d0ntc4r3

I loved my first day on LOTC. We were still in Vailor. I remember trying to punch other players, but of course since I was new the punch did not happen. I remember walking around and punching people and nothing happening.

Fast forward a little bit, I was in Felsen. Somehow, I snuck up onto a balcony on the walls. The Empress of Oren was there with 2 of her friends. They were talking about throwing a banquet or some other festivity when soldiers returned from the war. They were standing up on the edge of the balcony looking out of the city. With their backs turned, none of them noticed me. I crouched and snuck up behind the center lady, the Empress, and punched, expecting nothing to happen. This time, my fist collided and she fell off the balcony. She said 'um did one of you punch me?' lmaoooo I ran and hid so fast. They found me but didnt do anything lmao

Even better was day 2. I applied to work for Dunamis. I was shown a short tour of the keep and ushered into the great hall, forced into the sidelines, and told to keep quiet. Now imagine me, a fresh-faced newbie, and now imagine my shock when the King of Urguan, Prince of Fenn, Sultan of the Farfolks, Orenian knights and lords, and various other nation leaders walk in to do diplomacy rp. I still have screenshots of the whole conversation on my old laptop.

[!] Signs plastered here and there, rather hastily

Tutor For Hire!

The illustrious natural scientist Gallo is opening his services up to all

men, women, and children to receive his tutelage.

Known for years among the Mali for his studies and public lessons,

Gallo is allowing up to three (3) private pupils for private instruction.*

Areas of expertise:

- Aegis History

- Mathematics

- Natural Science

- Literature

If any of those are of interest, send a bird Gallo's way!**

*Gallo is not responsible for any action taken

by any of his pupils outside of the classroom.

**Rates start at 4 minae per lesson.

((pm me here or on discord fluffy#8047

Favorite LOTC moments?

"Must be the thousandth time we've reformed this thing," said Gallo, "Kolvar's back in charge? Has he reconciled with Braxus, then? I should head there at once."

Late to the thread. Miss rping with my fellow palaiologosososos :)

"Orenia, fallen so low..." said Gallo, "Great are their iniquities!"

"Absolutely earthshattering!"

[!] This poster is plastered a bit poorly to various signposts across Almaris

Lessons at the Library

Taught by Gallo

Gallo walking to his next class

The Eternal Library in elCihi’thilln of Karinah’siol is opening to all for a one-time event! Learn mathematics from one of Haelun’or’s best and brightest: Gallo the Elf!

“As is prescribed to each child of Malin, and is so sacred to those of us who are Mali’aheral, learning all that can be learned is a must. A virtue. For doing so enlightens us to our world, and mathematics is the secret to the world around us. Show me a number, and I can show you the universe.”

- Gallo

All Mali, and indeed all Descendants, are welcome to this lesson. We will be discussing combinatorics, probability, and number theory. Put warfare and politics aside for the virtue of the sciences. We hope to see you there.

Signed,

Gallo, Natural Scientist

Maehr’sae Hiylun’eya

Okarir’maehr Aiera Sullas

((hnor this friday at noon EST

"Criticizing our own 'schism' when he himself and his puppeteer wife are dealing with their own schism of faith. Are they not both excommunicated and kinslayers?" Gallo asks rhetorically to the poor sap standing beside him, "Phil's got his own problems brewing up north. Doubt he can even name the last time anyone sat atop the mali'aheral 'throne'... Because we never have had a throne! Ne since Malinor in Aegis!"

He taps his foot, getting worked up. "Not sure how proper it is for a monarch to take orders from his wife, anyways."

Gallo tsks, not really happy with either Braxus or Ivarielle. "Unity of Malindom is a necessity for our survival, but installing a clear puppet of elFenn? And this imaginary 'aheral throne...Ne such thing exists. We were only a princedom under Malinor in Aegis, and that was with the 'ame and 'ker."

"And this is to say nothing of the growing tensions between the Mali states," says Gallo, caught in between that tension.

"A mali'ata in peril? What fun!" Gallo exclaimed.

Combinatorics

By Gallo

13th of Snow’s Maiden, 54 SA

Permutations

Commander Uell is a proud Mali'aheral, and was recently promoted in elSillumir. He wishes to organize his 10 sillumiran into a line, but he cannot decide which order to put them in. He thinks to himself for a moment and asks how many possible ways these 10 sillumiran could be ordered? Uell has just delved into combinatorics, more specifically permutation theory.

Let us call each possible ordering of a set a permutation. We want to find the total number of possible permutations involving 10 sillumiran. In other words, we have 10 slots we want to fill with 10 people.

Well, in the first slot we have 10 choices from which to choose. Regardless of whom we choose to fill that slot, the second slot will only have 9 choices. The third will have 8, and so forth. The final tenth spot will have 1 choice, since all prior slots will have been filled.

So we then have 10 * 9 * 8 * … * 2 * 1 = 3,628,800 possible permutations of our 10 sillumiran. Commander Uell has many to choose! Instead of writing these ten numbers out, let us simplify this to say we have 10 “factorial” (from here on denoted as “!”) possible permutations. In general, we say n! = n * (n-1) * (n-2) * … * 3 * 2 * 1 where n >= 1.

Choice Theory

Suppose now Commander Uell has a special mission that only a handful of his 10 sillumiran need to conduct. Let us say he only needs 4 sillumiran for this mission. How many possible ways can he choose 4 from his 10? In general, how can we choose k things from a set of n items where k is less than or equal to n?

Let us denote n choose k as choose(n, k). First we select a k-element string in which the digits are the elements of the set of [n] (the integers 1 through n). We can do this in n! / (n-k)! ways. And yet in these strings the order of the elements does matter. In fact, each k-element subset occurs k! Times among these strings as its elements can be permuted into k! Ways. Therefore, the number of k-element subsets is 1 / k! Times the number of k-element strings. So then choose(n, k) = (1 / k!) * [n! / (n-k)!] = n! / [k! * (n-k)!].

So back to Uell’s problem, we have choose(10, 4) = 10! / (4! * 6!) = 210 possible ways to select 4 sillumiran from our 10 total.

Northeastern Graph Paths

Commander Uell must now chart the course to his squad’s destination. He realizes that their goal lies 10 miles north and 10 miles east of elCihi (an astute mathematician might notice that the destination is about 14 miles due northeast, but that is a story for another time). To maximize both efficiency and undetectability, Uell instructs his squad to only move either 1 mile north or 1 mile east at a time. How many possible paths can his squad take?

Let us define a graph to be a two-dimensional plane formed by the perpendicular intersection of two lines. Both lines contain some number of points evenly spaced apart extending in either direction. All of these linear points are numbered, starting at 0 and extending until some number.

In our case, Uell correctly points out that if we were to look at a map and consider elCihi to be at (0, 0), or at the intersection of our two axes, then his squad’s destination would be at (10, 10). We want to find the number of possible routes to get from (0, 0) to (10, 10) by only moving either north or east 1 mile at a time.

Let n be the number of points heading either east or north. So for every n, we then have n points east and n points north. So n + n = 2n. If we were to exclusively head east and arrive at (n, 0), we must then by default head north as heading further east would entreat us to head west at some point in violation of our rule. This holds true no matter what path we take to get to (n, n): that we take n steps to get there. So we have choose(2n, n).

Back to Uell’s problem, as our n = 10 then we have choose(20, 10) = 20! / (10! * 10!) = 2,217,072. Uell has quite a number of routes from which to choose!

Gallo, one time acquaintance to the deceased, mourns upon hearing this. "Too talented a mind taken too soon..."

Classification of the Elements

By Gallo

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Foreword

Our world abides by reductionism, which is to say all can be reduced into more basic components. The pebbles beneath our feet, the sweet-bitter taste of wine, the breath of a weary traveler. All are the combination of more basic elements.

These elements vary wildly in properties, but upon examination patterns emerge. All elements can be grouped into one of three types: metallic, crystalline, and amorphous. I have enumerated all known elements below with a short description of each physical characteristics and origins. If you feel I have excluded any element from this list or have erred in my classifications, do write to me at 1 Iaria Boulevard, Karinah'siol, Haelun'or.

Metallic

Lead - Soft and malleable, silvery with a hint of blue and tarnishes to a dull gray when exposed to air. Its ore, galena, also hosts some amount of silver.

Aurum - Soft and malleable, brightly colored yellow. Naturally alloys with other metals like copper.

Platinum - Dense and malleable, silvery-white. It is found mostly in copper and nickel ore, with some isolated deposits. Exceptionally rare.

Tin - Exceptionally soft and malleable, silvery with a hint of blue.

Silver - Soft, silvery-white. Its ore, argentite, also hosts some amount of aurum.

Zinc - Slightly brittle, silvery-gray. Commonly found in the ore sphalerite.

Copper - Soft and malleable, pinkish-orange. Commonly used in alloys, such as with tin to make bronze.

Nickel - Hard, silvery-white with a golden tinge. Usually only found in tiny amounts.

Ferrum - Hard, silver-gray. Can turn a reddish-brown when exposed to air for a lengthy period of time. Exceptionally abundant.

Tungsten - Hard and brittle, silvery-gray. Found in scheelite and wolframite.

Chromium - Hard and brittle, steely-gray. Resistant to tarnishing and corrosion. Found in chromite.

Titanium - Low density and high in strength, silvery-gray. Found in rutile and ilmenite.

Aluminium - Low density and soft, silvery-gray. Found in various minerals.

Crystalline

Sulium - White with a yellowish outer layer when exposed to air. Highly reactive with the air. Releases nauseous fumes and light when burnt. Can also appear as a paste. Extracted from urine.

Sulfur - Bright yellow. Burns a blue flame and releases a foul odor. Extracted from volcanoes.

Salt - White. Soluble in water. Known for its “salty” taste and as a preservative for meat. Found in salt mines and the ocean.

Amorphous

Water - Colorless and odorless, abundant all over the world. Easily mixes with solubles.

Air - Colorless and odorless, abundant all over the world. Easily mixes with other gasses.

Light - The source of all colors, odorless. It originates from the sun, flames, and lightning.

Heat - Colorless and odorless. It usually originates from the sun, flame, or from friction.

Quicksilver - Heavy, silvery-gray. Toxic to consume. Found in cinnabar.

"The Hanseti are looking for attention again," the Mali'thill Gallo says to himself, "Why do they care so much what happens to another nation? Stay in your own lane!"

Sulium: Toxic and Wonderful

A Pamphlet By Gallo

12th of The Grand Harvest, 38 SA

I am a naturally curious person. This curiosity has led me to the ends of our world in search of lustre and glory. I have been to verdant valleys and roaring volcanoes. I have philosophed with the destitute and conversed with the decrepit. Now my curiosity propels me in pursuit in learning about the very fabric of our world.

In my studies, I have uncovered how to create something so mysterious and so wonderful I feel the need to share. Without going into details, this substance radiated a bright light when it was first made, and burnt extremely hot for a few minutes before I sealed it in a vial with an airtight lid. Upon opening the lid, the powder reignited becoming very hot again.

The powder was extinguished when I doused it in water. Returning after a day, I scooped a little out of its vial with a small spoon. After the water had evaporated in the sun, the powder emanated that light again. I hastily put it back in its vial.

I call this substance 'sulium,' with 'sul-' derived from ancient Mali to mean 'light,' and '-ium' being a common suffix in High Imperial. It is highly reactive, and contact with the open air being the catalyst for its ignition. Hot enough to burn through wood, and exudes a nauseous fume. I am proud of my work in its discovery.

This, my dear reader, is chemistry.

((OOC: this is a rewrite, and 'sulium' is just white phosphorous irl

A small adendum is posted at the end of the pamphlet, "For a demonstration or other inquiry, do send me a letter to 1 Iaria Boulevard, Karinah'Siol, Haelun'or."

"Sutica's always been void of anything exciting," muses Gallo, "should be fun to watch...from very far away."

Gallo cringes.

((good work!))

Gallo, the ever-vocal Mali'aheral, applauds the works of Elibar'indor W. Halcourt. "More men should read these books. Quite informative, I think."

This went from 0 to 100 real quick

"What better way to cause drama than by assembling a mess of politicians with longstanding bloodshed between them," remarked Gallo, "This should be fun." He grabs his popcorn.

"I do like the modern style," remarks the Mali'thill Gallo, "I should order a new suit next time I'm in Providence."

Notes on Eye Structures

By Gallo

I have acquired fresh right eyes from two recently deceased mali, one an 'aheral and the other being a 'ker (not dead by my hand, obviously). Upon exterior examination, the only differences appear to be their coloration.

Both are the expected spherical shape one imagines when thinking of a severed eye.

This proved to be unsatisfactory to me, so I delved deeper and made my first incision into the 'aheral's eye. I took great care not to cut too deep, and made a small incision around the perimeter of the white part (called the sclera). I peeled this outer layer away, which revealed a small, transparent disc underneath the pupil. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was attached to the rest of the eye via small ligaments to the inner layer of the eye.

Conducting the same operation on the other eye revealed the same structure.

I could only conclude that this small film was some sort of filter or lens by which light enters the eye through the pupils.

Surrounding this filter and also attached to the ligaments was a ring of sorts. It was muscle, though, that much was certain. This muscle suspended the filter over the eye's inner liquid, which fills its insides.

The eye is in essence a sac filled with transparent liquid. A gross yet fascinating discovery!