drsawzall

As a confirmed agnostic, this story spoke volumes to me. I am glad the cycle of abuse was broken, that Steven and his mother were able to move on, survive Ian,what a putz, and find a relationship that works. I have to agree with @raven1, wholeheartedly as I hear the same small voice. I thought the following was so well said.... Giorgio felt tears well. “Oh, my love. If you want to know God truly then you must live the life He gave to you. You must be who you are. When you do, you will see and hear God always. In the bird’s song, in children’s laughter and tears and you will know it when I hold you in my arms. God does not live in churches; He lives in us every day.”

Talk about breaking new ground... "I don't think so. If we enter the nether only in our thoughts, how then do the magicks we create there apply themselves to our physical bodies? It seems that could only happen if we are in some way completely exposed to the nether." Garvin scratched at his chin. "Some strange interface takes place, you mean? Perhaps, as if the nether comes to us in these moments?" Snave offered a pleasant chuckle at that. "I fear we play word games with a process we simply don't understand." Jamie laughed, too. "All of magick is thus, Snave. A riddle, in which we understand the words, but not always the true meanings behind them. Most mages perform their magicks daily without much thought to what is actually happening. It seems we know the making of magicks, but perhaps not the processes behind them. Not as well as we have long thought, anyway." I believe they are close to breaking the enigma code of the nether, having the ability to shut down Porvus and gang before the action starts "Even if this idea is true, how does it help us?" Geert asked. Jamie nodded. "When we perform a magick, we see the lock tied in our mind. I suggest that what actually happens is that our mind, via our knack, in some way opens a window into the nether, and what we are observing is our manipulation of forces there. If that is true, then we all have the ability to do this for our own magick. What we need then do is find a way to open such a window to view what other mages are doing when they tie their own locks." One can fervently hope this an all be resolved without, for the lack of better words, bloodshed and the evil ones banished,and their magickal ability neutered...and as @Ivor Slipper stated, they become appendices to history of this quest

From your fingers on the keyboard Cal, to God's ears...thank you!! “I had a good time tonight and I love Aunt Pat. We have created a family there.”

The old adage applies here...There may be snow on the roof but there's fire in the furnace... Love is ageless and sex isn't the province of the young and inexperienced...

A short but thrilling mystery involving a severe beating, a host of suspects and 3 deceased victims. Fast paced, well developed leads and enough mystery to whet anyone's whistle!!

A very nice mystery with a unique twist, like others I was rootin for Bobert, and I may have missed it, but was he left handed? Needless to say, this was very entertaining, kudos SA!!!

All I got is...

Nearly at the halfway point the order of magnitude for our band of intrepid explorers have encountered Porvus, and he proves he's not infallible nor invincible...a worthy opponent to say the least. As @akascrubber noted, a trip to the nether just might be in order... Hoping they take some time for further explorations at the next tower and see if there may be found an advantage. There is a danger in that Porvus knows of the wonder of the ancients, and in that, might be able to follow their journey by monitoring the electrums used to speed their journey through the tunnels... I am confident tho, in the end Porvus just may sit on a shelf somewhere... It was a man's face, and the face of a fox, certainly, thin and somehow sly. He had a head of thick, gray hair, and a black leather eye-patch, adorned with a diamond, tied about his head on a wide leather strap. The eye they could see was a fierce gray; and now it trained upon them, even as a faint trace of surprise registered on those somewhat sinister features.

Reminded of the old song lyrics...Bad boy, bad boy...whatcha gonna do...

Thought you knew all there was to know about Orc's...read on to find out what you may have overlooked!!

Well done SA, a great job creating an interesting take on the Orc's, as others have noted, more of this story would be welcome...

As with the other commenters, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Cherish the good days and hold to dear memories on the other days. If you ever need, you have friends here.

Well then it just may be a...

If we can't have Carrie or a close firebrand relative perhaps we could pray for...I for one am looking forward to the repercussions when everyone's day/dance/business trip turns craptastic...not sure anyone's insurance will pay for the massive/humongous hours of therapy everyone is gonna need...

Yes, definitely so...

Herein lies one proof.... "He says the map is old, and that it is measured in leagues, but that it is also measured in two ancient distances, called miles and kilometers." "I have not heard of these ancient measures," Snave put in. "They must truly be from the before times." Khybeer watched them, and then waved at the map again. "He says that the kilometer is the smallest measure, with about five to each league. And there are about three of these miles to each league, as well." "Why different measures for the same distances?" Snave asked. "It seems confusing." Jamie smiled. "Let us stick to things we know. Leagues will do, for now."

This would make a fine screensaver for a certain someone's PC...Ivor...

While they are a necessity, and I'm reminded of the old joke: "what's the definition of mixed emotions...watching a bus full of lawyers going over a cliff, and realizing one seat is empty". Who's fooling who and beware a pissed off receptionist...And for heaven's sake...find another legal firm.... “Not necessarily a dispute, but there very well could be, Mr. Walker.” “Alright. Just so you know, I can offer a free consultation today, but it will cost $150 per hour on top of a $500 retainer if you want the firm to represent you.” “I understand. Right now, I'd like a consultation and see what my options are.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Is there anything else I can help you with?” Mr. Walker said. “No, Sir. You've been a great help.” “Glad to hear it. You can settle the bill with the receptionist.” “And how much will that be?” “$150, which is our standard rate per hour, and we change for the full hour.”

A mother's love is supposed to be forever, thank goodness for the kindness of a stranger. A short yet powerful story that will leave you thinking...

I will never understand why these so called christians only pick and choose the parts of the good book that suit them. I may be wrong, but everyone was welcomed to sit with Jesus... Dad needs a spine, Westly is a leech, a sloth, and a miserable excuse for a human being, I fear for Cody... Like everyone else, I need, want, and wish for more to this story...

Oh boy...from a broken home situation to a clusterfuck...

Thank you @LemonSoda for sharing. It was an eyeopener to say the least, and as a result of @raven1, @Dan South, and @Mrsgnomie, I understand much better the issues that confronted both Avery, his parents and the larger world they occupied. For what it's worth, I come at this issue from the perspective of a child, grown into a young (18 yrs old) adult, fleeing at first chance, a dysfunctional family dynamic. It wasn't until I was in my early 30's that I had children. I should qualify that, my adult children... My parents, mostly my father, could no longer support themselves. My father was a cross between Archie Bunker and Fred Sanford. My mother, scarred from the divorce of her parents, when her father got a 16yr old girl pregnant, simply would not leave. She tried for years to get the help my father needed for his service connected disability with the Veterans Administration. An incredibly bright man, my father simply was an island unto himself, you asked for a piece of bread, you got the history of wheat...We never knew what trouble, and he was capable of many things that would have you scratching your head, he'd get into. His overall health was always an issue, he was far smarter than the doctors he saw. Once he drove himself to the hospital while having a stroke...At the same time he could be cunning, when he turned 70, he installed electric heating in his house, knowing in our state because of age, the electric utility could not disconnect the service... I could never control the storm of events my father left in his wake, only do my best to manage the deterius... I guess my point is, mental health in this country is a crisis, and we've allowed it to become so...Why, because it takes time, effort, and funding...and sometime institutionalizing...Sadly it doesn't have to be this way as we see so often in the news...

Thanks, I'm halfway thru a second part and hope to have it done soon.

Well, good thing you didn't read the Harvard Lampoon version, you can only guess what they named Bilbo...hint...The name began with the 4th letter of the alphabet...

I'm somewhat reminded of the Lord of the Rings, in the sense that good will triumph over evil. They willingly go where others fear to tread and in the process find willing allies. More astoundly, are the advances Jamie and Snave are making with their new understanding of the magickal knots, some they have yet to fully explore...