#Talto

[rausule]

Eilo

Ita

Izorpo

Kali

Kea

Kokos

Odam

Partasah

Patrota

Podo

Satrina

Talto

LENG, ABOMINABLE PLATEAU OF (KG): Astraliter in Media Asia sita. Roerich et Lovecraft tanquam secretorum suorum conscii.

LLOIGOR (HPL): turpitudo Ij cum Zhar. Cthulhu venit ab astris. Vivum defodisse dicitur sub Plateau Sung.

LOROO (CJM): vagator, velum, caligo obscuritatis. Naugerius Naugerius , Spatium inter Stellas , Perpetuumque locum medius.

LUMASHI (SAB): Sphaera Zodiaci seu stellarum fixarum.

LUVEH-KERAPHF: Bast sacerdos. Nomen Roberti Bloch pro Lovecraft qui feles adoravit.

MAGAN (Nec): Loco mortis. Occidens.

MARDUK KURIOS (SAB): Sphaera Iovis, Dominus magorum. Interfector Tiamet cum sagitta Enki. Sexta porta Zonei. Dominus quinquaginta nominum (in ordine);

Marduk Dominus Marukka-

Marutukku - Magister Artium Protectionis

Barashakushu - opifex miraculorum Luggaldimmerankia - magister Ordinis de Chaos

Nariluggaldimmerankia - Custos

Asaruludu - vibrans gladium flammeum

Namtillaku- scientia Mortuorum

Namru - Sapientia et scientia. Scientia metallorum Asaru - Scientia omnium herbarum et arborum

Asarualim - Secreta sapientiae et lux in tenebris loca Asarualimnunna- scientia et potestas pugnae

Tutu - Joy

Ziukkinna - scientia stellarum

.

[fresh-bed-old-sheets]

Me reblogging posts knowing i left my mutual to read my explanation to a joke that's only possible to make due to my brainrot

[aarlone]

It fuckin breaks my whole ass brain that Steven Brust's Dragera novels aren't wildly popular.

Like, the Khaavren romances are written for a Very Specific type of person, i.e. one who read Alexandre Dumas and said "I like that, but I want that authorial voice dialed up to 17 and also for there to be magic and shit". Paarfi can be a challenge (it's worth it, because ultimately it's part of the whole). But they're so goddamn good. You can see what the books are going for, and they nail it.

And Vlad? Vladimir Taltos gives you 19 easy to read, action-packed novels full of snark and magic and angst and goddamn it there's social commentary to boot. And holy shit, these breezy, funny, quippy books that are fun to read are also building to something incredible that's going to see its end soon - there are two novels left before the series is complete. The last few published have left me in a daze after reading them, trying to wrestle with The Implications.

If you like Murderbot, but kind of wished there were swords and sorcery instead of guns and hacking, Vlad is your lad.

If you've ever asked yourself if it's possible to have a series of epic fantasy novels without casual sexism, then Dragaera is the place to go.

It's got Enemies to Lovers. It's got Found Family. It's got character deaths that mean something. There are reveals, both overt and subtle, that left me stunned (there was one book in particular that had me racing back to my collection to flip through older books because I KNEW I RECOGNIZED THAT NAME WTF HOLY HSIT).

The books are so re-readable, and honestly I would advise rereads because there's a ton of stuff layered in that adds so much to the overall series. You can read them in publication order (starting with Jhereg), or chronological order (I put Brokedown Palace at the front myself, but others might skip that one and go right to The Phoenix Guards). Or you can start with the chronological first book in the Taltos series (Taltos - makes it easy) and dip into the Khaavren romances when you're comfy and want to shake things up a bit.

FYI - the Taltos books will probably also make you hungry. IDK what a kethna is supposed to be, but I want to eat one so damn bad.

[mornshield]

The day Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos novels get a online fan base is the day I rest easy…you guys truly don’t even know what you’re missing…ultra competent but also cringefail assassin….failing marriage…politics you don’t understand…bromance of the century…undercurrent theme of what it means to be a good person and how internalized prejudice effects us…fun mysteries….food critic panel…please guys it’s so lonely and I just want to cry about sad fanart

[dorindameddler]

I’m mad that Mayfair witches is bad. The witching hour is genuinely a really good horror novel

[deaddovehasbeeneaten]

If you ever feel bad just remember that Michael Curry's mid life crisis consisted among other things of fathering not one but TWO demon babies.

[asexual--bard]

Memes for the 3 Vlad Taltos fans on tumblr

[erzsebetrosztoczy]

hi!! i saw your post abt proto-hungarian religion. would you mind sharing more information? im hungarian and really interested in it, but have only found.. questionable sources from nationalist people lol. thank you so much!!

Hii Nonny!

Oh boy there are a lot of scetchy sites and untrustworthy informations, therefore I am a bit afraid, or more like cautious what I want to include, show here. (Also because I am not a scolar in these fields myself, but what I know, and what I believe would be correct and true I can share)

Thing is, our pre-christian culture and religion haven’t been that important narrative-vise for a long time, given our history, the religious/political biases. We still need to research and learn so so many things from the ancient hungarians it makes my head dizzy lol. I will try to shorten this post and be as specific and cohernt as possible.

I would recomend the book from Diószegi Vilmos -  A pogány magyarok hitvilága

Overall about the pre- christian or proto-hungarian religion:

The Proto-Hungarian religion, also known as ancient Hungarian or pre-Christian Hungarian religion, was the belief system practiced by the Hungarians (Magyars) before their conversion to Christianity in the 10th century. This religion was deeply rooted in shamanism, animism, and the worship of natural forces, reflecting the nomadic lifestyle and the broader Uralic and Turkic influences on the early Hungarian tribes.

Shamanism:

Shamans, known as táltos, were central figures in Proto-Hungarian religion. They were believed to possess the ability to communicate with spirits, heal the sick, and foretell the future. The táltos could enter trances, often through rhythmic drumming or chanting, to journey between the physical and spiritual worlds. These spiritual leaders were choosen by theri tribe by specific due to their physical/mental differences that they attributed with having a coonetction with the spirit world. (Therse differences usually manifested in having more finger on one hand, or having some type of mentall illnes f.e.: seizures)

Animism and Nature Worship:

Proto-Hungarians believed that natural objects and phenomena, such as rivers, mountains, trees, and animals, had spirits. They held certain locations, like sacred groves or specific mountains, in high regard, believing these places to be the dwelling spots of powerful spirits.

Animism is the belief that all objects, things and natural phenomena have a soul and spiritual essence, and based on this, respect for them or the consistent enforcement of this belief in the behavior shown towards them. Its basic characteristic is that it animates all things (animals, plants, rocks, rivers, wind, etc.), both living and non-living, as having souls and spirits. As a result, his way of seeing is pictorial, not abstract concepts. His objects are primarily spiritual beings: souls, fairies, demons, etc.

Animism is not a type of religion, but a characteristic attribute of certain religions. It can be found most often and in its purest form in shamanistic religions and Shintoism.

We can briefly say about their religion that the proto-Hungarians were predominantly pagans, i.e. their religion was not based on monotheism; they did not necessarily worship a transcendent being. On the other hand, they had a moral, spiritual-consciousness and spiritual teaching system and a system of ideas designating life goals in the same way; like today's world religions.

According to researchers, in addition to the natural magic they brought with them, the ancient Hungarian people came into contact with ancient Iranian religions, Zoroastrianism and its branch, Zurvanism, the Mithras cult, Manichaeism, as well as the Vedic tradition and elements of Christianity. The pre-Christian Hungarian religion is probably a version of the belief systems known as shamanism and tengrism. However, there are various theories regarding the exact nature and elements of the "Hungarian primordial religion" within and outside of academia, so there is currently no unified canon of the Hungarian primordial religion and Hungarian mythology. (My guess is that when we were roaming Europe as merchenaries we picked up quite a few elements of other pagan – and Christian religion sas well that just kinda stayed in our religion overtime.)

The proto-Hungarians did not make written records, so we can only rely on the records of other nations, archaeological findings, and later reports and folklore. Christianity, starting from the principle of superiority, also ensured that the doctrines and spiritual and material memories of the former pagan faith were destroyed. (One example: When they  later christianized Boldogasszony’s persona into The Virgin Mary.)

There’s a theory that based on the prevalence of the parallels today in many pagan religions, it can be assumed that the Stone Age predecessor of the Hungarian ancestral religion was the religion of several nations at the same time. In the last hundred thousand years, during the independence of our nation and the separation of homo sapiens from other ethnic groups, the ancestral religion became more and more uniquely Hungarian. Even after the separation, the Hungarian original religion retained a good part of its original characteristics. At the dawn of history, it had a decisive influence on the religions of Eurasia and America. The Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Iranian, Greek, Egyptian, Semitic, etc., drew directly or indirectly from the same ancient source of the Stone Age. Based on the typological identities and parallels, the Scythian, Celtic, Etruscan, Parthian, Hun, and Avar religions formed from the religions of the Middle Eastern and Turanian peoples with agglutinating languages ​​were also closely related to our ancestral religion. (If this true, then I think this is why in sooo many pagan religions we can find the Tree of Life motive for example among other things)

Steppe application of the ancient religion:

In addition to the Hungarian data, the state of Hungarian primary religion in the equestrian nomadic period is primarily explained by Scythian, Celtic, Etruscan, Parthian, Hun, Avar mythology, and secondarily by Greek, Iranian, Chinese, Indian, Semitic, etc. we can judge it based on the inclusions found in religions (from or related to the original Hungarian religion). The system of beliefs and rules inherited from the Stone Age proved its suitability for governing the nation on the steppe. It made it possible for the Hungarians to remain strong even in the midst of constant battles in the desert, and for their best connections to own the most valuable areas of the steppe zone - the centers suitable for controlling the Silk Road and the extremely fertile Carpathian basin, which closes the steppe-country road.

Similar to the beginnings, the end of the use of the ancestral religion cannot be tied to any single date, rather it is considered a process.

 The death of the Hungarian ancient religin in the Hephthalite Hun Empire may have started with the spread of Nestorian Christianity and may have ended sometime during the last pagan rebellions. However, if we take into account the modern use of our word God /Isten/, as well as the phenomena of ancient religious origin in our language, folk art, national character, Hungarian symbols, Christianity and other Eurasian religions, we can establish that the original Hungarian religion (changed, in its elements) is still alive today and affects our life.

The system of the Primordial Religion

Beliefs

The worldview is based on the trinity of Heaven-Earth-Underworld. Of the three levels, the Earth is the home of people. The sky belongs to gods, heroes, and dead and unborn souls. Based on archaeological and religious historical parallels, an afterlife located in the north (across the water) can be assumed; which was identical to the road leading to heaven (the world tree imagined at the North Pole). The Underworld is the abode of evil demons and fallen souls, represented by snakes, frogs, reptiles and dragons. In the three-level world, the idea of ​​the center of the Earth creates order and helps with orientation. The center of the Earth is where creation took place; from where the order spreads to the four corners of the world.

The only human who can travel or connect with the worlds above and belove Earth is the táltos /shaman/ who will bring message from the veil beyond through rituals. ((The spiritual leaders of ancient religions, such as hungarian religion would worth another whole post on its own. ))

Astrology is very prominent

The sky is the abode of the gods, so our gods left their mark on the starry sky. The stars also appear in our ancestral religious symbols (in the Székely writing signs formed from them, in our religious and imperial symbols, as well as in our folk hieroglyphs). The moon and the ancient Hungarian moon cult may have played a role in the calculation of time based on the lunar calendar, and in theories related to female fertility.

In the beliefs of the Hungarians (for example, in the Csaba legend) and in the Hungarian symbols, a clear trace of the privileged role of the Milky Way remains. The Hungarians saw the celestial deer hunt on the Tejút (Milky Way), where the star deer (the form of the goddess Enéh) Orion (originally Bél, later Nimrod) and his sons, Gemini (twins, i.e. Hunor and Magor) hunt towards the pole star, the top of the sky.

Belief in the afterlife

The belief in the soul living on after death was also an important element of the Hungarian ancient religion. The afterlife got its name from the fact that - according to ethnographic parallels - it was located far away, "beyond the water". In the graves of some soldiers from the time of the conquest, the weapon was placed on the side opposite to the one worn in life, and in some cemeteries the usual position of men and women is reversed. From these, Gyula László deduced the belief in a mirror-image afterlife, which is known among many similar peoples.

Ancestral cult, the dead

An important element of religion was the cult of the dead and the closely related ancestor cult, the belief in the powerful spirits of the ancestors, for which archeological monuments and decorative art are the main evidence.

Respect for the ancestors played a very important role in the religion of the nomadic steppe peoples, including the Hungarians. They regarded their ancestors with great respect and attention. In the world of the sky-high tree, after death, the spirits of the ancestors reached the place they deserved, a higher or lower level, which was determined by Tengri, the lord of the Sky, after judging the earthly merits of the deceased.

They believed that no matter how many enemies someone killed in battle, they could count on so many servants in the afterlife. Furthermore, if the spirit of the dead person does not feel well in the afterlife, it returns and brings trouble to those who remain here - until it is reborn in a new existence. Therefore, they were commemorated with frequent sacrifices.

[fuckwhoeverpickedallthefunnyurls]

Me everytime I have to type dragaeran in a conversation with a friend

[bubblegum-blackwood]

All right fine. Call me crazy. Call me weird. Call me wrong for all I care. I genuinely enjoyed reading Blood Canticle.

[qwanderer]

In the mood to reread one of my old favorite book series, but not any of the ones I still have. One of the ones my ex got in the split. Like Temeraire, Taltos or Vorkosigan. I've got the money to just buy them in ebooks but I feel like I need to choose one, I can't just pick one up and decide I actually want to read one of the others. (Except I totally can, I will certainly enjoy the book later.)

Pros and cons: I adore the Taltos books, but I feel like I remember some of the plot twists a little too well and should maybe wait until they've become as fuzzy as the other two have, for optimal rereading. This is partially because I already own the ebook of issola because I reread that a couple years ago, but it doesn't come first in the series, it's just the one I found most irresistible to reread.

Temeraire: love these. Nice linear series. Solid choice. I keep thinking I would love to reread them but the idea doesn't have the spark to it that I'm craving right now, although I'm sure I would get very into them and I might find the spark.

Vorkosigan saga: biggest spark but also biggest investment in terms of series length and plot convolutions, as well as deciding where to start. Publication order is recommended by no one, but I still would need to decide between full chronological or beginning with young Miles.

Leaning towards picking up the young Miles omnibus ebook but still not sure.

[fresh-bed-old-sheets]

Guys it's working, i'm slowly making a friend read the vlad taltos books. The cult is growing

[dorindameddler]

Sucks that Mayfair witches s1 was so bad…Kaya said “it was doomed from the start bc it’s about women” and yeah lol

[lestatslestits]

So often it seems that at any given moment Anne Rice had an infodump locked and loaded and you WOULD hear about it.

[xeylah]

"It's one Jhereg turf war Vlad, what could it cost? 20,000 gold?"

[fuckwhoeverpickedallthefunnyurls]

@fresh-bed-old-sheets has succeeded in getting me to listen to Vlad Taltos, so I may be insufferable about this.