#it started with the mirroring and symbolism in Andor

[kissmywookiee]

Did you ever play the Wikipedia game where you have to start at one page, and use the links to make your way to a completely unrelated page? Like, you’d start at the world record for the number of recited decimal points for pi, and need to end up at the page about the Great Emu War of 1932 within a certain number of clickable links.

This is my brain at 2 am. With added existential crises.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Great Hunt! Chapter 10: The Hunt Begins

This post probably has spoilers for the entire Wheel of Time series, so if that's not what you're into, don't keep reading.

This chapter starts us out with the Horn of Valere icon again, which... hell even if you shouldn't be reading this post because of the spoilers, you can probably piece together why a chapter called "The Hunt Begins" has it.

He kept his mouth shut, though. It was Lord Ingtar’s command; as friendly as he had been to Rand, he still would not appreciate a shepherd giving advice.

Rand demonstrating his keen leadership skills by being aware of the limitations of horses is both a good jibe at fantasy novels of the time (where horses needed less rest than the average car and had better range and mileage) and a nice way of contrasting how towards the end he won't be giving a fuck about anyone's limitations and push them all much harder than Ingtar is pushing these poor horses.

Rand tried to ride with Mat and Perrin, but when Rand let his horse drop back to them, Mat nudged Perrin, and Perrin reluctantly galloped to the head of the column with Mat.

I feel like this little bit of Mat being extra petty about this carries a lot of people's dislike of early Mat, because without the dagger he's actually not that bad even now.

Uno looked at Rand with his one eye, then shrugged and climbed into his saddle.

Uno isn't afraid to voice his opinion to his superiors 'cause he's a cool dude. He also is pretty convinced Rand is a lord too and thus could put Ingtar in his place - and probably has noticed the glances Rand's been giving the horses and is well aware that the boy agrees with him. I wonder how many of this ranging party specifically think that Ingtar being in charge is just the convenient fiction for this outlander lord who wants to pretend to be a shepherd. Like obviously Ingtar doesn't think that but Uno might...

“Do you like to run, Rand?” Loial laughed. “I do. I was the fastest in Stedding Shangtai. I outran a horse, once.”

That poor horse must have died of a heart attack shortly thereafter, what with the whole running at top speed and also having a huge thing like an Ogier keeping up with it.

It was not hard—there were few personal bundles among the supplies—but when he had it open, he let out a shout that brought every man in the camp erect with sword in hand.

Everyone of course just thinks Rand's bitching about the coats is him being pissy that Moiraine won't let him play at being a shepherd.

Also it's adorable how Moiraine thinks she's fulfilling prophecy with the heron-marked jackets.

I can always go naked, he thought bitterly.

*desperately presses random symbols on the nearest Portal Stone to find the nudist!Rand Mirror World*

“We didn’t bloody bring enough for you to be spilling it on the flaming ground.” The one-eyed man looked at Rand and left. Masema rubbed his ear, but his glare followed Rand.

So Masema's obviously pissy about this upstart foreigner Aiel-look-a-like putting on airs and terrifying everyone in the camp, but Uno's just doing whatever it takes to get a chance to challenge Rand to a friendly duel.

“I ask no questions, mind. If Lan Dai Shan and Moiraine Sedai want to say you are from Andor, from the Two Rivers, then you are. But Masema can’t get the look of the Aiel out of his head, and when he sees you. . . .”

It's really fascinating how Masema's perspective on Rand does such a huge 180. Bruh is an absolute fanatic about whatever his beliefs are, they just aren't necessarily logical evolutions from each other.

“I grew up with him, though you’d never know it now. You put this Aiel nonsense in his head on top of what’s already there, and the Light knows what we’ll have. An Aiel lord, maybe.”

Mat: Absolute savage and accidental prophet.

But they do let the Tuatha’an, the Traveling People, cross the Waste. And they don’t see Ogier as enemies, either, though I doubt any of us would want to go out into the Waste.

It's also a nice bit of realism that as soon as someone tries to simplify the Other as seeing the world purely in terms of themselves and their enemies, someone else can point out that no, it's not really that simple. It's not even really the case that the Aiel see the Wetlanders as enemies exactly, since they clearly could have engaged in warfare against them long ago and won.

When Rand finally settled down for the night, his head hummed with unwanted thoughts. Image of an Aielman. Moiraine Sedai wants to say you’re from the Two Rivers. Aiel ravaged all the way to Tar Valon. Born on the slopes of Dragonmount. The Dragon Reborn.

Bro can't even stay in denial anymore, though he does try a little. At this point it would literally take one more person calling him Aiel for him to snap though.

“Is this what a Darkfriend camp looks like? Smells a bit, but I can’t say it looks any different from anybody else’s.” He kicked at one of the ash heaps, knocking out a piece of burned bone, and stooped to pick it up. “What do Darkfriends eat? Doesn’t look like a sheep bone, or a cow.”

The one way in life that Mat isn't lucky is that if he can lose his dignity in literally any way, he absolutely will. It's where all his bad dice rolls go.

“We’ll waste no time burying Darkfriends,” Ingtar growled. “We ride south.” He suited his own words almost before they were out of his mouth.

Oftentimes, truly hateful vehemence comes from those who are closest to that which they despise. Just saying.

He reminded them of the charge the Amyrlin Seat had given them, to recover the Horn of Valere, and let nothing bar their way. He spoke of the glory they would have, their names remembered in story and history, in gleemen’s tales and bards’ songs, the men who found the Horn.

Ironically, we don't know the names of the whole party, so that didn't really work for them.

“I don’t like the smell of this place,” Perrin muttered as they came among the houses. Hurin gave him a look, and he stared back until Hurin dropped his eyes. “It smells wrong.”

Perrin the Yellow-Eyed Wolf Boy: Don't think we're the same, nose freak!

“Don’t frighten her!” Ingtar shouted. “Uno, we need information. The Light blind you, Uno, don’t frighten her!” The one-eyed man disappeared through the open door. Ingtar raised his voice again. “We will not harm you, good lady. We are Lord Agelmar’s oathmen, from Fal Dara. Do not be afraid! We will not harm you.”

I wonder if Lanfear really meant to be seen here to increase the sense of unease or if she was totally just going, "It won't hurt if I take a little peak at Lews through the window, these dumb third agers probably don't even know what up is, oh crap!"

“I fear the Darkfriends took them, Rand,” Loial said slowly. He grimaced, almost a snarl with his broad nose like a snout. “For the Trollocs.” Rand swallowed and wished he had not asked; it was never pleasant to think on how Trollocs fed.

Rand: They're okay right?

Loial: They. Were. Eaten. By. Demons. We're. Hunting. Demons. DEMONS!

He's so patient with the country boy.

“My Lord, you must see for yourself. The big stoneoak, fifty paces south from the landing. I cannot say the words. You must see it yourself.”

Jesus, it's like a Star Trek episode.

Mat waited until the last minute, when one of the Shienarans was untying the ferry, before he kicked his horse and crowded aboard. “I have to come sooner or later, don’t I?” he said, breathless, to no one in particular. “I have to find it.”

It's kind of a shame Mat didn't get any POVs in this book, because whatever the hell is going on in his head has to be a lot more interesting than the fandom gives him credit for. This is one of at least two big internal struggles we hear almost nothing about. Is he extra unhappy with Rand because he thinks that unlike him and Perrin, he's only benefiting from the adventure they're on? Does he think Rand's being selfish by being all, "Fuck you guys, I'm out" while Mat desperately wants out (he always does) but is forced to admit here that he has no future that doesn't pass through the Dagger?

“This is how we left home,” Perrin said suddenly. “At Taren Ferry. The ferrymen’s boots clunking on the deck, and the water gurgling around the ferry. This is how we left. It will be worse, this time.”

Likewise it sucks that we don't get any fun Perrin POVs just yet because he too is clearly going through all kinds of bullshit and Rand's even less aware of it than he is of Mat's stuff. "How can it be worse?" he asks, as if there's a Baerlon waiting for them only a week out. As if they have the world's most competent Aes Sedai/Warder duo at their side. As if Egwene is there, and Nynaeve to join soon, to help them think of home. As if all three boys aren't already changed permanently by what's happened but are nowhere near done with their transformations.

Rand's hilariously oblivious sometimes, you know? And so's Mat, since he agrees.

Then he recognized the two faces. Changu, and the other man who had been on guard with him. Nidao. Eyes staring, teeth bared in a rictus of pain. They had lived a long time after it began.

Poor bastards.

“Cut them down,” Ingtar said harshly. He hesitated a moment, then added, “Bury them. We cannot be sure they were Darkfriends. They could have been taken prisoner. They could have been. Let them know the last embrace of the mother, at least.”

Even Ingtar's had character growth this chapter! Is he already realizing that his extremism means he deserves the same ignominy and is softening himself in the hopes of mercy for himself? Is he genuinely uncertain as to Changu and Nidao's affiliation (perhaps they weren't in his sect of Darkfriends or even really were innocent) and thus erring on the side of kindness? Hard to say!

“Shienarans believe we all came from earth, and must return to earth. They never use coffins or shrouds, and the bodies are never clothed. The earth must hold the body. The last embrace of the mother, they call it. And there are never any words except ‘The Light shine on you, and the Creator shelter you. The last embrace of the mother welcome you home.’ ”

The Shienarans seem to have a very prototypical Earth Mother belief that will no doubt blossom into that very concept given enough time. It seems pretty early for that though; either Jordan thinks Earth Mother is very universal or he expected that there'd be some extra steps along the way (perhaps eventually the descendant organizations of Aes Sedai / Wise Ones etc. become the monopoly on the Singing?)

“Then who shot the arrow at—at the Amyrlin?” Rand swallowed. Who shot at me? Loial said nothing.

Lucky for Rand, Loial's not street smart enough to realize that his stuttering isn't a natural effect of the horrifying treatment of the corpses but because of a near slip. He's also not street smart enough to realize that Ingtar did the Dog Gate slaying, which further points to the innocence of these two poor bastards. But on the other hand I already said they were guilty so they're definitely burning in hell. Can't change my mind. Looks weak.

“They saved Lord Agelmar at Tarwin’s Gap,” he said. Several of the lancers nodded.

Ingtar's probably extra uncomfortable about this because his Darkfriend orders at the time were to get Agelmar killed or something.

Occasionally Rand saw what might have been a farmhouse in the distance, and once what he thought was a village, with smoke rising from chimneys a few miles off and something flashing white in the sun, but the land near them stayed empty of human life, long swathes of grass dotted with brush and occasional trees, with now and again a small thicket, never more than a hundred paces across.

Fascinating that the villages of Shienar, which presumably face all kinds of population problems what with the state of eternal warfare and all, manage to be denser and more prosperous than people living in this relatively decent grassland where there's no military pressures on them at all.

“It is not there any longer, Builder. When Hawkwing died, the ones who fought over his empire could not bear to leave a monument to a victory of his, even if it did not mention his name. There’s nothing left but the mound where it stood. In three or four days we can see that, at least.”

Maybe the bad juju of tearing down a perfectly good monument mixed with all the contaminating Trolloc blood led to them all dying out en masse, you know?

“I’ve seen an old map,” Rand replied in a tight voice. “I know about the nations that aren’t there anymore. Maredo, and Goaban, and Caralain. But there wasn’t any Hardan on it.”

Well that's very confusing, because all of those nations collapsed before Hardan. Must be a shit map.

Crops failed, or trade failed. People failed. Something failed in each case, and the nation dwindled.

I wonder if the Dark One's been able to affect the weather to some degree or another this whole time and only once the first seal broke was he able to pull out the "eternal winter over the whole land" gambit. It would explain just how badly humanity's been doing the past thousand years, with the long game finally paying off.

We are being swept away, humankind. Swept away like flotsam on a flood. How long until there is nothing left but the Borderlands? How long before we, too, go under, and there is nothing left but Trollocs and Myrddraal all the way to the Sea of Storms?

And so Ingtar explains why he fell to the Shadow - but even without all of the upheaval Rand brings, we've already got some clear rumblings that the game was going to change and that Ingtar's giving into despair was a personal failing. Elayne was being set up to be an Aes Sedai queen of Andor, ruling for hundreds of years and hopefully keeping the land unified. Pedron Niall wanted to restore Almoth to its former glory - under his hand, but still. The Seanchan invasion would have, without interruption, restored "civilization" to a good deal of the wilderness.

Also points to Ingtar for some realistic blind spots in another way: he assumes the Borderlands will be the last to fall even though the most recent national failing was Malkier.

There was no gate in the one opening he could see in the wall, but he supposed it could be blocked easily enough with a cart or wagon.

Honestly with population density and armed banditry being as rare as it is, blocking the gate may genuinely not be something these people feel they need to resort to.

Cairhien did claim this land, once the last King of Hardan died. All the way to the Erinin, they claimed it. They could not hold it, though. They gave up the claim nearly a hundred years ago.

Well if the Cairhieniens wanted it, and the former Hardani wanted it, what exactly was the issue? Were the tax collectors just unable to make it this far north consistently?

The table was set for a meal, ladder-back chairs gathered around, some plates already served. A few flies buzzed above bowls of turnips and peas, and more crawled on a cold roast sitting in its own congealed grease. There was a slice half carved from the roast, the fork still standing stuck in the meat and the carving knife lying partway in the platter as if dropped. Rand stepped inside. Blink.

Look I'm just gonna say it. The blinking and the flickering is some of the top tier Wheel stuff and people would have been infinitely more forgiving of the slog if it involved more of it. Even if the only thing flickering about Elayne's bath scene was that every time she blinked the fragrance of the soap she was using changed, people would have eaten that shit up and rated Crossroads of Twilight 7 out of 5 stars.

Rand could not move. The flies buzzing over the table sounded louder. His breath made a cloud in front of his mouth.

The flies are pretty strongly emphasized in this sequence, which make me wonder if they're connected to whatever weird magic Fain was using in this scene.

Also worth noting that originally this was supposed to be Lanfear's trap, but that this got changed. Frankly it's a damn shame she couldn't take time out of her stalker ex practices to quickly kill Fain before he became an actual kerfuffle.

Suddenly he was tearing at . . . something. He did not know what, or how. Cobwebs made of steel. Moonbeams carved from stone. They crumbled at his touch, but he knew he had not touched anything. They shriveled and melted with the heat that surged through him, heat like a forge fire, heat like the world burning, heat like—

Fain really breaks the magic systems, doesn't he? It's way less coherent than the established magical systems And yet Rand's use of saidin manages to take care of things.

Those black clothes, blacker than black, had never been worn by any human. The wind flapped an end of the cloak caught behind the body—which it did not always, he knew too well; the wind did not always touch those clothes—but there had never been any eyes in that pale, bloodless face.

I love how terrifying this early Fain stuff is, which really just makes it all the more frustrating that he completely loses all relevance as the series goes on. Book 7 Fain could never be this cool. Book 14 Fain couldn't even get into the same sentence as. These other Fains. What was Jordan planning on doing with him? Why did he lose the plot so thoroughly? Will we ever find something in his notes that makes it make sense?

We'll probably never know. Oh well. Next time: more hunting!

[yeomangamer]

Dusty Skirmishes Chapter 7

A/N: This is the last chapter, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for all the support, please check out the Ao3 and FFN versions for full author’s notes

Leia woke up early Sunday morning thinking it was a beautiful day for a lifelong commitment. The whole town had been in a buzz about the wedding for the past week. There was a rumor that everyone in New Tatooine would be there, each coming with food and a cheerful attitude. She was not looking forward to standing up in front of everyone.

“‘Least you’re not the bride,” Luke had told her when she’d expressed her dislike.

“The bride I am not concerned about, the groom however…”

She felt bad for Deputy Andor. After being hired as Luke’s deputy, he had only wanted to marry a nice girl he’d met with very few of the frivolities. Unfortunately, word of their engagement had swept through the city like a wildfire. Hot off celebrating their victory against Scarif, the citizens of New Tatooine probably would’ve toasted a cow giving birth. And thus the wedding of Deputy Cassian Andor to Miss Jyn Erso had quickly become the wedding of the decade.

“Promises only to be surpassed by one event,” Mara had told her with a certain glint in her eye.

Leia had blushed and not said anything. Han did seem inclined towards marriage, it seemed. He had told her about a patch of land near town “with enough space for a body, some cattle, and whatever he may grow there.” But no other words had been said, and nothing was set in stone.

Leia helped the bride into her dress, and they whispered sweet words to each other. Jyn was positively glowing that morning. She was naturally a sombre woman,  Leia had found. Whether that was because of losing her parents or she had always been, Leia was unsure. She felt justice had been served to the people of New Tatooine as well as to the Imperial Company after being exposed for dealing in city politics. A law had been passed in Alderaan that no company could interfere with the running of a city.

“Nervous?” she asked Jyn, as they looked in the mirror.

Jyn shook her head. “I’m ready.”

They made their way quickly to the chapel, taking the wagon Jyn had taken into town so as to keep the ladies’ dresses out of the dust for as long as possible. “It’s also symbolic,” Jyn had said. “This wagon will carry me into yet another chapter of my life.” Chirrut was walking her down the aisle. She had wanted him to officiate, but he was no longer recognized to officiate a ceremony.

“Perhaps in the old days, we could’ve gotten away with it, but it’s better if Father Jinn do it,” Chirrut had said, with warmth in his unfocused eyes.

Leia was the first one to walk down, and her heartbeat was so loud, she was sure everyone in the chapel could hear it. But then she saw Luke and Han standing near the front, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She allowed herself a single moment to dream, that this was her day, and Han was standing next to the priest, staring at her with love and hope. But she took a breath and looked back at altar, no use in forgetting what she was supposed to do because of her dreaming.

The ceremony was not long, and everyone chuckled at the old priest’s joke about prairie chickens, and there were sighs of happiness when they both said they would love, honor, and obey. Deputy Andor looked like he was about to faint from excitement and stress by the time he was bid to kiss his bride.

The crowd erupted into cheers, rice was thrown into the air as the couple made their way out of the church, and the people ran after them, ready to start eating and drinking. An arm found hers and she looked up to see it was Han. She squeezed his arm and laid her head on his shoulder.

“You- you think you’d want something a bit like this?” he asked her, cheeks colored brightly.

She stopped for a second and looked up at him, taking a step back. “Are you asking what I think you’re asking?”

He shrugged and smirked. “S’pose I am, would you say yes?”

“Did you talk to my brother?”

He shrugged. “Yes, he’s aware”

“Then you have to ask me.”

He looked around at the crowd filing out of the church. “If you think I’m getting down on one knee right here.”

“You were the one to ask, right here and now.” She took both of his hands. “You don’t have to get down on your knees, just ask.”

“Miss Organa-” She laughed. “Leia, would you do me the honor-” he took a breath and Leia held hers. “Of marrying m-”

“Yes!” she said.

“You didn’t even let me finish.”

“I got impatient, you can finish.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Forget it.” He kissed her deeply, without any care who might see.

They pulled apart and walked arm in arm out of the church. They were directed by a photographer to stand besides Luke and Mara, also arm in arm. Leia eyed them suspiciously, resolving to ask what that might be about later. They stood for what felt like forever as the man exposed the plates and gave them the thumbs up to move again.

After the party was over and everyone went home, after Luke and Mara announced their engagement, after Han bought the land and built a house for his wife--after they continued with their lives, the picture taken that day was framed. They all looked so serious, not a one smiling at the momentous occasion of the union for two people. It was hung in the city hall and labeled: “New Tatooine first couple, Deputy Sheriff Cassian Andor and Miss Jyn Erso.”

The End

[sosei]

I was out and about today and that means I got started on The Shadow Rising and I want to talk about the symbolism behind the first set of "Bubbles of Evil" that the trio of boys encounter in the beginning of the book.

What are "Bubbles of Evil"?

The term itself in reference to the metaphor Moiraine uses to explain them. They're the result of the Dark One's growing influence on the world growing as the seals on its prison are weakening. The result of which is reality warping to cause harm wherever this influence drifts. This is distinct from the reality warping from what ta'veren cause, which causes improbable, but entirely possible, events to occur around them far more frequently. The warping that "Bubbles of Evil" cause are obviously supernatural and could not be replicated by any twist of fate.

The results of the bubble I want to discuss is different for each character affects here in the beginning of TSR seems rather personal, reflecting something of the target's fears and insecurities. Which is not a consistent theme for them as the series goes on, but it makes for one hell of an introduction.

Perrin

Perrin is speaking to Faile when his axe animates and attempts to kill her. Perrin shoves Faile out of his room so he can go Feral and fight the animated axe without worrying about her safety, eventually burying it in his door, causing whatever possessed it to stop.

This one is very obvious, Perrin has an ongoing inner conflict regarding his axe, a weapon for killing, and his hammer, a tool of creation, that ties into his greater arc of reconciling his bestial aspect as a Wolfbrother and his gentle nature as the blacksmith from Emond's Field. He hates his axe and the violence that necessitates its use, and it coming to life to harm those he loves feeds that loathing further.

Mat

Mat is playing cards with some local nobles, some of which he clearly despises, holding himself back from beating one of them senseless on several occasions for being an absolutely horrid human being. It is clear he is only playing with them to relieve them of their money. Mat's hand is the equivalent of all kings, an obviously winning hand. Each king is represented by a ruler of some nation, the Ruler of Cups being a former Tarien High Lord, Rods being the Queen of Andor and Flames being the Amyrlin Seat. When Mat gets his fifth and final card, they begin to come alive, the Ruler of Flames stabbing him with a small dagger. Mat responds by throwing away his cards and throwing some of his knives at them, ending their animation.

The symbolism at play here is not as blatant as Perrin's, but it is still fairly clear. Mat's overall disdain for the nobility is on full display in this scene, and his full hand of High Nobility attacking feels like a clear parallel. The Ruler of Flames being the one to initiate this encounter is very significant, as it is a reflection of his strong discomfort with Aes Sedai and magic in general. Which comes up later in this book in a big way.

Out of the three, this is the shortest encounter with a bubble, in D&D terms essentially lasting a single round of combat.

Rand

Rand wakes up to find Berelain, the First of Mayene (a small city state of border of the country Rand is now in charge of) in his room, attempting to seduce him* before his reflections in the various mirrors in his chambers come to life and attack him. Rand shatters the remaining mirrors with the power to prevent more reflections from appearing fights them with a conjured sword, which each of his reflections mirror. Each mirror image fights on its own, not coordinating with the others, allowing Rand to not be killed immediately by three swordsmen equal to himself. He takes several wounds in the fight, quickly sapping his strength. Eventually each of the mirror shards eventually begin spawning smaller mirror images which begin to swarm Rand. In fighting these smaller copies he discovers that he can absorb the duplicates into himself, restoring some of his vitality and weakening the remaining duplicates. Eventually he dismisses his sword, causing his reflections to lose theirs as well, causing the fight to turn into a bare fisted brawl. Eventually having absorbed each of his duplicates he rises, covered in his own blood with shards of mirror embedded in his flesh and (relatively) politely tells Berelain to get out.**

Back to being obvious! Especially in hindsight after having read the series. Rand's greatest fear is losing himself to madness and killing those around him, and fighting evil duplicates of himself makes a very good representation of that. Especially as the series progresses and we see how his madness manifests. So does his method of defeating them, as this isn't a fight he can win through combat. He can only manage a victory by accepting that darkness as part of himself instead of struggling against it.

*This is unrelated, but I've seen a good amount of less than kind sentiments about Berelain over the years, both in and out of universe. Mayene has been under threat of annexation by Tear for ages. Berelain, as its ruler, is the type of person who will use any means available to keep her nation out of Tear's hands. I think Berelain is doing the best with what she has available to her, its just that the people she tries to grow close with end up not being interested.

**Which naturally utterly terrifies her and she leaves immediately. This is one of the earlier occasions where Rand's internal monologue indicates that he meant to put her at ease, but the way it must look without that makes him come off as utterly terrifying. This use of perspective is a recurring thing with Rand, particularly later in the series. Its early occurrence here is worth noting.

[kamillapeter96]

This essay will examine and discuss how Hungarian Folk Dance reflects or challenges certain cultural values and beliefs.

Hungarian Folk Dance is danced by women and men from Hungary, which is a country in the centre of Europe (Wingrave, 1984). The Hungarian ancestors, the Magyars came from the east (Mongolia) therefore were a non-European race. Before they began to live a settled life in the Carpathian basin they were nomads which has had influenced their subsequent culture. That is why they were ethnically and linguistically distinct and their traditions, especially dance would always retain something of their ancient origins, hence to compare its history with its neighbours it is very different. The name Magyar refers to dance and music as well (Allenby-Jaffé, 2006). There are several types of folk dance in Hungary. This essay will examine and discuss how Hungarian Folk Dance mirrors or defies certain cultural ideals.

Some of the Hungarian Folk Dances reflect perfectly certain cultural values. Hungary was always extravagant among its neighbours perhaps because of its roots that their progenitors came all the way from Asia in the 9th century (Vékony, 2005).

Hungarians, who have kept their music and dance – with its very individualistic quality – intact in spite of the influence of invading forces of the Tartars, Turks and Austrians. Traditional folk-dance is therefore much more of a regional nature than a political interpretation.

(Wingrave, 1984, p. 107)

At first it is needed to state that although there are several types of dance within Hungarian Folk Dance they all have same characteristics. They are almost always improvised and have variations in specific regions. Every type has a precise music. Most important of all they all are important elements of community life (Czompo, 2006).

In the history Hungary was in occupation and war most of the time (Wingrave, 1984) which characterised some of its dances. Such as the hajdútánc (dance of the Haiduk), which was a battle dance with swords and axes (Horvath, 1977). Danced by men at victory feasts and wakes, and at jollifications at court (Magyar, 1979). It was the most popular dance in the 16th and 17th centuries. An English traveller, Edward Brown describes: “clashing the same, turning, winding, elevating, and depressing their bodies with strong and active motions and singing at the same time” (Allenby-Jaffé, 2006). These movements describe most of Hungarian Folk dances. Either women or men sing/shout during performance according to the website, GoUnesco (2016). The movements of the hajdútánc described that “this must have been a true sword dance of ancient origin” (Allenby-Jaffé, 2006). Ancient times, when they served as parts of some rituals as martial dances (GoUnesco.com, 2016).

The nowadays form of this hajdútánc is the botoló (Stick Dance) which is danced with sticks (Magyar, 1979). This dance type is danced by both genders but it signifies the man’s power over the women. It is danced with decorated (colourful Hungarian motifs) sticks at weddings (Allenby-Jaffé, 2006). However other studies suggest that botoló has another origin. The reason of this might be that its routes are not really clear from centuries ago. It can be traced back to the Magyar pásztorok (herdsmen). Up to the mid-19th century nomadic stock raising was popular in Hungary. Herdsmen lived outside in every weather condition. They needed to protect their herds against wolves and thieves. That is why they handled various tools (axes, ropes and sticks) very well and they used these skills during dances. Despite the purpose (attacking, defending) of these abilities the dance also had humorous elements as well (Horvath, 1977).

It is worth to mention one of the women dance the karikázó (Circle Dance) (Wingrave, 1984). At first it is needed to explain why there are more men dances than women ones. As the norm dictated:

While women lived a rather secluded life and only within their family, the men had more opportunity for entertainment. In certain occupations it was also the custom to display strength and skill by dancing, and therefore the movements and expressions of the male dances are extremely rich.

(Horvath, 1977)

In another perspective karikázó can be rich. Not because of the dance itself but because of the amount of dancers, clothes and singing. During karikázó they wear beautiful pleated skirts to attract men. Women sing vividly with a beat of their feet in a circle (Wingrave, 1984). It is from the Middle Ages and these are the most archaic forms of folkdances found in Hungary, according to Andor Czompo. Today they dance it at festive occasions, when the musicians resting because it is mentioned this dance type does not demand instrumental music along with it (Magyar, 1979).

On the other hand, csárdás has become the national dance of Hungary. According to Kálmán Magyar csárdás is from the Renaissance (Magyar, 1979). As the well-known Hungarian Folk Dance anthropologist said: “Most folk dances of east European peoples date back to the Renaissance when free turning couples were widely popular” (Felföldi, 1999). Hungarian dance can be divided into two major categories: dances from the Middle Ages and dances developed in the 18th and 19th centuries (Martin, 1974). In this case it can be stated that csárdás is an old dance with relatively new elements from the 18th century. Csárdás means “inn dance” which reflects that this dance form was danced in inns by serfs at first (Allenby-Jaffé, 2006, p.143). The development of the csárdás may be tracked back the 18th century. Around this time it was called verbunkos, the folk dance was popular which is the men’s recruiting dance (Tari, 2012). Verbunkos is a solo man’s dance which purpose was to recruit young men into the Austro-Hungarian army (Allenby-Jaffé, 2006). “The joint clapping of hands, the slapping of boots in intricated rhythms” characterised that style (Horvath, 1977). The controversial fact is that the csárdás developed of a dance which was the end product of the Habsburg oppression and yet it represents the nation as a whole without the invaders. As Michael J. Horvath states about the csárdás:

As a reaction to the Hapsburg oppression, not even the fashionable society dance the waltz met with enthusiastic reception, because it had reached Hungary via Vienna. It provoked an attempt to create a characteristically national society dance.

(Horvath, 1977)

The characteristics of this type of dance is that it starts slowly, then increases in speed and excitement as it progresses (Wingrave, 1984). In the video of the youtube channel, Hungarian and other Traditions (2015) they demonstrate csárdás. It is always danced by couples and sometimes the man has solo parts which typified with clapping and other beats generated with the use of body. In this dance, it is clear that men and women have their own movement culture which is very different from each other. In my experience it is well defined that this both cannot be blended. As a Hungarian it was part of my childhood to participate in some táncház, which events gather all kind of people to celebrate Hungarian dance culture with live music (Taylor, 2008). Because of the richness and colourfulness of the male side of dance I wanted to take part as a man which is more difficult to learn. It turned out there is no possibility to do that because it is not allowed. So the two genders have their own movements and they are not interchangeable.

To summarise all, Hungarian Folk Dances reflect the Magyars history and therefore their cultural values. It represents how their ancestors lived, the relationship between men and women and the social roles which are very clearly separated. It can be seen how men had more opportunity to get the joy of dance in the history since they were free of housework and they could control their own life. Not least it stands out from other European dances despite Hungary was invaded so many times. Perhaps that is the reason why it is unique so it can stands against and be disconnected without any influence. That is why Hungarians are proud of their culture and therefore their dance. Although, the national dance, csárdás was indirectly influenced by Austrians that challenges Hungarian cultural beliefs. In turn other types undoubtedly mirror certain values of Magyar culture.

 Bibliography:

Allenby-Jaffé, M. (2006) National Dance. 1st ed. Malaysia: Alden Press.

Andor Czompo (2006) Introduction to Hungarian Dances. [ONLINE] Available at: http://hungaria.org/hal/folklor/index.php?halid=3&menuid=55. [Accessed 19 March 2017].

Catalano, E. (2016) ‘Dance and Society’. DC4002: Dancing Cultures. Available at: https://studyspace.kingston.ac.uk. [Accessed: 02 April 2017].

Felföldi, L. (1999) ‘Folk Dance Research in Hungary: Relations Among Theory, Fieldwork and the Archive’, in Buckland, T. J. (ed.) Dance in the Field, pp. 55-70.

GoUnesco (2016) Hungarian folk dances. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.gounesco.com/hungarian-folk-dances/. [Accessed 19 March 2017].

Horvath, M. J. (1976) Hungarian Civilization: A Short History with Bibliography. 1st ed. College Park: University of Maryland.

Hungarian and other Traditions (2015) György és Andrea - Matyó csárdás és friss. [Online Video]. 20 January 2015. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF-x3ASonHw. [Accessed: 19 March 2017].

Magyar, K. (1979) ‘Hungarian Folk Dance Types and Dialects’. Viltis Magazine, 37, 5.

Martin, Gy. (1974) Hungarian Folk Dances. 1st ed. Gyoma: Kner Printing House.

Tari, L. (2012) ‘The Verbunkos, A Music Genre and Musical Symbol of Hungary’. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov, 5, 81-86.

Taylor, M. N. (2008) The politics of culture: Folk critique and transformation of the state in Hungary. 6. New York: City University of New York.

Vékony, G. (2016) Magyar őstörténet - Magyar honfoglalás. 1st ed. Hungary: Nap Kiadó Kft.. Translated by K. Péter for the essay

[wyrdsistersofthedas]

Happy First Day to All

With the new year, we thought it would be fun to mark Thedas’ holidays alongside our own calendar.  To do so, we needed to figure out Thedas’ deceptively simple calendar and track it alongside our own. Both have 365 days, but they meter those days out differently.  Looking through the fandom, there seems to be some confusion as to how closely Thedas’ calendar system mirrors our own.  Is it pretty much the same, with the holidays even being similar to our holidays?  Is it inverted since Thedas is a continent in a southern hemisphere?  Does it follow a similar layout to the really ancient Roman calendar that actually started in March?  All good questions, so we thought we would sit down and sort through the possibilities.

Click here for a larger version of the calendar.

Premise the First: Keep it simple, stupid.

One of the first ideas we came to was, if you are going to create a fictional world with a massively complicated lore that can be extremely difficult even for the creators/developers to keep track of, you don’t want things like the calendar system to be convoluted nightmares to figure out.  The writers and developers need to be able to quickly ‘translate’ Thedas’ months into a frame of reference that tells them about the season, temperatures, weather, holidays, etc that would be happening at that time of the year in Dragon Age.  An easy way to do this would be to base the Thedas’ chronology on your own calendar.

The Gregorian Calendar has been adopted by most countries as their secular calendar system.  The Gregorian Calendar has 365 days divided into twelve months.  So far so good.  The two systems match up...to a point.  If you really look at the Gregorian Calendar system is a bit of a mess.  It is a good place to start, but you may want to tidy it up a bit.

Premise the Second: Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Dragon Age, like all fictional worlds, involves elements from our own histories, mythologies, philosophies, and cultures.  The same is probably true of the calendar system.  Like we said before you probably want it to match up pretty nicely with the calendar system you already use, but the Gregorian Calendar is messy, mostly due to shenanigans of the people who created the system it was based on: the Julian Calendar.  (I had a bunch of awesome stories about where the names of each month, and how many days were in them, came from when I was teaching an introductory course to western languages from my Latin background.)  So if you smooth out the bumps in the Gregorian Calendar, what do you get?  12 months of 30 days with 5 left over.  And what should you do with those extra five days?  The obvious answer: holidays!  Hey!  That sounds exactly like Thedas’ calendar!  In this way you end up with a calendar system that looks mostly like your own, but with enough differences to make it feel just a bit other worldly.

In creating this post I experimented with several ways of representing Thedas’ calendar in a way that I could superimpose our own calendar over it so that it would be easy to figure out which days are which in each calendar system.  My first attempt at this resulted in this calendar wheel, which I thought would work since there are perpetual calendar discs that we use in our own world (one of which happens to be on my key ring), but now is clearly problematic.  (Also, can you tell I have been on holiday with lots of time on my hands to do completely ridiculous meticulous fandom work yet?)

Although this alignment didn’t work like I thought it would, it did make me think of something.  Said I to myself as I looked at the placement of the holidays, “That looks like the Celtic Calendar”.  A quick google image search confirmed my thought...and provided excellent evidence of why the extra five days in the Thedas Calendar are where they are:

The holidays of Yule, Imbolg, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain match up perfectly with the placement of First Day, Wintersend, Summerday, All Soul’s Day, and Satinalia.   It seems highly likely that the Wheel of the Year served as the inspiration for Thedas’ holiday system.

Premise the Third: Mix things up just a bit.

While most of Thedas’ calendar can clearly be show to match up with the Celtic Calendar, there are some important differences that through off most of the fans, including me.  I want Satinalia to match up with Yule/Christmas and All Soul’s Day to be Samhain/Halloween, but seasonal timings don’t actually align.

Satinalia, according to the calendar placement would take place closer to Halloween than to Christmas.  It’s a harvest festival.  The descriptions of the the holiday make it sound like a combination of Halloween and Christmas.  In the Feastday DLC, Satinalia is said to be “marked by sumptuous feasts, wild celebration, and naming the town fool as ruler for a day. Amid the feasting, it is customary for friends, lovers, and traveling companions to exchange gifts and pranks.”  The description of the holiday on the Bioware website and in World of Thedas, Vol. 1 adds: “Once dedicated to the Old Goddess of Freedom, Zazikel—but now attributed more to the second moon, Satina—this holiday is ...[celebrated with] the wearing of masks.... In Antiva, Satinalia lasts for a week or more, while a week of fasting follows. In more pious areas, large feasts and the giving of gifts mark the holiday. Satinalia is celebrated at the beginning of Umbralis.” (emphasis added) So basically it is the last big bash before settling down for the bleak winter months.  Sensible.

First Day, on the other hand, reads much more like a combination of New Year’s and Thanksgiving: “The traditional start of the year, this holiday involves visits to neighbors and family (in remote areas, this was once an annual check to ensure everyone was alive), as well as a town gathering to commemorate the year past, accompanied by drinking and merriment.”   (emphasis added)

Wintersend is not placed at a holiday that is typically celebrated in the Gregorian Calendar, but coincides with the Celtic holiday Imbolc (St. Brigid’s Day having taken its place in the Christian Calendar).  In Thedas, Wintersend was “Once called “Urthalis” and dedicated to Urthemiel, the Old God of Beauty, this holiday has now become a celebration of the Maker. It stands for the end of winter in many lands and coincides with tourneys and contests at the Proving Grounds in Minrathous. In southern lands, this holiday has become a day of gathering for trade, theater, and, in some areas, the arrangement of marriages. It is celebrated at the beginning of Pluitanis.”  I think it is fascinating that the Dragon Age Calendar incorporates similar themes to those found in our calendar system.  Many Christian holidays took the place of earlier Pagan celebrations, and the same seems to be true in Thedas.  The Chantry co-opted the Tevinter holidays that were dedicated to the Old Gods, which had probably replaced ancient Elven holidays given that Tevinter’s Calendar is said to have been based on the elven system (according to the Prima Guide).

Summerday sounds a lot like a traditional May Day celebration, which is associated with the Celtic festival of Beltane.  World of Thedas, Vol. 1 notes that Summerday was “Once called “Andoralis” and dedicated to Andoral, the Old God of Unity, this holiday is universally celebrated as the beginning of summer, a time for joy and, commonly, marriage. Boys and girls ready to come of age don white tunics and gowns. They then join a grand procession that crosses the settlement to the local Chantry, where they are taught the responsibilities of adulthood. Summerday is a particularly holy occasion in Orlais. It is celebrated at the beginning of Molioris.”

It is harder to match All Soul’s Day with its seasonal partner in our calendar, Lughnasadh, which was a start of the harvest celebration.  According to the wikipedia article, Lughnasadh “involved great gatherings that included religious ceremonies, ritual athletic contests (most notably the Tailteann Games, feasting, matchmaking and trading. There were also visits to holy wells... and religious rites included an offering of the 'first fruits', a feast of the new food and of bilberries, the sacrifice of a bull and a ritual dance-play in which [the Celtic god] Lugh seizes the harvest for mankind and defeats the powers of blight.  Much of the activities would have taken place on top of hills and mountains.” (emphasis added)  This sounds more like the description of Thedas’ Wintersend than All Soul’s Day, other than the harvest trappings.  

So where did the inspiration for All Soul’s Day come from if not from Lughnasadh?  Probably the next Celtic holiday, Samhain, with a bit of influence from Bonfire Night.  In Thedas, All Soul’s Day “was once dedicated to the Old God of Silence, Dumat. However, since Dumat’s rise during the First Blight, Thedosians turn a blind eye to any old ties between the day and the dragon. The holiday is now known across Thedas as All Soul’s Day and spent in somber remembrance of the dead. In some northern lands, the people dress as spirits and walk the streets in parade after midnight. The Chantry uses the holiday to remember the death of Andraste, with public fires that mark her immolation and plays that depict her death. It is celebrated at the beginning of Matrinalis.”  This definitely reads much more like the traditional Celtic celebration of the end of harvest and the coming of Winter (symbolizing death) even though it falls at the beginning of Fall in Thedas’ calendar wheel.

This correlation leads some DA fans to complicate Thedas’s calendar.  I can overthink things with the best of us, but I really doubt that the developers (who live in Canada) are going to over convoluted things much.   Think of the hassle it would be to figure out what the seasons would be or the month if they had inverted Thedas’ seasons because it is a continent in the southern hemisphere of the planet.  Or if they had shifted the start of the new year to March, ala the ancient Romans, then all of the holidays would match our holidays more closely.  That would make the Thedas’ calendar system convoluted and unwieldy to manage on a day to day basis.  Plus these two tweets from Bioware seems to confirm that Summerday near the beginning of May for us (They place it on May 2, while my calculations say it should be the 3rd.  Meh, can’t be perfect, right?).  So, unless we get future information that changes everything, I think we can safely keep Thedas’ Calendar in line with our Calendar for now.

So there it is, dear fellow fans, a Thedas Calendar that we can all use to keep track of how their dates would correspond to ours.  We are also working on an astrology system that would integrate our astrology with Thedas’.  Because, of course, they have astrology in Thedas!  [At least the Wyrd Sisters like to think so...but then we are weird like that. ;-) ]

(I mean, look at how similar Thedas’ Constellation chart is to ours!  But that is a post for another day...)

Happy First Day to all!!  May the coming year be filled with more joy than sorrow (and hopefully an announcement that DA4 is on its way!)!!

-MM

[stellacarrierimaginationbuilders]

Creative Fiction Writing Therapy/Literary Healing: Adventures of Multiple Heaven Based Celestial Spirit Guides Guardian Angels Benevolent Beings sometimes an earth based and celestially based higher self andor soul of a male or female part one

Start time by 1101 pm Wednesday April 17 2019

Completion time 1135 pm Wednesday April 17 2019

Preface: I must make it clear that this creative fiction story is independent of the fact that  I appreciate my current University of Maryland College Park food services job and I hope that I can be eligible to be employed in my University of Maryland College Park food services job for the August 2019 to December 2019 timeframe.

 Creative Fiction Writing Therapy/Literary Healing: Adventures of Multiple Heaven Based Celestial Spirit Guides Guardian Angels Benevolent Beings sometimes an earth based and celestially based higher self andor soul of a male or female part one

 My current name is Luigi Barden and I am a celestial spirit guide and a muse to a multiple number of men and women who are employed in the food services industry in the year and time period September 16, 2111. My assignment for today is to help from 8 am to 11 am a group of 29 different food service employees from both the military and civilian private sectors who are volunteering for a popular culinary event that is going to be sponsored by the Black Cat music venue in Washington D.C. Some of these employees are dual volunteers on their days off for volunteer events that are sponsored by the Leaping Lizard Café in Virginia Beach for carnival and fair events in both the Hampton Roads and metropolitan Washington D.C. area. How they are able to do this is because a metro train station was implemented by the year 2090 that could get a person from Rockville Maryland to Virginia Beach Virginia within 45 minutes to an hour via metro station train and about a 70 minute to 80 minute to 90 minute express flying bus ride from College Park Maryland to Norfolk Virginia. A multiple number of these culinary events utilizing volunteers are more frequently held sometimes at metro stations for reasons I intend to discuss in future communications. From 1 pm to 3 pm today, I am also attending a storytelling festival in Bethesda Maryland and then Portsmouth Virginia that helps me in my work as a writing muse and because the theme is in also helping who I help design their dream homes in their mind I heard that I am in for a happy treat because this event is rumored to also give the workshop participants ideas for boosting and increasing both their creative imaginative and intuitive faculties. Speaking of which, I must close this session for now because I reside in the heaven based celestial replicas of Virginia Beach Virginia sometimes and other times near a celestial replica of a theme park sponsored hybrid writing school and culinary school  in Bethesda Maryland for men and women of all ages. Currently it is 6 am in earth eastern US standard time and a 8 celestial spirit guide mentors who are featuring a celestial class based on the principles of the Wisdom From Your Spirit Guides book by James Van Praagh wants to meet me for 8 minutes to discuss a film and expanded book being created by the year 2113  pertaining to celestial spirit guide higher self and ascended master communication that also helps both celestial spirits and earth based spirits connect to mentors andor volunteer opportunities more on that in a future communication session.

 Resources

spiritual meaning of seeing a skink (a type of lizard)

lizard encounters/omens

https://www.hep6.com/lizard-symbolism-facts-meaning-totem-spirit-power-animal/

When the lizard crosses your path, it may be reminding you to step out and take some risks for a change. You may have been too caught up in your day-to-day activities that you have forgotten there is more to life. The lizard is reminding you that the higher the risks, the higher the rewards — and  you have what it takes to win.

https://www.hep6.com/lizard-symbolism-facts-meaning-totem-spirit-power-animal/

http://www.shamanicjourney.com/cat-power-animal-symbol-of-wholeness-independence-curiosity-many-lives-cleverness-love-mystery-magic

If cat appears in your life the blending of magic and mystery is close by. Like the cat, you too are independent and a free thinker. At night you probably feel energized. Cat encourages agility in both body and mind. You will be presented with new ideas and places. The cat gives you clearer perception. You have good organisational skills. The cat teaches us that the physical and spiritual worlds are not separate, but one, and is a good assistant for meditation. A resourceful, strong and fearless spirit guide lending you courage and confidence. Examine the colours, character and behaviour of the cat that has entered your life. Everything about it will be mirrored in your own life.

http://www.shamanicjourney.com/cat-power-animal-symbol-of-wholeness-independence-curiosity-many-lives-cleverness-love-mystery-magic

leaping lizard café Virginia beach Virginia information from food network website

https://www.foodnetwork.com/restaurants/va/virginia-beach/leaping-lizards-cafe-restaurant

Leaping Lizards Café

4408 Shore Drive Virginia Beach Virginia 23455

Phone 757-460-5327

https://www.foodnetwork.com/restaurants/va/virginia-beach/leaping-lizards-cafe-restaurant

http://random-name-generator.info/

Black Cat in downtown Washington D.C.

http://www.blackcatdc.com/