High Fantasy Epic Sword Fighter Tournament Semifinals, Fight 2

Xena Warrior Princess vs Geralt of Rivia

This is a fun one. Let's look at some of the choice items on their resumes. Xena has defeated:

Ares- God of War Mephistopheles- King of Hell Alti- Shaman who can manipulate time Velasca- Amazon Queen who obtained god-like powers Julius Caesar- She beat him with political cunning and countless War Lords...

And then there is The Witcher:

Dettlaff van Der Eretein- A Vampire Lord Eredin Breacc Glas- King of the Wild Hunt Vilgefortz of Roggeveen- An immensely powerful Sorcerer Striga- Cursed princess with incredible strength Xeugl- A massive, subterranean monster built out of pollution itself and countless Monsters...

They say styles make fights, so this one is really a toss up. Both have incredible toolkits, experience and battle IQ. While Xena isn't magical, she's certainly defeated plenty of enemies with more magic than Geralt, so this can go either way.

Let's say, they are pitted against each other in the halls of unknown gods to fight to the death. The winner gets to return to their home world. The loser is trapped.

The halls seemed to have no end. Black pillars rose beyond sight, supporting a ceiling lost in darkness, while statues of gods neither Xena nor Geralt recognized watched from alcoves along the walls. There were no doors behind them anymore. A voice without a source gave the terms: one would die here; the other would awaken in their own world. Geralt drew his steel sword and drank a potion without taking his eyes from Xena. She watched his pupils darken and smiled faintly, then drew her sword and chakram. “You always look like that after a drink?” Geralt cast Quen, golden light passing briefly across his body. “Usually worse.” Xena's smile widened. Then the chakram left her hand.

Geralt ducked. The chakram struck a pillar behind him, ricocheted toward another and came back from an angle that should have been impossible. Quen shattered as it struck his back. Geralt spun and caught the returning weapon on his sword, sending it skittering across the floor. Xena was already there. Her first stroke nearly opened his throat. Geralt parried the second, slipped the third and answered with a cut that Xena somehow bent backward beneath before kicking him hard in the chest. Geralt slid across the stone, raised one hand and hit her with Aard. Xena flew backward, twisted in the air and landed in a crouch. For the first time, she looked genuinely surprised. “Okay.” Geralt reset his guard. “Yeah.” Then both stopped testing. Xena came at him with sword, fists and feet woven together so seamlessly that Geralt could never defend against only one weapon. Geralt met her with everything he had. Igni forced Xena sideways; she sprang onto a pillar, kicked away from it and attacked from above. Geralt rolled beneath her, cut her thigh and caught a kick against his forearm that nearly broke it. Xena recovered her chakram and sent it bouncing among the pillars, forcing Geralt to track two threats at once while she closed with the sword. He cast Quen again just before the chakram found him, and Xena immediately smashed through the weakened shield with a kick. Geralt answered with Aard at point-blank range. Both went tumbling apart. They rose bleeding, and neither smiled anymore.

Geralt understood before Xena did that he was losing. She was at least as fast as he was, stronger than he was, and her movements violated expectations even his mutations had difficulty following. Worse, she was learning the Signs. Igni no longer surprised her. She recognized the movement preceding Aard. Twice she deliberately struck Quen with the chakram before closing, using the ranged weapon to strip away the protection she now understood. Geralt changed Signs, rhythms and angles, but Xena changed with him. He had spent his life defeating creatures physically superior to himself by learning their patterns. Xena seemed almost offended by the concept of having one. So Geralt stopped trying to solve her and tried to kill her. He threw a Samum bomb against a pillar. Xena saw the throw and turned away, but the explosion still blinded her for an instant. Geralt crossed the distance immediately and his sword opened her side. Xena twisted away from the killing follow-up and struck blindly with the chakram. It caught Geralt across the temple. He staggered, blood filling one eye, and Xena's vision cleared quickly enough to see him vulnerable. She attacked. Geralt barely turned the first stroke. The second knocked his sword from his hand. Xena kicked him against a pillar and drove her sword toward his heart. Quen flashed into existence at the last possible instant and shattered beneath the thrust.

Xena hesitated for perhaps half a heartbeat. Geralt hit her with Aard. She crashed through a stone bench. Geralt dove for his sword and came up as Xena exploded from the rubble. She struck his wrist before he could establish his guard, caught him by the coat and slammed him against the pillar. Geralt drove his forehead into her face. Xena answered with one of her own, then threw him hard enough that he rolled twice across the floor. His sword landed beside him. Xena approached with blood running from her nose and side, sword in one hand, chakram in the other. Geralt reached for the blade. The chakram struck his hand and knocked it away. Xena kicked the sword across the hall. Geralt looked at it, then at her. “Fuck.” Xena attacked. Geralt threw Igni directly into her face. Xena crossed her arms and drove through the flame. Her sword knocked his reaching hand aside and punched through his chest. Geralt went still. Xena held him there for a moment, breathing hard. Geralt looked down at the blade, then back at her. “You're not human.” Xena gave him a tired smile. “Neither are you.” She pulled the sword free. Geralt collapsed.

Xena stood over him until she was certain it was finished. Then she picked up his steel sword, examined the strange weapon briefly and placed it beside his body. The darkness at the end of the hall opened into daylight. Somewhere beyond it waited Greece, Gabrielle, and a world that belonged to her. Xena retrieved her chakram and walked toward home.

Winner: Xena

And this sets up our final match. Xena vs Lan. Get hyped.

High Fantasy Epic Sword Fighter Tournament Semifinals, Fight 1

Al'Lan Mandragoran vs Jamie Lannister

Well, as is inevitable in many tournaments with weaker and stronger seeds, at some point you will end up with a real once sided smackdown. Jamie Lannister is the greatest living swordsman in his world and time, but, ASOIAF is not Wheel of Time. The protagonists of the Wheel of Time would probably take out the the Night King before lunch, without breaking a sweat. By dinner time they'd have united the Seven Kingdoms.

Still, we gotta play this out. Let's see how long Jamie lasts. We will change the stakes here. The Dark One has Cersei's soul. Says Jamie must kill Lan to get it back. Lan has orders from Nynaeve: Kill Jamie as quickly as possible so we can get back to real fight—he's a servant of the Dark One.

Jaime came at Lan with the speed and confidence that had made him the finest natural swordsman in the Seven Kingdoms. There was no banter; Cersei's soul was at stake, and Jaime intended to kill the stranger before him and keep moving. His opening combination would have butchered almost any knight he had ever faced. Lan turned the first stroke, yielded half a step to the second, and answered the third with something Jaime had never seen. Jaime barely parried it. That would be the moment the fight changed. Jaime was accustomed to discovering within seconds that he was better than the man opposite him. Instead, within seconds, he would realize that Lan was better than him. Jaime would accelerate, taking risks because he had no alternative, and for perhaps another twenty seconds his extraordinary talent would keep him alive. He might even nick Lan once. But Lan wouldn't be dueling for pride or testing an interesting opponent. Nynaeve had told him this man served the Shadow, and every additional second spent here was a second stolen from the real battle.

Lan would end it brutally and without flourish. Jaime would feint high, change lines beautifully and commit to what he believed was finally an opening; Lan would recognize the sequence before Jaime completed it. A tiny movement would carry Lan outside the killing stroke, his sword would knock Jaime's blade just far enough off line, and the return would enter through the gap beneath Jaime's arm and pierce his heart. Jaime would probably still try to strike—because Cersei was waiting—but his strength would disappear before he could finish the motion. Lan would catch him rather than let him fall, lower him to the ground, and perhaps realize from Jaime's expression that whatever the Dark One had told this man, Jaime had believed he was fighting for someone he loved. There would be no satisfaction in Lan's face. “May you shelter in the palm of the Creator's hand.” Then he'd pull his sword free, wipe it once, and go find the actual servants of the Shadow. Lan wins decisively

I think Jamie wins less than 1% of the time here. He's completely and utterly outmatched.

For roughly 20 years, the closest I've come to actively practicing religion is crossing myself with holy water when I go into Catholic churches. But I’m fascinated by religion as a concept, even though I don’t believe in one personally, and I find it to be a particularly interesting and useful tool to employ in speculative fiction. The beliefs, rituals, symbolism, history, terminology, and traditions that come along with a religion can be very helpful in clearly establishing a culture within an invented setting, and giving that place a sense of history.

If you're looking for examples, the first one that always comes to my mind is Dune, where the beliefs of both the Fremen and the broader galaxy aren't just window-dressing setting details but are critical for the development of the plot. The Actual Star by Monica Byrne is another one where the religion is woven in, and it also uses a long timeview that explores how traditions and beliefs shift over thousands of years, which makes it a particularly fun read for folks with an interest in mythology. On the fantasy side, Ann Leckie's The Raven Tower and Kerstin Hall's Star Eater are two I've read in recent years that employ religion and mythology in a very interesting and effective way. In the horror realm, V. Castro's Goddess of Filth twists real-world religions into new speculative plot threads.

Creating a religion wholesale might sound like a very daunting task, and it can be if you let it be. But just like with creating your own language, you don't necessarily need to make a religion fully practice-able for it to come across as real on the page. Here's the steps I take when I'm creating a religion for one of my story worlds, as someone who has done a significant (what some might call excessive) amount of research into both real-world and fictional religions.

Step 1: Establish who or what adherents worship.

Every religion or spiritual system has something at its core that is the primary target of prayers, rituals, and other activities related to the religion. This can be literally anything, if you're inventing a religion of your own, but there are a few common categories among extant religions:

• Monotheistic - Have a single, central deity who is typically also seen as a creator figure. The Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) are the most obvious example of this from Earth religions.
• Polytheistic - Have a set of deities, which often have their own internal hierarchy or regional affiliations, and are frequently assigned specific areas of dominion (e.g. the sea, the earth, death, rain/storms, etc.). Familiar examples of this include Hindu gods or Norse, Greek, and Egyptian mythologies.
• Animistic - Belief that spirits inhabit or govern aspects of the natural world, which can include landscape features, weather, celestial objects, specific locations, or living things like plants and animals. Many religions from Asia and Oceania are examples of this, including Ainu, some forms of Shinto, and Aboriginal Austraian and Pacific Island traditions. The beliefs of the Sami people of northern Europe also fit this category, as do many beliefs from across the Americas.
• Pantheistic - A single “god” that is amorphous and seen as synonymous with the universe, reality, or nature. Some Hindu and Taoist traditions can be seen as examples of this.
• Ancestor veneration - Real historical people are the target of prayers and ritual practices. These could be immediate ancestors who are remembered by living practitioners or distant, semi-mythologized figures. Examples of this can be found in Shinto and Japanese Buddhism, as well as many indigenous religions from across continents.
• Object veneration - You might also see this called fetishism or idolatry, and is when a physical object is the target of worship. Usually the object is seen as having supernatural powers or origin. Pure object-based religions on Earth are fairly rare, but some form of this can be seen in things like the icons of Greek Orthodoxy, the treatment of relics in Catholicism, or the shintai in Shinto.

...this is certainly not a comprehensive list, and you'll see variations or combinations of these practices, too, but that at least a place to start.

If you're going with a pantheon or animistic system, then it's also smart to establish roughly how many spirits or deities the religion has and whether those are seen as universal or regional, or a mix of both. In the ancient Greek pantheon, for example, there were some core gods like Zeus and Athena that had adherents just about everywhere it was practiced, but there were also many localized gods seen as the patrons of specific areas or cities.

Another thing to think about that can help to shape the other aspects of the religion is the distance believers see between themselves and the subject of their devotion. In other words, how much do the spirits interact with the physical world? Again, there a few levels of this in Earth religions:

• Deism – “God as clockmaker,” where the central deity created existence but doesn't involve itself in day-to-day affairs
• Distant deity reachable through intermediaries – The central deity (or deities) can't be directly accessed by humans, so humans instead ask for other figures to intercede on their behalf, often lesser deities, ancestors, or supernatural beings like spirits, angels, daemons, etc. It's also common for specific humans to be capable of more direct or higher-level interaction with the spiritual realm, like if some prayers can only be made by trained priests. Yoruba is a prime example of this, as are Christian concepts like praying to saints.
• Direct prayer to nontangible deities – A very common model in extant world religions, seen in most Protestant Catholic sects as well as Sikhism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and many, many others. Individuals can directly make offerings or prayers to the target of worship.
• Deities or spirits are physically present on Earth – This is typical of animistic religions, where spirits are seen as being physically embodied by aspects of nature, but is also common in polytheistic traditions. Ancient Greek gods were thought to regularly come to Earth and interact with people, while Hindu deities regularly manifest on Earth.
• Spirit mediation/mediums/shamans – A variant of intercession, where trained individuals are able to interact directly with the spirits, deities, or ancestors. Examples of this can be found across Asia and the Americas, including the Sami noaidi, the Buryat and Mongolian böö, the Korean Mudang, the Vodou Houngan/Manbo, and the Candomblé Babalorixá/Iyalorixá.

....basically, you want to figure out if regular people can interact with the target of worship, who does it on their behalf if not, and how likely they think it is that supreme figure(s) will intercede (or even care).

Step 2: Choose and sketch out their holy texts.

Note that these don't have to be written texts, if it's an oral tradition, but that's a shorthand for the broader concept here: every religion has some kind of scriptures, liturgy, mythology, or other core set of words that are used in prayers and religious ceremonies. This text often includes stuff like:

• Creation or origin stories about the world, humanity, and/or the religion itself
• Explanation of the cosmology (e.g. any heavens, underworlds, spirit worlds, etc.)
• Afterlife structure and beliefs
• Legends or myths about the gods, ancestors, spirits, saints, prophets, culture heroes, etc.
• Apocalyptic narratives or end-times prophecies
• Geneaologies or hierarchies for ancestors, deity pantheons, or major figures like prophets, priests, etc.
• Doctrines outlining the core beliefs
• Rules or tales to establish the religion's moral compass, sins, virtues, and good vs. bad behavior
• Commandments or laws followers are expected to follow (forbidden behaviors, family/marriage rules, dietary restrictions, etc.) and the rewards or punishments for adhering to/breaking them
• Instructions for or descriptions of rituals, prayers, ceremonies, initiations, rites, festivals, offerings, etc. and any other strategies for interacting with supernatural beings
• Calendar for sacred days, important festivals, or other religious observances
• Descriptions of and rules related to sacred objects or locations
• Prayers, hymns, or incantations used during those things above
• Direct accounts that are attributed to gods, spirits, prophets, founders, or other figures related to the religion
• Descriptions of (and rules for) religious offices and practitioners

It's important to note here, you definitely don't need to include all of those things among an invented religion's texts. A lot of real religions don't include all of them, either. Look at this like a menu more than a recipe, and pick and choose the things that will be the most useful for your world and story.

As far as whether to actually write them or not, I would say that's a story-by-story question. If the religion's practices directly impact the day-to-day lives of the characters or are central to the plot, then it likely will be helpful to at least write their core tenets or commandments as a reference, even if those never get directly included in the story. But that doesn't mean you need to write out the religion's equivalent of a Bible. For most stories, just knowing the mythology's big-picture arc, major players, and core beliefs will let you build it into the fabric of the society. If you do plan to have characters quoting scripture or saying prayers on-page, you can write those on a per-need basis then compile them into your notes for future reference.

Step 3: Decide where, when, and how the religion is practiced.

A lot of these details are things that might be included in those religious texts from the last step, but they're also something you want to solidify independently because this is the physical manifestation of the religion that you'll actually be able to portray on the page. A lot of these things are going to flow organically out of the other things you've already decided about the religion. If it's an animistic belief system, for instance, then it's logical that their rituals would take place in nature, and would likely follow the rhythms of that landscape, aligning with things like weather patterns, the position of celestial bodies, or the lifecycles of local plants and animals.

Some questions you can ask yourself that can be helpful at this stage:

• Are there specific buildings where this religion is practiced? If so, what do they look like and where are they located within communities?
• Do certain members of the religion live in designated places? (e.g. a monastery for monks)
• Do individual members of the religion have altars or religious iconography in their homes?
• Do prayers or rituals need to happen in a specific place?
• How often do religious ceremonies take place?
• Are similar steps repeated in every ceremony, or are there different traditions for different occasions?
• How do people dress during religious ceremonies?

Again, you don't need to spell out every little detail, but you want to go deep enough that you have a sense for how belonging to this religion impacts the rhythm of your characters' daily life. It can also be useful material to mine for story beats or world details that can add depth to the story for readers.

Step 4: Identify the religion's symbols and sensory details.

Speaking of mining things for world depth, these are the details you can really make some hay with, as it were, more than the big-picture concepts. The symbols associated with a religion become a shorthand for those beliefs, and you can sprinkle them in selectively to quickly give readers information about characters or locations once you establish what those symbols represent.

Sensory details, meanwhile, are what really give the religion that lived-in feel. This includes sight details, like ritual attire, the architecture and decor of religious spaces, or iconography that believers would display or wear. Sound is also a common aspect of religious ritual: specific hymns, chants, or music that accompanies rituals, the use of instruments like bells or horns, or regular sonic rituals like a call to prayer are common examples.

And don't neglect smell and taste, either. As someone who grew up Catholic, smelling certain kinds of incense immediately transports me back to Christmas mass. Catholicism also hits the “taste” point with the Eucharist ritual, and other religions have similar practices. Integrating the typical food or aromas associated with the religion into the story adds another layer to the reader's immersion into the world.

Step 5: Place the religion within the broader cultural context.

No aspect of worldbuilding exists in a vacuum, and how the rest of society works around the religion you've built is key for how you'll present it in the story. The first thing to decide is how much influence the religion has in the society of the story's world. This is another place where you can see things on a spectrum:

• Governing - The story takes place in a theocracy where religious figures either are political leaders or have direct influence over them, and the religion's moral laws are also encoded into the legal system
• Dominant - The majority (or all) of the people in the story belong to the religion, and as a result it has a profound influence on culture and society, though it is not officially linked to the government
• In a melting pot - The religion is one of many that are practiced in the world, and is one of two or more that have a significant reach or influence
• Fringe - The religion is practiced by only a small portion of the population, and may be little-known or seen as a cult (whether or not that is fair)
• Persecuted - The dominant society actively opposes the religion by forbidding its practice, discriminating against its members, or attempting to eradicate it

...and, again, things won't necessarily fall along those cut-and-dry boundaries, but you can use that as a guide to figure out where the religion falls relative to the broader world you've built around it.

History is something to think about here, too. Is this religion ancient or more recent? Did it start from scratch or branch off from another faith? Did it originate in the place your story is set, or was it brought here by immigrants? All of these things can influence the way people engage with the religion (and characters who practice it).

That's really the bottom line when you're creating a mythology or religion for a fictional world, whatever the context. The most important parts of it are the things that directly impact the characters, because those are going to be what shape your story and give you points of tension and conflict to exploit. Those are the places you want to focus your time and energy when you're creating one for your stories.

See similar posts:

#Worldbuilding #WritingAdvice #Fiction #SciFi #Fantasy #Mythology

Our Father Who art in Heaven Hallowed be Thy name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil

Amen

Jesus is Lord! Come Lord Jesus!

Come Lord Jesus! Christ is Lord!

The apiary be Scottish run to mute Late December this hugger And seeing simply rise What time in Hearst for Will Enough of oak And seeming simpler For five octet and lane And pasture by the law Economy forever- and nines to the Moon Giving ray to God And night shall let us be- the end of war.

Hormuz

By the light of time Seeing under siege At distance right To proper and in play Sights of angels Quadrants in relief The Earth of all And quarter ten Failing major men In accostment then The Japanese escape And play for speed Declaring solemn just And cannot trade a thing But getting older then With words upon his desk To remain the undefined Choruses be known- And rain and gold Until he sees the wake- of modifying truth And setting modern act The wishes we regret And falsifying news At June and wonder When will be a day Of leaving near to dusk The worded truth That people lay in chains At bitter Cobh And just because the Times- paid the world near To fight this course of there- the silent end of day And worth a Stalin To high regret When bitter snows recede And pipes to worth We caught up on renew The place of days To knighted men of terror For only you And psychs us to the core For all to be dismayed A harem and a lot The plan to rest; at east and Mott Every day this man For terror knows The peace of Israel awaits And standing early then No fights to end this war But bespoke and going home Best are we- A jury of the men In days near and free to time The fateful day of war Can be divided and suppressed And doing daylight forward Noted path and plan The edifice of man And calling near by shop In worry such as this,- the gratitude of London For this and year And leaving forward goals The dopamine direct Destroying the depraved Will never lead to shore And mercy forget you In this light of solemn view By man at hand A fateful post In gaining early message That Donald saw the truth By there and time The Sun as it were to find Lights to bear New York his only home And Justice hope To leave Iran at loss A pittance for esteem That terrorists recycled- all this cleric time And as afforded new America is not at war And might recede to ship A blaming art The failed three days But never gone to peace In plated news And ghosted men The Earth at in distress And Clement be No place of war Like in this ship Across and then Sending Sparrow home.

I get irritated easily, i cant help it. and i dont care enough to do so, but when it comes to walking into a room with a clear purpose, only for the thought to disappear somewhere between the doorway and the other side of the room. Does bother me more than my cat pissing on my bed. i had something to do, i know i did. i was not wandering around aimlessly like some unfortunate ghost with poor navigation skills. there was a reason i got up, presumably important enough for my brain to interrupt whatever i was doing. then i crossed the doorway. nothing, absolutely nothing. i stood there for a moment, staring at the room as if it had personally offended me. i tried to retrace my thoughts. i had been sitting there, then i thought about something, then i stood up then i walked here and that is where the evidence ends. so naturally, like all of you humans. i began walking back to where i had been, hoping the missing thought would simply be lying there waiting for me. spoiler, it wasnt. i returned to the exact position i had been sitting in, stared at the ceiling and somehow remembered three completely unrelated things instead. its irritating to know you’ve forgotten something without knowing what. my brain insists there was information somewhere. but wont return it to me. like an empty envelope that used to matter. my memory is perfectly capable of functioning. it simply chooses to do so when it would be most inconvenient. i got what i needed and walked back, already wondering how many times this has happened without me ever questioning it. Probably more than i’d like to admit.

And i forgot why i wrote this, i suppose that would be rather fitting.

Sincerely, Master of absentmindedness.

Van Voorbijgaande Aard – S/T

Er was Ver, Ver, Verveling Ver, Ver, Verdreven naar een plek Ver Ver Ver van Hier en daar aangekomen eens te lezen (mits ook u daar tijd voor over heeft)

Zo net wist ik niet wat ik met goed fatsoen nog kon doen voor deze snode wereld wentelend om poen en meer van dat soort vers verzonnen goed inmiddels weet ik beter is mijn kennis opgewaardeerd Ik ga mij voor die duiten dienstbaar opstellen zinnige verhalen over centen vertellen de ontvangen ingehuurden met zenders en al er op afstellen fijn tunen en malen van de boodschap zetelend op de kieslijst voor het verbale product geworteld in dustrie om meer waard te zijn dan alleen maar mijn lijf met alle lasten daarin, op en aan die ik moet dragen, ver, naar her en der en hier en daar en weer terug van winkel naar kerk van huis naar werk parkeren in de kelders behorend bij de kantoren des heren Ik ga voor de algehele balans tussen rijk en arm veel en weinig dom en slim veel telen, als ook kool rapen en rabarberstelen dan alsof dit alle maal nog niet voldoet lof tuigen ontspruiten, het wassen uit kluiten, ten slotte iemand anders bonen doppen zodat zij er uit kunnen kijken en indien nodig uitwijken voor opdoemend gevaar aan de kust, de einder en op de klippen bij beide polen en in het centrum, rondom de evenaar want als die ander door ongedopte bonen niet langer zich zelf, op regel, voor de vorm en binnen de tijd, systematisch kan belonen zou ik niet kunnen verteren en of verkroppen want anders gaat het ijverige, netwerkende, driftige bestaan ver voor het weer lente is al naar de knoppen en uiteindelijk ga ik al dit aan u nijvere dienders geleverde werk ergens goed verdekt op een vrij toegankelijke plek een locatie immer onbestemd en vanzelfsprekend onbemind waar niemand aan kan tippen of zo komen versstoppen

I told U Today that I think I am looking for something different and wished her the best. I fear that with R I will be doing the same soon. I wonder if younger me would expect the problem I’m facing now, or if I would be ecstatic with joy. I guess to some extent it’s reassuring for the bad times, that life has its way of making sure that everyone drinks their fair share of misery from its glass.

Après tout, pourquoi ne pas commencer par le commencement ? Sans aucun document, je reconstitue cette histoire de mémoire.

1900, Tonkin, protectorat français rattaché à l’Indochine. Ma grand-mère naît, fille de mandarin et d’une blanche d’origine inconnue de moi. Une grave affection de la colonne vertébrale la cloue sur une planche durant son adolescence. Elle n’aura pas les pieds bandés. Était elle jolie à cette époque ? Un Français en tournée d’inspection la remarque.

Quand eut lieu le mariage ? Il eut lieu, ma grand-mère devint française. Son père fut-il heureux de caser cette encombrante héritière, un peu bossue ? Sans doute. Cela arrangeait ses affaires, qui plus est. Elle héritait d’un vaste domaine de rizières au nord de Hanoï, son mari administrait une entreprise d’exportation française, c’était une excellente affaire pour tout le monde. En 1923 naquit une première fille, suivie d’une cadette deux ans plus tard. Tout était pour le mieux.

#nguolai

There are all kinds of secrets, waiting for one to find them out, if one has the eyes to see.

Since the previous new moon, I have had the opportunity of stumbling upon remnants of the Berlin Wall (above).

The information board (below) might do a better job of explaining it than me.

bookshelf

• Voyage in the dark, by Jean Rhys.

#lunaticus

Freundinnen & Freunde der Weisheit! Ob gesünder essen, regelmässig Sport treiben oder die Nutzung sozialer Medien reduzieren – viele unserer Vorhaben scheitern, weil wir uns zu stark auf Motivation verlassen.

Eine aktuelle wissenschaftliche Untersuchung zeigt, dass unser Verhalten weitgehend durch Habits gesteuert wird. Unser Gehirn arbeitet mit zwei Systemen: eines für automatische Reaktionen auf Umweltreize und eines für bewusstes, zielgerichtetes Handeln. Um langfristige Verhaltensänderungen zu erreichen, müssen wir unsere Habits gezielt beeinflussen.

Fünf Strategien helfen dabei: Erstens gibt es keine feste Zeitspanne, um einen neuen Habit zu etablieren. Studien zeigen, dass dies von wenigen Wochen bis zu mehreren Monaten dauern kann – je nach Person und Verhalten. Entscheidend ist, dranzubleiben, selbst wenn es einmal nicht perfekt läuft. Zweitens spielt Belohnung eine zentrale Rolle. Unser Gehirn lernt, Verhaltensweisen zu wiederholen, die positive Erlebnisse auslösen. Wer Sport mit einer angenehmen Routine wie einer entspannenden Dusche verknüpft oder nach einer Trainingseinheit bewusst die Fortschritte feiert, unterstützt die Habit-Bildung. Auch beim Abgewöhnen schlechter Habits kann dieser Mechanismus helfen – indem man ein negatives Verhalten durch eine belohnende Alternative ersetzt.

Drittens kann Habit-Stacking helfen, neue Routinen zu verankern. Dabei wird ein neuer Habit mit einer bereits bestehenden Gewohnheit kombiniert, etwa direkt nach dem Zähneputzen zu meditieren oder beim Morgenkaffee eine kurze Reflexion zu machen. Viertens ist es wichtig, Stress als Risiko für Rückfälle zu erkennen. Studien zeigen, dass unser Gehirn in stressigen Phasen stärker auf automatische Muster zurückgreift. Die gute Nachricht: Diese Effekte sind reversibel. Fünftens helfen „Wenn-dann“-Pläne, um schwache Momente zu überbrücken. Wer sich im Voraus überlegt, welche Alternative er in schwierigen Situationen wählt, hat eine höhere Chance, seinen Habit konsequent beizubehalten. Die Forschung zeigt also: Mit den richtigen Strategien lassen sich Habits nachhaltig etablieren.

Denkanstoss zum Wochenbeginn

„Die Vernunft ist nicht die Wirklichkeit selbst. […] Sie verhält sich zur Wahrheit wie ein Vieleck zum Kreis.“ – Nikolaus von Kues (1401–1464)

ProductivityPorn-Tipp der Woche: Auf den eigenen Biorhythmus hören

Jeder hat produktive Hoch- und Tiefphasen. Arbeite an wichtigen Aufgaben, wenn Du Deine höchste Konzentration hast, und erledige Routinearbeiten in weniger produktiven Zeiten.

Aus dem Archiv: Wie wir im Alter das Glück neu lernen können

Seit 2020 lese ich regelmässig und mit wachsender Neugier die philosophisch angehauchten Kolumnen von Arthur C. Brooks im Magazin „The Atlantic“. Seine Texte tragen Überschriften wie „How to Be Happy Growing Older“ oder „The Seven Habits That Lead to Happiness in Old Age“ und sind weit mehr als populärpsychologische Ratgeber. Brooks schreibt als Sozialwissenschafter, als ehemaliger Thinktank-Präsident, als Ehemann und Vater. Vor allem aber schreibt er als jemand, der selbst erfahren hat, wie schwierig es ist, wirklich glücklich zu werden. Nun, da ich ebenfalls 50 geworden bin und die Frage nach dem Glück in der zweiten Lebenshälfte brennender wird, habe ich eine Reihe seiner zentralen Gedanken zusammengetragen und mit der nötigen kritischen Distanz betrachtet.

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Vielen Dank, dass Du Dir die Zeit genommen hast, diesen Newsletter zu lesen. Ich hoffe, die Inhalte konnten Dich inspirieren und Dir wertvolle Impulse für Dein (digitales) Leben geben. Bleib neugierig und hinterfrage, was Dir begegnet!

EpicMind – Weisheiten für das digitale Leben „EpicMind“ (kurz für „Epicurean Mindset“) ist mein Blog und Newsletter, der sich den Themen Lernen, Produktivität, Selbstmanagement und Technologie widmet – alles gewürzt mit einer Prise Philosophie.

Disclaimer Teile dieses Texts wurden mit Deepl Write (Korrektorat und Lektorat) überarbeitet. Für die Recherche in den erwähnten Werken/Quellen und in meinen Notizen wurde NotebookLM von Google verwendet. Das Artikel-Bild wurde mit ChatGPT erstellt und anschliessend nachbearbeitet.

Topic #Newsletter

Chào mừng anh chị đã quay trở lại với không gian cập nhật thông tin kết quả xổ số miền nam thứ bảy.

Trong nhịp sống hối hả hiện nay, việc theo dõi kết quả xổ số không còn bó hẹp qua chiếc radio hay tivi truyền thống mà đã chuyển dịch mạnh mẽ sang các nền tảng số.

Ngày thứ Bảy hằng tuần luôn được coi là ngày hội của những người yêu thích xổ số tại khu vực phía Nam với sự góp mặt của nhiều tỉnh thành lớn.

Để giúp anh chị không bỏ lỡ bất kỳ thông tin nào, chúng tôi cung cấp giải pháp xem trực tiếp kết quả với tốc độ tải trang cực nhanh, giao diện thân thiện, dễ dàng thao tác ngay cả trên những dòng điện thoại đời cũ.

Chỉ với một cú chạm nhẹ, toàn bộ bảng kết quả từ giải Tám đến giải Đặc biệt sẽ hiện ra rõ nét, giúp anh chị tra cứu thông tin mọi lúc mọi nơi từ công sở đến nhà riêng hay khi đang di chuyển trên đường.

LỊCH MỞ THƯỞNG CHI TIẾT CÁC ĐÀI MIỀN NAM NGÀY THỨ BẢY

Trong hệ thống xổ số kiến thiết miền Nam, ngày thứ Bảy là ngày có số lượng đài quay thưởng nhiều nhất trong tuần với 04 đài cùng mở thưởng.

Anh chị có thể mua vé số của các đài sau đây để tham gia vào chương trình ích nước lợi nhà diễn ra vào ngày thứ Bảy:

1. Xổ số Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh: Đây là đài có lượng phát hành vé lớn nhất khu vực và luôn nhận được sự quan tâm đông đảo của người dân.

2. Xổ số Long An: Một trong những đài quay thưởng truyền thống có lịch sử lâu đời tại khu vực miền Tây.

3. Xổ số Hậu Giang: Mang đến những cơ hội nhận thưởng hấp dẫn cho anh chị tại vùng đất hạ nguồn sông Hậu.

4. Xổ số Bình Phước: Đài quay thưởng đại diện cho vùng Đông Nam Bộ với lượng vé tiêu thụ ổn định.

Việc nắm rõ lịch mở thưởng giúp anh chị chủ động hơn trong việc mua vé và sắp xếp thời gian để đối chiếu kết quả sau khi kỳ quay kết thúc.

Mỗi tấm vé mệnh giá 10.000 VNĐ không chỉ là cơ hội cá nhân mà còn đóng góp ngân sách vào các công trình phúc lợi xã hội tại các địa phương này.

KHUNG GIỜ QUAY THƯỞNG TRỰC TIẾP XỔ SỐ MIỀN NAM THỨ BẢY

Thời gian là yếu tố quan trọng nhất khi theo dõi xổ số trực tiếp.

Toàn bộ quy trình quay số mở thưởng của các đài miền Nam vào ngày thứ Bảy đều được diễn ra đồng loạt trong một khung giờ cố định.

Anh chị hãy lưu ý mốc thời gian sau để đón xem trực tiếp theo thời gian thực từ trường quay:

Thời gian bắt đầu: 16h10 hàng ngày.

Thời gian kết thúc: 16h35 hàng ngày.

Trong khoảng 25 phút này, các quả bóng sẽ lần lượt được chọn ra để tạo thành các dãy số trúng thưởng.

Thứ tự quay số sẽ bắt đầu từ các giải nhỏ như giải Tám và kết thúc bằng giải Đặc biệt.

Việc theo dõi trực tiếp giúp anh chị cảm nhận được sự hồi hộp và minh bạch của chương trình.

Nếu anh chị bận rộn không thể xem đúng khung giờ này, hệ thống của chúng tôi vẫn lưu trữ lịch sử kết quả nhiều kỳ để anh chị có thể tra cứu lại bất cứ khi nào thuận tiện.

TRẢI NGHIỆM XEM KẾT QUẢ TRỰC TUYẾN MƯỢT MÀ VÀ TIỆN LỢI

Với sự phát triển của công nghệ, việc tối ưu hóa trải nghiệm người dùng trên thiết bị di động là ưu tiên hàng đầu của chúng tôi.

Website được thiết kế theo phong cách tối giản, loại bỏ những quảng cáo gây nhiễu, giúp anh chị tập trung tối đa vào bảng kết quả.

Các dòng chữ và con số được hiển thị với kích thước lớn, màu sắc tương phản tốt, không gây mỏi mắt ngay cả khi anh chị theo dõi trong thời gian dài.

Anh chị có thể dễ dàng cập nhật nhanh chóng, chuẩn xác và tiện lợi tại trang web Xổ số Thiên Phú để có được những thông tin mới nhất về kỳ quay thưởng ngày thứ Bảy.

Tốc độ tải trang được tối ưu hóa để dù anh chị đang sử dụng mạng 3G hay 4G yếu, dữ liệu vẫn được truyền tải mượt mà, không giật lag.

Chỉ cần thực hiện thao tác vuốt lên hoặc xuống để chuyển đổi giữa kết quả của các đài khác nhau, giúp việc đối chiếu trở nên đơn giản hơn bao giờ hết.

CHI TIẾT CƠ CẤU GIẢI THƯỞNG XỔ SỐ MIỀN NAM THỨ BẢY

Để anh chị nắm rõ hơn về quyền lợi khi tham gia, chúng tôi xin liệt kê chi tiết cơ cấu giải thưởng cho mỗi tờ vé số mệnh giá 10.000 VNĐ thuộc khu vực miền Nam.

Tổng cộng có 18 lần quay thưởng cho mỗi đài với các hạng giải cụ thể như sau:

1. Giải Đặc biệt: Có 01 giải, trị giá 2.000.000.000 VNĐ.

2. Giải Nhất: Có 10 giải, mỗi giải trị giá 30.000.000 VNĐ.

3. Giải Nhì: Có 10 giải, mỗi giải trị giá 15.000.000 VNĐ.

4. Giải Ba: Có 20 giải, mỗi giải trị giá 10.000.000 VNĐ.

5. Giải Tư: Có 70 giải, mỗi giải trị giá 3.000.000 VNĐ.

6. Giải Năm: Có 100 giải, mỗi giải trị giá 1.000.000 VNĐ.

7. Giải Sáu: Có 300 giải, mỗi giải trị giá 400.000 VNĐ.

8. Giải Bảy: Có 1.000 giải, mỗi giải trị giá 200.000 VNĐ.

9. Giải Tám: Có 10.000 giải, mỗi giải trị giá 100.000 VNĐ.

10. Giải Phụ Đặc biệt: Có 09 giải, mỗi giải trị giá 50.000.000 VNĐ dành cho những vé chỉ sai 1 chữ số ở hàng trăm ngàn so với giải Đặc biệt.

11. Giải Khuyến khích: Có 45 giải, mỗi giải trị giá 6.000.000 VNĐ dành cho những vé trúng chữ số hàng trăm ngàn và sai 1 chữ số ở bất cứ hàng nào còn lại của giải Đặc biệt.

Ý NGHĨA CỦA HOẠT ĐỘNG XỔ SỐ KIẾN THIẾT

Xổ số kiến thiết không đơn thuần là một hoạt động giải trí mà còn mang đậm giá trị nhân văn với tinh thần ích nước lợi nhà.

Nguồn thu từ hoạt động này được Nhà nước sử dụng để đầu tư xây dựng các công trình trường học, bệnh viện, cầu đường và thực hiện các chương trình an sinh xã hội cho người nghèo.

Mỗi tấm vé anh chị cầm trên tay chính là một viên gạch góp phần xây dựng quê hương thêm giàu đẹp.

Chúng tôi hy vọng rằng những thông tin cập nhật theo thời gian trực tiếp từ trường quay sẽ giúp anh chị có những phút giây thư giãn bổ ích.

Đừng quên truy cập thường xuyên vào Xổ số Thiên Phú để không bỏ lỡ buổi quay thưởng trực tiếp xsmn chủ nhật diễn ra từ 16h10 đến 16h35.

Chúc anh chị luôn dồi dào sức khỏe và có những trải nghiệm số tuyệt vời cùng hệ thống tra cứu của chúng tôi.

Xem tham khảo tại đây

Dreams are funny things that come and go. Rarely do mine interrupt or intersect. However, he is a steady repeat. He's always been there. My Darkness. My Shadow. My Faerie Man. My Male of Faerie.

Tonight, he bloodied his fingers and scratched the wreathing tendrils of shadow incorporated within him to pluck the crushing weight of slab and stone that was suffocating my broken limbs, and pitch it asunder into the mighty void between dreams.

I was fading. I could feel every drop of consciousness plummeting drip by unrecoverable drip. I heard his melody thrumming through my mind. He was very angry with me, growling at my foolishness. Snarling that he had taught me better. He did not find my “tethering” cheeky. The use of “cheeky” had caused me to laugh and choke on the blood bubbling past my lips.

Everything hurt so bad, but a fog was forming around the pain as my mind began to drift through other dreams and other trips. I could hear him growling about our unfinished book. That I still owed him many more pages. That was our trade. Our agreement. Briefly, I realized it an uneven bond, for the majesty of such a book was that it had no end.

I felt the whirlpool of his essence swirling and encompassing me. Seeping into me. Merging with my blood and mending the wounds that dared to break our contract. It was a frigid, burning, soothing crutch. For the smallest of eternities, I understood everything. I tasted our memories seasoning absence with a completeness there are no words for, and then we were fractured once more.

I awoke with the memory of his smile and a song. Our song—of woods and rain and obsidian night. I awoke owing him the poetry of my soul, for he continued to doom his relevance via maintaining our lifeline.

© 2026 AnOublietteofThought. All rights reserved

We have dogs, chickens, turkeys, sheep, a hamster, oh and flies. But of all of our animals there seems to be something special about cows. Perhaps it’s a subjective thing and what I resonate with, and maybe this is objective fact – but either way cows are something special.

We have some great friends nearby who have joined us on our milk cow operation. So we expanded quicker than I was planning and it’s turned out pretty decently in my view. They brought in three cows so they could ramp up milk production quickly. The oldest of their cows had a baby pretty quickly because she came in pregnant, which was great for milk production, and the baby was a female too – which is great! So they had four female cows in their first year of raising milk cows. They went from zero to four pretty much the speed of light, at least in terms of human perception, and it became overwhelming quickly.

Over at our homestead we had two females and a newborn baby. We also have two bulls to help with the whole reproductive and milk cycle, but the females are the main point to all of this. I think women deep down know they are the main point to all of this. One of our oldest cows is my favorite, she was our first and I’ve really bonded to her. She’s my friend. We don’t really speak the same language with our lungs, diaphragms (do cows have diaphragms?), tongues, and faces. But we do speak quite a bit one to another in other ways. I can mimic some of their sounds and it does seem to soothe. I can also stand my ground and show I’m tough if needed. But there are dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of micro actions that seem to be part of communication. And as we spend time together these things sparkle about.

Well my favorite cow and best friend in the cow world turns out to be pretty broken. We are pretty sure she cannot reproduce. The lady we bought her from thinks she might with some surgery – but we don’t even like surgery on ourselves, why would we do that for a cow? And I am pretty sure it’s well beyond cysts as she thinks, there are many things off with my friend. We can actually milk her, and she hasn’t had a child. But that milk isn’t milk at all, it’s a mildly bloody mucous. One of her pelvic bones is sunken in; that isn’t right. She is about 30% larger than any of the other cows of her breed. Her heat cycles aren’t very noticeable to her, the bulls can tell but she can’t. So my view is that she is hormonally and physiologically broken. And I love her. Not in any sort of gross way you perverts out there may be thinking, just in a great friendship happy sort of way.

But I am a very practical person. We have very clear intents, and raising a bunch of cows for friendship really isn’t the goal here. We also have a neighboring household who happens to be one of our best friends who are also human. They are getting older, are homesteaders, and eat a decent amount of beef. So we are turning the problem of my friend who cannot be milked (at least for useable milk) or have children into the solution of creating beef for our human friends.

We tried one last time to breed her for several months so there is a small chance she will have a baby this fall. If she does then that whole killing thing will be derailed which is great for my cow friendship but bad for meat and the logistics of us having too many cows. So the plan is that if she has a child we will keep her and milk her and I can keep my friend. And if she does not have a baby we will truck her off to another human friend nearby with no attachments to her to do the whole killing and cutting up type of thing.

Back to our friends mentioned in the beginning who bought some cows and got up to four too quickly. Well they were stressing out and we love them and wanted to help out. So we adopted all of their young cows and are starting to train them. They are keeping the oldest milker only right now. This is what spurred this post. I was just out there trying to calm the craziest one that moved here and get her more comfortable with me being around. We have taken in three of their cows for now. We hope they will take at least one back when they are ready. The cows coming to our place have gone in waves, we didn’t take them all in at once. First came R (don’t want to disclose her full name, you may know her :P), she was wild and crazy when we got her. But over the last month or so she’s calmed down and is leadable a this point. We had her and my best cow friend near one another and now R is pretty calm and easy for a young heifer. We just recently received M who is fairly insane. The same time M came up here we brought my best friend cow A down to their place. My best friend cow is outside their immediate homestead and out in the more wild perimeter fence. So they don’t have to do much with her, she can go have a lot of fun on roughly 160 acres of woods and pasture. I’m sure she is loving it, if she doesn’t give birth it will be a great end of life adventure. If she does give birth then meat is called off and she can come back home.

I saw her today. I was visiting my human friends and saw my cow friend A outside the fence. I wanted to go give her scratches and hugs but I didn’t. It’s sad to me and I am trying to create distance before this potential end coming up. I’m feeding my best friend cow to my best friend humans. It’s kinda disgusting, but kinda beautiful. Depends on how you want to look at it. I like to look at the whole spectrum I can see, which makes it disgustingly beautiful.

Well then. We now have two babies we are training up. Two heifers about old enough to breed. One best friend cow who is away on vacation ready to die. One milking cow who I just finished milking – she is a gem as well. And two bulls to help keep the breeding going for a while. It’s a pretty fun and exciting situation in my view. They are curious, intelligent, stubborn, and lovely animals. Many people I’ve met aren’t nearly as pleasant to be around. In the animal world I find them pretty top tier. Seems to me more people should have cows instead of buy cow products – it is a completely different experience. It’s like the difference of eating a tomato versus tending to a garden. Or the difference in playing the recorder versus playing in an orchestra, or even listening to a live orchestra.

Anyways I’m already mourning for my potential beef cow while at the same time celebrating the new cow personalities coming in. Life and death is always present at the homestead.