#juren talks

[zhaleys]

I'm gonna force myself to work on those RE/SH charms this month ✍️🫣

Should I add other side characters besides main protags?

[wangsejabin]

Chapter 90

Because of this incident, Pan'er and Yue Wangfei had inexplicably gained an extra level of intimacy.

As they walked that way, Yue Wangfei said quietly, " Prince Chu and our prince are not very close, but I didn't expect him to greet me today."

Pan'er had a different thought in mind, probably because of her keen sensibilities, but she felt that Prince Chu's sudden stop was because of her. But Prince Chu did not do anything other than glance at her and ask her a question knowingly.

   However, it was not easy to say such things to Yue Wangfei, so she could only say shyly, "I stay within the Eastern Palace and rarely see outsiders, especially men, so I am a bit flustered by the sudden sight of them."

Yue Wangfei smiled understandingly and felt that Su Liang Di was a frank and honest person, and had long since cast away any prejudice she had against her.

By this time, the two of them had already reached the children, and as they were talking to them, Pan'er looked back.

Prince Chu and the Seventh Prince were no longer there, and she was instantly relieved.

"Okay, all sweaty from playing, there's many bodies of water in this Western Garden, you can't leave your lackeys behind when you go for walks, you have to bring them along with you before you can come out, tell Mother in advance before you go anywhere, got it?" Pan'er's words were deliberately addressed to Wanyin and Zong Lin, she was not worried about Zong Yue, the boy had always known what was proper.

   "Understood Mother."

The Yue Wangfei also felt that Pan Er's words made sense and told Zong Zhi and Shu Li to listen and to do the same in the future.

   Both children answered in the affirmative, and seeing that it was getting late, they turned their heads and walked back.

In front of the Pavilion of the Lotus Wind and the Hui Lu, Pan'er and Yue Wangfei made an appointment to go out for a walk next time, and the children of the two families also agreed to play with each other, and then went their separate ways.

Pan'er had not walked so much for a long time, and her legs were a little sore, so Xiang Pu kneaded her legs, while Zong Yue and Wan Yin went to the study to practise their writing. Before they went out, they had agreed that they would each write two big words when they returned from playing.

   The child did not follow Pan'er in anything, except for her reluctance to do embroidery and practice calligraphy, and her writing truly was atrocious. However, at her age, there was no need to worry too much, but Pan'er thought to herself that her daughter would have to be better than herself.

   When dinner was about to be served, the Prince came back.

After having dinner together, Pan'er forgot to tell the Prince about the encounter with Prince Chu today because of the children's interruptions.

   Pan'er thought that Yue Wangfei had probably said something out of the ordinary because she was so desperate for help, and given her character, she would not mention it again if she missed it this time. At this point, she was a little glad that Prince Chu and the Seventh Prince had appeared and interrupted the conversation, otherwise she would have had a headache thinking about how to answer the other party.

   What Pan'er hadn't expected though was that the Yue Wangfei apparently didn't give up so easily.

   It was also when she was leading the two children back to Juren Hall that she happened to meet Side Consort Guo, who made a couple of barbed remarks, and Yue Wangfei was defeated by her mouth and suffered a lot of anger. She originally thought she would just remain calm, but Shu Li was still young and although she was usually shy and reserved, she did not want her mother to suffer such anger, so she complained to the Prince of Yue.

   The couple inevitably had a big fight, and when she returned, she was so angry that she became dizzy and wept.

   So she came uninvited the next day to find Pan'er.

   Pan'er was a little surprised by her sudden visit, but seeing her face even worse than yesterday, and the look in her eyes, she already had some idea of her intention.

After the palace maids had served tea, she dismissed everyone and passed the tea in front of Yue Wangfei , saying, "Wangfei, have some tea first."

Yue Wangfei drank the tea, taking the time to calm herself down, but the moment she opened her mouth, she still let her intention wash away the feigned calmness.

   She gave a brief account of what had happened last night, and then mocked herself, "I'm not afraid that you will laugh at me, Su Liangdi, but at first my Prince and I were in love for a while. ...

   "...... When my mother in law took a fancy to her and wanted to choose her to give to my prince, I had a bad feeling in my heart,we were both from the capital, although she was of high rank and my family was of low rank, I had heard a few rumors about her. You can say I'm not confident, say I'm small-minded, I remember when you were pregnant with Zong Yue and Wan Yin, we also met twice in the Kunning Palace, at that time I really didn’t want to let her enter the door. Unfortunately, I couldn't resist the 'rules' of the palace and the 'filial piety' ......

   "...... When she entered the house, it was true that there was less and less room for me to stand in the house. I hate my own lack of courage, and thought it would be just as well to live like this, just enduring it, but the children are getting older, I sometimes see my children put up with it in front of her children, I want to slap myself. I also know that I have come abruptly today and asked abruptly, but I don't want to worry my parents there at my maternal home, and there is no one around to say these things ......"

The princess of Yue said, while dropping tears.

   Pan'er sat by the side, not knowing what to say.

In fact, she felt that Yue Wangfei was making things difficult for herself and as a woman of the royal family, if she couldn't even manage to think it through herself, Pan’er was afraid that the life would be unbearable for her. Inevitably, she was reminded of when she was waiting for the crown prince's other children to be born, and she had been pretending that nothing was wrong, but she was still a little uncomfortable in her heart after all.

She had been reluctant to know the Prince's movements in the backyard because she didn't want to face it directly, and she was also putting her head in the sand, but he did come to her most often, especially since the birth of the third child, and he came almost every day, sometimes not, so she just assumed...

She just pretended he was busy in his study.

But when the truth came out, she couldn't continue pretending.

Was it difficult? Of course it was, but not as hard as she thought it would be. On the contrary, she felt relieved, as if some things were still going the way they had in her previous life, which gave her a sense of security.

The days still had to pass, and after two minor tantrums with the prince, which seemed to be genuine, he seemed to understand a bit where her anger lay. He talked about how jealous she was, how she didn't tolerate people, how others knew about it, and how he still came more often to her place.

   Was she happy? She seemed a little happy, but not as happy as she thought she would be, and why not, she didn't know. She just didn't want to explore the issue too much, she always felt that if she thought about something too much, her convictions would collapse.

   So how could she instruct others on something she didn't even understand?

   But looking at the teary-eyed Yue Wangfei, Pan'er also had mixed feelings, not only because of the other party, but also because of herself, because of the Crown Princess, because of this situation where wives and concubines are destined to be on opposite sides.

   Just now, when Yue Wangfei cried to her, she wondered if she was like this in the Crown Princess's heart, too.

"In fact, this matter, I really don't know how to go about it with the Crown Princess, after all, the situation is different, the status is different, my words might not be useful. Just like you are the main consort, the person you are opposite of is a side consort, a concubine. I am also a concubine, my position is obviously different from that of the main wife."

   "No, you misunderstand," Yue Wangfei panicked a little, wiping her tears as she said hastily, "I'm not trying to get you to speak for me or anything, I just want to learn from you, learn how to please men, I think my prince favours her because I'm not as pleasing as she is ...... I see that you are so pleasing to the prince, so I ...... I don't really mean anything else, I just ......"

   I know you don't mean anything else, but you've already embarrassed me a bit.

   Pan'er sighed in her heart, suppressing some messy thoughts, and instead looked squarely at the Yue Wangfei once more.

She must have loved Prince Yue very much, otherwise why would she have degraded herself, reduced herself to ask a concubine and condescended to such a level, there must have been some firm conviction that drove her to do so.

If one looks at it this way, it seems that she did not love the crown prince as much as she thought she did. As soon as this thought surfaced, it was immediately dismissed by Pan'er, who felt that she had to stop Yue Wanfei's tears now, otherwise she might be drowned in them.

   It was the first time Pan'er had ever seen someone so good at crying. This was not meant to be derogatory, after all, she had seen all kinds of tears in her previous life, including her own, and none of them had been so genuine.

   "It's actually quite simple to please someone, whatever he likes, you do."

   "Whatever he likes, I'll do it?" Sure enough these words interrupted the tears of Princess Yue, she murmured, seemingly a little confused, "That's all?"

   Pan'er nodded, that was all.

   She tried to imagine herself in the position of the Crown Princess and added, "For example, if he doesn't like you to be jealous, you shouldn't be jealous, jealous women are sometimes ugly and make themselves look hideous and aggressive, men are bound to dislike them."

   "A jealous woman is ugly, with a hideous face?" Yue Wangfei went to touch her own face, she had been jealous a lot, and she knew she must have looked ugly then, and he had said she was becoming less and less herself, but she was herself, who else could she be?

   "But jealousy can still be controlled?"

   "Naturally, it's not easy to control, but slowly and consciously, I think it can get better. For example, whenever I feel jealous and want to act out, I just think about how I have nothing to complain about if even the Crown Princess is not jealous."

Obviously Pan'er's teasing tone made it very difficult for Yue Wangfei to accept. She even wondered a little if it was a deliberate perfunctory remark, but when she saw the bitter smile that didn't show at the corner of Pan'er's mouth, she didn't think so again and hesitated.

"When you're not jealous anymore, you can calm down, take time to think about what he likes about you and what you should do to make him like you."

"Make him feel guilty, make him miss you, make him believe what you say, make him gradually be swayed by you, make him ......" Pan'er felt that she was no different from that Guo side consort of the Yue Mansion, the difference being that that person was too arrogant and she was not.

So what qualifications did she have to judge people, what qualifications did she have to instruct the Yue Wangfei, who is the main wife?

   In fact, there was another sentence that was most pertinent, but Pan'er did not want to say it. Because this sentence is too out of the dangerous a concept to say, just don't fall in love.

As long as you don't love him, you can be good at everything you need to be good at to uphold your status, you can calmly fight for favour and use tricks to make him like you more because of how understanding and how thoughtful you are.

Something roared in her ears, it was the last words that Empress Chen had said before she was imprisoned in the cold palace in her previous life--

   "...... Do you think he really favours you? You are wrong, he only has his kingdom and his nation in his heart, he is doting on you for the sake of his kingdom and nation, you think you have really won? You're wrong! I will wait, I will see you lose like I did ......"

   "...... You think that bitch really loves you? No, she doesn't love you, I'm the only one who loves you the most ......"

   ......

   Outside the door, the Crown Prince stood there with his hands behind his back, surrounded by minions cowering with their heads hanging.

   Only Fu Lu stood a little closer, but hearing how Su Liang Di was pointing out the Yue Wang Fei inside, he was also in a cold sweat. You have nothing to do with the affairs of the House of Yue, why are you getting involved?

   As he watched the Prince's face grow darker and darker until he turned to leave, his heart thumped and he knew something big was about to happen.

[ak47stylegirl]

Well okay, what happened today? Well firstly I almost missed my zoom class this morning, sleeping in until literally the last minute before class 😅

So I had the class, but I was naughty as I was also getting dressed/making my bed while listening to it 😅 I did do some work in class though! (I was on mute and camera was off!)

We’re working on this health and safety booklet, the task for today’s lesson was to do task 1 and 2.

But I couldn’t get task 2 done as I’m really struggling to understand what exactly I’m supposed to do. I don’t really know what to do or who to go to to get one on one help outside of class. I’m thinking of maybe asking student support if I can maybe get assistance outside of class but, yeah that’s a bit of a problem I’m dealing with.

Anyway onto other stuff, I needed to go out to get some stuff for doing the Lino prints, and I got some of the stuff I needed but generally I couldn’t afford to get all the stuff I need/ can’t easily buy the stuff, so I’m still making doing at the moment.

But while I was out, I realised something really important. I forgot to have breakfast 😅 and it was past one in the afternoon 😅 so yeah, I got food with the last of my money until Monday.

Honestly that slightly a bad habit of mine, I forget or drink. the drink one is the one that happens the most often, everybody that knows me knows I struggle with reminding to drink water 😅😓 so when I do drink, I gulp it down.

Okay, after eating I came home and worked on my Lino prints. I needed to transfer the first Lino print to my other Lino blocks, so I used the print paper method (I don’t actually know what it’s called lol)

Also I sacrificed a bedsheet to do this, but don’t worry, I don’t really sleep with a bedsheet, just my quilt. So now I actually getting some use out of it, 😁

This is after I printed all my blocks, so now all I need to do is carve then out. And talking of carving, my finger kept rubbing against the Lino as I was cutting, so it started to bleed 🥺

Had to put a bandage on it. But I got one of my other prints done! 😁

Plus I worked on my jurenals a bit but my lack of photos really let me down. I’ll need to go in on Monday and take some better ones. But here on of the pages I was able to get done.

I also worked on ‘sick days’ and got past the scene that was troubling me yesterday, so hopefully I should have the next chapter up soon! 😄 also I realised that my chapter size has grown, before I was struggling to get to my limit of 850 words, now one chapter for me is a couple of thousands of words! It’s pretty incredible 😅😂

Though unfortunately I did have an anxiety flare up for some reason, I don’t know why, it just happened. I’m still feeling slightly anxious and the fact that I haven’t been able to vacuum or clean up like I planned isn’t helping but I’m trying to think positive. I got stuff done today and the other stuff can wait until tomorrow, it’s okay.

I had a late night shower, which probably wasn’t the best of ideas as it is getting very late but I had needed it, so I guess it’s okay.

Also you may not have seen the post I reblogged, but I’m thinking of maybe taking Allie or Scott to class with me. It’s would be a great comfort but I’m still hesitant because, you know social anxiety and stuff. It’s would be nice but I’m still not sure about it...

Anyway I better get to bed before it hits midnight 😅

@godsliltippy @misssquidtracy

[rabm]

somehow juren has the most chaos energy of all my ocs like he’s just a jittery alien waiter but i feel like he would so long gay bowser someone for talking on the phone in the bathroom. his life is fine he has no tragic backstory but somehow psychologically it’s like he’s under some kind of torment at all times. he cannot calm down. he vapes with all four arms at once

[bluesunsdusk]

💉 - For Akksul, Therrin, Serrus, and Juren? {ssvdromio/exhausted--turian

Send 💉 for my muse to confess something they wouldn’t  

@ssvdromio/ @exhausted--turian

Akksul:"Part of me knew what I was doing was wrong. United angara are strong angara, after all. I thought others would follow, and we’d be better than the Resistance. We weren’t. I knew this, but we were too invested by then. What I did, I ultimately didn’t do because I truly wanted to save my people. If I did, I would have done as Evfra had. I did it for a sense of control I lost after being taken by the kett. it was cowardly. I am ashamed for that. I already admitted I was wrong for what I did to jaal, but it was everyone else I wronged as well. I love my people, and hey deserve better than what I am. I still won’t trust an alien, but... as long as they haven’t done anything actively malicious, what I did to Ryder was also wrong. If admitting this helps our chances in the war, I will do it.” 

Therrin:“I blamed my son for what happened to Teyra, for a small part, for far too long. Subconsciously, ya know. I loved him and I kept him safe, but I kept thinking she would have stayed on Omega if it weren’t for him. I pushed the kid away, because I wanted to blame anyone but myself. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to make up for it, so I kept my distance. I still keep my distance. I know he won’t ever forgive me. Truth is, if he’d died on the Natanus, I don’t think I would’ve known what i’d do with myself.” 

Serrus:“I have nothing to confess! I’m embarrassed by my fringe, sir. It’s so small... It’s so small, I could wear a scarf and they think I’m a woman from certain angles. Or not from certain angles, if it’s not a Turian I’m talking to.”  

Juren:“I... put priority on my son over everyone else stored in the facility. He is not essential personnel. It’s horribly selfish. It goes against my function to prioritize based on sentimentality, but I’ve lost enough children.”

[kyashin]

It will forever plague Lance that they can't pinpoint the exact start of their relationship. They coexisted for nearly a year in a tempest of satisfying venom and unsatisfied lust. After that came a nebulous cluster of weeks during which neither of them could tell where they stood with each other. It's even difficult to say when their first kiss was. …Although that's mainly because Lance refuses to count the time on Juren when Keith got nefariously drunk and attacked Lance's lips with his putrid breath and stabbing tongue. Keith doesn't remember it, and Lance is much too kind to bring it up, so he usually assigns First Kiss to that other time on Juren when Lance not-so-randomly chose Keith as a means of demonstrating for the empress European cheek-kiss greetings. Keith not-accidentally-at-all-and-actually-really-obviously turned his head at just the right angle at the right moment to intercept one of Lance's kisses on the mouth instead. Lance remembers the silence of the room beating a tattoo on his ears as Keith's chapped lips left his. They were both too far into their weird not-flirting-flirting by then to pretend Lance hadn't been hoping Keith would do exactly that. Still, their vague beginning means there's no anniversary for Lance to circle on the Altean/Earthian hybrid calendar he and Coran designed and put together. "I don't, um, think I'd remember it anyway," Keith tells him, wary. Lance gives him a flat, unimpressed face. Keith's gotten it into his head recently that their burgeoning relationship means he has to pretend he has things like Manners and Sensitivity to Social Cues, and while it's adorable that Keith is trying to make the effort for him, it's also sort of annoying that Keith thinks he can't speak his mind without hesitation like he did before. Lance resists his first impulse to flick Keith's forehead and instead runs his fingers through the fine-textured wedge of bangs tufted across Keith's forehead. He gets further with Keith through touch. "There are two of us doing this dating thing, babe," he says. "Clearly I'll just be the one who remembers birthdays and anniversaries and new people's names and all that jazz." Keith frowns. "I remember people's names." Lance does flick him in the forehead now. "Cargo pilot," he says, sour. Keith blinks, unfazed. "Well, you were," he says, 100% absolutely just to be a dick. Lance smirks and pokes his neck until Keith squawks, but Keith is apparently comfortable enough in Lance's lap that he puts up with a truly shocking amount of tickling. Lance only stops when Keith's laughter starts to sound hoarse, and Keith is still panting and grinning as Lance readjusts Keith's upper body more comfortably in his lap. "Make it whenever you want," Keith says, reaching up to thumb the corner of Lance's eye where he's apparently still got a smear of sacred Truvian moisture cream. "Maybe on your birthday so I have a better chance of remembering one of them." Lance grimaces. "I chose very wrong." He sees Hunk drifting in through the door yawning and calls out, "Morning, bestie! I would like to exchange this." He points at the bundle of infuriating gorgeousness in his lap. Hunk gives them a hazy frown. "Did you two stay up all night again?" he asks. At the same time, Lance says, "Uh," and Keith says, "Yes." "That's cool. Super clingy but it's nice. Quieter." He fills a bowl with the tiny white fruits Allura received from the Ambassador of Olrhan and salutes Keith and Lance. "Off to feed Pidge. Bye, guys." Lance groans and bends until his face is hidden in Keith's chest. "We stayed up all night talking again. We're so cliché it's just nauseating at this point." Keith says, "Yeah," and it's the way he says it that has Lance sitting up in surprise. Keith tucks his hand behind Lance's neck and Lance meets him halfway, curious. Keith's lips barely move but Lance still ranks it in his top ten, as usual, taking the place of a kiss that still gets some claim to fame in the top twenty or thirty. "Doesn't matter when it started," Keith says. "It did." Lance doesn't give him the satisfaction of admitting he's right. He settles instead for the mutual satisfaction of another kiss.

[afishtrap]

In the mid-seventeenth century, the Qing empire of China reacted to piracy and rebellion by forcibly depopulating the coast and burning its shoreline into wasteland for twenty years. As unique as the scale and brutality of this response may be in maritime history, the Qing state was not inherently isolationist or anti-maritime. Its underlying imperatives were shared by other early modern states: a desire to establish sovereignty, impose subjecthood, and constrain the mobility of peripheral populations. This article places the Qing Coastal Depopulation of 1661-1683 in the context of fifty years of maritime militarization, invasion, and civil war in the coastal province of Fujian. It portrays the Depopulation as not just a military act to combat pirates or the powerful sealord Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong), but also an act of social engineering to subjugate the coastal population by removing it behind an artificial land boundary. At the same time, the article shows that the Qing state’s practice of “outsourcing” coastal control to regional lords helps to account for the policy’s longevity and some of its severest abuses.

Dahpon David Ho. "The Empire’s Scorched Shore: Coastal China, 1633-1683." Journal of Early Modern History, Volume 17, Issue 1, pages 53 – 74.

One of the persistent myths that has been invoked to explain why the Qing state chose scorched earth rather than a more outward-looking naval policy is that its Manchu rulers, as semi-nomadic horsemen from Northeast Asia, were afraid of water. As the story goes, the Manchus were incapable of understanding the ocean frontier and thus resorted to building a maritime "Great Wall" and so "encouraged the conquered Chinese to share in their fear and ignorance of the sea."' It has also been suggested that the Coastal Depopulation was simply a logical extension of native Chinese isolationism: a maritime "closed-door" mentality dating back to Ming times (1368-1644)."* It might seem that the Qing Depopularion was a foregone conclusion by the supposedly hydrophobic Manchu emperors who inherited the Chinese state.

[...]

Fujian was the Portugal of imperial Ghina, her Holland, her headache. Whatever story is told of Fujian, it always seems to have something to do with the sea. Fujian was home to expert shipbuilders and mariners, the ones who built and sailed the largest wooden ships in history: the state-sponsored Treasure Fleets (1405-1433) that went to India and Africa in the glory days of the Ming dynasty.'' Later, Ming officials denounced Fujian as a den of smugglers and pirates that defied the empire's ban on private maritime trade. Fujian was ravaged in the mid-1500s, both by pirate attacks and by Ming troops sent to the rescue.'' The province soon rebounded as a trading hub, and Fujian was enmeshed in the flows of silver, guns, tea, and spices that transformed the early modern world. No family better represented the possibilities of seventeenth-century maritime Fujian than the Zheng clan, led by the sealord Zheng Zhilong (c. 1604-1661).

Zheng Zhilong was a Fujianese smuggler and pirate, a man of the sea who huckstered, bribed, and battled his way to become maritime overlord at the end of the Ming dynasty and one of the realm's richest men. In his lifetime, he was known variously as Nicholas Iquan, Nicolas Gaspard, Tei Shiryû, Ytcuam, or even Chinhillón. Around him lay the dizzying world of maritime East Asia in the 1600s. Portuguese fidalgos, Spanish galleon captains, Jesuit priests, and Dutch rogues, officers, and gentlemen were trying hard to break into this water world dominated by Ghinese and Japanese networks of trade and piracy. The Europeans soon met their match.

[...]

The nascent Qing state faced many opponents, including Ming loyalists and powerful armies of bandits and pirates. Zheng Zhilong at first supported the Ming loyalist movement, but he quickly became disaffected. When in 1646 Qing Prince Bolo offered to spare Fujian from war and appoint him Viceroy of Guangdong and Fujian in exchange for his fealty, Zheng took the dare—but at this juncture his own son Koxinga and other key family members betrayed him and refused to travel to Fuzhou to pledge their allegiance. Prince Bolo suspected the sealord of playing both sides in the war and ordered him taken to Beijing in chains. Zheng would never see his homeland or the sea again.

[...]

The Qing government repeatedly tried to negotiate with Koxinga and his kinsmen from 1647-1654. A non-combative solution was desirable because the Qing armies were tied down fighting Ming loyalists in southwest China, but ultimately no agreement was reached. While the Qing state was willing to concede coastal territories, substantial autonomy, and a monopoly on maritime trade, it balked at Koxinga's demands for three coastal provinces and a suzerain kingdom on the level of tributary states like Annam (Vietnam) or Korea. Meanwhile, Koxinga used the ceasefires of the negotiation period to pillage the coast and extract more supplies." In 1655, after the talks faltered, the Qing resumed its attacks on the sealord.

In 1657, Koxinga sent a flotilla of some 5,000 ships and 60,000 men to probe the northern coastal defenses of Zhejiang and the Yangzi Delta. And then, in the campaigns of 1658-1659, Koxinga's armada burst out of southern Fujian and struck north for Jiangnan, the economic heartland of the Qing empire. However, due to some fatal miscalculations, Koxinga's army was routed at the siege of Nanjing, and the embattled sealord retreated to his base at Amoy in September 1659. It was Koxinga's turn to send an envoy to Beijing to negotiate—but the Qing court was no longer willing to compromise. Defectors and former pirates swelled the Qing forces, and on June 17, 1660, the Qing navy attacked Amoy, hoping to crush Koxinga in one swoop.

[...]

The atrocities had begun as early as 1647, soon after Prince Bolo's capture of Zheng Zhilong left a power vacuum for rebels and pirates. Putian resident Chen Hong left a rare eyewitness account of how his hometown turned into a killing field. As the ships of competing Zheng clansmen recruited and pillaged on the coast, poor tenant farmers, miners, and laborers rose in rebellion, and a throng of Fujianese insurgents besieged the coastal city of Pudan. The Qing garrison of about 3,000 battled the rebels unsuccessfully and then holed up with the populace inside the city walls. People in Pudan began to starve as prices for rice, barley, and wheat skyrocketed thirty times from three copper coins to one hundred coins per measure.

Cannibalism broke out and found its victims in close formation. In December, after a raid outside the city, the Qing authorities rounded up four farmers from Siting and beheaded them in the city. "As soon as the heads rolled to the ground, the flesh of the four victims was carved up by starving bystanders," wrote Chen Hong. "If any bones remained on which there was still a bit of flesh, those who had arrived late would scrape off the scraps. From that point onward, when a person was executed, he/she would be reduced to bones in the blink of an eye. Women, too, partook in the cutting of bodies."

Hysteria gripped the community as the siege continued through the winter. Qing troops ripped down houses nearest the city and stockpiled the wood for bonfires. Pirates and rebels attacked by night and retreated by day. Outside the city was a no-man's land: villagers who wandered in open country were seized by Qing patrols, stripped naked, and had their hands and feet cut off.

[...]

Another local survivor, gentry man Yu Yang of Putian, wrote his own grim accounts of floods followed by droughts and epidemics, and starving people selling their wives and children, robbing graves, and murdering each other. Yu Yang also raised his own local militia. Chen Hong mentioned Yu Yang as but one of a multitude of local rebels: "Outside the city, the village gentry znd juren degree holders raised their own rebel armies—Regardless of rank, they all claimed to be commanders." The rebels battered Putian with field guns and also fought each other for power.

Eventually a Qing counterassault put the assorted rebels to flight. Starving city dwellers followed the army out on raid and looted their rural counterparts. Villagers from all quarters, defending their homes, stabbed and kicked to death some 400-500 of these city marauders. No longer was it a war of Ming and Qing, but a war of city and countryside. The army proceeded to kill them all: "In Xin'gou, a village of 100 people, all but seven were butchered." But the damage had been done. "That night, weeping could be heard throughout the city."

[...]

Meanwhile, Koxinga's sailors continued to loot, burn, and rape along the coast up through 1660. Koxinga's officers, such as pirate Guo Erlong, murdered and kidnapped thousands of people for taxes and ransom; consequently, private stockades and forts mushroomed along the coast as villagers tried to defend their homes. The war between Koxinga, the Qing, roving pirates, and rebels left coastal residents in social anarchy. They were triple-taxed and slaughtered by all sides for alleged disloyalty. What began as violence at sea cast its shadow on all who dwelled on land: all were suspect, all were targets for extortion. None of the butchers deserves apologies.

The mass killings revealed that the struggle for the coast was no mere battle between two armies—it was a totalizing war with no clear line of sovereignty. As Lynn Struve argues, "no ameliorative social policies could have been instituted by either the Ming or the Ch'ing until one side or the other took and held communities by force, not only from the other, but also from all the forces of armed conflict that abounded." Fifteen years of butchery and rapine in the bogs and bays of Fujian had failed to accomplish this. By 1661, even far southwestern China was largely subdued, and the Ming loyalists were in retreat—yet on the southeast coast, neither the Qing nor Koxinga could secure a line of sovereignty, let alone hold the coastal population as subjects.

The Qing response was to create a brutally simplified frontier that would remove the population from contact with the sealord regime and also attempt to destroy the sources of maritime trade on which pirates and seaborne powers like Koxinga had built a trading empire. As early as October 14, 1660, Fujian Viceroy Li Shuaitai, one of the ablest Qing officers in Fujian, began to experiment with removing coastal towns in Tong'an and Haicheng counties. Even Fujianese natives like Huang Wu, a former officer of Koxinga, recommended the Depopulation on the grounds that the sealord would quickly fall without access to coastal supplies.

[fableweaver]

Arc of the Dwarven Warden

“Darin, wake up,” Donar said shaking his arm. Darin woke groggily; it must have been the dog hours of the morning. The first thing he noted was Pepper was gone. Donar shook him harder and he groaned.

“What?” Darin asked sleepily.

“Arnor’s dead,” Donar said and Darin was wide awake. He sat up, looking up at Donar shocked.

“How? When?” Darin asked startled.

“Get dressed, this isn’t good,” Donar said. Darin scrambled out of bed and started to get dressed, Donar turning away to look at the bed. “Where’s Pepper?” Donar asked. Darin turned to see him lift Pepper’s underwear from the floor. Darin felt himself blush, but he turned back to dressing.

“I don’t know,” Darin answered.

“She was with you all night?” Donar asked.

“I don’t know when she left. I was asleep.” Donar only grunted in response to that, and Darin looked at him again. “Why do you need to know?”

“Just get dressed Darin,” Donar said. Darin felt his heart chill as he finished dressing and followed Donar out of the room. They left the Emir clan halls to chaos. The tunnels of the city were crowded with people as they talked and whispered. When Donar and Darin passed them, some hurried forward to ask questions, others lingered back to whisper behind their hands. Donar ignored the babbled questions, but Darin caught some mention of Pepper.

They hurried on before they could be stopped and to the keep. Here there were twice as many guards as before, everyone was tense. In the hall of the chiefs the atmosphere was near to breaking. At Arnor’s place was his son and chief Juren. Juren was about Darin’s age, and a hot head as he remembered. He was red in the face from his contained rage, looking ready to explode. Runi sat on the Mountain throne looking grim.

“Donar, you are the last to arrive, please take your place,” Runi said. Donar bowed to her and went to his place, Darin standing next to him.

“I demand justice!” Juren shouted, his fuse was lit.

“We all want justice Juren but we must approach this matter with level heads,” Runi answered equably.

“One of the chiefs has been murdered in our own city!” Juren shouted.

“And many others die in our home against the orcs!” Oyvind shouted back at him.

“So you say,” Juren answered. “How do we know this is not some plot of yours and the Emir clan to lure our armies into a trap and gain all power over our peoples and mines?”

“Enough of this old argument Juren,” Donar said. “At least your father had the taste to not accuse us so openly with foolish stories of conspiracy.”

“And who was it that brought this murderer to our city!” Juren screeched. “You brought the Green Witch here, so she could assassinate my father for you Donar!”

“Lies!” Darin shouted taking two steps towards Juren before Donar grabbed his arm.

“That is enough!” Runi said getting to her feet and standing on the throne. “I brought her here as surely as Donar had and I trust Pepper with all my heart. You have no proof that she killed Arnor and his men.”

“They were surprised in the night,” Juren answered. “My father was unarmed. The blade that killed them was of great make, like that of the dragon blade Melanthios. If she is so innocent produce her so she might defend herself.”

Silence greeted this statement, Darin flushing as everyone turned to him.

“Darin,” Runi said kindly. Darin couldn’t look at her, trying to think over last night if he had noticed when Pepper had left.

“Well witch lover?” Juren asked and Darin glared at him.

“She was with me last night,” Darin answered and Juren leered at him. “When Donar woke me this morning she wasn’t there.”

“There was no sign of her in her rooms and Melanthios is gone with her,” Donar said.

“She didn’t just leave!” Darin argued, looking to Donar worried.

“Arnor was near the city gate when he was killed,” Juren said smartly.

“And I questioned the guards, none saw Pepper leave,” Runi answered. “I think an investigation is needed here. Sólbjorn, you were the judge for the choosing of the king, can I trust you to judge this matter as well?”

“Yes, my king,” Sólbjorn answered with a bow. He was his clan’s representative until he found his chief reborn, just as Juren was now Arnor’s. “I will need time to oversee the investigation.”

“Of course,” Runi said. “Juren, I ask that you and your clan wait, do not let your anger move you into any rash decisions until we have had time to find the truth.”

“I will only if you promise justice be served,” Juren said. “And that other matters of the council be put on hold until this matter has been settled.”

That meant the war council was on hold.

“No!” Oyvind shouted. “Our kin are dying as the Orcs attack them; we need to go to war! You cannot put the council on hold!”

“We will wait Oyvind,” Runi said sounding pained. “Until we get news from the north we should wait.”

“That news will never come,” Donar said softly, hopelessly.

“The council will not convene until Sólbjorn is finished with his investigation,” Runi said. “We’re done here.”

She stood and left, Darin surprised Donar did not go after her. Instead Donar stood and left the hall quickly, Oyvind close behind. Darin followed with Otur and as they left the keep Hakk and Bgrim joined them. Donar led the way back through the mob and to the Emir clan’s rooms. He sat in one of the chairs and they joined him, the air tense for a moment.

“Darin is there anything you’re not telling us?” Donar asked.

“No, I swear, we just spent the night together and when I woke she was gone,” Darin answered. “Pepper never said anything, never even gave a hint that she was thinking of doing something like this. Where is she?”

“I don’t know but Runi is right no one left the city last night,” Donar said. Darin buried his face in his hands, feeling them shake. Donar put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but Darin was being eaten alive by worry. If she was still in the city, then where was she? Could she be captured, hurt, dead? Anything could have happened to her and Darin needed to search for her. He stood to do so but Donar held him back.

“Darin you can’t go looking for her,” Donar said as Darin sat back down.

“Please, she could be hurt somewhere,” Darin pleaded.

“I know how you feel but Juren is just waiting for you to go out and look for Pepper,” Donar answered. “He’ll accuse you of interfering with the investigation. You need to let Sólbjorn investigate this, we need to wait.”

“Wait for what?” Darin asked. “For Sólbjorn to find out Pepper killed Arnor? We know she did, why else is she missing? She did it in self-defense I don’t care what Juren says about Arnor being unarmed they outnumbered her.”

“When the messenger comes…”

“The messenger is never coming!” Darin said cutting Bgrim off. “No messenger made it through; we are never going to war. We are never going to save our home!”

“Darin, calm down,” Donar said and Darin collapsed in his chair trying not to sob. “We will wait for Sólbjorn to search for Pepper. I know she probably killed Arnor, but maybe Sólbjorn will find out why.”

“It could have been Melanthios,” Bgrim said suddenly. “He could take control of her body, right? He could have killed Arnor, and even taken Pepper out of the city.”

Darin nearly jumped out of his seat again the urge to go after her was so strong. Pepper hated Melanthios controlling her, the thought that the dragon had forced her into killing someone even Arnor was deplorable.

“How did he get her out of the city?” Donar asked as he glared at Darin to keep calm. “And why would he just take control of her?”

“Melanthios has powers of the Elder Phay,” Bgrim answered. “Even though he is a sword with Pepper to channel his powers I’m sure there are ways he could get them out without anyone seeing them. And as to why, did he not tell us he wanted to leave in search of Hors and the song?”

“Pepper wouldn’t let him just move her like a puppet,” Darin said.

“He’s stronger than her,” Bgrim answered and Darin shuddered.

“She might have gone along willingly,” Donar said hopefully. Darin wanted to argue with that, but he remembered the look on Pepper’s face when she had told him her sister had given birth. Had Donar been in danger or pain far from him he would have felt just as Pepper had.

“She went to find her sister,” Darin said wearily. “If she left willingly she went because her sister needs her.”

“And she just ran into Arnor on her way out of the city,” Donar said. “He attacked her and she defended herself. She probably left because Melanthios encouraged her to. They have little time to get out of the mountains before the snows close the passes.”

“Then if she really left the city we have to hurry!” Darin said. “If we wait she’ll be far ahead and we’ll never catch up, or the passes will closed with snow.”

“And if you leave now Juren will say you were in on it and we’ll never convince the other chiefs we need to go to war,” Donar said. “I’m going to send another messenger, not you Darin because you’ll only follow Pepper.”

“Another messenger is going to take too long,” Darin answered.

“We need to get word of what is happening in Mímisbrunnr, I do not like how long it has been since we heard anything,” Donar said and Darin saw how worried he really was. With a great effort Darin calmed himself and nodded.

“So we wait,” Darin said sourly.

The next week went by agonizingly slowly; Donar had resorted to confining Darin in Emir clan halls with Bgrim and Hakk to look over him. All Darin could do was pace. They heard nothing from Sólbjorn or the messenger Donar sent, Donar hadn’t gone to see Runi over the week either. Darin could hardly take stock of anyone else when he felt ready to crawl out of his skin. The major problem was he hated sitting around waiting and not knowing anything.

At last another meeting was called, Sólbjorn had finished his investigation.

“Darin, I want you to promise that no matter what happens you won’t lose your head,” Donar said as they got ready for the meeting. “Leave your sword here.”

“Yes sir,” Darin said unbuckling his sword from his belt. “I promise I won’t do anything.”

“Good,” Donar said but he didn’t look relieved. They left for the council once again through crowds whispering their own theories. Darin felt eyes on him, not all were friendly. He had never felt such animosity before, for once he felt like an outsider. The rumors had spread it seemed and everyone knew he had taken Pepper as his lover. The female dwarves seemed particularly cold to him, and Darin was suddenly glad Pepper was not here to endure this.

When they arrived at the hall the other chiefs had already gathered and Donar took his place. Runi was the only one who had not arrived yet but, as Donar sat she walked in from deeper in the keep. She took her place on the throne and turned to Sólbjorn who stood by the Njáll clan’s alcove.

“What are your findings Sólbjorn?” Runi said. Darin suspected he had already reported them to Runi, but now it was time for the public declaration. Sólbjorn sighed as he took the center of the room, all eyes on him.

“Examining the scene I saw that two of Arnor’s guards were taken by surprise, a third able to draw his weapon but he too was slain,” Sólbjorn said. “Arnor himself bore a sword sheath but no blade was found on the body, either it was taken or Arnor did not carry a sword. Looking at the wounds and their pattern I discerned the height of the attacker to be a little over five spans tall, taller than any dwarf but a few of the Emir clan.

“The wounds were caused by a heavy blade and sharp, of strong enough make to shatter the third dwarf’s sword. It had to have been a masterwork sword in the least, maybe something enhanced with the Elder Magic in its forging. Without the blade to examine I cannot say it definitively, but I feel comfortable saying it was the dragon blade Melanthios that killed Arnor and his guards.”

“I knew it!” Juren said victoriously.

“Pepper was only defending herself!” Darin shouted back at him, breaking his promise to keep his head. “Or Melanthios controlled her!”

“Enough!” Runi said powerfully. “Sólbjorn please continue.”

“There was something I found odd about the scene of the crime,” Sólbjorn said. “A pile of what appeared to be ashes was near Arnor. Fragments of bones were found in these ashes and I suspect a fifth person was there as well. I can’t say how but it appears as though someone was incinerated on the spot.”

“Only the witch could do something like that,” Juren said.

“Juren I will not ask you to be quiet again,” Runi said. “You are here because you are Arnor’s captain, but you are not one of the chiefs of the clans.”

Juren glared daggers at her, as if he could kill her with his glare.

“Questioning the guards of the gates and anyone who was up at the time of the murder no one saw the witch Pepper near the scene or fleeing the city. However, we’ve searched the entire city, no one has seen her since Arnor’s murder. I even searched for tracks outside the city gates and found nothing. Either she fled with some magical means we do not know, or she is a victim as well of the murderer and lies dead in a far tunnel.

“My conclusion is that the truth cannot be found without the testimony of someone who was there.”

“What is this?” Juren said angrily. “We know the witch Pepper attacked my father who was unarmed. I demand you put a price out on her head! Send assassins! I want her head for what she has done!”

“You even touch her and I’ll tear your throat out!” Darin roared, reaching for a sword he did not have. Juren stood and drew his own sword.

“Sit down Juren or I will have you thrown out,” Runi said calmly but Juren only glared at her.

“I demand justice,” Juren said almost petulantly.

“I demand the truth,” Runi answered. “And since Sólbjorn cannot provide it, I will ask Arnor himself what has happened.”

Runi stood as everyone gaped at her confused. She picked up the Morrah Stone and walked out of the hall, the chiefs hurrying after her. Donar was the first to catch up to her, taking her arm and trying to stop her. Runi just shook him off and kept walking.

“What is she up to?” Darin asked Donar as they walked.

“I don’t know,” Donar said puzzled. They and the chiefs followed Runi from the keep and though the city, down to the Rhode Gate.

The Rhode Gate was one of the few physical gateways into the lay lines, one that would allow someone of weaker spirit to enter the lines physically. The dwarves were the guardians of this gate, having guarded it since their race came into existence.

Runi stepped up to the gateway and set the Morrah stone just inside the arch before she stepped back. Darin felt his ears begin to ring as the stone of the gate and the Morrah Stone started to vibrate and ring at a very low pitch. The air in the gate began to shimmer and change to a veil of mist of shifting colors. Darin knew they looked into the lines now, having seen them before.

“Fors!” Runi shouted. “Can you hear me Fors?”

The mist shifted and changed becoming something like a whirlpool, smaller spirals forming in the mist. Fors had given up her form to make her wheel that guided the mortal of the Phay through the lines to Tir Aesclinn.

“Fors, we need to speak to Arnor of the Dokk clan,” Runi said. “Is he still upon your wheel?”

The mist shifted in answer to her and formed into a dwarf, Arnor. He looked a bit different, like he had other features of another person, but he was still recognizably himself. He looked at them with a sad glance, that of the dead looking at the living.

“King Runi,” Arnor said respectfully. “I am surprised you managed to do this.”

“Do not be,” Runi said. “As King I have the power to do this.”

“Only because you are a woman,” Arnor answered and Darin realized he was right. Had Donar been chosen he wouldn’t have had the power to open the gate, only women had enough Elder Magic to perform such a feat. Few men had enough power to match a woman, and Darin had never heard of a man of the younger Phay holding more power than a woman who was also skilled in the Elder Magic. Maybe the Morrah Stone had chosen right all along.

“I called you here…”

“There is much to tell,” Arnor said. “I am not sure how long you can hold the gate, especially because the Crippled One still lurks the lines.”

“He cannot interfere,” Runi said reassuringly. “I called upon Fors, she is overseeing this meeting. The Crippled One dare not cross such and elder of the Phay.”

“Father!” Juren shouted as he stepped forward, Arnor looked at his son like he was a stranger. “Tell us who murdered you father so that we may seek justice!”

“There was no murder,” Arnor answered and Juren stepped back as if dealt a blow. “Not so much as it could be called, I am to blame mostly for my own death, me and my pride.”

“Arnor, we will hear the truth from you,” Donar said and Arnor’s shade turned to him frowning.

“Must I shame myself?” Arnor asked. “Leave this matter, no justice needs to be sought; all you need to know is that I failed to see the danger before my fall came.”

“Father do not defend your murderer!” Juren shouted angrily. “If you will not seek vengeance then I will in your stead. The witch Pepper is your killer we know this!”

Arnor balked shaking his head, looking at his son with disgust.

“Leave the witch be; she aided me more than I deserved,” Arnor said and then scanned the crowd frowning. “Where is she? It is hard for me to see.”

“Pepper has been missing since you were found dead a week past,” Runi answered and Arnor looked at Darin. He stared at him and Darin shivered it felt like Arnor could see through him. At last he looked away back to his son.

“Leave this matter,” Arnor said. “The witch is innocent of any wrong; put your thirst for vengeance in the coming battles against the Crippled One and his legions of Orcs.”

“So you say we must go to war now?” Donar said almost accusatory.

“So I say,” Arnor answered wearily. “If we are to survive we must go to war.”

“War?” Juren shouted. “You said there were no Orcs to the north! I will not believe this. My father would demand his spirit avenged, he would not say we should bow to some woman of a king to go to war. This is some trick!”

He turned to Runi, but Donar was already between them with a drawn blade. He glared at Juren but his blade remained lowered.

“Juren,” Arnor said and Juren turned to his father glaring. “You are my captain; I will have to rely on you when I am reborn to guide me until I regain my past memories. If you poison my next life with such beliefs I will not be able to learn from my past lives. Leave this matter be for my sake and for the sake of our clan.”

“No, you are not my father,” Juren said lowly. Arnor looked so sad then, pained and ashamed that his shade seemed to shrink a little.

“Then I must tell you the truth and ask your forgiveness,” Arnor said and Juren wouldn’t look at him. “I made a pact with the Crippled One to become king.”

The chiefs gasped, some muttered, others didn’t look surprised at all. Juren still seemed to be in denial, shaking his head as he was flushed with rage.

“I failed thanks to the witch Pepper,” Arnor continued. “I believe though that Runi really was meant to be king, not because of the coming war but because our kin plan to march as the witch warned us. We need one strong in the Elder Magic for this coming struggle, and I truly think her best to face this challenge.

“I was misled by the Crippled One to attack the witch Pepper, but Melanthios gave her more power than we could summon thank the spirits. The Crippled One possessed me in the end and doomed me, yet the witch freed me in death, guiding me to Fors wheel. Had she left me to die alone I would have been eaten by the Crippled One and the Dokk clan would never have a chief again.

“I do not deserve such mercy, but my people do. I cannot abandon my clan, and I owe the witch Pepper not only my eternal life, but the lives of my people…”

His shade had shrunken more and Darin saw his pain. Spirits could not weep; it was something only the living could do, so Arnor’s spirit was drawing in on itself in sorrow unable to express his remorse. Juren however was weeping openly for his father’s shame, having fallen to his knees and shaking his head.

Runi walked past Donar, who tried to stop her but she shook off his hand. She went to Juren and knelt next to him, putting an arm over his shoulders.

“I bear no hatred towards your father or you Juren,” she said warmly, loud enough for all to hear. “The Dokk Clan is a clan of honor for our people, they have led us well through troubled times and I will not condemn them for one dwarf’s pride.” She looked up at Arnor and smiled to his shade. “I forgive you Arnor, you have reaped the consequences of your actions already. I only wish it had not cost us one of our chiefs at such a dire time.”

“The Morrah stone truly chose right in you King Runi,” Arnor said, his shade fading in the aether of the gate. “Guard her well Donar.”

“Wait!” Donar said stepping towards the gate. “Arnor you were my greatest rival, and I am proud to call you my fellow chief. Please we must know what the Crippled One has planned!”

“I cannot answer for I kept his distant from my heart,” Arnor said remorsefully. “I feared letting our spirits touch, and I was right in my caution. All I know is that he has more than just the orcs to the north, there is another army to the east and he has many servants of men. I cannot say when those to the north will attack, nor how they plan to. I am sorry.”

With that his spirit faded into the aether like ice melting into water. Juren moaned to see his father’s spirit go and he stood shakily and left. Runi sighed as she approached the gate, about to close the gate it seemed until the aether swirled again with Fors presence. Runi shuddered whimpering in her throat and Donar rushed to her side, taking her into his arms. She leaned against him as the aether spun, and another shape emerged from the mist.

Darin hurried forward afraid the Crippled One was trying to come through, but it was another spirit. He stopped dead as the spirit became clear, the face looking out at them was familiar.

“King of the Dwarves can you hear me?” Hrafn, chief of the Skegg Clan called. He looked around and saw Runi and Donar before him. “Donar! Thank the spirits, you are king?”

“No, Runi was chosen,” Donar answered as Runi was still leaning against him weak. “Hrafn how did you come to die?”

Hrafn was old; they shouldn’t be surprised he had died, yet Darin felt cold as he looked at the sour face Hrafn wore. He bowed his head to Runi before addressing them all.

“Mímisbrunnr is under siege,” he said and again the dwarves shouted and cried out. “The Orcs attacked in a great army, we were forced to abandon the tunnels and withdraw. The tunnels were sealed last I heard, I died defending the western caverns so the tunnels could be closed. The Orcs are set to dig in and I fear once Mímisbrunnr falls they will move south. I fear they might already do so with the rest locked away in the mountain.”

“Does Bjorn still live?” Donar asked.

“Last I heard Bjorn and Páll still lived to guide the city,” Hrafn answered.

“The tunnels, they are all sealed?” Runi asked raising her head.

“Yes, my King,” Hrafn answered. “I died defending the last so that it may be done.”

“What of the surface tunnels?” Runi asked. “Can the city be evacuated?”

“It will cost many lives,” Hrafn answered sorrowfully.

“I will send reinforcements,” Runi said. “Mímisbrunnr will be woken.”

“Are you serious!” Oyvind shouted walking forward. Mímisbrunnr, like all the dwarven cities was built in the core of a volcano, one that could be woken if the dwarves needed such a weapon. It would destroy their home and their enemies at the same time.

“The Orcs will not just sit by and let our people escape and then just sit around as the mountain erupts,” Donar argued. “They will see it coming when you try to evacuate the city.”

“Not if you use the deep tunnel,” Hrafn said and everyone looked to him for an explanation. “The deep tunnel does not lead to the surface; it only leads deep into the earth. There are only three entrances to this deep tunnel, one is in Mímisbrunnr.”

“And the other two?” Runi asked.

“One is in the sea,” Hrafn answered. “And the last in the south, beyond lands we knew of. I’ve been told it opened once in the lands of the Phay, but those are all lands of men now. The entrance may not even be there anymore.”

And if they caused Mímisbrunnr to awaken they could doom their kin to be trapped in the earth. Darin shuddered covering his face, thinking over all the people he knew that had to face that fate. Not just the warriors but the women and children too, the thought was horrifying. They did not even know how long the tunnel was, they could die before they ever reached the end.

“Can they dig a side tunnel out of this deep tunnel?” Donar asked, but Hrafn shook his head.

“The tunnel is deep, no others lay close enough to it to connect,” Hrafn answered. “It has not been explored since the Phay marched. I might be the last dwarf to know of it, and only because I remember my past lives. The entrance itself is a great hole, I’m not even sure our people could reach the bottom.”

“If the volcano is awoken will the deep tunnel not be filled with earth fire?” Donar asked.

“The tunnel is a branch from the tunnel that the earth fire comes from. It can be sealed after them to stop the earth fire from flowing out.”

It was a great risk and everyone turned to Runi to decide. She looked at Donar and he withdrew from her looking grim.

“You are King Runi,” he said softly, but Darin heard him. “You must decide not me.”

Her face fell and she looked down at the ground. Darin looked at Donar and he saw his pain that Runi had to bear this burden. Darin looked back at Runi and he too wished there was something he could do to lessen her struggle. Then she stood tall and the strength it must have taken made Darin admire her.

“Our people are strong, not just in battle but in heart. I know they can face this challenge and survive. Mímisbrunnr will be awoken and our people will flee to the deep tunnel.”

“I died only two days ago,” Hrafn answered. “I can still appear to my captain and tell him what must be done.”

“Even beyond death you have served your people well,” Runi said as she bowed to Hrafn. “Farewell Hrafn, until we meet again Skegg.”

“Until we meet again Eldur,” Hrafn answered and he too vanished into the gate. Runi raised her arms about to close the gate it seemed, when the aether shifted.

“Look out!” Donar shouted, pulling Runi back. The aether surged out of the gate, a dark shadow bursting from the mist. The black claw reached out to Runi and Donar, grasping for them. It closed on them, only to pass through their bodies like it was made only of shadow. A scream of frustration came from the gate; shaking the stones and making them crack and groan.

Runi shouted wordlessly as she waved at the gateway and it closed with a force that shook the ground. Darin fell to his knee, but the ground only shook for a moment. He leapt back to his feet and hurried to Donar and Runi who knelt together before the gate.

“Are you two alright?” Darin asked concerned.

“It seems the Crippled One made an appearance as well,” Donar said dryly.

“Now we know why he has not entered into Miread,” Runi said. “The Rhode Gate should let one enter Miread physically, but the Crippled One cannot.”

“Why?” Darin asked but Runi just shrugged. They both stood, Runi leaning on Donar closely. Darin looked away out of respect and saw that more than just the chiefs had gathered. Other dwarves filled the cavern; they had followed after Runi and the chiefs out of curiosity.

“Runi, I think a few words would be appropriate,” Darin said turning back.

“Yes of course,” Runi said but she sounded tired.

“I will,” Donar said and let go of her so he could step before the gates so he could be seen. “Dwarves of Agartha!” Donar roared the words and they echoed through the cavern and beyond. “You have seen the spirits of two of our chiefs speak. Arnor died in shame, but thanks to the witch Pepper he will live again so that he can redeem himself.

“Hrafn brought us the news we craved when all other messengers failed. Mímisbrunnr is lost! I have called it home for lifetimes and it grieves my heart that this is so. But our people will flee into the deep tunnel and let Mímisbrunnr take her revenge upon our enemies the Orcs! This is war!”

The gathered dwarves roared and stamped their feet, shouting war cries and banging weapons on walls or the floor. Darin felt his blood stir at the sound they made, wanting to go out to battle as well. They would send other war parties to harass the Orcs and contain them. They needed to know if the passes had been cleared or not, and what tunnels had been compromised.

Donar touched his elbow, but they could not talk now with the din of the crowd. The chiefs all gathered together to push their way through the crowds and back to the keep. Word of war had spread quickly, and many crowds watched them march back to the keep. When the chiefs started to take their places again Donar stopped them.

“Runi needs rest, such a working has drained her,” Donar said. Runi had gone to the throne and placed the Morrah stone on the throne gently. “We will hold a war council tomorrow, the captains of the missing chiefs who are here will gather as well.”

He nodded to Juren who still seemed shell shocked. The chiefs all nodded and left, Darin hesitating to leave.

“You too Darin,” Donar said. “We’ll meet tomorrow.”

Darin nodded and left, feeling drained. He went back to his room and lay down, but he couldn’t sleep. He just lay there, thinking of Pepper. Arnor hadn’t known she had fled, so he didn’t know where she was. It had been a week, through the mountains on foot she couldn’t have gotten far. She also could have gotten hurt alone.

But she wasn’t alone; she had Melanthios, who had somehow spirited her out of Agartha without anyone seeing them. Perhaps there were other powers he had given her. There was also Howl, Pepper could have summoned the Dire Wolf again and with his aid could travel fast through the mountains.

They could not employ such methods. The dwarves had no animals they could ride other than a few mountain goats. The goats could bear a dwarf, but not any supplies; it took three to carry enough food and supplies for the goats and dwarves. They also would not be as swift as the Dire Wolves. There might still be a few of the old raiding tunnels that lead down to the moors though, the idea making Darin sit up.

Searching the mountains for Pepper would be pointless, but perhaps if he traveled through the tunnels to the moors he could find her there. He stood, no longer exhausted as his mind started to go over what he would need for the trip. He pulled his pack out from under his bed and started to pack. He would need rope, and lights, Donar could give him those.

The thought of Donar made Darin stop cold, he couldn’t leave Donar he was his acting captain. With war coming Donar would need him more than ever. Darin sat on the bed shocked as he realized this was why Pepper had left without a word. She had known he wouldn’t leave Donar, and so either fearing his choice or honoring it she had left without telling him. She had her own duty as well, that to her sister and to Melanthios who she had killed. He couldn’t blame her for the choice; he was actually moved even more now.

At the same time he felt a hopeless frustration, their fates had brought them together for such a short time only to force them apart again. Darin stood and grabbed his sword, going to where he knew he could work out this frustration. When he was sad he drank, but when Darin was angry there was only one thing to do. The practice arena was full of dwarves looking to spar; the word of war had lit everyone’s spirit.

Darin had no shortage of opponents, some skilled others not. He ended up fighting for hours until he was pouring sweat and gasping for breath. Fighting through fatigue was the best training, real battle you had to or die. At the same time, it was dangerous; dwarves had less control over their strikes and could really injure each other.

Darin defeated one dwarf and was looking for another opponent when he saw Donar. His sword was so heavy in his arm he didn’t have the strength to salute so he merely nodded to Donar.

“Off the sand,” Donar said. “You look ready to drop on your feet.”

“Yes sir,” Darin answered as he followed Donar off the sand to the benches that lined the walls. Darin collapsed and rested his head in his hands, concentrating on his breathing. Donar sat next to him, waiting for Darin to catch his breath.

“I take it you are eager to go after Pepper?” Donar said, assuming Darin was frustrated because he could not go after her.

“No,” Darin answered, feeling Donar’s surprise. “I want to go after her, but my first duty is to you and our people. We’re going to war after all. Pepper made me realize that, it’s why she left without a word. She has her duty and I have mine. It’s just they’ve torn us apart after bringing us together that has me pounding my head against the wall.”

“I see,” Donar said shifting seeming uncomfortably. “You’re a lot more observant than before.”

“Really? I think I’m the same,” Darin answered. “It took me weeks to realize this. Just as it took me weeks to realize Lothe loved Páll.” He fell silent when he realized Lothe and Páll might both be dead or worse only one was. He might never see them again, he’d never see home again. Donar seemed to be gripped by his own grief and for a moment they sat in silence watching the warriors prepare for war.

The old counseled the young, and the young inspired the old. The younger dwarves seemed eager, but fear undermined some’s enthusiasm. The old hid their fear far better, with bluster and old war stories. Soon those here would be doing the same in the darkness of the tunnels with the sound of war drums pounding in their hearts.

“Runi has asked me to go after Pepper,” Donar said and Darin looked at him startled. “She says that Pepper was right, we need to seek the song, Eileen, and Hors. She wants me to take only a few dwarves, we cannot take many from the war.”

“But she needs you,” Darin argued.

“I cannot lead armies for her Darin,” Donar answered. “She needs to have power, or no one will respect her as king. Yes, she is far too green to be in full command, Oyvind will council her. If I did the same eventually the other chiefs would begin to look to me as leader instead of Runi, she would become a figure head and I her lover would have stolen her power from under her.”

“She wouldn’t blame you,” Darin said.

“I would blame myself for making her lesser than what she really is,” Donar said. “Arnor was right, I cannot believe I would ever say that, but he was. Runi was the one meant to be king all along, not me.”

Darin felt his heart ache knowing what that admission had cost Donar. All he could do was reach out and squeeze his shoulder, he had no words for him.

“So since I cannot operate as any of her generals, and our clan will be lost soon…” Donar’s voice hitched then and Darin felt his worry for his people. All they knew, even just those familiar faces that had no name just a friendly smile or a wave, were lost to them.

“Runi wants me to do something of use,” Donar said at last. “The best we can do for our clan, for all the dwarves, is to make sure the Phay march to aid us.”

“Donar,” Darin said, pushing down the hope of seeing Pepper again. “We can’t just look for Pepper; we need to look for the song first. Melanthios is going to make Pepper look for Hors; he isn’t going to go after the song or Eileen. If… If we don’t find Pepper in the mountains or the moors, we need to move on.”

Donar watched him, obviously seeing what this had cost Darin to say this. Probably the same it had taken Donar to leave Runi behind to face the Orcs herself.

“You’re right,” Donar said. “But I’m not sure how far into the lands of men we’ll get without her. I’m bringing you of course, as wells as Hakk and Bgrim. Bgrim apparently speaks Daunish, unless Pepper taught you some.”

“No, she didn’t,” Darin answered surprised to realize this. She could speak Dwarvish by thanks to being bathed in dragon blood, but Darin didn’t know any language of men. Thinking on it, Pepper had told him little of the lands of men, they hadn’t spent their time together talking. He had to wrack his brain even to remember what she had said about the lands of men.

“Well Bgrim says he knows enough to teach us, and we can pick it up on our way,” Donar said. “Runi wants us to warn the mud men of the Orcs. Once Mímisbrunnr falls the Orcs will move south. Runi is thinking of sealing some of the cities for better defense. But since the Crippled One has servants of men the Orcs may have orders to move south and meet with those servants to invade the lands of men. The mud men need to be warned.”

“Nine,” Darin said suddenly remembering something Pepper said in passing. “There are nine kingdoms of men.”

“Nine?” Donar said almost surprised. “Bgrim is the expert but I thought there were only six races of men.”

“There are the outlanders as well,” Darin answered. “I guess the state of the south has changed much over time.”

“Well we were left alone in our mountains so of course we never cared what happened after our kin marched,” Donar said. “Can you remember anything else?”

“Not much, I expect I’ll remember on our way,” Darin answered. Getting information out of Pepper had been a bit like pulling teeth, she had spoken rarely about her past and when she had it had been in pain. She loved her sister Bailey, but her sister’s marriage had driven a wedge between them; for twins who had been close this had been painful for Pepper. Add in the sorrow of never having her true mother, and having lost her home and family, Darin suspected Pepper had been running from her sorrow. Now she was going back to face it, without him.

“I’m sure we’ll find Pepper,” Donar said, reading Darin’s silence.

“I’m not so sure,” Darin said as he related his musings and idea to travel through the old raiding tunnels.

“That’s a good plan,” Donar said. “And we should tell Runi to block those tunnels when we’re though, we don’t want to give the Orcs any easy passages to the south.”

“No, we don’t,” Darin said shuddering at the thought of Orcs sweeping through the moors and onto unprotected shepherds.

“Get ready for travel, we leave within the week,” Donar said. Darin nodded and Donar left in search of Hakk and Bgrim. Darin sat a while mulling over what he knew about the lands of men and finding how little he really knew about Pepper. He felt ashamed to know so little and still claim he loved her; though she had spoken so little about herself he had never bothered to ask many things about her.

They had spoken mostly about the war councils and idle talk about their days. A few times they had spoken of their families respectively; Pepper had spoken mostly of Bailey. Darin found he couldn’t even remember her sister’s husband’s name, or even her mother’s name. He wondered if she remembered anything he had told her about himself. He had told her about his uncle, and about his own dead parents, but how much of that had Pepper remembered?

He found himself not just missing her but worrying if she missed him. Darin caught himself before he went into a spiral of doubts, he would accomplish nothing by dwelling on these things. He would do what he could, and that meant getting ready for a long journey. He stood wearily and left to pack his things.

A few days later they stood outside one of the tunnels that led south. There would be no great send off for them; Runi had wanted them to leave without being hindered by formalities. Still she had accompanied them as far as she could. Donar and Runi stood to the side to have their last farewell, Darin’s eyes on the path ahead.

“Eager?” Hakk asked.

“Of course,” Darin said. “And one lewd joke from you and I’ll punch you in that fat boil you call a nose.”

“At least you’re in a joking mood,” Hakk said as he laughed, and then grew serious. “What if we don’t find her?”

“Then we move on,” Darin answered him.

“But will you?” Hakk asked.

“I’ll live,” Darin answered, but wasn’t so sure of it himself. He could live without knowing what became of her, but if she were dead… Darin couldn’t live with that.

“See that you do Darin,” Hakk said seriously. “Donar needs you after all, I shudder at the thought of being his captain. Can you imagine me as his captain?”

“I’m sure you’d find him but I’d hate to think what you would teach him,” Darin answered.

“How to break rocks with your skull,” Hakk answered seriously and Darin laughed.

“Good to see you two ready to go,” Donar said dryly as he walked over.

“Sorry,” Darin said sobering. He looked at Runi and saw her cheeks were red from weeping. “I will guard him with my life my king,” he said to her and bowed.

“I thank you for that Darin,” Runi answered with a wane smile. “I wish to see you all back here, along with Pepper.”

“Until we meet again,” Donar said softly before he turned away to the tunnel. Darin followed closely, and as they neared a bend in the tunnel he looked back. Runi still stood watching them go, the light at her back lighting her red hair like fire. Darin turned back to the path ahead, his heart both heavy and light.

[ebizupdate]

Gizwits Aims to Become the New Tech Giant with China's Large-scale IoT Adoption

GUANGZHOU, China and HALF MOON BAY, Calif., July 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- With the largest number of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connections in the world, China now stands at the forefront of the development of Internet of Things (IoT), witnessing the transformation of traditional businesses like manufacturing, transportation and energy as well as the rise of new tech giants.

From left to right, Pramod Sharma, CEO and Founder, Osmo; Gil Elbaz, Founder and CEO, Factual; Jack Huang, CEO and Founder, Gizwits; Hovhannes Avoyan, CEO and Founder, PicsArt.

"IoT will be the game changer for the traditional businesses." Jack Huang, founder and CEO of Gizwits, an IoT platform from China, spoke during the Consumer Internet Panel in Rutberg FM 2017, where the founders of popular digital services including Gizwits, Windows photo edit app PicsArt, open data platform Factual and iPad games system Osmo have gathered to discuss the ever-changing consumer market.

As the only entrepreneur on the panel with extensive experience in China, Huang pointed out that China's traditional retailers are facing serious challenges and how IoT is a critical tool for them as they strive to compete with e-commerce platforms.

"For example, one of our clients is a major shopping mall management company in China, with hundreds of properties under management. They are eager to transform the shopping experience by tracking what customers are doing in the physical store, providing better recommendations and streamlining the entire shopping experience." Huang talked about how Gizwits is helping traditional retailing industry in China to compete with e-commerce giants such as Alibaba and JD.com.

Moreover, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry still relies heavily on the physical stores, and IoT solutions can help optimize their operation and provide better insights. Huang brought up further examples: "We help multinational FMCG companies operating in China, such as Nestle, Ferrero and Danone, to collect and analyze the data from physical stores, letting them gain better understanding of consumer behaviors, resulting in substantial increase in offline sales and operational efficiency."

Huang believes that IoT (Internet of Things) has the ability to "penetrate into the physical layer on earth", vastly expanding the scope of the Internet as we know it, making doing business offline more data driven and more optimized.

Meeting the needs and demands of such powerful Chinese traditional businesses and multinational companies only accounts for a part of Gizwits' success in the Chinese market. It gained its first fame and market share by focusing on consumers and product in the early days. The Gizwits platform provides comprehensive development tools and online services for IoT developers, making it easy for them to build IoT products and applications.

Underpinned by the Chinese government commitment and the substantial capital support, the development of IoT in China has been booming in the last few years. In 2016, the total revenue of the Chinese IoT industry surpassed a trillion dollars. The number of developers and corporate clients on the Gizwits platform has surged accordingly, accounting for staggering figures as more than 50,000 IoT developers and 6,000 corporate clients.

Jack Huang was a serial entrepreneur in the U.S. before he started Gizwits. He was a member of the founding team that created Mimeo, the first and largest US-based B2B cloud-printing company, in 1999, and started a semantic search startup Zoomino in 2006.

While building and growing startups the United States, Huang kept a close eye on the Chinese market. In 2008, he sensed the significance of the growing IoT market in China and founded Gizwits, aiming to create a competitive service platform for companies operating in China looking to integrate IoT technologies.

As of July 2017, Gizwits is the largest third-party IoT service provider in China. Its client list now includes famous names as the China State Grid, the Daimler Group, A.O.Smith, 3M, Honeywell, Bosch Siemens, Midea, and Haier.

With the rise of Tencent, Alibaba and other internet giants, China is shedding its copycat reputation and leading global innovations in a number of areas, especially mobile Internet. Chinese companies are increasingly demonstrating their global leadership potential in the high-tech industry.

In 2016, Gizwits published its 4.0 version, in doing so becoming the first IoT platform that employs Fog Computing (aka edge computing) in China. It also launched its own IoT Machine Learning framework "Giga ML", which allows IoT developers to run machine learning models both on the IoT devices and in the cloud. Mr. Huang shared Gizwits' unique approach to combine the power of IoT and Machine Learning: "Machine learning for the most part has been run either on the device or in the cloud. With Giga ML, we employed an Adaptive Federated Machine Learning (AFML) approach, which uses the cloud to automatically deploy, re-train and redeploy the most effective Machine Learning models on millions of devices."

The company raised multi-million dollar Series A funding from Matrix Partners in 2014 and 30 million Series B from Matrix Partners and Juren Capital in 2015.

About Gizwits

Gizwits is a leading Internet-of-Things solution provider in China. It is now the largest IoT software developing platform in the Asia-Pacific region and has over 1,000 clients worldwide.

It has been the Apple MFi-certified IoT solution provider in the Asia Pacific Area for seven years and gradually established strong ties with the best semiconductor companies including Qualcomm, Broadcom, TI and MTK. It is also a strategic partner of Microsoft and Amazon.

Gizwits Inc. has been named one of the top 50 IoT startups by Forbes, one of the 50 most innovative companies in China by Fast Company in 2015, and earned fourth place in 10 Most Innovative Tech Companies by China Internet Weekly and ENet.

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Read this news on PR Newswire Asia website: Gizwits Aims to Become the New Tech Giant with China's Large-scale IoT Adoption

[zhaleys]

i had a sudden wave of adrenaline and packaged all the high tier orders already but then got sad because i remembered the manga is ending soon

[zhaleys]

listen here now i am a SHINYA STAN ok

just cuz he was barely in the series doesnt mean i dont love him, he’s just perfect enough by himself. im reading the tags dont think you can run from me

[zhaleys]

Thank you for all the recent likes and follows~

I am planning another live stream tomorrow at 3PST on picarto.

Will also be open to shared drawing canvas with mutuals only. I will post the link once it's live! ;)

[bluesunsdusk]

--//Juren can control several platforms at once... so, what I am trying to say is... you’d lose in a tickle fight. ))