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        <title><![CDATA[@Broliver "TheSquirrel" Stagnasty - blog]]></title>
        <description><![CDATA[]]></description>
        <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty</link>
        <lastBuildDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2026 15:28:31 -0500</lastBuildDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[A trip to Florida Redux I.... - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/265/a-trip-to-florida-redux-i</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/265</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[So far, it has been uneventfully eventful.... Got the truck from the U-Haul drop off and pick up point, drove it, loaded it, slept, got up on Saturday morning and left about 9:30. About 11 o'clock my brother and I were going through the toll booths for I-90 in Albany, and when we started from the toll booths the truck it was not responding to helm properly, in that seemed to rev but not move as quickly as we thought it should.Here the trouble began.Pulled of to the side of the toll plaza, noticed that a little amber light was on with a gear and a wrench... Do you think that something is wrong with the transmission??? Maybe servicing is in order??? We cycled power, the light went off and we were on our way, for a few miles. After a period of time, Not yet one exit on I-88, we noticed that the light came back on and the shifting was not operating properly, so we took the first exit and went to the Pilot station there, my brother calling the wonderful operators at U-haul.Did you know thjat U-Haul has fully embraced the information age? Apparently the U in U haul also means that U do everything:you call, you go to the link, you file your complaint online, you sit waiting for a mechanic to show up for 2 hours.... twice.  God forbid you try to get any of the operators to actually do anything. It is not their fault; it is protocol.Oh, shit. I was telling a story.Anyway, The operator said that we should get some transmission fluid and was kind enough to tell us the exact kind to use. We went into the truckstop, no luck. We went to an auto parts store, no luck. They had never heard of it, but they did tell us where the local U-haul was and they gave us detailed instructions on how to arrive there, it was all good and off we went in search of the elusive transyn.When we got to the uhaul place the people there gave us the blank stare when we mentioned the type of fluid that we needed, but the nice fellow behind the counter called his manager, who told him to give us as much fluid as was necessary and that Dextron III would be fine.We finally got Back on the road and everything was just going swimmingly (it was raining, after all) when 45 minutes to an hour later the transmission started not shifting. Pull off the road, run through the gamut of operators trying to send us link to follow to get something done, finally, we find out that they are sending a mechanic. He is an hour away.This is already an hour into the stop.... Wait....The guy shows up, checks it out, says that he had consulted with the maintenance manager in Albany and that he thought it was a communications problem. Unfortunately, the problem only occured after driving for an hour or so, so they could not see it. So, after plugging and unplugging and wiggleing on some wires, he shook our hands and bade us farewell.And an hour downthe road..... it happened again.During all of this my brother was extremely polite. I think I would have told some people off by then, but anyway...Do the whole thing, with a different caste,Good things from this? the sun set on the clouds last evening from the parking lot at the Great Bend Pennsylvania Welcome center.... and we got a free nights stay at the Days Inn in Scranton courtesy of U-Haul.The not so good things are it is now 3:00 pm and we are still in PA. We should at least be in GA if not over the line and into FL. And it helps when you have media in your camera.....]]></description>
                <pubDate>Sun, 05 Oct 2014 08:38:55 -0400</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Twelfth Installment "Confusion" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/258/dichotomy-twelfth-installment-confusion</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/258</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[  Marivon wondered where Trancy had gone. She had appeared in the dance hall with Gavinar, looked around in astonishment and horror, cried out to leave then the pair had disappeared. They were gone. She thought that she could feel Gavinars presence. She thought that she could sense his direction. Putting those two items together, Marivon thought, she is probably somewhere north of here, far north probably. The mountains just werent high enough in the north towards Merebon in the coastal range. The mountains that they were in now hadnt had snow for almost a month now. You had to travel across the Midsea to get to the Barrier Range Mountains to be able to have fresh snow on them.    How are you doing, Nocs? she said, the stream of her thoughts bringing her to rest upon the quick witted, young   scoundrel   was the best word that she could think of to describe the young man.    Since I been followin you? Not bad at all! Came Nocs promt reply.  The view back here is quite nice. But I do admit, I don care much for travellin through snow wiout the prospect of an end in sight. I heard tell of a man from Clips runnin supplies ta miners in the mountains. This one day he was out and he got snow-bound, trapped in a whiteout. He dint eat for three days!    Will you be quiet, Nocs, spurted Temon, unable to control his laughter. Even though the night had gone from mildly bad to worse to really horrible, there was an element of humor brought about by Nocs consistency of commentary: Sex and the female form, or what he knew of both; and food, of which his knowledge was quite extensive.     After Trancys sudden appearance in the dance hall and subsequent abrupt disappearance, Temon had wanted to chase after her. In fact, he had jumped up to do just that, searching for discarded items of clothing, when Marivons voice had brought him up sharply.    And where do you think you are going? He had jumped at the words, not because of the sternness with which they were delivered, but because they were not spoken aloud. Spinning around, he stared at Marivon, incredulity painted across his slack jawed face.    You he said, Did you just? How? Staring around the room at the still recumbent dancers sprawled around the room in disarray, You did this! This is all your fault! You show up and    The rough equivalent of a mental slap took Temon by surprise. Quiet! Get hold of yourself! The next words were accompanied by Marivons voice, Do you even know where Trancy went? How are you going to find her? Even follow her for that matter? And this, she waved an arm, indicating the hall and its occupants as she drew him closer and continued in a harsh whisper, all the more stern because of the fact he had to lean in very close to hear, Is your doing, not mine.   Your   power did this: Your   uncontrolled   power. You swept us all along like driftwood caught in a spring torrent. We had no say! Your pattern was imposed and the dancers danced to your called tune. Your father, the elders, the fresh legs, they all were riding, dancing, trapped within your pattern, your energy. How many of these couples have now bonded? Some might have been able to avoid it,   if   they recognized the patterns soon enough, were far enough away from you. I recognized the patterns, but, dancing with you, I couldnt escape your power. I am bonded to you now! Years upon years of training are normally required before we let a Gaemel bond, and you are not even an initiate to the Gaemel.    Around the room, couples were stirring at the commotion, many of them looking dazed, some looking satisfied, some were beginning to realize what had happened and some were not happy at all. It is one thing to be cloistered in the confines of the academy in Ceston until bonding: Preparing and developing a relationship with your bond-mate, exploring the different patterns, walking them, talking about them. It is quite a different experience entirely to attend a celebration of community, to be overcome at the dance, and then, like popping out of an alcoholic haze or a drugged stupor, to find the person who is lying naked next to you talking inside of your head. The reality of the situation started to filter grimly into Temons mind.    Thoughts and a thousand questions sprang to the front of his brain. We bonded? was, however, the only phrase that managed to pass his lips. Marivon, looking about the room, knew that someone had better step in and control the situation or it was likely to go badly for Temon, for the whole village. Noting Bial nearby, she surreptitiously motioned for him to join the group.    Welcome to the Spring Dance! I think the first order of business would be to find some clothes, my lady, he deadpanned, scooping up and handing Marivon the dress that she had been wearing, and to dress ourselves in them. Authority comes across much better when one is clothed in more than power, No?    At first tempted to give the harsher side of her tongue to Bial, she recognized the humor in the situation and was thankful for the break, however brief, from stern speaking and thinking. I will do that, good sir, and thank you. She took the rumpled gowns from him and made a pretense at modesty, asking Temon and Bial to turn their backs towards her as she attempted to arrange the fabrics in something of the order they had been at the beginning of the night. As she turned her back also, she saw the older man give a playful punch to Temons shoulder and then grasp his hand as if congratulating him. Dont look! went through the bond as she leaned over. Men! So easily distracted. She could forgive Temon, almost, because he was untrained and barely a man, but Bial? Old goat, he was! Still, she had retained a consciousness of the events as they transpired, even if she were unable to stop them. If we were alone, she thought to herself, smiling inwardly, I would have been impressed. And here   I am   calling the men out as goats.    Marivon snapped her mind away from the prurient and back to the present. Assembled as best she could manage, she turned to Bial. This is your village. These are your people, she indicated the people in the room. Some of them were stirring, some were already dressed: Some were aware of what had transpired, some were as yet blissfully unaware, still basking in the afterglow. Some were asleep, and some were looking like they were soon going to be screaming curses at a particular someone. Marivon had an inkling of just who might be the object of that wrath, and so did Bial.    I think we had better remove the fuse or the powder, or both. The source of ignition looks to be coming this way, Bail said as he moved to intercept Yelena. Marivon grabbed hold of Temon and ushered him to a secluded spot behind some greenery that had been brought in for the dance, fir branches with the fresh growth of spring already on them, Bials body an additional barrier between the young man and the clearly maddened young woman.    It is his fault! I told you he shouldnt be Spring King! I told you he was unfit, and for just this reason! Yelena practically shrieked across the room at Temon. Bial, Yelena and Yelenas father all converged at a point halfway across the room from Temon. Surprisingly, it was Yelenas father who hushed the girl almost immediately.    Quiet, Daughter! he said in a low voice. Tis not his fault. Tis ours. We didnt realize he was this powerful. We saw only the beauty an strength of his aura when we did the lightning dance. We have had powerful Spring Kings before, even ones who bonded with the Spring Mistress. There is a reason for calling them tha, ya know. Yelena gasped at this last bit of information, But we have never had a Spring King pull us all along with him.    You mean to tell me, Yelena sniffed, looking more and more repulsed with each passing second, That was supposed to happen? Look at me! I am ruined! My life is a shambles. I was saving myself till I met a nice man, and now you have ruined that. Ruined my dream. I have   her   in my head, now.    Sighting along Yelenas outstretched arm, the mens gazes came to rest on the form of Ajanite, who was still lounging in the pile of clothes where she had been, looking very pleased with herself and how things were transpiring. Still undressed and unconcernedly aware of the fact, she stretched her lithe body. Had she been a cat, she would have been purring, stretching, washing her paw, and stopping occasionally to let the rest of the world bask in her beauty. She winked at Yelena.    Yelena almost burst free of the mens grip, so blind to everything but the thought she had been robbed of her fairytale life. Angry, enraged, she was like the other side of Ajanites cat, scratching and gouging, until her father simply wrapped her in his arms and sat down on the floor, whispering to his daughter that it would be all right, tears coming to his eyes.    Others, realizing the danger of uncontrolled emotion or because they were sympathetic to the shock the abruptness of the revelation can have on a mind, moved to placate those with angry looks on their faces and to comfort those whose looks told of their sorrow. Luckily, both of these groups were in the minority. Those upset were largely confined to the Fresh Legs, though the parents of the young dancers tended to reflect the emotions of their children, mostly it was just a concern for the child being brought so rapidly to the understanding, the crux of what dancing and the surrounding ceremonies entailed: Both the dangers and the beauties.    Where is Nocs? Temon says he thought he saw him standing with a group of female Fresh Legs in the corner, Marivon asked.    Indeed, Nocs had been talking to three young ladies, and neither they nor he could be found among those up and about. The piles of clothing scattered about the room were picked up and distributed to the owners who had not already retrieved them. Even Ajanite uncurled her form and donned her clothing, though she was blatant in her awareness of the appreciative glances and could not resist a little showmanship.    I dont know where he could have gotten to. We must form a search party for the four missing people. Ring the bell! Gavinar is not here either. Might he have taken them somewhere?    One of the village men opened the door to the belfry and gave a guffaw. No sense ta ringin the bell now, not lest ya want ta look further for the skinny git n his arem. Right ere e is.    All eyes in the room swept towards the location of the mans voice. Soon, Nocs and the three young women emerged from the doorway, cloaked in an old drapery that had been hastily donned, giggling and grinning from ear to ear. ey, Temon, right good dance. Whas everbody lookn at? Is it over? A smattering of laughter accompanied this proclamation, along with some worried looks on the faces of the parents of the four. An ow come I can hear you all inside me ead. Be terrible fierce trying to concentrate on one thing with all of you jabbering somat.     I think you should ring the bell, Marivon said, I saw Trancy with Gavinar, in here, after Her gesture seemed to sum up the impotence that she was feeling at the moment, after the ceremony was completed. She saw us, all of us,   in flagrante  . She asked to be taken away. Away to where?      More in the series.      2005-2014 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite   ]]></description>
                <pubDate>Fri, 22 Aug 2014 19:48:19 -0400</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Eleventh Installment "Betrayal" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/257/dichotomy-eleventh-installment-betrayal</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/257</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[  Trancy woke. No sunlight tinged the lids of her eyes with the redness of dawn or even the paleness that indicates twilight. Cracking her eyes against the sleep that had accumulated she tried to gain a glimpse of her surroundings. When the stubborn lids parted there was no more information about the time of day or where she was.    If I were in my bed, She thought,  Either the moonlight, sunlight or starlight would be coming through my window. If I were in my bed, I wouldnt be holding myself motionless, as if I were waiting for something terrible to happen; Afraid to move a muscle. Afraid of what?    Trancys mind went searching as she lay in the ironically comfortable bed, her body motionless but for the barely perceptible rise and fall of her breathing, the silent closing of the eyelids in concentration. As she wound through the patterns, smoothing out the jumble of emotions, the flashes of sight, the intuitions of the evening prior, a tear squeezed out the corner of her eye and traced swiftly down her face to lodge uncomfortably in her ear, its track burning with the heat of blood rushing to her face while leaving the area around her heart feeling cold and empty.    Trancy had left the dance hurriedly after the confrontation with Temon. The gall of him! Telling me that I am jealous! Me! she spat under her breath after she was escorted out of the hall with the rest of the younger members of the community.    Outside of the hall, activities had been set up, but on a smaller scale. The Spring Festival was a celebration, after all, and while the youngest children were ushered to bed, those older than eight spans generally stayed to mingle and fraternize, dance and discuss whatever those things that were that were on the minds of people of their age. Games of skill, friendly, or not so friendly, as the case may be, pitted singles and pairs against one another, as much to show off aptitudes as to burn the abundant energy of youth down to at least a banked flame.    Trancy had been mulling over her situation, trying to organize her thoughts and what had occurred over the course of the day, when Gavinar had approached, the epitome of understanding and kindness. All twisted up in frustration at Temons lack of empathy for her circumstances and his inconsiderate infatuation with Marivon, she was more than willing to talk with Gavinar. Besides, he might let something slip now that he was away from Ajanite. It surprised her, then, when he opened with what could only be called bait.    You know, I can show you the secrets of the dance.    If Trancy had been a dog, her ears would have perked up and her tail swept the table clean as Gavinar continued, I know how to harness energies that you dont even know exist. I can show you how to use the powers that   you   possess.    You, Trancy laughed, Are a wolf, sir.    Gavinar laughed back, showing strong teeth with good humor resting lightly on his face as he attempted to set her at ease. You may be accurate in your assessment of my character. However, I would like to demonstrate that what I say is indeed true. All you need to do is dance with me, Miss?    Ardon. You may call me Trancy. Just dance? I was dancing with you in the Great Hall and noticed no secrets falling out of you. In fact, besides the fact of your name, that you prefer veal over venison, and that you dont like the color green, I really cant say that you told me anything at all. But, she said coquettishly, thinking of how Temon had earlier accused her of jealousy when obviously he was the one who was jealously watching her,  If you only want to dance, that seems a pleasantly harmless enough way to while the evening away.     More tears plunged themselves into her ear, silently trickling, spilling over and wetting her pillow, as she fought to keep the memories from translating into perceivable motion, fought to keep the huge lump in her throat from choking her, from sending her into the great sobs that she was feeling.    She had started to rise, but found Gavinars hand on her arm, gently yet firmly holding her in the seated position.    We should find somewhere private where we cannot be observed. In your village these things I am going to show you, the knowledge of the powers inherent in and arising from the dance, are forbidden, taboo, to be taught or shown to those under the age of majority. Do you know of such a place?    Trancy had looked at him with incredulity. Do you really think that I am so foolish as to just wander off with a handsome stranger some place were we can be neither seen nor heard? Do you really think that I have such loose morals and poorly defined character as that? People can see us. People, if they really wanted to listen, could. What do you think they would say if I just got up and ran off to some secluded spot with you? I have had a taste of wagging tongues from an experience with Temon. I have no wish to have my name sullied more by slanderous accusations.   Besides  , her scorn at what she thought was an inappropriate suggestion came through on that one word, I dont really know what your intentions are. Do you think I was born yesterday?    Now. I have to go and freshen up. There is a place just around the corner over there, she indicated a partially darkened area of the lesser hall that they were in, that, while not out of earshot or sight if any one should happen to walk by, it is partially concealed by the wall and plants. I would like a glass of mead, if you please. She walked away leaving Gavinar looking as he had when he had arrived. His smile just seemed a little more genuine.    When Trancy made her way back to the festival, Gavinar was waiting, glasses of mead in hand. Taking the glass of proffered mead, she allowed herself to relax just a little. So this power you speak of, how does it manifest itself through the dance?    Do you remember that dance that Temon was trying to show you earlier?    Trancy visibly started. How does he know? she thought to herself, How could he possibly know? He wasnt even here. She covered her surprise by immediately assuming the starting position for the lightning dance and started moving through the steps.    Like this? she asked, flawlessly carrying through each step.     Not quite, he stopped her. Watch. Since you arent in the main hall you should be able to see the moves that were shielded from you before. It is a subtle shift, but it makes all the difference in the world. Gavinar moved through the steps, indicating just where to change.    Of course, she cried, I have never noticed the difference, but now that you show me, it is almost like I can see the older dancers doing the same steps. I seem to remember!    Taking the stance from the beginning, she went through the steps on her own, replicating the patterns she had been shown. A smile formed on her face as if she could feel the power coming closer as she moved her body. She swung around and grabbed Gavinar by the hand to complete the motion.    Understanding burst upon her like a ray of light, illuminating the patterns that she saw etched into the stone of the floors and walls, carved out of the very air, swirling, connecting, dispersing. She knew without a doubt that this is what Temon and Nocs had been carrying on about, trying to tell her. They just hadnt been able to for some reason.    Why do they keep this from us? she thought, realizing that if she thought about the other dances that they had learned over the years, that she could now begin to see the moves that had been changed, the steps that were slightly different, the pattern subtly morphed into an almost image. As she thought this, she changed the pattern slightly in a different way, and began to glimpse something    That, you see, interrupted Gavinar, abruptly breaking contact, context and pattern, Is what your dear friends would not tell you.    Oh, but I am sure that they would have if they could have, Trancy stated, I mean, well Temon has been going on about this, about something they werent telling us, something hidden she trailed off. She was sure that this was what he had been trying to tell her earlier in the day, that this was indeed the secret that the villagers held so closely. Why else would he have mentioned being tricked, being right about his suspicions all the time. Maybe, she thought, Maybe if I just play along with Gavinar, I can find out why he and the other strangers all showed up at once. Its not likely that they had simply wanted to participate in the spring celebration at this remote location so far from the well worn paths of the One World.    That was amazing! I have never had an experience quite like that before. None even remotely like that. Can anyone do that, see that?    Not everyone, my dear girl. Certainly there are few who give the clarity of designs that you provide. Thinking to himself, That was an understatement if ever I made one. She must be the brightest, clearest walker I have ever seen. She and the boy can only be the reason that Marivon is here. It has to be them. Such a pair has the power to make or destroy the neaGaemel if they were trained properly.    Why dont we dance some more? I can show you more steps that will show new and wondrous facets of what you can do with this power.    As he showed her the different dances, the new steps, she grew more confident, following his lead expertly. She thought of how wonderful it would be tomorrow when she met Temon and told him of all she had learned. A true smile was on her lips when the world shifted.    Time seemed transparent and variable, space came unglued from its rightful places to expand and contract, distorted yet immutable, all at the same instant and no time at all. It seemed to her as if she were in a bubble, encased tightly around her, but the turning of her thoughts toward or away from a concept made the air around that concept gain or lose clarity, the bubble moving in the direction of her thinking, or maybe that was the wrong way of looking at it and she were the one moving, or everything else, or maybe it was just some patterns, she really could not orient so she could not tell. Was it she directing the flow of the patterns, or was she just playing along a predetermined set of patterns on an already charted course.     Where am I? she said imploringly, the need for knowledge of what she was experiencing to anchor her was pressing, urgent, palpable and almost overwhelming. Where am I? She repeated, stress beginning to edge into her tone.    Shhhh. You are doing fine. Amazing even, Gavinar crooned into her ear. Temon cant bring you here. He hasnt the knowledge or the skill. He cannot make you feel. As he spoke, glissandi of touch, butterfly sensations of caresses began to slide over her skin and through her mind, flying away with the thoughts of Temon, of Aberdale, slivers of light and sound coalesced and solidified, massaging and relaxing thoughts and muscles.    Thats it. Youve got the idea. Flow into and around your surroundings, envelope the thoughts, the sinew and muscle with gentle softness. Trancy seemed to melt, to flow. She could see the thoughts, taste the sweetness, the sour of ideas. Honey and beyond licked her lips. She left her body, carried upward, outward and inward, all directions at the same time, instant ecstasy played within the folds of her mind, on the surface of her body, in the depths of her soul. These sensations increased with the tempo of the dance. It was all feeling, all emotionally taught yet loose, pushing and pulling, inside and out, physical, mental, surreal and fantastic.    Trancy had never, ever felt this way before. All of the passions inside her relaxed, all tensions released. Shuddering, everything cleared, all content, all good.    Now lets see what your boyfriend Temon is up to, Gavinar smirked as he led Trancy in a new set of moves. The setting shifted to inside the Great Hall and the scene that appeared bore little resemblance to any dance she had attended. Clothing lay discarded about the room. It was not neatly placed or even roughly piled as the people she knew would remove it if they were overheated from strenuous exertion, but appeared to have been hurled randomly with no care whatsoever by the dancers. There was no sense of decorum in its disposal, no semblance of shame or modesty from the wearer.    The assembled bodies of the dancers were as strewn about the room as the clothing, hot, sweaty, the hall full of the scene and scent of orgy. Not paired up as one would expect, husbands with wives, but mixed like they had fallen down in the middle of a dance, the old, the young, male and female, as mixed and jumbled as the clothing, the dresses and shirts, shoes and pants. No semblance of order could be placed upon the room. Order was the last thing that Trancys mind could achieve.    She turned in the dance and in the room, surveying the complete abandon that had encompassed and possessed the people who she thought she knew: Her neighbors, friends and relatives. Was this, she thought, normal for the dances? Was it real? Was she ensconced in some dream, some surrealistic phantasm of reality? Even the musicians had succumbed to whatever the force was that had infected the hall.    Blood, which had been draining from her face, rushed back, abandoning the inner core around her heart to heat red her face and ears. At the head of the room, on the Spring Kings dais, the throne tipped over, the bunting and decorations in broken, trampled disarray, lay Temon, intertwined in embrace with Marivon, both naked, looking disheveled, sated, and happy. Marivon opened her eyes.    Take me away from this place! Trancy screamed and was immediately transported away, back out of the hall, back to where they had been. But, Trancy noted, where they had been was not outside the hall. It wasnt anywhere she knew.    And now, Trancy thought, still searching to awaken her thoughts, Here I am. Somewhere that I dont know where is, I dont even have a clue how long Ive been here or how I am going to get home. She sat up, absently reaching in the darkness to pull her gown around herself against the chill of the air. She stopped. Bare flesh,   her   bare flesh met her fingers. Reaching and searching about her body lead her to the realization that the only thing she had to cover her naked body was a sheet and blanket that were loosely draped over her.     Good morning, lover, came Gavinars voice from beside her body, and inside her head.      More in the series.      2005-2014 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite   ]]></description>
                <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2014 21:37:59 -0400</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Tenth Installment "Explanation" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/256/dichotomy-tenth-installment-explanation</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/256</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[aQtwa Hachtu was pacing about the room, wishing for the tiniest bit of the eloquence he was known for. What could you have been thinking? Migdula demanded, her eyes set in a desperate, furious scowl. Why destroy this peaceful, serene existence that we have both worked so hard to achieve? That is what you will do if you continue with this. Tell the Brothers you will not do this. We dont want the public lifestyle. We dont want or need the invasion of prying eyes and the people behind them, smearing the name that we have finally managed through penance, good works and earnest prayer to clean up!Walking to a window that opened onto the quiet inner courtyard, she gestured towards the peaceful scene, dappled with the orange lights of the setting sun, How long have you worked to make your soul as tranquil as the evening sunlight? How much have you desired that the calming effects of our garden sanctuary could permeate the balance of our daily lives? You know how long and how hard. How can you agree to be uprooted from our works? From me? Her fury had turned to pain, but the desperation still remained. Indeed, it had increased. Why would you want to leave us in order to get sniped at by all of the people whom you have cheated, by all the merchants who have felt put-upon by your past dealings with them? Grabbing him by the shoulders, Migdula peered deeply into his eyes, her own blurring with the tears of loss, seeking an answer. Why would you want to leave me?aQtwa was trying to answer many of those same questions himself; Trying to justify the wrenching apart of what he, what they, had achieved since his rebirth to faith. I know that it sounds counter intuitive, but I am really doing this, going to run for the Senate, to help us and to help you.During your impassioned soliloquy you have mentioned the gardens, the fruits of our laboring together, the pervasive we that runs throughout our relationship. You know, as do I, that these references hold no meaning in the current society. To the society at large, legally it is all mine. According to the Brothers, to the current teachings of the Tainver, it is all mine. Even you, he said wistfully, Are mine. All my... property. All mine. What you brought to this relationship is mine. The material goods that were once called your fathers and came with you in the marriage are now mine. You are no better than property in the eyes of the government and in the eyes of the Tainver.It was different in the past. The books that I have been studying tell of times when a woman was afforded equality in all aspects of life. She was not property, she could own land and goods; she could hold public office. She was not shuffled off to sit in the gardens while the men held court, discussed matters that were important and salient to the everyday lives of men and women.That is what I hope to achieve. That is why I would throw our lives into turmoil, mire my name further in the tawdry aspects of politics. Not to revel in the glory, not to immerse myself in the purported power of the profession, but to raise the awareness of the people so they can see that the true Tainver and citizen of Mora should value women and men equally. I saw the chance to make you, not just in my eyes but the eyes of the people at large, seen as an equally legitimate contributor to all of society.Fool, Migdula said through her tears, How can you hope to go against thousands of years of teaching, against the Brotherhood of the Tainver? Especially since the Tainver are the ones sponsoring you? You cannot hope to change the attitudes and culture of a people overnight. And what makes you think that the people will want to change? Only men are allowed to vote. Why would a man want to give up his dominant role?I would, aQtwa said,  because I have thought through the implications of not doing so. I think, I believe, in peoples innate capacity for reason, and hope they understand of the balance of the world. I believe that people are basically good at heart. It is this goodness that will make them see reason, make them see the right path for them to take would be to afford women the same rights as men.Cant you see that I am doing this for you?Fool, Migdula repeated. Well, at least it will be an interruption of short duration if you are going to have the rights of women as the primary reason for your running. If the Brotherhood does not kick you out the first time that you utter such a heretical idea, the men who do the voting will quickly disillusion you by returning a victory for whomever your opposition is.I can almost see it now, she said, affecting her husbands public speaking demeanor, Hello, good men of Mora. My name is aQtwa Hachtu. I am here to ask of you a few minutes of your valuable time. I know that you all think that I am a fraud and a cheat, but I can assure that I have turned that page in my life. Ive cleaned up my life, been reborn into my faith. Oh. And I would like for you to relinquish your position of authority and superiority over women because it is the right thing to do. My friends, dont you agree? I can summon no greater authority on this than this two thousand year old text that has been suppressed by my sponsors and cut out of the writings of the Tainver. How do you know that I am telling the truth? Well, youll just have to trust me, I wouldnt lie to you. Hmmph!aQtwa looked at the woman who was responsible for his transformation from usurer and cheater to upstanding religious role model. While not the most attractive woman in all of Darmon, she was beautiful even now, as she wiped the disheveled hair from her face and mopped the tearstains from her cheeks. I know of no other way. I have been thinking about how to make the world at large see that every person is born with the same innate, fundamental rights, the same responsibilities. Then, through the process of living we take those rights and responsibilities and gather them to ourselves as a pillar to stand upon, or thrust them away to crawl about in the muck of sin. I had been the latter: The sinner. Then, through your patient kindness and persistence, we rebuilt that pillar together. I could not have done it alone. But for you, I would be groveling in my riches, wealthy beyond compare, wicked beyond redemption. So, for you, I said that I would take this departure from my studies. For you, and for everyone else who is not afforded the same rights because of something that they have no control over, some accident of birth.At the last words, Migdula abruptly rose and grabbed his clothing, Please! Do not say this! It is against Mon to speak so. There is no such thing as an accident of birth. You know that all things are done for a reason, though not all reasons are ours to see. The Brotherhood will worse than take away their backing of a political puppet, they will make sure that our lives are ruined!Really? You think that if I am fortunate enough to be elected to the Senate that I will be so easily ousted? I have played that type of game before. I know what I am doing.And that is another reason to be afraid, another reason why I am afraid. I, Migdula faltered, racking sobs held at bay by sheer force of will, I dont want you to become again that which you were. I do not want to lose my work. I do not want to lose us you.]]></description>
                <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2014 21:24:38 -0400</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Ninth Installment "Merebon" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/255/dichotomy-ninth-installment-merebon</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/255</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[  The indefinite line of predawn murk was chased across the sky as the sun rose on the first day of spring in the coastal city of Merebon. Restless in anticipation of the shift change, the night watch was starting to fidget when an alarm from the high tower ripped through the misty half-light of dawn.    Ships! At least twenty ships rounding the point! Sound general quarters!    Gazing intently into the burgeoning day, Captain Remel was just glimpsing the vessels as the horns sounded the call to battle stations. Twenty, you say? he shouted to the lookout on the tower.    At least, Sir    Looks more like forty the quickly estimated number of vessels rapidly rose as more and more craft came into view, sailing out of the sun and clearing the point, make that sixty large Ships of War. Damn him. This is where the Guard should be!    Disturbing reports had been filtering into the city of violent raids on isolated towns along the coast to the north of Merebon during the preceding months. By the time a company of troops could arrive, the raiders were gone. As a result, all of the fishing villages up and down the coast were clamoring for a contingent of the Home Guard to be quartered locally.    In response to this perceived threat and with the advice of his main advisor, the king had split the Home Guard into quarters, and three of these quarters he further divided into twenty smaller units each, with one unit going to each of the larger of the coastal villages. This redeployment of troops would have been difficult at any time, but given the tensions that had welled up with the neighboring kingdom of Schaferland, it was problematic to the extreme.     These troop divisions had upset the kings generals. They made necessary a new command structure based on the Kings advisors definitions. Instead of the standard division, regiment and company structure that the Home Guard had been accustomed to and trained under, they now had to adapt to a new and, in their view, foolish structure where they needed more officers to command the same amount of men.     Surely, you cant mean to damn the King?    Remel turned slowly on hearing the voice, Not at all. I wish the king good health and many lives. I was referring to whomever it was made His Highness send the bulk of our trained men to the hinterlands to protect some little villages. The Navy too! All divided up with no possibility of sustaining an attack against ten ships, let alone sixty. And now look!     Remel pointed to the inlet where several more ships had rounded the rocky promontory. The home fleet, or rather the bit of it that had been left to guard the port at Merebon, had sails up and were tacking into the wind, trying at once to block the ships streaming into the harbor while at the same time to maneuver into a defensive formation. Their chances at doing either looked to be slim at best.     Terebisi Gestian watched the harbor as he spoke. Arent we all equal under Mons gaze? Could you, a Captain in His Lordships army, stand idly by and watch the kings subjects be raped and killed by foreign armies? Would you not see them all protected? The villages were not attacked by vast fleets of warships but by a couple of rogue pirate vessels. It is all in the accounts given by the villagers. The ones who were lucky enough to survive, that is. To suggest that their lives are not up to the worth of yours is somewhat unsettling. Turning to Remel he added, Is one life worth more than another?     Save your sanctimonious rationalizations for somebody who doesnt know one end of pike from another. If I didnt know better, and I am not sure that I dont, I would think that someone had this all planned out from the beginning. Divide our forces by creating a diversion. Send our navy on some wild goose chase of a hunt so they are easier to pick off. This is just what I predicted was possible. And now it has happened.    Arent you, Terebisi sneered, Just a little bit too familiar with this plan? It does reek of conspiracy, and what better guise to hide behind than the captain who predicted it? I say that you, as well as predicting it, were in on the planning of it. Look at how you have acted, placing yourself above your station. Acting as if the King should do your bidding. Not caring about the people who may be poorer or less fortunate than you. You, who are of higher birth, think that you have the right to spend the lives of the kings dear and loyal subjects to protect your own. These actions border on trea    That will be enough, Terebisi! Ill not hear you pronounce the most stalwart of Merebons defenders a traitor. Why dont you go back to the Halal temple that you crawled out from under. It was Alon Luchi, or Lucky Luchi, who had jumped, quite literally, to his captains defense.     With one arm pinned behind his back and a sword to his throat, Terebisi still managed to somehow have a look of control about him. I will stand by what I have said, and I will report this incident and my suspicions to the king.    I can barely wait to hear how you twist it to make yourself seem the lowly trusted servant, standing by as the ruffians that the king has trusted his very life and kingdom to have been plotting his demise.    That will be quite enough, Luchi. He has enough manure in his mind to fertilize his reports to the king without your help. As for you, Terebisi, tell the King that his Captain requests a parlay with the Normens fleet. It might slow them down long enough to get most of the people out of the city before they are able to attack. Most of the folks with boats are already leaving. I have matters that are more important to attend to than standing here trading words with you.     With the completion of his sentence he turned and strode away, shouting orders to his men as he went.    Terebisi sneered and turned, making his way from the high ramparts back into the fortress proper. Walking at a brisk pace, he turned a corner and almost flattened a robed figure. Get out of my way, you careless oaf! I am on the kings business! He was almost by when the figure lowered his hood.     Careless oaf, am I? Learn respect when speaking to your Master! With a subtle motion of his hand and a whispered word, Terebisi stumbled and smacked his knees hard against the paving stones. Smiling at the obvious pain that it was inflicting, the figure gave a reluctant sigh as it released its invisible hold on the Sam Halal priest, allowing him to slump forward, gasping on his hands and knees as tears flowed freely from his eyes.    That is a much preferable position to adore me from. The fish in the sea catch men with the baited hook. Go and continue with Mons work. Now I am afraid that I can no longer grace you with my presence. Mon Be Praised.    When Terebisi looked up, the figure was gone. He raised himself painfully from the ground, trying not to wince as he continued on to the kings chambers, wiping the tears from his face.     He had regained his composure by the time he made the Kings chambers. Not finding the king there, Terebisi headed for the throne room. His haughty at the same time as meek character had returned by the time that he signaled for entrance.    The interior of the kings reception hall was by nature grand and imposing. Towering three stories overhead, the ceiling was arched stone carved all over with a laurel motif. Coats of arms of aristocratic families that supported the king were embroidered on sheets of snow white satin bordered with gold tassels and hung the in the shallow alcoves formed by the great gold leaf covered limestone buttresses that met in the center of the dome. The floor was polished slabs of red and black granite inlaid with green marble and bronze, the whole forming a giant crest of the rulers of Merebon.    The kings dais was placed opposite of the main entranceway. Two subordinate seats, one for the queen and one for his most trusted advisor, sat to either side of the imposing throne, upon which was seated the ancient king. As was the custom, the room was empty for meetings with advisors.    Rushing forward, Terebisi knelt before the dais, then got up and assumed his place beside the king. I have news of an apparent attack from the sea, Your Highness. And whats more, he continued, A disturbing report of treason among the officers of the highest rank. Your Captain General is in a mutinous state. As I was on my way from my morning walk, he accosted me, your most loyal servant and trusted advisor. He tried to have me killed! I fear not for my own life but for that of my honored king. He is a threat to not only your self, Highness, but to all that you have worked for over your many years as king. He is colluding with the enemy, he as good as told me so himself. Some of the Guard are siding with him, too!    Parlay. That is the one chance that we have. In my humble opinion, that is the only chance. See what they want, my Lord. Already the people are fleeing the city. For the love of Mondiasalo. Send the traitor captain with me to talk to them. That way, he cannot be here to rally his forces against you. They will not take the city while my name is Terebisi Gestian!    My Lord, are you feeling ill?    The old king, numbering eighty-seven cycles, looked to be in pain. His deeply creased forehead, lined from age and responsibility, was alight with the sheen of cold perspiration. This while the chamber was decidedly chilly.    My Lord, my King, speak to me. Do you want some of your medication? I have some right here in case     The king started quickly to reach for the proffered flask, then drew his hand back, resting it on the throne arm. His eyes, for a moment bright with moisture and fever, closed as a convulsion quaked through his body. When he opened them, they were returned to a more normal state, the blackness of the pupils seeming to stare straight into Terebisis brian.    My Dear Terebisi, the king slowly and sternly said, I pray you tell me what you have been giving me, via that flask of yours for  I cannot remember even for how long you have been giving it to me.    It is but a distillation of herbs, My Lord, designed to make you feel better about the aches and pains that were plaguing you so. Before you started taking it, do you remember then how badly your bones ached? How you could not sleep the night through? I could not bear the thought of you, my king, so troubled by ill health and poor sleep.    Yes. The medicine you were giving me then did nothing if not make it worse. But then but then you gave me your elixir. I slept through the night without a problem. The sharp pains receded to nothing more than a dull and tolerable ache. At first it was like a gift from the One World, soothing and pacifying my troubles. But then.    The king paused and closed his eyes for a moment, Then more than my pains started slipping away. Memories of what had just happened were no longer accessible. I could remember being there to have those memories, vaguely recall who was in the room during an audience, but those memories were coated in a thick gelatin, distorting the things that I do remember and obscuring the rest. If not for you, my dearest friend and closest advisor, whom I saved from the riled citizenry bent on burning you alive, I would have no idea what had transpired during those periods of drugged despair. All I wanted was more of your panacea, more of the blessed liquid that would hold off the pain, hold off the shakes and the sweats to let me drift along, saying what you told me to because I knew it had to be right. The Kingdoms friend, and mine, would not lie to me, would not let things go awry    My Lord, Terebisi questioned, offering the flask again, When did you last have your medication? I can see that you are not well. Please. Take the draught that eases the pain. I beseech you to take it and drink. It will make you feel better. Trust me. Your dearest friend and closest advisor.    Trust, said the king. Throughout the fifteen spans I have known you, I grew to trust you. Always there, whispering in my ear the right thing to say before I even had to say it; Always knowledgeable on the affairs of state; Miraculously accurate. What a friend. What an advisor. Why, you would even bring me my wine at state dinners, though no one else of your purported rank would deign hold anything but a glass.    When people denigrated you because of your religion, for being a priest of the Sam Halal, I gave you the benefit of my stature as King of Merebon to help. I even made possible the construction of a temple of the Sam Halal, so you and people like you could worship in peace and not be ridiculed.    Many thanks to the great King, Terebisi murmured.    But now Now is a different time than was past. Is calls to me less strongly every day. Nots whispers grow ever more enticing as my weary bone and sinew already seem to be decaying before my very eyes. Your medicine has alleviated the pain of age, but brought a pain far worse.    The kings gaze was now purpose hardened: Flint to strike a spark or to cut deeply. His eyes, which had been rheumy and clouded for seasons, now had clarity, a brightness that could not be attributed to feverish mind. Clear, grey circles fixed about a deep blackness of pupils drew Terebisi in closer.    My Lord, you are not well.    Silence! the king uttered in a guttural whisper, I am as well as I can ever be expected to be again. I have not taken your tincture of herbs to addle my brain for five days now. The cost of not taking your poison has been great indeed. I shiver and sweat, vomit till blood and bile come out of my insides, and have my very claim to sanity questioned by the sights that appear before my eyes.    I knew something was afoot. My dreams were incessantly disturbed by brooding nightmares of what might happen to the nation that I had raised in wealth and stature. I knew I had to regain control: The control that I had let slip away to you.    Terebisi now saw that his absence for the prior half of a moon cycle had been a grave miscalculation. You have been most gracious to my humble self, he said, And never have I given you reason to doubt my loyalty. The elixir I gave to you as a friend, as one who did not wish to see you suffer. I see now that I should have exercised more caution in its dosage, Im sure. But to call it poison wounds me to the deepest part of my soul. You requested, and I did but comply with My Lords wishes. Surely you cannot blame me for what you yourself had the control over?    I do not blame you for my own weakness of character. But it was you who started me down the path with willing words and supposed care for My Lords well being. It was you who willingly gave me more of the elixir. It was you who made the suggestions. It was you who told me what to do with the distribution of the might of my kingdom.    So now, with a war fleet in Merebons harbor, you tell me that parlay is the only way to gain my life and the life of my Kingdom. You tell me that my Captain General is in league with the very ships and people who attack. You tell me that both of you should go talk with them. Well, I say that you are the traitorous one. The Captain General sent word that the ships were not from Schaferland, but from across the Northern Sea and Norme.    My lord, you are feverish. You should go and lie down.    I will not lie down quite yet. It would be all to easy to believe your words, drink your potion and succumb to a slow, painless death.    The pain of physical trauma is but a pittance compared to the agony of knowing I am all undone: My works as a king come to naught. All because I was to weak to withstand my trials as a being    Runners came from the west this morning    Terebisi blanched. It was indeed hard to realize that something you had worked long and hard for, struggled for, would not come to fruition. But this was not the case for him as a priest of Sam Halal, but as a person. Maybe.    I see as I saw in my dreams, all coming too quickly to thwart. You are glad, no, that the legions of the Normen are a days steady march away? Push us out of the city with your ships, and then fall on us as we wander about, looking for shelter and food?    My Lord, please. Listen to me. There is a way out. Let me go and parlay. Talk to them. We do not know that they are intent upon killing at all. They may be on a peaceful mission.    Peaceful?! Since when do peaceful missions consist of sixty ships of war and twelve thousand men sent unannounced into a sovereign nation? They may hope that we role over and acquiesce to whatever their demands are. That is always the hope of the Captains General of any force of arms. It saves lives and preserves infrastructure.    But you forget, I foresaw this happening in my dreams. That is when I realized that I still had something to do with my life. For my dreams showed me not only this turn of events, they showed me alternate turns and the paths we might follow all branching out from this one point. So now, Terebisi, I have a question for you. What happens to an Ubilfryn when they die?    I have not the slightest clue what the minions of evil have in store for them in the after life. Why?    Well, I was thinking you could tell me, but that must be an alternate reality or you could be lying. Regardless, let me impart to you this little piece of knowledge. The Sam Halal are infected with the taint of Skoteinos. They have infiltrated the organization just as you have infiltrated my confidences. I was just wondering if you were a pawn or a willing stooge. It looks like you are a willing pawn. Perfect. They could not have chosen better.    With these words the king rose from his throne, a long dagger in his left hand and his sword of office in his right. Tossing the dagger to Terebisi, he commanded, Defend yourself. With that he closed, swinging the sword in a long arc towards Terebisis head.    Terebisi ducked the first blow and scuttled to the far side of the old king. My Lord. I beg of you to stop. This is not necessary. All will be well if you just take your medicine. I can help you. You do need not do this. What end will killing me have that could save you? Could set you down another of the one worlds paths?    Another swing: Another dodge. Please, Sire. Listen to me. All has been well when you did listen in the past.    The king continued his assault, his great wide swings giving the advisor much time to compensate. On the next attack Terebisi, instead of moving to the side away from the blade, darted in, grappling to wrest the blade from the kings grasp. As he twisted the hand that held the sword, the old king yelled, Guards! Treachery! The Sam Halal! Then, grabbing Terebisis dagger hand, he thrust his body forward with all of the strength left in his depleted frame, over-balancing Terebisi and himself, spilling them both to the floor.    They landed in a tangle, the force of the fall plunging the dagger squarely in the kings middle. Terebisi could just lie there stunned at the old kings actions: The king had just stabbed himself with what could only be a mortal wound, and now lay there on top of him, bleeding his life out on the Sam Halal priest.     You see, I know, said the king to him, How things will transpire now. Then to the guards who were rushing to the kings aid, See this man whom I have called friend for these many years? He repays me by bringing these fleets down upon us. Then, when confronted with the vileness of his deed did stab this dagger into the king who had protected him and given him reason to love this great nation of ours. It is the Sam Halal who stand on our soil and float in the harbor; the religion that I had let grow and prosper here. These Noremen, they are lead by the Sam Halal. Send word to all countries. Do not trust them. Do not believe them. Liars and charlatans all. Some may seem trustworthy, but the events of today have shown us otherwise.    Turning to a mortified Terebisi, he whispered, I know your name, and it is not Terebisi Gestian. It is Skoteinos! As is said in your own scripture: ... and he who works in the ways of Him is to be called like unto Him. However you may deny the dark working within yourself, you cannot escape the dark ones powers working through you to bring chaos and destruction. A pawn you are, willing to bring killing for the sake of your religion of supposed peace.    The king coughed blood, and red speckling appeared on Terebisis face. Try him before his god and our One World! Make him kneel before the courts of the public! Make him, his religion, and all that he claims dear come before the public eye so the people may judge his true character and see the result of twisted religion! Not to damn the religion in and of itself, but to damn the practitioners who would have it reign over all others at the very price of life and the freedoms that we all cherish.    The king visibly weakened now, was panting, his shallow breaths becoming more ragged as the seconds ticked by. The color had drained from his face, a grey pallor replacing it, as he struggled for the breath to say the what he knew had to be done, what he had seen in his tormenting nightmares.     Be careful the way of the sword. It brings swift victory and slow defeat to the mighty. It brings swift martyrdom to the misguided. It brings woe to all but pleasure only to the demented. Grab hold of, and never let go those thing A sudden look of surprise overcame the kings face as the last bubble of bloody spittle erupted from his mouth, covering his chin and his clenched hands with a spattering of red flecked mucous, Too soon. More to say.    Terebisi cringed under the king as the old mans bowels and bladder released, the king spasming one last time before collapsing forward onto his advisor, his dead eyes staring directly into those of his former friend.    Terebisi looked at the ring of drawn swords and struggled, for a moment, for something to say. Hes insane! He thrust his own dagger into himself! He grabbed my wrist and toppled onto me. He attacked me! Never would I harm my beloved friend and King. Nooohhh, he wailed, till a hand clenched the hair on his scalp in a grip of iron, wrenching his head to the side.     If the king had not said to spare you for trial, I would let my men hack you to pieces where you lie, a little bit at a time. Have you not the sense of a worm? We can all see that you are the assassin who killed our king.       More in the series.      2005-2014 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite   ]]></description>
                <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2014 21:10:19 -0400</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Eighth Installment "Gavinar" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/254/dichotomy-eighth-installment-gavinar</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/254</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Night was falling as the three made their way towards the hall for the Spring Dance. I cant wait to get my hands on some of Bevs fresh rolls and roast mutton, Nocs said with a gleam in his eyes, and some of her pie. I just wish the berries were ripe now. They approached the hall and were greeted by Marivon. She had changed her clothing to the dress of the Spring Mistress. Dark blue and golden silk scarves had been braided in her dark hair to represent the rain and sunshine. These scarves flowed down over a loose but fitted bodice patterned with spring green leaves on a background of light blue sky. A flowing skirt made of four individual overlapping brown silk panels hung nearly to the floor where her feet were wrapped in a tanned doeskin boot dyed to match the skirt. A black and white sash tied about her waist had the effect of connecting the different portions of the outfit into a cohesive whole. Welcome to the Spring Dance. May your Springs be filled with new growth, your Summers be ripened with the fruits of your labor, your Autumns filled by the harvest, and your Winters safe and warm with companionship. I see, she said, turning to Trancy and giving ever so slight a bow, that you have escorted the lovely Miss Ardon with you. I do hope that you both have a wonderful time on this most festive of occasions.See, Nocs said, She doesnt eat babies, Trance. And she even smells good! I think tha you two would make quite a pair. I mean, wha better! he smiled into the combined glare of three sets of eyeballs, A friend and companion for my best friends girl, and a lovely lady to escort me. He flourished a hand and bowed, proffering a kiss towards Marivons hand. Marivon laughed, yet managed to avoid touch of his lips by turning and raising her hand in the formal gesture to draw attention.Throughout the Winter you have waited. Now, as the equal sun slides beyond the village and the home, come out and celebrate the birth of a new season. Come out to eat, come out to sing, come out to make merry, come out to see the Spring King. Come out and be welcomed to the Spring Dance! As Marivon finished the words of the Opening of the Spring Dance, the last bit of the setting suns red disk slipped behind the horizon. Trancy eyed her with cool detachment, turning to Temon, she held out her arm for him to take and smiled politely as he led the way into the hall. Nocs put on his brightest, most roguish smile. Miss well, you have me at a disadvantage for the lack of a proper name, but Mistress of the Spring Dance, I would be honored, he said as he proffered an arm. Marivon laughed, and the slightest tinge of red crept into Nocs face. deCeste. Miss Marivon deCeste. It will be a pleasure, I am very sure, she said as she took his arm and together they entered the hall.Inside the hall was a beehive of activity. With the official opening pronounced, the villagers had queued up at tables laden with copious amounts of food. The variety was quite great considering the time of year. Amongst the mutton, venison, beef and chicken there were even some fresh vegetables from the many cloche built around the hot springs just outside the village. The younger of the villagers were tucking in with an audible abandon by the time that Temon, Trancy, Nocs and Marivon could even get close to the table. You would think that the Spring King would merit the first plate, Temon observed as he made his way along the greatly reduced platters of meat, These young folk dont care as much about the quality of what they eat, just the quantity.Temon, youre already getting old, and here it is just your first day as an adult, Nocs said, loading his plate high. Besides, it is tradition amongst our folk to feed the young first. I can remember fighting you for the first place in line. I just wish that we could tell Trancy what it means to be an adult. He looked pointedly at Marivon. To bad we had to promise the One Wo.I think that what Nocs is trying to say is, Temon picked up as his normally verbose friend was reduced to choking, thatI am very well aware of what our unsubtle friend is insinuating. I think that it would be a grave breach of etiquette as a guest to be talking so publicly of what you promised to not to. There is a time and place for such discussions, and neither of them is now or here. I would like to talk of the happenings of the evening. Temon, remember above all else to keep yourself controlled.Marivon turned to make her way to the seats reserved for the King and his entourage when, like an ice pick through the back of her skull, she felt a presence. Her vision collapsed in on itself till the whole room was as a speck in a vast field of black. She felt Gavinar. Just as the sharpness of the pain started to subside and her vision to return to its usual clarity, he was standing in front of her.Good evening, Marivon Lavirille. Oh, excuse me. Of course, you must not go by that name any longer. Since I see you are standing in with some official capacity, may I just say, Good Welcome to the Spring Queen. And this child, he gestured towards a dumbstruck Temon, Well, I think he must be Your King. Oh. Where are my manners? This is my partner, Ajanite Kyros. I think you two have met before. No?The smile the face of the ruggedly handsome man did not even make an attempt to approach his eyes, which were a cold slate grey and had a hardness to the muscles set about them: A hardness and a glint of malicious energy.And to whom do we have the pleasure of speaking? said Trancy, coming out of the state of shock first. I would love to welcome you to our Spring Dance, but it is usually only for the members of the village, she said casting a glance at both Gavinar and Marivon, I know that she claims to be Marivon deCeste, but of you and your companion, I have no knowledge whatsoever. He is Gavinar Lavirille. We were good friends, once. We studied together at the University in Ceston. What brings you and your consort to this quiet little village, Gavinar? Surely there are bigger and more grand celebrations that you could attend?Well, I was just about to set out on a hunting trip when I heard you were in town for the Spring Dance. I would have felt remiss if I didnt drop by the dance to see how my old friend was doing. I mean really, you know how close we were. How could I pass up the opportunity to see a dear friend and enjoy the hospitality of the good people of Aberdale? Especially on one of the two tween days of the year. It was just a strange act of coincidence, I guess.Is that snow on your boot? Nocs asked, pausing long enough in his eating to get a sentence out, I thought that the streets of town had been clear of snow for at least a week. And that looks to be fresh snow too. How odd.Very observant children about the town, too. We came right in from a scouting trip in the mountains, he said, waving a hand as if to point the direction, There were some snow squalls today.Ah, said Temon, They must have come from those large clouds I saw as I was entering the hall.They must have been one and the same storm. Marivon, if you could introduce us to the town elders....As Marivon led the pair away the two young men looked at each other and nodded,His story is so full o holes you could walk through it withou bendin oer, Nocs said and Temon nodded in agreement. The sky has been clear as flawless window pane all day long. And it hasn snowed around ere for bout a month. Ill be bettn the closest place it could have snowed would be up around the Passage, an tha be a full days ard ride from ere.I wish that you would make more of an attempt to sound less provincial, Nocs. Trancy stated, His story sounds plausible to me. How would you know the conditions in the mountains, anyway?Temon. I think tha turnabou be fair play. Hows abou just slappin er up side th ead like she did you earlier? I be thinkin she needs just a touch more common sense right abou now. Temons changed his head from a nodding to a shaking back and forth motion. That has never worked before on her. I am not about to try it now. He is right, Trancy, and you know it. I think our tall and handsome stranger has sparked some interest in you. Usually youre the one who tells me that Im being led down the path. A good looking man shows up in town, and the ladies all swoon. Indeed, as Marivon and the pair made their way towards where Bial was standing, heads were subtly or not so subtly turned in their wake. The presence of one stranger was odd enough at the Spring Dance, let alone three, and the tongues started wagging the moment they were past. I have a feeling that he is not all that nice. Did you hear the way that he was putting us down, talking above us, like he was the only adult in a room? He even talked to Marivon in that same tone. So superior and all. Temon looked at Trancy,  and did you hear how he addressed her: Marivon Lavirille. She said that her surname was deCeste. I find it amazing that you have the intelligence to tie your boots sometimes, Temon, Trancy said. Turning to Nocs, Give him a cipher and he will work it quicker than a tutor. But give him a question dealing with the social graces, and he will not see the answer if it is printed on the wall before him. Tuning to Temon again, she feigned to whisper, They were handfasted, or lovers at the very least. Marivon Lavirille. Gavinar Lavirille. I mean, come on. There is some history behind those two. I will have to ask him about it. Nocs almost choked on the piece of mutton he was swallowing. Ask him? What makes you think that you could get him away from Ajanite?Well, I am sure that he will be fawning over Marivon, she said, earning her an exasperated look from Temon, And you will therefore be trying to get Ajanite to dance with you, this was met with a bawdy grin from Nocs, So that leaves him to me.And I suppose the rest of the young, eligible women folk of Aberdale are just going to stand aside and let you dance the night away with him? Something is just not right about him. I mean besides the fact that he seems to think that no one is worthy to walk on the same ground that he does. I actually felt ill when I was looking at him, Temon said. Your just jealous, Temon. Serves you right, too, the way you have been behaving.So youre trying to make up for lost time, is that it? There is something fundamentally wrong with Gavinar and I can sense it, I just cant tell you how.Trancy, by this time was growing steadily more and more angry. Well I say youre just jealous, pure and simple. You dont want me dancing with him because youre afraid I am going to go off swooning to live with him forever and you wont get what you have been trying to all of these years. Typical male! She thrust her plate into Nocs hands and stormed into the swirling crowd.Temon looked at Nocs. This just isnt my day.]]></description>
                <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2014 20:47:12 -0400</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Seventh Installment "Stumped" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/253/dichotomy-seventh-installment-stumped</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/253</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[  The sun was still high in the sky as Temon emerged from the hall. So there you are. I have made us a lunch. We can go What is wrong, Temon? Trancy asked, You look as if you swallowed a sour pickle and it got stuck halfway down. Temon just looked at her, unsure where to start.     He, I, and the rest of the F F Damn it!  the rest of us got tri tri Oh, One World! They really did it to us, didnt they, Temon? said Nocs, eyeing the sacks that Trancy had, Hey, is there any food in there?    Who did it, whatever it was? She did it, didnt she. I knew I couldnt trust the likes of her. What has she done?! I will let her know that she just cant come walking in here and    Slow down a minute, Trancy. There has to be a way to tell you. Temon thought for a moment before continuing, I have had my suspicions confirmed, but in such a way as to not be able to tell you what occurred. There is more that even Nocs doesnt know. Hey, I might be able to tell you that. That wasnt in the room. But I am hungry, if we could get away from prying eyes and ears, I might be able to shed some light on this whole thing.     With that Temon led the others away from relative bustle of the street in front of the hall to the center of the public commons where there stood a massive stump, the remains of the great cedar that had stood for 1000 years until, in the nature of all things, it died. Being thrifty folk, upon recognition of the fact that the tree was no longer going to live and bless their commons with its greatness, the townspeople carefully cut it down. The amount of wood that they recovered from the tree was enough to build four houses and heat them for two winters. From the stump they fashioned a series of benches all around the base, and a higher platform that overhung the benches. It was to this platform where Temon lead them.     Here. This should be relatively safe. I hope that you prepared enough for Nocs also, Trance. May I have some please? I feel like I am wasting away.    So, Nocs said, having remained miraculously quite throughout the whole of the meal, What part wasnt I in on? I was there the whole time, and so where you. So how did you come to get any more out of it than me?    You only thought that I was there all of the time, Temon responded.    What do you mean? I was there in that same room with you. The only time you could have got to anywhere was when I turned my back, and that was for no moren a few heartbeats. I spose you went flyin away, had a fine time with Trancys bane, and got back to the hall, all in the blink of an eye?    Well. The specifics are not quite right, Temon replied, But the general thrust of your statement, otherwise, is.    What! both Trancy and Nocs said in unison. Disbelief showed on Nocs face while Trancy began to look like a thunderhead about to burst.    Wait. Wait. Wait. Just hold on a minute here. I am trying to explain something very important. I just have to think of how. Nocs, tell me what happened in there.    Nocs tried, Well we went in and Bial was there, and Marivon. Shes the one who was at the inn. And all of the parents. Then they Nocs started looking like a fish out of water. His lips were moving like he was trying to talk. He managed to get out a few syllables here and there, but as far as anything intelligible, he couldnt do it.     Stop, Nocs, before you hurt yourself. Temon said. Turning to Trancy, he spoke, carefully feeling his way around the words, Trance, we cant tell you what occurred, because of when and where it happened. We are oath bound, in more ways than one. After pausing for a second to consider his next words, he decided that one would do, Gaemel.    I knew she was a witch, Trancy hissed. Nocs just held up his arms in a gesture that implied ignorance. His face confirmed it.    Well. If she is a witch, then I am a witch too. As are you, and Nocs, probably your fa fath. From what she said, ev Damn. Here. Lets do the lightning dance.    Grabbing up Trancy, who thought it strange that Temon wanted to dance when they had barely finished eating, Temon positioned himself across the stump from her and started through the steps. The first time through, he did the dance in the way they had always done it, stepping just so and swinging through the center. As they came round again he called, Now watch this.    He started into the change of steps and then suddenly, as if he hadnt ever done the dance before, found himself pitching backward, the wood of the stump rapidly approaching the portion of his body usually reserved for sitting. Laughter erupted from Trancy and Nocs, and a gush of language most foul from Temon.    You think that it is funny do you, he directed at Nocs, so why dont you give it a try! Nocs considered for a moment before answering.     When was the last time that you fell while you were dancing? When? Five? Maybe six spans old? I think that I will save my falling down for after the dance.    There has got to be a way to tell Trancy. There just has to!    Tell me what? I dont see what the problem is. Boys! All you have to do is open your mouth, form your lips and tongue in the appropriate manner, and the words seem to come out fine. Now, barely half a day after   her   arrival, I find that neither of you can utter a complete sentence. I have never known Nocs to be stumble tongued. Granted, some of the things that he says are rude, and grammar has never seemed to bother him, but she shows up and you are both searching for your words as if to speak is foreign to you! What did she do to you!?    Has she addled your wits? Did she put a spell on you?    Yes! exclaimed Nocs just as Temon yelped,  No!    She did nothing untoward. It was B B , Temon sputtered. Oh. Why dont you ask her? She is not bound. This whole mess, us not being able to talk and all, she had nothing to do with. Adults. It is the adults. Secrets! Trancy, I wish so much that I could tell you what transpired. But I cant. Ive tried saying it. The words werent there. Even when I knew the words I could not say them. Ive tried showing you, but the One World will not let me. Ask Marivon. She can tell you. I cannot.     Trancy had been listening to Temon and watching Nocs, and what she sensed was something approaching consensus. I will believe you, she said, turning close to Temon, Not because what you are saying makes any kind of sense, but because you have never lied to me before. I know your character, and your character is fine. Until the evening, then. Pulling Temons head down, she gave him a good long kiss, then scooped up her bundle and ran off to prepare for the Dance.      More in the series.      2005-2014 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite   ]]></description>
                <pubDate>Thu, 21 Aug 2014 20:24:25 -0400</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Sixth Installment "The Calling" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/148/dichotomy-sixth-installment-the-calling</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/148</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[  Yes, said aQtwa, That is my name.    And you, aQtwa, did come freely before the Tainver and did acknowledge and enumerate your sins as adultery, greed, thievery, and drunkenness of the body and the spirit? the Highest of the High Brethren intoned from his seat, almost like a barrister reading a list of charges.    Yes. Indeed I did, replied aQtwa. He would have proffered an explanation, but aQtar laid a hand on his arm.    The Brethren continued on, And in the full sight of Mondiasalo did you confess to these failings of the corporeal body and mind, and of the everlasting heart and soul, and beg forgiveness and absolution?    Yes. In the most painful detail, I did. And, aQtwa continued, gently removing his friends hand from his arm, his cadence reflecting the words It was granted me. And I was Reborn Unto Mondiasalo. And Through Mondiasalo. And For Mondiasalo are my works done after. Mondiasalo be praised for His Mercy on us all.    It is not usually a wise thing to interrupt the High Brethren when speaking, but it will be overlooked this once, as we have brought you here not to go over the sins of the past, but to ask for, in Mons Name, greatness to be aspired to.    You have done well since rebirth, and we have noticed. You have been active in the community, spreading the word amongst those who are lost, feeding those who have no food with the sustenance of Mon. You speak well of Mon, and often. You have transcended the sins of the past with your expressions of Faith in words and deeds. The people who know you speak of a truly devout man. Ask a wretch in the slums of the city about you, or inquire about you to the pillars of the community, and the same answers return time and again: He is good man, or, A shining example to all Tainver, or, A true example to live by. Some have even gone so far as to suggest, the Highest of the High Brethren paused here to let disapproval enter the countenance of his face and the tenor of his voice, That you are the next Prophet of Mondiasalo, come to set the world to rights.    To be perfectly clear, We of the Brethren do not hold you in quite that high regard. But, we do think that you would be, with your appeal that cuts across the financial spectrum and your image as a wholesome, religiously honest individual, an excellent candidate for the position of Senator of the Free State of Darmon.    aQtwa, for the moment speechless, stood seemingly rooted to the spot and let the import of the Highest of High Brethrens last sentence sink in. Twenty-five stern faces stared at him from their seats. As he studied each one, looking into the individual eyes for some hint that this was a horrific joke, he determined that they were, in fact, totally serious.    The Highest of the High continued, Believe us when we say this. Mora is awash in corruption. Stunted by a lack of moral direction that we feel is do to the absence of Mondiasalos guidance. This lack of guidance has led to a State that has no moral bearings, no framework upon which to hang the laws, no unbending definition of rightness. This state of moral turbidity is causing the nation as a whole to drift, to lose ground to the SamHalal and the godless Gaemel and Gaeaists.    We Believe, he said, the capital letters unmistakable, his voice rising in volume and ringing across the room as he spoke, That you are the man, the Moral man, the Just man, the Righteous man, who can lead the Free State of Darmon, the nation created by the Tainver as a testament to Mondiasalos Will, from the darkness of iniquity back to the light of Holiness.    For all of the Highest of the Highs dramatic fervor, the rest of the faces took on attitudes that might have been seen as different from the speakers own. The man just below and to the right, was scrutinizing aQtwa carefully as the speech went along, as if he were trying to bore a hole in aQtwas cranium and see just what he was thinking. With the others, it looked as if some might agree with the sentiments being expressed, but some of the faces remained as dour and reserved as the moment he had entered the room.    The High speaker allowed the silence to continue, drawing out uncomfortably long before he spoke again, Well, man. What have you to say for yourself? Surely you must think something.    I do, aQtwa said slowly, taking the time to choose each word carefully, I am very honored by your expressed opinion of me. That you think I have the wherewithal to stand for election in the present political climate I find most flattering indeed, especially when considering my past before I emerged from the darkness of the same state of moral turbidity which you say encompasses the nation.    I have lived on both sides of that argument, the bad and the good. I have gotten rich from the sweat of many men, drawn my accounts from less than legal trade. Many acts, of which I confessed all my memory held, will be dredged up to try to impugn my character. Many are the deeds, having brought shame on my not so pure name and my familys reputation, which will be forced into the light to be observed by all who care to do so.    Why think you, then, that it is me who makes the good candidate, rather than someone who has remained pure throughout their lifetime? What is it that should make the common farmer want to vote for the likes of me, when in my past I have fleeced him of both home and livelihood? What could make the honest businessman lend me the support of his enfranchisement, when he views my past life as a money lender little better than the common thief?    Some of the more dour faces were beginning to nod in agreement with what he was saying, Even here amongst the Brethren I do not sense total unanimity of support. If you, the most respected religious leaders in the country cannot speak with one voice    We do speak with one voice, and it is mine! the Highest of the High exclaimed, standing and moving his hand in front of him with a cutting motion that left no doubt the debate, little as it had been, was over.    It is because you have stood on both sides that you will attract the common man. It is because of your time spent astray, only to come back more fervent than ever to the side of the Right and Good, that you will attract the Truly religious Tainver. It is because you did freely see the error of your ways, did freely confess your sins against man and Mondiasalo and have freely given of your time and money after returning to the faith that they will see redemption when they look at you.    Your time in the dark will convince the less scrupulous that you have not truly changed and they will hope for the chance to curry favor, to play along with their schemes and plots to enrich themselves at Moras expense. Your conversion from money lender to deeply religious man of the light will give hope to the common man who wants to be good, but sometimes finds himself going astray.    The fact that in your life a bright line can be drawn between the two disparate parts of your life lends credibility to the whole idea of salvation. If someone who has done these things, he said, pointing to the sheaf of papers before him, Can turn around and devote his life to the Goodness of Mondiasalo, what person can say, Not me. I have sinned to deeply?    What say you? Yes? Or No?       Well   , thought aQtwa,    That certainly had the air of a demand   . He studied the faces before him yet again. He glanced at his friend, aQtar, who was smiling and nodding so rapidly as to look as if he were not quite all there. He turned to the tapestry emblazoned with the Tainver riding to Girbon on the Last Day. He thought of his wife, sitting in the Gardens of the Maids.    Yes.    The High Speaker of the Tainver sat with an audible sigh, and when he looked up, he had a smile on his face. Obviously, the Brethren had been in discussion about this for some time. Obviously, despite the assertion that all were in agreement, there were some present who counseled against such a plan. aQtwa knew that he had just agreed to go down a path that would take him away from his religious studies; take him away from the insular life that he had constructed since his rebirth into the Tainver.    We must, the High Speaker said, interrupting the babble that had started with aQtwas acceptance of his task, Commence in earnest. Plans are in place and must be set into motion. aQtwa, I think that you should go share this news with your family. You will be traveling quite a bit in the near future, and we think it best if you leave your affairs tidy, as, I am sure, do you. We will send for you in the morning. May Mondiasalo, the One True God, shine on your life.    He found Migdula in the Gardens of Maids, a courtyard on the interior of the temple that was specially set aside for the religious contemplation of the women who called the temple their home. Or, rather, he sent a message with one of the serving girls dedicated to the upkeep of the gardens requesting her presence on the outside of the gardens. No male persons were ever to enter the gardens, and no male person had entered the gardens in the three thousand cycles since the temple had been built, at least none were known in the records of the temple.    When they had made their way back to the bustle of the streets, she asked, So tell me, dearest husband, what have the men of the Brotherhood of the Tainver to discuss with you that I, a mere woman, could not bear to hear? It must have been in another language, perhaps some secret, monosyllabic dialect that only men possess? It could not have been in one of the four that I do know, or else I may have been able to lend assistance.    It is nice to see that you used your time in the gardens to good advantage. Contemplation should lead to clearer thought, aQtwa said with feigned moralistic note in his voice, However, when the thoughts are of violence, it is not always good to clarify He smiled at Migdula, hoping to divert her wrath on this subject.    Oh, I am perfectly clear on whom I shall perpetrate my violence, Migdula smoldered, looking straight at aQtwa, and I think I will start with you. Her stern demeanor melted to a mischievous grin. With a wink she added, When we get home.      More in the series.       2005-2013 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite   ]]></description>
                <pubDate>Sun, 07 Apr 2013 17:42:49 -0400</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Fifth Installment "The Promise Made" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/141/dichotomy-fifth-installment-the-promise-made</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/141</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[   Bial looked questioningly at Marivon as she moved across the floor of the hall, a slight sheen of perspiration just beginning to form on her brow. Marivons thoughts ran roughly in the same direction as the instructors. How powerful could one individual be? He had ripped her out of the hall to some place miles away. If he could create and impose the patterns without realizing he was doing it. She couldnt even finish the thought.      No one in years had displayed the ability to do what Temon had just accomplished. It was phenomenally difficult to form a pattern such that you could impose it on another higher sentient form. The dancers traveled together because they were, well, dancing together. The ground laid down the pattern through a series of dance steps and the walker followed and enabled the pair to go to wherever or whenever the pattern led. Grounds were trained to sense where a pattern was or could be. Walkers were trained to walk the pattern and enable crossing through the barrier that separated the different realities. Without the walker ground pair working in concert, Traveling was next to impossible to accomplish.      She had worked for years at the academy to be able to travel. It was not until she met Gavinar. Well, Gavinar was something she did not wish to think about now. That familiar feeling in the back of her brain was there, but it was just a tickle now. Just enough to let her know that he still lived.      Well, Bial said, How do you think the power is in that one? I know, from the reports and personal acquaintance, that it is strong. But you have the training and experience to judge to a much finer degree, what do you think?      I think that your reports give no inkling to the depth of his power. He took me somewhere, to some mountaintop. I, who have years of intense training, was just swept into his pattern. I may have been the enabling catalyst, but he was the whole of the energy. Plus, Marivon added, We did not even touch. He is the most powerful Gaemel whom I have ever encountered. The Most.      That is interesting. To a mountaintop, you say. Well the boy remembers patterns. That mountaintop was the reason that a person from the Gaemel was requested. Bail relayed the events of two springs past to Marivon, from both the participants view points and the viewpoint of the observers.      You should have sent them to the academy straight on. Made it look like a punishment if that suites your country mores, but sent them both anyway. I can just imagine, Marivon said with a tinge of anger to her voice, what they went through after that. With some of the customs that you have, I am surprised they werent both chased out of town!      Country our ways may be, but theyre both still here, Bial responded testily, a contentious look on his face, and he will only be Gaemel if he decides to be. Done is done, however we may like to change it. Anyway, we are here now for a different purpose. He nodded towards the group of young people.      They had all mastered the steps of the dance called home, and were beginning to migrate into clumps, stratified by age, social standing and clique. Bial smiled and motioned for attention. Now that you have learned Home, there is another dance that you need to learn, or maybe relearn would be a better way to put it. You know the Lightning Dance, I am sure, but you have all danced it with someone who is older than you are right now. The steps that you will learn today are just a slight variation from the ones you already know, but, as you will soon see, that variation is significant.      As they formed the lines for the dance, some of the Fresh Legs were beginning to look bored. Thoughts of springtime activities in the out-of-doors were impinging on what, from their present perspective, was just a dance lesson. The instructors, however, seemed to be growing in eagerness with each passing minute, so that when each pupil had been instructed and had the time to learn the variation on the dance, eagerness had segued to excitement.      Now that you have learned the new forms, Bial said, We will all dance together. Lines please. And remember, Fresh Legs, do the new step in the column to my right, the old step as you pass to the column on my left. Laughter is allowed. Let us dance!      The Lightning Dance, as implied by its name, was a fast line dance where alternate dancers from the two lines crossed from side to side, meeting in the middle to swing about, so that all of the dancers eventually had a chance to dance with all of the others. Also, it was choreographed so that when the dancers met between the two lines, the one who was leading created a pattern which the other dancer followed, allowing the lead dancer to judge the amount of power in the other.      There was a palpable tension as the first group of dancers met. Some of the Fresh Legs gasped when, their hands clasped together with another from the village, they flew into the rapid center theme and a new meaning came to the importance placed on dancing in the community.      Temon saw, as he glanced around the room, looks that ranged the gamut of emotions, from horror to amazement, fear to intense joy. As he moved back and forth quickly through the center he noticed that the old steps of the Lightning Dance did not produce a sensation, but the new steps were revealing a certain something. It was a difficult something to quantify, there and then gone. He had no words to match to it, but it was somewhat akin to the sensation he had when he was entering one of his fits.      Spinning from one line to the other, he could not decide whether to be angry for the deceit that was perpetrated in order to keep this all a secret, or overjoyed that he was finally being let in on it. The faces across from him when he was dancing the old steps seemed almost awe struck, till suddenly Nocs was there, laughing, You were right, Temon. They were hiding something! Spinning away in separate directions, they joined their respective lines.      Marivon had, compared to the rest of the villagers, the most ordered of the he still did not have a word for just what it was, but hers was more structured somehow. It was as if there were patterns present that he could almost see by looking at her, but when he touched her through the dance, the patterns jumped from vague, indefinite tickles on the edge of his vision to sharp, intricate patterns etched onto the floors and the walls, on her face and even in her mind. Her presence was intoxicating in its uniqueness.      After the first time through the lines, he started to look for her. He noticed that her effect was the same on all of the males who danced with her. Even the coupled men were eyeing her. Besotted, that was what he was; What all the males from Aberdale were. Damn. Why did this have to happen to me! Trancy. Think of Trancy. Think of what he could tell Trancy. That is what he had to do. Tell Trancy. Marivon had said that she had potential, too. He wondered what doing the Lightning Dance with her would reveal. Could she be as powerful? That word didnt exactly describe what he was sensing from the others, but it was all that his vocabulary could fit to the peculiar sensation.      Three times through the dance went and then Bial called to cease dancing. I am sure that the Fresh Legs have plenty of questions. I ask forbearance from them till the latter part of the Spring Dance. But now, one more slower step shall you learn, and then you can be back to your homes to eat, rest and prepare for the festivities. Instructors.      The relatives took their places next to the Fresh Legs, Marivon hers next to Temon. She looked bland, her face set in an unreadable expression. Bial glanced at each of them, dancers and instructors alike with a stern expression on his face. The severity of his expression and the cadence of his words set Temons scalp to tingling. His senses, heightened by the Lightning Dance into seeing patterns, told him that something irrevocable was about to occur.      As you do this form, there are words implied, and I will tell you them as you go through it. You need not speak the words, just do the Dance. The steps are simple enough for me to demonstrate and you to follow along. Bial took a step forward and then clasped his hands over his sternum, the whole hall doing the same, except, Temon noted, Marivon. She just stood there, the same blank look on her face. What is this form that makes my body go all rigid? Temon wondered as he followed Bial through the rest of the steps and began to repeat them.      Suddenly he understood. He saw the pattern and cursed himself and Bial. At about the same time as he realized what the steps meant, Bial began to intone the words that went along with the dance, To Gaea Oath-bound are we. To Majority only shall we speak, Of Dancers and Fresh Legs.      Temon was furious. Tricked. Bloody good and well tricked. They all had been tricked, all of the Fresh Legs anyway. Does an oath mean anything if you dont know what you are saying, or dancing as the case may be. That was just it. They couldnt hold them to that oath. To the One World no less. Or did the patterns say it all? To whom did they say it? Oh, he could just spit. All of this in one day! Some of his questions had been answered, but they just gave rise to more questions than he had originally had. Well, Ill just tell Trancy anyway, he muttered, and ran straight into Nocs.      Nocs was just about to explode, judging from the look on his face. Marivon interceded before the kettle had the time to blow its metaphorical lid, Now, calm down you two. I tried to warn everybody during the Lightning Dance. Surely you saw the patterns? Well, as Bial has informed me once today, Done is Done.      They cant hold us to that. We didnt Temon started, but was cut off by a high pitched voice from behind him.      Well, boys. Dont look like Daddy can get you out of that promise, now can he? It was Yelena, one of the petitioners to get Temons name removed from the roles of the Spring Monarch. One of her friends, Noma, who was also one of the petitioners, came up beside them looking confused.      What is all the fuss about? I dont understand, she enquired, I know that we just promised something, I felt it. But what did we promise?      What you just promised, Marivon said as Bial walked up behind them, was to tell no-one who is not of age anything that transpired here today, or for that matter, anything about what happens at the Meetings of the Dancers. Is that not correct, Bial?      That is correct. But you must understand, he said turning to the Temon, It is for the good of the community as a whole. There are things that occur at the meetings which certain people would not understand. This last he said looking at Yelena. Turning to Marivon, I believe the room at the Inn is ready if you wish to rest. As for the rest of us, I have further preparations to make and these newly minted adults may want to rest awhile before tonight. I know that the Spring Dance takes a lot out of me. With that he turned and left.      Of all the gall, Nocs started towards the door also, I am hungry, and, he said, glancing out the doorway and back to Temon, Trancy is waiting outside the Hall. With leaden feet that just minutes before had felt light as air, Temon plodded towards the exit.       More in the series.       2005-2013 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite   ]]></description>
                <pubDate>Sat, 30 Mar 2013 19:03:01 -0400</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Fourth Installment "Elsewhere in the One World...." - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/131/dichotomy-fourth-installment-elsewhere-in-the-one-world</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/131</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[    In the city of Darmon, High Prayer was being called. aQtwa, pleased at the opportunity affirm his devotion to the One True God, Mondiasalo, set aside the ancient texts of Rahc and went out into the small courtyard attached to his study. Since his rebirth to faithfulness, aQtwa had been revitalized, becoming involved in the activities of the sanctuary and the community.      Sitting on the prayer bench, he raised his head to the sky and chanted the High Prayer, the blessing to himself and others that was each day of living the life of the true Tainver.      When he finished his devotions, he glanced down and was surprised to see his new wife, Migdula, patiently waiting at his feet. It is good to see you, Migdula. How came you to be at my feet? Dont tell me that you didnt observe the High Prayer? he asked.      Husband of mine, the call came and I did observe. When I came to see if you wanted repast, you were still sitting there, the greatness of Mondiasalo shining in your spirit, and so I did not disturb you. The bread is prepared, the water for your tea is poured, and I await your blessing so I may join you in taking the midday meal.      aQtwa looked to the sky and saw that the sun had indeed changed position more than was usual for the average High Prayer. Forgive me, Migdula. I have been taking my own joy above my responsibilities to you. We shall eat. Then we shall go to the temple and see what the good Brothers want for me to do.      The Brothers of the Temple of Mon had sent him word that they had a task for him. The message had said little else, just that they were to arrive at the temple at mid-afternoon. They ate their simple meal then went out into the bustle of Darmon.      Darmon was placed on a plateau arising from the Great Interior Sea and backing up onto the Pick Axe Mountains, so called due to the large quantities of metals and gems that were mined there. Some of those raw materials were brought to Darmon, but many of the companies and individuals who scraped the rock for their livings were finding other, more profitable places to send their goods. For the most part, Darmon was a political and religious center now. The capital city, it was the seat of the Senate, and the most holy city for the Tainver.      When aQtwa and Migdula reached the temple, they formally submitted their plea to enter and were ceremoniously admitted. Stepping through the gates was still a transforming experience for aQtwa. Outside he could feel the pull of the body. The temptations of the flesh were up close and present. Inside, all of those temptations were closed out and a certain peace entered his soul. Outside the walls he was pressed upon by the tangle of people in the streets, forced in upon himself, while inside the temple he was able to expand, to draw back the curtains, uncloaking the vision of his true self.      Ah, aQtwa my friend. May the light of Mondiasalo illuminate your soul, my brother.      And you likewise, aQtar. How fares the Brotherhood?      We fare well, as always, aQtar finished the formal greeting. We have very good news that I am sure you will be most excited to hear, he smiled, Good news for your whole family. Your work to help the people of Darmon these past years has not gone unnoticed. But I let my tongue travel faster than my brain. The news will have to wait until we are in a more appropriate setting, aQtar said, glancing at Migdula.      If it is good news for my whole family, cannot my wife be there to hear it also? She is but an extension of me.      I think not. There are some times and circumstances for women, and I do not think she would be able to appreciate the more subtle nuances of religion and politics. Once again, I say more than I should. Please, aQtwa. Send her to the kitchens. I am sure that she will find conversation more to her liking there than with stuffy old men. You are to go before the governing council of the Tainver. They will not brook such an affront to the customs and traditions of the Holy Writ.      aQtwa was ready to launch into a dissertation on the role of women in the early days of the Tainver when Migdula spoke in a hushed but firm voice, Go, aQtwa, and calm yourself. We need not sew the seeds of strife where the trees will but shade them out. Looking at aQtar she added so he could hear, Better to plant a single seed in fertile soil and watch it grow than cast a multitude of seeds on the hard pan for the first downpour to wash them away.      Go then to the kitchens, or to the Gardens of Maids. I will summon you before I am ready to leave, he said gruffly. Looking on, aQtar mistakenly thought aQtwa was being firm with his wife and nodded in approval.      I will await you, dear husband, Migdula said as she turned for the Gardens of Maids, the perfect picture of tranquil domesticity. Damn sanctimonious brethren. One day she thought as she walked away, One day you will hold all of Mons kin with respect.      The temple was an old structure, dating from the days when the country was younger and heathens still vied with the Tainver for control of the land. As such, it was built as a fortress as well as a place of worship. A broad court encircled the Temple proper providing a place for the faithful to congregate inside the outer walls. Towers with tall, narrow windows stood at even distances around the high crenulated outer walls, all providing a clear field of vision of the inner court as well as the surrounding city.      The temple proper of the Tainver followed this theme. Portcullises, rusty from long disuse, protruded from the tops of entryways and were backed by thick, iron-banded doors set into both sides of the massive, two-rod thick temple wall. The doors were kept in working order, but the hammered metal surfaces were now carved into fine designs covered with gold leaf, and the wood was sanded, oiled and buffed till it shone with a dark luster. The whole of the structure was surrounded by a narrow parapet and balcony, access only achievable via the towers overlooking each entry point.      Inside the walls were large halls where services were held. This space was also highly defensible at one time, but the arrow slits were now boxed in, tapestries hung on the wall and from the ceiling blocked a clear view across the space, and the clutter of peacetime clogged the inner balconies. At the back of these foyers another doorway, the doors long removed, opened into a corridor parallel to the back wall and extending in either direction. It was towards one of these hallways that aQtar was moving, motioning for aQtwa to follow.      Even some of the brothers had forgotten the price of the peace that existed now. It had been so long, many centuries, since the battlements that surrounded him had been needed. Some just took the temple to be a metaphor for the defenders of the faith. The only serious challenge that aQtwa could see was from the SamHalal, and that challenge did not need arrows and swords, it required faithful people to show the way to the lost souls.      Ah. Here we are then. The High Brothers reside within to give their news. They await your entrance, aQtar bowed formally as the door swung wide to offer them admittance. aQtwa inclined his head to aQtar and, entering the room, to each of the Members of the High Brethren.      The room was a far cry from the austere hallway. The floors were made from the wood of the countries namesake, the Mora tree, raised off of the stone and polished to a high sheen. The walls, where one could see them through the abundant tapestries depicting scenes from the Book of Tainver, were paneled with many different types of wood, some dark, some light, to give the affect of light shining down through clouds onto a grove of trees. The ceiling was painted with frescos of the heavenly city of Girbon, the residents of which all wore a serenely contented smile.      The smile could have been echoed on the faces of the Brethren present, but it was not. Standing in stark contrast to the opulence of the room were twenty-five men arranged in two tiers of twelve, with one lone man sitting at the top. They all looked, aQtwa thought, decidedly dour.      The Brethren at the top spoke, You are aQtwa Hachtu?      _______________________________________________      The head hit the floor of the Room of Redemption, the eyes rolling, the mouth trying in vain to gulp the air, to scream, to breathe, to live apart from the body it used to be attached to. Within seconds the eyes glazed over and were still. The body, freed from the brain that lay now feet from the shoulders, ceased to have reason to function. SamHalal closed around, gathering the remains of the non-believer to be burnt on the Pyre of the Redeemed. Kresu looked on, intoning from memory the last stanzas of the ceremony for lost souls sent to meet with Halal while he tucked his prayer book into one of the pockets in his robes,  may your soul be shown the righteous path that your mortal body could not be convinced to walk down. Be assured that the way of Halal is the only way to eternal salvation. Only through Him shall ye be redeemed to fight in the glorious army of Girbon. In Mondiasalos name and towards His glory, we freed your soul that it may once again do battle for the right. SamHalal Amen.      With the closing of the invocation, the remains of the infidel were lifted from the floor and carried away. The young acolytes tasked with the cleaning and purification of the alter seemed to float into the chamber, bringing with them the scent of fragrant pitches and spiced incense, which mingled with the sharp, acrid smells of blood and gore to make a putrid smell not far from sickening.      Only three today, Head? We must be making inroads with the Tainver, to be down to such a low number of refusals already.      I think not. Kresu replied, looking at something in the real world for the first time since entering the chamber. Most people are pragmatic. They desire the sins of the flesh enough that they will proffer up whatever is asked of them, so long as they can continue to live. The closer we get to the core of the infidels, the more apparent the corrupt nature of the society at large becomes. These here today were steadfast in their belief in Mon as the One True God, but they would not accept the teachings of Halal. Now that they have been converted and can see the Light, they will make good soldiers in Mons army. May they battle well. For the most part, however, the infidels are weak and spineless. They dont wish to hear the good news of the end of time or the freedom from the tyranny of the flesh. They want sex or money or food and they want it right now.      He paused, Since I assume that you did not come into my presence as happenstance and I believe that you have no wish to hear the ramblings of an old SamHalal, I think that you must have come to me to impart or extract information?      Yes, Head. Impart and extract, though I could think of some kinder words for it. Inquire perhaps To get to the point, I was instructed to inform you that the operation is proceeding as planned, by someone who wishes to be unnamed. Kind of silly that, the Hand said, Since he came to me while I was in the chapel last night, all bundled up in robes so I could see not where he began nor ended, and his voice was muffled so, the trouble I had distinguishing one word from the next.      At a sharp look from Kresu, the Hand hurriedly provided, But worry no. He made me repeat to be sure I had it right. And he said the right code before delivering. Then the unnamed and unknowable man said, and the rats rise like fish to bugs. Cryptic it is. Some code that is worked out before hand, Ill no doubt.      Yes, no doubt. Thank you, Hand. Tell him, if you see him, to continue with Mons work. Kresu turned and Hand, sensing the end of the discourse, bowed as was appropriate to his station and exited the way he had came.      Certainly, Head. To continue with Mons work. It will be as you say.      As Kresu made his way along the halls of the former Tainver temple he mulled over the information. Very good. I hope that you are pleased, Master. You will rule the One World in my lifetime. Skoteinos be praised. Kresu formed a smirk and began what could only be called a giggle.       More in the series.        2005-2013 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite   ]]></description>
                <pubDate>Sat, 09 Mar 2013 15:53:57 -0500</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Third Installment "The Preparation" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/67/dichotomy-third-installment-the-preparation</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/67</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[On the day before, the decorations for the Spring Dance had been arranged by the oldest members of the council. Fresh cut spring flowers, the first to poke their green stems out from the still snowy ground had been gathered ceremoniously along with green bows of spruce and hemlock and arranged in special patterns and bouquets. The windows that ran along the tops of the walls had been un-shuttered and opened, giving the air of the room the fresh scent and light of a springtime forest glade.The members of the Town Board were present, as were the people who were coming of age. Temon was glad to see that he was not the last of those to enter. Upon noticing his entry, the Board members immediately ushered him to the front of the room, earning him dirty looks from those who thought that he should not be the Spring King. When they were all assembled and the last few nearly adults took their seats, Bial Northman, the head of the village council, stood, and swinging both hands from his sides to meet in a clap straight out in front of his body, motioned for silence.I am sure you are all very excited to be here on this auspicious occasion. I am glad to be here, also, on this day when you will take your first steps as an adult, and I am glad to be the first to welcome you, the Fresh Legs, to the Spring Dance. This is no mere dance, where you are allowed to run and play as children. The tradition of the Spring Dance has its roots deep in the past, when the One World, Gaea, was still young itself and danced on fresh legs.Gaea is the One World. Gaea is alive. Gaea is not just the Source for all Life, but all Life is Gaea and Gaea is Life. In the Spring, new life walks on the One World, flushing the ground and skies with tints of green and pink. Summer comes and the One World turns a deeper green. Pinks turn to fleshes and browns. In Autumn, the verdant growth of summer turns to the reds, oranges and tans of the ripe fruits and nuts, the bright leaves celebrating their departure. Then all fades to white and grey as Winter sets in again till with spring the cycle starts over again.Temon groaned inwardly, as he was sure that most of the others were doing, too. And here I thought I was going to get some answers, and we have to listen to this tired old man run through a speech that is second nature to everyone who ever lived in Aberdale. and I am sure that you are wondering why I am standing here, reciting what you have known an understood since you were five years old: telling you this old malarkey about esoteric matters that does not, to your present knowledge, have any effect on your day to day lives. I will tell you. Tonight. Today right now I am going to teach you some basic dance steps that are slightly different than the ones you have been familiar with up until now. These are old, and very important for you to learn. This first dance is called Home. You will learn a great many more, I am sure, but for you, right now, this is the most important dance that you can learn. There are some subtleties to it, but I am sure that you will be able to catch on pretty quickly.I will tell you. Tonight. The phrase spoken by the old Board Member seemed to reverberate through Temons skull almost as if the words themselves had held some secret power. Into the room came the adult parents or other close kin of the, what was it Bial had called them?, the Fresh Legs?.These will be your instructors. Pay them close heed, I am quite sure they know where you live and eat. Temon looked startled. His father had raised him since his mother had left six years prior. Not that Temon minded, she had been loud and drunk most of the time, always picking fights with his father and sometimes with Temon. He wasnt all that sure what she had been so angry about anyway. She was better gone somewhere else, but who was supposed to beTemon Wber? My name is Marivon deCeste. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. Temon hesitated before turning towards the speaker. He knew the voice, he had heard it addressing the crowd in front of the Rams Head Inn, but she couldnt be his instructor. Right then he felt a tingle start at the back of his head and extend down his spine, irresistibly causing him to turn in her direction. It was as if he had frozen stiff as a winter fish. He knew he couldnt move. How could he act intelligibly around this woman and not come off the country bumpkin that he knew he was? It was hopeless. But why was he so uptight. He talked to girls all the time. But this was no girl, this was one hundred percent female, womanhood at its finest, the most gorgeous creature he had ever laid his eyes uponHis brain was still babbling these thoughts at him when their eyes met. Silence warped all around him. He realized then that he was having one of his fits. Terror started to surge upward, then was quelled almost as fast. She was there, too; in his fit, with him. She looked amused. No, there was a certain amount of amusement, but it was mixed with something else. Just then, he realized she was talking... to him.You are the most powerful ground who I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, far and away the most powerful. I would not doubt that you are THE most powerful ground in all the One World, untrained and undifferentiated at that. Look where you have dragged me.Temon snapped out of his shocked stupor to look around. They were standing on the same rock where he and Trancy had been supposedly caught in the act. Trancy. Oh. What had he been about to do? What was he thinking? His conscience knew both of those answers. I am really sorry. If we start hiking now we may be able to get back to town in time for the main festival dance. I have got to get back, there is no telling how much time we may have lost. What exactly is so funny? Frustration had freed his tongue, maybe a little too much. At least he could talk to her now since the situation had altered so drastically in the past few seconds.She held up her hand as if to ward off his words. It is I who am sorry for coming up to you like that. I had no idea you were so powerful. I might have anchored myself a little better, but I am not sure that would have helped. Luckily I know the where and when that we were at so I can get us back into the pattern with no perceptible gap. But while we are here, I may as well take the time to teach you enough to keep you from killing yourself or someone else.I am Gaemel. You are Gaemel, after a fashion. It really is more proper to say that you have the potential to become Gaemel. The potential that you possess is why I am here. If you so desire, you can come with me to the city of Ceston, where the best and brightest of the Gaemel from the whole One World come to study the patterns and paths. But I am getting ahead of myself. Trancy, I cant leave Trancy, Temon interjected.Ah, yes. The female who punched you today? I had thought as much. She will make a great walker one day, perhaps. Would that she could go with you, but she is not of age. In the cities, children who show the first signs of ability are sent to academy to train. Your local custom, however, deems that she cannot make the decision until she has come of age. That will not be until the fall. You have a choice to make: To stay and wait for Trancy, or to come to Ceston and start your studies straight away. Now for the training to keep you alive.Our Walkers and Grounds tread the patterns differently than your Dancers do, but I am familiar with both methods, so pay close attention. When you brought me here, however accidentally, we worked as a walker-ground pair. The way that the dancers would have done the same thing is by a series of ritualized motions performed together with one developing the pattern and the other following along and dancing on the patterns. The method of the dancers is pretty to watch, very erotic for the participants, and altogether a very strenuous activity, with much energy expended on the physical motions.The dance that Bial was about to teach you was called home for the very reason that one might expect. It takes you back to Aberdale, to the hall that we were standing in. It is specifically choreographed to take you to the place, at the time immediately adjacent to and chronologically after the last time that you left it. Down there they will be practicing this dance, but they wont be going anywhere, because they are already there. Now follow my footwork. I will have gloves on, and dont look in my eyes. Just watch my feet. We can practice a bit first. That way you can look more regal and proficient by appearing to learn the dance more quickly.With a wink, she grabbed his hands in her gloves and barked, Follow my lead. After a couple of turns she changed up and had Temon lead. He was a quick study and agile as well, so after another couple of sequences through the patterns, she just took off her glove so there was contact between their hands. One second he was dancing on a giant boulder atop a mountain, the next he was back at the meeting hall. To the folks there it must have appeared that he had just leapt forward, caught Marivon up and began the dance right then and there.2005-2013 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite.]]></description>
                <pubDate>Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:39:28 -0500</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: Second Installment "Community" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/65/dichotomy-second-installment-community</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/65</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[After Temon finished sorting the threads for the days weaving, he headed for the house and readied himself for the meeting to be held in advance of the nights festivities. The town was located at a convenient hopping off point for hunters heading into the mountains for game and for sport. Consequently, the towns only inn was large and prosperous. A crowd, or at least what would be considered a crowd in Aberdale, had gathered outside the towns only inn, the Rams Head.He had been skirting the edge of the crowd when he stopped dead in his tracks. There on the porch of the inn was the most attractive female he had ever seen. Strands of long, black hair curved around almond colored skin, framing a slender face of fine, elegant structure. The motion of her removing a cloak cut for travel is what had initially caught his eye: The figure revealed in the motion, also slender, finely structured, and wrapped in a silk riding outfit, held his attention.Good people of Aberdale, her voice was clear as a stream and carried to each person like they were standing next to her, Today is a day of great hope. The last vestige of winters wrath has wasted its cold breath upon your stout frames, and the warmth of springtime sunshine blesses you with life. Tonight will bring in a fresh season when a new crop will be sown. A new king will arise, take his place on the throne of life, and will dance with the fresh legged maiden till the light of dawn.Just as Temons jaw was dropping with the realization that she was to be the Mistress of the Spring Dance, he felt his lower teeth suddenly snap upward till they met with his upper teeth, painfully catching his wayward tongue betwixt them. Belatedly he turned away from the source. What moments before had been a blur seen out of the corner of his eye resolved itself, when he looked back, into a demure looking young woman.Good day, Master Temon. I trust that you will be accompanying me to the dance this evening. I have so been looking forward to the pleasure of your company, she said while casting a sidelong glace towards the now closing inn door.Trancy! What in the name of the One World was that for? he asked as he gingerly wiggled his tongue about trying to ascertain the extent of the damage.That, Trancy stated, was to remind you that you are to be the Spring King, and kings dont go about gaping like a landed trout on a stream bank. They are, she paused, the epitome of collectedness, more regal. She affected the pose of someone who had just caught a whiff of something spoiled.Jealous, Trance? Nocs asked as he sidled up to the pair. Looks like you have reason, too. That was the Mistress of the Spring Dance, as evidenced by her little speech. She will be sharing the festivities with your noble prince, here. And he didnt really look like he would mind sharing her festivities, he said with a wink. I think that a man would have to be dead and buried for a week not to want to share anything with that one.Is your mind perpetually in the midden, Nocs? Trancy asked, I am sure that Temon is capable of not gawking at anything in a skirt. Arent you Temon? Temon, still in the midst of determining if there was any connection between the fore and aft sections of his tongue, wisely just nodded.It was funny, how things went once peoples minds were set about something. After that one outing, where they had mistakenly been thought caught in a compromising situation, friends had started ribbing him, and he felt himself drawn to her in a way that he could not explain. He would be sorting through the threads for his fathers mill, or running the shuttles through the looms to create some pattern, and then she would be there, in an eerily familiar way.Nights were the worst. Just as he was about to drift off, right as he was in that in-between state, a consciousness of her would ease into his head. The consciousness did not come suddenly, but gradually transitioning imperceptibly from not there, to there. It was like he was carrying a piece of her around in his head, and that piece of her could turn on at the most inopportune times.He felt compelled to speak to her about the experience. There was nothing out of the ordinary in that, because she was quite comely. Whenever he approached her, the others around her started to melt away, come up with appointments that they had just remembered and the other young people, when they saw them together, started steering away, assuming that they wanted privacy. When he started speaking with her is when he began to suspect that she was feeling the same things in the same ways. With time and conversation came confirmation that the feelings he was having she was having too, and a bond grew between the pair when the most elusive of feelings, love, entered the scene.Close on loves heels, lust followed, or maybe it was the other way around, these things being quite confused in the young. So it seemed to Temon that, in a way, the presumption of guilt laid on them by Nocs and the other teens had in fact pushed them in that direction, and now he found himself wishing that he had been doing what the others had presumed. Indeed, most of the time he played along with the good-natured winks and nudges that came his way, long since abandoning any hope of resurrecting his image. Trancys image was what worried him more.The conventional moral view espoused locally was that such goings on should be confined until after the couple had been formally partnered and inducted into the community. Some of the more sanctimonious of the teens had even suggested that they should be kept under strict supervision and be censured for their actions. Others in the village had been in similar situations had been punished, and they saw it as preferential treatment based on the standing of their parents in the community. When it was announced that Temon was to be Spring King, these teens attitudes had turned from merely cold to outright hostile. They had even petitioned the Village Board to remove him from the position, stating that the honor of the post should be held by one of higher moral values.Temon had in fact expected the treatment that the younger people of Aberdale showed to extend throughout the community. Paradoxically, the older people of the village did not seem to share the attitude among the teens that he or she had been sullied in some way. Temon had begun to think they knew something that the teens did not. At least he did not feel persecuted when he was around the adults, but he did feel as if there was something they werent telling him. He had been over these thoughts many times when his hands were involved in activities that were mundane and repetitive in nature and required little in the way of concentrated attention from his brain, and they kept leading him to the conclusion that something happened on the Night of the Spring Dance that the adults of the village just werent telling anyone.He attempted to broach the subject with one or two adults with whom he had an unusually excellent rapport, only to find himself facing a stony wall of silence. While this served to lend credence to the theory that they were hiding something, it did little to enlighten him as to what that something was. The only people with whom he could discuss this theory were Trancy and Nocs. Nocs was inclined to believe that there were secrets kept by the adults merely because he was always on the watch for a grand conspiracy, and Trancy believed him because the experience they had shared was just too odd. Most of the other teens discredited the theory, marking it up to an overactive imagination. After all, to come up with a story trying to explain away what had been plainly visible to them had to require a fevered imagination, especially since he had clearly expected people to believe it.That was just it. The young people thought that he was subversive while the adults were acting like it was no big deal, just the opposite of what Temon would have expected. He had been relieved at first to learn that punishment would be token, but the more he thought the more sure he had become that the adults were hiding something. Thinking that what they were hiding must have something to do with the fits seemed to be a viable option, until others tried a version of the same story and were not believed! Could Trancy and he really have been given preferential treatment because of their parents position in the local society? His theory hung on the fact that his father had been so willing to believe him right from the start. He knew his father pretty well, and for the elder Wber to not to punish him when the evidence was pretty incriminating Well, out of character would be a mild way of putting it. It just didnt make sense unless there was some well kept secret by the adults.Temon, are you thinking about that theory of yours? Nocs asked as they neared the Hall where the dance was held, Cause if you are, you should have your answer soon enough. You achieved eighteen years last month, so as well as being the Monarch of the Spring Dance, you will be an adult after tonight. Feels good, dont it?I cant say that it feels any certain way, Nocs. I do not feel any different inside of myself. It seems to me to be an arbitrary definition. Look at Trance there. She isnt turning adult tonight, though I wish that she were. She seems more adult-like than I do, most of the time. At least when shes not trying to sever my tongue. At the clear reference to her reaction just a few minutes before, Trancy started to go red in the face, partly from anger, partly from embarrassment.I wasnt trying to sever your tongue, I was trying to keep you from swallowing flies with that gaping maw of yours. Besides, smiles are more attractive than leers, it is possible to distinguish between the two, and I would not want you making the wrong impression on the Mistress of the Spring Dance. She looked pointedly at Nocs, trying to goad him into embarrassment.It didnt work. With a flourish and mock smile, he bowed to Trancy. Turning to Temon, he said in an affected voice, My Liege. Your audience awaits you inside. If you please, Miss Ardon, we must part here.Well, I dontplease, but I havent much of a choice, numbering only seventeen years until the Equal Suns of Autumn. Dont cause any trouble! That goes for both of you! Then, smiling, Till tonight, dearest one. It was Temons turn to blush.2005-2013 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite. All rights reserved.]]></description>
                <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:37:37 -0500</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[Dichotomy: First Installment "Fits" - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/64/dichotomy-first-installment-fits</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/64</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Each according to the dictates of his own conscience.Norman Rockwell, et al.The world reeled on its own course, heedless of the thoughts or actions of the people who thought they ruled. Long after Gaea was conquered for the umpteenth time, the last final leader anointed by his gods high hand, Gaea still circled the sun; still the third planet; still the living mass of rock; still except for the cacophony of small noises rising from its surface._______________________________Frost struggled to maintain its grip on the valley. The wind still carried the chill of snow and ice even as the sun, clearing the ridge, poured energy into the forested glens near the village of Aberdale. Spring was coming. Aberdale was arising as Temon slipped into the early morning and began his chores, hoping for a quick completion of the tasks at hand. Tomorrow would be like the day before in this little backwater town, but today would be different. Today he was going to be king. Well, for the Spring Dance anyway.The exact confluence of events that had lead to his coronation as the Spring King still eluded him, but the Village Board had recommended him, the villagers had approved, and tonight, as the sun was setting and the last chills of winter were setting their precarious hold on the town, he would hold court in the grand hall of the meeting center. There he would call the dances, and have the pick of all the girls. Indeed, he actually had to dance with all of the girls at least once. Since there were several communal dances early on, that would not be difficult. It was after the communal dances that he was allowed to choose his partners, and no one was beyond reach of the Spring King.After several hours of dancing, the Spring King who chose the people who would stay at the dance. He didnt know what transpired after that, for he had never been allowed to stay. Even in this small community, where everybody seemed to know everything about everyone else, he hadnt been able to find out one small scrap of information, much less cross check it with another source, about what went on after the king made his selections. He was burning with a desire to find out, and the lack of credible information merely sparked his teenage imagination down roads of wild fancy.Not that he needed to be Spring King to know who it was he was going to be dancing with. It had been plainly obvious to the entirety of Aberdale whom Temon Wber would be dancing with (if he had his druthers) since about two years past. Miss Trancy Ardon would dance with him for longer than she had ever before. She would definitely be one of the ones invited to stay after the rest had been sent away, and then Temon! Hey! Temon! Youd get more work done if your hands were moving. And wipe that stupid look off of your face or youll never have any dances tonight, Spring King or no. If I hadnt seen that grin that flashed across your face just then, Id have been thinking you were havin one of your fits. Temons father gave him a good natured slap on the back and continued on into the mill. It was only then that Temon realized that he had been standing at the doorway to the mill, daydreaming about what would occur tonight.His fits! If only he didnt have one of his fits. They had been the bane of his existence since the age of twelve, and had been occurring with greater frequency of late, though they were still sporadically placed. They could come upon him with little or no warning, and it was then that his imagination got left behind. The stuff of dreams, or nightmares, was what it was like when he stepped into one. Stepping into one. That was what it was like. He would be walking along and suddenly the things that were real and the things that were fantasy became one and the same. Strange things started happening around him.People changed. Sometimes they changed in small ways. His friend would have a different hair cut, or maybe his father, he knew it was his father, would have a different color eyes. Sometimes the changes were more intense.Two years past he had been out hiking with some friends, on a welcome respite from chores and tutelage. In the air was the fresh scent of new growth from the fir trees mixed with the musk of dirt just relieved of its last crusting of snow. The sky was a bright and clear blue that just seemed to call out Springtime, while a chorus of birds filled the air with the flash of feathers and trills.Turning to help the others up onto a boulder, he levered them one by one to the crest of the rock, releasing one and turning to the next. The last in line, Trancy took his hand and they both heaved together, and suddenly the world around them changed. No longer were they on a mountain boulder enjoying bright plumage and birdsong in the fresh springtime air. They werent even on the mountain that they had been climbing. A flat, dry plain stretched to the horizon in all directions. Where just moments before had been towering trees there was a drying grass carpet. Even the sky seemed to offer a dull, brownish hue. Staring wildly about at the instantaneous change in scenery, and thrown off balance in the midst of a motion that was no longer necessary, they stumbled forward, clinging together, each clasping the others hand like a lifeline.Terror would have been too mild of a word to describe what they saw in each others eyes, and wonder too pale a description of the feelings racing through them as they struggled to comprehend just what had happened to bring them to this place. Glancing down they realized that they each were still clinging to the others hand, and when they dropped the clasp in embarrassment, they were back on the mountain, with the same sky, the same plants, and the same boulder, but in a slightly different location.What the, they had both started to say when Temons best friend Nocs burst from the bushes, calling angrily, There you are! Weve been looking for hours. His anger turned to puzzlement, and then a knowing grin slowly crept across his features.Ahhhh, he said tapping his finger along side of his nose. Right. I see that you must have fallen in the bushes. And from the looks of you two, the bushes must have gotten the better end of the deal. I know that can make a person disheveled, and you certainly are disheveled, he winked. The grin contained in Nocs voice brought Temons awareness to the fact that he was lying in a small clump of bushes, with his clothing in a frightful state of disarray. Trancy was lying beside him, and her clothing looked to be in much the same condition.But we werent We were just hiking along there was this big field, bigger than any I have ever seen, Temon tried to explain, and it was so hot he trailed off when the grin stretching Nocs face seemed to grow larger. Their surprise turned to indignation and then to anger when they saw they were not to be believed, and both stepped on the others words in a futile attempt to stop Nocs laughter, which just grew louder as their protestations of innocence increased in volume.That was how the rest of group found them, Nocs nearly incapacitated with gut clenching mirth, Temon and Trancy still flushed with anger and rumpled from their fall in the bushes. Knowing he was fighting a losing battle, Temon murmured one last protestation of innocence and started down the trail.That had been one of the worst episodes in terms of severity, and also because everybody knew of it about an hour after their return to the village. Or at least the version that his so called friends had spread, complete with rumpled clothes and what they saw as the lamest of excuses. Aberdale, as a community, thought it rather funny, which was puzzling to Temon. Other youngsters who had been caught rolling in the bushes had been called down, some of them quite severely. When the news reached his father though, the older Wber took Temon aside with a concerned look and asked him if he was all right.I didnt do anything wrong with Trance. Honest, I didnt. he proclaimed.I believe you, he had said, confounding Temon even more than he had been at the towns reaction. Temon was taken aback. He had expected an altogether different response from his father than he had received from Nocs, but his fathers reaction had varied in a way he had not expected. You had another one, did you? he said, more of a statement than a question. Describe what happened and how you felt.As Temon went over the events of the afternoon, they flashed before his minds eye, still crisp in his memory, still frightfully real. His father just stood there with the worried look gradually changing to one of what seemed to Temon to be relief. You go get some supper and go to bed, he nodded, unsuccessfully trying to sound stern, I will talk with Trancys father and see if her tale matches yours. Then he grinned, he actually grinned! Temon was flooded with puzzled relief. Heading towards the kitchen he was suddenly aware of just how tired he felt, tired and relieved that he hadnt faced a more severe punishment than being sent to bed. Sent to bed! At his age.2005-2013 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite.]]></description>
                <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:23:02 -0500</pubDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[The Sine (Creative Short Science Fiction) - @broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty]]></title>
                <link>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/54/the-sine-creative-short-science-fiction</link>
                <guid>http://thenewstalkers.com/broliver-thesquirrel-stagnasty/blog/54</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Here is a little bit of my writing.The SineThe oscillations are increasing in frequency and amplitude, the dry, emotionless voice of the Dr. Hritch said in monotone, the recording time keyed and duplicated as the bits of his analogue voice were modulated and sent to headphones, server and work-pad.Hard to believe, thought his graduate student and lab assistant, he can be so calm, knowing that probability was working with emotions and the earth itself to bring an end to the world as we know it.When Suri had first come to Wazzu, she had been a bright eyed, newly minted graduate student from the east coast. Washington, to her mind, was made of images of lush greenness, large trees, and abundant water, all of which Pullman has very little. Her disillusionment started on the plane as it circled Spokane in preparation for landing. Its all brown, she had thought, brown and dry. Hot too, she further realized as she walked from the airport to the shuttle, the arid afternoon heat differing from the humidity she had left at home.She had, however, accepted this adjustment of her views with respect to reality and moved on quickly. I am, after all, a Panologist, she recalled thinking, and panologists, as the name implies, synthesize new concepts utilizing information from all branches of science, mathematics, philosophy, even studying different religions and their interactions with the physical and spiritual world. It is a great discipline for me, because I have never known what I wanted to be. Maybe it would be better to say that I want to do it all, and this is my best chance at that.Her initial meeting with her advisor brought on a flurry of activity at first, extending from the brief squall to the perpetual storm, all of which had barely dropped off even when she went home for breaks. From moment she smilingly introduced herself to the taciturn Dr. Hritch until now, four long years and almost two degrees later, she had been sucked into the vortex of panology, unable and unwilling to separate herself from the science: Unable, because of the sheer amount of data that had to be gone through in order to find and establish a link between disparate fields of study; Unwilling, because she felt driven to not only get a degree, but to go into the world as one of the first viable panologists with a track record of showing the efficacy of the science to help humanity.Driven crazy, smore like it, she thought one night as she trudged through the late evening to her apartment in town, Maybe I should have taken it a bit easier. I think that I am beginning to burn out.She had managed to surround herself with an extensive network of colleagues from the multiple disciplines that she frequented, and from this list of colleagues she had made several fast friends who would all agree, most vociferously, with her own estimation that she was in danger of burning out. Indeed, of late she was getting a bit worried about her own sanity, as she had been seeing things, strange dark things lurking in the shadows and giving her the impression that they were malevolently watching her, and actively trying to hurt her.Two more semesters had become her mantra, maybe less if I can get the Economics and Physics departments to see that they are both approaching the one area of my dissertation from different viewpoints that are leading to similar conclusions. If I had wanted to teach physics to an economist, or vice versa, Suri sighed to herself, I would have held either as my discipline. I have to know as much as the professors from each faculty, because I have to be able to reason form all points of  Holy fuck!She threw herself up against a wall as a ball of darkness wizzed by, missing her by inches, popping into nothingness in the brightness of the street light. A drunken couple in search of a room looked at her strangely as they walked into the street to avoid getting to close, whispering and giggling nervously.Why cant anybody else see them?That wasnt exactly true. At least other people, or rather one other person, had said that he had seen similar things. Dr. Hritch.She had gotten a ride home one evening from Dr. Hritch, and as she had stepped out of the car, she had been buffeted by two black blobs, causing her to spring backwards, headfirst into his car, landing quite unceremoniously. Her torso, head and arms were inside the car on the floor boards and her legs splayed and twisted outside, the door halfway closed on her midsection, her knees not quite touching the pavement of the parking lot. He had looked down at her, and she was afraid that she would see a look of puzzled cynicism on his face. They didnt hurt you, did they? he said along with a wide eyed look that conveyed concern.You saw them too? She asked, slowly extricating herself from the awkward position, brushing herself off and trying to gain some measure of composure.Yes. I did, He said, and, come to think of it, I have been seeing similar things myself ever since you started getting into the branch of panology that you are currently pursuing for your doctoral dissertation. That revelation was almost as startling as being attacked by the two things, whatever they were or werent. Was it something about her dissertation topic causing these strange things to happen? Thats mad she thought, but so are these things attacking me.She had written her masters thesis on the frequency of major events in species existence relative to other events as either stressing or benefiting a population. Looking at several longitudinal studies in which the species had crashed, she had been able to show, by the use of some analytical physics and advanced probability theorems, both the stressor and beneficial incidents increased in frequency and amplitude right up to the crash. It was the combination of oscillatory nature and drastic swings between positive and negative that upset the species. She had even proposed a formula for predicting population collapse.So when the time came to choose a dissertation topic, Dr. Hritch had suggested that she expand on her research and try to apply it to various civilizations and societies throughout history, and she had somewhat foolishly unaware of the volumes of data that she would be required to consume and assimilate, readily agreed.She had started the research with the sociology, history and anthropology departments, and soon had an application written to simulate the cultural rise of civilizations based on broad spectrum positive and negative stressors. Then she brought in the psychology and the computer science departments to flesh out the stressor lists and refine her modeling techniques. The rest of the sciences were brought in during the next phase to parse the database for upper and lower stressors to observe the changes in a linear fashion between the whole dataset and thereby check the reality of the modeling algorithms.Somewhere between the first and second semesters she had started to feel that something was watching her. This feeling was just a faint tingling at first, it was there but able to be brushed off. As she progressed with her studies, however, it grew progressively more pronounced. Worries about her own sanity grew inside of her, and then she had her first sighting.She had just successfully run a portion of the program to simulate societal decay rates. A feeling of accomplishment warmed her and she felt that she should go down to Ricos, have a stout and do something unusual for herrelax. As she walked down the long hill towards downtown, she had the by now familiar feeling of someone watching her, but then she was pulled from behind.Whirling about, she had her can of pepper spray out and aimed at where she thought her attacker should be, only to find a black blob hanging in the air. Nothingness would describe it better than somethingness, and the spot on her back where her body had intersected the thing felt like it had been pulled, almost like a giant vacuum cleaner nozzle had been attached to her shoulder. Then this ball of nothingness just vanished.Shaken, she had run home, locked her doors and windows, and called one of her close friends, whom she kept up for the rest of the night talking, worried that that she might be going crazy, and afraid that she wasnt.Even now, she still wasnt sure, Dr. Hritchs similar sightings aside. She had mentioned these things to her friends as a joke, watching them for signs of recognition. It was like having something really important to say, but being afraid to say it, afraid of the scorn a little bit, but more afraid of the reason for the scorn, of the people with whom she had placed her trust and built a bond not believing her. Modern day Cassandra, telling the truth and nobody will believe. Those closest to her studies, judging from the way they reacted, bodies stiffening, eyes widening, had some inkling of what she was talking about.Is this what crazy is, this being alone? I have developed a whole new way of looking at the world. I have synthesized, from all branches of study and human knowledge, a series of algorithms that hold the prospect of being able to predict, and thus avert, the decay of society.Another pass through the algorithms yielded the same result. This cant be. This just cant be.The final raising of the bar by her dissertation committee had been to add the request that she use her algorithms that she had formulated for her masters thesis in conjunction with the ones predictive of species decline. She could sense them mocking her when they said this. They are trying to make me predict when mankind will fall. What a title for a dissertation, she thought: Calibration and Utilization of the Species and Societal Predictive Algorithms with Specific Application To the End of Human Civilization. I think that a little less grandiose title will do.It had seemed almost as if I were being set up for ridicule, set up for failure as the disparate boards gave each of their requirements. Were they trying to show that the entrenched sciences and disciplines were somehow above panology? Was this some turf battle, a fight for limited funding, the baser instincts of collegiate personalities sharpening their grant writing knives, with me as the pawn? Or were they just curious as to how far this science could go, stretching it to see the extents that panology could reach?It was, most likely, a combination of these and other reasons which I have not thought of and, right now, I dont really care about why. Right now, I have to figure out why this sine function is increasing at such a rapid rate. I know why, it is the input to the algorithms that control that aspect, but it seems too fast, too rapid an increase. At this rate, with the amplitude and frequency increasing at an almost exponential rate, we will have exceeded the threshold at which the human race is supposed to collapse before my dissertation defense tomorrow. Which puts me in a rather difficult spot. Can I defend an algorithm that I think is wrong? But I dont think the algorithm is wrong, it is the information that is being used by the algorithm that is somehow suspect. Shit! I dont want to spend another year here working this out!The black unthings, as she and her friends had begun to call them, became more active, less averse to light. They seemed to have increased in population, visible in the day as well as the darkness. They had become so prevalent that she no longer had to think herself crazy. The unthings were in plain sight to all of her closest friends and acquaintances, and advisors. They couldnt be ignored.What is more, they seemed to become more active with an increase in negative emotions. Somehow they seemed to feed off of anxiety, fear, pain, stress detecting these negative emotions, congregating around the source, growing larger and more numerous with the source of these emotions. Finals week they could be seen by the people who had the knowledge of them, openly floating about campus, clustered on the unprepared and the unsure, nowhere near to the supremely confident.I could almost grade my tests by looking at the relative numbers of unthings gathered around each student. Almost. Not every item on an undergraduates mind came directly from the test.She had to admire Dr. Hritchs calm demeanor, therefore, while looking at the equations, baselines and algorithms. It would appear that everything is working according to theory. So either your theory and equations are wrong or, Dr. Hritch said. mankind is approaching the end of its run as dominant species on earth.He can say that without a single unthing around him. Amazing. I have to retreat to a memory of a warm spring day at home in the Adirondacks, out in the woods, snow all around with big glacial erratics sticking through the snow pack, just sitting on the boulder, sunning myself and thinking of Grandpas sugaring operation boiling down the maple sap till it is amber and thick and sticky Ahhhh. That did it. That got those unthings away from me for awhile.It is hard to think of good things while in the midst of troubles, difficult to keep your thoughts positive. Dr. Hritch does it so well. Another hurricane, another earthquake or tsunami or both, balance these things with positives, pro-democracy peaceful protest, progress on hunger, treaties to help stabilize nuclear powers, humanitarian interventions, and then the occurrence of more bad, more good.I think I have it figured out, she thought as she walked to the window, holding on calmly to that deep feeling of warmth emitting from the thoughts of home and family. Looking out the window, she thought even more strongly of home. I will not be defending my dissertation tomorrow. It doesnt look like I will receive my doctorate after all.Outside, the unthings were feasting on passers by. Even those people who did not know why, who couldnt see the unthings, were aware of their presence now, trying to avoid a palpable sense that something was wrong, crossing roads because they felt that some one was looking, watching, waiting for them to do something. Just think and worry. Believe that something is there and it will be, feasting on thoughts of your own creation.Grandmas making buckwheat cakes and sausage gravy.Let go of the thoughts, Suri. If you know this much you know there is no escape. Just let us in and there will be peace for you. We know how much stress you have been under lately.I will never let go of my good thoughts: Fishing in the Hudson, riding my bike with two wheels only. I used to think that you were doing this out of a desire to help humanity, Dr. Hritch. You just needed a human who was driven to help, driven to make a difference in some positive way; some human to balance out the needs inside of you. You are driven, are you not? You and your unthings.My first kiss. How wonderful. The first time I truly loved someone.Think of how they hurt you, Suri. Think of the nights spent crying in your bed over the love that was not shared.Oh, but that was good, too. Learning is good, you see. I have the way, or at least a way, to not fight you, but to hold you at bay, to complement your negativity so that it cant get out of you and hurt the world.Hiking the day I got accepted to graduate school. You did your job too well, Dr. Hritch. I wasnt supposed to figure you out until you had consumed me. A little flash of awareness as I was about to succumb to the blank, sucking blackness of un-ness, but not until too late would I realize who or what or when or why.But, you were a little too eager. Just thinking of how I am going to outsmart you is enough for me to hold you and yours at bay right now. You thought that I would crumple, waving out such strongly felt negative emotions that I would just be sucked into your vortex and you would need me no more.What a bright girl you are, Suri. I knew that you were the right one to offset me.There you go, thats it. Try to think positively. Think some good thoughts now. You do have some of those, right? I cant imagine what they would be. I love you, even though you are triggering your own demise, Dr. Hritch. Here, we can go together if you like.She reached out a hand towards the professor, as if to grasp and hold his hand. He recoiled, backing away in the small office. Dont run away. Dont hide. I just want to help. Please let me help you, Dr. Hritch. Thats it. It is ok. Come here. That is the way.The flesh on Dr. Hritchs hand seamed to bubble from the inside, twisting and writhing like a sack of serpents. Suri held him, content and confident that the emotive state was the only way to complement and cancel the cruel heaving emotions coming off of him. The doctor, or rather, the doctors clothes, slid to the floor, no longer encompassing any solid body.Suris eyes relaxed, content.Stupid Girl.2011 Broliver Stagnasty, TomE and TomEArtSite. All rights reserved.]]></description>
                <pubDate>Tue, 08 Jan 2013 22:45:22 -0500</pubDate>
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