Creative Writing Wednesday: ?The Epic Legend of Damien Fell?, Part 8

It?s not easy, being crazy.

I stare into the mirror at my tangled hair and my staring eyes and I look back at myself and all I can think is, How did I get to be this person?

And every night, I lie awake, fearing to close my eyes, fearing to even blink? because I know that if I do, if I fall asleep, the dreams will come, and I?ll see it again: the gas mask, impassive and staring, gazing down at me with cold eyes, with no emotion, just a blank, staring mask, like a knife directly into my soul, forever?

There?s a place in my head that I dare not go, for I know that if I do, I?ll hear nothing but the echoing screams, the screams inside my skull, the screams of fear.

I am a haunted man.

I am a hunted man.

I don?t know what I?m going to do.

I am being consumed.

~ Ian

?

The Epic Legend of Damien Fell

Chapter 8: The Tale of Light and Shadow

The three compainions? Damien Fell, Amberlae, and Sharia? sat around a campfire int he middle of the barren northern waists, five hundred miles away from Shadouwegaard. It was cold, and the sound of the Targathian Bloodhawkes screeching and skirling loudly across the moorlands was like the sound of death and destruction echoing across the wilderness.

Amberlae was afraid, of course. She huddled close to Damion Fell, who had one strong muscular arm wrapped close around her shoulders, and held her close to him. She felt comforted by his nearness. The warmth and the smell of his body was soothing, and she wanted to sink into his arms and lie there forever. She had accepted her position as his lover, and knew that she wanted nothing more than to be by his side until the day she died.

?So, can you tell me what exactly happened back there?? asked Shaira, who sat polishing her chain with a dispassoinate expression on her cold and beautiful face.

?It is a long story,? said Damien Fell. ?But I believe that you know what?s going on, don?t you, my love?? And he stroked Amberlae?s red-gold hair with his warm, leathery hand.

?I?. I believe I do??? said Amberlae. ?Deep within me. I know.?

And she took a deep breath, and began to speak.

?Every child that grows up in? Evershyria knows about the eternal conflict between Lyghte and Darkness. And they also know that there is Shadouwe between then, the darkness that is created by Lyghte, the neutral party in the cosmic conflict that defines the universe.? She picked up a stick and started drawing in the dirt, a drawing that showed what looked like a sandwich, with two slices of bread and a piece of meat in the center.

?There are three plains of existance,? said the Princess. She gestured to the meat in the cosmic sandwich, and said, ?There is Evershyria, which as we all know id the mortal realm, the realm that is the home of the living. Evershyria is the plane where mortals dwell, and it is also the battlefield between Lyghte and Darkness that is the defining conflict of the universe.?

Amberlae then pointed at the two pieces of bread that made up the outer layers of the multiverse. ?But the mortal plane is transient, and when the inhabitants of Evershyria die, then they go to either Heaven or Hell, depending on whether they have been followers of the Lyghte or the Darkness. And, as we all know, these planes are eternal. They do not fluctuate in the way that the mortal realm does. They are the homes of the immortals, the angels and demons and gods that define the universe. And then outside this all, there is Chaos: the seething vaccume where nothing but darkness and fire rains. These are the realms of unspeakable horror. Chaos is the plane that is not a plane, the realm of madness that exists outside of the multiverse.?

?I?m well aware of all this,? said Shaira gruffly. ?But what does this have to do with any of what happened back in Shadouwegaard??

?It?s simple,? said Damien Fell. ?It is known? that there is a ciclical pattern to existence, and these cycles are based around two eternally reincarnated cosmic souls: the Maiden of Lyghte, and the Warrior of Darkness. These two beings are two halves of the same soul. They are like the two faces of a coin. And those are the beings that Amberlae and I are.?

?You?re saying that you?re some kind of powerful uber-souls?? said Shaira, laughing. ?I?ll believe it when I see it!?

?But you have seen it, SHaira,? said Amberlae softly. ?You saw it back in Shadouwegaard. For as you know, Damien Fell died back there. And I brought him back to life with a kiss. Because, you see, I am life itself, just as Damien Fell is Death Incarnate. And you know that life cannot exist without death, you see??

?Of course,? said Shaira. ?Im? an assassin, don?t you think that I?d know that death and life are really just the same thing??

?So it is with me and Amberlae,? said DamienFell. We are cosmic beings. One a mortal, one immortal. One of Lyghte, one of Darkness. We have lived millions of lives in the past, and we will live millions of lives in the future. We are the fulcrum on which the cosmic lever lifts.?

?This all seems very strange,? said Shaira. ?But what does this have to do with anything??

?It is prophesized,? said Amberlae, ?that as each cycle of existence comes to an end, the Maiden of Lyghte and the Warrior of Darkness will come together as one at the Womb of Shadow and Light, and join together as one flesh. Then will the Maiden of Lyghte?s belly swell,a nd she will give birth to a child. A beautiful child, a powerful child: half mortal, half immortal.?

?That?s nothing special,? said Shaira. ?There are cambions and heaventouched all over Everyshria. ?

?Ah, but you see, I am not a demon<? said Damien Fell. ?Nor am I an angel. I am half-demon and half-angel. I am myself a fusion of Lyghte and Darkness. And that is what makes me special. That is what will make our child special. For within her, will be contained a conflux of Lyghte and Darkness and mortality. She will be an incarnation of Shadouwe, and because of this she will bring an end to the universe, and remake it anew.?

?And end to existence????? said Shaira. ?That?s horrible! Why would this happen??

?It must happen,? said Amberlae. ?As you know, life is about balance. My child?- our child??? will bring balance to the multiverse?

?And she will make it again,? said Damien Fell. ?She will bring destruction, but also creation. She will bring death, but also life. She will be the wheel that existance turns around. Her children will be the gods of the new world that will be forged out of the embers of the last.?

Shaira paused, stairing into the flames of the campfire. ?And will this world be better than the last??

?I hope so,? said Amberlae. ?Whatever it will b e like, our child will bring it. But I will never live to see it. And neither will you. And neither will Damien.?

There was a long and silent pause. Finally, Sharia said, ?I don?t understand this fully, Damien Fell. But you did me a favor back at the Fiendfang, by saving me from that lord Hateshadowe. I will follow you, wherever you want to go. I will escort you to the Womb of Light and Shadow. I swear it on all gods living or dead. I swear it on the moon. I swear it on my life.?

?You are an honorable woman,? said Damien Fell.

?Of course I am,? said Shaira. ?I?m an assassin. Don?t you know that we?re the last honorable people in the multiverse??

******************************************************

As the companions prepared to bed down for the night, Amberlae snuggled close to Damien Fell underneath their bedroll, which they shared now, having become lovers.

?I meant it when I said it,? she whispered. ?I?ve never had sex before, and I?m still a virgin. But I want you to be inside me, and I want to feel my belly grow heavy with our child. I want to make love to you, Damien. And I wanted to from the firt moment i saw you.?

?You know why that cannot be,? said Damien Fell.

?I know it,? she said dismissively. ?But I still want you. Now. I want to feel your rough shaft penetrating into my softest place. I want to make love to you until we both scream. I want your babies. I want your sex. I want you to be mine.?

?I know what you want,? said Damien Fell, ?and you cannot have it. Not yet.?

Amberlae kissed the nape of Damien?s neck, and nuzzled his cheek with her soft perky nose. ?I know that. And I will wait. But I must reward you in some way for saving me back at that inn.?

And her small, nimble fingers quested down to his pants, and she unzipped them, placing her fingers around his already erect penis.

Amberlae whispered, ?I have heard that certain courtisannes of Karass Mor perform this action. My betrothed, Travyss of Rayvenhawke, was a frequent patron of brothels, and he would tell me about the acts of love that they would perform on their clients. I will do the same now for you, my love.? And she disappeared under the blankets.

?What are you??..? Damien Fell murmured, and then he knew. ?Oh. ??oh.?

They lay there for hours, as Amberlae pleasured Damien Fell with her mouth and hands and lips and tounge, sucking and licking at his erect member until she brought him to his full, and she swallowed his seed eagerly. And when she finished, it was his turn to dissapear under the blankets, and use his mouth and hands and lips and tongue, until Amberlae was brought to an earth-shattering orgasm by his skill? the first that she?d ever enjoyed?? and they finished, and lay there under the stars, holding each other, listening the the heartbeat of the earth untill they drifted off to sleep.

*********************************************************************************

A cold wind blew out of the North, and upon it was the scent of blood and hatred.

It passed over field and forest, over city and widlerness. It swept across the world, and upon its black breath was the agonized screaming of a dead soul consumed by anger primordial. As the wind passed over the lands of Evershyria, those who stood by, watching and wondering as the storm roared out of the North could hear a voice on the wind, a voice that cracked with malic, a voice that was tortured with pain and anger and death, a voice that was like the dead ice at the heart of every glacier, a voice that was Evil.

DAMIEN FELL????????.. it whispered. I?M COMING FOR YOU???????????????????????????

The wind sought a vessel, a person to be consumed with its evil, to reek its revenge. Soon it came across a lone rider coming to Shadowegaard, and it smiled, as it could sense fear and anger inside this soul, this man with his flowing golden hair and his magestic broadsword Rayventallon on his back. It was Travyss Hawke, the Prince of Rayvenhawke, whose nostrils were already filled with the scent of revenge.

Travyss Hawke reigned in his horse, patting it?s side as he dismounted. ?I can smell her,? she said. ?I can smell Amberlae.?

Travyss? came the voice of Amberlae from across the moors. I?m so cold and lonley. Won?t you come towards me? Won?t you warm me with the embrace of your massive arms? Won?t you comfort me with your manhood?

?I will my love!!!!? exclaimed Travyss. ?I will!!!!!!!?

She appeared like a shimmering wraith out from the mist, her red-gold hair falling down her back, as naked as the day she was born. Travyss could feel himself stiffen as he saw her perfevt breasts, her long and perfectly hair less legs, and the delicate patch of soft fuzz that concealed her perfect vagina, the place where he wanted to sink into more than everything else, to gaze upon and feel, the place that no man had touched.

Travyss, Amberlae said. My love. and she came to him, and kissed him with her full pouty lips, and put her arms around him. He kissed back. She tasted like wild honey and rose water.

Then from out of the mist, came a warrior. Tall and dark, cloaked in shadow, his eyes burning with heatless flame. The warrior grabbed Amberlae, and renched her from Travyss?s grasp, pulling backwards until the warm bundle of naked softness was gone from where he held her.

Travyss! cried Amberlae. My love! HELP ME!!!!!!!!!

?AMBERLAAAAAAEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!? whaled Travyss, but it was too late. His princess had disappeared back into the mist, vanishing from where he beheld her into the shadows.

?NO!? ejaculated Travyss, and knelt down and wept. ?NO! NO! NO!?

Then there was a sound like a whisper at Travyss?s ear, and this is what it said:

You want to find her, don?t you? You want to make her yours. You want to recsue her from the man who stole her from you.?

There is nothing more I want,? said Travyss. ?I want to claim her. I want to claim her as my own. I want my kingdom. I want my love.?

I can help you to get that, said the voice on the wind. I can make the man who stole her pay. And I need you to do one thing for me.

?Of course,? said Travyss. ?I?d do anything to get my Amberlae back.?

Then let me enter you, whispred the voice. Let me feed on your life, in exchange for unimagineable power. Let me join with your soul. I have strength the likes of which you can only dream of. All you need to do is say the words, ?I give you leave to enter me.?

?And this will get Amberlae back to me?? said Travyss.

Of course, said the voice. Would I lie?

?Of course not,? said Travyss. ?Very well. If it gets my love back to me, I have no choice but to sumbit.?

Travyss took a deep breath, and intoned, ?I give you leave to enter me.?

Immediately Travyss felt something peircing his soul, a stabbing feeling like ice entering every orifice of his body. He screamed, but no sound came out. It felt like liquid fire was flowing through every part of his body.

Soon, though, it was over. And Travyss felt stronger than ever before. Magic siffused every vein of his being.

?All right,? said Travyss. ?Let?s go, then.?

He grinned. If anyone had been looking on, they would have known that Travyss?s eyes had suddenly become jet black, the color of the Chaos that seethes outside the universe. His teeth were sharp, and fanged. He was prepared to kill.

?What is your name, my new friend??

The voice spoke, and said, Lord Hateshadowe.

?Awesome,? said Travyss. And spreading his toothed mouth wide, he spoke a word of power. ?Worcmrots.?

Immediately twelve pitch-black ravens appeared, and he spoke to them. ?Find Amberlae and her capter. Report back to me if you find them.?

The ravens flew off in a blast of black feathers. Travyss remounted his horse.

?We ride.?

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~ by Ian Johnson on August 15, 2012.

Posted in Creative Writing Wednesday, The Epic Legend of Damien Fell
Tags: fantasy, original fiction

Source: http://axolotlceviche.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/creative-writing-wednesday-the-epic-legend-of-damien-fell-part-8/

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1,000 earthquakes hit Arizona in 3 years

Arizona: the land of a thousand quakes?

From 2006 through 2009, nearly 1,000 earthquakes rattled Arizona, showing the state is more seismically active than thought, according to a new study based on the readings of an array of seismometers installed by Arizona State University researchers.

The array provided the first opportunity to study seismicity on a statewide scale, according to a university statement.

1. Science news from NBCNews.com

   1. Simulator may show Earth's future

      Swiss researchers are planning an incredibly ambitious computer system that will attempt to simulate as much of the planet and its activity as possible, from weather to the economy ? and perhaps even predict the future. They call it the Living Earth Simulator.

   2. Trawler turns up weird deep-sea sharks
   3. Sharks can get worry-free sun tans
   4. Obits reflect rise of celebrity culture

Most of the quakes were small: Ninety-one percent were magnitude 2 or smaller, which aren't usually felt by humans. But they're still important to catch because geologists use them to map otherwise hidden faults beneath the surface. These " micro-quakes " also may signal an area is likely to produce a larger temblor.

"It is significant that we found events in areas where none had been detected before, but not necessarily surprising given the fact that many parts of the state had never been sampled by seismometers," ?study author Jeffrey Lockridge, a graduate student, said in a statement. "I expected to find some earthquakes outside of north-central Arizona, where the most and largest events had previously been recorded, just not quite so many in other areas of the state."

Arizona isn't known for large earthquakes. The largest ones recently were a pair, ?magnitude 4.9 and 5.3, that occurred in 1993 in the Cataract Creek area outside of Flagstaff.

The new earthquake measurements are detailed in the August issue of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter @OAPlanet.? We're also on? Facebook? and Google+.

? 2012 OurAmazingPlanet. All rights reserved. More from OurAmazingPlanet.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48680816/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Video ad for your small business | The Video Ad Network

Why Video is good choice for small business? A good way to create a video using the media to tell the story of your business is more beautiful than written text. Video with Your small business advertising is not only a great way to share your story, but a well executed business for the video you can also set a professional tone.

Through various channels of video marketing is the best way to get exposure. Some of the most popular YouTube channels, video display on your web site videos are uploaded and shared on social media accounts. Now there?s new video channel for the latest release of Google AdWords with the new. Now you play with your video ad campaign to get more exposure you can get more leads. The new ads use video platform Continue reading for more information.

For a video about Edward

The new ad platform Google AdWords tools that exist for very similar, so it?s easy for those of you who are familiar with AdWords is to use. Here are some of the key reasons why you paid advertising using this platform to market your small business should consider are:

Geography ? You can select a city from which you want to target your audience, state, country, zip or. This is a specific target market for small businesses to customize a campaign to be a very big advantage.
Budget ? your budget, and no minimum spending limit can. With a minimum spending limit for small businesses who pay for advertising space to test and do not spend all of their marketing budget is the best option.
You may advertise your videos on YouTube, and has tens of thousands of other Web sites ? to reach.
(ROI) Return on investment ? Because you only pay when you choose to pay for the video, you can rest assured that your marketing dollars are getting value from what we can are.

Opening video campaign

Before you record your video directly to find existing channels to choose can choose easily from YouTube. If you do not have to send a YouTube video, then you first need to work on creating a video. There are many options available when you make a video. The option to choose a professional videographer or video record your life and use video editing software to create a finished product is to work with. Before you decide on a traditional option out (www.animoto.com) Animoto test counseling. New online software for small businesses like a good alternative because it can be done by staff members have at home. Animoto easily present your pictures, video clips, text and music, allowing the collection. All it takes little time and creativity has to gather a great video.

Video Campaign Setup

The video features the text for your ad is displayed. You want to make people attractive to click on your video and would like to see. Not only do you have your own text, but you create a screen shot, or a small image appears in your video you can choose from. Video with small text that people will grab attention and preferably a screenshot of a selection to be sure. Moreover, where the audience will be taken after watching your video can select the destination URL.

In this section, you my new video for the campaign is to run a network. Selected from a first network to remove the ad just click on the ?choose me? What do you think of the network and edit options. We take the minutes of a campaign scheduled to run ads on the first glimpse of each network suggest.

The final step is required in this section of the campaign start date is scheduled for. Expiration date for your campaign too, can not choose but need.

Report

Extensive reporting options are very similar to Google AdWords and video on your return on investment of your marketing campaign to make it easier to track. Your campaign is a different thing to check is that your videos and track how long people can take what actions they are watching a video can.

Only two large companies in return for millions of people watching online video daily take one.

Source: http://www.thevideoadnetwork.com/155/video-ad-for-your-small-business

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Gymnastic Leotards for Girls: Invention and Basic Facts ?

It goes without saying that every kind of sport requires specific apparel. The unique outfit is necessary for the athlete?s comfort, attractiveness and hence best performance. The sportswear uniforms have been changing throughout the centuries, developing innovative tailoring as well as involving new fabrics and design. In this brief post we would like to look at interesting facts and the history of a gymnastics leotard.

This may seem funny, yet the initial gymnastic apparel was created by a man. The skin tight garment which is now used mainly by girls is named after a French acrobat Jules L?otard, who popularized the garment. Being a pioneer of the artistic gymnastics and one of the most famous acrobats of his time, Jules was looking for an impeccable outfit for his performances which should be perfect in all aspects. Eventually he tailored the first maillot (the original name of the garment) for himself in 1859. It allowed him to perform sophisticated tricks flawlessly, simultaneously exhibiting his well developed muscles to the audience. So, the contemporary gymnastic leotards for girls root back to the nineteenth century.

Although the revolutionary garment was initially created for acrobats, soon it has become very popular with other athletes. Unisex leotards were worn by dancers, gymnasts, wrestlers, cyclists etc. In a few decades the garment penetrated the casual wear market and appeared in the form of bathing suits and exercise outfits (1930?s and 1950?s respectively). By the late 1970?s this functional apparel has become a vivid symbol of a disco and aerobics craze of the time. Newly invented spandex and nylon on a par with traditional cotton have offered a wide variety of styles and cuts of leos.

Gymnastics Uniform Today

Undoubtedly, leotards are very practical and functional as swimsuits and exercise garments, although they are the most beneficial for gymnastics. They fit perfectly and bring a feeling of a second skin, since gymnastics requires an ultimate concentration. Loose pants, rubbing seams and other distractions can lead to mistakes and thus severe injuries. The perfectly fitting gymnastics apparel will never distract an athlete, but bring a complete sense of convenience and safety. Such a kind of uniform also winningly displays the perfect muscles, especially in artistic gymnastics.

You will find a wide array of gymnastic apparel available in the sportswear market today. They can be both sleeveless or feature long/short/enlarged sleeves depending on their usage. Leos can be made of different fabrics and may have no seams at all. There also exist simple modest workout outfits and those manufactured (very often handmade) for competitive purposes. The latter usually incorporate vivid decorative elements, tinsel, fringes and other kinds of fancy embellishments. Depending on the purpose of the garment the price can vary. As a rule, high quality leos are very expensive (even those for little girls), especially the competition outfits. However, you can always make use of one of the reliable online shops offering a great range of gymnastic leos for girls of all ages for reasonable prices.

If you want to find the best quality of perfectly fitting sportswear, you definitely need to know how to select the best leo for your kids or yourself. Visit our website www.gymnastic-leotards.net/ to get to know more about gymnastic leotards for girls: their types, prices and much more.

Source: http://all-articles-directory.com/gymnastic-leotards-for-girls-invention-and-basic-facts/

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5 reasons conservatives should favor more (legal) Hispanic ...

While Matt is on holiday, he has selected a few of his ?greatest hits? to re-run until he returns next week. This originally ran on May 11, 2011.

Yesterday, President?Obama?delivered?a speech calling for immigration reform. This is needed, of course ? but as always ? the devil is in the details.

Sadly, in recent years, it has become impossible to have an adult discussion on the topic. The debate is often muddied by peripheral concerns having little to do with policy. For example, some liberals favor increased immigration ? not because they believe it will make America stronger ? but because they assume this will benefit them?politically. Conversely, some conservatives?oppose immigration for the same reason.

Putting aside the immediate impact immigration might have on electoral politics, there are some solid reasons why conservatives ought to favor increased legal immigration. Here are five:

1.?China:?As?I recently noted, one reason China will?not?overtake America is because their one-child-per-family law created a demographic time bomb. There simply won?t be enough young Chinese workers to support the increasing population of aging Chinese. Population, of course, is key for a thriving nation ? both economically and militarily. Anyone who doubts this should consider how France?s low birth rate ? coupled with their bloody losses in World War I ? effectively sealed their decline as a world power. Thanks in large part to Latino immigration, America will likely remain a much younger nation than China. (The catch is that young Americans must be part of the tax-paying system in order for their to be a benefit.)

2.?Defending Christendom:?Based on?media reports?and observation, some conservatives seem worried about the possible rise of sharia law in America (I do not share this concern, but stick with me here). Others simply worry about preserving Western or Christian civilization. Before dismissing the influx of Hispanics into America, conservatives should consider?the ?Islamization? of France?? Europe?s largest Muslim populated nation (over 5 million). Unlike France, America?s geographical proximity favors an influx of Hispanic immigrants, thus guaranteeing that a rising Muslim population will not soon pose a demographic threat to America. (To be sure, we have our own unique challenges: There are, of course, Latino gangs ? and many Hispanics come from nations where the political culture is corrupt or where socialism and ?social justice? are the dominate ideologies.) Americans who fear a Muslim takeover should take comfort in knowing America?s birthrate will be supplemented by the influx of ?family-values? Christians from below the border.

3.?Entrepreneurship:?As American Enterprise Institute (AEI) president?Arthur Brooks?has argued, immigration is ?actually is the most entrepreneurial act, where you put the most capital at risk.? Some social scientists even go so far as to argue that Americans are?genetically?more entrepreneurial than citizens of other nations because those predisposed to take risks came here, while their less adventurous brethren stayed home. An even more controversial argument says that a person willing to cross the Rio Grande to obtain a better way of life might ironically be more entrepreneurial than someone willing to stand in a line and fill out the requisite bureaucratic paperwork (one can assume a nation dependent on the rule of law does not benefit by having immigrants whose first act in the nation is to defy the law). Regardless, consider this: Who is more likely to engage the free market ? someone who risked their life to come here ? or someone who was blessed enough to be born here?

4.?The Economy: The anti-immigration movement has largely been a populist phenomenon, while some free market fiscal conservatives argue the availability of immigrant workers is vital for a thriving economy. In some ways the populist resentment is both logical and emotional: Blue collar Americans struggling to make ends meet might simply resent having to compete for jobs with highly-motivated and entrepreneurial immigrants who may work longer hours for less money. Small business owners, on the other hand, might see things differently. The Chamber of Commerce, for example, has?argued in favor of?comprehensive immigration reform and a guest worker program. One can easily imagine that the influx of immigrants willing to do jobs most Americans don?t want to do ? for less money ? might have a salutary effect on the overall economy. What is more, one can imagine deporting high-achievers such as Ph.Ds might have a negative impact on our ability to compete globally.

5.?Shady Beginnings: The modern anti-immigration movement was launched by an environmentalist named Dr.?John Tanton?who was concerned about how increased population might impact the environment. As?The New York Times recently reported, Tanton initially, ?urged liberal colleagues in groups like Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club to seek immigration restraints, only to meet blank looks and awkward silences.? It was only after leftist groups declined to adopt his positions that the environmentalist began founding his own anti-immigration groups.

As you can see, there are compelling reasons why conservatives who put principle over politics might support increased immigration. At the very least, once political considerations are put aside, it becomes a debatable ?adult? conversation to have. This, of course, does not mean conservatives shouldn?t insist on securing the border or should support ?in-state tuition? rates for illegals ? but it does mean the debate is much more nuanced than the media might have you believe.

Source: http://ripandreader.com/5-reasons-conservatives-should-favor-more-legal-hispanic-immigration/

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Exotic animals symbolize luxury in Lebanon&#39;s illegal trade ? Seattle ...

Wild bears are kept in Syrian ?zoos? where they can be bought and transported in the exotic animal trade. (Photo courtesy of Animals Lebanon)

Grey parrots and vervet monkeys mingle with cats, dogs and hamsters in many of Lebanon?s pet shops, but if you want the really exciting animals, you have to ask behind the counter.

Lions, panthers and bears?in fact many of the mascots from the American sports franchises?are just a few of the animals you can buy here.

One pet store in Beirut?whose owner requested anonymity for fear of protests from animal rights groups?offers a chance at owning your own piece of the wild. The owner received a degree in veterinarian studies in Russia and, unlike many pet stores here, the six dogs strategically placed in the window are clean, healthy and vaccinated.

But these aren?t the only animals he sells. He can get you lion and bear cubs, leopards, even a baby crocodile. Sitting behind a tidy desk surrounded by bags of pet food, he describes the process of how a wild animal is ordered and smuggled into Lebanon.

It starts with a deposit (lions, for example, require a down payment of $1,000-$1,500). The pet store owner then puts in an order to a Lebanese middleman who contacts a farm in neighboring Syria, where lions are raised for sale. The animals are placed in boxes and loaded into taxis that head for the Lebanese-Syrian border. At the border the taxi driver will often bribe a guard around $10, usually saying there are dogs in the crates.

According to Jason Mier of Animals Lebanon, chimpanzees in central Africa can go for as little as $20. This means buying and reselling the animals abroad can bring in a huge profit. (Photo courtesy of Animals Lebanon)

The pet store owner offers a video on his iPhone as proof of the process. In it a lion cub is jammed into a metal kennel most likely meant for domesticated dogs or cats. A man whose face is out of the frame kicks the cage.

?[The animals] have a better life here [in Lebanon] than on the farms in Syria,? says the pet store owner, adding that carnivores like lions and leopards are often underfed because farm owners can?t afford to feed them meat.

But despite his concern for the animals, his motives are economic. He says orders are sporadic and so exact figures are hard to pin down, but one lion cub tends to go for $3,000-$5,000. In the right market, with the right client, the cost can go as high as $10,000.

Current Lebanese animal welfare legislation consists of just three sentences and calls for a maximum penalty of less than $15. In addition, it is rarely enforced?Animals Lebanon states ?extensive research has not shown this law used even once in the past twenty years.?

And though Lebanese parliament voted in July to become the 176th member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, few here seem convinced that the trade of exotic animals will stop.

Because the trafficking of exotic pets is illegal in Lebanon, it?s hard to know exactly how many wild animals are smuggled into the country every year. The pet store owner estimates there are around 40 locations in the country that keep exotic pets on private or public display?from zoos to pet stores and even family homes.

?The phenomenon of keeping large ?dangerous? animals as pets appears to be gaining popularity in the Middle East,? writes Richard Thomas, communications coordinator for the wildlife trade monitoring organization TRAFFIC International, by email. ?We receive regular report[s] of ? Cheetah, Lions, Tigers, etc. in that region.?

A lion is rescued by Animals Lebanon from an Egyptian circus. (Photo courtesy Animals Lebanon)

Lebanon and Syria are not the only countries implicated in this trend. Jason Mier, executive director of Animals Lebanon, says that in addition to ?at least four zoos in Damascus,? Central and West Africa are hotbeds for wild animal smuggling.

Mier, who worked on animal welfare issues in a number of African countries before coming to Lebanon, says poverty drives the exotic animal trade in many countries. He says he saw vendors in the Congo selling baby chimpanzees for $20, an amount that represents a ?huge profit when people on average earn 23 cents a day.?

According to Mier, other countries that supply Lebanon include South Africa, Ukraine and Bulgaria (where Mier says you can rent a lion cub for a day). According to the pet store owner, crocodiles are often smuggled through the airport from Malaysia labeled as ?fish.?

So who is buying and raising these animals? Especially at time when the Lebanese middle class is struggling with electricity and water shortages?

?The keeping of exotic animals as pets is centuries old,? explains Thomas. ?Cleopatra is believed to have owned a pet leopard named Arrow and possibly even a pet tiger too.?
But history aside, Thomas says prestige among Lebanon?s upper crust is the real reason people want to have exotic pets.

??[T]he impression I have is that it has become something of a fashion/status symbol to own a dangerous pet,? he writes, ?which is why it?s growing in popularity.?

According to the pet store owner, the secluded villas of the Lebanese elite outside Beirut are the destination for many of these animals. They are kept in cages or allowed to roam in fenced gardens.

Souraya Mouawad grew up in such a villa, one that was briefly home to a doomed leopard named Moulou in the 1970s. Speaking on the phone, Mouawad, who was born and lived in Africa as a child but moved to Lebanon as a teenager, fondly remembers the adored childhood pet.

?My father bought a big house in Tripoli with lots of space and he went back to Africa. We settled there?my sister, my mother and my aunt. When my father came back he brought us a 3-month-old leopard.

Foxes are one of the few wild animals native to Lebanon that are kept as exotic pets.?(Photo by Carine Mechref)

?We named him Moulou. When we first got him ? we stayed at the Carlton, a five-star hotel. The valet parking man who was wearing white gloves brought steak for Moulou to eat. Moulou slept in the Carlton hotel garden that night and when we woke up he had broken all the small plants and trees.?

As infants, wild animals are often cute and manageable. But Mounir Abi-Said, founder of a wildlife preservation in Aley (a town northwest of the capitol), says wild animals are often locked in small cages and left in poor conditions once they become older, more dangerous and more expensive to care for.

?Moulou was an adult at one year,? says Mouawad of the leopard?s transition from a cuddly playmate to a wild animal. ?He ate 10 pounds of fresh meat a day and drank 5 liters of milk.?

Despite the family buying a large parking area so Moulou could get his necessary exercise, Moulou suffered from back paralysis and couldn?t run.

?We didn?t know he should be in Africa and not with us,? says Mouawad, who is now founder of Animals Pride and Freedom (APAF), an animal rescue organization.

As danger from Lebanon?s civil war rose in early 1975, Mouawad and her family decided to return to Africa, but Moulou couldn?t travel in his condition.

After numerous attempts at finding a new home for the leopard, Mouawad?s father had the animal secretly euthanized just as the family left for the airport.

When Mouawad learned the truth years later, it caused a deep rift between her and her father. ?I didn?t eat at the same table with my father for four years and I didn?t talk to him for four years,? she says.

The vervet monkey is commonly found in Lebanese pet stores. (Photo courtesy of Carine Mechref)

Exotic pets often meet tragic ends. Owners are faced with the reality of a full-grown wild animal in their house and among their family. For some, like Mouawad, there is an emotional attachment; in other cases the animal is simply an accessory that has grown inconvenient.

Mier remembers one recent case when a chimpanzee was left on the side of the road next to a private villa. Despite the poor conditions, Mier was unable to do much legally and it took months to convince the owner to hand over the chimp to Animals Lebanon so they could relocate it to a sanctuary.

Lebanon?s lack of laws?and the government?s inability to enforce them?pose challenges to animal rights supporters. While it doesn?t replace national laws, Mier maintains that CITES?s framework will help Lebanon develop proper laws as well as educate officials to take appropriate actions toward the wild animal trade.

?[In other countries, CITES] slowed smuggling and saved some animals from going extinct,? said Mier.
Mier contends that it will take more to slow the ?multibillion-dollar industry? that is the exotic animal trade here.

For Mouawad, it is a practice that still stirs up personal heartache. ?Poor Moulou,? she says softly. ?He had a bad end.?

?

Justin Salhani is a Lebanese-American reporter/journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon. He primarily covers politics, security and cultural affairs in Lebanon and the Middle East. He can be found on Twitter @JustinSalhani.

Source: http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2012/08/13/exotic-animals-symbolize-luxury-in-lebanons-illegal-trade/5809

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Chronicles of the Joined

Post not finished. Just needed to switch computers.A millennia ago this plane was a place that would bear little resemblance to itself as it is now, a time when dragons still soared through the skies, when the Earth was alive underfoot, when shimmering cities of gold and silver reached up to the sky, when towering golems capable of taking on a thousand men all their own laid waste to armies. This was the world when the link between Aururia and the vale was still intact. It was a world where power reigned supreme, where by sorcery, mortal beings could accomplish incredible things, and those without it were under constant oppression by those who had been driven mad by the power it granted.

Surely in this world power was everything, and none were more powerful than The Kaldori Imperium. Led by five of the greatest sorcerers and intellectuals that have ever lived, they found ways in which those without the rare gift to harness raw power from the vale, could still utilize its power; by combining engineering and magic, they created a new world, machines of death were forged, that anyone of common blood could be-

taught to wield, and some, with a mind all their own. Their motive? To forge the world anew, a grand utopia free of all ills, where one great power ruled over all, keeping the world in a constant state of peace and prosperity. With their power they would will the world to perfection.
Their great legions swept upon Aururia like wildfire. Spearheaded by hulks of steel and rock, soldiers carrying weapons capable of reducing a man to nothing and wore armor that could not be pierced by even the strongest steel. There was no one who could stand against the imperium, and so it was, for a time, the world lay conquered, and with magic, it began to improve. Disease, famine, violence, could all be solved by magic. Yet in this time of progress, the leaders of the imperium began a conflict amongst themselves.

The corruption began with Claudius Sextius. An exceptionally gifted and tragic man obsessed with pushing the limits of his own power, when Claudius had pushed as far as he could within his moral boundaries, he began to give up his humanity in exchange for more of that all-consuming commodity. Claudius committed unspeakable acts, assuring himself that it was for the good of the Imperium, that this world would not be remade by men, that gods had created Aururia, and only gods could make it again. Claudius went deeper an deeper into the blackest reaches beyond the vale, using living creatures as sacrifices and experiments. By the time the other four discovered Claudius?s sins, it was too late. Claudius had not become a god, he had become a monster.

When he was called before the remaining councilors to answer for his crimes, he showed them what he had become, a nightmarish creature known only in ancient tales as an Aterac, a powerful and black-hearted being, whose only goal was to consume to swell its own power.

An unknown entity spoke through Claudius, something dark, buried deep within the other side of the vale, it twisted the minds of these monumental figures, these gods of men, offering them thing they could not refuse, and in the end, they succumbed? Except for one, the humble Irisian priest, Lumenis Barbatus, who had truly believed in the Imperium?s cause, was forced to defend himself from his lifelong friends, who had been too weak to defend against the evil that would have their power and influence as his own. Barbatus performed the ancient rite of his order, banishing his once trusted allies in a blinding white light. Though not by any means stopping them, Barbatus prevented that malevolent force that spoke from beyond the vale from ceasing the most powerful seats on Earth as his.

A decade passed, and Barbatus was crowned Emperor of the Kaldori Imperium. Barbatus had stayed ever-vigilant, ever-afraid, knowing that a storm

was coming, and when it came, he was prepared. Hellish creatures poured from the dark places of the Earth, twisted forms, eyes blacker than the night, capable of rending a man in two with a single strike, and a war like no other was waged, not one for greed or glory, but for survival, and the full force of the Imperium was put toward the task. For twelve long years this conflict raged, the Earth was torn asunder, countless lives were ended, Barbatus grew old and weary, yet still fought on for no other reason than for life, as a whole, for it be preserved, and so that no other generation would have to bear the weight of his and his long dead friend?s failures. And on the day of the final battle, Barbatus and his two sons led the charge, the Kaldori legion, and the Aterac horde crashed into each other, leaving the Earth stained with black and red, but in the end Barbatus stood victorious, or so it seemed.

When all seemed bright, darkness came at Barbatus full force, his comrades had shown themselves at last. When these figures, shrouded in otherworldly metals, alight with the essence of raw mana, set foot on the battlefield, the horde rose anew, and Barbatus, felt fear which he had never known before. His men were consumed by an unrelenting horde, his great steel giants were rendered inert, silent monuments frozen in time.

As Barbatus watched all of the miracles of the imperium crumble around him, he was brought to his knees by the maelstrom of death that surrounded him, and in that moment he saw his son?s cut down before him. All seemed lost, but then something confounding happened, an event that no scholar has been able to explain in a thousand years. Barbatus dropped his sword and let out a desperate cry, shouting up to the heavens for some faint ray of hope, and his cry was answered, as history would assume, for as the overwhelming savagery of the horde came bearing down upon him, as the malevolent creatures he once trusted sent raw destructive power to extinguish his life from this plane? It all ceased.

They say that when it happened, no one in all of Aururia could not feel it as if having been standing right there on that blood-stained battlefield. In a flash, a wave of ethereal light that split the air around it, Aururia was separated from the vale, and all things that existed on both sides of the vale, no longer could exist in Aururia. Magical creatures disappeared as if they had never been, magical weapons became useless trinkets, only of use for their historical and aesthetic value, whole cities collapsed into themselves, and Barbatus, he was never seen again. The War of Life was over, and the new world that the imperium had founded was in ruin...

That was the beginning of the age of stone, an age where all creatures of Aururia learned to rebuild and live without the need to touch the vale. Now one thousand years hence, that age is coming to an end, and a new one beckons on the horizon. There are reports of riders going missing without a trace, strange figures in the night, giant winged creatures flying overhead and then disappearing into the clouds? This world is not ready. This divided world of countless kings, spilling each other?s blood for petty ideals. We are not prepared. Prophet guide us.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/xfmLeKGe7Rg/viewtopic.php

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