Cool Facts

[Itachisasuke]

i am bored so i looked up some things from FFXI to see what they originate from.

Vassago's Scythe (FFXI Scythe)-
The Third Spirit is a Mighty Prince, being of the same nature as Agares. He is called Vassago. This Spirit is of a Good Nature, and his office is to declare things Past and to Come, and to discover all things Hid or Lost. And he governeth 26 Legions of Spirits, and this is his Seal.

Balmung (FFXI Greatsword)-
A magical sword, Balmung, was made by Wayland the Smith. Odin stabbed the Branstock tree, an oak tree in the Volsung palace, with Balmung. Odin then said that he who could pull the sword from the tree is destined to win in battle. Nine of the Volsung princes tried to take the sword, but only the youngest ever got it out. His name was Sigmund. Odin destroyed Balmung in battle but it was reassembled and Siegfried used it against Fafnir.

Fafnir (FFXI HNM Dragon)-
In Norse mythology, Fafnir was a son of the dwarf king Hreidmar and brother of Regin and Otr. In the Volsunga saga, Fafnir was a dwarf gifted with a powerful arm and fearless soul. He wore the Aegis helmet and guarded his father's house of glittering gold and flashing gems. He was the strongest and most aggressive of the three brothers.

After Otr was killed by Loki, Hreidmar received the cursed gold of Andvari's as repayment for the loss of his son. Fafnir and Regin then killed their father to get the gold, but Fafnir decided he wanted it all, turning into a dragon (symbol of greed). Regin then sent his foster-son, Sigurd, to kill the dragon. Sigurd succeeded, but then killed Regin too, upon learning that he had planned to kill him once he had recovered the gold.

Gungir (FFXI relic Spear)-
The spear of the Norse god Odin.

Ragnorok (FFXI relic greatsword)-
In Norse mythology, Ragnarok ("fate of the gods"1) is the battle at the end of the world. It supposedly would be waged between the gods (the Æsir, led by Odin) and the evils (the fire giants, the Jotuns and various monsters, led by Loki). Not only will the gods, giants, and monsters perish in this apocalyptic conflagration, but almost everything in the universe will be torn asunder.

In the Viking warrior societies, dying in battles was a fate to admire, and this was carried over into the worship of a pantheon in which the gods themselves were not everlasting, but would one day be overthrown, at Ragnarok. Exactly what would happen, who would fight whom, and the fates of the participants in this battle were well known to the Norse peoples from their own sagas and skaldic poetry. The Völuspá (Prophecy of the Völva (female shaman)), the first lay of the Poetic (or Elder) Edda, dating from about 1000 AD, spans the history of the gods, from the beginning of time to Ragnarok, in 65 stanzas. The Prose (or Younger) Edda, written two centuries later by Snorri Sturluson, describes in detail what would take place before, during, and even after the battle.

What is unique about Ragnarok as an armageddon tale is that the gods already know through prophecy what is going to happen: when the event will occur, who will be slain by whom, and so forth. They even realize that they are powerless to prevent Ragnarok. But they will still bravely and defiantly face their bleak destiny.

Ifrit (FFXI Summon)-
Ifrits in common mythology are jinn spirits that embody the elemental fire. They consider themselves superior to all races because they supposedly "came first," and they resent deeply that humans have found magical ways to take control over them. Even when tasked, they tend to show a ironic and malicious attitude, tending to subvert their masters' orders everytime they can.

They often appear as individuals of superhuman beauty and strength, but are very difficult to deal with.

Fenrir (FFXI summon)-
In Norse mythology, the Fenrisulfr, Wolf of Fenrir or simply Fenrir is a monstrous wolf, the son of Loki and the giantess Angrboða. Fenrir is bound by the gods, but is ultimately destined to slip his bonds and devour Odin during the course of Ragnarök, before being slain by Odin's son, Viðarr, who will either stab him in the heart or rip his jaws asunder according to different accounts.

The most important source of our information about Fenrir appears in the "Gylfaginning" section of Snorri Sturluson's Edda, although there are other, often contradictory, accounts and sources which need to be assessed (e.g. in Lokasenna Loki threatens Thor with destruction by Fenrir at the forthcoming Ragnarök once Fenrir has destroyed Odin).

Wolf images can be found in medieval Scandinavian art.Fenrir has two sons, Hati ('hate') and Skoll. These sons chase the horses Árvakr and Alsviðr, that drag the chariot which contains the sun. Hati also chases Máni, the moon. It should be noted that Skoll, in certain circumstances, is used as a heiti to refer indirectly to the father (Fenrir) and not the son (and this ambiguity works in the other direction also, for example in the Vafþrúðnismál, a confusion exists in stanza 46 where Fenrir is given the sun-chasing attributes of his son Skoll).

Learning from the prophecy of the sybil (q.v. Völuspá) and from his contest with Vafþrúðnir (related in Vafþrúðnismál) that the children of Loki and Angrboða would bring trouble to the gods, Odin had the wolf brought to him along with his brother Jörmungandr and his sister Hel.

After casting Jörmungandr into the sea and Hel down into the land of the dead, Odin had the wolf raised among the Æsir. Only the god Týr was daring enough to feed the growing monster. The gods urged by the wolf's increasing strength and by prophecies that he would be their destruction, attempted to bind the great beast. Twice he agreed to be chained and twice easily burst out of two successive fetters. The first, made of iron, was called Lœðingr. The second, also of iron, but of twice the strength, was called Drómi.

Odin then had the dwarfs forge the chain Gleipnir ("deceiver" or "entangler"). It appeared to be only a silken ribbon but was made of six wondrous ingredients: the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, bear's sinews (meaning nerves, sensibility), fish's breath, and bird's spittle (which explains why these things are not found today). Skírnir, Freyr's messenger, brought it back to Ásgarðr.

Then, in the island called Lyngvi ("Heathery") in the lake called Ámsvartnir 'Red-black' (places unknown to us), the gods challenged Fenrisulfr to break this chain also. But the wolf noted the thinness and fineness of construction of Gleipnir and not unreasonably suspected a trick. He agreed to make the test only if one of the gods was willing to place his hand in the wolf's mouth during the binding as a pledge to free him if he failed to break the chain. No god was willing to do this, until Týr stood forth and placed his hand in the wolf's mouth. Fenrisulfr strained to burst the chain but the more he struggled the tighter he was held. When the gods would not free him, the wolf bit off Týr's hand at the point afterwards called "the wolf joint".

When the Æsir saw that the Wolf was fully bound, they took the chain that was fast to the fetter, and which is called Gelgja 'Thin', and passed it through a great rock—it is called Gjöll 'Scream'—and fixed the rock deep down into the earth. Then they took a great stone and drove it yet deeper into the earth—it was called Thviti—and used the stone for a fastening-pin. The Wolf gaped terribly, and thrashed about and strove to bite them; they thrust into his mouth a certain sword: the guards caught in his lower jaw, and the point in the upper; that is his gag. He howls hideously, and slaver runs out of his mouth: that is the river called Ván 'Hope'; there he lies till the Weird of the Gods.

It is prophesied that at Ragnarök the wolf will at last break free and join forces with the enemies of the gods and will then devour Odin himself. After that Viðarr, Odin's son, will slay the wolf to avenge his father, either with a sword through the heart, or by tearing apart the wolf after placing one foot shod with a special shoe on its lower jaw and one hand on its upper jaw.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
i found all this interesting if any1 else likes to read up on this stuff look some up and post it here. I like to learn while playing games ^^

[drudge]

^__^

ninja: The history of the Ninja is hard to trace. This is because there were few, if any records kept of its existance. Most of what is known about the ninja is taken from stories that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Nonuse ("the art of stealth") was first introduced to Japan in 522 A.D. as a religion practiced by priests. These priests were not violent people, they were "mystics" who gathered and shared information for the ruling classes. The ninja as we know them were not introduced until later.

It wasn't until 645 A.D. that the priests perfected their fighting skills and made use of their knowledge of nonuse. This was because they found themselves being harassed by the central government and found in necessary to protect themselves.

In 794-1192 A.D. the new civilization flourished and with it, a new class of wealthy, privileged families. These families fought with one another in attempts to make or destroy emperors. The need for spies, informants and now assassins grew as these families dueled for power. They were suspicious and jealous of one another and would resort to any means necessary to eliminate any possible threats. Therefore, the practitioners of nonuse were in great demand. With this, the ninja was born.

(http://www.entertheninja.com/ninja_fact/history.shtml
or
www.realultimatepower.net/ i wouldnt go to the secound link if your offened easly)

paladin: After the conquest of England in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, the ruler of England, William the Conqueror, brought about the monarchial system in order to expand his empire whiliam simultaneously maintaining full command without peer. In order to do this, he brought with him a number of French peasants known as the cniht. The cniht were crude in mannerism and appearance, but were given respect to their ornate and powerful armors, and excellent skill with horsemanship, an ability held in regard. At the advent of the feudal system, the need for skilled soldiers to protect the sovereign lands that the king leased to his lords grew, the cniht were considered ideal for this position and were granted estates, properties, farmland, and peasant labor as pay. This elevated the status of the knights to upper-class gentry.

The knights' social status reached its peak when, in the 11th century, the church gave its official sanction to the knights and declared that the order of knighthood was a sacred office, and made the ordainment of new knights into a holy ritual. This, done out of a need to promote order in a time of despair and chaos, bestowed upon the knights new responsibilities, formally defined in
the code of chivalry: a set of principles based on religious ideals. While still the lowest of the upper classes, the knight now epitomized the highest standards of moral behavior and was admired by peasants and royalty alike.

The Paladin originated far prior to the advent of the knight, though this may seem contradictory. In the 8th century AD, the militant-ruler Charlemagne created the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, a group of twelve powerful soldiers who commanded Charlemagne's troops and protected him from bodily harm. The most famous, a paladin named Roland, was immortalized in the Song of Roland, a poem depicting his epic death while holding off enemy forces to allow Charlemagne more time to retaliate.

However, the knightly orders that held themselves to what we now call the Chivalric Code began during the Crusades, in the 11th century AD. The first order of Paladins were formed when knights stormed into Italy en route to the Holy Land. Having already fought battles with indigenous peoples, a small number of warriors and pilgrims stayed behind to have their wounds tended by a monk named Gerard. Gerard had formed hospitals and shrines in order to tend these men, and in thanks for Gerard's healing, they formed the Knights Hospitaler, comprised of monks and knights who healed their wounded as well as fought. Another Paladinic order was formed when a group of 8 badly wounded warriors took refuge in the castle of King Baldwin I, ruler of Jerusalem. Having stationed them in the Jewish Temple, they formed a knightly order known as the Knights Templar.

Being the most famous and powerful, the Knights Templar are looked upon as the first Paladinic order, as we envision it in our minds. They fought for duty and deity, maintaining their devotion without coercion or expectation of reward, idealizing righteousness in their behavior. Through their endeavors, the 20,000 Knights Templar gained substantial amounts of money from their sponsors. However, in 1307, King Philip the Fair accused the Knights Templar of heresy and tortured many of their high officials, forcing them to confess to false crimes. Using this as a evidence, Philip disbanded the Knights Templar and seized their wealth to add to his personal coffers.

(http://www.angelfire.com/rpg/cavalier/ThePaladin.html)

dark knights: i dont have the strength to put up with all the fan boys that make websites about made up knights...

dark knights are thouse that wear darker coloured armor... they arnt always evil, but they do like to blow things up.

monk:http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture19b.html

too much to post along with pld

[Meeka]

The Word of the Day for July 12 is:



ninja \NIN-juh\ noun

: a person trained in ancient Japanese martial arts and employed especially for espionage and assassinations

Example sentence:
Ninjas are thought to be able to run faster than ordinary men, scale impossible walls, and endure the severest of pain.

Did you know?
Ninjas may seem mysterious, but the origin of their name is not. The word "ninja" derives from the Japanese characters "nin" and "ja." "Nin" initially meant "persevere," but over time it developed the extended meanings "conceal" and "move stealthily." In Japanese, "ja" means "person." Ninjas originated in the mountains of Japan over 800 years ago as practitioners of ninjutsu, a martial art sometimes called "the art of stealth" or "the art of invisibility." They often served as military spies and were trained in disguise, concealment, geography, meteorology, medicine, and also other martial arts. Popular legends still associate them with espionage and assassinations, but modern ninjas are most likely to study ninjutsu to improve their physical fitness and self-defense skills.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

[Itachisasuke]

yay replies

[Aegnor]

I posted a while back that the Samurai AF is named for Myochin Munesuke (1688-1735), a famed Japanese armourer of the Edo period. I saw some real pieces of his work at the Met in NY. Check the pic post topic "Samurai AF designed by famed Japanese armorer" to see a pic.

[drudge]

meeka, i had read something very similar to that, i couldnt find the link, so i went with the secound one i found.

thatd be realy cool for nin af, a giant turtal shell that goes on your back. (teenage mutant ninja turtals... duh)

i tried looking up some weapons, but i cant find anything that seems intresting... that every one already knows about