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Nadezhda "River" Reka

Order of the Oak

This Order consists of human and elven druids, rangers, and others dedicated to the preservation and protection of the Great Oak in the Eldwood. There, the Great Oak towers over the forest, an offspring of the Earhtaut. The Oak is ageless, and worshiped as a god by many in the forest. It speaks only to those it deems worthy, and usually only to the Val Tulmiph Daladon.

The Order is very small, numbering in the hundreds only. Though most of them live in the Eldwood, they have adherents in forests all across the Lands of Ursal, keeping a watch on magical glades. These include the Detmold, where the Winter Roses bloom, and the Paladin’s Grove, where the Silver Elms grow. They have a strong presence in the Gelderland as well. They are very secretive, possessing no allegiances to any prince. They are closely associated with the Watchers in the Wood of the Darkenfold, and are loosely aligned with the wood elves of King Nigold.

The Order’s houses are called Woodholes, the chief of witch stands in the Eldwood. They are usually built in hidden, defensible glades where there is a source of fresh water.

Members of the Order carry wooden staves or wands made from fallen branches of the Great Oak. All members of the Order gain the following abilities, usable once per day: know direction, speak with animals, and speak with plants.

~The Codex of Aihrde

Movie Trailer ~ Infini

Warriors

Word of the Day -- Paraphyly

In taxonomy, a group is said to be paraphyletic if it consists of all the descendants of the last common ancestor of the group's members minus a small number of monophyletic groups of descendants, typically just one or two such groups. Such a group is said to be paraphyletic with respect to the excluded groups. The term is commonly used in phylogenetics (a subfield of biology) and in linguistics.

For example, the group of reptiles, as traditionally defined, is paraphyletic with respect to the mammals and birds: it contains the last common ancestor of the reptiles—including the extant reptiles as well as the extinct mammal-like reptiles—along with all descendants of that ancestor except for mammals and birds. Other commonly recognized paraphyletic groups include fish and lizards.

Daily Cosplay

Being Caveman

I'm not sure why, when I think about cavemen, that the thought of it appeals to me so . . . perhaps its because I don't actually live in a cave and can idolize the life . . . but whenever I picture them hunched over their various tasks, the very thought of it, comforts me. I think the simple thought of being able to step inside a cave, and the wind, the rain, the cold and heat, are all immediately blocked, plays its hand on my  mind. A small fire, at the end of a brutal day, built inside the cave, to warm the feet and cook the food. Does it get any better?

Somewhere, long ago, these people lived out their lives without much concern about what was coming or what was past. They buried their dead in shallow graves, they raised their young ones. And life went on.

Its seems somehow simple. A little easier.

Or maybe its just they didn't have to listen to the damn phone ring!

These Guys

These two idiots ruined it for everyone.

The Deep Quiet

In the world of Aihrde the ocean bottoms are referred to as 'The Deep Quiet." Those who slip beneath the waves of the Dulzine Ocean, the Amber Sea or any of the manifold bodies of water are said to have "gone to the Deep Quiet."

This painting (I couldn't find who did it) captures that sentiment.

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Bijou - Sergio Torregimeno

Aufstrag, The Horned God's Acre

When Unklar lifted Aufstrag from the ruin of the ancient city of Al Liosh he did so in order to build a fortress for himself, for in those early days of his reign, he was plagued by doubt, and feared the return of the Val Eahrakun (the gods) and that they might smite him for his sudden assumption of the world. But too, Aufstrag was built as a temple, to house those who paid him homage and who would serve him in all his thoughts. These were his most devoted; those who bent to his will without question and served him as priests and champions. He set them above all others in his realm and gave them both the tasks of service to his worship and the defense of Aufstrag.

Thus it was that the second level of that dread domain was given over to them, the priests. It served to house them, and as a bastion from which they could rule all that passed through Aufstrag, to and from, the Citadel on high. A high priestess was set to lord over them. Chosen from the ranks of the Aenochian Lords, the priestess was given the name Nectanebo. Thus they were called ever after, both in name and title. So that the first to grace Aufstrag they called Nectanebo II. After she fell to the Aenochian Rebellion, Nectanebo III ruled and so on through the centuries.

After its completion, Unklar ordered Aufstrag and he granted the second level, amongst others, to Nectanebo to rule. There she set her the lesser ranks of her priests, giving the quarters to live in and instructing them to build temples for the worship of Unklar, cells for the punishment of those who defied him, rooms for contemplation, meeting halls for the priests to gather for instruction and all the many other and varied rooms necessary for the maintenance of the rank and file of the priesthood. Too, rooms were given to the Crna Ruk, those assassins in Unklar's employ, the Ungern, his must trusted soldiery, and wizards of the Paths of Umbra. All those represented the lesser minions and peopled the Acre.

~Aufstrag, The Horned God's Acre