#primordium age

[mileenaxyz]

Rewatching some of the Normies' reactions to Buffy and I was thinking...meeting the First Slayer was amazing. What about the second? Matter of fact, can we learn more about life during the Primordium Age?

[didanawisgi]

Study Shows Lion’s Mane Restores Physical Performance in Aged Mice

Italian researchers find that treating aged mice with Lion’s Mane (H. Erinaceus primordium) extract boosts physical performance and improves neural oxidative stress.

Key Points:

Aging mice supplemented with Lion’s mane mushrooms (He2) display significantly better physical performance.

In the brains of aged mice, He2 reduces oxidative stress — cellular damage caused by excessive reactive oxygen species.

The observed findings are likely attributable to ergothioneine (ERGO), a powerful antioxidant found in He2 at high concentrations.  

[quitealotofsodapop]

Monkey King Reborn Au misc details;

Cus I'm starting to obsess over Monkey King Reborn, Imma talk a little bit about important worldbuilding and story details. Some spoilers for the film itself ahoy under Read More;

Because in the events of the film had Yuandi/Primordium gathering a bunch of the big name demons together and a few die on the battlefield, the mid-way chapters of the journey get shuffled around a bit. Notably the pilgrims make it to Slow-Cart Kingdom a bit faster since a bunch of the threats are missing and their route has been altered.

However, they do end up encountering the Yellow Robed Demon shortly after leaving Slow-Cart Kingdom and wandering into Baoxiang. There they learn of the King's missing princess and Tripitaka convinces the gang to investigate (Wukong groaning the whole time). Cue the giant wood-wolf demon who didn't get the mesasge that his reincarnated sweetie didn't remember him/and wants nothing to do with him now he's forced 13 years of marriage on her. Despite causing some confusion (Tripitaka gets a little cursed its fine *lies*), Kui Mulang gets put down quickly with Wukong on the scene from the very start. However... theres a few loose ends that neither Princess Hundred Flowers nor her father have interest in keeping...

Pigsy, carrying a half-wolf demon child on his back: "Explain to me how we've become a damned nursery?" Wukong, carrying the younger pup against his chest: "Because the Princess and King disowned them, and Master refuses to let them be culled or left to the wilds." Pigsy: "No I mean. Why are we dealing with them?" Wukong, blushing a little: "We uh... Macaque asked to keep them." Pigsy: "Such a whipped husband you are!" Wukong: "We aren't married!" Pigsy, swatting at SWK while the pup on his back laughs: "Then its shameful you have so many children while unwed!" *fighting continues* Macaque, whispering to Xiao Qi: "I think your baba and uncle are fighting again little one. Hopefully you wont squabble as much with your elder siblings." Xiao Qi: *is just delighted to have siblings* :D!!

The two half-wood wolf demon pups are named Zhu Yu/茱萸 ("cornelian dogwood") a pre-teen girl, and Ku Ai/苦艾 ("wormwood") a toddler-age boy. Neither are particularly happy or understanding why they can't live with their mom and/or dad anymore, and frequently act out by going wolf on the pilgrims. Neither are much help in a fight, but they're pretty good at sneaking around.

The Lady Bone Demon chapter also goes... very differently than in canon. Especially since she has a debt she wishes to "cash in" from a certain monkey, and a tasty-looking monk for her to eat... A team spilt occurs like in the book, and the Six Eared Macaque cashes in a different favor to make it up to them. Especially after the Bone Demon threatens someone very dear to both monkeys.

Jin and Yin are there too. They've devoted their new lives to fufilling a life debt to the Six Eared Macaque ever since he "saved" them after Yuandi's battle. He finds them annoying.

[sageoffablesardowin]

Storytime with the Sage: The Nephiri, "Those Who Would Be Angels"

The Age of Primordium, the time before the Great Catastrophe, was laden with many strange creatures and customs. Not the least among them were creatures which would come to be known as the Nephiri, a name from the ancient Celestial "Nephitum vos Irata," roughly translated to "Those Who Would Be Angels."

Indeed, these were beings of great power who, had the circumstances been different, might have been called angels. In this time, the strange energies of the Elder Entities was still bleeding into the Multiverse, as the barriers between the Wheel and what lies beyond would not be fully solidified until the Black Dawn's defeat. Where the might of the gods infused with mortal souls would create the great, shining beacons of justice we call angels today, the unknowable and inexorable offshoots of the Elder Entities manifested as the Nephiri.

Each Nephiri was unique, though there are some through-lines that can be followed. As a rule of thumb, the Nephiri had strange anatomy, often missing large portions of their bodies, and never had a full, conventional face. Their anatomy varied widely from instance to instance beyond that. Unending masses of appendage and bone-like exoskeleton accompanied by a powerful sense of dread.

As the Elder Entities and the Nephiri were not bound by divine law, or seemingly any law for that matter, the Nephiri posed significant threats to areas they passed through. As such, the gods across the pantheons championed faithful families to destroy these creatures whenever they threatened civilizations. These families were known as the Inducted, or, more colloquially, "Titan Slayers."

When the Elder Entities were banished from existence, the Nephiri went with them, either being dragged into the space beyond with their progenitors, or sealed in blanch-white stone. Many weathered spires of rock exist deep beneath the surface of Ardowin, and are rumored to be remnants of those forsaken statues.

[cappurrccino]

20 questions for fic writers

Thanks @captaincravatthecapricious for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 

80, apparently!

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 

234,199

3. What fandoms do you write for? 

Currently not really any because my muse fuckin packed her bags and took a vacation, but Malevolent, Halo, and Destiny are the big ones. I'd like to do more for Warframe and FFXIV, though!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

strange domains (TMA/Malevolent)

It's Called Supervising (Destiny... the power of putting Cayde-6 in your fic, I swear)

once in a movie night (Malevolent)

where you go, i go (TMA/WTNV)

Treason (Hollow Knight/Destiny AU)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I'm trying to be better about it! A lot of the time, though, I simply don't know what to say and fall into the "how do I respond to birthday wishes" trap because writing "Thanks!" a bunch feels disingenuous even though I am thankful and glad someone liked the fic enough to comment

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? 

Ptttthhhbbbbbbbb, probably the one where Bornstellar finds his family all floodified on the Halo Chakas & Riser got marooned on in Primordium

(I have not reread this fic in ages bc I remember not being super happy with how it was written and don't want to see I published a disaster lol)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? 

Oh, so many of them. Happy fluffy nonsense is my wheelhouse. If I have to pick one, though, maybe day 7: we fucking did it just because I don't think any other characters have Gone Through It as much as John & Arthur have, so they would get the most joy from a lazy day at the river

8. Do you get hate on fics? 

Nah

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? 

Absolutely not lmao

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I do! If we take "craziest" to mean "silliest" probably the Destiny/WTNV crossover thing I flirted with for a while in 2016 (old woman Josie lives in the desert with a house full of taken)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? 

Not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 

Again, not to my knowledge

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

@warlordfelwinter and I were writing a novelized version of a D&D campaign we were in, by which I mean Fel did the bulk of the writing and I filled in the Alexa-specific parts!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? 

Bornstellar/Splendid Dust! My boys! My beloveds! I'm pspsps-ing people into this sandbox with me because right now there are 4 fics for them on AO3 and they're all mine

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? 

Any of them 😭

16. What are your writing strengths? 

Dumb shit. But I like to think I'm also good at writing weird stuff (I also just have a lot of fun writing weird stuff, like Fundament and the Dark World)

17. What are your writing weaknesses? 

Plots.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? 

I wouldn't dare unless I was fluent, which will basically never happen...

19. First fandom you wrote for? 

Transformers, baybee! I think at this point I've lost all of my TF fic from my ff.net days due to time and computer moves, which is a real shame, because I wrote a TF/ST crossover centered on tribbles once that I remember being one of the best things I've ever written... Maybe if I'm lucky it's on one of my old external drives and I can reupload it... 🤔

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

The hardest question in the world... hmm... maybe wait through the night for the dawn light to break just because it's the longest thing I've done and the MalevBB experience was so fun... but I also really like Siren's Eye bc Fundament and Osmium sibs and my funky little sea-runners, and I also really like Corpus Siege just bc it was so fun to write, and I also like— [is dragged off stage by a comically large shepherd's hook]

[yelling from the wings] also that Halo AU I had where I gave people metahuman powers! thank you and goodnight!

Tagging:

@warlordfelwinter, @xivu-arath, @wonderwafles, @titan-mom (no pressure, of course!)

[dayurno]

I'm so happy with the end of playing for keeps but so sad at the same time ;) I'm following since the primordium of the name of the game when all we had were scraps so it feels like I'm sending a child off to college

Also loved the porn

ALSO LOVED THE PORN.... THANKS.... (curls into fetal position)

my oh my youve been around for so long then.... almost three years already......... i hadnt realized how long the kandreil post canonverse would come to span..... truthfully i still can find several things to say about them but its best we put that dog to rest now..!!! im looking forward for my next kandreil chu chu project.... maybe an old man yaoi moment. youve heard of post canon aged up in their 20s now get ready for post canon aged up in their 30s (kevin greying early edition)

[lightdancer1]

In my fanfics I've put a lot more thought into magic's rules than Whedon or the 'verse's writers ever did:

To be perfectly crude any is always going to be more than none. :P

The first basic rule is that prior to Seasons 7-9 magic is defined by the rites of the Shadowmen, who ended the Primordium age and established the rules that governed the setting prior to the Scooby Gang overthrowing them. In my own stories this is one of the reasons the Scoobies get pucker factors and active hostility from the old order, which quite reasonably opts to note that 70,000 years of success is rather a bit to stake on one blonde woman and a few of her amazing friends, so to speak.

Under the Shadowmen rule a single girl, the Slayer, chosen in her mid-teenage years and usually living a short, grim, isolated life really IS enough to withstand whatever flavor of Old Night is out there. Magic exists, and is immensely powerful, but a 'censorship field' enables people to redefine it and things like it in ways not unlike sightings of cryptids in Cryptozoology and why Bigfoot is always out of focus in pictures. :P

The Slayer in turn is a warrior who has a set of predispositions both biological and sorcerous to potentially channel the spirit of the Old One (and I do make her an Old One, as much as Maloker and one of Buffy Summers' ironic elements is that she is essentially to Sineya what the first of the old-style show vampires was to Maloker, redistributing power on a grand scale) Sineya, the first Slayer. The Shadowmen turned a woman of ancient Africa into an Old One empowered with a magic weapon that can and would banish Old Ones.

This is one of the reasons why if the Scythe were discovered earlier and used against Glory it actually WOULD balance the scales as it banished Glory once and it would do so again. This particular part of canon is entirely up for grabs with my redefining it at leisure as one thing to make the AU an AU.

Beyond Slayers, demons are all, if humanoid, human-demonic hybrids of Lovecraftian horrors, called Old Ones, and essentially all somewhere have a 'Child o' Lavinny callin' his father on Sentinel Hill' human humping a cosmic horror somewhere down the line. It anchors demonic presences and it is one of the many, many ways in which Slayers and their foes are mirrors across an ancient line.

Witches, on the other hand, in all but one case have very specific lineage and cultural aspects that exist in a variety of traditions, some old-style like the Devon Coven and most of the Kalderash clan. Some newer-style like Jenny Calendar or Tara Maclay and the Madison family.

The singular exception to this role is Willow Rosenberg, who takes all the conventional elements of magic and beats it up and takes its lunch money and manipulates power on a gargantuan scale that makes her both a source of envy and a target and in blissful ignorance that what for her is mediocre exceeds what other sorcerers would only get very late in life.

Benefiting from Season 9 fully written and fleshed out, Willow's role there is backdated into things from the beginning and her presence itself is a pucker factor, accounting for more than a few takes on what did and didn't happen in Season 6. Essentially as she is to recreate all magic, she cannot do that without getting deeply dipped in the darkness, as well as equally dipped in the light. That this means a great deal of suffering for her, her friends, and her family means as very little as it did for all the Slayers pre-Buffy Summers between her and Sineya in the eyes of the cosmic hierarchy.

Where I do admittedly use the public domain aspects is that Lovecraftian entities also exist in the background in their full and unadulterated forms, but save for Nyarlathotep most of them are too vast and remote and uncaring to bother, though if their power does get involved it's an outside context on an Illyria or Dark Willow scale but greater. Save the Esoteric Order of Dagon, which accounts for the swim team episode that was very heavily Shadow over Innsmouth influenced anyway, and the Order of Dagon, with Dawn Summers as Yog-Sothoth, reflecting the light imagery, the gate and the key, and the casual reality-warping that goes with Dawn's very existence.

The irony that a completely insufferable kleptomaniacal brat is one of the most powerful beings in existence slumming it in the Buffyverse for LULZ is one of the deeper notes of my take on on Dawn, she is 100% like canon Dawn except that if something goes slightly wrong with magic she's entirely capable of obliterating life on Earth without noticing or trying hard.

The actual canon background is already this anyway, I'm just using that Lovecraft is now public domain which he wasn't in 1997-2003.

And magic itself has a 'carnal' aspect, aka it's literally all at one level sex magic in one way or another, as a thing that makes Buffyverse magic distinct to that of other universes. It is 99% associated with the broader LGBT community, though there are individual cishet exceptions to this rule, almost all of whom are associated with the darker/black magic because it allows for immense power on the cheap without any concern for ethics or spells that rewrite huge parts of the world for the benefit of the caster.

Chaos magic, ala Ethan Rayne, is very literally *Chaos* magic and the obligatory 40K/Moorcock allusions are there including the eight-pointed-star and Eyghon essentially as Samus, the End and the Death, due to the overlapping aspects of these two entities and for the LULZ.

The ultimate aspect of the Scooby gang in all this is that they unintentionally are liminal figures who create a new age of legend, reflecting the decline and fall of an old order and the rise of a new one. While simultaneously being their hilariously dysfunctional emotionally stunted and emotionally immature selves. The dissonance between the shoe shopping happy Buffy, Xander who's...Xander, Tara who's....Tara-LOL, and Willow the computer nerd who becomes the Sorceress Supreme of Earth and a Dark Phoenix tier force without any inclination or appreciation of this until it's too late and their actual results is as concerning to them as it is to the people with greater awareness of what they're doing and its longer-term aspects.

There is also something of a Ragnarok/Gotterdammerung aspect here. The end of old gods and old orders and the rise of new ones, in the hands of the least likely people imaginable. This admittedly is one of the areas where I do import a bit of Tolkien that it's also important that these same least likely people do this, as more 'predictable' types would produce very different and far more disastrous roles.

And in all this, this is I guarantee you far more thought than Joss Whedon or the show and comic writers ever put into this aspect of things. Their views are characterization-aligned with the supernatural aspects a backdrop, I simply have a bit more consistency in the rules to keep that consistency....consistent, rather than having various rules skip around and canon rewrite itself for an individual plotline and then ignore it entirely.

[blaebeast]

Character Bio: Hadet

Name: Hadet, Primord Hadet

Age: 27

Sex: Male (He/Him)

Weapon: Konda

Faction: Cruelty

Occupation: Primord

Relationship Status: Single

Close Friends: Grows-Bones, Sirit, Salome

Friends: Kanne, Farris

Knows of: Hrugar, Salem, Etsis, Tulri

Goals and Motivations:

- I am deeply in love with Salome. Ever since I met her I have wanted nothing more than to have her by my side. She is a wonder, perfect woman and a compassionate ruler. I have confessed my feelings and offered marriage, and while she reciprocated my feelings, she would not marry me. Regardless, she will be mine. There is person who can be a better match for her than me. She may just know realize it yet. I will be here with open arms when she thinks better of herself and chooses me.

- My people might know what they want, or what they think they want, but I know what’s best for them. I know what they need to ensure the happiness and future survival of our species.

- Needless wars are incomprehensible and wasteful. I have lost many friends due to senseless fighting from malicious villages. Infighting is an aspect of Beast culture that I do not enjoy, but I must respect tradition.

- Unity does some things right, such as providing for people outside of its city and even Cruel villages, but I think people have become too dependent on help instead of making their lives sustainable and prosperous.

- Man is a threat that has not gone away just because they have left the planet. Man is still out there, waiting for the perfect time to strike us down and reclaim the planet we are working so desperately to rebuild. I think Unity should immediately and absolutely cut all contact with any outsiders and have complete radio silence. We can’t let Man know that we’re still here.

- I am a priest of Himma. That means there is specific duties I am expected to preform. I am also a Primord, so many people as for the use of my genes to create strong, healthy offspring. I am happy to provide, as this is nothing emotional to me. Just a service I provide. I have sired children, but they are not parts of my life, though I still care for their health and well-being.

- I would have never wanted to become a Primord if it wasn’t for watching Hrugar battle to become one and the speech he gave after winning. Hrugar was too weak to carry out his dreams, but I am not. I will take his ideals, make them my own, and see them through.

- My village was razed when I was a young child, around 4 or 5. None of my immediate family survived, and no other survivors could take me in, so I became property of the Bulwark and was an orphan of the Primordium. I still care very much about preserving the remaining heritage of my village, but my home is the Bulwark.

Personality and Interests:

- I like to spar and train my body. I have to be able to win if someone comes to challenge my authority as Primord.

- I do my best to be an educated person since the education in the Primordium was less than stellar. I enjoy bettering my mind with reading and studying. I especially like poetry and dabble in writing my own.

- An ego? Me? Nonsense. I may be the strongest Beast in all the land, defeating anyone who may try to oppose me with words or with battle, but I am also a kind and humble man. I am no god.

- I am known to switch between my emotions at time. The “intensity of Hadet” fluctuates between being very easy-going to becoming very serious. I see no issue with it. The mood calls for what the mood calls for.

- I stand for what I believe in. And if someone cannot be strong enough for themselves then I will be their will and their voice.

- Sometimes violence IS the answer, but only when talking doesn’t work.

- I am a honest man. Painfully honest at times. But sometimes twisting the truth or telling a little lie is fine. Secrets are razor sharp, and can cut both sides if used in correctly.

- The planet is sacred, and I take great pride in knowing what grows upon it and how to harvest it sustainably.

- I don’t enjoy technology. I think the most I can tolerate are lightbulbs, solar panels, and very base-level things. It’s just not for me. I like being capable and independent.

Artwork:

[smurfdemon]

#smurfdemon      :      independent,  selective    &    mutuals  only  writing  blog  for  illyria  the  merciless  from  the  angel  the  series  fandom.  their  character  has  been  created  around  both  canon  and  personal  headcanons.  tortured  regularly  by  hope.  est.  may  2023.  temporary  rules  can  be  found  here  while  i  work  on  a  more  illyria  specific  carrd.  important  note:  illyria  is  a  powerful  purebred  demon  that  ruled  earth  during  the  primordium  age.  they  are  not  your  regular  demon  and  not  to  be  underestimated.

a  character  exploration  into      →      the  world  you  once  knew  (and  ruled)  is  gone    /    conqueror    /    reincarnation    /    legendary    /    to  be  loved  and  feared    /    humanity  seeping  through    /    a  fate  worse  than  death    /    adaptable.

[ i. CARRD.] ﾠ [ ii. HEADCANONS. ] ﾠ [ iii. MEMES. ] ﾠ [ iv. BLOGROLL. ]

[monitorchakas]

Im going to rate and write my onions of the halo games. I will be very fair 😏 in my ratings 🙂🙂🙂:

Halo Combat Evolved: my favorite halo game +1. I love how the weapons shoot, love the story, the sounds. I dont care if weapons are imbalanced or whatever its still fun on multiplayer. Only time plasma pistol is actually decent. The game that started it all.I still like playing the 2001 graphics oddly. They dont look ugly, just retro I might be looking through nostalgia lens but I don't think so. 11/10

Halo CEA : beautiful remake although lighting did detract from the spooky in some parts -1. Wish we had blur graphics, the graphics are starting to age. Loved the terminals and how they complemented primordium at the time which released a few months later 9/10

Halo 2: arbiter story introduced was such a brave move, weapons feel different from 1 but still good. Story is great even if they rushed. Makes me wonder what we missed. The ghosting issue was really annoying. (Referring to when images would imprint on screen for rest of mission) sword introduction nicee. Soundtrack is best one in the series and nkt because of the random artists that were brought in I could care less for those. Graphics aged pretty badly in some parts I feel like halo ce feels better. Might be because game was unfinished? 10/10

Halo 2A : blur graphics make me drool. Wish they made everything with blur. Its its the best thing ever to happen to halo. Wish they did ce. Terminals of sesa and spark chatting were great I really loved this, was a topic I always wanted them to explore. Spark's redesign is ugly and breaks canon -1. This game was very broken on launch, it would completely crash the xbox with no way to save coop campaign progress during the crashes -1 but thats prob because mcc was a hot mess 8/10 no you know what Im being a petty Spark fan. The blur graphics make this 10/10

Halo 3: I like the story but recent conversations with friends has made me realize how "damsel in distress" this game is among other stuff. Still some epic moments - finally seeing the ark 💕. Weapons sound awful -1 Like toys. They also are awful, most are useless -1 Punching seems to be very powerful. I used to think everyone dying was sad but starting to think bungie just was doing it to end the series those text terminals were great I legit printed them and read them at school. Hi Mendicant bias. Cortana and gravemind shaking the screen was the worst feature in halo history. -1 theres a lot of nostalgia attached to this game, I remember the incredible hype around it leading to release. But to be honest I can look past my nostalgia glasses on this one. Cutscenes are old but not awful. music was epic 7/10

Halo 3a : where the fuck is it

Halo 4 : forerunner trilogy based 💕 emotional chief. Beautiful graphics. Great story. I hate Chief's armor and it breaks canon -1 I don't like killing prometheans and most their guns -1 It didn't feel halo gameplay wise. Dunno why. Story felt halo although a bit complicated for some, but that shouldn't be an issue? Those terminals are everything I ever wanted and Im sad that we don't have more. Also Spartan ops was amazing omg. Music was meh could have been better 8/10

Halo 5 : hurr durr evil cortana -100 killed jul mdama -100 no coop -1000 chief and loce fistfight -100 ruined halo forever -100 ok ok positives, lets see. Blue team, the purple girl monitor, osiris team, arbiter, hunt the truth +100 Hunt the truth had nothing to do with the actual game -200 I missed out on renegades because halo 5 turned me off halo for like two years -100 halo 5 soiled the water supply burned our crops and delivered a plague onto our houses. I never played this game just watched it on youtube -1689/10

Halo Infinite : ok here we go... rushed game, not finished no coop -1 multiplayer broken -1 storyline is... very simple... doesn't feel epic like the others, but, its not a bad story (for the most part) so no subtraction. 0 mention of primordium.... Im not too thrilled at the boss battles concept simply because legendary is a breeze up until boss battles. So its imbalanced. No saving at checkpoints -1 eviltana is not an interesting story but I guess they had to solve it somehow. Her destroying the brutes homeworld was cringe -1 no video terminals-1 love the open world, love the look of the environments although we definitely need more environments. I love the weapons feel. The grapple is so incredibly fun. New characters are definitely loveable. Music is beautiful. 5/10 rating will change if they update it

Halo Reach : Noble team is awesome, music is awesome, story is awesome except for the fact that it breaks canon at some point in the end so -3 its a fun game, love getting something different from the usual Chief stories. Butts +1 Rogue one of halo franchise. 8/10

Halo ODST: so personal opinion... I can't stand how they act. That tough boy wanna piece of me funny guy machito is not my cup of tea -2 I loved Sadie's story/superintendent the guns are fun the game is still fun, I just dont enjoy the story from personal preference. Having to collect beacons to unlock story was extremely annoying -1 music was def a vibe but I didn't really download any of them either (not a negative, it def fit the game) I love non Chief games we nedd more. 7/10

The next games Ive barely played, but not by choice just don't have energy for rts

(Dang no more images allowed)

Halo Wars 1 : solid storyline. Beautiful graphics. The little I played was fun up until anders started dying. Music is epic. Watched it all as a movie on youtube. 10/10

Halo Wars 2: that was blur again right? *Drools* new ai is baby. Good banished introduction. The ark looks beautiful. Good cliffhanger 10/10 Wheres my continuation?

Overall with all the extended lore we have a lot of good but boy does the bad have lasting repercussions...

[mamokzalku]

CHRONICLE OF GOEHNEN AND EZEVNUR

   You awake on the eve of your birthright years, in the tavern on the hill of Eruna Villa, a small settlement ruled by the Gurig Jarl of the Farron Empyron. Of which the empire has established regency over isles south of the shale, jagged and mountainous archipelagos and islands along the turquoise deltas of Haukele Coast which sits inlet and east of the small island of Erunea; and is well known for stacking coastal cities and a sharp ruined heritage dotting its coastlines and architecture style hailing from days before the precursory kaotica elven and primordium dwarven were between defining centuries of war.   Eruna: a small settlement in need of pioneering and proper-exploring is where you have come to call home. Which legends call a draconic foggy isle, because of its close proximity to the northward whirlpool maelstrom deified as "Nyrllvaelstrom", for its width of over forty kilometres. The area has begun to be explored for many islands which curve and wrap around its waters and the stormy areas northward, some many hundred kilometers in size, and a few several thousand kilometers in size. Westward lay many isles already in control by the Farron Empyron, and the Islands of Republia Ekmaenosa, a quickly growing regent empire in possession of finely crafted acropli cities and monumentous architecture and many war machines, beyond this empires bounty there are far northern traders from the deserted plains and the wasted forestlands, and rumors of other continents far southward. To the Far East there are mighty men of many kinds and traders who tell of lands called Xaelezara the tropical Sea-dweller Kingdoms, Rerastao the mountainous and overgrown Erveallansa Kingdomships, and the mighty Eastern Kingdom of Zrvnystarrsa in the arboreal and shrouded lands of Aervlya. ~~~       An ornate formal letter of the Farron Postage Authority has anxiously been opened after having arrived in your letterbox, so now it has come time to swallow your doubts and to meet with the chief guardship Londalques Barrone "Bathlruxr II" shortly to receive instruction on your employment as Wayfinders for the town of Eruna, for the favor of wisely spoken Jarl Gurig. The safety of the township and a chance to form your very own guild is in your hands. ======   In your dreams, you recall the Legend of the Boy Londaesquier Jelnr the Courageous who raised an abandoned egg to its fullest potential after three hundred forty five days of strife and his reliance on the lands and the faets of the natural bounty; the gifts of the creatures of the lands his sustenance, and exile his duty in patronage to the egg, and when he found his task completed gave birth to a mighty welp dragonic , and the gentle kindness had everlasted a pact between azatara and dragons allegiance against the vile serpent, to ally with Goehennr the mightiest colossal warrior that the land dwelling would be avenged and protected by dragons fury, the mighty warrior who rode Axvlata the boy's raised pet fully grown dragon of azure, to glory for all of the lands, and freedom from the vilest serpent Ezevnur the crawling shadow wickedness that slithers within darklands spread. ======   Nightmares stir still in contemptuous fervor each night, and there is lightning at nights of storm-fall from the northward seas, the elven magic protecting the isle enshrouded in fog whispers, and its mountains echo with the rancor thunder which disturb your sleeps, that trouble is erupting again in these crossing shadows at night. You remember still as a child an old forgotten legend, now remaining true again at your age of maturity in the township.

  The  old church in town tells of the dragonic legends, and the old stories of Gohen Onuasa: Watcher of Haevehna, the giants that created our world with hammerfall chasms, the dragon wars and the wars between dwarven, elven and man among periods of fall and the rebirth of Gehennses, one who would lead people out of wars turmoil. ======   Once they were in union and some confederate and prosperous and they were of an old kingdom now forgotten by all, some call the Oneazsa, who ruled from the cities of Anaervia above, Dermezara of the seas, Naervena of lands and Gehndalsa below.  

The old priests in the forgotten shamanic hilltop palaces of Naerven passed down a legend which foretold of the coming age, this was one of disaster for the world as all knew it, such a schism could only be something of immense tyranny and destruction; and its name soon came in the form of Ezevnur the serpentine daevrilarch, and such legends soon became reality. ++==++   And the lost ages of the Naerrvone Constancy would pass this world; a legacy which had influenced much of the encompassed world into an age of guilded prosperity and immense splendor, but in aeons such eras of prosperity slipped from the grasp of all that walk the lands, it was in this time of strife that its eons would foster the Naelvas lineage who fended the world from the clutches of the serpentine and their worm children the mother of all hellspawn tartarus Miwyvesl which birthed many hellish fiends and impish monstrosity alike on the lands, which in turn would come a proclamation from deity above Goehnas speaks thusly:

  " My son of draconic Goehenna Erueanzaxlata vaeldrichr beggotten to all the lands and the haevehna above, thy vilest of evil shalt be slain, for I am fortunae, khaenos, and strife over villaindwellers, incarnate azata of onuas, till thy rivers and lochs overflow with avengement to the vile serpent and all that the abyyzdan command shall purify by Gehengodense's Will, and the draconic remain vangaurd, until it is my will done on the lands, and they will hear Gohen in the skies from haevehna, from Shannaelva and Zelnaerrvone thy will be done, thy villains will be purified until peace be disturbed anew, and you will know my aid by the seas eyes, and as storms surround you."

[didanawisgi]

Searching for a Longevity Food, We Bump into Hericium erinaceus Primordium Rich in Ergothioneine: The “Longevity Vitamin” Improves Locomotor Performances during Aging

Abstract

Phenotypic frailty is characterized by a progressive decline in physical functioning. During ageing, morphological and functional alterations involve the brain, and chief theories involve oxidative stress, free radical accumulation, and reduced antioxidant defenses as the most implicated mechanisms. From boosting the immune system to fighting senescence, medicinal mushrooms have been found to have a number of health and longevity benefits. Among them, Hericium erinaceus (He) has been demonstrated to display a variety of physiological effects, including anti-aging properties. Thus, He represents an attractive natural source for developing novel medicines and functional foods, based on the identification of its active ingredients and metabolites. Particularly, H. erinaceus primordium (He2) extract contains a high amount of Ergothioneine (ERGO), the longevity vitamin. Herein, we revealed the preventive effect of ERGO-rich He2 extract in a preclinical model, focusing on locomotor decline during ageing monitored through spontaneous behavioral test. This effect was accompanied by a significant decrease in some oxidative stress markers (NOS2, COX2) paralleled by an increase in P53, showed in cerebellar cortex cells and fibres by immunohistochemistry. In summary, we demonstrated the neuro-protective and preventive effects of He2 extract during aging, probably due to its peculiarly high ERGO content.

[girlwithouthands]

Lord Bathurst’s seat at Cirencester Park is still in a tolerable state of repair, and the beautiful vistas framed by uncut woods are certainly a delight to see. They seemed to represent a rapprochement between man and nature, but in fact they built an impassible, invisible wall, a ha-ha of the mind and heart. In the older woodlands, man and trees were co-actors in nature, of equal dignity and power. They had to respect and respond to each other. In the new picturesque landscape, man became the spectator of an idea of nature that he himself had made in the image of a primordium that had never existed. If you traveled back to the end of the last Ice Age, for example, it is very likely that the wildwood browsed by large herbivores like aurochs much more closely resembled pollard woods than it did our notion of a pristine forest. In fact, there likely never was an untouched forest.

William Bryant Logan, “Woods Work”

[sageoffablesardowin]

Storytime with the Sage

[aion-rsa]

Halo Infinite: Installation 07 and Zeta Halo Setting Explained

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The Halo expanded universe goes far beyond Master Chief. In fact, Halo Infinite‘s new setting, a Halo ring never before explored in the games, connects to a story set hundreds of thousands of years before humanity’s war with the Covenant.

Installation 07, or “Zeta Halo” as it’s referred to by the UNSC, was built by the ancient Forerunners (the advanced alien species that preceded modern humanity and the Covenant) as the ultimate weapon meant to assert their control over the galaxy that later used to wipe out the parasitic Flood. But it also once housed humans. How did humanity get to this Halo ring and what purpose did they serve in ancient galactic history? We learn much more about humanity’s secret history with the Forerunners and Installation 07 in the Forerunner Trilogy novels by Greg Bear.

While it’s set three years after the events of Halo 5: Guardians and is being billed as a return to the series’ roots before Master Chief’s fight with the resurgent Forerunners, Halo Infinite is still a continuation of the earlier games by 343. It’s fitting, then, that the new adventure will have a major Forerunner influence.

Here’s what we know about Installation 07 and what it might mean for Halo Infinite:

What is Installation 07?

The only Halo ring left that was directly built by the Forerunners, Installation 07 is part of a powerful weapon array and a habitable biome all at once. Thousands of years before the Halo games, Installation 07 was the home of Mendicant Bias, the AI who would later appear in Halo 3‘s terminals.

Along with forests, it offers just about any type of environment one would need for a Halo game that evokes the original: laboratories where Flood were stored, other Forerunner research labs and prisons, low-tech human settlements, and Mendicant Bias’ AI core. The Forerunner tie-in book series involved a lot of hiking across forests, facing strange wildlife, and traversing the underground metal tunnels.

And this Halo ring is big, 20,000 kilometers in diameter bigger than the other six current Halo rings, which measure 10,000 km in diameter. The size is more than perfect for what 343 Industries is calling the largest and most ambitious Halo game yet. The developer has teased that players will be able to explore much of the ring and the map teased in the first gameplay footage will allow you to more freely tackle objectives around the ring in whatever way you choose.

343 creative director Chris Lee teased that players will be able to learn a lot about Installation 07 throughout their adventures on the ring.

“While players will experience the core storyline in a certain order, they’ll have the freedom to explore the Halo Infinite world to uncover secrets and incorporate their own playstyle along the way,” Lee told Games Radar.

On Installation 07, humans were caught in the crossfire of conflicts between the Forerunners and the Flood. Years of war, destruction, and reconstruction made Installation 07 a patchwork of greenery and bare metal.

Human and Forerunner History

Bear detailed a lot of Forerunner and human history in his books, which almost feel like The Lord of the Rings of Halo, with ancient conflicts played out across a giant landscape that has almost as much personality as the characters. Because of the people living there under the auspices of the Forerunners, Installation 07 is actually one of the oldest sites of human habitation in the universe.

The Halo universe’s humans originated on Earth but have a history rather different from our own. In Halo lore, humanity is 150,000 years old and achieved spaceflight well before what we consider prehistory. They spread out to other solar systems but wound up in a war with the Forerunners. The humans lost that war (after humanity allied with the San’Shyuum) and were literally blasted back to the Stone Age, with history on Earth effectively restarting until it led to the far-future story that plays out in the games.

But some humans were also allowed to live on Installation 07, which was part of a Conservation Measure created by the Forerunners to index all sapient species in the galaxy before and as an answer to the spreading Flood. Bear’s novel Halo: Primordium follows humans living on Installation 07 and shows how Forerunners subjected humans to grotesque experiments to test their immunity to the parasite.

Installation 07 was fired twice, once by Mendicant Bias against the San’Shyuum, which are referred to in the Halo games as Prophets, the species that formed the Covenant, and the second time as part of a larger plan to fire all seven Halo rings to destroy the Flood. As you already know if you’ve played the games, the second firing wiped out all species in the galaxy for millennia. Fortunately, the few remaining Forerunners left alive managed to “reseed” (or repopulate) the galaxy with what species they’d “saved” with the Conservation Measure.

The events of The Forerunner Trilogy connect to the main villain of the recent Halo games, the Didact, a Forerunner political leader and military commander who resumed his war against humanity in Halo 4 after a near eternity in stasis. With him also comes the Mantle of Responsibility, a philosophical viewpoint that steered the entire Forerunner culture. It’s also a nationalistic flag of military and technological superiority, so the conflict over who holds the Mantle has been a major source of plot in 343’s Halo trilogy. By the end of Halo 5, Master Chief’s AI companion Cortana has technically assumed the Mantle by naming herself head of an AI faction and gaining control of the Guardians, robots built by the Forerunners to protect the Mantle.

If that sounds a bit vague and overwrought, well, it is. Halo 4‘s lore was busy and convoluted, either immersive or all shaky scaffolding depending on how you look at it. But it does explain why Installation 07 is a suitable choice for the end of a trilogy that began with the Forerunners taking revenge for something no human alive knew had happened.

Halo Infinite is out on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC in Holiday 2020.

The post Halo Infinite: Installation 07 and Zeta Halo Setting Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[blaebeast]

Character Bio: Hrugar

Name: Hrugar, Hru

Age: 56

Sex: Male (He/Him)

Weapon: Spiked club

Faction: Unison, formerly Cruelty/Primordium

Occupation: Sector Leader (Enforcement)

Relationship: Single

Close Friends: Millius, Fuchsia, Salome, Tulri, Anthar, Yulon, Zyke, Etsis

Friends: Tiruki, Orture, Yuim, Dodge, Mask, Salem

Knows of: Cylia, Hadet, Grows-Bones, Kanne, Sirit, Farris, Shine, Tola, Glee

Family: Miriar (little sister), Anthar (nephew), Tulri (daughter-like)

Goals and Motivations:

- I used to be a young stud that roamed the land and got to sleep with a people. But since I settled down in Unison and had to raise my nephew, I’ve been too busy to have my own life. I want to find someone I can settle down with.

- Tulri is essentially my daughter. I love her endlessly and want nothing than to help her be happy and in control of her life. I would’ve adopted her if her parents had let me, but they refused, leading me to taking her in and raising her when I could. We have an unspoken mutual father-daughter relationship that I truly appreciate as someone who never had his own kid.

- Anthar is essentially my son. I helped to raise him all his life, especially in his earliest years when his mother was dealing with PTSD and postpartum depression. I am very proud of how he’s grown and that he’s matured to be more like me and his mother and barely like his father.

- I don’t know how I did things before Fuchsia came into my life. I’m pretty sure I’d be stuck with my head up my ass if she wasn’t around holding my hand and walking me through things all the time. She is incredible, determined and talented. Too bad she’s super fucking horny all the time and is obsessed with my dick.

- I’ve fought and been in wars and killed people. Those moments still haunt me when life gets quiet.

- I was almost one of the most powerful Beasts on the planet, but I had to give it up because the world wasn’t ready for what I had to say. It’s nice to see Hadet taking my ideas and expanding upon them, actually putting them into action.

- Millius is one of the best Beasts on the planet. She helped me when I was new to town and down on my luck, housed me, helped with raising Anthar, and just being good company. I owe her a lot.

- Millius and I weren’t Salem’s friends/knights by choice. Salem is a very intense, driven man with powerful ideas. While I believed in some of the goals we was working towards, he’s not someone I would want to hang out with if I didn’t have to. I feel like he would be a better person if he wasn’t so paranoid.

- Salome is such a good girl and is much more compassionate and sympathetic than her father. I want to do everything I can to support her, as her goals are my goals.

- Tulri and Salome just need to start dating already. But I get why they’re not. Salem is a scary guy who really got into Tulri’s head and conditioned them both to be very fearful.

- My Enforcers need to be good, kind people that want to help the public and Unison thrive.

- I have secret things buried outside far outside of Unison. Some things in there I’ll take to my grave.

- My family matters very deeply to me. My “kids” and my sister are my world. And though I may not play an active role in their lives, the people I met and gave children to when I was young I still care for and wish them well.

- I was more “active” when I was younger, but I am still a priest of Himma, the god of Fertility. It also doesn’t help that I was known as a breeding stud when I was a part of the Primordium.

Personality and Interests:

- Only be serious when the mood calls for it. It’s ok to bullshit and be silly. But time and place matter, of course.

- What’s better than smoking weed and drinking a brew? Not much.

- I may be old and fat but I am still a warrior. I still work and train and keep myself strong.

- I don’t waver on my beliefs. I hold strong to what I know is right and true.

- Sometimes we can bend the rules a little bit. Especially if the rules are stupid anyways.

- Nature maters to me. I like plants and animal and nature and all that hippy shit.

- I strive to be a person that people can feel safe and happy around. I want people to look back and enjoy the time they’ve chose to spend with me.

Artwork: