#le sage wisdom has arrived

[beardedmrbean]

[thecreaturecodex]

Kyton, Obsignator

“The Queen at the End of Everything” © Jimmy Nijs, accessed at his deviantArt here

[Commissioned by @coldbloodassassin, who wanted a kyton inspired by the Stephen King short story “The Jaunt”. When I was doing research to remind myself which story that was (”It’s longer than you think, dad! Longer than you think!”), I discovered that it has appeared in some reading anthologies aimed at the high school set. Excellent. Students are exposed to all manner of messed up stuff in English classes anyway, and horror short stories are more fun than the seemingly endless competition of Real Bummers that are read as novels in high school.]

Kyton, Obsignator CR 13 LE Outsider (extraplanar) This humanoid figure appears somewhat withered in places and smooth in others, as if they were simultaneously young and ancient. Their face is torn as if by claws or nails, and in place of eyes they have nothing but ragged, still moist holes. Its fingers end in long stained talons.

The obsignators are kytons who are intimately acquainted with the fragility of reality. Sages know that the perceptions of mortals only encompass a small amount of existence, and the obsingators can tap into those extremes of space and time to drive their victims mad. It is said the first obsignators were created from creatures that, due to a teleportation accident, were trapped in the timeless Astral for millennia before reaching their intended destination. And even now, when a kyton is sculpted into an obsignator, it assumes that mantle by tearing its eyes out with its hands, a symbol of the horrors they cannot unsee and the limitations of mere sight.

An obsignator can sense the world around it easily through a variety of mundane and magical senses, but can also shatter the senses of other creatures with illusions. Their appearance is so horrific that other creatures cannot help but stare at them. Obsignators can speed up or slow down time on a whim, and may even stop time briefly, the better to set up their deceptions or conjure backup. Creatures that the kyton touches may be hurled through a nightmarish world of perceptions, teleported away to the fringes of reality for a mere second that seems a lifetime upon their return. Most of those who succumb to this attack are never the same again.

Obsignator kytons are often employed as support units by their fellows. This extends to both enhancing their artwork with carefully crafted illusions as well as transporting kytons and their armies over long distances. Anyone who is not a kyton would be wise to turn down their offers of teleportation, however, as it exposes other creatures to the obsignator’s horrific assaults on reality. Some obsignator kytons disguise themselves as mortals in order to trick adventurers to accepting its services for sale—these victims often find themselves deposited mad and broken into a kyton facility for torture, as other kytons compete to reshape their flesh as thoroughly as the obsignator reshaped their minds.

Obsignator       CR 13 XP 25,600 LE Medium humanoid (evil, extraplanar, kyton, law) Init +11; Senses blindsight 60 ft., blindsense 180 ft., Perception +12 Defense AC 26, touch 18, flat-footed 18 (+7 Dex, +1 dodge, +8 natural) hp 187 (15d10+105); regeneration 5 (good or silver) Fort +16, Ref +12, Will +14 DR 10/good and silver; Immune cold, gaze attacks, visual spells and effects; SR 24 Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +22 (2d6+4) Special Attacks blinding rend (2 claws, 2d6+6 plus blinding), longer than you think, maddening voyage, unnerving gaze Spell-like Abilities CL 13th, concentration +18 (+22 casting defensively) At will—arcane sight, dimension door, major image (DC 18), terrible remorse (DC 19) 3/day—greater teleport, hallucinatory terrain (DC 19), quickened haste, phantasmal killer (DC 19), quickened slow (DC 18) 1/day—greater shadow conjuration (DC 22), greater shadow evocation (DC 23), plane shift (DC 22), time stop, veil (DC 21) Statistics Str 19, Dex 25, Con 24, Int 19, Wis 16, Cha 20 Base Atk +15; CMB +19; CMD 37 Feats Combat Casting, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Quicken SLA (haste, slow), Stealthy, Weapon Finesse Skills Bluff +20, Disguise +20, Escape Artist +23, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (arcana, planes) +19, Knowledge (geography, local) +16, Perception +12, Sense Motive +18, Spellcraft +19, Stealth +26 Languages Aklo, Common, Infernal, Shadowtongue Ecology Environment any land and underground (Shadow Plane) Organization solitary, pair or troupe (3-5) Treasure standard Special Abilities Blinding Rend (Ex) A creature struck by two of an obsignator’s claw attacks in the same round must succeed a DC 21 Fortitude save or be blinded for 1 day. If the creature succeeds, it is dazzled for 1 round. The save DC is Strength based. Longer Than You Think (Su) With a touch, an obsignator can cause a creature to disappear into a nightmarish dimension. A creature touched must succeed a DC 22 Will save or disappear. Each round, it can make a Will save on its turn to return—when it does so, it reappears in its space (or in an adjacent unoccupied space). It must then succeed a  DC 22 Will save for each round it was gone, taking 1d4 points of Wisdom drain on a failed save and 1 point of Wisdom drain on a successful save. A creature that would be reduced to 0 or fewer Wisdom instead is reduced to 1 Wisdom and gains a random greater madness. A creature under the effects of a dimensional anchor or similar effect is immune to this ability. A creature that travels through the nightmare dimension while blinded gains a +2 bonus to the saving throws to avoid taking Wisdom drain upon their return. A creature that succeeds its initial save is immune to the longer than you think ability of that obsignator for the next 24 hours. This is a teleportation, mind-influencing effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Maddening Journey (Su) Any creature that an obsignator transports with it using any of its spell-like abilities with the teleportation descriptor must succeed a DC 22 Will save or be subject to the obsignator’s longer than you think ability, arriving at their intended destination only when they succeed a Will save.  Kytons are immune to this effect. Unnerving Gaze (Su) Will DC 22; range 30 ft.; effect shaken 1d4 rounds. While shaken, a creature cannot avert its gaze from the obsignator, as per the lock gaze spell. Additional failed saves extend the duration, but do not increase the level of fear to frightened or beyond. This is a mind-influencing fear effect, and the save DC is Charisma based.

[wisdomsfromeast]

How the holy Tradition of Sibling marriages among Fire Nation royal family came to end

Part 5

It was said that the brother ruled the humans and sister ruled the minor spirits and major Gods to keep them happy and calm. if spirits were enraged the nation will suffer. A brother took the throne and his sister would become the Head Sage of the major shrines.

A great tradition still upheld in Grand Shrine of The Sun in Caldera and The Shrine of The Moon in Gangnam which is to know occupied by the rival kingdoms. That whenever a Fire Lord was crowned and if he had a his sister who was in default would become the Head Sage of those shrines will crowned him as Fire Lord after then on that day he joins in a the rite in the shrine with his sister and offer two robes on her with a hairpin then at night he would sneak in the shrine's inside sancturiam where his sister was awaiting for him she showed his face with the sacred mirror reflect it with Moon's light towards him. He would sets the ring which was created and sanctified by shrine maidens and his sister on fire as she would search his inner fire in the ring if she was successful she would have merge with her own and embraced her brother now Lord tightly as if she clunges the him for her whole life after that both made prostrations to each other and she would serve him a small cup of buffalo milk by merging their inner fires they made a unbreakable bond for life till death. Next day at dawn the sage attached to the shrine starts to conduct marriage rites her sister now wife dressed in pure white or red veiling her face ready to join herself with him till death. This ceremony took a whole week and both of them underwent purification and fasted for full a week in water. What a marvellous tradition that was his Grandfather Ojin shared him his father's stories with his Mother. For that reason female members of the family were in the line for Dragon throne. The line would have been be in safe hands if a son was absent daughters will inherit it without making blood impure otherwise the royal family would have die out of thin air within days.

The Fire Lord reduced to sick person because he can't see or make his own people to support this Holy Tradition. His health deteriorated and remained in his chambers for weeks. Prince Saga was seething he couldn't understand how could his people do this.

After victory of Kong's followers Head Sage Ennin did what he promised even though his heart was not willing to he installed a stone block with a Inscription

inside the temple's outer sanctum under the scrutiny of Sage Seong Lee. People cheered and celebrated this day as a festival. Lanterns, wooden tablets, auspicious flowers and prayer flags everywhere some Governers even made statues of Seong Lee honouring him and his victory over tyrannical Fire Lords.

Daigo's youngest son returned after a successful campaign conquering three provinces of one of the rival kingdoms within 14 days but when returned to the Palace all he found is sadness his mother informed him everything of what happened. His all excitement was washed out and sadness came in his heart by looking his Father's condition tears prickled. For what crimes and transgression they did that they were suffering like this.

A meeting was set up by both of the parties to come up with a agreement. His only remaining brother, his ministers and Sage Eninn visited in the Office of Popular Affairs. His wife visited it in segregation. Demands were laid down.

1. It was decided that the Royal who committed Sibling marriage and who arranged it will be prosecuted and punished according to the incest laws in the Fire Nation in a lower degree. Which ment banishment out of nation and strip all of his and her titles, claims even property they got or accumulated.

2. Ban and burn all the literature, poems, stories, essays and songs which contained incestuous romance among siblings in the Royal Family. Even if they were written by former members, Princesses and Ladies and Widows of previous Lords because it promoted cultural degradation among the citizens.

3. Proper revision of the Scriptures and Religious Literature by committee set by them and remove the corruption out of it as they were from long time being misused and added to by the theologians to match the wants and fancies of the Fire Lords.

4. Prohibition of Woman to become Fire Sages of Four Major Shrines across the Fire Nation (Only one which was under us) by the Religious Authority.

5. Denounce the previous Fire Lords and stop honouring their memory and venerating them in rituals and rites because they committed this barbaric pratice. Stop giving Sacrifices to them.

After the Demands were made the delegation returned to the Palace with a bamboo slips of Agreement. They Informed the Fire Lord and the Crown Prince everything. He was enraged with the 5th demand he stormed off the Palace without heed Avatar's pleas and wails of his wife. He came to the major town square in the Capital. He burned down the Community hall and shouted ' Woe to you Oh! my people. We served you, raised you, protect you nourish your children. If it was not us you all would have been perished by our crooked neighbours. How could all disobey Agni's Order and dared to bring this dangerous innovation. Betraying your ancestors out of your hight of arrogance therefore I curse you that you all even your children and their generations will be despised by the other nations. Even woman and children of other nations will call you monsters and you will drink blood and eat flesh of even own fellow family members." By proclaiming this curse the sky was darkened by heavy clouds, lightning striked as if God of Lightning will destroy the Capital in Fire. Avatar Ku Tei arrived in the situation and request his friend to calm down. Huge chunk of people surrounding them who still loved their Lord as Father hurried to him and ask for repentance. Men and Woman of every class with their children cried, prostrated. Meanwile two Air Nomads made a way and request him to forgive these people at least. Daigo forgived them the people then paid their respects and hailed his name but still a huge amount of people just watched and taunted the others for their foolishness. Finally Prince Saga arrived with a huge contingent of Royal Guards and escorted the Fire Lord and the Avatar back to Palace. The Fire Lord request those Air Nomads welcome them as guests they decline it as his nation was home to them still he insisted they reluctantly agreed.

The Fate was decided then the Fire Lord with heavy heart signed the Agreement with his royal seal with given to Head Sage and he announced it to the Public. The infamous Sage Seong Lee demanded the Agreement to keep it with him but Ennin denied and he kept the Agreement in Library of the Palace. After 2 days the Fire Lord was in deathbed with his whole family with the Avatar in attendance. His wife cried near his bedside, his brother was silent in a corner still tears came on his eyes. His two abled sons with Crown Prince took his hand with a determined look. The Fire Lord said his words which figured out a horrified revelation.

"I saw four fires burning bright in a void sky of dark blue. Suddenly one fire snuff out I saw a vision were my people stopped giving Sacrifices to their ancestors and the Gods. Altars in the Shrines and Temples became empty"

"Another fire was snuff out I saw our nation enjoying the zenith of the civilization against others. We are most richest and technologically advanced nation in the world but what terrified me that people's started to become cold-hearted, distorted their minds and hearts. Anger and rage started to full their firebending. They lacked restraint and modesty."

"Another fire snuff out and the vision I saw" he looked at the Avatar " What I was worring about my people became for what I cursed them to be.... raging war destroying the world! Out of insane greed and I couldn't bear it that monster will be the reason. He would dare to order to kill the offsprings of The Dragons our Gods!!! If I have him I will strangle him with my own hands!!!"

Prince Saga in calm voice spoke "I will haunt in his memories and If I survive I would burn that man every day on account he dared to this transgression. I couldn't believe we will be reduced to this stage"

"Control yourself My Lord" Her wife chirped. The Fire Lord then was asked by younger son that who is the man you are talking about taking his life. He said don't now his name but he will be of our blood. Everyone was shocked Prince Saga trembled. Fire Lord continued he with his all strength ask forgiveness to the Avatar for his family's sins in Future. The Avatar reassured him don't worry about it will never happen. Then Finally he spoke his last words.

" My sons the last and Fourth fire didn't snuff out but became dimmer and dimmer and became just a tiny spark on fingertips I tried to protect it but failed but I saw vision after that I saw a boy and girl. The boy will grew up and have a scar in a face and the Girl will conjure Blue flames! Yes it has not see till 200 years ago when Fire Lord Le Bang did it at the age of 32. She will do it at age of 13. As if Dragon of Fire itself incarnated inside the girl. The Boy will return the traditions of ancestors back to the Fire Nation. Oh! My sons ruled this nation benevolently and unite it before this omen falls upon us. The each fire represented 100 years and three went out which means you only have 300 years of peace instruct your sons and daughters with the wisdom and knowledge which I gave to you and first and foremost teach them to be patient and modest.'

With these final words Fire Lord Daigo left the world in Grief. Next day was announced mourning for the period of 27 years for citizens. The Lord was cremated and Prince Saga was crowned by Head Sage. As a dutiful son he completed all of the rites and mourned for 3 years. After three years Fire Lord Saga introduction reforms in Civil Law, Lord's Code, Religious Canon and Law which meets with the demands raised in The Agreement. Avatar departed to his homeland and Fire Lord's family wished him good bye. It took 4 years to complete the reforms bring amendments and revise the Religious scriptures.

[zombiesbecrazy]

Learning to Fear

Summary: Dick hates what he has to do next in regards to Damian's training as Robin, but he's going to try and make it a little less terrible if he can.

Note: I haven't written any fanfiction in years (like... 2010 if I look at my old ff.net account) and then this little thought got in my head. So the obvious answer was to write 4000 words, delete everything on an old Tumblr I had and post it, right?

ao3

“Do you have any suggestions? Sage words of wisdom to dole out? Rousing pep talk?” Dick looked to Alfred, hoping that he had some perfect solution to his problem like he had so many times since Dick had taken over the role of Batman since Bruce had died.  They had been sitting in the bunker, talking about what they should do about Damian and the next phase of his training.  Things had started a little rough with him as the Robin to Dick’s Batman, but it was beginning to look up.  With a little more trust and structure there were  a lot less murderous tendencies coming from the young former assassin, but Dick was having trouble trying to work out how he had to approach the next task in front of him; what Bruce would have done next when training his Robins.

Alfred gave Dick a small half smile and shook his head.  “Only the cliché, I’m afraid.  Follow your heart and let your conscious be your guide and so on.  Do what you think best, Master Dick.  Your moral compass always did have a very strong pull towards true north.”

Dick looked back towards the desk, eyeing the glass vial for what must have been a least the fortieth time in the past half hour.  He had been looking for some sort of firm direction from Alfred, but he wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t got it.  Following his own heart was probably the right call, he thought, however when he didn’t quite understand what his heart was trying to tell him, that didn’t do him a whole lot of good.

“What would Br…” he stopped himself mid thought, because he knew what Bruce would have done. What Bruce did do in this exact scenario when Dick had been Robin.  And Jason.  And Tim.  Knowing what Bruce had done didn’t make Dick feel any better about it because it had been a very sore spot of contention between them and something that, if Dick really thought about it, he don’t think he ever quite forgave Bruce for.  “Did he ever talk to you about it? What he did to us?”

Alfred took a sip of his tea and appeared to be staring into his cup, lost in his thoughts.  “He did.  Not before you, but in the aftermath.  And then again with the others. We had rather large arguments about if I’m to be perfectly honest. I was furious with his methods, though I did understand how he had arrived at them.” He looked up and caught Dick’s gaze. “I never won on this issue, but I would like to hope that he took my words into counsel.  He did make changes each time. And I would like to think that after Tim he may have consideration abandoned it entirely.”

“You think he was wrong.”

“I do, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I think I was completely right. I think that his mind was in the right place, thinking about the big picture and the mission and how to prepare and teach you, but that may have distracted him from the little things.”

“Little things like our well being?”  Alfred frowned at Dick’s remark, but nodded slightly.  “Sometimes I just wish I could talk to him, you know?  We never talked about this part, about how hard some of his choices were.  I mean, I knew being Batman was hard, but I don’t think I realized it was hard.” Dick chuckled at himself, because this was something that he had been thinking about ever since making the switch from Nightwing to Batman; the level of responsibility had gone up even higher than he had imagined it would. “Having a Robin is hard.”

“You may want to remember that being a Robin is also hard. Perhaps you should think about what you would have preferred then, knowing what you know now.”

“What I would have liked?” Dick murmured to himself as Alfred rose from his chair, collected their dishes and turned back towards the elevator. Just before he started the climb up towards the penthouse, he looked back. “Just so you know, I’ll stand beside your decision regardless, as I stood by his however misguided I thought it was.  I know you aren’t taking the matter lightly so that is all I can ask.  I just hope that you may be able to find an alternative solution.”

Bruce had been a planner.  There had been a reason and a purpose for every move and part of the reason that Batman was so successful was that Bruce had the uncanny ability to think out so many scenarios and try to have several plans to thwart each potential obstacle.  Dick had once made the joke that if Bruce hadn’t become Batman, he would have been some sort of doomsday apocalypse theorist with a bomb shelter full of pork and beans and bug-out bags would be hidden throughout the house. Bruce’s deadpan response was that his bomb shelter also had canned fruit, because balanced nutrition was important to survival.  This type of thinking was great for the protector of Gotham; he had been able to see the cracks and prepare for most events to the best of his abilities, and because of this he had been able to train his Robins the same way, to make sure that they could be ready for anything.  He had trained them to the best of their abilities, making them strong, fast, clever, and adaptable and every other quality that was part of being a Robin, but the physical was only part of it.  Training the body was nothing if the mental training didn’t match, if not exceed it, as psychological warfare was an everyday occurrence in Gotham.

Which is why Batman had intentionally dosed each Robin with Crane’s fear toxin as part of their training.

The more Dick thought about it, the more irritated he got at Bruce and his past self.  Why hadn’t they talked about this as adults?  As equals?  In a mature and rational fashion?  That would have definitely helped him now instead of the memory he had of himself yelling at Bruce about Tim’s reaction and Bruce steadfastly ignoring him.  Dick would have even preferred fighting it out over the silence he had gotten.

As an adult, Dick could see where Batman was coming from and why he thought it was necessary because knowing about fear toxin and its effects were one thing, but experiencing it was something else entirely.  Strategically, it only made sense to practice it.  But as a child, as Robin, he had felt hurt and betrayed that Batman would do that to him; that he would invade his mind like that, poison him like that without warning.  Once the fear toxin had worn off, it wasn’t the things that he had seen that had haunted him the most, it was that he felt like he couldn’t trust Batman to help him. He had intentionally hurt him.

And now that he was in Batman’s boots, Dick could try to make things… not right, but possibly better. Or at least slightly less terrible.

***

Dick wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting at the desk in the bunker, lost in his own thoughts, when he heard Damian approach him from behind.  Damian moved around the table and sat down in the chair across from him, and eyed the vial on the desk.

“What is that, Grayson?”

Dick reached across the table and picked up the container and looked at the red mixture intently.  “It’s the base formula for Scarecrow’s fear toxin.  He modifies it from time to time and it changes the effect or strength a bit, but it always stems on this.” He put it back on the table between them and tried to give Damian a small smile, but he was pretty sure that it looked more like a grimace.  “If anything, he likes to go back to this original version a lot.  He’s a little nostalgically romantic as far as evil scientists go.”

“I’m aware of the toxin. I read about him from those tedious files you insisted that I memorize. Has he threatened an attack?” Damian’s eyes flicked to the other side of the room, towards the change room, indicating that he was more than ready to suit up and pursue Scarecrow as soon as Dick gave the word.  The fact that he didn’t just get up and go reminded Dick that Damian now respected his decisions at least enough to wait for plan instead of running off on his own.

“No, he’s locked up in Arkham right now.”

“-tt-“ Damian rolled his eyes at Dick and fidgeted in his chair in a way that made him think that Damian wanted to kick him under the table but knew his legs wouldn’t reach. “Then why are we wasting time looking at his toxin?”

“Because we need to have a conversation about it.  For the time when he inevitably gets out of Arkham. They always get out.  This city really is the worst sometimes.”  Dick rested his hands on the desk between them and made sure Damian was looking at him in the eye.  “I wanted to talk to you like a partner.  I want your feedback about a decision that I need to make and I want to give you choices that your father didn’t give the rest us. From my side of the table now, I think that Bruce’s idea was right, but his execution was wrong.  You may be a child, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t entitled to an opinion.” Dick hoped the tone in his voice was conveying how important he thought this was, but it felt shaky to him. “The rest of us didn’t get this chance, but I know we all wish we had.”

“Are you trying to say…”

Dick nodded glumly, “You need to be exposed to it. For practice. By me. So that you know what it feels like so if it happens in the field, you can recognize it and you’ll know how to react.  Or at worst I’ll have some idea on how you’ll react.” Damian’s mouth opened but Dick cut him off, “I know that you have read about it.  I know that you think that your background in the League has made you ready for anything and that you have experience and tolerance with some different poisons, but this one is different and the effect that it can have varies greatly from person to person. Nothing can prepare you for this junk except the real thing.”

Leaping to his feet, Damian clenched his hands at his sides.  “You expect me to just let you poison me? Try it and I’ll take your head off.” Dick could see that his eyes were darting to where he had left his sword across the room.

His own voice sounded angrier than Dick expected when he next spoke, taking a hard edge. “You keep telling me how adult you are.  How smart.  How mature.  Prove it.  What I expect is for you to have a rational conversation with me about it so that we can make the best decision.  For both of us.” He took a few moments to collect his thoughts and noticed that Damian hadn’t moved and what looking at him curiously.  With a little effort to calm himself he continued, “Batman did it to us.  Without warning. It sucked.” Dick caught Damian’s eyes, trying to convey he’s feelings as genuine, “I don’t want that for you. I’d rather not have to do it at all, but I’m not really seeing another option.  I’m hoping there is some way that we can make it suck less.  We’re a team, Damian.  Please sit back down.”

Damian stared at Dick for a solid minute, unmoving, trying to decide what his next move would be.  Dick could understand his reluctance to have this conversation.  He was wondering if his gut had been wrong with this approach when he saw Damian slowly sit back down in his chair and look down in his hands in his lap, struggling with how to express his thoughts. Finally, he said quietly, “What was it like?”

“The toxin itself or the ‘training exercise’ as Batman called it?”

“Both.” Damian shrugged a little. “Either.”

“As you know from reading, the toxin makes you hallucinate and pulls those scenarios from your deepest fears or it can warp good memories into something terrifying.  It turns an emotional response into a highly physical one. There are three general reactions that a person can have from it – flight, fight or freeze.”

“I assume that the circus brat opts for flight, yes? Literal flight and running away?”

“Nope.  I freeze.” Dick almost laughed as Damian’s mouth drops opened a little in surprise because even Dick thought the reality was absurd. “Don’t worry, it still surprises me too.  It comes with the warping of the fearscape in my mind.  It makes me afraid to fall.  Or land, I guess the real issue is.  Extreme vertigo with a side of seeing everyone I care about being tortured, usually.”

“Not dead?”

“I think my brain decides that torture is worse than death. At least death means they aren’t in pain anymore. If they are dead, I’m the only suffering but if they are in pain we both feel it, maybe? It can change though.  Lots of variables.  With practice I’ve been able to move and react because I can tell the difference between the toxin and real life.  Being frozen and scared of moving is at least a hint that it isn’t real, which helps. Still scared as hell that I’ll fall though. Every time.” Dick gave Damian a small smile, “If you’re ever out with me and I freeze like that, touch my arm and tell me to move.  It’s a small thing, but usually enough to snap me back into action. Make sure you touch me though; it’ll ground me.  I might not listen to just the words.” He thought it was a little sad that had been exposed to the fear toxin enough times to know the little ins and outs of his reaction perfectly.

Damian nodded and Dick could tell that he was tucking that information away for future use and not just placating him and he was glad he was being taken seriously.  “What did my father see?”

“Himself.  Failing.  Everything around him going up in both metaphorical and literal flames.” Dick wished that he could give Damian something more concrete to tell him about his father’s experiences but Bruce had always very vague in the details about it. Most of what he knew came from what Bruce had said or done while under the influence. “He told me that the scenarios always changed depending on what was currently happening in his life which made it extremely difficult to differentiate reality from the toxin.  Said he had to do it based on how the toxin made him feel.  In reality he was able to push the fear aside until it was safe and process later, but with the toxin he couldn’t shake the feeling.  Said the severity of the fear gave him some certainty that it couldn’t be real.” He felt Damian looking at him, “He was a fighter, in case you were wondering.”  Dick rubbed his left eye, remembering a particular run in when Bruce had thought he was the Joker and punched him hard enough to break his cheekbone, not that long after Jason had been murdered.

“I had assumed.” Damian leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, sorting his thoughts.  “I can see why he would want this simulated in training.  We practice with all sorts of weapons that our opponents use, so it only makes sense.  I don’t see how this is any different. Why do you disagree?”

“It just never worked out right in practice.  With me it backfired on him badly because he tried it in out in the field.  He had planted some in an abandoned warehouse in the Narrows and had me ‘accidentally’ find it and inhale it while he watched from a distance except since his only experience had been with himself getting extremely violent, he wasn’t prepared for my catatonic reaction. He especially wasn’t prepared when some of Penguin’s henchmen attacked me because they had followed me in thinking I was alone.  I got clobbered before he figured out that it was my reaction to the gas and was able to pull them off me.  It hadn’t even occurred to him that I wouldn’t fight back with the toxin in my system. When I woke up in the cave, it was one of the most worried I ever saw him. He told me what he had done and apologized over and over.  It wasn’t the bruises that hurt me, or the lingering sense of terror because the antidote takes time, but it was the fact that he was the one who had done this to me.  I didn’t talk to him for a week.  Which for someone as chatty as me is quite the feat.”  Dick sighed sadly. “If I’m honest, the little kid in me is still mad about it.  I was younger than you are and not emotionally equipped to deal with it.  Bruce and Alfred were my entire world, and then one of them hurt me.  On purpose.” It was the first time that Bruce had let him down and Dick hadn’t known how to move on. He could remember Alfred trying to console him, but despite his best efforts, he couldn’t rationalize what Bruce had done. Even after they had started talking again, it had taken Dick a long time before he could fully trust being in a warehouse with Batman again; unfortunately, there seem to be an above average number of warehouses in Gotham.

A minute of silence passed between them before he continued, “I thought he had learned his lesson, but years later he did it again with Jason. He did make some changes to his plan based on what had happened with me and Jason was older but it still went south fast.  It happened in the cave, but something about the sounds in the ceilings of the cave drove Jason crazy.  He ended up dislocating his shoulder and breaking a few ribs trying to climb the walls to attack the noise.”

“Noise?”

Dick shrugged.  “Jason was furious.  Bruce had told him afterwards that he had done the same to me so he called me, saying that he wanted to join the Ex Robins Club over it.  He couldn’t explain the noise thing in a way that made a lot of sense to me, but like I said, it can affect everyone differently.  Anyways, I talked him down a bit and he went back to work, but things weren’t ever the same between them. I’ve always wondered if some of the problems between then still stem from it.  Not all of Jason’s issues with Batman are Joker related.” Jason and Dick had a mutual, if not wary, understanding right now. Dick was curious if the toxin affected him differently since his resurrection, but they weren’t at the point that he could ask yet.  “He was fight too, by the way, but it’s hard to fight invisible sound coming from an invisible source.”

“Not that long after, Tim.  Once again, Bruce did it a bit differently.  He took everything out of the gym, and created what was essentially a safe space, and it seemed to work out alright on the outset.  Tim was shaken up afterwards, but by all accounts it was a pretty uneventful night. He had tried to run from some shadows, but he had been essentially safe in the gym and no injuries. The real problem didn’t show itself until a few weeks later when Tim had an actual run in with Scarecrow and got hit.” Dick shook his head minutely, not sure how Tim would feel about him sharing this story with Damian, but he thought it was important, so he continued. “And in that time his reaction had changed dramatically. His new hallucinations were all of Batman. Batman was attacking from all angles, lurking in the shadows, taunting him from the rafters.  He was everywhere. The real Batman couldn’t do anything about it because Tim just bolted, doing anything to get away from all of the Batman’s he could see in his mind, knowing that he couldn’t fight Batman, let alone multiple Batman’s and win. Flight doesn’t make someone weak; self-perseverance can be the difference between life and death. Bruce had to call me in to bring him in safely and look after him until the effects wore off because he couldn’t get anywhere close.  But there it was, actual proof that his test had broken the trust that Tim had in him.  He went from being a mentor and partner to being the actual manifestation of fear in Tim’s mind. That reaction went away, but it shook both Tim and Bruce a lot.”

“Having Batman testing us is part of being Robin.  All the training. The Gauntlet. It was well within reasonable boundaries. But this… we all agreed that the toxin itself wasn’t the problem.  I don’t want any of that to happen to you because I need you to keep trusting me if this is going to work out between us. I think we both agree that we need to do this, right? For practice? Not only do you need to know what it’s like, I need to know how you react so that we can keep each other safe.” Damian nodded slowly in agreement. “I’m assuming that you prefer that I came to you about it first?”

Nodding slowly, Damian said, “I appreciate the concern, Grayson.”

“I wanted you to have a say.  You and I have come a long way but I was afraid that if I followed Bruce’s lead it would shatter what we’ve built.”

“You were concerned that I’d kill you in your sleep afterwards.”

“It did cross my mind.”

“I don’t kill anymore.”

“I thought you might make an exception.”

“Maybe I would have,” Damian frowned at himself a little bit. “Probably not though.  We’re past that.  You’ve proven that you a more than adequate teacher.  I like that you came to me with this.  It took character.”

“Any thoughts on how you would like to approach it?”

Damian was silent for a few moments, considering his options. “I like the idea of the gym that Father did with Drake. Controlling the exercise makes logistical sense. But maybe can I have a weapon?” His eyes darted once again back across to where he left his blade. “I know whatever happens, I would feel better with my sword at my side.  Being defenseless to whatever happens would be… unsettling.” He looked at Dick hesitantly, “Unless you think I might injure myself.  Or you.”

“I think we can work with that, though maybe we’ll pick one of your slightly less lethal blades, if that’s alright.” Of course he would like a sword to feel safe - the kid slept with one beside him.  Being without it would probably make the entire situation a thousand times worse.  “You want me in the room?  You’d rather not be alone?”

Damian raised an eyebrow, and Dick had a flashback of Bruce eyeing him in a very similar way and had to admit it was a little eerie to see the look coming out of a preteen.  “I didn’t think that was negotiable.”

“Everything in this conversation is negotiable, Damian.  That’s the whole point.”

“I want you there, Grayson.”

“Thank you.  That means a lot.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.  I just don’t think you are remotely frightening.  You are likely to have little effect on the scenario,” said Damian with a scowl on his face. A few more seconds passed and Dick could see him biting his lower lip slightly.  Dick had almost given up on him continuing the conversation further until Damian quietly spoke again.  “Does it help to think about what might happen? To prepare?”

“It could, but there is a chance that you would be way off base and then it wouldn’t have helped at all.  I’m pretty sure that Jason would have never guessed the noise in the cave if you had given him a hundred tries. It was probably something related from when he was a kid, but you never know.” Dick stopped to consider what he thought Damian would possibly see. The kid was tough and hard to rattle, but the likely choice was obvious.  “You think you’ll see Talia.”

Damian crossed his arms and gave Dick a challenging glare. “I care for my Mother deeply.”

Bullseye.  “I know.  Just because you love her doesn’t mean that she’s can’t still scare you. If anything, that might make her even scarier.” Damian continued to glare at him, but said nothing.  Dick ran his hand through his hair, unsure of what to do next.  He was mentally exhausted and he was sure the Damian probably felt similar the longer he thought about what they were going to do. They had gotten as far as Damian was probably going to let them go tonight and pushing him wasn’t going to help. “I think this is a good place to stop for now.  We can talk about it more tomorrow.  Make a more solid plan?” Damian nodded his head almost imperceptibly.  “Want to head back up?”

“Alright.”

The two of them stood and walked towards the elevator, with Damian moving a little slower and a little closer to Dick than he normally did, lost in his thoughts once again.  He was slightly startled when Dick put his hand on his shoulder, but then relaxed slightly into the motion as he squeezed, and Dick smiled at the top of Damian head.

“Thank you, Richard.”

[thesinglesjukebox]

ST. VINCENT - LOS AGELESS [7.10] Where In The World Will Annie Clark Be Next?

Eleanor Graham: Particularly after the impossibly fine-boned "New York", this veers into the smart-soulless wall-of-bombast territory of Jungle, or the new Beck song. If all the lyrics were as smugly baffling as "in Los Ageless, the mothers milk their young," I'd probably hate it. What's that, LA is full of rich people who are a bit weird? Haha, no way! But "HOW CAN ANYBODY HAVE YOU AND LOSE YOU AND NOT LOSE THEIR MINDS TOO?" is a huge, irresistible demand. It sounds in the best possible way like a piece of Jenny Holzer art or a Red-era Taylor Swift line. The verses are perfectly structured too -- as she sings "burn the pages of unwritten memoirs" or "girls in cages playing their guitars," she's illustrating the chaotic, appalling city; as she falls into "I can keep running ah-ah" or "I just follow the hood of my car," she's gritting her teeth and leaning back into its all-consuming rhythm, riding a 300-foot wave. [6]

Cédric Le Merrer: At first it starts out like yet another song about the twisted city of sin and glamour, with a weird St. Vincent groove and seductive coos. Welcome To The Jungle of LA Hallucinations. Cool, I thought, but I'm already on my way to boredom. But I did not see the plot twist coming: it's actually yet another a breakup song! And my disbelief is 100% suspended and I do feel the heartbreak for the time of that painful chorus. [8]

William John: A song of contrasts: the verses are all distracted and fidgety, the sort of work one does when experiencing anxiety-induced stomach cramps, while the chorus is catharsis, decompression, an explosion of feeling. "How can anybody have you and lose you and not lose their mind, too?" asks Annie Clark, who's long been condescended to as a porcelain-doll figure who can shred. Here, she dismantles that characterisation with total abandonment of inhibition, and embraces the vulnerabilities exposed when one is proximate with a person who ostensibly exemplifies everything you think you're supposed to want and be. [9]

Nortey Dowuona: Bouncy bass, wavy synths, thick, sharp guitar and decent drum programming. Plus, the massive wave of overlapping vocals, fuzzy guitars, crackling synths, popping drums and stabs of synth horn coalesce then spilt apart as St. Vincent rides it with both calm and poise. [7]

Alfred Soto: The massive sound bespeaks a world conquering assertiveness: St. Vincent, per a recent New Yorker profile, wants a larger audience. The blues tropes conveying overpowering carnal desire are familiar to PJ Harvey listeners, just as the electronic squawks were gauche when LCD Soundsystem used them in 2004. This explains the title, maybe: in L.A. revivals are as constant as the smog. [7]

Joshua Copperman: Previous single "New York" makes more sense within Masseduction, recontextualizing the surreal production of the album by placing it on top of a simplistic power ballad. "Los Ageless," as evidenced by the way "Sugarboy" foreshadows the synth riff, is the true centerpiece of the album. Everything that makes both Annie Clark's songwriting and Jack Antonoff's production stellar is on display here, with a gigantic chorus and smart lyrics that casually eclipse the commentary La La Land made about Hollywood last year ("The lost sages hang out by the bar/Burn the pages of unwritten memoirs"). Yet on its own, I can't say I have the same attachment that I do to the rest of Masseduction -- even as most of the album rarely goes off the rails no matter how much distortion Clark and Antonoff throw on it, "Los Ageless" is a bit too extra to have the same impact. The outro is beautiful, but the instrumentation is -- for lack of a better term, I swear -- melodramatic. We get it, Antonoff, you like orchestral swells! Let Annie speak! [7]

Ryo Miyauchi: Before, Annie Clark either housed her desire in such perfect musical display in her songs, it became an object no longer hers; or she wrote about the feeling with lyrics too cryptic, as if she was yet too uncomfortable to flesh it out in more plain language. "Los Ageless" operates still with clinical precision, music-wise, yet this is the closest she has come to giving the experience with desire a physical form -- and she molds it to resemble all of its ugliness. Not only does Clark push her nose against the glass case to really take in a look,, she embraces her self-disgust with it whole, especially in the chorus: "how can anyone have you, lose you and not lose their minds too?" [7]

Ian Mathers: Annie Clark makes a meal of the gap between "how can anybody have you?" and "how can anybody have you and lose you?" as only she can, but on first encounter the slightly more synthesized/less idiosyncratic production feels like a step back from the last two album. But jeeze, if one of the pre-eminent voices in her field is merely just making exceptional songs that don't sound quite as much like she's blowing up the form around her, I guess we'll have to settle for that. [8]

Maxwell Cavaseno: There's something impotent about the ability to be insipid these days. People insist that there's some sort of inherent power in knowing better and simply basking in it, when the righteous can still end up mowed down without any sort of compensation or commendation. Annie Clark's always been pretty smart, smarter than me, and I tend to appreciate artists who are trying to make art from a place of benevolent nobility, but more and more I've come to feel like everything she does is frozen by a need to be wry. "Los Ageless" is very satisfied to know better, the dry processing on her guitar as artificial as what she herself is commenting on. But it doesn't necessarily try to understand or sympathize with its target, and instead punches down from a high-up tower. To snipe down at a world you find ridicule in behind walls of disaffection nowadays seems a tiresome lecture, and for all Clark's bountiful talents to bestow on us, her songs feel less benevolent and more like being subjected to someone's infinite wisdom. [4]

Rebecca A. Gowns: I'm the person who was born and raised in Los Angeles, and I can get defensive when I hear critiques of the city, especially a reading of the city as a whole as superficial, predatory, and devouring. To me, Los Angeles is its immigrants; its vibrant arts scene; its museums and libraries; its mystifying array of flora brought in from every climate; its topography as varied as mountains and valleys and river and oceans. And yet! I'm getting to an age where, as much as I resist the metonymy, I have to accept it: Los Angeles is Hollywood, a damned and unshakeable link. Hollywood is maddeningly hierarchal (and, it follows, racist, sexist, nepotist, and all the rest), and that system bleeds out into the rest of Los Angeles, as so much of our economy and image comes from it. St. Vincent sings it all out, and with her chorus, nails the heart of my defensiveness -- "how can anybody have you and lose you and not lose their minds too?" There is so much to cherish in Los Angeles, and yes, in Hollywood, that it hurts so deeply when you realize, time and time again, how fickle the city really is. Even for someone who was born amongst the palm trees. How cruel to arrive in Los Angeles and realize that the producers want you for your body, not your work; crueler still to be born here and look the city in its eyes, and it always looks away, pretending to not know your name. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[thebeautyoftorah]

TISHA BE’AV/VAETCHANAN

bs'd Shalom. The thought from my book 'Healing Anger' is: "Children are sensitive to their parents’ relationship. They especially notice anger and are enormously affected by their parents’ bickering. It creates a deep and ever-lasting psychological damage." Buy my book at http://www.feldheim.com/healing-anger.html If you want to buy it from me in Israel let me know. To join the over 4,000 recipients in English and Spanish and receive these insights free on a weekly email, feedback, comments, which has been all around the world, or if you know any other Jew who is interested in receiving these insights weekly, contact me.You have the opportunity to share in the mitzvah to honor a loved one by sponsoring my weekly review, or refua shelema (healing), shiduch, Hatzlacha. Have a healthy Shabbat Shalom. TISHA BE’AV/VAETCHANAN-Will We See the Holy Temple Rebuilt? In the morning service of shachrit of tisha Be’Av we read some pesukin of this week’s parsha [0] that are connected to the concept that the period of Tisha B’Av has two parts; one of sadness and mourning followed by one of joy and consolation and they are connected to each other. The Gemara says[1] on this topic: All who mourn [the destruction of] Yerushalaim will merit seeing it in its joy. The problem with this teaching is that there is no doubt that the great Torah Sages as Rashi, the Ramban, the Rishonim (medieval Sages), and before them all the great Talmudic sages wept bitterly for Yerushalaim. Yet, all of them died before seeing the rebuilding of the Holy Temple! So what does the Gemara mean when it says that all those who mourn over the destruction of Yerushalaim will merit seeing its joy? The Ritva answers that there are actually two periods of resurrection in the future. The main period will be at the end of Olam HaZeh (This World) as we know it (before we move into the next phase called Olam HaBa, the World to Come), and is for all Jews (unless, of course, they are without any merit). However, there will be an earlier period of resurrection, just before the building of the Third Temple in the Messianic Era. At this time, all the righteous Jews who died in the exile yearning for the Mashiach will merit coming back to life to witness the joy of the final redemption. Migdal David (83a) writes that this is a great consolation for all those Jews who suffered throughout the centuries and who died Al Kiddush Hashem (sanctifying G-d’s Name). Yet, they never got to see the good times which we all pray for, when we will all live in peace and harmony in the Land of Israel with the coming of the Mashich and the building of the Third Temple. All those Jews who longed and yearned for the Messianic Era including Rashi, Nachmanides, the Talmudic sages, as well as all our grandparents who sang ‘Next Year in Yerushalaim’ with great fervor every year at the end of Yom Kippur and the Pesach Seder yet who never got to see it, will rise up from their graves to enjoy this very special time. Rabbi Avigdor Miller ZT’L offers a different approach to answer our question: Why did the Rabbis say that those who mourn Yerushalaim’s destruction will merit seeing it besimchatah - in its joy? It would be more logical to say that they will merit seeing Yerushalaim bevinyanah in its rebuilt state. After all, our primary wish is for the rebuilding of Yerushalaim! To understand what the Rabbis were saying, we need to appreciate what exactly our holy ancestors were mourning for. The Rambam writes in Mishneh Torah[2]: The Sages and the prophets did not yearn for the Messianic era in order to have dominion over the entire world, to rule over the gentiles, to be exalted by the nations, or to eat, drink, and celebrate. Rather, they desired to be free to involve themselves in Torah and wisdom without any pressures or disturbances, so that they would merit the world to come, as explained in the Laws of Repentance. We see that it was not the rebuilding of the Temple itself that the Sages were yearning for. Rather, it was the opportunity to study Torah with no distractions that they so desired, and that can only happen when the Mashiach comes and rebuilds the Holy Temple and brings peace on earth. The Gemara [3] says that when we had a Holy Temple there were thousands upon thousands of prophets among the Jewish people: 'Many prophets arose in Israel, double the number of those who left Egypt; but prophecy that was needed for future generations was written and that which was not needed was not written'. [This means that there were 1,200,000 prophets living among the Jewish people!] These prophets helped the Jewish people with spiritual guidance any time they needed it, setting them straight when they made mistakes, and showing them their true potential and how to achieve it. How amazing it was having your own personal spiritual mentor to correct your mistakes and to guide you at every turn in your life! But all this was taken away from us when the Holy Temple was destroyed and we went into exile among the nations, and will only come back when the Mashiach arrives and the Holy Temple will be rebuilt in Yerushalaim. It is the joyous opportunity to learn Torah and wisdom unimpeded as well as the ability to achieve one’s true potential in life that will accompany the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, that the great Torah scholars yearned for, not just the rebuilding of the Temple itself. Rav Avigdor Miller explains that when the Gemara declared that all who mourn the destruction of Yerushalaim will merit seeing its joy, they meant what they said. It is true that all our great ancestors who died in the exile did not merit to see Yerushalaim bevinyanah, in its future rebuilt state, but they did merit to see Yerushalaim besimchatah, in its joy, i.e. in their own lifetimes they were rewarded by G-d with Divine guidance and were able to see the joy that a rebuilt Yerushalaim could give them, the joy of achieving their true potential in life. A true tzaddik like Rashi mourned for Yerushalaim in a perfect manner. So Hashem responded, “You are looking for someone who will set you straight in life? If so, then right now I will give you what you are wishing for: Perfect guidance. You will merit Siyata diShmaya” (Assistance from Heaven). Indeed, Rashi and all the great Torah sages throughout Jewish history were only able to accomplish all that they did in their immensely productive lives through the Divine assistance that they earned because they mourned the loss of prophecy and guidance that the Jewish people once enjoyed, and were rewarded in kind.

We hope and pray to Hashem each day that we one day merit to see the actual rebuilding of the Beit Hamikdash. Yet, even if for whatever reason we don’t get to see it, G-d forbid, we can still earn the ability of experiencing now the true joy of unimpeded Torah study and achieving our potential that will be felt by all when the Temple is rebuilt, simply by yearning for this joy and mourning over its loss.

____________________________________________________ [0] Devarim 4:25-40

[1] Taanit 30b [2] Laws of Kings and Wars 11:4 [3] Megillah 14a Le Iluy nishmat Eliahu ben Simcha, Mordechai ben Shlomo, Perla bat Simcha, Abraham Meir ben Leah, Moshe ben Gila,Yaakov ben Gila, Sara bat Gila, Yitzchak ben Perla, Leah bat Chavah, Abraham Meir ben Leah,Itamar Ben Reb Yehuda, Yehuda Ben Shmuel Tzvi, Tova Chaya bat Dovid. Refua Shelema to all the people sick with the Corona virus, Akiva Shushan Ben Natalie Penina, Mazal Tov bat Freja, Hadassa bat Sara, Elisheva bat Miriam, Chana bat Ester Beyla, Mattitiahu Yered ben Miriam, Yaacov ben Miriam, Yehuda ben Simcha, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Nechemia Efraim ben Beyla Mina, Dvir ben Leah, Sender ben Sara, Eliezer Chaim ben Chaya Batya, Shlomo Yoel ben Chaya Leah, Dovid Yehoshua ben Leba, Shmuel ben Mazal Tov, Yosef Yitzchak ben Bracha.

[newsnigeria]

Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/news-from-nigeria/breaking-news/share-the-wonderful-advice-of-ifa/

Stumbles upon this in my library, so I decided to edit and share the wonderful advice of Ifa.

The Ifa’s Ethical Commandments according to Ika-OfunIká funfunA d’ifá fun agbaagba MerindinlogúnThis was Ifa’s message for the 16 Elders.Won n rele lfe won n lo reé toro ogbóThey went to Ile Ife to ask for a long life.Awon le gbo awon le to bi Olodumare ti ran won ni won n da Ifa siCould they live long just as Olodumare pronounced? That was the question they asked lfa.Won ni won a gbo, won a to sugbon ki won pa ikilo mo.They (the Babaláwos) said that the 16 Elders could live long, but they had to respect and obey the commandments directed by Ifa.Ika Ofun was revealed to them in the process of their consultation for longevity. The messages of Ifa were as follows: # 1 – Wọ́n ní kí wọn má fi esúrú pe esúrú And they (the Babalawo) answered, “He who longs for a long life, let him not call the esúrú” (kind of yam like small potatoes). (Calling esúrú to be esuru means talking about what you do not know).Meaning of the 1st commandment:The priest should not deceive his fellow man by waving knowledge that he does not possess.Interpretation: The priest should not say what he does not know, that is, pass on wrong teachings or that have not been passed down by his teachers and elders. True knowledge is necessary for the practice of true religion.Message: Anyone who abuses the trust of others, deceiving them and manipulating them through religious ignorance, will suffer grave consequences for their actions. Nature will be responsible for recovering the mistakes made and this will be reflected in her consanguineous and spiritual descendants. # 2 – Wọ́n ní kí wọn ma fi esùrù pe esùrù They (Babaláwos) warned them not to call esuru (special bread) esuru, i.e. not to do any work for which they do not have the basic knowledge.”They warned the Elders not to call all things Esuru.” (Calling all the things “esúrú” is to consider all things as sacred beads).Meaning of the 2nd Commandment:The priest must be able to distinguish between the profane being and the sacred being, the profane act and the sacred act, the profane object and the sacred object.Interpretation:You cannot perform rituals without having the investiture and basic knowledge to perform them. To call all of Esurú, is to regard all, indiscriminately, as being carved for the priestly mission, which is not true or, worse, a manipulation of interests. Just as not all beads serve to form the Ileké (beads) of an Orisá (like sacred beads), not all human beings were born destined to priestly practice.Message: To be a priest of Ifá, it takes many moral, intellectual, procedural and vocational attributes. The simple initiation of a profane being, devoid of these basic and essential attributes, does not qualify him as a legitimate and legitimized priest. From the misinterpretation and non-observance of this commandment results the great amount of bad priests that proliferate nowadays inside the worship of Orunmilá. Here we see the difference between “being Bàbáláwo” and “being bàbáláwo”. He who undergoes initiation only for the status of a bábalawo, will never be a true priest of Orunmila.”It will be” bàbáláwo, position acquired by the initiation, but never “will be” bàbáláwo, condition imposed by his vocation, dedication and detachment. It is incumbent upon the initiator to choose, with great discretion, those who are really worthy of the priesthood.

# 3 – Wọ́n ní kí wọn má fi òdìdẹ̀ pe òòdẹ̀

They (Babaláwos) warned them not to call odide (parrot), oode (bat), that is, not to mislead people.They warned them not to call forces, in the wrong way “ódidé”. (A reference to nocturnal and mysterious birds that feed on blood). Giving bad advice and wrong directions is exposing people to the dangers of unmanageable and evil energies.Meaning of the 3rd commandment:The priest should never mislead people by giving them wrong advice and wrong directions.Interpretation: It is unacceptable for a priest to use his power and his religious knowledge to induce to the error those who follow him. By acting in this way, they assume the posture of nocturnal birds which, in darkness, satiate their needs with the sacrifice and blood of others.Message: One of the most important functions of the priest is to guide his disciple, leading him on the right path, to meet “ire” (good luck), according to the dictates established by his personal Odu and his Orisá’s head. Anyone who arrives at the feet of Orunmila to consult his oracle in search of solutions must be guided by the priest correctly, regardless of his interest as a looker. The person who arrives with a problem should have their problem solved and not see it added from other artificially created servants with a view to providing those who consult, financial advantages or possibility of making money.

# 4 – Wọ́n ní kí wọn má fi ewé ìrókò pe ewé oriro

They (Babaláwos) warned them not to say that the iroko leaves are oriro leaves. That is, do not deceive people. (Everything must be done in accordance with religious dictates and precepts.) The simple exchange of a single leaf can lead to evil consequences or render a great ebo ineffectual in the same way that the leaves of iroko are not the same as the leaves of the oriro.Meaning of the 4th Commandment: The priest cannot, under any conditions, use false resources, providing things without religious validity as elements of security or worship.Interpretation: The liturgical procedures must be observed in full and no one has the right to do “it” for “that” when in “what” is the solution.Message: He who uses lies and deceptive means against his fellow men, will be guilty of the crime of abuse of trust. Using deceptions and lies against innocent and kind-hearted people, the priest provokes the displeasure of Orunmila and the consequent wrath of Elegbara, and this is not good. Each spiritual entity has an individual name, according to the determination of Olodumare. In the same way, each Esú Elegbara has its own name and identity, as well as specific attributes. It is inadmissible, therefore, that this entity so sacred and important within the cult, be seated and delivered irresponsibly, and that those who receive it remain ignorant of its name, quality, form of treatment and specificity of function.Sentence: “Orunmila is the one who looks at us with love, do not do things where he can look at us with contempt.”

# 5 – Wọ́n ní kí wọn má fi àìmọ́wẹ̀ bá wọn dé odò

They (Babaláwos) warned them not to try to swim if they do not know how to swim, that is, not to claim a wisdom superior to their possibilities.(“Knowing” is fundamental for those who want to “do.” For this, “power” is necessary, which only initiation can grant).Meaning of the 5th Commandment:The priest cannot proceed to liturgies for which he is not qualified through the initiatory process or whose practice he does not know or dominate only partially.Interpretation: Babaláwo should not spite a wisdom that in the truth he does not possess. Looking to know does not degrades, but, on the contrary, it exalts the person. Knowledge is basic condition for which it can be done.Message: Everything must be done integrally and with total legitimacy. If there is any doubt about a procedure, one should research deeply about it. It is up to the priest to teach everything he knows to those around him and to trust in him. The denial of correct and complete teachings implies the responsibility of the practice of cultural suicide. In the same way, seeking guidance in those who know has nothing humiliating and exalts both the seeker and the guide. True wisdom consists in the consciousness of one’s own ignorance. Only fools show themselves as knowing everything!Sentence: God did not give the ignorant the right to learn without first taking from whom he knows the obligation to teach. (From Eastern Wisdom)

# 6 – Wọ́n ní kí wọn má fi àìlọ́kọ́ bá wọn ké hàìn-hàìn

They (Babaláwos) warned them to be modest and never self-centered.(HUMILITY AND DEPENDENCY ARE INDISPENSABLE ATTRIBUTES OF A TRUE PRIEST).Meaning of the 6th Commandment:The Babaláwo should not be vain of his powers, but conscious of them. It should not only act for its own benefit, he must exist to serve and not to be served.Interpretation:Vanity transforms a man weak in spirit into a peacock who makes a point of displaying his beautiful plumage (feathers) without the awareness that it is his beauty that, arousing the attention of others, will bring about his death.In odu Ogundakete, we find Itans (Stories) that speak about the Peacocks’ exhibition, which, while spreading the beauty of their plumage, attract themselves to all, which after sacrifice, they transform their feathers in fine drips and decorations. The true priests, the choice of Orunmilá, do not worry in exhibiting their power or their knowledge in voice and inconsequent disputes. Accumulates in yourself a great load of wisdom that you can transmit with dedication to whosoever deserves to know.Message: Exhibitionism is one of the greatest defects in a human being and inadmissible in a priest. Already the old verbiage said: “In a donkey loaded with sugar, even sweat is sweet.” This is how, in the eyes of the sage, the exhibitionists look like, “donkeys carrying sugar”.

# 7 – Wọ́n ní kí wọn má gba ọ̀nà ẹ̀bùrú wọ’lé Àràbà They warned that they should not enter the house of an Àràbà (title of the one who safeguards the secrets of Ifá’s leadership), with bad intention. (Good intentions should prevail above all else). The house of the Araba is the temple where the initiation is obtained.Meaning of the 7th Commandment:Initiation cannot be motivated by interests that are not purely religious.Interpretation: The true intentions of the initiate must be crystalline as pure water, and devoid of any other purpose than to serve humanity through Orunmilá. To want to start worshiping by simple vanity, to obtain social status or to hold priestly titles is to desecrate the sacred.Message: He who defiles the sacred tabernacle of Ifa, moved by whatever reason, will pay with harsh penalties the sacrilege practiced. No one enters the Igbodu Ifá with impunity. Knowledge corresponds to responsibilities that not everyone is prepared to take on. It is far better to err by not knowing than by knowing and persisting in error. The broader concept symbolizes the attitude of a predator who hides his claws seeking to acquire the confidence and knowledge of his victim to have a base to act at the time most conducive to their goals. The same responsibility assumes the one that initiates people who do not have the basic requisites required for such, aiming there, the simple financial

# 8 – Wọ́n ní kí wọn má fi ìkóódẹ hun ìdí

They (Babaláwos) warned them not to use ikoode (sacred feather) for cleaning after using the bathroom, (do not use sacred feathers to clean the butt, i.e. do not break taboos).(The feather of the ikoode is one of the most sacred symbols within the cult, and for this reason it should never be desecrated.)Meaning of the 8th Commandment:The sacred foundations cannot be used for vain purposes. The taboos must be fully observed under pain of severe consequences.Interpretation: The priest must willingly submit to the prohibitions imposed by his personal Odu, as well as to the taboos of his Olori. The observance of these dictates is directly linked to the state of submission to the worshiped deities. The total obedience to Ifa’s guidance leads man to the fullness of blessings. To use one’s sacred knowledge lightly corresponds to profaning the sacred. The figure used here represents very well such an attitude. “Cleaning the butt with Ikodidé feathers” is the same as using sacred things for reckless and futile purposes. One should not use the power of magic to harm anyone. The practice of evil invariably yields faster results, but leads to tortuous paths that have no return. In the same way, one who uses these powers for the sole purpose of gaining economic advantages is at odds with the sacred dictates and will be held responsible # 9 – Wọ́n ní kí wọn má su sí epo

They (Babalawos) warned them not to defecate in epo in the sacred Ifa meal, that is, the sacred tools should be kept clean.They warned that they should not defecate in palm oil. (Dirt and lack of hygiene are incompatible with the rite.)Meaning of the 9th commandment:The epo (palm oil) corresponds to the vegetable blood. A sacred and indispensable element in the ritual, it must always be very pure and clean. In the same way, everything must be clean, the instruments, the environments, the settlements, the people and, mainly, the attitudes. Under no circumstances is there a lack of cleanliness and hygiene in any aspect, whether physical, environmental or moral.Message: The priest must be scrupulous with everything. Its liturgical instruments, the settlements of the worshiped entities, its body, its attitudes and its character will always remain, impeccably clean. No Orisá admits the dirt, be it physical or moral.

# 10- Wọ́n ní kí wọn má tọ̀ sí àfọ̀

They (Babaláwos) warned them not to urinate inside afo (traditional workshop where the epo pupa is processed), that is, they must take care to keep the room clean. They warned that they should not urinate inside the afo. (The afó is the place where palm oil is made in Yoruba land).Meaning of the 10th Commandment:Everything that precedes a rite and refers to it must be performed with cleanliness and religiosity.Interpretation: In the same way that ritual should be surrounded by cleaning care, the making of food and offerings should follow the same principles. Preparing the ritualistic foods is also a rite and should be performed in full circumspection and religious concentration.Message: During the preparation of the ritualistic foods and offerings the attitude of those who participate in it should be the same as those who participate in the ritual itself. It is unacceptable that, at this sacred time, people are consuming alcoholic beverages, talking vulgar things, arguing, quarreling or trying to display their knowledge, humiliating those who know less. Posture will always be priestly, silence and concentration must be maintained, and teaching to those who do not know or to those who know less is a sacred obligation. # 11- Wọ́n ní kí wọn má gba ọ̀pá l’ọ́wọ́ afọ́jú

They warned them not to remove the staff from the blind, that is, to respect the weak and be kind to them.They warned that the staff of a blind should not be removed. (A blind person uses his/her staff to replace his eyes and point to the obstacles that will be encountered on his/her way).Meaning of the 11th Commandment:The priest cannot show off their load of knowledge to humble or confuse anyone. The priest should have the deepest respect for those who know less. Nobody has the right to downgrade what others know and believe in Ifa. Throwing the faith of who knows little or knows nothing, is removing the staff from a blind, leaving him without any guidance on the path on which he walks.Interpretation: They should not take the staff from the blind; that is, to always respect those who are weaker, and treat those people with respect. You should not use your knowledge to confuse those with little knowledge in a deliberate manner to confuse and take advantage of them.Message: One of the most important missions of the priest is teaching and orienting. Many times arise when people who do not know judge those who know. It is at this time the wise priest shows love, the right orientation and the right teaching are passed with sweetness, strength and humility, without honoring the one who receives them and does not cause confusions in his head. Everything must be taught with clarity and logic. So, babalawo, in the exercise of his priesthood, also assumes the mission of master. # 12- Wọ́n ní kí wọn má gba ọ̀pá l’ọ́wọ́ ogbó

They warned that an old man’s staff should not be removed. (The baton of the old man represents the accumulation of experiences acquired in the long years in which he lived).Meaning of the 12th Commandment: People should respect and show good treatment to the elders, especially the elders in the Ifa religion.Interpretation: Respect for the elders is one of the main foundations of the religion where, admittedly, old age is placed. To treat them without the proper respect and attention is to withdraw the staff on which they rest. Those who know how to respect, abide by and love their elders, will undoubtedly receive the same treatment when they also walk on their own staff.Message: The old people, through lived experiences, represent true sources of wisdom where each one must seek to drink a little, quenching the thirst for knowledge. They are sacred books, whose pages are to be read with patience and affection. A religion which, for countless centuries, had its foundations transmitted orally, should greatly enhance those who are the custodians of this knowledge. An old man, as obtuse as it may seem at first sight, will always have something, obtained in the long years lived, to teach. We must always remember that if antiquity (age) is placed, knowledge is power! # 13- Wọ́n ní kí wọn má gba obìnrin Ògbóni

They warned them not to sleep with an Ogboni’s wife. (“Ogboni” is a title that means judge or magistrate in the traditional religion, represents a person worthy of respect).Meaning of the 13th Commandment: The authorities must be fully respected.Interpretation: The “Ogboni” in the sentence generally represents the authorities and the laws they establish. The Priest, as a good man, should guide his life according to the dictates of the laws of men and the sacred laws of Ifa.Message: Religious man cannot live on the fringes of the law and the society of which he must belong as an important cell. To strive for obedience to the laws is one of the obligations of a priest who, in this sense, must also guide his followers. In the same way, the laws of Ifá must be observed in full and nobody has the right to manipulate them for the benefit of themselves or others

# 14- Wọ́n ní kí wọn má gba obìnrin ọ̀rẹ́

They warned them never to sleep with a friend’s wife. (One should not betray a friend).Meaning of the 14th Commandment: Friends must be respected and a friendship must not be betrayed.Interpretation: “To sleep with the wife of a friend” is the greatest insult a priest can practice against this person. The sentence seeks to value the feeling of friendship that should always be based on mutual respect and ethical reciprocity, which in no way can be forgotten.Message: “A friend is worth more than a relative.” This affirmation of popular wisdom is based on the fact that kinsmen are imposed on us by fate, whereas friends have to be chosen from among the many people who arise in the course of our lives. If we elect, of our own free will, our friends, why betray them? Why not give them the same treatment that we would like them to give to us? Keeping friendships, treating them with respect and affection is, above all, a demonstration of wisdom. Friendships should be worshiped and no one should create animosity among friends by jeopardizing a relationship that can represent a great treasure. “A friend in the square is better than money in the bank.” (From popular wisdom). # 15- Wọ́n ní kí wọn má s’ọ̀rọ̀ ìmùlẹ̀ lẹ́yìn

They (Babalawos) warned them not to find out secrets or discuss them, that is, not to betray the faith.Meaning of the 15th Commandment: They warned against sowing religious discord.One should not use religion to motivate separation and war between men.Interpretation: Religion has the sole purpose of uniting men through Olodumare. It is not conceivable, therefore, that it can be used as a separating element of human beings. Even within the same religion one can verify the performance of people who, in a nefarious way and for their own interests, play against each other, sowing mistrust and discord among priests, brothers and followers.Message: Many wars, incorrectly called “holy wars,” have made the blood of innocents to be shed, mourning in families and spreading pain and mourning. The religious motivation that encourages them is, however, a mask for their real motive: the attainment of power. The true priest must strive for the union of men, regardless of their religious creed. Olodumare is one, and all men are his/her children, and consequently brothers to one another. Likewise, priests of the same religion must act within an ethic that prevents them from speaking ill of each other, using reprehensible means to attract the followers of their colleagues. # 16- Wọ́n ní kí wọn má sàn-án ìbàntẹ́ awo

They warned them not to disrespect, or ever go to bed with the wife of a Babalawo. The authorities must be respected (All those who hold religious offices are important and worthy of respect).Meaning of the 16th Commandment: Priests, regardless of functions and hierarchy, MUST MUTUALLY RESPECT ONE ANOTHER.Interpretation: A single word can synthesize the 16th Ifa commandment: “Ethics”.Message: The lack of ethics among the priests of our religion has greatly contributed to their weakening and lack of public credibility. The priest with an ethical attitude never opens his mouth to point out mistakes and defects in his brothers. If he finds them, he tries to correct them subtly and, if possible, unnoticed in the eyes of others, without bragging what he considers wrong. Many people try to cover up their own mistakes and hide their own incompetence, blatantly pointing out the error and incompetence of others. This is an attitude which has only hindered and prevented further development of our religion. It can be heard every night, on radio programs produced and presented by priests and priestesses of the cult of Orisás, true absurdities practiced in the name of our religion. People who engage in this type of disclosure should reflect a little more about their performance, often exaggerated and motivated by personal problems, and the harm it produces, not only to the targets of their criticism, but in the religion of the Orisás as a whole that, at every denunciation made by the air, falls into disrepute and public execration. Every publicly reported denunciation represents a new weapon for the arsenal of detractors of our religion.

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