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Where would I find the Awakening series? - Am excite! -

O.K., I started to hear a cadence in my head. I was trying to figure out what the cadence was from, because it seemed so familiar. So, I put some random words to it and came up with this poem. It, kind of, makes sense. A bit jumbled and disjointed if you ask me and I, kind of, feel it's not complete but I'm just going to claim it's nuanced and evocative. And yes, that one word you think I misspelled is spelled correctly - told you . . . nuanced and evocative. Once I finished it, I stared at it for a while and suddenly it hit me, the cadence is from a song. It's not the whole song, just bits and pieces that repeat, instead of flowing in the proper order. I haven't heard it in years but must have recently heard it in the background somewhere. Once I figured it out, I started to think of different directions I could go, but decided to leave it as is because, right now, it's INSPIRED by the song. I believe a rewrite would just end up being a Weird Al-esque parody. Let me know if I've managed to write it in a way that lets you hear the cadence and figure out the song. Remember, it's just snippets that repeat and not in order. Hints: Pop; part spoken word; old but not an "Oldie" (Motown, doo-wop, etc.); singer-songwriter. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We had dreams, when we were young. About all the things, we would have done. By now. As time passes by, dreams they die, And we find ourselves where we're at, Somehow. Childhood dreams are lost. Or simply fade away. We tell ourselves that it's o.k. They were only bits of childish games We once played. Late at night, When everything is still. An emptiness, deep inside. No matter how hard we try, We just can't feel. A lifetime spent, Seemingly lost And alone. A wasted life of wasted time Wasting every chance to find A home. We had so many dreams Once When we were young. Dreams of all the wonderous things. That By now We wish We had done.

Quest for the Umbral Archives. Or any other names you want to use here. This is an outline/framework that you can use to build a quest for an RPG group or as a starting point/outline for a story if you want. I might try building a story with this later. Anyway to undertake this Voyage/Quest you will need a few things. Being insane is often listed. Although there is some debate about this actually being a requirement. An individual or group with some reason to make the trip. So, let's take a moment to consider reasons for wanting to go there. Which in turn requires knowing what the place has to offer. Mostly it offers knowledge. Including the knowledge of how to become a Shade. A rather surprising number of sages and scholars have sought this knowledge; for actual use and not just academic coursity; over the ages. Or maybe it's not so surprising if you think about it. Of the various types of undead one might consider becoming Shades are the best suited to the purpose of continuing academic activities free from the distractions of being alive. No need to eat or sleep. No worries about getting sick or dieing of old age before you finish studying your chosen subject. This has inturn lead to the creation of the Umbral Archives. All that research and knowledge has to be stored somewhere. And that somewhere is on the Demiplane of Shadow. Where exactly? Well, that's rather hard to say as things on the plane of Shadows tend to wander around, rather a lot actually. Fortunately there is a way to travel directly to the Umbral Archives. A few different ways actually. If you have the aid of someone who knows the place well and/or has made the trip often. They can lead you there by way of the Plane of Shadows or a Teleport spell. Unfortunately people who know the way and are available to act as guides are extremely hard to find. However there is another option. Apart from just blundering about the Plane of Shadows and hoping. And that option is a ship known as the Shadow. The Shadow is said to make port at the Umbral Archives regularly. However it is not known to make port anywhere else. And finding a captain willing to take you out to meet the Shadow is not exactly easy. The Shadow, the Umbral Archives, anyone who wants to go there, or even talk about it, are all things most people consider to be bad luck. Or rather, talking about it: bad luck, actually seeing the Shadow: BAD LUCK. Although enough money, including the price of Blessings from a Priest and many lucky charms and talismans, can convince some captains to make the trip. Make sure you have a reliable way of determining a person's true intent. As more than half the captains who say that they will take you to the Shadow are going to try to kill you and toss you overboard as soon as you are out of sight of land. One of the other challenges is finding an Orical who can tell you when/where the find the Shadow. I'll cover the details of how to board and travel on the Shadow later.

Some people and places of interest in the City of the Shademakers. Grayhall Academy. Because of the number of living people in the City it was decided that a school system was needed. Along the way the Academy grew from a basic school into an Adventurer's Guild. Anne of Grayhall. Head mistress of Grayhall Academy. And wife of Jonathan Appleblack. Jonathan Appleblack. The current Supreme Shadow. It is worth noting that Jonathan has been the Supreme Shadow for a few hundred years now. And that Anne married Jonathan because she wanted to be with him. His being Supreme Shadow was just a job he had as far as she was concerned. It's also rumored that Anne does as much of the job of Supreme Shadow as Jonathan. Jonathan manages to remain Supreme Shadow mostly by ruling with a firm and fair hand. And organizing things so that he has to as little ruling as possible.

While I have spoken of the Varna elsewhere I want to take the time to cover them in more detail here and briefly touch on the ChoKa; which I will deal with more fully later. Choka are what Varna tadpoles turn into if not implanted. The Varna, as noted elsewhere, are created from modified Thulian larvae to serve as spies and assassins. That is only partly true now that the Varna are trying to become a free people in their own right. An effort which is likely futile, as will be seen as we look at the different types of Varna a the success rate of the Morphoses process. The success rate for Varna morphosis is basically the same as for Thuliens that are becoming Illith. Which is to say about 25% become Varna. 25% die.(no splits here). Kulls are basically just a failure with the victim gaining knowledge from the Varna. It is unclear if a Kull of this type would be able to leave their former body and/or become a Gree later on as there are no confirmed reports of anyone actually escaping in this state. Shulls are still Shulls. Although it is believed that there are potions that effectively allow a Shull to finish the morphosis process later. So technically a close to 50% success rate because of Shulls of this type being able to finish later. type two Varna are basically type ones after they reach a certain size. The growth process can be slowed by taking certain potions but this tends to have the inconvenient side effect of binding the Varna to its Husk. Type two Varna(hereafter called Gree) can undergo a morphosis process and become a fully adult Thulien (also referred to as an Elder.) Such Adults seem to be no different than ones that took a different life path. although there are some reports that Gree Elders produce eggs that hatch into about equal numbers of regular and Varna tadpoles. It is unclear if the morphosis from Gree to Elder is something that simply happens at some point or if some potion is needed to trigger the process. In interest point to consider in light of rumors that the Varna are seeking to become a separate species. Given that Varna who have reached the Gree stage can create more Varna by way of a morphosis causing injection they could have an independent life cycle. Assuming the Morphosis from Gree to Elder is a triggered rather than a spontaneous event. And even if spontaneous there could be potions that could be used to block it. It is worth noting that Gree are also able to lay eggs which will become Thulien tadpoles. It is unclear if these tadpoles are Varna or regular Thulien tadpoles or a mix. As Choka, Cephalarack, and, Illith are not particularly desirable to the Varna they have no particular reason to lay eggs.

I was just rereading this and noticed that I never actually got around to saying what Varna look like. Now obviously while a Varna is wearing a husk you don't get to see it. That is rather the point after all. But when a Varna is out on its own Type ones look like a floating brain with a bunch of jellyfish like tendrils dangling beneath it. It's not entirely clear what the tendrils are for. Given that it has a psi-blast ability for defense and offense if needed. And telekinesis for moving objects. Type twos also look like a floating brain just larger. Type ones are the size of a normal brain while type twos are about 3 feet long by about 2 feet high and wide. Main body, with octopus like tentacles about 3 feet long hanging below. Type twos also have a stinger like appendage at the rear near the brainstem. Type twos are able to produce spawn by injecting a victim with whatever compounds are produced by their stinger. While it was previously believed that type twos were basically type ones who had grown too big to continue wearing a husk. This seems to no longer be the case as there are now reports of type twos (hereafter refered to as Grees ) displaying the body compression ability similar to that seen in Seku. More on this as information becomes available.

Let's start out in the wilderness where you have roaming bands of Barbarians and maybe a small village now and then. Out here it's mostly a bartar system and the closest thing to money is wampam beads. One Bead is equal to a Copper pice in terms of buying power. A String of 10 Beads; A Silver And a Bundle of 10 Strings; A Gold You won't find anything for sale at more than 5 Bundles . Or at least not very often. People out here want things they can use. An odd qwerk of this is that you might be able to trade a couple of well polished Copper pieces for a String while not being able to get more than a Bead or two for a tarnished Silver piece. And on the flip side of this you might be able to sell a single Bead for a couple of Gold. To the right Collector. Such trades are rare and typically not repeatable, but well worth keeping in mind if you get the chance. In Towns on the edge of the Wilds you can usually find someone who will be able to swap Coins for Beads and back again at the Bead for Copper rate. For a small service fee of course. Another place where you are likely to encounter off beat Money is in the Goblin Quarter of Cities that are large trading hubs. Here you might encounter Iron Bits, Iron pieces (8 Bits to the Piece ) Ceramic pieces, Guild Marks, etc. Pieces and Marks are usually about the same value as a Copper pice. If you venture into these places keep your Silver close and don't let anyone even think you have Gold unless you are so obviously powerful that no one would dare mess with you. In Civilized places the Money goes like this: 10 Copper pieces to the Silver 10 Silver to the Gold 10 Gold to the Electrum 10 Electrum to the Platinum 10 Platinum to the Krystal (Yes the 1K piece being 1000 Gold is totally on purpose.) So basically standard D&D/Fantasy world Money with the Krystal pice being the notable addition. Krystal pieces are made from Gem jell mixed with diamond dust a catalyst and a bit of magic to trigger the reaction.

By the Light of the Witch Moon Under Eldritch Skys By Balefire's Glow To Ride the Neither Winds. To Plant the Dragon's Teeth. Title ideas for stories linked to the Finial Days of Horkuna. The basic idea is an Earth like world Magic or maybe Psi Abilities are rare and mistrusted in most places This world has a second Moon. Small with an odd orbit and little effect on the tides and such. Barley visible to most people. But to those who have the Mage/Witch sight a full Witch Moon is as bright as a regular full Moon. Nights when the Witch Moon is full and the regular Moon is Dark are seen as Ill-omened by most. Which becomes a self fulfilling sort of thing. Because a night when honest folks stay home is naturally a night when those up to no good are going to be more active. General outline is one or more Gifted/Cursed as the main character and somewhere along the way they discover something that is a major threat to their world and because of their abilities they are the only ones who can stop it and save the world.

While exploring an abandoned house You find a research lab belonging to someone who has been exploring the Backrooms. Notebooks, Maps, Weapons, Supplies, and Gear for finding your way in, out, and around. The last entry in the main Notebook is dated three weeks ago. What do you do? I've been toying with some ideas as to what the Backrooms could be used for if someone had a way of finding/opening/closing entry/exit points both from the "real" world side and from within the Backrooms themselves. There are Lurkers. But I'm still working out what they are. Where they come from. Why they are there. Ect. Use ideas include hiding, smuggling, making just about anything one could need a reason to keep hidden.

Some notes about the City itself. As noted elsewhere The City of the Shademakers is located in the Plane of Shadows. It's not entirely clear just when, why, how the place got started but the general drift of the story goes something like this. A group of scholars/sages/lore masters ect who were all interested in Shadow Magic, Necromancy and other such related topics worked together to establish a research area free from distractions. Just when they discovered the process enabling the transformation into a Shade is not recorded but it was long ago and over time others learned of the Umbral Archives and came to join the group. Then others came not wishing to become permanent members of the group but wishing to visit and consult with the resident scholars. This created a need for the compound to grow into more of a regular city. For while the Shades don't need to eat or sleep, visitors who were mostly still among the living most definitely did. And anywhere there is a need that can be satisfied for a profit, sooner or later someone is going to start a business satisfying that need. And so all the usual business turned up. There was already some need for transport to and from the Umbral Archives as many of the Scholars needed research materials, add to that the needs of a growing city. This lead to the creation of the Shadow Fleet. There are actually several ships that are all The Shadow. As the ship is believed to be an Ill omen it never makes port as itself but takes on the aperance of some other ship. Quite probably the ship it was before joining the Shadow Fleet. Just how a ship joins the Shadow Fleet is a secret known only to the Captains and the Supreme Shadow. There are likely a few others who have figured it out, But they are not likely to be sharing that information unless they are offered a good reason typically in the form of a rather large amount of treasure or possibly information that is valuable enough. It is worth noting that because it started as a city of scholars, information and research materials are as much a form of money as actual coins and gems. As to the matter of food and lodging it depends on your personal taste and available funds. If you are broke and/or don't care about quality you can find a place about two streets back from the harbor. Or you can try camping in one of the empty warehouses right along the waterfront. If you happen to have some coin to spend and want a good deal try looking about five to six streets back from the docks. This is also the point at which you are most likely to find merchants with goods that are actually worth buying. If you are rich and/or looking for magic items and such you will need to go twenty streets in and get a guard to let you in. The walls and gates here mark the start of the city proper. This is where a city watch actually bothers with patrolling and such. Before this you are in Thieves Guild territory. Not that the Guild doesn't have a presence in the walled parts of the city. But outside the walls they are the ones running things. Inside the walls, they keep a much lower profile.

Upon first sighting the Shadow you will likely see it maneuvering in a way that is only possible with a full crew. Any attempts at communicating from this range will receive no direct response. The ship will however take up station keeping once you have signaled your intention to come alongside or otherwise board. If the ship doesn't do this or disappears, return to port and get a new time/location to try again. Once you are within range to do so, you will see absolutely no one on the Shadow. Magical items, spells, etc that enable seeing invisible beings will probably allow you to see the crew. It is generally considered a bad idea to do this. The Shadow disappearing or sailing away are the most common results. There are some reports of the crew of the Shadow attacking. This is largely unconfirmed, but all such reports agree that this happens only if you are already alongside. As to what the crew of the Shadow look like; I'll cover that a bit later. Never set foot on the deck of the Shadow until you have asked permission to come abroad. You will know if it was granted by nothing happening. There are no reports of the request being denied if you were allowed to come alongside in the first place. There are no confirmed reports of anyone being stupid enough to not ask permission. So what exactly would happen is unknown. The most likely reactions are the Shadow disappearing or the offending individual being tossed over the side. In any event once on board find a spot on the deck that is out of the way of the crew and stay there. Unless you feel like you are being asked to get out of the way, then get out of the way. Do not interfere with the operation of the ship. Do not go below decks. Do not go into the galley. And especially don't sit down and eat when there is a meal on the table. Unless you want to join the crew. More on what happens if you do in a bit. Do not enter the captain's cabin. Some say you can enter if you ask permission and have a good reason for being there. Make sure you have a good supply of food and water. If you follow the rules the trip can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks. When you arrive at the Umbral Archives. Thank the captain and crew for their hospitality, and get off. For those who lack common sense and want to push their luck. Here are the likely results of breaking the rules. You will be attacked by the crew, and the ship itself, if you are holding your onw against the crew. They will either throw you over the side, or kill you and then throw you over the side. Assuming that the ship doesn't just vanish. If you are still in the normal world, pray that there is an island nearby. In any case you are in the ocean, good luck. If you have crossed into the Plane of Shadows, you are stranded there in a random location. Good Luck. Or you have landed in some random Demiplane. You will probably need all the luck you can get. If you fight the captain and somehow manage to win. Whoever landed the killing blow is now Captain of the Shadow. Everyone else in your group is now part of the Crew. Any surviving members of the original Crew are now as loyal to you as they were to the former Captain. And you are now bound to the service of The Supreme Shadow, Lord of the Umbral Archives, and whatever other titles that notable might happen to have. In theory you can take that Title by winning a duel or otherwise conquering the current Supreme Shadow. There are no confirmed reports of anyone ever having managed to do it. The Crew of the Shadow are Shades with the ability to turn invisible and stay that way even when attacking. They are also able to heal themselves as per Vampiric Ring of Regeneration channeled through their weapons. The Captain has the Crews abilities as well as the ability to Animate Object anything that is part of the Shadow as a free action. And is almost always a Magic User of some sort. I might try to work out more exact stats for these guys later.

Psionics definitely exist in the Shard Scape. And is most notable, among the various types of "magic" available, for being the most flexible. Psi users follow the Sorcerer form in terms of how they learn their skills. It is also under the Psi format that the concept of resonance comes most fully into play. There are a number of Psi Abilities that are distinct from Powers in that they don't consume Psi energy to work. Powers consume Psi energy to manifest and are typically at a distance. Abilities simply require that the needed level of power is present and are typically enhancements to the individual using them. Exceptions do exist, and I'll try to cover those at some later time. Psi powers work equally well in high magic/low tech environments and in low magic/high tech environments. Psi is of course just as negatively impacted as anything else when dealing with low tech/low magic/low life environments. Those places are basically hostile to everything. Synthoids and Undead fair somewhat better than average in such environments but even they struggle. As to how Psi fits in among Arcane, Eldritch, and Divine/Infernal magic it is most closely related to Arcane magic. The primary difference being that Arcane magic works by adjusting the Chaos that underlies Reality Psi works by adjusting the Order. Which is why it works in high tech environments. Technology alignes with Order and Magic typically works by manipulating Chaos. In high Tech areas Order is enhanced and Chaos is suppressed. By the time you reach a level of Chaos high enough to have a notable effect on Psi, you are dealing with Chaos levels that are approaching the limits of what most beings can deal with. At some point I will try to cover the related topics of abilities that parallel magic but are derived from Cybergrafts, Biografts and other related types of Bio-mancy and bonded equipment.

Mine goes by mood. For some reason, the Smurfs song always comes on my 'radio' when I'm working. Rain sounds are best for quelling such earworms, I've found... At least for me. Feeling very transparent today, for some reason... like a balloon filled with too much air. Stretched almost to popping. And not in a good way. Maybe I need to go find some real rain..

Months with Flo Rida's Low, here. And I don't even know all the lyrics.

*Laughs in acknowledgement of similarity 🤣

Warlocks, Shamans, and Witches. It is among these spellcasters that you are most likely to find Eldritch spells being used. The primary difference between Eldritch and Arcane magic is in where the power comes from. Which in turn dictates how that power is applied to achieve a given effect. Arcane magic works by subtlety adjusting the balance between Order and Chaos that underlies our reality, by directly interacting with those forces. Eldritch magic in contrast adjusts that balance by introducing, (and in some cases removing again), Chaos from Elsewhere. Less subtle and elegant than Arcane magic, but when Chaos and/or Destruction are the goal Eldritch magic is easily as, if not more, powerful. Now the reason that Eldritch magic is more likely with these spellcasters than others is a matter of how these casters gain their magic in the first place. Warlocks (and technically Dracons, Naze, and the like) gain their spells by forming a Pact with a Patron of one type or another. And it depends on the Patron and the circumstances, as to which mode (Wizard, Sorcerer, or Cleric) will be used. Of course there are any number of Warlocks who will try to find ways of recording the spells they are given regardless of the mode the Patron selected. Which brings us to Shamans and Witches. Unlike Warlocks, Shamans and Witches don't make an enduring pact with a single being but rather bargain with many different types of magical beings to gain the spells they need. This can lead to them becoming a Warlock, Druid, or Cleric, depending upon the type of spells they are most interested in. After all, why keep shopping around if you can get everything you're looking for in one place and for a single set of terms. The most notable difference between Shamans and Witches is that Shamans are typically members of a Barbarian tribe and so tend to be illiterate. Thus leaving them little choice but to follow the Sorcerer path for learning spells. Witches, by contrast, tend to live closer to civilization. On the edges of typically, but still, Close enough that reading is a skill that they can typically learn.

Huggles

Demosidhe Basic protections Most of these are really pretty obvious once you think about it a bit. First and generally easiest is to drink a glass of holy water before studying about the Demosidhe and especially just before sleeping. Also keep a flask of holy water within easy reach at all times and take a mouthful when you first wake up and anytime you notice Demosidhe activity. I'll explain more about what that looks like in just a bit. Some other protective measures you can take include wearing a headband made of an alloy of iron and silver. (Ferogentum) Having protective runes and symbols engraved on it is a good thing to add but the headband will offer a fair bit of protection even without them. A protective magic circle and pentagram combo carved into the floor of your sleeping room and painted with a paste made from equal parts salt silver and iron added to just enough holy water to make a paste works very well. Top it off with a good clear coat sealant and place your bed in the middle. And you are protected from a wide assortment of supernatural dangers.

There are forms of essence magic that would allow someone to drain Demosidhe essence and either consume it or embue an object with it so as to gain Dreamwalking abilities. Of course this would come with it's own risk. Those who hunt Demosidhe might mistake you for one or assume you are bonded to one depending on the type of magic that they are using for tracking them down. And on the other hand Demosidhe and those willing to bond with them would probably be able to tell what you had done as soon as they see you using your powers. And they would probably not be happy about it. And given their ability to create very realistic dreams... Would you want to risk finding out just how creative they might be about expressing their displeasure over your having eaten one ? So while I don't have any accounts of this being tried. I expect that at some point someone did; and it probably didn't end well for them. Essence Magic is an interesting topic in its own right and I'll try to cover it in more detail somewhere else; assuming I haven't already.

FAIR WARNING!! THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1!! >> >> >> >> Seed of Grebefal The winds were different. Kyirtana Armonia Grebe was sure of it now. He’d been checking the winds for days in the same way, as he did every morning; standing barefoot, clad in only his pants, on the top of the tower, arms outstretched, his hands spread wide. The rushing air pressed against his bare skin, and filtered through his fingers and hair. But his face was still warm, today, even warmer than it had been for the last few days. It shouldn’t be getting warmer; it was already midsummer, and the weather should be getting colder now. Grebefal’s powerful mana-laden winds were cool and pure, and had never stopped circling this tower. They had been like this since before he had even been born. Why were they so odd today? He paused in his mental exercises and frowned, looking around him at the weathered stones and high outer wall of the tower. Today was his sixteenth birthday, which should be a good thing, great even; today he was officially the heir of the Grebefal Duchy, and an adult. And yet, he felt strangely uneasy. The winds were slower, sluggish today, and carried with them an odd new scent—dust, not cool and earthy like the meadow beyond the castle wall, but harsh and hot, and rough with a slight bitterness. Kyir scowled. It's all wrong, he thought. Maybe he would ask his father to do a scan and see, later. There was definitely something odd going on, and whatever it was, Kyir knew his father, Harlan, would find out what it was. Lord Harlan Grebe was the best Air mage in the world, Kyir was certain; no one else could scan as far, or as accurately, or manipulate the winds as completely as he—not even Kyir’s mother, who was a mage too. But she had other talents, after all. She didn’t control the air, but nobody knew the earth as well as she did. Between the two of them, Grebefal had the best possible governors, and Kyir was proud that they were his parents. Still, it would be nice if they were a bit less busy and could give him the time to ask, before the festival…this might be really important. Kyir turned to the trapdoor in the floor and reached for the handle to pull it up, but just then it popped open with a soft thump, and a narrow, dark face peered out. It was Muse; his mother’s maid, a shapeshifter and transport expert. “Kyir? Your Mom needs you for something. I’m to bring you to her.” Kyir groaned. “Aw, couldn’t I just walk? I don’t like transporting. It makes my stomach turn.” Muse shook her head, her long, straight hair swishing around her slanted eyes. “She needs you right now, buddy. In the outer fields to the west. It’s important. Oh, and the guests will be arriving for your celebration soon, so you’ll need to dress too. You know it takes too long to walk everywhere; you should be glad you have me to get you around, you know.” Kyir nodded, resigned. “Yeah yeah…let’s just get this over with.” He pulled on his outdoor tunic, buckled his belt around it, & slid on his boots quickly. Then he reached out his hand to Muse, who hopped nimbly up through the trapdoor, balancing easily on the smooth stones. She grasped his hand in hers, cool and pale. “Ready?” He steeled himself and closed his eyes, to prevent the dizziness from making his stomach turn. “Sure, ok.” For a moment, the winds howled wildly in his ears; then they were gone, replaced by dull sunshine. The smooth wind-worn stones beneath his feet were now rough, tumbled earth. Kyir owned his eyes; they were in the west fields, outside the city walls. He blinked and stared; the ground was hard, dry, and cracked; the clods of earth felt as sharp as cracked stone, and between the clods, something glittered and sparkled up at them, shining in the sunlight. He knelt down and stared, then pinched a little of it in his fingers, lifting it and letting it trickle down back to the ground. Glass sand. What was glass sand doing here?! “Kyir! Over here!” Kyir grinned at the voice, recognizing it instantly. Pasan, his best friend from the village—there she was, waving her long, bare brown arms at him frantically, motioning him over. Beside her stood his mother, who looked grave. Muse followed him as he jogged unsteadily over, stumbling on the large clots of dry, tilled earth. “Pasan? Mom? What’s going on?” Harmony, Kyir’s mother, pointed down at the glittering sand. “Silica sand. Definitely from Ellux—It’s the only place where this type of sand originates on Vacoelus. It’s been blown here somehow, and it’s bad sign. The winds have changed direction.” Pasan was staring at his mother mutely, with her characteristic dumb, awestruck look. Kyir frowned. He wished Pasan wouldn’t idolize her quite SO much—it was embarrassing. He focused instead on the ground, where the glittering sand lay in little pools between the earthen clods. “I saw. What does it mean? I mean…besides the winds changed, like you said. We never had sand here before. Can’t we just get rid of it?” Harmony shook her head. “It’s a mark of the changing the land. Even if we got every grain of sand out of the fields, the wind would simply blow more into the area. It means the borders of the Ellux desert are extending towards us. And even with your father’s powers, we can’t stop an entire desert filled with sand.” Kyir frowned at the glittering dapples on the ground. “So what do we do then? Move the fields further east? After planting everything?! The farming association will throw a fit!” Pasan nodded. “Yeah, especially the Twins. They’ll have a cow if we tell them they have to abandon the Western fields and cut a whole new sector to the east, Lady Harmony.” Harmony smiled diplomatically at Pasan. “Well...can convince them. Still, I hope we won't need to.” Kyir snorted. “And give up on eating fruit or bread for the entire winter season, too, and eat only eggs and salt pork for the snow months, probably. Gross! And unhealthy." He looked more carefully at the clods; there were tiny shoots of grain poking up here and there, but it already looked dry and brittle. "Mom, isn’t there any way to salvage the crop? At least until next planting?” Harmony shook her head. “I'm not sure. We could try building a windblock, to stop the sand from accumulating further; and it would take double or triple the waterings to keep it from drying out, with the additional sand in the ground, but your father could probably manage a few more...maybe. He's been very busy lately. I’m sure you’ve sensed it too, Kyir; The winds aren’t circling the tower anymore. They’re blowing from the west, now, with an odd energy I haven’t sensed before. It's taken a toll on his reserves to keep things running as normal.” Kyir sighed. Why did this have to happen now? On his birthday? Why couldn’t it have happened in, say, three or four days from now, when everything was back to business? This was supposed to be a special day, a day for him to enjoy turning sixteen—and becoming officially a man of Grebefal, an adult according to the laws of the town. Today he would have his first debut as heir, and greet the guests at the head of the festival as the host. Today his father had promised to gift him his memoir, a book of his grandfather’s inventions that Kyir had been longing to read for years. He wanted time to enjoy this—the festival, the legendary book, his day, without worrying about the town, for once. His parents always had to worry about something; the fields, monsters raiding from the northern forests, the merchants and farmers fighting in the association, upkeep of the mana sigils and maintenance of the mineshaft inventions, judging day for citizen's complaints…and he had to worry about lessons, too--riding and sword training, archery and ancient languages, diplomacy and marketing, and everything else. Today was supposed to have been HIS. No lessons, no problems. Or, it had been. He hunched his shoulders a little in agreement. “Yeah. We should ask Dad. He should know.” He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. This was important, after all. More important than a party. But he couldn’t help feeling a little sad. Pasan nudged him with a thin brown elbow. She seemed to recognize his feelings. “Heeey, it’s ok, Kyir! Sorry this had to happen on your birthday! But your Dad says we don’t master the winds, remember? They answer only to themselves. We just ask them for favors, sometimes.” Harmony nodded at her. “In a way, I suppose. It is poor timing, but we do need to make a plan for these fields, before the sun destroys the crops here. It’s urgent that we save them, since the town depends on the grain planted here. We’ll still celebrate your birthday, Kyir. We might need to move it to sundown, though, instead of noon.” Kyir smiled wryly at their attempts to comfort him. “It’s fine, Mom…this is more important. I’ll be fine. I was going ask Dad about the winds anyway; I noticed it was really odd, this morning.” Muse trailed along behind the three as they walked up the path towards the town gate. She shifted into bird form and fluttered here and there, dropping toxic red bird-berries from trees and chasing away the pigeons that were circling, looking for crumbs. Kyir unconsciously dropped a few steps behind his mother, letting her take the lead as they entered. She smiled and greeted the guards by name, giving polite greetings before hurrying on through. Then she turned to Kyir and Pasan who were walking in lock-step behind her. “Kyir—your father was going to the market today, so we’ll find him there, I expect. Muse?” The Muse-the-bird fluttered down to perch on her hand. “Yes?” “Find my intrepid husband, would you?” Muse cocked her bird-head cheekily. “Of course. Now...Which one was that again?” Kyir and Pasan both struggled to hide their laughter as Harmony swatted the bird into the air. “Cheeky. Just go find Harlan, already!” Muse rose high above the market, then swooped back down. “By the exotics merchants’ stand, on the far north of the square. Looks like he’s moving on towards the baked goods and fresh foods inspections, in a minute.” Harmony nodded and eyed Kyir and Pasan, who was still giggling. “Why don’t you two meet me by the fresh fruit stand, beside the farmer’s association hall? I’ll go with Muse to catch Harlan and bring him there, in the association offices. It’ll be a quieter place for a private conversation.” Kyir nodded and grinned at Pasan. “C’mon, Pas. Let’s go get a pie, and let my mother catch her intrepid husband on her own.” His mother’s face turned red; Pasan looked like she’d burst from suppressed laughter as he grabbed her hand and pulled her away. Kyir didn’t bother suppressing it; his laughter rang out over the market as they weaved in and out of the stalls, headed towards the association building. In a few minutes they’d crossed the square and were nearing the baked goods stalls, where fresh breads, pastries and hand-pies were staked on tables. Kyir waved at the baker, Uther; he was Pasan’s step-brother, a large, strong, square framed man with skin the color of a fresh baked brownie, and a wide, friendly smile. Pasan scooped up a couple of hand-pies and they headed into the farmer’s section. She passed him one—apple-berry, his favorite. “On the house for you today! Happy birthday!” called Uther after them. Pasan paused in the street for a moment, inhaling her pie, which was a meat pie; then she called back. “Thanks for breakfast, bro! They’re good today. Tell Riette I said Hi, ok? See you both at the festival later?” Uther motioned to the tables. “Probably be late. But we’ll be there! Wouldn’t miss it!” Kyir stuffed his face, his mouth full of buttery pie crust and delicious, tangy apple-berry pie filling. He wiped his face and checked his shirt for crumbs, and they turned into the doors of the large, stocky brick building that housed the Farmer’s association, Merchant’s guild, and Miner’s association. Inside the main doors, a long hall split off into an upper and lower level; Miners had the basement, Merchants the ground floor, and Farmers had the second floor offices. They paused at the landing of the second floor; it was quiet here, in spite of the noisy market going on outside. A faint scent of ink and papers, and the soft rustles and clicks of people working on documents, copywriting, making out orders. This was all new in the last five years; Father had funded the building of this association building and basically forced them to share a building together, to bring a halt to the constant disagreements between the three main Grebefal guilds. The guild leaders had separate offices, a room of their own each. The rest was taken up by the under-secretaries, document runners, and file rooms in each floor, with a sitting-room for important guests and a single large hall on the main floor, for all-association meetings. Kyir and Pasan headed into the sitting room to wait. It was plain, but comfortable; two low brown leather couches decorated with furs, a side table and a large bookshelf. Grebefal had outgrown the palace courtrooms; so many new people had come to stay that they’d had to build a new sector of the town, to the east. There had been fights, at first. The other town residents had disagreed with the new, and arguments had broken out over land and jobs. But Father had found a way to compromise with them, and somehow made it look easy—he made everything look easy, Kyir thought. Which was incredible, considering that he was blind, and used Air powers to move...his father was the strongest person he knew, and never backed down from any challenge, even if it meant finding ways of doing things he couldn’t physically do on his own...

The Bel'Vekian jumping turtle is, basically, a frog/turtle hybrid whos' origin is . . . disturbing. As we know, the Bel'Vekians have turned their planet into a giant science experiment in order to create weapons (or whatever may be desired) to sell to the highest bidder. They live in sterile labs that span the entirety of the planet, sealed off from its' atmosphere and protected from whatever survives within its environment. The Bel'Vekians have found that, simply ejecting their failed experiments and waste indiscriminately, can lead to discoveries never contemplated. The Bel'Vekian jumping turtle is the product of this practice. The Nevb Coalition of sector 7.23 of the Direliz Quadrant had commissioned a physical enhancement drug to allow their settlers to survive the higher gravity of several planets they had conquered and depopulated. The Bel'Vekian scientist used testosterone, the adrenal glands and pituitary glands of the giant marsh frogs to create a drug but it was far too powerful, causing grotesque physical changes that were incompatible with sustaining a colony. So, they dumped it. It didn't take long to totally contaminate the giant marsh frog population, leading to larger, more aggressive offspring. It was so devastating, within three generations, not only were all members of the species larger and more aggressive, not one female was produced. This is where it gets disturbing. The last generation of the giant marsh frog; larger, more aggressive, filled with testosterone and no . . . outlet, descended upon a large population of marsh turtles, eliminating all the males and . . . violating the females in an uncontrollable frenzy. It lasted, non-stop for days, until the last giant marsh frog expired from exhaustion. Like I said . . . disturbing. With all the contaminates in the environment, it was actually quite easy for cross species breeding to occur. Thus, we now have the Bel'Vekian jumping turtle. This unexpected outcome has also led to the creation of the Bel'Vekian: Monitor Sloth, Spider Worm, Tarantula Hamster and the surprisingly cuddly Centipede Wombat - among others. ** All animal names used are of the closest Earth animal equivalent of the actual Bel'Vekian species in appearance, in order to be able to visualize the subject **

....Methinks you procrastinated on posting anything Perhaps I will as well... All procrastination is best done jointly

Hi my friends I'm finally finished with book 1 and now I'm working on book 2....of the Awakening series! This one will center mainly on her son Kyir, I think, and I'd love any ideas on how to flesh out my world, give the dialogue more, uh, realism? and stuff. Thanks again for being such awesome folks and hanging around. Side note for funsies; Kyir's name is loosely based on my own daughter's name, and I use the name Harmony basically everywhere online as my own personal "profile name". Wish I looked like her though! 😂🤣

At least 2 at this point, possibly 3. I maay use this world to do stories of other characters, instead of the same family always? At this point I only have the 2nd one sorta-kinda-plotted out, so it's nothing finite yet 😂 Thank you so much for your interest--and I'd love to sign a book or a few, for you. And anyone else on here who wants to identify. This site is still the ORIGINAL place this story came from!

This a quick overview of metals unique to the Shardscape. Or mostly unique; as some of them, Brasium for example, do have real world equivalents. And given that I just mentioned it I'll start off with Brasium. Brasium is an alloy of brass and bronze; which is to say copper, tin, and zinc; with chrome and nickel occasionally added for extra strength and croesion resistance. Brasium is commonly found in places where such resistance is especially needed; and in places where iron is less available. Next we have feromantic iron. This form of iron is mined in the Underworld along the banks of the Styx and is therefore much more able to retain certain enchantments. Which is the primary reason for bothering with the stuff, as it is otherwise no better than iron minded from anywhere else. However the ability to incorporate magical properties makes Feromantic iron highly valued for the creation of Darksteel. Which is formed by adding a relatively small amount of finely powered dark fire crystal. The resulting material is not only able to store highly powerful magical energies it is also nearly indestructible. There are a few other items I will be adding to this list later. When I can find my notes on them.

Thanks for the info., just wanted to make sure there wouldn't be a problem with the Hello Kitty magnet stuck to the ricasso of my enchanted sword, Doris Nether Bane - Devourer of Demon Spleens. And, you know, just for NEXT time, it'd be helpful to some of us if you LEAD with the advice on protecting and securing your mind and dreams against evil and forgotten beings using them to enter our world . . . you know, for NEXT time. Now . . . kind of busy . . . have a bit of a . . . situation . . . let you know how it goes . . . maybe.😐

Coolness. since I'm not in IL., chances of recognizing me - slim! Anyways, let me know when you have definite schedules, and I'll send a bulk mail to let everyone know so those in that vicinity can have a heads up. If you have a virtual signing, at some point, I can send one for that also. Now, do you have an idea as to how many books will make up the Awakening series? Are you planning on an open-ended universe or a finite series? Finally, it won't be soon, but I do plan on buying several (not a lot, a few) and then harassing you for an address so I can send them to you to sign them. One for me and a couple, or so, to give away - I plan on using them to TRY to get more participation.😉

Still loving that background!! And yes, I'm hoping to post snippets and scraps of new book here (hopefully without spoiling the 1st book TOO much) and add some cool new characters as well. Like Whittle, who definitely features somewhere while they're in the deep desert... she strikes me as one who might need a story of her own, too. She's pretty cool, in a totally-a-Dune-reference way. First book show is (so far) planned in September, definitely in person, when I'll hopefully have some copies to sell at my local book club fair...willl update later on time/place since I don't have alllllll the details yet. I don't have funds for renting tables at bigger shows Sighed copies absolutely available, orrr you can always buy one online (those will be cheaper) and have me sign it there. And if you wear a crowned squirrel or lizard somewhere on your clothes, I might just recognize you, too. 🤣

Other metals of note. Titiansteel a bit of a misnomer as it is actually an alloy of titanium and tungsten. Nonmagnetic very durable and corrosion resistant. Not typically enchanted which is not really all that surprising as it is made almost exclusively by Morlocks who tend to be technological and psyonic rather than magical. Ferogentum, (a lesser form of Myrthriem, being an alloy of silver and iron), is more often used for protective amulets and the like than actual weapons, mostly because it just doesn't hold high level enchantments as well as actual Myrthriem. Which is typically enchanted up +4 or even +5 as well as being both blessed and Ghosttouched. Myrthriem is an alloy of Mithril and Darksteel. Only a few hundred of these weapons are known to exist. As they were made for the singular purpose of driving out the Demosidhe. A Demon Fae hybrid that came into being during the Great Fae Migration of the Forgotten Age. The Forgotten Age is forgotten on purpose and for good reason. For the Demosidhe can enter the dreams of those who know about them and can then use those dreams as a way to enter our world. I will say no more about them here least you become an unwitting doorway for their return. If you are determined to learn about them, there are spells and other protections to secure your mind and dreams against them. Make sure those are in place before continuing your studies of this subject.

Feromantic iron is very magnetic. Such blades tend to become magnetic during forging. As to the effects of magnetic fields on enchantments. No one has really looked into it. There are no reports of enchanted blades made from other metals showing any magnetic properties. The exact effects of magnetic fields on enchantments would depend greatly on the type of enchantment and the purpose of the object and the reason for magnetising it. Brasium is non magnetic. In fact its non magnetic nature is a reason for its use in place of iron or steel in some cases. Brasium weapons are not typically enchanted but there are no reports on it being any harder to enchant than other metals. Darksteel takes powerful magic to enchant but once enchanted it will stay that way unless even more powerful magic is used specifically to disenchant it. There are no reports of anyone trying to magnetise darksteel but most likely it would take a powerful magnetic field to do so but once accomplished it would be practically impossible to demagnetise it.

Snypiuer hands Harmony a pointy stick and sings the Ramones "Beat on the Brat". When you find it at B&N, the books' cover looks SURPRISINGLY like the Pens' present background - weird, huh? One question: Will we be getting previews of your second book!? Any plans for book signings? If yes, in-person or virtual? If no, will/are signed copies available/obtainable? Does Snypiuer understand the concept of "ONE" question? If yes . . . does he . . . REALLY!?🤔

OKAAAY!! Keyboard was having a seizure, was starting to seriously consider Sny's computer solution (cussing and pointy sticks) You can find book 1 in paperback or hardback, on Barnes & Noble . com under my name (author search). Oh....and my name is Helena Marfell 😅 Knowing that would probably help, too, huh.

Strip down and do the hula? I'd bet good money I could get at least a laugh...and laughter is a GREAT icebreaker.

Greet them politely, and ask again about the use of a phone.

Snypiuer finds his laptop barely alive. Snypiuer pokes laptop with a stick. Snypiuer does a "Make laptop strong" dance. Snypiuer pokes laptop with another, pointy-er stick. Snypiuer yells at laptop. Snypiuer threatens laptop. Snypiuer attempts to gaslight laptop by insisting it's the laptops' fault Snypiuer is angry with it. Snypiuer apologizes, says he'll change, he'll treat the laptop better. Snypiuer pokes laptop with an even pointy-er stick. Snypiuer berates laptop. Snypiuer's niece walks in. Niece: ""What's the problem!? Snypiuer: *As he yells at laptop and viciously pokes it with his pointy laptop poker* "BAD! BAD LAPTOP!!" Niece: "Didn't you get the extended warranty?" Snypiuer: *Stops berating and poking laptop and stares at niece* "Ummm" Snypiuer checks. Snypiuer explains to laptop that if it hadn't of made Snypiuer so angry, Snypiuer wouldn't have been so harsh with it but, even though it's the laptops' fault and since Snypiuer is such a good person, it should appreciate that Snypiuer will send it in for repairs. Niece: "You're weird." *Gently pats laptop* "Good laptop, don't listen to the meany." Snypiuer will check-in when possible! No idea how long will be without laptop.

Ew, Windows 11?! Relatable ick there. 10 did NOT need revised or upgraded into a totally unusable form.. I agree. Still, probably best not to abuse with a stick, to be on the safe side! 😂

Snypiuers' laptop was returned a while back. It came back with an attitude - Snypiuer was running Windows 10 and did NOT want to upgrade to 11 (which he STATED in the paperwork), but it was upgraded and now, Snypiuer can't find the original product key to reinstall 10. So Snypiuer was FORCED to apply his pointiest poking stick in order to reeducate said laptop and remind it as to its' PROPER place. On a side note, and TOTALLY unrelated to ANY actions Snypiuer may or may not have taken, Snypiuer will be attending therapy for "Aggression Management". O.K., TECHNICALLY, it's "court ordered", but completely unnecessary and merely a misunderstanding on the part of a CERTAIN individual *stares at niece*, who overreacted and notified LPS (Laptop Protective Services). Niece: You were ABUSING it with that stick you found outside, while yelling at it and saying words that I, as a CHILD, should NOT be hearing! Snypiuer: IT GOT A NEW SSD, BATTERY AND KEYBOARD AND SUDDENLY IT THINKS IT'S BETTER THEN . . . Niece: *Cutting Snypiuer off* HEY! What did the therapist say!? Snypiuer stares at niece. Takes a deep breath. Counts to 10. Slowly releases breath. Anyways, Snypiuer also had a backlog of emails he had to go through (we've already gone over WHY Snypiuer HAS to go through EVERY email, so we will not reiterate that here) and has FINALLY gone through them all. Now, Snypiuer just has to overcome his natural laziness, propensity to procrastinate and tendency to . . .

Relatable 🤣 Also my kids all think I'm pretty weird, too. But I guess that's normal? Favorite writing-related self motivational speech lately: "Writing is like taking a 💩. If you try to force it, or go too fast, it flies everywhere, messes everything up and leaves you feeling all wrong." ...facts. I find that's true about most things... but especially writing. My written constipation last YEARS sometimes. Y'all know 🤣

Wanted to share with everyone (or anyone) who is still somewhat interested: My book, Awakening, Quickening, is now for sale on Barnes & Noble! You all should feel very proud--without your comments and continued interest I sincerely doubt I would have ever completed it. ❤️ I hope someday in the not-too-distant future, I'll be at a book signing or something and see a familiar lizard lord or ancient falcon swoop down and say hello. Thanks for being my Muse. Here's to the Mighty Pen....may it never die... \ https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/awakening-quickening-helena-marfell/1146417668?ean=2940185888599

Too relatable. The days are like ripples in a stream of similarity, and the water isn't clear. But I've found it is worth enduring every day to get to the next. Never know when a change is coming.

I got this from Dan Lewis' "Now I Know" newsletter and REALLY found it informative. No need to know WHY I find it informative - by the way, it didn't work (who'd a thunk that cats would pass out when dropped from an airplane!?) In the book "Nuking the Moon and Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board" by Vince Houghton, the historian and curator of the International Spy Museum explained how cat-guided bomb would work: The bomb was based on the undisputed premises that (a) cats always land on their feet and (b) hate water. The plan was to hang a poor kitty in a harness, from the bottom of a bomb, with some kind of device that allowed said kitty's movements to guide the bomb as it fell. If you dropped it in the vicinity of a naval target (such as a German battleship), then the cat's natural instinct would be to think, "Holy hell, I'm falling into water. I hate water, so let's try to land somewhere dry. Like that German battleship over yonder." And then BOOM! Suicide kitty is a martyr to the cause.

THANKS! That is about the best complement one can get. The fact that I just threw it together in order to figure out the cadence in my head and others say they feel it pertains to them, well, just thanks. It's even more amazing to me since I, myself, don't feel it pertains to ME at all, because when it comes to MY childhood dreams, up to now I have accomplished . . . hmmm . . . well . . . . . . aww, craps.

At Pere, Same, like....this could have been written by me personally? I also 'hear' a cadence to this, but probably not the same one you hear. 🫥😄

I feel oddly called out.

I get a newsletter about getting published and, every now and then, leads are given, this last one has a Fellowship grant listed. Not sure if I should list the job leads, but figure the Fellowship is O.K. If anyone wants the job ones, let me know and I'll pass them on (not sure how long they'll be valid): Fellowship for the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers - "The Cullman Center’s Selection Committee awards fifteen Fellowships a year to outstanding scholars and writers—academics, independent scholars, journalists, creative writers (novelists, playwrights, poets), translators, and visual artists." If that describes you and you'd like $85,000 and full access to this New York Library's resources, submit your application here before September 27th at 5pm ET.

Snypiuers' Niece: Hi. As you know, my dearly beloved uncle made an unwise decision to eat a filet-o-fish sandwich that had been sitting on the table for 6 and a half hours, what you haven't been informed of is, the very next day, he made the equally unwise decision to eat a dozen shrimp left on the table for an unknown length of time but, to be honest, they were room temperature at best. Due to his ill-advised culinary decisions, there was a brief, but violent reaction. So, it is with a sad and heavy heart that I regret to announce that my beloved uncle Snypiuer has . . . Snypiuer: Hey, what'chya doing? Niece: Go away. Snypiuer: That a GoFundMe? What'chya making a GoFundMe for? Niece: Go. A. Way. Snypiuer: Let me see! *reads* HEY! What do you mean "unwise" and "ill-advised"!? YOU gave me them! And I feel great, I got the digestive tract of a vulture! Wait . . . is this a GoFundMe for my FUNERAL cost!? Are you trying to scam people by claiming I'm dead!? Niece: ARGHHH! You ruin EVERYTHING! *stomps away* Snypiuer: You can't kill me! Not the Kid! I AM IRONMAN BABY! Niece: *in another room* Mom! Take me to go find another fish sandwich! Snypiuer: You come for the King, you better . . . wait . . . what do you mean "find"? *follows niece* WHAT DO YOU MEAN "FIND"!?

I found this in Nature and figured I'd share it: CAREER FEATURE 13 June 2024 Twelve scientist-endorsed tips to get over writer’s block How do you get your creative juices flowing after spending hours, days or months looking at a blank screen? Researchers share their advice. By Emily Sohn Twitter Facebook Email Find a new job Credit: Getty Paul Silvia was trying to write his first book — about the psychology of motivation — in 2003. He had a publishing contract and a deadline that he had missed, and although he was churning out shorter articles, grant proposals and research papers, he was not making any progress on his book. At one point, he went nine months without “even doing the smallest thing on it”. He could not motivate himself to work on a book about motivation: “The irony of that was totally apparent to me at the time,” he says. Silvia, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, was dealing with writer’s block — the experience of getting stuck on a writing project. He started researching the habits of professional authors and asking colleagues about their writing strategies. Their insights helped him to finish his book, called Exploring the Psychology of Interest, which he published in 2006. He later published two more about writing in academia: How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing (2007) and Write It Up: Practical Strategies for Writing and Publishing Journal Articles (2014). One major lesson: there will never be a perfect time to write. “That was the first switch to really flip,” he says. Although writer’s block is common, it can come as a surprise to scientists, says César Soto Valero, a computer scientist at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. He has seen many graduate students go days without getting any words on the page, and a few give up on academia as a result of their frustrations. Careers Collection: Publishing “Some people choose to do science because they want to do experiments, because they want to write code, because they want to try new things,” Soto Valero says. “Then, after they realize that the research is mostly about writing research papers, they struggle a lot because they find out that writing a research paper is very hard.” Soto Valero, Silvia and other scientists shared their advice on how to conquer the block and put pen to paper. Know thy enemy Writer’s block has a few main causes, Silvia says, and having the self-awareness to recognize which one is affecting you is important. One is a tendency to confuse worrying with doing. “If you’re thinking about something a lot,” he says, “that doesn’t really mean you’re working on it.” There is also the misconception that you need to clear your entire to-do list and carve out big blocks of time to get any writing done — a mindset that can become a form of procrastination, because it provides an excuse not to start. Silvia cites a prime example: stymied by lack of progress, an academic goes on a week-long retreat in a cosy rural cabin where they can focus solely on writing. But this can lead to disappointment when they end up wasting a lot of time in the local coffee shop instead of focusing on the task at hand. “The stakes are really high,” he says, “and if the first day goes wrong, you get really depressed.” Create routines Silvia recommends that researchers treat writing as if it’s a class that they have to teach: block out time for it on your calendar, and stick to the schedule. To get over his own writer’s block, Silvia designated 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. every weekday as writing time. He even chose a room at home for writing, so he had a dedicated workspace. Building consistency took a lot of pressure off. If the two hours went badly, he knew he would have another chance to write more the next day, and he was less likely to be discouraged or feel as if he had wasted a large chunk of time. Once he started making progress, he was able to write more. “Productivity builds on momentum,” he says. “It’s self-reinforcing to see something move along.” Clarify the message Andrea Armani, a chemical engineer at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, often sees students struggle when they sit down to write a paper, because they don’t know what they’re trying to say. She recommends that they ask themselves a few main questions: “What is the hypothesis statement? What is the point of my paper? What am I trying to prove?” Training: Writing a research paper Armani advises students to use their answers to develop a vision statement that articulates “the key discovery or accomplishment in a single sentence”, according to a 2020 article in which she outlines ten simple steps to writing a scientific paper. Keeping the main message in mind can get you past the feeling of being stuck, says Lynn Von Hagen, a conservation biologist at the Denver Zoo in Colorado. While writing a paper about human–elephant conflicts, published last year, she recognized that the most important point was that scientists need to engage communities when trying to understand complex conservation problems. She was then able to build each section around that idea. “A lot of times, scientific writing can be very rigorous,” Von Hagen says. “But one of the things you have to remember is that you’re still telling a story to the reader.” Plan first Inexperienced writers often jump right into new projects, says Silvia — leading them to forgo planning, scribble out the most obvious material right away and get stuck quickly. Developing a clear outline of a paper, chapter or book can help you to avoid that fate. There are many ways to create an outline, ranging from old-fashioned index cards or Post-it notes to software solutions. Armani’s strategy begins with storyboarding figures, graphs, data sets and results on digital slides. She uses presentation programs — such as PowerPoint, Prezi or Keynote — that make it easy to move slides around. Soto Valero plans out each paragraph by writing series of questions in his document. In a 2021 blog post about how he overcame writer’s block when working on research papers, Soto Valero gave an example of questions that guided his introduction for a study, published that year. The paper examined software bloat, a problem in which successive versions of computer programs become slower or use more memory. “What is software bloat? Why it is an issue?” he wrote, adding a written reminder to create a paragraph answering these questions. Next came: “What is the state-of-the-art of research on software bloat? What is missing?” Writer’s block often results from paying attention to the end goal but not the steps required to get there, Armani says. Breaking the process down, she tells her students, mirrors what they do when they’re conducting research. “All of my PhD students have really well-developed and well-honed skills on experimental design and how to break up an experimental challenge into biteable chunks,” she says. “But then once they get near end of a project, and they’re like, ‘OK, so now I need to write this up and have a paper,’ it’s like they’re walking into a murky forest without a flashlight.” Eliminate the blank page Soto Valero started writing papers as a university student in Cuba, with the goal of earning a PhD abroad. Because English wasn’t his first language, writing in it was laborious. “It took hours to write every single sentence,” he says. Because it is always easier to revise text than to write from scratch, he tapped into a template-based strategy to boost his speed and confidence. Using Google Scholar, a free academic search engine that indexes research papers, Soto Valero found examples of well-presented studies that he thought were explained clearly. He would create a similar structure, then iteratively paraphrase and reword the content, focusing on the insights and implications derived from his own data. He writes in English directly, but some of his colleagues use Google Translate to convert their Spanish into English. Some universities also hire proofreaders who check those translations. For Von Hagen, the first step when it’s time to write is to get something, anything, down on the page, even if it is a disorganized stream of consciousness that lacks structure or even punctuation. Even just creating a rough list of ideas gives her a starting point that she doesn’t want to walk away from. “If you get it on paper, and you have something to work with, then you can just edit and revise, edit and revise,” she says. “If there’s nothing there, it’s one thing, but if there’s something there, then it’s like, ‘OK, now my juices are flowing, the writer’s block is at least gone, and then I can make something out of it from there.’” Visualize Using mental strategies can help, Soto Valero says. Before diving into each section of a paper, he likes to imagine that the writing is done, which makes the blank page seem less empty. “After seeing something done, at least mentally, it seems easier to achieve,” he wrote. Strategizing about how to tackle the components of the paper reminds him of planning moves in a chess game: “Imagine the next paragraph is done, make your move, and then write it!” Write out of order It might seem logical to first write the title, abstract and introduction, but this can lead to blocks and rewrites later, Armani says. “You don’t know what your results section is going to look like,” she says. If you start at the beginning, “you’re trying to introduce something that you haven’t written yet”. After constructing a vision statement and making slides, Armani suggests writing the methods section first. You know what you did in the research, she says. “You can almost just dictate that and then clean up the text.” Next, she drafts the results section, followed by the discussion and conclusion, which generally summarize what she has already written. Finally, she writes the introduction and abstract and finishes with the title. Starting with the easiest part prevents blinking-cursor syndrome — staring at a page decorated only by a blinking cursor, because you cannot start writing — says immunologist Daniela Weiskopf at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego, California. “I want to start with something that I know I can do very well, like writing materials and methods,” says Weiskopf. “Then, you have one thing on your document” — and the thought of having to fill the page becomes less overwhelming. Give yourself extra time Because writing is hard work, it can help to build in a buffer, in case you need more time to meet a deadline than you’d originally planned. Armani advises her students to start writing when they’re about 75% of the way through the research. While doing her own work, Weiskopf makes notes of points that she might want to include in her paper. For Soto Valero, having extra time allows him to take a day or two to do nothing related to the project, which can fuel enough guilt to motivate him to sit down and write. “It seems stupid, but it really, really works,” he says. “You need to go through the pain of writing. You cannot avoid it.” Embrace collaboration Getting feedback on a draft can help you to overcome writer’s block, Von Hagen says, especially if the collaborator is a mentor or peer with more experience of the publishing process. Constructive criticism is part of the learning process. “There have been times where I’ve felt like, ‘I’m just not sure where to go with it. I’m not sure it’s encapsulating what I’m really trying to get across,’” she says. “Having someone else look at the work can help you get past the block.” Take the pressure off Sometimes, writer’s block emerges from putting too much pressure on yourself to be eloquent or perfect on the first try. Armani recommends keeping your goal in mind: you aren’t trying to win a Pulitzer prize, but to provide clear and concise scientific communication. “It’s not the time for compound complex sentences with introductory clauses, because you’re going to lose your audience. I tell my students: it’s a time to have a subject, a verb, maybe a direct object. But if you start having lots of dependent and independent clauses, nobody’s going to understand what you’re trying to say.” It might get easier, but don’t expect it to get easy Once you have a draft, Soto Valero says, you’ll have to do a lot of work over many iterations. “I have [spent] months writing papers,” he says. “It doesn’t come in one day or two.” After writing more than 200 papers, Armani has improved her ability to get organized and start writing. But every paper has its challenges. “It’s still just as hard because you want to make sure that your intention is coming across in what the words are actually saying on the page,” she says. “You can’t rush that process.” Know you’re not alone Weiskopf tells students and postdocs that most people are “masters in practice” rather than born experts, and that writer’s block is not a unique experience. “It’s not just them who don’t know how to get over this,” she says. “It’s important to share your struggles because nobody wakes up and is a master in writing papers.” Creating a small writing group can help you to build momentum and remember that you’re not alone, Silvia adds. He recommends holding a weekly check-in meeting with your group to discuss how work is going and share goals for the coming week. “Misery really does love company, and everyone struggles with their writing,” he says. “I have met so few people who think this is just natural and effortless.”

I finally gained access to the restricted section of the Archives at The Library of Ling, and after allowing for author bias, "glorious victory" vs "appalling massacre". The relating of the events themselves is quite accurate. And by having both sides recored it is possible to gain an understanding of each side's view and motivation. One of the more important things to note is that Demosidhe vary widely in their views on the beings they feed on. Some seeing us as little more than food and playthings. While others were seeking some form of symbiosis. With some middle ground leaning in the food direction of treating those they feed upon much the way a wise farmer treats his cows and sheep well. So, basically two camps prey/food animals vs beings we can partner with. The symbiosis group are the ones who lead to the development of dreamwalking and subsistence magic. Interestingly most surviving research into this branch of magic is in the reverse direction. That is to say finding ways to take lifeforce and convert it into magical energy rather than finding ways to feed on magic. Although there are some creatures that are known to do this. I'll have to look into any connections between magic feed creatures and the Demosidhe later. In any event, because of Demosidhe that were willing to make a deal, there were people who were hiding the Demosidhe they were partnered with from those seeking to exterminate them. As you can easily imagine the arguments on both sides were quite heated. "They are just trying to survive. And they give us powers." On one side, and "They are draining your life force while giving you corrupting selfindulgent dreams." On the other. With a dash of "Power to invade people's minds and dreams. By joining with them you become as vile as they are." Just to round things out. And while there have certainly been Dreamwalkers who abused their powers. There are easily just as many stories of Dreamwalkers rescuing people from dangerous situations or delivering vital information and so on.

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Attack from behind as he leaves.