#the newer members have shared similar sentiments before

[monarchisms]

[from part 1 of the achievement hunter live: encore documentary | timestamp is 18:46]

[alak-tool-the-dorkblade]

Rahool does what Rahool does and revenge plans must be discussed. 

The Young Wolf stared down at the scout rifle Master Rahool had decrypted. A Seven-Six-Five. She had dismantled more than enough of these, tossing the weapon parts at Banshee-44 in hopes of something better.

But this was criminal.

“I handed you an exotic engram. This is a legendary scout rifle,” she said and tapped the gun. Maybe Rahool had handed her something from his stockpile and was hoarding her exotic.

“Decryption can break your heart,” Rahool replied. He was already looking back at his tablet. “Move along. There’s a group coming back from the Dreaming City who are sure to keep me busy. Reports have them going through the Lost Sectors for over eight hours.”

A fireteam of three pushed their way to him, loaded down with engrams, one of them running to pick up several lost ones from Kadi 55-30.

Peaking over her shoulder, her ghost chirped. “It’s okay. There will be other engrams.”

“This was supposed to be my new set of Orpheus Rigs. I’m stuck using a pair from three years ago! I can’t even infuse them anymore.” She tapped the quiver on her pant leg. A void arrow fell out through the bottom.

“I’m sure Xur will have a nice pair for you in a few days,” he said in an attempt to reassure her.

“Ughhhh, I don’t want to wait that long. We’re supposed to go to the Leviathan and beat up one of Calus’s robots tomorrow.” She pouted and kicked the ground, wandering past the vaults towards the Crucible handler. There was a chance Shaxx would give her an exotic after a set of weekly matches, but she didn’t want to get paired with a stack of blueberries that refused to capture the points.

Squinting at the Traveler, she remembered the last match she had been in. Three freshly risen guardians on her team that were equipped with a combination of rare and common weapons. There had been a fireteam of two who had taken one look at the new guardian’s and transmatted out.

So, of course, the opposite team was a fireteam of six. Four had the Flawless badge pinned to their armour and the other two had Unbroken.

It had been unpleasant enough that Shaxx had mercied the match, allowing her team to just lay down in the map and recover.

At least the Crucible handler had decided to be nice and give two of the newer members some legendary guns which had them excited. They had transmatted out while talking about going to Titan to test them out. One had been a sidearm and the other a grenade launcher.

The one with the grenade launcher was going to kill himself before the Hive had a chance.

Her ghost bumped against her head. “Hey, you don’t have to be a Nightstalker for Calus. You can try something new! You never use your arc abilities! How about that?”

“I don’t see the point. I can do more damage with a single golden gun shot over the entire arc super.” She turned and leaned against the railing. “Remember that time I was stuck in my super during the Gauntlet and Kay-9 died cause I couldn’t shoot from the plate? I don’t want to risk that again.” Pursing her lips, she glanced around the tower to ensure no one was looking her way and dropped the scout rifle over the edge. Maybe some city dweller would find and trade it for glimmer. Not that anyone wanted to go near the base of the tower with all the bodies landing there.

“I’ll just run my old rigs and hope Big Daddy Calus takes pity on me,” she said. She squinted at her ghost, who was looking over the side at where she had dropped the gun. “Remind me to put you in that shell he likes you to wear.”

It was Ghost’s turn to let out an exasperated sigh even though he had no lungs. “I hate that shell. It’s so lumpy looking. Makes me feel cheap too! Dressing up for Calus in hope that he will give us exotics.”

Sitting on the wall, she shrugged. “We all know he’s crazy, but he has good loot. There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of that. I’ll keep doing it up until he actually invites us to the Royal Pools. If he does that I’m out and hiding under Ikora’s robes for a month. I’m just frustrated. I wanted those Rigs and Rahool didn’t even give me an exotic back.”

“I’ve heard many a guardian share a similar sentiment, some have even tried to take vengeance on him for it.”

She leaned over and looked at the completely uninjured cryptarch. “Didn’t go well for them, eh?”

“A few decades back it was so bad that they had to put his quarters next to Lord Shaxx to stop him from moving into the Cryptarch Vault.”

The Young Wolf shuddered at mention of that hell hole. TR3-VR still haunted her dreams.

Oryx was nothing compared to that monster. “Imagine his face if he had moved there and woke up to Eramis’s crew trying to steal Outbreak.”

Ghost chirped and spun his shell happily. “He’d probably look out a plastisteel window and go back to bed.”

She chuckled at that mental thought and paused, thinking about Ghost’s words. “Wait, Rahool lives next door to Shaxx?”

His shell stopped it’s rotation and drew close, he was already nervous about this line of questioning. “Yes? No one will try to attack him with Shaxx nearby. Ikora lives down the hall too.”

There was definitely the attempt to stop what she had in mind from happening, but he should know better. No one could stop the Young Wolf if she put her mind to something. Saint-14 could attest to that.

She licked her lips, her hands stroking her Mountaintop grenade launcher. “Do you think he will recite Shakespeare to me?”

His iris narrowed. “Do you really want Mara Sov’s sloppy seconds?”

She smiled, her lips quirking. “Now, how do we know that was the truth? It could have been Riven attempting to cause division amongst us for Savathun.”

For a metal ball with a robotic eye, her ghost was certainly emotive. Frustration poured off him at the thought of this conversation again. “How will having an… entanglement with Lord Shaxx help you get a new set of Orpheus Rigs?”

“Oh, I won’t get Orpheus Rigs. I will get revenge and Rahool will not get any sleep.”

As if on cue, Lord Shaxx released a guttural yell as a single guardian took down an entire team with a blade barrage.

Ghost spun around and looked between the two of them. “I’m staying in your bag.”

[theinquisitivej]

‘Secret Rooms’ Definitive Edition – A New Century Review

Available on Kindle on Amazon.

Available as an audio series on Bandcamp.

When I first reviewed the original edition of Secret Rooms back in early 2017, I thought it was a solid instalment in this alternate history series of fictional stories. I enjoyed the mix of genres, the variety of conflicts the characters found themselves in, and the balance of humour and more intimate moments where characters went into their experiences with grief. At the time, I saw it as an enjoyable story that is somewhat overshadowed by some of the later instalments in the series which were getting better and better with each book. Having said that, my review for Secret Rooms is still full of the many positives I found in the original edition of the book which make it a great read and/or listen. I stand by everything I said back then, and you can read all of it here.

         But things sure have changed since that review. New Century has had two new entries with The Christmas Thieves and Let Them Go, and Secret Rooms has been bolstered with a brand-new Definitive Edition. This new edition adds extra chapters, some re-recorded lines, and just more content that helps this early story in the series stand up with the rest of the impressive entries in New Century. It’s not a radical transformation, but this expansion on the original story makes the narrative feel more complete, more thematically resonant, and just as polished as the other standouts of New Century like Arlington, Tiger’s Eye, and Let Them Go. If you’ve been following me, you’ll know that I’ve been writing up each of the new chapters of this edition which have been collected into a new short-storyline called Weirwood. You can read my detailed thoughts on these chapters here, here, here, and here. What I aim to do with this review is to lay down a string of observations that I noticed while listening to this Definitive Edition and re-experiencing the story of Secret Rooms. If you want a spoiler-free review of the story, the original review absolutely has you covered. If the story sounds like your cup of tea, check out the Definitive Edition, and once you’ve enjoyed it, and you will enjoy it, come back here and we can sit down and talk about the book together.

         As I’ve mentioned before, there are moments in this story which seem to take influence from Mass Effect. Encounters are self-contained and varied, making the world of the Reunified States of America feel more alive and unpredictable. There’s also a sense with each of them that, whatever our protagonists decide to do, there are half a dozen other possible outcomes that might have occurred if they had gone left instead of right. Characters discuss their options, and the different suggestions will rarely be unreasonable or entirely without merit. There’s no clear answer to how each of the problems they’re confronted with ought to be resolved, so the story of Secret Rooms is very much about a group of people trying their best to do the right thing and help as many people as possible. A lot of the time, that means making choices that aren’t guaranteed to lead to the best outcome. A lot of the time, they simply have to take a leap of faith and hope that it will be for the best.

         Speaking of Mass Effect, you could summarise parts of Secret Rooms as a charismatic badass female leader recruiting a number of striking personalities in order to accomplish a seemingly impossible task. Yes, I am comparing Annie Oakley in New Century to FemShep, and I find her sentiment that the world isn’t going to get any better unless we step outside and make it better inspiring. In contrast to how Arlington pitches Annie against unpredictable and overwhelming forces that render her practically powerless, Secret Rooms shows Annie in her most impressive light. What makes the story of this book as compelling as it is then is that, after Annie is established to be the ideal image of a Cartographer, she passes the responsibility of decision-making to Abigail for the duration of their excursion together which makes up a good portion of the narrative. At first, this is done to give Abigail a taste of what it’s like to be confronted with a difficult situation so that she can appreciate what is required of being a Cartographer. Once they arrive at the House of Versteckt, however, Annie is forced to leave James and Abigail to fend for themselves as she rides to gather reinforcements. This is James and Abigail’s greatest test, and after making it through, they’re changed forever. Secret Rooms is the story of these two capable yet inexperienced characters and their journey to find their own way as they set out from their familiar home and are cast into completely uncharted territory. Having Annie play an important supporting role as this accomplished Cartographer supervising these two new recruits provides a safety blanket for the first part of the story, but once we enter the final act and the two are left alone, our protagonists seem unbearably vulnerable.

         I’ve already discussed the accomplishments of the additional chapters as an emotionally affecting story-thread within this new edition of the book, but it must be stressed that these chapters aren’t just a tacked-on short story. The new chapters are integrated into the existing structure of Secret Rooms seamlessly, and they even reinforce some of the key story-beats and themes of the original text. After we’ve seen half of the people of New Athens leave for dangerous lands in spite of Abigail’s best efforts to convince them against this course of action, we transition back to the story of James and Abigail’s past at Weirwood. The first part of this section has James relate a memory he had had of Nathan telling him that the best way to convince a wondering chicken to come to you was to pretend you weren’t interested in it and didn’t want it. By placing this immediately after the chapter where we see that Abigail couldn’t get these wandering civilians to come with them, the audience is invited to form a connection between the two moments separated by time. Is it possible that Abigail would have found more success if she had not made it clear that she really wanted the people of New Athens to come with them, as Nathan suggests you avoid coming on too strongly with the chickens? Or could it just be that there really is no way to convince something out of your control to be tamed when their mind is set against it, so all you can do is steer into it and act like you never even wanted it in the first place? Either way, I appreciate how the added chapters reinforce moments from the original story in little ways like this.

         One theme in particular that becomes much more pronounced in this newer edition is the concept of human relationships between a group of three people who love each other. Abigail and James both share a personal connection with Lucy and with each other. For a time, they are content as this group of three that has somehow found a happy balance. Even when things get messy and complicated, the individual pairings we see, first with James and Lucy, then Lucy and Abigail, is presented as something sweet and beautiful, even if it does lead to the third member of the group feeling hurt in each case. It’s compelling drama that takes this situation seriously – you certainly couldn’t accuse this plot thread of being a clichéd love triangle, as it’s much too well-observed for that. It taps into a very human experience, and while part of you wants to blame someone when things go wrong, the writing ensures that you understand why things happen as they do, making it an intensely bittersweet story, even before the tragic ending reveals itself. As I listened through the Definitive Edition and reached Part Four, I realised some of the parallels that can be drawn between these three and the story of Krieger, Greta, and Charlotte. The Definitive Edition presents us with two groups of three, each of them being made up of two female members and one male member, and each group is made up of people who share a romantic love for one another. All of these people are in love with not just one person, but two people. And, sadly, the two groups are also alike in that they have each lost one of its members, and each group mourns the loss of the sensitive soul that they so dearly miss.

         It could be that these similarities are there to make us notice the connection and then ask what makes the two trios different from one another. While Lucy, James, and Abigail were young, practically children when they felt this love for multiple people and were struggling to process these feelings, we see evidence that Krieger, Charlotte, and Gretta managed to maintain a polyamorous relationship for an extended time as adults. This makes me wonder what might have been if Lucy was still alive; could the three of them have worked things out and still be close? Is there one reality where Lucy is still alive and the three of them enjoy a long-term polyamorous relationship with one another? Then again, the trio from the House of Versteckt certainly isn’t a wholly perfect example of a healthy polyamorous relationship, at least in respect to the awful thing that Krieger does to Charlotte. The final chapter does a brilliant job at getting you to be sympathetic towards Krieger even as he discusses the process of killing one of the women he loves and his reasoning for doing so. His logic for why it’s too dangerous for Charlotte to continue as she is does seem sound, and you can tell from the words and Matt Wardle’s emotional performance that this is killing Krieger. Even so, in comparison with Abigail and James allowing Lucy to be free and go out into the open world as they let go of her, Krieger sealing Charlotte away and making the decision for her that her life needed to end is a horrifying violation. If you’re looking for evidence that Krieger’s actions have had lasting negative consequences that Charlotte herself did not want, look no further than the fact she appears to Abigail as a ghost, her spirit being trapped by what Krieger did. The dynamic and interconnecting relationships of each trio is touching, heartbreaking, and fascinating to see unfold as the narrative progresses, and the Definitive Edition makes this one of my favourite aspects of Secret Rooms.

         There’s also a point of connection between Lucy and Krieger due to them both having conversations with the main characters about the cosmological and their place in the wider universe. When Krieger delivers his lecture about Pandora’s Box and the theory of multiple realities, I couldn’t help but think of Lucy and James sitting together looking at the stars all those years ago at Weirwood. A crucial difference, however, is that while Krieger sees the scope of reality and the potential Lovecraftian horrors out there and thinks of the fearful implications of that (despite his insistence that he would still open many boxes and explore many realities), when Lucy considers her small stature in the scale of the infinitely greater universe, she sees the hopeful side of things. If nothing matters, then everything matters, as she says. I appreciate having these two moments of introspection from different characters and seeing their different conclusions on, more-or-less, the same subject. It opens things up, and makes me even more contemplative than the original edition had already made me.

         On a similar topic, the starry eyes, both those that Gretta is revealed to have and those that Abigail and James acquire after touching the orb, made me think of Lucy and her stars, especially as James describes looking into Gretta’s eyes like looking up into the starry sky at night. Perhaps this would be the only way to describe such a concept, but it nevertheless felt like a deliberate connection between the eyes and this important memory of Lucy. My interpretation is that this connection is there to make what Abigail and James see when Krieger and Gretta leave through the Wind Door and Gretta’s eyes are revealed feel even more like something beyond their world. This memory of Lucy and the stars is like an ethereal moment which is forever out of reach for James, so the connection between this moment and seeing Gretta’s eyes makes it feel like we’ve stepped beyond what we can understand or touch in the physical world that we know.

         Listening to Secret Rooms this time around, I realised how much of a blow it is for James to lose one of his eyes. The original draft already did an effective job at conveying how much the loss of their eyes will affect James and Abigail through the writing. But because we get that added time with the two of them at the start of the Definitive Edition that shows us these characters from an early age, I feel the magnitude of how much of what James relies on to get by will be irreversibly affected by what he’s lost. We know how much he needs his powers of observation to get by in his day-to-day interactions with people and his duties as a doctor. So much of his identity has been built around his sharp eye and his close attention to detail. Now that his sight is less than what it was, these parts of his identity are affected considerably, and you can imagine how that would make James feel unsure of who he is now that he’s no longer that version of himself.

         The Definitive Edition of Secret Rooms is a terrific success. I enjoyed this story before, but with the added content that this new edition brings, there’s more time with the characters which makes the later sections of the story more meaningful, and the themes are bolstered by the story thread with Lucy which invites us to draw parallels between what happened in the past and what we see in the present. On top of that, the story of Lucy and Weirwood is just a really emotionally affecting story about past regrets, achingly beautiful memories, and the deep connections between three people who loved each other. Maya Santandrea is a wonderful Katherine Holloway and I’m sure there are dozens of little audio adjustments and small technical edits throughout the audiobook which make the whole thing even more polished than it already was. Tiger’s Eye and Arlington are still at the top of my list of New Century stories, but through a combination of coming to appreciate it even more on a second listen and some really well-implemented additions to the text, Secret Rooms has climbed up high to be yet another of the really close favourites that the series has in spades. Depending on my mood, I could very well see myself saying that Let Them Go, The Princess Thieves, or yes, Secret Rooms is my favourite New Century story.

Final Ranking: Gold.

Striking an impressive balance between a fun spirit, nail-biting tension, and emotional drama, Secret Rooms takes you through a remarkable number of different genres and tones, and it makes all of them work. This was already a good story. Now it’s even better.

Join me in the new year as we dive into all-new territory with New Century’s most ambitious story yet, SteamHeart.

[nihanovacaine]

The Horn of Recompense (Chapter Two)

The Magistrix and the Shal'dorei Rogue, Valteia Sindal were now in the Dalaran Hq. "Ilyea, I am giving you the co-ords to the Dalaran Office. Do you think you can come over. I have more to speak about that map. Remember to look at Draumr in the eye."  

"Be right there in a flash.......just need to uh, .....figure out something. Aurora will be there with me as well...hold on hold on." She sounds rushed but there's a faint whirling click in the background.

Valteia stayed in full stealth as she listened to Lady Emberfury speak on the comms device. She watched the door to the Dalaran office intently, ready to intervene should things go awry.

Ilyea hesitantly walked into the area and fumbled with the bandages on her hand as she walked over to the door "Okay....the thing with the eyes. Looking something in the eyes, maybe. maybe? Maybe." She seemed to be more reassuring herself.

Valteia watched as the Sin'dorei walked through the doors of the Dalaran office, her periwinkle hues narrowed. She eyed the woman's bandages and studied them, pondering as to why the woman possessed them in the first place.

As the Guardian, Draumr, sensed the presence of the Red-haired Clandestine, the runeforged Sentry would liven up, letting out a stony grind as it did so. Blue runic bolts shot from its eyes as it scanned the Sin'dorei. "Gree...tings.....Cole...Ilyea." It would clap its hands together and open the door on the walkways for the Mage to come in. "Elu...meniel....mal...alan..."

"Oh !Shit!" Ilyea exclaimed loudly with a small jump to her steps. "A security system, well that makes sense....kind of like the other one in Stormheim maybe?" Another fiddling of the bandages as she tilted her head seemed to look to something else. No matter. The woman took a faint smirk as she finger gunned to the guardian. making sure to look at it within its eye, or wherever it was. Ilyea looked all over. Better to be safe than sorry. "Elu menny benny boo to you too." She chirped as she walked further into the office.

Valteia watched and listened carefully as Draumr confirmed the identity of the fiery-haired Sin'dorei who had entered. "Ilyea Cole." Valteia thought to herself, making a mental note.

Nimuehdra would be perched over a large round table as Ilyea walked inside. Her white tresses would cover her features as she hovered over w leather object over the aforementioned table. The Map was all inscribed in runes and ancient elven. Being a reliquarian, Nimuehdra hoped Ilyea would help solve her problems. Nimuehdra looked up as she spoke back to Draumr. A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she did so. "Welcome, Ily." said the Magistrix with a gentle smile upon her lips.

Valteia watched as Ilyea approached Lady Emberfury at the table, her eyes never leaving the woman. Because she was unfamiliar with the fiery-haired mage, she was wary of letting her guard down.

"Eeeeeyyy you two." Ilyea murmured once more shooting finger guns. "Just had a hard time with the portaling thing, doing some hard training and lost a bit of track of time. Going from bashy into smarty brain...yeah.."Ilyea figured she had said too much and she could practically hear Aurora rolling his eyes. Ilyea hopped up onto the table where the map was, not taking care one bit. "Oh yeah! The mappity map! Right.....anything you figured out before hand, is this where the Horny Horn is or...just seeming in general for things?"

Valteia lofted an ebony brow at Ilyea's words "you two." She looked about her person with a bewildered expression, wondering how the woman could see her under her cloak of stealth. Realizing that she could be seen my the mage, Valteia dispelled her concealment. She approached the two Sin'dorei, her footfalls light against the office's flooring. She continued to peer at Ilyea, her glowing hues narrowed.

Ilyea was actually surprised to see another person pop up. "Oh %^&*, another person. I was referring to my husband." The mage answered dumbly. She gestured to some invisible space but to say the other rogue was around that spot, she really wasn't showing.

Nimuehdra smirked and returned the gesture back with Ily's signature finger gun with a single gloved hand. She grew concerned as she learned that the Mage was not able to portal to Dalaran. "Ily...Is everything quite alright?" Snowy brows furrowed at the woman. "Auro and Ily, this thing..." A single gloved digit pointed at the map before her. "It's all gibberish to me. Valteia here," She gestures with her chin toward the stealthy Shal'dorei. "Helped translate a while ago that it led to a Cave of sorts. Perhaps this Horn of Recompense as the Vrykul called it, is what the creature guards." She sighed. Her gaze was affixed on the Shal'dorei agent.

Valteia opened her eyes wide at the revelation, feeling a bit embarrassed. She gently scratched by her ear in her humiliation. She remained silent, wishing to pretend the exchange had never happened. As Lady Emberfury addressed her, she glanced over to the Magistrix, giving a nod as she acknowledged her words. "Aye. I share these sentiments, my lady. Considering such an artifact gives one the chance of acquiring one wish, it's only natural for it to be heavily guarded by a powerful creature." continued, averting her gaze from Lady Emberfury, her periwinkle hues falling upon Ilyea's features. "I am unable to fully translate the map I read at the Vrykul settlement as I am a of a newer generation of elves. However, I -did- manage to create a broken translation based off of similar words and phrases shared between ancient Elvish and Shalassian. From what I was able to translate, Odin placed a curse upon Helya, allowing the Jotun, Fafnir, to be freed from her service. He was able to repent by guarding the Horn of Recompense. The map mentions that should someone seek out the Horn and successfully complete its trial shall be presented to him or her one wish." She paused a moment and glanced over to Lady Emberfury. "This horn is what the Magistrix seeks and the promise of a free wish."

"Wish...?" Ilyea's lip pressed together as she thought about it for a little while. "Is it some kind of time magic.....perhaps?" Ilyea asked but was unsure of exactly what was meant by it. There had to be some severe kind of draw back regarding it, and to receive a map that contained it. "Creatures, traps, puzzles....all of the like. Incredible..."Ilyea mused as she confirmed her seat upon the edge of the map. The Mage was of the Magistrix’ concern "I'm sure it's just because of my training. I recognize the lines a bit, just been training more with my fists than with my magic if you catch my drift.."The mage mused. "You should worry exactly kind of wish you may be looking for? Sometimes the price of such may be too great..."Ilyea moved her fingertips across the battered leather and the runic whouls with soft trepidation. A dot of blood would fall where Ilyea would touch but bare enough that it wouldn't hold any weight. Ilyea closed her eyes and seemed to spread her *aura* over the map speaking to the arcane links within the instrument. As she breathed in her eyes would flutter a soft blue as it began to soak up the links and patterns of what was before her. The mage would move her hands letting each runic link flutter and disappear as she moved her hand past, it glowing now softly blue as did the mage. "The magic feels pure, kind of like the wards.....titanic to a fault. The link is there. The runes....while Valkyr are almost Kaldorei in response, nothing that I recognize but then again I didn't do much research into that. Titan though....that would make sense, if it was very heavily guarded....especially considering the spike in old god magics...."The mage shook her head letting the blue drain into green of her eyes. "That's as far as I was getting."

Nur'kuhzal gave a knock to the door frame, before lifting her arms in a large yawn. Bones and joints were popping like a crate of fireworks over there. "Oooh...I should have taken a nap -here-, instead of on the ground..." Nur'kuhzal yawned sleepily.

Draumr greets Nur'kuhzal as a Scion. "Elu...meniel...mal...alann...Duskrune...Nur...kuh....zal...."

Ilyea turned her head recognizing another Clandestine member and giving her a brief nod. She was sprawled herself over the map upon one corner itself, her fingers tapping across the page.

Valteia watched as the Mage began to run her fingers against the map, spreading her aura across the etchings within the leather. The glow emitted from Ilyea's aura reflected in Valteia's periwinkle orbs, creating flashes of blue within the assassin's irises. As the hue of the mage's eyes fluttered into a pale blue, Valteia watched the scene with curiosity, though kept her own eyes narrowed should the incantation go awry. Once Ilyea's hues faded back into their natural, green state, Valteia's body eased, her eyes no longer staring daggers into the fiery-haired maged. Noticing Nur'kuhzal Nur'kuhzal enter the Dalaran office, Valteia nodded at her with respect, acknowledging her existence.

Nur’kuhzal offered a lowering of her head, as well. The most prominent thing in -Nur'kuhzal's- eyes was confusion. Had she really -just- woken up, this late at night?

Nimuehdra watched as the drop of blood fell upon the map. Emerald obrs studied the Mage's movements as she worked. The Blood Mage listened intently, raising a gloved hand to her chin as she spoke. "Of titanic make...yes...that makes sense...the runes are old even the newer Vrykul have forgotten some of their usage as well. The tribe we...acquired this from. Were using it for wealth and prosperity. Something about it...seems a miss." Nimuehdra, being a Scion for a while was used to the red-haired mage's eyes flickering to blue every once in a while.

"Eh, you know what they say. Don't judge a book by it's cover, and all of that business." Nur’kuhzal said.

Vamine blinked, hearing the conversation inside, she stops knocking and pressed her ear to the door. She listened in on whatever was taking place.

The Sentry, Draumr greeted the teenager and whirred. A stony hand would grind away from its body to open the door. "Young Emberfury.....Elu....meniel....mal...alan...."

Nur'kuhzal yawned, and stretched, again. A smoking pipe was brought out--crafted from a smooth, black rock--was procured, glancing to the others with questioning. As if to ask, if it was fine to smoke in here.

Vamine meeped loudly as the door sprang open and she fell forward, looking at Draumr. "Yeah, yeah. Aluminum Mental Mal'Ganis to you too.."

Ilyea tilted her head as Vamine fell forward and chuckled, but then again she hadn't seen Vammy since she got older so her eyebrow rose again. "You got another kid?" The mage asked but simply brushed her fingers across. "Wealth and Prosperity....perhaps, but a wish. You don't understand Nims. A wish...to be able to boast that is some realty breaking power. Is it really meant for that, or is it even pure? Is it corrupted? There's so much to be said here..."The mage offered biting her thumb. "Magic that powerful must has some kind of fall back....typically. Does it mean it can be re-done or is it a one or done? Whoever is protecting it might know this....or something is looking to you to figure it out..”

Vamine rubbed her arm, peering around to all the people. She pulled her hood back to reveal her matured features. She was quite the beautiful young lady, but it was clearly still Vamine.

Nur'kuhzal fiddled with her boot, flapping the loose end that was barely holding on. There were holes in her socks, too. "Oh, feet! Toenails!" Blink, blink. "What about uh, the cave thing?"

Valteia smirked to herself behind her leather face mask, fondly remembering the night when they acquired the map. The discussion between the two Vrykul was colorful, to say the least. At hearing Ilyea's concern, however, Valteia ceased thinking of humorous thoughts. She listened to the mage's words carefully, letting them sink into her mind. She glanced between the fiery-haired woman and Lady Emberfury before chiming in. "If Lady Emberfury deems acquiring this Horn to be of utmost importance, then it shall be done. However, madame Cole -does- seem to make a good point. Perhaps we should look into this 'wish' and the possible repercussions that could arise from obtaining it."

Nimuehdra thinned her lips into a smile to Vamine. She pointed at her as she entered. "Vamine has...uh...had a growth spurt of sorts. She is seventeen years old now." She informed the Red-haired mage, shifting the emerald gaze to her. "I don't....desire anything but the artifact, Ilyea. There is something amiss. So much that is incomplete about the information we have. And for a whole village of Vrykul to so horribly desire it..." She she raised her hand to massage her right temple. "There is more to it, Ily...I just know it. Dangerous it may be...but I am no fool. I won't ask for anything. I have learned that you must be careful what you wish for." She wrinkled her nose at Nur'kuhzal. "Yes...the Horn...it points us to a Cave. We were hoping the Clandestines would help us locate it. Maybe Auro can go scout for the coordinates. I know there is a portal summoning involved." The Magistrix looked toward the group. A heavy sigh would escape her lips as she averted her gaze and folded her arms deep in thought.

Valteia furrowed her brows in confusion as Vamine entered the room. When she last saw the young Sin'dorei, she was a mere child hiding behind the skirt of her mother's gown. She eyed the girl curiously, pondering how one could grow so rapidly in such little time. At hearing Lady Emberfury's sigh, she averted her eyes from the younger Emberfury and spoke calmly. "What do you know of the Vrykul's history that could indicate why they would desire such a relic? Is there something sinister afoot in this village, perhaps?"

Nimuehdra sighed and shrugged at Valteia, "It is an artifact that can cause potential unrest among people if not safely guarded. Maker knows what they would have accomplished if we had not whisked it away from the village's possession." She raised both her arms and played her fingers. "Imagine, an entire village, Valteia."

Ilyea pressed her lips together in long thought as she considered the information to herself. "I'm wondering if the Vykyul are cursed? Or...I mean, they give you this in order to figure it out as well....? I wonder if they are stuck to the village because they failed the riddle....I don't like this." The mage's words were soft. "I don't like this at all. We could be walking into a trap for a powerful artifact or something similar. Always look to see if the worst will outweigh what it means...and please don't mean this any disrespect each other....I don't mean any disrespect at all."Ilyea frowns as she looks over the map tilting her head to the side. "Aurora is saying that he is sure in his adventures in Northrend that he may recognize it, or his network does. Somewhere within near the border of the Fjord and Dragonblight.....that's what least from what he sees from all this time treasure hunting."The woman took in a sigh and didn't seem too concerned about Vammy. It happens in this world.”

Nur’kuhzal spoke up, saying "There's always something 'bad' happening. Whether it's corrupt elders making everything seem fine, or warping people's views of something that "doing this thing will be better for everyone in the end", when the elders know it isn't. Heck, Hydra hasn't even told us what she wants to do with it. We could be aiding her for some sinister cause as well; not even knowing it ."

Valteia did as commanded, imagining an entire village of riled Vrykul. "It would be a formidable scene, my lady, though I'm sure Kirilovos and I could dispatch such nuisances with relative ease." she remarked with a hidden smirk, her fingers drumming against the hilts of her blades.

Vamyine remained quiet, peering around to the remaining group. She had no idea what this meeting was about. She however began rummaging around the office, opening footlockers and peering within them.." She knelt down and let out a small sound. “Hrm…”

Nimuehdra nodded and approached the fiery-haired Mage. "I know how you feel about such shady artifacts, Ilyea." She returned in a calm voice. "If it is a trap, we will try our best to withdraw before it gets too dangerous. I know you mean no harm..." Nimuehdra would recall the time with the bracelet of coercion and how when the Magistrix informed her that it originated from a dark druidic hazing ritual, Ilyea had decided to destroy it. A sigh escaped her full lips as she turned once more to Nur'kuhzal. "I assure you I am not cursed. Not at all. I only wish for this.....artifact to be studied and stored away. It could be potentially dangerous in the wrong hands. I...." she bit her lip as her voice trailed off.

Nimuehdra saw Vamine from the corner of her eye, "What are you doing, child?" She shook her head and then looked back to Ilyea. "If Auro thinks he recognizes the place...then let us prepare and at least...at least check if it is indeed dark in nature."

Vamine had found a really pretty dress in the foot locker. She subtly pressed it into a bag on her hip and nodded. Standing and peering to Nimuehdra. "O-Oh nothing...heh.." She stretched and let out a grunt. "Mmm.."

Ilyea bowed her head "That's all really and I agree with you in putting away such a dangerous artifact. We have several within the deep vaults that we study from time to time. If it's a means of procuring it and putting it there to study as you say would be fine. The only thing I caution is why exactly regarding it....tis all." The mage offered as she rolled her shoulders. "He does. He pointed it out to me."

"Whatever happens, happens.” Said Nur'kuhzal, continuing, “Everyone ends up doing what they want, eh? When are we going to shove off? I didn't even flab my gums this much to my psychiatrist."

Nimuehdra gave Vamine a look as she stood next to her. Shifting her gaze back to Ilyea, she nodded. "Such is the job of the Scions as well, I believe. Let us...pursue it." Her orbs averted to Nur'kuhzal for a moment as she spoke. "Nur'kuhzal, we need to prepare first. Like Ilyea said, we can't just be walking into a death trap."

Vamine blinked at the look Nimuehdra gave her. "What?" She then shrugged and looked over to Ilyea and Nur'kuhzal, she smiled very softly. Her purple and green eyes brightened quite a bit. "Hmmm.."

Ilyea bowed her head "That's, I mean, the least we can do. Though some times death traps seems awfully fun, they are not fun when you actually encounter them." The mage mused with a lift of a smile. "And you are correct, that's what the Scions do. If anything, we'll learn a bit."

Nur'kuhzal's arms crossed softly, hefting herself up and heading over to the map. "Well, one thing's for certain." Nur'kuhzal, stepping up to the plate since things were moving at a snail's pace. At least she had motivation, now. "I've seen this sort of thing, before. We used similar to reach access to our dead and speak with them. The only difference is a larger sacrifice in order to make it appear in the -physical- realm, instead of the -spirit- realm." She grunted.

Ilyea frowned to herself more so and pressed her lips together in long suffering silence. "So even necromancy.....or a kind of necromancy. Do you think dark titan magic like with Heilya or something similar then?" The mage was unsure as more information was thrown her way.

Vamine looked at the map, tilting her head to the side a bit. "Hmm.." She blinked. "If you are wishing to speak to the dead..without bringing them into the physical realm..Why not just ask the assistance of a strong Shadow Priest.. I would offer my services..but the dead kind of scream too much..”

Nur'kuhzal responded, "I don't think it's too out of the question to think such a thing. I used to do that sort of thing, before we got picked up by the Legion. Well, help the others with that sort of thing. We still practiced a variant of it, with the Legion. Even -I- practice a variant of it today. Elemental spirits, rather than.... gods, though. A big project like this, would definitely need more than one person involved. Demigods? Giant toenail clippings? Whatever."

Vamine blinked at Nur'kuhzal. “I am worried about you…”

Ilyea slipped off the map and moves over to where Aurora re-appeared as reaching her bloodied hands up to take some of his hair. She smiled as it colored it pink and kissed the ends. "So.....that would perhaps be what the village maybe is doing? Or am I off?”

Nur'kuhzal gave a wheezed chuckle, filling the chamber of her pipe with a strange, ground-up crystal that had been purple in origin. "Welcome to old age, little one."

Vamine looked at Nur'kuhzal. "Yeeeah, here is to praying I never get that old.."

Nimuehdra nodded to Nur'kuhzal, emerald eyes shifting to Auro as he appeared momentarily. She nodded a greeting to him even though he was present all along, acknowledging his presence. As the fiery haired Mage moved away from the Map, the Blood Mage would take a deep breath and began, "Ilyea, while Necromancy is a dark art, they are somewhat what Warlocks like Nur'kuhzal are adept at, I would briefly point out that I was trained to do so as a Blood Mage. I don't believe you recall our conversation from when I first joined the Scions...but I am not unfamiliar with this kind of magic. We might as well have to offer a sacrifice for this Jotun to appear...according to what Valteia translated, he was named Fafnir." She nodded once to herself. "These crystals can possibly be at the Village...they may have doubled their guard however. I may have to request Auro to pilfer them, if that is the case,"

The mage gives Nimuehdra a look as if saying "the hell?" The mage indeed was not present during the whole initiation thing or whatever the Scions do. "I wasn't....there..."Ilyea softly re-counted to the mage and shrugs "I didn't know blood mages could do that..."The mage was tapping her lips but merely shrugged. "I don't mind Aurora going as long as he won't be in too big of a trouble...."She studied her husband for a long moment.

Aurora pursed his lips, giving a long pause.. Turning to Ilyea he smiled softly then to Nim inclining his head in a soft nod in response.. The rogue rolled his shoulder " Aye.. If you're needing help, I can definitely be of service…” He smirked “Besides, Ilyea should be with me.. So I'm sure it won't be too big of a deal.." He turned back to his wife.

Nur'kuhzal grunted once more, mostly after the two had taken so long to speak their piece about their lover. "Come on. Let's get our shit and get out of here."

Ilyea smiles happily to Aurora and nods. "Just as long as that's the case, then I can definitely help in that regards as well."

The pale-haired Rogue turned to Nur'kuhzal watching silently behind his mask.

Vamine still had not the slightest clue as to what was going on, so she opted to remain silent, peering around. Her hand flicking at a trinket on her bag tied to her hip. "Hmm."

"It was back when we were discussing the Void once in Erudition. Never matter, it was several months ago." Nimuehdra smiled and looked to Auro, bowing her head in gratitude. "Thank you two so much for lending aid. If all is well, I believe I can hand the Map to Auro and he can lead us to the Cave after we revisit the Village for a bit of....shopping." She pulled her lips sideways, giving the group an enrapturing smirk. The Magistrix raised her hand and twirled two gloved

digits. The leather map would float toward Aurora and into his hands. The Mage would wait for everyone in the room to prepare their belongings before weaving the portal. "Let me know when you're all ready."

The fiery-haired Mage eyed the map as it floated near Aurora and ran her fingers down her robe. Her hands seemed a bit cleaner now, as she rubbed more of the blood stains into her robes. I mean that’s what they are there for. A bloodied rag would also be in Aurora's hand from cleaning them earlier and she took in a small sigh to herself, steeling herself mentally.

Aurora Cole looked back to Nimuehdra giving a sharp nod.. He reached up snatching the map from mid air and slipping it into a bag he held with his supplies.. " As soon as Ilyea and I retrieve some provisions we will be ready.. it wont take too long.. " The rogue turned to his wife.. " Unless there is something more pressing you can think of?”

Ilyea shook her head back and forth smiling to Aurora. "Not that I can think of. I'm following your lead regarding that. Something to ward perhaps a few magics I think would be wise, but other then that. Fate of the Gods it would seem."

Nur'kuhzal gave the leader of the group  a, 'really?' expression. Arms out and everything. "If I don't have the reagents we need, they will no doubt be somewhere in the cave." With a flick of a finger, a green flame ignite upon the end of a finger. Bringing it to circle about the rim of the pipe, to light it's contents. That -definitely- wasn't smoking tobacco; it was something more off putting and unhealthy looking.

“I was thinking the same exact thing, considering wards.” Aurora smiled, “I like to think our fate is with in our own hands…”

Ilyea spoke, “I already have enough of my blood upon us both, I could fashion up something pretty similar. It's titans but with necromancy. So....Shadow magic, what else do you think?”

While everyone prepared, Nimuehdra would change into her Div armor. Robes always got in the way of fieldwork.

Vamine peers around. "So...what exactly are we doing?"

Nur'kuhzal suddenly woke up, from a trance. "Wait, what? We're finally gettin' goin'?" ...Was she sleeping again? "No one's gone to look around in my head; poke my brains. Although I think that'd hurt. Eh. Even with the military companies, they wouldn't get me seen by anyone before I joined. I guess they thought I'd die before I saw any field action."

Vamine spoke frustratedly, “Mother come open your silly, Aluminum Mal’Ganis balls door?"

Nur'kuhzal wiggled her fingers at the door. "Openus the dooriosus!"

Ilyea gestured to the group "Follow us!" Auro finished for her, “We are headed out.”

Upon arriving, Ilyea spoke first “I remember this spot, don't you love?” Auro nodded with a smile “Aye, that I do love.” Ilyea used some of her blood and made a small rune upon herself and then upon Aurora's arm smiling to him.

Nur'kuhzal chimed in "Oh, hey. This is where I met you folks." She seemed much more coherent, after her smoke. What was that stuff, anyway?

Nimuehdra said "Aye, remember we flew from here, down into the village, Nur'kuhzal?"

Vamine peered around, her hood hiding all but her mouth, her lips curved up to show her fangs, clearly she had an angered expression being back on this continent..

Aurora smiled. " Up down up.. " He turned his gaze out to the town below.. "

Ilyea responded“I don't remember this myself… Unless you met somewhere else all I remember is Orgrimmar.” She grinned to Aurora smiling gently "Up down up indeed love. I'm glad you remember."

Nur'kuhzal looked around, "Someone brought the translations. Right?"

Aurora pursed his lips, he reached down for the map once more.. He slowly began to open it, his hand gripping either side.. he looked to Ilyea.. " Seems we are at the correct spot.. " He glanced around, then to everyone else.

Ilyea eyed Aurora as he had the map "Well he has the map itself right now. As far as anything else, it's here say. I think Nims mentioned something about crystals." Auro responded, “Aye.. It seems we need to make our move.. There should be a cave near by..”

Vamine moved away from the group. She sat down and overlooked the area. She clearly disliked being here.

As the group chattered away, the Magistrix would raise her hand and extend it, palm facing upwards. A translucent holographic map would flash before the other four. There would be a white spot on the map that would blink, easing in and out as it did so. "That, if you remember, Miss Nur'kuhzal...is where the village is located." She would let the four observe before dismissing the image she conjured. She nodded at Auro. "We must first gather those...crystals or whatever aids us in the summoning."

“If it's titan in origin, and is as powerful. There usually should be some traps nearby unless they were disabled. That could be the case....Always seems to be the case.” Ilyea paused before adding, “And that would be where you'd have Aurora sneak in to gather them, exactly how many crystals do we need?”

Nimuehdra nodded, "You are right, Ilyea. Titanic ruins are almost always full of those pesky traps. I do believe however that the Cave the map speaks of is Vrykul...and ancient."

“Well.. We have two options really... A cave to the north.. and one to the east..” Closing the map Auro looked to Ilyea and gave a nod “Easily.. They should be blue in nature, emitting a purple hue.. if I'm correct..” he glanced to Nim.

Ilyea teased Aurora gently,"That's the magic that I channeled but you are correct. Nur'kuhzal, Vammy, how many crystals do these certain rituals need?”

Nur’kuhzalresponded, "I can set up the crystals and reagents in the manner that we use when calling upon the spirits. There's a different way--and different reagents--to call upon the elements, compared to people and other creatures. We should probably use the latter formation, aye? Usually, it all boils down to things that relate to what you want to summon. Summoning demons usually required something from the Twisting Nether. I am guessing here, we'll need the 'sacrifice', as well as something related to this Horton---Jo...Jotun, thing."

Nimuehdra thinned her lips at Auro and nodded. "Blue...with a purple glow..." The Magistrix's eyes widened. "Ymirjar..." she quietly murmured to the four.

Vamine held up her hand. "Why not just use one bigger crystal?”

Nur'kuhzal added,"The area has to be 'purified' of sorts, we usually mark off which areas we want to use with the smaller stuff, aye?" She nodded at Vamy’s question.

Ilyea quietly shrugged at the mention of the name, all of these names just kind of sailed over her head. She glanced back to Aurora and smiled to him.

Aurorar looked to Vammy, "Suppose on how big that crystal needs to be. "

Vamine stood up, her golden eyes peering around, then looked back at the group. "I would say, for what you want to do, maybe one about the size of my leg?"

Nur'kuhzal broke in, "Anyway. We'll focus on the summoning portion later. For now, I can use my peeper to check the place out, aye?"

Auro blinked, haltingly saying, “...your... Peeper?”

Ilyea snapped her fingers and motioned to the air. Sorenar appears seemingly out of thin air to the mage, floating alongside her. "Why'd you wake my from my nap, Ilyea... geez! I was doing some cataloging and things” Ilyea responded “...I need information on Ymarsomething or other."

The masked Rogue gave a very long, sustained sigh in response to Ilyea.

Sorenar,  lazily spins his small head around and glares at everyone present. "Someone obviously hasn't been reading the new fashion catalogs..."Ilyea waved her hand "And you mean Ymirjar....ancient runic soul magic...my mistress studied that quite a bit while she was here." Ilyea simply sighed into her palm.

Nimuehdra was grateful for her mask as her eyes glazed over from containing her laughter. She somehow managed to do so. "A larger crystal is probably more convenient idea." She nodded. The Magistrix would cloak the group in an invisibility spell. "Alright, you know how this works. There's no direct sunlight here so no one should be able to detect our shimmer. But careful about spells, the enchantment would fail should you cast any."

Vamine shook her head. Vamine falls flat onto the ground, upon making contact she dispersed into the shadows. A much easier form of invisibility for the girl. "I’ll stick to the shadows.."

Sorenar peered to Aurora "I didn't touch her… She is my new mistress, I wouldn't dream of it!”

Auro responded, “Aye.. You didn't... Watch your tongue, or you'll find yourself in a coffin...again... This time, I won't tell anyone where you are.”

Sorenar responded,  “Urrrgggh, macho husband a…” Ilyea let him talk mid sentence, almost seemingly like the two exchanges were nothing new to the mage. The skull disappeared and Ilyea took in a sigh. “ ...I don't like this...Runic soul magic…” She said.

Nur'kuhzal made a fist, beating on the back of her head. A sickening, wet 'pop' sounded, as the Eye of Kilrogg fell into her other open, waiting hand.

Nimuehdra shuddered at Nur'kuhzal. The Warlocks had advanced since her time. Must she always have to use her actual eye for this? A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she dismissed the thought. The Mage's attention shifted to Sorenar, she recalled him from a few months prior. "Aye, runic soul magic was a common theme among them, wasn't it? The Ymirjar...what are they even doing as of late. Surely they lost their purpose after the fall of the traitor Prince Arthas." She maintained a furrowed brow as she asked the floating skull.

Ilyea shook her head "Well runic soul magic I mean I don't know enough regarding it. Is it mostly with warlocks, would it be with mages. What kind of things are you asking for when you pull that out of you, just a lot of different questions. When you use the summoning, and the sacrifice part, are you using something else or a part of yourself or your own soul?”

Nimuehdra nodded she would raise a gloved hand to rub the back of her index finger to the tip of her masked nose. "I would defer that question to Nur'kuhzal..." She would pause for a moment before continuing further. "Though, hopefully, we don't actually have to sacrifice ourselves for the ritual." Though, should it be required, the Magistrix wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice one of the villagers to acquire the artifact. She would however, keep this to herself.

Aurora gave a soft nod.. “Sometimes you must take extreme action for the better good..” He smirked  “I’m sure a lowly villager won't be missed.”

Nimuehdra lofted a snowy brow at Aurora as he said so. A smirk grew on her features behind her mask in turn. A nod followed, "I suppose not, Auro."  She then shifted her glance toward Nur'kuhzal, "Can you lead us back to the village?"

Ilyea slowly crossed her arms over her chest and took in a small breath. She would simply observe for now, her eyes glancing to the rogue and then everyone else in tow.

Nur'kuhzal's hand touched her chin. That smoke break had really helped. "Only the uninformed use their actual souls. What we tend to do, is take them from our opponents and store them away for later. It's the same thing we'd done to our dead that didn't have any great knowledge to share or use for later. We'd use them to help with our rituals, or to power our attacks, or the like." A hand waved in explanation; her words eerily....clear. "Aren't the two--the Ymarjar and Scourge--different, though? The Scourge hasn't been around for a long while, but the magics used by the people here have been set in place for much longer. We -should- be able to... persuade any lingering souls around here to help us with any of that sort of thing, should we need it, though."

Nimuehdra nodded. "Aye they are older than most. Though, the Kvaldir are older, the Ymirjar possess the knowledge we seek. The Jotun in question, Fafnir...we need our questions answered first." She looked toward Auro and Ily. "Let's get the blue crystal first, then capture a couple of the villagers...hopefully someone who can answer our queries." She would then shift her attention to the senile Warlock. "You know the way from last time, we are already cloaked as I explained. Lead the way, Nur'kuhzal." She awaited the trio's response.

"Well, before we shove off.... you get more with honey, than you do with vinegar. If you have to show off how big your penises are, challenge them to honourable combat. Not going around slaying them from the shadows without saying something first. You'd like to be told before someone's gonna whip it out and piss on your face, too, right?" Nur'kuhzal beckoned Nimuehdra over.

Nimuehdra approached, saying "I don't think that is necessary, Nur'kuhzal. We'd rather handle this stealthily,"

"You can't get questions answered if you're nowhere to be seen to ask about them." Nur'kuhzal responded with a nod.

Ilyea bit her lip "It also depends on how different we wish to or how much in stealth we wish to be as well. Yeah what Nims said. So we have to capture the blue crystal, would it have the same signature as the map?”

Nimuehdra looked over to the Coles. "And what do the Clandestine have to say about this? Honorable combat or swift stealthy action? I do so prefer the latter. I bet we've made a bit of a ruckus since we killed off two of their men last time. Insignificant as they were to us, we are still unclear what role they once played. I am unsure where they hide the crystals, I suppose we'll just have to find out."

Aurora rolled his shoulder.. " We are very skilled with the shadows.. and do prefer to do things within the vale of the dark... But.. Honestly, Magistrix... Either way you point the blade.. We will make do.. It's up to you and the Div to make the choice.. We will find away to bend the shadows to favor us.. don't worry about that.”

Ilyea pressed her hands together considering everything in tow. "They hide the crystals and get angry at us killing yes. But if there's an easier way perhaps with trial by combat to get both, but depends how well we are for combat really. I agree with Aurora upon your decision. It's the Divs mission though it doesn't involve artifacts."

Dusrune interjected, "How about this. We do the sneaky sneaky stuff. And if we get caught, we show them proof that we've killed two of their men. They wouldn't challenge us if they'd known that we'd taken them out. The best way to show proof, is to show their armour, weapons, or scraps of clothes they'd worn. Or…”

Ilyea asked quickly, “Do you still have something similar to that? I think that's.....A good way of going about it, yes.”

Nur'kuhzal continued, "Two groups could go. One of them of less-than stealthy people, like myself, to talk to them. The guys will be distracted with us newcomers.The second group is the stealthy people, going around to look for the crystal if we can't 'earn' it through diplomacy."

Ilyea added, “If the crystal is the same as the map, I could try and track it. We have the map, it'll just be keeping with the signature.”

Nimuehdra raised a gloved hand to her masked lips and thought for a moment. The Clandestine were flexible in their suggestions she would be silently contemplate. Her eyes averted to the Orc as she spoke to the trio. However, the clothes of the artifacts the men Ingvar and Torsten possessed has rotted away because of the Ebon Chevalier's unholy magic. The Magistrix shook her head. "We have no physical proof of their demise."

"Who knows? The map might be a reagent for later on, too." Nur'kuhzal pondered aloud.

Ilyea adds, “Well, we could even do one easier. You have your poisons on you right love? We poison their drink. Sleeping potion. Wait a little bit, go in and take what we need.”

"Well, whatever we do is up to Nom-Nom Hydra, so..." Nur'kuhzal frowned with disappointment at Nimueh.

Ilyea asked, baffled, “Nom nom Hydra?”

Aurora gave a nod.. He looked back the group.. " Is there a river? We could poison that to infect the whole place.. " He looked around.. " They must be getting their water supply from there. "

Ilyea said, “I was thinking their brew, any kind of warrior race needs to have their alcohol so...I don't know.”

Nimuehdra raised her chin to the trio, her hands folded across her chest. "There is a river over yonder, they do have it running through the Village."

“Aye.. But they make it from something.. The issue with the river.. it will take time.. While going directly to the source we will be in danger and it will be faster.” Auro observed, continuing, “We won't have to kill them.. We can put them to sleep.”

"I prefer that idea, too." Nur'kuhzal agreed.

Ilyea added “Then we take whatever we need for the ritual to work and get the crystals.”

“At least.. We can do that from afar.. I can call for a Scion envoy to come by air..” Auro added.

Ilyea said, “Not to mention that, if they have anything else interesting in the village we can pick it up too for later.”

Aurora nodded... " Fine.. I’ll send word back to Maggie to mix a concentrated version of the sleeping mixture.. A barrel should work.. It should be here within the hour.. "

Ilyea smirked to Aurora and gave him a little elbow. “He's used it on me before so it doesn't take too long for it to work.”

"They're a lot bigger than us, and more hardier from working and living in the cold." Duksrune pondered aloud, "Will have to give them a lot. But not too much to kill them."

Nimuehdra's brow furrowed for a fleeting moment. "Drug them and then capture a couple of them. While going and pilfering the crystal too..." She nodded. "Yes..." she added. "That sounds like a plan. No need to charge in and potentially endanger ourselves. They are no Orcs, while they value honor, they also once served the Lich King..." she reminded them. "It's best we use the quieter approach."

“Despite times..” Aurora gave a nod to Nur'kuhzal.. “I agree.. It will need to be adjusted..” he glanced to Nim listening to her words.

Ilyea slowly nodded, "Sometimes the smarter approach works  especially against a full village. We take what we need but we have our back up plan, which is potentially not to die or kill them or whatever we need." She chuckled softly.

Nimuehdra smirked at Ily and nodded. "Very well, Nur'kuhzal. Lead us to the border of the village." She would whistle and summon her Spellwing ready for flight.

Ilyea would climb aboard Aurora's mount and follow. She gave Aurora a kiss upon the cheek and smiled to him. "Good luck love." She whispered as they came down from their mounts and the barrel of Aurora's potion was made.

Nimuehdra nodded and thanked Nur'kuhzal for escorting them to the Village border. "Alright, Auro and Ily. Let's begin."

Auro nodded, “Aye.”

Ilyea agreed, “I am surprised maggie even made this, but I guess there's been stranger requests. She gave me a horrified look when I asked for the undercity candied spiders...But now it's not too bad.”

Aurora sighed softly.. The barrel of poison sat exactly where he had marked for Maggie and crew.. He pursed his lips and spoke softly to Ilyea.. " Come with me love... If you can, use some arcane to carry the barrel.. I’ll shade us in the shadows to the water..Then toss the barrel in.. After that..we wait.. "

Ilyea nodded to Aurora and smiled "Feather fall to make something move at least." The woman smiled to Aurora and casted the spell upon the barrel lifting it with ease as she moved closer to her husband. "As you will love."

Aurora smiled softly.. He gave a sharp nod.. He looked to Nim.. " It's going to take about an hour for the water to mix well with everything.. After that it's up to the people.. It usually takes a day or so... But.. What I'll do.. Is go in personally.. and burst the barrels they have of alcohol and water.. it'll force them to drink it.. At least you three will be out of harm’s way.. "

“Aurora is very very good at what he does on the shadows, I easily think with those provisions that they will drink and we can go in and take what we need. Just a bit of time.” Ilyea added.

Aurora sighed softly listening to the natural noises of the forest about him.. The clacking and flicking of fire could also be heard, while the village was very much alive and breathing like it’s own entity of the forest.. But, alas..this wasn’t a time to enjoy the sounds of Northrend.. Aurora pursed his lips looking back to Ilyea.. Her arcanic magic seemed to flow about the area, as aurora turned, the crunch of grass beneath his feet… He looked to nim and gave a nod.. “ We will return shortly, my friend.. “ Aurora motioned to his wife and they both walked towards the water… Aurora’s eyes flickered black as he began to vale the two in shadow and out of the sight of everyone… Nim could possibly feel Ilyea’s magic.. But all else would be seemingly invisible due to the darkness. They were in the shadow lands now.. It was like a vast ocean of emptiness.. Structures stood, shadows leaped back and forth and sounds seemed to be muffled.. As the two approached the water, Aurora could see the reflection of himself.. His essence.. He turned to his wife and gave a sharp nod.. The mage lowered the barrel upon the ground with no sound.. Dark shadows seemed to traverse once more.. It was the village’s guardsman it seemed.. Any closer and they would be caught.. He looked to Ilyea and gave a nod.. Her que to leave…

She reached over placing a hand upon his cheek and spoke through their bond.. “ Be swift, my love.” And with that she cast her own arcanic shadows, hiding her from sight… Aurora reached down, unsheathing his dagger and stabbing the bottom of the barrel and the top… then lowering it upon its side.. The slashing and splashing of liquid could be heard as aurora softly rolled the barrel into the river.. It was beginning to be infected.. And now aurora, needed to dry out the very village they seeked to fill… Aurora began… He looked around noticing the shadows walking in patterned.. The chopping of wood, the dinging of metal.. There was work going on.. The clanking of cups told Aurora they were getting definitely drinking their fill.. ‘ Should be easy

then.. “ He smirked.. Aurora did what he did best.. He’d leap from shadow to shadow, entering into each house, tavern, and supply barn. Using his dagger to cut holes in each of the wooden barrels, leather bags, and containers holding their fresh water and mead… The rogue seemed to be complete.. As he walked out of one of the barns to get back to his wife and crew he bumped into an unsuspecting villager.. It was a swift death for the commoner… a thud echoed around him as the body fell to the ground.. His neck slit open, and the blood pooling around him.. Aurora growled.. Reaching down, to lift the man.. And vanishing within the shadows once more and making his way back to the group.. tossed the body in the center of everyone... " A small casual.. " He sighed softly, giving a nod.. " Give it time.. They will drink.. "

The waters of the shadowlands parted away like a ripple within the pond as Ilyea stepped back. It was only a few moments or what seemed to be like that as the mage faded back her arcanic shimmer like a dizzying array. She tilted her head to Aurora and smiled to Nimueh "We wait and watch." The mage murmured. Gesturing to her side, a void covered crow seemed to appear by Ilyea's side just like the skull before. "Keep watch Rose, let me know once they get sleepy." The small thing let out a small caw of "fffiiinnnee" and seemed to poof into the shadows. "She'll let us know when they get sleepy. I doubt it should take long."

Caèryssa scoured the skies above on her dragonhawk, searching for the arcane signature of her sister. The trail of arcane essence would lead the spellblade into a vrykul village, although something felt...different. In her armored form, she would be unable to sneak as effectively, not realizing that fact as she jumped off her dragonhawk, landing on a nearby roof and crushing the tiles beneath her feet. The echoes of the tiles would cry out into the valley, yet no guards seemed to notice her entrance. Spotting her sister in the distance, she would begin to make her way through the shadows of the buildings, before revealing herself to the group. "Bal'adash, sister, Ilyea, and Aurora." She nods nonchalantly, trying to skim the fact that the loud crunching sound of tiles earlier was not caused by herself really.

Aurora smiled softly to ryssa he gave a respecting nod. " Bal'adash. "

“Ballydeshhydiggerydoo.” Ilyea responded.

Nimuehdra glared at Ryssa as she landed. The resounding crash upon the rooftops did not go unnoticed by the trio. "Greetings. Had the villagers not been drugged by Auro, you would have caused a -lot- of trouble for us, Ryssa...."

Caèryssa nodded, ears wilting slightly as she took the surroundings in. "And I am thankful that they were. T'was out of habit that I landed on the roof, forgetting that I was clad in armor. Was preparing to draw my weapons when I realized the alarms were not sounded." She would nod, shifting her gaze towards the village once more. "So, sister. Do tell us of the next phase in your plan."

Nimuehdra nodded. She would look skyward and then to the Coles. "I believe our plan may have worked already." She would then point toward the Village. "It's best if we act now, grab the damn crystal and then make off with two of the villagers." The Magistrix then looked toward the group.

Aurora gave a soft nod.. "Do you know where the crystals are?” he pursed his lips.. “Perhaps Ryssa and myself can grab a townsfolk each.. meet you somewhere?"

Ilyea's eyes glanced towards the horizon as Rose came through the sky line popping through the shadows back to the group. She let out a soft caw and Ilyea gave him some jerky on the side. Nodding her head, "Keep me informed if any are waking up." She told the bird and Rose once more disappeared. "If you give me the map, I can use its essence to find the crystal. Shouldn't be too hard with everyone sleeping no?"

Caèryssa nodded to Aurora, before shifting her heterochromic gaze back to her sister. "I shall follow Aurora and snag one of the townsfolk for further...questioning then, if there is no objections on your end, sister dearest." Lips curling slightly into a faint smile, Ryssa would rest her hands idly on her hilts. "Is there anything else you would like for me to do?"

The Magistrix shook her head. "Let's get the crystal and and the two men." She nodded. Two guards were heard talking about the treasury in the distance.

Clearing his throat, Auro looked around.. “It shouldn’t be too difficult, Ryssa.. I’ll sap m. I suggest you do the same with yours..” he smiled… “Let's move..” Aurora took a step forward and leapt into the shadows… Again he glanced around as dark figures seemed to walk the realm in which he hid in… Approaching a dragonflayer Run-seer.. Aurora seemed to glide towards his target.. Like a wolf on the hunt.. He leaped forward once more and out of the shadows, saping the man… and once again, a thud as the body hit the floor. Aurora sighed softly, looking to see if Ryssa completed her task.. The rogue pursed his lips, picking up the snoring giant best he could and making his way back towards the group… He looked to Nim.. Sweat beading his forehead.. “ You know how to work us, Nim.”

Ilyea pressed her lips together and glanced to Aurora for the map or at least what it could be. The mage went quiet as the two rogue's went about their business in quiet contemplation. Her eyes moved over the various actions as she quietly watched to see where she could step in, if anything.

Nimuehdra let out a soft chuckle as the red-haired Emberfury and the Pale-haired leader of the Clandestine returned once again to the two Mages. Nimuehdra Emberfury raised an armored foot and swiftly pinned the Vrykul down to the ground which he already lay upon. "Great work, you two."

Caèryssa would follow suit, listening intently to the two having a conversation in close proximity to her. She was still rather agile, and as she hung from a wall over them, she would continue to listen in on their conversations. It wasn't too clear, as they spoke in Vrykul, but the names Ingvar and Torsten had been repeated several times. Once their idle chatter had ended, Ryssa would release the grip she had on the wall decor, swooping down and giving a swift kick to the head of the first guard, knocking him out cold. The second would turn around as he heard the thud, but before he could react to the spellblade, he would find a crimson plated boot aimed straight for his face. Two down. With the guards out of the way, she picked up the communicator and dials it back in. "Sister? Entrance is secure, although I overheard them mentioning two names, over and over. Could you please send Auro my way? I'm in need of a bit of muscle to drag this guy back."

Aurora could hear Ryssa’s voice out of Nim’s comms..” I'm on the way,... “ He made his way to the other rogue and stood impressed as he approached.. “ Nice work.. “ He gave a nod, leaning down to pick up one of the men..Aurora began to move back to the group.. ‘ Seems like you made short work of these two.. “ He smiled..

Caèryssa smiled, nodding to Auro's words. "I had the element of surprise, would've been harder if they..well..heard me in my armor just fumbling about." She spun around, beginning to fumble with the locked gate leading into the treasury. Moments later, the lock would fall to the ground, having been cracked open. Ryssa quickly pried the gate open, making her way into the vaults to search for the crystal her sister had mentioned earlier. It rested on a pedestal in the center of the vault, making it rather difficult to miss, and as she approached, the blue orb begins to hum, turning a deeper shade of violet, and causing Ryssa to back away slowly, awaiting the rest of her companions to arrive.

Ilyea would walk over to where Nimueh was placing her foot along the fallen comrade. It seemed that the plan didn't go as well as she thought before but it was thought up on the fly. More projection for things in the future, she supposed. It seemed....messy and clinical in some weird way. Mechanical and broken. It shifted and shimmered and whirled together like a storm of blood and chaos. Typically she thrived on it, but it just seemed calm to her. The man was already scared, that much was certain with the way his eyes upturned and his chest heaved in and out as she approached. The mage lowered herself towards the Vrykul and simply brushed her fingers across his chest, his face and his hair. She didn't need to say anything, there was nothing that needed to be said. Dirt echoed from his feet as he thrashed violently at the completely relaxed way the mage that alluded fear and pain approached him like prey. The dirt was gathered upon the tips of her gloves and put into her mouth. It crunched against her teeth as she stood up. Her eyes flashed blue as she considered the taste. "...Seems similar. He might know something..."

Aurora gave a soft nod, reaching behind him pulling out a small flask mixture, crimson in color.. He took in a deep breath taking a few steps towards his wife... " Here love.. " He reached out handing her the canteen.. " To wash the taste from your mouth.. " Aurora stood next to his wife, then kneeled down over the vrykul.. he tilted his head to the side looking over the man.. He could taste the fear in the air, as Aurora's eyes flickered.. He gave a soft nod.. " Aye... Perhaps so.. " He turned his gaze up to his wife.. he pushed himself up off the ground and turned to meet Ilyea.. with a smile he leaned forward pressing his lips to her forehead.. " Be gentle.. "

Nimuehdra watched as the fellow Mage worked, her method was strange and unusual to her. As the the man started thrashing she would, remove her foot. Her lips formed a smile watching the interaction between the Coles, though, it would quickly fade. "Aurora, I thought you were with my sister. Where is she?" The snowy-haired Magistrix lifted her head, emerald eyes would scan for her sister. Then, the Mage would pull out her comms.

Nur'kuhzal held fast to "Hydra's" shoulder, as if she had been a guide of some sort through a dark area. "Not all of me is here, at the moment, but--" That much was obvious. Lips curl and twist in confusion, grumble-mumbling. "I'm not feeling anything here." Hands reached blindly--though with a sense of precision as well, as one whom had navigated an area many times in their life and could do so even in complete and utter darkness--reached for the hefty mace upon her side; cracked and splintered with the same Decay energy she oh-so-often used in her magics. Nur'kuhzal could wield the mace with one hand, but for the more frail Nim, she might have to use both hands. Was Nur'kuhzal implying something? Finally, she explained, with a wheezed chuckle,"One or two whaps won't hurt....us. Maybe aim for his balls, if he's got them."

Caèryssa remained in the vaults, unsure if she should approach the ominously glowing orb that was seated snugly on the pedestal, a couple of feet from where she stood. She looked around the room still, watching and awaiting the arrival of the rest, if they were even coming, that was.

Ilyea smiled at Aurora's nature and took the flask sipping in the mixture and swishing it in her mouth. "Depends how quickly we want the conversation, I may need something else to take the taste off soon." She teased and smiled up to him. "I'll try not to kill him." She offered and took one of Aurora's daggers from his sheath. It gleamed white like bone and seemed to hold spidery fllagree. The woman went down to her knees and took the tip towards the corner of his eye. "I'm going to move this around reeaaaaalllllyyyy slowly, if you want your eye, you better tell us where that cave is for the horn! If you do it fast, you keep your eye. Won't that be fun." The mage chuckled and sloooowwwlllyyy moved around the man's eye sockets as the man started to SCREAM and thrash and wail. It was kind of funny actually that caused the woman to chuckle. Slowly the knife bleed over in rotation, vicious fluid and blood drained from the socket until the eye was almost completely out where the man began to spew "Towards the north! Towards the ^&*!ing north. Just follow the @#$%ing runes you ^&*!ing hell bitch of north! " He choked and Ilyea quickly finished off the eyeball causing the man to scream. "Maybe seal it up with fire? I don't know..." She mused and popped the eyeball into her mouth with a crunch. Aurora's red potion was chugged again as she licked his knife clean and handed it back to him.

Auro smiled softly " That's my girl.. " Aurora reached over taking the vial form his wife.. "go ahead and hold onto the dagger love.. I like the way you hold it. "

Ilyea smiled to Aurora and put the dagger into her belt upon his insistence. "Ryssa Ree wasn't around you....or...hm? Did she get lost?" Once more the guy was thrashing about and sighed. She unhooked her gloves and conjured a little fire upon the eye socket searing it to keep further blood. The man yelped again but fell silent in shock.

If Nimuehdra's features were unmasked, she would have a bemused look upon them. A smirk was well hidden behind the mask, she looked in Ilyea direction, clearly impressed by her work. The violence was something she was used to, so the Magistrix was not phased. She raised the comm to her lips. "Ryssa. Did you find the crystal?"

A staticky voice would come through the comms. "Aye, sister. Vault is secure. The orb is glowing now, but I'll take the risk and bring it back to you, in case more guards return." She quickly slammed the chest shut, lifting it from the pedestal as she left the vault behind, making her way back to the group. She would notice the Vrykul on the floor, opting not to question their methods of inquiry as she gently placed the chest by Nimuehdra's feet. "Here it is, sister. But I'll be wary of it. It was glowing awhile ago." She spoke, keeping a wary and watchful gaze over the object. If Nimuehdra opened the chest, she would see the orb resting within. However, the glow emitted from before was now absent, the orb merely resting within the confines of the enchanted wood.

Nimuehdra wrinkled her brow. "It was glowing before? Are you certain, Ryssa?" She would defer to Nur'kuhzal. "What do you have to say, Nur'kuhzal?"

Caèryssa rolled her shoulders, shrugging to her sister. "Perhaps it was from the light outside, it might've been a mistake on my end, but...exercise caution nonetheless, sister." She would warn, keeping her attention away from the vrykul as he laid still.

Nur'kuhzal took the orb, holding up a finger, and holding it gingerly. After a long moment of turning the bit upon its sides, there was a rather sickening crack, as the woman bit down upon the orb. Smacking lips together, before shaking her head. "Nothin'." It was tossed off of the side of the cliff , tapping the empty eye socket. "Peeper's got something deeper in the cave. I'm certain that this is the right one." Well....'certain' was quite a strong word. Judging by those crossed arms, and straight back, she was telling the truth. Nur'kuhzal probably believed herself too old--or simply didn't care enough--to deal with lying about this.

Ilyea carefully chewed upon the eyeball or what was left on it, giving a faint swallow as the rest of the salty imagery went down. She was content. Her eyes glanced over to the crystal that Ryssa has brought in as she rested her head upon Aurora's chest "Well we have the crystal, where the cave location is ....all that's left is to actually do the ritual..."

The rogue would give a nod to everyone quietly as he slipped into the shadows "Aurora will be spending the rest of the time in the shadows but let me know how to have him help us."

Nur'kuhzal grunted, "Good. In the meantime, we can gather our reagents."

The Magistrix nodded and weaved a portal for them to return home to Silvermoon. “Very well done. Let us reconvene once more in a fortnight.”

 @scions-of-antiquity @mercutiomalache @lledwynlomeriel @roewyn @thebuildingcacophony @iamauroracole @the-clandestines @seilune

[rahirah]

Long ramble about personal fannish history of no interest to anyone except perhaps @fontfolly , who was There.  I mainly wrote this down to get it out of my system, and to put it down somewhere before I forget it all completely.

A few years before getting involved in Buffy fandom, I was involved in another fandom, where I was part of a writer's group for an ongoing shared world.  I really loved working with the group, and I really loved the world we created.   One of the other people in the group was someone I considered a good friend.  She was one of the founders and was an extremely prolific writer.  She controlled several important characters which held positions of power within the fictional universe, introduced many of the major storylines that affected everyone's characters, and wrote the story arc which was the major plot lynchpin for the entire series.  She was also the editor of the fanzine.

Some years into the project, Founder #1 stepped down as editor, ostensibly to work on original fiction, and passed the editorship on to Founder #2.  However, because Founder #2 was reluctant to say no to a friend and fellow founder, Founder #1 kept control of her powerful characters, and got special treatment when it came to getting storylines approved.  

Founder #3 was the zine's treasurer, and he got similar special treatment, even though he was far less prolific, and in fact finished only... one or two short stories in the entire time I was with the project?  He was also forced to step down as treasurer after several failures to send people the fanzines they'd ordered.  This behavior on his part, and Founder #2's reluctance to censure him in any way, stirred up a lot of bad blood among the rank and file members of the project, which would become important later.

Founder #4 was an artist, and her professional career was taking off at about this time.  She really didn't have time to contribute much, but she had a sentimental fondness for the project and didn't want to give up HER powerful characters.  She had vision problems and didn't like writing or responding to letters, which were our main form of communication at the time, until I set up an email server for the project through my work.  (At the time, I was working at a place which didn't mind if you did things like that.)  She liked email even less.  If you wanted to contact her with any hope of a quick response, you had to phone her, and hope she'd have time to talk to you, (which she often didn't, because art career) and tough luck for the people like me who hated making phone calls to relative strangers.

In the early days, Founders #1 and #3 kept in regular contact with #4 by phone.  However, as time went on, Founder #1 (and to a lesser extent Founder #3) dropped out of contact with the friends she used to write and phone, communicating only with those of us on the email server.  She stopped responding to requests for character Oks and plot consultations.  She also stopped work on the main story arc, complaining that so many other members had written stories around it, and added so many subplots and sequels and spin-offs, that she'd lost any desire to finish it.  Instead, she got involved in creating yet another monster plotline with Founder #3, set several decades in the future of the original story, which would have major (and often unpleasant) repercussions for everyone else's characters.

Since other people riffing on your stories is the whole point of a shared world, I thought this was very unreasonable of her.  The group, by this time, had a lot more members in it who weren't personal friends of the founders, and many of them were chafing at the fact that the main storyline was apparently a perpetual WIP.   At one point, I offered to finish it for her, just to get them off our backs, of course giving her full veto/approval/rewrite power over anything I produced.  She refused.  

Things continued in this vein for awhile, with more and more members getting annoyed at #1 and #3, and annoyed at #2 for enabling them.  #1's old friends were hurt and angry that she'd stopped talking to them and stopped collaborating with them.  In the absence of communication from #1 and #3, one of the newer members of the project cozied up to #4, becoming her liaison to the rest of the project members, and becoming the power behind the throne (literally, as one of #4's characters was the ruler).  This newer member was one of the people who'd been screwed over by #3 when he was the treasurer, so she hated him, and set out to amass as much power as possible by making alliances with other newer members and convincing them to have their characters oppose things that the characters of #1 and #3 were doing.  (I suspect that what she really wanted was to oust #1 and #3 from the project entirely,  but things never got that far.)  And the new Monster Plotline that #1 and #3 had concocted was making everyone angry, as it basically involved some of their villain characters running roughshod over everyone else.

Through all of this, I was desperately trying to play peacemaker among all these factions.  Back in the real world, I was having huge problems at work, chronic health issues, a major creative slump, and going through a very rough patch in my relationship with my then-girlfriend-now-wife.  This project had been my retreat from all that, and I wanted to keep it that way – but it was quickly becoming as stressful as everything else in my life.

At some point in here, Founder #1 told the small group of people with whom she was still communicating that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and that was why she had stopped talking to most of her old friends.  She was in a depressive phase.  I tried to convince her that she should at least tell those old friends what was going on, but she refused, and told me that (and I'm paraphrasing some here, but not much) she had a chronic, incurable disease, and no matter how much therapy and medication she got, she was always going to be at the mercy of her biochemistry, so she couldn't be held responsible for making people hurt or angry.  Furthermore, this same disease meant that she didn't have the emotional energy to make apologies or amends.  Instead, she strongly implied, it was my responsibility as the Neurotypical Friend to intercede on her behalf with the people who were hurt and angry, and prevent any consequences of her actions (or lack thereof) from coming home to roost.  Nor could I take any hurt or offence myself if I wanted to consider myself a real friend.

(For the next several years, I tried to do exactly that.  Needless to say, I failed.)

After #1 revealed this, #3 decided that he was going to give his favorite character a Cool New Backstory: all her villainous deeds were because she had bipolar depression AND her cold, demanding mother had pushed her into Rebellion!  

Now, you gotta understand that Favorite Character was already roundly hated by almost everyone (both writers and characters) except #1 and #2.  Mainly, this was because #3 seemed incapable of writing her without applying a +10 Cloak of One-Upsmanship.  Most of us were writing power fantasy characters of one sort or another, but Favorite was incredibly irritating because #3 fondly imagined she was not just a good fighter and a powerful magic user, but a brilliant strategist, a cunning tactician, and a wildly charismatic leader fully capable of forging a new nation on her own.  And was totally incapable of WRITING her as anything more than an egotistical and/or self-pitying bully.   Because he got preferential treatment from #2, #3 had been able to foist several Favorite Character Is Better Than You plotlines of the group as a whole, which had not endeared either him or Favorite Character to anyone.  His new character concept would have been a hard enough sell under the best of circumstances.  Unfortunately, he failed to consult the person who controlled his character's mother, and she was not at all happy to be informed that her character was now a terrible mother – AND she was the best friend of Power Behind the Throne.   They pushed back, and hard.

So #1 undertook to write a story about Favorite Character and one of her own characters which would convince everyone that Favorite Character and the plotline everyone hated were both awesome.   She not only undertook to write the story, she sneered at people on the public email list who'd been complaining about edits, saying that she'd post it for everyone to take a crack at beta reading it, because she was a Real Writer who could take it.   I had deep reservations abut this, but I couldn't stop her.  And she WAS a good writer, and she DID know how to take critique.  Or she used to.  So she wrote it, and posted it.  It was... not good.  It wasn't terrible.  But it was far from her best work, and it did not in any way sell a skeptical, much less a hostile, reader on the idea that Favorite Character had redeeming qualities.  It was critiqued.  Roundly, and deservedly.  And #1 had a full-blown screaming meltdown.

Things went downhill after that.  Later, #1 said that she reacted badly to critique of Favorite Character because #3 had given Favorite Character the same emotional issue she had.  So if people hated Favorite Character, then they hated all people with mental/emotional disorders in general, and her in particular.   Critique of Favorite Character was a personal attack on her.  And instead of recognizing that as an emotional reaction which she shouldn't treat as gospel truth (even if she couldn't help feeling it), she doubled down on it. #1 became grimly determined to promote Favorite Character as the greatest thing since sliced bread, with #3's enthusiastic support, writing her into more and more of the Monster Plotline.

I tried, and tried, and tried to get #1 and #3 to see things from the perspective of the people who were angry at them, and vice versa.  I had so many Fraught Conversations – over email, on the phone, via letter.  I'd go to bed emotionally exhausted and wake up rehearsing arguments.  #2 genuinely liked Favorite Character, and didn't really understand why everyone else hated her so much, and never liked conflict anyway.  She couldn't say no to #3 and #1, though she knew she really ought to.  She started to fade out, and eventually handed over the editorship to me.  

So I was left with a project which had ground to a halt, immobilized by feuds and bitterness, and far too many friendships which had been irreparably tarnished by the same.  (Believe me, this account doesn't cover half of what was going on.)  For another year or two I tried my damnedest to get everyone to work together, because I really did love the project.  I made a lot of mistakes, and had blind spots and indulgences of my own, and in the end, I realized that this thing I loved was killing me.  I announced my own resignation, killed off or gave away all my characters, handed the reins over to someone else, and escaped to Buffy fandom.  Within a year of my leaving, the project collapsed.

Flash forward to S6.  I was seeing a lot of meta and discussion to the effect that Buffy wasn't responsible for her actions, because she was depressed.  She was in a bad place.   Besides, Spike was evil, and he deserved to be treated badly.  He probably enjoyed it.  Regardless, Buffy shouldn't have to apologize for anything she'd done.  The authors identified with Buffy because they were depressed too, and if you criticized Buffy in anyway, you were making a personal attack on them.

I'd read this stuff, and I'd find myself shaking with fury.  Literally, physically shaking.  I eventually realized that it was because the fans' justification of Buffy treating Spike like crap was reminding me of #3's justifications of Favorite Character treating everyone like crap, and even more, of #1's justification for treating the other members of the project like crap and treating Favorite Character as her personal avatar.  She was depressed.  She couldn't help it.  She never has to apologize for anything.  She can destroy everything you love, and you've just gotta take it.   You never get to be angry at her; you just have to suck everything up, you stupid <s>neurotypical</s> vampire; you can never understand her pain because <s>you're not chronically depressed</s> you don't have a soul, and your pain doesn't matter.

I recognize that this is an emotional reaction on my part.  (And it's faded over the years, thankfully.)  But it shows how one's personal baggage affects one's perceptions in new situations.  Buffy's a character I loved before S6, and I've very slowly come around to loving her again, but S6 had some unexpected parallels with a previous bad experience – not even so much the story itself, but the fannish reaction to it – which turned me off of her, at least in canon.   I'm grateful that I was still able to love her in fanfic, and that kept me around until I was able to love her in canon again – both because she changed, and because I have.  

It hasn't been as easy for me to forgive #1.  We're still in sporadic contact, but I don't really keep up with her or her life any longer.  I don't wish her any ill, but I don't want to get sucked into her orbit again, either, because I don't think she ever realized how badly she... well, used me.  And I suspect that if I tried to explain it, she'd be angry and offended, because She Was Depressed, It Wasn't Her Fault.  Better to let sleeping dogs lie.  But I do miss the project we worked on, sometimes.  Just the other day I caught myself mulling over some of the dropped plotlines, pondering ways they might work out.  And regardless of the rest, I can be grateful to #1, #2, #3, and #4 for creating it.  

[cryptonewsworldwide]

They feed supercomputers MASSIVE amounts of data on the crypto markets, then ask artificial intelligence "what will happen next?”

When it comes to gathering, and analyzing the information we need to make wise trades - there's some problems with the current standard methods. The worst of the worst - downright bold and manipulative tactics. A perfect example of this would be organized 'pump and dump' groups, and while the SEC has taken some action targeting them, there's still plenty out there. These groups usually work by telling members to meet up online through Telegram or Discord. Then, the group leaders announce which coin every member should buy immediately. Let's imagine they choose a coin that's worth around $10, the ring leaders get it at that price.  Then regular members of the group are told to buy it, they may raise it up to $13 if it's a larger group with hundreds of members. Now that everyone in the group has their coins, they begin the next phase - publicly spreading fake news and rumors all across social media. They'll tweet things like 'just heard that this token is about to announce a major new partnership' and 'the coin is probably going to hit $20 by the end of the day'. To those unfamiliar with what they're looking at, things may appear legitimate.  They search twitter and see multiple people saying the same thing. Then they check the charts and see - this coin is on it's way up! For many, this is enough to trigger an impulse buy. In reality, they're buying coins the scammers bought an hour earlier - because now the scammers are selling (dumping) them at a profit. That's the worst of the worst, on the other end of the spectrum are those who share their thoughts and analysis of the market with the absolute best intentions. Genuinely good people who honestly aim to help fellow investors. The problem here just can't be fixed - subconscious bias. Everyone, even the expert seasoned traders have their own personal favorite coins & projects. When there's valid criticism or bad news they may acknowledge it, but often it's downplayed or followed by an explanation of why that coin will 'bounce back.' I'm absolutely not saying to stop listening to the opinions of other traders, there's some great minds in the cryptocurrency world and to ignore them would be a mistake. The honest ones would be the first to agree with me - that's why they say "but do your own research" right after they share theirs. Point being - there's no such thing as someone giving unbiased advice. Doing your own research... Clearly, it's essential to have information that comes from a source immune to human manipulation. Those seeking this kind of data are typically led to Technical Analysis (TA for short).   For those who may be newer to all this, you've probably seen it, it's those charts people post that continue on into dates in the future and they've then drawn in what they think will happen next. To be clear, I'm not taking a view against it - but be aware of its shortcomings. While current daily volume levels can be taken into account, TA relies very heavily on historical market data. Many argue that there simply isn't enough historical data, period.  Bitcoin turned 1 decade old just last week, but these methods come from stock traders who developed them with plenty of historical data to take into account. An even larger point often ignored is how drastically the crypocurrency market changed in 2017. Late 2017 specifically, so barely over a year ago.  The year ended with millions of people first discovering cryptocurrency even existed, and a market of around a dozen coins became thousands of coins competing with each other.   I would argue that 'historical' data before this is virtually useless - it's historical data on a fundamentally different market. With that in mind we're now left with 1 year of data. I'm not trying to be a downer here, but 2018 was spent correcting 2017, so I'd question even using that. Point being - TA predictions should be taken with a grain of salt, and i'd strongly discourage making any trades based on TA alone. The solution: We need to be able to look at the information that’s important, and come up with an honest prediction of what will come next. Sounds simple, it's not. Since the human element must be removed to guarantee there is no bias, what we're really talking about here is giving data to a computer and saying 'here's everything we know up to today, tell us what will happen tomorrow'. While computers haven't been turned into digital crystal balls that perfectly predict future events - we have reached a point where those with access to their answers are given a clear indisputable advantage. I first heard of these methods using complex algorithms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence a few years ago. At the time, it was only in reference to the stock market. Since then developers have made some significant technical advances, and more importantly - it's now being applied to the cryptocurrency markets. Wanting to try these tools in my own hands, I found US based Quantamize. (not an affiliate link, I don't get anything if you join). There are others saying they use similar technology, but the ones I came across were either very expensive with no way to try it first, one was an ICO recently and you need to first acquire their token as they only accept that for payment, and the last one I looked at sells software that you need to keep running on your own computer. Quantamize, however, gives you 3 free weeks. Their business model isn't 'hope they forget to cancel the trial' they didn't even ask for a credit card number, which seemed like a good sign. They also seemed to cover the most ground and include 30 coins, it's web based so no need to run software on your computer - they handle all that, then you get the results on their site. How it works, and why it makes sense: Imagine you're not just an investor - you're starting a cryptocurrency trading fund. First thing to do is hire your research team. You hire someone whose only job is to analyze daily trading volume, another person to focus only on price movements, another to analyze using all historical data, another to scan social media and gauge public sentiment, and another who reads every news article about cryptocurrency every day. At the end of the day, you call a team meeting. You go through the list of coins your fund invests in,  and each team member answers based on the data they looked at - will the coin go up or down in price?  If most of the team says a coin is going up, it probably will. Now - replace all of these people with artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms running non-stop on a network of high powered computers, endlessly consuming and analyzing new data as it's available - this is Quantamize! Called a multi-factor approach, for each market fundamental (daily volume, sentiment, etc) Quantamize develops a proprietary version of their artificial intelligence that only looks at the 1 cryptocurrency it was built for – there are unique AI algorithms for every cryptocurrency that Quantamize analyzes. Let's circle back to the introduction where we discussed pump and dump scammers colluding to create false excitement around a specific coin to artificially 'pump' the price up. First, Quantamize's AI dedicated to scanning social media posts will detect that currently there is a large increase in positive things being said about this coin.  But - the AI's analyzing market fundamentals may see this coin has been on the decline for some time, daily trading volume has been low, and for months the long term outlook has been negative. The end result would be a 'do not own' signal - because tricks that rely on using human emotion to make someone buy or sell simply won't fool the algorithms. Using the data: You still do all your own trades, on whatever exchanges you currently use.  You don't put your cryptocurrency in the control of artificial intelligence or group of traders, you simply see what Quantamize is suggesting and decide if you want to act upon it or not. Quantamize presents the data to be used in 3 different ways. ● Signals - All this research summed up and shared as a simple list of the 30 coins, with a green "buy" or red "do not own" (sell) next to it. You don’t need to be a day trader to use these, the term 'signals' is often associated with high frequency traders who watch for signals changing minute by minute - Quantamize’s signals  represent a 3 day outlook. I consider myself a trader who manages his own portfolio, most cryptocurrency investors are. So for myself and most of you reading this, Quantamize's signals are a resource to check before you press that buy/sell button - make sure Quantamize isn't seeing something you may have missed. ● Portfolios - Quantamize uses their research to suggest full portfolios for those who may want to build one from scratch based on Quantamize’s research.  There’s multiple options depending on if you who want to play it safe, or willing to take larger risks for potentially larger rewards. If you're looking for a complete strategy where all you need to do is follow suggestions - this is for you. ● Research reports - in depth look at the news affecting the market, and in depth reports on specific coins and projects.  If you've been hearing about a coin and want to really dive in and learn more, this is the place you would find the information. Take a look, try adding this data to your decision making process, and see if it leads to better, more profitable trading. For 3 weeks of full access for free visit: https://www.quantamize.com

-------  Author: Ross Davis E-Mail: Ross@GlobalCryptoPress.com Twitter:@RossFM San Francisco News Desk //<![CDATA[ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); //]]>

from Global Cryptocurrency Press - The latest in bitcoin and cryptocurrency. http://bit.ly/2MfKBcD Read More! http://bit.ly/2CpW3hr

[rollinbrigittenv8]

Langham Hotels Parent Reinvents Eaton Hotels for Socially Minded Millennials

A promotional image for Eaton Workshop, a reinvented hotel brand focused on social impact that's being launched by the parent company of Langham Hotels. Eaton Workshop

Skift Take: So many brands today say they're committed to social causes — but how many of them actually stick to those commitments? And how many of those companies are actually sustainable or profitable? Will Eaton Workshop be an exception?

— Deanna Ting

Eaton Workshop may not sound like the name of a millennial-minded lifestyle hotel brand committed to “progressive social change.”

But there’s a reason for that, said Katherine Lo, the brand’s founder and CEO.

Three or four years ago, Lo’s father Ka Shui Lo, who heads up Hong Kong-based Great Eagle Holdings, asked her to reinvent the tired, generic three-to-four-star Eaton Hotels brand that he launched back more than two decades ago.

Great Eagle is also the parent company of the luxury Langham Hotels brand, and Katherine Lo, a filmmaker and entrepreneur, played a pivotal role in the development and design of Langham’s flagship property in Chicago, which opened in 2013.

While her father gave Katherine Lo carte blanche to design a hotel brand to suit her tastes and that of a new generation of travelers, the one stipulation he gave her was that the Eaton name had to remain. Lo said her father had a sentimental attachment to the name because it was inspired by the grand Eaton Centre department store he visited as an international student in Montreal, a place that instilled a “sense of wonder” in him.

Lo said her father asked her to reinvent the Eaton brand as “he started to see the world changing around him in a very revolutionary way because of technology, and the business model potential of the lifestyle or boutique hotel model, versus luxury hotels.”

Ka Shui Lo then decided to end all of his Eaton Hotels management contracts, only keeping the Eaton Hong Kong, which remains open but will eventually be transformed into Eaton Workshop’s second hotel.

And thus, Eaton Workshop, “a new brand merging hospitality with social progress,” was born. The first two properties, both revamps of existing hotels, are slated to open next year, first in Washington, D.C. with a 209-room hotel, and then in Hong Kong with 400 rooms. They would be followed by two newbuild hotels in San Francisco (180 rooms) and Seattle.

A rendering of the Eaton Workshop D.C. hotel reception area. Source: Eaton Workshop

The Old Eaton Versus The New Eaton

As Lo debuts this new hotel brand with an already established history, there’s certainly the possibility that some consumers might confuse the old Eaton Hotels with the new. Still, she’s hopeful the differences between the two will be dramatic enough for people to distinguish between the two.

“Yeah, we are definitely concerned about it,” Lo said, “but I think with hopefully with the very strong brand identity of the new brand and good enough storytelling and PR [public relations], that it’ll soon become clear to the public that this is a very different brand, and hopefully they’ll just forget about the old brand.”

There is some reason for concern.

“The brand has the right idea, of using storytelling and PR to reposition the brand with its new identity,” said Makarand Mody, assistant professor of hospitality marketing at the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration. “However, some of the baggage with the previous brand, or in this case, the lack of any real positioning in the past, may carry over simply because of the Eaton name.”

Still, Mody thinks Lo may have “room to play with this idea” of “merging hospitality with social progress” if she leverages the inspiration underlying the story of Eaton Workshop.

The difference between the Eaton of old and the new Eaton could not be more distinct. The former Eaton hotels were “just a more general, three- to four-star, lower-tier version of the Langham Hospitality Group,” Lo described. “That brand did not really have any distinctive qualities or missions in any way.”

In 2014, there were already signs that Langham wanted to reinvent its Eaton hotel brand.The new Eaton Workshop, which will debut, in 2018, has a very distinct viewpoint, look, and feel, said Lo.

“We really try to access and speak to a very specific audience through shared values. Eaton Workshop is more geared toward this new world where younger generations are especially focused much more on values and experiences, rather than traditional luxury benchmarks. Of course, we do care a lot about design and style, but what’s much more important are the values of wanting to make the world a better place and also being a platform for the community that we’re in.”

But is Lo at risk of narrowing her brand focus so much that she might exclude older audiences, or those who don’t necessarily want to play a part in social change with every hotel stay?

“Research does suggest that younger generations seek out brands that are consistent with their own values, and social progress, broadly speaking, is one of those ideals,” Mody said. “However, the danger with adopting such a positioning is that it can become too narrow, and turn away those younger travelers, who, for example, want the unique experience but not the reminder of having to contribute to change every time they stay at a hotel. The ‘Workshop’ element connotes a level of activism that not every younger traveler may want to subscribe to. However, it is a powerful differentiator in a crowded technology-based lifestyle segment, so I can see the attractiveness of it.”

Eaton Workshop will pursue LEED certification, holistic wellness centers, cultural programming that benefits the local community, and a members-only co-working space that favors nonprofits and companies committed to social change.

Sagmeister & Walsh and Project Projects worked on the brand’s design and digital content platform, and Lo hired Gachot Studios as creative consultants. Parts and Labor Design, and AvroKO were hired to do the interior design for the hotels, and Leong Leong and Kengo Kuma and Associates were hired for design architecture. Chefs Tim Ma and Derek Brown will handle food and beverage in D.C. and renowned Hong Kong chef Alan Lo will lead cuisine at the Hong Kong hotel.

When asked what star level or hotel chain scale category would best describe it, Lo responded, “It would probably be somewhere near the same level of the Soho House, Ace Hotel, Standard Hotels, or the Sydell Group hotels,” adding, “We’re trying to go beyond that star system and be more focused on experiences and values as the main driving point for the clientele.”

When asked Lo who would want to stay at the new Eaton Workshop hotels, she said, “I hope that Eaton will speak to people who are this new nomadic class of co-working or freelance workers, or writers — this new community that’s growing and tied together by their shared ethos.”

She said she developed this brand with herself and her peers in mind “because I think this is a brand that’s for the newer generations who are becoming more socially conscious and who want to work for businesses that share their values, or to stay at places that reflect them.”

Another rendering of the reception area in the upcoming Eaton Workshop D.C. property. Source: Eaton Workshop

Are Consumers Ready for a Socially Progressive Hotel Brand?

While much has been noted about younger generations ascribing to this value of wanting to effect social change and being devoted to social causes, are they willing to pay some $250 to $270 per night to do that? Those are the going rack rates at the first Eaton Workshop in D.C.

Gen Z, in particular, is known for placing a greater emphasis on social causes. But can millennials and Gen Z members actually afford to stay at an Eaton Workshop?

Lo said the future San Francisco property, there will be a full floor of “hostel rooms” or rooms with two bunk beds, similar to how brands like Marriott’s Moxy Hotels and Pod Hotels have done to appeal to more price-conscious travelers.

Many of the Eaton Workshop brand features are things that other hotel companies have ventured to do before. Examples include recording studios at W Hotels, the “Living Stage” at Red Lion’s Hotel RL brand, the salon series launched by Hyatt’s Andaz hotel brand, and the unofficial co-working space/lobby of the Acre Hotel in New York. The difference with Eaton Workshop, however, is that all of these things are tied to this concept of social good, or change.

But will this concept work? Are consumers willing to pay more than $200 a night for these types of experiences? Will Eaton Workshop suffer from an overload of too much cultural programming? Or not enough?

Marcie Merriman, executive director for EY and a brand strategy and retail innovation leader, said, “Gimmicky marketing doesn’t get you very far today. Younger people are looking for real value in what you’re providing.”

That being said, she wonders if Eaton Workshop should take its commitment to social good a step further.

“One of the hallmarks of Gen Z is wanting to be part of the solution and being involved,” Merriman said. “Millennials have a huge respect for sustainability, and they look to companies to do it, and they put those companies in higher regard. Gen Z actively wants to help with sustainability.”

Mody has some doubts. “I think Gen Z is still several years out from being a sufficiently large, profitable hotel segment,” he said. “And I don’t think any brand really has a definitive handle on what millennials want. So, yes, while having younger markets in mind, why not design an experience than transcends age and generations and is attractive to a younger mindset instead? For example, the proportion of those in Gen X who identify as liberal is at its highest point since 2000. Marketing across generations is not an easy thing to do, but I do think the brand has to have appeal beyond the confines of a specific generation to be sustainable in the long run.”

Merriman believes Eaton Workshop has to take the next step.

Of Eaton Workshop, Merriman said, “This chain is onto the right idea, but they could take it even further. Millennials respect those companies but won’t pay more for it. But with Gen Z, if [Eaton Workshop] were to offer experiences, like set up experiences where they connect guests to a food bank to help or volunteer, those are the types of experiences that this younger group values.”

Mody, however, disagrees. “I see some of the other experiential elements — particularly the social spaces, health and wellness, and food and beverage — as value drivers that make the experience worth the money. The social progress, on the other hand, provides a differentiated positioning that needs to be seamlessly weaved into the brand experience.”

Merriman may be onto something with letting guests have a more hands-on approach to activism and community outreach but, as we saw with the demise of Carnival’s Fathom cruise line, voluntourism may not always have broad market appeal for now, at least.

Mody, for one, thinks that if Eaton Workshop can further its idea of social progress but not make it seem like voluntourism, then the brand may be more successful.

“If this idea of social progress can be communicated at a level that does not suggest voluntourism, and that it is really an automatic benefit of associating with the brand, then it will work,” he said. “Look at what happened with Carnival’s Fathom brand, where the idea was indeed different, but didn’t have traction in the marketplace: it asked too much of the consumer in a type of experience that is to a large extent driven by fun and escapism. In the hotel context, a brand’s experience of the social spaces and food and beverage are the key drivers of lifestyle brands, and that’s where Eaton will have to deliver a top-notch product. This is something that will sustain the brand into the future.”

A rendering of the exterior of the upcoming Eaton Workshop hotel in D.C. Source: Eaton Workshop

What Goes Into a Socially Progressive Hotel Brand

So, how exactly does one go about launching a hotel brand committed to “progressive social change”? That’s what Lo and her team are in the process of doing.

“I’m really interested in proving that a social enterprise, or a business with a social mission, at a global scale, can succeed and be profitable,” she said.

Lo said she is working with legal counsel to explore the possibility of Eaton Workshop getting incorporated as a B Corp, a for-profit company certified by the non-profit B Lab organization for meeting rigorous social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency standards. Other famous B Corp companies include Patagonia, Warby Parker, and Ben & Jerry’s.

“You’re not only measured by your financial performance, but by how well you perform in terms of an ethical charter,” she said.

Lo said she envisions Eaton Workshop’s profits being used to fund all of the company’s nonprofit and cultural activities and programming. “It’s almost like a self-sustaining circle where the room and food and beverage revenue will fund cultural activities, which will hopefully draw guests to come back and say there.”

The types of cultural activities and programming to be funded by Eaton Workshop include: an on-site radio station at each location, live music venues and concerts, visual artists’ studios in D.C., recording studios in Hong Kong, an artist-in-residence series, cinema, art galleries, wellness centers, and even in-room “activist tool kits” with Congressional members’ contact information in the inaugural D.C. location. Eaton Workshop also plans to run mentorship and hospitality training programs for local youth.

“We’re moving beyond traditional hospitality to not only care about private luxury anymore, but care more about experience, and also community-based experiences in hospitality,” Lo said.

Another feature of Eaton Workshop is that each location will have at least 20,000 square feet of space dedicated to Eaton House, the brand’s members-only co-working unit. Programming at Eaton House will be shared with the hotel and its guests, and will include speakers, concerts, panels, and fireside chats.

The membership process to join Eaton House will also be different from other members-only clubs. “Whereas Soho House caters to creatives and WeWork lets everyone in, ours will be a very curated membership process where we specifically try to support like-minded business, startups, or individuals with similar values,” said Lo. As examples, she mentioned nonprofits dedicated to women’s rights, social change, race relations, and environmental issues.

Mody said the Eaton Workshop team needs to make sure its social programming, while a major draw, isn’t too narrow. “The programming also has to be carefully designed,” he said. “While younger generations tend to be more liberal because of their age, there is some research to suggest that they are more conservative than young people in previous decades. Thus, the programming will have to be carefully curated to not be too one-sided to turn people off the brand. Social causes at large work, but those causes that have political leanings can be tricky. So, in my opinion, the programming and content has to be socially relevant, and politically as agnostic as possible to create a wider appeal.”

Lo said she especially sees each of the hotels as media and content creation hubs for both travelers and locals, thanks to the on-site radio station and other programming, and that the company is also investing heavily in making sure its own website is rich in digital content, including the hotels’ own radio podcasts.

But as far as technology investments go, Eaton Workshop is going to play it safe for now. “We at first were going to develop our own app,” she said. “But we decided that we are actually more focused on the real-life experiences that are happening on the properties, so for now we will not be developing any internal or new technology for Eaton.”

And as for loyalty, she said they haven’t yet decided whether Eaton Workshop will be connected to Langham Hotel Group’s 1865 loyalty program, but made it clear that the Eaton Workshop and Langham brands are very different. “I can’t answer that yet,” Lo said, when asked if both brands would share a loyalty program, “but we’re actually assuming the audiences are very different … so likely not. But that’s definitely been a debate that we’ve been having.”

One big hurdle Eaton Workshop has already cleared is the fact that Great Eagle will be both the owner and the operator of the first four Eaton Workshop properties, giving it “full control over the projects.”

Eventually, however, Lo hopes the model will be so successful that it can expand to a management contract business as well.

“If hotels could enrich the holistic inner life as well as the outer health of guests, but also improve the community and the world in socially impactful ways, I think that’s definitely the future of the hospitality industry,” she said.

Is Eaton Workshop a glimpse into the future of hotels? We’ll have to wait until next spring when the first property opens but, so far, Mody thinks the brand’s “emphasis on social spaces, cultural activities, and programming” bode well for this new Eaton.

“They are spot-on with the fact that such experiences can transcend the shackles of star levels and appeal to people looking for a unique experience. To go beyond social progress as a CSR [corporate social responsibility] initiative or a PR activity, and to really embed these values seamlessly into the experience is not easy, but some of the early signs look promising,” he said.

[touristguidebuzz]

Langham Hotels Parent Reinvents Eaton Hotels for Socially Minded Millennials

A promotional image for Eaton Workshop, a reinvented hotel brand focused on social impact that's being launched by the parent company of Langham Hotels. Eaton Workshop

Skift Take: So many brands today say they're committed to social causes — but how many of them actually stick to those commitments? And how many of those companies are actually sustainable or profitable? Will Eaton Workshop be an exception?

— Deanna Ting

Eaton Workshop may not sound like the name of a millennial-minded lifestyle hotel brand committed to “progressive social change.”

But there’s a reason for that, said Katherine Lo, the brand’s founder and CEO.

Three or four years ago, Lo’s father Ka Shui Lo, who heads up Hong Kong-based Great Eagle Holdings, asked her to reinvent the tired, generic three-to-four-star Eaton Hotels brand that he launched back more than two decades ago.

Great Eagle is also the parent company of the luxury Langham Hotels brand, and Katherine Lo, a filmmaker and entrepreneur, played a pivotal role in the development and design of Langham’s flagship property in Chicago, which opened in 2013.

While her father gave Katherine Lo carte blanche to design a hotel brand to suit her tastes and that of a new generation of travelers, the one stipulation he gave her was that the Eaton name had to remain. Lo said her father had a sentimental attachment to the name because it was inspired by the grand Eaton Centre department store he visited as an international student in Montreal, a place that instilled a “sense of wonder” in him.

Lo said her father asked her to reinvent the Eaton brand as “he started to see the world changing around him in a very revolutionary way because of technology, and the business model potential of the lifestyle or boutique hotel model, versus luxury hotels.”

Ka Shui Lo then decided to end all of his Eaton Hotels management contracts, only keeping the Eaton Hong Kong, which remains open but will eventually be transformed into Eaton Workshop’s second hotel.

And thus, Eaton Workshop, “a new brand merging hospitality with social progress,” was born. The first two properties, both revamps of existing hotels, are slated to open next year, first in Washington, D.C. with a 209-room hotel, and then in Hong Kong with 400 rooms. They would be followed by two newbuild hotels in San Francisco (180 rooms) and Seattle.

A rendering of the Eaton Workshop D.C. hotel reception area. Source: Eaton Workshop

The Old Eaton Versus The New Eaton

As Lo debuts this new hotel brand with an already established history, there’s certainly the possibility that some consumers might confuse the old Eaton Hotels with the new. Still, she’s hopeful the differences between the two will be dramatic enough for people to distinguish between the two.

“Yeah, we are definitely concerned about it,” Lo said, “but I think with hopefully with the very strong brand identity of the new brand and good enough storytelling and PR [public relations], that it’ll soon become clear to the public that this is a very different brand, and hopefully they’ll just forget about the old brand.”

There is some reason for concern.

“The brand has the right idea, of using storytelling and PR to reposition the brand with its new identity,” said Makarand Mody, assistant professor of hospitality marketing at the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration. “However, some of the baggage with the previous brand, or in this case, the lack of any real positioning in the past, may carry over simply because of the Eaton name.”

Still, Mody thinks Lo may have “room to play with this idea” of “merging hospitality with social progress” if she leverages the inspiration underlying the story of Eaton Workshop.

The difference between the Eaton of old and the new Eaton could not be more distinct. The former Eaton hotels were “just a more general, three- to four-star, lower-tier version of the Langham Hospitality Group,” Lo described. “That brand did not really have any distinctive qualities or missions in any way.”

In 2014, there were already signs that Langham wanted to reinvent its Eaton hotel brand.The new Eaton Workshop, which will debut, in 2018, has a very distinct viewpoint, look, and feel, said Lo.

“We really try to access and speak to a very specific audience through shared values. Eaton Workshop is more geared toward this new world where younger generations are especially focused much more on values and experiences, rather than traditional luxury benchmarks. Of course, we do care a lot about design and style, but what’s much more important are the values of wanting to make the world a better place and also being a platform for the community that we’re in.”

But is Lo at risk of narrowing her brand focus so much that she might exclude older audiences, or those who don’t necessarily want to play a part in social change with every hotel stay?

“Research does suggest that younger generations seek out brands that are consistent with their own values, and social progress, broadly speaking, is one of those ideals,” Mody said. “However, the danger with adopting such a positioning is that it can become too narrow, and turn away those younger travelers, who, for example, want the unique experience but not the reminder of having to contribute to change every time they stay at a hotel. The ‘Workshop’ element connotes a level of activism that not every younger traveler may want to subscribe to. However, it is a powerful differentiator in a crowded technology-based lifestyle segment, so I can see the attractiveness of it.”

Eaton Workshop will pursue LEED certification, holistic wellness centers, cultural programming that benefits the local community, and a members-only co-working space that favors nonprofits and companies committed to social change.

Sagmeister & Walsh and Project Projects worked on the brand’s design and digital content platform, and Lo hired Gachot Studios as creative consultants. Parts and Labor Design, and AvroKO were hired to do the interior design for the hotels, and Leong Leong and Kengo Kuma and Associates were hired for design architecture. Chefs Tim Ma and Derek Brown will handle food and beverage in D.C. and renowned Hong Kong chef Alan Lo will lead cuisine at the Hong Kong hotel.

When asked what star level or hotel chain scale category would best describe it, Lo responded, “It would probably be somewhere near the same level of the Soho House, Ace Hotel, Standard Hotels, or the Sydell Group hotels,” adding, “We’re trying to go beyond that star system and be more focused on experiences and values as the main driving point for the clientele.”

When asked Lo who would want to stay at the new Eaton Workshop hotels, she said, “I hope that Eaton will speak to people who are this new nomadic class of co-working or freelance workers, or writers — this new community that’s growing and tied together by their shared ethos.”

She said she developed this brand with herself and her peers in mind “because I think this is a brand that’s for the newer generations who are becoming more socially conscious and who want to work for businesses that share their values, or to stay at places that reflect them.”

Another rendering of the reception area in the upcoming Eaton Workshop D.C. property. Source: Eaton Workshop

Are Consumers Ready for a Socially Progressive Hotel Brand?

While much has been noted about younger generations ascribing to this value of wanting to effect social change and being devoted to social causes, are they willing to pay some $250 to $270 per night to do that? Those are the going rack rates at the first Eaton Workshop in D.C.

Gen Z, in particular, is known for placing a greater emphasis on social causes. But can millennials and Gen Z members actually afford to stay at an Eaton Workshop?

Lo said the future San Francisco property, there will be a full floor of “hostel rooms” or rooms with two bunk beds, similar to how brands like Marriott’s Moxy Hotels and Pod Hotels have done to appeal to more price-conscious travelers.

Many of the Eaton Workshop brand features are things that other hotel companies have ventured to do before. Examples include recording studios at W Hotels, the “Living Stage” at Red Lion’s Hotel RL brand, the salon series launched by Hyatt’s Andaz hotel brand, and the unofficial co-working space/lobby of the Acre Hotel in New York. The difference with Eaton Workshop, however, is that all of these things are tied to this concept of social good, or change.

But will this concept work? Are consumers willing to pay more than $200 a night for these types of experiences? Will Eaton Workshop suffer from an overload of too much cultural programming? Or not enough?

Marcie Merriman, executive director for EY and a brand strategy and retail innovation leader, said, “Gimmicky marketing doesn’t get you very far today. Younger people are looking for real value in what you’re providing.”

That being said, she wonders if Eaton Workshop should take its commitment to social good a step further.

“One of the hallmarks of Gen Z is wanting to be part of the solution and being involved,” Merriman said. “Millennials have a huge respect for sustainability, and they look to companies to do it, and they put those companies in higher regard. Gen Z actively wants to help with sustainability.”

Mody has some doubts. “I think Gen Z is still several years out from being a sufficiently large, profitable hotel segment,” he said. “And I don’t think any brand really has a definitive handle on what millennials want. So, yes, while having younger markets in mind, why not design an experience than transcends age and generations and is attractive to a younger mindset instead? For example, the proportion of those in Gen X who identify as liberal is at its highest point since 2000. Marketing across generations is not an easy thing to do, but I do think the brand has to have appeal beyond the confines of a specific generation to be sustainable in the long run.”

Merriman believes Eaton Workshop has to take the next step.

Of Eaton Workshop, Merriman said, “This chain is onto the right idea, but they could take it even further. Millennials respect those companies but won’t pay more for it. But with Gen Z, if [Eaton Workshop] were to offer experiences, like set up experiences where they connect guests to a food bank to help or volunteer, those are the types of experiences that this younger group values.”

Mody, however, disagrees. “I see some of the other experiential elements — particularly the social spaces, health and wellness, and food and beverage — as value drivers that make the experience worth the money. The social progress, on the other hand, provides a differentiated positioning that needs to be seamlessly weaved into the brand experience.”

Merriman may be onto something with letting guests have a more hands-on approach to activism and community outreach but, as we saw with the demise of Carnival’s Fathom cruise line, voluntourism may not always have broad market appeal for now, at least.

Mody, for one, thinks that if Eaton Workshop can further its idea of social progress but not make it seem like voluntourism, then the brand may be more successful.

“If this idea of social progress can be communicated at a level that does not suggest voluntourism, and that it is really an automatic benefit of associating with the brand, then it will work,” he said. “Look at what happened with Carnival’s Fathom brand, where the idea was indeed different, but didn’t have traction in the marketplace: it asked too much of the consumer in a type of experience that is to a large extent driven by fun and escapism. In the hotel context, a brand’s experience of the social spaces and food and beverage are the key drivers of lifestyle brands, and that’s where Eaton will have to deliver a top-notch product. This is something that will sustain the brand into the future.”

A rendering of the exterior of the upcoming Eaton Workshop hotel in D.C. Source: Eaton Workshop

What Goes Into a Socially Progressive Hotel Brand

So, how exactly does one go about launching a hotel brand committed to “progressive social change”? That’s what Lo and her team are in the process of doing.

“I’m really interested in proving that a social enterprise, or a business with a social mission, at a global scale, can succeed and be profitable,” she said.

Lo said she is working with legal counsel to explore the possibility of Eaton Workshop getting incorporated as a B Corp, a for-profit company certified by the non-profit B Lab organization for meeting rigorous social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency standards. Other famous B Corp companies include Patagonia, Warby Parker, and Ben & Jerry’s.

“You’re not only measured by your financial performance, but by how well you perform in terms of an ethical charter,” she said.

Lo said she envisions Eaton Workshop’s profits being used to fund all of the company’s nonprofit and cultural activities and programming. “It’s almost like a self-sustaining circle where the room and food and beverage revenue will fund cultural activities, which will hopefully draw guests to come back and say there.”

The types of cultural activities and programming to be funded by Eaton Workshop include: an on-site radio station at each location, live music venues and concerts, visual artists’ studios in D.C., recording studios in Hong Kong, an artist-in-residence series, cinema, art galleries, wellness centers, and even in-room “activist tool kits” with Congressional members’ contact information in the inaugural D.C. location. Eaton Workshop also plans to run mentorship and hospitality training programs for local youth.

“We’re moving beyond traditional hospitality to not only care about private luxury anymore, but care more about experience, and also community-based experiences in hospitality,” Lo said.

Another feature of Eaton Workshop is that each location will have at least 20,000 square feet of space dedicated to Eaton House, the brand’s members-only co-working unit. Programming at Eaton House will be shared with the hotel and its guests, and will include speakers, concerts, panels, and fireside chats.

The membership process to join Eaton House will also be different from other members-only clubs. “Whereas Soho House caters to creatives and WeWork lets everyone in, ours will be a very curated membership process where we specifically try to support like-minded business, startups, or individuals with similar values,” said Lo. As examples, she mentioned nonprofits dedicated to women’s rights, social change, race relations, and environmental issues.

Mody said the Eaton Workshop team needs to make sure its social programming, while a major draw, isn’t too narrow. “The programming also has to be carefully designed,” he said. “While younger generations tend to be more liberal because of their age, there is some research to suggest that they are more conservative than young people in previous decades. Thus, the programming will have to be carefully curated to not be too one-sided to turn people off the brand. Social causes at large work, but those causes that have political leanings can be tricky. So, in my opinion, the programming and content has to be socially relevant, and politically as agnostic as possible to create a wider appeal.”

Lo said she especially sees each of the hotels as media and content creation hubs for both travelers and locals, thanks to the on-site radio station and other programming, and that the company is also investing heavily in making sure its own website is rich in digital content, including the hotels’ own radio podcasts.

But as far as technology investments go, Eaton Workshop is going to play it safe for now. “We at first were going to develop our own app,” she said. “But we decided that we are actually more focused on the real-life experiences that are happening on the properties, so for now we will not be developing any internal or new technology for Eaton.”

And as for loyalty, she said they haven’t yet decided whether Eaton Workshop will be connected to Langham Hotel Group’s 1865 loyalty program, but made it clear that the Eaton Workshop and Langham brands are very different. “I can’t answer that yet,” Lo said, when asked if both brands would share a loyalty program, “but we’re actually assuming the audiences are very different … so likely not. But that’s definitely been a debate that we’ve been having.”

One big hurdle Eaton Workshop has already cleared is the fact that Great Eagle will be both the owner and the operator of the first four Eaton Workshop properties, giving it “full control over the projects.”

Eventually, however, Lo hopes the model will be so successful that it can expand to a management contract business as well.

“If hotels could enrich the holistic inner life as well as the outer health of guests, but also improve the community and the world in socially impactful ways, I think that’s definitely the future of the hospitality industry,” she said.

Is Eaton Workshop a glimpse into the future of hotels? We’ll have to wait until next spring when the first property opens but, so far, Mody thinks the brand’s “emphasis on social spaces, cultural activities, and programming” bode well for this new Eaton.

“They are spot-on with the fact that such experiences can transcend the shackles of star levels and appeal to people looking for a unique experience. To go beyond social progress as a CSR [corporate social responsibility] initiative or a PR activity, and to really embed these values seamlessly into the experience is not easy, but some of the early signs look promising,” he said.

[cryptonewsworldwide]

When it comes to gathering, and analyzing the information we need to make wise trades - there's some problems with the current standard methods. The worst of the worst - downright bold and manipulative tactics. A perfect example of this would be organized 'pump and dump' groups, and while the SEC has taken some action targeting them, there's still plenty out there. These groups usually work by telling members to meet up online through Telegram or Discord. Then, the group leaders announce which coin every member should buy immediately. Let's imagine they choose a coin that's worth around $10, the ring leaders get it at that price.  Then regular members of the group are told to buy it, they may raise it up to $13 if it's a larger group with hundreds of members. Now that everyone in the group has their coins, they begin the next phase - publicly spreading fake news and rumors all across social media. They'll tweet things like 'just heard that this token is about to announce a major new partnership' and 'the coin is probably going to hit $20 by the end of the day'. To those unfamiliar with what they're looking at, things may appear legitimate.  They search twitter and see multiple people saying the same thing. Then they check the charts and see - this coin is on it's way up! For many, this is enough to trigger an impulse buy. In reality, they're buying coins the scammers bought an hour earlier - because now the scammers are selling (dumping) them at a profit. That's the worst of the worst, on the other end of the spectrum are those who share their thoughts and analysis of the market with the absolute best intentions. Genuinely good people who honestly aim to help fellow investors. The problem here just can't be fixed - subconscious bias. Everyone, even the expert seasoned traders have their own personal favorite coins & projects. When there's valid criticism or bad news they may acknowledge it, but often it's downplayed or followed by an explanation of why that coin will 'bounce back.' I'm absolutely not saying to stop listening to the opinions of other traders, there's some great minds in the cryptocurrency world and to ignore them would be a mistake. The honest ones would be the first to agree with me - that's why they say "but do your own research" right after they share theirs. Point being - there's no such thing as someone giving unbiased advice. Doing your own research... Clearly, it's essential to have information that comes from a source immune to human manipulation. Those seeking this kind of data are typically led to Technical Analysis (TA for short).   For those who may be newer to all this, you've probably seen it, it's those charts people post that continue on into dates in the future and they've then drawn in what they think will happen next. To be clear, I'm not taking a view against it - but be aware of its shortcomings. While current daily volume levels can be taken into account, TA relies very heavily on historical market data. Many argue that there simply isn't enough historical data, period.  Bitcoin turned 1 decade old just last week, but these methods come from stock traders who developed them with plenty of historical data to take into account. An even larger point often ignored is how drastically the crypocurrency market changed in 2017. Late 2017 specifically, so barely over a year ago.  The year ended with millions of people first discovering cryptocurrency even existed, and a market of around a dozen coins became thousands of coins competing with each other.   I would argue that 'historical' data before this is virtually useless - it's historical data on a fundamentally different market. With that in mind we're now left with 1 year of data. I'm not trying to be a downer here, but 2018 was spent correcting 2017, so I'd question even using that. Point being - TA predictions should be taken with a grain of salt, and i'd strongly discourage making any trades based on TA alone. The solution: We need to be able to look at the information that’s important, and come up with an honest prediction of what will come next. Sounds simple, it's not. Since the human element must be removed to guarantee there is no bias, what we're really talking about here is giving data to a computer and saying 'here's everything we know up to today, tell us what will happen tomorrow'. While computers haven't been turned into digital crystal balls that perfectly predict future events - we have reached a point where those with access to their answers are given a clear indisputable advantage. I first heard of these methods using complex algorithms, machine learning, and artificial intelligence a few years ago. At the time, it was only in reference to the stock market. Since then developers have made some significant technical advances, and more importantly - it's now being applied to the cryptocurrency markets. Wanting to try these tools in my own hands, I found US based Quantamize. (not an affiliate link, I don't get anything if you join). There are others saying they use similar technology, but the ones I came across were either very expensive with no way to try it first, one was an ICO recently and you need to first acquire their token as they only accept that for payment, and the last one I looked at sells software that you need to keep running on your own computer. Quantamize, however, gives you 3 free weeks. Their business model isn't 'hope they forget to cancel the trial' they didn't even ask for a credit card number, which seemed like a good sign. They also seemed to cover the most ground and include 30 coins, it's web based so no need to run software on your computer - they handle all that, then you get the results on their site. How it works, and why it makes sense: Imagine you're not just an investor - you're starting a cryptocurrency trading fund. First thing to do is hire your research team. You hire someone whose only job is to analyze daily trading volume, another person to focus only on price movements, another to analyze using all historical data, another to scan social media and gauge public sentiment, and another who reads every news article about cryptocurrency every day. At the end of the day, you call a team meeting. You go through the list of coins your fund invests in,  and each team member answers based on the data they looked at - will the coin go up or down in price?  If most of the team says a coin is going up, it probably will. Now - replace all of these people with artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms running non-stop on a network of high powered computers, endlessly consuming and analyzing new data as it's available - this is Quantamize! Called a multi-factor approach, for each market fundamental (daily volume, sentiment, etc) Quantamize develops a proprietary version of their artificial intelligence that only looks at the 1 cryptocurrency it was built for – there are unique AI algorithms for every cryptocurrency that Quantamize analyzes. Let's circle back to the introduction where we discussed pump and dump scammers colluding to create false excitement around a specific coin to artificially 'pump' the price up. First, Quantamize's AI dedicated to scanning social media posts will detect that currently there is a large increase in positive things being said about this coin.  But - the AI's analyzing market fundamentals may see this coin has been on the decline for some time, daily trading volume has been low, and for months the long term outlook has been negative. The end result would be a 'do not own' signal - because tricks that rely on using human emotion to make someone buy or sell simply won't fool the algorithms. Using the data: You still do all your own trades, on whatever exchanges you currently use.  You don't put your cryptocurrency in the control of artificial intelligence or group of traders, you simply see what Quantamize is suggesting and decide if you want to act upon it or not. Quantamize presents the data to be used in 3 different ways. ● Signals - All this research summed up and shared as a simple list of the 30 coins, with a green "buy" or red "do not own" (sell) next to it. You don’t need to be a day trader to use these, the term 'signals' is often associated with high frequency traders who watch for signals changing minute by minute - Quantamize’s signals  represent a 3 day outlook. I consider myself a trader who manages his own portfolio, most cryptocurrency investors are. So for myself and most of you reading this, Quantamize's signals are a resource to check before you press that buy/sell button - make sure Quantamize isn't seeing something you may have missed. ● Portfolios - Quantamize uses their research to suggest full portfolios for those who may want to build one from scratch based on Quantamize’s research.  There’s multiple options depending on if you who want to play it safe, or willing to take larger risks for potentially larger rewards. If you're looking for a complete strategy where all you need to do is follow suggestions - this is for you. ● Research reports - in depth look at the news affecting the market, and in depth reports on specific coins and projects.  If you've been hearing about a coin and want to really dive in and learn more, this is the place you would find the information. Take a look, try adding this data to your decision making process, and see if it leads to better, more profitable trading. For 3 weeks of full access for free visit: https://www.quantamize.com -------  Author: Ross Davis E-Mail: Ross@GlobalCryptoPress.com Twitter:@RossFM San Francisco News Desk // from Global Cryptocurrency Press - The latest in bitcoin and cryptocurrency. http://bit.ly/2MfKBcD

http://cryptonewsworldwide.blogspot.com/2019/01/they-feed-supercomputers-massive.html