#>glacier.

[imogenkol]

The Prodigal Daughter - a Skyrim OC fic

characters: Yrsa Gunnr (oc), Amund Gunnr (oc) word count: 2K rating: General warnings: brief alcohol consumption tags: family drama, wholesome sibling dynamic

Yrsa received the letter one month after Helgen and waited twice as long to reply. Now the arrival of her brother in Whiterun was imminent and she stared at the parchment in her hands as she had many times since the courier delivered it. The taloned grasp of shame and fear clawed at her chest. She glanced up from her seat at Breezehome’s hearth to watch the blank face of her front door, dreading the knock to come. 

With a sigh, Yrsa set the letter aside and reached for a tankard of mead. Sweet fermented honey and spices burned away some of the tightness in her throat, but she still felt a weight. The amulet of Talos stuffed in her pocket hadn’t felt this heavy since she made the choice to abandon the war. Yrsa swore the god’s disappointment was intentionally poured into the symbol gifted by her parents, it’s why she could no longer bear to don it around her neck. Yet she couldn’t bear to part with it either. 

A firm series of knocks pulled Yrsa out of her thoughts. She took another swig from her tankard and pushed herself to her feet to answer the door. 

Amund stood nearly as tall as the door, only a hair taller than Yrsa – though he would argue at least two. Years of hammering anvil caused his broad shoulders to nearly span the entire width of the doorway as well. His exceptionally dark shoulder length hair had been braided back, a few stray wisps resting on his forge-tanned cheeks. Yrsa noticed some subtle streaks of gray through the waves of black, finally showing a bit of age in her older brother. A bright smile split his perfectly sculpted charcoal beard at the sight of Yrsa. She found it surprisingly easy to return and felt the warmth in his glacier colored eyes.

“Oh, look at you!” Amund scooped his younger sister up in his strong arms and swung her around as they laughed, just the way he used to when she was smaller and with the same amount of ease. 

“It’s good to see you too, Amund,” Yrsa chuckled, burying her face in his familiar fur cloak. Her anxieties melted into the smoky scented softness along with the rest of her. She hadn’t realized just how much she missed the embrace of family. 

He plunked her back down. “Did you get taller?” 

She rolled her eyes. “I am as tall as you last saw me.” 

“No.” Amund shook his head and held out a flat hand above her head to compare her size to his. “No, I’m certain there’s been growth. Or you have new boots.”

“I have new boots, but they are actually shorter than my old ones,” Yrsa quipped. Having the same argument over and over about Amund’s denial with her encroaching on his height never got old. He would always be the tallest of the Gunnr children, but Yrsa became a close second, much to everyone’s surprise. She had true Nord stature, her father said. “Now, come inside and share some mead with me.” 

“Ah, yes, I shall never refuse such an offer after a long journey.”  

The fire in the hearth crackled as the two siblings claimed their chairs. Amund eagerly accepted a freshly poured tankard of mead and took a generous swig. For a moment, it felt like Yrsa was back home sharing a drink with her brother after a long day of work. 

“Tell me how Liv is,” Yrsa requested. “And the girls.”

Amund nodded and wiped his beard clean. “They are all good. The girls miss their aunt, though. Eydis is never seen without that little bear carving you made for her. Kara,” he paused to bark out a laugh, “Kara broke Ari’s nose for calling you a traitor. Liv had me scold her, but I’ve never been prouder.” 

Yrsa smiled sadly. Her nephew’s words were true and she felt a fresh flush of guilt. “Sounds like Bo has made up his mind about me.” 

Amund waved a dismissive hand. “Bo has always been jealous of you, I wouldn’t worry. When Ari gets older, he’ll understand that his father allowed himself to be consumed by pettiness.” 

“Perhaps Bo’s anger is justified,” Yrsa said quietly and stared into the flames. 

Her brother paused with the tankard at his lips. A tense moment passed and he leaned forward intently in his seat. “What are you saying?” 

She shrugged. “This is why you came out here, right? To hear the truth about what really happened before Helgen.”

A wooden thunk echoed in the small home as Amund set his tankard down. “I came to check on the well being of my little sister, a task I have always been proud to uphold. Is it so bad if the truth just so happens to be included?”

Slowly, Yrsa forced her gaze from the flames of the fire to the icy colored stare of her brother. “Even if the answers you seek will make you never want to speak to me again?”

“Yrsa,” he said slowly and sincerely, “there is no truth that could cause me to disown you.”

If it had been any of her other siblings, she would have hesitated. If it had been her parents, she would never have believed the words. But this was Amund in front of her, the brother who taught her how to forge from a young age and gifted her a handmade blade to keep her safe in war. Yrsa trusted him always. 

“It is true that I’ve abandoned the Stormcloaks.”

“Do you side with the Empire?” he asked calmly. The flicker of firelight made his stoic expression appear like stone. 

She shook her head. “No, I’ve decided not to take part in any of it anymore. Ulfric only saw me as a weapon.”

“I’m sure that’s not true, Ulfric is a good man. There must have been a misunderstanding, if you return home with me, we could –” 

“No, Amund,” Yrsa chided softly. “Distrust had been growing in my heart for weeks. My ears finally heard the vile words spoken around camp. I saw the frenzied look in the eyes of my fellow soldiers. Like a veil had fallen from my eyes, I truly saw Ulfric for who is. He takes advantage of the fanaticism, fans the flames for his own purposes.”

Now Amund was the one to stare intensely into the hearth. “Did you speak your mind?”

She nodded. “We had a disagreement on the road before the Imperial ambush. I knew Ulfric and his troops would sooner put me in chains than let me walk freely. This war, Amund, it’s full of people with poison in their hearts. They speak of reclaiming our freedom, but that poison is leaking into the soil wherever they step and killing the land we fight for. I have purged it from me.” 

“What of the Empire?” He threw up his hand. “What about Talos? Do you believe we should just yield?”

“I don’t know what should be done. It is not up to me to decide.” 

“But you are Dragonborn, Yrsa! You hold the power to turn the tide – to end this civil war and bring freedom to Skyrim.” 

“If Ulfric was willing to hold me as a prisoner and force me to fight for his cause because I am a werebear, what do you think he would do to keep the Dragonborn at his side?”

“I wouldn’t let that happen,” Amund growled fiercely. 

“You might not have a choice,” she pointed out. “Would you commit treason?”

“For you, I would,” he answered with such conviction, it left Yrsa speechless. “I am loyal to my family before anything. Before my duties as a blacksmith, before Windhelm, before any kings or emperors or even Talos himself. So… if you have chosen this path, Yrsa, I will protect you.”

Her brother may be a smith, but he was the fiercest protector in all her family. It’s something Yrsa has greatly admired about him since she was little. From the first moment she watched him work steel, Be careful of the forge fire, Yrsa, it will burn you right crisp. He once snatched a piece of hot iron from her grasp with his bare hands before it had a chance to leave a mark on her tiny fingers. Yrsa spotted the old scar on the edge of his palm. Amund would brave many burns for her, she had no doubts. 

“I’ve always known I could count on you, Amund.”

“Good.” He nodded in satisfaction, a soft expression returning to his features. “Now, show me around this magnificent home of yours.”

The hint of sarcasm in his tone made her scoff. They could practically see the entire interior of the house from where they sat. “It’s humble, but I like it here. It’s also only temporary until I can purchase some land out near Falkreath. I intend to build my own homestead.” 

Amund leaned back and let out a low whistle. “Well, well, that’s quite the goal. Color me impressed.” 

She smirked knowingly. “You may be more impressed to hear that I’ve taken up smithing as well. Eorlund Gray-Mane has taken me under his wing at the Skyforge.” 

“The Skyforge?” Yrsa nodded and it looked like Amund nearly toppled from his seat. 

“I’ve taken up work with the Companions. They’ve given me my own Skyforge steel sword.” Yrsa reached for the weapon resting against the back of her chair and unsheathed the blade with a metallic hiss. 

Amund looked like a child about to receive their favorite sweet. He marveled at the craftsmanship passed to his hands. “Incredible... Did you show Eorlund my sword?”

Yrsa gnawed on her lower lip. “Um, I have not, I must confess.” 

For the first time, her brother looked offended. “Why not?”

“I haven’t been wielding it,” she admitted. 

His thick brows knitted together as he placed the sword down. “Is it damaged? Did you lose it?”

“No, it’s under my bed.” 

Amund studied her silently for a long minute. Then he got up, walked up the stairs with a few creaks from the old wood, and retrieved the Nordic sword he had forged special for her. The quicksilver sang more beautifully than any bard as he slowly pulled it free of the scabbard. Amund ran his thumb along the carvings engraved on the flat of the blade and smiled wistfully. “I noticed you aren’t wearing your amulet of Talos either.” 

“I still carry it with me.” 

“You believe you are no longer worthy of these gifts,” he guessed. 

Yrsa tried not to wince. “It is a complicated feeling.” 

“Allow me to uncomplicate it.” Amund sheathed the sword and returned to Yrsa’s side. With a proud grin, he presented it to her in the same way he had when he first gifted it. The hilt and blade tip balanced on his fingers as he knelt before her. “I made this sword so that I would be able to protect you when you are away from home. You would honor me by allowing it to continue its purpose.” He winked. “If only for the opportunity of my blade to taste dragon blood.” 

Yrsa couldn’t stop smiling, not even through her misted eyes. She brushed away a stray tear and accepted her brother’s blessing to use the sword once more. “It will taste Alduin’s blood, my dearest brother. This, I vow.” 

He stood and clapped her shoulder. “That’s all I ask. Now, is there a decent tavern in this town? I crave more mead, a hearty meal, and some music.”  

“There’s one right up the road here.” Yrsa cleared her throat and stood. After attaching the Nordic sword to her belt, where it has always belonged, she motioned for Amund to follow. “Let’s go.” 

“Finally, a proper adventure.”

[exploretheunexplored]

Venture Into Kashmir Great Lakes Trek Today!

Embark on a journey like no other and discover why the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek is hailed as the best Kashmir trekking route. 

From shimmering alpine lakes to towering snow-capped peaks, this trek invites you to immerse yourself in nature’s untouched beauty. 

Lace up your boots, breathe in the crisp mountain air, and get ready to venture deep into the heart of Kashmir’s spectacular wilderness, where every step reveals a new breathtaking vista. 

Your ultimate adventure begins today!

Why the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek Should Be Your Next Epic Adventure

If you’re craving a true adventure in Kashmir, the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek is a must-do. Spanning an impressive 68 kilometres, this trek offers a perfect blend of challenge and awe-inspiring beauty. 

With a maximum altitude of nearly 13,714 feet, you’ll experience thrilling mountain heights without extreme difficulty, making it ideal for moderately experienced trekkers.

The Kashmir Great Lakes weather is pleasantly cool in summer, ranging from 10°C to 25°C, and offers a crisp, adventurous winter experience between -10°C and 5°C. 

The best time to embark is from June to September, when the trail is clear and the lakes shimmer under sunny skies.

Explore with Our Kashmir Great Lakes Trek Package

Ready to embark on this breathtaking journey? Our Kashmir Great Lakes Trek Package offers a seamless and unforgettable experience from start to finish.

Duration: 6 Nights, 7 Days

Starting Point: Trek from Srinagar

Price: ₹14,499 per person

Package Inclusions

Accommodation and Meals

Trekking Equipment

All Permits, Safety Gear, Professional Guide & Support Staff

Transport (Srinagar to Sonamarg & Return) and Mule Support for Luggage

Journey Through Kashmir’s Heavenly Lakes: A 7-Day Alpine Adventure

Begin your journey in Srinagar, soaking in its serene beauty before a scenic 3-hour drive to Sonamarg, the "meadow of gold." 

Over seven days, trek 68 km through lush forests, alpine meadows, and stunning mountain passes like Nichnai, Gadsar, and Zajibal, crossing altitudes up to 13,713 feet. 

Discover breathtaking lakes, Vishansar, Krishansar, Gadsar, Satsar, Gangabal, and Nundkol, each surrounded by snow-capped peaks and vibrant flora. 

Experience vibrant valleys, glaciers, and pastoral scenes, camping alongside pristine lakes. The trek concludes at Naranag village, followed by a scenic drive back to Srinagar, ending this unforgettable adventure.

Your Essential Kashmir Trek Packing List

Preparing for the trek is as important as the journey itself. 

Here’s your go-to Kashmir trek packing list to ensure a comfortable and safe adventure:

Water bottle to stay hydrated

Energy-packed snacks for quick fuel

Tissue paper for convenience

Appropriate clothing layers for changing weather

Comfortable, sturdy footwear suitable for trekking

A reliable backpack to carry your essentials

Flashlight or headlamp for visibility after dark

Sunscreen to protect from the strong mountain sun

UA Voucher

Conclusion

The Kashmir Great Lakes Trek offers an unmatched blend of adventure, beauty, and serenity, truly the best Kashmir trekking route for explorers seeking something extraordinary. 

With our carefully crafted package and your essential packing list, all that’s left is to step into the mountains and create memories that will last a lifetime. 

Gear up, embrace the journey, and let the magic of Kashmir’s great lakes captivate your soul!

[rizvinshaikh]

Flaunt Green: Sustainably Crafted Timeless Fashion

In a world where sustainability is often overshadowed by fast fashion, Flaunt Green, is a newly launched cutting edge sustainable fashion brand. Flaunt Green aims to be a game changer by offering eco-conscious consumers the choice of innovative, versatile, and timeless silhouettes while integrating India's rich handloom heritage into pan global designs.

Green Initiatives & Sustainable Solutions (GISS), is a sustainable lifestyle vertical of Eco Ventures Private Limited (EVPL) an environmental engineering consultancy and sustainability services provider. GISS is led by its Co-Founder Manasee Paranjape Ambhaikar. A strong technical background and extensive hands-on experience in geotechnical & environmental engineering projects in Southern California, convinced her to walk the talk on sustainability. GISS aims to influence a paradigm shift in the consumer consciousness by inculcating a culture of sustainable lifestyle. 

Flaunt Green is the sustainable fashion arm of GISS, with sustainability at the core of its design ethos. Flaunt Green is committed to reducing the carbon footprint in the fashion industry by encouraging vendors to follow sustainable practices. Flaunt Green's collections stand out through their use of sustainable fabrics, including natural fabrics and manmade cellulosic fabrics, sustainable trims, versatile designs, and optimum fabric consumption. 

Manasee's vision for Flaunt Green is "to create a globally recognisable sustainable fashion brand of choice for the eco-conscious customer, by offering timeless elegance through sustainable fashion." 

Flaunt Green is further strengthened by a team with diverse expertise: spanning environmental sustainability, fashion, design and engineering genres; which gives it a unique position to pioneer the path of responsible consumption in the sustainable global fashion landscape; to achieve its quintessential aspiration of being "Green By Design."

Flaunt Green's maiden work wear collection PRISTINE offers choices in bold colours and confident silhouettes. This collection is inspired from the awe-inspiring landscapes of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) mountain ranges and seeks to highlight the receding glaciers with its subsequent environmental fallouts. While the designs fundamentally cater to functionality & comfort, our versatile design palette makes it a robust capsule collection. The menswear and accessories seamlessly complement our design philosophy; thus reinforcing Flaunt Green's dedication to inclusive, thoughtful, and timeless silhouettes. It is imperative for the media to publicise Flaunt Green's focus on sustainability and transparency, in the current landscape of increased environmental consciousness and rampant greenwashing.

Flaunt Green walks its sustainability talk and showcases its core values through Pristine's effortless elegant and empowering designs.

Website: www.flauntgreen.in

[travelblogshivam]

Top Travel Destinations to Explore in 2024

Wanderlust is at an all-time high as 2024 approaches, with tourists looking for both well-known sites and hidden treasures. Regardless of your preference for tranquil mountains, busy cities, or immaculate beaches, this list of the best places to visit will motivate you to go on your next journey. Let's explore this year's top travel destinations!

1. Kyoto, Japan: A Blend of Modernity and Tradition

With its fascinating history, magnificent temples, and spectacular cherry blossoms, Kyoto stands out as one of the top destinations in Japan in 2024. Don't overlook the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. It's the ideal time to go because brand-new upscale lodgings are debuting this year.

2. Patagonia, Argentina/Chile: The Wild Beauty of Nature

Patagonia offers breathtaking scenery of mountains, glaciers, and vast grasslands for people seeking adventure. Eco-tourism alternatives make Torres del Paine National Park a sustainable traveler's paradise, and trekking fans will love it.

3. Indonesia's Bali: A Tropical Haven

Bali continues to enthral travellers with its world-class beaches, lively culture, and verdant rice terraces. A balanced experience requires a visit to both the upscale beach clubs in Seminyak and the serene village of Ubud.

4. Istanbul, Turkey: A Cultural Blend

Istanbul is a dynamic city that spans Europe and Asia and is known for its delicious food and rich history. Savour traditional Turkish cuisine at neighbourhood markets, explore the Hagia Sophia, and go on a Bosphorus cruise.

5. Iceland's Reykjavik: The Land of Ice and Fire

The capital of Iceland serves as your entryway to fantastical natural treasures. Reykjavik provides a distinctive blend of urban appeal and untamed surroundings, including the Northern Lights and geothermal lagoons.

6. Morocco's Marrakech: A Vibrant Retreat

Enter a realm of lively marketplaces, beautiful architecture, and friendly people. The medina and Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech are only two of the city's many attractions.

7. Urban Adventure in Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver is well-known for its breathtaking coastline and close proximity to mountains, making it the ideal destination for outdoor enthusiasts. It is a popular destination for city explorers due to its vibrant culinary scene and cultural diversity.

8. Greece's Santorini: Romantic Paradise

The famous whitewashed structures and azure waters of Santorini are picture-perfect. To avoid the crowds and yet take in the breathtaking sunsets, go during the shoulder season.

2024 Travel Advice

Plan Ahead: Due to the high demand for popular places, book flights and lodging well in advance.

Sustainable Decisions: To reduce your trip impact, choose eco-friendly lodging and local activities.

Remain Adaptable: Having adaptable arrangements guarantees a stress-free trip in light of changing travel regulations.

Why These Places?

This year's travel trends place a strong emphasis on immersive experiences, sustainability, and authenticity. Every location on this list has something special to offer, accommodating a range of travel preferences and price ranges. These places provide lifelong experiences, whether you're looking for action or relaxation.

Plan your trip for 2024 now—your ideal location is waiting for you!

[entrepreneurstreet]

DACSS Granites Celebrates 25 Years of Excellence, Expands into Marble, Quartzite & Onyx Markets.

Bangalore, Karnataka – October 28, 2024 – DACSS Granites, a trusted leader in the stone industry, proudly marks 25 years of unwavering dedication to crafting high-quality granite products. Established in 1999, DACSS Granites began with a visionary commitment to produce captivating granite that combines nature's elegance with unmatched durability. With seven years of captive mining expertise, the company has become synonymous with sourcing rare granite shades and turning them into works of art.

In 2002, DACSS Granites launched its first production facility, now spanning an impressive 15 acres. This advanced site boasts two Italian multi-wire saw machines with 70 wires and two polishing multi-head machines, delivering precision and brilliance in every product. Backed by a dedicated team of 200 skilled employees, DACSS transforms raw materials into granite collections sought after worldwide for construction, interior design, and architectural projects.

At the heart of DACSS Granites' success is its exclusive access to some of the industry’s most renowned quarries, producing sought-after stones like Glacier White, Bengal Black, Black Galaxy, and Viscon White. These quarries form the backbone of DACSS’s operations, allowing the company to deliver consistent, high-quality granite to meet the demands of architects, builders, and designers worldwide. The captive mining approach ensures a reliable supply chain and maintains a high level of control over the quality and aesthetic appeal of each block, reinforcing DACSS’s reputation for excellence.

DACSS guarantees quality and consistency, offering products that meet the highest international standards. The company’s approach emphasizes sustainable mining practices, ensuring that DACSS granite is as ethical as it is beautiful.

Market Expansion and New Offerings in Marble, Quartzite and Onyx

To enhance its market reach, DACSS Granites is now diversifying into premium marble, Onyx and quartzite products, expanding its portfolio to meet the evolving needs of the construction and design sectors. These new materials promise to elevate any space, from living rooms and bathrooms to commercial buildings and residential apartments, providing clients with a comprehensive selection for all their project needs.

"DACSS Granites has always been dedicated to bringing nature's beauty to our clients. Our entry into the marble, quartzite & Onyx sectors reflects our commitment to offering complete, high-quality solutions for all construction and design requirements," said Founder & Chairman D. Ashwani Kumar Reddy.

Known for its extensive experience in exporting raw granite blocks, DACSS Granites is a preferred partner for international clients seeking durable, stunning materials for both residential and commercial projects. DACSS’s impressive product portfolio, strong commitment to transparency, and unparalleled sourcing capabilities make it a trusted leader in the global granite market.

For more information, please visit www.dacssgranites.com

Media Contact: DACSS Granites Email: [media@dacssgranites.com] Phone: [+91 080 23452263]

[getbudslegalize]

Patagonia Travel Guide - Discover the Ultimate Adventure Destination

Patagonia Travel Guide: Ultimate Adventures in the Wild

Patagonia, a region spanning the southern tip of South America, is where the elements come together in their rawest form. Straddling Argentina and Chile, Patagonia is a land of contrasts: from the windswept plains of the Patagonian steppe to the towering granite peaks of the Andes, from the lush temperate rainforests to the arid deserts. This region is a haven for adventurers and nature lovers alike, offering some of the planet's most dramatic landscapes and diverse ecosystems. Discover the ultimate adventure destination with this Patagonia Travel Guide.

Top Trekking Routes in Patagonia

Patagonia is renowned for its world-class trekking routes that cater to all levels of hikers, from beginners to seasoned mountaineers. Below, we delve deeper into some of the most iconic and challenging trails that this magnificent region has to offer. The W Trek in Torres del Paine National Park

The W Trek is the most famous trekking route in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. The trail traces a W-shaped path through the park, passing through the most iconic landscapes, including the towering granite spires of the Torres del Paine, the glacial waters of Lake Nordenskjöld, and the ethereal Grey Glacier. Each day on the trail brings a new adventure, with opportunities to see diverse wildlife such as guanacos, Andean foxes, and the elusive puma.- Highlights: Mirador Base Las Torres, French Valley, Grey Glacier - Difficulty: Moderate - Duration: 4-5 DaysBest Time to Trek: The optimal time to embark on the W Trek is during the Southern Hemisphere's summer months, from November to March. During this period, the weather is more stable, and the days are longer, allowing for more time to explore the stunning landscapes. Mirador Base Las Torres

The hike to Mirador Base Las Torres is one of the most challenging yet rewarding segments of the W Trek. Starting from the Refugio Chileno, the trail ascends steeply through ancient lenga forests before reaching a boulder field that leads to the viewpoint. The sight of the three granite towers rising vertically above the glacial lake is the quintessential image of Patagonia and a moment that will stay with you forever.- Difficulty: Challenging - Duration: 7-8 Hours (Round Trip)Tips: Start early to catch the sunrise at the viewpoint, as the towers glow with a mesmerizing pink hue during the early morning hours. French Valley

The French Valley is the heart of the W Trek and offers some of the most spectacular scenery in Torres del Paine. The trail winds through dense forests and alongside the turquoise waters of Lake Nordenskjöld before reaching the hanging glaciers of the French Valley. As you ascend, you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains, including the jagged Cuernos del Paine and the distant icefields.- Difficulty: Moderate - Duration: 5-6 Hours (Round Trip)Tips: Be prepared for strong winds, especially as you ascend towards the viewpoint. The weather in the valley can change rapidly, so pack layers and rain gear. Grey Glacier

The final leg of the W Trek leads to the stunning Grey Glacier, a massive ice formation that stretches as far as the eye can see. The trail follows the shores of Lake Grey, where icebergs that have calved from the glacier float serenely in the water. The view above the glacier is nothing short of awe-inspiring, with the vast expanse of ice extending into the horizon.- Difficulty: Moderate - Duration: 3-4 Hours (Round Trip)Tips: Consider taking a boat tour on Lake Grey for a closer view of the glacier. This option allows you to see the glacier’s towering ice walls up close and offers a unique perspective of the surrounding landscape. O Circuit in Torres del Paine National Park

For those looking for a more immersive experience in Torres del Paine, the O Circuit is the ultimate challenge. This full loop around the park covers the W Trek and adds a section that takes you into the more remote and less crowded areas of the park.The O Circuit offers a deeper connection with Patagonia's wilderness, passing through pristine forests, and remote valleys, and crossing the formidable John Gardner Pass, which provides breathtaking views of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.- Highlights: John Gardner Pass, Dickson Valley, Los Perros Glacier - Difficulty: Challenging - Duration: 8-10 DaysBest Time to Trek: Like the W Trek, the best time to tackle the O Circuit is during the summer months (November to March). Due to the circuit’s remote sections, it’s essential to be prepared for more extreme weather conditions, including strong winds, snow, and rain. John Gardner Pass

The ascent to John Gardner Pass is the most challenging part of the O Circuit. The climb is steep and often exposed to strong winds, but the reward at the top is well worth the effort. From the pass, you’ll be greeted with a jaw-dropping view of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the world’s second-largest contiguous extrapolar ice field. The descent from the pass takes you through a surreal landscape of ice and rock, with the massive Grey Glacier flowing below.- Difficulty: Very Challenging - Duration: 10-12 Hours (Round Trip)Tips: Start the hike early in the morning to avoid the worst of the afternoon winds. The weather can be extremely unpredictable, so ensure you’re well-prepared with adequate clothing and supplies. Dickson Valley

Dickson Valley is one of the most remote and peaceful areas of Torres del Paine National Park. The trail leading to the valley passes through beautiful lenga forests and along the shores of Lake Dickson, with the snow-capped peaks of the Andes providing a stunning backdrop. This section of the O Circuit is less frequented by tourists, allowing you to immerse yourself in the tranquility of Patagonia’s wilderness fully.- Difficulty: Moderate - Duration: 6-7 Hours (Round Trip)Tips: The Dickson Campsite is a great place to rest and take in the natural beauty of the valley. Be sure to bring a camera to capture the stunning reflections of the mountains in the calm waters of Lake Dickson. Mount Fitz Roy Trek

The Mount Fitz Roy Trek, located in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina, is one of the most iconic hikes in Patagonia. The trail leads to the base of Mount Fitz Roy, a jagged granite peak that rises dramatically from the Patagonian landscape.The trek offers a range of stunning vistas, from the dense forests and rivers of the lower valleys to the barren, rocky terrain near the summit. The highlight of the trek is reaching Laguna de los Tres, a glacial lake that provides the most spectacular view of Mount Fitz Roy.- Highlights: Laguna de los Tres, Cerro Torre, Rio Blanco - Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging - Duration: 1-4 DaysBest Time to Trek: The best time to hike Mount Fitz Roy is during the summer months (December to February). The weather is more stable, and the trails are generally snow-free. However, be prepared for unpredictable weather, including strong winds and sudden temperature drops. Laguna de los Tres

The final ascent to Laguna de los Tres is the most challenging part of the Mount Fitz Roy Trek. The trail climbs steeply through a rocky, exposed section before reaching the glacial lake.The view from the shores of Laguna de los Tres is nothing short of spectacular, with the towering spires of Mount Fitz Roy reflecting in the crystal-clear waters. This viewpoint is one of the most photographed spots in Patagonia and a must-see for any trekker.- Difficulty: Challenging - Duration: 8-10 Hours (Round Trip)Tips: Start the hike early to avoid the crowds and to catch the morning light on Mount Fitz Roy. The trail can be rocky and uneven, so sturdy hiking boots are essential. Cerro Torre

While Mount Fitz Roy is the main attraction, the trek to Cerro Torre offers equally stunning scenery. The trail follows the Rio Fitz Roy, passing through dense forests and alongside glacial rivers.The highlight of this trek is the view of Cerro Torre, a sharp, needle-like peak that is one of the most difficult climbs in the world. The peak is often shrouded in clouds, adding to its mysterious allure.- Difficulty: Moderate - Duration: 6-8 Hours (Round Trip)Tips: The weather around Cerro Torre can be highly unpredictable, with the peak often hidden by clouds. Be patient and take time to enjoy the surrounding scenery, as the clouds may clear to reveal the peak.Correlated article:

Ultimate Seasonal Travel Guide: Top Destinations for Every Month of the Year

Glacier Trekking and Ice Climbing in Patagonia

Patagonia’s vast glaciers are a playground for adventurers seeking a more extreme experience. From guided glacier treks to ice climbing, these activities offer a unique way to explore the region’s icy landscapes. Perito Moreno Glacier Trek

The Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the few advancing glaciers in the world, is located in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina. The glacier’s accessibility makes it one of the most popular destinations for glacier trekking in Patagonia.Guided treks on the glacier’s surface allow you to explore its intricate ice formations, deep crevasses, and stunning blue ice. The sight of ice calving from the glacier’s front into Lake Argentino is a spectacle not to be missed.Best Time to Visit: The best time to trek Perito Moreno Glacier is from October to April when the weather is more favorable. Guided tours are available during this period, providing the necessary equipment and safety briefings. Perito Moreno Minitrekking Experience

The mini-trekking experience on Perito Moreno Glacier is perfect for those who want to explore the glacier without committing to a full-day trek. The tour begins with a boat ride across Lake Argentino, offering stunning views of the glacier’s towering front.Once on the glacier, you’ll don crampons and begin your trek across the ice, exploring the glacier’s surface with expert guides who explain the glacier’s history and formation.- Difficulty: Moderate - Duration: 2-3 Hours (On the Glacier)Tips: Bring sunglasses and sunscreen, as the reflection of the sun on the ice can be intense. Wear waterproof clothing and sturdy shoes, as the conditions on the glacier can be wet and slippery. Perito Moreno Big Ice Trekking Experience Read the full article

[bbumtravel]

The place considered as the land at the "end of the Earth."

Patagonia: The Wild Land at the End of the Earth

Introduction

Patagonia, a vast and wild region located at the southern tip of South America, spans across both Argentina and Chile. Renowned for its breathtaking landscapes, it is a dream destination for adventurers and explorers. Often referred to as the "end of the Earth," Patagonia attracts millions of visitors each year with its rugged beauty and mysterious allure.

Geography and Climate

Patagonia stretches from the Rio Colorado in Argentina to the southernmost parts of Chile, encompassing the eastern side of the Andes mountains. Covering an area of approximately 1,043,076 square kilometers, the region features diverse terrains including grasslands, deserts, and snow-capped mountains. The climate in Patagonia is harsh, characterized by strong winds and cold temperatures year-round, especially during winter.

Natural Beauty and Wildlife

Patagonia is home to a variety of unique wildlife, including guanacos, pumas, and Magellanic penguins. The region is also famous for its stunning lakes, such as Lake Argentino and Lake Viedma, and impressive glaciers like Perito Moreno. The pristine beauty of Patagonia’s national parks, such as Torres del Paine in Chile and Los Glaciares in Argentina, offers unparalleled opportunities for hiking, trekking, and wildlife observation.

Adventure and Activities

Patagonia is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. Activities range from trekking and mountain climbing to kayaking and horseback riding. The challenging trails of Torres del Paine and the Fitz Roy massif attract hikers from around the world, while the waters of the region are perfect for kayaking and fishing. For the truly adventurous, ice climbing on the region’s glaciers provides a thrilling experience.

Cultural Heritage

Patagonia’s cultural heritage is as rich as its natural beauty. The region is inhabited by various indigenous groups, such as the Mapuche and Tehuelche, who have lived there for centuries. Their traditions and crafts add a unique cultural dimension to the area. Additionally, the region has a strong history of exploration, with famous explorers like Ferdinand Magellan and Charles Darwin having traveled through Patagonia.

Conservation Efforts

Efforts to preserve Patagonia’s natural environment are crucial due to its ecological significance. Both Argentina and Chile have established numerous national parks and reserves to protect the region’s diverse ecosystems. Organizations and local communities work tirelessly to maintain the delicate balance between tourism and conservation, ensuring that Patagonia’s natural wonders remain unspoiled for future generations.

Conclusion

Patagonia stands out as one of the most remote and beautiful regions on Earth. Its vast landscapes, diverse wildlife, and opportunities for adventure make it a unique and captivating destination. Whether you are a seasoned explorer or simply a lover of nature, Patagonia offers an experience that is both awe-inspiring and unforgettable. Worth to go : 9/10 Nice

[aniket623]

Top 8 Bhutan Wildlife Sanctuaries For Nature Lovers

Bhutan, known as the Land of the Thunder Dragon, is an untouched gem in the Himalayas. Its serene landscapes, rich biodiversity, and strong cultural heritage make it a paradise for nature lovers. The country’s commitment to environmental conservation is evident in its numerous wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. Here are the top 8 Bhutan wildlife sanctuaries for nature lovers. Also, it is one of the best photography places in Bhutan for your interest! 

1. Jigme Dorji National Park

Overview: Jigme Dorji National Park is the second largest national park in Bhutan, spanning over 4,349 square kilometers. It covers diverse ecosystems ranging from lowland forests to high-altitude glaciers.

Highlights:

Wildlife: Home to elusive species like the snow leopard, Himalayan blue sheep, and red panda.

Flora: Rich in medicinal plants and alpine flowers.

Activities: Trekking routes such as the Snowman Trek and hot springs in Gasa.

Best Time to Visit: March to May and September to November.

Why Visit: Jigme Dorji National Park offers a unique blend of scenic beauty and biodiversity. It’s a haven for wildlife enthusiasts and trekkers, providing a glimpse into Bhutan’s rich natural heritage.

2. Royal Manas National Park

Overview: Established in 1966, Royal Manas National Park is Bhutan’s oldest national park. It is often referred to as the “conservation showpiece of the kingdom.”

Highlights:

Wildlife: Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, one-horned rhinoceroses, and golden langurs.

Birdlife: Over 365 bird species, including the great hornbill and the black-necked crane.

Activities: Wildlife safaris and bird watching.

Best Time to Visit: November to March.

Why Visit: Royal Manas National Park’s rich biodiversity and beautiful landscapes make it an essential destination for nature lovers. It is an excellent place for wildlife safaris and bird watching.

3. Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary

Overview: Located in southern Bhutan, Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary spans 268 square kilometers. It is unique due to its tropical and subtropical forest ecosystems.

Highlights:

Wildlife: Golden langurs, spotted deer, and Bhutan’s only chital population.

Flora: Sal forests and a variety of tropical plants.

Activities: Nature walks and wildlife spotting.

Best Time to Visit: October to April.

4. Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary

Overview: Located in eastern Bhutan, Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary covers 741 square kilometers. It is known for preserving the culture and environment of the semi-nomadic Brokpa community.

Highlights:

Wildlife: Red pandas, Himalayan black bears, and the mythical yeti.

Cultural Experience: Home to the Brokpa community, offering a blend of natural and cultural tourism.

Activities: Cultural tours and nature hikes.

Best Time to Visit: March to May and September to November.

Why Visit: Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary is a unique blend of cultural and natural heritage. It’s an excellent destination for those interested in experiencing Bhutan’s diverse wildlife and indigenous cultures.

5. Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary

Overview: Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, located in northeastern Bhutan, covers 1,520 square kilometers. It is renowned for its scenic beauty and as a haven for birdwatchers.

Highlights:

Birdlife: Home to the rare black-necked cranes, among other bird species.

Wildlife: Leopards, red pandas, and Himalayan black bears.

Activities: Bird watching, trekking, and exploring picturesque alpine meadows.

Best Time to Visit: October to February for bird watching.

Why Visit: Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary’s stunning landscapes and rich avian diversity make it a paradise for bird watchers and nature enthusiasts. The sight of black-necked cranes in their natural habitat is truly magical.

6. Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary

Overview: Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary, located in southeastern Bhutan, is the smallest sanctuary in the country, covering 334 square kilometers.

Highlights:

Wildlife: Clouded leopards, Asian golden cats, and various bird species.

Flora: Dense subtropical forests with diverse plant species.

Activities: Wildlife spotting and forest treks.

Best Time to Visit: October to March.

Why Visit: Despite its small size, Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary boasts a rich biodiversity. Its dense forests and rare wildlife species offer a peaceful retreat for nature lovers.

7. Khaling Wildlife Sanctuary

Overview: Khaling Wildlife Sanctuary, located in southeastern Bhutan, spans 334 square kilometers. It is known for its efforts in conserving the red panda and other endangered species.

Highlights:

Wildlife: Red pandas, black bears, and numerous bird species.

Flora: Temperate broadleaf forests rich in biodiversity.

Activities: Nature walks and wildlife observation.

Best Time to Visit: March to May and September to November.

8. Thrumshingla National Park

Overview: Spanning central Bhutan, Thrumshingla National Park covers 905 square kilometers. It is characterized by its dramatic elevation range and diverse ecosystems.

Highlights:

Birdlife: Home to rare birds like the Rufous-necked hornbill.

Wildlife: Includes leopards, red pandas, and Himalayan black bears.

Activities: Trekking through various ecosystems, from subtropical forests to alpine meadows.

Best Time to Visit: March to May and September to November.

Why Visit: Thrumshingla National Park’s diverse landscapes and rich biodiversity make it a must-visit for nature lovers. The park’s extensive trekking routes offer breathtaking views and wildlife encounters.

Conclusion

Bhutan’s wildlife sanctuaries are a testament to its commitment to environmental conservation and sustainable tourism. Each sanctuary offers a unique experience, from the high-altitude glaciers of Jigme Dorji National Park to the tropical forests of Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary. Whether you are a wildlife enthusiast, a bird watcher, or simply seeking tranquility in nature, Bhutan’s sanctuaries provide the perfect escape. Plan your visit during the best times of the year to fully appreciate the magical beauty of Bhutan’s natural wonders.

[itsfullofstars]

Melt ponds in West Greenland by europeanspaceagency During spring and summer, as the air warms up and the sun beats down on the Greenland Ice Sheet, melt ponds pop up. Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image. When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight. This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster. In this image, captured on 29 August 2022, melt ponds in the province of Avannaata can be easily spotted from space as they are usually much darker than the surrounding ice. In some ponds, chunks of ice float atop the pond’s waters. The bay visible here is Sugar Loaf Bay (an indentation of the northeast Baffin Bay) in the Upernavik Archipelago. The archipelago extends from the northwest coast of Sigguup Nunaa peninsula to the southern end of Melville Bay. The Greenland Ice Sheet is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere. It extends 2220 km north-south with an average thickness of around 1500 m and spans 1100 km at its widest point. As most of the northern hemisphere baked under a prolonged heatwave this summer, Greenland has been hit with an unusual late-season heatwave and melt event in early September – the kind of melt that usually occurs in the middle of summer. The first day of September typically marks the end of the Greenland melt season, as the sun moves lower in the sky with temperatures usually cooling. However, at the beginning of September 2022, temperatures began to rise again when a strong air pressure region parked at the southeast edge of Greenland and drew warmer air northwards across Baffin Bay and the west coast of Greenland. This led to meltwater runoff, the amount of surface water entering the ocean, to increase with its extensive melting contributing to global sea level rise – which impacts the millions of people living in coastal communities. In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight. Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change. Earth observation satellites are key to monitoring ice as they carry instruments that measure changes in the thickness of the ice sheets, fluctuations in the speed of the outlet glaciers and even small changes in Earth’s gravity field caused by melting ice as well as sea-level rise. This image is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme. Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO https://flic.kr/p/2nPS5th

[burlveneer-music]

Elite Terrorism Modulus - s/t LP - noise rock from Dayton, Ohio, out today from Orange Milk Records

There is something about tiny rust belt cities that is charming and mythical and Dayton, Ohio is no exception. Home to some of the best Funk music ever made, Zapp, Ohio Players, and a 90’s renaissance of indie rock, most notably Guided By Voices, Brainiac, Kim and Kelly Deal, with a strong harsh noise scene - Being, Developer, Yes, Collapse, Dan Rizer etc. Dayton is a fertile place for weird and fun music. There are many ways to embrace and channel this spirit. Elite Terrorism Modulus’s first LP lives in this musical geist of its hometown. The band made this record soundtracking a long mythology where buildings are gods and dilapidated malls are places of worship. A sincere subversion in music, they are a jam band influenced by Don DeLillo, private press gospel LPs, Spring Breakers, Naqoyqatsi, Five Starcle Men, Sonny Sharrock and Chrome. The self-titled record possesses the fervor of this music community, endearingly weird, really energetic, and very midwestern. The record spans from free jazz, hardcore, noise, and at times melding into absolutely absurd lo-fi strangeness. It's a great record made in a place that is considered obsolete by many, a demonstration that compelling art is thriving in the flyover states. Drums - Griffin Girard Bass - Danny Berg Vocal, Alto Sax, Programming - Fred Grof Guitar - Chance Berberich Electronics, Cut-up Noise - Matthew "(Property) Developer" Reis Produced by Smiffmaff & The Salesmen Art and layout by Seth Graham

[thehierophage]

March 20, 2022 æ.v.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law

The Feast for the Supreme Ritual, The Feast of the Equinox of the Gods, Thelemic New Year, Vernal Equinox, The Ritual of Fire.

Correspondences:

Hebrew Letter: Tav Numerical Value as Letter: 400 Numerical Value as Word: 406 [(Tav + Vav)] Meaning of Letter: Tau Cross, mark or sign Thoth Card: The Universe (Atu XXI) Alternate Title: The World; The Great One of the Night of Time. Tree of Life Path Association: Path 32/32-bis, links Yesod to Malkuth (9 & 10)

Astrological Sign: (for 32) Saturn Element:(for 32 bis.) Earth Egyptian Godforms: (for 32) Sobek & Mako; (for 32-bis.) Satem, Ahapshi, Nepthys, Amenshet

Geomantic Figure: (for 32) Triangle; (for 32-bis.) Those of Earthy Triplicity

Gemstones: (as 32) Onyx, Jet; (as 32-bis) Salt

Perfumes: (as 32) Asafoetida, Scammony, Indigo, Sulphur, all evil odors; (as 32-bis)Storax, all dull, heavy odors

Plants: (as 32)Ash, Cypress, Hellebore, Yew, Nightshade, Elm; (as 32-bis.) Oak, Ivy, all cereals

Animals: (as 32)Crocodile; (as 32-bis.) Bull (Kerub of Earth)

Colors (For Key 32 / 32 bis.):

King Scale – Indigo / Citrine, russet, olive, and black (quartered); Bright Spring green

Queen Scale – Black / Amber

Prince Scale – Blue-black / Dark brown

Princess Scale – Black, rayed Blue / Black and yellow

The Secret Instruction of the Master:

Treat time and all conditions of Event as Servants of thy Will, appointed to present the Universe to thee in the form of thy Plan.

And: blessing and worship to the prophet of the lovely Star.

Mnemonic:

Naught becomes All to realise the span

Of naught, O perfect Universe of Pan.!

Liber CCXXXI

And in the heart of the Sphinx danced the Lord Adonai, in His garlands of roses and pearls making glad the concourse of things; yea, making glad the concourse of things.

DOMARUM MERCURII CUM SUIS GENIIS CARCERORUM QLIPHOTH CUM SUIS GENIIS

Thath’th’thithعthuth-thix

Thantifaxath

Recommended Text: Liber VII (Liber Liberi vel Lapdis Lazuli), cap. II (in the morning) & Liber Cordis Cincti Serpente, cap. II (in the evening)

Liber Liberi vel Lapdis Lazuli

Adumbratio Kabbalae Aegyptiorum

Sub Figura VII

Being the Voluntary Emancipation of a certain Exempt Adept from his Adeptship. These are the Birth-Words of a Master of the Temple.

A.˙.A.˙.

Publication in Class A.

Imprimatur:

N. Fra A.˙. A.˙.

(Morning Meditation)

II.

1. O my God! use Thou me again, alway. For ever! For ever!

2. That which came fire from Thee cometh water from me; let therefore Thy Spirit lay hold on me, so that my right hand loose the lightning.

3. Travelling through space, I saw the onrush of two galaxies, butting each other and goring like bulls upon earth. I was afraid.

4. Thus they ceased fight, and turned upon me, and I was sorely crushed and torn.

5. I had rather have been trampled by the World-Elephant.

6. O my God! Thou art my little pet tortoise!

7. Yet Thou sustainest the World-Elephant.

8. I creep under Thy carapace, like a lover into the bed of his beautiful; I creep in, and sit in Thine heart, as cubby and cosy as may be.

9. Thou shelterest me, that I hear not the trumpeting of that World-Elephant.

10. Thou art not worth an obol in the agora; yet Thou art not to be bought at the ransom of the whole Universe.

11. Thou art like a beautiful Nubian slave leaning her naked purple against the green pillars of marble that are above the bath.

12. Wine jets from her black nipples.

13. I drank wine awhile agone in the house of Pertinax. The cup-boy favoured me, and gave me of the right sweet Chian.

14. There was a Doric boy, skilled in feats of strength, an athlete. The full moon fled away angrily down the wrack. Ah! but we laughed.

15. I was pernicious drunk, O my God! Yet Pertinax brought me to the bridal.

16. I had a crown of thorns for all my dower.

17. Thou art like a goat's horn from Astor, O Thou God of mine, gnarl'd and crook'd and devilish strong.

18. Colder than all the ice of all the glaciers of the Naked Mountain was the wine it poured for me.

19. A wild country and a waning moon Clouds scudding over the sky. A circuit of pines, and of tall yews beyond. Thou in the midst!

20. O all ye toads and cats, rejoice! Ye slimy things, come hither!

21. Dance, dance to the Lord our God!

22. He is he! He is he! He is he!

23. Why should I go on?

24. Why? Why? comes the sudden cackle of a million imps of hell.

25. And the laughter runs.

26. But sickens not the Universe; but shakes not the stars.

27. God! how I love Thee!

28. I am walking in an asylum; all the men and women about me are insane.

29. Oh madness! madness! madness! desirable art thou!

30. But I love Thee, O God!

31. These men and women rave and howl; they froth out folly.

32. I begin to be afraid. I have no check; I am alone. Alone. Alone.

33. Think, O God, how I am happy in Thy love.

34. O marble Pan! O false leering face! I love Thy dark kisses, bloody and stinking! O marble Pan! Thy kisses are like sunlight on the blue Aegean; their blood is the blood of the sunset over Athens; their stink is like a garden of Roses of Macedonia.

35. I dreamt of sunset and roses and vines; Thou wast there, O my God, Thou didst habit Thyself as an Athenian courtesan, and I loved Thee.

36. Thou art no dream, O Thou too beautiful alike for sleep and waking!

37. I disperse the insane folk of the earth; I walk alone with my little puppets in the garden.

38. I am Gargantuan great; yon galaxy is but the smoke-ring of mine incense.

39. Burn Thou strange herbs, O God!

40. Brew me a magic liquor, boys, with your glances!

41. The very soul is drunken.

42. Thou art drunken, O my God, upon my kisses.

43. The Universe reels; Thou hast looked upon it.

44. Twice, and all is done.

45. Come, O my God, and let us embrace!

46. Lazily, hungrily, ardently, patiently; so will I work.

47. There shall be an End.

48. O God! O God!

49. I am a fool to love Thee; Thou art cruel, Thou withholdest Thyself.

50. Come to me now! I love Thee! I love Thee!

51. O my darling, my darling - Kiss me! Kiss me! Ah! but again.

52. Sleep, take me! Death, take me! This life is too full; it pains, it slays, it suffices.

53. Let me go back into the world; yea, back into the world.

LIBER CORDIS CINCTI SERPENTE

vel

LXV

sub FIGURA

אדני

(Evening Meditation)

I.

1. I am the Heart; and the Snake is entwined

About the invisible core of the mind.

Rise, O my snake! It is now is the hour

Of the hooded and holy ineffable flower.

Rise, O my snake, into brilliance of bloom

On the corpse of Osiris afloat in the tomb!

O heart of my mother, my sister, mine own,

Thou art given to Nile, to the terror Typhon!

Ah me! but the glory of ravening storm

Enswathes thee and wraps thee in frenzy of form.

Be still, O my soul! that the spell may dissolve

As the wands are upraised, and the aeons revolve.

Behold! in my beauty how joyous Thou art,

O Snake that caresses the crown of mine heart!

Behold! we are one, and the tempest of years

Goes down to the dusk, and the Beetle appears.

O Beetle! the drone of Thy dolorous note

Be ever the trance of this tremulous throat!

I await the awaking! The summons on high

From the Lord Adonai, from the Lord Adonai!

2. Adonai spake unto V.V.V.V.V., saying: There must ever be division in the word.

3. For the colours are many, but the light is one.

4. Therefore thou writest that which is of mother of emerald, and of lapis-lazuli, and of turquoise, and of alexandrite.

5. Another writeth the words of toÿaz, and of deep amethyst, and of gray sapphire, and of deep sapphire with a tinge as of blood.

6. Therefore do ye fret yourselves because of this.

7. Be not contented with the image.

8. I who am the Image of an Image say this.

9. Debate not of the image, saying Beyond! Beyond!

One mounteth unto the Crown by the moon and by the Sun, and by the arrow, and by the Foundation, and by the dark home of the stars from the black earth.

10. Not otherwise may ye reach unto the Smooth Point.

11. Nor is it fitting for the cobbler to prate of the Royal matter. O cobbler! mend me this shoe, that I may walk. O king! if I be thy son, let us speak of the Embassy to the King thy Brother.

12. Then was there silence. Speech had done with us awhile.

There is a light so strenuous that it is not perceived as light.

13. Wolf's bane is not so sharp as steel; yet it pierceth the body more subtly.

14. Even as evil kisses corrupt the blood, so do my words devour the spirit of man.

15. I breathe, and there is infinite dis-ease in the spirit.

16. As an acid eats into steel, as a cancer that utterly corrupts the body; so am I unto the spirit of man.

17. I shall not rest until I have dissolved it all.

18. So also the light that is absorbed. One absorbs little and is called white and glistening; one absorbs all and is called black.

19. Therefore, O my darling, art thou black.

20. O my beautiful, I have likened thee to a jet Nubian slave, a boy of melancholy eyes.

21. O the filthy one! the dog! they cry against thee.

Because thou art my beloved.

22. Happy are they that praise thee; for they see thee with Mine eyes.

23. Not aloud shall they praise thee; but in the night watch one shall steal close, and grip thee with the secret grip; another shall privily cast a crown of violets over thee; a third shall greatly dare, and press mad lips to thine.

24. Yea! the night shall cover all, the night shall cover all.

25. Thou wast long seeking Me; thou didst run forward so fast that I was unable to come up with thee.

O thou darling fool! what bitterness thou didst crown thy days withal.

26. Now I am with thee; I will never leave thy being.

27. For I am the soft sinuous one entwined about thee, heart of gold!

28. My head is jewelled with twelve stars; My body is white as milk of the stars; it is bright with the blue of the abyss of stars invisible.

29. I have found that which could not be found; I have found a vessel of quicksilver.

30. Thou shalt instruct thy servant in his ways, thou shalt speak often with him.

31. (The scribe looketh upwards and crieth) Amen! Thou hast spoken it, Lord God!

32. Further Adonai spake unto V.V.V.V.V. and said:

33. Let us take our delight in the multitude of men!

Let us shape unto ourselves a boat of mother-of-pearl from them, that we may ride upon the river of Amrit!

34. Thou seest yon petal of amaranth, blown by the wind from the low sweet brows of Hathor?

35. (The Magister saw it and rejoiced in the beauty of it.) Listen!

36. (From a certain world came an infinite wail.)

That falling petal seemed to the little ones a wave to engulph their continent.

37. So they will reproach thy servant, saying: Who hath set thee to save us?

38. He will be sore distressed.

39. All they understand not that thou and I are fashioning a boat of mother-of-pearl. We will sail down the river of Amrit even to the yew-groves of Yama, where we may rejoice exceedingly.

40. The joy of men shall be our silver gleam, their woe our blue gleam -- all in the mother-of-pearl.

41. (The scribe was wroth thereat. He spake:

O Adonai and my master, I have borne the inkhorn and the pen without pay, in order that I might search this river of Amrit, and sail thereon as one of ye. This I demand for my fee, that I partake of the echo of your kisses.)

42. (And immediately it was granted unto him.)

43. (Nay; but not therewith was he content. By an infinite abasement unto shame did he strive. Then a voice:)

44. Thou strivest ever; even in thy yielding thou strivest to yield -- and lo! thou yieldest not.

45. Go thou unto the outermost places and subdue all things.

46. Subdue thy fear and thy disgust. Then -- yield!

47. There was a maiden that strayed among the corn, and sighed; then grew a new birth, a narcissus, and therein she forgot her sighing and her loneliness.

48. Even instantly rode Hades heavily upon her, and ravished her away.

49. (Then the scribe knew the narcissus in his heart; but because it came not to his lips, therefore was he shamed and spake no more.)

50. Adonai spake yet again with V.V.V.V.V. and said:

The earth is ripe for vintage; let us eat of her grapes, and be drunken thereon.

51. And V.V.V.V.V. answered and said: O my lord, my dove, my excellent one, how shall this word seem unto the children of men?

52. And He answered him: Not as thou canst see.

It is certain that every letter of this cipher hath some value; but who shall determine the value? For it varieth ever, according to the subtlety of Him that made it.

53. And He answered Him: Have I not the key thereof?

I am clothed with the body of flesh; I am one with the Eternal and Omnipotent God.

54. Then said Adonai: Thou hast the Head of the Hawk, and thy Phallus is the Phallus of Asar. Thou knowest the white, and thou knowest the black, and thou knowest that these are one. But why seekest thou the knowledge of their equivalence?

55. And he said: That my Work may be right.

56. And Adonai said: The strong brown reaper swept his swathe and rejoiced. The wise man counted his muscles, and pondered, and understood not, and was sad.

Reap thou, and rejoice!

57. Then was the Adept glad, and lifted his arm.

Lo! an earthquake, and plague, and terror on the earth!

A casting down of them that sate in high places; a famine upon the multitude!

58. And the grape fell ripe and rich into his mouth.

59. Stained is the purple of thy mouth, O brilliant one, with the white glory of the lips of Adonai.

60. The foam of the grape is like the storm upon the sea; the ships tremble and shudder; the shipmaster is afraid.

61. That is thy drunkenness, O holy one, and the winds whirl away the soul of the scribe into the happy haven.

62. O Lord God! let the haven be cast down by the fury of the storm! Let the foam of the grape tincture my soul with Thy light!

63. Bacchus grew old, and was Silenus; Pan was ever Pan for ever and ever more throughout the æons.

64. Intoxicate the inmost, O my lover, not the outermost!

65. So was it -- ever the same! I have aimed at the peeled wand of my God, and I have hit; yea, I have hit.

Love is the law, love under will.

[bitchwhoreofastorm]

this is not very good. you have been warned.

-

When Lorkhan dreamed of inhabiting his world, he must have dreamed of inhabiting it as Wulf. This is what Aspera thinks, watching Wulf stride through the forest as comfortably as if it were his, as if it had been crafted for him alone.

Wulf is handsome, and not only for the Lorkhan written upon him. His youth in the wilds has left him strong and muscular, his healthy diet and new civilized life on Hrothgar have made him tidy and clean. Someone has cut the mats from his hair, though he still wears it loose and long in a shiny oak veil around his thick shoulders; someone has taken a knife and shaved away the unsightly fuzz from his square jaw, and someone has clad his massive frame in long wool trousers and a fine leather belt, as if he were being made fit for Auri-el's court. But he goes shirtless beneath his trollskin cape, although the forest he moves through is glittering palely with frost, and there's still an untamed savageness in his careful silent steps, and a hint of danger in the golden sword that hangs at the end of one of his long arms, and a profound sadness in his storm-grey eyes.

He could be Lorkhan incarnate, surveying his own deeds for a span, and Aspera is as always captivated by him. Forced to assume a mortal form for this profoundly mortal act of indulgence, she sits still as she can on a bough of one of Skyrim's tall silent evergreens, and rests her chin on her knees, and watches Wulf move silent through the forest. She's as motionless as the chilly air (Kyne dares not intrude here), if her eyes could devour she's been fasting for this moment. All this time they spent together, in the Dawn era in different forms, and then in the woods not so long ago, and not once has Aspera come close to being sated for sight of him. Even now she aches with hunger. How, she wonders, can even the mere shadow of him be so beautiful?

But he's come closer, now, his head bowed and veiled by his shiny wood-coloured hair, his thick limbs hidden beneath the cape. Aspera wonders if he's aware that his walk betrays him-- he moves like something not of this world, each stride a little too long, each step a little too light for his size. He moves like his next step will be into Aetherius, into the veil of death, forever out of reach, a terrifying sort of grace. He moves past the tree Aspera perches in, and she leans forwards, eyes wide and hungry, devouring the sight of him.

Her own movement is not so delicate; with the shift the tree she perches in groans.

Wulf stops in his tracks and looks around him.

He does not think to look up (he must be getting sloppy, she taught him to always look up), but he's definitely caught the noise, and he looks this way and that, stray snowflakes snagging in his loose hair. His eyes, deep and colourless as any glacier, widen as he tries to peer through the tall narrow trees which surround him. The frost crinkles underfoot as he turns a slow circle, and Aspera dares not breathe.

"Hans?" Wulf calls out. His voice is soft, but his words rumble even through the trees.

No answer comes, so he looks in another direction. 

"Harald?”

The forest remains silent. Frowning, Wulf begins to walk again, and within moments, once again, so painfully, he's gone.

Aspera is left to slump back against the trunk of the tree, clenching her eyes shut, attempting to imprison the sight she'd so eagerly drank in. 

The loss of him from her view is unbearable; it’s as if she’s reliving the tower all over again, and each time she feels as if the grief might shatter her. She considered taking him captive, once. In her darkest moments she’s imagined keeping this piece of Lorkhan for herself, nestled close and safe deep in the heart of her realm, but she already can't stand the sadness in him and she loathes the thought of hurting him further, so she's banished the idea to the only part of her which feels guilt, and resigned herself to possessing him only in the form of these glimpses. Cold comfort, trapping his form like fire beneath her eyelid, stealing looks at him from behind Hrothgar’s walls. However, it’s all that’s within her reach, and even something so small as his silhouette in her memory is to be cherished, guarded--

A mighty heave shakes the tree and Aspera is toppling to the ground before she can even draw her daggers.

Then she stops falling, and she is in someone's arms.

Wulf never laughs-- a strange trait, because Lorkhan was always laughing-- but he has his own equivalent, for when he successfully pulls a prank, and that is a big toothy smile that burns like the sun. Said smile is burning into Aspera’s shoulders now, for Wulf has caught her on the descent and is now crushing her into an embrace, swinging her around mightily and beaming hot and triumphant against her when he presses his face into her torso.

Aspera, of course, cannot tolerate this. Aspera, of course, shouts in alarm and knees him in the stomach. This shocks him and he staggers back, and Aspera’s on him in an instant, pushing him down to the ground and wresting him into a grapple. But he's larger than he was before, heavier, and he manages to overturn them, pinning her down with his whole body, resting his forehead against her own.

"As-peh-rah," Wulf breathes through his smile.

"Wulf," Aspera replies, and flips him hard into the ground.

The blow knocks the wind from his lungs, and he lets out a hearty 'oof', but he's smiling still, his shoulders shaking with the mute mirth that's as close as he'll ever come to laughter. His eyes are crinkled happily, his hair is tangled with clumps of ice and leaf-litter, and when Aspera gets on top of him again, pinning his shoulders with her knees and wrapping a hand around his neck, he only smiles wider.

"Wulf," Aspera says again, amazed. "Did you trick me?"

"I'm Ysmir now," Wulf replies. His voice knocks snowflakes back into the air and sends Aspera’s hair fluttering.

"Ysmir? Who calls you Ysmir?"

"Paarthurnax."

As easily as if he were brushing off leaves, Wulf-- Ysmir-- rises to sitting, shoving Aspera off of him. She falls back on her rump without a struggle, only staring as Wulf shakes debris from his hair. He does not look so civilized, now, smeared with dirt and snow; she sees that he's been painted in the Atmoran fashion, with an image of a dark red gash cleaving his bare breast from collar to left nipple.

"Paarthurnax," Aspera sneers, through her nose, so that her voice takes on a mocking lilt. "Ambitious lord of cruelty. Is that who you're serving, now, little Wulf?"

Wulf frowns at her, in the way that he always used to frown at her-- taking everything too seriously, especially the jokes. “I serve nobody,” he tells her, deathly-grave. “None but myself.” 

“So what is this?” Aspera reaches out and grabs his hair, thumbing the neatly-trimmed edges.

“My hair.”

“You cut it.” 

“Hans cut it.” Flushing red (he’d always been a sensitive soul), Wulf shoves Aspera’s hand away, and even the graze of his palm feels supernaturally hot. But then the sight of her seems to rekindle something in him, a light behind his cloud-grey eyes that comes perilously close to feeling familiar, and his mouth once again splits open in a smile, revealing perfect yellow teeth. 

“Why are you smiling?” Aspera asks him. 

In reply, Wulf reaches out and clasps her face between his big palms. “Aspera,” he repeats himself, in awe. “It’s truly you.”

“Yes, it’s me. Let go of me.” 

“You’ve come back.” His palms are scratchy with callouses, smelling richly of earth. 

Affectionately, Aspera elbows his arm away, then rises to her feet. “Don’t flatter yourself, mortal. I’m not here for you.” 

Wulf ignores the lie, ignores the good-natured act of violence. He gropes around him, lifts the sword which had fallen to the side when he’d caught her, rises to his feet and stretches. He’s grown since Aspera last saw him, she can’t help but notice, not just in his considerable height; his body has filled out, his already-generous muscles now padded with a healthy layer of Nordic fat. “But you’re back,” he repeats himself, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. 

Aspera can only nod. She feels mute, breathless, winded not only by the fall; she’s being forced to consider once again that if Lorkhan ever dreamed of roaming his own world, this must be the form he would choose. The alluring seriousness of his dark eyes, the handsome downwards curl of his mouth and the sheer power betrayed by his mortal form (she recalls uneasily the strength with which he’d caught her, the magnetic heat behind his skin); as with Lorkhan, being near him feels like standing on a precipice, the temptation to fling herself in overwhelming.

He takes her contemplative silence as an invitation and seizes her hand in his own. “Come,” he bids her, “Let’s go meet Hans. And Harald.”

“Who?”

“My friends. We travel, we hunt, we’ll roam the world, like you and I did.”

“I don’t want to meet your friends.” 

“Oh.” Wulf blinks. “We won’t, then. I know where they are. We’ll go away from them.” 

“And go where? Towards the halls of Kyne’s crony?”

“Paarthurnax?” 

“Him.” 

“No, to a cabin. I left Paarthurnax long ago.” 

“Did you.”

“I told you, I travel now. With Hans and Harald.” (There’s that frown again, full of concern). “You’re mad?” 

It takes all of Aspera’s strength to wrench her hand away from him. Shaking her head mutely, she turns away. 

Time, Auri-el’s invention, does not mean much to either of them, but if one was reckoning by time they had once shared a lot of it. When Wulf was still the foundling of dragons, living alone and without language in the wilds of Tamriel, Aspera had stolen to Nirn and made herself his companion. She’d saved his life, and it had been a perfectly selfish endeavor; they had fought together, hunted together, wrestled, riddled each other, spent long nights by paltry fires cooking scrappy meals of rabbits. They had fled Hircine’s wild hunt on foot and hacked their way out of a herd of werewolves, they had crept around Namira’s corruption and looked Herma-Mora in the eye without flinching. They had shared precious moments together, moments where Aspera had forgot to feel as if something had been torn from her. And when Wulf had allowed himself to be convinced to join the storm-bitten wicked society of the Northmen, abandoning their adventures for a mountain and the mandates of Kyne, those moments had begun to seem paltry indeed.

“Aspera?”

“How arrogant you are, mortal. Asking me to return to your side, after you left me.”

“You left me. You could have stayed.”

“You didn’t give me a choice,” replies Aspera. “Was I meant to follow you, make a toady of myself for Kyne?” 

“But I left him, I told you. I’m with Hans and Harald now.” The soft crackle of frost as Wulf shifts on his feet. “So you can come with me.”

Aspera exhales. “No.” 

“No?” 

No. I’m going to the south, and we shall never meet again.”

“Don’t go. Join Hans and Harald and I. We can hunt--” 

“Typical of you. You only want me for your collection.” 

“I want you to stay with me.” 

“Haven’t I denied you enough times before, Shor? When will you learn your lesson?” 

Wulf is silent for several seconds at that, so quiet that Aspera thinks he’s left. But when she turns she finds that he’s come closer to her, and he’s still staring at her with his sad, serious expression, his eyes as dull grey as ash. 

And he comes even closer to her, painfully close, and she cannot bring herself to move away when he touches her cheek once more.

“Koraav zey, Boethiah,” Wulf says softly.

Aspera turns her head away. “I won’t.” 

“I am not him.”  

“I don’t believe you. How can you deny what you are, after all I’ve known about you?” 

“I’m not him,” Wulf repeats. One of his hands, hot despite the chill of the day, cradles her cheek, and with the other he brushes his thumb over her lips. He’s standing very close, staring seriously into her eyes with a gaze like staring into one of Kyne’s tempests, fathomless, a spark of violence beneath the eyelid. “Look at me.” 

Aspera closes her eyes and laughs a bitter laugh. “I don’t believe you.” 

“Boet-hi-ah.” 

“Do you think you know me, then, using that name? You know I won’t listen to your words, that I never have; so if you mean to say this thing to me, prove it.” 

And Aspera must have known what challenge he was planning, the single thing Lorkhan would never have given to her, for she is not surprised when Ysmir bites a kiss into her lips. 

The kiss is sweet, and tastes of ash, and burns for the beauty of it, and Aspera tries her best to bring Lorkhan’s face to mind, as if it were Lorkhan’s mouth on her own, as if Lorkhan were living and Lorkhan would have ever held her so closely, partaking of her hunger with a warm tongue and sharp teeth. It’s not exactly gentle, but she must jealously wonder where he’s gotten all the practice (who are Hans and Harald?), in the few moments before he drags her into an embrace and crushes any power of thought out of her. Later there will be time to ponder this all, to contemplate the real want behind the deed and whether Lorkhan’s memory is behind the depth of the kiss and the grasping of fingers, but for a sliver of that so-called time, somewhere between tasting ash and separating just enough to concoct a plan in breathy whispers, Aspera forgets to pretend that it’s Lorkhan she’s embracing. 

-

In a rough-shod hunting cabin, on a frigid winter night, Ysmir kneels by a straw bed and holds a sword aloft like an offering.

“What is this?” laughs Aspera. She’s perched above him on the thin straw mattress, draped in blankets like a queen. 

“It’s a sword,” says Ysmir, earnestly. 

“You’re holding it wrong, Wulf. How much have you forgotten?”

“It’s a gift.”

“Always giving me gifts. Come, get off the floor and join me again.” 

But Ysmir stays kneeling, and he might have looked a little ridiculous, naked on his knees with the blade held high over his head, if it weren’t for the deathly somberness of his eyes. “Take it,” he commands her, with no hint of humour, “It’s for you.” 

“Well, aren’t you cocky.” But Aspera knows him, and knows his stubbornness, so, without further argument, she takes the sword from his hand and lifts it in her own. It’s unlike any sword she’s seen before: the blade is golden, very thin and very long, with a slight curve to it; the balance is impeccable. When she moves her arm to cut the air with it, it flickers hotly like a candle’s flame.

She’s so captivated by the blade that she feels rather than sees Ysmir sit on the bed behind her, keeping his distance respectfully, save for the large hand that lightly cups the outer rim of her hip. 

“It’s a good blade,” Aspera declares, resisting the urge to sink back into him. The fire’s burned out ages ago and the cabin is cold, but Ysmir’s hand feels hot as any brand. “Why give it to me?”

“To know you by, when we meet again.” 

Aspera places the sword down on her bare thighs with one hand, and uses the other to clasp the hand on her hip. “Who says we will meet again?” she asks lazily, leaning back against his warm chest, so that her head comes to rest with the ear pressed just over the place where a mortal man’s heart would be. “No matter. Does it have a name?”

Ysmir bows his head, embraces her from behind, pulls her in close against that uncanny-quiet chest. And he whispers in her ear, in a voice that rumbles through the world itself: “Goldbrand.”

[oracleofkairos]

The Oracle's Annotations, Part XXVIII

Day/Simulation Number: 96

Simulation Name: Evening Tide

Location Simulated: Harbor Of Sorrows, Titan

Simulant Populations Encountered: Hive, Vex

Scenario Rating: Major Deviance | Planetary Shift

Summary: Simulation took place on a Titan vastly separated from its standard orbit, having been launched off into a more far flung orbit by unknown means. This resulted in a rapid cooling of the oceanic world, causing the formation of massive, globe spanning glaciers that shifted beneath the platforms and other golden age constructions. The Hive appeared to have adapted to the changes, and there was a size-able Vex incursion also present on site.

Vex Reaction: Invasion, strong foothold established.

Hypothesis: This simulation could either be a stress test of equipment based on colder environments, or it could be a test to see the effects planetary shift or ecological change could have on the Hive.

Guardian’s Personal Notes: “I should have brought a coat.”

Ghost’s Personal Notes: “The more of these environmental sims they throw at us, the more I’m painfully aware of how little we actually prepared for this.”

[laraehrlich-blog]

Original content owned & copyrighted by Green Global Travel.

Despite R&B legends TLC’s classic admonition not to go chasing them, waterfalls remain among those magical natural features that can put a given destination on millions of people’s world travel bucket lists.

You’ll find waterfalls on every single continent. Countries like many types of waterfalls. can form cascades, horsetails, plunges, cataracts, fans, squares, and even be frozen. Each type is different, and each category has its own superstars when it comes to attracting tourism.

Of course, measuring the biggest waterfalls in the world is complicated. Some of the tallest waterfalls in the world are fed by small streams, with just a tiny sliver of water careening down. Some of the most voluminous falls drop just a few feet. We rarely think of the widest waterfall in the world, but that’s another way of measuring them.

So, when we say “the biggest waterfalls,” how do we judge? Are we talking about the tallest waterfall? The widest waterfall? The largest waterfall in the world by volume? The longest waterfall in the world that free falls? There really is no right or wrong answer… nor are the largest waterfalls always the most impressive to see.

So, in the interest of being as thorough as possible, our list of the largest waterfalls in the world goes far, wide, high, low, and in-between to point out the best waterfalls in the world travelers should visit on each and every continent.

READ MORE: 10 Best in Iceland

THE WORLD’S WATERFALLS

Biggest in Africa

Biggest in Antarctica

Biggest in Asia

Biggest in Australasia

Biggest in Europe

Biggest in North America

Biggest in South America

  WATERFALLS IN AFRICA

Victoria Falls (Photo by otsuka88 courtesy Pixabay)

Inga Falls & Livingstone Falls

Frequently listed among the largest waterfalls in the world, Inga Falls is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s formed by the Congo River, which is ranked as the ninth longest river in the world.

It’s considered the largest waterfall in the world by volume, moving at a rate of over 900,000 cubic feet per second. But Inga Falls is remarkable for some of its other noteworthy features as well.

Though it drops only 315 feet, Inga Falls is over 9 miles long. It’s also exceptionally wide, with an average width of 3,000 feet and a maximum width of over 2.5 miles! At its widest, the falls separate into hundreds of different channels and rivulets.

Despite the fact that it is regularly designated as the world’s largest waterfall by volume, many consider the majority of it to be nothing more than rapids. It does, however, have one steep drop of around 70 feet, which indisputably makes it a waterfall.

Inga Falls is the site of one of the world’s largest hydroelectric dams. It’s also close to Livingstone Falls, which is often considered the most beautiful part of the Congo River, as well as the second largest waterfall in the world by volume.

READ MORE: The 20 Longest Rivers in the World (By Continent)

Tourists in the Devil’s Pool, Victoria Falls by Ian Restall at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia

Victoria Falls

One of Africa’s top tourist attractions, Victoria Falls is neither the widest or tallest waterfall in the world. But it is sometimes considered the world’s biggest waterfall because it is both tall (354 feet) and wide (5,600 feet), producing the overall biggest sheet of falling water.

Victoria Falls is formed by the Zambezi River, which creates a natural border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. So it is technically located in both countries– Livingstone, Zambia and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The falls are formed when the river lowers in a single drop.

The waterfall is also known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, which translates as “the smoke that thunders.” It was named by David Livingstone, the first European believed to have seen the falls, who named it in honor of Queen Victoria. It is preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under both names.

The world-renowned Devil’s Pool is a seemingly precarious place to take a dip at the top of the falls. There are also helicopter rides, bungee jumping, and READ MORE:  The Effect of Mass Tourism (How Overtourism is Destroying Destinations)

Kongou Falls by Lengai101 CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

Kongou Falls

One of the most powerful waterfalls in the world, Gabon’s Kongou Falls is over 10,000 feet wide and pushes nearly 32,000 cubic feet of water through per second. It’s formed by the Ivindo River, which also features several other falls. But Kongou is easily its largest.

Kongou Falls is notable for having an unusual configuration, with several different streams, cascades and steps separated by islands. Kongou is really intermingled with the rainforest that surrounds it. Actually, though the waterfall itself is spectacular, it’s this lush surrounding forest that garnered its place on the list.

Part of Ivindo National Park, Kongou Falls is located in what many experts consider to be a modern-day version of the Garden of Eden. Gabon is 85% rainforest and, though accessible, there are few signs of civilization going to and from the falls. This rainforest is home to some the densest populations of forest elephants, chimpanzees, and activists were able to stop the construction.

READ MORE: The 20 Biggest Forests in the World 

Tugela Falls first drop off by Andynct CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons

Tugela Falls

Located in Tugela Falls has been remeasured and found to be over 100 feet taller than its currently recognized height, but the claim is still awaiting verification. This increase would make it the tallest waterfall in the world, over Venezuela’s Angel Falls (an uninterrupted plunge). Consequently, controversy has brewed regarding which one gets the official title.

Whichever side one chooses in the tallest waterfalls debate, Tugela is remarkable, as is the national park that surrounds it. There are several routes for hiking up to the top of the falls, and it’s easy to spot from the main road of the park during rainy times.

READ MORE: Safari in Londolozi Game Reserve (South Africa)

Local Fishermen in Boyoma Falls/Wagenia Falls by Foto Ad Meskens [Attribution, CC BY-SA 3.0

Stanley/Wagenia/Boyoma Falls

Formerly recognized as Stanley Falls, Boyoma Falls is a cataract waterfall made up of seven relatively short, steep, powerful waterfalls and a series of rapids formed by the Lualaba River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The falls spread out over 60 miles, dropping just 200 feet along the way, with the cataracts each being less than 20 feet.

Boyoma Falls ranks as the third biggest waterfall in the world in terms of volume, with all three located in the Congo. While Inga and Livingstone Falls are both formed by the Congo River, Boyoma is formed by the Lualaba, which then joins the Congo.

Boyoma Falls also has one other name, Wagenia Falls, which is what many French-speakers call it. This name derives from local fisherman, called the wagenia, who have developed a unique technique for fishing the falls. They construct wooden tripods over holes carved out by the rapids, where they ensnare large fish in baskets.

READ MORE: Fishing Mobile Bay & the Mobile-Tensaw Delta

  WATERFALL IN ANTARCTICA

Blood Falls, the Creepiest Waterfall in the World, by Peter Rejcek via CC 2.0

Blood Falls

When picturing waterfalls, rarely does Blood Falls, though not quite the vampire’s dream-come-true one might envision, is definitely odd enough to warrant such a name.

Blood Falls is buried under a quarter-mile of ice. Roughly five million years ago, sea levels rose and formed a saltwater lake in eastern Antarctica. Millions of years later, the lake was completely covered by glaciers. When the glaciers scraped the bedrock below, it churned lots of iron into the water.

The salinity of the water continued to rise as the glaciers froze over the lake, and that water became too salty to freeze. Antarctica’s red waterfall began to flow when water seeped through a fissure in the Taylor Glacier.

The  waterfall has never seen the light of day, and it’s completely devoid of oxygen. As a result, when the iron-rich water spills into Lake Bonney, the air causes it to immediately rust and turn red.

Though not necessarily huge on the global scale, Blood Falls is technically the biggest waterfall in Antarctica, and it’s just too weird not to include here. Unfortunately, it can only be reached by cruise ships visiting the Ross Sea or via helicopter from nearby scientific research stations.

READ MORE: Penguins of Antarctica Photo Gallery

  WATERFALLS IN ASIA

Khone Falls, the Widest Waterfall in the World (Photo by Mr. ATM courtesy Flickr via CC 2.0)

Khone Falls

Khone Falls is located in the south reaches of Laos, culminating near the border with China) and Cambodia (and Vietnam). It only tumbles down a total of 69 feet over a collection of cascades and rapids.

Despite its short drop, Khone Falls could technically be considered the world’s biggest waterfall. It’s only fifth in terms of volume, with just over 400,000 cubic feet of water per second. But it averages over 35,000 feet across, which makes it by far the widest waterfall in the world. 

Interestingly, the falls are most readily apparent when the weather is a bit drier. During monsoon season, when the Tonle River becomes Tonle Sap Lake and backs up to the Mekong River, the waterfall basically disappears into little more than a collection of rough currents.

Khone Falls are the home of plabuck, an endangered catfish that grows to be over ten feet long and more than 600 pounds. They’re sometimes considered the largest freshwater fish in the world, though a couple of sturgeon species and a freshwater stingray are actually bigger.

READ MORE: The Pastoral Paradise of Muang Ngoi, Laos

Hannoki Falls & Shomyo Great Falls by I, Kahusi GFDL , CC-BY-SA-3.0

Hannoki Falls & Shomyo Great Falls

Considered twin falls, Hannoki Falls and Shomyo Great Falls are the two tallest waterfalls in Japan.

Technically Hannoki– which boasts a single drop of 1,640 feet– is both the highest of Japan’s waterfalls and the highest waterfall in Asia. But it is seasonal, and only visible from April to July because it is dependent on snowmelt. The tallest permanent waterfall in Japan, Shomyo Great Falls, measures 1,148 feet and occurs in four stages.

These two amazing waterfalls are located side by side. They both flow through the Midagahara Plateau before falling in a V-shape into a single pool that’s around 200 feet across and 20 feet deep.

The finest view of the two waterfalls is said to be from Shomyo Bridge at the Takimi Orchard. The best time to visit the falls is late spring and early summer, when the area’s snowmelt is at its greatest. From November to April, the roads are often closed due to snow.

There are numerous other notable waterfall pairings in Japan. Ginga and Ryusei Falls are also twin falls, known as “the husband and wife waterfall.” Other admirable pairings include Amedaki and Nunobiki Falls, as well as Shiraito and Otodome Falls.

READ MORE: The Beauty of Japan in 15 Fabulous Photos

Thi Lo Su waterfalls, Umphang district, Thailand by Yxejamir CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL from Wikimedia

Thi Lo Su Waterfall

Located in northwestern Thailand, Thi Lo Su (or Black) Waterfall is the country’s tallest and largest waterfall. It’s just under 1000 feet high and 1,500 feet wide. While it doesn’t rank as one of the larges, it is considered by many to be amongst the most beautiful waterfalls in the world.

Thi Lo Su Waterfall is located within the Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bordered by Mae Wong National Park in the east, Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in the south, and several READ MORE: The Gibbon Conservation Center in Phuket, Thailand

  WATERFALLS IN AUSTRALASIA

Sutherland Falls, Tallest Falls in Australia (Photo by Department of Conservation via CC 2.0)

Browne Falls & Sutherland Falls

Browne Falls is considered the country’s highest, as well as the 9th tallest waterfall in the world. But this is not without debate: New Zealand’s other highest waterfall is Sutherland Falls.

Browne Falls is part of Fiordland National Park, a land densely populated with waterfalls, but none so high as this one. The falls careens some 2,744 feet before bottoming out in Doubtful Sound. But because it has very little free-falling water, some folks don’t give it its proper due.

On the other hand, Sutherland Falls is significantly shorter– a mere 1,900-plus feet. Even it doesn’t free fall this entire way, but instead uses three distinct steps to make its full descent. It’s highly inaccessible, requiring a 4-day trek along the Milford Track (or a pricy flight) to see it.

Fiordland National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to both of these New Zealand waterfalls. The park also offers plenty of READ MORE: Things To Do In New Zealand for Nature Lovers 

WATERFALLS IN EUROPE

Highest Waterfall in Europe – The Vinnufossen Waterfall in Sunndal, Norway by Carl S Bj GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0

Vinnufallet & Balåifossen

With epic READ MORE: Our Epic Fjords of Norway Road Trip

Cascata delle Marmore, Italy by Fabio Tiberi CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

Cascata delle Marmore

Located in Umbria, READ MORE: Le Marche, Italy (A Local’s Favorite Places to Visit)

Iceland’s most popular waterfall – Gullfoss Waterfall via pixabay

Gullfoss

If Norway has the most waterfalls in Europe, golden circle route,” which includes numerous glaciers, tectonic plates, geysers, and a national park.

Gullfoss doesn’t rank amongst the world’s biggest waterfalls, but it’s likely the most voluminous in Iceland. In total, the water only drops 100 feet. However, the falls are truly remarkable in that the double cascade turns the Hvítá River 90 degrees and drops it down into a crevice.

This configuration creates a unique explosion of mist and rainbows, making Gullfoss one of the planet’s most frequently photographed waterfalls.

Gullfoss was once threatened with the possibility of a hydroelectric power plant. At the time the waterfall had private owners, who were renting it to a foreign company.

Legend has it that their daughter threatened to throw herself over the falls in order to save the falls. There’s even a monument to commemorate this decidedly fictitious account.

Nonetheless, Gullfoss was eventually sold to the state of Iceland rather than a power company. Thank goodness! Because it still remains just as gorgeous as ever.

READ MORE: The 10 Best Iceland

Biggest Waterfall in Europe -Rhine Falls via max pixel

Rhine Falls

The largest waterfall in Europe by volume is on the Upper Rhine River in Switzerland.

Though it’s only about 75 feet high, Rhine Falls is nearly 500 feet wide. It allows an enormous amount of water to cascade through, particularly in the summer, when the snow melts in the Alps.

The Rhine Falls are believed to have formed about 14,000 to 17,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age. They were the result of a resilient bedrock of limestone: The falls are divided into two sections due to a pillar-like formation sticking up in the middle of the river.

Rhine Falls is also a big tourist destination in Europe, receiving over a million visitors annually. However, that hasn’t stopped electric companies from fantasizing and pitching hydroelectric power plants. Thankfully, Switzerland has resisted thus far.

READ MORE: The Tallest Mountains in the World

  WATERFALLS IN NORTH AMERICA

Biggest waterfall by volume in the USA- Niagara Falls via pixabay

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is exceptionally big– the largest waterfall by volume in the USA and the widest waterfall in Canada. But it is most recognized for being, well, really recognizable.

Over 20 million people a year visit Niagara Falls. It has become a place of legend– the Vegas of waterfalls– replete with weddings, kitschy READ MORE: Visitors Guide to the Finger Lakes (New York)

Tallest seaside cliffs in the world- Moloka’i, Hawaii via pixabay

Olo’upena Falls & Pu’uka’oku Falls

In the United States, Olo’upena Falls is the tallest of Hawaii’s waterfalls, and the fourth highest in the world. Measuring over 2,900 feet high, it is fed by only a small seasonal stream. Consequently, it has a very thin ribbon of water that nosedives off the Haloku Cliffs, which are the tallest seaside cliffs in the world.

Originating from those very same cliffs, Pu’uka’oku Falls is also very tall– over 2,750 feet– earning it the eighth spot on the list of the world’s highest waterfalls. Pu’uka’oku is an older waterfall that has carved away a lot of the volcanic rock upon which it flows. So, unlike the younger falls, it is fairly difficult to see from afar.

Both of these falls are the two tallest waterfalls in the USA– are located on the island of Moloka’i. They are so remote that no hiking trails access them, meaning they can only be seen from the water or from a plane.

The weather can be so intense along these immense cliffs that the coastal winds sometimes stop the falling water, pushing it upwards into a dispersed mist.

READ MORE: 

James Bruce Falls by Klaus Johansson CC BY-SA 4.0 from Wikimedia Commons

James Bruce Falls

Princess Louisa Marine Provincial Park, which is surrounded by snow-tipped granite mountains that rise sharply to around 7,000 feet. James Bruce Falls gushes some 2,755 feet down to the Princess Louisa Inlet.

The falls are named after two parallel streams that originate in snowfields, one of which melts by mid-summer and the other of which remains frozen year-round. Just downstream from the waterfall (which feeds into Loquilts Creek) is the more famous Chatterbox Falls.

Chatterbox Falls empties into the Loquilts River, and is a popular destination for boaters. But it stands a miniscule 120 feet tall and is a large fan waterfall, which means it widens as it drops. It may bot be as big as James Bruce, but its backdrop is incredible.

READ MORE: The Best Canoe Trips (World Travel Bucket List)

  WATERFALLS IN SOUTH AMERICA

Sixth biggest waterfall in the world – Iguazu Falls, Brazil via pixabay

Iguazu Falls

Consuming the border between Iguazu Falls is formed when the Iguazu River flows off the Paraná Plateau. While much of the river’s current is cut up in separate cataracts across the waterfall’s 1.7 miles of edge, about half of the water falls into a tight spot known as the Devil’s Throat. Nearly 3,000 feet of the edge doesn’t have any water flowing over it at all.

The falls occur after the river bends, with most of the river basin (95%) being on the Brazilian side of the border and most of the waterfalls (80%) on the Argentine side. On the Brazilian side, it is part of Iguaçu National Park; in Argentina it is known as Iguazu National Park. Together, these parks are a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In terms of famous waterfalls to visit, this one ranks right up there with Victoria Falls and Niagara Falls. There are actually two international airports located there in order to provide easy access to this wonder of the natural world.

READ MORE: The Top 10 Things to Do in Patagonia

Yumbilla Falls, Peru by Fregopie CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

Tres Hermanas & Yumbilla Falls

Tres Hermanas, or “Three Sisters,” measures 2,999 feet high.

Fed by the Cutivireni River, the waterfall gets its name from the fact that Tres Hermanas falls in three different sections. It is located in Otishi National Park in the Junin Province of Peru, in the country’s central southwest region. Tres Hermanas is surrounded by beautiful montane forest.

Peru is also home to the world’s fifth highest waterfall, Yumbilla Falls, which are less than 60 feet shorter than Tres Hermanas. Created by the Utubamba River, Yumbilla drops in four or five (this is somehow up for debate) separate stages. It’s also located in the Andes Mountains, but it is encircled by the READ MORE: Meeting the People of the Amazon Rainforest

Angel Falls in South America, the World’s Tallest (Photo by David Kjelkerud courtesy Flickr via CC 2.0)

Angel Falls

Perched high in the remote mountains of Venezuela, Angel Falls is widely considered the world’s tallest waterfall, stretching the measuring tape some 3,212 feet high.

The remote Venezuela waterfall is located deep in the jungle of Canaima National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Angle Falls location is perhaps most famous to moviegoers as the inspiration for “Paradise Falls” from the 2009 Pixar movie Up.

For the most part, Angel Falls consists of a single plunge of well over 2,300 feet. That is followed by 1,300-plus feet of sloped cascades that end in another 100-foot drop. At the base, it measures 500 feet across. It empties into Rio Kerepakupai Meru, which is the indigenous name (in 2009, Hugo Chavez declared it as the official name) of the falls.

Angel Falls was named for an American pilot, Jimmy Angel, who landed atop Auyantepui, the tabletop mountain from which the falls descend. His plane was stuck, so he, his wife, and two companions trekked for 11 days before crossing paths with another person. While their discovery now seems fortuitous, the disappointed crew was actually looking for gold.

A trip to visit the falls can be a very complicated affair involving domestic flights, boats, appropriate weather for adequate water levels, and then several hours of hiking. Getting there may sound like an epic quest, but it’s hard to deny that the falls themselves  are pretty epic as well. –Jonathon Engels

WATERFALLS IN THE WORLD FAQ’S

Which is the Highest Waterfall in the world?

Angel Falls, located in Venezuela, is considered the highest waterfall in the world. It measures 3,212 feet high.

What is the Biggest Waterfall in the world?

If by biggest waterfall, we mean the widest waterfall, then Khone Falls is the largest waterfall in the world.  Even thought Khone Falls is only 5th largest waterfall in terms of volume (over 400,000 cubic feet of water per second), its enormous width averaging over 35,000 feet across makes it the widest waterfall in the world. 

What is the Highest Waterfall in India?

Kunchikal Falls is the highest waterfall in India. It is a cascading waterfall that descends 455 meters (1493 feet).

What is the Highest Waterfall in Europe?

The highest waterfall in Europe is Norway’s Vinnufossen Waterfall. It is 860 metres (2,822 ft) high.

What is the Largest Waterfall in Europe? 

The Rhine Falls in Germany has the largest amount of discharge averaging 700,000 liters (184,920 gallons) per second in the summer and 250,ooo liters (66,043 gallons) in winter.

What is the is the Tallest Waterfall in North America?

Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in North America (2,450 feet) and the tallest waterfall in the US. It is the 5th highest in the world

What is the Highest Waterfall in Canada?

The highest waterfall in Canada is Della Falls 440 m (1,440 ft) which is located in British Columbia.

How Tall is Angel Falls?

Angel Falls is 3,212 feet tall.

The post 20 of the World’s Biggest (By Continent) appeared first on Green Global Travel.

[secret-engima]

Fic title thing - heart held close to the moon and Neptune

...

...............

Neptune ... Neptune was the Roman god of the sea right? ... Just looked it up and yes he was so-

>:D

FF7

Mer

AU

But rather than EVERYONE being mer or whatever, it’s ONLY the three Soldier Firsts of canon. Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal who have never met any other mer, because Shinra are immoral and terrible and use propaganda to promote the idea that Mer aren’t REALLY just like humans in intelligence and emotional range and soul, they just happen to look human-ish on the top half. And because Mer are seemingly extinct (read: in hiding), they have nobly “Resurrected” the lost line of the “most exotic creatures of the sea” in Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal and claim to be in the process of cloning female Mers to “reintroduce the species”.

Except mer are NOT animals.

Mer are the children of Gaia’s oceans, the pulse of her waves and tides, touched by her moon on high. Mer are MAGIC and they will not be contained.

They escape, by the skin of their teeth and with many bloody scars, helped by the last of descendant of the True Mer (Aerith) who can walk on two legs for a time because of her half-human blood. They flee, out into the wild waters, just the three of them as a pod, rapidly protective of their little Pod Queen Aerith, their little sister in their eyes for all it would doom mer to extinction again. So they swim, up river and through lake and through the sea, and sometimes Aerith stops to visit the human woman who cared for her as a child and to tend the garden on two legs while the other three lounge in the little pond and sing softly together, and it’s ... nice.

Then Aerith meets Zack. Zack who is a cheerful sellsword rather than a Shinra plaything, who still respect the Old Ways as best as an ignorant human can, and Aerith adores him and so despite what they want, Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal refrain from dragging him below the waves and eating him for trying to court their sister. But Zack is genuine and not cruel like the other humans they’ve met, he gets along with Elmyra and dotes on Aerith and Angeal ends up taking him under his fin after Zack nearly falls in and downs in the pond because surprise this idiot CAN’T SWIM, and really that is that. They have another human in the pod.

Zack tells them all sorts of stories, of the lands they’ve never seen. Jungles and deserts and icy mountains, and in those stories one name and description comes up a lot, the other, younger sellsword Cloud Strife. A fierce little mountain girl who still swears to the Old Spirits and avoids Fairy Circles and will not set foot on a boat until she’s made a sacrifice to the lost Children of the Sea. He describes his “little buddy” so often during his tales that really, it’s no wonder Sephiroth RECOGNIZES the woman while on a solo hunt, struggling in the water, bubbles escaping her mouth and nose, arms and legs bound from where she’s been THROWN OVERBOARD by pirates stealing the ship she had booked passage on.

Sephiroth screams and the storm screams back. The pirates stand no chance and Sephiroth pays them no more mind as he dives down for Cloud, ripping the ropes apart with his claws, swims her up to the surface and realizes that the storm he just summoned is a PROBLEM. The waves are too high for him to keep the human’s head above the water and she’s already NOT BREATHING and Sephiroth can’t just- UNSUMMON a storm, but this girl is Zack’s friend and Zack is pod which makes THIS ONE pod and Sephiroth-can’t-let-her-die-.

Sephiroth holds her close and sings-sings-sings, struggling against death, screaming to the moon to spare this human, to make her SURVIVE somehow, because Sephiroth has too few people in his life and he cannot afford to lose any of them, even one he has never met before.

And Sephiroth-

Sephiroth was Hojo’s finest creation. He was grown from the blood of the most Ancient mer. The Wild Kin even Aerith’s race of mer feared for their power, their savagery, their ability to wrap up the world in their voice and SHAPE it the way they wanted. Jenova is not an alien virus in this au, oh no, Jenova was The Sea Witch. The most feared and powerful and deadly o the Wild Kin, the last to fall in their war against the much more numerous humans and Cetra mer that had banded together against the Wild Kin and their Sea Witches. Jenova was the one who cursed the Cetra and decimated their numbers, she was the one to freeze the great northern sea mid-motion like a glacier around a great crater.

Jenova is, in a morbid, cloned sense, his mother.

Sephiroth sings.

The world obeys.

The body in his arms changes.

Cloud breathes in water and does not drown.

When Cloud groggily wakes up three days later, it’s to one very frantic Zack hovering over her face, the sky above her head, and the weird sensation of being submerged from the waist down. She remembers being knocked off the ship and sits up in confusion-

Looks down and doesn’t see legs.

The glittering tail of ink black and spiraling ice blue twitches spasmodically under her stare, responding to her desperate attempts to move legs that AREN’T THERE ANYMORE.

Cloud starts screaming and all the glass and quite a bit of nearby stone shatters.

While Zack and Aerith help deal with ... THAT whole mess, Sephiroth lurks guiltily in the nearby river, not daring to enter the pond while Genesis whimsically notes that aside from the ice blue swirls, her tail exact same shade of black as his, so does that mean she’s a full blooded Wild Kin now? Genesis and Angeal aren’t, because they have bright red and bright blue scales with black highlights respectively, sign of Wild Kin blood but not nearly as pure as Sephiroth’s jet black and trademark silver hair and slitted eyes. Angeal slaps Genesis over the head and says there are bigger things to worry about, because SINCE WHEN was any kind of magic strong enough to transform a human into an ACTUAL MER and what do they do now? Sephiroth already tried turning her back, but it didn’t work, because that kind of Song that remakes the world itself can only be used on a person on that large a scale ONCE, so now they’re stuck and how will they explain any of that to Zack’s formerly-human friend.

Sephiroth continues to lurk at the bottom of the river, feeling very guilty. He didn’t mean to do that. He meant to save her, not transform her, and the entire thing tastes too much of Hojo’s lab and his unwanted experiments and talk of using Sephiroth’s blood to create clones or hybrids.

Maybe once Zack and Aerith calm her down she won’t entirely hate him?

Who is he kidding, she’ll probably try to gut him with her bare claws.

(Anyway a sort of Modern-Fantasy AU where Mako is a thing but the SOLDIER program isn’t, Mer are a thing, and Fem!Cloud and Sephiroth end up doing an enemies to lovers slowburn but more in a you-transformed-me-against-my-will-so-I-HATE-YOU to friends to lovers way.)

(Also Hojo tries to do more evil shenanigans and Shinra hopes to conquer the world, but that all gets shut down by the Pod because fun fact you can’t run a wold spanning empire if all your ships keep mysteriously getting sunk. It’s not like you can helicopter EVERYTHING over the water, especially since all air traffic gets rapidly shut down by the mysterious super storms that blow in when they try. Reeve eventually gets accidentally kidnapped by the Pod and converted to their side so he starts looking into non-Lifestream power alternatives and Rufus is on board because honestly there’s nothing like a couple of mer arguing, IN YOUR LANGUAGE on whether they should eat you for your sins to make you rethink your life choices and by extension all your evil father’s life choices.)

(Also also Vincent and Felicia are both experiments by Hojo to see if he could create human-mer hybrids. Felicia is a sea serpent and Vincent sometimes forgets that Legs Are A Thing and so just sighs tiredly on Elmyra’s floor in all his red and black octopi glory. Veld is pulled on board the “lets kill Hojo and reform Shinra” boat after he nearly gets his throat torn out by his long lost daughter only for his long lost Turk partner to tackle her and talk her down from accidental patricide.)

(For reference, Sephiroth is a black beta fish with some silver edging on his fins, Genesis is a red with black stripes lionfish, and Angeal is a long-suffering blue and black lions fish. Aerith turns into a long-finned koi, and discovers quite by accident that if you kiss your human boyfriend enough times he gains the ability to breathe underwater and transform into a mer for a few hours before changing back into a human again.)

(And because I’m on a roll, Nanaki is still a cat-lion-thing, Cait Sith has underwater capabilities, Jesse, Wedge, and Biggs are all incredibly baffled humans who aren’t sure how this is their life now, Tifa would like to know when and how her best friend became a Mer (Cloud: It’s all catfish’s fault. Sephiroth: hey.) Barret is a monstrously overprotective dad and Marlene is the world’s cutest baby mer and Sephiroth would literally destroy the world for her if she asked him too. Genesis would help him. Angeal would just sigh and hold Marlene out of the danger zone.)

[xtruss]

Andean glaciers are melting, reshaping centuries-old Indigenous rituals

The Snow Star Festival, an annual religious celebration, has been an integral part of Andean tradition and beliefs. But climate change and COVID-19 are threatening that.

— By Amanda Magnani | Photograph By Armando Vega | April 19, 2021

“It disappeared. And we asked ourselves, what happened?,” says Richart Aybar Quispe Soto, who has taken part in the pilgrimage for more than 35 years. “'Sin, it was sin,' they would say, and it wasn’t sin, it was global warming.”

At night, believers would use the reflection from the moon that cascaded atop snow-capped peaks as a guide to make their way up the sacred Colque Punku glacier. The tradition goes back centuries for pilgrims from various indigenous groups in the Andes who have made the journey through the Sinakara Valley in Peru during four days of religious festivities known as Qoyllur Rit’i, Quechuan for “the snow star.”

“When you go to Qoyllur Rit’i, you’re in a different space,” says Richart Aybar Quispe Soto, who has taken part in the pilgrimage for more than 35 years. “You get there, and you’re transformed. I go there to be in the snow, to be near the stars, to be close to the moon. I go there to see the first ray of the sun at dawn, to wait with great devotion, to return purified. Up there, we are reborn.”

Left: Dancers carry a cross at dawn as part of four days of religious festivities known as Qoyllur Rit’i, Quechuan for “the snow star.”

Right: Right: Only the oldest nations are allowed to climb the sacred Colque Punku glacier to perform some rituals. Dancers known as “Pablitos” who join the pilgrimage for the first time receive three lashes as part of longtime rituals.

Colque Punku glacier in the Sinakara Valley, Peru.

The Snow Star Festival has been an integral part of Andean tradition and beliefs. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, some 100,000 pilgrims would make their way to the Ocongate district in the southern highlands Cusco region of Peru. It is unclear if the festival will be formally held this year.

In recent years, the Colque Punku has lost some of its brilliance. The snow that turns into ice that forms the glacier is melting. Researchers have determined that tropical glaciers in the Peruvian Andes have decreased in size by about 30 percent in recent years.

“The effects of climate change today are not only compromising our survival but our ability to find meaning,” says photographer Armando Vega, who has been documenting the Qoyllur Rit’i tradition since 2017. “I hope the pilgrims' display of reverence to an element of Mother Earth can change people's perception of nature not only as a resource to be exploited for our communal gains, but as a gift that must be preserved, as a window to the human spirit.” (Some of the world's biggest lakes are drying up. Here's why.)

The Snow Star Festival, traditionally in late May or early June, mixes Roman Catholic and indigenous beliefs, honoring both Jesus Christ as well as the area’s glacier, which is considered sacred among some indigenous people. A central part of the pilgrimage is a sanctuary at the base of the mountain where a boulder features an image of Jesus Christ known as the Lord of Qoyllur Rit’i (pronounced KOL-yer REE-chee). Believers dance and pray long into the night, seeking health, peace and prosperity.

“We are not losing the ground we walk on. We are losing our mother,” Hélio Regalado, who has participated in the pilgrimage for 10 years as a Wayri Chunchu dancer, says of melting glacier.

Aybar Quispe, another one of the indigenous dancers known as the guardians of the glacier, says he is saddened by the knowledge that the melting ice means future generations will not experience the same kind of cleansing from the snow he was blessed with growing up.

“If the glacier were to disappear, I wouldn’t lose my faith if I couldn’t go to Qoyllur Rit’i, but I would be heartbroken,” he says. “A part of me would disappear.”

Left: Alejandro Quispe Huaman, an elder, poses for a portrait. Right: “When I walked up years ago, we didn't need, as we do today, lanterns to find the way,” says Richart Aybar Quispe Soto. “We had enough light from the glacier. When we arrived there at night, the moon began to rise—the mother moon—and little by little the area looked as if it were daytime. It was like heaven; it was a dream.”

The Andes, the longest mountain range in the world, spans seven countries — Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Peru. Seventy percent of the world’s tropical glaciers are in Peru and various studies have raised alarms at the rapid rate of melting ice in the region. (These Swiss villagers prayed for their glaciers to recede. Now they want them back.)

That has changed some of the longtime rituals.

In 2004, in an effort to slow down the rate of the melting glacier, festival organizers banned the practice of cutting blocks of ice to share with the community, believing the melted water had healing powers. “Many have cried. They broke down in tears, for this was a tradition of hundreds of years—but we had to make the decision to stop,” says Norberto Vega Cutipa, chairman Council of Nations of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit’i.

Road to the sanctuary of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'I through the Sinakara Valley, Peru. On horseback or on foot, pilgrims carry their supplies, musical instruments, tents, bedspreads and everything else they will need during the four-day celebration.

Marcelino Lopez Ancali, of the Wayri Chunchu nation, stands before the Colque Punku glacier on which he was baptized as a child. The rocky area was once covered with ice. "Over the past five or seven years, the climate has changed. The cold and the heat are very different.” He blames pollution for the changing climate. “I do not know how we can prevent it. Sometimes people do not have the conscience to collect or recycle these plastics and we throw them anywhere polluting the environment…Now the sun is no longer as it should be. It is so strong, it's burning you. The cold too. It is not how it should be anymore."

Pilgrims remember the thick layers of ice from years past when the glacier was just a short distance from the site of the sanctuary and the moon illuminated the way. (Indigenous protectors of Colombia's sacred peaks have kept others out—till now.)

“When I walked up years ago, we didn't need, as we do today, lanterns to find the way,” says Quispe. “We had enough light from the glacier. When we arrived there at night, the moon began to rise—the mother moon—and little by little the area looked as if it were daytime. It was like heaven; it was a dream.”

“Describing how the glacier used to be is like trying to explain colors to a blind man,” says Quispe’s son, José Isaac Quispe Peralta,” also a dancer. “It’s impossible.”

“When I walked up years ago, we didn't need, as we do today, lanterns to find the way,” says Richart Aybar Quispe Soto. “We had enough light from the glacier. When we arrived there at night, the moon began to rise—the mother moon—and little by little the area looked as if it were daytime. It was like heaven; it was a dream.”

— The National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, funded Explorer Armando Vega’s work. Learn more about the Society’s support of Explorers working to inspire, educate, and better understand human history and cultures.