Vielo the Priest.

Part 2:

“I was once a priest that was possessed by a demon called Seraf. I knew of the demon’s presence before the possession was complete, and I had finished a prayer to banish Seraf at the same moment he possessed me. The mixture of dark and holy magic melded him within me, his soul now attached to mine. Without a pure soul to run the body, I started to age and decay.

                “I spent more and more time away from my people and more within the confines of my studies, trying to find a way to purify my soul and get rid of Seraf without arising suspicion. I was afraid that with an unclean soul they wouldn’t trust me, and I truly loved it there in Swallow. I used to pray for hours on end, but prayer now hurt, as the demon’s soul was now mine and he was not holy. It wasn’t until a month passed that my fellow priests and took notice. My brothers by god, Father Aztha and Father Leo, attempted to exorcize the demon from within me. It was only then did I realize the power within me. The demon was powerful, and he was mine. I did not want him to escape me. Luckily, my conscience had since withered away and I gave in to the demon’s promises. As our two souls became one I rose and escaped, killing Aztha in the process.

                “I was banished for the death of a high priest, and left for six years searching for a home. I practiced the dark magic’s mixed with holy magic. The ability to separate a soul from its body is a great tool when they speak of blasphemy. My flock became large and even those who perished could rise to follow me. I returned to Swallow no longer as a priest, but as a god. My minions ran through the village converting its people. It did not matter to me or my flock if they were alive or dead. Priests and nuns and monks ran out to defend their people, but their holy magic’s could only withstand my influence for so long. I entered the cathedral setting it aflame. On the balcony I saw Father Leo, now a legend and hero among his people.

                “Leo and I fought a glorious battle, dark vs. light, eternal death vs. eternal life. We were perfect for each other. A counter for every swing, a parry for every thrust. It could have lasted forever. There was only one moment of mistake. Leo had stepped back, sword in hand, and raised it toward me and started to utter an incantation. A sword such as his went into his back and out his chest, his partner Aztha, now a member among my flock holding the blade.

                “I put my hand of death onto Leo’s brow, telling him that he will become my disciple and will join Aztha soon.

                “The church was razed to the ground and the people there were now among my flock. I cursed the ground to make sure no life there grew again. I no longer felt it right to call myself Vielo, he was a priest, where I am a god.

                “I am Veraf, the sum and murderer of Vielo the high priest, and Seraf the demon. Necromancer and death dealer. Shunned by demons as a holy man, shunned by people as cursed. And you are the only one who has escaped my grasp, the one I have hunted hoping you would follow me as a disciple, and it is you who has come to kill me… Yet it is I who have you trapped, Drave, the demon hunter. Stripped of both your revolvers, surrounded by lava, and now only holding a femur in your left hand as a club, you still fight a god. You have sent both Aztha and Leo to the afterlife right before me, but I forgive you. I am confident their deaths will be a fine price to pay for someone such as you.”

                Veraf stuck out his hand, now nothing but bone with a purple glow on his index finger. As it came close to Drave’s brow, Drave dropped the femur and pulled his third revolver and fired two silver bullets into Veraf’s chest. He fell to a knee, for the first time in a long time feeling real pain. Drave fired a third shot that sent the priest onto this back.

                Drave stepped onto the priest’s chest; it protruded a dark, coagulated blood. Drave took a fourth shot into the skull, Veraf’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. With a small kick, Veraf rolled into the liquid fire, a brief scream let out before silence.

                The cowboy walked back to the bar where he sat, his whiskey still on the step. He took a swig and then dumped out the remains. He took a parchment from his jacket pocket. The paper was thick with a note already written. He rolled it up and slid it into the bottle and then sealed it. He took off his hat and placed it on a nail on one of the posts. He then slid off his jacket and hung it on another. Lastly, he took off his belt, along with the two revolvers and hung them on a third.

Drave set the bottle with the parchment in front of his effects. He turned around and never looked back.

And so it begins...

The healthy me has battled the 21 year old me for quite some time now making the decision to give up beer and soda for a couple of months. I have doubts myself about completing this task, but at the same time I really, really want to lose this gut of mine. Honestly I think soda and the first month without beer will be somewhat easy, it's the second month, the month after a month of no beer with the guys that is gonna be difficult. But I've seen the lack of calorie intake with the dedication of working out can do to a guy. And that's what I plan to do.

Furthermore, I read an article from Lifehacker that offered tips on how to do daily tasks done (such as working out). One idea was to make a physical calendar about the task and marking it with a Big X every day you complete that particular task. You basically make it a game for yourself, an obligation not only to your task but to see how long you can keep your streak of X's going. And I think it'll work too after a little while, I mean if I get through the next two weeks without any beer or soda, and then working out every Mon, Wed, Fri at least, then I'll want to make sure to get that third week, and then the fourth, etc... I plan on posting weekly photos of the X's and potential failures that come along on Facebook, so people judging can be a motivator too. 

My slew of veggies and fruits have become routine and I'm mixing them up a bit now that I got the amounts corrected so it is a shake and not a yogurt. Unfortunately my mangoes went bad before I had the courage to slice and dice them into my new protein shake mix, but I plan to buy more later anyway. And, speaking of protein shake mix...

Here is my non-professional, but totally fair review of this new protein shake mix that I won in a drawing from my friend J-Boom. He is an advocate for Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake and had a presentation that I went to. Now, to get started in this wonderful review, I wanna talk about my buddy Jason "J-Boom" Legaard first. He's a good guy. A Mensch. He has a wonderful heart, takes love in the little things. He really tries to spread what the simple matter of thinking "I can" vs. "I can't" and what it can do for a person. He invited me and Mike Gulyas to a presentation on this new shake that he is in love with and is trying to help promote, At first I was skeptical, after all I already have a protein shake. I tell him beforehand that I'm not gonna buy it at least until my copious amount of protein supplement is gone. He says that's fine to just come and listen. 

Well, I do. And still I was skeptical. The main reason is because I've heard of companies like Vi-Skate before. It isn't in stores from what I recall, and Vi-Ship is only spread by people who both use it and want to sell it. One of those "You can make money by getting other people to sell it" kind of thing. And it's true, the way to make money in it is to not just sell the product, but to get other people to sell the product with you, who in turn want to get others... You get the picture. The only thing really GOOD about the whole idea behind it is that it is a health product. Something that actually benefits and supports health and losing weight and getting in shape. Which, you know, I'm a HUGE support for if you haven't noticed. It's kind of my thing.

(I guess it is also for people who want to get used to speaking in front of people who want their own business. I've never had that trouble of speaking in front of people though.)

So I go in and listen with LOTS of skepticism, again, I already have a protein shake mix that works for me. But I got a free sample and it tasted good. I listen to Jason and he talks about the shake and a bunch of it makes sense. He's lost weight with it while still remaining completely healthy and not doing any additional exercise. He hands out order forms in case I or the other people there want to purchase one of the four products, and even below you can sign up for the presentation package to have parties and get-togethers similar to J's.

Mike, who just started his physical fitness buys one of the orders and it's being shipped to him. I decline an order, and soon after we go into the drawing. It just so happens I won that drawing so I got a free bag of Vi-Slate-Nutritional Shake. So I tell Jason I'll give it a shot over my regular mix. The flavor of this one is a basic "Sweet Cream" over your basic Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry. 

The next morning I get home from work, strut my stuff into the kitchen, and take out the Vi-Lake mix and my fruit, milk, and yogurt. I pour it all into my blender, blend, add some ice, and blend again. I take a drink... And it was delicious. You know that small complaint in my previous post about tasting my protein shake? Yeah, totally not a problem with this one. It just tastes... Well, good, like a nothing but fruit smoothie should taste like.

I read the label again to make sure, it has good vitamins and minerals needed, and continue reading and it has 26grams of protein per scoop. I check my other protein mix and it shows as 27grams. That confirms, to me, that it IS a protein shake mix. I licked my finger and dipped it into my new mix and tried it. Though the aftertaste of  "protein" is there it is far less significant. It still tastes good. This product convinced me by itself. I am SO happy I got this bag for free, because I would have continued with my regular protein batch. Which is tolerable. Not good.

If you are looking into nutritional diets, or increasing your protein intake, you gotta give this a shot. Just because, again, it tastes good and it IS good for you. I've had about 5 or 6 shakes with this mix and every single one of them is good. Tomorrow I think I am just gonna milk and shake mix and mix it with a spoon like I used to do before the blender and see how it goes. That I haven't done yet, but, I tried it plain off my finger and it is far better than my original mix for certain. Also remember I got just the bag. There are other nutritional supplements they also offer to go along with it. You'd have to ask J-Boom about that, but I know for a fact he'd be more than happy to talk to you about it. He loves the idea of health and nutrition as well.

It is a little on the pricey side somewhat, especially when you get into the bigger deals they got going on right now, but I'll be honest with you, after trying this bag I will probably go back and order a second bag from J-Boom if this continues to taste as good as it is. Flavor with nutritious results IS possible, and this is one of those proofs.

Thanks J-Boom, always keep in touch. I'll see you around at Karaoke. Akuna Matata.

 

Here is some of J-Booms information for you if you are interested. Again, he's just like me, only older, and is happy to chit chat about anything, and loves health and being healthy. If you plan on ordering anything from Vi-shake, contact Jason about it. He does profit from your orders and it's always good to help the little man out.

Personal blog - http://www.jasonlegaard.com

Youtube videos and video blog - http://www.youtube.com/user/jasonlegaard

Vi-Shake - http://www.bodybyvishake.com/

Update: Tomorrow I am going to post the second part of 4 to my very short tale of Drave. If you haven't read it, it is here, or in February. I never got feedback, but I assume people read it, so I'll post part two for people's enjoyment.

~Just a thought

“Every day you have the opportunity to learn and experience some-thing and some-one new. Seize the opportunity. Learn and experience everything you can, and use it to change the world.” - Rodney Williams

Promise fulfilled.

So, I'm fashionably late for my post, but I made it.
Unfortunately, it isn't gonna be the actual post I had planned on writing, because I have someone to add to my list of "Who made me" blog that is still a part of this blog. But this is another musing that I am doing instead. But don't worry, the next two to three weeks I have several (four) posts I plan to do.
.......... I completely forgot what I was going to write about. Swear to the holy. <- Why not talk about religion?

I am one of those hipsters who say they are spiritual but not religious.

I was raised in a Christian household and at the beginning of my life we went almost every Sunday. When we found a church we enjoyed, my siblings and I attended Sunday School. My brother Jeremy was baptized, and later my sister and myself were baptized by our favorite pastor named Aaron at that church. Eventually we stopped going. Why? I really dunno, I was a kid at the time, but I can only guess it is because of my and my siblings bickering and complaining about losing two and a half hours of our weekend. We bickered a lot.
(I remembered what I was going to write up above^, but let's keep going with this.) So we stopped going around age 13.

When I was fourteen, my parents divorced. With my very strong household shaken so suddenly, I turned to something, the Bible. I remember talking to my pastor named Jeremy Mustard and he didn't really know how to respond to "Where do I begin?" when I asked him. He told me the New Testament, so I started, and I read it like a book. Just page after page. I took it with me places that had a waiting room and just read. I'm sure I got looks, but I didn't care. I can honestly say I have read most of the Bible. Mostly New Testament, and then my favorite stories of the Old Testament (The stories of Noah, Job, Moses, etc) I must have skipped a few of the books in the New Testament, I know I've read Revelations, but I think I would remember finishing the entire New Testament entirely.... I'm getting off track.
--I switched Bibles at one point from a plain "Holy Bible" that you find in Hotels to my Student Bible. It had an index of topics to read about. So I looked up every section of divorce and read that too. It comforted me in having knowledge of it and I took in comfort from God and Christianity. I asked my dad more than once for rides to churches that I was trying out, went to camp with one after just two days of being reacquainted there, met Austin, Corbin, and Jordan, all of whom I no longer speak to unfortunately. Eventually I found one with a friend Aleah who's father was the minister. Joined that Sunday School too. I brought many friends and went every Sunday and Wednesday night. This was all between the ages of 14-16, before my license. So what happened you ask? Well, to be completely honest with you, I was kind of tired of always putting God first and giving him all of the credit... Sounds selfish right? I mean I definitely turned to him when I needed, and the whole religion and religious experience help me through turmoil... But to this day I think that is what he, God, wants.

----Before continuing, I have tried to make this as neutral as possible, so if I offend anyone, I am very sorry. Any debated comments will be read but ignored. Thank you.

I personally think God isn't Sexist, Racist, or Prejudice  in any way. He loves us the way the Bible describes, as his children. If you want a different perspective, look at the way you look at animals, all of them are beautiful and unique.
That being said, I don't think religion matters. I don't think God cares if you call him God, or Allah, or YAHWEH, Shiva, or any other who may have some type of religious deity that doesn't have to do with human sacrifice or pain.
I think that if you are a good person, and love people the way he does, he couldn't deny you into heaven. Why would he?
Let me give you two men.  They work hard, pray every day, love their wives and children, treats themselves well and treats people around them with respect. One is Islam, one is Christian.
What makes one better than the other? Do you really think God cares about one more than the other? Accept one into heaven while denying the other? I certainly don't.
Time to make it slightly more interesting...
 Let me give you two men.  They work hard, pray every day, treats themselves well and treats people around them with respect. One has a husband and one has a wife. I still don't think that God cares about one over the other. I still can't believe an all knowing, all forgiving, all loving being would deny the homosexual over the hetero. And no, I don't care what your Bible or Koran say. If they bash being gay or lesbian, than they are wrong. <Funny thing, BTW, they say very, VERY similar things in the books. If your Christian, read the Koran, if you are Muslim, read the Bible, and then be friends.>

I love people. I love the interaction, the rational decision versus the irrational emotion. I love brainstorming, I like how best friends become twins, and how strangers fall in love. I love the eyes. You can see right into someone's soul and learn all about their feelings in an instant when you look in the eyes. Least I can, I dunno about you.

I would never abandon someone based off their age, sex, sexual orientation, disfigurement, religion or what they think about me. And I don't think God would either.
It's what they do that matters. What they do in the world. Whether their spirit is of good or evil.
I could be wrong and I am fine with it if I am. But People are worth fighting for and I will forever fight for good people, so long as they are worth defending.
If the Christian religion is right, and judgement day comes and all of the Christians disappear into heaven, I will be happy to dine with the Muslims.
If Islam is the right way to go, and everyone praying to Mecca, with the women wearing their hijabs get sent off to the Pearly Gates to be greeted by Allah then I'll be more than happy to sit and dine with the Christians.

And yes, it'll be worth it, for all eternity.

~Just a thought.

To err is human - but it feels divine. - Mae West

It is because humanity has never known where it was going that it has been able to find its way. - Oscar Wilde

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
Anne Frank

The measure of mental health is the disposition to find good everywhere. - Ralph Waldo Emerson