Words across time

Listen here you heathens! I know the path! I have been shown the secrets! Let all doubt be stricken from your mind! Follow, for I give absolute truth! Proselytization:   I have been one to proselytize on multiple occasions and subjects through my years. The subject and passion has changed and shifted over the course of my life. The saying is that every seven years you become a new person. To me this is evocative of a constant cycle of caterpillars, butterflies, caterpillars, butterflies, on and on. I think the truth is far more granular, gradual, and subtle than that statement implies. It is not always a fresh or clean start, it is bits coming and going piecemeal until nothing the same is left. Once, I called myself a Christian. Vigorously, fervently, with passion. I would not be spit from my Lord’s mouth for being lukewarm. ( Revelation 3:16 ) I would be the Jesus-freak. ( https://youtu.be/kbB0QrBIs9k ) I spent my youth in the church, I listened...

Jason “Juhnta” Liverly Life is not always kind. The story of the unkindness in Jason Liverly’s life begins before his conception, as is the case in the world, the sins of the father often curse the son. His father went by the name Absolum, a powerful mage, and a charismatic figure. He had goals of power and strength, and was not above using his magic to manipulate anyone he needed to obtain his goals. It was during his masterstroke, a convoluted plan involving layers and layers of spells to be cast upon the king himself, that he was discovered. A member of royal investigations had been suspicious of him, and upon uncovering his machinations, brought the hammer of justice down upon him. In the resulting struggle, three royal investigators clashed magically with Jason’s father. Absolum fought with the passion of a cornered animal, holding nothing back and lashing out with fury and wrath. In the end, he left the investigators no choice. They burned him out. With their combined power,...

             I came to meditation by accident. During adolescence, like many I struggled with emotional control. I was angry. I was horny. I was frustrated. I was… a teenager? I don’t know how we all get through it, I guess we don’t all make it to the other side. I remember starlit nights, best just before the monsoons. Climbing atop the fort in our backyard; I sought privacy and quiet in the moments when my rage, sadness, and hormonal confusion peaked. Sitting cross-legged, staring up at the sky, trying to get a grip on my roiling emotions.              After years of this habit, I began to find certain subtleties within myself. Real or imagined, who can say? When on the topic of thought itself, it is impossible to disentangle truth from one's perceived truth. I strongly felt, and feel to this day, energy within my body. I learned to bring it to my ha...

A character biography written for a friend's campaign in July of 2013. ----------------------------------- Naved “Folly” Tanner Naved Tanner came into this world as we all do, though his circumstances were perhaps more fortunate than some. Born as the second son to a young married couple deeply in love with one another. His elder brother was to be trained to inherit the family profession, and neither Naved nor his brother had any objections or resentment to their potential paths in life. Naved learned pieces of his father’s craft, and he learned to love it, but never dreamt of following in his father’s footsteps. Naved showed magical potential from an early age, and even as a toddler was much more interested in the world that his mother moved through. His mother was a healer, and an excellent mage in that realm. Naved loved to watch his mother work, and as a toddler and young child was inseparable from her, crying and throwing a fit if he couldn’t accompany her on...

I wrote a short story once for a rather open ended synthetic biology assignment in college, April 2012. I enjoy it now because the setting is super reminiscent of Altered Carbon, which I loved. I got there first. ;-) -------------------------------------------------------------------- The sand was warm and a cool breeze brought with it the scent of the ocean. The only resident of this tropical island lay on his back, legs wet with the tide coming in. His eyes fluttered open, the calm of the beach shattered by his sharp gasps for breath. He rose to his feet, wobbly legs barely maintaining his balance. He was panicked, but gradually he gained his composure as he surveyed his surroundings. “Here again...” the man muttered. “Fucking hell, that didn’t go well.” He plopped back into the sand. “How much longer?” he screamed into the empty air. No reply came, and the man resigned himself to waiting. It was a pleasant lobby, but he found it frustrating. He had died. He kn...