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Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Tales of the Sanctum: Era of the Spellbound - Episode 8: The Sought Convergence (Updated December 30, 2025 13:00 EST - Artwork to come)

[Spellbound - Siouxie And The Banshees]


Do you like enigmatic characters, engrossing story, magic and the ever atemporal weave?

Play Baldur's Gate 3 [On Steam]


Chapters

  1. Of Origins And Dreams (Finished December 29, 2025 17:00 EST)
  2. Of Guests And Graduates (Finished December 29, 2025 18:30 EST)
  3. Of Major And Minor Arkana (Finished December 30, 2025 10:00 EST)
  4. Of Inspiration And Education (Finished December 30, 2025 13:00 EST)

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Please support education and information access where you can in addition to these charities:


Sick Kids Foundation - Check out the Sick Kids Raffle!
Help research that provides cures and support treatment for sick children. 


Creating a world of possibility for kids and youth with disabilities.


The Cancer Research Institute
The Princess Margaret Foundation
Cancer Research organizations that combine the expertise of many different research firms and Universities to find innovative treatments and cures for Cancer.


David Suzuki Foundation
Through evidence-based research, education and policy analysis, we work to conserve and protect the natural environment, and help create a sustainable Canada. We regularly collaborate with non-profit and community organizations, all levels of government, businesses and individuals.


Donate directly to FireAid today to help us start rebuilding our community. Direct donations will be distributed under the advisement of the Annenberg Foundation and will be distributed for short-term relief efforts and long-term initiatives to prevent future fire disasters throughout Southern California.


United Nations Fund
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World Veterans Federation (Under Reconstruction) [Wikipedia]
The World Veterans Federation is a humanitarian organisation, a charity and a peace activist movement. The WVF maintains its consultative status with the United Nations since 1951 and was conferred the title of “Peace Messenger” in 1987.


I'd like to point out that it was the incredible Gary Sinese Foundation that brought the issue of Veteran's rights to my attention. I've always had little respect for those who'd forget the great contribution made by those who've risked life and limb to defend those values that so many of us espouse. Perhaps the true measure of one's principles are by that for which they'd risk their life.

"None can speak more eloquently for peace than those who have fought in war."

Ralph Bunche, Nobel Peace Prize 1950


The Reeve Foundation provides programs for research, uniting Scientists and Specialists from many different fields to find treatments for spinal cord injury translating them into therapies and support programs.


For over 60 years, Heart & Stroke has been dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. Our work has saved thousands of lives and improved the lives of millions of others.


The ALS Society Of BC
ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) is a progressive neuromuscular disease in which nerve cells die and leave voluntary muscles paralyzed. The ALS society provides a variety of programs to combat this disease and help those with it to survive.


Muscular Dystrophy Canada
Muscular Dystrophy Canada’s mission is to enhance the lives of those affected by neuromuscular disorders by continually working to provide ongoing support and resources while relentlessly searching for a cure through well-funded research.


Humane Society International
The Humane Society protects the health, lives and rights of animals the world over, ensuring that they too have a voice in this world. We are interdependent upon the complex web of life this entire planet over for our mutual survival. This is a world wide charity.


The Global Foodbanking Network
Ensuring that people the world over have enough food day to day in order to survive and lead healthy lives. In this challenging day and age services like this are becoming more and more essential. This is a world wide charity.


The Edgar Allan Poe Museum
Because Barris told me to put it here. If I didn't, he said he'd walk. Geez. Stardom really gets to some people's heads. Maybe I could kill him and bury his heart beneath the floor boards! Or I could encase him in behind a brick and mortar wall, for shaming my family name of Amantillado! 

In all truth, there's a good chance that thanks to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Jonathan Swift, Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Herbert George Wells, Jules Verne, Dr. Seuss, Stephen King, Clive Barker and Pierre Burton (for The Secret World Of Og and his ground breaking interview of Bruce Lee) that all of us are literate. Actually that goes back much farther to the Phoenecians and their first 22 character system of symbols. Literacy is important. Really it is. Literally. It allows us to approach our employer at the end of the week (with a big club) and ask: where my money?! Math important too. It help us count our thirteen fingers and toes.


Wikipedia
The model for what may become the Encyclopedia Galactica, a complete reference and record of history, events and knowledge of humanity and its journey beyond. It is the encyclopedia of all that we know, what we surmise that we've known and will learn in the future. Yes, Wikipedia is a charitable organization of great importance. If you enjoy what I am doing here then please take the time to donate to Wikipedia. Surprisingly only 1% of Wikipedia's users donate yet the site serves pages to millions every day.


Humble Bundle
A video gaming storefront benefiting a vast variety of different Charities in the United States and United Kingdom (hopefully soon to be expanded to include other areas of the world?). By software their software bundles and choose which Charity your money benefits and how much of your money benefits that Charity. See? Gamers can do their part too.


Multiple Sclerosis is a degenerative disease currently affecting an estimated 2.3 million world wide. By donating you are contributing to effective research in finding a cure and tipping the scales of MS research to change lives forever.


If you're a resident of Ontario then please consider supporting Building Better Schools.


Other Ways To Help Using Your Computer

Donate your idle computer time to science! Join the World Community Grid by clicking on one of the links below and follow the instructions for how to participate:



Thank you for your support

Shhhh! Digital Media

Brian Joseph Johns


Shhhh! Digital Media Presents:

Tales of the Sanctum: Era of the Spellbound - Episode 8: The Sought Convergence

by Brian Joseph Johns




Of Origins and Dreams




Mila suddenly awoke, leaning up in her bed as the moonlight streamed in between the curtains of the balcony door.


She sat in bed, waiting for her eyes to focus as she desperately struggled to recall the content of her dreams.


Across the room and on an overstuffed love seat in her bedroom, Happiu~isuka lay, his head down, his jaw flat upon the tops of his paws as he looked to her, having been startled into the land of the wakeful.


He growled once, and then barked. And then, once again. He too as confused as Mila had been moments earlier.


"You little mischievous puppy..." she said to him, and his tail began to wag as he lifted his head, unable to see her clearly, though the sound of her voice was the only reassurance he'd needed.


She slid her legs over the side of the bed and with her feet, found her slippers, inserting each of her feet within as she stood. She then walked across the floor, from the large area rug that encompassed the area around her bed, and onto the hardwood floor.


Without turning on the bathroom light, she rinsed her face and delicately dried it with her favourite towel, looking at herself in the mirror in the dark.


Happiu~isuka growled again, this time withholding his bark before Mila heard the thump as he jumped from the love seat onto the floor. The sound of his claws clicking on the hardwood floor and then his entrance into the bathroom, where he stopped and licked the exposed top of her foot.


 "You don't know where that's been you know?" she scolded him, trying not to laugh despite how it tickled her, when she experienced a memory.


A memory she'd never had before, though she was certain it was hers.


A man, one with whom she was very familiar, and very intimate given the situation she recalled, had produced a feather, as in a fancy writing quill. It was very obviously from a partridge, soft and colourful and rather pointy on the tip. 


He was handsome, of pale skin and clean shaven with a delicately shaped jaw. His hair was short and messy, as if someone had ruffled it with their hands full of gel. There was a smile on his face. A devious one at that and she was withdrawing herself and her feet away from him, trying to contain her laughter as he reached out for her.


His grip found her left foot (the very one that Happiu~isuka had just cleaned) and with his right hand, he began using the soft part of the feather to tickle her.


All at once the laughter flowed forth from her in a mania not unlike madness. She desperately kicked at the source of her fit and pushed him from the bed. He fell over the edge backwards, landing on his back as she rolled over and reached down, attempting to grab the feather from him.


When she missed, he reached for the very arm she'd used, gaining a light hold of hand as he fell backwards onto the floor once again.


She wrenched herself free from his grip and got up, standing upright on the bed, then running and jumping onto the floor and for the bedroom door in attempt to liberate herself into the hall.


He by that time was upon his feet and dove for her hips, grabbing hold of her sides (one of her most ticklish parts) and began squeezing her until she folded over, unable to run.


He picked her up in his arms, still squeezing her side as he carried her over to the bed, her face and body quickly flushing pink and then red.


He dropped her onto the bed when her struggles became too frenzied, and for a moment, their eyes met and a silence came over them as their lips moved closer together.


She was once again staring into the mirror in her darkened bathroom, running her fingers along the edge of her bottom lip as she recalled the perfect kiss.


Her reflection did much the same, and she paused to look closer at it, when she realized that it was her and yet not her.


She was suddenly laying on a wooden bed, strapped to it tightly and unable to move. She struggled against her bindings, looking for any means of escape when her eyes happened upon a bookshelf, a solitary book standing out to her from countless others whose covers seemed faded:


Goe Thee!


She read the words along the binding, trying to make sense of them as a door slowly opened and revealed a man in a cloak entering into the room. He walked over to her bed and began tightening the straps one by one until there was absolutely no give in any of them.


"That my little dear, was not yours. You are a little thief of things that do not belong to you anymore. I must remove it from you..." his words came forth slowly, as if he laboured greatly to speak them.


He then withdrew a crude iron hammer, and a stone chisel from within his cloak, wielding them in his strong and calloused hands.


"This is going to hurt worse than hell..." he said to her, placing the tip of the chisel upon the center of her forehead, and then raising the hammer above his head and holding there steady.


Goe Thee!


She recalled the binding of the book, imploring her flee, but the bindings that held her remained.


The feather. Her laughter. Her escape. Their kiss.


The hammer brought down hard to the chisel and she awoke beside the warmth of another body beside hers.


Of Guests And Graduates


The dinner table was covered in a variety of food and drink, and yet only four places were set thereupon within the dining room.


In the kitchen, the water still boiled until it had mostly evaporated, with whomever had left it as such absent. Only the remainder of their chandler craft evident upon the counter in the form of several unfinished candles. A project abandoned and left to wither in a host-less gathering.


One of the chairs at the table began to jump and rock between its legs, as if  it had taken on a life all its own. Wisps of light began emanating forth from openings in the air, like shimmering reflections through which emerged a cloud of butterflies.


They gathered upon the chair in a formless mass, eventually coalescing into the shape of a body of a woman, their wings still flapping as they did.


Slowly, their flapping wings transitioned to become the fabric of a day dress, which fit snuggly the body of a blonde haired woman. Her eyes opened and she looked around, startled.


"Mila?" Nelony asked aloud, seeming to remember being summoned to this unfamiliar place of her habitation.


Before her an empty plate sat, while several serving dishes of food from the non-existent hostess' garden filled up much of the table, steam still rising from most of them.


Somewhere within the lavishly decorated home, quiet music emanated from the room speakers within. The haunting melody echoing throughout the house as Nelony sat at her place setting.


When she'd finally lost her patience and stood from her chair, the seat next to her began to jump and shake as had hers before her arrival. By the time Nelony had turned to face the table, the autonomously moving chair began forming the edges of a silhouette. A shadowy presence taking the form of a woman's body began to take shape. The shadow darkened and then surreptitiously faded, revealing a tall woman with a length of red hair and pale post-goth makeup.


"Nelony?" asked Shaela, confirming that it was indeed her friend from Shepperton off the Thames.


"One and the same, though to be honest, I can't remember putting on this dress. Nor am I entirely sure of why we're here?" Nelony asked Shaela, who stood from her chair and looked around, peering first into the kitchen and noticing the unfinished candles.


"Is this Mila's place?" Shaela asked Nelony, turning to face her.


"I'm not sure. Its certainly not the one where we spent time with Glynis... or that Susan Gardener woman..." Nelony responded, still perplexed.


"You mean Glynis and Gallea, and Susan Gardener and Mianamor Selembrosi," Shaela corrected her.


"Must be hard having a stow away in one's mind," Nelony explained her omission of the unseen.


"Must be hard being a stow away in one's mind," Shaela countered, though still very much skeptical of the whole ordeal.


"Are we late, maybe?" asked Nelony, still looking around for their host.


"No. I seem to recall this as being a graduation dinner. Don't ask me how I know that, because I can't recall for the life of me," Shaela explained to her friend.


"This dress seems a little too conservative for my liking. A few years beyond my age, and very old fashioned..." Nelony told Shaela as she examined her day dress.


"Well, I have to say that mine fits perfectly. Though to tell you the truth, I think I'd prefer something a little more modern myself. Kind of has that feel, like the smell of old clothing you'd find in an attic," Shaela described for Nelony, who nodded in agreement.


"Yes. The whole place seems to smell like that," Nelony sniffed the air, noting the presence of a nearly indescribable staleness of the air.


The evening light seemed suddenly to dim, and the sky became dark as thunderclouds gathered above.


Shaela and Nelony peered out of the kitchen window, towards the edge of a long driveway and the closest of a grove of apple and pear trees that lined the property.


There standing in the grove was a woman, with short stylish hair wearing a dress not unlike that of a teacher or mentor of some form.


"I think there's a door to the back somewhere here!" Shaela said to Nelony, leaving the kitchen into another hall, passing a wall lined with photos until she arrived at a pair of sliding doors.


She pushed them open, and the two of them stepped out onto an unfinished deck. A little less than a football field away, there stood four women, three of them arguing with the third. The teacher or mentor, who seemed to be in defiance of the three.


They proceeded out towards the grove and as they got closer to the women, their forms began to fade and become aetherial. Like glowing ghosts of a flesh and bone visage.


A large cat suddenly appeared, like one of the beasts that had nearly consumed Shaela. It stood down the mentor, as the three women  challenged her together.


The stormy sky then suddenly cleared, revealing a pink haze from behind which a sky full stars peered at them in the dimming light.


The four women were no longer there, nor were there any signs of their ghosts.


"Please tell me that you saw that too?" Nelony asked Shaela.


"And then some... Doesn't this feel familiar to you?" Shaela asked Nelony.


"Yes. Like a memory... or a premonition?" asked Nelony as they heard the sound of a scream from back in the kitchen.


Shaela turned to run, waiting for Nelony who wore heeled shoes as if she was there for a party.


The two of them returned to the unfinished deck and then ran into the house through the sliding doors once again, finding their way to the dining room where upon their arrival, they saw the woman with short stylish hair again.


There were three men in cloaks, two of them had grabbed her arms and upon gaining a firm hold of the teacher, they disappeared with her, leaving one of the cloaked men behind.


He turned and faced Shaela and Nelony, each of whom stopped in their tracks, unsure of what to do.


"Who are you? What did you do with that woman?!!!" Shaela challenged him.


"This place is no longer valid, as are your memories of it. None of this is yours and before you're done, you'll surrender it all..." he said to them, advancing upon them.


Behind them, the air was sucked into a vortex which suddenly appeared out of thin air. A torrent of air stirred from within as the cloaked man advanced upon them.


"You're the one with all of the experience with these things... What do we do Shaela?" Nelony asked her friend as they backed up towards the vortex.


"Take a deep breath and hold it! Remember that hangover you had when you got into your parents' liquor cabinet last summer?" asked Shaela of Nelony.


"How could I forget...?" Nelony said as she took another step back from the cloaked man.


"That was nothing compared to how this will make you feel... unless you'd like to stay?" asked Shaela of her.


"What choice do I...?" before Nelony had managed to finish her sentence, Shaela pushed her into the vortex and then jumped in behind her.


Nelony's insides were twisted and wrung like a wet cloth, her sense of balance and equilibrium lost in the chaos. She felt herself simultaneously accelerated to unimaginable speeds, and at the same time, suddenly stopping as if she'd been thrown a great distance into a solid wall.


She leaned against the wall, trying desperately to push herself away from it when she realized that it wasn't a wall at all. It was the floor, a wooden floor and she was laying upon it, trying to push herself up from it.


Shaela was leaning over her, saying something to her that sounded like someone talking through water, muffled and distorted and dampened. Nelony gagged a few times and miraculously, managed to keep what little she had of the contents of her stomach.


Nelony looked to Shaela as she accepted the red head's help getting onto her feet, a sudden look of shock crossing her face.


"More ghosts!" she said, looking towards a point behind Shaela.


Shaela turned to face the new presence, finding two of them who seemed to be speaking to each other, one of them holding a book in his hand, the other delivering some kind of senior's lecture, though none of their words could be made out.


Nelony found something familiar about the place they were, and upon looking around, she realized that they were in the old man's shop. The shop that had been closed two years earlier.


"None of this is yours..." the cloaked man appeared behind them, possibly having stepped from the same vortex that brought them there, though it had already closed leaving them stranded where they were.


The cloaked man waved his hand, and Shaela and Nelony were suddenly bound by straps to a medieval looking table, somewhat like a torture rack.


"These things you have in your head... they are not yours... they are no longer valid and we must take them from you forever!" he said to them, as they struggled to free themselves.


The cloaked man advanced towards the tables, bumping into a bookshelf on his way. A book fell from one of the shelves and landed atop Shaela's abdomen, atop of her gothic dress.


She peered down and could see the edge of the binding:


Goe Thee!


"What is it Shaela?!!!" Nelony yelled, asking her friend as she struggled to free herself.


"Its an old book! It says Go Thee! Maybe go thee away?!!!" Shaela too continued to struggle against the bindings as the cloaked man arrived, withdrawing an old iron hammer and a stone chisel from within his cloak.


"Go Thee? No kidding! Any instructions on how we might do that, love?" asked Nelony of her best friend as the man placed the chisel upon the center of Shaela's forehead, raising his hammer above her head.


Shaela awoke from her nightmare, leaning up in her bed suddenly and checking her forehead for any signs of a wound. She found nothing but the dampness of her own sweat and the darkness of a Moon-less sky.


Of Major And Minor Arkana


Gillie stood in the dim light of the basement of her home, filling the last of her boxes with the books and magazines that had once been collecting mold and mildew in her cellar. She'd hired her neighbour's two adolescent sons, who both carried the boxes out of the basement and helped her to empty her home of the clutter of ages. Remnants of a life and style she'd discarded over a month ago.


The same two youths also helped her to wash and clean (with bleach and other cleaning compounds) all of the walls of her home, which were filthy with the soot and tar of years of cigarette smoking. It had taken three days worth of clean rags and the expunging of filthy brown water until her home no longer smelled like an ashtray.


As she poured the last of the cleaning water down the toilet, she shuddered to think of the condition of her lungs, for every inch of the stained walls in her home had arisen as a result of her own former habit of cigarette smoking.


Her three week stay in the hospital had changed many things, though in all honesty it was and had been the presence of someone whom she'd assumed to be an enemy, that had finally broken her habit and nearly so at the cost of her life.


It had been a month since she'd smoked her last cigarette, the very one that had pushed her over the edge and triggered her cardiac arrest, though she still struggled with the urge, often finding refuge with her fidget ball, or by shuffling her tarot deck.


Relieving herself of that habit had not been the only measure she'd taken to turn her health around. She'd also changed her diet and her level of activity, which she'd slowly been ramping up enough so as to exercise her respiratory system as the therapist had suggested. In doing so, she'd slowly been helping her body to scour the free radicals from her system by increasing the activity of her circulatory system, while at the same time relying upon her changes in diet to further speed up that process.


In a matter of two weeks, she'd gone from a complexion of dark circles beneath her eyes, and an agitated appearance of her skin, to a healthier pink appearance absent of dirt and filth of her former habit. She'd adjusted her intake of water, and her consumption of anti-oxidants like the fresh and powdered garlic she now used in her cooking to further augment her body's ability to speed up the healing process. A process that would take about twelve years from the moment she'd decided to quit smoking cigarettes.


The emptying and cleaning of her residence had given her a considerable amount of exercise, and safely enough so that it wasn't a risk to the damage she'd sustained as a result of her cardiac arrest a month before. When they were done the cleaning, she went out to a local mall and purchased new curtains and shades for her windows, and layer of beige paint to brighten up her home.


Gwendolyn too had found much solace in the changes that Gillie had made to her life, for they both were inhabiting the same body, as if the universe had played some kind of cruel joke upon them, though in all truth, it made them shudder when they thought about the fact that both of them had been using the tarot since they were young, as a divining tool. What were the chances that fact had been involved in their eventual pairing? As if some invisible force behind the scenes were orchestrating some grand plan. An education of the soul or something that confirmed a purpose to their lives that extended beyond their own mortality. They were both aware of this coincidence, but never discussed it for fear of upending something that might snuff them out to keep such a fact hidden.


Gillie's changes had also yielded much to benefit Gwendolyn's situation. For one, she was far more relaxed and able to concentrate on other aspects of her new situation of being a stow away in someone else's body. She had learned much from Gillie as the two now had a lot of time to learn from each other with regard to the tarot. Gillie had been using the tarot for much longer, and hence took Gwendolyn under her wing. Gwendolyn on the other hand had shared much about her knowledge of maintaining good health, and with her insider's perspective and Gillie's body, she could make recommendations that had turned out to be very accurate with regard to their applicability to medical science.


The financial windfall that had benefited Gillie was that her disability pension (which she'd taken early), would go much, much farther without the added cost of her former cigarette habit. Within that first month, her savings had been enough that she was able to procure a used computer. It was an older gaming computer that had been the property of one of the very youths she'd hired to assist with her cleaning. The computer being four years, could no longer play the triple A titles that all of his friends  from school played, and so he sold it to Gillie, and with the money he'd earned helping her clean her property, he bought a new one.


Gillie on the other hand had missed the entire internet bandwagon, knowing little about the world wide web or email for that matter and so the computer had brought with it an entirely new understanding. No longer was her circle simply her local tarot customers. Her circle began to slowly expand as she delved further into different avenues of communication and their favourite subject.


Garrett hauled the last box up the stairs as Gillie brushed her hands off and looked around at the empty basement, wondering what she could do with all of the extra space.


"You could setup your own little gardening center down here you know. The door from here leads directly out to the garden, and come summer time it would be a great excuse to keep you active..." Gwendolyn suggested to her from inside of her head.


"That's a project for another time, but that is the front runner of ideas so far," Gillie agreed in response.


"Look. Now that all of that is out of the way, I wanted to bring up the subject of us following up on finding Mrs. Ardbloem's daughter, Nelony?" Gwendolyn brought the subject up for the second time.


"Its not so much a problem of doing it, as much so as it is a problem of doing it tactfully, and in a way that doesn't frighten or traumatize her," Gillie reminded Gwendolyn.


"She's a young adult now. I think she should be able to handle it," Gwendolyn was eager to add people to their circle with the intention of helping her to find a way back to her own body.


"The same way I handled it? I almost died," Gillie reminded Gwendolyn.


"Don't blame me. Besides, my situation ended up saving your life..." Gwendolyn was quick to respond.


"And improving it vastly. The quality of my life I mean," Gillie added modestly and gratefully.


"Thank you for recognizing that. I feel a little bit redeemed. A little. My thinking was that if we get some outside help, and if Nelony remembers her talents, she might be able to help me get back to my own body. My own life..." Gwendolyn explained to her  changed friend.


"Why don't we ask the cards?" asked Gillie, coming up with a suggestion that suited both their trust and need.


"Why don't we?" Gwendolyn agreed.


And so it was that after Gillie had paid the boys for their assistance, she went to the kitchen table in the brightly lit solarium and dealt a simple spread to broach their inquiry.


Of Inspiration And Education

Wes and Neville walked beside Glynis, her cane firmly in hand though her step was strong and steady with Gallea's assistance.


Beside the three of them, Susan Gardener with her stow away Mianamor Selembrosi walked along the path up to the front steps of the local Council Offices.


"This is the place. This is where I work," Susan explained to Glynis, Wes and Neville as they arrived at the arched doorway front entrance to the classic Elizabethan era building.


Neville got the door for them as Wes and Susan helped Glynis through, Neville following behind them afterward.


When they arrived in the foyer, Mianamor paused with Susan's body, taking in the scenery and finding herself very much reminded of the first time she'd seen the Sanctum Seclorum.


"Its been a long time since I've seen this much polished marble..." she said as she admired the artisanship and stone work.


"Its polished granite," Susan corrected her.


"A similar effect though you have to admit," Mianamor replied, all of which seemed very peculiar as their entire conversation had taken place between two different people occupying the same body, and consequently, the same vocal chords and mouth.


"Its nice and all, but we're going to be late, and I really don't want to keep Mrs. Trufflebury waiting," Wes stuck up for her and her time.


"I think she'll wait. After all, we did press to her about the importance of this meeting and its relationship to education," Mianamor reminded them.


"All the more reason not to be tardy..." Wes urged them, turning to face Miana as Glynis stepped forward on her own.


"Come on Glynis. We'll show them," Gallea spoke through Glynis' lips.


"Good thing I remembered the electrolytes this morning," Glynis responded, tapping her belt pouch with her free hand.


As Miana stared out through Susan Gardener's eyes, Susan strode the main hall after Glynis, on the way to her office.


A few doors down from the half-way point, and Wes recognized Mrs. Trufflebury seated on a bench just outside of the doors to Susan's office. She stood from the bench and waved to Wes with a friendly smile on her face, as he accompanied Glynis and Susan to greet her.


"Mrs. Trufflebury I presume?" Susan extended her hand.


"One and the same. Would Ms. Gardener be alright?" asked Mrs. Trufflebury.


"Susan, please. The boys have had a lot to say about you. Why don't we step into my office so we can discuss things," Susan turned and unlocked the door to her office, holding the door for everyone as they filed in through the door.


"Hopefully nothing too serious," Mrs. Trufflebury responded.


"Not at all, in fact, if it was up to their praise of you alone, you'd likely walk out of here with a raise today," Susan laughed as she stepped to her chair behind the desk, gesturing to the guest chairs.


"I think that's enough sugar for now, though its very sweet of them. In the interest, of education however, lets get down to our discussion," Mrs. Trufflebury crossed her legs and leaned forward, waiting for Susan to start their meeting.


"Mrs. Trufflebury, this is our good friend Glynis," Wes introduced Glynis as she sat down, keeping her cane beside her as she did.


"A pleasure to meet you," Mrs. Trufflebury offered.


"As it is for me," Glynis smiled, as both Gallea and Mianamor lay hidden behind the eyes of Glynis and Susan respectively.


"Mrs. Trufflebury, we're in a dilemma. A dilemma of education and one that we need to act quickly, but carefully in the name of ensuring that the current generation, and the one to follow don't miss out on any crucial aspects of what it is for this generation's mentors to pass the torch of knowledge, skill, creativity and application to the next. I'm speaking about the crumbling of a means by which we've passed such knowledge on for a very long time, suddenly disappearing once and for all..." Susan explained to Mrs. Trufflebury, as she listened intently.


"Oh I know. These funding cuts are and have been taking much needed programs from the students for quite some time, not to mention these zealous attack upon crucial programs such as the sciences and sex education, under pressure from the religious right," Mrs. Trufflebury spoke tactfully but passionately about her stance.


"We understand your concern with maintaining a secular, and cooperative education environment for all people of all beliefs, and we most certainly back those ideas, but we're looking at a curriculum that transcends the public, secondary and post secondary educational systems. What we have in mind is a unique program, for students who have demonstrated unique interests and ability that requires specialized guidance," Susan explained to Mrs. Trufflebury.


"Forgive me for saying so, but what you're referring to sounds somewhat elitist, don't you think? Like private schools available only to those who can afford it?" confirmed Mrs. Trufflebury.


"No. We're not going that direction at all. We're dealing with a very specific set of requirements and a niche of education that deals specifically with a small cross-section of skill sets and awareness, in much the same way that if we were teaching a music program to the deaf, we'd have to change the way we teach that subject, and the sensory experience to which it is catered. Perhaps by way of colour and the visual sensory experience rather than by sound," Susan, with guidance of Miana, attempted to delve into ambiguity as a measure of Mrs. Trufflebury's comprehension of metaphor and its use as the foundation of language.


"You're referring to special needs I take it?" confirmed Mrs. Trufflebury, looking to Glynis momentarily with an air of concern.


"Yes and no. Imagine someone deaf, who somehow had a natural talent for writing music, knowing they could never hear it. We on the other hand, can hear music and study it in ways not afforded to those without the sense of hearing, and could transfer those same skills across the domain of sensory experience to one of a visual diaspora. Though they could never hear music, they could most certainly see it. In much the same way that a magician might never be a scientist, but they gain insights to the universe via a different sensory experience and understanding..." Gallea this time guided Glynis' words, carefully leading the metaphor to one that touched upon Mrs. Trufflebury's sense of passion for her career and her students.


"You're talking about the paranormal?" she confirmed, now concerned that their conversation might be delving into places that might deny students in need of funding for programs already fundamentally lacking.


"No. Not at all. We're talking about the craft of science and the theurgy. We're not talking about siphoning funding dollars into perpetual motion machines or snake oil, though I'd never personally discourage any line of exploration and research that isn't exploiting ignorance for the purpose of financial gain without real or theoretical application. The reason we're talking, Mrs. Trufflebury, is because we're looking to build a system of education without the funding, and we need the insight of teachers like yourself to bring this together under the motivation of your passion for education alone," Miana started their words, and Susan finished them, very much the administrator.


"Now once again, it sounds to me like you're putting this all on the back of the teachers, without paying them for it!" Mrs. Trufflebury nobly defended an important aspect of education, not quite realizing yet what Susan was implying.


"Mrs. Trufflebury, once we've created the institution we're seeking as the foundation of this project, resources will not be a problem, and you'll be privy to knowledge and secrets that have been a guiding light for humanity older than civilization itself..." Gallea interjected through Glynis.


"But with all light, there is also a shadow, and with all knowledge, there is also the devourer thereof..." Miana spoke through Susan, as Mrs. Trufflebury looked to Glynis, and then back.


"I will help you, but at the first sign of any harm or risk to education or the students you're seeking to help, I will abandon your project and expose it if necessary to protect them," Mrs. Trufflebury made her part very clear and without the ambiguity of a lack of direction.


Of Convergence And Dissolution


Coming soon...


To be continued...


Credits and attribution:

Special Thanks To Rocket Fuel Lakeshore Blvd West, perhaps the best place in history to get a coffee, circa 2001-2004. Miss you all very much.

Artwork: Amy Wong, Wendy Pusey, Ghastly, Birdman, Brian Joseph Johns, Daz3D, Unreal Engine...

Tools: Daz3D, Corel Painter, Adobe Photoshop, Lightwave 3D, Blender, Stable Diffusion (Easy Diffusion distribution), InstantID, Sadtalker, Google Colaboratory, Microsoft Copilot (Windows 11), Hitfilm, PhotoPea (a great web based Photoshop stand-in if you're on a low budget or in a pinch), Borderline Obsession...

DeepSeek AI for suggestions on exercises to improve aspects of describing scene and settings with a more sensory focused grammar.

InstantID by: Wang, Qixun and Bai, Xu and Wang, Haofan and Qin, Zekui and Chen, Anthony. Research Paper Title: InstantID - Zero-shot Identity-Preserving Generation in Seconds.

Sadtalker by: Zhang, Wenxuan and Cun, Xiaodong and Wang, Xuan and Zhang, Yong and Shen, Xi and Guo, Yu and Shan, Ying and Wang, Fei.
Research Paper Title: SadTalker: Learning Realistic 3D Motion Coefficients for Stylized Audio-Driven Single Image Talking Face Animation.

Gratitude: Our Mentors, Senseis, Sifus, Sebomnims, lifetime inspirations, family, friends, the Nomads (ask Stanton about that one), the Music, the Movies, the Theatre, the Arts, ASMR, (both YouTube and Bilibili and the many other creators on those platforms), the Gaming and Developer communities and of course, the audience.

Martial Arts (in the words of real experts and at least one comedian): https://brucelee.com (home of the real Dragon and an entire family of inspirations), http://iwco.online International Wing Chun Organization (International presence of a very scalable intensity martial art, protected and developed by Shaolin Nun Ng Mui) and the alma mater of Jinn Hua's own specialized variation thereof, https://iogkf.com International Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karatedo Federation (even Hanshi had his teachers), https://itftkd.sport International Taekwondo Federation (Here there be Taegers), https://tangsoodoworld.com Tang Soo Do World (the path of Grandmaster Chuck Norris), https://www.aikido-international.org International Aikido Federation (how else would Navy Chef Steven Seagal liberate a Nimitz Class Aircraft Carrier from a team of hijackers?), https://www.stqitoronto.com Shaolin Temple Quanfa Institute (The City Of Toronto's own Shaolin Temple), https://www.enterthedojoshow.com Master Ken's Ameri-Te-Do presence (If we can't laugh at ourselves, then we can at least laugh the loudest at others, and other Zen)

Magic (performance, illusion and perhaps the real thing): Magic Week Archive (I'm currently growing this section so stay tuned)

Special thanks to Aitrepreneur, Mickmumpitz, Hugging Face and the YouTube educational content producers, including those catering to the AI content production pipeline and of course AlphaSignal.

Shi Heng Yi Shaolin Training For Self Mastery 
A reknowned Sifu under whose tutelage you can study the theory and practical applications of the Shaolin Arts for health, physical and mental wellbeing in every day life

Shi Heng Yi Shaolin Training For Self Mastery 
A reknowned Sifu under whose tutelage you can study the theory and practical applications of the Shaolin Arts for health, physical and mental wellbeing in every day life

Jesse Enkamp: Karate Nerd
Jesse, a reknowned Sensei who runs his own dojo, explores the world of Martial Arts, traveling to many exotic locations to meet practitioners of a variety of different arts

Sensei Rokas: Martial Arts Journey
A reknowned Sensei of Aikido who in seeking to understand the roots of Aikido and its applications, seeks to stress test its effectiveness in a number of real world situations while studying its history

Seamus O'Dowd
An extensive growing archive Katas, Techniques and Waza (mostly Shotokan)

Iaido: Train For Katana Mastery Like Samurai 
The original weapons focused curriculum under which Samurai became masters of their art

Tapp Brothers Exercise For Better Motion 
Extensive courses for calisthenics and body strength, stamina and flexibility

Special thanks to Canva for inspiring other creators and giving them the tools

Special thanks to Captain Crunch and his wonderful sister!

Special thanks to Bandcamp for giving indie music artists a home under one roof

Something to give you perspective: The very first teacher had no formal education, didn't graduate and was self taught, but only because they had no other choice. We do.

This content is entirely produced in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at 200 Sherbourne Street Suite 701 under the Shhhh! Digital Media banner.

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