#the preceptor of iron dogs

[twnj]

Hugh d'Ambray- The Preceptor of the Iron Dogs 💪🔥

[maitter-of-creepfell]

Came to me in a flash of genius

[maitter-of-creepfell]

Y E S

“ he stared at her. every instinct he had screamed a warning. he had to decide now if he still wanted her if she was that. he didn’t even know what that was. […] magic, no magic, human, not human, who was he to judge? ”

IRON AND MAGIC by ilona andrews

[deontoillogical]

Heaven Official's Blessing seems to be about the nativity of Xie Lian at first. It seems to be about situations where there is no right answer and a decision on who to save must be made. Xie Lian is in fact embarrassed about his former idealism, his goals to save the common man, his youthful optimism.

Spoilers ahead:

When we learn what his preceptor asked him 800 years before, about the two dying humans in the desert. If you were a god, and you could give either one of them a cup of water saving their life but leaving the other to die, who would you choose?

It's a type of trolley problem, a distilled hypothetical meant only to enlighten its audience to the methods of their personal ethical frameworks.

For example, Mu Qing, the practical one, the utilitarian, asked about the qualities that might allow him to decide who is more worth saving.

Feng Xin, the honorable one, the deontologist, answered that they should discuss it among themselves.

On the other hand, Xie Lian was an idealist. Give them two cups of water. Reject the premise of scarcity. I am a god. Why can't I save both?

After the prince faced so many versions of this problem in the present... from the Banyue people to the Wind Master and his brother... and so many trials in the past... from the fall of his own people, to the fall of Yong-an's king at his own hand... we are told there are situations where someone must suffer. We are told that Xie Lian was naive. Xie Lian believes it himself, as the idealists he had taken under his wing (Banyue and Lang Qianqiu) crack in the face of a harsher reality.

His idealism failed him time and time again.

Except, as we learn the history of Wuyong and its fallen prince, the text also starts to reveal that there were two cups to begin with. One had always been artificially taken away.

Would Banyue need to betray her own people if they did not hoard the oasis? Would the country of Banyue need to fall so harshly if they hadn't intended to take out their enemy as soon as they met their defeat? (Problematic caricature of a "savage" culture aside)

Would Wind Master's brother need to change his fate if White No-Face hadn't made the creature who destroyed his life to begin with?

Would Xianle have fallen to Yong'an if the financial aid hadn't been skimmed by every official along the way? If the poor had the opportunity to pray and Xie Lian could have found them sooner? If the refugees weren't treated worse than dogs? If more than just the richest refugees were allowed to stay in the capital city? If other gods had helped Xie Lian carry water to Yong'an? If White No-Face hadn't artificially stuck his hand into the disaster and created the plague that sealed Xianle's fate? Every step of the way there was someone hoarding the water, both metaphorically and very literally. There was no way to save everyone, but a bit more reprieve could have stopped the civil war before it even started.

This is in parallel to Wuyong that fell not because its prince was naive, but because every other god refused to give their aid with no benefit to themselves. There was plenty of power to save the people, to forge the bridge and keep it steady. Every other god refused to use it.

But in simple acts of selflessness, you can bring back the water. Ironically, the motif that represents this aspect of the narrative is in the blockage of the rain. What kept Xie Lian sain just a bit longer if not an umbrella given to him by some random mortal soul? One passed to the boy devoted to him, that ultimately blocked the rain of blood once more upon their first meeting since Xie Lian's 3rd ascension.

The same style of hat that created the rains--the gift of water gifted out of the rain master's kindness--protected Xie Lian from the downpour in his lowest moment. As he sat in the storm waiting for the moment that he would unleash plague, finally admitting defeat of any hope for the humanity of the common man, a stranger stumbles over him. He cusses him out. Why wouldn't he? He was splayed out on the street, an inconvenient obstacle. A pathetic piece of performance art left to suffer the piercing of his own blade for almost three days straight. Only his enemy to relieve him from such pain. So there he was. In the way.

But as the stranger carried on, he stopped. He turned back. He handed his own straw hat to the poor figure in the streets. Humans are selfish. And humans are also selfless. Humans are human. And luck would have it, a human was human to him right before it was too late.

It's something White No-Face never realized, with his heart hardened by the betrayal of his own people. He saw the common man he slaved for for 5 years turn against him. He still persisted. He built their bridge to heaven as they turned from him. And just as their world was about to end, he suspended that bridge on his will power alone. If only they didn't swarm him. If only they could just trust him, and listen.

They died. His faith in people died with them. And everything that he existed for turned out to be fruitless. So, he broke.

And if Xie Lian didn't break as well, then it meant that everything he'd done for the past 1200 years, 2000 years was meaningless. If he couldn't show Xie Lian the world didn't deserve him, then maybe the prince of Wuyong just wasn't good enough for the world. Xie Lian had to be wrong. Because in turning against his people, White No-Face turned against himself.

But what he didn't realize is it was never the common man's fault for not believing in the gods. It was the gods' fault for hoarding the water. He blamed humanity, when the problem was the system.

He tried to break Xie Lian by taking away all of the water, but in taking away the water he proved that there was always more to begin with. In being the reason Xie Lian failed, he proved that Xie Lian never had to fail.

The problem was never with the people, who just wanted to survive. It's with those who hoarded the water. It's with those who believed there to be no other choice, and those who forced that choice in their greed.

White No-Face was wrong. The state preceptor was wrong. Disillusioned Xie Lian was wrong. Reject the premise. Reject the lies they sell you. Reject the illusion of scarcity.

Xie Lian was naive, but in his nativity he had stumbled upon the truth. There were always two cups of water. There were always two cups of water.

He should never have been embarrassed about his idealism, because in the end he was right. And in the end, he realizes he was right. He had always been right.

There were always two cups of water. And because of that he's finally able to save the common man.

[just0nemorepage]

Iron and Magic || Ilona Andrews || The Iron Covenant #1 || 392 pages Top 3 Genres: Urban Fantasy / Romance / Paranormal

Synopsis: No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she's trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.

Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies?

As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.”

Hugh and Elara may do both.

Publication Date: June 2018. / Average Rating: 4.41. / Number of Ratings: ~27,060.

[we-may-be-bandits]

I've spent literally all day alternating between crying and talking to people who validate how difficult this phase of my life is and how hard I'm working and my preceptor from last year called me out of the blue to check in and give me advice, and my mom and I walked our dogs together over the phone and I bought an air fryer and eucalyptus for the shower, and I had to sit in my car for twenty minutes because I was so devastated that even though I showed up on time for yoga, for some reason they started the class early so I couldn't go, but ultimately I think it was for the best because I'm so bone tired rn that's on being almost thirty and iron deficient and pulling all nighters regularly

anyways life is hard and life is beautiful and if anyone tells you they want to be a midwife, tell them to do literally anything else because while it's the best job in the world, it's also the worst job in the world and unfortunately, this is the only thing I want to do

[persephinae]

Kate had previously rescued a man from a cage who was put there by the Preceptor of the Iron Dogs.

The man had been tortured by his master, The Builder of Towers, because he would not do what his master asked. Before given to the Preceptor, he had been a prisoner of Mishmar, and it was there where his mind had broken. It was a place he feared above everything.

He came with Curran to help find Kate. Even with his mind broken, he came to the most terrifying place imaginable to rescue the woman who was so kind to him and saved him.

Kate was trapped in watery prison and starved for 5 days, left to die by her enemy, but she never gave up hope that Curran would rescue her

over and over, she told herself this to give herself hope, that she would survive and see her love again.  for 5 days, while her body wasted away

and when he came, she tentatively touched his hand through the grate in the floor, her body having lost all strength but she somehow had found the will to stretch her hand through the hole and towards his hand, and whispered, “You came.”   Her voice near to breaking, she tried to fix him in her gaze and added, “Please be real.”

And as he frantically worked to get her out of her oubliette, begging her to stay with him, don’t leave him, he’ll save her, when he finally got her out he held her as if she was more precious than the air in his lungs.

“You came to Mishmar for me?”  (a blacked spire of dungeons, vampires, ghostly gods, and Things™ best left forgotten)

Curran, cradling her close to his heart, “Of course I did.”

[ginazmemeoir]

could i have a list of the animals in hindu mythology? it's for a project of mine. thanks

sorry for answering this so late, i hope i’m not too late.

so imma gonna be writing about their vahanas (vehicles) and also their animal forms. but first, some symbolism

the vahanas of the gods represent their alter egos as well as their own aspects.

Horses and elephants represent royalty and power. Bulls represent virility and individuality, cows represent motherhood and purity, buffaloes represent patience and murkiness. rams represent aggression, antelopes and deers represent swiftness and/or disturbance, donkeys represent ill omens. Dogs, jackals and wolves represent ill omens, rats represent poverty and strife (ironically, fortune too), cats represent protectiveness, lions and tigers represent royalty and courage. hawks and eagles represent royalty and power, parrots and doves represent love and marriage, corvids represent injustice, sorrow (but also the natural order of justice and death), vultures represent decay, swans represent love and royalty, geese and cranes represent clarity and wit and wisdom, peacocks represent beauty and sometimes, masculinity; owls represent misfortune, roosters represent aggression. makaras (half fish half elephant) and yalis (half lions half elephants) represent divinity and fluidity, crocodiles represent force of nature, tortoises represent laziness/slow nature, snakes represent malice, mystery and fertility. mongoose represents luxury, man represents greed and society while ghosts also represent ill omens.

*artistically, makaras and crocodiles are often interchangable, like swans and geese/cranes.

this list is gonna be looooooooooooong.

Indra (lord of the heavens, lord of rain and thunder)

Airavata : King of the elephants, Airavata is a flying, white elephant with six tusks. Someitmes also shown with three heads or seven trunks. He sprays water on the clouds and drives them. He guards the east direction with his consort, Ilavida. He is Indra’s vahana.

Uchhaishravas : King of horses, Ucchaishravas is a ten headed, flying, fire breathing, meat eating horse. He is Indra’s vahana.

Vali : Indra’s son through Arun (charioteer of Surya). Emperor of Monkeys before being murdered by Rama.

Agni (lord of fire, link between humans and gods) : Agni rides a ram.

Surya (lord of the Sun)

Surya rides a chariot drawn by seven white horses.

Sugreeva : Surya’s son through his charioteer, Arun. Brother of Vali and later Emperor of Monkeys.

Chandra/Soma (lord of the Moon) : Chandra rides a chariot drawn by ten antelopes/deer.

Vayu (lord of winds and air) : Vayu rides a lone antelope.

Varuna (lord of the seas and oceans) : Varuna rides a makara/crocodile named Jaladhi, who was born out of Shiva’s earwax. He guards the west along with Varuna.

Ganga (goddess of the river Ganga, goddess of purity) : Ganga rides a makara/crocodile.

Yama (lord of Death, lord of law; son of Surya) : Yama rides a buffalo named Paundraka.

Yami/Yamuna (goddess of the river Yamuna, sister of Yama) : Yamuna rides a tortoise.

Revanta (god of hunting and horses, stepbrother of Yamuna) : Revanta rides a horse.

Shani (lord of the planet Saturn, lord of justice, lord of malice; brother of Revanta) : Shani rides a crow/raven. Crows and ravens also believed to be messengers of our ancestors.

Ashwini Kumara (twin gods of healing and medicine, brother of Yami) : Ashwini Kumaras are either represented as half-horses, or ride horses themselves.

Tapti (goddess of the river Tapi) : Tapti rides a deer.

Saraswati (goddess of the mythical river Saraswati, lady of knowledge, learning, speech, sound, music and the arts) : Rides a goose/crane. Surrounded by peacocks.

Narmada (goddess of the river Narmada) : Narmada rides a crocodile.

Shashthi (goddess of childbirth and babies) : Shashthi rides a cat.

Usha (goddess of dawn) : Rides a chariot drawn by seven red cows.

Bhariava/Rudra/Veerbhadra (fierce form of Shiva) : Rides a dog/wolf. surrounded by jackals.

Brahma (creator of the universe) : Brahma rides a swan. 

Vishnu (protector of the universe)

Matsya : a giant fish, the first Avatar of Vishnu.

Kurma : a giant turtle, the second Avatar of Vishnu.

Varaha : a giant boar, the third Avatar of Vishnu.

Narasimha : half man-half lion, the ferocious fourth Avatar of Vishnu

Garuda : a giant eagle and the King of birds, he’s Vishnu’s vahana.

Gandaberunda : a terrifying two headed bird evolved from Narasimha.

Hayagriva : half man-half horse, avatar of Vishnu. god of knowledge and medicine.

Shiva (the destroyer of the universe)

Nandi : the King of bulls, Nandi is Shiva’s vahana. He was originally a human devotee of Shiva.

Sharabha : the griffin form of Shiva, locked in battle with the Gandaberunda.

Hanuman : the eleventh avatar of Shiva, the divine monkey god.

Durga (goddess of war and victory and kings) : Durga and all her other forms ride a lion. Interchangable with tiger.

Gauri/Parvati (gentle form of Shakti) : Rides a cow.

Kali/Chamundi (fierce form of Shakti) : Rides a ghost.

Kalratri (gentler form of Kali) : Rides a donkey.

Lakshmi (goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, luxury and beauty) : Rides an elephant. Sometimes also rides an owl.

Ganesha (the elephant headed god of wisdom and prosperity and auspiciousness, remover of obstacles, god of scribes; son of Parvati) : Rides Mushaka the rat.

Kartikeya (god of war, general of the gods; son of Shiva) : Rides a peacock. His emblem is a rooster.

Kama (god of love and lust; son of Vishnu) : Rides a parrot. His bowstring is mads of honeybees. He also rides a makara sometimes.

Rati (goddess of sex; Kama’s consort) : Rides a dove/mynah.

Shukracharya (lord of the planet Venus, preceptor of the Asuras) : Rides a horse.

Brahaspati (lord of the planet Jupiter, preceptor of the Devas) : Rides an elephant.

Mangala (lord of the planet Mars, god of auspiciousness and agression) : Rides a ram.

Budha (deity of the planet Mercury, deity of sarcasm and wit; illegetimate child of Chandra) : Rides a yali.

Rahu (lord of asteroids and meteors, responsible for ascending lunar node and eclipses, lord of fear) : Rides a lion. Sometimes depicted with body of a snake.

Ketu (lord of comets, responsible for descending lunar node and eclipses, lord of disgrace) : Rides a vulture. Sometimes depicted with the head of a snake.

Sheetala Mata (goddess of smallpox) : Rides a donkey.

Kubera (god of luxury, king of the yakshas) : Rides a jewel spitting mongoose. Sometimes depicted as riding on a man.

Adi-Shesha/Sheshanag/Ananta : The first king of the nagas. Vishnu rests on his coils. Responsible for the flow of time. The earth rests on his thousands hoods.

Takshaka : The second king of the nagas. Indra’s close friend. Killed the last scion of the Pandavas, Pareekshit, after he became king.

Vasuki : The third king of the nagas. Coiled around Shiva’s neck. Used as a rope for the Amrit Manthan. Father of Uloopi (wife of Arjuna).

Manasa : Goddess of Snakes, poisons and malice. Got people to worship her after spreading fear. Shiva’s daughter and Vasuki’s sister.

Surasa : a queen of the nagas. tested Hanuman on his way to Lanka by trying to swallow him.

Simhika : sea monster who snathed the shadows of creatures and ate them. Mother of Rahu-Ketu.

Mahishasura : The shapeshifting bull demon.

Sampati : Son of Aruna and King of Vultures. Burnt his wings and eyes by flying too close to the sun.

Jatayu : Brother of Sampati. Died while trying to rescue Sita from Ravana.

Jambavant : King of bears. Aided Hanuman. Father of Jambavanti, Krishna’s second wife.

Navagunjara : A divine animal made of nine other animals - the head of a rooster, neck of a peacock, hump of a bull, body of a lion, tail of a snake, feet of an elephant, a tiger and a horse and the hand of a human.

phew this was a long list. hope this helps!

[movieexpert1978]

Upgrade Pt. 1

so thank you everyone who commented about my previous post about my Alita story. It’s basically an AU but it’s based around the movie. I’ve just started reading the magna it’s based and it’s really good too. Of course Christoph as Ido is a lovely gem as well. So I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think about it. 

Alita Battle Angel is not mine. 

Ido found himself back in the scrap yard again as usual. They always needed parts no matter what, especially servos. He told Alita to stay at the clinic as he would be back before dark. His case wasn’t too far away as a precaution. He kept watch over the shoot that came from the bottom of the floating city of Zalem. He didn’t want to get crushed by falling debris but he was a far enough distance away that he was safe. He also didn’t think much of it as he constantly heard garbage shifting around. He found a few items that would prove useful. As his bag was getting full he debated on if he should go back to the clinic when he heard a growl. Instinctively, he froze and was very puzzled at the sound. Machines don’t growl at you, unless it’s most likely a mechanical dog. He started to move when he heard the growl again. To his right he heard debris shift again and he thought he saw a blur of movement. The growl sounded again as it was moving, circling him. He decided to make the first move and bolt when something leaped out at him. He grunted as he fell into a nearby garbage pile and looked up.

A young woman was staring at him. Her eyes were an unnatural light blue. Her head was shaved but there was a small layer of hair around her skull. She bared her teeth and growled at him again. He quickly noticed her teeth were more like fangs and her fingers shifted into claws. If she was a cyborg, he had never seen one like her before, but he also noticed something else. She was wearing all black but her clothes were torn and her head was bleeding. She charged at him with a snarl. He grabbed the first thing he could and swung it at her. The pipe hit her head and she yelped as she fell back. Ido was quick to scramble to his case and started putting the rocket hammer together. He heard a rumble and he knew another load of garbage was coming, but that didn’t break his concentration. What did was when he heard a scream. He looked up and saw the woman was clutching her ears and shouting in pain. Maybe something was wrong with her hearing preceptors. Still, that bought him enough time to finish the hammer and approach her again. She saw him and shouted as she charged at him, stumbling through the garbage.

“Wait!” He said holding out his hand. She was close enough to see that her ears were bleeding too. “I can help you.” He said, but then became puzzled all over again when he saw she wasn’t bleeding the cyborg blue blood but rather the human red blood. She leaped at him with her fangs bared and Ido had no choice but to swing the hammer. She let out a high-pitch scream as it hit her in the side and he heard a crunch as she hit the garbage pile hard. She moaned and shook with pain…and fear that Ido saw in her eyes as he came closer. She whimpered as she looked at his hammer before she passed out. A quick scan showed that she was completely human.

“What are you?”

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

“Do you think she’s from Zalem too?” Alita asked as they looked over their new patient.

“I don’t think so. She doesn’t have the mark.” He says as his machines tell him the extent of her injuries. Several ribs were broken along with plenty of fractures all over her body, a lot of which were in her spine as if she had taken a bad fall. Ido tried to stitch up any cuts she had but they were healing right before his eyes. Her tattered clothes revealed at tattoo on her wrist that said 10E. As a safety measure he put restraints on her wrists and ankles in case she woke up and didn’t like what she saw.

“And she just attacked you?” Alita asked.

“Yes, unfortunately.” He sighed. “She’s human…but not like me. The screen says she’s healing her wounds both internal and external. She has traces of metal in her fingers but they’re organic like mine.” He says. Alita poked at her arm, but Ido pulled her away. “Let her wake up on her own. I don’t know what she’ll do in here.” He says.

“Maybe she just got lost.” Alita suggests.

“Perhaps.” He nods. They both look at the woman when she moans and her eyes flutter open. She stares into the overhead light as if it’s an almost comforting sight to her. Ido gestures for Alita to be quiet as he approaches her. “Hello.” He says gently. The woman stares at him. He doesn’t fail to notice that her eyes are now a more human shade of blue. “My name is Doctor Dyson Ido.”

“Doctor?” She says, speaking for the first time.

“Yes, I’m a doctor.” He nods.

“I am ready.” She mumbles.

“Ready…ready for what?”

“Injections.”

“Injections…I don’t have any injections.” He says to himself. He tries a different approach after glancing at her tattoo again. “Uhh..ten E, state your name.” He says giving Alita a confused shrug.

“Subject ten E a.k.a Elisa Prime, humble servant to Nova and Zalem.” She says as if she’s said so many times before. Ido quickly does another scan to double check but it appears that she doesn’t have a chip in her brain. Therefore, hopefully Nova can’t tap into her like he does with his other watchers.

“You’re from Zalem.” Ido says quietly. “What is your purpose?”

“To protect Zalem from the Final Champions of Iron City and prevent further contamination.” She says with disgust.

“Who is Nova?”

“Nova is my master. I live to serve him.” She says with pure admiration. Ido and Alita look at each other again, knowing her opinion is the most opposite from theirs. He decides to try and break the spell she seems to be under.

“Elisa, look at me.” When she does she narrows her eyes at him. She recognizes him. He was the intruder. She growls and bares her teeth which elongate into fangs, but when she does she lets out a cry of pain. She struggles against the bonds as the sounds and smells of Iron city overwhelm her heightened senses.

“It’s too loud! It’s too loud!” She protests.

“Hey, hey, hey it’s alright.” Alita says coming to help her. She puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Elisa jumps and looks at Alita. “It’s ok…my name is Alita.” She smiles. Her body shifts back to normal again and she lets out a soft moan of relief.

“I’m not in the training room…I have to be in the training room for the sound tests.” Elisa says. “Where am I?”

“You’re in Iron city.” Alita says.

“What…but…but Nova said my mission was in Zalem. I have to protect Zalem. I have to go home.” She cries in fear. With every word Ido starts to put the pieces together.

“Elisa…you can’t go back to Zalem. No one goes back up there. It’s a rule that’s never broken.” He says gently.

“No, no, no…what did I do? Nova what did I do? I’m sorry Nova! I’m sorry! I’ll be good. I promise I’ll be good.” Elisa cries as tears run down her face. Both Alita and Ido look at her in sympathy. Ido retracts the restraints on her and she curls up on the medical bed crying and pleading to a master that has discarded her and moved on to better servant.

“We are not going to hurt you.” Ido says as he tries to calm her down. “Are you hungry?” He asks trying to get her mind off of her situation. She looks up at him, her eyes bloodshot with tears. She sits up and goes back and forth between staring at him and Alita.

“You’re…not an…invader?” She asks cautiously.

“No, I’m a cyber-surgeon. Alita is my daughter. I am a hunter warrior at night though. Which explains the rocket hammer I used in our first encounter.” He explains.

“I’ve heard of hunter warriors.” She says thinking.

“We just want to help.” Ido says taking her hand but she pulls away and hisses at him like a feral cat. “Sorry.” He says nearly jumping. She looks back at Alita.

“You’re a cyborg.” She says.

“Yes, Ido saved me.” Alita nods. “Are you hungry? Do you like oranges?” She asks. Elisa doesn’t answer as she gets up off the bed way to fast for Ido’s liking. She cries out in pain as she falls over. She lets out a strangled sob as she tries to move but her back is throbbing in pain. Why isn’t she healing like she normally does? “What is it?” Alita asks her.

“My back.” She rasps. She sobs and twitches as Ido picks her up and places her on her side as carefully as he can. He scans her back again and as before the scan shows multiple fractions and swollen disks. He watches and sees small cracks healing little by little. He concludes she has some type of healing capability but being in Iron city is affecting her body. She’s used to Zalem and who knows what kind of terrible things they did to her. Ido gives her a shot of pain medication. She mumbles as she dozes off.

“Do you think she was exiled like you were?” Alita asks him.

“Most likely but what reason, I’m not sure yet.” He says. Chiren or Vector might know more about her story, but he won’t contact them in case they decided they want to take her for motorball. Maybe Nova was changing the game so to speak. He knew they must have tortured her given all the needle marks on her body. She must have been some kind of experiment. A new step in the evolutionary process so to speak. Ido couldn’t be sure.

“What should we do?” Alita asks concerned.

“I don’t know.” Ido says sadly.

Xxxxxxxxx

She woke up again later that evening. Her back was still in a lot of pain so she couldn’t move much.

“How are you feeling?” Ido asks, coming up to her.

“Hurts…” She mumbles.

“I’m sorry. You’re healing, but very slowly and I won’t interfere with that as I don’t want to cause any more damage.” He explains. She only nods. Ido helps her sit up and puts the bed up to support her. “I made you some food.” He says putting a plate in front of her. Despite the food not being Zalem, it smelled very good. Her stomach rumbled a little bit so she started to eat slowly. It doesn’t taste that much different from the food she normal has so she just eats it. She looks around and sees that it’s dark out. “Alita is asleep.” He explains.

“Thank you for the food.” She says respectfully.

“You’re welcome.” He watches her eat for a few minutes before he speaks again. “Do you remember what happened to you on Zalem?” He asks.

“I fought people. They told me I had to be the best…to make Nova proud. That I had to prepare for battle. I had to be stronger, faster, and smarter than my enemy.”

“Did they hurt you?”

“No, they made me better.” She says firmly.

“The experimented on you.” He states. She frowns in confusion.

“I don’t understand.” She says.

“They injected you with things. That’s why you have needle marks all over your body.” He says and gets up. “I took a blood sample and found that they genetically modified you DNA.” He says showing her the screen.

“So?”

“So? That’s illegal Elisa. They hurt you.” He insists, trying to make her understand.

“No! Everything they did…I did was for the good of Zalem…for Nova!” She snaps.

“Nova doesn’t care about you. You’re just a puppet to him. Something probably happened and he moved onto the next test subject.” Ido adds.

“No!” She shouts at him shattering the plate in her hands and making Ido jump. “I am not a failure! I will go back to Zalem and I will beg for Nova’s forgiveness.” Ido wants to protest but decides to keep quiet as he doesn’t want anything else broken. He will let her believe what she wants. She will understand the truth eventually; perhaps it’s better if she learns it on her own.

“Is everything ok?” Alita asks coming downstairs.

“Yes Alita…just a little disagreement.” Ido says quickly to reassure her. He nudges her back to bed as Alita glances at Elisa. She sneers at them. Emotions were a weakness. Weakness will not be tolerated in Zalem. She lays back down and flinches at the pain in the back. Ido can tell the conversation with her is over so he lays down on the couch to try and get a few hours of sleep before the clinic opens.

[minipliny]

oh my GOD i hope readmore mobile doesn’t break again because i wrote more ??? moby dick ??? fanfiction??? aka pequod office comedy and i c a n n o t consign it yet to the open waters of AO3

It is an ironic circumstance, that men often receive the pleasures of life when they are least positioned to enjoy them; thus the Marquis de Lafayette, in the flourishing of his fortune and with an overladen table, received an abounding Nantucket cheese for lighting up the streets of Paris with whale oil, and was only inconvenienced by it. 

This was mighty bad timing; had but a crumb of that monstrous cheddar been lowered down to him in his prison-cell, that poor Frenchman would have wept! - and just the same, the fine cheese laid before Ahab at table could have been vermescent hard-tack; it penetrated him mechanically, but that inward Bastille of the heart received no provision. 

And so Ahab left his fare half-tasted, and his officers under the still spell of that silent glance no more thought of eating the remnants than of seizing the sextant from him.

The harpooners had a happier meal; they were all the brighter, for being at last in clean shirts upon a clean ship. To see the transformation wrought upon that oily deck, you should have thought our thirty hands willing and ready to take scrub-brooms to the Slough of Despond, and make light work of sixteen hundred years of filth. But something remained in their exhausted countenances of try-works ash; they looked fled from some new-fallen Troy, although, good Heavens! with an outlandish variety of household gods stowed in their trowsers-pockets. Besides, that narrow deliverance or delivery of Tashtego’s, from the whale’s case, had weighted a little on them; and Daggoo was doing what he could to make light upon it. 

“First I thought,” said Daggoo, “that’s an end to their infernal pipe-smoke belowdecks! How easy I’ll breathe; how sound I’ll sleep. But then I remembered, that they’d have to make harpooneers in your places - one of the boat crews, well! - and as soon as you’d hand them a harpoon, with their arm a-tremble, they’d dart it backwards and sideways, and I’d be stuck full of irons like a hedgehog.”

From the calm and straightforward way he voiced these grim imaginings, he seemed not to be skylarking at all; Tashtego said only - “It’s not that we smoke; it’s that the carpenter sneezes.”

“And why d'ye think he sneezes?” said Daggoo. 

Queequeg, having finished a trencher of salt-junk, expounded upon the excellence of tobacco for the constitution; as for being rid of Queequeg, they should have great trouble unless their captain became more inclined to social niceties, for the closest he had come to death was at the hands of a six-quart tub of molasses. This had been on his first voyage; he had been dispatched to row it over by way of sweetening a gam; a squall had blown up, the tub rocked on its bench, and pitching over had dashed poor Queequeg into the Pacific in its headlong rush. The other oarsman had made a grab for Queequeg, and disdained the tub, which wended on its lonely way.

“If I see a six-quart tub round Cape-Horn, I’ll sing out for molasses,” said Tashtego. “Hmm-mm-mm, so much for all this gamming and dancing. There was one of the crew missing when we were embarking from Honolulu - well - we thought, he’s deserted; diseased; died of dysentery; but the third mate said he’d declared a friend of his was aboard a Yankee whaler near us. He asked the captain if he’d seen the fellow - the captain turned pale - barged into the cabin. All right! there’s a muffled sound; the mate sprang open a sea-chest - there he is dead-drunk, that’s a way to recruit! More fool that captain, he was a slack fellow at the oar.”

“Oh, you don’t dance for you’re too busy yarning, Tashtego,” said Daggoo, “here! I don’t want any of this cheese.”

As for Tashtego, he had either made such short work of the salt-junk, or, having been made a harpooneer, was so relieved at being able to display any fastidiousness at all about his dinner, that he spurned that butt of cheese entirely; which left it to Queequeg, who contemplated it and then rolled the entire remnant in a pocket handkerchief and tucked it into his jacket. 

“You’ll burst, Queequeg,” Tashtego said, “just when we’ve scrubbed the decks clean again.” and he prodded Queequeg with his fork by way of emphasis. 

“O let him have it; when you are our Paul-Cuffe it will be a shame to be so exact about our provisions,” said Daggoo, “why, Tash! you’ll be summoned to meet the President, and he’ll say, what a dashing sort of whale-captain, but why d'ye starve your men of cheese?" 

"All right, oil your boat with it for all I care,” Tashtego said, blowing a spiral of smoke up to the heavens, though it stopped at the cabin-rafters, “there’s $200 advance on my pay sold already to an agent, for my wife in Gay-Head; there’s my ambition done." 

As for Daggoo, he slanted Queequeg a long look, but kept his own counsel. 

There, you may, say, what unprepossessing details of men who furnish forth such splendid feats for your narrative, Ishmael; what d'ye bother us with these for? Well, here are the Pagan harpooneers at rest, and therefore in miniature. I have seen the curious sort of theatre they have on the Java Islands, and the players for it. What possesses their makers, to paint their faces so intricately, and to adorn their clothing in queer chasings of gold and azure and vermilion, I know not; for, the stage being rigged in cotton cloth, the oil-lamps being kindled, what extraordinary, gigantic forms live and move before you! what supernatural shapes appear, from a little flat-leather puppet made by a mortal hand! but as for the detailing, you can’t see a scrap of it. 

As for that Paul Cuffe, who was entertained by no other than James Madison, I myself have not met him; but his son entertained me very hospitably at his estate near Stockbridge, having a Nantucket-friend in common with me, and being desirous of some briny reminiscences of the Atlantic from which he was now barred.  

How curiously are traced out the paths of a man’s fate! for that son was a Quaker by birth and conviction, a sober merchantmen and whaler; but when but a boy, the hour of national fate came upon him, his love of country pressed him to service, and in 1812 he shipped upon a vessel, with a letter of marque. 

God only knows, if one of the Englishmen who jailed him so cruelly as a Yankee, had a father who had been outraged that the elder Cuffe be jailed in Massachusetts as a Black Indian. 

He afterwards set out again in his former professions; lived very peacably among Catholics and South-Seas heathens; and by reason of a crippling of his foot, had lately turned yeoman-farmer to the family estate.

Let us leave that much-travelled mariner under his own vine and fig-tree, and turn ourselves to Queequeg; who had ventured up on deck, and hailed me where I sat leaning against the ship’s furniture. He cut a good figure, whether or no bloody, blubberous and dishevelled; but let us say that his ablutions had served to gild that lily, and that we greet our fellow-man more joyfully when that joy is unmixed with fright. The same, I am sure, applied to my own proper person. 

As for what I had been employed in doing for some hours, the answer is - nothing, but lose a game of dominoes to a Portugese sailor. Three cheers, then, to the grand old customs of whaling! for what confusion, what seas of ink have been spilled, what astrological ransackings between calendars Babylonian, Hindu, Hebrew, Parsi, Julian and Gregorian, upon fixing a rest-day. But the Sabbath, to be enjoyed upon a whale ship, is simply and according to the laws of hygiene and common-sense, fastened upon the day after trying out. For, aside from the scrubbing here mentioned, and setting men to the mast-heads and the wheel, which is a work of necessity, no duties are assigned. And for men who have laboured night and day so ceaselessly and amid such smoke and heat, what could be sweeter than rest! what more reasonable! 

These laws of whaling-Sabbath, however, are not so strict, as not to be revoked, the instant a whale should be spotted. 

So there we sat, exchanging pleasantries, when Queequeg took hold of my hand, turned it over, and deftly palmed something in it in a pocket-handkerchief.

At that instant, he declared to me, that it was a relief to him that the spermaceti was decanted entirely into barrels; since if I took a fancy to cast myself into it, he should only have to haul me out by the ankles. 

This thought astounded and distracted me; so that my countenance certainly did not display any culpability in the matter of the cheddar-cheese. In fact, upon quietly unwrapping it, I was filled with a sort of unnameable awe. It struck me very forcibly that it had been carved already; and carved at the captain’s table, and thus by the captain’s fork; so that graven upon it, and perhaps magnified homeopathically a hundred- or a thousand-fold, were the gloomy impressions of Ahab’s teeth! 

Nevertheless, in all my reveries, upon the tabooed nature of this cheddar-cheese, I was rapidly taking a bite from it; and would have continued, had I not heard the distinctive tread of the first mate. I stuffed the cheese into my jacket as fast as the Spartan-boy in the fable; it seemed to burn there. 

Now, Starbuck being a thoughtful first mate, he had noted, that in the entire practical business of whaling, Queequeg had been my preceptor; and that I had submitted to his experienced judgement countless and perhaps supernumerary queries on this subject. This struck Starbuck as laudable, inasfar as the responsibility of the harpooneers to the oarsmen went; and excellent, as to the safety of the boat. For certainly as a boy-whaler he had dogged the steps of his own elders, and, the hands aboard a whaler growing greener, with every year he was employed in this business, that instruction grew ever more necessary. 

But as to Queequeg, in the second dog-watch, having collapsed almost to the point of insensibility in retrieving his colleague out of a sperm whale head - as to Queequeg, who would be about again at one o'clock in the morning to superintend the watch - as to Queequeg having to be a schoolmaster at this hour, this was an excess. 

"There, that’s duty done and more than done,” said Starbuck, “rest ye, man." 

Queequeg being very cheerfully engaged in what he was doing, did what he could to convey, that these southern stars below the Equator had a sweet smack of home for him - being not so distant from the arrangement of constellations, that were at once making their storied motions over his parents and married sister - and that he should rather then rest on deck.  

All this had once furnished material for a domestic dispute between myself and Queequeg on the subject of the Milky Way; for, try as I might, I could not convince him that this being a lactatious splattering of a Greek goddess was not some freak or hobby-horse of my own, and the general belief of the Christian world. We had to call in the old Manxman for arbitration. 

Besides the meaning, there are the specifics of that starry almanac, which marked out for Queequeg so precisely the flourishings of different crops - I should have made a very poor gentleman-farmer, as I was too saddened that the cultivation even of yam and taro was so exacting a science, rather than being furnished forth without the attendant curse of Adam, to pay a very profound attention. 

As for these ideas being conveyed, which between boat-header and steerer were more usually along practical lines, the married-sister did materialise a moment in the mind of Starbuck; but in a very plain sort of guise! and without the peace-treaty, that had attended her betrothal. 

"Here’s one man’s stars my own reversed - well, Starbuck, but familiar all; never has my heart misgiven me before, to see the Bears sink out of view; I traverse one Creation. And how low swung and sank that whale-head - nearly to the very deeps, if not arrested! Is’t too clear a sign, to see a man brought out from it? And yet those sweet assurances I might have had from this seem most invisibly bright, and dipped beyond mine own horizon.”

And seeing Queequeg still stood patiently at his station, said “As seems well to you, Queequeg; but rest.”

Starbuck went briskly then about the decks, with an inspecting eye, as of a man heedless of his own advice, and bent upon wresting out of the good condition of the tackles, the boats, the rigging, and all the sundries, some plank of certainty. Queequeg however, as a man will when recalled to his own exhaustion, lent his head upon my shoulder, and closed his eyes. The reader may be familiar with this mingling of sensations; how there steals over that one furnishing himself for a pillow a most loving, amiable, and sweet feeling, and at that self-same moment, over that shoulder and then that arm a gradual numbness, so that Queequeg dozed upon a marmoreate flank of mine. 

I remained ten more minutes awake, in the quiet consumption of the cheese, which was as a foretaste of paradise after months of forking down bits of duff. As to the implications to the law of property, let it be said it was fairly the harpooneers’ to dispose of, and if Aristotle is right that two friends are but one soul, that inhabit different bodies, then Queequeg in one this occasion pasturing me on cheddar, was only pasturing himself. 

I was half-awake, and happily replete, when Starbuck passed me by again; and gave myself and Queequeg a brief and desolate glance. He had not meant, I think, to embark upon an idle conversation, but if you picture Achilles, after his chariot-horses had spoken that once to him, standing with curry-comb in hand, and without reason or expectation, still hoping for another word - so Starbuck, standing in silence upon the forecastle deck.

[bookloveravenue]

The Iron Covenant (book 1): Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews 

No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work. 

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast. 

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she's trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify. Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies? 

As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.” 

Hugh and Elara may do both. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35126152-iron-and-magic

********

My Review: 5/5 Stars

It's always super fascinating to read a story where the main character is one you know well but has always been the villain. In the Kate Daniel series Hugh was always shown as one of the big bads. He is the right hand man of the villain trying to take over and he is loyal until the moment that big bad villain decides to cast him aside. If you haven't read the Kate Daniels series, I seriously advise you read this before Iron and Magic. Because you need to know and understand just who Hugh was before Iron and Magic. Lots of things have changed. And what we once knew of this so called villain is revealed that we may have not known him well at all. 

What I love about reading a used to be villain's point of view, is that we get the other side of the story. To paraphrase a quote from one of my favorite books: There are three sides to every story. Their side, your side, and the truth that lies somewhere in the middle. We had always seen Hugh through the eyes of our beloved heroine. Now we get to see it from his own point of view and someone totally new. And it is a game changer. 

I really loved this book. It held my attention right from the beginning. Hugh isn't in the best shape and his loyal Iron Dogs tell him that he needs to cut it out and lead them once more. He is their leader and they are his family. However, it isn't that easy. Finding a home for them requires a bit of a sacrifice. He is going to have to marry the White Lady, Elara Harper. Elara is loved by her people but to the outside world she is an abomination. But like Hugh, she is willing to do whatever it takes for her people. They form an alliance, sealed with their marriage. As they help one another with the threats that surround them, we find them constantly in a verbal match that is equally harsh and hilarious. Their verbal attacks just reinforce the chemistry between them and makes the book that much more entertaining to read. The book is just the beginning of what will be their trilogy and with what was revealed in this book, I think it is safe to say the finale of the Kate Daniels series, is going to be epic and awesome. 

If you loved the Kate Daniels series and simply love Hugh, then you definitely need to check this book out! 

[twnj]

A Hugh D'Ambray study - Kate Daniels series

[internationbookhouse]

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Mansarovar lake

The Iron Covenant Book 1 No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work. Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast. Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she’s trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself–and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify. Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies? As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.” Hugh and Elara may do both. [amz_corss_sell asin=”1641970405″] Iron and Magic The Iron Covenant Book 1 No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy...But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

[booksbabiesbeing]

Iron and Magic - Ilona Andrews

Iron and Magic – Ilona Andrews

Iron and Magic (The Iron Covenant #1) – Ilona Andrews

No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow…

[limecello]

Review: Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

Review: Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews Urban fantasy released by NYLA on June 26, 2018

No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work.

Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him…

[nikihawkes]

Title: Iron and Magic

Author: Ilona Andrews

Series: The Iron Covenant #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.

Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she’s trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify. -Goodreads

The Review:

Iron and Magic somehow managed to become my favorite Ilona Andrews book to date! It joined a very small percentage of books allowed on my all-time favorites list, and no one is more surprised at that than me.

It’s a true testament to these writers’ skills that they managed to make me fall in love with a book about a character I don’t even like. And furthermore to get me feeling deep empathy towards him. I can say with confidence coming out of this book that I’m 100% rooting for Hugh (even though he’s still an ass ;P). He was always an interesting character in the Kate Daniels series, written well and all, but I couldn’t think of a character I’d least like to read more about. I tell you what – it’s a good thing it wasn’t left up to me. Hugh’s story was brilliant!

One of my biggest joys in life is reading argument scenes between Ilona Andrews characters. Each person is so well-rounded (even the side characters) that they feel like real people. And the inter-character dynamics always gives them that extra spark of life and makes them incredibly relatable. Even though some of these conflicts are repeated across series, I find them so delightful that I don’t mind seeing it over and over. Because Hugh is such a hard-headed personality, the “intense negotiations” in Iron and Magic were especially satisfying. He has truly met his match in Elara.

The pacing in Iron and Magic was fantastic – leading up to a jam-packed ending that had me glued to the pages. I can’t believe how much rich content they managed to pack into the last 10% of the novel. So good! They were already my favorite authors, but that killer momentum is was truly set this novel ahead of the rest in my mind (for what it’s worth, Magic Strikes also landed on my favorites shelf – to give you an idea of the comparative quality we’re dealing with here).

I love the Kate Daniels series, but appreciated how far out of that familiar framework this story took me. It felt like a fresh fantasy read, but still had enough references and politics to keep it in the same vein. I can’t wait to see how things are going to come together in Magic Triumphs (the Kate Daniels finale) because I’m thinking there’s going to be even more crossover.

Overall, every aspect of Iron and Magic worked for me, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Recommendations: Iron and Magic takes place right between Magic Binds (book 9 of the Kate Daniels series) and Magic Triumphs (book 10 of KD). The story is a spinoff, and very much connected to the main series to the point where I’d urge you to catch up with Kate Daniels before reading Iron and Magic as this book discusses almost all of the major spoilers from that series. However, of you happen to be caught up and on the fence about this one – READ IT!!! You won’t regret it. 🙂

Other books you might like:

Dark Currents by Jacqueline Carey

Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

Storm Born by Richelle Mead

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

Book Review: Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews Title: Iron and Magic Author: Ilona Andrews Series: The Iron Covenant #1 Genre: Urban Fantasy Rating: …