#mordeth

[iliiuan]

These clowns (Mat, Rand, and Perrin) knew they shouldn't go running off alone (in Aridhol) and they did it anyway. That shit's not on Moiraine.

It's an abandoned city. Like. Not a living soul. Creepy asf.

There aren't even animals.

The city isn't consumed by vegetation.

How are these not big enough hints?

The place's new name is Shadar Logoth. Moiraine told them that. They just ignored what it could imply.

But wait! There's more!

They sneak out without telling anyone. Because if they tell someone, they won't be allowed to go adventuring.

They *knew* they had no business leaving the group. And they chose to make excuses about why it would be ok to completely ignore common fucking sense to go roaming around an abandoned city on their own. They work very hard to rationalize why it would be safe, which means that they know instinctively it is not safe.

If anything, Thom Merrilin dropped the ball by leaving them unsupervised once he finished with his horse duties. Which, seriously, 18 year olds need supervision? (Yes, sadly, they do.)

Bonus:

They follow some guy named More Death. Because that's not a giant red flag. Woolheads is accurate.

However, and this is pretty stinking important: The shenanigans in Aridhol are vital to the eventual cleansing of saidin. If they hadn't gone exploring, if they hadn't followed Mordeth, if Mat hadn't taken the dagger, if Fain hadn't slashed Rand on another of his foolish outings....Rand would not have felt the two evils fighting, he wouldn't have identified Aridhol as a tool for removing the taint, and who knows when or how saidin would have been cleansed. So really, everything played out how it needed to. (They're still woolheads, but their wooldheadedness serves a purpose, so <shrug>.)

[morkorney]

[wot-tidbits]

The Great Hunt 03 from Dynamite Comics.

illustrated by MARCIO ABREU

[iviarellereads]

The Eye of the World, Chapter 19 - Shadow's Waiting

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Wheel of Time, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(Ravens icon) In which we find not-quite-Weathertop.

This city is broken and overgrown, weeds and vines and cracked stone and pavement. Not so much as a bird seems to move within the walls. The buildings are so magnificent that Rand marvels, despite the state of decay. He thinks to himself that the adults must have been laughing at them all, calling Baerlon a city.

They find a building that looks reasonably stable, and Lan commands them to bring the horses inside, too. By the time the lads have the horses' reins in hand and enter, Nynaeve is kneeling next to Moiraine, digging in her herbs. Lan has clearly said something, because Nynaeve says she doesn't like Moiraine, but she helps who needs help regardless of her feelings, and both Moiraine and Lan are in need of her help right now. Moiraine touches Lan's arm and says Nynaeve just doesn't know. Know what, Nynaeve demands. For one, that all Moiraine needs is a little rest, and for two, that Nynaeve really will be helpful to them.(1)

As they get down to the business of herb lore, Rand goes on to another room, noting that not even birds or small animals have left any trace in the building. Mat is distracted from caring for the horses, he doesn't like that a dead man's war cry took over his words. Thom tells him he's heard of the old blood coming through, and to be glad to know he has an old family. Some people don't know more than that they had a father. Rand thinks wryly that some can't even be sure of that.(2)

Thom leaves them to go have a smoke on his pipe out front, and Mat suggests they go explore, getting out through the alley in the back of this room that Lan and Moiraine won't see. Perrin and Rand hesitate only a moment, then agree it sounds interesting.

The buildings are massive. Some are big enough to hold the whole of Emond's Field in one space. Nothing tangible remains, though: wall hangings and chairs crumble to dust when touched. Finally, the boys think of going back to their campsite building, and Mat says he just wants to climb one more building, when a voice behind them says the buildings aren't safe.

Startled, they ask who this is. He names himself Mordeth,(3) a treasure hunter. Mat asks if he's found any yet, and he has. He could use help moving some of what he's found to his horses, they can take a share if they'll carry some. Mat leaps at the chance, Rand and Perrin follow reluctantly. After a long, dark staircase, they come to an area lit with torches, and Rand decides something about Mordeth looks strange, not just his clothes, which are totally unfamiliar.

Rand notes that it's close to dark, they can't hope to carry a fraction of this out. Perrin says they can come back tomorrow, Lan and Moiraine will surely understand when they see. Mordeth's mood shifts, and he asks if they're not alone? Who else is with them? Mat lists their names, and says they're all headed for Tar Valon.

At this Mordeth rages. They LIED to him, said they were going to Caemlyn. Perrin restates that they can come back tomorrow. Mordeth calms a bit at this.

“No. That is. . . .” Panting, Mordeth shook his head as if he could not decide. “Take what you want. Except. . . . Except. . . .” Suddenly Rand realized what had been nagging at him about the man. The scattered torches in the hallway had given each of them a ring of shadows, just as the torches in the treasure room did. Only. . . . He was so shocked he said it out loud. “You don’t have a shadow.” A goblet fell from Mat’s hand with a crash. Mordeth nodded, and for the first time his fleshy eyelids opened all the way. His sleek face suddenly appeared pinched and hungry. “So.” He stood straighter, seeming taller. “It is decided.” Abruptly there was no seeming to it. Like a balloon Mordeth swelled, distorted, head pressed against the ceiling, shoulders butting the walls, filling the end of the room, cutting off escape. Hollow-cheeked, teeth bared in a rictus snarl, he reached out with hands big enough to engulf a man’s head.

Rand jumps back, but his feet get tangled in a gold chain, and his sword is tangled up in a section his cloak. When he gets his bearing again, Perrin is wielding his axe, and Mat's taken a dagger from the hoard. Mordeth yells that they're all dead, repeatedly, then suddenly turns to smoke and escapes through a crack in the wall.(4)

Perrin yells that the treasure is Mordeth's, they're not taking any. Mat protests, but Rand and Perrin grab him by the arms, and drag him back out of the building.(5) The sun is nearly down past the horizon, and Mat says at least they're out, and at least he- but Rand interrupts and asks, are they?

They can all feel eyes watching them from every building, every window, though they can't see them. They make their way as quickly as they can back to the campsite. Nynaeve is about to give them a piece of her mind, when Moiraine notes that something happened or they wouldn't be in such a panic.

They all start telling her what happened at once, all starting in different places and telling it in a different order. When Rand mentions Mordeth, Moiraine gets intense, asking if that's the name they heard, did he touch them, did he give them anything, did they do anything for him? No, they assure her. And what happened to the city being safe? What were they supposed to think?

“Apparently you did not think at all,” she said, coolly composed once more. “Anyone who thinks would be wary of a place that Trollocs are afraid to enter.” “Mat’s doing,” Nynaeve said, certainty in her voice. “He’s always talking some mischief or other, and the others lose the little wits they were born with when they’re around him.” Moiraine nodded briefly, but her eyes remained on Rand and his two friends. “Late in the Trolloc Wars, an army camped within these ruins—Trollocs, Darkfriends, Myrddraal, Dreadlords, thousands in all. When they did not come out, scouts were sent inside the walls. The scouts found weapons, bits of armor, and blood splattered everywhere. And messages scratched on walls in the Trolloc tongue, calling on the Dark One to aid them in their last hour. Men who came later found no trace of the blood or the messages. They had been scoured away. Halfmen and Trollocs remember still. That is what keeps them outside this place.”(6)

Moiraine tells them the story of how, during the Trolloc Wars, a man called Mordeth had come to Aridhol, he gained the king's ear, and the city started to change, to corrupt. Eventually, the king ordered his own son's death, but the son escaped, and a chain of events brought an army back to avenge the insult, only they found no living thing inside the walls.

No enemy had destroyed Aridhol, only its own suspicion and hate that had grown so much as to consume the city itself. That hatred still waits in the shadows, and Mordeth alone was not consumed, left trapped in the city. He can give gifts that will taint and twist their takers, and if he can convince someone to come to the wall with him, he can consume their soul, take over their body, and finally go to another city to repeat what he did to Aridhol.(7)

Nynaeve remarks that it's been a while since Lan went to find the boys, and Moiraine says he'll be fine. He's been pledged to fight darkness since he was in the cradle, training with a sword since he was an infant. In the middle of the night, Lan returns, dropping three Trolloc insignia in the room. They're inside the walls. The Myrddraal has forced them to enter the city, and what could have forced the Myrddraal to do that?

Moiraine says they'll have to go back to her original plan, now that she's rested. They'll go to the river, she'll ward an area while the rest build a raft quickly, and they'll cross, or perhaps find a boat already sailing down to where they're going. None of the Darkspawn will tolerate water if it can be avoided, and this is the last path left to them regardless.

=====

(1) You know, it's nice that herbal medicine isn't looked down on in this world. Magical healing is obviously available but rare, reserved for only those in communities with Aes Sedai in residence who can offer it. So often, when you have magic in a world, any other solution is frowned upon as being unsophisticated and too hard and ineffective. But, RJ's magic has limits, and his world is sort of sparse and isolated, so of course people have home remedies for things, and someone like a Wisdom is best equipped to handle village healing. (2) A tongue in cheek reference to Jesus imagery. If he's not Tam's son, then whose? Is he an Anakin, conceived of the living force alone? (The prequel trilogy wasn't out when this was written, it's just funnier to use that comparison point than to repeat Jesus stuff again.) (3) Ah yes, More Death, surely a trustworthy name for a trustworthy man. (4) Why do you think he escaped instead of killing them himself? (5) What they did not do is make sure he dropped that dagger before they left. (6) It's hard to say whether the scouts that found these remains were human or from another segment of the DO's armies. "Scouts were sent" Mo stop passive voicing us and clarify how both the Light and the Dark came to know this enough that both mistrust the city now.

(7) The story of Aridhol becoming Shadar Logoth is pretty intense, and reminiscent of the way Rohan/Edoras and Gondor/Minas Tirith were headed in LotR, only more. You could see this being the direction Isildur took his people if he'd kept the Ring, you know? But, I said in my preface to the series that there's more than one kind of evil, and this is one of the unrelated-to-the-literal-Devil ones. Mordeth wasn't fueled by the Dark One. In fact, he came to Aridhol believing that only greater cold-heartedness and cruelty could defeat the Shadow's forces once and for all. When he gained the ear of the king, the city began to turn inward, to consider even its former allies as corrupt and untrustworthy. Only Aridhol was pure and stood against the Shadow. tl;dr this is the city that hubris destroyed, and corrupted, and that now all fear to enter. That's why it feeds on Trollocs and Myrddraal above all else. Because it wasn't the actual evil force on the world that corrupted Aridhol. It was men. Even with a direct force of evil in the plot, an actual devil whose influence can be felt, with minions who do his bidding… not everything evil is because of it. Some evil is entirely mundane. And I fucking LOVE that about this series. And, I love that RJ made no secret of how good intentions can corrupt. This is not some world with easily defined lines between good and evil, but it's also not grimdark about it. It's dark and scary, but it's never hopeless or edgy about it.

[momowoah]

Reading the Shadar Logoth chapter at 3am was NOT a good idea why is this lowkey terrifying lmao

[markantonys]

there was a great interview with sharon gilham (costume designer) where she gave an intriguing tease about a new character in s3! (this bit starts around the 45-minute mark)

they are "something else"

"not like anything from season 2 or anything you've seen before"

they required a major collaboration between the costume & makeup departments

she paraphrased rafe as describing them as "a really really important, really highly complex character who's coming for one scene only in episode 7 or 8" [that was more that she couldn't remember the episode number, not that rafe wasn't sure at the time what episode they would be in; she did specify that it was at the end of the season because she was saying they were almost out of budget and had this dropped on them lmao so the episode in question does definitely seem to be 7 or 8]

i don't know what to think! lots of people are speculating the finn which fits the first few points, but i'm skeptical because i wouldn't qualify them as "really important, highly complex" characters (and it did definitely sound like one specific character, not a group of characters, though we could have mat meet just one finn). same goes for other creature-y characters like shaidar haran - not that important or complex of a character, unless they plan to bulk him up a lot compared to the books, which is possible. it's also possible sharon/rafe meant visually complex rather than complex characterization-wise, but even with that, i personally wouldn't consider the finn or shaidar haran to be as important as she made it sound like this character is. maybe the gholam could fit the parameters of important & (visually) complex?

i'm also skeptical of mordeth because mashadar was just its own thing not tied to a person in s1 and i kinda doubt they'd introduce him now, but maybe some kind of mordeth-inspired padan fain powerup is possible? or a slayer TAR powerup where he becomes freaky-looking? but the phrasing implies to me that this is a new character who isn't in any other scene in s3, rather than an existing character who gets a powerup to look different.

tuon is a possibility, but would her aesthetic really be THAT different from the high blood we saw in s2? i don't know, maybe it would! another seanchan possibility is the empress herself; it would be so sick if tuon was in multiple scenes in the tanchico plotline and we get to know her not realizing who she is, and then at the very end of the season she goes home and we find out she's the daughter of the seanchan empress. the literal empress would be a good candidate for looking like nothing we'd ever seen before because she'd surely have to be the most over-the-top person in the world. and Mama Tuon could maybe fit the bill of a "really important" character if they bring some of tuon's backstory onscreen and give her a storyline within the court of the nine moons in s4 before heading back to the westlands in s5, thus giving her mom a significant role and making a lot more out of the mommy issues that were hinted at in the books, but even in that scenario it feels like a stretch to consider Mama Tuon THAT important (but again, we just can't know how they might decide to bulk up characters; no one would've ever considered liandrin important based on the books!)

the only other possibility i'm thinking of is a new forsaken, with my strongest guesses being sammael or graendal (since they were both namedropped in s3, and there's also an alleged sammael audition script), and a smaller guess of asmodean (i'd assume we would see him in more than one scene in s3). but here we also run into the question of, how different would they be from the forsaken we've already seen? plus, would they require a "major" collaboration with the makeup department? sammael maaaaybe, depending on how they do his scar.

any standard westland character (aes sedai, political leader or noble, aiel, etc) i wouldn't think would have particularly wild aesthetics, so i'm discounting all those (like cadsuane), but you never know.

i'm sure there's about a hundred other possibilities i'm not thinking of right now! what do you guys think?

[asha-mage]

Would love to hear five fun facts about an AU where one of the other Two Rivers boys is the Dragon Reborn - Mat or Perrin, the choice is yours.

[Send me a potential AU and I'll answer with five things from that story!]

Going with Mat here-

Since I have such a hard time separating the idea of Rand from the idea of the Dragon, as both mythological figure and for LTT reasons, I'd probably approach this from the angle that Mat is the 'champion of the light' in this specific turning, i.e still the Gambler/Son of Battles archetype, but whose past life resulted in the Breaking of the World, and who must now redeem himself through defeating the Dark One in the present era, and re-sealing the Bore. I would keep the trickster fox symbolism, but mix in heavy elements of Loki (in particular the bits surrounding the death of Balder, and the murder of his sons Nari and Vali as punishment/use to bind him). I would also replaced Callandor (which is an OG exaclibur refrence) with Lævateinn, one of Loki's mythological weapons, an draw heavy parallels with both Gungir and the arrow crafted to slay Balder of mistletoe.

Mat struggles a lot more then Rand with certain aspects of being the savior, less so with others. He's far, far more resistant to accepting his fate especially in the begging, and the story would need to force him into a position where he had the illusion of choice. Rand could be compelled by duty and compassion to accept he is The Dragon- Mat would defiantly refuse just to spite fate.

I would keep the idea that Mat was born outside the Two Rivers, but not make him Aiel born. Instead I'd probably make him Seanchan born- instead of the Aiel War twenty years ago, it was the First Seanchan invasion, with them being beaten back at the Bloodsnows instead, in a decisive (but costly) Westlands victory. Instead of Maiden of the Spear, Mat's biological mother would have been a Deathwatch Guard, likely someone also originally from the Westlands, with a parallel story to Shaiel'sl. His father would have been an Imperial Prince (an adoptive brother of Radhanan's/potential threat to her power) placed in charge of the invasion as a suicide mission/punishment for disgrace.

Conversely it is the Seanchan that Mat has to bind to aid him rather then the Aiel- something he struggles with a lot more then Rand did with the Aiel, though he also feels a lot less guilty about upending their culture and social order then Rand did. This also means he spends TSR/TFOH journeying to, then having to directly confront the Court of the Nine Moons et all, where has to reveal the secret lies of which the Empire predicates it's strength. This leaves Tuon in Couladin's approximate role: the rallying point of Imperial opposition, attempting to pry loose Mat's grip on power.

Because I am, in my heart of hearts a filthy Cauthor shipper- I would have Rand remain at Mat's side as confidant and guardian through to the bitter end. In my head he ends up taking up the dagger in order to protect Mat from Mordeth, and almost consumed by it in a similar way before breaking free/being healed. Though I wouldn't have him Aiel born, I probably would give him an parallel Aiel Training Arc to both help get over Dagger Withdrawal Syndrome and find his niche (assuming he can't channel in this turning).

[hedgiwithapen]

Failed escape and/or “I’ll be right behind you” for Cisco and your character/s of choice

Cisco gripped the fabric of reality in both hands and tore it, the breach blooming where the strands trailed off into nothing.  It fought him, wanting to be whole. He kept his hold. 

"Go," he called, unable to hear his own voice over the humming in his ears, in his bones. He could feel the sound of it anyways. Earth 19 was falling apart, torn by Mordeth's machines, and this wasn't going to help it any. But it could do something, and that was what they always had to do. Something. Anything. 

Barry ran through the breach, again. Again. Again. Each trip saved another person, faster than they could have saved themselves. Each trip made the portal writhe in his hands, tearing at them. He had to hold it longer, as the panicking escapees swarmed. 

Caitlin, blood dripping down the side of her head, froze at the portal mouth. "Cisco--" she started. He shook his head.

"I can't go through. It'll close and I won't be able to get it open again. Keep getting people through, there's no time. Go."

She looked at him, ice-hard. 

"You're supposed to say you'll be right behind me," she said, sliding to the side so a young girl could limp through, so Barry's lightning could pass between them. 

Cisco's hands bled. He squeezed the universe just a little tighter, a skein of yarn with nearly all the middle played out.  

"Caitlin. Cait. Go. It's ok," Cisco said. "Do you know how many times I offered the universe my life to save you? to save the people I cared about, to save anyone? With Snart, with Gorilla City, with Kadabra, with Savitar, with the Pipeline? Every time it refuses."

The lightning slowed, Barry wavering at the edge of the portal. Cisco could see the man he'd helped through, a suit of red and metallic gray and a tattered black cloak. Relief filled Cisco's core, not enough to reach up to his skin but enough to sustain him. 

"Every time, I've had to watch people I care about die. So go. I can save you both, this time. Let me."

Blood dripped from his shredded palms, the breach gleaming red now, pulsing like a dying star. Cisco tore it wider, and the world with it.

[orbit-of-eternity]

The creature formerly known as Mordeth and the person formerly called Padan Fain is really giving Prince a run for his money.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapters 49: What Was Meant to Be & 50: After

If this is your first time seeing one of my posts, you might assume that it's safe to read this post if you've finished the first couple of books of The Wheel of Time. This is a very foolish assumption. My reread is for the whole damn series, so don't keep going unless you like spoilers for everything!

Both of these chapters have the Wheel icon as we're closing out the story.

His memory came in flashes and patches. Old things he could remember, but the last few days seemed like bits of broken mirror, spinning through his mind, showing glimpses that were gone before he could see them clearly.

And this explains why Rand doesn't retain all of his character development going forward: he forgets it all. Dammit Rand.

“Nynaeve? Elayne? How? You were all in Falme?”

Note that these questions go unanswered. Rand presumably gets filled in offscreen in between this book and the next, but we're starting our trend of him being kept out of the loop by the others.

“They are gone,” she said. “Saying ‘no’ won’t change it.”

Min is really not demonstrating herself as a fated love interest to Rand here. She doesn't understand what he's talking about, she's frustrated he's upset he didn't get to see Egwene, and she's only bringing a little emotional support here. The best she's got is trying to buffer him and Moiraine and obviously that's not gonna work. I'm not saying these are bad choices; they barely know each other, why should they act like perfect soulmates? But it's a shocking transition after Min's certainty and Lanfear's gloating.

“I wish you weren’t here,” he told the Aes Sedai. “As far as I am concerned, you can go back to wherever you’ve been hiding and stay there.”

Yeah, Moiraine pulling a Gandalf doesn't really work with her because she's not anywhere near established enough of a figure in this world. I don't blame Rand at all for calling her out, and frankly I'm not impressed with whatever it was she was doing offscreen, which has amounted to nothing practical.

What resulted was neither Padan Fain nor Mordeth, but something far more evil, a blend of the two. Fain—let us call him that—is more dangerous than you can believe.

Indeed, he's especially dangerous because the two forces should annihilate on contact but apparently preserve themselves through his flesh, which seems like a particularly unstable arrangement.

“Your battle took place across the sky, in full view of every soul in Falme. Perhaps in other towns on Toman Head, too, if half what I hear is to be believed.”

An inexplicable miracle. I still don't think there's any real guess as to what might have caused it. I guess the Wheel was just desperate to make things work.

He remembered being called Lews Therin; not only by Ba’alzamon, but by Artur Hawkwing. “I won’t. Light, the Dragon is supposed to Break the World again, to tear everything apart. I will not be the Dragon.”

Two books in and Rand is still trying to refuse the call. But can you really blame him, considering what the Dragon stands for in popular iconography? Any man who'd want to be the Dragon Reborn would be a horrible choice.

When all seven are broken, perhaps even before, the patch men put over the hole they drilled into the prison the Creator made will be torn asunder, and the Dark One will once more be able to put his hand through that hole and touch the world.

Indeed the Dark One's touch is only going to get more extreme, especially once the fourth seal is broken. Let's keep our eyes open next book for any other signs of their weakening besides the rest of the Forsaken being freed no later than this point.

But it did not change the way he felt about Tam, and Emond’s Field was the only home he had ever known. Fain is the important thing. I have one duty left. Stopping him.

Which is why Rand will flee cross country past the Two Rivers and straight to Tear. I don't think it's a disconnect in the story though; we'll see why he becomes more focused on the latter mission later.

“Why would I not stay?” Loial said. “You are even more ta’veren than I believed, true, but you are still my friend. I hope you are still my friend.”

Loial is one hell of a friend. Plenty of people could have run off at this point and I wouldn't blame them.

“It is said,” the one-eyed man said carefully, “that when the Dragon is Reborn, he will break all oaths, shatter all ties. Nothing holds us, now. We would give our oaths to you.”

Note that Rand doesn't demand they break their oaths but rather they interpret his presence as being reason enough to supersede them.

Masema, who hated him. Masema, who looked at him as if seeing a vision of the Light.

Even now Masema is clearly too turbulent to be a good ally.

They were all watching him, all waiting. Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain. He made his decision.

Fake cliffhanger! You know there's really no chance of things going the one way.

—from Charal Drianaan te Calamon, The Cycle of the Dragon, Author unknown, the Fourth Age

Spoilers, geez! Though technically you could argue that perhaps this is from the last fourth age. It's not actually specific enough to be any Fourth Age for certain. Note as well further evidence of translation convention in effect: Calamon is clearly the word for "Dragon" and an obvious corruption of Telamon.

In any event, that's book two! I'm going to be taking another break; supposed to be getting a new laptop soon and think I'm going to start using it as my reading machine because I'm just getting annoyed doing it on a tablet. Until next time folks.

[luckhissoul]

he had been watching her for about six months now. his first assignment outside of the motherhouse. he had spent a good deal of time doing a lot of boring paper work. copying texts here and there, catching stories of witches, of vampires, of ghosts, and immortals that didn't need blood to live, psychics, and men like him that had been touched by a darkness that had gone soul deep. he doesn't like thinking of it. they told him that it was gone but sometimes he still felt that icy chill of mordeth clinging to his soul. it was a powerful spirit that had come from - well, no one knew it's origins. only that it had been attached to something that he had found. buried out someplace, something that had once been precious to him. they said that it was invaluable, that it could not be priced, but it should not be touched. he had touched it, he had lived with it, he had allowed it to take root. and eventually they had broken it from him, after he had been there with them for years. there was a lot that he couldn’t remember still. but sometimes he still heard the whisper of mordeth in the back of his mind, they want you dead, they're tricking you. he was glad to be out of the motherhouse. it was far too safe.

they told him to watch. not to approach her, not to even say as much as a hello to her. they had given him this job with something of uncertainty though. the beautiful mona mayfair was a sight to watch, a lot better than even all the sites that brought tourists. she was bloody gorgeous, and every phone call he got from his superiors told him to not get his foot caught in the net. they all knew the dangers of the mayfair family. they said names like petyr van able. and he felt a deep chill. they're holding you back. they're after you. but what did he hear when he saw her? nothing. it was dead silent. like there was no mordeth in his head. as if the bloody thing was scared of her. or like maybe he had imagined the whole thing after all. it was easy to follow her little tour, wasn't it? her and two other mayfairs were just traveling or they said. but mona stopped at the oddest places where she was alone, asking questions about her child. he knew that it was something like that. he didn't know the whole story. mona mayfair had been a mystery to the talamasca and they were eager to change that. so, he watched, he followed, and then finally he had met her. when she was alone again, she seemed a little jumpy when she was on her own. like it was something that she shouldn't be doing.

he didn't tell her that he was from the talamasca, not yet at least. he wondered if she could get it from his mind. they were still unsure of her powers. and he was curious about her. sometimes at night he found himself thinking of her. when he closed his eyes he saw all that red hair, that full sweet mouth. shining green eyes, any man would have been shot right through. she existed in two places. in that fancy hotel room and in the back of his mind, running through his dreams wild and soft. something he wanted to put his arms around and discover, an untouched land, a distant treasure so far from his rooms at this little inn.

he had told her to meet him. alone. he didn't like the way one of them hovered. her fiancé, she had said it without much passion. and he figured that it shouldn't matter so much. it didn't matter at all. they wanted a file on mona mayfair. was she in fact the most powerful mayfair witch? the little inn's common area is dimly lit. she looks great in that lighting, doesn't she? beautiful. but she was beautiful in the bright paris lights and in the italian sun, she was beautiful. this cold little hub in berlin didn't change anything about how she looked. he stands up to meet her, smiling. now it was time for the truth. now it was time for him to figure out what step was the best one. he had looked into who she was trying to find. and he think he's hits notes on what she was looking for. he was good at that, finding things out. he had good string of luck, didn't he?

"i didn't think you'd come." he says moving to get her chair for her. "i'm glad you did -- i think we can help each other." - @xradiant

[jaqobis]

the off the charts foreshadowing!! early mentions of the great hunt for the horn, the stone of tear, and the karaethon cycle

on my first read i thought the reveal that rand was the dragon was jarring, though that was imo clearly by design, but on a reread i can really appreciate how subtly talk of the dragon reborn and false dragons are seeded into the narrative. it's an omnipresent thing, just not directly pointed at our ta'veren...but also something that can be put together, since they're being chased for Some Reason

country kids vs the not-so-big cities remains so endearing lmao

i really do like the conceit that rand is the dragon but also he's not quite solidified in the pattern as the dragon until he comes into the role and accepts it and starts fulfilling prophecies

SEANCHAN FORESHADOWING????

He did not feel as afraid at saying it as he would have earlier. He did not feel much of anything.

instance #1 of rand dissociating! maybe. winternight read more like shock than dissociation imo

first mat and noose sighting!

the way mordeth jumpscared me as bad as the boys bc i'd forgotten about him

my buddy domon!!!!!!

rand being gelb's villain origin story is always hysterical...and god i LOVE the Weird Coincidences around rand as the hints that he's a channeler begin

NYNAEVE POV!!! i forgot we get it so early!

[jackhkeynes]

Rearguard

excerpt in translation from the historical trevold Rearguard, set during the eleventh-century mordether [crusade] conquests in the Masreck [Levant].

Dec orruð i carra noc un respos contr sy convoc a pan rompr accougl, e dec i sera attent reunt ag garnçon toð cas, Omar quauc vars y donjon. Since it seems his invitation to eat together will not be accepted, and since he is expected back at the garrison anyway, Omar hurries to the tower.

Ac son y soldart nuvr ðorant, sur lorrell'assignment aglon de ny masquet cosogr y païsan, deut ag besogn ig il noun se situar lontan demay dy gran port condon y toxen incoïbr sorc por avartr ig y preu rostr Roman son detectað. The soldiers have been praying here, at their posts rather than in the mosque with the people, because they cannot be caught too far from the gates when the inevitable alarm goes up that the first Roman vanguards have been spotted.

Lonc y commant dy gournour, band aun toð y poið enverimmað ben coyençað, eç arbr tos, eð y feu tars de tout calscon benoçabr com vitagl e vegr. By order of the governor, men have poisoned or blocked all the wells, cut down trees, and scourged the land of anything that could be used for provisions and fodder.

Y barbarin son dolent sou y caldour bruslant, pu il son avançant nentamen. The barbarians are suffering in the scorching heat, but they advance nonetheless.

[highladyluck]

Season 2, Episode 1 Liveblog

Teasers:

Awww Perrin is a good boy. Perhaps… the goodest boy? 🐺

Liandrin showing us the femdom bones RJ built this city on

My boy is gaining so much foundational trauma

S2 Opening Moiraine is so sad. Has to get her own water, has to do her own washing, has to heat the water the mundane way, and no party tub with Lan. Buck up, Moiraine, it could be worse.

I love Bayle Domon he looks piraty as fuck

Moiraine licking her wounds & studying up & getting informants is a similar situation to the opening of book 2, I think? Or maybe book 3. Combo of Moiraine’s Balefire Research Project and the camp in the mountains.

I stg there is more foreshadowing in the show for Egwene’s later development than there is in the books (I approve)

LMAO that’s peak Nyneave behavior

Awww Perrin is a good boy. Perhaps… the goodest boy? 🐺

Oh that is FUCKED UP, I didn’t realize that kid was Tuatha’an!!! Ishy’s conference center (with free babysitting on request and en-suite petting zoo) somehow got even more unsettling.

It’s Ingtar! Ingtar asks you not to speak ill of the dead, as he is a polite and well-brought-up man.

My buddy Bayle Domon is a delight and I am happy to see the Dark Prophecy show up! Also Moiraine giving him 20% of the price he wanted in ‘get the fuck away from Myrdraal’ money is very nice of her, and in the long-term he will be happy she sped him on his way. In the short term…¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Awwww Nyneave came for her friends/charges

Lmao Alanna giving relationship advice (also wait was there a scene earlier where Alanna wasn’t eating?)

Liandrin showing us the femdom bones RJ built this city on

Perrin, I would not recommend biting Padan Fain, he is probably poisonous by now

Moiraine you are so used to keeping secrets :(

Perrin’s letter!!! T_T

Oh MY BOY

AHH YOU LYING LITTLE…!!! (Also… liar liar Aes Sedai oaths on fire)

My boy is gaining so much foundational trauma T_T he’s going to be so fucked up after this, oooof

The Bel Tine ritual is very ‘lights filling up the darkness, like fireflies… the lights are stronger when you are together’

I am so concerned about my boy… what are you chiseling that brick out of the wall for??? You are not Mordeth, you cannot squeeze out of it!

Awwww hi Rand!

Verin got merged with Vandene, that kinda makes sense.

Still not sure if Moiraine was shielded by saidin or severed.

Damn girl you gonna get close enough to use that knife? …Wow ok you are, damn.

Super Lan!

I knew it would be Verin here to save the day 😏

[doom-nerdo-666]

Doom mods that are either dead, cancelled, unfinished or lost in time

(A pic taken from Doom X's Moddb page, this enemy is based off RTCW's Loper)

This list could be better/updated/fixed.

Is there a mod that eventually became discontinued, that you wished it came back or at least had its current build became available to the public?

Tried to think of mods that i heard were left unfinished or vanished, even if finished.

What came to my mind and some poor research was:

Fractal Doom, which ICARUSLIV3S made a video out of, but i heard its download link is gone.

Some of Reelism's addons.

Demon Eclipse.

Unloved 2.

The Killing Time remake.

A Plutonia remake by Death-Destiny.

Hexen Souls.

Samsara's inclusion of Prisoner 849 in the base mod.

Doom Kart (SRB2 Kart may or may not fill its niche).

Mordeth but that seems to be missing later levels for years.

Project MSX, kind of.

Ground Branch.

Alando Guns.

Doom RPG (Not the mobile games, this is something else).

HRTXC.

Foreverhood.

Forsaken Planet from HDoomguy.

Shut Up and Bleed 2.

Super Doom 64 and Ultimate Doom 64 (Not sure if they're the same).

Quake: Nexus Aftermath.

Null: Face to Face and like 4 different projects Kinsie onced shared on ZDoom forums.

I think Terminus' Project Booty was left unfinished and Demonsteele might somewhat count, since it doesn't work on later GZDoom versions.

Doom X

Most of the stuff here https://zdoom.org/wiki/Category:WADs_In_Progress

I think there were stories about a Zelda Doom project.

HDoomguy was making a spriteset of a Cyberdemon with a chaingun arm and like a "Terminator" skeleton or something.

There's probably some more i think could be added to the list or even some here that could be taken off, if they're easily available and completed.

Some of this stuff may have some role in Doom modding history too.

[zahri-melitor]

Nothing like coming across a character who you weren't familiar with, is sporting a racist name, and you blink as you realise he died in 1992, but for some reason not only did someone dig him up for a holiday special in 2009, but he not only got the obligatory 'back of a panel revival' moment during the new 52 instead of being left in the past, he's featured in an entire Suicide Squad mini in 2021???!!!???

Michael Maxwell, B'wana Beast.

And yes, I know I'm a mild hypocrite here, as I AM a Cynthia Reynolds/Cynnthia Mordeth (Gypsy) fan, but the sooner they can get a new hero name for Cindy so she can be used again regularly I'll be a happy camper.