There are not 12 “living” Masters, and it behooves them to inflate their numbers.
We know of Apples, Cups, Fires, Hearts, Iron, Pages, Spices, Stones, and Veils. We presume these to each be distinct beings. Then there is Eaten.
I doubted the individuality of the Masters for the longest time, but they all show up in a single scene in one of the Destiny-dreams. Which is not to say that might not be illusion or deception, but… the trend of the narrative seems to be against it.
[spoiler]Fires doesn’t show up, nor Mirrors and Chimes. Though I kinda suspect that Fires is absent for a different reason than Mirrors or Chimes…
Edit: Assuming, of course, that there isn’t an option hidden in that storylet that gives Fires a speaking role. If Passion is there it’s entirely possible he’s revealed to be there too.[/spoiler] edited by Sara Hysaro on 12/26/2013
[quote=Nathanael S. Wells]
Perhaps seven of the Masters (perhaps there were seven Originals, and five were recruited later?) [/quote]
Seven Originals + one per City that Fell would make sense in many FL contexts; and it would be in accordance with The Number.
[quote=Nathanael S. Wells]
Perhaps Mr Eaten acquired the Second City, and was held responsible for its betrayal. Leave it to the Masters to repay in kind.
(Not sure if Egypt had a lot of candles…I’m not a student of Egyptology, but I know they had apiculture enough for wax.)[/quote]
Some sources credit the Egyptians as candle developers.
…this would leave us wondering who are the Masters originating from Third and Fourth Cities?
[quote=Nathanael S. Wells]In the Elder Scrolls world, "mantling" is the process of B becoming A by way of being so much like A that eventually the universe itself registers B as being A. Mantling has occurred a few times in Elder Scrolls history (Tiber Septim mantling the trickster-creator god Lorkhan and becoming the god Talos, the Nerevarine mantling Indoril Nerevar as a self-fulfilled prophecy, the Hero of Cyrodiil mantling Sheogorath etc.)
Mantling becomes easier when the person who is mantled is dead, since A is now literally more like B than B currently is (It’s helped by how "death" in TES is essentially defined as "to be is-not").[/quote]
Parabola Is-Not. Perhaps the residents/occupants/natives would like Parabola and/or themselves "to be is". It is possible that they want to study humans in order "to be is" humans in the future.[/quote][/spoiler]
As some of you know (and my tagline says), most of my FL research goes into the identities of the previous cities. A lot of Third City stuff relates to a lot of what’s going around here.
The Third City, I’m reasonably certain at this point, is Chichen Itza, and its characters come from a mashup of the Mayan Hero Twins story of invading Xibalba (the Mayan underworld) and defeating its lords with the love story of Sac Nicte and Cenek which leads to the depopulation of Chichen Itza, providing the Third City with its Fall. Critical to all of this is one of Chichen Itza’s most famous features, multiple centoes (sinkholes that expose groundwater to the surface), including the Great or Sacred Cenote. The Sacred Cenote is notable for a number of reasons – digs have found what appear to be sacrifices at their bottoms, and that it’s considered one of the entrances to Xibalba.
Back to the Neath, I believe that the God Eaters are the three principles of the special Tomb Colony which is apparently home to the Third City. Somehow they, along with potentially Mr Veils/the Vake (who is possibly a character from the Second City), tricked Mr. Eaten and drowned him in the Sacred Cenote. The resulting feast gave them immortality but also endless hunger. The dousing of Mr. Eaten in the water created the funny water of the Neath, and also explains the odd characteristics of true rubbery lumps from Mutton Island (where they still sacrifice things to the well).
On the Bazaar – this may be old hat to others, but it seems there’s an explicit difference between the Bazaar itself and Masters. My current working theory goes something like this: we’ve seen the combustable power of the Correspondence – there’s apparently immense energy in simply putting six Correspondence sigils together on a single sheet of paper. It’s this energy that powers the Bazaar, and which the Masters use to their advantage. As alluded elsewhere, I think the Bazaar is some sort of urchin-like creature. In order to keep it, well, "fed," the masters collect love stories and carve them in the Correspondence on the surface of the Bazaar, giving its walls the fiery lettering and the Bazaar its energy.
That… seems really unlikely, given what we know of Snuffers and the Elder Continent. Snuffers are a separate type of being.
Is this a thread for speculation or facts? Since it seems to be a compilation of knowledge… but I’m seeing theories here with wildly varying probabilities and bases in known lore.[li] edited by Laluzi on 12/29/2013
[spoiler]
As some of you know (and my tagline says), most of my FL research goes into the identities of the previous cities. A lot of Third City stuff relates to a lot of what’s going around here.
The Third City, I’m reasonably certain at this point, is Chichen Itza, and its characters come from a mashup of the Mayan Hero Twins story of invading Xibalba (the Mayan underworld) and defeating its lords with the love story of Sac Nicte and Cenek which leads to the depopulation of Chichen Itza, providing the Third City with its Fall. Critical to all of this is one of Chichen Itza’s most famous features, multiple centoes (sinkholes that expose groundwater to the surface), including the Great or Sacred Cenote. The Sacred Cenote is notable for a number of reasons – digs have found what appear to be sacrifices at their bottoms, and that it’s considered one of the entrances to Xibalba.
Back to the Neath, I believe that the God Eaters are the three principles of the special Tomb Colony which is apparently home to the Third City. Somehow they, along with potentially Mr Veils/the Vake (who is possibly a character from the Second City), tricked Mr. Eaten and drowned him in the Sacred Cenote. The resulting feast gave them immortality but also endless hunger. The dousing of Mr. Eaten in the water created the funny water of the Neath, and also explains the odd characteristics of true rubbery lumps from Mutton Island (where they still sacrifice things to the well).
On the Bazaar – this may be old hat to others, but it seems there’s an explicit difference between the Bazaar itself and Masters. My current working theory goes something like this: we’ve seen the combustable power of the Correspondence – there’s apparently immense energy in simply putting six Correspondence sigils together on a single sheet of paper. It’s this energy that powers the Bazaar, and which the Masters use to their advantage. As alluded elsewhere, I think the Bazaar is some sort of urchin-like creature. In order to keep it, well, "fed," the masters collect love stories and carve them in the Correspondence on the surface of the Bazaar, giving its walls the fiery lettering and the Bazaar its energy.
More to say, but that’s enough for now.
[/spoiler][/quote]
[/li][li]
Indeed, the name of that city you mentioned as the third city can be translated as ‘at the mouth of the well of the Itza’ - wells, south america, obsidian, ritual sacrifice with knives; all seem to confirm the prevalent theory around the origin of Mr Eaten. However I believe the ‘well’ Mr Eaten was supposedly drowned in was supposedly lined with obsidian rock, which the Sacred Cenote doesn’t seem to feature. Interestingly there is an opportunity card that reports the existence of a ‘tomb-colony’ featuring a ‘river of scorpions’, one of the obstacles on the way to Xibalba. I would guess this ‘tomb-colony’ is the entrance, or at least a marker for Xibalba. [/li][li][/li][li] edited by ebriadh on 12/29/2013
The Judgements, ah…perhaps the one Eldritch group in this game that fascinates me most. My character chose, in his destinies, to be among them at least if not like them. But so much about them is Fate-locked. As such…I’ll try to say what we know to be certain, and drop as many hints as is safe to drop.
The Judgements are connected to Light. Their Light determines what Is. All things that are Is-Not are therefore attacked on an existential level by Light, since it is connected so intricately to those who define reality. Think of it like matter-antimatter, except perhaps less explosive.
Things that are Is-Not walk the Neath, and cannot walk the Surface. Does that mean that, to some extent, we ourselves become Is-Not when we die and the mountain can only keep us alive in the absence of a proper Judgement telling us to suck it up and become Is-Not like we should? But what about other things that are Is-Not in the Neath?
Lastly…where do the Judgements come from? If they are life-forms, they do not seem to have a traditionally biological component to them. As such, they are likely not born from biological eggs, seeds or spores. Perhaps, then, their origin is to be found in the non-biological components of life, as esoterical as saying that may sound. And as I did in the book thread, I recommend reading "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" by H. P. Lovecraft.
II. Des Chiens de Garde et des Cerbères - the Eater-of-Chains
The Eater-of-Chains stalks our dreams, never our waking moments. His transformation in dreams (anyone reading this presumably already knows what shape the Eater-of-Chains is found in when awake, so I won’t spoil) seems to mirror that usually reserved to felines.
People before me have pointed out the connection between the Eater-of-Chains and Fenrir, also known as the Fenriswolf, who is bound to an unbreakable magic chain composed of technically impossible or at least highly improbable things and gnaws at it until the day of Ragnarökk; I therefore can only repeat this observation.
In the carneval part of the Mr. Eaten storyline, the Eater-of-Chains actually speaks to you, and mentions something about how there are still too many chains for him to devour. Does that mean that, much like for Fenrir, the day will come when the Eater-of-Chains frees himself of his chains? What will happen to those who chained him, and to the one who currently keeps him?
III. Buried but Breathing - the Stone Pigs
Just recently I still belonged to the school of thought that believed the "Stone Pigs" were truly a translation error, perhaps from Latin "orcus" to "porcus". But recent direful surmises regarding lacre and some insistent assurances (not at all reassuring) by some of the Masters (or their simulacrae - simulacre? Making that my headcanon term now.) imply that yes, they are pigs or at least outfitted with the same biology and affected by the same things to the same degree that common pigs are affected by. And that the Masters keep them asleep, and that if they were to awake, the Neath might experience earthquakes of sorts. Honestly, all this does is to ask more questions about Lacre; until now we thought that the Bazaar produced it more or less involuntarily, and that it was devoid of use except as a solvent for souls and inducer of Bazaarine thoughts. But if such an inherent…biological?..function of the Bazaar, which also has been a recurring theme and apparently very important in its connection to love stories is spent on keeping the Stone Pigs asleep, what does it say about their importance? And their relationship to the Bazaar?
Further evidence for the connection between Devils and bees: the creation of Prisoner’s and Gaoler’s Honey is credited to aforementioned "grumpiest bee in both worlds", which I theorize to be the original queen (empress?) of the devils. The flower necessary to make Gaoler’s Honey grows in Hell. Furthermore, in one of the new honey dreams, the one featuring the "proto-devils", we see that a lightning strike reduces one to a cloud of "flying things", and the others do not seem to be very perturbed. This seems to confirm the nature of devil death as reducing them to a swarm of bees, and discredits the idea that it might have been a trick; it just doesn’t seem to be a big deal for devils. They did say that their relationship with death is difficult for humans to understand.
Also: I humbly request research to be done towards the direction of one individual whose mention I have seen twice only and who puzzles me greatly. The Red-Handed Queen, I believe she was called, and you can choose to free her in one of the Parabola destinies; another time she appeared playing chess in the mirrored carneval during the Mr. Eaten storyline. She might be associated with lightning or plague, IIRC. And she might be able to "wear flesh".[/spoiler][li] edited by Nathanael S. Wells on 12/31/2013
[quote=Nathanael S. Wells]Speculation without my two farthings? Nonsense!
Incoming text wall of China.
– snip –
I must now be off to indulge in Christmas festivities. Coming soon: on the Stone-Pigs, the Sun and the Judgements.[/quote]
I like the speculation on the celestial meaning of the Bell and the Candle in this post. This morning, I wondered whether there was another, folkloric meaning to bells and candles that I’d missed, and so struck out to research (i.e. to google) – the first that turned up was the phrase ‘bell, book, and candle.’
[quote=The Illustrious Wikipedia]The phrase "bell, book, and candle" refers to a method of excommunication for one who had committed a particularly grievous sin. Apparently introduced around the late 9th century, the practice was once used by the Catholic Church; in modern times, a simple pronouncement is made. This ceremony involved a bishop, with 12 priests, reciting an oath on the altar:
We separate him, together with his accomplices and abettors, from the precious body and blood of the Lord and from the society of all Christians; we exclude him from our Holy Mother, the Church in Heaven, and on earth; we declare him excommunicate and anathema; we judge him damned, with the Devil and his angels and all the reprobate, to eternal fire until he shall recover himself from the toils of the devil and return to amendment and to penitence.
After reciting this the priests would respond "So be it!" The bishop would ring a bell to evoke a death toll, close a holy book to symbolize the ex-communicant’s separation from the church, and snuff out a candle or candles, knocking them to the floor to represent the target’s soul being extinguished and removed from the light of God.[/quote]
It’s intriguing, I think, even with the absence of the book.
[spoiler]Consider that Mr Eaten was once Mr Candles, and has since been excommunicated, extinguished. Consider there are twelve masters, or were, or will be – the count’s being debated elsewhere in this thread. Consider that the Thunder God’s (or ‘that lorn thing’s’) sins were the world’s fiercest, though not the greatest. Consider that the Neath is the place where the Earth places the memories that shame her.
Just consider. I’m going to go back to researching bells.[/spoiler]
[spoiler][quote=Nathanael S. Wells]The Judgements, ah…perhaps the one Eldritch group in this game that fascinates me most.
…
The Judgements are connected to Light. Their Light determines what Is. All things that are Is-Not are therefore attacked on an existential level by Light, since it is connected so intricately to those who define reality. Think of it like matter-antimatter, except perhaps less explosive.
…
Lastly…where do the Judgements come from? If they are life-forms, they do not seem to have a traditionally biological component to them. As such, they are likely not born from biological eggs, seeds or spores. Perhaps, then, their origin is to be found in the non-biological components of life, as esoterical as saying that may sound. [/quote]
I foresee that at some point in this debate about the origins, existence and nature of the Judgements, it is bound to become a philosophical/theological debate. One that rings close to Theory of Knowledge, which was one of my compulsory subjects back in high school. Given that the Judgements (or their Light, as a proxy) determine what Is and what Is-Not, then what entity would be eligible to determine what a Judgment Is and where it has come from and how could the said entity do that? To me, it sounds parallel to most of the cultural creation stories: if the World was created by God / bird called Sotka / other divine and omnipotent entity, then where did that entity come from? We may have to accept the Origin story as told by the entity itself or one of its mediums as-is (knowledge through authority), because we have no way to disprove that Origin story, unless there was something other than the entity in existence back when "it all happened" which could provide us with an alternative Origin story. And as-is, the science of the Neath is not likely to come up with a "Big Bang theory" anytime soon, AFAIK.
I think that from the everyday-ish, non-philosophical/theological point of view, most individuals will assume that these entities "just are", for "they have always been", and unless something very sudden and dramatic happens, "will always be in the future" (knowledge through induction). Because it would be hard and not at all practically useful for these individuals to imagine what the universe would be like if the entity/entities would suddenly cease to exist or would not have existed at all in the first place.
What interests me the most about the Judgements is that The Bazaar may have information about the Judgements which regular people have no access to. The Bazaar also appears to periodically feel strong emotions/passions, for reasons I do not know. There may be a connection between these two. [/spoiler] edited by Karhumies on 1/3/2014
Here’s a quick speculation about the Bazaar itself and the Passion destiny. I would rate it "moderate rampancy."
The interesting thing about the Passion destiny is that you can only get it by writing a particularly tragic story onto the skin of the bazaar. By doing so, you achieve a glimpse of a future in which the Bazaar is romantic, repentant, and hopeful. That could imply that the Bazaar might not be collecting love stories to power or placate itself, but rather to learn, to repent, or even to change.
Karhumies: unless we learn of spheres beyond and above those of the Judgements, we must assume that they - given their powers, and associations - are uncreated and sovereign. However, we do know of a certain location somewhere between stars that is connected to the Judgement’s eggs; perhaps, then, a sort of celestial Sargasso sea, or a place of even higher divine appointment. Sadly, the name of that place is Fate-locked.
Wolventide: I really like your theory. After all, the stringent requirement and the lesson your character seems to have learned (and the Bazaar, as well?) in that destiny seem to imply that the things you did, the love story you showed the Bazaar, made a difference so huge that it might change an otherwise doomed return to the Sun. Perhaps the Bazaar learned about love that made no sense in any world it could think of, much like the love between a devil and a clergyman, and much like them the Bazaar also fought tooth and nail (spire and vane?) to realize that love conquers all, and makes the worlds in which it is possible. After all, even a Judgement may be confronted with something unexpected.
My headcanon about the Passion destiny is that yes, the Bazaar and the Sun find their impossible love, a love as impossible as that between a Bell and a Candle, between a Judgement and a Messenger, as impossible as that between a devil and a clergyman and as impossible as about every love between two people who could not think of a way in which their love could make sense or work, and made it work anyway because love can make itself work by virtue of love.
[spoiler][quote=Nathanael S. Wells]However, we do know of a certain location somewhere between stars that is connected to the Judgement’s eggs[/quote]
Those eggs do sound familiar. Orphic egg.
[quote=Wikipedia]in the Greek Orphic religion … The first emanation from this egg … was … the personification of light.
…
In Greek myth, particularly Orphic thought, Phanes is the golden winged Primordial Being who was hatched from the shining Cosmic Egg that was the source of the universe. Called Protogonos (First-Born) and Eros (Love) — being the seed of gods and men — Phanes means "Manifestor" or "Revealer," and is related to the Greek words "light" and "to shine forth."[/quote]
Taking it into a larger context: Cosmic egg
There are variations in several cultures, apparently.
Of specific interest is the Egyptian version. Especially given that Egypt is closely related with the earliest FL cities of the Bazaar. Since there is very little info regarding the First City, Egypt is as ancient as it gets, I guess? Anyhow:
Let’s have a look at this Hathor, then (emphasis in bold is mine):
[quote=Wikipedia]an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of joy, feminine love, and motherhood. She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. Hathor was worshiped by Royalty and common people alike in whose tombs she is depicted as "Mistress of the West" welcoming the dead into the next life. In other roles she was a goddess of … foreign lands
…
Hathor may be … a role as sky-goddess and a relationship to Horus who, as a sun god, is "housed" in her.
…
The cult of Osiris promised eternal life to those deemed morally worthy. Originally the justified dead, male or female, became an Osiris but by early Roman times females became identified with Hathor and men with Osiris.[/quote]
NOTE: I think "Mistress of the West" refers to the setting sun, which is a common symbol for death. And a fitting symbol to use in the FL context as well (The Bazaar’s current location, the Neath in general…even the name of the next game is Sunless Sea).
[quote=Wikipedia]In later Egyptian dynastic times, Ra was merged with the godHorus, as Re-Horakhty ("Ra, who is Horus of the Two Horizons"). He was believed to rule in all parts of the created world: the sky, the earth, and the underworld.
…
Ra called [all forms of life] into existence
…
In another myth, Ra fears that mankind is plotting against him and sends Hathor (another daughter of Ra) to exterminate the human race.[13] In the morning Sekhmet goes to finish the job and drinks what appears to be blood.[13] It turns out to be red beer, and she is too intoxicated to finish the slaughter.[13]
…
Sekhmet was the Eye of Ra and was created by the fire in Ra’s eye.[/quote]
This myth can be illustrated as the lion (Sekhmet) and the sun (Re-Horakhty). The emblem of lion and sun appears to be common throughout multiple cultures, although with different meanings depending on the era and the location.
[quote=Wikipedia]The Egyptians often referred to the sun and the moon as the "eye"s of particular gods.
…
Tefnut, the creator god is said to have shed tears, although whether they are prompted by happiness at his children’s return or distress at the Eye’s anger is unclear. … In a variant of the story, it is the Eye that weeps instead, so the Eye is the progenitor of humankind.
…
The tears of the Eye of Ra are part of a more general connection between the Eye and moisture. … at the start of the Egyptian year, Sothis’ heliacal rising, in which the star rose above the horizon just before the sun itself, heralded the start of the Nile inundation, which watered and fertilized Egypt’s farmland. Therefore, the Eye of Ra precedes and represents the floodwaters that restore fertility to all of Egypt.[/quote]
Tears of the Bazaar?
Judgement of who Is and Is-Not?
maat = Chains?
Revolutionary anarchists and the Liberation of the Night?
[quote=Wikipedia]The Eye’s aggression may even extend to deities who, unlike Apep, are not regarded as evil. Evidence in early funerary texts suggests that at dawn, Ra was believed to swallow the multitude of other gods, who in this instance are equated with the stars, which vanish at sunrise and reappear at sunset. In doing so, he absorbs the gods’ power, thereby renewing his own vitality, before spitting them out again at nightfall. The solar Eye is said to assist in this effort, slaughtering the gods for Ra to eat. The red light of dawn therefore signifies the blood produced by this slaughter.
…
In another myth, related in the Book of the Heavenly Cow from the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BC), Ra uses the Eye as a weapon against humans who have rebelled against his authority. He sends the Eye—Hathor, in her aggressive manifestation as the lioness goddess Sekhmet—to massacre them.
…
The solar Eye’s volatile nature can make her difficult even for her master to control. In a third myth, known in several variants, the Eye goddess becomes upset with Ra and runs away from him. … in others her rebellion seems to take place after the world is fully formed.[20] Dimitri Meeks and Christine Favard-Meeks interpret these events as the Eye’s reaction to being deceived by Ra after her slaughter of humanity.[21] With the solar Eye gone, Ra is vulnerable to his enemies and bereft of a large part of his power. … Meanwhile, the Eye wanders in a distant land—Nubia or Libya—as a wild feline, as dangerous and uncontrolled as the forces of chaos that she is meant to subdue. To restore order, one of the gods goes out to retrieve her. … In a third version, known from a Late Period papyrus dubbed "The Myth of the Eye of the Sun", Thoth, the messenger and conciliator of the Egyptian pantheon, persuades the goddess to return through a combination of lectures, enticement, and entertaining stories.[/quote]
The role of the Masters of the Bazaar? The need for Love stories?
A potential future?
I can see quite a few thematic connections to FL there.
[/spoiler] edited by Karhumies on 1/7/2014 edited by Karhumies on 1/7/2014 edited by Karhumies on 1/7/2014
I’ve been interested in the matter of the Bazaar and her children, so I’ve done what I do best – I’ve compiled a concordance. There’s a significant spoiler from the pursuit of the Marvellous, and material gleaned from Christmas and Hallowmas content, as well as last year’s Feast of the Exceptional Rose: http://theodor-gylden.dreamwidth.org/16037.html
There are pieces of a puzzle, I think, waiting to be locked into place. But there are also interesting gaps and questions.
[li]
[spoiler]As has already been suggested: the Mountain of Light and Mount Nomad don’t seem to be geological features, but entities akin to the Bazaar. Indeed, the Mountain of Light is hinted to be the Bazaar’s Daughter who ‘lives up high.’ Mount Nomad is stated outright to be the Bazaar’s Grand-Daughter, fated to ‘roam the Zee in silence.’
Fair enough. They’d be fairly unique geological features, in any case. There’s the obvious question: How does the Bazaar spawn? If the Bazaar is the mother, so to speak, of the Mountain of Light, was there a father? (Was it the Sun? How did that work?)
What led to this interesting familial arrangement? The Mountain of Light is referred to as the ‘Sun’s experiment’ – an experiment to what end? The Mountain’s Light is said to makes men immortal and gardens bloom underground, and it diamonds saved a man from death at the price of his humanity, but what stake does the Sun have in all of that? What about the Bazaar? And what does it mean, that ‘the shames are hers to rule is life’? (No, really. How does that parse grammatically?) And what does this have to do with the Judgments and the citizens of Parabola? It’s been said that the boundaries between the real world and Parabola are more malleable here, so far from the Sun. But the citizens of Parabola cannot attain the Mountain any more than they can real sunlight.
Why does Mount Nomad wander, and why has it been so long since ‘you’ spoke to her in her lacre-vision? What was the source of the ‘Grand-Daughter’s Rage’? And why are radicals and escaped prisoners interested in her? That flicker of light like a gaslamp – is that Mount Nomad’s own, a dimmer echo of the Mountain of Light? Or does someone really live on the Wandering Mountain? Does she have Masters of her own?
On that note. The theory, for a while, was that the Bazaar consumes love and stories of love for sustenance. That was simply the kind of creature it was. Now I’m not so certain – but supposing it is, do the Mountain of Light and Mount Nomad also require love stories, and agents to provide them love stories? Or do they have appetites of their own?
I have ideas, or the beginnings of ideas, but I’m interested to see what other people think.[/spoiler]
[quote=Nathanael S. Wells]However, we do know of a certain location somewhere between stars that is connected to the Judgement’s eggs; perhaps, then, a sort of celestial Sargasso sea, or a place of even higher divine appointment. Sadly, the name of that place is Fate-locked.
[/quote]
[li]
As I believe it is not forbidden by the Laws of Fate, could you reveal which storylet that lies under?
[li]As I believe it is not forbidden by the Laws of Fate, could you reveal which storylet that lies under?[/quote]
I’m afraid it is. It’s mentioned in the Fate-locked destiny in A Chilly Void/the Long Road. The one that is Fate-locked in a straightforward manner, that is.