#saint mortain

[lady-sybella]

His Fair Assassin love interests (3/4) — Balthazaar

↳ Balthazaar (/‘bælθəzɑːr/): of Akkadian origin meaning ‘Baal protects the King’.

[southern-detective]

A: "My love for the Detective can be used against me and I'm afraid of that hurt. That's why no one must know."

All of Unit Bravo: "Be so fucking for real right now."

[nsewell]

A DU MORTAIN & N SEWELL ; THE COMPANIONSHIP OF VAMPIRES

the wayhaven chronicles, mishka jenkins / the victory of faith, saint george hare / hannibal, 'dolce' / peripety series, jen mazza / the two girlfriends, henri de toulouse-lautrec / old friends, simon and garfunkle / eternal embrace, enrico pajello / raw, 2016 / frankenstein, mary shelley / two men contemplating the moon / dream state, lucy dacus

[leastdatablebracket]

Here's the bracket for round 1! I intend to start posting matches tomorrow.

Group 1 (Matches 1-16)

Sam Wayne (Scarlet Hollow) VS Penny (Stardew Valley)

Joy Johnson-Johjima (Monster Prom) VS Vladamir (Moonlight Lovers)

P.S. Elle (Romancelvania) VS Saint Germain (Code: Realize)

Bram Galeborn (Tales of the Wild) VS Jumin Han (Mystic Messenger)

Edgar Morton (To Love & Protect) VS Zen (Mystic Messenger)

Nowi (Fire Emblem Awakening) VS Elise (Fire Emblem Fates)

Maison Talo (House Hunted) VS Sam (Stardew Valley)

Akihiko Sanada (Persona 3 Portable) VS Sam Dalton (Choices - The Nanny Affair)

Ota Kisaki (Kissed by the Baddest Bidder) VS Casavir (Neverwinter Nights 2)

Anna (Fire Emblem Engage) VS Yang (Piofiore Fated Memories)

Isabela (Dragon Age 2) VS Shuu Iwamine (Hatoful Boyfriend)

Liam de Lioncourt (Monster Prom) VS Sunder (Boyfriend Dungeon)

Cassandra Pentaghast (Dragon Age Inquisition) VS Curie (Fallout 4)

Cliff (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town) VS Sylvain Jose Gautier (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Hanatsubaki Gorō (Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s First Love) VS Leliana (Dragon Age Origins)

Barbatos (Obey Me) VS Solas (Dragon Age Inquisition)

Group 2 (Matches 17-32)

Nightowl (Blooming Panic: Full Bloom Edition) VS Isako Toriumi (Persona 3)

Adam/Ava du Mortain (Wayhaven Chronicles) VS Drake Walker (Choices - The Royal Romance)

Taro Majima (Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 2nd Season) VS Vace (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)

Yoosung Kim (Mystic Messenger) VS Siren Head (Siren Head Dating Sim)

Rick (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town) VS V (Mystic Messenger)

Ken Amada (Persona 3 Portable) VS Lorenz Hellman Gloucester (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Bigfoot (Dialtown) VS Damien Ramsey (Magical Diary)

Merrill (Dragon Age 2) VS Landon (High School Dreams Best Friends Forever)

Vyn Richter (Tears of Themis) VS Sumire Yoshizawa (Persona 5 Royal)

Sebastian (Stardew Valley) VS Triss Merigold (Witcher 3)

Rock (Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life) VS Morrigan (Dragon Age Origins)

Gray (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town) VS Calculester Hewlett-Packard (Monster Prom)

Harry Choi (The Ssum) VS Ichiko Ohya (Persona 5)

Sadayo Kawakami (Persona 5) VS Randy Jade (Dialtown)

Kevan (Long Live the Queen) VS Camellia (Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous)

Ace (Heart no Kuni no Alice) VS Rhea (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Group 3 (Matches 33-48)

Ilessa (Romancelvania) VS Dolce (Rune Factory 4)

Sothis (Fire Emblem: Three Houses) VS Laito Sakamaki (Diabolik Lovers)

Cameron Conner (Wylde Flowers) VS Sera (Dragon Age Inquisition)

Elliott (Stardew Valley) VS Shane (Stardew Valley)

Mikah Hudson (Save Me, Sherlock) VS Harvey (Stardew Valley)

Towa Wakasa (Sweet Fuse: At Your Side) VS Shiloh Fields (XOXO Droplets)

Arsene Lupin (Code: Realize) VS Blackwall (Dragon Age Inquisition)

Vere (Touchstarved) VS Shiki (Togainu no Chi)

Sebastian Vael (Dragon Age 2) VS Toma (Amnesia: Memories)

Sakura (Fire Emblem Fates) VS Ethan Ramsey (Choices - Open Heart)

Warren (Life is Strange) VS Ryoma (Fire Emblem Fates)

Katherine (Catherine) VS Jonah (Boyfriend Dungeon)

Anders (Dragon Age 2) VS Dorian Grey (OZMAFIA!!)

Skye (Harvest Moon DS Cute) VS Tammy (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)

Fenris (Dragon Age 2) VS Dys (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)

Peter King (Your Boyfriend Game) VS Eisuke Ichinomiya (Kissed by the Baddest Bidder)

Group 4 (Matches 49-64)

Tharja (Fire Emblem Awakening) VS Jacob Taylor (Mass Effect 2)

Elanee (Neverwinter Nights 2) VS Megaricus (Kaichu - The Kaiju Dating Sim)

Joseph Christiansen (Dream Daddy) VS Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4)

Mr. Pages (Mask of the Rose) VS Soleil (Fire Emblem Fates)

Baxter Ward (Our Life: Beginnings & Always) VS Ryouta Kazama (Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 4)

Colonel Sanders (I Love You, Colonel Sanders!) VS Kappa (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town)

Andy (Romance Club) VS Micah Yujin (Error143)

Anomen Delryn (Baldur’s Gate 2) VS Koolie Sterling (Tentador Leches)

Canus Espada (Cafe Enchante) VS Nah (Fire Emblem Awakening)

Doctor (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town) VS Lucy (Your Boyfriend Game)

Amber (Rune Factory 4) VS Marco (Lovelink)

Alfani (OZMAFIA!!) VS Makoto Niijima (Persona 5)

Haley (Stardew Valley) VS Azura (Fire Emblem Fates)

Zevran Arainai (Dragon Age Origins) VS Kai (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town)

Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club) VS The Red Prince (Divinity: Original Sin 2)

Lucio Morgasson (The Arcana) VS Cullen Rutherford (Dragon Age Inquisition)

[grapecaseschoices]

-`. 𝐔𝐑𝐋 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄.

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 @thedeadthree, this was cute! Ty :-D

𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒: write one song for every letter in your url, and then tag as many people as there are letters in your url.

G: Gravel to Tempo by Hayley Kiyoko

R: Royalty by Egzod, Maestro Chives, Neoni

A: An der schonen blauen Donau, Walzer, op 314 by Johann Strauss (performed by the Wiener Philharmoniker)

P: Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard

E: Evacuate The Dane Floor by Cascada

C: cinderella's dead by Emeline

A: Atlantis by Noah Gundersen, Phoebe Bridgers

S: She by Dodie

E: Endless Love by Lionel Richie, Diana Ross

S: Shelter by Joy Oladokun

C: Cold Cold Man by Saint Motel

H: Her by Megan Thee Stallion

O: Old Friend by Darlingside

I: I Can See Clearly Now by Jimmy Cliff

C: Call Me Queen by Citizen Queen

E: Easy by Commodores

S: Silence by Khalid, Marshmello

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆: @dakotawritesif @unitedindistaste @sunshineandviolets @sustainably-du-mortain @nitakali @yes-prisoner @veeteeshirt @roxaro @ice-knife @tolltale @thats-a-lot-of-cortisol @hamethyst @coldshrugs @wayhavenots @bansheeheart @lusavors @lesbiassoon; as always no pressure and anyone who wants to jump in go ahead! [feel free to tag me :-DDD]

[thewayhavenchronicle]

when you’re stripped clean, what’s at your core? quiz.  saw @grapecaseschoices tag @ava-du-mortain so I decided to also do this for my detectives ;w;

Ruth Bihari

💙 Ava du Mortain 💙

acerbic wit

you're a mentor — an old scarred wolf, an injured soldier, a disgraced paladin. your teachings read as shamelessly pretentious, speaking in rhymes and biting down hard into anyone stupid enough to make the wrong move. this isn't your first life, nor your second, nor your sixth — you'll make the most of your time shackled to this world, no matter how many loops it takes to get it right. with every defeat, you reincarnate; a little smarter, a little quicker, crueler and nastier. will you choose to be brutal, equalizing, that final strike in the face of your enemies? will you go soft, become tender and domesticated? the choice is yours. it's not like i can stop you.

Saoirse Cathair

❤️ Mason ❤️

animal intuition

loyalty is the saint you pray to. if you ever were stabbed in the back by your beloved, you'd probably apologize. to your enemies, you're fierce. to your allies, even fiercer. you cultivate a thick inner circle built on promises and devotion, fit only for the best of the best. it's impossible for most to even begin to dissect the type of person you are, owing to your unbreakable emotional walls and confusing philosophies. dream careers? body guard, movie star, unwitting pawn. don't let people get the best of that loyalty.

Noriko "Nori" Hakimi

💚 Nathaniel "Nate" Sewell 💚

flightless bird

the thought of your found family is what motivates you in your own little world. you touch the clouds, and the soil gives way under your footprints... this is utopia. if you were to erase one thing, it would be your memory. experience is important, but ignorance is bliss. identity, in heaven, should give way to happiness. you'd give anything just to sit by the swings and eat ice cream, but this isn't that kind of world. you have to get up and wash the dirt off of your scraped knees. i think you have an escapism problem.

Penelope "Nell" Delgado

💛 Farah Hauville 💛

spun gossamer

the easiest thing to do is stay quiet when something’s up. you’re not bothered, and you know what? you shouldn’t be! it’s none of your business, even when it’s entirely your business. it’s difficult (read: impossible) to tell if your cheery demeanor is a cover-up for something sadder, or if it’s simply your natural state of mind. you see a lot of things: people coming through town, people leaving the house and never coming back, lies and deceit of the highest degree. what happened to you? will you ever be that kid again? your presence smells like cotton candy, and your fingertips sparkle like stars. whatever white rabbit you’re chasing isn’t going to lead you to wonderland if you don’t start reaching out when you’re not feeling okay.

[vvakarians]

was tagged tagged by @ava-du-mortain to post 10 songs I've been into!! I had no idea there was an on repeat playlist LOL so thank you also for that info!!

Persona Non Grata by Whale Bones

Nothing Personal by Des Rocs

Auteur by Saint Mesa

After Dark by Mr. Kitty

Me & The Devil by Soap&Skin

WHERE ARE THEY NOW??? by emily jeffri

Weep by Mother Mother

Preacher by Roe Kapara

Madeline by Kiki Rockwell

The First Disciple by Tamino

I tag @impossible-rat-babies @buchimgay @thecoffeerain @anonbea @milkybishop and anyone else who wants to do it! I think a lot of you have already done this 😂

[vakarians-babe]

Tagged by @captastra for this and boy oh boy. I'm about to go wild. This is what happens when you obsess over making playlists so you have the right mood to write in. A lot of my WIPs haven't seen the light of day except in the occasional WIP post or in DMs, but I'll link the ones that ARE posted.

The rules: Post a song that is relevant to your WIP or inspires it.

I'm doing a few of my WIPs and I'll also share the playlists, but I'm highlighting a single song from each that I think really sets my mood when I'm writing.

Tagging: @ghoulsbeard @ava-du-mortain @brother-genitivi @bitchesofostwick

Lions of House Cousland (playlist)

Jedi: Vagabond (playlist)

A Tragedy in Three Acts (playlist 1 and 2)

Of Stars, Smugglers, and Stolen Ships (playlist)

Birds of Prey (playlist)

[katetheworm]

| querencia |

| (n.) a place from which one’s strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self |

---

a little post of my MC from The Wayhaven Chronicles, specifically book three since I already have a post from books one and two lol (so there are some spoilers). this book ended me, I hope you all know. Adam will be the death of me, if he isn’t already, and yet I continue to put myself in this position over and over 🥲🥲 

NOW GO READ TWC BC IT IS SO GOOD AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH

---

Name: Katie Raymontt

Appearance: Average height, fair skin and dark green eyes, paired with curly, light brown hair. She likes to wear some makeup, and usually decides on nice dresses during warmer months and trousers with button-ups for colder months.

Gender: Female (she/her)

Love Interest: Adam du Mortain. Katie will continue to hold out hope for Adam, but it can be hard at times. She wants more than one night of passion (considering she is demisexual, this makes sense) and can’t understand why they can’t be more, why they can’t have more. She tends to be very shy with Adam, but has recently been more sad than anything else, the emotions between them making it too confusing for her.

Other Relationships: Katie is best friends with Nate and very close with Farah, she is trying to get closer with Morgan and it’s working a bit... She has always had a good relationship with her mother and tries to keep it that way, but sometimes it can be difficult. Katie is also friendly with almost everyone else, being friends with Tina, Verda, Vieno, Elidor, anyone she can, basically.

Personality/Stats: Katie is first and foremost friendly, genuine coming in second along with charming. She usually follows her heart and is quite the optimist and team player when the time calls for it. Katie tries to get through most situations without the need for violence but still being able to save as many as she can, even going out of her way to save Sin despite what he had done. In the professional setting, Katie is well-versed in science and technology but can call on her deduction capabilities when needed as well, she also tends to go by the book more often than not. 

Songs for Katie: “Crushed” by Imagine Dragons, “Cherry Wine” by Hozier, “All Things End” by Hozier, “Origami” by Saint Motel, “Two Minutes” by The Amazing Devil

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Courting Darkness

Author: Robin LaFevers

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2019

Genres: fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, romance

Blurb: Sybella has always been the darkest of Death's daughters, trained at the convent of Saint Mortain to serve as his justice...but she has a new mission now. In a desperate bid to keep her two youngest sisters safe from the family that nearly destroyed them all, she agrees to accompany the duchess to France, where they quickly find themselves surrounded by enemies. Their one ray of hope is Sybella's fellow novitiates, disguised and hidden deep in the French court years ago by the convent...provided Sybella can find them. Genevieve has been undercover for so many years, she struggles to remember who she is or what she's supposed to be fighting for. Her only solace is a hidden prisoner who appears all but forgotten by his guards. When tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands...even if it means ignoring the long-awaited orders from the convent. As Sybella and Gen's paths draw ever closer, the fate of everything they hold sacred rests on a knife's edge. Will they find each other in time, or will their worlds collide, destroying everything they care about?

[americaistheoldworld]

Knights of the Order of the Crescent

Knights of the Order of the Crescent is a worthy discussion since we know that the crescent moon is an indigenous symbol from Southern Arabia, aka, Mexico, since Mexico was Southern Arabia and Mexico means, “In the center of the Moon”: https://rb.gy/himgj1.

#foogallery-gallery-3261 .fg-image { width: 150px; } #foogallery-gallery-3261 .fg-image { width: 150px; }

Map of Mayaca, Florida (Ethiopia)

There is a town in Ethiopia called Mayo, Ethiopia. The name Mayo is the same as Maya (Mayans), so we are dealing with the Mayans. There was once a Mayan city in Florida called Mayaca (see post image of map), which is further proof that the Mayans established La floridas (Ethiopia Superior/ Tameri). This city was obviously named after the Mayas/ Mayans since we can see their tribal name of Maya in Mayaca (Maya-ca). Mayaca is now extinct and so is the Mayaca Tribe (Mayaca people), and we can blame the Spanish invasion (the Holy Wars) of the 1500's for their extinction; however, Florida still has Port Mayaca as evidence of a city now gone.

Duke of Milan (1454);

SFORZA (François-Alexandre) Quarterly: 1st and 4th Or, to the eagle Sable crowned of the first (LOMBARDY); 2nd and 3rd, Argent, to the bisse Azure in pale, crowned Or, giving birth to a child Gules (VISCONTI-MILAN). Duke of Milan (1454); natural son of Muzio Attendolo dit Sforza, lord of Cotignola, and Lucrezia Trezana or Tresciano; husband: 1° of Polyxène Ruffo, widow of Jacques Marilli (?) Grand Seneschal of the Kingdom of Naples, daughter of Charles Ruffo, Count of Montalto and Corigliano, and of Cevarella de Saint-Séverin; 2° (August 1, 1441) of Blanche-Marie Visconti, natural daughter of Philippe-Marie Visconti, Duke of Milan; born at San-Miniato (Tuscany), July 25, 1401, died at Milan, March 8, 1466.

First Baron of Maine, Viceroy of Sicily and Anjou

CHAMPAGNE (Peter I of) Sable, fretty Argent; a chief or charged with a lion issanl gules (1). Currency (2): Sta closes. Lord of Champagne, Pescheseul, Lonvoisin, Bailleul and Parcé, Prince of Montorio and Aquila, First Baron of Maine, Viceroy of Sicily and Anjou; third son of Jean III of Champagne and Ambroise de Crénon; married, according to contract of April 22, 1441, with Marie de Laval, sister of Guy de Laval (see this name), and daughter of Thibaut and Jeanne de Maillé-Brézé; died in Angers, almost a hundred years old, on October 15, 1486, and buried on the 22nd of the same month, in the church of Saint-Martin de Parce (3). This valiant knight, who had distinguished himself in many battles, won two great victories against the English: the first in 1442, in the plain of Saint-Denis d'Anjou, and the second in 1448, before Beaumont-le-Vicomte. The following year, Jean d'Anjou gave him the order to help Charles VII against the English, and he covered himself with glory at the Battle of Formigny (1450).

ANJOU (Charles I of) Count of Maine

ANJOU (Charles I of) Azure, semé of fleurs-de-lis Or, to the lion Argent set in quarter; bordered gules. Count of Maine, Guise, Mortain, viscount of Châtellerault, lieutenant general for the king in Languedoc and Guyenne; third son of Louis II of Sicily and Yolande of Aragon; married: 1°, before 1434, with Cobelle Ruffo (2), widow of Jean-Antoine Marzano, Duke of Sessa, Prince of Rossano, daughter of Charles Ruffo, Count of Montalto and Corigliano, Grand Justice of the Kingdom of Naples, and of Cevareila de Saint-Séverin (see this name); 2°, by contract of January 9, 1443, with Isabelle de Luxembourg, daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg, count of Saint-Pol, and of Marguerite des Baux; born in the castle of Montils-les-Tours, October 14, 1414; died at Neuvy, in Touraine, on April 10, 1472, and buried in the church of Saint-Julien in Le Mans. (2) Through this alliance, Cobelle Ruffo had become the sister-in-law of three kings, Louis III of Sicily, René of Anjou and Charles VII. Polyxène Ruffo, his sister, first married François-Alexandre Sforza (see this name).

Baron of Mison

AGOULT (Fouquet or Foulques d') Or, to the ravishing wolf Azure, armed, langued and vilené Gules (1). Baron of Mison, of La Tour-d'Aigues, of Sault and of Forcalquier, lord of Thèze, Barret, Volone, La Bastide, Peypin, Niozelles, etc., chamberlain of René d'Anjou, viguier of Marseilles (1443, 1445 and 1472); son of Raymond and Louise de Glandevès-Faucon, his second wife; married: 1° with Jeanne de Beaurain; 2° with Jeanne de Bouliers; died without posterity at La Tour-d'Aiguës in 1492, nearly 100 years old. Fouquet d'Agoult had been nicknamed by his contemporaries the Great and the Illustrious, in view of his love of justice, his magnificence and his liberality. Nostradamus (2) reports that "after the death of this so good and so excellent Roy (René d'Anjou) several and various eulogies, epitaphs and learned compositions were placed on his tomb, in the church of the Convent of the Carmelites of the City of Aix...The eulogies were in various languages, Hebrews, Greeks, Latins, French, Italians, Cathalans and Provencals, which the magnificent Fouquet d'Agoult, lord of Sault, had collected and transcribed exactly by the express command de la Reyne his second wife.

Moslem-Jerusalem under the Order of the Cresent, 1070

Muslem-Jerusalem from 1070 under the order of the Cresent. Moslem-Jerusalem, which looks very Moorish with the Crescent moons at the top of those Maurice domes. I love the Phoenician purple trim too at the top. This image is a full-page miniature of Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock Image taken from feature 5 of Book of Hours, Use of Paris ('The Hours of René d'Anjou'). Written in Latin, calendar, and rubrics in French.

King René of Anjou

The Ordre du Croissant (Order of the Crescent; Italian: Ordine della Luna Crescente) was a chivalric order founded by Charles I of Naples and Sicily in 1268. It was revived in 1448 or 1464 by René I of Naples, the king of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Aragon (including parts of Provence), to provide him with a rival to the English Order of the Garter. René was one of the champions of the medieval system of chivalry and knighthood, and this new order was (like its English rival) neo-Arthurian in character. Its insignia consisted of a golden crescent moon engraved in grey with the word LOZ, with a chain of 3 gold loops above the crescent. On René's death, the Order lapsed. The Order of the Crescent, also known as "Order of the Crescent in the Provence,” a French chivalric order was founded on 11 August 1448 in Angers by King Rene of Provence as a court order. The order, which united itself, features from knighthood and spiritual orders, and counted up to 50 knights, of which can be dukes, princes, marquises, viscounts and knights with four quarters of nobility.

A French Canadian Maur by the name of Ann Marie Bourassa sent me a link to the Armorial Chevaliers (Knights) of the Order of the Crescent and the images in this post spoke to my DNA, since my maternal surname, “Chavis” means the Goat and Brave boy: https://rb.gy/qk2k10.

Chavis/ Chavers is also short for Chevaliers, since the Chavis are a Royal family of knights that is associated with bravery and passing the BAR. Chevaliers is French for Knights since the number one code of the knights is chivalry, which means bravery. During the old-world chivalry (honor) was established from being brave in battle, and cavalry is another word that is derived from chevaliers since cavalry means an army of mounted braves (Knights) on horses.

In 1066 during the Battle of Hastings, my French royal family of Shivers, which is French for Chavis, as knights, helped the French Viking King, “William the Conqueror,” a Danite, conquer England with the aid of two dragons and were given the Shivers Mountains in England by William the Conqueror due to the acts of Chivalry (bravery=Knighthood) on the battlefield: https://rb.gy/n9vlao.

Here is the link to the Armorial Knights of the order of the Crescent: https://rb.gy/y2hpa4. This link is in French, but you can use Goggle Translate to translate the French into English.

Please, avoid the hijack with the whitewash when reading the Armorial Knights link, because the original French were the Franks or Gauls (Gullah Geechee/ Galilee), and they were French Maurs (Merovingians): https://rb.gy/posjrm.

“Franks (Franci), a Germanic people who conquered Gallia (Gaul), and made it Francia (France).” [End quote from Oxford Classical Dictionary]. “Gaul, French Gaule, Latin Gallia, the region inhabited by the ancient Gauls, comprising modern-day France and parts of Belgium, western Germany, and northern Italy”: https://www.britannica.com/place/Gaul-ancient-region-Europe.

The Americas has the most place names associated with Gaul/ Gales/ Gules/ Gola/ Galley/ Gullah/ Galilee/ Gaelic (France). For example, Galesburg, Illinois; Galilee, Pennsylvania; Angola, Louisiana; Angola, Indiana, etc. Some of the African slaves allegedly came from Angola, aka, the Congo (Congo, Alabama*), which is a country allegedly in Africa on the Slave Coast. Gola, which is short for Angola (An-Gola), is also Gula as in Gullah Geechee – Seminole and Creek (Greek) Indians: https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~sotillos/moore.htm.

Guale was a historic Native American chiefdom (Tribe) of Mississippian culture peoples located along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. This tribe of Guale Indians were Maurs (Maur-iners as in Marine and Mar/ Mer as in sea), aka, Sea people. Guale was once a city on the Sea Coast of Georgia that is now extinct and so is this tribe of Indians (Washitaw Muurs = Yamasees and the five civilized tribes), due to Spanish conquest: https://www.americaistheoldworld.com/gibraltar-of-the-west/.

In South America we have the Spanish equivalent to the Gullah Geechee, the “Gualeguaychú.” Gualeguaychú is a city in the province of Entre Ríos, Argentina, on the left bank of the Gualeguaychú River (a tributary of the Uruguay River). In Mexico, we have Guatemala, which is a derivative of Gaul since the prefix Guate in Gutemala is Gaul.

This book, “Africa vs. America,” demonstrates that Europeans copied ancient Ghana that was in South America (Guyana) and built a second Ghana on the other coast [Africa], which is known as Congo or Angola. Africa vs. America,” by Isabel Alvarez: https://www.americaistheoldworld.com/ancient-ghana-is-guyana/.

This FB post deals with a French Merovingian Queen, nicknamed “The She Wolf,” since she convinced a Baron (wizard), Lord Roger Mortimer, to help her to overthrow her gay husband, King Edward II of England to take the crown: https://rb.gy/7g9b4s.

Speaking of the She Wolf, the Capitoline Wolf is the She Wolf and is a symbol of the founding of Rome. The wolf is a sacred symbol of the Turks and the Danites. The Americas has 13 Capitoline Wolf Statues, which suggests that the greater Rome or Imperial Rome was in the Americas. Rome is derived from the Egyptian word Ramen and the Hebrew word Rimon, which means pomegranate. The pomegranate is a symbol of Granada Land (the promised land), which was in the Americas: https://www.americaistheoldworld.com/imperial-rome-and-italy-superior/.

The Armorial Knights of the order of the Crescent has a few coats of arms with the She Wolf in the center of the moon. Mother Mary/ Maya/ Meru, aka, the Queen of Heaven, is shown in many images as the Venus Star Transit, which is the Mayan 5-pointed Star, standing in the center of the crescent moon. The wolf is code for the Dragon, aka, the constellation Draco when its Star Theban was the Pole Star or the North Star.

Who was Rene d’Anjou?

In this post are some images of the Royal Knights’ coat of arms of the Order of the Crescent, instituted by King René d’Anjou, ms. Fr. 5225. Statues of the Order of the Crescent, founded by René d’Anjou (1448), ms. Fr. 25204. (Source: gallica.bnf.fr, National Library of France).

The Ordre du Croissant (Order of the Crescent; Italian: Ordine della Luna Crescente) was a chivalric order [knights’ order] founded by Charles I of Naples and Sicily in 1268. It was revived in 1448 or 1464 by René I of Naples, the king of Jerusalem, Sicily and Aragon (including parts of Provence), to provide him with a rival to the English Order of the Garter. René was one of the champions of the medieval system of chivalry and knighthood, and this new order was (like its English rival) neo-Arthurian in character. Its insignia consisted of a golden crescent moon engraved in grey with the word LOZ, with a chain of three gold loops above the crescent. On René’s death, the Order lapsed.

The Armorial Knights of the Order of the Crescent, also known as “Order of the Crescent in the Provence,” a French chivalric order was founded on 11 August 1448 in Angers by King Rene of Provence as a court order. The order, which united itself, features from knighthood and spiritual orders, and counted up to fifty knights, of which can be dukes, princes, marquises, viscounts, and knights with four quarters of nobility.

The Knights committed themselves to mutual assistance and loyalty to the order which, after the Provence became part of France in 1486, was soon forgotten. Ackermann mentions this knighthood as a historical order of France.

In this post is a poorly whitewashed image of King Rene of Anjou since he is still swarthy (dark/ Black) in his image. King Rene was the grandson of King John II of France, aka, John the Good, who was undoubtedly a Naga/ Negro: https://rb.gy/onckrm.

René of Anjou (Italian: Renato; Occitan: Rainièr; Catalan: Renat; 1409–1480) was Duke of Anjou, King of Jerusalem, King of Sicily, King of Aragon (Gules), and Count of Provence [Province, Maine*] from 1434 to 1480, who also reigned as King of Naples as René I from 1435 to 1442 (then deposed as the preceding dynasty was restored to power). Having spent his last years in Aix-en-Provence, he is known in France as the Good King René (Occitan: Rei Rainièr lo Bòn; French: Le bon roi René).

René was a member of the House of Valois-Anjou, a cadet branch of the French royal house, and the great-grandson of John II of France. He was a prince of the blood, and for most of his adult life also the brother-in-law of the reigning king Charles VII of France. Other than the aforementioned titles, he was for several years also Duke of Bar and Duke of Lorraine.

René was born on 16 January 1409 in the castle of Angers.[2] He was the second son of Duke Louis II of Anjou, King of Naples, by Yolanda of Aragon.[2] René was the brother of Marie of Anjou, who married the future Charles VII and became Queen of France.[3]

Anjou is just a Latinized way of saying Andros/ Andrews, so we are dealing with Saracens (old Arabs) of the lost 10 lost tribes of Israel that were descendants of the first Apostle Saint Andrew: https://the-red-thread.net/genealogy/andrews.html.

Greater France or France Superior in the Americas:

If you have read my post about Imperial Rome and Italy Superior you already know that Italy Superior was La Floridas and there is also a Naples, Florida, which suggests that Rene Anjou was once the king of Naples, Florida since La Floridas was the original Italy. Remember that France borders Italy, which means that since Italy Superior was in the Americas Greater France or France Superior was also in the Americas.

Now, if we include Gules/ Gual (Aragon) and Maine, it leaves no doubt that this history is referring to Greater France in the Americas since the Imperial Rome and Italy Superior post proves that Africa, Europe, and the Middle East was originally in the Americas.

Maine and the New England states were once part of the Nova France and this territory was once known as Nova France (New France), according to old maps from the 1500’s – 1700’s, however, we know that it is nothing new about Nova France since the Americas is the East (the Orient) and the old world. Maine also has a Bar Harbor, now a resort for the wealthy. Notice that when you read the description of the coat of arms in the Armorial Knights link you will see a few references to Bar and Maine, which suggests that ancient Frankish (French) history is referring mostly to the Americas.

France borders Italy, according to modern-day maps, therefore, this post is more evidence confirming that the original France was in the Americas since Florida was Italy Superior.

King Anjou was born and buried in Angers, France. Angers sounds a lot like Algiers, Louisiana. Algiers was part of the Ottoman Empire that was originally in the Americas: https://www.americaistheoldworld.com/the-ottoman-empire-in-the-americas/.

The French and the Ottoman Turks as Moormans (Danites=Vikings=Sea people) were blood allies against Spain (Rome) during the Crusades or Holy Wars. Louisiana has France written all over it since Louisiana is called Cajun Country. Plus, the prefix of Louis in Louis-iana is a French name that is associated with a long list of French Kings. Cajun and Acadian (Akkadian) are the same word. In fact, Louisiana used to be a part of the Acadian Republic. Louisiana is called the boot kicking state since Louisiana is shaped like a boot, and so is Italy and Florida. Louisiana has a French Quarters and the people called themselves Cajuns (Acadians).

Additionally, the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, is called the Crescent City and it shares the same place names as Orleans, France. Louisiana also has Parishes (Parish=Paris), which is derived from Paris, as in Paris, France. Paris means “For Isis” or “City of Isis,” and Paris is short for Paradise. Baton Rouge (Louisiana) is a French word that means Red Stick.

The New Orleans Saints logo is the fleur-de-lis (Florida*). It’s a French word that means lily flower in English. French Maurs (High Priest of Anu) known as the Merovingians introduced the fleur-de-lis as a symbol of France, which is sometimes spelled fleur-de-lys; and it is a stylized lily or iris commonly used for decoration. In fact, translated from French, fleur-de-lis means “lily flower.” Fleur means “flower,” while lis means “lily.” The interesting thing about the fleur-de-lis or Lily Flower is that it is derived from the Bee, and it is just an upside-down Bee: https://rb.gy/jpasca.

AGOULT (Fouquet or Foulques d’)

Or, to the ravishing wolf Azure, armed, langued and vilené Gules (1). 

Baron of Mison, of La Tour-d’Aigues, of Sault and of Forcalquier, lord of Thèze, Barret, Volone, La Bastide, Peypin, Niozelles, etc., chamberlain of René d’Anjou, viguier of Marseilles (1443, 1445 and 1472); son of Raymond and Louise de Glandevès-Faucon, his second wife; married: 1° with Jeanne de Beaurain; 2° with Jeanne de Bouliers; died without posterity at La Tour-d’Aiguës in 1492, nearly 100 years old.

Fouquet d’Agoult had been nicknamed by his contemporaries the Great and the Illustrious, in view of his love of justice, his magnificence and his liberality. Nostradamus (2) reports that “after the death of this so good and so excellent Roy (René d’Anjou) several and various eulogies, epitaphs and learned compositions were placed on his tomb, in the church of the Convent of the Carmelites of the City of Aix…The eulogies were in various languages, Hebrews, Greeks, Latins, French, Italians, Cathalans and Provencals, which the magnificent Fouquet d’Agoult, lord of Sault, had collected and transcribed exactly by the express command de la Reyne his second wife.

(1) All the genealogists and heraldists describe the d’Agoult coat of arms in the terms we have just used; however, the wolf is always represented crawling and not ravishing, that is to say holding its prey in the mouth. We didn’t want to change anything in the accepted description; but it was necessary to point out that it does not agree with the representation of the coat of arms. In 1220, the seal of Raymond II d’Agoult bore a passing wolf. (2) History and Chronicle of Provence, p. 646.

ANJOU (Charles I of)

Azure, semé of fleurs-de-lis Or, to the lion Argent set in quarter; bordered gules.

Count of Maine, Guise, Mortain, viscount of Châtellerault, lieutenant general for the king in Languedoc and Guyenne; third son of Louis II of Sicily and Yolande of Aragon; married: 1°, before 1434, with Cobelle Ruffo (2), widow of Jean-Antoine Marzano, Duke of Sessa, Prince of Rossano, daughter of Charles Ruffo, Count of Montalto and Corigliano, Grand Justice of the Kingdom of Naples, and of Cevareila de Saint-Séverin (see this name); 2°, by contract of January 9, 1443, with Isabelle de Luxembourg, daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg, count of Saint-Pol, and of Marguerite des Baux; born in the castle of Montils-les-Tours, October 14, 1414; died at Neuvy, in Touraine, on April 10, 1472, and buried in the church of Saint-Julien in Le Mans.

(2) Through this alliance, Cobelle Ruffo had become the sister-in-law of three kings, Louis III of Sicily, René of Anjou and Charles VII. Polyxène Ruffo, his sister, first married François-Alexandre Sforza (see this name).

ANJOU (Jean d’)

Per fess of one party, of two, which makes six quarters: 1 barage Argent and Gules, of eight pieces (HUNGARY); 2nd, Azure, strewn with fleurs-de-lis Or, a label Gules, five pendants in chief (ANJOU-SICILY); 3 Argent, to the cross of Jerusalem Or, at angle (JERUSALEM); 4th, azure, strewn with fleurs-de-lis or, a border gules (ancient ANJOU); 5th Azure, strewn with recrossed crosses set foot Or, two bars backed by the same debruising over all (BAR): 6th Or, a bend Gules charged with three alerions Argent ( LORRAINE); a label Gules three pendants in chief, debruising on the large quarters.

Duke of Calabria and Lorraine, senator of the Crescent (1470); eldest son of René d’Anjou and Isabelle de Lorraine; married, by treaty of April 2, 1437, with Marie de Bourbon, daughter of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon, and Agnès de Bourgogne; born in Toul on August 2, 1426, died in Barcelona on December 16, 1470, and buried in Angers, in the church of the Cordeliers (1).

(1) On a glass roof of this church, this prince was represented on his knees, his hands joined, a floral crown on his head, and wearing a loose coat with a turned down collar. In front of him was the coat of arms described above, supported by the emblem of the order of the Crescent with its motto. (MONTFAUCON, op. cit., t. II, pl. LXI11). These arms are absolutely identical to those which appear on a counter-seal of Jean d’Anjou, affixed to a document of 1465 (DOUET D’ARCQ, Collection de sceaux, t. I, n°789).

ANJOU (René d’)

Cut from one, from two, which makes six quarters; to 1 of HUNGARY; at 2 d’ANJOU-SICILY; at 3 of JERUSALEM; at 4 d’ANJOU old; at 5 of BAR; at 6 LORRAINE; over all Or, four pales Gules (ARAGON).

King of Naples, Sicily, Jerusalem and Aragon, Duke of Anjou, Lorraine and Bar, Count of Provence, Senator of the Crescent (1449); son of Louis II, Duke of Anjou, King of Naples, and Yolande of Aragon; married, in first marriage, by treaty of March 20, 1419, with Isabelle de Lorraine, eldest daughter and heiress of Charles II, Duke of Lorraine, and of Marguerite de Lorraine; in second marriage, September 10, 1454, with Jeanne de Laval, daughter of Guy XIV, Count of Laval, and Isabelle de Bretagne; born in Angers on January 16, 1409, died in Aix on July 10, 1480, and buried in the church of Saint-Maurice in Angers on October 26, 1481.

From the institution of the Armorial Knights of the Order of the Crescent, King René accompanied these coats of arms (1) (still existing in 1620, at Saint-Maurice d’Angers) with the insignia of the order (2), which he had painted and sculpted on a large number of monuments and works of art, to engrave on its seals (3) and to embroider (4) on its tapestries and ceremonial costumes.

(1) On the subject of the various coats of arms carried successively by René, see our work: La Croix de Jerusalem dans le Blason, p. 14. (2) Ung radiant and marvelous crescent, Garny of fine gold and white enamel, Of which there was in frank writing, Loz in crescent in engraved and understood, Such motto had this lord taken. Not without reason, for his loz would grow On all living beings who had loz and be. (OCTAVIE DE SAINT-GELAIS, Le Séjour de l’Honneur.) (3) Some of these seals have a double crescent on the reverse that Mr Douet d’Arcq (collection of seals, n°11783) took for two bags or stacked purses. (4) In 1448, Pierre du Villant, painter and embroiderer to the King of Sicily, two professions closely united in the Middle Ages, executed four embroidered crescents for his new order of chivalry (LECOY DE LA MARCHE, Extracts from accounts and memorials, n ° 632).

CHAMPAGNE (Peter I of)

Sable, fretty Argent; a chief or charged with a lion issanl gules (1). Currency (2): Sta closes.

Lord of Champagne, Pescheseul, Lonvoisin, Bailleul and Parcé, Prince of Montorio and Aquila, First Baron of Maine, Viceroy of Sicily and Anjou; third son of Jean III of Champagne and Ambroise de Crénon; married, according to contract of April 22, 1441, with Marie de Laval, sister of Guy de Laval (see this name), and daughter of Thibaut and Jeanne de Maillé-Brézé; died in Angers, almost a hundred years old, on October 15, 1486, and buried on the 22nd of the same month, in the church of Saint-Martin de Parce (3).

This valiant knight, who had distinguished himself in many battles, won two great victories against the English: the first in 1442, in the plain of Saint-Denis d’Anjou, and the second in 1448, before Beaumont-le-Vicomte. The following year, Jean d’Anjou gave him the order to help Charles VII against the English, and he covered himself with glory at the Battle of Formigny (1450).

(1) In the 17th century, this family sought to attach itself to the illustrious house of the Counts of Champagne and took its arms, which are: Azure with a silver band, bordered by two cotices potent and counter-potentiated Golden. (2) Motto and coat of arms still visible in 1620, in the chapel of the Knights of the Crescent in Saint-Maurice d’Angers. (3) The epitaph engraved on his tomb had been composed, it seems, by the king.

SFORZA (François-Alexandre)

Quarterly: 1st and 4th Or, to the eagle Sable crowned of the first (LOMBARDY); 2nd and 3rd, Argent, to the bisse Azure in pale, crowned Or, giving birth to a child Gules (VISCONTI-MILAN).

Duke of Milan (1454); natural son of Muzio Attendolo dit Sforza, lord of Cotignola, and Lucrezia Trezana or Tresciano; husband: 1° of Polyxène Ruffo, widow of Jacques Marilli (?) Grand Seneschal of the Kingdom of Naples, daughter of Charles Ruffo, Count of Montalto and Corigliano, and of Cevarella de Saint-Séverin; 2° (August 1, 1441) of Blanche-Marie Visconti, natural daughter of Philippe-Marie Visconti, Duke of Milan; born at San-Miniato (Tuscany), July 25, 1401, died at Milan, March 8, 1466.

As you can see, the Armorial Knights of the Order of the Crescent were very distinguished and extraordinary gentlemen and so was their King, Rene of Anjou since King Rene was a Saracen (Moslem) that was the King of Jerusalem, Sicily, Naples, and Aragon. In this post is an image of Moslem-Jerusalem, which looks very Moorish with the Crescent moons at the top of those Maurice domes. I love the Phoenician purple trim too at the top. This image is a full-page miniature of Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock Image taken from feature 5 of Book of Hours, Use of Paris (‘The Hours of René d’Anjou’). Written in Latin, calendar, and rubrics in French: https://picryl.com/media/jerusalem-from-bl-eg-1070-f-5-4d2417.

The royal coats of arms of the Knights of the Order of the Crescent display powerful images of occult symbols like the kingfish (fisher king), the Falcon (Horus), and the Bee/ Beetle. The Fleur-de-lis symbol is an upside-down bee. We know that the study of the birds (falcons) and the bees/ beetles is real sex (love) through alchemy, and this advanced knowledge (magic) that was acquired from Thoth/ Thought was used to create an Eden style of government or Ethiopia = Utopia that was based on free energy and a resource-based economy: https://www.americaistheoldworld.com/teotihuacan-is-the-home-of-thoth/.

The fisher kings who were Fishers of men, aka, Magi’s, were the High Priest of Anu (Maurs) from Nineveh, which was Jacksonville, Florida, and surrounding areas. Nineveh means place of fish or House of fish and is the home of Prophet Jonah of the Bible: https://www.americaistheoldworld.com/nineveh-was-jacksonville-florida/.

Speaking of Jonah, a fish/ whale swallowed him for 3 days and then spit him out, which is code for him being born from a dragon, making Jonah a messiah, a Christ-king, and/or a Dragon-king: https://rb.gy/dsgf9g.

In this post is the coat of arms of royal knight, SFORZA (François-Alexandre), that depicts a Maur (High priest of Anu) being born from a blue dragon since serpents/ dragons don’t eat their prey feet-first. Also, notice the double headed Turkey of the Holy Roman Empire on the coat of arms. People think that this bird is an Eagle when it really is a Turkey, since Turkeys have beards and Eagles don’t. If you view different images of Hapsburg (Holy Roman empire) coat of arms you see that the bird on this coat of arms is clearly a double headed Turkey with a red beard. The Turkey is indigenous to the Americas and so is the Roman Empire. The Turkey is a hybrid bird that was spliced together with light codes (sound frequencies), aka, light alchemy, by Turkmen/ Moorman long ago using a combination of the Tukey Buzzard and the Chicken (the base metals) to create another meat source known as Turkey (the gold or good product).

I know this Roman History is confusing because Rome was a global empire that was on both sides of the world, however, the legit honorable Roman Empire that was in the Americas and under French Washitaw rule was overthrown by the duplicate Christian and Catholic Rome in Europe since the American version of the Romans were Saracens (Moslems) and pagans (Hebrews) that were labeled as infidels, in the eyes of the duplicate Roman hijack.

    The post Knights of the Order of the Crescent appeared first on America is the Old World.

source https://www.americaistheoldworld.com/knights-of-the-order-of-the-crescent/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=knights-of-the-order-of-the-crescent

[lady-sybella]

His Fair Assassin heroines (3/4) — Annith

↳ Annith (/‘ænɪθ/): of unknown origin. May be a derivative of Anna, from the Hebrew Ḥannāh, meaning ‘grace’ or ‘favour’.

[neonwint]

Pocket tanks wepons

The US First Army broke through the German defences near Saint-Lô and by the end of the third day had advanced 15 mi (24 km) south of its start line at several points. On 25 July the US First Army commander, Lieutenant-General Omar Bradley, began Operation Cobra. General Bernard Montgomery, the Allied ground forces commander, had planned a strategy of attracting German forces to the east end of the bridgehead against the British/Canadians, while the US First Army advanced down the west side of the Cotentin Peninsula to Avranches. Cherbourg was not captured by the VII US Corps until 27 June, and the German defence of Caen lasted until 20 July, when the southern districts were taken by the British/Canadians in Operation Goodwood and Operation Atlantic. Allied attacks to expand the bridgehead had rapidly defeated the initial German attempts to destroy the invasion force, but bad weather in the English Channel delayed the Allied build-up of supplies and reinforcements, while enabling the Germans to move troops and supplies with less interference from the Allied air forces. The Allied Liberation of Paris came a few days later, and on 30 August the remnants of Army Group B retreated across the Seine, completing Operation Overlord.Įarly Allied objectives in the wake of the D-Day invasion of German-occupied France included the deep water port of Cherbourg and the area surrounding the town of Caen. Many Germans escaped, but losses were huge. By the evening of 21 August, the pocket had been sealed, with est. The biggest was a corridor forced past the 1st Polish Armoured Division on Hill 262, a commanding position at the pocket mouth. Gaps were forced in the Allied lines by German counter-attacks. The Germans began to withdraw on 17 August, and on 19 August the Allies linked up in Chambois. On 8 August, Allied ground forces commander General Bernard Montgomery ordered the Allied armies to converge on the Falaise–Chambois area to envelop Army Group B, with the First US Army forming the southern arm, the British the base, and the Canadians the northern arm of the encirclement. Four depleted panzer divisions were insufficient to defeat the First US Army, driving the Germans deeper into the Allied envelopment. Hitler did not allow Army Group B commander Field Marshal Günther von Kluge to withdraw, instead ordering him to conduct Operation Lüttich, a counter-offensive at Mortain against the US. They forced the Germans back the orderly withdrawal eventually collapsed due to lack of fuel. Concurrently, the British/Canadian troops pushed south ( Operation Bluecoat) in an attempt to keep the German armour engaged. The Third Army quickly pushed south and then east, meeting little resistance. Patton was named the commanding officer of the newly recommissioned US Third Army-which included large segments of the force that had broken through the German lines. On 1 August, Lieutenant General George S. The German forces were overwhelmed and the Americans broke through. American forces pushed into the resulting gap. On 25 July thousands of American bombers carpet bombed a 6,000-metre corridor on the western end of the German lines around Saint-Lô in Operation Cobra. The German Army responded by sending a large portion of its armoured reserves to defend. It started with a British/ Canadian attack along the eastern line around Caen in Operation Goodwood on 18 July. The Allied armies developed a multi-stage operation. The German Army had used its available reserves (especially its armour reserves) to buttress the front lines around Caen, leaving few additional troops to create successive lines of defence. Allied forces continuously bombed and strafed German logistical lines, limiting the availability of fuel and ammunition. Allied air forces achieved air superiority up to 100 km behind enemy lines. However, the German Army expended irreplaceable resources defending the frontline. However, German resistance delayed this until after Caen's liberation. Similarly, US forces had expected to control Saint-Lô by the 7 June. British forces had expected to liberate Caen immediately after the invasion but this took nearly two months. The Allies had experienced strong resistance. Six weeks after the 6 June 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy, German forces were in turmoil. The battle resulted in the destruction of most of Army Group B west of the Seine, which opened the way to Paris and the Franco-German border. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, with the 7th Army and the Fifth Panzer Army (formerly Panzergruppe West) were encircled by the Western Allies. The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket ( German: Kessel von Falaise 12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War.

[cromulentbookreview]

Swipe Right for Darkness

I guess this book is a companion to a different trilogy that I haven’t read? Also why didn’t I figure that out until after I was well over 200 pages in?

And by that I mean: Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers!

Courting Darkness is told from two alternating perspectives - Sybella, a lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of Brittany and member of a group of assassin nuns who worship Death, and Genevieve, an initiate to the Assassin Nun Club previously sent to go undercover and spy on the French court. It took me way too long to realize that, at the time in which this story takes place, Brittany and France were two separate places. I do not know a lot about French history (see: all my prior posts in which I mention the years I wasted learning German) and so if you, too, don’t know much about medieval French history, you might want to do a wikipedia refresher before you start. Medieval history is not my strong suit. I’m more of an early-modern history person, you know, 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. My knowledge of Medieval anything has basically been ruined for me by a combination of Shakespeare and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Anyway, back to Courting Darkness. Genevieve is in a bit of a pickle since she and her fellow assassin nun/spy/friend Margot have been sent away from the French court to live with this lecherous count near Cognac, which is a town, not just booze. (Things I also should have studied before I read this book: a map of France. Which one’s Brittany again? It’s...in the North, right? I’m a moron). There’s been no word from their Death-worshiping Assassin Nun Convent about what they should be doing, and Genevieve is worried the convent may have forgotten about them. To pass the time, she starts chatting with a prisoner who’s been stuck in an oubliette and left to starve to death.

Meanwhile, Sybella is having her own problems. Her family, for one, sucks. Her awful brother Pierre is trying to steal away their sisters, both of whom are currently being fostered/protected from Pierre by Anne, Duchess of Brittany. Meanwhile, there’s been this whole thing between France and Brittany, which only just ended when the Duchess agreed to marry King Charles of France. Great, no more war, right? Only the King’s sister, the Regent (and only ever referred to as such because her name also happens to be Anne...lots of Anne’s back in ye olden times) is the absolute worst. So Sybella, aside from being a badass assassin/death-worshiping nun, has to contend with her awful family constantly trying to steal her sisters away and her duties to the Duchess, now Queen of France and her awful new sister-in-law. If only there were some insiders to the French court for Sybella to consult! Like those two spies sent by the convent a few years back to act as moles...whatever happened to them? 

Unfortunately, as hard as I tried, I could never fully get into Courting Darkness. The pages didn’t fly by for me - reading it felt more like work. I can’t pin that on the book itself though because I don’t know how much of the backstory I’m missing - should I have read the His Fair Assassin trilogy first? Probably. Definitely. I mean, I have them on my kindle. I’m constantly surprised by the number of books I have on my kindle that I’d forgotten were there - it’s like getting a present in the form of something you bought but then forgot about. Anyway, Courting Darkness was described as the first in a duology, as though it were a separate series that just happened to be set in the same world...only, to me, it seemed a lot more like this was the fourth book in the His Fair Assassin series. Which is perfectly fine - I mean, reading this has bumped the His Fair Assassin books a little further up my Kindle TBR pile (currently the same height as Denali).

(Also things I should have done: brush up on my close-to-nonexistent knowledge of medieval history). 

I see nothing wrong with having books that are set in the same world but are separate stories - Leigh Bardugo did this with her various Grishaverse books, but my gripe is that the stories need to be truly separate, to the extent that a moron like me can start Six of Crows without having read any of the other books and with zero idea of what’s going on but still be able to understand and enjoy the story. With Courting Darkness, I felt like I’d picked up the fourth book in a series. There was a lot of me being like “whaaat’s happening right now?” I blame the publisher, honestly - this really should have been marketed as a continuation rather than “the first of a duology.” 

I also blame my sketchy knowledge of medieval French history. What do you mean Brittany and France were once separate? I mean, sure I know all about the Holy Roman Empire, but France? Ehhh.... 

Anyway! Courting Darkness! The writing is good, the story starts a bit slow but as the tension builds things get more and more exciting. How do you find your mole if the mole thinks they’re no longer active? Old-timey spycraft for the win. And, even though I’m a class-A didn’t-read-the-books-moron, I still enjoyed the story after quickly skimming through the other books - ultimately, if you’re a fan of the original series, then you’ll definitely want to check this out. 

RECOMMENDED FOR: Fans of the His Fair Assassin trilogy

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Those who haven’t read the His Fair Assassin trilogy or who know nothing about medieval French history.

RATING FROM SOMEONE WHO HASN’T READ THE OTHER BOOKS: 3/5

RATING BASED ENTIRELY ON WRITING AND STORYTELLING: 4/5

RELEASE DATE: February 5, 2019. So...uh, a few days ago. Hey, get off my back, this book was long and I’m easily distracted. I’ve been off my game when it comes to getting the point of an “advanced” copy.

FRENCH RATING:

[leastdatablebracket]

Updated Round 1 bracket featuring the new 1.5 matches.

Group 1 (Matches 1-16)

Sam Wayne (Scarlet Hollow) VS Penny (Stardew Valley)

Joy Johnson-Johjima (Monster Prom) VS Vladamir (Moonlight Lovers)

P.S. Elle (Romancelvania) VS Saint Germain (Code: Realize)

Bram Galeborn (Tales of the Wild) VS Jumin Han (Mystic Messenger)

Edgar Morton (To Love & Protect) VS Zen (Mystic Messenger)

Maison Talo (House Hunted) VS Sam (Stardew Valley)

Akihiko Sanada (Persona 3 Portable) VS Sam Dalton (Choices - The Nanny Affair)

Ota Kisaki (Kissed by the Baddest Bidder) VS Casavir (Neverwinter Nights 2)

Isabela (Dragon Age 2) VS Shuu Iwamine (Hatoful Boyfriend)

Liam de Lioncourt (Monster Prom) VS Sunder (Boyfriend Dungeon)

Cassandra Pentaghast (Dragon Age Inquisition) VS Curie (Fallout 4)

Cliff (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town) VS Sylvain Jose Gautier (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Barbatos (Obey Me) VS Solas (Dragon Age Inquisition)

Group 2 (Matches 17-32)

Adam/Ava du Mortain (Wayhaven Chronicles) VS Drake Walker (Choices - The Royal Romance)

Taro Majima (Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 2nd Season) VS Vace (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)

Yoosung Kim (Mystic Messenger) VS Siren Head (Siren Head Dating Sim)

Rick (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town) VS V (Mystic Messenger)

Bigfoot (Dialtown) VS Damien Ramsey (Magical Diary)

Merrill (Dragon Age 2) VS Landon (High School Dreams Best Friends Forever)

Vyn Richter (Tears of Themis) VS Sumire Yoshizawa (Persona 5 Royal)

Sebastian (Stardew Valley) VS Triss Merigold (Witcher 3)

Rock (Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life) VS Morrigan (Dragon Age Origins)

Gray (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town) VS Calculester Hewlett-Packard (Monster Prom)

Kevan (Long Live the Queen) VS Camellia (Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous)

Ace (Heart no Kuni no Alice) VS Rhea (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Group 3 (Matches 33-48)

Ilessa (Romancelvania) VS Dolce (Rune Factory 4)

Sothis (Fire Emblem: Three Houses) VS Laito Sakamaki (Diabolik Lovers)

Cameron Conner (Wylde Flowers) VS Sera (Dragon Age Inquisition)

Elliott (Stardew Valley) VS Shane (Stardew Valley)

Towa Wakasa (Sweet Fuse: At Your Side) VS Shiloh Fields (XOXO Droplets)

Arsene Lupin (Code: Realize) VS Blackwall (Dragon Age Inquisition)

Vere (Touchstarved) VS Shiki (Togainu no Chi)

Sebastian Vael (Dragon Age 2) VS Toma (Amnesia: Memories)

Katherine (Catherine) VS Jonah (Boyfriend Dungeon)

Anders (Dragon Age 2) VS Dorian Grey (OZMAFIA!!)

Skye (Harvest Moon DS Cute) VS Tammy (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)

Fenris (Dragon Age 2) VS Dys (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist)

Peter King (Your Boyfriend Game) VS Eisuke Ichinomiya (Kissed by the Baddest Bidder)

Group 4 (Matches 49-64)

Tharja (Fire Emblem Awakening) VS Jacob Taylor (Mass Effect 2)

Elanee (Neverwinter Nights 2) VS Megaricus (Kaichu - The Kaiju Dating Sim)

Baxter Ward (Our Life: Beginnings & Always) VS Ryouta Kazama (Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 4)

Colonel Sanders (I Love You, Colonel Sanders!) VS Kappa (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town)

Andy (Romance Club) VS Micah Yujin (Error143)

Anomen Delryn (Baldur’s Gate 2) VS Koolie Sterling (Tentador Leches)

Doctor (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town) VS Lucy (Your Boyfriend Game)

Alfani (OZMAFIA!!) VS Makoto Niijima (Persona 5)

Zevran Arainai (Dragon Age Origins) VS Kai (Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town)

Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club) VS The Red Prince (Divinity: Original Sin 2)

Lucio Morgasson (The Arcana) VS Cullen Rutherford (Dragon Age Inquisition)

ROUND 1.5 (REPLACEMENT MATCHES)

Makoto Mikami (Sweet Fuse: At Your Side) VS Morinth (Mass Effect 2)

Peri (Fire Emblem Fates) VS Yang (Piofiore Fated Memories)

Michelle (Harvest Moon: A New Beginning) VS Leliana (Dragon Age Origins)

Nightowl (Blooming Panic: Full Bloom Edition) VS Virion (Fire Emblem Awakening)

Witch Princess (Harvest Moon DS) VS Lorenz Hellman Gloucester (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Harry Choi (The Ssum) VS Everett Gray (XOXO Droplets)

Shara (Rune Factory 3) VS Randy Jade (Dialtown)

Lon'qu (Fire Emblem Awakening) VS Harvey (Stardew Valley)

Ron Muroboshi (Norn9) VS Ethan Ramsey (Choices - Open Heart)

Canus Espada (Cafe Enchante) VS Kageyuki Shiraishi (Collar x Malice)

Sam Gordon (Growing Up) VS Marco Bottazzi (Lovelink)

Warren (Life is Strange) VS Sam (Seduce Me the Otome)

Mr. Pages (Mask of the Rose) VS Sannan Keisuke (Hakuoki)

Joseph Christiansen (Dream Daddy) VS Jakob (Fire Emblem Fates)

Haley (Stardew Valley) VS Kenshin Uesugi (Ikemen Sengoku)

[grapecaseschoices]

when you’re stripped clean, what’s at your core? quiz. 

tagging: 

  @kdelarenta @ava-du-mortain @trebondialanna @aylaaescar @mt07131 @quaxorascal @quinnorion @likesomethingblooming @moderarato @solarisrenbeth @umbertors @anotherbeingsworld @galpal95 @thecourierbabe and whoever else so desires.

kendis:

rippling sunset (got acerbic wit once, but every other time this)

you’re the nicest person i’ll ever meet, probably. with an undying passion to protect those who can’t protect themselves, you’re energetic and bubbly to a fault. it’s cute, watching you run around trying to tie up loose ends. i feel bad for you — out of everyone you know, you probably have some of the deepest trauma, more than anyone’s aware of. this isn’t something that you want attention for at all, and you’d really just rather forget it exists at all… even then, it seems like you can never escape it. i wish you a pleasant rest of your life, full of rippling sunsets and free of prying eyes.

andy:

animal intuition (the effing ACCURACY!)

loyalty is the saint you pray to. if you ever were stabbed in the back by your beloved, you'd probably apologize. to your enemies, you're fierce. to your allies, even fiercer. you cultivate a thick inner circle built on promises and devotion, fit only for the best of the best. it's impossible for most to even begin to dissect the type of person you are, owing to your unbreakable emotional walls and confusing philosophies. dream careers? body guard, movie star, unwitting pawn. don't let people get the best of that loyalty.