“When the dragon awoke, new woe was kindled.
O’er the stone he snuffed. The stark-heart found
footprint of foe who so far had gone
in his hidden craft by the creature’s head. --
So may the undoomed easily flee
evils and exile, if only he gain
the grace of The Wielder! -- That warden of gold
o’er the ground went seeking, greedy to find
the man who wrought him such wrong in sleep.
Savage and burning, the barrow he circled
all without; nor was any there,
none in the waste.... Yet war he desired,
was eager for battle. The barrow he entered,
sought the cup, and discovered soon
that some one of mortals had searched his treasure,
his lordly gold. The guardian waited
ill-enduring till evening came;
boiling with wrath was the barrow’s keeper,
and fain with flame the foe to pay
for the dear cup’s loss.”
Excerpt from Beowulf
Thomas Aquinas is credited as one of the greatest proponents of natural law. During his time in Cologne he was taught by Albertus Magnus. Magnus used the teachings of Aristotle in his mentorship of Thomas Aquinas.
“It is indeed marvelous what benefits Vladimir conferred upon the Russian land by its conversion. But we, Christians though we are supposed to be, do not honor him as this benefaction deserves. For if he had not converted us, we should now be a prey to the devil’s crafts, as were our perished ancestors.”
The Russian Chronicler
Saint Petersburg, Russia, Thursday 2:00AM.
The streets were nearly empty as the night’s freeze started to really settle in. The season was changing as fall was quickly ceding to winter. The temperature had plunged well below freezing and no self respecting person would be walking the streets at an hour like this.
However there were still places where entertainment could be found. Those few souls who happened to be roaming streets were most likely stumbling toward home after a night of drinking and dancing at places like the Neon Bar or the Fish Fabrique, where the techno beats would shatter the silence of the night as patrons exited. For ordinary people this was the top of the line. The most exclusive and exotic night of entertainment required an invitation to the Octyaberskya Enbankment.
Up to 125 invitations would be sent out on a given night and there were another 25 regulars who required no invitation. Once you reached this stratosphere the evenings entertainment was complimentary. The building had no name and those who had been inside simply referred ...