#silverwing book 0

[chaoskirin]

Book Review--Darkwing by Kenneth Oppel

OK, I have to start by saying this was another can't-put-down book, but unfortunately... I have a biology degree. And have a special interest in the era generally discussed in this book, the K-Pg extinction. (Not the C-T extinction as the description says. AFAIK, there was no extinction event called the C-T extinction, although the K-Pg extinction used to be called the K-T extinction.)

What I really wish is that this book would have leaned into its fantasy elements as the author had done with the first three books. I needed some suspension of disbelief. The interference of a god. Maybe the intervention of mystics or shaman. Something to make the events of this book make sense in its context. But this book was very much presented as an EXTREMELY low fantasy tale, and sort of sidelined into the talking animal trope with no fantasy elements. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

So I'll go into what I really liked about the book first.

To make a quick summary of the plot, the dinosaurs are in their death throes and other animals are inheriting the earth. The animals made a pact to destroy the last of all saurian eggs whenever they were found to hasten their extinction, but a group of pre-bats (which the authors called chiropters) decided they didn't want to do that because it was morally wrong. The other chiropters resent this group for making that decision and they have been banished. The plot expands from there.

So... Oppel knows how to tell a story. Like I said earlier, this book was extremely compelling and kept me reading because I did truly care about the characters. I had feelings over them, got in their heads, and generally liked them all--even the characters presented as villains. The main character, Dusk, is a chiropter who was born much different than others; it turns out, he can fly, and find his way in the dark. His story parallels an early felid named Carnassial, who has discovered he has a taste for meat and is different than the others in his pride (called a prowl in the book) which only eat bugs.

I didn't love the unspoken lack of morality Oppel assigned to Carnassial, and would have liked to have seen this predatory switch be more honorable (which still would have made him an effective villain to the other characters), but meat eating was generally presented as an act of savagery rather than survival. This switch to meat eating was also scientifically problematic, but I'll get more into that in a bit.

I know I seem really hard on the book, but like I said, I could not stop reading it. I stayed up all night to finish it, despite my better judgement. Because I cared about Dusk, and I wanted to see him succeed. I wanted to see him find a place he belonged. And therein lies the importance of writing sympathetic characters. I kept reading because I liked him. I also liked his sister, Sylph, and his father Icaron. Some of the side characters were also enjoyable, and I understood the foil, Nova's, role in the story. Nova had come to shift her ways of thinking over time, and did not like Icaron, who was the leader of the hero group of chiropters.

But...

There are so many issues with the book, starting with the lack of fantastical elements. According to the author, this is supposed to be a fantasy world. And just introducing SOMETHING--magic, gods, anything--in Darkwing would have made 90% of my problems with the science just go away. I would have given the book 4 stars. But these fantasy elements are completely absent, save for a moment where Dusk licks a mushroom and has a terrible trip wherein he hears a voice (possibly Nocturna???) tell him that he's new. It's never outright stated. Had Oppel done so and leaned into the canonical existence of gods, so much more would have made sense. Instead, this can literally be written off as a drug-induced dream. In a children's book.

And now we can get into the problems this leads to when it comes to science.

A quick primer on evolution: it happens over millions of years through natural selection. Let's say a group of pre-bats occasionally produces young with stronger chest muscles. This is a natural variable in the lives of these creatures, and generally does not affect them in a positive or negative way. But as the environment changes over time, pre-bats born with stronger chest muscles are able to stay aloft longer and avoid predators more successfully. Which means those individuals are the ones left alive to breed. Other adaptations may follow. Less fur on the wings makes individuals more aerodynamic, and more of them survive.

Over hundreds of thousands of years, this trait is selected for within specific environments, and eventually this species is no longer similar to its parent species. Should they encounter each other (because the parent species might still survive in environments suited to it) they would no longer be able to interbreed, due to mutations in genetics. But you would have two related species--one with weaker chest muscles and furred wings, and one with strong chest muscles and bare wings.

The way evolution is presented in Darkwing is that every once in a while, a bat is born from chiropters. Dusk isn't like his fellows, who have weak chests, three claws on their wings, the inability to flap/fly, and the inability to truly echolocate. Later in the book, (view spoiler)

It's just. Not how evolution works. It isn't even a simplified version of how evolution works. And this continued to bother me, because all Oppel would have had to say is that the goddess, Nocturna, selected certain individuals to become Something New (tm) and it would have been FINE.

Likewise, as long as there have been creatures on earth, there have been predators. Obligate carnivores. Things that cannot survive eating berries and roots and must have a protein-rich diet with the vitamins that can only come from meat. This is niche-filling and promotes a healthy food web. If you're curious as to how carnivores can effect entire ecosystems, look no further than the effect the reintroduction of wolves had on Yellowstone... A phenomenon that surprised even scientists. From the very beginning, there were simple eukaryotes which ate plant cells, and those which ate OTHER eukaryotes. This maintained a balance in any given ecosystem and caused it to thrive.

So for the author to write that no beast would ever eat another beast and then have one particular character just decide he wanted meat... It was a little unbelievable. Evolution drives predation. Necessity drives predation. Again, this could have been solved by a god or goddess flipping a switch in the minds of some of the animals of the world. It would have been awesome for a higher power to note that populations were increasing to unsustainable levels and cause some animals to become predators. But in the book, this change is instead presented as a natural occurrence. I didn't like it.

Beyond the science, this book had absolutely NO levity. While this presented constant action, the inability for my brain to rest between chapters actually made me more tired reading it. I am a firm believer that even the most action-oriented books need to leave space for their readers to breathe. A place where I can put down the book without thinking about picking it back up again. Not only was it constant action, but it was also CONSTANTLY dumping on the main characters and they never had any good luck. Whether they were being predated or attacked by birds, it never let up. They were constantly harried, and I'm surprised they didn't all have heart attacks from the stress.

Even with all that, I STILL have to recommend this book, as long as you have no issues with hand-waving some pretty solid scientific theories. It's a good story, and it's a fun read.

[feanoryen]

AU where all the adult dragons survive the dance in full health but no new eggs are hatched

(and their riders still die ofc)

Here's who I see the next generation of Targs claiming:

(Seasmoke will continue getting passed down by House Velaryon)

Viserys II: Vermithor - Intellectually he had the potential to be the second coming of Jaehaerys, I think Vermithor would have seen his first rider in Viserys II and formed a bond with him.

Aegon IV: Syrax - Both very lazy and very fertile. I know he would have wanted Sunfyre because he seems superficial as heck but I can NOT see him bonding with Sunfyre. (Say what you will about Egg2, but he loved Sunfyre in a was Egg4 was incapable of loving anyone.)

Aemon: Tessarion - The Daeron the Daring vibes are there! I think Tessarion would have been drawn to him judging by him sharing many traits in common with her first rider.

Naerys: Dreamfyre - Might have not claimed a dragon at all but Papa Viserys might have hoped a dragon would improve her poor health and pushed her to claim one. Plus, Dreamfyre LOVES her miserable tragic Targ Queens and Naerys gave birth to twins once. You know who else had twins? That's right, Queen Rhaena and Queen Helaena.

Daeron I: Vhagar - Boy King would have wanted himself the greatest beast he could get. Nothing more fitting to conquer Dorne than a conqueror's dragon. Would have gotten himself and Vhagar killed in Dorne like Rhaenys & Meraxes.

Baelor I: Silverwing - If he chooses a dragon at all I can't imagine it being anyone other than the gentle Silverwing.

Daena: Meleys - I think Meleys has a type: strong & badass Targ ladies.

Rhaena: NONE - She 100% wouldn't have claimed a dragon.

Elaena: Morning - After aunt Rhaena's death. She stole her other aunt Baela's man (Alyn V), only fitting for her to take Rhaena's dragon.

Daeron II: Sunfyre - While he's not that similar to Aegon II obviously, Sunfyre is a dragon who's characterization is built around love. I love the idea of Sunfyre picking up on a boy feeling rejected by his father and filling that hole like he did for another Targ boy before, only this one ended up being a better person. (Plus daddy undearest Aegon IV would have been so pissed off seeing Daeron claim the prettiest dragon.)

Daenerys: Silverwing - She seemed intelligent and likable and kind, not to mention her descendants followed absolute primogeniture and she shares a name with feminist icon Alysanne's daughter so Silverwing just fits.

Baelor: Tessarion - Listen! I trust my girl Tessarion to have good taste! I can see Baelor claiming her after great-uncle Aemon's death.

Aerys I: NONE - I feel like be wouldn't have one. He's so Archmaester Vaegon coded, he'd just be locked up in his room with his books.

Rhaegel: N/A - Just N/A, we know nothing about him.

Maekar: Sunfyre - He would wait years to claim Sunfyre after his dad's death. Sunfyre would have been very large at this point plus he's a war dragon which would be perfect for Maeker's war-like tendencies.

And the great bastards...

Daemon Blackfyre: Vermithor - I think Aegon IV would 100% let him claim a dragon and I think Vermithor would fit him. Especially with his forbidden love story with Daenerys.

Bittersteel: Vermithor - After Daemon's death, he'd claim Vermithor to continue Daemon's fight just like he took Blackfyre.

Bloodraven: Caraxes - An unusual dragon just like Bloodraven himself. I can see Daeron II offering him a dragon but I can't see him having a dragon going into current day so he'd probably get Caraxes killed at some point.

Shiera Seastar: NONE - As lovely as she is, there would be 0 good reason for Daeron II to give her one since she isn't fighting wars for him like Bloodraven.

[bohemian-nights]

I'm not going to trust those "source" accounts about any rumors that Nettles is not going to appear in season 2.

👏🏽What is being said also isn’t lining up with previous leaks. When know Silver Denys is coming(and keeping him alive in the show makes 0 sense), Addam claims Silverwing, and Rhaena is going to the Vale. This is what happens in book canon and Silver Denys literally sets the stage for Nettles. Even if she isn’t in s2 I’m having a hard time believing she’s been cut. The math is not adding up here.

[kellyvela]

Hey I want to ask grrm point out that dragons are wmd n ww are basically represent climate change or global warming then how wmd are effective against global warming? I think in books during battle of wf Dany dragons will create destruction rather than killing we plus the soil can't be rejuvenate after washing fire on it. Wat do you think?

I’m agree with you Anon. 

At first when George was asked about the meaning of “A Song of Ice and Fire”, he said things like: “I am known for titles that have several meanings” or “I like titles that work on several different levels”, but in more recent interviews he was very specific:

Why your saga is called A Song of Ice and Fire, because of the Wall and the dragons or is something more beyond that?

Oh! That’s the obvious thing but yes, there’s more. People say I was influenced by Robert Frost’s poem, and of course I was, I mean… Fire is love, fire is passion, fire is sexual ardor and all of these things. Ice is betrayal, ice is revenge, ice is… you know, that kind of cold inhumanity and all that stuff is being played out in the books.

—Adria’s News, 2012

Here is Fire and Ice by Robert Frost:

Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

As you can see, from George’s answer and from Frost’s poem, Ice and Fire are two opposite forces, both able to destroy the world. 

George was even more specific when he confirmed that the White Wakers (Ice) & Dany and her dragons (Fire), are the Ice and Fire of the title “A Song of Ice and Fire”, he also called them threats, great and dangerous threats:  

For people who are not familiar with your work, the series takes place in an imaginary world. There is a struggle for control of the kingdom. This dynastic war is essentially one of three main plot lines. There are the other plot lines involving these sort of superhuman characters, and then there’s the exiled Targaryen daughter who seeks the return of her ancient throne. Why those three main plot lines?

Well, of course, the two outlying ones — the things going on north of the Wall, and then there is Targaryen on the other continent with her dragons — are of course the ice and fire of the title, “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The central stuff — the stuff that’s happening in the middle, in King’s Landing, the capital of the seven kingdoms — is much more based on historical events, historical fiction. It’s loosely drawn from the Wars of the Roses and some of the other conflicts around the 100 Years’ War, although, of course, with a fantasy twist. You know, one of the dynamics I started with, there was the sense of people being so consumed by their petty struggles for power within the seven kingdoms, within King’s Landing — who’s going to be king? Who’s going to be on the Small Council? Who’s going to determine the policies? — that they’re blind to the much greater and more dangerous threats that are happening far away on the periphery of their kingdoms.

And of course, you can see that all through history. It’s a common dynamic that takes place in history. You know, the Greek city-states, before the birth of Christ, you know, and fighting with each other, squabbling with each other, even as Philip of Macedon built up his armies to conquer them all. But you even see it in modern times, you know — the political struggles of France, under the Third Republic, while the Nazi threat is rising.

But the French politicians would almost rather befriend the Nazis than each other. And maybe our lessons in the modern day too. Who knows? I mean, we have things going on in our world right now like climate change, that’s, you know, ultimately a threat to the entire world. But people are using it as a political football instead of, you know … You’d think everybody would get together.

This is something that can wipe out possibly the human race. So I wanted to do an analogue not specifically to the modern-day thing but as a general thing with the structure of the book.

—Al Jazeera 2014

In the Show, the White Walkers & Dany and her dragons clashed twice: 

The first time Dany and her dragons were able to fly beyond the Wall and once there, the Night King was able to kill one of Dany’s dragons.

Ice: 1 - Fire: 0

The second time the White Walkers attacked Winterfell and Dany tried to kill the Night King with Drogon’s flames, this happened:

She failed. The Night King was the real unburnt of the story. 

Ice: 2 - Fire: 0

Did Ice won? Not really, the Starks won. As Sansa rightly states: Arya's the one that killed the Night King.

Starks: 1 -  Great & dangerous -icy- threat against humanity: 0

Did Fire won then? Not really, the Starks won again. Jon killed his aunt.

Starks: 2 -  Great & dangerous -fiery- threat against humanity: 0

In their “particular” way, D&D gave us the same story that George is writing, a story where The Starks are the Heroes.   

But what will happen in the books? It can’t be exactly the same. In the books there is no Night King. In the ASOIAF universe dragons can’t fly beyond the wall, dragons can’t cross the Wall.  More over, dragons don’t do well in the North:

Good Queen Alysanne Targaryen’s dragon Silverwing: 

The men of the Night’s Watch were as thunderstruck by the queen’s dragon as the people of White Harbor had been, though the queen herself noted that Silverwing “does not like this Wall.” 

Though it was summer and the Wall was weeping, the chill of the ice could still be felt whenever the wind blew, and every gust would make the dragon hiss and snap. “Thrice I flew Silverwing high above Castle Black, and thrice I tried to take her north beyond the Wall,” Alysanne wrote to Jaehaerys, “but every time she veered back south again and refused to go. Never before has she refused to take me where I wished to go. I laughed about it when I came down again, so the black brothers would not realize anything was amiss, but it troubled me then and it troubles me still.”

—Fire & Blood 

Prince of Dragonstone Jacaerys Velaryon’s dragon Vermax:

Autumn was well advanced when the Prince of Dragonstone came to Winterfell. The snows lay deep upon the ground, a cold wind was howling from the north, and Lord Stark was in the midst of his preparations for the coming winter, yet he gave Jacaerys a warm welcome. Snow and ice and cold made Vermax ill-tempered, it is said, so the prince did not linger long amongst the northmen, but many a curious tale came out of that short sojourn.

—Fire & Blood

Silverwing was in the North during Summer, and Vermax was in the North during Autumn, and both didn’t like it. What will happen with dragons in the North during Winter???

What do I think is going to happen? While I think that Ice and Fire are destined to clash, no matter who wins or loses that battle, when the time comes that the Starks have to fight against those two threats, the Starks will prevail against both.   

Sorry it took me so long to answer your question, I’m the worst with my inbox...

[beyondthetemples]

{{ Tagged (sort of) by @streetxcat!

name —  Zira, Shadow, Snow, RSK, take your pick! gender — agender star sign — Aries sun; Cancer moon; Scorpio rising height — 5′3 age — 27 wallpaper on my phone — starry sky. ever crush on a teacher — my aro ass barely crushes on anyone, let alone teachers! (Though you could say I had a platonic crush on my English teacher in 9th grade. She was very supportive of my poetry, always asked what inspired my creative writings, geeked out with me about the Latin language and Edgar Allen Poe... She even rescued some books that were going to be thrown away from the teacher’s lounge and gave them to me! They’re Latin grammar books from the 1920′s and 1940′s.) coolest halloween costume — My favorite has to be one of my many Raven cosplays. Personally, I love that I cosplayed DCAMU!Raven when we only had the trailer for JLvTT--and the trailer wasn’t even officially released yet; I’d found it leaked on YouTube before the DVD with the trailer came out! I saw her casual outfit, liked what I saw, and then made the outfit with mainly things I already had. (I even crafted the gold-and-red-circle necklace.) I’ve worn that one to like 7 different events by now, it’s great. favourite 90s tv show — Heck, I can hardly remember when the 90′s and 00′s cartoons split... Static Shock? Beetlejuice? Batman Beyond? Pokemon? The Tick? Fairly OddParents also has a special place in my heart, because Cosmo was a huge inspiration when I was figuring Srentha out. last kiss — Probably my mother, saying goodbye on the 4th. have you ever been stood up —  By my stepmother and father, mostly. favourite pair of shoes — Please let me be barefoot. have you ever been to vegas — Three times. (For seminars. I don’t gamble.) favourite fruit — Lychee, mango, or pomegranate! favourite books — I’m always going to tell you my favorite books are the New Teen Titans comic books by Marv Wolfman and George Perez! My favorite non-comic novels, though, is a much more complicated answer. The contenders include Bruiser by Neal Shusterman, The Winter Oak by James A. Hetley, Growing Wings by Lauren Winter, the Silverwing series, the Sevenwaters trilogy by Juliet Marillier, and too many others to list. all time favourite shows — Teen Titans, always and forever! (Who, me? Biased? Nooo!) Teen Titans is far and away my all-time favorite, hands down. But since it says “shows” with an S, I also love Steven Universe, Legend of the Seeker, Yugioh (Duel Monsters and especially “season 0″), Ruby Gloom, Doom Patrol, and not to rejoin the bandwagon, but Avatar: The Last Airbender. last movie you saw in theatres — I see movies so rarely, I honestly can’t remember the last time I was in a theatre. Maybe it was Shazam? tagged by: @streetxcat tagging: @blueveines @cyberninja @robynrpmain (And anyone else who meets this criteria: You’re reading this, and you want to do it!)

[auroral-melody]

Do you know any good book suggestions for people who liked Neil Gaiman and Pratchett ? Sorry for bothering you again :D

Not bothering me at all! :DDD Love me some book-sharing!

Well, I don’t know about specifically for people who like Gaiman and Pratchett. But I can tell you some books that I like! Some of my favorites! Typically sci-fi or fantasy, comedic but also serious is the theme here...

Just in general Douglas Adams. I like The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. Various gods being chaotic. Thor not understanding passports.

The Stainless Steel Rat (Harry Harrison) -- this has been my favorite series for YEARS. It’s a bit, well, dated, since it was first written 1961, but it’s HILARIOUS. Fun space romp. It’s essentially about a mass criminal in the space age who teases the police. PLEASE READ IT,

Here’s a quick excerpt from when he’s trying to set up a band for...god, I don’t remember. Reasons. Anyway, bagpipes have long since been forgotten....

The Martian (Andy Weir) -- I love comedy and I’m a physics major, I legally have to love this book. It’s SO GOOD.

“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.”

“Maybe I’ll post a consumer review. “Brought product to surface of Mars. It stopped working. 0/10.”

“As with most of life's problems, this one can be solved by a box of pure radiation.”

If you don’t know, it’s about a guy who gets stuck on Mars, and it’s written mostly journal-entry style. I like the book better -- the movie actually skipped like, 2-3 Major Plot Points that cause a lot of fun horrible things to happen!!! I love this book so much.

The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis) -- It’s about a demon, Wormwood, whose job is to tempt a specific human to damnation. The book is written p much entirely from letters that Wormwood’s uncle/mentor(?) Screwtape sends him to advise him. It has its funny moments (the “accidentally turned into a centipede” bit is ICONIC), but it’s a fairly theologically thoughtful book. It’s almost creepy to read, because Screwtape gives such good advice on how to tempt people. I don’t know, I like this book a lot.

Silverwing (Kenneth Oppel) -- Tbh, I don’t remember the series That well, I need to reread, but it’s about a bat named Shade and his interactions with humans (and human warfare), as well as larger, more frightening vampire bats Goth and Throbb...

The second book, Firewing, takes place in a version of Hell. That version of Hell has actually always been influential to how I think of/write/draw Hell -- there’s a whole story arc involving the stone sky and chipping away at it to try to reach the surface...it’s fascinating.

I loved His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman) (fighting god, cool animal partners) although I have exactly 0 memory of the 3rd book where all that happens. I also liked a lot of Eoin Colfer books including but not limited to Artemis Fowl (fair folk, centaurs, fun science/magic, boy genius), The Supernaturalist (cyberpunk), and The Legend of the Worst Boy in the World (just a fun ol’ realisticish comedy). A lot of them are considered YA/kids, I bet, but they’re honestly just fun and really good. Also Half-Moon Investigations I remember fondly and have no idea what it’s about except it’s a mystery.

(If you’re more mathy like me, I’m plugging Flatland. I know a lot of people found it boring but I loved it a lot. As far as I remember it’s “capitalism fucks up even basic geometric shapes! also, what if the world were 2D?”)

If you’re into comics, may I recommend:

Out from Boneville (Jeff Smith), a fantasy comic involving a few odd creatures called “Bones” coming across humanity, as well as a couple of rat creatures Stinky and Smelly (who loves quiche). I unfortunately am missing most of the middle books, so I’ve never read the whole thing, but it’s really good okay, I adore this series.

Loki: Agent of Asgard (Al Ewing) This is one of the few Marvel comics I’ve read (I’m currently reading a bit of Journey into Mystery). It’s fun and it’s a lot of good Loki characterization, and a lot of nonbinary Loki!!!! 

Hope you have a chance to read some of these sometime!

[paperanddice]

Camazotz

Camazotz comes from Mayan history as a bat god or monster depending on the story, usually associated with night, death or fire. A number of different stories disagree on the specifics, but Camazotz is always a bat that brings death. If you read the Silverwing book series like I did then you also have some vivid memories of Cama Zotz being the grand villain for the series as essentially a powerful demon for the bats. The third book was especially dedicated to him.

Kobold Press provides a story for this version of Camazotz’s association with fire as him having stolen the aspect from Lord of the Hearth and the Fire of Life, Huhueteotl (Huehueteotl, another Mesopotamian figure, though more connected to the Aztecs). With this new source of power, Camazotz seeks to expand his base of power and bring destruction to more, as is his general goal as a demon lord.

His deep connection to night and bats grants him many of his most notable powers, such as keen echolocation, the ability to transform into a giant bat and summon bats to his side. His spellcasting includes many powerful spells, including dispel magic, plane shift, shapechange, telekinesis and teleport at will, banishment and haste several times per day each, and one powerful earthquake spell. His spellcasting largely works to heavily hinder his foes, or bolster his own power, whereupon he can make sue of his incredibly powerful melee abilities. His fire aspect causes his body to burn with enough heat to harm those that strike him in close melee range and breath unholy fire upon his foes, which will strip away their vitality with Con damage. His bite and claws also deal damage to the target’s strength, and creatures that are reduce to 0 strength by this may rise from the dead as vampires under Camazotz’s control.

Going to battle with this demon lord invites a full army to face off against the group. 4d6 giant bats or 2d6 bat swarms, 2d4 flying barlgura demons, plus up to ten vampires permanently under his control, plus the demon lord himself. With such a large swarm of foes, even high level parties will be beset on all sides and forced to spend time and resources to remove many of the enemies from the battle simply to have room to move around at all.

A large ship stops on the shores of an uncharted island as part of its mission of exploration. As the advanced team tracks deeper into the forest, they find an ancient temple with no sign of the people who built it. If they touch any of the treasures within it, they draw the attention of something great and powerful in the island’s core and the volcano that makes the center of the island explodes suddenly, the cloud of ash bursting forth turning day into night within minutes. Millions of bats begin swarming in confusion all over the island, attacking people and animals at random as they are riled up to war by the anger of the lord of this island. The explorers will have the choice of simply fleeing the island, leaving Camazotz riled up and furious at them, possibly with the intention of tracking them down, or meeting with the powerful being and attempting to calm his rage with them.

Stealing the aspect of even a minor god is a risky move for any being. Huhueteotl may not have the strength to directly confront Camazotz now but that doesn’t mean he is powerless. He gathers several of the realm’s greatest heroes together to set off on a mission that will draw Camazotz into a position of vulnerability. Destroying the demon lord’s body will simply cause him to be banished back to the center of his power in the Abyss, but if they can instead imprison the demon within a massive magic circle within a consecrated temple, they can negotiate with the demon lord, or work to rip the aspect of fire away from him by force. Even if they are successful, they will have earned the ire of a demon lord with this act, and the Lord of the Hearth and the Fire of Life won’t be able to be there to protect them always.

Camazotz has no permanent lair in the Abyss yet. The demon lord, despite his power, hasn’t yet managed to truly claim a location that he can hold against all contenders. With his recent claiming of the aspect of fire to his domains however, he finally has the power to move against other lords of the Abyss and carve out his realm. Hundreds of demons and mortal followers are laying war to several of his foes, most predominantly Alquam who shares Camazotz’s connection with the night, and this battle extends to the mortal plane as well. Adventurers who track the source of this increase in conflicts in major cities and in the wilderness between the demon lord’s adherents may find themselves with an opportunity to weaken two demon lords at once, if they can take advantage of the distractions present. They must be very careful not to cause too great of an imbalance in the ongoing conflict however. If one side clearly wins over the other, the loser may turn their attention instead to a group that they could blame for their failure.

[cruciatusxxcervus]

— 8 PEOPLE I’D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER !!

( repost, don’t reblog. )

ONE ( NAME / ALIAS ): Kirin, Kiri, Eris, Outlaw, Outtie, Shikoba, Shiko, Denali, The White Horseman of Conquest (Pestilence), Hyena, Amaroq, Eden-mun TWO ( BIRTHDAY ): 10/18 THREE ( ZODIAC SIGN ): Libra FOUR ( HEIGHT ): 5′0′‘ FIVE ( HOBBIES ): Writing and storytelling, drawing, character design, exploring nature, researching mythology and legends, daydreaming, meditating SIX ( FAVOURITE COLOUR(S) ): Pale smoky blue (not sure if it has a name) SEVEN ( FAVOURITE BOOKS ): Out of Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, and as a kid, I really enjoyed the Silverwing book series by Kenneth Oppel, and Fire Within and Ice Fire by Chris d’Lacey. I really need to get back to reading something other than research articles and text books ;u; EIGHT ( LAST SONG LISTENED TO ): Miracles (Someone Special) by Coldplay and Big Sean NINE ( LAST FILM WATCHED ):  Uuuh... I think it was Hostiles.  TEN ( INSPIRATION FOR MUSE ): My faith, my personal experiences with mental illness and my spiritual journey, Native American lore, Egyptian and African mythology, animals, nature, astrology, astronomy, Lioden, Final Fantasy VII, and Imperfect Cell (like when his energy was depicted as wailing souls, that was always something that stuck with me and tried to replicate, like someone seeing energy as the spirit of a being).  ELEVEN: wait what was the question?? TWELVE ( MEANING BEHIND YOUR URL ): @doctormyuu helped me come up with it! It means “Crucified (or “tormented”) Deer”. There’s a lot of symbolism in Eden’s story, much of it comes from the Bible. She plays the role of fallen man and loss of paradise (hence her name being Eden), Judas in his betrayal to Jesus, and eventually bearing her own cross symbolically and enduring the brutal journey for forgiveness and resolution. It’s why her antlers are curved and look like a halo of large thorns, kind of like the crown of thorns. 

Originally posted by m48patton

TAGGING: @stoplickingthingsweird , @crownprincefreeza , @doctormyuu , @krazyokami , @earthsno1champ , @bioxdroid , @breaking-limitz , @destinedreturn , @fyu-ture , @exaltedideals , @keyoca , @greatmegabots , @galactic-tyrant , @thefortunetellerbaba , @the-human-maelstrom ,  @indomitablepride I wanna get to know everyone here okay

TAGGED BY: @radmanraditz (Thank you!!)