#thousands of years ago (stone age) the village magic man was forced to create this charm for a young warrior with a big heart

[kawaiikatanabushi]

Hi!! I was wondering if I could request 11, 14, 25 and 31 from your angst list! ☺️

Angst Prompt # 14. "Why do You flinch every time I raise my hand?"

Hello, followers! I bet most of you forgot that I do have an angst prompt for Okichi or Souji still open. Fear not, for I didn't forget! In fact, it and Souji has been prodding me for months to write. Real life has been getting in the way, and I do apologize that it has been so long since I completed one of these. This was asked for by @nsfwmello. Thank you for waiting so very long! I hope you enjoy! It's a Beauty and the Beast adaptation idea I've been entertaining for a while. ;3

“Why do you flinch every time I raise my hand?” the Beast asked, his cat-like ears lowering in tandem with an outstretched paw as his morose green eyes gazed into her startled brown.

"Y-you startled me," Chizuru professed, trying to quell the fervid beatings of her heart, and steady the trembling in her voice, "I-I-I didn't even ex-expect you,"

"After five months, you still fear me," he muttered, his focus trailing to the ground and he gave a mirthless laugh as he whispered darkly to himself, "The first person who hasn't tried to kill me in a thousand years and she trembles every time I step near her. Lucky me to have such company,"

Chizuru blinked uncertainly, her mind recalling the winter day five long months ago she had decided to run from her arranged marriage. She did not want to marry a man she hadn't met for the sake of her family's bloodline remaining pure. She knew it was her duty as a princess, but her uncle was unmoving in his pressing her to matrimony. She had stolen away, only her twin knowing of her escape. She had fled from her village, traipsing over the mountains until she had run out of provisions. She had stumbled upon this stately castle tucked upon the mountainside, seeking shelter, rest and a meal. Instead she had angered the Beast, forced into imprisonment all because she had nearly plucked one magical rose from his garden. Was it any wonder she shook with fright at his approach? She was alone in the world, trapped in an enchanted palace with a towering magical creature, unable to leave of her own volition. Aside from all that, he tended to grouch a great deal.

"Can you be surprised?" She whispered, though quietly it was defiantly, "You are frightening in stature and temper. I'm afraid you'll hit me, that's why I flinch,"

"Hit you?" He repeated her statement, eyes rounding with hurt pride, "Why would I ever do that?"

"Because, you say that if I run away, you'll kill me. Would you not hit me if I angered you?" She asked, her voice growing in strength.

"No." Pain shown within his eyes, a deep-seated and inexplicable flicker coursing through, a mirror to his soul.

"But, you'd kill me if I ran?" She pointed out, eyes resolutely remaining on the engawa floor.

"That's different, " he huffed, crossing his arms over his burly chest.

"Violence is violence. Here I am, imprisoned and all alone with only my thoughts and a threatening beast. You punished me over almost picking a flower. You took my freedom over it. How can I not fear you? How can I not flinch?" She was growing insistent, passionate in her stance.

It was the first time she had ever stood up to him and it caused a conflicting ripple to seize his heart. He liked this independent streak and even saw it attractive, yet he also knew that she saw him as a monster. A cruel and intimidating being that only sought to restrict and enslave. That wasn't who he was, not truly. Time had corrupted him, turned his heart nearly to stone. He was hunted for sport, threatened to be driven from his only home and away from the last remnants of all he wanted to protect. He still considered himself a guardian and he was willing to try anything he could to life this curse. Most frustrating of all, he couldn't speak a word of it to her. He had no ability to explain, only sink further into loneliness and depression as she was repulsed by him. Only trouble was, pain generally came out in the emotional response that was most comfortable to him: anger.

"I'm not a monster! Might as well say it to my face!" He nearly roared, though if she had looked closer, she would have seen the tears welling in his eyes, "I'm actually... I'm a... I'm not... I'm really... I started as...Grrr! I just wanted to brush the sakura our of your hair! I won't just kill you over a walk!"

She winced at the final outburst and he turned from her sharply, disappearing down a corridor to block the view of her retreating and in all likelihood crying form. He stomped down the hall, taking a slice through a paper door with his claws. It did little to quell his mood. He ran his hand through his mane, closing his eyes against the guilt gnawing inside his stomach.

"I'm not a monster, I'm not," he mumbled to himself, leaning against a doorframe, "I know the stakes of this. They're too hard. I won't get her to like me, let alone anything else. We will all be stuck this way, forever. She hates me. They expect far too much of me... this was all my fault in the first place. I can't do it. No one will ever love a beast. Nor should she. I don't deserve it. I wouldn't love me either. She won't ever..."

A tear rolled off his muzzle onto the floor. Her arrival reminded him of his own loneliness. A thousand years without anyone to speak normally with, to eat together and talk about the cherry blossoms. His desires were simple but the situation too complicated. Though she did not know it, he had been concealing himself in the shadows for months, watching her. At first, it had been to protect the garden and keep her as far away from destroying anything as he could manage. Then, he began to grow fond of her. She was adorable, petite and had this insatiable goodness about her. She was nothing like the darkness he was. She was light and hope, things he had long cast aside. He wanted her to like him in return. He was lonely with an aged sadness.

"I'm a fool," he sniffed, grooming away the tears, "I had forgotten what it was to cry. If she had never come, I wouldn't be as I am now. I wouldn't remember what I was or how things were. Her presence... her tenderness. Why... it's almost more of a curse,"

He pulled himself off the post to go hole up in his room. She wouldn't want to see him for days and he would grant that request. She wouldn't be forced to share dinner or take a stroll with him. She could hate him if she wished. In fact, he would join her in the act. He moaned out an inhuman sigh as he curled up within his nest of blankets. Eventually, he would nurse the ancient wounds and bestow upon her a gift. At least he had these conjuring abilities, despite the general unpleasantness of this curse. Maybe he would create a pretty kimono or a beautiful fan as way of an apology. If she could never like him, maybe she could like the gifts he gave.

"Maybe she won't jump so much when I approach," he mumbled to himself sleepily, "She's a pretty girl. Pretty girls like pretty things, right? Or, maybe, I should give her a toy to pass the time. She must be bored. I'd give her a horse, but she'd use it to leave. I have to wait a few years before I can let her go. I won't take too many of her youth. Maybe three or four. She can spare three or four... mmm... she does want to escape though. Maybe... maybe she reads? Books are like escape. I have books. Maybe... maybe she wants..."

He was drifting and gently shook his head. He would ponder these things after a nap. It was too much of a puzzle to consider on a sleepy mind. Maybe he could show her that he wasn't all bad. Either that, or end in frightening failure, but he wouldn't dwell on that. After all, she had finally fought back against him. He hadn't completely crushed her. Maybe there was hope for a friendship, if she still held her human resolve. Perhaps, with small exposure and familiarity built, he could at least spend an afternoon with her.

"I'm so tired of myself," he muttered unhappily, unable to open his eyes as sleep beckoned, "I want to focus on someone... anyone else but me..."

Sleep prevailed over his own hesitation and unwillingness. For the first time in a long time, his dreams were peaceful and serene, in complete opposition to his usual dreams of failure or being hunted. Rest was a welcome thing if his dreams would remain this way. Perhaps, they were an omen to a brighter future.

#hakuouki #hakuoki #okita souji #yukimura chizuru #okichi #okita souji x yukimura chizuru #angst prompt #kawaiikatanabushi writes #beauty and the beast adaptation #fanfiction #fanfic #ficlet #fic #sorry for the delay #i hope you enjoy

[tipsycad147]

Poppet Magick

(Poppet Dolls © SilkyRose)

Written and compiled by George Knowles

A poppet is a life-like figure or doll made to represent a person or animal and is used in ritual, magic and spell-craft to effect change through the application of sympathetic or imitative magic (see Sir James George Frazer below).

Sympathetic magic works on the principles of “similarity” and “associated contact” (i.e. like attracts and effects like).  It is based on the belief that someone or something can be magically affected by doing something to an object in one place, that represents a person or thing in another place.  To achieve this a poppet is made as a representation of a person or thing and contains items associated with or belonging to that same person or object.  Once made and magically charged, any action performed upon the poppet, is thought to cause or effect a similar reaction on the person or object it represents.

The use of poppets in witchcraft and magic is an age-old practice, but their potential uses have long been closely guarded secrets, and as such there are an abundance of myths, folklore and superstition surrounding their use.  For example, in more recent times poppets have been negatively aligned with the Voodoo Dolls of Haiti, which through popular fantasy fiction portrayed in films and on T.V, are commonly associated with malicious intent - revenge, hate or evil.  Today poppets are more likely to be used for protection, prosperity, luck, love, health and happiness.  However, as and when a need has been identified, they can also be used for banishing and binding to prevent harm.

(Poppet Dolls © SilkyRose)

When used in ritual poppets can also represent various aspects of the Goddess and God.  For example at Lammas (1st August), Corn Dollies are made from the last cut sheaves of corn and fashioned into stick like figures representative of the Sacrificial God in his guise as John Barleycorn the “Spirit of the Corn”.  These are then ritually burned and their ashes spread or buried in the fields.  Many believed that with the cutting of the last sheaves of corn, the “Spirit of the Corn” retreated into the soil, to sleep there throughout the winter awaiting his rebirth in the coming spring.  In a similar ritual at Imbolc (1st February), Bridie Dolls are made to represent Brigit (also known as Bride) the maiden Goddess of Fertility.  Again these are ritually burned, but their ashes are mixed with the new seeds and are ploughed into the ground in the hope that the “Spirit of the Corn” (the God) will awaken and ensure the next harvest.

(Corn Dollies made by Tamra L. Consbruck © 2008)

The use of poppets and dolls in magic date back to ancient times and occurrences of their use have be found in India, Babylonia (Chaldaea), Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome.  In ancient Greece for instance, poppets called “Kolossoi” were typically used to bind deities for defensive purposes to protect one’s village, home and family.  Today binding spells are commonly used and targeted at specific individuals to stop or prevent then from harming others.  The ancient Greeks however used binding to secure deity protection for public as well as private defence.  For example, the spirit of Ares, the God of War would be bound in a poppet, which was then placed in the village square to ward off invading enemies, thus preventing war.  Similarly other protective deities could be bound and the poppet buried near the home to protect buildings and family.

During the witch hysteria of the 17th century, at the infamous trial of the Lancashire Witches in 1612, Old Mother Demdike confessed and described the quickest way to murder someone by witchcraft as:  “…to make a Picture of clay, like unto the shape of the person whom they mean to kill, and dry it thoroughly:  and when they would have them to be ill in any one place more than another; then take a Thorn or a Pin, and prick it in that part of the body to consume away, then take that part of the Picture, and burn it.  And when they would have the whole body to consume away, then take the remnant of said Picture and burn it:  and so thereupon by that means, the body shall die.”

In more recent histories, when African slaves were forced to leave their homes and sold into labour on American plantations, many brought with them small religious artifacts similar to a poppet doll called a “fetish”.  A fetish is commonly a statue or object containing magical power, used to protect the owner from evil spirits or to control the owner’s destiny.  In tribal Africa, these beliefs are incorporated into expressive figures that acquire their power through ritualistic carving and consecration.  In addition, special herbs, sacrificial offerings and magical words are used to increase its power or appease its spirit.  Some fetishes are hollowed out to hold herbs and other magical substances, while others are adorned with special charms and talismans to ward off evil and protect the owners.  However, fearing the power such beliefs had on the lives of their slaves, any slave found in possession of a fetish was likely to be killed by his owner

Poppets can be fashioned from all kinds of materials, such as:  carved roots, grasses, grain stalks, corn husks, fruit, wood, paper, mud, wax, clay, metal or lead, all formed into a human shape.  These can then be dressed in simply made clothes and stuffed with a variety herbs, stones and other magical items needed to effect the purpose of the spell or work.  Ideally personal items associated with the person the poppet is intended for, should be included in its preparation i.e. it could be dressed in material taken from clothing once worn by the person, a sample of handwriting or a photograph, personal items such as a lock of hair or nail clippings, and even bodily fluids such as blood, semen or saliva.  The important thing is to create a link between the poppet and the intended recipient of the spell or work.

(Poppet Dolls © SilkyRose)

Poppets can be as simple or as elaborate as you like, but as they are generally made to represent another person, care should be taken to learn all you can about them, before you determine the need and purpose of your intent.  Do you need to curse, heal, harm or bind???  While the possibilities are endless, just like in any spell work, you’ll need to set a goal and the means of achieving it.  Some believed that the more work you put into preparing your spell, or the more complex it is, the stronger and more potent your focus and intent will be.

Like any ritual tool, once made, the poppet needs to be consecrated, named and dedicated to the work in hand, then infused with personal energy to bring into force your intentions.  Sometimes this is be done by breathing life into the poppets mouth through a straw.  In this way the poppet takes on a magical life of its own, which activates the spell or working.

Depending on the type of spell being worked, be it to curse, heal, harm or bind, various actions are performed on the poppet to cause a similar effect on the recipient.  It can be pierced with pins, nails or other sharp objects to cause pain, cooled with water or heated with fire to cure a fever, or bound with cords to restrict movement.  Once the spell or work is done, or success has been achieved, the poppet needs to be dismantled and ingredients used disposed of in an appropriate way, making sure that any link between it and what it represented is completely destroyed.

Sir James George Frazer

Finally, the late Sir James George Frazer (1854-1941) describes the use of sympathetic or imitative magic in his now classic book: The Golden Bough: a Study in Magic and Religion (first published in 1890):

“Perhaps the most familiar application of the principle that like produces like is the attempt which has been made by many peoples in many ages to injure or destroy an enemy by injuring or destroying an image of him, in the belief that, just as the image suffers, so does the man, and that when it perishes he must die.  A few instances out of many may be given to prove at once the wide diffusion of the practice over the world and its remarkable persistence through the ages.  For thousands of years ago it was known to the sorcerers of ancient India, Babylon, and Egypt, as well as of Greece and Rome, and at this day it is still resorted to by cunning and malignant savages in Australia, Africa, and Scotland.  Thus the North American Indians, we are told, believe that by drawing the figure of a person in sand, ashes, or clay, or by considering any object as his body, and then pricking it with a sharp stick or doing it any other injury, they inflict a corresponding injury on the person represented.  For example, when an Ojebway Indian desires to work evil on any one, he makes a little wooden image of his enemy and runs a needle into its head or heart, or he shoots an arrow into it, believing that wherever the needle pierces or the arrow strikes the image, his foe will the same instant be seized with a sharp pain in the corresponding part of his body; but if he intends to kill the person outright, he burns or buries the puppet, uttering certain magic words as he does so.  The Peruvian Indians moulded images of fat mixed with grain to imitate the persons whom they disliked or feared, and then burned the effigy on the road where the intended victim was to pass. This they called “burning his soul.””

End

Sources:

http://silverbroomstick.multiply.com/journal/item/18/Poppet_Magick

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation.

Penguin Hutchinson Reference Library Copyright (c) 1996

Man, Myth and Magic  - Edited by Richard Cavendish

The Golden Bough  -  by James George Frazer

http://www.wiccaspirit.net/

https://www.controverscial.com/Poppet%20Magick.htm

[swipestream]

New Release Roundup, 5 January 2019: Fantasy

This week’s roundup of the newest releases in fantasy feature a wayward Roman legion, a demon horde rampage through India, and the Sword of Truth.

The Darkest Revenge (The Elder Stones Saga #1) – D.K. Holmberg

Ages ago, powerful beings known only as the Elders left their mark on the world, gifting powerful stones to their followers. Through these stones, some have been gifted by birth with great abilities, while others search for them as a way to access that power. Scattered around the known lands, wars have been fought for them, and won by them.

On the outskirts of the city, living within an ancient stronghold, Haern longs for a life beyond what he knows—and away from the long shadow cast by his father. When an attack on the city renews a decades old battle, Haern volunteers to leave the city and find the one person who can lead their people to victory. His inexperience might kill him, but his instincts might be the reason they succeed.

For Daniel, a member of the ruling family, life in the palace is easy and his path is clear. Eventually, he will rise up to sit on the council and lead the people of the city. An injury to someone he cares for changes everything for him, and he must go to the one person he despises most for help. If he fails, he’ll learn what it means to lose everything he cares about.

Though born to power, Lucy longs for an understanding she can’t find in books. When a horrible attack leaves her forever changed, her quest for understanding leads her to those responsible—and a means of stopping them.

All paths lead toward the Elder Stones, for the one who controls the stones controls power.

Demon Days (The Valens Legacy #12) – Jan Stryvant

The war has finally begun and the duty of fighting it has fallen to Sean. Now if only he could convince the rest of the world that there really is a war on and it isn’t just another ‘art installation’ at Burning Man. Maybe then he could get some help. Fronting the costs of a war isn’t cheap, and while Sean may be making money hand over fist, he’s spending it twice as fast. If he doesn’t get help soon, the lack of money, food, and supplies will kill him faster than any demon.

Then there’s the demons themselves. What comes out of the gates at times seems almost as random as the gates themselves. Some of the groups are obviously coordinated and very well trained making Sean’s job of stopping them a hard one. As the gates are getting larger with time until the main one opens, Sean will find his resources and his people being stretched farther and thinner as the immortal demon lords bring their massive armies to bear.

Because humans are food to the demons and the larder is now very full, and they don’t intend to leave this time until they’ve eaten every last one.

Fortress of Radiance (The Karus Saga #2) – Marc Alan Edelheit

Surrounded by an army of Celts and facing certain destruction, the Ninth Imperial Legion, one of Rome’s most powerful military formations, has been unexpectedly transported to the world of Tannis. The legion, now under the command of Camp Prefect Karus, finds itself lost in a strange land. Cut off from everything they have known, they find temporary shelter in the abandoned city of Carthum.

They quickly learn an unholy army of orcs, goblins, trolls, and humans known as the Horde is on the march, sweeping across the face of Tannis like a dark tide, conquering one land at a time. No force upon this world has been able to withstand the armies of the enemy. Yet the Horde has never met the might of Rome, and Karus means to fight.

In the dungeons under the palace, Amarra, last of the faithful, is found. Together they are visited by Jupiter himself and given a series of dangerous tasks that sets them on the path of destiny. The first is to recover the dread sword Rarokan the Soul Breaker from the Fortress of Radiance. But the sword has a will of its own, and the enemy will stop at nothing to get the dangerous relic.

The Iron Trishula (The Iron Soul #8) – J.M. Briggs

A call from an ancient ally takes the mages to India. A Demon horde has found a way around the defense of the Iron Gates and is building an army to take over the Iron Realm. The Desai family, descendants of one of the past Iron Souls, welcome the mages with open arms, but how can Alex reconcile with an old family when she’s lost her modern one?

Lokpal was a warrior, trained from childhood to protect his home from the Demons who wander the land. Nothing prepared him for a god slipping into madness. When two strangers with magic arrive, he must navigate between his culture, his family, his beliefs, and the long-standing traditions upheld by the Grand Mages if they have any chance of stopping the Demons.

The Opal Throne (The Black Moon Chronicles #18) – François Froideval and Fabrice Angleraud

At the center of the empire was the Oracle… The Oracle announced the coming of the one who would change the world. This is his story. One day, when Heads-or-Tails was out roaming the forest, he comes across a nameless man. He christens him Wismerhill, and from that day forth, the pair are inseparable. They start out on the road of adventure, and sooner or later end up joining a gang of amiable war dogs, feared throughout the land. Wismerhill soon proves his worth, and begins to demonstrate some surprising powers. But just as everything is going well, the light comes, bringing darkness in its wake…

After transforming into a titan and vanquishing his enemies, Wismerhill has fallen, brought down by a power too great for him to control. This vast power has made an ephemeral God of him. Still, he is but a man, and he must return to mortality in order to continue his reign as emperor of the Opal Throne.

A Sellsword’s Will (Seven Virtues #5) – Jacob Peppers

Aaron and his companions return from Baresh with the truth of what the alliance faces, yet such knowledge is little comfort. Throughout the city, men and women whisper of demons, of monsters. But though they might disagree on the nature of Kevlane’s twisted creations, there is one thing they have in common. Fear.

For the creatures they face are not men–not any longer. They are death given form and function. They are, it seems in the darkest hours–and there are many such now–Telrear’s doom.

Crippled by indecision, the alliance leaders argue; they argue, they bicker, and they hesitate. A hesitation which, Aaron could tell them–if only they would listen–will kill them swifter than any blade or bow.

For shadows move in the night. Shadows which feel no pain or mercy, that have long since forgotten the meaning of compassion.

Meanwhile, confident of victory, Kevlane bends his dark desire to creating even more terrible horrors. Yet there is one thing he has not accounted for, one which the coming days and weeks will teach him–the strength of a sellsword’s will.

Siege of Stone (Sister of Darkness: The Nicci Chronicles #3) – Terry Goodkind

The Sorceress Nicci, the Wizard Nathan Rahl, and the young swordsman Bannon remain in the legendary city of Ildakar after a great internal revolt has freed the slaves and brought down the powerful wizards council. But as he fled the city, capricious Wizard Commander Maxim dissolved the petrification spell that had turned to stone the invading army of General Utros fifteen centuries earlier. Now, hundreds of thousands of half-stone soldiers from the ancient past have awakened, led by one of the greatest enemy commanders in history.

Nicci, Nathan, and Bannon have to help Ildakar survive this unbreakable siege, using all the magical defenses of the legendary city. Even as General Utros holds Ildakar hostage and also unleashes his incredible army on the unsuspecting Old World, an equally powerful threat arises out in the sea.

Nicci knows the battle won’t remain in the city; if she can’t stop this threat, two invincible armies can sweep across the Old World and destroy D’Hara itself.

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Wayward Journey #3 – Yoshinobu Akita

Orphen is a Sorcerer drop-out from the prestigious Tower of Fangs. His journey to save Azalie, a girl he looked up to like a sister, has brought him to the bustling city of Totokanta. Here they are reunited for the first time in five years. But what is the truth behind her monstrous transformation?

Orphen’s journey takes a sour turn as a loan shark starts sending a deluge of hired assassins after him! But one of these assassins, Philietta the Fools’ Hound, notorious Sorcerer hunter, has her own plans for Orphen. Just what sort of mind-boggling mystery awaits our haphazard party in the remote village of Kinkhole…?

The Storm (Time of Heroes #2) – David Drake

The universe has shattered into chaos and monsters. Jon, the Leader, is dedicating his life to reuniting the scattered hamlets into a Commonwealth where all humans can live protected against the darkness and the things that live in that darkness.

But no man can reshape the universe by himself. Jon has Makers to build weapons and clerks to handle the business of government–but he also needs Champions to face the powers of chaos which will not listen to any argument but force.

Lord Pal of Beune is one of those Champions. He has fought monsters and evil on behalf of Mankind, and he will fight them again. But now Guntram, the man who transformed Pal from an ignorant rube into a bulwark of the Commonwealth, has disappeared. Pal must locate his friend and mentor–and then he must battle an entity which may be at the core of the splintered universe!

New Release Roundup, 5 January 2019: Fantasy published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames