The Spirit of a man need not have historicity in the sense of being said to belong to a real person who had some bodily existence.
One sort of usage to the word is a reference to a character, a feature or combination of features or ideas which seem or Can be used to refer to something.
For example, the Spirit of Sherlock Holmes, a character considered fictional and unreal can be said to be inhabiting or active in a person who seems to have the qualities that are thought to belong to Sherlock Holmes, such as a certain style or method of reasoning.
The spirit of an animal with certain qualities or features could be said to be in accord with an individual or object which seems to have those qualities as well.
That thing is said to be that thing when it is wholly that, whereas a spirit can be used as a term to reference attributes which exist or are called upon which do not wholly transform a thing necessarily.
In the past, it appears the term spirit was sometimes used in this way as well.
He is like a wolf, he has the spirit of a wolf, in the spirit of Sherlock Holmes or Santa Klaus, the spirit of the place was gloomy.
The spirit of revenge took hold of him, the spirit of justice, the spirit of bigotry, ignorance, zealotry, the holy spirit of divine revelation.
The spirit of Mars fell upon the company, of Odin, of Peace.
An evil spirit came upon Saul as sent by God and he was filled with violent and paranoid thoughts.
The spirit of Lucifer are those things associated with the character, as intended or made reference to by the speaker, they may not agree with others usage of the word in that context or other contexts.
There were often linked themes with people, the bear linked with wrath in some cultures so the spirit of wrath being like a bear and the spirit of a bear being wrathful.
Sherlock Holmes has certain qualities one may admire and wish to take on or call upon for example, or Gellert Grindelwald from Harry Potter.
Someone may appear to be possessed of the spirit of Hitler if they go into a furious or ecstatic speech.
One could even say to be possessed of the Spirit of Nazism if they are in accord with its ideals and act by them.
These are all leading back to the all encompassing and various attributes that people narrow down and organize and make distinctions regarding.
Thus, in this one sense, the world and all that is in it seems quite haunted, since ideas can be seen coming from, similar to, and superimposed upon many things and people in how they appear to us.
Re: One kind of Spirit
Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 8:00 pm
by atreestump
Like it. Ghostly hauntings are a main aspect of Derrida.
Re: One kind of Spirit
Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 8:14 pm
by kFoyauextlH
I'd love to see more about that and quotes. There is a lot of Gothicism and Gothic themes in Academia and Philosophy and these before their Gothic forms may have stemmed from Greco-Roman traditions and tendencies which were in many senses also largely Universally Human, such as this one particular notion of similarity or comparison being a kind of spirit, a spirit in this sense as a kind of organization of ideas or aspects of limited scope or distinction.
Cities would, in the Mesopotamian mould, often be dedicated to a certain spirit or theme as well, such as Athena being the general spirit or theme of Athens and Athenians who may have been thought to thus carry attributes of Athena though they were diverse.
It may have also been believed that by looking at those born in a city and their behaviors one could learn about the activities or results of a certain idea or spirit which they represent.
The Ancient tendency was highlt holistic, but just as the brain becomes increasingly compartmentalized and the Universe stretches apart, people began to increasingly distinguish and lock things into departments and categories. Now a chair is just a chair and doesn't refer to place or seat of or dominion or power or station.
I am of a particularly more holistic view which leads to mystical seeming speech or content which may resemble Ancient modes of connectivity or synaestheticism like synesthesia.
Re: One kind of Spirit
Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:19 pm
by atreestump
If one admits that writing (and the mark in general) must be able to function in the absence of the sender, the receiver, the context of production, etc., that implies that this power, this being able, this possibility is always inscribed, hence necessarily inscribed as possibility in the functioning or the functional structure of the mark. . . . [T]his possibility is a necessary part of its structure.
[hr]
Much of what you mentioned is like how fictional and real life people are like archetypes.
Re: One kind of Spirit
Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:36 pm
by kFoyauextlH
Really excellent thing you wrote there regarding the mark. So long as the Mark exists its presence is its meaning and contains its reference and structural utility which can also be called possibility even though that word can also confuse people into making them think of forms or marks which do not take place and are actually not possible and possibility as a notion becomes a misleading distraction which leads people to believe in forms or marks which do not exist except in the ways that they do, such as imaginary moments.
Every distinguished object as part of our experience has in it its form in our view which is its impact or what reveals its structure or true form. It comes packaged for us with whatever associations that it does for us, a form known or impacting us and changing the shape of our experience.
Re: One kind of Spirit
Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2025 7:58 am
by kFoyauextlH
Very cool, but I never much agreed with Socrates passive aggressive seeming final lesson. It is said he had nothing much to live for at that point though, considering his wife was a shrew or nag according to tales, the people generally hated him save a few, and he was old, fat, and ugly apparently. This way he could go out in one big final lesson, except his lesson was a bad one. He submitted to the people and the state, instead of burning it down to the ground just because he wanted to live.
You may want this for a separate thread but, if you had a final lesson to teach, what would it be?
Final words, final lesson, and in Socrates situation, what would you do?
I would've taken the escape route offered him and left the tyrranical country in order to live and breathe and work a little longer.
There is a big difference between Socrates and myself. Not only am I handsome, but I cling to life voraciously and have no faith or hope in much of anything really. At the end of the day, I am a violent and selfish person, who believes in little and would maim, kill, rape, and pillage as necessary to achieve whatever I desire for myself so long as there are no consequences, and I do consider the implications and consequences and threats and disturbances which keep me in check.
I abhor God and Life and Justice, and my true belief is only in violence and terror. Had I the power, I would cause suffering and harm to befall numerous people, I would enslave them or destroy them.
In the case of Socrates, I would work subversively to disrupt those enemies of mine who would have me killed, and even freely find ways to have them killed for what they did, destroy their Gods, massacre their lawyers, and murder those displeased with such as well.
That is the life and soul of a flower. A flower grows and blossoms and spreads and does not say to itself "oh if I stay down here, other flowers may thus be allowed to live" a flower strives for the light, blindly wriggling towards resources and pleasure and away from harm, defending itself as it can.
No one has the right to poison me, even if I am the most vile criminal. We will fight. I will fight so long as I am able, how I am able.
If Socrates was going to simply go to a better world, he should have killed himself from the get go.
Whoever believes in God and Heaven and that all good awaits them! Prove yourselves then why don't you? Go to your beloved now!
I will wait here in hell. I will wait here because God is not my lover nor can be trusted.
If you don't take your lives, then perhaps you are more like me afterall, faithless cowards who will fight for filth just because filth and torture is less threatening than the truly unknown.
So in the end, Socrates, who may have been right, was wrong.
He had something that I don't have. A soul?
I would do whatever it takes to live or avoid torture.
If I were to be thrown into a fire to burn forever if I did not kill a little baby, I would kill the baby to spare myself, or the man or the woman or the prince or the king or thr noblest human or Mother Theresa.
I would tell others NOT to kill me and NOT to adopt these ideals, nor would I ever trust that they are truly going to spare me when their life is at stake, so I would be alert and wary of such people. I thus can never have friends, even if they are truly noble, because I would doubt they would spare me, hate them for that, and wouldn't spare them myself.
I don't believe in fairness, I only believe in me.
Its strange perhaps that one like me, willing to think in extremes to their exhaustion, ends up being a noble and charitable and utterly kind character compared to others.
I would never think "in order to escape this hell, I have to slit the throat of this woman, but will sit here burning or suffering because she is a guard and has a family and is in my way or complicit but wah wah for her life which I don't know and can't access" I would slit her throat in a heartbeat without question.
I would also slit the throats of EVERYONE except me who adopts a vicious life-desperate philosophy like mine. I can have no allies in this, and there is no honor among life hungry thieves. If one even appears admiring of such thoughts they are a potential threat.
How my "friends" would say "Oh yes if it came to it I would sacrifice you for my own life" What! Their worthless lives for mine? Their disgusting faces for mine? They should die! Thus I can have no followers or friends or allies that ever get too close, if they are like me, they are wolves and madmen and vicious animals and should stay in their own territories.
In the meantime, I would promote they give their lives for me, that I am more important than them. The people I like are the noble ones, the ones who have honor, who aren't like me and don't fear dying or torture. Socrates was a good man, I am a bad man, because I believe in nothing and cling to everything.
God help the Heretic.
Fri Apr 21, 2017 6:52 pm
So, what I wrote so long ago was meant to expose human hypocrisy, things people are never allowed to admit to but probably secretly live by or would, but keep thinking that the consequences they are even a little convinced of are not what actually might be keeping their actions in check. People are in denial about how they can be said to do or desire to do all kinds of bad things constantly, but seem to consider themselves innocent and undeserving of any consequences.
"
As lord of Sithicus, Soth found the Dark Powers had created a grim mockery of his Dargaard Keep, Nedragaard Keep. Furthermore, he ruled over a kingdom of elves, a people he despised. One again, he heard the condemning voices of the 13 banshees that had plagued him on Krynn. Moreover, the shade of Kitiara (though not her true spirit) periodically appeared in Sithicus, reminding Soth of that which he could never have. Throughout his time as master of Sithicus, Soth desired nothing more than to return to Krynn with Kitiara at his side.[20][2]
Despite the tormenting conditions mentioned above, Lord Soth remained a highly active darklord for twenty years. With the aid of his newly returned 13 skeletal knights he fought a horrible, protracted civil war against the wild elves of the domain. Azrael Dak, at that point a great admirer of Soth, replaced Caraoc as Lord Soth's steward.
During the twenty years of Sithican Civil War, Lord Soth entertained a few schemes that showed an almost playfully creative malevolence. Over the course of the campaign, many generals came and went. Lord Soth found gamblers to have the longest staying power. He tricked suitable applicants through holding gambling tournaments for the deed to the Iron Warden Inn. (The job of general came with the deed.)[21] And in 725 BC, Lord Soth pulled the village of Kendralind into his domain, for he sought to create a race of Kender Vampires to serve him and terrorize the elves.[22]
Despite his initial period of activity, Soth's interest in Sithicus began to wane in 737 BC. He began entering a life of seclusion in Nedragaard Keep, quietly imagining what was once was and what could have been.[23] The 737 BC arrival of the illusionist Tindafalus briefly caused Soth to stir long enough to secure the newcomer's capture. The illusionist thus secured, Soth put him to work on the Memory Mirrors.[24]
In 738 BC, Madga Kulchevich and her newly assembled patchwork Vistani tribe, the Wanderers left Gundarak and unwittingly entered Soth's domain.[25], where Soth subsequently trapped them. During their travels through the domain, the Wanderers told stories, including tales of Lord Soth's past, to the elves of Sithicus in order to make a living.[26]
By the time of the Grand Conjunction in 740 BC, Soth had disappeared from the public eye, thought by some to be deceased. In truth, he had immersed himself in the fantasies of the Memory Mirrors.[25]
During these years of Soth's negligent rule, Azrael's admiration gradually turned to animosity. In Azrael's eyes, Soth had not caused millions to die in the Cataclysm because of intentional defiance of the gods, but rather merely allowed these deaths to happen because of weakness.[27] In addition, Azrael's pride brought him to covet Sithicus, a domain that he came to believe should by right be his alone. (To coincide with this shift in attitude, Azrael's alignment changed from a Lawful one to a Chaotic one.[28] Over the next few years, Azrael built his own base of power. By 743 BC, he had much of Sithicus under his thumb.[25]
Soth's dreaming and Azrael's rise to power were disrupted in 744 BC. Soth's enthrallment by the Memory Mirrors caused Sithicus to start coming apart at the seams. With assistance from Madga through her telling of the Dark Knight's Tale, adventurers destroyed the Memory Mirrors and forced Soth back into the waking world.[29] Soth remained active for some time thereafter, long enough to make an oath to the Wanderers to protect them from Malocchio Aderre's mercenaries in return for an oath not to ever tell his story again.[30]
Despite the destruction of the Memory Mirrors, Soth eventually fell back into his reveries. In the years leading up to 752 BC, Soth's enemies entered collusion with each other. Guided by a whispering darkness from the Lake of Sounds, Azrael Dak hatched a scheme with Malocchio Aderre and Inza Kulchevich, Magda's traitorous daughter. Their targets would be no less than the deaths of Magda and Soth and the usurpation of Sithicus.[31]
Things came to a head in 752 BC, when the capture of the Invidian spy Gesmas Malaturno broke Soth's slumber for good. The spy revealed that someone was leaking his story again. His own memories shattered and fragmented, Soth confronted Magda. Magda revealed to Soth that besides her tribe, the bandit leader known as the White Rose also knew his tale.[32] During a later diplomatic meeting turned violent confrontation with the forces of Malocchio Aderre along the border, Soth came to believe she was Kitiara.[33]
As Soth's men searched for the White Rose and her gang, Inza engineered a series of ambushes against the Wanderers. The first attack came from salt shadows, resulting in the death of Magda. Before she died, Magda traded a removal of Madame Girani's curse with Soth in return for an oath of protection for Inza.[34] The second attack came from Malocchio's ogres, resulting in the decimation of nearly all in the tribe. However, Inza achieved what she wanted: Soth delivered her to Nedragaard Castle for her own protection, which had been her plan all along[35], for she would be safely ensconced to assume power during the Hour of Screaming Shadows.
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Coincidentally, in 753 BC, rumors of a "Blessed Knight" resembling an idealized Soth began emerging in Sithicus. He is said to be a benevolent but unspeaking wanderer who first emerged from the ruins of Nedragaard Keep. As a Dread Possibility, it may be some idealized reflection of Lord Soth from the Memory Mirrors. How a reflection gained its own existence beyond the veil of shadowstuff remains a mystery.[44]
"
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I’ve always had a soft spot for bad guys. As a kid reading the Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends trilogies for the first time, I didn’t gravitate towards Tanis, Sturm or Laurana. It was Raistlin, Kitiara, and the Queen of Darkness herself. Above all, it was Lord Soth, Knight of the Black Rose. For me, Soth was the quintessential Dungeons & Dragons villain. He was a force of his own dark nature, but with a brutality shackled by nobility. The tragedy of his story and character was that Soth embodied both the highest knightly virtues and the meanest human vices.
I followed Soth’s journey as he fought alongside Kitiara Uth Matar, battled Tanis Half-Elven in the streets of Palanthas, traveled to the Demiplane of Dread where he met Strahd Von Zarovich, and became lord of the dark domain of Sithicus. Ultimately he returned to his home world of Krynn. I watched him die by the hand of the Dark Queen, buried under the rubble of his own keep, then saw him return in the Lost Chronicles trilogy.
By 2021, it seemed like Soth had been forgotten by the fantasy and TTRPG communities. I wanted to do my part to recover this forgotten legend. So, I created a 4-part series of podcast episodes telling Soth’s complete story as depicted in novels and anthologies for my show Unaligned. When I became the showrunner for The Dragonlance Canticle podcast, I had the immense privilege to speak with James Lowder, author of Knight of the Black Rose and Spectre of the Black Rose, and the architect of Soth’s legacy in Ravenloft. That two-part episode is available on The Dragonlance Canticle (part 1 and part 2).
In 2022, Soth returned again, this time gracing the cover of the first official D&D 5th Edition Dragonlance book, Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen. With the Dragonlance setting now open to creators on DMs Guild and with Soth front and center in a new adventure, I decided to take all the research I had amassed in the past two years and apply myself to creating Shadow of the Black Rose, an epilogue adventure which would pick up where the official campaign left off and provide players the opportunity to travel to Dargaard Keep and battle Soth to the death.
One of my goals was to create a fun and engaging adventure that could continue “Shadow of the Dragon Queen” or be played as a stand-alone adventure. Next, I wanted to satisfy fans who grew up in the “classic” setting by reminding them of who Soth is and what makes him a great villain, while at the same time introducing this death knight to a new generation of fans. Finally, I wanted a consistent narrative that could be incorporated into the adventure, a task that isn’t easy when you are looking at 40 years of material.
We at the Dragonlance Nexus pride ourselves on our commitment to consider all perspectives when examining Dragonlance lore. While the works of Weis and Hickman are our primary sources, we compare the works of other writers and designers to the primary works. Lord Soth is not only a Dragonlance villain but was also featured in Ravenloft. The lore of the character has been controversial for some Dragonlance fans, but overall, the influences on the character from James Lowder made him more than just another scheming villain. Combine that with the contributions from Voronica Whitney-Robinson, Lisa Smedman, Chris Pierson, Edo van Belkom, Michael Gray, and others. Now you have many viewpoints on who Lord Soth was and a shared history that doesn’t always agree on the little things.
Unfortunately, it would be impossible to incorporate all the existing lore seamlessly. There are simply too many contradictions. For example, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman created the character and story of Lord Soth, but Soth’s experiences in Ravenloft are not canonical to the Weis and Hickman novels. The adventure needed a consistent Soth mythology that would best serve the narrative, would be clear for DMs and players to understand, and would highlight the crucial moments of his story. That mythology also needed to adhere to the narrative of “Shadow of the Dragon Queen” to create a cohesive story.
Soth’s loyal knight Caradoc is a figure with his own canon issues. He was first depicted as Soth’s vain and sniveling seneschal, transformed into a ghost upon his death. Later, he was depicted as a cold-blooded schemer ultimately cursed to serve Soth as one of the thirteen original skeletal knights. “Shadow of the Dragon Queen” combines both elements, depicting him as a vain, scheming ghost knight.
There are parts of the classic lore that are simply too crucial to understand the character and his downfall to jettison, however. This includes the truth regarding the death of Soth’s first wife, Korinne. In the classic lore, Soth murdered her for failing to produce a worthy heir and so he could marry his mistress Isolde instead. This monstrous act fulfilled his father’s prophecy that he could never be a true knight and marked Soth’s first step towards damnation. In “Shadow of the Dragon Queen”, Soth’s crime is marrying too soon after his wife’s death, which earns him banishment from the knighthood, and the only way to earn absolution for this sin is to stop the Cataclysm, which he failed to do. The punishment doesn’t really fit the crime.
Soth is not merely a bad husband or even a tragic villain, but a true monster – a cheater, an oathbreaker, and a murderer. Shying away from Soth’s crimes makes him sympathetic and safe. Any writer or Dungeon Master approaching Soth should consider whether they want Soth to have a redemption arc at all or whether they want the players to despise him and to strive enthusiastically for his destruction.
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Eventually though, Soth realized what few others (and no other Dark Lord) ever had: the only way to win at Ravenloft's Dark Powers' game is not to play it. Rather than rage impotently at a domain that tormented him, he sought solace in oblivion. He had multiple magic mirrors crafted that allowed him to dwell in magically shaped memory-worlds that were either close enough to the truth for his peace of mind, or pure wish-fulfillment. Being undead he could spend his entire time locked in such dream trances, completely ignoring whatever happened in Sithicus and relatively happy. In the end, though, a combination of an uprising instigated by his rivals, the intervention of his late wife's ghost effectively re-enacting the destruction of Dargaard Keep and the will of the Dark Powers (who were actually a bit miffed at him giving them the middle finger with his dream trance escaping his punishment) forced him out of his dream mirrors for good. And he accepted it. He accepted the punishment set before him, and accepted all the evil he had done. So the Dark Powers sent him back to Krynn.
Dealing with Ravenloft's Dark Powers was already one hell of a feat, but once back where he started he did even better: he eventually attained redemption by basically flipping off and triggering Takhisis so hard she proceeded to restore his mortality for the special purpose of having the satisfaction to kill him herself. Bitch was royally pissed off!
The Hickmans infamously were furious about Soth's stint in Ravenloft, as they have long hated the idea of "crossovers" and so despised the setting that had sprung up from their original Ravenloft modules. They have constantly tried to retcon Soth's trip out of canon in their novels, but thanks to the screwy way time works there, the Ravenloft writers were free to ignore it until they purposefully eradicated one of the most iconic villains in D&D through divine intervention so that no one else could ever have him. Despite this, in his Dragon Magazine "hall of fame" appearance, it is pointedly noted that Soth spent time damned to the Demiplane of Dread as the lord of Sithicus. Additionally, it is said that the current Darklord of Sithicus is at times tormented by visions of the redeemed ghost of Lord Soth.
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In the fictional Ravenloft Campaign setting, a darklord (sometimes referred to as "domain lord") is an nonplayer character whose evil has drawn the attention of the Dark Powers. Each darklord is ultimately imprisoned inside a domain, a prison ultimately reflective of the darklord's personality, nature and crimes. A domain usually, but not always, comprises a body of land and/or water considerable enough that it might be considered a small, discrete nation or realm. Though imprisoned within, the conditions that bind a darklord to a realm also give the darklord great power over the domain. (This is not to say darklords necessarily have temporal rule over their domain, but they are often in positions of political power or other leadership roles. Exceptions, such as Adam do exist.)
Each darklord suffer from his or her own personal curse, crafted to torment through poetic justice. To go along with their imprisonment, darklords are prevented from ever achieving their ultimate goals. The great and often unnatural powers, including the connection to their domains, might be considered "rewards" in compensation, but ultimately these boons are miniscule in relation to the personal hells that darklords suffer.
Darklords are always creatures of great evil, figures for the most part beyond redemption. They are not victims but rather ultimately villains, having at least hypothetically walked the path to damnation of their own choosing. It takes great acts of evil to earn the attentions of the Dark Powers.
The transgressions that damn a darklord may be successive over time, as following a series of failed Powers Checks along a Path of Corruption if the potential darklord has entered or is native to the Demiplane of Dread. On the other hand, acts of ultimate darkness, deeds so foul they outweigh all other sins, may draw greater attention from the Dark Powers. As such, living outside the Demiplane is no protection for the greatly wicked, as the Demiplane may drawn in new darklords from perpetrators of great evil from the Prime Material Plane.
If a Player Character performs enough evil acts, that character may become a darklord. However, darklords are villains that prevent them from being run by players. Hence, a player character that becomes a darklord also becomes a NPC, with the player losing control over the character.
Darklords are often gifted with unnatural powers that go beyond the capabilities of their race or class. These powers can vary far and wide, from exuding poison to immortality or even reality warping. Of course, a few darklords receive little to no unusual powers, but might receive political or other powers of leadership that they would not otherwise have gained. Vlad Drakov and Thakok-An are two examples.
As previously mentioned, a darklord wields great power within their domain-prison, such that they may be considered the "warden" of the domain, in addition to being its ultimate prisoner. Reflecting this theme, darklords commonly have power over "closing the borders" of their domains, an ability to shut out travel whether in or out. No mortal magic (such as teleportation spells) is capable of moving past or circumventing close domain borders. Similarly, if a darklord has a specially granted control over certain denizens over his domain, such as undead or animals, this control overcomes magical or conventional means that might otherwise challenge it.
Of course, no matter what special powers darklords may have, none of them will grant darklords escape from domains or their curses.
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List of Canon Darklords, by Domain
The Core
Barovia: Strahd von Zarovich
Borca: Ivana Boritsi and Ivan Dilisnya
Darkon: Azalin Rex
Dementlieu: Dominic d'Honaire
Falkovnia: Vlad Drakov
Forlorn: Tristen ApBlanc
Hazlan: Hazlik
Invidia: Gabrielle Aderre
Lamordia: Adam
Mordent: Wilfred Godefroy
Necropolis: Death
The Nocturnal Sea: Meredoth
Nova Vaasa: Malken
Richemulot: Jacqueline Renier
The Sea of Sorrows: Captain Pieter van Riese
The Shadow Rift: Gwydion the Sorcerer-Fiend
Sithicus: Inza Kulchevich
Tepest: The Three Hags
Valachan: Urik von Kharkov
Verbrek: Alfred Timothy
Island Domains in the Nocturnal Sea
(Note that Graben Island and Todstein are all part of the domain of the Nocturnal Sea.)
Isle of the Ravens: The Lady of Ravens
L'île de la Tempête: Alain Monette
Liffe: Lyron Evensong
Vechor: Easan
Island Domains in the Sea of Sorrows
Blaustein: Bluebeard
Demise: Althea
Dominia: Daclaud Heinfroth
Ghastria: Stezen d'Polarno
The Isle: Dr. Blake Ramsay
Markovia: Frantisek Markov
Clusters
The Amber Wastes
Har'Akir: Ankhtepot
Pharazia: Diamabel
Sebua: Tiyet
The Frozen Reaches
Sanguinia: Ladislav Mircea
Vorostokov: Gregor Zolnik
The Shadowlands
Avonleigh: Morgoroth the Black
Nidala: Elena Faith-hold
Shadowborn Manor: Ebonbane
The Verduous Lands
Saragoss: Draga Saltbiter
Sri Raji: Arijani
The Wildlands: King Crocodile
Zherisia
Paridon: Sodo
Timor: The Hive Queen
Islands of Terror
Bluetspur: The Illithid God-Brain
G'Henna: Yagno Petrovna
I'Cath: Tsien Chiang
Kalidnay: Thakok-An
Nosos: Malus Sceleris
Souragne: Anton Misroi
Staunton Bluffs: Torrence Bleysmith
Pocket Domains
Castle Island (in Tepest): The Lady of the Lake
Davion: Davion the Mad
The Eyrie: The Baron
the House of Lament (in Borca): The House of Lament
the Nightmare Lands: The Nightmare Court
Scaena: Lemot Sediam Juste
The Winding Road: The Headless Horseman
Shadowfell Domains
(Only listed if the darklord is different from above in case of duplications)
Cyre 1313: the Last Passenger
Darkon: none known (Formerly Azalin Rex)
Dementlieu: Saidra d'Honaire
The Endless Road: Eli van Hassen
Falkovnia: Vladeska Drakov
Graefmotte: Durven Graef
Histhaven: The Rag Man
Kalakeri: Ramya Vasavadan
Klorr: Klorr
Lamordia: Viktra Mordenheim
Monadhan: Arantor
The Rider's Bridge: The Headless Rider
The Sea of Sorrows: Pietra van Riese
Staunton Bluffs: Teresa Bleysmith
Tepest: Mother Lorinda
Timbergorge: Silvermaw
Tovag: Kas the Betrayer
Valachan: Chakuna
Vhage Agency: Flimira "Flintlock" Vhage
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Alwin, Andros, Amir, Arturius, Alexis, Anastasia, and Artemis, also known as the Seven Princes even though two are female, are sibling darklords that share control over the same domain. They constantly scheme against each other to win their father's convoluted and mystical Game, for the ultimate winner(s) will become heir to the kingdom's control and even phenomenal cosmic power.[1]
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The Nightmare Court consist of the the co-darklords of the Nightmare Lands. Its members are the most powerful creatures in the domain and are responsible for many nightmares well beyond it. They are all oneirologists, although it is unclear in what measure their innate apptitude has been distilled into practical knowledge let alone refined into theoretical knowledge.
The known members of the court are The Nightmare Man, Hypnos, Mullonga, The Ghost Dancer, Morpheus, and The Rainbow Serpent.
On Gothic Earth, at least one other member exists, The Redheaded Child [1].
They are the collective enemy of Dr. Gregorian Illhousen.
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The Cult of Ranald is, by general perception, a disorganised rabble of charlatans, thieves, and ne'er-do-wells.[3e] Authority figures loathe the worship of Ranald and do not embrace its clergy as they do those of other cults of the Old World,[9c] despising him as a god of thieves and scoundrels. Even the Empire's middle-class, who try to honour most of the gods equally to insure every aspect of their lives against calamity, dislike him, specifically the law-abiding folk.[6c] He is spoken of by the orthodox leaders of other cults as the wicked trickster god, a patron of "base personages."[9c]
However, Ranald is a far more popular god than one could determine by counting temples in the street.[9c] His cult is more co-ordinated than it appears,[3e] popular throughout the Empire and the Old World among a broad swath of people.[4a] He is popular among the urban poor,[6c] is a hero to the masses, and is beloved by all those whose daily tasks revolve around money.[9c] Those who dislike him still ensure the proper coins are slipped to the right people so that he will turn his eye from their businesses,[6c] and because he so loves to see the mighty fall, powerful merchants who got where they are by prayer to Ranald are sure to donate a great deal of their wealth to his cult.[9c]
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Ranald is one of the secret, sacred, streams of this thread, as the hidden form of "The Dark Lord" trope and stereotype, and what ties all these Dark Lords together, as well as characters like Marvel's Sauron.
Supposedly hypnosis, tricks, desire and desirability, seduction, and theft, among so many other adjacent concepts which people might not really think of when focused on the way that "Dark Lords" are typically presented, from the perspective of the polemical overkill going on in the stories.
Who could be more "poor and wretched" than the hordes of "rabble" and "lower beings" and "undesirables" that are gathered by Sauron or Muhammed (Baphomet in Occitan).
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In the final assessment, we see that the revelations of Muhammad - the seeds out of which Islam sprouted, began amidst a violent and dark encounter with some form of spiritual being in the cave of Hira. We have also seen that Muhammad’s life contained periods of either significant delusion or blatant spiritual oppression. It is this dimension of Muhammad’s life that should indeed be noted as we develop the greater theme of this book. Also, when attempting to discern the primary spiritual source of Islam, it is essential to not only see the dark nature of the initial seed from which Islam sprouted but even moreso its ultimate vision of the future - its fully mature “fruit”. The demonic and anti-biblical revelations that began in the Cave of Hira find their culmination with the killing of every" one in the whole entire world LOL.
Hahaha. Both these websites, "Answering Christianity" pitted against "Answering Islam" are run by the same one Z J named "Katz", and is part of a long running program to create endless hostility and friction in the world among majorities, while a secret cabal that it is decried to be a conspiracy theory to even suggest exists, which blatantly exists and hordes up resources, clearly has everyone by the throats, yes, my least favorite faction of all, "short people".
Halflings, Dwarves, Goblins, and all other "short", twinkle loving technological "tinkerer" factions, which are always in the middle of trouble and hate, but somehow not fanning the flames and blowing smoke up everyone's orifices, right under their noses! Using powerful propaganda "magic" and bullying, "shame" spells to conjure political s**cides by stating the truth, that Dwarves are despicable little f*cks!
Woah, I didn't expect that shaving symbol from Mafia to come up again:
Yeah, what I said there applies, as we're dealing with a Mafia.
American humor has gotten SO BAD!
Elves are a symbol of human ideals, largely Western but they attract everyone, the idealized, heroic, but feminized, beauty that the "male gaze", or dominant gaze (Eye Of Sauron) has convinced the world to desire. Dwarves, being "short", like "Goblins", "Gnomes", and whatever other disgraced people, much like the character of Satan, have no hope of ever meeting those ideals, and so in a rage, they wish to subvert and bring to ruin all hope of those who stand a much better chance, of looking to become ideal.
That is also the meaning underlying some forms of iconoclasm, even disparaging humor, or "bringing people down to our size" by putting them down or finding and exposing or making there out to be flaws, it is hubris, the "Crab Bucket" mentality, the opposite of hope, it is "leveling", but worse than leveling, then building mountains of the disparaged and destroyed to stand upon the heaps as the Lords of All, even though it has all been trashed!
This is a "game", it is "fun", apparently, and not horrifying, to see this occurring in a "game", and to be the one who pressed the buttons and made it happen. Did you see all that "funny" splatter near the end? Yeah, that was "orc" blood, so who cares, it isn't real, and if it was, Orcs are bad.
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Once regarded as a conspiracy theory, the rationale behind this strategy is to generate long-term sales volume by reducing the time between repeat purchases (referred to as "shortening the replacement cycle").[2] It is the deliberate shortening of the lifespan of a product to force people to purchase functional replacements.[3]
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WHITE, THE: The White is the force of good in the Dark Tower novels. It also appears in The Talisman and in the “Deleted Scenes” of ‘Salem’s Lot.
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The White is the force of good within the Dark Tower Series, as the people of the White are allied together to protect the Beams and the Dark Tower from falling and stopping the world from moving on.
It is the elemental force that represents wholeness, unity and health. They fight against their counterpart the Outer Dark which is led by the Crimson King.
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The White is the force of good that is led by Gan. The people of the White are allied together to protect the beams and the Dark Tower from falling and stopping the world from moving on.
The White are an elemental force that represents wholeness, unity and health. They fight against their counterpart the Outer Dark, which is led by the Crimson King.
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The Red, otherwise known as the Outer Dark, is the force of evil that is led by the Crimson King. The people of the Red are allied together to destroy the Beams and the Dark Tower causing an end to reality and the return of the Prim.
They fight against their counterpart the White whom the original member was Arthur Eld .
Many members of the Red have allied themselves with the Crimson King becoming Warriors of the Scarlet Eye.
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The album was released in October 1969, when opposition to the Vietnam War was at its height. I’ve always thought, mistakenly, that “King Crimson,” coined by lyricist/light-show man Peter Sinfield, was meant as a synonym for the Devil; apparently, a ‘crimson king‘ is historically understood to mean a ruler mired in blood, one governing during a period of great civil unrest and war. Somehow, though, the Devil metaphor doesn’t seem too far off the mark. Certainly, US imperialism was, and is now even more so, a devilish crimson king for our time.
The first song on the album, “21st Century Schizoid Man,” is prophetic to us now, from its title alone. “Schizoid” should be understood to mean the fragmented character of the modern personality. We’re all split, not in the schizophrenic or split personality senses, but in the sense of dividing the inner representations of our objects (e.g., other people in relation to oneself, the subject) into absolute good and bad–friends and foes, rather than the actual mixes of good and bad in each of us and them.
This dichotomous attitude, taken to an extreme, has led us to all of these horrible wars–the Vietnam War of the time of the album’s release, and all the wars we’ve had in this schizoid 21st century. The psychological fragmentation of modern man is symbolized in these lyrics–disjointed, standalone images of violence: “Cat’s foot, iron claw…Blood rack, barbed wire…Death seed, blind man’s greed.”
“Neurosurgeons scream for more/At paranoia’s poison door.” I suspect, given the song’s focus on “paranoia” and being “schizoid,” that neurosurgeons is meant more metaphorically than literally. This seems especially plausible, since Freud shifted from neuropathology (via a study of neurosis) to psychoanalysis. Hence, for neurosurgeons, read psychiatrists, who have often forsaken their duty to their patients for the sake of profit. Also, there has been all that psychiatric complicity during the ‘War on Terror.’
“Politicians’ funeral pyre/Innocents raped with napalm fire” is an obvious reference to the Vietnam War, though of course the use of napalm can equally apply to any modern war from WWII till Nam, and a number of wars fought since this album was made.
The fast middle section of the song, mostly a change from 4/4 to 6/8, is called “Mirrors.” Given how Lacan‘s mirror gives us a falsely unified sense of self, to the point of alienating oneself from the reflected image, the title of this frantic, dissonant (i.e., Ian McDonald‘s alto sax solo) section–and with its awkward time changes during the fast-picked, alternating 4/16 to 6/16 “down-up” guitar part, doubled by the sax, towards the section’s end–reflects that spastic alienation from oneself, as “I Talk to the Wind” (the following track) reflects alienation from other people (more on that later).
The last verse demonstrates the root cause, the “Death seed,” of all this madness, killing, and suffering: “blind man’s greed,” also known as capitalism. The blindness of these greedy men comes from the capitalist’s denial that his economic system is responsible for the woes of the world–typically blaming the problem on the state, while proposing a ‘free market‘ solution instead…as if we haven’t had enough deregulation and tax cuts for the rich as it is. “Poets starve” because the profit motive has no use for art unless it can make money, thus cheapening art and turning poetry into the titillating superficiality of performers like Nicki Minaj.
Imperialist war makes “children bleed”: consider what happened to Phan Thị Kim Phúc, or what’s happening to Yemeni children now, to see my point. The super-rich have so much money, they don’t know what to do with it; so on the one hand, they avoid paying taxes by putting their money into offshore bank accounts, and on the other, their addiction to money drives them to cause more wars for the sake of profits for Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, et al. Hence, “Nothing he’s got he really needs.”
Because of all these horrors, the song’s chaotic, dissonant ending shouldn’t surprise anyone: ever-increasing neoliberal, capitalist imperialism will inevitably lead to barbarism. Small wonder guitarist/bandleader Robert Fripp once introduced the song in a 1969 concert, dedicating it to Spiro T. Agnew. Here’s a live version of the song, done by the Cross/Fripp/Wetton/Bruford lineup of 1973, which I really like.
The very title of the second track implies social alienation. “My words are all carried away,” and not listened to. Capitalism brought the madness expressed in the first song because it also brought the alienation described in this song. While I prefer a more uptempo version sung by Judy Dyble, the sadder, slower version on the album seems more thematically appropriate.
Where has “the late man” been? He’s “been here” and “there” and “in between.” He hasn’t been with “the straight man”: he was late. He didn’t care enough about his commitment to meet the straight man to arrive on time. Alienation causes this apathy.
It also causes one to be “on the outside, looking inside,” seeing “confusion…[and] disillusion.” Those who alienate us “don’t possess,” “don’t impress,” “can’t instruct…or conduct” us…they just “upset” us and waste our time.
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He designed the race to be the most resistant to corruption and influence of Morgoth and later Sauron who had been Aulë's servant.[3] They were designed in their father's own image as creators and workers of the earth and stone.[4][5] but were also like and unlike Elves and Men.[6] Because Morgoth was yet on the earth he made them strong and unyielding to Morgoth and his servants so that they might resist his corruption and influence.
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itsallfolklore
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Thanks to u/TheExistential_Bread for the link to one of my earlier answers on this topic. I write with some authority as I have been researching and publishing on this topic for nearly 50 years. My name is Ronald M James and I have posted my earliest (as in during a previous century) article on knockers and tommyknockers at this site
A few European supernatural beings can be regarded as greedy - or at least terribly (emphasis on "terror") protective of their treasure, but overall this is rare. In addition, the idea of underground mining spirits is widespread internationally.
The Cornish knockers gained a certain amount of fame because they represent a rare case of a tradition involving a supernatural being surviving emigration and in fact thriving, in this case manifesting as the Tommyknocker of the Western US. It is appropriate to point out that I have rethought some of the material in the article I linked above: my most recent book, The Folklore of Cornwall: The Oral Tradition of a Celtic Nation (2018) and my next book, Monumental Lies: Early Nevada Folklore of the Wild West (Sept 2023), I hope will be my final statements on the topic. That said, the article remains the classic early academic treatment on the subject.
Because mining spirits are involved in the industry and because excavations can involve previous metals, the association of wealth and these spirits with wealth seems obvious. These entities, but the way, parade underground with a variety of names including "goblin," likely taking some of its strength from a Welsh term.
The truth of the matter is that traditional beliefs about these entities as greedy or very wealthy was not necessarily the case. Miners who struck bargains with these supernatural beings often arrived at equitable terms: both parties could extract a modest living from the endeavor, as long as the humans were not greedy, all was well. Perhaps predictably, the human, being a greedy animal, oversteps the agreement and severe punishment is the consequence.
Why, then, has the goblin emerged in the twenty-first century as greedy and often, offensively, linked to antisemitism? I don't know, but I really don't believe we can look to folk traditions to understand this connection. It is true that the Cornish knocker was often credited with a connection with the souls of ancient Jews exiled to the Cornish mines by the Romans. That said, this was an after-the-fact explanation, and the Cornish dealings with their knocker beliefs typically describe the spirits as potentially beneficial (warning of danger and sometimes leading miners to rich tin deposits). The knockers - like other European mining spirits - were not wealthy. They were hard working and generally just about as poor as their human counterparts! These weren't gold mines, after all.
It is outside my field of vision, but I believe we need to look to literature as introducing the motif of the greedy goblin, after which was a short, repugnant trip to antisemitism. I have frequently seen Rowling blamed for this, but I have not read her work, and I can't speak to this.
My understanding is that household spirits are characterized by the desire for offerings of food and respect
Absolutely! That said, all supernatural entities are potentially dangerous and a strong thread of the capricious run through the whole lot - so always beware!
In general, one of the things modern people get wrong about folk belief is that they often imagine that there were specific entities with specific names and characteristics. People are fond of publishing things like, "Handbook of Fairies, Elves, Etc.," and these have entries for everything under the sun (and under the grass!), and all these entities behave themselves by staying within their category and acting like they're supposed to. Folklore was nothing of the kind.
There was a great deal of bleeding between entities, and flexibility of beliefs. Knockers were helpful; knockers were cruel and vindictive. As I indicated recently in another post, it is dangerous to eat fairy food, but under the right circumstance, it is dangerous to refuse fairy food. That is why people - the true believers of Europe - avoided/avoid these entities whenever possible. Encounters could turn horrible in a heartbeat. It was always best to bow one's head and retreat as quietly and respectfully as possible.
I hope this helps.
edit: Thanks for the gold! My favorite precious metal, for in my heart, I am very greedy! Perhaps I am a goblin!!! Very kind and much appreciated.
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Kender vampires are unable to leave the domain of Sithicus. The strange and foul magics that created them have forged an unbreakable bond between them and the realm of Lord Soth. Any attempt to cross the borders of this domain (whether voluntary or not) instantly destroys the vampire. Within seconds, its body will crumble into dust and the thing will be gone. Even drawing near to the border is painful for these creatures, and they will seldom come within a mile of it for fear of being forced across it and destroyed.
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Kender vampires can exist only within the confines of Lord Soth’s domain of Sithicus. They are tied to that dark land in some mystical way that, no doubt, relates to the evil magic used in their creation. It is possible that Lord Soth was required to invoke the favor of the Dark Powers in his creation of these dreaded monsters and, thus, that he has paid some horrible price for their loyalty to him.
Despite their links to Sithicus, the vampire kender are not natural creatures and, therefore, have no place in the biology of the world around them. The elves in Sithicus can sense the presence of one of these creatures whenever it comes within 100 yards of them. At first, the elves feel only a curious sense of concern or dread; but, as the monster draws nearer, the feeling intensifies into one of loathing and horror. The elves describe these sad creations as vile pollutants that foul the living by their mere presences. It is unclear why only those elves native to Sithicus can sense the kender vampire so easily.
Unlike the other vampires in Ravenloft, these creatures do not grow more powerful with the passing of time. It is a part of their curse that they must forever remain as they are, denied the pleasures of curiosity or the wanderlust that once gave their lives meaning. It is said that the rising of the full moon reminds these tragic souls of what they have lost and that, on that one night each month, they are unable to do anything but sit and weep beside the coffin that now serves them as both home and prison.
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The kender vampire is a solitary creature that exists only to do the bidding of Lord Soth of Sithicus. He is the father of their race, and, although they despise him for what he has done to them, they are unable to turn against him or act in any way contrary to his interests.
Knowing the revulsion that the elves who live in his domain feel for all manner of unnatural things, Soth felt that he could find no better slaves than a band of undead. Aware that undead elves might pose a threat to his own power, Soth set about the creation of a new breed of undead. Drawing a small kender village through the misty veils of Ravenloft and into his domain, he had them killed one by one so that he could study their sufferings and invoke carefully designed magical rituals over their bodies in attempts to make them rise as undead. By the time he had finished with these sad kender, fully half of them had died horrible deaths and suffered unspeakable torment at the hand of the dreaded deathknight. The results of his experiments were, however, satisfactory to Soth, for he discovered a formula that would create a race of vampires utterly loyal to him.
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The kender vampire cannot stand the sight of shimmerweed (a crystalline plant that grows on Krynn and in some secluded areas of Sithicus). The mere sight of these flowers is enough to keep the vampire from drawing within 10 yards of them. If moonlight is falling on these flowers, the prismatic display they release is enough to actually harm the creature, inflicting 1d4 points of damage for each round that the plants are within 20 yards of the vampire.
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The Lordcity of Istar was originally a small fishing village founded sometime before 2550 PC, along the north shore of the Lake of Istar, and eventually would be the capital of the Holy Empire of Istar.
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Esgaroth, or Lake-town, is a fictional community of Men upon the Long Lake that appears in the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. Constructed entirely of wood and standing upon wooden pillars sunk into the lake-bed, the town is south of the Lonely Mountain and east of Mirkwood. The town's prosperity is apparently built upon trade between the Men who inhabit it, and the Elves and the Dwarves of northern Middle-earth. The chief mode of transport of the people of Esgaroth is stated to be their boats.
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Added in 12 hours 7 minutes 59 seconds: Re: Lord Soth: One kind of Spirit
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Seduction
A Beloved of Chemosh enters a community; he (or she) often has a lust for life, and isn't connected with death. He is are always confident and charming, and craves flavorful food, strong drink, games, and rousing conversation. A Beloved will choose one special companion, who is usually a young and attractive member of the opposite sex. When desire is built, the Beloved makes a request that the victim swears his or her soul to Chemosh. A Beloved might treat the request lightly, or solemnly and earnestly. If a Beloved does not get his way he may beg, plead, and even threaten the companion in order to secure the oath. Once the words "I pledge myself to Chemosh," are uttered, the Beloved plants a kiss on the victim directly over the heart. The victim dies, but when the eyes open once more, a new Beloved of Chemosh is born.
Revelation
The lusts and desires that lead to the Beloved's damnation continue to plague it in unlife. Drink does not satisfy thirst, and alcohol does not intoxicate. Food does not satisfy hunger. Lust is never fulfilled. The Beloved's memories of its former life, and even recent activities are forgotten. Eventually the Beloved will feel a terrible pain that can only be eased by killing or claiming more victims as Beloved. The mention of Mina's name is the only thing that can distract it. All of the Beloved hope to find and follow her commands.
Detection
A Beloved is not quite alive yet not quite dead. Simple spells fail to detect a being's status as one of the Beloved. A Beloved's eyes might seem empty from within, but this is not consistent. Exceptional or sensitive animals may shy away or attack this form of undead. Physically, a Beloved appears exactly as he did in life. His flesh is still warm to the touch. Only Mina's Kiss, a lip-shaped discoloration over the heart, is the sign that someone is a Beloved. Divine magic related to dead souls and spirits of the dead can reliably reveal a Beloved. Clerics and Mystics who are able to detect the aura of the living, including kender nightstalkers can see that the Beloved possess no soul, no living aura, and is in fact a corpse.
Destruction
A Beloved appears to be immortal and nearly invulnerable. He is physically stronger than he was in life. Arcane and divine spells used against a Beloved rebound on the caster. Dismembered parts can be pulled together and reattached.
However, it is known that the hands of a child can destroy the Beloved. If a child strikes the Beloved in anger, an unnatural fire that only harms the Beloved will consume it. Children who witness such a death are likely traumatized by this event.
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The voices of these YouTubers are so close to being unbearable, and they are the first to offer themselves for speaking incessantly.
Music is so much better sounding usually as compared to their frankly butt-ugly, nose-blocked, mucus-filled, congested, irritating ways of producing sounds through their pipes and whistles.