#Eleazar and the king rivalry

[bloodlegacies]

I'm not sure if this has been asked before, but is there a reason aside from the MC's bloodline that the king has such a dislike for the MC and Hayden associating with the MC?

Partly because of the rivalry with Eleazar and his family, and of course, the mc being Darian, he has his cautions and suspicions towards the mc, and partly because it reminds him of Alexandra, and what they never had, so in part, it's that thing: "It didn't work for me, it certainly won't work for them, and I won't let it work for them, and even if it does, it will only bring me problems and to my heir/heiress and kingdom."

[sophtheunlikelybakeryfestival]

Cold War Characters as Greek Gods + Goddesses

This is just a fun little thing I did, I guess my headcanons of what God each character is most alike (in my opinion), from just how they are in game, what we know of them, their birth chart {yeah I may have done a birth chart using the birthdates given XD} and the meanings of their names.

Jason Hudson as Hermes;

Greek God of trade, language, travel, luck & wealth.

Russell Adler as Hades;

Greek God of the Underworld.

Alex Mason as Zeus;

Greek God of the sky & thunder.

Frank Woods as Poseidon;

Greek God of the sea, earthquakes & horses.

Lawrence Sims as Hephaestus;

Greek God of blacksmiths, artisans, craftsmen & metalworking.

Eleazar ‘Lazar’ Azoulay as Apollo;

Greek God of the sun, light, music & healing.

{yeah I put a burger in his moodboard lmao}

Helen Park as Hestia;

Greek Goddess of the hearth, home, family and architecture.

Fem!Bell as both Persephone + Bia;

Persephone is the Greek Goddess of spring & the underworld.

Bia is the titan Goddess and personification of force & power.

Vikhor ‘Stitch’ Luzmin as Zelos;

The titan God and personification of zeal, rivalry, envy & dedication.

Perseus as Cronus;

King of the Titans, & God of time. A destructive & all devouring force.

[ruminativerabbi]

An American Hero

John McCain’s death was hardly a surprise. (The announcement at the end of last week that the decision had been made to discontinue medical treatment was certainly a clear enough indicator that he was coming to the end of his days.) I admit that the national wellspring of emotion the senator’s death brought forth from political fellow travelers and opponents alike, even leaving the President’s belated and begrudging response out of the mix, caught more than a bit off-guard. But it was Senator McCain’s posthumously-revealed wish that he be eulogized in a bipartisan manner both by Presidents George Bush and Obama that made the strongest impression on me. That these were the two men who the most consequentially thwarted his own White House aspirations—the former by defeating him for the Republican nomination in 2000 and the later by defeating him in the presidential election of 2008—also impressed me as a sign both of humility and magnanimity. The funeral is this Saturday, so I’m writing this before knowing what either man will say. But my guess is that both will rise to the occasion and pay homage to the man, not for holding this or that political view, but for having the moral stamina to move past his own defeats at both their hands to return to the Senate to continue his life of service to the American people.

Senator McCain was a complicated figure and hardly a paragon of invariable virtue. He himself characterized the decisions that led to his involvement in the “Keating Five” scandal the “worst mistake of my life.” (The fact that he made that comment after the Senate Ethics Committee determined that he had violated neither any U.S. law nor any specific rule of the Senate itself speaks volumes: here was a man who could have gone on to crow about his innocence—or at least about his non-guilt—yet who chose instead publicly to rue the appearance of impropriety that he feared would permanently attach itself to his name.) He owned up publicly to the fact that, at least in the context of his first marriage, he was not a model of marital fidelity. He was in many instances a party-line guy, going along with the plan to invade Iraq without stopping to notice that there was no actual evidence that Saddam Hussein possessed the weapons of mass destruction President Bush was so certain had to exist and in fact going so far as to refer on the floor of the Senate to Iraq as a “clear and present danger” to our country without pausing to ask himself how he could possibly know that in the absence of evidence that Iraq possessed actual weapons capable of reaching these shores.

On the other hand, his more than five years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese—the beatings and the torture he endured, his refusal to accept the early release offered to him because the military Code of Conduct instructs prisoners to accept “neither parole nor special favors” from the enemy, his two years of solitary confinement—speaks for itself. (And the phony “confession” he signed at a particularly low point when his injuries had brought him to the point of considering suicide does nothing to change my mind about his heroism. In the end, he defied his captors in every meaningful way and was momentarily defeated by them only once.) As does his lifetime of service to the American people, one given real meaning specifically by the fact, as noted above, that he specifically did not abandon his commitment to serve merely because he was twice thwarted in his bid for the presidency and instead simply returned to the Senate, following the admirable example of Henry Clay, who lost the election of 1824 to John Quincy Adams and then, after serving as the latter’s Secretary of State for four years, returned to the Senate where he served as Senator from Kentucky for two non-consecutive terms and died, like McCain, in office.

But it was McCain’s posthumous letter to America that I want the most to write about today. Lots of literary masterworks have been published posthumously—all three of Kafka’s novels, for example, came out after he died in 1924—but most have been works that their authors for some reasons chose not to publish or were unable to get published in their lifetimes, not letters that their authors specifically wished to be publicized after they were gone from the world. That concept, however, is not unknown…and the concept of creating what is called an ethical will in which a legator bequeaths, not physical possessions or money, but values and moral principles to his or her heirs is actually a Jewish practice that has its roots in medieval Jewish times.

There are early examples of something like that even from biblical times—the Torah contains the pre-posthumous blessings that both Jacob and Moses left behind for their heirs to contemplate and to allow to guide them forward after Jacob and Moses were going to be gone from the world. (When the New Testament author of the Gospel of Matthew portrays Jesus as doing the same thing, in fact, it is probably part of an ancient author’s effort accurately to depict Jesus as a Jewish man doing what Jewish men in his day did.) But the custom reached its fullest flower in the Middle Ages—the oldest extant ethical will from that period was written by one Eleazar ben Isaac of Worms in Germany and dates back to c. 1050. After that, there are lots of examples, many of which were collected and published in two volumes back in 1926 by Israel Abrahams under the title Hebrew Ethical Wills and still available for a very reasonable price. There is even a modern guide to preparing such a will to leave to your own descendants in Jack Riemer’s Ethical Will and How To Prepare Them: A Guide for Sharing Your Values from Generation to Generation, published in a revised second edition just a few years ago by Jewish Lights in Woodstock, Vermont.

And it is in that specific vein that I found myself reading Senator McCain’s letter to the American people: not as last-minute effort to make a few final points, much less to get a few last jabs in at specific, if unnamed, opponents. (The Bible has a good example of that too in David’s last message to the world, which includes a hit-list of people David hopes Solomon will find a way to punish—or rather, to execute—after David is gone from the world and Solomon becomes king after him.) The McCain letter, neither vengeful nor angry, is not at all in that vein. Nor is it particularly soothing: it is, in every sense, the literary embodiment of its authors hopes for the nation he served and his last word on the course he hopes our nation will take in the years following his death. To read the full text, click here.

Senator McCain identifies the core values he feels should lie at the generative core of all American policy: a deep dedication to the concept of personal liberty, an equally serious dedication to the pursuit of justice for all, and, to quote directly, a level of “respect for the dignity of all people [that will bring the nation and its citizens] happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures.” Furthermore, he writes unambiguously that, in his opinion, “our identities and sense of worth [are never] circumscribed, but enlarged, by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.”

He characterizes our country as “a nation of ideals, not blood and soil.” And then he writes this: “We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world.” But his tone is not at all self-congratulatory. Indeed, the very next passage is the one that seems both the most filled with honor and trepidation: “We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down; when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.” It is hard to read those words without reference to the current administration, and I’m sure that McCain meant them to be understood in that specific way. But the overall tone of the letter is not preachy or political, but deeply encouraging and uplifting. His final words to his fellow Americans are also worth citing verbatim: “Do not despair of our present difficulties,” the senator writes from the very edge of his life. “We believe always in the promise and greatness of America because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit, we never surrender, we never hide from history. We make history. Farewell fellow Americans, God bless you, and God bless America.”

I disagreed with John McCain about a lot. We were not on the same side of any number of the most important issues facing our nation, but those divisions fall away easily as I read those final words. Here, I find myself thinking easily, was a true patriot—a flawed man in the way all of us must grapple with our own weaknesses and failings, but, at the end of the day, a principled man and a patriot. His death was a loss to the nation and particularly to the Senate, but the words he left behind will, I hope, guide us forward in a principled way that finds in debate and respectful disagreement the context in which the American people can find harmony in discord (which is, after all, a peculiarly and particularly American concept) and a focused national will to live up our own Founders’ ideals.

In the physical universe, energy derives from tension, friction, and stress. In the world of ideas, the same is true: Socrates knew that and developed a way of seeking the truth rooted not in placid agreement but in vigorous debate. That concept, almost more than anything else, is what shines through Senator McCain’s literary testament to the nation. He notes wryly, and surely correctly, that we are a nation composed of 325 million “opinionated, vociferous individuals.” But he also notes that when debate, even raucous public debate, is rooted in a shared love of country, the result is a stronger, more self-assured nation, not a weaker one enfeebled by conflicting opinions. I think that too…and my sadness at the senator’s passing is rooted, more than anything else, in that specific notion.

John McCain’s life was a gift to our country and his death, a tragedy. May he rest in peace, and may his memory be a source of ongoing blessing for his family and for his friends, and also for us all.

[potorgaret--inactive]

Day 128 / May 7

1 Chron. 22-24

22: David starts planning the Temple He finds stonemasons and workers for the Temple and he sets aside massive quantities of iron, bronze and cedar for its construction It's really nice that the Sidonians are so nice David knows that he won't be the one to build the Temple, but because Solomon is still young, David goes to make things easier for him David goes over to Solomon and lays the plans for the Temple before him He explains that he really wants to build the Temple, but God won't let him because of all his wars... Solomon will have a peaceful reign and a peaceful time would be the best one to build a Temple in David tells Solomon that he'll always be sucessful if he just listens to God and follows his word... we see how well that goes He also tells the other leaders in Israel to help Solomon and always stand by his side

23: David is now old and Solomon is king of Israel David orders thousands of Levites to certain positions, like door-keepers or musicians Then the text goes on a long tangent explaining the roles of the Levites in relation to the priests streching back to the time of Moses and Aaron... and just for good measure, it gives a mildly detailed family tree of the Levites, deriving from Moses and Aaron This tangent was included because David divided up the duties based on family David says that the Levites will no longer need to carry around the Ark and Tabernacle The text explains that the role of the Levites was to do chores for the priests and the king... like being assistants during sacrifices and such Of course, M&A get another name-drop By the way, the sons of Aaron are the more important line, Moses' children are pretty much non-existent

24: The Chronicler gives a more detailed family tree of both of Aaron's fertile sons: Eleazar and Ithamar There is apparently somewhat of a rivalry between the two houses, but it doesn't matter because they select their duties randomly (by casting lots) This apparently means that God decideds their duties because of course God controls dice rolls

midterms are hella stressful

"Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 WEB

[bloodlegacies]

Okay...wow...just saw the ask where Eleazar and Martell went to school together. Does that mean the rivalry was already happening or did it happen after MC's mom died? Also if we, our MC and Hayden were to have biological children would they be ice or fire, or a mix of both and how would Eleazar and Martell react to their grandkids having their rivals powers instead of their own element? L❤️ve your writing!

Thank you 😁❤

And Their rivalry comes many years before Eleazar met mc's mother, they were already rivals in the academy and it is a rivalry and competitiveness that remains until today. About children with parents of different elements, well, that's more a matter of luck, the child is born with powers of one or the other, because there is no elemental that can control two elements. It is possible that someone is born with control over two or more elements, but it is very rare.

[bloodlegacies]

Hi, sorry, English is not native language. I really like your story and blog. I was just wondering and sorry if you already answered this but our dad in the game doesn't want us to marry Hayden because they are the king's heir so would you say that our dad's revenge and hate is stronger for wanting what's best for then kingdom? I mean I would think marrying the heir would be a big power play. Or is it because our father doesn't trust the king

He doesn't like the king, like, he even supports him for the sake of the kingdom, but he prefers to avoid any chance of possible connection with him, and avoid the mc getting attached or anything like that to Hayden or the royal family. Eleazar is loyal to the kingdom and for the good of the kingdom he supports the king, but no more than that. Even if a marriage between the heirs would be beneficial, Eleazar doesn't think it's worth it to unite his family with Martell's. It's basically pure stubbornness and pride on both sides, precisely because of their past history and their rivalries.

[bloodlegacies]

I realized that I didn't actually talk much about the backstory of the game's kingdoms, culture, and houses. So here's a little summary of what Petrus' kingdom is like, information that yes, will be present on the statistics screen in the "Story" section in the next updates, where you could be a little more in this world and etc. New and more detailed information will be added as the story progresses, but for now, stick with this one, to at least get a better understanding of this world and such. Feel free to ask any questions if you want.

Sorry if there are any translation errors, remembering that English is not my first language.

The kingdom of Petrus and the rivalry of the two greatest houses:

A kingdom where nobles are far above ordinary citizens, both in work and in rank.

The kingdom of Petrus is a kingdom that is mainly led by those who have elemental powers, whether noble or not. Being an elemental already makes a person of value to the realm and that person can have many social advantages just for that. Being able to enter jobs of high social and financial value, basically the elementals are the highest class of society in Petrus. Below the elemental nobles are the common nobles, but they have proved their value to the kingdom, thus being part of the highest society and being below only the elementals.

Something that most of the population finds incredibly unfair and this even caused rebellions, but these rebellions were easily destroyed by Petrus' army, which has most of its elemental members and very well-trained guards. One of them stands out, this is the commander of Petrus' army, Eleazar, the current commander and master of winter. Taking this post because of his atrocities and deeds on the battlefield and not because the king of Petrus wanted to. As much as it is a social advantage to say that these rival houses, both Commander Eleazar descendant of Northon and King Martell descendant of Alvan Elkar, have been at peace for two centuries since Northon's death, the reality is that they just put up with each other. , each with their own ego wanting to be greater than another through the social power between the noble house alliances and even through their own heirs.

Meanwhile, those who do not have elemental gifts, be they common people or supernatural and mystical beings, are lower class in society but those who have non-elemental powers can work in lower and lesser ranks. A clear example is that an elemental is rarely placed on missions that are considered suicidal or that take up their time unnecessarily, such as lookout work and sabotage missions and that involve zero chance of survival, while non-elementals are forced to go in suicide missions or working as if they were real slaves and in a way expendable by superiors, in this case, elementary.

It is something that is seen by other houses and even commented on. A friendly rivalry, many say. Or a rivalry that could escalate significantly, some whisper.

After all, which element is more powerful?

The fire ?

Or the Ice?