Nothing is True. Everything is Connected.
Author: <span>Nicolaus Meridius</span>

Sylum Manor Stables

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The Sylum Manor Stables has room for twenty horses.

Though over the years horses have come and gone, there is always a certain set of horses that will always have a home in the stables

This is Honey.

She’s a Palomino Quarter Horse, and belongs to James Hickok.

Jimmy always has a Palomino, always and usually a Quarter, and they are always named blonde, honey, sugar, brandy … something sweet and lightly colored.

Personal Post From The General

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Normally I don’t do personal posts.  I tend to keep a more muted presence online with some mentions here or there.

Today I’m taking an exception.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  There’s pink everywhere! That includes my Etsy Shop: Sylum Vault.

I’m pretty sure most of you reading this know someone who’s battled Breast Cancer.  Or been touched by Cancer in some way.  I lost my stepmom 18 years ago to Cancer, to this day my dad still misses her.

One of my good friends through college fought Breast Cancer.  She survived – Thank God.  But her life was changed forever.

My co-worker’s mom recently went through treatment for Breast Cancer, and again – Thank God she survived.

An online friend who I’ve known for ten years just went through treatment for Breast Cancer, again with early detection it was treatable and now she’s cancer free.

Breast Cancer in the past decades has become more survivable due to the fight for awareness, and through this more money has gone to research and finding a cure.

So yes there is a lot of Pink out there, but it’s for a good reason.

And because of my own personal connections to friends who had fought and won, Sylum Vault has a Breast Cancer Awareness Collection.  There isn’t a lot I can do personally, but I can make jewelry and I can raise awareness.

So on that note:  During the Month of October 10% of all proceeds from Sylum Vault will be donated to  The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

So if you’re looking for anything Pink or want to show your support or give a gift … or needing something fun for Halloween – take a moment and browse my Etsy Shop.

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Sylum Inspiration: Sappho

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Sanguen Vitae: Member (India)

 

Sappho was a Greek lyric poet, born on the island of Lesbos. The Alexandrians included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Little is known for certain about her life. The bulk of her poetry, which was well-known and greatly admired through much of antiquity, has been lost; however, her immense reputation has endured through surviving fragments.

Throwback Thursday: One Step Closer by John Sheppard

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Title: One Step Closer

Author: John Sheppard

Rating: FRT

Summary: Danny Williams finds out something interesting about Steve McGarrett after a rough case. (Hawaii Five-0 – 2010)

Link to Sylum Archive

Note: Please take time to leave feedback for the authors

Sylum Vault: Halloween Collection

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Sylum Vault: Halloween Collection

Looking for something new and different for the Halloween Season.

Browse through Sylum Vault’s Halloween Collection.

Each piece is one of a kind, and guaranteed not to be found anywhere else.

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Pumpkin Seed Earrings

These are fun and perfect for any occasion this Halloween Season.

Blood Orange Seed Beads on Oversize Kidney Wires with Pumpkin Head

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Spider Web Earrings

Long elegant electroplated black fishhook earrings, silver plated leaves w/ add spider web.

With an added touch of color with dyed Malaysian Jade!

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Amethyst Skull Earrings

Halloween meets Sophistication.

Semi-Precious Amethyst Stone with Pewter Skull.

This is not your old school Halloween Earrings.

Gothic.  Halloween.  Bling.

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Dragon Blood Bracelet

Red Seed Beads with Pewter Dragon Charm

Wear something different this Halloween!  Or wear it all year long!

Who doesn’t love Dragons!

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Candy Corn Bracelet

Who doesn’t love Candy Corn?

Glass seed beads showcasing the seasons favorite candy!

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Pumpkin & Witch Bracelet/Earring Set

Be a little different.  This mix-match set is fun & different.

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Blood Heart Wings

An old classic with a unique Halloween Twist.

Pewter Wings shaped in  Heart, with Red Czech Glass as dripping blood.

Halloween Love

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Vampire Bat Necklace

This is a Sylum Original.

Blood Red Czech Beads with Antique Pewter Bat

It’s Vampire Bat – Perfect for Sylum Halloween!

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Swarovski Crystal Skull Necklace

Perfect to celebrate De de los Muertos!

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Day of the Dead Earring & Necklace Set

Fun! Colorful! Perfect for Day of the Dead Celebration!

And for those who are looking for more Fall Accessories browse through our Fall Collection!

Some fun and unique pieces for the Autumn Season!

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Coffee Boho Bracelets

For that Coffee Lover in all of us or gift for that friend who lives at Starbucks!

Inspired by Starbucks Autumn Blends:  Pumpkin Spice, Salted Caramel, & Chestnut Praline

Now I want some coffee!

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Wine Boho Bracelets

Coffee not your thing?  Prefer a nice glass of wine?

These Boho Bracelets are prefect!

Seed Beads representing Chardonnay & Merlot w/Wine Barrel Charms!

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Multi-Color Autumn Necklace

A Sylum Original!

Seed Beads of Natural Colors strung together for a One of a Kind Multi-Strand Necklace!

Sylum: Social Media

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Sylum: Social Media

 

With the recent problems with the Blog not sending out notifications or publicizing posts to the social media accounts we do have, I figured it was a good time to remind people of that we do have some presence on Social Media.

Sylum Twitter: To keep up to date on posts, new items for the Sylum Vault, and random thoughts from the Sylum Creators follow us Twitter.  If you have a twitter account it would be a good idea to follow – it’s here I’ll make posts about maintenance for the blog or updates when things go wrong.

Sylum Tumblr:  It’s not really Sylum, it’s my personal tumblr.  But if you want fun posts showcasing fandoms from Sylum or photos of Sylum Locations or snippets of stories I’m working on … even sneak peeks of upcoming Sylum stories.

Sylum Vault Tumblr:  It’s where we post our inspiration and showcase collections on the vault.

***

Nicholas J. Finch Tumblr:  This is still a work in progress I have to admit.  But I’ll be posting more updates about my next book, inspiration, and randomness.  You can also find links to where my books are being sold.

Nicholas J. Finch Facebook: Also a work in progress, at the moment what gets posted on the Tumblr goes to the Facebook as I work out how to utilize it the most.  So if you have a Facebook, you can follow what I’m working on there.

***

This would likely be your one and only time to suggest other Social Media options or ideas.  What platform would like to see Sylum on?  What would you like to see beyond the Blog & Twitter?

Sylum Inspiration: Alexander

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Sanguen Vitae: Clan Leader

Alexander as a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history’s most successful commanders.

Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip’s death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He had been awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father’s military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid empire, ruled Asia Minor, and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.

Seeking to reach the “ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea”, he invaded India in 326 BC, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexander’s surviving generals and heirs.

Alexander’s legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander’s settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics.

After Alexander traveled to Ecbatana to retrieve the bulk of the Persian treasure, his closest friend and possible lover, Hephaestion, died of illness or poisoning. Hephaestion’s death devastated Alexander, and he ordered the preparation of an expensive funeral pyre in Babylon, as well as a decree for public mourning. Back in Babylon, Alexander planned a series of new campaigns, beginning with an invasion of Arabia, but he would not have a chance to realize them, as he died shortly thereafter.

For more information contact the Vampire Council Library

Alexander had developed a fever and succumbed to his bed unable to even talk.

When he laid in bed he was visited by emissaries from Egypt, Ardeth Bey and Rick. It was Ahmet that told him he had too much to live for, and after a few hours of talking Turned him.

Sylum Recap: What’s Been Happening This Past Week!

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Maintenance/Plug-in From Hell

 

Since last Thursday, after one of our plug-ins was updated, all notifications stopped.  Subscribers weren’t getting emails, and posts weren’t being sent to Twitter or Tumblr.

Nothing.  Natta.  Zippo.

I started personally posting it to Twitter & Tumblr hoping that would help, while researching and waiting to see what the problem was.  Come to find out the Developers of that plug-in were on vacation and wasn’t back until this Monday.

So I waited.

Waited.

*checks watch*

Posts still not going through, start noticing the message boards going crazy with the same problem.  Finally get enough info to send it to the developers directly.

So I waited.

Waited.

*checks watch*

Yeah that kinda week.

Anyway, long story short (too late) they finally got back to me and said oh it’s because the plug-in is timing out.  It times out if your website doesn’t respond in 5 seconds, you need to talk to your hosting company as it takes 20 seconds for your site to come up.

Me: Bullshit, my hosting server has always been slow it wasn’t until you updated this shit started happening.   And points to message boards I’m not the only one … you upgraded when didn’t really need to and broke something and instead of rolling it back or finding a solution you’re blaming ‘internet speed’ … yeah fuck you.

So I did what I normally do figure this out on my own.   In the end I cleared at Cache’s, got rid of the Forums … no one was using it .. and if you’re sitting there going ‘what forums?’ my point was made!  Then … wait for it.  I deactivated the plug-in counted to ten and plugged back in.  I’m not kidding.

It worked.

Well I’m hoping it truly worked we’ll see if this post gets sent out publicly.  Sends quick prayer to St. Isadore of Seville!  Note if you do get this via email, click via tumblr or twitter … leave a reply just so I know it’s working again.

A Few Things:

The ability to Like a post has been taken off, cause it doesn’t want to play with others.

As stated the Forums are gone.  I’m hoping we can get more discussions going in the RP and Coffee House Fridays.

What You’ve Missed:

As no one was getting emails and it wasn’t being publicized here’s a few highlights of Posts you may have missed:

Throwback Thursday: Demons & Angels by Timothy Quinn

Due to the recent Sylum headcanon changes concerning Sam Winchester now being Theo … no longer Meridia … both these stories needed to be looked at.  They were already on the ‘need to look at’ list considering changes in Canon from the 10th Anniversary Clan War Edition.

Secondary Note: Roads Untraveled is being worked on at the moment

Sylum: Quiet on the Set

You get to choose one scene from the Sylum Universe to be filmed.

Which scene would you choose?

Sylum Advent 2016: Check In

If you’re working on a story or artwork let me know how it’s going!!

Throwback Thursday: The Black Queen by Gil Grissom

Hotchner and his team go to Seattle to recruit a hacker and Aaron gets far more than he bargained for.

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Please for the love of my sanity – let this work!

Sylum Maintenance: Test

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We’re having issues with getting things sent via email or posted to Twitter/Tumblr.

We’re going to be digging around in the wires, pulling things and plugging it back in.

So if things blip that would be why!

Throwback Thursday: The Black Queen by Gil Grissom

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Title: The Black Queen

Author: Gil Grissom

Summary: Hotchner and his team go to Seattle to recruit a hacker and Aaron gets far more than he bargained for.

Link to Sylum Archive

*Note: Make sure to let the author’s know that you appreciate the story – even if it’s a simple ‘I liked it’