Spiced Blossoms

Marine Protected Areas (1)

Mangroves, kelp forests, remote seamounts - Marine Protected Areas (MPA's) protect vital ocean ecosystems. These ‘safe zones’ for the ocean help fish populations bounce back, support the people who rely on the sea, and even help fight climate change. And the benefits don't stop at their borders; they ripple out into the wider ocean too.

Illustrations by Kelsey Manners Dickson

Marine Protected Areas (2)

Mangroves, kelp forests, remote seamounts - Marine Protected Areas (MPA's) protect vital ocean ecosystems. These ‘safe zones’ for the ocean help fish populations bounce back, support the people who rely on the sea, and even help fight climate change. And the benefits don't stop at their borders; they ripple out into the wider ocean too.

Illustrations by Kelsey Manners Dickson

Those last two, but especially providing spaces to gather, is what I really want to talk about. Hal is the maintainer of home and hearth. He stays home and raises the children while his brother and lover go to seek a better world. And he is the safe resting place they return to when they can. Pre-campaign, this is true for Thjazi,

for Thaisha,

for Azune (at least in the past),

presumably for Alogar, and to a certain extent for Thimble (she says this about Hal's house in episode 3) .

Now, it is becoming true for the whole party. There's a post I reblogged back somewhere about how interesting it is to have a male character fill this role: the one left waiting in hope, ready to provide comfort and a space to rest. Which is true. But it's also just an interesting role to have a PC play in general. D&D is a game geared toward traveling adventure. Yes, you can quite successfully play a whole game in one city, but it was created with the idea of adventurers going out exploring. And yet Hal has historically been, and so far remains, not an adventurer on a quest but a safe harbor for everyone to land in. The Schemers have deliberately not operated out of Hal's home for security reasons, but as soon as the Seekers and Soldiers returned, Hal's home is where everyone went. And now, it is where Teor and Cyd's bodies lay, despite them being people Hal only knew in passing. The Hallowed Round is a space Hal has provided for the free people of Dol-Makjar to gather and find community and inspiration in. Hal's House is a place he is providing for the people fighting to keep Dol-Makjar free to gather and discuss the future and lick their wounds. And providing these spaces, he is building community on both a grand and small scale. It doesn't matter that he barely knows Julien or Kattigan. They both know that they can enter Hal's home freely and safely after their missions because it is the space this community gathers. And Hal, even as he has been forced to join the fight, is also still keeping the home fire burning for everyone to rest around.