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hazelnuthelper · 2 years

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Empires SMP Fanfic: All that Remains of Our Lives

The water had returned. He hadn’t noticed at first, still believing he was out in open ocean until he’d stumbled upon the ruins. He had barely recognized them, pristine quartz that had once been so carefully maintained now covered in a layer of barnacles and algae.

The cold of the ocean doesn’t bother him, but Jimmy still shudders. He doesn’t know what he was expecting, coming back here. He already had an idea of what he’d find. But still. He hadn’t expected to stumble upon it so soon.

He takes a deep breath, gills fluttering shakily, and releases a trail of bubbles from his mouth before he swims down towards the ruins.

Most of the Ocean Empire’s buildings have sunk, the artificial islands that had kept them afloat having long since degraded. A pale pink axolotl is swimming in and out of the cracked house nearest to him. A regular one. All the villagers have long since gone. Jimmy can tell that much. Nobody has been living here for a very long time.

Lizzie. His sister. His seabling. He wonders what happened to her, after all that had happened. After all that he did.

His fault. All of it, his fault.

“Stop,” he tells himself. “Just stop it. You can’t take it back now.”

Wallowing in guilt will do nothing. It won’t bring back the home that he and everyone else lost. Although maybe he deserves to wallow. What right does he have, to forgive himself?

He takes another shuddering breath. He’s beginning to think it was a mistake, coming back here.

It’s not too late to leave. He can stop here, swim off back into the open ocean and continue his solitary journey. That would probably be the smart thing to do. Or maybe just the cowardly one. He doesn’t know, really.

He pulled back from the ruins, swishing his tail through the water and pauses. He can’t leave, he realizes. Not after he’s come all this way. Whatever force had compelled him to return in the first place is holding him here.

He needs to go home.

Jimmy leaves the ruins behind, swimming up to the surface of the ocean. The only structure still standing is the Prisma Palace, still tall and proud upon the rocks, and for a moment Jimmy thinks with a burst of hope that Lizzie might still be here.

His hopes are quickly dashed when he swims closer. The palace may not have decayed in the same way as the rest of the empire, safe from the salty corrosion of the ocean and all that lives within, but that doesn’t mean it was left untouched by the passage of time. The quartz walls are worn from the salty wind. Green vines, once carefully maintained at the base of the palace, have spread upwards, wrapping their way around the structure. One of the bridges has collapsed. Nobody has been here for a long time either.

Of course not. Lizzie’s empire was destroyed. There wouldn’t be any reason for her to stay in a place where her people could no longer survive.

There’s nothing more for him to see here, in this abandoned empire. But still, he’s afraid to leave.

To the south is his own Empire. If he squints, he can barely see the land on the horizon. He’s not sure he’s ready to visit yet.

He swims into Pixandria through one of the winding rivers that connects to the sea. Lizzie’s road is long gone but he knows the path well enough to not get too lost.

There’s Pixandria to the west and Mezalea to the east. He doubts he’ll find anything better there. But he can’t go home and he can’t stay here. And maybe, just maybe Jimmy will find something. Someone. A spark of hope.

The first time he sees another person, he does a double-take, stopping to stare out from the water. He’s on the outskirts of the city, where intricate copper and sandstone buildings adorned with carved patterns are replaced by smaller, flat roofed houses. He can see carefully-maintained fields of hardy crops, cooking fires smoking on rooftops, and sheets and clothes hung up to dry, swaying in the light desert breeze. Most importantly, there are people. He can see them from the riverbed, someone hauling water upstream, another lounging in the shade of an overhang, two children play-fighting with sticks.

It’s disorientating, the sharp contrast between the silent desolation of the Ocean Empire and Pixandria. This place is alive, and if it was touched by the disaster, no signs of damage remain. At least here in the outskirts.

It makes sense, Jimmy supposes. Pixandria was the furthest empire from the explosion, and there were no dense forests through which a raging fire might spread. If any of the empires were to be spared, it would be this one.

Come to think of it, he doesn’t remember seeing Pix at spawn. He hadn’t really been paying much attention at the time, more distracted by the chaos unfolding and Fwhip’s assumed death to take note of who was and wasn’t present.

Is Pix still here? Jimmy feels a burst of hope at the thought. Pix was his ally after all. Or at least he had been. Who knows what he thinks of Jimmy now.

Regardless, Jimmy wants to see him. He ducks back under the water and swims upstream as rapidly as he can.

The heart of Pixandria is thriving. Jimmy drags himself out of the water in a secluded spot, wrapping his waterproof cloak tightly around him. He doubts he’ll be recognized, but he’d rather not take the risk of facing any angry citizens.

He receives a few odd looks from passersby on his way to the Palace, no doubt wondering what such an odd looking stranger was doing in the heart of their city, dripping a trail of water all over the place. Jimmy ignores them. He’s on a mission and he won’t be deterred.

The layout of the city has changed, and Jimmy quickly becomes lost in its maze, wandering in circles in the hopes he might run into Pix. He’d always been a pretty hands-on ruler. It wouldn’t be too strange to see him out on the streets, either in disguise or flanked by bodyguards.

When he finally stumbles upon a structure he recognizes, he freezes.

It’s the vigil, or at least what had once been the vigil. The original structure still stands proud and tall, candles flickering in the wind. The floating lanterns dance in the breeze, tied to the structure to keep them from floating away. One is beginning to sag.

It looks untouched from the last time Jimmy had seen it. Maybe a few more candles had been added. He isn’t sure if they would be from before or after the incident.

Past the vigil is a new building. It’s taller than the vigil, copper spiraled roof stretching up into the air in a peak. It’s small but ornate, doors carved in an intricate pattern.

“Jimmy?”

Jimmy jumps with a startled yelp, spinning around at the sound of the familiar voice. Behind him is a hooded figure, one Jimmy is almost certain that he recognizes.

“Pix? Is that really you?”

Pix pulls his hood back slightly, tilting his head upwards to meet Jimmy’s eyes. “In the flesh.”

He looks different, Jimmy thinks. Older. More tired. Humans age so fast, after all. For Jimmy, five years was nothing. For Pix, it must have been far longer.

“You stayed?” He asks. He’d kind of assumed that everyone had left. That they’d all lost their home the way he had. But he hadn’t really known for certain.

“Pixandria wasn’t damaged too badly,” Pix says. “I had to stay here. For my people.”

An uncomfortable silence passes between them. Jimmy drags a foot along the brick path. Pix is watching him, waiting for him to say something.

“Are there…are there others?” Jimmy asks, hopeful. Like maybe everyone’s already come back, ready to start anew and rebuild everything. And then things can go back to the way they were before. “Um, the Emperors, I mean. Did any of the others stay?”

It’s a silly idea. Lizzie, at the very least, isn’t here. Or maybe she is, maybe she’d rebuilt somewhere else, leaving her kingdom to the sea. That could be possible, right?

But Pix shakes his head and Jimmy’s hopes are dashed. “I’m the only one who stayed.” He says. “You’re the first ruler I’ve seen since then.”

Since then. Since the disaster. Since all of their lives changed forever.

“Ah,” Jimmy says. He tries not to look too disappointed. He doesn’t want Pix to think he’s that naive, that he really believed for a moment that everything could be okay again.

But Pix’s gaze has turned towards the vigil. His expression is pensive, unreadable to Jimmy. “Have you come to pay your respects?” he asks in a quiet, somber voice.

“What, at the vigil?” Jimmy cocks his head in confusion. It was a nice gesture, he thinks, the vigil. A mark of every death barely averted by Pixandria’s totems. Jimmy, and all the other rulers, may be royalty, but they’d all had a number of close calls. But Jimmy didn’t really see the point of paying respects for the living. “Why?”

The building is dark. It’s bigger than it looked from the outside and Jimmy’s footfalls on the sandstone floor echo around him. At the back wall, the only lights in the darkness, are four candles. Orange. Lime. Black. Cyan. He doesn’t remember whose was whose.

Pix just stares at him, and Jimmy thinks he looks like he’s aged much more than five years.

Jimmy doesn’t think he’s that smart, or good at piecing things together. But he’s smart enough to grasp the painful truth of a special altar, of four candles, of paying respects.

It feels like there’s something caught in his throat. “I don’t understand,” he says. “I thought…I thought everyone made it out okay. They did, didn’t they?”

Pix is silent for a moment, and so Jimmy keeps going.

“I mean, I saw everyone back then, at the meeting. Even…even Fwhip. It was everyone, except you, and you’re here now, so…”

He trails off. Something is sinking in his chest. He swallows hard, eyes fixed on the flickering flames. Pix takes a few steps forward to stand beside him and Jimmy pulls his gaze away from the candlelight. The flames dance on Pix’s face, shadows filling every wrinkle.

“We don’t know everything that happened,” Pix says at last. “Sausage left a message for the others, but that’s all we have.”

He goes quiet again. Jimmy can only hear his own heavy breathing in the darkness. It smells like candle smoke. He’d thought the smell was pleasant, once. Now it’s sickening.

“Sausage said Pearl was bound to her empire. So when it burned, she…” Pix shakes his head. “And Sausage…he wrote he had to sacrifice himself to stop the blood sheep. We found his body afterwards, in the summoning circle.”

Stop, Jimmy wants to say. Stop. I don’t want to hear. I don’t want to know. But his voice catches in his throat and the only thing that comes out is a shuddering breath.

Pearl and Sausage. Pearl and Sausage gone, dead, because of him. He doesn’t want to believe it. He can’t believe it.

“Joey…we think he died when his palace collapsed. But we can’t know for sure.”

Joey. He’d been so angry over what Jimmy had done. And even though the two of them had never really gotten along, Jimmy couldn’t blame him. He’d be angry at him too. Was angry at him too.

“And Scott…we don’t know what happened to him either. The body of the demon was there too. I guess they killed each other.”

Scott. Scott, his ally. Scott, who Jimmy thinks might have liked him at some point. At least it had seemed that way. Jimmy hadn’t been able to tell for sure. He didn’t think he was very lovable, after all. And he had no idea how to respond to Scott any which way.

He’ll never get the chance. Now it was too late. Jimmy shudders again, his eyes moving back to the candlelight. Scott’s candle is burning low, wax melting into a pool on the candle holder. Pix steps forward with a new cyan candle, lights it from the old one, and carefully sets it down beside the others. He pinches the old candle out. The smoke tastes heavy and acrid in Jimmy’s lungs.

“Who’s ‘we’?” Jimmy manages to say. It’s all he can say. He doesn’t want to think of anything else, of everything that has happened.

“Me and Joel. He left pretty soon after to look for Lizzie. Nobody knows what happened to her. But he’s determined to find her. Insists she’s still out there. Made me promise not to light a candle for her.”

“Oh,” Jimmy says. His voice sounds hollow in his ears. He can’t think about whether or not Lizzie is okay. If she’s alive. He just can’t.

“As for Shrub and Katherine, they both left when their empires burned. I guess they’re still out there somewhere. Like you were. Gem’s Empire is still occupied. She left with Fwhip. Sends a message every now and again. It seems like they’re doing alright.”

“Oh,” Jimmy repeats. Maybe he should be relieved, to know at least some of them had made it out alright. But he doesn’t. He just feels hollow, rung dry. He shuts his eyes and the candlelight still burns. He thinks if he stays here any longer, he’s going to be sick.

Pix sets a hand on his shoulder and he jumps. “Let’s go back outside,” he says, voice calm and clear and oh so tired. Jimmy just nods, lets himself be led out of that room.

Outside, he can breathe again. Almost. The candlelight stays fixed in his eyes, an afterimage. It feels more like a ghost.

On the horizon, the sun is beginning to set. Soon, the monsters will begin to roam.

“You should stay for the night,” Pix says. “Go…wherever you plan to go in the morning.”

The night is quiet and dark. Jimmy lays spread out on the elegant bed of Pixandria’s guest house, tangled in the silk sheets. He can’t sleep, even though his mind is fuzzy and he’s dead tired. The same thought keeps circling in and out of his mind.

Jimmy still doesn’t trust himself to speak, so he just nods.

Dead. They’re dead. Pearl. Joey. Sausage. Scott. He’d killed them.

It’s slowly sinking in, seeping through the outer layer of his skin into his heart. It had been bad enough, knowing that he’d taken away everyone’s home. He’d thought it ended there. But no, his crime was far, far greater. And now, Jimmy knows that he can’t ever be forgiven.

It’s too quiet, too dark. Jimmy feels like he’s suffocating. He wraps a hand around the sheets, clenches them in a fist. It doesn’t feel right, being here. He’s used to sleeping in underwater caves and holes in coral, tucked out of view of potential predators. Being back here, like this, like a ruler, doesn’t feel right. He doesn’t belong here anymore, if he ever did at all.

He can’t leave yet, though. It’s too dangerous, and Jimmy has never been the best at surviving. He doesn’t have any more totems, no more protection from his advisors, nothing but his own bare bones survival skills. On land at night, he’ll almost certainly die.

Die, just like the others. He doesn’t want that. And surely they hadn’t either.

Pearl. Sausage. Joey. Scott. Dead, because of him.

He says his goodbyes to Pix, gives him one final wave before he sets out again, once more unsure of where he’s going. He already knows the fate of all the other empires. The only place left for him to go is his own home, or at least what remains of it. But the thought of doing so still sits heavy in his chest.

Jimmy lays awake until the sun begins to stream through the window.

His feet carry him to Mythland instead. He doesn’t know why, there’s nothing for him to see here. Maybe it’s out of some sense of duty to the dead, maybe some part of him believes that Pix is wrong. He doesn’t know.

Mythland is dead and silent. The wheatfields are overgrown, golden waves transformed into chest high thickets of weeds that have begun to eat through the rotting wood of their fences. Jimmy makes his way gingerly along the crumbling path, stepping around scattered bones. He feels like he’s in a graveyard. In a way, he is.

His feet lead him to the summoning circle. The bridges around have collapsed into the ditch below, into the piles of bones that fill it in some sort of macabre display.

This is where Sausage died. Jimmy doesn’t understand it, doesn’t understand what the blood sheep have to do with the explosion. But there must have been a connection, the two events were too close to each other to be coincidence.

Or maybe not. Maybe this isn’t Jimmy’s fault for once. He can’t dare to hope.

Pearl’s Empire. Gilded Helianthia. There’s nothing left of it when Jimmy arrives. The wooden buildings, the crop fields, the giant vine centerpiece, all gone. All that’s left are the remains of copper roofs, singed black and collapsed when the walls gave way, and broken deepslate foundations. The only signs that anyone had ever lived here at all.

He can’t stay in Mythland for long. He moves on.

Pix had said that Pearl was connected to her empire in some way. That its destruction had killed her too. It’s so grim, Jimmy thinks. Pearl had nothing to leave behind. Not even ruins, the memory that people had once been here. A few more years, and nature will have reclaimed all of it. It’s like she’s been erased from existence, destined to be forgotten. Jimmy won’t forget, will carry those memories for hundreds of years to come. But he’s not naive enough to think that will make a difference.

He walks along what might have once been a street, until he trips over a stone foundation covered by grass. What remains of Gilded Helianthia is reclaimed by nature. A rabbit pokes its head out of a hole in the ground. Nearby, a cow is grazing. On the banks of the river are large bird’s nests, eggs wrapped in twigs and golden down.

He makes his way through the remains of House Blossom. Most of the buildings still stand, though the castle has fallen. The walls are covered in flowering vines, in fact the whole of the empire is covered in a thick layer of massive flowers, surrounding one giant pink blossom that stretches up high above the others. If this place had once burned, any signs of destruction have long since been erased by nature.

The peace feels foreboding. Jimmy doesn’t want to be here any longer.

Rivendell. Jimmy walks along dried lava flows, hardened into dark obsidian. Wrapped around the remains of the buildings are tentacles, dark and petrified with time. Jimmy isn’t sure about coming here, even though Pix had said the demon was dead. He doesn’t want to stay for long. But it feels like he has a duty to visit.

He wonders where Katherine has gone, what she’s doing now. If she knows that life has returned to her empire, in one way at least.

Rivendell’s buildings are crumbling, just like the others. Ice has frozen and thawed in the cracks of stone and calcite foundations and water runoff has rotted wooden beams. The slopes of the mountainsides are slick with snow and ice. Jimmy falls a few times, struggling to make his way to the top.

He stops to rest by the remains of the Sheep Shack, leaning against a crumbling wall as he breathes heavily from the climb. He looks out over the destruction of Scott’s Empire, of crevices etched into the earth and spiraling tendrils that make him feel slightly uneasy.

What happened to Scott, he wonders. Was that his fault too, or not. It probably was. He doesn’t really want to know.

He wonders if Scott blamed him, in the end. If he hated him, for robbing him of both his home and his life. He’ll never know now.

It doesn’t matter anymore what he felt about Scott or what Scott felt about him. Scott is dead and Jimmy is no longer Codfather or Codboy. He’s nothing, a nobody. He’ll spend the rest of his long life wandering alone. That’s his fate, his punishment for his crimes.

Still, he spends a minute longer in Rivendell, his legs demanding that he stay, that he face what he’s done.

The Crystal Cliffs are, like Pixandria, still alive. Jimmy observes from the outskirts. He knows he won’t meet Gem here, Pix had said she’d long since left. There isn’t any reason for him to intrude on the lives of the people here.

“I’m sorry,” he says to the empty air. His words mean nothing. They reach no one. Jimmy moves on.

He watches them from the cliffside, tiny people like ants making their way around the village below, figures in cloaks weaving in and out of the well-maintained school building. The wizard tower sits behind him. He doesn’t know if anyone still lives there or if it sits empty, a reminder of the ruler that had once lived there.

There is nothing to see in the Grimlands, because there’s nothing left. No people, no animals, it’s as if life itself is repulsed by the destruction that the explosion had wrought.

He hopes they’re happy. He hopes they can live in peace, without the memories of the tragedy that had taken place on this continent. Maybe, someday, even in his lifetime, people will return to the ruins as well and reclaim them. Remake the empires from the ground up, erase the traces of what had once been there, tragedy and all. He’s not sure if that would be a good or bad thing.

The crater is still smoking, burning materials deep in the rubble piles that continue to burn. The plants on the outskirts are dead, stained with a deep red that reminds Jimmy of blood. He’s never wanted to be anywhere less in his life than right here.

He wishes he could pin everything on Fwhip, on his reactor and his stupid salmon. It had been his idea after all, the suggested way to earn his Codfather head back. But he knows that he can’t. Fwhip had done it for him. He’d been trying to help. And he’d paid the price and lost everything in the process. He’d even ensured Jimmy’s safety before his own.

No, Jimmy can’t blame him. This is a burden for them both to carry in full. He hopes that wherever Fwhip is, that he’s okay.

The Undergrove, like House Blossom, is overgrown, but with mushrooms rather than flowers. Nothing remains of the buildings, all made of organic and flammable material. The Undergrove had been right next to the explosion. It had never stood a chance.

This is one place where life won’t return for a long time to come. A reminder. It feels worse than nothing at all.

The Jungle of the Lost Empire is too dense for Jimmy to easily make his way through. He stays at the outskirts, peering through the thick trees and vines. Some of the temples have survived from what he can see, although they’ve been tarnished.

He wonders, too, where Shrub has gone. He hopes she’s happy. That she’s found her people, maybe even returned to her old life. Maybe she had been able to put everything behind her. Jimmy doubts he’ll ever know for sure.

Joey had never been his ally. Jimmy had always been kind of afraid of him, between whatever he had going on with the demon and his general dislike for Jimmy and his empire. But Jimmy would have never wished this upon him. Wouldn’t have wished it upon anyone.

He can wonder if Scott hated him, but he knows for certain that Joey did. He can’t do anything about that anymore. It’s too late to make amends, if amends could be made at all. He’d tried to do that with Fwhip, after all.

There’s only one empire left to visit. Mezalea has more or less survived. The Matral Palace is being rebuilt; he can see tiny figures of Mezalean citizens climbing up and down scaffolding. Waiting, perhaps, for their ruler to return with his wife. Jimmy hopes for their sake, for Joel’s sake, for Lizzie’s sake, for his own sake, that they do return someday, safe and sound. And another vestige of a home can be maintained.

Had it been wrong for them to try and reconcile? He’d thought he was doing the right thing, the mature thing, by making peace with him. Maybe he’d been too overzealous, too careless in his actions. Maybe they could have made peace without destroying everything. He’ll never know now.

He lingers in Mezalea for far too long, avoiding the citizen’s attention with the aid of his cloak. There’s only one place left for him to go, one place he has to go. It was the reason he’d come in the first place.

But Jimmy’s afraid. He doesn’t want to see, he doesn’t want to know. It would have been better not to learn the fates of the other empires, and he’s sure that’s the case for his own as well.

He waits on the cliffside of the Empire, above the sea as it crashes against the brilliantly colored rocks below. He’s trying to psyche himself up. Surely it won’t be that bad. Can’t be worse than all he’s already learnt and seen.

Still, he hesitates. Until at last the sun begins to set again and he’s forced back into the water to find a hollow for the night. That’s what he’s used to these days.

He sleeps only a bit, tossing and turning. He dreams about something he can’t remember, and wakes with a painful nostalgia lingering in his chest. The world that can’t come back anymore.

He’s not ready when he reaches his empire. Not ready to see what has become of his home.

Finally, when Jimmy can wait no longer, he lets his feet carry him home. His legs are numb and heavy, and yet he moves them along regardless, only vaguely aware of the direction he’s traveling.

The water has returned here too, emptied seabeds refilled with the passage of time. The rest of his empire has not fared so well. The wooden buildings have rotted and collapsed, covered in barnacles and algae from the changing tide. He can still make out some of the buildings, if he looks closely enough. Much of them have been washed out to sea, wood and stone and all.

Jimmy’s legs are shaking. He sits down on a half-rotted log that might actually be the beam to some long-destroyed house. He pulls his knees up to his chest, feeling like a foolish child. He doesn’t know what else he was expecting.

His people have long since gone. He wonders where they went, if they made their way to Pixandria or Mezalea, or started their own settlement somewhere else. He doesn’t want to think of any other options.

It feels like he abandoned them. He did abandon them. But he couldn’t be their ruler anyway. Surely he would have led them to even greater hardship than he already had. It’s better this way. He tells himself that again and again.

Slowly, Jimmy stands up. He has to see the water. He has to know if the cod have returned.

So many of them had died, due to his foolishness. So many innocent lives lost. It wasn’t just the blood of the other emperors on his hands.

Still, some of them must have lived. They must have.

He makes his way over to the shore of the swamp, wading into the thick, murky water. He kicks up mud from the seafloor as he ducks under, waiting for it to settle.

There’s nothing. No fish, neither salmon nor cod nor anything else. Only thick algae crawling along the remains of wooden huts and sunken fishing boats.

They hadn’t come back. Of course not. What was left for them here, after the destruction.

Jimmy tries not to let himself feel too disappointed. He should have expected this from the start.

The water feels suffocating even as he breathes hard through his gills. He shuts his eyes and swims back to shore, hauling himself up onto the muddy bank. It stains his elbows and knees, but that doesn’t matter. He’ll wash later, when he leaves. He’s sure that will be soon.

Little of his empire is left standing. The materials that had once composed his empire could not have withstood the test of time regardless. The tower is in decent condition, but the top part has collapsed. Joel’s gargantuan statue is in ruins, most of the paint wearing off. It’s barely recognizable now. The Iron Cod statue has sunken to the bottom of its refilled pond, covered in thick algae.

Only one structure is left fully standing, atop the hill. The sturdy stone building had held strong, spared from the rotting of the wood and the battering of the waves. The roof is only partially collapsed from what he can see.

Jimmy makes his way up the hill to the Church of Cod. It had all begun here, hadn’t it? His desperate efforts to regain his status in the eyes of the council. And it had led him here.

He’s not worthy of the head. He never had been and never will be. Really, he shouldn’t even step foot inside the church.

But he does anyway. It’s the only place left standing. The only remnant of his home.

He pushes open the rotting wooden door, fighting against rusty hinges. The church is silent. From the altar, blank fish eyes stare back at him.

Jimmy barely even feels his knees hitting the floor, breaking through rotten beams into stone foundation below. He just stares forward at the head, waiting for him on the altar. It watches him with dark, judging eyes.

Jimmy wants to believe it was placed here after the explosion, as some sort of joke perhaps, but he knows it wasn’t. The Cod council had probably died with all the others, and even if they hadn’t, they never would have returned it to him after he’d killed so, so many cod.

He’s not sure whether to scream or laugh or cry. Instead, he doubles over, a choked whine forcing its way out of his throat. He slams a fist against the floorboards once, then again, until the wood gives way, splinters jabbing into his skin. He pulls his arms back under his head, buries his face in them, and breathes heavily. He thinks he might be dying. He almost hopes he is.

Jimmy isn’t sure how long he lays there, under the judging eyes of the Codfather head, wishing he could sink through the floor and into the mud below and dissolve. His mind is a blur again, just as it had been back at the altar. He thinks he can smell candle smoke. He thinks he can see those flickering flames through his eyelids.

It was all for nothing. All of it. All of the death and destruction, all because he was too hasty, too foolish, too desperate to find a solution to a problem that had already been solved. He hates himself. He deserves to be hated. He hoped all four of them cursed his name. He’ll curse it for the rest of his life.

He never should have come here.

At last, he rises to his feet, stumbling back through the heavy door and slams it shut. He leaves the head on the altar. He can’t take it. He’s not worthy of it. He knows that for certain. The Codfather, Codboy, both of them are dead. All that’s left is Jimmy, the one who destroyed everything.

In a daze, he makes his way back to the swamp, sinking into the murky water once more. He takes one last long look at his home and wishes he didn’t. He never wants to see this place again.

He passes the remains of Lizzie’s empire once again on his way back to sea. He doesn’t look. He’s already seen all he needs to.

He never should have come here. Or maybe he should have. Maybe he deserved this, to know what he had truly done. Another weight to carry for the rest of a long and lonely life.

He swims back out into the dark sea. He doesn’t look back again.

#empires smp #empires fanfic #jimmy solidarity #empires pixl #empires jimmy #my fic #Just realized Tumblr removed all my paragraph breaks - _-

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golddetectordubai202 · 2 months

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How Do You Find Gold With a Gold Detector?

Gold detectors are a popular tool for finding gold nuggets and other valuable metal objects. But how do they work, and how can you use one to find gold?

How gold detectors work

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Using a gold detector to find gold

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Tune and ground balance your detector. This is important to do before you start detecting, as it will help to ensure that your detector is accurately detecting targets.

Choose the right search coil. Different search coils are designed for different ground conditions and target sizes.

Use a slow sweep speed. This will help you to pinpoint the exact location of the target.

Listen for the target signal. Gold detectors emit a different sound for different types of metal. When you hear a high-pitched sound, it is likely that you have found a gold nugget.

Dig the target. Once you have pinpointed the location of the target, carefully dig it out of the ground.

Finding gold with a gold detector

The best places to find gold with a gold detector are areas with high concentrations of quartz, heavy water flow, exposed bedrock, and historical records of gold mining.

Here are some specific tips for finding gold with a gold detector:

Look for areas with high concentrations of quartz. Quartz is often found in the same areas as gold.

Look for areas with heavy water flow. Gold nuggets are often deposited in stream beds and riverbeds.

Look for areas with bedrock exposed. Gold nuggets can be found in cracks and crevices in bedrock.

Look for areas with historical records of gold mining. These areas are more likely to contain gold nuggets.

Finding gold with a gold detector can be a challenging but rewarding hobby. By following the tips above, you can increase your chances of success.

Conclusion

Finding gold with a gold detector is a fun and exciting hobby. With a little practice, you can learn to find gold nuggets in all sorts of different locations. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start detecting today!

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priyanshisingh · 9 months

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Silica Sand For Glass Making Market Share and Demand Analysis with Size, Growth Drivers and Forecast to 2030

The latest market report published by Credence Research, Inc. “Global Silica Sand For Glass Making Market: Growth, Future Prospects, and Competitive Analysis, 2016 – 2028. The global Silica sand for glass-making market has grown steadily in recent years. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.3% between 2023 and 2030. The market was valued at USD 5.4 Billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 4.3 Billion in 2030.

Silica sand, scientifically known as silicon dioxide (SiO2), is a naturally occurring mineral composed of fine granules of quartz. It is commonly found in abundance in the Earth's crust, owing to the erosion and weathering of rocks like granite, sandstone, and quartzite over millions of years. The geological processes involved in its formation contribute to its remarkable purity, consistency, and uniformity.

Silica Sand For Glass Making Market Dynamics refers to the ever-evolving forces that drive the production and demand of silica sand specifically used in glass manufacturing. This market segment is influenced by a multitude of factors, both internal and external, which shape its dynamics. Internally, technological advancements play a crucial role in improving the extraction process of silica sand while increasing efficiency and reducing costs for manufacturers. Additionally, the quality standards set by regulatory bodies influence market dynamics as they ensure that only high-grade silica sand is utilized in glassmaking processes, leading to enhanced product performance and customer satisfaction. Externally, economic conditions impact this market significantly; fluctuations in global economies can affect both supply and demand patterns for silica sand used in glass production.

Unveiling the Extraction Process: From Quarry to Refinement

The extraction of silica sand is a meticulous process that ensures the preservation of its high-quality attributes. Typically, large-scale quarrying operations are employed to mine silica sand deposits from ancient riverbeds or coastal dunes. These deposits are carefully evaluated for their chemical composition, grain size, and overall purity before extraction commences.

Once the raw silica sand is collected, it undergoes a series of refining steps to remove impurities and achieve the desired silica content suitable for glass production. Advanced techniques like froth flotation, gravity separation, and magnetic separation play pivotal roles in refining the silica sand to meet the stringent quality standards set by the glass industry.

Silica Sand for Glass Making: Empowering Glass Manufacturers

The glass-making industry stands as the most significant consumer of silica sand, accounting for the lion's share of the global demand. Silica sand's exceptional purity and consistent grain size make it an ideal raw material for producing a myriad of glass products, ranging from flat glass used in windows and mirrors to intricate glassware and bottles.

Float Glass Production: In the float glass manufacturing process, molten glass is poured onto a bed of molten tin, resulting in a smooth, distortion-free glass sheet. Silica sand, with its low iron content and uniform particles, ensures the production of flawless float glass with exceptional optical clarity.

Glass Containers and Bottles: Silica sand serves as the foundation for manufacturing glass containers and bottles, offering the desired clarity, strength, and chemical resistance necessary for packaging a wide array of products.

Fiberglass Reinforcement: Silica sand finds extensive use in producing fiberglass, a reinforced plastic material known for its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and insulation properties. This material is widely employed in construction, aerospace, and automotive industries.

Specialty Glass: Silica sand is a key ingredient in specialty glasses used in various applications, such as solar panels, optical lenses, and laboratory equipment. Its ability to withstand high temperatures and maintain optical clarity makes it indispensable in these cutting-edge technologies.

Browse 220 pages report Silica Sand For Glass Making Market By Application (Flat Glass, Fiber Glass, Glass Container (Colored, Colorless), Special & Technical, Tableware Glass, Others) By Purity (High Purity, Ultra-high Purity) - Growth, Future Prospects & Competitive Analysis, 2016 – 2030)- https://www.credenceresearch.com/report/silica-sand-for-glass-making-market

The Advantages of Silica Sand in Glass Making

Silica sand's unrivaled advantages in glass production have solidified its position as the preferred choice for glass manufacturers worldwide.

High Purity: Silica sand's high silica content, often exceeding 99%, ensures the production of premium-quality glass with minimal impurities.

Consistent Grain Size: The uniform grain size of silica sand contributes to even melting and uniformity in glass products, eliminating defects and enhancing overall product quality.

Chemical Inertness: Silica sand's chemical inertness prevents undesirable reactions during the glass-making process, leading to the creation of chemically stable and durable glass products.

Heat Resistance: Silica glass exhibits exceptional heat resistance, making it suitable for applications that require exposure to high temperatures, such as laboratory equipment and industrial furnaces.

Conclusion

Silica sand for glass making has undoubtedly left an indelible mark on the glass industry, revolutionizing glass production and enabling the creation of countless glass products we use daily. Its geological marvel, combined with its exceptional purity and unique properties, cements its position as the dominant material for glass manufacturers globally. As the glass industry continues to evolve, the demand for high-quality silica sand is poised to rise, ensuring that this invaluable resource remains at the forefront of modern glass-making endeavors.

Why to Buy This Report-

The report provides a qualitative as well as quantitative analysis of the global Silica Sand For Glass Making Market by segments, current trends, drivers, restraints, opportunities, challenges, and market dynamics with the historical period from 2016-2020, the base year- 2021, and the projection period 2022-2028.

The report includes information on the competitive landscape, such as how the market's top competitors operate at the global, regional, and country levels.

Major nations in each region with their import/export statistics

The global Silica Sand For Glass Making Market report also includes the analysis of the market at a global, regional, and country-level along with key market trends, major players analysis, market growth strategies, and key application areas.

Browse Full Report: https://www.credenceresearch.com/report/silica-sand-for-glass-making-market

Visit: https://www.credenceresearch.com/

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Related Report: https://www.credenceresearch.com/report/events-and-exhibitions-market

Browse Our Blog: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/silica-sand-glass-making-market-global-industry-share-priyanshi-singh

Browse Our Blog: https://medium.com/@priyanshi_97937/silica-sand-for-glass-making-market-rising-trends-and-research-outlook-2022-2030-60ef0f7dcdde

About Us -

Credence Research is a viable intelligence and market research platform that provides quantitative B2B research to more than 10,000 clients worldwide and is built on the Give principle. The company is a market research and consulting firm serving governments, non-legislative associations, non-profit organizations, and various organizations worldwide. We help our clients improve their execution in a lasting way and understand their most imperative objectives. For nearly a century, we’ve built a company well-prepared for this task.

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jainexpo · 1 year

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Natural Banded Sandstone Bowl

Banded Sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock composed of sand-sized particles of minerals or rock fragments. It’s typically found in deserts, beaches, and riverbeds, and it’s a popular choice for both interior and exterior building materials. Sandstone is made up of quartz and feldspar, and its texture and color can vary depending on the types of minerals that make it up. The most common types of sandstone are red and orange, though there are many other shades, such as yellow, brown, and gray. Sandstone is incredibly durable, and it can withstand extreme temperatures and weather conditions. It’s also easy to work with, making it a great choice for a variety of applications.

SANDSTONE DISH: Sandstone is a calming and soothing stone that brings comfort, especially to those that have suffered from any sort of trauma. Placing this beautifully handcrafted Sandstone dish replica in your home will bring you a better fortune and bless your family with feng shui, peace, wisdom, health, protection, prosperity & good luck!

DIMENSION: 5.5 x 4 x 2 Inch; Quantity: 1PC; Weight is approximately 1.120KG

MATERIAL: High Quality Natural Banded Sandstone Gemstone | Polished | Amorphous Shape | Washable

USAGES: Interior Decoration Accessories, Table Décor, Beautiful Gift or Showcase Decoration. Suitable for family, house, bar, café, hotel, restaurant, party, buffet, etc. Also, It can be a perfect choice for getting rid of negative energy and promoting inspiration, joy, and delight.

PERFECT FOR: Give a royal touch to your home décor with these beautiful dish. It can be an ideal gift for a House Warming Ceremony, Corporate Functions, Wedding Occasions, Thanksgiving, New Year, Christmas and other festivals.

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visit- https://jainexpo.com/products/banded-sandstone-bowl

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myecoganesh · 1 year

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7 Tips before you buy the Perfect Shadu Mati Ganesh Murti Online

Are you planning to take a step towards a greener environment this festive season? You can procure the Shadu Mati Ganesh Murti Online or get it from the local shops. Then you should check out our eco-friendly Ganesh idols that are made up of 100% natural products. So, as you surf through our collections, let’s talk about one of the most used products in the making of these idols. The Shadu Mati, also known as the Green Ganesh Mati, is the perfect choice if you’re looking for a pollution-free eco-friendly Ganesh idol. In this blog post, we’ll discuss a few insights about Shadu Mati that will help you clear ambiguities if any!

What is Shadu Mati?

Shadu Mati is a type of clay that is commonly used to make eco-friendly Ganesh idols. It is environment-friendly and has a low carbon footprint. Shadu Mati has recommendable sculpting abilities and its resilience to heat, and water makes it an ideal material for crafting Ganesh idols. This makes shadu Mati perfect for creating long-lasting Ganesh idols with beautiful designs. The clay is soft and easy to shape, allowing artisans to craft intricate details in their idols. Additionally, the colour of the clay ranges from light yellow to dark brown, making it easy to find an aesthetically pleasing shade.

Where does Shadu Mati come from?

It is a natural clay extracted from the riverbeds of Gujurat and the Konkan region and has been traditionally used for centuries to create Hindu religious icons.

What is the cost of Shadu Mati?

The environment-friendly clay costs somewhere between Rs. 290 – 300 per Kg and is easily available in local shops as well as online.

What is Shadu clay made of?

Shadu clay or Mati is a type of clay used in traditional Indian sculptures. Shadu Mati is made of a mixture of fine-grained clay and sand, with the addition of other substances such as marble dust, mica, glass powder and quartz. The mixture of these different clays gives the material its unique properties, such as a high level of thermal stability, a low melting point, and a low shrinkage rate. The proportions of the ingredients used depend on the region and the type of sculpture that is being crafted. Shadu clay is very malleable and is perfect for crafting intricate Ganesh idols or murtis.

The idols made from shadu clay are more durable than those made from other clays, making them popular for use in outdoor installations and decorations. You can find ready-made Shadu Mati Ganesh murti online for those who want to enjoy the beauty of this traditional art form without having to learn how to make the sculpture themselves.

Can we buy Shadu Mati Ganesh murti online?

Yes. Your eco-friendly Ganpati Bappa is now just a click away. Check out the Shadu Mati Ganesh murti online along with many other varieties of eco-friendly Ganesh idols on www.myecoganesh.com. We arrange deliveries in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and Delhi.

Benefits of Shadu Mati

The use of shadu Mati has several benefits, as it is more environment-friendly than other materials such as Plaster of Paris (POP) or artificial colours.

Shadu Mati is made of soil and contains other natural elements like cow dung, which helps to conserve water and promotes biodegradability.

Shadu Mati Ganesh murti is one of the most cost-effective options for buying eco-friendly Ganesh idols. These idols have a unique and traditional look and are often decorated with flowers, paints, and stones. The Shadu Mati Ganesh idols are light in weight and can be safely carried from place to place without much hassle.

Shadu Mati Ganesh murtis also help to reduce the consumption of non-biodegradable materials like plastics. Furthermore, these idols are free from harmful chemicals, and are non-toxic and safe for use in water bodies.

Is Shadu Mati good for plants?

Absolutely! Shadu Mati is one of the most natural and eco-friendly materials that you will find in creating a Ganesh murti. Shadu Mati is completely safe for plants as it is biodegradable and non-toxic. It dissolves into the soil and adds minerals and nutrients to the ground, helping to enrich it and promote plant growth.

The use of these idols is a great way to celebrate festivals while protecting our environment. Moreover, the easy availability of eco-friendly Ganesh idols encourages every devotee to become a part of the Go-green mission. Let’s join the global movement together with the assurance of respecting every ritual of our sacred festival!

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marbleandgranitedesigns · 1 year

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↠ Nero Marinace - Nero Marinace is a polished black riverbed granite from Beltrami of Brazilian origin, with lighter, pebble shaped hues throughout. Also known as Marinace Black and Marinache Black, this striking stone creates a truly memorable presence in any installation. | 🔗 Link in bio . . . . #countertop #kitchen #interiordesign #kitchendesign #marble #design #granite #quartz #countertops #architecture #bathroom #stone #home #homedecor #interior #renovation #luxury #kitchenremodel #naturalstone #tile #granite #graniteworktops #warwickshire #monmouthshire #gloucestershire #worcestershire #herefordshire #hereford #MGD . . .

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pagesofkenna · 3 years

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it's not a Kenna Computer Case without a token cute ghosty inside

#not pictured: the little riverbed of cheap pretty rocks on the bottom right that I got at Death Valley as a kid #the thing hanging on the left is my zodiac Monkey charm #and the two actual gemstones (ignoring the big green resin 'diamond') on that bottom shelf are our Fluorites candy!#also you can barely see but that's a string of Rose Quartz I've had for a while #I also have a pearl in a setting that i want to hang in the case as well but i also need to wear it soon so I'll find a spot for it later

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the-pen-pot · 3 years

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Pebble - For Mim

Bilbo looked down at the riverbed and saw pebbles: rocks worn smooth by the eternal flow of water. The dwarves, it seemed, observed a whole different world. One of granite and sandstone, quartz and crystal. Even now they were paddling in the shallow channel, plucking rocks from beneath the water and holding them up for one another to admire.

For his part in it, Bilbo was sitting on a ledge that stuck out into the river, dangling his aching feet into the cool, bubbling flow and watching the occasional fish dart by.

It wasn’t that stones didn’t interest him. It was just, well, they were part of the scenery. Some were pretty and shiny (though they were all far more dull once plucked from the water’s gleam), but on the whole they were just… rocks.

Mind you, he was fairly certain dwarves saw plants in the same way. They had passed a beautiful wild rose a short way back, and all of his companions had looked at it with blank expressions, utterly unimpressed by the lush petals and verdant leaves. To them it was no more remarkable than the scrubby grass that clung to the side of the road.

With a sigh, he got to his feet, trying not to wince as they protested. He was no tenderfoot, but nor was he used to walking over such uneven ground on a daily basis. What he wouldn’t give to be back in Bag End, his feet propped up in front of a warm fire while he sipped a cup of tea. Instead, he was here, on some quest that seemed more ridiculous with every passing moment.

He went to kick at the rocks littering the shoreline – a harmless release for his childish petulance – but something made him pause. A bright, white gleam that caught the sunlight and turned it back, dazzling his eyes.

Picking it up, he pulled it free from the sandy grit at the river’s edge, turning it this way and that. Not a pebble – not at all. Unlike its stony brothers, it had not worn smooth. It remained jagged at its edges and no bigger than his thumbnail, glass like, except no glass would survive the water’s wrath.

‘What have you found?’ Thorin’s rough voice nearby made him jump. Things had been easier, since the mess with Azog and his warg – since Bilbo had proved himself not entirely useless – but Thorin had not softened by much, and he still looked at Bilbo with cool, unreadable eyes.

‘A rock.’ He shrugged, not wanting to show his ignorance any further than that. ‘I found it on the shoreline.’

Thorin looked down at his outstretched hand, choosing to slog through the shallows closer to his side rather than reach out and take it. Warm fingers encircled Bilbo’s wrist, tilting his palm for a better look, and Bilbo sucked in a breath as he tried to ignore the tingles of delight racing up his arm.

‘You found it?’ Thorin looked at him as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. ‘This? Here?’

His questions had attracted the attention of the other dwarves, who were all craning their necks to get a better look. ‘Yes?’ He almost wanted to apologise for it, but he bit back the urge. It wasn‘t his fault he’d found the prettiest stone in the river. It wasn’t like he had even been trying! ‘Here, you have it.’

He turned his hand over, letting the stone fall into Thorin’s palm before turning away, not caring that, for once, he seemed to have stunned the dwarven king to silence. The others busied themselves with climbing out of the river, drying off their feet and donning their boots once more. They spoke to one another with the over-enthusiastic, jolly air of people trying to lighten a tense atmosphere, all the while shooting curious glances between him and Thorin.

Bilbo didn’t understand it. He didn’t understand any of it. Not dwarves, not rocks, and especially not wretched wizards who puffed on their pipe and looked very much like they were enjoying a joke at his expense.

‘What?’ he hissed, not caring if Gandalf turned him into something unnatural for such disrespect. He felt hot and prickly all over, and the ghost of Thorin’s touch still lingered around his wrist, perfectly tempting and utterly unobtainable.

Gandalf exhaled and tapped out the bowl of his pipe, taking his time as he considered his words. ‘Most people do not find diamonds in riverbeds, Bilbo Baggins,’ he explained, raising an eyebrow. ‘Gems are secrets the earth would rather keep. Some might consider your discovery a good omen.’

Bilbo snorted, knowing all too well that the wizard had only said half his piece. ‘And?’

‘And then you gave it to Thorin Oakenshield.’ Gandalf’s smile widened, and he chortled to himself in apparent delight. ‘Dwarves use stones and treasures as hobbits use flowers and food.’ He raised an eyebrow, waiting for the penny to drop.

Bilbo’s eyes widened, his face taking on embarrassment’s unforgiving heat. The tops of his ears burned, and more than anything he wished he could turn around right now and run all the way back to the Shire.

‘But that’s – that’s not what I -’

‘You gave it to Thorin Oakenshield, and he did not reject it,’ Gandalf added, his voice low so that only Bilbo could hear. ‘You may not know dwarven customs, but he most certainly does.’

He sauntered away, apparently satisfied with his meddling as he took the lead of the Company and began to usher them all onto the road once more. Only once did he glance back at Bilbo, his eyes sparkling with amusement at this – this mess.

Bilbo hefted his pack onto his shoulders, dithering where he stood and wringing his hands. He hadn’t meant anything by it, would never have given Thorin the rock if he knew, and yet – well, he couldn’t deny it had crossed his mind: a ludicrous daydream he could never quite cast aside.

Him and Thorin. Together.

Heaving a sigh, he shook his head. It didn’t mean anything – couldn’t – because Thorin would know Bilbo was unaware of their customs. Him keeping it meant no more than Bilbo giving it to him in the first place, even if, now he knew better, Bilbo could see he would have done nothing different. He would have been brave, or so he thought.

Honestly, when he had set out of his door back in the Shire, he had never realised the truth of it.

Ridding Erebor of its dragon would be the easiest part of the quest. Understanding his companions, and particularly the king they followed?

That was by far the greatest challenge.

AO3 | KO-FI | PATREON

#The Hobbit #Bagginshield

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