#Numena

[monarch-moon]

Imma go ahead and dump the rest of my attacks and revenges I've done for the rest of this artfight, which was a lot more than what I was expecting to do, but I'm happy with it!!

Ranavos for @ranavosart

Eliot for alricht1990

Calathea for Surrealist

Uthu for PyroRexx

Erillyn Numena for Noxumbra

Qutoqat for qatoqat

Math for scowlingelf

Nantes and Innocentia for Innocentia

Thank you for the fantastic artfight! I had a bountiful harvest this year uwu

[wild-magick-child]

The Witch's Art of Enchantment

I practice a Craft rarely discussed in modern Pagan communities or written about in books. In fact, the very mention of it evokes fear and hatred in many people. I'm an Enchanter. Enchantment is the art of manipulation through gesture, gaze, and glamour. It quite literally manipulates people: influences them to do something. Don't look at me like that! Do you honestly believe successful people got where they are just by being a good person? No! They put the 'fluence on their audience to sway them to their side. Nature is not all sunshine and rainbows, so neither is my Craft. During the Witch Trials & when we were being hunted like animals by those who hated us we had to defend ourselves. Witches' original Craft had to do with influencing people, casting glamours, Shapeshifting, & mesmerizing others.

It is atmospheric, it is the magic of ambience of shade and hue and tone.

Enchantment is at the very heart of Elfin magic. It is the key to Elfin and the Way of the Elves. The term Enchanter comes from the word "chant," which indicates the rhythmic interaction of a sound that intrigues and captivates, which is hypnotic and entrancing yet thrilling and enlivening at the same time. The enchanted are not dominated nor zombified as one might think of the hypnotic process but rather aroused and sweep away by the awakening of feelings and possibilities long dormant. Enchanters may do this in numerous ways, by the use of their voice, by music, by their dress and costume.

We "chant" by repeating the process continually... that is we are ever interested or pursuing our interests. - The Silver Elves

I particularly specialize in Mesmerism, further specializing in Shapeshifting & Personality Enchantment (aka Numenism).

Mesmerism:

All of life is composed of energy fields "formed" in varying ways. The Elfin Mesmerist has learned how to shift these waves creating transformations in the world and individuals around them. Mesmerists, while affecting all planes of being, functions particularly on the etheric planes, which are the energetic aspect of the physical plane. It is from that plane that they create waves that wash through and re-orient the connected bodies. Mesmerists speak to people through the light beaming from their eyes. They can affect others consciousness without the recipients knowing how it happens. They can caress a person without touching their physical body, massage them and realign their energy fields, removing blockages and getting their energy to flow freely. - The Silver Elves

Shapeshifting:

Shapeshifters have the ability to change their form at will. In the most dramatic sense they could turn into a bird or a wolf, etc. but usually their transformations are much more subtle and thus even more illusive. They are ultimate actors, changing their appearance, their posture, their aura in a few brief moments. They can appear to be others , they can appear to be no one at all, utterly unnoticable. In the forest you could not distinguish them from the trees and leaves, in the city they can be so average that they melt into a crowd with ease. They are the needle in the hay stack.

This cameleon ability of the Elfin Shapeshifter is not merely a superficial alternation of their physical appearance for as the Shapeshifter becomes more and more adept they can transmutate the underlying energy of their being creating changes that affect not only thems'elves but also those who come in contact with them. -The Silver Elves

Personality Enchantment (Numenism)

Numena or Teraphim are household or localize spirits. They guide, protect and aid those residing in a specific area, working from the astral and etheric planes of being. They find physical form often in statures or objects dedicated to them, which become their solid material body and their temple, so to speak. The Numenist is an artist, writer, scupltor and/or magician of such power that their creations take on a life of their own. To be a Numenist is to hold great magical power and thus it is best to use that power wisely... creating vehicles and drawing down spirits (invocation and evocation) who will benefit us all. - the Silver Elves

Personality Enchantments are spells which bring inanimate objects to life. It is to imbue things with consciousness to the point they become sentient. I do this with my music & songs. They become so full of life that they develop a personality and become living things. This is known as Animation Magick.

Enchantment is essentially the Magick of Mood: tone, setting, ambiance, & resonance. Enchanters are known for creating resonance between people, places, and objects. We can create magickal items such as Wands/Staves, athamés, cauldrons, etc by creating a resonance between the person and the object, and empowering the object with that ambiance. To empower the atmosphere with such energy is Glamourye. So, it's not all about manipulating or influencing people, but that is where it started.

Sources:

Enchantment: the Witch's Art of Manipulation through Gesture, Gaze, and Glamour by Peter Paddock

[best-ghoul]

God, Graven Moon's world is so old I've forgotten some of my rationales for things. I thought I'd been spelling "Noumena" wrong due to some stylistic whim or lexical technicality, so I looked it up in panic.

Buuuut turns out Numena's actually a more accurate concept. It's specifically mortal-perception based as a magic system, like Persona. So Numena is deific spirit juice generated by the collective unconscious, not the world as would be implied by "Mana". No relation to Noumena, the Kantian concept.

Cuz like, if I'm gonna be asinine by calling a commonly understood fantasy concept something else, I'm gonna dig for a good one.

[x-x-files]

Numena In Frigid or mountainous?

this was the first time I’ve done something like this, and it was SO FUN. thank you for sending me an ask!!

took some inspo from this post bc it reminds me of julian’s outfit, hehe ;)

[mitjalovse]

Sonic wallpaper is usually a type of a pejorative that is used for ambient music, yet if you check Brian Eno, Harold Budd or Steve Roach, you hear the incredible ambidexterity of that idiom. The best musicians of it manage to make it as ignorable as it is interesting. Robert Rich is another one like that. While his oeuvre is vast, it does not reach the quantity of Steve Roach's and their approaches are also different. One review of their collaboration LP says it best – Mr. Rich needs a lot of time in the setup, before he goes into the middle to find questions for his answers. True, his tunes are building themselves quite slowly to reach their apotheosis. However, he and Mr. Roach both share propensity for trying to connect the primal and the modern with their work. To be honest, many of that style plan to achieve that, but only the best of it actually reach it.

[markrosewater]

If Brothers War does well could there be a chance of other "flashback" sets for other events like the Thran or the Numena?

Success breeds repetition.

[lifeinbooks]

Govore: "Žene ne plaču jer su slabe, one plaču jer su predugo bile jake."

Misliš li za sebe da si slaba? Ili da si predugo bila jaka? Što god misliš da jesi -ti doista jesi, neću ti proturječiti. No, voljela bih da znaš jednu stvar.

To što plačeš ne čini te slabom, čini te čovjekom. Ne moraš glumiti da si jaka. Kada ti se plače plači, ne zatvaraj se. Ako treba, urlaj. Ridaj. Utopi dušu.

Vidjet ćeš kako će ti oči nakon suza zablistati nevjerojatnim plamom.

A sjaj što ostane na tvojim mokrim obrazima dokaz je tvog neizrecivog ženskog numena.

• Ingrid Divković - Knjiga za divlju ženu

... Ne mogu ti komentarisati bore oni koji ti ne poznaju suze.

Upamti, ti si sebi glavna: kao Kleopatri Aleksandrija, kao KonstantinuCarigrad, kao Perikleu Antina, kao Cezaru Rim.

Vrediš.

•Đura Kelj - Diši, da prođe.

Sretan nam Dan Žena da ljubav prema sebi postane način bivanja i da nikada ne gasimo svoju vatru.🔥Da živimo samosvijesno i nikada ne sumljamo u svoju magiju. 🌹

[umbral-the-archivist]

"Akroma is one of the most famous figures of The Mirari Conjecture, even though she did not appear until a little before the Legion Wars. She was created in a dream by Ixidor, (who had become Lowalyn's Avatar, the Numena Mage who long ago banished Dromar) using his literal right arm. Her name means "without color", named as she appears like his lost love Nivea but devoid of the color of her life."

"Her purpose was to slay the former Pardic Barabrian and sister to Kamahl Jeska who had been turned into an Avatar of Death by the Cabal and taken the name Phage. Phage had killed Nivea in a pit fight against Ixidor. Even after Ixidor's apparent death, Akroma sought to complete her master's vengeance and her clash with Phage let to the rebirth of Karona, the False God and embodiment of Dominaria's Magic."

"This is vastly abridged information as Akroma's life was nothing but 3 years of continent wide conflict. If you seek more on Akroma, I suggest looking into the Novels of Onslaught and Legions." -Umbral the Archivist

[forbidden-sorcery]

The Mystery of the Blood is an ancient one, perhaps the most archaic mystery pertaining to physical incarnation. In Thelema, the 'drops' of one's blood are every thought, every seed, every womb, every soul that one has been, is and ever shall be. It is a concept that appears on the surface to be metaphorical, yet is anything but. For it is the only reality that exists. As a concept permeating the Holy Books of Thelema, it is, like Babalon Herself, expressed in a type of mystical and hypostatic language. It cannot be otherwise, but what is so expressed is a very real thing. This reality is given form in the Gnostic Mass, in the Rite of the Phoenix, and in all rituals dedicated unto Our Lady Babalon. Blood, suffused with the numena of one's will and LVX, is freely offered unto Her and the Gods.         Nothing is held back, for to do so would be to profane the very Mystery one is seeking to celebrate. In everything, one must give one's all. For the life of the flesh and the life of the Light, is the blood so given and so taken by the Mother of us all, Lady Babalon.

Robert Fitzgerald and Daniel A. Schulke - The Saints Are Dead: Babalon in Futurity

[illidqn]

Wishlist

[Dominaria][Thran Civil War][-4795 AR]

Dyfed, Mistress of Portals (Planeswalker)

Xod, Thran Healer

[Dominaria][Antiquities War][63 AR]

Ratepe, Son of Mideah

[Dominaria][Dark Age][64 AR - 450 AR]

Barl, Artificer of the Conclave

Jherana Rure, Commander of the Order

Maeveen O’Donagh

Oliver Farrel, Icatian Priest

Vervamon, the Elder

[Dominaria][Ice Age][450 AR - 2934 AR]

Avram Garrison

Gerda Äagesdotter

Gustha Ebbasdotter

Hurn of Clan Pearl

Jason Carthalion

Leshrac, Walker of Night (Planeswalker)

Miko, King of Storgard

[Dominaria][Legends][3000 AR - 4150 AR]

Adira Strongheart

Johan, Tyrant of Tirras (Version 2)

Jorgan Hage, Ærathi Berserker

Kolo Meha, Bogarden Seismicmage

[Dominaria][Planeswalker War][4195 AR]

Adam Carthalion

Altair of Coloni, White Mage (Planeswalker)

Caliphear, the Nightmare

Embereck, Ash Warlord (Planeswalker)

Faralyn of the Shard (Planeswalker)

Grenfell Mor of Golthonor (Planeswalker)

Gull, Woodcutter

Liana of Minorad (Planeswalker)

Ravidel, the Battlemage (Planeswalker)

Sandruu (Planeswalker)

Valthus, Segovian Leviathan

[Dominaria][Nine Titans][4205 AR]

Bo Levar, Interplanar Smuggler (Planeswalker)

Daria of Ulgrotha (Planeswalker)

Kristina of the Woods (Planeswalker)

Taysir of Rabiah (Planeswalker)

[Dominaria]

Afari, Jamuraan Writer

Agnate and Thaddeus

Astor the Upstar

Averru, Mightiest Numena

Crovax of Windgrace (Version 3)

Fiers, God of Dwarves (Legendary Enchantment Creature — Dwarf)

Gaea, Dominaria’s Protector (Legendary Enchantment Creature — Elemental)

Gatha, Keld Researcher

Gherridarigaaz, Shivan Dragon

Grizzlegom, Hurloon Minotaur

Karona, Dominaria’s Avatar (Version 2)

Kreig, Witch King of Keld

Kuberr, God of the Cabal

Lady Ana

Lowallyn, Lord of Hidden Waters

Lyna, Emissary of the Soltari

Nivea, Ixidor’s Lover

Orim, Weatherlight Healer (Version 2)

Skellum, Dementia Master

Tymolin Loneglade

Unnamed demonic leviathan (Planeswalker)

Vincent, Lord of the Pit

Zagorka and Chester

[Alara]

Asha, Bant Hero

Crucius, the Mad

Sifa Grent of Grixis (Planeswalker)

[Amonkhet]

Nakht, Acolyte of Tah-Crop

[Eldraine]

Corliss the Wanderer

Marawen, Barrow Witch

Princess Hazel Kenrith

Syr Alora

Syr Bragi

Syr Branigan

Syr Grenphir

Syr Layne

Syr Roki

Syr Tasdale

[Forgotten Realms]

Artemis Entreri

Jarlaxle of the Bregan D'aerthe

Khelben Arunsun, The Blackstaff

Regis of Lonelywood

[Innistrad]

Uta Falkenrath

[Ixalan]

Aclazotz, Bat God of the Night

Adrian Adanto of Luijo

Belligerant, Vraska's Ship (Legendary Artifact — Vehicle)

Captain Brandis Thorn

Captain Parrish

Emperor Apatzec Intli III

Itzama, the Crested

Ixalli, the Verdant Sun

Kinjalli, the Wakening Sun

Queen Miralda, the Pious

Tilonalli, the Burning Sun

[Kaladesh]

Vatti, Shadowblayde

[Kamigawa]

O-Kagachi, the Great Old Serpent (Version 2)

Snow-Fur, Kitsune Poet

Urami (Token)

[Lorwyn-Shadowmoor]

Illulia of Nighthearth

[Mercadia]

The Magistrate

[Mirrodin]

Kaldra (Token)

Ushanti, Leonin Seer

[New Phyrexia]

Azax-Azog, Demon Thane

Kraynox, Deep Thane

Roxith, Thane of Rot

Thrissik, Writhing Thane

[Phyrexia]

Abcal-dro, the Overseer

Croag of Phyrexia

Kirril, Phyrexian Priest

Sitrik, Birth Priest

Yawgmoth, Father of Machines (Legendary Enchantment Creature — God Horror) (Version 2)

[Rath]

Davvol, First Evincar

Predator, Scourge of Skyshroud (Legendary Artifact — Vehicle) (Version 2)

Takara en-Dal

[Ravnica]

Araithia Shokta

Azor, Parun (Planeswalker) (Version 2)

Bori Andon

Cisarzim, the Lord of Chaos

Damir, Voidwielder

Kallist Rhoka, Blademaster

Mat’Selesnya, Parun

Ritjit, Ogre Jailbreaker

Ruzi and Kuma

Senka, Stealer of Secrets

Simic, Parun

Svogthir, Parun

The Cozen

Unknown, Lotleth Troll

[Shandalar]

Bani Bakur of Ardestan

Kenan Sahrmal (Planeswalker)

[Tarkir]

Arel, the Whisperer

Gvar Barzeel, Krumar Commander

[Theros]

Agnomakhos, Archon Tyrant

Perisophia, the Philosopher

Unnamed third Titan

Unnamed fourth Titan

[Ulgrotha]

Feroz, Ulgrotha’s Protector (Planeswalker)

[Zendikar]

Turi

[Multiverse]

Baltrice of the Consortium (Planeswalker)

Ramaz, Shamanic Human (Planeswalker)

The Unluckiest (Planeswalker)

Unnamed creator of Phyrexia (Planeswalker)

Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

[Un-iverse]

Bucky, Flavor Text Writer

Mel, Mechanic Player

[fly-pow-bye]

See It Firsts for 11/25/19

Bucking the trend of adding See It Firsts on Friday, possibly due to the Thanksgiving weekend, Cartoon Network just added a bunch of See It Firsts.

Bakugan Battle Planet has a bunch of See It Firsts:

Girl Power/Return to the Fold - Girl Power: When Lia battles with China Riot, they eventually come to an understanding as China finally realizes she's been set up by Benton/Tiko./Return to the Fold: On the run and with options dwindling, the AO turn to Shun's father, Ichiro Kazami, for help.

Kazami Family Feud/Greatest of the Kazami - Kazami Family Feud: Masato attacks, but the AO soon realize that Ichiro is keeping a Golden Bakugan captive, forcing them to choose between the lesser of two evils!/Greatest of the Kazami: Shun makes an impassioned plea to Ichiro, but it is too late as the Kazami compound is overrun by Bakuzon and the Visvus Cell is lost.

Our Ugly Selves/Thryno Lives! - Our Ugly Selves: Abandoned in the Vestroia Labyrinth, the AO must deal with their personal losses and, worse, the Bakuzoned Awful Ones!/Trhyno Lives!: When the AO and Magnus form an alliance to free the Golden Bakugan, their differences lead to a horrible sacrifice for Dan and Lia.

The Healing Challenge/The Golden Drome - The Healing Challenge: As the AO struggle to hold together, a discovery is made involving the Golden Bakugan, a Golden Drome, and curing of a Bakuzoned Gorthion./The Golden Drome: While Dan and Drago enter the Golden Drome to heal Trhyno, the rest of the AO defend the Golden Drome from a militia of human hunters.

At the Beginning, an Ending/This Late Hour - At the Beginning, an Ending: When Shun and Lia track down Ichiro and Masato on their quest for more allies, they are forced to battle a Bakuzoned Ichiro!/This Late Hour: Shun, Lia and Masato must square off against the Dusk Forces, but they are not alone when they are joined by Lt. Brenan and Kino.

Bakuzon at the Gates - Bakuzon at the Gates, Part 1: As the Dusk Forces storm the Numena Core Cell, infighting between the Awesome Ones and their allies threatens to tear them all apart./Bakuzon at the Gates, Part 2: Tiko/Dusk Forces have coalesced into global power and are waging a no holds barred assault on the Numena Core Cell.

Planet-Ception/United We Stand - Planet-Ception: The final showdown between Tiko and AO with the future of Earth and Vestroia in balance./United We Stand: The Awesome Ones return home as heroes, wondering what battles await them in the future.

Also, a bunch of episodes of Lego Ninjago.

The Never-Realm -The ninja arrive in the Never-Realm where they quickly find themselves overwhelmed. Luckily, they are taken in by a tribe of Ice Fishers who tell them Zane has been imprisoned by the evil Ice Emperor.

Fire Maker - The Ice Emperor learns of the ninja's arrival and sends his Blizzard Samurai warriors to destroy them and the villagers who sheltered them.

An Unlikely Ally - Lloyd runs afoul of the Ice Emperor's Blizzard Samurai but is rescued by a strange wolf with whom an unlikely friendship develops.

The Absolute Worst! - Back in Ninjago City, three criminals learn of the ninja's absence and stage a breakout of Kryptarium Prison, telling tall tales of how they were captured as they go.

The Message - Lloyd and his wolf-companion find a cave with the mech inside and a message from Zane that provides a clue to his fate.

The Traveler's Tree - Guilt-ridden over having lost the Traveler's Tea, Cole embarks on a dangerous quest to the top of a nearby mountain in hopes of finding the legendary Traveler's Tree - a tree which is supposedly guarded by a fearsome beast.

Krag's Lament - Cole awakens inside an icy cavern belonging to a legendary beast, and attempts to escape, only to discover a surprising truth.

Secret of the Wolf - The Ice Emperor summons an enormous ice Behemoth to attack Lloyd and his faithful wolf companion.

The Last of the Formlings - Akita tells the story of the "Choosing" and how she, and her twin brother, Kataru, went into the wilds to discover their animal forms.

My Enemy, My Friend - The Ice Emperor's terrible Ice Dragon strikes again, laying waste to the Ice Fisher's village, forcing the ninja to go after Lloyd…

The Kaiju Protocol - Back in Ninjago City, Wu and Pixal attempt to locate the Never-Realm, and accidentally unleash a dreaded creature from the Departed Realm…

Corruption - The story of Zane's arrival in the Never-Realm and how he fell under the sway of the villainous Vex.

A Fragile Hope - Having discovered the terrible truth of Zane's fate, Lloyd finds himself imprisoned and alone in the clutches of the Ice Emperor.

Once and for All - Nya, Jay, Cole and Kai face off against the Ice Emperor's dreaded dragon, while Lloyd and his newfound allies, Kataru and Grimfax, confront the Ice Emperor himself.

Awakenings - The dramatic conclusion of the Never-Realm saga, in which old friends are reunited and the power of friendship is pitted against the corrupting power of the Scroll of Forbidden Spinjitzu.

Finally, there’s two episodes of Total Dramarama that will air on 11/30.

Harold Swatter and the Goblet of Flies - After finding what he believes to be a magic wand, Owen accidentally turns Harold into a housefly.

Stink. Stank. Stunk - When a skunk comes seeking its annual revenge on Chef, Duncan sees it as an opportunity to get a vacation from daycare.

If one has a cable or satellite subscription, they can check it out. Stay tuned.

[vorthosjay]

Let’s Talk About Chronicle of Bolas: Perspectives

The penultimate story for Chronicle of Bolas is here! Chronicle of Bolas: Perspectives gives us another glimpse into a Nicol-centric retelling of the history of the Elder Dragons, with some real meat on it’s bones to dive into. Yeah... I trust Ugin’s recounting of events better.

I’ve also got a note about the Let’s Talk About series going forward.

Nicol Bolas, the Arisen by Svetlin Velinov

I opened my wings to catch the air. Ugin may tell you that he and I were wrapped together like one creature, born together, falling together, minds waking together in bewilderment and curiosity. He may tell you that as we realized we were beings—minds—consciousnesses—that we unfolded together. Flew together.

But that is wrong.

I just want to quickly remind everyone that Bolas is full of crap, so he’s version of events should be taken with a grain of salt. I’m sure the events themselves happened but how they played out - and what Bolas leaves out - are highly suspect.

I beheld the majesty of the sun and the splendor of the heavens and understood the magnificence of my mind in those first instants. Then I recognized the curled-up creature falling helplessly beside me. Of course, my instinct was to help.

In case you were wondering how full of crap Bolas is, I doubt his first instinct was ever to help. Bolas is merely re-framing events to diminish Ugin and make himself look superior.

"Six?" Naiva asked. "Weren't there eight of you? Didn't two fall without waking? Didn't their bodies shatter atop the mountain?"

One of his foreclaws swatted down next to her, the impact shaking her off her feet. Her knees hit the ground hard. Pain stabbed tears into her eyes.

"Do not interrupt me again!" he thundered.

Lol, I think Bolas might be a wee insecure.

At last, I alone had the courage, and the hunger, to dare fold my wings and set my claws upon the ground. Of course, that momentous decision presaged all that was and is to come: my wings span the heavens, and my presence, my weight, my size, my claws, all these give me dominion over the earth and all that lives on the earth. So, I named our home Dominaria, because I claimed its song for myself.

Dominaria is actually named after Dominia, the old name of the multiverse (not typically called that anymore). Dominaria is the song of Dominia.

Again. Bolas. Crap. But hilariously in line with his character. I genuinely loved his retelling.

RAGE

How dare he have what I had not!

A white-hot spark kindled deep in my chest with a flash of such sunlit brightness that it blinded me. Impenetrable blackness filled my vision. Tumbling, I fell, totally disoriented, until with a gut-wrenching twist I righted myself.

This is very much Bolas. His spark ignited through anger, avarice and jealousy.

Notice the inconsistency in his story, though? He claims Ugin wasn’t a planeswalker until later... so why was he jealous of Ugin?

Only to find myself no longer atop the birth mountain but gliding over a boundless stretch of oceanic waters as flat and still as a mirror. I was the only thing in motion, my wings shadowing the sea's surface. There was no sun in this peculiar place, only the water and many craggy islets and a constant shushing whisper of secrets just out of my reach. By a faint humming vibration deep in my bones, I suspected this was not a plane but some manner of artificial construct, built by an unknown agent that had left neither claw nor footprint to mark its authorship. Who, or what, possessed so much power? And why had it been abandoned?

This is a cool lore tidbit! By now, my theory has borne out, this is the Meditation Realm (described as such later). But Bolas notes that it’s an artificial realm, not unlike Rath or Serra’s Realm.

Bubbles floated peaceably in the sky, drifting downward until they touched my scales and popped

With each pop, a sweet vista sprang open before me for a breathtaking moment before it vanished: other lands, other worlds, other planes.

This is new. I mean, we saw some of this with Naiva’s visions last time, but this is probably how Te Ju Ki knew of other planes, she’d reached the Meditation Realm through Meditation!

What wonders lay beyond the meager treasures of Dominaria! A hundred worlds I visited, and then a hundred more. Yet in all that time I found no trace of any other creature who could walk between worlds. I was the first among all sapient creatures to discover the possibility of traveling between planes. No wonder eternity and infinity welcomed me, having sojourned alone for so long!

Sure you were, Bolas. Sure you were. What’s interesting is he doesn’t think to describe what he does to those worlds.

There I found the wars between the elder dragons over long since. A tenuous peace had taken hold throughout much of the land. Of all the elder dragons and their children, only Chromium Rhuell, Arcades Sabboth, Palladia-Mors, and that vexatious beast Vaevictis Asmadi had survived.

If we take Bolas at his word, this is probably during the time of Legends, as Piru is unmentioned. Piru would probably be unmentioned regardless, or beneath Bolas’s notice, but if we’re taking it literally this is somewhere between -5,000 AR and 0 AR.

This also brings up some timing issues. If the Dominaria timeline is to be believed, we’ve skipped right over the Primevals, the Numena, and Bolas dueling the Demonic Leviathan (which should have happened shortly after Bolas became a planeswalker). I assume Bolas is editing his story for relevance, but it’s improtna

He regarded me with his usual patronizing superiority. "The battle you fled from, abandoning your troops? I gathered them under my wings. They were grateful for my protection, I assure you."

"Did you not see him, flying between our armies?" I demanded, utterly astonished by his obliviousness.

"You were not yourself that day, Bolas. No doubt you were seeing illusory things. You have always felt shame about Ugin's death, haven't you? Did you blame yourself for not protecting him? Or did you stand aside and allow him to be killed by some venomous sorcery? I've always wondered. I've always suspected you envied him because he was cleverer and wiser than you."

THIS is interesting. Why wouldn’t Arcades have seen Ugin? Even in Nicol Bolas’s story?

Is this Bolas attempting to diminish Arcades? Hmmm. Bears more thinking about.

But I was bigger than that. Much, much bigger. I was a Planeswalker, first and only one of my kind. To rule in Dominaria was all very well for a small-minded despot like Arcades, while I had grown as far beyond him as he was beyond pathetic, weak, short-lived humans.

I love that Bolas is unironically looking at Arcades like Ugin looked at him.

Also, I hope Arcades didn’t turn on his people. He’s the only one of the five to never get any characterization and that would be such a tragedy. More so than how they all die, anyway.

So, you may imagine my shock and my joy when I walked out of the blind eternities into the place I had come to call my Meditation Realm only to find Ugin there! He was floating atop the waters staring at himself as if he could imagine nothing better than to look at his own reflection.

HERE IS THE CONFIRMATION OF THE MEDITATION REALM!

He attacked, viciously and without warning, all raw fury and malignant resentment. I had no choice but to defend myself. First above the wide waters of the Meditation Realm and then on a wild pummeling path through the planes, we struggled for days, years, generations.

Okay, so obviously this is bullshit because this is not Ugin. The question is, what drove Ugin to this? Did he see the destruction his brother wrought across the Multiverse?

In the end, by diverse paths, we returned to the Meditation Realm. There, purely in self-defense, I killed him.

With a mighty splash, he fell into the still waters. The impact resounded like thunder. Monstrous waves rose from the displacement and swept across the craggy islets, crashing and destroying as they went. The waves ran on and on, washing far beyond the bounds of the Meditation Realm into the web of connection that links the planes themselves and maybe even into the blind eternities whose depths even dragons cannot plumb. The waves spilled out of the Meditation Realm as if Ugin's death had, like a weight dropped upon a ceramic bowl, broken cracks in the vessel itself.

The violence of the waves swept me out of the Meditation Realm. Like a cast spear, I was flung through ten or twenty or a hundred planes before I fell hard back into Dominaria, onto the island chain of Madara at a time when the memory of the Elder Dragon Wars had faded into legend. Bruised and stunned, I struggled to recover my strength, but recover it I did. Many battles lay before me, and I met them with ease.

Okay, so some questions here.

Did Bolas actually kill Ugin here? Was Ugin revived like Bolas was?

Did Ugin’s death collapse the Meditation Realm? When Bolas was killed in the Meditation Realm in the Legends II cycle, it did. And Bolas is spat back out on Madara. And if it did collapse, was it later restored for Legends II?

Is this before the Demonic Leviathan battle? Because we used to think that was the first planeswalker duel, but it might have just been the first one on Dominaria itself. Why did it spit Bolas back out on Madara? Was it because of the rift from the Demonic Leviathan battle?

I have so many questions about this battle that I really hope we get answers to next week.

Yet when she thought of the young ghostfire warrior, of his courage and sacrifice, a shudder passed through her frame and ripped a gash in her certainty. What would Tae Jin say when he learned she had handed over the great Yasova Dragonclaw to Nicol Bolas?

"Little Naiva, you mustn't believe I want to hurt Yasova. I want to help. That's all. Now go." His voice hardened. A pressure built in her head until she thought her skull would burst. "Now."

Kneeling, she pulled aside the fragment of broken hedron and crawled in. There, in the dim, stuffy confines of the space, Baishya lay as if asleep, breathing evenly. Grandmother sat cross-legged in mediation, eyes closed, left hand resting open on a thigh while her right hand grasped Baishya's bare fingers with an affectionate clasp. The gesture ate a hole of envy right through Naiva's heart. Grandmother had always preferred Baishya. She loved her more than she loved Naiva.

She would have to bodily haul Grandmother outside. But that could wait. Pulling her knife from its sheath, she pressed the blade against Baishya's vulnerable throat.

Where is Tae Jin in all of this? I wonder if the ghostfire warrior saves the day, shocking Naiva back to her senses.

Finally, I wanted to say that I’m going to be putting “Let’s Talk About” on indefinite hiatus following the conclusion of Chronicle of Bolas. “Indefinite” does not mean ‘cancelled’ in this context, just that I don’t know when I’m going to have time for it again.

I really appreciate everyone who has been a faithful reader, but I can’t sustain the amount of time and energy I put into it - almost as much as one of my biweekly articles! I’m moving next month and I genuinely don’t know if my new work situation will allow me the leeway to get these out every week around lunchtime. So overall, things are just up in the air.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop talking about the story week by week! Please continue to send me asks and I’ll try to clarify lore or give background whenever possible. It may just be in a much shorter format than this or as ask responses.

[best-ghoul]

So, Ghosts and Zombies, right?

While it’s a technicality, in GRAVEN MOON, you can create a ghost and a zombie from the same body.

Let’s say you’re a necromancer. In lieu of reanimating the body whole as an True Undead (like Rei, the protagonist), you can just yank the soul out and reanimate the meat to create a stupid little automata-- a Zombie or other, more specialized soulless undead. These things are legit just meat with a lil’ alchemic reactor in there that emulates the presence of a soul to direct the flesh.

As an aside: “Extracting a soul” sounds more fancy than it is, really: it’s just killing someone. The soul falls out and degrades into it’s components a few minutes after death, but you can stick it in a container to keep it fresh.

You can’t technically touch soulstuff-- it’s like trying to grab a vapor-- but it’s on the same plane we are, and you suck it up with a vacuum if you gotta, and there’s obviously abundant technologies and sorcerous techniques to move it around.

From there, you can dispose of the soul by rendering it into Numena to use as fuel for spellcasting or leave it to manifest as a Phantom (a technical term, people call em Ghosts a lot).

A Phantom’s the perpetually executing “dreams” of a soul’s memory (Phantasma). It’s the imprint the mind leaves on the soul, y’see. If you must, you can think of it like the soul’s cache: they’re usually too traumatized to interact with as a peer in this state and require extensive and careful rehabilitation if you want to actually talk to them. Even then, they are very prone to “breaking” again: trauma is as trauma does, after all.

Phantoms are typically unable to produce new memories or process new experiences as a result of the trauma of being extracted from a body, but sticking it in something (such as a haunted painting) helps the sentience crystalize and better orient itself, possibly returning to a blurry self-awareness if you’re patient and supportive.

This where it’s usually referred to as a Ghost, to distinguish it from spontaneously occurring spirits, and to indicate that it should be regarded as a person, not a feral presence, even to the laity. Depending on how a culture feels about ancestors, they’re probably due more respect than the necromancer that made them.

Is this important to you, shit ass dead dude?

Yeah, probably.

[mtg-realm]

MTG Realm's Derpy TL/DR History of Dominaria summary

Timeline may be questionable - please see Vorthos Jay.

Mythohistory : Over 10,000 Years Ago Sole Denizens - Elder Dragons (maybe even Elder WURMS !), Primevals, and a trio of powerful Wizards known as the Numena, who all had long glorious beards.

Thran - Phyrexian War : 5,000 Years Ago Thran technology using powerstones and artifice caused an illness to those exposed to long to this typed of radiation, and mutation into biomechanical horrors (Phyrexians).  These freaks are bannished to Mirrodin.

Antiquities War : 4,500 Years Ago (AKA Brother's War) Marked by the conflict between Urza and Mishra, which all started over an old Thran powerstone.

Ice Age ; 4,500 to 1,300 Years Ago The Sylex Blast from the Brother's War causes ecological havoc, and colder temperatures.  An Elf Planeswalker called Freyalise is frustrated over constantly wearing thermal under and casts a World Spell to warm things up again.

Modern History : 1,300 to 350 Years Ago Urza founds the first Tolarian Academy which immediately becomes voted to become 'most likely to be blown-up'.  Preparations made to defend against a future Phyrexian Invasion.

Phyrexian Invasion : 330 Years Ago Absolutely devastating, but through the efforts of Urza, and the Legacy Weapon, Yawgmoth and the Phyrexians are defeated at great cost.  Dubstep and House Music become popular.

Rift Era : Until 60 Years Ago On the continent of Otaria, a being called Karona (commonly confused with Corona which is a pale lager produced by Grupo Modelo), is inspired by Yawgmoth the evil, and promptly has an existential crisses. War erupts.

Mending Era : 60 Years Ago to Present Eight major rifts in time had formed over the history of Dominaria due to its many conflicts (example the Sylex Blast).  Postal Service resumes, with Kevin Costner as being quoted "Stuff is getting better, stuff is getting better everyday".  Kevin know little about the resurgence of the Cabal under the demon Belzenlok.

[x-x-files]

i saw @norroendyrd’s post and had to download the live portrait maker app, the art style is just so beautiful!! i made my inquisitor, Thalia, and my fan apprentice, Numena. i wish i could paint like this!

[gracelandmp3]

the other day i was possessed by the ghost of an old abandoned dungeon world campaign i ran & i wrote this creation myth based on some of the stuff my players and i came up with so here it is under the cut if ur uhh interested im probably gonna delete it later

in the beginning, the first god melithae ruled over all creation with an iron fist. “you were born of my womb,” he would tell his children, “and so you must obey my commands.”

yet melithae’s whims were exacting, and changeable, and as is the way of all children, the other gods chafed under their father’s thumb. they pleaded with him, begged to be allowed the freedom to create and to shape the world as he had, but melithae punished all who challenged him, reminded them that it was he who hung the stars in the sky and held dominion over all the universe; and his rage at his children was fearsome to behold.

and so it was that their father’s power grew too great and his reign too terrible for the young gods to bear, and so it came to pass that one day they rose up, and melithae was killed by his children. and as he died, his blood and bones turned to soil and rock, and from his flesh grew trees and rivers, and thus, from his corpse, melithae made the land.

yet even as he died, the first king would not give up his throne, and so his ghost rose up from his body to take his place once more. but the young gods knew intimately their father’s desire for control, and so when he came from the firmament to retake his crown, the children of melithae were ready, and they tore their fathers soul to pieces and scattered it to the corners of the earth.

and as these shards of spirit fell, they changed, and as each one made landfall in forest, or sea, or desert, or swamp, it took root - because although these fragments were no longer melithae’s spirit, and the land was no longer his body, they each remembered what they used to be. and so the seeds that were the first kings spirit took root in the earth, and each was shaped by the land they called home. and so over time they grew and blossomed  into powerful beings called numena - spirits of place who had great power over this grove, or that cave, and the spirits flourished. 

and thus the gods ensured that one king would never again rule in tyranny over all creation.