Sanrio store near me

I always feel as though I'm at fault for my siblings suffering. As my mum always said if she didn't have children she wouldn't be stuck with my narcissistic father. I always feel because of my birth that my mum was forced to stay in a relationship with my father to support & care for me. Then over time she couldn't leave resulting in them producing more children. I'm the eldest of 4, my father hates me and my brother (2nd born). Yet treats my younger siblings like royalty. My mums family rarely comes over to see us, I don't even remember what they look like anymore they hate dealing with my father and his attitude. My father's family doesnt see how he is towards us as he is the "kind father everyone wish they had". Yet at home he always puts us down, makes comments about our bodies, tells us to kill ourselves or to leave forever. He makes my youngest sister ( age 7 ) stay home from school everyday it's been about a month since she's been at school in a row. Shes very underdeveloped, I've been trying to homeschool her but my father says to her "don't feed into her rubbish". Today my ex boyfriend came over early in the morning (12am) so we could talk, he was very busy with school and sports so we couldn't talk at any other time. We patched a lot of things up (we did have sex) but because we are already very comfortable with each other and we don't hate one another, when he left around 7am I went to sleep. I woke up around 3pm and felt hungry, I made me 4 Nutella toasts and grabbed me a water. I left my toaster out (we usually store it away) but wiped my crumbs and put everything away all I had to do was put the toaster away. I come into my room and start watching "Never Have I Ever" on the tv, I'm nearly done with my 3rd toast and my father knocks on the door, without me replying he opens it "Go clean up your mess" he said, "yeah I'll clean it up soon I'm nearly done eating", "no Go clean it up now", " i'm not gonna stop eating to put away a toaster bro" I unintentionally said bro because I saw "Ben Gross" (Ben gROss) and just said it out of no where. I was gonna apologise but he came back and started talking shit about my ex saying "Just because you got some dick last night you think your the man now", he always spoke about me this way making comments about my sex life and me saying how I'm a slut or saying my ex bf, who was my boyfriend at the time only used me for my body when I know that wasn't the case cause I initiated most of the sex . I didn't say anything but he kept going on and on then he said "If he comes over here again I'm gonna knock him out" and at that point I got pissed off and said "Do it, see what happens" then he came into my room and punched me in my head. I got mad and started pushing him telling him to get out, I'm not scared of my father at all I know id beat him in a fight but I didnt want it to get to that point. My mum woke up from her sleep and asked what was happening that's when my father pushed me to the wall and my mum pushed him and started swearing at him, I got really mad and took my car keys and went out to my car and was going to leave. My mum chased me outside begging me not to leave because she knows I won't come back, hearing my mum cry and beg me made me calm down and just break down. We stayed in my car talking as she hugged me saying how sorry she is and that my father doing this really opened her eyes and that she's going to take me and my siblings to move out. After an hour he was inside laughing at the TV like nothing happened, there's something mentally wrong with him. When I was younger he used to touch my behind, he doesn't close his door when he showers or bathes and dresses himself Infront of us. Hes embarrassed us to the point we had to move schools, he was the reason my bf is now my ex bf, when my nana was dying he didn't let any of us see her (she later passed on her own) when my mum was pregnant in 2015 he poured gasoline on her while she was in her car and threatened to burn her alive while we watched not knowing what to do. He broke things my mum saved up money to pay for, he's stolen money out of my car, he gets mad at me when I don't give him money, he's punched my brother in the face he's done a lot and now we're done. Next week we're moving, and he'll never see us again. No contact, nothing. At this point. I don't even care if he kills himself, he's been nothing but a burden to us, nothing but a shit excuse for a father. I hate him.

So after applying for years, I’ve finally got some offers on the table. FWIW: I have 3 YoE in a 500 bed hospital going from bench tech > some sort of LIS work.
I’m being offered an LIS position in a much lower CoL area. I currently make ~110k in a HIGH CoL area and save most of that (15k rent/annual, no loans/debt). They already told me given my experience and CoL they won’t be able to offer anything competitive to my current salary “but the difference in CoL will be worth it” - My Ass.
I really like the position and if it was anywhere near my current residence I would take it in a heartbeat. How do I like ask them for a better offer? Lol if it was worth it financially then I wouldn’t have a problem relocating either but I’m just worried.
As you can tell this is my first time switching jobs/negotiating salary/etc. I’m expecting their offer next week sometime but I want to be prepared with a response.
TIA!

I live in the UK and my partner and I have our birthdays in the same month. What we have done in previous years is both pick something we want to do or somewhere we want to go and do that the weekend and do that the weekend after the persons birthday since hers is at the beginning of the month and mine is near the end. Alongside this we do presents and a meal, drinks etc.
This year there is an artist performing in that month that my gf really likes. The artist is not performing near us so we would need to pay quite a lot to travel and stay over. The tickets are also quite expensive. My gf mentioned wanting to go and I said that it's a shame it's that month since it would be unaffordable. She said she was thinking of maybe doing a joint celebration so instead of getting presents for each other and doing a separate thing for both birthdays, that we just go to see the artist.
I pointed out that while I didn't mind them, I wouldn't spend that much to go and see them so it's not really a joint celebration. She said I could pick where we go for food. I said I'm sorry but I just can't afford it and it's not something I'd want to do for my birthday. She got annoyed and said it might be her only chance to see them and I'm being unreasonable, I just said I really don't want to spend that much money to go and see them. The tickets cost more than me and my partner normally spend on each other, then there's travel, accommodation and food and drinks.
She said I was being unfair because I know how much she loves that artist and that it would be a good night but I just repeated it's far too much money for me to spend and that she's basically saying she'd rather spend our money on this as a present for her while completely ignoring my birthday. She said that wasn't true since this would be a joint birthday present but I just repeated that it wasn't because it's not something I want. AITA for refusing to have a joint birthday trip?

Hey! I have a 2bed 2bath apartment in University Village that I am looking to sublet a 1bed 1bath unit of. It’s right near campus, has a private parking lot, a gym and all utilities are included in rent! It’s a great option for anyone who wants to stay near campus but not live in the dorms. Message me or comment for any details!

It seems like the rental market in South Bethlehem is near dead, (granted that may change as august approaches) and everything is too expensive to afford on our stipend anyway.
I'm an incoming phd student, finishing up a master's at another university right now, and I'm just so disenchanted by graduate housing options.
Has anyone lived in Saucon Village? What was it like, would you recommend, ect.
Where do you find listings for rentals near campus? Is there a facebook group or real estate business with a monopoly? Tell me your secrets so I can maybe live in dignity

Hello,
This post will probably sound strange and contradictory at times, since this is a big thing that's been part of me forever, yet doesn't make sense at times.
To start with, the title is the best description I can find, namely that I believe I'm incredibly obsessed with myself and my own well-being, while giving little to no care to others, even if they have some degree of relationship with me. I never paid it much thought because frankly, I always though this was natural human behavior, and it's more "abnormal" to see people who are openly compassionate towards others. But recently I've felt like that belief no longer holds.
So, in order to describe more of this. It's something about myself that's been around so long that for me it feels like a natural part of myself, and not exactly to be corrected. I'm not selfish to the point I'd throw someone else under the bus in my favor, but if someone else throws that person under the bus, I won't be inclined to help them. I don't really feel much compassion for other people, and I noticed that everything I attempt is geared towards my own satisfaction. I want to learn something new, to feel good about myself, or to receive praise from others for doing something great. I still seek out relationships with other people, not because I am inclined to know and understand them, but because I require social contact or I'll literally go insane.
I mentioned this would sound contradictory, because despite all this focus on myself above anyone else, I'm actually doing far worse off than you'd think. I dropped out of college, I've only found work twice in these 10 years, and neither lasted more than a year, I often cut off contact with people I knew, my many attempts to work self-improvement have been half-hearted, the initial spur of motivation always died out, and I've been back to square one so many times. Now I'm almost 30, and aside from having become far more insightful and able to control and understand some of my emotions, it feels like nothing has changed since I was 18.
I live this near hermit lifestyle, always on my computer. I have a friend who I talk to often online, but even he feels like a social crutch I need since I don't have any other friends, and I don't really care about all of his life events (many of which are positive, at least which he tells me), and in fact I even get a bit annoyed, but I still show basic decency of encouraging him and feigning interest because I don't want to lose this friend. I also live with my mother, I lost my father 10 years ago, and all this time I live with her, I dread the eventual day I will lose her too, and the part that makes me feel a bit sick, is that I dread it because this means I will lose my main means of sustaining myself, and I have no more future once she's gone.
The point of all this is that I'm confused about these feelings, yet I can't quite grasp what it means to be genuinely compassionate or caring towards another human being, without wanting to satisfy your own ego. Is there someone who understands or even has a very similar mindset to mine? Is there a reason behind these things? I just want to understand more of this mindset, and I think this is the best place I could post without facing judgment for my thoughts.

I do not know if what I will say is the most stupid idea ever. And I would understand if it cannot be done. But here is goes anyway.
TLDR: I would like to request a pilot card for Sgt "dead-eye" Unther. Let me elaborate why.
In a demo game I had, instead of the usual beginner box one on one scenario. I used the training missions from Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries, including the speech of "deadeye" Unther and we had a blast. Unther speech is colorful and adds that special sauce to the game, makes it more personal, beyond just chess with dice. In a way it adds an RPG feeling.
From the game we know Unther was known for abandoning his students in combat when things became heated up in combat. Not being dependable makes him even more colorful as a character.
The reason why using these missions work great, is because it teaches basic skills one at a time. The ability to move, then the ability to shoot, the ability to inspect and finally the ability to combat. Down below I will write tabletop details for the scenario for that demo. Learning these skills without the heat of battle makes the learning curve of AGOAC not to be a problem. Unlike a game that could last for hours, these missions are pretty quick, except for the final exam.
Years ago I got old Battletech miniatures in a trade store, which included the Javelin and with current CGL forcepacks, I could make the final exam mission to have a Commando and Catapult face a Javelin and a Panther.
The character is so colorful that people enjoyed the game. I just needed to write his speech and read at the proper moment. And other people also feel Unther is colorful, and to me he deserves a place, at least in a pilot card.
I say it could be a stupid idea, because there might be legal issues to use him, but I would like to put the idea on the table anyway.
Having said that, allow me to introduce the setup for these training missions. For buildings, vehicles and aerotech, I used tokens since I only have one Shilone. Instead of having internal locations, I made it simple, a certain amount of armor points to destroy them.

Obligatory this happened in 2019 and I have been feeling the results since then.
So I was in the process of moving from the US to the Netherlands in the summer of 2019. I went on vacation with my family to Turin, Italy. I was shopping by myself and I stopped into Celio, a mens fashion/clothing store. I saw a pink pair of shorts, made of cotton and linen, which I loved. The pair of shorts came with a braided belt. I bought a size S.
I wasn't happy with the waist sizing when I got home (I don't know why, I was stupid. I tried it in store, obviously). The next day I happened to be going to Genoa. I decided to go to the store in Genoa to return the correct sized short, and get M-sized pants. They didn't fit me (but I was stupid, I tried it in-store) and got them. I think the belt affected how I perceived the fit of the pants. But at that point I was too embarrassed to say "no, I will stick with the small" as I was being personally taken care of, and I didnt want to go to the store in Turin again as it would be even more embarrassing. Again, I'm stupid.
Because the pants were too big, I had my grandma stitch up the sides by collapsing the excess fabric over one another to decrease the waist size. It was actually quite nicely done, and you couldn't tell it was stitched up unless if you saw it from up close. Because I am so bright, I decided to cut off the tag that gives info about the shirt, most importantly the product ID/reference number. I have no idea why I did that. Let me re-iterate, I am as dumb as a brick.
​
My grandma's stitches started to rip recently (the normal stitching is just fine, I am surprised how long it was able to last, considering that I wore it quite often during the summer, but I always knew that it was the incorrect size and I always felt a bit stupid wearing sown up shorts). I tried to find the shorts on the website to buy a new pair in size S but I couldn't find them. I spent hours looking for a pair on the internet until I found a pair on Vinted. I sent the customer support an email, with a link to the Vinted page, but they couldn't do much without the reference number, that I cut off forever ago. So I bought the pair of shorts (they are the incorrect size so that's why I didn't buy it before emailing support, and maybe they could help me by just having a picture of the shorts, so I wouldn't have to spend money).
So I spent 15e or so to have it shipped to me, but now I have the reference number, I sent them a follow-up email, and waiting for a response.
I will update this post when I get an email response.
​
TL;DR: I bought a pair of shorts from Celio in 2019. Originally the correct size, then stupidly swapped it to a larger size. Because it was too big, my grandma sowed the waist to fit my waist size. I also cut off the product reference tags. Now I want to buy a new pair, but eventually found the shorts on Vinted after HOURS of searching. Customer service can't help me based of just a photo of the pants until I get the product number. So I spent 15e to buy the wrong sized shorts just to get the product number and I am waiting for the email back. Will update after I get an email response.

Hi folks, just added biocidin in last week. Since then have been losing ~0.5lb per day. I was already on a weight loss journey (bartonella may have caused me to gain nearly 30 lbs). Wondering if this is Herx or should I be worried about organs like kidney and liver, or interaction with other meds? I added in biocidin on my own.
Other meds for Bart (all from a dr): Doxycycline (~5 months) Rifampin (~5 months) Quercetin (~950mg/day, have been taking ~2 months)
Others: Vitamins (multi, B, and Mg) Probiotics Singular Valtrex

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I'm playing around with setting up a stack with transmission with prowlarr, readerr etc. but are getting a bit stuck. When Prowlarr starts, I get an "AppFolder /config is not writeable", but when i log into the container, there is no problems reading or writing to /config. I use a NAS for storing the data.
I've tried using both 1000:1000 and the ID for the NAS user owning the files for PUID and GUID. Even tried to remove PUID/GUID, but no luck.
Have anyone any experience with this? -Or maybe point me to somewhere?
docker-compose:

version: '3.3' services: transmission-openvpn: image: haugene/transmission-openvpn container_name: transmission-ovpn restart: always cap_add: - NET_ADMIN volumes: - tx-data:/data - tx-conf:/config - tx-working:/working - tx-download:/download - tx-watch:/watch - ovpn-config:/etc/openvpn/custom devices: - /dev/net/tun sysctls: - net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6=0 environment: - TZ=My-Place - OPENVPN_PROVIDER=custom - OPENVPN_CONFIG=MY-VPN - OPENVPN_USERNAME=user - OPENVPN_PASSWORD=pass - LOCAL_NETWORK=192.168.x.x/24 - TRANSMISSION_WEB_UI=flood-for-transmission - TRANSMISSION_DOWNLOAD_DIR=/download - TRANSMISSION_INCOMPLETE_DIR=/working - TRANSMISSION_INCOMPLETE_DIR_ENABLED=true - TRANSMISSION_WATCH_DIR=/watch - TRANSMISSION_WATCH_DIR_ENABLED=true - TRANSMISSION_TRASH_ORIGINAL_TORRENT_FILES=true - TRANSMISSION_ENCRYPTION=2 - TRANSMISSION_LPD_ENABLED=true - TRANSMISSION_RPC_USERNAME=user - TRANSMISSION_RPC_PASSWORD=pass - TRANSMISSION_RPC_AUTHENTICATION_REQUIRED=true logging: driver: json-file options: max-size: 10m ports: - 'xxxx:xxxx' # Transmission Web UI - 'xxxx:xxxx' # Transmission Torrent Data - 'xxxx:xxxx' # Prowlarr prowlarr: container_name: prowlarr image: lscr.io/linuxserveprowlarr:latest restart: unless-stopped network_mode: "service:transmission-openvpn" depends_on: - transmission-openvpn environment: - PUID=1000 # - PUID=(NAS user) - PGID=1000 # - PGID=(NAS group) - TZ=My-Place volumes: - prowlrr-config:/config volumes: ovpn-config: driver_opts: type: cifs o: username=USER,password=PASS,vers=3 device: //192.168.x.x/DockerData/OVPN/ tx-working: driver_opts: type: cifs o: username=USER,password=PASS,vers=3 device: //192.168.x.x/Downloading/TX-Temp/Working tx-watch: ------ tx-download: ------ tx-conf: ------ tx-data: ------ prowlrr-config: driver_opts: type: cifs o: username=USER,password=PASS,vers=3 device: //192.168.x.x/DockerData/Prowlarr 

​

So, I work for a phone company, they told me a month ago id be getting promoted, and then proceeded to promote the other representative at my store. I try to make sense of it, technically he’s been at this specific company (Authorized Retail) for longer than me, but I’ve been with insert phone company here for almost 2 years cause i came from corporate side. I’m feeling really unappreciated. Then, after the other rep was promoted, they had NO game plan for our store, so now my manager and I are running a store 7 days a week/ 10am-8pm. I feel used. The reason I haven’t left is because i get 50% off my phone services, and i got divorced so i have insurance through this job. Then, that’s not all folks, currently I have a UTI from HELL. And an upper respiratory infection, im on 2 different types of antibiotics. they told me there’s zero coverage, so now i am at work with a temp of 100.3 and threw up on the highway on my way to work. Someone please tell me I deserve better than this, is this normal? Is this just retail and I should suck it up?

My roommate (23) f and me (26)f have about a month to find a place to live. We live in a city that’s incredibly hard to find affordable living.
I have a crush on someone that lives in an apartment complex and I’m weird about my crushes so I have stated from the beginning that I don’t want to live in their complex. Their complex happens to be walking distance to my roommates work and school and my roommate would get the bigger room because she’s got a queen bed and mine is full XL.
We’ve exhausted all our efforts in trying to find housing and this complex seems to check all of our boxes except my crush lives there. I’ve finally given in and agreed to move there on the condition that the unit is further back and no where near theirs. We toured a unit that was perfect and far away from their unit but unfortunately it got taken before we applied.
Three units were left, the first two were right across from my crushes building. The third was further away. The only thing is the third was $50 more. My roommate wanted the building that’s closer to my crush and I told her that it would make me very uncomfortable/ nervous/ uneasy. My roommate got very upset and said I should get rid of my emotional attachment to the situation and that it was impacting her. We got into a nasty fight about it and I’m mostly upset that she doesn’t feel like my perspective is valid. I don’t want to live in a situation I feel uncomfortable in. I understand I may be making my decisions based on emotions but I know I’d feel paranoid living across from my crush. She thinks I’m being unreasonable.
We had some heated texts and I told her my perspective but she got even more pissed off. I’m not going to show the texts but it was like me telling her to please stop having opinions about my personal choices and not to take it personal when I don’t follow unsolicited advice.
What’s your opinion?

So i've been riding my Xiaomi 1S scooter for about a year now and i'm absolutely loving it, but my country decided on doing some brain-dead regulations starting next year that force me to either walk or get a bike. I've been looking around at what's available locally, and honestly, e-bike market is overwhelming, so i need some guidance. I've checked a lot of local shops for e-bikes and these are the main brands that i found, with pretty much all (or most) models available:

• Xiaomi HIMO (C20/Z20)
• Fiido (everything)
• ADO (everything, including the new A20 Air)
• ENGWE (i think everything)
• SAMEBIKE (a few)
• Bezior (a few)
• Beaster (a few)
• Myatu (a few)

There might be a few more that i missed, but that's what i found so far. I'm sure there are better brands outside of my country, but my rationale is "if anything breaks, i can get it fixed locally or use the warranty".
My biggest priority is that the bike has to be foldable. I live in a small apartment, so space is a real issue. On top of that, i'm a really small guy, so not much weight and muscle mass, so portability might be an issue if i would need to carry it in very rare cases, although i didn't have any issues with my scooter so far, and i usually leave it locked up outside if i'm in a store anyway.
The budget is another factor, the money is tight, even spending ~1000eur is though, but i could manage slightly more, but less is better, max i'd say would be around ~1200eur.
The terrain 99.9% of the time would be pavement, but i would like to have an option to ride it in some forests and/or gravel roads for a bit.
The current country regulations say that the motor can be up to 1000w, but since laws in EU mostly allow 250w, i'm guessing that my country will soon follow that as well.
Is there a specific bike/brand you would suggest from the list? Or maybe there are some uber good European brands as well? I'm starting to get lost in all the reviews, i honestly don't know much about e-bikes and what's good and what's not.

i’m going to canada for 5 months starting in september and i started the process of getting a working holiday visa this spring because i wanted to be on the safe side. i paid the fee and then realized i’d have to fly abroad to get my biometrics taken because for some reason there’s no way to do that anywhere near me. obviously a big mistake on my part not to to check that out earlier. i decided to just give up on it as to not have to pay any additional costs, and as of now i’m planning to go there with an eta. seeing as wwoofing is considered work there, i’ll have to lie and say i’m backpacking or staying with a friend. my concern is that they might be able to see that i applied for a work visa and think i’m lying (which i technically am lol). will the border agents be able to see if i’ve applied for a work visa, but didn’t go through with the whole application?

Hello all,
I've been googling this for a while, but resolutions do not seem to be helping.
As per the title, I've noticed a memory leak on a couple servers being hosted by ESXi. Task manager doesn't show it, but using PoolMonX shows that fltmgr.sys is using up nearly all the RAM that is allocated to the server.
However it is only happening on the virtual server, whereas the host itself is fine. These two servers are also unrelated to each other, and service unrelated clients.
To differentiate, I'll call one ServerAlpha and the other ServerBrooklynBoth run SQLserver, which initially lead me to believe that it was SQL eating up the RAM, but after limiting the RAM usage; nothing has changed. I thought it might be the Antivirus we install, but uninstalling also resulted in no change.
I've rebooted the server, run SFC, and even CHKDSK but to no avail. SFC only picks up Windows Defender's errors, but I assume that is because our antivirus supplants itself into the security role.
I'm at a bit of a loss, because the further steps are to reboot into safe mode, do a clean boot, and run DISM /restorehealth
But these are servers that are actively running all day long.ServerAlpha is not the only server on its host. There is also ServerBeta, ServerGamma, and ServerDelta. Those three other servers are not suffering the same issue.
Neither ServerAlpha nor Brooklyn's host server is suffering the issue.We are not receiving BSOD errors.
​
Anyone else happen upon this? I worry it may be incredibly niche, and we do not want to have to rebuild the VM from the ground up if at all possible.

I'd like to start by letting everyone know that the genre is Fantasy Epic, and that this is a long prologue at 6,414 words. This prologue serves a purpose as it takes care of a lot of my setting and plot setup. It also gives the reader a fair bit of worldbuilding without making it too much of an info dump (talking to you Robert Jordan ;P).
I've had several people beta read this for me and gotten a lot of positive feedback. The prolbem for me is that these were all people I know very well on a personal level. Several have made comparisons to Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings as far as how well the full book is written. The problem is, friends and family can often have a bias and make things seem better than they really are. So, now I want to do a test run in the real world and see what people who don't know me think. Is it as engaging and compelling as they have made me hope that it is?
I'm basically wanting to take a page from a couple authors I admire and follow the ABC rule for critiquing. Please let me know of any point where you thought it was Awesome, Boring or Confusing. I know prologues aren't everyone's favorite thing, but this has basically been written like a novella for the main story as it foreshadows a lot of things leading all the way into book four.
————————————————————————————
PROLOGUE
ARCHIVE INFINITUM
October 14, 844 (Alt-Future)
"Welcome back to the Archive, Master Jonathan."
"Thank you, Charles. It's good to be back. Have you noticed anything interesting in the Physical Realm?"
"I have not, sir. Do you require any assistance today?"
"Thank you, but no. I'm only here to revisit a passage within the history of the Order. Shortly after, I'll depart for the reunion at the Tower."
"Excellent, sir. I'll leave you to it."
Jonathan emerged from the ether and walked through the Archive doors. Inhaling deeply, he breathed in the familiar scents of dusty cleanliness that can only truly be found in a place of learning. The lights reflected off the floor's white marble surface, casting a glow that evenly lit every corner of the large chamber. Even so, the room still felt cavernous to him, as if he were a galleon amidst the vastness of the ocean.
Jonathan appeared to be in his early to mid forties. Though, with the way he carried himself and the spring in his step, he seemed closer to his late twenties. His hair was shoulder length and dark gray. He wore bifocals though he hadn't needed them since his ascension, and dressed with a refined sense of style.
His gray eyes were by far his most interesting feature, though. They were the only hint of how old he truly was and the many adventures and travesties he'd witnessed. Regardless, how old he was didn't matter as age had long since lost its meaning for him. After all, being an immortal tended to give a man new priorities in life.
As he strolled across the room, a lift descended from the tower's heights. The square platform had waist high rails around its perimeter. It floated through the air showing no sign of a suspension system to raise or lower it. This was accomplished by a magical enchantment that allowed it to levitate and dart about the room at mind numbing speeds. As he stepped up onto the platform's dais, it landed on the floor in front of him. He took a position at its center, then, after folding his arms behind his back, mentally willed it to take him to floor eight hundred forty four.
It rose off the ground, gradually gaining speed until it was a hundred or so feet in the air. At that point, the platform took off like a rocket. The thought of what these speeds would do to him if this were outside the Realm of Intellect crossed his mind, making him chuckle nervously. He knew he had to be moving close to six hundred miles per hour.
Now, let me tell you a bit about Jonathan's pet project, The Archive Infinitum. The Archive is a magical structure he'd designed shortly after the cataclysm that nearly wiped out the human race. An event most of you now refer to as the Night of Burning Skies. That same event is also what gave us the powers we now refer to as magic.
Shortly after obtaining his ascension, he learned that science's multiverse theories were close to how reality really worked. There are an infinite number of parallel universes, or branching timelines, that coexist simultaneously. What was different is that each universe shared a common six realm structure. The Physical Realm, the Realm of Intellect, the Dominion of Shadows, the Plane of Enlightenment, the Land of the Forgotten, and the Ether.
He built the Archive within the Realm of Intellect so it wouldn't be bound by the laws of physics or time as we know them. Once the structure was anchored in place, he could set most of those parameters himself. What he didn't realize was that making it here would have an unintended, though not unwelcome, side effect. The structure's size, shape, and architectural style could change by anyone who entered it.
When someone enters the Archive, it ascertains their strength of mind and will. Suppose the individual's mental fortitude is deemed stronger than that of the other occupants. In that case, the appearance will adjust to one that best serves and appeals to that individual. This could become unsettling for the occupants already inside the first few times it happened. That being said, it has no effect on the contents atop the shelves or where you're located within the structure. For Jonathan, it shared an uncanny resemblance to the George Peabody Library, though on a much grander scale.
The lift stopped after a brief ride, and Jonathan stepped off. He resumed his stride, passing row after row of the cherry wood bookcases. There were hundreds of rows and thousands of tomes and scrolls in each. As a scholar, he'd spent most of his existence here. But, even so, he knew there would always be something more to be gleaned from their pages.
Today was a day of remembrance. Of celebration. Of mourning. It was the anniversary of the end of a war that had lasted ten thousand years. With the death of one individual, a light of hope was given to many. For others, it was a bittersweet victory that left a void in their hearts. He'd come here today to revisit a passage that would return him to that fateful day. Reliving the event which granted them this peace, and once again, paying his respects to a dear friend.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes. Here we go."
The plaque on the side of the bookcase read, Row DD, Column 15. Now that he'd found the right one, he began scanning the shelves. It wasn't long before his hand landed on the tome he sought.
"Here it is." He pulled it down from the shelf. "My word. Has it truly been fifteen hundred years since I glanced through these pages?"
Looking at the cover, he chuckled. The combined magic of the Archive and the Realm had created a thin layer of dust. Giving it the feeling of something ancient and lost to time. Raising it to his lips, he blew the dust away, causing the magic to dissipate as it fell to the floor. He pulled open the cover and rifled through the pages. The section he stopped at contained the account of Rexinon the Prophet's final words.
Summoning his divine magics, he channeled a spell into the tome. The words that once filled the passages began to fade away, leaving only the blank pages, which now bled a blueish gray smoke. The soft glow of the lights against the floor diminished as the smoke spread. As the darkness grew more substantial, luminescent spheres and arcs of brilliant blues and crimson could be seen dancing about its surface like lightning.
The ground trembled beneath his feet, and the smokey haze took on a more stormlike appearance. All around him, the air started to feel heavy, and the taste of dust and sea salt filled his mouth. A gentle rain began to fall, and the room's remaining lights winked out. If not for the increasing flashes of lightning, he would've been left in total darkness. But even this was not a comfort, as those flashes cast shadows against the storm's ever swirling walls. Many of which appeared to be dark things that should never be seen in the light.
The storm's intensity grew, bringing disorienting cracks of thunder and wind whipping around him. It assaulted his senses and seemed to have an almost vengeful purpose. That meant he had to constantly focus on the spell, bracing himself against the onslaught. If he failed, it would kill him without question.
Some of the shadows began to take on a physical form with details beyond what the walls could offer them. He watched as an hourglass tumbled end over end, circling him before it returned to the storm. A moment later, a blazing fireplace and mantle emerged but produced neither light nor heat. Finally, a door engraved with the crest of the Order appeared. These images were ones he'd expected to see for this particular passage, and so came as no surprise. However, when a fourth image appeared, he was caught off guard.
Although it was normal for three images to accompany this spell, an occasional fourth spoke of prophecy. He focused intently on this final image. It showed twelve people standing in a circle; one of them was coated in blood. Two others were bound by chains. One a man, the other a woman.
He looked closer at the man and realized it was Godric. His eyes opened wide as he tried to decipher the meaning behind the image. Only a few moments passed while he speculated, but it was a few moments too many. Disaster struck, and too late, he realized his mistake. He'd lost focus, and now the storm would surely take him.
Hurricane force winds and debris tore at his clothes, quickly turning them into rags. One powerful gust slammed into his side as if he'd been struck by a car, knocking him off his feet. The storm swelled with even greater ferocity. It threatened to consume him this time, and he wondered if it would finally cost him.
Rain and hail pelted his face and body, while dust and sand stung his eyes. As he wiped away the grit, a bolt of lightning struck before him, temporarily blinding him. He got to his hands and knees, gasping for breath as the storm continued to beat him relentlessly.
Steeling himself against the pain, he rose to his feet. As fast as he could manage, he began casting mental defenses and barriers to protect his mind from the horrific assault. He bellowed in defiance of the storm, "I will not let it end this way! I refuse!" One defense after another was laid upon his person, until finally, he succeeded. The winds died to a breeze as the rain became little more than a summer misting.
He heard the sound of a quill scratching against paper over the storm's remnants, and the air behind his back grew hot as a crackling fire joined the room's ambiance. The sickly sweet smell of incense filled his nostrils, reminding him of days spent in his master's study. Another fond memory.
The storm wall vanished as the tremors subsided, making the room visible through a misty haze. The light of the fireplace cast his shadow across the now rough cut gray stone floor. Half a dozen tapestries hung around the room, and a liquor cabinet stood at the room's far corner. The main entry door remained closed to his left, and the doorway to the study's balcony lay to his right. At the room's center sat Rexinon at his desk, writing furiously on a piece of parchment.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he breathed a sigh of relief. Although he'd done this countless times, the journey into the pages of history was always filled with peril. But, blessedly, the most intense part of the spell was complete. And while he could now relax in that fact, that fourth image still concerned him.
He stood in the familiar square room, clothing restored to its original state. The evening's air flowed through the open windows, making the ambient temperature quite cozy. Crossing the room, he paused at the desk and listened as Rexinon started muttering. "What I wouldn't give for a typewriter, much less a computer. Would make this so much faster."
Jonathan couldn't help but crack a smile. "Oh, but how many times have I thought the same thing, old friend?" He remarked, though he knew Rexinon couldn't hear him.
He stepped up to the desk and leaned over it. Looking down at the paper Rexinon was writing on, he frowned. Like so many times before, it appeared as little more than black scribbles on a page. Those words had to be important, but there was no way to know.
This was one of the spell's critical weaknesses. The details within the vision were only as precise as what was written in the tome. Most of the books in the Archive were magically transcribed. The benefits of this were completed histories free of victor and writer biases. Although, it wasn't flawless.
Throughout history, there have been individuals or events that the spell couldn't see. The most well known examples of these blips in time were the United States presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945 and the United Kingdom's Prime Minister, Michael Durham, from 2063 to 2065. All that is known about them was their lives before office and the accounts written by those around them. These gaps in history were generally the result of one of two things. In these two cases, a place or individual with a strong connection to the Dominion of Shadows.
Sighing, he pushed off the desk and crossed the room to the liquor cabinet. He opened the glass doors, pulling several bottles and a glass from the shelves. He made a drink consisting of three parts Red Adders Bite and one part Dry Amorian Blood Wine, then added a lime wedge to the rim of the glass. The others wouldn't arrive for another half hour, leaving him time to kill.
He walked around the room with his drink in hand and studied the various tapestries, several of which he'd been a part of. Each one depicted an accomplishment or tragedy facilitated by the Order. All save one, which showed a scene from the event that started it all.
The one to the left of the cabinet showed the Order's founding. In the background stood a grand tower of black and white marble. Its four sides were engraved with the Mark of Hellyrr, which glowed with a magical light. In front of it stood a man facing a gathered crowd, his arms swept wide in triumph. They looked up at him and the structure with reverence and awe.
He continued to move in a counterclockwise manner around the room. Above the main entry door hung another tapestry. One he was even depicted in. It showed the aftermath of a massacre. Six figures stood amidst the bodies of hundreds. The earth around them was scorched by flame, and the blood of the fallen had stained it red. The cloud covered sky glowed a deep crimson with gold outlines from the fires below. It had come to be known as the Cleansing of Elysian, in which the entirety of the planet's second continent had been annihilated to preserve the world.
"I wish it had never come to this. Why can't we all just get along? Instead of thriving in the prosperity of our two lands, they plotted and began planning to bring war to our own people. To rape, pillage, and enslave them. Even with all my vast knowledge and wisdom, I can't understand why they felt the need to dominate and control the world." He looked back up at the tapestry. "Even now, most of the land is still uninhabitable."
He turned around and looked at the tapestry above the balcony door. This one would appear out of place with the others to all but a few handfuls of people. Even for those who learned the truth behind it, it looked like little more than an artist's vision of what a beautiful landscape at sunset should look like. The sky is dotted with hundreds of stars as shades of red, orange, and yellow dance across the land's horizon. The artist's point of view appears to be looking down from a hillside. Down the hill's slope, you can see a pond teaming with wildlife along its edge. The remaining landscape is filled with miles of forest stretching toward the horizon.
For the few who survived this event and still remained, they knew it depicted the final moments of their world before all of humanity was nearly lost.
Jonathan fixated on this tapestry more than he had on the others. The longer he stared, the more distant his expression grew. Over time, his breathing quickened, and his grip on the glass slipped. It shattered as it hit the floor, causing the rug to stain from the liquid. The sound jerked him out of the trance like state, making him feel ill.
He could still recall the memory of that long ago day like it were yesterday. The thought of how close humanity had come to extinction made his legs weak, and he stumbled back against the wall behind him. He slid down the stones' cool surface and noticed his hands were now trembling. Through shuddering breaths, he uttered the words of a broken man. "So much death. So many lives were lost that day. So many. Oh, Sonia. Even after all this time, I still miss you."
The main entry door slammed open, crashing against the wall with a loud bang. Jonathan jerked as one of them collided mere inches from where he sat. The startling sound had been enough to pull him from his stupor, but it still took a moment for him to gather himself. A man in the doorway lowered his foot from where he'd obviously kicked the unlocked door in.
"Knock, knock, Rex. Seems you've done it now."
"Seth. I'll never understand the animosity you held for Rexinon," Jonathan said wearily as he got to his feet.
Seth stood just shy of five foot eight inches and had slick black hair that he kept combed back. He wore black jeans and a beige dress shirt with mother of pearl buttons, which had seen far too much polish in recent days. A malevolent grin displayed his perfect teeth and careless eyes. He strode into the room, dragging a chair behind him, and placed it on the rug by the fireplace.
"Was kicking the door in really necessary, Seth?"
A second man stepped into the room, obviously annoyed by the unnecessary use of force. He wore a navy blue business suit and towered over everyone else in the room, and that was saying something considering Jonathan was six foot. As he still held to the standards of a marine, he kept his hair high and tight and his face clean shaven. He stood at the rug's edge out of respect for the Order so as not to mar the embroidered Mark of Hellyrr. A respect Seth clearly lacked.
"Godric Gibbs. This day changed you. Hell, it changed all of us, but few as much as you," Jonathan said. He looked back at the door as the third and final man entered. "Assassin."
This man was of a height with Jonathan and wore all black from head to toe. His outfit looked like something out of a TV show. Almost like a cross between Gi Joe's Snake Eyes, and CW Arrow's League of Assassins. After ten thousand years, all they knew about him was his previous occupation as a contract killer. It wasn't long before they'd taken to calling him Assassin, as they had no other name to go by. Any time he was asked a question regarding his past, he either remained silent or dodged it outright. He took a position to Godric's left and, like Godric, took care of where he stood on the rug.
The three men stood in silence and watched as Rexinon continued to write. Godric and Assassin seemed content to wait until he addressed them. On the other hand, Seth seemed to grow more agitated as the minutes passed. Jonathan chuckled in spite of himself.
About twenty minutes later, Rexinon spoke, "Reverend Seth Jones, Colonel Godric Gibbs, and Assassin. To what do I owe the pleasure?" His tone plainly indicated that he already knew.
Seth spoke first. "Oh, cut the crap, Rex. You already know why we're here. This cult thing of yours has gone on long enough."
"Well, there's the pot calling the kettle black," Jonathan muttered sarcastically.
Godric rolled his eyes. Everyone in the room knew about Seth's past as a cult leader. They also knew his anger was more at being forced to wait in silence than anything to do with Rexinon or the Order.
"Calm yourself, Seth. There's no need for such hostilities." Godric looked at Rexinon apologetically. "I'm sorry to have to do this, old friend, but my hands are tied. Rexinon the Prophet, Headmaster of the Hellyrrian Order, you've been charged with conspiracy to overthrow the governments of Aurelia and seize control for the Order.
"As we speak, the leaders of the Hellyrrian Order are being gathered for execution. Furthermore, your towers and all their artifacts will be destroyed, and any remnants of the Order's existence is to be wiped from the face of history. As of 0813 this morning, you have been sentenced to death. How do you plead?"
Rexinon continued to write at an incredible rate. He knew why they'd come. He'd known this was coming for months. After all, his gift was the gift of prophecy. The evidence for the charges against him was both substantial and ethereal, depending on what light was shown on it.
Two centuries ago, the Order had tracked the activities of an unknown number of individuals who'd been subtly manipulating several of the Aurelian governing bodies. They'd spread like a poison, corrupting them and turning once prosperous kingdoms which knew few hardships, into lands where the people had to fight just to survive. The problem was that whoever that force had been, always seemed to be just one step ahead of them. Now, not only was it check, but checkmate. The Order had lost.
"I believe the Righteous Twelve to be ill advised. I believe you've been manipulated by the same corrupted governing body which we've spent so long trying to purify—." Seth grunted. "—But," he said at length, "I accept all charges against me, save one. Neither myself nor anyone else of the Order has ever sought to rule Aurelia, as the charges would imply. The Cleansing of Elysian should've been proof enough to show that to be true."
Rexinon penned the final words of his letter and placed the pen back in its stand. Pulling the top off a jar, he dusted the page with a thin layer of sand to soak up any excess ink. After dumping the sand back into another jar to be cleaned, he pushed away from his desk and stood to look at his guests for the first time. After nudging his stool back under, he addressed Godric directly.
"Will you join me on the balcony one last time?"
Godric nodded his head and gestured towards the balcony doorway. As they stepped outside, Jonathan followed.
Rexinon leaned against the railing and looked out over the city, his gaze fixed on the setting sun. Godric joined him and looked down to the tower's base, some five hundred feet below. Although he was not afraid of heights, it gave him respect for the sturdily mounted railing at the balcony's edge.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Rexinon said. Godric looked at him, confused. "The way the world has turned out since that day? Ten thousand years of watching as civilization was rebuilt and destroyed time and time again by a senseless war. Watching them evolve into something more as they learned how to use these gifts we were given. In some ways, we're greater than we ever were. In other ways, we're inferior. If I have any regrets, it's that I couldn't do more to leave the people better prepared for this new age."
"Well spoken. If it's any consolation, I believe this is wrong. I even spoke out against the council for a different outcome. For my efforts, though, I was threatened with execution if I didn't cease my objections."
Rexinon's tone grew heated after hearing of the council's reaction. "You should know better than anyone why I fought so hard against them, then. I'm not against governance. I'm against corrupt governance. We had far too many corrupt politicians and warlords in our own time for me to ever want to allow it again."
Godric nodded his head. "Yes. The problem is you played too heavy a hand too quickly. Instead of accepting that they'd been beaten, they cheated by playing with an ace they had hidden up their collective sleeves."
Rexinon sighed, knowing his words were true. "Indeed. I've accepted my fate. I won't run. Won't even make it difficult for y'all. I have no need to. I would like to make one final request to ease your conscience, though."
Rexinon leaned toward Godric conspiratorially. As he did this, the world around them began to shimmer and distort. Almost like the motion blurring you'd see on a TV. Likewise, their conversation was masked by the sound of white noise and the sound of hushed incoherent whispers.
This was the second hurdle the scrying spells had to deal with. Individuals with divine magic could conceal their conversations or even the events they were a part of. Rexinon had concealed this conversation, and to this day, Godric has never spoken of what was said.
Jonathan returned to the study with a resigned sigh. There was nothing more he could learn from their conversation. Assassin stood in the same spot he'd been when he first entered the room and looked as if he hadn't so much as twitched. Seth, however, was rummaging through the desk's drawers. He'd tried to figure out what he was looking for in the past, but nothing seemed obvious.
The shards of glass from when he'd dropped his cup earlier had vanished, along with the stain on the rug from the liquor. As expected, the glass had returned to the cabinet, and the bottles had refilled to where they were before he'd arrived. This was yet another reminder that this was a magically induced vision of an event that had long since passed. It could be too easy to forget that this wasn't real and that if he spent too much time here, it would have consequences in the real world for him.
He knew they'd be out there a while. In previous visits, he'd occasionally spent this time combing through the room, similar to what Seth was doing. Having cataloged everything centuries ago, there was nothing left to do but wait. So, he walked around the desk and sat squarely within the Mark of Hellyrr embroidered on the rug. There, for the next hour or so, he would remain, arms folded, legs crossed, and eyes shut. Freeing his mind of all unnecessary thoughts and emotions. At least, that was the plan.
About forty minutes in, Seth started to grumble and complain, forcing Jonathan to give up on his meditation. "… I know he's one of the humblest among our kind, but lord, does he have to be so dull? I can't find anything interesting anywhere. Even his liquor cabinet is dull." Seth walked from behind the desk to the liquor cabinet, pulled a few bottles out at random, and read the labels aloud. "Red Adders Bite, Amorian Blood Wine. Christ, he's even got Athester's Sweet Malt. This crap might as well be water." He pulled another bottle down and said, "At least he's got the taste to have at least one bottle of Nordic Berserker."
"Some of us prefer the simpler things in life. You might find life more enjoyable when you aren't always looking for the rare and exotic," Assassin said with a disinterested, almost dismissive tone.
Seth clicked his tongue. "Hell, even this letter he was so focused on when we arrived makes no sense." Seth thrust the letter towards Assassin, who took it nonchalantly. "Look at this."
Jonathan studied Assassin intently, hoping for any sign that would reveal the letter's contents. It was no use, though; for all the emotion he showed, Jonathan would've thought it no more important than a grocery list. But, if that were the case, why obscure it from the eyes of the scrying spell? The frustration caused by such a simple sheet of paper was baffling.
Jonathan got to his feet as Rexinon and Godric returned. As Rexinon walked to stand at the center of the rug, Jonathan moved behind the desk. Godric walked toward Assassin and conversed with him for a few minutes. Once again, the sound of white noise shrouded what was said. This time, it was Godric who masked his words from the spell. When Assassin nodded, Godric moved beside him and faced Rexinon.
Rexinon looked at each tapestry and seemed to relive each as he did so. They all knew those accomplishments and tragedies would stand the test of time. Any efforts to change that would fall flat. The Order had played too significant a role in shaping this new world. Finally, he turned to Godric, kneeling as he met his regret filled eyes.
Assassin pulled an infamous rod from his side, dubbed the Executioner's Handle. Forged in the Dominion of Shadow by Assassin some three thousand years ago. It was one and a half feet long of shadow infused steel and bound with his own divine essence. Ominous black tendrils crawled along Assassin's hand like something alive and flowed into the handle. The shaft elongated, and an axe head formed at its end.
Though he had accepted his fate, seeing that axe form made Rexinon's heart stop momentarily. He looked at Godric questioningly. Godric knew what that look meant and nodded his head in assent. Agreeing to this had allowed them both to right several wrongs this night by asking one simple question. "Do you have any final words or requests?"
"I have two, if you'll grant them. The first, allow me to disband the Order formally as my final act as headmaster."
Seth started to protest, but Assassin lowered the axehead in his direction as a silent threat. Seth glared at Assassin with seething hatred. Godric nodded to Rexinon. "Proceed."
As the headmaster of the Hellyrrian Order, he had a mental connection with every member. Without hesitation, Rexinon's eyes began to glow with a brilliant purple hue. This would be Rexinon's final order, and Godric knew it would save thousands.
"My brothers and sisters, hear me now and heed my words. Abandon the Order and save yourselves. Flee to the hills and never look back to what we once were. With my dying breath, the Hellyrrian Order is no more. The governments of Aurelia have played a hand we can't stand against. Anyone who disregards this command will be hunted down and executed without mercy. To the leaders and guild masters of the Order, I charge you with dismantling everything relating to the Order and turning over every artifact and document you can to Godric the Just, Jonathan the Wise, or Assassin the Watcher. I also ask that you help calm those who feel outraged and betrayed by this night. Do not blame the Twelve, as they were little more than pawns in this corrupt game of politics. Farewell, my friends. My family. May the peace we have fought for be found in the coming days."
The glow faded, and he slumped forward onto his hands, his breathing labored. A few moments passed, and he managed to catch his breath but still looked towards the ground.
"The second request I have is that anyone who would heed that warning be spared. The ruling factions wanted me. As long as no one else causes trouble, we know they won't cause too much fuss over it."
His voice took on a much sharper edge as he looked back up. "You call us a cult, though you know we are nothing of the sort. On the contrary, our Order has stood for nearly five thousand years for the betterment of the entire world. How they treated you should tell you that what I said and what we were doing was justified."
"Shut your mouth, Rex!" Seth spat venomously.
Godric glared at Seth. His own anger with this situation was at the point of breaking free. "Be silent! I don't know what kind of grudge you have, but I, for one, don't give a damn what the council said. Rexinon doesn't deserve death for the crimes he's being accused of. Unfortunately, the ruling factions in almost every nation are corrupted and working towards being as corrupt as they were back in our day." Godric sighed. "Regrettably, my hands are tied, though. The law is the law, and I have been overruled on this matter. Regardless of what my conscience thinks, I will abide by the rules of the land."
Rexinon nodded, understanding Godric's situation perfectly. Godric had become the divine embodiment of law and justice at his ascension. While those two things work hand in hand, they are far from the same, and one must often walk a fine line to serve them both. In this case, the choices were clear. In the end, it didn't matter what he chose; he would inevitably betray one virtue or the other. Unfortunately, there was no good way for him to handle this, and Rexinon could see how this was affecting him.
"The majority of the Order will heed my warning. As for the leaders, if any are still alive, they will follow that command to the letter. They'll even aid you in handling any hotheads who resist," Rexinon said.
"The good news is that no one has yet been executed this evening. I'll personally see to it that those who abide by that order are given a chance to live long, productive lives within society. If all goes well, you will be the only casualty of this idiocy."
Rexinon gave the faintest sign of a smile with a halfhearted chuckle as he said, "Godric, one thing I'll not allow is any of the Order's work ending up in the hands of one of those tyrants. Therefore, I demand that Jonathan be given every document, scroll, and tome held within our strongholds for safekeeping." Rexinon felt exhausted. The spell to warn his Order took more out of him than anticipated.
"You're in no position to be making demands of us," Seth said. Godric finally snapped and struck him so hard that he slammed back into the wall beside the fireplace, cracking it. He got back to his feet a moment later, fixed his shirt, and looked down at the blood he'd wiped from his lip. Godric looked back at Rexinon.
"As you were saying."
"Assassin, I'd ask that you secure all our relics and artifacts, regardless of their magical significance. I don't need to tell you what all we have housed around Aurelia."
"No, you don't. The nukes of our time were nothing compared to some of those items," Assassin replied.
"We'll see to it that it's done. There are things within these walls that were never meant for untrained mortal hands," Godric added.
"Thank you."
"As for the texts, Jonathan will have a field day going through everything. There is far too much the council doesn't understand within these walls that we can't afford to lose."
"Godric was right, Rex. I still have everything. Much of which has been quite useful over the centuries,"
Godric turned his head away, no longer able to look Rexinon in the eye. "I no longer deserve the right to call you a friend, but is there anything else you would ask of me?"
Rexinon looked at Godric for a long time and couldn't help but smile. Not at his pain or suffering in following the orders given to him, but knowing that if anyone here had ever been a friend to him, Godric certainly was. With his final words, he left Godric with a warning.
"No, but I'll leave you with this. Be wary of those among you, for one will betray you all. My friend."
Godric nodded, accepting these as Rexinon's final words as a tear ran down his cheek. Rexinon lowered his head, and Assassin enveloped his axe's blade in a purple aura.
"Woah, Assassin, what's with the new color? Never seen that before," Seth asked.
Ignoring the question, Assassin swung the axe, severing Rexinon's head cleanly.
That night, the cries of the Order were heard in every city across Aurelia. All mourning the death of the Order's first, and last, headmaster.
Jonathan fought back tears of his own as he watched the axe's head vanish. Assassin secured the handle on his belt as he walked towards the desk. Godric looked as though he was going to be sick.
"Did you do as I asked?" Godric asked shakily.
"Of course. I may be a trained killer, but even I know this was bullshit, mate."
Seth walked over and picked up Rexinon's severed head by the hair. He held it up before him, a mischievous grin on his face. Then he whispered something into Rexinon's ear.
Assassin's eyes locked on Seth. As he let go of the head, he used one of his abilities, known as shadow step, to cross the distance to where Seth stood. Before Rexinon's head hit the ground, Assassin snatched it out of the air and punched Seth so hard that it sent him flying into the same section of the wall he'd hit earlier. He bounced off it, but the force of the impact sent several of the stones flying into the next room. Seth crumpled to the floor, where he lay unmoving for several seconds. After a while, his head snapped upright, and he began to laugh. He stood up as if nothing had happened and headed out the door. Godric, now seething with anger, watched as Assassin started to go after him. "Leave him. He's not worth your time."
Jonathan paced around the room, waiting for the spell to wear off. His heart ached, and his own anger toward Seth at that moment made him wish he could destroy the man. But that was Seth's way, and they'd all learned to let it go in time. The world began to blur and vanish, reverting to the Archive once again.
He closed the cover, placing the tome back on the shelf with a heavy sigh. His fingers lingered on the binding as he read the inscription, A Complete History of the Hellyrrian Order, Volume 666. Finally, Jonathan let his hand fall to the side as he walked away with his shoulders slumped.
As if speaking to an old friend, he lamented, "Damn you, Rex. Why couldn't you have just left well enough alone?"
As Jonathan walked away, he shed a tear at the loss of one of his closest friends.

I grew up in NJ and probably had Dunkin every month. Sure once in a while we would get something stale, too sweet, cold, but for the most part they were always tasty: I really liked that they were super soft and airy, that slight crunch of the glaze, filling flavors.
I went to FL for college, work, and then moved to VA and thus have been exposed to Krispy Kreme for about 9 yrs now and I hate them! I cannot understand the hype of these donuts at all. They are smaller, denser, more expensive, the glaze is sickly sweet, and when hot, drippy and sticky. And yet they are in the grocery stores and regularly have much higher google ratings than the Dunkins and even local bakeries. So many people bring them to group get togethers and such. I have always had a sweet tooth but also a very wide palate and I honestly don’t understand how I’m the only person who seems to think these donuts are way too sweet.
So today I decided to give it one more chance because I had never tried any non glazed ones since that’s the favorite that everyone brings. I got the strawberry sprinkled, which I’ve had many of from dunkin, and it was not good. The icing was one thick circle strip and extra sweetness and denseness on top of the existing glazed I don’t like. So today was my last chance lol unless one of you can prove me wrong.
Disclaimer that I am quite aware that local, small, and international bakeries and fast casual chains are varied and delicious and usually superior and I do patronize these as well.
That is all, thank you for your friday morning time.

These restaurants, online stores and some fast food chains never add After tax prices on their websites or menus. All they add is the Text "taxes added during checkout", or "pre-tax price" which needs a microscope to see. Like if you are advertising some for 500 then it has to be 500. Intentionally just showing the pre-tax price is a Legal SCAM in India nowadays.
Swiggy, Zomato, KFC, Domino, Online stores that aren't Amazon all the mf cheat people intentionally. Don't care if it's legal or Illegal, their intention is to hide information and they get away with it too.
Just installed a food delivery app called Eatsure and they mentioned "Prices Includes Tax now!!" on a huge as* banner. You telling me the correct price shouldn't require you to show it off as an achievement and made me realize how evil these companies are becoming.

Hey guys, visiting LA this weekend and staying in Koreatown. Can anybody recommend any good thrift stores near Koreatown/the surrounding areas? Thank you!