Reading Notes: The Divine Archer, Part B

 Sections 7-8

    Sugriva fights his brother, Vali, to come back home, but Rama is the one who delivers the finishing blow on Vali with an arrow. After hunkering down for the storm to pass, they resume the search for Sita. Hanuman heads south and meets Simpati, Jatayu's brother, and is informed that Sita is in Lanka. When Hanuman gets to Lanka, he meets Vibshana, Ravana's brother, but Vib is an ally of Rama. Vib informs Han where to find Sita, where he sees her deny Ravana's advances. He then infoms Sita Rama is coming and causes a ruckus. He is catupred with his tail lit on fire, but uses that to set the city ablaze. He ruturns to Rama to inform him of the situation. Both sides prepare for war, and Rama has a bridge made to Lanka.

Leader of the pack, in Gibraltar by #13 (January 2015). Source: Flickr

Sections 9-10

    Rama's army then arrives in Lanka and the conflict begins. Lakshmana is wounded in battle but is saved by Hanuman flying away and returning with special herbs. Eventually, Rama faces Ravana and Indra arrives and sends his chariot and weapons to Rama. With the assistance, Rama slays Ravana. Ravana is given a funeral and Sita's innocence is proven with fire. Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana then depart to go back home. Unfortunatey, Rama exiled Sita as people would spread rumors about Sita's innocence. Sita would give birth to two boys who eventually meet Rama and learn that he is their father. Sita then returns home but is consumed by the earth to prove her innocence.

Bibliography

"The Divine Archer" (1911) by F.J. Gould.

Reading Notes: The Divine Archer, Part A

 Sections 1-3

    King Dasharatha had four sons, one being Rama who is also a manifestation of a god. Rama and his brother, Lakshmana, go to fight some demons and see Princess Sita. Rama and Sita fall in love and Rama bends/breaks the bow of Shiva to prove his worth to her father. Rama then also bends the bow of Vishnu to prove himself to Parashurama. Rama and his three brothers then marry their wives. King Dash was about to name Rama as successor but Queen Kaikeyi, influenced by Manthara, convinces King Dash to exile Rama for 14 years and name her son, Bharata, king.

Archers by Andrea Kirkby (February 2011). Source: Flickr

Sections 4-6

    Sita and Lakshmana join Rama in his exile. Dash then dies of grief and realizes that the events are do to his curse for killing a boy. Bharata eventually comes home and learns of what happened and is furious. He tries and fails to sway Rama to come back and leaves golden sandals on the throne to symbolize Rama's rule. The trio then meet a sage, Agastya, who gives Rama godly weapons to help him in his travels. The trio then run into Shurpanakha. She tries and fails to win over Rama so she sends rakshasas to attack them but the rakshasas are defeated. Shur then runs to her brother, Ravana, and begs him to help her. Ravana then sets a plan in motion and tricks the trio. Ravana manages to kidnap Sita and kill Jatayu, the king of the vultures and an ally to Rama. Rama then meets Sugriva and Hanuman and they promise to help eachother.

Bibliography

"The Divine Archer" (1911) by F.J. Gould.

Week 5 Story: Time to Dance

Link to updated story in my Portfolio: Alpha-Nine

 Time to Dance

    Dare and Buck landed in a forest a few clicks from their intended rally point. With the rest of their unit scattered, they gathered their bearings and got ready to move. Little did they know, they landed near a Brute Stalker who took an interest in Dare as her helmet resembled that of a Spartan. However, she was only an ODST with an experimental helmet. Thinking he found a high value target, the brute went to lunge at her to hopefully kill her before she could react. However, just before he jumped, a hail of gunfire was directed at him. Wounded, the Brute retreated, activated his camouflage, and went to warn his Chieftain of what he saw. 

    Surprised by the gunfire, Dare and Buck took aim at the shooter. Seeing the Rookie and watching a Brute run away, they knew he had saved them. Together, the three of them continued on to their rally point. They eventually reached a cliff and looked for another way around, but were ambushed by a squad of Brutes running and firing at Dare. The trio immediately took cover and began firing on the approaching Brutes, but the Rookie noticed that they seemed to be focused on Dare. The Rookie then fell back into the tree line and maneuvered into an elevated flanking position. The Brutes, blinded by rage and the opportunity of killing a Spartan, were unaware of the Rookies movements. The Rookie then managed to drop most of the approaching Brutes headed towards Dare, with Buck and Dare cleaning up the rest of them.

Yellowstone Cliffs by Allgreyareas (July 2013). Source: Flickr

    Once they gathered their bearings again, they looked over the cliff and saw a massive Covenant army headed their way. They quickly set up some ropes at the edge of the cliff and rappelled their way down. They then hurried to the rally point to warn the others. Suddenly, Buck ran back to the cliff while ordering Rookie and Dare to continue on. He climbed each rope some ways up and set explosive charges on weak points of the cliff. Once he finished placing the charges, he rappelled back down and found a good vantage point to hide and watch. He waited for the army to come and saw a Chieftain leading the charge. Once the Chieftain was under the cliff, Buck blew the charges, The cliff collapsed and killed the Chieftain along with many of his units, causing his army to stop and retreat. Satisfied, Buck left to go meet the rest of his unit at the rally point.

Author's Note

    My story is based off the PDE Ramayana. More specifically in part B, where Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana encounter Shurpanakha, a rakshasa. In the story, Shurpanakha tries to win over Rama and attempts to attack Sita when Rama declines. Lakshmana then cut off her ears and nose and went to complain to her brother. Her brother then sent 14 rakshasas to kill them. The 14 died and so her brother then sent an army of 14,000 rakshasas to kill them. Rama then sent Sita and his brother to hide while he dealt with the coming army. Once he took out the leader of the army and some other rakshasa, the rest scattered.

    

    In my story, I implemented elements of the Halo universe, set about 500 years in the future. Dare, Buck, and Rookie represent Sita, Rama, and Lakshmana likewise. The Covenant Brutes represent the rakshasas, where the The Brute Stalker represents Shurpanakha specifically. Dare, Buck, and Rookie are part of a special unit called the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs). Basically Special Forces Space Marines. As their name implies, they literally drop in from orbit which leads to the beginning of the story where they land. They have special pods that allow them to do so safely-ish. Spartans, as referenced here and in some of my other stories, are special genetically engineered super humans that were typically orphaned by the Covenant and kidnapped by the human military at a young age. They were then indoctrinated and specially trained, as children, to become the most deadly and proficient super soldiers for the human military. Brutes in the Covenant are basically bigger apes or gorillas. They are about 8 feet tall, weigh about 1500 pounds, and are very strong as they are almost pure muscle. They are known for their brutality, hence their name, as they sometimes eat things (human, lower ranking Covenant, animals, doesn't really matter) alive or hunt them for fun. Brute Stalkers are a covert Brute unit that have a piece of equipment called Active Camouflage which allows them to basically go invisible. The Brute Chieftain is usually a tough and battle hardened leader. Also, the title "Time to Dance" is a reference to a Buck quote from the Halo universe.

    Hopefully that is enough context on the Halo part but feel free to ask questions.

Bibliography

"Public Domain Edition: Ramayana" by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Comment Wall

Link to My Portfolio

My dog Deagle and his first toy (June 2019). Source: Me

Week 4 Lab: Microfiction: The Hidden Treasure

(New Twitter)

    Deagle could feel something within the cloud. He began digging ecstatically for he knew knew it could only be one thing. Treasure! Time and again he would dig, try different angles, and even try to bite through. Inevitably, he tuckered himself out, and rests for the next attempt.

My dog Deagle (July 2019). Source: Me

Mystery (Six-word Story)

Deagle has yet to find treasure.

Author's Note

    I decided to make two stories about my dog Deagle and how he like to dig when I put him on my bed. I don't know why, but every time I put him on my bed, he runs around and proceeds to try to dig on it. Perhaps it's because he's part beagle, but it's pretty cute.

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Part D

 

61-70 

    Rama spoke with gods to build a land bridge to Lanka. Once there, the battle began and many lost their lives. Rama managed to slay a giant who was awoken to feast on the apes. Ravana tried to trick Sita and failed. Sug managed to keep the ape troops rallied and Hanuman managed to recover a special herb that revived the dead from Himalaya. Lak then fought and slayed Indrajit, Ravana's son. Ravana wept and was going to get revenge by killing Sita, but the female raks persuaded him not to. He then went to battle and slayed Lak, but Lak was revived thanks to Hanuman and his herbs. Rama was then given a ride and weapons in Indra's chariot and went to battle Ravana. He emerged victorious after beheading all of his heads.

Rama battles Ravana. Source: Mewar Ramayana

71-80

    Vibi then became king of Lanka and Mandodari wept for her slain husband, Ravana. Rama then met with Sita and had the gods and fire prove that Sita was still pure to him to avoid any rumors that may come from her living with another man. Then he took Sita on a trip back home, reminiscing of their journey on the way. When they returned, Rama was made king and the people rejoiced. However, Sita was banished due to public criticism and gave birth to two sons. Rama learned of this 16 years later and wished to redeem Sita. Sita was redeemed and was consumed by the Earth and went to heaven. Rama saddened and met with old age also eventually went to back to heaven/land of the gods.

Bibliography

"Public Domain Edition: Ramayana" by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Part C

 

41-50 

    Rama and Lak met Sugriva and Hanuman and learned of Sug's pat, which had similarities to Rama. Sug promised to help if Rama helped him face his brother and they did. Sug challenged his brother to a duel and, mid duel, Rama shot an arrow through the brother's heart. Sug wept but became king and gained his wife again. some rain kept them from pushing forward, but as it went away, the brothers urged Sug to use hi army to help find Sita. He sent his army out to search and the southern troops ran into the vulture Sampati, Jatayu's brother, and told him of his brother's fate. Sampati informed them of Sita's location and offered to help them. The held a funeral and Hanuman had slain a sea rak.

Rama and the Monkeys Go to Lanka. Source: Mewar Ramayana

51-60

    Hanuman then went to Lanka to recce the city in search of Sita. He eventually found her and told her that Rama was coming, but also learned that she had 2 months to live if she kept rejecting Ravana. He then caused a ruckus and got captured intentionally as he figured it'd be a good idea to talk to Ravana. He was questioned and his tail was lit on fire, but Sita's prayers ensured a cool fire. Noticing the cool, Hanuman made his move and slain many raks and destroyed much of their city. He then checked on Sita and signaled the others that he found her. Rama and the army then headed that way. Ravana gathered his people and banished his lil' bro for suggesting giving up Sita to save their people. So the lil' bro, Vibhishana, joined Rama and the army.

Bibliography

"Public Domain Edition: Ramayana" by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Extra Credit Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Part B

 

21-30 

    Bharata was summoned and learned of his father's death. He chose to spare his mother and Manthara, and he rejected the throne and wants Rama to return. The funeral proceeded with many offerings and a large fire that I believe the body and offerings were burned in. Bharata then found Rama and tried to convince him to come back. Jabali also tried by speaking heresy. Rama refused and wished to carry out his father's orders. Bharata then gave golden sandals to Rama, to which he refused to keep, and kept them at the throne as a symbol of Rama's authority. Wandering the forest, Sita met Anasuya. Anasuya seemed to lighten her mood. Going further into the woods, the trio encounter a rakshasa that wants to wife Sita and kill the brothers. It advises the trio that he is unkillable by weapons and thus the brothers beat him and bury him to ensure he can't escape, but they actually free him of his curse and he goes to heaven. The trio then meet Agastya. The writing is a bit difficult to follow, but he seems to give them weapons, directions, and warnings of dangerous areas. Rama then encounters Shurpanakha, a rakshasa, who tries to swoon him away from Sita and his brother, and threatens to eat them. Rama refuses but suggests she swoons his brother as he is single. Shur then talked to Rama's brother and tried to attack Sita, so the brothers cut off her ears and nose. Shur ran away and urged her brother, Khara, to do something, and they sent 14 rakshasas to kill them. All 14 died, so the Shur's brother took up arms and prepared to send an army of 14,000 rakshasas. Rama stood his ground and sent his brother and Sita to hide in a cave. The rakshasas were scared to attack but followed their leader, who was slain just after his brother was. Rama won with the remaining raks scattering.

The Battle with Viradha.

Illuminated Ramayana ms (circa 1700). Source: Huntington Archive

31-40

    Shur then went and told another brother, Ravana, who is the lord of the raks. Ravana then met with Maricha and threatened him to help him. He agreed and took the form of a jeweled deer to draw out Sita. Sita then tells Rama what she sees and Rama goes to hunt the deer. Rama killed the deer/rak but it imitated Rama's voice as it was slain. Sita heard and urged Lak to go help Rama and threatened suicide if he died. Lak refused at first, but Sita launched hurtful accusations, so he changed his mind. Ravana then approached Sita, asked to wife her, and kidnapped her when she refused. She called out for help and a vulture, Jatayu, went to save her and there was a battle in the sky. Ravana slayed the vulture and flew off again with Sita while she gave her belongings to some monkeys on a mountain top. Captured, Sita kept turning down the lustful Ravana time and time again. He could not force himself upon her as he was cursed to death if he did that again. Rama and Lak then return to find Sita gone and the Jata, the vulture, laying on the ground dying. They question the vulture and Rama wails in sadness. They then run into Kabandha, another cursed rak, and kill him and burn his body, per his request. Kab then tells the brothers of the location of Sita, who Ravana is, and to seek help from ape chief Sugriva. Not sure exactly what happens at the end, seems like a lady blessed the brothers.

Bibliography

"Public Domain Edition: Ramayana" by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Feedback Strategies: More Thoughts

    The first article I read was "Why Do So Many Mangers Avoid Giving Praise?". I chose this article mainly because the relation to work situations. The article essentially states that many managers only give negative feedback as a way to be a corrective measure, but can be nervous to do so. Giving positive feedback can help a manager give negative feedback more easily. It also helps show that you are friendly and gives employees a better outlook on the managers. The key to making positive feedback helpful is making it specific.

Font Awesome 5 solid thumbs-up by Font Awesome (July 2018). Source: Wikimedia

    The second article I read was "Giving Creative Feedback – A Guide for Those Who Aren’t Creative". I chose this article mainly because I don't view myself as a particularly creative individual, so I figured this article could be helpful. I'm not sure how effective it would be in person as it seems to involve asking oneself a lot of questions which may take some time. However, this does seem to be a decent method for this class as we have time to think about out responses.

Topic Research: Weapons of the Gods

    One weapon that caught my eye is Indra's bow. The main thing that caught my eye about it is that it's a rainbow that shoots lightning bolts. That just puts a spectacular image in my mind. Indra also has many other weapons that I may dive into, but this one stood out the most to me from the bunch.

Double Alaskan Rainbow by Eric Rolph (July 2007). Source: Wikimedia

    Another weapon that caught my eye is the Sharanga bow. One reason this weapon caught my eye is because I have seen it mentioned in the Ramayana text that I've been reading. Rama was able to wield and break the bow. Apparently, he will also use it in many battles. It appears that it will also be brought up in the next story scheduled to read, the Mahabharata.

    The third weapon that caught my eye is the Asi sword. The reason this weapon sticks out to me is that it is supposed to be or represent the first weapon ever created. The story of it's creation is a bit bizarre to me as it was made from a creature forming into the sword. It may also be brought up in the Mahabharata.

Week 3 Story: The First Halo

Link to updated story in my Portfolio: Chief

The First Halo

    John had woken up from his crash landing on Halo. His only companion was Cortana, an advanced AI that resided in a chip implanted in his suit of armor. With the rest of his squad dead and Covenant forces approaching, he moved into the tree line. 

    Some time had passed and Cortana chimed in, "Chief, I'm getting a few distress signals, it seems the Captain and a few squads of marines made it off the ship too! We have to regroup with them."

    Chief agreed and slowly but surely rounded everyone up. Eventually, they reached a strange building and decided to make that their base of operations. They set up defenses and hunkered down for the night. As Chief was the only Spartan II among them, everyone admired him in awe as he moved around and towered over people. The Captain, Chief, and Cortana started thinking up plans of what to do next as they were stranded, but knew this place, the ring, was important to the Covenant. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a floating orb that appeared behind them by means of teleportation.

Master Chief from Halo by Gunner111 (April 2008). Source: Flickr

    "Greetings, I am 343 Guilty Spark, the Monitor of this installation. I noticed a Reclaimer signature appeared on the ring not long ago," as it stared at John, "I need you to come with me to stop the meddlers who have released the Flood." 

    Before anyone could get a word in, the Monitor teleported John and Cortana to the control room. 

    "You must hurry Reclaimer, only you can activate this ring as your forefathers intended," exclaimed the Monitor.

    "Slow down, what am I activating, what does it do? Why is the Flood so dangerous?" asked the Chief.

    "Reclaimer, surely you know the Flood will consume all life in the galaxy. Activating the ring ensures they cannot spread by eliminating their food, of course," responded the Monitor.

    "Their food...? You mean us? They consume life right, so they the ring will eliminate us?" Chief inquired.

    "Why yes, precisely," answered the Monitor.

    "Sorry, can't do it. I'm not killing all of my people to stop an enemy I haven't even seen yet," said the Chief. 

    

    "Then you too shall perish," retorted the Monitor as his sentinels appeared and took aim at the spartan. 

    "Chief, time to go!" urged Cortana.

    Chief immediately took cover to avoid the first barrage of fire, and made his escape as the sentinels recharged their weapons. He had to get back to the Captain and warn his people.

Author's Note

    The story I took elements of to write this story was Part A of the Public Domain Edition: Ramayana. In the story, Rama is the main character and is part of the human embodiment of a god. He accomplishes many great things through his journey such as bending many great godly bows that no human has been able to, marry a beautiful princess, and being a beloved prince of the people. However, he was betrayed by a queen who wanted her son to become king and had him exiled.

    I used characters and places from the Halo universe and blended them into the Public Domain Edition: Ramayana story. I tried to write the story by making Chief/John share similarities with Rama. The main similarities were how only they could yield certain mighty weapons, they were both admired by their people, they both had a trusty companion, and they were both betrayed unnecessarily by someone who could have helped them. I believe the endings to also be similar in that Rama was exiled and had his wife and brother accompany him, where as Chief is left in an unfamiliar area with Cortana by his side.

Bibliography

"Public Domain Edition: Ramayana" by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Part A

1-10 

    Setting seems nice. Large mountains, palaces, temples, lakes, and foliage. Maharajah Dasharatha is well protected by a thousand warriors. Also have eight sage counselors and two family priests. Dasharatha had no son. Dash then persformed a horse sacrifice that had the gods promise him four sons. The horse wandered for a year and was slain by a sacred scimitar. Vishnu divided himself into the four sons and had other gods like Indra become apes to help him in the future. The wives that ate the sacrificial food had the sons. Two of the brothers, Lakshmana and Rama, set upon a dangerous service. The brothers had slain Thataka who was terrorizing a country. As a reward, Vishwamitra chanted mantras which allows Rama to think of celestial weapons to appear next to him. He then used these weapons to fight off a couple of rakshasas. Vishvamitra told Rama the story of Bhagiratha and Ganga. Rama then met with Ahalya and lifted her curse set by her husband because she cheated on him. The brothers then went into town and saw Princess Rita. Her and Rama had a love at first sight connection. They then met with King Janaka and were shown the bow of Shiva. The king will allow the person that can bend the bow to marry his daughter. Of course, Rama could bend the bow, broke it actually, with no problem and won Sita and broke Janak's war bow. 

The breaking of the Bow of Janaka by Monro, W. D (1911). Source: Wikimedia

11-20

    A man, I assume to be Parashurama, appeared and was upset that someone broke a holy relic. He had Rama draw the bow of Vishnu to prove himself and he did. Then the wedding ceremony happened and several other people got married too. Rama's father then wants to retire and put Rama in charge. He set a council to see what people thought and everyone was happy and approved. Everyone except Manthara that is because Rama smote her back in the day. She then convinced Queen Kaikeyi to use her favors of the king to save her son, I believe, this part kind of confuses me. The queen essentially threatened suicide unless her son became heir to the throne and Rama banished for 14 years. The King agreed as he owed her the favors but was very sad and reluctant to do so. Rama took the news quite well as it was his duty and he wanted to fulfill his dad's vow. Sita and Lakshmana insisted on going with Rama but were not beholden to the same standards, in terms of shame/limitations, as Rama. Rama had to wear bark, though Lakshmana did as well. The people of the kingdom were sad to see him go and thought of the new rulers as evil. The trio traveled and vowed to protect each other. In the past, Dasharatha had accidentally killed a young boy who took care of his elderly and blind parents. The father had cursed Dash that he too will know how it feels to lose a son and that only Dash's death during his sorrowed time will bring retribution. Dash then passed away two nights after Rama left in the company of his other two wives, the mothers Kaushalya, of Rama, and Sumitra, of Lakshmana.

Bibliography

"Public Domain Edition: Ramayana" by M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.

Feedback Thoughts

     I read the articles "Why rejection hurts so much — and what to do about it" and "Why It’s So Hard to Hear Negative Feedback". Both articles seem to push the idea of not beating yourself up as that won't change anything, and to try to use the negative feedback you may get as an opportunity to grow. The first article also mentions that it's a good idea to find the positives and keep your surroundings positive. Having good people around you is really important, and I agree completely with that. The second article makes it point that people have to remember that feedback is usually given in good faith. Most people are not going out of their way to inform you of your mistakes if they didn't want you to improve.

Feedback by www.gotcredit.com (January 2019). Source: Flickr

    I don't believe I take negative feedback badly, but I'll to keep the tips from these articles in mind when I receive negative feedback. When it comes to giving others feedback, I'll try to be as informative and kind as possible.

Topic Brainstorm

 Epic Battles

    I am interested in this topic largely because I have interests in weapons, militaries, and strategies used in combat. I don't have any knowledge on Indian Epic battles or history, but I would like to learn the reasons behind the conflicts and who may be the "good" or "bad" side. I would likely try to tell the stories from a commander's or foot soldier's perspective. Currently, Wikipedia seems to be good source for a broad overview of battles that have taken place.

Rāma going into battle by Pahari School and Chamba Style (Late 18th Century). Source: Wikimedia

Weapons of the Gods

    I am also very interested in this topic as I'm quite fond of learning about weapons. I don't have much knowledge of the Indian weapons used during these time periods, let alone those used by the Gods. At most, it would a broad knowledge or swords, spears, and the such. I'd like to learn the varieties of weapons they had, the roles they were used in, and what made them special or unique. I may tell the stories of the weapons from the view of a collector looking for the last one missing from his collection. Again, Wikipedia seems like a good staring point as it contains brief descriptions of the weapons.

Epic Heroes

    My interest in epic heroes stems from the last two topics I chose. I would try to focus on heroes from battles as I feel that would be more interesting. I have no previous knowledge of any Indian epic heroes, but I'd like to learn of their accomplishments and how they may have changed the course of their people's future. I may tell the story from the perspective of someone who had been saved multiple times from the heroes. Wikipedia has a large list of cultural heroes that provides links to more information for each one.

Food

    I am interested in Indian food as I've heard many good things about it, but I've never actually tried it. Perhaps learning about it will persuade me to go out and try it. My knowledge on Indian food is limited. I've heard of curry (can be very spicy to my understanding), ghee (a form of of butter), and that Indian food tends to lack on meat (this somewhat deters me as I like to eat meat). I'd like to learn more about the variety of food they have and how it's prepared. I may tell stories of the food from the perspective of a chef making the foods for a special occasion. Wikipedia provides what I believe to be pretty good descriptions of the food.

Week 2 Story: The Arbiter's Side Journey

Link to updated story in my Portfolio: Arbiter

The Arbiter's Side Journey

    The Arbiter awoke underwater, confused as to how he was alive. The last thing he remembered was evacuating The Ark on the ship with the Demon... and now he was a...crab? Realizing he could breathe just fine underwater, he gathered his bearings and headed towards the shore. As he walked, he thought about how this could have happened, he assumed the slip-space travel somehow transported him here, and into the body of a crab. He never fully understood that technology, but hoped to get back to his old self one day.

Illustration by W. Robinson. Source: The Cunning Crane and the Crab

    

    As he approached the shore, he heard a few fish and a crane conversing about some traveling. He thought it wise to keep some distance, out of sight, and listen. 
    

    "- There's only room for one, so ol' one eyed will go first. Then I shall come back and get the rest." said the Crane. 

    

    The Crane then scooped up a fish and flew away. The Arbiter climbed an elevated rock and observed the Crane. He noticed the Crane stopped in some trees and ate the fish. Curious as to what was happening, he hid again before the crane came back and listened. 

   

     "Ol' one eyed seems happy enough in those cold waters, who's next?" said the Crane.

    

    "Me, me, me, me!" exclaimed the remaining fish.
    

    The Arbiter now realized that the fish were being lied to and being flown to their demise. It reminded him of the lies the Prophets spewed to his people. He remained hidden as he thought of a plan to stop the Crane, one that would work in his new crab body. A few hours had passed and he realized that new body is vaguely similar to his old one. Instead of a suit of armor and sword, he has a sturdy shell and sharp claws. Yes, he now had a plan and moved to where the fish were. When he got there, he saw one fish left and told it to scram. Now he patiently awaited the Crane's return.

    

    "Hey crab! Might I interest you in some cooler waters?! I can take you just down the lake!" the crane yelled as it neared the spot the fish previously laid and noticed only a crab remained. 

    

    "Perhaps," said the Arbiter, "and how do you plan to take me?"

    

    "Why, just jump in my beak," the Crane said as it landed and opened its mouth.

    

    "How about I hold on instead? I trust my grip more than your beak," explained the Arbiter.

    

    The Crane thought for a second as his belly was somewhat satisfied. But alas, he hadn't had crab in a while and figured he could treat himself today.

    

    "I suppose you have a point, go ahead and latch on," he said.

    

    The Arbiter held firmly around his neck and was taken to the same place the fish were eaten. He saw the bones of the fallen. With this sight, he became angered.

    

    "Don't worry, I'll only eat you slowly," said the Crane.

    

    "If you want to hear me beg, you will be disappointed," said the Arbiter as he tightened his grip.

    

    The Crane, realizing what the situation he was in, exclaimed hoarsely, "Hold on! How about we forget this ever happened! I'll let you go on your merry way!"

    

    "Were it so easy," said the Arbiter, a moment before he beheaded the Crane. 

    

    He watched as the lifeless body of the Crane collapsed at his feet. It reminded him of the Prophet he had slain not long ago. After a moment, he moved on to try to find his way back to his old self.

Author's Note

    I added elements from the Halo universe (several video games, books, comic books, and even a couple of movies) to the story of "The Cunning Crane and the Crab". I changed the original crab from the story into the Arbiter from the Halo universe. I tried to make the story a condensed version of some of the Arbiter's journey in the Halo universe. Simply put, there were "Prophets" in the Halo universe that led several alien species that worked together, known as the Covenant, and essentially lied to them and were leading them all to their death. The Arbiter eventually became aware of this and stopped the Prophet who betrayed his people. Hopefully this is enough information to make sense for now.

Bibliography:

"The Cunning Crane and The Crab" by W. H. D. Rouse.

Reading Notes: Week 2 Reading Anthology

    My favorite stories are the The Turtle and The King and The Cunning Crane and the Crab. I like these stories because the prey outsmarted the predator that really should have known better. I like turtles and I am glad that the story ended happily with the turtle going back to his old home and not being needlessly killed. However, I am a bit surprised that no one in the story knew that a turtle would be safe in the water. I also like the crane story because the crane was a bit smart at first and then made a really dumb play. Why one would ever let a crab's claw around their neck is beyond me. I think the crane would have had a better chance of eating the crab with a direct attack. Either way, I'm glad the to see that the crab lived happily ever after and that the crane met a fitting demise.

Illustration by W. Robinson. Source: The Cunning Crane and the Crab

Bibliography: 

"How The Turtle Saved His Own Life" by Ellen C. Babbit.

"The Cunning Crane and The Crab" by W. H. D. Rouse.

Week 2 Reading Overview

    I have chosen to read the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana because it seems to be more easily accessible for me and it is free. I chose this image because it looks like an interesting battle scene, especially because of multi headed and armed individual.

The battle of Lanka
Ravana wounds Lakshmana; Hanuman attacks Ravana
(British Library: Mewar Ramayana)

    The two comic books I chose are Paurava and Alexander: Battle Of The Giants and The Jackal and the War Drum: Panchatantra Stories of Courage and Curiosity. I chose the Battle of The Giants largely because of the battle aspect as I am quite fond of those kinds of things. I then chose The Jackal and the War Drum because of the word "war" and because there was a cartoony turtle on the cover.

   

    The two videos I chose are Foods for Gods | Epified and Stages of life. I chose the food video because I like to eat and explore different kinds of foods, so I thought it would be interesting to find out what gods eat. I find it somewhat amusing that the video had several cool sounding and mythical items, and then just butter. I also chose Stages of Life because I was intrigued to find out what would be similar and different to how I live. I suppose I would be somewhere between stage 1 and stage 2 of life as they describe it.