Calypso: a Thaelia's World original short story

10th day of the Bear Moon, 1194

 

Edward sat in the great hall with Sir Bryan of Foxwarre and Sir Gaston of Zulchai. Edward was the cousin of the late Earl Braeden du Faucione. Braeden’s ten year old son, Phillip was now Earl but due to his age, the lands were administered by Braeden’s half-brother Sir Kevin. After years of acting as Marshal for the Faucione family, Edward was granted lands as a reward and added to his property by purchasing surrounding acreage. Thanks to a little nudge from Queen Gaelynn, the former wife of Braeden, the romance between Edward and Sophie flourished. That Sophie was Gaelynn’s First Lady-in-Waiting and dear friend probably helped. The two women kept in touch with weekly letters. Gaelynn was influential with sending knights looking for service to Edward.

Words of wisdom to live by from a chivalrous man

I was going through one of my reference books and saw these words. I think they are relevant to Public safety in general and law enforcement in particular. They were written in the Fourteenth Century French knight called Geoffroi de Charny. Geoffroi was a very interesting man. He served in the Hundred Years war, dying at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, carrying the banner (the Oriflamme) of the French King Philippe VI. He had, at one time, been captured by Edward III and held in London. Charny was an advocate of chivalry and big in the tourney circuits. In fact, the passages below were taken from his work, “The Book of Chivalry". His family owned the Shroud of Turin for a while.

One of his passions was passing on his knowledge.  He wrote three books, taking information from another famous knight, Raymond Lull. His words below are from his book on Chivalry.

Update on Book Three of Greycliff's Chronicles

I'm almost done with writing and editing. Cross my fingers, but I hope to have it out in July. This is the cover I am considering for use. Still not completely sold on it, though. Any opinions? It is supposed to be a picture of Gaelynn and Ranulf (not a custom picture).

Keeping current with trends in Public Safety

How do you keep up with new technology or current trends in Public Safety? I subscribe to multiple magazines and newsletters. As part of my membership to NENA (National Emergency Number Association) and APCO (Associated Public Safety Communications Officials, Inc.) I receive emailed news. APCO sends out a monthly magazine to it's members. For news about Telecommunicator Emergency Response Teams (TERT), I go to NJTI-Tert.

Death First!: Trials by Combat

In today’s society, when one individual is a victim of a crime, he or she can file a report with the local law enforcement agency. After the investigation is completed, charges may or may not be filed with the county district attorney’s office depending upon if enough evidence is found to proceed with a trial. During the medieval period, it didn’t always work that way. Authorities could ignore crimes if the involved persons were high enough in the pecking order, or a bribe was offered. Sometimes the Church would step in and claim a higher power was involved.  When a sentence of death or life in prison was given, the common people were stuck but the nobility had a second option: trial by combat.

Western Conference Finals here they come!

The naysayers have to eat some words 'cause the San Jose Sharks are going to the Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals for the fifth time in 25 years. What a game seven it was. 5-0 shut-out for the men in teal. The big stars showed up with goals by Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Joel Ward. The team kept cool heads and only allowed 26 shots on goal with zero pucks in their net. Pekke Rinne had a bad night and was pulled after allowing five goals on 26 shots. The Predators goalie was less than thrilled and showed his ire by smashing his stick against the goal post, breaking the stick in two. Rinne then threw the remnants across the ice in disgust before skating to the Nashville bench.


In all, the Sharks played a good puck-possessing game. Instead of doing the dump & chase, the guys kept the biscuit in possession and carried it across the blue line. I saw more set-up and less of the usual passing. More shooting which resulted in goals. The D was on top of their game. This is how the Sharks beat their opponents.


According to the Sharks website:


"Pavelski scored at 8:22 on the power play with Viktor Arvidsson in the penalty box for delay of game. Thornton sent the puck below the goal line to Marleau, who found Pavelski in the low right circle. Pavelski, who had been knocked down by Rinne seconds earlier, scored on a wrist shot into the upper left corner.The goal was Pavelski's ninth of the playoffs. San Jose is 8-0 in the playoffs when he gets at least one point."


The team never looked backwards from that point onward. ESPN gathered ten hockey experts together and they are split, five to five in who wins the series. I say the Sharks in seven.




Game One is Sunday, May 15th at 5:00 pm (Pacific time)


official San Jose game seven recap


http://sharks.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2015030247&navid=DL|SJS|home


NHL Sharks/Blues preview:


https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-playoffs-conference-finals-predictions/c-280654866?tid=280204614




Go Sharks!


Stay safe out there.

Stick 'em with the pointy end: a brief history of swords throughout history

Every epic fantasy or historical book set before the 1800’s has at least one scene with two men facing off against each other, swords clashing, until one died in a spray of blood. Swords were handed down from father to son or taken as prizes of war. Damascus steel from India, steel from Toledo, or Ulfberht swords from Scandinavia were the top of the line. Weapons could be single edged or double, straight or curved, short or long, and used for cutting or thrusting. What is a sword but a piece of metal? The weapons are the foremost symbols of war, associated with every type of warrior from ancient times to our modern military.  

Ulfberht swords