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

Content Warnings: Descriptions of death and injuries, descriptions of corpses, descriptions of surgery It is some time after noon in the unnamed University settlement. A tree has grown too tall, too wide. Measures must be taken. To the south, debris falls into water, black and red and pale, and a river rushes to wash away the past. Measures must be taken. In the council hall of the school's tallest tower, worry clambers out of mouths and onto faces. Measures must be taken. Warmth is laid out on cold slate, a once vast and deadly patience dripping away all too quickly. Measures must be taken. Hidden experiments. Strained words. Gold and threats in the rubble. Finally, he arrives to take measure. This week on Spring in Hieron: The Time of Gods LIFE is no more an immutable characteristic than SCALE or TEMPERATURE. Whether leaping from branch to canopy, or constrained to coughs and carriages, each is life. But do not let those words secure your pride. Because just as some structures are too large to stand AND some heats are beyond the notion of relief, true DEATH is a finality that even the most powerful magic cannot undo. 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) 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!!

11 Tammi 20191h 47min

On the smallest of the Isles of Flight, Deya, Lem King finds himself cornered in a bookstore. But, he is, after all, Lem King, and conflict is to the orc bard no more than running water under a sturdy boat: whatever danger it poses others, for him it is merely a way forward. Once reconnected with his compatriots, Fero Feritas and Hella Varal, the three decide to speak rather than act, working to gain the confidence of Deya's chief officer of the law. But as they learn more about the Isles, their inhabitants, and their cruel leader others do what they must. They take dramatic, and final, action. As the saying goes: Clocks tick. This week on Spring in Hieron: Long Promises No. The history the DEL and BRI, twin MOONS of Hieron are not covered in this course, nor ought they be covered in any. Such CELESTIAL beings only inspire the most distracting flights of foolish imagination. To be a mage is to walk the line between unleashed creativity and utter mundanity. And to dream of above is to lose anchor to the ground that gives SHAPE and MOMENTUM to all arcane works 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!!

4 Tammi 20191h 43min

For some, it is just another week: Ephrim and Hadrian explore an untouched quarter of the University, Adaire digs into the mysterious connections of the Moonlighters Guild, and Throndir continues to tutor the young Blue J. But at the furthest stretches of the Last University settlement, there is an energy in the air. Maybe it is the echo of caravan wheels hurrying across dirt and stone. It could be the rumors of Ordennan scouts whispered from villager to soldier, from soldier to lord, from lord to father. Or perhaps it is the sound of a young Ranger snapping twigs beneath their neophyte steps. Benjamin attempts to pierce the fog and offer clarity, but reading the lines of time is not easy work. Samot approaches. This week on Spring in Hieron: Cut Off the Head PROPHECY is, perhaps, the most fraudulent school of magic, all the more for its broad popularity in the minds of the masses. It is not those who peddle PALMISTRY or auction AUGURY are incorrect in their predictions: No, oracular pursuits are as often accurate as the aim of any magic missile. But they are sold on a fabulous foundation. The soothsayer? The leaf reader? The blood drinker? The visionary? They all claim they can see what comes next. But they are not in touch with the FUTURE at all. They are only especially aware of the PRESENT. And it is keen evidence that the world is filled with fools that so many cannot tell the difference. -An Excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Andi Clare (@captaintrash), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) 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!!

21 Joulu 20181h 14min

In the ruins of the ancient orcish Stoneworks, Lem King, Fero Feritas, and Hella Varal find themselves snared by by botanical beasts. But what lies beyond, to the north, may be even more dangerous: The soaring ambition of the Mistral, the birdkin who seek to leave faltering Hieron behind in search for a more stable home above. But as is always the case in journeys made, some are called riders and others mules. This week on Spring in Hieron: Who Vouches? PARTNERSHIP is a difficult prospect for all mages, as the IMAGE-IDEAL of any spell differs between all who cast. Even a trifling CANTRIP like the summoning of a sphere of light is soiled by the projection of a mage's SELF. The color, the shape, the intensity: All shift due to bias and experience. And so to perform even such a simple glamour as this with a partner is to court disaster. This is why in all but the most troubling of endeavors, the wise mage works alone. -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!!

13 Joulu 20181h 20min

All across the yet unnamed settlement growing in the reclaimed ruins of the Last University, small possibilities begin to reverberate from the potential future into the present moment. A caravan detained at the border, heading north. A fleeting scout in Ordennan armor. The theft of candy… and books unnamed. The slow, parade-approach of a Prince. And tree growing with worrying speed. Lord Ephrim looks these over, and must decide where his priorities lie. And he is not the only one who concerns himself today with things that grow quickly. Hadrian, no longer a Paladin, takes on his role of father with haste and pride--words that a companion reminds him are oft forgotten flaws. Throndir, meanwhile, offers advice to his protege that he needed once learn on his own. And while Adaire does not set out to be a teacher, even crooks may find themselves sharing old tricks with the impressive young. This week on Spring in Hieron: A Certain Way Among the many important practical device a neophyte mage must learn, the CYNOSURE is most necessary. Whether in school ALCHEMICAL or CONJUROUS, WILD or INCORPORATED, EFFERVESCENT or NECROTIC, the first step of any spell is finding its elusive center, the aspect around which every other component must RELATE. Perhaps it is in the material ingredients--the mushroom shavings or recovered kestrel claw--or in the vocal and somatic terms--the right syllable to press, the uncomfortable shape of your hand. But as is true in SOCIETY is true in magic: the center of your spells must ATTRACT and DEFINE all that is around them. The periphery may falter, the margins may surprise you, but if the center holds, magic will follow. -An Excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Andi Clare (@captaintrash), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000) 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!!

6 Joulu 20181h 31min

It weights on everyone: The end is not far from here, but the golden Golden Lance has brought word that somewhere to the north, are are those who dream of leaving the end behind. And so, Lem King, Hella Varal, and Fero Feritas set off together once again, headed north towards the Isles of Flight... and the Moons which hang above it. There are, however, two lingering questions: How should they get there, and who will they be leaving behind? This week on Spring in Hieron: Sympathetic Objects I hold little respect for the charlatans from the Archives, whose parlor tricks are simply wax dripping from the torch of TRUE MAGIC. Yet they understand this much: COINCIDENCES do not exist, yet FATE is a myth. No action is unmoored from causality--there is always a reason for RECURRANCE. But that reason need not be PREDETERMINATION. Indeed, repetition is often caused by the most mundane of causes, and a good scholar DEDUCES their origin. So, young student, know this: If it always rains on your day of birth, dismiss the fear that you are cursed, open your notebook, and begin to record an almanac. -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!!

29 Marras 20181h 28min

As the weeks move on, the Last University's new arrivals acclimate to their new shelter. And as the campus' empty spaces slowly become more and more filled in, it becomes more and more like a home--and for some, like Fero and Hadrian, that isn't a metaphor at all. Hella and Throndir, meanwhile, give structure and training to the burgeoning town's militia. Others, like Adaire, Ephrim, and Lem, find ways to return to their old habits… at least until the arrival of a pair of old allies brings news of danger and opportunity. This week on Spring in Hieron: Structure and Purpose "'HOME' is a myth, an invention told by the idle and mediocre, who paper over their lethargy with a facade of comfort." My mentor… He taught me these words when I was… It doesn't matter when, but, when I was much younger, I suppose. The TRUE MAGE, he told me, should have no home because KNOWLEDGE knows no geographical center. It is all around us. And yet, in my studies, I have come to know a different truth: That in my armchair, with my tea cup, and the soft, familiar sound of the cypress branches brushing my window in the wind, I learn things I could not discover in some distant library or in the muck of a field laboratory. -An Excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo 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!!

22 Marras 20181h 6min

The Boundless Fate, the handmade vessel captained by Hella Varal, rests upon the shore of the unnamed river which glides through the forest west of the Last University. It is an appropriate resting point for a boat named such: Just a decade prior, before the bard Lem King opened an invisible valve, this river simply didn't exist. But as the pattern workers of the archives know well: When action is taken, consequences follow. Now, the travelers from Aubade depart the boat and head east towards not only family and friends, but to the consequential present. Are they--is anyone--ready for what comes next? This Week on Spring in Hieron: Something You've Practiced IDENTITY is the first component, this is beyond debate. Before we may refer to this reagent or that somatic expression, we must first conceptualize a "this" or a "that," things made whole by their boundaries. This staff is distinct from this floor, which is distinct from me, though I touch both. What is, is itself. Where there is argument, though, is whether such a quality is the PRIMARY component in matters arcane. The so-called semioticians argue that SYNTHESIS is more important than identity. Though they dress it up in words like "god" and "faith," priests rely on PROXIMITY to some original source of magic as the key component. They are all wrong, of course: If identity is first, then RELATION is principal in the magical arts. What is, is itself. And nothing else. -An Excerpt from the Crystalized Lectures of the Wizard Fantasmo Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker) Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Andi 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) 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!!

16 Marras 20182h 9min