This chapter took a long time to get out. Life has me super busy. Two jobs, married, two kids, still sober. I like how this turned out, however, someone new stole the show this time. As always, leave feedback, I appreciate it so very much.
[FIRST] [DELETED SCENES] [PREVIOUS]
~ ~ ~
As I reentered my true body without recieving a mending, the vicious wounds I endured manifested into being as I reactualized into my true Self. Through the pain, I couldn't help but think on Raver's words to me.
"The doors have to be closed."
~ ~ ~
Without recieving a mending in Raver's Dreamtime bubble, reactualization was a fucking bitch. I Perceived my Self as having quite the damaged form, my Soul was fucked over by bombardment from dreadlight and my physical body simply disagreed with it all, stating that I was mostly whole and intact, only being damaged by wounds I had already endured. The three parts had an argument of a sort amongst themselves and with the power of the Dreamtime, reached a tortuous compromise.
I'm certain I seizured and blacked out through the process.
I awoke with my body shaking and covered in a cold sweat, Tsula and Luna above me, chanting in the secret language of their esoteric Traditions. The two of them each held diffetent tools required for their cultural and subtle manipulation of reality. Soft hands, awash with mana and glowing tattoos, were placed on my chest, right where my heart was. Cold, icy fingers cradled my soul protectively, keeping it connected to my body in the here and now as harsh, physical laws rent my form.
I was paying the price for Raver's hubris, and I had almost overdrafted. Thoughts of mortal over reach faded from my mind as I slipped into cool and soothing darkness.
Cold and bloodied fingers were pressed against my chest and did little to assuage the burning ache that was my soul. I couldn't focus on anything else as I gazed at the hollowed out body of my beloved. She had been beautiful, gorgeous even, and due to give birth to our daughter in two weeks. Now, the... dead thing in front of me could barely be defined as a corpse. Her skin had been peeled away like a banana and her insides removed, leaving a bloodied, hollow space. The flesh and bones had been scooped away like ice cream, leaving little in the way of remains. Our unborn child had been pulled out and repurposed with the stolen parts of her mother by dreadlight and a mage's fell Will to form the body of a Thing.
With silent tears streaming down my face, I placed the ring I had proposed to her with and put it onto my finger, next to my plain tungsten one. The simple act of removing it almost caused what remained of her hand to simply fall apart in my fingers. I'm not sure how long I stayed like that. I couldn't even hold her body against mine for fear of it crumbling away into a vile mess. I ignored what was going on around me as I kneeled in the spent summoning circle.
The world around me split and rent itself into distorted imagery, as though I were looking at everything from under a pool with gentle waves. Some parts were compressed together and others were stretched out, not quite like a mirror maze as the world was still simply one cohesive image. Additionally, things seemed closer or further in ways that defied conventional Euclidean geometries. The only area not affected by this blatant disregard of spatial dimensions, had been myself and a scant few feet around me.
What...?
A heavy thud broke me out of my thoughts and I saw my Father landing next to me. Since both of us had been prepared, he was wearing, much like myself, full motorcycle safety gear. It had been enchanted and bolstered by hidden runes and severed Will, turning everything into protective objects that even defended against potent and offensive mysticism. The equipment in question had been chosen for its sheer mundanity and ease of access, letting the powerful enchancements skirt around the Lie and Consensus leaving the magic fully intact and potent.
"Alistair," I heard my Father say to me with grim calm as he twisted the space in front of us into a right angle, redirecting rapid gunfire, "I can't do this alone."
I remained silent.
"Damnit, Son," he growled out then literally kicked my ass with his heavy boot, almost knocking me over onto my side, "get a hold of yourself, Its here now. You handle the mages."
That got me going. I finally got up, my grief was as a lead weight and prevented me from doing what was needed. With a last look at C'Leena's hollowed out corpse, I grit my teeth, steeled my nerves and called forth my magic from the Aether.
Was I dreaming? No, worse, I was in a memory...
"Stay out of my way and watch yourself," Father said to me, "I can't pull my punches against that."
"Gotcha," I replied almost absently and turned to face the assembled shadow mages. They had inexplicably stopped theit gunfire to admire the Thing they brought into existence from Somewhere.
I couldn't help but stare, either.
Standing on top of the northernmost anchor stone, an ugly, multi-faceted block of copper with glyphs and sigils harshly hewn into it, was a naked woman. The glyphs themselves were hard to look at, as though their mere presence were an affront to reality itself, which they were. The woman's skin was a darkened olive tone and she was tall as well as athletic, lithe and fit. Her shoulder length black hair was bushy and curly, flowing about her head almost like an afro. As she ran her hands down her body, I could not help but notice that everything was oddly symmetrical and too perfect. It was unnerving me greatly and triggered an uncanny valley response that tore at my heart.
The body this Thing was wearing had belonged to my fiancée.
Father didn't let It have time to get acclimated. Sidestepping forwards, he drew upon the full capabilities of his Path, eyes backlit by stars, an impossible physical sword of abstract spatial geometries held in his left hand, and a reality defying, super-dense distortion held in his right.
The world contorted and screamed under his might.
I awoke with a start and a low groan, glad to be awake and free of that horrid nightmare again. Not for the first time, I wished I had that motorcycle gear still. I had been far too reckless then and immediately thereafter, and everything had been damaged beyond repair. I could never find anyone I trusted enough to make those enchantments anyways. Farnsworth could only enhance the mundane qualities as he didn't know enough about mana warding to permanently imbue the protections I wanted nor needed for my line of active field work.
Looking around, I saw Rue asleep on the other side of the bed and Spades was nestled between us, his massive form making a visible dip in the mattress. The big monster dog was on his back, legs splayed open and snoring loudly with his tongue hanging out of his muzzle. I was reminded a lot of my Lola when she had still been around in the flesh, making me smile with old and pleasant memories. I must have been out for some time for Spades to be here.
A quick, almost reflexive, mental orison told me everything I already suspected. My mana reserves were shot, my body had been through the ringer and my soul was frayed and burnt. While I knew I owed my continued existence to Raver and her godsend, I also knew it had taken a great and terrible toll on my Self. Miracles like that usually held some kind of hidden cost, even if they weren't readily apparent.
Getting off the bed slowly, I began to look for my pack. It took far longer than than usual as I had to steady myself quite a bit from the spinning room. I managed to be quiet, however, and didn't wake up Rue nor Spades. Finally in the shower, after some time and using the wall to support myself, I let the almost scalding water roll over my aching body. The pendant on my neck protecting me from recieving any burns or aggravating the injuries I had, both old and new.
With the hot water soothing aching muscles, I began to think and take stock of my situation. I had never been on the back foot like this, low on any kind of resource, having few allies, and being pressed for time. It was like something out of a bad novel or shitty indie Steam(R) game. Though, real life was often stranger than fiction and had no real need for a logical cause and effect dynamic. If this was going to become the norm, then I had to find another method of approaching my wendigo problem.
I was simply running out of time.
After some long moments of thinking, I began to wash my hair, using the guest products on the corner caddy. They were so much nicer than anything I would have willingly bought and made me seriously consider changing up my usual shampoo. The only idea I could come up with regarding those wendigos, besides an overwhelming frontal assault, was to appeal to their bottomless gluttony and barter for passage.
I resigned myself to actually try to negotiate with their clan leader, leveraging their horrid taboos against them to get what I needed.
Wendigos, unlike most strange cryptids, vampires and were-folk aside, had a lot of things known about them, especially how they powered their supernatural capabilities. It was a simple and rather straightforward process, the more heinous the act, the more mana they drew from it. Cannibalism, sacrilege, incest, murder, torture, hedonistic gluttony, or any number of other terrible and minor sins. As well as general lawbreaking and felonies, oftentimes combined to have as many as possible occur in the same sitting.
I audibly gasped with a sudden epiphany.
My fate had already been decided, by myself no less. In a bar I couldn't remember the name of, when I had been gazing into my bronze coin, I saw what I needed to do. I had to gift what measly scrap of knowledge I understood from Beyond the Infinite to those creatures. To let those wendigos defile and mutilate such sacred and pure knowledge to whatever whims their baleful minds could come up with.
"Fuck," was the only thing I could whisper at the thought of it all as I turned off the water, getting out of the shower. I cooled the bathroom down with but a thought and wiped away the condensation on the mirror with a towel that wasn't my own, finally getting a good look at myself without vertigo, as that had finally passed.
I looked like shit, and that was a compliment. Huge, fist shaped bruises of black, green and yellow littered my torso, though most were located on my left side and blurred together into an ugly shapeless mass. The ones on my right, however, were well defined and I could easily count the number of strikes. My face held a swollen black eye, I never noticed my diminished field of vision as I had gotten used to having them over the years. Turning gingerly and opening the mirror a bit so I could see my back, I grimaced. It was another spiderweb of a bruise, earned from when I had been smashed against the edge of Raver's Dreamtime bubble.
At least none of my fingers were broken, only very stiff and swollen, just like the rest of me. I probably couldn't drive for another day or so, either, not with my hands the way they were. As I looked, surprised I hadn't noticed earlier, the inside of my right hand was, branded. The skin, while fully healed, held the symbolic glyph that heralded the Path of Stars. A circle with nine curved lines inside it. Each line only intersected two others, but with the irregular placement of them, I could trace an intersection to any other one. In each of the open spaces, slightly off center, as a simple dot.
"Miracles leave their marks," I muttered to myself, almost disbelieving the literalness of the phrase.
I didn't bother drying off and struggled a bit getting into the clothes I brought with me, maroon athletic shorts and a black tank top. Exiting the guest bathroom, I thought about where I wanted to go. Settling on a destination, I went into the backyard, found a patch of grass in the shaded, morning sunlight and lay down. The grass was thick and rather soft, and the smell of the lemon tree and the garden was more pleasant and fragrant than they should have been.
Warding myself against dreaming, I pulled on the principles of the Aether, specifically, those of sun and storms. Since the Aether was a realm of energy and mana in all of its varying forms, I employed an advanced technique, a mysterion. It was something only able to be done by those that actually hailed from the Aether rather than having mastery over it. Pulling some of the sunlight and ambient warmth into my form, I converted measly scraps of energy directly into mana. The process was slow, and almost hardly worth the effort. It was like filling a bathtub with water, a single milliliter at a time.
Mana was now such a rare commodity, every miniscule drop of it mattered.
I settled in and entered a trance-like state, most of my attention devoted to my mysterion, though some of it was allowed to drift off elsewhere. While not exactly a dream, and while maintaining my mana draw, my mind conjured up nonsensical imagery and conversations between myself and others. I didn't pay them any attention as my thoughts wandered and drifted idly.
"I thought I'd find you out here," Rue said as I heard her sit down next to me. I didn't hear her walking, however, she continued to speak, "you've been asleep for a few days. What happened?"
"Got fucked," I replied easily, a little sarcastically as well. "Truthfully," I amended, "I got summoned by Raver. She pulled a shenanigan with Fate to let her have a waking dream."
"So she was hallucinating?" Rue stated, though it was more of a question.
"Damned straight," I confirmed, "she had Sasquatch and Farnsworth make something for her. It had to have been lethal, something like that. Anyways, we were talking and then one of Them showed up. Inside the Dreamtime bubble of hers. Found Raver's luminescence despite Mirzam hiding it."
"Shit. So It was physically there? That means It had a stolen body..." Rue said, trailing off.
"Yeah, it had a body alright," I almost growled out, "broke Raver's ritual with little effort. I spent everything I had to make a patch job just to keep it active, burned through all my mana, too. I did not want to be dispersed."
"I see," Rue said to me with understanding, "I wouldn't want to have to find my physical body without a tether either." There was a small pause before she spoke again, "So what happened next?"
"I made it mad with insults to buy time for the repaired shenanigan to stabilize Raver."
"What do you mean?" Rue asked as I heard her stretch out a bit, my eyes still closed.
"Her shenanigan was woven in such a way that whatever drug Sasquatch and Farnsworth made for her didn't just kill her," I answered with a pause then continued, "it let her do things beyond normality, anyways, my fucked up patch job let me tell Sasquatch that Raver had to stay dreaming."
"So he wouldn't just purge the elixir out of her," Rue stated, then added perhaps a tad bit defensively, "I know some things from other paths, not much, but some."
"That's good," I answered back, "knowledge is power."
"With us, it's quite literal."
I murmured in assent.
"So why did you make It mad?" Rue asked, "wouldn't It just draw strength from human emotions, especially in the Dreamtime?"
"It did," I answered back, "but It couldn't act properly on them, like human emotions were new and novel. The whole encounter was sloppy after a certain point, but I did almost die. Raver saved me, gave me a miracle."
"I saw," Rue said simply, "the mark on your hand was a giveaway."
I could only murmur in agreement again then asked, "Did you find a card in my hands, too?"
"I did," Rue replied after a few moments of silence, "it was debit card, with a note attached to it."
"From Procyon, right?"
It took a few moments for her to answer. "Yes, it was from Procyon," she took a breath and continued with wavering effort, "that damned bastard had it all planned out. Wrote a fucked up letter to me on a Google(TM) doc telling me not to worry and that this had always been his exit plan."
"Sounds like he knew what was going to happen," was all I could say.
"Yes, but, I miss him!" Rue all but snarled at me, then, in a small and quiet voice, whispered, "He was my best friend, and maybe we could've been more, y'know? Now... there's... There's just nothing, only memories of him left to mourn."
"I didn't know," I answered simply.
Rue spoke with a wavering breath before continuing, her thoughts more than a little disjointed, "a lot of what he wrote was personal, so I won't get into that, but he was certain that something catastrophic was going to happen to him and myself. So he made sure that I was at my secondary home, recovering from a job. I had just completed a mission from Raver and Mirzam, and was going to perform a ritual to patch up Spades after I got some sleep. Procyon also stated that someone has been altering things for a very long time."
"So that's why you were caught with yout pants down," I said, "you didn't even have time to recover." I paused, adjusting my mysterion as I had to refocus due to our conversation, "what did they have you do?"
"Some hedge wizards actually got a hold of an actual necromancy grimoire and charged mana tools in a graveyard," Rue said with a bit of a tired sigh, "they knew exactly what they were doing, and would have been rather powerful shadow mages if they had been capable of using starlight."
"Fuck," was all I could say, then formed an actual response after a few moments, "that shouldn't have been an issue for you. Hedges don't have our capability, though numbers may have evened out their odds."
"You're right, but they brought a spirit back before I could stop them," Rue answered with more than a little spite, "a real nasty piece of shit, too. Turned on the hedges, absorbed them, and put up a real mean fight against Spades and I. It was touch and go for a long time and I was actually fearful for my life, too."
"You won, though."
"Yeah, managed to send it kicking and screaming back to the Pit, exhausted most of my mana to do so. Fucking bastard."
There was a small silence between us as Rue became lost in her own thoughts. It was a while before I asked her, "Can you elaborate on what Procyon said about Fate being altered?"
"I can, actually, though it's a bit difficult since I'm not even a novice with the Path of Stars," Rue answered as I heard her shift a bit on the grass next to me. She paused as she seemingly collected her thoughts, "it's just that certain events were made to happen sooner or later. The big one, for our Node at least, was that you were always supposed to make your ancestral home translocate. It happened sooner than it should have."
"Fuck," I said, "So I wasn't supposed to send it away a few days ago?"
"No, that was supposed to happen after our wendigo thing, if the letter is to be believed."
"Fuck," was all I could say, "I do suppose that was a snap decision, I really didn't want Them to get a hold of anything inside. If I had been able to wait, or even had help, I'm sure I wouldn't have lost it to time and space."
"Exactly," Rue said with bitter excitement, "and we'd have access to everything in it. Losing your home was a big blow to our Node."
"Yeah, but at least They don't have it," I answered more spitefully than intended.
"Silver linings and all that, right?"
"Yeah, gotta look at the bright side, no matter how bleak," I answered back with a bit of sarcastic mirth, then said as I stretched a bit, readjusting my focus on my mysterion as well, "speaking of wendigos, I know what we need to do to solve that."
"Oh? Do tell, I couldn't come up with anything myself, kept running into dead ends," she said, then added, "lack of resources and help."
"Well, I don't think you're going to like it, I'm not sure I like it either."
"Don't keep me waiting," Rue said to me with a bit of sarcastic exasperation. I could sense her looking at me even though my eyes were still closed.
"I'm going to leverage their taboos against them, appeal to their insatiable greed and offer them what little I can understand of That Which Lies Beyond the Infinite." I sighed and added, "after all, how could they resist the allure of new magic?"
"You're right," she answered, "I definitely don't like it. I'm pretty sure it's not even wise to do so."
"Wise or not, it's the only way forward, I even saw it in a vision when I was manipulating fate magic."
"Have you talked to Mirzam or Raver about this vision of yours?"
"No, not yet, and I'm pretty sure I don't need to."
There was a bit of silence between us as she digested my words. I felt compelled to elaborate as I adjusted my mysterion again, losing a bit of my focus due to the depth of the conversation we were having.
"Acrux," I said, getting her attention fully by using the name of her star, "there's something you need to understand." I sat up, abandoning my mysterion in favor of giving her my full attention. Blinking a bit at the rise of light and warmth, I continued my thought process, "in the Dreamtime, the Thing I was fighting against, It was surprised and enraged that I was able to call upon knowledge that Lay Beyond the Infinite. Whatever those glyphs and powers are, They never wanted humans to know of them, let alone have them."
"Yet you want to give such power to wendigos of all things."
"At least the knowledge, corrupted or not, will still be on Earth," I said then added, "I'm not sure what you remember, but I know you've seen something from Beyond the Infinite. Your self revival and Spade's new form are proof of that. I was there, guided by Oracle. I Perceived something unknowable, something terrible, something no mortal has any right to gaze upon. Something I can hardly even begin to try to put into words. Raver Perceived it, too. It's how she managed to give me a godsend. So, what did you Perceive, really?"
Rue brought her knees up to her chest, thinking deeply. I could tell she was using her Perception to look inwards upon her Self. I waited patiently while she struggled to look at her soul's reflection against her mind and struggled even more to put the image there into words.
At long last, she spoke, her eyes still closed as she did so, "I'm not sure what I saw, there was too much, and I felt so small. Insignificant. Less than even a dismissed, intrusive thought. There is one thing I do remember. A doorway made of the might from two universes worth of truths and laws. A Thing was trying ro break through, but couldn't, not fully, yet the doors were opened, letting smaller ones through."
"The Doors have to be closed," I said, quoting Raver, before continuing, "that's what Raver said to me, before she sent me back to my body."
"Why didn't they mend you then?"
"They were being attacked in the waking world, too. It was a good plan on Their part, They just didn't expect us to put up so much of a fight."
"They never do, though I think that's changing."
"So that's our endgame, not sure how we're going to do it," I said, bringing the conversation back to topic, "at the moment, however, I'm going to eat a few of those mana-stuffed protein bars and fix your leg. I can't keep spending mana to be able to drive your truck. You'll have to use your own mysterion to get mana, too."
"I hate my Path's mysterions," the venom in her voice was palpable.
Before I could say anything, the backdoor opened, revealing Luna. She was wearing a bird-patterned sundress and her hair had been tied back into a loose ponytail. She put her hand over her eyes to shade them from the sun as she squinted against the brightness relative to that from inside.
"Hey, you two," she called out, "Grandmother says she needs to talk yo you."
"Alright," I called out, shakily getting up to my feet with a bit of a grunt. Everything still hurt. Rue had a bit of trouble as well, her leg was not recieving the rest and healing it deserved and needed.
"We're a mess, aren't we?" Rue asked aloud as we began to walk towards the bak door.
"Yeah, but you should see the other guys," I replied with a light chuckle, only to wince and hold my sides, "I forgot how much laughing hurts with fractured ribs."
"I really don't envy you right now," Rue said with a bit of a smirk as we entered Tsula's home, Rue entering first. "I wonder what Tsula wants to talk to us about?" Rue asked aloud, not really talking to anyone in particular.
I could only wonder as we followed Luna to the living room, the house pleasantly cool due to central air conditioning.
~ ~ ~
The moon was not in the sky, and I greatly enjoyed not having to endure the accursed, purifying light of day reflected by its surface, even if greatly diminished. The loathsome wound in my side had been a mortal blow, burning through my toughened flesh and form with unnerving ease and stunning, blinding pain. Once more, I looked at the oily, thin, and black ichor that dripped from my fingers, more human-like than I was comfortable with.
The mote of dreadlight I had recieved for my services had been the only thing that had kept me from vanishing entirely. Mortal alchemy -- science -- had advanced to such a degree so as to emulate the harsh light of day far too remarkably well. That hadn't been the worst part, that damned thaumaturgist had ensorcelled a curse upon the weapon as well. With effort, as the bulk of my power was directed at repairing the oozing wound, I altered my form and shape, struggling to maintain the illusion as I walked out onto the sidewalk from a side alley.
My contract was not yet completed.
The first two nights I had hidden myself away in the dark depths, raging against the oblivion that threatened to overtake me and ending my existence. The preparedness of the thaumaturgist had been unexpected, as well as the skill and the knowledge he had wielded so effortlessly. Without my guidance, nor presence, to instill fear into the gifted abetters, the wraiths I had gathered with me fell and fled into the night, abandoning their duties and contracts.
I would have never made this mistake against the herald of the bear.
Had I known the name of the mortal's star I had been tasked against, I would have demanded more than a simple mote of dreadlight and a paltry handful of coerced allies. Realistically, I should be grateful that I still had a kind of semi-existence. Quelling my anger and hatred, and swallowing my utter revulsion, my form rippled and took the guise of a tall, middle-aged human male in a common and unremarkable suit carrying an old and worn briefcase.
The artificial illumination around me flickered, emitting a grating hum in my presence and the thin television flickered oddly as it tried to display my image, failing to accurately do so. While tracking Arcturus's quintessence had been a bit of a task, as far too much time had passed, my familiarity with it granted me an advantage that overcame that difficulty. Traveling in my wounded state, however, had been much more arduous. Looking the woman at the reception desk over, I took on my role with hiden revulsion, aided by the illusion I was conjuring and the mimicry of my physical form.
"I'm detective Aiden Roth, and I'm looking for someone. I believe that he was here a few nights ago, definitely this past week," I said. My false, human voice had been made to sound smooth, suave and strong, interlaced with a suggestion, using what little forte I could spare. I put the worn and well-used briefcase I had conjured with me onto the counter with a heavy thud, using more of my forte to emulate such a simple thing. Opening it up, I fished out an image and showed the slightly grainy, black and white picture to the receptionist.
As the woman perused the conjured image, I could not help but hiss, my hand going to my side as I expended more of my forte than I had anticipated. The cursed wound fighting back fiercely against the dreadlight tethering my existence and life. I held my disguise with willpower of monumental proportions. A strength of will I rarely had been pressed to draw from.
Seeing the concerned look the woman gave me, I simply stated, shrugging off the pain with yet more expenditure of will, "An old injury, it flares up from time to time. No matter, have you seen this individual?"
"I'm going to need to see some kind of badge or warrant," the woman said with a genuine smile, "sorry."
The fear of losing her menial job overpowered my subtle suggestion. Unfortunate.
"Sure," I replied with a fake and well ptacticed, fetching smile, adjusting my forte to include another suggestion. I showed an actual badge with my assumed name and likeness. The mortal I was impersonating had been slain many years ago by my own hands, and the subtle illusion taking hardly any of my forte adjusted the dates and design of the badge to whatever was current.
Only a thaumaturgist, or a very particularly skilled sorcerer, could pierce the illusion. Against this mortal, there was no chance of resistance and she accepted the stolen badge without question.
She looked it over, as if trying to divine the legitimacy of it. "Okay," she finally admitted, "he was here a while ago, maybe a four or five days? I remember, 'cause I tried to flirt with him..."
I ignored her prattling and asked when she finished speaking, "Can you show me the room he used?"
"Sure, but it's been cleaned a few times since then."
With a nod, I let her lead the way to the room in question, staying silent. The lights around me flickered and hummed loudly in my presence. Had the woman been more observant, she could have seen my true shadow as I had not the forte to expend to hide it entirely from the ever changing lights. She opened the room in question, using what I could only assume was a master key card.
I immediately recognized the faded auras of quintessence.
"This will do," I stated, closing the door behind me and dropping my revolting disguise, using my forte to lock it.
I revealed my true form. My legs and arms lengthened and thinned, the black suit and red tie I was wearing became my skin, armor and form. My face and eyes became blank, gaunt and sunken, skin stretching out over it. The wound in my side made itself visible, it was an ugly red, peeling and oozing burn from my shoulder to my waist and took up most of my torso. The dreadlight I was using to prevent my oblivion illuminated the wound with a kind of sickly, crimson colored backlight. Black ichor oozed out from it and dripped onto the floor as I used the bulk of my forte to ablate the caustic, foreign quintessence from my form.
The woman looked at me as even her pitifully dull, mundane human senses told her that there was incredible danger in the room with her. She screeched and irrationally ran towards the bathroom as my presence became impossibly tall in the very finite space in the motel room. Using the smallest iota of my forte, I remotely smashed her fleeing form against a wall, pinning her there with unseen force as she begged, and sobbed for her pitiful life.
I ignored her for the moment.
Drawing upon more of my forte, freed up as I no longer needed a disguise, I sensed out where quintessence had been used, discovering two places, the bed and a wall. Imbuing the wall with my own forte, I witnessed a spectral, moving image of Arcturus throwing five darts at a map placed on the wall, one at a time, then draw intersecting lines to a single point on the map.
"Wendigos..." I hissed out in loathing, the skin on my face stretching and contorting with the movement as i spoke aloud with a nonexistent mouth. Even I knew their territory.
Turning to the second source of quintessence, I did the same thing. I saw Arcturus ward himself against dreaming and then hold a brilliant shield in the air, as well as a ball of fire. My knowledge of actual thaumaturgy told me that I would have great difficulties against those Knowings. I put the mystery of his Dreamtime excursion out of my mind for now, there was nothing I could do regarding that.
My expenditure of forte caused my horrid wound to pulse against my form painfully. With a hiss, I turned to the woman meekly begging me to spare her life as she was still pinned against the wall. I could use a thrall, especially as I could no longer gain allies, not without offering something in return to my current contract holders.
That was not a barter I wanted to engage in.
"Please... don't kill me... please... I'll do anything... please..."
The absolute terror in her eyes was delectable. Her fear invigorated me with energy and reminded me I needed to feed. However, the morsels offered by her would be more than sufficient for my needs. I dragged my left hand across my oozing wound, covering it in my own essence then flexed my forte. The clothes she was wearing split in half down the middle, revealing her naked form, making her shriek. I could see the ideas her panicked mind vomited forth as she renewed her struggles with vigor.
What I had in mind was so much worse than the mundane taking of her physical body she expected.
Using the full might of my forte, I lengthened and sharpened my index finger, the tip dripping with the gathered ichor of my essence. In an instant, less than the blink of an eye, I appeared in front of her from where I had been by the bed and plunged the very tip of my sharpened, needle-like nail into the center of her heart, cutting through the most sensitive parts of her breast to do so due to the angle I had chosen for just this purpose. As I let my ichor suffuse her body with each beat of her racing heart, her vascular system visibly turning black under her skin as she screamed and writhed in agony, an odd thing happened.
What could only be considered my blood had been tainted by thaumaturgy qnr bolstered by dreadlight as well as my own forte. As it mixed with the blank canvas of the mortal in front of me, I could sense the candle of her soul. Reaching out with dreadlight, letting the wound burn my side with a hiss of inhaled breath, I ignited it with three kinds of mysticism.
A horrified realization overcame her as she knew I had fundamentally altered her to suit my whims. Having a thaumaturgist thrall would be a great boon.
"You'll do quite nicely," I said with an actual grin, the skin stretched over my mouth revealing impossibly large, gleaming flat teeth, as I watched the physical and mystical changes taking place.
My new thrall would never be human again.
I feasted on her terror, anguish and torment.
It was delicious.
~ ~ ~
Arcturus and Acrux will be back. C'Leena Thomas, Prosthetist is going to be my next update.
[[NEXT]]

This chapter took a long time to get out. Life has me super busy. Two jobs, married, two kids, still sober. I like how this turned out, however, someone new stole the show this time. As always, leave feedback, I appreciate it so very much.
[FIRST] [DELETED SCENES] [PREVIOUS]
~ ~ ~
As I reentered my true body without recieving a mending, the vicious wounds I endured manifested into being as I reactualized into my true Self. Through the pain, I couldn't help but think on Raver's words to me.
"The doors have to be closed."
~ ~ ~
Without recieving a mending in Raver's Dreamtime bubble, reactualization was a fucking bitch. I Perceived my Self as having quite the damaged form, my Soul was fucked over by bombardment from dreadlight and my physical body simply disagreed with it all, stating that I was mostly whole and intact, only being damaged by wounds I had already endured. The three parts had an argument of a sort amongst themselves and with the power of the Dreamtime, reached a tortuous compromise.
I'm certain I seizured and blacked out through the process.
I awoke with my body shaking and covered in a cold sweat, Tsula and Luna above me, chanting in the secret language of their esoteric Traditions. The two of them each held diffetent tools required for their cultural and subtle manipulation of reality. Soft hands, awash with mana and glowing tattoos, were placed on my chest, right where my heart was. Cold, icy fingers cradled my soul protectively, keeping it connected to my body in the here and now as harsh, physical laws rent my form.
I was paying the price for Raver's hubris, and I had almost overdrafted. Thoughts of mortal over reach faded from my mind as I slipped into cool and soothing darkness.
Cold and bloodied fingers were pressed against my chest and did little to assuage the burning ache that was my soul. I couldn't focus on anything else as I gazed at the hollowed out body of my beloved. She had been beautiful, gorgeous even, and due to give birth to our daughter in two weeks. Now, the... dead thing in front of me could barely be defined as a corpse. Her skin had been peeled away like a banana and her insides removed, leaving a bloodied, hollow space. The flesh and bones had been scooped away like ice cream, leaving little in the way of remains. Our unborn child had been pulled out and repurposed with the stolen parts of her mother by dreadlight and a mage's fell Will to form the body of a Thing.
With silent tears streaming down my face, I placed the ring I had proposed to her with and put it onto my finger, next to my plain tungsten one. The simple act of removing it almost caused what remained of her hand to simply fall apart in my fingers. I'm not sure how long I stayed like that. I couldn't even hold her body against mine for fear of it crumbling away into a vile mess. I ignored what was going on around me as I kneeled in the spent summoning circle.
The world around me split and rent itself into distorted imagery, as though I were looking at everything from under a pool with gentle waves. Some parts were compressed together and others were stretched out, not quite like a mirror maze as the world was still simply one cohesive image. Additionally, things seemed closer or further in ways that defied conventional Euclidean geometries. The only area not affected by this blatant disregard of spatial dimensions, had been myself and a scant few feet around me.
What...?
A heavy thud broke me out of my thoughts and I saw my Father landing next to me. Since both of us had been prepared, he was wearing, much like myself, full motorcycle safety gear. It had been enchanted and bolstered by hidden runes and severed Will, turning everything into protective objects that even defended against potent and offensive mysticism. The equipment in question had been chosen for its sheer mundanity and ease of access, letting the powerful enchancements skirt around the Lie and Consensus leaving the magic fully intact and potent.
"Alistair," I heard my Father say to me with grim calm as he twisted the space in front of us into a right angle, redirecting rapid gunfire, "I can't do this alone."
I remained silent.
"Damnit, Son," he growled out then literally kicked my ass with his heavy boot, almost knocking me over onto my side, "get a hold of yourself, Its here now. You handle the mages."
That got me going. I finally got up, my grief was as a lead weight and prevented me from doing what was needed. With a last look at C'Leena's hollowed out corpse, I grit my teeth, steeled my nerves and called forth my magic from the Aether.
Was I dreaming? No, worse, I was in a memory...
"Stay out of my way and watch yourself," Father said to me, "I can't pull my punches against that."
"Gotcha," I replied almost absently and turned to face the assembled shadow mages. They had inexplicably stopped theit gunfire to admire the Thing they brought into existence from Somewhere.
I couldn't help but stare, either.
Standing on top of the northernmost anchor stone, an ugly, multi-faceted block of copper with glyphs and sigils harshly hewn into it, was a naked woman. The glyphs themselves were hard to look at, as though their mere presence were an affront to reality itself, which they were. The woman's skin was a darkened olive tone and she was tall as well as athletic, lithe and fit. Her shoulder length black hair was bushy and curly, flowing about her head almost like an afro. As she ran her hands down her body, I could not help but notice that everything was oddly symmetrical and too perfect. It was unnerving me greatly and triggered an uncanny valley response that tore at my heart.
The body this Thing was wearing had belonged to my fiancée.
Father didn't let It have time to get acclimated. Sidestepping forwards, he drew upon the full capabilities of his Path, eyes backlit by stars, an impossible physical sword of abstract spatial geometries held in his left hand, and a reality defying, super-dense distortion held in his right.
The world contorted and screamed under his might.
I awoke with a start and a low groan, glad to be awake and free of that horrid nightmare again. Not for the first time, I wished I had that motorcycle gear still. I had been far too reckless then and immediately thereafter, and everything had been damaged beyond repair. I could never find anyone I trusted enough to make those enchantments anyways. Farnsworth could only enhance the mundane qualities as he didn't know enough about mana warding to permanently imbue the protections I wanted nor needed for my line of active field work.
Looking around, I saw Rue asleep on the other side of the bed and Spades was nestled between us, his massive form making a visible dip in the mattress. The big monster dog was on his back, legs splayed open and snoring loudly with his tongue hanging out of his muzzle. I was reminded a lot of my Lola when she had still been around in the flesh, making me smile with old and pleasant memories. I must have been out for some time for Spades to be here.
A quick, almost reflexive, mental orison told me everything I already suspected. My mana reserves were shot, my body had been through the ringer and my soul was frayed and burnt. While I knew I owed my continued existence to Raver and her godsend, I also knew it had taken a great and terrible toll on my Self. Miracles like that usually held some kind of hidden cost, even if they weren't readily apparent.
Getting off the bed slowly, I began to look for my pack. It took far longer than than usual as I had to steady myself quite a bit from the spinning room. I managed to be quiet, however, and didn't wake up Rue nor Spades. Finally in the shower, after some time and using the wall to support myself, I let the almost scalding water roll over my aching body. The pendant on my neck protecting me from recieving any burns or aggravating the injuries I had, both old and new.
With the hot water soothing aching muscles, I began to think and take stock of my situation. I had never been on the back foot like this, low on any kind of resource, having few allies, and being pressed for time. It was like something out of a bad novel or shitty indie Steam(R) game. Though, real life was often stranger than fiction and had no real need for a logical cause and effect dynamic. If this was going to become the norm, then I had to find another method of approaching my wendigo problem.
I was simply running out of time.
After some long moments of thinking, I began to wash my hair, using the guest products on the corner caddy. They were so much nicer than anything I would have willingly bought and made me seriously consider changing up my usual shampoo. The only idea I could come up with regarding those wendigos, besides an overwhelming frontal assault, was to appeal to their bottomless gluttony and barter for passage.
I resigned myself to actually try to negotiate with their clan leader, leveraging their horrid taboos against them to get what I needed.
Wendigos, unlike most strange cryptids, vampires and were-folk aside, had a lot of things known about them, especially how they powered their supernatural capabilities. It was a simple and rather straightforward process, the more heinous the act, the more mana they drew from it. Cannibalism, sacrilege, incest, murder, torture, hedonistic gluttony, or any number of other terrible and minor sins. As well as general lawbreaking and felonies, oftentimes combined to have as many as possible occur in the same sitting.
I audibly gasped with a sudden epiphany.
My fate had already been decided, by myself no less. In a bar I couldn't remember the name of, when I had been gazing into my bronze coin, I saw what I needed to do. I had to gift what measly scrap of knowledge I understood from Beyond the Infinite to those creatures. To let those wendigos defile and mutilate such sacred and pure knowledge to whatever whims their baleful minds could come up with.
"Fuck," was the only thing I could whisper at the thought of it all as I turned off the water, getting out of the shower. I cooled the bathroom down with but a thought and wiped away the condensation on the mirror with a towel that wasn't my own, finally getting a good look at myself without vertigo, as that had finally passed.
I looked like shit, and that was a compliment. Huge, fist shaped bruises of black, green and yellow littered my torso, though most were located on my left side and blurred together into an ugly shapeless mass. The ones on my right, however, were well defined and I could easily count the number of strikes. My face held a swollen black eye, I never noticed my diminished field of vision as I had gotten used to having them over the years. Turning gingerly and opening the mirror a bit so I could see my back, I grimaced. It was another spiderweb of a bruise, earned from when I had been smashed against the edge of Raver's Dreamtime bubble.
At least none of my fingers were broken, only very stiff and swollen, just like the rest of me. I probably couldn't drive for another day or so, either, not with my hands the way they were. As I looked, surprised I hadn't noticed earlier, the inside of my right hand was, branded. The skin, while fully healed, held the symbolic glyph that heralded the Path of Stars. A circle with nine curved lines inside it. Each line only intersected two others, but with the irregular placement of them, I could trace an intersection to any other one. In each of the open spaces, slightly off center, as a simple dot.
"Miracles leave their marks," I muttered to myself, almost disbelieving the literalness of the phrase.
I didn't bother drying off and struggled a bit getting into the clothes I brought with me, maroon athletic shorts and a black tank top. Exiting the guest bathroom, I thought about where I wanted to go. Settling on a destination, I went into the backyard, found a patch of grass in the shaded, morning sunlight and lay down. The grass was thick and rather soft, and the smell of the lemon tree and the garden was more pleasant and fragrant than they should have been.
Warding myself against dreaming, I pulled on the principles of the Aether, specifically, those of sun and storms. Since the Aether was a realm of energy and mana in all of its varying forms, I employed an advanced technique, a mysterion. It was something only able to be done by those that actually hailed from the Aether rather than having mastery over it. Pulling some of the sunlight and ambient warmth into my form, I converted measly scraps of energy directly into mana. The process was slow, and almost hardly worth the effort. It was like filling a bathtub with water, a single milliliter at a time.
Mana was now such a rare commodity, every miniscule drop of it mattered.
I settled in and entered a trance-like state, most of my attention devoted to my mysterion, though some of it was allowed to drift off elsewhere. While not exactly a dream, and while maintaining my mana draw, my mind conjured up nonsensical imagery and conversations between myself and others. I didn't pay them any attention as my thoughts wandered and drifted idly.
"I thought I'd find you out here," Rue said as I heard her sit down next to me. I didn't hear her walking, however, she continued to speak, "you've been asleep for a few days. What happened?"
"Got fucked," I replied easily, a little sarcastically as well. "Truthfully," I amended, "I got summoned by Raver. She pulled a shenanigan with Fate to let her have a waking dream."
"So she was hallucinating?" Rue stated, though it was more of a question.
"Damned straight," I confirmed, "she had Sasquatch and Farnsworth make something for her. It had to have been lethal, something like that. Anyways, we were talking and then one of Them showed up. Inside the Dreamtime bubble of hers. Found Raver's luminescence despite Mirzam hiding it."
"Shit. So It was physically there? That means It had a stolen body..." Rue said, trailing off.
"Yeah, it had a body alright," I almost growled out, "broke Raver's ritual with little effort. I spent everything I had to make a patch job just to keep it active, burned through all my mana, too. I did not want to be dispersed."
"I see," Rue said to me with understanding, "I wouldn't want to have to find my physical body without a tether either." There was a small pause before she spoke again, "So what happened next?"
"I made it mad with insults to buy time for the repaired shenanigan to stabilize Raver."
"What do you mean?" Rue asked as I heard her stretch out a bit, my eyes still closed.
"Her shenanigan was woven in such a way that whatever drug Sasquatch and Farnsworth made for her didn't just kill her," I answered with a pause then continued, "it let her do things beyond normality, anyways, my fucked up patch job let me tell Sasquatch that Raver had to stay dreaming."
"So he wouldn't just purge the elixir out of her," Rue stated, then added perhaps a tad bit defensively, "I know some things from other paths, not much, but some."
"That's good," I answered back, "knowledge is power."
"With us, it's quite literal."
I murmured in assent.
"So why did you make It mad?" Rue asked, "wouldn't It just draw strength from human emotions, especially in the Dreamtime?"
"It did," I answered back, "but It couldn't act properly on them, like human emotions were new and novel. The whole encounter was sloppy after a certain point, but I did almost die. Raver saved me, gave me a miracle."
"I saw," Rue said simply, "the mark on your hand was a giveaway."
I could only murmur in agreement again then asked, "Did you find a card in my hands, too?"
"I did," Rue replied after a few moments of silence, "it was debit card, with a note attached to it."
"From Procyon, right?"
It took a few moments for her to answer. "Yes, it was from Procyon," she took a breath and continued with wavering effort, "that damned bastard had it all planned out. Wrote a fucked up letter to me on a Google(TM) doc telling me not to worry and that this had always been his exit plan."
"Sounds like he knew what was going to happen," was all I could say.
"Yes, but, I miss him!" Rue all but snarled at me, then, in a small and quiet voice, whispered, "He was my best friend, and maybe we could've been more, y'know? Now... there's... There's just nothing, only memories of him left to mourn."
"I didn't know," I answered simply.
Rue spoke with a wavering breath before continuing, her thoughts more than a little disjointed, "a lot of what he wrote was personal, so I won't get into that, but he was certain that something catastrophic was going to happen to him and myself. So he made sure that I was at my secondary home, recovering from a job. I had just completed a mission from Raver and Mirzam, and was going to perform a ritual to patch up Spades after I got some sleep. Procyon also stated that someone has been altering things for a very long time."
"So that's why you were caught with yout pants down," I said, "you didn't even have time to recover." I paused, adjusting my mysterion as I had to refocus due to our conversation, "what did they have you do?"
"Some hedge wizards actually got a hold of an actual necromancy grimoire and charged mana tools in a graveyard," Rue said with a bit of a tired sigh, "they knew exactly what they were doing, and would have been rather powerful shadow mages if they had been capable of using starlight."
"Fuck," was all I could say, then formed an actual response after a few moments, "that shouldn't have been an issue for you. Hedges don't have our capability, though numbers may have evened out their odds."
"You're right, but they brought a spirit back before I could stop them," Rue answered with more than a little spite, "a real nasty piece of shit, too. Turned on the hedges, absorbed them, and put up a real mean fight against Spades and I. It was touch and go for a long time and I was actually fearful for my life, too."
"You won, though."
"Yeah, managed to send it kicking and screaming back to the Pit, exhausted most of my mana to do so. Fucking bastard."
There was a small silence between us as Rue became lost in her own thoughts. It was a while before I asked her, "Can you elaborate on what Procyon said about Fate being altered?"
"I can, actually, though it's a bit difficult since I'm not even a novice with the Path of Stars," Rue answered as I heard her shift a bit on the grass next to me. She paused as she seemingly collected her thoughts, "it's just that certain events were made to happen sooner or later. The big one, for our Node at least, was that you were always supposed to make your ancestral home translocate. It happened sooner than it should have."
"Fuck," I said, "So I wasn't supposed to send it away a few days ago?"
"No, that was supposed to happen after our wendigo thing, if the letter is to be believed."
"Fuck," was all I could say, "I do suppose that was a snap decision, I really didn't want Them to get a hold of anything inside. If I had been able to wait, or even had help, I'm sure I wouldn't have lost it to time and space."
"Exactly," Rue said with bitter excitement, "and we'd have access to everything in it. Losing your home was a big blow to our Node."
"Yeah, but at least They don't have it," I answered more spitefully than intended.
"Silver linings and all that, right?"
"Yeah, gotta look at the bright side, no matter how bleak," I answered back with a bit of sarcastic mirth, then said as I stretched a bit, readjusting my focus on my mysterion as well, "speaking of wendigos, I know what we need to do to solve that."
"Oh? Do tell, I couldn't come up with anything myself, kept running into dead ends," she said, then added, "lack of resources and help."
"Well, I don't think you're going to like it, I'm not sure I like it either."
"Don't keep me waiting," Rue said to me with a bit of sarcastic exasperation. I could sense her looking at me even though my eyes were still closed.
"I'm going to leverage their taboos against them, appeal to their insatiable greed and offer them what little I can understand of That Which Lies Beyond the Infinite." I sighed and added, "after all, how could they resist the allure of new magic?"
"You're right," she answered, "I definitely don't like it. I'm pretty sure it's not even wise to do so."
"Wise or not, it's the only way forward, I even saw it in a vision when I was manipulating fate magic."
"Have you talked to Mirzam or Raver about this vision of yours?"
"No, not yet, and I'm pretty sure I don't need to."
There was a bit of silence between us as she digested my words. I felt compelled to elaborate as I adjusted my mysterion again, losing a bit of my focus due to the depth of the conversation we were having.
"Acrux," I said, getting her attention fully by using the name of her star, "there's something you need to understand." I sat up, abandoning my mysterion in favor of giving her my full attention. Blinking a bit at the rise of light and warmth, I continued my thought process, "in the Dreamtime, the Thing I was fighting against, It was surprised and enraged that I was able to call upon knowledge that Lay Beyond the Infinite. Whatever those glyphs and powers are, They never wanted humans to know of them, let alone have them."
"Yet you want to give such power to wendigos of all things."
"At least the knowledge, corrupted or not, will still be on Earth," I said then added, "I'm not sure what you remember, but I know you've seen something from Beyond the Infinite. Your self revival and Spade's new form are proof of that. I was there, guided by Oracle. I Perceived something unknowable, something terrible, something no mortal has any right to gaze upon. Something I can hardly even begin to try to put into words. Raver Perceived it, too. It's how she managed to give me a godsend. So, what did you Perceive, really?"
Rue brought her knees up to her chest, thinking deeply. I could tell she was using her Perception to look inwards upon her Self. I waited patiently while she struggled to look at her soul's reflection against her mind and struggled even more to put the image there into words.
At long last, she spoke, her eyes still closed as she did so, "I'm not sure what I saw, there was too much, and I felt so small. Insignificant. Less than even a dismissed, intrusive thought. There is one thing I do remember. A doorway made of the might from two universes worth of truths and laws. A Thing was trying ro break through, but couldn't, not fully, yet the doors were opened, letting smaller ones through."
"The Doors have to be closed," I said, quoting Raver, before continuing, "that's what Raver said to me, before she sent me back to my body."
"Why didn't they mend you then?"
"They were being attacked in the waking world, too. It was a good plan on Their part, They just didn't expect us to put up so much of a fight."
"They never do, though I think that's changing."
"So that's our endgame, not sure how we're going to do it," I said, bringing the conversation back to topic, "at the moment, however, I'm going to eat a few of those mana-stuffed protein bars and fix your leg. I can't keep spending mana to be able to drive your truck. You'll have to use your own mysterion to get mana, too."
"I hate my Path's mysterions," the venom in her voice was palpable.
Before I could say anything, the backdoor opened, revealing Luna. She was wearing a bird-patterned sundress and her hair had been tied back into a loose ponytail. She put her hand over her eyes to shade them from the sun as she squinted against the brightness relative to that from inside.
"Hey, you two," she called out, "Grandmother says she needs to talk yo you."
"Alright," I called out, shakily getting up to my feet with a bit of a grunt. Everything still hurt. Rue had a bit of trouble as well, her leg was not recieving the rest and healing it deserved and needed.
"We're a mess, aren't we?" Rue asked aloud as we began to walk towards the bak door.
"Yeah, but you should see the other guys," I replied with a light chuckle, only to wince and hold my sides, "I forgot how much laughing hurts with fractured ribs."
"I really don't envy you right now," Rue said with a bit of a smirk as we entered Tsula's home, Rue entering first. "I wonder what Tsula wants to talk to us about?" Rue asked aloud, not really talking to anyone in particular.
I could only wonder as we followed Luna to the living room, the house pleasantly cool due to central air conditioning.
~ ~ ~
The moon was not in the sky, and I greatly enjoyed not having to endure the accursed, purifying light of day reflected by its surface, even if greatly diminished. The loathsome wound in my side had been a mortal blow, burning through my toughened flesh and form with unnerving ease and stunning, blinding pain. Once more, I looked at the oily, thin, and black ichor that dripped from my fingers, more human-like than I was comfortable with.
The mote of dreadlight I had recieved for my services had been the only thing that had kept me from vanishing entirely. Mortal alchemy -- science -- had advanced to such a degree so as to emulate the harsh light of day far too remarkably well. That hadn't been the worst part, that damned thaumaturgist had ensorcelled a curse upon the weapon as well. With effort, as the bulk of my power was directed at repairing the oozing wound, I altered my form and shape, struggling to maintain the illusion as I walked out onto the sidewalk from a side alley.
My contract was not yet completed.
The first two nights I had hidden myself away in the dark depths, raging against the oblivion that threatened to overtake me and ending my existence. The preparedness of the thaumaturgist had been unexpected, as well as the skill and the knowledge he had wielded so effortlessly. Without my guidance, nor presence, to instill fear into the gifted abetters, the wraiths I had gathered with me fell and fled into the night, abandoning their duties and contracts.
I would have never made this mistake against the herald of the bear.
Had I known the name of the mortal's star I had been tasked against, I would have demanded more than a simple mote of dreadlight and a paltry handful of coerced allies. Realistically, I should be grateful that I still had a kind of semi-existence. Quelling my anger and hatred, and swallowing my utter revulsion, my form rippled and took the guise of a tall, middle-aged human male in a common and unremarkable suit carrying an old and worn briefcase.
The artificial illumination around me flickered, emitting a grating hum in my presence and the thin television flickered oddly as it tried to display my image, failing to accurately do so. While tracking Arcturus's quintessence had been a bit of a task, as far too much time had passed, my familiarity with it granted me an advantage that overcame that difficulty. Traveling in my wounded state, however, had been much more arduous. Looking the woman at the reception desk over, I took on my role with hiden revulsion, aided by the illusion I was conjuring and the mimicry of my physical form.
"I'm detective Aiden Roth, and I'm looking for someone. I believe that he was here a few nights ago, definitely this past week," I said. My false, human voice had been made to sound smooth, suave and strong, interlaced with a suggestion, using what little forte I could spare. I put the worn and well-used briefcase I had conjured with me onto the counter with a heavy thud, using more of my forte to emulate such a simple thing. Opening it up, I fished out an image and showed the slightly grainy, black and white picture to the receptionist.
As the woman perused the conjured image, I could not help but hiss, my hand going to my side as I expended more of my forte than I had anticipated. The cursed wound fighting back fiercely against the dreadlight tethering my existence and life. I held my disguise with willpower of monumental proportions. A strength of will I rarely had been pressed to draw from.
Seeing the concerned look the woman gave me, I simply stated, shrugging off the pain with yet more expenditure of will, "An old injury, it flares up from time to time. No matter, have you seen this individual?"
"I'm going to need to see some kind of badge or warrant," the woman said with a genuine smile, "sorry."
The fear of losing her menial job overpowered my subtle suggestion. Unfortunate.
"Sure," I replied with a fake and well ptacticed, fetching smile, adjusting my forte to include another suggestion. I showed an actual badge with my assumed name and likeness. The mortal I was impersonating had been slain many years ago by my own hands, and the subtle illusion taking hardly any of my forte adjusted the dates and design of the badge to whatever was current.
Only a thaumaturgist, or a very particularly skilled sorcerer, could pierce the illusion. Against this mortal, there was no chance of resistance and she accepted the stolen badge without question.
She looked it over, as if trying to divine the legitimacy of it. "Okay," she finally admitted, "he was here a while ago, maybe a four or five days? I remember, 'cause I tried to flirt with him..."
I ignored her prattling and asked when she finished speaking, "Can you show me the room he used?"
"Sure, but it's been cleaned a few times since then."
With a nod, I let her lead the way to the room in question, staying silent. The lights around me flickered and hummed loudly in my presence. Had the woman been more observant, she could have seen my true shadow as I had not the forte to expend to hide it entirely from the ever changing lights. She opened the room in question, using what I could only assume was a master key card.
I immediately recognized the faded auras of quintessence.
"This will do," I stated, closing the door behind me and dropping my revolting disguise, using my forte to lock it.
I revealed my true form. My legs and arms lengthened and thinned, the black suit and red tie I was wearing became my skin, armor and form. My face and eyes became blank, gaunt and sunken, skin stretching out over it. The wound in my side made itself visible, it was an ugly red, peeling and oozing burn from my shoulder to my waist and took up most of my torso. The dreadlight I was using to prevent my oblivion illuminated the wound with a kind of sickly, crimson colored backlight. Black ichor oozed out from it and dripped onto the floor as I used the bulk of my forte to ablate the caustic, foreign quintessence from my form.
The woman looked at me as even her pitifully dull, mundane human senses told her that there was incredible danger in the room with her. She screeched and irrationally ran towards the bathroom as my presence became impossibly tall in the very finite space in the motel room. Using the smallest iota of my forte, I remotely smashed her fleeing form against a wall, pinning her there with unseen force as she begged, and sobbed for her pitiful life.
I ignored her for the moment.
Drawing upon more of my forte, freed up as I no longer needed a disguise, I sensed out where quintessence had been used, discovering two places, the bed and a wall. Imbuing the wall with my own forte, I witnessed a spectral, moving image of Arcturus throwing five darts at a map placed on the wall, one at a time, then draw intersecting lines to a single point on the map.
"Wendigos..." I hissed out in loathing, the skin on my face stretching and contorting with the movement as i spoke aloud with a nonexistent mouth. Even I knew their territory.
Turning to the second source of quintessence, I did the same thing. I saw Arcturus ward himself against dreaming and then hold a brilliant shield in the air, as well as a ball of fire. My knowledge of actual thaumaturgy told me that I would have great difficulties against those Knowings. I put the mystery of his Dreamtime excursion out of my mind for now, there was nothing I could do regarding that.
My expenditure of forte caused my horrid wound to pulse against my form painfully. With a hiss, I turned to the woman meekly begging me to spare her life as she was still pinned against the wall. I could use a thrall, especially as I could no longer gain allies, not without offering something in return to my current contract holders.
That was not a barter I wanted to engage in.
"Please... don't kill me... please... I'll do anything... please..."
The absolute terror in her eyes was delectable. Her fear invigorated me with energy and reminded me I needed to feed. However, the morsels offered by her would be more than sufficient for my needs. I dragged my left hand across my oozing wound, covering it in my own essence then flexed my forte. The clothes she was wearing split in half down the middle, revealing her naked form, making her shriek. I could see the ideas her panicked mind vomited forth as she renewed her struggles with vigor.
What I had in mind was so much worse than the mundane taking of her physical body she expected.
Using the full might of my forte, I lengthened and sharpened my index finger, the tip dripping with the gathered ichor of my essence. In an instant, less than the blink of an eye, I appeared in front of her from where I had been by the bed and plunged the very tip of my sharpened, needle-like nail into the center of her heart, cutting through the most sensitive parts of her breast to do so due to the angle I had chosen for just this purpose. As I let my ichor suffuse her body with each beat of her racing heart, her vascular system visibly turning black under her skin as she screamed and writhed in agony, an odd thing happened.
What could only be considered my blood had been tainted by thaumaturgy qnr bolstered by dreadlight as well as my own forte. As it mixed with the blank canvas of the mortal in front of me, I could sense the candle of her soul. Reaching out with dreadlight, letting the wound burn my side with a hiss of inhaled breath, I ignited it with three kinds of mysticism.
A horrified realization overcame her as she knew I had fundamentally altered her to suit my whims. Having a thaumaturgist thrall would be a great boon.
"You'll do quite nicely," I said with an actual grin, the skin stretched over my mouth revealing impossibly large, gleaming flat teeth, as I watched the physical and mystical changes taking place.
My new thrall would never be human again.
I feasted on her terror, anguish and torment.
It was delicious.
~ ~ ~
Arcturus and Acrux will be back. C'Leena Thomas, Prosthetist is going to be my next update.
[[NEXT]]

One aim of a collective action is the expression of a political claim and the arguments in favor of it.
The public must be able to link the claim to a principle that it already knows, so that the claim sounds like the continuation of something already existent. A good argument for a claim is the one that guarantees the insertion of the other's point of view into a known structure.
To be understood by the public, an argument must take its origin in already existent representations available in the public's mind. And representations that we want to be transmitted have to « anchor » themselves into already available representations.
Commonly shared principles play the role of a cognitive filter: only those claims that enter in this filter can be understood and accepted by the public.

Examples :

Known principles: Equality + opposition to discriminations
Claim : Speciesist practices must be eliminated
Argumentation :
Our society is for equality and against discriminations. Sexism and racism are considered nowadays as arbitrary and wrong, because no matter from which « race » or gender we are, we have interests that have to be protected and we all want to avoid violence and the law of the strongest. And humans are not the only ones to have interests or wanting to avoid violence or the law of the strongest, it is also the case for the animals. Many authors who have analyzed our relation to other animals have found that it is based on speciesism, this concept can be understood by analogy with racism and sexism, and represents the ideology that considers that the lives and interests of animals can be overlooked simply because they belong to another species. These authors conclude that speciesism is an irrational and unfair discrimination since both humans and other animals feel emotions and concerning our capacity to feel suffering we are equal. This means that considering animals as a simple resource is speciesist and wrong. Justice requires that we respect the lives and interests of the animals by eliminating all practices that violate their interests simply because they are from another species.
Quote (copylefted text that can be used in press releases to make circulate our arguments in the society):
According to the spokesperson X: “In a society that values equality and condemns discrimination, we must recognize that speciesism—disregarding the lives and interests of animals simply because they belong to another species—is as arbitrary and unjust as racism and sexism. Just as we protect human interests, justice demands that we extend the same principle to other sentient beings. Eliminating practices that violate animal interests based on species is not only ethical but a necessary step toward true justice.”

Known principle: Violence is wrong
Claim : Slaughterhouses have to be closed down
Argumentation :
Our society condemns violence. Hitting without reason or killing are criminal offenses, because if we can avoid aggression we are obligated to do so. Violence against the weak is condemned even more vehemently. And everyone agrees that animals can also suffer from violence and are clearly weak compared to humans and their technology. Nevertheless, slaughterhouses constitute the most appalling concretization of the violence against powerless beings. Our society says that brutality is bad but kills thousands of innocent animals every day. In the same time, millions of vegans and vegetarians in the world show that it is not necessary to kill animals for food, which means that the violence of slaughterhouses can't be justified anymore. The fundamental principles of nonviolence and protection of the weak have to be respected. Unjust and violent practices of the past have been abolished or reduced, such as slavery, public torture, or breaching. They also were embedded in the collective consciousness to the point that some people thought them to be eternal. But history has shown the opposite, because the moral evolution of human beings is a phenomenon that persists over time and one can easily imagine that one day slaughterhouses will be considered as a symbol of injustice and barbarism. Beginning to close them today is demanded not only by us but by the thousands of animals whose throat is being cut down right now in a society that condemns violence only in words.
Quote (copylefted text that can be used in press releases to make circulate our arguments in the society):
“Our society's principles of nonviolence and protection of the weak demand that we end the barbaric practices of slaughterhouses, where countless innocent animals are killed daily despite viable, humane plant-based alternatives. By aligning our social practices with our principles, we can transform slaughterhouses from symbols of injustice into relics of a less enlightened past. That is why we request that the act of killing animals for simple food habits be be subject to a fine.”

Known principle: Law of the strongest is wrong
Claim : Animals are not a biological material
Argumentation :
All agree that the law of the strongest is wrong and nobody would like to be reduced to the state of a thing by someone more powerful. Imagine for example that as you read carefully this text a flying saucer arises in the proximity. It is equipped with very complicated technological mechanisms and was built by smarter beings than humans. As you continue to read, you suddenly hear a strange noise, you turn around and see that the humanoid beings dressed strangely are approaching you. They have menacing tools. You start to panic and suddenly you get a kind of electric shock that hurts you and forces you to move forward. These aliens force you to go into a singular vehicle. It's dark but you can see other humans who are scared like you. You feel that the vehicle moves, but you do not know where it goes. Suddenly, it stops and aliens open the door. They force you to go out with the same tools that make you suffer. You arrive into a macabre place where you see cages and hear screams. You are afraid. Those aliens put you in a cage, you are totally horrified, you struggle with all your energy, but it is useless. These aliens want to use you as a biological material for their experiences to save alien lives. Despite the fact that these aliens have an average IQ of 3500 and have certain abilities like telepathy that humans lack, you probably think these practices on innocent human beings, performed just because they are less clever and weaker than these aliens are unfair and should be stopped. This is because we are all against the law of the strongest and one could even argue that since these aliens are smarter, they should more easily understand that their actions are unjust. The same is true for our use of animals in laboratories, things are ethically identical in both cases. If the experiments made by these aliens are wrong, than our use of sentient beings as a simple biological material is also wrong because they are both manifestations of the law of the strongest which has to be eliminated in every civilized society.
Quote (copylefted text that can be used in press releases to make circulate our arguments in the society):
“Just as you would deem it unjust to be used as mere biological material by more powerful alien beings, our treatment of animals in laboratories, driven by a similar assertion of dominance, is ethically indefensible. Recognizing this parallel challenges us to abolish such practices, honoring our commitment to oppose the law of the strongest in all its forms.”
Known principles: Environmental crisis + scientific knowledge
Claim : Animals must be considered as our co-citizens
Argumentation :
In these times of environmental crisis, where we are more and more vehemently criticizing practices like the deforestation or the pollution of the rivers and oceans, we can easily understand that they are the logical consequences of the dominion of humans on all other sentient beings on the planet. If humans respected animals as sentient beings having an inherent value that can't be violated for the futile and commercial needs of humans we wouldn't allow ourselves to destroy their habitat by cutting down the forests or pollute the very place where they live. Parallel to this, we can see that ethologists found recently that self-consciousness, having been long considered characteristic of humans, is not only present in apes, dolphins and elephants but is even common in some birds such as magpies who can recognize themselves in the mirror. Of whom is this planet the environment? For whom does she have to become a sustainable place? Humans are not the only sentient inhabitants of the Earth. Other animals also have an interest in enjoying their life and having a habitat consistent with their needs. Henceforth, we can't continue to consider animals as a resource or as simple functions of an ecosystem. They are individual beings that feel emotions, have their own interests and desires. It is time for us to consider them as our co-citizens with whom we are sharing this earth.
Quote (copylefted text that can be used in press releases to make circulate our arguments in the society):
“As we face an environmental crisis exacerbated by deforestation and pollution, recognizing animals not merely as ecosystem components but as sentient beings with intrinsic value is crucial; their right to a safe habitat demands we halt destructive human practices. We must reform our actions to ensure a sustainable planet for all its inhabitants and acknowledge animals as co-citizens of Earth.”
This article is based in particular on the sociology book "Argumenter dans un champ de forces", Francis Chateauraynaud, éd. Petra, 2011.
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

NOTE FROM AUTHOR: Hello Hello! I am a first-time writer embarking on my first dumpster fire; input is most welcome. I'm not the best self-editor, so get your hiking boots on. It's rough out there. Whenever I read it, I find or create more errors (:
OPTIONAL READS: For the Retro Computer or Programming Enthusiast OR if you are open to other formats of story telling. I tried to combine my love for programming as an UNDERSTANDABLE way to tell a story through a Visual Experience in the Command Line Interface;
A Stand-Alone VISUAL ASCII 'Programming Terminal' Story Prologue. Follow through(Screen Shots of my Command Line Interface) the UNE-EYE Observational Satellite Terminal as Kable extracts Classified Data about his Beloved Military Unit, THE HUMMINGBIRDS, a flying exoskeleton unit. This includes the origin story of a Technology Tree in Book 1.

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INDEX

1. DEADCOAST - THE HUMMINGBIRDS PROLOGUE -> HERE <-
   
2. DEADCOAST - COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED INTRO -> HERE <-
   
3. HEAT & GRIZZLY REDS - CHAPTER 1 ILLUSTRATED -> HERE <-
   

"Deadcoast Book 1: Heat and the Grizzly Reds" transports readers to a 2063 Earth, a world on the brink, where the scarcity of fresh water has led to previously unseen geopolitical tensions. Amidst this backdrop, the nation-backed militant group DAGGR has emerged as a formidable force, leveraging advanced technology to assert control over Canada’s abundant water resources. At the heart of their arsenal is 'slugTech,' a technology pioneered by James Broadshaw, intended for ecological restoration but repurposed for militaristic dominance.
The story unfolds with the chilling invasion of Vancouver, marking a turning point as DAGGR makes its ambitions clear, culminating in the assassination of the Canadian Prime Minister. This act of aggression leaves the country reeling, exposing vulnerabilities and igniting a global reaction.
The UNE-EYE satellite is central to the international response, a significant narrative element representing the world's most advanced orbital tracking system. Once decommissioned in favour of privacy, the Dutch reactivated the satellite as a strategic move to monitor DAGGR's movements and coordinate a unified international effort against the aggressors. This revival of UNE-EYE symbolizes a crucial turning point, highlighting the global stakes and the interconnectedness of nations in the face of a common enemy.
As Canada grapples with its plight, the DAMU (Deserted American Military Units) rise in solidarity, breaching borders to fight alongside their Canadian counterparts. This act of defiance is mirrored by international forces, including the Netherlands and Ukraine, each bringing their unique strengths to the coalition, underscored by the strategic oversight provided by the UNE-EYE satellite.
Amidst the geopolitical chaos, a man who had all but given up, a boxer on the ropes, emerges from Vancouver's Gastown. Known as HEAT, this leader of the Grizzly Reds becomes a symbol of resistance and hope. HEAT's story, and that of the Grizzly Reds, is one of resilience, rallying not only Canadians but also global citizens to stand against DAGGR's tyranny.
" Deadcoast Book 1: Heat and the Grizzly Reds" is a compelling narrative of survival, alliance, and resistance. It deftly weaves together elements of advanced technology, international politics, and the indomitable human spirit. The inclusion of the UNE-EYE satellite serves as a testament to the complexities of modern warfare and the critical role of global surveillance and coordination in maintaining security and freedom. But something else stirs amongst it. The UNE still shrouds its use, albeit assuring it is for record-keeping purposes- there is no way to be sure. Join HEAT and the Grizzly Reds as they navigate the challenges of Time, War, Science and liberating their fellow man in Vancouver. THE GRIZZLIES NEED YOU, in this action-packed, emotional saga, speaks to the resilience and camaraderie inherent in the human condition.
CHAPTER 1 - The Blood Spattered Maples
ILLUSTRATED VERSION -> HERE <-
The early morning sun cast a serene glow over Vancouver, its golden rays gently coaxing the city from its slumber. The harbour lay still, bathed in a tranquil blend of crimson and amber, defiantly calm as if aware of the day's latent potential for tumult. The awakening streets, pulsating with the vibrant beat of daily enterprise, transformed into bustling arteries of life.
Amidst this urban renaissance, Ryan stood by his apartment window, one eye still tinged a fading shade of deep lavender from last night's ordeals. He absorbed the duality of the world outside – a peaceful façade masking an undercurrent of chaos, much like his own existence. The apartment, a silent guardian of his life's chapters, was awash with tangible memories; some stood proudly like trophies, and others lingered like indelible scars.
"Eugh, need to sort out this money mess," Ryan muttered, his voice a gravelly mix of resolve and weariness. He gingerly touched the bruise beneath his eye, a stark reminder of the previous night's fight. He wasn't just a boxer but a living, breathing paradox. His undefeated record of 12-0 was more than a tally of victories; it was a map of a life spent dancing in and out of shadows. At 17, he was a beacon of hope for Canadian Olympic Futures. Now, at 33, he was a spotlight in his subconscious, illuminating the relentless passage of time and a road riddled with 'what ifs.' Eleven of those wins were echoes from a past steeped in the sweat and blood of the ring before life's currents swept him into the city's gritty underbelly. There, he became an enforcer, not out of choice but a necessity, bound by ties, not of blood but of unbreakable bonds forged in adversity. Stepping back into the ring at 33, Ryan wasn't chasing glory; he was hunting redemption, a chance to rewrite a narrative that had veered off course.
Today's boxing was far from what he once knew; it had transformed into a digital spectacle, a charade he refused to partake in. The sport now paraded fighters adorned with loud chains and face tattoos, pretending to live a life of crime they don't. Vile symbols of fame he doesn't wish for. Ryan had always skirted the fringes of the spotlight, respecting the sport but despising what it had become - a glorified masquerade that he believed led the youth astray. He stared out at the awakening city, contemplating his place in this ever-changing world, just as the first notes of a familiar yet unwelcome voice crackled from the vintage radio on his shelf.
"Ah, jimmy2piece," he scoffed, the name leaving a bitter taste. The vintage radio crackled on, announcing the dazzling exploits of the heavyweight boxing champion, an embodiment of everything Ryan detested about the sport's current state. Ryan's hand lingered over the old radio, a relic amidst the bountiful thrift and trinket that abundantly filled his apartment. The announcer's voice, overly flamboyant in its praise of 'jimmy2piece,' clashed with the morning's tranquillity, grating against Ryan's every nerve. With a flick brimming with contempt, he silenced the intrusive chatter. The ensuing silence was a stark reminder of his path's divergence from the once-noble art of boxing to a life mired in moral ambiguity.
"Enough of this nonsense," he muttered, the disdain in his voice mirroring the snarl on his lips as he spun the dial back to silence.
*Click*
Ryan was a man of contemplation; opening his balcony door, he let the morning breeze mingle with the memories that haunted him daily. These reflections were a tormenting ritual, no matter the joys and love surrounding him. His only respite was constant movement – hobbies, work, art – anything to fend off the sharp claws of the past that threatened to shred the remnants of his self-respect. He had lost ten years to choices and actions that replayed in his mind relentlessly every single day.
"This 'jimmy2shoes' or whatever...pal throws pillows, a poser pretending he's about that gang life; I can see it in his eyes, he's not a killer," he grumbled, gazing out at the awakening city. This day promised a respite from his underground fights – at least for a while. His recent backstreet brawls, a far cry from the glory of the boxing ring, were what paid the bills now. "At least I've bought myself three more months..."
Leaning on the railing of his miniature balcony, Ryan cradled a cup of steaming coffee, his gaze drifting over the streets below. At this moment, the chaos of his life seemed distant, replaced by a transient calm. Despite his bruised, rough presentation, a certain peace enveloped him, a rare stillness that belied the storm of his existence. His thoughts meandered through the serene hum of the city and the gentle brush of the ocean breeze. The skyscape, with clouds dancing to the ocean's rhythm, offered a brief escape from his turbulent past.
Memories of Robin, his mentor and friend, floated into his consciousness. Robin's untimely death in Dubai was a wound that never healed. The sacrifices he had made to keep Robin safe, only to be absent on the fateful trip that claimed his friend's life, weighed heavily on him. "Why did it have to be you, Robin?" he whispered to the horizon, the question, a haunting torment upon his daily routines.
Ryan was a thinker; as he slid over his ashtray from the stool, he sparked up A morning 'dart' (cigarette), as he called them. His past began to creep into his head, as it did every morning. With each inhalation of addiction-soothing nicotine, his blazing thoughts followed as his brain began to become fully active from his sleep. It was a raven on his shoulder tormenting him, pecking at him ever haunting his consciousness. No matter the love he may have found or the happiness, friends, or family surrounding him. The time to reflect was always grim and consistently unbearable. If he stood still, the Ravel's claws sunk more profoundly; the only reprieve was constant distractions. It's why he kept so busy, creative, and active. Ryan constantly kept moving with hobbies, work, or art. Pushing off the switchblade thoughts ready to cut into his subconscious and bleed out whatever self-respect he had left that day. He threw away ten years of his life, and he relives them every. Single. Day.
"Damn man, what's the point of it all?" Ryan's voice was barely a whisper, lost in the morning breeze. His gaze lingered on the horizon, eyes clouded with confusion and pain. "Robin's gone, and here I am, a ship adrift; up shits creek without a paddle. What good can I do? What purpose do I serve? My skillset? My knowledge? Ive wasted my life, nothing is applicable." The questions hung in the air, unanswered. Ryan's life had indeed been a storm of violence and turmoil, from the gritty days working alongside Robin, watching his back to his hard-fought victories in the boxing ring. He had dreamt of leaving the world of fights behind, yet fate seemed to have woven a different path for him, one that he couldn't escape...
The distant sound of boat horns broke his train of thought. These weren't the usual rhythmic calls that echoed along Vancouver's shores; they carried a sense of urgency, growing louder and more frantic by the second. Ryan leaned forward, squinting into the morning light. The sight that greeted him was anything but ordinary. Dark, ominous and foreboding shapes were cutting through the waters toward the Seawall – military-grade ships that seemed like phantoms against the sun's bright backdrop.
"What the...?" Ryan murmured, a wry smile touching his lips as he recalled a line from a 1930s radio show. "Ah yes, the 'Anti-Frackers' upping their game, bravo!" He often found solace in humour, a shield against the world's harsh realities. Ryan was an unbreakable anvil to the world, always struck to sharpen others' steel. But what about his iron resolve? He bore the burdens so others didn't have to, a silent guardian shouldering the world's weight in stoic silence. Yet beneath that armour of stoicism beat the heart of a man grappling with his vulnerabilities, a man with a core as soft as it was intense.
Just like that- The world as we knew it, changed forever.
The morning's peace shattered abruptly as sirens wailed into life, slicing through the air with a sense of impending doom. The tranquil dawn was now a backdrop to a nightmare unfolding in real time. Ryan's eyes, mirroring the turbulent hues of a stormy sea, narrowed in primal alertness. These were not friendly vessels coming to grace the city's harbour; they were harbingers of chaos, their arrival a silent scream in the gardens of Vancouver's tranquility. As the city around him carried on, blissfully unaware of the looming threat, Ryan's mind shifted into high gear, honed by years of confrontation, conflict and reading other peoples intentions. He understood the unspoken language of death, the subtle shift in the air that preluded catastrophe. The serene calm that had greeted the day now seemed like the deceptive stillness before a devastating storm.
PFFFFT~~
Ryan's coffee ejected out his mouth, a clean mist dispersed, dancing in the ocean winds.
His eyes widened in shock. "That... No, that's not right. That honeycomb structure on the bow – that's rumoured military tech, not something you'd find on a civilian vessel. That's definitely not one of our decommissioned ships; Canada has always had a modest military budget- It's not the U.S. either; they've moved on to those massive city carriers," he muttered, recalling the recent unveiling of the U.S.'s latest naval behemoth designed to be a self-sustaining war ecosystem.
"These are destroyers...carriers...and what in the world are those landing crafts?" His voice trailed off as a wave of realization washed over him. A heavy breath escaped his lips, his heartbeat thundering in unison with a growing sense of dread. This kind of military might, sleek and menacing, was straight out of the pages of a dystopian novel. Ryan's pulse quickened, adrenaline coursing through his veins, mingling with an unsettling fear. Vancouver, with its serene beauty and peaceful reputation, was the last place one would expect a military invasion. Yet, as he stood there, the city around him persevered in blissful ignorance. Laughter and the sounds of daily life echoed up to his balcony, starkly juxtaposed against the darkening horizon of his thoughts.
Something sinister was unfolding, and he felt an urgent need to act. "Ah, damn it!" he exclaimed, frustration boiling over as he hurled his mug to the ground, where it shattered into razer sharp ceramic shards—a glimpse of futures past.
The walls of Ryan's apartment, once a gallery of memories from a life half-lived, now felt like they were closing in on him. The space that had been his refuge, adorned with mementos of a tumultuous past, suddenly felt like a prison. He felt trapped, not by physical barriers, but by the weight of the unfolding crisis. Who could he call? Who would believe him about an impending military assault? Was there even time?
Each option seemed as hopeless as the next, leaving him feeling powerless. His fists, which had once brought him victory in the ring, now seemed futile in the face of this immense and unknown threat.
BOOM
A thunderous crash tore through the city's fabric, piercing the veil of laughter and routine. Giggles changed to Shrieks, the buzzing of cars in the city turned screeching of panicked tires. It was a boom resonating with such force that it seemed to shake the very resolve of the most robust steel, a sound that demands attention and captivates a person, a sound of death; it rattles you to the bone. This explosion marked a pivotal moment that would forever alter the course of Vancouver's history and, indeed, the world's.
The resounding echo of the first explosion heralded a declaration of war on all that was ordinary. In Ryan, the shockwave ignited a transformation. Despair morphed into an unyielding determination, a fire kindled deep within. His skin prickled, each hair standing on end as if his nerves were braille, spelling out the moment's urgency.
"Are they firing at us?" Ryan's voice was a mix of disbelief and rising panic. The thought seemed almost too surreal to entertain. He hesitated momentarily, grappling with the reality of the situation. The explosion's roar, so fierce it shook the foundations of his apartment, jolted him back to the present. Racing back to his balcony, what he saw confirmed his darkest fears.
The ships in the harbour were no longer silent, ominous spectators; they had unleashed their fury, sending plumes of smoke and debris skyward. Vancouver's skyline, once a proud testament to peace and progress, now served as a harrowing backdrop to an unfolding apocalypse. Below, the streets descended into chaos. People scattered in a frantic attempt to escape, their screams piercing the air, a chorus of dawning terror.
Ryan's heart pounded against his chest, each beat a call to action. He was no hero, never the 'good guy' in his story, but he did value life above all. Standing there, witnessing his city being torn apart, he knew he couldn't remain a passive observer. Indecision and shock gave way to resolve.
"MOTHA FU-" he cursed, his words lost in the burst of an explosion, spotted at the last second.
The world around him had erupted into a maelstrom of fire and fury.
An air burst shell detonated with ferocious intensity a mere 50 meters from Ryan's sanctuary. The explosion ripped through the building, an unforgiving hatred that jolted reality itself. The blast wave, a monstrous force of destruction, assaulted his apartment, shattering the windows with an ease that mocked Vancouver's fragility. Glass shards, transformed into lethal projectiles, hurtled through the air with a hunter's precision, each piece seeking its target. Instinctively, Ryan lunged for cover, his only protection a vintage oak promotional board, a relic of a bygone era. This wooden guardian, decorated with the iconic image of Stan Lee, stood as a stoic defender, a symbol of comic heroism now repurposed to shield flesh and blood from the brutal onslaught.
A low hum erupts from the depths of his being as the fireball swirled around him. "Breathe... I can't... don't fall asleep... don't...sleep..." he whispered, fighting the encroaching darkness. His cobalt eyes, glazing over open, fighting to the last light, flickered between consciousness and oblivion. The distant, muffled voices of mentors past echoed in his mind, a fading chorus in the theatre of his memories. Ryan looked to his left, cast one last lingering look at the Vancouver sky, a canvas of blue that seemed so distant now. As his vision began to narrow, a tunnel drawing him away from the light, Ryan felt the grip of darkness pulling him under heavy, yet weightless. Once so vivid and alive, the world around him was fading into shadows.
Amid shrapnel-induced unconsciousness, Ryan's mind catapulted him back to a pivotal moment from his youth – the Ontario Canadian Olympic Trials.
The stadium's noise swirled around him, but it was an entirely different world within the ring. There, it was just Ryan and his opponent, every move a testament to the sacrifices he and Robin(Ryan's longtime mentor both inside, and outside the ring) had made together.
Ryan's style in the ring was unique, a blend of calculated ferocity in speed and agility. He adopted the elusive, angular movements that Robin had honed while serving alongside the hardened Ukrainians on the frontlines of Kyiv. This style was compelling and unpredictable, frustrating his opponents with swift and efficient strikes. Ryan's ability to slip away from counters, almost serpentine in its execution, left them grasping at straws.
Point fighting for the Olympics was a system that worked well with Ryan's style but not necessarily with his mindset. Ryan was a fighter at heart, and sometimes, when pushed, the disciplined techniques would give way to a rawer form of combat. Robin, who always believed in Ryan's potential, saw this as his greatest fault and biggest asset to "push past." In his gruff but encouraging voice, Robin would often spew "The stink in that mind, You've got a head on you that'd make an onion cry," highlighting Ryan's occasionally impulsive nature, and inability to control his emotions when it mattered. This characteristic made Ryan fearless in the ring but also sloppy, open, and vulnerable. It often led him into trouble outside of the solace in prizefighting.
In these trials, Ryan's physical attributes – his slender frame, broad shoulders, wide back and a peculiarly long wingspan that gave him an imposing presence in his weight class – it made him stand out. His frame synchronized with his style, creating a truly unique spectacle of genetic gifts, hard work, and skill.
These memories blended nostalgia and pain as they flickered through Ryan's mind. They were reminders of a path once trodden, a journey shaped by the influence of a mentor and the determination of a fighter's spirit.
As the Olympic Trials set to begin, Robin looked to Ryan to instill confidence for his upcoming bouts, but Ryan was in his element. It was fight day, the fun day, the day to show off all of the hard work. Ryan had confidence, and his style in the ring displayed it in full. He moved with an angular rhythm that was both art and battle – slipping, landing a quick stiff counter cross, then gracefully stepping out of reach inches from returning fire. He made it look fun and easy, as if playing with his prey before fangs clench throat, delivering the killing bite. Looking closer, you can only see fire and determination in his bright eyes. He found purpose in the beautiful science of boxing. His strategy was that of a technical boxer, The Counterpuncher; 1. To bait his opponent into committing, then counter, fight long, fight smart. 2. Beat em' up, Frustrate em', then start slinging the heat in the uppercuts and lead hooks.
The bell rang and the fight was officially underway. Ryan controlled the ring with his long frame. Each exchange was rapid yet controlled, a dance of precise strikes and evasive maneuvers. The world's complexities faded in these moments, leaving only Ryan and the pure essence of the sport he loved. He felt invincible, a force of nature within the confines of the ring. To Ryan, the fight was more than a competition; it was a performance, an exhilarating escape from the mundane. It was true Purpose.
The intensity of the round reached a frustrating outburst by his opponent, who grabbed Ryan by the back of his head– 'SPLIT' called by the referee, his hand placed between them. A judge calls for a correction, catching the referee's attention only for a split second. In this second, Ryan's Opponent saw an opportunity. Lifting his head to move away, Ryan locks eyes with his Opponent, sporting a grin and delivering a sly headbutt as a parting gift. It's against the rules, but part of the game's harsh reality if gone unnoticed. Expelling energy and detesting it was a waste of fuel. It was a jolting reminder of "at all times"(protect yourself), a stark contrast to the discipline and respect Ryan upheld, starting his boxing journey in Thailand under "Muay Thai" rules, ideology of the worrior spirit and discipline. There was a sense of Honor in Lumpinee Stadium.
The outcome of these unsavoury tactics here is an advantage for the opponent. Ryan's inner pools erupt, his mind swirled with raging white waters, crashing and colliding against each other, two oceans with opposite currents meeting in his consciousness. His once technical thoughts, muscle memory mixed with fight iq burst with flames, erupting and incinerating all strategy in his path. His eyes widened, open like he'd found his primal genetic ancestry hidden deep within. The slaughter and the war of history. The bloodshed of 1000 lifetimes. He felt it all. Manic in thought. Ryan wanted to take his glove off and rip his cheeks open from the inside out--
BREAK - Ryan snaps back into it, erupting in stoic, silent, primal rage.

░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░ ░░░ ░░░ ░░ ░ ▒ ▒▒▒▒ ▒ ▒▒▒▒ ▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓ ▓▓▓ ▓ ▓▓▓ █ ███ ██ █ ████ █ ███████ █ ████ █ ████ ██ ██ █ █████████████████████████████████████ 

The fight escalated, Ryan's disciplined technique unravelled under the seething tide of his rage. The finesse and agility that once defined his footwork gave way to a heavier, more aggressive stance. His feet, usually light and swift under his commanding frame, now felt anchored to the floor, each step driven more by fury than finesse. This transformation in style played perilously into his opponent's advantage. Ryan, usually a master of stick-and-move tactics, found himself engaging in close-quarter brawls, trading his advantage for a risky gamble. His in-and-out maneuvers, once a blur of grace, turned into brutish, in-the-pocket exchanges. This was a terrain where his more muscular and compact opponent had the upper hand. A raw, primal contest of power replaced the tactical dance that Ryan excelled at. Ryan's precise strikes became wild swings, his movements predictable to his seasoned adversary. Seizing the moment, the opponent unleashed a devastating barrage of inside hooks with their compact frame. A vicious right hook, lands clean in the exchange, thrown with the grace of a milkbag, the power hooks brute force, cut through Ryan's defences. The blow landed with a bone-jarring impact, sending a shockwave through Ryan's frame. His world spun as he stumbled, his once dominant presence in the ring now faltering under the weight of his unchecked emotions.
The ground rushed up to meet him as he crashed onto the canvas, the taste of iron and the sting of defeat mingling in his mouth. The crowd's roar faded into a distant echo, a stark reminder of how quickly the tides of battle could turn. Robin's voice sliced through the ringing from the corner, resonating with a force that commanded attention.
"Get your shit together, JUMPIN JESUS RYAN! HEART OF GOLD AND HEAD OF STONE – GET UP, YOU LITTLE COWARD! YOU'RE LETTING IT WIN, AGAIN! STOP THIS ONION HEAD NONSENSE AND DANCE, BOX THIS FELLA – YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS, ACT LIKE IT, BELIEVE IN IT!"
His words were more than just a call to action; they were a lifeline thrown into the stormy seas of Ryan's mind. Each syllable was drenched in the raw, unfiltered wisdom that only a life spent in the cauldron of combat could forge. Robin's tone was a volatile cocktail of fury and concern, the urgency palpable in his voice. His palms crashed against the ring mat; each hit thunderous punctuation to his fiery sermon.
"You've got the talent, kid, but it's as good as ash if you keep burning it to the ground. I'M HERE FOR YOU, IM RIGHT HERE. SNAP OUT OF IT AND BOX THIS PLASTIC PATTY! MOVE GOD DAMNIT, GET UP!"
On the canvas, Ryan lay dazed, the echo of Robin's voice ringing in his ears. It was more than a mere pep talk; it was a wake-up call that struck a chord deep within him. Amidst the haze of the crowd murmurs and the pulsating pain that coursed through his body, clarity began to emerge. Lying there, Ryan grasped the essence of Robin's message –
"coward? letting it win? Playing my ego are ya Robin...hes right though. Im throwing this shit away."
This moment, sprawled on the canvas under the glaring lights and the crowd's gaze, became a crucible of transformation. The raw emotion and the hard-hitting truth in Robin's words ignited a spark in Ryan. It was time to rise, shake off the shadows of rage, and embrace a fighter's true spirit like he had learned in Thailand – not just with fists but with heart and mind in unison.
Staggered yet stirred by the dual impact of the physical hit and Robin's piercing words, A padded fist crushed into the rings canvas, followed by a kneee and the eruption of the crowd. Ryan was back, and he began to pull himself up from the canvas. His resolve, momentarily dimmed, now reignited with a fierce, clear, calculated intensity. Memories of the gruelling hours spent in the gym flooded back to him – the relentless sparring sessions, the time spent in Thailand, the sweat and toil, and the invaluable lessons etched into his being under Robin's stern tutelage.
With a renewed spirit, Ryan stepped back into the battle, his movements now embodying controlled power and a fluidity to his step. He recalled his time fighting beside the backdrop of the "Sarama" a traditional Thai music played when in combat. The times of learning to move, fight with the music, to flow, to be fluid, to be concise. Ryan finally put it all together in the heat of battle. He had merged his inherent ferocity with the disciplined technique that Robin relentlessly drilled into him, and the mindfull practises of the years he spent under Burklerk Pinsinchai in the jungles of Chiang Mai. His style was now fully displayed, raw and visceral yet refined by countless hours of practice in mind, body and spirit.
The final rounds bell clang to a start in a clinic of skill and sheer willpower. Ryan, driven by a blend of desperation and unwavering determination, unleashed a barrage of calculated and explosive strikes. Each punch and maneuver was a nod to the efficient, no-nonsense Ukrainian style that Robin had imparted to him. Ryan moved rhythmically across the mat, steps measured and precise, executing short, angular movements and deft outside counterpunches. He had returned to his element – the dance of combat, where he felt most alive, a symphony of movement where every step and punch was a testament to his life's journey and experiences as a human being first, and as a fighter second.
In this wake-up call, Ryan reinvigorated and reminded himself of his love for the sport, the exhilarating blend of art and athleticism. He was not just fighting to win; he was celebrating boxing, combat, honouring the path he had walked with Robin, and reclaiming what it meant to be a true fighter through Burklurk Pinsinchai's Teachings.
The round pressed on, and Ryan executed his maneuvers with a surgeon's precision. First;
-- The counterpuncher; a display in timing and accuracy, delivered with the full force of training and innate skill. --

1. He deftly slipped his opponent's cross, a move as fluid as it was swift.
   
2. He angled off, creating a space wide enough for his next move.
   
3. With an almost predatory precision, Ryan unleashed a powerful right cross, targeting his opponent's cheek from the angle he had just created. But Ryan wasn't done yet.
   
4. He slipped out again, evading any potential counter from his disoriented opponent. The rhythm, he danced in and out with his precise timing, perfected down to inches and angles.
   
5. In a final, decisive movement of the exchange, Ryan slipped in. He timed his step with a long cross that came off-beat, catching his opponent utterly off-guard. The punch landed with a satisfying impact, culminating in a perfectly executed combination. As he watched his opponent stagger, Ryan couldn't help but think, 'cya sleepy boi,' a silent acknowledgment of his dominance in this singular exchange.
   

This sequence was a statement. Ryan was not only back in the fight but also commanding it.
ONE!…TWO!…THREE!…FOUR!…FIVE!…SIX!...SEVEN!..EIGHT!
Ryan's opponent stands, admirable, but futile, driven by sheer will but hampered by sluggish movements, the man rose to his feet, it was clear the fight was reaching its zenith.
The opponent, gathering his remaining strength for a final stand, launched a jab, a last-ditch effort relying more on brute force than finesse. But this was a fatal mistake in Ryan's world – playing right into what Ryan was best at. Counters.
Ryan read the move with the clarity of a seasoned fighter. As the jab came, he effortlessly slipped to the right, evading the punch with a short angular step that spoke of his ring intelligence. Instantly, he countered with the same sharp cross from his right hand, followed by a devastating hook that cut through the air with lethal intent in his left. Grasping at straws, reeling from the counter, Ryans opponent threw a desperate, looping last stand punch, Ryan dipped down and left, rolling the punch with an elegance that made it seem almost effortless. He was Hunting for the Kill Shot. Seizing the moment, Ryan unleashed a ferocious left uppercut, the force of the blow lifting his opponent's chin skyward. He followed up with a right overhand, but just before impact, he halted the punch. There was no need for it; his opponent was already collapsing, the "Lights were on, but no one was Home". The fight was effectively over, Ryan's last combination is the final note, a crescendo that echoed through the ring.
As his opponent hit the canvas, the crowd erupted. Ryan stood in the center of the ring, his chest heaving, every fibre of his being alight with the thrill of victory. This wasn't just a win; it was a performance, a display of skill, heart, and the indomitable spirit of a fighter who had walked through fire and flames to the otherside and emerge victorious.
The final bell Rings with not a single chair in the arena warm; a thunderous clap erupts from the crowd. It was more than just applause; it was an acknowledgment of a battle fiercely fought by both men. In that moment ringside, in a triumphant victory, Ryan and Robin shared a look that spoke volumes, a connection far beyond the usual bounds of mentor and protégé. Their bond, tempered in the crucible of hardship and struggle, was now sealed in the glory of this defining triumph.
Standing amidst the cheers and the adrenaline-fueled euphoria, Ryan found himself momentarily lost in the tide of memories. It was a poignant reminder of the journey that had brought him here, a path marked by triumphs and losses. Robin's teachings transcended the confines of boxing; they were life lessons imprinted deep onto him. Ryan began to slowly step out of the ring; the weight of these reflections settled upon him. The victory was sweet, but it carried the weight of all sacrificed to achieve it. Robin's presence was felt strongly, a guiding force that continued to shape his path, illuminating the way forward even in the most challenging times.

How To Crop An Image On Facebook Using A PC Web Version *2024
https://youtu.be/27aJgRsRtdQ
How to Crop an Image on Facebook Using a PC: Easy Tutorial!
Description: Welcome to our tutorial on cropping images on Facebook using your PC! Cropping allows you to trim and adjust the composition of your photos before sharing them with friends or posting them to your timeline. In this step-by-step guide, we'll walk you through the process of cropping an image directly within Facebook's interface on your PC browser.
Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more helpful tutorials and social media tips. If you have any questions or suggestions for future tutorials, feel free to leave them in the comments below. Thanks for watching!
Simple Steps

1. Open your browser and log into Facebook.
2. In the "Whats On Your Mind" section click on "Photo/Video".
3. Click on "Add Photo/Video", select your photo and click on "Open".
4. In the new dialog box click on "Edit".
5. In the left side pane click on "Crop".
6. On the image, you will see anchor points at each corner, hold down the left mouse button and pull in to crop.
7. In the left side pane click on "Save". 8.. Click on "post" to post the image.

#facebook #videotutorial #instructionaldesign #howto

Hello, high school math teacher here. I saw this question in a FaceBook group and it caused a lot of controversy, so I wanted to know math's thoughts.
https://www.desmos.com/calculatoyatdmwhutd
The discussion centered on if Desmos is correct in showing the point (-6, 0) as a zero rather than a hole.
I'm tempted to say Desmos is wrong.
Let Q(x) = f(x)/g(x)
In our case, g(x) is UNDEFINED at x=-6. Q(x) cannot be defined at -6, as it's not in the domain of one of the functions Q is built from... Right?
What makes this distinct from any example I've encountered is the (x+6) factor doesn't cancel out. Holes as I previously understood them always result from factors in the denominator that cancel. I've also never considered such a stacked monstrosity though.
If we instead define Q(x) as f times the reciprocal of g from the start, then (x+6) is never in a denominator and doesn't cause any continuity issues.
I think it might be debatable whether the two versions of Q are the same. Desmos obviously thinks they are... but I don't feel they are.
Is this just an ill-defined problem? Is it fine as stated with an objectively correct answer? For the record Wolfram shows the domain as all reals except -6, -3, -2, 0, and 6. But even if that's THE answer, what about the notational equivalence between fraction/fraction vs fraction * divisor fraction's reciprocal? I feel like the bigger fraction bar implies resolving the divisions above and below PRIOR to a third division, and that's what this boils down to? Just like those viral math problems on FB that use a ➗ symbol instead of a fraction bar to purpose make it ambiguous?
Originally posted to math but removed because I don't meet their bar for lofty ideas 🙄

Date: 05/10/2024

Reading time: 3 minutes, 657 words

🏛️ Politics & Government

Georgian PM says his Government is ready to establish relations between Georgia and EU, US “even closer”

Georgian PM Irakli Kobakhidze says his Government is ready to establish relations between Georgia and the European Union and the United States. He said the more steps are taken from the other side, the better. The PM called on international partners to “ensure as much as possible” the rapprochement of Georgia with both the USA and the EU.

AgendaGe

Nordic-Baltic Countries: Agents Bill “Incompatible with EU Norms and Values,” Disrupts European Future

Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania say the bill is incompatible with European norms and values. The Nordic-Baltic countries dismiss the comparisons of the bill with the EU draft legislation by the Georgian authorities.

CivilGe

U.S. State Department Condemns Harassment and Physical Assault of Agents Law Protesters

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller condemned reports from Georgia of harassment and physical attacks against civil society and opposition activists and journalists. Georgia has witnessed an orchestrated intimidation and attacks by violent thugs on civil society activists, opposition politicians and journalists for their critical stance on the foreign agents law.

CivilGe

PM Addresses “Sincere, Misled Youths,” Says Opponents Have “Lower IQ”

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze published an “open letter’s” on Facebook addressing “sincere” but “misled” youths on May 10. He said people with high self-confidence and lack of intelligence are “more dangerous than a Russian tank” once again attacked youth protest movements.

CivilGe

Eleven Detained During March on Chavchavadze Avenue

Eleven people were detained on May 9 on Chavchavadze Avenue, where police confronted protesters marching after the controversial arrest of military blogger and activist Ucha Abashidze. Five of them have already been released on parole. Two more opposition politicians were beaten by violent groups the same night in Tbilisi.

CivilGe, MIA: Firearms, ammunition and cartridges were seized from blogger Ucha Abashidze’s house

Parliament Chairman Speaks about ‘Spiral of Violence’, Slams Embassies, Donors

Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili blames NGOs and radical opposition for recent wave of violence against government critics. He also accused foreign Embassies and donors of turning a blind eye to what he claimed was “NGO-led violence’s” during rallies against the foreign agents law. The Speaker said he rejected request from heads of the Parliaments’ foreign affairs committees of several countries who asked to meet with him during their planned visit to Georgia next week.

CivilGe, International Reactions to Intimidation, Violence Campaign Against Civil Activists, Opposition Politicians over Foreign Agents Law

💵 Economy

Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion and ASYAD Group Showcase Oman’s Investment Potential at AIM Congress 2024

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) partnered with Asyad Group, Oman’s global integrated logistics provider. The 13th edition of the AIM Congress, which took place from May 7-9, 2024, at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi. Under the theme ‘Adapting to A Shifting Investment Landscape: Harnessing New Potentials for Global Economic Development’

GeorgiaToday

Export from Georgia to Israel increases

In the first quarter of 2023, products worth 4,648.33 thousand dollars were imported from Georgia to Israel, and in the same period of 2024, 8,670.21 thousand dollars. Accordingly, the export to Israel has increased by 87%.

GeorgiaToday

Date: 05/09/2024

Reading time: 3 minutes, 742 words

🏛️ Politics & Government

Orchestrated Intimidation of Protesters Against Agents’ Bill

Since the beginning of the protests against the Foreign Agents Law, there have been multiple attempts by still unidentified perpetrators to intimidate the protesters. These actions seem to be part of a well-organized campaign of intimidation against the opponents of the GD. Speaker of the Parliament Shalva Papuashvili on May 8 announced that Georgian Dream, through its party structures is launching a database containing information on all individuals.

CivilGe, CSOs: Government Violence Cannot Stop Georgian People’s European Aspirations, Ombudsman Calls for Law Enforcement Response to May 8 Beatings of Protest Activists, Public Defender: Attacks on civilians require immediate and effective response

The Correct but Untenable Geopolitical Quadrangle

Georgia has been trying for quite a while now to convince the world that living within a peaceful and potentially fruitful geopolitical configuration could well be the most optimal way for us to survive and successfully develop. Sakartvelo-West-Russia-East-Quadrangle has proven to be of little effect in the current neo-realistic world order, with a looming multipolar international arrangement.

GeorgiaToday

MIA Says Detained Six Demonstrators, Announces Further Criminal Investigations Against Protesters

Six people arrested during the ongoing rallies against the Foreign Agents Bill on charges of assaulting a police officer and damaging property. Director of the Tbilisi Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sulkhan Tamazashvili, held a briefing on the six people arrested on May 9. He announced new criminal investigation against all whose speeches during the rallies contain “criminal offenses”

CivilGe

Interior Minister on attacks: I condemn all kinds of violence

Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri has responded to the attacks on civil activists. 6 persons arrested on charges of assaulting a policeman and damaging property at the rally of the opponents of the ‘Transparency of Foreign Influences’ law.

GeorgiaToday

Georgian Ambassador to France Resigns Over Foreign Agents Law

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the French Republic and the Principality of Monaco, Gotcha Javakhishvili announced his resignation over the reintroduced Foreign Agents Bill. According to him, the atmosphere that was created between Georgia and its friends and partners due to the re-introduction of the bill made his job “extremely difficult”

CivilGe, MP Maka Botchorishvili on the “Foreign Agents” Bill and Georgia’s Chances at EU Integration under Georgian Dream Leadership

Ambassador Herczyński, President Zurabishvili Address Europe Day Event, GD Absent

European Union Ambassador to Georgia Paweł Herczyński and Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili spoke at a special Europe Day gala concert at the Rustaveli Theater. The addresses resonated with pertinent issues such as Georgia’s alienation from the EU due to the Foreign Agents Law and the strengthening of authoritarian tendencies.

CivilGe, EU Ambassador Herczyński Calls on Georgia to ‘Stay on the EU Path’ on Europe Day, Georgia to Celebrate First Europe Day with European Union Candidate Status, Georgia to Celebrate First Europe Day with European Union Candidate Status, Georgia to Celebrate First Europe Day with European Union Candidate Status

⚽ Sport

Paolo Barjija on the future of Napoli and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

Paolo Barjija shared insights on the future of the Napoli club and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on Radio Capri’s program Bordocampo. Antonio Conte had no intention of joining Napoli, while Fiorentina's Vincenzo Italiano is being considered.

GeorgiaToday

Date: 05/08/2024

Reading time: 2 minutes, 552 words

🪖 Military

Georgian Citizen Illegally Detained by Russian Occupation Forces

Another Georgian citizen was illegally detained by the Russian occupation forces in the vicinity of the village of Akhalubani, Gori municipality, near the Tskhinvali occupation line. All existing mechanisms for the release of illegally detained Georgians have been activated, the SSSG reported.

CivilGe, Two Georgians Illegally Detained by Russian Occupation Forces Released

Two More Georgian Fighters Killed in Ukraine

Davit Ghoghadze and Beso Lomidze were killed in the vicinity of the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. The latest casualty brings to 50 Georgian citizens who have died fighting in Ukraine since Russian invasion on February 24.

CivilGe

🏛️ Politics & Government

GYLA Raises Alarm Over Surge In Abusive Phone Calls Amid Protests, Alleges Personal Data Breach

The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) voiced concern about a recent wave of abusive and intimidating phone calls targeting individuals involved in ongoing protests against the foreign agents law. The GYLA alleges a violation of the processing of personal data, possibly involving the use of state agencies’ databases. The Personal Data Protection Service said that it is studying the legality of processing of citizens’ telephone numbers.

CivilGe, MIA Showcases Violent Rally Dispersals Abroad, Threatens Similar Actions Against Agents’ Bill Protesters, Speaker Announces Launch of Incriminating Database on Opponents, GD to create database where information will be gathered about those “involved in violence”, GD to create database where information will be gathered about those “involved in violence”

OGP Gives 30 Days to Government to Develop Working Plan Addressing Key Concerns

The Open Government Partnership’s Criteria and Standards Subcommittee issued a response policy document on May 6. Georgia's Open Government Interagency Coordination Council raised concerns about the reintroduced Foreign Agents Law. Georgia has until June 6 to develop a comprehensive plan to address the identified challenges. Failure to do so may lead to Georgia's suspension from OGP unless concerns are addressed.

CivilGe

💵 Economy

The EU and UNDP supports new opportunities for entrepreneurs across Georgia

EU and UNDP support opened new opportunities for thousands of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs across Georgia empowering them to embrace greener, more innovative, and more sustainable business practices.

GeorgiaToday

Date: 05/07/2024

Reading time: 4 minutes, 846 words

🪖 Military

An attack on Volodymyr Zelensky was prevented in Ukraine

Ukraine's President of the State Volodymyr Zelensky was planned to be attacked and killed. The head of military intelligence Kirill Budanov and head of State Security Service Vasyl Maliuk should have been killed before Easter, officials say. The assassination of the head of the state security service was intended as an inaugural gift to Putin, they say.

EuroNewsGeorgia

🏛️ Politics & Government

ECtHR Finds Failure of Criminal Investigation in ‘Gavrilov’s Night’ Cases, Orders State to Pay Damages

At least 240 people, including 40 journalists and 80 police officers, were injured in the police dispersal of the anti-occupation rally outside the Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi on June 20-21, 2019. The ECHR finds the violation of Article 3 only in the procedural part, not in the substantive part, taking into account the complex nature of the investigation and the fact that many applicants applied prematurely.

CivilGe, Strasbourg Resolution on "Gavrilov Night"

Opponents of Pashinyan march from Tavush to Yerevan

Residents of the northeastern province of Armenia, Tavush, started marching to Yerevan to protest against the Armenian government's decision to transfer land to Azerbaijan. In April, Armenia and Azerbaijan came one step closer to normalizing relations. According to the agreement reached, Armenia cedes certain territory to Azerbaijan.

EuroNewsGeorgia

Russia bans “foreign agents” from participating in elections

Russian lawmakers have passed a bill banning "foreign agents" from running for political office in the country. It is the latest in a series of tightening restrictions against those whom the Kremlin accuses of working in the interests of Western governments. The bill will now be sent to the upper-house Federation Council, after which it will need to be signed by President Vladimir Putin.

GeorgiaToday

"The basis of Putin's regime is lies and corruption" - Navalnaya

Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, urges Russian citizens not to give up in the fight against Putin's regime. She says now Russia is ruled by liars, thieves and murderers. Navalny's associates believe that Navalny was killed on Putin's orders.

EuroNewsGeorgia

Speaker Again Lashes Out at NED, EED, MEPs for ‘Non-transparency,’ Funding ‘Radicalism,’ Political Parties

Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili again attacks the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the European Endowment. He accuses them of lacking transparency and funding what he called a “violent” local NGO, the Shame Movement, and, indirectly, political parties. The “I threw it” campaign was initiated by the “Shame Movement” to support of Lazare Grigoriadis, who was accused of allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at the police and setting fire to the police car during the March 7-9 protests.

CivilGe

MEPs Call for Suspension of EU Candidate Status for Georgia

Leading MEPs call for suspension of Georgia’s EU candidate status, review of EU funding of the Georgian state budget. The MEPs, in a letter of May 7 to European Commission Vice-President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, say that “continued undemocratic behaviour of Georgian authorities has crossed the line”

CivilGe, MEPs to Borrell: Georgia’s candidate status should be suspended, authorities crossed the line, MEPs to Borrell: Georgia’s candidate status should be suspended, authorities crossed the line

Fifth term and fifth oath - another inauguration of Putin

Vladimir Putin took the presidential oath for the fifth time in the St. Andrew's Hall of the Kremlin. Few doubt that Putinism is the modern incarnation of Stalinism, writes Alexander Nemenov. Putin does not seem willing to deviate from his path of destruction, repression and antagonism towards free countries, he writes.

EuroNewsGeorgia

SIS: Investigation into Police Brutality Ongoing

On May 7, the Georgian Special Investigation Service (SIS) released a statement saying it is collecting evidence concerning the allegations of police violence against the participants of the April-May protest rallies. SIS immediately launched a criminal inquest into possible facts of exceeding authority through the use of violence.

CivilGe

Top Abkhaz Diplomat Dismissed, Goes to Moscow

Inal Ardzinba is the de facto foreign minister of the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, fired without giving a reason. He recently appeared at the Russian First Channel, the main Russian propaganda outlet, as an anchor of the talk show titled “The Global Majority” with Bashar Assad as his first guest.

CivilGe

A week of rallies against the Russian law to be held in regions of Georgia

A week of rallies against the “Russian” law is planned in the regions of Georgia. Citizens will gather in Zugdidi, Gori, Kutaisi and Borjomi to protest against the law.

GeorgiaToday

💵 Economy

EBRD Warns Against Foreign Agents Law

The president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso warned that the foreign agents law may hurt investment in Georgia and the country’s economy. “We were surprised to see it coming back, and we are concerned by the dynamics of what's involved,” he said.

CivilGe

Close friendly ties, economic cooperation in focus of meeting between Georgian FM, Swedish Foreign Trade Minister

Georgia and Sweden discussed close friendly ties and growing trade and economic cooperation. The sides highlighted the importance of having a “very close” political dialogue. The parties reaffirmed their willingness to continue close and mutually beneficial cooperation both bilaterally and multilaterally.

AgendaGe, Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation Visits Georgia

Date: 05/06/2024

Reading time: 0 minutes, 34 words

🪖 Military

Another Georgian Fighter Killed in Ukraine

Soso Gugutashvili was a fighter with the “Black Eagle’s combat unit. He was killed in the vicinity of the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. 48 Georgian citizens have died fighting in Ukraine since February 24.

CivilGe

Date: 05/05/2024

Reading time: 0 minutes, 45 words

🏛️ Politics & Government

Patriarch’s Easter Epistle Urges Unity Through “Love of Motherland” Despite Confrontation

The 2024 Easter Epistle of Patriarch Ilia II accentuated the need for unity and peace. He lamented the distraction of people from spiritual thoughts to earthly life due to recent “political processes” He called for unity out of “love for the homeland” despite people’s differences.

CivilGe

Date: 05/04/2024

Reading time: 0 minutes, 98 words

🪖 Military

Sakpatenti, WIPO joint project, supporting production of unique Georgian products, completed

Project on Collective Management, Branding and Commercialisation of Selected Registered GI in Georgia was completed. It aimed to support farmers, associations and entrepreneurs who produce unique Georgian products marked with geographical indications and appellations of origin. Tushetian Guda cheese was selected, on which training sessions were delivered for producers.

AgendaGe

🏛️ Politics & Government

President Denounces Ivanishvili’s “Provocative” Speech, Urges High-Level European Visits

Salome Zurabishvili said ruling Georgian Dream founder and honorary chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili’s speech at the April 29 counter-rally in support of the Foreign Agents Bill “was very provocative” The President said Georgia is in a “tense” situation and called on Ambassadors to encourage high-level visits from Europe in May.

CivilGe

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Hey. My go-to for a while was Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro. Love the UI of it, and it kinda does the job in terms of functionality. But I've had alot of frustrations with it for a while, and recently found out that redditors/reviewers deem it pretty ineffective. Been perusing multiple duplicate photo/file finder posts and found a bunch of recommendations I'm going to try. Czkawka seems to come up a bunch.
Though there are a few comments about effectiveness of similarity, something no one touches on is the similarity between original vs. screenshot of original;
Ie. My partner has a bad habit of opening facebook photos on her phone then screenshotting it, rather than simply downloading the photo. This usually creates additional details within this image: different dimensions, exif details, and details within the photo (black borders, cell symbols/buttons/icons, hovering chat icons, etc.)
I've used a couple photo finder apps, and even on low similarity settings, the apps cant seem to recognize the photos. Wondering if anyone has any insight on this? Don't want to download 10 different apps just to find out none of them (or the very last one) can do it.
Appreciate the help

​
https://preview.redd.it/6wnd66m9nmzc1.png?width=300&format=png&auto=webp&s=c62371d95f75fb76934335c523130a850c32b559
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So I have a huge over arching quest that has started from level one. It goes until level 15
Basically Every one has a tattoo on their arm that powers up. The way it powers up is the characters are using devices to pull powers from the space between planes when ever they planar traval. Because of the way my campaign is made they do that 5 times.
As they do it I have a bunch of random encounters that escalate that are themed from the different planes.
At the end of the quest they have two options. They must remove their arms and destroy them in a ritual (which is not a big deal in eberron). But they lose their arms and this mega powerful legendary artifact essentially.
OR
They can choose to destroy one of the other Planes. I have Ideas on how to handle this but it would obviously be devastating and world changing.
If they dont do it what are some consolidations? Obviously a masterwork prosthetic. But what can I give that to make it at least kind of worth it.
heres what I have so far.....

Magic Tattoos: Havoc Seal

Every player receives a glowing tattoo known as the Havoc Seal. These tattoos can be upgraded by the tattoo artist located at the Sharn headquarters once the stolen ledger is retrieved. :  {width:325px,mix-blend-mode:multiply}
:

Clive Arcane Tattoo artist

Clive is a middle aged gnome that is obsessed with magical tattoos. He has found a way to refine the fabric of reality into ink is looking for a team to obtain Starlight Condensate using his home made gathering crystals
{width:320px,mix-blend-mode:multiply,border:"2px solid",border-radius:10px} :

Enhancements Overview

The tattoos can be enhanced when working with the tattoo artist. He can use special resources that are gathered to add attributes to a person’s arsenal. : The Players should come to rely on these tatoos. They should be powerful but not game breaking. Feel free to not allow certain combinations due to arcane imbalance or backlash. :
{{note Collection of Starlight Condensate: - Description: Starlight Condensate is a mystical, luminescent liquid that forms only in places where the veil between the Material Plane and the Astral Plane is thinnest. This rare substance, believed to be the crystallized essence of astral light, has traveled across the cosmos and permeated the fabric of reality. - Properties: When used in the enhancement of magic tattoos, the Condensate imbues them with celestial energy, unlocking latent powers and allowing for deeper customization and more potent effects. - Collection Method: The tattoo artist provides each party member with a hollow crystal. When traveling through a rift between planes, this crystal fills with Starlight Condensate. }}
{width:350px,mix-blend-mode:multiply,border:"2px solid",border-radius:10px}
\page

Consequences

Planar Instabilities

The Havoc Seal tattoos provide incredible power, but their use can destabilize the boundaries between planes, leading to increasingly severe consequences.

Detecting Destabilization

Whenever the party traverses a planar portal, they can roll a d20 Arcana check to sense the destabilization.
Flavor Text: "As you step through the shimmering veil of the planar portal, a wave of arcane energy washes over you. The air tingles with the resonance of distant realms, and a deep hum vibrates through your very being. A sense of unease settles in as you instinctively reach out with your arcane senses, trying to grasp the subtle threads of reality that waver and distort around you."

Tier 1: Minor Disturbances

• Planar Overlaps:
  
  • Problem: Subtle fusions of the Feywild or Shadowfell with the Material Plane cause minor anomalies and the appearance of strange creatures.
  • Stabilization: Perform basic rituals, secure minor artifacts, or seek help from plane natives to close small rifts.
• Temporal Distortions:
  
  • Problem: Slight irregularities in time flow, with minor accelerations or decelerations.
  • Stabilization: Locate and use Chrono Crystals or consult mages for minor time flow adjustments.
• Elemental Imbalances:
  
  • Problem: Small-scale weather anomalies and minor elemental disturbances.
  • Stabilization: Conduct elemental rituals at key sites, possibly with elemental gems.
• Planar Gateways:
  
  • Problem: Occasional opening of small portals, allowing minor creatures to pass through.
  • Stabilization: Use basic spells or tools to close portals and guard against minor entities.
• Ghostly Incursions:
  
  • Problem: Increased sightings of ghostly apparitions and minor hauntings.
  • Stabilization: Use Veil Stones or simple rituals to calm spirits and strengthen barriers. :: ## Tier 2: Significant Anomalies
• Planar Overlaps:
  
  • Problem: Noticeable merging of planes with more pronounced environmental changes and aggressive creatures.
  • Stabilization: Perform advanced rituals, secure significant artifacts, or gain aid from powerful plane beings.
• Temporal Distortions:
  
  • Problem: More severe time flow issues, with significant accelerations and decelerations.
  • Stabilization: Find powerful Chrono Crystals or consult high-level mages for major adjustments.
• Elemental Imbalances:
  
  • Problem: Pronounced weather disturbances and frequent elemental manifestations.
  • Stabilization: Perform complex rituals and use powerful elemental gems or seek aid from elemental spirits.
• Planar Gateways:
  
  • Problem: Frequent openings of larger portals, allowing dangerous creatures to pass through.
  • Stabilization: Use advanced spells or tools to close portals and maintain vigilant guards against more dangerous entities.
• Ghostly Incursions:
  
  • Problem: Frequent ghostly apparitions and severe hauntings.
  • Stabilization: Strengthen barriers with powerful Veil Stones or perform complex rituals to calm spirits.

\page

Tier 3: Severe Instabilities

• Planar Overlaps:
  
  • Problem: Extensive merging of planes with drastic environmental changes and powerful, hostile creatures.
  • Stabilization: Conduct major rituals, secure legendary artifacts, or gain aid from ancient plane beings.
• Temporal Distortions:
  
  • Problem: Extreme irregularities in time flow, with chaotic accelerations and decelerations.
  • Stabilization: Use legendary Chrono Crystals or seek out archmages for significant recalibrations.
• Elemental Imbalances:
  
  • Problem: Widespread elemental chaos causing natural disasters and summoning of potent elemental beings.
  • Stabilization: Perform major rituals at critical sites and use rare elemental gems or powerful spirit aid.
• Planar Gateways:
  
  • Problem: Constant openings of massive portals, unleashing powerful and dangerous entities.
  • Stabilization: Utilize legendary spells or tools to close portals and maintain constant vigilance against formidable entities.
• Ghostly Incursions:
  
  • Problem: Overwhelming ghostly presence and widespread hauntings.
  • Stabilization: Use legendary Veil Stones or conduct powerful rituals to calm spirits and restore peace. \column ### Interacting with Clive, the Tattoo Artist

Clive’s Reaction: - Initial Concerns (Tier 1): When the party mentions minor disturbances, Clive dismisses their concerns with a casual wave. "Oh, just a little side effect of tapping into such potent energies. Nothing to worry about!"

• Growing Anomalies (Tier 2): As the instabilities become more significant, Clive remains nonchalant, brushing off their concerns with a laugh. "A few quirks of magic! You’ll hardly notice them in your grand adventures!"
  
• Severe Instabilities (Tier 3): By this stage, Clive’s demeanor changes. His eyes have a wild gleam, and his reassurances are laced with a hint of madness. "The chaos is a small price for such power! Don’t you see? It’s magnificent!"
  

Escalation Summary: - The instabilities start as minor disturbances, growing in complexity and severity as the party continues to use their enhanced tattoos. By Tier 3, the destabilization is profound, threatening the very fabric of the Material Plane and revealing the depths of Clive’s obsession with the arcane power he harnesses.
\page

Quest: Tattoo Undo

“The Anchors of Reality”
Objective: Stabilize the planar boundaries to prevent further destabilization caused by the Havoc Seal tattoos.
If the players have never noticed the chaos in the world or they don't care

Receiving Tier 4 Tattoos

• Event: The party receives their powerful Tier 4 tattoos from Clive.
• Consequences: Immediately after, the whole of reality shakes, signaling a severe destabilization. {{note “As the final strokes of the tattoo needle embed the last of the powerful runes into your skin, the very fabric of reality quakes. The ground trembles, and a ripple of distortion pulses through the air, a harbinger of impending chaos.” }}

Part 1: Discovery and Conflict

A team of magical researchers burst into HavocHavens' front doors shouting for what ever we are doing to stop. The whole of reality is caving in on itself

Clive’s Revelation:

Confront the tattoo artist Clive at the Sharn headquarters. He reveals his true intentions, showing signs of madness, obsessed with the chaotic power of the tattoos.
{{note “Clive’s eyes gleam with a manic light as he dismisses your concerns with wild gestures. ‘Can’t you see? The chaos, the power—it’s magnificent! We’re on the brink of something extraordinary!’” }}
\column

Part 2: Quest for the Anchors

• Gathering Information:
  
  • Objective: Uncover the locations and nature of the Anchors.
  • Tasks:
  • Libraries of Morgrave University: Delve into ancient tomes and scrolls.
    • Challenge: Solve intricate puzzles or decode encrypted texts.
  • Consulting Planar Beings: Seek wisdom from entities like planar guardians or spirits.
    • Challenge: Negotiate or complete tasks for these beings to gain their knowledge.
  • Retrieving Ancient Texts: Explore ruins or hidden vaults in Sharn to find lost writings.
    • Challenge: Overcome traps and guardians protecting these texts.
• Repairing the Anchors:
  
  • Objective: Restore the stability of each Anchor.
  • Tasks:
  • Puzzle Challenges: Solve complex mechanisms linked to each Anchor.
  • Guardian Encounters: Defeat or appease powerful beings guarding the Anchors.
  • Cleansing Corruption: Purge dark energies or malevolent forces corrupting the Anchors.
• Planar Travel:
  
  • Objective: Journey through diverse and dangerous planes to reach each Anchor.
  • Planes to Explore:
  • The Feywild: Navigate enchanted forests and negotiate with capricious fey.
  • The Shadowfell: Traverse shadowy landscapes and confront undead horrors.
  • The Elemental Planes: Brave the fury of elemental realms and their denizens.

\page

Part 3: Final Confrontation

• Confronting Clive:
  
  • Scenario: Clive, now a powerful planar entity, stands at the heart of the instability.
  • Choice:
  • Confrontation: Battle Clive to stop his reckless plans.
    • Challenge: Overcome Clive’s enhanced abilities and his chaotic manipulation of planar energies.
  • Alliance: Convince Clive to assist in stabilizing the planes.
    • Challenge: Persuade Clive, possibly through trials or showing the dire consequences of continued instability.
• Resolution:
  
  • Fate of the Tattoos:
  • Option 1: Sacrifice Arms
    • Objective: Perform a ritual to sacrifice their arms, stabilizing the planes.
    • Outcome: Gain magical prosthetics with unique powers.
    • Magical Prosthetic Arm: Infused with stabilizing magic, granting enhanced strength, arcane capabilities, or unique defensive traits.
  • Option 2: Sacrifice a Realm
    • Objective: Stabilize the planes by sacrificing one of the realms.
    • Realms and Consequences:
    • Feywild: The loss of the Feywild causes a decline in natural magic and the disappearance of fey creatures.
    • Shadowfell: Sacrificing the Shadowfell diminishes the influence of death, making resurrection easier but disrupting the balance between life and death.
    • Elemental Planes (Fire, Water, Air, Earth): Each elemental plane sacrificed leads to a permanent imbalance in the corresponding element, causing long-term natural disasters.
    • Ethereal Plane: Losing the Ethereal Plane makes ethereal travel and spells impossible, weakening connections to spirits and ghosts.
    • Astral Plane: Sacrificing the Astral Plane disrupts long-distance planar travel and weakens the power of psionics.
    • Dal Quor: The loss of Dal Quor ends dreams and nightmares, affecting all beings’ rest and creativity.

Flavor Text for Resolution: “As the chaotic energies subside, you stand at a crossroads. The choice before you is monumental—sacrifice your own power and flesh to restore balance, or condemn an entire realm to save the planes. The weight of your decision will echo through the planes, shaping the future of Eberron itself.”
Heres the enhancments. I am crediting GM GUILD book ancestral weapons for the powerups as I like them

Havoc Seal Enhancements

Tier 0: Level 1+ Upgrades

• For your Eyes Only: Once per short rest you can encrypt the contents of a single page. This page can only be encrypted by some one who also has a Havoc Seal

Tier 1: Level 1+ Upgrades

• Duelist (Level 1): When you are hit by a melee attack you can see, you can channel the tattoo's energy to increase your AC by 1 using your reaction.
• Enhanced Combat (Level 1): Gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with any weapon you wield.
• Infusion (Level 1): Upon activating this tattoo, select a damage type (acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, radiant, thunder). Your attacks deal an additional d6 damage of that type.
• Magus (Level 1): While you channel through any weapon, gain a +1 bonus to spell attack rolls and AC.
• Magical Core (Level 1): Embed a cantrip within the tattoo. Use an action to cast this cantrip. Can be used twice per long rest. Spell attack bonus is +4, and spell save DC is 12.
• Slayer (Level 1): Choose an enemy type (beasts, fey, humanoids, monstrosities, undead). Attacks deal 2d6 additional damage to these creatures.
• Spell Link (Level 1): For spellcasters only, gain an additional level 1 spell slot, refreshed on a long rest.
• Spell Storing (Level 1 & 2): Store a level 1 or 2 spell within the tattoo. Cast it using an action; long rest required to recharge. Spell attack bonus is +4, spell save difficulty is 12/14 respectively.
• Bully: Gain advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks when visible to the target.
• Charmward: Gain advantage on saving throws against being charmed.
• Darkvision: Gain darkvision out to 60 feet. If you already have darkvision, extend its range by 60 feet.

\column

Tier 2: Level 5+ Upgrades

• Amplify (Level 1): Gain +1 to an ability score of your choice, up to a maximum of 20.
• Duelist (Level 2): Use your reaction when hit by a melee attack to add 2 to your AC.
• Enhanced Combat (Level 2): Gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls with any weapon you wield.
• Proficient (Level 1 & 2): Gain proficiency in one or two skills of your choice.
• Guardian (Level 1): Gain proficiency in a saving throw of your choice.
• Magical Core (Level 2): Embed any cantrip within the tattoo. Cast at will; Spell attack bonus is +4, and spell save DC is 14.
• Spell Storing (Level 3): Store a level 3 spell within the tattoo. Cast using an action; requires a long rest to recharge. Spell attack bonus is +6, spell save difficulty is 14.
• Mobile (Level 1): Increase your base movement speed by 5 feet.
• Bolstering: When targeted by a healing spell, regain additional hit points equal to your Constitution modifier.
• Ritualist: Halve the time required to cast spells as rituals while the tattoo is active.
• Shadowed: Enhance your cover in combat; ½ cover counts as ¾ cover. \page

Tier 3: Level 10+ Upgrades

• Duelist (Level 3): Use your reaction when hit by a melee attack to add 3 to your AC.
• Enhanced Combat (Level 3): Gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls with any weapon you wield.
• Flying: Gain a flying speed equal to your movement speed.
• Infusion (Level 2): Choose a damage type; your attacks deal an additional 2d6 damage of that type.
• Magical Core (Level 3): Embed any level 1 spell within the tattoo. Cast twice per long rest; Spell attack bonus is +8, spell save DC is 16.
• Spell Link (Level 3): For spellcasters only, gain an additional level 3 spell slot, refreshed on a long rest.
• Spell Storing (Level 4): Store a level 4 spell within the tattoo. Cast using an action; requires a long rest to recharge. Spell attack bonus is +8, spell save difficulty is 16.
• Indomitable (Level 2): When reduced to 0 hit points, take the Attack action before falling unconscious.
• Elemental Resistance: Gain resistance to one damage type of your choice (fire, cold, lightning, etc.).
• Proficient (Level 3): Gain proficiency in three skills of your choice.

Tier 4: Level 15+ Upgrades

• Amplify (Level 2): Gain +2 to an ability score of your choice, to a maximum of 20.
• Guardian (Level 2): Gain proficiency and advantage on a saving throw of your choice when you can see the source of the effect.
• Magical Core (Level 4): Embed any level 1 spell within the tattoo. Cast at will; Spell attack bonus is +8, and the spell save DC is 16.
• Slayer (Level 2): Choose an enemy type (beasts, fey, humanoids, monstrosities, undead). Your attacks deal 4d6 additional damage to these creatures.
• Spell Storing (Level 4): Store a level 5 spell within the tattoo. Cast using an action; requires a long rest to recharge. Spell attack bonus is +8, spell save difficulty is 16.
• Spell Link (Level 4): For spellcasters only, gain an additional level 4 spell slot, refreshed on a long rest.
• Truesight: Gain truesight while the tattoo is active.
• Beacon: Use an action to emit a divine light from the tattoo. Allies within 15 feet gain a +1 bonus to AC and their attacks deal an additional d6 force damage for 1 minute. Allies can move half their movement towards the light without provoking opportunity attacks. Requires a short or long rest to recharge.
• Spectral Reach: Increase the range of your attacks by 5 feet for 1 minute, inflicting an additional d4 damage. Requires a short or long rest to recharge.
• Venomous: Each creature damaged by your attacks must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution save or suffer 2d6 poison damage at the start of their round for 1 minute. On a successful save, the creature is immune to this effect for the next 24 hours.
• Vicious (Level 2): If the d20 roll for an attack is a 20, your critical hit deals an extra 4d6 damage of the attack’s type.
• Will (Level 2): For spellcasters only, when you fail a concentration check, you can choose to pass it instead. Requires a long rest before it can be used again.
• Whirlwind: Use your action to perform a melee attack against each creatu*/897re within 5 feet.
• Keen (Level 2): Attacks made with the tattoo's power cause a critical hit on a roll of 18, 19, or 20.
• Mentor: For spellcasters only, cast any spell you know, even if not prepared, by expending a spell slot of the highest level available to you. Requires a long rest before it can be used again.
• Mobile (Level 2): Increase your base movement speed by an additional 10 feet.
• Piercing (Level 2): Gain +4 on attack rolls against enemies with shields.
• Power Surge: Once per day, you can use a spell slot to cast a spell you know of up to 2 levels higher than that of the spell slot.
• Precise (Level 2): Reroll damage results from your attacks; you must accept the second result.
• Proficient (Level 4): Gain proficiency in four skills of your choice.
• Protective: Make a saving throw with advantage. Requires a short or long rest before it can be used again.
• Rallying: Use an action to raise your spirits (or symbolically, your weapon) in the air, bolstering your allies. For the next minute, your tattoo radiates a shining aura. All allies within 30 feet gain advantage on Wisdom saving throws and are immune to the frightened condition. Any ally moving directly towards you during this time can increase their movement speed by 10 feet. Requires a short or long rest before it can be used again.

So I have a huge over arching quest that has started from level one. It goes until level 15
Basically Every one has a tattoo on their arm that powers up. The way it powers up is the characters are using devices to pull powers from the space between planes when ever they planar traval. Because of the way my campaign is made they do that 5 times.
As they do it I have a bunch of random encounters that escalate that are themed from the different planes.
At the end of the quest they have two options. They must remove their arms and destroy them in a ritual (which is not a big deal in eberron). But they lose their arms and this mega powerful legendary artifact essentially.
OR
They can choose to destroy one of the other Planes. I have Ideas on how to handle this but it would obviously be devastating and world changing.
If they dont do it what are some consolidations? Obviously a masterwork prosthetic. But what can I give that to make it at least kind of worth it.
heres what I have so far.....

Magic Tattoos: Havoc Seal

Every player receives a glowing tattoo known as the Havoc Seal. These tattoos can be upgraded by the tattoo artist located at the Sharn headquarters once the stolen ledger is retrieved. :  {width:325px,mix-blend-mode:multiply}
:

Clive Arcane Tattoo artist

Clive is a middle aged gnome that is obsessed with magical tattoos. He has found a way to refine the fabric of reality into ink is looking for a team to obtain Starlight Condensate using his home made gathering crystals
{width:320px,mix-blend-mode:multiply,border:"2px solid",border-radius:10px} :

Enhancements Overview

The tattoos can be enhanced when working with the tattoo artist. He can use special resources that are gathered to add attributes to a person’s arsenal. : The Players should come to rely on these tatoos. They should be powerful but not game breaking. Feel free to not allow certain combinations due to arcane imbalance or backlash. :
{{note Collection of Starlight Condensate: - Description: Starlight Condensate is a mystical, luminescent liquid that forms only in places where the veil between the Material Plane and the Astral Plane is thinnest. This rare substance, believed to be the crystallized essence of astral light, has traveled across the cosmos and permeated the fabric of reality. - Properties: When used in the enhancement of magic tattoos, the Condensate imbues them with celestial energy, unlocking latent powers and allowing for deeper customization and more potent effects. - Collection Method: The tattoo artist provides each party member with a hollow crystal. When traveling through a rift between planes, this crystal fills with Starlight Condensate. }}
{width:350px,mix-blend-mode:multiply,border:"2px solid",border-radius:10px}
\page

Consequences

Planar Instabilities

The Havoc Seal tattoos provide incredible power, but their use can destabilize the boundaries between planes, leading to increasingly severe consequences.

Detecting Destabilization

Whenever the party traverses a planar portal, they can roll a d20 Arcana check to sense the destabilization.
Flavor Text: "As you step through the shimmering veil of the planar portal, a wave of arcane energy washes over you. The air tingles with the resonance of distant realms, and a deep hum vibrates through your very being. A sense of unease settles in as you instinctively reach out with your arcane senses, trying to grasp the subtle threads of reality that waver and distort around you."

Tier 1: Minor Disturbances

• Planar Overlaps:
  
  • Problem: Subtle fusions of the Feywild or Shadowfell with the Material Plane cause minor anomalies and the appearance of strange creatures.
  • Stabilization: Perform basic rituals, secure minor artifacts, or seek help from plane natives to close small rifts.
• Temporal Distortions:
  
  • Problem: Slight irregularities in time flow, with minor accelerations or decelerations.
  • Stabilization: Locate and use Chrono Crystals or consult mages for minor time flow adjustments.
• Elemental Imbalances:
  
  • Problem: Small-scale weather anomalies and minor elemental disturbances.
  • Stabilization: Conduct elemental rituals at key sites, possibly with elemental gems.
• Planar Gateways:
  
  • Problem: Occasional opening of small portals, allowing minor creatures to pass through.
  • Stabilization: Use basic spells or tools to close portals and guard against minor entities.
• Ghostly Incursions:
  
  • Problem: Increased sightings of ghostly apparitions and minor hauntings.
  • Stabilization: Use Veil Stones or simple rituals to calm spirits and strengthen barriers. :: ## Tier 2: Significant Anomalies
• Planar Overlaps:
  
  • Problem: Noticeable merging of planes with more pronounced environmental changes and aggressive creatures.
  • Stabilization: Perform advanced rituals, secure significant artifacts, or gain aid from powerful plane beings.
• Temporal Distortions:
  
  • Problem: More severe time flow issues, with significant accelerations and decelerations.
  • Stabilization: Find powerful Chrono Crystals or consult high-level mages for major adjustments.
• Elemental Imbalances:
  
  • Problem: Pronounced weather disturbances and frequent elemental manifestations.
  • Stabilization: Perform complex rituals and use powerful elemental gems or seek aid from elemental spirits.
• Planar Gateways:
  
  • Problem: Frequent openings of larger portals, allowing dangerous creatures to pass through.
  • Stabilization: Use advanced spells or tools to close portals and maintain vigilant guards against more dangerous entities.
• Ghostly Incursions:
  
  • Problem: Frequent ghostly apparitions and severe hauntings.
  • Stabilization: Strengthen barriers with powerful Veil Stones or perform complex rituals to calm spirits.

\page

Tier 3: Severe Instabilities

• Planar Overlaps:
  
  • Problem: Extensive merging of planes with drastic environmental changes and powerful, hostile creatures.
  • Stabilization: Conduct major rituals, secure legendary artifacts, or gain aid from ancient plane beings.
• Temporal Distortions:
  
  • Problem: Extreme irregularities in time flow, with chaotic accelerations and decelerations.
  • Stabilization: Use legendary Chrono Crystals or seek out archmages for significant recalibrations.
• Elemental Imbalances:
  
  • Problem: Widespread elemental chaos causing natural disasters and summoning of potent elemental beings.
  • Stabilization: Perform major rituals at critical sites and use rare elemental gems or powerful spirit aid.
• Planar Gateways:
  
  • Problem: Constant openings of massive portals, unleashing powerful and dangerous entities.
  • Stabilization: Utilize legendary spells or tools to close portals and maintain constant vigilance against formidable entities.
• Ghostly Incursions:
  
  • Problem: Overwhelming ghostly presence and widespread hauntings.
  • Stabilization: Use legendary Veil Stones or conduct powerful rituals to calm spirits and restore peace. \column ### Interacting with Clive, the Tattoo Artist

Clive’s Reaction: - Initial Concerns (Tier 1): When the party mentions minor disturbances, Clive dismisses their concerns with a casual wave. "Oh, just a little side effect of tapping into such potent energies. Nothing to worry about!"

• Growing Anomalies (Tier 2): As the instabilities become more significant, Clive remains nonchalant, brushing off their concerns with a laugh. "A few quirks of magic! You’ll hardly notice them in your grand adventures!"
  
• Severe Instabilities (Tier 3): By this stage, Clive’s demeanor changes. His eyes have a wild gleam, and his reassurances are laced with a hint of madness. "The chaos is a small price for such power! Don’t you see? It’s magnificent!"
  

Escalation Summary: - The instabilities start as minor disturbances, growing in complexity and severity as the party continues to use their enhanced tattoos. By Tier 3, the destabilization is profound, threatening the very fabric of the Material Plane and revealing the depths of Clive’s obsession with the arcane power he harnesses.
\page

Quest: Tattoo Undo

“The Anchors of Reality”
Objective: Stabilize the planar boundaries to prevent further destabilization caused by the Havoc Seal tattoos.
If the players have never noticed the chaos in the world or they don't care

Receiving Tier 4 Tattoos

• Event: The party receives their powerful Tier 4 tattoos from Clive.
• Consequences: Immediately after, the whole of reality shakes, signaling a severe destabilization. {{note “As the final strokes of the tattoo needle embed the last of the powerful runes into your skin, the very fabric of reality quakes. The ground trembles, and a ripple of distortion pulses through the air, a harbinger of impending chaos.” }}

Part 1: Discovery and Conflict

A team of magical researchers burst into HavocHavens' front doors shouting for what ever we are doing to stop. The whole of reality is caving in on itself

Clive’s Revelation:

Confront the tattoo artist Clive at the Sharn headquarters. He reveals his true intentions, showing signs of madness, obsessed with the chaotic power of the tattoos.
{{note “Clive’s eyes gleam with a manic light as he dismisses your concerns with wild gestures. ‘Can’t you see? The chaos, the power—it’s magnificent! We’re on the brink of something extraordinary!’” }}
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Part 2: Quest for the Anchors

• Gathering Information:
  
  • Objective: Uncover the locations and nature of the Anchors.
  • Tasks:
  • Libraries of Morgrave University: Delve into ancient tomes and scrolls.
    • Challenge: Solve intricate puzzles or decode encrypted texts.
  • Consulting Planar Beings: Seek wisdom from entities like planar guardians or spirits.
    • Challenge: Negotiate or complete tasks for these beings to gain their knowledge.
  • Retrieving Ancient Texts: Explore ruins or hidden vaults in Sharn to find lost writings.
    • Challenge: Overcome traps and guardians protecting these texts.
• Repairing the Anchors:
  
  • Objective: Restore the stability of each Anchor.
  • Tasks:
  • Puzzle Challenges: Solve complex mechanisms linked to each Anchor.
  • Guardian Encounters: Defeat or appease powerful beings guarding the Anchors.
  • Cleansing Corruption: Purge dark energies or malevolent forces corrupting the Anchors.
• Planar Travel:
  
  • Objective: Journey through diverse and dangerous planes to reach each Anchor.
  • Planes to Explore:
  • The Feywild: Navigate enchanted forests and negotiate with capricious fey.
  • The Shadowfell: Traverse shadowy landscapes and confront undead horrors.
  • The Elemental Planes: Brave the fury of elemental realms and their denizens.

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Part 3: Final Confrontation

• Confronting Clive:
  
  • Scenario: Clive, now a powerful planar entity, stands at the heart of the instability.
  • Choice:
  • Confrontation: Battle Clive to stop his reckless plans.
    • Challenge: Overcome Clive’s enhanced abilities and his chaotic manipulation of planar energies.
  • Alliance: Convince Clive to assist in stabilizing the planes.
    • Challenge: Persuade Clive, possibly through trials or showing the dire consequences of continued instability.
• Resolution:
  
  • Fate of the Tattoos:
  • Option 1: Sacrifice Arms
    • Objective: Perform a ritual to sacrifice their arms, stabilizing the planes.
    • Outcome: Gain magical prosthetics with unique powers.
    • Magical Prosthetic Arm: Infused with stabilizing magic, granting enhanced strength, arcane capabilities, or unique defensive traits.
  • Option 2: Sacrifice a Realm
    • Objective: Stabilize the planes by sacrificing one of the realms.
    • Realms and Consequences:
    • Feywild: The loss of the Feywild causes a decline in natural magic and the disappearance of fey creatures.
    • Shadowfell: Sacrificing the Shadowfell diminishes the influence of death, making resurrection easier but disrupting the balance between life and death.
    • Elemental Planes (Fire, Water, Air, Earth): Each elemental plane sacrificed leads to a permanent imbalance in the corresponding element, causing long-term natural disasters.
    • Ethereal Plane: Losing the Ethereal Plane makes ethereal travel and spells impossible, weakening connections to spirits and ghosts.
    • Astral Plane: Sacrificing the Astral Plane disrupts long-distance planar travel and weakens the power of psionics.
    • Dal Quor: The loss of Dal Quor ends dreams and nightmares, affecting all beings’ rest and creativity.

Flavor Text for Resolution: “As the chaotic energies subside, you stand at a crossroads. The choice before you is monumental—sacrifice your own power and flesh to restore balance, or condemn an entire realm to save the planes. The weight of your decision will echo through the planes, shaping the future of Eberron itself.”
Heres the enhancments. I am crediting GM GUILD book ancestral weapons for the powerups as I like them

Havoc Seal Enhancements

Tier 0: Level 1+ Upgrades

• For your Eyes Only: Once per short rest you can encrypt the contents of a single page. This page can only be encrypted by some one who also has a Havoc Seal

Tier 1: Level 1+ Upgrades

• Duelist (Level 1): When you are hit by a melee attack you can see, you can channel the tattoo's energy to increase your AC by 1 using your reaction.
• Enhanced Combat (Level 1): Gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with any weapon you wield.
• Infusion (Level 1): Upon activating this tattoo, select a damage type (acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, poison, psychic, radiant, thunder). Your attacks deal an additional d6 damage of that type.
• Magus (Level 1): While you channel through any weapon, gain a +1 bonus to spell attack rolls and AC.
• Magical Core (Level 1): Embed a cantrip within the tattoo. Use an action to cast this cantrip. Can be used twice per long rest. Spell attack bonus is +4, and spell save DC is 12.
• Slayer (Level 1): Choose an enemy type (beasts, fey, humanoids, monstrosities, undead). Attacks deal 2d6 additional damage to these creatures.
• Spell Link (Level 1): For spellcasters only, gain an additional level 1 spell slot, refreshed on a long rest.
• Spell Storing (Level 1 & 2): Store a level 1 or 2 spell within the tattoo. Cast it using an action; long rest required to recharge. Spell attack bonus is +4, spell save difficulty is 12/14 respectively.
• Bully: Gain advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks when visible to the target.
• Charmward: Gain advantage on saving throws against being charmed.
• Darkvision: Gain darkvision out to 60 feet. If you already have darkvision, extend its range by 60 feet.

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Tier 2: Level 5+ Upgrades

• Amplify (Level 1): Gain +1 to an ability score of your choice, up to a maximum of 20.
• Duelist (Level 2): Use your reaction when hit by a melee attack to add 2 to your AC.
• Enhanced Combat (Level 2): Gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls with any weapon you wield.
• Proficient (Level 1 & 2): Gain proficiency in one or two skills of your choice.
• Guardian (Level 1): Gain proficiency in a saving throw of your choice.
• Magical Core (Level 2): Embed any cantrip within the tattoo. Cast at will; Spell attack bonus is +4, and spell save DC is 14.
• Spell Storing (Level 3): Store a level 3 spell within the tattoo. Cast using an action; requires a long rest to recharge. Spell attack bonus is +6, spell save difficulty is 14.
• Mobile (Level 1): Increase your base movement speed by 5 feet.
• Bolstering: When targeted by a healing spell, regain additional hit points equal to your Constitution modifier.
• Ritualist: Halve the time required to cast spells as rituals while the tattoo is active.
• Shadowed: Enhance your cover in combat; ½ cover counts as ¾ cover. \page

Tier 3: Level 10+ Upgrades

• Duelist (Level 3): Use your reaction when hit by a melee attack to add 3 to your AC.
• Enhanced Combat (Level 3): Gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls with any weapon you wield.
• Flying: Gain a flying speed equal to your movement speed.
• Infusion (Level 2): Choose a damage type; your attacks deal an additional 2d6 damage of that type.
• Magical Core (Level 3): Embed any level 1 spell within the tattoo. Cast twice per long rest; Spell attack bonus is +8, spell save DC is 16.
• Spell Link (Level 3): For spellcasters only, gain an additional level 3 spell slot, refreshed on a long rest.
• Spell Storing (Level 4): Store a level 4 spell within the tattoo. Cast using an action; requires a long rest to recharge. Spell attack bonus is +8, spell save difficulty is 16.
• Indomitable (Level 2): When reduced to 0 hit points, take the Attack action before falling unconscious.
• Elemental Resistance: Gain resistance to one damage type of your choice (fire, cold, lightning, etc.).
• Proficient (Level 3): Gain proficiency in three skills of your choice.

Tier 4: Level 15+ Upgrades

• Amplify (Level 2): Gain +2 to an ability score of your choice, to a maximum of 20.
• Guardian (Level 2): Gain proficiency and advantage on a saving throw of your choice when you can see the source of the effect.
• Magical Core (Level 4): Embed any level 1 spell within the tattoo. Cast at will; Spell attack bonus is +8, and the spell save DC is 16.
• Slayer (Level 2): Choose an enemy type (beasts, fey, humanoids, monstrosities, undead). Your attacks deal 4d6 additional damage to these creatures.
• Spell Storing (Level 4): Store a level 5 spell within the tattoo. Cast using an action; requires a long rest to recharge. Spell attack bonus is +8, spell save difficulty is 16.
• Spell Link (Level 4): For spellcasters only, gain an additional level 4 spell slot, refreshed on a long rest.
• Truesight: Gain truesight while the tattoo is active.
• Beacon: Use an action to emit a divine light from the tattoo. Allies within 15 feet gain a +1 bonus to AC and their attacks deal an additional d6 force damage for 1 minute. Allies can move half their movement towards the light without provoking opportunity attacks. Requires a short or long rest to recharge.
• Spectral Reach: Increase the range of your attacks by 5 feet for 1 minute, inflicting an additional d4 damage. Requires a short or long rest to recharge.
• Venomous: Each creature damaged by your attacks must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution save or suffer 2d6 poison damage at the start of their round for 1 minute. On a successful save, the creature is immune to this effect for the next 24 hours.
• Vicious (Level 2): If the d20 roll for an attack is a 20, your critical hit deals an extra 4d6 damage of the attack’s type.
• Will (Level 2): For spellcasters only, when you fail a concentration check, you can choose to pass it instead. Requires a long rest before it can be used again.
• Whirlwind: Use your action to perform a melee attack against each creatu*/897re within 5 feet.
• Keen (Level 2): Attacks made with the tattoo's power cause a critical hit on a roll of 18, 19, or 20.
• Mentor: For spellcasters only, cast any spell you know, even if not prepared, by expending a spell slot of the highest level available to you. Requires a long rest before it can be used again.
• Mobile (Level 2): Increase your base movement speed by an additional 10 feet.
• Piercing (Level 2): Gain +4 on attack rolls against enemies with shields.
• Power Surge: Once per day, you can use a spell slot to cast a spell you know of up to 2 levels higher than that of the spell slot.
• Precise (Level 2): Reroll damage results from your attacks; you must accept the second result.
• Proficient (Level 4): Gain proficiency in four skills of your choice.
• Protective: Make a saving throw with advantage. Requires a short or long rest before it can be used again.
• Rallying: Use an action to raise your spirits (or symbolically, your weapon) in the air, bolstering your allies. For the next minute, your tattoo radiates a shining aura. All allies within 30 feet gain advantage on Wisdom saving throws and are immune to the frightened condition. Any ally moving directly towards you during this time can increase their movement speed by 10 feet. Requires a short or long rest before it can be used again.

I have never done a solo trip. Whether it's with my family, my singular friend, or girlfriend, I always make sure to go with someone. This always causes a little bit of friction due to different preferences, like how much money you want to spend or interest in certain excursions or sleep habits. But to me, this is far more preferable than the alternative. See, aside from the people I have traveled with, I have not had any friends since elementary school.
My only weekly socialization is a run and chug in my neighborhood. It's with a group of regulars that I'm "friendly with" but not friends with. We talk about our week, but I'm usually the one initiating the conversation with people, and I haven't been invited to hang out outside of that context. Anyways, because where I live is known for having a lot of "transplants" I'm usually the only local in any given week. I think this highlights our differences: on the one hand many of the people in the group have uprooted their lives multiple times over and travel regularly to visit their friends/family or vacation, I'm not even deeply rooted in where I grew up due to not fitting in. I sometimes wonder, what would have happened if I had done the same, like moved across the country for college and then some. It certainly makes me look one dimensional that I haven't "found myself."
But then I remember. In the countless hours of class and work (my only time living outside of where I grew up was for internships), I never fostered deeper relationships. I am lucky to have found my current gf and friend while in school, but in all other cases there were no times where both sides wanted to "keep in touch." This is impacting me now, as due to having no connections my job search consists of sending out my resume into the endless abyss of job postings, with little success. I'm worried what would happen if I get asked for references, as it's been so long since I left my last positions that even getting back in touch the last time was difficult. Otherwise, I don't usually feel the impact directly. I deactivated my Facebook many moons ago, and I follow few people I have met IRL on my Instagram and other platforms. Sure my birthday rolls around with little fanfare, but that's basically all I've known.
When I visited Korea with my friend, I was interested in checking out the nightlife I've heard so much about. He wasn't as big of a fan, so there were some times I went alone. Since graduating I had gotten a little better at socializing. The alcohol probably helped too. I had found myself in a group of other foreigners who were also struggling to use the little Korean they knew. For whatever reason, not much interest from locals, and definitely not girls, but something about sticking out like a sore thumb drew us together. I had fun but when all was said and done I only had one connection with someone from the group. We tried to find time to meet up but our schedules didn't align. Nonetheless those walks home through the cold Seoul or Busan air was the loneliest I've ever felt. Each step was a reminder that I could only rely on one person in this life: myself. It was symbolic of most of my life, albeit in a more subtle way: I am surrounded by people who talk or even look differently in a way I cannot overcome, but it is so difficult to "spot the others" in the crowd back home because the difference is with everyone. It's hard to find the people who are weirdos in the same way you are. Yet, when I collapsed in the heated hotel rooms, I found comfort in the fact that whatever failure I felt that night would be washed away, and I had another day to look forward with my friend tomorrow.
I could not imagine the crushing weight of going somewhere you've never been with no one by your side. By yourself, things just happen. With someone else, each experience is colored by both of your feelings in that moment. Whatever struggles or awkwardness, it becomes your inside joke. You are two (or more) minds, bodies, and senses. When my family moved to this country, they didn't have anyone, but they had each other, and they had family (on one side). It's so critical that even when being in a strange land, you hold on to what little remains of where you left. The idea of doing a long term solo trip (like I often see on social media) or chasing a dream in a place you don't know anyone sounds awful. Obviously it's aspirational, and for some personalities they can find supportive people wherever they go, but the thought of me doing that sounds like hell. This is coming from a privileged place, many people are born and die in the same place without having much of an option of doing otherwise, but it's also me coming to terms with this boring aspect of myself.
Perhaps it's this innate rejection of American individualism rearing its ugly head. Or maybe not. It's not like I've felt connected to a larger whole before. Not my nation (INB4 coastal elite), my ethnicity, my school, my company, at a concert, at a sports game, you name it. Probably the closest I've come is via the internet. That's where I met both of the people I mentioned earlier. But also anon twitter, gambling discords, TF2, Omegle, and people in the TikTok comments wondering how we wandered down some rabbit hole. It doesn't last long, but it seems like there are periods in my life marked by what internet community I parasocially latch onto. It seems like the commonality is shared memes. I don't need to know you to find the same things dank. I hope it doesn't die.
Part of me wonders what I am doing wrong, and it is definitely something. Maybe something really dumb and obvious once I realize it. Yet despite the few people in my life who have gotten to know me, and thus can't help me pinpoint what it is, I have no idea. The sad nature of rejection outside of the structure of school and few other contexts, is that there is no why behind it; and if there is a why there is no how (to fix it). Certainly in the minds of others, but it's never spoken. We can see the faults of others but not our own, yet we are helpless to share it lest we commit the biggest fault of all. If you feel the same way, listen to this fictional homily. It put to words what I have been unable to for so long. The right art piece, which for me is mainly music, movies, or essay, can fill that hole.
Anyways, coming back to my awkwardness of these meetups I force myself to go to, I wonder what it's all for. Connection is hard to come by, and things probably won't change for me. But it's precisely because connection is so hard, yet so meaningful, that I keep coming back. I'm still young in the grand scheme of things. The next person I meet could be my best man, my future coworker, the guy who turns me onto a hobby that changes my life. These people might not be my friends, but they all have a story to tell. Conversation itself, like running, drinking, playing games, what have you, is its own joy, and nothing is lost even if we don't grow closer.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk

I'll start this with a bit of background of myself, I am currently a 20 year old male. I grew up in a small rural town with a population of around 3,000 people. For as long as I remember my parents didn't really get a long. My parents would have arguments and eventually got divorced. Not uncommon in todays society but my mom would tell me stories on how I would be depressed at the age of 8 because I would say things like "Could we just crash into one of the telephone poles because I don't want to see Mom and Dad separate and fighting anymore. School wasn't a big issue at the start, I would do okay getting anywhere from Cs to As in my class up until about the 6th grade. My parents were fighting about who gets to file me under their taxes. I lived with my Dad but my Mom was the one that had custody over me because she was on all my school transcripts and my Dad was an illegal immigrant from Mexico. A random day after school my mom picks me up and takes me to my dad's house and tells me to get all of my stuff because I'm moving into her house (it was more like one of those mobile house trailer things) I remember not wanting to go because I'd be away from my brother and wouldn't be able to play video games because the internet was worse at her house. I played a lot of video games to try and distract myself with everything going on at home. I still enjoyed going to school because it was a way out from everything going on with my personal life at home. I had a very curious mind when I was younger and became incredibly intrigued with Science. I could pass all my classes because I knew in our Science classes we would go on field trips so long as our grades were good. This was until I was living with my mom for so long (I forgot to mention it was just me and her in the house and she would leave to work when I got home from school and wouldn't come back until after I went to sleep so I spent most of my time alone at home. I would join Facebook groups of amines I enjoyed and connect with people there. Eventually the accumulation of everything got to me and I started focusing less and less on school and more on the friends I made on the internet. Although I still passed most my classes it would typically be with a low D grade.
Fast forward to my life in Highschool, my mom and dad both came to agreements and no longer fight. They both felt bad for everything that happened while I was growing up and both agreed to respect each other but remain separate. It took some getting used to but slowly I started to forgive my mom and rebuild the relationship with my dad. In Highschool I wasn't popular but I wasn't alone, I hung out with popular kids but never really formed any friendships where I would hang out afterschool or text with them. After school I would typically go home and play video games all day, I wouldn't study or do sports during my freshman year. Sophomore year I got into football because I wanted to try and become healthier because I was overweight and have never worked out. During the beginning of the season I felt I was doing great! My body felt healthier and I was glad I was finally doing something productive. Come the first game of the season and we go 0-36 (or something like that) I thought maybe it was just a really good team and I just needed to work on myself more. But every single game after that was the same result. It felt like I was working for nothing but I kept trying. The season ended and I made it my goal to become the best version of myself I could for my Junior year. During the end of my sophomore year and beginning of Junior year I started to seriously fix my relationship with my dad, I would visit him everyday and we'd go out and eat or shop on his days off. I would sleep at his house and I'd ask him to cook for me. During my Junior football season we were playing a team one town over and I asked my dad if he could come watch and he said he would love to. Come game day I call my dad to remind him and says "I'll go if I can, I'm waiting on a phone call." and I got a bit sad, confused, and frustrated telling myself the whole bus ride there "What kind of phone call would be more important than your own son's football game?" (We lost with a score around 0-40) The next day I go to school like any other day and on my last period I get a call from my brother, my mom, and my dad. I got extremely confused but I knew it was important because everyone was calling me but most importantly my dad which never calls me. My dad said he was going to pick me up from school. Once he got to the office my heart dropped because this was the first time I've seen him in tears. He told me his dad passed away that morning. I go home with him and asked him now what? He said he wanted to go back to Mexico and be there for his Dad's funeral, as stated earlier my dad is an illegal immigrant and he would not be able to return. Me and my brother agreed he should so that same night, 4 hours after getting released early from school I was driving my dad and my uncle to San Diego. About 12-14 hours later after that I said goodbye to my dad and I didn't know when I would see him again. I drove back home without any sleep and once I got back to his house I cried for what feels like my first time since I was 11 years old because the house I grew up with my dad in was empty. I laid in his bed and smelt his clothes he left behind because it was all I felt I had left of him. I missed the next week of school and when I came back I quit football despite being a center just 2 days before homecoming. Football and school didn't mean anything to me anymore and I felt like all the effort I put into strengthening my relationship with my dad went down the drain. I continued school with mainly failing grades. Almost all my classes were 0% grades except psychology and chemistry which were Ds. I passed psychology with a high C because I had an incredible teacher and I found the subject interesting. I wanted to pass Chemistry because this is the class I looked forward to ever since I was a kid. I had possibly the worst teacher ever, he would show up to class 30 minutes late and when he got to class he would either turn on a video or a slideshow. I eventually quit going to his class and tried working on all my grades in the library, this worked until I was told I had to go to class. I tried explaining that the teacher wasn't doing his job and I was actually increasing my grades in all my other subjects. They didn't listen and I was forced back into his class. On the last day of school I talked to the counselor about taking summer school and taking no electives so I could graduate and she informed me that no matter what I did I wouldn't graduate because my credits were that of a new sophomore student. I dropped out of school and went straight into the workforce.
TW: Suicide and Drug use
My life after Highschool was filled with constant dread, I was unmotivated to do anything, I got a job washing trucks and eventually moved to a graveyard shift. I loved seeing how I could turn a dirty truck and make it look almost brand new. I eventually got into car detailing as a passion and even switched to part time to pursue this. What actually happened is I would sit home depressed and wishing I could actually get out and detail cars. After going about $6,000 in debt during this one month by trying to survive and buy supplies I needed. I eventually went back to full time and gave up on trying to detail cars. I started to struggle paying off the debt and tried to get a new job because the stress of the debt was getting to me (I know it's small amount of debt but it felt crushing) I worked as a pizza delivery driver from 4pm-12am and washed trucks from 12am-8am. Eventually all stress had me making bad decisions I left the pizza job and got fired from the truck wash a day after. I would go to my cousins house and get drunk maybe once every week or so. This being the first time I've taken substances I loved it immediately despite hating the taste. It got to the point where I needed it more than just weekly and would end up stealing whole bottles from my cousins, my mom, or anywhere I'd find some lying around (I am 18 years old at this point in time) I tried to end my life twice but drinking an entire bottle of tequila in one sitting, both were unsuccessful (I forgot to mention I also attempted when I was 15 via a bridge, I sat on the railing but never pushed myself so idk if that's an attempt) I ended up getting a job at a parts store and I enjoyed it a lot there, I had a great manager and coworkers. I still dealt with alcohol problems and I would still try and drink whenever I would get the chance. I eventually quit after telling my brother and letting him know about the issue I was dealing with. The next year I decided to quit my job there and went into the blue collar field to make more money, I doubled my income and was working 12 hour graveyard shifts. I thought I was finally taking a step in the right direction despite still being extremely depressed. I met with a psychiatrist and told them about my problems and I expected to get diagnosed with maybe ADHD and depression but I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and after doing my research I found out it wasn't curable. This terrified me and since I no longer had access to alcohol I looked for anything else to shut my mind up. I landed on OTC cough medicine and I used it daily. Small doses at work and extremely high doses while at home. This went on for about 3 months until one day I entered a state of psychosis during one of the highs and took an entire bottles worth medicine, Typically I'd take about 20-25 pills and this day I took over 90 pills (I was told by my brother and doctors who counted what I had left and I remember breaking the seal on the new bottle.) My brother got back from work and when he entered my room he saw I was laying on my bed staring at my phone, he tried calling my name and i wouldn't respond, even waving his hand in front of my face and nothing. It wasn't until he physically touched me. They ended up waiting for the comedown but hours passed and I wasn't doing better. They called 911 and I got transported to the ER. I was there for maybe 4-6 hours and was later released. This shocked my whole family and I felt like the shock also got me to change for the better. I didn't want to do it again and everyone was shocked I was already doing better. Turns out I was still high and it wouldn't wear off for another 2 days. I then talked to my manager about what happened and why I missed work and he was very understanding and helpful, up until the next day when I got a text that I was fired. This immediately sent my spiraling and I relapsed almost immediately. I was unemployed for the next month and a half and all I did during this time was sit in my room scrolling social media or playing video games. I tried going to therapy but all the therapist I went to were uninterested with what I had to say because to them I was just another junkie who abused drugs and got fired. They would diagnose me with random stuff and tell me to go to detox. I eventually gave up on therapy and went to a psychiatrist and they prescribed me medication for my Bipolar Disorder and Depression. after just 3 weeks of being on my medication my dosage was doubled and my doctor said he saw no improvement and would recommend I went to someone else. I eventually gave up on my medication altogether. I gave myself a really harsh goal. If I did not get better by 2025 I would end my life because there was no hope.
Finally, I tried to better my life slowly. I remember seeing how happy my mom was when she grew tomatoes, something she worked hard on for months. I remember seeing somewhere that a plant can help with depression because it would make you get up and take care of it. I tried this before and the plant died ;( I tried to find alternatives and found out about mushrooms, they were really easy to grow but still would require some attention and rewards me at the end. I started growing mushrooms and when they finally grew I remember how happy it was cause it felt like they grew overnight. This was the start of my new life. I got my job back at the auto parts store and grew mushrooms on the side. I was still extremely depressed and was off all sorts of substances. I knew I wanted still wanted to use something so I ended up growing psychedelic mushrooms and when I first took one I felt all the dread and hopelessness leave my body and it felt like an anchor holding me down was finally removed. All my pain I thought was normal because I grew up with it disappeared. This made me realize that there is hope and that one day I can feel physically and mentally better. It still took time and ended up getting hooked on nicotine and hemp (Which I still use to this day) and it made me feel horrible because it felt like I was wasting my life. I eventually quit both of those cold turkey and the withdrawals were horrible but I powered through it. Come January of this year I turned 20 and I was finally feeling mentally and physically better. I would go to the store with my mom, I wouldn't lay in bed for hours anymore, I cleaned my room and gaming area and I felt like I finally broke through and changed my life. But now I didn't know what to do, I felt great until March where I realized I still don't have a purpose, I'm happy but I'm still not doing anything with my life. I still loved to detail cars, I picked up photography and thought I could maybe work on pursuing something with art. But the motivation was never there, I knew I wanted to do this and yet I didn't put any of the work in despite no longer feeling depressed. This eventually spiraled and I felt depressed and lost again. This time I couldn't talk to my family because I didn't want to make them feel like I lost all my progress again. I then got back into alcohol to try and silence my racing thoughts. This was until I tried DMT for the first time and nothing stood out to me more than how that 15 minute experience felt like hours. I got obsessed with learning about time perception and time dilation which eventually led me to watching videos about quantum physics and space. I was intrigued but saddened because I felt like my life purpose was to produce art and since I did so bad and never paid attention in school. This got me extremely depressed because I found it really interesting but I didn't even understand middle school math and I could barely multiple and divide. This ate me alive almost everyday until one day I told my brother "Do you support me in getting my GED and going to college" Him and my mom were overwhelmingly supportive. I finally felt like maybe this is something I could pursue, I began studying everyday and something as boring and overwhelming like math has became such a fun subject to study. I only began studying last week and I went from not understanding multiplication and division to now understanding algebra formulas and solving problems like if it was something I've always known how to do. I used to show up to work almost 20 minutes late everyday and now I'm waking up 2 hours early so I can study. I have never felt more happy with my life and that flow experience when you're so focused on what you want is better than any of the drugs I've taken. I now have a bit of anxiety because I nervous about returning to school despite doing so poorly and pursuing a major in physics. I am now studying for my GED and I'm going to get enrolled into college on the 21st of this month. I've also purchased Dr. K's guide to mental health work on my small amount of anxiety I have, also because I want to begin meditating, but most importantly to help control my ADHD (I forgot to mention that I later got diagnosed with ADHD and OCD) I am very hopeful for my future because I'm actually doing all the things I've ever wanted to do, I can focus on studying, I'm rarely on my phone scrolling social media, I'm reading books, I feel no desire to get back on any of the drugs I had issues with, and I'm enjoying every moment of my life no matter if its a positive or negative experience.
p.s. sorry this was a randomly long post of my life story, this is my first ever reddit post and I didn't know what to talk about so I talked about everything.

Last night I dreamt of an old flame from my past having the nose of a pig. What is the symbolism behind this? I do not have any feelings for him nor do I wish to rekindle anything. It’s interesting that his girlfriend, who I’ve never met, sent me a random friend request on Facebook later on in the day today after i had that dream.

I find that whenever people ask for advice on how to find out if their partner is cheating, the responses are largely "just ask... If you don't have trust, you should leave" and no solid tips. So, here are mine which I have used that actually gave me the evidence to start questioning things. Please note, my ex had an android phone so some of these may not work for you. I'm posting this in the hopes it will help those who have suspicions, or reassure if there's nothing to find. Obviously, this all depends on getting access to their phone. I'm a big believer in "if you truly have nothing to hide, let me have your phone for a bit and after that I won't ask again". Then either you know by their refusal, or you get enough time to find what you need or put your mind at ease.

1. If you go into settings and search 'notification' you should find the option 'notification history'. Click this and you will see all notifications from ONLY THE PREVIOUS 24 HOURS. It's organised by app. And it will show message notifications even if those messages have been deleted. Remember, if they have the conversation open when a message comes through, it won't come up as a notification. It does not show notifications from apps that have been deleted.
   
2. If you open their keyboard and click the clipboard symbol, you MAY be able to see things they have recently copied. On my phone it only seems to show very recent things, but on my ex's it showed stuff from several weeks before, so I guess it depends on the settings. Never underestimate this one, if they're into dating sites then they may have copied a link to go back to.
   
3. Check photos on WhatsApp. You look at their call list and see a name of the gender you aren't worried about, but just browse through WhatsApp and check that "Amy" doesn't actually have a beard and "Brian" doesn't have double Ds.
   
4. Open EVERY app. Even if it looks boring or you think you know what it is. There was an app out there called Calculator+ which looked just like a calculator but you type the right numbers and it's a place to keep secret photos. I don't think that one still has the same name, but it's the one I remember and there are others out there. Check every app.
   
5. On Facebook, if they're saying "they added me!" you can check this. Go to their profile while logged in as them, click the three dots at the top right and then click 'activity log'. Click 'connections' then 'manage friends'. Here it will tell you if they accepted a friend request or not. If it just says they became friends, then it was them who did the adding. You can also use the activity log to check every like, every comment, every everything on Facebook.
   
6. A lot of dating websites now have it so when you click "forgot password" and type your email it says "IF that email is registered we will send a code" instead of "we couldn't find that email" so go onto the sites you think they may be using and do that, then check their email to see if anything came through. Not foolproof, they may have email addresses you don't know about.
   
7. Check all saved passwords in the phone. Go to settings, type 'password' and you should find something like 'manage passwords'. Here you can see a list of any they've asked their phone to save. You may already know their passwords, but it'll include a list of all the accounts and websites they use, so you may see something here, like an email you didn't know they had.
   
8. Going back to hidden/sneaky apps, check their battery usage. Go to settings, search 'battery' and you should see it. 3 hours on a calculator app? I don't think so. This MAY work for deleted apps. It didn't on my ex's phone, but it did on mine - although it took the app logo away and named it something different, but still recognisable.
   
9. Save unknown numbers into your phone. If you see calls from a number that isn't saved, save it onto yours and check the WhatsApp picture, the Snapchat name, check if it links to a social media profile. Check the history with that number by clicking it and pressing 'history' to see if it was a one off 30 second call, or if there have been multiple long calls.
   
10. Get their phone bills. I'm in the UK and our networks will list how many texts were sent to what number in total throughout the month on the bill. They also show what phone calls were made when, and how long they lasted for.
    
11. Hidden chats on WhatsApp. If you go to the top of the chat list and scroll up like you're reloading, a new bar will appear at the top called "Locked chats" if they have chosen to do so. Click this and you need to enter the phone password, and you will see any hidden conversations.
    
12. SOME phone contacts will tell you when the number was added. On my phone, it seems to have only started doing it in the last year or so. But if you click a contact and scroll to the bottom it may tell you when the contact was made.
    
13. Read messages with their friends. Don't assume those messages will be safe because they aren't with the mystery person. They may have mentioned something to their friends, there could be a conversation with a time gap in the middle where two messages don't make sense together because something in between them was deleted. Check for these weird gaps in any conversations.
    

I think that's everything I have to offer. I just hope it helps people figure things out sooner rather than later. I've ignored a lot of the basics like "check their email". This is stuff for the cheaters who think they're sneaky at deleting stuff. If you get to check their phone, don't let them see what you're checking, it will just make them aware of what they need to be careful about, especially if there's a need to check again in the future.
I'm aware a cheater may read these and become more careful, but I'm hoping more victims read it and leave their sorry asses.
Good luck everybody.
EDIT: Just wanted to add a note to point 2 about looking at copied/pasted things. As you can hold down a message to delete it, they may have accidentally clicked 'copy' instead of delete without realising. This was what happened to me.
Also, thank you to everybody who has added their own tips and tricks.