Mark Of Blood And Alchemy

In thisnovella prequel to the YA fantasy novel Curio by Evangeline Denmark, after losing his family to a devastating plague, Olan is saved by a group of “magickers” who are searching for the cure. But as he accompanies his rescuers to their alpine clinic, mysteries arise surrounding their potions and powers of alchemy. Especially after Olan notices a deep division forming between those who seek to defend the purity of the healing alchemical work and those who wish to wield it as a powerful weapon. Olan is thrust into the midst of this dissention after he discovers he is somehow special—chosen as a guardian like the clinic’s founder. As he spends time with two of his rescuers—Auriana, who has a strong healer’s gift and beauty to match, and Alaric, a brooding young man wrestling with his father’s cruel beliefs—Olan realizes he may have the power to direct the course of blood and alchemy, and possibly find a third way forward. Introducing readers to the fantastical world of Curio, this novella is wrapped in mystery, adventure, and intrigue.

In 1573, the alchemist Anna Zieglerin gave her patron, the Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, the recipe for an extraordinary substance she called the lion's blood. She claimed that this golden oil could stimulate the growth of plants, create gemstones, transform lead into the coveted philosophers' stone—and would serve a critical role in preparing for the Last Days. Boldly envisioning herself as a Protestant Virgin Mary, Anna proposed that the lion's blood, paired with her own body, could even generate life, repopulating and redeeming the corrupt world in its final moments. In Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood, Tara Nummedal reconstructs the extraordinary career and historical afterlife of alchemist, courtier, and prophet Anna Zieglerin. She situates Anna's story within the wider frameworks of Reformation Germany's religious, political, and military battles; the rising influence of alchemy; the role of apocalyptic eschatology; and the position of women within these contexts. Together with her husband, the jester Heinrich Schombach, and their companion and fellow alchemist Philipp Sommering, Anna promised her patrons at the court of Wolfenbüttel spiritual salvation and material profit. But her compelling vision brought with it another, darker possibility: rather than granting her patrons wealth or redemption, Anna's alchemical gifts might instead lead to war, disgrace, and destruction. By 1575, three years after Anna's arrival at court, her enemies had succeeded in turning her from holy alchemist into poisoner and sorceress, culminating in Anna's arrest, torture, and public execution. In her own life, Anna was a master of self-fashioning; in the centuries since her death, her story has been continually refashioned, making her a fitting emblem for each new age. Interweaving the history of science, gender, religion, and politics, Nummedal recounts how one resourceful woman's alchemical schemes touched some of the most consequential matters in Reformation Germany.

In our world, where supernatural beings secretly rule, a conflict is brewing caused by the loss of an outstanding alchemist, which could lead to a bloody war.In the center of events – the vampire Selene, who has been hiding from her sire for two thousand years, and the mage Frey, exiled by his own coven. They find themselves in the very center of this struggle, striving to gain freedom and not become victims in thegame of ancient gods and monsters.

A stunning blend of visionary storytelling and majestic prose, The Mark of Ran is a new masterpiece of imaginative fiction. In this epic adventure, Paul Kearney records the voyages of a reluctant hero, a band of outcasts, and a quest into the unknown no one has ever dared before . . . In a world abandoned by its Creator, an ancient race once existed—one with powers mankind cannot imagine. Some believe they were the last of the angels. Others think they were demons. Rol Cortishane was raised in a remote fishing village with no idea of his true place in the world. But in his veins runs the blood of this long-forgotten race and he shares their dangerous destiny. Driven from home, accused of witchcraft and black magic, Rol takes refuge in the brooding tower sanctuary of the enigmatic Michal Psellos. There Rol is trained in the assassin’s craft and tutored by the beautiful but troubled Rowen. It’s no accident that Rol and Rowen have been brought together, but the truth about their past is a secret they will have to fight to discover. Now they’ve set their sights across the sea in search of the Hidden City and an adventure that will make them legends . . . if it doesn’ t kill them first. Praise for The Mark of Ran “[A] gritty fantasy swashbuckler . . . Kearney’s crisp, often lyrical writing shines brightest when his characters take to the sea.”—Publishers Weekly “One of the very best fantasy writers around.”—Steven Erikson

Chess Tuesday is on the run... And the deadly Twisted Symmetry isn't far behind. They've already hunted down and imprisoned her brothers, Box and Splinter. In a world where neither friends, enemies nor family are what they seem, trust is not an option. And Chess is about to discover that the truth may be more dangerous than she ever thought possible.

In 1573, the alchemist Anna Zieglerin gave her patron, the Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, the recipe for an extraordinary substance she called the lion's blood. She claimed that this golden oil could stimulate the growth of plants, create gemstones, transform lead into the coveted philosophers' stone—and would serve a critical role in preparing for the Last Days. Boldly envisioning herself as a Protestant Virgin Mary, Anna proposed that the lion's blood, paired with her own body, could even generate life, repopulating and redeeming the corrupt world in its final moments. In Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood, Tara Nummedal reconstructs the extraordinary career and historical afterlife of alchemist, courtier, and prophet Anna Zieglerin. She situates Anna's story within the wider frameworks of Reformation Germany's religious, political, and military battles; the rising influence of alchemy; the role of apocalyptic eschatology; and the position of women within these contexts. Together with her husband, the jester Heinrich Schombach, and their companion and fellow alchemist Philipp Sommering, Anna promised her patrons at the court of Wolfenbüttel spiritual salvation and material profit. But her compelling vision brought with it another, darker possibility: rather than granting her patrons wealth or redemption, Anna's alchemical gifts might instead lead to war, disgrace, and destruction. By 1575, three years after Anna's arrival at court, her enemies had succeeded in turning her from holy alchemist into poisoner and sorceress, culminating in Anna's arrest, torture, and public execution. In her own life, Anna was a master of self-fashioning; in the centuries since her death, her story has been continually refashioned, making her a fitting emblem for each new age. Interweaving the history of science, gender, religion, and politics, Nummedal recounts how one resourceful woman's alchemical schemes touched some of the most consequential matters in Reformation Germany.

More than fifteen years in the making, Blood and Politics is the most comprehensive history to date of the white supremacist movement as it has evolved over the past three-plus decades. Leonard Zeskind draws heavily upon court documents, racist publications, and first-person reports, along with his own personal observations. An internationally recognized expert on the subject who received a MacArthur Fellowship for his work, Zeskind ties together seemingly disparate strands—from neo-Nazi skinheads, to Holocaust deniers, to Christian Identity churches, to David Duke, to the militia and beyond. Among these elements, two political strategies—mainstreaming and vanguardism—vie for dominance. Mainstreamers believe that a majority of white Christians will eventually support their cause. Vanguardists build small organizations made up of a highly dedicated cadre and plan a naked seizure of power. Zeskind shows how these factions have evolved into a normative social movement that looks like a demographic slice of white America, mostly blue-collar and working middle class, with lawyers and Ph.D.s among its leaders. When the Cold War ended, traditional conservatives helped birth a new white nationalism, most evident now among anti-immigrant organizations. With the dawn of a new millennium, they are fixated on predictions that white people will lose their majority status and become one minority among many. The book concludes with a look to the future, elucidating the growing threat these groups will pose to coming generations.

>

Alchemy is a rich and complex esoteric tradition that has flourished world-wide since the beginning of recorded history, if not earlier. There are three main traditions: Western Christian, Indo-tibetan and Chinese Taoist. Within this diversity there are many common features, which are analysed, organized, and brought together in this comprehensive dictionary of terms, symbols, and personalities. This dictionary is the distillation of many years' research into the extensive arcane literature. It is a reference work to guide the readers throught the labyrinth of pre-Newtonian science and philosophy. The dictionary covers not only the materialist dimension of the search for the elixir of life and the transmutation of metals, but also the inner search for the gold of mystical illumination. Jung called alchemy 'the projection of a drama both cosmic and spiritual in laboratorty terms'. This opus alchymicum goes beyond the bare analysis and interpretation of terms to present a harmonic, integrated vision of man and nature, which may help to heal the fragmented world view of modern science.