Saturday, May 27, 2017

Ancient Kamigawa Secrets

There are many "lost" tales from the world of Kamigawa, which are reposted here for ease of access. 


These tales are all owned by Wizards of the Coast, and were published around 2005.  A full snynopsis of the events of Kamigawa will soon be posted below. 


Contents:
Mountain Secret (Kumano)
Duty Bound (Takeno)
Everything (Azami)
Eight and a Half Tales
Security (Horobi, Death's Wail)
The Dragon's Errand (Kiki Jiki)
Thankless Child (Iname)
Bonds of Ice and Fire (Brother's Yamazaki)  This story takes place many years after the Kami war in "Champions of Kamigawa".
The Dragon Shield (Jugan)
Told in Whispers (The Unspeakable)
A Servant's Mission (Ink Eyes)
Patron of the Akki (Patron of the Akki)
Personal Battles (Iwamori)
Redemption Smiles (Kentaro)
The Sound of Crickets (Higure, the Still Wind)
War's Wage (Kataki)
The Face behind the Mask (Sakashima, the Imposter)
The Meeting
Iizuka the Ruthless
The Last Visitor (Ayumi, the Last Visitor)  This story takes place 6 years after The Dragon's Errand. 


All these can be found on the "wayback machine", of the archived Wizards Magic site: http://web.archive.org/web/20080314191532/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/kamigawa/vignettes

(Warning, that mess is pretty awful looking due to the archiving)

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

The Sands of Amonkhet

Welcome to the Plane of Amonkhet.




A plane of sand, and death.  A plane ruled by Nicol Bolas.  A plane for building monuments, striving through challenges, and a plane, of Gods.


The Gatewatch has arrived here to attempt to strike back at the dragon planeswalker they see as their enemy, Nicol Bolas.  He had meddled with Chandra's home world of Kaladesh, and so the Gatewatch is attempting to catch Bolas by surprise.

Trailer

The Player's guide, with lore behind the 5 gods and a basic "planeswalker's guide" to Amonkhet and the cards in the set.  Released as a .pdf.

Plane Shift: Amonkhet; The DnD adaptation to play in the world of Amonkhet.

Amonkhet Stories:


The Gatewatch arrives with some impact.

With some struggles, the Gatewatch finds the city, and realize there are strange elements afoot.  Will they decide to trust these new gods?

Nissa and Chandra find some writing on the wall

Jace and Liliana discover much about servants in Naktamun.  And "someone" notices Liliana's presence. 

Having interpreted the hieroglyphs, Nissa goes to Kefnet for advice, and finds a trial instead

Gideon finds the five trials more Brazen than he thought.

There is some history of Trespass for Samut. 

The Gatewatch discovers Samut, and they decide to help her plan to receive judgment.  The hours are nigh!


Hour of Devastation


The hours of have begun.  The second sun is between the two horns of Amonkhet. 

Trailer

"When the Second Sun rests between the horns on the horizon, so begins the Hour of Revelation. Then the Hour of Glory, the Hour of Promise, and finally the Hour of Eternity."
—The Accounting of Hours (Throne of the God-Phaeroh)

The Hour of Revelation
"All questions will be answered during the Hour of Revelation." (Naga Oracle)

The feast.
"And so the Hour of Revelation broke upon the land, and the promised time arrived when all questions would be answered. And lo, the Gate to the Afterlife opened, and from behind its gleaming walls, the true visage of the coming tide poured forth."


The Hour of Glory
"In the Hour of Glory, the gods and the untested will prove their worth before the God-Pharaoh."
—The Accounting of Hours (Nimble-Blade Khenra)



The Hour of Promise
"When the Hour of Promise arrives, the God-Pharaoh will tear down the Hekma, for its protection will be needed no longer."
—The Accounting of Hours (Winged Shepherd)

Some desire the Favor of the God-Pharaoh.

The Hour of Eternity
"When all doubts have melted away, the worthy will meet the Hour of Eternity and earn a place at the God-Pharaoh's side."
—The Accounting of Hours  (Dissenter's Deliverance)

The God-Pharaoh has returned, and the [four] Hours have arrived as foretold. The Hours of Revelation, Glory, and Promise unleashed disaster upon Naktamun, and now the Hour of Eternity brings an unimaginably personal terror to the city's denizens.


The people of Amonkhet must somehow Endure.


The Hour of Devastation 

"The world crumbled beneath the heel of the mighty God-Pharaoh, and an unnamed hour dawned as the blood red sun drowned the land in crimson. And thus, the Hour of Devastation reigned, and, the God-Pharaoh completed his great plan, leaving behind ruin while darkness consumed and unmade the entirety of the city."

Notes:

From the Magic Story Podcast:

  • Mother's don't raise their children on Amonkhet- the mummies do.  A person who is pregnant can still train throughout their pregnancy; there is time within the trials to have kids; there are several years training up to Rhonas' trial of strength. 

    Kids have no basic sound of language around them, raised by mummies, and only formal education.  This was stated as not originally natural to the plane.
  • The gods were the ones to confirm the Gatewatch is ok.  Curiosity isn't a valued train on Amonkhet, because there is "no where else" beyond Naktamun.  The city is all there is, so if the Gods say these strange looking people are fine, then it must be so. 

From the Amonkhet art book:

Bolas' plans to release the Eldrazi were made in order to determine if there would be a planeswalker response to such an interplanar threat- which the gatewatch was.  It was in order to test the abilities of neowalkers working together, in order to be ready with his Amonkhet army. 

Story page for Amonkhet

Story page for Hour of Devastation. 
More lore and tales will be added as it is released.  Come back to find more built towards the dual suns' light. 

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

A Metroid Fan Game-enabled Theory

So there's a theory posted on reddit about Samus in Metroid: Other M being a clone.  The basis is: Is the samus we play in Metroid: Other M the same Samus in other games?  Other M doesn't have a numbered title in the series, nor is it part of the prime series.  
With the introduction of AM2R and Rogue Dawn, I’d like to throw a new suggestion in.  


Spoilers ahead:  
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The main character is Dawn Aran, apparently a kidnapped sister of Samus from K-2L, trained to become a Rogue agent of the Space Pirates.  
At the end of Rogue Dawn, we see Dawn Aran leave the pirates.   She says that the federation will never leave the space pirates alone if they have metroids; however, she herself took a metroid.  So we have an unknown element now for the future.  What if, the federation tracked down and captured Dawn Aran.  


In response to the Clone theory's points, in order:
1. As stated in the clone theory, at the start of Other M, we find Samus waking up for a weapons test.  In Rogue Dawn, Dawn gains control of many Chozo relics and power ups, the same as Samus.  What if, captured, the federation brainwashed Dawn to believe she’s Samus.  Implanted memories of Samus’ exploits, and feelings of loss from the baby.  Maybe even programmed with memories of Adam?  And using newer technology from that of the federation force times?

2.       I completely agree with the point made in the theory. The federation would want to keep tabs on her.   Further- in Rogue Dawn, we see that Dawn can use Chozo power ups without the power suit.  The federation, through Adam would be testing Dawn’s abilities, and the ability to control her. 

3.       This could still be valid.  Further so to complete the brainwashing, to make Dawn feel for Adam, and loyal to the federation.

4.       Dawn would technically have similar memories.  Her backstory would include the same attack from Ridley on their colony.  Added to this point- She betrayed and abandoned the pirates.  That would cause some fear in their chasing after her.  A revenge plot, perhaps?   She wouldn’t remember Prime, because she never experienced it.

5.       Dawn being submissive to Adam and the federation would also make sense.  With confusion and loyalty memories implanted.  Samus acts different, because she isn’t Dawn. 

6.      Not applicable to tie the two theories together. 
Other thoughts:

7.       Adam and team get to the bottle ship almost immediately after Samus.  Seems like a perfect mission briefing to have a squad watch a new prototype soldier.

8.       Another concern.  “The deleter”.  We never really find out who it is, though it’s implied.  What if, instead, it is Dawn/Samus herself.  She would then perhaps not remember it afterwards, as a brainwashed subject wouldn't necessarily.  

9.       Brainwashing could work better with the traumatic ptsd moment around ridley.  Faking Adam’s death could also add to it.  That would further add loyalty to the subject to the federation.

10.   The other point to be made is that Anthony would likely not aware that this was actually the mission, nor any of the other federation solders, only Adam may be.  His helmet was left behind, and  Dawn/Samus heads back at the end of the game to retrieve it.  Would this be part of the brainwashing method, to continue to relate to Adam?
 
11.   Also to note- The federation in “Federation Force” is reverse engineering the power suit- with weapons and energy.  Wouldn’t be too much more of a stretch, like in the clone theory, to have a new power suit for Dawn. 

What could this imply, for the fan community? 

A future game where Samus would have to face off with Dawn, the sister she never knew.  Using technology that is the same as her pre-Fusion suit weapons. 
 

Saturday, December 31, 2016

My 2016 reading list

I have mentioned previously that this year I took part in a reading competition.  The main goal of the challenge was the simply read more books, and to do so well, I felt the need to share some of the highs and lows of my reading this year.  If you're interested in the blog- you can find the contest at:
http://supercleartape.blogspot.com/p/the-great-read-thon-book-bonanza.html

This year, I read mostly fantasy/Scifi novels, with a few historical and non-fiction books interspersed.  I read three books in German, and two children's novels.  I read two books that involved a merry-go-round that changed the age of the person riding it.  One series I read showed a world flooded by demons, both monstrous and of man.  And I explored further into the worlds of the Kingkiller, as well as Harry Potter. 

That said, let me recommend some highlights!

The Warded Man, by Peter V. Brett, starts the series following three children living in a world in which humans are pushed to the brink of extinction by demons that rise from the earth every night.  Brett crafts a deeply human story of growth, determination, and survival, and continues through several more novels.  His series is yet to be complete- following the journey of the characters to see if the Warded Man is indeed the savior the world wants him to be, or if humanity is indeed doomed.  I especially enjoyed the varied perspectives in each chapter of Leesha Paper, Rojer Inn, and Arlen Barnes- and their hopes and dream while surviving their world.



Enchantment, by Orsen Scott Card, retells both Russian fairy tales, as well as the sleeping beauty story, but in a more gritty, realistic modern setting.  Without spoiling anything, I would easily say this was my favorite book I read this year.



Rogues, a compilation of short stories including some from Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin had a great many more interesting characters and tales that I expected.  I picked up the book primarily to read of Bast- the mysterious Fae character from the tales of Kvothe.  There are some beautiful tales there    

Now the lows:  Codex, by Lev Grossman, was an utter disappointment.  I had high hopes after reading The Magicians, and it basically has no ending.

The Exile of Time. This book I tried because it sounded interesting and I wanted to try an eBook.  It was free. I basically got what I paid for. Wasn't very impressiveness at all.





Reading List   


1.   Der Golan-Marathon by Yassin Nasri Jan 5th 2016 
2.     Murder List - Julie Garwood - Jan 6th 2016 
3.     The Method- Juli Zeh - Jan 11th 2016 
4.     The Lurker at the Threshold - HP Lovecraft with August Derleth - Jan 24, 2016 
5.     Absteig vom Zauberberg- Jens Walther- Jan 31, 2016 
6.     The Alloy of Law- Brandon Sanderson- Feb 6, 2016 
7.     Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury- Feb 10, 2016 
8.     The Book Thief- Markus Zusak- Feb 15, 2016 
9.     Asian American Dreams- Helen Zia Mar 15, 2016 
10.  The Shadow over Innsmouth- H.P. Lovecraft. Mar 27, 2016 
11.  The Thief Lord- Cornelia Funke April 18th 2016 
12.  Dragon of the Lost Sea - Lawrence Yep, April 20th 2016 
13.  Dragon Steel- Lawrence Yep, April 21, 2016 
14.  Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii- edited by A. Grove Day, April 27, 2016 
15.  Rogues- edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois - May 14, 2016 
16.  The Warded Man- Peter V. Brett - May 23, 2016 
17.  Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury May 31, 2016 
18.  The Desert Spear- Peter V. Brett - June 21, 2016 
19.  The Daylight War - Peter V. Brett - July 3rd 2016 
20.  The Bad Beginning- A series of Unfortunate Events- Lemony Snicket - July 18th 2016 
21.  A Wizard of Earthsea -Ursula K. LeGuin - July 20, 2016 
22.  The Exile of Time- Ray Cummings- July 28th 2016 
23.  Enchantment- Orsen Scott Card- Aug 1, 2016 
24.  Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke Aug 19 2016 
25.  The Magicians - Lev Grossman Sept 11, 2016 
26.  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K.Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorn Sept 14th 2016 
27.  The Fortunate Fall- Raphael Carter Sept 29th 2016 
28.  The Magician's Nephew - C. S. Lewis - Oct 9, 2016 
29.  Codex- Lev Grossman- Oct 26th, 2016 
30.  Elantris- Brandon Sanderson - Nov 2nd 2016 
31.  The Aquiliad - S.P. Somtow - Nov 13th 2016
32.  Die Schriften von Accra - Paulo Coelho - Nov 19th 2016 
33.  The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus: exploring and conserving our natural world. - Jacques Cousteau and Susan Schienfelbein - Nov 28th 2016
34. Hyperion - Dan Simmons - Dec 14th 2016
35. Bared Blade - Kelly McCullough - Dec 19th, 2016
36. I Am the Messenger - Markus Zusak - Dec 24th, 2016
37. The Magician's King - Lev Grossman - Dec 30th, 2016

 


The rest, you may choose to explore on your own.  I would also recommend The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus by Jacques Cousteau, Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii, and The Method, by Juli Zeh.