Friday, October 20, 2017

Extra Reading: The Heptameron Part B

 The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, translated by Walter K. Kelly.
  • May be interesting if the girl manages to succeed in scaring off the lord and lady.
  • Could be interesting if the lady's secret husband survives.
  • Might be amusing if the guy refuses to buy the cat and only the horse.
  • Might be interesting if the man got to keep his good wife and not the bad one.
  • It may be amusing to go more in depth in how the dying wife recovers and punishes her unfaithful husband.
Painting of a young woman drawing.

Week 15 story: The Summoning of ?

A simple medieval man.

I walk into the summoning room for what is to be my last summoning. I hope this goes well and I don’t get yet another oddball. When my instructor notices me, he says, “Welcome. Are you excited to meet the last servant you will summon?”

I reply sarcastically with, “Can’t wait to see what lunatic I get stuck with this time. Hopefully it’s someone that’s low maintenance. I’ve already got my hands full with all the other servants running amok.”

My instructor replies with, “I’m sure it’s not all bad. Well, let’s get this started.”

I stand before the summoning circle for the last time. After taking a deep breath, I perform the summoning ritual for the final time. What appears is-

“Hello, master. I’m of the saber class, though I have no name to go by. I hope I will be of help to you.” So says the rather plain looking man before me who is wearing plain, medieval, clothes and holding a plain sword and shield.

I reply with, “What do you mean you have ‘no name?’ You have to have a name to be a Heroic Spirit, right?”

The nameless man smiles at me and says, “I truly have no name. I am merely a peasant who has accomplished a heroic feet. Nothing more.”

What does that mean? I look towards my instructor and ask, “Could you please explain what’s going on? Is this a glitch in the system?”

My instructor takes a moment to think and then says, “I don’t believe so. I think the man before is the embodiment of the ‘peasant hero.’ A nameless individual that has accomplished some great feat, but name was never recorded in history.”

So that’s it huh? My final servant is the biggest oddball of them all! I didn’t have high expectations for my final summoning, but to get a servant that has no name is a letdown. I sigh and say, “Nothing came be done now. Welcome aboard whoever you are. Try not to get demolished by my other servants.”

The nameless man replies with, “As you wish, master.”

And so ends my final summoning.


Author’ Notes:
Here is my last story. I wanted to go with a rather ambiguous hero. So, after reading the Russian Folktale unit which has many peasants doing heroic things, I settled on the concept of a peasant hero. That is why I made this Heroic Spirit not be a specific person but the embodiment of the “peasant hero.” For the class, I made him a Saber for no particular reason. He could have been summoned as any Class.

Bibliography. "Russian Folktales" from Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore by W. R. S. Ralston. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Russian Folktales Part B

Russian Folktales from Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore by W. R. S. Ralston.
  • May be interesting if the witch managed to flee her demise.
  • Might be interesting if the priest's boy disobeyed the old woman's warnings.
  • May be interesting if the old man hunted down the fox.
  • Could be interesting if the man did not invite his dead friend to the wedding.
  • May be interesting if soldiers doesn't stop and talks to the warlock.
A fox.
Source: Pixabay

Reading Notes: Russian Folktales Part A

Russian Folktales from Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore by W. R. S. Ralston.
  • May be interesting if the old man sees through the pope and refuses to give him the gold.
  • Could be interesting if the bad wife leaves the pit to take revenge.
  • May be interesting if the orphan goes to get his cat after the merchant returns.
  • Could be interesting if the girls turned into a snake instead of the snake turning into a human.
  • Might be interesting if the pike stopped obeying the fool at some point.
A pike.

Week 14 story: The Summoning of Dante

Dante and Virgil confronted by demons.

Once I walk into the summoning room I immediate walk towards my instructor and say, “Please let me give ownership of Alice to someone else. I’m going to go mad at this rate!”

My instructor looks taken back at this plead and responds, “That’s an unusual request. Is there a more specific reason why?”

I respond with, “I’m tired of her antics! She constantly runs off and causes trouble for others! I’ve had enough of walking out of a room to immediately be greet by a strange world with weird creatures running around! Is there anything I can do to stop this crazy little girl!”

At my continued plea, my instructor simply says, “Use a command spell to force her to be obedient.”

At this, I freeze in shock and exclaim, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” to which my instructor replies with “Glad I could help. Now please start the summoning ritual.”

I did as instructed and performed the summoning. What appears from the circle is a man in a long white robe and carrying a rather large scythe.

“I am servant class Berserker, Dante. I hope I can be of service.” So exclaimed the man before me.

I reply with, “Nice to meet you. Dante, was it? I can’t quite remember ever reading about a hero with a scythe named Dante? The only Dante I recall was from the Divine Comedy but he wasn’t a warrior.”

To this, Dante replies with, “That is me. I am the Dante who travelled into hell while still alive and traversed the nine circles with the aid of my guide, Virgil.”

I’m left momentarily speechless at his words. How is this possible? The Dante from the Divine Comedy was in no way a warrior. He was a poet who traveled through hell, purgatory, and then made it to paradise. How is he standing before me as a Heroic Spirit?!

I say to Dante, “I’m a bit confused. Can you explain to me how you are considered a Heroic Spirit and why you have such a large scythe?”

He replies with, “Certainly. As my poem stated, I travelled through the nine circles of hell until I reached Lucifer. At this point, reality splits from the poem. When I was preparing to return to the world of the living, the grim reaper appeared and said I had to stay in hell. I refused profusely and a struggle insured. During the struggle I managed take the grim reaper’s scythe and used it to cut him down.” He raises the scythe he’s carrying to emphasis this point. “I then had to traverse back through the nine circles with Virgil, madly fighting all the way, to once again reach the world of the living. I presume the mad fighting bit is why I was summoned as a Berserker.”

At the conclusion of his tale, I’m left speechless again. I regain myself and ask him, “Why didn’t you include this very important part of your story in your poem?”

He replies with, “It wouldn’t have been much of a comedy if I included all that fighting in it, now would it?”

This guy is crazy! He was more interested in telling a comedy then telling how he had to literally defeat the grim reaper and climb his way out of hell! The Berserker class may be a good fit for him! I say to Dante, “Well, whatever. Welcome aboard Dante. I’m sure you’ll get along great with the other servants.”

He replies with a smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”


Author’s Notes:
Here is my second to last story. This one is a bit different since I made Dante, someone who doesn’t have any common traits of a hero, and made him a hero. I thought it would be fun if Dante had to fight his way back out of hell. Hell isn’t exactly a nice place, so I wanted to emphasis this by hell trying to keep Dante there. I knew Dante would need some kind of weapon if he was fighting his way out, so I thought it would be funny if he stole the grim reaper’s scythe and used that. Class wise, I could only think of making him a Berserker. Dante’s not a warrior, so I imagined him as madly swinging the scythe around as he tried to escape hell. Hence, he fits as a Berserker.

Bibliography. "Dante's Inferno" from Dante's Divine Comedy translated by Tony Kline. Web Source.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Extra Reading: The Heptameron Part A

The Heptameron of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, translated by Walter K. Kelly
  • May be interesting if the monk ended up staying on the two islands as there punishment.
  • Might be interesting if the gentlemen actually decided to hide under the bed.
  • Could be interesting if the old man realized what his wife and the priest were doing.
  • Could be interesting if the brother and sister are never found out.
  • May be interesting if the president's wife and Nicolas poison him instead.
A lady and a knight.

Reading Notes: Dante's Inferno Part B

Dante's Inferno from Dante's Divine Comedy translated by Tony Kline.
  • May be interesting if the centaurs rejected Virgil's plead for guidance.
  • Could be interesting if Geryon drops them off at the wrong place.
  • Might be interesting if the demons break their word.
  • May be interesting of Ulysses meets a different end.
  • Might be interesting if the have to return the way they came to leave.
Dante and Virgil.