* No one dies. * cloudkillers * two parallel threads: one is [me], writing about the strange dreams that he's been having and such, one is alterna[me] aka Hermes living a tangent of [me]'s life. the first provides clues to the second. -alterna[me] does not know who he is and the user must help him assemble the pieces! -(at first they may think he is [me], but quickly discover he is not.) * alterna[me] * jumping off point = dcmetrocrawlers.org * perhaps alterna[me] escaped the mental ward and continues to keep a journal * forgetfulness * homeless children mythology * panhandling and working at a hotel for tips * underground and trainhopping lists * shiverdeath * Sister Roberta Sparrow at the shelter... (DD reference --> Tangent) * revolves around [me]? * forgetfulness * charmed existence * at first i thought it was my keyboard messing up, but when i switched to my second computer, the same thing happened. words ssssstttttttreeeeeettttcccccccchhhheeedd themselves out. i had a strange sense of vertigo and realized that time was passing much more quickly than i was conscious of. * running away from college * the Family? Hermes / "Huginn" (both 6 letters) is wandering the streets, homeless. He can't remember who he is. He escaped a mental ward (before "Muninn" was able to catch up with him) but continues to keep a journal on the advice of Sister Roberta Sparrow. He updates his livejournal and does email from a public library terminal. [me] starts having strange dreams and feeling the tugs of wanderlust again, after several months without (which just happen to correspond to the time which Huginn was in the ward). He has no direct involvement but his writings provide clues to Huginn's identity. Huginn begins to tell us about the mythology of the street children, about Bloody Mary and the Blue Lady (through the stories of the children). He links to Crime Briefs concerning gang killings and the like as given examples of BM's activities. He does not remember who he is, but he and BM are headed for a confrontation. Bloody Mary is on the rampage because Hermes foils her plans at every turn. The Blue Lady is mute, having drunk of the Styx after breaking a vow. She communicates in symbols and tries to teach mythology. Muninn is trying to catch up with Huginn but can't find him -- can only email him. In the end he will arrive too late to assist Huginn in defeating BM. The Yard Bull pursues Huginn. He is thoroughly mortal. Why does he pursue? How do we hear from him? Perhaps we hear of his activities only from /hugh_inn and muninn@ and perhaps even aqua_girl@? Hermes meets Rahne. Hermes falls for her. Rahne dies. Link to a Crime Brief? Rahne returns as a ghost and haunts Hermes. He sees ghosts, who tell him they are wandering lost (like him). Then Muninn will awaken Huginn. (Priests wearing a mask of Anubis were responsible for the Opening of the Mouth ceremony that reawakened a dead person's senses.) "I tried to have you kept in the mental ward, but you eluded those I manipulated into imprisoning you." Why did Hermes drink of the Lethe? Perhaps Hermes was bait to catch BM? arenas: * hugh_inn/ - homelessness, mythology, forgetfulness * [my site] - wanderlust, homelessness, forgetfulness * promo - wanderlust, homelessness, forgetfulness * fivesided - MSCL, Goffy Coffy * muninn@, hugh_inn@, aqua_lady@ * thoughtscapes.com? references: * memory goddesses * Mnemosyne (personification of memory and its goddess, daughter of Gaia and Uranus and the mother of the nine Muses by Zeus, her nephew) * Mneme (muse of Memory) * memory birds * Muninn (in Norse myth, Huginn = "thought" and Muninn = "memory" are the two raven of the chief god Odin) * Alkonost (In Russian legends Alkonost is "the bird of paradise", a miraculous bird with a human face. Alkonost lays eggs on the sea-shore, then puts them into the water, becalming the sea for six or seven days; and on the sixth or seventh day Alkonost's nestlings hatch and a storm begins. Alkonost has a very loud voice; those who hear it will forget all they know and wish. For Orthodox Church Alkonost personify God's Will.) - in Christian art, the raven is a sign of God's Providence (Noah, Elijah) * forgetfulness methods * Lethe (In Greek mythology, the Lethe is one of the rivers that flow through the realm of Hades. Called the River of Oblivion, the shades of the dead had to drink from this river to forget about their past lives on earth. lee'-thee) * Bubwayaita (The herb of oblivion in Melanesia. It is given to the souls of the dead when they arrive in Tuma (Paradise). Its fragrance is so strong that the souls will forget all about their previous existence on earth and they will live happily ever after.) * Hauzu'l-Kausar (The pure lake of Muhammad, situated on the shores of heaven. When the sinless faithful cross the thin bridge Sirat al-Mustaqim they may drink from this 'pond of abundance'. Its water is sweet and white like milk. By drinking it, the blessed forget all the suffering and unhappiness of their earthly life. They will then proceed on their way to their assigned domiciles, their palaces in paradise.) * Caduceus (Latin)s - The herald's staff or wand of Hermes. It is usually depicted as a winged rod with two serpents intertwined about it. As a group of fertility symbols, it is emblematic of the magic potency of the deity, and of the prosperity of peace. -- like medical symbol! * aka kerykeion (Greek) * aka anhk Acheron - the river of woe; Cocytus - the river of lamentation; Phlegethon - the river of fire; Lethe - the river of forgetfulness; Styx - the river of hate. A river that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. Styx it is said winds around Hades (hell or the underworld are other names) nine times. * so foul, a god would lose voice for 9 years * Hermes * invented the pipes known as a syrinx (pan-pipes), which he made from reeds. Hermes was also credited with inventing the flute * aka psychopomp - duty to guide the souls of the dead down to the underworld * liberated Io, the lover of Zeus, from the hundred-eyed giant Argus, who had been ordered by Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, to watch over her. Hermes charmed the giant with his flute, and while Argos slept Hermes cut off his head and released Io. * The souls of the deceased are brought to Charon by Hermes, and Charon ferries them across the river Acheron. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The most famous oracle was that of Apollo at Delphi, discovered as a fissure in the side of Mt. Parnassus emitting a gas that would cause seizures among the goats that grazed nearby. The convulsions and wild ravings of a goatherd who was also affected were interpreted by the locals as "divine inspiration", and the priesthood moved in rapidly to take advantage of the unusual situation. The oracle was ascribed to a few other deities before the temple of Apollo was established. The Pythia was the priestess of this oracle who was crowned in laurel and seated on a tripod perched over the cleft that produced the intoxicating vapors. Her utterances while under the influence were usually so disjointed that additional clergy were needed to provide interpretation. Dodona is situated in northwestern Greece, in the region of Epirus. This ancient sanctuary and oracle of Zeus dates back as far as the third millennium BCE when the "earth mother" was worshipped here. Early in the second millennium BCE the worship of the "holy beech tree" sprang up (in other versions an oak tree) today the oak tree is preferred as the oak is sacred to Zeus. During the 13th and 14th centuries BCE the worship of the Pelasgian god Zeus was beginning to be established in Dodona, and the original earth goddess was renamed "Diona" and subsequently became the wife of Zeus (Dias). They both lived among the branches of the holy tree, where the seer-priests interpreted what the god spoke from the rustling of the leaves. ... During the Roman conquest the sanctuary of Dodona was once again destroyed (167 BCE) later to be rebuilt in 31 BCE by the Emperor Augustus. The Dodona oracle was used by supplicants until early in the Christian era when the holy tree was cut down (CE 391) and the oracle ceased functioning. Pronunciation: {doh-doh'-nuh} <---- use pic of a Do-do bird! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OBERON Why should Titania cross her Oberon? I do but beg a little changeling boy, To be my henchman. TITANIA Set your heart at rest: The fairy land buys not the child of me. His mother was a votress of my order: But she, being mortal, of that boy did die; And for her sake do I rear up her boy, And for her sake I will not part with him. OBERON Give me that boy. TITANIA Not for thy fairy kingdom. Fairies, away! We shall chide downright, if I longer stay. Exit TITANIA with her train ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The kedeia (funeral) is a three part drama consisting of the prothesis (laying out of the body), the ekphora (conveyance of body to its place of internment), and the deposition of the body. The funeral presents opportunities for a display of wealth, family pride, and family bonding. As in weddings, women play the most significant role in mourning rituals including: washing, anointing, dressing, crowning, and covering the body after adorning it with flowers. Upon a person's decease, the eyes and mouth are shut to secure the release of the psyche from the body.[11] A ritual washing of the body is performed by the women of the household. The funeral ritual consummates with laying out the corpse at the prothesis on a kline (bed) where it remains on view for two days. It was a widespread custom for the deceased to wear a long, ankle-length garment and to be crowned. Pottier suggests that the crown "allowed a last chance to contemplate the deceased under a guise of tranquil and serene beauty."[12] The crowns and branches incorporated into the funeral ritual serve at most sacred occasions in order to add dignity and lustre to the proceedings. Women generally stand over the corpse at the top end of the couch where they may beat their head, raise their hands, or tear their hair. Men, when present, often raise their right hands with their palms out to the Gods. When mourners paid their respects to the deceased they dressed in black. In wearing dark clothing similar to the deceased, the mourners exemplify honor and respect by identifying with the dead. During this principal ceremony, women would sing ritualized laments . After the prothesis the corpse is removed for the burial at the ekphora before the dawn of the third day after death. If it was affordable, the transport of the body was done by cart. Men led the procession and the women followed. Whether the body is inhumed or cremated, the dead are buried along with gifts and offerings such as pottery, stone vases, mirrors, and other personal belongings. As with the wedding, formal prayers are exempt and mourners make offerings of fruit. After the burial, when singing and performing dances would cease, the men and women would leave the burial site separately. The women probably left first in order to supervise the preparation of the perideiprion (banquet) that the funeral party attended in honor of the deceased. The prevailing form of burial throughout most of early Greece was in single graves, either stone-lined cists or plain pits dug in the ground or hewn out of bedrock. The bodies were cremated before burial or buried intact. Funeral ritual called for laying out the body for display, carrying it to the graveyard for burial, and conducting a funeral ceremony at the grave site. At the time of the actual burial, terracotta vessels with food and drink were placed in the tomb next to the corpse or the urn of ashes. Other gifts were then added, such as weapons, knives and tools for men and jewelry, clothes and spindle-whorls for women, toys for children and terracotta figurines. The funerary banquet was accompanied by animal sacrifice, first at the grave site and later in the house of the nearest kin. In most of the Empire, cremations were done in the cemetery proper, specifically in the ustrinum, a place set aside as a crematorium. After the fires were doused with wine the ashes were placed into containers ranging from leather pouches to gold canisters, depending on the affluence of the deceased. The container was then used walled in tegulae or other masonry and then was often buried (Wacher 813). Similar to inhumation burials, a pipe leading from the container to the surface was often installed to allow libations to be offered to the deceased and the gods. The burial rites began on the day after death. The eyes and mouth of the dead person were closed, the body was washed and anointed, with a laurel branch used to sprinkle sanctified water. A coin for Charon was fixed between the teeth (though later this was substituted with a fake coin called "ghost money" which was left in the mouth, hand or loose in the grave). The body was then wrapped in a linen shroud and crowned with garlands, and sometimes it was laid on vine branches. Oregano was put on the body to ward off evil spirits. Finally, the body was laid on a bier, with its feet facing the door, in the house for a whole day; this was called prothesis. Women lamented, and men came to pay their respects. On the third day after death, before sunrise, the corpse was brought out in a procession to the cemetery; this was called ekphora. The women displayed violent exhibitions of grief to please the dead spirit and sang a funeral dirge; but in some places laws limited the noise during the procession. Vase paintings show female mourners in a particular ritual position, with their hands placed on their heads. Sometimes the mourners made themselves physically unclean as an expression of their grief. At the cemetery, the body was lowered into the grave, and libations were made and offerings left. Cups were common as offerings, perhaps because the dead were often referred to as thirsty. Sacrifices during the funeral included wine, oil, honey, and certain animals. When the dirt was put over the body, seeds were scattered upon it, to return that patch of land to the use of the living. A gravestone of some sort was erected on the burial mound, sometimes a phallus or a herm (a primitive idol of Hermes, the guide of souls). In older times, trees were planted around the grave. The graves, and even entire cemeteries, were often oriented to the West, where the land of the dead was said to lie. The family then returned to the home of the deceased, which was marked by a particular kind of vessel, both as a warning to others that the house was unclean, and for use as a receptacle for pure water (often from the sea). Water and fire from the house were polluted, and had to be brought in from outside. The family purified themselves and put on garlands. Then they sat down to a funeral feast, called a perideipnon. At this feast, which in older times was held at the graveside, the dead man was said to be present, and the diners would speak only of praise for him. This was the last consecutive day of funeral rites for most people; the funerals of very important men sometimes ended in athletic contests. On the third day after the funeral, food offerings were left at the grave, and again on the ninth day, which was commonly the end of the mourning period. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (tetradrachms) whaT will happen if he doesn't appEar?! Then our world will disappeaR, and so will i. how cAn he let that happen?! he Doesn't understand that he's the one who has the poweR to stop it. he simply can't imAgine that one little boy Could be that important. is it really me? maybe he doesn't know what He has to do! what do i have to do ?! he has to give Me a new name. he's already chosen it, he just has to call it out. it's only a story, it's not real. it's only a Story.