Scott Oden
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orcwriter.bsky.social
Scott Oden
@orcwriter.bsky.social
1.7K followers 520 following 540 posts
Author of whimsical tales disguised as found manuscripts. Specializing in mouse-run libraries, and gardens where magic blooms between dewdrops. The mushrooms insist they're 'philosophically inclined.' https://claudemoreaugarden.wordpress.com/
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martial skills. Sultan al-Salih acquires him, he's assessed and assigned to the elite Bahriyya regiment under Aktay. He rises quickly to be Aktay's second, and by Mansura he's got the skills and the reputation to back it up.
What I think happened: Baibars was older than a child when he was captured, possibly 19 or 20; he already had experience fighting the Mongols, some scars, and a violent disposition. Al-Bundaqdari buys him, recognizes a diamond in the rough, and converts him while sharpening his already formidable
Addendum: I have a sneaking suspicion, totally unfounded of course, that his early life and service are propaganda devised in his lifetime to make his usurpation more palatable, overall.
about 5 years. So, who puts a newly-minted Mamluk in command of an elite regiment in 1250? Was he already trained by the time al-Salih takes possession of him? Was he already a formidable warrior when he was captured in Crimea? The military-school-child-prodigy thing makes no sense.

Thanks!
bring the crown prince, Turanshah, to Egypt). So, he's approximately 27 at Mansura. But, and here's where I get confused: he's not captured and enslaved until sometime around 1242 CE, and not transferred to al-Salih until 1245 or so (perhaps even 1247). Training in the Bahriyya regiment takes
#Medievalists of BlueSky, I could use your help. I'm trying to parse out the timeline of Baibars I's early life. He's generally said to have been born around 1223 CE, and by 1250 CE, he in nominal command of the Bahriyya regiments at the Battle of Mansura (the regiment's commander was sent to
Who robbed the Louvre? Right answers only.
I hear you, buddy. All we can do is the best we can, despite the world's ills and evils. Tell the story in spite of All The Things. And, as a dear friend would have said: "Swords together!"
Thus, I dither and condemn myself for doing nothing.
What if D is the one that touches fire, but I ignored it to work on A? All of this going a mile a minute. In the past, I could prioritize eventually by telling myself "paid work first".

But none of this is paid. It's all speculative. No one's waiting for something from me.
This is my brain, today: it's paralyzed by indecision. I have four open tabs, four projects I *could* work on, but I'm not working on any of them because I'm terrified of making a wrong judgement call. What if I work on A and should have been working on B? What if C is just a waste of time?
Sadness. It is sadness.
I dragged out my Thames & Hudson Dictionary of the Italian Renaissance, so you know shit's about to get real :)
AND music, architecture, and philosophy :)
That's my plan for the afternoon. Find copacetic mechanics :)
I'm not a mechanics guy, but I do have a whole bunch of games I've collected over the years: PDFs, mostly -- whole games, quick start rules, etc. In theory, I could borrow my favorite mechanics and set them out in a way that supports the play I'm looking for.

Maybe even solo play.
La Serenissima: A Tabletop RPG of Art, Magic, and Ambition

In the city-states of the Luminous Peninsula, where marble gleams and genius burns bright, artists wield brushes like swords and words like spells. Create masterpieces, navigate treacherous courts, and leave your mark on eternity.
I don't know if anyone but me would even want something like this to exist in the world, but I think my passion project, my hobby, will be something that goes back to my roots: a tabletop RPG mixing art, writing, and ambition set in a slightly-altered Italian Renaissance . . .
. . . all the books I've written have taken almost exactly two years from start to finish (add extra time for publishing).
. . . can do THAT in the space of a few months, then the sky should be the limit.

Post-script: prior to the trauma-induced hypergraphia, an average book took two years to research and write; I had a seven year break between 2010 and 2017 to deal with grief and its aftermath. Otherwise . . .
There's no good answer for this feeling I have. My brain needs to be rewired, the ideas pre-2007/2008 on what a writing career needs to be need themselves to be replaced by current standards and practices.

Those are three awesome books, regardless of how they came into the world. And if I . . .