#entombed in ice

[groovesnjams]

4 / 50

"Entombed in Ice" by Avalon Emerson

DV:

If there's one thing I love about pop music above all else, more than singalong choruses and emotionally-wrenching details in the second verse and even synths themselves, it's nonsense words. Put "Da Doo Ron Ron" on my grave. So while MG and I both loved Avalon Emerson & the Charm's album, and we nearly put "Sandrail Silhouette," (which has a second verse where Emerson calls her friends' daughters "a reason for an optimistic view," an incredible line) on this list, that song was fundamentally outmatched when up against "Entombed in Ice" and its "Ba da da-da-da-duh." This song addresses someone, a former friend, maybe an ex-lover, fondly but without remorse for what once was. And it gives them direction, if not directions. This is a post-breakup song, maybe the year's great anomaly, full of love but not in love. It's a harsh message delivered in the gentlest way possible. "There are some things you can do for yourself now," repeats Emerson, leaving the things up to our imaginations. But only a little: "rotten hearts will decay" is where the first verse starts, and the blanks are easy to fill in. This song's subject has some shit to work through. But maybe they can! The bridge's "Ba da da-da-da-duh" echoes like freedom. It's possibility, not condemnation. Avalon Emerson stretches to the top of her range, echoing and melting into a short guitar solo, unencumbered by words and saying so much without them. We all have something we can do for ourselves; those syllables sound like they believe.

MG:

Avalon Emerson’s Soundcloud DJ sets are a staple of my household – like toilet paper, iced coffee, or a bed, she is both a necessity and a presence. But also! We only even made acquaintance with her work at the beginning of this very year via both Four Tet and Gorilla Vs. Bear putting “Sandrail Silhouette” on their playlists. I had no idea who she was but it felt like when I first got Napster and I’d search for something and only one, single user had uploaded it – you just know this thing that you haven’t even heard yet is cool. And yes, Avalon Emerson is very cool, so if that’s your criterion, please, stop here and make friends with the whole of & The Charm immediately. I wish I could be like “but if you must know why she’s cool, read on” but some of it eludes me to this day! Not in the emperor’s new clothes way where there’s no cool but I want to project cool on to her so badly that I’m making shit up, but in the way where you start scratching at the surface of a piece of art and it just starts yielding all these layers, some dense and some flaky and some immediately understood and some fleeting wisps of recognition. I continue to be stuck on this interview she gave to Pitchfork where she says (and I will quote the whole thing, not just the part relevant to me):

Since I’ve been involved in dance music, there’s been this arms race toward harder and faster, and it’s not really something that I identify with. This cathartic release that people seek when they go out clubbing, I get it and I respect it, and I participate in it as a DJ. But when I’m listening to music, my idea of a perfect record is a Cocteau Twins record, things that are soft and beautiful. I wanted to make this a soft, pretty record, but lyrically, the things on my mind are dark and sad, and very black-pilled at times. That juxtaposition is important, because something beautiful can also be coming from a place of pain. I think that’s where most good art lies, to be honest.

If anything, I find the way she describes her own ideas here reductive. But the part about it being a contrast to the “harder and faster” of club music is what’s relevant to me. I think “Entombed In Ice,” composed as it is of fragmented thoughts and ideas and sounds and bits that wander in and do their thing and dissolve into vapor or fade into the wallpaper, is a contrast to that club sound but it also does the thing that club music does, it provides a “cathartic release.” To talk back to Avalon Emerson, I’d say that as a culture we’re very hung up on this idea of catharsis as a WHOOSH or a BANG and then silence, nothingness, ending. But I think since we all keep going afterwards, since catharsis is an ending but not the ending, we must also listen quietly for those fragments and appreciate their soft approach and disappearance because that very gentle, loping cycle is also cathartic and we need little catharsis as much as big catharsis. Now back to you, reader. You have to keep listening to “Entombed In Ice,” you won’t get all it has to offer once through. That’s part of what’s cool about it, but just a part.

[kraftwerk113]

Life´s too short for weird music - Tagesempfehlung 16.06.2023

Avalon Emerson / Entombed in ice

Entombed in ice ist eine weitere gute Veröffentlichung von Avalon Emerson in 2023 – allesamt zu finden auf dem Album ...and the charm... - 

[interrogatormentors]

psii, what do you think of Sollux Captor? He's a chill guy in my opinion.

Your opIInIIon II2 noted and IIrrelevant. He exII2ted for a tIIme IIn my 2IIght

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and nece22IItated my helmIIng code be updated. HII2 pre2ence and re2II2tance two my condIItIIonIIng 2o IIt progre22ed at half the rate of the average fIIll2 me wIIth the clo2e2t thIIng two annoyance a helm2man can feel

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a2 IIneffIIcency II2 not tolerated IIn the EmpIIre. He wa2 caprIIcIIou2, 2tubborn IIn all thIIng2 mechanIIcal and per2onal--

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two 2ay nothIIng of the fact hII2 per2onalIIty 2hould have been eroded away by the tIime of hII2 decomII2IIon--and a paIIn IIn my bIIowIIre-rotten 2IIde two keep out of the network2 confIIdentIIal fIIle2. II monIItored each and every one of hII2

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traIInIIng2 for becomIIng an IInterrogator two 2ee IIf 2uch IImpertIInence contIInued and

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luckIIly for the EmpIIre IIt dIid not. HII2 current 2tatu2 II2

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unknown

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and IIt IIs the hope of the EmpIIre he reappear2 2ooner rather than later two fIInII2h the job he 2tarted.

[gbhbl]

Live Review: Frozen Soul with Creeping Death, Foreseen and Overthrow at The Underworld, Camden, London (12/02/2024)

Its a chilly Monday night in London and things are about to get a lot colder as we head to The Underworld to check out the icy death metal outfit, Frozen Soul. The Texas based band are a few dates into a huge European tour and this is the first of 5 shows here in the UK with Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham next in line before they head to mainland Europe. Well known for their…

[idiotcoward]

Imperial Crystalline Entombment (I.C.E.) - Ancient Glacial Resurgence

Oh my God this album surprised the fuck out of me. I was honestly expecting to be a little underwhelmed with this release just because I usually don’t have high hopes for older black metal bands coming back with a new release but BRUH! The vocals on this thing got me hype from the first fucking line of the album (not gonna spoil listen to it please) the riffs are that classic screeching and epic black metal sound. The solos are amazing, the drumming is so fucking intense. This thing is WAY better then I thought and I’m definitely going to have to put some more respect on ICE’s name. Holy shit.

[warmer-gaze]

During the Calamity, Quajath (spawn of the Crawling King) wreaked havoc on the landscape of Eiselcross, before being finally entombed beneath its ice 🪱

Quajath, The Undermaw, for @artists-guild-of-exandria Calamity project! Go check out everyone else's beautiful work!!

[dailyadventureprompts]

Monsterhunt: Caeldestiir, and her bloodless legions

A titan of ice and sorrow dwells amid the peaks of the far northern mountains, its pained cries summoning storms and avalanches. Most know to keep their distance and leave well enough alone, but the entity's bloody tears bring forth swarms of violent undead that every few years boil off the mountainside like ants from a kicked nest. Something must be done, but how will the party ever hope to challenge such a foe?

The name Caeldestiir originates with the local goliath tribe, meaning "The cold and broken god" in their tongue. In their lore, the creature is the unwanted get of some distant divinity that left it on the mountainside to die of exposure, as is sometimes done with unwanted infants in the harshest of times. Though this legend (and the creature that inspired it) has persisted for generations, the tribe's current jarl Zautho feels somehow responsible for Caeldestiir's recent disquiet, as when she was young she was forced by her family to give up a child deemed too sickly to live. Fear over the gods' judgment and the titan's building wrath has the jarl dispatching runners across the breadth of the tribe's territory, seeking signs, solutions, and allies.

Adventure Hooks:

The party encounters the first of the goliath runners in a bordertown marketplace, being hurried along by the authorities for "causing a ruckous", as they think the emmisarry is some barbarian radical preacher come to lecture them about the sins of civilization. They'll meet another in a noble's court, being given the cold shoulder after being promised a meeting.

After repeated undead incursions across their borders, those of the "civilized" lands will finally be forced to take notice, having ignored the signs for too long and losing their chance at containign the threat. ( Yes, we're doing a game of thrones reference, but unlike GRRM we're not going to take 30 years to resolve it).

Zautho might be the party's greatest ally in facing the frigid threat, but she's become distracted: convinced the rise of the icy titan is somehow the gods' punishment against her specifically. Guilt is not so easy a thing to shake off, so the aparty will have to go questing for knowledge and divine truth to shake the jarl from her despair.

Background:

Few songs are still sung about the dreadmage Feriya , of her plot to force eternal winter on any realm that did not bow to her, of the coalition of unlikely allies that marched north to challenge her army, of the heroes who gave everything to secure her defeat and bring her icy fortress crashing down upon her head.

Centuries since her defeat Feriya's wrathful spirit has yet to fade, trapped as it was in the glacial wreckage that was once the sign of her great authority. Time beyond death has distorted her, diminishing the person she was and leaving behind only her wrath, her power, and the memory of a body being crushed alive. As the distinction between tomb and entombed faded what began as a ghostly stirring has transformed into an elemental colossus, howling with the pain and fury of the north wind as it drags itself across the jagged mountain peaks, phantom bones breaking with each movement.

Mercy would be enough of a reason to put the thing out of its misery, whatever Feriya's ambitions and cruelties she did not deserve such a pained afterlife.

Artsource

[losttrailsmaps]

In the center of the frozen wasteland lies the ruins of Serranthis, once a vibrant center of magic and wonder. Now entombed in ice, its once-floating marketplaces, skyspires, and arcane forges stand eerily still, with only faint glimmers of frozen magic flickering in the cold winds. The remnants of its powerful wizards and scholars are now silent, trapped beneath the icy surface.

Cheers everyone, welcome to another map pack! It features 11 total maps, including ruined forts, icy towers, winter towns and much more.

The grid size of each map is 30x40.

Check out the full map pack here.

For more of my maps, check out my map table of contents here.

[astra-ravana]

Working With Hel

The Entombed Goddess

Other names: Hela

Other titles: Goddess of Death and Decay, Troll-Woman (Ogress), Walker Between Worlds, Daughter of Loki/Angrboda, Odin's Executioner, Queen of Niflheim

Colors: White, grey, black, silver, ice blue

Herbs: Elm, apple, elder, jasmine, ivy, juniper, baby's breath, mushrooms, mullien, blackthorn, willow, evergreen, datura, black locust, beech, yew, asphodel, lily, rose, rue, wormwood, sycamore, belladonna, bittersweet, hellebore

Crystals: Black opal, hematite, obsidian, black quartz, clear quartz, jet, black onyx, black tourmaline, moonstone, petrified wood, howlite, nuummite, spectralite, Peterson turquoise, shungite, granite, indigo gabbro

Element: Earth

Planet: Saturn

Zodiac: Capricorn (Gemini)

Metal: Iron

Tarot: Death, the Hanged Man

Direction: South

Day: Saturday

Animals: Owls, ravens, wolves, dogs, vultures, dark horses

Domains: Death and rebirth, necromancy, change, compassion, ancestor work, shadow work, inner beauty, individuality, shelter, recovery from trauma, strength, perseverance, restoring balance

Offerings: Bones, ash, charred meat, bread, ale, wine, black tea, apples, graveyard dirt, honor the dead, confront your own fear of death

Symbols:

[gffa]

PLANET: ILUM Astronavigation Data: Ilum system, 7G sector, Unkonwn Regions Orbital Metrics: 1,078 days per year/66 hours per day Goverment: None Population: 5,200 (support crew 45%, temporary researchers 30%, military 20%, other 5%) Languages: None Terrain: Frozen lakes, mountains, ice steppes Major Cities: None Areas of Interest: Holenesh Canyon, Jedi Temple, excavation sites, various ruins Major Exports: Ilum crystals [Source: Star Wars - Force and Destiny - Nexus of Power - Force Worlds] BACKGROUND: Ilum is a small, obscure world located far out in the Unknown Regions. The fifth planet of the Ilum system, it orbits an exceedingly bright blue dwarf star called “Asar.” Surveys of the system by ancient Jedi scouts show a handful of uninhabited, inhospitable worlds that are either heavily ir­radiated, completely covered in ice, or both. The rest of the system is largely empty, with no asteroid belt and few navigation hazards. Due to its location in the Unknown Regions and its isolation from charted hyperspace lanes, nothing was known of the Ilum system until a wandering Jedi discovered it in the earliest days of the Republic.

Roughly equidistant from Asar and the system’s com­etary cloud, Ilum is the only world in the system that can support life. “Support” may be too strong a word for the relationship between Ilum and its flora and fauna, however. It is a large, terrestrial world orbited by two small moons and encircled by a wide set of rings made mostly of ice crystals. It is a land of broad continents, towering mountain ranges, and shallow seas locked in a perpetual ice age. Huge glaciers scour the planet’s face, slowly grind­ing the land flat. Where the glaciers have passed, deep snows or sheets of ice dozens of meters thick entomb the surface, making agriculture impossible. Ilum's few seas are shallow and broad, their waters choked with great floating ice mountains and thick sheets of drift ice. In addition to its frozen, snowbound landscape, Ilum has an atmosphere that is a near-constantly churning vortex of storms. High winds, sleet, thick snow, and freezing rain are to Ilum what gentle winds and soft rains are to Naboo.

Life, where it can survive, does so primarily along Ilum's equatorial region. Here, at least, the temperatures are only in the double digits below freezing, which has allowed a small number of native plants and animals to evolve. A few eke out an existence on the planet’s frozen surface, but most live either in the icy seas or deep beneath the ground in the uncounted thousands of kilometers of caverns and tunnels that worm through the planet’s crust. Savage gorgodons, cunning asharl panthers, and the terrifying razhak call Ilum home, along with hardy species of small rodents, birds, and worms. Alongside these are tough plants and fungi adapted to sub-zero temperatures, many of them completely undocumented.

LIFE ON ILUM: To date, no evidence has been found to suggest that sentient life ever evolved on Ilum. There are no ruins, nothing in the fossil record, and nothing recorded in the galaxy’s various ancient data­bases to suggest that Ilum was ever anything more than an obscure, uninhabited frozen rock. Indeed, the planet would have stayed that way until Asar burned itself out if the Jedi hadn’t come along and stumbled onto a discovery that would make it one of the most important places in the galaxy to that ancient order.

ILUM'S HISTORY: Ilum's recorded history begins tens of thousands of years ago with its discovery by a Jedi scout whose name is lost to history, performing Force-assisted hyperspace navigation. As the scout moved through the hyperspace lanes, she was drawn to the Unknown Regions by a particularly powerful resonance in the Force. Following the siren call of the Force resonance, the scout eventually discovered a lonely, hith­erto uncharted system in the far reaches of the Unknown Regions, centered around a bright, blue-white star. The Force was strong throughout the system, but there was something powerful, something special, on the fifth planet, and that's where the Jedi scout focused her attentions.

The first scout's initial reports, as well as those from sub sequent survey teams, reported a barren, windswept world of tall, jagged mountains and shallow, frozen seas locked away beneath dozens of meters of ice. No settlements or ancient ruins were discovered, and all evidence pointed to the world being devoid of sentient life. What the teams did find was a world that, despite its inhospitable environment, managed to support some plant and animal life. Packs of large felinoids stalked the planet's steppelands; huge, slow moving aquatic mammals thrived in the icy seas; powerful and aggressive humanoid reptiles haunted the many mountain chains; and plants and fungi clung to life in shel­tered spots away from the constant wind. These animals and plants didn't explain the planet's strong Force shadow, however. Its presence in the Force was enormous, a fact that the surveyors could not explain until one team was chased into a mountain cavern by dangerous creatures and discovered Ilum's real wealth.

Beneath Ilum's ice sheets and permafrost, the planet's crust is honeycombed by countless kilometers of interlock­ing cave systems. Within these caves, the escaping survey team discovered a motherlode of pontite, mephite, and other kyber crystals—the heart of a Jedi's lightsaber. The discovery of Ilum's mineral wealth quickly changed the char acter of Ilum's exploration from one of curiosity to one of grave importance to the Jedi Council. Upon receipt of the news that Ilum possessed an incredible wealth of kyber crys­tals, the Council immediately dispatched teams of scholars, artisans, and warriors to secure the world and to further study its natural wealth and importance to the Force. To pro tect the crystals, the Council made a decision to keep Ilum's existence a secret from the galaxy at large, and a number of steps were taken to ensure that it stayed that way. Hyperspace surveyors mapped out an uninterrupted, dedicated hyperspace lane from Metellos, a world in the Core region, straight to Ilum's orbit. The navigation of this route was so complex that a ship’s pilot needed to be at least sensitive to the Force, if not a fully trained Jedi Master, to even attempt it. In addition, all references to Ilum in official reports were quashed, and the world was even kept from local, sector­ wide, and galaxy star charts.

DARK LEGENDS: For thousands of years, the Jedi Order kept Ilum and its bounty secret and safe from harm. Generations of Jedi, from the greenest Padawans to the most ancient masters, traveled from all across the galaxy to search for crystals, study the planet and its connection to the Force, and enjoy the mental quiet of the uninhabited world. There is a nearly forgotten legend that speaks of a dark and violent time in the planet’s past, however. Ancient sources suggest that the Sith may have laid siege to the world, eventually taking possession of it for a time.

ENTWINED WITH THE JEDI: With Ilum secure, the exploration of the world and its con­nection to the Force was begun in earnest. Numerous settle ments were founded over the subsequent decades, typically near the sites of important scientific or Force-related dis­coveries. At places with a particularly powerful connection to the Force, the Jedi erected temples that served as train­ing centers or pilgrimage sites where members of the order could go to meditate and heal. In addition, thanks to the abundance of kyber crystals on the planet, the Jedi Council established a massive, baroque temple over the entrance to the largest and richest cavern complex the survey teams had discovered. Once it was completed, the council began sending Padawans to Ilum to harvest the crystal for their lightsaber and to undergo the important training rituals associated with lightsaber construction.

Countless Jedi over the millennia traveled there to build their first lightsaber or to find crystals to build new ones. Eventually, as other sources of kyber crystals were exhaust ed or became otherwise unavailable, Ilum became the Jedi’s sole source of these precious crystals. While the planet remained a place of great importance, the Jedi Council recalled those members who were living on Ilum and shuttered all their settlements and temples save for the main temple used for lightsaber construction. With the world’s inhabit­ants gone, its glaciers and ice sheets quickly consumed the Jedi settlements and research sites, burying them beneath dozens or hundreds of meters of ice. By the beginning of the Clone Wars, there were no permanent residents on Ilum, nor any real evidence that there ever had been, and the main temple stood empty, save for the occasional Jedi pilgrim there to find a new kyber crystal.

CRYSTAL CAVES: Home to perhaps the largest deposit of kyber crystals any­ where in the galaxy, Ilum’s crystal caves were said to be the Jedi’s most sacred place by none other than Jedi Master Yoda himself. Winding for countless kilometers through and beneath Ilum’s largest mountain range, the crystal caves were first explored in the ancient past. Within the labyrinth of corridors, shafts, tunnels, and chambers is a staggering wealth of the kyber crystals—mainly mephite and pontite— that make up the searing heart of every Jedi’s lightsaber. Within a few short years of the crystal caves’ discovery, the Jedi Order erected a temple over the entrance to protect the caverns from trespass and to provide shelter and train­ing facilities for visiting Jedi. The caves eventually became a pilgrimage destination for Jedi seeking crystals for new lightsabers and were incorporated into a Padawan coming-of-age ceremony called “the Gathering.”

The stone from which the crystal caves are carved is a smooth, black, basalt-like volcanic rock that absorbs light and is surprisingly easy to work with. The crystals themselves grow unimpeded from the walls and ceilings of the caverns and can occasionally be found littering the floors of corridors and chambers. In many places, the crystals can be removed from the surrounding stone by hand, and even the most stubborn, inaccessible crystal veins require only basic hand tools to excavate. It was this ease of excavation as much as the sheer quantity of crystal deposits that made the crystal caves so valuable to the Jedi.

Despite the millennia in which the Jedi lived and worked on Ilum and the planet’s importance to the order, surprisingly little of the crystal caves’ total area has been explored. Most of the known caverns lie within the boundaries of the temple’s training area, and those few charted areas outside of the temple’s footprint are a warren of dead-end caves, tunnels that turn in on themselves and either come to abrupt ends or plunge thousands of meters into dark cracks, and a confusion of chambers, side caves, and strange rock forma­tions. The sheer size of the cave complex is staggering, with some ancient survey records suggesting thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometers of tunnels and caves stretching deep into the bowels of the planet. In addition, the Force tends to have a distressingly disorienting effect on visitors to the caverns. So powerful is the presence of the Force in the crystal caves that it causes vivid hallucinations in even the most guarded mind. This has led many an explorer astray; countless Jedi have wandered into the uncharted portions of the crystal caves in pursuit of some phantom, never to be heard from again.

JEDI RUINS: The Jedi worked and lived on Ilum for almost as long as they existed as an order. While they never established cit­ies there—it was too remote, too hard to reach, and too sacred to the Jedi for that—they did build scattered small settlements, research stations, temples, observation posts, and other structures on and beneath the planet’s surface. These abandoned sites lie scattered all across Ilum in various states of ruin.

Some are still intact, seemingly awaiting the return of their inhabitants; others are little more than rubble. Most, however, have been buried deep beneath the shifting gla­ciers and massive, slow-moving ice sheets that cover most of Ilum’s surface. Nevertheless, a number of interesting sites can still be found here and there in sheltered mountain passes, at the bottoms of valleys, or within Ilum’s labyrinthine cave systems. One such ruin is the settlement at Holenesh Canyon.

HOLENESH CANYON: Located some five hundred kilometers from the main Jedi Temple at the mouth of the crystal caves, Holenesh Canyon is a deep, sheer-sided cleft in the planet’s surface over a ki­lometer deep that runs for roughly ten kilometers through one of Ilum's vast mountain ranges. The settlement, once home to around one hundred sentients, was built near the canyon’s end in the shadow of the mountain range’s highest peaks. It was established millennia ago to study a strange fluctuation in the Force that seemed to occur only once every few hundred years. Named for the Jedi who first record­ed the anomaly, this small, isolated outpost stood for cen­turies before being destroyed in an avalanche triggered by a massive groundquake coinciding with the reappearance of the Force anomaly. Many of the settlement’s inhabitants were killed as they slept, but some managed to escape with little more than the clothes on their backs or what they could grab in their flight. Further seismic disturbances, combined with freak storms, prevented the mounting of a proper rescue mission, and by the time the Jedi were able to return to the canyon, the settlement was completely covered in snow and countless tons of fallen stone.

In the millennia since the destruction of the settlement, parts of it have been exposed through erosion and seismic activity. While the buildings are barely recognizable as such, their contents were surprisingly well preserved. Thanks to the remoteness of the ruined settlement and the difficulty of reaching it, precious little has been removed from the site. Anyone possessing the skills and courage to excavate the site might unearth any number of ancient Jedi relics.

CREATURES AND CHALLENGES: Ilum's climate is exceptionally harsh. Its land and most of its surface water are locked away beneath glaciers and permanent sheets of ice. Temperatures, even in what are usually considered temperate or tropical zones on other worlds, can sink to dozens of degrees below freezing. These temperatures are typically accompanied by howling gales and blizzards full of driving snow and ice shards. Few creatures, and even fewer plants, live on Ilum. To survive in these brutal conditions, Ilum's creatures and plants are both extremely hardy and extremely dangerous.

ASHARL PANTHER [RIVAL]: Asharl panthers are one of the more common predators on Ilum. They are large, aggressive, territorial felines that make their homes in Ilum's high northern and southern latitudes. Adult asharl panthers average between two and three meters long and stand roughly one meter high at the shoulder. Their four powerful legs end in two-toed feet equipped with nonretractable claws. The creatures’ bodies are covered in dense, smooth fur in shades of white, gray, and blue that holds their body heat in to protect them from the cold and driving wind. They have broad, earless heads with pronounced brow ridges, and their faces are remark­ ably expressive, with short, blunt snouts and golden eyes. The most noticeable feature is a pair of long, tentacle-like sensory organs that grow from their shoulders. Asharl panthers live in small family groups and typically hunt in pairs or in groups of four.

BLISMAL [MINION]: Blismal are small, furry, inoffensive rodents who live in the tunnels and caverns deep beneath Ilum's surface. About the size of a grown human’s hand, blismal have four legs; sharp featured faces with small black eyes, round ears, and long snouts; and short, hairless tails. Their bodies are covered in thick, luxurious, silvery fur that keeps them warm and sheds water and dirt. They feed mostly on cave fungus and insects, and they are happy to be left alone in the dark to live out their lives.

Like the harmless snowfeathers, which live on the surface, blismal have few natural predators. This is largely due to their speed and cautious natures, although they do have a frighteningly effective defense mechanism. When frightened, blismal make a shrill, painful, and sustained shrieking noise to ward off attackers and call for assistance from other blis­mal. When three or more blismal join in, they create a howl loud enough to shatter crystals and cause cave-ins, an ability that Jedi experienced firsthand long ago. The Jedi attributed this ability to the blismal’s close connection to the Force, and were able to counter the effects of the shrieking by manipulating the Force around the creatures. In doing so, Jedi exploring Ilum's cavern system were able to capture blismal, which turned out to be relatively easy to domesticate.

GORGODON [RIVAL]: Gorgodons are, perhaps, the most famous creatures to live on frozen Ilum. They are massive, non-sentient, thick-skinned reptilian creatures with long, powerful arms, short legs, and an axe-shaped head. A thick, shaggy coat of dark gray fur covers them from their shoulders to their feet, leaving only their head, which is a sickly orange color, bare to the elements. Gorgodons are incredibly strong and can with­ stand almost any punishment. It is said that they can even shrug off blaster bolts. They are a dangerous combination of dumb, aggressive, and brutal, and are one of the few animals that attack for no good reason. When the Jedi first arrived on Ilum, the gorgodons were the creatures that gave them the most trouble. Throughout the Jedi Order, the name of this creature was used in threats and curses, such as “thick as a gorgodon” or “as angry as a gorgodon’s mother.”

RAZHAK [NEMESIS]: Among the most fearsome predators on Ilum, these massive creatures are as agile as they are deadly. Averaging around eight meters in length, razhak-are armored, segmented, wormlike creatures that propel themselves using rippling muscle ridges. Their bodies are broad and flat, covered with thick, chitinous plates in shades of white and blue. While they have no apparent eyes, their heads are topped with long, segmented antennae that serve as sensory organs. Their huge mouths feature multiple rows of serrated teeth.

Aggressive and solitary, razhak live in the endless tunnel systems beneath Ilum's surface. They are deceptively fast and, when they attack, they rear up like a serpent and at­ tempt to swallow prey whole. Anything they can’t eat in one bite they tear into pieces by grasping it in their mouth and shaking it violently. In addition to possessing great speed and a savage de­meanor, razhak also can generate intense heat strong enough to rapidly melt solid ice and cause serious burns to exposed flesh. This ability allows them to tunnel through ice as though it were soft sand. Razhak usually build their nests inside of ice walls or densely packed snow, typically leaving the nest only to eat or mate.

Thankfully, while they are terrifying to behold and extremely dangerous, razhak are also easily distracted and creatures of minimal intelligence. Keeping this in mind, a clever opponent can easily outflank them, lead them into traps, or make them lose interest in attacking altogether.

SNOWFEATHER [MINION]: Snowfeathers are small, clever, flightless birds native to Ilum. Their bodies are covered in a dense layer of oily, white feathers that protects them from Ilum's bone-chilling cold and vicious weather. Relatively harmless creatures, they live in nesting colonies built into ice shelves or cliff faces.

Despite their inoffensive nature and inability to fly, snowfeathers have few natural predators, for two reasons. First, their meat tastes terrible and is mildly poisonous, causing painful cramps, bloating, and loosening of the bowels in those unfortunate enough to eat them. Second, they have a connection to the Force that gives them the ability to project an illusion that makes them seem larger and more formidable than they really are. These characteristics have allowed them to survive and even thrive on an inhospitable planet full of savage creatures like gorgodons and asharl panthers.

[arathejedi394]

oh you liked how in my fic for him. bucky didn't fall from the train well what if he did?

His phone buzzes. Steve picks it up and sees a text from Hill, then another one comes in. They’re both phone numbers. The first one is Becca’s and the second is Benny’s. Benny’s name is still Barnes, but Hill’s text has Becca’s last name as Proctor. Steve exhales, then he calls Becca.

It rings for a long time. Steve bites his lip.

“Hello?”

Becca’s voice is rough and cracking with age, but it’s her. Steve exhales heavily.

“It’s Steve,” he says quietly. “Hi.”

There’s silence for a moment.

“What flowers were at your wedding?” Becca asks. 

Steve smiles, bittersweet, but it’s just like Becca to be suspicious. “Red carnations and daisies. Bucky had a daisy in his lapel,” he adds. “Your ma did all youse’s hair with daisies, too. And you and Betty had matching dresses, little cap sleeves and empire waists and a bow in the back, and your ma bought both of you a pair of kitten heels, even though you were only eight, they were yellow with bows, too. Benny had a dress with a big poofy skirt and she kept grousing about it, even though she tried to get me to wear a wedding gown with a poofy skirt. I let Benny pick the color of your dresses, though. She picked pale yellow because she was obsessed with lemons back then. The wedding cake was lemon because of her, lemon and lavender.”

“Steve…” Becca exhales. “Is it really you?”

“Yeah,” Steve whispers, trying to hold back sudden tears. “Becca, Bucky – Before he – Before –”

“What?” Becca asks gently. “What did Bucky do?”

“‘M pregnant,” Steve confesses.

“Oh, my G-d,” Becca whispers. “Oh, my G-d. You’re pregnant?”

“Three months,” Steve then tells her, his voice almost breaking. “I’m about three months in.”

“Did Bucky know?”

Steve lets out a watery sort of laugh. “Yeah,” he says. “Yeah. He – He said I could go on one last mission, the mission to get Zola, then he was gonna tell Colonel Phillips and get me discharged. We didn’t know for sure, but…”

“Oh, Steve,” Becca murmurs. “Where are you, honey?”

“Brooklyn,” Steve whispers. “Bedford-Stuyvesant,” he adds.

“Okay, honey, I’m gonna come pick you up, alright? I got a spare bedroom, you can have it. Bucky wouldn’t want you to be alone. What’s your address?”

Steve bites his lip hard, fighting back tears. But she’s right.

“Alright,” he mumbles, then recites the address for Barton’s apartment building. “I don’t have a lot of things right now,” he says. “I – I, uh, I’m trying to get the Smithsonian to give back all our stuff…”

“I heard your collar got taken out of the exhibit,” Becca says. “You have it?”

“Yeah,” Steve answers. “I had to get a new key fitted for the lock. Buck–”

He can’t say it. Bucky had had the key on the chain that held Steve’s dog tags. It had fallen with him, to be forever entombed in stone and ice.

“It’s okay, honey,” Becca tells him. “I won’t be long, just an hour. Have you got a nest set up yet?”

“No,” Steve admits softly. “I – I want –” His voice cracks and he swallows. “I want my nesting stuff. It’s all in the Smithsonian. They’re saying it all belonged to some Omega I collared.”

“I’ll sic my grandkids on ‘em,” Becca says. “What have you eaten today?”

Steve groans and drops his head back against the wall. “Protein bars,” he mutters.

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“Bucky’s gonna come back from the grave and take a double-folded belt to your ass if you don’t start taking better care of his property,” Becca offers kindly.

Steve laughs a little again, then wipes tears from his eyes. “You’re right.”

“What have you got other than protein bars?” Becca asks.

“Protein shakes,” Steve sighs.

“Oh, boy, Bucky’s rolling in his grave.”

Steve almost laughs. He squeezes his eyes shut and takes a shaking breath.

“If you need to cry, you should,” Becca says. “It’s good for you.”

“Call me when you get here,” Steve murmurs. “I have to pack.”

“Alright. Just an hour, big brother.”

[soonielo]

One more the little guys. this dude vibing hard. -

The dance enthralled by The Clown. Movement wild as a lover's heart, grace of the cradling sea. The price? A mind entombed in ancient ice.

So dance heartfelt and silly. You young thing have too much celebrate.

[the-gay-rat]

Riordan-verse Prophecies

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned, You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned, You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone, You shall find what you seek and make it your own, But despair for your life entombed within stone, And fail without friends, to fly home alone

  Five shall go west to the goddess in chains, One shall be lost in the land without rain, The bane of Olympus shows the trail, Campers and Hunters combined prevail, The Titan’s curse must one withstand, And one shall perish by parent’s hand. 

You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze, The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise. You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand, The child of Athena's final stand. Destroy with a hero's final breath, And lose a love to worse than death.

A half-blood of the eldest gods shall reach sixteen against all odds and see the world in endless sleep, The hero’s soul, cursed blade shall reap, a single choice will end his days, Olympus to preserve or raise.

The heroes of Olympus 

seven heroes shall answer the call to storm or fire the world must fall an oath to keep with final breath as foes bear arms to the doors of death

Child of lightning beware the earth the giants revenge the seven shall birth forge and dove shall break the cage and death unleashed through Heras rage 

 to the north beyond the gods lies the legions crown falling from the ice the son of Neptune shall drown

wisdoms daughter walks alone the mark of Athena burns through Rome twins snuff out the angels breath who holds the key to endless death the giants bane stands gold and pale won through the pain from a woven jail 

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard 

Wrongly chosen, Wrongly slain, A hero Valhalla cannot contain. Nine days hence the sun must go east, Ere sword of summer unbinds the beast. 

The Trials of Apollo

Caves of blue. 

…Westward, burning.

Pages turning.

…Indiana.

Happiness approaches.

There was once a god named Apollo, Who plunged in a cave blue and hollow, Upon a three seater, the bronze fire-eater, Was forced death and madness to swallow 

The words that memory wrought are set to fire, Ere new moon rises o’er the devils mount, Till bodies fill the Tibet beyond count.

Yet southward must the sun now trace its course, Through the mazes dark to land of scorching death, to find the master of the swift white horse and wrest from the crossword speaker’s breath.

To westward must the lester go; Demeter’s daughter finds her ancient roots. The Cloven guide alone the way does he know, To walk the path in Thine own enemies boots

When three are known and Tiber reached alive, tis only then Apollo starts to jive 

Bronze upon gold

East meets west

Legions are redeemed 

Light the depths 

One against many

Never spirit defeat 

Ancient words spoken 

Shaking old foundations 

Destroy the tyrant 

Aid the winged 

Under golden hills

Great stallion’s foal 

Turn red tides 

Harken the trumpets

Enter strangers home 

Regain lost glory

Apollo faces death in Tarquin’s tomb unless the doorway to the soundless god is opened by (Bellona’s Daughter)

A wildcat near the spinning lights. The tomb of Tarquin with horses bright. 

To open doors two-fifty-four 

O son of Zeus the final challenge face, The tow’r of Nero two alone ascend, dislodge the beast that hast usurped thy place, The son of Hades, cavern runner’s friend, Must show the secret way unto the throne. On Nero’s own your lives now depend. A dare reveals the path that was unknown, And bears destruction; Lion, snake-entwined or else the princeps never be o’erthrown 

Apollos flesh and blood shall soon be mine, Alone he must descend into the dark, The sibyl never again to see his sign, Lest wrestle with me till se his final spark, The god dissolves, leaving not a mark 

Apollo must fall, but Apollo must rise again 

The Sun and the Star

Go forth and find the one who calls out your name, who suffers and despairs for refusing to remain; there leave some of equal value behind, or your body and soul no one will ever find.

(correct me if i got any wrong)

[eluviannaa]

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓡𝓮𝓬𝓮𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓐 𝓒𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓜𝓲𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓿𝓮 ⠄⠂⠂⠄⠄⠂✧

To those who still sense what shifts beneath—

This black blood does not pool—it moves. It breathes. It seeps through the world’s wounds, unseen yet everywhere. Undermine is but one fracture.

Where have you heard awakenings? What have you seen? 

This is not rot. This is something older. Something patient. Azj-Kahet. Silithus. Ice entombed beneath Northrend. The depths of the world, the halls of the dead.

Sanity may be just a suggestion.

-e

(can be Tumblr ask or in-game mail replies to Êluvianna-MG [A])

Previous letter.

[serpentface]

Varkhata-Byla

Varkhata-Byla clanfathers (Niij-Byla) and clanmothers (Ha-Byla). Their distinct status is indicated by solar cross and triple moon cheek tattoos respectively, as well as full beards for Niij-Byla and veils for the Ha-Byla.

The Varkhata-Byla are an people of the temperate northern landmass of Bylaea who live predominantly in its grassy and birch-forested northern half and along its coasts as shepherds, farmers, fishers and whalers. 

Varkhata-Byla society is composed of both humans and elowey, and does not see innate distinction between the two. Human VB are called 'woga', Elowey VB are called 'warra', named after the wolf brother culture heros that are claimed to be the ancestors of their people.

Clans are patrilineal and center on two clanfathers (Niij-Byla,'father of the people'), nursed by the same mothers and considered blood-brothers. Each is married to one woga and one warra clanmother (Ha-Byla 'mother of the people') respectively. Any younger siblings are considered children of the clan and forbidden to have their own children, unless their elder perishes.

Marriage is an arranged contract between clans, and intermarriage within a clan (regardless of family relations) is unaccepted. The clanmother retains her original clan alignment, but their children will belong to the father's clan. Sisters of a clanmother sometimes accompany her to her new clan, but this practice has varied over history and by circumstance.

 ---

A stone monument depicting the wolf brothers Warra and Woga, the latter entombed in the snow during the world-winter. Such monuments are carved as markers for significant locations in the landscape.

Varkhata-Byla religion holds that the world goes through cycles of rebirth, with each cycle ending with the world being buried in snow and ice and most life dying. Every cycle, the gods and some animals survive in snow burrows or in the underworld, all hiding from the snow demons who roam the winter between worlds. When the world-spring comes, animals and gods emerge to recreate and repopulate the world.

The VB claim descent from two prominent figures in the world-spring story cycles, two brother wolves named Woga and Warra. In the first legend, the younger brother Warra had to venture out into the freezing wastes to find medicinal herbs so that Woga (who had fallen sick) could survive until the spring. Even as a wolf, Warra's body was not strong enough to face the sheer brutality of a world-winter. So, Woga gave his younger brother his fur coat (to stay warm in the preternatural cold), his long nose (to sniff out the herbs), and his sharp teeth (to defeat a snow-demon, Ustlara). In most legends, he did not give his brother his tail, but had already lost it, having been tricked out of it by his little cousin Brushwolf at the onset of winter.

The descendents of each brother (they wed a pair of sister goddesses in the world-spring) would retain these traits, explaining why half of the people have thick fur, long snouts, and sharp teeth, and why the other half are nearly naked, flat faced, dull toothed and tailless.

Other humans and elowey are also considered Woga and Warra's descendents as well, though their ancestors bred with other animals and gods late in the world-spring and forgotten their ancestry.

---

Relations between the VB and their neighbors (the Rodi-Byla, Uswa-Byla, Saloche, Moorlanders, Urswali, Sea Dains, and others) have varied throughout history. The Varkhata-Byla, Rodi-Byla, and Uswa-Byla share language and trade extensively, but rarely intermarry. The VB have historically tended towards seeing these two other peoples as recently split VB whose woga and warra have separated, while all others are seen as 'barbarians'.Varkhata-Byla crop their ears during infancy as a distinguishing group identifier, made to resemble the ears of a wolf and display their esteemed ancestry.

There are a diasporic VB populations in Urswal and the northern Dainlands and along the coasts, and one very significant group of immigrants who settled far south in Ubibi (mostly for work as whalers and fishermen). It is difficult for Ubiyan VB to maintain integrated woga-warra clan systems, so other aspects of their identity have been emphasized in place and have created a distinct culture from their northern ancestors. The cropping of the ears gains special importance in maintaining cultural identity, and is performed here as a coming of age or conversion rite (rather than being given to all infants). Ubiyan Varkhata-Byla also practice aspects of their religion that are considered more esoteric and reserved for priests (rather than laypeople) in Bylaea.

Ubiyan VB define themselves by their religion rather than ancestry, and allow for 'conversion' for other humans and elowey, a concept would be considered alien to the north (as it's understood there, one does not 'become' Varkhata-Byla). While still a religious minority, 'bylaism' is significant to the cultural fabric of the Ubiyan region and has heavily influenced/been influenced by the practices of other seafaring human or elowey peoples of the region.