The War of the Six and the Plague of the Bitter Hand unleashed at its peak has left the already-impoverished Six Kingdoms of Icalar in tatters. Twelve years after a tenuous peace is made, the last surviving member of the heroic Hidden Company, Iknais, succumbs to the plague. Fieron Eburos, a recently-graduated Apprentice Shepherd, is called to attend the body and insodoing, discovers a message pointing to an artifact that Iknais wishes returned to the remains of their alleged enemy.

Fieron’s reluctant duty leads him to Devatska, an elderly, brilliant engineer-strategist living in anonymity. His success hinges on whether he can convince her to step out of the shadows – and if they can survive a link between the mysterious culling of her family and Iknais’ last request.

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A mid-fantasy, character-driven adventure set in the aftermath of the happily-ever-after.

= Tumblr inspiration sideblog here.

= WorldAnvil site here. (First drafts of the first three chapters, plus a whole bunch of non-spoiler encyclopedic goodies!)

random-brushstrokes:

Eric Pape - Apollo of The Hamadryads (1909)

turtlesandfrogs:

So I was scrolling and saw this image in an article about the European heat wave,

And was like, uh, are you missing something there, buddy? Like all that red in northern Africa? Because that’s a lot of red.

And I was going to give them the benefit of doubt, since I don’t know much about the climate in Northern Africa, aside from Morroco and Egypt, which seem like really hot places, so you know, maybe it’s normal there?

But nope, that’s not the case:

‘Hot Continent’ Perception Downplays Africa's Heat Wave Dangers

Africa is struggling with heat waves and many countries on the continent lack the resources rich economies have to deal with rising temperat

Bloomberg.com

Some selections from the article:

“The region has been experiencing some of the most intense heat waves in recent years, but in many cases they’ve been under-reported due to misconceptions about Africans’ ability to withstand them.

“Africa is seen as a sunny and hot continent,” said Amadou Thierno Gaye, a research scientist and professor at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. “People think we are used to heat, but we are having high temperatures for a longer duration. Nobody is used to this.”

”The Sahel, for instance, has been heating at a faster pace than the global average despite being hot already. Burkina Faso and Mali, both in West Africa’s Sahel, are among countries that are set to become almost uninhabitable by 2080, if the world continues on its current trajectory, a UK university study found. Its people are especially vulnerable due to shrinking resources, such as water, and poor amenities, and a dearth of trees and parks means there are few options for places to cool off.“

chandelyer:

Yanina Couture ‘Thumbelina’ fall 2023 couture

huariqueje:

Meadow of light I - Jouni Pajavuori

Finnish , b. 1969 -

Oil on canvas , 100 x 85 cm. 

random-brushstrokes:

Alphonse Mucha - Dreaming (1900)

placedeladentelle:

Cassia by Marks & Spencer / 30-42 A-E + 30-42 F-GG

akiocha:

A heart’s a heavy burden to bear