#primeval titan

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Primeval Titan

His silent stare was punctured only by his deafening roar.

Artist: Chris Rahn TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[magicjudge]

You mentioned in a previous post that Primeval Titan is banned in EDH for being a format warping card. In what way is Dockside Extortionist not format warping in the same way as Primeval Titan? I've seen some reasoning before saying it is only particularly powerful at higher levels of play or that people can just self regulate away from it in their playgroups, but that same reasoning works for cards like Sylvan Primordial and Primeval Titan as well.

I'll start with what the RC said about Dockside in their January 2023 Quarterly Update:

We’ve publicly had our eye on Dockside Extortionist for a while now, and have ultimately concluded that, unless there’s a sudden surge into more casual spaces – where it hasn’t really thrived due to the lower density of cheap, fast mana – we don’t anticipate taking action on it. It’s a ridiculously powerful card, but scales with the rest of the table, and at the point it becomes broken, plenty of other broken stuff is already happening.

The key point here is the scaling power level. There isn't a preponderance of 0-2 MV artifacts or enchantments in the early game at lower-power tables, whereas there absolutely is at the hyper-tuned/cEDH power level. This means that Dockside's power is more limited most of the time and as such the nature of the metagame at various power levels lets its power scale correctly.

Cards like Primeval Titan and Sylvan Primordial weren't banned because of their power level. They were banned because of how they warped games, with the game becoming all about controlling, copying, or removing them. This isn't the case with Dockside since it's a less appealing copy target when it's only going to make you four or five treasures on turn 4.

Another important point to consider here is what a format with these cards unbanned would look like. It's not enough if they simply wouldn't be problematic to the level they were before. That doesn't add anything to the format beyond the banlist being a card or two shorter. In order for a card to be worth unbanning, it needs to actually bring something positive or unique to the format. There are already plenty of cards that search up any land, for example, so Primeval Titan is unlikely to create any exciting new combos or deck archetypes were it to be unbanned.

[anneapocalypse]

Replaying Dragon Age II: Legacy right now, and a few things are jumping out at me.

First, the note you find about how the Deep Roads were shaped by the early Wardens as well as by the dwarves, and second, that you find more Profane (what appear to be rock wraiths) inside the Warden prison.

I've thought for some time now that the primeval thaig is probably a corrupted titan and that whole "feasting upon the gods" bit in the deeply haunting "Profane" codex entry was about dwarves trapped within a dying titan consuming red lyrium in an attempt to survive, and that this maybe gave rise to the red Profane we see there.

And I mean the Profane could have just wandered into the Warden prison and become trapped there like the darkspawn, but since they're a fairly unique enemy we don't see very often even in the Deep Roads, it's fun to speculate, right. 😉

The Grey Wardens guard their secrets closely, even from their own ranks. I wonder if some very high-ranking Wardens have known about the titans all long--their corruption, the Profane, maybe even red lyrium. Who knows!

If indeed we get to go to Weisshaupt in DA:D, maybe we'll get to uncover some long-hidden Warden secrets.

[wizard-mp4]

Can we unban recurring nightmare or is it too soon

[smilelikeawolf]

As I was combing through all things Dragon Age like an excitable gremlin, something caught my eye. Among the stuff Bioware is offering for purchase, they have Rook's Coffer, which includes a replica of Solas' ritual lyrium dagger.

We can also see it briefly in the trailer, specifically on Rook's belt and stabbed into one of the Evanuris.

And it struck me that we have seen something kinda similar in DA2.

The lyrium idol.

An idol that was shown again back in the Dreadwolf teaser trailer.

The shape could be a coincidence. The dagger was said to be forged by the dwarves in the Primeval Thaig Hawke and Varric discovered. But the figures don't appear dwarvish, and the headpiece the central figure wears is similar to Flemeth's/Mythal's and Andraste's.

Was the idol meant to be a base for a lyrium dagger or sword? Mythal is the one said to have struck down the titans, maybe this was to be a weapon to fight against her. I wondered if this was part of the weapon the Evanuris used to kill Mythal, but that doesn't explain why the dwarves made it or how it got back down into the thaig. It's possible it could be a key of some kind, which then begs the question if Solas' dagger can also function as a key. It was used in the ritual to bring down the veil. That could offer one explanation as to where House Valdasine vanished to.

The idol was teased for a reason, so I expect the game to pull it into play somehow.

In conclusion:

[violetmoondaughter]

Wheel of Hecate

The Hecate’s Wheel is an ancient symbol connected with the cult of the goddess Hecate whose meaning is still debated and mysterious.

The symbol that we see in modern days consists of a maze with three distinct whirls that are connected in the center. The number three recalls to the triple form of the goddess that was seen as ruler of the sky, sea, and earth and guardian of the crossroads. The labyrinth recalls to the ancient labris of the Minoan culture representing transformation and rebirth.

Many are the possible origins and interpretation of this symbol represented in the past as a four spoked or eight spoked wheel symbolizing the four seasons, the four elements or a primeval representation of the lunar or season cycle.

The four spoked wheel represented an ancient tool called the Iynx, a small metal or wooden discs rotated by pulling attached strings that reproduced the pulse call of the Eurasian wryneck, a bird called Iynx. This bird was originally associated with Aphrodite and according to the myth this tool was used as a magical love-charm to draw lovers together or to draw out passion.

The Iynx is sometimes associated with the Strophalos another spinning tool used in the ancient cult of Hecate. According to the Chaldean Oracles the Strophalos was a spinning top dedicated to the goddess Hecate used to invoke the presence of the deity in the celebration of a ritual. By summoning the divine presence, and through the sound produced by the spinning, the theurgist was able to reach prophetic visions.

Spinning tools and their ability to connect the divine world with the mortal one is seen also in the cult of Dionysus. According to the myth the Titans used toys to lure Dionysus and eat him, these toys had a specific religious significance connected with the divine power of Dionysus. Among these toys there was an ancient object called Rhombos or Kohnos, a spinning top that made sounds that resembled the thunder or the bullroarer and that represented the divine power of Dionysus Tauropon and Bromio. The spinning movement of the object also resemble the movement of tornadoes and the idea of Mania, the alteration of consciousness that was used to attain vision and enlightenment.

The wheel of Hecate is now seen as an esoteric symbol connected with the triple form of the goddess and her feminine power over life and death, but the genesis of this symbol probably lies behind ancient magical tools capable of connecting humans to deities and used for divination purposes. The symbol represents Hecate’s control over liminal spaces and her ability to connect this world to the divine one and to its mysterious knowledge.

[witchofthesouls]

Dude, I would kill (not literally) for a series that focuses on prehistoric/primeval Cybertron. Something that would possibly give us a glance into the fledgling Cybertronian cultures, perhaps more into the interpersonal relatioshionships of the Prime's with each other and newborn Cybertronian race.

And also a snapshot of what Cybertron's ecosystem was once like, since that's not something they've gone very in-depth with before (the closest I closest I can think of is IDW2.0) outside of how the Transformers are "born" from the world.

YOU! YOU GET ME!!!

Funnily enough, I like to think that Primus' initial planetary formation was super unstable and absolutely buckwild as the Thirteen Primes gave it shape according to their own traits and their wishes for future generations.

Prima and Megatronus formed the tallest peaks for Cybertron to kiss the skies as the sun is the original flame. Wind shaped by the fluid natures of Nexus, Amalgamous, and Liege. Micronus lends his touch in the formation of the various biomes across the planet, melding well with each of his siblings' domains as Liege's quicksilver thoughts bridges everyone together along with Quintus' whatifwhatifwhatif. Solus, Megatronus, and Thirteen carved immense cavern networks within their Father's mantle, connecting to the constant flow of molten slag and churnings of infinite potential. Onyx and Alchemist dabbling in the wonders of sustenance, both procuring and synthesizing it. The beginnings of the original hot spots as the first mortals came.

Yoooo, I would love to see all the DRAMA stirred up from Primus going to bed and leaving his first gen kids in charge. There had to be fights among them on how to proceed with it. Like Prima forever having beef with Solus for giving the new little ones fire from her Forge for them to figure shit (and stealing Megatronus' attention he's posessive of his shadow-twin).

As well as more world-building, especially something from Aligned where the Thirteen Primes were MASSIVE, so-

What if Titans were originally created by them? As in, carved by their own sparks and frames and left to marinate in the blood and bones of Cybertron?

[exhausted-archivist]

Lore: Titans

What we know about titans is little and sparse pre-DA4. Somethings that we do know about them are:

Also known as "the pillars of the earth"

They created the dwarves, they are potentially "The Stone" that dwarves refer to.

Alternatively the titans themselves are children of "The Stone", but created the dwarves. They consider the dwarves to be their children.

Lyrium comes from titans, it is considered to be their "blood".

The titans emanate a song from lyrium, it is different from the Blight.

Titans use earthquakes to shape the earth, they also previously used "Shapers" to carve valleys into the earth.

Their size is so vast it is impossible to describe it according to Valta. They're large enough to support life within themselves, from plants to dwarves like the Sha-Brytol.

Titans enable the dwarves to have a hive mind connection with it and others.

History

At least one titan has been killed by the Evanuris - specifically Mythal. Though it is suggested that it was multiple titans.

Ancient elves mined the bodies of titans' for lyrium, but out of fear, they eventually sealed them with stone and magic. They cited that "what the Evanuris in their greed could unleash would destroy all in its anger."

Before the Dragon Age, the last time a titan was known to be awake was -1170 Ancient. Before the fall of Arlathan and before the First Blight. Both instances were the same titan.

After -1170 Ancient there is no mention of the titans in Orzammar's memories. Though there are two texts that mention titans, they predate the First Blight.

Orzammar became the capital of the dwarven kingdom after the titan awoke in -1170 Ancient.

Known Titans

We only have the confirmed location (specific or general) of two titans.

Heidrun Thaig - it is the focus of the entire Descent DLC

Orlais - It is a super general and non-specified location but it is mentioned on the handle of Tug's axe that "The Stone lives beneath Orlais." It is also mentioned by the Nexus Golem in da2 in the Abandoned Thaig. Given that the stone is a reference to titans, we know there is one somewhere in Orlais.

Theoretical Titans

These are locations for titans that are mostly theory and locations I've seen others in the fandom talk about.

Temple of Sacred Ashes - I have seen this one floating around and I have some doubts. Mostly since we don't really know how big titans are, we can't rule out that it is the same titan as the one under Heidrun Thaig. Which, considering they can cause earthquakes and are described as impossibly vast, more so than a giant or a high dragon, they're erring on the side of large for sure. Coupled with Valta saying she wanders through the body of the titan for an unknown amount of time and hasn't seen all of it, only adds to just how inexplicably large it is. Along with that, if you keep with the scale of Ferelden being the size of England then from the thaig to the temple is only a 16 day journey (240 miles/386.24 km). Adding on the scaling math I have for the depth of Heidrun - being deeper than Mariana's Trench - the Titan could very well stretch that far.

Primeval Thaig - If this was indicative of a titan location, let alone being tainted, I feel that there would have been a discovery of red lyrium so much sooner. We know how infectious that stuff is, how impossible it is to destroy and how rapidly it grows. Not only is the thaig not deep enough to be directly connected to the titan, but it was completely sealed off to prevent it spreading. That said, I do think there is a possible titan under the Vimmark mountains. So far the only titan we have a definite location on is underneath mountains. Considering they cause seismic activity, I can definitely see one slumbering under there.

Anvil of the Void - This one does seem a bit plausible to me depending on where you put the thaig. This post by @/wyrdsistersofthedas explains the plausibility quite nicely. It is a bit tinfoil-y as is anything about dwarves and titans at this point. Especially when the source is dao and with how much BioWare has set aside in terms of lore. In essence though, Cariden's anvil is connected and supplied by a massive lyrium vein. His anvil and its location is also the only location where the creation of golems has resulted in functional creations. The rest went wrong or were driven mad in some way. The golems Branka is making from the Casteless in DAI if you give her the anvil are still consistently failing.

Sternann Peak, Anderfel - There is a lyrium mine out here near the town of Geltberg. Which also implies that there is a thaig as well. Whether this is run by Orzammar dwarves or the Carta is unclear.

Beneath the elven crossroads - The lyrium mines in Trespasser might be connected to an entirely different titan or the aforementioned titan beneath Orlais. It is unclear where the the spaces you go through the crossroads even are.

Cryptic Comments From Cole and Keiran

Cole

"It's singing. A they that's an it that's asleep, but still making music."

"Their ancient shapers were mountains drawn of all their wills, walking their memories into valleys of the world".

"They made bodies from the earth, and the earth was afraid. It fought back, but they made it forget."

Keiran

"But you can't be taller. Not without the titans."

Titan Tidbits and Theories

Cole implies that templars have established a connection with the titans through their use of lyrium when asked for his opinion on the templars. Solas also echos this by describing how templar abilities work, that they pull in the reality of the world around them to shut out magic.

Though this doesn't quite explain Seeker abilities, the use of they lyrium brand and the touch of a spirit may forge a different kind of connection.

Cole comments on how "They (ancient elves) made bodies from the earth, and the earth was afraid. It fought back, but they made it forget." This suggests that maybe the original elves who are implied to be originally spirits, made bodies out of the titans (earth) and that this is one thing that instigated the war between titans and the evanuris. Though this is a speculative interpretation of what he means.

In the tabletop it is implied that in the past, the thaigs were carved from living rock - potentially the titans.

The dwarves of the elder days filled the thaigs, large open caverns beneath the earth, living in great cities carved from the living rock.

Adding to the above point, we see two instances where the old gods' prisons were under/nearby dwarven thaigs. In the Shimmer Stone Mine in the Western Approach and the Dead Trenches near the Ortan Thaig where Urthemiel amassed his army. If the oldest thaigs were carved from titans, it brings to question if the old gods were buried before or after the dwarven kingdom started building their thaigs given the "newer" thiags are above the old god prisons, and the prisons are above the titans.

If the old gods were buried after the start of the dwarven kingdom, which would be after the fall of the titans, it brings to question if the old gods are connected to Arlathan and the founding of the dwarven kingdom, and if this was one of the relics of the ancient dwarf and elf emipire collaborations mentioned in the tabletop that was forgotten about. Sandwiching them between titans and thaigs for safeguarding.

[ascendingaeons]

On the Symbolism of the Ogdoad

It's been my experience that buried underneath patterns, beliefs, and interpretations there are core truths. The Greeks called them Forms or First Principles, the Egyptians knew them as the Netjeru, among the Teutons they were the Runes, and to the Hebrews they were the Sefirot. Based on my own experiences I am of the firm belief that these Principles are, in a sense, animated and alive. Being able to hear and see them takes time and sacrifice. I can say it feels like a blessing to reach out and touch even one of them.

The Netjeru are forces of nature within the spectrum of Cosmos and Chaos. They are embodied within both the physical universe and the human psyche. They are both primordial and universal, scientific and spiritual. The nature of their involvement with both objective and subjective reality far transcends that of third-dimensional human beings. The Egyptian word netjer or neter was carried on through the ages as the Coptic noute, the Latin natura, and finally the English nature.

In Egyptian cosmology, the Ogdoad were four pairs of Netjers conceptualized to represent different aspects of the primeval chaos. They were at the heart of the Hermopolitan cosmology. They were believed responsible for the inundation of the Nile and the rising of the sun. The forces of chaos were an essential part of the cosmic circuit. They were first mentioned in religious texts during the Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.E.). The original mound of creation (depicted as the Benben stone, a lotus flower containing the child Ra, or the child Ra hatching from the cosmic egg) was said to rise from the chaotic waters. Ra represents both the physical sun but also the creative principle as a whole. The names of the Ogdoad are:

Nun and Naunet (Primeval Ocean and Primeval Sky)

Kek and Kauket (Obscurity and Illumination)

Amun and Amunet (the Hidden One and the Revealed One)

Heh and Hauhet (Infinity and Boundaries)

The males were depicted as frogs or frog-headed men (as very prolific animals, frogs symbolize new life) whereas the females were serpents or serpent-headed women (often portrayed as spirals, serpents symbolize the latent creative force in the universe). The Egyptians chose well to use these animals as representations of the pre-creation state, thinking they would be comfortable in the primeval ooze. The Ogdoad are equivalent to the four fundamental interactions of the universe (the weak nuclear force, the strong nuclear force, gravity, and electromagnetism).

Nun was the primeval ocean and His consort Naunet was the sky above it. In the pre-creation state Nun was the chaotic primeval matter and Naunet was the primeval space. In the created universe Nun was what the Egyptians believed to be the watery firmament surrounding the world, similar to the Greek titan Okeanus, and in older texts, Naunet became the anti-sky which Ra must traverse every night in the Duat.

Kek and Kauket represented the awakening of the Universal Mind from the darkness enveloping the primeval ocean. Egyptians associated night with the chaotic energies and forces. Kek and Kauket were known as "the bringer-in of the light" and "the bringer-in of the night", respectively, indicating both their dominion over the hours of twilight and the dual-spiral nature of consciousness. Kek is that which is perpetually beyond the reach of the intellect and Kauket is the embodiment of continually pushing back barriers—of Opening the Way.

Amun and Amunet were Wind and Air, the dynamic elements of chaos. Creation cannot be explained from within, only from without, i.e. the Creator and the created universe are not one and the same. There must be an external force underlying creative efforts. This has been known by many cultures as “the breath of life” which animates inert or dead matter. The Egyptians knew this force as Amun, the Netjer of wind also known as the Hidden One. Amun represents the occult force underlying creation.

Heh and Hauhet symbolized the dynamic relationship between Matter and Spirit. One knows a compounded horizon, the other bears the limitless expanse of the primeval waters, knowing neither the impression of space nor time.

Most ancient cultures (as well as some that survive to this day) lived by the understanding of the cyclicality of nature, which can be observed within the succession of seasons. The universe was perceived as dynamic and animated rather than mechanistic and dead. The wisdom that many these days perceive as baseless or quaint was the result of centuries spent working the earth and observing the sky. The ancients developed mystery plays to illustrate the cosmic dance, the eternal conflict between the forces of cosmos and chaos. The mystery plays, rites, and festivals were more than just religious affairs to the ancients; they were acts of involvement with the cosmic crisis (often portrayed by the disappearance and rebirth of the sun).

The sun symbolizes cosmic order. The word "order" often sounds sterile and mechanistic but, rather, is taken to mean balance or regulation. The glaring heat of summer and the brittle cold of winter symbolically contributes to the death of the earth. From these chaotic seasons come longer days, renewed vegetation, and new generations of fauna, the cyclicality of creation playing out on the cosmic stage. Should the forces of either cosmos or chaos destroy the other, the outcome will be the same regardless of the victor. The creative principle involves a continuance of transformation through creation and destruction—an alchemy if you will. This has been depicted by many cultures as the world serpent.

The bringing of order and definition to the primeval state was not a sudden or random event but one subject to a greater form of law. The Egyptians knew this as Ma'at, the Greeks as Logos, the Teutons as Ørlög, the Hindus as Ṛta, the Zoroastrians as Asha, and the Lakota peoples as Wakan Tanka or the Great Mystery. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, it is referred to as the Word of God. Creation is not something that can be explained from within, but only from outside of it or beyond its scope; whence comes the concept of the occult or hidden force underlying creation. This is not something I consider to be a god necessarily but rather an emanation, a permeating force or principle that underlies objective existence. In the microcosm, this would be comparable to the notion of vitality or the animating principle.

Creation is an emanating, dynamic, and ongoing act as opposed to a singular, decisive act. It is the process by which undifferentiated matter, energy, and consciousness are brought to order and definition. It is the transition from subjective being to objective being, from the unconscious to the conscious. In human terms, it is the transition from an unconscious state to one of awareness. It is not the bringing forth of something out of nothing. The necessary elements already exist and the act itself is the forming and re-purposing of chaotic matter or energy into something new. To a person rousing from active sleep, their dream could be considered incredibly real even though it was the product of their unconscious mind attempting to categorize the experiences of the previous day.

Creation is inherently cyclical, continuous, and multidimensional. The experience of it is, by its very nature, transcendental (i.e. beyond oneself). The universe is not static. It is evolving on every scale and in every aspect, very much animated and alive. One of the core Hermetic teachings is that everything in the universe is composed of energy vibrating at an infinite range of frequencies, all of which are susceptible to mental influence.

Inherent in this dynamic process is the reconciliation of opposites, a practical example of which can be found in the interaction between matter and antimatter. The majority of the universe is comprised of plasma with matter and antimatter distributed throughout. When matter (e.g. a negatively-charged electron) and antimatter (a positively-charged positron) collide, they produce a violent reaction—the conversion of matter to energy in the form of an explosion. In doing so, the particles and antiparticles negate each other and return to zero mass with their total energy being redistributed into the surrounding space, transformed into gamma radiation. The universe wastes nothing.

This process was defined philosophically as the dialectic Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis and portrayed allegorically as Unity-Scission-Reconciliation. This dialectic is observable in nature as the changing of seasons, the life cycles of flora, and the behavior of fauna. It manifests recurrently in human lives as the intricacies of relationships and personal growth, the outreaching of generations, and the evolution of customs, trends, and technology.

The Ancient Egyptians had a way of expressing such relationships and interactions. This was achieved by grouping the Netjeru into dyads, triads, tetrads, etc. These groupings were formulaic, illustrating the interaction between principal forces. For example:

Nun-Ptah-Atum

Nun: undifferentiated matter/energy

Ptah: converting potentia to dunamis

Atum: self-begotten awareness

This triad embodies the scientific basis of Creation in which the undifferentiated, inert state of matter and energy come into being as the physical universe. The Egyptians portrayed the transformative catalyst as Ptah, the patron Netjer of artisans. Ptah is portrayed with His body bound in cloth (representing the dense state of matter, the concealed potentiality underlying creation), often standing on a pedestal or seated on a throne (representing His mastery over universal laws). His hands and head are uncovered (indicating the capacity for action, expression, and intent) and He is often seen holding a staff combining the ankh, was, and djed (symbols of life, sovereignty, and stability).

I am writing a book that focuses on Nun and will occasionally post snippets of it here. Nun is one of the Netjers that I work with and I’ll be writing more about that in my Relationships With The Netjeru series. You would be surprised by the wisdom and friendship to be found in obscure forces of creation.

[inventors-fair]

The Best of the Rest: The Runners Up!

~

Our runners up this week are @bergdg, @horsecrash, and @izzet-always-r-versus-u!

@bergdg — The Lady of Crows

We've seen quite a few blink-focused creatures in this vein, but few are quite so specific as asking for permanents to specifically enter from exile. Restrictions breed creativity, though, and an army of Storm Crows is a good reward for going to the trouble. I am kind of curious about specifically using a Storm Crow token rather than just a Bird. It could be something as simple as just really wanting to name it "The Lady of Crows," but it's got me imagining any number of in-universe reasons, and I admit I'm quite fascinated. There's a point of awkwardness hanging off of this, though. The second ability being mandatory on a card that creates tokens means it's entirely possible you'll be forced to obliterate a poor, innocent Storm Crow, which just feels bad. A nontoken rider could be warranted here.

@horsecrash — The Kessig Stomper

That is a lot of ramp, immediately, and it's even untapped! That would normally have me concerned, but it's evidently been accounted for. Principally, ramp is always going to be less generally valuable the more expensive is. This card is also extremely specific to morph/disguise, an archetype that's extremely mana hungry and still very much appreciates a glut of lands in the midgame, which props up its opportunity cost in more general strategies quite a lot. And of course, restricting it to being flipped up means that, unlike something like Primeval Titan, it's much harder to cheat the cost. Plus, the name just tickles me. A beast big enough to be referred to as a "Stomper," and yet it's apparently stealthy enough to melt into the dense Kessig forest.

@izzet-always-r-versus-u — The Hand of Death

It may be in the same vein (heh), but Sanguine Bond this is not. Outright converting life gain into burn rather than simply accompanying it is a harsh price to pay for being cheaper and stapled onto an efficient body, for sure. However, the cheaper cost allows it to better tap into what Sanguine Bond was trying to do when it's not causing infinite comboes: life gain is almost universally more efficient than burn, because it's less valuable. Flip that, and suddenly you've got some extremely efficient burn spells for as long as this can remain on board. And that is more of a concern, being attached to a creature rather than an enchantment. Top that off with the fact that it's also a punisher card if anyone else gets any funny ideas about gaining life, and this is a scary strong card. It is a bit awkward that in a multiplayer game, any one opponent gaining life makes everyone die. That could feel pretty bad, and maybe asks for it to be changed to "target opponent."

~

That's about it. As alluded to a few weeks ago, I can't reasonably hold myself to a writing a full slate of commentary anymore, so I want to try an alternative.

For the rest of the day, I'll be on our Discord server (HERE for those of you not on it) taking requests for individual commentary. So, if your submission wasn't on here, but you'd really like to hear my opinion on it, hop on in!

See you there! —@spooky-bard

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Primeval Titan

When nature calls, *run*.

Artist: Aleksi Briclot TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[goodboyaudios]

I guess one of the things that kind of disappointed me most is that we never got to see an in depth about Mirren's and the Guardian's relationship(as in friends). I mean, just their reunion alone we could see that Mirren somehow cared deeply about the Guardian, or something along those lines...

But tell me, what is their dynamic after all? How were they like before? Were there ever plans to expand that out or was it just for that ep alone?

There really isn't much to Mirrin's connection to the Guardian.

He, Xarantharos, Magnesia and Xorn were once an adventure together to uncover a cosmic phenomenon and that got them tangled in trying to reach the Throat of Manas, birthplace of the primeval titans.

They were in a race against time because this "cosmic phenomenon" was an envoy from a powerful galactic. faction interested in garnering the powers that reside within Manas.

The involvement of outside forces meant that Raze needed to get involved as it is her job to protect the world from outside threats.

That led to Raze teaming up with Xarantharos, mainly because they more or less understood each other and Mirrin was kinda just...there lol

Of course, after Mirrin sacrificed himself to seal the cracks of the Throat from the other side, he was left face to face with the raw unending chaotic power Untempora had to offer, as well as the Chrono Dragonus who had big plans for Mirrin. It is here that Mirrin learned in what we would perceive as both an instant and an eternity about Raze.

That's more or less what it is.

[hermesmoly]

In Plato's Cratylus, Orpheus says Oceanus and Tethys were "the first to marry", implying that they, the foster parents of the goddess of marriage, were the first married couple in Greek Mythology and the primeval parents of the Titans, not Uranus and Gaia

[orions-hole]

No. You would not have guessed he's the son of Poseidon right away. The only thing the bathroom scene did was restrict the "who?" to either liquid gods or water gods.

The following were taken from a Wikipedia article (here, January 1rst 2024, Part: Europe - Greek/Greece)

Achelus, greek river god

Aegaeon, god of violent sea storms and ally of the Titans.

Alpheus, river god in Arcadia

Anapus, river god of eastern Sicily

Asopus, river god in Greece

Asterion, river-god of Argos

Enipeus, a river god

Glaucus, the fisherman's sea god

The Graeae, three ancient sea spirits who personified the white foam of the sea; they shared one eye and one tooth between them.

The Ichthyocentaurs, a pair of centaurine sea-gods with the upper bodies of men, the lower fore-parts of horses, ending in the serpentine tails of fish.

Oceanus, Titan god of the Earth-encircling river Okeanos, the font of all the Earth's fresh water.

Palaemon, a young sea god who aided sailors in distress.

Pontus, primeval god of the sea, father of the fish and other sea creatures

[duckymomospawn]

Godly Fun Facts

Dionysus

photo credit to Britannica

Who/What do they do

Dionysus (aka Bacchus, Akratophoros, Aisumnêtês, etc.) is the Olympian God of wine theatre, fertility, vegetation, grapevines, mental health, mental insanity, drunkness, chaos, madness, and more.

2. How they came to be

Zeus (the god of the sky and chief Greek deity) had a semi-public affair with the mortal Semele (daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes). Hera (Goddess of marriage, women, and family. Wife of Zeus.) is made aware of this affair and is unhappy. She disguises herself and speaks to Semele, who tells her she is in a relationship with Zeus and is pregnant with his child. Hera, still in disguise, tells her that she should make Zeus show her his proper form to prove that he is the god Zeus. Semele obliges and makes Zeus promise her before telling him she wants to see his true form. Bound by the promise, he does, and she bursts into ashes from revealing his proper form. In the pile of ashes was the unborn Dionysus, whom Zeus took and sewed into his thigh so Dionysus could finish developing. Unsafe on Mt. Olympus with Hera, Zeus leaves lil Dionysus in the hands of Persephone, the Goddess of Spring (Who raises/takes care of Dionysus varies from myth to myth. Others include Dionysus being raised by Hermes, the messenger God, the Titaness Rhea, mortal king Atahmas and queen Ino, etc.). Now developed, Dionysus is still a target for Hera, who sends Titans (Pre-Olympian Gods/Giants) to rip him into pieces. The Titaness Rhea (or Athena, Goddess of war and strategy) brings him back to life.

3. Myth(s)

A well-known myth about Dionysus is that he was minding his own business, asleep on a beach, when a group of pirates stopped by. They take note of his good looks and the purple robe he wears and assume he is a prince of some sort. They take him and tie him up to sell him off or keep him for ransom. With a smile, the ropes fall off, and the helmsman realizes that the “prince” they captured must be a God. The helmsman attempts to warn everyone that Dionysus is a God but is laughed off. Dionysus wraps the whole ship in grapevines, fills the atmosphere with the melodious tunes of flutes, and transforms into a majestic lion. The pirates, in terror, jump into the sea, and Dionysus turns them into dolphins so they won’t drown. The helmsman is the only one speared.

4. Influence on today's society

Dionysus and his role as liberator is significant in today's society. The Cult of Dionysus began as a cult that worships the state of intoxication and the liberation from societal norms. The belief was that through intoxication came the possession of Dionysus, which in turn granted the cult members his divine powers. Getting drunk or high is not a new topic, as it has been around for as long as anyone can remember. Along with getting drunk and high, the cult captured the attention of a lot of marginalized people like women, enslaved people, and non-citizens. The cult allowed them to leave behind the social constraints and restrictions placed on them in everyday life. As in modern times, anyone (at the legal age) can enjoy the freedom and release from confiding to society's rules and restrictions with the help of alcohol and legal drugs. Dionysus has a wide range of followers, from Maenads to Satyrs. What sets him apart from other gods is that his supporters challenge traditional gender norms. Although these stories may be exaggerated, it's essential to recognize that ancient texts about gender fluidity remain relevant today. The worship of Dionysus, both in mythology and real life, shows how embracing our differences can lead to unity and abundance. These ideas have been carried into the modern world, where the LGBTQ+ community celebrates love and support for all.

5. Sources

6. Time stamp

This post was created on January 15th, 2024, at 10:31pm

[godsofhumanity]

You should make headcanons about other Orphic primordials like Thesis, Phanes, Ophion, Physis, and Hydros

It could be cool if primordials can consumed or fused with one another like Gaia consuming Thesis and Physis.

Pontus consuming Hydros and fusing with Thalassa

Cronus disposing of Ophion and Zeus consuming Phanes for power

omg honestly i had no idea Orphic primordials even existed. i will leave some quick links here for the intrigued to examine for themselves:

Thesis (nature, first goddess to emerge during creation alongside Hydros and "mud" (literally mud like soil))

Phanes (life energy, first king of the universe, father of Nyx who in Orphic tradition is the mother of Ouranos)

Ophion (doesn't seem to be a primordial, but the first titan-king of heaven who was WRESTLED with by Kronos (and Ophion's wife Eurynome also wrestled with by Rhea)) for their crowns, it has not been recorded where Ophion came from.)

Physis (mother nature)

Hydros (primeval waters, joined with mud to make Gaia the Earth (in a move somewhat reminiscent of the hit mobile and desktop-compatible game Little Alchemy))

now. there honestly isn't really any concrete stories for any of these personifications. it seems to me that Thesis was sometimes considered to be Tethys, or vice versa, and also sometimes Metis, but these things aren't really clear to me. in light of this, the lack of concrete mythology and direct overlap with pre-existing gods like Tethys and Metis, both of whom I have already described with my hc's (see my hc masterlist, linked in bio), it's difficult to think of new ideas for these Orphic characters.

even so. i actually have written for Phanes before! so i hope those hc's are ok. and if u have ideas of ur own, my inbox is always open.

on ur latter point about gods consuming other gods for power; i love that idea a LOT. it's actually a crucial aspect of my "end of days" mythology-cross over AU hee hee... i think it's very interesting to think about, though i don't have any ideas to share right now.