#enter: master ore

[powdermelonkeg]

I need your opinion on something; the spirit train from spirit tracks.

What material do you think it's made from? I figure the shiny goldish trimming is some kind of metal like gold or brass, the top part of the passenger car is probably wood and glass, and the red roof on both that and the locomotive is wood as well I think? But I'm not really sure if everything that's blue is wood or metal?

So, this is a multifaceted answer, because I have three separate opinions on it.

In my head, it's wooden. The default train you get for the tutorial is wooden, and metal trains to me either look silver or black.

Adding to this theory is the distinct lack of bolts. Compare to the endgame arena, the Demon Train:

Look how many bolts that baby has! Look how shiny it is! This is absolutely made of metal.

In broader Nintendo Lore (NOT LoZ lore), the Spirit Engine IS metal. Look how it's portrayed in Smash:

The passenger car almost certainly has wooden frames around the windows, but on everything else, the edges have been made to look like metal, bolts included. However, I don't consider this design canon in the world of Hyrule, because it was worked on by different artists than the ones that made Spirit Tracks. What likely happened here is that they were shown a reference picture and told to make it into a stage.

Now, let's get into the worldbuilding answer. Based on it being a steam engine (and ignoring the fact that it doesn't use coal, instead taking energy from the tracks it runs on), wood wouldn't make sense to make an engine out of. The steam would warp it, the firebox is a fire hazard, and the damage this baby sustains as it rides would splinter to bits if it was made of wood.

Yes, I'm aware that there's a wooden train, but there's also a dessert train, and unless strawberry shortcake suddenly has structural integrity, we can't take the customized trains to be any more canon than the Nintendo Switch shirt Link can find in BotW.

But it's not plain metal, either. No bolts visible, and it's colorful. And it's something that hasn't been used in ages, a gift from the gods, without so much as a speck of rust on it.

You know what it does look like, though?

Crimsonine, Azurine, and Aquanine.

These metals helped make up the Phantom Sword in the previous game, Phantom Hourglass, and are the only thing capable of defeating the monster Bellum. With the Spirit Train, they could easily be what makes such a tanky-but-speedy, old-but-functional engine. The colors are a little duller than the raw ores, so maybe they patina over time, like copper.

But what about the gold?

I'd like to direct your attention to one more ore of a similar nature.

This is called Master Ore. It's the material in A Link Between Worlds that's used to give the Master Sword more power. It has a similar crystal formation to the three Pure Metals, and channels magic well enough to defeat monsters with more ease than the regular Master Sword, of all things.

Granted, we find it in a different branch of the official timeline. But there's no reason a resource would just not exist between timelines, just not be widely known.

So, in short: I think the most likely answer as to what the Spirit Train is made of is Master Ore, the three Pure Metals, and possibly steel/iron alloys with the above metals for things like the body of the engine, the wheels and drive rods, and the metal of the cannon.

[starcurtain]

hihi sorry to rant in your inbox but i hate when people use aven's line about jade that says her kindness comes with a price to make their relationship seem worse than it is. while the ipc is. well. the ipc i dont thinl it would benefit her to harm him like theyre both stonehearts AND hes her subordinate. personally i think the price he mentions is like, testing him like she did in her social media post with the ores. it certainly would be less incongruous with her want to guide those that come after her..

I think that people really struggle with Jade. They took one look at her dommy mommy appearance and her status as one of the top three in the Stonehearts and they just want her to be unrepentant evil soooo bad.

Don't get me wrong, she is definitely a master manipulator and she definitely has a specific personal goal she's working toward using the IPC as her vehicle to do so. Her overall idea of creating an endless vortex of desires that can't ever be sufficiently met is very Voracity-coded and not really the kind of idea a very well-adjusted person would be espousing. We have no idea how loyal she really is to the IPC's goal of aiding Preservation against Destruction in the War of the Aeons.

But she's also, over and over again, been painted as having "True Neutral" moral alignment in-game. She's literally xxxHolic's Ichihara Yuuko with a bad case of capitalism: She always demands a price, but never asks more than is fair.

It's literally Fullmetal Alchemist's first law of alchemy: Human kind can not gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.

All of Jade's exchanges are equivalent and none of her customers enter into a bargain without understanding the price they are paying. In fact, she won't even let Firefly try to make a deal at all without doing her research in advance to truly realize the extent of what she is asking for. Jade is inherently an honest businesswoman.

The issue is that greed is all-encompassing. The ability to have any wish granted is a temptation that virtually no one can escape in the end.

Therefore, I think the best way to understand Jade is as the Honkai Star Rail equivalent of Mephistopheles. In the legend of Faust, the eponymous Dr. Faust longs for more in his life--he is endlessly pursuing knowledge and power, but has hit the limits of his own ability. He meets the devil, Mephistopheles, who agrees to enter into a pact with him: Mephistopheles will fulfill all Faust's wishes while Faust is still alive, but then Faust's soul will belong to the devil when he dies. The deal is fairly presented. The terms are not unclear: If Faust agrees to the bargain, he knows what will happen to his soul in the end.

Mephistopheles doesn't trick him or force his hand when it comes to this bargain. Faust could say no. He could resist. But he doesn't. He agrees, because human greed and pride are simply that overpowering. He thinks he's smarter than the devil; unlike the thousands of others who have come before and suffered damnation for their deals with the devil, Faust thinks he is different, better than others, more deserving... The actual temptation doesn't come from the devil. It comes from human hubris.

Like Mephistopheles, like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Jade merely presents the choice--it's humanity's endless desire that leads to the downfall.

It's a snake and an apple and a contract for a reasonnnnnn, Jade haters.

So, I don't think that Jade represents any danger to anyone who can resist temptation. Firefly walks away from Jade's exchange entirely unscathed. Trailblazer isn't pressed into surrender.

But Aventurine?

To be honest, I think his relationship with her is a bit more complicated.

Aventurine likes Jade. She did him a solid when he was at his lowest in life. His character stories make it clear that he views her as, essentially, someone "safe" in the IPC, unlike other Stonehearts.

But... I do agree that Aventurine approaches Jade more cautiously than he approaches others. And I think that probably stems from a couple of different factors:

Jade has positioned herself as Aventurine's "pseudo-mother," and Aventurine responds to her as if she, indeed, a mother figure he has to obey. He is more respectful of her than anyone else we see him interact with in the game--Diamond and Opal get called by name, but Jade is always "Ma'am." Which is very close to "Mama;" this is not an accidentttttt. When Jade disrupts his banter with Topaz, Aventurine immediately does as he is told, hands over his room card, and simmers down. Even in joking social media posts, when Jade asks Aventurine to do something (judge the uncut jade stones she sent him), he does it even when she rejects his high demand for profit sharing.

But:

2. Jade actually failed Aventurine's moral litmus test. From the beginning of his adulthood flashbacks, we see Aventurine explicitly troubled by the fact that his human dignity was denied and that a market value was assigned to his existence. And not even a high value. He was sold for pennies. It's the ultimate mortification, and we can tell it is still bothering him to this day because even "future" Aventurine brings up the sting of that bone-deep insult during Aventurine's long walk through Penacony. In response to the indignity, Kakavasha gave his original master a moral test: Kakavasha says that he'll go willingly into the hellscape of the death maze if his master will give him 30 copper Tanba, just half his market value. His master refuses, demonstrating that he does not view Kakavasha as a human being, worthy of any respect. By refusing this tiny, insignificant request, the master exhibits his utter moral depravity, from which there is no return. In response, Kakavasha ultimately kills him and takes the 30 copper coins he asked for (nothing more, nothing less) from his corpse.

When Kakavasha meets Jade, he then makes the exact same demand: He wants 30 copper coins and exactly 30 copper coins. At this point, it is very clear that--to Kakavasha--the coins are emblematic of his value as a human being. (I promise you, somewhere in his apartment right now are the 30 bloody coins he took from his master's cold corpse.) His freedom, his dignity, his worth... All of these things hinge on being able to acquire the original 60 Tanba coins. Thus, those who refuse his requests for the coins also symbolically refuse his request for basic respect, his request to be seen as an equal human being who deserves to not be reduced to mere pennies on a bill of sale.

And Jade refuses this request. She treats the demand for Tanbas like a paltry sum and instead ignores the specificity of the request to give a general "We'll give you riches beyond your imagine, more than you could have ever thought to want." But that isn't what he asked for. She stepped over the request he actually made in order to supplant her ideas, on her terms. Kakavasha made the tiniest, most easily completed request in the world, and in failing to actually just respect what he personally wished for, Jade demonstrated that she ultimately will not really respect him.

Just like his slave master, Aventurine represents a value on a page to Jade. For this reason, even if she extends pseudo-maternal behavior to Aventurine and he laps it up like a starved kitten drinks up milk, we see that he remains more cautious toward her than he does to any other female character in the game. Aventurine comes across as more comfortable talking to Acheron than he sounds when he talks to Jade... Because in failing the most basic and seemingly meaningless test, Jade revealed exactly to what extent Kakavasha can--and cannot--trust her.

Does Jade actually mean Aventurine any harm? No, I really don't think so, and you're right, those who claim that she does are really over-exaggerating Jade's negative traits, mostly because they've almost universally got a strong anti-IPC agenda and hate everything from the IPC except Aventurine on principle. Everything in Jade's character stories points to her honestly wanting to develop the hidden talents of others, to "polish" rough cut stones into true gems, and to see her fledglings thrive. Kakavasha is someone she picked up out of the dirt and dusted off. If he excels, that means her faith was well-placed, her judgment was correct, and her team as a whole excels.

It's exactly like a business owner who takes great pride in producing a fantastic product. Only when the product succeeds can the business itself succeed.

But business owners see their products as objects, not equals.

Jade is a fairly neutral figure and I think she wants to see Aventurine grow and achieve greatness. But at the end of the day, their relationship is very predicated on the notion of investment (Jade puts up the original capital to make Aventurine great, and he repays her faith in him by generating wealth for the IPC). It is clear she just can't be trusted to value Aventurine as a person above a means of profit--and Aventurine knows (and accepts) that too.

[theoutcastrogue]

Cold Iron in folklore, fiction, and RPGs

'Gold is for the mistress—silver for the maid! Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade.' 'Good!' said the Baron, sitting in his hall, 'But Iron—Cold Iron—is master of them all!' — Rudyard Kipling, “Cold Iron”

Folklore

Drudenmesser, or "witch-knife", an apotropaic folding knife from Germany

The notion that iron (or steel) can ward against evil spirits, witches, fairies, etc is very widespread in folklore. You hang a horseshoe over your threshold to deny entry to evil spirits, you carry an iron tool with you to make sure devils won't assault you, you place a small knife under the baby's crib to ward it from witches, and so on. Iron is apotropaic in many many cultures.

In English, we often come across passages that refer to apotropaic cold iron (or cold steel). "All uncouth, unknown Wights are terrifyed by nothing earthly so much as by cold Iron", says Robert Kirk in 1691, which I believe is the earliest example. "Evil spirits cannot bear the touch of cold steel. Iron, or preferably steel, in any form is a protection", says John Gregorson Campbell in 1901.

Words

So what is cold iron? In this context, it’s just iron. The “cold” part is poetic, especially – but not only – if we’re talking about either blades (or swords, weapons, the force of arms) or manacles and the like. It just sounds more ominous. There are “cold yron chaines” in The Fairie Queene (1596), and a 1638 book of travels tells us that a Georgian general (in the Caucasus) vowed “to make the Turk to eat cold iron”.

Green’s Dictionary of Slang defines “cold iron” as a sword, and dates the term to 1698. From 1725 it appears in Cant dictionaries (could this sense be thieves’ cant, originally? why not, plenty of words and expressions started as underworld slang and then entered the mainstream), and from ~1750 its use becomes much more common.

NGram Viewer diagram for 1600-2019.

In other contexts, cold iron is (surprise!) iron that’s not hot. So let’s talk a bit about metallurgy.

Metals

In nature, we can find only one kind of iron that’s pure enough to work with: meteoritic iron. It has to literally fall from the sky. Barring that very rare occurrence, people have to mine the earth for iron ore, which is not workable as is. To separate the iron from the ore we have to smelt it, and for that we need heat, in the form of hot charcoals. Throwing the ore on the coals won’t do much of anything, it’s not hot enough. But if we enclose the coals in a little tower built of clay, leaving holes for air flow, the temperature rises enough to smelt the ore. That’s called a bloomery.

clay bloomery / medieval bloomery / beating the bloom to get rid of the slag

What comes out of the bloomery is a bloom: a porous, malleable mass of iron (that we need) and slag (byproducts that we don’t need). But now we can get rid of the slag and turn the porous mass to something solid, by hammering the hot bloom over and over. And once the slag is off, by the same process we can give it a desired shape in the forge, reheating it as needed. This is called “working” the iron, hence “wrought iron” objects, i.e. forged.

a blacksmith in his forge, with bellows, fire, and anvil (English woodcut, 1603)

This is the lowest-tech version, possibly going back to ~2000 BCE in Nigeria. If we add bellows, the improved air flow will raise the temperature. So smelting happens faster and more efficiently in the bloomery, and so does heating the iron in the forge, making it easier to work with. And that’s the standard process from the Iron Age all through the middle ages and beyond (although in China they may have skipped this stage and gone straight to the next one).

If we make the bloomery bigger and bigger, with stronger and stronger bellows, we end up with a blast furnace, a construction so efficient that the temperature outright melts the iron, and it’s liquified enough to be poured into a mould and acquire the desired shape when it cools off. This is “cast iron”.

a blast furnace

So in all of this, what’s cold iron? Well, it’s iron that went though the heat and cooled off. (No heat = no iron, all you got is ore.) If it came out of a bloomery, or if it wasn’t cast, it’s by definition worked, hammered, beaten, wrought, and that happened while it was still hot.

Is there such a thing as “cold-wrought” iron? No. In fact, “working cold iron” was a simile for something foolish or pointless. A smith who beats cold iron instead of putting it in the fire shows folly, says a 1694 book on religion, so you too should choose your best tools, piety and good decorum, to educate your children and servants, instead of beating them. When Don Quixote (1605) declares he’ll go knight-erranting again, Sancho Panza tries to dissuade him, but it’s like “preaching in the desert and hammering on cold iron” (a direct translation of martillar en hierro frío).

Minor work can be done on cold iron. A 1710 dictionary of technical terms tells us that a rivetting-hammer is “chiefly used for rivetting or setting straight cold iron, or for crooking of small work; but ’tis seldom used at the forge”. Fully fashioning an object out of cold iron is not a real process – though a 1659 History of the World would claim that in Arabia it’s so hot that “smiths work nails and horseshoes out of cold iron, softened only by the vigorous heat of the sun, and the hard hammering of hands on the anvil”. [I declare myself unqualified to judge the veracity of this statement, let's just say I have doubts.] And there is of course such a thing as “cold wrought-iron”, as in wrought iron after it’s cooled off.

Either way, in the context of pre-20th century English texts which refer to apotropaic “cold iron”, it’s definitely not “cold-wrought”, or meteoritic, or a special alloy of any kind. It’s just iron.

Fiction

The old superstition kept coming up in fantasy fiction. In 1910 Rudyard Kipling wrote the very influential short story “Cold Iron” (in the collection Rewards and Fairies), where he explains invents the details of the fairies’ aversion to iron. They can’t bewitch a child wearing boots, because the boots have nails in the soles. They can’t pass under a doorway guarded by a horseshoe, but they can slip through the backdoor that people neglected to guard. Mortals live “on the near side of Cold Iron”, because there’s iron in every house, while fairies live “on the far side of Cold Iron”, and want nothing to do with it. And changelings brought up by fairies will go back to the world of mortals as soon they touch cold iron for the first time.

In Poul Anderson’s The Broken Sword (1954), we read:

“Let me tell you, boy, that you humans, weak and short-lived and unwitting, are nonetheless more strong than elves and trolls, aye, than giants and gods. And that you can touch cold iron is only one reason.”

In Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn (1968) the unicorn is imprisoned in an iron cage:

“She turned and turned in her prison, her body shrinking from the touch of the iron bars all around her. No creature of man’s night loves cold iron, and while the unicorn could endure its presence, the murderous smell of it seemed to turn her bones to sand and her blood to rain.”

Poul Anderson would come back to that idea in Operation Chaos (1971), where the worldbuilding’s premise is that magic and magical creatures have been reintroduced into the modern world, because a scientist “discovered he could degauss the effects of cold iron and release the goetic forces”. And that until then, they had been steadily declining, ever since the Iron Age came along.

There are a million examples, I’m just focusing on those that would have had a more direct influence on roleplaying games. However, I should note that all these say “cold iron” but mean “iron”. Yes, the fey call it cold, but they are a poetic bunch. You can’t expect Robin Goodfellow’s words to be pedestrian, now can you?

RPGs

And from there, fantasy roleplaying systems got the idea that Cold Iron is a special material that fey are vulnerable to. The term had been floating around since the early D&D days, but inconsistently, scattered in random sourcebooks, and not necessarily meaning anything else than iron. In 1st Edition’s Monster Manual (1977) it’s ghasts and quasits who are vulnerable to it, not any fey creature. Devils and/or fiends might dislike iron, powdered cold iron is a component in Magic Circle Against Evil, and “cold-wrought iron” makes a couple of appearances. For example, in AD&D it can strike Fool’s Gold and turn it back to its natural state, revealing the illusion.

Then Changeling: The Dreaming came along and made it a big deal, a fundamental rule, and an anathema to all fae:

Cold iron is the ultimate sign of Banality to changelings. ... Its presence makes changelings ill at ease, and cold iron weapons cause horrible, smoking wounds that rob changelings of Glamour and threaten their very existence.... The best way to think about cold iron is not as a thing, but as a process, a very low-tech process. It must be produced from iron ore over a charcoal fire. The resulting lump of black-gray material can then be forged (hammered) into useful shapes. — Changeling: The Dreaming (2nd Edition, 1997)

So now that we know how iron works, does that description make sense? Well, if we assume that the iron ore is unceremoniously dumped on coals, it does not. You can’t smelt iron like that. If we assume that a bloomery is involved even though it’s not mentioned, then yes, this is broadly speaking how iron’s been made since the Iron Age, and until blast furnaces came into the picture. But the World of Darkness isn’t a pseudo-medieval setting, it’s modern urban fantasy. So the implication here is that “cold iron” is iron made the old way: you can’t buy it in the store, someone has to replicate ye olde process and do the whole thing by hand. Now, this is NOT how the term “cold iron” has been used in real life or fiction thus far, but hey, fantasy games are allowed to invent things.

Regardless, 3.5 borrowed the idea, and for the first time D&D made this a core rule. Now most fey creatures had damage reduction and took less damage from weapons and natural attacks, unless the weapon was made of Cold Iron:

“This iron, mined deep underground, known for its effectiveness against fey creatures, is forged at a lower temperature to preserve its delicate properties.” — Player’s Handbook (3.5 Edition, 2003)

Pathfinder kept the rule, though 5e did not. And unlike Changeling, this definition left it somewhat ambiguous if we’re talking about a material with special composition (i.e. not iron) or made with a special process (i.e. iron but). The community was divided, threads were locked over this!

So until someone points me to new evidence, I’ll assume that the invention of cold iron as a special material, distinct from plain iron, should be attributed to TTRPGs.

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 402 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

tagline 1 各地の戦況は… かくちのせんきょうは… kakuchi no senkyou wa... The state of the war in various places...

1 荼毘完全沈黙‼︎避難民の無事も確認！ だびかんぜんちんもく‼︎ひなんみんのぶじもかくにん！ Dabi kanzen chinmoku!! hinanmin no buji mo kakunin! "Complete silenced from Dabi!! Confirm the safety of the evacuees!"

2 轟焦凍任務成功です！ ショートにんむせいこうです！ SHOOTO ninmu seikou desu! "Shouto's mission is a success!"

3 そして soshite And...

4 トガ増殖停止‼︎消えていきます！ トガぞうしょくていし‼︎きえていきます！ TOGA zoushoku teishi!! kiete ikimasu! "Toga's proliferation has stopped!! [Her clones} are disappearing!"

tagline 2 「僕のヒーローアカデミア」 「ぼくのヒーローアカデミア」 「boku no HIIROO AKADEMIA」 My Hero Academia

1 そして soshite And...

tagline No.402　THE TEARFUL DAYS　　堀越耕平 ナンバー402　ザ　ティアフル　デイズ　　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 402 ZA TIAFURU DEIZU   Horikoshi Kouhei No. 402 THE TEARFUL DAYS  Kouhei Horikoshi

1 トゥワイスが消えていきます…！ トゥワイスがきえていきます…！ TUWAISU ga kiete ikimasu...! "The Twices are disappearing...!"

2 重量軽減これで浮力が確保できます！ じゅうりょうけいげんこれでふりょくがかくほできます！ juuryou keigen kore de furyoku ga kakuho dekimasu! "With this weight reduction, we can secure our buoyancy!"

3 同刻 どうこく doukoku At the same time...

4 AFO‼︎死柄木に接近‼︎ オール・フォー・ワン‼︎しがらきにせっきん‼︎ OORU FOO WAN!! Shigaraki ni sekkin!! "All For One!! He's approaching Shigaraki!!"

5 泥ワープ圏内に入ってます‼︎ どろワープけんないにはいってます‼︎ doro WAAPU kennai ni haittemasu!! "He's entering range for his mud warp!!"

1 雄英から降りて緑谷くんは ゆうえいからおりてみどりやくんは yuuei kara orite Midoriya-kun wa Midoriya-kun, who left UA,

2 あれだけの至近距離でなんとか死柄木の攻撃をいなしているなんとか膠着状態を保っている！ あれだけのしきんきょりでなんとかしがらきのこうげきをいなしているなんとかこうちゃくじょうたいをたもっている！ are dake no shikin kyori de nantoka Shigaraki no kougeki wo inashite iru nantoka kouchaku joutai wo tamotte iru! has somehow managed at such a close range to dodge Shigaraki's attacks and maintain a stalemate!

3 泥ワープ どろワープ doro WAAPU Mud Warp

1 巻き戻しを注入した時点で… まきもどしをちゅうにゅうしたじてんで… makimodoshi wo chuunyuu shita jiten de... "At the moment I injected Rewind..."

2 此処がゴールだった…… ここがゴールだった…… koko ga GOORU datta...... "this [place] was my goal......"

3-4 弔に「僕の"個性"」を譲渡する事で とむらに「ふくせいひん」をじょうとすることで Tomura ni 「fukuseihin (kanji: boku no "kosei")」 wo jouto suru koto de "By transferring my copy of my quirk to Tomura,"

5 彼は僕を超えた僕となる かれはぼくをこえたぼくとなる kare wa boku wo koeta boku to naru "he will become a me that surpasses me."

6 まだ…密着さえすれば‼︎ まだ…みっちゃくさえすれば‼︎ mada...micchaku sae sureba!! If only...we were glued together!!

7 来いAFO こいオール・フォー・ワん koi OORU FOO WAN "Come, All For One."

8 OFAに邪魔されずに 緑谷にじゃまされずに Midoriya (kanji: OFA) ni jama sarezu ni "Without interference from Midoriya (read as: One For All),"

9 円滑な譲渡を行うには えんかつなじょうとをおこなうには enkatsu na jouto wo okonau ni wa "to ensure a smooth transfer..."

1 おいで oide "Come here,"

2 死柄木弔 もう一人の僕 mou hitori no boku (kanji: Shigaraki Tomura) "other me (read as: Tomura Shigaraki)."

3 先生… せんせい… sensei... "Master..."

4 邪魔だよ じゃまだよ jama da yo "you're a nuisance."

1 やはりすでに"意識"は呑まれているか やはりすでに"ぼく"はのまれているか yahari sude ni "boku (kanji: ishiki)" wa nomarete iru ka Indeed, you've already consumed my consciousness, huh?

2 まァいい maA ii Well, that's fine.

3 ならば出向くまでさ ならばでむくまでさ naraba demuku made sa "In that case, I'll have to go over [there]."

4 おい oi "Hey,"

5 …あれ… ...are... "...that..."

1 わあああっ‼︎ waaaa!! "Waaaagh!!"

2 その情けない表情を以て そのなさけないかおをもって sono nasakenai kao (kanji: hyoujou) wo motte "While you have that pitiful face (read as: expression),"

3 若者に夢を見せた責任を取ろうオールマイト‼︎ わかものにゆめをみせたせきにんをとろうオールマイト‼︎ wakamono ni yume wo miseta sekinin wo torou OORU MAITO!! "let's have you take responsibility for showing dreams to the youth, All Might!!"

(the little bubbles containing ハッ are "hah" noises from Izuku breathing heavily)

1 オールマイト助けなきゃあ‼︎緑谷出久‼︎ オールマイトたすけなきゃあ‼︎みどりやいずく‼︎ OORU MAITO tasukenakyaa!! Midoriya Izuku!! "You have to help All Might!! Izuku Midoriya!!"

2 丁度いいや！行ってこいよ‼︎ ちょうどいいや！いってこいよ‼︎ choudo ii ya! itte koi yo!! "Such good timing! Go [get him] and come back!!"

3 その間に先刻俺を痛め続けた上の連中 そのあいだにさっきおれをいためつづけたうえのれんちゅう sono aida ni sakki (kanji: senkoku) ore wo itame tsudzuketa ue no renchuu "In the meantime, that lot [of yours] above who kept hurting me earlier,"

4 全部壊しとくからさ！ ぜんぶこわしとくからさ！ zenbu kowashitoku kara sa! "I'll destroy all of them [before you get back]!"

1 運命などこの腕で好きな形にねじ曲げてやるさ うんめいなどこのうでですきなかたちにねじまげてやるさ unmei nado kono ude de suki na katachi ni nejimagete yaru sa With these arms, I'll twist fate into whatever shape I like.

2 僕も一緒にねじ曲げます ぼくもいっしょにねじまげます boku mo issho ni nejimagemasu I'll also twist it together with you.

3 一度は抑えた筈の涙が いちどはおさえたはずのなみだが ichido wa osaeta hazu no namida ga The tears he had once held back

4 再び溢れ零れそうになるのを堪える ふたたびあふれこぼれそうになるのをたえる futatabi afure kobore sou ni naru no wo taeru are about to overflow and spill again, and he resists it..

5 その泣き虫は治さないとな そのなきむしはなおさないとな sono nakimushi wa naosanai to na You need to fix that crybaby [thing].

6 良い弟子でありたいから いいでしでありたいから ii deshi de aritai kara ...because he wants to be a good disciple.

7 OFAの面影が ワン・フォー・オールのおもかげが WAN FOO OORU no omokage ga The One For All vestige

8 緑谷出久の中で みどりやいずくのなかで Midoriya Izuku no naka de inside Izuku Midoriya

9-10 一足先に別れを告げた ひとあしさきにわかれをつげた hitoashi saki ni wakare wo tsugeta bade him farewell there earlier.

1 オールマイト!!! OORU MAITO!!! All Might!!!

1 "個性"がなくても "こせい"がなくても "kosei" ga nakutemo Even if I don't have a quirk,

2 ヒーローは出来ますか⁉︎ ヒーローはできますか⁉︎ HIIROO wa dekimasu ka!? can I become a hero!?

3 できるよ dekiru yo You can.

4 だって君は沢山頑張れるもの だってきみはたくさんがんばれるもの datte kimi wa takusan ganbareru mono Because you are one who can do your best a lot.

5 夢を捨てきれなかったもの ゆめをすてきれなかったもの yume wo sutekirenakatta mono Because you are one who cannot abandon your dream.

6 私も わたしも watashi mo I, too,

7 捨てきれないんだよ すてきれないんだよ sutekirenainda yo cannot abandon mine either.

8 私の…… わたしの…… watashi no...... My......

9 夢… ゆめ… yume... dream...

1-2 平和の……象徴に…… へいわの……しょうちょうに…… heiwa no......shouchou ni...... "[To become] the symbol......of peace......"

3 後よろしくな あとよろしくな ato yoroshiku na "I leave the rest to you,"

4 空彦 そらひこ Sorahiko "Sorahiko."

1 そいつの夢 そいつのゆめ soitsu no yume "That kid's dream,"

2 叶えてやってくれ かなえてやってくれ kanaete yattekure "please make it come true."

3 お師匠ォオ‼︎ おししょうォオ‼︎ oshishouOO!! "Masteeer!!"

4 志村菜奈の最後… しむらななのさいご… Shimura Nana no saigo... Nana Shimura's end...

5 何故 今思い出す⁉︎ なぜ いまおもいだす⁉︎ naze ima omoidasu!? Why do I remember it now!?

6 理想ばかりが先行し実力の伴わない女だった りそうばかりがせんこうしじつりょくのともなわないおんなだった risou bakari ga senkou shi jitsuryoku no tomonawanai onna datta She was a woman who put her ideals first, without the power to back them up.

7 実にみっともない死に様だった じつにみっともないしにざまだった jitsu ni mittomonai shi ni zama datta And then she died such a pathetic death.

1 オール・フォー・ワン OORU FOO WAN All For One,

2 おまえはオールマイトに負ける…必ずね おまえはオールマイトにまける…かならずね omae wa OORU MAITO ni makeru...kanarazu ne you will lose to All Might...for sure.

3 だって datte Because...

4 こいつ koitsu This guy,

5 自分もろともーー じぶんもろともーー jibun morotomo-- together with himself-- (Note: The implication is that AFO has realized All Might plans to take AFO down with him.)

6 おまえより俊 (とし) 典の方が おまえよりとしのりのほうが omae yori Toshinori no hou ga compared to you, Toshinori is

7 イカレてる IKAREteru crazier.

8 もっかい死ねば もっかいしねば mokkai shineba "If you die once more,"

9 せめて幼稚園児くらいにはなるかぁ⁉︎ せめてようちえんじくらいにはなるかぁ⁉︎ semete youchienji kurai ni wa naru kaa!? "will you become about as old as a kindergartner!?"

tagline 全てを賭して‼︎ すべてをとして‼︎ subete wo toshite!! Risk everything!!

[ardafanonarch]

Hi omg I love this thank you for doing it! I have seen a lot about what named sword did or didn't or might have belonged to whom - do we actually know the names of any First Age swords and who wielded them? (other than Eol's cursed pair).

Thank you!

[Anon, this one got so long that I have divided it into 3 parts so people can navigate more easily to weapons that most interest them. Thanks so much for sending this ask, I went down many rabbit holes researching and learned some new things myself.]

The Iron Gang: Anglachel-Gurthang, Anguirel, Angrist

Swords of the First Age, Part 1 of 3

Anglachel

Meaning: Uncertain. Possibly a combination of ang “iron”, lach “flame” and êl “star” (Eldamo). Sindarin.

Maker: Eöl

Owned/wielded by: Eöl, Thingol, Beleg, (Gwindor), Túrin

Notable for: forged from meteoritic iron; given as fee to Thingol for leave to dwell in Nan Elmoth; slaying Beleg

Fate: Reforged in Nargothrond as Gurthang

Then Beleg chose Anglachel; and that was a sword of great worth, and it was so named because it was made of iron that fell from heaven as a blazing star; it would cleave all earth-delved iron. One other sword only in Middle-earth was like to it. That sword does not enter into this tale, though it was made of the same ore by the same smith; and that smith was Eöl the Dark Elf, who took Aredhel Turgon’s sister to wife. He gave Anglachel to Thingol as fee, which he begrudged, for leave to dwell in Nan Elmoth; but its mate Anguirel he kept, until it was stolen from him by Maeglin, his son. The Silmarillion, ‘Of Túrin Turambar’

Discussion

Anglachel and its mate Anguirel are remarkable weapons. Not only because they were forged from “star iron”, against which the mere iron ores of Earth were no match, but also — certainly in the case of Anglachel and probably likewise with Anguirel — they seem to have possessed a sort of dark power, even sentience.

When Thingol gives Anglachel to Beleg, Melian says:

‘There is malice in this sword. The dark heart of the smith still dwells in it. It will not love the hand it serves; neither will it abide with you long.’

Melian’s words, as usual, prove prescient: Anglachel goes on to be the instrument of Beleg’s demise, wielded against him by Túrin as Beleg attempts to cut the fetters holding his friend captive. Gwindor then briefly carries Anglachel, until he and Túrin come to the Pool of Ivrin and Túrin is released of the madness of his grief over Beleg. Túrin notes that the blade has blackened and become blunt, and Gwindor remarks:

‘This is a strange blade, and unlike any that I have seen in Middle-earth. It mourns for Beleg even as you do.’ The Children of Húrin, Chapter 9: Death of Beleg

The implication seems to be that Anglachel has weathered unnaturally after losing its master.

Presumably because of this damage, Anglachel is reforged in Nargothrond. We do not know who specifically reforged the swords, but it is popular fanon that Celebrimbor, who remained in Nargothrond following his father’s expulsion, may have been involved. After reforging, Anglachel becomes Gurthang.

Gurthang (Anglachel reforged)

Meaning: Iron of Death. Sindarin.

Maker: Eöl, reforged by smiths of Nargothrond

Owned/wielded by: Túrin

Notable for: slaying Glaurung, Brandir, Túrin

Fate: Broken under Túrin’s body in his suicide. Shards buried with him.

The sword Anglachel was forged anew for him by the cunning smiths of Nargothrond, and though ever black its edges shone with pale fire. The Silmarillion, ‘Of Túrin Turambar’ Then they lifted up Túrin, and saw that his sword was broken asunder. So passed all that he possessed. The Children of Húrin, Chapter 13: The Death of Túrin

Discussion

Anglachel’s seeming-sentience is amplified by its reforging as Gurthang. In this incarnation, the weapon frequently flickers and flames as if it houses a fire of its own. Most notably, when Túrin prepares to take his own life, Gurthang speaks:

Then he drew forth his sword, and said: 'Hail Gurthang, iron of death, you alone now remain! But what lord or loyalty do you know, save the hand that wields you? From no blood will you shrink. Will you take Túrin Turambar? Will you slay me swiftly?' And from the blade rang a cold voice in answer: 'Yes, I will drink your blood, that I may forget the blood of Beleg my master, and the blood of Brandir slain unjustly. I will slay you swiftly.' Then Túrin set the hilts upon the ground, and cast himself upon the point of Gurthang, and the black blade took his life. The Children of Húrin, Chapter 13: The Death of Túrin

A Tangent: The Enigma of the Sentient Sword

There is no explanation in the legendarium for why or how Gurthang speaks, but a speaking sword is an enduring feature of Túrin’s story that goes all the way back to the earliest version, Turambar and the Foalókë (c. 1917-19, published in The History of Middle-earth Vol. 2: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two). So why did Gurthang speak, and why was this feature so dear to Tolkien? Well, here’s a passage on the death of the hero of the Tale of Kullervo in the Kalevala, a Finnish epic that Tolkien read as a teenager and which was a major inspiration behind the story of Túrin.

Kullervo, Kalervo's offspring, Grasped the sharpened sword he carried, Looked upon the sword and turned it, And he questioned it and asked it, And he asked the sword's opinion, If it was disposed to slay him, To devour his guilty body, And his evil blood to swallow. Understood the sword his meaning, Understood the hero's question, And it answered him as follows: "Wherefore at thy heart's desire Should I not thy flesh devour, And drink up thy blood so evil? I who guiltless flesh have eaten, Drank the blood of those who sinned not?" Kalevala, Rune XXXVI, translated by W.F. Kirby (1907)

Very familiar, isn’t it? The existence of a talking sword in-universe provides opportunity for all sorts of imaginative explanations, but the influence of Kullervo offers, I think, a compelling Doylist one.

Finally, it’s common to read interpretations where Anglachel and Anguirel exhibit the same properties as Gurthang. But there’s not, to the best of my knowledge, explicit canonical evidence that “speech” was an ability these two swords had from the time of their forging by Eöl. (I was also fascinated to find, during research for this post, that Anglachel and Anguirel were probably not always black. I made a separate post about it.)

Anguirel

Meaning: Uncertain. Possibly a combination of Sindarin ang “iron”, (unattested) uir “fiery” (or Noldorin uir “eternity”), and êl “star” (Eldamo).

Maker: Eöl

Owned/wielded by: Eöl, Maeglin

Fate: Unknown; presumably lost in the fall of Gondolin

Discussion

Compared to Anglachel, we know little of the history of its mate Anguirel, save that it was stolen from Eöl by Maeglin, presumably at the time Maeglin left Nan Elmoth for Gondolin.

Angrist (knife)

Meaning: Iron Cleaver. Sindarin.

Maker: Telchar of Nogrod

Owned/wielded by: Curufin, Beren

Fate: Breaks in Beren’s attempt to cut a second Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown.

Then Beren did Curufin release; but took his horse and coat of mail, and took his knife there gleaming pale, hanging sheathless, wrought of steel. No flesh could leeches ever heal that point had pierced; for long ago the dwarves had made it, singing slow enchantments, where their hammers fell in Nogrod, ringing like a bell. Iron as tender wood it cleft, and sundered mail like woollen weft. But other hands its haft now held; its master lay by mortal felled. The Lay of Leithian, 3051-3063

Then Lúthien rising forbade the slaying of Curufin; but Beren despoiled him of his gear and weapons, and took his knife, Angrist. That knife was made by Telchar of Nogrod, and hung sheathless by his side; iron it would cleave as if it were green wood. The Silmarillion, ‘Of Beren and Lúthien’

Discussion

Although of a different maker (and of unknown metallic composition), Angrist has interesting similarities with Anglachel and Anguirel. Besides the initial ang- element, all three blades are noted for an ability to cut through iron, and both Anglachel and Angrist end up “turning against” their masters as a pivotal moment: Angrist by breaking as Beren tries to cut a second Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown, and Anglachel by being the instrument of Beleg's death. As Eöl is also noted to have learned from the Dwarves, some fans have imagined these three blades may have been forged from the same meteoritic iron, or at least to share some of the same “enchantment”.

Note that the quote from Lay of Leithian does not explicitly apply to Angrist, which is a name for Curufin’s knife that Tolkien first used in the 1937 Quenta Silmarillion.

Part 2 | Part 3

[colormepurplex2]

On Wings of Mist & Memories | JJK

▻ On Wings of Mist & Memories ↳ DragonRider!Jungkook x FieldScribe!f.Reader ⤜ Exiled Royalty, High Fantasy AU ⤜ Enemies to Lovers | Angst, smut, fluff ⤜ Rating: MA ⤜ WC: 39,753 ⤜ Summary: You’re a Psion—disguised Field Scribe—of the Golden Kingdom of Bolas, attached to the Front Wing Infantry. After an ambush from the sky rips down the safe walls around you, you find yourself at the mercy of a brutal man, his dragon, and his shadows. ⚠️ Crass language, combat/violence, minor character deaths, talk of war, brief nudity (nonsexual, mostly), sexual references and feelings, flashback minor character death, mild sexual tension, suggestive inner thoughts, lots of sexual tension, crude banter, fingering, kissing, dirty talk, teasing, shadow penetration/sex (it's exactly what you're probably thinking it is: fun af), lots of praise, sexual pleading/begging, endearingly awkward sexual tension, shameless flirting, oral m. receiving, shadow clit play, nipple pinching/teasing, v. sex, mild cum play & eating, multiple orgasms, sad feelings/thoughts of the future, fighting, mild violence, implied minor character death, minor character terminal sickness that leads to off-page death, talk of forced bonds, heartache, pregnancy, off-page childbirth Each chapter will have specific warnings listed.

Chapter 1: Shadowsword

Chapter 2: Oath Breaker

Chapter 3: Burnished Heart

Part of the Bangtan Writers HQ August 2023 “A Love Like War” Writing Event.

A special thank you to @hisunshiine @downbad4yoongi & @peachiilovesot7 for being the best betas!

Can also be found on: Ao3 | Wattpad

Glossary/Map Mave - dragon rider who can wield magic, tethered to the soul of their dragon when they bond (death for both if one dies) Psion - infinite memory/recall Reaver - a dragon that can wield magic, tethered to the soul of the rider they bond (death for both if one dies) Noks - infantry soldiers, humanoids who can enter berserk/rage mode Rider - regular dragon rider, no magic, uses bows or scouts Brute - riderless dragon, usually wild and very dangerous Wielder - magic user, no dragon needed Signis - the designated/specific type of power someone wields Helnite - metal ore that can cut off magic from its user Golden Blight - incurable blood disease

◅ Back to Main Master List ©️   2023-08  ColorMePurplex2

[urwendii]

Bonus prompt: mairon + hair

Rarely is he late to his station for Maiar nor Valar need any sleep in the way of the Incarnates. It is something he prides himself in, to be available at his work every day at the same hour. When he enters the forge, many of his kin sport surprised expression, and he tasks himself to ignore them. Mairon has no wish to provide excuses for his lateness, as Aulë's second he sets himself above the lesser Maiar working in his master's forges.

As he left it yesterday before leaving to answer the call of Yavanna and her desire for his help upon her lands, his station is neatly ordered, cleaned tools hanging upon the east wall, his apron folded by the table set against the opposite wall. The fire roars to life upon a lazy flicker of his wrist.

Aulë will join him later. As for now Mairon's task is to lay out the samples minerals they have selected. He is quiet in his perusal and works with a steady pace. Everything around him breathes in symbiosis, from the cold walls of the cavernous forge to the crackling of the wood. Slender fingers tuck copper strands behind his ear as he leans down to trace with all seeing eyes the edge of a recently excavated shard of silver. There is imperfection in its inner layer, near the core that speaks of future weakness. He sets it aside.

"Mairon."

"Aulë." He answers his master back without ceasing his meticulous observation.

A tug on his long, unbound, fiery hair finally has him looks aside.

"How many time shall I need to tell you this, no smithing with unbraided hair Mairon."

He purses his lips, yet as with every time Aulë reminds him of this rule, he finds no rational counterargument. Deft fingers reached for his hair, expertly twisting the copper locks into a simple pattern hanging from his neck that he tied with a silky thread from Varië.

"Better?"

His master smiles dryly at him and gestures to the sets of ore Mairon has been working on.

"Better. Let's get to work, son."

all prompts

[ruiniel]

Finding Anghabar

A friend showed me an overly enthusiastic cave exploration video and it reminded me of an old scene I wrote for a story featuring Maeglin. Said story is now unpublished but revived the scene here.

They traveled a narrow vale between the mountain peaks for much of the day, and would soon set camp and wait for dawn to move forward. Their animal companions needed to regain their strength.

The first few days and nights passed uneventfully as the group ventured deeper into the recesses of the mountain range. It was colder here, and the wind blew mercilessly as they climbed, but they were prepared and the natural resistance and hardiness of their bodies before the elements aided them.

Ten days passed in this manner, with smaller successes along the road as minor deposits of silver and gold ore were found. These places were marked for the future. When dusk was nigh, Tanwetamo gave the signal to raise camp in a vale surrounded by steep crags. All knew their tasks and took to them, either by raising protective enclosures to sleep in or by starting fires.

Maeglin looked to the unwelcoming crests, rising dark and silent against the skies. As his eyes listlessly roamed, he noticed a hollow within the slope of one of the surrounding cliffs. Dropping his pack, he called to Tanwetamo.

“What is it you see, prince?” This was the first time they’d taken this route, and any new possibility was worth exploring.

“Set your sight ahead. I think that may merit our interest.” He pointed towards the very place.

Tanwetamo looked to where Maeglin showed, and his interest was peaked indeed. Turning, he motioned for Mercion and a few others to join. “Let us climb for a closer view.”

The group reached the narrow crevice and saw it was wide enough for one of lithe frame to pass through. Maeglin entered first, followed by the rest. It was dark and humid inside. They discerned a wide cavern, possibly running longer than their sight could determine. There was no sign of life, but a curious scent lingered in the musty air.

Maeglin and Tanwetamo climbed through to one side, nimbly sprinting across boulders and debris. They drew closer to one wall. Maeglin placed his fingers upon the cold surface, tracing thin, dark grey lines which shimmered encased within the stone. His eyes widened.

“Iron!” he looked at Tanwetamo. “So much of it!”

Indeed, as the master craftsman inspected the wall, his features lit in wonder. Everywhere were signs of a rich seam of what could only be hard iron. This they needed, and had sought for a long time. It was not only used for building weapons and armor, but required for structural enhancements to the city.

The others also noticed the clear signs of the element and were glad, seeing their efforts already rewarded.

Tanwetamo placed a firm hand on the prince’s shoulder. “This find is yours. Let us mark it and—“ before he could continue, there came a sundering.

Heads swiveled to the source, only to fall upon an immense creature lumbering in the dark, making its way toward them. Its form was layered with patches of greenish scales. It stood tall as a threatening colossus with a maw of sharp, jagged teeth. Green liquid dribbled down its chin. It roared and tumbled forward, limbs crashing stone with little effort.

The group evaded as they could with their light sprints, but their new enemy followed, eyes set on the intruders.

“All to me!” Tanwetamo called, his voice stern as the elves drew their weapons.

Maeglin tried to think. Eöl had told him of this. Fell creatures inhabited the hidden recesses of the world, and though sparse, there were chances for one to stumble upon such. He tried to recall the descriptions... the one before them most closely resembled a troll, the cave-dwelling kind. Their strength surpassed their eyesight, and though Maeglin had never seen one in the flesh before, his father had told stories of encountering and defeating one.

Just then the troll roared again, its powerful thrusts unleashing an avalanche of stone. A few elves escaped the enclosure through the narrow opening, but the falling debris trapped the others, who could go no further.

Anguirel drawn, Maeglin was running towards Tanwetamo, who’d been struck by a falling boulder. The master smith now rose to his knees in a dazed attempt, bleeding profusely from a gash to the side of his head. His weapon lay a good distance away. With little thought in terms of precaution, Maeglin took flight from one sharp outcropping of rock and soared, landing on the troll’s back.

He fluidly vaulted and evaded its attempts at throwing him off. ‘Between the eyes, my son. That is where it is most vulnerable. And the back of its head.’

In one leap, holding his black sword with both hands, Maeglin thrust the blade through the base of its skull.

The troll shook, and he was too slow in evading a heavy arm as it shot upward in a confusing array of desperate movement, striking him with the full force of a falling mountain. Eyesight dimming, he crashed into the eastern wall of the cave, and did not rise again.

[ask-the-cosmic-duo]

"Maybe with that sort of fleet, we can finally be free. I have yet to meet any pony like you, Stella. We are doing economically well, but not enough to do extra. We have built a small chain of artifical islands for food and resources, but not enough to explore space. We have magic ore mines that we wrestled from Arimaspi but things are never enough. Every old important building here is built by the Empress " Aurora shrugged, finishing the final touches on the potion with a sauce.

"Well... the best technological advancement we created was the hover board, powered by Aether. But hover board races are really dangerous.. so unicorns are the usual riders since they could be controlled by magic. Also its uses are restricted for now, especially in the capital... due to many ponies misusing it... I can show you mine, if you like."

"We have our Fluttershy but she's busy somewhere in the Dragon Lands with Master. Yes, the main six exist here.. although their capabilities are different..."

Reaching a golden runic door at the end of the hallway, Aurora gave a knock hard but doesn't receive any answer.

"I'm going to say this: Her highness can be rude at times. Perhaps, it's due to recent events. Strange, she's not answering."

Giving a swift kick on wooden door blocking the way, Aurora rushed towards a nearby bed, dorned with jewels and runes of power. The bed glowed briefly with a goldenlike aura, but soon resumed its mundane form.

Upon closer examination, the duo could see fresh blood stains everywhere, from the carpet to floor. All sorts of books were scattered, as although it was ransacked.

The centre of the bed was revealed to be lean like figure of an alicorn, now covered with bandages. Once a proud figure but reduced to being a sickly figure with bloodshot eyes.

"...."

Aurora gave a worried glance between the duo and the Empress before spoon feeding the later who merely kept an eerie silence...

Stella trilled softly, enjoying the compliment and praise. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t easy making that stuff… I don’t even remember when I suddenly figured it all out, or what happened when I did. It’s… weird.” She shrugged. “But nevertheless, here I am.”

She paused, thinking. “I don’t think I can just lend my tech though, regardless of whether this world is sleeping or awake. But I can provide guidance, meaning I can help explain how it works. That way, you can make it yourself! There’s also a little loophole that’ll let me provide any needed resources…”

Sol shook his head. “I’ll just let that pass… Just don’t get us in trouble, Stell.”

“I won’t!” Stella blepped.

She sounded really interested in these hoverboards. “Wait… Are they like Extreme Gear?! Gosh, I love those things so much! They’re like, the most stylish hoverboards out there!” She giggled again, one particular Gear quickly coming to mind. Perhaps one of the most famous, actually. “I wish I could figure out how to make a design that works well with quadrupeds, though…”

“See, most of the canon Gear types are meant for bipedal creatures, specifically ones with hands, and it’s not that simple to adapt them for ponies. You said it yourself, most ponies can’t stand on their hind hooves for very long. I could still design it similarly to a normal board, but it’d have to be a lot wider. Can’t really make replicas when they have to be wider.” She sighed. “Kinda sucks… Oh, but I’d love to see yours! Just, uh… maybe after the important stuff.”

The two unicorn visitors nodded to acknowledge Aurora’s warning. They were worried, though. Really worried. That concern only grew as time went on, starting when their guide had to literally kick open the door. They entered hesitantly, with Stella looking around in confusion, and Sol focusing on the Empress herself.

Sol watched Aurora feed the feeble alicorn, and felt bad for her. There had to be some way he and Stella could help. Geez, he really did want to help here, didn’t he? That cosmic mare must be rubbing off on him…

With a sigh at that realization, he makes an attempt to sense the Empress’s magic signature, and try to figure out what was wrong based on how that magic flowed through her body. He knew there were changes to how magic flowed through a magic user’s body when they were sick or injured, at least back home. An Elysian’s magic not only sustained them, but also protected them. However, it might work differently for Equestrians, and even more so in an entirely different universe.

[spinallyspiraling]

The Sacred Bull

When arriving at the throat, astrologically we find the sign of Taurus. Taurus rules the throat. The sign of Taurus is the astrological sign of the bull. Aleph, Alif, means “bull, ox, cattle, cow.” Can you see the relation here? The cow, bull, ox is associated with the throat. Taurus the zodiacal sign rules Daath, knowledge. Into my mind comes the sacred bull Apis of ancient Egypt, the spouse of the divine cow, and their child or Kabir, the calf. In them you find the three forces.

Apis, the great bull, is a symbol of the word. If you go to the southern U.S., to Texas or Colorado where we find a lot of cattle, the cowboys know how to use their throats in order to control all those cows. In Mongolia, you find those throat singers who control the cattle with their songs.We have to understand that the bull Apis and the sacred cow that is worshipped in India is a symbol of the power of the throat, the power of the word, which we are talking about here. This is the deep symbolism of the bull. In Taurus is found the constellation of the Pleiades. The Pleiades belong to thesign of Taurus. The Pleiades are the stars that form our own particular constellation. The Sun Ors shining above us (the center of our solar system)belongs to the stars of the constellation of the Pleiades, which are in the constellation of Taurus. Behold here our astrological association: the cow is the symbol of the forces of the Earth that we have to manage. The bull is the power of the throat; the sound of Alif. But, the bull has to be sacrificed; the cow has tobe sacrificed, in order for us to develop our own particular spirituality.

Not withstanding, the word sacrifice derives from “sacred” and “office.” You see,when you are in an office, you officiate. When a priest is officiating he is doing a sacred officiation. Thus the word sacrifice means sacred officiation, a sacredwork, prayer that we have to perform in Daath with the power of the bull, the throat.The bull Apis has Behemoth as its opposite. Remember the golden calf that the Israelites were worshipping instead of Kabir, the calf of Apis, which is the glory ofthe earth; the Israelites were worshipping the golden calf who symbolizes the power of Behemoth of the earth, related to gold and intellectualism, related to the riches of the earth instead of developing riches (glory) in heaven. Now, as inthe past, we - like the Israelites - are developing riches on the earth, in Malkuth.This pair of opposites is precisely what we have to understand when we enter these studies. We do not have to develop wealth in the earth, or better said, our goal should not be to develop wealth in the earth, but in heaven, as master Jesus says:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

~ Matthew 6: 19-21

When entering into this knowledge, Behemoth (our ego) wants to make all his earthly treasures here. Our ego wants to be famous here. Our ego want our name to be uttered by many, to the four winds. People think that because our name is uttered by many, we are good. There are many who think that in order for someone to be a master, a lot of people have to utter that, to confirm that, as if mastery is a matter of conversation. Listen, the one who is a master does not care if he is recognized, named, or not. There are many masters who are not recognized and whose names are unknown by the public.

There is an Angel that controls the letter א Aleph, the breath of God, the wind, and who is associated with Kether. His name is Metatron. The angel Metatron is before the altar of God in the world of Atziluth, the world of the Archetypes. The whole alphabet that we are studying here was brought by Metatron. When Metatron had a physical body in the earth, he was the prophet Enoch. Metatron delivered the 22 letters and the meaning of them, which we are explaining here. Metatron is also associated with a Master from Persia: Mithras. Mithras is that great master who developed Mithraism in Persia, which is now Iran. Mithras is symbolized with a sword and slaughtering a bull. So behold the association:the bull is associated with the throat, and the symbol of Mithras is the cutting of the throat of a bull. He is not killing the bull miserably like the Toreros when killing the bull in its back, stabbing the bull’s back with the sword in order to kill the poor animal. Mithras cutting the throat of the bull is a symbol related with the throat, as we are explaining here. The power of God is in דעת Daath. The sword is a symbol ofthe rays of the sun. Mithras symbolizes the rays of the sun that rise in the spinal column through sexual transmutation; that energy that rises in the spinal column develops the sword of the angels. That is why we call it the flaming sword of the angels. When that fire, that sword, rises from the coccyx and reaches the throat,then occurs “the slaughtering of the bull.” The blood that emerges from the throat of the bull fertilizes all the archetypes that we have within, and develops spirituality. This is why in the symbol of Mithras slaughtering the bull, the blood that is gushing out of his throat is being licked by a dog. The dog is a symbol ofthe sexual power. There is also a snake, a serpent, licking the blood. The serpent is also associated with the sexual power, which we can take advantage of in a positive or a negative manner, because the serpent is also associated with Ahriman of the Persians. Ahriman is the Shatan or Satan of the bible, which is none other than the sexual force.

So, the mysteries of Mithras or Mithraic mysteries are something within which we have to delve very deeply and to study in order to comprehend all religions. Many religions emerged from this Mithraic mystery. Mithras slaughtering the bull symbolizes the forces of the Earth, because the ox, the bull, symbolizes our physical body. Mithras is the force of the father, Metatron, that had to descend and give us the power of the word.Yes, we have to develop the power of the word of God within us. But for that we have to sacrifice, to perform the sacred office of slaughtering the animal elements, the bullock, the behemoth, the ego, that we carry within, which is precisely the main point here. Indeed, this beautiful myth of Mithras encloses alot of wisdom.

Lo and behold, that even the Koran starts with that second Sura which is called The Cow. AL-BAQARA is how you write “the cow” in Arabic, AL-BAQARA. ALBAQARA is the longest sura of the Koran. Devout Muslims sing of the cow, the bull, the power of the throat, which is the power of God. If you read AL-BAQARA, you find that the letter A and the letter L of ‘Al’ is Alif, ox. Now, if you take the syllable RA out of BAQARA - which means cow – you see theword BAQA. So by taking the letter R and A out of Al BAQARA you end with AlBAQA (Al Qaba), which is Qabala backwards. This is why they say that Kabbalah is Al BAQARA, the science of the cow.

The cow represents our physical body. We must sacrifice this cow (physical body). The sephirah Malkuth (the physical body) is always feminine (as a sephirah). Malkuth is the body of the Divine Mother. The bull Apis is in the throat.To sacrifice the cow means to enter into the mysteries of Daath and to sacrifice all the animals, the bullock, we have within, the behemoth that we have within, and to develop with the blood of the cow the sacred forces of God. That blood is the symbol of sexual transmutation, the fire that rises in the spinal medulla. This is why it is written ‘Cow,’ because the power of sex is always feminine (She)..

69. And they said: "Beseech on our behalf Thy Lord to make plain to us Her colour." He said: "He says: A fawn coloured Cow, pure and rich in tone, the admiration of beholders!"

That color is the color of the Divine Mother Kundalini, the golden force that rises in the spinal column. That is the Golden Cow, which should not be confused with the golden calf, because the gold of the golden calf relates with the riches ofthe earth. In this day and age, people are worshipping the golden calf: money, wealth, gold, intellectualism, fornication, adultery. All of that is the golden calf. Yet, the cow that Moses is indicating in the Koran is yellow. That cow is the Divine Mother, who is the Shechinah, when you work with the forces of sexuality, with chastity.Then you see that the Divine Mother is energy, light, that rises in your spinal column with a yellow color. When she reaches the throat, then a violet purplecolor shines in your throat when she is united with the bull Apis.

That cow, that power of creation, is in our sexuality. But when you do not know about the mystery of Daath, you do not know how to till the soil or how to water your fields of Yesod with the powers of the cow, the powers of Malkuth, or the powers of Io, as Greek mythology states. The Goddess Io was transformed into a cow in order to escape from the persecutions of Jupiter’s wife Hera, because Jupiter was in love with Io. Jupiter transformed Io into a cow, hoping to conceal his romance with her from his jealous wife. Jupiter took the shape of a cloud, and as a bull embraced her in order to have her. As you see, every mythology has the same symbol. This Greek Cloud-Bull-Cow embrace is the sacred sacrifice, the sacred office that we have to perform with Alif, Aleph, the bull.

All of us intellectual animals, intellectual bulls, bullock, because of fornication, are dead to the Spirit. But if we sacrifice the cow, if we work with these mysteries of Mithras, then Allah, God, El, Elohim, Elah, will resurrect us. He has the power to resuscitate the dead. We are the dead. Do not think superficially that the dead are physical corpses, and that Allah will resuscitate a dead corpse. No. This is asymbol of us who are spiritually dead. Thus Allah gives life to the dead and shows you his signs so that you might understand.

Al Baqara, the Cow, the power of the throat, the power of God, Allah through Aleph, Alif, the bull, ox, and the manner how the holy trinity expresses itself through Alif; even the three letters of אלף Aleph are a trinity

The sacred cow is a symbol of the divine forces of nature which express themselves in the physical body. When Moses said to sacrifice a cow, he did not say to kill an animal physically. No. He meant to perform the work with the cow, the Divine Mother, who is within your physical body, which is a bullock. Renounce the animal elements and develop that fire of the cow, which is the sacred cow. This is why the bull, a white bull, is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit, Shiva. Shiva is above as a bull and the Divine Mother, the sacred cow, is below, also white. Both male and female have the symbol of the Holy Spirit.

[porphyriosao3]

#13 Baking

"I'm sorry, they did what?" Bilbo asked in confusion.  The wreckage of the kitchens of Erebor lay strewn around them, filth on every surface and the skeletons of vermin hidden in inconvenient cabinets to startle the unwary searcher.  Bombur smiled at his disbelieving look.

"Oh yes," he sighed, a look of reminiscence appearing on his face.  "For the first few years that we were in the Blue Mountains, the forges were the highest priority.  We had nothing, you understand; trying to turn essentially a hole in the mountain into a functional dwarfhall takes a powerful load of metal.  We had copper and iron a-plenty, but the ores were, well," auburn hair shifted as his brow furrowed, "let's just say the ore was not the richest.  Took a mighty amount of stone to yield an ingot, and so the smelters and forges got nigh onto all the wood those first days.  We used the smelters for baking; worked a treat."

"I... I don't..." the hobbit's face was a picture of puzzlement.  "The temperatures are far too high, the bread would just turn into smoke and cinders.  How..."  This time he got a laugh, the booming sound making him smile in spite of himself.

"No, Master Hobbit, you don't put the bread in the smelter!  Good heavens," he chortled, "what a thought!  No, you just set it on the side, like... there's usually even a shelf for it, miners bake cram and their mine-cakes on it as well."  Bilbo nodded as though he understood, though he very much didn't.  The whole thing seemed rather... odd.  "Tell you what," Bombur said, "let's get these loaves risen and I'll show you."  Bilbo nodded and together they pounded and kneaded the dough they had mixed, shaping loaves and leaving them to proof under a cloth.  Thankfully, all the vermin still seemed to be dead - something about the dragon had made it impossible for anything else to live there, it seemed.  Insect and vermin corpses were all over the mountain, oddly enough.  Thinking back to how the treasury had felt when the dragon was alive, the hobbit shuddered; he supposed he would die as well, with that feeling as a constant companion. Later, once the small boules had risen and swollen, they slashed the loaves across the top and carried them on trays down to the forge, each loaf draped in a cloth.  The heat was intense as soon as they entered the vast chamber, the roaring of the furnaces making it impossible to hear (or even think, Bilbo mused).  Bombur flagged down a shirtless dwarf Bilbo was astonished to recognize as Fili when he drew closer, the scars on his chest still an angry red.

"What on earth are you doing here!" the hobbit scolded.  "You know you have no business doing anything this strenuous!  I'll tell Oin on you," he threatened, and even Fili's wince and raised hands did nothing to ease his glower.

"I can help," Fili insisted, "and uncle is down here too somewhere, so Oin will have to calm himself somehow.  We of Durin's line have the firetouch strongly, and Erebor needs smiths and smelter-tenders more right now than it needs elegant nobles."  Bilbo sniffed, though he did catch himself eyeing the area; a shirtless Thorin was not a thing to be missed, no matter how ridiculous the circumstances.  Fili grinned at them, sweat dripping down his chest.  "But why are you here?  And what are these?  Bread?"

Bombur nodded.  "Stick them on the shelf, if you would," he asked, passing his tray over.  "Pull 'em out after thirty minutes or so and we'll see what's what.  There's no wood for the stoves in the kitchen, even if it wasn't a total wreck." 

Fili nodded, looking thoughtful.  "I'll get Uncle to have one of Dain's crew bring you some wood," he said, hefting the tray.  "Be right back."  He headed off towards the raging furnace and set the tray on a barely-noticeable shelf, pulling the cloths off the loaves.

"How does he do that?" Bilbo asked open-mouthed.  "I'd roast like a cut of beef if I went over there!"   Bombur nodded absently.

"Oh aye, doesn't suit me at all either, but as he said, the Durins have the firetouch.  Almost impossible to burn, the lot of 'em."  Bilbo shook his head; he couldn't even imagine such a thing.  By that point Fili had returned and Bilbo passed over his tray numbly, watching as the process repeated itself.  He was dying of the heat; finally, he gave up and left, panting outside in the relative coolness of the hall.  They had come to bake bread, but it seemed the room was baking all of them.  Life in Erebor was truly stranger than he had ever imagined.

[kozykricket]

alright my current brainrot is apparently pokemon scarvio so

ill be discussing various leaks past the read more line, so this is your chance to scroll on by! its my prediction for the DLC(s) for sv!

Alright, so before we get into the leaks lets just make it clear - we know the whole mystery of the disk pokemon. we know heath talked to it, we know the paradox of the past/future pokemon appearing in heaths time, before the time machine was made. for most of this, ill be talking about violet/turo/future mons, for convenience. we know that the third legendary or mythical or something *spoke* to heath, in some way, and made him scribble things in his book. i believe those are instructions for making "the time machine" but he couldnt quite figure it out. some have pointed out discrepancies in the sketches and photos of paradox donphans, and i actually think that might be significant. maybe heath, in his curiosity for the unknown, and creative imagination... thought he saw something unlike anything he had ever seen before... but was it just his imagination? perhaps. maybe it was actually there already, formed from his desires, or maybe it was just a normal donphan that they got a bad picture of. either way, this sparked his curiosity about... what mysterious creatures lie in this dangerous crater. surely something of a treasure (finding your treasure IS a big theme in sv, and we know that researchers went there to find a treasure) perhaps this third legendary relies on your desires, of what you WANT to see... and makes them real. i really do believe it! i mean, with unova being the next in the remake lineup assumedly, is a dream world that crazy of an idea? so then we have the young turo, with his childlike wonder... loving the violet book so much, and imagining what pokemon from the future could be like. imagining such exaggerated features - though the exaggerated features are more noteworthy in the ancient paradox forms (billion year old jigglypuff with fangs? really?) but back to the experience heath had, oftentimes, things that can enter your freaking dreams tend to be all about granting wishes of impossible stuff becoming real, but for a price. i think this legendary has lost its power in some way, and needed the machine that it simply referred to as a time machine to turo... to make his dreams reality. it must be in control of the terastal phenomenon too, no doubt - which is a reality-altering effect. it darkens everything around the pokemon, gives it a hat with a weird little face around the bottom of it... and... agh, this is incomprehensible isnt it? my writing is SO unorganized i need to work on that listen, im gonna leap forward a bit -its a desire based legendary, it brings what you want to be real to the world, but needs human intervention to truly harness its power. theres some great videos ill link at the bottom of the post going further into some speculation on the third legendary - i also think tyranitartube has some alright videos on the whole mystery of it but i said id be talking about the DLCs well, a certain fake leak inspired me. "The Magenta Mirage DLC" It's confirmed fake, but like- scarlet and violet are the ends of the light spectrum, and magenta is unique for not being on the light spectrum. its a color that our minds "make up" if you will. an imaginary color but what about riddler khus golden/amber heart? didnt he say the dlcs "color" would be yellow? well, theres 2 datamined item sprites with no names or code attached to them in SV. one is a golden, spiky rock of sorts, and the other is a strange runic stone with a *magenta* swirl. could this be the armorite and dynite ore of this generation? we have a golden land DLC first, sparking more mysteries about terastallization, and then we have the magenta dlc that gives us closure with the mythical tera-type master pokemon? perhaps ALSO THE PARADISE PROTECTION PROTOCOL IS TOTALLY THE MYTHICAL POKEMON FIGHTING US THROUGH AI TURO I MEAN COME ON ITS LITERALLY JGHTRJUHFJUHJ ITS . IT TERASTALLIZES. oh right, i didnt even mention that people datamined that signature moves for paradox suicune/virizion exist. pokemon that... were sketched as hypotheticals. existing well then

now time for photo/link dump The Truth Behind the Disk Pokemon

The cut item sprites

an interesting video by tyranitartube, covers some fun speculation honestly tldr its all about your wildest dreams... your treasure.. becoming real

[baked-hylian]

some things I noticed in the new totk trailer that I haven't seen talked about

I'm pretty sure that's going to be gleeok or some type of new spelling of the classic boss. I also suspect that it will either be a over world boss like hinoxes are, or it's going to be a specialty type of boss connected to specific quests, main or side. One hope I have is for elemental varieties of it as I think that could pose a really fun challenge.

I think it's likely that part of Death Mountain is going to break off, allowing us to enter into the depths of the volcano and perhaps even find a temple or whatever the equivalent will be for temples. Either that or a very large cave system that has possible story connections, as we do see in other parts of the trailer where it appears that Death Mountain is now spewing malice (as can be seen in the earlier picture of gleerok.)

So like, I can't take a picture of sound, but early in the trailer during this segment it clearly sounds like they're in some form of echoing chamber as the bokoblin hits the ore; which leads me to suspect that this particular area may be a segment of the underneath of Hyrule that we will get to explore.

And redeads have returned! They seem to be modelled after the ones found in oot, but I would also love to see some variants around Hyrule, like frozen ones that leave you in ice once they let go, or ones that constantly on fire in the hotter areas of Death Mountain. I'd also think it'd be fun if we could have a side quest that allows us to find a "secret chamber" hidden within the Kakariko village cemetery.

extra speculations under the cut

Some things I speculate:

That at some point, you as Link will trigger separate story events that causes the labyrinths to rise into the sky, probably in relation to quests to unlock new abilities not directly related to the master sword (like the champion's abilities for example.)

I suspect that we will restore the master sword like we do in past games, either with a sacred flame from each of the springs like in ss (the most likely case,) or uncovering lost ancient temples and inserting the sword into an alter like in ww.

Weapon restoration. Although maybe that's more of a hope. I also would like the option to be able to purchase weapons from merchants, not just arrows.

I also suspect, that like ss, Link is going to be chasing after Zelda for a portion of the game, probably after their fall. Although instead of being with Impa, that Zelda instead will be travelling with an avatar for the being we've seen in the cave carvings.

Purely speculation with no real evidence, but I suspect that green hand we see belonged to the previous hero who initially sealed up mummified Ganondorf.

More voice acting. It was pretty well received, and we now have heard Ganondorf (presumably, I saw someone on reddit suggest it may be Demise speaking in the trailer which would be quite fun tbh.) So I think it may be likely to see more cut scenes this time around with voice acting.

I. Want. Tingle. He would be perfect to add in now that there's sky travel, and perhaps like Majora's Mask, you need to buy map segments from him in order to expand your map of the sky.

[tiredgamergirl]

Terraria had a crossover with Don’t Starve Together added in the 1.4.3 update with a series of new items and mechanics.

There is a new world seed called The Constance, based on the Don’t Starve Together world. It has a series of changes, like having some marble patches on the surface with a few whited painted statues and more frequent Spider Caves next to the surface. The underground is also affected, as it has more “wavy caves” that travel in sharp zig-zag patterns or diagonally downwards and there is no Lead or Platinum Ores.  There will also be a shading effect based in the game and you can turn it back to normal by equipping a new item called Radio Thing (which will have the reverse effect in a normal world) Besides that, there is both a hunger and darkness mechanic based in the other game. The player starts with Perckish status that lasts 5 minutes before getting the Starving status, losing 2% of their health per second indefinitely until consuming a food item and gaining the Well Fed Buff. After the buff ends, the Peckish will start again. When entering completely dark areas there will be a status message “It is very dark… you feel in danger” and the player will take 250 damage per second until getting a light source or dying. The Torches, Campfires, Tiki Torches and Lamps exposed to the elements will extinguish when it rains too.  It will be completely dark during normal nights, but there will be some light during Full Moons and Blood Moons. And finally there is an increased drop rate for the collab items.

The tree icon also looks very different, based on the Evergreen from Don’t Starve Together. To generate a Don’t Start Together world, use the keywords “constant”​, “theconstant​”, “the  constant”,  “​eye4aneye​” or “eyeforaneye”.

The regular game also added the Deerclops as a pre-Hardmode boss you can find in the Snow biome at midnight during a blizzard if at least one player in the world has either at least 9 defense or 200 hearts. You can also summon him using a Deer Thing in the snow biome. It is an optional boss and it has its own battle music remixed specially for this encounter and new drops. The player can walk between its legs without taking any damage. It is very common for it to drop a Eye Bone that allows the player to summon Chester that also works as a mobile Piggy Bank, allowing to store and access items. You may also get a Deerclops Eyeball to summon a Tiny Deerclops in Master Mode.  

There are many other items: the Princess sells an item that allows to summon Bernie the Teddy Bear and Derplings (that can be found in the Jungle surface during Hardmode) can drop Gloomer’s Flowers. An weapon called Abigail’s Flower might spawn next to gravestones, allowing the player to summon a minion; and a number of drops and craftable items related to Don’t Starve Together. 

[themegachessatron]

A Review of my time in Skyrim's Prisons (Featuring Some Followers): Cidna Mine

This is it.

This is the last in my series reviewing the prisons of Skyrim's hold capitals. Our topic this time is Cidna Mine, easily Skyrim's most infamous jailing facility. My experience in this prison is a large story filled with the good and the bad. So, how does the big daddy of Skyrim jails compare to its peers?

For the first time entering a cell, I was greeted by a staff member and told what was expected of me explicitly. She made it clear that this prison prioritises punishing prisoners with manual labour for the benefit of those in power than any form of rehabilitation. This idea is present throughout the prison itself. My greeting room (which doesn't function as a room for individuals) was only decorated with the essentials for its function. A table and sac containing items unknown. It was here that I was temporarily separated from my associates. The key word there being "temporarily"...

Sofia, who hadn't had her equipment removed (my associates' abilities to not have their things taken continues to baffle me) quickly found my location and then proceeded to show off a new skill of hers.

This woman, in all of her drunkenness, has somehow managed to master the incredible magical art of phasing through cell doors. She didn't pick the lock, she didn't teleport, she phased THROUGH. THE. DOORS. HOW?! I was shocked, and somewhat still am. She still refuses to share the secret of this ability to me to this day.

…Which made it all the more annoying when she almost immediately proceeded to do it again, all without explanation. Sometimes this woman confuses and frightens me.

Putting aside Sofia's ability to defy the very existence of metal cage doors, we were shuffled down into the main open space of the mine. A small fireplace illuminated the dark cavern, littered with pickaxes all throughout for prisoners to use to earn their very survival as the man pictured sitting at the fire told us is the case. What is plainly visible in this prison is function over fashion. The open space is able to account many prisoners at once and the lack of any proper seating/ bedding reinforces the core message of the jail. These prisoners are meant to suffer.

Moving more directly to the left we observe a more dimly lit path filled with ore veins, teeming with silver. A wheelbarrow is handily provided for prisoners to kart any silver they dig up, displaying a degree of efficiency not always seen in Nord mines.

It was while returning to the central cavern that the rest of our team reached our location. Inigo's superior sniffing service allowed him to pinpoint where in the prison I was and rally our friends to regroup. This made navigating the mine and escaping it simultaneously easier thanks to greater collective strength and harder as my friends would often block vital narrow hallways.

The opposing side of the mine was far more cramped than the first, with plenty of loose pickaxes scattered about. Under normal circumstances I'd say the liberal scattering of pointed cold metal tools would be unsafe for prisoners to be around, but seeing as the powers that be clearly do not care for the safety of prisoners at all and very rarely check on them it's not that much of an issue. After fully exploring this side of the mine, I was presented with the question of how to leave the mine.

Uraccen, a prisoner in these mines for many years that was as skinny as a pickaxe's handle and as pale as the snow was very helpful in providing insight as to the culture of prisoners in Cidna Mine, while also pointing me to someone who could aid in my departure from the mine. Madanach, a Forsworn leader who had been orchestrating the terrorist attacks on Markarth from inside Cidna Mine. However, reaching the "King in Rags" required getting past his guard dog.

The brute in question, aptly named Borkul the Beast, was built with a greater toughness than the rocks he leaned upon and a face that not even a mother could love. He guarded the door to Madanach's private room and looked to be a tough nut to crack. In all actuality that couldn't have been further from the truth. All I had to do was lie very slightly to convince him to let me through for an audience with the King in Rags.

Madanach's private space was, in stark contrast to the rest of the mine, was lavishly decorated with a full single bed, a storage chest (or potentially a prisoner belonging chest that may or may not contain Boots of the Old Gods), a desk with chair, multiple barrels, a rug to comfort the feet and plenty of food and drink. This abode is highly luxurious and clearly highlights the special treatment Madanach receives from his arrangement with the Silver Bloods. It highlights how willing the staff operating Cidna Mine are to go the extra mile for their prisoners (assuming said prisoners are high ranking members of the Forsworn with great influence over a native culture that is).

Madanach indulged us with his history, as well as that of many of the prisoners in the Mine. His story is one of oppression, corruption and injustice; three traits that the stories of many of his cellmates share also. In this our group understood the gravity of the Markarth conflict and made a mutual decision to aid in the escape of the prisoners of Cidna Mine so as to deal a blow to the corrupt sphere of Markarth. Before fully accepting our co-operation though, Madanach had us prove our loyalty to helping his cause by... eliminating one of the prisoners.

I took no pride in his assassination. As the smell of cooking flesh entered my nostrils and the emerald embers spewed from his cadaver I fought internally as to why Madanach had felt this a necessity. While yes, the man was beyond a point of benefiting his cause, killing the poor man felt like a betrayal of what Madanach himself had preached only minutes ago. Either way, the deed was done. The poor sap had ascended to Aetherius and I finally had a chance to show off the cool looking green fire magic I had learned, so I suppose it wasn't all bad.

It was after this that Madanach had stated his need to address what prisoners weren't currently burning to a chartreuse crisp in a riveting pre-escape speech. A great idea... were it not for the brief instance of mental rot he experienced on his way there that saw him compelled to forcefully walk into a wall of the narrow hallway between his room and the main cavern. I am unsure as to the explanation behind such brain rot, but the nature of the walls of the hallway were found to be very intriguing by Teldryn, who proceeded to stare blankly at the opposite wall for multiple minutes (perhaps some latant, ancient Dwemer magic at play?). Both did eventually regain their senses, but not before some gentle...ish prodding from myself.

The King in Rags addressed his subjects against the light of the central fire, its flames pitiful versus the fires of ambition in the hearts of these men. Were they not about to commit multiple counts of murder as they escaped the city I would've felt inspired. Now I just feel somewhat dirty.

An outcove of the narrow hallway connecting the central cavern to Madanach's quarters contained the site of a Dwemer ruin, one running in connection with the city above us. Knowing what dangers lie within such ruins from experience, our team steeled themselves for the dangers that may have laid ahead.

The first hurdles we encountered were some particularly large Frostbite Spiders who had nested inside the ruins (not pictured above because my girlfriend reads these posts and is afraid of Frostbite Spiders). They proved surprisingly resistant to being burned to death by my green fire spells, but were no match for my teammates' steel.

Traversing deeper into the ruins presented us with greater volumes of Dwemer steam technology, from heavy piping to active Dwemer Sphere units that posed a danger to me, for the rags I wore aren't exactly Ebony quality. Once again, my allies proved invaluable in defeating the threats before us. I only wish I could have helped more.

It was soon after that the prisoner convoy reached a halt before the exit out into the city proper. Madanach took this time to take me aside, thank the team for assisting in his cause, returning my items to me (where he got them from I'm not certain considering the evident lack of a prisoner belonging chest in my case) and presenting me with the Armour of the Old Gods (See? I knew it was in that chest from earlier!) before leading his forces outside, where my friends and I quickly followed.

Awaiting us outside was the lord of the Silver-Bloods, Thonar, with multiple city guardsmen at his side. He challenged Madanach and his allies in broad daylight and tried to put an end to the Forsworn uprising in the city.

A massive fight ensued. Spells and swords clashed in this tiny corner of the city as Nords and Bretons fought valiantly in battle for their beliefs. We decided to refrain from getting involved in the fighting in this case (much to Sofia and Jordan's disappointment). Not that the Forsworn particularly needed our help. They mopped the floor with Thonar and his men.

No, as in they quite literally mopped the floor with Thonar. an interrupted necromancy spell saw the Silver-Blood's corpse reduced to an ash pule which was brushed all over the steps of the city. This combined with all the Nord blood staining the floors proved the Forsworn did LITERALLY mop the floor with the Nords.

Soon enough the battle was over, and as what was left of the guard saw to the dead and injured I was left to reflect on my time in Cidna Mine.

Overall, Cidna Mine is an exceptional jail that has effective staff, a strong and open layout, knows what it wants to be, generates a passive income through silver mining and great luxury (provided you are a Forsworn leader). Escape is also effectively deterred by the natural denizens of the dwemer ruins that connect the city streets to the mine. Although, I do take issue with the strong lack of prisoner observation and the multiple exit points the mine has out into the city. Those limitations place it short of The Chill in my personal rankings (which may end up being a post on here later), but still very much in the top echelon of Skyrim's jails.

Final Score: Nine Boots of the Old Gods out of Ten Boots of the Old Gods.

Aaaaaaand that's it! Thank you for reading my prison review series and (hopefully) enjoying my perspectives on these locations. I'm sorry some of them took a while to make (mental health's a bitch, am I right?), but I intend to post more often now on Tumblr. Mostly shitposts and memes and whatever comes to mind (most of which will be Skyrim stuff)

THANK YOU!

[presencinglife]

"Falling in love provides a glimpse of the real gold that lies at the heart of our humanness. In love's early stages, powerful qualities of our being — openness, peace, expansiveness, delight — simply emerge, unbidden, out of the heightened sense of presence we experience with our partner. And this inspires us to commit ourselves more fully to this growing connection, which seems to bring so many blessings.

Yet as the relationship precedes, the gold often becomes harder and harder to find. Old personality patterns, which are like iron ore mixed in with the gold, begin to obscure it. If we want to regain access to the pure gold, we will have to go through a refining process — which involves encountering and working with our obscurations. In fact, the obstacles to loving presence contained within us need to come up and be worked with if we are to free ourselves from them.

If falling in love provides a glimpse of our true nature, entering into a long-term relationship brings us up against all the obstacles of residing there — whatever prevents us from being present, being real, being ourselves. I don't know any couples who have not suffered this fall from grace at some point, losing touch with the original bright presence that first drew them together. Yet this is not a problem when we understand it as an integral part of a couple's journey toward greater wholeness and a richer, more seasoned kind of love.

The Sufi tradition contains an important distinction between states — qualities of being, like peace, joy, trust, inner strength, or confidence, which emerge spontaneously for a short time, as when we fall in love — and stations — these same qualities when they have become permanently integrated into our lives. Once a state has passed, we cannot readily call it back. But a quality that has become a station is one we have access to whenever it is needed. If love and presence are to become stations in our lives and in our relationships, rather than just passing states, we need to understand what we do to obstruct them, and how we can remove these obstructions. This is the path of conscious relationship.

When two partners with a deep bond choose to work with the obstacles arising between them, this deepens their connection with themselves and each other, and can provide a lifelong, mutual sense of path and direction. On the other hand, if they refuse to work with the difficulties in their relationship, they lose a precious opportunity to let the fire of their love refine their natures and forge their inner gold. One of the chief sins against loving, according to the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan, is 'shrinking from all the sorrows, pains, troubles, and difficulties that come in the path of love.'

Of course, facing the challenges on this path takes great courage and daring. This is where a guiding vision becomes essential: It helps two partners take heart and gather their energies when they feel lost or bogged down. What can sustain a couple through the most difficult times is knowing that they are together for a larger purpose — helping each other refine the gold of their essential natures by working through obstacles in the way of their deepest unfolding. Such a vision can help them convert ordinary tribulations into what the Russian teacher Gurdjieff called 'conscious suffering' — willingly making use of the pain of encountering inner obstacles, as motivation to work on overcoming them.

Now that many of the traditional bonds holding couples together have broken down, relationships can thrive in these difficult times only if they reflect and promote our true nature. This is the kind of connection our heart truly desires. Do you really want a partnership that reflects and promotes only your personality, your concepts and beliefs about yourself — who you think you are? That is an unconscious relationship, based on ignoring and denying aspects of yourself that don't fit some image in your mind. A conscious relationship is one that calls forth who you really are. It is dedicated to truth, rather than to chasing after illusory images. Regarding relationship as a vehicle or path that can help two people access the powerful qualities of their true nature provides the new vision our age so urgently needs."

John Welwood