Autumn in Hieron 15: Have You Ever Swung A Sword At A Ghost Before?

In light of recent events in New Zealand, please know this episode includes description of the aftermath of an attack on a community and conversations about death. To those affected directly and indirectly, please know you are in our hearts during this tragedy. The Creed of Samothes' arcane attack comes to a close, but not before bringing new dilemmas to bear. Lem King, curious as ever, seeks out a new ally to help locate the cult's headquarters. Adaire attends to those she most cares for in the wake of this troubling violence. And Hella confronts the value of her life—and is as ever grateful that such confrontations need not be made alone. This week on Spring in Hieron: A Fountain of Information The greatest ARCANE MASTERS of course have… contingencies in place for DEATH. It must be understood, though, that these are not REVERSALS of the act, but SAFEGUARDS designed to intercede against or re-route naturally occurring events. But even these have their limits: Once the ESSENCE of life is consigned to the NOTHING, there is simply no return. -An excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Text by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

15 Maalis 20191h 38min

Some journeys have many purposes. For Ephrim, Lord of the Last University, the trip to the isles of Alcyon offers an opportunity to retrieve the special plate required to build pala-din, the autonomous stone soldiers which once patrolled the streets of ancient Marielda. For the druid Fero, the trip will lead him to a place where Samol's magic does not yet fade. With Arrell's conduit identified, Hadrian and his family must flee their home or else put thousands in danger. And as is often the case, for Throndir and Kodiak, the trip is an opportunity to shoulder the many burdens his friends carry, and to provide guidance and justice in a world that increasingly offers less of each. This week on Friends at the Table: Passing of Voices I have taught you the value of a HOME for the neophyte MAGE, but in the instance that an EXCURSION is unavoidable, take heed my words: Never travel ALONE. Whether friend or hired hand, secure your safety behind the bodies of others. And remember: A mage is never truly alone. -An excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000), Slyvi Clare (@captaintrash), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), and Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Episode description by Austin Walker Music by Jack de Quidt A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

8 Maalis 20191h 42min

The Creed of Samothes has, for countless years, spread its reach throughout society across Hieron. For many, it has provided strength, structure, and safety from the dangers of the wild world. But at its heart--not distinct from it, not a subversion or corruption--is a cynical ideology rooted in the fatalism of their first god: The world is ending. Limit the suffering of those still alive, so that they may pass easily. Tonight, Hella, Lem, and Adaire will learn the that "easing" suffering may take many forms… Today on Spring in Hieron: A Night Like Tonight It is common pastime across this University to debate DRACONIC classification. Fourth years lecture firsts about the distinction between DRAGONS and DRAKES, while research assistants struggle to place WYVERNS is clear category? "What of WYRMS," asked a colleague, recently, as if any answer to this or any other similar question mattered. No. LIVING or UNDEAD, aloft by WING or by AIR-SPIRIT, wielding FLAME or FOULNESS, the only relevant question is: How quickly will it kill you? -An excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Text by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

1 Maalis 20191h 54min

Across the campus and beyond the walls of the Last University, the gathering masses are holding their breath and asking themselves questions: What does the Wizard Arrell's conduit mean for Hadrian and his family, and how can Throndir help to protect them? How can Lem ease his Emmanuel's concern for an adventurer like him? How, wonders Fero, might a god grieve for his father? What money should a career thief like Adaire… or Blake Bromley not take? Who yet moves in that old Forge, which Ephrim knows too well? Who or what is stirring under starlight, and will Hella's blade be sharp enough for it? But these are questions of the few. The many voice other fears: How can the University serve the needs of the many when its own resources are so paltry? And if they cannot serve them, to whom will the people turn? An absent god? His wounded son? Who? This week on Spring in Hieron: A Simple Answer True TELEPORTATION is, without measure, the most dangerous and trying spell not explicitly created for violent ends and is thus the small purview of only the most advanced mages of the University… and reportedly some who study the so-called SEMIOTIC practices of the New Archives. Thankfully, there are other, safer, and more efficient means of completing tasks over long distances: ALCHEMIC DELIVERY, SYNCHRONOUS TRANSMISSION, and STRATUMINAL LINKAGE, depending on the distance traveled and, of course, the degree to which co-presence is required... -An excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Text by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

23 Helmi 20192h 9min

From their home in the Last University, Adaire, Ephrim, Hadrian, and Throndir watch as refugees arrive from every direction as war and disaster spreads throughout the vastness of Hieron. From the north, where flood waters drive communities down into the continent. From the south, where Ordennan warships displace families with mechanical fire and thunder. And even from below the earth itself, where roots have taken too firm a hold. And there is one more new arrival too: With the events of the past week behind them, Lem, Fero, and Hella return to the Last University, and they travel with an illusionist with a penchant for betrayal…. This week on Spring in Hieron: A Desire to Live In common speech, CONDUITS of power are said to extend a mage's REACH and PERCEPTION to such a degree that they may work their craft at great distances. But this is a grand understatement. It is not simply that the spellcaster's senses are duplicated at the point of the conduit. The sheer presence of such an artifact of power extends the very NATURE of reach and perception. With a conduit in place, a mage's vision spreads over an entire area, their ability to weave magic expands beyond what they might even do in person. For this reason, understand, there is no such thing as building a conduit for peaceful ends. -An excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Text by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

15 Helmi 20192h 11min

As Del continues to descend towards the surface, Hella, Fero, and Lem head towards the ruins of the New Archives in search of a Cartwright Wren, a peculiar bird with properties that may help the druid with the creation of new sorts of creatures. But when they come to an abrupt landing in a dilapidated and overgrown aviary, the group learns that they are, unsurprisingly, not the only ones who've come to the Archives in search of valuable things. What is surprising, though, is who they find... This week on Spring in Hieron: Music Through A Wall If there is one fact that neophytes fail to grasp, it is this: Every SPELL has two COSTS, not one. The first, pupils always remember: The component parts of whatever is being cast: REAGENTS, SOMATIC EXPRESSIONS, RITUAL PREPARATIONS. These are, of course, easily counted: Strands of wolf's hair, the motions of a hand, the dust of rough chalk. But the second cost is missed: The cost on the self. And this cost is vital to consider. As many young magic workers learn through repercussion alone: You may have the material needed for a spell, but if you begin to work it without the will or the vigor necessary, it will cost you greatly. Which is why I say, with great care and seriousness: It is of utmost importance that you learn to REST. -An excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), and Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Text by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

1 Helmi 20192h 1min

Content Warnings: Descriptions of death, descriptions of medical care His presence can be felt by those who do not even lay eyes on the dragon's body. Samol has arrived at the last university. And why should it not be felt? All presence, after all, is Samol, Hieron Himself, the first god, the one-who-spoke-words-alive, the universal origin, breathing. And as he breathes life into this too-quiet campus, the others hurriedly look for solutions to a variation on a problem they've known they had for a long time: How do you save a dying god? This week on Spring in Hieron: The Breath of Hieron "GODS" are not what you imagine. Despite the fables, these are not beings of infinite POWER or unshakable WILL, nor are they models of noble VIRTUE. Those preaching sermons in churches and scribbling songs in hymnals would have you believe that the world is a laboratory and the "gods" are its alchemists. Yet in fact, on the chemist's table of Hieron, they, like us are simply glass beakers filled with the physical STUFF of life. Perhaps their content shimmers more when stirred--and to that end, we ought understand their sheen and thus duplicate it--but remember, in the end, all glass shatters. ​-An Excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Sylvi Clare (@captaintrash), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) Music by Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal) Text written by Austin Walker and Nick Scratch A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

25 Tammi 20192h 10min

High above the Isles of Flight, Severea's Gift, the moon named Del, begins its descent. Below, a strange mix of chaos and quiet as the Mistral react: Some rush towards escape, but others seem all together poised and controlled. Caught in the middle are Hella Varal, Lem King, and Fero Feritas, whose own role in the matter is up for debate. Are they heroes, meant to save the isles from catastrophe? Or simply witnesses to a rebellion in full swing? And how, if at all, can they plant the seeds for future friendship in a moment like this... This week on Spring in Hieron: Neighbors To Be Made PROTECTIVE spells take many forms. Defensive WARDS shift the nature of possibility, prohibiting actions of a forbidden category to create sanctuary spaces, while MIRROR spells reflect back anything--material or otherwise--that attempts to pass it. LATTICES are complex, magical apparati, checking conditional statements against numerous variables and facts apparent before apply some effect. But none of these are effective as a simple BARRIER: Trust me, students, a sturdy wall will keep anything, and anyone, out. -An Excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), and Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) Produced by Ali Acampora (@ali_west) Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot) A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!

18 Tammi 20191h 37min