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mybg3notebook · 3 years

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Lore: Well-known Characters in Faerûn

Here I'm going to explain some interesting characters worth knowing in detail that some groups in the fandom keep saying are Gale's true identity.

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were written up to the game version v4.1.104.3536 (Early access). As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information. Written in June 2021.

Additional disclaimers about meta-knowledge and interpretations in this (post)while disclaimers about Context and the popularisation and misuses of professional words in "Context, persuasion, and manipulation".

Azuth

He is the Patron of Wizards, his personal preference is toward wizardry rather than sorcery, and his philosophy fits better with the studious life of a wizard than the more haphazard practices of a sorcerer. Wizards invoke Azuth when they scribe scrolls, inscribe magic circles, attempt to memorise spells, and even when they cast spells. Often this acknowledgement comes in the form of silently forming Azuth's holy symbol, pointing the index finger of the left hand to the sky.For many wizards, the gesture is so commonplace in their lives that it becomes an unconscious habit. Azuth is represented at such sites as a hooded and bearded figure with his left hand held high, finger pointed up. Sometimes he is represented by merely the hand.

When he was a mortal, he was a wizard who showed prowess with spells and magical lore that attracted Mystryl’s attention, and after completing several quests to prove his worth, she named him Magister (old title in 1e and 2e, different to Chosen, related to a more bureaucratic role of Magic). With the new title, he taught magic to many people across Faerûn.

Azuth came into conflict with a minor southern deity: Savras the All-Seeing. Both were powerful spellcasters and Mystryl favoured both. They began a battle that lasted several years, using agents, magic traps, and personal spell-battles. Azuth managed to defeat the young deity and imprison him. With this victory Azuth ascended to godhood, became Mystryl's lover, and pledged to serve her.

During the Spellplague, Azuth fell to the Hells and Asmodeus consumed his divine spark to achieve godhood. It was thought that this had destroyed Azuth, but instead he ended up inhabiting Asmodeus' body together. Most of the time Asmodeus had control over the dormant Azuth. In 1486, Azuth managed to have a Cormyrian war wizard as a Chosen, and began to struggle with Asmodeus for dominion over their shared body. As a consequence, the hierarchy of the Nine Hells is jeopardized due to the unbalanced Asmodeus. After a while, The Chosen of Azuth sacrifices his life to be a vessel for the god and let him escape from the Hells. After the Second Sundering, Azuth returned to the faerunian pantheon.

Where is he in 1492?

Now, he has returned to the Faerunian pantheon, and considering Ao's ban, he can't be walking around Faerûn.

Can Gale be Azuth? I certainly can't see it. Azuth has been trapped in the Hells for most of Gale's life, returning to the pantheon recently. And we can't forget Ao's ban of direct contact: no god can have direct contact with mortals anymore, with the strange exception of Mystra (see the post about "Mystra and her Chosen ones" for more details). Besides, if Gale were to be Azuth's avatar, we are usually talking about characters over lvl 40.

The only link we can agree with Gale is that Azuth also has storm motif concepts in his design. Gale tends to explain with his pointing finger extended, but as it's said in the lore books, this is basically an unconscious common body language in most wizards. I cannot see any resemblance to make us infer “Gale is Azuth”.

What we can see by reading Azuth's story is why the Hells are so convoluted at this point. The blood war is unbalanced, since powerful figures such as Asmodeus had been having weak periods of leadership due to the inner fight with Azuth in his own body. For this detail alone, it is so important to give context to BG3 I considered worthy to mention.

Sources: 3e : Magic of Faerûn 5e: Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Novels: Fire in the Blood. The devil you Know

Myrkul

Myrkul had a cold, malignant intelligence, and spoke in a high whisper. He was always alert, never slept, and was never surprised. He was never known to lose his temper or be anything other than coldly amused when a mortal succeeded in avoiding his directives or chosen fates. His influence in Faerûn was imposed through fear, and he was a master of making mortals terrified of him through his words and deeds. He was the one deity that almost all human mortals could picture clearly.

As a mortal, Myrkul's full name and title is said to have been Myrkul Bey al-Kursi. He was a powerful adventuring necromancer who travelled with Bane and Bhaal in order to acquire divinity for themselves. In -375 DR, they slayed one of the Seven Lost Gods, gaining a bit of divine power. Using it to go further, they embarked to Jergal's realm with the intention to slay him as well.

However, Jergal—tired of his godhood—freely agreed to hand over his dominion of the underworld. As the three could not decide who among them would sit upon the throne of the dead, they left the decision to chance with a game. More details and stories of several deaths and coming backs can be briefly read in the wiki. It makes no sense to add them here since they provide nothing interesting related to Gale.

Most of Myrkul's “recent” story can be seen/read in the game Neverwinter Nights 2, the Mask of the Betrayer. The game explains how Myrkul created the Wall of the Faithless (non existent anymore in 5e and nobody knows how it was destroyed) where the souls of the faithless or those abandoned by their gods got stuck in eternal pain. The main goal of the Wall was to use all that energy to feed Myrkul. The main character of Neverwinter 2 can visit the agonising God in the Astral Plane and kill him or leave him in a slow death.

Myrkul, with Bane and Bhaal, tried to seize the Tablets of Fate from the overgod Ao and use them to rule over Faerûn and its gods. They failed and were slain during the Time of Troubles. Since then, a variety of contingency plans they had in place allowed them to be reborn afterwards.

A small group of followers across Faerûn kept Myrkul's worshipping alive despite the dire events of the Spellplague and the Second Sundering. In the 1400’s, he is considered to have returned with the three dead in a quasi-deity condition.

While the Sundering forced the other gods to withdraw their direct influence from the mortal world, the Dead Three remained behind in mortal form as quasi-divine beings. While their power has diminished, they remain a formidable trio and play a malevolent role in influencing events on Faerûn.

Where is he in 1492?

He is clearly somewhere in Faerûn, with Bhaal and Bane most probably (we have strong leads to assume that the Absolute is them, getting as many worshippers as they can to recover their deity status, since now they are only quasi-deities)

Can Gale be Myrkul? I honestly can't see anything that we can use to link him to Myrkul without making it look like an absurdity. The easiest argument to revoke that nonsense is that Gale clearly is not a quasi-deity.

A quasi-deity is immune to every attempt to tamper with their mind (which would nullify the tadpole effect, and would make Gale immune to any tadpole intrusion, which is not the case as we saw in the post of "The Tadpole"). A quasi-deity is also immune to sap its vitality, or to force it into a different form. It has a strong defence against magic and a limited defence against heat. Weapons not enchanted with magic of an epic scope could not hurt a quasi-deity without problems. These defences against magic, heat, and non-magical physical attacks grew stronger as a deity rose in rank. It is crystal clear that none of this applies to Gale, the squishy wizard of the group.

This comparison is nonsense, especially if we think that some people supported it because “Gale's robes have clasps in the shape of triangles”, which was considered an incomplete symbol of Myrkul. So... I really won't waste time in this comparison. I just did it because I wanted to offer a summary to compare Myrkul (the three dead more precisely) with The Absolute. This idea is very strong when we think that in 5e DM book is explaining that a quasi-deity can recover their godhood condition if they amassed a sufficiently high number of followers (which is what The Absolute is doing). But this should be done in another post related to the Absolute.

Source: 2e: Faith and pantheon, 5e: Descent to Avernus, Dungeon Master's guide

Karsus

Karsus was born in Netheril in -696 DR. He was able to cast his first spell at the age of two, and by the age of twenty-two created his own floating city. He also founded a magic school encouraging radical thinking to keep pushing magical discoveries. A seer warned Karsus that soon Mystryl would face the greatest challenge of her divine life, so worried about the consequences of this, Karsus created his spell Karsus' Avatar with the objective to protect the Netheril civilization. This spell would steal the power of a deity and transfer it to him, giving him divine power to protect his people from Mystryl's challenge and destroy the magical aberrations that had been attacking Netheril (phaerimms) for years. He was very aware that the feat could cost him his life, but he accepted it as a worthy sacrifice to protect his people as well as remain in the History as an iconic figure.

In -339 DR, Karsus chose Mystryl, the goddess of magic, as his target, feeling that she was the most powerful deity and the most appropriate choice for his purposes. However, this was a mistake. The responsibilities of the deity of magic are to regulate the flow of magic to and from all beings, spells, and magic items in the world. Unable to fulfil Mystryl's function with the Weave, Karsus causes a surge of magic and violent fluctuations.

In an attempt to save the Weave, Mystryl sacrificed herself to block Karsus's access to the Weave, causing all magic to cease for several minutes. The flying cities of Netheril (fuelled by magic) fell to the ground. The severing of the link also killed Karsus, who turned into stone and fell to the ground, seeing his entire civilisation being destroyed because of his actions. This is known as Karsus's Folly.

The stone form of Karsus eventually landed in a part of the High Forest, now called the Dire Wood. Karsus was never accepted as a petitioner by any god, nor did he go to the Fugue Plane when he died. Instead, his soul was bound to the Material Plane. Those with experience in pact magic could call up his vestige, where he appeared as a giant blood-red boulder, like the one found in the High Forest where his petrified form landed. Blood burbles up from the top of the stone, trickling down the side facing the summoner, pooling at the base. Karsus granted the summoner a boost in magical ability, though he also imparted some of the arrogance he was renowned for.

Where is he in 1492?

Even in death, Karsus' undying spirit persists in the chaotic magic of the Dire Wood. His essence is ensnared in a single point of time by the magic of the lich Wulgreth, and it manifests in three separate pieces. Each manifestation contains one portion of Karsus' tripartite spirit. It is believed that Karsus cannot depart from the Realms until his sundered spirit is reforged into one.

Karsus' mortal body survives as a tall butte of red stone embedded in the ground and eroded by the elements. This manifestation radiates heavy magic (read the post about the "Orb" for more details)

Karsus' gigantic, ever bleeding heart beats within the butte itself. This manifestation is essentially powerless, but it cannot be destroyed. Karsus' heart continuously radiates an enchantment similar to the sadness effect produced by the 4th level wizard spell Emotion.

The final third piece is inside an animated golem created by Wulgreth. This manifestation bleeds an ever-flowing stream of blood like liquid which mingles with the Heartblood River, giving it its characteristic colour.

So, can Gale be Karsus? Hardly. Karsus' spirit is not even complete. One could ask if Gale is a part of Karsus? I don't see it either: each of these parts are stuck in the different stones across the Dire Wood, and since it was a lich who made the binding I see little reason to suspect how a piece of Karsus' spirit stuck in the middle of the continent reached a baby in Waterdeep.

Sources: 2e: Magic of Faerun, Powers and Pantheons 3e: Lords of Darkness

Elminster

Elminster was born in 212 DR, son of a prince of Athalantar. His parents were killed by mages and at the age of 12 he became a brigand and thief. With a friend thief, Elminster committed many acts of thievery together and lived life fully, creating the gang the Velvet Hands after a number of adventures.

Elminster tried to desecrate a temple of Mystra as a gesture of vengeance for the goddess having not defended his parents when they were killed by mages. Mystra appeared before him, and despite Elminster's defiance, she offered him the power to take revenge for his dead parents. Elminster accepted, and Mystra turned him into a woman to see “the world with female eyes” and to strengthen his bond with magic before being a proper Chosen. This transformation also helped Elminster to pass unnoticed among his enemies. He spent a long time learning magic in this shape, taught by Mystra's avatar in disguise. When her disguise was uncovered, she and Elminster slept together and she offered him to become her Chosen. By that time, Elminster accepted any command from the Goddess, his defiance was completely gone.

In 241DR he travelled to the city of Cormanthor and continued his magical studies.

Somewhere around the mid–7th century DR, Elminster entered a tomb and became trapped there in stasis for roughly a century. He emerged from the dusty tomb in 759 DR. By that time Magic was unreliable (Mystra was possessing Elué's body to conceive her daughters). The god Azuth told him that he couldn't rely on Mystra or magic for aid. Soon he had to learn how to survive without magic. He later underwent further magical training under the tutelage of a wicked sorceress who sought to tempt him away from Mystra's path. During a fake ritual for Bane, she revealed herself to be the goddess Mystra herself, once again testing him.

In 767 DR, Elminster became a foster parent to three other of Mystra's Chosen: Laeral Silverhand, Storm Silverhand, and Dove Falconhand.

In 851 DR, Elminster mentored the newly-appointed Chosen of Mystra, Sammaster, in how to use his new powers.

During the Harpstar Wars in 1222 DR, Elminster defeated the Zulkir of Necromancy, Szass Tam, and earned himself (and the Harpers) the enmity of Thay.

In 1358 DR, just before the Time of Troubles, Mystra gained some foreknowledge and backed up her power into Midnight, the human wizard, so it would not be lost. During this time, Elminster, like most wizards who received his power from Mystra/the Weave, was left powerless once more.

In 1371 DR, the new Mystra stripped away many of Elminster's memories of her former incarnation's secrets. By the end of that year, he was called to Blackstaff Tower to discuss the phaerimm attack. The whole event ended up being related to a planificated attack from the Shadovars. Since shadovar were living shadow magic, and silver fire was raw magic, the collision between the two tore at the fabric of reality, creating a rift to the Nine Hells. Elminster realized that the only way to close the portal before legions of devils spilled forth into Toril was to close it from the other side. He did it, being trapped on the other side and at the expense of much of his magical strength.

Once in Hell, he was abducted and enslaved by an outcast archdevil known as Nergal, who wished to discover the secret of Mystra's silver fire. Elminster was subject to brutal tortures, surviving only because of his exceptional endurance and ability to heal himself with silver fire. Mystra tried to save him herself, but ended up sending several Chosen ones instead. Only The Simbul was successful in his rescue.

In 1373 DR, Elminster discovered a daughter he had never known, conceived against his will with a dragon thanks to Mystra's intervention.

Following the death of Mystra in 1385 DR and the collapse of the Weave during the Spellplague, Elminster was stripped of many of his abilities as one of the Chosen, though he still aged as slowly as he had for the previous millennium and was still quite powerful magically. However, every use of his magic drove him insane. When this happened, only Storm was able to bring his mind back, giving off her own essence to soothe Elminster's mind. Despite these setbacks, Elminster and Storm continued with their campaign to save Faerûn, battling evil and fixing the Weave where they could.

In 1479 DR, Elminster sought to gain access to artifacts known to contain the spirits of the Nine—objects powerful enough to permanently restore the Simbul's sanity.

During one of his excursions for these artefacts, Elminster's body was destroyed by Manshoon, who had secretly been peeling away the Old Mage's contingency spells over several years. However, Manshoon departed before he realized that Elminster had survived his body's destruction in a near-undead state. With the agreement of Amarune and the aid of Storm, Elminster's essence was placed in Amarune's body with the aid of a spell the ex-Chosen had discovered in a cache once belonging to Azuth. Later, thanks to the sacrifice of the Simbul, he regained his former body again and ruined for good Manshoon's claim to the throne of Suzail.

In 1487 DR, Elminster (with the help of the Srinshee, Alustriel, and Laeral Silverhand) stopped Shar as well as Larloch from becoming the new deity of magic. He killed Telamont Tanthul and let Thultanthar fall upon Myth Drannor. Along the way, Mystra was completely restored.

In 1491 DR, Elminster returned to the city of Waterdeep, aiding the newly appointed Open Lord of Waterdeep, Laeral Silverhand, to uncover the culprits behind a string of murders of Masked Lords.

Sincerely, there is a lot of content left outside this summary because Elminster’s material is a lot. A LOT.

Where is he in 1492?

The last time we know about Elminster’s whereabouts is during the book Dead Masks, a year before BG3. He has been working in Mystra’s name in Waterdeep when Hidden Lords have been assassinated. It’s very hard to conceive Gale as Elminster in disguise. Elminster has a different personality and a very obvious pattern of speech, sounding more like a mixture of a scholar and a farmer, and using expressions like Nay, aye, and so on. Elminster being abandoned by Mystra is also a strange concept because if there is something very clear from all the material we can read about his adventures is that Mystra loves him with a particular and exceptional love. He was the only Chosen that, when he was being tortured in the Hells, she attempted to save him by herself, risking her life (obviously, then she changed her mind and sent several Chosen ones that died in the process).

Also, if Gale were Elminster, he should sustain a spell of disguise constantly (many people know Elminster, an old man of white hair and beard), which is also very unlikely for a lvl1 wizard to do.

Source: 3e: Elminster: The Making of a Mage. The Temptation of Elminster. Dead Masks

Sammaster

He was born in 800 DR, probably in Sembia, the Dalelands, or the North. At age of 17, fascinated by the theory of the Arts and how magic works, Sammaster became a follower of Mystra. He was a gaunt man of poor health, full of eccentricities: he never remained in one place for too long, he skipped his meals and sleep in favour of learning, and it's suspected to have fathered a countless number of children.

Before being 40 y/o he acquired the skills of an archmage and he discovered, rediscovered, or improved numerous spells in the advanced theory of magic known as "metamagic". All this discovery of knowledge and magic (so favoured by Mystra as we can see in the post about "Mystra and her Chosen ones") granted him the attention of the Goddess, who appeared before him.

At his 50 y/o Sammaster saw his most fervent dream appear before his very eyes. He was both awestruck and smitten with passion as he fell to his knees and wept upon Mystra’s feet. Raising him to meet her gaze, Mystra responded to his unspoken question and swept him into her embrace. They spent a tenday together, and at the end of that period, Mystra asked him if he thought he was worthy and strong enough to carry a part of her divine power within him. Despite not knowing what she meant, Sammaster accepted anyway, becoming the first Chosen after she conceived her seven daughters. Mystra explained that she had chosen him for his development in metamagic but also because she had foreseen the death of an already Chosen one (Syluné) whose place she wanted immediately filled with Sammaster.

Sammaster was ordered to be in contact with Elminster to learn more about his new condition of Chosen. Sammaster and Elminster developed a tense situation mostly because Sammaster's obsessive love for the Goddess deepened while Elminster kept reminding him that her only consort was Azuth.

Dejected for the truth that he would never have a personal long-lasting relationship with Mystra, Sammaster focused on understanding the powers of the Chosen and the mysteries of the Lady in himself and in Toril. However, a seed of resentment started to grow.

In 855 Sammaster found a Zhentarin slave caravan resting in a camp. In it, he found three large cage carts full of peasants taken from the farmlands in the surrounding area. Enraged, Sammaster attacked the Zhentarin using his spells and Silver Fire, but in the process he killed many innocents he wanted to save. His mind snapped that day. Despite trying to convince himself that the Zhentarins were to blame, this episode was—without any doubt—the seminal event that irrevocably turned Sammaster down the path to madness and, eventually, evil.

Years later he started to develop his interest in necromancy in an attempt to return those innocents he had killed, trying to find a way to revive the dead. During this time his interest was focused on the undead, and forged relationships with some liches. How did Mystra allow this? At that time, Mystra was a much more neutral deity. Her primary interest was the use and development of magic; she cared little about how it was used or by whom. As long as Sammaster continued to advance the theories of magic and push forward its frontiers for all mortals, Mystra turned a blind eye to his necromancy interests.

In 861 DR Sammaster met Alustriel, Chosen of Mystra, and fell in love with her. His unbalanced mind seemed to finally find some peace and stability, but his obsession —at first focused on Mystra—now turned upon Alustriel, wanting to master her, to make her entirely his, and to make her world revolve around him. Disturbed with Sammaster's necromancy research and his increasing need for control over her, Alustriel broke up with him.

Afterwards, while deepening in his experiments with necromancy, Sammaster befriended Algashon Nathaire, a priest of Bane who had formerly been a mage. In the unstable Sammaster, Algashon saw the chance to create a formidable tyrant. Bane must also have seen the chance to rob one of his most powerful enemy’s Chosen of his last vestiges of sanity and perhaps his powers or even his life.

Presented as a friend, Algashon manipulated Sammaster into thinking that all his failures and problems were the fault of that uncaring goddess and her equally inconsiderate servants, her so-called "Chosen". Sammaster resisted this subtle indoctrination at first, only to be painfully reminded of the events at the slavers' camp (the Zhents' fault, of course), his uneasy relationship with Elminster, his failure to win the love of Mystra (Azuth's fault and Elminster's for pointing it out so hard-heartedly), and his failure to win Alustriel (her fault and that of her Goddess). As time went on, Sammaster argued against these superficial, easy excuses less and less, and Algashon's lies wove their way deeper into the unhappy and unstable mage's mind. The next step of Algashon was to steal the secrets of the power of the Chosen. To do that, he encouraged Sammaster to use his Chosen power at every opportunity.

Rather than risking their pawn's life (yet) by attempting to strip the silver fire from Sammaster outright, Bane and Algashon decided to try and arrange to steal another Chosen's silver fire: given her past with Sammaster, Algashon chose Alturiel. This way Sammster fought Alturiel, aiming silver fire against her. Losing the battle against a maniacal Sammaster, Alustriel called for help from Laeral Silverhand and Khelben Arunsun. The three of them won the combat against Sammaster.

Azuth presented himself on Mystra's behalf and removed Sammaster's Chosen condition. When the other Chosen left the place, Algashon helped Sammaster, affixing the immortality of the Chosen ones in his body despite having lost his powers. While he could be destroyed, Sammaster continued to remain ageless and to heal from wounds very quickly. However, as a side-effect of this spell, Sammaster lost his last vestige of sanity and morality that may have remained in his clouded mind.

In 887 DR Sammaster retranslated old texts of a prophecy, highlighting the importance of undead dragons and creating soon afterward his own Cult. In his insanity, he kept doing more necromancy research focused on turning dragons into draconlich to follow this prophecy. His first success in turning a dragon (Shargrailar) into an undead made his cult famous. In this way, Sammaster earned a powerful weapon with which threatened many across Faerun and obtained an enormous amount of money. Even the rich nobles paid tribute when the Cult threatened to send Shargrailar to burn their farmlands and villages to ash. Sammaster did not think to oppress the peasants for their coppers, but the noble powerful ones.

In 960 DR, his cult finally adopted the name “Cult of the Dragon”, even though “Cult of the Dracolich” could be more appropriate, even though Shargrailar still looked like a normal dragon. By that time the cult increased too much for Sammaster and Algoshon to control, so Sammaster wrote all his wisdom in a book called Tome of the Dragon that would turn into the core of the cult, helping them to spread Sammaster's ideas beyond their limitations.

The popularity of the cult was not missed by several groups. The Harpers tried to destroy it, but they failed. The Zhentarims are also against Sammaster's cult since their activities are limited with the constant threat of the Dragon Shargrailar. More groups were added to the cult's list of foes, but Sammaster ignored them or sent them a dragon to destroy them. Not merely mad now, Sammaster was becoming drunk with a level of power he had not felt since before he had been stripped of his powers as one of the Chosen. Algashor suggested that he keep a low profile in order to protect the cult, but his advice was ignored.

In 916 DR, The Harpers developed a plan to eliminate Sammaster and weaken the cult itself. The battle was brutal and Sammaster seemed to win by the end of it, commanding an army of undead and experimental creatures. Sammaster would have won had not Lathander sent a battle avatar, enraged by the undead abominations that Sammaster created. After an intense battle, Lathander incinerated Sammaster. However, Sammaster had planned ahead: he had sent his mind to a phylactery before being killed.

With the phylactery and a special book of the Tome of the Dragon, a loyal cultist called Zotulla had been ordered by Sammaster to create a new cell of the cult in the Northwest. However, Zotulla failed and died at the hands of an orc war party who discarded the phylactery and the book. Both items were lost for more than 300 years, until a shaman may have deciphered the instructions in the book and raised Sammaster as a lich.

In 1282 Sammaster rose as a lich and began to gather the remnants of his cult once more. Harpers and some countries began to plan to defend themselves from this danger again. In 1285 a group of adventuring paladins known as the Company of Twelve supported by the Harpers, attacked the lich and killed him at a great cost. However, neither the phylactery nor the book were found. The possibility for him to return is high.

In 1373DR Sammaster completed the transformation of the Dracorage Mythal. This was a Mythal created by elves around -25.000DR which had a maddening effect on dragons, making them lose their minds for several tendays. This effect used to be linked to the appearance of the comet King-Killer Star in the sky. When Sammaster transformed this mythal by binding his phylactery to it, its maddening effect was no longer constrained by the appearance of the comet but linked instead to his own life force. Only Dracoliches remained unaffected by Sammaster’s endless, ever-intensifying Dracorage effect. This fact forced wyrms to join his Cult and accept to be transformed into dracoliches or suffer permanent madness. By manipulating this effect, Sammaster tried to retake control over his Cult. However, a group of adventurers destroyed the mythal—thus Sammaster’s phylactery—and put an end to this effect.

Where is he in 1492?

So, is Gale Sammaster? Lore-wise, to destroy a lich for good you need to destroy their phylactery. This has been done in 1373DR, therefore, I hardly see any potential for Sammaster to raise again. And here is where any possible argument ends.

What Sammaster's story shows us is that Mystra's sudden abandonment is not uncommon once she gave them their Chosen powers. In the report of the Harpers that narrate Sammaster's life in the book Cult of the dragon (2e), there are some comments pointing out how Mystra, despite noticing Sammaster's madness, allowed him to follow his dark path. One may speculate that maybe Mystra uses the obsession that she may cause in some of her Chosen ones, in order to make them eager to explore beyond their limits so she can acquire knowledge or control of new magic.

Certainly, what Sammaster and Gale share in common is how they were favoured by Mystra, had a affair with her, and soon afterwards she stopped “whispering” in their ears. Their condition as Chosen had been kept intact, but their madness in one case, or their devotion in the other, made them go too far. Sammaster ended up being a toy of a priest of Bane, while Gale simply made the mistake of thinking himself capable of controlling an unknown magic to impress Mystra in order to have once more her attention on him. More than this is walking on the headcanon terrain since the game in EA can't provide more information.

Source book: Cult of the dragon (2e), Dragons of Faerun (3.5e)

Conclusion

The truth is that Gale is Kirby. He doesn't only eat artefacts but also Faerûn iconic characters as well (joke done by a reddit user)

In my personal interpretation, I hardly see Gale as the incarnation of anyone. First, it would be very, very lazy writing. Characters such as Sammaster, Elminster, or Azuth tend to be NPCs. We found some of them in games such as previous Baldur’s Gate games or Neverwinter nights.

But the main and strongest argument against secretly being any of these characters is that he is an origin character. All companions are potential players in their origins. Anyone who played DOS2 AND played an origin character would understand this: there is no plot twist of that magnitude in their personal backstories that would erase completely the essence and the personality of the character. All that sensitive information is previously stated.

All what we need to know about the origin char is basically said in the BG3 webpage. Those descriptions are the same ones found in the game, which changed after EA was released in Astarion’s and Gale’s case, showing—in my opinion—that Larian changed them a bit at the last stage of development. These descriptions spoil every secret that the characters have. This doesn’t mean their more complex background should not be part of a plot twist later in the game, but it would not have the impact of erasing completely the RPG characters you were playing for a while.

Every companion has a secret spoiled in their descriptions: Astarion, his vampire condition; Shadowheart, her Shar faith and he mission; Wyll, Mizora; Lae’zel, the tadpole (not for the group, but for her people); Gale, the “orb”. All these secrets are informed beforehand to the player for them to pick an Origin if they want to play it and make it their own. As companions, we learn these secrets early (act 1). This happens in act 1 of DOS2 too.

A player choosing an origin has to be informed of the character’s secrets and motivations at the moment they pick it. Otherwise, it would ruin their RPG experience, making the player unaware of their own character’s true nature. This doesn’t mean that deepening their backgrounds would not make us discover information we don’t know. My point is, it won't remove the character’s persona turning him into a character very well known in lore.

Gale, so far, seems to be a pretty fair standard wizard who had a young obsession over Mystra (quite common in terms of lore for those who stand before her), which brought him troubles and made him prone to mistakes (as, once more, we know it tends to happen in lore). The justification why he was Chosen is also clear from a lore point of view: we have a context post-Spellplague that made Gale's skills more than useful for Mystra. In my opinion, there is nothing else abysmally suspicious beyond these points, and if there are more secrets, it seems fair to think that not even Gale is aware of them.

This post was written in June2021. → For more Gale: Analysis Series Index

#gale of waterdeep #bg3 meta #bg3 early access #bg3 gale #azuth #myrkul #karsus #elminster #sammaster #lore #chosen of mystra #FR lore

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redloftwingfeathers · 3 years

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I'd kind of figured it was Demise's curse that got Link and Hylia's avatar stuck in a cycle of misery. But I also tend to think of it like the Avatar series where some of the past Zelda/Hylias are a little...out of touch.

But also, where were Din, Nayru, and Farore in all this nonsense? Aren't they the ones responsible for marking poor Link with the Triforce all the time? They handed the Triforce off to Hylia and just ditched. Your fellow and/or subordinate goddess got cursed to constantly be reborn as a mortal? Meh.

Is the Great Deku Tree the only responsible guardian deity in all of Hyrule or something??

Hi! Spoilers ahead!

Demise's curse definitely plays a role, but this was before the cursed cycle. Hylia still chooses her hero that is worthy of wielding the triforce, just as Link did in the game. He is sent through trials to be deemed worthy of being the holder to use its power against Demise, and to be a holder you must have an unbreakable spirit.

The goddesses Din, Nayru and Farore left the world they created and left their gift in the hands of Hylia to protect it from oncoming evils such as Demise and anyone else who wanted the power to themselves. This means that the goddesses are here as observers, and will make 0 effort for divine intervention. They created the Triforce, it's free game what people do with it. [Gods. Love. Chaos.] When the time came for Demise to rise, Hylia took her people and sent them to the sky with the Triforce and sealed them off with the cloud barrier so nobody could get through.

This is the part where it gets muddy for me because we have no other proof of there being a first hero outside of the Hyrule Historia manga (which is can be argued as canon/non-canon. Yes, Hylia gave her chosen hero a sail cloth, but?? That's it, no other context). The game says Hylia was the one that fought and sealed away Demise, not before creating Fi to guide her later hero (SS Link), and also giving up her goddess status to be reincarnated as the Zelda you meet in game. In this case, Hylia is doing everything in her range to keep the Triforce safe, and is Very smart for coming up with back up plans before taking Demise head-on.

Now the reason why Hylia gave up her immortality is because a god cannot use what they created for the world. The Triforce is fueled by the powers of all three creators (Din, Nayru, Farore), but neither can touch or use them. This also applies to Hylia, who is also a goddess, and is the keeper of the Triforce. She chose to find the only possible loophole to make this battle end in her favor by severing her ties with the gods and using its full power to stop Demise at all cost. Badass. Love it. #girlboss

However in my readings (again, outside of the manga) there was no presence of Hylia's chosen hero in this battle. So my theory here, going out on a limb, is that her hero failed. He could not harness the powers she granted him, so she has to build one herself through slight manipulation in her next life.

Going back to the game: Zelda is Hylia reborn. Cut, Print, Moving On. Hylia had to regain her memories as Zelda with the help of her assistant Impa. Impa knows just about as much as Fi does, waiting all those years for her to return and finish Demise once and for all, knowing the seal wouldn't last. Zelda finally understands what's going on, both as herself and as Hylia incarnate, and to her disgust and regret, she has to keep motivating Link to press on, otherwise the plan will fall apart. Zelda heavily apologizes to Link for having Hylia--Herself (she corrects because she realizes this is her doing, even if she doesn't want to admit it because she cares so DEEPLY for her best friend) for USING him. She was forced to keep quiet on her own accord once everything made sense, she kept Link in the dark because she wasn't sure how far he would go to get her back and help her. And Impa was the force too that helped Zelda gain the strength to use her best friend in their favor. And despite everything, Link is still there for her. And she can't fathom why. But Hylia does, and it's at that point Link is dubbed as her chosen hero.

If we're going by the manga, the first hero, to wield the master sword, he was purposely imprisoned to create his strength and unbreakable spirit ordered by the divine gods themselves (so..the goddesses were in on it??) and was released only when Demise was starting to sink Hylia's battleships . She said she feels awful for what he's been through, but all she could do was just watch until the time came to help aid her. And as the final piece to raise the earth to the sky to create skyloft he uses the master sword as the final key to raise Hylia's people high above before dying on the surface. He was chosen because again, despite all he's been through, he was still devoted to Hylia and all of her people, and that's what made the master sword (Fi) accept him as its master.

In either story you prefer, Hylia is just... Really Something. Her intentions are for the greater good, but her actions to find her hero is absolutely out of pocket as she's built on aiming for last resorts to fulfill destinies. In either story, she is creating a devoted hero through misery, as if it will be rewarding for them in the end. *coughcoughDEMISE CURSEcough* So yes, in a way Demise is also an element to the misery because this process somehow carried over to the other timelines and eras, but it didn't Have to be this way. (especially because if there wasn't a mention of a hero in the game of SS, why even bother??? like, girl did it all herself, she can do it again smh)

Tl;dr, all the zelda gods are canceled and Link needs a fucking break

#hoo boy sorry this is long #ss hd spoilers #replies

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iknowthatyoudontknow · 4 years

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i am drunk and i have cant stop thinking about jonah magnus disease and im gonna make it everybody elses problem

no wonder he has an alliance with avatars of the lonely since the time of mordecai lukas. There are No Other Avatars Of The Eye after all.

I think about avatars of the eye everyday. you dont just simply gain omiscence one day, no no. you feel a growing need for knowledge until inevitably one day you step on the wrong people's toes and you die. Avatars of the Eye need someone to survive. They need to watch someone. Avatars of the eye cannot possibly thrive alone in a hostile world where their "peers" get the power of decay or fire or flight. They need each other. They seek eachother like Jonathan seeked Gertrude. And yet the forces that drive them away from eachother always prevail.

Death comes so soon for the defenseless avatars of the eye, who are doomed to live in a play when all they wanted, all they were made for, was being part of the audience.

Except for Jonah Magnus, who lives on stubbornly like a tick, attached to the lives of others, fighting everyday nail and tooth not to fall off.

He chose this life. He wasnt like Jonathan, tricked and enmeshed too deeply before he could realize. Jonah choose this life despite everything, and so doomed himself to a life of loneliness.

i wonder, -and hopefully I'll get to know- how many Archivists he had before. Before Jon, before Gertrude, who were the others? Were they his friends? We saw the letters. We know he wasn't always so utterly alone, we know that he chose to be but that makes me wonder: were there others at some point? Did he make friends among the Archivists, other than between the avatars of other fears? Was he always so determined to be a lone king of the world?

None of the other rituals are like the Eye's, and not just because of the way it drags them all in together. None of the other Cults are like the Archives, which are actually a Place.

Think about it.

The Circus of the Other, the People's Church of the Divine Host, the Lightless flame are cults, they are groups, they move together from place to place. The spiders work together, Jane Prentiss was a home, the Fairchilds are a family, even the Lukas are, despite the fact that they sre literally powered by loneliness they are together. But the archives were never united, a family, most of the people in there were never even fully aware of it. They were never really working together for a cause, none of them in any time.

No one ever slightly successful attempted to survive on their own like Jonah did.

I don't know, i feel there is some deeper message about this. Something that betrays the meaning of the Eye.

Isn't information something that's meant to be shared? Yet the Archives were only ever a source of nourishment for two avatars at most.

I have a feeling that in some ways Jonah Magnus has shown to be no better than Jurgen Leitner. It would be an extremely amusing parallel, but both of them just hoarded "knowledge" for their own egoistical purpose, turning it into secrets thus betraying the spirit of it.

If his downfall really ends up drawing parallels to Leitner's. I don't know. i just think it would really be appropriate.

He is utterly alone now. He can't hide like he did for all the years he thrived.

Can Jonah Magnus face once and for all all the fear that fed him for most of his life? Can he accept to become more than a man in the audience, an active role instead of a puppeteer, without self combusting? The obvious answer would be no. Yet i can't wait to see him fight against death like he did his whole life one last time. I can't wait for this hiatus to be over.

#tma #jonah magnus #the eye #tma meta #jurgen leitner #tma hiatus #the magnus archives #/alcohol mention #the void yells back

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warrioreowynofrohan · 4 years

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Stormlight Archive Epigraphs (1) - Letters

I’ve been going through the Stormlight Archive epigraphs to see if there are hints or foreshadowing or information that I’ve missed; before now, I hadn’t pulled together ones from different chapters, and it’s been very interesting to get a clearer picture of them.

These posts are as much for my own reference as anything else.

This one covers the letters between Wit and his, hm, associates, which are in TWOK Part 2, WOR Part 4, and OB Part 2.

Wit’s Letter

Old friend, I hope this missive finds you well. Though, as you are now essentially immortal, I would guess that wellness on your part is something of a given. I realize that you are probably still angry. That is pleasant to know. Much as your perpetual health, I have come to rely upon your dissatisfaction with me. It is one of the cosmere’s great constants, I should think.

Let me first assure you that the element is quite safe. I have found a good home for it. I protect its safety like I protect my own skin, you might say. You do not agree with my quest. I understand that, so much as it is possible to understand someone with whom I disagree so completely.

Might I be quite frank? Before, you asked why I was so concerned. It is for the following reason: Ati was once a kind and generous man, and you saw what became of him. Rayse, on the other hand, was among the most loathesome, crafty, and dangerous individuals I had ever met. He holds the most frightening and terrible of all of the Shards. Ponder on that for a time, you old reptile, and tell me if your insistence on nonintervention holds firm. Because I assure you, Rayse will not be similarly inhibited. One need only look at the aftermath of his brief visit to Sel to see proof of what I say. In case you have turned a blind eye to that disaster, know that Aona and Skai are both dead, and that which they held has been Splintered. Presumably to prevent anyone from rising up to challenge Rayse.

You have accused me of arrogance in my quest. You have accused me of perpetuating my grudge against Bavadin. Both accusations are true. Neither point makes the things I have written to you here untrue.

I am being chased. Your friends of the Seventeenth Shard, I suspect. I believe they’re still lost, following a false trail I left for them. They’ll be happier that way. I doubt they have any inkling what to do with me should they actually catch me. If anything I have said makes a glimmer of sense to you, I trust that you’ll call them off. Or maybe you could astound me and ask them to do something productive for once. For I have never been dedicated to a more important purpose, and the very pillars of the sky will shake with the results of our war here. I ask again. Support me. Do not stand aside and let disaster consume more lives. I’ve never begged you for something before, old friend.

I do so now.

Reply 1:

I’ll address this letter to my “old friend,” as I have no idea what name you’re using currently. Have you given up on the gemstone, now that it is dead? And do you no longer hide behind the name of your old master? I am told that in your current incarnation you’ve taken a name that references what you presume to be one of your virtues. This is, I suspect, a little like a skunk naming itself for its stench.

Now, look what you’ve made me say. You’ve always been able to bring out the extreme in me, old friend. And I do still name you a friend, for all that you weary me.

Yes, I’m disappointed. Perpetually, as you put it. Is not the destruction you have wrought enough? The worlds you now tread bear the touch and design of Adonalsium. Our interference so far has brought nothing but pain.

My path has been chosen very deliberately. Yes, I agree with everything you have said about Rayse, including the severe danger he presents. However, it seems to me that all things have been set up for a purpose, and if we - as infants - stumble through the workshop, we risk exacerbating, not preventing, a problem. Rayse is captive. He cannot leave the system he now inhabits. His destructive potential is, therefore, inhibited. Whether this was Tanavast’s design or not, millennia have passed without Rayse taking the life of another one of the sixteen. While I mourn for the great suffering Rayse has caused, I do not believe we could hope for a better outcome than this. He bears the weight of God’s own divine hatred, separated from the virtues that give it context. He is what we made him to be, old friend. And that is what he, unfortunately, wished to become. I suspect that he is more a force than an individual now, despite your insistence to the contrary. That force is contained, and an equilibrium reached.

You, however, have never been a force for equilibrium. You tow chaos behind you like a corpse dragged by one leg through the snow. Please, hearken to my plea. Leave that place and join me in my oath of nonintervention. The cosmere itself may depend upon our restraint.

Reply 2:

Dearest Cephandrius,

I recieved you communication, of course. I noticed its arrival immediately, just as I noticed your many intrusions into my land. You think yourself so clever, but my eyes are not those of some petty noble, to be clouded by a false nose and some dirt on the cheeks.

You mustn’t worry yourself about Rayse. It is a pity about Aona and Skai, but they were very foolish - violating our pact from the very beginning. Your skills are admirable, but you are merely a man. You had your chance to be more, and refused it. No good can come of two Shards settling in one location. It was agreed that we would not interfere with one another, and it disappoints me that so few of the Shards have kept to this original agreement. As for Uli Da, it was obvious from the outset that she was going to be a problem. Good riddance. Regardless, this is not your concern. If Rayse becomes an isdue, he will be dealt with.

And so will you.

Reply 3:

Cephandrius, bearer of the First Gem,

You must know better than to approach us by relying upon presumption of past relationship. You have spoken to one who cannot respond. We, instead, will take your communication to us - though we know not how you have located us upon this world. We are indeed intrigued, for we thought it well hidden. Insignificant among our many realms. As the waves of the sea must continue to surge, so must our will continue resolute.

Alone.

Did you expect anything else from us? We need not suffer the interference of another. Rayse is contained, and we care not for his prison. Indeed, we admire his initiative. Perhaps if you had approached the correct one of us with your plea, it would have found favourable audience. But we stand in the sea, pleased with our domains. Leave us alone.

We also instruct that you should not return to Obrodai. We have claimed that world, and a new avatar of our being is beginning to manifest there. She is young yet, and - as a precaution - she has been instilled with an intense and overpowering dislike of you. This is all we will say at this time. If you wish more, seek these waters in person and overcome the tests we have created. Only in this will you earn our respect.

Reply 4:

Friend,

Your letter is most intriguing, even revelatory. I would have thought, before attaining my current station, that a deity could not be surprised. Obviously, this is not true. I can be surprised. I can perhaps even be naive, I think.

I am the least equipped, of all, to aid you in this endeavour. I am finding that the powers I hold are in such conflict that the most simple of actions can be difficult. I am also made uncertain by your subterfuge. Why have you not made yourself known to me before this? How is it you can hide? Who are you, truly, and how do you know so much about Adonalsium? If you would speak to me farther, I request open honesty. Return to my lands, approach my servants, and I will see what I can do for your quest.

Basically everything that I know about Wit and the Cosmere beyond the events of The Stormlight Archive comes from the Stormlight Archive Rereads on Tor.com. Here’s my understanding of what is going on:

The God of Sanderson’s Cosmere, Adonalsium, was splintered into many different pieces (Shards - not to be confused with Shardblades and Shardplate), each consisting of a separate characteristic, and each characteristic was taken on by a different person. Up until I put these epigraphs together, I thought there were 16 shards, but from this, it sounds like there was a 17th that Wit was supposed to take on, and chose not to, and that his sixteen associates are displeased with him for that (and are trying to get that Shard back?).

The tone of the different replies is very interesting. The first one, I have some sympathy with, as one of many reasons why I tend to oppose military interventionism is that generally the intervenors have no idea what they are doing and risk making things worse; the author fo the first reply seems to have genuine affection for Wit despite his aggravation.

The second reply is very much the opposite, starting courteous but being the most clearly hostile of the four. The third reply indicates that Wit’s letter went to a Shard-holder other than the one he intended, and to someone who is broadly antagonistic (given that they “admire Odium’s initiative”). The fourth one, I’m gathering from bits of comments from other people on the broader Cosmere, is from the person currently holding the Shards of both Ruin and Preservation.

I’m not sure any of the material from the letters is essential, or if it’s just an addition for the enjoyment of Cosmere fans; the broad takeaway seems to be that Roshar is on its own and no one else is inclined to provide large-scale assistance against Odium.

I’m not sure whether I’m corrent in assuming that Tanavast is the original name of the person who took on the Shard of Honor, in the same way that Rayse is the original name of the person who took on the Shard of Odium?

#the stormlight archive #brandon sanderson #hoid #epigraphs

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mnemosys · 5 years

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Biography:

Default: Alas, the unfortunate mage has met with a cruel fate. In the rondo of tragedy, what will you sacrifice in order to leave the world better off than you found it?

Bond 1:

Class : Ruler Rarity : 4* Attribute: Earth Traits: Divine, Male, Humanoid, Pseudo-Servant, Threat to Humanity Alignment : Lawful Neutral Height/Weight: 162cm ・ 75kg Gender: Male

Shiro’s life was far from normal, before he ever willingly set foot into Chaldea. Originating from a broken family, with no specific talents or goals in life, he wandered aimlessly for a place to belong. As a Master, being a jack of all trades with a hefty penchant for the arcane was his only edge.

Bond 2:

The veil crumbles and reality mixes with another. That’s not his real name. That’s not his real face. Whatever he was once, was now lost. He is nothing more than a prism, refracting the cyclical nature of life and death.

Bond 3:

An avatar of something greater or a phantom trapped in between irregular timelines. While he still holds the potential as a Master, his mana is unstable and should be used mindfully. Without a clear method, his purpose is to put an end to humanity’s suffering.

Bond 4:

Frowned upon by his own kin, he chose to walk the path of cosmic horrors.

When nobody listens, she breathes into him an ear-splitting hoot of hooves that rattle the Earth and rip apart the sky. What purpose would the Great All-Mother have with an average cleric?

The Remains of the High Priest:

In the original timeline, in a place far from Ordinary, the boy willingly took upon the mask of the Black Goat and, for a steep price, became that which humanity fears most: its own reflection. He sang gospels of the Satyr and the Great Old Ones as an avatar of their own, the conductor of depraved belief and wicked peace.

This irregularity seeped through the innermost fabrics of reality and has changed history forever. Wherever this ghastly preacher roams, tragedy will follow. Not even his very first Chaldean incarnation was his original self. Does something as uncorrupted as that even exist anymore?

His mental resistance is strong enough to withstand the consequences of meddling with the occult – or, perhaps, he has gone mad from the influx of forbidden insight. So mad, in fact, that it has become his normalcy.

The Ruby of R’lyeh:

An unique, cursed artifact called Ruby of R’lyeh, engraved in monstrous teeth and tentacles, straight from the hellmouth of Cthulhu. People who gaze at it or touch it may receive insight at the cost of their sanity.

Horrible Visions B:

Horrible visions of the past haunt him. Unable to escape the memories forever, he turns the corrosion of his being and the nightmares into a virtue. Do not open your mind to his gospel. Some things are better left unknown.

Bond 5:

The sin which he can never escape stems from the faulty wiring in his human nature. It must have! Greed, envy, jealousy, hatred, love, despair, feelings of uselessness – a recipe for disaster.

The girl he sacrificed, the broken friendships and bonds and the thousand knives stuck to his back, topped off by the bittersweet love he twisted into poison - Shiro doesn’t believe that he will ever be forgiven for his selfishness to render humanity catatonic, which put all of this into motion. All he can do is repent by offering his aid, forever, until all glimmer of hope is extinguished or until somebody wipes out his entire existence from its roots.

_________________

Status

Strength : D Endurance : A Agility : C Mana : EX Luck : D NP : B

Active Skills

1. Ruby of R’lyeh – Increases party’s NP gauge by 15%. Every party member loses 700 hp [Demerit]. Reduces damage taken by the party for 3 turns. Increases party defense for 3 turns. Increases party attack for 1 turn.

2. The Remains of the High Priest – Seals one enemy’s skills for one turn. Increases party’s NP generation rate for 3 turns [20%~30%], applies [Guts] to party for 3 turns [resurrect with 20% of HP].

3. Zymoticism – Inflicts [Defense Down] for 3 turns to enemy when attacking with arts cards [3 times] (self). Inflicts poison for 5 turns to all enemies. NP seal (one turn) to one enemy.

Passive Skills

1. Strange Aeon EX - Increase own debuff resistance by 25%, Increases own debuff success rate by 25%

2. Horrible Visions B – Increases own arts performance by 10%

3. Item Construction (Odd) B – Increases own healing received by 8%

Special ability

The [Doom Track]

Each time Shiro uses his NP, a [token] gets added to the [Doom Track]. Each [two tokens] (every 3rd NP use), the recovered HP of the party increases to [30%] and his own max HP increases by [10%] for 3 turns.

Noble Phantasm

The Ancient One stirs and aid arrives

Classification: Anti-Army

Type: Arts

Effect: [Debuff resistance] down to all enemies. Applies [max 1 random debuff per unit] to all enemies. In addition, applies [Restoration of the Flesh]* – instant HP regeneration [20%], defense up [60%, 1 turn delayed]

*Additional effect, applies after casting: If the enemies are [poisoned], Shiro will gain [Stun] and [Taunt] demerit for 1 turn. Gain 15 critical stars. If active party members [other than himself] suffer negative statuses, randomly allocate them to the enemies. If the enemies have transferable buffs, randomly allocate them to party members.

#straight out the gate; ooc #♛ 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮?; verse #[take this and consume it]

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the-heart-of-kandrakar · 5 years

Text

Miraculous AU (Genderbent Witch)

Cross-dressing ninja witch

Martial arts magic is based off the bending arts in avatar

Marin Dupain-Cheng comes from a long line of witches (descendants of the goddess of creation Tikki). Their bloodline practices special gifts: the power of purification or exorcism, the gift of good fortune, love-crafting, and the art of creation. Only the females in the family can harness the powers of a mother goddess, so the males only have a small affinity for spells, potions, and charms but most are powerless...until Marin is born. From the second he opened his eyes, everyone knew he was special. He was blessed with the eyes of creation, the same bluebell irises as the mother goddess. His powers manifested from a young age as well. Usually the Cheng’s powers develop during puberty where they are able to handle the evil that is attracted to their budding magic, however with demons and monsters coming after Marin, his grandmother (the only other witch in the family) chose to bind his powers until he was old enough to properly handle them

Just a few weeks after his grandmother dies strange things begin happening to Marin. Out of the corner of his eyes he catches shadows and monsters and terrifying images. In his dreams his grandmother sends him warnings and messages that all but dissipate in the light of morning. Scariest of all he can sense something growing within him, a power that he can’t control. He dies and his soul awakens in the dark, quiet, comforting womb of creation where Tikki awaits. She appears before him donning his likeness, she looks identical to him except for her long hair and feminine traits. She explains that a great evil act has been committed in the world - a god has been trapped by a mortal, and demons are growing in rank. In order for Marin to return he must accept her blessing, and take a portion of her power within him (a male vessel for a female god creates balance and harmony by equal yin and yang). In doing so most of her power will be transferred to him and she’ll fall into a deep slumber until she’s reunited with her magic. She takes Marin in her warm embrace before placing a kiss on his forehead which releases his grandmothers binding. When he wakes up it’s as a witch

Marin is Tikki’s avatar or incarnation on earth. He’s elevated to the status of a demigod or divine being. He embodies her soul and he takes on her visage or likeness. Whenever evil is close by his hair grows as his face softens and shifts to become more feminine, these subtle changes alter his body structure but his physical sex can’t be altered and his voice remains deep

To access his full potential he must discover Tikki’s heavenly robes which are imbued with her strength

Meanwhile Adrien is the son of a powerful demon (Emilie) and a conjuror with the power to summon demons and evil spirits who is eager to steal the powers of a goddess and plans to use his own offspring to do so. What he didn’t plan on was said son falling in love with the young godling

Luka comes from a family of humans who’ve been cursed to take on a serpent form, which he does so to protect and help Marin. In this form he can hypnotize his opponents amongst other things

On Love-Crafting: There is an ancient Chinese legend that links the ladybug with love. The story goes that when a ladybug comes to call, it is a sign that true love will also pay us a visit. Asian traditions focus on the nature of love when looking at a ladybug. They believe that if you catch one and set it free, it will fly to your true love and whisper your name into that person’s ear. Ladybugs are great friends like that

The most powerful love-crafters are able to summon a coup de foudre (a bolt from the blue) a sudden lightning or thunder strike that signifies love at first sight. While those who summon ladybugs are able to suggest and create crushes, one who can summon a coup de foudre can make someone fall in love. These gifts are supposed to bring soulmates together, however corrupt users will make others fall in love with themselves. This is a technique native to French witches, which Marin learns from a French-Korean witch

Amourette means a crush

Spells are cast through spoken incantations and are occasionally accompanied with a specific set of finger gestures, hand seals (mudras) or movements. Some spells may require other ingredients. Marin’s magic is mostly ancestral so he uses Chinese chants (mantras). He practices different forms of Chinese martial arts whose movements and gestures contribute to his spell work while its fighting style helps him in combat. He also takes up a kickboxing class

Chinese magic is mostly ancestral and familial, with each bloodline creating and passing down unique spells through different martial arts forms or taolu. These movements can have different effects on the users surroundings, for example a form comprised of hard thrusts and strikes can send an opponent flying through concussive force or an explosion. These forms can take on many aspects including defensive, offensive, and supportive. A defensive form could redirect an enemies magic back at them. An example of a supportive spell would be using the crane form to achieve levitation. These movements also aid the witch in combat, however these types of spells require training. These spells can only affect the immediate surroundings of the caster and are generally only used in combat, other enchantments are cast using recipes and rituals. The combat spells work through the redirection of the caster’s chi throughout their body, the more chi they channel the more powerful the spell. All witches can access nature and the elements water, wind, fire, and earth through a universal martial art but most can only use basic techniques

All witches have the ability to channel chi (vital life force) throughout their bodies, gifting them with enhanced strength, speed, even agility. When they direct chi to their legs or fists they infuse them with supernatural strength and quickness. They can also direct their chi to a wound to facilitate healing. Witches have a far larger supply of chi than mortals and can use it to keep themselves youthful and healthy for centuries. They can also assert control over mortals chi to a certain extent. However because of their excess of chi they are vulnerable to creatures who feed off the life energy such as succubi, huli jing, and jiangshi. Chi can also be used to regulate the bodies temperature through cooling or heating

Healers use their abilities to control chi with tools such as needles for acupuncture to cure all sorts of diseases and symptoms. They’ve been taught much more advanced forms of chi control in order to cleanse chakras and heal the body, mind, and soul

Charm workers are able to create powerful spells by inscribing symbols on metal coins or on shenfu (paper talismans). These witches are highly skilled in earth magic as they use it to shape and craft the coins while also using it to create special ink for their calligraphy. These charms are used for a variety of purposes exorcise evil, protection, love, fertility, wealth, blessings. Marin creates charms to protect his friends with. A powerful exorcism charm invokes the spirit of thunder to destroy evil. These coins are usually invoked by flipping them into the air. A paper talisman can freeze evil in its tracks for a short time

Part of the story revolves around Marin being tasked with discovering the combat movements belonging to the bloodlines of the zodiac so he can become the new guardian

Then Cheng family fighting styles is comprised of mostly defensive tactics (user can summon an invisible barrier based off the ladybugs shell), but also contains a few powerful offensive movements (based off ladybird infestation: the user gets inside their enemies defenses and strikes them with a steel force and overwhelm them with rapid hits) and support stances (such as flight or levitation). It’s named Piáo chóng quán (ladybird boxing) and it’s an imitative-style

Xìngyùn quán (fortune fist)

At the end of the first installment, Tikki is captured by Gabriel and Marin is left as a regular witch, basically powerless against the might of a greater demon. That’s when he’s recruited to take the place of a zodiac witch. The Zodiacs are ancient protectors, each taught a distinctive style of fighting with powerful spells unique to them and their predecessors. Marin becomes the mouse zodiac in order to fight to free Tikki

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrienette #chat noir #ladybug #witch #au #fanfiction

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ncfan-1 · 5 years

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a narrative shape concealing the real thing inside

You live with the infection of the divine, and you do not know when you began to call it such in your heart, for you were always raised to be secure in the knowledge that it was a blessing. Holiness has chosen you, Agnes; you are filled with holy fire and holy rage and holy destruction, and the touch of the divine upon your form enables you to make reality what was before only a hopeless dream for your holy family.

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Title taken from and inspired by ‘The Pentecostal Serpent.’ The snake reminded me of Agnes.

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Holy rage.

They do not call it that when they speak of you, in those shadowed places where they think you cannot hear.

In the first few years of your life, that which you can remember and is more than a haze of smoke and anger, Eugene calls you a brat more times than you can count. Your rage is holy, and yet it is unmanageable and unseemly and it is a problem, Arthur, that she keeps killing our people with her fire.

You are quiet, for you often know not what to say, and when your rage takes you it is the inferno of a forest fire in the driest summer, setting everything it touches alight, without boundary or stumbling block, unstoppable and unquenchable. When your rage takes you, you do not know yourself. You are someone else when the rage takes you, someone not to be withstood or gainsaid. It is only when the rage is tamped down to a low simmer (never gone, never entirely gone, the holy fire that burns within you will never go out, or so you think, in your early years) that you know yourself again.

You don’t remember much about the rage, don’t remember much of what you do or say or feel in the grips of the rage. If this is holiness, if this is divinity, you’d think it would leave a stronger impression upon you.

When you are still young, they send you to the house of an avatar of a different, rival god to cleanse it of its impurities and make it a haven of your own dear, dread god. Or perhaps they were simply trying to be rid of you. They have a purpose in mind for you, but you have still heard the whispers that escape the lips of some, and you cannot help but wonder…

But this will be a place for the Lightless Flame, and never again the sanctuary of the Mother of Puppets, and you will not let doubt touch you.

It is not what you expected. You look into the face of Raymond Fielding and search for the touch of the divine, and you see nothing that you recognize. Where you expect divinity, you see only the void of a man whose body was long ago hollowed out for the home it must provide for the thousands of crawling things that live inside of him. This is no holy man, no prophet, no truth-speaker in a world riddled with lies and sin. This is a hollow man stuffed with cobwebs.

And the hosts he has chosen for his spiders are another matter entirely.

They did not choose this. Here, you see the obliterating touch of the divine, and they made no choice at all to become the homes for the pulsing eggs and squirming larvae that form such twisted lumps under their dead skin. Divinity settled upon them, made a home of their flesh and a ruin of their lives, stripping them so utterly of any meaning and any will that they are bereft even of the ability to enact the will of their cunning god in this world.

You begin to think, really think, of all the tales you have ever been told of your birth. The others, Arthur and Diego and Elizabeth and Lucia, they love recounting the tale. You can see it all, the pyre, the crown of thorns your mother wore, the inferno that destroyed acre upon acre of forest, your mother, your mother’s burning, disintegrating body, as if you witnessed it all yourself. Berenice used to tell you the story as a lullaby, to send you off to sleep.

And there, in the center of it all, was you, a baby baptized in obliterating flame. Chosen.

When you said you did not know when you began to think of your divinity as an infection, you were wrong. You were lying. You know where. You’ve always known where. In this house on Hilltop Road, in this stronghold of the Web where walls seethe with spider webs and spider eggs, you see yourself reflected not in Raymond Fielding, hollow Raymond Fielding stuffed with cobwebs, but in the spider egg sacs that moan and twitch before they never move or make a sound again, and you begin to question that which you never before questioned.

(There will come a time, later, when those who know you will blame it all on a boy you met in a diner. They are wrong. That relationship only made sprout what germinated in you long ago.)

This house changed you. You will not understand how much it changed you until later. Small mercies.

But you know this much: in this house, you come to long for connection in a way you never have before. You were isolated, when you were in the care of the cult—they had never allowed you out into the world unsupervised until they sent you to this house on Hilltop Road. You never felt your disadvantage, but here, you feel it so keenly it sometimes threatens to eclipse your fire.

So many cats and dogs wander over to the house after you take custody of it. Once, there comes a young boy. You are not supposed to, but you try, you try to tamp down your fire. You try to be good enough to touch without burning. But there is no one unconsecrated who can withstand the touch of the divine. There is screaming for a moment, but only for a moment, and then, not even bones are left behind. Barely even ash, and these are the first years you shed that do not stem from rage.

As far as the cult is concerned, burning the house will serve as the cure for all ills. All they fear is that you may be influenced by the Web in some way; the hand concerns them, and they did not see the cold seed that has taken a place next to your fiery heart. The hand is a small matter, but they do not believe you. And oh, the burning is cathartic, but it is not what they had hoped it would be. Not what you hoped it would be.

The years pass by in a haze. You do as you are told, and you wonder what would happen if you didn’t. If you didn’t take the candles, if you didn’t stay put like you were told and you actually went out and risked yourself, would you feel different? If you went out and tried to replicate the experience of those who joined the cult as adults, would you still feel this way? Would you feel as if you had chosen divinity, would divinity still feel like the infection that sinks in its roots and twists everything you are to its own designs?

What would they do to you, if you disobeyed them? Kill you? You’re not certain they could kill you; even Diego and Arthur have, at times, shown discomfort in your presence when your fire is unveiled. But disobedience must be punished, and you have witnessed that punishment carried out—it’s always played to a group audience, the punishment of the unfaithful. Even without death as the remoted possibility, pain is a possibility, and you have ever shied away from pain.

So you spend years as a fly trapped in amber, as a doll in a glass display case, as a woman caged in a pedestal so high that you can see no sign of the ground, and if you ever tried to jump, you would must surely die. If you were ever handed the key to your cage, you do not know that you would escape.

You stay on that pedestal, and ossify. The life you thought you would have, any life you could possibly have, never begins. The infection spreads, your divinity feels more you than you, and no matter how you search within yourself, you’re not sure what is you, and what is holy fire.

By the time the Archivist comes to you, you cannot find it in yourself to burn her, in spite of all that she has done. The woman is a font of arcane knowledge, and you have so many questions to ask, that rendering her tongue to ash would be a loss unbearable.

You look into the Archivist’s face, and search for the infection of the divine. You find only cold gray eyes that know more and see further than they should, a thin, pinched mouth, and the hardness of one who has paved her path with the bones of those who opposed her.

“Could I have ever done it at all?” So many questions, and that is the only one you can find the words for. This, when it is the least pressing question of all.

The Archivist shakes her head. “No,” she says matter-of-factly. “You cannot enact an apocalypse on behalf of a god you never chose.”

And unencumbered by the infection of the divine, she leaves you to the emptiness of a holy life that can never achieve any kind of culmination.

#The Magnus Archives #Fanfic #Agnes Montague #Friendly reminder that the Cult of the Lightless Flame IS a cult #And that Agnes's ability to ignore/disobey them would be severely limited #TW body horror #Tw cults #Religious imagery

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wyrdsistersofthedas · 6 years

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Ghilan'nain and Geldauran: Apotheosis and Apostasy in Ancient Elvhenan and Beyond

Hey Nony!

Great question. There does seems to be a curious juxtaposition going on with Ghily and Geldy in The Jaws of Hakkon. They are definitely connected in DA lore, but how deep that connection goes is mostly a matter of speculation.

Two Paths Diverged

Let’s start with the facts. Ghilan’nain and Geldauran certainly knew who the other was since they were contemporaries in ancient Elvhenan. Elven legends say that Ghilan’nain was an elven woman before becoming a goddess, but Geldauran’s origin, like the other Forgotten Ones, has yet to be revealed. Given, however, that the place he was imprisoned shares design elements of elven ruins that were used as resting places for elves who entered uthenera, it is likely that he was an elf as well, rather than a spirit.

If Geldauran did start out as an elf, he and Ghilan’nain’s paths may have paralleled each other in that they were both highly skilled mages, gaining enough power to attract the attention of the Evanuris. There their paths seem to have diverged.

Ghilan’nain was elevated to join the pantheon because she honored the elven gods, especially Andruil, and created monsters they wanted destroyed or controlled.

Did Andruil seek out Ghilan’nain because she was devoted and/or possessed tremendous magical powers that could transform creatures into “monsters”? Or could there be a more prosaic motive behind the decision? The Elvhenan seems to have risen and fallen due to two great wars. The war with the Titans and the war against the Forgotten Ones. Perhaps Andruil was seeking a new, powerful ally to use against the empire’s enemies. Sort of like Cap and Tony did in Captain America: Civil War. And like the Inquisitor says they will do at the end cutscene in Inquisition, i.e. find allies who are unknown to Solas in order to gain some advantage in the coming conflict. It’s a possibility, at least.

The Forgotten Ones are still virtually unknown to us, but something set them against the Elven gods. Geldauran wanted his position known, even millennia after being sealed away in the Frostback Basin.

The Forgotten Ones appear to have rebelled against the Evanuris and were imprisoned and “forgotten” as punishment for their actions.

Looking at the surface of what we know, Ghilan’nain and Geldauran would have been adversaries. According to Dalish lore, the Evanuris and the Forgotten Ones fought “an endless war” against each other. The Dalish don’t remember what, or who, started it or what it was about, and we can’t even be sure if Ghily’s ascension was before or after the beginning of the conflict between the two groups.

If the war between the elven gods started before Ghilan’nain was a goddess, that might explain why the Evanuris were highly motivated to recruit her and bring her monstrous creations under their control.

If, on the other hand, she was already part of the elven pantheon when the war with the Forgotten Ones began...well, that puts a very different, and potentially more interesting spin on thing. It could also mean there was a deeper connection between Ghilan’nain and Geldauran.

The “Sins” of Ghilan’nain?

I can’t decide what to think about Ghily (as you can tell if you read this post I wrote about her). The Dalish remember her as a benevolent deity, while the information about her from Mythal’s Temple paints a far more sinister picture of the Halla Mother. (Probably both given the writers’ love of grey characters.) One thing I do believe about Ghilan’nain, however, is that she is a person who brought dramatic change to Elvhenan.

Her story, on the surface, suggests that the Evanuris rewarded those who were most faithful to them, even to point of potential apotheosis. She is described as the “the chosen of Andruil’ in the codex above and there is evidence to suggest that the Evanuris’ “Chosen Ones” were given special powers and privileges, including being about to “fly in the shape of the divine”. If Ghilan’nain could become so highly favored as to attain godhood, why not the others? Because there certainly were other elves (and perhaps spirits) who became the Chosen Ones of the other Evanuris.

(Perhaps that is why Solas and Mythal had such a close relationship. He could well have been her Chosen One at some point before becoming the Dread Wolf. Solas himself says that the Dread Wolf identity came later in his life, after he began to his rebellion against the Evanuris. Who was he before that? But I digress...)

For all we know, this could be how the Forgotten Ones came to possess their magical abilities. They may have been the Chosen Ones of the various members of the elven pantheon before severing ties and becoming their adversaries. They may have come to resent the Evanuris’ control or, when they found out the truth about their gods non-divine origins, they felt betrayed and rebelled against them.

They might even have been considered “gods” and counted as members of the elven pantheon, but something caused a schism that set them in opposition to the Elgar’nan and company. They may have been stricken from the pantheon or gained powers that the Evanuris could only be explain by elevating them to evil god status (as I suggested in this earlier post).

So much speculation, so little evidence!

But perhaps the most tinfoil hat theory about the Forgotten Ones that I can come up with is that Ghilan’nain created them and/or set them on their rebellious path. She certainly didn’t always play by the rules....

Why in the Void is Ghilan’nain encouraging treasonous actions? Why was she encouraging the Sinner to take on the “form of the divine”? Was this an experiment that went too far? Or a more deliberate act of sedition? There is no sign from the text whether Ghilan’nain and Dirthamen were punished for these events, but the Sinner certainly was. I can’t be positive if the image at the end is the last thing the Sinner saw (i.e. Elgar’nan dispensing ‘judgement’) or if that shadowing mass was all that was left of him afterwards.

Either way, this event seems to have been a world changing event and possibly a prelude to war. All the other codices that can only be read with the aid of the Well of Sorrows are about conflict, after all:

Codex entry: Old Elven Writing - Possibly the earliest since it refers to the war with the titans.

Codex entry: Unreadable Elven Writing - Andruil creates a super weapon, possibly originally meant to hunt the Forgotten Ones or perhaps the superweapon Merrill refers to in her story of the betrayal of the elven gods. Or, if we really want to go dark, it could be the weapon that was used to murder Mythal.

Codex entry: Untranslatable Elven Writing - Definitely the “last” entry chronologically, since Abelas says the temple guardians are preparing for the arrival of those who “cast Mythal down”, i.e. murdered her.

Put in this context, the judgement of the Sinner almost certainly had dramatic consequences. The Sinner was punished for showing godlike powers, something that Ghilan’nain (with her monsters) had been rewarded for. Some in Elvhenan certainly would have found this judgement unjust at the least. Perhaps the Sinner had compatriots who were outraged that Mythal had not spoken for him as Andruil had spoken for Ghilan’nain. Perhaps this event was what created the schism between the Evanuris and the Forgotten Ones.

If the Sinner survived Elgar’nan’s punishment, which is likely if he truly was on the path to divine powers (Mythal certainly seems to be able to wisp her way out of death if absolutely necessary), then he might have become the shadowy entity described at the end of the codex. What would his next step have been?

If the Sinner retained his memories, revenge and exposure of the Evanuris’ secrets certainly would be likely motives for his next moves. Perhaps he gathered others who were cast out or disillusioned with the rule of the elven gods and started seeking powers to equal the gods in the Abyss.

In other words, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the Sinner founded the Forgotten Ones. Would they hold a grudge against Ghilan’nain for starting the Sinner on his path? Perhaps, although it is also possible that she wanted dissent amongst the gods for her own purposes. Intrigue and infighting seem entirely likely in the court of the Evanuris, given what Solas says about Winter Palace reminding him of how much he enjoys political maneuvering. But Solas’ potential role in all of this is best left for another day and another post... ;)

In other words, Nony, there most certainly are connections between Ghilan’nain and Geldauran that relate to major events in elven history...and yet, there may be another, more literary reason why they are both included in the Jaws of Hakkon DLC.

Compared and Contrasted

Although I am fairly certain there are lore reasons why Geldauran was imprisoned in the Frostback Basin and there are no elven monuments in the valley (other than Ghilan’nain’s near Geldauran’s prison/tomb and a statue of Falon’Din above Stone-Bear Hold), there is also a neat literary analysis to be made here.

Arguably, two of the themes of Inquisition is faith and divinity. The Inquisitor becomes a symbol for the Chantry faithful and of Andraste whether they want to be or not. Corypheus wants to become a god to replace the silent Old Gods of Tevinter. The elven gods are revealed to be powerful mages who elevated themselves to god status and do seem to have powers beyond the reach of most mortals. A titan, with seemingly godlike powers, awakens and choses and avatar in Valta... I could go on, but you probably get the idea.

These themes of faith and divinity are also present in the story of Ameridan and the beliefs of the Avaar. Ameridan built a shrine to both Ghilan’nain and Andraste, perhaps choosing to honor these two particular beings because he saw parallels in their stories. Ghilan’nain was raised to godhood for her faith in the elven gods. The Maker elevated Andraste to divinity for her faith.

Geldauran provides an interesting contrast for Ghilan’nain and Andraste. He rejected the divinity of the elven gods, cursing them, and implying that he won’t be deceived like their “faithful” followers are. Ironically, and despite his own rejection of divinity, there is good evidence to support that Geldauran became Hakkon, a “god” of the Avaar. The Avaar knowingly create their own gods, influencing spirits to become the deities so that they may gain their favor in battle, their guidance, etc.

So there is a case to be made that the Inquisitor is being juxtaposed to these powerful ancient beings. The Inquisitor deeds are miraculous to many, even if the Inquisitor would rather they not be seen that way. The Inquisitor, in a way, is symbolically following in the footsteps of Andraste, Geldauran, and Ghilan'nain. Whether your Inky chooses to accept, reject, or just go about their business, it is the people of Thedas who will ultimately decide whether the Inquisitor should be remembered as being touched by the divine ...or not.

Thanks again for the ask, Nony!

#dragon age #dragon age meta #dragon age theories #evanuris #ghilan'nain #the forgotten ones #geldauran #Frostback Basin #elvhenan #wyrdsistersofthedas #morta's musings #wend the wyrds a wondering #long post

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cosmiciaria · 6 years

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Dragon Age Inquisition Review (Spoiler Free!)

I know, I KNOW, DOES ANYBODY STILL TALK ABOUT THIS GAME? *just you* I DON'T CARE!

Maybe now that it was (almost) confirmed that Dragon Age 4 is a thing, people will come back to the older games. I must admit, I jumped completely BLIND into this game: haven't played Origins or II, never knew anything about the story – just so you know, the only thing I knew prior to playing this game was Alistair and the infatuation everyone (men and women) feel for this man. I knew it was an rpg, that you create your own avatar and that you could romance some characters, but that was all. IN FACT my knowledge of this game was so little that I thought Alistair was a main character in this one! Just imagine!

Fortunately, Dragon Age Inquisition is pretty friendly to newcomers: it doesn't overwhelm you with information, it tells a self-contained story and it's conclusive (or… not so much. I'm looking at you, dlc expansions). Of course, that doesn't mean that I haven't scouted throughout the whole internet for all the deets, but that's on me.

So you play as the Inquisitor: a character you create. Male or female, they can be Human, Elf, Dwarf or Qunari. It's worth noting that, whereas it's good to have variety, Bioware failed to deliver good animations for each of the races, due to the fact that dwarves and the Qunari (too short or too tall respectively) are sometimes cropped out of the scenes or their animations just don't match their arms or legs. It's a bit sad, for it could've been a great opportunity, but in the end, it seems the game was created for you to play as a human.

I chose to be what later I realized was the worst thing in all Thedas: a female elven mage. It wasn't until a few hours later that I noticed how much hate mages received! And my elf, being a dalish, a tribe of elves that abandoned those who lived in cities and strived for reviving the old ways, living in forests and such, were despised even by the other elves as well. So I was Inquisitor Lavellan, the worst scum on Earth. Great! Personally I adore mages and they are always my first choice when it comes to character creation. You might guess some of my later decisions in the game based on this.

You're thrown into the game with a weird mark on your left hand. First thing you know, you're a prisoner, and Cassandra and Leliana (two returning characters) are interrogating you in the dungeons, demanding answers. Of course you don't understand a thing they're talking about, until they show what YOU, YOU ABHORRENT CREATURE have created: a huge green breach pierces the sky, opening the way to the Fade, the land of spirits and demons. And you, you ABHORRENT CREATURE must close it, because it was you the one who opened it! You and your mark! You're led by Cassandra, a female warrior and Seeker of Truth, to the heart of the breach. In your way you'll meet two future companions, Varric (from DAII) and Solas, another elven mage. Now the squad is formed, you venture into this veil, only to find a vision of the past: Divine Justinia, the woman Cassandra served and the leader of the Chantry, asking you to run away before something explodes. The suspicion on you just grows stronger, but also the respect and the mystery around the mark of your hand. You fail to close the breach, and you're left unconscious for a couple of days.

You wake up in a cozy and warm place: Haven. This will be your hub-world for at least twenty hours. I MUST tell you this, for I felt the game only started when these first twenty hours finished: you're given quests and the story progresses fast enough to make you feel safe and secure in your way. The Inquisition es formed to fight this breach in the sky, and you must recruit as many companions as you can. Only after completing the initial quests and reuniting all the playable characters can I safely say the game starts.

Haven is attacked by Coripheus, a bad bad bad guy (you can notice he's evil because of his appearance, so evil and cruel, evil, evil man) and his archdemon, a huge black dragon. They tore down the whole place. You, as the main hero/heroine, must save everyone from total doom. You of course succeed in this (after a really annoying battle with fiends spawning every two seconds without allowing you to fricking spin a wheel), but Haven is forever destroyed in the process.

Thanks to Solas, the squad finds a new headquarters to live in: Skyhold, which is SO BEAUTIFUL AND REMINDS ME SO MUCH OF HOGWARTS- pretty useful for the Inquisition's purposes. You're officially named the Inquisitor, which for my character was a big deal, because she was not only a fricking hated mage, but also a fricking hated dalish elf. I made her always stood up for her race and her abilities, which served a greater purpose I believe the game hid very well: to break with prejudices. This is easy to miss if you play as a rogue human or warrior human, but when you play with other races, especially elves or Qunari, you can see how things change.

It's just a detail, but this hate for elves is such that when you do the Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts main quest and you need to gain points from the Orlaisian court, an elf starts off with ten less points of approval than a human. It's stupid, it's tiny, but it goes to show that prejudices are a huge thing in this game. Don't even get me started with mages, goddammit!

I know this all goes back to the previous games, and that's why I've read/watched what happens in those. Still, it's good that Bioware lets you redeem past characters with yours in Inquisition.

So now that you're at Skyhold, many new main quests unlock, many new main areas unlock as well and the game actually starts! I won't say the first part was just a prologue, for it's not, but it feels like the action picked up the pace once you get to your new home. As I said, being in Haven makes you feel comfortable and warm. The game creates a false feeling of safety before dealing a devastating blow, and that hit me hard.

From now on, you can do side quests, explore areas, close some rifts, talk to your companions and follow the main storyline as you please. It's all up to you! I won't spoil what happens, but I will talk about other stuff, like its characters.

Let's start off with your main Inquisitor. Their personality can vary between three main reactions to everything: either you're generous and solomonic, sarcastic and ironic, or direct and blunt, mostly unfriendly. I always went for the first option, but sometimes I needed to be a fricking bitch to get things done. One of the most important instances in which you can see right through your main character is the Sit in Judgment quests: after some main quests, you're given the option to judge certain characters that took part in it. The choices aren't the same for each case and mostly depends on your decisions or actions throughout the game, but again there are three main options: to give them a fair punishment (like community work), lock them up in the dungeons or execution. It kind of reminded me of Game of Thrones, when Ned tells Bran that the man dictating the punishment should wield the sword, well, it goes along those lines.

You can also begin a romantic relationship with the romanceable characters available to your race and gender. Specifically, a female elven Inquisitor can romance Cullen, Solas, Josephine, Iron Bull, Sera and Blackwall. A female human Inquisitor can romance all of the above, except for Solas. A female Inquisitor of the other races can romance Josephine, Iron Bull, Sera and Blackwall. And a male Inquisitor, doesn't matter the race, can romance Cassandra, Dorian, Iron Bull and Josephine again. So, once again, without even knowing it, I chose to be the most desirable Inquisitor in all Thedas! I believe the romantic relationship adds too much depth to both the romanceable character and your Inquisitor: you'll see them interacting in ways that are not available in other instances, and also develops their characters well beyond what the game wants to show you at first glance. Personally, I chose Cullen (I swear I didn't know ANYTHING about him from past games – I later investigated, and it fits so well that he falls in love with a mage!), but I'd advise you to try the other relationships as well. Cof, especially, cof, cof, Solas, cof, cof, damn you dlc expansions.

Let's talk for a bit about your companions. These will be your playable characters for the rest of the game. Prior to the attack to Haven, you can recruit Blackwall, a grey warden, with a past that hides more than meets the eye; Vivienne, an enchantress so beautiful that it made me question my sexuality a few times; Dorian, the most handsome mage in all Thedas that unfortunately only has eyes for men and not for this poor female Inquisitor who's been friendzoned by him; Sera, a rogue elf who doesn't like much magic or the elves or anything related to the Fade, but has the most interesting and funniest personality out of the team; Iron Bull, a mercenary Qunari who works with his team of rogues and is perfectly open to whatever sexual practice you're willing to try; and Cole, a spirit of a boy taken straight out of an anime and that sometimes made me want to cry myself to sleep with his storyline. These guys, alongside Varric, Solas and Cassandra, will accompany you to your missions. For each place you go, you have to choose three of them to form your team, but at each camp you can swap your characters just like that. Three warriors, three mages and three rogues, each of them specializing in one of the branches available for the class the Inquisitor belongs to. I recommend you to bring them all to your missions, maybe just walking around with them, for they interact with each other and their reactions are so natural and casual that makes me wonder how many lines were recorded for this game! And it adds so much to them and to their personalities!

At Skyhold, you'll have your counselors waiting for you at the war table: Cullen, your hot-as-hell-and-I-want-you-to-marry-me-you-sexy-pixel commander; Leliana, the master of spies and mother of all secrets and crows; and Josephine, your well educated ambassador, whose accent made me rethink in how many ways can the letter R be pronounced and that I've been saying it wrong my whole life.

All of these characters are unique and memorable. Companions and counselors will give you quests related to their backstories, in which you can learn from them and, if you're romancing them, advance further in your relationship. I strongly recommend you play all of their quests, for it develops the main story, and it makes you understand them. These are all morally grey characters, none of them are black or white, and sometimes some of your decisions in their quests can alter the ending of the game. So backle up, because there are these Social Links to complete and- sorry, wrong game.

For the most part, Dragon Age Inquisition remains with a serious and ominous tone. That's why there are certain scenes that melted my heart and robbed me of a few laughs and giggles, like the night they all play cards and Cullen ends up naked because he lost, or the man you have to judge that's angry at you and throws goats at Skyhold's walls – Maker's Breath, that one was a gem! And let us not forget about Cass and her filfthy readings! For these moments, I'm terribly grateful, for they remind me that sometimes it's good to relax and give these poor, tortured characters a break.

The voice acting in this game is just flawless. I can only speak for Cullen's romance, but his voice actor nailed it perfectly. There were scenes with him that destroyed my heart, and only because of how he spoke, so soft and sweet. AND LET ME JUST TELL YOU, THIS CUTSCENE:

IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY YOU CAN HEAR MY HEART BREAKING IN THE DISTANCE

The music score in this game was better than I expected. The main theme fits so well the tone of the story, and I was left impressed by the songs you can hear in the taverns! They're there, in the background, but if you stop to listen, you find magic and charm in their lyrics. Unexpected to say the least!

Visuals are also a delight. Except for character models, sceneries are colorful and vivid. A pity some animations are rigid and repetitive.

However much I loved this game (and Cullen Wullen Cully Wully), I must say it's far from perfect. Most of my issues stem from technical problems and bugs: more than once my character was trapped in the falling animation without being able to make her walk, sometimes a character would disappear from a cutscene and suddenly the other characters would speak INTO THE VOID, some trophies are bugged and wouldn't pop up, etcetera, etcetera. There’s little room for appearance customization, with only short hairs for both male and female (Gods how I wish mods were a thing in consoles). I'm also quite angry that the actual ending that most probably will lead to Dragon Age 4 is in the expansion pack Trespasser, which is only 5 hours long and it currently costs (in Argentina PSN) over 17 dollars. If you've been following our poor and sad history with exchange rates, you'll know that's a lot of money for just a few hours of story I can easily find in YouTube (although I want to play it so bad!). I've bought complete games cheaper than that. Hell, this whole game costed me only 6 dollars!

That aside, and if you're able to oversee the bugs, I assure you, this is a great game. Gameplay is fast paced, the specialization for each character is deep and it marks a difference with the others, and the way you develop a friendship with each of your companions melted my heart. During the epilogue, you get to speak to each of them and the things they say to you can be synthetized in "dhajkdjakldjakldklas!!!".

I entered this world without a single piece of knowledge of it, and now, Dragon Age has gained a new follower. I'm thinking about playing the first two (of course, a fricking female mage again, because GO MAGES, GO!), only to cry in a corner waiting for the fourth installment to ever see the light of day.

If you liked The Witcher, or World of Warcraft, or are a fan of the past games, you can’t miss this one. Go, become the Inquisitor, kill some dragons, save the world, have some fun with your partner, love and care for Cullen Wullen Cully Wully, thank you.

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saiorgseo · 4 years

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chennai to shirdi flight packages

Preaching of sai baba

Shirdi Sai Baba is a very noble and highly developed Divine Spirit of God who took a human form more than 100 years ago and dwelled amongst ordinary souls in order to help them out of their meaningless existence. He made his philosophy very simple so that ordinary mortals can work upon themselves and get their ultimate salvation. Shirdi Sai Baba is a pure 'Avatar' (perfect soul) who could have had anything but he chose ‘fakiri’(mendicancy) and through his conduct and adopted chennai to shirdi flight packages lifestyle taught ordinary folks the art of loving, living, giving, sharing, caring, enjoying and achieving purpose of taking human body without being selfish. He taught us how we can be in this world and yet be detached from it and still achieve the purpose of taking human birth.

He came to GIVE and SPREAD message of universal LOVE, PEACE, HARMONY, EQUALITY and BROTHERHOOD transcending all kinds of man-made boundaries which separate human from human. GOD is ONE. God is beyond religion. The God was manifest in his form. He called himself Messenger of God.

Hinduism considers the 'Brahman' (universal life force, energy, prana, chi) as the ruler of all, the ultimate One. Sai explained it easily – Barring your body and name, what is left is that feeling of being alive – this consciousness, awareness is You, the SELF. He advised the Believers to work on themselves. Meditate on the SELF (the consciousness) which existed in him and everyone alike in order to make them realise that we are not separate but one.

Thus God and Guru are One. Swami Vivekananda has explained it so well, “When any God or other beings are worshipped in and for themselves, such worship is only a ritualistic karma, and as a Vidya(Science) it gives us only the fruit belonging to that particular Vidya; but when the Devas or any other beings are looked upon as Brahman and worshipped, the result obtained is the same as by the worshipping of Ishvara (Supreme Divine)” Shirdi SaiBaba told us to destroy this wall(of ignorance) that separates US(the mortals) from HIM(the immortal Self) that exists within each tiny cell, atom around us.

Saibaba advised his devotees to pursue single pointed devotion. Worship and Believe in only One God. Look to your chosen deity as God. There should be no difference between the Lord you worship and the Supreme. See your deity in all and all in your deity. All objects of this world should be looked as the different forms of the Lord we worship.

He loved people of all religions chennai to shirdi flight packages equally and never interfered with their practices and religious sentiments. All he wanted that we should 'hold on' to the 'bolster' - the Lord we worship. Have firm faith and conviction that your Lord is the Lord of Lords. Respect all but stay stuck with your deity. This attitude makes things easy for us and takes us on right path of Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of Devotion and Love). He always uttered 'Sabka Malik Ek' meaning there is only ONE God that people call with different names.

SaiBaba taught renunciation as means to make life simple. This renunciation is nothing but simply offering all the actions to GOD. Leaving off our cleverness and logic and wait and trust HIM for due results.

All the donations Sai received during day, he distributed the same throughout the day and by the end of the day his karma balance was zero. His attachment was NIL.

To achieve the prime object of life, HE advised us to develop Shraddha(Faith) and Saburi(Patience) in ourself, so that we can be free from the clutches of delusion(Maya) of this materialistic world which is holding us back life after life – separating us from our Source – the Creator – the Brahman.

Sai teachings were simple and yet so comprehensive - Perform the duties of the station of your life sincerely. Leave aside worry. Surrender yourself completely to the God and trust HIM with results. Have firm faith in God/Guru and wait patiently. Whatever happens is ultimately for our good because DOERSHIP is not in our hands. HE knows what is good for us. Thus he is telling us that spiritual life is to be pursued over physical life.

His message still continues and though he is no more in human body but his spiritual existence and power is still being felt by millions. His followers are growing in numbers unceasingly. His following eleven promises/ assurances still hold good provided his followers ACTUALLY believe and REALLY follow them with unshakable FAITH and PATIENCE.

1. No harm shall befall him, who steps on the soil of Shirdi.

2. He who comes to my Samadhi, his sorrow and suffering shall cease.

3. Though I be no more in flesh and blood, I shall ever protect my devotees

4. Trust in me and your prayer shall be answered.

5. Know that my spirit is immortal, know this for yourself.

6. Show unto me he who has sought refuge and has been turned away.

7. In whatever faith men worship me, even so do I render to them.

8. Not in vain is my promise that I shall ever lighten your burden.

9. Knock, and the door shall open, ask and it shall be granted.

10. To him who surrenders unto me totally I shall be ever indebted.

11. Blessed is he who has become one with Me.

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alexandrasanimationblog · 5 years

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Character Archetypes

Week 3 (09/10/19)

Based on Vogler’s 8 character archetypes, I’ve selected various animated characters that I believe fall into each one. There are various ways of thinking of archetypes but we will be focusing on Vogler’s interpretation of them.

The Hero

Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)

Traits of a hero and how Aang falls into that role:

Identifiable

Aang is one of the youngest characters

Bald with arrow tattoos

Is the only Airbender

Wears bright yellow and orange monk attire through most of the series (apart from episodes that required him to wear a disguise)

The Most Active

The majority of the series follows Aang and his journey to master all four elements and defeat the Fire Lord (except for some filler episodes in which he is not the main focus or follow a different character)

Has Flaws as well as Strengths

Aang is Kind, Selfless, Wise and Powerful, however, he is also Childish, Impulsive, ruled by his emotions and somewhat Naive

Changes or Grows

Aang eventually learns to master the four elements and save the world while also growing as a person and realizing the importance of his role as the Avatar and to not be as Naive and Careless about things

Faces Death

There are many episodes in which Aang is kidnapped, imprisoned or almost killed in battle. Most notably, the last two episodes that focus on his fight against the Fire Lord

Self-Sacrifice

From the very first episode when he jeopardizes the safety of a Southern Watertribe Village, Aang sacrifices himself to save the people of the village. Throughout the show, he puts others before himself and many times his selflessness is used against him.

The Shadow

The Truth from Fullmetal Alchemist (2003-2004) and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009-2010)

Traits of a shadow and how The Truth falls into that role:

Represents the Energy of “The Dark Side”

The Truth actually falls into the category of an anti-villain. It is the divine being the guards the Gates of Truth and Alchemists are met with The Truth when they commit the ultimate sin: Human Transmutation. The Truth acts as a divine punishment and takes something precious from each Alchemist depending on their reason for attempting Human Transmutation. (e.g.: Izumi had her internal organs removed because she tried to bring her dead baby back to life) It makes good Alchemists feel guilty when they encounter individuals who committed the same sin for malicious reasons.

Needn’t be a physical being + Could be a personality trait within the hero

The Truth is a silhouette of light, surrounded by darkness but is said to represent the universe as a whole and the individual ‘truth’ of each person. Being able to enact divine punishment and to have more knowledge than humans, it is the closest thing to a ‘god’ in the series.

“Who am I? One name you might have for me is the world, or you might call me the universe, or perhaps God, or perhaps the Truth. I am All, and I am One. So, of course, this also means that I am you. I am the truth of your despair, the inescapable price of your boastfulness. And now I will bestow upon you the despair you deserve.”

-The Truth (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Threatens the hero and forces them to rise to the challenge

Our hero, Ed, wasn’t the only one affected since he and his brother attempted to bring back their dead mother together. Ed lost his leg when they realized that their attempt didn’t work and Al lost his entire body. Al nearly died as well, since his soul didn’t have a body so Ed sacrificed his arm to be able to save Al’s soul by binding it to a metal armor. Ed actually meets The Truth several times in the series and each time is determined to come back to get his and Al’s original bodies back (which he does by the end of the series).

The Shape-Shifter

M’gann M’orzz/ Megan Morse or Miss Martian from Young Justice (2010-)

Traits of a shape-shifter and how Megan falls into that role:

Changes appearance or mood

One of Megan’s abilities is to shape-shift and she uses that to her advantage during covert missions to mask her green skin. However, it should be noted that her usual appearance is also not her true form as it is friendlier to humans (just with green skin)

Can’t be trusted: brings doubt and suspense

While Megan is one of our heroes, her powers have strained her relationship with some characters. In a ‘lover’s game’ with Superboy, Megan shape-shifted into Black Canary and the moment was caught on camera. Canary was hurt and uncomfortable by the incident but forgave Megan.

In season 2, we find out that Megan and Superboy broke up because she attempted to alter his memory of him being mad at her after an argument which caused him to break things off and be suspicious of her.

Aware of ability

Megan is very aware of her abilities and uses them both in battle and for personal reasons.

Could be a love interest

She is the love interest of Superboy for the majority of the first season.

The Mentor

Kakashi Hatake from Naruto (2002-2007) and Naruto: Shippuden (2007-2017)

Traits of a mentor and how Kakashi falls into that role:

Often a teacher or trainer

He is the captain of our main protagonist’s team. He is in charge of the two deuteragonists as well. (Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke)

Represents our ‘better self’

In many situations, Kakashi acted as the voice of reason both in battle and in general. He guides Team 7 by telling him what’s right and what’s best and always looks after them.

Often a gift-giver (but gifts must be earned)

Kakashi helped teach Naruto how to create a new technique using his Rasengan by changing the form of his chakra to be adjusted to nature. He also taught him various other things and gave him various ‘gifts’ throughout the story.

A mentor might prove an example of what not to do

Kakashi, although good-natured, has his own flaws and attempts to prevent what happened between him and his friend Obito to his students, Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi still feels regretful over his friend’s death and does all he can to help Naruto bring Sasuke back to their Village to be changed for good.

The Herald

Chris McLean from Total Drama Island, Total Drama Action, Total Drama World Tour, Total Drama: Revenge of the Island, Total Drama All-Stars and Total Drama: Pahkitew Island (2007-2014)

Traits of a herald and how Chris falls into that role:

Call to Adventure/ Gives the hero motivation to begin the journey

Chris is the host of the reality show Total Drama and is both the one who brings (or brings back) the characters for each season and announces their challenges, rewards or punishments giving them a goal to achieve in each episode with the ultimate goal to win the prize money if they reach the very end.

May also issue a warning

Other than announcing the challenges, Chris issues the punishments and warns the players of the consequences they have to face if they lose (other than possible elimination from the game)

Heroes are often afraid of the challenges presented by the Herald

Most punishments in the series (for comedic effect) are either disgusting or dangerous so the heroes fear to lose. However, it’s safe to say that they also fear the very dangerous and/or disgusting challenges they must face to not receive punishment.

The Threshold Guardian

Karma Akabane from Assassination Classroom (2015-2016)

Traits of a threshold guardian and how Karma falls into that role:

Not usually the ‘main’ villain

While Karma is the protagonist’s (Nagisa) close friend, and ally, he is also his greatest competition and rival. He often challenges, gets in the way or makes fun of Nagisa, preventing him from reaching his full potential as an assassin.

Might be a guard/thug/mercenary

While class 3-E isn’t known for having the best reputation, Karma was originally expelled for his violent behavior. He is a ruthless assassin, extremely sadistic and physically strong. He is feared by his classmates at first.

Represents the ‘ordinary obstacles’ we face in our daily life

Karma is Nagisa’s friend and yet he is a bad influence and often a bully to him.

Tests the hero (makes them prove their worth)/ Can be overcome and turned into an ally

Karma is just an annoyance to Nagisa through most of the series but he eventually becomes a challenge he must overcome when they dueled to decide on whether they’ll try to kill or save their teacher. Karma was angry at Nagisa for suggesting to save their teacher and mocked and refused to listen to him. After a long battle, Nagisa chose to pin Karma down in a choke-hold. Karma had the opportunity to win the duel but gave up his chance when he saw how determined Nagisa was to have him listen to him. He eventually agrees to help save their teacher.

The Trickster

Mushu from Mulan (1998)

Traits of a trickster and how Mushu falls into that role:

Delights in breaking the rules

Mushu’s way of helping Mulan is by constantly suggesting ways for her to get better through shortcuts or by ‘acting like a brute’ therefore ‘manly’.

Comedy sidekick + popular with the audiences

Mushu is arguably the most popular character in the movie and acts as Mulan’s sidekick and protector

Controls the hero’s ego

Mushu’s purpose is to help Mulan and actually offers her great advice in times of need

Brings light relief to a darker story

Mulan’s story is about a woman at war but Mushu manages to make the situation lighter through his sassy one-liners willingness to support Mulan

Might be a ‘catalyst character’

While the initial reason why he decided to help Mulan was to restore his status as the family protector dragon, Mushu’s final purpose is to help Mulan survive, bring honor to her family and grow. He achieves this by the end of the movie and even gets rewarded.

The Ally

Alciel/ Shirō Ashiya from The Devil is a Part-Timer! (2013-)

Alciel is the loyal second-in-command general of Satan (Maou) and when the two get transported from their dimension to modern day Japan, he takes care of the housework and researches for ways that they can regain their powers while also trying to protect his lord from potential threats.

#research #archetypes #ba1a

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finessence100 · 6 years

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Ascension Energy Update - 5/18/2018 - Lisa T. Brown

I see many "questioning" how or when or if they are even experiencing "this"... Physical Body Ascension, Galactic/Higher Self/Pure Source Light Embodiment and a part of this "movement" or huge shift into a much higher dimensional existence.... So I write/share a little here to assist with the "how", which is just a tiny portion of this immense process as all RETURN through Awakening to Remembering.... Ascending with their bodies after their own "Fall from Consciousness" into the Unconscious Realms of Amnesia.... as the veils and foundations of realities vastly dissolve and take all new form. Our human body was carbon-based, just like a diamond in the rough. It was dense and "packed" full of "heavy" programming, deep within each cell of our bodies... and then it was time (vibrationally) to wake up/awaken/start to remember... Yet, because the human body anchored each physically in 3D, D standing for Density and Dimension... our consciousness has to "wake up" first. Technically our consciousness is not asleep. We were, our bodies were... and the waking up process means that the body must awaken, purify, cleanse, clear... every linear, conditioned, fixed, limited, distorted, illusory, unconscious program... which is an immense process of ENDURANCE, while undertaking the hugest task ever; Evolving from unconscious sleeping human to fully awakened Universal/Cosmic Light BEings/Soul/Galactics incarnate in a physical body... to walk a literal Heaven on Earth. This process occurs deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep inside of our bodies, on a cellular, molecular and atomic level. It's our Quantum Energy Body, which humans don't know how to interpret or understand. This means "re-working" how we listen, how we understand, how we perceive everything and re-working how all REALity is.... Our realities are actually Quantum, not physical as our human aspect "thought". Our realities are CREATED by our Quantum State of Consciousness, and each's "human" experience (ego/separation/duality) chosen/designated/programmed in each's DNA upon incarnating/walking into physical form here. Until it's time for one to start waking up from the deep state of amnesia, living deep beneath the veils, each is living out a human experience, which changes the moment that AWAKENING CODE (1111) is activate inside of each's cells, codon's, template....... The next phase is a LONG and intricate PASSAGEWAY of Ascending, by way of Transcending all things ego/separation/unconscious held within. It's an awakening of each's Consciousness, from within the body, which activates the LightBody.... yet at first, this "Light" of each's Soul is small, dormant, asleep.... as the human experience had a human body.... because it played out certain roles necessary to complete a karmic clearing process.... to then move on to many others..... Through each's consciousness expanding, then each can achieve and ascended state. At first by way of consciousness, then physically, which can take years. For me personally, once I started to awaken, I was still completely unaware, didn't have a clue to any of "this" and had to stumble my way back into consciousness, awakening, remembering.... which was beyond intense, which was the journey I chose here. I chose the harsh and rough, because I was soooo deep asleep and embedded in the matrix program. Waking up was the hugest challenge that I had. It took my whole lifetime up until that "point". My human aspect (ego) was so strong, I fought with everything that I had, so everything I had had to go... so I didn't have any more safety mechanisms or excuses... and I'd get on-board finally.... through immense pain, immense everything... Being a walk-in with no other physical incarnations... I had to "do" every extreme in this incarnation. Extreme is awesome when it comes to Quantum Jumping... yet the/our human aspect doesn't do well with things it can't control. Ascension is the opposite of control. It's Unifying with "invisible" aspects, it's having to accept what isn't physically touchable as "real". Each's Light is their Energy Body, the Light of their Soul, that awakens through many ways. Electrical jolts, shocks, traumas and magical experiences alike, all different stimulations for the body to release emotions "tied to" (or attached) to a mentality, belief, thought. First "trapped" ones, "lower vibrational" ones that represent discord, like perceived fears, judgments, blame, shame, guilt, anger, hurt and more.... all a part of an akashic record held in each's cellular imprints and body templates, which houses each's "all existences" vibrationally where all is "housed" or "stored". These cellular imprints represent reality, which is subjective and changes as each awakens to new truths, new awareness, new realizations and understandings that challenge the fabric of reality as it once was. As YOU BEcome Energy, your physical reconfigures/adapts. Your energy body will be your primary body, with your physical body working in unison with this. When you allow your light to deplete, your LightBody will shut down and your human body will be the body you are functioning with. This is why it's so important to re-generate and learn to sustain/maintain/generate your own Light from inside and not "spend/waste" your energy on that which is not creating/supporting NEW EARTH realities for us all. (This will "lend" to your physical abundance). You will re-create everything in accordance with Universal and Cosmic Laws/Rules/Alignment/Codes (whatever word you want to use). PHASE 1: The human experience of separation by way of a deeeeeeep sleep. (3rd Dimension) PHASE 2: Awakening to "something more", yet not quite understanding "all" (Duality phase/4D) PHASE 3: Ascending of/through Consciousness and then Physical Body Ascension (5D-12D) PHASE 4: Multi-Dimensionality and Service through Purity & Unity Consciousness Love (13D+) PHASE 5: Incarnate Star Council Members called into Service (we are now in this phase/2018): Avatars/OverSoul Embodiers of the Diamond Rainbow Body Template and Carrying 2222 Codes I'll announce the next phases accordingly. As each "completes" the initiations, passageways and activates the keycodes in their own DNA for embodiment and fulfilling these higher purposes/roles/missions here. They may change a bit, as I typed this up by observing today. As I see more, then all adapts. :) Tis how we flow here. ♥ At first, your energy body is your subtle body. The one you have to tune all of your attention (conscious awareness) to in order to hear, match up frequencies, vibrational energies and more. The more each does this, the more prevalent the energy body becomes, eventually activating fully to awaken the WHOLE BODY CONSCIOUSNESS that merges with your/each's field (Merkaba then StarGate). This "merging" (integration) is a continual process, as is clearing any old programs that emerge/present. The human is "slow" to process. The more crystalline, the "faster" processing is, yet it takes the whole body to process, as the human body goes offline from the old Matrix and comes online with the Energetic and Crystalline Matrix of NEW Earth, then the Plasma Networking system and more. The more Light held, the more crystals evolve, the "faster" and easier one's LightBody can process Light Encoded data with their whole body, through the Quantum Unified Field of Super Consciousness, all surroundings, inner and outer realities and more. In high anchoring times, the Crystalline LightBody "goes offline" to upgrade and the human body has to sleep/shut down/relax/slow down and disconnect from the external to "process" and integrate Light Data, overloading the human body systems until each can rebuild their new bodies in accordance with much Higher Dimensional Cosmic Frequency Light. Physical Density constantly changing, the structures of our cells, the capabilities of our "bodies", as our DNA/RNA recodes constantly, as our bodies recalibrate constantly to HOLD the immensity of Quantum Cosmic SOULar Galactic Photonic Frequency Light. Stellar StarGate openings and alignments, planetary shifts and Gaia's restructuring coincide with each of our Earthly Soul Bodies as we do simultaneously with them. Our bodies and fields, holding all, every cellular organism of our body must awaken and be completely re-coded, re-patterned and re-worked. At first, our denser bodies anchored us in denser realities, where energetics were not understood. Everything was very "physical". All of this changes to become energetic, with the physical constantly being "density changing and physical form changing" as a result of our Individual Unified Quantum Consciousness. The more light we hold, as LOVE, the less density our bodies hold, so Light can zoom zoom zoom through our bodies and reconnect us on a multi-dimensional level here. Our bodies do the work for us and we gain access to our highest purposes/missions and roles through HOLDING the highest Light Quotient possible at all times. We are constantly integrating, stabilizing and shifting as are "realities".... for these are Super Mega Quantum too. Our access replaces physical experience, as it once was. The physical takes on all new meanings, nothing like dense/unconscious old human ego ones. We have our own language, which is Light... spoken and transmitted through LOVE... through Purity, through our Divine Presence and Essence... It's been challenging for me lately, as I don't speak "human" very well anymore, and I've actually had to utilize someone else that can still "understand and speak human" to help communicate as the bridge between galaxies/cosmos/universes.... I had someone here with me that understands "my/our" language who can still translate that into human.... This is a part of the throat chakra and 2222 Codes that are re-working our language centers. Communicating across "galaxies" to those who are still waking up and function linearly takes alot of energy on our part. It's actually "hard" on our physical bodies, all of the energy it takes to explain what is simple when received through our open and unified hearts. LOVE is our existence, LOVE is our foundation. We don't have realities that are less anymore. We don't have the capacity for "less" and we barely remember ones that are "less", unless the vibration presents for us to see/feel/observe and "deal"/shift/resolve/dissolve appropriately ourselves/together as love. Love is the basis for all that we are and do... there are no other realities that exist. Communicating LOVE to the "not yet" conscious is tricky, because "our realities" don't make logical sense. This is because all must be FELT and the human aspect has shut down, not wanting to feel or feels "too much", not able to maintain balance as their heart opens fully. The fear and judgment of FEELING creates a distortion within itself. Communicating FEELINGS without distortions means complete self-awareness, self-respect, self-care and holding this for each other as well. The beauty is that we don't care if our realities don't make sense or fit into "others" perceptions of what "reality is". Our realities don't play out karmically, the loop cycle of timelines being re-created from unconscious programming that eventually dissolve/collapse (in order to unify on a higher dimensional plane of existence). Ours are CREATED from Zero Point Field... from where the Purity of Love exists within us all. Light is our "doing" energy. It's how we transmit all. It's the FORCE, the POWER that CREATES... and holds all of our NEW EARTH REALITIES in place. Love is our Divine Feminine. Light is our Divine Masculine. Creation is our Divine Child Aspect that's Genius, wise and pure. It takes all 3 (three fold flame) to ignite our SOUL Fire from within. Clearing any human distortions as we do, is a part of this process as well. We've entered a phase (for human bodies), where "eruptions" and "distortions" will become bigger, louder and more visible in every way. The increase in photonic and plasma atmospheres makes all heard/felt/seen, more powerfully and "easily" than before. The physical body/Earthly bodies and Gaia's and our Universe/Cosmos.... we've amped all up huge. This is a great time of "change", as more stand in their power (many will be "fighting it out"), speak out, stand up and take their power back, stepping completely out of old realities/timelines.... The more inner balance, inner peace, inner connection, the less the "extreme" behavior occurs. Focus on inner-balance and stabilizing these cosmic activations/upgrades, as it's easier to maintain your entire reality (all gazillion of them) simultaneously if you do. ♥ I'll be writing more to the Gatekeepers, Gridkeepers, Frequency Holders, Light Keepers, Bridgers, NEW Earth Anchors and Stabilizers as we go. Y/Our Roles become more prevalent as we move into these next phases, so honor your processes, your bodies and you... embracing your WayShower Roles in a multitude of ways as they present. Many shall be called to step-up/forth in varying capacities, to fulfill much higher purposes/roles/missions now. Your human aspect "will not like" these parts, so recognize which aspect you are BEing in every moment here. Embodiers/Avatars/Peaceful Powerful Rainbow Warriors.... Hold your space/place and shine your Light as bright as you can.... be as visible as you can.... affect all as LOVE in every way, every exchange... It's beyond important for us all. (p.s. If you are reading anything I've ever shared, this is you!). ♥ I love you! Keep doing and being magnificent! ♥ Lisa Transcendence Brown ☼ www.AwakeningToRemembering.com

#love #light #ascension #new earth #divine #lightworker #starseed #quantum #5d #energybody #merkaba #peace #joy #bliss

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myshirdi9seo-blog · 5 years

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chennai to shirdi flight package

Preaching of sai baba

Shirdi Sai Baba is a very noble and highly developed Divine Spirit of God who took a human form more than 100 years ago and dwelled amongst ordinary souls in order to help them out of their meaningless existence. He made his philosophy very simple so that ordinary mortals can work upon themselves and get their ultimate salvation. Shirdi Sai Baba is a pure 'Avatar' (perfect soul) who could have had anything but he chose ‘fakiri’(mendicancy) and through his conduct and adopted lifestyle taught ordinary folks the art of loving, living, giving, sharing, caring, enjoying and achieving purpose of taking human body without being selfish. He taught us how we can be in this world and yet be detached from it and still achieve the purpose of taking human birth.

He loved people of all religions equally and never interfered with their practices and religious sentiments. All he wanted that we should 'hold on' to the 'bolster' - the Lord we worship. Have firm faith and conviction that your Lord is the Lord of Lords. Respect all but stay stuck with your deity. This attitude makes things easy for us and takes us on right path of Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of Devotion and Love). He always uttered 'Sabka Malik Ek' meaning there is only ONE God that people call with different names.

All the donations Sai received during day, he distributed the same throughout the day and by the end of the day his karma balance was zero. His attachment was NIL.

1. No harm shall befall him, who steps on the soil of Shirdi.

2. He who comes to my Samadhi, his sorrow and suffering shall cease.

3. Though I be no more in flesh and blood, I shall ever protect my devotees

4. Trust in me and your prayer shall be answered.

5. Know that my spirit is immortal, know this for yourself.

6. Show unto me he who has sought refuge and has been turned away.

7. In whatever faith men worship me, even so do I render to them.

8. Not in vain is my promise that I shall ever lighten your burden.

9. Knock, and the door shall open, ask and it shall be granted.

10. To him who surrenders unto me totally I shall be ever indebted.

11. Blessed is he who has become one with Me.

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#chennai to shirdi flight package #best shirdi tour package from chennai #shirdi flight package

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booktubersapp-blog · 7 years

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Bonjour à tous,

Voici un article un peu particulier. Pour ceux qui ont eu le courage de lire l’article “Qui sommes-nous ?”, j’indiquais que Yannick, le développeur – créateur – le divin de BooktubersApp, s’était lancé dans la création d’une autre application. Cela fait 3 ans maintenant que son aventure a commencé et elle a abouti aujourd’hui à une BETA !

Mais de quoi parlons-nous ?

L’application Vmess (Virtual Message) est une “plate-forme” intégrant, pour ne pas vous perdre, l’envoi de messages virtuels dans le monde réel. D’autres possibilités sont possibles grâce aux API, aux AVATARS, mur d’annonces, vidéos, photos, boutiques en ligne, platfrom pro…

Grâce à vos portables et bientôt aux lunettes AR (Augmented Reality), vous pouvez visualiser les “enveloppes 3D animées” et en appuyant dessus découvrir le message (La lettre). Mais comme il est plus difficile d’expliquer les choses, voici des photos :

Yannick a besoin de vous pour la suite de la réalisation de Vmess !

Comment aider ? En partageant l’article ! C’est tout 😉

Je vous remercie profondément pour votre aide !

Céline @BooktubersApp

(…) VMESS, A JOURNEY TO BUILD AN AUGMENTED REALITY

TL;DR In this article, I present VMESS: the messaging application using Augmented Reality that turns user to user interactions and conversations to the next level. Currently in Beta phase (https://vmess.me), the project is looking for Investors to scale, and advices from experienced 3D/AR/VR designers.

The idea

I was commuting from Luxembourg to Brussels for work. I used to work for Inno.com, one of the best enterprise architecture & programme management consulting company in Europe. As my Enterprise Architecture and IT strategy skills were getting sharper day by day, I was still missing the joys of coding. I started with a “small” application for “book lovers” named Booktubers. “Booktubes” are videos about books on Youtube (you can check it here: https://www.booktubers-app.com).

It all started with this funny idea. There was this early morning, while I was leaving the house for few days, I felt the need to leave a message to my wife, simply to thank her and to express what she represents to me. Texting her was too common, I could have sent flowers. But I wanted to do something more original and unusual. I thought, “wouldn’t it be cool if at the very moment she goes out of the house, a message would be displayed in the air, in front of her, something like flying heart or Cupid with a guitar that just says: “I love you, thank you for everything, forever”.

So, I built it.

Ok, the flying heart may be cliché but it can’t help, I am French!

Augmented Reality (AR) was exactly the technology I was looking for. Furthermore, it is a really exciting to work with: you can build whatever comes out of your imagination.

This is how I started building VMESS, the AR Messaging App and Platform.

Head start with roadblocks

To be comfortable with AR, I needed to get used to some Computer Vision concepts. I already knew about 3D geometry and 3D modelling.

I selected thoroughly the best AR Software Development Kit (SDK) at that time, which was backed up by a solid company, METAIO. A few months after I started, METAIO were acquired by Apple, which gave existing customers one year to switch to another Technology provider. I would be forced to find another SDK, almost restart from scratch.

Followings this, a snowball effect led me to consider new priorities. First, my wife and I were expecting our third child, therefore I got a new job to be more often at home to support her and be with my children. Booktubers app was getting more traction from the book community so I needed to develop an iOS version, then the website. Finally, I had to move to a new apartment, because the dwelling I used to rent got sold.

Few months later, I took the VMESS project back, switching to Wikitude’s SDK, which was the best alternative for the planned features. My decision was taken for the following reasons: the JavaScript SDK. It is cross platform. My experience with Booktubers taught me the effort to develop the same client application in 2 different programming languages, 2 IDE, 2 development ecosystems. The effort to maintain and comply with software update is reduced to its minimum. The second reason was the SDK availability for smartglasses. Wikitude SDK has a cost, and it’s worth it.

VMESS the AR Messaging App

So, what is VMESS? To start with, it is an application that enables anyone to post a virtual message, henceforth called “vmessage”, at a certain location on earth, in the physical world, and everyone using the application can see “physically” this message through your mobile phone or tablet for now, one day through smartglasses. Therefore, VMESS is a persistent and interactive “phygital” world (= mix of “Physical” and “Digital”).

Above all, a vmessage is in 3D (i.e. it has a 3D envelope), animated and reacts to the user’s input or to certain space/time events. The goal is to rethink the current User Experience shaping it into an Environmental Customer Experience.

AR + API = AR Platform

VMESS is also a platform: it comes with an open Application Programming Interface (API), alike Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. My wish is to onboard developers and designers too, so that VMESS can be used by other means, and various purposes I even never thought of. The objective: to take part of an integrated ecosystem. For example, I integrated Twitter with VMESS to make 3D AR tweets, and vice-versa! Sky is the limit.

Finally, it will come with an “Open Data” interface so that any independent developer or company can tap into a repository of “augmented places”.

Avatars, how they work in VMESS

The concept of “Avatar” is deeply linked to the concept of virtual message, but it solves a different problem: the availability of a person at a given place that you don’t know and you need to know. Your only expectation, as a visitor or client, is to contact her/him “now” and “here” because of the specific services she/he provides (for example: a salesperson, a city guide, an information desk, etc.) and the place you are in (e.g. a mall, a train station, a parking lot, …).

Avatars are for ones that need to be reachable, but cannot or don’t require to be physically present. Each user can create his avatars and place them anywhere on earth multiplying yourself, to some extent. Think about it, what if you could be simultaneously reachable in several major airports? And it is also applicable for businesses (wants to promote your famous bakery?).

Or you could simply promote yourself.

I can’t wait to present you the 2 other major features, but let’s keep them for a future post!

Would you join the AR journey?

VMESS is currently in Beta phase and the followings are needed:

1. Investors who are ready to make a strategic move in AR/VR/Mixed Reality. VMESS, Set, Go.

2. People who are interested in testing the app and willing to provide feedback, good or bad.

For the first wave, VMESS will be available on iOS (from version 10), for iPhone and iPad. There is limited number of seats (due to some limitation with the app store).

3. Seeking for advices from seasoned 3D designers specialized in 3D/immersive UX/UI.

4. Finally, please help me by sharing this post so that I can reach more beta testers, designers and investors.

Contact details:

Email: yannick.huchard(at)vmess.me (replace the (at) with @)

Here, on Linkedin

Twitter: @YannickHuchard

This is it, at least for now! I just want to sincerely thank you. See you in VMESS.

Yannick Huchard

#AR #ARapplication #augmentedreality #needinvestor #sharethearticleplease

Vmess Application Réalité augmentée par Yannick Huchard créateur de Booktubers-App Bonjour à tous, Voici un article un peu particulier. Pour ceux qui ont eu le courage de lire l'article "Qui sommes-nous ?", j'indiquais que Yannick, le développeur - créateur - le divin de BooktubersApp, s'était lancé dans la création d'une autre application.

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