Find your Path, defeat the arrogant young master!

From the ancient times of Atlantis and before, to the far-flung future of 2333, understanding and mastery of the life force is a central theme of the SalvoVerse, whether in progression fantasy or wuxia and xianxia tales.

Path

Qi, KI, or Chi means “vitality” or “energy”. Qi is the life force flowing throughout the entire body via meridians (channels). These channels are pathways along which qi flows in specific parts of the body. There are twelve primary meridians and eight secondary ones.

The primary meridians are:

Large Intestine Meridian – at the front of the abdomen

Stomach Meridian – between the navel and the solar plexus

Spleen Meridian – below the rib cage

Lung Meridian – above the collarbone

Bladder Meridian – near the genitals

Kidney Meridian – at the back of the knees

Urinary Bladder Meridian – at the bottom of the feet

Pericardium Meridian – at the center of the chest

Heart Meridian – at the heart

Small Intestine Meridian – under the arm pit

Triple Burner Meridian – at the top of the head

Gallbladder Meridian – at both sides of the neck

Path

The eight extraordinary vessels are:

Conception Vessel (Ren Mai)

Governing Vessel (Du Mai)

Penetrating Vessel (Chong Mai)

Girdle Vessel (Dai Mai)

Yin linking vessel (Yin Wei Mai)

Yang linking vessel (Yang Wei Mai)

Yin Heel Vessel (Yin Qiao Mai)

Yang Heel Vessel (Yang Qiao Mai)

Path

Taoist philosophy and the Path

Two forces compose Reality. In nature, these energies are constantly changing and moving back and forth between each other. When they become balanced, things happen naturally. However, if one side becomes dominant over the other, then imbalance occurs. To maintain balance, one must follow a path to the Dao—the Path. Not everyone is conscious of their path…

Cultivation

Cultivation is the art of balancing the two energies in order to achieve harmony. If you cultivate well, then you will have a harmonious relationship with your environment. You should strive to create a balance in your surroundings, whether it’s at home, work, school, or any other place where you spend time. By cultivating, one will learn how to live harmoniously with others and the world around you.

Qi Gong

Qi Gong is a practice that focuses on cultivating the body and mind. Through the foundation of the body and of the mind, we can control our destiny. It teaches the proper use of the body to improve and become stronger.

Qigong

Qigong is a combination of qi (energy) and gong (meditation), focusing on breath and relaxation.

Martial Arts

Kung fu is a style of self-defense that emphasizes the use of hand strikes, kicks, and elbow strikes. Ensuring protection of oneself from harm and to bring peace to the mind.

Tai Chi is a martial art that combines meditation, breathing techniques, and physical movements, helping develop focus and concentration, increase flexibility, and promote longevity.

Yoga

Yoga is a system of exercise and meditation that promotes mental and physical wellness. It helps relax the mind and body, and to gain greater awareness.

Path

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Way of the Shaman? Methods before magic and madness!

In our new series by Ed White, the way of the shaman intertwines with the endless need to exorcise the malicious spirits and Fell Kind that threaten Earth. While we won’t explore shamanism today, let’s take a brief look into some methods to travel worlds and expand the mind from a “medicinal” or chemical approach…

Shaman
Magic Mushrooms

The magic mushroom fungus grows naturally in the wild, known for its hallucinogenic effects. There are many varieties of mushrooms cultivated for millennia for their psychoactive properties, including psilocybin, mescaline, and ibotenic acid.

Did the human brain evolve because of exposure to fungi, specifically psychoactive mushrooms? The shamans of the northern stretches of Siberia and Mongolia used such mushrooms.

Toadstool

Bufo alvarius toadstools are psychedelic mushrooms that grow naturally throughout the world. The infamous “magic” mushrooms! Bufo leaves contain the same chemical compounds as psilocybin mushrooms, although it produces much less of them.

Kratom

Kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia. Its leaves commonly chewed or brewed into a tea to produce a mild narcotic effect.

Like the crimson plants of the Matsureda, with outright psychic-inducing properties, or the legendary tea of Granny Meng, they knew of such teas within the cultures, societies, and sects of the SalvoVerse.

DMT

DMT is a powerful psychedelic substance that comes from the pineal gland. Many people believe DMT causes lucid dreams and out-of-body experiences. It is possibly the active ingredient in ayahuasca, a traditional South American drink.

Salvia divinorum is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows in Mexico and Central America. It has long been used in shamanistic rituals and religious ceremonies. Salvia divinorum contains salvinorin A, a potent hallucinogen.

The SalviaVerse? Certainly known to the people of the Escuridado, the insidious Escuridon, and their masters, the Tezca Lords. Read about them in Otherwest: Diablero, free on Royal Road.

LSD

LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is a psychedelic drug first synthesized in 1938, but produced naturally in certain species of the genus Eleusine and is present in trace amounts in various seeds. It is a strong hallucinogen that causes users to experience visual distortions, hallucinations, and extreme states of euphoria.

What mad trips are experienced with LSD? Is it truly the opening of the Third Eye? Does it awaken, or simply enhance, chemicals produced by the pineal gland? Who is to say?

As Battle Avatars unfolds, David Grey believes the Lenscape is entered via the use of LSD…

“Drugs?”

“Yeah, man, it’ll balance out your heart rate and settle you down. It sets your right up to enter REM sleep and enter Lenscape.”

“So LSD,” I say. “That explains the colors.”

Read more in Battle Avatars by author Ed White.

Cannabis Sativa

Cannabis sativa is the scientific name given to marijuana. It is a flowering plant that belongs to the Cannabaceae family. It is native to central Asia and widely cultivated today. Cannabis sativa contains over 60 cannabinoids, of which delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychotropic cannabinoid.


Disclaimer: A First Salvo and the First Salvo Partners do not endorse the use and/or possession of any illegal drugs.

Shaman

All Content TM & © 2007-2024, the First Salvo Partners, Thaddeus Branco. All Rights Reserved.


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Happy Halloween! Journey into the Otherwest, a supernatural thriller!

A supernatural tale for the season… a complete Otherwest novella on Royal Road.

What if the life you want is taken from you?

After surviving the brutal slaughter of his naval squadron, Van Bran believed he could escape the world of empires, war, and magic by forging a new life on the American frontier.

As a rancher, Van’s life was simple, quiet, and far more peaceful.

But when Van and his drovers come face to face with an ancient evil vying for control of the New World, a life of peace may be forever outside his grasp.

Unless Van can take up arms once more and face the terrors of his past, he and his friends will serve as spiritual hosts to demonic skinwalkers.

Enter the Other West

Chapter One: Brethren

Proverbs 10:11 – “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life, inspiring the weary”.

Van tossed and turned before he jolted awake, free of another nightmare of the Crimea. Rubbing his eyes, he cast his gaze about the star-lit camp. The Black Seminole, Day Long, snored, mouth open, his limbs at all angles. Nathan Drake, their scout, was silent beneath his furs. Van’s childhood friend Teven Har lay with a lock of his wife Jessica’s hair held in his hand from the rawhide tied around his wrist.

Day Long coughed and broke wind in a prolonged release. Van smiled and shook his head. The terrors in his nightmares of Azov were nothing compared to the horrific odor that rose from the Seminole warrior’s back end. Its smell, like the memories, lingered. The horses hobbled nearby snorted and whinnied. The stench was unpleasant even to their noses.

Van looked around. Something caused him to wake. He touched his forehead and thought of the battles on the Sea of Azov, his instincts and headaches that warned him and kept him and Teven alive. In the dim light of the stars, shadows loomed beneath boulders and rock formations resembling mushrooms and goblins. Perhaps the danger was closer at hand; they might die from Day Long’s foul flatulence.

No, young Christian Har still stood watch, sitting ten feet away, atop one of the goblin-like formations.

Van snorted, breathing through his mouth beneath his hand. His stomach gurgled. Rather than being sickened by the smell, he found he was hungry. What did that say, and had hunger awoken him? Patting the ground beside him, he found and drank from his canteen. His tongue tingled. He pulled a small packet from within a saddle bag and opened it. Delicate flakes fell from his new favorite food—piki bread. The flattened, thin, blue corn rolls almost resembled parchment and lay black in the night on his lap. Next, Van removed a second canteen, this one filled with honey. He sat back against his thick-horned, A-fork framed saddle, stared up at the stars, and thought of Aleya.

The morning of their journey south, Aleya gave Van a jar of honey. Van recalled how she looked that morning, fresh from a bath in the ranch’s nearby brook, “For luck, Honey Sly,” she said. She grinned and laughed to see Van’s eyes widen at the thought of honey, almost not hearing her affectionate nickname for him; borne of his love for the sweet nectar. The Mormons had only recently introduced honeybees to the region, but Van believed he’d go without honey after the move to the Colorado territory.

On the porch of their ranch house, speaking their goodbyes, Van whispered between them as he embraced Aleya. “When you look up at night, those will be the same stars I see.”

Aleya pulled back and laughed at the cliché, raised a finger to his lips, caressed his cheek with the backs of her fingers, and said, “Bring me the night that brings me to you.”

The sound of a cleared throat drew Van’s attention to the present. Day Long, propped up on an elbow, reached out his open palm with his other arm. He raised his chin and bobbed his head. Van looked down at the remaining portion of piki in his hand. Day Long wiggled his fingers.

Born on Andros Island, John Day Long traveled west as an Army scout and his heritage of Black Seminole and Carib Indian gave him a unique perspective on the tribes along their current journey.

Known as Johnny Day Long, he was just about the craziest, fiercest man Van had ever known. No one had a quicker temper than Day Long. He wasn’t long on patience. Van called on him to help them scout a suitable trail and locate the herds of wild Spanish cattle to drive east and then north into the Colorado Territory, around and back to his ranch in St. Maria.

Nathan traveled with them, dressed in his usual buckskin and wearing his hawk-motif buckle. Drake served as a scout and guide and thrived in the extreme conditions he encountered walking the Rocky Mountains from the Colorado territory to deep within Canada. He spoke French, employed conversational knowledge of Spanish, and several native languages; often mediating between native tribes and encroaching Easterners.

Teven stirred in his sleep, nose wrinkled. Behind him, Day Long made doe-eyes and pouty lips; his hand remained outstretched.

Van dipped the blue corn roll in honey and turned away. Day Long laughed. “Best I take over for young Mister Har,” he said. “After I drop a load.”

Van coughed. “Downwind and far away.”

“Absolutely, brethren.”

Continue Diablero on Royal Road—for free!


What is Otherwest?

Otherwest is a fantasy epic that follows Van, a former naval sailor turned rancher, as he learns of the ancient Otherwest—the spirit world of fallen gods, demons, immortals, and monsters harness etheric energies to wield magic and supernal abilities which spill onto the Mundane Plane—our reality.

Fans of eastern fantasy and the cultivation of qi will be familiar with such themes in Otherwest, as Van’s journey plunges him into the supernatural cultures at war and broadens his knowledge of ley energy, mana, and personal chi.

Magic and mayhem await, along with the literal western flavor of adventurous heroes testing the limits of the frontier—the unknown and hidden worlds that surround us.

Otherwest

All Content TM & © 2007-2024, the First Salvo Partners, Thaddeus Branco. All Rights Reserved.


Follow A First Salvo Partner and Otherwest author T.E. Branco and A First Salvo pages on Facebook for further interaction.

Otherwest

Creativity is doing!

Lost dimensions? The power of the unimind!

Lost dimensions, but not what you may think and exactly what you do. The lost dimension is a term coined by Carl Jung to describe the unconscious mind. In his book “Psychology and Alchemy,” he describes how the unconscious mind contains information about our past lives and experiences. Reincarnation? Jung believed that we have access to these memories through dreams and visions. Alchemy fascinated Jung, and he believed that the chemical reactions of the human body were like those of the alchemical process. He saw the unconscious mind as a place where the soul could connect with its own inner self. Cultivation? Progression Fantasy?

Dimensions
Well of Souls, in the Enclaves of the mystic city of Eridu!
The Shadow

Jung described the shadow as the dark side of the personality. To others, it is the id. We all have two sides to us; the conscious and the unconscious. The shadow represents our darker side and contains negative emotions and thoughts that we do not want to acknowledge. We often repress and store these feelings away in the unconscious. When we notice them, they are called projections. Projections are the way we project our fears onto others.

Across the SalvoVerse, the universal soul, the souls, spirits, and pneuma of beings travel the pathways, the ley, dragon, and spirit lines across Reality to and from the Mundane Plane, across the Faerie and Astral Planes and the Spirit Realm. There is the anima mundi or world soul, and the Sacred Forms of the soul itself, where knowledge never dies and cannot be destroyed.

Synchronicity

Synchronicity is the name given to events that seem to occur at random but actually follow some kind of pattern. Jung believed synchronicities were messages from the unconscious mind. He thought that people who experienced synchronicities had direct contact with their unconscious minds.

Sixth sense, danger sense, Omni or horse sense, there are even Conceptual Senses, all of which are the greater senses first awakened with the Third Eye and deep cultivation of the mind. For every significant event, there are disturbances to spacetime, the shift reverberates, before and after the event.

Archetypes

Archetypes are patterns of behavior that repeat themselves throughout history. Jung believed archetypes exist in everyone and are present in everything. He believed each person has a unique set of archetypes that make them who they are.

The Hero of the Age, the Van of Life, the Joker, the Messai, the Balance… all these “archetypes” and more.

Collective Unconscious

Jung believed that the collective unconscious is the sum total of all the knowledge and experience of humanity. He believed that the collective unconscious contained all the knowledge of the world and that humans shared the same unconscious mind.

Indeed, across the continuum, all knowledge survives. Great entities fear evanescence, dissolution into the basal knowledge. A great resource, Odin (Wotan) once sought at the Well of Knowledge and the cost of an eye.

Individuation

Individuation is the process of becoming whole. Jung believed that individuation occurred when we realized our unconscious selves.

Are we one or are we many? Every being or entity is an individual, but the higher one progresses ascending the Celestial Hierarchy, there is a loss of self, a loss of complexity, and, as entities, a loss of individuation?

Collective Consciousness

Collective consciousness is the awareness of the group. Jung believed groups shared a collective unconscious and that the group consciousness was greater than any individual member.

While the infamous Unidgynn merge their consciousness, there are many levels of collective. As one ascends the All-Father (All-Mother) tier of Great Gods, one may achieve the rank of Overgod, ruling over more than one dimension or universe and all those within it.

Journey into the SalvoVerse today!

Dimensions

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The dangers of AI. Love or hate it.

In the worlds of the SalvoVerse, does artificial intelligence exist? Of course! From ancient computer tyrants to cosmic constructs, we can find AI across the SalvoVerse.

AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technology that mimics human intelligence and decision-making capabilities. It is being implemented in many industries, including healthcare, finance, manufacturing, transportation, and even agriculture. Cyber-farmers? AI is being used to help farmers decide about what to do with their crops, livestock, and land. However, some believe that AI could have negative effects on society if not handled properly. We’ve plenty of examples of that in the SalvoVerse!

Automation

Automation refers to the use of machines to perform tasks traditionally done by mortal beings. There are two types of automation: manual and automated. Manual automation involves using machinery to do work that would otherwise require human labor. Things like the self-service kiosks at grocery stores. These kiosks allow customers to scan items and pay for them without having to talk to a cashier. Automated automation uses computers and software to automate processes. Examples include online banking, automatic teller machines, and self-driving cars.

The SalvoVerse includes many examples of both, from fully automated mobile bases and rapid transit vehicles to the PAL units worn by members of the United Forces. The matter, then… is the limited use of sentient AI.

Data collection

Data collection is the gathering of information. This includes data collected from sensors, cameras, and other devices. Data collection helps businesses and organizations learn about their consumers, employees, and products. It also helps them improve their services and products.

The many systems of the United Forces, World Authorities Network, Federal Forces Marshals, and far more nefarious organisations all collect information — not so much simply on citizens and foreign agents terrestrial, alien, and dimensional, but of the monitoring of anomalies and known areas of supernal and supernatural activity.

Algorithms

Algorithms are computer programs designed to solve problems. We often use algorithms in artificial intelligence systems. An algorithm may take input data and produce output data based on rules defined by the programmer. They commonly used algorithms in websites and apps to provide personalized content. For example, algorithms may recommend movies or songs to users based on what they have previously watched or listened to. As insidious as this may be, we live our lives ignoring what else this could mean, enjoying the benefits.

Such algorithms obviously have far older origins across worlds, from ancient civilizations to the star-spanning empires and republics. However, on Earth, these analysing systems and problem solvers have arisen and fallen countless times, from the corrupted days of technological Atlantis to the use by the United Nations organization the Department of Paranormal Intelligence.

Robotics

Robotics! The science of building robots. Robots are mechanical devices that can move around and perform specific actions. They are commonly used in factories, warehouses, and construction sites. Robots are becoming increasingly popular in agricultural settings. For example, drones are small aerial vehicles that can fly and collect data. Drones can measure things like temperature, humidity, and soil quality. They can also spray pesticides and herbicides on crops.

Our future robotic overlords? Ah, robots. Do androids count? Certainly not all False Kind. From the UF member Power Rig, or the villainous Cybro-nemesis, to the creations of the mad Jeid Taldmun, and the mammoth form of the Black Bishop, robots are everywhere — with an without AI, for some have souls!

Machine learning

Machine learning is the practice of teaching computers how to think. Emphasis on the “teaching.” Or at least, there should be guidance by mortal beings. Computers can now teach themselves how to complete certain tasks. For example, a machine learning system might “watch” videos of people playing video games and then try to play the game itself. A computer program can also teach itself to recognize patterns in images and sounds. How much guidance should there be by human hands?

How many times has this gone wrong? Dare we mention the unknown lords of the Devastators Union?

Genetic engineering & Biotechnology

Genetic engineering is the manipulation of genes to create changes in organisms. Genes are the basic units of heredity. They are present in all cells and determine characteristics such as hair color, eye color, and height. Scientists can change these genes to develop new traits in plants, animals, and microorganisms.

AI applications in biotechnology include drug target identification, drug screening, image screening, and predictive modeling. AI is also used to review scientific literature and manage clinical trial data, analyzing vast amounts of data.

Oh boy, don’t go there. Bioengineering? Dr. The and his many hideous creations. The very origins of the Devastators. Millions of years in the past in the dark avenues of Lemuria… and the rise of the “Snake Cult.”

The future?

From the uncanny threat of the Island to the Power Siphon plaguing the Iscerian dimension, the threat of AI is real, but how will it shape our future?

All Content TM & © 2007-2024, the First Salvo Partners, Thaddeus Branco. All Rights Reserved.


Get the Battle Avatars revised editions on Amazon today!


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Creativity is doing!

Creativity is Doing.