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Chapter 53
Horth
Adventurer Level: N/A
Bone Fae King - Deepwyld Forest
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I watched with anticipation as the dust from our attacks began to clear. A convenient gust of wind helped speed things along, and soon Basinoth and I were able to meet each other's eyes. Spears of bone and blood impaled the ground around us. We simultaneously slouched as we realized that we had once again remained unscathed by each other's attacks.
"Bah," Basinoth said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm willing to call it a draw if you are. We can drain each other's magic and come no closer to a final decision."
"You are most likely correct," I admitted. "Fine, a draw it is. Again. I suppose we'll both take part in the hearing."
"THANK THE HIGH ONES!" A shrill voice shouted from beneath a toppled tree. "A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE!"
Basinoth and I shared a look of exasperation. The both of us had warned the King of Bone Fairies against spectating our battle. I walked over to the tree and lifted it, allowing Hul to escape it's crushing embrace. It wasted no time taking to the air, and hovered a few inches from my face.
"Why must your battles be so destructive?" Hul demanded, gesturing to the new clearing that had formed within the forest. "Can't you play stone, leather, dagger instead?"
"Even if we did, we would always select the same option," I explained. "Consider this a demonstration of our frustration. Venting, as it were."
"Surely there are less destructive ways to vent the frustrations built up from your impotent rivalry. Perhaps I'll obtain a coin from a mortal and you can use that, instead."
"We have tried games of chance, Hul," Basinoth said. "Dice will land cocked and coins will land upon their sides. The High Ones have decided that we are to be equally matched, and they seem to take some sadistic satisfaction in forcing the impossible to happen in making certain we remain that way."
"The forest will heal, Hul, and I've heard enough chatter," I interrupted. "Let us be off, Basinoth. I detest tardiness and wish to set an example for our peers."
"Right. Let's go. I wish to see the mortals that made an arch-fae," Hul grinned.
"No. You lost your fight against Yilf," Basinoth pointed out. "You do not have the right to attend the hearing."
"I'm not going to attend, I'm just going to watch. I heard that one of the mortals is strange. Neither elf nor orc nor dwarf nor... Uh... Any of the other races. It's got flat ears!"
"As if we want to listen to you prattle on for the entire journey. Travel separately, if you must watch the hearing."
"I don't wanna travel alone! Come on, I'll be quiet. Please?"
"Be quiet?" I asked, my jawbone contorting to form a grin. "Is such a feat even possible for a Tooth Fairy?"
"How DARE you!?" Hul demanded, puffing up in anger. "I expect such slurs from blood fae, even other fairies, but YOU? I'll have you know that I collect much more than just teeth! Finger bones, feet bones, even the little bones in ears!"
"Oh?" My grin widened. "And exactly how many of these bones do you currently have in your collection?"
Hul's eyes narrowed at me, and Basinoth began to laugh. It is common knowledge that the King of Bone Fairies prefers bargaining to violence, and teeth are the only bones that mortals are somewhat willing to part with. Especially the temporary teeth of the young. I began to walk and Hul hurried after me indignantly, muttering obscenities under its breath.
Basinoth and I made our way toward the tree of life as Hul began ranting about the unfairness of my question. Whenever the raving began to die down, one of us would laugh and it would cause it to begin anew. The distance was vast, though, and eventually Hul forgot about my insult.
"So... why are the two of you evenly matched to begin with?" Hul asked. "It seems like a fairly arbitrary thing for the High Ones to desire, let alone enforce."
"It is because I am the embodiment of life and Horth is the embodiment of death," Basinoth explained. "We are destined to rage against each other, yet neither can claim victory over the other. Not while we actually exist, at any rate."
"That doesn't make sense. If a living being became immortal, they'd be immune to death, right? So life would continue to exist, wouldn't it?"
"Wrong," I answered with a chattering chuckle. "There is no such thing as true immortality among the living. Even if there were, the very act of becoming immortal wrenches them from the chains of life, and one cannot call such a being 'living'. Even if that weren't the case, death would still have the last laugh at their expense. The very world upon which we tread will one day die, and where will they be then?"
"They will be left desperately praying for death to whomever will listen," Basinoth said. "Mortals are such fleeting things, and their longing for immortality only serves to prove this. If they were allowed to mature for a few thousand years, they would realize the folly of such desires."
"Hmm... Do you think we'll want to die one day?"
"Because of this conversation, I already do," I clicked my teeth in laughter.
"Oh, come on! Seriously though, we're immortal, aren't we?"
"No, we aren't," I answered. "We are able to perish. While it's true that the cycle of fairness allows us to retake physical form if that happens, we lose who we are in the process. Death is not simply a loss of one's body, it is a loss of being."
The King of Bone Fairies contemplated silently while the King of Blood Fae studied me with pursed lips as we walked. I met their gaze and tilted my skull in a silent query.
"Are you going to get dressed?" Basinoth asked. "You look like a naked lich."
I looked down and realized I had not yet applied flesh to my form. With a sigh, I began the process of covering my wonderful skeleton with mediocre, and completely cosmetic, meat. Nearly all beings find my true physical appearance threatening, or otherwise disturbing. Long ago, a mortal pointed out to me that this must make me lonely. I wholeheartedly agreed and replied that was the point. I prefer solitude.
Once the bloodless tissue had bonded and tightened to my precious bones, I looked back at Basinoth.
"Is this adequate?" I asked.
"Going for the androgenous look?" Basinoth replied, pointing at my chest.
I looked down again and noticed that it looked as if I had a singular feminine breast. I sighed again, summoning a small bone spear and stabbing the inflated skin. It hissed as the air left it and reformed in a more masculine manner.
"That looks good," Hul said. "Still need actual clothes, though."
"It's never enough for you fleshy ones," I complained. "First you cover your bones with meat, then you cover the meat with cloth, and sometimes you even cover the cloth with metal! Where does it end?"
"At the armor," Basinoth laughed.
I scoffed as I donned my coverings. The cloth was a simple tunic and pants made of various plants suited for the purpose, and the armor was similar in shape to Basinoth's, but made of bone instead of indurated blood. Once I was fully dressed, I made an exaggerated gesture to my outfit. Both of the other Kings nodded their approval, and we continued on our trek.
Before long we came upon the Clearing of Life, and to my surprise, we weren't the first to arrive. Algebrun and Tits had managed to find and bring the mortals, and the lot of them were sitting patiently. Yilf was also already seated, casually watching our approach. I detected Tamithi's presence, but they were hiding in some foliage at the edge of a clearing. I gestured at the King of the Sprites, and Hul took my meaning and joined them.
Basinoth and I made for our seats, but Algebrun stopped us with a raised hand. He nodded at the mortals, two orcs and the much discussed human, and they rose. The human looked exactly like the arch-fae had described him, but slightly more road-worn.
"Horth, King of the Bone Fae and Basinoth, King of the Blood Fae," Algebrun said, then gestured to the mortals. "May I introduce Yulk, Nash, and Nick of Clan Alta?"
Basinoth and I shared a glance, surprised by the fame of the familial name.
"Clan Alta, eh?" Basinoth asked. "I'm fairly certain that I owe one of your ancestors some comeuppance. A member of Clan Alta, an orc about your size and shape, challenged me to a duel about fifty years back. They used a bit of trickery to secure the win, and as their prize they took my a-"
I suppressed a laugh as I noticed what had given Basinoth pause. The King of Blood Fae was staring at the belt of the orc known as Nash, upon which rested a serrated battle-axe. I recognized it immediately.
"My axe," Basinoth finished their sentence. "Pray tell, Nash of Clan Alta, how did you come about ownership of Bone Biter?"
The orc's eyes widened as he instinctively reached for the axe. Instead of drawing it, which would have been a fatal mistake, he ran his hand over it.
"I bought it from the Adventurer's Guild," he explained. "My father owned one that was almost just like it."
Basinoth and I looked closer at the axe. It was very similar, but contained much more iron than Bone-Biter could have. Even though the extra iron makes it a more effective weapon against me, Basinoth would be unable to safely wield it. We exchanged a look.
"I see," Basinoth laughed. "A near-perfect replica. Does your father still have the original? I'll gladly face him again for the chance to regain it. Though... he's likely getting on in years, so perhaps we should do a battle of wits, instead."
"My apologies," Nash bowed his head slightly. "My father is long dead, and he was buried with the axe. It was his most cherished weapon."
"I see. You have my condolences. It fills me with a bittersweet happiness to know that he enjoyed my axe so much."
"Basinoth had it made specifically to give them an edge against me," I explained. "Then he immediately lost it to your father."
"That's true. I retrieved the weapon and ran into your father on my way to challenge Horth. I was unaware that your father had been 'living wild', as he put it, and agreed to face him for the axe. If I had won, I would have gained his blood, but I fell into one of the traps he had set to catch food for the night. As a result, he took the victory and my axe," Basinoth sighed. "And to top it off, the smith that crafted it was hit by a falling star before I could ask them to make another. They were reborn, of course, but lost all memory of how to fashion metals."
"Divine intervention," I nodded. "That's what you get for trying to surpass me."
The mortal's eyes widened in horror at our little exchange, except for the sorcerer named Yulk. His eyes remained calm and collected, as if he wasn't the least bit surprised to hear anything that was being said. I found this curious, but before I could ask him anything, Basinoth turned to the human.
"So, Nick, you must be the one that made a couple of new arch-fae."
"Y-yes, but not on purpose," Nick stammered nervously.
"How exactly does one make accidentally two arch-fae?" I asked, bemused.
"W-well... They stopped us on the road because they wanted our names, but since we need our names I gave them new names, and then they were arch-fae."
"Takes quite a lot of power to create a name for a fae," Basinoth said. "However, that isn't enough to make an arch-fae."
"It shouldn't be, at least," I added. "Though, we're not exactly experts on the matter. Mumuldobran would know more. Just where is the King of the Arch-Fae?"
"Having a conniption," Tits said jovially. "They'll be joining us shortly."
"A conniption? What for?"
"A bunch of things, really. First, the fact that we were made arch-fae under mysterious circumstances. Then, my name and the fact that I chose it. Finally, some of the sprites killed his favorite tea tree as a prank."
I instinctively glance toward Tamithi, who winced and shrank back further into the foliage. Hul was resting upon the sprite's shoulder and had to fight a branch to remain there. Basinoth let out a heavy sigh.
"I really liked the tea from that tree."
"Not to worry," Tits said. "They were smart enough to save a cutting of the tree, and we've already got it planted. It'll take a few years to grow up, but we'll still be able to enjoy Mumuldobran's special brew at some point in the future."
"I am pleased to hear that," Mumuldobran said, appearing as if from nowhere. "Or rather, my rage is lessened by the news. We did not gather here to discuss my anger, though."
"Didn't we?" Tits asked with a grin. "I thought the whole point of this hearing was to discuss how arch-fae were made without your consent. Isn't that one of the things you're sore about?"
Mumuldobran stared at Tits, obviously trying to make the arch-fae's head explode with willpower alone. I found myself becoming a tad impatient at their antics, so I clashed my teeth loudly to snap the King of Arch-Fae out of it. It glanced at me with ineffectual annoyance, then cleared its throat.
"Algebrun, please perform the introductions so that we may get started," Mumuldobran said. "We have a lot to discuss."
​
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Hi all,
I’m in a situation which I can’t seem to find any similar posts on, so thought I’d post my own here. I can pretty much guarantee that my job won’t be around in 5-10 years time, and there’s a good chance based on how things are going at the moment that my field will also be drastically changed by then too. That’s not to say I won’t be able to adapt and change with it, but I’ve been looking at my options in the mean time.
Background :
(trying to be as vague as I can without withholding important info)
M38. I’ve been PAYE at the same (single owner ltd) company for 15 or so years now in a niche field within film&tv where there are optimistically maybe a dozen of us in the UK at most with enough regular work that gives this sort of job security. I don’t personally know of any one else with my job that’s PAYE as it tends to be short term self employed gigs and you either move on after a job or you work for someone until the work from that particular person dries up. PAYE wise, I started 15 years ago at minimum wage but salaried, rather than day rate self employed, and that job security has been great. About 6 years ago we renegotiated my salary to include inflation linked pay rises which at the time was better than nothing, but has been great these last few years and raised my salary to a very ‘healthy' number of about £40k last tax year. There are no pension schemes or contribution matching, but they’re generous and pay most of the 8% minimum.
One of the perks of the field is that it is one of the few that still have a royalty system in place, and as a result I also have about a dozen payments a year (roughly quarterly) of unknown amounts coming in, all based on past work and what licensing/usage they’ve had over the past year. I never know what it’s going to be before it lands in my account, and it fluctuates, so I’ve always treated them as a bonus with strict savings splits so that I don’t spend it all and wonder where the money went. Last year that number was about £50k, so I paid about 70% of it into my pension to bring my total income down to £50k for child benefit reasons. Current trend is upwards, but there’s no guarantee of that.
Financials:

• Pension - £135k
• S&S ISA - £45k
• LISA (pension) - £35k
• Premium Bonds (emergency pot) - £15k
• I also have £16k in savings which is earmarked for tax in July/Jan.
• Mortgage is 59% LTV at current portal valuation with £394k outstanding at 1.59% until July 2025 and runs until we’re 68. We obviously want to pay that off well before then, but it was the best way to leverage in our close-to-London area.
• Wife is salaried with DB government pension in a very secure role that she loves.
• We have a child in nursery which has hit the monthly budget hard, unsurprisingly, and wife is back to work only 4 days a week, bringing home more than nursery costs but making our monthly in/out somewhat equal at the moment with no planned savings (used to save a lot, but inflation and nursery costs have stopped that). Come July 2025 with the mortgage rise, we’ll have to get that money from my royalties which currently aren’t dipped into. Part time wife and nursery are temporary though.

Situation:
Working PAYE has been great. There’s been consistent work for 15 years and although there are down sides and potential loss of earnings from not being SE, it’s also provided peace of mind with mortgage/baby/etc and a steady way to earn royalties. However company owner is talking about retirement, and mixed with the industry showing quite a slow down in projects and budgets, it means there’s a good chance that my employment is limited to +5 years, potentially up to 10 years, but I’d be shocked if it went that far. A lot will depend on if current ongoing projects stay commissioned or whether the work dries up for us too.
Post PAYE, work wise, it's not a case of ’taking over the business’ as it’s essentially a Ltd company wrapper for a person who is hired for their name/skills and earns enough he has to be Ltd. Production would go next to someone of equal gravitas and awards, not the ‘assistant’ of the person retired/not wanting the job. Colleagues and friends I know haven’t worked in months and when they do it’s not well paid. I’ve seen one chart that shows an 80% drop in films made this last year compared to the last 5 years and multiple posts around reddit by people in film saying they’ve been out of work for a while. Existing income streams (ie my royalties) aren’t guaranteed and there’s a real risk AI will cause major changes there too.
Assuming some but not all of the bigger changes happen though, my best guess would be thousands of experienced people are out of jobs and looking to take the low hundreds of jobs left available, including some moving into lecturing (teaching kids to go into an industry that has no jobs!). Might be a bit overly-doomy, we can hope it’s not that bad.
So assuming this, I’ve been thinking of what I can do to be best placed in 5-10 (43-48y/o) years time so that I can be as FI as possible to get me through the years after that to RE if all goes well. Jumping ship from what is a stable and healthy job now because others are struggling would be mad, so I’m looking more to best make hay whilst the sun is shining.
Options I can see for the next 5 years:
Continue to pay all home costs with our combined salaries, and use the royalties for -

• Don’t change the plan. Pay minimum mortgage, save bits into S&S ISA but put as much as possible (~£40k) into pension each year until my PAYE is gone, and hopefully the royalties will still be coming in when that’s the case. Assuming 5 years at +£40k at 3% post inflation growth my pot would be £370k in 5 years time (43yo).
• Stop paying into pension and pay the tax on it to get it into my S&S ISA instead. Would mean roughly half that which could be in the pension would be in the ISA instead but I would have access to it (roughly £100k isa vs £200k pension over 5 years). Assuming 5 years at +£20k at 3% post inflation growth my pot would be £106k in 5 years time (43yo).
• Pay off the mortgage asap. It’ll be going up from the 1.59% it is now and unlikely to go back down that far in the near future if ever. I could pay that down to maybe £250k by putting everything into that. As much as paying off a mortgage sounds like a great idea, it doesn’t feel like this is the best option.
• Do a bit of all 3
• Something else I’ve not thought of...

I’m leaning towards pension heavy saving still, as I know that I’ll have income in the 40% tax bracket so now is the time to make the most of it, assuming in 5 years time I drop down into basic rate for a while. 5 years of about £40k in the pot each year plus everything else trickling along all at 3% growth gives me a combined pot of £463k in 5 years time. Then the 14 years to 57 assuming I save nothing extra and just pay for bills and life, at 3% growth only (no deposits) for 14 years, takes me to £700k at 57 (£770k at 60) in the pot which doesn’t feel too shabby for a worst case scenario.
Better case scenario is that in 5 years time I’m saving into my ISA for RE elements, and paying off the mortgage. Best case scenario is that I’m no worse off than now and can continue to pay in £40k a year into my pension/other wrappers for many years to come.
It does mean that there’s a potentially sticky year when I lose my job that I need to rely more on the savings than I have available though. So maybe S&S ISA/emergency fund should also be a priority. Or mortgage… or...
Assuming no job in 5 years time though, what would you do?

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

KNIVES

★ Butterfly Knife Lore (Factory New), B/O: $7194.77

★ Butterfly Knife Autotronic (Minimal Wear), B/O: $2025.74

⎯

★ M9 Bayonet Ultraviolet (Field-Tested), B/O: $557.87

★ M9 Bayonet Stained (Well-Worn), B/O: $529.41

★ M9 Bayonet Boreal Forest (Field-Tested), B/O: $465.39

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★ Talon Knife Doppler (Factory New), B/O: $1295.27

★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth (Minimal Wear), B/O: $746.28

★ Karambit Bright Water (Field-Tested), B/O: $688.15

⎯

★ Flip Knife Doppler (Factory New), B/O: $547.93

★ Flip Knife Autotronic (Minimal Wear), B/O: $476.69

★ Flip Knife Case Hardened (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $278.18

★ Flip Knife Black Laminate (Well-Worn), B/O: $258.83

★ Flip Knife Urban Masked (Field-Tested), B/O: $181.64

⎯

★ Stiletto Knife Marble Fade (Factory New), B/O: $686.04

★ Stiletto Knife Doppler (Factory New), B/O: $665.41

★ Stiletto Knife, B/O: $601.39

★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web (Field-Tested), B/O: $418.25

★ Stiletto Knife Night Stripe (Field-Tested), B/O: $227.80

★ Stiletto Knife Boreal Forest (Field-Tested), B/O: $194.96

★ Stiletto Knife Safari Mesh (Field-Tested), B/O: $192.79

⎯

★ Nomad Knife Crimson Web (Field-Tested), B/O: $518.11

★ Nomad Knife Scorched (Field-Tested), B/O: $169.78

★ Nomad Knife Forest DDPAT (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $166.88

★ StatTrak™ Nomad Knife Blue Steel (Field-Tested), B/O: $335.79

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★ Skeleton Knife Stained (Well-Worn), B/O: $442.05

★ Skeleton Knife Urban Masked (Minimal Wear), B/O: $426.24

★ Skeleton Knife Boreal Forest (Field-Tested), B/O: $314.03

★ StatTrak™ Skeleton Knife Fade (Minimal Wear), B/O: $2361.28

★ StatTrak™ Skeleton Knife Urban Masked (Field-Tested), B/O: $376.53

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★ Ursus Knife Doppler (Factory New), B/O: $557.12

★ Ursus Knife, B/O: $471.42

★ Ursus Knife Blue Steel (Minimal Wear), B/O: $212.37

★ Ursus Knife Case Hardened (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $187.66

★ Ursus Knife Damascus Steel (Field-Tested), B/O: $178.18

★ Ursus Knife Ultraviolet (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $155.13

★ Ursus Knife Boreal Forest (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $124.26

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★ Huntsman Knife Black Laminate (Minimal Wear), B/O: $204.83

★ Huntsman Knife Black Laminate (Field-Tested), B/O: $184.50

★ StatTrak™ Huntsman Knife Lore (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $224.11

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★ Bowie Knife Gamma Doppler (Factory New), B/O: $2142.02

★ Bowie Knife, B/O: $230.44

★ Bowie Knife Damascus Steel (Factory New), B/O: $209.20

★ Bowie Knife Ultraviolet (Minimal Wear), B/O: $180.51

★ Bowie Knife Ultraviolet (Field-Tested), B/O: $131.03

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★ Falchion Knife Night (Field-Tested), B/O: $132.54

★ Falchion Knife Urban Masked (Well-Worn), B/O: $112.81

★ Falchion Knife Scorched (Field-Tested), B/O: $108.81

★ Falchion Knife Forest DDPAT (Field-Tested), B/O: $107.82

★ Falchion Knife Safari Mesh (Field-Tested), B/O: $107.46

★ StatTrak™ Falchion Knife Ultraviolet (Field-Tested), B/O: $143.08

⎯

★ Paracord Knife Crimson Web (Minimal Wear), B/O: $486.48

★ Paracord Knife Blue Steel (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $163.12

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★ Survival Knife Blue Steel (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $138.26

★ Survival Knife Night Stripe (Field-Tested), B/O: $131.03

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★ Gut Knife Sapphire (Minimal Wear), B/O: $1127.79

★ Gut Knife Gamma Doppler (Factory New), B/O: $286.17

★ Gut Knife Doppler (Factory New), B/O: $246.55

★ Gut Knife Marble Fade (Factory New), B/O: $240.77

★ Gut Knife, B/O: $210.49

★ Gut Knife Lore (Field-Tested), B/O: $194.22

★ Gut Knife Case Hardened (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $151.51

★ Gut Knife Blue Steel (Minimal Wear), B/O: $124.94

★ Gut Knife Rust Coat (Well-Worn), B/O: $118.99

★ Gut Knife Boreal Forest (Minimal Wear), B/O: $109.80

★ StatTrak™ Gut Knife Doppler (Factory New), B/O: $237.96

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★ Shadow Daggers Gamma Doppler (Factory New), B/O: $264.92

★ Shadow Daggers Marble Fade (Factory New), B/O: $253.03

★ Shadow Daggers Tiger Tooth (Factory New), B/O: $237.22

★ Shadow Daggers Crimson Web (Field-Tested), B/O: $153.40

★ Shadow Daggers Autotronic (Minimal Wear), B/O: $144.42

★ Shadow Daggers Blue Steel (Field-Tested), B/O: $105.20

★ StatTrak™ Shadow Daggers Damascus Steel (Minimal Wear), B/O: $150.46

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★ Navaja Knife Fade (Factory New), B/O: $365.99

★ Navaja Knife Doppler (Factory New), B/O: $228.93

★ Navaja Knife Marble Fade (Factory New), B/O: $227.43

★ Navaja Knife Slaughter (Factory New), B/O: $209.06

★ Navaja Knife, B/O: $203.16

★ Navaja Knife Case Hardened (Well-Worn), B/O: $132.57

★ Navaja Knife Damascus Steel (Factory New), B/O: $121.69

★ Navaja Knife Damascus Steel (Minimal Wear), B/O: $109.95

★ Navaja Knife Damascus Steel (Field-Tested), B/O: $100.41

★ StatTrak™ Navaja Knife Fade (Factory New), B/O: $369.01

★ StatTrak™ Navaja Knife Damascus Steel (Field-Tested), B/O: $109.95

GLOVES

★ Sport Gloves Amphibious (Minimal Wear), B/O: $2394.67

★ Sport Gloves Omega (Well-Worn), B/O: $572.33

★ Sport Gloves Bronze Morph (Minimal Wear), B/O: $338.88

★ Sport Gloves Big Game (Field-Tested), B/O: $323.66

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★ Specialist Gloves Marble Fade (Minimal Wear), B/O: $1652.07

★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike (Field-Tested), B/O: $599.14

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web (Well-Worn), B/O: $231.57

★ Specialist Gloves Buckshot (Minimal Wear), B/O: $126.21

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★ Moto Gloves POW! (Minimal Wear), B/O: $996.99

★ Moto Gloves POW! (Field-Tested), B/O: $383.31

★ Moto Gloves POW! (Well-Worn), B/O: $276.00

★ Moto Gloves Turtle (Field-Tested), B/O: $180.28

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★ Hand Wraps CAUTION! (Minimal Wear), B/O: $502.29

★ Hand Wraps Giraffe (Minimal Wear), B/O: $180.73

★ Hand Wraps CAUTION! (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $178.32

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★ Driver Gloves Queen Jaguar (Minimal Wear), B/O: $181.01

★ Driver Gloves Rezan the Red (Field-Tested), B/O: $101.66

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★ Broken Fang Gloves Jade (Field-Tested), B/O: $127.88

★ Broken Fang Gloves Needle Point (Minimal Wear), B/O: $124.55

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★ Bloodhound Gloves Guerrilla (Minimal Wear), B/O: $127.94

★ Hydra Gloves Case Hardened (Field-Tested), B/O: $102.55

WEAPONS

AK-47 X-Ray (Well-Worn), B/O: $478.95

AUG Hot Rod (Factory New), B/O: $425.83

StatTrak™ M4A1-S Hyper Beast (Factory New), B/O: $413.95

M4A4 Daybreak (Factory New), B/O: $309.51

StatTrak™ AK-47 Aquamarine Revenge (Factory New), B/O: $305.43

AK-47 Case Hardened (Well-Worn), B/O: $196.38

StatTrak™ M4A4 Temukau (Minimal Wear), B/O: $174.64

P90 Run and Hide (Field-Tested), B/O: $167.03

AWP Asiimov (Field-Tested), B/O: $153.33

Souvenir SSG 08 Death Strike (Minimal Wear), B/O: $140.00

M4A1-S Printstream (Battle-Scarred), B/O: $124.70

StatTrak™ M4A1-S Golden Coil (Field-Tested), B/O: $117.48

AWP Asiimov (Well-Worn), B/O: $115.97

StatTrak™ Desert Eagle Printstream (Minimal Wear), B/O: $112.96

StatTrak™ AK-47 Asiimov (Minimal Wear), B/O: $110.85

Souvenir M4A1-S Master Piece (Well-Worn), B/O: $102.42

AK-47 Bloodsport (Minimal Wear), B/O: $100.53

Trade Offer Link - Steam Profile Link - My Inventory

Knives - Bowie Knife, Butterfly Knife, Falchion Knife, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Huntsman Knife, M9 Bayonet, Bayonet, Karambit, Shadow Daggers, Stiletto Knife, Ursus Knife, Navaja Knife, Talon Knife, Classic Knife, Paracord Knife, Survival Knife, Nomad Knife, Skeleton Knife, Patterns - Gamma Doppler, Doppler (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Black Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald), Crimson Web, Lore, Fade, Ultraviolet, Night, Marble Fade (Fire & Ice, Fake FI), Case Hardened (Blue Gem), Autotronic, Slaughter, Black Laminate, Tiger Tooth, Boreal Forest, Scorched, Blue Steel, Vanilla, Damascus Steel, Forest DDPAT, Urban Masked, Freehand, Stained, Bright Water, Safari Mesh, Rust Coat, Gloves - Bloodhound Gloves (Charred, Snakebite, Guerrilla, Bronzed), Driver Gloves (Snow Leopard, King Snake, Crimson Weave, Imperial Plaid, Black Tie, Lunar Weave, Diamondback, Rezan the Red, Overtake, Queen Jaguar, Convoy, Racing Green), Hand Wraps (Cobalt Skulls, CAUTION!, Overprint, Slaughter, Leather, Giraffe, Badlands, Spruce DDPAT, Arboreal, Constrictor, Desert Shamagh, Duct Tape), Moto Gloves (Spearmint, POW!, Cool Mint, Smoke Out, Finish Line, Polygon, Blood Pressure, Turtle, Boom!, Eclipse, 3rd Commando Company, Transport), Specialist Gloves (Crimson Kimono, Tiger Strike, Emerald Web, Field Agent, Marble Fade, Fade, Foundation, Lt. Commander, Crimson Web, Mogul, Forest DDPAT, Buckshot), Sport Gloves (Pandora's Box, Superconductor, Hedge Maze, Vice, Amphibious, Slingshot, Omega, Arid, Big Game, Nocts, Scarlet Shamagh, Bronze Morph), Hydra Gloves (Case Hardened, Emerald, Rattler, Mangrove), Broken Fang Gloves (Jade, Yellow-banded, Unhinged, Needle Point), Pistols - P2000 (Wicked Sick, Ocean Foam, Fire Element, Amber Fade, Corticera, Chainmail, Imperial Dragon, Obsidian, Scorpion, Handgun, Acid Etched), USP-S (Printstream, Kill Confirmed, Whiteout, Road Rash, Owergrowth, The Traitor, Neo-Noir, Dark Water, Orion, Blueprint, Stainless, Caiman, Serum, Monster Mashup, Royal Blue, Ancient Visions, Cortex, Orange Anolis, Ticket To Hell, Black Lotus, Cyrex, Check Engine, Guardian, Purple DDPAT, Torque, Blood Tiger, Flashback, Business Class, Pathfinder, Para Green), Lead Conduit, Glock-18 (Ramese's Reach, Umbral Rabbit, Fade, Candy Apple, Bullet Queen, Synth Leaf, Neo-Noir, Nuclear Garden, Dragon Tatto, Reactor, Pink DDPAT, Twilight Galaxy, Sand Dune, Groundwater, Blue Fissure, Snack Attack, Water Elemental, Brass, Wasteland Rebel, Vogue, Franklin, Royal Legion, Gamma Doppler, Weasel, Steel Disruption, Ironwork, Grinder, High Beam, Moonrise, Oxide Blaze, Bunsen Burner, Clear Polymer, Bunsen Burner, Night), P250 (Apep's Curse, Re.built, Nuclear Threat, Modern Hunter, Splash, Whiteout, Vino Primo, Mehndi, Asiimov, Visions, Undertow, Cartel, See Ya Later, Gunsmoke, Splash, Digital Architect, Muertos, Red Rock, Bengal Tiger, Crimson Kimono, Wingshot, Metallic DDPAT, Hive, Dark Filigree, Mint Kimono), Five-Seven (Neon Kimono, Berries And Cherries, Fall Hazard, Crimson Blossom, Hyper Beast, Nitro, Fairy Tale, Case Hardened, Copper Galaxy, Angry Mob, Monkey Business, Fowl Play, Anodized Gunmetal, Hot Shot, Retrobution, Boost Protocol), CZ75-Auto (Chalice, Crimson Web, Emerald Quartz, The Fuschia is Now, Nitro, Xiangliu, Yellow Jacket, Victoria, Poison Dart, Syndicate, Eco, Hexane, Pole, Tigris), Tec-9 (Mummy's Rot, Rebel, Terrace, Nuclear Threat, Hades, Rust Leaf, Decimator, Blast From, Orange Murano, Toxic, Fuel Injector, Remote Control, Bamboo Forest, Isaac, Avalanche, Brother, Re-Entry, Blue Titanium, Bamboozle), R8 Revolver (Banana Cannon, Fade, Blaze, Crimson Web, Liama Cannon, Crazy 8, Reboot, Canal Spray, Night, Amber Fade), Desert Eagle (Blaze, Hand Cannon, Fennec Fox, Sunset Storm, Emerald Jörmungandr, Pilot, Hypnotic, Golden Koi, Printstream, Cobalt Disruption, Code Red, Ocean Drive, Midnight Storm, Kumicho Dragon, Crimson Web, Heirloom, Night Heist, Mecha Industries, Night, Conspiracy, Trigger Discipline, Naga, Directive, Light Rail), Dual Berettas (Flora Carnivora, Duelist, Cobra Strike, Black Limba, Emerald, Hemoglobin, Twin Turbo, Marina, Melondrama, Pyre, Retribution, Briar, Dezastre, Royal Consorts, Urban Shock, Dualing Dragons, Panther, Balance), Rifles - Galil (Aqua Terrace, Winter Forest, Chatterbox, Sugar Rush, Pheonix Blacklight, CAUTION!, Orange DDPAT, Cerberus, Dusk Ruins, Eco, Chromatic Aberration, Stone Cold, Tuxedo, Sandstorm, Shattered, Urban Rubble, Rocket Pop, Kami, Crimson Tsunami, Connexion), SCAR-20 (Fragments, Brass, Cyrex, Palm, Splash Jam, Cardiac, Emerald, Crimson Web, Magna Carta, Stone Mosaico, Bloodsport, Enforcer), AWP (Black Nile, Duality, Gungnir, Dragon Lore, Prince, Medusa, Desert Hydra, Fade, Lightning Strike, Oni Taiji, Silk Tiger, Graphite, Chromatic Aberration, Asiimov, Snake Camo, Boom, Containment Breach, Wildfire, Redline, Electric Hive, Hyper Beast, Neo-Noir, Man-o'-war, Pink DDPAT, Corticera, Sun in Leo, Elite Build, Fever Dream, Atheris, Mortis, PAW, Exoskeleton, Worm God, POP AWP, Phobos, Acheron, Pit Viper, Capillary, Safari Mesh), AK-47 (Steel Delta, Head Shot, Wild Lotus, Gold Arabesque, X-Ray, Fire Serpent, Hydroponic, Panthera Onca, Case Hardened, Vulcan, Jet Set, Fuel Injector, Bloodsport, Nightwish, First Class, Neon Rider, Asiimov, Red Laminate, Aquamarine Revenge, The Empress, Wasteland Rebel, Jaguar, Black Laminate, Leet Museo, Neon Revolution, Redline, Frontside Misty, Predator, Legion of Anubis, Point Disarray, Orbit Mk01, Blue Laminate, Green Laminate, Emerald Pinstripe, Cartel, Phantom Disruptor, Jungle Spray, Safety Net, Rat Rod, Baroque Purple, Slate, Elite Build, Uncharted, Safari Mesh), FAMAS (Waters of Nephthys, Sundown, Prime Conspiracy, Afterimage, Commemoration, Dark Water, Spitfire, Pulse, Eye of Athena, Meltdown, Rapid Eye Move, Roll Cage, Styx, Mecha Industrie, Djinn, ZX Spectron, Valence, Neural Net, Night Borre, Hexne), M4A4 (Eye of Horus, Temukau, Howl, Poseidon, Asiimov, Daybreak, Hellfire, Zirka, Red DDPAT, Radiation Hazard, Modern Hunter, The Emperor, The Coalition, Bullet Rain, Cyber Security, X-Ray, Dark Blossom, Buzz Kill, In Living Color, Neo-Noir, Desolate Space, 龍王 (Dragon King), Royal Paladin, The Battlestar, Global Offensive, Tooth Fairy, Desert-Strike, Griffin, Evil Daimyo, Spider Lily, Converter), M4A1-S (Emphorosaur-S, Welcome to the Jungle, Imminent Danger, Knight, Hot Rod, Icarus Fell, Blue Phosphor, Printstream, Master Piece, Dark Water, Golden Coil, Bright Water, Player Two, Atomic Alloy, Guardian, Chantico's Fire, Hyper Beast, Mecha Industries, Cyrex, Control Panel, Moss Quartz, Nightmare, Decimator, Leaded Glass, Basilisk, Blood Tiger, Briefing, Night Terror, Nitro, VariCamo, Flashback), SG 553 (Cyberforce, Hazard Pay, Bulldozer, Integrale, Dragon Tech, Ultraviolet, Colony IV, Hypnotic, Cyrex, Candy Apple, Barricade, Pulse), SSG 08 (Death Strike, Sea Calico, Blood in the Water, Orange Filigree, Dragonfire, Big Iron, Bloodshot, Detour, Turbo Peek, Red Stone), AUG (Akihabara Accept, Flame Jörmungandr, Hot Rod, Midnight Lily, Sand Storm, Carved Jade, Wings, Anodized Navy, Death by Puppy, Torque, Bengal Tiger, Chameleon, Fleet Flock, Random Access, Momentum, Syd Mead, Stymphalian, Arctic Wolf, Aristocrat, Navy Murano), G3SG1 (Chronos, Violet Murano, Flux, Demeter, Orange Kimono, The Executioner, Green Apple, Arctic Polar Camo, Contractor), SMGs - P90 (ScaraB Rush, Neoqueen, Astral Jörmungandr, Run and Hide, Emerald Dragon, Cold Blooded, Death by Kitty, Baroque Red, Vent Rush, Blind Spot, Asiimov, Trigon, Sunset Lily, Death Grip, Leather, Nostalgia, Fallout Warning, Tiger Pit, Schermatic, Virus, Shapewood, Glacier Mesh, Shallow Grave, Chopper, Desert Warfare), MAC-10 (Sakkaku, Hot Snakes, Copper Borre, Red Filigree, Gold Brick, Graven, Case Hardened, Stalker, Amber Fade, Neon Rider, Tatter, Curse, Propaganda, Nuclear Garden, Disco Tech, Toybox, Heat, Indigo), UMP-45 (Wild Child, Fade, Blaze, Day Lily, Minotaur's Labyrinth, Crime Scene, Caramel, Bone Pile, Momentum, Primal Saber), MP7 (Teal Blossom, Fade, Nemesis, Whiteout, Asterion, Bloosport, Abyssal Apparition, Full Stop, Special Delivery, Neon Ply, Asterion, Ocean Foam, Powercore, Scorched, Impire), PP-Bizon (Modern Hunter, Rust Coat, Forest Leaves, Antique, High Roller, Blue Streak, Seabird, Judgement of Anubis, Bamboo Print, Embargo, Chemical Green, Coblat Halftone, Fuel Rod, Photic Zone, Irradiated Alert, Carbon Fiber), MP9 (Featherweight, Wild Lily, Pandora's Box, Stained Glass, Bulldozer, Dark Age, Hot Rod, Hypnotic, Hydra, Rose Iron, Music Box, Setting Sun, Food Chain, Airlock, Mount Fuji, Starlight Protector, Ruby Poison Dart, Deadly Poison), MP5-SD (Liquidation, Oxide Oasis, Phosphor, Nitro, Agent, Autumn Twilly), Shotguns, Machineguns - Sawed-Off (Kiss♥Love, First Class, Orange DDPAT, Rust Coat, The Kraken, Devourer, Mosaico, Wasteland Princess, Bamboo Shadow, Copper, Serenity, Limelight, Apocalypto), XM1014 (Frost Borre, Ancient Lore, Red Leather, Elegant Vines, Banana Leaf, Jungle, Urban Perforated, Grassland, Blaze Orange, Heaven Guard, VariCamo Blue, Entombed, XOXO, Seasons, Tranquility, Bone Machine, Incinegator, Teclu Burner, Black Tie, Zombie Offensive, Watchdog), Nova (Sobek's Bite, Baroque Orange, Hyper Beast, Green Apple, Antique, Modern Hunter, Walnut, Forest Leaves, Graphite, Blaze Orange, Rising Skull, Tempest, Bloomstick, Interlock, Quick Sand, Moon in Libra, Clean Polymer, Red Quartz, Toy Soldier), MAG-7 (Copper Coated, Insomnia, Cinqueda, Counter Terrace, Prism Terrace, Memento, Chainmail, Hazard, Justice, Bulldozer, Silver, Core Breach, Firestarter, Praetorian, Heat, Hard Water, Monster Call, BI83 Spectrum, SWAG-7), M249 (Humidor, Shipping Forecast, Blizzard Marbleized, Downtown, Jungle DDPAT, Nebula Crusader, Impact Drill, Emerald Poison Dart), Negev (Mjölnir, Anodized Navy, Palm, Power Loader, Bratatat, CaliCamo, Phoenix Stencil, Infrastructure, Boroque Sand), Wear - Factory New (FN), Minimal Wear (MW), Field-Tested (FT), Well-Worn (WW), Battle-Scarred (BS), Stickers Holo/Foil/Gold - Katowice 2014, Krakow 2017, Howling Dawn, Katowice 2015, Crown, London 2018, Cologne 2014, Boston 2018, Atlanta 2017, Cluj-Napoca 2015, DreamHack 2014, King on the Field, Harp of War, Winged Difuser, Cologne 2016, Cologne 2015, MLG Columbus 2016, Katowice 2019, Berlin 2019, RMR 2020, Stockholm 2021, Antwerp 2022, Paris 2023, Swag Foil, Flammable foil, Others - Souvenirs, Agents, Pins, Passes, Gifts, Music Kits, Cases, Keys, Capsules, Packages, Patches

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Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are driving a transforming development in automated clinical coding in healthcare. Innovative ideas like XpertCoding are transforming the scene as demand for precise and efficient medical coding keeps growing. Here we investigate seven professional opinions on the direction of automated clinical coding as well as its significant consequences for healthcare.
Simplifying Workflow Accuracy:
By simplifying the coding process, Automated medical coding helps healthcare professionals to better manage resources. Automated coding solutions help to free vital time for medical personnel to concentrate on patient care and essential decision-making by automating repetitive processes.
Facilitating Real-Time Feedback Loop:
Real-time feedback loops are made possible by AI integration into medical coding, adaption and ongoing improvement are enabled. AI systems analyze code patterns and inconsistencies in real time, giving users rapid feedback to improve their coding methods and resolve errors.
Dealing with Coding Complexity:
The changing terrain of healthcare offers ever difficult coding problems. AI-powered coding solutions shine in interpreting complex medical records including subtle diagnosis and treatments. These systems can precisely assign suitable codes—even in the face of complexity—by use of powerful pattern recognition and deep learning features.
Encouraging Interoperability and Standardization:
Automated clinical coding advances standardizing and interoperability among healthcare systems. AI-driven systems maintain coding standards and conventions, enabling healthcare companies to communicate and share data.
Using Natural Language Processing:
NLP is transforming AI medical coding, allowing computers to grasp and interpret complicated medical documents with unparalleled precision. NLP-powered solutions improve code correctness and speed by extracting pertinent information and parsing unstructured language.
Into Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI):
Beyond conventional coding responsibilities, AI medical coding systems are including Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI). AI-driven CDI systems maximize coding correctness and enhance value-based care efforts by offering real-time comments on documentation quality and completeness.
Working with human experts:
Although artificial intelligence is much used in medical coding, human knowledge is still rather significant. Symbolic cooperation between artificial intelligence algorithms and human coding experts will define artificial intelligence going forward. Healthcare companies may get ideal coding results by combining analytical skills of artificial intelligence with human judgment and subject expertise.
Conclusion:
Automated clinical coding in healthcare has great potential and promise going forward. The capacities of automated coding systems will grow as artificial intelligence develops, therefore transforming medical coding practice and perception. The Artificial Intelligence Medical Coding initiative will boost efficiency, improving patient care and operational excellence in healthcare.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can totally replacement human coders with computerized medical coding?
Although automated medical coding can do common chores quickly, human coders provide complicated case specific knowledge and judgment. For complete coding correctness, many times the synergy of automated coding and human knowledge is preferable.
What types of healthcare organizations can benefit from automated medical coding?
Hospitals, clinics, physician offices, and insurance companies profit from automated medical coding. Automation allows any organization engaged in medical billing and coding procedures to possibly increase accuracy and efficiency.
How may automated medical coding affect the workflow of healthcare providers?
By cutting the time needed on manual coding chores, automated medical coding helps healthcare workers' workflow to be streamlined. This lets them concentrate more on patient care, decision-making, and other vital facets of their responsibilities.
Does employing automated medical coding systems call for any training?
Training for automated medical coding systems depends on system complexity and user coding experience. Many suppliers provide assistance or training courses to enable consumers to make best use of their automated coding solutions.
What is the potential cost savings associated with automated medical coding?
Automatic medical coding reduces labor costs, mistakes that might lead to claim denials or audits, and revenue cycle management by speeding up claim processing and reimbursement.

Please check our previous War Room thread for any questions left unanswered
 
Welcome to the War Room. Here you will find trustworthy military advisors to guide your diplomacy, battles, and internal affairs.
This thread is for any small questions that don't warrant their own post, or continued discussions for your next moves in your game. If you'd like to channel the wisdom and knowledge of the noble generals of this subreddit, and more importantly not ruin your save, then you've found the right place!
Important: If you are asking about a specific situation in your game, please post screenshots of any relevant map modes (strategic, diplomacy, factions, etc) or interface tabs (economy, military, etc). Please also explain the situation as best you can. Alliances, army strength, tech etc. are all factors your advisors will need to know to give you the best possible answer.
 

Reconnaissance Report:

Below is a preliminary reconnaissance report. It is comprised of a list of resources that are helpful to players of all skill levels, meant to assist both those asking questions as well as those answering questions. This list is updated as mechanics change, including new strategies as they arise and retiring old strategies that have been left in the dust. You can help me maintain the list by sending me new guides and notifying me when old guides are no longer relevant!
Note: this thread is very new and is therefore very barebones - please suggest some helpful links to populate the below sections

Getting Started

• Hoi4 Wiki
  
• Wiki Beginner Guide
  

New Player Tutorials

• Tutorial for Complete Beginners - Quill18
  
• Ezekiel's Hoi4 Tutorial
  

 

General Tips

• /hoi4 Current Metas Thread
  
• Simple guide to land unit stats
  
• Division Stats Explained
  
• Intelligence Explained
  
• Simple guide to creating unit templates
  
• Unit templates
  
• Ship templates
  
• Guide to Peace Conferences
  

 

Multiplayer Tips

• Navy micro mechanics/guide
  
• Air mechanics/guide
  
• Division conversion guide
  
• Garrison order planning
  
• Aircraft/Tank conversion guide
  
• MP Country Guides
  
  • South Africa
  • Australia
  • Raj
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • USA
  • France
  • Japan
  • Hungary
  • UK
  • Romania

 

Country-Specific Strategy

• Help fill me out!
  
• Italy - 1.9.2+
  
• Japan - 1.9.3+ (Multiplayer)
  

 

Advanced/In-Depth Guides

• Guides to Combat Width
  
• Guide to Combat Tactics and Doctrines OUTDATED, BUT STILL USEFUL
  
• Comprehensive Anti-Air Guide
  
• Guide to Ship Refit Costs
  

 
If you have any useful resources not currently in the Reconnaissance Report, please share them with me and I'll add them! You can message me or mention my username in a comment by typing Kloiper

Calling all generals!

As this thread is very new, we are in dire need of guides to fill out the Reconnaissance Report, both general and specific! Further, if you're answering a question in this thread, consider contributing to the Hoi4 wiki, which needs help as well. Anybody can help contribute to the wiki - a good starting point is the work needed page. Before editing the wiki, please read the style guidelines for posting.

Please check our previous Imperial Council thread for any questions left unanswered
 
Welcome to the Imperial Council of eu4, where your trusted and most knowledgeable advisors stand ready to help you in matters of state and conquest.
This thread is for any small questions that don't warrant their own post, or continued discussions for your next moves in your Ironman game. If you'd like to channel the wisdom and knowledge of the master tacticians of this subreddit, and more importantly not ruin your Ironman save, then you've found the right place!
Important: If you are asking about a specific situation in your game, please post screenshots of any relevant map modes (diplomatic, political, trade, etc) or interface tabs (economy, military, ideas, etc). Please also explain the situation as best you can. Alliances, army strength, ideas, tech etc. are all factors your advisors will need to know to give you the best possible answer.
 

Tactician's Library:

Below is a list of resources that are helpful to players of all skill levels, meant to assist both those asking questions as well as those answering questions. This list is updated as mechanics change, including new strategies as they arise and retiring old strategies that have been left in the dust. You can help me maintain the list by sending me new guides and notifying me when old guides are no longer relevant!

Getting Started

• Europa Universalis 4 Wiki
  
• Wiki Beginner Guide
  
• Which DLCs should I buy?
  
• Client/Game Troubleshooting Help
  
• Reverting to a previous version
  

New Player Tutorials

• How to play EU4, by Ezekiel (patch 1.28)
  
• Arumba teaches EU4 to Civilization player FilthyRobot (patch 1.18)
  
• Arumba's New Player Tutorial Series (patch 1.20)
  
• Arumba teaches EU4 to Monk004 (patch 1.28)
  
• Beginner's Guide to Coalitions 1, 2
  
• General tip collection thread
  
• How to revert to an older patch
  
• Reman's War Academy Volume I - Army Composition and Basic Combat
  

Administration

• Remans guide to Absolutism
  
• Guide to Religious Ideas
  
• Converting Culture
  
• Converting Religion
  

Diplomacy

• Personal Unions and Succession Wars
  
• Video guide to Personal Unions
  
• A guide to multiplayer diplomacy
  
• Comprehensive guide on Subject Nations
  

Military

• Reman's War Academy Volume II - Troop Quality and Advanced Combat
  
• Reman's War Academy Volume III - Military Idea Groups
  
• Reman's In-Depth guide to Fort Zone of Control
  
• Guide on Combat Width
  
• Ideal army composition for every tech
  
• On War - A Comprehensive War Manual for Multiplayer
  
• Dismantling the HRE
  
• Combat Simulator
  

Trade

• Reman's In Depth Guide to Trade

 

Country-Specific Strategy

• 1.30 Aztec Guide
  
• 1.30 Granada Guide
  
• 1.30 Knights Guide
  

 

Misc Country Guides Collections

• 1.25 - 1.29 Misc Country Guides by RadioRes
  
• 1.25 - 1.28 Misc Country Guides by Lord Forwin
  
• 1.28 - 1.30 Misc Country Guides by AlzaboHD
  
• 1.30 Misc Country Guides by Ludi et Historia
  
• 1.31 - 1.35 EU4 Nation Guides by The Red Hawk
  
• Misc Country Mission Visualizations
  

 

Advanced/In-Depth Guides

• Misc mechanics guides by RadioRes (culture shifting, policies, absolutism, etc)
  
• Guide to personal unions and direct inheritance
  
• 1.28 Three Mountains (Shogunate)
  
• Arumba's Assay series (misc patches, takes user-submitted failing or problematic games and helps fix them)
  
• A Complete Guide to EU4 Economics, Part 0 (links to multiple in-depth guides on economics)
  
• Comprehensive Multiplayer EU4 Guide (1.28)
  
• General World Conquest Guide
  

 
If you have any useful resources not currently in the tactician's library, please share them with me and I'll add them! You can message me or mention my username in a comment by typing Kloiper
Calling all imperial councillors! Many of our linked guides pre-Dharma (1.26) are missing strategy regarding mission trees. Any help in putting together updated guides is greatly appreciated! Further, if you're answering a question in this thread, chances are you've used the EU4 wiki and know how valuable a resource it can be. When you answer a question, consider checking whether the wiki has that information where you would expect to find it, and adding to the wiki if it does not. In fact, anybody can help contribute to the wiki - a good starting point is the work needed page. Before editing the wiki, please read the style guidelines for posting.

Aaaand we're off with a new chapter! I know its Monday but at least you got something to look forward too, right?
[Previous] [First] [Next] [RoyalRoad] [Discord] —----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tal found himself staring blankly at the wall in front of him. A sudden jolt made him blink, he turned his head and stared out the small window next to him.
A gray scenery slowly scrolled by…
For almost a month he’d been either locked up in his ivory tower, or been put through arduous training. And now, for the last three days, he’d been stuck in a carriage.
Through it all, his mind was a thick haze of half-formed thoughts. Only one seemed to stick and guide him, Kill the Heretic…
Yet, the further away from the capital he got, the more he could think. It wasn’t much, and he had to concentrate in order to keep his thoughts from fading, but it was a welcome relief…
As the carriage traveled, the subtle pelting of rain could be heard. Where are…we going? He wondered. No one bothered to fill him in, his only guess was a port city. But– He winced, Which one? The cloudy sky made it hard to tell direction, and he still hadn’t had any premonitions.
Still staring out the window, Tal saw a horse mounted guard overtake his carriage. Doing his best, he peered as far back as he could. There were plenty more.
Es…corts? For my…protection? He grunted from the strain and fell back into his seat. Rubbing his temple, he let the thoughts go for now.
Tal closed his eyes.
Hello, Champion–
His eyes shot open. “W-who…?”
There was no one there. Must…be my imagination.
Please do not pan–
“Where are you!” Tal shouted, reaching for his sword. His hand grasped at nothing.
Relax, Tal, I am not there.
It was then that he realized the voice was inside his head. “Who are you?” He asked tensely. “What do you want?”
I am a…friend. There is no need to be so defensive, I cannot physically hurt you.
“Physically, but you are speaking into my mind.” Tal’s eyes carefully traced the inside of the carriage, looking for anything out of place. Still, he felt nothing from his premonitions…
I can only read your surface thoughts– Even if the rest of your mind wasn’t so clouded.
“Would someone use such trickery to speak to a friend?” he bit back.
It is unfortunate that we should meet like this. It is not by choice, I assure you. If you would allow me, perhaps I could show you my sincerity?
Still guarded, Tal hesitated before answering. “And just how, exactly, would you do that?”
Simple, you are under the influence of a rather tricky curse. It is poisoning your mind, making it difficult for you to form coherent thoughts. But, Tal, let me ask you, how are you fairing currently?
That caused him to pause. How am I– I can think! Clearly!
But of course, I gave you my gift the moment I reached out to you. I hope you enjoy this moment of clarity.
“Moment?” Tal asked suspiciously. “And I thought you could only read my surface level thoughts?”
For a brief moment, he thought the voice smiled. First, for as long as you are away from the cities, I can assist you. But I cannot stop it. Also, I did not lie. The curse is not deep, but its poison is seeping into your mind.
“What… What do you mean away from the cities?” Tal felt an edge of fear, but still nothing came from his premonitions.
The High Prophet concentrates his power within them and controls them from his throne. Removing your curse and then entering a city would alert him almost immediately. I am working on something that should help you…
“What are you working on?” He asked cautiously. Nothing is ever for free…
It is not. However, I assure you, our goals align. But I digress, I am working on your next step. Tell me, what is your impression of the High Prophet?
Tal scoffed, “I am simply the Champion. My opinions do not matter.”
And yet, you do not believe that. Very well, I suppose that answers my question. Now, about your mission. You are supposed to kill the Heretic–
“How do– Never mind…” He trailed off, feeling completely exposed to this voice.
If it makes you feel better, I already knew your mission. It is why I am reaching out to you at this very moment.
“Hah! So you know everything about me, yet I know nothing about you.”
Cassius, you may call me by that name.
“I somehow doubt that is your real name.”
You are right, but it is a name. I have many, you see? But none of them matter. It is the person who inhabits the name that matters. Now, back to your mission…
What will you do?
“What do you mean? My mission is to kill the Heretic, I will do it– Not because I am the Champion but because he is the reason why I am here to begin with. He is the reason why my family continues to suffer…” He_ is the reason why my brother is dead._
I see… What if I told you, I can bring your brother back?
“What?! Impossible!”
It is not. How do you think the Heretic returned? He was dead, now he is not. I know how to do it, I can bring your brother back.
Taking a deep breath, Tal calmed his nerves. The idea of resurrection wasn’t entirely lost on him, plenty of tales spoke of it. But they also spoke of great sacrifices…
There is nothing to worry about there, especially if you listen to me. Let me give you a second option, one that will satisfy everyone.
“What…is it?” Now, his premonition was warning him.
Don’t kill Felix, capture him and bring him to me.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Felix waited for Zira to enter the barn, but already he was impressed. “How long did it take you to construct this?” he asked, entering the building.
The inside was spacious, well, for him. When considering it was meant for dragons, it was a little cramped. Zira and Kyrith would fit and be comfortable, but it would be tight. Thankfully, the ember-colored dragon wasn’t here with them.
With just one dragon, a human, and two elves, there was enough space for them all.
“Admittedly, we only finished construction a week ago,” Chief Yorlen said, stepping in behind him. “I hope it’s to your liking, Zira. We…didn’t really know what you or Kyrith would want or need.”
Zira turned her head towards them. “It is perfect, thank you.” She had found one of two nests, each being made up of thick padding and leathers. “Much better than our other accommodations,” she added humorously.
Crossing his arms, Felix scoffed. “Well, I’m sorry, your Highness. But don’t forget, I too, sleep on those same floors while acting as your pillow.”
“As you should.” Her tone was of mock haughtiness, it elicited chuckles from him and Yorlen.
“I’m glad it is to your liking,” The Chief responded after calming down. “If there are any changes that are needed, please let me know.”
Actually, that makes me wonder… Felix thought to himself. “Not to sound rude, but why did you have this constructed?”
“Huh? Oh…” Yorlen suddenly looked a little uncomfortable as he answered. “Well, the idea came to me after you all left. I was upset that Zira and Kyrith had to fly off to seek shelter during that storm.”
“Ah… In that case,” Felix faced the Chief and gave a deep bow. “Thank you.”
“Indeed, you have my gratitude as well.” Zira added, also giving a bow.
“There is no need to thank me. As Chief, it is one of my duties to ensure honored guests are comfortable. If I had been wiser, I would’ve had something ready by then…” Yorlen looked away.
They fell into awkward silence with that. That is, until Aluin cleared his throat.
“If you two are fine with it, I would like to discuss some things. Otherwise, I can let you rest instead.”
Felix and Zira gave each other a look before Felix answered for the both of them. “We’re fine for now, though maybe something to drink? Turns out, the wind dries out your mouth, especially with the speeds we were going. I’ve already gone through my water skins…”
“Absolutely, I shall prepare us something special,” Chief Yorlen answered. “I will be back momentarily.”
Felix watched as the elf left before turning back towards Aluin. “So… What’s going on exactly? Who were those people? They didn’t exactly look like they were from here– And I’m pretty sure Chief Yorlen referred to one as another Chief.”
The Sage let out a sigh. “That is what I wanted to discuss, however, I think it would be best to wait for Chief Yorlen’s return. He is very much involved in what is happening.”
“Alright…” Felix felt a little awkward.
Apparently, Aluin felt the same way because he quickly changed the topic. “How are things at the manor? I know I left in a rush, and I apologize for that, but I am curious.”
Zira snorted in amusement. “Well enough, save for four rowdy hatchlings.”
“Each of the, uh, volunteers managed to bond and hatch an egg," Felix quickly added "That was…a month ago? Yeah, that sounds right…”
“That’s wonderful news!” The Sage said delightedly. “I’m glad that it all worked out.”
“Yeah… There were a few complications,” Felix added, rubbing his neck. “But nothing that we couldn’t handle.”
“Oh?” Aluin cocked an eye. “What kind of complications?”
Oh boy… Where do I even begin? he asked himself.
From the beginning, of course, Zira answered, much to his annoyance.
“Well…”
***
Felix had barely made it past the part of him waking up after his mana depletion when Chief Yorlen returned. The Chief actually made two trips, returning the first time with a small cask and the second bearing a tray with fancy looking glass cups.
“Now, I know you’ve tried dwarven ale… But this here,” Yorlen gestured to the cask, “is elven wine. Don’t worry though, it won’t make you do anything too crazy,” he added with a coy smile.
Felix just groaned at the almost forgotten memory. Meanwhile, everyone else shared a laugh at his expense…
The chief quickly poured Felix and Aluin a drink, handing them each a fancy glass filled with a red liquid. Felix took a quick sniff of it, hesitating to try it immediately. There were floral undertones mixed with a strangely earthly scent. Overall, it didn’t smell bad, but it did seem a little off…
“This is traditional elven wine, not like most wines you’d find. Those are more of a modern take, but this?” The Chief raised his own glass. “This is how our ancestors made it.”
Felix nodded but noticed Zira’s expression, she hadn’t been offered anything yet.
“Ah! Do not worry, Zira. I haven’t forgotten about you…” Apparently the Chief had also noticed. He quickly picked up the cask, which was still full, and set it down in front of her.
“Unfortunately, I have nothing larger for you to drink from, but the rest is yours.”
“Thank you.” Unlike Felix, she didn’t hesitate to start lapping at it, much to everyone’s amusement.
Shrugging, Felix too took a sip from his wine…
“Wow, this is good.” He quickly took another sip.
“Careful now, it's nowhere near as potent as dwarven ale, but it will sneak up on you.” Aluin warned with a smile before trying his glass.
“Funny, but I shall be careful. Also, thank you Chief Yorlen.”
“It is my pleasure,” The elf gave a slight bow.
With that, the four of them settled down. Felix and Zira ended up sitting together in one of the nests, with Felix leaning against her. Meanwhile, Aluin and Yorlen were both content with just the hardwood floor…
“Now that we are all comfortable, perhaps I should explain things…” The Sage said.
“Yeah, and I suppose I haven’t said why we’re here either,” Felix added guiltily. He had nearly forgotten why himself.
Chief Yorlen cleared his throat. “I…think it might be best if Aluin goes first. But I am interested as to why you two flew all the way here.”
Aluin nodded, “Indeed.”
“Fine with me,” Felix said with a shrug.
“Good, then I guess I will explain…” The Sage took a deep breath.
“We need your help in selecting a queen.”
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Previous] [First] [Next] [RoyalRoad] [Discord]
Poor Tal, so much going on for him and now he hears voices in his head... Meanwhile, Felix gets comfortable and tells Aluin and Yorlen a bit about what's happened since last meeting them. Afterwards, Aluin drops a bombshell on Felix.
As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

To preface this post, I want to give the disclaimer that like many things, there is not a black and white answer the question. I'm writing this as an experienced tech professional, and the information provided is based on opinion.
To start with. A little bit of history..
The golden age of software engineering(and similar jobs) is over. At least for the next 5 - 10 years. I don't think this is an unpopular opinion. The reason why between the years of 2010 - 2022, these jobs exploded, was because of the boom of the internet for commercial and personal use.
This is different from the dotcom boom of 2000s, where the internet was just starting and most of the products being created were for basic things like: putting banking on the internet, putting videos on the internet, etc.
The boom in the 2010s was related to the widespread popularity of commercial and personal products. Things like Uber, Spotify, and Salesforce. With the sudden increased usage of the digital world, there were MILLIONS of companies rushing to create digital products.
However, we're starting to see the rise and fall of some of these products, millions of startups failings, and less VC funding. In case you don't know, VC stands for Venture Capital, which are basically investment companies that give money to other companies to help them grow and develop, in return for partial ownership of the company.
As the industry began to mature, successful companies started to emerge, and many more started to fail.
The present day..
Software engineering and like jobs will continue to be important, and there will be a high demands for these engineers. Nearly every company will still need a website, a place to manage their data, and people to manage their hardware. BUT.. the basic technologies they need to run their company will become more efficient. AND there will be less research and innovation because the a lot of the trial and error already occurred.
We're in a weird spot where the demand for workers is now decreasing from it's recent peaks, and the supply of workers is now increasing because of how all the benefits of being a software engineer in the past decade.
This has really unfortunate consequences for any recent graduates or others trying to break into the tech field. There are WAY more beginning career people than jobs available. Which is made even worse with the amount of layoffs there are, where mid-level employees are now having to settle for entry level jobs.
What can we do?
I have two pieces of advice for people interested in the topic, or wanting to break into the field but can't. Try breaking in from a adjacent field, where you can get some exposure to tech. Things that data entry, analytics(this can be finance, supply chain etc). Then try to learn as much as you can from the tech people at your company.
The second piece of advice. Go into a different field. Software engineering is not for everyone. You have to learn and understand some relatively complex topics, and it's becoming harder and harder to be competitive in the industry. Healthcare, supply chain, and many other industries are booming right now.
Understanding history, you can see that certain industries will rise and fall. For the near future, technology might be one of the harder careers to break into. Something like healthcare would be that's expected to grow exponentially. The average population of the world is getting older, as less and less people are wanting to have kids. There will be higher demand for healthcare professionals and healthcare technology.
Do your best to review and understand these trends, and hopefully you can create a good life and career. Best of luck!
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Understanding Root Blower Technology: Roots blower technology is a positive displacement blower that can be employed in a variety of industrial applications. It uses a pair of meshing lobed rotors to transfer air or gas from the entrance to the outlet.
The rotors' lobes capture and transport air or gas around the housing, causing pressure and flow. This technique is widely employed in various industries, including wastewater treatment, pneumatic conveying, and chemical processing.
Types of Blowers with Positive Displacement Roots: Positive displacement roots blowers come in two primary varieties: single-stage and two-stage models. Two rotors that are physically connected and spin in opposing directions are seen in single-stage blowers.
Applications requiring high flow rates and low pressure frequently use these blowers. Two-stage blowers, on the other hand, feature an intercooler in between each stage and an extra set of rotors. Applications requiring lower flow rates and higher pressure are served by these blowers.
ROOTS BLOWER MACHINE BENEFITS : Blowers with roots have several advantages in industrial environments. First of all, they offer a consistent and dependable supply of gas or compressed air.
This is crucial for procedures that need a steady stream of gas or air. Furthermore, roots blowers can run at high speeds without using too much electricity and are energy-efficient. Finally, because of their small size and low maintenance needs, these devices are affordable for use in industrial settings.
Applications of Centrifugal Roots Blowers:
Centrifugal roots blowers are commonly used in various applications.
One of the main applications is in wastewater treatment plants, where they are used for aeration.
They help to supply oxygen to the biological treatment process, promoting the growth of bacteria that break down organic matter.
Centrifugal roots blowers are also used in pneumatic conveying systems to transport bulk materials.
Additionally, they find application in chemical processing, food processing, and power generation industries.

Centrifugal Root Blower Applications: Centrifugal roots blowers are frequently employed in many different contexts. Aeration is one of the primary uses for them in wastewater treatment facilities.
They facilitate the growth of the bacteria that break down organic debris by contributing oxygen to the biological treatment process. Bulk material transportation in pneumatic conveying systems also makes use of centrifugal roots blowers. They are also used in the food processing, chemical processing, and power generation industries.

Various varieties of root blower machines:
The market is filled with a variety of roots blower machine models. Claw blowers, screw blowers, and rotary lobe blowers are a few of the popular varieties.
The most popular kind of blowers are rotary lobe blowers, which can be used for a variety of purposes. Wastewater treatment facilities frequently employ screw blowers because of their energy-efficient design. Applications requiring oil-free gas or air, such the food and pharmaceutical sectors, use claw blowers.
Comparing Roots Blowers: Single-Stage and Two-Stage:
When selecting between single-stage and two-stage roots blowers, it's critical to take the application's particular requirements into account. Applications requiring modest pressure differentials and large flow rates are better suited for single-stage blowers.
Pneumatic conveying, power generating, and the cement industry are among the industries that frequently use them. Two-stage blowers, on the other hand, are perfect for situations requiring larger pressure differentials. They are frequently employed in sectors including chemical processing, oil & gas, and wastewater treatment.
Selecting the Best Roots Blower for Your Commercial Requirements : There are a number of things to take into account when choosing a roots blower for your industrial requirements. To begin with, you must ascertain the necessary pressure difference and flow rate for your application.
This will assist you in deciding if a two-stage blower or a single-stage blower is better. Second, think about the particular needs of your process or business, such the demand for oil-free gas or air. Finally, consider the blower's energy efficiency, dependability, and maintenance needs.
Selecting the Best Roots Blower for Your Commercial Requirements : There are a number of things to take into account when choosing a roots blower for your industrial requirements. To begin with, you must ascertain the necessary pressure difference and flow rate for your application.
This will assist you in deciding if a two-stage blower or a single-stage blower is better. Second, think about the particular needs of your process or business, such the demand for oil-free gas or air. Finally, consider the blower's energy efficiency, dependability, and maintenance needs.

THE ROOTS BLOWERS MACHINE INNVONATIONS : A number of advancements have been made in the realm of roots blower technology in recent years. The creation of variable frequency drives (VFDs) for roots blowers is one noteworthy breakthrough.
Precise blower speed control is made possible by VFDs, which enhances process control and saves energy. Using cutting-edge materials and coatings to increase the longevity and effectiveness of roots blowers is another innovation. For instance, using rotors coated with Teflon can minimize friction and enhance blower performance.
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INDUSTRIAL AIR COOLER:
AT INDIAN TRADE BIRD YOU WILL FIND THE VARIETY OF INDUSTRIAL AIR COOLERS PRICED BETWEEN 45,000 TO 1,05,000/-
LET’S GET MORE DETAIL ABOUT INDUSTRIAL AIR COOLER’S:
Understanding Industrial Air Coolers:
Large industrial facilities can benefit from the cooling and improved air quality provided by industrial air coolers.
They function by pulling hot air from the surrounding air and allowing it to pass through a water-soaked cooling pad.
The water vapor in the pad evaporates as the hot air moves past it, bringing the air temperature down.
A more cozy and healthful working atmosphere is produced by recirculating the cooled air into the area.

Considerations for Selecting an Industrial Air Cooler:
There are a few things to take into account while selecting an industrial air cooler:

• Dimensions and cooling power: Verify that the air cooler is appropriate for the area you need to cool.
  
• Energy efficiency: To reduce the amount of electricity used, look for air coolers with good energy efficiency ratings.
  
• Durability: Industrial air coolers ought to be constructed with the tough circumstances seen in industrial settings in mind.
  
• Maintenance requirements: Take into account the air cooler's maintenance duties and expenses.
  
• Noise level: Select an air cooler with a manageable noise level in accordance with your industry's noise laws.
  

These variables will help you choose the best industrial air cooler for your requirements.

APPLICABLE INDUSTRIES FOR THE USE OF INDUSTRIL AIR COOLERS:
Industrial air coolers are widely utilized in many different sectors, such as:

• Manufacturing facilities: To keep workers in a cozy and secure atmosphere.
  
• Warehouses: To shield stored items from heat-related damage.
  
• Construction sites: to cool down laborers in the summers
  
• Data centers: To keep equipment from overheating and to guarantee proper functioning.
  
• Agricultural facilities: To prevent heat stress in crops and cattle.
  

The Advantages of Industrial Air Coolers:

• Economical: Industrial air coolers are less expensive since they use a lot less energy than conventional air conditioning systems.
  
• Ecologically friendly: Instead of using dangerous refrigerants to cool the air, air coolers use natural evaporation.
  
• Better air quality: Air coolers remove dust, contaminants, and odors from the air by continuously circulating and filtering it.
  
• Simple installation: Industrial air coolers only need a small amount of ductwork and are comparatively simple to install.
  
• Versatility: Air coolers offer cooling solutions for a variety of applications and can be employed in a broad range of industrial environments.
  

By employing industrial air coolers, companies can reap these advantages and establish a cozy and salubrious workplace.

INDUSTRY AIR COOLER TYPES:

• Direct evaporative coolers: These coolers chill the air by utilizing evaporation, a natural process.
  
• Indirect evaporative coolers: These coolers remove moisture from the air by cooling it using a heat exchanger.
  
• Two-stage evaporative coolers: For increased efficiency, these coolers combine direct and indirect evaporative cooling.
  
• Portable air coolers: These small devices offer momentary cooling options for designated spaces.
  

Cooled air is distributed across a space by use of ductwork-connected coolers known as ducted air coolers.

Tips for Industrial Air Cooler Maintenance:
It's crucial to adhere to these maintenance recommendations in order to guarantee industrial air cooler lifetime and optimum performance:

• Routine cleaning: Dust and debris should be removed from the cooling pads, filters, and fan blades.

Verify the water level: Make sure the air cooler's water level is kept at the suggested level.

• Check for leaks: Make routine checks for leaks or water seepage in the air cooler.
  
• Lubricate moving components: To minimize friction and guarantee smooth performance, lubricate the motor, bearings, and other moving parts.
  
• Arrange for expert maintenance: Hire a qualified technician to conduct routine maintenance and look for any possible problems.
  

Technological Advancements in Industrial Air Cooling:
Several developments in industrial air conditioning have been made possible by technological advancements:

• Smart controls: A few industrial air coolers currently on the market have smart controls that enable remote monitoring and management.
  
• Energy recovery systems: By recovering waste heat from the cooling process and putting it to new uses, these systems increase energy efficiency in general.
  
• Air filtration systems: To improve air quality and eliminate even smaller particles, advanced air coolers use filtration systems.
  
• Variable speed fans: Better control over airflow and cooling capacity is possible with industrial air coolers equipped with variable speed fans.
  

These developments improve the usefulness, efficiency, and performance of industrial air coolers, giving organizations even more advantages.

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Talks about trying a suggested 20min timer for housework because she tends to push herself too far. And is then down for the count for 5 days.
Needs to clean out the cats litter boxes.
Making her To Do List for the day.
Says that her thumb is killing her(I will add the end of the live, it's boring to listen to because she's not interacting BUT it's interesting watching how her thumb is) Hoping that Ortho can fit her in today because she doesn't want to have to wait weeks. Especially if something needs like resetting, surgery or a cast. Splint keeps falling off apparently. Wasn't staying the way she wanted it to so was causing more pain. Wondering if she should wash and straighten her hair today. Says that she can straighten her hair one handed because thats not a problem. Keeps saying that she will put her splint back on after her shower. Wants to straighten her hair because she hasn't worn it down and straighten since she got it cut. She wants to add some colour to the ends of her hair, is thinking like purple and pink. But when she has the money. Spends more time on her To Do List including going past her P.O BOX. Because she doesn't get notifications about it so checks every couple of days. Talks about housework and going room by room. It's not falling apart or anything just a little deep cleaning. It's not much but it's hard when you've got a broken bone and can't use your one hand.
Is getting her transcripts for the school she wants to get into. Said the other school was too fast paced for her, this other one is like a 14 week course VS 5 weeks. (Then spends 75% of the remaining Live trying to gain access to her emails and password and details so she can request her transcripts, annoyed that she had to pay $10 in order to do so.) Explains that the one she was doing is like a 3 week probation trial thingy. But you take one class for 5 weeks and it's just too fast paced for her. Also likes that school has the option to buy the actual books VS ebooks. She prefers the actual books because she can make notes and highlight things. It starts at the end of August so has to get her transcripts and everything in before July. Is switching to the University of Cincinnati Online. She has sent in her application, they just need her transcripts and she'll have to apply for Financial Aid again. Plans to read Shatter Me during her infusions today because it's 2hours long and was meant to start it yesterday(reading the book) heard it's really good, has the whole series. Plans to go back to the book A Court Of Thorns, but is struggling to get into that book(still) is really slow in the beginning but apparently picks up from the middle onwards and the rest of the series is amazing is what people keep reminding her(I couldnt quite catch what she said that series is called) but will read the new series first and then go back to the other one.
Is definitely going to wash and straighten her hair today.
But still working on her To Do List.
Mayo side of things: There's a charity that does free housing for Mayo and its through a church, which she says she has no issues with it being like religious as long as they don't push it on her. She doesn't think that it'll be a problem, they just want to help out people coming to the clinic so that they don't have to stress about all the money while you're down there. Because if she got a hotel for the 2.5-3weeks she's down there its like $1,500. So they are putting her and a friend up in this housing. It's like a shared place, private bedrooms and maybe bathroom but shared living spaces like a kitchen. There is one like self contained apartment that she is hoping is available because the friend staying 2 weeks and she's on TPN and Dani might possibly be on TPN so she's not crazy about the risks of sharing a fridge with others when TPN will need to be stored in the fridge. But the self-contained unit doesn't have a split system, it just has an air-conditioning unit but that's all good because she can buy a fan and her friend can just take it home because she's not taking a fan home on the plane with her. Her doctors here are apparently working on getting her TPN. She's got the going down there ticket booked "The Boyfriend" helped pay for it because it was like insane, she wanted to fly out of the local airport but that added like $400, so she's flying out of Philly. Most have 3-4hour layovers but she found a non-stop one. It just won't drop her off right by the airport that she needs to be, it's like 90mins away from where she needs to be. "So I saved money, oh my boyfriend saved money"(not sure if THAT was a freudian slip) but with the one she booked she gets a free personal bag, one free checked in bag, and if the price drops you get that part of your money back. And instead of being in the basic part of the cabin she's like 2 steps up. Leaves at around 11:00, get there a bit after 13:00. Her friend that is coming is driving down to stay with her for 2 weeks. Her friend will either pick her up from the airport and they will drive to where they are staying otherwise she'll get the shuttle for 90min distance which is $60. All the other shuttles in the area around where she's staying are FREE. No return flight booked yet. Because she still doesn't know how long they'll want her to stay yet, but her friend is staying with her for 2 weeks there. And if they haven't planned what they are going to do, she'll have to figure out how to get home. So she's left the GFM up just to get like a ticket home. And then the rest she can just refund back to the people who donated. Or if she gets an Uber while she's there she can use it for that. So she's not as stressed anymore because she was looking at the flights and the hotels and OMG their insane and she was looking at AirBnBs and theyre insane too. The charity thing worked out well for her.
Someone asked if she smokes. She just loses her voice a lot.
Plans to rearrange her living room. Has been saying it all week and hasn't done it yet.
TPN: No she's not on TPN yet, her local GI is working on it. Checked in with him on Friday and he said that he is working on it. Hopefully she hears something this week. Yes her local said NO, but they are working on it, on compromising, because she doesn't want to have to wait until she gets so sick that she drops down to Xpounds in weight, and her organs failing just for somebody to help her. So if somebody is willing to help her NOW, that's great because she doesn't want to wait to get that sick. She'll see what he says, he said he was going to talk to people, to see what he can come up with. It'll go through her femoral port because she doesn't have access through her chest or arms at the moment which is why she is going to Mayo. Which should be able to give her some access back. Because you can run TPN through a femoral port, but she's scared because TPN is so sticky. But it's the only access she has right now. If she does go back on TPN before going down to Mayo. So he is working on if she can get it at home with TPN, fluids and IV meds like zofran, IV benadryl and IV pepcid because she gets IV pepcid in hospital and it works great because crushing the pill is not absorbing in her system. So she'll let people know when she gets a yes or a no or a plan.
Blood sugar: How she raises her blood sugar. She usually keeps some hard candy with her, a sip of apple juice in her mouth so it starts dissolving into her gums, if she's having a really bad day she'll spit it into the sink or swallow it as it's just a sip. Also has glucose tablets. But also has glucose gel which tastes absolutely horrible. But her sugar hasn't dropped to where she's almost unconscious. Compliments a commenter on taking their own health into their hands because doctors like to wait until you're really critical and why should Dani have to wait until she's really critical. Seems unethical to her. When she has clear cut diagnoses. So she's just advocating for herself.

I went just recently to the Disney park & Studios park (after not going to Disneyland for... Idk, maybe 17+ years or something) and I really disliked all the rethemes, I prefered the Rock n' rollercoaster over the Avengers ride (no contest really), I prefered The OG Jules Verne space mountain (maybe it was space mountain 2 when I last went I can't remember). That theme slapped you in the face with how well thought out and immersive it was, it really felt magical. The themed rides were just more immersive and well put together, these reskins seem half baked to me and an excuse to cut running costs of the rides.
I also think the star tours ride has been downgraded over the older ride with the different robot (they changed to C3PO). The old journey you went on was more interesting, exciting and immersive to me. The new story feels like an ADHD rush job, nice effects but no suspense and less quality storytelling. I think C3PO is also less expressive than the old robot and less funny.
It makes me sad to see broken or run down bits on rollercoasters, or to see downgrades on rides. These changes are likely cost-cutting measures (the darker rides like space mountain and avengers are just pitch black and devoid of lighting effects for the most part). It's just not necessary to skimp on ride maintenance with the amount of money that flows into the park & Disney in general. I think the parks should stand as a testament to how beautiful and well maintained a theme park human beings can produce, but they didn't quite hit that mark for me tbh.
The fireworks display at the end of the day was really good though, better than I remembered, there was 1 malfunctioning cathrine wheel on the tower but that was the only problem I saw. They also have a drone show for 10 minutes which is pretty awesome.
There were also some rides that have improved since I last went, like the Indiana Jones ride. When I last rode that ride, it went backwards... Which was interesting but I think it actually works better going forwards... It would be cool if they periodically reversed the direction to experience it both ways.
Going as a 31 year old is definitely different to going as a kid. Some of the rides gave me satisfying chiropractic back cracking adjustments this time around lol. It's funny how vivid my old memories of the park are despite all the years gone by, I could navigate around the park easily and remembered all the rides well (or how they used to be). As a kid I went on each ride MULTIPLE TIMES as my family went on week long stays there a few times (before my parents divorced and then we never went on holiday as a family again, LOL!).
The people have changed too. Way less smoking and rudeness/bad behaviour in the park (although maybe because I went during school time rather than in school holiday time).
Food and drink availability and quality was amazing, as was the speed of service. Exactly what I wanted.
The parade was cool, some of the parade vehicles were showing their age but overall pretty well maintained.
Streets and attractions were pretty clean but some of the ground work/props are showing their age, not pristine anymore like it was the last time I went but seems well enough maintained overall (not super-impressive levels of maintenance/cleanliness but good enough to not be a complete let-down).
Tower of terror was exactly as good as I remember, awesome ride.
New web slinging ride is kinda funny (competetive, makes your arms tired) but also kinda sucks if you've ever experienced VR, I wish the web slinging was a bit more accurate and responsive. Would be better if you had to wear little web shooters on your wrist or something. Buzz ride is better (and a similar experience) but the Buzz ride has been downgraded, it used to be misty/foggy so that you could see your laser comes out of your gun. Now there is no mist. Not sure if just malfunctioned or if this is a permanent change but it vastly decreased the quality of the ride experience. Seeing all the laser beams last time I went was badass.
Phantom manor was just as good as I remember but has seen a few changes I reckon, ending with the mirrors has changed (I think it's been downgraded personally to be less scary and more corny but still a similar experience). BTW that ride TERRIFIED ME as a child. Literally gave me nightmares for years. I had to shut my eyes, even with my parents telling me it wasn't real. Taking a child below age 8 could be classed as abuse but maybe kids these days are tougher with their ipads etc. desensitising them to the world.
Pirates of the carribean was closed much to my dissapointment, I loved that ride. I can still remember the smell of the water etc. Rode it multiple times as a kid.
Didn't get to ride Crush's Coaster, ran out of time, which was sad because that's a new one for me that I've never ridden and it looks good.
The new fast pass system (Disney premier access utimate) where you have to use your phone sucks compared to the og fast pass that I remember (ticket machines were a smoother process & I spent too much time looking at my phone trying to buy passes), but having a map of the park on your phone is actually pretty awesome and enables you to plan your routes around the park better. Definitely need to bring a big battery with you for the day though as the app sucks battery and is also really janky and crashes all the time. I would recommend a 10-20,000 mah battery to keep your devices juiced up for the day. (10,000+ mah each ideally).
Finally, going to reiterate that there were just less special effects in general on the rides. Less smoke, fog, lighting, lasers, music. It's like they turn off whatever they can to save money or something which feels bad with how expensive it is to go there.
Also, the harnesses on most of the rides have been upgraded at some point, significanltly less head smashing/cauliflower ears developing on the rollercoasters but tbh I enjoyed that aspect as a kid, I thought it was fun/hilarious to get my head rattled around but I think overall it is an upgrade to not get your head rattled as much.
That just about concludes my write up. Still an awesome holiday destination, but some dissapointments concerning quality of the ride experience, mainly concerning immersion.
Oh, & the staff were all awesome, A stand out for me was the Star Tours host, she was hilarious and gave a performance reminiscent of a professional mime/actor with her movements and expression, she was like a real life cartoon character, moving like a Fornite animation. Seeing stuff like that made me want to learn French and apply for a job there (I might actually do this).
Sorry about how I structured this post, it's an explosion/stream of conciousness rather than a well-written post but I hope some of you find some value in it. Feel free to ask me any questions!

Buzzing sound and two clicks when engine is shut off. Also vehicle will not start, no power, like the battery has been removed. After about an hour random electrical components will start working, another hour the engine will turn over. It has shut down while driving, no warning. While being loaded onto the flatbed horn kept going off. The fuses were checked and I replaced the 30a body control module and 20a was blown, that's supposed to be the ports in the console which have never worked since I've had the vehicle. A year. Continuously had issues with sync, I just turned the radio completely off thinking that snyc has been causing a parasite drainage. I also did a master reset for snyc, giving me navigation that I hadn't had before, along with some other features. The same day I replaced the battery in my keyfob. I still keep the radio off but I have not had any issues so far with having absolutely no power. I'm actually nervous about turning it back on to see if I'm still having problems due to the fact it will shut down while driving. However the noise it has made for over a year, that you hear in the video..has stopped since sync and the battery was changed. Anyone have any ideas? I thought I might need to change the start cut relay switch. My mechanic says he knows the issue, main fuse. Either cracked or bad connection causing it to get hot and swell. His wife's 2013 did it and he's fixed 10 others. But he still wants to charge me 70 for diagnostic then charge me to fix. I'm trying to be economical and see if I'm able to fix and save money. Also I'm unable to reset the Engine oil change required and My MyKey settings are gone. No fan blower on 1 thru 3, only 4 works but I believe that might be another issue. Also wanted to mention after vehicle would power back on and start. Radio settings return to default and also the dash settings

The Rifle Issue: Right now, rifles are favored to lose every engagement close range against an SMG user.
Since most maps have lots of chokes and close ranges which fits into SMG strong suits, SMGs are by far the best weapon class in the game hands down. (Excluding m16 that sh*t is cracked). SMGs damage fall off rarely takes effects as most maps important chokes are mostly close range.
This does not take into account the better hip fire, faster movement speed and jumping accuracy of SMG & all the bunny hopping shenanigans that they are abusing in the current meta. In addition, the fast fire rate causing continuous flinch to Riflers, making it even harder to land consistent headshots against SMGs. If that's the case, most Riflers would lose to SMG in almost every CQB engagement with little to no counterplay.
Here is a table of how many headshots a Rifler would require to kill a SMGer who only aims at the body.

Rifle	TLDR: Headshots required for minimum TTK to to beat SMGs that only body shot
ACR	3 Headshots 1 body shot to beat all SMGs except vector
AK 47	2 Headshots and 2 body shots to beat all SMGs except vector
M4	3 Headshots and 2 body shots to beat MP5 and P90, TRADE WITH MP7. Still loses to vector
M16	2 Headshots 2 body shots to beat all SMGs except vector & The only rifle with 3 headshots to win all SMGs
MDR	3 Headshots 2 body shots to beat all SMGs except vector

I agree that the whole point of SMGs is to be powerful in close range, however, its currently so oppressive that rifles cannot compete at all. Even a better rifle player cannot beat a worse SMG player even when landing my headshots. God forbid if they are of equal skill level. Then rifles will never win in any CQB situation.
All I'm asking for is to not nerf SMGs, but buff rifles to give the better player a chance to beat a SMG user close range by performing better than them (by landing more accurate headshots).
Suggestions for minor buffs / changes:

• Lower the amount of flinch a SMG does across the board so that its easier to fight back when the player is already bunny hopping.
• Increase rifle headshot multiplier so that it rewards more skilled players to give them a better chance against SMG users close range.
• Increase rifle hip fire accuracy so that we can compete close range without ADSing and slowing our movement speed to a crawl and letting opponents get free headshots.
• Allow us to use up all the mod slots... Rifles have 7 mod slots but we can only use 5? why???

TLDR:
Rifle needs to buffs to minimally headshot damage to compete with SMGs close range considering almost all maps has lots of close range and chokes. Mathematically, most rifles (except m16) loses to SMGs even when SMG does not hit ANY headshots at all. If the SMG user actually aims heads, Rifles cannot compete close range at all (except m16). At least buff the rifles to give them some sort of CHANCE to outplay the bunny hopping SMGers at close range... right now its basically a auto lose to any decent SMGers at close range.
I have done some math: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19j8qpIIHR7YrWv0LKcy80PwqcWk-oQP1-v8V91y9mqU/edit?usp=sharing
Credits: Thanks to titanicspecialk for his damage chart.
https://www.reddit.com/XDefiant/comments/1d15y3q/titanicspecialks_complete_gun_stats_spreadsheet/
PS: Off topic, can we also talk about Cleaners 1 second delay instakill 2 meters AoE around them? Could we at least make the delay 3 seconds so that other players have a chance to actually kill them? I'm literally dying to guys just turning around a corner and pressing their ability when they see me to get a free kill.

Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Gaz turned and saw the girl standing behind him with an expression he could only describe as halfway between anger and curiosity.
“Hello,” he said cautiously.
“Can you stop checking out my friends all the time, it’s super creepy.”
That felt a bit unfair, but he happily demurred. “Sorry If I made you uncomfortable,” he said. “I’ll be sure to keep my eyes on the bar.”
He turned away, then felt an insistent tapping on his shoulder.
“Hey again,” she said.
“Hi.”
“So, are you just down here from Rackeye, or what’s your story?”
Gaz took a moment to study the young woman. She was staring at him in a way that put him in mind of an inexperienced noncom—awkwardly insistent, though not unfriendly, and completely socially oblivious.
“I’m from off-world,” he said. “Just down here on business.”
She crossed her arms. “What kind of business do off-worlders have in Zula?”
“I’m a private investigator, but I guess I’m not very good if I don’t blend in.” He sniffed his clothes. “Do you know where I can get some of that farm smell you were talking about earlier?”
She stared at him in silence for a moment, then burst out laughing. Too loudly, Gaz decided, which meant she was uncomfortable.
“You have to hang out with the locals more,” she said cheerfully.
“Hey, Kayla,” a stern voice said.
Two of the woman’s friends arrived, one of whom grabbed her arm.
“We’re having this really serious disagreement, and we need you to step in,” the friend said.
Next to her, an oriental looking woman fixed Gaz with an annoyed scowl.
“What? Really?” Kayla said, and glanced back at Gaz. “But I was—”
“Now. You need to come back to the table,” her friend insisted.
Gaz read the unspoken message and downed his drink. “Excuse me,” he said. “I was just leaving.”
He didn’t look back as he stepped out into the night, his mind buzzing with questions about VennZech, and what Kite’s information might have meant. The only thing he knew for sure was that they were a long way from reaching the kids that desperately needed their help.
***
“Are you out of your mind?” Lyna hissed as she steered Kayla back to their table.
“What the hell?” Kayla complained as she was forced back into her seat. “I was just breaking the ice before you interrupted.”
“That was a Frontier Marine,” Bao said. “Didn’t you see the tattoos on his neck?”
Kayla stared at her impatiently. “So?”
“You can’t go and chat up military,” Tian explained. “That’s just asking for trouble.”
“Oh come on, they’re not all evil. Besides, we probably have things in common.”
Lyna’s eyes widened with intent. “That you are forbidden from talking about.”
“That’s only half the problem,” Tian added. “You do not want to try and date military guys. Your personalities are basically identical.”
Kayla’s brow creased. She was already getting confused. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Oh my god, yes,” Tian said. “You’ll be trying to kill each other by the end of the week. Trust me on this, it goes so badly.”
“Okay but… I dunno, that sounds kind of fun.”
“You poor misguided soul,” Lyna said sympathetically. “You need a quiet intellectual type with a thing for tomboys. Please, let us share our accumulated wisdom, so we can save you from painful mistakes.”
Kayla rolled her eyes, but signaled her acceptance. It was nice to have friends watching out for her. Over in the corner, she caught sight of Christie and Thandi, with a woman she didn’t recognize.
“Christie’s here, I’ll catch up with you in a bit,” she said.
Kayla sank into a seat next to Thandi, who flashed her a questioning look. Kayla shrugged and tilted her head—they would talk later.
“Hi Christie,” she said politely. “Who’s this?”
“Ah, my good friend Kayla Barnes,” Christie said in introduction. “Allow me to present Moiray Gallan.”
“You with Forest?” Kayla demanded, before catching Thandi’s slowly shaking head and wide eyes.
“I met Moiray in Rackeye,” Christie said smoothly. “I thought I’d tempt her out into the wider world.”
“Wait, who are you with?” Kayla said again.
She’d had a bit to drink already and after the terror of approaching a guy for the first time in her life, was having trouble focusing. A swift tap on the shin from Thandi’s foot woke her up a little. She was missing something very important.
“Moiray is Christie’s date,” Thandi said.
A couple of insistent thoughts tried to push their way into Kayla’s mind, and one got there leaps and bounds ahead of the others.
“Oh,” Kayla said, “so, you’re a Helvet?”
“Gosh, do you think anyone will notice?” Moiray said nervously. “I hope I don’t get in trouble. They make such a fuss about the danger out here, but I always thought it was a bit um… hyperbolic.”
Kayla narrowed her eyes at Christie, who narrowed them back in return.
“It’s true there is some tension with the colonists,” Christie said, “but we are in no danger around my friends.”
She said this with another threatening look at Kayla, whose remaining flash of introspection finally managed to catch up.
“Christie!” she declared in surprise. “You didn’t tell me you were gay!”
An awkward silence covered the group, while Thandi slowly put her head in her hands. Christie returned Kayla’s insistent expression with a polite smile.
“First of all,” Christie said, “I’d like to thank you for wrapping up my personality and shoving it into your neatly labelled little box. I date people I am attracted to. I am attracted to Moiray.”
“Okay,” Kayla said. “My bad.” She didn’t really understand the difference but was happy to take Christie’s word. “I’m sorry—it’s nice to meet you.” She beamed at Moiray, hoping that sheer enthusiasm would make up for her bad impression.
“Secondly,” Christie went on, “I did not mention my dating preferences because they have not been relevant to any conversation we have had to date. I’m not even sure why it would concern you.”
Kayla felt annoyance escape her control like a slippery fish. “Oh, come on. We’ve been friends for a long time. I feel like I should know these things about you, but you’re so closed off.”
Moiray giggled. “I say that all the time.”
“Oh,” Christie turned to her with an evil smile. “Kayla isn’t really my friend. She’s more an experiment; my attempt to see if the savage natives can be educated and civilized.”
Kayla hissed between her teeth. “Mean girl confusing and complicated. Kayla want smash.”
“So, Moiray, you work for the art gallery?” Thandi said desperately.
“Just for info,” Kayla interrupted. “I’m not gay. That is, I don’t get attracted to women.”
“Gosh, really?” Christie said, “And why did you feel the need to share that information, exactly?”
“Because, you ass, as friends we should learn more about each other.”
Christie’s eyes gleamed. “Of course, I’m sure it isn’t because you expect me to instantly fall in love with you?”
“Well duh,” Kayla gestured to her herself. “I mean I’m super-hot, and you’re only human.”
“This is great,” Thandi said to no-one in particular. “So awesome. I’m so glad we could share this side of ourselves with innocent people.”
“But Kayla,” Christie purred in a voice that had become slightly more upper class than usual. “Don’t you think I’m rather out of your league?”
“Oh Lord have mercy,” Thandi said as she put her head in her hands.
The silence that followed seemed to extend forever.
Kayla’s glass hit the table with a small splash of liquid. “The hell did you just say to me?”
“Well,” Christie said, in a slightly less confident voice, “I’m interested in intellectual pursuits and culture, and you’re—”
“Smart and interested in lots of different things.”
“Mostly related to um… rapid unscheduled disassembly.”
Kayla’s nostrils flared. “Bullshit. Anyway, you should be more open minded.”
“So, I’m wrong about who I’m attracted to?”
Kayla narrowed her eyes. “Yes.” Her brain caught up with her a moment later, and she turned to the stunned Moiray with a manic smile. “I’m so sorry—you are obviously great together. I hope you both have the happiest relationship. The three of us are kind of like very contentious sisters.”
“Adopted sisters,” Christie said. “From different sides of the tracks.”
“That’s unfair. I had a first-class education, just like yours—I was the second smartest girl in my school, I—”
Kayla stopped and turned away, as a lump caught in her throat. She had been giddy with the carefree evening, and with four of them at the table she had fallen so naturally into an old dynamic. But Moiray was not their fourth, and the realization had hit her with a sickening jolt. The old wound tore itself open, and for a moment she couldn’t speak through the pain.
Even Thandi and Christie had been struck by the moment, as they stared in grim silence at their drinks. Between them, a completely confused Moiray glanced around helplessly.
“Um… what did you say that you do, again?” she asked Thandi in an obvious attempt to find some semblance of normalcy.
Thandi looked up and smiled weakly. “Security. I’m a consultant for um…” she waved a hand. “security planning for venues.”
“We work for the same company,” Christie explained. “You remember I explained that I do data analytics?”
Kayla took in a breath and clawed her mind back to the present. “Yes, and I um…” She swallowed and glanced at Christie, feeling the spirit of mischief returning. Reigniting the offensive would restore her spirits. “I provide onsite tactical support and defensive capability, enabling multi-dimensional uh… threat targeting and response from both a kinetic standpoint, and cyber… uh…” she stopped, her inspiration having suddenly run out of steam.
Christie leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands whilst gazing in mock adoration at Kayla. “Please go on. I could listen to you all night.”
Kayla, irritatingly at a loss, dropped her fingers into her drink and flicked a spray of liquid at her. Christie yelped and ducked away.
“She’s a bodyguard,” Thandi explained.
“Gosh how thrilling,” Moiray exclaimed. “That sounds so dangerous. But don’t you worry you might have to… kill someone?” She said the last partly quietly as though afraid to speak the words.
Kayla rolled her eyes at Christie, who had the decency to look contrite.
“I think I’d manage,” she said coolly.
Christie put a hand on her date’s shoulders. “How are you doing my dear? I did warn you that we were completely crazy.”
Moiray smiled uncertainly. “You have such lively conversations, it’s so fascinating.”
Kayla looked around as a crash disturbed the bar’s atmosphere. Two men had jumped up from their chairs and were squaring off, while Lyna was clutching the arm of one of them.
“Don’t waste your strength on him,” she said nastily, “He’s not worth it.”
Tian jumped between the two furious looking combatants, while Bibi dragged Lyna away. It seemed to take her some effort. When she caught Lyna’s eye, Kayla saw a spark of malicious joy through her drunken gaze.
Over on the other side of the bar, Jess was staring glassily into the eyes of a wary young man while she giggled at nothing. Nearby, Ray waved for Kayla’s attention, then twirled a small circle by her head with a finger.
It was time to leave.
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Prequel (Chapters 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Gaz turned and saw the girl standing behind him with an expression he could only describe as halfway between anger and curiosity.
“Hello,” he said cautiously.
“Can you stop checking out my friends all the time, it’s super creepy.”
That felt a bit unfair, but he happily demurred. “Sorry If I made you uncomfortable,” he said. “I’ll be sure to keep my eyes on the bar.”
He turned away, then felt an insistent tapping on his shoulder.
“Hey again,” she said.
“Hi.”
“So, are you just down here from Rackeye, or what’s your story?”
Gaz took a moment to study the young woman. She was staring at him in a way that put him in mind of an inexperienced noncom—awkwardly insistent, though not unfriendly, and completely socially oblivious.
“I’m from off-world,” he said. “Just down here on business.”
She crossed her arms. “What kind of business do off-worlders have in Zula?”
“I’m a private investigator, but I guess I’m not very good if I don’t blend in.” He sniffed his clothes. “Do you know where I can get some of that farm smell you were talking about earlier?”
She stared at him in silence for a moment, then burst out laughing. Too loudly, Gaz decided, which meant she was uncomfortable.
“You have to hang out with the locals more,” she said cheerfully.
“Hey, Kayla,” a stern voice said.
Two of the woman’s friends arrived, one of whom grabbed her arm.
“We’re having this really serious disagreement, and we need you to step in,” the friend said.
Next to her, an oriental looking woman fixed Gaz with an annoyed scowl.
“What? Really?” Kayla said, and glanced back at Gaz. “But I was—”
“Now. You need to come back to the table,” her friend insisted.
Gaz read the unspoken message and downed his drink. “Excuse me,” he said. “I was just leaving.”
He didn’t look back as he stepped out into the night, his mind buzzing with questions about VennZech, and what Kite’s information might have meant. The only thing he knew for sure was that they were a long way from reaching the kids that desperately needed their help.
***
“Are you out of your mind?” Lyna hissed as she steered Kayla back to their table.
“What the hell?” Kayla complained as she was forced back into her seat. “I was just breaking the ice before you interrupted.”
“That was a Frontier Marine,” Bao said. “Didn’t you see the tattoos on his neck?”
Kayla stared at her impatiently. “So?”
“You can’t go and chat up military,” Tian explained. “That’s just asking for trouble.”
“Oh come on, they’re not all evil. Besides, we probably have things in common.”
Lyna’s eyes widened with intent. “That you are forbidden from talking about.”
“That’s only half the problem,” Tian added. “You do not want to try and date military guys. Your personalities are basically identical.”
Kayla’s brow creased. She was already getting confused. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Oh my god, yes,” Tian said. “You’ll be trying to kill each other by the end of the week. Trust me on this, it goes so badly.”
“Okay but… I dunno, that sounds kind of fun.”
“You poor misguided soul,” Lyna said sympathetically. “You need a quiet intellectual type with a thing for tomboys. Please, let us share our accumulated wisdom, so we can save you from painful mistakes.”
Kayla rolled her eyes, but signaled her acceptance. It was nice to have friends watching out for her. Over in the corner, she caught sight of Christie and Thandi, with a woman she didn’t recognize.
“Christie’s here, I’ll catch up with you in a bit,” she said.
Kayla sank into a seat next to Thandi, who flashed her a questioning look. Kayla shrugged and tilted her head—they would talk later.
“Hi Christie,” she said politely. “Who’s this?”
“Ah, my good friend Kayla Barnes,” Christie said in introduction. “Allow me to present Moiray Gallan.”
“You with Forest?” Kayla demanded, before catching Thandi’s slowly shaking head and wide eyes.
“I met Moiray in Rackeye,” Christie said smoothly. “I thought I’d tempt her out into the wider world.”
“Wait, who are you with?” Kayla said again.
She’d had a bit to drink already and after the terror of approaching a guy for the first time in her life, was having trouble focusing. A swift tap on the shin from Thandi’s foot woke her up a little. She was missing something very important.
“Moiray is Christie’s date,” Thandi said.
A couple of insistent thoughts tried to push their way into Kayla’s mind, and one got there leaps and bounds ahead of the others.
“Oh,” Kayla said, “so, you’re a Helvet?”
“Gosh, do you think anyone will notice?” Moiray said nervously. “I hope I don’t get in trouble. They make such a fuss about the danger out here, but I always thought it was a bit um… hyperbolic.”
Kayla narrowed her eyes at Christie, who narrowed them back in return.
“It’s true there is some tension with the colonists,” Christie said, “but we are in no danger around my friends.”
She said this with another threatening look at Kayla, whose remaining flash of introspection finally managed to catch up.
“Christie!” she declared in surprise. “You didn’t tell me you were gay!”
An awkward silence covered the group, while Thandi slowly put her head in her hands. Christie returned Kayla’s insistent expression with a polite smile.
“First of all,” Christie said, “I’d like to thank you for wrapping up my personality and shoving it into your neatly labelled little box. I date people I am attracted to. I am attracted to Moiray.”
“Okay,” Kayla said. “My bad.” She didn’t really understand the difference but was happy to take Christie’s word. “I’m sorry—it’s nice to meet you.” She beamed at Moiray, hoping that sheer enthusiasm would make up for her bad impression.
“Secondly,” Christie went on, “I did not mention my dating preferences because they have not been relevant to any conversation we have had to date. I’m not even sure why it would concern you.”
Kayla felt annoyance escape her control like a slippery fish. “Oh, come on. We’ve been friends for a long time. I feel like I should know these things about you, but you’re so closed off.”
Moiray giggled. “I say that all the time.”
“Oh,” Christie turned to her with an evil smile. “Kayla isn’t really my friend. She’s more an experiment; my attempt to see if the savage natives can be educated and civilized.”
Kayla hissed between her teeth. “Mean girl confusing and complicated. Kayla want smash.”
“So, Moiray, you work for the art gallery?” Thandi said desperately.
“Just for info,” Kayla interrupted. “I’m not gay. That is, I don’t get attracted to women.”
“Gosh, really?” Christie said, “And why did you feel the need to share that information, exactly?”
“Because, you ass, as friends we should learn more about each other.”
Christie’s eyes gleamed. “Of course, I’m sure it isn’t because you expect me to instantly fall in love with you?”
“Well duh,” Kayla gestured to her herself. “I mean I’m super-hot, and you’re only human.”
“This is great,” Thandi said to no-one in particular. “So awesome. I’m so glad we could share this side of ourselves with innocent people.”
“But Kayla,” Christie purred in a voice that had become slightly more upper class than usual. “Don’t you think I’m rather out of your league?”
“Oh Lord have mercy,” Thandi said as she put her head in her hands.
The silence that followed seemed to extend forever.
Kayla’s glass hit the table with a small splash of liquid. “The hell did you just say to me?”
“Well,” Christie said, in a slightly less confident voice, “I’m interested in intellectual pursuits and culture, and you’re—”
“Smart and interested in lots of different things.”
“Mostly related to um… rapid unscheduled disassembly.”
Kayla’s nostrils flared. “Bullshit. Anyway, you should be more open minded.”
“So, I’m wrong about who I’m attracted to?”
Kayla narrowed her eyes. “Yes.” Her brain caught up with her a moment later, and she turned to the stunned Moiray with a manic smile. “I’m so sorry—you are obviously great together. I hope you both have the happiest relationship. The three of us are kind of like very contentious sisters.”
“Adopted sisters,” Christie said. “From different sides of the tracks.”
“That’s unfair. I had a first-class education, just like yours—I was the second smartest girl in my school, I—”
Kayla stopped and turned away, as a lump caught in her throat. She had been giddy with the carefree evening, and with four of them at the table she had fallen so naturally into an old dynamic. But Moiray was not their fourth, and the realization had hit her with a sickening jolt. The old wound tore itself open, and for a moment she couldn’t speak through the pain.
Even Thandi and Christie had been struck by the moment, as they stared in grim silence at their drinks. Between them, a completely confused Moiray glanced around helplessly.
“Um… what did you say that you do, again?” she asked Thandi in an obvious attempt to find some semblance of normalcy.
Thandi looked up and smiled weakly. “Security. I’m a consultant for um…” she waved a hand. “security planning for venues.”
“We work for the same company,” Christie explained. “You remember I explained that I do data analytics?”
Kayla took in a breath and clawed her mind back to the present. “Yes, and I um…” She swallowed and glanced at Christie, feeling the spirit of mischief returning. Reigniting the offensive would restore her spirits. “I provide onsite tactical support and defensive capability, enabling multi-dimensional uh… threat targeting and response from both a kinetic standpoint, and cyber… uh…” she stopped, her inspiration having suddenly run out of steam.
Christie leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands whilst gazing in mock adoration at Kayla. “Please go on. I could listen to you all night.”
Kayla, irritatingly at a loss, dropped her fingers into her drink and flicked a spray of liquid at her. Christie yelped and ducked away.
“She’s a bodyguard,” Thandi explained.
“Gosh how thrilling,” Moiray exclaimed. “That sounds so dangerous. But don’t you worry you might have to… kill someone?” She said the last partly quietly as though afraid to speak the words.
Kayla rolled her eyes at Christie, who had the decency to look contrite.
“I think I’d manage,” she said coolly.
Christie put a hand on her date’s shoulders. “How are you doing my dear? I did warn you that we were completely crazy.”
Moiray smiled uncertainly. “You have such lively conversations, it’s so fascinating.”
Kayla looked around as a crash disturbed the bar’s atmosphere. Two men had jumped up from their chairs and were squaring off, while Lyna was clutching the arm of one of them.
“Don’t waste your strength on him,” she said nastily, “He’s not worth it.”
Tian jumped between the two furious looking combatants, while Bibi dragged Lyna away. It seemed to take her some effort. When she caught Lyna’s eye, Kayla saw a spark of malicious joy through her drunken gaze.
Over on the other side of the bar, Jess was staring glassily into the eyes of a wary young man while she giggled at nothing. Nearby, Ray waved for Kayla’s attention, then twirled a small circle by her head with a finger.
It was time to leave.
First ¦ Previous ¦ Royal Road ¦ Patreon
Prequel (Parts 1 to 16)
1. Rise of a Valkyrie

I’ll never forget the first time I borrowed a day’s rations from a horse. I had a good ride on the sheltered side of my car, grateful for once to not have to ride dirty face. An unfortunate misadventure the day before had led three other people I was riding with to get left behind, so I was alone and had the whole porch to myself. This was somewhere in either Utah or Wyoming, there weren’t any water towers or other signs to tell me exactly where I was at the time.
I was headed in the right direction under good weather, and I looked forward to reaching the end of the line in Chicago. The only problem was that my jug and all my canteens were nearly empty. By my reckoning, the next significant stop on this line wouldn’t be until somewhere in Iowa, easily another full day’s ride over desolate, wide-open terrain. I needed to find a source of drinkable water soon or else I’d be forced to abandon my train and hitchhike to civilization.
I was riding an IM, but we must have been relatively low priority because we kept stopping to let other trains pass us at sidings. These stops made the water problem worse because I was forced to lay prone on the porch to stay out of sight. The full blazing sun overhead made the steel hot, and it baked me where I lay every time my train sided out to wait for her sisters to thunder past us. There was some relief while we were rolling because the moving air was cooler and I could sit in the small sliver of shade provided by the double-stacked shipping containers that accompanied me on my car.
The wind whipped the black nylon shoulder strap of my last canteen as I drained it. I closed the plastic screw cap, swallowed the final tepid mouthful, and thought about what to do. Even though I already knew what I would find, I dug around in my pack and pulled out all the food I had left. Three flour tortillas, about five ounces of peanut butter, half a dozen whole carrots, and a small package of quick oats. There would be some moisture in the carrots, but not enough to get me through the night and another full day.
If I’d known for certain that I’d be delivered directly to civilization within the next 24 hours, I could have toughed it out and just waited. The problem was that I didn’t know exactly which train this was, only which direction it was going when it left the yard in Sparks, Nevada. We might end up sitting somewhere up in the mountains for hours, we might divert to some facility or location that I didn’t know about. A mechanical failure might lead to a string of cars getting left behind to be reclaimed hours or days later. I might get spotted and pulled off the train by police, left to make my way on foot in the middle of nowhere. There were possible scenarios that made dehydration a life-threatening factor out here.
The fact that I faced this scenario didn’t come as a surprise to me, it was always like this, always that risk of getting stranded or detoured. I felt foolish though for not being prepared, for falling into this most simple and basic trap of too little water. I thought back to the gas station in Roseville, CA where I’d last replenished my supplies. It would have been easy to just spend two bucks on another gallon jug and strap it to my pack. The extra weight would have made the long walk to the hopout suck that much more, but I knew this route and I should have known better than to approach such a long hop with inadequate supplies.
I snapped a carrot in half and chomped a bite from it before stashing the rest of the food back down in the bottom of my pack. Whatever decision I made, I would have to wait until we stopped again or at least until we slowed down enough that I could dismount on-the-fly. The landscape around me was mostly rolling sheets of yellowish grass extending far off toward distant Rocky Mountain peaks. Other than the railroad itself, any signs of human progress were rare, and usually limited to industrial infrastructure like cell towers or solar panels in the distance. I could see a road about two miles away running roughly parallel to my train line. It was hard to make out individual vehicles from here, but there was some hazy movement that looked like traffic.
I came up with a plan and repeated it to myself internally, reinforcing my logical rules so that I’d act on them correctly when I was under duress. The next time my train stopped, I would hope and pray that it was miraculously near some good source of water. In the likely event that it didn’t, I would dismount, bring my gear with me, and run back towards the rear of the train. There was probably close to half a mile of train still behind me, and though I hadn’t seen the end of it myself, I figured there may be a slave unit back there. If that unit happened to have its doors unlocked, and I was fast enough to get back there before the train left me, I had a chance. The door should lead to an empty, uncrewed cab which would likely be stocked with dozens of unopened disposable water bottles. If the train left me behind, the unit’s doors were locked, or there weren’t any pusher units to be found, I would just have to walk toward that road and thumb it out.
It was hard to accept this decision. Walking away from a perfectly good train is something that no rider wants to do. It can be so arduous and difficult just to get a ride in the first place, the though of giving one up willingly is hard to fathom. I had to remind myself that I’d experienced dangerous thirst before and vowed to never again let myself get close to that terrible death. Even just being dehydrated for a few hours, I knew, caused me to think more slowly, react more sluggishly, and make bad decisions more easily. I had been lazy and foolish in bringing too little water in the first place, now I might have to pay for it by watching my train leave me behind. I had noone to blame but myself.
As I was sitting there battling internally to force logic down my own throat, I looked over the side of the train and noticed something up ahead of us to the southeast. Cows stood in a pasture, fenced in by barbed wire between ancient-looking wooden posts. This was a new feature in the otherwise empty landscape. At the same moment that my mind began to grasp the meaning of this new development, a telltale jerking clatter told me that we were slowing down. When the deceleration continued, I realized we were stopping, probably siding out. Sure enough, another set of tracks appeared directly beside ours. We continued decelerating. I peered toward the livestock and saw a separate pasture with four or five chestnut brown horses grazing within it. That was where I spotted the item I’d been hoping for: a water trough for the animals.
My hands were quick and busy as the train gave a stronger lurch of deceleration. I was disconnecting and separating all of my water containers from the rest of my gear. Before we came to a complete stop, I was already climbing down the ladder. I gently landed on the ground at a walking pace and my next two steps instinctively took me away from the train, clearing myself and my gear from the deadly steel wheels. I walked about another hundred feet alongside the train, keeping up with it and staying abreast the car I’d been riding. There were suicides and other lousy rides aboard this train, and I wanted my car back if I could get it.
As soon as the thing came to a stop, I dropped all of my gear except for the jug and canteens and then took off at a dead run toward the pasture. It was further than it looked across the open ground. I was light on my feet, picking my footsteps carefully, scanning the uneven ground with animal focus as I went. Dry yellow straw crunched under my boots, the empty water containers bounced and jostled around in my hands. I had to consciously pull my lungs down into measured breaths in rhythm with my bounding strides.
My heart was pumping in my ears as I approached the fence. I glanced behind me to see that my train was still there. The other train was already passing it going the opposite direction. I thought to myself that I’d made the right decision leaving my pack there on the ground. It would have been truly disastrous if my train left me behind and took my gear with it as it went. I’d heard of it happening to others. I was safe from that fate, but it would be far better if I could refil here and get back aboard. I’d have to hurry.
Was trying not to be frantic as I scanned the fence line. My eyes had to gather a lot of information all at once. I was looking out for vehicles or figures that betrayed the presence of any farmer who might object to me sprinting toward their livestock. I had an eye on the horses themselves. They were trotting around at the other end of the pastuer, kicking up dust and tossing their heads and tails about in a flowing display of red-brown hair. Whether they were perturbed by me, the trains, or just horses being horses, I couldn’t tell.
Just inside their pen I spotted an oval-shaped corrugated tub about twice the size of a bathtub with sides that came up to my knee. When I approached it to investigate there was about 18 inches of water in the trough, but it was dark green and slimy with the residue of dusty, alfalfa-fed horses drinking deeply from the depths. Another glance back at the trains showed that mine was still stopped and the oncoming one was still passing.
I shuffled a few yards along the fence and spotted another trough, this one was circular, about 6 feet across. What I was really looking for sat sticking out of a fence post, attached by bailing wire and several zip ties. It was a simple spigot faucet with a little T-shaped handle. I leaned in over the barbed wire and turned the old dusty, cobwebbed contraption. To my surprise, it turned easily and freely as if it had been recently greased. A strong blast of rushing water violently spurted from the faucet and into the trough, occasionally interrupted by the coughing sputter or air leaving the line. I left it running and bent down to uncap my jug. I held the old gallon milk jug there under the flow of water with one hand and uncapped my next canteen with the other. In quick succession, all the vessels were filled and their caps tightly screwed back on. I turned the faucet handle clockwise with a squeak and silenced the flow of water.
One more glance around, noone watching besides a couple of curious black cows. I whipped my head around to the train to see that her sister had finished passing. I bent down to gather up the now heavy collection water vessels and began walking back. About halfway across the field, I heard the soft hissing followed by the tick tick tick tick of air brakes opening up. My train was about to leave. These IM’s were infamous for accelerating quickly, often taking off with little warning. Keith a jolt, I began to run at a maddening pace back toward the rails. Somewhere in the open stretch of dead grass, my food caught on the hidden remnants of a half-buried old tire. I caught myself but dropped one of my canteens. I stopped to pick it up and heard the terrifying staggered thunder clap of slack being pulled out of the train. She was moving.
I didn’t know if I could make this. By the time I lept over a small ditch and onto the ballast gravel that lined the tracks, my the train had already pulled forward nearly half a car length from where I had left my backpack. In a desperate effort of awkward straining, I managed to transfer all of the water containers into the grip of my left arm. I bent down without stopping and grabbed my backpack and saxophone case with my right hand.
The train was accelerating. I made the split-second decision to give up my cushy sheltered porch and take the dirty face side of my car since it was about 50 feet closer to me at this point. I would have trotted up next to the moving behemoth immediately, but there was a stack of old railroad tie plates that I had to run around to avoid tripping. My muscles were screaming with the exertion. I managed to swing my left arm up and clumsily deposit all my water containers up onto the porch as I ran along side it. Then with my newly freed arm, I threw my backpack aboard, hefted my saxophone case onto my shoulder by its strap, grabbed the ladder with both hands, and hopped up onto my ride.
There was a solid shunting motion as the train continued accelerating. I corralled my scattered gear and sat down, still catching my breath. As we picked up speed and the landscape began to move past me once again, I peeked around the corner of my shipping container back rest and got one last glance at the corral. The distant figures of the horses had settled down and bowed their heads to munch on scrubby tufts of mountain grass. I opened a canteen and pulled deeply, gulping good, cold water. The adrenaline slowly faded and left me with a renewed sense of relief, peace, and gratitude.

It’s been a year of me moving to Bangalore and I was talking to someone who was feeling lonely post moving here and I had sent them this text to which they said it made them feel better since. With a hope that it eases your feelings if you’re feeling the same lately.
“From the second month of living here each passing day made me more and more in love with this city. First month was lonely af. Eventually I started going out with 2-3 people I knew. Then with new office folks, college friends who were in Bengaluru and started watching a lot of regional movies in theatre alone, try new food joints alone etc. It used to be a little lonely at times then I used bumble bff. Never met anyone from there irl but it was still fun and good way to pass time talking to folks who are in similar situation.
What keeps me busy these days and has worked great for my mental health is the routine: Wake up around 9, I cook a dish and eat that the whole day so takes about 1 hour or more. Cooking is extremely peaceful procedure and saves money on cook so win win. And I make a list of food to eat for the next week beforehand. Makes me excited to cook and I get to try different dishes. office at 11 , come back by 6, go for cycling or walk and get vegetables for next day and drink coconut water w/o fail, then a good shower post cycling or walking feels great! Apply for jobs or build portfolio for some time, watch Netflix, YouTube or go for a night movie if any. One day during weekdays I go to some area and try street food.
Saturday is for reading, cleaning, swimming, calls to friends and family. Sunday is for trying new restaurant but at times I don’t feel like going out at all. Mostly weekends I go out with a friend but no complaints if all of them are busy. If I’m bored and weekend seems lonely I take a trip. A night bus on Thursday post office and come back on Tuesday morning so good whole 4 days. A list of places you can reach overnight or lesser : Mysore, Ooty, Coorg, Pondi, Chennai, Wayanad, Gokarna, Mangalore, Kochi, Mangalore, mulki etc. I can extend this list if anyone needs more reccos. I also pack a bread, some spread, protein bar, khakra, spicy chips, guava etc so wherever I stay my breakfast is always sorted and at times 2-3 meals too. Trust me saves a lot of money so you don’t get the guilt of travelling too.”
A special mention to reading, painting clubs at cubbon, Lalbagh and many such places, St. broseph for community gatherings, if you follow certain pages there is always something happening in every corner of Bangalore on weekends. Discord is great if you like playing games, I go to amoungus india when bored. Hope y’all find peace, love this city as much and a better mental health.