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madelinemadelinemadeline · 7 months

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Magic System Pt. I - Necromacy & Incantation

Magic is a word that can encompass many disciplines, from a variety of origins and natures, operating by the will of the gods, or in their spite. In this case, of these closely related ancient practices, it's the latter.

Necromancy is the temporary reintegration of a person's spirit to speak with them, with the purpose of divination. It is also connected to the practice of reanimation, which has the goal of bringing back the dead, whilst Incantation is the process of imbuing the Form or essence of an abstract concept into an object to grant it a magical effect or property, called an enchantment.

While these disciplines seem very distinct from one another, they're connected by method and nature, as is to be seen.

Introduction

Cosmology, the makeup and structure of the universe, is an important factor in how these arts work.

An illustration of the celestial spheres, showing the Earth (🜨), the Moon (☾), the Sun (🜚︎), the Planets, the Zodiac, as well as the star Nebyrum (✶) and the Monad (☉︎)

Existence is divided between the World of Ideas (also known as the Hyperuranion or the Pleroma) and the physical universe (also known as the phenomenal world or the Kenoma). The World of Ideas is the heavenly abode of Forms, emanating from the One, divided into the lower Forms of physical objects and the higher, abstract Forms, that represent concepts, whilst the world of matter is divided between the earth and the heavens, a nested set of spheres moved by aether. The Pleroma and Kenoma are kept separate by the great barrier of the Horus, whose only gate is the star Nebyrum, in the constellation of Libra.

This is innately connected with the human essence, which carries in itself three "ambassadors" of each realm, which produce consciousness when joined as one:

the Spirit (represented by Mercury, which represents the Mind and the Ego, and inhabits the World of Ideas)

the Soul (represented by Sulfur, which represents the Heart and the Superego, and inhabits the Celestial Spheres)

the Pneuma (represented by Salt, which represents the Body and the Id, and inhabits the Underworld)

Death occurs when these thirds separate, the essence decomposes, and these portions sink and dissolve in the rivers of Hades, rise and settle among the stars, or begin their long and arduous journey through transcendence. The human essence, thus, becomes spread between worlds, and it's this setup that allows necromancy to be possible.

The main exploit through which necromancy and its related disciplines function is the alignment of these components, which makes them appear as joined to a distant observer looking down from the heavens (such as a god), leading to that person becoming whole again, coming back to life, albeit temporarily, in the form of a shade (due to the "body" being nothing but its pneuma, a living wind). It's worth mentioning that these alignments aren't always manmade; it can happen by chance, especially over bodies of water rich in pneumata, which is why areas like the Acheron will appear haunted with the shades of the dead.

Reanimation works similarly, but with a vessel that can be animated, instead of the bare pneuma. Though of course, it has its caveats: it can only last for as long as the alignment persists, in less than a day this vessel will die again. Moreover, either the original likely decomposed body must be used, or a whole other new one, either of which can be far too unsettling to be useful, though to some necromancers this isn't particularly a problem.

Incantation

Incantation, on the other hand, utilizes another exploit on top of that above. Usually, in the other forms of necromancy, a call is used, often the name of the deceased person, which can attract the soul and facilitate the alignment, but in the case of incantation, this is used with another intent: by writing a word the spirit can understand into an object and pouring the Acheron's waters into it, the spirit, within the World of Ideas, can "recall" its correspondent form.

Now, the World of Ideas is akin to the "backstage" of the universe. It contains every concept and all the lightwork that "projects" them into our world. The incantation process can be described as "throwing a wrench" into that mechanism. With enough luck, that spirit can "trip" in the right enough way that the "recalled" form will be "projected" into the vessel used, infusing that form into it. It's because of this that incantation is referred to as "heavenly vandalism" by those against it.

Procedure

The materials necessary for any kind of necromancy or its related practices is waters containing the pneumata of the dead. There a lot of sources for this across the world, though it's recommendable to source it from the area that the language used was spoken in, if applicable. The water should be transported by a hydria, or, if transported en masse, on many amphorae by ship or horse.

For simple necromancy, those waters are to be left to sit exposed to the sky and, specifically, the star Nebyrum, in Libra, which shows up in late spring and early summer. in case a specific person is being looked for, a common technique is to call their name, loud and repeatedly. The soul will seek the source of the sound and will make the chance of alignment easier.

The process is the same for any reanimation, but a vessel is needed, any dead body works, though the shade would probably prefer to be its own body, and bystanders would probably prefer a body that isn't rotting, but sometimes that can be unnecessary to consider. The water should be absorbed by the body in some capacity. Either fed or poured on. For more combat-specific applications, just spraying water on soil where the dead have been buried has proven to work.

And for enchanting, it gets different. It still uses a vessel, but this vessel should preferably be inert. A sword, armor, a gemstone, a piece of metal, anything could theoretically work. For most efficiency, it should be engraved -- first engraved with geometric patterns, those that would attract aether (the soul is made out of aether, it thus facilitates alignment), and then engraved with a word.

Spirits come in all kinds and origins, but most are from ancient times; after the Late Bronze Age collapse, the knowledge needed for transcendence into the Pleroma has been lost, so when enchanting that's a factor to be mindful of. Therefore, the word that is engraved on an object, that being the form that the spirit will recall, it needs to be understandable by them, so an ancient language from the region the pneuma was harvested from should be used. Since the most popular source for pneumata is the Acheron, Mycenean Greek is the most widely used language for enchantment. But ancient languages all across the Eastern Mediterranean are widely used.

An alternative method, long theorized to exist until confirmed by the discovery of the Proto-Indo-European magician groups in Pallas, is by repeatedly chanting that word in that language, which functions similarly to the call in other necromancy methods. In this case, the object just needs to be in contact with the water.

Success is a question of chance, as many random factors need to be right for the alignment to be possible, but in such a case the item will receive the properties of its assigned form. A sword enchanted with eternity may be impervious to wear, one with sharp be able to cut effortlessly through most materials, or one with burning could set its targets alight.

Alternative theories

While the mainstream theory is that the star Nebyrum is the gateway between the phenomenal and intelligible worlds, there are other schools of thought that differ from this cosmological standard.

Most popular in Nicomedian Greece and Palmyrene Egypt, is the interpretation that due to the non-spatiality of Forms, there is no single "gate" to their world, as it's not a "place" as we understand it. Therefore, the alignment of the omnipresent spirit -- and by extension the time of year for magical practice -- is irrelevant, only the soul and pneuma.

This school of thought, eventually, got extrapolated into its own form of religious cosmology, splitting off into its own sect. It posits that instead of a pneuma-soul-spirit trinity, there is only an earthly soul and a heavenly soul, who separate in death. The heavenly soul, in turn, is "conjoined" with the rational spirit, or is a vehicle (okhêma tês psukhês) that "bears" its seed, metaphorically compared with an expecting mother.

In this religious cosmology, influenced by Egyptian and Christian afterlife beliefs, Paradise is located in the Sphere of the Fixed Stars, and to reach it the soul must embark in a long and perilous journey across the Heavenly Spheres following death. In this view, the stars of the night sky are actually the distant lights of heavenly cities, which form kingdoms centered around one of fifteen stars, ruled by spirits, angels, or gods embodying some kind of quality that every human soul is aligned to in some capacity, and only upon reaching this paradise can the soul and spirit separate and the latter be integrated back into the One.

In practice, this sect assigns people their "root star" (radix sideris) and requires that star to be overhead in order to contact them after death, while in the areas of enchantment, it's also believed that the root star of the soul used for the process will influence how a form will "manifest" on an object. For instance, Algol, the star of bloodshed and violence, might benefit enchantments of war or twist other ones into lethality.

History

The origins of necromancy, incantation, and all other magia contra deos, is said to be during the Titanomachy, at the end of the Golden Age. When his usurpation became a certainty, Cronus taught the Pelasgians, inhabitants of Greece at the time, the ways of necromancy and enchantment, to sow the seeds of rebellion and impiety among the peoples that the next king and demiurge, Zeus, would rule.

During this time, the practice spread amongst Eastern Europe through trade, reaching the Cucuteni-Tripolye culture and the Proto-Indo-Europeans, until the Late Bronze Age collapse, where the Tyrsenians, or Teresh, one of the Sea Peoples, would spread enchanted weaponry across the Mediterranean through invasion before settling, along with Cronus the Veiled God, on Italy.

This is one of the founding myths of the Rasennan Mysteries, an underground cult in the former Etruria, led by an Etruscan-speaking society of magicians, that keep the old tongue alive as a liturgical language. The evidence does attest this, as copper axes with anomalous properties have been found across Eastern Europe, and from the existence of the Palladian cults, inside the petrified body of Pallas in the Carpathians, that are effectively a preserved society of Proto-Indo-European magicians.

Classical Age

Following the Late Bronze Age Collapse, the art of incantation and was eventually forgotten save for cults that kept the tradition going, but enchanted weapons and artifacts continued to propagate through the remaining trade routes, especially in Archaic Greece. Necromancy remained alive, especially in the Near East, most likely due to its simplicity.

It wouldn't be, however, until the development and spread of Platonism, and later Neoplatonism, through the Mediterranean that Incantation would be later rediscovered. It, with all other types of magic, remained a forbidden art, hidden in mystery cults until its first major application in 260 by the Palmyrene Kingdom, and later Empire, in its pushback against the Sassanids by troops clad in enchanted bronze armor and weapons.

Magic remained forbidden in the rest of the Roman world for decades. A legion remained stationed at Epirus on June to persecute any goetes travelling to the Acheron. However, this came at the cost of fewer winter to repel barbarian invasions, which contributed to the worsening Crisis of the Third Century. The practice was discontinued under Diocletian's dominion of the East. Enchanted weapons were imported from Palmyra at times, but enchanting on Greek soil remained shunned. It wasn't until the series of defeats in Thrace that the value of magical prohibition was put into question.

The Treaty of Salona, signed in 312, mandated that the magical arts are to be consulted in the face of absolute necessity for the survival of the state, and that enchanted equipment is to be provided by the Palmyrene Empire if existing legions can't handle barbarian incursions. Otherwise, incantations performed on Roman, Gallic, or Illyrian soil must be counteracted with equivalent sacrifice, and that it may not be performed by a citizen, but rather a prisoner or gladiator.

**************************************************** Alright, this is going to be one post of many where I try to go get around to explaining my magic system. I'm gonna be posting a lot of these little infodumps about my fantasy conworld, so if you want to have them all in one place rather than endlessly scrolling through the slop in my profile, just check the tag "\madeline\apotheosis.txt", that being the codename this project gets until I can think of something good. Also, these little Courier New sections are commentary. That's just how I format things. ****************************************************

#fantasy #worldbuilding #sandalpunk #mythology #roman mythology #greek mythology #text #fantasy worldbuilding #fantasy world #magic system #platonism #\madeline\apotheosis.txt

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thedinanshiral · 4 years

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Magical devices of Thedas -part II-

In part I i went over some of the better known magical devices, many of which can be traced back to the ancient elves. But what about the mages empire, Tevinter? Even if we haven’t seen Tevinter first-hand (yet), we’ve seen a thing or two from them. First, a couple more elven items that couldn’t make it into part I, and then we’re tackling Tevinter.

(Warning: possibly spoilers for all games and comics)

Mask of Fen’harel: A mask fashioned after a wolf’s face with some interesting carvings, originally in possession of a Dalish clan somewhere in the Free Marches. It appears in the miniseries Dragon Age: Redemption. While some basic lore details were overlooked and the Qun aspect of it clashes a bit with the Qun players know from the games, it was surprisingly consistent on this one item. The Dalish clan is not named but they were camping near Kirkwall. Doesn’t seem to be Merrill’s clan but i’m not sure on the timeline either so i’ll skip this bit.

In the series an escaped saarebas is after the mask and eventually acquires it, using it first on a wolf statue causing the mask to reveal the mouth part of it, and later at an altar in Sundermount.

Surprisingly enough what the mask does is open a green light portal on the Veil that opens in the sky (a la Breach from Inquisition, but less messy), and is activated by a blood sacrifice ( a messy one but still not as messy as the Divine’s). Eventually the mask is destroyed during the final fight. This series introduces a character we meet again in Dragon Age 2’s DLC Mark of the Assassin ( Tallis), so this is way before Dragon Age Inquisition, yet we have very similar elements here.

Red lyrium idol: Honorable mention on this list since I already covered this one extensively on an earlier post.

Tevinter artifacts:

Based on what we’ve seen in Inquisition and Jaws of Hakkon DLC, I dare say Tevinter has some form of technology that requires electricity or some other form of energy to function. Only in their case it’s most likely magic. Basically, i suspect Tevinter has magitek. So we get Tevinter objects that resemble machinery, with glowing bits and no idea what they’re used for, because for the most part these things are scattered in some areas as decor and very rarely acknowledged at all.

I’ll focus on three example areas where some can be found: a cave in the Western Approach, in the Frostback Basin from Jaws of Hakkon DLC, and in the Darvaarad from Trespasser as part of the Qunari magical artifacts research.

In a cave in the Western Approach we see what could easily be a small red lyrium mining site, with what could be a drill, connected to something that resembles an engine. Again, some parts glow. If Tevinters can do almost anything with (blood) magic, why wire a drill to an engine? Why not simply move the drill with magic alone? Things like this are what make me suspect magitek could be an actual thing in Tevinter.

Right after entering the cave we see a Tevinter metal chest with glowing pieces.

Then in the Forstback Basin we have the “trail markers”, a series of devices that connect to each other across the area with what seems to be electricity, leading up to a gate mechanism. It’s similar in a way to how the Astrarium caves are opened. When activated with the lever at the back, these markers shoot a beam of power to the next marker, and so on until reaching the one located outside the gate.

Finally, in the Darvaraad tower there are some cells occupied with a collection of random items, some of which are clearly Tevinter, machine-like, and have glowing parts. What could they be used for, I have no idea but they’re there and the Qunari considered them worthy of research.

The engine-like device seen in that cell is seen too at Suledin Keep in Emprise du Lion,

I suspect the insect-like object is a lamp or heater, there’s one on each table and seems to have a handle in the back to carry it around. The object next to it looks like an orrery, an astronomical model and if it is then colour me intrigued about all its elements! I recently found out Thedas is supposed to have two moons, the main one so far unnamed and the secondary one named Satina, even if in game we only ever see one, but this model seems to confirm this ( yes, not necessarily a magical artifact, but for all we know it could be!)

Also in Emprise du Lion we find another special chest and this one practically looks alien:

Claws of Dumat:

Not to be confused with Dumat’s Claw (a dagger from DAO Awakening), it’s this big structure we find in the Fade in DAI but also in other places like the Frostback Basin and somewhere in the Deep Roads. Refered to as “an altar (…) hungry for blood” by one of Corypheus’ servants, it seems it was a necessary item to perform the blood magic ritual of the Magister Sideral to enter the Fade . “There are shackles across the top of the great altar, and pools lined with runes beneath the claws”. Sounds like it was an over the top blood extraction device.

Magrallen:

Speaking of over the top blood extraction devices...Not much is known about this strange piece. It makes an appearance in the Alistair comics, and seems it’s used to in some way harness the magical power of special blood like the one King Maric has thanks to one of his ancestors who may or may have not mixed his own blood with that of a great dragon. It’s a big device that drains the person’s blood to be used for magic; in the comics a magister is draining Maric dry to use the power of his blood to take over the Fade, as Magisters do. So there we have it again, as it was with the Magisters Sidereal and their many sacrificed elven slaves, as seen with the Mask of Fen’ Harel and Corypheus’ actions at the Conclave: blood magic grants access to the Fade. *suspicions that Solas used blood magic to create the Veil increase*

The Sarcophagus:

Most likely of elvhen origin, it’s the device Danarius uses to mark Fenris with lyrium. Seen in the recent comic Blue Wraith, it seems to work coupled with a sword that may have bits of lyrium in it as well. In the comic Danarius has Fenris go inside the Sarcophagus and once it closes on him, uses a sword to lock it, which glows blue and causes the device to brand Fenris with his lyrium markings. I always thought the markings were done like actual tattoos but using lyrium instead of ink, so I was surprised to see it’s the work of a golden Tevinter/Elvhen spikeless iron maiden.

Considering vallaslin are “blood writings” and were originally used to brand slaves, and seeing this device works with lyrium which is titan blood, it’s possible Danarius’ method resembles more closely what the ancient elvhen used than what the Dalish could remember.

Astrariums:

These are devices scattered throughout the map that allow the viewing of constellations of stars.

Possibly vestiges from a Tevinter cult, primarily located in frontier areas, of magisters who believed in the destruction of the Magisterium, wishing to return to an era of Dreamers (Somniari) rule. It’s unclear (and unlikely) if they were Dreamers themselves, or just mages who disapproved of the institution of the Magisterium and how it appointed the Magister title to some and not to others. The Astrariums found are part of a locking system for caves holding secret cashes of this cult, found all over Thedas as in pre Andrastian times the Tevinter Imperium expanded over much of the continent. Only those with the knowledge (i.e. the cult members) would be able to unlock them, considering ancient astronomy was not en vogue at the time.

Later some Andrastian cults sought out and destroyed many of the Astrariums as remnants of Tevinter presence in Thedas. The Order of the Fiery Promise, for instance, believed the Astrariums held together the Veil so destroying them would bring it down resulting in the destruction of the world (something they aimed at, as they believed the world must be destroyed so it can be reborn again as a paradise). It is unknown why the Order had such an idea, until the Breach there was nothing to indicate the Veil is sustained in place by earthly devices of any kind, let alone that the barrier that has only been forced open by means of gruesome and powerful magic can be easily destroyed by non-mages taking down these artifacts. There seems to be a misunderstanding on their part, maybe they confused the Astrariums with the elven artifacts (see part I).

Message crystals:

Last but not least we have message crystals, as seen in DAI if you sided with the Templars and go after Calpernia. Dorian refers to it as “a dwarven relic for storing memories” and mentions they’re extremely rare. We see mention of one again in the epilogue of Trespasser, that Dorian uses to communicate with the Inquisitor when he goes back to Tevinter.

According to Dagna these crystals “preserve voices or a likeness, memories”. However, she proposes splitting it in two may allow for it to transmit from one piece to the other in real time. They may be very rare, but now Thedas has its own version of mobile phones.

And that’s all i can think of for now! I’m super intrigued about Tevinter, Tevinter Nights was great but doesn’t really stop to discuss Tevinter magical gadgets and that’s one part of what i’m most curious about: how they live their daiyly lives in the part of that world that allows magic to go high and beyond. We’ve heard of the excesses but how do they manage on a day to day basis? Surely they have slaves and servants, but that’s the Magisters and Altus. What of the Laetans? How do they do their laundry? How do they bake a cake? How is it living in a city that uses magic to have street lights on at night? Do they use a magical AC to stay cool in the sumer? That sort of thing. I’m currently doing some research for another discussion topic i haven’t seen explored before (two, actually) and i’m so amazed by how much i keep finding in these games after years of playing and reading, and love to share it all.

If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading.

#dragon age #thedas #magic #tevinter #spoilers #lore #dragon age 4

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vampireadamooc · 5 years

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Lecture I: The Primitive Rite Itself

1.8 - The Rite and it's Token in Egypt

Going back, now, to the world's most ancient records, in the monuments of Egypt, we find evidence of the existence of the covenant of blood in those early days. Even then it seems to have been a custom to covenant by tasting the blood from another's arm; and this inter-transference of blood was supposed to carry an inter-commingling, or an inter-merging, of natures. So far was this symbolic thought carried, that the ancient Egyptians spoke of the departed spirit as having entered into the nature, and, indeed, into the very being, of the gods, by the rite of tasting blood from the divine arm.

"The Book of the Dead," as it is commonly called,or" The Book of the Going Forth into Day," ("The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day," 1) is a group, or series, of ancient Egyptian writings, representing the state and the needs and the progress of the soul after death.2 A copy of this Funereal Ritual, as it is sometimes called, "more or less complete, according to the fortune of the deceased, was deposited in the case of every mummy." 3 " As the Book of the Dead is the most ancient, so it is undoubtedly the most important, of the sacred books of the Egyptians;" 4 it is, in fact, "according to Egyptian notions, essentially an inspired work;" 5 hence its contents have an exceptional dogmatic value. In this Book of the Dead, there are several obvious references to the rite of blood-covenanting. Some of these are in a chapter of the Ritual which was found transcribed in a coffin of the

Prov. 4: 18.

See Lepsius's Todtenbuch; Bunsen's Egypt's Place in Universal History, V., 125-133, Renouf's The Religion of Ancient Egypt, pp. 179-208.

See Lenormant and Chevallier's Ancient History ofthe East, I., 308.

Renouf's The Religion ofAncient Egypt, p. 208.

Bunsen's Egypt's Place, V , 133.

Eleventh Dynasty ; thus carrying it back to a period prior to the days of Abraham. 1 "Give me your arm ; I am made as ye," says the departed soul, speaking to the gods. 2 Then, In explanation of this statement, the pre-historic gloss of the Ritual goes on to say: "The blood is that which proceeds from the member of the Sun, after he goes along cutting himself;" 3 the covenant blood which unites the soul and the god is drawn from the flesh of

See Egypt's Place, V., 127.

Ibid., V., 174 f.

This is the rendering of Birch. Ebers has looked for an explanation of this gloss in the rite of circumcision AEgypten. u. d. Bucher Mose's, p. 284 f); but the primary reference to the "arm" of the god, and to the union secured thiough the interflowing blood, point to the blood-covenant as the employed figure of speech ; although circumcision, as will be seen presently, was likewise a symbol of the blood-covenant for one's self and for one's seed. Brugsch also sees a similar meaning to that suggested by Ebers in this reference to the blood. His rendenng of the original text is: "Reach me your hands. I have become that which ye are "(Religion u. MythoL d. alt. d,gypt., L, 219). Le Page Renouf, looking for the symbolisms of material nature in all these statements, would find here " the crimson of a sunset "in the "blood which flows from the Sun-god Ra, as he hastens to his suicide" (Trans, of Soc. of Bib. Arch., Vol. VIII , Part 2, p. 211). This, however, does not conflict with the spiritualsymbolism of oneness of nature through oneness of blood. And no one of these last thiee suggested meanings accounts for the oneness with the gods through blood which the deceased claims, unless the symbolism of blood-covenanting be recognized in the terminology That symbolism being recognized, the precise source of the flowing blood becomes a minor matter.

Ra, when he has cut himself in the rite of that covenant By this covenant-cutting, the deceased becomes one with the covenanting gods. Again, the departed soul, speaking as Osiris, or as the Osirian, which every mummy represents, 1 says: "I am the soul in his two halves." Once more there follows the explanation:" The soul in his two halves is the soul of the Sun [of Ra], and the soul of Osiris [of the deceased]." Here is substantially the proverb of friendship cited by Aristotle, "One soul in two bodies," at least two thousand years before the days of the Greek philosopher. How much earlier it was recognized, does not yet appear.

Again, when the deceased comes to the gateway of light, he speaks of himself as linked with the great god Seb; as one " who loves his arm," a and who is, therefore, sure of admittance to him, within the gates. By the covenant of the blood-giving arm, "the Osiris opens the turning door; he has opened the turning door." Through oneness of blood, he has come into oneness of life with the gods ; there is no longer the barrier of a door between them. The separating veil is rent.

See Wilkinson's Anc. Egypt., Ill., 473; Renouf's Rehg. of Anc., pp. 191-193; Lenoimant's Chaldean Magic, p 88.

See Totitenbuch, chap. LXVIII; Egypt's Place, V., 211.

An added indication that the covenant of blood-friendship furnished the ancient Egyptians with their highest conception of a union with the divine nature through an interflowing of the divine blood as the divine life is found in the amulet of this covenant; corresponding with the token of the covenant of blood-friendship, which, as fastened to the arm, or about the neck, is deemed so sacred and so precious in the primitive East to-day. The hieroglyphic character which is translated "arm" is also translated "bracelet," or "armlet," 1 as if in suggestion of the truth, already referred to, 2 that the blood furnishing arm was represented by the token of the armencircling, or of the neck-encircling, bond, in the covenant of blood. Moreover, a "red talisman," or red amulet, stained with "the blood of Isis," and containing a record of the covenant, was placed at the neck of the mummy as an assurance of safety to his soul. 3 "When this book [this amulet-record] has been made," says the Ritual, "it causes Isis to protect him [the Osirian], and Horus he rejoices to see him." "If this book [this covenant-token] is known," says Horus, "he [the deceased] is in the service of Osiris. . . . His name is like that of the gods."

See Pienet's Vocabitlaire Hitroglyphique, p. 721 f.; also, Birch's "Dict, of Hierog" in Egypt's Place, V., 519.

See page 65 f., sttpra.

See Todtenbitcli, chap. CLVI.; Egypt's Place, V., 315 ; Trans, of Soc. of Bib. Arch., VIII., 2, 211. Another indication of the connection of these terms with this primitive rite, is in the fact that the hieroglyphic group which represents an amulet seems to have the root-idea of "word;" as if it were applied to the text of the blood-covenant. The amulet as constructed for the mummy, was stained with the water or liquid of the tree called ankh mamer amulet itself, according to Brugsch, was also called ankh am. But ankh means either to live (the ordinary meaning), or to swear, to make oath (more larely), and merer is a reduplicated from of mer to love, love, friendship. The meaning of ankh merer as applied to the blood-amulet may be oath, or covenant, or pledge of love or friendship. The word merer, in the compound ankh merer, is followed with the deteiminative of the flying scaiabseus, which was commonly placed (Anc. Egypt., III., 346) upon the bieast, in lieu of the heart of the dead (Idid , III., 486) See page loo, infra And here the inquiry is suggested, Was the ankh am the same as the modern henneh ? Note the connection of henneh ? with the maniage festivities in the East to-day.

been made," says the Ritual, " it causes Isis to protect him [the Osirian], and Horus he rejoices to see him." "If this book [this covenant-token] is known," says Horus, "he [the deceased] is in the service of Osiris. . . . His name is like that of the gods." There are various other references to this rite, or other indications of its existence, than those already cited, in the Book of the Dead. "I have welcomed Thoth (or the king) with blood ; taking the gore from the blessed of Seb," 1 is one of these gleams. "Paint one hand with henna, mother; Paint one hand and leave the other. Biacelets on the right with henna j On the left give drink to henna." (Jessup's Syrian Home Life, p. 34.)

See Egypt's Place, V., 232.

Again, there are incidental mentions of the tasting of blood by gods and by men; 1 and of the proffering, or the uplifting, of the blood-filled arm, in covenant with the gods. 2

On a recently deciphered stele of the days of Rameses IV., of the Twentieth Dynasty, about twelve centuries before Christ, there is an apparent reference to this blood-covenanting, and to its amulet record. The inscription is a specimen of a funereal ritual, not unlike some portions of the Book of the Dead. The deceased is represented as saying, according to the translation of Piehl 3: "I am become familiar with Thoth, by his writings, on the day when he spat upon his arm." The Egyptian word, khenmes, here translated "familiar," means "united with," or "joined with." The word here rendered "writings," is hetepoo ; which, in the singular, hetep, in the Book of Dead, stands for the record of the covenant on the blood-stained amulet 4 The word peqas rendered "spat," by Piehl, is an obscure term, variously rendered "moistened," "washed," "wiped," "healed" 5 It is clear therefore that this passage may fairly be read; "I am become united with Thoth, by the covenant-record, on the day when he moistened, or healed his arm "; and if the arm were healed, it had been cut, and so moistened.

See Egypts Place, V., 174, 254, 282. 2

Ibid., V., 323.

See Zeitschriftfur Mgyptiscke Sprache, erstes Heft, 1885, p. 16.

See page 81 f., supra.

See Pierret, Brugsch, Birch, s. v.

Indeed, it is quite probable that this word peqas has a root connection with peg, pcqa, peqait, "a gap," "an opening," "to divide"; and even with penqu, "to bleed." Apparently, the unfamiliarity of Egyptologists with this rite of blood-covenanting by the cutting of the arm, has hindered the recognition of the full force of many of the terms involved. Ebers, in his "Uarda," has incidentally given an illustration of the custom of blood-covenanting in ancient Egypt. It is when the surgeon Nebsecht has saved the life of Uarda, and her soldier-father, Kaschta, would show his gratitude, and would pledge his lifelong fidelity in return

"'If at any time thou dost want help, call me, and I will protect thee against twenty enemies. Thou hast saved my child good ! Life for life. I sign myself thy blood-ally there!' "With these words he drew his poniard out of his girdle. He scratched his arm, and let a few drops of his blood run down on a stone at the feet of Nebsecht "Look!' he said. 'There is my blood! Kaschta has signed himself thine; and thou canst dispose of my life as of thine own. What I have said, I have said.'" 1

Uarda, I., 192.

#Library #by H. Clay Trumbull #The Blood Covenant A Primitive Rite And Its Bearings On Scripture

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agirlinjapan · 7 years

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Red Data Girl: World Heritage Girl (Week 26)

iRed Data Girl: World Heritage Girl By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

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I’ve been having a crummy weekend. On Friday, I had an incident on the playground which landed me in urgent care. I’m fine but I’ve got this nasty cut on my nose that I have to take close care of now. On Saturday, I caught a 24 hour stomach bug, couldn’t eat a thing, and slept most of the day. I was really hoping to make hot cross buns this weekend but that’s not going to happen now. >.< Boo. Maybe next weekend.

This week’s RDG is a little on the short side but we’re progressing nicely towards the end of the book! Just a few more weeks to go!

Red Data Girl: World Heritage Girl By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Boundary Part 2 (1 of 3)

The only benefit the Houjou Academy campus shared with the outside world was how large it was.

It was located on the sloping land to the north of Mt. Takao’s edge where the campus took advantage of the green incline of the hills. The main gate, the high school building, and the assembly hall had been constructed on the low ground at the bottom of the incline but the gym, the library, and the sports grounds were located on the hill itself. The student dorms were at the base of the hill, behind the assembly hall while the stables and riding ring were located a step above the sports grounds.

There was a thickly grown patch of forest near the riding ring where the hill took a sharp incline. The rest of the hill had been left untouched to nature. The school grounds extended to the top of the hill but not many students went that far or high on a general basis. The only people who ventured into that area were the ones who used the stables or the seminar house on the top of the hill.

The outskirts of the campus were bigger than they needed to be. Seeing as there were no stores or houses nearby, no walls or fences had been built to mark off the campus boundaries. If one thought about it, anyone could have wandered up the hill and off campus without even realizing it. Still, the Tokyo city limits were so far away that it would have taken hours to get there on foot so no one had tried. The risk of accidentally getting lost was too high for that.

The festival committee’s plan was to use the entire, vast campus for the all school event. As long as the students were going to the trouble of dressing up in Warring States era garb, they might as well get a taste of military battle.

Seeing as they couldn’t do what they needed to once it turned dark, Honoka gathered the student government together first thing in the afternoon and explained the task ahead of them.

“Okay. I want everyone to walk the course for the day of the event and check it out. As you go, keep an eye out for possible places where we could set up the scoreboard and the parents’ bazaar.”

Okouchi held up an A4 sized map with a point marked on it.

“The starting points for A Course—the main gate attack—and B Course—the back gate attack—are relatively far apart so it would take us a while to walk both courses as a whole group. Let’s break into two teams and meet up at C Course near the classroom building.”

Seeing as the two courses were the same until the riding circle, the whole group began the march up to the hill.

“Oh wow, now I want to stop by the stables,” Manatsu whispered.

Izumiko looked over at him. Mayura had dragged her brother with her today against his wishes. As the school festival drew closer, Manatsu was spending even less time than ever with the student government. With everyone working so hard on the school festival preparations, he appeared to be replacing human interaction with taking care of the horses.

As if to curb Manatsu’s magnetism towards the stables, Mayura walked over to her brother’s side.

“It seems like you’ve been spending more and more time with the horses lately. What’s going on over there?”

“Huh? Nothing much,” Manatsu replied but then he looked thoughtful. “No, I guess something is going on. Horses are more sensitive to slight changes in their environment than humans are. The horses have been on edge lately. They’re all out of sorts when I’m not there to calm them.”

“That’s…” Mayura began to say but then held her tongue.

“There’s been a bad atmosphere around here lately,” Manatsu said, not noticing her. “Whatever it is, it’s not good for the horses either.”

As Izumiko gazed at Manatsu, wondering what he was feeling, Miyuki spoke up right behind her.

“You said before that the shikigami never came near the horse ring, right?”

She nodded, surprised. “So why is there something there now?...”

“I exchanged information with Mayura over email.”

When Izumiko glanced Miyuki’s way, he hurriedly turned his gaze and then spoke in a quiet voice. He didn’t want to alert the second year students to their conversation.

“You can definitely see spirits. As we walk by, take a good look at the horse ring so that you can tell whether there’s anything there or not.”

“You’re saying all this but…”

“Look hard. Don’t be timid about it,” he said curtly, still looking away from Izumiko. “If there’s anything there, you can become the goddess and do something about it.”

…Don’t say it like it’s such an easy thing to do…

She wanted to say that there was obviously nothing she could do about such a situation but she couldn’t come up with a retort. She knew it had gotten easier for Miyuki to mention the goddess by name. Somehow, this confused her. She herself still wasn’t used to saying it yet.

Part of her was glad that Miyuki and Mayura had so easily accepted the fact that she turned into the goddess. At the same time though, another part of her was much more conflicted about them knowing. Her thoughts were jumbled together and she couldn’t express how she truly felt.

She caught sight of the horse ring as they walked by it. The warm feeling she sensed from the enclosure with all its horses milling around inside was the same as always. However, she couldn’t clearly say how much of that feeling was real and how much of it was her imagination.

Mayura gazed at the enclosure as well.

“If Masumi was here, he’d know what was going on. But still, just calling him for something like that seems a little…”

Manatsu looked at his sister and said casually, “Don’t call him. I can do what you just said.”

“You can see something?”

“I won’t know if I can until we get closer.

“Mayura thinks that there’s magic drawing ghosts to the campus. She thinks that magic has made a barrier around the area, marking it as special,” Miyuki said to Izumiko as if explain. He had heard the Souda twin’s conversation.

Izumiko nodded in understanding.

“Mom and Mr. Sagara use the word barrier a lot, too.”

“That’s because barriers are used in ascetic practices as well. They’re a way of limiting the range of magical influence. Nothing can continue on infinitely. Not unless some kind of special power is used.” Miyuki continued as he watched the second years ahead of them. “The center and edges of the circle are vital to a barrier. The boundaries are most likely hidden but if someone with the ability to notice them were to see them, they’d probably know where the rite to create the barrier was performed. We should take a look at the campus property line. Let’s go find that too.”

He dropped his eyes to the map Okouchi had given him. The shape of the academy grounds created a westward leaning, distorted triangle. The boundary most likely circled this area. It was a rather large expanse of space.

Just after they passed the horse ring, Izumiko figured out where they were headed. Seeing as there hadn’t been any particular set destination, she had been walking around with her friends in a relaxed manner. Now though, the second years headed east while the first years headed west.

The westward group would be climbing up to the peak of the hill. It seemed like they had been given the harder assignment but no one complained. Shimamoto and Tamura hadn’t been able to come so there were only four first year students participating that day; Izumiko, Miyuki, and the Souda siblings. It was exactly what they needed to get their task done.

As soon as they separated from the older students, the four of them headed towards the hill and then, without stopping, continued quickly up the slope. Seeing as Izumiko had been there before, she recalled the overgrown path. However, the area appeared to have been mowed during the summer and the trail was much wider than it had been before.

This was the first time Miyuki and the Souda siblings had come to the top of the hill. There was a single bamboo pole standing on the edge of the school grounds there. It was a strange sight to be found but that was all it was. Strange. They couldn’t sense anything coming from it.

“…I don’t think this is the place,” Manatsu said after a moment of consideration. “This is just a normal landmark.”

Despite what her brother said, Mayura wandered around the bamboo searchingly. Finally though, she said, “Yeah. You’re probably right. There’s no traces of anyone digging around here either.”

“The air feels good up here, up above the horse ring, doesn’t it?” Manatsu asked.

It looked as if Manatsu was going to ask something else. Izumiko hesitated, nodding but when he did not continue, she said, “I feel that way, too. I don’t think there’s anything strange around these trees.”

Miyuki looked back at the map.

“If this was part of the barrier’s circumference, the academy wouldn’t be entirely contained. It’s too big. This whole area is way too large for us to search. There’s no effective way to do it. I think we should consider the possibility that they did the spell closer to the main campus.”

“Mayura, do you think the person who cast the spell buried something?” Izumiko asked. Mayura had been staring steadily at the ground.

“Yes. It’s the most popular sort of diviner magic.” Mayura pursed her lips and then continued. “It’s a necessary part of casting a spell. If the caster didn’t offer something at an altar then they most likely buried something in the ground. You often hear about people putting a cursed object into an earthenware jar and burying it. A cursed object is something horrible that a diviner lays a curse into like a specially prepared snake or toad or doll—something really unpleasant.”

Miyuki continued to gaze at the map as he brought his pen to his mouth and pulled the cap off with his teeth. Then he pushed the map up against one side of the bamboo and drew a straight line.

“What are you doing?” Manatsu asked.

Miyuki took the cap out of his mouth and explained as he continued to draw straight lines.

“The juncture between the limits of the school’s barrier and the cardinal directions seem strange to me. In asceticism, we position the edges of our sacred barriers in accordance with north, south, east, and west. There’s still the problem of figuring out where the center of space contained in the barrier is but if we assume it’s the classroom building then this line marks the middle of the barrier. If the library is the center, then it’s this line. We’ll cover more ground this way. I wonder what we’ll find.”

“There are the dorms too, right? Last time, Takayanagi made an altar in his room after all.”

“No. That would come too close to the edge of the barrier. It would be a waste of time to consider it.”

Mayura looked at the map as well and frowned.

“No matter which direction we go, the place we’re looking for is going to be pretty far away, huh? Let’s break into two groups. It’ll cut the time. Sagara and Izumiko, you investigate one line. Manatsu and I will check out the other. We’ll be near the edge of the barrier if we go west. I can tell that from the geography.”

Looking at his watch, Miyuki nodded as well.

“Let’s do that. Try as hard as you can to keep the trip to around twenty minutes. Even if you find anything don’t mess with it and come back late. It’s better if we don’t let the older students think we’re up to something.”

The four went back down the hill the way they had come and agreed on where and what time they would meet. Then they headed off in their separate directions. Izumiko and Miyuki’s destinations were behind the library and then up the hill again to the woods there.

It’s just the two of us again all of a sudden…

#rdg #red data girl #rdg world heritage girl #rdg 4 #rdg 4 week 26 #translation

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onuir-the-horned-giant-blog · 7 years

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Ovros, a short story

"I can't believe the reward for that guy was so big!" The shorter man was ecstatic, still feeling the rush of adrenaline from the fight where he and his comrades captured the escaped murderer. "I mean, the guy was nothing, right Oni?" Onuir almost didn't recognize the nickname that the man had made for him, and not thinking of a better response, gave one of his usual grunts. "He may have been nothing for Onuir," The woman traveling with them sighed, "but you would have gotten yourself killed if it weren't for my magic, Mavrich." Syla was right, Mavrich would have been impaled by the convict's blade if not for her barrier. But she wasn't entirely in the right to scold him either. After all, she would have been beheaded latter in that fight if Onuir hadn't knocked the convict out before he could swing his sword. He wouldn't mention it though, it wasn't in his nature. He was only half paying attention to the conversation anyway, as his mind then returned to thoughts of the task that his god Malk had given him. Thoughts of the Shagiir. Thoughts of his people, lost to the divine because of the mistakes of one fool. Thoughts of their fates that rested on his shoulders.

"Onuir, c'mon man!" Onuir's attention was brought back to reality by Mavrich's had hitting his back. "Wha-" the giant looked over to the blademaster, and saw a weak smile, attempting to mask his pain that he felt but failing. Obviously, Mavrich had hurt his own hand with that slap more than he had hurt Onuir. Muffled giggling erupted from Syla, an action that Onuir ignored, but stole Mavrich's attention. "Oh yeah, how about I stick a knife in your back. We'll see who's laughing then." Onuir sighed. He didn't get it. The Ovros twins were in synch in combat, like a perfect machine. He had seen it thousands of times before, working with them as a mercenary group for Ramsorn. But when not fighting, one wouldn't be able to tell that they were siblings based on the way they acted. "I'm sorry Mav, what was the question?" Onuir didn't want to break up another fight between them. Not now. It was better to go back to the previous question, to distract them from their petty fight. "We just got a hundred-thou reward for bringing in that guy. Don't ya think we should celebrate, live it up alittle tonight?" Mavrich was always wanting an excuse to party, though Onuir couldn't deny that he deserved a break every now and again. Aside from how childish he could be in his mannerisms, Mavrich was quite dedicated to what he did, and was always giving his all when helping others. Syla, on the other hand, while as dedicated and kind as Mavrich- Onuir looked over to her, and sure enough, she was wearing the same disapproving expression he had imagined. "If we should do anything, it should be rest and recover before we are needed again." She said. "Right, Onuir?" He sieghed. "I think we should return to the guild hall before we make any disi-"

"Please help!" This scream dragged all of their attentions away from the debate. A man appeared from off the road, dirtied from traveling and with scrapes on his hand and knees from tripping. Syla was the first to respond, asking for details on the situation. "Monster!" The man huffed between breaths. "Appeared, out of nowhere. Destroying, everything. Slaughtered, the militia. Heading, to Salkmaw." This time, Mavrich was the one to respond. "Keep moving away from it. We'll go back to Galsmire and get all of the available Ramshorn mercenaries to help fight." "No time," the man said. "Will be there, in, an hour." At that point, the man collapsed, revealing a shard of earth protruding out of his back. It was obvious he had used the last of his life force to try to run.

"We have to go back to Galsmire." Mavrich's smile had faded, and a veil of concern was now draped over his face in it's place. "He said that thing killed their militia. We can't fight this alone." "And let all those people die?" Syla rebuttal. "He said it was going to be there in an hour, even if we ran the whole way, it would still take the whole day to get back to the guild. And that's if we don't come across any other obstacles." Though Syla tended to be the more realistic of the twins, but she was always stubborn about helping people, even if the trio wouldn't be able to succeed. "And do what? Add to the casualties? We can't do anything without back up. Help me out Onuir!" Mavrich had made a huge mistake in turn his gaze away from his sister. She had bolted in the direction the man come from as soon as she was sure Mavrich was distracted enough not to stop her. It seemed like they didn't have a choice in the matter now. She would try to fight the damned thing, even if it was by herself.

They reached a small farm on the outskirts of the described town before they caught up to Syla. They found her standing right outside of a gate, staring into the distance. Mavrich, being faster than the giant, reached her first. "What the hell is wrong with you! are you suicidal-" He and Onuir then noticed the what she was staring at: A lizard like creature approaching them at speeds unbelievable for it's size, bigger than a house, and with a hide more akin to stone than skin. It had turned its attention to them, as it filled the air with a low growl that made the ground rumble. Onuir, cracking his neck, snapped the twins out of their trance, and they proceed to ready their weapons. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but it was too late to turn and run now.

Mavrich was the first to attack, throwing a knife with perfect precision at the monster's eye. It blocked the attack with it's forearm, the knife falling useless to the ground as the beast charged. Syla was next to fire off an attack, shooting a ball of light energy at it. The ball consumed the monster, but no cry was heard, and the beast emerged from the light, ready to strike. Onuir only had time to tackle the two out of the way, knocking all of them into the ground as the beast tore apart the farmhouse they had been standing in front of.

A whimper was heard from the wreckage, and the beast's attention was turned to an injured boy who had been hiding in the farmhouse. It spread it's colossal hand, ready to crush the boy. Onuir's eyes widened at the spectacle, his thoughts already being of the event to happen. He then heard Syla's scream, and felt a kick on his shoulder. Mavrich was jumping toward the creature. Onuir, without thinking, grabbed Mavrich's hood, trying to stop him; but only succeed in tearing the cloth off. The instant before the monster's hand hit the ground, Mavrich was under it, pushing the boy to safety. There was an explosion of crimson liquid from the ground, covering the child and the area around the beast's hand. Time seemed to slow as the creature lifted its hand, revealing nothing but the red pool filling the crater it had left.

Onuir's mind raced with thoughts that he couldn't understand as he heard a sobbing cry emerge from Syla behind him. He didn't have time to morn as the beast clenched it's fist, ready to crush him and Syla next. Onuir readied his on fist, and met the beast's punch with the same force. The impact of the blows seemed to shake the entire world from Onuir's perspective, his mind still numb and processing the death he had witnessed moments before. He registered to late the light coming from the creature's mouth, and saw flames emerge from it's jaws. "SYLA, RUN!" He heard himself shout, but it was only met by the whimpers of his paralyzed companion behind him. Still holding the beast's fist back, he watched the flames engulfed him, and heard the cries of the last Ovros twin behind him as she perished to the hellfire. He felt no pain from the attack, but let the monster's fist push him into the ground.

His mind went from racing thoughts to completely blank, and he felt his left arm start to burn. In the darkness of the boulders that now covered him, he saw a glowing emerging from his arm, as unearthly patterns lit up to form a tattoo that had faded hundreds of years ago. His mind then flooded with memories of retrieving it. Back before he had ever met humans. Back when he was with his people: the Shagiir. He remembered their god, Malk, destroying his village in rage. He remembered the other Shagiir warriors preparing to fight, with eyes of dead men knowing fighting a god was suicide. He remembered throwing himself between the army and the diety, begging for the god's forgiveness and a second chance to appease him. Then Malk's words were audible in Onuir's head.

"This mark I have given you will ensure you remain alive. You shall atone for your people's sins, and complete my request of you. You shall not age, you shall not die, you shall not forget until my request is met, and your people shall not be released until your duty to me is done."

He then heard other words in his head. Words he did not remember Malk saying, but new words.

"Your time has not yet come. Rise, and destroy the demon that destroys the children of the human gods. Avenge those innocent who protected their brethren"

At that moment, the divine brand of Malk burned hotter and brighter than it had before, sending a searing, unearthly, and intolerable pain to Onuir's head. His mind, now racing with pain, rage, and righteous vengeance, relinquished control of his body; and he watched as he barreled through the rubble that covered him with a roar to rival that of the most ferocious beasts imaginable. The monster turned, stunted with confusion as Onuir threw himself at it, knocking it to the ground. Feeling the divine magics multiplying his immense strength, he bombarded the panicked beast's face with blows which he never imagined he would be able to deliver. With each punch, the stone like hide- more akin to iron in it's toughness- cracked more and more, until erupting into a geyser of blood. The monster let out an ear piercing scream as it through the giant off of it, sending him flying into a tree, soaked from in the blood of his deceased comrades. The speed at which the creature through him caused the massive oak to break, only leaving a section of the trunk a little shorter than Onuir whole. Filled with even more rage and pain now. Onuir got up and seized the wooden pillar from the ground; letting out his own shout to rival the creature's as he started spinning his body around in circles, holding the end of the trunk out. The momentum started to lift the massive log from the ground, and the speed of the rotations started kicking up dirt and stones from the earth. The creature advanced toward the spinning colossus, blood still spewing from its face and murder in it's eyes. It prepared a fiery blast hotter and more powerful than before, but couldn't release it in time. Onuir was spinning too fast at this point, and relinquished his grip on the trunk. Rotating as fast as fast as it had before, the trunk flew toward the monster, but as it traveled, the wood gained a silver metallic property; almost as if it had literally taken the near unbreakable iron will of the twins of whom it's blood was drenched in. It hit the beast right under it's chin, knocking it off balance and breaking it's hide in that area. With a roar that was not his own, Onuir lunged at the creature one last time, grabing it's head and tearing it clean off.

Onuir awoke hours later, the lifeless head of the beast lying detached next to him. He looked around and saw that a portion of the blood soaked ground was clean, in the shape of a human. His thoughts then returned to the boy. He must have stayed there, camouflaged in the blood until the beast was dead. His thoughts then turned to Mavrich's action of saving the boy, and Syla's scream as he did. He felt tears starting to stream down his face, but knew he couldn't stay there, as the word's of Malk echoed in the back of his head. He took a moment to look around, and saw the trunk he had used earlier lying a few feet away from him, still intact, and still having that same magical metallic luster as before. He retrieved it, and heard the voices of Mavrich and Syla in his head.

"To defend and serve."

The code of the Ramsorn mercenaries. He balanced his new weapon in his left hand before turning to the sunset. He forced himself to take a step, then another, tears trailing down his face, and falling to the dyed red earth below. He walked off into the wilderness, mournful, but refocused on his task from the divine; silently crying, with the memory of his best friends with him in his weapon: Ovros.

#Short Story #oc #lol oc #Onuir #onuir lore #mavrich #oc mavrich #syla #oc syla

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fictionerd · 6 years

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The Story of Marilene Post 2

Chapter One: Bard (continued)

“You could use some light in your life.” - Marilene

---Last Seed, 19th, 4E 201--- Funny, Why would the innkeep give me a double?

The answer, as with so much of my life lately, is Melodia. Sometime shortly after I'd laid down to sleep I felt her slip into bed with me. I knew it was her by her scent. The smoke from the effigy couldn't completely mask Lavender and Nightshade. She didn't make any advances, merely cuddled up to me and we both slept like the dead.

I have a sneaking suspicion she was watching my back up until Dead Men's Respite. Making sure nothing untoward happened. She may have even followed me into the crypt.

When I awoke I found a note from her on my bedside table.

"Looks like you can finally head out into the world huh, Lene? It's been lovely to see you again, but duty calls me away. I'm headed to Riften. If you find yourself there in your travels do look me up. I'll either be at the worker's bunkhouse or down in the Ragged Flagon. Oh, and if you met a red-headed stepchild named Brynjolf don't let him bully you too much.

Your infrequent bedmate, Melodia"

This is always how it is with her. She shows up, does something to help, something to hurt, something to tease, and then she's gone. I've imagined what it might be like to be with her, but we both know it wouldn't work. Not the way I'd want it to anyway.

I'm a believer in true love, and while my curiosity has lead me to temptation, Melodia's standards are more strict. She is not one for long-term commitments and makes sure she only "plays" with people who are the same. Or at the very least won't be hurt by her leaving when she's grown bored.

On a more practical note: Viarmo said that the other professors at the college would likely have tasks to be done. I'm going to check with them and then maybe have a look at the notice board. Today I head out into Skyrim to adventure. I wonder what I'll find there.

Unbelievable. Each of the professors has me going out to hunt for a missing instrument. You'd think Bards would keep better hold of these things. Though to be fair they all have good reason. Bandits broke into the college, One of the students sold it off, and the most legitimate: It's a treasure lost to time.

So perhaps I was being uncharitable to my esteemed teachers. I just find it amusing that it is the retrieval of instruments that have them sending me hither, thither and yon.

According to what they've told me Rjorn's Drum is in Falkreath Hold. Panatea's Flute is in the Pale, and Finn's Lute is in the Rift.

The Rift Melodia

No there's no way she'd have a hand in that, besides. She wasn't even in a position to do so when the instrument was stolen.

I took a ferry from Solitude's Docks to Dawnstar. It took longer than I would have expected, but we arrived regardless. Upon entering the Inn I heard a commotion. There were some local miners pressing a priest for answers regarding some epidemic of nightmares plaguing the town.

The priest, Erandur, confided in me that these Nightmares were the machinations of the Daedric Prince Vaermina. He has a plan to free the town of her grasp, and I've agreed to help him once morning comes. Panatea's Flute will simply have to wait.

---Last Seed, 20th, 4E 201--- Today has been a day. I awoke and after a bite to eat I set out with Erandur to Nightcaller Temple. It was located within a tower on the hill above Dawnstar. Within lie sleeping orc raiders and cultists of Vaermina. All of them between us and the object of our mission: The Skull of Corruption.

Daedric Artifact of Vaermina herself, the Skull of Corruption famously feeds on the memories of others to fuel its vile magick. Our mission was to destroy the Skull and stop it feeding on Dawnstar's memories.

We were not long to the task before we were stopped by a barrier spell set up by the cultists of old, but Ah, Erandur had secret knowledge and from it formulated a plan.

As a former priest of Vaermina from that very temple Erandur knew what sorcery was housed within its walls. Believing as I do in the power of redemption I followed through with his request. To find and drink the concoction known as Vaermina's Torpor. Borrowing its effects I might delve into the past through dreams to transport myself to the other side of the barrier.

So drink I did, and travel I did. Within the dream I bore witness to the day the orcs attacked the temple through the eyes of one Cassimir.

The barrier thusly circumvented we delved to the depths of the temple. There upon grim pedestal lay the Skull of Corruption. Guarding it the las of Vaermina's Priests. Veren and Thorek who knew Erandur by the name he'd once held among their number: Cassimir.

Though he fled from the temple when the priests did plunge its occupants into deep, prolonged sleep He's spent hs waking hours sense seeking forgiveness. This nobility of spirit was deserving of praise and reward. Which he received from me and Mara both.

Erandur used a ritual to lift the seal from the Skull and destroy it. Though I know that such artifacts will, inevitably, return to Tamriel I am glad that we are rid of that hungry beast all the same.

Now, off to sleep. Tomorrow I've plenty of ground to cover, and a flute to retrieve.

---Last Seed, 21st, 4E 201--- On my way to the location Panatea pointed out to me I came across a strange sight.

The burned remains of what I assume was a mage. The ground around them was still burning, and on the ground before them was a tome designed to teach a fire cloak spell. Whatever happened here it must have been SOME mishap.

It is with solemn mood and somber heart that I pen this latest entry to my tale, oh journal. I have failed, and it weighs upon my heart.

I made my way to the cave where the Necromancers in possession of Panatea's Flute resided. Within I heard cries for help from a woman in their grasp. I rushed through the cave as quickly as I could, but by the time I'd reached their final sanctum the fiends had already put her to the knife and raised her as their thrall.

It's one thing to know that something like this is coming, it's another entirely to actually go through it. I knew when I began this quest of mine that there would be days like this. Days when I would fail. Days when I wouldn't make it "Just in time" to save some one.

I tried to be stoic about it. To mourn in secret for the life of this woman I didn't even know. To mourn for the life I failed to save.

I couldn't manage it. I fled from that place, Flute in hand and Necromancers dead. I ran across the snow-laden tundra and glacial shelves. Through wolf and bandit to Wayward Pass. When I reached the wayshrine and saw it was dedicated to Arkay I feel to my knees and wept. Praying to the divines for forgiveness.

"How can I become the hero I so desire to be if I let those I place under my protection die?" It's a ridiculous thought. No Hero's tale ever explicitly states it, or at the very least few do, but No hero is perfect. No Hero was ever able to save every life within reach. Alessia waged war with the Ayleids. The Hero of Kvatch couldn't be at every Oblivion Gate in Tamriel. I I couldn't reach the woman in time.

I've rented a room for the night at a roadside Inn called Nightgate. I've changed back into my College Robes and have been performing for the scant guests. More to occupy my thoughts than anything. I hope that playing the music I learned in Solitude will help to lift my spirits. Seeing the smiles of contentment on the faces of the audience is a blessing.

-N- Nine forgive me, and grant me respite.

---Last Seed, 22nd, 4E 201--- I've made it south to Stony Creek Cave where the bandits who stole Finn's Loot should be hiding. I've stopped for a moment to collect my thoughts before heading in.

On my way south I entered Windhelm to trade off a few things and be gone as quickly as I could. Being a Solitude Bard I didn't want to end up on the wrong end of Stormcloak scrutiny. Unfortunately I happened upon something I couldn't ignore.

When I first entered the city there was a drunk Nord harrassing a Dunmer woman. I was not about to stand by and watch that happen so I sprinted over and grabbed him by the shoulder turning him around.

"What? Don't like my attitude Halfsy?" He sneered. I punched him in the mouth.

"A hundred septims says I can teach you manners," I said loosing the wolf-fur cloak I'd taken to wearing and letting it drop to the ground.

He took me up on the bet and charged me. It was a near thing, but I've been practicing my footwork. Eventually his swings got so large and lumbering they were easy to avoid and I laid him out on the ground. Much to my surprise he actually paid up on the bet. Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. He /was/ a Nord after all.

Suffice to say I was drawing approving and disapproving looks from various guards so I made with my market trip and then bought a horse before leaving so as to get away from the city all the quicker.

I'll need a name for her. I'm thinking Tambor. Short for Tamborine. Something about the beat of the hooves striking the ground complimented by the jangling of tack.

I suppose I've put things off long enough. Time to head inside and get that lute back.

Well that's a pleasant introduction, but was I expecting anything else?

Well that's another instrument gathered, only one left to go, and the Lute isn't all I found.

I came across this unusual stone in the Bandit's lair. I'm certain it must be valuable. So long as I'm in the Rift I may as well head to the capital, maybe look up Melodia and get this thing appraised.

---Last Seed, 23rd, 4E 201--- With a single exception Riften has been a downright loathesome place. I've been shaken down, accused of meddling, solicited for criminal activity, and assaulted, and that was only in the hour or two after I arrived last night.

According to Melodia's instructions from back in Solitude I looked for her first at the bunkhouse. The moment I mentioned her name the proprietress kicked me out. Something about "/another/ poacher on her turf" whatever that means. That left only the Ragged Flagon. Asking about I learned that it was in the ratway beneath the city. Within those cramped warrens I was attacked no less than three times.

When I finally reached the Flagon Melodia instantly recognized me and came rushing down from the wooden platform that housed the bar.

"Lene!?" She accused, "What in Oblivion are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, obviously," I replied. She pressed the palm of her hand against her forhead.

"Dear, sweet, innocent, Lene. I wasn't at all seriously suggesting you-" she cut herself off and took a deep breath. That's when I notced she was not dressed as I expected her to be. She wore a close-fitting leather cuirass with breeches and boots to match. All soft, and seemingly padded. Her gloves left her fingers free. The neckline of the cuirass dove just a tad, and a leather hood hung from round her neck fastened by a brooch that seemed to be fashioned into the form of a bird and laquered black, "But of course you would. I never should have put that in the note to begin with."

She looped an arm around mine and turned me back toward the door.

"Hey, I've got-"

"Things to do, people to see, damsels to rescue," she fluttered her lashes at me, "Yes, you do but not here. Let's go get a room at the bee and you can tell me all about your adventures."

So we did, and I did. Though I insisted on performing for the late-night crowd at the Inn. A self-respecting Bard doesn't let a crowd go to waste (Or a chance at a free room go by).

I handed off the unusual gem to her. She said she'd get some one in the Flagon to take a look at it for me. She also gave Brynjolf a piece of her mind when she found out he'd already zeroed in on me. We spent the night together and that curiosity came over me as we lay there. I think she sensed it because she laced her fingers through mine.

"Lene, I know. I'm poison. Perhaps not deadly, but poison nonetheless. You're destined for things so much greater than I. Let me be the knife in the dark to your shield in the light."

Being careful to keep ahold of her hand I rolled over to look into her eyes.

"One night," I said, "Not tonight, but one night I want us to have something. You deserve some light in your life."

She smiled, and I saw tears in her eyes. She slid closer and gave me a hug, "And maybe you could use some shadow in yours."

#Skyrim #Character Journal #Marilene Lavoie #Marilene #Take Notes Mod

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