, what about you?”

Adam had gotten close with Eve just because she might have had strong magic.

She was just a candidate for queen to him.

That was surely the reason for him being so kind to her like this—

“I wouldn’t be trying to have someone I disliked selected as queen,” Adam said plainly. “You’re an enchanting woman. I’ve thought so since the first time I met you.”

“…Didn’t you stab at me with a sword at first?”

Adam burst out laughing at Eve’s reply. “Pfff…Ah haha, that’s true. Please forgive me for that. I was desperate back then.”

“Are you good with a sword?”

“I’ve only learned enough to defend myself…Ah yes, speaking of swords.”

Adam shifted his gaze to a sword that sat in the corner of the room.

“We ended up bringing that over here.”

It was Raisa’s sword, the one that Gammon had thrown to him in the forest.

“It’s an unusual shape…Its current owner is currently in prison. Not much point in returning it.”

“Raisa is…alive?”

“Just barely. Though even if her wounds are healed, thinking on what she’s done…She’s not likely to avoid an execution.”

“…”

It wasn’t just Raisa.

The Witch of Merrigod Meta, and Pale Noel.

In this world, so much—

Evil had spread.

Even if Eve continued to fire lightning as the “Witch of the Forest”, she could never get rid of it all.

It was impossible for one person.

She would need—much more power.

And for that…

Eve chewed her lip.

.

--As though to mock the resolve that had begun to sprout in Eve’s heart, several days later something happened.

Raisa, the white fiend of Jakoku, escaped from prison.

There was no way that she could have accomplished this herself, being near death.

It was likely that an outside person with influence had pulled some strings.

.

Meanwhile, the magical potential measurement result…was suitable for queen candidacy, just as Adam had predicted.

Her M count was over 350…Eve didn’t know how much exactly, but at the very least it was more than enough to secure the agreement of both Adam and the senate.

And with that result, Eve could smoothly become queen—or so she had thought.

<<prev------directory------next>>

[moteltrogir]

Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka

Architectural Optimism of Bangladesh

Saša Šimpraga, 2021.

Adnan Zillur Morshed is an architect and architectural historian with focus on history and theory of modern architecture and urbanism; global history; urban poverty and spatiality; water and architectural historiography; and ecological urbanism in developing countries. He received his Ph.D. and Master’s in architecture from MIT and completed his pre-doctoral studies at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art and postdoctoral under Verville Fellowship at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. 

Morshed is the author of several books among other: Impossible Heights: Skyscrapers, Flight, and the Master Builder which examines the American fascination with the skyscraper and the airplane as part of a widely shared cultural phenomenon--the aesthetics of ascension--that characterized the interwar period. His books also include DAC, Dhaka through Twenty-Five Buildings. 

He is a professor at the School of Architecture and Planning of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.  

Adnan Morshed is also involved with local and international intiatives on preservation of modernist architectural heritage of Bangladesh. We talk to him on the occasion of current international appeal to save the Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka from demolition.

SŠ: A gem of the Modern Movement in South Asia, The Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka, designed by Daniel Dunham and Robert Boughey in the 1960s is threatened due to the an urban expansion plan of the Dhaka Metro Rail's Line that includes its demolition and replacement by a new infrastructure, rather than its adaptation. What is the significance of the building and its current status?

Adnan Morshed: Kamalapur Railway Station is a rare modern train station in South Asia. It adopts an aesthetic vocabulary of tropical modernism for a public building in ways that have not been seen before in the region. The station’s modernist architecture breaks with colonial precedents both in the imperial center and on the subcontinent. In London, St. Pancras Station (1863–76) encapsulated modern values of mobility and exchange, while the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus; built in 1888 and now a UNESCO World Heritage) in Mumbai and Howrah Station (1906) in Kolkata functioned as symbols of imperial hegemony.

The histories of colonialism and train infrastructure are deeply intertwined in South Asia. In 1862, the Eastern Bengal Railway Company opened the first railway line in the region from which it took its name. Connecting Kolkata with the western Bangladeshi town of Kushtia, this expansion of train services signaled a new phase in the growth of East Bengal’s colonial economy. Due to geographical challenges posed by Bengal's deltaic terrain, the railway did not arrive in Dhaka until the following century, after the city’s economic profile had risen and it was subsequently made, in 1947, the provincial capital of then-East Pakistan. In 1958, the government approved the creation of a new railway depot, which was inaugurated a decade later as Kamalapur Railway Station. Not only was it one of the largest modern railway stations in South Asia, but it also embodied changing conceptions of modernity, from the bracing mobility of 19th-century railways to the soaring modernism that defined the 1960s.

Kamalapur Railway Station, Photo by Anik Sarker/ Wikipedia

SŠ: Also in danger of demolition is the Dhaka University Teacher-Student Center Building by Greek architect Constantinos Doxiadis (the mastermind behind planning the city of Islamabad) from early 1960s. The structure exemplifies a modernist architectural sensitivity toward spatial needs for tropical climatic conditions. TSC's dome-shaped structure with empty spaces around is considered an iconic landmark not only inside Dhaka Uiversity campus, but in the broader cityscape of Dhaka. How optimistic are you about its future? And what is the general status of modernist architectural heritage of Bangladesh?

Adnan Morshed: I am concerned about the mid-20th-century buildings in Bangladesh because of the ways the notion of development is taking precedence over environment, history, and, generally, human wellbeing. Many buildings are about to face the wrecking ball. These buildings include the Teacher-Student Center or TSC. Located at the historic heart of the University of Dhaka, TSC exemplifies a type of tropical modernism that blends local architectural traditions of space-making—particularly the indoor-outdoor continuum and generation of space around courtyards—with the abstract idiom of the International Style. The complex of buildings was designed by the Greek architect, planner, and theoretician Constantinos Apostolos Doxiadis (1913–1975) in the early 1960s. This was a turbulent time marked by conflicting currents of political tension and architectural optimism in what was then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. On the one hand, the two wings of postcolonial Pakistan were at loggerheads because of the political domination of East Pakistan by the military junta based in West Pakistan. On the other hand, many architectural opportunities arose in East Pakistan, which benefitted from American technical assistance. The United States allied with Pakistan as part of its Cold War-era foreign policy to create a geostrategic buffer against the socialist milieu of the Soviet Union–India axis in South Asia. Under the purview of a technical assistance program, the United States Agency for International Development and the Ford Foundation provided support for building educational and civic institutions in East Pakistan. Since there was a dearth of experienced architects in East Pakistan, the government sought the services of American and European architects for a host of buildings that were constructed during the 1960s. Doxiadis was among them.

 TSC, Photo by Fasiha Binte Zaman/ Wikipedia

TSC is also a demonstration of Doxiadis’s idea of ekistics, by which he meant an objective, comprehensive, and integrative approach to all principles and theories of human settlements. Criticizing the top-down planning model which he viewed as a central problem associated with modernism, Doxiadis employed the notion of ekistics to promote a multidisciplinary, inclusive, and bottom-up approach. He hoped that such a method would create a synergy of local and global influences, by which one could successfully meld a data-driven theorization of planning, universal values of harmonious living, and place-based cultural inflections.

In this vein, Doxiadis aligned the TSC’s ensemble of buildings on an east-west axis, to take advantage of the prevailing breeze from the south or north. The three-story Student Union Building features a “double roof” that minimizes heat gain by allowing cool breezes to pass in between the two canopies. The ingenious solution proved to be a trendsetting feature, but it was just one of the complex’s many innovations. Doxiadis covered the auditorium with a reinforced concrete parabolic vault, a pioneering construction technique that had yet to be tested in the country. Covered walkways, supported on steel columns, weave together the major buildings and green spaces, serving as the social spine of the entire complex. In the post-Independence period, TSC became the epicenter of political agitation within Bangladesh, serving as a backdrop to political demonstrations.

SŠ: Pioneer od modernist architecture in Bangladesh, Muzharul Islam, began hes career in the 1950s. Born in 1923, he went to study architecture in the United States, and then returned to Bangladesh. Along with his teacher Louis Kahn, he also brought Paul Rudolph and Stanley Tigerman to work in Bangladesh, and three of them came to be known as the American Trio. Apart from the Trio, it was Islam's style that dominated Bangladesh architecture from 1950s onwards. What is his legacy in architectural history of Dhaka?

Adnan Morshed: Not only was architect Muzharul Islam Bangladesh's pioneering modernist architect, he was also an activist designer who viewed architecture as an effective medium for social transformation. His early work shows how architecture was deeply embedded in post-Partition politics.

Consider his “master piece,” the Faculty of Fine Arts (1953-56) at Shahbagh in Dhaka. At first encounter, the building presents the image of an international-style building, with a quiet and dignified attention to the architectural demands of tropical Bengal. Closer inspection, however, hinders the Eurocentric tendency to measure the building's “modernity” exclusively through a “Western” lens. A host of nuanced architectural modulations and environmental adaptations reveals how Muzharul Islam's work cross-pollinates a humanising, modernist architectural language with conscious considerations of climatic needs and local building materials.

Faculty of Fine Arts, Photo by Rossi101/ Wikipedia

The literature on South Asian modern architecture usually identifies the Faculty of Fine Arts as the harbinger of a Bengali modernism, synthesising a modern architectural vocabulary with climate-responsive and site-conscious design programmes. What has not been examined in this iconic building is how Islam's work also provides a window into the ways his architectural experiments with modernist aesthetics were part of his inquiries into the ongoing politics of Bengali nationalist activism.

Muzharul Islam interpreted the prevailing political conditions in his homeland as a fateful conflict between the secular humanist ethos of Bengal and an alien Islamist identity imposed by the Urdu-speaking ruling class in West Pakistan. The turbulent politics in which he found himself influenced his worldview as well as his fledgling professional career. The young architect began his design career in a context of bitterly divided notions of national origin and destiny, and his architectural work would reflect this political debate. He felt the need to articulate his homeland's identity on ethno-cultural grounds, rather than on a supra-religious foundation, championed by West Pakistani power-wielders. Muzharul Islam's Faculty of Fine Arts embodied these beliefs.

With his iconoclastic building, Islam sought to achieve two distinctive goals. First, the building introduced the aesthetic tenets of modern architecture to East Pakistan. For many, its design signalled a radical break from the country's prevailing architectural language for civic buildings. These buildings were designed either in an architectural hybrid of Mughal and British colonial traditions, popularly known as Indo-Saracenic, or as utilitarian corridor-and-room building boxes, delivered by the provincial government's Department of Communications, Buildings, and Irrigation (CBI). The Faculty of Fine Arts was an unambiguous departure from the colonial-era Curzon Hall (1904–1908) at the Dhaka University, within walking distance of Islam's building, and the Holy Family Hospital (1953; now Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College Hospital).

Faculty of Fine Arts, Photo: Wikipedia

Second, the Faculty of Fine Arts' modernist minimalism—rejecting all ornamental references to Mughal and Indo-Saracenic architecture—was a conscious critique of the politicised version of Islam that had become a state apparatus for fashioning a particular religion-based image of postcolonial Pakistan. By abstracting his design through a modernist visual expression, Muzharul Islam sought to purge architecture of what he viewed as the political associations of instrumental religion.

SŠ: Internationally, perhaps the most known modernist structure in Bangladesh is the National Parliament Complex, designed by Louis Kahn and associates. Its construction began in 1964, in what is now known as the Decade of Development for Bangladesh and time when Dhaka was the second capital of Pakistan. When talking about architecture in general, Muzharul Islam stated that  „practical aspects of architecture are measurable – such as, the practical requirements, climatic judgments, the advantages and limitations of the site etc. – but the humanistic aspects are not measurable.“ Those aspects come when the architect leaves and building starts its life. How did that highly acclaimed complex came to be a part of the national identity and how its architecture influences culture in a broader sence?  

National Parliament Complex in Dhaka, Photo: Yes, Louis Kahn

Adnan Morshed: The American architect Louis Isadore Kahn's Parliament building in Dhaka is considered one of the architectural icons of the twentieth century. Intriguingly, Kahn was not the first choice for the project. After two masters, Le Corbusier and Alvar Aalto, had turned down the invitation from the government of Pakistan, the megaproject went to the architect from Philadelphia. After multiple design iterations and many bureaucratic entanglements, the construction of the Parliament building began in October 1964, at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

Kahn first visited Dhaka in early March of 1963, after he had received the commission to plan the Parliament complex of East Pakistan. Five years earlier, the commander-in-chief of the Pakistani army, Mohammad Ayub Khan, took control of the government through a military coup and imposed martial law in October 1958. In 1960, the military man was “elected” to a five-year presidency. Pakistan's new constitution of 1962 called for a “democratic” election to be held in 1965. The decade of the 1960s was a politically tumultuous period in East Pakistan. Bengalis felt exploited and ignored by West Pakistan's military regime and, consequently, dreamed of independence from the doomed political geography of a nation with two units separated by over 1,000 miles. Aware of the political and economic disparity between the two halves of Pakistan and concerned about his own re-election bid, Ayub Khan's administration came up with a political strategy to mitigate the grievance of the Bengalis.

National Parliament Complex in Dhaka, Photo: Yes, Louis Kahn

The idea of a “second capital” for East Pakistan was born in this context. This showcase capital would, it was hoped, “bind East Pakistan more firmly to the nation by conducting the nation's business for half of each year.” The political drama that ensued from then on explains how the Parliament building, first conceived as a “bribe” for the Bengalis, gradually took on a whole new identity as a symbol of the people's struggle for self-rule. With rudimentary construction tools and bamboo scaffolding tied with crude jute ropes, approximately 2,000 lungi-clad construction workers erected a monumental government building. Slowly but steadily, they unwittingly portrayed the broader resilience of a nation revolting against economic and social injustice. If the Shahid Minar symbolised the language movement during the 1950s, the Parliament building portrayed the rise of the independence-minded Bengalis during the 1960s.

Kahn searched for inspirations from the Bengal delta, its rivers, green pastoral, expansive landscape, raised homesteads, and land-water geography. Soon after he had first arrived in Dhaka, he went on a boat ride on the Buriganga River and sketched scenes to understand life in this tropical land. He didn't have any problems in blending Bengali vernacular impressions with those of classical Greco-Roman and Egyptian architecture he had studied during the 1950s. As the war broke out in 1971, Kahn's field office in East Pakistan quickly closed and construction work discontinued. During the liberation war, an ironic story persisted that Pakistani pilots didn't bomb the building assuming that it was a ruin! That “ruin” eventually became an emblem of the country, adorning national currency, stamps, rickshaw decorations, advertisements, official brochures, and so on. When it was more or less completed in 1983—more than a decade after East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) emerged as a new nation-state and 9 years after Kahn's unexpected death in New York City—the Parliament complex emblematised the political odyssey of a people to statehood.

National Parliament Complex in Dhaka, Photo: Yes, Louis Kahn

Kahn searched for inspirations from the Bengal delta, its rivers, green pastoral, expansive landscape, raised homesteads, and land-water geography. Soon after he had first arrived in Dhaka, he went on a boat ride on the Buriganga River and sketched scenes to understand life in this tropical land. He didn't have any problems in blending Bengali vernacular impressions with those of classical Greco-Roman and Egyptian architecture he had studied during the 1950s. As the war broke out in 1971, Kahn's field office in East Pakistan quickly closed and construction work discontinued. During the liberation war, an ironic story persisted that Pakistani pilots didn't bomb the building assuming that it was a ruin! That “ruin” eventually became an emblem of the country, adorning national currency, stamps, rickshaw decorations, advertisements, official brochures, and so on. When it was more or less completed in 1983—more than a decade after East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) emerged as a new nation-state and 9 years after Kahn's unexpected death in New York City—the Parliament complex emblematised the political odyssey of a people to statehood.

National Parliament Complex in Dhaka, Photo: Yes, Louis Kahn

SŠ: Transformation of Dhaka today is intensive. What would be some of the significant architectural achievements in contemporary Dhaka and Bangladesh?

Adnan Morshed: The architectural scene in Bangladesh has been thriving with a “new” energy over the past two decades or so. Bangladeshi architects have been experimenting with form, material, aesthetics, and, most importantly, the idea of how architecture relates to history, society, and the land. Their various experiments bring to the fore a collective feeling that something has been going on in this crowded South Asian country. One is not quite sure about what drives this restless energy! Is it the growing economy? The rise of a new middle class with deeper pockets? Is it an aesthetic expression of a society in transition? Is it aesthetics meeting the politics of development?

Whatever it is, an engaged observer may call this an open-ended search for some kind of “local” modernity. Bangladeshi architects have been winning architectural accolades from around the world for a variety of architectural projects. High-profile national architectural competitions have created a new type of design entrepreneurship, yielding intriguing edifices. Architects have also been expanding the notion of architectural practice by engaging with low-income communities and producing cost-effective shelters for the disenfranchised. Traditionally trained to design stand-alone buildings, architects seem increasingly concerned with the challenges of creating liveable cities.

No doubt it is an exciting time in Bangladesh, architecturally speaking, even if the roads in the country's big cities are paralysed by traffic congestion and a pervasive atmosphere of urban chaos. In the midst of infernal urbanisation across the country, an architectural culture has been taking roots with both promises and perils, introducing contentious debates about its origin, nature, and future.

Architecturally, the 1980s was an interesting time, as divergent ideas began to permeate architectural thinking in the country. Three stories should be mentioned. An “avant-garde” architectural study group named Chetona (meaning awareness) sought to introduce critical thinking as an essential part of architectural practice. Many architects, senior and junior— disillusioned with the prevalent role of architecture as primarily a professional practice without broader social visions and engagement with history and culture—gravitated toward Chetona, meeting at Muzharul Islam's architectural office, Bastukalabid, at Poribagh. The iconoclasm of the study group revolved around reading critical writings in architecture, criticism of current methods of architectural pedagogy, and reasoned questioning of architecture as a technical discipline. The group's reading list ranged from Rabindranath Tagore to the Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier to the Norwegian architectural theorist Christian Norberg-Schulz.

The influence of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA), an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977, was also felt strongly during the 1980s. The award sought to champion regional, place-based and culture-sensitive architectural impetuses in Islamic societies. Awardees included projects in contemporary design, social housing, community development, restoration, adaptive reuse, and landscape design. Architects were inspired to look for a “spirit of place.” Regionalism was in vogue.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture's flagship magazine, Mimar: Architecture in Development, first published in 1981, influenced many Bangladeshi architects and architecture students in thinking beyond western modernism and the aesthetic conventions it allegedly created. At its inception, Mimar was the sole international architecture magazine focusing on architecture in the developing world. In many ways, the magazine's celebration of “local” expanded the scope of architectural practice in the country and gave rise to new aspirations among architects, who were willing to search for organic roots in architecture.

Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka by Marina Tabassum, 2016 Aga Khan Award Recipient

The new architectural aspirations coincided with the rapid urbanisation of Bangladesh and the rise of an urban middle class that spawned a flourishing culture of architectural patronage. A historically agrarian country, Bangladesh began to urbanise rapidly from the late 1980s. The country's total urban population rose from a modest 7.7 percent in 1970 to 31.1 percent in 2010. Impoverished rural migrants began to flock to major cities, particularly the capital, Dhaka, in search of employment and better lives. Its population skyrocketed from 1.8 million in 1974 to more than 6 million in 1991 and to nearly 18 million today. The capital city's massive population boom created an unsustainable demand on urban land, and in return, land values increased.

During this transitional period, real estate developers emerged as powerful economic actors in Dhaka and beyond, playing a key role in replacing traditional single-family houses with multi-story apartment complexes. Meanwhile, public-sector housing failed to meet the demand, and in this vacuum, private real estate companies flourished rapidly. As private developers became key actors in the city's housing market, a trade association was needed to regulate the real estate sector and to ensure fair competition among its members. The stratospheric rise of private real-estate developers suggested that there was a robust market for high-density, multifamily apartments, even though affordability remained a major hurdle. Many architects experimented with material, form, spatial organisation, construction, aesthetic expression, and the individual plot's urban relationship to the neighbourhood.

A burgeoning class of urban entrepreneurs—who made their fortunes in the country's export-oriented ready-made garments industry, manufacturing and transportation sectors, construction industry, and consumer market—emerged as a new generation of architectural patrons, investing hefty amounts of money to build their signature single-family houses and other projects, including apartment complexes, hospitals, shopping malls, private schools and universities, factories, spaces of worship, etc.

And, happily, architects began to find work abundantly from the mid-1990s. Design consultancy until the early 1990s was limited to a handful of architectural firms. But soon thereafter new, smaller firms, run by younger architects, began to reshape the traditional methods of architectural design practice in the country.

The liberalisation of the market, the emergence of a strong private sector, and rapid urbanisation resulted in the need for a range of building typologies and related architectural design services. In the public sector, government organisations began to evaluate the social and commercial value of aesthetic expression and hired architectural firms to compete in the building market. All of these developments ushered in a vibrant and dynamic opportunity for architectural experiments. The last two decades in Bangladesh witnessed an intense battle of architectural ideas. The earlier attitudes to orthodox modernism or regionalism in architecture dispersed into a more nuanced landscape of aesthetic abstraction.

SŠ: „For most of modern history, cities grew out of wealth. Even in more recently developed countries, such as China and Korea, the flight towards cities has largely been in line with income growth. But recent decades have brought a global trend for “poor-country urbanisation”, in the words of Harvard University economist Edward Glaeser, with the proliferation of low-income megacities.“ Dhaka is an example of such a city that has outpaced develepoment and has grown tremendously. Can planned urbanisation even tackle such a huge task in given circumstaces?  

Adnan Morshed: While architecture rose and prospered as individual plot-based or stand-alone practices, cities—Dhaka as a glaring example—as a whole descended into unbearable chaos. In extreme cases, Taj Mahals coexisted with overflowing dumpsters. Private oases and sumptuous cafes overlooked the ghettoised world of slums. While architects searched for Bengali roots and global gravitas in their work, they mostly failed to promote an “ethical” view of how city should function and treat all its citizens.

While globalisation went on with a cutthroat consumerist and neoliberal agenda, and architecture patronage benefitting from it, social inequality grew manifold. Architects seemed confused as to how architecture could or should also play mitigating roles in addressing the issues of social justice. Slums burned and architects rushed to the site with naïve, superficial aesthetic solutions without trying to understand the exploitative economic and political systems that blight society in the first place. The feeling that “architecture is great but the city rots” sometimes seems overwhelming.

Walking in some of Dhaka's walkable streets fronted with exclusive-looking buildings, an observer might wonder how architecture could showcase the rising stature of a developing country, while failing to play a role in making it socially just.

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In Croatian: https://vizkultura.hr/intervju-adnan-morshed/

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Projekt Motel Trogir u 2021. godini podržan je od Ministarstva kulture i medija Republike Hrvatske i Zaklade Kultura nova.

[duskodair]

Anthony Jonah Underwood - A Town Called Danser

'She'll kill me when she finds out about this,' he thinks, gun in hand, back to back with another man before the slowly rising sun. He makes eye contact with his second and tries to push the thought of his sister from his mind.

He has a little trouble with that. He always has done. She is the one that looks forward, he looks back. His sister makes the plans, leading them from town to town, he looks back and keeps an eye on the way they've come.

It is often his job to talk and distract whilst his sister works. Talking Sister Mary Therese into taking him to the unmarked grave of their mother had been half to allow Noel to scout out the nuns' area of the convent and half genuine curiosity.

He had visited it alone as they'd grown up. His sister had no interest in the bare patch of dirt, so he returned alone. The Sisters teach him that their mother was a beacon of sin, unmarried and with child, arriving penniless at their door. They tell all the children this. He does not know his mother's name. But that's ok, he thinks, because he does not truly know his own.

His sister is happy to let him have both names, if he wants them. He chooses Anthony, because it's what Sister Mary Therese calls him and he likes her best. He doesn't mind being a lost thing under St Anthony's purview. His sister is happiest nameless, playing with various names in their quiet games.

When he wants a little quiet, he finds again his mother's grave and imagines who she could have been. He imagines someone kind, someone who loves them. He imagines a woman with flame red hair like theirs and a laugh like his sister's. As he grows older, reality phases through his imaginings and he imagines a woman with red hair and no money, alone and afraid. He thinks to himself, as a child, that one day he will earn enough money that he can buy her a gravestone and make sure that his sister will not end up like her.

They learn about chivalry from the nuns, you see, and Anthony spends months desperate to be a crusading knight. His sister is happy to pretend to be a princess for him to rescue. When he grows up, the fancy leaves him, but the reckless nobility doesn't.

It's what got him here, he thinks, tightening the grip on his gun. The doctor is late, the sun is rising. The man behind him had insulted his sister and the knight from whispered childhood games had risen up to protect her honour.

His sister has always bemoaned his recklessness. He has never been as cautious as her, has never displayed her caution in forming attachments. He interposed himself into the towns they pass through. They spend a couple of years in each, he can't help but grow attached.

Time has often found his sister waiting up for him as he walks lovers' lanes with young ladies at twilight. She waits for him as he rides out on imagined errands with eager young men, laughing over the clatter of hooves as they kick up the afternoon dust. He keeps his love quiet, but he cannot help but love. His sister has always seen through him, watched him grow attached and worried quietly over the kitchen table.

Whenever he begins to get to the point where he thinks he might marry, the swirl of dust and time intercedes. The road calls to them and he leaves them behind. With the road under their feet, they take on new identities and it becomes unsafe to write.

He becomes the only person in the world that refers to him as Anthony. His sister doesn't like names, and she finds it much easier to pretend. But he's her knight, so he puts on new masks as the years drag on and they leave more and more towns behind.

He is thirty now, and tired. Noel has promised that, in the next town, they'll stop. They just need the Lloyd fortune and a bit of distance and they can stop running. He thinks about it almost every day. They just need this con to go well. They need Noel's honour intact. Thus the gun.

The doctor arrives, late, clattering in from the big city. He secures his gun in his hand and takes a breath. There is talk. Anthony is familiar with this ritual. He's seconded for foolish young men before.

Long ago, he watched a man he thought he loved bleed out in his arms over a patch of dead earth. He, rather than Noel, led the running from that town.

He stares at the long shadow that his body casts in the light of the rising sun. He's looking back East. If he imagines hard enough, he can trace the road that they've run down, all the way back to Tennessee.

Soon, he whispers to the ghost of his mother, soon I can send you a grave. It will be novel, he thinks, to have loose change in his pocket. He's never had it before. When they are playing, every purchase is measured and calculated. He cannot buy a gravestone, even if he has the money, without observation.

The shadow before him flickers as he takes his first step.

Money will be an odd thing to have. Sure, they had money enough in the last city to get a trap and some horses for this con. But soon they will have money enough for a house of their own.

It won't be like when they were fourteen, in over patched clothes, sharing what chunks of bread they could afford.

He takes another step.

He thinks of the home they will have, something like his old sweetheart Jane's place. Now that was cozy. Her ma seemed to always have flowers on the table and a song on her lips.

He'll get Noel a music box and they'll dance like children running in the rain again. Like they had when they'd hidden at the convent from the older children.

He can feel the dirt under his boots and the sweat on his palms.

Lord, he wants to see his sister smile again. He wants to hear her laugh when he brings home someone special. He's fed up with running, so he takes another step.

He'd never have thought that of the two of them, Noel would marry first. He can't wait for that next town because then her husband will be dead. He remembers his slimy hands and knowing grin as he'd bartered for his sister like she was a piece of livestock.

He wants that man dead. He tightens the grip of his clammy palm around his gun. He breathes in and out and counts and steps. He reaches the number.

He turns away from the past, away from the East, and the road. He turns to the west for the first time and looks ahead. He stares directly into the rising sun. They're late.

He must shoot. His bullet must go wide. He doesn't see it. He's too busy feeling the impact in his ribs. The world spins as he collapses into his patch of dust.

He catches a glimpse of the man who shot him wheeling about on his horse, fleeing back to the city. The doctor holds a cloth to his side. His lips are moving but he's oddly silent. His second takes one look and goes running.

How odd, thinks Anthony, that the world is ringing. He must blink because suddenly the doctor transforms into Noel. Her long red hair hangs loose and her face is stained with blood and tears. He reaches up for her. She reaches down.

She must be talking, but he can't hear her. Why can't he hear her? She's crying. Noel never cries. Oh. He's made her cry. He tries to wipe her tears away but his arms are filled with lead.

She's so pretty. He wishes she wouldn't cry. He wants to see her laugh again, but he can't remember how to make her. The world blurs and he can hear her. She's calling him Jonah. She's begging him to live.

Why wouldn't he live? He doesn't understand. They've got a con to finish. He has to protect her and buy their mother a gravestone. He can't let her end up all alone. He takes a gasping breath in and the world spins.

Pain rockets through his body. Both he and his sister are crying. He's such a fool. He's leaving her all alone. The final dregs of childish dreams of knighthood slip away. There is no place for dreams out here. He has come from one unmarked patch of dirt to another.

He takes his sister's hand and smiles. His grave will say Jonah Underwood, not Anthony, but that's ok, he'll match their mother. He wants Noel to stay safe. He wants her husband dead. He wants her to get that house and the music box. He wants her to be happy. Really, he thinks, he wants to be able to breathe again and for it not to be so cold.

He looks at his sister. She has such a lovely face. He hopes she never finds out why he duelled. He can't do that to her. Around them the dust swirls and Noel coughs. And like a flame going out in the breeze, Anthony is lost.

[aquadestinyswriting]

Toreguarde City

History

The photos above show the general layout of the City-State of Toreguarde, the home of most of the adventures that take place in the world of Titan. Until recently, the city was built atop a huge leyline nexus, a convergence of nearly all of the leylines that criss-cross the continent of Allansia.

Toreguarde was not always a city. Indeed the City-State only came into being a scant ten years ago. Before then, Toreguarde was a small, walled town, which became infamous due to the creation of a portal to the Pit taking place beneath it. The portal swallowed the town, taking all of the buildings (including the library created by Yastromo the Yellow) and almost the entire population with it. A citadel was created atop the ruins of where the town once stood and it became a haven for the vilest people that existed.

Thanks to a Divine Intervention, the portal was temporarily sealed and the citadel destroyed, with the help of the people who are now collectively known as the Heroes of Toreguarde. Few of these Heroes remain, but all of them are celebrated with statues dedicated to each of them in the central plaza of the newly-built city that now stands in place of the citadel.

General Information

Toreguarde is situated in the Southern end of the Pagan Plains, near the edge of the Flatlands. The nearby rivers have been extended into a canal system to allow for easier trade with the towns and villages near the western coast and proper roads connect the city to the various towns and cities all over Allansia.

The city was built, initially, with the help of those settlements in the immediate area, the people who survived the devastation of the destruction of Toreguarde-of-old and some of the dwarves hailing from Fangthane. Two to three years into the reconstruction effort, an emissary hailing from the Drakemari Empire came along, with an offer of both financial and physical aid from their lord, a dragon hailing from the mountains to the west. As a result of the people who once lived in the walled town taking the emissary up on his offer, the dwarves of Fangthane left the reconstruction effort, cursing Toreguarde and returning to their mountain.

The city-state of Toreguarde is governed by a Council consisting of noblemen who have estates in the area around the city, the heads of various trade guilds, the heads of most of the major religions in the area and a small selection of senior wizards. The Council is overseen by the Triumverate, which consists of the Grand Magus, the head of Toreguarde's military and a nobleman who has been elected by his peers and the heads of the trade guilds. While Toreguarde is, technically, under the purview of the Empire of Drakemar, the Emissary only has a ceremonial role and does not generally have any say in how the city-state is run.

Places of Interest

The Council Chambers- situated in the centre of the city, the chambers house not just the main Council Hall, but also the courts, both civil and criminal, as well as the offices of the nobles and guild masters that sit on the Council. The office of the Emissary of the Drakemari Empire is also held in the tower, near the top. There is also accommodation reserved solely for the use of Lord Drakemar himself should he decide to visit the city in any official capacity.

The Plaza- situated at the base of the central tower sits a large plaza surrounded by statues of the Heroes of Old Toreguarde. These depict the heroes that defended the original fortified town and fought against the demonic hordes that had destroyed it during the Demon Wars

The Wizard’s Tower/Wizard’s Quarter- In the Northwestern-most corner of the city stands the Wizard’s Tower. Until recently, the tower emitted an otherworldly glow of blue/purple energy from the top. This was due to excess energy escaping from the Seal covering the portal to the Pit that once scarred the land. The Tower houses the seat of the Wizard’s Council and the offices of the various wizards living in the city as well as a school for potential apprentices. The top of the tower is home to the Grand Magus. The area around the tower is home to most of the magical emporiums and alchemical shops within the city. As a result, this part of the city is prone to experiencing some of the more… unusual activity that sometimes occurs in magical areas.

The Dwarven District- Situated in the Southeastern corner of the middle part of the city, this community is home to a fairly large number of Dwarves who provide most of the metalwork and smithing services for the city and is the main hub through which trade with Dwarf-majority cities and towns such as Fangthane and Stonebridge occur. At the centre of this community is the Temple of the Dwarf Father.

The Garden of Galana- Situated in the Southwestern outer corner of the city, this large and beautiful walled garden is home to the Church of Galana and is home to a very small community of Woodlings and a few gnomes that found refuge within the original town during the initial attacks by the demons ten years previously.

The Plot Hook- Owned and run by the Ogre Drunken Master Orock for the last ten years, the Plot Hook is one of the few buildings remaining from the original fortified town. It has since been expanded and now houses a large fighting pit and backs onto a large arena shared with the Temple of The Fist. The pub hosts regular tournaments and events in order to keep the upper class patrons entertained.

[jordanianroyals]

King Abdullah II Interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria

25 July 2021

King Abdullah II spoke to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in a wide-ranging interview that was conducted in Washington, DC, and aired on Sunday.

In the interview, King Abdullah spoke about his recently concluded US visit, his vision on regional matters especially the Palestinian cause, prominent national issues, and Jordan’s steadfastness amidst challenges.

Following is a transcript of the interview as it was broadcast:

“Fareed Zakaria: Your Majesty, welcome.

His Majesty King Abdullah II: Thank you, Fareed.

Zakaria: I have to ask you about first what seems the most startling thing looking at your part of the world, which is the new government in Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu and you had a good relationship, but a tough one. The new prime minister, however, is somebody, Naftali Bennett, who says explicitly that he rules out the idea ever of a Palestinian state. In fact, he’s talked about Israel annexing the West Bank. So, how do you look at that new government, and where do you think the prospects for peace are?

King Abdullah II: Well, again, Fareed, we have known each other long enough to know that we always look at the glass half full, and coming to the United States, as the first leader from that part of the world, it was important to unify messaging, because there is a lot of challenges as you well know and we will probably get into. So, it was important for me not only to meet with the Palestinian leadership after a war, which I did, with Abu Mazen [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas]; I met the prime minister; I met General Gantz. We really have to get people back to the table, under that umbrella of how do we get Israelis and Palestinians to talk—maybe understanding the challenges that this government may not be the most ideal government, in my view, with the two- state solution (which is the only solution)—how can we build [understanding] between Jordan and Israel, because it has not been good, but more importantly, from my view, is getting the Israelis and Palestinians engaging again. And I came out of those meetings feeling very encouraged, and I think we have seen in the past couple of weeks, not only a better understanding between Israel and Jordan, but the voices coming out of both Israel and Palestine that we need to move forward and reset that relationship.

Zakaria: Do you think that the Israelis can maintain the situation as it is, which is with all these Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, Israel has sovereignty over them, but they don’t have political rights. Israel seems to feel—look, we’re doing fine, we’re, you know, we’ve become an extraordinary technological regional power, maybe global power, economically thriving, the Arabs are making peace with us, even though we haven’t moved on the Palestinian issue. Can’t Israel just keep doing what it is doing?

King Abdullah II: I think that’s a very fragile façade, and I say that because, again, when we have wars, there is a template there; I know what is going to happen over the three weeks and how—the loss of life and tragedy on all sides. This last war with Gaza, I thought, was different. Since 1948, this is the first time I feel that a civil war happened in Israel. When you look at the villages and the towns, Arab-Israelis and Israelis got into conflict, and I think that was a wake-up call for the people of Israel and the people of Palestine. Unless we move along, unless we give hope to the Palestinians—and again, part of the discussions that we have had with our Israeli counterparts is, how do we  invest in the livelihood of the Palestinians—if they lose hope, and then, God forbid, another cycle, the next war is going to be even more damaging. Nobody ever [wins] in these conflicts, but in this last one, there were no victors. And, I think that the internal dynamics that we saw inside of Israeli towns and cities is a bit of a wake-up call for all of us.

Zakaria: Dore Gold, an influential adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu, recently said, Jordan needs to start thinking of itself as the Palestinian state. In other words, there is a two-state solution, the Palestinian state is Jordan, I think the implication would be, of course, you have 60-70 percent Palestinians, you could absorb the Palestinians in the West Bank. This has been touted before, but here you have a fairly influential Israeli saying it. What is your reaction?

King Abdullah II: Well, again, that type of rhetoric is nothing new, and basically, those people have agendas that they want to do at the expense of others. Jordan is Jordan. We have a mixed society from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. I would maybe contest the percentage in the figures that you have mentioned, but it is our country. The Palestinians do not want to be in Jordan; they want their lands, they want their football team, they want their flag to fly above their houses. And so, that takes us into very dangerous rhetoric, as you alluded to. If we do not talk about the two-state solution, then, again, are we talking about a one-state solution? Is it going to be fair, transparent, and democratic? I think that the one-state solution is far more challenging to those in Israel that push that theory than the two-state solution, which is the only way. And I will go back to the beginning of the interview, that for the first time since 1948, Arab-Israelis and Israelis were having a go at each other. What are you going to do? Are you going to push all of the Palestinians out of their homes in the West Bank, and just create instability on the other side? At the end of the day, Jordan gets a vote in this. And I think our red lines have been clearly identified.

Zakaria: Your Majesty, what has it been like meeting with Joe Biden compared to his predecessor? This is a very different president from the one we had before.

King Abdullah II: Well, I have, fortunately, had a very strong relationship with all presidents. And that is because my father taught me that you have to respect the office of the president, the head of state, and that’s not just America. And my discussions have always been fruitful, done in mutual respect and understanding. President Biden I have known since I was a young man visiting the Congress with my father, when he was a young senator, so this is an old friendship. And I was just so delighted to see him in the White House. And I don’t know what images came out, but my colleagues that were with me could just see the chemistry there. And my son has known the president; as Joe Biden was the Vice President, my son used to go and visit him at his house and in his office, so it’s a family friendship.

Zakaria: Do you expect that you will get a different policy out of Biden than Trump?

King Abdullah II: Well, we have lost a couple of years, and part of it has obviously been the pandemic. And so, it is not the issue of a different policy, it is more of what are the plans that are out there. I mentioned Syria, but also when we look at Lebanon—the crisis there, the people are suffering, starvation is just around the corner, the hospitals are not working. And a lot of discussions we have had here, and I know the Americans are working with the French. When the bottom does fall out, and it will happen in weeks, what can we do as the international community to step in, knowing that whatever plans we come up with, we will fall short of our aims, and we will let people down. So I think it is, can we build plans to sort of move the region into the right direction?

Zakaria: Let me ask you about stability in Jordan itself, because your country is often seen as a kind of island of stability in a very rough neighbourhood. You have recently had what looked to the outside world like an attempted coup. What happened there and what do you see is the prospect for any instability in the future?

King Abdullah II: Well, again, you know, when we look at crises all over the world, and I think in this day and age, we tend to look at crises as a snapshot without really understanding the journey that actually Jordan, for example, has undertaken over the past several years—regional instability, wars, refugees, and COVID. And we have had to look at many characters that tend to use people’s frustrations and legitimate concerns of challenges that they have in making their lives better, to really push on their own agendas and ambitions. What I think made this so sad that one of the people was my brother, who did it in such an amateurish and really disappointing way. From our point, the intelligence services, as they always do, gather information, and they got to a point where they had legitimate concerns that certain individuals were trying to push my brother’s ambitions for their own agendas, and decided, quite rightly, to nip it in the bud, and quietly. If it had not been for the irresponsible manner of secretly taping conversations with officials from Jordan or leaking videos, you and I would not be having this conversation.

And I believe that I am really proud when members of our family are successful, when they can reach out to society. Now, in this particular case, if somebody has certain ambitions, I can only do so much for them, but I believe from a human point of view, it comes down to sincerity at the end of the day. It is very easy to use peoples’ grievances for personal agendas, but are you sincere in what you are trying to do for your people? And at the end of the day, we all have a responsibility to be able to come up with solutions for the people. And this is not just Jordan-centric, many royal families around the world have these challenges. If you are a member of the Royal Family, you have privileges; you need to respect those privileges, but also there are restrictions. And politics, at the end of the day, is the purview of the Monarch. And so it is just unfortunate, unnecessary, and just created problems that we could have avoided.

Zakaria: One of the people who was part of it was very close to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Do you believe there was a Saudi hand in this?

King Abdullah II: This is being looked at as a domestic issue. We all know that Bassem, who used to work in Jordan, is a senior adviser in Saudi Arabia. He holds Saudi and American passports. We have witnessed external relations on this issue, but, as I said, we are dealing with this as a domestic problem, and, again, knowing Jordan, finger pointing does not help at all. We have enough challenges in the region; we need to move forward. This has always been the Jordanian ethos to look to the future. And I think we are all about mitigating challenges and difficulties, as opposed to adding to them.

Zakaria: Let me ask you, this week, your grandfather was assassinated 70 years ago at the Temple Mount [Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif]. Does it feel to you as though in those 70 years, things just remained the same? Do you feel as though things have gotten better? Particularly on the issue, I mean, he was assassinated by Palestinian gunmen. It feels like things haven’t moved that far forward.

King Abdullah II: Well, we are celebrating our centennial, and if you look at the history of our country, with all the shocks—and most of them external—it is just amazing that Jordan is still Jordan, and that reflects, I believe, on the legacy of members of my family, but more important, I think, the steadfastness of the Jordanian people. We do live in a difficult neighbourhood, and you have got to sort of wake up every morning to look at the glass half full. The way King Abdullah looked at regional politics and trying to bring people together is what my father inherited from him, and what I inherited from my father, and my son has inherited from me. So, as difficult as the challenges are, I believe that we can come together. My great grandfather, as you said, was killed on the steps of the [Al Aqsa] mosque in Jerusalem. What we have all been about, always, is looking at Jerusalem as a city that brings Muslims, Christians, and Jews together, and it is just inconceivable to me why we would want anything else. So, my role, my son’s role will continue to be how do we make this a city of hope, a city of peace, and bringing people together, and hopefully that reflects to other policies as we deal with challenges around the Middle East.

Zakaria: Your Majesty, it is always an honour and pleasure to talk to you.

King Abdullah II: Thank you.”

[aetheriusrising]

Wynden, capitol of Thysuus. Home.

In the center of the city sits the Gilded Halls, or the sprawling open-air market which houses the four temples to the Gods. Each temple sits at the corners of the square, connected through a beautiful carved stone roof, with a stained glass dome centering on a massive tree and courtyard. Under the dome is a large tree, which grows upwards into the dome and houses magical lights in the leaves. The base of this tree is where the ritual is held during the Festival. On the city-facing side of each temple is a massive statue depicting the God whose temple resides behind it. 

Each temple opens with no doors, only an archway which enters into the main cathedral hall. There are seats and clergy and temple guards, with staircases hidden on the left and right sides of the room which lead up to the housing for the clergy as well as where lower level government work is done (like what your mother does for a living). There are rumors of massive vaults beneath the plaza, connected to each of the temples, but it’s considered more of a myth than anything.

Cascading outwards from the Gilded Halls are the four districts. The innermost circle, the district named after the Witch school Virtua due to its housing said school, is called Virtara. It houses the city’s elite, including the twelve houses of the Archonate. Many richer merchants as well as upper-level temple clerks live in this area. The second most ring, Libertara, is the district in which you grew up and where your family home resides. While your family easily could have lived in Virtua, thanks to your mother’s status in the Temple of Rhytha, your father insisted that staying away from the higher elite would keep you, their only child, humble. A mix of wealthier and average households live in Libertara, and the various markets and eateries make for a lively neighborhood. You live near the market in a small two-story abode, all your own, a refuge which affords you just enough privacy from your family for your...less than sanctioned research.

The third and fourth rings are named Rhytara and Thomtara respectively, after the goddess Rhytha and god Thomos. Rhytara houses many clerks and clergy from all four temples, as well as doctors who see to a wide range of families. Poorer families are given homes here and in Thomtara, often humble but never allowed to dilapidate (often fixed at the cost of the various Temples, funded by tithes). Thomtara includes traveller’s inns (though those are interspersed in the city as well) and bleeds into the farmed landscape surrounding the city. These expand outwards for 3 miles before it’s back to rugged forest and field, with roads splitting in every cardinal direction to the nearest town and onwards.

While most travel to the Halls to worship, there are interspersed small statues where the general populous is encouraged to pray or offer tithes in lieu of travelling. Generally, everyone attends sermons at one Temple once a week, as prayer helps to power the Archon’s Gods-strengthened magic keeping Aetherius at bay. Tithes are to help with upkeep around the city and often tithes taken in Wynden are more than what’s needed and trickle out to other settlements around Thysuus if aid is needed.

It can take a few hours to move through each district, depending on the route and general traffic. From the Gilded Halls to the furthest edge of Thomtara, travel takes approximately 4 hours if taking a speedy route (and on a good day, really).

Gods of Thysuus:

Rhytha - also known as the Mother of All, she represents balance, law, and family. Colors are deep blue and silver. Her statue outside the temple at the Gilded Halls faces North. Your mother, Adora, is a high-level official helping to manage the tithes under Rhytha’s purview and organizing repairs around the city of Wynden. Your family name holds a fair amount of weight as a result, coupled with the parties your parents often host.

             Appearance: Rhytha is an older woman, tall and plump, long flowing dark hair and light brown skin. Her statue depicts her in partial armor, holding a silver ranseur, the rest of her visage in smooth white stone. Her gaze is soft.

Thomos - all pronouns, Sage of reverence, love, and intelligence. Colors are purple and white. Their statue outside the temple at the Gilded Halls faces West. Depictions of Thomos vary wildly, but all hold the same loving gaze she is known for.

            Appearance: They are depicted wearing thick robes in a grape purple, with long white hair that is braided and draped across their chest and over their shoulder. His statue depicts him with his right hand extended palm facing out, fingers up, the other hand pressed to their heart. They are often depicted smiling.

Horous - he/him, god of strength, honor, and wisdom, colors are copper and deep red. While his image has been used to depict war, the Canticles are more prone to focus on his forgiving nature. Some depictions give him a youthful appearance, but most popular are depictions of his older self. His statue outside his temple at the Gilded Halls faces South.

           Appearance: He is always depicted in full armor, a shining red metal that compliments his short copper hair. His statue depicts him standing proudly, helmet under arm, with a gently flowing cape in deep red. His face betrays no emotion.

Yrie (ee-ree-uh) - she/they, Sage of magic, wellness, and medicine. Colors are green and gold. Her statue outside her temple at the Gilded Halls faces East. Within their gaze is the spire that rises above the city, the heart of Virtua, the Witch academy.

          Appearance: She is a short feminine figure with deep brown skin, wearing a loose flowing dress that reveals her back and arms. Down their spine and around their arms are scrolling runes, glowing a gentle golden color. Their statue depicts them with both hands out, a glowing golden orb between them.