#(which are hinted at throughout the palace)

[anotheruntitledsong]

i did like the hidden palace but (SPOILER if anyone hasn't read it?) i'm genuinely so annoyed at how Arbeely is handled like... I wish i could be sad but i'm just fucking irritated. I was overly invested in him and that's def why but i just feel like they did him dirty

[akechi-stole-my-heart]

what if. i gave pt!sachiko a palace.

[generalsmemories]

48 hours.

✧ jing yuan x gn!reader

✧ synopsis: did time always pass this slowly before?

✧ word count: 3.5k

✧ contents: established relationship, mentions of other characters, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, spoilers for the 1.2 main story! + a very sorry attempt of writing angst lmfao

✧ a/n: i better see my man waking up from the best sleep he's ever had next update, i ain't accepting anything else. but until then you guys will get whatever this is because Jing Yuan is literally the definition of sleeping beauty throughout 90% of this piece.

The smell of seawater is prominent the closer you get to the statue of the former high elder. The waves seemingly roaring their praises for the Vidyadhara male before you who once again parted them to reveal a palace buried beneath them.

You're still able to see the waves crash down onto the shore, the force of the impact so harsh that your shoes are drenched.

The troops behind you seem to be in awe, whispering amongst themselves as you make your way up the stairs. Fu Xuan seems to notice you almost immediately, to which you give a curt bow before looking over to Jing Yuan whose hardened expression seem to soften slightly upon seeing you, "General, the reinforcements you've requested are here," you relay, glancing behind you to gesture the other Cloud Knights to position themselves behind the two that was behind Fu Xuan.

"Splendid, Lady Fu?" Jing Yuan turns his attention back to Fu Xuan who straightens up a bit, your eyes sweep over the people behind him. The trailblazer and their companions either giving you a curt nod or an energetic wave upon seeing your attention on them. Only one male diverts his attention elsewhere when his eyes locked upon yours. You can however see him give you a curt nod when he glanced back at you, "Remain here - lead the Cloud Knights in defense of this passage. We must prevent further incidents."

Your eyebrows furrow, but before you can utter a sound Fu Xuan takes a step before you in alarm, "Jing Yuan- General, are you planning on facing Phantylia alone?"

Your mind blanks the moment you notice what he's planning to do, but as the plan has already come this far any complaints you would have would fall on deaf ears. You can merely bite back your words and look away from him - Jing Yuan does take notice of this, but he has no time to console you, merely sparing you an apologetic glance as if that would lessen the sudden reveal of his plans.

You only turn your attention back towards the stairways leading down once you start to hear bustling around you, already noticing Fu Xuan address some Cloud Knights - but she does glance at you and cock her head to the side towards the retreating group with a small smile.

Almost as if saying: "We never know what might happen, say what you want to say now instead of regretting it later."

He's walking considerably slower than the rest of the party, and you let out a scoff at how he even predicted this, "Jing Yuan." you call out, and your lover turns around with the same easygoing smile he always gave you whether it was during a meeting at the Divine Foresight, on the training grounds of the Cloud Knights as he sparred with Yanqing or at the comfort at your own private quarters.

But he doesn't move from his spot - "Yes?" he asks softly, foregoing the petnames he usually addreses with you, a silent hint as to what sort of situation the two of you find yourself in.

"... I expect you to return safely to your troops, general." you merely say, before mouthing silently: "And to me."

Jing Yuan doesn't give you a nod, he merely laughs with a smile before turning around and descending down the stairs.

The next time you saw him, he was being carried by Dan Heng, not even conscious to hear your call for him.

HOUR 3

It took an hour to haul him to to Miss Bailu's place, the smaller vidyadhara's eyes widening upon seeing his unconscious self being carred by another Vidyadhara of all things.

And as much as you wanted to stay by him, there were more immediate pressing matters to handle. You had practically begged the high elder to take care of him, sputtering whatever you were informed before Bailu were forced to sit you down to make you relax.

You were offered a cup of her herbal tea before you continued on your way, taking one last glance at Jing Yuans' resting form before you rushed out to take care of your home in his stead.

HOUR 12

The ink brush in your hand is barely moving at this point, the tip of the hair dipped with the ink having made an extended black dot on the paper scroll you were currently writing on. You glanced over to the side from your place at the desk, watching with rapt attention Jing Yuans' chest falling up and down - an indicator that he was alive and breathing.

You're pretty sure you've observed his condition more than you have gotten any work done in the past few hours. The intial plan was to go the Divine Foresight to take care of the duties that would be left behind with the abscence of the General personally because at that point you would be easily accesible to the public. But just after an hour or two, Qingzu had contacted Fu Xuan to inform her that you were in no right mind to currently focus.

Thus you were tasked to stay home or work from the room where Jing Yuan was resting by Bailu's clinic - Fu Xuan had merely parroted back what Bailu had said to her which was to let Jing Yuan wake up on his own terms, he didn't seem to be affected too strongly by Phantylia's attempt to turn him into a voidranger, and Bailu was currently in the process of finding out more.

"You wouldn't want him to wake up to the entirety of Xianzhou and yourself in disarray do you? If anything the moment he does he would sure wish he was back asleep," she had tried to joke, to which you only responded with a dry laugh.

You glanced towards the clock again, you don't know how many times you've done it, 7:28 AM. it had gone 9 hours since? Why did it feel like it had gone days?

You let out a sigh, settling yourself to sit beside Jing Yuan and brushing a hand through his hair, "How come you even made me forget the concept of time for us?" you mutter. 9 hours was usually nothing for you - nor for him. 9 hours was a lot for a short-lived species, but for you, it was just 9 hours.

It was just supposed to be a few hours.

So how did 9 hours suddenly feel a lot longer?

HOUR 24

There's a quiet knock at the door that jolts you awake, the sudden sound amidst the quiet room makes you jump from your seat at the desk, your knee colliding with the surface underneath the desk.

It doesn't hurt of course, but the person behind the door can hear your quiet curse, "Come in, Yanqing," you utter a few minutes after, and when he opens the door he's met with scene of ink spilled all over the desk and dripping down the floor.

"... Lady Bailu wouldn't be very happy about that mess, you know?"

You merely dropped a handful of paper towels down on the floor and set the ink bottle straight again, taking a seat by the bed and gesturing for Yanqing to settle on the floor in front of you. The boy doesn't utter a word as he passed you the bandages and first aid kit he had gotten from one of the attendants.

"You know you don't have to come all the way here to just get your wounds dressed up, right?" You remind the lieutenant, but at the back of your mind you're well aware the reason why Yanqing keeps coming back, "But thank you."

A couple of minutes pass like that, Yanqing kneeled on the floor as you set up everything, the distant tick-tock of the clock reverberating by the lieutenant ears.

"It doesn't hurt as much anymore, right?" you ask while undressing the bandages currently adorning his head, "It never hurt at all, who do you take me for, [Name]?!" he scoffed, crossing his arms and turning his head to the side harshly - immediately regretting said decision with a pained whimper.

You chuckle, brushing out his hair before starting to wrap the bandages around his head again, "You and that idiot really like to throw yourselves head first into danger, hmm?" you muse quietly, Yanqing's posture immediately stiffening at the mention of the general still unconscious beside you.

"He's not mad, is he?" Yanqing asks quietly after you've tied a knot, leaning his head back to stare at you. The mere question makes you laugh even more, "He was already aware of what you were planning to do, he could never be severely disappointed in you," the response made the younger boy let out a sigh of relief.

"... Are you mad at him?" Yanqing asks in the end, the boy having already made himself comfortable against you, twisting his body to lean his arms on your left thigh. Propping his chin on his arms that rests against your thigh, he takes a long look at Jing Yuan before directing his gaze back to you. He patiently waits for your response, but you can only blink back at him in wonder before your gaze turns towards Jing Yuan.

... Were you angry?

HOUR 32

"You're not gonna rot in this room with him of all things, [Name]." is the first thing Fu Xuan says the moment she slams the door open. You are for once, not cooped inside the clinic room, but outside by the balcony staring down at the Xianzhou people go on about their day with a cup of herbal tea in your hand, merely giving her a glance with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm very much not rotting inside there, Lady Fu. Bailu wouldn't let me either. Please give me a bit more credit than that," you say with a sigh, placing the cup of tea down in front of her before taking a seat opposite of her, "I'm just concerned is all, is there any news from Lady Bailu?" you question, the divination commissioner shaking her head, "Other than her confirming that the general should really just be deeply asleep, she hasn't found anything yet. But he did take a lot of wounds and hits during that fight from what I was informed, it's amazing there's nothing more than that."

A moment of silence passes, the only sound is the clinking of ice cubes against your glass while you swirled the tea around.

"That's the thing."

"Pardon?"

" There should be something more happening to him than just being bedridden needing a nap! He was almost turned into a voidranger of all things, Fu Xuan!" you shout, the fragile composure that you had so desperately tried to hold up cracking in just a few hours. The divination commissioners' eyes widening in surprise at the sudden outburst.

If the past you could've seen the state you were in now, they would've laughed at you. Even now you find yourself pathethic. Because it is pathethic, you've been through worse situations that lasted for weeks, months and even decades.

But somehow, seeing your beloved in such a position and unable to do anything when you usually were able to just cracks down on every purpose and belief you've held yourself to.

"He didn't want help, he didn't ask for help when he had the chance! He went into that battle expecting to not come back alive at all, but with purpose to bring that ravager down with him! And of course he would, it's Jing Yuan! He will lay down his entire soul and being, his life to protect the Xianzhou through another crisis - just like every other problem that could've risen to a crisis in the past centuries!" you cry, Fu Xuan can see that even with the outburst you're still trying to keep yourself sane, your knuckles turning white from gripping the corners of the table before you.

"The only thing I shouldn't have to worry about is when he's going to wake up, Fu Xuan. That worry shouldn't have to be my only concern with his condition," you mutter in the end. A few minutes pass by in silence, not because Fu Xuan didn't know what to say - moreso because she was aware that you weren't looking for comfort.

So she lets the few minutes pass before you raise your head with a smile. It's a smile she is well aware is forced: "Why don't we take a stroll outside then? I think Bailu would jump in joy if she sees me out of the room too."

HOUR 45

Fu Xuan realized how efficient you truly were whenever you didn't have to appease a touch starved general. A glance at the desk when she first arrived to drag you out showed her results of your hard work under 24 hours which was the finished and marked scrolls that was supposed to be sent to her - in addition to more "trivial" paperwork left behind at the Divine Foresight.

No wonder Marshal Hua was reluctant to let you go when Jing Yuan had first proposed to you.

And Fu Xuan will be damned to let said general also be your downfall.

So for the next 13 hours after that, you were somehow visited by numerous people who were in need of some minor help - that be the trailblazer looking immensely out of place as they asked you for some obvious facts about the luofu to Yanqing dragging you out to the training grounds to finally have a chance to spar with you again.

That girl really can't show concern in the normal way, can she?

A futile attempt to relieve your mind of endless worry - but an attempt nonetheless which makes a soft smile graze your lips. You sent a quick message to Qingzu to send a few Cloud Knights to guard the perimeter of the house before heading out the door once again.

If you knew the Cloud Knights well enough, they would already be running over - and sure enough you were greeted by enthusiastic greetings by them after merely taking a few steps away from the porch.

Fu Xuan merely gave you a deadpanned look when you arrived at the Divination Commission, "What, weren't you the one who wanted to distract me from worrying so much?" you asked with a grin.

"Yes, but I meant it in a way to relax your body and mind, not overwork yourself to exhaustion."

"Just humor me this once, Lady Fu."

Fu Xuan huffed, turned around while nagging at you. She didn't comment on the way you were clenching your fist so tightly that blood seeped out from where your fingernails were digging into your palm.

Love truly was a dangerous feeling.

HOUR 48

Jing Yuan felt like his whole body was underwater. It was hard to move, and even harder trying to open his eyes. There's a dull ache spreading through every vein in his body - a feeling he had gotten used to thanks to numerous battles, but with so many centuries of peace he was not liking how taxing it truly was.

Blinking his eyes open, he was met with an unfamiliar ceiling, but inside an environment that he was somewhat familiar with whenever he felt like skipping work.

Trying to heave himself up proved harder than normal, the man letting out a groan as he supported both hands on the bed to drag himself up to a sitting position.

He was covered in fresh bandages, so either Bailu or another attendant must've been inside a few hours before to change them. One look around the room gave him a rough idea on what has been going on.

It's been roughly 2 days since the battle with Phantylia, the new addition to the desk by the corner piled with scrolls and textbooks indicate that you've been by his side ever since he came back.

And lastly, although his whole body is hurting and moving even a muscle sends shockwaves of pain through his body, he was still very much alive.

"Bailu I've already been chased around for 13 hours to prevent from being inside there, I just want a break. No it's fine I don't need a bed I'll just sit by the balcony again - yes I'll call you if I need anything, don't worry. Really it's fine -" The fake cheer in your voice immediately stops up when you turn your head away from Bailu and into the room, but instead of being seen with the same scenery as you've gotten used to in the past 48 hours, you're staring straight into Jing Yuan's open eyes - the man himself only cocking his head to the side with a smile.

"Good afternoon, dear."

He can tell Bailu has already hightailed away to grab her things, which leaves him alone with you. You, who hasn't even moved a single muscle since locking eyes with him. Jing Yuan can see your mouth move in attempt to say something and that the hand on the door handle is trembling slightly.

"... What, you're not happy to see me?" he tries to joke, but the moment he sees your eyes flicker from surprise to anger he knew it was a bad joke to tell, "I'm sorry-"

"Sorry? You're sorry?!" you seethe through clenched teeth, still having enough rationality to not yell inside of a clinic of all things, even closing the door gently before marching into the room.

You don't even reach out to him, and Jing Yuan doesn't have the energy to reach out for you.

"You sure weren't sorry when you kept all of those plans to yourself and walked down that staircase with half a mind of not returning," you point out, and Jing Yuan can only give you the same easygoing smile he gave you that very same day.

"... Why? Why is at the most crucial moments that you want to do everything alone? Why won't you lean onto someone for once, why must you do everything in secrecy but at the same time be so open?" you question, every worry and fear just pouring and Jing Yuan let's you speak.

And even when his whole body hurts, he reaches out to gently grab your wrist to pull you down to sit by the bedside. He's aware that you could've easily stood your ground, because he's much too weak to actually force you to do anything.

And yet you're so pliant, sitting down close enough for him to wrap his arms around your waist and rest his head against your shoulder, "... 48 hours isn't a long time for our people," you breathe softly after a moment of silence, "But those 48 hours where you didn't even turn around one single time nor make a single movement? It was almost the worst 48 hours I've experienced so far."

"And I hate it, why have I let you reduce me to something so vulnerable and I can't do anything about it?! Why have you gone against everything you first promised to me?!" Your voice is gradually getting louder, but Jing Yuan doesn't comment on it.

"I'm sorry," he mutters again, and you only scoff, "You're not sorry, I know you're not. If something like this happened again I know you would do the exact same thing."

You know him too well, and that's what also scares him in the end.

Because if you weren't so high on emotions right now and just took a moment to think, you would realize that if you were in the same battlefield as him things would not go as smoothly - to either one of you.

It was better for him to be alone right then and there - because if Phantylia had even seen one weakness from him of all people it would've reduced the already slim chances of them winning that battle to zero.

If Phantylia had even decided to target you, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep his rationality inside - because you have him wrapped around your finger more than you realize.

Every regret and painful memory he has experienced have started to pale when he compares to every joyful moment you've given him. So if you were to perish in that fight for him and for the Xianzhou? Jing Yuan would've truly lost against the battle of time.

He's selfish, for once he wants to be selfish because he's chosen to not be in every waking moment of his life - so he wants to be selfish this once and rather take a gamble with his life than toy with yours.

"I'm sorry," he whispers once again, a hand reaching out to cup your cheek, the general chuckling when he feels a stray tear his his thumb. He leans back to watch you, a guilty look crossing his features at your slightly reddened eyes.

And yet you're glaring at him in anger, but Jing Yuan is so relieved that you're still there with him.

So he leans in with no hesitation, pecking the corner of your eyes while whispering that he's sorry after every peck, his thumb pushing down on your lower lip to stop you from biting your lips so harshly, "I truly am," he whispers, silencing the bubbling sobs coming from your lips with his own.

He is sorry. And he hates the thought of you hurting, because both of you had gone through enough. But he would rather that you go through 48 hours of pure torment for him than taking the risk of losing you completely.

His love for you is selfish like that, because if he wasn't selfish he would be too vulnerable.

[trashcanlore]

Kabbalah in the Worldbuilding of Genshin Impact; Part 2: Descending to the Garden

Written by Sabre (@paimoff on twitter) and Schwan (@abyssalschwan on twitter)

This theory assumes you’ve completed the Fontaine Archon Quests, as well the Narzissenkreuz questlines. If you haven’t, you will be a) very confused and b) very spoiled. 

A Tale of Four Descenders 

Four entered the pardes (orchard/garden)...one looked and died, one looked and went mad, one looked and cut down the saplings (apostatized), and one came in peace and left in peace [1]. 

This Jewish legend appears in multiple locations throughout the Talmud and its commentaries, and is associated with two pre-Kabbalah schools of Jewish mysticism known as Merkabah (chariot) and Hekhalot (palaces) mysticism. Both depicted visions of the throne of God (chariot) and the heavenly palaces, and provided instructions for how one might ascend to heaven to receive some kind of revelation or knowledge. The orchard/garden represents esoteric Torah (Jewish law) knowledge; this is why the euphemism for apostatizing is to “cut down the saplings.” (I know he says “blasphemy” (which is different), but this is reminiscent of what Dottore says at the end of Winter Night's Lazzo.)

The pardes legend first appears as a warning to scholars about the consequences of teaching about the “chariot” to disciples who are not ready. Though it's not mentioned in this specific text, this process of meditating to ascend to the palaces of God is referred to as “descending” in the writings of the Merkabah mystics [2]. In other words, this legend tells the story of four descenders. 

In the conclusion of the Sumeru Archon Quests, Nahida tells the Traveler about the existence of the “Descenders." Based on the information she got from Dottore in exchange for her Gnosis, she shares that:

Descenders are “external beings, ones that don’t belong to this world”

There are at least four of them, and the Traveler is the fourth 

According to the Fatui, the Traveler's twin is not a Descender

The Traveler is not recorded in Irminsul, but their twin is 

Nahida speculates that the First Descender is the Heavenly Principles, but the identity of the second and third are unknown to her. At that point though, we still didn’t know what it was that Descenders do, or what the exact criteria for being one is, only that it couldn’t be as simple as just being from outside Teyvat. 

The Fontaine World Quest series about the Narzissenkreuz Ordo fills in some pieces of the puzzle; specifically an additional criterion to be a Descender: they must be someone with a will “that can rival an entire world.”

In retrospect, Inversion of Genesis also hinted at the role of a Descender; The Traveler witnesses the results of someone attempting to change fate and/or the world and failing.

Nahida: Changing the world, changing the past, changing the fates of other people... These are not simple things to accomplish. Nahida: What you were looking for is complete annihilation... But this is just a fantasy. Even if The Balladeer is removed from existence, the world will not heed your will. (Inversion of Genesis)

For most people, actually “changing the world” is impossible. But for a Descender, it might be different. 

Will 

...Though the results are nothing impressive, this is because the object they chose was pure elemental force, which lacks any will whatsoever. Like the difference between the Director (Lyris) and a Hydro Slime, perhaps?  ...Actually thought of a possible breakthrough during the process... Even though the calculated result is unchanged, but if the refinement method is reflected... If the power of... then maybe we can extract the "will" within. Using this method... resist the impact… (Excerpts from Rene's Investigation Notes)

...The true source of the mysterious power unique to this place that the locals call Khvarena is unknown. But based on its ability to eliminate or reverse the influence of the Abyss (in fact, it is a type of annihilation reaction), the two powers are of the same level, that is to say, they are of the same order in terms of rules... ...In other words, both possess the power to "re-write the rules"... ...Regrettably, be it Abyss or Khvarena, all current users are stuck in an "unconscious" stage of being influenced and overwritten by their power… (Bizarre Transcript)

The Gavireh Lajavard region of the Sumeru desert introduced us to the writings of Rene, a precocious researcher with world-saving ambitions and not nearly enough adult supervision, as well as his only slightly Abyss-corrupted bestie Jakob. Like the Khaenri'ahns before him, Rene was searching for a power that had a “will,” believing it necessary to save Fontaine from an unspecified disaster that we would later learn is The ProphecyTM. During their time in the desert (which was right after the cataclysm), Rene determined that both Abyssal and Khvarena power have a will, but pure elemental energy did not. 

Some time after their trip to Sumeru, Rene and Jakob would found the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, with the goal of finding a way to save Fontainians from being dissolved in the primordial sea-laced floodwaters. They would do this by dissolving all humans in Fontaine with primordial seawater in a controlled manner, melding everyone together into one Oceanid-like being to survive the apocalypse (think Human Instrumentality Project from Evangelion).  Rene had predicted the coming apocalypse with something he called his “world-formula,” and in addition to predicting the doom of Fontaine, it also informed him that “unlike the world depicted in these ancient texts, there will be no more new civilizations born.” The only way this could be changed would be by introducing a new “‘variable’ from outside the system” into the formula (Enigmatic Page 1). Rene’s goal was to become this variable, i.e., a Descender.

Four Worlds 

The Tower of Ipsissimus comes from an old concept from the ancient Fontainian kingdom of Remuria, and was used to describe a powerful will that could rule, sustain, and destroy the world. This tower was designed by the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, and it represents the evolution of the human soul and the infinite mysteries of the world. The Narzissenkreuz Ordo believes that people continuously refine themselves through samsara cycles. These include Hyperborea, Natlantean, Remuria, and the first half of the fourth samsara (Khraun-Arya), which we are presently experiencing. Please take note that these are just names given to these eras by the Ordo based on ancient texts, and this evolution refers to spiritual evolution. There is no intent here to antagonize any research results obtained by the Akademiya. The human spirit undergoes the loss of paradise, the defeat of evil dragons, the original sin and baptism, and finally, freedom from the gods.

The term samsara is typically used to refer to the cyclic nature of reality, and can be used to describe concepts like reincarnation. It is not, however, referring to time loops. There is A Lot to unpack about this note, but for the purposes of this theory we will be focusing on the concept of these “four samsaras” and their relationship with the concept of a Descender, specifically that there seems to be the same number of samsaras as Descenders.

You may be wondering - this is Kabbalah world structure theory and we’ve yet to discuss Kabbalah. Well, it’s time now! But before we can get into specifics, we first need to review some terms discussed in Part 1 and then go through some basics of Lurianic Kabbalah.  Ah, the irony of calling anything about Lurianic Kabbalah “basics.” Caveat that what follows will be a simplification of concepts that are very difficult to grasp (I definitely don’t know what’s going on). 

Creation of the World, Kabbalah Edition  Previously, we compared the “limitless light” emanated by God to create the world to the power of elemental energy, and compared the sefirot of the Tree of Life to the seven elements. The sefirot are components of this divine light (like light passing through a prism and refracting) and represent attributes of God that are used to create the world. The sefirot are traditionally depicted together in the form of a tree, which maps out their relationships with each other. For more details on the similarities between Kabbalah and Genshin worldbuilding, consult Part 1 (link) if you haven't read it yet. 

Kabbalah focuses on describing the relationship between the infinite God and the finite universe and how it was created, with variations between different schools of thought. In this theory, we’ll be primarily focusing on the ideas of the Kabbalist Isaac Luria. The central idea of Luria’s philosophy was a concept he called Seder Hishtalshelut, or “Order of Evolution,” which refers to the cycles of “exile” and “redemption” (creation and destruction) the world is eternally experiencing. In the Lurianic system, time isn’t linear; the world was created in the past, but it’s also being created now. 

The beginning of this Order of Evolution is referred to as the Tzimtzum, or Contraction. This refers to the contracting of the infinite God to make a space where reality could be created. Once this is created, a ray of divine light enters the void and begins to emanate reality. This is similar to the concept of the Pleroma in Gnosticism. The further the divine light gets from the source, the more it starts to break down into separate parts. More specifically, it breaks down into the Four Worlds, which represent stages of the evolution of reality, but also stages of the spiritual evolution of the human consciousness. 

The Four Worlds are:   0. Adam Kadmon - Primordial (Original) Man  1. Atziluth - Emanation   2. Beriah - Creation 3. Yetzirah - Formation 4. Assiah - Action Material reality is distinct from these four worlds; the ‘real’ world emanates out of the fourth world, Assiah. Each of these four worlds have their own sefirot structure, which in themselves contain additional sefirot, on and on, like a fractal. Luria called these recursive structures “tree systems” [3].  In Genshin terms, this is like how we have Irminsul, the world tree, but also the other smaller Irminsul trees in domains.

(Fun Fact: this schematic is sometimes called Jacob's ladder) The system of the Four Worlds and their nuances are very interesting in themselves, but for the purpose of this theory, we’ll be focusing on the 0th world, Adam Kadmon, and the symbolism associated with this concept in both Kabbalah and general Jewish philosophy. 

Primordial (Hu)Man

The concept of an ‘original man’ is discussed in Philo’s commentary of Genesis, where he describes this being as androgynous, connected to the concept of Logos, and the Idea/Form of humanity in contrast to the ‘earthly man.’ Philo’s definition of the Logos was something closer to the concept of a demiurge-a being responsible for creation of the world. Logos literally means ‘word’ or ‘reason’, and otherwise typically refers to divine reason, or the word of God.  It’s important to note that here the use of the word ‘man’ refers to a human being, not specifically a male person. Though often described as a man, the Primordial Man of Kabbalah is considered androgynous (like the Primordial One of Genshin).

The Zohar (a foundational work of Kabbalah) describes the Primordial Man as the “image of everything that is above [in heaven] and below [upon earth]; therefore did the Holy Ancient [God] select it for His own form.” The Primordial Man is the personification of the 10 sefirot together and represents a microcosm of the universe (macrocosm) [4]. 

Narzissenkreuz: I... I sense "reason." Visitors, are you the successors to Narzissenkreuz, or are you a threat? Narzissenkreuz: Is "Reason" that which grants you such strength? Narzissenkreuz: No, I have noticed. Have you always been in that realm that I pursue? O, you who are equal to a world! (Waking From the Great Dream) Man, as he was before his fall [first sin], is conceived as a cosmic being which contains the whole world in itself (Trends in Jewish Mysticism, pg. 215)

Lurianic Kabbalah considers the Primordial Man to be the highest level manifestation of God that can be conceptualized by humans. The world of Adam Kadmon precedes the emanation of the lower Four Worlds, but each of these worlds have their own corresponding anthropomorphic figure as well [5]. In contrast to the worlds that follow Adam Kadmon, the sefirot of Adam Kadmon are not in a Tree of Life configuration, but rather in the configuration known as “upright,’ arranged in the shape of the human body.

The concept of a Primordial Man exists in other religions and mythologies as well. There’s the Gnostic Anthropos, Adam Kasia of Mandaeism, the ‘Universal Man’ (al-Insān al-Kāmil) of Sufism who functions as an Axis Mundi, the world-soul of Platonism, Gayomart of Zoroastrianism, and more. The symbolism of the human body as mediator between the divine and the material world is not unique to Kabbalah. Kabbalah’s version of the World Tree and Primordial Man both function similarly to the Axis Mundi; they are the same emanations of the divine, just arranged in different configurations. 

Will and the Primordial Man In Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon represents the will of God, specifically the will to create. The blueprint for the creation of the world is contained within this being/world, all superimposed together into a “primordial thought.”  Within Adam Kadmon, there is no distinction between the individual sefirot, or rather, between anything at all. Everything is contained with this world/thought, but there is no time, no space, and no limitations. WIthout limitations, individual beings and concepts cannot be created. Therefore, the unity of Adam Kadmon had to be broken; specifically into the 10 sefirot, which could then assemble themselves into new configurations and continue the process of creation [6].

Narzissenkreuz: The witness of all, the recorder of all, the designer of all. Narzissenkreuz: Only one who is worth a world can bear that title. (Waking From the Great Dream) If the righteous wish to do so, they can create a world. (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 65b) 

Back in Part 1, we compared pure elemental energy to Kabbalah’s divine light of creation and the ten sefirot to the seven elements. If we apply this analogy to Adam Kadmon, doesn’t a being that could (theoretically) resonate with all elements and would eventually meet their end by being broken up into many pieces sound familiar? 

At the end of Act V of the Fontaine Archon Quest, Skirk tells Neuvillette that the Gnoses are actually the “remains of the Third Descender.” Neuvillette, the Traveler, and Paimon speculate that this is possible because as a Descender, they would have also had the same unique compatibility with the elements as the Traveler. Neuvillette’s character stories refer to the remains of the Third Descender as the “seven remembrances,” which were used to create a new “order” for the world, with “all fragments of the primordial…driven to devour each other.”

Rene’s notes in the Tower of Ipsissimus directly tell us that there is a connection between the concept of the Primordial Man and Descenders:

"Lies beneath the great sea" is, itself, an interesting phrase. It comes from ancient Sumeru texts, and should be read as "Narayana*," which also means "primordial human." This, too, is my goal, for not all that comes from beyond may be as one that "descends." That title belongs only to wills that can rival an entire world. That is what I seek, the way to become just such a will, one that can protect the world, sustain the world, destroy the world, and create the world.

[*Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, romanized: Nārāyaṇa) is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, depicted as sleeping under the celestial waters, and is associated with creation. This reference aligns with Rene’s goal of using the power of the Primordial Sea to make himself a Descender. ]

In summary, we have four Descenders, we have four samsaras, and we have four symbolic worlds that are only able to exist due to the destruction of a 0th world known as the Primordial Man, who represents the totality of the divine Will to create the world and the Idea of humanity. 

Keep all this information in mind, because before we can discuss the connections between samsaras, Descenders, and the Primordial Man, we must take a detour into alchemy and psychology.

Primordial God Impact 

Genshin Impact has always been about the primordial - it’s literally in the name: 原神, or yuan shen, which means ‘original god.’ Many other in-game items share this descriptor, including primogems (原石), Primordial Seawater (原始胎海之水), and the Primordial One (原初的那一位). The same characters are also used in the note from the Tower of Ipsissimus when referring to the ‘primordial human’:  原初之人, which as it turns out, is exactly the same word used for the Primordial Human Project.

The Primordial Human Project has been mentioned exactly once, in a cutscene from the Shadows Amidst Snowstorms event in version 2.3. There, Albedo refered to his doppelganger who had been wreaking havoc on Dragonspine as the “failure of the Primordial Human Project.” Albedo implied that he is the “survivor” of an experiment associated with the Primordial Human Project and considers it to be related to his origins as a creation of Rhinedottir, aka the alchemist Gold. 

We know very little about Rhinedottir and her motivations. She’s a practitioner of the Art of Khemia, a member of the Hexenzirkel, is labeled a sinner and blamed for the appearance of monsters during the Cataclysm, made a dragon named Durin and sent him to Teyvat during said Cataclysm, where he caused destruction everywhere he went while thinking he was playing, and might have also made Elynas, who had a similar fate. According to Skirk, she, like Skirk’s master, is “pursuing some form of perfection.”

The Great Work

 Rhinedottir’s alchemical research was focused on the creation of new life and she was familiar with an alchemical text called the Opus Magnum, which she left behind for Albedo to study. The Opus Magnum is a reference to the real life Magnum Opus, or Great Work, which refers to the alchemical process of creating the philosopher’s stone from the prima materia (original matter). The process typically goes as follows: nigredo (blackness), albedo (whiteness), citrinitas (yellowing) and rubedo (redness). Later Western alchemy would merge the citrinitas and rubedo steps into just rubedo, or include additional steps, such as the peacock’s tail stage between nigredo and albedo. Notably, the order of the last two steps in this process is reversed in the version of the process Albedo learned from Rhinedottir: rubedo is third, with citrinitas last.

This reordering isn’t universal in Teyvat: Rene’s notes disparage this choice, saying that Khaenri’ah is distracted from the true goal of the process:

..."Red" is the foundational principle, the philosopher's stone*, while "yellow" represents gold and mortal temptation. Yellow is simply bait. Red is the final goal. However, Khaenri'ah would likely seek the truth for gold's sake before turning that truth into a bread production pipeline…

[*This is the first and so far, only, time the phrase “philosopher’s stone” has been directly mentioned in-game.]

Rene has a somewhat ironic take on the Khaenri’ahn alchemical philosophy, given that Albedo’s character stories specifically say “Khaenri'ah was an underground realm, with precious few natural fauna. As such, its alchemy focused more heavily on the creation of life.” Rene often has strong opinions - but why would he care about the order of the Magnum Opus?

The Chymical Wedding of Rene de Petrichor

A recurring motif of the Great Work is the ‘chemical wedding.’ This refers to a union of opposites; male and female, sun and moon, fire and water, sulfur (Red King) and mercury (White Queen), etc, and is often depicted as taking place in a fountain. Here, in this drawing from a copy of the Ripley Scroll, sulfur and mercury wed and form the androgynous (like the primordial man) ‘philosophical child,’ which is philosophical mercury. 

Philosophical mercury is the underlying principle or “divine flow” that makes alchemy and transmutation possible. Therefore, the goal of the Great Work was to pin down this mercury into matter through the four (or more) stages of the Great Work and make the philosopher’s stone [7,8]. 

"The Stone that is Mercury, is cast upon the Earth, exalted on Mountains, resides in the Air, and is nourished in the Waters." (Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens. 1617.) The cubes represent prima materia. ;)

The chemical wedding is also used as a motif throughout the story of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo. The Book of Revealing includes a schematic of the “Seal of Chymical Marriage,” which consists of a “Tree of Emanation'' and the “Four Orthants,” and was used to seal the Primordial Sea. The Tree of Emanation component is, of course, a version of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life - for more ramblings, feel free to check out my twitter thread here.

The Narzissenkreuz Ordo is likely intended to be a reference to the real life Rosicrucian Order, and the name of the seal a reference to an important text for this order called the “Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz.”  Other possible references to chemical weddings include Lyris being referred to as the ‘Red Empress,’ Rene using her power to dissolve himself and be reborn through the water, and Mary-Ann and Lyris fusing and eventually producing “pure water” aka Ann.  Actually, when you dig into it, there are many suspicious interactions between sun and moon-coded gods in Genshin lore, as well as the doomed wedding of the Seelie and the traveler from afar. My Name For Now made a really interesting video about this, so if you would like more information and speculation, check it out here.

The Philosopher’s Stone and the Self

The philosopher’s stone is the Holy Grail of alchemy: an alchemical substance that can transmute base metals into silver or gold, make someone immortal, cure all illness, make a homunculus, and more. The stone represents perfection and spiritual refinement, either of nature through alchemy, or of the self (the alchemist) [8]. 

Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, considered the steps of the Magnum Opus to represent the process of the individuation of the self from the collective unconscious. The similarities between his interpretation of alchemical symbolism and the ideals of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo deserve their own separate analysis, but in brief: Jung defined the collective unconscious to be the shared unconscious mind between humans, full of basic instincts and archetypes, which are primordial symbols that exist in many mythologies throughout the world. Jung compared the collective unconscious to the alchemical symbolism of water, which he describes as “wisdom and knowledge, truth and spirit, and its source was in the inner man [9].” The process of individuation separates aspects of the personality from the unconscious (the water) and then eventually integrates all components together, to form the individual self, which can now bring “order” to the unconscious (at least on a personal level)[10]. In other words, the Jungian interpretation of the Magnum Opus is that the final product, the philosopher's stone, is the Self. 

If we apply this symbolism to Rene’s journey, it appears he was attempting to refine himself into a philosopher’s stone, which would explain why he was so interested in the work of the Khaenri’ahn alchemists. As he stated multiple times, his goal was to become a “primordial human,” whose will “can rival an entire world.” Rene’s philosopher’s stone is a Descender. 

The Primordial Human Project

After Rene’s failed attempt to dissolve himself in Primordial Water and be reborn using Lyris’s power, Jakob turned to his own research to try to save Rene and complete his rebirth. In his log of this time period, Jakob wrote: 

...I've been interpreting the data in search of a solution and sharing the results with Rene. There has still been no response, but I can already envision his response with perfect clarity: criticizing the Universitas Magistrorum for putting the cart before the horse, neglecting the fundamental principles underlying everything, and diving straight into the details of how to put those techniques to use... How they inverted even the alchemical stages for other purposes… ...It seems that there was an alchemist from Khaenri'ah named "R" who joined a secret order. From what fragmentary records exist, it appears that they made significant headway. 

There are two items of note here; the first is the mention of Universitas Magistrorum, which previously had only been mentioned in a namecard description. The card description reads "O Almighty Sovereign, the Universitas Magistrorum has provided the predictions you requested: The two stars have been captured by the world's gravity…” which may be referencing Khaenri’ah’s summoning of the twins (Inversion of Genesis). From the context of Jakob’s notes, we can infer that this organization was also utilizing some form of the Magnum Opus for an unknown purpose.

The second item of note is the mention of the alchemist “R,” who is almost definitely Rhinedottir, and the “significant headway” that she and this mysterious “secret order” made. It’s very likely that Jakob is interested in Rhinedottir’s work simply because he wants to make a new body for Rene; the log also mentions Remurian golems and experiments with prosthetic limbs. However, the mention of her and the Universitas Magistrorum in the same context, with Jakob’s commentary on the reversed order of the Magnum Opus, gave me the idea that sparked this whole theory (descent into madness): Is it possible that Rhinedottir’s Primordial Human Project was intended to make a Descender? 

Sometimes, very important lore gets buried in character stories. For example, the first time the term “primordial (hu)man” shows up - which is in Albedo’s fifth character story. 

This art of creation was known as "The Art of Khemia." Albedo had learned of this in his youth from reading his master's notes. The next stage after "soil" is "chalk," which was also something his master had mentioned. "Chalk is the spotless soil, and was used to make primordial man." Now, Albedo understands alchemy in far greater depth than he did in the beginning, and his knowledge on the subject is far more comprehensive. "From soil was birthed chalk." The profundity of this statement is well understood by Albedo now.

Albedo is also the “chalk”; Rhinedottir gave him the title of Kreideprinz, or Chalk Prince. She seems to have a habit of naming her creations after types of soil. Durin was ‘humus,’ the Riftwolves are ‘alfisol,’ and Albedo is ‘cretaceus’. According to her, earth is “the basis of all life” and the “accumulated memories of time and lives,” so it makes sense she’d use soil as the starting material for her alchemical creations. 

Albedo seems to be aware of the Traveler’s unique status, although he never names them as a Descender. During his Story Quest, Albedo studies the Traveler to get insight on how to help an alien flower bloom.

Albedo: The only other life form that, like you, has come here from afar, is the seed that I mentioned. Under the effects of Teyvat's natural laws, it isn't even able to sprout, let alone bloom. Albedo: But after I observed you, I had another idea. Albedo: Imitating you helped to inspire my alchemy, and so... Albedo: Is not nurturing otherworldly life also nurturing the world itself?

Following the experiments he performs on them, he reveals to the player that he lied about some of their test results, and even compares himself to the Traveler. 

Albedo: I made a point throughout of telling them how ordinary the results were... Albedo: But what was that sediment I saw forming at the bottom of the vial? It should not have been there... What could it mean? Albedo: Those born of earth are bound by its imperfections, but those born of chalk are free of impurities... You and I are alike, both composed of a substance that has yet to be fully defined...

This leaves us with questions. Assuming Albedo is similar to the ‘primordial human’, what is his role? Is he a Descender, or is he meant to work to become one eventually, like Rene tried to do?

Let’s return for a moment to the Primordial Man and Adam Kadmon. Earlier, we discussed the symbolism of Adam Kadmon; this being represents the divine will to create, also known as the “primordial thought,” as well as the Idea of humanity. Adam Kadmon is the potential for creation unified together, with no distinctions between any concepts. Hermeticism and alchemy have a similar concept, succinctly summed up in the phrase “the all is one,” which can be found written on one of the earlier alchemical drawings of an ouroboros by Cleopatra the Alchemist [11]. 

In Gnosticism and alchemy, this symbol refers to unity of all material and spiritual things, as well the eternal cycle of destruction and re-creation as things change form [12]. 

Rhinedottir shared this philosophy, as evidenced by the description for Cinnabar Spindle, Albedo’s sword.

Separate the dust in the flames with joy, and extract the exquisite from the crude. For all in the universe comes from a single source, and all things may be derived from a single thought.

The weapon description also contains instructions for Albedo that likely tie into his expected role as a success of the Primordial Human Project. 

You must pursue that which your elder brother, the one-horned white horse, could not accomplish. Reach the far side of philosophy, and create a new destiny for myself and your brothers…

Albedo’s final assignment from Rhinedottir is to learn the “truth and the meaning of this world,” a phrase echoed by the Abyss Twin in We Will Be Reunited. Knowledge is literally power in Teyvat: both Nibelung the Dragon King and later, Deshret, utilized Forbidden Knowledge, also referred to as a “power of darkness from outside of this world”, believing it to be the only effective power to defeat the Heavenly Principles. In fact, it’s even possible that the Dragon King was one of the Descenders despite presumably being native to Teyvat. The process of acquiring the Forbidden Knowledge could have evolved him to true Descender status, although this power appears to be incompatible with Teyvat, especially in the wrong hands. The power of the Forbidden Knowledge is similar to the metaphorical garden of the pardes myth, where out of four “descenders,” only one was able to safely leave, with the esoteric knowledge gained. The philosopher's stone also represents knowledge-it is the lapis philosophorum; literally the 'stone of wisdom'. Knowledge is also how one ascends in Gnosticism, i.e, achieving gnosis. 

Perhaps this is the true method to create a Descender and Albedo’s future role: once he reaches the far side of philosophy (learns the truth and meaning of the world) and ‘evolves’ and ‘refines’ himself from albedo through rubedo and citrinitas to the philosopher’s stone, he can change destiny. 

This sounds familiar…

Fortuna and Evolution 

Rene’s calculations of the world-formula predicted that following the fulfillment of Fontaine’s prophecy, there would be no new civilizations formed from the ruins, as there presumably had been in the past following similar disasters. Rene believed the only way around this was for him to become a Descender, and save Fontaine from the disaster, beginning a new age. It’s implied in the text of the Book of Revealing (the version in the WQ) that the fulfillment of the prophecy would spell disaster for all of Teyvat, not just Fontaine, but even if that were not the intent of Celestia, we can use this example as an analogy for the world-formula of Teyvat. 

Rene directly compared the world-formula to the Remurian concept of Fortuna: 

Kingdoms rise and fall, and when a civilization is annihilated, a new one will be born after from the ashes, which these books refer to as "Fortuna"... It's somewhat rudimentary, but theoretically at least, it bears striking resemblance to the computational scheme I have formulated and termed "world-formula"...

Let’s spin the wheel of Fortuna and return to the beginning, where we first discussed the four samsara cycles of spiritual evolution and the Four Worlds. Although the samsara cycles don’t refer directly to actual historical events, their names are based on ancient texts. It’s not a large leap in logic to suggest that each of the four samsaras refers to eras in Teyvat’s history- what others in the lore community have been referring to as ‘root-cycles.’ For example, the defeat of evil dragons associated with the Natlantean samsara could refer to the war between the Primordial One and the vishaps described in Before Sun and Moon, or the war between the Heavenly Principles and the Dragon King (which might be the same thing!). The events associated with each samsara must be what ends the samsara, since the fourth, Khraun-Arya, is the current, and represents freedom from the gods, which has not happened yet. 

Given that the Descenders can (theoretically) change the result of the world-formula/Fortuna, it can’t be a coincidence that there are the same number of Descenders as there are known samsaras. In addition, if the four samsaras of Teyvat function like the Four Worlds of Kabbalah, that means that a samsara-ending event would be something that results in the evolution of the world. Apep says that during the war between the Dragon King and the Heavenly Principles, Teyvat was in danger of collapsing, and that the victor of the war would “inherit the right to shape the world”. This sounds a lot like Rene’s definition of a Descender: one that can protect the world, sustain the world, destroy the world, and create the world. The death and disassembly of the Third Descender led to a significant change in the “order” of Teyvat when the Gnoses were created to replace the “ruined” functions of the Heavenly Principles. Put another way, Descenders are able to evolve Teyvat into its next stage of evolution.

The fate of the Third Descender and ruined functions of the Heavenly Principles suggest another, alarming component to the relationship between samsaras and Descenders. It could be that as part of the process, a Descender must replace or repair an aspect of the mechanisms that maintain Teyvat. Don’t worry about the Traveler though; the fourth descender of the pardes legend gets to leave the garden in peace. 

On the other hand, the first Descender in the legend is the one who dies, and in Genshin it’s the third, so maybe the list isn’t exactly in order. Of course, this comparison to the legend is partly a joke, but it is very interesting that the metaphor for apostatizing is uprooting trees….

Khaenri’ah’s World-Formula

We know from Rene’s notes that Khaenri’ah had their own version of a world-formula, or at least, their records contained information Rene could use to reverse engineer their predictions. We don’t actually know what he found there, but based on the name he gave the fourth samsara and the whole “freedom from the gods” thing, it seems they were trying to evolve Teyvat into the next samsara and make this freedom a reality. We also know that the Khaenri’ahns were searching for a specific kind of power, a power they referred to as both a “perpetual” energy source and a “secret from beyond the skies” that could “throw off the shackles imposed by this world's laws.” This power from “beyond the skies” is thought to be some form of Abyssal power, and the Khaenri’ahns who used it seem aware of a will contained in that power, a “dogma from beyond the heavens.” In fact, it’s possible that this power is the same as the Forbidden Knowledge brought in by Nibelung, which also had an influence on Apep’s behavior when they were infected with it after eating Deshret.

It appears that Khaenri’ah was familiar with something similar to the concept of a Descender, which makes Chlothar’s words to the Traveler in Caribert all the more impactful. 

Chlothar: I never imagined that you, of all people, would deny the Abyss... How ridiculous! Chlothar: We once believed that you would bring new strength and hope to Khaenri'ah. Chlothar: To us, you were the Abyss... A wondrous mystery far beyond our imagination and comprehension... Chlothar: ...And the one who controls the Abyss can control everything! Chlothar: We yearned for that future. We looked to you to take us there.

The Future

As mentioned previously, the Four Worlds of Kabbalah are all precursors to the actual material reality, which will be emanated (created) from the fourth world. Luria believed that our world was not yet completely realized and needed another spiritual push from humanity to be actualized. (The mechanics of this won’t be discussed here - so consider this a teaser for Part 3 of Kabbalah theory.) Therefore in Kabbalistic terms, this fifth samara, this fifth world, would be the final and true reality for Teyvat.

This would be why Khaenri’ah needed a Descender or even merely a power that could defy the Heavenly Principles. That was why they summoned the twins, and why projects like the Primordial Human Project existed. It’s ironic that in their desire to remake the world in the image of their dreams, where they were free from the gods and the Heavenly Principles, they chose in the end to bind themselves to a will from beyond the sky, which ended up in catastrophe. 

As the letter in the Khaenri’ahn ruins of Gavireh Lajavard says: “The gods are untrustworthy and the demons, ineffable. If there is one thing that can pry open the corners of this hollow world, then it can only be human will.”

Congrats on making it to the end! As you can see, this was already reaching a ridiculous word count, so there were some things I had to leave out, or only briefly touch on. So here are some people and concepts I pretended didn't exist so this didn't get (more) convoluted, but you should read about them: Crowley and True Will, Nietzsche and the overman, Zoroastrianism as a whole, but particularly their version of the Primordial Man, William Blake's prophecies (his Auguries of Innocence is a big inspiration for the artifact lore), Schopenhauer and Will, Atman and Brahman, Plato's concept of the world-soul, SWORDS (in Genshin lore), the Holy Grail legend, and shoutout to Otto Apocalypse the real First Descender. I do want to point out that some of the (real) people on this list, like Crowley, either were terrible people who believed terrible things, or had their philosophy used for terrible things. This also applies to other inspirations for the Narzissenkreuz Ordo. Please keep that in mind when engaging with these people's work.

On a lighter note:

Sabre’s Fun Fact Science Corner aka Miscellaneous Stuff I Need to Put Somewhere 

I didn't want to have to get into explaining the lore of another piece of media but yes, this theory was inspired by a binge watch of the last arc of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, transmutation circles and philosopher’s stone and all 

On the topic of FMAB, the The Black Serpent Knights archive description states: “The long years and a curse seems to have robbed them of their reason and memory. Now, all that remains within that armor is the will to ‘fight for something, someone, and some matter.’” Funnily enough, the subtitle of the Knights is ‘Aldric’ - Alphonse Elric, anyone?

Caribert becomes the Loom of Fate to “weave his own destiny anew”, Albedo has the Cinnabar Spindle and instructions to create a new destiny - I’m sensing a theme here 

Rene believed that getting a Vision was a bad thing in the process of actualizing your Will, and resulted in you selling your fate to the world. So he developed a ritual to remove a Vision from an allogene (this is only mentioned in passing by Caterpillar). So even though Albedo has a Vision, he’s not out of the running to become a Descender. But also Rene was wrong about stuff so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

The anthropomorphic imagery in Lurianic Kabbalah can get pretty bizarre, but in a fun way if you're into Genshin lore. Adam Kadmon is described as emanating divine light out of his face, specifically his eyes, to create the next world. Genshin eyeball lore is my roman empire.

As a full elemental dragon, Apep had a “world” inside their body. Rhinedottir seems to like dragons a lot; I wonder if she considers them to be similar to the primordial human. Also, there's evidence that the Traveler's elemental abilities mimic those of the elemental dragons, rather than the archons.

References:

Toseftah Hagigah 2:2 Babylonian Talmud Hagigah 14b, Jerusalem Talmud Hagigah 9:1.

Introduction to Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism - Part 3/14 - Merkabah Shi'ur Komah & Sar Torah

Introduction to Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism - Part 10/14 - Christian and Lurianic Kabbalah

https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/761-adam-kadmon#anchor10

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/adam-kadmon

https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/380321/jewish/Chaos-and-the-Primordial.htm

https://dpul.princeton.edu/alchemy/feature/the-chemical-wedding

https://www.scribd.com/doc/11441835/The-Four-Stages-of-Alchemical-Work

Jung, Collected Works vol. 14 (1970), Mysterium Coniunctionis (1956), ¶372 (p. 278) via Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_psychology#Individuation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopoeia

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ouroboros

https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/library/files/special/exhibns/month/april2009.html

https://alchemywebsite.com/rosary0.html

https://www.alchemywebsite.com/rscroll.html

[roguelov]

Green-Eyed Monster

Summary: While Morpheus takes care of the Dreaming, you find yourself enjoying a past time of yours: finding and cuddling cats of the Dreaming. It was a fun and innocent game. Or it was. One day, Morpheus spots you with a cat in your lap and strangely becomes jealous. So, how will he solve this? By becoming a cat himself, of course.

Word Count: ~2.6k

Reader: Gender Neutral (not explicit)

Warning: Some minor jealousy, mostly fluff, light teasing and suggestive hints in the end

Requested by the amazing @dreamstatednightmare

Morpheus - the sole provider of the Dreaming and all of its residents - was obviously a busy man. His attention constantly pulled in every direction from ensuring dreams and nightmares were doing their duties, to aiding whoever asked, and to keeping the Dreaming afloat and in perfect order. For the Dreaming was a cog in the cosmic wheel which was of utmost importance, its effects rippled out to all realms.

You understood this greatly, Morpheus had responsibilities that came first, and that never bothered you. In fact, because of such reasons, whenever you visited the Dreaming you created a game for yourself. There were many wondrous, unimaginable things to see and do in the Dreaming, but strangely you noted all the mundane things. Things you could easily see in the Waking, things such as the occasional house cat trotting around the palace.

Did Morpheus have an affinity for cats? Or did cats have an affinity for Dream of the Endless?

You supposed it didn’t matter.

When Morpheus had business to attend to, you would go ‘hunt’ for cats. You would stroll throughout the palace, and its grounds - sometimes even venturing into Fiddler’s Green - to find a cat. To your surprise, it was quite easy. In minutes, you would find yourself tucked under a tree, or on a bench, with a cat in your lap and possibly another walking around. You would sit for what seemed to be hours mindlessly petting it, listening to its calming purring, or coo at the furry stray. You would even tell stories to them, be it fictional or from your own life.

You enjoyed this little game of yours.

So, when you visited the Dreaming tonight, you found yourself in a portion of the palace's lustrous gardens - the rose garden. The rose bushes stretched tall and wide as a thick wall, forming an extravagant labyrinth to get lost in. Roses of all colors bloomed from a pure innocent white to a dark red dripping with a passion. Yet, you sat on the outer edges under a tree; the tree had iridescent green leaves and glass like flowers hidden in the foliage. The sunlight always shined above, sending prisms of splintering rainbows all over. But, despite such beauties, you were here for a simpler reason. You smiled as you spotted a shadow again up ahead in the rose bushes. A distinct shadow you came to know well - a feline shadow.

You gently called out, “Come on out, I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Pale green eyes - almost yellow in the sunlight - peered out from behind the leaves. Its eyes nearly blended into the mess of various greens.

You smiled kindly, extending out your hand towards it.

A reddish brown nose poked out.

Back in the palace, specifically in the royal library, Morpheus rose from a chair away from the long thin table. “If there is nothing else, Lucienne, I would like to take my leave for the day,” he said.

Lucienne closed her journal, which now had a completed checklist written inside, and looked up at her lord. “Everything has been accounted for and addressed, sire.”

“Good. I will be leaving, but if anything arises do call.”

“Of course, my lord.” She nodded and began tidying up all the documents scattered over the table top. With new dreams and nightmares being created, space for them was now needed. The Dreaming was under minor maintenance and readjustments.

Morpheus scanned over the documents and blueprints, feeling satisfied with the solutions. His eyes flickered to Lucienne as she piled up the papers. “And do rest, Lucienne, you deserve it.”

Lucienne blinked then smiled softly. “I will, thank you.”

Morphues nodded, then strolled out of the library. The second the door clicked behind him, his thoughts instantly went to you. Where could you have run off to this time? He wished he could offer more of his time to you. His heart ached, knowing you were alone. You swore it never bothered you. However, it bothered him. Immensely. Surely, the Dreaming would take care of you; you could find entertainment anywhere and never grow bored.

But.

But, he wanted to be there. He wanted to show you wonders. In the end, however, he could not divide his attention so easily.

He sighed to himself, walking out to the grounds of the palace. You said you wouldn’t stray too far.

“Oh, look how lovely you are.”

Morpheus’s footsteps faltered. He twisted around to locate your voice. Under one of the trees bathed in rainbows, there you were. You sat cross-legged on the soft patch of grass with your back pressed against the trunk of the tree.

He moved to call out to you, almost believing you were speaking to him, when a cat - a brown tabby cat - slowly walked towards you.

You cooed as the cat reached you and you began scratching behind her ears.

Morpheus oddly felt himself deflate.

The cat purred, leaning into your touch. Smiling, you whispered praises. You ran a finger over the dark stripes, softly tracing over the somewhat misshapen ‘M’ on her forehead. The cat closed her eyes, tilting her head back loving every second.

You chuckled. “Do you like that?”

At the sound of your laughter, such a sweet sound, a dark cloud began to form over the King of Dreams’ head.

You scratched the tabby’s cream colored chin, and your smile widened as her purring grew louder. The cat pushed her head into your hand, grateful for every ounce of affection you were giving. When her pale green eyes opened, she seemed as if she was smiling up at you. Her eyes twinkled. Then, without warning, she hopped into your lap, curling into a ball.

“God, you are adorable,” you whispered, giddily.

She rolled onto her back, peering up at you. You wiggled your fingers in front of her face and she meowed and batted at them. You laughed, loud and wholeheartedly.

Morpheus’s jaw clenched.

Why? Why did anger worm into his heart over such a small insignificant creature?

His eyes locked onto you. You peered down at the feline. Your fingers carefully caressed over her head and down her back. So delicate, so loving. A sickly green clouded his vision. He craved your attention after such a grueling day, and to see a cat be the prize of such affection? Jealousy and disgust filled him. How dare this creature tread on what was his?

He did not think twice.

He stepped forward.

His mortal figure withered away into a cloud of glimmering yellow sand. Each drop quietly scattered across the ground, like hushed bells. As the cloud shrunk, a black long hair cat strolled out. His gaze landed on you, or more accurately the stray in your lap. With his head held high, he walked over while his tail flickered side to side.

The tabby cat perked up her head, noticing Morphues first.

Morpheus, with his unnaturally bright blue eyes, locked eyes with the cat. Disgust and hatred written plainly in his eyes. The cat pinned her ears back and swiftly leapt out of your lap, sprinting off back into the rose bushes.

“Well, what got into her?” You asked, confused.

You glanced over to where the cat was looking earlier, before her grand escape, only to spot a new cat. The gorgeous all black cat had a regal air about him as he approached you. You shrugged off the other cat’s peculiar behavior. Smiling at the black cat, you stretched out your hand in a welcoming gesture. “Hello there, little one.”

The cat sniffed your hand only once before pushing his head into your hand. Your smile widened. He seemed to like you more than any other cat you met. The cat purred and instantly jumped into your lap.

You laughed. “Okay, make yourself at home.”

The cat looked up at you with such beautiful blue - and somehow familiar - eyes. You started scratching the top of his head, and he sunk down into your lap. His tail happily swished back and forth.

Morpheus could not deny how heavenly this all felt.

“You are truly a beautiful cat,” you hummed. “And so soft too.”

Your fingers carded through his fluffy, cotton candy like fur. You wanted to bury your face in his fur. Oh, it was so warm too, like a gentle hug, soothing and welcoming. Another sense of familiarity tickled in the back of your mind. The texture, to some extent, but the color reminded you of -

It clicked.

You huffed through your nose, amused. You continued to scratch behind his ears. He snuggled deeper into your lap, purring constantly and nonstop.

“I know it’s you, love,” you whispered. The cat jerked his head up, staring up at you with those endless oceanic eyes. You ran a finger from his nose over his forehead. You bent down kissing the top of his head, over the smoothed out fur. “So, now I am left wondering why you have taken the form of a cat? Care to explain, Morpheus.”

Morpheus stared, silently. Does he dare say the reasoning? Does he keep up the charade?

You scratched under his chin. He immediately closed his eyes, and began purring once again.

You snickered. “Is that why you are like this? To be scratched? To be pampered?”

Morpheus’s eyes shot open. He huffed, partially annoyed; be it at you for the accuracy of your questions or himself for acting this way, he did not know why.

“Or to be cooed at?” You teased. “My sweet, adorable Morpheus.”

Morpheus turned his head, holding it up high. Now, that was ridiculous.

“Oh come on, you came to me like this.” Your hand ran down his back through his midnight fur. “You clearly wanted this.”

Morpheus peered out of the corner of his eye to you.

A smile graced your lips. Brilliant and beautiful.

His heart skipped.

Maybe, this was enough. The charade was clearly over.

He leapt out of your lap. In mid air, a tornado of shadows and golden sand swirled tightly around Morpheus’s tiny feline figure. It grew bigger and wider in the air. In a span of a few seconds, black boots landed firmly on the ground. The sand wisped away twinkling like distant stars, and Morpheus stood above you back in his mortal form.

“Aw, did you have enough already?” You tossed him a cheeky smile.

Morpheus rolled his eyes as he tried to hide an amused smile. Despite your teasing, he could not help but smile when you smiled. Even if the reasoning was at his own expense.

“So?” You hummed.

Morpheus raised an eyebrow.

“Care you explain why you greeted me as a cat?”

Morpheus’s lips thinned. Apparently, anger was still heavy on his chest. Anger and embarrassment. He glanced away, avoiding your gaze. He looked to where the other cat scampered off, luckily she had not shown her face again. He was thankful for that.

You stared at him, silently dissecting him. Morpheus was always one to close himself off to negative, unsavory emotions. Yet, despite his efforts, you could read him fairly well. Your eyes followed his gaze towards the rose bushes, to the exact spot the tabby cat darted into.

“Was it the cat?” You asked, starting to pull at the thread.

Morpheus tensed. He slowly turned his attention back to you. His silence was your answer.

You snorted. “Morpheus, were you jealous of a cat?”

“No,” he quickly answered. Far too quickly, it only confirmed your suspicions.

You laughed. Standing up, you leaned in towards Morpheus. “You were jealous of a measly little cat.”

Morpheus huffed.

“Now, why would you be jealous? It is only a cat, Morpheus.”

“A cat which has garnered all of your affection.” He fired back.

You blinked then shook your head, still smiling. “It is a cat, it has not ‘garnered all of my affection’.”

Morpheus grumbled. “Then why shower it with any affection at all? Why not seek out my company instead?”

Your smile softened. Here is the true problem. You reached up with one hand and cupped his face. “Because, you are busy and I do not want to disturb you.”

He placed his hand on top of yours. “I know, but I wish you would. You do not have to be out here finding entertainment in strays.”

“But, I like it.”

He frowned.

“It is just a game, Morpheus. An innocent game of finding cats while I wait for you.” You stroked his cheek with your thumb. “It’s honestly relaxing and a bit fun, you should join me sometime.”

Morpheus frown deepened. That was possibly the last thing he wished to do.

“Oh, don’t be like that. A few cats cannot steal my heart, okay? And you know why?”

Morpheus stared. You silently prompted him to ask, to play along. He shook his head, but his lips slowly tugged back into a smile. “Why?”

“Because you already have it.”

He blinked. Your eyes shone with adoration, such beautiful eyes. He sighed, leaning into your touch. What a fool I am, he thought. His hand curled around your wrist, wishing to stay like this. “Apologies, love,” he muttered, “it seems I have let my emotions get the best of me.”

Not the first time, you jokingly thought. “It’s okay.”

He turned his head, kissing the inside of your wrist. “I think I may have a solution for our limited time apart.”

“Oh?”

“Would it be inappropriate to ask you to join me occasionally while I work? It could also provide an opportunity to show you all of the Dreaming.”

You smiled. “I would be honored.”

He returned the smile. “I hope you do not grow bored during such frivolous tasks.”

“I don’t think I will, and maybe I can help you. It could speed up the process.”

“Perhaps.”

With your free hand, you brushed back strands of his messy raven hair. “I just want you to know if you want my attention,” you leaned in pecking his lips, “just ask for it.”

Morpheus’s hands skimmed down your body, wrapping around you. “Is that so?” He whispered, playfully.

“It is.” You smirked, “You don’t have to go through crazy shenanigans like turning into a cat.”

He laughed once. “I suppose not.”

“But,” you began. Morpheus cocked his head curiously. Your arms fell over his shoulders as your fingers started to play with the edges of his hair. Your smirk grew, and your eyes twinkled with mischief. “But, you may not get any work done with me around.”

“Oh, really?” He leaned in, matching your smirk.

You hummed. “I may want all your attention to myself, I may become a distraction.”

Morpheus’s lips brushed over yours. “A welcoming distraction if ever.”

You chuckled. “How about we take this elsewhere? Maybe inside before another cat comes prancing in to ‘garner’ my affection.”

Morpheus had to suppress a groan. “I will not love this down, will I?”

“No, you will not. You were quite cute as a cat.” You kissed him - fleeting, but oh so loving. “But not as cute as you are now.”

He shook his head, but still smiled.

You took his hands, guiding him towards the palace. “If you want my affection, then let me show you how much you mean to me, my sweet king.”

Smiling, he tugged you back towards him, pressing you firmly up against him. His lips brushed over the shell of your ear. “Only if I get to return the favor, my love.”

You laughed as Morpheus quickly took the lead. He nearly rushed back inside, now knowing he will have your fullest attention - the thing he always craves.

[unalloyed-thoughts]

Miquella and Saint Trina: Talking about sleep and duality in Elden Ring.

The lands between is filled with quaint and unique characters, from the giant skeletons to the wraith calling revenants, Many of these characters have little lore to go off of which makes them very compelling to players who can only wonder what their stories are. Out of all of this characters, St. Trina stands out to me, for being a character thats tied to one of the big names in the setting yet so little is known about them. In this post i hope to touch on what i think of this character and the themes that surrounds them.

St. Trina is probably the most enigmatic and intriguing part of Miquella's story line, Described as a misteryous figure that appears in people's dreams, little to nothing is known about them in the current version of the game. Indeed, Trina harbors quite a lot of cut content which we will tackle later. But anyway if one thing is clear about their character is the following: Miquella is St. Trina. The game doesnt explicitly tell you but it drops little hints to help you reach that conclusion throughout the game. the first and most obvious is the lilies, Miquella has lilies tied to his name, and so does st trina, both of this lilies look almost completely identical and its no mere coincidence.

Another connection is the fact that Trina lilies are included in the drop pool of cleanrot knights, warriors that served under Malenia, and by extension, Miquella. After all it makes sense, Trina lilies are an item that dulls the senses, helping you sleep, and Scarlet rot is described as giving its victim terrible nightmares. Yet another connection comes in the form of a Fevor cookbook, Fevor was an individual who was completely obsessed with trina, it is said that he sought her out through his dreams. This cookbook is given to you by gideon after locating Mohgwyn palace, the place Miquella is located, but not only that, This cookbook gives you the recipe to craft the bewitching branch, an item made by Miquella.

Finally, Trina's torch is located in snowfield, an area tied to Miquella. Also, the albinauric archers located there drop trina arrows as part of their loot pool.

So with all that said its pretty clear that Trina and Miquella are the same individual, but in what way? Duality and the capacity to represent multiple aspects is a common theme in elden ring, We see many characters that have some form of alter ego or some deep connection to another character. Empyreans in particular, as stated by miyazaki in one of his interviews, Have the capacity to embody multiple aspects, this is seen most vividly in Marika, who shares her body with Radagon.

So there is a precedent for two completely different characters sharing the same body. So its not strange to see that the most common theory regarding Trina and Miquella is that they are different characters that share a body, after all Miquella's parents are Marika and Radagon, people who share this duality, it would only make sense for the son to share that same atribute with his parents when when we know he is also another character, in the form of Trina, that plus the meaning behind Trina's name, meaning "Triple", additionally it can also mean "pure". So Trina could easily fit as a third character existing in the sphere of the cursed empyrean twins, being the female counterpart to Miquella, much like Radagon is the male counterpart to Marika

Yet i also want to open another possibility, one of Miquella being trina in the most literal way, as in, Trina is nothing more than an alter ego that Miquella used while moonlighting through the lands between in peoples dreams. We see many different characters adopt alter ego's to carry out some duty before being revealed to be someone else, the earliest example is how Ranni introduces herself as Renna until we meet her and she reveals that she is in fact the lunar princess Ranni. Another early example is how morgott disguises himself as Margit, assuming the guise of the fell omen to protect leyndell and slay countless heroes during the shattering.

So we can see that all these characters carry on the theme of adopting multiple personalities and alter ego's to achieve a certain objective, of course these two characters carry out a certain naming scheme that Trina doesnt share, Margit is alot closer to Morgott than Trina is to Miquella name-wise. Yet there is a character whose alter ego has a completely different name, this one being Maliketh.

The first time we encounter Maliketh its through his alter ego, Gurranq, the beast clergy man, who seems to command different individuals to hunt out deathroot and deliver it to him so he can consume it. It isnt until the very end of the game that we learn that Gurranq is in fact Maliketh the black blade, Marika's shadowbound beast. So again, we see someone using a different identity to work on achieving a certain objective. So i think that this could be the case with trina, merely being a second identity used by Miquella to seek out something in the world of dreams, be it aiding those in despair or hunting for secrets. Another piece of evidence that may favour Trina being simply an alter ego is St Trina's sword, which says the following:

St. Trina is an enigmatic figure. Some say she is a comely young girl, others are sure he is a boy. The only certainty is that their appearance was as sudden as their disappearance.

I feel like a lot of people gloss over the Sword description, but i think its pretty important, even tho Fevor's cookbook describes Trina as female, the sword throws us a curve ball and explains how there isnt even a consensous on what this mysterious figure's gender is, only that they are a child (Much like we allready know Miquella is an eternal child) and that they dissappeared rather suddenly much like Miquella has also vanished (this could have happened at multiple times: when miquella encased himself in the cocoon, when he got captured by mohg or when he went into the lands of shadow). Their gender being unknown makes sense, Miquella is a young child with long flowing hair, he is naturally androgynous, so when witnessing his figure in your slumber, it would make sense that you wouldnt be able to tell exactly what or who you are looking at. Also the hilt of the sword depicts trina themselves, a figure with long flowing hair and long robes, much like how Miquella is depicted in statues in the game.

Another thing to consider is what i was saying before about the dual nature empyreans posess, one defining feature about them is how they are at odds with the other aspect they represent: -Ranni is at odds with her empyrean flesh and the fate forced upon her -Malenia is at odds with her rot and battles it throughout her life -Marika is at odds with Radagon, who whishes to perpetuate the golden order while Marika whishes to shatter it. Miquella seems to be the exception to the norm as Trina's and his motivations seem to overlap, particularly in cut content, Trina was much more linked to bringing peace and slumber to those afflicted with frenzy (particularly the merchant's, who would tell you in their cut content, which has been documented and can be found on youtube, that the song they play was once sung to them by Trina) and as we know, the only thing that can supress the flame of frenzy if inherited by the player is Miquella's needle.

In general sleep is shown to be Frenzy's opposite yet at the same time they share something in common.

If frenzy is the violent expression of despair and wish to turn that into a destructive force to bring an end to the world so despair no longer exists, sleep is a way of escaping the despair of the world, avoiding it by hiding in the world of dreams, where there is only peace. Of course not everything is sunshine and rainbows in the world of dreams, as sleep is described as addictive and all ecompassing, compared to a quagmire, it traps you, making you wish you never woke up, after all why would you? its safe in the realm of slumber.

I think the fact that Dreambrew, a drink made by Rhico, a cut NPC, using gathered dream mist is an alcoholic beverage is particularly telling of this. Much like real alcohol, its addictive and it makes you feel good, to the point that you begin to rely on it.

Reeling Rhico is also a particularly interesting cut npc, this charismatic fellow presents himself as a priest of Trina, promising to prepare dreambrew for us if we gather dream mist for him using Trina's orb. This draft of Trina's story forcused more on followers of trina indulging in people's secrets through slumber, which fits Miquella's character, who is described as an intellectual sort, seeking out new knowledge at every turn. Rhico has some pretty neat lines, like this one: "Drink is a wonderful teacher. Imbibe and you will understand; this world's delights, and its futility." More of what i was talking about earlier, through drinking dreambrew and engaging in sleep people feel tired of the real world and seek the quietud of slumber. If we progress Rhico's questline it bring us in the end to Miquella's cocoon, where Rhico reveals that he has been in fact looking for Miquella all this time, and drops us his famous monologue:

"Finally, I have found it!

St. Trina's, no, Lord Miquella's cadaver.

I have partaken of untold secrets.

Such that I might aid you, O Lord.

So please, I hope you can welcome your humble servant Rhico,

Into your dream, the world of your heart.

Indeed, I beg you grant my wish

That when you transcend from empyrean to god, allow me a place by your side." What i find interesting here (besides the entire text, gosh i wish Rhico was still in the game) is how he first talks about Trina but then corrects himself and adresses his master as Miquella, thats who he truly served in the end. he has been indulging in secrets all this time, probably how he found out Trina was Miquella. Trina was just that, a simple alter ego, Miquella was just playing an act in the end. Of course ill say this is all cut content, and could be completely different from the finished product. I just thought it was worth mentioning. So anyway thats about it for now, kind of a messy post. These are just my thoughts and they could be proven wrong by the upcoming dlc. We know that there are gonna be new sleep spells and the trailer showed a very clearly trina coded area with new trina lilies and even a boss of its own, so we are getting some definitive answers and im really looking forward to them!

[taki-yaki]

Prompt idea based on Drizzt Do'Urden’s story, where his love interest and all his adventure buddies pass away but years later are reincarnated with their memories intact because the gods needed them to reunite with Drizzt to save the world again. So what if years later Astarion is alone (maybe Lae'zel is still alive since no one ages in the Astral Sea) but Tav and the rest reincarnate to adventure with him again. And just like Drizzt in this life Astarion and Tav have a longer life together and have a kid.

This gives me some angst vibes, but it makes for some good writing. I would see him becoming a bounty hunter of sorts after Tav passed, also in the epilogue, it seems that Withers does hint at him having the ability to just call the group whenever the world falls into danger again.

Astarion x Reincarnated Tav Headcanons

Many years have passed since your death, regrettably leaving Astarion all alone for him to travel across the realm of Faerun. Although in his years of living as an immortal vampire spawn, his past self would never be phased by such a thing, just seeing death as another way of time passing swiftly. 

Most of his former companions have passed on, except for Lae’zel who still wandered the astral plane, in which she never aged after centuries. The two sometimes meet up to talk with each other, but moments such as those are rare. 

But after everything he went through with the mind flayers, with you especially, this felt different, as if he was missing a part of his heart.

Now left all by himself to wander across the planes of Faerun, with the ring of the sun walker you gifted him all those years back, a final parting gift from you allowing him to walk in the sun once again. He even keeps a small locket wrapped around his neck, with a portrait drawn by Oskar Fevras, capturing every aspect of your face that could be contained on such a small canvas.

There are more dhampirs across the sword’s coast than before, thanks in part to the over 7000 vampire spawn who were released and went to live their lives in the Underdark, which makes it slightly easier to blend in with the locals in certain areas. Especially as a bounty hunter, travelling across the planes in search of any beast and bandits to slay, either for some quick cash or a meal. 

Although most residents from outside of the city have forgotten about the heroes who saved Baldur’s Gate and in turn the whole of Faerun from the threat netherbrain and the grand design as a whole, he’d still try to tell tales of your exploits to those at local taverns in hopes that your tale isn’t forgotten.

During these travels, he sometimes helps out with fledgling adventures, mainly in part to not become sloppy, some of these adventures are dhampirs who were raised in the Underdark, whom he gains a weird sense of kinship with.

He lectures the dhampirs about the tricks he’s learnt as a vampire spawn, encouraging them to not see their vampiric heritage as a burden, but more of a blessing in disguise.

Sometimes, whilst travelling with the young dhampirs, he ponders over what he could have had with you if you were here.

Some nights, he would reflect on that moment in the depths of palace dungeons, if rejecting the ascension ritual was the right choice. But he quickly reconsiders it after seeing others throughout his travels who were consumed by the unbridled power that pacts made with fiends from the hells had offered. Twisting what once was a desire to protect their beloved from harm into a lovesick obsession, wishing to keep them chained together for eternity for better or worse. 

Even if he had the means to become a true vampire, the gift of immortality would have been impossible to bestow upon you since your body was irrefutably damaged during your death. Despite the damage done, he would travel to his old grave in the city, leaving your favourite flowers atop his grave, in hopes that whatever remains of your soul, would find your way back to a suited resting place.

One night, after returning from a difficult hunt, he notices a letter addressed to him, written in a familiar fragile hand, simply instructing him to return to the city of Baldur’s Gate to meet in the Elf Song tavern.

Upon his arrival at Elf Song, he recognised a familiar face that he hadn’t seen in a few years, now spouting a few more wrinkles upon her face than before, Lae’zel who was seated at a lone table in the centre of the tavern.

“Tsk, took you long enough Astarion or has your travels across the lands also twisted your sense of time judging by that tail you’ve grown on the back of your head?” she teased.

Briefly reminding the vampire of his curly-haired ponytail that he decided to keep over a decade or two ago.

“Hmph, travelling across Faerun has given me more experience than ever before, all that time up in the stars has seemed to give you a new set of wrinkles since we last met, but I pull them off better than you darling” he’d quip back.

The sound of clattering bones approaching them soon interrupts their conversation. Speak to the two of the return of the dead three yet again, wishing to plunge the world into chaos once again.

“And you expect just the two of us to take all three of them.”

Even the once stubborn Lae’zel agreed with Astarion, nodding silently towards Withers.

“As I would expect, though I invest a portion of power in those who have challenged the gods long ago who are prepared for battle once more.”

His frail arm directs them towards the doors of the tavern. A sight that he hadn’t seen in years, his friends all alive and well, nearly thought that this was a simple hallucination of his mind or a case of some bad blood he drunk the night before.

A loud voice pulls him from his thoughts as a heavy hand clasps over his shoulder, “Fangs! I didn’t recognise you there for a second, gods it feels amazing to be back with the gang again.” Karlach, looking the same way she did during her tadpole adventures, with one or two fewer scars, lets out a quiet hum of approval before standing up from his chair brushing through the crowd for any sign of you.

After a few minutes of looking around in silence, everyone he knew was there, alive and well, with perhaps one or two visual differences, but no notice of you. He gets up to leave, coming up with some half-heart excuse.

Approaching his old grave in the city, flowers that were placed since he last visited now wilted. Perhaps it was wishful thinking that the crusty old skeleton could bring you back alive, staring at the stone in silence before a soft voice interrupts him.

“Excuse me.”

Probably another flower seller here to pester him, replying in a harsh tone, 

“Leave me alone, I’m not interested right now.”

Until he hears the voice speak once more in a quizzical tone “Astarion?”.

A voice he thought he had all but forgotten, turning around to see you alive in the flesh.

Even when the darkness swallowed Astarion, during your absence, you still kept his promise to find him again, as you always do. Perhaps it was the flowers that guided you back to him or your memories of him, but regardless you apologise for making him wait for so long.

He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds just staring at you softly, before walking towards you and embracing tightly, softly whispering “If it was for you, it was worth the wait.”

When you both embark upon your new adventure, he always sticks close to you holding your hand as tight as he can, even during the nights, holding your chest close to his ear, just to hear your heart beating in its rhythmic pattern, just to have the peace of mind that you won’t slip out of his grasp, disappearing once again. He tells you the tales of his travels and misadventures along the way, even about the current vampire and dhampir culture within some cities.

After the defeat of the dead three yet again, the gods, under Withers approval, decided to gift you and your comrades with a longer life span, partly in thanks and mostly as a just-in-case cause.

After the dust had settled, the two of you decided to purchase a home using the funds that Astarion had saved from his adventures as a bounty hunter. Enjoying the domestic lifestyle together.

One night he approaches you, sheepishly asking if you would be interested in having a third person in your relationship.

“What so like a child?”

“Only if you want to that is”

“After the tales you’ve told me of caring for the dhampirs I wouldn’t mind, even if it’s our own or another.”

He would spoil the child rotten of course, in his own way. But in the end, he’s relieved to finally find peace again with you by his side.

[greenhappyseed]

MHA 409 Review — The Extra and the Pebble

Ch 409 is a really interesting continuation of the action in 405-406, prior to the AFO backstory in 407-408. These few panels of Yoichi and AFO in the OFA-AFO mind palace (406 on the right; 409 on the left) tell us a LOT about AFO and how he’s been affected by Katsuki.

I’m not even sure what’s left of AFO. Is he fully baby-fied now? Is he down on the ground like Toya and Himiko? Throughout the chapter, it looked like AFO was gaining a pupil in his right eye, which is the one Katsuki doesn’t have at the moment. Is this just clever art mirroring or hinting at AFO’s next move????

Unlike 407-408, this chapter focuses on Katsuki. I don’t think it tells us something we didn’t already know — Katsuki was born to a couple with a happy, functional marriage who loved and wanted him. He has a strong and versatile quirk. He’s powerful, smart, and strategic. And yet, at the start of the story all those advantages combined made him more of a brat than a hero. But it’s different now. The final page really shows how Katsuki has connected it all. See how the lines of his explosion frame the rest of the page? How the left line points directly to his dialogue about not being alone? And below Katsuki are all the influences that have supported him — All Might, his parents, and Yoichi/OFA (via Izuku).

Katsuki is going all out at the end, breaking his right arm (again) but able to pull off one last huge blast due to the brace All Might gave him (like Izuku using Melissa’s gauntlets in Two Heroes). If his gambit of dropping sweat beads in AFO’s mouth didn’t pay off, he would have delivered the blast sooner, but luckily his ploy worked.

FWIW, Katsuki dropped the beads in AFO’s mouth right when AFO was shouting about Kudou and Katsuki said his name was Kacchan, because Kacchan is a clever kid.

Katsuki is also acknowledging directly that he could not have soloed AFO. Even though he’s awesome, there’s a limit to what he (or ANY one person, including All Might) could do alone. Seeing as Yoichi’s message to Izuku has always been, “You are not alone,” it further emphasizes how Katsuki has grown to adopt the spirit of OFA. The kid who thought needing help was a sign of weakness, and who thought Izuku holding out a hand was mocking him, now understands the importance of accepting that hand. Standing on the shoulders of giants helps one see further. :)

Moreover, Katsuki is now motivated by helping Izuku and getting out of Izuku’s way. Izuku isnt the pebble in Katsuki’s path — Katsuki is the one in the way of Izuku. Back when 362 dropped, I wrote about how Katsuki’s death was very Buddhist in that he had to lose all his physical attachments (including his body and quirk) to achieve a spiritual awakening. It seems like that worked, and now Katsuki is genuinely, truly appreciating all the gifts he has, as well as his role as a piece of something bigger. He’s no longer demanding that others get out of his way, but rather thinking about when HE has to move for someone else. The kid who pathologically couldn’t walk behind someone else is now able to get out of his own way AND clear the path for others.

This fits the pattern we’ve seen numerous times in the final arc with a hero accepting a villain’s taunt in order to defeat them. Of course Katsuki takes a different tactic than, say, Shoto (“A half-baked dummy, that’s me”). Katsuki yells he’s the final boss, he’s not a filler character, etc. But the point is the same. Katsuki is accepting he has one quirk; he’s NOT physically bound to the OFA-AFO quirk; he IS a pebble compared to AFO. His role IS to support Izuku….and it takes absolutely nothing away from him whatsoever. Katsuki has his stupid awesome quirk, his intelligence, his strength, his commitment, and people who care about him. He can play his part to the best of his ability and deliver a big win for the heroes.

[yandere-romanticaa]

I heard you're open? If you're not, I apologize. But I saw you have Magi on your list of fandoms and I would LOVE something for Kouen Ren with a Golden Retriever personality type Darling. Like, they catch sight of him approaching and rush to meet him with the happiest, brightest grin. And they will eagerly listen to anything he has to say about his day or something he's picked up an interest in. But they also don't mind that he's basically locked them away because he always comes back.

Magi my beloved... Thank you for this!

Footsteps with barely concealed giggles echoed throughout the semi small study as the red haired prince sat in his chair, various documents sprawled all over the table. The untrained eye would assume that he was completely focused on the paper in front of him but (y/n) knew him better than that. His brow was ever so furrowed and his arm was just stiff enough to give Kouen away completely.

He was watching them the whole entire time.

"Come out already." he said, his voice laced with a slight hint of annoyance and the tiniest bit of amusement.

"You and I both know you aren't going to stay in the shadows forever, dear."

He was right, you thought to yourself. In a flash you revealed yourself and quickly ran towards him, wrapping your arms across his broad shoulders and resting your chin at the top of his head. A few loose strands tickled your by accident which caused you to laugh. A small smirk made its way across the face of the handsome prince as he kept his mouth shut, his curiosity simply brimming with excitement as he wondered just what you had up your sleeve.

It was odd that you made no moves to end his life.

Kouen expected you to end him as that seemed like a reasonable reaction. Slit his throat while you could, perhaps poison his tea? None of it would work of course but that still didn't make your lack of action any less odd.

Perhaps you were crazy, just a little bit.

"What's with that face mister?"

"Huh?"

You had caught him off guard. When did you find the time to crawl on his lap without him noticing? Tracing light and playful patterns across his chin (y/n) looked him dead in the eye, their eyes sparkling with a plethora of ranging emotions. Joy, excitement, thankfulness.

Love.

Kouen's heart raced ever so slightly. It was pathetic at how sweet he could be when it came to his little sweetie. With a voice as soothing as a lullaby (y/n) spoke:

"I'm not going anywhere, you know. I'm perfectly happy here, with you."

Kouen had his reasons for keeping (y/n) locked up at the palace, he made sure to make that clear since day one. But he never imagined that things would work out this smoothly.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Timeline: Part 5 - August 2017

Previously:

2015 - April 2017 | An Update

May 2017 - June 2017

July 2017

This piece features events, press, and PR from the summer of 2017. You will see competing narratives - the Daily Mail leaking Meghan's dossier drip by drip by drip and Meghan's team counterattacking with engagement rumors.

There are two main stories in the royal sphere during this time that we know Meghan is paying attention to, as these most definitely shape her understanding of what it means to be royal: royals taking glamorous summer vacations and daily coverage of Diana's life, the impact of her death, and her lasting legacy to the world.

Fasten your seatbelts!

(Note - this was initially meant to be in the same post as the July 2017 events but Tumblr was having problems saving the post.)

August 2017: Throughout the month, there are frequent articles about the various royal families having glamorous vacations in luxurious tropical resorts. Here is a selection of them:

Charles and Camilla vacationing in Greece on a superyacht.

Felipe and Letizia vacationing in Mallorca.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent vacationing in St. Tropez.

Mary and Frederik vacationing in Greece on a private yacht.

Princes Caroline of Monaco vacationing with Karl Lagerfield in St. Tropez.

August 2017: Throughout the month, there are tons of articles about Diana as it is the twentieth anniversary of her death. Here's a selection of them. (Most of the ones I've chosen to list here are ones that Meghan most likely paid attention to.)

Diana speaks from the grave to say she loves Kate but doesn't think Meghan is right for Harry. (August 2)

Diana was into alternative medicine and was worried about the royal family taking her children. (August 4; in hindsight, it reads like a Meghan plant.)

Mohamed Fayed still mourns Dodi and Diana, still believes the BRF ordered their deaths to keep Diana from marrying a Muslim. (August 4)

How Diana worked with the paparazzi and knew how to take a good picture. (August 6)

Diana's jewelry collection (August 6)

Diana's Kensington Palace apartment (August 7)

Diana's iconic hairstyles (August 13)

How Diana's shoes charted her happiness in marriage (August 14)

Media preview/announcement of the new Diana documentary, which has footage from/about William and Harry. Their footage in the documentary includes them discussing Philip's "If you walk, I'll walk" promise.

Diana's parenting practices (August 19)

The Queen cried for Diana (August 25)

August 2, 2017: E News (a confirmed Meghan mouthpiece) publishes a timeline of the Harkle relationship, hinting something big is coming for her birthday.

August 3, 2017: Daily Mail begins recapping Suits; in today's episode, Rachel Zane has trouble planning her wedding and her father tells her "Whatever Rachel wants, Rachel gets."

August 4, 2017: Meghan's 36th birthday and she gets the full-court press coverage of her dreams:

Meghan tells E News that she and Doria have been visiting London. They stayed for a week at the end of July when she had a break from filming Suits.

Meghan hints to People that they're engaged, and People speculates about the royal engagement ring.

A timeline is published of how Meghan's celebrity evolved to the sophisticated fashionist she is now.

Harry whisks Meghan away to Africa. She calls the paps, who takes photos of Harry and Meghan being escorted by airport security as they walk on the runway. In the photos, Meghan is carrying two hats and a large paper-wrapped gift. She hints to friendly publications that the wrapped gift is her birthday present from Harry. Speculation begins that Meghan, who is almost always papped carrying a hat or wearing one, uses the hats to signal to the paps where she is (it's a common tactic in Hollywood).

August 5, 2017: Daily Mail publishes a story about all the girls Harry has taken to Africa.

August 6, 2017: It's revealed Harry attended a three-day Google "summer camp" in Italy earlier in the summer. (I couldn't find specific dates for Google Camp, but I found several other articles that suggested Google Camp was the week of July 30, 2017. Also, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King were at the very same Google Camp that Harry attended...)

Also on August 6, 2017, Penny Junor waxes poetic on how much Harry hs changed since dating Meghan and everything the couple has in common. including how much 'at home' they are in Africa where their celebrity doesn't matter.

August 7, 2017: Dan Wooten advises Meghan to learn from Diana's mistake and not confirm to the firm; she should be unapologetically herself. Meghan gets the cover of Hello Magazine and the Harkles merch their houseboat safari to the Mirror.

August 8, 2017: Laine has the scoop on Harry and Meghan's African holiday and she "speculates" on the timing of their engagement and when they would announce it. Paul Burrell, Diana's infamous ex-butler, says Kate doesn't have Diana's magic star quality and immediately the mainstream British press rises to Kate's defense.

August 11, 2017:

The British public wants William to be King next, not Charles.

The Daily Mail publishes another expose of Meghan and includes the revelation that Trevor thinks she cheated on him in Toronto. This leads to more rumors that Meghan isn't a good fit to the royal family and that she's hiding many more skeletons.

August 12, 2017: Gossip gets printed that Meghan doesn't want to marry Harry and she is only using him to boost her career prospects.

August 13, 2017:

It's confirmed that the ratings for Suits have increased enormously since the Harkle relationship was revealed.

Later, Hollywood industry gossip hints that Suits was "on the bubble" (i.e., in danger of being cancelled) due to poor ratings but the new blockbuster ratings following the Harkle relationship reveal stayed their execution.

The Daily Mail calls Meghan a "princess in waiting," all but confirming an engagement, and continues to drip more information about Meghan in another expose, this one about her relationship with Cory.

Harry gets a 'Hero Harry' PR piece published about his work in mental health.

Meghan leaks to the Daily Star that Harry proposed and she has accepted.

Also on August 13, 2017, Mike Tindall gives an interview in which he speaks about Meghan. He gives her the stamp of approval and says they (he and Zara, but probably all of the Phillipses, including Anne) haven't met her yet. The Daily Mail's story about Mike's comments also includes the first reporting that Harry treated Meghan to a weekend stay at a friend's house in the Hollywood Hills at some point in Fall 2016 (we know now this to be the Beckhams' house, but there some split of opinion on when this visit took place - some say Thanksgiving, some say Christmas, others say it wasn't tied to a holiday). The article also shares some details about the relationship that are inconsistent with their narrative as we know now (and knew back then).

Harry and Meghan had a date at Wimbledon and sat together in the royal box. (Didn't happen, becuase it would've been all over the papers if it did.)

Harry and Meghan spent all of July 2016 and August 2016 apart because Harry was in Africa. Meghan flew to London in September 2016 because she missed him too much. (This debunks the Harkles's own claim that they met in July and that Meghan went to Africa with Harry in August.)

August 14, 2017: The Daily Mail discusses Meghan's ancestry and geneaology; her father's family is Irish and Dutch, her mother is descended from American slaves.

Also on August 14th, the Daily Mail publishes an article about whether it's appropriate to ask someone if they're pregnant. It has nothing to do with Meghan, but it does cause some speculation that the press knows something they're not telling (i.e., Meghan's so insistent pushing Harry to the altar because of a bun in the oven). It's probably a coincidence, but I'll let you decide.

August 15, 2017: The mother of a childhood friend of Meghan revealed that Meghan was obsessed with her video recording of Charles and Diana's 1981 wedding and that Meghan was inspired by Diana's humanitarian work. Serena Williams does an interview and photoshoot with Vogue Magazine, and Meghan is asked for quotes about Serena to use in the story.

Also on August 15, Meghan publishes the "10 Women Who Changed My Life" essay for Glamour Magazine. #7 on her list is the actress Julia Roberts. Later in 2023, it's speculated that Meghan uses Julia Roberts for style inspiration when she wants to appear relatable or is doing an "America's Sweetheart" PR campaign because many of her outfits are copies of Julia Roberts' costumes.

August 16, 2017: British oddsmakers have opened bets for Harry and Meghan getting engaged and when the wedding would take place. The article says Meghan hasn't yet met The Queen.

August 17, 2017: The Daily Mail continues to recap Suits. In today's episode, Rachel Zane rows with Mike Ross over his lies.

August 18, 2017: It's confirmed that William and Harry have cameos as stormtroopers in the new Star Wars film.

August 20, 2017: The royal family is papped at Balmoral going to church. Plant does a three-part feature on how Meghan's PR has completely torpedoed Harry's "Hero Harry" PR and turned him into a rich celebrity.

August 21, 2017: Harry leaks to Camilla Tominey that he picks Meghan up from the airport all the time because he's worried about her security and privacy. The Daily Mail writes that Kate's jewelry collection is a tribute to Diana.

Also on August 21st, a royal blogger writes about Meghan's faith and religious history following conversations she had with Samantha Markle. She concludes that Meghan has never been a faithful person (the Markles aren't a religious sort) and that Meghan has never been baptized or confirmed into any faith, not even Judaism as Meghan claimed she was when she was married to Trevor. Her research indicates that Meghan needs to be baptized and confirmed into the Church of England per royal protocol to marry Harry. This causes discussion in the royal fandom about whether The Queen could withhold consent unless Meghan is baptized and confirmed.

August 24, 2017: Meghan hints to Harper's Bazaar that she and Harry are engaged.

August 25, 2017: Meghan leaks that the African holiday is over and that the trip ended at Victoria Falls.

August 28, 2017: Well-wishers begin leaving flowers outside the Kensington Palace gates for the anniversary of Diana's death. William and Harry later view the tributes (on August 30th).

August 29, 2017: The Cambridges have officially moved back to London and Kensington Palace. William and Kate to be full-time royals as George goes off to school. The Express continues hyping up an engagement.

August 30, 2017

The 100th episode of Suits airs. According to the Daily Mail recaps, Rachel Zane and Mike row again. (They're not a very happy couple, are they?)

The royal family uses the Balmoral Test against prospective new family members. Wallis Simpson bombed it.

William, Kate, and Harry visit the new Diana memorial garden at Kensington Palace. It's Harry's first Court Circular appearance since July 28, 2017, and Kate's last appearance before her third pregnancy is announced.

***********

A couple of things about Botswana in response to some of the royal-watching commentary that I rediscovered on the Botswana airport pap pics:

There was a great deal of special treatment by the airport because they were escorted by airport workers across the tarmac. This is standard practice in most of the smaller African airports. I went to Africa for vacation in June this past year and traveled between several countries. All of the airports we went through (in Johannesburg, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), we had to walk on the tarmac to embark and disembark and each time, we were escorted by airport workers for security reasons. The only thing "unique" about Harry and Meghan's security escort was that it was just the two of them on their flight, rather than the 30/40/50-person larger group most of us fly in. (In fact, the only airport where we didn't have to exit the facilities was Johannesburg when we arrived from the US and were departing back to the US.)

There was a lot of "they can't possibly be in Africa now because they're wearing summer clothes and it's winter!" commentary because in the pap pics, Meghan and Harry are in summery casual clothing - shorts, flip-flops, tank top/t-shirt. Botswana doesn't get winter the way we do; their winter feels more like our spring, with temperatures in the 50s/60s. Someone who was used to harsh Canadian winters, like Meghan was at the time, would have thought a Botswanan winter was absolutely balmy and would have been perfectly comfortable in a tank top and flip-flops.

[nomadomar]

Arabization: The Lost Stories of Transformation

Chapter 3: The Scholar's Dilemma

The sun was setting over Istanbul, casting a golden hue over the sprawling city that straddled two continents. In the 16th century, Istanbul was the beating heart of the Ottoman Empire, a city where the East met the West in a vibrant tapestry of culture, trade, and ideas. Within its grand walls, the Topkapi Palace stood as a symbol of the empire’s power and knowledge, a labyrinth of opulent chambers and vast libraries where the wisdom of the world was stored.

In one of the palace’s lesser-known corners, a forgotten room had recently been uncovered—a chamber that had remained sealed for generations. Inside, a single scroll lay undisturbed, its parchment yellowed with age, the symbols inscribed upon it indecipherable to all who had attempted to read it. The scroll’s mysterious origins had sparked curiosity and speculation, leading the Sultan’s chief librarian to summon one man who might be able to unlock its secrets: Niketas, a Greek scholar known throughout the empire for his brilliant mind and mastery of classical languages.

As Niketas approached the weathered scroll, the air in the chamber seemed to thicken with anticipation. The chief librarian watched closely, aware that this was no ordinary text. Niketas, however, was calm, his mind already at work, attempting to place the symbols in the context of the many languages he had studied. He unrolled the scroll with care, his fingers brushing over the ancient parchment. As the symbols came into view, they seemed to shimmer, pulsating with a life of their own, as if guarding the secrets of a lost world.

Niketas leaned in, his sharp eyes scanning the script. It was unlike anything he had ever seen, yet it drew him in, compelling him to delve deeper. There was something about the symbols—a rhythm, a pattern—that hinted at a meaning just beyond his grasp. His pulse quickened as he began to decipher the first few lines, the words slowly unraveling like the threads of a long-forgotten tapestry.

The text spoke of a civilization that predated even the oldest Sumerian records, a society that had flourished in the deserts of Arabia, leaving behind not just monuments and relics, but a legacy of wisdom that transcended time. The words on the scroll were not mere historical accounts; they were a repository of knowledge, a key to understanding the essence of an ancient Arab civilization that had once been the pinnacle of human achievement.

As Niketas read on, he felt a strange sensation—a tingling at the back of his mind, as if the scroll was communicating with him on a level beyond language. The logical, methodical part of his mind resisted this idea, but another part of him, a part he had long suppressed, welcomed it. He had always been driven by an insatiable thirst for knowledge, a desire to uncover the truths of the world. But there was more to it than that. Beneath his erudition lay a secret obsession with the Arab world, a culture he viewed with both admiration and envy.

Niketas had spent his life steeped in the works of Homer, Aristotle, and Plato, but it was the poetry, science, and philosophy of the Arab scholars that had always fascinated him. He admired their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine—fields in which they had surpassed even the greatest minds of Greece. Yet, this fascination was something he had kept hidden, knowing that his peers would never understand his desire to immerse himself in the very culture that had overshadowed his own.

As he deciphered more of the text, Niketas began to experience strange dreams—dreams where he walked through cities of white marble, their streets lined with palm trees and bustling with activity. He heard the voices of long-dead scholars, their words filled with wisdom and insight, as they debated under the shade of a grand colonnade. In these dreams, he saw himself wearing the robes of an Arab sage, his every movement filled with purpose and confidence.

These dreams were not mere figments of his imagination; they felt real, as if he were living another life in a different time. When he awoke, the dreams stayed with him, influencing his thoughts and actions. He found himself speaking Arabic with ease, as though the language had always been a part of him. His Greek heritage, once a source of pride, began to fade in importance. He started to adopt the customs and habits of the Arabs, even changing his attire to match those he now felt an inexplicable kinship with.

The scroll’s influence grew stronger with each passing day, altering not just Niketas’s mind but his very soul. He became increasingly isolated from his colleagues, who noticed the profound changes in him but could not comprehend their cause. Niketas’s transformation was gradual yet relentless, pulling him deeper into an identity that felt both foreign and utterly natural.

He stopped attending the meetings of the Greek scholars at the palace, preferring instead to spend his time in the company of Arab intellectuals. His once-immaculate Greek robes were replaced by flowing Arab garments, and his diet, once rich with the flavors of the Mediterranean, now consisted of the simple, nourishing dishes of the desert. The more he embraced this new identity, the more the scroll seemed to reward him, revealing its secrets in greater detail, guiding him on a path that felt predestined.

The text, Niketas realized, was not just a collection of words; it was a living entity, a repository of the essence of a civilization that had transcended time. The knowledge it contained was not merely academic; it was transformative, reshaping the very fabric of who he was. The logical, methodical part of his mind had been overwhelmed by something far more powerful—a mystical force that defied reason but felt undeniably real.

As the days turned into weeks, Niketas became consumed by the text. He no longer thought of himself as a Greek scholar; that identity had faded like a distant memory. He was now something else, something more—an embodiment of the wisdom contained within the scroll. His transformation was complete by the time he had fully deciphered the text. He was no longer Niketas; he had become Sheikh Nuh al-Hakim, a sage of the Arab world, a revered figure whose wisdom was sought by scholars from across the empire.

Sheikh Nuh’s old identity had faded away, replaced by a new purpose: to spread the ancient knowledge contained in the text to the furthest reaches of the Ottoman Empire. His transformation was an unstoppable force, one that had not only altered his being but also influenced those around him. The other scholars, both Greek and Arab, came to him for guidance, drawn to the depth of his understanding and the clarity of his vision.

The story concludes with Sheikh Nuh al-Hakim standing in a grand lecture hall within the palace, teaching a new generation of scholars. The scroll, once a mystery, was now a wellspring of knowledge that had reshaped not only Niketas but also the intellectual landscape of the empire. As he looked out over his students, he felt a deep sense of fulfillment, knowing that the wisdom of the ancient Arab civilization would continue to thrive through him.

His journey was complete, not just as a scholar, but as a man who had fully embraced a new identity, leaving behind the past in pursuit of a greater truth. Sheikh Nuh al-Hakim was no longer bound by the constraints of his Greek heritage; he had become a bridge between cultures, a vessel through which the knowledge of the ancient Arab world could flow into the future.

As he ended his lecture and dismissed his students, Sheikh Nuh al-Hakim stood alone in the lecture hall, the echoes of his words still reverberating in the air. He gazed at the scroll, now enshrined in a place of honor at the front of the room, and felt a profound connection to the civilization it represented. His transformation had been both a journey and a destination, leading him to a place where knowledge was not just learned, but lived.

With a quiet resolve, Sheikh Nuh al-Hakim left the lecture hall, his mind already turning to the next task, the next opportunity to spread the wisdom he had come to embody. His past as Niketas was but a shadow, eclipsed by the light of a new identity that shone brightly in the vast tapestry of the Arab world.

Arabization: The Lost Stories of Transformation Chapter 1: The Scribe's Awakening Chapter 2: The Moorish Guardian Chapter 3: The Scholar's Dilemma

The next chapter will be released next Monday 23rd September. 💚

[chibimui]

The Apothecary Diaries LN1 Thoughts - Part 3 (ch25 - End)

[Part 1] [Part 2]

The final part of my thoughts on the first volume of The Apothecary Diaries. We'll go through the remaining chapters and wrap up with my overall thoughts on this novel on it's own, as the beginning to the story.

Without further ado, here we go!

(Warning: spoilers for the rest of the light novels up until LN15, for English-only readers please be mindful if you don't want to be spoiled!)

Last part we had Jinshi finally realizing Maomao is a human being at the garden party and now we get Maomao finally realizing Jinshi is actually a human being after seeing how he reacts to Sir Kounen's death. Of course, all of this is only possible because Jinshi increasingly stops putting on his mask around Maomao. I'm not sure if this was necessarily a conscious decision on his part or if it was something that just happened as he grew to like her more.

In general, throughout the remaining chapters of LN1 we get more and more observations from Maomao about how youthful and childish Jinshi frequently looks. I'm not going to screencap all these moments, but it's a clear sign that Maomao is starting to observe Jinshi more closely! Although, childish Jinshi still infuriates Maomao - she hasn't warmed up to him just yet, mostly because she still thinks he's a bum who keeps skirting his job to mess with her (and she's not entirely wrong - once again, my condolences to Gaoshun).

I also need to highlight this moment because this is them flirting, trust me:

No, but for real - this is both Maomao and Jinshi letting their guards down and showing their real selves around each other. Jinshi being a little shit, and Maomao not holding back her absolute disdain/horror at potentially not being able to drink.

Next in Ch26 is when we get another teaching moment from Maomao to Jinshi about the differences in there status, but before I jump to that I want to highlight this little detail first:

This is a thought Maomao has at the fact that whenever she is officially called to meet Jinshi, it is always in someone else's office - usually the office of the Matron who is in charge of the serving ladies. It's a small detail, but upon hindsight I realize this is a pretty big hint that Jinshi is not simply someone who works in the rear palace and actually has a greater role outside of the rear palace (where his office presumably would be).

Now. The conversation Maomao has with Jinshi where she requests that if he were to order her death, she would prefer to be poisoned. Once again, I want to give props to the anime for doing such an amazing job with this scene.

It was interesting to see how this scene was written in the novel because we get Jinshi's reaction mostly from Maomao's point of view and she only... sort of picks up on the fact that Jinshi is upset. She notices his demeanor, but she doesn't understand what it means. Thankfully with what Maomao observes, we as readers can discern that Jinshi is probably waaaaay more upset and disturbed than Maomao is realizing, but I feel like the weight of Jinshi's horror is a bit lost through this lens, which is somewhat unfortunate.

To give Maomao a pass, she also genuinely doesn't realize that she's actually teaching Jinshi a really hard lesson here. Jinshi is young. We the reader, and Maomao, don't know this yet - but the guy is only nineteen and he was incredibly sheltered for the majority of his life. At this point, he also mostly seems to assume that people only listen to him because he's attractive and not because, you know, he's royalty (of clearly just someone of importance), but Maomao painting it out for him in such a stark way really gets to him. Partly because he genuinely cares for her, but also I think because he has truly never had to consider just how powerful he is... until now.

Moving on we get to the "Honey arc" - Lishu's part of the story. Sharing a few notable moments I highlighted on some things I've already touched upon:

Maomao comparing the rear palace to a prison/cage.

Maomao being affected by others being afraid of her

This one was just hilarious to me because Maomao is being so mean, but also I love how she is so used to being rude to Jinshi she legit forgets that she's not supposed to treat him like that!

Now the last snippet is the one that is most interesting to me because for all the progress both Jinshi and Maomao have made at warming up around each other, it is clear that there is still very much still a clear boundary between them. Jinshi very much does not know that he doesn't need to be seductive because he assumes that's actually the only reason people listen to him and Maomao obviously is still acting under the role as a servant who has no say in what is requested of her. It's also this exact miscommunication and misunderstanding between the two of them that results in what happens at the end of the novel - Maomao being fired.

Overall this final arc of the novel is really fascinating to me, both because Lishu and Ah-Duo play somewhat significant roles later on, and because what Maomao learns from this part of the novel brings her a teensy-tiny bit closer to discovering who Jinshi really is... except for the fact that she staunchly refuses to acknowledge this until basically LN9 after she actually sees Jinshi and the Emperor interacting. She clocks everything in LN1! And ignored what she knew for TWO YEARS. Maomao truly is the queen of compartmentalizing and denial.

I also just want to point out that in the novel Jinshi does actually acknowledge his little honey trick with Maomao as being a bit overboard. I've definitely seen a lot of anime-only folks who were very uncomfortable with that scene and use it as a reason to either dislike JinMao as a ship, or Jinshi entirely as a person. Honestly, that judgement is fair. I like how with the novel's acknowledgement thought, it shows that Jinshi isn't stupid or unaware of his actions and the affect he has on people - he's unfortunately still just really immature, lol.

Anyway, skipping ahead to share our first actually somewhat intimate JinMao moment!!

Honestly, I think this moment really just shows Maomao's overall kindness. It definitely belies the fact that Maomao doesn't dislike Jinshi as much as she acts, but I don't think she has necessarily started liking him yet either--but she recognizes he's upset and she is willing to give him a break for it because what Maomao has always appreciated most about JInshi so far are the moments when he's human, and this is undoubtedly one of them.

I'm not going to share screencaps of all of Maomao's 100% correct theorizing as she watches Ah-Duo exit the palace, but this girl literally gets it right all the way at the start. What a genius. I do want to highlight the final line of ch30 though:

I actually have so many thoughts about Ah-Duo. I'm not going to get into all of it because that will come later, but I do like how, right from the start, the novel highlights how maternal Ah-Duo is. It's interesting because she's frequently described as manly and presenting very masculine, and I feel like in a lot of other stories the assumption would be she has zero interest in children, but that is not the case at all here. Love it. Love the example that a woman can act "masculine" and still be maternal. I just love Ah-Duo so much. She may never have wanted to be Empress, but I think she did want to be a mother (and were this an AU, I think she'd have been damn good at it!)

Jinshi's immense sadness at her leaving does also make me wonder what exactly were their interactions like while they were both in the rear palace? It's very obvious from later novels that Ah-Duo absolutely acknowledges and sees Jinshi as her son and wants the absolute best for him, but I assume she doesn't actually show that too Jinshi. Maybe that's why she kicked him out after drinking, lol. I assume she was somewhat sad too--she won't get to see him as much now after all. I also wonder if the rest of Ah-Duo's Ladies-in-Waiting also all know who Jinshi is. I wonder how often he would go see her just to get a bit of a break. Gah, so many questions about these two!!

Anyway, we finally get to the last bit of the novel. Maomao's departure!

In this chapter we get to see how seriously Jinshi has taken all of Maomao's little lessons for him regarding his status, the power he wields, and how that affects her as a commoner with no power. It leaves him in quite a conundrum as he is in a position where he has the opportunity to use his power to get what he wants, but is rightfully worried about doing so.

I want to point out that I like how the novel explicitly states that what JInshi is worried about is how their status, and him using his power to order Maomao around, could ultimately ruin their relationship. When Jinshi said he was worried about their gap becoming wider in the anime, I'll admit, I had no idea what he meant because their relationship seemed to be going pretty well at that point.

Now. We all know how Maomao's negotiations with Jinshi actually end up going, which is they fail terribly. It's actually really unfortunate because the crux of this miscommunication is that Maomao cannot see past their noble-commoner relationship, which is actually 100% fair! That is totally valid of her! It's just really unfortunate because Jinshi is genuinely trying to be understanding and meet Maomao at her level, he just misses the mark because he still doesn't fully understand that he can't meet her at her level (yet). Him, a person in power, asking someone lesser than them "What do you want" won't work because most will see that as a trap. A trick question.

This is something Jinshi will come to realize later on, but he actually cannot ignore the power he has and it would be detrimental of him to do so. At the end of the day, his word is law. He cannot change that for himself. Maomao knows this, Jinshi is still grappling with this. So Maomao acts accordingly to her station, given the situation as she understands it to be - which is that she has no say, and Jinshi has all of it.

I do like this observation later on from Gaoshun though:

First, Gaoshun has now officially become the second member of the JinMao ship (first was Gyokuyou). Secondly--and more seriously--while Jinshi may not have a say in how much power he wields, one thing he can do is listen to Maomao and respect her wants. Which is what he was trying to do. The undoing there is that Maomao sucks at saying what she wants! So it's not just Jinshi still fundamentally misunderstanding the power dynamic that exists between them, but definitely also Maomao being shit at communicating when given a golden opportunity to do so.

Which leads us to the epilogue, and I just want to say I love the title for the epilogue: The Eunuch and the Courtesan. I love it because both of these titles for Jinshi and Maomao respectively are incorrect descriptions. Jinshi is neither a eunuch and Maomao is neither a courtesan. They're both playing roles that don't actually suit either of them.

Can I just say, Jinshi doing that thing with his finger on her lip was honestly so smooth. I mean. Just look at Maomao's reaction:

If she truly hadn't liked it, she would not have stopped herself from looking at him like a piece of dirt--but no. Maomao is flustered. She was charmed. Unfortunately this is basically the moment Jinshi uses up all his rizz because I feel nothing he ever does after this flusters Maomao to this extent, and once they get together Maomao is the one doing the flustering. Don't worry Maomao, you'll get your revenge with a single finger of your own in LN14 *snorts*.

And then we end with Jinshi buying Maomao out which will take us to LN2 which means this is it folks! That's a wrap for Volume 1 of The Apothecary Diaries light novels!

I didn't explicitly mention this at the start, although you probably noticed if you read this whole thing - but I purposely tried to avoid talking about the overall plot of this novel, and part of that is because the influence from the anime is too strong for me.

My goal for sharing my thoughts on LN1 (and upcoming LN2) is really to focus on the extra details and things that stood out to me outside of what we already know from the anime. Some things still overlapped, but otherwise I would've just been gushing about the anime which isn't the point! When I get to LN3 and 4 (assuming S2 hasn't released by then) I will touch on more plot related things. Especially because OH BOY the plot related things in those novels is huge.

Anyway, as a novel - I really liked how this book is separated in a way where all the mysteries and tasks Maomao ends up doing ends up focusing individually on each of the four consorts one after the other. We start with Gyokuyou, then Lihua, then Lishu and then we finish with Ah-Duo. I also don't know if this is purposeful, but this progression goes from the consort who ends up being the most "trapped" (I would argue becoming the Emperor's main consort is the most trapped you can be), to the one who is able to "escape" (although it's arguable whether Ah-Duo is ever really free given her specific circumstance).

I'd say Lihua and Lishu are the ones in the end who actually get the best end of the stick. Lihua still gets a kid and remains in the Emperor's good graces, but is able to stay out of all the politics and focus on just being a mother, and Lishu gets to leave entirely and nets herself a future husband! It is unfortunate that out of all the consorts, Lihua basically disappears from the narrative after a certain point. She's so sweet. I love the anime adding in the scene of her patting Maomao's head <3.

You can really tell this is an introduction to the story too. The mysteries in this novel are presented in the most episodic way compared to later novels. Basically every chapter is a new case, and there isn't really an overarching narrative behind them compared to Vol 2. The mysteries do a really great job of bringing the reader into the setting though, and each case Maomao solves ends up teaching you something about the environment, and the way the world Maomao lives in works. Nothing feels rushed, nothing feels lacking. A solid start to a slow-burner of a series.

I also want to say it was refreshing to see Jinshi and Maomao at their early stages of interaction again. There really is such a difference in how Maomao and Jinshi interact in this novel compared to later ones Heck, I feel like even by LN3 she's already way less cagey around him. I genuinely kind of forgot she sees him like a dirty bug for a decent chunk of time. Yeah, she still finds him annoying in later novels, but the amount of times the narration describes Maomao glaring at Jinshi in this book alone is hilarious (also goes to show she sucks at hiding her emotions, lol).

Now onto LN2! I'm still in the process of reading it, but here's hope I can post part 1 soon. :)

[Light Novel 2 Thoughts - Part 1]

[idyllic-affections]

ignorance is a sin which may lead to a grave error.

summary. A noble man—a boy, more accurately; he barely looked their age—would, of course, try to court them. Wonderful. trigger & content warnings. reader gets misgendered, violent thoughts but no-one gets hurt. tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. fluff, hurt/comfort-esque. pantalone, il dottore, and la signora & pantalone's child!reader. 1.1k words. they/them pronouns for reader. reader is 16-17 in this piece & is hinted at being somewhere on the aroace spectrum. prev | next

author's thoughts. i decided to make snezhnaya a very volatile, politically complex nation in this oneshot. tension is fun <3 anyway dottolone is heavily implied here because i thought that dynamic would be SO funny with pantalone's teenage child involved, like.... can you imagine the older dottores and [name] fighting for his attention while he pretends to not know whats going on HFKDJKGHF

       Politically, Snezhnaya was... quite frankly, a disaster.

       The Tsaritsa's people had long since lost trust in her. She did not care for her people (at least, so it seemed from an outsider's perspective; they knew better), and so her people did not care for her.

       As a result, the Fatui's power only extended so far. The Harbingers could only do so much before the people of Snezhnaya decided to revolt. Even Gods can be effectively overthrown if enough people cooperate with one another. The Fatui and The Tsaritsa were no different.

       If, at any point, the people—namely the nobles—decided that they've had enough...

       Even the top three Harbingers would only be able to do so much to stop the rebellion.

       To keep public relations in some semblance of stability, biannual events were held, hosted in the Winter Palace itself. Sometimes, nobles from other nations would even attend in the interest of "international diplomacy."

       They loathed such events with every fiber of their being.

       Every important Fatui official was required to be in attendance, which, unfortunately, included them. Sometimes they wished they weren't one of the Fatui's senior debt collectors, if for no other reason than to avoid having to elegantly navigate noble etiquette with people they couldn't possibly care less about, with people who couldn't possibly care less about them. They hated being surrounded by fools who only wanted to please them in a pathetic attempt to earn Pantalone's favor, to get him to alleviate their never-ending debts.

       'If only Mother Rosalyne hadn't been swept away by the masses...'

       A deep sigh left their nose as they internally lamented La Signora's absence from their side. While tenderly styling their hair prior to the event, she did say that she couldn't promise to keep them company throughout the entire night, but still... Being left alone without one of their favorite Harbingers was terribly boring. The woman somehow always kept them entertained.

       "What could possibly have such a fair maiden so troubled?"

       A noble man—a boy, more accurately; he barely looked their age—would, of course, try to court them.

       Wonderful.

       "I am no maiden," they mused with graceful, calm poise, fingers briefly brushing against the pistol tucked between the layers of their clothing as if to reassure themselves that it was really there, "though... I suppose I can forgive your mistake. I do have the elegance of one, as it was one who taught me to carry myself in such a manner."

       "My sincerest apologies." He smiled a bit too wide for their liking. They had to physically restrain themselves from gagging and grimacing when he took their gloved hand, pressing a kiss to their knuckles. He held their hand a moment longer, admiring the silver adorning their fingers. Pantalone, earlier on in their life, had bought them a particularly pretty set of rings when he realize how enamored they were with his. Something deeply sentimental kept them from ever replacing the jewelry on their right hand. To have a stranger touching that hand, those rings, so casually... it made their blood boil. "You do indeed carry yourself with the beauty of a lady. Your rings are quite beautiful. Pray tell, are you engaged?"

       'Archons above,' they swore mentally, gaze quickly scanning the crowd for the closest Harbinger. It was Dottore. It was debatable whether they were relieved or annoyed at that fact. "...Thank you. No, I'm not."

       "Ah, then, might I have the honor of knowing your name?"

       He didn't know who they were.

       Sudden relief washed over their body, and their tense shoulders seemed to loosen slightly. He was not from Snezhnaya. In fact, he was most likely from quite far away. Due to thia, they could theoretically defend themselves however they deemed necessary without causing any serious issues for the Fatui or Her Majesty...

       "I will have to decline, unfortunately, but perhaps if you humor me some, I may be inclined to enlighten you."

       "Oho? Ask away, angel."

       Their stomach churned uncomfortably.

       "Where are you from?"

       "Fontaine. My family are some of Lady Focalors' most loyal retainers."

       A smile adorned their features.

       "I see," they hummed as they adjusted their glasses. "As a Snezhnayan of high social standing, I shall give you some advice."

       "Now, now, do not presume yourself wiser than I—"

       "Do not attempt to court someone whose name you genuinely do not know, especially not in a nation like this, at an event such as this one." Their hand clasped his jaw with threatening tightness, promising a fate worse than death if he did not back off. "I am [Name], otherwise known as the rightful blood heir to the Regrator's fortune and one of the Fatui's senior debt collectors. The honor is all yours. If you plead nicely, I may be kind and gracious enough to let this incident slip by unpunished. Ignorance is a sin, but I do have some forgiveness to spare tonight..."

       The color seemed to drain from his face as he squimed in their gradually weakening hold; they lacked the strength to maintain such a crushing grip for too long. "I— I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you—"

       "Is something the matter, mon petit monstre?"

       They scoffed, letting the trembling boy go with an aggressive shove before turning towards Dottore. This was not Dottore in the prime of his life; he hardly ever attended publicity events on account of his... volatile nature. This was one of the few segments that did bend slightly in their favor. "Some stupid Fontainian noble trying to court me. I knew he was foreign the second he spoke to me. Snezhnayan nobles don't act like desperate fools, especially not towards me."

       "Oh, you poor thing, suffering from success."

       "It's not funny! Stop making fun of me!" they complained; they had half a mind to shoot him with their pistol, really. Even if he was teasing them just a little, there was something oddly protective in the way his hands came to rest on their shoulders, brushing off invisible dirt and adjusting their collar.

       The noble had long since scurried off, frightened by both them and the Second Harbinger.

       Admittedly, Dottore's presence probably scared him off the most. They'd rather die than admit they appreciated him somehow appearing at just the right moment.

       "Care to join me and your Father?"

       "What, so I can watch you hit on him in front of my face? No, thank you. All of you older segments are the same in that respect. I'm alright on my own." Dottore only stared at them with a smile that was a little too amused. They relented. "...Fine, whatever. Just do me the favor of flirting with him when I'm not nearby. After the event, preferably. Mother Rosalyne is taking me out after this, so flirt with him then."

       "I make no such commitments."

       "You—!"

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

[liberty-or-death]

Meaning of 陈情 Chenqing

This is going to be a rehash of the old Taming Wangxian footnotes, but I’ll be adding a little more. 

The term 陈情 Chenqing has two meanings.  The first would be to reminisce past relationship (former friendship), and the second would be to provide a full account of (an issue).  

To gain further context about this term, let us look at where it originated from.  It was first originated from Wenxuan (‘Selections of Refined Literature”) compiled by 萧统 Xiao Tong, the Crown Prince of the Liang Dynasty.  In the Wenxuan, there is a segment called the 陈情表 Chenqing Memorial (to the throne), which is a letter written by Li Mi, a scholar of the Western Jin Dynasty to the Emperor Wu of Jin.  The Emperor Wu of Jin had employed him to work in the palace stables but Li Mi wanted to take care of his elderly grandmother.  His father died, his mother remarried and he lived with his grandmother.  So he wrote this heartfelt letter about his family circumstances and the hardship that he’s facing.  (It’s basically a resignation letter lol). The story didn’t end well and he was removed from his post, defamed and he died at home.

This term is also used in the modern context of confessing before a court.  Hence, a 陈情 Chenqing is almost like a plea of sorts.  It fits so well as firstly, Wei Wuxian is essentially treated like a criminal throughout the entire book and everyone in the series expects a “confession” from him.  The confrontation at Nightless City was almost like a court that wanted to trial him.  And secondly, from the historical context of the word, it could have hinted that it wouldn’t make a different no matter what he said and he wouldn’t have ended well.  

陈情 and 随便 are commonly thought to depict the shift in Wei Wuxian’s character. 随便 (suí biàn) represents his youth; he is carefree, relaxed and without worry.  陈情 on the other hand, is a depiction of his loss and loneliness. Chenqing was created from his time in the Burial Mounds - it’s a turning point for him because at this juncture, he had no means to give his own account or prove his “innocence”, simply because he has walked the demonic path. He’s unable to tell his loved ones that he lost his jindan, and as much as he misses his past relationships, he’s unable to relive them because he’s labelled a “demonic” Yiling Laozu.  

An interesting titbit can be found in the title of the Untamed, 陈情令 (chén qíng lìng). There are two possible interpretations to this. 

(i) The main focus of the story is on Wei Wuxian and his character growth, hence placing 陈情 in the title puts the emphasis on him. 

(ii) 陈情一曲令天下 (chén qíng yī qū lìng tiān xià) - According to a forum, the producers have  used this line to describe the drama’s title. It can be translated to, “a song from Chenqing commands the world”, aptly depicting Chenqing’s power.  

[magistralucis]

Hello magistralucis! Hope you are doing well! If its okay could you tell me about 'opium' and 'vermillion'?

Hello there! I certainly can. @north-wyrm also asked about Vermillion, so I hope this will come in doubly useful. This may be a lengthy explanation 🥴

You know the Lantern Fair sequence in Gheden from we live on archipelagos? I think about that specific part quite a lot, because a festival is a really useful setting to make characters interact in. There's the fun and grandeur, luxurious decadence (as befitting of the Nihilakh), and also a sense of enforced formality between the people who meet there. Sometimes one's true self is best shown by being made to behave. Over time I developed an entire series of WIPs that take place in that setting, not the exact Lantern Fair from WLOA but similar. Our usual pairs meet there, and a couple of unknown ones.

Opium and Vermillion deal with the former.

High up on a ziggurat they glimpse their host, the lead archivist of the Nihilakh, playing senet with the famed diviner of the Sautekh. [...] Trazyn's robes are plain, but Orikan is starclad in gold and midnight-blue. A fine Nihilakh gift. The young could stand to learn from them.

The above quote from WLOA inspired Opium. It's about what Trazyn and Orikan get up to during their Lantern Fair, and how Orikan got those starclad robes. It explores the fair from a host's perspective, since Trazyn is active in his role as a lord of Gheden, less of Solemnace. Orikan comes to him as a guest and remains by his side throughout.

It seemed every year they were roomed closer and closer together. When Orikan was shown to his room, he noticed a door leading from it which felt familiar, and was not disappointed to see that it led right into the lord archivist's bedchamber. Which was fine, that was where he wound up most of the time anyway. He'd always assumed the door from Trazyn's side led to a family shrine (most palaces in Gheden had one), perhaps a storeroom or a prime view from above, but it seemed the overlord's household had decided the double suite had gone unused for too long. He left the door ajar and took the time to examine his own room, thinking about all that'd happened so far. The room was furnished like Trazyn's, just emptier. The overlord kept little company outside of Solemnace unless he was a guest himself elsewhere. Everything was clean, everything seemed normal, and Orikan could almost believe nothing was wrong around here. There was a little twig of his favourite fruit-blossoms upon the windowsill, held in a bud vase inlaid with faience. Orikan picked it up and turned it this way and that, noting that the water in the vase was fresh, and that the petals still had the hint of morning dew upon them. Winter blossoms, much too early for fruit, a fleeting memory of what could still be. That was what his relationship to Trazyn felt like sometimes. No longer animosity, but not quite friendship nor courtship, marked with reminders of the little things they liked. Golden drops of memories, as faint as dust motes under sunlight, but dotting their selves like little wounds once the two were gone from one another. No one would ever understand them truly. Sometimes Orikan wasn't sure they understood themselves.

It is also a very melancholy story. It's like if Viridian was sad. Trazyn and Orikan aren't a couple here, more like a slow burn FWB, and they're about to find out exactly how this arrangement will disadvantage them in a society that insists on legally defined ties. 😞

Vermillion is the Lantern Fair, Take Two, from the Djoseras/Zultanekh perspective. In WLOA they only talked and shared one kiss; in Vermillion they go all the way. Unrestricted by the prying eyes of their own dynasties, they meet up for a tryst by night - though they were not planning to have this tryst when they first met in Gheden, and are thus awkward about it at the beginning. I put this under a cut because the snippet is NSFW:

Djoseras moaned beside him, almost a sob, the one hand stretched behind him tightening into Zultanekh's hair. He'd been brought to the edge several times already: Zultanekh would circle his fingertip over the other's arousal, coating it with the silky fluid that ran from it, or stop while he was halfway through a thrust. He would then linger there, playfully refusing to move, until the tension in the kynazh's body broke in the form of a hard writhe or a hoarse moan bitten into the sheets. It excited Zultanekh tremendously to see the latter. Perhaps it was the only thing about their position he regretted, in that the kynazh was facing away, when he'd have liked Djoseras to set his teeth against his flesh instead. "Be good for me, Djoseras... be good, and I'll let you come…" Better the kynazh do it than anyone else. Like any warrior worth his salt Zultanekh valued a good battle-scar, and the idea of Djoseras marking him was intoxicating. Perhaps on the Crown Prince's wrist, so that the kynazh could finish what he started and truly claim his hand. Perhaps on the shoulder, so that Zultanekh would feel it whenever he lifted his warhammer, or with every powerful thrust he made unto the kynazh's body. He rolled them over fully so that Djoseras was under him, his face buried into the silken pillows. He made sure to pause for a moment, in case Djoseras found this position too demeaning to continue. When he saw this was not the case he grasped the kynazh's hips, and he pressed in again, sinking into him and kissing everywhere he could reach. Zultanekh stifled his moans against the kynazh's shoulder, tasting the faintest traces of sweat and perfumed oils beneath his tongue; Djoseras let out a choked sound and grasped the sheets, steeled himself for the thrusts to come.

Yeah. 😳💖 Vermillion is not as melancholy as Opium, but the princes are still engaged in a forbidden love, and they know they must part when the night comes to an end. Really, all of the Lantern Fair AU pieces have this air of a dream to them, and the underlying sadness. But all that's for later. I hope this was a pleasant read for now.

[wanderingnork]

Good Girls and Bad Boys: Githyanki and "The Palace of the Silver Princess"

TIME FOR A LONG SHOT META

"Silver Princess" was originally designed to introduce people to basic Dungeons and Dragons. It's largely a hack-and-slash adventure, much like many other early modules. On page 6, there's an aside on NPCs, which--unlike today's adventure modules--presents them as totally optional, most often used when a party needs some extra muscle before venturing forth into the dungeon. Rooms are jam-packed with monsters separated from each other only by wooden doors and apparently politeness not to get involved with anyone else's initiative order. Wandering monster tables may spontaneously generate a creature that would totally disrupt any sensible dungeon ecology (for example, the sudden appearance of a cave bear or gelatinous cube). Traps just pop up in random hallways where they'd kill any actual inhabitant. The map layout is absolutely arcane.

What I'm saying is that it's a fucking delight.

Some quick backstory on the adventure. Jean Wells was the first woman to work in the TSR design department, and "Palace of the Silver Princess" was the first TSR adventure solely written by a woman. Problem: executive meddling at TSR resulted in Wells' adventure (the "orange version") being recalled on the day of publication and destroyed en masse. It was replaced by the "green version," which was almost entirely rewritten by another author and bears exactly no resemblance to the original. What I'm discussing here is the original Orange Version of the story--Wells' original vision of the module.

In the adventure, amid all the chaos, there's a running plot thread about the titular Silver Princess. A classical beautiful princess ruling over an idyllic paradise kingdom, the Princess Argenta was beloved by all. To honor her, the elves and the dwarves who lived in the kingdom cut and polished a magnificent ruby and gave it to her as a gift, calling it "My Lady's Heart." Because giving your rulers giant random treasures has never ended badly before.

Looking at you, Arkenstone.

Argenta decided to throw a masquerade ball in honor of the elves and dwarves. People from all over the place showed up to the party just to see the ruby, including--of course--a mysterious knight. He appeared smitten with the princess even more than the ruby, but people didn't take that kindly. Some guests challenged him after the party, but were never heard from again.

Weeks later, a huge red dragon appeared and burned the kingdom to cinders. Survivors claimed to have seen a knight in blue and silver armor riding on its back. In the midst of the attack, Argenta went missing, and her palace lies in ruins. In the centuries since, no one's seen any sign of her, the knight, or the ruby--but a red dragon is still sometimes spotted in the sky, wearing an empty saddle on its back.

Now, of course, the player characters are venturing forth into the ruined palace in search of "My Lady's Heart," the missing ruby.

Throughout the palace, the players repeatedly encounter images that contradict the legend. Mosaics and paintings of a blue-and-silver clad knight and the princess and a statue of embracing lovers all hint toward something more. One mosaic shows a maiden fleeing a knight in blue and silver armor riding a red dragon, but the maiden, knight, and dragon all appear sleeping together peacefully in another mosaic. There's even a painting and a statue of the red dragon itself.

If the players search, they find two key clues to the story of the princess and her knight. First is Argenta's diary, which tells the story of the knight wooing her and winning her heart, and ends at the fourth day of their marriage. Second is part of a poem, clearly written by the knight himself, which hints at falling in love with Argenta and how her innocence even tamed his dragon.

Then there's the tragic twist. In a secret chamber, where "My Lady's Heart" is hidden, the players will encounter a pair of ghosts. They are Argenta and her knight, protecting the ruby together forever. In order to claim the ruby, the players will have to put the ghosts to rest.

So...the true story of Argenta, the knight, and the dragon seems to have been much different than the legend. Putting together the context clues, Argenta received the ruby and threw the ball where the knight saw her for the first time. The knight came to take the ruby, and their first meeting got off to a really bad start (the mosaic of the pursuit). However, Argenta managed to charm the dragon and then the knight. He changed his plans and wooed Argenta, in a courtship that was clearly long enough and intimate enough for a great deal of art to have been made of him and his dragon. On the fourth or fifth day of their marriage, though, something went horribly wrong. Either the knight turned on Argenta without warning and they both died, which I think is unlikely based on the poem he wrote. Or, what I think is probably what happened, someone else came looking for the ruby and they died at that point. The dragon survived and burned the kingdom to ash in grief, and still circles the area centuries later wearing its rider's saddle.

This is where I make my argument that the knight was actually a githyanki.

More below cut because this got really long.

In meta terms, the timeline works out. The Fiend Folio was published in August 1981. This was the full introduction of the githyanki to the world, so they'd only appear in publications after that. "The Palace of the Silver Princess" adventure module, also published in 1981, doesn't directly include the githyanki. I can't track down the specific month of the adventure's release. However, the adventure's writer Jean Wells worked for TSR. She would have been well aware of what was going on around her, and potentially helped in proofreading and editing thanks to working as an editor on other adventures (such as the famous "Keep on the Borderlands" module). She might have also read White Dwarf magazine #12, where the githyanki first appeared in the "Fiend Factory" section.

Within the adventure, there are several clues to the knight's identity. First, we have the requisite "riding a red dragon." Not impossible for other sorts of brigand knights, but the fact that riding red dragons has been linked to the githyanki since day one is, to me, a glaring neon sign. Second, the knight's armor is always described explicitly as "silver and blue," emphasizing its oddness. The Fiend Folio discusses how baroque and beautiful githyanki armor is, and exactly what kind of armor the knight wears isn't specified. It could be plate mail. It could be the typical githyanki splint mail.

Then, on the entrance level of the palace, the party can encounter a very strange trap. If the wrong key is used in a keyhole, a glowing silver sword will appear, and an illusion of the knight will appear to attack the party. The silver sword can be taken after the battle. It's a +1 sword, so not quite as powerful as the Fiend Folio's +3 silver swords. Still, the emphasis on it being silver feels quite pointed.

Githyanki are, from the Fiend Folio, raiders and plunderers. The most likely way to encounter them on the Material Plane is in raids, accompanied by a red dragon. A githyanki getting wind of a ruby worth as much as "My Lady's Heart," 10,000gp according to the adventure, would certainly pursue the treasure.

The story of a beautiful and kind woman charming a terrible man into abandoning his wicked ways is about as old as human history. And especially in "medieval" fantasy fiction, this sort of story is a classic. The 1970s in romance were marked by the bodice-ripper tale, which is a space where young, beautiful heroines fall afoul of--and often eventually redeem or reform--villainous, wicked men. In 1981, anyone writing a love story would be writing with that kind of backdrop. A woman like Wells, part of the target audience for romance novels, might be absolutely steeped in those tropes. The story of Argenta, the knight, and the dragon would fit right in.

So yeah. I hold that the knight was an early portrayal of a githyanki, although it's never stated explicitly, because all the hallmarks of the time were present and it makes for a damn good story. If that's true, then all of us writing fic about our beautiful and handsome protagonists falling afoul of, falling in love with, and occasionally reforming terrible space knights are carrying on a grand tradition from the good old days of D&D.