#there are like. no mountains on the east coast it’s odd

[t34-mt]

orginally in ms paint, then quickly experimented with the brushes of krita on it today, worldbuilding text about the piece under ->

southern kyhuine taking a break in the afternoon after a training session with this large calf. Surely around his village as just lying down on their stomach (a sign of relaxation) would never occur in wild areas, because kyhuines need to stay alert of their surrounding.

the headpiece is made of bones, that are sanded down, and then painted on. it is originally a thing from the kyhuines of the salt desert (a dried-out sea that contains well, salt, and many fossils), which are located up to the south so technically "northern". tho they are not called northern in world, and are referred to as salt kyhuines.

the concept of south, west, east, and north is kind of not right, as kyhuines are from the middle of the mega continent of altuyur. they used to have a restricted view of the world with a map that was quite small and not even aware that oceans existed at these times, they did not venture out to certain chains of mountains which is why it took so long for the "first contacts" to happen with maanuls. Old maanuls maps, only map out some coasts the rest being vague and the middle being completely empty of information. Both species would have that similar phrase to call non-mapped parts, "beyond the beyond"

I put first contact in "" because it is implied that it did happen maybe thousands of centuries ago, during what their equivalent of prehistory is (history for them does not start with the appearance of writing). Because there is cave art in coastal regions that show maanuls interacting with badly drawn little things that sort for assemble kyhuines, the same goes for kyhuines in their desert biomes, having cave art of them interacting with weird giants. But these happened so long ago that they're not documented in history apart from these odd pieces of art, so with time passing each species thought these were just drawings of spirits, or with time turning these into cryptids.

So funnily enough some cultures had cryptids of something that for them was a legend to then at late AOS or GA realize that these cryptids kind of reassemble the opposite species that they're in contact with now

a bit of ramble but yeah, thank you for reading! not sure how clear this can all sound without having a map to show it, i still have no idea how to draw one id love a beautiful one but hmhm i don't know how

edit: also the square shapes on the clothe means health, so with a dot in it its sort of like "good health", clothings can have symbols to give good luck. The square for kyhuines during GA became a wide symbol across cultures to signify health because in others it could mean something else, so medics of GA with uniforms would have that square symbol on their arm or somewhere else where it would easily be seen

#kyhuine #sketch #scenery #xenofiction #altuyur #speculative zoology #xenobiology #2023 #digital art #artist on tumblr #yellow #worldbuilding

[the-art-block]

*kicking my feet like I'm reading a love letter as I take in the amazing lore*

Hi! Sorry to bother, but as you know I'm obsessed with Moonrise information. What are their views on Kindred Sorcery? How do they see blood magic, Thinblood alchemy, and necromancy? Do they have different views than what is widely accepted amongst "common" Kindred society? Thank you as always for your time. 💖

A very juicy question indeed!!

I do of course love to babble endlessly about the Moonrise Nation 🥰 Passion projects like these are so much fun to share 💙💙💙

As a small preface for this answer, it is important to keep in mind that while I ultimately wanted each clan to have some kind of representation in the pre-colonial Kindred lore, some clans were simply not present on the continent before a certain time period.

Folks like the Setites, Banu Haqium, Ravnos, Tremere, and Salubri only arrived in number post-colonization. Prior to the massive arrival of immigrant settlers, these clans may have been represented by singular Kindred in any given region, as the descendants of long-forgotten migrants from the other parts of the ancient world. (I standby that Kindred have no reason to stay in one place if they want to travel the world, and as long as they can secure safe passage during the daytimes, no distance is unmanageable. Humans have been crossing oceans and mountains and polar regions for thousands and thousands of years. Who is to say that the odd Setite or Ravnos traveler didn't make it across the Bering Sea Land Bridge strapped to a litter??) The Hecata in general were present in ancient times, but the Giovanni specifically only arrived after the settlement of the East Coast began. Thin Bloods are a relatively modern phenomenon, so the old tradition has little to say on the matter of Alchemy.

That said, Blood Sorcery and Oblivion were present in the indigenous Kindred population by way of Caitiffs.

This ended up being quite long so I'll hide it under this cut like a cheeky fucker

Clan Everything | Caitiffs

The creation myth of the indigenous American Kindred tells that each of the progenitor vampires learned their inherent Disciplines from three worldly spirits.

Caitiffs, while exceedingly rare in the old days, were still a quantifiable group of Kindred. It was believed that a newly Embraced Childe had the chance to become a Caitiff if they were abandoned by their Sire before waking. Rather than inherit the knowledge of power belonging to their makers, these orphaned Kindred would instead be found by three random spirits of the world, who would then offer their gifts as consolation to the forgotten newborn. The teachers of power would learn these orphans by name and follow them through their lives, happy to teach any lesson the Kindred was curious about.

Clan "Everything" because there were no limits.

While modern Kindred lore understands that Caitiffs are born without a Bane, the ancient American tradition states that their Bane is, in fact, their lack of a heritage. While most Childer would have a Sire with them their whole lives to guide, teach, and protect them, Caitiffs were often left without. In a society where an individual's Sireage was key to understanding their identity and their place in the order of things, not having a connection to blood kin made one somewhat untrustworthy, unknowable, and unpredictable. While Caitiffs were rarely fully excised from Kindred circles, they did not enjoy the same entwined lives as those with definitive clans, and were never permitted to Embrace. While most other undead sought safety in the arms of their (statistically very few) neighbors, the life of a clanless vampire could be a cruel, dangerous, and short one.

Despite the raw deal of having little social security, Caitiffs were the ones most often in possession of vampiric sorceries. If a member of Clan Everything was so fortunate to be pitied by the right spirits, they would have immense utility to offer. This singular advantage afforded many an orphan vamp a safe Haven, clean vessels, and secure standing in their local communities.

A Fox's Deal | Blood Sorcery

The heat and light of a fire in the dark is, in equal measure, blessing and curse to the undead. That was the Creator's intent. Without the life given to the world by fire, even the dead will die again. The discerning teacher Fox knew that the balance between thriving and starving was always teetering, and took mercy on his students. As other spirits once did for the living, so he did for the dead.

The overwhelming majority of sorcerers were unclaimed orphans with no Sire, no clan, no stories to learn from. This naturally meant that there were no teachers, and most magic was self-taught... or perhaps it was taught by a sly prankster in red furs?

Known in most stories for being foolhardy and unwitting scholars, it was supposedly common to find your way to a sorcerer by the craters and scorch marks that marred their territories. In a world without Chantry or temple, each sorcerer boasted a bespoke and jury-rigged collection of rituals that only they knew the full nuances to.

Sorcerers that leveraged their unique abilities for a place in Kindred society were wholly reluctant to share either the gift or the secrets of their spellcasting, and kept their processes and formulae hidden even from other sorcerers. A shrewdness decidedly taught to them by Fox.

Whispers in the Water | Oblivion

It has long been understood by humankind that deep, dark waters are no place for them. For millennia since the first thought, fear of the abyss has remained. That long and darkening horizon over endless waters has been called a hell, an afterlife, and the realm of Gods for as long as man's eyes have glanced across them. The same is true in ancient America, where large bodies of water were often said to be the dominion of evil spirits and the beds of unhappy gods.

For the intrepid undead, such realms were vaults of learning which hid stories long-forgotten. Tapping into such knowledge was known to change a person, living or not - but the bounty to be gained was worth the currency of body and soul alike.

Each time Bullhead took on a new student, she looked into the pit where their spirit once was and dictated what lessons to pass on to them.

On one fin, she held the key to the past. The world turned on a wheel of knowledge, on lessons learned by the aging brains inside the skulls of elders. Sometimes, whole mortal lives would vanish with no opportunity to pass on what they'd learned. The magics that could bring these departed souls back was regarded as a most sacred and most essential tool to preserving wisdom beyond the ken of even the immortal Promiskeepers.

On the other fin, she held a shadow. The waters of the Earth were fury given form, crashing against the realm of man and good spirits like a raving giant. The grip of the current and the hunger of the depths was known on every shore and riverbed - where the dwellings of unholy things ground against the lands of the living. Any warrior capable of pulling these demons from water would have little to fear from either Kine or Kindred, and the time between wars was getting shorter and shorter each year. In her mercy, the spirit filled the void in her most ferocious students with the salt of sea and the ice of river.

The Light of Dawn | Thin Blood Alchemy

Settler Kindred make claims of the curse of vampirism originating with some gent in a Hebrew myth. The story says that God passed down a punishment on this murderer for his acts of violence and malice, and that he walked the Earth for all time in his misery - forever barred from Heaven.

For the people that lived on the continent for thousands of years before the events of the Bible, Caine is no one. Though the detail of the curse originating from the Creator remains, there was no single ancestor, but a dozen. Maybe even more, as modern theorists say.

As this story goes, a starving tribe of people committed atrocities in their pursuit to sustain themselves. So great were these crimes that the tribe was cursed, every man, woman, and child was exiled from the good way and forced to wallow in their guilt for all eternity...

But the modern nights show us that perhaps His fury is not infinite. The coming of a new age rides on the shoulders of Kindred half-born from mortals half-killed. To most Kindred philosophy today, this is a sign of some apocalypse or another, but for the Elders of the long-gone courts, this is a sign that the Creator's hatred is easing. The curse, at last, is lifting.

The magic they wield is no different. Creation in its most simplistic form, offered to those who have been nearly devoured. These are the miracles of the Creator's mercy, a new vision for redemption that must be celebrated and protected.

Honoring the Stories | The Moonrise Nation

The modern conglomerate calling itself the Moonrise Nation is a product of its time. A stalwart but young movement eager to reclaim and preserve all manner of lost things from the edge of extinction - from knowledge, to tradition, to blood.

Though much has been lost with no hope of recovery, just as much still remains. Knowledge of how the old clans dealt with the magics of the undead informs how the modern Nation conducts its own magics.

At time of writing, the presence of Blood Sorcery and Oblivion is still rare within the faction. Efforts have been launched to court and secure teachers, and thusfar they have gained the aid of the Tremere Ishkode (@syntheticmortal), the Giovanni Bartolo Tall-House, and the Lasombra Xhuuya. Reclamation of their personal traditions from pre-colonial Kindred has proven a very difficult task, but the combined recollections of the Elders Five-Trout, Atena:ti, and Beadmaker have produced some promising results so far!

Thin Blood Alchemy is, ironically, in heavier use than the other more common sorceries, as the number of Thin Bloods present in the Nation surpasses those of the more inherently magical clans.

-

SORRY that was a lot hahahah

#vtm #vampire: the masquerade #moonrise nation

[gumnut-logic]

From Australian Bureau of Meteorology Seasonal Summary of Summer 2024

If anyone asks why Australians tend to live on the coast instead of the interior, the answer is pretty obvious and doesn’t require a YouTube video claiming its odd.

Also the above article discusses the raw data on exactly how hot this summer has been. Poor Western Australia was roasted, while the east coast drowned ::hugs all my fellow Aussies::

As for Adelaide, which sits in the yellow bit with the Island and gulfs to the east of the Great Australian Bight, we had a mild summer. We blew out our rain record, but honestly that was two days in December and not much else, nothing like the east and north that had the fun of at least two cyclones. Adelaide has only had a few hot days and no major heat waves (I say that as the next few days are going to be 34, 33, 36, 39, 36 and 36 celcius, so technically there is a four day heatwave in that at least, yay for autumn).

Where I live is very dry - my car is desperate for rain to get all the bird shit and outback dust off it as we haven’t really seen any for two months. But this summer it felt like one side of the country was baking and the other drowning while we sat quite lucky with mild weather in the middle ::hugs all the Aussies::

Of course, it may be Autumn and the days are getting shorter (damnit), but we will still have some summery weather, so it isn’t finished yet. Not really until the first April rains.

I am counting my blessings, though.

Nutty

I love a sunburnt country

A land of sweeping plains

Of ragged mountain ranges

Of droughts and flooding rains

- Dorothea MacKellar

#weather #australian weather #adelaide weather #adelaide #nutty is a weather geek

[gemsofgreece]

Which are the most beautiful places in Greece? Aside from mykono and santorini which are beautiful but they are the obvious answer 😉

First, let me tell you what isn’t. Mykonos is generally not among the most beautiful places in Greece. It might come off as a surprise to foreign people but you don’t go to Mykonos because of its beauty. You go for the jet set / celebrity vibes. That’s not to say it isn’t beautiful or that you wouldn’t love it if you went there - it has gorgeous settlements and nice beaches - but compared to other places I wouldn’t even rank it in the top 25, let alone top 2.

Santorini is another case. It’s one of a kind, not only in Greece but worldwide too. But even that can’t guarantee one will definitely like it. For example, my dad can name almost 10 islands he likes more than Santorini, which seems insane to me, but beauty is a very subjective matter.

Which is why I have trouble coming up with an answer for you. There are so many things that make a place beautiful. How can I objectively compare coastal and mountainous regions or beautiful towns or other peculiar attractions (outstanding landscapes or major historical/ cultural regions)? It depends on what everybody prefers. As I’ve said before, Greece’s strong card is that it is more or less everywhere beautiful. You have to make a really odd touristic choice to land on a truly plain place.

The only thing I can do is find the best regarding specific types of beauty. The rankings are in no particular order.

Best beaches and coastal regions:

Mostly found in the Heptanese (Ionian) islands and the Epirote coast opposite them [1], Chalcidice [2], Mount Pelion, the Sporades islands and Euboea island [3], Crete island [4], the Dodecanese islands [5], the South Peloponnese [6], Samos island [7], Thasos island [8] and some of the Cyclades islands (i.e the Small Cyclades) [9].

Best mountainous regions:

The Pindus mountain range and Agrafa mountains covering almost all of Epirus, Southwest Macedonia, West Thessaly, Northwest Sterea Hellas [1]. The rest of the mountains of Sterea Hellas [2]. The two mountain ranges of Crete island [3]. The mountainous core of Arcadia in Peloponnese, Feneos in Corinth and Mount Taygetus in Laconia [4]. Mount Olympus where Larissa meets Pieria [5]. Mount Voras in Pella [6] and Mount Falakro in Drama [7]. Mount Pelion in Magnesia [8].

Best forests, wetlands and ecoregions:

The forests in Thrace and East Macedonia [1], Kerkini in Serres, Skra lake in Kilkis and the waterfalls of Edessa [2], the Perspa lakes and the wildlife shelters in Kastoria and Florina [3], the National Woodland parks in Ioannina and Grevena [4], the Marine Park in Alonissos island and the forests in Mount Pelion [5], Plastira Lake in Karditsa [6], the many wetlands of Aetolia-Acarnania [7], the Marine Park of Zakynthos island [8], wetlands and forests in Elis [9], Feneos in Corinthia [10], Gorge of Samaria in Chania [11].

Prettiest towns or most interesting urban centers:

Kavala, Xanthi and the Pomak villages of Thrace [1], Thessaloniki [2], Kastoria, Ioannina, its surrounding Zagorohoria villages and Parga in Preveza [3], Kerkyra (Corfu) island [4], Volos and the traditional villages of Mount Pelion [5], Athens [6], Nafplion, the Saronic islands and the mountain villages of Arcadia [7], Lesvos and Chios islands [8], all the Cyclades islands and Skyros island [9], the Dodecanese islands [10] and Chania town [11].

Best historical sites:

Ancient Pella, Vergina in Imathia, Amphipolis in Serres and all monuments and museums in Thessaloniki [1], the Monastic State of Mount Athos [2], Kerkyra (Corfu) island [3], Delphi and all historical sites in Athens [4], basically all of Peloponnese [5], many of the Cyclades islands and the largest of the Dodecanese islands [6] and all archaeological and historical sites in most of Crete [7].

Best unique regions, standalone areas, natural and cultural wonders etc:

Meteora in Trikala is a category on its own [1], Santorini but also other places in Cyclades islands too (i.e Milos) [2], Samothrace [3], Livaditis of Xanthi, the tallest waterfall in the Balkans, in a challenging to access region [4], the autonomous Monastic State of Mount Athos [5], the sand dunes in Lemnos island and the petrified forest in Lesvos island [6], Vikos Gorge in Ioannina [7], Melissani lake in Cephalonia island and the Blue Caves in Zakynthos island [8], Polylimnio in Messenia and Diros caves in Laconia [9], several features in Chania (i.e Balos lagoon, Elafonissi pink beach, Samaria gorge) [10], the Corinth Canal in Corinthia [11] and the Servia gorge and Bouharia in Kozani [12]. 

Important note: This was an attempt to narrow it down. I excluded dozens of locations with beautiful archaeological museums, ancient theatres, tombs etc. I excluded many areas with pretty mountain villages. I excluded half the good beaches. I have certainly forgotten stuff. For example, I haven't coloured even once a place I really like. But in general I think the result is decent. Not perfect but not that far off either.

#greece #travel #travelling #tourist guide #greek facts #anon #ask

[nerosdayinanime]

Lampshades on Fire

Well the lampshade's on fire when the lights go out- This is what i really call a party now- Well, fear makes us really really run around- A-this one's done so where to now? Our eyes light up, we have no shame at all- Well, you all know what i'm talking about- The room lights up, but we're still dancin' around- We're havin' fun, havin' some fun now- Pack up again, head to the next place- Where we'll make the same mistakes- Open one up and let it fall to the ground- Pile out the door when it all runs out

made me think of the aftermath of one offshoot where giyuu gets exiled, something something mother killed & replaced by a spy nin and giyuu found out and killed said nin- tsutako only saw giyuu killing their mother & she chased him out of the clan for treason in a fit of despair/broken heart/trust. Giyuu fled to the Urokodakis for comfort from his pack (Sabito & Makomo), they ended up fleeing the southern valley entirely for saftey & then its adventure time :)

they kinda just do their best to distract themselves from the pain of leaving their home the only place theyve really known (& giyuu from the despair & feeling of betrayal abt his mother & sister- their culture is super close so being outcast is VERY serious). really just exploring their wider world outside the word of visiting merchants and learning about the realities people live, avoiding getting killed as rogue nin, finding other rogue groups, meeting new allies-

tomioka to urokodaki & past sends them to the east side of the mountains in the land of Rain, smthn like the kamados get whiped out and im thinking either they meet the whole kamaboko quartet later & adopt em all at once or they rescue tanjiro & nezuko in the middle of a raid & end up also taking in zenitsu & inosuke, loop back north to the bigger Northern valley in land of Volcanoes and meet kyojuro senjuro mitsuri & obanai, group heads west along the northern shore of the great lake into land if Wind and get muichiro & yuichiro, around this time learning of an odd group searching for a way to harness power from the sun based on an ancient myth of the continent's early history(nod to the hq!! msby team, on their own little quest to chase the sun), head around the great lake and meet gyomei at the middle mountain, head south and meet kanae shinobu & kanao at the flowering edge of the swaths of forest and swaths of grassy plains either way, heading into the plains southeast-ward and meeting sanemi genya & masachika, swinging back southwest-ward to avoid the southern valley and heading into land of Forest where theyre caught in the middle of a war between the uzui and another clan, quickly heading back north with a new quartet to the group at their warning the wars only get worse further south around the borders to land of the Dead & land of Ice

its the widest-reaching branch so far, just a massive adventure around the ramshack continent i stuffed several different anime series into and pieced together with ducttape & spit- land of the Dead & land of Ice have vampires, bloodbenders, shadowbenders, demons, an assassin bloodline, ...gojo, its not very fun down there<3 and i didnt even mention land of Water or land of Sand to the west & north respectively- i imagine their journey already would take a few years though, especially between keeping a bunch of kids in line, happy & healthy, and teaching them how to fight & defend themselves while they dont know where they are

map #28363610 ive made for this au.. i fucked up on the bottom mountains, left 'claw' is supposed to be bigger and the middle one's supposed to like. seperate the bottom so Koori's split into 'west' 'east' and 'coast'- also the southern valley's thinner and higher up in the mountains than the north valley (i.e. Very Dangerous, tomioka & urokodaki got it set UP in there getting paid to guide merchants through) and i couldnt add it, but theres a massive frozen lake at the top of the mountains betweeb the southern valley & Koori

#kny clan au #loserboy giyuu posting #fratboy sabito posting #foxsquad posting #kny au #kny clan au: giyuu exiled #kny clan au: giyuu exiled - adventure #uhh #i dont have additional thoughts rn its all in the post for once #OH also not described bc the tool i used didnt have the option: its in the southern hemisphere- suna's desert and shisha & koori are #taiga/trundra/steppe/FUCKING C O LD

[twosquareroti]

Moon, Don’t Rise Tonight - PS:1 Fanfiction

This is the first fic for Ponniyin Selvan that I--or anyone--have put on AO3. Here’s the link. Please let me know if you have comments! 

---

Vanthiyadevan reached back over his shoulder and froze, fingers closing around empty space rather than his horse's reins. 

Semban?

He caught a familiar flash of brown out of the corner of his eye just as he began to turn around. The horse had stayed back a little ways behind him, lingering in the market and taking an interest in a number of garlands that swung gently where they hung. 

Either the non-existent breeze had moved them, or they were swinging because someone had gotten curious and started pulling and tugging at them. 

Vanthiyadevan brushed some stray curls from his face, chest rising in a small sigh— knowing his horse, the odds that they were facing the latter situation were a little too high. 

"Semban!" 

He dodged an ox cart and got there just before Semban could interfere with a pile of jasmine blossoms as they sat unattended, waiting to be strung. But the horse knocked some to the ground anyway, and Vanthiyadevan found himself gesturing a wordless apology to the woman stringing the garlands as he pulled Semban away, mindful of the woman's young children as they rushed to gather the fallen buds at his feet as though they were playing a game.

Semban bobbed his head as he followed, evidently pleased with himself. The end of some coir netting was tucked in his mouth, and tangled in the material below was a small basket that spun precariously a few feet off the ground.   

Vanthiyadevan stopped in the middle of the road, shaking his head as he brought his face close to Semban's. 

“You can't just do things like this,” he said as he stroked his horse’s neck, a bit of affection slipping into his voice despite himself. “I know I’ve told you.” 

He bent down and carefully retrieved the hanging basket, tucking it under his arm as he gently pulled the coir netting from Semban’s mouth. 

“Now where did you get this…” 

His eyes scanned the crowd, looking past stacks of tender young jackfruit and baskets of pori, waiting for an irate man or woman to come marching towards him out from some market stall at any moment now. 

Preferably whoever came marching forward to claim the basket would be a woman.  And preferably a woman not holding something she intended to whack him with. 

Though maybe I’d deserve it for causing her trouble, Vanthiyadevan thought, a wry smile on his face. 

He patted Semban’s cheek. No, he wouldn’t really mind, regardless of who came to claim the basket. Of all the women in the world, from Cheena in the east and Yavana far to the west, from the sparkling coast of Lanka up to the mountains where Lord Shiva’s abode crowned the splendid Himalaya, there was only one woman who captured his thoughts now. 

But no one materialized to come for the basket, woman or no.

Well, he would just have to go find the owner and return it in person then. He balanced it in one hand and peaked beneath the lid, half expecting to hear someone in the distance cry out to Muruga once they came to the entirely reasonable conclusion that someone had absconded with their goods in broad daylight and was now helping himself to them. 

Inside the basket were a dozen sesame urundai, dark and sweet with palm jaggery, all nestled together over a banana leaf. 

And then someone—someone who sounded suspiciously like Nambi—did cry out, but not with Muruga’s name on his lips.

Vanthiyadevan peered around in the direction Nambi’s voice had come from, back towards the kiosk hung with garlands of fragrant jasmine. Above it rose the vimanam of a small brick temple, the care and skill of its Chozha artisans visible even at a distance; it was the closest temple in the immediate area that a devout Vaishnavite like Nambi might find his heart drawn to visit.  

Sure enough, Nambi soon emerged from beneath the temple gate, clutching his clothes so that he wouldn’t trip in his hurry. 

The clothes were dropped the instant he saw Vanthiyadevan, and he immediately brandished his staff with worrying vigor.

“Have you been telling stories about Kannan and how he ran off with the gopis’ butter as a child, Nambi?” Vanthiyadevan called out, counting on his smile and good mood to diffuse the situation. “Semban must’ve been listening and, well, he got the wrong idea!” 

Nambi huffed and grabbed the basket from Vanthiyadevan’s hands, checking to be sure all urundai were still present. 

“The leela is a completely different situation, thambi. The butter is bhakti— thought and emotion purified and turned into love, like butter churned from pure milk!” he retorted. For a moment Vanthiyadevan was worried he’d jab him with his staff, but Nambi merely threatened him and stopped short of actually doing it. “Remember how Andal yearned to offer Krishna a hundred pots of butter, and a hundred pots of sweet rice?”

“I thought you told me never to listen to Andal’s poems?” He raised an eyebrow and gave Nambi a friendly slap on the shoulder. “Or I’d abandon life as a warrior and my service to the Chozha kingdom, and devote myself to the service of Narayana right then and there? Then instead of you following me around everywhere like the bad spy we both know you are—” 

Nambi threw up a hand and rolled his eyes at the accusation. 

“—you’d take me to all the great Vishnu temples, and we’d offer Andal’s hundred pots of rice and freshly-churned butter together.” 

Vanthiyadevan pat Semban’s flanks as though reassuring the horse that he would of course come too.

Nambi just stared at them both, and by the look on his face, Vanthiyadevan figured he was probably on the verge of starting some theological explanation that would somehow turn into a useless, lighthearted argument. 

Well, from Vanthiyadevan’s perspective, that’s what it would be.

Luckily the Vaishnavite thought better of it. 

“Yes,” Nambi grumbled, still irritable. “If only you could stop your horse from running off with somebody’s prasadam like a thief and just… getting into trouble in general.” 

“Semban is excellent at getting out of trouble too,” Vanthiyadevan said, gathering up the horse’s reins. “On the battlefield, I mean.”

He noticed a procession coming up the road and pulled Semban towards him, walking off to the side a little to move out of the way of whoever was in the approaching palanquin.

“Are you admitting you’re not some sort of great warrior?” Nambi said, gathering up his staff and the urundai basket to follow him.

Vanthiyadevan might have felt slightly wounded by that comment if anybody else had been listening.

“Sometimes you have to call a strategic retreat and regroup elsewhere. It’s better to live to fight another day than die and give up a real shot at victory,” he said. “But someone like you shouldn’t have to worry about tactics and war and the details of something that involves so much violence and death.” 

“Well you know, thambi, the Arthashastra actually discusses—”

Then Vanthiyadevan jumped forward to grab the basket of urundai, pulling Nambi by proxy out of the path of a group of goats who were carelessly charging down the road, fleeing the coming procession. 

Nambi had let go of the urundai basket, leaving Vanthiyadevan holding it as he ignored the goats and launched into a discussion of the Mahabharata and old Tamil literature and other works whose names Vanthiyadevan didn’t catch.

He’d stopped paying attention entirely; he was rooted to the spot, and his heart leapt in his chest like a deer fleeing a hunter’s arrow. 

Mere meters away, the palanquin had halted, its occupant pulling back the cloth that separated her from Vanthiyadevan and the rest of the world.

Kundavai. 

The entire world shrunk, and there was just her, himself, and the space between them. 

She gave him a subtle smile, her dark eyes glinting with a mind as sharp as his sword that made her all the more beautiful, a jewel whose heart the sun had set aflame. 

She called out to him and the basket of sesame urundai nearly slipped from his hands, Kundavai’s voice sweeter than all the jaggery in the world

Moon, don’t rise tonight, he thought. In her face shines all the light I need.

#The last line is the most romantic thing I can remember writing in a while #Ponniyin Selvan #PS:1 #fanfiction #my writing #my stuff #Ponniyin Selvan fanfiction #vanthiyadevan #vanthiyathevan #nambi #semban #kundavai #vanthiyadevan/kundavai

[the-mesmian-mumbler]

The Vornan

The vornan were created by Rekron, the deity of magic, in the early days of the world. Rekron distilled occult magical energy down into solid forms that became the bodies of the first vornan, and animated this magic using a spark from Thelerun's forge of creation to give them mind and soul. The name vornan translates to "children of magic" from the Primordial language.

Due to their unique origins, vornans have a deep connection to the occult, exhibited within their culture and physiology. All vornans have eyes that glow with warm hues of yellow to orange. Their skin appears to be a pure black void, attributed to all light being unable to touch it. None have ever seen what their skin truly looks like, not even themselves, but it often has an extremely soft texture to it. Their blood is a shimmering violet color that seems to swirl with magic.

The vornan hail from the island of Lidora, roughly 600 miles east of mainland Mesmia. The island itself is rich with strange magical energies. An ancient forest in the southeast is filled with occult creatures, and only the hardiest of adventurers dare enter. Close to the western coast stands an odd obelisk in a field surrounded by large living statues, and whispers can be heard coming from the obelisk. The mountains throughout the island contain the highest amount of mithral deposits and various valuable alchemical components.

Kavestian University, the most prestigious magic university in all of Mesmia, was founded by vornan in the city of Loncestus. Due to the magic within them, many vornan utilize magic to a greater extent in everyday life than other Mesmians. Even those that pursue more mundane careers find a way to integrate magic in some capacity, leading to most vornan workers to be magewrights.

#dnd #worldbuilding #fantasy

[charlesandmartine]

An epilogue

Canada was great and in many ways not how we expected it to be. For one thing, the weather was good, warm, sunny and dry. We were able to join in the celebrations of Canada Day in shorts beside the lake in the heat. Constitution Act of 1867 signed off by Queen Victoria created Canada, formally joining several colonies into a single, unified, semi-independent Dominion of Canada. Essentially, Canada became a self-governing dominion within the British Empire on the 1st July 156 years ago. And to some extent, Canada as an entity was something we found odd. Why did it never join the USA (some say Alberta would like to become the 51st State of the USA), why did the US buy Alaska above Canada in 1867, incidentally the same year Canada was created, and why do half the people still speak French despite the French being licked by the British in the Battle of Quebec in 1759? Well I don't think anyone knows. It's odd thinking of a French speaker as Canadian and not, well, French. The second largest country in the world and the longest border with another country in the world. Shoreline on 3 oceans and just 40 million or so population. The Rockies were like a massive version of the Lake District and Norwegian Fjords superimposed onto the Alps. Alaska reminded me very much of Norway. Equally stunning in its own way with tiny communities happily coexisting in their geographically imposed isolation with whales and fish as company but invaded regularly by vast armies of cruise ship guests many times in number greater than their own population. Canadians were lovely, pleasant, polite people; we called them nice Americans. They seemed very like the English in being almost apologetic of their country and sometimes it seemed not realising just how good it is. It is easy to overlook though the reality that this lovely place, basking in 30° heat will soon be shivering in temperatures as low as -30° in those dark winter days. I couldn't live in that. We covered a lot of road miles seeing the foothills gradually convert to rocky mountains and then seeing them from a different perspective from the massive picture windows of the brilliant Rock Mountaineer railway. We have seen a shed load of Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Whales, Elk, Ground Hogs, Chipmunks and just two Bears. We have discovered that British Columbia produces a very fine SB and it was a great delight to sit on the terrace of a small independent winery drinking some of its output. Who'd have thought that Canada could have rainforest, huge fruit growing communities and a dry, arid desert. Apart from the hiatus caused in the first week by a rampant Cockerel on steroids and the forest fire which caused a radical change in itinerary, we have had a great time. We most likely will not return to the Rockies, but we are intrigued by what we might see were we to peer over the top of the mountains and looked east at Québec (pronounced keybeck by locals) and beyond to the coast at Nova Scotia.

In the meantime, greeting us in our mailbox on our return was the Lonely Planet guide to Northern Territories. There's something to think about.

[simonambroise]

Happy world building Wednesday. What lands, kingdoms, cities, dimensions, etc. are available in your work? Which are your favorites and why? - Desmond💘

MUAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA

YOU HAVE FALLEN INTO MY DEVIOUS TRAP!!! >:3

You may think, Simon, surely you will share more things from Captain of the Blue Opal? You know, the book six people are invested in, five of which know where you sleep at night?

To that I say nay. Today we shall speak of Paladin of Three, my second born child- I mean novel. The one I haven't been talking about yet.

The continent of Vestera has been splintered into pieces ever since the first rock floated down from the origin of it all. The sea sort of goes in one direction, like a really big river. How does this work scientifically??? Idk, its fantasy. There are dragons. Do you know dragons work? No? Suck it up and deal.

There are five distinct biomes, each of which has it unique advantages and disadvantages. At the beginning of the story, the world lis divided like this:

To the North, we have Echima- a land of ice and snow, factories and concrete. Cliche? Yes. They're the most technologically advanced, featuring steam engines and steam ships, early robots and whatnot. They're way behind us, meaning our reality, but they're fighting a handful of unarmed people with kitchen knives. Not the most efficient weapon, but legions better than nothing.

To the East, we have Quell. Named for its founder by the same name, Quell boasts the best sailors and the most powerful navy. Due to the way the sea flows, Vestera is consistently being worn away at; but only on one side. The resulting sediments find their way to Quell's beaches, where the water deposits them. Surprise, the sea flowing in one direction actually affects the climate and geography!!!! I'm a nerd, I know (got a 95 on my earth science regents).

To the South, we have Soulwood. The climate is fair, never too hot or too cold, through they do live in a swamp, meaning its quite humid. They're the magic folks, the scholars and wizards and whatnot. The entire area is full of magic, ancient trees and odd creatures.

To the West we have Ashing, a mountainous region broken up by the occasional valley. It is, purely geographically speaking, shrinking due to the one way ocean wearing away at their side of the continent. As a result of this, the entire west coast is a cliff, making trading via water nigh impossible. They live underneath the earth in caves, possessing the greatest network of tunnels and the best forge in Vestera.

Then, finally, we have Tenpertios, the central region, and the only one that can produce crops on a scale to feed the continent. Nicknamed the "Breadbasket of Vestera" this country is relied on quite heavily, though the royal family of Tenpertios has significantly less power than the other Lords. The reason why is plot-relevant history ;)

My book series is dimension traveling lesbians, so there's a lot of dimensions. I chose POT cause its the one I'm working on right now, but the one I'm most excited for is the third book, The Honest Traitors. Its a superhero novel but fruity. I genuinely had the most fun writing the plot for that one, ngl. But if I were to go into detail of every dimension in every book, we'd be here forever. And I don't have enough time, unfortunately :(

In Paladin of Three, my favorite is Soulwood. I must admit, I'm a sucker for magic swamps/forests.

Without getting too far into the weeds of economics, diplomatic relations and trading routes, Soulwood is an equal to Echima in physical power, despite the fact they are ideologically opposed and have different methods of maintaining that power. Quell is a trading hub, built on commerce and as a result, is very economically powerful. Ashing isn't as powerful outright, but they've got a chokehold on metals and semi-precious stones needed for both technology and spell components, on top of the precious metals for coins.

Tenpertios, despite being the main food source of the entire continent, is constantly undermined by the other countries, once again for plot relevant reasons.

Uhhhhhhh yeah hold on I should check if I actually answered the prompt or if I've strayed from the path given to me.

Yep, prompt answered. Cool. Yeah, here you go. Took me a while to write haha :)

#stayed in the drafts #For days #for worldbuilding #writerscommunity #writing #queer community #queer author #writeblr #writers #writers on tumblr #queer #time crystal quintet #asks #answered

[druidx]

Find the word

Thanks for the tag, @spacetimewraithwrites <3

I've grabbed these from What Alexis Did Next. CW: Romance, mild NSFW

Part

"It took you nearly two weeks to find me? I expected better from my champions." I glanced to see a slight smile playing on [Storri's] lips. "Oh don't start, darling," I said good-naturedly, and gave a tired sigh as I leant against him. "This is a bloody big place, and it wasn't you that we were after remember? My main objective was the obliteration of the Demonic Three. Myurr was the second objective, and finally, your rescue if I had enough time." I gave him a peck on the cheek. "Luckily for you, the second and third objectives were accomplished more easily than I had anticipated." "Aye, it's part one I'm now worried about." "Hurm?" I asked, from where I was resting my eyes, leant against his faint warmth.

Pain

"We should head back," I said and turned away from the shrine. I'd taken a few steps before noticing he was still looking at the shrine, forehead creased. "Alexis, may I make a request of you?" Edwin asked, his eyes still fixed on the shrine. "I guess?" "When you're down there... don't give up." He paused and huffed, labouring for words. "It doesn't have to be one final hurrah." He bowed his head. "Think about coming home?" He looked at me, and the pain and fear in his expression felt like a physical blow. I wobbled, my resolve faltering. The metaphorical defences I'd so carefully constructed bean to crumble just a little bit. I bit my lip and took a step back. The moment lengthened. I looked away. "We need to be getting back," I said again, voice thick in my throat, and walked away. Behind me, I heard him sigh and murmur, "At least no one can say I didn't try."

Pile

"Ah well then, Madame, it behoves me to mention that someone has led you astray," Tarrem said. "Wyrmholm is not within the Reaches, but just outside of it. Here - better to point it out." So saying the proprietor riffled through his maps, finally drawing a battered sheet of parchment from the pile and laid it out for me to see. It detailed the North-Western corner of Allansia - a portion sandwiched between the Icefinger Mountains to the north, the River Kok to the south, and stopped at Fang to the East. Wyrmholm was marked a few days ride from the coast, inside a ring of mountains that reached down from the Icefinger range.

Peel

"Ach, daher ê du," said an older female rising from her seat and coming towards us. She took the King's arm and give him a kiss on the cheek before leading him to his seat, nattering away. Garni peeled away to speak to one of the footmen lined against the wall, before taking her place at the King's left hand, as a chair was brought and I was squished between two young males at the further end of the table. I had no idea what anyone was saying - aside from the odd word, my grasp of the dwarvish language was limited to curses Ivan uttered - but they all chatted amicably enough, and I was happy to remain ignored while I munched on roast venison.

Pinch (mild NSFW)

"It's been a wee while since I had a lass tearin' at me clothes," [Storri] said. I looked up. "This isn't a-" I started, but found his mouth on mine. I should have been angry at him for taking advantage of the moment. I should have pulled away, remembering our peril, but all sense fled. His lips were like a ripe plum - soft and plump, sweetened with mead. Strong, warm hands slid along my back, drawing us closer. I melted into his embrace, as one hand drifted down to cup a buttock, the other ruching my shirt. His hand on my bare skin sent electric thrills dancing along my waist, and I gasped into his mouth. His answering smile was more felt than seen, and I found myself returning the kiss with fervour. Time stopped. Nothing mattered. Only the feel of my lips on his, the heat of his chest against mine, the silken tresses under my fingers and his broad hands dancing lighting along my skin.

His dwarfhood rose against me, but there was also a sharp, instant prickling across my shoulders. I wanted to answer that rise, but the pickling became pinching on my left arm. I pulled back, and Storri took that as an invitation to run kisses down my neck, as I turned my head. A scuff of pebbles. A glint in the dark. This was all the warning I got.

Plain

"Well..." I guess I was a bit cooler than I would like, having had no activity to keep me warm. "I suppose a little," I said. "Why don't you come inside for a bit then? To the stateroom, if it please you?" [Captain Goodwin] asked. "It's not very often we get paying passengers from beyond the Bay of Corpses. Would you come share news of the Pagan Plains?" I paused, suspicious, wondering why he would want to get me inside, and then I stopped myself. He invited me inside because the deck was chilly, and he wanted to chat and maybe have a drink with someone not of his crew. There was nothing threatening about this big cheery man, and if there was I had my weapons on me; he had not seemed bothered to take them off me, or insist they were left in my cabin. "Of course, it would be my pleasure," I said smiling, feeling foolish.

Tagging: @strosmkai-rum @spacetimewraithwrites @wildswrites @tetrodotoxincs @odysseywritings @ayzrules @morganwriteblr @my-writblr @bexminx @writingingraves @dreamwishing @aalinaaaaaa @wardenoftheabyss @pleaseloathemyveryexistence @jaguarthecat @catharticallysarcastic

#writing #tag game #find the word game #wip excerpt #oc alexis dalliance #oc garni storrisdottir #edwin goodwin #Storri Nargondsson #OC Nola Theoarsdottir #tw romance #tw nswf #wip 'Her Lonely Shadow'

[worthless-muted-baby]

Trigger warning: it's not proof read. This was just an elaborate scenario I thought up while training my dog to listen to whistle commands.

Okay, hear me out.. imagine you and your friends having lived your whole life on the East Coast. The four of you have decided to finally go across the country to the West Coast for an all-out in the mountains camping trip. It might be on the other side of the country, but you all have moderate to expert experience when it comes to camping, hiking, hunting, etc.. this is going to be a piece of cake you all think. However the second night in y'all realize you're being stalked by someone. You don't know at what point they started observing your little group. It could have been the cross country drive. Perhaps the hike up and off the trail to the camping site that y'all barely got pitched before you and the campfire got maybe a little too lit. But man oh man were those s'mores hitting just right.

It didn't matter anyways.

The fact was that y'all were still being watched. Could be one could be two could be a whole group of people. There was just enough proof to know there was at least one person out there. Regardless night went out as planned, although a little less bright.

You're woken up in the middle of the night to one of your oldest and longest friend scream bloody murder. You nearly tear the zipper off your tent while the newest member to your close nit group screams at the intruder you just barely see running out into the dark. The remaining drowsiness fades from your mind as the blood drains from your face. Your best friend. The one that is supposed to die old with you flirting with hot nurses in some broken down old folks home 45 minutes from the nearest Walmart. It is now laying passed out just outside of their sleeping bag. Having been pulled completely out of their tent by the stranger. Your best friends arm snapped in half and both sides of the humerus poking out of their flesh.

The three of you realize being an hour from the cars. A two hour drive from any form of civilization. And they now incapacitated friend. Rescue was not very likely. You all had to make do with what you had. As the three of you tend to your, at best now one armed, friend. A plan is quietly discussed to get revenge. During this discussion every now and then there's a twig snap, or an odd rustle in the trees, the three of you even hear what sounds like a quiet groan in the distance. Maybe your firecracker of a best childhood friend did some damage to their attacker.

A few hours go by. Dawn is just barely lighting up last nights sky. The birds have been awake for about an hour or two, and you three feel that their singing could help mask the call signals you've all set for long distance communication.

Looking down at your sleeping friend one last time. The signal is given by the youngest of the group that the perimeter is clear. You and your best friends boyfriend head out in opposite directions. Each with your own weapon.

The hunt was on.

Estimating about 20 minutes into the search. You've found a recent trail that you think was made by the attacker. Having already given the signal, a Carolina Chickadee call, five minutes ago that was signifying close proximity to the attacker you know the other two are just on your tail.

Taking a moment to compose yourself for what was about to happen you let your heavy eyes close. Listening for your friends calls that would tell you how far away they were. Not even a minute later you hear rustle and twig break. Snapping your eyes open and your head in the direction of the sound. You see the assailant with in arms reach of you. A giant axe aimed at you being lifted over their head. You hear their oddly toned voice say one thing before everything goes red.

"I thought I heard a quiet little eastern bird."

Moral of the story: always be aware of not only your surroundings, but where your surroundings are located.

#story time #east coast #west coast #camping #horror

[lambreason89]

KOA: Camping, Campgrounds & Campsites for Dummies

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#camping

[tshirtspiner]

Sunbelt conference

SUNBELT CONFERENCE PROFESSIONAL

“The Sun Belt gets paid more per school than C-USA does.”Ĭonsidering how much harm financial harm the coronavirus has already done to athletic programs, merging for less money would be a terrible idea. “No way the conference merges and splits up less money,” Moore said. By no means is the Sun Belt rich, but merging with C-USA would possibly make both lose revenue. The Sun Belt is nowhere near the level of the Atlantic Coast Conference or the Southeastern Conference in terms of revenue. Even after landing a new television deal in 2018, they still lost money. The conference’s geography causes many teams to travel far to play each other. A young Panthers football team is one of the many that would struggle with the odd and long schedule of traveling.Ĭonference USA is one of the many smaller conferences to ask the NCAA for aid and it underscores a huge issue. On top of funding, teams in East Coast states, like Georgia State and Coastal Carolina, would also be harmed through travel costs, which come out of the school’s pockets and are not funded by the NCAA. In particular, C-USA does not have as much program funding as the Sun Belt. With all of this in mind, a merger sounds great and could really help Georgia State, but don’t hold your breath.Īs great as the idea might sound, a conference merger is quite complex. 20 nationally, received a bowl date before Christmas a merger could put them in a better spot. As a result, the two could benefit from better access to top-tier bowl games and more bids for the NCAA Basketball Tournament.Ĭurrently, both conferences are relegated to one bid each in their conference, and bowl-wise are subject to terrible slots. Both mid-major conferences have strong programs in football and basketball. On paper, the proposal to merge both conferences makes a lot of sense. “A possible merger has been rumored for a long time now,” Moore said. Roy Moore of 247Sports is familiar with talks of a merger. They boast successful programs such as the Appalachian State Mountaineers in football and the Georgia State Panthers in basketball. The Sun Belt is undeniably a better conference. Both have an abundance of teams, but they also have varying levels of talent and success. While the idea itself is not new, the urgency of such a proposal is now being taken seriously by fans of both conferences. Now, those schools must consider some radical ways to ensure they can still play in the upcoming season.Ī popular option would be a merger between Conference USA and the Sun Belt Conference. Their loss is on a growing list of the financial impacts many small and mid-major conferences are facing. Some small programs are shutting down, such as Morehouse College’s, which ended its program for the foreseeable future last month. The pandemic is wreaking havoc on the sports world, and college football in particular is already feeling the effects.

SUNBELT CONFERENCE PROFESSIONAL

And although professional sports are set to come back, collegiate athletics have not been able to say the same. For the last four months, COVID-19 paused sports entirely.

#Sunbelt conference

[autonomousbosch]

Happy Trails

This is going to be the most self-absorbed, narcissistic entry that I’ve written here and it is necessarily so. I no longer live in my mountain home, nor my swampy state. I’m in a place where I speak a different language, where customs are so obviously alien the moment I leave my room.

The relationship that I had to my home is gone. It has now been eviscerated of any domestic quality, downgraded to the status of virtually any other house. Unremarkable, all except that I used to live there peacefully. Over the course of about forty sleepless hours, I loaded up more belongings than I realized I needed into a rented truck and drove overnight across the length of the east coast, from my cozy mountain home to a shared apartment in Jersey City. 

It’s a change so revolutionary that I struggle to fully understand it. Not that the past few days have been exactly adventurous. I took vacation time from work with the express intention of using it wisely to complete this move, most of it has been spent attempt to organize my life once again from the ground up.

Yet, when I wake up, that ground is so obviously alien. Gone is the greenhouse heat of a subtropical mountain environment, the red clay underfoot that slowly stains and usurps all that it touches. Instead, it is the dry heat of a city covered in concrete, similar to that of a radiator which one of my friends so keenly pointed out. Rather than dust which stains my soles and ankles, it is the carbon exhaust from all the automobiles driving down the road. There is no super market nearby, it is a series of bodegas which all have their own specialties I will need to become acquainted with. My old gym, a decrepit iron dungeon, is yet to be replaced though I know I must. The baseball field down the hill from my old home to be replaced with a grand facility in Lincoln Park.

I struggle to comprehend this all immediately, it’s so bewildering. I can at once understand that man was probably not meant to do this so often, in a way it feels as though I have suffered some odd kind of brain damage. I will trip up the stairs to my home and laugh, laugh while walking down streets unknown to me as if I have become deranged. Likely because I have,

What is beginning to concern me however is that I’m not entirely sure it was move here which caused this certain kind of derangement. Indeed it seems far more likely that if I am suffering from any kind of serious disrepair, it comes from the frankly hubristic idea to extend my stay at my old home, believing that I could somehow erect the life I wanted to spend with someone else, yet made newly alone. 

When I speak and interact with people up here, I get the sense that I have indeed suffered a certain kind of deterioration which I cannot really put my finger on. I can’t exactly articulate how I am different, but it is an oddly new feeling–the compulsion to articulate a specific genre of thought which ultimately never had any reason to be spoken aloud, as there was no one nearby to hear anything being said at all.

Reflecting on things, I realize that I was living a life incarcerated to some degree. It is true that the physical world was my oyster in a sense; I was free to pursue whatever projects I desired, to labor at whatever it is I desired, but only up to a point. Such a life is virtually no different from being interred at a gulag. Am I somewhat of a more accomplished baker or cook? It would be fair to say that it’s true, but will my neighbors feel my presence missed? It’s doubtful. I’m not proud to say this, but it’s that reality of a man alone and I feel some odd sense of guilt about this.

Last night, my friend and room-mate made a roasted fennel and beetroot salad with roasted salmon. It was so delicious, and I’m thankful that I’m deeply sleep indebted as it was profoundly touching. I have been responsible for the vast majority of my own meals over the past year. Had I been realized, fully conscious of mind, in total control of my faculties, I would have wept. What an unbelievable privilege after a year wholly and utterly alone just to share a laugh with someone, to look at another’s eyes and smile widely in disbelief that this is just what life is like now. I laughed in mild disbelief typing this up just now. When I think about the fact that I have in my possession a friend who do genuinely cares for my wellbeing, who I have some existing intersubjectivity with such that we are allowed to be so comfortable around one another as to share meals, it puts a lump in my throat. 

I feel a deep gratitude swaying within my soul and it’s very difficult to give it the voice it needs to not feel as if I live in some kind of incomprehensible, unresolvable denial. I am happy, but I am also retarded. I need to sleep. 

[taraenglish]

Europe 2022 - Spain & Portugal (day 13-15) Peñíscola & Barcelona

We left Valencia and headed along the coast to Peñíscola (🤭) for some mediterrean sea views. The town and castle of Peníscola played the role of Valencia in the movie El Cid, and is now a popular tourist attraction and popular family holiday resort. After hiking around the cliffs and castle, we walked along the beach before getting back on the bus. We then continuer along the Costa Dorada to the Cava Bodegas at Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, where we enjoyed a tasting as we learned the sparkling secrets of Spanish bubbly. After trying a few samples (I had fresh grape juice instead), we got back on the bus and headed into Barcelona. Our first stop was Gaudi’s Park Güell. Originally started as a housing project, Gaudi was asked to create gardens around the houses. Unfortunately, being too far from the city centre only two houses were ever built and sold, so the gardens became a park. Gaudi uses creative liberty and an imaginative, ornamental creation in organic shapes resembling nature (no geometrical shapes). It was very odd. We then stopped by Olympic Port for supper. I had Galacian Octupus and a Passion Fruit Pina Colada. Apparently this marina has become an upscale neighbourhood since the 1992 Olympics, as my meal was over €40.

The next day we headed up the mountain of Montserrat to the Abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict. It is notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat (Black Madonna). The monastery was founded in the 11th century and still functions to this day, with over 70 monks. Monserrat literally translates to serrated, as the mountain looks like it has been carved with a saw into various formations. After checked out the views and the abbey, we headed back to Barcelona for a panoramic bus tour around the city, finishing at the famous Sagrada Familia (Basilica of the Holy Family). Construction began in 1882, however its first mass was not held in it until 2010 (128 years). Now 12 years later (140), many aspects are still incomplete and scaffolding still dominates the unfinished towers. Gaudí's original design calls for a total of eighteen spires, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the Virgin Mary, the four Evangelists and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ (only 9 are completed). There are to be three grand facades: the Nativity façade to the East, the Passion façade to the West, and the Glory façade to the South (yet to be completed). The Nativity Façade was started by Gaudi before his death in 1926, and completed in 1935. Dedicated to the birth of Jesus, it is decorated with scenes reminiscent of elements of life. Characteristic of Gaudí's naturalistic style, the sculptures are ornately arranged and decorated with scenes and images from nature. The Passion Facade, was created by by Josep Subirachs, who used rigid, angular forms to provoke a dramatic effect to show the severity and brutality of Christ's sacrifice. Inside the church, there are massive columns and kalaiscopic glass wIndows that shine in colors representing nature. It was beautiful, but a little odd.

After our tour, we headed for our final group supper. I had Andalusian-style calamari with Raz al Hanout mayonnaise, Entrecôte (steak) with fries, and Tim Baon – Ice cream nougat with Catalan cream & hot chocolate. Yumm!

The next day most of my travelmates flew home, but I still had one last day. I decided to do a hop & off bus tour to see any of the sights that I might have missed the last couple days. It was hot day, so I only managed two routes and 2 stops. I did get off at the cable car up to the top of Montjuïc to see the castle.

Final hours in Spain before flying home tomorrow!

[dower]

Cycling for 50 years

For Christmas, aged 9 or 10 in the mid-seventies, both my brother and I got bikes. They were deeply uncool, small-wheeled, white-tyred, sensible heavy clunkers with rod brakes. It was my intro into biking, something that will stay with me for life.

Things got better when, aged 12, I was offered the chance to “get a proper racing bike for Xmas if you ride to school”. I jumped at a real 5 speed racer and was soon dispatching the 6 miles round trip in record time.

Welcome to the cycling bug, riding faster then longer. Stuff wore out on my Raleigh Arena and was upgraded.

After a summer of training, longer-distance riding, and equipped with cheap cycling shorts and a pale blue teeshirt I set off on my my first race just a few days after my 14th birthday. 15 mins and 30 something seconds later I completed my very first officially sanctioned RTTC race. I came 3rd in my schoolboy class tor a 5 miles time trial. I was smitten.

More training, faster sexy italian wheels, and then a much better, Carlton Super Corse bike, plus improving teenage hormones gave me a boost and I started winning my class regularly. 5, 10, 15, 25 mile time trials were all dispatched in or around the 20 mph average reference time.

By the time I was 16, I was the Hull & East Riding Time Trial Champion and raced in some county level road racing. Then both my bikes got stolen, from school where my riding had started a few years before. Sad day.

The insurance took ages to pay out (although I secretly suspect we had no insurance so it took a while for my Mum to save the £330). I had also discovered girls, alcohol, and smoking. My mother was appalled as I blew the money on a Yamaha DT125 motorcycle instead of another racing bike. It kickstarted another love, one for another story.

From age 17 till 25 I never got on a bike. Then, fairly randomly, in 1990 I bought a second hand, Dura-Ace equipped, 753 criterium race bike for £600 and started piling miles on the south coast of England, where I lived at the time.

A few years later saw me living in hilly West Yorkshire. Too hilly for a flat-racing speed machine which was got promptly sold and I got into mountain biking with a Kona Kula complete with cantilever brakes and suspension front forks. I still own this bike today, albeit lightly upgraded. It is over 25 years old and still going strong.

It didn’t take long to get used to off-road and I got fit on all the steep terrain and even entered the odd race or two. I was never going to rekindle my schoolboy winning form but I was fast, strong and pretty fearless on the scary descents.

Bike again got sidelined by motorbikes when my love of Ducatis was awakened with my first 748 Superbike bought in 2002. A man can have too many hobbies as fast cars gave way to touring car racing and GT endurance events until the end of the noughties.

By that time, the mountain bike had been consigned to a workhorse and fitness device. Older and fatter meant the steep hills around my area sucked the fun out of riding. See me back on the flat and I’d whizz around like a loon - on holiday, at race events, even abroad the trusty Kona came with me.

Then I rode an electric bike, it was late 2015 and they were super clunky but it got me thinking. I tried another a few years later, but early 2021 I rode next doors, Mary Poppins electric clunker and was blown away how good a basic step-through bike could be. Cue furious lockdown searches for bikes, availability, specifications, and endless YouTube videos.

In May 2021, the venerable 25 year old Kona turned its final wheel to be hung up in the garage, replaced with a thoroughly modern electric mountain bike. Well, I say mountain bike, but more of an enduro machine with huge suspension travel, massive disc brakes, and gobs of torque. It weighs 25kgs and ploughs through anything, up hill or down.

I’ll likely never race again, nor be as fit as I was in 1981 when I was crowned the champion of my little world. But nearly 50 years after riding my first bike. I believe biking as part of sustainable transport and love the frredom it brings to people of all aged. I’m still on two wheels, but now I wear a full face helmet, body armour and helped along using a fat battery and plush suspension. Love it.

Old bikers never die, they simply disappear into the forest to the sound of squealing brakes and the clatter of the chain on the frame. Will I still be riding 25 years from now! That’d make me 81 years old so I do hope so. I might have slowed down by then, but maybe not.

#cycling #emtb #mtb