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Horror, Violence, Injury, Gore, Death, Murder, Anatomy, Parasites, Disease, Medicine, Religion, Cruelty, Coercion and Abduction

Art by SpicedBerri on Vgen

1 | Thematic Lore

A psychosomatoform.

Psycho (mind) + soma (body) + at (direction, extension, relation) + o (a linking affix between two roots) + forma (appearance, shape, structure, contour, likeness).

In English, the extant 'a' at the end would be omitted.

The individual may have coined 'psychosomatoforma' as they were conscious and had a semblance of a body. That term is uniquely used by 'Lumen'.

Latin was a common language of Church and other writings. Many words can be compounded in that language to different ends.

'Lumen' has a considerable understanding of Latin, and how to utilise it. Memorisation was not infrequent for persons in the Church, where transcriptions and other literary practices were necessary.

It is reasonable that words would be fabricated. No one else may know what 'psychosomatoforma' means unless picking the affixes or morphemes apart. Uncertainty can exist without explanation.


The caladrius, according to Roman mythology, is a snow-white bird that lives in the king's house. It is said to be able to take the sickness into itself and then fly away, dispersing the sickness and healing both itself and the sick person. The caladrius legend formed part of medieval bestiary materials, which typically provided a Christian moralization for the animals they discussed. [Wikipedia]

The hercinia is depicted in Medieval bestiaries and was recorded in the 1st century by Pliny the Elder, who wrote, "In the Hercynian Forest, in Germany, we hear of a singular kind of bird, the feathers of which shine at night like fire." Writing in the 7th century, Isidore of Seville notes, "Their feathers sparkle so much in the shade that, however dark the night is with thick shadows, these feathers, when placed on the ground, give off light that helps to mark the way, and the sign of the glittering feathers makes clear the direction of the path." [Wikipedia]

The Hercinia is named after the Hercynian Forest, where the avian was often reported. The Hercynian Forest once encompassed much of Europe, although the woodland has modernly since been fragmented.


Historiography of the Hercynian Forest

Hercyne was the classical name (modern Libadia) of a small rapid stream in Boeotia that issued from two springs near Lebadea, modern Livadeia, and emptied into Lake Copais.

The name is cited dozens of times in several classical authors, but most of the references are non-definitive, e.g., the Hercynian Forest is Pomponius Mela's silvis ac paludibus invia, "trackless forest and swamps" (Mela, De Chorographia, iii.29), as the author is assuming the reader would know where the forest is. The earliest reference is in Aristotle's (Meteorologica). He refers to the Arkýnia (or Orkýnios) mountains of Europe, but tells us only that, remarkably in his experience, rivers flow north from there.

During the time of Julius Caesar, this forest blocked the advance of the Roman legions into Germania. His few statements are the most definitive. In De Bello Gallico he says that the forest stretches along the Danube from the territory of the Helvetii (present-day Switzerland) to Dacia (present-day Romania). Its implied northern boundary is nine days' march, while its eastern boundary is indefinitely more than sixty days' march. The region fascinated him, even the old tales of unicorns (which may have represented reindeer). Caesar's references to moose and aurochs and of elk without joints which leaned against trees to sleep in the endless forests of Germania, were probably later interpolations in his Commentaries. Caesar's name for the forest is the one most used: Hercynia Silva.

Pliny the Elder, in Natural History, places the eastern regions of the Hercynium jugum, the "Hercynian mountain chain", in Pannonia (present-day Hungary and Croatia) and Dacia (present-day Romania). He also gives us some dramaticised description of its composition, in which the close proximity of the forest trees causes competitive struggle among them (inter se rixantes). He mentions its gigantic oaks. But even he—if the passage in question is not an interpolated marginal gloss—is subject to the legends of the gloomy forest. He mentions unusual birds, which have feathers that "shine like fires at night". Medieval bestiaries named these birds the Ercinee. The impenetrable nature of the Hercynia Silva hindered the last concerted Roman foray into the forest, by Drusus, during 129 BCE: Florus asserts that Drusus invisum atque inaccessum in id tempus Hercynium saltum (Hercynia saltus, the "Hercynian ravine-land") patefecit.

The isolated modern remnants of the Hercynian Forest identify its flora as a mixed one; Oscar Drude identified its Baltic elements associated with North Alpine flora, and North Atlantic species with circumpolar representatives. Similarly, Edward Gibbon noted the presence of reindeer—pseudo-Caesar's bos cervi figura—and elk—pseudo-Caesar's alces—in the forest. The wild bull which the Romans named the urus was present also, and the European bison and the now-extinct aurochs, Bos primigenius.

In the Roman sources, the Hercynian Forest was part of ethnographic Germania. There is an indication that this circumstance was fairly recent; that is, Posidonius states that the Boii, were once there (as well as in Bohemia which is named for them). It is believed that before the Boii the Hercuniates tribe inhabited the area, later migrating to Pannonia in Illyria. By the middle of the first century BC, the Hercuniates were a minor tribe that was located along a narrow band of Celtic settlement close to the Danube, on the western side of the river a little way west of modern Budapest. Their name comes from an ancient proto-Indo-European word for an oak. The tribe is referred to by Pliny and Ptolemy as a civitas peregrina, a wandering tribe that had travelled to Pannonia from foreign parts. Little else is known of them save that they were issuing their own coins by the second century BC. By AD 40 the tribe was eventually subdued by Rome.

Monks sent out from Niederaltaich Abbey (founded in the eighth century) brought under cultivation for the first time great forested areas of Lower Bavaria as far as the territory of the present Czech Republic, and founded 120 settlements in the Bavarian Forest, as that stretch of the ancient forest came to be known. The forest is also mentioned in Hypnerotomachia Poliphili as the setting for the dream allegory of the work. [Wikipedia]


The term 'Hercyne' is related to both waters and forests. That is not irrelevant. 'Swan maiden' or 'bird maiden' are frequently correlated to water sources.

Bird maidens are ancient folklore elements that exist in writings from ancient Greece and the Indus Valley civilisation, and that are depicted in cave paintings in Indonesia, Spain, France, and other locations. Avian-human mixtures are dated from 30,000 to 40,000 years, according to the age of the paintings.

Humans as a species (Homo sapiens) first occurred around 300,000 years ago in Africa. The capacity for mutually understood language started around 50,000 years ago.


Individuals have been called multiple terms throughout human history and can be considered historic cryptids.

'Caladrius' is one of multiple terms given to individuals throughout the history of human awareness when visually smaller.

Caladrius were reported to be 'radiant white' as of the hercinia: a glowing avian documented in German and other forests. There is no chemical basis to the individual structure, and no filter to dilute the light emitted back out.


Raven = Psychopomp = Psychosomatoforma = Caladrius (which also foretold the death of persons).

Ravens in stories often act as psychopomps, connecting the material world with the world of spirits.

French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss proposed a structuralist theory that suggests the raven obtained mythic status because it was a mediator between life and death. As a carrion bird, ravens became associated with the dead and with lost souls. [Wikipedia]


'Human' mentally. Basis for empathy, discretion, and/or perspicuity exists.

As any person attempting to continue forward, things had to be given up in order to gain outwardly. Decisions can be seen as precipitant, but remain mostly rational.

As any person, came from somewhere; not 'nowhere', despite seeming otherwise.

Individuals are technically of the world and tied to it. They keep fact stable, despite keeping to the background.


Individuals can be described as 'living memory' or a culmination of memory and knowledge. What was lost did not remain missing despite people passing.

If a culmination of memory and knowledge could take 'shape', there would be no material to that space, the structure of which would adhere to conscious frameworks.


A ghost is a 'memory of something'. Caladrius are 'empty spaces where someone used to be'. As opposed to visceral or material phenomena, they do not consume living organisms.


'Lumen' 'knew' enough to understand their surroundings, and to be aware of self-preservation. They knew how to speak comprehensively as well, which, while odd, echoes how ravens were believed to be coherent; and 'drifting souls' left behind after unfavourable deaths. It is not too far off.


Everything returns to itself, and everything returns to nothing.

The world is a 'closed' circle.


History comprises death and loss. Suffering instigated that culmination. Individuals can be considered a 'response' to worse occurrences.

Through existence and travel, individuals are guarding past dissolution.


Individuals starting at a distance from other persons potentially metaphysically relates to the distance, on multiple levels, of what had vanished from life. While this is both advantageous and not; it created time for consideration further, on an individual level at least. Thematically, distance has importance and relevance, individually and ambiently. Where self-interest is concerned, spaces are overall maintained. Despite this, outer interests exist that can mean necessity.


Individuals may address both living and dead contexts when situationally valid. Being a 'bridge' of sorts, in various contexts, individuals sort of stand 'between' life and death. This correlates to the practice of physics historically; physicians and ecclesial persons healers as well as informants; and reflects on relative immateriality.

Malignancy is generally absent. Individuals can be considered neutral or benign depending on situational basis. Preventing others from dying and regulating fact are ranges both covered on a worldly basis.


Immateriality causes relative capability, beyond lack of sensation and other disadvantages. There is no chemical or energy-based harm, no illness, aseptic qualities, no aging or changes outside of physical impairment; etc.

Without a body, only the mind is present. Impediments that hinder thought; knowledge; etc; are lacking.

'Lumen' can think extremely quickly and may react almost immediately to an occurrence in a constructive manner: albeit not always without fault due to lack of situational understanding.


'Lumen' occurred around 1600 CE, the Renaissance era.

The Renaissance was partly about a renewal of previous knowledge. Methods from earlier periods were being reinstated while advances were simultaneously made.


A Cultural Efflorescence

There have been Orthodox churches in Italy for centuries. Ties with the Byzantine tradition characterised Italian culture from the end of the unity of the Roman Empire. [tandfonline.com]


The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence was felt in art, architecture, philosophy, literature, music, science, technology, politics, religion, and other aspects of intellectual inquiry. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism and human emotion in art.

Renaissance humanists such as Poggio Bracciolini sought out in Europe's monastic libraries the Latin literary, historical, and oratorical texts of antiquity, while the Fall of Constantinople (1453) generated a wave of émigré Greek scholars bringing precious manuscripts in ancient Greek, many of which had fallen into obscurity in the West. It is in their new focus on literary and historical texts that Renaissance scholars differed so markedly from the medieval scholars of the Renaissance of the 12th century, who had focused on studying Greek and Arabic works of natural sciences, philosophy, and mathematics, rather than on such cultural texts.

In stark contrast to the High Middle Ages, when Latin scholars focused almost entirely on studying Greek and Arabic works of natural science, philosophy and mathematics, Renaissance scholars were most interested in recovering and studying Latin and Greek literary, historical, and oratorical texts. Broadly speaking, this began in the 14th century with a Latin phase, when Renaissance scholars such as Petrarch, Coluccio Salutati (1331–1406), Niccolò de' Niccoli (1364–1437), and Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459) scoured the libraries of Europe in search of works by such Latin authors as Cicero, Lucretius, Livy, and Seneca. By the early 15th century, the bulk of the surviving such Latin literature had been recovered; the Greek phase of Renaissance humanism was under way, as Western European scholars turned to recovering ancient Greek literary, historical, oratorical and theological texts.

Unlike with Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. Ancient Greek works on science, mathematics, and philosophy had been studied since the High Middle Ages in Western Europe and in the Islamic Golden Age (normally in translation), but Greek literary, oratorical and historical works (such as Homer, the Greek dramatists, Demosthenes and Thucydides) were not studied in either the Latin or medieval Islamic worlds; in the Middle Ages these sorts of texts were only studied by Byzantine scholars. Some argue that the Timurid Renaissance in Samarkand and Herat, whose magnificence toned with Florence as the center of a cultural rebirth, were linked to the Ottoman Empire, whose conquests led to the migration of Greek scholars to Italian cities. One of the greatest achievements of Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western Europe for the first time since late antiquity.

Muslim logicians, most notably Avicenna and Averroes, had inherited Greek ideas after they had invaded and conquered Egypt and the Levant. Their translations and commentaries on these ideas worked their way through the Arab West into Iberia and Sicily, which became important centers for this transmission of ideas. From the 11th to the 13th century, many schools dedicated to the translation of philosophical and scientific works from Classical Arabic to Medieval Latin were established in Iberia, most notably the Toledo School of Translators. This work of translation from Islamic culture, though largely unplanned and disorganized, constituted one of the greatest transmissions of ideas in history.

The movement to reintegrate the regular study of Greek literary, historical, oratorical and theological texts back into the Western European curriculum is usually dated to the 1396 invitation from Coluccio Salutati to the Byzantine diplomat and scholar Manuel Chrysoloras (c. 1355–1415) to teach Greek in Florence. This legacy was continued by a number of expatriate Greek scholars, from Basilios Bessarion to Leo Allatius.

The unique political structures of Late Middle Ages Italy have led some to theorize that its unusual social climate allowed the emergence of a rare cultural efflorescence. Italy did not exist as a political entity in the early modern period. Instead, it was divided into smaller city-states and territories: the Kingdom of Naples controlled the south, the Republic of Florence and the Papal States at the center, the Milanese and the Genoese to the north and west respectively, and the Venetians to the east. Fifteenth-century Italy was one of the most urbanized areas in Europe. Many of its cities stood among the ruins of ancient Roman buildings; it seems likely that the classical nature of the Renaissance was linked to its origin in the Roman Empire's heartland.

Historian and political philosopher Quentin Skinner points out that Otto of Freising (c. 1114–1158), a German bishop visiting north Italy during the 12th century, noticed a widespread new form of political and social organization, observing that Italy appeared to have exited from feudalism so that its society was based on merchants and commerce. Linked to this was anti-monarchical thinking, represented in the famous early Renaissance fresco cycle The Allegory of Good and Bad Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (painted 1338–1340), whose strong message is about the virtues of fairness, justice, republicanism and good administration. Holding both Church and Empire at bay, these city republics were devoted to notions of liberty. Skinner reports that there were many defences of liberty such as the Matteo Palmieri (1406–1475) celebration of Florentine genius not only in art, sculpture and architecture, but "the remarkable efflorescence of moral, social and political philosophy that occurred in Florence at the same time".

Even cities and states beyond central Italy, such as the Republic of Florence at this time, were also notable for their merchant republics, especially the Republic of Venice. Although in practice these were oligarchical, and bore little resemblance to a modern democracy, they did have democratic features and were responsive states, with forms of participation in governance and belief in liberty. The relative political freedom they afforded was conducive to academic and artistic advancement. Likewise, the position of Italian cities such as Venice as great trading centres made them intellectual crossroads. Merchants brought with them ideas from far corners of the globe, particularly the Levant. Venice was Europe's gateway to trade with the East, and a producer of fine glass, while Florence was a capital of textiles. The wealth such business brought to Italy meant large public and private artistic projects could be commissioned and individuals had more leisure time for study. [Wikipedia]


2 | Background Thematics

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The mind is composed of many neurons that form a cohesive consciousness. It is not too different for other factors: individuality eventually results.

Many ecclesiastic persons were killed over a 131 year time frame that encompassed the Reformation. The collective loss left many things behind. What was lost gradually consolidated into something further.

The excess caladrius generated by the Reformation (1517-1648) lessened the excess factors in the 'air' that were present before and during the medieval period. There are not as many 'odd things' modernly appearing by extent. Although there are still occurrences, this is intermittent.


Preserving the self and what was lost is an indirect factor. Self-preservation correlates to outer factors as individual basis does to framework: there is an unconscious drive to not cease, although not something definite.


3 | Turmoil

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Between 1517 and 1648, 100 million people across the expanse of Europe were estimated to have been killed under assumption of heresy. Allegations exceeded class, status, and other apparent defences.

Men, women, and children were equally subject to punishment, being viewed as uniformly capable of choice.

Wars and conflicts, initiated by the Popes and nobility in awareness of the detriment a call for social equality would cause, resulted in many deaths during that time frame. The idea of killing Protestantism meant murder on a mass scale. It was Europe-wide.


In Italy, the same was true, because it took many years to eradicate Protestantism. In 1542 a special Inquisition was instituted to suppress Protestantism in Italy, which, with reckless, fanatical fury, punished every appearance of Protestantism with imprisonment, the galleys, the scaffold, and the stake; nevertheless, it did not accomplish its purpose until towards the close of the century.

Because the population of Europe in 1600 was about 80 to 100 million, mostly in Catholic countries, it is reasonable to assume that a large proportion of the population of Europe accepted Protestantism and faced persecution. In many regions half or more of the population accepted Protestantism, and many of these persons were slaughtered. Even some of those who gave up their faith under suffering were killed. From 1518 to 1548 large numbers of people would have been accepting Protestantism and would have met such a reaction from the church. Therefore significant population losses due to persecution would have taken place in all Catholic countries in Europe during these years and later. Such losses might have been viewed as the Inquisition by some writers. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that the Inquisition claimed millions of victims in the century or two after the Reformation, though the Jesuits would not have been initially involved because they were only recognized in 1540. After all, the Jesuits did not originate the policy that heretics should be killed; they merely implemented it. [static1.1.sqspcdn.com]


Whether members of the clergy were steadfast in their faith, if not statements against the Church (which was frequent, as the depravity orchestrated would have been very apparent as time passed) or made it evident death was not preferable, there was often inevitable sacrifice.

That is technically what a martyr is: someone who dies for a higher cause. There is irony in the fact that, despite the bigotry presented by the Church, the people who died for overall interests were excluded from what was considered 'good'. Those persons were discarded and forgotten technically: socially, in terms of family, and in regard to existence.

This was not indefinite, but there were certainly transgressions on the part of the Church before the Peace of Westphalia issued 'pardons' for everyone killed. By then, many would have moved on. As it took 131 years for the treatise to be initiated, that is significant.


Treaty of Westphalia

Peace Treaty between the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of France and their respective Allies.

That there shall be on the one side and the other a perpetual Oblivion, Amnesty, or Pardon of all that has been committed since the beginning of these Troubles, in what place, or what manner soever the Hostilitys have been practis'd, in such a manner, that no body, under any pretext whatsoever, shall practice any Acts of Hostility, entertain any Enmity, or cause any Trouble to each other; neither as to Persons, Effects and Securitys, neither of themselves or by others, neither privately nor openly, neither directly nor indirectly, neither under the colour of Right, nor by the way of Deed, either within or without the extent of the Empire, notwithstanding all Covenants made before to the contrary: That they shall not act, or permit to be acted, any wrong or injury to any whatsoever; but that all that has pass'd on the one side, and the other, as well before as during the War, in Words, Writings, and Outrageous Actions, in Violences, Hostilitys, Damages and Expences, without any respect to Persons or Things, shall be entirely abolish'd in such a manner that all that might be demanded of, or pretended to, by each other on that behalf, shall be bury'd in eternal Oblivion. [avalon.law.yale.edu]


The Treatise of Westphalia accounted for deaths related to the Reformation, but far after those occurred. At the time, the authority did not take accountability: this was beyond the awareness of those who were lost.

This would have not changed anything. The people killed were already gone.


Individuals who resulted from occurrences would not have known about changes in activity but from a distance. A lack of turmoil would have been evident externally, although none would have known what that meant entirely.

People who were deemed 'heretical' were discarded from society and buried en masse in forests and fields, in unmarked graves. As in earlier durations where burial was far from human populaces, the Reformation caused many individuals to result outside the bounds of human awareness. Individuals do not often stray into human populations, as hostility is a norm.


Communal graveyards did not often include heretics. Churches overlooked graveyards. Religion was a main factor in who was buried within those boundaries and who was excluded.


In Swedish folklore, ravens are the ghosts of murdered people without Christian burials and, in German stories, damned souls. [Wikipedia]


Common ravens (which were correlated to gallows and other graphic places due to the bodies left there for scavengers to pick through) were believed to be the solidified souls of deceased persons: 'damned' in human perspective, or specifically persons whose remains were buried outside of 'holy ground'.

'Holy ground' was defined as church grounds within human populations. Burial occurred there rather than outside of those boundaries: as often occurred in ancient durations. The church regulated life and death for centuries.


Criminals (who did things that could be considered 'damnable' in external perception, due to crime being often tied to religion archaically) were often excluded from church grounds and buried somewhere unknown in a forest or field.

Heretics acted 'against God' and thus were also excluded. The torture method itself could determine how the remains were considered. Usually corpses were discarded for wild animals to eat, but sometimes were thrown into the sea.


Religious persons at the time lived by a doctrine of self-denial and attempted sanctification. It may be more likely that members of orders tried and killed by the Reformation were relevant to caladrius around that time frame.

A good percent of the people whose loss consolidated into 'Lumen' specifically realistically could not prove their innocence as a 'true Catholic'. Alone, tortured and shunned, many died knowing they would be buried somewhere forgotten.


Graveyards, whether situated near a church or existing separate, are often correlated to common ravens. This was also accurate historically: tombs and other burial places were sites common ravens reportedly could be found.

There are historic reports that correlate ravens and burial sites. Records extend back to 300 CE or earlier chronologically.

In 300 CE, ravens reputedly drove off vultures and other animals that tried to eat the remains of a later-ordained saint, while not stealing from the body itself. The corpse, Vincent of Saragossa, was later reclaimed by other people and buried in a nearby location.

The site this occurred at had ravens guarding it for hundreds of years, according to archaic reports that span from 300 CE to 1100 CE. Noted behaviour is not typical of Corvus corax as a taxonomy.

It is modernly known as Cape St. Vincent, or more archaically was termed كنيسة الغراب, "Kanīsah al-Ghurāb" by Muhammad al-Idrisi in 1154 CE for the ravens that inhabited the space, and Ophiussa by the Ancient Greeks for the Ophi people who lived there.

The correlations present may indicate that any location where remains are collectively interred are spaces which can generate individuals.

Graveyards, battlefields, tombs, and the wilderness are collectively places where humans and other species have directly or indirectly been buried. Albeit that closed off spaces can be detrimental, others allow for departure.


There are many graves in Europe. The ground is tied to plant-life. The clothing of 'Lumen' is plant-based (linen, from woven flax), as was somewhat a norm historically for living and dead persons. Linen was typical for its heat retention characteristics in the summer and winter and was common across all classes due to its availability.

Clothing generated is not limited to linen: evident as wooden sandals are present. Silk is another possibility depending on individual origin.

Plants and death are typically correlated. Plants have had association with the burial of the dead for millennia. Romans planted certain flowers on the graves of friends, and it is not unrealistic to say that was relevant far earlier. There are cairns that have been uncovered with bodies in them placed near gathered herbs in Europe, that date before the Roman eras.


Romans used hawthorn as hedging (bushes rather than trees). In Europe, many remnants of that agricultural element still exist in the wild, either as direct relics or descendants.

The gravesite where 'Lumen' originated occurred some time prior to June of 1600, when the common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and midland hawthorn (Crataegus laevigata) flowers. This might have been months to a year: the decay of bodies is rapid in forests.

It would be unclear who and how many were buried there. Only the people who dumped the remains would have a sense of that, and those persons are long dead.


Definitions

Lustrate: "purify by means of an offering," 1650s, from Latin lustratus, past participle of lustrare "purify ceremonially," from lustrum "purificatory sacrifice" (see lustrum) Related: Lustration (1610s). [etymonline.com]

Lustrum: (plural lustra), "ceremonial purification of the Roman people every five years," 1580s, from Latin lustrum "a purificatory sacrifice, ceremony of purification; five-year period," from Proto-Italic *lustro- "expiation," which is of uncertain origin. Perhaps [OED] from root of luere "to wash" (from PIE root *leue- "to wash"). Or [Watkins, Klein], based on a possible earlier meaning "illumination," from PIE *leuk-stro-, from root *leuk- "light, brightness." De Vaan prefers as most likely the explanation "that lustrum was derived from *luH- 'to set free'," with suffix *-stro- also found in monstrum, etc. [etymonline.com]

If you need to expiate something—that is, to atone for it—it's sure to be something you recognize you shouldn't have done. People expiate crimes, sins, transgressions, and the like in various ways, such as by apologizing or trying to undo damage they've caused. The word comes from the Latin verb expiare ("to atone for"), a combination of ex- and piare, which itself means "to atone for" as well as "to appease." (Piare comes from pius, meaning "faithful, pious.") The current use of expiate dates to the early 1600s, and in the early 1500s expiate could mean something else entirely: "to put an end to." [merriam-webster.com]

A monstrum is a sign or portent that disrupts the natural order as evidence of divine displeasure. The word monstrum is usually assumed to derive, as Cicero says, from the verb monstro, "show" (compare English "demonstrate"), but according to Varro it comes from moneo, "warn." Because a sign must be startling or deviant to have an impact, monstrum came to mean "unnatural event" or "a malfunctioning of nature." Suetonius said that "a monstrum is contrary to nature (or exceeds the nature) we are familiar with, like a snake with feet or a bird with four wings." The Greek equivalent was teras. The English word "monster" derived from the negative sense of the word. Compare miraculum, ostentum, portentum, and prodigium.

In one of the most famous uses of the word in Latin literature, the Augustan poet Horace calls Cleopatra a fatale monstrum, something deadly and outside normal human bounds. Cicero calls Catiline monstrum atque prodigium and uses the phrase several times to insult various objects of his attacks as depraved and beyond the human pale. For Seneca, the monstrum is, like tragedy, "a visual and horrific revelation of the truth." [Wikipedia]


Sacrifice is essentially murder. It can also be defined as giving up something for the benefit of else.

'Human sacrifice' and 'animal sacrifice' are synonymous. Over 100 million persons were murdered over a time frame of 131 years due to the Reformation: a period of trials, wars, and massacres. A lot resulted from that.

The torture methods meant to silence persons varied. These typically resulted in death or disfigurement.


Content Warning

Torture was historically meant to be a display of fear. When public, it was viewed as a 'spectacle' to those who watched. The fear aspect was something that may have backfired as a context, albeit that did not stop related events. Communal displays were maintained as a practice, perhaps due to perceived need for consequence.

There is rationality to desensitisation. The amount of injury and death typical due to human decisions and natural forces was historically not minimal. Regardless of how passerby acclimated, the people subject to purposeful harm were inflicted with the most pain possible without death resulting. Executions were meant to be long and arduous: they were graphic.


The below quotation stems from a London newspaper printed in 1688, by the account of Richard Baldwin, who remembered occurrences. It involves an iteration of some actual methods. This may not have been an exhaustive list of occurrences.


Content Warning

Racked, burnt at the stake, sawed in half, thrown from cliffs onto rocks, torn by wild horses, cut to pieces, hanged, drowned, stabbed, boiled in oil, immured at sea and starved, beheaded, had boiling lead poured down their throats, thrown on spears, hung up by the ribs, or crucified with their heads downwards. [static1.1.sqspcdn.com]


"A caladrius taking sickness into itself and destroying it" is one comparison that cannot be ignored, although other correlations could also be made with presented themes.


Ravens are believed to be the souls of deceased persons and flight is an escape or tied to departure.

Although unable to access recollection, individuals are the sum of the knowledge and recollections of people who passed, preserving the fact of those who died. As 'a person is the sum of recollections' there can be a collective basis stemming from many people.

Support occurs through awareness, aside from collectively keeping matters stable on an ambient basis. As most exist in the background and are self-dependent, awareness of the surroundings is advantageous.


4 | Characteristics

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In philosophical ranges, thought; knowledge; wisdom were promoted contexts in order to do well in life, to promote good for the self and others. Empathy is a norm, although they may retreat from someone for a varying duration if threatened.

Capable, even with relative morbidity. They try to do what they can. While not always enough, this still involves perseverance.


They have considerable expectations weighing on them, albeit self-decided and continued through efforts to support others.

They are not a volatile individual, typically. There is not much room for conscious malignancy, as that would forfeit what they gained and have.


5 | Capability

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Echoes of biological fact are often minutely apparent in the surroundings. By extent of this awareness, they may be able to avoid or seek out surrounding organisms, yet not infallibly.

What does not fall into the 'living' category may be overlooked more readily, which is also reason for caution in their case. Harm; direct or indirect; is something possible despite their dubiousness.


Individuals are not affected by heat or cold, while that can be an impediment situationally. They can endure temperatures to a considerable extent, as long as physical or direct harm or impediment does not occur concerning their person.

Their body is mentality and physical harm offsets consciousness. Direct loss of "self" means mental detriment, potentially to the extent of cessation. Averting from harm is efforted, when applicable.

Surviving the elements is an important thematic, correlated to ecological role.


Chemical and energy-based elements lack influence. Acid, fire, electricity, and other detrimental factors 'roll right off'.

Immunity to chemicals however does not exclude physical harm as a risk. Materials are further perishable, meaning aversion from hazardous surroundings in order to preserve cover and necessities. Reversion to a smaller state for discretion and flight may be relevant if loss or being threatened occurs.


Due to being impervious to energy and chemical harm, individuals could in relative probability navigate a storm well.

Considering what complications can occur ambiently or while travelling, this has importance. Conflagrations, lightning strikes, hail, and other environmental or more purposeful factors are relatively resisted.


The weather was an imperative factor to consider. Rain, snow, hail, and storms were random and could be frequent depending on the season. The conditions would often prove dangerous or gradually exhaust travellers.

The mountains were worse in climate. Blizzards and wildfires could wipe out any number of persons trying to cross into another terrain. It might be recalled by some individuals that persons went through the mountains despite the difficulty that presented: hence attempts to prevent loss.

In the alpines (and other mountains), the Foehn winds cause both wildfires and blizzards that kill people yearly. It is not impossible that an individual might cross through a conflagration or snowstorm. With immunity to energy and chemical harm, individuals may navigate storms on occasion.

If an individual caladrius resides in a mountainous region, there may be passing attempts to counter losses. Recalling the terrain itself would mean knowing where people are active or live. Trails or related areas may be frequented. Pausing can happen if an individual comes across someone evidently alive. If not, leaving the area would eventually happen through continued flight.


It was not often that 'Lumen' went through a wildfire when objectively taller, as linen can burn. With Foehn winds present around the alpine mountains, it was yet not null as a fact when they variously resided at the peaks.

Blizzards and wildfires were very rarely travelled through due to doubt and self-awareness. They did not often find anything objectively living within those durations. Related individuals either fled or shortly perished from the conditions. They moved on after, once life signs vanished.


Individuals retain temperature as an ambient property, which helps with unobtrusiveness. They cannot feel 'warm' to that extent.


Matter and energy are repelled, excluding light, air, thought, tone: factors which are ambiently accrued and utilised passively or by choice.

Separate from objectively physiological individuals, such as fae or humans, caladrius cannot use magic.

Energy transfer is not possible to invoke magical effects; there is no energy or matter present except for light and air. Light and air are inadvertently accrued: which relates to luminance and capability for speech.


Oxygen is a minute focus. It is inadvertently acquired and issued out through an unconscious emission. Active motion causes oxygen to pass through their structure without evident alteration.

Although they do not 'breathe', and do not move when emitting air, the sound of exhalation could be very minutely evident to nearby persons.


Due to limitations and relative lack of necessity regarding oxygen, 'Lumen's' voice is subtle. They often find it slightly hard to speak due to general constraints.

'Lumen' may ask for a moment as a result of this, if any pauses occur. They are trying socially.

While as a norm vocally faint, they may still be somewhat direct in wording or tone if finding purpose.

In time frames beyond 1619 CE, the muted element was conflated with the mask of a plague physician. The limited amount of air exuded while 'speaking' and the muffling aspect of a cover create a synonymous effect.


They do not always have enough air to speak extensively. At times they may go silent without realising.

The use of sign language is predominantly preferred, although not viable in every case due to lack of external understanding.


They can see, having apparent eyes, which can be considered a relatively universal context.

Pupils are lacking. Both those and irises are defining in most organisms, including people. Sight is comprehensive by extent. Vision is typically panoramic. 'Lumen' can see a considerable amount without moving their eyes.

Ocular regions can be luminant, yet the same can be said for the structure as a whole, despite that extensive luminance can be considerably more exacting. They may have conflicted vision in lighter settings through being more capable of perceiving shapes in dim locations than in effulgent ones. Scotopic vision is present by extent.

Luminance is objectively more ostentatious than being nondescript. As the entire frame can give off light, there is a polarity in terms of advantage.

Decisions cause nondescription and fleeting conspicuousness. Not being killed by external individuals is ideal, and behaviourally that realistically reflects (awareness of risk not absent).

Ghosts are frequently correlated to luminance. Aside from atmospheric ghost lights featuring throughout history on a global scale, there was a surgance of transparent and/or luminant ghosts in the late 1700s due to advancements in technology and parlour tricks. Before then, ghosts were figures covered in heavy shrouds; heavy cloth frequent for both corpses and living people.

Odd lights in places there should not be would be indicative of something.

If an individual were luminant while feathers are removed, those might retain luminance until vanishing. This would relate to lost feathers lighting up the path for travellers.


Like the entire structure, feathers are immaterial but solid. The cloth that results from 'molting' when switching between states is yet material.

As of cloth, if shortened or removed, feathers may shortly or abruptly vanish once separate.


Their beak does not open, as that would make it an opening. They still speak 'normally'.

Air is inadvertently picked up and issued out unconsciously when making an effort toward verbal discourse.

The space occupied is dual-oriented; but they 'physiologically' are very similar to what they appear to be. Physics are adhered to, albeit not completely.

Although translucent in dim spaces, they have an appearance otherwise due to absorbing light to a limited extent. There is a gradual shift in visual apparency depending on the surrounding ambiance. Clothing may appear 'empty' to someone in some cases, if that person is capable of scotopia.

Whether it is night chronologically or the surroundings are inherently tenebrous, there is innate blending, which allows for evasion or other capability.

Most are inherently withdrawn. Overtness or a lack of it generally is by choice; either decision having risk to some degree.


Art by RazunaSoul on TH

When alternating from an inconspicuous state (a 'common raven') to a conspicuous state, differences occur that allow for relative benefit or nondescription on the part of an individual.

Feathers lengthen and convert into cloth, melding together into structural coherency. These detach rapidly, leaving loose hanging articles that can be discarded or utilised. This can be disorganising with their mind readjusting itself, meaning that an attempt to remain standing often occurs for some moments after.

Their clothing is form fitting. There are differences between handmade garments and those produced due to their feathers directly converting into cloth. Hems and stitches are absent. The short tail or liripipe of the capuche is nonexistent.

Due to the lack of chemical friction, removing and reassuming articles generated typically occurs without complication.


Cloth was expensive in earlier time frames, which makes capability potentially beneficial or detrimental.

Light cloth and other shades were historically valuable. Gauze and bindings are a norm however, their attire torn occasionally to make bandages.


The cloth that results from a 'molting' pattern is not permanent and dissipates, which is advantageous for a lack of traces. A few weeks or sooner is how long most material durates before it vanishes. This is multi-purpose in use and can last long enough for a wound to close.

Dried blood is left behind if anyone hurt or dying is interacted with.


Their structure differs from that of humans, even when overt. Generated cloth however obscures fact. Evidently has a tail when more visible. This is small, and usually without feathers.

They tend to remain standing to some degree unless smaller. They are used to standing upright. Their legs do not bend like those of a human.


There is a duality in appearance. Mental state defines structure, and they are 'human' mentally, unconscious frameworks relating to a more 'anthro' build.


Capability and appearance correlate. As they appear more 'human' sometimes, that can be a means to blend with expectations. This is unmeant, but important to survival. Being smaller also means more ease at travelling and supporting their own interests. Duality is present in that sense.

Capability relates to appearance: but should not matter beyond that.


6 | Historic Elements

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Historically, the habit colours of priests, nuns, and monks could differ between orders. Novitiates in many orders featured lighter shades until in essence graduating. This was not always accurate depending on the order itself, but many feature that system.

Established clergy also differed in clothing colours depending on religious holidays and events, even archaically. Colour significance as a tradition started around the 4th century CE.

White, green, rose, violet and gold are common shades to ecclesiastic persons. Blue was only allowed with permission historically and currently.


White would not change as a fact. The order that the individual corresponds to is the Premonstratensian or Norbertine denomination, which featured white garments. Other orders which featured white clerical garments include the Dominican, Camaldolese, Carmelite, and Carthusian orders.


If cloth were to alternate, it could fall to a few shades.


Woad (blue), madder and alchanet (red and pink), weld and saffron crocus (yellow), buckthorn berries and logwood (green) were frequently used for dyes by many classes within a European basis.


Attire was evidently white in archaic occasions when interactions occurred between persons and individual caladrius, white appearing to be a default direction. The reason for this is uncertain, but in realism correlates to mentality.


Early Greek authors including Aristotle variously describe the caladrius or charadrius as a cave-dwelling or water bird. In the ancient Atharaveda (1200–900 BCE), a bird with the ability to cure jaundice appears. In Leviticus and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, the caladrius occupies the list of unclean animals, prohibited for human consumption.

Modern scholars have searched for the caladrius's true origin, but in vain. Its importance to the medieval reader lay not in its qualities as a bird, but in its ability to convey a moral about Christian behavior. [blogs.getty.edu]


Content Warning

It was deleterious to eat caladrius in ancient Hebrew texts. Either nothing would result, or that person would be ingesting something harmful. In subjective interpretation, that would either be fatal or do something worse. The warping of structure; etc; could result.

Although humans were unlikely to try to consume something related unless starving (common ravens were correlated to corpses, if other averting factors were not traditionally relevant), other species can be less wary at times.

Albeit that individuals are not too likely to be attacked due to evasiveness and maintained distance, it is possible it happened archaically. What resulted from related occurrences might have been noted by people.

Whether a caladrius survived could be dubious, which would depend on the species encountered, aside from other factors. Awareness of nearby organisms means that something large would be typically evident.

Being bitten is different than being scratched. The 'material' ingested would be infectious if the former occurred. A significant amount of pain would follow, aside from other resulting aspects. If an organism did not die, it would be 'different'.

Species that were not quite 'normal' would be concerning to archaic persons, aside from a potential risk to limited welfare. Killing evident threats would be a necessary focus.

As of other phenomena, the 'matter' that was left behind would eventually disappear: leaving only blood and viscera from the original organism.

Unless attacked or harmed, complications would not be understood by individuals. Pacifism is adhered to by most unless threatened or in danger. Attempts to abscond are typical unless that cannot occur.


Although they are unable to spread vectors, physical or nonphysical, the inclusion of elements into a living system would be detrimental.


Before the Greek depictions of the caladrius or charadrius, the avian was ascribed the term haridruva, and depicted in Atharvaveda (1200 to 1000 BCE–900 BCE) writings as yellow in plumage rather than white.

It was a bird noted to 'live in caves' in Greek depictions, which could have been accurate to a relative degree. Encountering an individual amid the rocks of the mountains and cliffs where caladrius were searched for would not be unrealistic.


Certain plants and minerals such as lichen, salts, aluminum, zinc, and iron can only be found around cliffs or mountains, which accounts for 'ocean diving' and 'cave dwelling' behaviour realistically. One or more individuals remaining around a cavern for the salt, ferns, or minerals present, or the cliffs of a coastline for the lichen or salt present could be noted through human sightings and hearsay

Collecting and moving materials is realistically gradual, but time is not that limited. Piles of gathered material can be eventually picked up when taller again (if not stolen by watching persons).

Ravens cache things; and often remember where materials are hidden. As memory is consistent, that does not divert by far as a concept. Hiding material for later use would be a rational notion.

Relating to the caching of materials, coins and other objects that consist of metal may be found and similarly hidden away for later use. Letting an object of value sit abandoned would not be merited.

Copper and silver coins were not uncommon in the 1500s to 1600s. It is likely that multiple coins have been found and set away by individuals due to the amount of conflict that has occurred over currency. Thieves and highway persons were not uncommon, and neither was dissention.


Wars and conflicts were frequent; the aftermath of something at times meant weapons were discarded in the fields. Metal does not hurt individuals, but they can be cut through and killed.

Due to the warfare often present, towns destroyed the roads that led to their own individual populations to prevent forces from ransacking and killing them. This made it difficult for travellers for multiple reasons: even with horses, there was risk in the very fact of travelling. The holes in the paths were full of rainwater, which froze in winter. These pitfalls could break the legs of transportation.


Thieves, brigands, armed forces, and other hazards were numerous across Europe. War was frequent, but not always relevant. That still meant groups of soldiers raided towns for supplies. It would not be too infrequent that equipment was lost.

Scissors or cinquedea (a common long blade for civilians and soldiers) might have been come across occasionally, but they did not take anything along generally, lacking use for either. Heavy objects would have been a burden while running or while in flight.

Scissors were a status symbol in the Renaissance era: they had become personal possessions that were at times decorated with gold, silver, or ivory. Rather than scissors being made of unrefined iron, crafters had started to make these tools smaller and more specialised for hair cutting or cloth cutting. These items were expensive and highly valued: losing one would be detrimental. If an individual found one, it might be kept for convenience.

Individuals realistically would not see the value in blades other than for utility: which could mean leaving or giving one to someone injured; etc; on the roads rather than conflict occurring over it. Blades similarly might be abandoned for related interests.


Silver is an antibacterial metal. It can be placed in water to disinfect a basin or other container for use in washing wounds or for other purposes. The antibacterial qualities to the metal are why it was historically used for surgical tools. Its cleanliness was well known throughout many cultures in more archaic time frames.


As opposed to the traditional depictions of caladrius (or charadrius; haridruva) – yellow or white in plumage – it is realistic that dim feathering is relevant. Images do not inherently depict actual appearance archaically.


For example, persons were depicted as wolves in illustrations because of strength or capability. In Wales and elsewhere, that was accurate. People further avoided saying the names of actual animals in order to avoid 'calling' them in ancient superstition.

Allegorical phrasing was prevalent: as displayed in Nordic kennings. 'Brown one' or 'destroyer' for bears and various phonetic changes for wolf were used in order to avoid saying words directly.

Bears modernly are capable of tearing apart large cars despite the change in diet (less meat is present due to human interference) gradually weakening current generations of Arctos arctos. In archaic forests, wolves could easily pick off hunting groups through pack formations and ambushes.

These were not the only threats: travelling enemy groups existed about the terrain and covert wording was necessary for that reason further.

Remaining sedentary is something typically avoided by most species, humans included. Collectively humanity has branched out and made contact with other cultures many times over. Having history in terms of held-onto awareness, civilisations are 'above' less complex species. Fighting occurs, as it does anywhere, but so do other occurrences.


Various herbalists during the Renaissance went to India and other locations to document folk medicine for widespread use. Books were written and published in the early 1600s based on related documentation.

China, India, Japan, and other countries are not too far from European terrains. There are multiple works by European persons on cultural topics during the 1500s–1600s time frame.


In India-based writings, herbalism was central. Herbalism dates back as a known practice to the Rigveda, the first recorded writing within the Indus Valley civilisation.

Medicine and similar practices were well known archaically and in ancient time frames. It is not unrealistic that caladrius would know of that field by extent, which correlates to attributed behaviour.


In archetypal terms, individuals could be considered 'outsiders' to the worlds that surround them, both by inherent perspective and by others' awareness of their persons. This is not a genuine detachment, albeit lack of understanding precedes fact. Individuals do not understand various matters on an inherent level.

There are no sensory elements or physical needs such as breathing, drinking, or eating, which leads to considerable caution and doubt. In that sense, confidence can be necessary as a farce.

"Outsider". There is no flesh, bone, or chemical basis to individuals, who are not limited by materiality. The capacity to go (virtually) anywhere is significant; it is part of design in-world and out of it.

Caladrius are not limited to one place essentially. Capacity for travel can potentially extend beyond Earth, yet individuals are realistically reluctant to leave what is familiar, not having known anything beyond that.

Ravens in this reality are often solitary and constantly moving, hence correlations to 'psychopomps'.


7 | General Characteristics

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Not inept despite attempted positivism. Appears mentally around 20s-30s, despite knowledge and recollection surpassing that due to years passing. Adult and generally capable.


'Lumen' is a blend of male and female aspects but not. They can be considered agender in their own perspective.

There is no biological system to their structure. The memory of what was defines their shape.


Agender as an identity did not archaically exist within European perspectives. Although nonbinary and transgender persons occasionally were present (not in Europe, but in the North American Quaker colonies, which were more progressive), records were minimal.


The neuter (genderless) tense exists in Latin. It occurs alongside male and female tenses, although it is typically not ascribed to persons.

Using neuter tense as a nominative is realistic by individual uncertainty. That could be seen as odd archaically. Other people may pause in realising the 'he' or 'she' tense was not prevalent.

'Id' is more of a demonstrative pronoun than a personal pronoun. In other languages, 'id' translates to 'that' or 'it', in terms of 'I' or 'myself'. In later knowing how others may react to that, there could be reluctance. Conversation may lessen if confusion results.


It is realistic that the individual (or others, if capable of that through languages known), would use neuter language when addressing themselves; but otherwise might not if incapable of that. Ambiguity can complicate matters on its own when interacting with other persons.

An individual being viewed as male or female due to speech patterns, if not vocal tone, can be restrictive and confusing. Names, pronouns, and other definers are social in meaning. There is a lack of labels due to typical isolation.

Historically, a neuter tense might not be seen well: hence external labelling being forced onto individuals. An individual being 'female' would be more ideal in the perspective of travellers realistically, due to being seen as 'helpless' and 'lesser'.

Fact is more complex than that. Historic gender roles were however limited and typically enforced.


Humans often ask about names and identity: those are tied to rank and familial association and can determine affiliation. Without a set term, there could be confusion on the part of external persons. Calling themselves something, if interaction is long in duration, would be necessary.

Most terms given to people are 'stated as fact', if not subjunctive or 'possible'. Any could be improvised realistically, if asked about. Utilising a term based on the situation would not be unlikely; it would be more probable if insisted upon.


"Who are you?" would be realistically met with a lie, without any other viable answer. Names such as 'Priora', 'Lucia', 'Luchina', 'Cecilia', 'Nente', or others that were more masculine could have been variously relevant, due to other persons expecting an answer.


'Lumen' is neuter. It is not an actual historic nominative, despite being nonbinary and simplistic. If something were adhered to for convenience, that would be a decision.

As it relates to the Latin word for 'luminance', that works well enough in their view.


The plague uniform was initially created and introduced around 1619 CE, according to records. The physician Charles de Lorme crafted and presented a concept uniform to the king he served at the time. It caught on as a protective uniform in the years that followed, for those who could afford heavy cloth, leather, wax, and aromatic ingredients.

Although not required, many physicians capable of affording the expenses to craft a mask and obtain other defences found it progressive.


'Lumen' as an individual precedes that date by about 19 years, having been 'born' in 1600. Other caladrius that occurred before and after them vary in exact origin date.


Although appearing 'human' to a relative extent, there is a separation in some essence: going beyond human needs and limits, at the cost of sensation.


'Lumen' knows that differences exist, but they try to move past them.

This is not about appearance but structural contexts. 'Lumen' can be considered dubious. They know they seem 'strange', but they do not quite care about that. A lack of decisiveness would be detrimental to situations and external perspectives.


It tends to be easier to not impose opinions. They may not like someone, yet there is less conflict through impassiveness. If they do reach a breaking point, they may leave instead suddenly. After that, there may be little to no mention of an incident.

'Lumen' has an impartial view of others. Although knowing differences exist, they do not often think of them. Individualism is a focus unconsciously. They do not use labels unconsciously due to not being ingrained with relevant biases. They know differences physiologically exist, even among humans but try to be fair in that regard.


They are used to behaving 'normally', at least by 1500s to 1600s standards. Although aware that the environment and activity has changed due to time, 'Lumen' has not acclimated to that difference. Interactions are much rarer now due to uncertainty and risk.


Remembering who they 'were' would break seity with the disorganisation present. A singular consciousness instead exists, everything beyond knowledge stored away unconsciously or structurally.

As the brain is made up of numerous neurons, this is parallel in concept. The mind needs to be cohesive in order to work well; otherwise disarray and dissipation results. If harmed physically, parts of their consciousness are directly marred, their 'body' equating to a consciousness.


Withdrawnness or reticence is a frequent direction.

They are 'odd' in that they made an attempt to out themselves initially. This may have been partly due not being conflicted with during earlier time frames. Being viewed with fear, injury did not occur.


Everything is typically interconnected: they would not want to be pulled into anything malignant, if others have made relevant decisions.


<"...People die but keeping that from being frequent has importance.">


With time passing, the idea of loss is not seen as ideal due to individual contexts. Attempting to offset worse is efforted despite intertwined risk.

Formality is a norm, and not easily strayed from in most settings. They find it better to be formal than risk being too direct.

They are generally not reckless. While unable to feel pain, it is still detrimental in various regards: to the self, and capability on a direct and indirect level. There is a reason for self-preservation. 'Lumen' inherently values their existence.


Content Warning

'Lumen' is by design supposed to be eerie. Being frightening was historically relevant to scaring off 'evil spirits'.

That is not everything relevant to their design: nondescription, capability, and other aspects present.

There was a functional purpose to why plague physicians were visually 'creepy'. The outfit was meant to be scary.

It was not a new concept at the time and correlations exist by extent.

There is no direct connection, but regardless a parallel.

That is what 'Lumen' and others (partly) do functionally: reduce the chance of things occurring ambiently.


Being able to cut through flesh adeptly, and knowing where to cut, is significant. There is a rarely utilised capability to address somatic complications improvisationally, and potentially kill things that would otherwise be a danger to others. Defending the self can be necessary, whether ideal or not.

Medicine is multi-sided. It can be beneficial or harmful, depending on intended purpose.


Beyond clothing, water disperses. They can swim but try to avoid depths for inhibitory or related reasons. Becoming stuck somewhere, beyond reach of help, could occur.

Travelling across the bottom of a submerged space is possible, but of risk as external threats could injure or kill.

They may refuse to remove clothing even if their garments were soaked, in most cases. Related complications may be disregarded if becoming relevant, even when hindrance could be a factor.


Water resistance does not apply to them due to lack of chemical basis. If entering a pool with considerable depth, it is possible that 'Lumen' would drop down to the bottom of the terrain rapidly. This is also a basis for concern. Clothing provides a buffer against that chance further.

Individuals are solid, but otherwise dubious. 'Lumen' feels like ambient-temperature air if made contact with. They have no skin or anything else material. The term 'surface' might be better instead of skin.


Attire is literally 'feathers'. Clothing can be removed, but replacing it is costly.

Individuals can fly, being 'solid' and lightweight when smaller. Advantages and disadvantages exist to being smaller-scale.


Wounds are not that permanent usually. While unable to physically heal, there can be eventual reversion in a sense. Nothing 'comes back' after vanishing but there can be echoes of recollection unconsciously.

There yet would be a relative cost to this. Coherence can falter briefly. Despite that they would try to contend.

They would not be able to recover a limb or anything relatedly severe. Wounds however fade eventually. When unconscious, this happens faster. Mentality is basis for a considerable amount.

The severity of harm or loss directly correlates to loss in recollection and coherency. With how much capability relates to recollection, injury is bad on various levels. If lacking recognition of others, there would be probable unease in response.


'Lumen' is not inept in terms of keeping safe. This would have been relatively built on as time passed and they gained a sense of the surroundings.


Their whole 'body' is thought, memory, and tone. Anything by far expended or lost means a lot missing. Anything objectively fatal would be the same as equivalent injury: they could vanish. Being conscious, limits exist.

'Lumen' cannot eat, drink, smell, or make an impact by far in regard to leaving traces. Despite being unable to relate to physical necessities, they try to be supportive due to having a relative understanding of necessity regardless.

Relative immateriality can symbolically correlate to a lack of understanding of self. While that would not change physiologically, gaining a sense of self could correlate to individualistic contexts in terms of perspective.


Being featherless adds to the presumption by others that they are human from a distance. Travel is constant: they are often moving, like actual ravens.

Individuals are not featherless indefinitely when taller. Feathers gradually return if maintaining one state. Most do not maintain visual transparency often. Being inconspicuous can be advantageous; more with time passing.

A few days typically encompasses this duration. The length and width of returning feathers differ depending on the structural region.


There are no 'scales' on 'Lumen' as there are for usual birds' legs. The feather placement on the legs relate to that of common ravens. There are no feathers on the evident tarsus, as opposed to the tibia area.

Despite being thin, the 'tarsometatarsus' and 'tibiotarsus' contribute to leg structure and stability in avian species. This does not evidently differ.

A common raven is bigger than a carrion crow. Common ravens are larger in scale than house cats on average.


Content Warning

There is a relative factor regarding defences when hurt, scared, or stressed. Digit-based features may relatively lengthen and grow sharper.

Generally, if becoming accurate, this would be a defence-response and tied to mental state. Unless unable to move away, 'Lumen' would keep distance when under considerable stress. They are not violent or volatile by inherent choice.

This relates to a generality where eeriness is a means of defence where capability may lack. Defending the self is an inherent response to outside risks regardless of the individual being threatened.


The practice of repelling evil spirits ranges all the way back to ancient Mesopotamia (5000 BCE to 651 CE) or further back in the ancient world as an idea where attempting to invoke protective spirits or deities was a norm at times. Echoes of that exist in pagan costumes and medieval gargoyles: which also ward off harmful spirits.

Deterring malignant factors through appearance or actual capability is a common and ancient notion. Ravens are seen as ominous and eerie, but also a guard against worse. There is conflict in thematic depth as well. Contradictory elements exist between nature and external impressions, if not other factors. 'Lumen' is contradictory in various regards. Impressions and nature; etc; may conflict.


Being indirectly supportive of others, 'eeriness' can be connected to other factors. Historically: being 'scary' was meant to ward off malignant influences. This echoes a generality where scariness is a means of defence through intimidation or evident capability. Tearing flesh and detecting oddness again relates. Objectively bad things are kept away.

'Lumen' knows that others might perceive them as subjectively eerie. This was an awareness built on through encounters in archaic time frames, not all that were crossed paths with assuming altruism. This is overall ignored currently for a number of reasons.


Hoods were common for women when travelling during the 17th century. It would not be unrealistic that an individual would be mistaken for a peasant woman during the 1600s, if seen from the back or a distance. Towns were scattered and it was not always clear whether houses were nearby.

Monastic or priestly individuals could be a similarly mistaken assumption -- if the lack of a horse were overlooked. Horses and alike transport were typical for persons making journeys that could not be managed in a day or less.

Perspective greatly defined how 'Lumen' was responded to when occasionally seen by passing travellers. A person being out alone would be concerning or alarming; it was not typical for the danger travelling presented.

They were usually avoided if noted when objectively taller. Once groups realised the oddness to their person from a distance, that became an active decision. This is an assumption by 'Lumen' as they saw people proceed without stopping, whether or not they were evidently acknowledged. Being avoided was ideal; it was better than other occurrences.

Being viewed as a 'common raven', 'peasant woman', 'monk'; etc; by an external view is essentially a lack of understanding. This either becomes less ambiguous or remains consistent after an encounter.

Recontextualising a social perspective to an asocial one can be difficult. It is realistically normal to caladrius that there is ambiguity. Humans do not understand that when crossing paths.

Archaic occurrences were evidently enough that people ascribed concrete terms to no-longer-seen phenomena.


Warding off malignant factors through intimidation or capability is a common and ancient notion.

They do not appear that frightening up close, but in the darkness of a forest, it would be eerie to see or hear something.


Capability is more than apparent: they can pluck an organ out easily if trying. That would kill anything quickly.

Blood runs off, which is another sign of capability that could be overlooked by others. Something unassuming would be overlooked. That can have varied benefit.


Making a situation beneficial to the self; etc; can be better than prompting risk. Pragmatism means not seeking to cause injury. Ambiguity and security results on an individual and external level.

Rather than directly interacting with persons, hercinia guided lost travellers in forests and other locations where death would otherwise occur.


'Lumen' is capable of accurately cutting through material without knives. Their digits can become acuate: talons technically. This can be beneficial for conflict or other purposes.

These gradually revert to prior states in the time following a period of tension.


Individuals lack material basis and water, blood, and other chemicals fall away, meaning no vectoral transfers or related infection. Due to the fact that chemicals cannot adhere to their structure, they are aseptic. The pathogens in the air would however be a concern.

Surgery is a last resort, correlated to internal injury or complications. The effort, time, and blood loss that would result from surgery was historically viewed as better omitted by physicians in most situations.


Beyond the strain of trying to keep others alive causing structural difference, something habituated to through earlier constancy, factors that may result from panic, fear, or stress have relevance.

Stress would have relevance if actual retaliation came into play, whether self-defensive or decided in the interests of others. While not deliberately harmful, not many would not fight back if something happened.

If significantly threatened, 'Lumen' may unconsciously take a defensive direction. Potentially incising the stomach or another vulnerable area of an aggressor would be enough to cause significant delay.

Not being inclined toward harm, evasion and elusory behaviour is more habitual for individuals.


Silent motion and sharp digits that can tear flesh and extract organs equates to an adept hunter morphologically.


Help and harm generally are of the same range: capability meaning risk and benefit. 'Lumen' does not overlook this when situationally applicable, which subtly contributes to concern.

They are sturdy enough to reset a bone but not enough to accomplish anything extreme. Although strength is not disproportionate, accuracy and capability along with awareness may not be something to overlook.


Weak bones include:
Tarsals: the ankle region
Carpals: the wrist region
Clavicles: the collarbone
Metatarsals: the plantar region (foot)
Metacarpals: the hand region (palm, fingers)


Bones can withstand between 11 kg to 408 kg of pressure depending on the exact type. Ossein structures such as the arm, wrist, leg, clavicle, and hip are often the most easily injured and can require a cast or bindings in order to mend correctly.

An awareness of surrounding biological organisms and the inner and outer activity of those organisms can be used variously. Even if not knowing what to call certain bones or joints, that relevant anatomy was a focus in regard to weaponry and could be easily broken due to being thinner than other structures may be evident.

It does not take a considerable amount of pressure to break certain bones. That would be agonising and incapacitating in some cases. If someone is unable to hold a blade or gun; etc; there is little to no chance of that person being able to inflict injury.

Acting on impulse in self-interest could happen. An individual lashing out at a threat is not improbable.

In extreme cases, an individual might attempt to break one or both of someone's hands or wrists to allow incapacity, if not one of the plantar areas to prevent someone following once fleeing. Despite the pain that could result from this, relevant sensation would be left behind once the individual was at a distance.

'Lumen' is more likely to attempt to trip, knock over, or shove someone back if cornered, rather than cause injury. Causing a phrenospasm is not unlikely either, which can be painful or damaging.


Awareness of surrounding physiological activity is variously dual-sided in benefit and detriment. Despite that injury and other complications can be apparent, 'Lumen' typically would not say anything unless something was given as fact first.

Usually, only within certain situations are ailments discussed, or they may seem further 'odd' than how they are perceived at the mention of something present.

Although parasites are often evident, these are not often mentioned. They are not usually enough to cause concern unless activity becomes too much.

<"...There is activity in ——'s gut"> or related wording may be an occasional self-thought or verbal statement.

'Lumen' may have archaically given other people herbs and compounds for that purpose without mentioning exactly why. Contexts can overlap in regard to medicants. Certain species inherently kill and flush out parasites.


They could survive beyond what someone explicitly physical might through lack of means for blood loss or other complications. Yet, they are sentient and this causes related limits.

Depending on the context, their own wounds may be eventually forgotten and 'fade'. Risk still exists over relative durations.

Mind and 'body' correlate, meaning disadvantages. A limb or digit, if lost, would not return, which could impede capability to fly.

Anything of direct harm that would normally be fatal would probably be for them, despite differences.

Not immortal, but consistent. If a cease occurred, they would no longer exist.


'Lumen' started with a linen tunic, chemise, fascia, fillet, guimpe, wimple, peplum, and capuche. They later utilised the edges of the tunic to make bandages at varying durations, having occasionally encountered persons wounded around the fields and roads. That may be why the end of general wear is worn: memory of importance exists. Decisions were made that meant a great deal long-term.

Uncomplicated articles are generally all that are possible: and that has a considerable self-cost as well. Everything is limited, meaning they may stay to how they are overall, for self-guard and other restrictions. They rescind cloth upon reversion, which disintegrates and fades while not leaving too much evident.

They may repurpose resultant attire. Aside from the thread used, these eventually disappear. This can yet be advantageous in various senses.


8 | Structural Factors

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Individuals can register somatic contexts but not thought. Evident activity involves biological processes, sensations, and minute factors such as parasitic organisms and symptoms internally or externally present within a living system. A relative degree of accuracy for designating illnesses or disorders may exist, if understanding what something involves.

As metaphysical contexts are accrued, vestiges of them exist and are registered briefly.

They can only learn complex information through speech and interaction. Anything ambiently registered by an individual is passively nullified to avert risk psychologically. Fact 'fades', as how sensations evidently do in organisms, the memory of something however remaining.


Physiological activity includes emotion-based factors. This is only apparent if within a relative length of others however.

Individuals are capable of discerning moods. Depending on a situation they may know something is awry. Related factors are not always likely to be clear or apparent through situational uncertainty.


Being evident on the roads was historically dangerous. People can be deceptive.

There are physiological indicators for lies, but it may be unrealistic that an individual would know what to correlate to subterfuge. If an individual repeatedly encountered a dubious person, it would be realistic that the individual would be on high alert for any sign of aggression or sophistry.

Increased blood flow to the anterior cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex are signs that someone is thinking of lying, or actively attempting deception. Tension, an elevated heart rate, minute motions, changes in breathing pattern, and lack of mobility relate to deceit, but also fear or hostility.

Deceit is however situational. Another person being near enough and actively conversating with an individual is situational; it is not equative to outright assault.


Diagram

Art by Fallani on TH


Agender. Self-uncertainty exists in that regard.

An oral cavity, nasal cavity, umbilicus, and other factors are absent. Lacking factors include mammary glands and fingernails, which can be more easily broken than digits. Fingernails; etc; being technically dead keratin, are irrelevant to individual structure. Although digits have matrix cells at the base of that keratin, it is irrelative visually and structurally.

Digits themselves are capable of becoming sharp for varying purposes, yet typically irrelevant unless fear or necessity prompts difference. When not acuate, digits are flat and 'humanlike', which allows for nondescription.


Upper and lower digits lack nails, but can become acuate directly, accounting to related and other capability -- without socks and shoes, individuals are more capable of causing injury. Long socks were typical in archaic durations for modesty and thermal regulation. As articles were typically made of linen, durability is relevant. Linen can tear, but not very easily.

The linen historically made it impossible to see inherent structure. Comparative morphological structures in humans were visually inevident. Obstruction remains accurate for 'Lumen' and other individuals, which bolsters nondescription.

If three avian digits are compounded together, which are dull due to lack of stress contextually, the distal extremities can appear similar to separate digitigrade categories. Human digits are usually flat. The structure morphologically can be considered a mixture of human and avian.

The weight distribution and smaller surface of the digitigrade structure allows for muted to silent movement, if not a quicker pace. Due to lacking a physiological body, 'Lumen' and other individuals may not have exact limits in how far they can run. It may be assumed individuals have a comparably rapid pace further.

The clothing generated from feathers inherently obscures the individual structure when an individual attains a taller scale. An individual initially being mistaken for a 'human' was not infrequent archaically.


'Lumen' sometimes wears through their articles and may lose their sandals, but that is not entirely detrimental. Without related articles, capacity for unimpeded movement and inaudibility despite motion may be reinforced.

The hem of their clerical cassock is inherently worn and structurally has holes. This can be indicative of multiple possible factors. Experience can be a factor, but also inherent unconscious memory.


Biological elements are irrelevant visually and structurally.

Anything individualistic was ripped away through dying.


'No organs' is definitive. As individuals were not born in the typical manner, a scar from a physical birth is absent. Speech occurs from where the mouth would be, relating to unconscious structure. Air might be expelled occasionally through unconscious decisions.

While lack of biological structure annuls gore and other content, violence is still detrimental.

They can be considered 'spectral' despite solidity.

Individuals cannot reproduce. The idea would be diametrical.


If significantly threatened, maintaining distance would be efforted, which can include reversion to a smaller scale appearance, if not also flight.


'Lumen' can be considered indefinite. With current habituations, they may be mistaken for female.

Recollections are absent in where they originated: 'emptiness' is 'bleak'. They are overall alone, and responsible for 'only' themselves.


With the fact that minute things consist of senses, tones, or life signs, if nearby enough: they would know if someone's heart was still beating, aside from whether that person was still existent.

Minute pain may be apparent, which can vary in connotation depending on surrounding fact. It is usually bad, but it can be an indicator of worse.


9 | Individual Characteristics

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Memory and influence can accrue over time. Nothing occurs singularly. Salutary and empathetic contexts have relevance by far. Monastic life was involved in the Eastern Churches as a practice, regardless of gender.

The church and its members were viewed with a lens of mysticism, as were folk-healers for a long time. Many aspects of their lives; seclusion and contending with communal burdens included; could relate to 'Lumen' and further figures.

Monks, priests and nuns were healers, but further were 'detached' from the material world.

As a generality, monastic and ecclesial persons heavy clothing to separate themselves from the material world spiritually and physically.


'Lumen' is asexual in orientation. This is not singularly because of lack of sexual direction. The idea would be kept from, if prompted.

Ecclesiastic persons were by doctrine not supposed to have sexual relations. They did a lot to reduce their sexual drives through medicine and practices.

That aspect of priests and nuns also transferred over.


As caladrius existed before the individual: many have lived, and died, for purposes beyond themselves.

This realistically preceded the Church and is not exclusive to religion. Death is universal with or without beliefs.


Historically, relevant figures were guides, spiritually and in terms of direct necessities. Memory in some regard having 'carried over', other aspects did as well to personality and perception. Volatility is lacking.

Acting as a 'guiding light' has further relevance, capability and related contexts situationally utilised toward aid. Benefiting the interests of the community and humanity is relevant.


An individual "pulling the sickness from someone" equates to eating "evil spirits" within a human system. What is not supposed to be there is broken down. If someone has something foreign; etc; in their system, that can be harmful to lethal.

Caladrius remedied ill persons by overseeing them. Whether normal or not, parasites are evident within living systems. Breaking down abnormal parasites within a living system can be helpful. Caladrius 'eat' phenomena, which are repurposed into clothing that can be used for bandaging and other purposes.

Parasites that do not fall into the typical range expire quickly when in vicinity to a caladrius. The same may be said for other manifested phenomena, albeit it would be difficult to verify.


'Atmospheric recycling' equates to a kind of 'empathy sense'. Metaphysical contexts within the range of 3 metres are picked up passively, registered, and nulled.

What were historically called caladrius, aside from other terms, comprise 'higher thought' and are entirely mental. Through presence and travel, individuals annul the more visceral elements ambiently.


"Nous" is described as "common sense" and "intelligence", or "the faculty of the mind necessary for understanding what is true or real". It was theorised that perceiving reality by senses, rather than thought and reason, was not a means of seeing the "higher thought" or "order" of the universe. Due to the ubiquity of this "truth", the mind is both an observer and creator of "order". The consciousness of mortal and immortal individuals is said to encompass "nous". Mental faculties inherently involve it.


The closest thing to God (not only the Abrahamic God) is 'nothing'.

Death is a transcendent state, while in many senses harmful.


There are passages in Hebrew texts, alongside later Biblical writings, that mention the 'dead exiting their graves' in a hypothesised chronology. At the time those works were created, beliefs might have coincided, which in realism does not entirely happen without cause. It may be assumed that texts may have been describing a present phenomena at the time of writing, if not something that continued to happen after the time of those works. Translations can be misinterpreted, as can human awareness.

Decay occurs and 'souls' are released. This is not unrelated to early beliefs where the 'soul' (the consciousness of an individual) remained around the body until it began to decay: in realising that returning could not happen.


'Lumen'; that is, the contexts of the people who were murdered, despite not wanting to die; lived life toward attempted sanctification, in terms of rejecting the inherent needs of being human. Mortification of the flesh has relevance.


Content Warning

Mortification of the flesh is defined as temporarily or permanently preventing the self from adhering to aspects of life that make a spiritual direction more difficult. This could be fatal depending on the exact focus. Food and water might be avoided.


There are horror aspects to this. Extremism is a central focus.

"Reprehensible sins of the flesh" were averted through various means. It is a technical denial of inherent human aspects.

Nothing exists that is 'materialistic': no hunger, pain, sexual drives, etc.

They wonder about differences, but beyond that, most likely do not find an issue. A considerable amount is understood indirectly, which is typically enough.

Cannot experience pain or any sensations directly. Consciousness and emotion still exists. Empathy allows for inherent divides to be moved past. They understand needs indirectly, and often try to address relevancies.


10 | Ecclesiastic Information

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Priests, nuns, and other persons were expected to forgo many interests. Anything that could be considered 'earthly' in terms of desire and need is absent. It is a complete detachment from human nature despite recollection remaining. They reached what they were aiming for, in a sense.

It is significant that they are 18-20 in basis, vocal tone and appearance suggesting a related range. By ruling, lay-persons and ordained clergy were at that age at a minimum historically.

Younger individuals still joined cloisters and orders despite the Reformation occurring. It was better socially in some cases.


"A woman should have a husband or a wall" was a medieval aphorism that remained relevant in the 16th to 17th century in Italy. Marriage or the convent were one of two limited choices for women. Dowries given between families or to convents were important to societal stability.

A nun was not disadvantaged by being sent to a convent necessarily: it was better in some perspectives due to the relative freedom it brought. Families even provided items to buffer the time spent within the walls.

The transition from the world to a closed off convent was softened by furnishings that were meant to make the convent as much like home as possible. Genteel monastic houses, including those that did not practice a collective ownership of property (the "common life") allowed girls to bring ornate convent trousseaus -- a collection of clothing, accessories, and household linens that a bride traditionally brings to her new home upon marriage. As monastic rule forbade nuns to own property, nuns signed everything over to the abbess, who would distribute it back on loan. Recorded items that resulted from these agreements were at times ornate, and not pallets, sackcloth, or ashes. There were bedsteads of hardwood, feather mattresses, comforters, different coverlets for summer and winter, walnut chests, chairs, an occasional armoire, embroidered elaborate curtains for windows, beds, doorways, copper, brass, pewter vessels, an occasional birdcage with a finch, paintings with gilded frames, occasional harpsichords, lutes, harps, viols, violins, bass viols, and trombones (which were often banned, but useful for brass sections in convent polyphony). Private chapels were uncommon at home but personal altars could rival decoration of modest churches. A painting over the altar, sometimes with a cover and frame, candlesticks, a crucifix, altar frontals, altar cloths, silver and ivory thimbles, silver boxes, silver pens, silver cups, and silver or ivory toothpicks could be present.


It would be unclear what the nuns whose collective awareness caused 'Lumen' were provided, but it is not unlikely relevant decoration was present. This would have been discarded for external interests if accurate.


There are accounts of women (notably a daughter of Galileo) taking drastic measures to escape being shut away, but it was better than other options regardless. Choice was limited.

A girl could be admitted to a convent as young as seven years of age due to inauspicious circumstances: such as loss of family or by the decision of relatives. At times even younger persons were allowed to exist within the walls, and were raised accordingly to be a nun.

The ruota was a barrel or wheel-like part of the architecture of many convents that allowed supplies, and sometimes even people to be passed through into the convent from the outside world, or vice versa. It was not allowed for nuns to make contact with the outside world, and sometimes families defied this divide by allowing an aunt to receive a visit from a niece or other relative, but this was looked down upon by Church authority. Typically, such persons were punished for that decision. Excommunication or other retribution could result.


The youngest age an ordained member of the clergy could be at the time was 19 years of age according to decisions made by the Council of Trent in 1545-1563 CE.

Established Norbertine nuns had black veils. Novices had white veils.

A lack of a black veil suggests the individual is structurally around 18 or 19, if not about that age range.

The priests (White Canons colloquially) had white hooded cowls during the 1500s. Individuals that were not ordained may have similarly been without specific articles until being accepted.

The ambiguity to 'Lumen' is significant. Their mentality and clothing are indicative of recently ordained clergy, in historic context.

Growth has occurred mentally since starting.


Content Warning | Ecclesiastic Systems

After several years as an educanda or resident student, a novitiate's formal acceptance was voted on by professed nuns. The Council of Trent had stated this should not happen before age fifteen. Yet, convents and parents often found creative ways to secure the girl's place much earlier. It was often that a 'loan' of the girl's dowry was given to the Church, which was subsequently canceled at the appropriate time. At the time this occurred, the girl received the novice's habit and her religious name in a formal clothing ceremony attended by family and friends.

During the novitiate year, the novice was to live separate from professed nuns as she learned the religious life according to the rule of her particular order. The nuns formally voted a second time to accept her as a 'choir' nun. The novice received the black veil of a professed nun. She promised to live in perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience. Nuns and their male superiors often differed in their interpretation of the first and last of these. Lavish rituals of profession came to rival secular weddings in opulence. The church hierarchy fought a losing battle to simplify them.

The reinstatement of strict monastic enclosure after the Council of Trent, caused some in the church hierarchy to recognize the importance of making nuns' confined, interior world pleasant and attractive. A Milanese convent architect of the late 1500s stated that "They should have agreeable places—gardens, fields, loggias, workrooms, windows that catch the light—but all situated inside. They shouldn't be locked up like slaves. Enclosed in their convents and churches, they may appropriately enjoy large, comfortable quarters, spacious cloisters, fair gardens, and other necessities of a decent, human life."

The covered arcades of a central cloister fit the architect's requirements. This eclosed a large interior space which was open to air and light but cut off from the world. This often had gardens and a well at the center. The cloister offered the most convenient place for fresh air and exercise, even in inclement weather. [press.uchicago.edu]


The blend of 'male and female' Norbertine elements is relevant. Religious habits differ between genders. Their clothing is a mixture of nun and priest wear. People were killed regardless of sex and gender.

Contexts related to unconscious backdrop vary. This is significant as multiple individuals died through different means, all extremely painful. Illness and torture were frequent occurrences. The bubonic plague and other diseases were spread by the Thirty Years War. Protestantism was highly persecuted, leading to many trials and executions.

Convents would have been safer concerning disease. The dissolution of convents, meant to allow the nobility and papacy to enforce control over the clergy, yet meant turmoil.

Where dissent already existed, there would be an eventual break in the silence. It is not unrealistic that being deprived of capability to provide benefit, despite occurrences, would be viewed badly.


Unusually for the Medieval and Renaissance time periods, the men and women of the Norbertine order had gender equality. Churches of that order were at times situated near convents. Interactions were not unlikely despite the secluded existence that nuns typically adhered to: it is not unlikely that discussion passed between convents and churches about contemporary matters.

This clerical basis may have partly contributed to the safety of 'Lumen' in the years after appearing.


On an individual basis, they have positive recollections that they attempt to think more highly of than those that can be considered morbid. That nothing is without merit does not escape them as a fact: what is hurtful is yet averted from.

The events they view more favourably are centred around travel, leisure, and infrequent conversations with other persons in passing.


They are capable of sleep. It can take a long while to manage that, and they may stop easily. They do not appear to require rest typically despite this.

It is frequent that they remain awake an entire night, occupied by thoughts or concerns.

Early into the morning 'Lumen' sometimes move to the kitchen and start to cook. Breakfast typically results in those situations, if not other dishes for persons around the commune.

Due to being incoherent to the noise that cooking causes, a degree of caution is frequently present when they attempt this. It does not always wake Angitia, which they view well when relevant.

Angitia does not always meet something without concern. Although aware of their particularities, she does not want them to spend time for her if it detracts from their own interests.

What they currently do for her and others is enough in her view.


Worldly Contexts

Corinne, Angitia, and others are settled between realities and worlds, being aware and adapted to given factors.

In the case of Angitia, being 'human', she has inherent capability but can be seen.

Women were turned into gorgon in myth; and could be seen; which was purposeful potentially. Being able to look others in the eye and turn them to stone is advantageous defensively.

Angitia is a descendant of relevant figures in myth, pretending to be human as others in her ancestry did.

Her mother was highly unusual, with consideration to how few individuals are still living.


Contemporaneously, 'strange beings' originating from elsewhere still adheres to the idea of a domain being overseen by a force, if multiple are not relevant.

It is significant that women, being frequently lower socially, were more correlated to being witches or arcanists, despite that men could be considered powerful similarly.

When alone and isolated from others, else is turned to, not without idealism. Being acquainted with 'strange beings' means learning.

That itself might have been passed from person to person as knowledge.

Being executed for being powerful enough to defend oneself is a frequent theme historically.


Awareness is multi-sided in basis. As much as others are given consideration and effort toward support is frequent, avoiding danger was an occasional concern for 'Lumen'.

Avoiding others is and was important in that regard. Although they are currently in a different environs, and no longer solitary, a sense of uncertainty is still present.


11 | History: Plague and Medicine

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Responses to Outbreaks by Italian Cities

The plague ravaged large cities and provincial towns in northern and central Italy from 1629 to 1631, killing more than 45,000 people in Venice alone and wiping out more than half the population of cities like Parma and Verona. But strikingly, some communities were spared.

In fact, the northern Italian town of Ferrara managed to prevent even a single death from the plague after the year 1576—even as neighboring communities were devastated. How did they do it? Critical in the city's success, records suggest, were border controls, sanitary laws and personal hygiene.

{Starting in 1347}, Italian cities gradually began to take proactive public health measures to isolate the sick, quarantine possible carriers and restrict travel from affected regions, says John Henderson, a professor of Italian Renaissance history at Birbeck, University of London, and author of Florence Under Siege: Surviving Plague in an Early Modern City.

Over the next three centuries, plague outbreaks were a regular occurrence in Italy's densely populated cities, prompting increasingly coordinated and sophisticated responses. While Henderson says that the same general set of anti-plague measures were taken in cities across Italy, the town of Ferrara, population approximately 30,000, offers a fascinating success story.

A team of researchers at the University of Ferrara dug through municipal archives and historical manuscripts to uncover a Renaissance-era approach to "integrated disease management." They credit Ferrara's remarkable success to a combination of strict border surveillance, aggressive public sanitation and rigorous personal hygiene regimens that tapped the natural antimicrobial properties of herbs, oils and even scorpion and snake venom.

Ferrara is a picturesque walled city situated along a branch of the Po River halfway between Padua and Bologna, both badly affected by plague in 1630. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ferrara is distinguished for having some of the first paved roads in 1375 and a municipal sewer system since 1425.

Starting in the 15th century, Henderson says, large Italian cities like Venice and Florence stayed in constant communication with smaller towns like Ferrara to track the spread of new plague outbreaks. The information was used to set threat levels and coordinate public health responses.

In Ferrara, the highest threat level meant closing all but two of the city gates and posting permanent surveillance teams composed of wealthy noblemen, city officials, physicians and apothecaries. Anyone arriving at the city gates needed to carry identification papers called Fedi ("proofs") to ensure they had arrived from a plague-free zone. Then they would be screened for any signs of disease. [history.com]


In 1546, the Italian physician Girolamo Fracastoro published an influential text on contagion in which he took this theory a step further. [history.com]


Monastic medicine was a field that ecclesial (religious) persons provided to the public for free. Blood was not allowed to be spilled in churches and related buildings, and neither were clergy allowed to draw blood. Herbal and other medicinal elements were instead frequent, to build up health and immunity rather than degrade welfare.

Monastic medicine formed the basis for later hospitals when Tudor persons shut down convents and monasteries due to the Reformation. This was to force control over the clergy. The public however demanded free healthcare, resulting in funded institutions.


History of Monastic Medicine

Under monastic medicine refers to "the 6th to 12th century medicine, which was widely practiced in the West of monks". Monastery medicine is thus part of medieval medicine and is based primarily on phytotherapy. The term, previously described with the terms "monastic medicine", "monastic medicine" and "clerical medicine", was coined because the hospitals were operated by the monasteries since the early Middle Ages. Monks and nuns had a basic knowledge of the healing effects of herbs and medicinal plants.

After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the uncertainties of the newly forming Christian culture in Europe, there were upheavals in culture and civilization, including the disappearance of the medical system that had existed until then, the medicine of antiquity. While ancient Greek medicine lived on in Byzantine medicine, only fragments could be saved in Latin Western Europe.

In medical history, the period from the early Middle Ages to the High Middle Ages is referred to as monastery medicine. The main phase lasted from the 8th to the middle of the 12th century. During this time, medical care in Europe was mainly in the hands of monks and nuns. In the West, medicine was considered a craft and applied theology at this time, there was no training for doctors outside of the monasteries. Diseases were considered to be sent by God, including epidemics such as the plague. Healing without God's help was considered impossible.

The monks and nuns had scientific and medicinal literature at their disposal (e.g. with the extensive work of Isidore of Seville, which is available in many monasteries), gathered experience in dealing with medicinal herbs and passed on their knowledge within the respective monasteries.

One of the first medical universities was founded in Bologna in 1111, followed by Montpellier in 1187, then Paris. The medical license was introduced in the 13th century. In the time of the Renaissance, monastery medicine (also known as Presidential Medicine or Pre-Salernitan Medicine) gradually lost primacy over lay healers. Albertus Magnus tried to combine the knowledge of monastic medicine with medicine.

Due to the Reformation, many monasteries in Northern Europe were closed, but new ones emerged during the Counter-Reformation. During this time the monastery pharmacies were built, in which medicinal herbs were mainly sold.

The healers in the monasteries collected preserved medical works by ancient authors, copied them and built on this knowledge. The most important ancient work on herbal medicine was the materia medica (medicine) by the Greek doctor Dioscurides, which comprises five volumes and describes remedies primarily of plant, but also of mineral and animal origin.

In the 11th century the monk Odo Magdunensis wrote the work Macer floridus, which became a standard work of herbal medicine in all of Central Europe and was as well known at that time as the writings of Hildegard von Bingen, whose herbal medicine received little attention in the Middle Ages. The work describes almost 80 medicinal plants and the effects attributed to them. In the High Middle Ages, a medical school was founded in Salerno, where a number of medical works were created, including Circa instans in the 12th century, which treated around 270 plants.

The Garden of Health, written by the doctor Wonnecke von Kaub in 1485, became even more important in German-speaking countries. Sources included the Macer floridus and the Circa instans. The book was reprinted several times and served again as a source for other herbal books of the 16th century, such as von Rößlin 1533, Lonitzer 1551 and Tabernaemontanus 1588. [second.wiki/wiki/klostermedizin]


Monastic medicine was not only about mending, but also surgery and other intensive practices.

Religious-based public health resulted in hospitals, later, being a precursor to those establishments.

Tudor ruling parties caused many monasteries, convents, and other establishments to be shut down. The persons who made it their vocation to support the community were forced out of their homes.

Public health decreased and a demand existed, a fact which was answered by the ruling parties that limited communal benefit. The communal system provided by the clergy was later replaced by locally instated hospitals. As many of those who were forced out were adept at healthcare, they adhered to the new system in providing to poor.

The churches, convents, and monasteries were not indefinitely shut down. Many years however passed before people were allowed back.


Materia Medica

De materia medica (Latin name for the Greek work Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς, Peri hulēs iatrikēs, both meaning "On Medical Material") is a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them. The five-volume work was written between 50 and 70 CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, a Greek physician in the Roman army. It was widely read for more than 1,500 years until supplanted by revised herbals in the Renaissance, making it one of the longest-lasting of all natural history and pharmacology books.

The work describes many drugs known to be effective, including aconite, aloes, colocynth, colchicum, henbane, opium and squill. In all, about 600 plants are covered, along with some animals and mineral substances, and around 1000 medicines made from them.

De materia medica was circulated as illustrated manuscripts, copied by hand, in Greek, Latin and Arabic throughout the mediaeval period. From the 16th century on, Dioscorides' text was translated into Italian, German, Spanish, and French, and in 1655 into English. It formed the basis for herbals in these languages by men such as Leonhart Fuchs, Valerius Cordus, Lobelius, Rembert Dodoens, Carolus Clusius, John Gerard and William Turner. Gradually these herbals included more and more direct observations, supplementing and eventually supplanting the classical text. [Wikipedia]


Content Warning | Typical Diseases and Cause of Death | Common Names and Remedies

Ablepsy - Blindness

Ague - Malarial Fever | Cinchona bark, sweet wormwood infusion.

American Plague - Yellow fever

Anasarca - Generalised massive edema

Aphonia - Laryngitis

Aphtha - The infant disease "thrush"

Apoplex - Stroke (the rupture or clogging of a blood vessel in the brain), paralysis resulting from a stroke - sometimes also refers to other spontaneous causes of internal bleeding like burst aneurysms

Apoplexy - Paralysis due to stroke | Surgery is necessary to remove clots.

Asphycsia/Asphicsia - Cyanotic and lack of oxygen

Atrophy - Wasting away or diminishing in size

Bad Blood - Syphilis

Bilious Fever - Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis or elevated temperature and bile emesis

Biliousness - Jaundice associated with liver disease

Black Fever - Acute infection with high temperature and dark red skin lesions and high mortality rate

Black Pox - Black Small pox

Black Vomit - Vomiting old black blood due to ulcers or yellow fever

Blackwater Fever - Dark urine associated with high temperature

Bladder in Throat - Diphtheria (Seen on death certificates)

Blood Poisoning - Bacterial infection; septicemia

Bloody Flux, Scowring, Flux - Bloody stools | Ipecacuanha extract.

Bloody Sweat - Sweating sickness

Bone Shave - Sciatica

Brain Fever - Meningitis

Breakbone - Dengue fever

Bright's Disease - Chronic inflammatory disease of kidneys

Bronze John - Yellow fever

Bule - Boil, tumour or swelling

Cachexy - Malnutrition

Cacogastric - Upset stomach

Cacospysy - Irregular pulse

Caduceus - Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy

Camp Fever - Typhus; aka Camp diarrhea

Canine Madness - Rabies, hydrophobia

Canker - Ulceration of mouth or lips or herpes simplex

Catalepsy - Seizures or trances

Catarrhal - Nose and throat discharge from cold or allergy

Cerebritis - Inflammation of cerebrum or lead poisoning

Chilblain - Swelling of extremities caused by exposure to cold

Childbed - Death during or shortly after giving birth

Child Bed Fever - Infection following birth of a child

Chin Cough - Whooping cough

Chlorosis - Iron deficiency anemia

Cholera - Acute severe contagious diarrhea with intestinal lining sloughing

Cholera Morbus - Characterised by nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, elevated temperature, etc

Cholecystitus - Inflammation of the gall bladder

Cholelithiasis - Gall stones

Chorea - Disease characterised by convulsions, contortions and dancing

Chrisomes - Death of an unbaptised infant or death of an infant less than a month old

Cold Plague - Ague which is characterised by chills

Colic - An abdominal pain and cramping

Colick, Stone, and Strangury - Severe abdominal pain, bladder/kidney stones, rupture in abdomen (appendicitis, bladder rupture, etc)

Congestive Chills - Malaria

Consumption - Tuberculosis | Common mullein extract.

Congestion - Any collection of fluid in an organ, like the lungs

Congestive chills - Malaria with diarrhea

Congestive Fever - Malaria

Corruption - Infection

Coryza - A cold

Costiveness - Constipation

Cramp Colic - Appendicitis

Crop Sickness - Overextended stomach

Croup - Laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat

Cut of the Stone - Died during/from the surgery to cut out bladder/kidney stones

Cyanosis - Dark skin colour from lack of oxygen in blood

Cynanche - Diseases of throat

Cystitis - Inflammation of the bladder

Day Fever - Fever lasting one day; sweating sickness

Debility - Lack of movement or staying in bed

Decrepitude - Feebleness due to old age

Delirium Tremens - Hallucinations due to alcoholism

Dengue - Infectious fever endemic to East Africa

Dentition - Cutting of teeth

Deplumation - Tumour of the eyelids which causes hair loss

Diary Fever - A fever that lasts one day

Diptheria - Contagious disease of the throat

Distemper - Usually animal disease with malaise, discharge from nose and throat, anorexia

Dock Fever - Yellow fever

Dropsy - Edema (swelling), often caused by kidney or heart disease

Dropsy of the Brain - Encephalitis

Dry Bellyache - Lead poisoning

Dyscrasy - An abnormal body condition

Dysentery - Inflammation of colon with frequent passage of mucous and blood

Dysorexy - Reduced appetite

Dyspepsia - Indigestion and heartburn. Heart attack symptoms

Dysury - Difficulty in urination

Eclampsy - Symptoms of epilepsy, convulsions during labor

Ecstasy - A form of catalepsy characterised by loss of reason

Edema - Nephrosis; swelling of tissues

Edema of Lungs - Congestive heart failure, a form of dropsy

Eel Thing - Erysipelas

Elephantiasis - A form of leprosy

Encephalitis - Swelling of brain; aka sleeping sickness

Enteric Fever - Typhoid fever

Enterocolitis - Inflammation of the intestines

Enteritis - Inflations of the bowels

Epitaxis - Nose bleed

Erysipelas - Contagious skin disease, due to Streptococci with vesicular and bulbous lesions

Extravasted Blood - Rupture of a blood vessel

Falling Sickness - Epilepsy, seizures

Fatty Liver - Cirrhosis of liver

Fits - Sudden attack or seizure of muscle activity

Flocks and small pox - Smallpox, other diseases causing pustules over the body like cowpox and chickenpox | Mugwort, liquorice, rosewater salves.

Flux - An excessive flow or discharge of fluid like hemorrhage or diarrhea

Flux of Humour - Circulation

French Pox - Syphilis

Gathering - A collection of pus

Glandular Fever - Mononucleosis

Great pox - Syphilis

Green Fever or Sickness - Anemia

Grippe/Grip - Influenza like symptoms

Grocer's Itch - Skin disease caused by mites in sugar or flour

Heart Sickness - Condition caused by loss of salt from body

Heat Stroke - Body temperature elevates because of surrounding environment temperature and body does not perspire to reduce temperature | Coma and death result if not reversed.

Hectical Complaint - Recurrent fever

Hematemesis - Vomiting blood

Hematuria - Bloody urine

Hemiplegy - Paralysis of one side of body

Hip Gout - Osteomylitis

Horrors - Delirium tremens

Hydrocephalus - Enlarged head, water on the brain

Hydropericardium - Heart dropsy

Hydrophobia - Rabies

Hydrothroax - Dropsy in chest

Hypertrophic - Enlargement of organ, like the heart

Impetigo - Contagious skin disease characterised by pustules

Inanition - Physical condition resulting from lack of food

Infantile Paralysis - Polio

Intestinal Colic - Abdominal pain due to improper diet

Jail Fever - Typhus

Jawfain - "Jaw fallen" or lockjaw, often tetanus

Jaundice/Jaundies - Condition caused by blockage of intestines | Betony, chamomile, gardenia, basil infusions.

King's Evil - Tuberculosis of neck and lymph glands | The touch of a king or monarch was said to cure this disease. In medieval and Renaissance eras, many monarchs performed rituals during cold seasons in order to 'remedy' crowds who came for the events. The condition often went away itself, causing assumption that monarchs could alleviate it.

Kruchhusten - Whooping cough

Lagrippe - Influenza

Livergrown - Another term for rickets or from diseases which resulted in a swollen, enlarged liver - things like chronic alcoholism, hepatitis, or congestive heart failure | Milk thistle, holy basil extract, ginger, garlic, licorice, ginseng.

Lockjaw - Tetanus or infectious disease affecting the muscles of the neck and jaw: if untreated, it is fatal in eight days

Long Sickness - Tuberculosis

Lues Disease - Syphilis

Lues Venera - Venereal disease

Lumbago - Back pain

Lung Fever - Pneumonia

Lung Sickness - Tuberculosis

Lying In - Time of delivery of infant

Made Away Themselves - Suicide

Malignant Sore Throat - Diphtheria

Mania - Insanity

Marasmus - Progressive wasting away of body, like malnutrition

Meagrom - migraine, severe headache - this obvious symptom could be deadly if it originated from things like a brain tumour, bleeding within the brain

Membranous Croup - Diphtheria

Meningitis - Inflations of brain or spinal cord

Metritis - Inflammation of uterus or purulent vaginal discharge

Miasma - Poisonous vapors thought to infect the air

Milk Fever - Disease from drinking contaminated milk, like undulant fever or brucellosis

Milk Leg - Post partum thrombophlebitis

Milk Sickness - Disease from milk of cattle which had eaten poisonous weeds

Mormal - Gangrene

Morphew - Scurvy blisters on the body

Mortification - Gangrene of necrotic tissue

Murthered - Murdered

Myelitis - Inflammation of the spine

Myocarditis - Inflammation of heart muscles

Necrosis - Mortification of bones or tissue

Nephrosis - Kidney degeneration

Nepritis - Inflammation of kidneys

Nervous Prostration - Extreme exhaustion from inability to control physical and mental activities

Neuralgia - Described as discomfort, such as "Headache" was neuralgia in head

Nostalgia - Homesickness

Over-laid - An infant that died after being unintentionally smothered or the parent rolled onto them while sleeping

Palsy - Paralysis or uncontrolled movement of controlled muscles

Paroxysm - Convulsion

Pemphigus - Skin disease of watery blisters

Pericarditis - Inflammation of heart

Peripneumonia - Inflammation of lungs

Peritonotis - Inflammation of abdominal area

Petechial Fever - Fever characterised by skin spotting

Puerperal Exhaustion - Death due to child birth

Phthiriasis - Lice infestation

Phthisis - Chronic wasting away or a name for tuberculosis

Piles - Hemorrhoids

Plague - An acute febrile highly infectious disease with a high fatality rate

Planet - Aka planet-struck, any very sudden severe illness or paralysis that was thought to result from the "influence" of a planet

Pleurisy - Any pain in the chest area with each breath

Podagra - Gout

Poliomyelitis - Polio

Potter's Asthma - Fibroid pthisis

Pott's Disease - Tuberculosis of spine

Puerperal Exhaustion - Death due to childbirth

Puerperal Fever - Elevated temperature after giving birth to an infant

Puking Fever - Milk sickness

Purples - Bruising, especially wide-spread - many causes | Calendula, yarrow, chamomile, nettle, daisy salves.

Putrid Fever - Diphtheria

Quinsy/Quinsie - Tonsillitis | Ginger, peppermint, chamomile teas.

Remitting Fever - Malaria

Rheumatism - Any disorder associated with pain in joints

Rickets - Disease of skeletal system

Rising of the Lights - As an organ meat, lungs are often called "lights" because they are very light-weight organs: this may be related to severe coughing and the perception that during a cough the lungs would rise up in the chest

Rose Cold - Hay fever or nasal symptoms of an allergy

Rotanny Fever - A possible variant of 'rotten' in Middle English: a rotten or decaying smell from organ failure, which can cause fever, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, shallow breathing, and pain - it can occur from multiple causes, including injury or disease

Rubeola - German measles

Sanguineous Crust - Scab

Scarlatina - Scarlet fever

Scarlet Fever - A disease characterised by red rash

Scarlet Rash - Roseola

Sciatica - Rheumatism in the hips

Scirrhus - Cancerous tumours

Scotomy - Dizziness, nausea and dimness of sight

Scrivener's Palsy - Writer's cramp

Screws - Rheumatism

Scrofula - Tuberculosis of neck lymph glands. Progresses slowly with abscesses and pistulas develop. Young person's disease

Scrumpox - Skin disease, impetigo

Scurvy - Lack of vitamin C. Symptoms of weakness, spongy gums and hemorrhages under skin

Septicemia - Blood poisoning

Shakes - Delirium tremens

Shaking - Chills, ague

Shingles - Viral disease with skin blisters

Ship Fever - Typhus

Siriasis - Inflammation of the brain due to sun exposure

Sloes - Milk sickness

Small Pox - Contagious disease with fever and blisters

Softening of Brain - Result of stroke or hemorrhage in the brain, with an end result of the tissue softening in that area

Sore Throat Distemper - Diphtheria or quinsy

Spanish Disease - Syphilis

Spanish Influenza - Epidemic influenza

Spasms - Sudden involuntary contraction of muscle or group of muscles,like a convulsion

Spina Bifida - Deformity of spine

Spotted Fever/Feaver - Either typhus or meningitis

Sprue - Tropical disease characterised by intestinal disorders and sore throat

St. Anthony's Fire - Also erysipelas, but named so because of affected skin areas are bright red in appearance

St. Vitus Dance - Ceaseless occurrence of rapid complex jerking movements performed involuntary

Stomatitis - Inflammation of the mouth

Stranger's Fever - Yellow fever

Strangery - Rupture

Starved at Nurse - Insufficient milk, or the child had a disease that caused them to "fail to thrive" or not gain weight and die even though being fed

Sudor Anglicus - Sweating sickness

Summer Complaint - Diarrhea, usually in infants caused by spoiled milk

Sunstroke - Uncontrolled elevation of body temperature due to environment heat. Lack of sodium in the body is a predisposing cause

Surfet - Overeating, gluttony, or vomiting from overeating. Aside from a direct death from overeating, it may have been a grouping for many types of death that often went along with being overweight - death from untreated diabetes, cushing's disease, heart failure, etc

Swamp Sickness - Could be malaria, typhoid or encephalitis

Sweating Sickness - Infectious and fatal disease common to UK in 15th century

Tetanus - Infectious fever characterised by high fever, headache and dizziness

Teeth - Dental infection leading to death

Thrombosis - Blood clot inside blood vessel

Thrush - Childhood disease characterised by spots on mouth, lips and throat

Tick Fever - Rocky mountain spotted fever

Tissick - Cough, can also refer to the coughing and wasting away of tuberculosis

Toxemia of Pregnancy - Eclampsia

Trench Mouth - Painful ulcers found along gum line, Caused by poor nutrition and poor hygiene

Tussis Convulsiva - Whooping cough

Tympany - Either abdominal tumour growth, or other bloating/distension of the abdomen - especially when air or gas is caught within the abdomen or intestines, causing a hollow sound when thumped

Typhus - Infectious fever characterised high fever, headache, and dizziness

Variola - Smallpox

Venesection - Bleeding

Viper's Dance - St. Vitus Dance

Water on Brain - Enlarged head

White Swelling - Tuberculosis of the bone

Winter Fever - Pneumonia

Womb Fever - Infection of the uterus

Worm Fit - Convulsions associated with teething, worms, elevated temperature or diarrhea

Yellowjacket - Yellow fever [tullyhistoricalsociety.org]


History of the Norbertine Order

The order was founded in 1120. Saint Norbert had made various efforts to introduce a strict form of canonical life in various communities of canons in Germany; in 1120 he was working in the now-extinct Ancient Diocese of Laon, in Picardy, northeastern France. There, in a rural place called Prémontré, he and thirteen companions established a monastery to be the cradle of a new order. As they were canons regular, they followed the Rule of St. Augustine, but with supplementary statutes that made their life one of great austerity. Common prayer and celebration of the Eucharist was to be the sustaining dynamic of the community.

In 1126, when the order received papal approbation by Pope Honorius II, there were nine houses; others were established in quick succession throughout western Europe, so that at the middle of the fourteenth century there were some 1,300 monasteries for men and 400 for women. The Norbertines played a predominant part in the conversion of the Wends and the bringing of Christianity to the territories around the Elbe and the Oder. In time, mitigations and relaxations emerged, and these gave rise to reforms and semi-independent congregations within the Order.

The Norbertines arrived in England about 1143, first at Newhouse in Lincoln, England; before the dissolution under Henry VIII there were 35 houses. Soon after their arrival in England, they founded Dryburgh Abbey in the Borders area of Scotland, which was followed by other communities at Whithorn Priory, Dercongal Abbey and Tongland Abbey all in the Borders area, as well as Fearn Abbey in the northern part of the nation. Like most orders they were almost completely devastated by the successive onslaughts of the Reformation, French Revolution, and Napoleon, but then experienced a revival in the 19th century.

The Order has several abbeys of women who, though technically called canonesses, follow the life of an enclosed religious order and are therefore more commonly termed Norbertine nuns. Like the Norbertine communities for men, those for women are autonomous. Unusually, within the religious communities of the Catholic Church, the Norbertine Order has always seen the spiritual life of the canonesses as being on an equal footing with that of its priests and lay brothers. In the Middle Ages, the Premonstratensians even had a few double monasteries, where men and women lived in cloisters located next to each other as part of the same abbey, the communities demonstrating their unity by sharing the church building. Today, it is common for a foundation of canonesses to have links not only with other canonesses, but also with a community of canons.

Since Norbertine abbeys (and most priories) are autonomous, practices and apostolates are different, depending on the needs of the local Church. Some houses are contemplative in character whilst others are highly active in pastoral ministry. However, each is guided by the Rule of Saint Augustine and the Constitutions established by the General Chapter, which is held every 6 years.

The general Chapter includes representatives from both male and female communities. The head of the Order, termed Abbot General, resides in Rome, and he is assisted in his duties by the Definitors (High Council) as well as commissions established for various aspects of the Order's life such as liturgy and inter-abbey communications. [Wikipedia]


The choice of the Norbertine religious habit caused some lively disputes in its 12th-century day. Monks then wore unbleached wool dyed black. Canons regular—members of ministry-oriented rather than cloistered orders—wore fine white linen. St. Norbert himself wore a tunic, belt and cape of undyed wool, a poor man's garment made from the cheapest material available in his native Germany, where flocks of sheep were numerous.

This unorthodox combination of a traditionally monastic fabric with a traditionally clerical color spawned great controversy and set the Norbertines apart. While no longer controversial, the Norbertine habit still does distinguish clearly members of this ancient order. [norbertines.org]


Attire is technically 'feathers', which can be interpreted to explain why hercinia and caladrius were described as 'white-plumed' in medieval and later texts. The linen is white by default, at least going by interpretation. Texts might have focused on cloth shade, given the importance to that historically.


Historically, linen was a frequent cloth across cultures and classes as it was easy to obtain in many localities.

Linen offsets moisture, including that from sweat and wounds, the fibres allowing the fabric to dry quickly by exposing chemicals to the air.

This adds to its antibacterial qualities, bacteria having less means to thrive. Although it can hold dye well as a fabric, that aspect is generally irrelevant.


As time passes, fact gradually dissipates.

The past consists of more than the present. Many people and works were lost during earlier eras in terms of knowledge: time and events causing much. Not only people were lost, but the cognition they held that could have proven advantageous.

The excess loss from the Reformation generated more 'caladrius' or 'hercinia'. Despite this, human history has coincided with death and loss for the entirety of its expanse. There have been individuals recorded by humans for most of that duration.

That 'ravens appear on the cusp of worse' is significant. Individuals appear in the wake of worse events. This is a niche role, but important.

Nothing quite happens without impact. Atrocities tend to have the worst outcomes, and effects linger long after things are resolved. Worse is offset through vicinity.


Activity is a byproduct of anywhere with life. That can be relatively universal as a factor.


Around two decades passed before inherent direction changed through a different encounter. The time would not have been summer; or the humidity would have been too severe for efforts to lead that traveller, meaning that spring or fall had relevance.


Contexts of Travelling in 16th Century Europe

Walking, using horses, or carts were the limits of options for travel within the 16th century. Regardless of choice, the journey was slow. 20 to 30 miles could be crossed by walking. By horse, 30 to 40 miles could be crossed. By cart of carriage, it was much less due to the conditions of the roads. In or near cities, roads were maintained. Outside of them, the systems of roads were very poor. Years of feudalism had left no single system of authority to maintain paths. Local warfare further caused small communities to leave roads in disrepair to avoid attack by forces. Narrow roads that became mud from rain, or degraded paths were default to this extent.

If managing to travel well despite this, there were other risks that could be ruinous. River fords were frequently an obstacle: travellers had to turn away or find a new path if no bridges existed. Bridges could be unsafe, which meant travellers risked fording rivers instead. Regarding other terrain, the mountains were dangerous to cross through. Storms could occur in any season, killing multiple persons caught in those occurrences.

Disease also had relevance. Travellers across Europe in the 17th century attempted to avoid plague-infested areas. Inn-keepers and city authorities made an effort to keep infected persons out. Often, travellers were required to obtain documented proof of health before they could enter the city. If guaranteeing health was impossible, quarantining for forty days was mandatory. [historythroughfiction.com/blog/travel]


Use of Hawthorn in Europe

Hawthorn is a May-June blooming flower. It smells like decaying material (meat), a sickly sweet aroma present that is akin to rotting flesh.

The tree has medicinal and other contexts that were well-recognised historically. The leaves and flowers were used for food and in decoctions as a means to promote blood circulation, treat heart failure, and alleviate kidney problems. [treesforlife.org.uk]


Initial History

They came into existence near a hawthorn tree somewhere close to Verona Italy. It was a frequent species around that area, due to long historic use as hedging since the Roman eras.

Italy was heavily involved in religious purges. These killings did not cease until a century passed, from 1542 to 1600.

A sense of consciousness and coherency gained on itself during a rapid transition into existence. Confusion and scrutiny occurred shortly after: the surroundings given more thought as awareness drifted beyond given fact.

The flowers above them were one of the first few things recognised, but the smell was not registered, as they could not smell it. Others existed, scattered nearby. It was a nondescript part of a forest or grove.

Hawthorn was historically used for medicinal purposes, but was otherwise viewed negatively due to its correlation to corpses. The flowers of the common hawthorn and midland hawthorn smell like rotting flesh. When a corpse starts to decompose, it smells 'sickly sweet' or 'flowery'. Hawthorns would be seen as 'ideal' to hide bodies as the rancid odour does not change even with something buried beneath. Trees eat nutrients quickly: even bones disappear for the calcium.

Familiarity and unfamiliarity interspacing was one basis for uncertainty. While recognised, everything was otherwise unknown. They did not remain there long, being uncertain of the surroundings and possible risk. Not everything is ideal or opportune. That was realised shortly, even with caution taken in moving forward. There was a neutral wariness at first, but that gained more depth as time passed. Experience brings sturdiness and caution.

They did not know where they were, and that was reason enough, at first, to be careful.


Appearance was 'automatic', but in the sense that inherent basis and understanding caused self-definition. Everything known was what the self consisted of and fact resulted.


12 | Vocal and Gender Elements

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At first their perception was absent concerning gender; there was only "the self and others perceived" in regard to names and identity, as the self does not think in third person usually.

Vocal range inherently alternated between a 'masculine' and 'feminine' voice. Although it could not be verified, those would correlate to persons long since gone.

Outer influences and interactions earlier drew them more toward a 'masculine' perspective and by extent vocal tone.


Due to a considerable amount happening that was painful, and much being left behind as things continued to change in an alienating manner, there was an unconscious choice to move away from that perspective as the years passed adrift, which is why they currently sound 'female'.


Along with other liturgical responsibilities, female choirs were historically a frequent part of ecclesiastic living. Their voice falls somewhere around a tenor or soprano where descants are concerned.


Ecclesiastic Chant Contexts

The female choirs often sang behind the walls of their cloisters, which attracted attention through the evident proficiency to their song. This was bolstered by an expanding trend of polyphony chant, as opposed to Gregorian. Despite being shut off from the outside world in essence, the cloisters within Italy (during the 1500s) were renowned for the music heard from behind the dividing walls. [press.uchicago.edu]


The word "soprano" comes from the Italian word sopra (above, over, on top of) as the soprano is the highest pitch human voice, often given to the leading female roles in operas. "Soprano" refers mainly to women, but it can also be applied to men; "sopranist" is the term for a male countertenor able to sing in the soprano vocal range.

The term "soprano" is also based on the Latin word superius which, like soprano, referred to the highest pitch vocal range of all human voice types. The word superius was especially used in choral and other multi-part vocal music between the 13th and 16th centuries. [Wikipedia]


The name "tenor" derives from the Latin word tenere, which means "to hold". As Fallows, Jander, Forbes, Steane, Harris and Waldman note in the "Tenor" article at Grove Music Online:

In polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the [tenor was the] structurally fundamental (or 'holding') voice, vocal or instrumental; by the 15th century it came to signify the male voice that sang such parts.

All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, which often proceeded in longer note values and carried a borrowed Cantus firmus melody. Until the late 16th-century introduction of the contratenor singers, the tenor was usually the highest voice, assuming the role of providing a foundation. It was also in the 18th century that "tenor" came to signify the male voice that sang such parts. Thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked 'tenor' indicated the part's role, and not the required voice type; indeed, even as late as the eighteenth century, partbooks labelled 'tenor' might contain parts for a range of voice types. [Wikipedia]


They are not a forefront individual and may decline the notion to try vocal displays.


'Lumen' did not take part in stornello (a form of poetry that originated in Tuscany that can be paralleled to a rap battle, in which contestants insulted each other until failing or losing the crowd's interest) when visiting taverns or osterie. Although often more crowded than other locations, that did allow for ease in being overlooked.

Lines perceived that remain to memory include "You drink as though you were the very earth", "Did you have a purpose to that", and "It must have taken seconds to think of that particular debauchery".


13 | Horror

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Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the general aspects of reality: it is one of the oldest branches of thought. It includes abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, change, causation, possibility, necessity, the relation between mind and matter, identity, time, and space. It explores the fundamental nature of reality, existence, and being. It can relate to perceptions beyond the reality that is known and seen. Natural processes were believed to relate to or result in factors that could be described as metaphysics.

'Air' used to be an archaic term for metaphysics. 'Miasma' or 'night air' relates to this concept. Invisible spirits were believed to exist in the atmosphere and cause illness and other complications in ancient to medieval durations. During the Renaissance and later chronologies, this shifted to the belief that 'stagnant air' could build in a room and cause illness, which meant that an open-air space was ideal for health and recovery.


Individuals regulate ambient metaphysical influence: notion, tone, and other factors which result from living organisms and activity.

Factors aggregate eventually and dormancy is subjective. Individuals indirectly lessen the chance for contexts to fester or accrue.

Nothing 'established' is affected by this, only stray things. This is a passive effect; and would not be apparent except for relative capability where relative awareness is concerned. Nothing is lost.


Usually phenomena are only dormant factors in the air. Depending on surrounding events, there may have been common to uncommon occurrences where this dormancy reversed in ancient to archaic durations. Human and other influences tend to collect over time; while 'eerie' in itself. This can become concentrated, which occurs more often during worse time frames.

Harshness tends to cause a want for 'else', which is not always ideal. Worse tends to bring worse. Individuals occurred from 'loss' and reflected that in terms of being 'immaterial'. 'Shades of life, loss, and continuation' is relevant thematically.

Pain and sorrow are emotions that stem from wanting for something; usually a return to normalcy, or for something to come back.

While not exactly the same as what was lost, individuals in a sense are a result of that loss.


Due to individual basis being 'absence', there is a relative lack of cognitive depth and initiative. Consciousness is still present through the fact of groundwork.

'Lumen' consists of memory, tone, and other factors. This grounds the consciousness and causes depth. They initially lacked understanding beyond general erudition, but were cognisant enough for caution, rationality, and regard.

'Continuation despite the fact of adversity' is relevant thematically, although an overcurrent rather than anything overt.


void(e n.(1) [1398-1500]
1 - (c) abstinence from food, hunger.
2 - (a) The absence of a desire; (b) in ~, in vain.
3 - An avoidance or a prevention of sickness;— ?error for avoiding ger.
[quod.lib.umich.edu]


A prevention of worse occurrences, aside from a warning system, can relate to caladrius in function.

The world is a 'closed circle', and while human populaces are consolidations of activity, there is consciousness and activity everywhere. That also has relevance.

The mass amount of activity fills the air and often is detrimental.


It would not have been unlikely that individuals were aware of nearby activity by persons. Departure or attempted interaction would have realistically resulted.

Encounters can relate to reports of 'hercinia' lighting up the path or of 'ravens' speaking with coherence. Whether neutral or supportive by decision, reports of such cases were carried beyond the forests.


Being distant from other individuals reflects in multiple regards on actual corax behaviour and other assumed elements.


Divides are relevant in multiple senses. Individuals cannot become ill or spread disease.

There is a technical basis and theme in separation between inner and outer thought, which translates to structure.

Matter and energy are overall kept outside of the space occupied and aside from flux in gain and loss through cloth generation, the self is meant to stay relatively consistent.


Maintaining distance is present as a decision, regarding most individuals. The risk this can involve is minimal, typically.

Beyond discerning living individuals, avoiding related possible threats can be attempted as well, which was an overall focus while on their own; despite sometimes-fallibility.

In the limited scope this awareness encompasses, anyone already dead may be overlooked or bypassed, nothing being evident or possible, while unlikely to be often relevant in modern time frames.


Reserve as a habit gained on itself over time through various factors. Unless there was reason to warn others of something or someone, uncertainty and related lack of basis for concern can mean that they remain 'silent' about contexts. That is, if aware of matters. A number of factors possibly make that null.

If saying something in a dangerous situation, in some probability it would already be too late to avoid complication.

They may be more adept at a 'search and recovery' context in terms of forewarning: while unlikely unless someone was lost.

Flight means tracking people who are lost, which correlates to activity by hercinia in trying to aid travellers from a distance. Awareness further equates to historical factors concerning caladrius. Flight increases chances of locating a living organism. Although capable of locating organisms while objectively taller, there is less mobility.


Individuals may stand as owl-like in flight: silent. 'Lumen's' solidity is not material. If not for generated clothing when more overt, may be indiscernible audibly.

When smaller-scale, distance can be crossed more easily through flight. In conjunction, 'airs' are picked up and annulled. They do not realise this; while still correlative in benefit.


"Ghosts are often active at night" correlates to "haunting can be protective". Things lurking in the tenebrosity can be conflicted with.

The later hours, or dim spaces are more dangerous for humans. Things are often more active at night, further: possibly for the advantage that brings. In regard to structure and habit, caladrius hunt what prey on humans.

Aside from the dangers that travelling through the dark involved, there were other correlations.

'Night air' or 'miasma' was a frequent concern for people. The later hours were believed to cause illness. That is not irrelevant: consolidations of foreign elements can be harmful, whether internal inherently or inhaled; etc.


Correlations can be made between individuals and 'eidolon', as ancient Greek thought included the concept. Ghosts are noted to move through the darkness unimpeded and are correlated to the nightly hours.

In ancient Greek literature, an eidolon (/aɪˈdoʊlɒn/; Ancient Greek: εἴδωλον 'image, idol, double, apparition, phantom, ghost'; plural: eidola or eidolons) is a spirit-image of a living or dead person; a shade or phantom look-alike of the human form. In the Homeric epic, it plays two functions: only as an image of the dead; and, as the deceased in propria persona. [Wikipedia]

The distribution of agalma, eidôlon, and eikôn revealed important differences between the various subcorpora. Agalma only appears to a lesser extent in Jewish, Christian, and Greco-Roman polytheistic philosophical texts.

Both eidôlon and eikôn are more frequently found in philosophical as well as Jewish and Christian texts than the term agalma. The term eidôlon is very present in Greco-Roman polytheistic philosophical works dealing with dreams or illusions, such as Aristotle's De divinatione per somnum or Plato's Sophist.

The collocates of eidôlon in the full Greco-Roman polytheistic corpus include:

Words related to ephemeral phenomena, such as a shadow, psyche, or mirror

Adverbs such as "like" that are used in comparisons

Similar to the observation in the collocation analysis of eikôn, eidôlon regularly appears in the context of other eidola as well.

The co-occurrence of eidôlon with mirror (katoptron) and psychê is frequently found in (Neo-)Platonic texts, particularly in Plotin's Enneads.

The use of an eidôlon as a "shadow" is also frequently found in the Greco-Roman polytheistic subcorpus, among others in Plutarch's works and Sophocles' Philoctet. Just like the use of eidôlon in Plotin, its use oftentimes evokes rather negative or imperfect associations, such as "death" or the "underworld":

[…] κοὐκ οἶδ᾽ ἐναίρων νεκρὸν ἢ καπνοῦ σκιάν, εἴδωλον ἄλλως: […] and does not see that he is cutting down a corpse, the shadow of smoke, a mere phantom [eidôlon]. (Sophocles, Philoctet, 945-946; transl. by Richard Jebb). [Thomas Jurczyk – Transcribed with edits – https://er.ceres.rub.de]


Although ravens were not seen as psychopomps in Greek ranges, death and other realms were correlated due to their scavenging habits and tendency to blend with forest shade, as of shadows.


Individuals often appear on the periphery of worse occurrences.

Individuals serve as 'warnings' for events and can be seen as 'harbingers' from an external view. This does not differ from ravens being perceived as omens historically.


Individuals may have acted as sentinels along towns in prior time frames, knowing if something strange came along. If something is biological or 'flesh', that would be apparent usually. Hostility is averted from, but they would not be against defending themselves.

Knives were not often used, but were relevant as inventory.


In forests, obscurity makes it more difficult for most individuals to tell if something is lurking, which correlates to telling others to hurry or leave.

Individuals may be aware of nearby or consistent activity, and intervening on occasion would not be too unlikely. A voice telling someone to 'halt' would be 'eerie', but it could make something in the path apparent.


14 | Further Horror

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Romance stories were gory originally. Narratives involved venturing beyond what was known to gain more insight, or kill things that were a problem.

It was a romanticisation of adventure for varied purposes. This ties into the need to kill things that are hazardous to keep death count low, and further relates to ravens warning of things, as those persons were out of their element.


The outer limits; or wilds; are where people often went in mythological stories to find solutions beyond what they understood or knew, despite the risks involved.

Being distant is a thematic that is significant itself; death separates and populations are widely dispersed. Distance from other individuals reflects in multiple regards on actual corax behaviour and other assumed elements.


Ravens historically were believed to be coherent, and might 'trick' people on forest paths. Warnings often are misinterpreted.


'Forests are dangerous for wayward travellers' was relevant historically at least, even without things lurking.


With the depletion of hazardous factors, only 'hercinia' were left overall, leading to more encounters by travellers of 'monks and hermits'. As time progressed however, becoming more withdrawn grew as a behaviour individually: those who remained learning through difference.


In romance stories and folklore, whole islands appeared in and disappeared out of existence, aside from other things that should not have come into being. Monsters, paths, etc.

It was much more chaotic before things started to settle.

Having occurred later after factors were abating, as excess metaphysical contexts built up over the years before the medieval era, attesting to 'evil spirits' being a norm until then in belief, nothing relevant would have been crossed paths with.

Over some centuries that excess abated, individuals gradually caused equilibrium. Many 'strange things' were slain by people, which factored into relevancies.


Individuals collecting around the body of a slain factor cause the remains to disappear rapidly. What is not supposed to be there is removed from the surroundings. That individuals are 'carrion birds' is relevant in concept.


Content Warning

With occurrences minimal, as opposed to more ancient durations, it is unlikely that a related scene would be seen modernly.

'Removing and recycling dead factors' is an inherent element, although individual behaviour extends beyond that: which is a general truth for most consciousnesses.


Taoism coincides with China's history, during or before the years 800 to 300 BCE, the time frame that Laozi reputedly wrote the books off which it was based.

In ancient Taoist belief, evil spirits could form in the stomach or gut and eat through a person from the inside out. Chinese persons avoided eating grain and meat for that reason, out of fear that it could happen.

It does not seem like this would be adhered to without a known basis.

With how interconnected the world is, it is not unrealistic.


Birds exist nearly everywhere and cross boundaries. Other elements can similarly exist ambiently. The 'air' does not change by far between one place and another.

Although not seeking out and killing factors typically, individuals travelling or remaining around an area lessen the probability of hazards manifesting.

Caladrius essentially function as airborne purifiers.


Lumen is a 'living deterrent' (removing chance of occurrences ambiently) and 'detector' (having an awareness if something or someone is nearby, the contexts to that or those individuals often evident) for relevant factors in the first case, and at times the second case. Awareness is multifaceted.


Past knowledge and recollection is stored and saved through preservation of the self. Further influence (metaphysics) is regulated and cleared passively through presence and travel.

The world is a 'closed circle'. Through the ambient backlog of events and activity over time through history, factors resulted, which further involved sorts that occur on the 'periphery' of worse, stalling more accruement. As opposed to more visceral contexts, factors such as 'Lumen' occur and regulate the atmosphere.


Visceral:
1: felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body, deep
2: not intellectual: instinctive, unreasoning
3: dealing with crude or elemental emotions: earthy
4: of, relating to, or located on or among the internal organs of the body: splanchnic. [merriam-webster.com]


It is a system that can be seen as a spontaneous result of existence and living in-world.

Factors aggregate and manifest. Those that are harmful in more contemporary time frames occur less, by extent of offset, than what was prevalent in ancient and medieval time frames. Earlier phenomena prompted belief in 'evil spirits', which were often featured in romance stories and related folklore.

Being immaterial and empty, except for memory and cognition, there is no basis for pain outside of mental contexts. 'Lumen' experienced difficulty later, but did not encounter anything that could be considered visceral in terms of living and suffering.


Individuals fulfill a niche role and necessity ambiently. A considerable amount happens actively that does not quite go away. Various sensations, tones, and other factors are visceral and similarly would be material, being connected to the body and relevant processes.


Most, or all, relevant individuals are too self-interested to attempt murder. Pacifism can be considered relevant, despite capability not missing.

Sensations are foreign, which makes avoiding conflict and interaction more ideal on an individual basis.

Most can be considered more background figures than obtrusive. Traces are not quite left behind unless actively interacting with other individuals.

Capability to feel pain and physiological depth indirectly and from a distance means that direct contact is often uncomfortable due to registering 'too much' by extent or in particular causing pain.

This is ironic with the fact that, if badly injured, being in vicinity to a living organism would accelerate the recovery period.

This is unrealised by the individual in question. With constant arthropods, insects, birds, reptiles, and other wildlife present around the forests and fields inhabited, there is a consistent ambience that coincides with awareness of related activity.

'Lumen' has unconsciously gravitated toward other persons when injured, and has at times clung to others when incoherent or unconscious. Normally they would not do this. It may be connected to self-preservation and stability.


An inference through a mixture of poeticism and reality, regarding themes:

They cannot experience anything anymore. Indirectly, sensations; etc; are apparent, which is typically through the awareness and physiology of other surrounding organisms.

There are exceptions: being hurt, learning things, etc, is possible. All the same, limitations are present regarding individual connections to the environs.


With capability to register pain and activity from a relative distance, it may generally be apparent through awareness alongside knowledge of physiology how the most harm or mend could occur. Awareness of activity is unconscious typically, although the physiological depth of surrounding organisms is regardless often evident.

This is aside from empathy being relevant. Situational realism and empathy make the decision to cause injury very unlikely.


As matter and 'matter' disperses through decomposition, states of dormancy and activity exist variously. Relevant factors are ambiently picked up and annulled, repurposed briefly to cloth and other material by individuals. Dormancy is maintained longer than it might otherwise.

In various senses they could be called 'void', not only in terms of being 'unoccupied space'. The atmosphere is cleared and regulated. Factors from life and living kept from aggregating into worse.

There is a consistent voidance; a (re)cycle essentially.


Their cloth (which is converted from solid and immaterial feathers) is material but does not remain long, being composed of ambient factors.

The entire structure passively collects atmospheric factors. A digestive system and other organs are not functionally necessary.

'Eating' 'bad air' (miasma, or night air) is relevant. This is tied into old beliefs, which are not without reasoning. People archaically became sick from that 'air'.


Various parallels could be made between caladrius and white blood cells. As how white blood cells absorb and break down harmful material, caladrius absorb and recycle metaphysics. This further can be seen as a parallel to how religious persons (who historically worked for communal interests) or any who take others into consideration with or without religion lived.

Cells work and leave behind fact. Those do not have to be known inherently to have existed. Neutrophils are 'clear' and transparent when not dyed, relating to the immaterial and colourless characteristics of caladrius. A pale lilac colouration has been noted to result in laboratory tests otherwise.

Neutrophils are the first responders to an infection. These cells circulate throughout a living system and signal others to attack or avoid pathogens. Neutrophils change shape to fight infection, which is a further parallel to capability. Individuals being smaller allows for more distance to be covered and for metaphysics to be picked up and cleared of activity. Dormancy is maintained longer than it might be otherwise.

Capability and appearance correlate. As individuals appear more 'human' sometimes, that can be a means to blend with expectations. This is unmeant, but important to survival. Being smaller also means more ease at travelling and supporting their own interests. Duality is present in that sense further.


<"...How could I have managed without hands? It does not work...">

It can be difficult to accomplish multiple actions with anything but certain digits.

Individuals are not always forefront and may remain to a smaller state that allows evasion.

That however detracts from capability. Being objectively taller can be better for other interests, which can be dangerous.


Mentality shapes structure and they are 'human' at their basis. That response is from passive observation and recollection; differences are not overlooked.

In philosophical ranges, thought, knowledge, and wisdom were promoted contexts in order to do well in life, to promote good for the self and others.

Decisions, correlated to erudition and understanding of surrounding matters, may relate to vestiges of altruism present before death.


Structure coincided into what it is in functionality. Factors built into a consequence.

Nothing happens without purpose on some level, direct or indirect. In consideration of individual basis, their own base components shaped into what resulted because of inherent factors. There was no error beyond the cause: mass death. 'White blood cell' corresponds.


Cellular aspects were unknown in the Renaissance. It is not necessary for something to be remembered for it to exist or have happened. More concisely, down to bone marrow and other aspects, echoes of activity correlate thematically.

It is missing from their structure, but a semblance is relevant by extent of form. Cells work; and leave behind fact. Those do not have to be known inherently.


White Blood Cell Information

White blood cells, also called leukocytes or leucocytes, are cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders. White blood cells include three main subtypes; granulocytes, lymphocytes and monocytes.

All white blood cells are produced and derived from multipotent cells in the bone marrow known as hematopoietic stem cells. Leukocytes are found throughout the body, including the blood and lymphatic system. All white blood cells have nuclei, which distinguishes them from the other blood cells, the anucleated red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets. The different white blood cells are usually classified by cell lineage (myeloid cells or lymphoid cells). White blood cells are part of the body's immune system. They help the body fight infection and other diseases. Types of white blood cells are granulocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils), and agranulocytes (monocytes, and lymphocytes (T cells and B cells)). Myeloid cells (myelocytes) include neutrophils, eosinophils, mast cells, basophils, and monocytes. Monocytes are further subdivided into dendritic cells and macrophages. Monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils are phagocytic. Lymphoid cells (lymphocytes) include T cells (subdivided into helper T cells, memory T cells, cytotoxic T cells), B cells (subdivided into plasma cells and memory B cells), and natural killer cells. Historically, white blood cells were classified by their physical characteristics (granulocytes and agranulocytes), but this classification system is less frequently used now. Produced in the bone marrow, white blood cells defend the body against infections and disease. An excess of white blood cells is usually due to infection or inflammation. Less commonly, a high white blood cell count could indicate certain blood cancers or bone marrow disorders.

The number of leukocytes in the blood is often an indicator of disease, and thus the white blood cell count is an important subset of the complete blood count. The normal white cell count is usually between 4 × 109/L and 1.1 × 1010/L. In the US, this is usually expressed as 4,000 to 11,000 white blood cells per microliter of blood. White blood cells make up approximately 1% of the total blood volume in a healthy adult, making them substantially less numerous than the red blood cells at 40% to 45%. However, this 1% of the blood makes a large difference to health, because immunity depends on it. An increase in the number of leukocytes over the upper limits is called leukocytosis. It is normal when it is part of healthy immune responses, which happen frequently. It is occasionally abnormal, when it is neoplastic or autoimmune in origin. A decrease below the lower limit is called leukopenia. This indicates a weakened immune system.

The name "white blood cell" derives from the physical appearance of a blood sample after centrifugation. White cells are found in the buffy coat, a thin, typically white layer of nucleated cells between the sedimented red blood cells and the blood plasma. The scientific term leukocyte directly reflects its description. It is derived from the Greek roots leuk- meaning "white" and cyt- meaning "cell". The buffy coat may sometimes be green if there are large amounts of neutrophils in the sample, due to the heme-containing enzyme myeloperoxidase that they produce.

All white blood cells are nucleated, which distinguishes them from the anucleated red blood cells and platelets. Types of leukocytes can be classified in standard ways. Two pairs of broadest categories classify them either by structure (granulocytes or agranulocytes) or by cell lineage (myeloid cells or lymphoid cells). These broadest categories can be further divided into the five main types: neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes. These types are distinguished by their physical and functional characteristics. Monocytes and neutrophils are phagocytic. Further subtypes can be classified.

Granulocytes are distinguished from agranulocytes by their nucleus shape (lobed versus round, that is, polymorphonuclear versus mononuclear) and by their cytoplasm granules (present or absent, or more precisely, visible on light microscopy or not thus visible). The other dichotomy is by lineage: Myeloid cells (neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils) are distinguished from lymphoid cells (lymphocytes) by hematopoietic lineage (cellular differentiation lineage). Lymphocytes can be further classified as T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells.

Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cell, constituting 60-70% of the circulating leukocytes. They defend against bacterial or fungal infection. They are usually first responders to microbial infection; their activity and death in large numbers form pus. They are commonly referred to as polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocytes, although, in the technical sense, PMN refers to all granulocytes. They have a multi-lobed nucleus, which consists of three to five lobes connected by slender strands. This gives the neutrophils the appearance of having multiple nuclei, hence the name polymorphonuclear leukocyte. The cytoplasm may look transparent because of fine granules that are pale lilac when stained. Neutrophils are active in phagocytosing bacteria and are present in large amount in the pus of wounds. These cells are not able to renew their lysosomes (used in digesting microbes) and die after having phagocytosed a few pathogens. Neutrophils are the most common cell type seen in the early stages of acute inflammation. The average lifespan of inactivated human neutrophils in the circulation has been reported by different approaches to be between 5 and 135 hours. [Wikipedia]


Individuals act with consciousness and thus have awareness of the surroundings, decisions, etc. Preservation is relevant rather than dying after perceived threats are lustrated; or cleared. Deterioration would be counterintuitive. Specifically, it would be detrimental and complicative if cessation occurred often. Balance was necessary archaically.

Although unaware of processes innate to structure, ignorance has benefit on an individual and external level. Hints of significance exist through awareness, but otherwise that is inconspicuous. Unravelling factuality would be gradual and difficult to accomplish if actually trying to figure out meaning.


Historic examples of phenomena (European/etc):

  1. Tarasque: a turtle with a lion-like head, six feet with bear-like claws, sword-like teeth, and a serpent's tail, that could expel poisonous breath.

  2. Lou Carcolh: a very large, slimy snail-like serpent with hairy tentacles and a large shell that drowned people with its slime and dragged people into a cave to devour whole.

  3. Matagot/Mandagot: a spirit in the form of a black cat, rat, fox, dog, or cow that could be lured with food and that brought wealth into the owner's home.

  4. Peluda: a serpent-headed creature had a body covered in long green fur with poison-tipped spines. It caused floods or shot out fire from its mouth, devoured livestock and humans, killed with its tail.

  5. Cheval Mallet: a white or black horse, saddled and bridled, that tempted travellers exhausted by a long journey: those who rode it never returned.

  6. Tatzelwurm: a serpent-like creature with the face of a cat, and four short legs or two front legs that is venomous and shrieks. It tunnels through alpine regions.

  7. Nyuvwira/Inifwira: an extremely toxic, enormous snake with eight heads that generates electricity and lights at night, and lives underground.

  8. Piuchén: a flying snake or large lizard with bird or bat wings that emits whistling sounds or hisses that stun or kill, that consumes blood.

  9. Muscaliet: a hare or squirrel-like animal that nests beneath trees climbed and that damages trees through extreme heat.

  10. Shamir: a worm that can cut through or disintegrate stone, iron, and diamond.

  11. Llamhigyn y Dŵr: a giant frog in swamps and lakes with a bat wings, no legs, and a long tail with a sting at the end that eats livestock and fishermen.


In Canada, North America, and South America as well, abstract creatures are told about orally – sometimes these are dangerous; at other times only odd. The Axehandle Hound, Gumberoo (a large creature like a bear that explodes, killing persons), Augerino (a burrowing worm-like creature with an awl or auger-like bone at the front that is used to bore holes in pipes and dams) and Snoligoster (a huge crocodile-like creature that is voracious) are examples of related stories.

Without anything to call relevant phenomena, inventing words was necessary by European immigrants: which were subjectively silly, but unique and distinct as terms.


Modern examples of phenomena:

  1. Harvestman with 'frills' or 'tendrils' that spread out to reach or spear prey. Otherwise flattened surfaces allow it to float on water or glide briefly.

  2. A long series of sticks, wound into a full cable. There are vague 'eyes' and 'stomachs' along various sections due to the collective and symbiotic literal compoundment. If any are broken, there are sharp spines projected outwardly from the wound which can cause injury.

  3. Wisps that look like drifting cotton but that contain minute nerve networks and small imperceptible insect legs at the bottom of individual or collective organisms. These congregate and attempt to asphyxiate the individual being clung to.

  4. A mist of microorganisms that appear similar to water droplets. Other fog is where this normally occurs. Marsh and mires are typical locations. People breathing in relevant phenomena become disoriented. A sense of being underwater or beneath an airless surface is relevant. Psychologically this can become overwhelming, whether an organism finds it impossible to breathe or wanders into an actual water source and sinks.

  5. A small mouse-like organism with spines sticking out of its sides and back, the short tail lined with further quills. These are bone and metal, coated with rust and blood from people scurried under. Stepping on one is very painful, and these sometimes become stuck.

  6. Grass-like stalks that wrap around legs of other organisms and trip or drag individuals to the ground. These appear similar to reeds, albeit the bulb is not quite a root: instead a mass of muscle. Nerves expand out into the soil beneath.

  7. Sand that shifts and seems to create patterns that reflect nearby scenery. Glass sometimes results from this, the reflections not exactly what is expected. Miniature formations sometimes appear further, jagged typically. Looking closer makes it seem like they can have tiny legs, usually crawling.

  8. Ice that does not melt after a snowfall. The area around it remains cold consistently, warmth pulled from the air. Remaining around it too long causes frostbite.

  9. Dim lights that drift through the air and seem to cluster when making contact with each other. If existing indefinitely, the heat generated from those resulting orbs can be searing. Despite resembling fireflies, there is a constant effulgence.

  10. Stones that collapse with the wind. The factors, apparent dust, that they consist of reform into something else later. Becoming disoriented with the change in scenery may occur if already wayward.

  11. A heart with wings branching out from the central muscle. Mobility occurs through limited motion and gliding patterns. It may compound with others into a larger organism and may compound with present organisms parasitically.

  12. A virus-shaped arachnid. The cube section rotates panoramically. Rapid in motion. An 'injection needle' may extend from the centre to pierce anything clung to. The results of this are dubious but often hazardous.

  13. A thin mass that hides in shaded areas of structures. It moves slowly, reaching out to passerby and engulfing objects. If appearing in a building, it may suffocate nearby persons.


15 | Social Factors

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The character is inspired by the ravens at the Tower of London, and a plaque read there. Several years passed and I built on their character, interpreting legends and folklore to a general lore.

Rookeries were a frequent element correlated to landowning agricultural families. The open expanses of land that surrounded buildings attracted colonies of various species. Viewed as good omens, it was not permitted to harm relevant avians who went freely around villas and other locations.

The abandonment of a location often signaled worse premonitions, a belief which correlates to records dating back to the 1600s or prior.


Keeping ravens at the Tower of London stems from a historic belief that common ravens were protective. Many avian species existed in rookeries: flat areas of land near buildings that were used variously by people. It was not infrequent that villas in England and in other locations prohibited people from shooting common ravens that flew around the buildings freely. If the birds left, it was believed that something bad would happen. Whether the reason was due to individuals vacating or being lost, that would be loss of a safeguard.


If the ravens present at the Tower of London ever left, it was said that the Tower would fall. As a heavily fortified location historically, it could be said that everything else would have fallen. Many would be dead due to phenomena overrunning the landscape, as previously happened to a relative extent archaically.


The ravens at that historical site are not related to this, although practices of keeping ravens nearby through the feeding of scraps parallel understanding of defence. Terrains clear of debris would have been understood to be safer through correlation, by a lack of evident illness amid the populace.

The terrain was kept clean through the activity of the birds, which reduced the chance of disease spreading. That was historically a common problem in agricultural areas, aside from towns and cities: if for varied reasoning.

Waste accruing in town and city streets often preceded outbreaks. Infectious agents were an unknown factor, but indirect awareness was prevalent. Methods were frequently implemented historically to keep the terrain clean.

Animal carcasses were a source of disease in more rural areas. A dead cow, sheep, goat, pig, or other animal could be indicative of pathogens, although this was not as well understood as a problem archaically. With the fact that communities historically depended on local butchers for food, viruses and bacteria could spread easily across livestock and human populations through the meat sold and distributed.


Individuals are recycling worse things that result from existence, keeping factors dormant. It could be said that is a relatively universal element as activity is often uniform across locations.

Ecclesiastic persons took on sins and hardships, which might correlate in a relative sense. Individuals absorb and absolve complications.


Awareness of surrounding physiological activity is variously dual-sided in benefit and detriment. Despite that injury and other complications can be apparent, 'Lumen' typically would not say anything unless something was given as fact first.


Awareness of surrounding organisms can be viewed as intrusive. What could be done with information is varied.

Individuals keep a distance for multiple purposes realistically.


Content Warning

Individuals can discern if a person is somatically male, female, intersex, or something further. Due to this factor, distance is maintained socially.

What a person defined as would be unclear: gender is a mental state. Asking someone what they preferred to go by is a modern aspect that 'Lumen' might not have understood at first.


It is possible that other people may ask 'Lumen' about specific things if realising they can discern physiology.


<"...Divulging information, especially confidential matters, is not ideal...">


Relevant quandaries became apparent to 'Lumen' early on. They often do not acknowledge or speak to someone if that person is nearby.

On the streets, during their time spent socially, other individuals were often apparent regardless of visual acuity. This made avoiding individuals easier, which was occasionally advantageous.


Social Factors

Italian culture places considerable importance on reputation or honour. This is perceived to reflect on an individual's family and upbringing. It is essentially a way of opening up social opportunities. In Italy, a person's honour is defined by the impression they leave on others. This is called 'la bella figura', which translates to 'good image'. The term describes the skill of making a good impression. It refers to a person's cleanliness and appearance, aside from exhibited character. It is reflected in speech to demeanour and behaviour.

The cultural emphasis on making a good impression may be seen as superficial. That is not necessarily accurate. In the lower class, this often relates to maintaining grace and dignity despite modest circumstances. As a good reputation involves social approval, the ability to accommodate external perspectives and consider diverse interests is seen as one of the most important virtues. Someone with a good image is thought to have confidence, style, an elegant demeanour, and refined social skills. Through this focus on maintaining a good reputation, la bella figura is considerably central in Italian culture. [culturalatlas.sbs.com.au]


They are often overlooked in current time frames by most unaware of relevancies and by those who are cognisant. Being given a considerable amount of attention typically falls to unusual situations, and most aware only give 'Lumen' and other individuals minimal attention outside of conversation.


'Witches' and 'magic-users', or those who are defined by the modern term 'arcanists' typically both adhere to and defy traditional values regarding impressions. Being viewed as odd, they are given more and less attention than they would if dressing 'normally' at times, cosplay and subjectively unusual wear are occasionally relevant. Repelling people is a focus typically, in some cases, as otherwise interacting with certain individuals would be more difficult to accomplish. It can be considered a 'gimmick', but with specific purposes. Those who are interested or do not care typically are communicative, and either are neutral or friendly.


Moving past aversions can be a sign of familiarity, if not based on other motivations.

Being close to someone physically is a certain means to discern welfare. Allowing others to be near similarly shows regard.

That typically only has relevance when acting in support, but in various situations they have probably let others cross boundaries.

<"...I keep space from others when I can. ... That may appear odd, but it is habitual.">

While it may be misleading in a few senses, if not prompt inquiry, there are a couple reasons for that direction. A sense of self-security can be maintained.


Reserve might be perceived oddly by local persons. Even with respect being a norm, tradition would not be entirely disregarded. Italian culture is physical concerning greeting and interaction: embraces are not infrequent between friends or acquaintances.

They try not to be 'harsh' by moving off if neared and usually make boundaries apparent when meeting new persons.


Archaic Social Factors

Renaissance greetings were mainly dependent on class distinction and gender. A bow, curtsy, or genuflect was one option as a greeting, aside from the symbolic address on the cheek. Kissing the hand of a maiden or royal, or the ring of a pope or king was frequent as a greeting. Greetings could be limited to nods, or could be elaborate displays. Raised palms were common for travellers meeting on a road or highway. It was a symbol of peace and indicative of a lack of malice. The open palm originated as a show that the person was unarmed.

Hand shaking was uncommon as a greeting. It was however prevalent as a sign of a deal or a contract. Persons entering a contract would literally "shake on it." Although kissing a cheek or hand was common, there were customs for the touching of hand to hand. The custom of shaking hands was considered unsanitary, and at times averted from due to social norms.

Gloves were a frequent requisite: these were an indicator of chastity and a means of cleanliness. Having those become soiled would not be seen too well individually. [absolutewrite.com]


Social Progression in Italy

The social classes of Italy became less distinct with the progression of the Renaissance. Humanist ideas led to increased rights for individuals. The class system however remained in place in Florence and throughout most of Europe centuries after the Renaissance. [mrdowling.com/704-social.html]

In European history, the middle class was crucial in the change of society. The rulers financed the middle class, to conflict with feudal lords who complicated sovereign authority. Charters were granted to middle class members to trade abroad, and to oversee the administration of cities.

The middle class or bourgeois, as it grew in affluence, became prominent in the cities and succeeded in changing the prevalent feudal culture. A new social and cultural backdrop became established. Time and work became important values for the middle class. Time was considered integral and work was regulated by the availability of time.

No work was considered degrading. Those who worked earned societal respect. The middle class promoted education. A trained professional class emerged: vocations included bankers, accountants, doctors, lawyers, artists and scholars. Cities became central to trade, commerce and educational activities. The German saying, 'Stadtluft macht frei' or 'urban air makes you free' defined the significance of this new culture.

The middle class was central in making Renaissance successful, whereas the aristocracy lost influence and left the cities. The city of Florence was ruled by the rising merchant class and the influential Medici family of Florence. The Borgia family of Rome funded art, architecture and literature. Architects, sculptors, and artists enhanced the cities with new buildings, statues and the decoration of churches and palaces. [dawn.com]


In relative realism, battlefields might correlate to appearances, being places of extremism. This further correlates to association with bloodshed and loss historically tied to ravens. In being aware of frequent or nearby conflict, individuals may have made an effort in the aftermath.

Aiming for those with the most ailments means that futility can potentially correlate to blame for relevant deaths, which could correlate to themes often relevant to bloodshed. Trying to stop someone from dying might not always work.

If soldiers saw figures going around, it is likely that eventually connections would be perceived. Uncertain or unknown individuals would likely be met with misgiving, if not hostility. Being attacked would not be unlikely.


Ravens were often noted around battlefields and associated with conflict historically. This is not only significant due to passing awareness of bloodshed. Individuals realistically might have attempted to keep survivors alive, being aware of persons amid the corpses.

Being on 'no side', it would be realistic for an individual to help someone still existent after that.

Typically, due to the mass death involved in conflict, it was near impossible to bury or burn everything. Scavengers were allowed to eat the corpses following everything of value being taken for reuse by surviving soldiers, aside from the ground itself claiming the bodies, which eventually vanished after a year or two.


Rhetoric

Fear would be realistic. An unknown person helping him recover would cause tension and a rapid heart rate, leading to more blood loss.

Conversation would be more ideal to lessen bleeding: concern a reflex in speaking. It would be an attempted distraction.

Invariably, there might have been questions as to who or what an individual is, if that individual is not assumed to be wearing a mask (if after 1619 CE). This would have resulted in silence, if not in a dismissive or ambiguous response. Individuals being deaf would not mean silence would be by default purposeful.

In realism, related situations might fall toward assumption a soldier is speaking to a human.

With inherent ambiguity in gender, it would be difficult to tell 'what' an individual was, and for a soldier to act on bias by extent.


A lot happens in fields of conflict. The values behind battle realistically would not be individually understood: which would leave ambiguity on both sides after departing.


With how frequent herbs are anywhere, individuals could have utilised related species to relative benefit.

This is excluding use of cloth-based gauze (which later dissipated, the material from their clothing) for persons who might have been badly wounded and potentially died. Not many accounts would have been taken seriously, more with attributed delirium prior to a report.


16 | Mythological Factors

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Hercinia and caladrius were guides and healers on a mythological basis; the latter often an aide, and the former remaining remote despite guiding lost travellers. Terms vary but basis does not.


The name caladrius is a debased form of the Greek χαραδριός, which all commentators agree is derived etymologically from χαράδρα, a mountain stream or torrent, which when swollen cuts its way through the mountain side, forming a cleft or ravine, hence the cleft itself; and from it χαραδριός, a bird dwelling in such clefts or ravines. The most important descriptions are those given by Aristotle (384 322 B.C.) in his History of Animals, book viii, 3, 14, and book ix, 11, 2, in the first of which it is distinctly associated with sea-birds, and in the second its colour is referred to. The reference in book viii runs: "The white gull also, and the petrel, the aethyia, and the charadrius." And in book ix: "And some (birds) make their dwellings round mountain torrents, and some in cliffs and holes in the rocks, for example the charadrius (i.e. the mountain torrent bird). Now the charadrius is inconspicuous both in colour and note; it comes out in the night and hides itself by day." [bestiary.ca/etexts/druce-caladrius-and-its-legend.pdf]


"For the charadrius is wont to lie hid in holes by day and to come out at night; and when they are sold they lie hid, and are concealed by the vendors." [bestiary.ca/etexts/druce-caladrius-and-its-legend.pdf]


Vendors covered the birds' cages with cloth to keep people from being diagnosed for free. Other reasons may have existed however. Individuals are inherently quiet. Although individuals may be aware of persons nearby somatically, conversation is less likely when vision is obscured.

It is not likely that persons often managed to ensnare caladrius. The texts that mention vendors are from ancient Greece. In more ancient time frames, what was 'unnatural' would have been more widely accepted, which correlates.


Other than gulls, shearwaters, petrels, and other diving birds, the caladrius was compared to herons, swans, and doves by early Greek authors, hence the correlation to swan maiden or bird maiden.

Caladrius were caught in Greek durations around cliffs and realistically frequented the ocean despite the risk that presented.


A "want to continue forward" is innate to living organisms, and escape occurs through a morbid means eventually.

"Flight is an escape" and "birds flew out of saints' mouths" according to pre-Biblical and Biblical lore.

In death, the ideologies of the people who suffered for external interests carried over.

It might have been an unconscious decision to remain behind. "Haunting can be protective" relates if this is accurate.


"Flight is an escape and tied to departure". Souls were correlated to birds in archaic thought.

Aside from 'flight being an escape and tied to departure', which relates to souls being correlated to birds in archaic belief (this was not singularly Abrahamic; Greek durations focused on 'white doves' as souls returning to specific gods; Nordic durations focused on ravens leaving the battlefield and carrying the souls of the deceased along with them; etc), a 'loss of the self' is a kind of escape.

This correlates to biblical belief that souls could 'chirp', and post-biblical belief that souls were birdlike. Specifically, the white dove was a symbol of a departed soul in early Judaism, which correlates to the early belief that souls, in the forms of doves, left the mouths of saints once deceased. [Wikipedia]


Greek and Roman thought further included dove imagery in tombs and sarcophagi, as doves were featured in related cultures for varied purposes. These were carved into stone as a symbol of peace after death. As a bird related to Athena in thought, doves represented the soul returning to that goddess. [godwhospeaks.uk]

Ravens are an older example of this. They were similarly 'transportation' for souls in archaic belief across multiple cultures. In Nordic perception, ravens visited the bodies of slain persons and took the souls that waited on the battlefield to Valhalla. Huginn and Muninn reflect on this belief further.


Without a body, someone cannot be called quite 'human' anymore. There is an 'other' element due to transcending inherencies.

Humans cannot fly, which limits capacity. Differences are plausible in that capability relates to appearance to some extent.


Subsisting off metaphysical contexts = lowering chance of worse.
Staying to the background = defensive as a context.
Defensive = self-and-other factors.

People often try to hurt and kill what seems 'strange'. Individuals are inherently tied to the world despite being 'odd'.


"White plumage" equates to white cloth. This is converted from feathers which are immaterial, until becoming linen.

There were writings that stated 'caladrius were pure white because they were pure'. I subverted that hopefully ideally: only the plumage is mentioned. Appearance is not a definer for morality.

The 'white plumage' characteristic of caladrius and hercinia equates to 'white cloth', the hue of clothing historically important on a social, political, and cultural basis in order to define role and class.

It is realistic that descriptions would include that element. Other descriptions also correspond, including subtexted intelligence and occasional luminance.


When not appearing similar to a 'common raven', an ecclesiastic habit has relevance. This cloth is generated from their feathers, which lengthen and convert into linen, when gaining in scale.


The garment typically present is almost identical to a 1500s-1600s Norbertine priest and nun uniform.

As other orders under its jurisdiction, the Papacy mostly killed off that order due to fear of dissent. Power existed in the clergy, and opinions were against the massacres.

That may have partly helped with nondescription, although caladrius have realistically existed for millenia, and have 'echoed' traditional garments worn by many people. Hooded cowls were realistically replaced by scarves, cloaks, and other wear depending on region or time frame.

Cultural advancements and differences in social structures realistically would have contributed to external appearance, aside from what is understood by individual caladrius. Even if archaic, capability and erudition can be useful compounded.


They canonically speak in an alternating male and female voice, initially at least.


It would be very odd to hear a female voice from a figure contextually for a 1600s person. This is more probable with a sudden shift in vocal pitch. Depending on noun forms and constancy of discussion, there can be an unconscious impression where one voice supersedes another.


Historically there were 'only men and women' and it would be likely that interacting with persons randomly would have an impact. An individual encountered – typically alone – was generally viewed as 'female'.

That appeared a frequent theme in stories.

Depending on the culture, men travelled more than women historically, or travelled in a manner that was less covert. This was for various social purposes.

Men travelling through forests or fields would view encountered individuals as 'lesser' and not ignore the evident feminine direction; either due to ambiguity or other factors.

Subjugation can be mental as well as physical. Any resource would be 'valuable' out in the wilds, and taking advantage is not unlikely as a decision. Seizing or harming an individual to essentially abduct them is bad. The latter is particularly violent, but it is realistic that people were like that.

Ripping an individual away from what is known and familiar; etc; would mean being restricted and manipulated into a situation that is damaging.


It is a forced relationship in essence.


Distribution of the 'Bird Maiden' Myth

Referenced work by Bafuncius on Wikimedia Commons | Creative Commons License

The distribution of 'bird-maiden' stories. [Wikipedia]


The feathers of individuals convert into cloth, reflecting on the 'swan maiden', 'crane wife', and other archaic folklore.


In European ranges, relayed encounters with swan maiden are not typically ideal: persons encountered took advantage of individuals.

The person (evidently usually a man, as men may have historically hunted or travelled more than women) who comes along steals the cloak or robe the figure evidently has. The 'feather cloak' an individual created would be viewed as valuable, as light cloth was historically difficult to make.

Weeks of sun-bleaching, or the use of expensive compounds, were necessary to produce a white cloth. Taking something that was readily available would be viewed as 'opportune'.

Although removing cloth to use as bandaging is possible, there are limited quantities. That would be recognised. Moss and other herbal materials are a precedent. Water sources often feature sphagnum and other species.


Water pools are occasionally avoided by caladrius unless the bottom is evident. Walking along the bottom of a shallow lake or pond was frequent for bird maidens in order to collect moss and other material that could be used medicinally; etc. This correlates to the association of swan maiden with water sources. Without the typical clothing, there is no material impediment: leaving it to be retrieved was evidently frequent.

Walking along the bottom of a (shallow) lake and collecting sphagnum moss (or other materials) growing near the surface or that collected at the hypolimnion layer would be possible. Air is not necessary; lungs do not exist.

Deep waters are potentially frightening. They sink (when without clothing to buffer that factor). It can be difficult to get to the surface again.

Falling into a pool to escape a threat would be a difficult decision.


Archaic humans, through encounters, have likely made connections to waterfowl, having also seen how those birds behave.

An individual hiding in a lake would realistically be a last resort; as other organisms may exist that can be dangerous.

As travellers and hunters often have weapons (bows, crossbows, and arrows; etc), the risk of being shot is possible if trying to flee. The key term, whether missing or not, is 'weakness'. Being harmed, or expending the self means complication. It is coercion or worse. Being forced into a manipulative relationship typically follows in related folklore.

An individual trying to reason with persons encountered (when in shallower areas of water pools) would realistically have resulted due to uncertainty and lack of capability.

Being shot could have followed if trying to fly away.

Asking a hunter to give back the 'feather cloak' would realistically be involved in that discussion.


The 'feather cloak' is usually locked in a chest somewhere. As cloth dissipates eventually, it would be assumed that the 'swan maiden' escaped with the garment. In reality, something similar would have happened. Flying away is not unrealistic.


Within the original 14th to 15th century text of the 'Crane Wife', which is now long gone, a peasant farmer comes across a crane in a forest where he is gathering wood. Due to the illegality of killing and eating cranes, as he is not a noble, and not wanting to let it die out of sympathy, he takes it back to his home, removes the arrow from it, and sets it free.


The 'crane' later shows up at his door as a 'human', having decided to help him. This is not a rejected notion for some reason.


Narratively, when the peasant farmer discovers the person he encountered is evidently not human, she flies away and never returns, as that revelation cannot be undone.

This suggests he eventually had not cared that the individual was inhuman. Obscuring his lack of bias would be 'better' socially than not.

Being noted as 'married' would have been ideal to avoid complication by extent of social norms. Capability would have been more possible through that means.


In regard to Japanese tradition, formalities could have been circumvented. A go-between could be enacted by the husband, if he did not singularly go to see his parent family. Wives were expected to stay in the husband's home generally and not see their natal parents again. This aligns with the crane wife narrative.

After the 'crane' left, he could remarry. It was a valid response to losing a partner. Europe, Asia, etc, used to be much harsher before present advances. Death was far more likely and keeping up with that was crucial socially. Banding together to accomplish survival was a main focus, beyond more trivial (currency, law, etc) factors that came with contributing.


As with other syntax, the story may be deliberately obfuscated or otherwise mistranslated with time passing and language evolving. A farming peasant further would not be that adept at sharing his story, if making that decision, but he might have further obscured elements for varied reasoning.


Lower class Japanese persons were often archaically illiterate. The nobility were more capable of writing. As elsewhere, there was a wealth divide. Japanese serfs were affected by hierarchy, and killing a crane or other bird to eat it might have been a notion viewed as objectively bad.

The higher classes hunted cranes and other wildlife. There might have been restrictions. If he had made his decision to intervene apparent, he would have been subject to punishment. In Japanese law during the 15th century, that would have ranged from private or public caning to exile or execution. Anything would have been better avoided, his health and livelihood realistically important.


There is a conversation present narratively where the peasant argues against what the individual is doing (self-harm), but this is not adhered to by the apparent crane, who argues back. Without means to find a solution, as money is important, which was understood, she leaves, being unable to aid him.


Constancy appears to go beyond repayment. The 'crane' appeared to be actively trying to help the peasant.

Self-sacrifice is not a good solution, which was only recognised by the peasant. The 'crane' did not seem to value herself as much as she did the situation.


The "five cardinal virtues" of Confucianism include benevolence (jin), justice (gi), propriety (rei), wisdom (chi), and fidelity (shin). These virtues have provided the basis for the Japanese view on life since the Heian era. They were adhered to by the entire population to varied degrees: depending on education and social position. The "five relations" is an axiom that regulates the relationship between a lord and vassal, father and son, older brother and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend to friend. In philosophical theory, the subordinate party owes loyalty and obedience to the superior party, with no reciprocal obligations necessary. In practice however, the superior is expected to show benevolence and even render practical assistance. A woman was always considered subordinate: first to her father, then to her husband, and lastly to her son. [brewminate.com]


The 'crane' had to remove clothing to weave, as feathers were difficult to remove otherwise. Feathers return to the individual structure when taller, if maintaining a consistent appearance for a longer duration; removing what came back would be possible over a long duration.

Although it would take time to thread feathers into spools, one pound (0.45 kg) is not much in regard to the weight of an individual. Multiple kimono might have resulted from the 'crane' gradually removing her feathers and weaving them into other articles.

That does not reduce the chance of loss gradually building up and incoherence along with weakness resulting. Despite the 'crane' literally ripping from her consciousness, she kept going.

Threads can be relevant as opposed to the complete articles typically present. This might have been an assumption that turned out to be right by the 'crane'.

The same methods for weaving could realistically happen for linen and other fabric, although a detrimental process.


Content Warning

Being (mostly or entirely) objectively nude due to needing to extract feathers, that might have been why she told the farmer to stay away from the room. Weaving would have been constant, and taking short breaks would have been frequent.

Historically, Japanese persons had different views on garments than in Western countries. Modesty was integral, for women more than men. A lack of garments yet was not always seen badly. This was affected by class often, aside from situational necessity. Higher class persons, to defend themselves, at times required persons watching them from another room in order to not be murdered.

Due to gender roles and for cleanliness purposes, the 'crane' might have infrequently utilised a han-juban (半襦袢) and susoyoke (裾除け), if not a tenugui (手拭い) before leaving the weaving room.

The peasant farmer had looked at the 'crane' while she was weaving (out of curiosity), which she told him not to do. As modesty was more highly regarded in higher classes, she might have originally been from one or more persons who were killed in feuds or for other reasons. Nobles in Japan had a higher risk of being killed by others vying for power. This would correlate to the silk and colours woven.


Until the 'crane' expended herself that nearly dying occurred, there was realistically a huge amount of effort and focus put into weaving. Remaining coherent would not be not entirely plausible due to that expense. Many feathers were used in order to make quality cloth to sew into kimono. Multiple kimono were mentioned, which would require time to weave as well.

As there does not seem to be a time frame mentioned between the peasant's discovery and the 'crane' leaving either, an attempt to recover may have occurred that coincided with arguments before departure.


As no complete text remains of the original story, interpretation can vary. There are many variations of the story itself and not all are specifically cranes. Trying to utilise something that was (potentially later) talking to him and/or that was not evidently normal would be a bad idea. Fear would likely be relevant, but he did what he could to manage.


Gods and spirits were common in archaic belief, in Japan and elsewhere. They could be beneficial or harmful. Rationalising something despite fear would happen eventually.

The peasant not being killed immediately and as time passed would mean perceived lack of ill intent.


Silk is a potential fabric generated by caladrius, if individuals originated from locations that featured it. 'Tennyo' were believed to wear multi-coloured garments -- wealth correlated to heaven, and death by extent.

Although 'tennyo' were thought to wear heavily coloured robes in traditional depictions (wealth correlated to heaven), that might differ in actuality as opposed to depictions. Appearances can still be dubious.

Colours other than white might be possible if structurally familiar. The crane wife tale involved weaving silk, which can involve intricate patterns. Patterned silk sells highly, even in modern durations: it is not improbable that the 'crane' was expending herself to provide wealth to the peasant.

Since ancient time frames, Japan has had a colour palette system for clothing. Cloth colours that have been traditionally used since early durations include Shikon (紫紺) - (しこん), Benihi (べにひ), Wakanae-iro (若苗色) - (わかなえいろ), Matsubairo (松葉色) - (まつばいろ), and Mikan-iro (みかんいろ).

It would not be unrealistic that individuals within that topographical range echoed traditional garments.


As with other 'swan maiden' motifs, the garments were in some manner necessary. As nobility were frequently subject to murder in Japan out of feudal conflict, it is not unrealistic that multiple individuals resulted over the many centuries of Japanese history. This would account for the 'crane wife' folktale further.

Cranes are associated with the afterlife in Japanese mythology. There is a subtextual layer to this.


Cranes are not typically found in forests: marshes and meadows are instead a preferred habitat.


Crows were known in medieval Japan. Europe is nearby Japan topographically. It would not be unrealistic that a 'common raven' crossed the distance.

The translation for crow is 'karasu', but it can be difficult for uneducated persons to know the difference. Even in medieval Europe, people mixed crows and ravens despite the size difference. Ravens are considerably bigger.


In medieval times, crows were thought to live abnormally long lives. They were also thought to be monogamous throughout their long lives. They were thought to predict the future, anticipate rain and reveal ambushes. Crows were also thought to lead flocks of storks while they crossed the sea to Asia. [Wikipedia]


An amount of the above conjecture is accurate. Not everything however correlates to individual behaviour. Due to distance and typical lack of emotional connection, the monogamous element would be unrealistic as relationships are unrealistic.

Revealing ambushes and determining diagnostics correlates to capability. Protecting persons might be decided on by individuals: doing or saying something that would be disruptive to waiting forces is not unrealistic. A voice or bird shouting a warning would be taken as odd modernly, but in medieval time frames it would be 'valid'. Ravens were believed to be coherent.


It is an actual superstition in Europe that a raven, crow, or rook being near a house means something is wrong. A corvus remaining near a house meant death in a family. It would not be unrealistic to think one or more inhabitants were not that well.

Curiosity, inquiry, or concern would not be unrealistic. Individuals being in vicinity to persons can mean familiarity and concern when something is awry.


Most individuals realistically would not enter a building, even if abandoned, as the walls are restricting and impede the chance of evasion. It is not as open as places without structures. Humans find safety in defences, which is not quite the case for other individuals. Going near a structure may be unlikely for general danger.

Individuals would be unwilling to enter a building realistically, even if abandoned. Outdoor spaces are safer and less restrictive.


Ravens, caladrius, and hercinia are forest dwelling birds. These are the same phenomena, with different terms given by humans. 'Swan maiden' or 'bird maiden' are terms given to individuals when taller, by human perspective. It is a concept that extends back millennia. Human loss is constant. The memories left behind were not exactly gone.

Souls were archaically correlated to birds and could 'chirp' in Biblical belief. In post-biblical belief, souls were portrayed as birdlike.


Humans have coexisted with environmental factors for the entirety of specific existence. Interactions with other organisms remain consistent. During the Upper Paleolithic era, the Pavlovian culture that existed in the current Czech Republic area more than 30,000 years ago evidently killed and ate ravens. The scraps left by human hunters attracted the birds, which evidently remained around camps and were in turn utilised for food and feathers.

Interactions with other species would have influenced early cultures, causing difference in how the surrounding world was viewed by persons. [uni-tuebingen.de]


Further Context

Tennin (天人, lit. "Heaven(ly) Person"), which may include Tenshi (天使, lit. "Heaven(ly) Messenger"), Ten no-Tsukai (天の使い, lit. "Messenger(s) of Heaven"), Hiten (飛天, lit. "Flying Heaven") and the specifically female version, the Tennyo (天女, lit. "Heaven(ly) Woman/Women"), are a divine kind of spiritual beings found in Japanese Buddhism, the equivalent of angels. They were seemingly imported from Chinese Buddhism, which was itself influenced by the concepts of heavenly beings found in Indian Buddhism and Chinese Taoism.

They originated in Hinduism as "Apsara" (Sanskrit: अप्सरा, romanized: apsaras or apsarā); a member of a class of celestial beings in Hindu and Buddhist culture. [Wikipedia]

Hagoromo (羽衣, The Feather Mantle) is among the most-performed Japanese Noh plays. It is an example of the traditional swan maiden motif.

The earliest recorded version of the legend dates to the eighth century. The play however apparently combines two legends, one concerning the origins of the Suruga Dance (Suruga-mai) and another the descent of an angel onto Udo Beach. A parallel story may also be found in the 14th volume of the fifth-century Sou-shen chi. A poem by the 11th century poet Nōin is quoted. [Wikipedia]


Miho no Matsubara is the site where the legend reportedly occurred. It is a pine tree older than 650 years. The tennyo passed over the area, and perceiving the white sand, clear water, and greenery descended to the beach. She hung her feather robe on a branch and went to the waters nearby to bathe. This was stolen by the passing fisherman, and he refused to give it back unless she danced for him. She did, and the robe was returned. She left shortly after. [Wikipedia]


As of other 'bird maiden' encounters, the individual is drawn to a water source. This can be due to the plants and other materials present within the water. Foraging was a universal practice that remains present even with societal advancements.

Individuals do not have physiological bodies and do not need to wash. Chemical friction is lacking without a buffer and items can be easily retrieved from depths.

Archaic dances historically varied between regional populations. Standardisation did not exist as it does modernly.

It is not unlikely the 'tennyo' came from the same, or another nearby region within Japan. If originating from outside Japan, there would be no understanding of the fisherman. Japanese is a localised language.


The origin of 'apsara' is the Sanskrit अप्सरस्, apsaras (in the stem form, which is the dictionary form). Note that the stem form ends in 's' as distinct from, e.g. the nominative singular Ramas/Ramaḥ (the deity Ram in Hindi), whose stem form is Rama. The nominative singular form is अप्सरास् apsarās, or अप्सरा: apsarāḥ when standing alone, which becomes अप्सरा apsarā in Hindi, from which in turn the English "apsara" presumably is derived. The Monier-Williams Dictionary gives the etymology as अप् + √सृ, "going in the waters or between the waters of the clouds". [Wikipedia]


Many Indian apsaras were identified with names and were central in myths. However, since they were not attributed specific physical features or attributes, artistic depictions do not individualize them. [Wikipedia]


In the ancient Manipur culture of the Meitei people of northeastern India, apsaras are considered as celestial nymphs or hellois as the flying creatures resembling the human female body attracting the male wanderers or any knights who lost their ways in the woods. [Wikipedia]


In the Indonesian language throughout medieval times, apsaras are also known as 'bidadari', being conflated with the 'vidyadharis' (from Sanskrit word vidhyadhari: vidhya, 'knowledge'; dharya, 'having, bearer, or bringer') known as Bidadari in the modern Indonesian, the females of the vidyādharas, another class of celestial beings in Indian mythology. [Wikipedia]


"Tango no kuni Fudoki" (The records of Tango Province) is a record of Tango Province (now the northern part of Kyoto Prefecture). Because it's a lost book, the contents are only found as quotations in the "Shoyu Nihongi" (a commentary of the Nihonshoki) and some other books. Because Fudoki (the description of regional climate, culture, etc.) was compiled by imperial order in around 713, it seems that the original text came into existence during the middle of the eighth century at the latest.

Among a number of lost books of the Fudoki, Tango no Kuni Fudoki remains as relatively long articles. The legends of Urashima and Hagoromo (a robe of heavenly feathers), which belong to the oldest articles, are particularly unique, including Japanese poems written in Manyo-gana (an ancient Japanese writing system using Chinese characters). There is also the legend of Amano Hashidate (Bridge to Heaven).

Separate from legends of Hagoromo handed down in other places, the story is unique.

The article entitled 'Hiji no Manai, Nagu no yashiro' describes as follows:

In Manai Lake (eventually it became a swamp, they say) in the village, eight tennyo (heavenly maidens) were bathing, but an elderly couple by the name of Wanasa hid a robe of feathers and adopted one tennyo, who had lost her robe. Because of her, their home became rich.

However, when they became rich they drove her out, saying, 'You are not our child.'

The tennyo left, crying.

After that, the village of the elderly couple, who had driven her out, became a ruin. The tennyo was, they say, enshrined in Nagu-jinja shrine, Yasaka Town, Takeno County, as Toyoukehime no kami (a goddess of food). [japanesewiki.com]


'Wanasa' 【わな】【罠】 aside from the location 'Wanasa' 【わなさ】 【和名佐】 translates to:
1. trap (for catching animals); snare
2. trap; trick; ruse
3. Animal trapping | Animal trapping, or simply trapping, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, wildlife management, hunting, and pest control. [jisho.org]


Surnames were uncommon before 1875 CE unless people were of nobility: occupations, clan names, and locations were not uncommon sources for surnames.


Weaving would be an understood practice realistically, Japanese persons focusing on textile trade for thousands of years.


Contexts to Japanese Weaving

Japanese textiles included tree fibre, hemp, linen, and silk. Hemp was the most common textile, but to the Japanese, linen and hemp fibres looked very similar and were called by the same term: asa.

Only until the 15th to 16th century was cotton rare, trade from China and India the only viable method prior to Japanese persons growing cotton around the archipelago.


Reeling involves the unrolling of a cocoon and the combining of multiple silk filaments into a single silk strand. Reeling was once done by hand, but is now mostly accomplished using machines.


An izaribata or jibata is a traditional type of Japanese loom. The loom is used for tight weaves of natural fibres, such as hemp and nettle, or for weaving ragweave, as it can be beaten to a tight windbreak-proof weave. The person weaving actually becomes part of the loom, controlling the tautness of the warp. Sitting up is necessary for hours in order to make progress on a weave.

The warp of the loom is beaten with a reed and a baton-like shuttle, which partly controls the tightness of the resulting weave. [japanesetextileworkshops.blogspot.com]


A single silk strand is too thin to use singularly. Filaments from multiple cocoons need to be reeled together simultaneously to create one strand of silk yarn. Two to twenty cocoons reeled together is necessary to make one strand of yarn, depending on the desired thickness of the yarn. Over two thousand cocoons are necessary to make one pound of silk. [lalouettesilk.com]

Over two thousand cocoons are necessary for the silk to produce a kimono set. Kimono are priced from 10,000 yen for a basic set to millions of yen for a detailed set of articles with intricate embroidery or ornate yuzen, noshi, and other designs.


It would not be unrealistic to say that the 'tennyo' was ripping out her feathers as well.

Introspective concern would not be prioritised as much as external concerns. Individuals cannot feel anything and cannot gauge need for preservation: going too far and collapsing could have occurred otherwise.

With fact as it was, the couple may have kept her from dying actively through their presence around the home.

In a small town, rumours and scrutiny would not be unlikely. Being driven out eventually, being 'odd', would be further realistic, but harsh.

By that time, fidelity had realistically occurred, meaning continued efforts to support them. The duration that she remained is not specified. Weeks or months may have passed.

Without a flow of money from trade, there is more probability that prosperity would diminish. That leaves more chance of ruin; money necessary to sustain buildings.


50,000 to 30,000 years is the duration the 'swan maiden' folklore has lasted. Upper paleolithic paintings (50,000 to 12,000 BP) depict humanoid individuals that are avian; etc; which notably includes the Maros-Pangkep site. Aside from this, the earliest depicted record of 'winged individuals' is from old Sanskrit (1900–1200 BCE).


Herbalism has been recorded in human writings since the Indus Valley civilisation: a population that existed between 3300 and 1300 BCE. Many writings recovered from that time detail specific uses of herbs, aside from other topics.

Later works from the Indus Valley civilisation mention 'apsara', and similar individuals. These were 'winged spirits that flew between the clouds'. Birds are often flying to altitudes that humans cannot typically reach.

'Apsara' are not given specific descriptions in writings and thus are not often individualised in art. As the exact descriptions are not given, there is ambiguity. This is unanimous with many older cultural descriptions in that meaning wore away with time. It interpretively may be said that apsara may not be visually human, even with attributed aesthetics and intelligence.


Herbalism has been part of human civilisation since prehistory. Food and medicinal herbs were foraged and cultivated by many cultures in order to promote health and welfare.

The Indus Valley civilisation focused on herbalism in its writings. Due to that collective knowledge, what was lost at that time condensed into individuals that understood relevant fields. Haridruva are referenced in writings from that time: they were birds that could heal jaundice. Herbs can remedy skin and liver damage.

The Ayurvedic writings from 800 BCE to 1500 CE included the Bṛhat-Trayī and Laghu-Trayī collections: which described many medicinal topics that non-exclusively involved herbalism, skin grafting, reconstructive surgery, toxicology, and pulse diagnostics.

Kaya chikitsa (general medicine), kshara karma (treatment for hemorrhoids and fistulas with alkali materials), agni karma (cauterisation), graha (treatment of idiopathic diseases), urdhwanga (management of ear, nose, throat, head related diseases), shalya (surgery), damshtra (toxicology and forensic medicine), and jara (immunology) are notable terms and branches addressed in related writings.

Surgery, dissection, human anatomy, body types, and other fields are also discussed.


Women were acknowledged as intelligent in ancient India. Education was applicable as it was for men. It was not unrealistic that women were present for medicinal and medical efforts related to royal physicians in ancient to archaic palaces.

Manusmriti was an ancient manuscript dated from 1250 BCE to 1000 BCE that denounced discrimination against women and promoted the right for women to inherit property. Societal constraints existed, yet there were personal rights.

Education was considered an essential part of a person's life in ancient India. Women were given equal importance in terms of education. The Rigveda, the oldest text in Hinduism, mentions female education. The text states that women should be educated and should participate in religious ceremonies. Women were encouraged to study the Vedas, the holy texts of Hinduism.

The most famous woman scholar in ancient India was Gargi, who lived in the 7th century BCE. She was a philosopher and a scholar of the Vedas. She participated in philosophical debates and challenged the views of the male scholars of her time. Gargi additionally participated in debates with Yajnavalka on philosophical issues.

There were other women scholars in ancient India who made significant contributions to education and scholarship. Lopamudra, who lived in the Rigveda period (1950 BC to 1100 BC), was a Vedic poet and philosopher. She composed hymns that are still recited in Hindu ceremonies. Another example is Maitreyi, who lived in the 6th century BCE. She was a scholar of the Vedas and participated in philosophical debates.

Apart from these eminent scholars, there were also others who received education in various fields. Women were trained in music, dance, and other performing arts. Medical fields were applicable. There were female physicians who treated women's health issues. Women were also trained in warfare: there were female warriors. [inspirajournals.com]


The concept of haridruva was transferred over into Greek writing, albeit the phenomena behind it was noted around cliffs and other locations. This was not something ideal, as humans can find it advantageous to seize anything not protected.

Ravens are often travelling, hence correlations to 'psychopomps'. Individuals directly reflect on that aspect.

Corvus corax were believed to be psychopomps in many cultures, as a connection between the material and spiritual worlds.


Historically, clothing could be a variety of colours. Reports of caladrius focused on 'white plumage', where it was 'yellow plumage' in Indus Valley writings: caladrius were called 'haridruva' in India. Yellow was a traditionally significant colour in related cultures.


Yellow remains important within many cultures of India. It signifies knowledge, happiness, peace, stability, meditation, competence, and mental development, if not other positive traits. Conversely, white is a shade of mourning in that range. It is used alike to dark cloth in European ranges for funerals.


The dyes used for silk fabric in India traditionally involved turmeric, madder, cochineal, safflower, sappan, lac, red ochre, yellow ochre, catechu, kamela, indigo, and other materials as components. [unnatisilks.com]


Yellow ochre was first used in prehistoric cave paintings on a global scale. The paintings of Maros-Pangkep in Indonesia from over 45,500 years ago, Lascaux in France from over 17,000 years, and Altamira Cave in Spain from between 22,000 and 13,000 years, are significant examples of caves that involved the use of yellow ochre. [essentialvermeer.com]


'Apsara' are an element further written about in Indus Valley writings: these were 'winged individuals' that 'flew between the clouds'.

A 'knowledge bringing' and 'augural' aspect is attributed to these figures, which is something attributed to common ravens in other cultures.

The concept of 'apsara' is present throughout India, Indonesia, and other regions that focus on Hinduism and Buddhism. The interpretations vary modernly per region.


A common raven typically can reach heights of 6300 metres above the ground and can cover over 160 kilometres of distance in a single day. Without physical limits to become tired, the upper levels of the troposphere to the start of the stratosphere may be reached by individuals.

The stars, seasons, animal behaviour, and cloud formations often were methods archaically to determine weather. Certain landscapes had seasonal rains and it would be unlikely awareness would be completely absent. Being capable of flying near the clouds may not reduce potential.


An individual being luminant on the ground or in flight can be interpreted as similar to a celestial object, hence 'star maiden', a term prevalent in Indigenous American cultural folklore. Dim feathers would realistically appear radiant white due to emitted luminance. When the light wound down, there would be nondescription again.


There are also stories of 'sky maiden' that occur in Africa, which contextually involve women descending from the skies. A person saw her trying to help during a food shortage (the cows were dry for some reason, either due to lack of water or other complications) and "set a trap", which caught her. As with other 'bird maiden' stories, she was forced into a relationship. The individual being "from a sky tribe" could have been a lie, in the complexity of the situation.


The relative water content of plants ranges from "98% in fully turgid transpiring leaves to about 30-40% in severely desiccated and dying leaves". [plantstress.com]


An individual carrying leaves and grass from a location with water to a dry area would be cogent. Repeated flight from one location to another would be expedient. The 'sky maiden' "came down from the sky", which could not have been a singular occurrence.

A snare would not be unlikely. As cows are generally bigger than a person, it would not bother cattle to be near an evident stake in the ground. It would be avoided due to evident placement. Cows are more intelligent than credited for: being aware, having long memory, and capable of solving problems.

An individual being suddenly caught in it due to lack of awareness would be harmful and restrictive. Snares were meant to cause injury regardless of whether they were made of plant fibre or sinew. It would not be unrealistic that harm occurred due to a sudden jolt and fall. As of other stories, there is a power imbalance that is eventually left behind.


As the most archaic versions of the 'bird maiden' story involve the cloth ('a feather garment') being stolen while the individual is bathing: that may correlate to individuals going through the water for some purpose. Without cloth, there is no chemical friction.

Aside from collecting materials, washing clothing may be decided on for general cleanliness, if not for later use by individuals. Blood and contaminating factors can be infectious on open wounds. It also can attract attention of external parties, animal or human.

Blood can stain linen quickly as linen is water-regulative and dries easily, hence decisions by individuals to wash clothing following attempts at dressing a passing traveller's wounds or an unlikely conflict.

Bloodstains can be alarming, which may not be entirely inevident to individuals through passing encounters.


17 | Salutary Elements

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Sphagnum moss can absorb up to twenty times its volume in liquid, restricts bacterial growth due to its acidity, and has antiseptic properties. Additionally, being commonly found throughout the UK, sphagnum moss was cheaper than the alternative of cotton wool dressings – which in World War One had been commandeered for the manufacture of munitions. The moss was often collected by women and children, and was sorted, dried, and packed into muslin bags. These wound dressings were used extensively in World War One, and on a smaller scale in World War Two, but had been used to treat wounds during battles for centuries. [historicengland.org.uk]

Moss soaked in water can be used to drink or clean wounds due to antibacterial properties, provided the water source is not contaminated with chemicals; although even then chemicals are removed. It is a natural filter in many regards.


Other herbs are known and were occasionally utilised. Gauze, torn by digits or blades occasionally found discarded, was further used for persons who might have been badly wounded and otherwise died from attacks by people or animals, or the often extreme weather on the roads or in the mountains. The fabric removed later dissipated and left no trace of interference.

Not many accounts would have been taken with seriousness, more with attributed delirium prior to a report. Less persons died by extent of individual intervention despite this.


An individual being out on the roads, which were historically dangerous, would yet be seen as odd. Even if mistaken for a travelling plague physician, which occurred often after 1619 CE, actual physicians typically had hats to display that they were formally educated and certified. A lack of one would be questionable.

The white clerical garments of 'Lumen' would have been further indicative. Unless completely evident visually, it would be uncertain to a casual observer whether they were a peasant woman or priest. To any not drunk or fevered, an individual would be evidently inhuman.


Individuals rarely enter human populaces due to hostility, which correlates to the behaviour of the species Corvus corax.

For the species Corvus corax (the common raven), a constant vicinity to other individuals causes stress due to genetic factors, depending on the season -- whether other ravens or different taxonomies are relevant.

Unless it is winter, where food and heat is scarce, common ravens do not form groups. This behaviour appears to exend to activity as a generality: common ravens typically do not go near populaces for the activity itself.


During the 16th and 17th centuries, there were multiple accounts of 'odd sounds and figures' around both remote and populated areas. Attempts by individuals to interact were evidently not uncommon. Due to the turmoil that the Reformation caused, there were many conflicting views on what ghosts could be defined as, and this brought accounts more into public view. Although occurrences were already documented, these were not as readily dismissed due to related controversy. Vengeful ghosts and poltergeists were predominant regardless of religious perspective. Related debate would have made the idea of hauntings more prevalent, which would mean persons encountered by individuals were of a more accepting mindset, the fear of the dead and unknown aside.


While human populaces are consolidations of activity, there is consciousness and activity everywhere and that also has relevance.

Human populations are limited in spacing and often very concentrated further, which can be problematic itself. People often cause more than anything, having a global distribution.


The current existence of numerous caladrius is unlike what the Reformation featured: helplessness. It involved multiple wars that claimed many people.

Many were 'born' from that occurrence, setting matters into balance to some extent.

'In the absence of life, life resulted' can relate to a cycle.

It is significant that odd incidents were reported around the time the Reformation was occurring. External interests were considered by individuals through encounters.


Even with awareness that cloth material can be replaced, attempts to maintain present garments may be a frequent effort. Motivation and other factors can compound with decisions.

Substitutions to available cloth may be frequent as a decision. As individuals are finite, expiring can occur if going too far in regard to self-expense, which can be a central reasoning.

Having a collection of moss or other herbs nearby can be more beneficial than not; it might be possible that individuals stayed in certain areas intermittently before moving on. Leaving behind a cache of that would not be conspicuous either, even if found.

Rather than looking for a means to staunch wounds and wasting time in that regard (seconds are important in preventing blood loss and death), it would be easier to have something on hand.


In earlier time frames, foraging was at times necessary. Gardens and crops were not always something that could be relied on. Individuals may have led others to resources, if not speaking of related matters from a relative distance.

During the 1600s, famine and disease were prevalent. Peasants and other persons often went out looking for food in the wild as that was a better substitute than crops. Supplies were limited and starvation was frequent.


Traditionally Foraged Species:

Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) | A significant source of fibre, vitamins, and minerals. | Mediterranean Basin, Croatia, Southern France

Wild Rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia) A significant source of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, anticancer. | France, Low Countries, Italy, Pannonian Basin, Western Balkans, Spain

Fool's Watercress (Apium nodiflorum) | Diuretic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant. | England, Wales, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Morocco

Cicely (Myrrhis odorata) | Tonic, bitter tonic, aromatic, carminative, adaptogen, expectorant, demulcent, antispasmodic, immune booster, antimicrobial, emmenagogue. | England, Scotland, mountains of central and southern Europe

Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) | A source of protein and carbohydrates, antiscorbutic (leaves), stomachic and anti-asthmatic (fruit), aromatic, appetite stimulant, diuretic, laxative (root infusion). | Britain, Scotland, Mediterranean, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) | Significant source of fibre, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, digestive, immune booster, hepatic. | Toxic if not chopped | Morocco, Iberia, Britain, Scandinavia, Pakistan, China

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) | Significant source of vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, digestive, hepatic, anticancer. | Common in areas with abundant rain | Western Asia, North Africa, Europe

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) | Digestive, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, sedative, antifungal, antibacterial. | Europe, Asia, North Africa, Alaska

Wintercress (Barbarea vulgaris) | Source of vitamins, digestive, diuretic, vulnerary, anti-inflammatory. | Widespread in Africa, Asia, Europe

Sea Beet (Beta vulgaris maritima) | Significant source of vitamins, minerals, and fibre, antioxidant, diuretic, anti-inflammatory. | Maritime locations of Europe, North Africa, Asia

Good-King-Henry (Blitum bonus-henricus) | Significant source of vitamins, minerals, and fibre, laxative, vulnerary, digestive, antihelminthic. | Central and southern Europe

Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) | Anti-inflammatory, vulnerary, cardiovascular. | Eastern Europe and Asia minor

Lady's Smock (Cardamine pratensis) | Digestive, diuretic, antirheumatic, antiscorbutic, antispasmodic, carminative, stimulant. | Europe and western Asia

Wood Avens (Geum urbanum) | Digestive, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, vulnerary. | Eurasia and North America

Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) | Significant source of vitamins, minerals, and fibre, digestive, anti-inflammatory, immune booster, diuretic, laxative, astringent, antifungal. | Europe, Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Central Asia

Red Sorrel (Rumex acetosella) | Source of vitamins, antioxidant, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, digestive, anticancer, cardiovascular. | Europe, Asia, British Isles

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) | Vulnerary, digestive, anti-inflammatory. | Toxic to the liver | Common along riverbanks and fens | Europe, Ireland, Britain, western Asia

Common Vetch (Vicia sativa) | Significant source of protein, antiseptic, laxative, vulnerary, anti-inflammatory. | Cultivated since the Neolithic period | Global, excluding the Arctic and Antarctic

Borage (Borago officinalis) | Respiratory, anti-inflammatory, sedative. | Potentially carcinogenic. | Mediterranean, Britain, France, Germany

Common Vervain (Verbena officinalis) | Antitumour, neurological, sedative, antispasmodic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory. | Europe, northern Africa, western Asia

Small Leaved Linden (Tilia cordata) | Decongestant, antipyretic, sedative, digestive, diuretic. | Europe, Central Siberia, Northern Iran

Sea Squill (Drimia maritima) | Poisonous, a vermicide. | Mediterranean, northern Europe, India, Middle East

Purple Mullein (Verbascum phoeniceum) | Source of vitamins, respiratory, digestive, anti-inflammatory, anodyne, antibacterial, antifungal. | Southern Europe, northern Africa, central Asia

Rosebay Willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium) | Antispasmodic, astringent, demulcent, emollient, sedative, laxative, tonic. | Temperate Northern Hemisphere

Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis genus) | Not recommended. | Only the Myosotis sylvatica species is relatively nontoxic | Europe

Sweet Violet (Viola odorata) | Anodyne, sedative, antipyretic, respiratory. | Widespread in Europe and Asia

Yellow Sorrel (Oxalis corniculata) | Anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti-ulcer, anti-diarrheal, vulnerary, hepatoprotective. | Introduced to Europe in 1500 CE | Asia, Europe

Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) | Respiratory, anodyne. | Temperate regions worldwide

Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris) | Anti-inflammatory, digestive, respiratory, vulnerary, antioxidant, antimicrobial. | Western Europe, North Africa, Asia

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) | Vulnerary, anti-inflammatory, sedative, neurological. | Northern Asia, Europe, North America

White Lupine (Lupinus albus) | Significant source of protein, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, diuretic, emmenagogue, antioxidant. | A historic food crop | Mediterranean

Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) | Antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, vulnerary, digestive, sedative, antipyretic, antioxidant, antitumour. | Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Turkey

Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus) | Digestive, antipyretic, respiratory, purgative, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant. | Western Mediterranean

Iberis Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) | Mildly poisonous | Southern Europe

Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) | Anti-inflammatory, diuretic, expectorant, antipyretic, digestive, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, purgative, emollient, laxative, demulcent, astringent, ophthalmic. | Introduced to Europe in the 10th century, seeds are viable for above 50 years | China, Mediterranean, Europe

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) | Bone support, respiratory, antidermatitis. | Domesticated in the 10th century | Asia Minor, Europe

Woodruff (Galium odoratum) | Anodyne, vulnerary, diuretic. | Long used in Europe | Toxic to rodents, not humans | Europe, China, Japan, North Africa

Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) | Antiscorbutic, diuretic, astringent. | Once believed to heal rabies | Mediterranean Basin, Macaronesia

Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) | Congestant, hepatic, digestive, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, vulnerary, antitussive, diaphoretic, diuretic, emenagogue, tonic. | Europe, Turkey, Georgia

Common Daisy (Bellis perennis) | A significant source of vitamin C, congestant, respirant, hepatic, digestive, anti-inflammatory, astringent, anodyne, vulnerary, detoxifier. | West, Central, North Europe

Cowslip (Primula veris) | Analgesic, antispasmodic, diuretic, expectorant, congestant, anodyne, anti-inflammatory, sedative. | Leaves and flowers are edible, soaked as tea or wine | Temperate Europe, Western Asia

Spignel (Meum athamanticum) | Mild aphrodisiac, appetite stimulant, digestive, detoxification, purification, anti-inflammatory, anodyne, hepatic, diuretic, cardiovascular, toner, revitaliser. | A viable spice and herbal salt | Central and Southern European Mountains, Central and Northern European Uplands


Useful Fungi (found from spring to winter):

Tinder Fungus (Fomes fomentarius) | It produces very large polypore fruit bodies shaped like a horse hoof: brown, silvery grey to almost black in colour. Infects trees through broken bark. A main ingredient of amadou, a source of slow-burning tinder, clothing, etc. The hard outer layer is removed, the mushroom cut into strips for burning. Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, antidiabetic, vulnerary, hepatic.


Birch Polypore (Fomitopsis betulina) | Antihelminthic, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotective, styptic, immuno-modulating, digestive, nutritive, vulnerary. It can be used as a strop for sharpening blades if cut in lengths. Small strips can be used as plasters to stop bleeding: it is also an antiseptic and painkiller.


Chaga Mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) | A living sterile conk that can durate up to twenty years on a single tree. When a tree dies and falls, it can grow more conks for up to six years. Digestive, anticancer, antituberculosis, cardiovascular and hepatic.


Cep | Porcini | Penny Buns (Boletus edulis) | A club shaped mushroom with a white stalk and brown cap, frills absent. It is found in broadleaf and coniferous forests. Very few poisonous mushrooms resemble this species, allowing for safety.


Caesar's Mushroom (Amanita caesarea) | An edible mushroom known since the times of Galen. Antioxidant, antimicrobial, nutritive, digestive, immune-boosting, neurological. It resembles multiple toxic species. Oak and pine are trees it exclusively derives nutrients from. It grows a thick yellow stem with a wide orange cap at maturity, and lacks white specks on its cap. It grows from a sack-like egg, which distinguishes it from other amanita. Digging under the mushroom can be necessary to see this.


Artist's Bracket (Ganoderma applanatum) | It grows on living and dead trees, with a scattered or compound distribution. It has use as a drawing medium for artists and writers. When fresh, if cut or rubbed, lines occur that remain once the bracket is dried. Edible when cooked. Can be used for amadou. Digestive, anodyne, congestant, antitumour, antioxidant, immune-boosting, nutritive, antibacterial.


Agarikon (Laricifomes officinalis) | It inhabits the wood of conifers. Grows large conks, at times twenty meters above the ground. It has textile and medicinal use: having potency against several viruses. Antituberculosis.


Giant Puffball (Calvatia gigantea) | It is found in temperate meadows. It can reach 80 cm or more in diameter and weigh several kilograms. From a distance, the fruiting bodies could be mistaken for sheep. It is difficult to find unless knowing where the species appeared in the past. It was historically sliced thin to use as styptic dressing to stem bleeding and as tinder, for carrying fire and for beekeeping. Recent fruiting bodies have calvaci in minute amounts, which can prevent tumours. Over seven trillion spores can result from one mushroom. The larger bodies sometimes break from the mycelium and roll in the wind.


Golden Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) | It is often found from summer to late fall. It is a distinguishable mushroom but shares similarity with the toxic species Omphalotus illudens (eastern jack-o'lantern) and Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (the false chanterelle). Deciduous and coniferous forests are a typical location for this species. It is used in many dishes but oven drying evidently makes it bitter. It can promote wound healing through strengthening cells and lowering inflammation. It possesses antimicrobial and anthelmintic properties. It may conflict with cancer and is noted to exhibit immunomodulatory and neuroprotective activity.


Saffron Milk Cap (Lactarius deliciosus) | It is typically found near pine trees, which it forms a symbiotic relationship with. It has a long history in many countries and is referred to by different terms. Sanguinin, rossella, and pennenciole are a few regional names in Italy. As with other milk caps, it may exude fluid latex when broken. This is reddish in colouration, hence its blood-related connotations. It is edible but evidently is bitter. It may possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activity.


Returning to a tree or group of trees may be viable to collect fruiting bodies as medicinal materials.

As memory is relative, barring injury and changes in known surroundings, there may be a degree of familiarity depending on circumstances.

It is not only trees that factor into recollection: human built structures can be relevant for navigational purposes. Using architecture to discern location can be more constant than forest ground, which is not maintained actively. Flying over houses and buildings may be frequent for individuals due to the frequency of populaces, which often exist between more isolated places such as mountains, forests and fields. Not many people would take note of birds crossing by due to the prevalence of relevant species.


If the concept of baking bread were introduced, it realistically might be surprising to an individual that the idea and related processes are not unknown. Embroidery, candle making, weaving, carving, singing, and instrumenting realistically has relevance further.

Keeping busy was a typical fact. Convent persons were also variously skilled, being driven by necessity and interests. Most of those crafts are niche in that supplies are required, although being resourceful shows through in other areas despite being isolative.

Sewing was a practice not allowed for women during the Renaissance era. Embroidery is instead something understood by 'Lumen'.

Girls were expected to be proficient at embroidery as they matured. This was a forced role that some were against, as it was related to social restrictions. Perspectives were made apparent by what they 'wrote' in practicing: speaking against related expectations through that means.

Aside from decorative purposes, embroidery can be used to repair clothing. The shapes and patterns that can be made historically had connotations. Specific flowers, animals, emblems, or even writing made from thread patterns hold varied meaning.

As embroidery can be used to repair leather, as it can be used for cloth, that might not be good to use for anything medicinal in regard to wound repair.


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However, this realistically would not be understood as a bad idea. Without understanding how to suture (priests and nuns were not allowed to perform surgery due to the blood spilled: sutures are also blood related), the nearest method could be adhered to.

The unconscious or nervous shock state, if not a considerable amount of adrenaline in response to stress, that someone could experience following injury can mean minimal or no pain occurring during an attempt to keep that person alive: following often historic conflict.

After an individual would close the wound with thread, an attempt to stop the blood flow and reduce the chance of infection (antibacterial, antifungal, astringent, vulnerary, and other herbs and bandaging relevant) would logically follow.


Bacteria was not a known concept from the 1500s to 1600s. Even with that, people had an understanding of what to do to avoid complications due to situational trial and error.

The use of contaminated bandages was understood as hazardous; clean textiles were better for dressing wounds.


Girolamo Fracastoro was a 16th century Italian physician who theorised the idea of bacteria through his speculative writing "De contagione et contagiosis morbis et eorum curatione". He stated that diseases could be spread by 'seeds of disease', which clung to clothing and other surfaces, infecting people.

It was a predecessor to modern bacteria study.


Fracastoro was a Verona local, and practiced in his hometown. He wrote the treatise in 1546 CE, which was printed and remained relevant for about three centuries after.

Due to literary circulation and the time that passed between 1546 CE to the later half of the 16th century, the work might not have been beyond the awareness of clerical persons.

The idea of promoting hygiene, aside from preventing deterioration of welfare, might be relevant to many individuals who resulted from related time frames. Even without individuals having personal recollection, there is a framework of understanding that stems from contemporary knowledge.


Despite linen fabric having a durable quality, it can be torn easily at a certain angle. The grain of the fabric becoming worn or cut can mean threads unravel in even patterns. Utilising individual threads from the edges of weathered articles is not unrealistic. Most European needles since the 1400s were made of copper or iron metal (as opposed to animal bones or wood), but if without one (blades are realistically more commonly lost than sewing products due to the fact most people carried knives for defense; it would be more realistic to see a figure with a common dagger than a needle -- an individual being sighted carrying one would be contextually awkward due to lack of harmful intent; daggers are too heavy to fly with), thorns from bramble, sloe, barberry, firethorn, or other bushes could be used similarly. Using thorns would echo practices during the medieval era, albeit an odd decision to an outside view.

Outside of firethorn, which is inflammatory, using thorns would echo practices during the medieval era, albeit an odd decision to an outside view.

It might be viewed as odd that patterns typical of embroidery could result from related decisions: although simple lines can be made from embroidery that can overlap a tear in flesh, as of typical efforts to close wounds. Despite uncertainty, the sensation of 'pain' from the wound itself would draw focus, and it would not be too difficult to follow the tear itself.

The threads, like the fabric in its entirety, would eventually disappear after a few to several weeks. Most wounds heal eventually: it would be similar to the direct removal of threads.


There is rationality in that 'apsara' and 'common ravens' were viewed as intelligent and 'knowledge bringers' or 'augaries' otherwise: they were intelligent and skilled in various crafts. That would be useful to travellers or other persons who were lost in forests.

Individuals being 'common ravens' in appearance typically makes more sense for multiple reasons. The white eyes and lack of feathers along the upper rostrum however remain uniform to depictions.


Herbs and spices were often included in dishes; bread included. Spiced bread was not uncommon; there are various recipes from the 17th century that include adding caraway, coriander, anise etc; to bread. Fruit or herbs were also occasionally added.


Herbs were not infrequent as historic foraged material. That however may be objectionable if someone were kept alive for a few days. Vegetation and other materials lower to the ground were historically viewed as 'peasant food'. Even if someone encountered were to be of higher status, though unlikely, it may be unrealistic that a caladrius would recognise the 'higher and lower' 'values' of food. The confusion that might result from such values historically would have been seen as odd.

Being considered with hostility would mean departure, if not an attempt at self-defence.


Aside from forests being frequent, other locations could mean assumption that something is off. A monk or priest would typically not be that out in the open, unless minutely travelling without a horse. A caladrius being mistaken for a peasant woman from a distance however might have happened occasionally. Being ignored might have happened by extent.


Beyond obscuring the individual's appearance and making them seem like a human, the cloth worn can be used to staunch wounds.


Linen is highly absorbent. It can soak up to 20% of its weight in liquid (including blood) before becoming damp. Both blood from wounds and from eliminated factors could be picked up. If the blood is not quite 'normal', it would vanish back into the atmosphere along with the cloth eventually. If it is, only dried blood would be left behind eventually, the water having separated from the rest of the chemicals.

Dried blood can be dangerous to make contact with. Whether human or not, viruses and diseases can last for a few days within relevant material. This would not be recognised archaically, although keeping material clean would be a focus, as hygiene was a norm archaically when possible.

Cold water can be used to wash fresh stains (blood or otherwise) out of linen. This is potentially not irrelevant (considering that water pools are at times frequented). It would not be unlikely for soapwort or other saponin-containing plants to be used in a stream, lake, or other water source to wash clothing.

Boiling is not necessary: soaking soapwort roots in water for several hours creates a foamy mixture that can be used as a light antiseptic and antibacterial.


The washing of clothing using soapwort, soapberries (soapberries are however not European), or other saponin-containing plants is not uncommon: it would be recognised for one or more reasons that grime or blood would be detrimental. Despite that generated clothing, once dissipating, leaves behind dried blood and other material if coated in related chemicals, there is too high of a chance before then of complication.

Aside from hygiene being promoted to a relative extent in archaic durations (washing the hands and face using a personal basin daily and before and after eating was typical; bathing with a jug of herb-scented hot water for pouring was a frequent practice; monasteries, convents, and churches were places where travellers could rest, wash, and recover. Smelling bad was not quite a problem as aromatic herbs such as thyme, mint, sage, bay, hyssop, lavender, clove, chamomile, marjoram, rosemary, roses, and wild rocket combated body odour) -- an individual being seen with dried blood on their clothing would be alarming to passerby or cause other detriment.

Mud and other chemicals can also stain clothing, which would be reason itself for concern.


Carving a bowl from wood could be occasionally relevant. Carving (using a blade or sharp stone) would be a good means to occupy time, and the bowls could be easily discarded or hidden for later use. Items might not be there when returning, but it would not be difficult to make more.


To pass the time, and make a temporary indicator for where they have been, it is probable that trees as well as stone have been cut into with blades or other utilities. Scenery seen from above, as well as faces of persons encountered would not be unrealistic illustrations.

Images drawn could include persons who frequented a given path more than once. Aside from activity picked up by trail cameras, scattered drawings can be a sign of observance.

It is likely that internal anatomy of human and nonhuman organisms could be depicted by memory. Herbs and insects are more likely of a focus however, interest and isolation relevant.


Multiple factors (transience/ambiguity/isolative behaviour) account for difficulty in establishing interaction. Trail cameras and infrequent encounters can make it evident that individuals are still present, but it can be unclear how many.


Trail cameras and similar technology are a recent development (since 1878 in North America – the digital version followed in the 1980s, worldwide); that would not be recognised by most realistically.

If noting a planted machine, that would be met with confusion. The purpose to it would be unclear, but (if not left alone) something might be moved or tampered with out of uncertainty.


Ravens can emulate other birds and sound-origins, but that is typically by overhearing it. Individuals could realistically trill, chirp, or make birdsong – but may not know what that sounds like. There could be limitations by extent, ideally or not.

Unconscious decisions are possible regarding sound. Speaking or making noises without realising could occur.

Individuals are deaf, lacking auditory organs. Vision is relied upon. As sound does not carry very far due to muted speech, communication can be difficult.


'Lumen' relies on visuals to discern situational context, aside from what someone is saying. Due to lacking internal organs and a biological structure, they are deaf. Reading words is possible, but not often viable. They can speak, but in regard to their own awareness, sign language can be easier. A branch of monastic sign language is understood, that of the Augustinian order. The language is an extinct one and sign language varied between establishments. As the Monasteriales Indicia was written in the 11th century, and was well preserved as a text, it is not unlikely that 'Lumen' has a sense of its contents.


According to [https://norbertinesisters.org/solemn-silence/] --

Silence, which is necessary for tranquility and recollection in the monastery, fosters lectio divina, prayer and spiritual activity, which are required by the contemplative character of our life (Constitutions 85). During this afternoon hour of silence, the Sisters may pray, rest, take walks, read or engage in some other activity in which they remain recollected in and with the Lord.

This may have been more strict during the 1500s. Schedules involving silence may have been more enforced as a practice.


Many of the signs that exist within the Monasteriales Indicia indirectly parallel the concepts behind them in visual meaning.

Any of the following signs could be indicative of awareness or inquiry.


The sign for a general drink is to place the index finger on the top of the mouth vertically.

The sign for an herbal drink involves a motion with the hands as if herbs are being crushed, then the index finger being placed on top of the mouth vertically.

The sign for water is to move the hands as if washing them.

The sign for soap is similar to the action of using soap.

The sign for socks is to put the index finger on the foot and run it along both sides of the foot as if putting on socks in concept.

The sign for shoes is similar, but without any motion that would indicate socks being added.

The sign for scissors is to hold a piece of cloth and feign cutting it with the index and middle finger, or to do the same near the skull as if hair would be cut.

The sign for a needle is to fold the hem of the left sleeve over the left index finger, and feign sewing with three other fingers on the right hand.

The sign for a writing utensil is to put three fingers together as if holding a quill, and dip those down as if using an ink well, followed by feigned writing.

The sign for an ink well is similar, but followed by the hand being turned over and partly closed, as if holding an ink well.

The sign for a nun is to put two index fingers near the front of the head and lower them, feigning a veil.

The sign for a priest is to make a circle with the index finger in the air, and then put the thumb, index, and middle fingers together as if making a blessing.

The sign for a secular or unknown man is to take the chin in hand.

The sign for a secular or unknown woman is to move the end of a finger across the top of the head, feigning a headband.


Some of these signs could be inapplicable as 'Lumen' lacks facial features that correspond to those of a human. That does not mean they may not try. The above older methods may result, following various unconscious attempts at understood language and/or putting both hands out ahead of themselves to show they were not armed.

That itself might be bad. Any encounter that would cause hurried attempts would mean they would be stressed or afraid. They may appear 'eerie' to external perspectives concerning their digits: which could be sharp.

Capability to defend the self is based in mentality. Being threatened, or perceiving external aggression, would be frightening. Avoiding other persons who could cause injury is important, but not always possible.

There is generally no hostility on the part of individuals. Other persons however may not perceive that.

It is rational for individuals to have taken a background direction with the conflict that can result from encounters, rather than choose to interact with others.


Another work written by the Florentine Dominican Cosimo Rosselli in 1579 CE, the 'Thesaurus Artificiosae Memoriae', featured an alphabet of signs which were meant to aid preachers, philosophers, and physicians in memory and in communicating with ill persons.

Beyond this, the work 'Refugium Infirmorum', written in 1593 CE by the Spanish Franciscan friar Fray Melchor de Yebra, is significant as the signs depicted within it were used by monks to talk between each other while caring for sick or dying persons.

Either of these works may not be unfamiliar due to circulation between convents and monasteries.

An image-based depiction of the signs is shown below. Image credit to [medieval-baltic.us] and [medieval-baltic.us/Fingerspelling.pdf].


A Diagram of Archaic Sign Languages

Two Categories of Archaic Sign Language


It may be more "ideal" for distinct hues to be relevant when individuals are not reclusive, regarding interaction. This however can be detrimental. Risk of harm or other consequence is present.

This would be understood through interaction and passive observation. A person seeing a 'figure in a forest' is unlikely, as opposed to 'common ravens'.

Certain environments can cause visual camouflage depending on the context. Most species ecologically do not want to be evident, which may coincide with caladrius similarly being less obvious. Individuals remaining to certain terrains may be decided upon.

White cloth may be ostentatious, excluding snowy environments. Green is more covert in forests; etc. Subdued hues are beneficial. Red, blue, and other palettes stand out, which is realistically why caladrius are typically not seen except for those with 'white feathers'. Archaic reports often focused on 'white plumage'.

White historically is a 'ghostly colour', which can contribute to 'haunted forests'. White cloth was often used for burial shrouds. Burial shrouds were typical in many cultures due to the cost of clothing and to prevent waste of usable material.

Whether in forests and/or by lakes across Europe and other continents (death is universal; the bird maiden is a global phenomenon evidently: stories of 'tennyo', 'apsara', 'swan maiden', etc exist across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas), there were often encounters in history and prehistory, leading to relevant stories.


Linen textiles appear to be some of the oldest in the world; their history goes back many thousands of years. Dyed flax fibres found in a cave in Southeastern Europe (present-day Georgia) suggest the use of woven linen fabrics from wild flax may date back over 30,000 years. [Wikipedia]


Bleaching can be dated back to at least 1000 BC from an Egyptian list found in the tomb of Rekh-mi-re at Thebes, which mentioned both bleached and unbleached linen. Mulrooney dates it back as far as 5000 BC, while Walton claims it was introduced to Egypt from Asia. It's plausible that it was discovered independently by different cultures. It's generally assumed to have developed after noticing that garments are naturally bleached by sunlight and washing. [Wikipedia]


Habit Contexts

Premonstratensian Nun Habit Premonstratensian Priest Habit

Premonstratensian Nun Habit | Premonstratensian Priest Habit

Art by Simply-Sammm on Tumblr


Both vestments almost exactly like 'Lumen's' attire.

Related garments occur from their feathers, which are connected to their structure until detaching.

Immaterial > material.

No skin or defining aspects are present: memory is universal.

Linen was a highly used cloth historically, in many locations.

White was one shade related to mourning; aside from related to people of learning often. Linen is tawny unless bleached. White linen was expensive depending on the location.


Catholicism was not a choice, Protestantism was. The difference in thought was an upheaval that did not happen without recognition.

The pope and a successor indirectly killed many persons in order to instill fear. It did not work.

Opposition is a natural response.

As opposed to ancient or other time frames that involved constant but gradual death, the Reformation was a massacre.

Ravens were "believed to be the souls of the dead". Coherency was realistically unsettling to people spoken to. It "would not make sense" for individuals to know things that people who passed did.


White cloth has been a typical sort throughout history; not singularly for Premonstratensian (Norbertine) priests and nuns. Linen existed from Nordic ranges to Indian ranges, to Egyptian ranges, to Greek and Roman ranges, if not beyond that. At times it was even bleached white, notably often in Mediterranean and related areas.

White linen was a staple in archaic time frames, depending on the locality. Religious persons often frequented it, as did relatively wealthy individuals.

Influence meant being learned, typically. That did not inherently mean being born into influential backgrounds; people joined the church to learn and for other advantages. This did not stop even with things like the Reformation.


The populations of ancient Greece and Rome often had chitons of white linen.

That the caladrius myth started in ancient Greece or Rome is significant.

The correlation between avians and the dead further reflects in Nordic belief. Many correlations could be made.


18 | Covert Elements

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As opposed to other ranges, Nordic myth kept a degree of agency concerning Huginn and Muninn; who came and went freely. If respect lacked, each could have left at any duration and not returned.

The suffix 'inn' designates a female gender. Females in Nordic ranges were and were not considered very well, but simultaneously 'possessed considerable knowledge and magic'. Being tasked with passing down fact, that accruement (gain and loss of life occurring variously) of cognition may have resulted in relevant individuals over archaic history.


Huginn and Muninn equated to "Thought and Memory". Both represented the different sides to the human or other consciousness.

This subjectively is too close in terms of correlation.

Each acted more intelligently than a normal raven does, as did the caladrius and hercinia subtextually.

Texts ascribed a human-like degree of empathy and intelligence to each category.


That Muninn and Huginn 'circled the world' to relay information correlates to travelling by individuals; who meander without understanding significance.

Odin was helped by two ravens, but the same individuals might not have been constant.

An exact description of each individual was not provided. Numbers and the duration of travel further potentially were not specified in myth.


In myths and in actual narratives; 'taking control of natural factors' was a focus by various persons archaically, the unicorn and other individuals within records and heraldry attesting to this. It is subjectively good that 'Lumen' managed to find a means at not remaining remote; isolation otherwise might have meant their death in some regard.


Content Warning

Europe was historically indiscriminate about class, basis, or ethnicity when it came to trafficking. Anyone could be taken off the road to be sold. Status, and the immorality to related precedents, did not account against the money that could be earned for people organising that illicit trade.

The Venetian Republic featured a dichotomy of discrimination and tolerance. Although people were given respect, there were flaws with how the societal system worked. Not everyone had the same perceived rights.

The cities were where people were taken to be sold into hard labour or domestic servitude. This was a factor which was affected by gender roles. Traffickers took advantage of the criminal system. In that system, people who committed crimes according to the law were often put to work without pay, and later released when a certain time had passed. Those who were meant to pay for crimes with effort were at times removed from any outside help. The system was inherently faulty and greatly lacked protection: many were lost.

Markets existed in various city districts that had local and foreign activity: Rialto, Gallipoli, Augusta, and Valletta were notable locations as those cities existed along the coast of Italy. Both Eastern and Western persons visited or were transported to places around Italy and other locations using the coast as a means for crossing.

It was a practice that may have been derived from Greek and Roman durations as similar law existed in those chronologies. Various Popes over time tried to shut down that practice, but this was futile until later durations.

'Lumen' did not go to those places, and neither did Vieri.


"Living in a king's house" implies coercion, if not manipulation and exploitation. How an individual resulted there, from somewhere often uncertain, is subtextually immoral. The texts do not state where caladrius came from generally, aside from mention of coastal cliffs and other external locations being where they were found.

It realistically would not be viewed as 'ideal' to harm an 'asset', although that still meant incarceration by people who had little sense of welfare on the part of individuals.

Caladrius were abducted and forced to oversee ill persons. As 'white plumage' equated to white cloth by extent of obfuscated or mistranslated reports, that has importance. Reports of caladrius extend back to the ancient Greek and Roman empires as a myth.


Caladrius were 'healing birds' and were for some reason trusted by nobility.

Manipulation, incarceration, and capability correlates to being 'compliant'. Fear can be a relevant factor.


It was not infrequent that royalty and nobility burned letters to keep their individual standings. Such writings may have included events that were not within perceived normalcy, if in the context of the time those were written.

Although beliefs changed as time passed, what was objectively unusual was still viewed as plausible during earlier eras.

Medieval texts might have used purposefully cryptic language or otherwise been misconstrued. When relevant, individuals were abducted and held against their will.

Caladrius were exploited for given capabilities in medieval reports and records. Being able to discern ailments and attempt against them is something useful, more in earlier ages where there were no means to read body processes.

Multiple individuals were presumptively treated with 'regard' (essentially imprisoned until needed), and on occasion forced to visit ailing persons when applicable. Mental deterioration can often happen when restricted to a space for long durations. Being 'acquiescent' can equate to being 'broken'.


That caladrius were thought to fly toward the sun to 'burn away accrued illness' has further significance. That may have been jargon, distorted with translations and as the years passed, about individuals escaping those situations. There is no mention of caladrius surviving beyond this in written reports. It can be assumed that the information was lost, or that people did not care enough to save the fact itself.

Obfuscating or mistranslating text could be at times relevant. Text further becomes more skewed with time passing. Meaning is lost. Royalty and nobles burned letters to preserve their standings historically, if more recent than Ancient Greek time frames.

Due to individual mentality being severely affected, the state of an individual may vary.

Eventually, manipulation and the surroundings can eliminate the idea of something better. Becoming weak enough might occur that an individual disappeared.


Depression is a mental state that can kill. Blocking everything out would eventually mean cessation. It is equivalent to a self-induced comatose state. In humans, it is the equivalent to: "if you stop moving, you eventually die". Aside from escape, there would be "only one way out".


Rather than towers being historically used for incarceration, spare rooms were used instead for that purpose. If captors returned to the room an individual was constrained to and the space was empty without any sign of disturbance, it might have been assumed the individual had died. Due to the constancy of relevant fact, as reports would not be unlikely in archaic durations, it might have been expected as a risk.


Those that were seized often essentially ended up in castles and similar structures. Being confined to a limited space would not in realism be indefinite, where overseeing ill persons is concerned.

A ghostly element can be attributed to individuals. Correlations present regarding 'hauntings' could mean that 'further haunting' resulted through individuals not having entirely left prior terrain. Sightings of 'spectres' that might have followed in subsequent years could correspond, whether remaining constant or not.


It is likely that 'Lumen' tried not to consider relevancies too far, although talk and references in literary writings meant that there were evidently more individuals than themselves. They researched themselves to an extent but could not uncover anything by far. Hidden history applies in this case as well.

This has historical depth but is not relevant directly. Along with other relatively beneficial factors, the Renaissance featured humanism and social progression.


19 | Nutrition and Culture

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'Lumen' accounts for stock and necessities when important for Angitia, which includes calculated costs and needed supplies. This is voluntary and periodically done to be useful and to avoid idleness. Beyond that, they help in other regards: mostly cleaning and cooking, the latter both as an interest and a means to pass time.

They usually only cook when necessary, although a concept that varies. In having originated from a time with more limitations, they often do not overlook the importance of relativity.

When relevant, 'Lumen' tends toward panada, sciusceddu, and stracciatella, although they will not go out of their way to make soup due to the difficulty in transporting it.

Bread and baked items have relevance, along with soups and stews. This can include squid and fish, if not beef, pork, and other meat.

'Lumen' knows how to debone a cut of meat or fish. They are not adverse to relevant processes. Neither are exactly alive outside of parasites. When roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms, or flukes exist within a section of protein, they are typically aware of it. Trichinellosis, schistosomiasis, and fascioliasis is a concern.

Stracciatella, sciusceddu, stifado, tigelle, cacciucco, yemista, salviata, ossobuco, polenta, casatiello, bollito misto, ribollita, rigatoni, sorrentina, ciambella, biscotti, florentines, cinnamon rolls, almond cakes, bundt cakes, scones, and plum or other tarts are recipes they have figuratively tackled over the few years spent modernly.

Granita and sorbet has had relevance during the summer, usually in orange and lemon peels left from other attempts. They sometimes distribute these to persons who appear at their door for errands or other purposes.

With incapability to eat or have a sense of quality, following guidelines is a central focus. A trial and error factor is typically present whenever attempting something new.


Panada or panado is a sort of bread soup found in some Western European and Southern European cuisines and consisting of stale bread boiled to a pulp in water or other liquids.

In northeastern Italy, it serves as an inexpensive meal in the poor areas of the countryside. It may be enriched with eggs, beef broth, and grated cheese. It was frequently prepared as a meal for elderly or ill people. [Wikipedia]


It is not unrealistic that during the work-study that Vieri took time to make his own meals; which led to inquiry about how to make a few things. From there they started to attempt else, while infrequent due to a lack of opportunity.

Melior has been asked about physiological contexts, eating included. This led to confusion and quandary.


Folk dance has been integral to Italian culture for centuries. Traditional dance styles have existed in Italy from the time of Dante (1265 CE to 1321 CE) to the Renaissance (1400s to 1600s), the advent of the tarantella (the 15th century to the 17th century) in Southern Italy, and to modernity.

Many dances have existed historically that are either lost or remain in then-contemporary manuals. 'Lumen' evidently knows the saltarello, pavana, passo e mezzo, contra passo, tordiglione, galliard, and bassa toscana well enough for an attempt. It is very infrequent that they focus on that. This is typically when alone and idle, whether as a 'bird maiden' or a 'common raven'.

Usually, motion is not purposeful. Walking in patterns without thinking can relate to dance. Distraction, boredom, or stress can cause this.


Content Warning

Ballet and battle used to be intertwined. Dodging and cutting were base concepts. It was diverted around the 1500s into a dance form (and both coincided in terms of fencing patterns).

Ballet history was combative. Fencing was a precursor to dance (avoiding being stabbed or cut into relevant; steps and agility prevalent in both practices), and corresponded with it due to the stamina and physical strength it took to be adept at certain genres.

'Lumen' has no physical body and cannot become tired.

As of others, they can be considered lithe due to lack of chemical friction and unrestrictive clothing. This adds an air of capability regarding conflict.

Although 'Lumen' is not likely to understand fencing techniques, knowing where to cut regarding bodily elements can be very damaging, whether holding a blade or not.

It would be easy to 'dodge and weave' and slit someone's throat depending on motivation and the situation. That can be (unlikely) beneficial or (likely) detrimental. Connotations tend to vary per situation; although murder is unrealistic and unlikely as a choice.

Self-based fear could be relevant if recognising that, whether others are already uneasy or not. Awareness and understanding can be used variously, as of anything.


Festivities were not completely ignored earlier into their history. A few situations existed where 'Lumen' actually tried to dance, from a distance and out of sight. Being active in something indirectly was viewed as worthwhile.

They relatively forced themselves to bypass disclinations, as uncertainty existed even with drive. It was awkward but managed. This was not without benefit as a degree of excitement resulted.


20 | Further Social Elements

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Working and studying as a confrere lasted for more than several months before a letter turned up in Vieri's possession. A request to legitimate them as family had evidently been approved. This was met with initial uncertainty, but as it appeared, was not unfavourable.

At first they were an outsider, then middle class. They did not have a sense of classism, and while that changed; they were more focused on travelling with Vieri in order to consider matters.

He originated from a relatively wealthy family, merchant-related, and that was enough for legal approval for them to be essentially certified as his 'brother'.

Being middle class did not affect them by far, aside from being able to go relatively further than they might have otherwise.

Both somewhat discarded that life and took a more transient one. Although affluence had relevance, priority was more about the current issues at the time and (indirectly) getting 'Lumen' acclimated to matters.

Experience and study encompassed a number of years. The money earned in that time as a physician was used to attend Padua.


The nearly eight years spent there were mostly withdrawn as a duration, although sociality was not completely averted from. They had at least a few friends.

While potentially running into situations where conflict existed, maintaining formality would have been enough to bypass anything beyond callousness. It would have been legally prohibited to go against others, in that time frame as well.

Considerable effort went into study. While not avoiding others overall, feeling out of place: did not try to interact by far. Sitting around a corner somewhere with a title was a frequent occurrence, when at a nearby library.

They are realistically more of a background figure. 'Lumen' would be on their own often, considering vocational contexts.


This is a constant element. Considerable effort would be present in order to conform and survive.


Vieri stopped sending letters sometime into their attempts to study at Padua. They graduated within a month after this occurred, and could not find him. Searching lasted some months, but nothing became apparent.


Melior Crivelli is (in-world) a name stored in archaic records as an alumnus.

The record is old and the academics are outdated. It still technically counts as a doctorate as they remain existent.


Inhuman individuals were likely infrequent in those durations, but not entirely unprecedented as a notion.

All the same, they are not certain how other persons saw them, when very infrequently not obscured in public.

Vieri often accompanied them in those cases. It remains uncertain, but he might have done something to hide their visage.


Working with the system to go against it, at the time societal requisites existed, was already a present notion. Vieri mostly led in order to make certain 'Lumen' survived despite probability.

Names are only names. Before photography there were only paintings. Details would more easily bypass awareness.

The above conjecture is significant as both could go around somewhat anonymously in terms of records. After-the-fact, there was no visual record of what they were like in-person.

It is unclear whether any paintings were made of relevant individuals. If accurate, works would be long gone or missing, or might be viewed as abstract works of the time.


While the scenery would have remained the same, the people would have not. Eventually they were viewed as a stranger.

Attempts to avert from the decision to leave had happened for a while through attempts to relocate, but that could not last indefinitely.


They waited until the earlier hours, before taking a walk. A duration of thought happened, 'Lumen' eventually taking to the sky.

Their residence was left as it was; and when the owner never came back, the contents were eventually distributed. Fact faded into historical context.

About 400 years passed after leaving everything behind. Others were spoken to in that time intermittently, which was viewed as 'normal' or hallucination. In current time frames, cannot be overall perceived for some unknown reason.


The events that comprise that time frame focus on trying to exist and last in a setting that is 'foreign', on multiple levels. 'Lumen' was an outsider on some level at the start and end. While acclimating, outwardly, fact did not remain the same indefinitely. As others, started alone and ended alone, but moved on regardless.


21 | Medicine and Anatomy

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Bloodletting is very graphic.

It was a historically erroneous practice.

The connection between general pain and what was caused by that practice was too similar to unconsciously overlook.

For that reason and others, they did not support the method after going along with it for a while, despite not saying anything overall.

As herbalism was a lauded practice in related ranges, Italy focusing on materia medica, they were able to manage without using toads, frogs, snakes, leeches, and other methods that would require further complication and loss. Herbs and minerals were frequent. Vinegar, camphor, myrrh, and viper venom were less frequent. Theriac, or treacle, was infrequent due to the expense in making it.

The use of leeches and toads, to purify the blood through balancing humours and discern ailments, was still at times necessary.

They did not like that direction, but to adhere to expectations followed it regardless.


Many plague physicians used harmful and faulty means. Standing out from the norm could not end well if relevant in every case.

Their choices accounted in trying to alleviate symptoms and disease, but not to the extent it outweighed persons collaborated with, or who were within social connections.

At times, due to collective preference, they were left to silently act as a support in regard to efforts.


In philosophy, empiricism is a theory that states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience. [Wikipedia]

While learning through texts generally at first, still get a sense of persons' stability and state through life signs and symptoms.

"Empirics" were what some physicians were called, more if lacking formal training. It was a very harsh time frame; not all were entirely adept.


While lacking groundwork, relative necessity, consideration and further contexts made enough of a basis that, under instruction of the person earlier encountered, they managed to take on work. Consideration as well as morality were present, but only to a degree.


'Melior' was one name lost among many other physicians who were trying to combat issues. They were 'unknown' in that sense.


Realistically, the high demand and risk in treating outbreak patients would mean that they would be allowed more leniency, which was beneficial monetarily and experientially.

They worked for about a decade. Efforts wore away at self-security and emotional depth until getting away from practices more healthily.


Identity and attempts to acclimate are themes existent.

'Lumen' may be composed, yet may exist as relatively faulted; self-uncertain; otherwise.


Situations being as they are in some cases: necessity, time, and practice can mean a lack of doubt outwardly; when there is no time to think, just decide.

Despite that, not a forceful character generally. Self-reservation and a lack of context is partly reasoning for this.

They are subtle, despite being relatively driven or certain otherwise. 'Lumen' may not always know what they are doing, but try for idealism.


Being asked about general physiological ranges (or related contexts) realistically would result in avertation of some kind.

This might include their appearance: assumptions by others are not contradicted or confirmed.

In lacking a biological system and chemical basis, they however describe themselves with the term 'structural' rather than 'anatomical'.


22 | Name, Gender, Perspectives

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They define by 'Melior' and 'Lumen' overall. 'Meliorem' is tied to a 'want to do better' and lacking direction, that was an initial response. As it is not an actual name, they went with Melior instead.

They did not have a name at first, not needing one.


Vieri is their brother through documentation, which was necessary on a few levels for travel and social purposes, limitations existent without legal connections. This is also why they registered as 'male' in documentation. Female opportunity was historically limited in terms of social expectations and reliance on male relatives. Agender did not exist at the time, there were 'only men and women'.


Agender is complete genderlessness, or the lack of gender. It is a non-binary identity in which one is not male, female, or any other gender. They may identify as most strongly as just a person, rather than as any given gender.

While a complete lack of gender is the most common definition of agender, people may call themselves agender for other reason, such as:

Their gender is neutral or neutrois.
Their gender is unknown or undefinable.
Their gender does not align with any binary or non-binary categories.
They are removed from the concept of gender.
There are no words to fit their gender experience.
They do not care about gender, either an internal identity, as an external label, or both. [lgbta.wikia.org]


Does not disregard masculine pronouns, while they may be more direct if asked. While they were archaically called 'he' or otherwise 'she', any pronoun would be seen as 'valid' on a given basis due to general ambiguity and relevant mistakes.

Uses they/them, feeling most suited to that, for lack of better equivalents.

In the past, mistakes were more frequent. Physicians vocationally could be either male or female: identities and roles were (to an extent) historically disregarded in favour of necessity.

This indirectly relates. In their own case, being 'indefinite', they could be either 'male' or 'female'. Given that voice-switching earlier on was supplanted by a habitual male sort, and that later a female sort was adhered to in an attempt to move away from things, there may be some relevance.


Contexts on Female Physicians in the 1600s

The Church, universities, and professional guilds banned opportunity for female physicians in the Middle Ages. Although this was a factor which decreased with the continuation of the Renaissance, social opportunities were limited for women.

Despite the social progression, female physicians were still uncommon. A woman being attributed with malpractice could cause her to be defined as a witch by clerical authorities.

The Schola Salernitana in Italy was a school which allowed females to attend and earn medical degrees. Although it began to lose importance around the 12th century, at the introduction of the School of Naples, it was still a valid institution.

Other than plague doctors, female doctors were historically recorded to have fought the bubonic plague and to have worked in pharmacies. Often, this was due to male relatives having died. Social precedent permitted females to work in their absence. At other times, this was independent as a decision.


Besides a defence, clothes 'define' outward perspective and assumption. There were necessary divides between the physician, patient, if not surrounding persons; at least considering measures taken historically.

Tends to remain detached when interacting, generally never making direct contact with others. When relevant, gloves or other means may be utilised to maintain divides. Gestures at times to emphasise meaning to words, due to not being that direct otherwise.

Holding someone's hand or going beyond that would (usually) be outside of (perceived) etiquette, if not potentially dangerous per relevant time frame. Aloof in multiple senses generally. 'Habits die hard'.

If bypassing reserves, would most likely register activity or physiology too complexly, which is uncomfortable on a few levels.

Dislikes direct contact for the 'sensations' that result by extent of awareness. Nonetheless, it can be necessary to discern physiological welfare.

Checking pulses and diagnosing symptoms are integral measures, whether from a distance, or in pretense, done more directly to ward off suspicion.


Individuals subsist off of metaphysical contexts, which organisms cause.

If everything explicitly living died, eventually everything else would follow.

Nothing exists singularly or in a vacuum; usually.

There is nothing that lasts; and there would be no purpose to enduring even if that could happen. Eventually everything fades.

In most probability 'Lumen' will cease long before then.


In Medieval bestiaries, caladrius took 'sickness into themselves' and destroyed it. That reflects on 'clearing the air' of hazards; 'bad air' thought to cause illness, which was thought itself to come from beneath the ground or from corpses.

"Bad airs" from underground and rotting matter were a "source" of diseases, and that context was made worse by bodies lying in the streets.

They understood that was a source at least.

It was frequent that they made an attempt to move a corpse away from the main path(s), knowing that the person to it was gone via lack of life signs.

Harming corpses was no longer forbidden by the church, or at least that ruling no longer carried weight.


Tried to adhere to contexts despite not being inherently religious, not having been instilled with religious beliefs right off. Italy was religious (despite the church having otherwise lost power due to the advent of science as a driving force), and they visited churches on occasion.

Prayers were often used for patients who were dying.

Priests were for persons not afflicted, being needed for other purposes: and plague physicians served as a stand-in to disallow spread.

Being constantly in quarantine by city or town mandate, they could not go to sessions that often.


'Lumen' has realistically encountered food infested with larvae. This actually happens.

<"...I would not do that."> <"Why?"> <"...It is alive in some regard.">

They would tell someone before anything happened in most probability.


Content Warning

Microscopic things are unapparent. 'Lumen' can gauge physiological depth down to about 4mm. This includes parasites within a living biological system. Although parasites are often evident, these are not mentioned and further not usually enough to cause concern unless infestation becomes too much.

The words for 'elephantiasis', 'schistosomiasis', 'amebiasis', 'myiasis', and other diseases caused by specific helminths or other parasites were not standardised until 1840 CE or later. Many ancient to archaic writings yet describe symptoms and visual morphology of specific worms, aside from fly-related parasites. Flystrike was described by 1500s-1600s physicians, more recently in chronology. Those occasionally infested open wounds: aside from infection, that was another reason to not leave wounds uncovered.


Coma-afflicted persons would be apparent in most chance: that is not an absence of activity. Undead, infected, or parasitised individuals would be apparent similarly. Something would be off; consciousness, nerves, or somatic depth different.

An individual may be considered for a short while before appropriate measures are taken. This can vary from departure to alerting other persons, if not other decisions.


23 | Personal History and Details

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'Lumen' can speak a number of languages. Depending on where and who they encountered, being able to coherently 'speak —' would be off. As it is, departing or keeping from interacting might be a norm, if hostility is perceived. Awareness by individuals can mean state of mind could be apparent.

Latin, Venetian, Veronese, Trevisan, Paduan, Florentine, and Italian are languages and dialects variously understood by 'Lumen', if not others who resulted from the purges between 1542 to 1600.

Venetan is a broad term for a range of dialects that encompass the Venetian region, which included Verona. Although English books circulated in Italy in the 1600s, which were scriptural, these were based in writing rather than anything verbal. This would not reasonably be understood by 'Lumen'.

'Lumen' has a Venetian accent: a faintly lilting rhythm and soft consonants are relevant regardless of the language spoken. In local terms, this is described as 'dialetto del mar', the Veneto region sea-oriented historically.


They cannot speak English. Despite interactions still evidently occurring with modernity (which may contribute to ghost stories from hikers; etc; of ravens being come across that are 'too direct' verbally), they have not been able to pick up on meaning realistically.

English was not a widely circulated language in Italy during the 1500s to 1600s, outside of scripture provided for travellers from England and related territories. Although Italy was a crossroads between Eastern and Western regions, making it important for persons leaving to other places (this contributes to the equity that existed during the time in Italy -- tolerance existed due to constant familiarity, trade, and travel -- families were established between Italian persons and individuals foreign to Europe) the languages used were often localised.


They are capable of reading and writing. Literacy was not extremely high in 1500s-1600s Italy, but the surplus of wealth and knowledge meant that education existed. In convents and monasteries, books existed for use by persons who resided there, although this was not the only stock of knowledge present in the Renaissance.

The Renaissance was one of the first few times in history that libraries were established and allowed to be used freely by anyone: a fact which reflects the drive to promote understanding.


They may know when animosity exists, which is often ignored. Being kind to others may not be meritorious, but there is often little advantage to altercations.

If others assume they are oblivious, that can be more ideal than not. If something really needs to be addressed, it would be mentioned or asked about. Impassiveness does not have to inherently mean endurance; it can involve avertation. Formality and decorum is a considerable part of their outlook. It is better to be cautious from an unconscious perspective.

Stress can be prevalent, but it is endured. This is at least until later, when considering can become necessary.

Fault is usually self-based in terms of error due to poor choices. As they try not to be problematic, being too 'unproblematic' can go too far in terms of either negligence or related contexts.

They will not easily voice problems, and that can be bad. Self-interest is downplayed against other interests. Beyond that, lying or omission of fact is a basis for error. They are reticent. Uncertainty is generally one basis for that.


Despite keeping to the backdrop for a long while, there are few places others do not go; and otherwise: efforts would involve trying to get people past dangerous situations, given general awareness.

This is more likely during conflicts, or to evade outside perceptions; rather than anything casual or spontaneous as an occurrence.

After attempting to acclimate again, they would make frequent paths through the terrain for that reason, gauging changes in surroundings, in order to lead others more adeptly, aside to navigate themselves well enough.


Initial background is summarised by: <"...I do not know of anything by far, or what to otherwise attempt. ... Please do not disregard that.">


Ranges of existence are relevant. Although they could have lived as they had been, unfamiliarity was present to an extent. A different path was decided on through chance: it is dubious whether sociality is better or worse than isolation, if that had been remained to.

Knowledge existed but a sense of things otherwise lacked; a bleakness existed in that regard.

They self-define by what seems accurate. Normally people inherit things, an identity included: but there was no passing in that regard.

They do not have a name, or need one, existing without social precedents for the most part: humans are like fae in that regard and unlike 'ghosts'.

Fae and humans parallel in that social structures have importance for survival, if not for other complexities. Individuals are not fae or human, instead separate inherently and behaviourally. As 'a ghost is a memory of something', individuals similarly echo the past.

'Lumen' started alone. Figuring things out and defining the self was a must by extent. If not making relevant decisions they would still be unknown: which, while bleak, is also not.


Disclosure occurred by time and probability, and choices led to difference, along with the difficulties that necessities involve.


Vieri was one of a few spoken to directly: there was still unease and else behind efforts. Yet rather than moving off, once realising the other person, they stayed where they were until something could be said. While eerie, realism exists.

Although he realised the inexplicableness to their person, it was 'pointless' either way to take another path. That they did not try to kill him right away as the others had was itself fact enough. Despite oddness; he did not see the fact of keeping his life badly.


The hem of their habit was torn to make bandages, the strips passed to Vieri by extent. With blood loss having stopped, a walk to a nearby town began, both keeping an awareness for anyone that might pose risk.

Conversation had occurred intermittently during the path taken to the town; passing time and ignoring pain necessary; and they had not been unaffected by inquiry.

They decided not to immediately leave after nearing the gate; by extent pausing at a distance briefly. A question toward self-interest occurred, lacking certainty otherwise: which was not disregarded through morality and earlier awareness.

The earlier encounter had made fact again apparent. Leaving them to be killed did not sit well in his mind.


He essentially took them under his jurisdiction as an apprentice, and started their background by extent.


Working as a plague physician was in high demand and risk aside from city authorised and paid. Physicians were required to quarantine for forty days following a district visit to determine if they would die in that time. Inns and leased housing were frequent for relevant travellers, as part of paid contract.

They needed a name to register to work, aside from going beyond vocation if decided. Names are a social construct, aside from a necessary precedent.

"Meliorem" was not historically a name. However, "Melior" was, albeit masculine in tense.


Although Vieri had hidden documents within his clothing and was allowed through, regulations were not as uncomplicated for his company.


An inn was stayed at when eventually entering the municipality. Separate rooms were paid for to adhere to decorum and ward off suspicions.

It would not have been clear by far to other persons what 'Melior' was outside of vocal tone, although inquiry would have resulted if the same room were rented out.


Queer Relationships in the Renaissance

Although gender roles were limited, queer relationships were not quite as much. Women were however expected to be chaste, which contributed to a degree of asexuality in outside perspective regarding lesbian relationships as opposed to gay ones: the former more marginalised and less known about as open secrets.

Homosexuality was known about, but frowned upon if exposed publicly. Various contemporarily famous artists were homosexual, depicting their interests through a focus on masculine art.


Regardless of basis, rooming in the same space would not be seen well by persons for related precedents. That was understood by Vieri, who could not ensure indemnity if acting without caution. He hurried through the streets until reaching the inn, 'Lumen' following. A rush took precedence through any conversations.

He was evidently not the same as he had been when first encountered, but this was not questioned by 'Lumen' when fact was later made evident.

They offered to work to return the money as they earned it, but this was turned down. It was a few days before a council hearing could be organised, and much happened in-following.


Beyond for the sake of others; 'Lumen' tried to keep futility at bay for self-interest, initially at least.

After enough times of registering someone 'disappear'; by extent of overall contexts having disconnected tonally from that and other factors; given efforts centred more around the interests of others than self-based requirements.

That can involve relative fault. Parts of themselves faded through the consistency of external loss.

The pain connected to disease and eventual deaths of patients could not have not affected them in some manner as awareness means understanding.

Despite lacking sensory depth, they technically 'felt' what it was like to die. Multiple disappearances gradually tore away at mental security.

Albeit knowing 'better' due to having a sense of preservation, they still endured surrounding fact as giving up would not have been ideal either. As others, were needed. The effort put into trying to 'save' others, futilely, was a burden that might have eventually been an end, if not turned from.

Practices were harmful. This was something unrealised at the time. Empathy can cause harm as well as benefit. Understanding occurred by extent of perception.


There is rationality as to why individuals are often solitary. Distance is a thematic present on multiple levels. Being close to others can mean pain.


Despite doubt and unease interspacing their decisions, efforts to lessen symptoms continued regardless of a person's stability.

That was all that would be possible until that person's condition became too severe.

It is realistic that on some level the strain was recognised, if only by decisions being addressed by another person as an issue. In some direct regard, that might have meant eventually becoming distant from the trade.

Endurance also means difference. To an extent, sturdiness occurred, while losing various things in the process. Although fact faded, memory remained for better or worse.


24 | Behaviour and Rhetoric

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They keep an awareness for other individuals; whether that is in regard to support or to warn of threats varies. Conflict is possible, but averted from usually for various reasons. Not everyone or everything have the best interests evident.

Being unable to hear, they rely on visual cues socially. Capability to register somatic or physiological activity may not mean spoken words are evident in meaning.


In a freeform sense, they might hum phrases or poetry read, the latter melodic but without any defining framework to adhere to.

Adeste Fideles is a preferred Christmas hymn. Knows other songs; despite not frequenting them. Kyrie Eleison or Gloria in excelsis Deo are occasionally hummed while cooking. Prayers serve as a vocal timer, being used for that purpose historically.

Other songs can be relevant similarly if knowing the lyrics well enough. A free-form version of something more recent can be occasional.

A nocturne or aubade is occasionally relevant earlier into the morning if unable to sleep. Attempts to read otherwise occur when not trying to iterate lyrics, either direction means at keeping busy.

They do not have a sense of nocturne works by far, but have learned several pieces due to practicing piano. The words come out without a specific melody due to inherent limitations, yet are still intelligible.


The aubade is a dawn song that greets the morning while lamenting the end of the night. [poets.org]

A nocturne is a poem set at night. [poets.org]


Speech is articulate. Despite deafness, may have known various hymns when initially existing. Being 'consistent' may extend to speech.

Remembers music and lyrical wording, aside from how to phonetically communicate; any individual connection to relevant factors is however absent or dormant. Anything earthly was forfeit through those deaths.

'Lumen' can be melodic but prefers speaking directly better. They may turn lyrical poetry into a ballad, villanella, canzonetta, nocturne, or aubade when alone. Lyrical poetry was historically written to be set to music even without actual instrumental basis.

Songs with lyrics are understood, as are instrumentals. Sacred music was central to the church, secular music existed beyond it. Composers who wrote between 1500 to 1600 include Claudio Monteverdi, Cipriano de Rore, Luca Marenzio, and Giaches de Wert.


Secular and Sacred Music

Rivi fontane e fiumi by Luca Marenzio

Italian:
Rivi, fontane e fiumi a l'aura alcielo,
Sì cari e sì graditià la mia voce,
Frenate i vostri corsi, e di fresca ombra,
Amato lauro con tue verdi chiome,
Per rimembranza del felice giorno,
Più cortese ti mostra a la mia gioia

English:
Streams, fountains and rivers to the air of heaven,
So dear and so pleasing is my voice,
Brace your courses, and in the cool shade,
Beloved laurel with your green locks,
In remembrance of the happy day,
Show yourself more courteously to my joy [cpdl.org/wiki/]

Spesso in parte del ciel by Cipriano de Rore

Italian:
Spesso in parte del ciel lucente e bella,
All'apparir di novo segno errante,
Si vede scolorir qualche fiammella,
O'in tutt'o in parte che racces'inante.
Ma nel vag'apparir della mia stella,
Col suo sereno e lucido sembiante,
Si veggon' nel suo ciel alte faville,
Subito scolorarsi a mill'a mille.

English:
Often in a bright and beautiful part of the sky,
At the appearance of a new wandering sign,
One sees some flame fade,
Either in all or in a part that is rekindled.
But in the vague appearance of my star,
With its serene and bright countenance,
One sees in its sky high sparks,
Suddenly fade by the thousand. [cpdl.org/wiki/]

Vias tuas Domine by Cipriano de Rore

Latin:
Vias tuas Domine demonstra mihi,
et semitas tuas edoce me.
Ne tradideris me in animas tribulantium,
quia tu es Deus salutis meae.

Notam fac mihi viam in qua ambulem,
quia ad te levavi animam meam.
Eripe me de inimicis meis, Domine ad te confugi,
doce me facere voluntatem tuam,
quia Deus meus es tu.

English:
Show me your ways, O Lord,
and teach me your paths.
Do not hand me over to the souls of the afflicted,
for you are the God of my salvation.

Make known to me the way in which I should walk,
for to you I have lifted up my soul.
Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, I take refuge in you,
teach me to do your will,
for you are my God. [cpdl.org/wiki/]

Deh bella e cara by Claudio Monteverdi

Italian:
Deh! Bella e cara e sì soave un tempo
Cagion del viver mio mentr' al ciel piacque,
Volgi una volta e volgi,
volgi quelle stell' amorose come le vidi mai
così tranquille e piene di pietà
prima ch'io muoia, ch'el morir mi sia dolce.
E' dritt' e ben che, se mi furo un tempo
Dolci segni di vita
Hor sien di morte quei bell' occhi amorosi
E quel soave sguardo
Chi mi scorse ad amare mi scorga anco a morire
E chi fu l'alba mia,
del mio cadente dì l'espero hor sia.

English:
Ah! Beautiful and dear and so sweet once
Cause of my life while it pleased heaven,
Turn once and turn,
turn those loving stars as I have ever seen them
so tranquil and full of pity
before I die, that dying may be sweet to me.
It is right and good that, if they were once
Sweet signs of life
Let those beautiful loving eyes now be signs of death
And that sweet gaze
Let he who saw me loving also see me dying
And he who was my dawn,
of my falling day be now the hope. [cpdl.org/wiki/]

Fratres sobrii estote by Orlando di Lasso

Latin:
Fratres, sobrii estote et vigilate,
quia adversarius vester, diabolus
tamquam leo rugiens circuit quaerens quem devoret,
cui resistite fortes in fide.

English:
Brethren, be sober, be vigilant,
because your adversary the devil
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
Whom Resist, steadfast in the Faith. [cpdl.org/wiki/]

Spiritus meus attenuabitur by Andrea Gabrieli

Latin:
Spiritus meus attenuabitur, dies mei breviabuntur, et solum mihi superest sepulcrum.
Non peccavi et in amaritudinibus moratur oculus meus.
Libera me Domine, et pone me iuxta te et cuiusvis manus pugnet contra me.
Dies mei transierunt, cogitationes meae dissipatae sunt, torquentes cor meum.

English:
My spirit shall be weakened, my days shall be shortened, and the grave only remaineth for me.
I have not sinned: and mine eye abideth in bitterness.
Deliver me O Lord, and set me beside thee and let any man's hand fight against me.
My days have passed, dispersed are my thoughts, tormenting my heart. [cpdl.org/wiki/]

Ascendit Christus by Nicholas Huchyn

Latin:
In qua gloriosa et felix mirantibus
Caelesti curiae ordinibus
Ad aetherium pervebit thalamum
Quo pia sui memorum
Immemor nequaqaum exsistat.

English:
In which glorious and happy,
with the marveling orders of the heavenly court,
she will reach the ethereal chamber,
where the pious self-remembered,
never forgetful, will exist. [cpdl.org/wiki]


By acting in dissent to the Papacy, there was understanding that death would occur. Despite this, members of the clergy retained that stance. It is likely that related prayers occurred in the time before being put to death.

That 'Lumen' knows the Italic and Latin versions of listed songs is indicative of historic background.


With inability to hear, everything is muted, which accounts for caution when speaking. They do not know volume and caution is a norm.

Reading words is not easy but practice can offset complications. They modernly know Italian sign language and use it often or when applicable.

It takes considerable mental fortitude and practice to read words adeptly, even moderately.

That is one reason they do not often try for social context.


If not able to understand someone through obstructed vision or differences in spoken language, subtle indicators are picked up by 'Lumen' through motion, gesture, or somatic basis otherwise.

Those they know who comprehend LIS are frequently signalled from a distance, which can be advantageous. The same can occur from external parties.

Due to visual capacity, 'Lumen' does not often need a gesture repeated in those cases.


While it displays humour not often shown, 'Lumen' may trick someone by speaking in 'old written word'; if pressured to speak; using 'f' instead of 's' phonetically. A switch over to normal speech by extent would be meant to confuse others. This can be considered a push back, yet not callous in manner. Boundaries exist, besides respect and formality.


Italian Sign Language Contexts

Italian Sign Language — "Lingua dei Segni Italiana" (LIS).

Like many sign languages, LIS is in some ways different from its "spoken neighbor"; thus, it has little in common with spoken Italian, but shares some features with non-Indo-European oral languages (e.g. it is verb final, like the Basque language; it has inclusive and exclusive pronominal forms like oceanic languages; interrogative particles are verb final (You go where?).

A sign variety of spoken Italian also exists, the so-called Signed Italian which combines LIS lexicon with the grammar of spoken Italian: this is not Italian Sign Language, however.

Some features of LIS are typical of sign languages in general, e.g. agreement between nouns, adjectives and verbs is not based on gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) but it is based on place, that is the spatial position in which the sign is performed: nouns can be placed everywhere in the space but their position must be consistent with that of pronouns and verbs. ... Other features of Italian Sign Language which can be found also in oral languages are: classifiers; dual, trial, quattrial and even quinquial forms in addition to the general plural; verbs inflected for person. [Wikipedia]


The first Italian text mentioning deaf people's ability to reason and to use their intellect, through signing or other means, was of the legal advisor Bartolo della marca c'Ancona early in the 14th century. This more positive look at deafness continued with the onset of the Renaissance. The invention of the printing press and, hence, the widespread availability of books stimulated general interest in education practices and this entailed several positive developments for the deaf.

The first Italian teacher of deaf pupils was Pedro Ponce de León (1520-1584 CE), a Benedictine monk. This was likely related to Benedictines and their long tradition of holding silence and using signs to communicate. This was a tradition possibly dating back to the establishment of the vow of silence by St. Benedict in 529 CE in a town near Naples. In fact, the first recorded signs of this language date back to the 11th century. Interestingly, Benedictines also struggled with maintaining an 'official' set of signs for all Benedictines and with the continued arising of 'unofficial' signs in the separate monasteries. [Wikipedia]


Beyond a means to communicate clearly, gestures are quicker than words sometimes. As long as something is understandable, that can be advantageous, whether from a distance or during a negative situation.


One of the consequences of COVID-19 has been greater attention on the risks of infection to clinicians. Much has been made of the need for personal protective equipment, including FFP3 masks, visors, and respirator hoods. Unfortunately these can also impact communication. This can be due to muffled speech, or loss of ability to read lips. This is important in an operating theatre, where clear communication is critical.

Experience suggests that surgeons probably use some gestures to aid communication when operating. The use of sign language in clinical settings has been previously addressed in the literature, mainly as a proposal to manage increased noise levels in the OR. Sign language has also been suggested as an alternative to handle language differences in surgical team members of varied nationalities, as well as to improve action response within a procedure. [bjsacademy.com]


'Lumen' may steep tea for themselves on occasion as other options too much in that regard. This usually goes cold, but it can be a timer when necessary; a lack of steam happens after a while. They like to sit and read with a cup nearby, despite not being able to drink it.


Discerning time passing has for the most part been an issue in their case. Since the start, they have mostly been going by self-perception. Isolation does not help with days becoming blurred.

Their early memories coincide with events from the 30 Years War. It started in Italy in 1618 CE. 1629-1631 CE encompassed a more severe plague outbreak in related localities, which they have memory of as well.

It is notable that disease was spread by the militant groups crossing the terrain. They were aware of people being ill when nearby.


Roads crossed through forests and fields. 'Lumen' saw groups pass without being noticed due to nondescription or a lack of visual acuity due to the time of day. Although paths were not well maintained, it was easier than grass and rock for people during the 1600s and earlier; infrastructure did not change by far until later due to technological advancements.

When the first rail system was implemented in 1839 CE, between Naples and Portici, there was considerable progression and change then and in-following.

The Via Francigena-Francisca (a historic pilgrimage road from England/France to Italy), Flaminia Militare (or Ravenna road during the Medieval and Renaissance period, due to its connection to the capital of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region; it may be unlikely that it would be known as anything different by 'Lumen', unless the earlier term was reinstated through old records before the 1500s due to reconstruction efforts during the Renaissance; Flaminia Militare was important for military forces from the Napoleonic Era to WWII; a road from Bologna to Florence across a section of alpines), Via Appia (an ancient road from Rome to Brindisi), Via Salaria (an ancient road from Rome to Porto d'Ascoli), Via Emilia (an ancient road from Rimini to Piacenza), Via Aurelia (an ancient road from Agrigento to Palermo), and Via Cassia (an ancient road that crossed through Baccanae, Sutrium, Volsinii, Clusium, Arretium, Florentia, Pistoria, Luca, and Via Aurelia) are examples of established roads that people took to travel to other locations.

The roads at the time -- 1500s to the 1800s -- were a blend of old and new roads. Ancient roads were maintained and/or reconstructed due to historical and generational significance. In essence, making entirely new paths would be too difficult where there was already difficulty in crossing the terrain. The same paths would be taken for years by people until falling into disuse -- which mostly occurred during the 1800s to 1900s for most archaic paths.

The capacity to describe people, scenery (as some areas have been preserved or paths have been overlaid by newer roads) and events is significant.

It is indicative when they chronologically began, if only to a relative degree. 'Lumen' has recollections before seeing related conflict and cannot completely gauge the exact duration of their earliest memory.

With injury being occasional through prior accidents or confrontation, details might be missing.


Individuals are inherently solitary but observant.

With terrain being considerable, others may have been passed by. If accurate, 'Lumen' most likely did not recognise individuals as relevant.

Most are nondescript; which is beneficial and not.

There are likely more than apparent, if very scattered and transient. A balance is achieved through numbers and mobility. Although decreasing, as of everything, that is still an offset. It is not considerable, but enough.

Even if aware, 'Lumen' cannot advocate for others by extent of isolation.


Isolatory behaviour can parallel the fact that ravens as a species avoid human populaces for the activity present there.

Actual ravens usually become stressed if in groups. This is a behaviour separate from that of crows.

Food can be scarce in groups. Separation occurs as a different method essentially.

This echoes the fact that metaphysical elements drift, and individuals regulate resultant factors.

When grouped together, the air is not as clean as when widespread.


Isolation is something most individuals are acclimated to, despite not averting from interaction.

A solitary existence means no one knows whether an individual lives or dies. This is both a benefit and risk; alike to how interdependencies are a risk and benefit. An end may eventually occur: but the contexts differ.


25 | Quotes

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Variously positive; neutral; negative quotes:


About Angitia in terms of history:

<"...I asked once. I understood.">


<"...I may keep a distance, pardon.">


<"...You take what you can receive. Life has no moral compass, that is a construct as well.">


<"...Please be careful.">


<"...I do not appreciate that, please desist.">


<"Are you a girl or boy?">
<"...I might be.">
<"...Might be what?">
<"...">
They walked off.


<"...Those are my plant catalogues and notes, please take caution?">


<"...Please depart...">


<"...I wish them luck from here on."> | <"...May their journey forward be fair.">


<"...I am a plague physician. That is what you wanted, correct?">


When going around as a registered physician, by city contract, the mask at the time used would have made nature obscured.

Due to the disease often present on the outer layer of physicians' uniform, and general fear by the populace of being infected, they were typically safe from being confronted.

They were paid for their work, duration by duration. Effort was not quite about the currency as much as other factors however.

It was not entirely harsh. Pain and death were regardless prevalent, awareness of others suffering consciously detrimental through constancy. Despite that unrealised fact, Vieri and others within the same profession were a support.

Plague physicians were avoided for the disease they might carry outwardly on their clothing; if not for other reasons; although acting as one was not constant. Many contradictions are present.


<"...If I were wearing a mask, peppermint, carnations, elderflower, roses, sage, cinnamon, viper venom, theriac, and other ingredients.">


Not incompetent, even with reticence and consideration. Adept socially and otherwise overall, modernly more than earlier.

Not much has changed through adeptness but has at the same time.

Navigating socially and attempting to consider others' interests is an overall effort. Fallibility exists, relating to reticence and uncertainty.

This may make them seem reserved occasionally. Effort is regardless put toward consideration and attempting to not err.


Self-based conflict exists along with outward conflictions, resulting in considerable self-doubt despite efforts otherwise. Being distant or formal can result from irritation along with other causes.


<"...If I may ask... why?">

This or an equivalent may be in response to something that they are not sure of.

The contexts to a response would not be apparent, and whether something is within their own interests would not be either. There is always a chance for malignancy, which is worth caution. They would have learned that over time; risk exists regardless of basis. Being taken advantage of or disregarded in some manner likely has happened before minutely.


'Trying their best' is an overarching theme. Doing otherwise would be self-detrimental as well. This is not just for more positive contexts; losing things is not ideal.

By extent of relative outer manipulation, may not trust others by far if a situation is not apparent. Taking a self-dependent direction is relevant to that degree. It took a while for them to talk more openly with Vieri and Angitia, despite that relative fact had been enough to prompt discussion at all.


The initial risk in going beyond what was understood has rationality: they did not know better, but did not make an entirely bad decision. There had been no reason to avoid interactions before then. Prior conversations were brief and typically occurred without evident hostility.

Interdependencies existed that carried over to later spans. They learned from related influences, although there were negative effects. Costs existed to those decisions that impacted their unconscious mentality.


Mentality has considerable thematic depth to this character. A lot can go wrong, as is a norm for anything. 'Going too far' is in some sense devaluing the self. 'Lumen' already has done that to some extent, not ideally. While that did not mean an end to their existence, it was still costly.

That loss could happen further is possible. With reticence typical, they have not relayed much of their history to others, allowing for gaps in stability.


Content Warning

Harm is significant on a conscious basis. Recovery for a varying duration would be a possible must if hurt badly.

This mostly depends on the severity of an injury. More recent recollections may not be as situated as older sorts, and may vanish depending on the scale of injury.

If something lacks magnitude, relevant memory becomes and remains hazy instead of fading.

Memory usually remains consistent. If harmed enough, they can become confused or disoriented to an extent in not recognising given contexts. In worse cases they may expect to be somewhere long gone.

Reticence and unease can be relevant by extent in realising otherwise. May be wary of others and surroundings, recognition lacking.

Speech would also be more archaic by relative degree; if not mostly Latin, as would be the worst-case.


26 | Limitations

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Cannot physically shed tears. Action and demeanour is the only evident outlet when grief, stress, or other emotion is relevant. Changes in behaviour and wording can correlate to mental state.

If enough pressure situationally builds, 'Lumen' may disconnect emotionally from surrounding matters, which can be faulty despite being a defence. Self-interest may not be put into as much regard due to inherent tone lacking.

Distance realistically would be necessary to mentally 'turn around'. They would know that it is not an ideal state of mind, but being unable to feel anything does not equal a lack of rationality. When fear or stress returns, they may withdraw socially or keep silent for a duration, being somewhat overwhelmed and possibly unwilling to cause an issue.


<"...I was fortunate. Yet, not enough that I do not understand worse.">

They are indirectly a witness to human cruelty by extent of travel and perception. People are often killing each other for myriad purposes, and sometimes on a mass scale. These occurrences were noted from a distance, and they made an effort where possible to prevent some casualties.

'Worse' in their own case would be demoralising at a minimum, and if decided on, there would be conflict concerning relevant facts; whether or not apparent outwardly. Reticence or deflection might result.

They often try to avoid being problematic. That may not be good in terms of self-interest however. While not overt, it is a present element and vice to given characterisation and personality. Guardedness and reticence are also present as faults.

Responses can involve silence or similarly bypassing a question if not knowing the answer, which has happened on occasion in earlier time frames. Being left to say that 'something happened' is not ideal, in various regards.

They can lie, and would admit to lying if pressed, but not without conflict. Often, falsities are avoided for that reason and others. It is easier in multiple regards to be direct. Conversely, being seen as 'strange' would not be ideal. In that regard, contexts related to themselves are often omitted or prevaricated.

Averting or dulling blame is occasionally a focus when challenged, which is a kind of defensiveness.

They do not like confrontation. Being deaf, it can also be difficult to discern an argument enough to conflict with it readily.


There are potentially one or more historical scenes where someone is spoken to for a duration while trying to get them to safety. After that uncertain setting was moved past: due to differences in ambiance, contexts become apparent: either that there was 'no one' guiding that person, or a vague figure turns and moves back out of sight through the earlier path.

Nondescription and remoteness is a norm, which is further bolstered by potential awareness of others.


Ravens are believed to be drifting souls at least, and that leads to other relevancies. Guarding ('common raven'), guiding ('hercinia'), mending ('caladrius'). Archaic texts attribute the hercinia and caladrius with implicated reason and intelligence on a mythological basis.


They potentially were called 'caladrius' and 'hercinia' by various persons when their own individual was apparent, but those terms lacked meaning initially. Study relatively overturned uncertainty, leading to other questions that were disregarded given necessity and lack of evident fact.


The hercinia is depicted in Medieval bestiaries and was recorded in the 1st century by Pliny the Elder, who wrote, "In the Hercynian Forest, in Germany, we hear of a singular kind of bird, the feathers of which shine at night like fire." [Wikipedia]

The hercinia is a bird that is born in the Hercynian Forest in Germany, from which it takes its name. It serves as a beacon for travellers because its feathers glow so brightly in the dark that they light up the path. [bestiary.ca]

The hercinia is evidently nocturnal by archaic description. This is separate from ravens, which are diurnal. Depicted tendencies correlate to that of 'Lumen'.


Light is toward the lighter side of the colour spectrum. Dim feathers would realistically appear radiant white due to emitted luminance. When the light wound down, there would be nondescription again. People would be looking for a 'glowing bird' and not a 'common raven', which is also big and can be compared to a 'heron' or 'swan'; etc; from a distance.

Those were two water-birds that calarius were compared to. Motion and lighting can make it difficult to gauge shape.


There is no material filter to dilute the light. By extent, luminance from individuals appears white. This correlates to the description of caladrius appearing 'completely white', aside from the cloth generated from the feathers.


"Keeping away from people" is a general axiom, for good reason. That does not mean aid was or is averted from. Being aware of travellers correlates to 'lighting up the path', archaically at least.


The Hercynian Forest encompassed much of central western Europe. Northeastern France, the Carpathian Mountains, Switzerland, Romania, and most of southern Germany were covered by the trees which made up its expanse. According to archaic accounts, a sixty-day march would not be enough to cross the forest itself.

It is a primeval forest that has now since vanished. Remnants of it exist in various sections of Europe.


In older ages, individuals were mistaken for hermits, monks, or potentially travelling plague physicians if seen by persons around forests.

In more modern settings, being more overt is refrained from for a variety of reasons; experience brings habit.

In-passing, speaking to persons who were 'off the path' would not be 'too out there'; ravens being well-known for their vocalisations; at least until it became too direct. Then ghost-story like experiences might be shared; or not.

They remember terrain to a considerable extent while drifting past it. This further causes capability to discern location based on the landscape itself. Trees and meadows along with the contour of the ground are distinct enough to remain familiar to an overall extent. They may not recall everything long-term; if enough to know where they are going generally.

It should be important to note, further, that the terrain changes gradually, meaning lack of recognition in the moment.


It is occasional that individuals are apparent to other persons. Being viewed as hallucination is infrequent. 'Lumen', if not other individuals, often left quickly after someone appeared or became evident from a distance. Encounters have occurred with 'Lumen' looking back at someone in a field or on a rocky hillside before eventually turning away.

They could be easily mistaken for a historical figure, if other suppositions are not relevant, from a distance or an obstructed angle.


They can be fine anywhere, generally.

As individuals are in the background, and capable of going virtually anywhere decided, there are few restrictions.


'Lumen' acclimated to a social groundwork. Inquiry and choice resulted in difference.

Whether this was 'good' or 'bad' in terms of self varied.

Interdependencies are significant; difficulty and positivism coincide with other contrasts.


Harshness tends to dull the more time advances. There would be less individuals contemporarily than in earlier time frames. Losses and complications are still gradual.

Population uncertainty leads to other potential complications regarding environmental stability.


The range that awareness consists of is only about three metres; anything beyond that is indiscernible. Only if an individual is nearby can they register activity complexly.

This echoes the caladrius element, where they could tell if someone was going to live or die.

If that person were to expire, there was a 'look away' by the caladrius. This was as if nothing else could be done, as if correlating to a cease of efforts by a physician.

That might have been self-defensive. There was nothing that could happen against loss.


There was a Greek author that noted the "pain" a caladrius evidently suffered when overseeing an ill person. He did not perceive the "turn away" as insignificant.

The capacity for sensations are lacking. Awareness is still relevant. Being near persons in agony or who are dying (which is never painless, loss further resulting in a mental absence and potential scarring due to cognisance) for extended durations would wear on mental stability.


The vicinity of a caladrius to someone ailing might have on occasion correlated to the individual breaking down 'evil spirits' which existed within a living system.

Metaphysical aggregations could be detrimental, either disrupting or directly damaging an internal system. This correlates to the Taoist belief that being consumed from the inside out could happen.


Somatic processes are registered if nearby a person (by about 3 metres; a 'bedside' diagnosis). Reports stated that people took the birds near the beds of ill persons to discern chances of survival.

Being able to read body processes was a useful commodity where accuracy could otherwise fail. The humour system was iffy, even in terms of medicinal herbs. Only modern people can use machines to read physiology; that was null archaically.

Up until the 1600s, caladrius were abducted from the wilds, where they live, and forced into small spaces until pressed to oversee ill persons. An individual in that situation might not know if they will be killed if not complying. Eventually manipulation and the surroundings eliminate the idea of something better.

Sensations are individually foreign. Vicinity to someone dying would be mentally painful realistically. Despite that, efforts would have realistically been forced unless there was absolute refusal to do anything.

Pressure to keep going would have realistically depended on the situation, and how socially important the person being looked after was. Despite an individual potentially relaying futility, it is not unrealistic that being forced to remain until that person died would have occurred through captors' decision.

The agony present and eventual death would have been mentally detrimental in realism. Protesting or trying to leave would have been futile however. Other persons would have realistically been keeping watch, either for recovery or to relay the fact of death.

It is not good or moral. But it is realistic to historical context.

'3 metres' is typically enough for self-defence. Knowing someone or something is nearby is far enough away that flying off or taking another elusive direction can occur. Being caught would mean worse.


Both the hercinia and caladrius were reported to be luminant, which was a further correlation. Both were hard to find, further.

That would relate to individuals being similar to ravens at times. They would be overlooked.


Districts were frequented for those afflicted, by appointment — and they never saw those persons again for one reason or another.

Without antibiotics, at the time it was always fatal.

Some scenes may be 'burned into their mentality' if not lost along the years after, which would partly account for the disconnection in response to stress.


Experienced both world wars. The activity presented by the bombs and gunfire were a deterrent.

Multiple countries and landscapes were crossed through. Remaining inert was not viewed entirely well for a number of reasons.

During times of considerable hostilities, they kept to forests and out of the path of activity.

Through ambient perception, differences between soldiers and civilians were often apparent. The latter were often kept aware for around the terrains variously inhabited.

Encounters still occurred despite efforts toward isolation. This was not without idealism in some cases. Related interactions were brief and not discounted.

Rarely, they considered persons who were hurt, or attempted to lead others from evident threats. A voice, or vague figure would be viewed as eerie in some situations; more in the dim shade of obscuring trees or architecture; but not all had a choice against likely assailants.

Aside from the conflicts that spread widely across the terrain, durations of starvation and epidemics remained evident. There were recurrent attempts to lessen hunger anonymously and bury persons left behind following violent massacres seen in each war. [census.gov]


This was not unlike what they experienced during the Renaissance period: starvation, disease, and conflict were frequent. The repetition in events meant occasional decision toward risk.


In most archaic cases when confronted with an aggressor, they often displayed a cinquedea openly from a relative distance to show they were not unarmed. If the other person(s) still made an attempt, evasion was relevant. Rarely did they have to utilise weaponry, but knew where to cut when accurate.


27 | Topography

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Italy encompasses many forests. Most of these groupings were visited or remained around, 'Lumen' not idle or stationary. They mostly kept a distance from populated areas, but not entirely. Occasionally towns and cities were crossed through. When activity became more frequent, such as during wars, that did not go unrecognised; various occurrences were perceived.


'Lumen' has crossed through areas with radiation present due to what nuclear events have occurred. They left without detriment or awareness of that fact, aside from apparent abandonment of the site.


Entomology is rooted in nearly all human cultures from prehistoric times, primarily in the context of agriculture (especially biological control and beekeeping). The natural philosopher Pliny the Elder, (23 - 79 AD) wrote a book on the kinds of Insects, while the scientist of Kufa, Ibn al-A‘rābī (760 - 845 AD) wrote a book on flies, Kitāb al-Dabāb (كتاب الذباب). However scientific study in the modern sense began only relatively recently, in the 16th century. [Wikipedia]


Plants and insects are relatively correlated. Growing plants involves risk on an individual basis; plants can be diseased or infested and it can be useful to know about parasites.

'Lumen' may have tried for more understanding in that range. They earlier liked to observe insects when drifting between terrains. Interests remain somewhat consistent even when frequenting populated areas, as opposed to remote or natural surroundings.


Moths are diverse and prevalent. 'Lumen' noted many species over the years spent idly. Isolation resulted in frequent luminance while around forests and other remote places at night. Aside from surveying the terrain, attracting moths and other insects was partly a focus.

Their favourite moths are the grey dagger and green forester moths. While not ornate, behaviour and physiology causes that perspective.

The leopard moth and ghost moth are a concern; the nearby fruit trees and crops are often checked. It can be minute or gradual, but activity may be apparent if relevant. Beetles and other species are typically evident as the grubs exist in the ground.


Protostomes, arthropods and insects underground and within tree bark and surfaces are often evident to 'Lumen' and other individuals when travelling. 3 metres extends up and down as well.

Certain herbs attract species of pollinators. Related activity would attract the attention of individuals.

Plants are not animal physiologically. The activity presented by plants is not as constant and diverse. 'Lumen' feels more confident around vegetation than animal organisms, which may be the same case for other individuals.


They have potentially been to Australia over the time spent adrift. As capability to be perceived overall fell away, it would not be unrealistic to think that they remained around a ship for a few days as a 'common raven' and went unnoted by extent, inquiry driving a decision toward risk.

The return journey might have been the same: cautiously alert and conflicted.

Similarly, the Kuril Islands had possible relevance. This would have been somewhere around the late 1800s to the early 1900s.


Common ravens are a near-global species: they exist mainly in the Northern hemisphere, which includes Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. This parallels the swan maiden or bird maiden folklore element, which is global. 'Tennyo', 'Apsara', 'Swan maiden', 'Sky maiden', or 'Star maiden' are found in most continents as stories. Death is universal and regardless of cultural practices, there is loss.

There are actual ravens worldwide. Reflecting on that, individuals are scattered and indefinite. Even if not originating at a given location, time and globalisation means drifting. Risk is present in being somewhere unfamiliar, but keeping a distance from other persons is possible.

Stability is maintained through surrounding activity. There is a kind of mutualism on a wide or collective scale globally. Equilibrium is maintained through collective numbers and travel. Birds do not often stay in one location. As birds are migratory; ravens included; this is significant.


Past Contexts and Supposition

For over 30,000 years, common ravens have followed human hunting parties and activity across the Northern Hemisphere (which includes North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa). This is much like how wolves are observed to be followed by ravens presently, to lead packs to prey or carcasses.

Aside from wolves being shown where resources are by common ravens, humans might have similarly been directed to meat or other supplies by caladrius. This is not including individual decision to forewarn of 'odd things', or attempt else that can be considered supportive.

Coexistence has lasted until the present. Ambient occurrences may have potentially lessened or stopped, resulting in less of a buffer further due to decreased numbers through human and other complications.

As caladrius function as an offset in atmospheric accrual, aside from potentially killing and removing generated phenomena (capability to detect biological organisms and cut through flesh correlate, although multiple purposes can relate to either capacity), a lower population than ideal can be gradually complicative.

There may be a present stasis regarding ambient factors until the situation becomes harmful. It may be inherent that the environs will worsen again and the cycle will repeat.

Without as much of a collective buffer present, people hypothetically will be killed as matters worsen.

Unless measures are taken to prevent this, stability may gradually return through a lessened human population – which will also mean awareness of more beyond humanity.


28 | Concluding Details

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They are still asocial to some extent as an individual. Typically, paths occur around Verona and other locales toward the earlier or later hours, which somewhat echoes earlier durations.

A healer and guide in-setting and are seen as such by those who know them.

<"...Why cause what would need to be fixed later?">

Rationality, but self-consciously omitting other factors. Can be called passive, but not flat.

With earlier and overall efforts to keep worse from happening, that might be typical as a response.


Considering how modern weapons are viewed in Europe in this reality: it may be very unlikely that, given the overtness to relevant sounds, those would be resorted to by any familiar with arcane fields; besides unlikely to be relevant on that same basis.


'Lumen' may be wary of arcane and other fields if offered the possibility. Angitia is involved in relevant matters; which were not necessarily ideal by extent of relative discourse and perceptions. Realistically, they would keep away from practices, but try to find ways around situations when viable.

Cannot utilise or direct influence; a factor which is consistent to individuals. Inherent and accrued capability is still considerable.

Cannot be considered an arcanist or magic-user, though helping others with necessities and activity. Herbalism and medicine can relate to arcane fields. Whether that is with idealism or not yet varies potentially, as with most things.


Aside from more benign individuals, other factors exist. Noting and destroying relevant phenomena is an occasional necessity, loss otherwise possible.

Witches and magic users, or 'arcanists' modernly, bypass that ignorance, and often make an effort to maintain a degree of safety.

On a worldly scale, this can be described as accurate.


Verona is not singular as a location regarding the presence of varying individuals. Across Europe, and elsewhere, there are local systems which consider social necessities in a manner that mirrors overall populaces.

The network across Verona is an underlying one to the more active population. Although individuals within locally designated law enforcement are relatively aware of some activity, there is a mutual understanding that causing trouble is best avoided.

As families generationally have existed in coincidence with what is objectively 'other', there is not too much lack of familiarity with the concept in certain circles.

Persons capable of being seen typically make an effort to keep matters situationally stable, and those that are less overt typically make an effort to stay out of activity and awareness. It is often that human persons familiar with matters act in support of those who are otherwise unable to interact.


As of earlier epochs, from which only written and drawn reports remain, acceptance is limited by social boundaries and need for validation. Disbelief is typical when a person is faced with something world-breaking (fear inherently stemming from difference), when something cannot be proven, or when something may fall under the scope of fabrication (which is more expected with the advancements in digital technology).


Conforming or perishing is an overarching axiom, concerning those who exist outside the scope that current civilisation comprises. In order to fend against cessation, welfare and basic necessities are a must to address, hence occupation of towns and cities underlyingly.

Not all arcanists or other relative authority figures within limited spheres, in regard to interconnections, are able to stop illicit behaviour. A warning or ultimatum is still typically enough for most occurrences.


While Angitia and Corinne have been present around the commune, no persons have thus far done enough to be considered worthy of being denied relative support. When accurate, that essentially would mean an individual needing to adjust or relocate to another locality, regulations necessary to protect the thin safeguards keeping everything stable.

Graffiti is sometimes utilised. Symbols are often planted which are meant to protect. Warding off malignant intent is often relevant, which can directly repel certain factors. When people clean up chalk and other drawings, that leaves a given space undefended. It is often that witches go around for that reason, nondescriptly, in order to not be fined for defacing property.

The wards Angitia and others place have to be checked periodically so that they are not evidently broken or disturbed, and runes (Theban or Elder Futhark rune combinations and compounded symbols otherwise) are frequently implemented. The people looking after those factors are the owners of specific buildings typically. External trust is not existent for the most part. There is regardless a mutual interest in keeping matters stable without external complication.


'Lumen' is essentially in charge of spaces that others may erroneously pass through and safeguards are important. Their quarters are typically shut and barred from entry. The door is modified to be airtight.

There is often an atmosphere to the space that can be fatal to biological organisms, between (modified) plant diffusions and other airborne chemicals or vectors.

A bed, small refrigerator, and a bookshelf with records are present. A shaker incubator, thermal cycler, and other equipment are frequently stored in a nearby floor cabinet, the surface of which is a workstation. They clean surfaces daily to prevent the contamination of samples and spread of pathogens.


A cage of one or two mice is rarely present in order to determine potency of a modified strain or toxoid vaccine.

As 'Lumen' is nearby enough when this is relevant, they are often aware if any symptoms occur by extent of an introduced extract. Batches with minimal complications are further developed and stored for later use. Despite conflict about inflicting illness, the fact remains that resources are limited and innocuity is necessary for others' welfare.


It is not unanimous that mice live very long in that space. 'Lumen' typically vacates the area before one or both cease activity for a few reasons. The remains are given to Angitia for disposal, if not buried in the garden near the flat as fertiliser.


An awareness of the inner workings and physiology of the people they look after is necessary to know what is ideal in terms of vaccines. A considerable amount of information and recollection is kept to mind in order to not accidentally kill anyone with vaccines or other treatments.

It is not often they use relevant vaccines, unless necessity and certainty are definite enough. Despite this, an awareness is kept for possible outbreaks in the nearby vicinity in order to alert others to be careful with interactions. Accidental infections such as tetanus, cellulitis, and MRSA often require antibiotics and other preventive measures.


Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a molecular tool that allows for analysis of genetic information. PCR is used to amplify the amount of certain DNA within a sample which are usually specific genes within a sample. Genetic targets for cyanobacteria in PCR include the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, phycocyanin operon, internal transcribed spacer region, and the RNA polymerase β subunit gene. PCR is effective when the gene of a known enzyme for producing the microbial toxin or the microbial toxin itself is known. One type of PCR is real time PCR also called quantitative PCR. This type of PCR uses fluorescence and then does an analysis by measuring the amount of fluorescence that reflects the DNA sample more specifically nucleic acids at specific times. Another type of PCR is digital PCR that looks at nucleic acid quantifications. Digital PCR uses dilutions and samples from microlitre reactions to achieve a more accurate quantification of nucleic acids. This type offers a more linear analysis by looking at the positive and negative reactions. Both PCR's are beneficial but there are advantages and disadvantages for both. The digital PCR has several advantages over real time PCR which includes no standard curve, more precise, less affected by simple inhibitors. Digital also has disadvantages to real time which is limited reaction mixture time, more complex and high risk of contamination.

PCR is fundamental to many of the procedures used in genetic testing and research, including analysis of ancient samples of DNA and identification of infectious agents. Using PCR, copies of very small amounts of DNA sequences are exponentially amplified in a series of cycles of temperature changes. PCR is now a common and often indispensable technique used in medical laboratory research for a broad variety of applications including biomedical research. [Wikipedia]


Enzyme inhibition
There are many diverse ways of monitoring enzyme levels through the use of enzyme inhibition. The general principle in many of these is the use of the knowledge that many enzymes are driven by phosphate-releasing compounds such as adenosine triphosphate. Using radiolabeled 32P phosphate a fluorometric analysis can be used. Or unique polymers can be used to immobilize enzymes and act in an electrochemical biosensor. Overall, the benefits include a fast response time and little sample preparation. Some of the downsides include a lack of specificity in terms of being able to get readings of very small amounts of toxin and the rigidity of the assays in applying certain procedures to different toxins.

Immunochemical methods
This detection method uses mammalian antibodies to bind to microbial toxins which can then be processed in a variety of different ways. Of the commercial ways of using immunochemical detection would be enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). This assay has the advantage of being able to screen for a broad range of toxins but could have issues with specificity depending on the antibody used. A more exotic setup involves the use of CdS quantum dots which are used in an electro-chemiluminescent immunosensor. A major aspect of immunochemical methods being tested in laboratories are uses of nanowires and other nanomaterials to detect microbial toxins. [Wikipedia]


An enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to an enzyme and blocks its activity. Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions necessary for life, in which substrate molecules are converted into products. An enzyme facilitates a specific chemical reaction by binding the substrate to its active site, a specialized area on the enzyme that accelerates the most difficult step of the reaction.

An enzyme inhibitor stops ("inhibits") this process, either by binding to the enzyme's active site (thus preventing the substrate itself from binding) or by binding to another site on the enzyme such that the enzyme's catalysis of the reaction is blocked. Enzyme inhibitors may bind reversibly or irreversibly. Irreversible inhibitors form a chemical bond with the enzyme such that the enzyme is inhibited until the chemical bond is broken. By contrast, reversible inhibitors bind non-covalently and may spontaneously leave the enzyme, allowing the enzyme to resume its function. Reversible inhibitors produce different types of inhibition depending on whether they bind to the enzyme, the enzyme-substrate complex, or both.

Enzyme inhibitors play an important role in all cells, since they are generally specific to one enzyme each and serve to control that enzyme's activity. For example, enzymes in a metabolic pathway may be inhibited by molecules produced later in the pathway, thus curtailing the production of molecules that are no longer needed. This type of negative feedback is an important way to maintain balance in a cell. Enzyme inhibitors also control essential enzymes such as proteases or nucleases that, if left unchecked, may damage a cell. Many poisons produced by animals or plants are enzyme inhibitors that block the activity of crucial enzymes in prey or predators.

Many drug molecules are enzyme inhibitors that inhibit an aberrant human enzyme or an enzyme critical for the survival of a pathogen such as a virus, bacterium or parasite. Examples include methotrexate (used in chemotherapy and in treating rheumatic arthritis) and the protease inhibitors used to treat HIV/AIDS. Since anti-pathogen inhibitors generally target only one enzyme, such drugs are highly specific and generally produce few side effects in humans, provided that no analogous enzyme is found in humans. (This is often the case, since such pathogens and humans are genetically distant.) Medicinal enzyme inhibitors often have low dissociation constants, meaning that only a minute amount of the inhibitor is required to inhibit the enzyme. A low concentration of the enzyme inhibitor reduces the risk for liver and kidney damage and other adverse drug reactions in humans. Hence the discovery and refinement of enzyme inhibitors is an active area of research in biochemistry and pharmacology. [Wikipedia]

Examples of compounds that can be made through processes include inhibitors of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), an enzyme which can cause cancer cell growth and promote bacterial infection; protease inhibitors, antiretroviral molecules which emulate the natural substrates of proteases and can work against HIV and AIDs activity within living systems; methotrexate, which is used for cancer treatment due to blocking the action of dihydrofolate reductase and halting thymidine biosynthesis; neuraminidase inhibitors, which target influenza; and terminase inhibitors, which target human cytomegalovirus.

Other less medicinal compounds can be made that negatively impact processes in the body, and can be used to conflict with detrimental species to agriculture as herbicides or pesticides. Chemical warfare has included the use of enzyme inhibitors further.


The latter, more volatile category is not used by 'Lumen' in awareness that they do not know how that can affect the surroundings beyond specific species. Although aware that trees and plants they look after can be infected, manually considering cultivars causes less uncertainty.

'Lumen' uses related processes in extracting chemicals that would otherwise be near impossible to obtain, or that are crucial for certain physiological elements. Antibiotics and toxoid vaccines can be necessary to prevent or counteract infections.

Toxoid vaccines are rarely utilised due to the potential risk involved -- as most are not human and might react badly as chemical factors can be unpredictable -- but it can be ideal to have something available when options are severe.


Humans are not the same as other species. There is a divide in the biological framework between Homo sapiens and separate taxonomies. Human fields and veterinary fields are divided for a reason. Side effects can be minimal to severe regardless of what someone is. Despite that toxoids and vaccines are safe for humans, there is uncertainty in other categories.


'Lumen' periodically uses DNA from individuals for this purpose, to allow for safe testing.

Mice cannot be completely depended on, and they typically do not like using them.


Promoting health is better than letting matters deteriorate: prevention is a first step essentially, even when not everything is definitive.


Making disinfectant may have less risk and cost than buying it; which fits their character and understanding of matters. It may be periodic that they decontaminate the surroundings after cleaning and dressing a passing individual's wounds.

Whether an individual encountered or caused something would not be asked. Knowing details is a potential risk for themselves as well as others. Having information can mean others might attempt to pull confidential matters away: being known as a neutral party is beneficial in multiple senses.

It is not too infrequent that individuals run into accidents or conflicts. Wound repair is often sudden as an occurrence. As it would be impromptu, any blood accidentally spread means that surfaces and cloth need to be washed. The DNA (human or nonhuman) would need to be removed.

Most situations are not that sound. Gashes, burns, and other injuries typically have a reason behind them. Aside from conflicts between individuals, there are phenomena preying on the populace. That there was a means to escape correlates to awareness: most people do not see what is coming. Humans disappear often in crowded cities and other locations.

'Lumen' often has gauze under their sleeves. It is readily available and otherwise could serve as bindings if they themselves are hurt. They have been injured before and understand complications: hence effort to keep from worse states. Accidents and indirect involvement in skirmishes had relevance prior to modernity.


They can be killed and would disappear if that happened. The duration of cessation is about the rate of a typical individual, excluding organ damage and blood loss as a hindrance.


For the most part, considering injuries and lesser ailments is within attempted dispensation. Considering the local network is a typical routine, albeit persons who cross through the city are often directed to themselves or Angitia regarding complications.


A shaker incubator costs 500€ to 5000€ at a minimum typically.

ELISA plates are also expensive, if to a lesser extent.

Thermal cyclers cost from 400€ to 1000€ at a minimum typically.

The equipment is carefully kept as replacements are expensive. It was shipped by mail.


The currency 'Lumen' earns through their crafting was and is important in that regard.

There are 52 weeks in a year. If 100€ occurred weekly (which is a minimum), 5200€ can result at an average from selling items through local shops.

It does not have to be said outright that they have been busy. They are trying to do what they can. Angitia helped with 'Lumen' trying to adapt -- and she weighed in where equipment was concerned, as 'Lumen' researched it, because they would between inquiry and incentive -- but much of what they did was autonomous.


Warning others of occurrences does not differ by far from historic basis.


Researching through the use of books and a laptop given to them by Angitia is frequent. Local occurrences are often evident to that extent. In their view, it is better than a phone: which typically requires body heat to work. The one they were given has a keypad instead of a touchscreen.

There is no pulse or chemical elements for a touchscreen to work. It is similar in effect to needles, which tend to fall from their grasp. Gloves would be necessary to maintain functionality. Gloves are not always viable.

They do not typically carry a mobile device, although this varies as a fact depending on recent events. Due to being deaf, and unable to feel anything, it would be often unapparent if it was ringing.


For the most part, mitigating injuries and lesser ailments is within attempted dispensation. Herbal tisanes, extracts, and other means of considering wounds are frequent. Considering the local network is a typical routine, albeit persons who cross through the city are often directed to themselves or Angitia regarding complications.


Toxoid Information

PCR is fundamental to many of the procedures used in genetic testing and research, including analysis of ancient samples of DNA and identification of infectious agents. Using PCR, copies of very small amounts of DNA sequences are exponentially amplified in a series of cycles of temperature changes. PCR is now a common and often indispensable technique used in medical laboratory research for a broad variety of applications including biomedical research. [Wikipedia]

Several vaccines are made by taking toxins and inactivating them with a chemical (the toxin, once inactivated, is called a toxoid). By inactivating the toxin, it no longer causes disease. The diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines are made this way. [chop.edu]

Production of an attenuated viral vaccine by classical methods requires that the virus be grown in cultured cells, or more rarely, in an animal. Some genetically engineered attenuated vaccines use a virus that has been specifically modified to reduce virulence. [sciencedirect.com]


'Lumen' is not violent; which would not support attempts to get by without drawing complication. Nondescriptness can be defensive; if not advantageous.

Involvement was yet eventually necessary in terms of surrounding activity. To some extent: still remains to the background, which has idealism individually.


A phone plan was initiated by Angitia, Corinne, and others for those who would otherwise be out of reach. Information is confidential and private beyond payment typically, in terms of contract and use. People who do not legally exist would need support in that manner.

Money is somewhat pooled and finances individually accounted for. Resources are distributed more than currency between those who do not entirely depend on the latter. That said, money is important.


Angitia earns currency for her work commissions, whereas 'Lumen' distributes what they make to various small shops for a moderate return. She enchants things for free for people who cannot pay and earns a varying amount depending on agreements. It is probable she has a sturdy clientele, which can be exhausting depending on the workday between walking and employment. By this indirect clandestine element, she keeps her work unapparent to people outside the social sphere traversed.

Tea, candles, sewing products, and other goods that are custom made are somewhat in high demand. The sellers who are distributed to gain a profit margin, whereas 'Lumen' gains at least €10 or €15 per item passed along. About a week, around 200€ might be applicable depending on activity and situation. Currency gained is often partly distributed to others, although a relative amount is used to obtain materials for further efforts.

As needles often fall from their grasp due to lack of friction and haptic awareness, 'Lumen' has found it better to wear gloves when deciding to sew. The layer of material allows a chemical buffer to keep related supplies from being lost.


Sewing and Candlemaking Contexts

The earliest needles are known from about sixty thousand years ago, during the Late Pleistocene. These were made of bones from birds, and were found in South Africa. Early bone and ivory needles have been similarly found in China, Slovenia, and Russia. These date between 45,000 and 30,000 years ago in age.

Until twenty five thousand years ago, needles did not have eyes. At this time, threads used were often animal sinew. These were considered an absolute necessity and significantly contributed to the survival of early people. These needles were used for the construction of clothing and covering, made of skins and furs.

Modern needles were first made of steel. These were introduced into Europe by the Moorish people. Usage was established in Germany circa 1370 CE. Needles were introduced into England by Queen Elizabeth I in 1560 CE. [nha.org]


Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace. There are other types of lace, such as knitted or crocheted lace. Other laces such as these are considered as a category of their specific craft. Knitted lace, therefore, is an example of knitting.

Originally linen, silk, gold, or silver threads were used. Now lace is often made with cotton thread, although linen and silk threads are still available.

Lace was a popular Venetian export in the 1500s and 1600s, and the demand remained strong in Europe, even when the export of other items exported by Venice during this period slumped.

Needle lace, such as Venetian Gros Point, is made using a needle and thread. This is the most flexible of the lace-making arts. While some types can be made more quickly than the finest of bobbin laces, others are very time-consuming. Some purists regard needle lace as the height of lace-making. The finest antique needle laces were made from a very fine thread that is not manufactured today. [Wikipedia]


Scent affects the brain – herbal candles and other products can be beneficial.

Extracts such as juniper, rose, red clover, cinnamon, coffee, lilac, marigold, chamomile, violet, apple, strawflower, cardamom, helichrysum, vanilla, clove, and pine can have varied benefits for processes within the human system. Chemical compounds within the extracts work through aromatic diffusion.

Juniper extract numbs pain and lessens breathing complications.

Rose extract reduces stress, anxiety, pain, inflammation, and features other properties that have been clinically tested.

Cinnamon diminishes depression, faintness, and exhaustion and improves cognisance.

Lilac kills internal parasites via scent, and further conflicts with high-stress levels, anxiety, a weak immune system, sunburn, fever, inflammatory conditions, cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

Strawflower extract prevents infections (it is antimicrobial: bacteria, viruses, fungi), is anti-inflammatory, fights malaria, reduces burnout and exhaustion, and heals wounds.

Cardamom increases oxygen circulation and endurance, lessens inflammation, and is antibacterial.

Helichrysum prevents infections, fights malaria, accelerates wound healing, lessens inflammation, and reduces cold and flu symptoms.

Clove extract relieves pain, aids respiratory processes, is antiseptic and antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and can conflict with lung cancer.


Anonymity exists in that sense; the shop owners do not depict most sources publicly. 'Lumen' only has to make a journey to various shops on occasion to deposit a small stock; and they are careful in that regard as well, as per usual.


The earlier mornings are spent with the scenery as a focus in regard to illustrations. 'Lumen' has drawn scenery that no longer exists. It is not often they focus on people for individual reasons. Angitia did not try to press it when discussion occurred.

As of earlier chronologies, they typically carry a journal filled with sketches and thoughts. This is frequently kept in a satchel while moving around the streets.

As other inventory is frequently present, they keep a firm hold on what they are transporting. It would not be immediately obvious if it was stolen.


'Lumen' often draws anatomical diagrams; sometimes loosely based on what is discerned from others' systematic activity.

It is likely that both human and nonhuman persons are depicted in relevant illustrations. Wounds and related complications can be easier to treat in that regard.

Diagrams and understanding equal explication or capability of how to easily kill however, which is partly a basis for concern.


A journal is kept that historically was called an 'herbal', meant for species encountered along travels and through suppliers. Another is also present for sketches of scenery (past and present) and passing thoughts. They keep this one more hidden away.

Multiple journals or log books have relevance, considering the three-year time frame and frequent attempts toward activity.


Their quarters and the kitchen has been overtaken to an extent by plant cultivars. Botany is a considerable interest; besides medicinally beneficial.

Being in a space by themselves is often frequent when not going around actively. They often mentally drift or otherwise keep busy when alone. Maintaining a room with many plants is relatively unconsciously relaxing. There is familiarity and relative ease in having things to look after.

There are 10 tree cultivars visited occasionally around the alpine range. Pruning is a focus by both 'Lumen' and Angitia during infrequent paths to the cottage, which is old and familial in terms of Angitia's correlation. Fig, orange, lemon, lime, pear, apple, peach, plum, and other cultivars are present.

Not all plants have corresponding flowering and fruiting durations. 'Lumen' has stored a considerable amount of products from those trees, aside from other garden crops. A monthly journey typically occurs from the mountains to the city, and they use a bus along with Angitia to transport stock.


'Lumen' evidently encountered Angitia in the mountains. Discussion occurred variously.

She came and left a few times during that span, and to her surprise they did not completely leave.

'Lumen' eventually asked to go with her. Despite doubts that she might turn down the idea, she agreed. Both left later after planning a route, and it was not long after that 'Lumen' settled into a space.

To allow for convenience, as it would involve more planning to occupy a different residence, they took up a room in a building she was using, and that has remained constant since.


Pharmacies exist on many streets in Italy. The green cross at the front of a store is indicative of an active establishment and often meant to draw focus. First aid supplies, over-the-counter medicine, vitamins, supplements, homeopathic remedies, and other materials are sold there.

OTC supplies typically include pain relievers, antihistamines, cold medicine, decongestants, disinfectants, and epithelialising balms.

Where supplies are limited, these are purchased and used by individuals, if not passed along for others to use.

Hospitals are inapplicable as individuals technically do not exist, and preestablished records are necessary. As they cannot be depended on, intensive recovery can be inherently complicated, and for anatomical and biological reasons.

Chemically, many individuals are inhuman. 'Lumen' often spends much of their time trying to contend with others' needs by extent in the commune resided in; when not making a journey to another location with Angitia, Corinne, or someone else.


Distance on a perceptual scale means there is no overarching awareness of relevant individuals, and no likely help to that degree.

Persons dying from dehydration, starvation, or other complications is more likely by extent.

Malnutrition and deficiencies are detrimental for others, and otherwise can impede activity.


'Lumen' passes along medicine, food, water, and currency. That is where their cooking attempts often result.

Distribution has importance: although 'Lumen' stays around the flat during the earlier hours for various purposes.

A lack of awareness regarding their person supports navigation. Conflict and hindrances are unlikely due to caution whether there are crowds or not.

There are less crowds depending on the time of day. The capacity to maneuver around the streets means carrying food and water to various locations with less complication.


Most persons looked after are barely known, but a few are more familiar.

Not everyone is that well off situationally. It does not hurt to be considerate.


Bypassing another person is typically relevant where hostility is concerned.

Rather than gratifying someone or expending effort, a situation is typically forgone. It would not be brought up again in some probability unless forced as a conversation.


Staying from altercations is a focus. Passiveness and varied interests exist to relevant deflection; anger escalates violence. It is possible to contend, but it can be easier to move past enmity, when viable at least.

Even if holding a blade, though not inherently necessary to cause harm, in a normal situation it would not be used. Wounding someone can be disadvantageous. Injury would be registered, besides resulting pain and other factors: which can be mentally detrimental.


While not that conflictive, self-defence is possible due to being able to discern physiological ranges. Individuals know where to inflict pain for a given purpose, if necessary, despite not liking that decision overall. An individual may aim for the lungs nonlethally if without anything defensive. The activity of those organs would be evident; a loss of air would similarly be apparent through a strike to the celiac plexus.

There is not much someone can do when winded, including a chase. A minute to two minutes is typically the duration a phrenospasm lasts. That is enough for an individual to abscond.

Self-interest is present in this context. Typically, an individual would leave as quickly as possible if this became necessary.


They typically make rounds about the commune in the early morning or later into the night, which is not different from earlier chronologies.

Although the cityscape is separate from the more natural areas 'Lumen' is used to, they have made an effort to bypass unconscious bias. The crowds are still not something they are completely comfortable with despite this. The quantity of people is very different and can be overwhelming due to the amount of activity present.


Being attacked is a possibility. Although Verona is a quiet location, there is always a risk of worse.

That 'Lumen' have a weapon on their person was a precedent Angitia emphasised as important. They have not yet had reason to utilise anything despite adhering to the notion. Others have not been as fortunate.

Albeit uncommon to happen by chance; unless something appears in a building and needs to be addressed; the people outright looking for phenomena are frequently injured during the day or nightly hours. Gashes, burns, toxins, and other factors are not always irrelevant.

An understanding of matters, including potential detriment, means 'Lumen' is cautious. Without themselves or Angitia, there would not be as many to consider needs.


'Lumen' does not risk being 'avian' often in knowing that it would be odd for a 'common raven' to be active around a city. It can be dangerous for them further. This is not very likely to be relevant as a decision through related risk.


'Lumen' and Angitia are close friends. If other notions were relevant, limitations caused avertation. Both are fine with how things are.

Lifespan is one basis for not becoming romantically involved. Further, too much happened earlier into their recollections to consider anything.

It is not realistic that 'Lumen' would support anything beyond platonic relationships. Being close to others is "faulty", and too much consideration can be painful eventually.

It is a healthy relationship. Angitia is not forcing them to do anything; manipulation does not exist on either side.

Angitia gave them a chance to take a social direction once again; which was not rejected. Although 'Lumen' is capable of surviving in a solitary manner, that is not exactly correlative to being happy.

If they ever want to leave, they are capable of the decision. That they do not is indicative of perceptions.


Making disinfectant may have less risk and cost than buying it. It may be periodic that they decontaminate the surroundings after cleaning and dressing a passing individual's wounds. The DNA left behind is erased by extent.

Whether an individual encountered or caused something would not be asked; knowing details is a potential risk for themselves as well as others. Having information can mean others might attempt to pull fact away: being known as a neutral party would be beneficial in multiple senses.


Content Warning

Albeit that the terms for parasites and parasitism have only been standardised modernly, people have been aware of species of parasites within human and other living systems for thousands of years. Roundworms, Guinea worms, threadworms, and tapeworms have been written about in many ancient to archaic texts, having been treated by physicians. The first of these references exist from 3000 BC in Egyptian texts. This extends to writings from ancient Greece, Persia, the Middle East, India, and to works from more recent durations.

Myiasis, also known as fly strike or flystrike, similarly has had a long history of treatment with no standardisation. The term 'myiasis' was created in the 1840s, where it has acknowledgement by physicians for centuries to millennia prior. Ambroise Paré (1510-1590), the chief surgeon to King Charles IX and King Henry III, notably recorded maggots infesting open wounds.

If worms or other eukaryotes are evident in a system, it is more likely in current time frames that 'Lumen' would be direct about relevant complications.

4mm is enough that larger specimens are discernable, and that can mean others are present further.

Sudden symptoms where there are normally none can also mean illness or pathogenic infection, which would require correction.


They are frequently working despite that they do not have to. Leisurely crafts can also be considered work in that sense, but not as focused.

They are around the garden space when not working indoors in crafting things to sell for their own income and benefit, or making rounds for various other reasons.


'Lumen' often looks after the surroundings, insects (mostly bees and butterflies, depending on the month) included. Stocking water filters and feeders is kept up with.

Effort is also involved in the cottage space. This features non-endemic plants closer to the building and more native sorts further out around the grove and woodland past it.

They sometimes pick berries to can for preserves. That material range is not usually influenced. They are very selective about what is modified in awareness of complications. Poisoning, or worse, can occur depending on chemical concentrations.


A few cultivars of gardenia, jasmine, and various bacterial cultures they keep restricted to their quarters are typically all that is chemically hazardous at the flat.

They often leave a gardenia cultivar at the front of the flat at night. Anyone who stays long enough to attempt to break the lock (which is a precaution in response to one incident) eventually passes out at the front. Relevant persons are moved by Angitia (or 'Lumen') away from the flat so that they can be assumed to be inebriated by police or passerby.

Most know to avoid their home by hearsay given that, although circles are limited. Drowsiness would likely be realised as a risk by most, who were not bent on matters. Even if the source was not recognised, it would be a reason to leave.


Content Warning

They have a couple hanging succulents in their living quarters, mostly centred around a window.

Hoya carnosa, Echeveria cante, and related species have relevance.

Putting plants around a window can be ideal. Individual cultivars are natural diffusers by extent.

At times 'Lumen' moves those when needed, both for wounds and other purposes.


If a plant is grown in water charged with magical or healing contexts, it is characterised by that factor.

Angitia frequently writes labels for jars which are set in a window sill to gather energy from the sun. The water within these containers is used for certain cultivars.


A camellia sinensis is set away. The leaves are cultivated and stored by 'Lumen' for emergencies. Relevant supplies are limited and not often used.

While grown in a manner that convalescent factors are bolstered, they are not instant. Wound healing can be painful or taxing if rapid. Nondescription is also ideal.

As an herbalist; etc; they typically know what is ideal to avoid poisoning on a normal basis. In terms of altered materials, they use less to offset given factors.

Occasionally offsetting pain is attempted with painkillers, when available. Painkillers can be a norm whether or not something is objectively normal.

'Lumen' does not like causing pain for various reasons, but that may be inherent to efforts.

They are forward if something was going to hurt, if not also apologising prior to an attempt. Wound repair and related processes are not to be taken frivolously. A lot can be affected by something.


'Drugless' painkillers include turmeric, ginger, cayenne, garlic, oregano, dill, tarragon, holy basil, peppermint, meadowsweet, yarrow, dandelion, chicory root, valerian root, white willow bark, violet, common daisy, oxeye daisy, lady's mantle, skullcap, cinquefoil, silverweed, fireweed, figwort, grapevine leaves and sap, stinging nettle, milk thistle, common thistle, wild spinach, calamint, costmary, cowslip, flatweed, pink savory, white-leaved savory, summer savory, basil thyme, grey santolina, curry plant, lamb's ear, anise hyssop, hedge woundwort, field woundwort, meadow geranium, ziziphora, chickweed, lemon balm, betony, bitter orange, sea chamomile, chrysanthemum, carnation, peony, pansy, rose, plumeria, rose geranium, and opium.

Opium poppy is not illegal to grow in certain European countries. Its use for opium is however prohibited without a license. Angitia may or may not have acquired one, but it does not quite account due the fact that most individuals technically do not exist.

When very rarely used by 'Lumen', a small amount of opium or morphine (a dark resin extract made from distilled concentrations of opium) is only relevant. The substances themselves are very addictive and anything beyond that would not be recommended. They have an awareness of what opium can do from earlier durations.

Despite chemicals working to disconnect pain signals from the brain, other substances have similar effects without resulting potential dependency. Other chemicals are adhered to when available.


In prior chronologies, laudanum were pills comprised of mixtures of opium thebaicum, citrus extract, and gold extract. These were used as painkillers from 1527 CE onwards, and were relevant to 'Lumen's' duration. They know it is dangerous through the effects it causes, albeit limitations in supplies can be difficult to consider on rare occasions. That people have died from overdosing on it is not disregarded: it may be a fear by extent of awareness.


At times 'Lumen' tries to keep Angitia from having more than one glass of alcoholic digestif when other necessities are present regarding her work. Stress can make it difficult to think.

Although aware that alcohol is not very harmful, they cannot be certain it will not be deleterious for her later.

At other durations, when alcohol is not relevant, less concern exists.

Limits also exist for herbal extracts, regardless of individual use. Everything utilised nutritively is technically a drug, food and water included.


Angitia may or may not have told them she did not entirely like sugar-oriented recipes, as they were happy about the chance to cook. Pastries were not a focus at first and remain auxiliary, though 'Lumen' thinks they look pretty.

Soups and other dishes are relevant. These are mostly herbal and traditionally-focused recipes. Stuffed squid, oven omelet, pan flatbread, fish stew, polenta, etc, are variously attempted. This helped with using leftover meat as bones were necessary for Angitia for her occupation.

That consumption of bones causes lead deposits and resultant death would not be improbable; the idea of sourcing calcium from fish and other bones would be averted from, if considered. 'Lumen' has an understanding of poisonous compounds and related effects on bodily systems. Specific chemicals annul certain poisons, when still in the digestive system, and these may be kept within inventory at their residence.

Whether poison is naturally produced (Nerion at least attests to that probability, as does Angitia in consideration of her reptilian features. Green mamba are like black mamba in that death is swift and antivenom is scarce) or synthetic, the latter more frequent in current chronologies; awareness is beneficial.


Romantic contexts are not relevant; but they care a lot about Angitia. 'Lumen' might be shaken despite not appearing otherwise if she vanishes.


<"...I have yet not given up, why now?">

That seems like something said, weakly. Despite wanting to avoid fact as it is, that cannot realistically happen. As long as they exist, fact will never go away. Losing that would be objectively worse than enduring it.

A lot is being unconsciously carried. Occasionally 'Lumen' is impacted enough that worse recollections resurface. They are trying to stay in the present and not focus on pain, whether from prior durations or modern ones. An amount of positivity is realistically fabricated.

They realistically retreat into their own space mentally and behaviourally when considerably stressed or lacking positivism. Depression is a mental state. If matters are bleak, they may spend days looking over inventory or written works. That is more likely than doing nothing at least: keeping busy is a distraction.

'Lumen' may stop completely if morale dies. They would realistically sit somewhere and stop moving. Eventually, due to blocking out external factors, they might literally disappear.


Despite avoiding the matter, knowing how it would affect them, Angitia may have been eventually forced to tell 'Lumen' what she knew. Her own direction was not something that would be ideal to omit for their safety and interests. The context to her activity was not something she could indefinitely omit.

That she was bleeding on occasion was not missed by them. It was an inevitable discussion.

Worries have resulted but are typically unvoiced.

They do not consciously compare themselves to phenomena, but the awareness that they might not be too separate from fact is not absent. Guilt is present and fuels efforts toward support.


Historical Background Context

Witches were and remain mediators between humanity and other individuals. They historically might have been aware of crossroads to 'elsewhere'. That does not mean relevant paths were risked.

Both local matters and 'outer sorts' were contended with as much as knowledge allowed.

Those were the same persons historically burned at the stake: not ideally, and for more reasons than apparent in-universe.

"Who is going to keep the bad things away" when those capable are dead?


Europe as a continent is connected by a single landscape; and it has many interwoven stories about 'otherworlds' which themselves share similarities. Perspectives being a factor anywhere, the different 'underworlds' that encompass many cultures could be the same location, but seen differently. Italy was a trade hub historically; places that were 'other' could have also been connected.


Italy is renowned for fairytales; that is grimly significant. Historically, fairies were believed in and making deals with them were viewed variously positively and negatively. Peasants, who were directly mentioned, seem like they were more likely to adhere to those beliefs. This has some sense as relevant persons would not have been as easily missed if stolen away.

'Magic' used to be present, to some extent, on the Earthly side of matters, but that factor depleted gradually. While various persons can still redirect and translate present sources to various purposes, conditions exist that limit capability. It yet might be safer in some regards: not being 'foreign' to what most are used to.


The moths 'Lumen' keeps and is studying were a byproduct of magic leaking. They eat electricity and are a hazard to infrastructure, which is why eggs are usually destroyed.

Angitia, Corinne, Eos, and others know of matters and 'guard the gates', aside from removing phenomena that occur, whether magic-related or metaphysical.

'Lumen' is separate from visceral elements as they are purely conscious and not 'flesh'. Magic is 'outer' and metaphysics are 'local'. Both need individual regulation.


Capability ties in with 'Lumen's' psychopomp aspect. Due to not being maligned by time and other factors, acting as a guide can have significance to 'Lumen' and others. Differences in surroundings are generally not a factor unless physical harm results in cessation. While individuals are tied to given locatives, they may not necessarily be bound to them, despite likely aversion to leave what is familiar.


Both local matters and 'outer sorts' were contended with as much as knowledge allowed.

Most do not see what they are not attuned to. As energy (magic) depleted, so did awareness of it and relevant individuals. Humans overall 'disconnected' from what used to be accepted and perceived.

Humans cannot generally see what is not 'real'. Genetically what is 'other' or 'outer' was phased out from perception.

Being 'beyond human perception' at this time, if not indefinitely, individuals who are 'other' are essentially 'transcendent'.

Imperception encompasses ostensively 'allegorical' individuals.

Locally and otherwise, it is uncertain how many still exist.


As civilisation evolved and compounded, tradition and practices changed with it. The efforts by certain characters to keep things stable is fueled by centuries of understanding; they are 'just' taking up the mantle in order to survive.

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