"...미친 건가?"

• "...Are you crazy?"

"...화산파?"

• "...Mount Hua Sect?"

"아니, 요즘 애새끼들은 다들 예의를 밥 말아 처먹었나?"

• "Seriously, have kids these days completely lost their manners?"

"귀이하는 누구시오오~?!"

• "Who are you to ask?!"

"남의 이름 묻기 전에 자기 이름부터 밝히는 건 기본 중의 기본 아니야?! 참 나~ 기가 차서!"

• "Isn't it basic courtesy to introduce yourself before asking someone else's name?! Geez, I'm speechless!"

"아하하하! 아이고! 얘가 많이 취해서요! 죄송합니다! 죄송합니다!"

• "Hahaha! Oh no! He's really drunk! Sorry! Sorry!"

"자아, 들어가자 어서!"

• "Alright, let's go in!"

"청명아...! 움직지!"

• "Cheongmyeong...! Don't move!"

"청명...?"

• "Cheongmyeong...?"

"지금 그자가 그 화산신룡 청명이라는 말이오?"

• "Are you saying that person is the Mount Hua Dragon, Cheongmyeong?"

"...응? 화산신룡?"

• "...Huh? Mount Hua Dragon?"

"저 사람이...?"

• "That person is...?"

"아이! 봐 봐! 제가 나 부르잖아!"

• "Hey! Look! He's calling me!"

"아니야, 아무도 안 불렀어!"

• "No, no one called you!"

"잘못 들은 거다! 일단 들어가자, 청명아!"

• "You misheard! Let's go in for now, Cheongmyeong!"

"지금 불렀다니까, 그러네!"

• "I just called you, so come here!"

"자, 여기 나 다시 왔다."

• "Alright, I'm back here."

"왜?"

• "Why?"

"...방금은 실례했소."

• "...I apologize for earlier."

"나는 사천당가의 당잔이라고 하오."

• "I am the Tang Clan's Dangjan from Sichuan."

"당가?"

• "Tang Clan?"

"사천의 그 당가?"

• "The Tang Clan from Sichuan?"

"아니... 내가 아는 당가는 그래도 배운 놈들인데?"

• "No... The Tang Clan I know are at least educated people."

"배울 만큼 배운 놈들이 이 야밤에 쳐들어와서는 사람을 내놓으라 난리를 친다고?"

• "Are you telling me that well-educated people would come in the middle of the night causing a ruckus demanding someone be handed over?"

"에라이~!!"

• "You bastard~!!"

"내가 아는 당가는 싹 다 뒤지고 그새 다른 당 씨 놈들로 갈아 치웠다!"

• "The Tang Clan I know would have searched everywhere and replaced all the Tang members with new ones!"

"주둥이!!"

• "Shut your mouth!!"

"...실례가 많았습니다."

• "...I apologize for the rudeness."

"요놈의 주둥이! 주둥이!"

• "This brat's mouth! Mouth!"

"암! 암!"

• "Yes! Yes!"

"화산의 백천이라 합니다."

• "He is called Baekcheon of Mount Hua."

"백천...?"

• "Baekcheon...?"

"화정검이시오? 그렇다면 귀하께서 그 무당의 검룡을 꺾은 바로 그 사람이시군요."

• "The Huajong Sword? Then you must be the one who defeated the Sword Dragon of Wudang."

"과분하지만 그런 별호로 불리고 있습니다."

• "It's too much, but I am called by that nickname."

"드디어 말이 통할만한 사람이 나섰군..."

• "Finally, someone who can talk sense has stepped forward..."

"이미 뒤에서 다 들으셨을 테니, 번거롭게 긴 말 다시 하지 않겠습니다."

• "You've already heard everything from the back, so I won't bother repeating it."

"조 공자와 당가는 얽힌 것이 많습니다."

• "There are many entanglements between Sir Cho and the Tang Clan."

"그렇기에 저는 조 공자께서 화산에서 무엇을 얻으셨는지 오늘 이 자리에서 확인해 보고자 하는 것일 뿐."

• "Therefore, I just want to confirm what you gained from Mount Hua here today."

"조 공자를 데려와 주시지요."

• "Please bring Sir Cho here."

"제가 원하는 것은 그것뿐입니다."

• "That's all I want."

"황가가 아님에도 왕과 같은 권한을 행사하려는 저 모습... 이 성도 내에서 사천당가가 왕처럼 군림한다는 말이 사실이었나 보군."

• "Trying to exercise king-like authority despite not being royalty... It seems the rumor that the Tang Clan rules like kings within this city is true."

"어설프게 회피하려 들다가는 조경지 간령이 그 대가를 치를 가능성이 높다."

• "If you try to evade clumsily, Jo Kyung-ji will likely pay the price."

"그렇다면..."

• "In that case..."

"사숙. 제가 나가겠습니다."

• "Elder. I'll go."

"...걸아, 이게 대체..."

• "...Brother, what on earth..."

"...이게 대체 무슨 일이냐?"

• "...What on earth is happening?"

"나는 이해가 안 간다."

• "I don't understand."

"...화산의 명성이 높아졌기 때문에 벌어진 일입니다."

• "...This happened because the fame of Mount Hua has risen."

"저들은 성도의 유력가들이 당가의 지배를 벗어나길 원하지 않습니다."

• "They don't want the influential families of the city to escape the control of the Tang Clan."

"저를 내버려 둔다면 다른 유력가의 자제도 외지의 명문파로 갈 수 있다는 것을 알기에 이런 방식으로 제게 망신을 주어 애초에 싹을 잘라버리려는 것이죠."

• "They know that if they let me go, other children of influential families might also go to prestigious sects elsewhere, so they are trying to disgrace me and cut off the problem at the root."

"...허? 그게 말이야 되는 소리냐?"

• "...Huh? Does that even make sense?"

"...이게 이곳 사천 성도를 살아가는 이들의 방식입니다."

• "...This is how people live in this Sichuan city."

"그리고 사천을 지배한 당가의 방식이죠."

• "And this is the way the Tang Clan has ruled Sichuan."

"여기서 화산이 끼어들면 일이 더 복잡해질 겁니다."

• "If Mount Hua gets involved here, things will get more complicated."

"이 일은 제게 맡겨 주십시오."

• "Please leave this matter to me."

"...알겠다. 잠시 기다리거라."

• "...Alright. Wait for a moment."

"...사숙?"

• "...Elder?"

Here is the translation of the text in the tenth image:
"제 사질을 어찌 검증하겠다는 것인지 들어보고 싶군요."

• "I'd like to hear how you plan to verify my disciple's identity."

"...?!"

• "...?!"

"하하, 뻔한 것을 물으십니다."

• "Haha, you're asking something obvious."

"무인이 무인을 검증하는 방법이 다를 또 있겠습니까? 직접 손을 섞어 보면 알 일이죠."

• "Is there any other way for a martial artist to verify another martial artist? We'll know once we cross hands."

"그러니까, 사해상회의 이 공자이자 화산의 삼대 제자인 조경의 실력을 검증하고 그 결과를 성도에 공표하고 싶으니 조경을 내어 놓으라... 이 말씀이지요?"

• "So, you want to verify the skills of Jo Kyung, the prince of the Merchant Guild and a third-generation disciple of Mount Hua, and announce the results to the city, so you're asking to bring out Jo Kyung... Is that what you're saying?"
  "이건 사천당가의 행사입니다."
  
• "This is a Tang Clan event."
  

"방해는 용납하지 않겠습니다."

• "We will not tolerate any interference."

"물론입니다."

• "Of course."

"저희 화산은 사천당가의 행사를 방해할 생각이 추호도 없습니다."

• "We at Mount Hua have no intention of interfering with the Tang Clan's event."

"다만... 문제가 조금 있는데,"

• "However... there is a slight problem,"

"문제?"

• "Problem?"

"일을 방해할 생각은 없지만, 지금 이곳에 있는 이들이 조경을 인증하겠다는 말이 아닙니까?"

• "We don't intend to interfere, but are you saying that those present here will verify Jo Kyung?"

"...그게 왜 문제가 됩니까?"

• "...Why is that a problem?"

"...그 실력으로 말입니까?"

• "...With that level of skill?"

"...뭐?"

• "...What?"

"감히 화산의 삼대 제자를 검증하겠다고 나서시니,"

• "You dare to claim that you will verify the skills of a third-generation disciple of Mount Hua,"

"이쪽도 그에 걸맞은 대접을 해 드려야죠."

• "We should give you the appropriate reception."

"오십시오, 먼저 그쪽의 실력을 내가 검증해 드릴 테니."

• "Come on, I will first verify your skills."

"그러지 않겠다면, 내 사질에게는 손가락 하나 댈 수 없소."

• "If you refuse, you will not be able to lay a finger on my disciple."

"이건 화산의 행사요."

• "This is a Mount Hua event."

"방해는 용납하지 않겠소."

• "I will not tolerate any interference."

"사숙...!"

• "Elder...!"

"ㅋㅋㅋ"

• "Hehe."

"사고 치지 말라면서 자기가 사고를 치네."

• "You tell others not to cause trouble, yet you are causing trouble yourself."

"문파 꼴 잘~ 돌아간다."

• "What a well-functioning sect."

"화산 놈들은 단체로 머리가 돌아버리기라도 한 건가?"

• "Have all the Mount Hua guys gone mad together?"

"화산이 당가를 아주 졸로 본다는 뜻이로구나."

• "It means Mount Hua looks down on the Tang Clan."

"화산은 대단한 문파인 모양입니다."

• "Mount Hua seems to be an impressive sect."

"제자 하나를 보호하기 위해서 감히 당가의 앞을 막아서다니."

• "To dare to block the Tang Clan just to protect one disciple."

"이 일을 정녕 감당할 수 있다는 말이겠지요?"

• "Are you saying you can truly handle this matter?"

"화산은 문파의 제자를 보호함에 있어서 계산 따위는 하지 않습니다. 가장 우선시해야 할 것임이 명확하니 말이지요."

• "Mount Hua does not calculate when it comes to protecting its disciples. It is clear what must be prioritized."

"당가는 그렇지 않은 모양이지만."

• "It seems the Tang Clan is not the same."

"그리고 그럴 리도 없겠지만, 설사 이 일이 화근이 되어 화산이 멸문한다고 해도 화산의 제자 중 누구도 저를 탓하지 않을 겁니다."

• "And even though it is unlikely, even if this matter causes Mount Hua's downfall, none of Mount Hua's disciples will blame me."

"그게 화산입니다."

• "That is Mount Hua."

"...원망할 건데요?"

• "...I would blame you?"

"할 겁니다."

• "They will."

"ㅋㅋㅋ 혼자 너무 나간다"

• "Haha, you're going too far alone."

"아아~ ㅋㅋㅋㅋ 저 망할 놈들은 이럴 때까지 주둥아리를 못 닫아서..."

• "Ahh~ Haha, those damned bastards can't keep their mouths shut even now..."

"...근데 말이야... 왜 사숙이 싸워? 응...?"

• "...But seriously... Why is the elder fighting? Hmm...?"

"아까부터 자꾸 사숙이 나서는데 이건 조걸 사형의 일이잖아?"

• "You've been stepping in since earlier, but isn't this Senior Brother Jogal's matter?"

"사숙이 그런 쪽으로 욕심이 있다는 건 잘 알겠고, 충분히 멋졌으니까 이제 조걸 사형도 뽐낼 기회를 줘야지?"

• "We know Elder has ambitions in that direction, and you've shown off enough, so shouldn't Senior Brother Jogal get a chance to shine?"

"간만에 부모님도 만났는데. 저놈은 대체 당가를 뭐라고 생각하는 거지?"

• "It's been a while since I met my parents. What on earth does that guy think of the Tang Clan?"

"독과 암기로 유명한 당가를 상대로는 노련한 고수들도 고전을 치른다. 아주 작은 실수만으로 목숨이 위태로울 정도로 그들의 무공은 위험하니까."

• "Even experienced masters struggle against the Tang Clan, known for their poisons and hidden weapons. Their martial arts are so dangerous that a very small mistake could be fatal."

"그런 싸움에 실전 경험도 적은 조걸이를 내보내자고?"

• "You want to send Jogal, who has little real combat experience, into such a fight?"

"...너무 위험하지 않겠느냐?"

• "...Wouldn't that be too dangerous?"

"괜찮아~ 괜찮아! 범은 자기 새끼를 절벽에서 떨어뜨려 키운다고 했어."

• "It's fine~ It's fine! They say a tiger raises its cubs by throwing them off a cliff."

"이래서 윗사람들이란."

• "That's why those in higher positions are like that."

"촌에서 깨달았지. 누군가를 아끼고 감싸는 게 반드시 도움이 되는 건 아니라는 걸."

• "I realized in the village that coddling and protecting someone isn't always helpful."

"후인을 아낀다는 이유로 모든 일을 대신 해치워 버린다면 그들의 경험과 기회를 앗아가는 거나 마찬가지니까."

• "If you do everything for them under the pretense of protecting them, you're robbing them of their experience and opportunities."

"사숙은 조걸 사형이 그렇게 약해 보여?"

• "Does Elder think Senior Brother Jogal looks that weak?"

"절대 안 저. 적어도 저런 애들한테는."

• "Absolutely not. At least not to those guys."

"조걸에 대한 확연한 믿음... 확실히 나는... 조걸을 향한 막연한 불신이 있었을지도..."

• "A clear belief in Jogal... I definitely... might have had some vague distrust towards Jogal..."

"지면 안 되지!"

• "I can't lose!"

"내가 어떻게 굴렸는데!"

• "After how hard I trained him!"

"뒷말만 안 붙였어도 살짝 감동할 뻔했다."

• "If he hadn't added that last part, I might have been a bit moved."

"안 그래 사형?"

• "Isn't that right, Senior Brother?"

"청명..."

• "Cheongmyeong..."

"저놈이 나서준다면 분명 이 일도 쉽게 해결될지도 모른다."

• "If that guy steps in, this matter might be resolved easily."

"끝난다고~"

• "It will end~"

"하지만 언제까지...?"

• "But until when...?"

"언제까지 저놈의 등에 숨어 모든 일이 쉽게 해결되기만을 바랄 수만은 없잖아..."

• "You can't just hope for everything to be easily resolved by hiding behind that guy forever..."

"녀석의 짐이 되고 싶은 생각은 추호도 없다."

• "I don't want to be a burden to him at all."

"애초에 그걸 생각이었다면 이번 문방행에 따라나서지도 않았을 거야."

• "If I had thought that way from the beginning, I wouldn't have joined this expedition."

"당장 너석과 대등할 수 없다는 건 알고 있다."

• "I know I can't match you right now."

"하지만 적어도 도움이 되고 싶다."

• "But I want to be helpful at least."

"정하다니까."

• "I've decided."

"진다."

• "I'll fight."

"지지 않는다."

• "I won't lose."

"이건 그런 문제가 아니야."

• "This isn't that kind of problem."

"나와 사천당가 사이의 문제이니 내가 해결해야 할 뿐."

• "This is a problem between me and the Tang Clan, so I have to solve it."

"그뿐이다."

• "That's all."

"사숙."

• "Elder."

"사숙의 뜻은 잘 알고 있습니다."

• "I understand your intentions well, Elder."

"하지만 이건 제가 해결해야 할 일입니다."

• "But this is something I must resolve."

"...걸아."

• "...Brother."

"... 할 수 있겠느냐?"

• "... Can you do it?"

"저도 화산의 제자입니다."

• "I am also a disciple of Mount Hua."

"예!"

• "Yes!"

"... 그러니까 도리에 맞게 내가 앞에 나서야 하지 않겠소."

• "... Therefore, it is only right that I step forward."

"...감히..."

• "...How dare you..."

"저, 저건... 녹피 장갑!!"

• "That's... the Green Leather Gloves!!"

"저 장갑을 낀다는 것은 독을 쓰겠다는 신호이자 비무에 자비가 없을 것이라는 예고...!!"

• "Wearing those gloves is a signal that he will use poison and a warning that there will be no mercy in the fight...!!"

"안 돼, 말려야 한다...!! 걸이가 위험해!!"

• "No, I must stop this...!! Brother is in danger!!"

"다, 당 소협... 이 일은 아버지!"

• "S, Sir Tang... this matter is... Father!"

"...걸아...?"

• "...Brother...?"

"이건 사형님의 일이기도 하지만 화산의 일이기도 합니다."

• "This is not only Senior Brother's matter but also Mount Hua's matter."

"저를 믿고... 기다려주십시오."

• "Please trust me... and wait."

"...사천당가."

• "...The Tang Clan."

"한때 내게 당가의 이름은 두려움과 공포의 상징이자, 극복할 수 없는 벽과도 같았다."

• "At one time, the name of the Tang Clan was a symbol of fear and terror to me, like an insurmountable wall."

"성도 상가의 자제로 태어나 어린 순간부터 언제나 머리 위에 존재했던 전형(典型)처럼."

• "Since I was born as a child of the noble families of Sichuan, the Tang Clan has always loomed over me like a stereotype."

"하지만 지금은 다르지. 화산에서 무엇을 얻어 왔는가? 너무 많아서 입으로는 설명할 수 없어."

• "But now it's different. What have I gained from Mount Hua? It's too much to explain with words."

"그러니 이 검으로 보여줄 수밖에."

• "So I have no choice but to show you with this sword."

So i was curious why everyone thinks the Cathay dragon Yin-Yin is going to have lore of beasts, so i decided to look up the og theory by and i realized it lined up a lot with the theories i made based off of the in game mechanics, so i decided to add in some of the mythology into my post. Also while we are here, i started writing this before shadows of change, then decided to wait until Yuan Bo was released to see how it impacted by speculative nonsense. Was kinda disillusioned with Cathay after Yuan Bo was fairly different to what everyone expected and so i took a break from Cathay for a while. As a result some of this might sound weird due to it being rewritten several times.
(https://www.reddit.com/totalwacomments/ppg76c/theories\_about\_the\_dragon\_princesprincesses\_the/)
----HEADS UP: there is gonna be a TLDR after each specific LL, You will thank me later----
The Mythological inspirations for the dragons
So for anyone who didn't click on the link to the mythology post that inspired this (for shame). The Dragon siblings seem to be inspired by the 4 symbols (don't worry there are 5 of them). Each of the 4 symbols (again of which there are 5) is associated with a direction and one of the 5 elements from the Wuxing cycle.
The wuxing cycle is made up of 5 elements, the mechnanics of the cycle themselves don't seem to matter too much (yet?) just the actual elements since each of the 5 elements matches up with what lores of magic the dragons favour so far.
The in-game and lore Harmony of magic (so far)
Lore wise (the "facts" lore not the term for magic lore), the Yin and Yang lores of magic are each made up of 4 of the elemental winds. Yin is formed from the winds of beasts, metal, death, shadows while Yang is formed from Life, fire, heavens, light. Each lore is effectively one half of high magic (the lizardmen and high/wood elf lore of magic) since High magic is made from using all 8 winds at once. Probably not worth noting but in my research i also found that high elves have a
The Dragons siblings (until Yuan Bo) have had a 50/50 split between Yin and Yang spells with 3 of each. Miao Ying has 3 life spells (a sub lore of yang) and 3 yin spells, While Zhao Ming has 3 metal spells (a sub lore of Yin) and 3 yang spells. Interestingly it seems that the Dragon siblings use the elemental sub-lore of the parent they get along with more, Miao Ying has a Yang sub lore and gets on great with her father, the master of yang while Zhao has the opposite, favouring a sub-lore of Yin while being his mother's favourite.
As for Yuan Bo, while he uses a mix of 4 lores of magic unlike Zhao and Miao, 2 light, 1 heavens, 2 Yin and 1 Yang, He does still loosely follow the pattern still. Yuan Bo still uses 3 elemental spells and 3 Yin/Yang spells so while he isn't split along the lines of Yin/Yang evenly, he does still have a 50/50 split in his spells. Interstingly even tho Yuan Bo has 4 different lores on hand, he only has the lore atrributes for 2 of those lores, heavens (his "main" lore given he runs is incharge of the astromancers) and the lore of Yin passive (sub lore of yang and the lore of Yin).
Overall it seems that there is a pattern of dragons having a 50/50 mix of elemental spells and Yin/Yang lores with only the spell atrribute from their favourite elemental lore and the Yin/Yang atrribute from the lore that their favourite elementl lore doesn't contribute too.
TLDR: The dragons (so far) have a themed pattern in what spells they can use and their lore passives.
Who are the other Dragons?
In case You haven't dug through the Cathay lore, the 2 dragon siblings not missing/dead in lore and not yet in game are: Li Dao the fire dragon and Yin Yin the sea dragon. There is also the Monkey King coming alongside them at some point, so without further a do, lets get into it.
Miao Ying The Storm Dragon
So according to the mythology theory, each of the dragons is inspired by one of the 4 symbols. Miao Ying is theorised to be inspired by the Black Tortoise. The Black Tortoise is associated with Water, the north, endurance and protecting the previously mentioned north. It's easy to see why the black dragon Miao Ying is likely inspired by said symbol, even more so when you look into warhammer lore.
In warhammer lore, Cathay refers to the lore of life as the lore of water. That is because wizards who use the lore of life can manipulate freshwater due to it's necessity and connection to life, the wind of life it's self is also described to move like water by those with witch sight. Hence the reason Miao Ying, uses lore of life spells, due to her being the storm dragon.
As for Miao Ying's actual lore, she is the oldest of the Dragon siblings and said to be the Emperor's favourite. Her main job is guarding the Great Bastion in the north since that is where the first threats to Cathay came from and she was the first of the dragons. The other main thing Miao Ying is in charge of is the forges of Nan-Gau and it's development of war machines. Miao Ying doesn't seem to be very involved with the process of inventing and gives the master artificers a great deal of personal freedom leading to some infighting. Miao seems to take a direct yang styled approach to problems, putting any rebel lords in their place and just throwing bodies and artillery at chaos incursions. Miao is described as cold and aloof perhaps because she has had to shoulder burdens on her own without any siblings.
Mechanically Miao Ying focuses on buffing ranged units which fits well with her Capital being Cathay's main source of guns as well as her Yin focus. Miao Ying also gets bonuses for fighting the forces of chaos and corruption which fits with her being in charge of holding the big wall. The starting Cathay rebels nearby is thematic for the scheming human lords but there isn't really a mechanic that does deeper than that. Nothing too fancy, she's a base game lord.
TLDR: Miao Ying is the (self-proclaimed?) favourite child of the Emperor, she is in charge of defending the great bastion and most of Cathay's gun/war machine construction. Lore of Life and Yin, tho there is a chance CA will revisit her down the line and give her a more diverse spell list or more mechanics. Miao Ying keeps her people in line with brute force and open threats but as long as the artificer lords serving her don't rebel or disobey her orders, she leaves them to their own devices.
Zhao Ming The Iron Dragon
A reminder i have the flair "alchemist of Zhao Ming" so you know, expect some simping bias in this next section.
In the mythology department, Zhao Ming appears to be inspired by the "White Tiger". Like all of the 4 symbols the White Tiger is associated with both a cardinal direction and an element/phase of the Wuxing cycle. In the White Tiger's case this is the West direction, where Zhao Ming guards and the element of metal which Zhao Ming champions. The White Tiger is believed to symbolise power and armies, accordingly Zhao Ming is shown to be much more involved with his soldiers than the other Dragons. It's also been theorised that since his troops are seemingly recruited from the much more rowdy desert clans, than the cities and villages where the other Dragons get their troops, thus requiring more military focus.
Zhao Ming's love of warpstone is inspired by mixing the mythology of the White Tiger and warhammer lore. As previously mentioned the White Tiger is associated with metal and in warhammer lore, wizards who practice the lore of metal, also known as alchemists in some circles, usually develop an obsession with warpstone. Warpstone's nature as being literally pure condensed chaos/warp gives it many abilities including the power to turn other metals into gold which is one of the key end-goals of all alchemy.
Speaking of alchemists, Zhao Ming controls the "house of secrets" said to be a dark mirror of the celestial court where illegal magics are used in place of the lore of heavens. While in game the house of secrets is only formed of lore of metal wizards, Zhao Ming's lore blurb in the expanded unit browers states he shealters lore of Fire wizards as well.
Since the SOC dlc showed us that several units in the Cathay army hail from the banner of the Celestial Court and that the House of secrets is said to be a dark mirror, there may be some units not yet in game that are house of secrets themed. What could those units be? Beyond the fire version alchemists, i have no clue it's called the house of secrets for a reason. The biggest possible curveball i can think of would be the elemental incarnate of fire, we already have the incarnate of beasts so it's safe to assume that the other 2 incarnates (death and fire) will show up at some point and Zhao likes fire wizards too. Zhao Ming could also have some nomadic units missing since most of his people are nomads but we haven't seen any of those in game yet.
Interestingly the lore of metal is the elemental lore of magic most connected to Tzeentch as it is all about changing metals into other metals (lead to gold, etc) and Tzeentch is all about change. The lore of fire on the other hand is one of the other 3 lores of magic used by chaos warbands. Shadows and death are both connected to Slannesh and Nurgle respectively but fire is different. The Lore of Fire would be Khornes favoured lore because he loves flames and stuff but he hates magic so the lore of fire is considered to be the generic chaos lore that all the gods dip into using. Meaning the 2 types of elemental wizards Zhao Ming protects are the 2 types that Tzeentch armies would tradditionally recruit for open warfare.
Is Zhao Ming's protection giving the wizards most at risk of Tzeentch corruption a way out from the persecution and not be driven into the arms of Tzeentch? Or is he just letting Tzeentch agents hide in plain sight? Honestly it's prob a bit of both. Yuan Bo may be right about a decent number of those wizards but those he is wrong about, would be forced to join chaos or perish if it weren't for Zhao Ming's House of Secrets.
Zhao in terms of lore is (despite being a mad scientist who snorts warpstone and one of the only Dragons to regularly drink,) somehow the most subtle of the dragons. Unlike Miao Ying, Zhao Ming favours diplomatic solutions over just throwing bodies at problems. The main example of this is his treaties with the ogres however the way he interacts with his soldiers is also potentially diplomatic. Zhao Ming as many of you may know likes to join his troops for a drink and even laughs at jokes at his own expense unlike the other dragon siblings.
Some have suggested that this means Zhao acts more human than the other dragons, however personally when i first read his actual lore, i got the impression Zhao Ming is not more human than the other Dragons, simply better at faking it. That Zhao thinks his troops, recruited mostly from the nomadic tribes won't take him seriously or work at their full potential if stifled by the iron handed discipline of main Cathay, so he meets them on their level. Zhao Ming is a people person, he makes concessions for the nomads joining his forces, talks out deals with ogres, runs the main (at least in terms of land routes so far) trade hub in Cathay, plays host and sets up areas to cater to dogs of war visiting his city and speaks out for some of the non heavens elemental wizards in Cathay. He talks his way through most problems and reads people to try and get the most benefit for Cathay.
Zhao Ming while reckless and likely overexposed to warpstone, is far more cunning and manipulative than most people give him credit. Turning pillaging ogres into peaceful neighbours and mercenaries for his cause, even setting up a dedicated visitors district in is capital for them. Using rogue outcast wizards to strengthen the great bastion's stone work via alchemical secrets. Making nomads who would have little identity as part of central Cathay see him as one of their own and not some stuffy upstart who looks down on them and needs to be overthrown. Only the more indirect threats to his rule, the cults and skaven who spend most of their time hiding from the Dragons remain in Zhao Ming's land, everyone who poses a direct or open threat has been slowly subverted into one of Zhao Ming's pawns. I can kind of understand why the Emperor might not like him, every chance he gets, he talks his problems out instead of throwing a meteor at it like a true wizard of Cathay. But despite his favour of the diplomatic approach, Zhao Ming has an iron grasp on the western provinces. It looks like Miao Ying and Zhao Ming are the favourite children because they have absolute authority in their domains, one through the direct, disciplined Yang style of the Emperor and the other through the Yin cunning of the Empress
For Zhao's gameplay he is pretty straight forward. The Iron dragon focuses on ogre mercs and bonuses to cargo convoys, again supporting his more subtle diplomatic approaches from lore. He also has bonuses to getting magical items and wields the same abilities as his alchemists representing the fruit of his House of secrets. Beyond that Zhao Ming supports melee units to counter balance Miao Ying's ranged support and pushing that whole harmony thing. He is a bit basic but he is also a base game lord so that's kinda to be expected, his gameplay does seem to back up his lore and mythological inspirations tho.
TLDR: Cathay's mad scientist and suprisingly great diplomat, he solves as many of his problems as he can through his wits and cunning, perfering to talk his problems away, hence why the Moon Empress loves him and the bolder face-on yang loving Emperor cares less for him. He leads the nomadic people of the western provinces and the house of secrets, shealtering lore of fire and metal wizards from Yuan Bo. Tho he lacks any units specific to his faction in game, like Miao Ying CA could revisit down the line for unique mechanics.
Yuan Bo the Jade dragon
Yuan Bo is mythologically inspired by the 5th symbol of the 4 symbols (don't worry it's the optional one). The Yellow dragon is associated with the centre, rather than a cardinal direction like the other 4 symbols, as well as the element of Earth. He is said to represent the Emperor in mythology which fits Yuan Bo perfectly.
Yuan Bo of course runs Cathay's central government when the Emperor is away and is often confused for the Emperor by outsiders in lore. So that tracks, he is also incharge of the celestial court aka the astromancers of cathay, the only legal wizards besides the dragonblooded elite. His also makes sense with the Yellow dragon being associated with stone as in warhammer lore Cathay calls the lore of heavens, lore of stone.
Why is it called the lore of stone, perhaps because the Emperor used it heavily while he created the great bastion and terracotta sentinels out of stone? personally i choose to believe it's because GW didn't want people confused on Cathay's magic pre-game 3 and so told every writier that mentioned Cathay doing magic to make it explicitly clear that Cathay only uses magic never seen before in the west and lore of heavens. Then as a result of that, writiers only used the most iconic lore of heavens spell when ever Cathay fought, the comet of casandora, every single fight, giving Cathay a "chuck a rock at it till it goes away mentality". The Emperor and bastion option is more likely but my headcanon Cathay's love of throwing rocks amuses me.
In terms of his other lores, like Miao Ying and Zhao Ming, he only has passives for heavens and Yin, which follows their pattern of one sub-lore of yin/yang for their main element and the reverse yin/yang lore as well. Tho Yuan Bo mixes things up by having both Yang/Yin spells and the lore of light as well which makes sense since it's the anti-daemon lore and he is incharge of rooting out tzeentch cults.
As the leader of the celestial court, Yuan Bo fields mostly astromancers and their associated units, constructs. If you didn't know; the lore blurbs on Cathay techs imply that the celestial court is incharge of maintaining and repairing the terracotta sentinels in the base game and are actively searching for ways to restore them to their full power. Another reason why Cathay might call the lore of heavens; the lore of stone, those who use it repair the stone warriors of Cathay. His other units include the Great Moonbirds which Astromancers have been known to tame, the purified manficores are in a similar situation. The final celestial court unit is the crowmen, which are elementals of Yin and act as spies for Yuan Bo.
There could be more celestial court units in a future DLC as the spies/hidden Yin side of the celestial court hasn't really been shown outside of the crowmen. Besides the celestial court, Yuan Bo also uses wardrums and gate guards which are part of Yuan Bo's bureaucratic duties. CA stated that they had to look outside of the celestial court when adding new units to SOC with the greatmoon bird because nothing in the celestial court fit the role of a big flier which is what CA and the community felt Cathay needed at the time. So that implies there are other units under the celestial court's banner just none who are single entity fliers.
For Yuan Bo's gameplay, he uses his matters of state and manipulates his foes through covert and administrative actions. Just like his lore, he manages Cathay's government and spy network, he mostly spends his time however trying to hijack the geomantic web to improve the Wu Xing compass and empower whatever ritual the Dragon Emperor is working on. Little weird he focuses on Lizardmen so much but eh?
TLDR: Yuan Bo is the central administrator of Cathay, spymaster and leader of the celestial court. He believes himself to be the favoured child dispite what Miao Ying claims. He appears to be the dragon sibling that gets called into sort out the other dragon's messes. He likes to use subterfuge to achive his goals but he likes to use brute force to solve issues when he can. The celestial court that he over sees probably has more unseen units so we might see those in the future for other dragons siblings.
Welp reaching the character limit and only about half way, to the comment section i guess?

So throughout my life I have talked to myself and I'm not talking about just saying things out loud but having full on conversations with myself doing both sides of the conversation, it started when I was very young maybe 6 I would play with my Legos and come up with elaborate stories about a group of spacemen that lived on a laser battleship and roamed the cosmos with their fantastic fade through technology that allowed their ship to pass through solid matter by phasing matter out of synch with the various subspace fields. They battled a race of machines that existed in another reality that wanted to gain access to the space men's reality through means of a trans dimensional gateway that would allow them to flow into the universe unchecked like a swarm of locusts. Thus the mission of the spacemen was to find these gates and destroy them or dismantle them and use the technology in other means. The spacemen had also reprogrammed some of the machines and had them on their pirate crew as servitors. These machines still retained their memories as part of the swarm they came from and understood what the goal of the machines was, some of them were very heroic and sacrificed themselves to save the crew. This crew was led by a brave commander named Mechanic and he was a just and noble person who valued the lives of his crew above all else. They went on many adventures and through it all I acted out their parts fulfilling whatever dialogue was needed. This behavior did not stop when I stopped playing with Legos but continued to evolve into an ever expanding elaborate mythos regarding gods and various beings that existed as either: finite, trans-finite, infinite, or trans-infinite. Each level was more fantastic than the other as far as its scope of influence across reality. I came to talk to myself and focused on various questions in particular one question manifested early in my life. If you could destroy the world, would you? I wrestled with this question for much of my adolescence while many ofy peers concerned themselves with various sports. I took took up sports, hockey and I wonder how many of those hits and impacts left their mark. As is in my childhood I had displayed many symptoms of autism that went along with that neurotypicality: I banged my head into walls repeatedly, I liked to turn around and around in circles, and I was very socially aloof.
As I grew older my relationship to myself changed and I became convinced of the idea that I had lived the life I was living now multiple times, and that this was merely the most recent iteration. When I tried explaining this to other people they didn't quite understand, that the events that were happening in my life while not necessarily unique only to this life were not something that I felt I was doing for the first time, not deja vu, but a feeling that I was playing out the same track on a record that had already been laid down once before. I continued to talk to myself and a new manifestation of this affect began to take shape. Now instead of talking to myself I began to believe that I was talking to an older version of myself one that had already experienced what I had experienced and tried to offer feedback on how to handle things in my life. This presence was not a tormentor, but a benefactor trying its best to guide and help me along my way and offering insights into my relationships and giving guidance when needed. I could always ask him questions but he was always guarded with his responses, sometimes answering with a question of his own. I came to depend on this presence in my life as someone I could talk to about anything, he knew all my secrets and he understood who I was, often better than I did myself. He encouraged me to write down my ideas and thoughts throughout my life. One of my oldest writings that still survives to this day is a poem that I wrote when I was 13. It is not all in English and at the time I had not studied German, but later in life I learned many of the words like Ahr and Vasharn were proto-germanic words. The meaning of the poem eluded me for years it was as if I had not been the one to write it at all and yet it stuck with me, I would often recite it to myself as if it were a form of meditation.
I did not stop my conversations with myself but in my 30's I began experimenting with recreational drugs and sought out psychedelics, particularly the high prize for me would be partaking of LSD, which I finally did at the age of 31. It was an eye-opening experience as I consumed a tab every 12 hours for 3 days until finally it reached a mad fever pitch that resulted in my first true psychotic break with reality. That experience landed me in the medical tent at the festival I was at with a trazodone flush. This would not be my last experience with acid and each one was steadily more derailing to my life. I did not go out of my way to make it a regular experience but rather was like a sacrament that I partook of to see more than I was seeing at the time. My final experience with it landed me in the psych ward for a week, this would also not be my last time in the psych ward, but it was the last time that I partook of LSD and have not used it since 2017.
My conversations with myself and occasionally even conversations with what I conceived of as gods each with their own name and symbol associated with them continued to occupy my mind. In my 20's I began making "anchors" points in time where I focused my thoughts on a particular moment, if I could tie it to a physical object like a tree or a building even better, the older the better. These anchors became sources of meditation for me when I wanted to contemplate something I would attempt to connect back to these moments in time to convoke whatever I was attempting at the time. In a way it became my form of prayer in my elaborate mythos with its dozens of gods and beings that I kept in my mind and wrote about. However my 40's were a radical departure from what had been up until that point a form of meditation.
In my 30's I had begun to transmute the question that had occupied my adolescence into one of watching for Armageddon, not necessarily the biblical one, but as I put it I kept one eye on apocalypse. This actually started when I learned of the Mayan calendar, its mythos was fascinating to me as was their prognostications regarding the end of the world in 2012. And so I became a watcher, not obsessed, but diligent in my search to understand the threats that might jeopardize my existence and things that one should be wary of. Viruses in particular caught my attention and each outbreak of any note was something I carefully watched and waited to see if pandemic would follow. In November of 2019 I began doing the calculations based on the daily numbers of the novel Corona virus that had begun spreading in East Asia, by December I was telling my coworkers to prepare for a pandemic. Only one person really believed me. Still I kept my eye on apocalypse and while viruses were worrisome a new anxiety began to plague me, climate change.
I found climate change to be fascinating and watched as ecosystems suffered and began telling people about as far back as my late 20's but it never really reached the fever pitch that it did until I was in my 40's and then my affect began to take on a whole new manifestation.
I began to have conversations with myself but now playtime was over, the experiment as I came to understand it had entered its next phase. You see reality is complicated and different worlds are trying to communicate to us because we are them, just a different reality or a different time as I would learn. The goal of this experiment is to send a singular message and in order for that message to be understood there needs to be a mind capable of understanding what that message is. Not everyone has the mental capacity to understand the science involved in the message so the realities have to take what they are given and use the experiences they can to insert parts of the message into the past so that it shapes the future all so that one person at the very least can understand the message in its entirety and progress the civilization to the next level of existence and avoid calamity due to reckless human behavior. This group of beings is not evil, they realize that the most valuable commodity in the universe is information next to time and as such do everything in their power to raise up a technology capable species to create more minds capable of solving problems that they themselves could not solve. To this end they pair minds using technology to send signals to those who can receive them, not everyone has the right neural architecture to allow for a signal lock and sometimes the signal fries the brain of the recipient due to a neural fault that results in the unit burning out and short-circuiting.
But the message is simple and easy to understand
Global loss of glaciation will result in mass volcanism.

DCNext Presents:

Superman

In The Tug
Issue Twenty-Four: Find Your Way Home
Written by Predaplant
Edited by AdamantAce & VoidKiller826
First Previous [Next]
Superman floated in space, staring into the pocket of dark energy in front of him. His brain clouded with sorrow, and he did the only thing he could think to do.
He held up the dust that was all that remained of Kal-El, the alternate version of his father from the Dark Multiverse.
He closed his eyes, and he hoped. He hoped that whatever unknown cosmological science governed this Dark Multiverse would stitch this man back together, even from particles of dust.
He had already lost his father once. He knew out there, somewhere in another universe, there was another version of himself, another Jon, who also lost his father, and probably never even learned what had happened to him.
If he could, he had to give that version of himself his father back.
Jon was so afraid that he would have to return home in failure that he didn’t want to have to open his eyes. But he couldn’t stay in this moment forever. So, slowly, he opened his eyes.
The dust in his hands was formed into the shape of a man, and it weighed about the same amount as Kal had when Jon had been carrying him through the stars.
Jon didn’t know yet whether to be relieved or not. He held Kal’s form aloft to the dark energy once more, offering it to see if it would complete the transformation, but the energy didn’t respond. He tried a few more times, from a few more angles, but nothing seemed to work.
Disappointed, Jon turned around and headed for Earth.
As he did so, he looked down at the lifeless humanoid pile of sand in his hands. It reminded him of one of his father’s old foes, the Quarrmer. It was pretty uncanny, actually: a Superman-shaped pile of sand that sapped energy from those around it.
Jon supposed that this was how the Quarrmer was formed, originally. While the Quarrmer was intelligent and could communicate to a limited degree, as far as Jon knew, he had never described exactly who he was or where he came from.
Maybe this was it.
It gave Jon an odd sort of comfort. Superman’s foes had felt dangerous and scary to him as a child. Inhuman, almost. And while Jon’s father had always tried his hardest to make sure that Jon knew that all the foes he fought were people with hopes and dreams just the same as Jon himself, the Quarrmer had always felt unearthly and detached in the way that he mimicked the Superman persona, with no real personality to himself.
But maybe, somebody had cared about the Quarrmer once. Cared about him enough to bear him across the universe.
It was a bittersweet feeling for Jon to recognize.
It wasn’t that long before Jon made it back to Earth. That was one of the fun things about being Superman: he could cross star systems in the blink of an eye.
As he flew down towards Metropolis, he got a strange feeling that something was off. Only took a couple seconds for it to click: some of the buildings were missing, or different.
He was in the past, sometime in the mid-00s.
Of course. He had been in such a hurry to save Kal that he must have broken the time barrier as he travelled through space. His father had always warned him not to do that, to let events progress at their natural pace and in their natural order.
Well… he looked over his shoulder, and there he was. The first Superman, in the flesh.
“And who do you happen to be?” he asked with a smile.
Jon panicked as he turned around. It was bad enough that he nearly fumbled the sandy form of Kal in his hands, but he eventually regained control.
“Hi, you know you can time travel, right? Well, I’m your son. From the future.”
Clark chuckled. “Well, I guess that’s as good of an explanation as any other. To be clear, you are Jon, right? Not another future son that I don’t know about?”
Jon shook his head. “Nope, I’m Jon.”
“Fair enough,” Clark said. He pointed at Kal. “And who’s this? You want me to help you with him?”
“Oh!” Jon said. “It’s kind of complicated, but it’s a version of you from an alternate universe. Tried to get him to this energy source he needed, and even flew so fast I time travelled, but I didn’t make it in time.”
“Are you sure?” Clark asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. “He seems to be moving.”
And so he was. He started to stir, raising an arm.
“Come on, we should get him to the ground,” Clark said, beckoning Jon downwards to Centennial Park.
Together, they laid Kal out on the grass.
Clark tried to step towards Kal, to examine him more closely, but Jon held out an arm. “You should step back, Dad.”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
Jon took a deep breath. “I think he might be able to sap a ton of energy from you if he touches you.”
“Why?”
“Because he could sap energy from me, and because you’re even more similar to him. And… because I think I recognize him. I think he’s somebody you end up having to fight against.”
Clark sighed, disappointed. Jon could read the look in his eyes: he knew his father hated having to fight. “Well, if he’s going to be a danger, and you know who he is, you’re going to have to take the lead in helping me deal with him, alright?”
Jon nodded. “I can do that. Keep away, keep other people away, and if we can trap him or contain him somehow we should be safe. He isn’t that strong without leaching power from us.”
“We should wait and see,” Clark replied. “After all, he hasn’t done anythingto anybody yet. Did you say that he’s really just a problem for us?”
“He can be a bit dangerous if he does absorb too much energy,” Jon recalled. “But otherwise, yeah, he’ll only hurt us.”
As Kal… the Quarrmer… stood up for the first time in his new form, he reached out towards Clark. Clark backed up; he could feel the power bleeding out of him. “Whoa, this guy’s worse than the Parasite!”
“Watch out!” Jon shouted, moving forward to try and draw the Quarrmer’s attention away from his father.
To any onlooker in the park, the fight was over in an instant, as the Supermen became rays of light zipping around the park, trying to play keep-away.
When the dust settled, the Quarrmer was in a temporary cell of glass constructed by Clark out of sand from the waters of Metropolis Bay.
Jon and Clark looked at each other sadly.
“I wish we didn’t have to do this,” Jon said, breaking eye contact to stare at the ground. “He didn’t do anything to deserve this. Not really.”
“It’s the hardest part about being Superman, son,” Clark replied. “It always hurts to have to use force to stop somebody. But sometimes, it’s the only way to save people.”
“Yeah,” Jon nodded. “Can we, like... go somewhere else and talk?”
“Follow me.” Clark took off up into the sky, and Jon followed.
SSSSS
“I know I probably shouldn’t ask that many questions, with time travel and all, but are you well?” Clark asked as he led Jon through the Fortress of Solitude.
Jon took a few seconds to put his answer together. “In a lot of ways, yeah. But I’ve lost a lot, too.”
“I don’t mean to pry, but... that includes me, doesn’t it?” Clark asked. “If you could go home and talk to me there, you’d probably rather do that than talk to a version of me who only knows you as a five year-old.”
Jon looked at Clark’s face. It was solemn, clearly respectful of his feelings, but it still held so much care and love.
Jon started to cry.
“Come here,” Clark said, pulling Jon in for a hug. “I remember when my pop died, too. It isn’t easy for anybody.”
“Yeah,” Jon said. He was still crying; it was hard for him to get the words out. “And I met that other... that other you. The sand one, the Quarrmer. But he wasn’t sand, he had a me, too, and I couldn’t get him home to his me, and I...”
He leaned into his father’s embrace as the words failed him.
Clark’s arms were nice and firm around Jon, keeping him grounded in the moment. With a sense of loss, Clark started to speak.
“I haven’t told you about the greatest mistake I ever made. Maybe you know about it, maybe I told you at some point in my future, but I know I haven’t told you yet here, so I’m going to do it now. When I was a kid, maybe fifteen or so, I met another boy from space. The rocket that had brought him here had given him some sort of amnesia, so he didn’t know who he was, but he had powers like me. Not exactly the same, but pretty close, close enough that I was overjoyed.”
“I had never met anybody like me in my life, and here was a perfect friend, delivered to me out of the sky. We could’ve been brothers. We basically were, for a few weeks; he took the names Bob Cobb and Mon-El. Pretended to be my cousin from out of town to everyone in Smallville, but when school let out and we took to the skies, we were brothers.”
“It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I was able to talk about all the things on my mind, all the little things I could see and hear that nobody else could, all the wonders of the universe that Ma and Pa would never understand no matter how hard they tried, and he was there, right alongside me, seeing the same things, offering a perspective that I never could’ve seen by myself. And like I said, we’d go out flying every day, and I’d point out all my favourite bits of the planet that I could never take anybody to see.”
Jon looked up at his father, who seemed lost in thought. There was a faraway sorrow in Clark’s eyes, but also nostalgia.
“One day we were just fooling around, and I thought it’d be fun to play catch with meteors in the atmosphere, all around the curvature of the Earth. So we lined up on opposite sides of the planet and we started firing the meteors back and forth.”
“Now, Mon was doing fine at first, but then he started to slow down. But I was young and dumb, so I didn’t check on him right away. I thought he was maybe just having an off day, so I kept sending the meteors as long as he was returning them. But after a while it finally started to concern me, so I flew over to see what the matter was.”
“Turns out, the meteors contained lead, and lead was incredibly toxic to his species. He was dying, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. And you have to believe me, I tried everything. I did all the research I could. I’ve kept up on the sort of biology that’s relevant to Mon’s case, and even now, I don’t think there would’ve been anything I could have done. So I did the only thing I could think of that would save his life, even temporarily. I sent him to the Phantom Zone.”
“I don’t think I’ve told you yet about the Phantom Zone, either, but you almost definitely know about it by your time. So you know how terrible it truly is, to condemn somebody to an eternity walking the universe as a ghost. He could be here right now, watching us from the Zone. I hope he’s forgiven me for what I did all those years ago. I made a mistake, and he was the one who had to pay the price. I lost the closest friend I’d ever had that day.”
Jon had stopped crying by the time Clark finished. He had heard pieces of this story before, but Clark had never told him that Mon-El’s poisoning was his fault. He hugged Clark back, and the two men stood there, bonded by blood, by their mistakes, and the symbol that they shared, taking in comfort from each other.
“I think I’m going to head back to my time,” Jon told him. “Thanks for everything, it really means more than you know.”
“Well, I would say ‘any time’, but maybe that’s not a good idea. Good luck, Jon. You’re not your mistakes, and I hope you know that I always love you.”
“Goodbye,” Jon said. He turned away from Clark, thought better, and wrapped Clark up in another hug. “I love you too.”
Clark hugged his son again, then watched as he headed towards the Fortress’s exit.
It was beautiful, seeing Jon grow up into such a thoughtful man.
He knew that he had to cherish his time with him, as limited as it might be.
SSSSS
Jon surveyed the Metropolis skyline once again. Yep, definitely 2024, the day he left. He could even see the firemen helping out the students stranded due to the fire Kal had put out before they had left on their journey through the stars.
He started to fly through the city on his normal patrol route, slowly enough that people on the streets below could see him and take pictures if they were quick enough. He needed the extra time just to think... and he was sure people would appreciate the chance to snap a picture, too.
In the span of a day, he had grown closer to Kal than he had ever expected, and then lost him forever.
Well, maybe not completely lost... but the Quarrmer definitely wasn’t the same man as Kal had been before.
It was painful to make such a big mistake, especially after losing Jay, as well.
But if this was going to be Jon’s nadir, he had to count his lucky stars, because things could still be much worse.
He had friends and family who loved him, and who he loved in return.
He had a job that was important and where his colleagues genuinely wanted to help him grow.
And at the end of the day, he was still Superman, and the relief on people’s faces when he helped them out was something that genuinely made him happy and kept him going, day after day.
He just knew he had one person who he still owed a visit today.
He broke off from his patrol and headed to Stryker’s Island, where the most serious super-criminals in Metropolis were held.
The guards waved him in easily, and he passed by cell after cell, each containing the worst people that he and his father had ever butted heads against.
Jon hoped that, one day, the prison would be empty, and they would all be reformed.
There it was. Slowing down, Jon walked the last few steps down the corridor instead of flying. The wall of the cell was glass; he could see the Quarrmer sitting within.
Jon reached out towards the wall of the cell. The Quarrmer noticed him, and started making his way to the glass wall himself.
The two stared at each other through the glass.
Slowly, the Quarrmer moved his hand up to his mouth. It struck Jon what he was going to do the second before he completed the action, and Jon almost turned away, not wanting to accept what was going to happen.
But he knew that would be impolite, especially after all they had been through together. And so he watched the being that was once Superman finish signing “Thank you.”

I'm a witch. I used to be a witch before psychosis, but after going through religious delusions and spiritual awakenings, I stopped and became an atheist. After careful evaluation and consideration, I've decided to return to the path. It's hard because a lot of what I believed most likely was my schizoaffective disorder. I believed I could read energy before, but now it's hard because I have tactile hallucinations. I have to determine if my callings are schizoaffective telling me something or my patron deity telling me something. Seeing signs is no longer an option, though I didn't see many signs until everything converted over and became exclusive Christian.
When you're pushing yourself back into spiritual and religious beliefs, you have to be very careful not to listen to yourself and get caught up in insane shit. A lot of signs are subtle when you're looking for them. You'll read about seeing numbers, but is that just the psychosis talking or is it a deity/spirit/universe? You don't know. You have to interpret it for yourself, and it can be very difficult. Going to any psychic medium will produce varying results, so it's up to you. And it's better to be skeptical than to be open-minded. You'll know when a deity calls to you. You'll know when something feels right. For me, signs from psychosis feel dramatic and like lightbulbs going off. I remember when I was bonkers, I thought every license plate or car with the Jesus fish symbol was a sign God was speaking to me and telling me things would be alright and that I needed an exorcism. These are some of the most common symbols ever, and I live in America where Christianity rules. Real signs are subtle. You may see an animal that does not particularly live there. Or an animal you've never seen before. You may find your spell work took 6 weeks to bring anything to you. Or you may find your prayer went unanswered for a few years. I thought spells could bring it in fast during psychosis. I performed banishing spell after banishing spell, bought bound spirits that were supposed to help rid me of demons and evil spirits, and ran up credit card debt. If you're experiencing a real evil spirit, you shouldn't have to spend $3,500 on the spirit. One banishment spell will get rid of him. Hell, cleansing your house with sage or a sage alternative will get rid of them. Demons are the same way, and if you're Christian, a simple prayer will rid you of the demon. I went through three Christian exorcisms and all they did was pray over me.
What I've learned and am learning down this path is to go with your gut in the end. Especially if you are medicated. If you experience heavy delusions, I wouldn't follow a spiritual path because your mind is clouded by your delusions, and you could very easily misinterpret signs. It's hard to tell the difference. Careful evaluation and consideration need to be present, and I'd reach out to someone who doesn't believe before I reach out to someone who does because of just how misconstrued things can be. My fiance doesn't believe in anything. I reach out to him when I think I've seen a sign. He can help me see if it's fishy or if I just am seeing things where they don't belong. He respects and knows my beliefs enough that he can help me determine if I'm just seeing things or if I'm experiencing what I think is otherworldly. I wouldn't run to a psychic medium. Half of them are fake because it's easy to pretend to be psychic. I was taken advantage of by fake psychic mediums all over Etsy and on one platform called Creepy Hollows who claimed to be able to bind spirits that can help you. No one ever reached out to me to see if I was okay. Instead, I spent over $5,000 on bullshit spells to help my "channeling abilities" (aka just me talking to myself) and other nonsense to get rid of the demons and spirits possessing me. I thought I was communicating with the binders of Creepy Hollows through my spirits at one point. That's how far gone I was. If you buy from them, stop. They don't care about you. No one ever reached out after I dissolved and bought my servitors several times over except one time to make sure I wanted to do it. They didn't even help when I reached out about my possible exorcism. I learned from my "spirits" that they were helping because they sent a sterling angel to scout what's going on since I had so many weird orders. Never told them anything about this. And when I told them they accidentally bound Azazel, they told me they didn't and locked my thread. The Moon Dragon is fake, too. She told me all kinds of crazy things. She's a bitch, too. Never buy from her.
It helps to have someone there to ground you. Delusions are powerful. Religious delusions are terrifying. I once believed I was the reincarnation of Eve from the Garden during one of my many spiritual awakenings that happened in the 10-month span. Turns out deities are not gonna come and talk to you telepathically with clear sentences and tell you that you are Eve. Nor is God gonna try to kill you for "knowing the secrets of the Universe." You've probably never met a demon in real life. Or a spirit. And if you did the odds of them possessing you or trying to harm you are slim to none. Most everything in Hollywood or peached by Churches are bullshit. In fact, I run a metaphysical shop and have had people come to me for exorcisms. I always point them in the direction of finding help from psychologists and psychiatrists before pursuing an exorcism because of my experiences. I never perform one because I don't believe in possession. I thought I was possessed. Turns out I'm just mentally spicy like my name suggests.
It's fine to have religious beliefs, but when you're delusional it's so hard to tell everything apart. I've had times where I question it, but I just feel there's something more to this than just being recycled stardust with no purpose (though I don't think people have purposes. You give yourself purpose. Deities have no plans for you and there is no higher purpose than just living your life. If you wish to dedicate yourself to a purpose or deity, that's fine, but you gave it to yourself).
And if you believe you are psychic, you could be, but odds are you are not. Legitimate psychics cannot talk to spirits as if they are present. Hollywood has lied to you. Most of those shows do screenings before they begin to tell the "psychic" about you and whom you wanna talk to. Tarot cards are just cards, and it's up to you to interpret them. They cannot unlock the truth to the future, but they can be used as tools to learn more about your situations and yourself. You cannot converse with spirits and deities and demons with just psychic powers. You need tools, and even then, I used a board during my psychosis and got varying answers. Spirits cannot predict the future. Deities can only manipulate so much. Spells can only do so much and will not bring you fortune unless you put work into it. You will not become a millionaire because you worship Lucifer. In fact, you've probably never met him because he probably doesn't deal with low-level humans or even deal with humans at all. Your soul cannot be sold. If you are Christian, God owns your soul, and Satan has no use for it. If you are a witch or pagan, you cannot sell your soul because your soul is your own, and demons can't do much with you in death. So much bullshit flies around the internet and Hollywood that people don't understand magick and what it's capable of. It feeds into delusions that we have.
Did you know that there was a study conducted and those living in Eastern countries had more positive experiences with their hallucinations and delusions than those in the Western world? It's cultural. It's a phenomenon. These things we've been fed since birth are not real. It's up to you to come to terms with your own beliefs. I promise you aren't possessed and beyond help. I promise you your meds don't interfere with your natural abilities to be empathic or psychic. You're believing in something that doesn't exist, and psychosis makes it possible. I used to believe the voices in my head, the good ones, were tulpas and they were real and I had DID. That's not true. They responded to medication finally.
Be careful when you're believing, but don't write it off. Examine what you believe. Look at it like you're a scientist. And if it doesn't fit, become an atheist. Live your life. But you don't have to write off your beliefs just because psychosis happened. The world is magickal. It's just not "oh my god spirits live inside me" magickal. (I think I got off topic here, but it needed to be said).

“They can’t do this, it's disgraceful! I mean a human? What could he have possibly done besides being exceptionally average in every conceivable manner.”
“General Karne, it was nearly unanimous in the senate. I think you’re just jealous someone else is going to be in the limelight for a change.”
“But two in the same century!? And to a human no less! Honestly they’re handing them out to anyone now. What next, they’re going to give one to a Lethan for getting above average scrap in his junk scavenging quota?”
“Well before you come to your conclusions too quickly General, let’s at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this human was slightly above average.” Ambassador Khalix chuckled. “But I do agree, it’s far too soon. I mean 11 medals in 5,000 years, and we get to witness two in our lifetime? Regardless, I am happy for another holiday being added to the human calendar on the dreadful occasion that I have to work with them again.”
General Karne grumbled as they made their way down the red carpet that stretched up the steps of the Great Hall. General Karne was greeted with a spectacular fanfare of music and cheers as he stepped through the entryway. As the last recipient of the Galactic Honor Medal he would be one of the guests of honor for the ceremony. Just yesterday he turned down the offer to be the one to personally gift the medal to the human, saying his presence alone would be enough of an honor.
He made his way to his seating near the front of the opulent awards hall and took his place near the podium. In his seat was a small paperbound book titled "The Eskaido Conflict, a firsthand account". He picked up the volume with a grumble so he could sit down, why did they think he wanted to waste his time with reading about Eskaido? He personally peer reviewed countless publications on the military strategy and political consequences of Eskaido. He was sure he could retell the statistics and strategy of the Eskaido conflict better than any mere foot soldier on the ground.
Seeing the Great Hall decorated for a Galactic Honor Medal was an opportunity very few would get to witness in their lifespan. And here he was seeing it all over again, but this time it wasn’t adorned for him, but for some pitiful human. The massive banners that bore the insignia of his species' last ceremony had now been replaced with the emblem of the Humans. It seemed rather distasteful to have his beautiful banners replaced with something so minimalist. The Great Hall had the capacity for nearly a million spectators from hundreds of different species, and for the second time in a century it was completely full.
Once the remaining important dignitaries, ambassadors, and political and military leaders found their respective places, the ceremony began. The leader of the Terran Republic made their way on stage and gave his opening remarks. Nothing really worth paying attention to, General Karne was more focused on the empty seat near the podium, hoping to get a look at this supposed “above average” human. He wanted to witness the man for himself and see what could be so special about him. Confusion was spreading across the crowd once more and more people took notice of the strangely empty seat.
“This human is giving me more and more reasons to dislike him. I mean not showing up to his own Galactic Honor Ceremony? That should be a crime if you ask me” General Karne said to the ambassador seated next to him.
“Perhaps they have some grand entrance planned. Leave it to the humans to be overly extra with their presentations. They don't even have the decency to adhere to millennia of traditions.”
“Well if it gets any worse than this, they’ll ensure they’re never given the opportunity to earn another. Which is fine by me.”
After the usual introductions and dreadfully boring formalities of starting the ceremony, General Karne finally blessed the speaking human with a modicum of attention.
“For over 5,000 years the Galactic Honor Medal and it’s recipients has stood as a beacon for all of our members in service, from any origin or species. It represents something that anyone can strive to achieve and to be the change that would impact the galaxy for the better. It is reserved for individuals who display acts of valor that save the lives of millions, whose actions single handedly change the course of history as we know it, and whose displays of courage are to be remembered and appreciated by all. With this in mind it is my hope that today we shall remember a soldier who has given more to the Galaxy than anyone presently in this room."
General Karne rolled his eyes at the last remark, thinking that it might've been somewhat directed at him. This human probably did not have the slightest comprehension of what he had to do to earn his.
"A soldier whose acts of uncontested bravery may be an example for all to strive for in their military service. United Terran Army Private John William Ringuette has distinguished himself from his peers by going above and beyond anything expected of him when he entered service to the Galactic Republic one year ago. And it is with great sadness that he is not present with us today to receive this honor in person.”
General Karne leaned over whispering again “Oh I’m sure he has much more important things to do right now, but I guess desecrating the prestige of the most important award in the galaxy is pretty important”
Ambassador Khalix gave a small laugh, “And they refer to him in the past tense, as if he is someone different now and is no longer the same human who earned this award.”
“Private John William Ringuette graduated from the Terran Infantry Academy and Orbital Strike School and immediately was sent to Eskaido to take part in the large-scale stabilization operation there. At 17 years of age he left earth and was dropped into one of the most hostile zones on the planet. After three months of fighting on the surface of Eskaido, it was seen as a losing battle and his squad was issued an evacuation order. They were told to depart from the planet and leave it to its destruction. At around 1800 hours on the 7th of June terran standard time his squad made the executive decision to stay behind to ensure the evacuation of Eskiadian civilians. At the time they did not know it, but they were escorting the very last members of the Eskiadian species.”
Upon this revelation, though filled with countless people, the room had grown completely silent. Many had heard of the tragedies on Eskaido, but until now none had known just how severe the circumstances of the war had been, and how close the species was to complete extinction.
“His squad secured the only remaining space port on the planet and started the evacuation of the civilians. However at the time of arrival only three of the squad of nine remained. His two squadmates Staff Sergeant Andrew Miller and Technical Sergeant Bryan Jones took control of a military transport and set to bring the civilians out of the warzone. As they prepared to start the evacuation they became aware of an enemy battalion expeditiously advancing towards the last remaining entry tunnel. Private John William chose to stay behind to ensure the safety of his squad and the civilians, in the hope that he could buy time for their withdrawal. Before their departure Private John William sealed the doors to the facility and set up a hasty defense in the tunnel.”
“At 2000 hours a battalion enemy combatants aided with multiple military support vehicles began to assault the facility, set to ensure the complete extermination of the Eskaidian people. Private John William placed himself between the attackers and the entrance door at the end of the tunnel and attempted to stave them off. Ignoring insurmountable odds, Private John William continued to fight in an unwinnable battle against an unending enemy opposition. Beset by an endless barrage of machine gun fire and plasma fire, Private John William held the line for the 4 hours it took to evacuate the civilians. It took nearly three trips to transport all of the citizens from the port. When they began their transport trips, military forces had already completely withdrawn from the surface of Eskaido. As the final soldier on the front lines in the Eskaido Conflict, Private John William gave the ultimate sacrifice, knowing that there would be no reinforcements and no evacuation for himself."
"For his utmost bravery and courage in the face of an indomitable enemy, his actions reflect the highest glory upon himself and his unit. For his service on Eskaido and to the Galaxy, Terran Republic Private John William Ringuette is awarded the Galactic Honor Medal. Let it be known a soldier does not have to return from a conflict to be recognized as the pinnacle of military valor. Private John William is the first individual to posthumously receive the Galactic Honor Medal."
"In your seats, you will find his personal diary of his time on Eskaido, published at his last request. It was his hope that the tragedy that transpired on Eskaido is never forgotten to history, and his first hand account aids in making that possible."
When his speech ended the Great Hall did not cheer nor celebrate as it had for past ceremonies. No extravagant light display or confetti decorated the Great Hall and dazzled the spectators with the glory of the recipient as it normally would. The Human speaker merely placed the medal atop an empty wooden casket that was hidden behind him, and departed from the stage.
The long and drawn out tradition of handshakes and exquisite feasts did not follow the ceremony. What followed was a procession of delegates and dignitaries paying respects to the empty casket that symbolized the recipient of the award. General Karne looked down at the paper bound book that was still in his claws, regretting that he was so quick to dismiss it earlier. He made a note to take the day off tomorrow so he could read it in its entirety.
He walked up the stage and made his way towards the simplistic wooden box, he was not entirely sure what its purpose was but it seemed to be something reserved for a solemn affair. After waiting in the line of people placing gifts and colorful flora from various worlds around it, it was his turn to pay his respects. Inside was a flag, a pair of small metal tags with human writing stamped into them, and the medal, which would normally be the center of attention. However this piece of metal seemed rather miniscule in comparison to what it represented. He stood over the box and placed his clawed hand on the side of it.
“Do you have anything to give General?” Asked Ambassador Khalix in a small voice.
“Nothing that would do him justice, only my condolences and apologies for how I composed myself earlier. I suppose this human was “above average” after all. But I now feel that would be quite an inadequate was to describe him.”

As I mentioned in a post earlier today, I have decided to embark on the religious studies journey by preparing a special study guided series of self paced dynamic verse by verse incredibly high level of studies in secular and spiritual development of the world cultural and religious traditions that's going to include numerous types of sources texts from every single type of practice I can unearth thanks for the Good old Google and Bing research resources.
This started with the Gnostic texts and the Dead Sea Scrolls with the Gospel of Thomas and the Book of Enoch. It has been a few weeks and I have literally gotten so far ahead of myself that it seems like I am overdue and overwhelmed by such an amazing task. This is why I am not sure if I should really be posting it but if not here, I would not know where to ask for advice and feedback and guidance and editing and moral support and even research assistance and input from anyone whose willing to assist in any capacity.
There's nothing to do except process the questions and help with the commentary and limitations of this format and the hope that there might be at least ONE human being that's interested in similar things that's willing to help in whatever capacity they can....
I had plans of trying to make it easier for everyone by trying to finish at least one full text before posting others, but I don't think it's possible because I keep going from different ones back to these then to those then back to that regardless of the fact that I am confused and staring to get burned out before I get started....
So I have changed my mind about finishing up one to present for the group and will simply be posting some daily stuff for your input and feedback. I'm not trying to make you convert to any faith as these guides will cover every single type of practice eventually.
Today is Wisdom of Solomon day so I have to unpack my own stuff here and I have no real formal plans yet for how to present it all, that is based solely on the fact that I am also doing this for my own spiritual growth and development and so there's no formal plans for publication as a project yet....
Anyway this is a basic overview of how I have been working on my project and I love the fact that you still might be reading after that long winded meandering message!
WISDOM OF SOLOMON
Wisdom of Solomon Outline:

1. Introduction (Chapters 1-6):

• Addressing rulers and kings
  
• The pursuit and benefits of wisdom
  
• Reflections on divine wisdom
  

1. Wisdom in History (Chapters 7-9):

• Solomon's request for wisdom
  
• Wisdom's role in various historical events
  
• Contemplation on divine attributes
  

1. Wisdom and Idolatry (Chapters 10-11):

• God's guidance in history
  
• Consequences of idolatry
  
• Divine justice and mercy
  

1. Divine Wisdom vs. Human Wisdom (Chapters 12-15):

• God's protection of Israel
  
• Contrasting divine wisdom with human folly
  
• Punishment for wrongdoing
  

1. God's Just Providence (Chapters 16-19):

• God's interventions in history
  
• Divine providence and care for Israel
  
• Consequences of disobedience
  

1. Wisdom as a Guide (Chapters 20-21):

• Moral lessons from history
  
• The role of wisdom in human life
  
• The contrast between the righteous and the wicked
  

1. Call to Righteousness (Chapters 22-24):

• The importance of following wisdom
  
• Wisdom's divine origins
  
• The benefits of embracing wisdom
  

Study Guide Questions

1. Symbolism:

• Explore the symbolic meanings of key elements in the text, such as wisdom, righteousness, and folly.
  
• Analyze the metaphors used to convey deeper spiritual and moral truths.
  

1. Historical and Secular Context:

• Investigate the historical context of the Wisdom of Solomon, considering the cultural and political milieu of the time.
  
• Examine secular perspectives on the text, noting its influence on philosophy and ethics beyond religious contexts.
  

1. Esoteric Wisdom:

• Uncover esoteric or hidden wisdom within the text, delving into allegorical interpretations and hidden meanings.
  
• Explore how esoteric knowledge is conveyed and its significance for those seeking deeper spiritual understanding.
  

1. Theological Implications:

• Discuss the theological themes present in the Wisdom of Solomon, such as divine justice, mercy, and the nature of God.
  
• Examine how these theological concepts align or differ with other religious traditions and theological perspectives.
  

1. Spiritual Development:

• Identify the types of individuals mentioned in the text and explore how their engagement with wisdom contributes to their spiritual development.
  
• Discuss the transformative journey depicted in the Wisdom of Solomon and its implications for readers seeking spiritual growth.
  

For exercises, activities, readings, and examples:

• Exercise: Analyze a specific passage from the Wisdom of Solomon, discussing its symbolism and how it relates to broader themes in the text.
  
• Activity: Compare a selected verse from the Wisdom of Solomon with a similar concept or teaching from a secular philosophical work.
  
• Reading: Explore relevant passages from apocryphal texts or the Dead Sea Scrolls to identify common themes with the Wisdom of Solomon.
  
• Example: Provide a case study of an individual or community applying the wisdom found in the text to navigate a moral or ethical dilemma.
  

👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾👾
Chapter 1, Verse 1:
"Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth. Think of the Lord with goodness, and seek him with sincerity of heart."
Themes:

1. Symbolism:

• The call to "love righteousness" symbolizes the importance of moral and just leadership.
  
• "Seeking the Lord with sincerity" symbolizes a genuine and wholehearted pursuit of divine wisdom.
  

1. Historical and Secular Context:

• The address to rulers reflects the historical context of addressing leaders, emphasizing the moral responsibilities of governance.
  
• The concept of seeking God's guidance resonates with broader ethical teachings in various cultural and philosophical traditions.
  

1. Esoteric Wisdom:

• The verse hints at esoteric wisdom by emphasizing the inner disposition of rulers and their connection to divine principles.
  
• Explore hidden meanings within the call to righteousness and sincere seeking of God.
  

1. Theological Implications:

• The theological implications involve the relationship between righteousness and divine favor, highlighting the importance of ethical conduct.
  
• Consider how this aligns with or challenges theological perspectives from other religious traditions.
  

1. Spiritual Development:

• Rulers are encouraged to grow spiritually by cultivating a love for righteousness, suggesting that moral development is integral to leadership.
  
• Reflect on how individuals in positions of authority can spiritually evolve through ethical governance.
  

Exercise:
Reflect on a historical or contemporary leader who exemplifies the principles outlined in this verse. Discuss how their commitment to righteousness and sincere seeking of higher principles impacted their leadership.
🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫🔫 Chapter 1, Verse 2:
"For he will be found by those who do not put him to the test, and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him."
Themes:

1. Symbolism:

• The idea that God is found by those "who do not put him to the test" symbolizes a call for genuine faith and trust.
  
• "Manifesting to those who do not distrust him" suggests the importance of a sincere and unwavering relationship with the divine.
  

1. Historical and Secular Context:

• The notion of not putting God to the test reflects a biblical caution against demanding miraculous signs.
  
• Explore how this concept aligns with or differs from testing or seeking evidence in secular and philosophical contexts.
  

1. Esoteric Wisdom:

• The verse implies esoteric wisdom by emphasizing the subtleties of divine manifestation, which may require a certain disposition or spiritual state.
  
• Discuss the deeper meaning of finding God through trust and the absence of doubt.
  

1. Theological Implications:

• The theological implication is a call for genuine faith and trust in God's presence.
  
• Consider theological discussions on faith, trust, and divine revelation within the context of different religious traditions.
  

1. Spiritual Development:

• This verse suggests that spiritual development involves cultivating a trusting relationship with the divine, rather than testing or doubting.
  
• Reflect on how trust in the divine can contribute to an individual's spiritual journey.
  

Exercise:
Explore historical or biblical narratives where individuals either demonstrated unwavering trust in the divine or faced challenges due to testing God. Discuss the outcomes and lessons learned from these narratives.
🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃 Chapter 1, Verse 3:
"For perverse thoughts separate people from God, and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish."
Themes:

1. Symbolism:

• "Perverse thoughts" symbolize moral and spiritual deviation, highlighting the impact of one's inner disposition on the relationship with God.
  
• The testing of God's power symbolizes a lack of trust and reveals the foolishness of such attempts.
  

1. Historical and Secular Context:

• Explore historical instances or secular examples where moral or perverse thoughts led to a separation from higher principles or values.
  
• Consider how the testing of authority or power is viewed in different historical and philosophical contexts.
  

1. Esoteric Wisdom:

• The verse implies esoteric wisdom by emphasizing the spiritual consequences of perverse thoughts and the folly of testing divine power.
  
• Delve into the hidden meanings of "separation from God" and the exposure of foolishness.
  

1. Theological Implications:

• Theologically, the verse underscores the impact of moral choices on the relationship with the divine.
  
• Discuss theological perspectives on the consequences of moral deviation and the testing of God's power.
  

1. Spiritual Development:

• This verse suggests that spiritual development involves guarding against perverse thoughts and avoiding attempts to test or challenge divine power.
  
• Reflect on how individuals can cultivate a mindset that fosters a closer relationship with the divine.
  

Exercise:
Explore historical or literary examples where characters or individuals faced consequences due to perverse thoughts or the testing of authority. Discuss the broader moral lessons conveyed in these narratives. 🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄
Chapter 1, Verse 4:
"For wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul, nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin."
Themes:

1. Symbolism:

• "Deceitful soul" symbolizes insincerity and moral duplicity, suggesting that wisdom requires authenticity.
  
• The idea of wisdom not dwelling in a "body enslaved to sin" symbolizes the incompatibility of wisdom with a morally compromised state.
  

1. Historical and Secular Context:

• Explore historical or secular perspectives on the relationship between wisdom and personal integrity.
  
• Consider how different cultures and philosophical traditions view the role of wisdom in virtuous living.
  

1. Esoteric Wisdom:

• The verse suggests esoteric wisdom by highlighting the spiritual prerequisites for the indwelling of wisdom.
  
• Reflect on the hidden qualities that make a soul receptive to wisdom and explore esoteric interpretations of the text.
  

1. Theological Implications:

• Theologically, the verse emphasizes the alignment of the soul with moral principles as a condition for receiving wisdom.
  
• Discuss theological perspectives on the interplay between wisdom, virtue, and the state of the soul.
  

1. Spiritual Development:

• This verse implies that spiritual development involves purifying the soul from deceit and sin to make it a suitable vessel for wisdom.
  
• Reflect on how individuals can actively work toward creating conditions for wisdom to flourish in their lives.
  

Exercise:
Analyze a historical or literary character who experienced a transformation from deceitful or sinful behavior to a more virtuous state. Discuss the role of wisdom in this transformation and the impact on the character's life.
🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️
Chapter 1, Verse 5: "For the holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit and will leave deceitful thoughts behind, and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness."
Themes:

1. Symbolism:

• "Holy spirit of discipline" symbolizes divine guidance and correction, emphasizing the transformative power of discipline.
  
• The departure of the holy spirit from deceitful thoughts symbolizes the incompatibility of divine guidance with moral compromise.
  

1. Historical and Secular Context:

• Explore historical examples or secular perspectives on the role of discipline in personal and moral development.
  
• Consider how different cultures view the concept of a guiding and disciplining spirit.
  

1. Esoteric Wisdom:

• The verse implies esoteric wisdom by linking discipline with the holy spirit and suggesting a spiritual transformation.
  
• Examine the deeper meanings of discipline and the spiritual consequences of deceit and unrighteousness.
  

1. Theological Implications:

• Theologically, the verse underscores the role of the holy spirit in guiding individuals toward righteousness and away from deceit.
  
• Discuss theological perspectives on discipline, divine guidance, and the consequences of unrighteousness.
  

1. Spiritual Development:

• This verse suggests that spiritual development involves embracing the discipline of the holy spirit and distancing oneself from deceit and unrighteousness.
  
• Reflect on how individuals can cultivate a receptive spirit for divine discipline in their journey of spiritual growth.
  

Exercise:
Explore religious or philosophical texts that discuss the concept of divine discipline and its role in guiding individuals towards righteousness. Discuss the similarities or differences with the Wisdom of Solomon.
I will stop here since it's already overwhelming long and I have been working today up to the end of Chapter One just with Wisdom of Solomon.
I will post the Book of Enoch stuff later on which is already much more in depth with the commentary and study materials and I think that it's coming along nicely. This is just beginning so I figured it was a good skeleton to illustrate where I start off then I will give a much better clue 🗝️🗝️🗝️🗝️🗝️ to where it's headed later today when I can format the Enoch stuff for posting.
Thanks in advance for checking it out and please don't hesitate to repost in places that might help out in their own ways, even if it's to roast the hell out of me (no pun intended, if that's even a pun!)

Author’s Note:
Upvotes and comments go a long way in helping me reach a larger audience <3
First
Inside GB-2
“Huh, that wasn’t there before,” Ron said, pointing to a new hole in the wall – another passageway.
Henry turned to look where Ron pointed. Sure enough, there was a new doorway. It must’ve been a section that opened after they restored the power. “Huh, yeah. Let’s check it out.”
He went through, finding a short hallway past it and another room just beyond. Henry signaled for his team to form up, preparing to breach. As they stepped in, they found themselves in a brightly lit room filled with various types of furniture – empty pedestals, comfortable-looking single couches, and empty desks with opened cabinets.
Henry stepped further into the room, eyeing the oddly arranged furniture. The single couches were lined up in neat rows, all facing the same direction – towards the empty desks. It was like some sort of waiting room, but for what?
“Is it just me, or are these couches set up weird?” Isaac asked, voicing the question on everyone’s mind. “I mean, who lines up a bunch of single couches like this?”
“Strange, indeed,” Sera agreed. “They seem arranged as though for spectators, yet naught lies before them to behold.”
Like a movie theater, Henry thought. However, there weren’t any screens or holograms to watch. If there was a clue, it would probably be within the couches themselves.
Dr. Anderson approached one of the desks. “Perhaps this was some sort of office or workspace? The desks and cabinets certainly suggest that.”
Isaac then decided to touch one of the seats, eliciting no reaction. He pushed further, sitting down on one of them. At that point, the couch began to adjust its form to better suit Isaac’s envirosuit, as if able to optimize its comfort for the user. Then, a nozzle slowly stretched up from the seat’s headrest area, stopping just short of Isaac’s neck. “Woah!” Isaac bolted up as the nozzle bonked against his helmet.
“Neural interface, maybe?” Henry wondered. “I think we should leave this to the researchers… unless you wanna volunteer as a lab rat?”
“Hell nah,” Isaac vigorously declined the offer. “Hey, there isn’t anything on my helmet is there?”
Henry dusted off the back of Isaac’s helmet with his glove. “Nope, you’re clear. Just gotta hope it ain’t grey goo.”
He could see the dread and uncertainty through Isaac’s visor. Henry gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Well, think about it this way: if it really was grey goo, it would’ve gotten to us – or the Spiranids, for that matter – long ago. C’mon, let’s secure the next room.”
With a nod, Isaac fell in line behind Henry as they moved towards the doorway leading to the adjacent room. Peeking inside, it couldn’t be further from the rest of the room’s they had encountered so far; not at all what they could’ve possibly expected inside an ancient, high-tech alien facility. It was expansive, with a layout that reminded Henry of a high-end restaurant. Comfortable booths lined the walls, while tables of varying sizes filled the central space. The furniture looked almost human – perhaps even indistinguishably so.
The room was tinted with a soft, cozy yellow light. The warm and inviting ambiance felt soothing compared to the clinical feel of the previous areas. The lighting, combined with the plush booths and elegant tables, gave Henry a nostalgic impression.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Ryan remarked. “Think they got any cheesecakes?”
If it wasn’t for the alien decor and helping of sleek devices scattered around the room, Henry would’ve thought they were back home. Hell, there was even a bar, filled with exotic liquors that could probably fetch millions at an auction – or give them the trip of their lives. Beside it however was something unusual. Where he might’ve expected a path leading to the kitchen, he instead found a wall with a slight, rectangular-shaped recess that was just big enough for a tray.
He glanced at Isaac, who returned a knowing look. “Replicators,” Isaac said.
Henry smirked. “Personally, I’m partial to synthesizer, but to each their own.”
They gathered around the wall, which didn’t seem to respond to their presence. Taps on the wall didn’t seem to do anything, either. Henry considered probing further, but decided against it. “Alright, let’s not take any chances. We’ll make a note of this for the research teams to analyze later. Let’s keep looking around.”
Henry split apart from the others, pairing with Ron as they continued to walk around the room. They soon came across another doorway on the far side of the room, which opened up into a short corridor that led into multiple sets of doors. Each had a symbol on the wall beside the doors – one that depicted the basic figure of a person.
Ron pushed open one of the doors, taking a peek inside. “Looks like even the Gatebuilders needed restrooms.”
Finally! “Alright, let’s take a quick break here. Bring everyone else over.”
Thankfully, the amenities within were easily comparable to those of modern society. The toilet looked like a toilet, and the sink resembled a sink. Even in a space as mundane as this though, the Gatebuilder’s technology was evident: self-cleaning surfaces and enough technology to put a high-quality Japanese bidet toilet to shame. At least, that was just from the look of things. Henry didn’t think now would be the best time to check whether the restroom had ass-washing robots or not.
After a few minutes, Henry regrouped with the rest of the team around a central table in the ‘restaurant’. Dr. Anderson was already present, his archaeological kit opened and a spread of alien items organized on the table.
“Ah, Captain!” Dr. Anderson noticed him approaching. “We found cabinets that weren’t empty. Most of the artifacts appear to be personal effects.” He held up a necklace, emphasizing his point. “Jewelry, memorabilia, and some other artifacts that I – admittedly – can’t quite describe.”
Dr. Anderson pointed his pickup tool at a small disc laid out on a padded mat. “It hasn’t shown any active properties yet. It’s rather peculiar; it seems to be a solid disc. Lightweight, unblemished surface, no visible markings or etchings.”
“Have you tried touching it directly?” Henry asked.
Dr. Anderson frowned, manipulating the claws of his pickup tool. “Well, not directly.” Catching the implications in Henry’s query, he continued, “I’ve checked for radiation, toxins – all clear. While I’d advise against direct contact, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t the least bit curious.”
Henry nodded. Yeah, the Doc was probably right, but what was discovery without risk? He reached out and picked it up, rotating it in his hands. As his gloved fingers brushed against the surface, the disc suddenly emitted a soft glow.
Henry flinched slightly, almost dropping the disc in surprised. As he fumbled with it, the disc seemed to respond to his touch. Suddenly, a series of objects materialized on the table, appearing out of thin air.
“Oh, shit!” Ron exclaimed. “It just… spawned a bunch of stuff!”
Henry stared at the new items. Several containers, probably holding some kind of food, were still sealed tight and impossibly effective at insulating its contents. It was crazy to think that the food inside might still be hot after who knows how long.
Next to the containers was a bracelet. Possibly normal, possibly enchanted or integrated with technology they couldn’t hope to understand. There was also a bottle of some bright blue liquid – probably for drinking, but there was no way to be sure until Perdue tested it. And then there was the picture, showing a strikingly human couple, holding each other underneath a gorgeous alien sky. It reminded him of memorabilia people would sometimes keep in their wallets, though why humans were there was a mystery.
The last object the disc spat out was a thin, transparent sheet. Coincidentally, it was about the same size as a smartphone. If he had to guess, it probably had the same function as one, too.
“Incredible,” Dr. Anderson gawked at the items. “The disc must be the Gatebuilders’ version of a wallet, somehow using dimensional storage technology!”
“Akin to the Holding Bags,” Kelmithus noticed. He peered into his own Holding Bag, his expression indicating that he was connecting the dots. “Fascinating!”
Dr. Anderson then inspected the image, his face reflecting the same confusion Henry felt when he first saw it. While they continued to sort through the items, Henry explored the sheet further. The moment he tapped the screen, a holographic interface sprung into existence above it.
What he had initially thought was a simple hologram was something far more advanced, almost indistinguishable from reality itself. Almost instantly, they were surrounded by mountains and valleys, details springing up to form a realistic, three-dimensional map.
It was like a pocket holodeck. The only anchors the projection had were the various icons and pockets of text floating around – and the fact that the hologram was transparent enough for him to see his surroundings and his teammates.
Sera seemed to be the most shocked out of all of them. He couldn’t blame her. The sight was surprising enough for himself, who was even familiar with the concept through sci-fi; how much more alien would it seem to someone from – effectively – the past?
“I’ve not beheld such a spell… ever!” she exclaimed softly, pausing to gather her thoughts. “Hold on…” she continued, pointing to the distant peaks. “Why, yon mountain range! Does it not strike you as familiar?”
“Huh?” Ron squinted at it. “Does it?”
“No, yeah, it does!” Isaac said. “Shit, uh, is that the Ovinne Mountain Range?”
Henry brought up the file for the Ovinne Mountain Range on his visor, comparing it to the hologram. “Huh, yeah, it is. What’s a map of that doing in here, though?”
Dr. Anderson raised his hands in the air and spread them apart, mimicking a zoom. Lucky for them, the alien tech seemed to understand what they were going for. Now up close and in full detail, the Ovinne Mountain Range dominated the room. Somewhere in the mountains, an icon that looked like a pair of glasses sat right on top of a Gatebuilder tower, barely poking out of the mountainside.
Ryan crossed his arms as he scrutinized the hologram. “Is this what, Find My iPhone?”
“Hmm… rather likely,” Dr. Anderson agreed. “This device must be some sort of Locator.”
“Locator, huh?” Having this clue was an incredible breakthrough, but he noticed something else. “And right where the Ovinne Mountain Campaign’s supposedly taking place, at that.”
“Indeed, that you mention it, such alignment is surely noteworthy,” Kelmithus remarked. His voice took on a more excited note, “Be it fate, perhaps?”
Henry smirked. “Hah, you’re sounding a bit like Sera, now. Well, looks like fate’s telling us where to go next. Let’s pack this up and head back.”
They carefully stowed the various artifacts in their holding bags, Henry holding on to the Locator. They made their way back to the locker room where they first entered, everyone excited for the next step in their mission.
Henry stepped through the airlock first, emerging on the other side. As he did so, a faint sound caught his attention. It was distant, muffled, but definitely not a sound that belonged to this facility. He wanted to take off the envirosuit, but it seemed that had to wait.
Ron came through the airlock after him. “Bro, you think –”
Henry held up a hand, stopping him short. He raised his weapon, picking up on the ‘something’s not right’ vibe.
Activating his infrared vision and using the laser mounted on his M7, Henry searched for signs of thermal distortions, just like he’d done back at Duke Vancor’s mansion. Ron did the same. As the rest of the team emerged from the airlock, they quickly caught on to the situation. Without a word, they joined them in securing the room.
After clearing the locker room, Henry signaled to move on to the lab next door. It was just as empty as the locker room, but now the sounds were more audible, definitely coming from the hallway just outside. Instructing his team to hold still, he crept toward the doorway to investigate.
He peeked around the corner, and felt his stomach drop. There, in the main hallway, was a group of soldiers. They were decked out in distinctive black armor and cloaks. They had no identifiable markings or insignia on their armor, but it was obvious – these were Nobians.
Henry pulled back, returning to his team. “Contact outside. At least a dozen Nobians securing the hallway.”
Ron’s expression grew serious. “Shit. Any idea on their entry point?”
Henry positioned himself behind a desk, aiming his weapon at the doorway. “Probably the same way we came in.”
“Main corridor’s the only play, huh?” Ryan said.
The main hallway only had one line of sight, and it just happened to be the only way out. Well, the only one they could reasonably access. The facility probably had other exits or fancy teleporters, but they’d already scoured the area for the former and wouldn’t be able to figure out the latter.
“Dozen hostiles doesn’t seem like a lot,” Isaac pointed out, taking out another Black Hornet from his bag. “We’re still good on ammo, too.”
Ron shook his head. “Dozen? Yeah, a dozen that we can see.”
“Owens is right,” Henry agreed. “We can’t confirm their numbers outright. If I had to guess, it would probably be at least fifty. Manageable, but I’d prefer that to be our last resort.”
“How might we fare with a disturbance?” Sera offered.
Kelmithus gripped his staff. “I might conjure an echo of noise distant hence. It shan’t last, but it can afford us enough time for our escape.”
Kelmithus’ plan seemed like it could work, but only if the Nobians didn’t know they were here. “No,” Henry disagreed. “They’ve seen our MRAPs outside. We’d get surrounded.”
“How about negotiation?” Dr. Anderson suggested, a hopeful note in his voice.
“Negotiation? With the Nobians?” Kelmithus questioned.
They all knew what the Nobians were like. It really did come off as a ridiculous idea, but what if Dr. Anderson was right? The archaeologist defended himself, “I know, I know. However, we have yet to confirm their hostility, and it would not serve us well to initiate hostilities with the Nobians.”
Taking in the silence as contemplation, he continued, “If talks break down, we hold our ground here. It’s not ideal, but we’ll control the engagement area and prevent them from flanking us.”
Henry reviewed the situation again. 12 hostiles, but they should expect the worse, so at least 50 hostiles plus failed negotiations. Holding the only way out, they were likely spread out between the hallway, the cave system, and possibly even the forest outside. Dr. Anderson’s plan was solid, but he had a few minor qualms. In particular, holding the line meant possibly exhausting themselves in a battle of attrition.
“Alright. We’ll open with negotiations. I’m skeptical, but it's worth a shot. Should that fail, we can’t engage in a drawn-out conflict. We’ll disrupt their positions and quickly move to the cave outside.”
“Smoke grenades and flashbangs,” Ryan muttered.
“Affirmative,” Henry said, nodding in agreement. “If we can’t see them, we’ll level the playing field so they can’t see us.”
“Captain,” Kelmithus quickly interjected, “Bid me aid your efforts. I’ve insight enough to create fog. I’ve learned from our encounter with the Sentinel Lindwyrm.”
“You can replicate that heavy fog?” Ron asked.
Kelmithus held up his palm, producing an opaque puff of steam to prove his point. “Indeed so, Lieutenant. Adequately do these envirosuits shield us, that I might harness more extreme temperatures for more effective casting.”
Henry was impressed with how quickly the archmage grasped such a concept. “Good. Yen, get that drone into the cave. We’ll hold for updates.”
Yen nodded, carrying out Henry’s order silently. The drone’s feed directly streamed to their HUDs, and after a few minutes, Isaac looked up. “Done.”
Henry analyzed the data. They had visual confirmation of a dozen Nobians inside the facility itself and a staggering forty outside, both in the cave and around the cave entrance. It was an assumption, but there probably weren’t many cloaked soldiers past the hallway. He sighed; the worst-case scenario would have them facing a hundred men in total.
It was a challenge, but the drone’s intel granted them a critical tactical advantage. He analyzed his minimap, selecting and sharing a route with minimal enemy contact. “After clearing the facility’s entrance, we’ll proceed along the designated path. Upon exit, I’ll deploy a flare to signal our movement to the MRAPs for extraction. We will then rendezvous with Zulu-9 and coordinate with air support before re-engaging to secure the site.”
His team nodded, fully on board with the plan. He took a deep breath to steel himself before checking his watch – 16:24. “Alright, time to show ourselves.”
Letting his M7 sling over his chest, Henry prepared two flash grenades – one in each hand – before stepping out. With his team in tow, he moved to the center of the hallway, catching the attention of one of the Nobian patrols.
“Attention, Nobian forces! We request parley. I am Captain Donnager of Alpha Team, Tier 6 Adventurer. We are on an official quest sanctioned by the Adventurer’s Guild. We have no intention of hostilities and seek to discuss our presence and objectives to ensure mutual understanding.”
As Henry’s words echoed through the hallway, the Nobian soldiers snapped into action. He heard the sounds of bowstring being drawn taut and the rasp of metal as swords cleared their scabbards. His hands tightened around the flash grenades.
He kept his gaze steady, projecting a sense of calm; of confidence – enough to convince the Nobians that even outnumbered, he and his team were still no match for them. More soldiers joined the patrol, until all twelve of the previously identified Nobians were upon them. They kept their distance, but Henry could feel the tension boiling.
Just as the standoff seemed to reach a critical point, the air in front of them seemed to fold outward from itself, like watching the effects of gravitational lensing on light. A figure coalesced from the distortion – so this is what invisibility magic looked like.
The man was broad-shouldered and tall, seeing eye-to-eye with him, even despite the extra inches in height the envirosuit gave. As the last wisps of the cloaking magic faded away, Henry found himself staring into a pair of piercing gray eyes that seemed to bore into his very soul.
The newcomer had an angular face and was clad in black armor with a different sheen than the black armor of his comrades. Silver trimmings and an insignia emblazoned on his chestplate – a dagger through a swirl of mist – differentiated his status. A cloak of the same dark hue billowed behind him as he walked forward and drew his sword.
Keeping his sword to the side, he stopped a respectable ten meters away from Henry. “I am Carvus Alnect Virelius, Umber Vicearch of the Order of the Shadow.” He then pointed his sword at Henry, declaring, “Of desecrating sovereign Nobian territory, you stand accused.”
As Carvus spoke, more soldiers materialized alongside him, shimmering into existence as they dropped their cloaking spells. Henry had expected this to happen, but seeing it play out still sent a chill down his spine. How many more were still lying in wait?
The Vicearch kept his weapon on Henry, eyes narrowing. “Commander unto commander, I offer a choice: cede your Holding Bags, that secure passage may be granted unto you. Refuse, and you shall be declared as spies and enemies of the Nobian Empire, your lives forfeit to swift execution.”
READ 2 WEEKS AHEAD: Season Finale Chapter 17 is now available for Tier 2 Manifest Fantasy Patrons and higher!
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Next

You've heard of selling ice to eskimos, but how about peddling humble cookies for $140 a pop? Sounds like a total pipe dream, right? Well, meet the cookie kingpins at Last Crumb - the cheeky LA upstarts who've done exactly that, building a multi-million dollar luxury brand around...baked goods.
I know, I know. When you first hear that premise, it's one of those things that makes you spit out your drink in disbelief. $140 for a box of 12 cookies?! What sort of Willy Wonka shit is this? These guys must be hopped up on something strong to think they can rebrand grandma's classic chocolate chips into objet d'art territory.
Except here's the kicker - their delightfully insane idea worked. By meticulously studying the playbooks of streetwear drops and luxury fashion houses, Last Crumb cracked the code on transforming an everyday grocery item into a covetable status symbol.
Their whole approach is basically an elaborate Jedi mind trick designed to short-circuit our perceptions around what "luxury" even means in 2023. You've got the minimalist, fashion-forward branding that oozes expensive European boutique vibes. The wildly overengineered unboxing experience that turns opening a cookie box into an ASMR-laced treasure hunt. The vegaspilled copywriting that stops just short of suggesting you might actually be eating edible gold flakes or something.
But the real stroke of genius? How they gamified the entire Last Crumb experience to manufacture scarcity and prompt that delicious social media fear-of-missing-out. Their cookies get released in these hyped, limited "drops" just like a new Yeezy sneaker. You've got to black Friday stampede for a spot on their waitlist, then pray you can snag one of the precious few boxes before they sell out in minutes. Which they always do, because these savants have turned getting a Last Crumb delivery into the bakery equivalent of scoring courtside seats.
By piggybacking on all the artificial scarcity and tribal signaling motivators that drive the resale sneaker economy, Last Crumb kicked off this crazy word-of-mouth cyclone. Now their cookies are like the new Birkins - if you can cop a box for yourself or bae, you've gotta 'gram those things to flex that you're an official member of the cookie club.
It's honestly just tremendous amplified marketing jujitsu, repackaging a familiar grocery staple into the ultimate guilty pleasure indulgence. They've essentially made eating cookies an illicit thrill again, like you're cheating on your diet with some wild truffled tobacco creations from the back alley of a Parisian patisserie.
Are the cookies themselves really worth $12 a pop? Probably not - they're just extremely well-executed, premium baked goods at the end of the day. But by cribbing from the basic supply/demand mechanics that drive the luxury x streetwear universe, Last Crumb created both the ultimate grocery store heist story and a new benchmark for disruptive food marketing.
So while it's still undeniably goofy watching people plunk down generational wealth on some cookies, you've got to take your hat off to these guys. They didn't just sell us cookies - they hawked the escapist dream of sugary opulence itself. And at the end of the day, that's one luxury more of us should be willing to indulge.
Key Learnings:
Here are the key steps Last Crumb took to turn humble cookies into a $140 luxury product:
Positioning and Branding

• Positioned themselves as a luxury brand with a chic, minimalist visual identity inspired by high-fashion brands.
• Used aspirational copywriting that invited customers into the "Last Crumb Experience" rather than just selling cookies.

Premium Packaging Experience

• Custom packaging designed for the ultimate unboxing experience, with cookies presented at precise angles and in matte-coated bags.
• Included a magazine with each box to add storytelling and depth to the product.

Exclusivity and Scarcity

• Adopted the streetwear "drop" model, releasing limited cookie collections exclusively to those on the waitlist.
• Created artificial scarcity by ensuring inventory sold out within minutes of each drop.

Gamified Experience

• Made customers join a waitlist and countdown to each drop, building anticipation.
• The scramble to secure a box before it sold out created a feverish fear of missing out.

Social Currency

• The exclusivity and luxury positioning turned getting a Last Crumb box into a status symbol to show off.
• Encouraged customers to share unboxing videos and show off their rare cookies on social media.

Creative Brief for Customers

• Designed a unique cookie tasting ritual that gave customers something novel to talk about.
• Turned customers into brand ambassadors by giving them an experience worth sharing.

In my world magic is the process of bringing order to chaos to manifest chaos in an ordered world, it's as simple as writing a program, you cast magic by using spells, spells are pre-made coding that people can learn in order to manifest that chaos be it in the form of fire, ice, gravity, lightning, ect. Magic is extremely old, but it is younger than the world. It's younger than humans even, or at least its availability is. Magic came to earth when the goddess yōsen was born, upon her birth the world was flooded with the energy and this eventually led to the dark age/age of warlords
One can learn all paths of magic, but if they do this they'll never master any, but they will be much more versatile than someone that has mastered the path of fire. When it comes to learning magic it's not just about learning spells, one must learn to sense the energy, find the energy. Feel the energy not just around you but in others, and in yourself. It is for this reason that the best place to learn magic is in places where the energy is overflowing, in places like these even people with zero attunement to magic will be able to physically feel the energy. It's like a beach, there's people on the sand who can see, hear, and even taste the ocean but they're not getting wet. There people who are putting their feet in the ocean, and there's people swimming in the ocean, and then there's people who have never seen ocean, but in these places overflowing with magic, it's like a tsunami or hurricane, where even those further in get hit by the water. In modern day magic is practically non existent, the majority of the world believed it to be simply myths, stories to make the world seem magical. The people that believed in it were simply crazy conspiracy theorists, that was until the nation of Asheath open up to the rest of the world, and that's when the world began to believe in magic once more.
Arcane is a title given to someone that has grown powerful enough or skilled enough to activate and use magic without casting, they use magic as if it's just their power, they can specialize in one or more types of magic. They're only threatened by Pillars, or another Arcane of equal or greater strength. They can still be killed by a non Arcane, just have to be lucky.
There's four forms of magic
Aspects These are aspects of magic that a person can manifest like power, chaos energy ordering itself into a person, and changing the order into chaos. Its as simple as someone having horns, or someone having the power to turn their skin into stone, think of these as the normal super power type deal, anything abnormal. With time this form of magic died off, and in modern day, it's practically nonexistent.
Casting This is the most flashy type of magic and one of the most dangerous if spells aren't followed. In modern day this is practically nonexistent, people believe that magic like this never really exists, and some governments even have agencies to hunt down anyone that has learned even slightly how to cast, or people with evidence of it being real.
Brewing The easiest form of magic, used to make potions, in modern day its only used as an alternative to medicine and drugs.
Runes This form is right up with casting in terms of danger, this form of magic is writing symbols onto an object, symbols of which order chaos into the object. You're changing something natural into something unnatural. You are writing a program on the item to tell the energy how to behave, it's extremely difficult to learn because the symbols can react in unexpected ways with not just the energy but with other symbols as well.

As we have new members joining all the time, and as we still get reports about spoilery posts, I think a weekly reminder about the importance of marking your posts with spoilers tags is in order.
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What it said.
​
That's it!
Happy discussing!

So I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately, especially after I made my oviraptidon/volcanic break thread, and I've come to a bit of a surprising conclusion. After looking at the new set mechanics and theorycrafting about how they matchup into the current meta, I believe it is currently unnecessary to add any cards to the banlist, and that the new set will have no difficulty in reshaping the meta in its current state (whether or not it takes the meta in a healthy direction is yet to be seen, but I don't believe in pre-emptive bans of unreleased cards, so for the purposes of this discussion let's assume that there are no banworthy cards in the upcoming collab set). There are two reasons for this.

1. Two of the biggest threats in the current meta, turbo hydra and star dragon control, rely very heavily on spirits with destruction effects. These effects are heavily nerfed by the new keyword AT Field, which is present on a majority of new spirits and prevents them from being destroyed by such effects if they have soul core. Most notably, Deep Sea Hydra's destruction effect is completely and utterly blanked by AT Field, because you can just select the spirit that has it active and blank the destruction effect (you still mill and obviously it still needs to be blocked, but being able to blank the destruction effect is really good at limiting the damage you take).
   
2. Aside from just having mechanics that match up well into the current meta, the EVA set is not lacking in power. Phase 2 is easily on par with Siegwurm Ira in terms of power level and slots pretty cleanly into the purple core control shell, which has been the most consistently excellent deck archetype in the game from the very beginning. Second Impact is just a 1 sided board wipe and I'd be shocked if this isn't enough to push some kind of angel deck into the meta. Heck, even Red/Green Operation Yomato might be able to make a splash just by being the fastest deck that has access to AT field, potentially slipping under all the control decks that have been so dominate during the game's lifespan.
   
3. The set 4 meta is by far the healthiest meta we've had so far. Prior to set 4, high level games would regularly go to time during game 2, and actually playing out a full best 2 out of 3 set would take an hour and a half to 2 hours. The defensive power of cards like AIS and Thorn Prison were simply too good at blanking attacks, and the risk of the crackback was too high to risk declaring attacks unless you were guaranteed to remove a key spirit with it. The introduction of the double symbol boss monsters in set 4 has done wonders in breaking board stalls and ensuring games can actually end in a reasonable amount of time, because for the first time we have proper win cons. Simply put, I do not want to go back to a pre set 4 meta.
   

To be clear, this does not mean we don't need a banlist at all. Axebiter and Neatherworld Depths need to continue to stay far far away from the game, the former is simply a mistake that should have never been printed, and I assure you purple does not need any more help (we can prolly unban Ovi and Volc Break though...). I will also note that this post is made under the assumption that limiting AIS and/or Thorn Prison is not on the table, mostly because doing so would fundamentally alter the balance of the game and I wasn't prepared to delve into that rabbit hole. If we do ban/limit these key defensive pieces, then we probably should also consider banning some other threats, because all of a sudden the game just got a whole lot easier to just end.

Part 14.3

Heracles VS Lernaean Hydra

Author Note: I was thinking about it and I really wish that GT9 used more draconic symbolism throughout the story when (or if) I revisit Team Crowley VS Rosencreutz I'll have symbolism of Aleister (TheBeast666), Aiwass (Codename: DRAGON) and Coronzon (The Dragon of the Abyss) all have symbology of them being Dragons preying on a God/Hero like CRC and the reversed conflict of Chaos VS Order you see in mythology, I also wanted to achieve something similar with Kakine Teitoku as he can represent the Fallen Angel and the Seraphim but for now I'll try adding draconian symbolism into Gunha VS CRC.
True Expert Christian Rosencreutz, with his golden rosy cross sword, clashed relentlessly against the indomitable force of the Strongest Gemstone, Sogiita Gunha. With each clash of their powers, the air crackled and compressed, and the pavement trembled beneath.
CRC, observed Sogiita with a mixture of intrigue and disdain. "You fight like the legendary Heracles," he remarked, his voice carrying over the din of battle. "But know this, I am the Lernaean Hydra, and no matter how many heads you sever, I shall always rise again!" Rosencreutz roared to slice the #7’s midsection.
Sogiita, his entire body wreathed in unknowable energy, met CRC's blade unyielding. "Bring it on, old man!" he retorted, his voice brimming with confidence. "I'll knock you down as many times as it takes! I won't stop till you come to your senses and remember your roots, like the roses you love so much, Rosencreutz!!"
Their clash intensified, that old man’s higher dimensional sword colliding with the raw power of that boy’s fists and kicks as they pushed each other to their limits with each sword swing, punch, kick and flash.
Sogiita unleashed a barrage of punches, each strike carrying the force of a meteor, while that silver young man countered: he wielded his sword in his right hand and released impacts followed by white light that was enough to previously take down all of The Bridge Builders Cabal.
As the battle raged on, the very fabric of reality seemed to warp and shift around them, bearing witness to the titanic struggle between two unparalleled forces.
The founder of Rosicrucianism who intimidated reality itself to obey his will and that Gemstone with an unstable personal reality that could change on a whim.
The atmosphere crackled with electrifying distortion.
Sogiita's fists tore through the air with the ferocity of meteors, their velocity enhanced by his ability to adapt and accelerate, surpassing even CRC's speed. As each blow was released, the friction with the surrounding air molecules ignited a scorching heat, intensifying the impact.
The rapid movement of molecules generated an escalating thermal energy, causing the air to seethe with increasing temperature. It was akin to a tempest of incandescent projectiles hurtling towards CRC, their speed surpassing the limits of human perception.
It was like a storm of brilliant fiery arrows was fired at Rosencreutz.
These blazing arrows of force were reminiscent of the elusive strikes employed by the Rose & Cross Leader, ignoring distance with deceptive agility.
With each thunderous punch, that bandana boy sought to overpower his adversary through sheer kinetic force, his unwavering resolve palpable in every motion.
But that wasn't enough for this superhuman.
CRC, wielding his cross sword with precision and skill, deflected each and every one Sogiita's flaming arrows with calculated strikes of his own. Each impact unleashed a burst of blinding white light, sending shockwaves rippling through the chaotic city.
"You think brute strength alone will defeat me?" the silver man taunted, his voice cutting through the chaos of battle. "You may be strong, but strength without strategy is nothing but raw power wasted."
Sogiita grinned, his confidence unshaken. "Strategies for cowards who can't handle a real fight," he retorted, his voice ringing with defiance. "I'll K.O. you with my fists and guts alone!!!!"
Rosencreutz's eyes narrowed as he parried another of Sogiita's punches. "Your arrogance will be your downfall," he warned, his tone tinged with certainty. "I may not match your overall speed, but I have something you lack: intellect and precision.”
Christian Rosencreutz then plunged his cross sword into the ground.
"This is what harmed Kamijou Touma," he declared, grinning and unleashing a torrent of lethal invisible attacks from his outstretched palms.
However, the #7 countered with a relentless barrage of flaming arrows from the thermal aftershock of his punches.
Each strike akin to a particle accelerator in its intensity and speed. That Gemstone was the particles being fired on the right and that True Expert was the particles fired on the left.
As the attacks clashed, the battlefield became a spectacle of raw power and precision.
“Roar!” CRC held his open palm to his mouth and blew gently on the tip of the middle finger.
That was all it took for a blaze easily outdoing a flamethrower to rush out. And this was not just any fire. It fed on the power of a ley line and stole vitality from space itself. This overwhelming mass of light and heat was wielded for no other purpose than to take lives. Anyone who tried to survive it using simple composite armor or special fibers would dry up and burn away in less than a second.
But that wouldn't kill another superhuman would it?
Of course not.
“Aaaaarghhhh!!!!” screamed the #7.
Some assaults bypassed the fray entirely, slipping through the chaos like elusive particles in a collider.
A smokescreen.
Those brilliant fireworks from hell weren't meant to take Sogiita’s life. They were meant to disrupt the Gemstone's senses and sight so he couldn't counter all of that old man’s deadly attacks.
Invisible strikes found their mark on that Gemstone, and the searing arrows of the arrows scorched Rosencreutz.
CRC was wounded but he rejected to make any whimpers. Instead with a sudden burst of velocity, the young silver man picked up his cross sword from the ground and launched a flurry of strikes, cutting at the #7’s body with pinpoint accuracy.
His arms, his head, his face, his stomach, his legs, his midsection, his back.
Each blow landed with devastating force, causing Sogiita to stagger back under the onslaught.
If that bandana boy hadn't had his defenses and general stats raised by the #5 he’d be cut to pieces.
The #7 fell on his back.
"There's a fire," Sogiita declared, his voice ringing out amidst the chaos of battle.
With each attempt to break his spirit, Sogiita's resolve only grew stronger, fueling the flames of his determination. "Every time someone tries to make me give up, it's like wind feeding my flames, making them burn even brighter just like my punches," he explained, his words carrying the weight of his unwavering determination.
He refused to stay down.
With a roar of defiance, Sogiita surged forward once more, his movements blurring with speed as he disappeared from view. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind Christian Rosencreutz, catching the magician off guard.
"Hey, old man," Sogiita taunted, his voice filled with confidence as he seized Rosencreutz from behind.
Christian Rosencreutz's eyes widened in surprise as he realized he had been outmaneuvered.
As Sogiita Gunha faced off against Christian Rosencreutz in their airborne duel, he felt the flames of determination burning within him, driving him forward with unstoppable force.
Before he could react, the boy lifted him effortlessly and slammed him onto the pavement below with a resounding thud.
"I'm not just a kick-boxer!!" Sogiita sang.
As the impact reverberated through the air, the young silver man let out a pained cry. The force of the collision compressed the surrounding air, heating it up until it crackled with energy. Christian Rosencreutz's head struck the ground with a velocity equivalent to mach 20, igniting his body in flames upon impact.
This move is called a suplex.
Struggling to regain his bearings, Rosencreutz muttered in a daze, "The House of the Holy Spirit...the seven walls..."
"You said it yourself, didn't you?" the gutsy boy retorted, cocky. "My power and my guts can break through your impenetrable walls. And I can spread those same guts to the world around me."
With a grimace, Christian Rosencreutz acknowledged the truth of the boy's words. "Your uncontrolled AIM field grants you the ability to imbue non-organic objects with the properties of your virus," he observed, his voice tinged with begrudging admiration. "Allowing them to bypass even the defenses of the seven-walled tomb.”
"A virus? Don't be so gutless, CRC," the #7 retorted, his voice filled with defiance. "This battleground ruled by wills is a two-way road between you and me."
Christian Rosencreutz raised an eyebrow at the boy's words. "Hey Gemstone, you could've killed me if I weren't a superhuman with an idealized body that accomplished The Great Work and crossed the Ungrund, what then short-stack?" he questioned while fitting an insult against his height.
Even without the seven-walled tomb or sheets of diamonds Rosencreutz was cartoonishly durable.
"Sorry, old man," Sogiita retorted, a hint of irritation lacing his words at the jab about his height. "I may have let my enthusiasm get the better of me, but rest assured, I understand the magnitude of this battle. Just like the Hydra, no matter how many heads you regrow, I'll persevere until I've completed my labors.”
"Mhm, so you do know your mythology," CRC remarked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "The Lernaean Hydra, or simply Hydra, is a serpentine lake monster in Greek and Roman mythology. Its lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid, known as an entrance to the Underworld. In the canonical myth, the monster is slain by Heracles as part of his Twelve Labors."
"Yeah, I know," Sogiita replied confidently. "I studied the tales of great gutsy heroes in school.”
"So, short-stack," Christian Rosencreutz began, his voice carrying a hint of scholarly interest. “Have you ever considered the parallels between our battle and ancient Near Eastern religions?”
Sogiita listened intently. "Are you saying you see yourself as a god of war or a hunter?" he inquired.
CRC chuckled softly. "In a sense, indeed. We are both assuming roles in this grand theater, are we not? I, the Hydra, and you, Heracles."
He continued, "Consider the Second Labor of Heracles. Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns, sent Heracles to slay the Hydra, which Hera had raised specifically to defeat him. Heracles approached the swamp near Lake Lerna, where the Hydra dwelled. To protect himself from the poisonous fumes, he covered his mouth and nose with a cloth and shot flaming arrows into the Hydra's lair, causing it to emerge and terrorize the surrounding villages."
CRC paused, drawing a comparison. “In our own clash, the flaming arrows that Heracles hurled at the Hydra find their echo in your lightning-fast fists, generating shockwaves that ignite the air with their speed and force. It's as though each strike of yours is akin to shooting a flaming arrow, much like Heracles did.”
“Huh? Are you suggesting we're caught in a time loop? That some enigmatic group, like the Bridge Builders Cabal, manipulated events to resurrect you, pitting us against each other in a timeless struggle? I've never met them, and I'm certainly no child of Zeus. Are you implying that our battle will be distorted into a Greek legend by a meddling time traveler?!” frantically asked the boy.
“No, no, you simpleton. This world contains synchronicities. In Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian mythology, the war and hunting god Ninurta was celebrated for his deeds. The Angim credited him with slaying eleven monsters during an expedition to the mountains, including a seven-headed serpent, possibly identical to the Mushmahhu, and Bashmu, whose constellation was later associated with the Hydra by the Greeks. In Babylonian contexts, the Hydra's constellation is also linked to Marduk's dragon, the Mushhushshu.”
“Uhhh….” That shounen boy was dumbfounded.
"Hhm, I suppose calling it a time loop isn't technically wrong," Christian Rosencreutz began, his tone measured. "I'll break it down from history class and reconstruct it through the lens of the occult. Historic recurrence, young Gemstone, is the phenomenon of events echoing throughout time. Whether it's the rise and fall of empires or the repetitive cycles within a single society, it's all part of this grand plan that was decided when Adam ate the forbidden fruit."
The #7 with his guard up but curious listened: "So, history just keeps repeating itself? Just a series of coincidences?"
Christian Rosencreutz shook his head sagely. "There is no such thing as coincidences. Take, for instance, the Doctrine of Eternal Recurrence, pondered upon by thinkers like Heinrich Heine and Friedrich Nietzsche. While it's said that 'history repeats itself,' it's not quite that simple. Rather, these recurrences stem from identifiable circumstances and chains of causality."
He continued, his voice carrying the weight of centuries of philosophical debate. "Consider the phenomenon of multiple independent discoveries in science or the reproducible findings in natural and social sciences. These recurrences, whether in the form of rigorous experimentation or comparative research, are vital to our understanding of the world."
Christian Rosencreutz paused, allowing the weight of his words to sink in. "G.W. Trompf, in his seminal work, The Idea of Historical Recurrence in Western Thought, illustrates the recurring patterns of political thought and behavior since ancient times. Through these patterns, history offers us invaluable lessons, often leading to a sense of resonance or déjà vu."
Their words reverberated like a challenge to destiny itself, a testament to their unyielding determination in the face of adversity.
That Gemstone didn't surrender his characteristic fervor. "History echoing through time, huh? It's like the universe itself is stuck on repeat, and we're just caught in the cycle. But you know what? If history's gonna keep looping, then let's break the pattern! Let's smash through those chains of causality and forge our own path. Who cares about déjà vu? We'll create something entirely new, something that'll shake the very foundations of this world and we’ll do it with guts!!!" He defied that silver monster.
But Rosencreutz wasn't finished. He pulled out his Crystal World Map.
The supposedly old man listened intently to that boy's impassioned response, his expression inscrutable behind his clairvoyant card. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke.
“Gemstone, you speak of breaking free from the chains of repetition, of forging a new destiny against the backdrop of eternal return. It is a noble aspiration, indeed. However, consider this: eternal return is not merely a philosophical concept or a whimsical notion of fate. It is the very fabric of existence, woven into the nature of time itself.” He pressed his finger on the Miniature Garden and a 3D holographic projection flew out—
“In ancient times, the Stoics grappled with the idea, seeing in it both a sense of cosmic order and a challenge to individual agency. Augustine and others recoiled from its implications, fearing it as a negation of free will and salvation. And yet, Nietzsche, in his brilliance, dared to confront the concept anew, exploring its depths in the crucible of human consciousness.”
Didn't Aleister Crowley say that he had to shatter every single phase in order to eliminate the concept of fate?
“I will shatter every last phase and put an end to all mysticism. It can be helped and we need not restrain our tears and bite our lip when faced with tragedy. I will bring back the pure world in which everyone can feel anger like normal and question it all like normal!!”
And didn't Coronzon appear to break down all the phases including the Pure World?
Partial destruction would be meaningless. If anything remains and an eternal distortion is born from that, then it will all happen again. I will eliminate the ten spheres, the twenty-two pathways, and the hidden eleventh symbol. Collisions between phases? Sparks and spray? You cannot save anyone if you only treat those symptoms. All of the fundamental clogs must be removed. All so we can pass the baton to whoever comes next.”
“Sparks and Sprays…” Rosencreutz muttered.
“Eh?” The #7 didn't quite hear him.
"Beside time stands fate, cruelty's steadfast herald. In the silent chambers of the soul, whispers the most profound wisdom. Humanity, in its folly, neglected to exalt life's splendor, its radiance, its grandeur. Truly, it is a rare gift to comprehend the forces that shape our existence.” That magician spoke in despair.
“From the moment man ate the fruit of knowledge, he guaranteed your species’ failure... Entrusting his future to the whims of fate, man clutches to a flickering hope. Yet, within the Miniature Garden lies the key to all revelation. Beyond the well-trodden path lies the ultimate terminus. It matters not who you are; Death is the sole certainty awaiting all.” he finished with scorn.
Shokuhou Misaki was currently linked to Sogiita Gunha so she was overhearing the entire conversation.
“Are you okay, Leader?” asked Kamijou back at the hospital.
“Yeah…” she responded.
*“Really?” Mikoto breathed a white sigh. “It wasn’t the shock of seeing their school destroyed. Nor was it the fear of having those rioters attack. …They’re afraid of their own power. And after learning how exactly to use that power to survive, they’re not sure they can just switch it off and return to their normal lives. So their gears have ground to a halt.”
Tokiwadai Middle School was a prestigious esper development school.*
The young ladies registered there were Level 3 at the lowest and Level 5 at the highest.
Almost all of the students had a power that surpassed that of a blade or handgun if used properly, but something had become twisted.
Yes.
“A lot of them weren’t really sure why they were training their powers.”
Shokuhou breathed a white breath, wrapped her own arms around herself, and rubbed her thighs together.
Why are you studying?
How many people could give a proper answer to that question? Because my parents told me to, because my teachers taught me to, because that’s how the world works. Those would be most people’s answers. Even the students with a clear vision of their future would only have something vague like “for the entrance exams” or “for my future”.
Only a small handful would have specific puzzle pieces in mind, such as “I need to learn how to use this equation so I can build a rocket”.
The young ladies of Tokiwadai Middle School were the same.
What if the very gears that humans have…their actions, reactions, inactions were all the result of some transcendental entity hovering above.
Like God or The Devil watching over humanity’s reality sphere and ordering around his system like everyone was a pre-programmed NPC that had specific events occur to them to get them to develop in the way that they did and determined their genetic bloodline that composed their psyche?
Is there truly a free will?
It was said that in order for you to break out of the system of society that the working class was stuck in you had to climb to the top where the corrupt elites resided.
Imagine Breaker negated sparks, Aleister Crowley could see through the veil thanks to Holy Guardian Angel Aiwass, Great Demon Coronzon could always see the cogs.
Christian Rosencreutz could view the entire world through his Miniature Garden.
The rest of humanity was at the mercy of their own destinies.
A Guardian Angel wouldn't arrive to save a parent’s child from fate every single time.
"Okay, nice poetry, can we get back to fighting already?" asked the #7 impatiently.
"Seems I got carried away," the old man conceded with a nod. "The synchronicities of this world, akin to the astral configurations in astrology, serve as an example of synchronicity, according to Jung. It describes circumstances that appear meaningfully related yet lack a causal connection, much like the parallel relationship between celestial and terrestrial phenomena. Synchronicity experiences entail subjective encounters where coincidences between events in one's mind and the external world may lack a clear causal link but still harbor an unknown connection.”
"Ah," Sogiita chimed in, recalling his philosophy class discussions. "We talked about synchronicity back then. Jung thought it was a good thing for the mind, but said it could get dicey in psychosis. He cooked up this theory as a kind of mental link between those meaningful coincidences, calling it a noncausal principle. This term came about in the late 1920s, and then he teamed up with physicist Wolfgang Pauli to dive deeper. Their work, The Interpretation of Nature and the Psyche, dropped in 1952. They were big on this idea that these connections, even the ones that don't seem to have a cause, could still teach us a lot about how our minds and the world work."
“Mhm, you know more than you lead on, Gemstone.” pondered CRC.
“Oh this? My teachers say I'm not good at remembering speeches hahaha…” The #7 looked slightly nervous. “You know, analytical psychologists really push for folks to get what these experiences mean to boost their awareness instead of just feeding into superstitions. But funny thing is, when clients spill about their synchronicity experiences, they often feel like no one's really hearing them out, or getting where they're coming from. And hey, having a bunch of these meaningful coincidences flying around can sometimes ring the schizo bell. Delusions aren't healthy.”
Where was this conversation going?
"Delusion! Hah! That's a good one coming from you," CRC fired back.
"The real delusion is thinking humanity isn't worth a darn," Sogiita shot back, pulling out some info from Johansen and Osman. "Some scientists think coincidences are just random flukes, but counselors and psychoanalysts reckon there's more to it, like some deep-down stuff needing to come out. Unconscious material to be expressed."
Rosencreutz interjected, his expression reflecting a mix of confusion and concern. "Aleister Crowley's actions have left a lasting scar on this world and this city," he began, his voice weighted with solemnity. “The vacuum-like dichotomy between magic and science created by the use of that colossal psychotronic weapon, has damaged this world's memory almost irreparably.”
Psychotronic weapon?
The Archetype Controller?
He paused, his gaze piercing as he continued, "Jung's exploration of synchronicity as evidence of the paranormal paved the way for further inquiry, notably by Koestler and the subsequent embrace of these ideas by the New Age movement.”
Sogiita shrugged, "Some folks say synchronicity is impossible to test or prove, so it gets labeled as pseudoscience. Jung even acknowledged that these synchronicity events are basically just coincidences, statistically speaking. But hey, who's to say what's really going on without some solid scientific studies, right?"
"Dubious as his experiments may have been," CRC interrupted, "Jung believed in a connection between synchronicity and the paranormal, drawing parallels to the uncertainty principle and works by parapsychologist Joseph B. Rhine.” CRC posed a thought-provoking question, "How are we to recognize acausal combinations of events, since it is obviously impossible to examine all chance happenings for their causality? The answer lies in the fact that acausal events are most readily expected where a causal connection appears inconceivable upon closer reflection. It's impossible, with our current resources, to explain ESP or meaningful coincidences as mere phenomena of energy. This challenges the very notion of cause and effect, as these events occur simultaneously rather than in a linear cause-and-effect manner. Hence, I have coined the term 'synchronicity' to describe this phenomenon, placing it on equal footing with causality as a principle of explanation."
Getting closer to that Gemstone, CRC emphasized, "Esper abilities cannot be fully understood with science alone. They defy traditional cause-and-effect explanations, instead representing a convergence of factors that create a quantum phenomenon affecting both the micro and macro. Why were there the naturally gifted and the naturally ungifted?”
Why did some students get praised for their abilities while others needed to work harder?
Others among them would have worked every hour of their free time and not progressed anywhere in this city’s leveling curriculum.
Why did this city present such an unfair and unpredictable status quo of potential?
Why did hard work barely matter in a city of empirical evidence to record any possible progress?
Sogiita Gunha wasn't a normal Level 5 but he wasn't always this powerful. He went through the curriculum same as everyone but if the outside conditions for his Gemstone ability to manifest didn't form in the exact way that it did, in such an acausal form then would he even be here to challenge Christian Rosencreutz right now?
Everything just happened to fall right into place.
All those puzzle pieces that would lead to this moment here and now.
Was it all just talent? God picking a fool as his champion?
The #7 leaned back, absorbing CRC's words with a thoughtful expression. "So, what you're saying is, there's this whole other layer to reality that we can't quite wrap our heads around," he summarized, nodding slowly. "I mean, it's like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands—slippery and elusive."
He chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Historic recurrence, synchronicities, all these things—they're like pieces of a puzzle scattered across this substantial reality. And sometimes, they just... click into place, right? It's like the universe has its own plan, and we're just along for the ride."
That bandana wearing boy's gaze drifted, lost in thought. "You know, CRC, it's funny," he remarked, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Here we are, with all our powers and potential, but at the end of the day, we're still grappling with the same questions as everyone else. Talent, destiny, divine intervention—maybe they're all just different sides of the same coin."
He shrugged, the weight of the philosophical musings settling over the broken city. "Who knows? Maybe God does have a sense of humor, after all.” that boy chuckled.
There was a deep silence between them.
Rosencreutz’ response was swift and resolute, his tone filled with certainty. "All this ‘universe has a plan’ banter is just a distraction from the inevitable," he declared, his eyes narrowing. "We can debate the nature of us being all-powerful yet struggling with mortal issues until the sun burns out, but it won't change the fact that our fate was sealed upon the knowledge Adam learned."
“To think so many trivialities have developed while this old man wasn’t watching. Heh heh. Then I should assume the thread of fate has again begun to weave its strange connections between myself and some unknown human.”
He rose forward, his movements purposeful. "It's time to put an end to this dance of platitudes," CRC continued, his voice cold and unwavering. "We'll settle this the only way that somewhat matters—through objective action in this grand play."
“Silence, preserved doll. Illusionists are meant to remain silent. That is all we magicians are: wielders of substanceless illusions. Opening your mouth serves only to break the illusion.”
With a flicker of resolve in his eyes, he locked gazes with the #7. "I am Hydra, Gemstone," he said, his voice carrying a hint of challenge. "Our battle ends now.” CRC opened both his palms and began shooting at their surroundings, the buildings, the pavement, the apartments, the rubble.
It probably wasn't random as it seemed to create a pattern.
“Huh are you getting senile old man?” asked the young Gemstone.
“What fun. I never imagined someone would bother diligently polishing their skills this far while knowing it is all essentially an illusion. Didn’t you ever feel silly going to the effort?”
Rosencreutz dropped to all fours, his rosy cross sword gripped tightly in his right hand.
He moved—
“Arrgh!” Sogiita yelled amidst the relentless and precise and precise strikes from that golden cross. “Old man?” he asked.
That magician didn't say anything.
That silver man’s movements became more beastly.
Faster.
Stronger.
Fiercer.
Something new was beginning to manifest.
With each strike of his higher dimensional blade that old man’s blows seemed infused with an otherworldly energy.
The wounds inflicted by his weapon burned with a venomous intensity, sending searing pain coursing through Sogiita's body.
That boy grimaced as the poison from that silver man’s strikes surged through his being, each wound feeling like it was ablaze with venomous fire.
"Damn... That burns…like a killer hornet’s sting," he muttered through clenched teeth, his voice strained with effort. Gritting, he fought to maintain his focus, despite the agony threatening to overwhelm him.
Was this another application of The Four Stages? Citrinitas? No, there was nothing yellow here, it was more like a dirty purple.
But it wasn't just the physical damage that posed a threat.
As the Rosy Cross leader leaped on all fours his movements took on an almost erratic quality, he was bouncing from one building to another with an animalistic agility.
With each jump, a shockwave rippled through the air, carrying with it a palpable sense of dread.
Something was spreading.
The air around them seemed to thicken with a toxic miasma. The #7 struggled to breathe, the noxious fumes clouding his senses.
Like a chaotic monster’s venomous poison breath.
The once-clear air now felt thick and suffocating.
Gasping for breath, the bandana boy struggled to maintain his focus amidst the swirling chaos.
His vision blurred, his movements sluggish as he fought against the oppressive atmosphere.
Blinded that heroic boy could only fire a flame arrow without his sight.
His fists striking out with all the strength he could muster. Igniting in that poisonous compressed air.
It seemed to be flammable like a dragon’s breath.
???
At the hospital, Shokuhou's voice carried a mix of surprise and relief. “He caused real damage.” she exclaimed.
Kamijou turned his attention to her, intrigued. “What happened?”
“It's hard to see clearly, but it looks like the #7 managed to blast off CRC's left arm,” she explained. “Though, I'd say it was more of a lucky shot. I can read he acted on pure instinct.”
Kamijou nodded, a hint of melancholy in his tone. “Yeah... the psychic link and all.”
Had the #7 Level 5 given up on the old man?
Back on the battlefield, Sogiita cursed under his breath. “Dammit... Sorry, old man,” he muttered. “I was aiming to hit your whole body to maximize the surface area, maybe break a few bones as a casualty. We can probably get your arm reattached at the hospital. Heaven Canceller has enough guts to even fix me.”
It was clear—he hadn't given up.
It was an accidental strike of his arm.
“As each ghastly head was severed from its serpentine form, dreadfully, two more writhed forth from the abyss.” a cryptic voice amidst the chaos spoke.
Wasn't it said that the Hydra’s lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid.
Lerna was reputed to be an entrance to the Underworld.
The abyss.
The Ungrund.
There is no limit to the depth of the Alcyonian Lake, and I know of nobody who by any contrivance has been able to reach the bottom of it since not even Nero, who had ropes made several stades long and fastened them together, tying lead to them, and omitting nothing that might help his experiment, was able to discover any limit to its depth. This, too, I heard. The water of the lake is, to all appearance, calm and quiet but, although it is such to look at, every swimmer who ventures to cross it is dragged down, sucked into the depths, and swept away.
The keeper of the gate to the Underworld that lay in the waters of Lerna was the Hydra.
The serpentine Lake Monster.
“Rosencreutz……?” The #7 muttered.
That magician chuckled ominously. "No, young Heracles, Hydra." he intoned, his voice echoing with a bizarre resonance. “The Lernaean Hydra's curse is upon you now.” as he said that he cut off a bit of his arm that was cuterarised with his golden blade and it began bleeding.
Anna Sprengel’s blood was said to create unknown miracles when spilled.
Christian Rosencreutz’ blood was so virulent that even its scent was deadly.
As Sogiita Gunha glanced at his severed arm lying on the ground, a creeping sense of horror enveloped him. "All of fate is a curse and that curse," he murmured, his words barely audible over the din of battle, "extends even to my severed limb.”
Christian Rosencreutz’ left arm grew back.
No.
Two new arms grew in its place.
The fate of chaoskampf? The hero battling the dragon?
The arm was fully functioning with no defects.
Although one of the arms appeared somewhat scaly and lanky like a serpent.
It had human anatomy but something was abnormal here.
He almost looked like a spider as he emerged from the poisonous fog as he remained on all fours.
“So short-stack. Are you ready to complete your final labor: Crossing the abyss!!!” He challenged that boy with his cross sword facing him.
"Boss, what's up? You look kinda stuck," Kamijou asked, his tone concerned.
Two students were sitting together in the waiting room at a hospital.
"—abyss, Hydra, curse, synchronicities, Historic recurrence." she replied, her words carrying a weight of unease.
"Huh? What? Can you give me the lowdown?" Kamijou prodded, his urgency evident.
"Can't quite wrap my head around it. But what I can tell you is that after CRC started talking about these esoteric concepts, he leveled up his power ability, managed to seriously hurt the #7 despite me cranking up all his stats for the win condition," the honey-blonde girl explained, frustration creeping into her voice.
"Can you beam all that stuff into my head, like a memory download? You're a psychological esper, right? My right hand won't mess with it, and we've done the telepathy thing before," Kamijou suggested.
"Memory download's not quite it, but I can send you a recording," she clarified.
"Got it," Kamijou muttered as he absorbed the info.
"You got any ideas to help the #7’s situation ability, Kamijou-san? We're kinda desperate here," she asked.
"I wish Index was still here, dammit.” he lamented, “But you know about magic, right?" he queried.
"Yeah, people converting their delusions into reality right?," she admitted.
"Well, magic's not just about delusions; it can be tied up to the whole world. Not sure if it's relevant, but based on Idol Theory, Rosencreutz might be pulling in 'energy’ from the Greek 'phase’ of Heracles for an edge," Kamijou theorized.
"Like a chessboard flip?" Shokuhou Misaki inquired, her brow furrowed with concern.
"No, more like... imagine you're playing checkers with a buddy, and you're totally crushing it because you're a checkers pro. Then suddenly, your buddy switches it up and challenges you to an arm wrestling match, and you lose because, well, arm wrestling isn't your forte," Kamijou Touma explained, trying to paint a vivid picture.
"So, by taking on the role of the Hydra from Greek myth, he's essentially forcing the #7 into the role of Heracles? But didn't Heracles defeat the Hydra?" Shokuhou sought clarification.
"Yeah, but..." Kamijou recalled the tale from the movies he'd seen. "Lichas gave Heracles a shirt soaked in the Hydra's poisonous blood from his arrows, which ends up killing him by tearing his flesh down to the bone," he elaborated.
"It was actually Nessus seeking vengeance and tricking Deianira into giving it to Heracles as a gift, delivered by Lichas without disclosing the tunic's lethal bloodstained secret from the Lernaean Hydra, but you're right," Shokuhou corrected gently. "So, Rosencreutz is harnessing the power of that legend to slowly poison the #7?"
"Not literal. I mean the poison is real but his slashes do significant harm now so it's more like shifting the paradigm in his favor…shifting his position.” The spiky-haired boy wasn't in the mood to explain Phases, “Earlier, he mentioned Sogiita spreading his 'virus' throughout the world. A virus isn't a poison in the traditional sense, but the Rosicrucians originally sought to create a universal cure for all illnesses. Now, CRC is spreading a literal poison, positioning himself as the ultimate predator and his opponents as prey rather than his savior role, the paradigm has been shifted." Kamijou concluded, his voice tinged with gravity.
“So he’s changed the environment to get the win condition? The #7’s durability doesn't matter in the face of the world being forced to go about a certain way because of Rosencreutz stage play?” The girl asked.
“Yeah…if things keep going this way…Sogiita will….goddamnit….” The spiky haired boy swore. “I can't let someone else die after all that's happened but I feel like if I go out there I really will kill him…” he muttered that last bit while clenching his right fist that began shaking uncontrollably.
The girl’s eyes seemed confused.
“What did you say?” The honey blonde middle schooler asked.
“Nothing, just mumbling to myself.” he spat out.
That boy and girl could never come to the right conclusion on their own without the aid of former Magic God Othinus by their side.
“Did you think I had challenged you with no hope of succeeding, you cesspool? The magic born on earth is bound by the directions based on the earth’s magnetic field and by the density and composition of the air which is determined by air pressure which is in turn influenced by gravity. That is inevitable when you are focused on the cardinal directions of north, south, east, and west or on the basic elements of fire, water, wind, and earth. But what you will find upon leaving the atmosphere is an unknown. Coronzon, are you sure there will be no malfunction in the magic giving you control of Avatar Lola? And before, my power was bound by the puny speck named earth which failed to become a black hole or even a sun, but once we enter outer space, just how far do you think that power will be released? I do not mind at all that I will lose the support of Academy City.”
Well the boy was half right.
“Let us test it out, you cuspidor. On one side, we have you using the planet and bound to an avatar. On the other, we have me exposed and freed from the planet. Now, who will be the star of this show?”
Christian Rosencreutz did not shoot at his surroundings for no reason.
The battlefield transformed into Rosencreutz's canvas, resembling the legendary battleground of Lerna where Heracles once clashed with the Hydra.
Yes.
He didn't unleash his powers randomly; every action was deliberate.
In the magical side of Idol Theory, mimicking an object, event, or person allowed one to tap into a fraction of its power.
And that even applied to locations that essentially worked as stage plays.
Idol Theory was so absolute that even the basic cross held a portion of the son of God’s power.
As Above, So Below.
As Below, So Above.
Macro to micro.
Micro to macro.
And the macrocosm and the microcosm are always linked.

This year. I caught In Flames set. I don't really listen to the band all that much, but last time they were at Rockville I managed to catch their set right before the rain delay which I loved. I also like Lorna Shore and they seem to be that bands biggest influence.
I watched this years in flames set left side stage about 8-9 rows back. It was a pretty spread out crowd, so it was super easy to see the performance and the people around us. Alot of people around us knew every word, which is pretty shocking seeing how little you can really understand vocally. But always a great thing.
There was specifically a younger girl behind me (about 13-14 years old MAYBE) with her dad who was there and they both knew every word. I'm 22 and it reminded me of when I was at shows when I was younger, seeing Asking Alexandria and Myspace deathcore bands that I really liked. Well, at the end of the performance I managed to catch a drum stick. I have a pretty solid collection of drum sticks and guitar picks labeled, but the daughter and father combo both were like "aw man! It was right there! So close but congratulations on getting it" attitude so I gave it to them. The girl started tearing up and the dad thanked me and shook my hand.
I hope I made their festival experience alot better.
I hope you see this and if an opportunity reveals itself to do something good or right for someone else, to make their weekends that much better do so. I haven't had anyone do anything nice to me in the years of going to this festival (quite the opposite tbh) but i'll tell you. The joy of seeing their face with the drumstick was worth more to me than that drumstick ever could be.

-Jack
Every kid growing up in Gympie in the early 90- 2000s knew about the Love Tunnel.
The love tunnel was located over the hill from the skatepark on the Riverbank. It was a massive storm water drain filled with spray paint and lore unbound throughout the generations; the glowing dick, whose name is the furthest in, the people who live inside, the bull shark that lived under the bridge just outside, all that fun stuff.
It collapsed in the late 2000’s in a flood and was eventually rebuilt, but it was all fancy, modern, safe and not the same. Back in the day it had decades of graffiti, crumbling cement, jagged metal pole framing bent and jutting out from the sides. You know, real character.
I remember when I was just a kid at the skatepark and I spotted a bunch of other kids at the metal grating of a drain. I joined them and gazed down a few metres to some older teenagers, they had trekked through this “love tunnel” under the massive hill all this way. Badass I thought. LEGENDARY.
I talked about it at school, about this mysterious “love tunnel”. It was in view from the road when I crossed the bridge everyday on my daily commutes from the backseat of mums car.
I would gaze down at the weir and see the top of the love tunnel, sliightly hidden from view by a hill. It fascinated me.
I learned all these mysterious tales; this person slept with this person there, someone took a dump at the entrance and some other girl stood in it and now she had a nickname, someone found needles, another found a homeless woman and she screamed at them. I was pumped for the next weekend. I was going to go see it for myself.
I saw too much.
Early Saturday morning I was riding my push bike through town and toward destination adventure! I started out at the skatepark, met up with a few of the regulars, a mix of 5-19y/o everyone on the half pipes and ramps had a code of comrady that I've never found in a public place anywhere else and you always had someone to hang with.
My usual crew slowly arrived through the morning, a bunch of other 10/11 year old misfits like myself and we headed on our first place on our journey, Hungry Jacks. Now we never technically stole, we found a loophole…
One or two would order a stunner meal, then we'd take privilege of the free refills and fill up the empty plastic 4L juice jugs that we all had prepped in our backpacks. Coke and red Fanta for days.
So we got our supplies and headed behind HJ, past the volleyball courts and headed down a bush track down to the river.
We walked along the banks to loop back down to where the bridge was, we passed a few teenagers fishing and a couple other groups of kids swinging from rope swings into the water or huddled in groups smoking things they shouldn't.
We eventually arrived at the weir and the stormwater drain that I had been so intrigued by. The Love Tunnel.
Climbing up the hill and seeing it up close when you were just a tiny human. It was like staring into the dark abyss of hell.
There was a small stream of water flowing out of the big grey cylinder and it was covered in multicolored quotes and crude pictures that was very eye opening at the time.
Our voices echoed as one by one we climbed up the grassy, eroding clay edging that was the makeshift path into the mouth that probably changed each time it rained. Each of us had pulled out clumps of grass that we thought were handholds. If you fell, you fell down an embankment of slippery jagged rocks poking out from the fast flowing river.
So were inside and began to walk a couple of metres in then around us the light abruptly disappeared into complete darkness. And I remember the way the sounds traveled you could feel it through your chest it was mesmerizing.
I remember bravely stepping into the darkness and taking five or six steps in. That thick darkness was something else, I ran myself back to that entrance and light, heart pounding from the adrenaline.
This turned into a game of who could go in the furthest. This stopped when one of the boys screamed out from the darkness in pain.
He was back in the light teary eyed a few moments later wet on one side and feigning a laugh. He'd slipped down and cut open his knee, it was hilarious. We teased him saying he was going to get gangrene and leprosy and a myriad of other ailments we had no idea actually was.
We decided to bail, we forgot torches, we didn't plan that part out too well, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon being little menaces.
We met the next day with a game plan, we had an array of various sized torches, from small ones that didn't do anything, one of those giant rectangle ones that was our main light source, a couple of handheld ones, one which flickered and the other stopped working before we even got into the tunnel.
We got in safely and tested out our torches and began walking into the unknown. It was pretty much the same as before, but there were strange things, old makeshift bongs, shopping bags, random shoes, a shopping trolley, a mattress that was all moldy and rotted. I still to this day do not understand how people managed to get that shit in there.
We passed a section where someone had thrown a can of red paint all over the walls, the amount of those ‘S’ symbols was more terrifying.
We saw light up ahead, we were passing our first grate. It was kind of daunting looking up towards it. Even getting on each other's shoulders we couldn't reach. There was an array of broken beer bottles and glass was everywhere, under the grate was a dead snake amongst some debris.
We had a debate whether to go further, we ended up going on at least until the next grate, we came to a fork, one seemed like a smaller offshoot so we stuck to the bigger side.
There were more offshoots and we came to a part where the big pipes split off into three under another grate. We gazed up hoping to get an identifier of our location, but all we could see was blue. We called out to see if we could get anyone's attention.
“Cooooweeee” we shouted in unison, the sound echoing in all directions.
We were laughing and having a grand time until something shouted back, something that still shakes me to my core to this day.
Some yobbo crackhead chick in her fifties with this ratty pink tank top that was all stretched half showing her saggy titties. “What the fuck you think you little cunts doing down here.” This chick screeched at us through her few teeth or something along the lines of that. She just exploded at us with a barrage of threats.
We were shocked silenced moving together to make one mass.
One of the boys screamed when a skinny guy emerged from the darkness. He was covered in tattoos with scraggly hair and a beard, he was all crazy eyed and pantless.
Someone yelled out to run and it was all the motivation we needed.
We could hear them screaming and the guy ran after us, we heard glass shattering behind us, they must have thrown a bottle. We were legging it.
We got split up in our running, I fell down, tripping over some rubbish, one mate stayed back to help me, this left us without a torch. We came across the same kid who slipped over yesterday, he had slipped down again cutting open his other knee. He wore those with badges of honor at school, but he was blubbering like a baby at this point.
He had the flickering torch and it disoriented us more than helped, as it turned on and off every time he took a step. I thought we were lost but we found the other grate, then eventually the entrance.
The others were already climbed down, we were soon by their side panting in the grass and wiping away our tears so the others couldn't see.
We ran back over to the skatepark and immediately told every kid we saw.
That was the wildest shit we had ever experienced. Sure we’d seen crazy up on the street but to have it jump out at you from the shadows in a storm water drain was next level.
By that night one of the other boys had spilled to his parents about our escapades and a couple of other mums got phone calls, three got in trouble, two of us didn't, including me.
I never stepped foot back in that tunnel, I swam at the weir more times than I could count afterwards though and never encountered anyone else too sketchy.
I think only a year or two later I saw on the news people dying in storm water drains somewhere else in Aus, we never realized how dangerous they could be back then. Lol.
Every party or get together afterwards it was a crowd favorite to bring up. It was a good conversation starter and joined the tales amongst my friends of the weird shit that happens in ‘Helltown’.
Growing up and looking back they were probably just homeless drug addicts freaked out from a bunch of children's voices yelling out coooweee from the underground where they thought they were alone. That would have scared the shit outta me if I was them.
Good times.
.VJ - in 2012 two women tragically passed away when they were exploring the tunnels and got swept away when a wild storm cell hit. Pictures of the upgraded version of the 'love tunnel' can be found in corresponding news articles.

As discussed in the first post, this is my ongoing compilation of the remaining questions Christopher has answered online between August 1st 2023 and April 30th 2024 which I've not already covered in other compilations.
As always, questions are sorted by topic, and each Q&A is annotated with a bracketed source number. Links to every source used and to the other parts of this compilation will be provided in a comment below.
The previous post focused on the essence of the Murtagh book and character. This installment will cover additional Murtagh-related questions, such as about specific elements of the writing process. The next post will cover the writing and publication of Eragon.

Further Details about Writing Murtagh

Creating the Maps

For Murtagh I did all the maps after writing the book, but that's because I already knew all the locations and was familiar with them from writing the series. So I didn't need to do the maps before writing the book. [12]
What is your system for drawing maps? I usually start by thinking of what I want a location to look like. And that has nothing to do with a map. That's usually just thinking about how it will serve the story. And then the map will be based off of that. The biggest decision is usually what the style of the map should be, whether I want to do like a top-down city map for a place, or if I want it to be a more of a realistic image. So more of, let's say, a landscape painting, one could say, or if I want to do something that's more allegorical and evocative or symbolic, which there's actually one of those in Murtagh that really isn't a map, but it's a symbolic map, let's put it that way. And all of that is governed by what is the effect I hope to achieve with the reader. Because if it doesn't achieve the effect I want, then what's the point of doing it. I do try to avoid maps where I have to draw every single building if it's a city map because that's just annoying. I'd rather draw mountains than cities. [12]
I love the sort of top-down look, which is why I drew the the original map for Eragon in this style. [12]
Maps are an awesome thing, and they add so much to a world. And that's why I love drawing them, and I love finding them in books I'm reading. And it's also why I make such an effort to draw and paint maps for my own books. [12]

Favorite Parts

What kind of scenes do you enjoy writing most? I really empathize with the characters, so I find it difficult to write scenes where they experience difficulties. I like to write scenes where people wonder about the world, or where the story reaches a climax. With Murtagh, for example, this is the confrontation at the end of the book. Or the fight with the big fish, Muckmaw. There are also quiet moments that I enjoy writing. Again in Murtagh, when Silna – the werecat child – kisses Murtagh's head, that was a very special moment. I like to write things that have meaning and that requires context, so you have to build up to moments that are meaningful, both for myself as a writer and for the reader. [23]
Do you have a favorite moment in the book between Thorn and Murtagh? I have a couple of them. There's a moment after the encounter with Muckmaw when they exchange true names that I quite liked. The end of the Gil'ead sequence. Thorn has an appearance at the end of that sequence, which was rather dramatic. And then right near the end of the book, Thorn gets a crowning moment of awesome, one might say, to use internet speak. But Thorn really, he comes through in a pinch, and I just loved writing that. [32]
What was your favorite scene or moment that you wrote for Murtagh? I'd say the last chapter, and I'm not gonna say why, but I think it's obvious. There's a scene with a creature named Muckmaw, which I quite enjoy. Not just the confrontation with Muckmaw, the aftermath in the water. I was reading Blood Meridian at the time, and I think that influenced my descriptions. And there is a point in the story where something is renamed. And that was a very meaningful scene for me. Also, there's a werecat in the book and I love werecats. They're so much fun to write. [34]
What is your favorite line you've written? The first line I wrote for Murtagh before I had anything really for the book, I thought it was going to be the first line of the book and it ended up being partway through the first chapter, and it was "A man with a dragon is never truly alone." Which since he's an outcast the whole theme of being alone or not alone is kind of relevant. [33]
My favorite good/bad line from Murtagh is: “The water was like liquid ice.”.. . . Yeah, yeah. I know. But you understand what I meant! And that’s the point of writing. Ahahaha!* I didn't notice! just imagined really cold water Can’t tell you how many times I stepped into the Yellowstone River and thought: “This feels like ice! But liquid.” [T]

Providing Context

In the acknowledgments section you said you owe your agent some sushi? Yes! I bet him a sushi dinner, an expensive new York sushi dinner, that I could keep Murtagh under the length of Eragon. And I got close. The first draft was one hundred and sixty eight thousand words long. Eragon is one hundred and fifty six thousand words long. And I figured well I usually drop about ten percent of length in editing, so I thought I'd do that. The problem is I hate over explaining things. I know that sounds incredibly hypocritical based off what I've actually written, but because of my experiences of over explaining things, I've really tried to not do that as much, and so I wrote the book assuming that someone had read the Inheritance Cycle and remembered it. So I didn't explain what a lot of things were because I assumed the reader knew. And my editor came back and said "Christopher, I know what you're doing, but you can't do that. Because someone might pick this up without having read the Inheritance Cycle. And even if someone read the Inheritance Cycle, it's been twelve years. So provide a little context." Well, that ended up being thirty-three thousand words, give or take. So now we're at one hundred and ninety eight thousand words, so I owe my agent a sushi dinner. [17]
It's always interesting to me to see how people do their first chapters in a series. Because I always feel like chapter one is like "previously on..." It's funny. I wrote my latest book with basically no callbacks or explanations of established information. After four books and a million published words, you kind of think people have it under their belt. And my editor came back and she was like, "It's been eleven years since the last book, even if people are fans of the series, you got to give them a little more." So usually when I write a first draft, it drops by about 10% in editing. And with that book, it went up by 33,000 words, which all of it was basically context, which was interesting. So that was a first for me. I'm a kitchen sink author, so I throw everything in and then I usually cut back during editing. [33]
I would love to write books that are more around the length of 100,000 to 150,000 words. Like that's a good, solid length. That's where I was shooting for with Murtagh, but for some reason my editor kept asking me to add more and more stuff so we ended up close to 200,000 words. [1]
Final word count of Murtagh is 198,983 words. So my editor had me ADD about 34,000 words to the book over the course of editing/revising. Ha! That's a first. [T]

Gil'ead Sequence

Interesting choice to break it up into the sections of each city. Just the section in Gil'ead is basically a novel on its own. There's a full arc in Gil'ead that would be a normal size novel for any other writer. I nearly split it into two volumes, actually, there. But my editor said, "no, don't do that". The funny thing about Gil'ead is that actually was not in my original outline. The whole sequence. And the reason is that, for me, I was envisioning a much shorter book. And the whole thing was going to be them going to the village and dealing with Bachel. So let's get to the village as quickly as possible. So we'll just have a chapter or two at the beginning of getting the information. Well, storytelling 101, you can't make it easy for the character. So having Murtagh just be able to go get that information somewhere, find it out, just felt too easy. Also, I kind of locked myself into a little path because the first chunk of the book is reworking the short story from The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm. And at the end of that, Murtagh does not have the information he needs. So he can't get it from the people he interacts with in that chapter, which if I were writing Murtagh as a complete standalone, I could have considered that. So then I thought, "well, he'll go to Gil'ead and we'll have a really quick thing there. And he'll get his information." I started writing it the way I originally envisioned. But again it was too easy. So it was like, "OK. There needs to be a challenge here. What else is going on? How does it tie into my larger world and story?" And it does. There's some unresolved storylines there, but it does tie into the larger stuff I'm going to later. And then it was half the book. Seriously. At the end of the following chapter, right after Gil'ead, is almost perfectly 50% through the book. I'm sure everyone's heard of the three act play, but there's a competing theory of storytelling, which I'm actually very fond of, which is the five act play. So you have two acts at the beginning, two acts at the end, and then your middle act, and then you have an act in the middle. And in that middle act, you have a tipping point where your character sort of sees what they need, or sees what they can become. They ultimately see their own solution to their problems, but then the rest of the back half of the story is them grappling with that solution, coming to terms with it. And that actually worked, it was not intentional, but it worked out perfectly with the structure of this book. The structure of this book is also directly inspired by some of the structuring that I did in my sci-fi novels and I carried some of it back into Alagaësia. [11]
In regard of Murtagh or any other part of your work, what's the most intense moment for you during the creative process when you are in the midst of writing a novel? A lot of it is intense. I'm gonna divide it into two sections. The creative process itself, in the sense that where I'm creating the story and the characters and the world. In this case, of course, the world was pretty much in place, but in the outlining phase, I should say, that's a lot of fun. There's some pressure in the sense that I know if I don't get it right in that stage, that no matter how well I write the book, it won't hang together particularly well for the reader. So there's strain in that sense that I really want to get it right. But I wouldn't say there's any real pressure, because there's no deadlines at that point. I'm not actually writing the book. During the writing itself, there's definitely strain and intensity in wanting to get it right and do a good job of writing each individual scene and chapter and storyline. And sometimes that can get difficult, especially if I feel like I'm not really getting where I need to get in terms of the effect on the reader. I had that in a couple places in the first draft with Murtagh. One was with the character Bachel herself, who was quite different in the first draft. And then another one actually was the whole Gil'ead sequence, where my original idea for that sequence is actually what happens now in terms of the werecat kittens and all of that. And then I second guessed myself and thought, "well, maybe that's a little cheesy. Maybe I won't have a ticking clock element to that sequence. So I'm just gonna not have that, but he'll still have these various adventures in order to earn this information from the werecat Carabel." And the problem is it removed any sense of tension from that sequence. So I ended up having to rework a lot of the Gil'ead sequence to reintroduce that element, bring in the tension and make it all work. But both of those things happened in the second chunk, which I was gonna say is revision. And revision and editing tends to be the most intense part of the process, because at that point we're usually under deadline. We've committed to a release date and things are happening on the business side of things, that are sort of like unstoppable forces. The ticking clock in the real world. And that tends to be the most intense part because it's not that I can't do the work, I always can and I always am able to get where I wanna go. I'm not stressed about that, it's just instead of having two months to do something, now you got to do it in two weeks, and oh hey, you got a new baby you got to take care of at the same time. And that's what makes it really intense. [19]
One of the things that I loved about the very first half of this novel is that it is a quintessential RPG action adventure. Because poor Murtagh gets pushed and pulled willingly and unwillingly in the strangest directions. Yeah, he's on the series of fetch quests. It's funny. I've had a bunch of people react differently to that. I've seen people who kind of hate it and really love it, and a lot of people who say, "Well, Christopher's just writing out his D&D session". I literally have never played D&D except for my recent trip down to the Authors in the Dungeon down in Utah. So I don't play D&D. I have no one here to play it with. The only RPGs I've ever played are Skyrim and the Mass Effect series. My logic with that sequence was there was a whole lot we needed to see about Murtagh's back history without rehashing the Inheritance Cycle, without actually going back and rewriting scenes from his point of view. And just doing it all in flashbacks and dreams gets a bit tedious. On top of that, originally that sequence wasn't in the book I was going to write. I was going to start with essentially the opening. And then we were going to go to Nal Gorgoth fairly quickly in the book. But it just made it too easy. No one's going to give them the information for free. There's always a price attached to information. There had to be difficulty in getting it. And then once I was digging into that, I was like, okay, how can I use this to show some aspects of Murtagh's character, and then how will that then get reflected in the second half of the book? And how will that let me inform what happens in the second half of the book? And I really enjoyed that stuff. Muckmaw was a particular favorite of mine. [32]

Thorn

One of the things that we get a lot of in this book that was really wonderful after reading Inheritance, was Thorn's-- we don't really get his POV, but we get some POV through Murtagh of him. I think he only has one line in the entire Inheritance Cycle. In the last book. And we get a lot of him here. And we get a very different Rider-Dragon relationship between him and Murtagh versus Saphira and Eragon. What was the process of crafting that relationship to be similar in its like magical quality, but also different in the fact that they had a very trying kind of hatching? Well that was the key right there. I wanted it to feel different while still maintaining the sense that they'll back each other up no matter what, which they have in the past. That's an important part of that. But Murtagh is kind of a difficult personality himself. Thorn, as we see in the book, of course, had a very, very difficult upbringing under Galbatorix and then later on. And that leaves scars. That leaves marks. So trying to find a way to reflect that in the relationship without having them also just be at each other's throats, because they're not. They are being supportive. But at the same time, it's perhaps an overused word these days, but they have trauma that they are having to battle. [11]
One of my favorite things is the relationship between Murtagh and Thorn--they’re such a lonely duo, but it allows the book to kind of delve into that dragon/rider bond in a new way. What sets their relationship apart do you think? Murtagh and Thorn were joined under the most difficult of circumstances, and that shapes their interactions in a thousand different ways. Their relationship is more, ah, thorny than Eragon and Saphira’s, but they also still love each other and would lay down their lives for one another, should the occasion demand it. I found their interactions really interesting to write. Also, it felt important that I didn’t directly replicate Eragon and Saphira’s relationship. Murtagh and Thorn are very different beings, and readers should see that. [15]
What is the relationship between Murtagh and his dragon Thorn? Thorn's egg hatched when they were imprisoned by King Galbatorix. The two friends have been tortured and manipulated. They retain many traumas. They care deeply for each other and are closely bonded. But their relationship is more difficult than that of Eragon and his dragon Saphira. [4]

Claustrophobia

I definitely got choked up with just Thorn and his claustrophobia and how it was written, how it was handled, everything surrounding it. Out of pure curiosity, do you or do someone you know have that kind of claustrophobia that you were able to speak to about? No. A large part of the act of writing is the act of imagination, just like with acting. But even though there's no one in my life who suffers from that, when I'm writing Thorn or anyone who might feel that, I do my best to feel what they're feeling, which is why when writing scenes or a large chunk of a book where perhaps things are difficult for the characters, I have a bad time. Yeah, I hope you take breaks. Yeah, that's where it's good to go play with the kids and take a load off one's mind. But some of the battle scenes in Inheritance really got to me at times, because I'm thinking actually especially in Inheritance, but also in Brisingr, there were some large set pieces, battles. And it just takes a couple of weeks to write sometimes. And that's a long time to have your head in blood and guts. [11]

Bachel

You write so many diverse women in your books that we really enjoy. Between Arya, Angela, Nasuada, Queen Islanzadi, you write fantasy with women in positions of power, with agency and with action. And then we get to this book and we meet this villain, Bachel, and she's basically like, "what if Angela was evil?" I hadn't thought of it that way. I was reading the book. I was like, "Did Christopher Paolini and his sister have a fight? What changed in that relationship?" Because she's awful. So I've watched a lot of movies in my life, and a lot of old movies too. I was thinking of some of the classic actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood who would come on the screen with a very imperious feel, like Sunset Boulevard or All About Eve or some of those films. And Bachel is sort of in that category of presence. And I think it's exactly what was needed to put Murtagh off balance. I was also thinking of Kai Winn from Deep Space Nine. I've always said that Kai Winn and from Harry Potter the headmistress Umbridge, and Hyacinth Bouquet from the British show Keeping Up Appearances. The three of them in a room together will be like a nuclear explosion. When you were approaching bringing this book from the short story about The Fork into a full novel, at what point did you create this character and where did she come from? I had a general idea before writing Murtagh, of course. I did a lot of plotting and preparatory work, but you never know how a character is going to come across until you write the first draft. And in the first draft, Bachel was not as successful as she is now, I think. I was writing the first draft quickly, and I was thinking of the stories a little bit more of like a Edgar Rice Burroughs style adventures. You go off into the jungle, and you find a hidden temple and lost civilization sort of thing. And as a result, in the first draft, Bachel was much more vampy. I really went hard on that angle. And then looking back over, it's like it didn't work. And it was so cliche and obvious. It was like, yeah, I needed to find another approach. So I kept reworking Bachel with each cycle of revision and it was getting better. The character was getting better and better, but I wasn't fully committing to the change. And it was right at the end of revisions. I mean, we were down to the wire and my editor said, we're still not quite there. And even though I hated to have to have any more work at that point, I knew she was right. So I went in. We're talking with a week to spare before we went to the printers. And I rewrote the first four chapters or so when he gets to the village. I rewrote pretty much every line of dialogue of hers and every description of her to bring it to where we are. And then I was like, "OK, now it works", and my editor agreed. She is terrifying and one of those characters that's not mustache twirly evil, but has so much evil within her. She thinks she can do no wrong, that she is always doing the right thing and that she knows what's best for all the people around her. And as a result is capable of anything. So all of which is to answer your question, her character was an iterative process to get where she needed to go. [11]
I try to imagine what it is to create characters and if some of them have the purpose to be a particular message or stand as a parable for a message or an idea and if yes, what does Bachel mean to you in a deeper way? I think the Bachel to me represents unquestioning belief and also the tyranny of unchecked power and control over people's lives. I think what differentiates Bachel from a real world cult leader, for example, and this actually kind of made it interesting to me, is that the Dreamers and Bachel are rational in the sense that they are believing in something that actually exists. The power that they are in awe of and that they are afraid of and that they worship actually exists. And the same is true of the priests of Helgrind. So in a sense they are not irrational to have that reaction. You might argue it's the wrong reaction. I would argue that they're overdoing it and the reaction is wrong and perhaps even evil, but they have more reason for their belief than a lot of people sometimes do because they have physical evidence on an ongoing basis of their object of worship. But again, Bachel would to me represent unchecked fanatical belief as well as personal exploitation of one's power over others. [19]
The cult experience in the pages of Murtagh eerily echoed in some ways certain experiences I've had with religion. Could you talk about where that part of your writing came from or how you went about writing it? I understand why that comment's anonymous, and I'm going to kind of adhere to that philosophy of anonymity here. Without going into details, I've had some family members who were in a cult at one point. And that occasioned quite a bit of discussion in my life growing up. Although the cult might seem, and probably is, completely over the top and cartoony in some ways, you would be astounded by how much of that was essentially true to life. Let's put it this way, playing Far Cry 5, if anyone's familiar with that, was a distinctly uncomfortable experience for me. So I did whatever I do when I encounter something uncomfortable. I played the game like four times in a row. [34]
No matter how outlandish a belief seems, it can be completely realistic in your world. Especially if you have people committed to it. I've had family members who've been in a cult at one point. That was interesting. So I've had firsthand experience seeing a lot of this stuff in person, and I used some of that in my latest book. [25]
How come Bachel is pronounced like that when it’s only one little line away from Rachel? The English language hurts my head. Because it’s not from English, and I wanted it to sound different from every other name in the series. [T]

Puce

In Murtagh I have a dragon who's not supposed to be a very nice dragon. I gave him the worst color I could. I have a puce dragon. And mind you, I don't necessarily mind the color itself. It's just for those who don't know, the original definition of the word puce is the color of dried flea blood. So it's a puce dragon. [33]

Traumatic Sequences

What was it like cranking up the anxieties of it, the horrors of it? It feels more mature this time around. Well, good. Murtagh is a more mature character, and he's always had a harder road to walk than Eragon. So, going easy on him was never an option, but it was hard to write. It's hard to put my mind in difficult situations for days on end, weeks on end, months on end when writing and editing. It takes a toll on you emotionally. At least, that's my experience because I empathize with the characters and the world. But at the same time, it's so interesting dramatically that I can't avoid it. Actually [the reason] why I wrote the book was that last chunk of the book. That's what everything leading up to was building and hopefully supporting so that when that hits, you're there going, “Oh my god.” [6]
There is a extended period of this book uh that is very traumatic. That is the darkest I think the series ever gets. Where did you find the line? Were there any drafts where you felt like you went too far with that section or where you had to pull it back? Yes. Not a huge amount though. First of all, I throw everything in in my first drafts, kitchen sink, because you can always dial it back, whatever it is. Even if it's a funny scene, it's like I push it as far as I can and then see how it hits the audience. So in the sequence you're talking about, there was one thing in particular I did that I actually don't want to talk about, that I cut out during editing at my editor's very wise advice, and I'm really glad I did. But that was a thing. Because I was like how far can I take this, and that was too far. [11]
Hopefully this is not scaring anyone off from reading Murtagh. No, it's fantastic. And I think just because it is darker doesn't mean it's bad. I think that it's honestly a perfect natural progression from the Inheritance Cycle to this character. I think it's what the character needed. I also don't think it's depressing, ultimately. [11]
Tell me a little about how you see Murtagh’s journey in this book. He’s certainly on a much darker road than his half-brother, how was it getting to write a story that has more mature themes? I found it enormously rewarding to write about a character who is both more mature and more complicated than Eragon was for the majority of the Cycle. Especially now that I’m older myself. Dramatically, Murtagh (and Thorn!) presented all sorts of interesting opportunities, and I did my best to take advantage of them in this book. Also, since a lot of my readers have grown up with the series, even as I did, I wanted to give them a book that would satisfy them as much as it will also hopefully satisfy younger readers. [15]
As a fifteen-year-old boy I would never have been able to imagine such a flawed character as a central figure, but I now view life very differently. And you notice that my readers who have grown along with me also see these extra shades of gray. [18]
Murtagh is indeed a more mature book than Eragon. Did you write it that way on purpose? Yes, Murtagh is an older character in the story than he or Eragon were in the first books. He is also a complicated person. And my readers have grown up with me in the meantime. So I felt it was important to write a book where my oldest readers would see my progression as writing, and read about characters they could once again identify with. At the same time, new readers should not be forgotten. That's why I wrote Murtagh in such a way that you can also read it without knowing the previous four books. I wanted to write a book that revolved around the difficult history of Murtagh and Thorn, but was still a fun adventure to read. [23]
If you love this fandom, why are you making us suffer so much with this book? I mean the ending redeems you a little bit but oh my god. I'm sure it's been an emotional rollercoaster for you too. There are parts of the story that are definitely very difficult for Murtagh and Thorn and part of that may be my own predilection for writing that sort of stuff but mostly it was that Murtagh has done some very unpleasant things in the Inheritance Cycle, especially to Nasuada. And he needed to come to terms with that, he needed to grapple that, he needed to face it. And there was no easy path forward for him. If I had done easy on Murtagh I feel like readers would have decided that I was cheating, going easy, and that Murtagh didn't actually have to face the consequences of his actions. Even if he wasn't a hundred per cent responsible for them at the time. I can assure you that, and I'll say this to other fans as well, after this story Murtagh is going to have an easier time of it. This book resolves his personal journey and Thorn's on a really fundamental level, and so life's going to be a little bit easier for Murtagh moving forward. [17]

Uvek

So going to Uvek, you've introduced another Urgal. I think that for a lot of readers, the twist on the Urgals in Eldest. They are not just beastial orcs or Uruk-hai or whatever other franchise does with them, Trollocs for Wheel of Time. They are this sentient race that wants to join the fight on the side of good. I think that that shook me when I first read it. How was it bringing another lead character really from that race into the book? And one of the things I really loved about the book is the scene where they're flying to the village, and they see the village of Urgals. And they're just playing with bows. They're just having a normal day. And he has this moment internally where he's like, "oh, maybe I need to be more inquisitive?" Uvek is one of my favorite characters from the book. I like the Urgal culture. I find it interesting. I wouldn't want to live next to an Urgal village, necessarily, especially since I have kids. But dramatically, creatively, they're really interesting to write about. And trying to balance them in the sense that they're a warrior culture like, we could say, the Klingons. But the Klingons take it to such a degree that realistically, you start asking the question of, how have they survived? How do they build a space-frame civilization when it seems like they tear each other apart super quickly? So with the Urgals, I wanted to show more. And in fact, in The Fork of the Witch and the Worm, the largest of the stories in that is The Worm, which is an Urgal story. And since I was looking at ways of exploring the idea of Murtagh and Thorn's relationship with society, being an outcast, all of that. The Urgals are outcasts in the land also. The other races aren't particularly fond of them. That was a nice connection to bring in and reflect off of Murtagh, so to speak. [11]

Typos

I just got off a very fresh reread of Murtagh. I just sent in typo corrections and a couple little tweaks here and there for the reprints. [32]
You mention in Murtagh that Murtagh's Gedwëy ignasia is on his right hand, but I think the community assumed it was on his left from Eldest. We're we all wrong or is that a continuity error I found? Typo. Getting fixed in reprints. [T]

Divers

I've seen a couple of questions about this, so -- for the record, "divers" is not a typo of "diverse". (Probably got too clever for my own good, but there you go.) Archaic language in fantasy books?!?! Say it ain't so! The language is half the fun. :D [T]
Not a typo. :D Archaic word. [T]
If this hypothetical typo is “divers” … that’s actually the correct word and not a typo. If it’s something else, just send a pic and we’ll get it fixed in reprints. [T]
CHRIS WHAT IS THIS? An excellent and archaic word. [T]
*sigh* . . . “divers” is a real word. Not a typo (and it doesn’t mean those who dive in the water) [T]
I mean, "divers" isn't a typo, so . . . That said, if you do find typos in Murtagh, feel free to tweet them at me. We'll get 'em fixed in reprints. Happens with every book. [T]
Heh. Good thing “divers” is actually a word (and it doesn’t mean someone diving into water). [T]
The thing I want to talk to you about today is Twitter drama. You've been getting in tons of fights with readers lately on Twitter. You've been saying some really awful and hateful things to them just because they're pointing out typos in your book. What's the deal with this "divers" typo? Yes, on the first page of Murtagh there's a word "divers", which is an archaic word that means many or a multitude or different things. And too many people think that I'm referring to scuba divers. So it is a fight worth having. You make up fake words all the time. You're a fantasy author. I think the difference here is that you've made up a fake word which also has a real world definition, a person who dives as a sport, and you've put it on the front page of Murtagh without any context clues provided as to how we should interpret this. This is a book that's part of a world that no one has read in more than 10 years. So don't you think that maybe you should apologize to your readers who have waited all this time for a quality product only to be let down by an "archaic" word, aka a typo, on the first page? Absolutely. In fact, I had a conversation with my editor about this before heading out on book tour and we'll be reprinting the books but we're going to translate it all into Pig Latin which should make it more understandable for readers. [31]

Reading Order

I didn't read FWW,should I read it before read Murtagh? I Thought it was a spin-off book. You don't have to read it ... but I would. It acts as a direct lead-in to Murtagh Honestly I'm finding it shocking the number of people who haven't read FWW. There's a solution to that. . . . (Why does that sound mildly threatening?) [T]
Even if you haven't read the other books I think you can certainly enjoy Murtagh as much or even more. [12]
Is Murtagh Book 5 in the story about Eragon/Alagaësia? Yes [R]
Murtagh is a direct inline full-length sequel to the series, even though it has a different main character. [1]
I just finished Fractal Noise last night, and when you mentioned in the afterward about another book for a certain Eragon character, I was hoping it would be him. Yeah, I wanted to mention Murtagh on the "Also By" page in Fractal Noise, but we weren't sure if Murtagh was getting announced before Fractal Noise got released to early readers. [T]

A little plot convinient coincidence never hurt anyone.
First
You know the drill: credit to SpacePaladin15 for the universe.
Thank you JulianSkies for proofreading.
Memory Transcription Subject: Gillab, Gojid Citizen, Husband and Father
Date [Standardized Human Time]: March 27, 2142
It was early in the morning, birds were chirping, and the air was still chilled from the night. It was a comfortable morning, especially considering what had happened yesterday. I could still feel the leftovers of a hangover in the back of my head, but it was more than manageable for me. A small headache like that wouldn’t stop me from visiting the memorial.
I still had a ways to walk before I got there, but I didn’t mind. It just let me take in the beauty of the new New York City that had been built. Even if I wasn’t a Human, I felt a sense of pride at the sight of the glistening towers and the clean streets. Despite only playing a minor role in the clean-up and reconstruction, it was certainly enough for me to feel that I had contributed enough to take pride in it.
I still cannot believe I ever even thought of hating Humans, the fact that I did still disgust me to this day. I wasn’t alone in that mindset either, billions of former soldiers, exterminators, or Human-phobes had woken up to the reality, with tens of thousands of them moving to Earth and trying to repay the Humans what they had taken. Many of them still struggled with coming to terms with their past.
It was because of them that I could become a husband to the most beautiful Gojid in the universe and father to the most rambunctious one. Without their help on the Cradle, I would have died long ago and never have been able to even see the love of my life. They inspired me to become more than just a father and husband, I was going to become just like them.
In my free time, I often worked for charities, volunteered for clean-ups, and tried my hand as a substitute teacher. Even if I wasn’t the best at it, I still enjoyed doing them. It let me feel like I was making a difference in the world, continuing the legacy that the Humans had set up. I would save as many people as I could, just like the person who saved me.
I had lost track of Billy ever since the Cradle, and the one time I had heard about him was from Naeriu telling me how Billy ended up surviving in a cabin in Alaska. It wasn’t like I didn’t try to find him, but it was a big universe, and finding one soldier seemingly determined not to be found made it frustratingly difficult.
After six years of on-and-off searching, I had finally given up on him. I had searched for his name several times on every memorial I could find, desperately hoping to find some sort of closure on his life, but in the end I was left clueless as to the fate of the man who did so much for me.
I sighed the thoughts out of my head, not wanting to have such a negative mindset when I was trying to visit some friends.
I passed under the familiar arch, taking a deep breath of the salty air as I did. After the bombs fell, the crater left behind quickly flooded with ocean water. The near-perfect bowl had become a new habitat for all manner of sea life, a symbol of how even the worst tragedy could be overcome. Surrounding the crater was a ring of stone walls, divided into sections corresponding to when and where a soldier was killed or went missing.
I navigated the massive monument with familiarity, having visited it many times before. I’ve always preferred to visit the day after the holiday, it was always almost empty as people had their fill the day before. Every year or so someone would have a similar idea to me, but it never drew from the experience.
And speaking of, a single man was standing in the exact spot I preferred to stand in. In one of his hands was a bag with the top of a bottle poking out and his other was clenched into a tight fist, his eyes were clenched tightly, his face was strained in pain and profound sadness. You didn’t need to be a detective to know that this man was hurting, whether for lost brethren in arms, lost biological brethren, or simply overwhelming sadness from the loss of life, this man was hurting.
I considered leaving the disheveled man to his devices, but some deep part of my mind told me to talk to him. He didn’t turn to face me as I got closer, he didn’t even open his eyes. It was as if nothing outside of his mind was real to him and it could all be ignored.
“Excuse me? Sir? Are you visiting someone you know?”
He still ignored me, but he loosened the death grip he had on his fist.
“It’s fine if you don’t tell me, but I find that it helps to talk about your feelings with someone else. Even if that someone else is an alien.”
Slowly the man opened his eyes and sluggishly turned to face me. Still, he refused to speak.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to speak, I can stay quiet. But if you won’t stop me, I’d like to speak at you. You don’t have to respond, sometimes it’s better to just listen anyway.”
To my surprise, the man actually spoke. His voice was rough and sad, matching the image in front of me. “Why are you here?”
I smiled and turned to face the wall of names. “I’m visiting some old friends, people who saved my life.”
I pointed a claw at the names. “Owen Oak and James Kle are the ones that I know here, but I know more at other points along the wall. Who did you know?”
The man was silent for a moment. “The same people.”
“Really? How did you know them?”
“I was a soldier. I worked with them.”
I started to nod when a thought flashed through my mind. If he knew the soldiers who worked with Billy, maybe he knew Billy himself. It didn’t seem like a stretch in my eyes, they were all part of the same squad after all.
So, despite having given up on actively searching for Billy, I decided to ask the question. “If you don’t mind me asking, do you maybe know a soldier named Billy Marsh?”
“That’s me.”
I blinked. “W-what?”
“I’m Billy Marsh.”
I stepped back and looked the man up and down. As I did, he finally looked me in the eyes. Once I saw his eyes, the color and shape, I knew with all my heart that this man was Billy Marsh. Even with the scraggly hair, patchy beard, dirty clothes, and brown-bagged drink in hand, there was no mistaking the eyes of the man who saved my life.
“Holy shit… It really is you.”
Billy took a deep drink of his liquor, barely flinching from what I could now see was Venlilian alcohol. He must have been drinking it frequently to be so used to the burning, and judging from his appearance that was no stretch.
“Yeah, it’s me. Billy Marsh, Human trash and parasite to the world.”
My mind tumbled at the words, causing me to stutter and hold out a claw in surprise. “N-now wait a second. You are anything but Human trash or a parasite. You’re a hero Billy, I know for a fact. You saved my life!”
“I’m no hero. I’ve killed so many others. It would have been better off if I never joined the military, maybe more lives could have been saved. Maybe Owen’s life could have been saved.”
He took another gulp of his drink as I spoke. “Now hold on, you saved plenty of-”
Alcohol spilled onto his shirt as he yelled. “I didn’t save anyone! Someone else could have saved so many more lives than I could! At the end of it all, when all was said and done, I was an idealistic fool and a failure and a horrible person. I’ve ended up killing more people than I’ve saved, and I’ve ruined so many lives.”
I took a stand. “Now that’s blatantly not true. Who’s telling you this? Billy, you are one of the kindest, most caring people I have ever met.”
“Was. I was one of the kindest and most caring. And you want to know why? It was because I hadn’t been woken up to just how terrible the universe really was. I mean, what could one young, dumb soldier do in the grand scheme, right? If I really wanted to help, I should have become a doctor or a fucking politician, right? But I chose to be a soldier, a useless fucking pawn that wasn’t even good at its job.”
He took another drink as I stood stunned at who Billy had become. I never could have expected the valiant, patient, caring soldier to become so volatile and angry. I had to help him. I don’t care if I have to miss a few classes, I’m rescuing this man from himself.
“Billy, can I visit sometime soon?”
He spilled a little alcohol as he pulled the bottle away quickly. “Fuck no. I don’t need to ruin your life too. Stay the hell away from me, I’m like a fucking bomb. You are just going to get hurt, it’s a miracle you didn’t the first time.”
“Well if you’re a bomb, then I’m going to disarm you. I don’t know how long you have been like this, but I’m going to heal you.”
He pointed a finger at my chest. “Then I’m just going to fight back. I’m not letting you anywhere near me.”
I pointed right back. “You don’t get to make that decision. It’s my life, and I am choosing to help you.”
“You are going to regret it. I say that with one hundred percent absolute certainty.”
“We won't know until we try.”
Billy took a step back, placed a hand on his head and growled. “You know what? Fine. Try your luck. It’s your life, right? But when you see just how helpless you are to help me, don’t expect to get your wasted time back. I don’t know what you think you can do, but give it a try! It’s still early in the morning, so why don’t we head on back to my place so you can work whatever magic you think you have.”
Billy didn’t wait for a response and stormed off to the exit without another word. I watched him for a long moment before sighing deeply. I don’t know the exact details of what happened to him, but with what Naeriu told me and the names on the memorial I could piece together some vague details. It sounded like Billy had gone through hell, and now he thinks he deserves it.
I clenched my claw in determination before jogging to catch up to Billy. I had some calls to make on the way over to his house knowing just how much work I was going to have to do to help the man who saved me.

[First] [Previous] [Next]
Minutes feel like entire hours while I wait for GalaxyTaco to return, and my anxiety is just mounting up like crazy! So instead of becoming a victim of my own fear, I decide to take a moment to explore the forum and see what I can find that's interesting!

The Sleeper section is by far the most active, with people commenting on their daily lives, talking about media, food and experiences in general. It’s so casual it almost makes me feel nostalgic for the good ol’ days!

I am… surprised. Mages watch anime too? I guess that makes sense, as magic is usually viewed as an intellectual endeavor, and it is not rare for intellectuals to have this sorta hobby.

“They even have an old timer section, for old timers like you.”

What? Old timer!? I am 21!

“Alright then, youngster. What anime is popular right now?”

Chlorine is pretty popular!

“That’s one of the Big Three and won’t stop being popular for a while, not to mention it’s all filler these days, that’s cheating.”

Alright then, big baby. How about Soul Devourer?

“That ended three years ago.”

What!? No it didn’t!

What about Ouran??

“Five years ago.”

Higurashi?

“Six.”

Lucky Channel?!

“Five.”

MEDUKA MEGUKA??

“Oh that one’s pretty new actually. That one was last year.”

Alright then smart guy, what is airing right now then!?

“Destiny/Zero, Girls and Tanks, Kitty Tale Black, Moon Brothers…”

What in the hell are any of those!?

“If you don’t know, I know even less! Idiot!”

I guess I am a bit of an old fashioned weeb.

“We are getting distracted. Remember what we are here for.”

Right! The Translation section! It’s rather unused, compared to the Sleeper side of it all. There are a few active translation topics but all of them seem to be focused on actual, current languages. Sure, there are a few in old Helenian and Latin but the others are surprisingly modern. Thereare some in Wohlian that immediately get my attention, but they seem like finished works.

Mostly directed by that ‘souseiseki’ bitch.

“Don’t waste time thinking of her. Focus on what you can learn from the books themselves!”

That is a good point. Once they are fully translated, the material is left available for anyone to take it! So I immediately go for the ones in Wohlian and Dobrand.

There are only five texts available, biographies all of them… except for what looks like a flier.

‘El Arte del Contrahechizo’ it read in Hesperian, ‘The Art of Counterspell’ in Dobrand. It apparently was an advertisement for a short lived ‘Combat Spell Course’ in Hesperia? Closed by the ‘Brotherhood’ for ‘breaking the sanctity of the secret’. Maybe this ‘Brotherhood’ is somewhat related to the cloaks.

Nevertheless, there is something in the flier that interests me: a Symbol!
Rune 6
I immediately start looking for it in the book… and what I find was overwhelming. This has to be the single most used symbol I’ve seen so far! It is in a lot of combined words, almost never on its own… but after keeping my eyes narrowed for a while, I find it.

Jo

As in “Hoh” or as in “Yo”? Bah, I guess I’ll find that out later, when I can actually start experimenting on my own.

Ah, damn it that’s right! I do need to go investigate the library! It’s huge too…

Hmm… What if I made a trip out of it?

The library closes at 12 for students, but if you stay inside you can spend the night working there! I could spend all night surrounded by books, coffee and the sandwiches some people sell there…

“That could mess with your sleeping schedule a bit…”

“Not to mention how useless the whole endeavor can be. What if you don’t find the damn golden symbol, huh?”

Won’t know if I try. This will be my last night staying up, I promise!

“Hmmmn… well, if you are sure about it.”

Yes!

Feeling energy surging through my body again, I immediately get up again and look for clothes, fishing for some cash and then trotting out of my room… only to be stopped by that Saints damned door again.

I swear, every time I see it’s worse. It becomes more and more ominous with each attempt to pass through it. I really, really have been going out too much these days, huh…?

“...I better talk with GalaxyTaco first, then I can go to the library.”

“Coward.”

“I can’t talk to them without the TER anyways.”

Walking back to the computer, I internally beg for GalaxyTaco to not have appeared on my contact list yet… but alas, fate is always working against me. There he is, right there. Well, at least I can solve this quickly and still get out in time… Maybe.

xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx has begun messaging GalaxyTaco to your rescue!
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: H-Hey!

I immediately cringe at myself for that written hesitation. Damn it, keep the emotions inside! Why must I be like this!?

xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: This is Tav, you know, from the forum? n.ñ
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: oh hey dude! nice, I was wondering who the hell was this lol
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ok, now we can talk proper.
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: so… you just found the link somewhere, didn’t you?
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: unless I’m totally wrong and you were just referred by some cold mf

Alright. This is it… where do I go from here? I can’t exactly lie my way out of this without knowing much of the magical world. But that doesn’t mean I have to say all of the truth, right?

xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: …yeah u.u
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I haven’t been Awake for a long time to be honest, and I found this link on a book I read at the local library.
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ahhhh shit.
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ok, that’s trouble
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: do you have a teacher?
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: No u.u
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ok, you’re a bastard
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: not to imply anything about your family dude, that’s just how we call mages without teachers.
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ok that’s kinda mean xD
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: tell me about it.
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: anyways, shit, uh…
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ok, do you know what an Elysium is?

I don’t. But can I just admit that? I mean… maybe I can tell him I know where to look for it?

“What are you, stupid!? He’s assuming you know jack shit! This is your chance to squeeze all the information! MILK IT!”

A-Ah! Right!

xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: No idea. I hope you don’t mean the other world? O.o
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: nope.
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: an Elysium is a safeground in a city, a place where mages can go and practice legally.
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: shit, I hope you haven’t been doing magic around people right???
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: No no! O.o I swear!
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ok good.
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: that’d get you in trouble with the Brotherhood in no time.
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: The Brotherhood? o.o
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: The Brotherood of Black Pages.
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ominous… are they like, magic police? .-.
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: sorta
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: you wanna avoid them as much as you can, them black cloaks.
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: I mean, you won’t be able to avoid them if you wanna get your license but, beyond that, avoid them.

Ok, that’s confirmation of a few suspicions. The Elysium is a place, I need to find that place, and the black cloaks/brotherhood were bad news, probably super strict or something like that. I am a ‘Bastard Mage’, still not very happy about the name, and I should look for instruction before I blow myself up!

xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Can’t you teach me things? ;w; the meaning of these runes and stuff?
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: sorry dude, I don’t have a teacher’s license
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: but tell you what. I’ll get you something that will help you for sure!
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: I just gotta talk to a few friends.
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Oh okay! Good! n.n thank you so much for this, Gal
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: hah, it’s no problem
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Imma be outside of the TER for a while so, don’t talk to me about magics until I return, okay?
GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: arite, thanks for the heads up! gives me time to talk to Aoi and Mort
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ok I assume those are your friends!
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I’ll be seeing you later!
xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx has disconnected.

Alright.

No more excuses. I close my computer, take a deep breath and walk to my door. I try my best to ignore the shaking of my hand as I grab the knob and open up. The air in the hallways outside was cold, making me go back in, pick up my long coat and then right out I went again!

The descent in the elevator had never felt this slow…I am excited and nervous at the same time.

“This will be fun!”

“This will be a disaster. You’ll stay up for nothing, you hear me? Nothing.”

Taking a deep breath, I walk out of the elevator as it arrives at the first floor and wave at the night guard, stepping right out and checking my phone.

It’s already a quarter past eleven. I have time… but I may need to call a taxi.


Cities are completely different at night. I have never been an active resident of Party City or anything, but I have been in the streets at the high hours of night, at least back in my old town. I assumed stuff would be quiet here too in Saüle, but turns out I was completely wrong. There were people stumbling around the streets, ladies of the night smiling and parading themselves in some of the corners, a few college students clubbing and singing…

Only now I remember we are technically on vacation. Of course everyone is partying!

Drat, does that mean the library will be closed!?

“Too late to ask the cab to take you back home. No, you'll just have to freeze for a few hours.”

The taxi leaves me in front of the University’s main entrance. After paying and waving the guy away, I let out a deep sigh of relief when I see that the lights of the place are still on.

So either they leave the lights on all vacation or they are still open despite it all.

I try to jog along the dirt trail, straight for the library! But I quickly realize my body is simply not made for running. I still try to keep the pace, panting and gasping for air. Passing right by the Pharmaceutical Sciences building and the Biology building, feeling lucky that no one can see me fighting for my life like this.

The campus is gigantic, with many different buildings focused on the different sciences and disciplines taught at the University. The Library stands in the middle of it all, a perfectly square, five story building comfortably constructed on a plateau and looking over the entire campus. As cool and impressive as that is, it also meant a long climb a massive set of stairs…

“Saints damn it all…”

It’s a miserable jog, but eventually, I make it to the gates before the Librarian closes. An ancient lady of dark skin and thin white hair, eternally dressed in a black, long dress.

“Hmph. Right on time, night owl.” She says with a mix of annoyance and playfulness in her tone, turning her back on me as soon as she closed the door. “Do not run like that inside.”

Still recovering my breath, I just nod and walk towards the machines that scan your credentials. I fish my wallet out of my pockets, scan my old card, and then walk straight in, looking around the main hall with a tired smile. Ah yes… I've always felt more at ease in libraries and the like, especially when there are no crowds of people around. Right now I could see only a few furtive shadows sliding around, and no sandwich sellers at all! With some luck, the librarian will try to gain a few extra Empires by selling stuff, but that will have to wait.
Right now, we are back on the hunt for the Golden Symbol! I need to focus all of my strength on finding it this time, because if they really want it to be both private and easy to find, it has to be here.

First: https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/14vo5lb/troublemakers_deaths_pity/
*previous:* https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/1crq34h/troublemakers_buried_secrets_bolster_the_weak/
......
Go'mon strutted around the command center, a cape of deep purple silk flowing about his shoulders as he wore his gilded armor. An ornate helmet underneath one arm, the faceplate forged into the visage of a snarling Rak'nal beast. He peered over the shoulders of drone pilots, observing the carnage on the streets in front of the mansion. His black scimitar hung at his belt, the palm of his war gauntlet resting on the hilt, eyebrow crests rising as he saw the expeditionary general's Buzzard explode.
"Casualty report on General Gra'vos?"
He stated to the small Geknosian woman who deftly piloted her drone closer to the wreckage to pull data from the onboard recorder. Her eyes sparkled, reflected in the screen as the data was streamed directly into her brain through a neural implant.
"Deceased, Just like you planned, his provided pleasure slave threw him from the craft and stole the det-sphere you clipped to his belt. You seem to know a lot about how these humans fight."
Go'mon touched the small grooves underneath the elastomer skin of his face where that parasite had shot him with a concealed gun. He laughed bloodily and purred.
"Failure is the greatest teacher in the universe, these parasites have taught me everything they know. Now we just need to see what their true fighting strength is."
"Understood sir, orders?"
"Get a view on the inner courtyard and report to the commanders of the second and third waves their positions and weaponry."
A young lieutenant called out.
"Sir! Twelve UHM-60 Blackhawks en-route to the enemy base! Advise!"
Go'mon stalked over, peering over the satellite observer's shoulder as he followed a chevron of twelve helicopters loaded down with ancient, obsolete human war-droids. He rapped the claws of his war gauntlet against the handle of his scimitar with a purr.
"Send orders to Commander Mar'tek to equip three of his Gallicks with anti-air weaponry, and orders for Commander Rak'don to equip his light attack craft with visual lock on missiles."
"Yes sir, relaying orders now."
Go'mon patted his subordinate on the shoulder hard enough to make them wince as he stepped back to gaze up at the massive map of Golgotha on the big screen. Small purple dots converging on a black dot that symbolized the human base of operations. He noticed that Mar'tek's forces were delayed, having only made it roughly halfway to their staging area. Walking over to the Comm's desk he asked.
"What's taking Commander Mar'tek so long to get into position?"
"A small group of human Saboteurs dropped a pair of buildings across the roadway, they're still clearing the rubble sir."
Go'mon nodded, picking idly at his metal teeth with the sharp point of his war gauntlet's index finger.
"Hm... I thought the parasite's response was oddly punctual, color me surprised they had the wherewithal to keep scouts. Move Mar'tek to the rear of the attack plan and tell Rak'don he's up next."
"Yessir!"
Go'mon chuckled haughtily, exiting the command room and returning to his field office. Setting his helmet on top of his desk he picked up the communication stick for sylva.
"Sylva, Would you kindly deal with that gate once you've landed?~"
There was a pause before.
"I'm too injured to follow that order sir."
Go'mon raised an eyebrow crest at the monotone voice that echoed back through the device.
"you've never refused a command before darling, would you kindly take care of the gate?"
The pause was longer this time, much longer this time. Then, a different, much younger voice came through, filled with fear, but also tainted with determination.
"Fuck you, Go'mon. These are our friends."
The sound of penny whistles and drums accompanied the words before the comms device popped in his gauntlet with the sound of a musket shot. Impossibly thick gray smoke pulsing from the speaker as he snarled and tossed it to the side.
"Bobby, Would you be a dear and retrieve your sister for me?"
The almost seven foot tall brute slowly nodded, eyes dull behind his ceramite mask as he stomped from the command center, bulky combat armor clattering and clunking with each step. Go'mon pressed his metal teeth together with a hiss. That damned warrior corrupted everything he touched with delusions of free will. Go'mon grabbed a fungal cigar from the box General Da'kos had given him as a thank you gift. The sweet, smoky flavor filling his maw as he lit it with the glowing hot blade of his gauntlet's thumb. He relaxed into his chair, flicking his cape out from beneath him as he enjoyed the cigar to relieve some momentary stress. His body suddenly flared with tingling power as the voice of Conquest growled in his ear.
"Kill that boy before he realises your plan. if he finds out your intentions he won't hold back."
Go'mon puffed the cigar and pulled it from his lips, letting it burst into purple flames and crumble away into cinders as he rose from his chair. He stepped out into the command center and commanded.
"Get me a buzzard to that battlefield, Order's from Conquest herself!"
There was a moment of silence as he let his aura roll over the command room, several of the comms officers immediately setting up a Buzzard for his departure.
...
Dust kicked off the ground as Drake's jump pack slowed his fall meters above the ground, He hit the ground and tore it from his back, whipping it into a group of soldiers and hitting it with a jet of pale flames.
The pack detonated in ball of orange fire that vaporized the soldiers, his cape fluttering in the backdraft before he whipped his sword from it's sheath, keen edges wreathed in pale flames as he took a Geknosian's arm off at the elbow as they tried to stuff a blaster pistol in his face. He snatched the blaster pistol from the air, using it to put a kinetic bolt into the faceplate of a powerarmored soldier with a Warhammer, Crumpling it inwards as he slid a foot back, another warhammer crashing into the ground where he'd just been standing. Another kinetic bolt tore off the soldier's pauldron as the hammer swung up at his face, making him reel back as another hammerhead caught him at the small of his back and knocked the air from his lungs. Another hammer slammed into his faceplate, forcing him to kick himself into a flip to land back on his feet. Ears ringing he deflected a Warhammer with his sword before putting another blaster bolt into the wielder's faceplate. But even as they fell back, another hammerblow hit the side of his helmet and smacked him down. Drake rolled out of the way as twenty millimeter high-explosive rounds shredded his assailants, allowing him to get to his feet as the war-bots formed a lethal semicircle, sending high explosive firepowerinto the rear column of the Geknosian assault at a blistering pace. Drake shook his head clear and vaulted over the back of one, hearing it's gun fall silent as he landed in it's cone of fire. Several flowing chops decimated a small squad of Geknosians as he tried to fight his way to the center of the column where the Gallicks hammered the gate with kinetic penetrators. The armored gate shuddering with each blow as Drake dodged war gauntlets and hammers, retaliating with fast slashes and blinding thrusts. Purple blood drenching him as his heart began to pound with battle lust.
He heard a mighty roar and crackle as one of the flying machines opened up with it's chin gun, harassing a gallick with 20mm High explosive rounds to get it's attention off the gates. It's shadow passing overhead with a Buzzard in pursuit as it slalomed low through the buildings to come back for another gun run. There was a ground shaking Boom! as something exploded beyond the rooftops, a Buzzard, smoking from one engine buzzing overhead and away from the battlefield. Drake quickly returned his focus to the battlefield, Smacking a Warhammer to the side with the blaster pistol before thrusting the blade right beneath the soldier's chin, twisting, and pulling free as a war-bot fell forward, a molten pit of slag glowing in it's back as he turned his head to face another column of armor and armored soldiers as they rounded onto the battlefield, a Buzzard painted the deepest, most royal purple he'd ever seen hovered low in front of them.
A geknosian in gold and purple armor fell from the open door, Cape of purple silk flowing behind them as they landed with one palm against the ground, Dark scimitar slashed out to the side as a crescent blade of purple energy was slung straight at Drake. Death's chosen slashed upward at the crescent, but it flowed around his blade, cutting across his chest and bringing with it a foul, draining weakness as a cold, familiar voice called out.
"That one's mine boys!~ all mine!~"
Drake hadn't recognized Go'mon in the ornate armor, but now there was no mistaking it. He tried to take a step forward but his legs buckled beneath him, sending him to his knees as a festering cold spread from the wounds made by the crescent blade that never touched his armor. He looked in confusion at his sword as the pale flames flickered out, then up just as Go'mons armored shin cracked into the side of his helmet, flinging him through a building as his mind reeled with confusion. He pulled himself from the rubble around him, stumbling to the side as a blade of purple energy sliced through the rubble he'd just been buried in without leaving a mark. He tossed the blaster pistol to the side, bringing the free hand to his mouth, intending to rip a ring off with his teeth. But as Go'mon slung another blade of purple energy with a cackle, He missed the ring, biting off his left index finger, ring and all as a boost of power burned the creeping cold away. He spit the severed digit to the ground as the ring still on it puffed into smoke.
"Feeling weak boy?!~ like your power's been drained?~"
Go'mon purred as he took a step forward, aura swelling with power as he held up the black sword.
"The blade of greed will do that if you let it touch you~"
Go'mon took an unfamiliar stance, Blade arched over his head and pointed down as he fell into a low, wide stance, one arm pushed forward as the blades on his war gauntlet's fingers glowed orange with heat. Drake fell into his peasants guard, gripping his sword in two hands as he glared at Go'mon. His gaze flickered off go'mon for a split second as he thought of everyone still in the mansion and the Geknosian chosen surged forward in a flash of purple light to run drake through before kicking him through the back wall of the building, Drake's power draining away like the blood pouring from the hole in his Lorica. He barely deflected Go'mons black blade as Conquest's chosen surged forward with a brutal slash, unable to focus for the split second required to dissipate a ring and refresh his power. Go'mons aura blooming with power with each blow of that black blade. Drake burst through a wall and into an empty street, tumbling ass over head as he desperately held onto his sword.
Angry red blood spilled from the hole in his armor as he got his elbows under him, a pair of golden boots clomping into view as Go'mon gloated, a softly flickering bloom of pale purple flames in his palm.
"All this power, and you don't even know how to properly control or wield it... Don't worry, you won't have it long~"
Drake manage to dissipate two of the remaining rings on his left hand, an intoxicating burst of power allowing him to launch himself back away from Go'mon as his wounds knitted closed, severed finger growing back with a crunching, fleshy noise. He could feel Go'mons grin behind the snarling visage of his helmet as he fell into a peasants guard, feeling far too weak for having removed five rings. The two stared at each other silently, one of the flying machines spinning to the ground before exploding into a fireball behind Go'mon. Drake fet a deathly calm fall over him as he twisted his sword up into a high guard.
He had to make it back to his people, no matter what. The thumb and pinkie ring on his right hand puffed into smoke as he felt those corvid like wings form at his back, a cold cage of festering ice around the burning sun of rage in his heart. Go'mon took a simple offensive guard, twirling the scimitar with obvious skill in a figure eight in front of him.
The two chosen launched themselves at each other, Drake wreathed in black smoke as Go'mon exploded with pale purple light; the pavement cracking beneath their feet with the violence of the action.
...
Martha tended to the mounting wounded in the infirmary as fast as she could, back splayed open as small gossamer arms allowed her to work on several wounded at once. Many of the ex-slave women helped, binding wounds with clean bandages and splinting broken limbs like they had back at the plantations. Hearing the large wooden doors of the ballroom infirmary slam open, she looked up as Destrier and Caz hauled in a pale remin and a Brutalized young woman. Keeping one hand holding a bundle of gauze against the bleeding wound she was attempting to close up, The young man looking up at her with fear, pain, and hope on his face as he helped hold the gauze down. Pointing to two empty beds she called out.
"Set them there! Where's Drake?! We could really use the walking embodiment of Death right now!"
Destrier hoarsely called back, setting Remin into a bed as the old man struggled to keep his eyes open.
"He's fighting his way towards us from the rear!"
Caz helped the battered young woman into a bed where she curled into the fetal position before the Markswoman swept back out of the infirmary, Huntress humming as she slammed a new flechette into the barrel. Martha continued tying off tattered blood vessels, trying to keep the young man from bleeding out as Cassius appeared next to her, shaking his hands dry after scrubbing them with antiseptic to help close up the gnarly gash in the stomach of the wounded man behind her. Martha's heart pounded in her throat as she finally managed to sew the wound closed before hitting the fighter with a sedative to ease his pain and knock him out. She wanted to cry but held in her tears as she turned around to focus on the same patient as Cassius, but even as she did, the young man placed a bloodied palm on her forearm. She felt a lone tear drip down her snout as she looked at the mans deathly stillness, eyes closed in quiet acceptance of his fate, a grim smile on his face.
Her legs felt weak beneath her as she leaned on Cassius, watching Destrier rush out of the infirmary out of the corner of her eye.
"we're going to need a miracle if we want to make it out of this alive..."
She whimpered as the din of battle echoed dully from outside. That was when a wounded man sat up, grunting as he held the bandages across his torso. She rushed over to stop him from tumbling out of bed when he simply fell through the floor, an odd superposition happening where he was there and not for a split second. But when it faded, there was a note left on the ground, scrawled in blood red, blotchy words.
"I'll be back, and I won't be alone."
Martha could only hope that was true as she turned to continue tending the wounded, Despair filling her heart as more wounded were brought in from the ramparts.
...
Halcyon held the gate, rifle spitting hatred from behind one of the wall's crenellations as one of his Hellions fell next to him, skull split open by gauss slug. Halcyon glanced down at the gate where Thomas and another hulking agri-droid held it against the wall, the gate rattling with each impact of a Gallick's kinetic penetrator, apples of sunlight spreading across the ground where they'd simply sailed straight through. The Geknosian reinforcements turning an already blistering hail of various projectiles and beams becoming an impassable force as several of their light cruisers fired on the helicopters that circled over the battlefield. Missiles streaking upwards and shredding the soft-skinned aircraft, forcing them to take evasive maneuvers and stop the pulse-pounding barrage of their rotary cannons. Halcyon's attention was drawn to the sky as an impossibly loud crash of steel on steel accompanied a streak of pale purple light and void black as they shot into the sky. The black streak getting slammed down by a brutal, unseen strike that made Halcyon's heart leap into his throat. What kind of monster could go toe to toe with Drake, and appear to be winning.
Halcyon, peaked past the cranellation he had his back against, a gauss slug taking his eye out and making him shout in pain as he jerked his head back. Ripping a bundle of gauze from his medi-pack, he rolled it out and bunched it up, pressing it against his vacant and shattered eye socket as a bout of lightheadedness turned the edges of his reduced vision dark.
One of his men crouched beside him flinching when chips of stone exploded from the crenellation they'd been taking cover behind, some sort of heavy weapon having been aimed at them as they darted for Halcyon. Halcyon looked into their eyes, face just as dismayed as he felt, their words barely audible over the din of battle.
"what do we do, sir...?"
Halcyon let out a sigh, shouting over the roar of gunfire.
"Pull back! secure the mansion!"
The fighters didn't need to be told twice as the ramparts were abandoned, leaping from the walls to sprint back to the mansion, The agri-bots forming a phalanx behind them to cover their retreat. But Halcyon couldn't help but feel this is exactly what the Geknosians wanted.
But even as the fighters swarmed into the Mansion, Two figures walked past them.
A hulking man in dark samurai armor wielding an lmg and a smaller woman with a flowing furred cloak and white mask, carrying an ornate rail rifle walked past them through the doors.
Halcyon watched in dismayed confusion as Caz and Destrier stepped out into the sunlight, a jump pack freshly mounted on Destriers back beside his kanabo. Another smaller figure appeared as if from thin air, Cassius spinning the weight at the end of a chain attached to a kama menacingly as the doors closed behind them, massive metal shutters sealing them out as the mansion was locked down. He couldn't help but smile grimly.
There was a reason they were Drake's friends, and it wasn't because they were the best fighters.
It was because when everyone else ran away, they ran towards the fight... regardless of their own safety.
......
Part 109: will be linked here upon release.

Just spent the last several hours writing this for myself in preparation for teaching Sunday School this upcoming Sunday. Thought I'd share it here too for anyone interested. (I didn't cite my outside sources, besides scriptures, because I was just writing these notes for myself. But it pulls from various places of research that I can point you to if interested, especially from Scripture Central.)

Mosiah 11-17: Abinadi

Abinadi has a tremendous impact on the rest of the Book of Mormon and the religious history of the Nephites and Lamanites. He converted Alma the Elder, whose personal ministry and the ministries of his descendants (Alma the Younger, Helaman, Shiblon, Corianton, Helaman II, Nephi II, Lehi, Nephi III, Timothy, Jonas, Nephi IV, Amos the Elder, Amos the Younger, Ammaron) convert 1000s to the gospel, and lead the Church all the way to the visitation of Christ to the Americas and afterwards until Mormon.
In the order it is presented (shortly after Mosiah 1-6), we see a direct parallel between:

• King Benjamin (reign ended in 130 BC) of Zarahemla as a righteous king who labored with his own hands (and not off the work of his people) and taught them in the ways of righteousness; and
• King Noah (died sometime between 145-122 BC) of Shilom as a wicked king who exploited labor and wealth from his people and taught them wickedness.

Mormon, when abridging the Record of Zeniff, frames the story of King Noah of Shilom and Abinadi specifically as a parallel to Pharaoh of Egypt (another wicked king) and Moses.

Mosiah 11:1-19

Pharaoh & Moses	Noah & Abinadi
Pharaoh, as a new king, moves away from the traditions of his father (Ex. 1:8)	King Noah does not walk in the ways of his father (Mosiah 11:1-2)
Pharaoh subjects the Jews (Ex. 1:13-14)	King Noah subjects his people (Mosiah 11:1-15)
Pharaoh installs wise men and sorcerers (Ex. 7:11)	King Noah installs wicked priests (Mosiah 11:5)

Note that the emphasis of "one fifth part" in v. 3 is repeated five times: an instance of "thematic repetition", a Hebraism that is meant to emphasize a specific theme. In this case, it emphasizes the heaviness of the burden placed on the people that this 20% net worth tax represented.
According to the Law of Moses, there was only supposed to be one high priest (Leviticus 21:10). However, v. 11 says that Noah had consecrated "high priests"; he was abusing and corrupting the Law of Moses for his benefit and the benefit of his friends.

Mosiah 11:20-25

Abinadi, "a man among them" (someone who lived among them), then comes forth to prophesy and preach against the people. He has clearly, with direction from the Lord, prepared a specific statement that is supposed to preached. This preparation is evident in its chiasmic form:

• A. Behold, thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me, saying, Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the Lord—Wo be unto this people,
  • B. for I have seen their abominations, and their wickedness, and their whoredoms;
    • C. and except they repent I will visit them in mine anger.
    • C. Yea, and it shall come to pass that when they shall cry unto me I will be slow to hear their cries; yea, and I will suffer them that they be smitten by their enemies. And except they repent in sackcloth and ashes, and cry mightily to the Lord their God,
  • B. I will not hear their prayers, neither will I deliver them out of their afflictions;
• A. and thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me.

The beginning and end of his message are also filled with prophetic speech forms common throughout the Old Testament and recognized by those familiar with Hebrew culture or descending from Hebrew culture (like the people of Shilom):

• "Thus saith the Lord" (Messenger Form)
• "Thus hath he commanded me, saying" (Revelation Form)
• "Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the Lord" (Messenger Form)
• "Wo be unto this people" (Woe Oracle)

After this initial message is delivered, we then see more parallels (purposely framed by the abridger, Mormon) between Moses and Abinadi:

Pharaoh & Moses	Noah & Abinadi
Moses initially flees for his life since Pharaoh seeks to slay him (Ex. 2:15)	Abinadi initially escapes when the people and King Noah seek to slay him (Ex. Mosiah 11:26,28)
Pharaoh rejects the Lord's authority, saying, "Who is the Lord..." (Ex. 5:2)	King Noah rejects the Lord's authority, saying, "Who is the Lord..."
Pharaoh hardens his heart (Ex. 7:13, JST)	King Noah hardens his heart (Mosiah 11:29)
Moses is commanded by the Lord to return from exile and preach to Pharaoh (Ex. 7:1-2)	Abinadi is commanded to return from exile and preach to the people (Mosiah 12:1)

Mosiah 12:1-17

After two years, Abinadi returns to the city by commandment of the Lord to preach unto the people. There is a possibility that he returned to preach specifically at the celebration of Pentecost. The Pentecost was, prior to the New Testament, a Jewish yearly celebration of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the chidlren of Israel. Such a gathering would have given Abinadi an audience for his preaching, and its themes align with the themes of Abinadi's message (as we will see).
We start by illustrating more parallels between Moses and Abinadi:

Pharaoh & Moses	Noah & Abinadi
Upon returning to Pharoah, Moses prophesies of and delivers a series of plagues (including famine, pestilence, hail, fire, insects) unless Pharaoh repents (Ex. 7-10)	Upon returning to Shilom, Abinadi prophesies of a series of plagues (including famine, pestilence, hail, fire, insects) unless the people repent (Mosiah 12:1-8)
Because of the afflictions, Pharoah will eventually acknowledge the Lord (Ex. 7:5,17)	Because of the afflictions, King Noah will eventually acknowledge the Lord (Mosiah 12:3)
Moses challenges the wise men and sorcerers of Pharaoh (Ex. 7:8-12)	Abinadi challenges the wicked priests of King Noah (Mosiah 12:25-29)

Again, this language is filled with strong prophetic speech forms, this time a Hebraism known as the "simile curse". For example, "the life of king Noah shall be valued even as a garment in a hot furnace" (v. 3).

Mosiah 12:18 - 13:26

Just as Moses challenged the power, knowledge, and authority of the wise men and sorcerers of Pharaoh, Abinadi directly challenges the power, knowledge, and authority of the wicked priests of King Noah.
The ordeal is started when, after being imprisoned for his prophecies against the people, the priests of King Noah tell the king to bring Abinadi before him so that they may question him. Their questioning starts by quoting Isaiah 52:7-10 to Abinadi, and asking him what those words mean:
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth;
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion;
Break forth into joy; sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem;
The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God?"
Why these words? The people of Zeniff (the generation before the people of King Noah) left the land of Zarahemla to return back up to the land of Nephi – Shilom was in the mountains and hills, as compared to where they had lived before. In essence, these wicked priests were saying, "Why are you preaching that we are a wicked people when the scriptures call our feet beautiful? We are preaching good tidings unto the people – we teach them the law of Moses. Why all of this doom-and-gloom that you preach? You are clearly in the wrong for calling us to repentance."
Abinadi then begins his challenge: "Are you priests, and pretend to teach this people, and to understand the spirit of prophesying, and yet desire to know of me what these things mean?" (12:25). This then becomes the theme of his challenge to them: the priests do not understand the scriptures, especially the Law of Moses, and Abinadi is going to explain the scriptures and the law of Moses to them.
He asks them, "What teach ye this people?" (12:27).
They answer, "The Law of Moses" (12:28). Again, Moses and the law given to him are a theme of this interaction between Abinadi and the priests of King Noah. In total, the name "Moses" is used 16 times from Mosiah 12:28-16:15, 15 of which are by Abinadi and 1 of which is by the abridger, Mormon.
Abinadi replies, "If ye teach the law of Moses, why do ye not keep it?" (12:29) and then proceeds to list their sins, especially pride, wealth-seeking, sexual immorality, and leading the people astray.
Abinadi then challenges them again: "And what know ye concerning the law of Moses? Doth salvation come by the law of Moses? What say ye?" (12:31).
The priests respond that salvation does come by the law of Moses.
Abinadi then says, "I know if ye keep the commandments of God ye shall be saved; yea, if ye keep the commandments which the Lord delivered unto Moses in the mount of Sinai, saying..." (12:33) and then quotes two of the Ten Commandments. If Abinadi came at the time of Pentecost, then this is the exact occasion these people are celebrating: the time when the Lord delivered unto Moses the commandments at Sinai. Thus, Abinadi would be referencing the festival, in essence, saying, "Don't you remember the whole point of this party you are throwing right now? You are forgetting why we have this festival in the first place."
The king then, being angry with Abinadi, tells his priests to slay Abinadi, but Abinadi withstands them, saying, "Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay your hands upon me, for I have not delivered the message which the Lord sent me to deliver; neither have I told you that which ye requested that I should tell [referring to the requested interpretation of Isaiah 52:7-10]; therefore, God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time" (13:3).
Then, Mormon records that "the people of king Noah durst not lay their hands on [Abinadi], for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses' did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking with the Lord" (13:5). (Again, this is a powerful and divine reference to the events being celebrated at the Pentecost festival. Now, it isn't just Abinadi or Mormon drawing the parallels to Moses: God Himself, by resting that light upon Abinadi, is writing the parallel.)
And with power and authority, he then reads to them "the remainder of the [ten] commandments of God". The Ten Commandments "are not written in [the priests'] hearts", because instead of studying and teaching the scriptures as they ought to have been, they "have studied and taught iniquity the most part of [their] lives" (13:11).
Once more, we see more parallels between Moses and Abinadi:

Pharaoh & Moses	Noah & Abinadi
Moses' face shines when he came down from Sinai with the two tables of testimony from the Lord for the people of Israel (Ex. 34:29-30)	Abinadi's face shines as he delivers his message to King Noah and his priests (Mosiah 13:5)
The people of Israel are afraid to approach Moses because his face shines (Ex. 34:30)	The priests of King Noah are afraid to lay their hands on him because of his words and because his face shines (Mosiah 13:5)
Moses delivers the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20, 34)	Abinadi delivers the Ten Commandments (Mosiah 12:35-36, 13:12-24)
Moses speaks to a stiff-necked people (Ex. 32:9)	Abinadi speaks to a stiff-necked people (Mosiah 13:29)

Abinadi finishes delivering the Ten Commandments by saying, "Have ye taught this people that they should observe to do all these things for to keep these commandments? I say unto you, Nay" (13:25-26).

Mosiah 13:27-35

Abinadi then starts to lay the seeds that connect the law of Moses (and perhaps the Pentecost festival) and the passages from Isaiah he was asked about earlier. After reciting to them the Law of Moses, he reminds the priests of their earlier statement that salvation comes by the law of Moses:
"And now ye have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses [part of which he just read to them]; I say unto you that it is expedient that ye should keep the law of Moses as yet; but I say unto you that the time shall come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of Moses.
And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses" (13:27-28)
In addition to the Ten Commandments, the Law of Moses required a series of strict ordinances, rituals, and observances that had to be kept strictly. One of these was the atonement sacrifice: a person would present a sacrificial animal, one without blemish, to be killed; the animal symbolically took the sins of the person and was killed on their behalf, reconciling the individual back to Jehovah. The person made an atonement sacrifice.
Therefore, Abinadi is saying that this strict law means nothing, unless God Himself offers an atoning sacrifice, something that is so great it will cover the sins of all his people, not just one person and not just for one sin but for all sins.
In Abinadi's words, the law of Moses and all its ordinances "were types of things to come" (13:31): they were a symbol pointing forward to the great atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
He then says that the children of Israel and the Jews in Jerusalem did also not understand the law "and this because of the hardness of their hearts" (13:32), implying that the priests of King Noah also do not understand the Law of Moses.
"For behold, did not Moses prophecy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began–have they not spoken more or less concerning these things?
Have they not said that God himself should come down amng the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth?
Yea, and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, and that he, himself, should be oppressed and afflicted?" (13:33-35).

Mosiah 14 - 15:31

Now Abinadi starts to turn back more directly to answer the previous question posed by the priests concerning the meaning of Isaiah 52:7-10. Of course, what is a great technique for understanding a passage? You look at its context. So, what does Abinadi do to explain the meaning of Isaiah 52? He recites to them the content of Isaiah 53, a Messianic prophecy:
"Yea, even doth not Isaiah say: Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people was he stricken.
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Mosiah 14)
He then, in beautiful language, explains Isaiah 53 by:

• expounding on the relationship between the Father and the Son (15:1-5);
• explaining that the Son will be, as Isaiah said, oppressed and afflicted (15:5) and led "as a sheep before the shearer is dumb so he opened not his mouth" (15:6) and slain (15:7) so that death and iniquity may be defeated.

He then, echoing the words of Isaiah in Chapter 53, asks, "Who shall declare his generation?" and answers his own question and, simultaneously, the priests' question concerning Isaiah 52:
"All the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord... all those who have hearkened unto their words, and beleived that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins... the prophets, every one that has opened his mouth to prophesy, that has not fallen into transgression, I mean all the holy prophets ever since the world began...
These are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!
And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet!
And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace!
And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever!
And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful upon the mountains are **the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people" (Mosiah 15:11-18).
In other words, Abinadi is refuting their interpretation of Isaiah 52: these verses aren't about them; they are about Christ and all those who preach and follow Christ.
He then expounds on what "the salvation of our God" (Isaiah 52:10) actually is: that Christ "has broken the bands of death" (Mosiah 15:23) and "all those that have believed in [the words of the prophets], or all those that have kept the commandments of God, shall come forth in the first resurrection" (Mosiah 15:22).
But, salvation does not come to those "that rebel against him and die in their sins", those "that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part int the first resurrection" (15:26); in other words, the exact type of people that King Noah and his priests are: people who know the law and who should know better. This is why Abinadi then challenges them and says, "Therefore ought ye not to tremble?" because they know, as he does, that they are wilfully rebelling against God.
Then, to tie it all back together, he connects his words to Isaiah 52:8-10:
"...the time shall come that the salvation of the Lord shall be declared to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
Yea, Lord, thy watchmen shall lift up their voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." (Mosiah 15:28-31)

Mosiah 16:1-15

After quoting to them again the words of Isaiah 52, he repeats the last idea of Isaiah's words to them:
"The time shall come when all shall see the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to eye and shall confess before God that his judgments are just." (16:2)
He then expounds upon the state of the wicked after death, teaches the Fall of Adam and Eve, and the necessity of the Redemption and Resurrection of Christ; that is, he concludes his challenge and sermon to the priests by teaching them the Plan of Salvation.
A defining feature of this sermon is that Abinadi speaks "of things to come as though they had already come" (16:6); that is, he speaks in the present or past tense about future events (e.g., the redemption, the resurrection, etc.). This is another powerful Hebraic prophetic speech form, known as the "prophetic perfect tense"; it is used by many Old Testament prophets when they speak of future events. Why? Because having received revelation concerning those events, their faith and knowledge of such events is as plain as if it already has happened to them. To them, Jesus might as well have already come, that is how real His Atonement is to them. That aspect of the future is just as matter of fact as the present or past.
Finally, Abinadi ties it all back together to the big theme: the priests do not understand, teach, or live according to the Law of Moses, and unless they repent, they will not be saved by the redemption of Christ.
"And now, ought ye not to tremble and repent of your sins, and remember that only in and through Christ ye can be saved?
Therefore, if ye teach the law of Moses, also teach that it is a shadow of those things which are to come–
Teach them that redemption cometh through Christ the Lord, who is the very Eternal Father. Amen." (16:13-15)

Mosiah 17:1-20

Abinadi's sermon has a lasting impact on one of the high priests, Alma, who believes Abinadi's words and pleads with the king to not be angry with Abinadi and let him depart in peace. (Again, the impact of Abinadi's sermon cannot be understated: Alma becomes the righteous leader of the Church, authorized with the priesthood to perform ordinances and set apart other leaders in the Church. His descendants are consistently those that lead the Nephites in the ways of the Lord until and after the coming of Christ.)
King Noah casts out Alma, who flees so that he will not be slain. It is because of Alma that we have this record of Abinadi at all, as he is the one who "did write all the words which Abinadi had spoken" (17:4).
King Noah then casts Abinadi into prison (seeing as how he had finished his message) for three days. (Notably, the length of the Pentecost Festival is also three days.)
After counseling with his priests, King Noah has Abinadi brought before them to stand trial. The priests have found a way, under the Law of Moses, to condemn Abinadi to death: they accuse him of blasphemy, which, under the Law of Moses, is punishable by death (Leviticus 24:11-16).
"Abinadi, we have found an accusation against thee, and thou art worthy of death. For thou hast said that God himself should come down among the children of men; and now, for this cause thou shalt be put to death unless thou wilt recall all the words which thou hast spoken evil concerning me and my people." (17:7-8)
Notice that the condition of Abinadi's acquittal is not that he repeal the words he said about God; the priests don't actually care about that trumped up charge. They instead care about the curses he has placed on them and prophesied of them, that they will be scourged, and plagued, and burned, etc. The ancient people took curses very seriously, and if Abinadi had the power to place a curse, only he could repeal it.
He refutes them once more: "I will not recall the words which I have spoken unto you, concerning this people, for they are true; and that ye may know of their surety I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands. Yea, and I will suffer even until death, and I will not recall my words, and they shall stand as a testimony against you. And if ye slay me ye will shed innocent blood, and this shall also stand as a testimony against you at the last day" (17:9-10).
This strikes fear into the heart of King Noah. He knows that the charges of blasphemy are false, and that if he goes through with this, it will be murder, "for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him" (17:11).
However, the priests then quickly come up with another charge: "He has reviled the king" (17:12). This is the charge they will put him to death for, for speaking ill of the king. And King Noah acquiesces, is stirred up in anger against Abinadi and orders him to be killed.
The priests then take Abinadi, bind him, scourge him with faggots (bundles of wood to be burned), and scorch him with fire. Notice here, once more, the references to the story of Moses: because Abinadi preached to them using the Law of Moses, and shone like Moses, and spoke of Moses to testify of their iniquities, (and all possibly during the Pentecost celebration) they place him in a burning bush.
As the flames scorch him, Abinadi solidifies the curse and prophesies that, just as he is killed, so will the king die too: "And in that day ye shall be hunted, and ye shall be taken by the hand of your enemies, and then ye shall suffer, as I suffer, the pains of death by fire" (17:18). This prophesy later comes true, as King Noah is hunted and burned "unto death by fire" (Mosiah 19:20). This represents the final comparison between Moses' story and Abinadi's story:

Pharaoh & Moses	Noah & Abinadi
Just as Pharaoh had the sons of the Hebrews cast into the river to drown (Ex. 1:22), he and his army drowned in the depths of the Red Sea (Ex. 14:27-8).	Just as King Noah burned Abinadi alive (Mosiah 17:14-20), he was killed through death by fire (Mosiah 19:20).

Abinadi then exclaims, "O God, receive my soul," and dies, "because he would not deny the commandments of God, having sealed the truth of his words by his death" (Mosiah 17:20).

Abinadi: A Type and Shadow himself of Christ

Abinadi preached that the Law of Moses was a type and shadow of Christ. It's not hard to see that Abinadi's own death was also a type and shadow of Christ:

Abinadi's death	Christ's death
Abinadi testified to the wicked high priests of Shilom of their iniquities.	Christ testified to the wicked priests of the Jews of their iniqiuities.
Abinadi is placed on trial and accused of blasphemy for preaching that God would come down among the children of men.	Christ is placed on trial and accused of blapshemy for preaching that He is God, and He came down among the children of men.
Abinadi is almost released by King Noah, out of fear of the consequences.	Christ is almost released by Pilate, out of fear of the consequences.
The priests convinced King Noah to kill him anyways.	The people (and priests in particular) convinced Pilate to deliver Christ to be killed.
Abinadi is scourged and beaten prior to his death.	Christ is scourged and beaten prior to his death.
Abinadi seals the truth of his words by his death.	Christ seals the truth of his words by his death (Hebrews 9:16-17).