Heidi

Combining some of the narratives: The messupery-beastie of Zero Week has been identified as an Arcanaloth by @Artemis Prime (many thanks). Apparently it got a massive Level 3 Finger of Death spell on me which left me shaken to the core, and then a Mind Blank spell, which took a hit to my Intelligence and Wisdom. This beastie then cast a Chain Lightning Spell that really ripped through me, body, mind, and soul. WHEW. I was able to counter the worst of it with Spirit Guardians and then those guardians helped enhance my Sheild of Faith spells. The guardians are making it so that I can cast Dispel Magic, which is helpful, but is taking all my focus and I'm still taking some slashing damage each week. I'm scouting around for Healing Potions, Herbs, and Other Remedies, which is taking up the remaining energy and attention I have. No wonder I slept twelve hours last night. I can tell that this is a perfect enemy for me, given the Fiend's thirst for knowledge and willingness to create false alliances in exchange for information. It's like the anti-librarian, anti-philosopher, and man, given my Fatal Flaw of not being able to leave off answering questions, it has its claws into me pretty deep. I am looking forward to writing the narrative of this. For starters, I have a great Party as traveling comapnions, which helps bloster my spirit. Also, I have Divine Intervention in the form of Sheild of Faith. This is literally keeping me alive right now. I also have Insight from Mind of Mercury, which allows me to craft a Plan that is bigger than this effort, one which will help with this battle and leave me stronger than before, if I have the capacity to carry it out. I'm an 11th level Librarian, following the Way of the Cobalt Soul: From Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn: Driven by the pursuit of knowledge and its scholars' worship of the Knowing Mentor, the Library of the Cobalt Soul is one of the best-respected and most heavily guarded repositories of tomes, history and information in all of Exandria. People from all lands come to the library to seek knowledge, and those particularly dedicated to the virtues of truth often pledge their minds and bodies to the Cobalt Soul's cause. To become a member of the Cobalt Soul is to give oneself over to a quest dedicated to unveiling life's mysteries, bringing light to the secrets of concealed evil, and guarding the most powerful and dangerous of truth from those whose unwholesome thirst for knowledge might bring death and suffering to others. The monks of the Cobalt Soul are the embodiment of the maxim: "Know your enemy." Through tireless research, they steel themselves against the unrelenting tides of evil. Through rigorous training, they learn to break through their foes' mental and physical defenses. Then, once the fight is done, they record their findings for future generations of monks to study. Tank said I was at least a level 12 Philosopher becuase of my ability to grant Universal Advice and my immunity to compulsions. I probably leveled up to 13 or 14 since he said that, and if I fight this off, I'm definitely a level 14. If I enact The Plan™ I'll be a level 15 because of Inner Peace.

I'm a level 12 (BeacauseTankSaidSo™) and the Universe is my DM, so yes, Homebrew with a solid standard base. Gypsy Druid Level 12 Philosopher and level 11 Librarian (built on the Monk class, with a training path in The Way of the Cobalt Soul) From my Character Sheet Appendix: It is said that Gypsies are a Fey race, with their laughter and dancing, their easy way with song and their nimbleness in even mundane activities -- to watch them stir a pot or weave a braid or sharpen a blade is to watch, and fall under, a spell, even if just for a moment. The Fey blood gives them youthfulness all their days, it is said, and access to magic -- intuition, foresight, the ability to know a person’s heart to the core. And then, after six decades, it is said that this gift, this well-spring of ebullient life force, is reclaimed. These indomitable people, unbowed and unbroken by a society that fears them, slip into death in their sleep as easily as changing a coat. We know ourselves and the measure of our society by how we treat the least amongst us. We know ourselves and the measure of humanity by how we treat our dead. For Gypsies, death is a reverential affair, the closest these folk ever get to somber, reflecting that for them, to be alive is to be engaged with the sacred. They seem to make time stand still when they roll a cigarette or lace a shoe. They strip away the pretenses when they look in your eyes, seeing beyond the armor of respectability and the cloak of success you have donned, leaving just you, and seeing all of you, exposed, naked, vulnerable, whole. And we crave it as much as we fear it, this being seen as we truly are, being known, and so we hate them for doing it, as if having Fey blood were a choice.

Oooof, this is likely it! The first spell it hit me with was finger of death, which left me alive but with enhanced vulnerability when it laid mind blank on me, all of which was helpful to really boost the damage it did with chain lightning. Dang, what a beast. I'm pleased to report that the Arcanaloth is out of upper level spells, at least for this week. It's going to continue on with its slashing melee attacks for a goodly bit, but I was able to counter the worst of it with Spirit Guardians and then those guardians helped enhance my Sheild of Faith spells. The guardians are making it so that I can cast Dispel Magic, which is helpful, but is taking all my focus and I'm still taking some slashing damage each week. Whew. It's going to be a challenging challenge.

In the spirit of "enough coffee to help," I offer this graphic: Interesting! I'll go take a look. Thank you. HUZZAH!

Catnip is waaay too energetic for what I have in mind for this challenge! I had an amazing weekend with Georgia, and then took a long hot bath before bed. This was an excellent choice. I woke up well on Monday morning and did a nice half-mile outside, then did another half-mile on the track at the gym. The cool snap left me not wanting to get out of bed for the next forever, but once I got outside and started moving, I was in the groove. The steam room and sauna were a blessing and after my shower I walked home feeling centered. Thank you, Universe, for neighborhoods and sidewalks and gyms with a steam room and a sauna. I met with Georgia's counselor on Monday, and that went very well. I'm glad that they are developing the kind of therapeutic rapport that is helpful. Work was silly and a lot, as it has been and as it will conitnue to be. I read one of the four essays that James and I will discuss tomorrow and ate some tuna salad and then fell asleep by 6:30, and slept for twelve hours. While this was certainly not what I had planned, I clearly needed it. This morning was a very slow Maxalt morning, as so many mornings have been recently. I made tea and it seemed like all I could do. Logging in happened, which is good, and over lunch I met with Chairman Neal to discuss the independent study, qualifying exam, and dissertation things. All went well. I'm blessed to have him as my chair. I am probably not going to read tonight, and excpect that I'll have another early bedtime and extended sleep session. I might be fighting something off that I got exposed to at the Farm Festival with Georgia on Sunday. All in all, it's a good week so far, even if it's not always going according to plan. Life rarely does. I hope you are having a lovely Week 1. ❤️

When I was drafting my challenge this morning, there was a word I was after that I couldn't quite remember, so I went with Library Cat. Nidificate. May Autumn be a restorative blessing for us all. ?‍⬛

Cinnamon tea sounds lovely! I'll have what @Sea-to-sky is having please! I had already crafted my challenge before dropping into the tavern, and once again find myself in alignment. Burnout wards for the win. I have a question for my D&D Nerds: I'm fighting a monster, but I don't know which one it is, specifically. Seems to have leech or poison effects, and has a drag on dexterity of -3 (maybe it has freeze or some other immobilizing?). Here's what I know about it so far Feels like this might be an undead monster, or more likely a fiend. The thing showed up unnoticed in Week 5 of last challenge (sneaky!) and landed its first attack in Zero Week. It had the element of surprise and seemed to be Gargantuan, landing some blows that really left me reeling. Restore Balance helped me recover, but only enough to keep fighting It deals reduction to Intelligence (-1) and Wisdom (-2) Slashing damage Charisma and Gumption spells reduced it only to a Large monster --its hits can't be avoided, and it gets one every week--and now it is only landing 25% of what it smacked down during Zero Week. But still, it's not a small blow. Does this beastie have a name?

I have a lot of low-cook / no-cook recipes and methods. If this would help while you are still not in your apartment yet, I'm happy to talk more about this. Equipment is usually only a crock pot and refrigerator, and sometimes a rice steamer (helpful but not essential) and the electricity to run them. woohoo for barndemonium! always excited by what's going on in the barn and on the farm. here to cheer you on. ❤️

Welcome! Fetch a cup of tea from the Eternal Teapot on the woodstove and grab a book or a blanket or both.

Greetings again, fellow West Marcher! Love this challenge, especially that tracker (Nerds gonna nerd, what can I say?) Hear hear! I felt this. More swords! Here to cheer. ❤️

Happy to set a stack of Octopi books up to welcome you whenever you want! The Universe loves us and wants us to be happy. ? Yes, harvest season is for coziness! Definitely going to be an inwardness challege, and I'm already feeling the hunker-down vibes. The temperatures took a dramatic plunge overnight, a serendipitous bout of encouragement to do less, be more from the Universe. I'm not going to sugar-coat it: The recent job wobbles and financial messupery have me rattled. Astologers would probably have something to say about this, but for now I think I'll take it as a message that I'm on the right track with taking a deep breath and shoring up who I am in the world and how I go about gathering and spending resources. I did a similar thing in 2014, and the effects were amazing and long-lasting; it was also a lot of emotional work and a period of intense focus. I don't expect it to be easy, but that's okay. I can do hard things. Today's list is perfectly aligned with the end of Zero Week: Finish work projects and submit times cards Go to the bank and file a dispute claim End-of-week housekeeping Therapy appointment Read one essay of Dewey Community Concert Pray When I first started with NF, I took on some evening pushups and situps before bed. Nothing grand, mind you, just a few of each after I brushed my teeth and put on my pajamas, and this ended up being a time that was centering emotionally, an effect that I hadn't planned on and was a pleasant surprise. I think I might add this back in. Any centering is good centering. All prayer is good prayer. ❤️

Onward!

Goals: finances, gym, philosophy, Evening Rest This is going to be an Introverts Challenge — I’m depleted and need to refocus and restore. This is not the time to add in new things or extend my reach, especially not with things that involve being out of the Loft. This is the challenge where I channel my inner Library Cat and just curl up and do what needs doing and nothing else. Last challenge I started tracking what I do with varying points and categories, and it really helped me see that I already do a lot, and also that medical appointments are taking a huge chunk of time and energy as well as money. I’m going to continue tracking in the same way, since it makes sense and also allows me to see how the little daily things tend to slip first when I’m flagging, and this is a good way to notice early on when I need to make an adjustment before everything falls off the rails. Druid Things - weekly tasks: returning the compost pail; picking up the milk or the farm share; acupuncture; housekeeping. +20 each. Ideal: 100/week Cantrips are my daily tasks: making my bed; logging in to work; forum posting; laundry; dishes; you get the idea. +1 each. Ideal: 35/week Philosophy: - PhD things: +20 each Philosophy Reading spell; +10 each personal reading spell. Ideal: 80 Philosophy points/week; 20 Personal (optional). .303 Bookworm & other spells: I am tracking how often I have to cast a Rebalance, Restore, Fortify, or Gumption spell or take a Maxalt (potion), and this has helped me see when I’m getting depleted. Having a disabling condition is a weird thing. Tracking helps make the invisible more visible.+10 each spell. Ideal: track each day. Gym: just going for a morning walk and hitting the steam room and the sauna has done wonders for helping smooth out the TBI issues I was having, and I’d like to continue this. It’s simple and available, and as long as I spend a little time (30-60 minutes) each morning, it has a cumulative effect of helping me be whole. I have come to think of this as my “commute” since I work from home and the gym is next door to my building. +10 each trip to the gym Ideal: 50/week Finances: Weekly payment to medical or debt. +25 each Ideal: 25/week Seize the Day: 5000 Steps by noon (preferably before logging in to work) is a pretty big stretch goal, 10 points; Evening Rest (because rest is sacred work), 10 points. Ideal: 50 points/week each. Medical Appointments just about did me in last challenge, and I’m taking a step back from the medical carousel that comes with disability. Social +20 each Marching Band Boosters, Pinball League, and High School Football all happening at once is a lot, Friends. I’m not certain I’m up for all of that, and I’ll definitely be glad when the social calendar calms down a bit. In the meantime, these alliances make a difference in my small world. Ideal: 20/week. Beware any week with more than 40. 80 is right out. Stats Constitution: 13—good food and good rest continue to allow me to have a greater capacity for recovery and healing. Thank you Universe. I don’t expect this to go up much. Maintenance is the focus and the goal. Strength: 16 — the job wobbles left this a -1, so we’re starting at 16. Definitely looking to improve this. Intelligence: 17 — the cognitive impairment from last challenge was largely due to all the many appointments and assessments. It will likely take a year to get this back to 18 Dexterity: 15—constraints, o my! Took a major hit at the end of last challenge. Improving this is my primary focus Wisdom: 16—a step down because of the constraints situation. Seems like the things that happened in Zero Week affected everything, because they did. Charisma: 17 — one of the few scores that survived last week. Very glad to see that this is as powerful as it is. Stamina: 9, and woo hoo me! I didn’t think this would hold, and I’m pleased to note that small efforts applied consistently did in fact work. (Who knew?) TL;DR: YES: forum posting, gym, rest, healing, daily tasks, Druiding. NO: additional anything. Just stop and let things be for a minute. GET THROUGH: Band Boosters, Pinball League, the job thing.

Hiyas, Friend, and thank you. I just noticed that it’s now the “previous challenge,” which means the new “current challenge” forums are open. Might make some tea and think about that for a minute.

I love the idea of glimmers.