#you said nicator

[teamlarl]

Can I ask Nicator what Mistral girls are like?

"What kind of question is this? Is this honestly the kind of questions my brother receives? It doesn't even make sense. Do you know how massive Mistral is? It spans an entire continent. Even if I wanted to give you stereotypes, you would have to be far more specific."

[ajuiciisms]

*Oops*

Yang loved teasing Willow. She loved it. She loved seeing how quick she was to CLAIM Ren like that, she loved hearing her gush about him, about how perfect they were together. As much as Yang wanted Ren on the menu she also agreed! She wanted those two together! If she was occasionally invited to share Mister Nicator then even better!

But Willow normally chased after her when she was angry, or tried to chase her off.

This time she was quiet, almost stalking away.

“… Fucking-”

Yang swore under her breath, for once actually feeling guilty. Apparently it took Willow shattering the edge of a hot spring.

“Willow, wait!” Yang stood up quickly, grabbing Willow’s wrist just along to slow her for a second.

“… It was before you got married.”

She said, bashfully. Not at what she was saying, but at why she had to say it. She didn’t say sorry much.

“I wasn’t- Ren doesn’t do me behind your back. He never has. Before you two married, when he hadn’t known you long… He called me Willow a few times in bed. More than a few. Usually when he was really-… After a while I actually suggested it- nothing got him wilder. That’s all. It was before you two were together.”

Yang looked away, then looked back.

“I’m sorry, Willow… I overstepped. I do that most of the time but… Sorry.”

She held her own arm.

“… And I didn’t ACTUALLY leave a note. I mean, I left one saying you’d be here. I was only going to stay long enough to get you mad at me… I didn’t think… I’m sorry."

The tug on her wrist made Willow hiss in protest, and she whipped around to glare daggers into Yang. She didn’t want this, she didn’t need to talk to Yang, she needed to talk to Ren.

In the past, Ren had assured her if Yang ever became too much, she could tell him, and he’d cut off Yang, no question. At the time, Willow didn’t think she needed it—she was a grown woman that could take care of her problems and any competition that came her way. Yang meant nothing to him, while Willow meant everything. It’s what she clung to.

“ That’s your problem, Yang, ” the Schnee finally snapped, wrenching her hand away, “ you don’t think. You don’t think about anything but what you want. You don’t think about why I don’t want you around, and you don’t think about why Ren doesn’t either! ”

Willow heaved, and her eyes started to sting as the pain in her hand finally started to bloom.

“ You don’t know anything about how Ren and I got together, do you? What my life was like before him? ” Willow grit her teeth, too ashamed to let Yang look her in the face as tears started to stain her cheeks.

“ You wouldn’t know what it’s like to be married to someone who only ever wanted to use you for your name, who only ever touched you so you could give him heirs. You never sat in your room, wondering what you did to deserve this, what made you so stupid to believe for his lies for 15 years. ”

“ …And because I had kids I needed to look after, I couldn’t even just worry about myself. I was paralyzed by everything, by what would happen if I left, what he’d do to make sure I’d be seen as nothing but a selfish hysterical drunk to the courts, to the public! I was stuck. I could do nothing but sit under his thumb because I was just property. ”

“ But then Ren… Ren saw me. He saw me in the corner of a room, in a party I was only ever there for appearances. For once, someone saw me as a person, and he talked to me, not at a way to reach my husband, not even hear about my father, but talked to me, ” Willow choked out a sob at the mere memory.

“ 20 years, and I finally felt wanted. Do you know what that does to a woman? ” She finally turned to Yang with furious, heartbroken eyes. The blonde’s concerned expression did nothing to quell her anger—in fact, it only served to make things worse. Was she really so thick as to never catch on to how upset she was making Willow?

“And then you show up just to ruin everything! Always uninvited, never taking no for an answer, and always pushing me aside despite your claims of never coming between us! ” Willow borderline screamed, and were her wrist not sprained right now, she might've considered taking a swing.

“ I don't want your apology, ” the Schnee hissed, “ I want you out of my life. Permanently. ”

[schneebriated]

Fashion

Yang was leading Willow through a fashion store. “So a lunch date, warm weather, city near the beach? You’re going to blow Ren’s mind Mrs Nicator~”

She led Willow to a mirror and turned her to it.

“Okay, Willow, you’re a Sexy.” She whistled then laughed. “Seriously though ‘a sexy’ is like, it’s a body type, a look. It means you need something that accentuates your curves. Something that looks scandalous on most girls, but natural on you!”

She pulled on her jacket collar.

“The whole 'jacket and jeans’ look works for me, and you DO work a suit, but it looks like- I mean. You look good in one cause you’re a beautiful lady, not because suits are your thing. They suit Winter! She’s more tall and dramatic. You need more skin, more tightness, more exposure, and your colours. You’re a Winter so dark colours will accentuate your skin.”

She handed Willow a broad, black hat, semi-transparent. A black string bikini, a black tube top and strappy, just under the knee sandals, with a very tight, long, high waist black skirt with a split to her lower thigh on both sides. Lastly, a pair of aviator glasses.

“Try these on!”

Again, Yang had shown up out of nowhere while Willow was out and decided she needed to tag along. Ignoring her didn’t work, so eventually, she caved and explained what she was doing.

“  Sexy isn’t an actual measurement I can use, ” Willow responded dryly, glancing over her body in the mirror. While she was grateful she hadn’t lost too much of her waist in her pregnancies, it also made it very hard to find good form fitting clothes that also fit her hips and chest. Just about everything needed to be customized for her.

“ Mmm, a suit would feel too professional, ” the Schnee shook her head in agreement with Yang. She was no longer a businesswoman tied to the SDC—she was an empress. That meant she should dress opulently, as royals did, right? But how much would be too much when it was just her and Ren?

“ What works for my daughter doesn’t necessarily work for me, Yang, ” Willow said with a sundress pressed to her body for evaluation, “ too much contrast clashes with my skin and hair—I’ll look like an albino. ”

Of course, Yang was already in the process of picking out clothes and shoving them into Willow’s hands, so she sighed and played along. Ditching the dresses, she donned the beachwear Yang chose.

“ ...Hm, ” Willow finally said after a few seconds of looking herself over.

“ I like the style, but... it’s far too much black. It needs more color. ”

[paganimagevault]

Seleucus I Nicator 1st-2nd C. CE. Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and foundator of the Seleucid Empire. Marble, Roman artwork, imperial period (1st or 2nd century), made in a Syrian workshop. Louvre Museum.

"It is said that while he was still serving under Alexander and following him in the war against the Persians he consulted the Didymaean oracle to inquire about his return to Macedonia and that he received for answer:     Do not hurry back to Europe;     Asia will be much better for you. It was said also that in Macedonia a great fire burst forth on his ancestral hearth without anybody lighting it; also that his mother saw in a dream that whatever ring she found she should give him to carry, and that he should be king at the place where he should lose the ring. She did find an iron ring with an anchor engraved on it, and he lost it near the Euphrates."

-Appian of Alexandria, The Syrian Wars: Chapter 12, Section 56

https://paganimagevault.blogspot.com/2020/01/seleucus-i-nicator-1st-2nd-c-ce.html

[vake-hunter]

What is Salt?

Salt is probably one of the most uh complex parts of Fallen London lore so buckle up. I’m going to keep this as simple as possible because there is A LOT. 

!!Spoilers for Sunless Sea and Seeking Endings!!

Who IS Salt as of Right Now In The Neath 

Salt is one of the three Gods of The Unterzee. It is usually noted as being responsible for the strange flow of time in the Neath and memories in general. It is also called the Traveller Returning or just the Traveller. Its messenger is a white bat. Its blessings are usually that of sudden revelations or help to get home (but not always YOUR home…) Its curses however are extreme, erasing of memories, taking loved ones, undoing achievements, even erasing your whole existence. Better not to upset it. 

It's said Salt resides to the East, farther than anyone dares to travel. 

But who WAS Salt?

“the White: Recall who sent you here. That fierce old thing in the dark: "Find her," he said to you, "and you will find the treasures. Go down. You need only take a little. [...]" The light of his nimbus guttered, as if he were laughing. You knew nothing of the Neath, then. Perhaps you would never have come, if you did. [...] You remember the starlight.”

Salt is a Judgement, specifically one who worked as a spy for another Judgement, the White. 

Salt’s name was not always Salt. Its true name is long forgotten but may be found in the depths of Frostfound (Frostfound is a whole different essay). It has a strange name of seven letters, which is dangerous in the Correspondence. It’s name roughly translates to The Name-Which-Burns and it is also one of the sigils found near the Avid Horizon in art. (Its name is hard for humans to comprehend and depending on what options you choose, you can either pick to believe Salt was a human or was a Judgement. Everything about Judgements is almost impossible for humans to understand, thus you can pick a more ‘simple’ translation. Both endings still result in you going East.)

Salt was sent to the Neath by the White (more on that in speculation). It was a painful journey and sometime during its time in the Neath, Salt decided it no longer wished to serve the White. Salt travelled around the Zee to forget itself. It left parts of itself in Frostfound, Kingeater’s Castle, Irem, and finally it went East. It built these places and abandoned its Name, its Need, its Memories and, finally, itself. 

TRAVELLER RETURNING

“The Name is yours. Perhaps it always was - perhaps you're only coming home. [...] Other memories of other voyages press in on you [...]” 

Salt is every Traveller and the Traveller is always Returning. Salt beckons others to follow its path. To take up its name. To join it East. In Frostfound, you find Salt’s name and it is your name. You gain Salt’s memories and Name, you become Salt and you go East. There are others there, all others who followed the path. 

But why?

“The Gate is open, the Judgments have seen, but you have other plans. There is no Sequence for this. Rise and depart. [...] You failed, you succeeded. This was only the first element. It is a terrible pity about the Runt. If you could have saved him, you would. But all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. Contact the others. Let them know what the White intended. Continue.”

That tells me absolutely nothing.

AK is no longer a part of FBG and so this may not be canon anymore but he wrote on Reddit about Salt and the White. 

"The Liberation of Night stained the Deep Wilderness long, long before it touched the Earth, and the White feared - reasonably that its metastasising rapture would darken the hearts of too many stars for it ever to be contained. [This is lore I'd have explored more in Sunless Skies as it was originally conceived, but Failbetter have gone, I believe, in a completely different direction, and this is no longer continuity.] He resorted to the Neath, that notorious half-secret laboratory of stellar secrets. The Bazaar is developing its own Counsel to soothe and cheer the Sun; the White hoped to find or foment a final argument of despair which would quell the rebellious hearts of any Liberated star it touched. It would also quell the hearts of any loyalist Judgements, but the White would rather see an empty universe than a disordered one. Of course the White couldn't know that the Counsel of Peace might threaten Histories beyond its own, but the White is the White, and it's unlikely that this would have dissuaded it."

So about the Bazaar. Messages written on it can affect those who read them. We see this in humans who feel love and such when near the Bazaar or talking about the Bazaar and Cups in Nemesis was trying to inscribe stories of revenge onto the Bazaar to make it and the sun suffer. It is implied this is from the Bazaar experimenting on itself and various surgeries it had done in the First City, although all Couriers have this power to a lesser degree (seen in Skies at Faith’s Fall).

SPECULATION

Even if you ignore what AK said the White wanted to find something in the Neath and sent Salt to find it. The White would rather kill Judgements rather than let them turn to Night. It scribe messages of Hate and Grief onto the Bazaar to turn others away from the Liberation. In both of the other two endings of Seeking, you would become fuel for the White’s plan. Both of these endings have Nicator react happily when you pick your question, saying that the White will come to fulfill his frozen Law, while asking Who is Salt has Nicator react in fear and confusion, saying you are going against the White’s plan. 

“I don’t understand. Who do you think will come, when you call? Tell – please tell me – you will bring light to the Neath. The White’s plan–”

Salt was sent to spy for the White and find a weapon, but turned away from the White’s plan. It’s implied then, that it is trying to build an army to kill the White. In Seeking, you knock, open the Neath to the White and then fly East to your army. You lured him to the Neath to kill him.

So this brings us to Candles. I am unsure of the actual connection the two have, although they very clearly have one. It is very possible the White had a hand in Candles’ death in order to further his plan. So let’s jump STRAIGHT into speculation. We know Veils had its claws in the Great Game and was on the Surface enough that it was one of its strongest personality parts so it could be that the White somehow told Veils to betray Candles, offering Veils something in return.

One of my special interests is religion so let’s dump some of that in here. There are plenty of comparisons of Candles and Veils to Jesus and Judas. Even the game does it. Judgements are gods. In the book of Judas, Jesus knew Judas would betray him and God himself told Judas to do so, because it was part of the plan to have Jesus die for the sins of humanity. So Jesus is Candles, God is the White and the Holy Spirit is Salt. It fits, as Salt is in every Traveller. Fucking weird but a good way to try and comprehend them. 

I personally really like the idea of Salt and Candles being Binary Stars!! Candles lowered itself first and Salt was sent by the White to find it.

[lasclall]

Chandragupta maurya serial status

Chandragupta maurya serial status serial#

Chandragupta maurya serial status tv#

“Androcottus, when he was a stripling, saw Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the country, since its king was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth.” Plutarch reports that he met with Alexander the Great, probably around Takshasila in the northwest, and that he viewed the ruling Nanda Empire in a negative light: What is known about his youth is gathered from later classical Sanskrit literature, as well as classical Greek and Latin sources which refer to Chandragupta by the names “Sandracottos” or “Andracottus”. Very little is known about Chandragupta’s youth. Hinduism for major part of life, Jainism in older days Over two thousand years later, the accomplishments of Chandragupta stand out in the history of Asia. His achievements, which ranged from conquering Macedonian satrapies in the northwest and conquering the Nanda Empire by the time he was only about 20 years old, to achieving an alliance with Seleucus I Nicator and establishing centralized rule throughout South Asia, remain some of the most celebrated in the history of India. After Chandragupt’s conquests, the Maurya Empire extended from Bengal and Assam in the east, to Afghanistan and Balochistan in the west, to Kashmir and Nepal in the north, and to the Deccan Plateau in the south. Prior to Chandragupta’s consolidation of power, small regional kingdoms dominated over India. In foreign Greek and Latin accounts, Chandragupta is known as Sandrokyptos (Σανδρόκυπτος), Sandrokottos (Σανδρόκοττος) or Androcottus. He conquered most of the Indian subcontinent and is considered the first unifier of India as well as its first genuine emperor. 320 BCE, – 298 BCE) was the founder of the Maurya Empire. So, if you wish to read the original article, you can check the main source.Ĭhandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit & Hindi: चन्द्रगुप्त मौर्य), (born c. What I’ve provided is just the summary and I’ve edited the main content. I am sharing some of the details here from Wikipedia so that you do not have to search, however, you can always check the open source. Moreover, the land under his control during his reign was the second largest in the history of India (the first being Ashoka – Successor of Chandragupta Maurya). He was one of the greatest rulers of India and it was during his reign when Alexander tried to invade India. I was impressed by the details that I came across about Chandragupta Maurya. Thus I came home after my shift and read about Chandragupta Maurya. I did not know anything about the latest serials, but when it came about history, I knew only a bit.

Chandragupta maurya serial status tv#

Staying away from home and not having a TV at my room was something I missed today. Slowly, this TV discussion went to be a historical debate including the next team.

Chandragupta maurya serial status serial#

While I was in office, a discussion started in my team about some serial on TV on Chandragupta Maurya.

[elwynten]

Chapter 25

Pern: 5 - 10 - 21

The day before, Jaxom had discovered the original site the settlers had lived at. All of the buildings were covered in dirt and ash from the volcano. F'lar, Lessa, Nicat, and a few others had started to uncover the buildings. After a short time, they decided to work on one building (Lessa's building) so they could uncover its entrance or door. By evening they had uncovered the door, although it was late, and they needed grease for the door's tracks to open the door. So, they left the building till morning.

The day after uncovering the shuttle: I wanted to see how things transpire, on the Plateau with Jaxom and Toric. So, in the morning I ported to the Plateau with Sucki and My Team. I left them at the tree line, then I used one of my spells to turn myself invisible. Then I flew over the Plateau and took pictures, so I'll have a record of what the Plateau looks like before they uncover most to all of the buildings. I flew back to where the girls were and dropped the invisibility spell.

As we walked up to the main group of people, N'ton landed with three journeymen miners and their master. The inside of Nicat's mound could be seen. It was a classroom with pictures of Earth animals on the walls.

Nicat headed towards F'lar's mound to start uncovering it. By the time the entrance was uncovered, Jaxom on Ruth appeared in the sky. They landed, Jaxom dismounted and walked over and handed a roll of papers to Robinton. Robinton tucked the papers into his belt as if nothing unusual happened. Jaxom informed Robinton about Sharra's kidnapping and his plan to get her back.

The rolls of papers were copies of the maps on the wall of the shuttle. Jaxom had made copies of the maps for Robinton.

I walked up to Robinton as Jaxom walked over to Toric, Lessa and F'lar. "This will be interesting." I said to Robinton.

Robinton looked at me with a calculated look. "You seem to know more about what is going on than someone in your position should. Do you know how this situation turns out?" He asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Presuming my being here doesn't change history. Things will turn out very good for Jaxom and Sharra." I told Robinton, while I watched Toric, Lessa and F'lar walk to Lessa's building. "Excuse me." I said to Robinton and walked over to listen in to Lessa's, Toric's and F'lar's conversation.

On the way over I created a map of the Southern continent from the Island River to Big Island. I stepped into the doorway to the building, blocking Toric's exit, just as Toric said. "I have maps back at my Hold."

I held out the map I had created. "This should do." I told them.

F'lar looked at Toric. "It's too late." He told Toric. The three of them left the building as I backed out of the way, to see Ruth landing with Jaxom and Sharra on his back. I made sure my girls and I were back out of the way. I didn't want to interfere with Jaxom and Toric's exchange.

Ruth landed and when they had dismounted, he walked to Jaxom's left as the two young people went to meet the others. Toric no longer had his usual smile. "Toric, you cannot contain Sharra anywhere on Pern where Ruth and I can't find her!" Jaxom said after the barest of nods to the Benden weyrleaders and the Harper. There was no hint of compromise in Toric's hard expression. Nore did he expect it. "Place and time are no barriers to Ruth. Sharra and I can go anywhere and anywhen on Pern."

A piteously crying queen fire-lizard tried to land on Toric's shoulder, but he brushed her away.

"Further, Fire-lizards obey Ruth! Don't they, my friend?" Jaxom rested his hand on ruth's head knob. "Tell every fire-lizard here on the Plateau to go away!"

Ruth did just that, adding as the wide meadow was suddenly empty of the little creatures, they didn't wish to leave.

Toric narrowed his eyes slightly at the show of ability. Then the fire-lizards returned. This time Toric allowed his little queen to land on his shoulder, but his eyes held Jaxom's.

"How do you know Southern? I was told you've never been there!" Toric made a half-turn as if to accuse Lessa and F'lar of complicity.

"Your informant erred," Jaxom said, wondering if it had been Dorse. "Today was not the first time I've retrieved something from the Southern Weyr which belongs to the North." Jaxom laid his arm possessively about Sharra's shoulders.

Toric's composure deserted him. "You!" He extended his arm, pointing at Jaxom; his face was a mixture of anger, indignant outrage, disappointment, frustration and lastly, a grudging respect. "You took the egg back! You and that… but the fire-lizards' images were black!"

"I'd be stupid not to darken a white hide if I make a night pass, wouldn't I?" Jaxom asked with understandable scorn.

"I knew it wasn't one of T'ron's riders," Toric cried, his fists clenching and unclenching. "But for you to… Well now," and Toric's whole attitude changed radically. He began to smile again, and trifle sourly as he looked at the Benden Weyrleaders and then the Harper. Then he started to laugh, losing anger and frustration in the laughter. "If you knew, Lordling…" again he pointed fiercely at Jaxom, "the plans you ruined, the… How many people knew it was you?" Now he did turn accusingly on the dragonriders.

"Not many," Robinton said, wondering quickly if indeed Lessa and F'lar had ever guessed.

"I know," Sharra said, "and so did Brekke. Jaxom worried about that egg the whole time he was fevered." Her gaze on his face was proud.

"Not that it matters now," Jaxom said. "What does matter is, do I now have your permission to marry Sharra and make her lady of Ruatha Hold?'

"I don't see how I can stop you." Toric's broad gesture of frustration took in the people and the dragons.

"Indeed, you can't, for Jaxom's boast about Ruth's abilities is valid," F'lar said. "One must never underestimate a dragonrider, Toric." Then he grinned without softening the implicit warning. "Especially a Northen dragonrider."

"I shall bear that firmly in mind." Toric said, the intensity of his big voice indicating his chagrin. The affable grin reappeared on his face. "Especially in our present discission. Before these impetuous youngsters interrupted us, we were discussing the extent of my Hold, were we not?"

He turned his back on Sharra and Jaxom and gestured to the others to return to their temporary hall.

Toric, Lessa and F'lar headed back to Lessa's building. I followed them into the building. I handed the map to F'lar. "I believe this will be useful." I told him. "Toric and I had a long discussion a while back and he told me where his land ended. It's all marked on the map." I told them and pointed out the boundaries of Toric's land.

"He was allowed to settle as much land as he could until the oldtimers all died." F'lar informed me.

I nodded my head in agreement. "It was meant as a statement, not a criticism." I said.

Toric looked at the map and nodded his head. "I told Eilwyn this was what I would take, when we talked earlier."

Lessa looked at me with a piercing and thoughtful look.

"Why don't you sign the map." F'lar said to Toric, but he looked at me for permission to take the map. I nodded my head in agreement. "Then Lessa and I will sign it, and Lord Holder Eilwyn can sign it also, if he will. That will give proof of what you own." F'lar said.

"Yes, I'll sign it as a witness." I agreed.

We all signed the map, giving Toric all of the land from Island River, to the second river to the west. And from the ocean to Drake's Lake. This would give Toric a third to a half of what he originally wanted, but he will still have more than what five lord holders in the north have combined.

"We will present this to the Lord Holders at the next Council Meeting." F'lar told Toric. And with that, Toric walked out of the building to see what building was being uncovered.

Lessa looked at me. "You had something to do with Toric not taking the land all the way to Big Island. Didn't you." She said.

"How could I change Toric's mind?" I asked her.

Lessa glared at me. "I don't know HOW you did it. But you DID change his mind somehow."

"If I did change his mind, does it really matter how I did it, as long as I prevented Toric from taking half of the southern continent?" I replied.

"I want to know how you did it!" Lessa said.

F'lar stepped in. "Would you rather Toric take a huge chunk of the southern continent? I'm glad he took so little, no matter how it happened." Flar said grinning. "That leaves much more land for the sons of Lord Holders and holdless northerners."

"Imagine how many people could hold the land between Toric's Hold and Big Island. If each Holder gets five to ten square miles of land. Hundreds or even thousands could hold that land." I said, grinning. I put in their minds how much five square miles is.

F'lar chuckled and nodded his head in agreement.

Lessa grinned. "Your right. It is better this way." She looked at me and gave me a piercing glare. "But don't you try any of your tricks on us, 'Lord Holder'." She told me.

I gave her an innocent look. "Why would I ever do such a thing?" I said.

Lessa gave me a dirty look. "You sound like Master Robinton."

I gave Lessa a slight bow. "I consider that a complement." I told her.

F'lar chuckled. "Let's see what they have uncovered this morning." He said and lead Lessa out of the building without looking back.

I softly laughed as they left. It really didn't matter if they knew I had 'changed' Toric's mind or not. Because the outcome was beneficial to everyone… other than Toric, that is.

I went to find my girls. I needed to get Suki and talk to Master Fandarel about her smithing skills.

I found the girls by one of the buildings helping dig it out. They were keeping up with the men, if not doing better than most of the men. But then, my girls were a lot stronger than the men, and some have Semblances or other powers that allowed them to move the dirt with ease. Such as Willow's Earth Control and Telekinesis, And Crystal's ability to control metals. Sucki was directing the dig as well as helping to dig it up along with the others.

[thelastdiadoch]

EASTERN GALLIC CHIEF BOLGIUS FACES OFF WITH THE KINGS OF HELLENISTIC MACEDON

This is an excerpt from my post, ‘GAULS OF THE EAST: PART 1 –  BANDITS OF THE BALKANS’

The cracks begin to show

It seemed as though, despite the loss of the great military minds of Alexander the Great, his Diadochi or “successors”, were still too powerful for the Gauls to overwhelm. Their next expedition would have to be timed at a moment when Macedonia and the Greeks were divided and weakened. This opportunity arose when, in the matter of three years, three great Diadochi passed away. Each of these three had established their own independent realms from the fragments of Alexander’s empire.

Ptolemy I Soter, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt (Hellenistic Egypt), died in 283/2 BCE.

Lysimachus founder of the Lysamichid dynasty of Hellenistic Thrace, Asia Minor and co-ruler of Macedonia, died in a battle against Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BCE.

Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid dynasty of the Near East and Greater Persia, was assassinated in 281 BCE shortly after his victory over Lysimachus.

^ Wars of the Diadochi c.279 BCE [Source].

Ptolemy Ceraunus, ‘the thunderbolt’

With the deaths of these three major Diadochi, Gallic chief Bolgios chose a very opportune moment to assault the Macedonians and Thracians as they were both reorganizing under their new kings and were locked into a game of thrones. The Diadoch Lysimachus fell in the Battle of Corupedium against the Diadoch Seleucus I Nicator, shortly after the latter was assassinated by Ptolemy (son of Ptolemy I Soter) who then claimed the Macedonian throne for himself. This Ptolemy was also given the nickname ‘Ceraunus’, “thunderbolt”, for his daring initiative.

^ Marble bust of Lysimachus. Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (Archaeological Museum), Italy.

“The assassin (Ptolemy Ceraunus) gave up the treasures to the guards to plunder, and reigned over Macedonia until, venturing to give battle to the Gauls (he was the first king we know of who did so)” – The Description of Greece by Pausanias.

“Bolgius marched against the Macedonians and Illyrians, and engaged in conflict with Ptolemy, then king of Macedonia. It was this Ptolemy who first sought the protection of Seleucus (I Nicator), son of Antiochus, and then assassinated his protector, and whose excessive daring earned him the nickname of Thunderbolt (Ceraunus).” – The Description of Greece by Pausanias.

Plutarch writes that Ptolemy Ceraunus was heavily plagued by nightmares stemming from his betrayal and assassination of Seleucus I Nicator, namely he dreamt that he was “cited to the judgment-seat by Seleucus, where wolves and vultures were his judges” (Plutarch). Ptolemy was well aware of the Gallic approach but dismissed them as being any true threat, his pride and overconfidence led him to even dismiss the aid of twenty thousand men offered by Dardanians (Thraco-Illyrians) for the purpose of defeating their Gallic neighbors 

^ A Roman copy of a Greek statue of Seleucus I found in Herculaneum. Now located at the Naples National Archaeological Museum.

“An embassy from the Dardanians, offering him twenty thousand armed men, for his assistance he spurned, adding insulting language, and saying that “the Macedonians were in a sad condition if, after having subdued the whole east without assistance, they now required aid from the Dardanians to defend their country; and that he had for soldiers the sons of those who had served under Alexander the Great, and had been victorious throughout the world.” This answer being repeated to the Dardanian prince, he observed that “the famous kingdom of Macedonia would soon fall a sacrifice to the rashness of a raw youth.”” – Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus by Marcus Junianus Justinus, 24.4.

The Gauls under Bolgius sent envoys to Ptolemy Ceraunus, offering him peace in exchange for a fee but Ptolemy refused and boasted to his courtiers “that the Gauls sued for peace from fear of war.” Ptolemy told the ambassadors, right in front of the Gallic envoys, that he would only grant them peace if they turned their chiefs over to him as hostages and gave up their arms. When the Gallic envoys returned and relayed the message the Gauls laughed it off and said that they would show Ptolemy Ceraunus “would soon see whether they had offered peace from regard for themselves or for him.” Bolgius lead a force against Ptolemy Ceraunus, defeated them in battle, beheaded Ptolemy, placed his head on a spear, paraded it before his own people and executed or sacrificed the Macedonian captives.

^ Concord - Ancient Celts.

“-and the Macedonians were defeated and cut to pieces. Ptolemy, after receiving several wounds, was taken, and his head, cut off and stuck on a lance, was carried round the whole army to strike terror into the enemy. Flight saved a few of the Macedonians; the rest were either taken or slain” – Epitome of Philippic History by Justin, 24.5.

“Ptolemy himself fell in the battle, and the Macedonian loss was heavy; but again the Celts had not the courage to march against Greece, and so the second expedition returned home again” – The Description of Greece by Pausanias.

Bolgius didn’t follow up this victory; their momentum was eventually stunted by a nobleman and officer named Sosthenes who took on the title of strategos (general) rather than a kingly title. Defeated, the Gauls under Bolgius returned to their base of operations with their riches. Although thoughts of a successful invasion seemed bleak, the fateful tides were now turning in their favor. More Gauls back home were inspired by the promise of riches in a domain now showing signs of instability as the Macedonian throne was being passed on from person to person.

Ptolemy Ceraunos, who ruled from 281–279 BCE was killed by Bolgius, as stated above.

Meleager, the brother of Ptolemy Ceraunos, ruled for two months before being forced to resign by his own troops in 279 BCE.

Antipater ruled for such a short time (45 days) that he was nicknamed Etesias (“annual wind”), brief summer winds. Antipater Etesias.

Sosthenes, the nobleman mentioned above, deposed Antipater Etesias and ruled as strategos (general) of Macedonia from 279-276 BCE.

Head over to my post, ‘GAULS OF THE EAST: PART 1 – BANDITS OF THE BALKANS’, the rarely spoken of Gauls of southeastern Europe, their invasion of Greece, employment as mercenaries under Ptolemaic Egypt, their rebellious and warlike society as well as their little known kingdom of Tylis in Thrace.

You can also read the sequel to the above mentioned post, ‘GAULS OF THE EAST: PART 2 – HELLENISED GALATIANS OF ASIA MINOR’. In this post I cover the Celts who migrated into Asia Minor, established a Greco-Gallic state, became renowned as warriors and mercenaries, played an integral part in the Hellenistic ‘Game of Thrones’ of the Diadochi (Alexander the Great’s successor), ravaged and terrorized the region, as well as forcing “tribute on the whole of Asia west of the Taurus” (Livy, 38.16.12). I also speak about their armors, weaponry and how they may have inspired some Greek and Roman arms as well as some military units.

[teamlarl]

Drabble - Mamma

“I don’t remember much about mamma.”

The admission came with a heavy sigh and a long swig of his drink. Not wine. This was far too heavy a topic. Whiskey it was.

Renatus circled his finger around the rim of his glass, head bowed and unable to meet the judgmental gaze of his older sister. Oh, he knew that was probably too harsh. Vesna had her opinions about his lifestyle and choices, but she had never judged them. No, the only one here who was judging him was himself.

“I can still see her face. It’s hard not to, when I see it in the mirror every day. When I see you almost every day. But…”

“Renatus,” his sister spoke softly. Yet all too firmly. Vesna reached over and placed a gentle hand over his own. “You were so young. Please do not blame yourself for not having those memories… We were robbed of her far too early.”

The young dictator closed his eyes and released a shuddering breath that rattled his shoulders. They had had this conversation many times over the years. It never managed to help him come to terms with it. Their mother’s death. Their father’s death.

And who was he to talk? This was Remnant. Dead parents, lost relatives were a lien-a-dozen. It was more strange to know someone who hadn’t lost family. So why was it so hard for him to move on?

“You know what I do remember?” He replied weakly. “That story she would always read to me before bed. About the boy, the bird, and the mountain.”

“Hmm. How many seconds in eternity,” Vesna replied knowingly. She gave her troubled brother a soft smile. “You conned me a few times into reading that one to you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did.” He took a short sip and chuckled. “Just a way to remember her by.”

Vesna reached over and tousled his hair. “You really need to cut this,” she murmured, “it’s getting so long.”

“Like you’re one to talk.”

“Oh? Next are you going to tell me that I need to shave like you very much need to?”

“I think I’m spotting some lip hair from here, dear sister.”

Vesna snorted and punched his shoulder. “Hilarious.”

They lapsed into a momentary silence then. Not needing to say anything because… what else was there left to say? Well, a lot apparently, because Vesna spoke up again.

“…Do you know the last thing mamma said to me?”

Renatus, having heard this before, simply quoted, “Take care of him, Vesna.”

Vesna hummed in acknowledgement. “Take care of him… I’ve spent a long time doing that, Ren. A long time… Honoring the last wish of mamma. And I think I’ve done a good job. Not perfect, but good.”

Renatus blinked. “What? Of course you have. I would not be where I am without you.”

“Yes, well… so long as we’re admitting things…” Vesna drawled. “I think it’s time for me to… stop.”

“Stop?” Now he looked concerned.

“Stop,” Vesna nodded. “Renatus, I love you, and I will always be your older sister. But I have lived my life chasing after mamma’s shadow, honoring her wish. And… you’re a man grown, now. Doing grander things than any of us could have imagined back when you were sitting in mamma’s lap, reading one of her book out loud.”

Renatus nodded and he put his glass down. His free hand came to rest upon hers. Vesna offered him a sad, brittle smile in return.

“Who am I outside of you?” She asked. “I… do not know. And that scares me. I think… no- I know that I need to go out there and… find myself. Figure out who Vesna Nicator is. Live for myself. Because… you don’t need me to take care of you anymore.”

Vesna gently pulled her hand away from his, only to lift it up and caress his stubbled face.

“Because you’re the one taking care of everyone else. And I am so proud of you, Renatus Nicator, I need you to know that. Papa would have been too. So would mamma.”

The purposeful exclusion of Ianus went unmentioned.

“And… I want them to be proud of me too,” Vesna raised her finger to his lips before he could make a rebuttal. “For more than being a good big sister.”

At that… Renatus nodded slowly. For there was nothing he understood better.

“…Where will you go?” He whispered. “What will you do?”

“I don’t know,” Vesna sighed dreamily, “isn’t that exciting?”

[theuiucollegian]

UIU esports program continues to build in second season

Photo by Serena Kehui Tan/Collegian Staff UIU esports team members Jose Acosta (left) and Robert Ngo play League of Legends in the game room at the Fine Arts Building on Sept. 9.

By Serena Kehui Tan/Collegian Staff

It was just an ordinary morning when Jim Lowery received a no- tice from Upper Iowa University. The athletics department of UIU decided to have esports as the new sport. Lowery was surprised as he was told to build and coach the new esports team. Being a gamer for years, it did not take Lowery long to say yes.

Lowery established the esports team in 2018, and he recruited seven members. In the search for players Lowery focuses mainly on personality. “If you have somebody in the room that has

a wrong personality, it can ruin the entire team. I believe team chemistry can overcome a slight lack of skill,” Lowery said.

The esports team currently has 21 students from UIU’s main campus. Lowery said, they are all good and compete. The team will compete in seven titles this year including League of Legends, Overwatch, Dota 2, Fortnite, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, SMITE and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Just like other sports players, esports players go through a concussion test, physical test, and other athletic training programs. Practice comes after all the tests are completed. The team practice three times a week and 2 hours per prac- tice, and they focus mainly on teamwork during training.

To manage teamwork, players commu- nicate during the week. To strategize, they talk about games, and decide the role of players. Jose Acosta, League of Legends player, said, “During games, we have voice chats, and we have a shot caller who is in charge of making decisions for the team.”

The players also look out at each other when they are playing. Jonathan Wied- wilt, League of Legends player, said, they often rely on their teammates to point

out the mistake they made. They will get advice from each other, critique on things they notice and sometimes learn from professional esports players.

Other than teamwork, one of the key factors is communication. After games, they will look back at the games they lost and the games they won. “In games we are quieter, we lost, and in games we were more vocal, we won,” Weidwilt said.

In Overwatch, gamers focus more on their roles instead of communication. Everyone takes his roles and position seriously. Joshua Griswold, Overwatch player, said, “A tank player make openings for the rest of the teammates, a DPS (damage per second) player take advantage of people that are out of position, a support player is to keep members of the team alive.”To improve, esports requires a lot of practice and learning the game just like other sports. “You can never have enough practice, review enough footage or learn enough tricks to get you out of tough situations,” Griswold said.

One of the biggest challenges faced by players is finding time to practice together. “It is a lot of work trying to get everyone to be available at the same time for practices,” Acosta said. Other issues such as cooperation between players and hardware limitation can get in the way.Lowery spends an amount of $2,600 for each set of equipment including the towers, monitors, keyboards, mouse, headsets, desks and chairs. Each piece of equipment can last more than five years, and it can be replaced slowly. 

“It may be a high upfront cost, but the cost declines. As long as we keep recruiting, tuition of the students helps pay for everything,” Lowery said. 

Lowery is searching for players internationally as well. There is a program called Discord, a chat server for gamers. Lowery had a server set up in Discord, and with this he can find players from different games and different countries.

“We are actively recruiting international students. It is not just an Iowa thing either, and we are grabbing players from everywhere,” Lowery said.In esports, players require a lot of time management between gaming and studying. 

During team practice, they make sure practice times works for everyone in the team. “If a player has too much on his plate, we allow them to finish work and we practice individually. Coach makes it a staple as his first rule that we are students first,” Weidwilt said.

Lowery takes education seriously and he will constantly check on his player’s class performance. Instead of telling players to play, is more of telling players to stop.“We do not want to bring in anyone who is unable to play because they are academically ineligible. We want them to study, and we want them to succeed,” Lowery said. Lowery’s job includes strategizing, planning, and giving advice to his players during games. 

If his players felt discouraged after they lost a few games, also known as “tilt” in the gaming world. He will encourage them to focus on the posi- tive side and help them to get out of “tilt.”After having the team established for almost two years, one of the biggest achievements is still beginning the team. They are still growing and building programs, but the team is catching up and constantly improving themselves.

[ajuiciisms]

Yang smiled slightly, finishing her drink as she let Willow rage with all the seething anger of a possessive wife. As if Yang didn’t already know Ren had great taste.

When Willow finally finished she smirked at her again.

“Man I wish Ren had heard you say all that, he’d love it~”

The overly top heavy blonde laughed.

She forgot or decided not to address the seducing thing.

“Willow. Willow Willow Willow. Mrs Nicator. I don’t want to take Ren AWAY from you!”

She grinned and shifted closer.

“You’re PERFECT for each other! There’s no woman in the world who’d be a better wife for him and he’s PERFECT for you. You should hear him TALK about you! Man, the number of times he’s said your name instead of mine…”

She leaned on her hand.

“I know he only loves you, half of Remnant knows! I don’t want to get in the WAY of that, any more than your daughters do… But them being your daughters aside, you’re not threatened by Renatus railing them, any more than you’re threatened by what he got up to with Liane, and those two had more sex than a man with a rabbit faunus harem.”

She fluttered her eyelashes.

“So, do you REALLY think that Ren’s obsession with you is actually threatened by things like, say, me taking a turn under his desk, or the fact I left a message for Ren to join us up here?”

Willow was too pissed to really listen to Yang as she, once more, completely brushed off her anger. The blonde’s voice faded into the background as Willow focused on her breathing to get her blood away from the boiling point. Yang was practically a risk to her beauty with how much stress she was causing her, and she really didn’t want the veins in her forehead to because any more pronounced.

She could handle this. Yang was just goading her, looking for a reaction. It was a dangerous game, but then again, Yang’s body was too busy circulating blood through her flabby tits to provide any to her brain—

Man, the number of times he’s said your name instead of mine…

Any attempt to get herself under control was swiftly undermined by that one sentence and the image it conjured.

A ringing sound started in her ears, made only worse as Yang continued to prattle on about her daughters and Liane again, her annoying voice reverberating in her mind.

Willow Schnee was seeing red.

Yang only avoided getting hit because she had moved so close, but the tile on the rim of the hot springs wasn’t so lucky. There was a loud CRACK, and the pain of her quickly bruising fist didn’t even register through all the adrenaline.

Willow pulled her legs from the water, turning away to get up because she couldn’t bear to look at Yang anymore. None of what she said was real. Ren would never go behind her back, and he didn’t want anything to do with Yang when he had Willow.

She had to keep telling herself that as she walked away from the temptation to wring Yang’s neck and have that be the end of her problems.

Right now, Willow needed Ren. And they needed to talk.

[schneebriated]

teamlarl​:

For a long time, he simply held her. Sometimes, there were moments where even his silver tongue was better left chained. What could he say to Willow to make her feel better? Could he just lie to her face and tell her that there was a 100% chance that they would see each other again? No. He could not. Willow was far too accustomed to lies by this point in her life. Her husband had made sure of that.

So, he just held her. He held her close as she sobbed into his chest. His fingers caressed her back, soothing her like a father would his distraught child. In moments like these, it was best just to be close to one another.

But the silence couldn’t hold forever. This was Renatus Nicator, after all.

“I am right.” Renatus whispered softly into her ear. He said it as if it were the most basic facts of the universe, something that everyone instinctively knew. “I know that you can’t come with me… You have too many responsibilities here for that. And I respect that. You are a mother… A matriarch… And you, and you alone, are the one person who can wrest back control of your father’s company from your slithering snake of a husband.”

Grabbing her chin, he titled her head back so that he could see her puffy, red-rimmed eyes. Even fresh from sobbing, they were beautiful. Like the twinkling of ancient glaciers when the noon sun hit them at just the right angle…

“Communication will be difficult, considering the state of the CCTs… But we’ll find a way. You’re the richest woman on Remnant and I’m the son of Mistral’s head of government. We’ll find a way to keep in touch, even if we have to be creative. And then one day…”

Silence was all that filled the room for a while. Silence which drew all the more attention to her pathetic sniffling, much to her embarrassment. Willow didn’t even know how many times she’d cried in front of him at this point, but it was surely an alarming amount. She’d fought it, but still she ended up baring herself to him completely, making her feel naked and vulnerable in front of him. So much of him made her feel scared... but safe.

The sound of Renatus’ low voice in her ear made her breath hitch, the matter-of-fact tone making her hairs stand on edge. She should know better, but his confidence was almost reassuring...

She looked up at him with despondent eyes, a broken woman seeking reprieve in a young man. She felt like a burden.

“ You... ” Willow sighed, not sure how to rebuke him with her pessimism. Not that she truly wanted to — Renatus was far, far too nice and cute to be ruined by her.

“ One day... I want to get out. ”

[assemblyoftheway]

HaMashiach, a Christian or a Nazarene Israelite from the Tribe of Judah?

The said prophecy 'He should be called a Nazarene’ (Matt. 2:23) is speaking about HaMashiach, which there is convincing evidence, in the old testament, that has been brought forward to identify this statement. Sometimes people look for this reference in English translations in the Old Testament, but they don’t find it because the reference is in Hebrew. The prophet Isaiah says, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch (Netzer/H#5342) shall grow out of his roots." - Isaiah 11:1

When looking at the word "Netzer or Netser" (strongs #5342) it is a type of Branch - a shoot or sprout from an olive tree that grows out of its original root system but springs up at a later time from the stump, or somewhat distant from the trunk.

Netzer is more properly translated shoot or sprout. The Hebrew for Tsemach (H#6780) is most commonly translated Branch, which is used to mention the coming of HaMashiach.

"Behold, the days come, saith the YHWH, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch (tseh'-makh/H#6780), and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, HaMashiach Our Righteousness." - Jeremiah 23:5-6

"In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch (tseh'-makh/H#6780) of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land." - Jeremiah 33:15

"Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch." (tseh'-makh/H#6780) - Zechariah 3:8

"And speak unto him, saying, thus speaketh YHWH of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch (tseh'-makh/H#6780); and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of YHWH:" - Zechariah 6:12

"In that day shall the branch (tseh'-makh/H#6780) of YHWH be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel." - Isaiah 4:2

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch (Netzer/ H#5342) shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of YHWH shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of YHWH;" - Isaiah 11:1-2

"Nazarenes" or "Netzarim" is a title used to identify the foundational group of disciples (Apostles) of HaMashiach. The singular of "Netzarim" is the Hebrew (#5342) "Netzer, Netser or Naytser” - Greenness, a shoot, figuratively a descendant- Branch /Wiki- Netzarim, twigs that shoot off from a branch of a tree (Hebrew from the root "neitzer" (נצר) meaning "a shoot"). From the Hebrew (#5341) root "Natzar"- to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey...) or a bad one (to conceal, ...): besieged, hidden thing, keep Exodus 34:7 (er, ing), monument, observe, preserve (r), subtil, watcher (man). (Now if you go back to Isaiah 11:1 you will see Matt. 2:23)"

Enemies of the Netzarim were known to give them condescending names (much like Catholics call non-catholic Christians "protestants"). Many of the derogatory titles given to the Netzarim were given to them by those who embraced man's authority over YHWH, when it came to religion. These "Judeans/Jews" often would have seen true instruments of the Ruach Hakodesh to be threats to their social status and way of life. These serpents used names such as:

"Natsarim" or "Natzarim" (naw-tzarim) w/ the root Natsah- meaning waste (Jeremiah 4:7 / Isaiah 37:26)

It is clear, the word "Christian” was not the earliest term for the followers of HaMashiach, since when reading Acts 11:26 it gives its first use in Antioch. Antioch is a city of ancient Syria. It was founded in 300 BCE by Seleucus I Nicator, a former general of Alexander the Great. Antioch was the center of the Seleucid kingdom until 64 BCE, when it was annexed by Rome and was made the capital of the Roman province of Syria. It became the third largest city of the Roman Empire in size and importance, after Rome and Alexander, and it had magnificent temples, theatres, aqueducts, and baths. The city was one of the earliest centers of Christianity (Eastern Christianity) it was there that the followers of HaMashiach were first called Christians, and the city where it is said Paul made missionary journeys from his headquarters in 47-55 CE. According to Acts 11:25-26, Barnabas, who was from the tribe of Levi Acts 4:36, went to look for Paul in Turkey and they went back to Antioch and assembled themselves with the people there and taught them. So, as we can see, at a time in a place at least 10 or possibly 20 or more years AFTER the death and RESURRECTION of HaMashiach, the word ‘Christian’ was used, that means, if it was 10 to 20 years AFTER his death, then the word Christian was never used by HaMashiach or used to describe those who followed him. Surprisingly the word appears three times in the New Testament (Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, and 1 Peter 4:16), yet, the New Testament use of this term indicates that it was a term of mockery, a term placed upon followers of HaMashiach by the Greeks. According to a few sources such as:

Wuest's Word Studies in the Greek New Testament it explains, “The name was coined by the pagans of the first century to identify the followers of the Christ from those who worshiped the Roman emperor who was called Caesar."

Mercer Dictionary of the Bible, pg. 142 "It seems wide use of the name did not come into vogue in the empire, however, till the reign of Hadrian (117-138 C.E.) or Antoninus Pius (138-161 C.E.). Pagans, unfamiliar with the confessional title 'Christos (HaMashiach) mistakenly understood it as a proper name."

The New Shaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge confirms true worshipers did not go by the designation Christian: "that it originated outside of Christian and Jewish circles is most likely because (1) Christians spoke of one another as 'the brethren,' 'the saints,' the disciples,’ ‘the faithful,' etc. (2) The Jews used the term ‘NAZARENE’

The term Christian was used by Roman Governor Agrippa in Acts 26:28, who mocked Paul by saying,

"With but a little persuasion you would fain make me a "Christian."

When reading 1 Peter 4:15-16, Peter mentions being labeled a Christian in a list of scornful terms such as: murder, thief, evildoer, busybody and Christian.

Also, when looking deeper into this word, Christian comes from the Greek word Christianos which is the origin of Cretin, when looking up the word Cretin we will see that it means "a stupid person." The root word cretin is the Swiss French word crestin, which comes from the word "Christianum," which means "Christian."

Note: What would Israelites that practice the Torah and follow HaMashiach be doing with a Greek term used by pagans, to label themselves? Why would they search Greco-Roman roots? Would not it make more sense to search for Hebrew origins roots, since they were follower of an Israelite from the tribe of Judah? I bet you said to yourself, “they were not Israelites,” however according to the New Testament they were Israelites:

Was Paul an Israelite? Yes

“I say then, Hath ALHYM cast away his people? ALHYM forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Romans 11:1

“Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.” 2 Corinthians 11:22

“Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee.” Philippians 3:5

Was HaMashiach an Israelite? Yes

“And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.” Matthew. 2:23

“For it is evident that HaMashiach sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.” Hebrews 7:14

Was Barnabas an Israelites? Yes

“And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus.” Acts 4:36

So, because it was at least 10 or possibly 20 or more years AFTER the death and RESURRECTION of HaMashiach, that the word ‘Christian’ was used, then the word Christian was never used by HaMashiach or used to describe those who followed him before his resurrection. Due to that reason, we will not referrer to HaMashiach and his followers as Christians. It is only right that we reference them as 'Prophesied'

[deanwwalkr377]

The message to the church at Thyatira Revelation 2:18-29 (KJV)

/photo by makingtalmid...blogspot..com

Dictionaries- Smith’s Bible Dictionary - Thyatira

𝐓𝐡𝐲𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐚 [𝐍][𝐄][𝐇]

a city on the Lycus, founded by Seleucus Nicator, lay to the left of the road from Pergamos to Sardis, 27 miles from the latter city, and on the very confines of Mysia and Ionia, so as to be sometimes to be reckoned within the one and sometimes within the other. Dyeing apparently formed an important part of the industrial activity of Thyatira, as it did of that of Colossae and Laodicea. It is first mentioned in connection with Lydia "𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞."

(Acts 16:14) One of the Seven Churches of Asia was established here. (Revelation 2:18-29) The principal deity of the city Apollo; but there was another superstition, of an extremely curious nature which seems to have been brought thither by some of the corrupted Jews of dispersed tribes. A fane stood outside the walls dedicated to Sambatha - the name of sibyl who is sometimes called Chaldeans, sometimes Jewish, sometimes Persian - in the midst of an enclosure designated "the Chaldeans court" This seems to lend illustration to the obscure passage in (Revelation 2:20; Revelation 2:21) which some interpret of the wife of the bishop. Now there is evidence to show that in Thyatira there was a great amalgamation of races. If the sibyl Sambatha was in reality a Jewees lending her aid to the amalgamation of different religions, and not discountenance by the authorites of the Judo- Christians Church of Thyatira both the censure and its qualification become easy explanation. (The present name of the city is ak-Hassar ("white castle"). It has a reputaion for the manufacture scarlet cloth. its present population is 15,000 to 20,000 There are nine mosques -- ED.)

/map en.wikipedia.org

Thyatira - Wikipedia

Paul’s third Journey

𝟏𝟖.) And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

𝟏𝟗.) I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

𝟐𝟎.) Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and eat things sacrificed unto idols.

𝟐𝟏.) And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

𝟐𝟐.) Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

𝟐𝟑.) And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

churchofchristarticles.com

Thyatria (The church that condoned sin) - Church of Christ Articles

𝟐𝟒.) But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

𝟐𝟓.) But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

𝟐𝟔.) And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end to him will I give power over the nations:

𝟐𝟕.) AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON; AS THE VESSELS TO SHIVERS: even as I received of my Father.

𝟐𝟖.) And I will give him the morning star.

𝟐𝟗.) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

RELATED

Got Questions ?

✝️King James Bible ☦️

And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are liked fine brass;

Cross Reference

Daniel 10:6

His body was like beryl, his face brilliance of lightning, his face like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound a multitude.

Matthew 4:3-6

The tempter came to him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread....

Acts: 16:14

Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who a worship of God. The LORD opened her heart to repond to Paul’s message.

Revelation 1:11

saying, “Write in a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

Revelation 1:14

The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire.

Revelation 1:15

His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.

Revelation 2:24

But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned the so-called deep things of Satan: I will place no future no further burden upon you.

the Son

Psalm 2:7

I will declare the decree: the LORD hath saith unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Matthew 3:17

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Who

Revelation 1:1:14,15

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as flame of fire..

source: King James Version Bible #Angel #Assembly #Blazing #Brass #Braze #Bronze #Burnished #Church #Eyes #Feet #Fine #Fire #Flame #Follows #Messenger #Minister #Polished #Resembling #Thyatira #Thyateria #Thyati’ra #Words Write

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

I highly recommend having this survey open on your browser, doing research, and filling it out slowly. Because, birds. 

Palaeognaths

The first major division of modern birds (all the rest are Neognaths). Includes the Moa, Elephant Birds, Tinamous, Emus, Rheas, and Lithornithids. Casuarias and Struthio are ineligible, so don’t write in any Cassowaries or Ostriches. 

Highlights include the Kiwi, an adorable small with a long snoot; Aepyornis, the largest Neornithean known; the Emu, who has one of the funniest ways of running; and Lithornis, an extinct flying member of the group. 

Galloanserans 

The earliest derived group of Neognaths. Includes Gastornis & the very similar Dromornithids, Geese, Screamers, Ducks, Swans, Curassows, Guans, Megapodes, Partridges, Quails, Junglefowl, and Pheasants. Genera Pavo and Gallus are ineligible, so don’t write in any peafowl or the four junglefowl under Gallus (which includes the chicken). 

Highlights include Gastornis, which was actually a large herbivore rather than a super predator as thought; Vegavis, one of the earliest well-known Neornithes, being from the Cretaceous; Hooded Merganser, the duck with the very large crest that is quite impressive; and the Blue-billed Curassow, confirmed Friend and Curly Man. 

Caprimulgiformes & Opisthocomiformes

These two groups aren’t actually closely related, I just had to stick Opisthocomiformes somewhere. Caprimulgiformes include Oilbirds, Owlet-Nightjars, Frogmouths, Nighthawks, and Nightjars. Opisthocomiformes include Hoatzin. Genera Nyctibius and Opisthocomus are ineligible, so no potoos or the only modern Hoatzin. 

Highlights include the Satanic Nightjar, which looks exactly like you’d expect; the Tawny Frogmouth, who almost looks like a potoo if you squint; the Oilbird, which has some of the weirdest and spookiest eyes; and Hoazinoides, an extinct Hoatzin with feet like that of an owl. 

Apodiformes

Swifts, Treeswifts, and Hummingbirds. Nothing is ineligible. All are precious.

Highlights include the Bee Hummingbird, the smallest dinosaur known to science; the Common Swift, which looks like a boomerang; Eocypselus, an early relative of all these groups; and anything of the genera Sappho and Lesbia, which are the best genus names I’ve ever heard of.

Columbaves

Cuckoos, Turacos, Bustards, Pigeons, Doves, Sandgrouse, and Mesites. Genus Columba is ineligible, so don’t write in any of the “typical pigeons.” 

Highlights include the Dodo, which is not as dumb as we were lead to believe; the Bare-Faced Go-Away Bird, which represents Me at All Times; the Nicobar Pigeon, which has beautiful rainbow plumage; and the Kori Bustard, which has a really elegant neck and posture IMO. 

Gruiformes

Cranes, Crakes, Rails, Limpkin, Trumpeters, Flufftails, Finfoots, and Sungrebes. Nothing is ineligible. 

Highlights include the Whooping Crane, an endangered species with a distinctive call; the White-Spotted Flufftail, who has adorable spots on its butt; the Red-Legged Crake, which is red in lots of places besides its legs; and the Sungrebe, which has a nice blue cap on its head. 

Mirandornithes & Charadriiformes

Flamingos, Grebes, Waders, Snipes, Sandpipers, Jacanas, Wanderers, Gulls, Skimmers, Terns, Puffins, Skuas, Plovers, Buttonquails, Thick-Knees, Sheathbills, Ibisbills, Avocets, Oystercatchers, and Lapwings. Nothing is ineligible. 

Highlights include the Great Auk, an extinct large puffin that we as humans don’t deserve; the Ring-Billed Gull, whom I have a personal vendetta against; the Dovekie, a smol, adorable friend; and the Sanderling, one of the inspirations behind Pixar’s Piper. 

Ardeae

Tropicbirds, Kagu, Sunbittern, Loons, Albatross, Petrels, Storkss, Boobies, Cormorants, Pelicans, Hamerkop, Ibises, Spoonbills, Herons, Egrets, and Penguins. The genus Balaeniceps is ineligible, so don’t write in the Shoebill. 

Highlights include the Little Penguin, the smol adorable penguin of smol adorableness; the Least Bittern, who is indeed the Least Bittern; the Common Loon, against whom my partner Max (@plokool) has a personal vendetta; and the Emperor Penguin, which is the Pinnacle of Dinosaurian Evolution according to Thomas Holtz (well, okay, he said penguins in general were, but this is the emperor penguin, so...) 

Accipitrimorphs 

Vultures (both Old and New world), Ospreys, Hawks, Eagles, Kites. Genera Sagittarius and Gypaetus are ineligible, so don’t write in the Secretary Bird, or the Bearded Vulture. No, do not write in the Bearded Vulture, nor Lammergeier, nor Ossifrage. You will have wasted your vote. Do not do the thing. It doesn’t count. 

Highlights include Haast’s Eagle, an eagle so large it hunted the Moa; the Harpy Eagle, which honestly when you see it if you aren’t convinced birds are dinosaurs there’s nothing more I can do; the Turkey Vulture, or as I like to call it, the Bare-Faced Come-Hither Bird; and the Red-Tailed Hawk, aka, that sound you hear when people try to ignore that Bald Eagles are actually huge dorks. 

Strigiformes

Owls. Genus Tyto is ineligible, which is basically all barn owls and most of their close relatives, so just, don’t write that in. 

Highlights include Palaeoglaux, one of the earliest derived forms and may have been diurnal; the Burrowing Owl, who likes to dig them holes; the Snowy Owl, aka Hedwig; and the Fearful Owl, who looks exactly like what you’d expect. 

Coraciimorphs

Mousebirds, Cuckoo Roller, Trogons, Hornbills, Hoopoes, Rollers, Kingfishers, Woodpeckers, Toucans. Genus Dacelo is ineligible, which means no Kookaburras, none, do not write one in. 

Highlights include Septencoracias, aka a Friend and Boy; the Hoopoe, aka the Most Jewish bird; the Resplendent Quetzal, which truly is magnificently colored; and the Keel-Billed Toucan, who just really loves fruit okay?

Falconiformes & Cariamiformes

Serimas, Terror Birds, Bathornithids, Caracaras, and Falcons. Genus Titanis is ineligible, as is Falco peregrinus, the peregrine falcon. Since most falcons are under Falco, the rest of the genus is eligible. 

Highlights Include Phorusrhacos, one of the most Quintessential Terror Birds; the Red-Legged Seriema, who is just a very angry bird; the Pygmy Falcon, who is a Smol Ball of FURY; and the Northern Crested Caracara, who has distinctive purple-pinkish skin on its face. 

Parrots

... Parrots. The Kakapo, genus Strigops, is ineligible. 

Highlights include the Cockatiel, a common pet and soft friend; the African Grey Parrot, one of the smartest species of dinosaurs; Spix’s Macaw, a beautiful blue parrot on the brink of extinction; and the Mulga Parrot, a parrot with feathers that almost look like clay in certain lighting. 

Passerines

Perching birds. The vast majority of birds. Most birds are in this group. I am so sorry. Includes, but is not limited to, Pittas, Broadbills, Cotingas, Sharpbills, Flycatchers, Antthrushes, Ovenbirds, Lyrebirds, Scrub-birds, Bowerbirds, Honeyeaters, Fairywrens, Whistlers, Orioles, Vireos, Birds of Paradise, Jays, Satinbirds, Wattlebirds, Rockfowl, Tits, Chickadees, Larks, Nicators, Wren-Babblers, Swallows, Warblers, Babblers, Waxwings, Treecreepers, Thrushes, Oxpeckers, Mockingbirds, Sugarbirds, Sunbirds, Sparrows, Finches, Buntings, Cardinals, Whistlers, Woodshrikes. 

The genus Corvus is ineligible, which is a good portion of crows and ravens, so don’t write them in. There are so many passerines to choose from, you can pick another one. 

It’s, nearly impossible to pick four highlights, but here we go. Highlights include the Blue Jay, one of the most famous and beautiful perching birds; the Superb Bird of Paradise, who has one of the most spectacular mating dances of birds; the Great Tit, who truly is an amazing soft sphere of birb; and the House Sparrow, a feature of almost every major city and one of the dinosaurs often used to define the clade.

Good luck. Have fun. Voting will close February 24 (possibly earlier if we get enough votes in). 

[hermanwatts]

Ashoka: Satrap of Taxila

Ashoka: Satrap of Taxila by Ashok K. Banker (Westland Publications, 2017). The K. stands for Kumar. I don’t know if Ashok K. Banker goes to the White Castle. I had read somewhere that Ashok Banker said that he liked Robert E. Howard. I remember seeing the Ramayana books published by Aspect/Warner in 2004. I thought I would give him a try. Ashoka is historical fiction, not fantasy. He admits this is a fictionalized account of the life of the Indian emperor, Ashoka the Great. The Mauryan Empire (320- 180 B.C.) was the biggest in India until the British took over the subcontinent. I find Indian history of interest. The north had periodic invasions of Aryans, Sakas, Parthians, Kushans, Turks, and finally the Mughals under Babur. Northern India is tied with Central Asia periodically. The south is tropical with the spices for the cuisine and architecture influencing South East Asia and the East Indies.

Banker plays a little free with history. His main villain is Seleucus Nicator (d. 281 B.C), one of Alexander the Great’s generals who became one of the “Successors.” Seleucus is conspiring to conquer India for the wealth so he can turn west and overwhelm the other Successors. Seleucus ceded territory to Chandragupta, Ashoka’s grandfather and founder of the Mauryan empire for a bunch of war elephants. Chandragupta had an army with Scythians, Parthians, and Greeks in addition to Indians. His territory extended to include what is now Afghanistan. Young Ashoka is sent to quell a revolt in Taxila which is now north-west Pakistan, Osama bin-Laden territory. There is a lot of harem intrigue with a Khorasani princess looking to eliminate Ashoka. Historical mistake: Khorasan did not exist as a name until the Sassanid Persians in the 3rd Century A.D. At this time, it would have been known as Hyrcania. That would have been a great name to use. There is not much action. I was disappointed in there was little description of the weapons used or the armor worn. Part of a chapter was given over to a very awkwardly written sex scene of a threesome of the Emperor Bindusara, the Khorasani princess, and her maid. Andrew Offutt, we need you now! The book ends with some Afghans taking Ashoka prisoner and breaking the bones in his body. The novel just ends. I realize this is the middle of a trilogy or part of a series, but books should be self-contained in narrative. What strikes me as odd is the book is almost marketed as a young adult novel while the contents are most decidedly not.

Banker is from Bombay and has some Irish and Portuguese in the mix. I am not quite sure on the  target audience. The books are written English, which as a friend of mine pointed out is the lingua franca of the Subcontinent. The Ramayana was abandoned by Warner after two out of seven books in the series. He might be looking to break out in the U.S. with perseverance. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt did publish his Upon a Burning Throne in hardback last year and paperback this year. Looking at the Amazon preview, The Burnt Empire appears to be a jump from adapting Indian history and mythology to his own world building. I will probably get around to reading more Ashok K. Banker in the future. His prose style is easy enough and the scenery is a change of pace.

Ashoka: Satrap of Taxila published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/