Podcasts about Sagar

Previously on Saga of the Jewels…The life of seventeen-year-old RYN, bookish son of a wealthy landowner, changes forever when his hometown is destroyed by the EMPIRE and everyone he has ever known is killed. Ryn discovers that the Empire are seeking TWELVE PRIMEVAL JEWELS which grant the power to manipulate different elements, and that his father had been hiding the FIRE RUBY. He sets out to take revenge on the Imperial General who killed his family and retrieve the Fire Ruby, and along the way meets NUTHEA the lightning-slinging princess, SAGAR the swaggering skypirate, ELRANN the tomboy engineer, CID the wizened old healer, and VISH the poppy-seed-addicted bounty hunter. Together the companions decide to find all of the Jewels in order to stop the EMPEROR from finding them first and taking over the world. They have thus far succeeded in retrieving the Fire Ruby, borne by Ryn, and the Lightning Crystal, borne by Nuthea. They have now come to the land of FARR where they intend to compete in a hand-to-hand fighting tournament in order to attempt to win its prize, the EARTH EMERALD…EPISODE FORTY-THREE: SEMI-FINAL TWOAn empty, grey void sat at the centre of Sagar's stomach.His loins, which had recently been so awake and alive, now ached dully. The wind had gone out of his sails, the air from his blimp, the swagger from his strut.What's the point? What's the point of any of this?He had landed a kiss on a woman. A real kiss. And on a real woman! And it had been returned. A real connection. He could still practically taste her soft lips on his own, slightly salty from sweat, could still remember how they had parted and stirred in response to his.But he had thrown that all away, as quickly as he had chanced upon it. He had broken their kiss and literally thrown the woman out of the arena, all in an effort to win a shiny green rock he wasn't interested in anyway.Of course, he did have his reputation to think of, and it wasn't like the great Captain Sagar, Scourge of the Imfisi skies, could have let himself lose a fighting match to a woman...But still…A real kiss.He had run after her straight afterwards to try to apologise and talk to her some more, and caught up with her in the dugout, managing to catch her by the hand.She spun to face him, all well-defined lines and short dark hair, and he was hit by her beauty again. Her cheeks were glistening, though recently dabbed–she had been crying.“Look, Hiuna,” he said, painfully conscious of the other quarter-finalists in the enclosed earthen chamber–the baldy, another shorter Farrian, and some Frikian woman, “I'm really…sorry. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you and finished the match like that. Please accept my apology.” He could barely believe his own ears, but he meant every word of it. He looked into her eyes, green like new life. “I feel like we had a connection, and I can see that I've upset you.”Hiuna yanked her hand out of his grasp. “I'm not upset because you took advantage of me, you chump!” she snapped. “I'm upset because I lost the match! My whole life I've been trying to prove myself in the face of men like you, and the moment I get my chance to do so, you go and do that and hit me out of bounds! Argh! Don't come after me!”She turned to leave, but Sagar grabbed her and again.“Hiuna, please–”“Get off me!” the Farrian woman shouted, and palm-punched him in the chest with her spare hand, pulling the other one free in the process.Sagar landed on his arse with a thump. He watched Hiuna running off out of the dugout's far exit.Huld was staring at him.“What are you looking at, baldy?” he said.*A moving pillar of stone smacked upwards into Sagar.He was knocked backwards and into the air with a painful jolt.As he sailed through the air, he realised that had been so distracted and lost in his memory that he had completely missed the announcer calling the start of the match and that the baldy had whacked him with an earth attack and was going to have hit him out of bounds in one strike.He summoned the wind, and powerful currents caught him, then held him in place in the air as he held out his arms, levitating weightlessly.The crowd cooed with surprised wonder. He lapped it up.Might as well give them a good show, he thought. Though the truth was, he didn't care about this stupid tournament anymore. What he cared about was getting Hiuna to accept his apology, and he was pissed off that she hadn't, mainly at himself.Baldy was looking up at him from the arena floor, chunky brow wrinkled, barefoot and green-robed, still with his hands held out in a ridiculous pose from having launched his earth attack.Might as well channel my anger somewhere, Sagar thought.Keeping part of his concentration on the air currents cushioning him in the air, Sagar thrust his palms forwards and shouted “Windaaaaaaaaarrrraahh!”A gale-blast of air wooshed forwards from his hands, hard as a hurricane.The baldy set one foot in front of the other and raised his arms above his face, crossing them and making fists to shield himself from the wind in a defensive stance. He even made some of the stone of the arena floor rise up and secure itself in two moulds around his feet to hold himself in place.Behind him, the audience members in the path of the gale screamed. The ones at the front clutched the wooden barrier to avoid being blown away. But they didn't have anything to worry about–they were only getting the blow-back; Sagar was focusing the brunt of the attack on Huld.On Huld, who remained completely still and unmoved by the wind. It was as though he might not have even bothered taking his defensive stance at all.Well, the old timer wasn't lying then, Sagar thought. Looks like my wind powers are completely ineffective against the element of earth.But he had known that much from that stupid temple. It didn't matter. He hadn't expected the attack to do anything anyway.Sagar leaned forward, dipping himself into the massive gale that he was directing at Huld. At the same time, he ceased the pressure from the gusts that had been keeping him up in the air, and instead changed their course to push him forwards, launching him even faster into his own wind attack.The gale caught him and he rode it, his hair and the loose parts of his shirt flapping around him. The exhilarating sensation of weightlessness took him, for a moment replacing even the dull ache for Hiuna, as he flew straight at Huld.He came in fast, stretching out both his arms in front of him for a double-fisted-punch.He smashed into Huld's stomach, below the monk's upraised arms……and glanced off him, hitting the arena floor on his side and rolling over a few times.He came up.The gale having ceased, Huld dropped his defensive posture and broke his stone-shackles, then began to walk towards Sagar.Kufe it. The baldy was tough. Of course Sagar had known that too, but he hadn't realised just how tough. He hadn't had occasion to hit him before now.He called the wind, setting up another vicious gale to whip at Huld.The monk put one open hand up to shield his eyes, but he kept on walking. At least the wind served to distract him somewhat.This time Sagar ran at him, using the gale to lend him speed, but instead of rushing in head-on, when he was a few paces away he kicked off from the floor and sprang to the right, then jumped back towards the monk with a flanking side-kick.Huld's hand snapped out and caught Sagar's leg in mid-air, fingers constricting around it tightly.Uh-oh.The monk twisted, and twirled Sagar in a circle around him once, twice, thrice, several times, getting faster and faster. The audience members became increasingly blurry.Then Huld let go and threw Sagar out of the arena.Weightlessness took him again. He soared through the air, over the audience, who craned their heads up to track him. He was going to land among them, well out of bounds.Well, at least he would have if he hadn't been able to fly.He summoned the wind again and used it to catch him, then divert his course, sending him flying back head-first towards Huld.A calm smile on the monk's face. No surprise, no shock or awe or frustration or even a defensive stance this time. Just a calm smile.Arrogant kufer.Before he made impact with the monk, Sagar dived early, instead making impact with the arena floor with his two outstretched hands.His arms bent, and he flipped over and pushed himself off the floor at an angle, launching himself at Huld feet-first in a double-handstand-kick.The monk stepped out of the way and punched Sagar in the stomach.He smacked against the floor on his front.Ouch. His head rang.He rolled over onto his back, then froze as the monk's massive bare foot appeared above him, about to stamp down.He rolled again, with the wind, to dodge out of the way as Huld's foot crashed down to the ground, sending a shockwave through the stone floor that jolted Sagar as he rolled. He leapt up to his feet and staggered backwards the edge of the arena.The monk just watched him carefully.“Damn you!” Sagar yelled at him, furious at his immovability.The skypirate started to run again, calling the wind to lend him speed, not straight at the baldy this time, but round him, in a wide circle around the perimeter of the arena. He ran faster and faster, keeping his wind projection up against his back, and sent random gusts of air at Huld, flinging them out with his hand at erratic intervals.The monk didn't even bother rotating to watch him. He just stood there in the centre of the arena, and on each pass Sagar glimpsed that same infuriating, calm smile.Sagar kicked off the floor, darting inwards at Huld from behind, rushing along the ground with the wind.He landed a right-handed punch in the small of the baldy's back.This time monk didn't even move.Sagar howled with rage and threw a barrage of follow-up punches, calling the wind to lend each of them force.Huld took the full force of each blow on his back. Sagar must have hit him ten, twenty, thirty times, feeling the force of his punches reverberating through his fists, but the monk remained unmoved.He ran out of steam, and came to a rest with one fist still against the monk's back, panting and drenched in sweat and with aching arms.Now Huld turned, slowly, to face Sagar as he dropped his throbbing arm, still with that stupid smile on his face.“How are you so strong?!” Sagar asked in desperation, only loud enough for just the monk to hear.“No matter how much the wind howls,” Huld said, “the mountain will not be moved by it.”Sagar's lip curled. “Don't quote your stupid religion's proverbs at me, baldy!” he yelled.“Very well,” said Huld. “I won't.”The monk kneed Sagar in the face.The skypirate wasn't aware of what had happened until he was flying backwards, nose and mouth bright with pain. He flipped over in the air involuntarily, and landed on his back at the edge of the arena, head just poking over one of the border tiles, looking up at the dark cloud-filled sky.He put a hand to his agonised mouth and it came away wet with blood. His tongue found that his front two teeth had come loose. He would need the old timer to heal that after this was over.The cheers of the crowd filled his ears, loud and resonant with bloodthirst, almost drowning out the announcer's count. They must be very glad to see one of their own dominating his foreigner opponent in a semi-final.Huld's knee had kicked up so quickly that Sagar hadn't even had a chance to react. The baldy was strong and fast.Sagar didn't see a way that he could win this. Much as he hated to admit it, he was outmatched by the monk. Not only were his wind attacks completely ineffective against the Earth-Emerald-touched baldy, but the man was just a stronger, faster and better hand-to-hand fighter than him.Kufe it, but this match is pointless. It was just like all his attempts to get with women: doomed to failure from the outset. He ground his teeth, and almost let out a growl.But damn him all the same if he was going to just give up this easily. Captain Sagar Edbini, Scourge of the Imfisi Skies, did not give up this easily. He would see this through to the end; he wasn't going to go down without a full, proper, finished fight. He had a reputation to protect.At least the monk hadn't followed up straight away with another attack. Apparently he was waiting to see whether Sagar was going to get up or not.Sagar turned over onto his front with a groan and began to push himself up.He stopped when he saw a face nearby, staring intently at him. A tomboyish but female face with short black hair.“Hiuna?” he said.She was standing in the small cordoned-off area of the crowd reserved for other combatants to watch from, currently its only occupant, right up against the wooden barrier. Only about six paces away from Sagar.“Did you really mean it?” the woman said, her deep frown indicating deadly seriousness.“Mean what?” asked Sagar, still on his hands and knees.“What you said. Did you really kiss me because you wanted to?”Sagar blinked. He remembered what she was talking about, and found he didn't need to lie: “Yes.”“Did you really regret throwing me out of the arena like that?”“Yes.”“Did you really think that we had a connection?”“Yes.”“Prove it.”Sagar got up fully now. The people in the audience around them were staring at them quizzically, starting to mutter and whisper and grumble, but he didn't care.“What do you mean ‘prove it'?” he asked Hiuna. “How?”“Forfeit this match. You might never have been in it anyway if you hadn't thrown me out of bounds when you did. If you really regret it, you won't mind forfeiting now. If you forfeit, then…we'll talk some more. That's all I'm promising.”She folded her arms and looked up at him, defiant challenge sizzling in her face. But not just that. In those bright green eyes, that tight line of mouth, there seemed also to be some desperate hope that he would show himself true by forfeiting this match.Two different forces smashed together inside Sagar's heart. On the one hand, there was his reputation, and his pride, and his ego, to maintain, and his tempestuous fury at not being able to beat Huld. On the other hand, here was Hiuna, whom he had recently kissed, and who had kissed him back. She was only promising that they would talk, but Sagar found that that would be enough for him. He just wanted to be near her again.“Sagar of Imfis!” the announcer yelled out of all a sudden, yanking him out of his thoughts. “Are you going to carry on with this match?”The skycaptain turned. Huld was still waiting calmly for him in the centre of the arena wearing his infuriating serene smile; a green, immovable mountain.Sagar made his decision.“No,” he said loud and clear to the announcer. “I yield.”The crowd issued a collective gasp, then immediately erupted into a complaining chorus of boos and jeers.Sagar ignored them, walking out of the arena, and went to go and speak with Hiuna. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sagaofthejewels.substack.com

Geography shouldn't be the reason you can't hire your next best person.  And yet, that's the reality for hundreds of orgs at the moment! I sat down with Sagar Khatri, co-founder and CEO of Multiplier, who literally built a company because opening a bank account in Japan took him 12 months.  We got into all of it: why compliance is a zero-or-one problem (and why so many companies are getting it very wrong), what actually happens to your business when your team spans 50 countries and 70+ nationalities, and why the future of talent is all about finally being able to find them wherever they are instead of hoping they come to you. 00:01:45 - Something Sagar Had to Unlearn Early in His Career 00:03:48 - Why Sagar Started a Company 00:10:43 - How the Pain of Global Hiring is Happening on a Massive Scale 00:20:03 - What the International Structure at Multiply Looks Like 00:31:09 - The Biggest Mistake Companies Make When They Hire Globally for the First Time 00:37:33 - The Relationship Between Diverse and Distributed Teams and Business Performance 00:43:07 - AI's Impact on International Talent Acquisition --- The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best. Because when you truly understand your people, work just works. Learn more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠trypi.com/ihateithere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba's newsletter! It's for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. ⁠⁠⁠https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/⁠⁠⁠ And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out⁠⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here⁠⁠⁠ for even more exclusive insider content! --- Follow Sagar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sagar-khatri-53529359/ Follow Hebba YouTube:⁠⁠⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠ https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef⁠⁠⁠ Twitter:⁠⁠⁠ https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef⁠⁠

Previously on Saga of the Jewels…The life of seventeen-year-old RYN, bookish son of a wealthy landowner, changes forever when his hometown is destroyed by the EMPIRE and everyone he has ever known is killed. Ryn discovers that the Empire are seeking TWELVE PRIMEVAL JEWELS which grant the power to manipulate different elements, and that his father had been hiding the FIRE RUBY. He sets out to take revenge on the Imperial General who killed his family and retrieve the Fire Ruby, and along the way meets NUTHEA the lightning-slinging princess, SAGAR the swaggering skypirate, ELRANN the tomboy engineer, CID the wizened old healer, VISH the poppy-seed-addicted assassin, RISS the spirit-summoning girl, and QUEL the water-projecting bard. Together the adventurers decide to find all of the Jewels in order to stop the evil EMPEROR from finding them first and taking over the world. They have thus far succeeded in retrieving the Fire Ruby, borne by Ryn, and the Lightning Crystal, borne by Nuthea. They have now come to the land of FARR where they are competing in a hand-to-hand fighting tournament in order to attempt to win its grand prize, the EARTH EMERALD…EPISODE FORTY-TWO: THE TOURNAMENT: SEMI-FINAL ONE“Alright, team huddle time,” Nuthea said when she had got everyone assembled in the dugout.The tournament officials didn't seem to mind that they were congregating in the stuffy underground chamber even though they weren't technically all combatants.The party formed up, linking arms and making a face-to-face circle. Though the newcomers hesitated at first they got the idea easily enough, even if Cid and Elrann had to stoop slightly to fit Riss in.“Right,” said Nuthea. She needed to be quick, as after Cid had healed Huld the Governor had said they had five minutes before the next match. “Let's review how things stand: Ryn, Captain Sagar, and Shadowfinger Vish all won your Quarter-Final matches–well done!”Ryn nodded. “Thanks.”Sagar grunted the barest acknowledgement. He appeared to be sulking about something.Vish didn't say anything.Nuthea suppressed a sigh. “Grandfather Cid will heal all of you too so that you're ready to fight again, since the Tournament is going to be carrying on straight away.”“Why did the Governor change his mind on that?” asked Ryn, wasting time.“I'm not sure. Probably something to do with the change in weather. That has gone in our favour.”“Yeah, what's the deal with that?” said Elrann. “Clear skies all day, and now all of a sudden it looks like it's going to pour.” She looked over at Quel. “You have water powers, right, music-man? Are you something to do with this?”Quel shook his head, the blue hair of his fringe quivering. “No, Mistress Elrann; it has nothing to do with me. The Sapphire-touched can manipulate water in gaseous and solid as well as liquid form, true, but it would take quite a lot of us to influence the course of an entire weather system, and I am just one man.”“Never mind that now,” said Nuthea, eager to move the discussion on. “What's important is that the Governor has decided that the tournament can conclude today. Now, the two semi-finals will be Ryn against Shadowfinger Vish and Captain Sagar against Brother Huld. Sagar against Huld is straightforward enough, as we know who we want to win–”“Do you think you can take him, Sagar?” Ryn asked, cutting Nuthea off.“Hm?” said Sagar, attention coming back from wherever it had been. “Oh, yeah, you had better damn well bet I can take him. I'm not afraid of Baldy.”“You are aware, aren't you,” Grandfather Cid said before Nuthea could get another word in, “that the element of wind is completely ineffectual against the element of earth, in combat terms?”Sagar blew the air out through his nostrils. “Yeah, I know, old timer. But that don't mean I can't use my powers to my advantage. Just you watch. I'll beat him without blowing him over.”“If you're sure…” said Cid.“Anyway,” said Nuthea, “what is more pressing for us to talk about is Ryn and Shadowfinger Vish's match, since both of you are in our party.”“What's there to talk about?” said Sagar. “The scumsucker is the better fighter. You should just let him win,” he said to Ryn, “and be done with it.”“Hey!” said Ryn, and the air in the huddle got a little warmer. “Shut up, Sagar! Vish may have been fighting longer, but I have fire magic!”“Well it's not like it matters anyway,” Sagar said, “as I'm just going to thrash whichever one of you goes through in the Final in any case.”“Shadowfinger Vish,” Nuthea said, before Ryn could rise any further to Sagar's posturing, “what do you think is the best course of action?”Vish regarded her coolly above his face covering. “It makes no difference to me, girl. Tell me what you want me to do, and I will do it. I will win this battle, I will lose this battle, I will stay out of the Final, I will go into the Final–whichever. All I care about is that you give me some more poppy when this is done. As long as you do that, I will do whatever you want.”Nuthea saw Cid hold himself back from saying something.“Okay…” she said. She knew that Vish was by far the better fighter as Sagar had said. But she didn't want to hurt Ryn's feelings. “What would you rather do, Ryn?”“Well, I think that–”“People of Farr!” came the shout of the tournament announcer from outside all of a sudden. “For your first semi-final, I give you Ryn of Efstan versus Vish of Aibar!”“Was that really five minutes?!” said Ryn. “We haven't—”“There's no time!” Nuthea said, breaking the huddle. “Quick, get out there into the arena, both of you! I'm sure you'll figure it out! Er, good luck!”She ushered Ryn and Vish off in the direction of the entry tunnel.,As Ryn looked briefly over his shoulder at her before walking out Nuthea ignored the twinge of guilt in her chest.Neither of them moved.Vish just stood there in his black uniform and head covering, eyes bleary and bloodshot. He didn't even bother adopting a fighting posture.A memory flared unbidden in Ryn's mind of the first time he had fought Vish. How the Shadowfinger had suddenly fallen upon him and the others in the woods outside Ast, how he had been vicious, methodical and deadly, in the end only stopped by an unexpected pistol-shot from Elrann.Did Ryn really have any kind of chance in a contest of hand-to-hand combat against such a skilled and highly trained fighter as Vish?Probably not, no; not even if I have trained hard and gotten a lot better at fighting since then.But Ryn did have something which Vish didn't.Damn him if he was going to use it straight away though.“Begin!” shouted the announcer.Ryn ran at Vish, crossing the arena floor in a matter of moments, and punched him in the face.To his surprise the punch connected, the impact flashing across Ryn's knuckles, and Vish's head snapped back. The Shadowfinger took a couple of steps backwards, then steadied himself.Huh?Nobody in the audience cheered or made any kind of noise. They were as confused as Ryn.Investigating, he stepped forwards and kicked the Shadowfinger in the chest with his right foot, using a kick that Vish himself had taught him. Vish grunted, taking the force of the blow, and stepped back a few more paces. Ryn followed through with a series of punches that finished with an elbow strike, using another sequence that Vish had taught him.Every blow hit home. The Shadowfinger took the full force of each one, shuffling backwards and coming to a halt a couple of paces away.“What are you doing?” Ryn whispered to the Shadowfinger, hoping that nobody else would be able to hear.“What do you mean, ‘what am I doing'?'” Vish replied, having the courtesy to keep his voice low too.“Why aren't you fighting me properly?”The Shadowfinger shrugged. “You didn't say what you wanted me to do yet.”“I want you to fight me!” Ryn hissed.The Shadowfinger raised a dark eyebrow. “You do? Are you sure?”“Yes! Don't go easy on me just because we know each other! That won't impress anybody, and it might get us disqualified for cheating!”The other eyebrow raised. “You are really sure?”“Yes!”“Alright then.”Ryn took two steps forward and swung a right hook at Vish.The Shadowfinger sidestepped as easily as if he was performing the learned steps of a dance.And then his leg lashed out.Ryn lifted up into the air, came down, hit the ground on his back and rolled over a few times.Then he felt the pain. He curled up, clutching his stomach, which ached horribly where Vish had kicked him.Now the crowd cheered. The noise of it filled his ears, hurting him even more than the kick had. Why were they cheering for Vish, and not him? Ryn supposed that Vish's attack had had a bit more of an effect than his own…“One!” called the announcer, beginning the count.Ryn pressed his hands to the arena floor and shakily pushed himself up onto his feet, stomach still smarting.Vish was standing a long way away. He had kicked Ryn so hard that he had flown across half the arena.And yet, he sensed that the Shadowfinger had still held something back. Vish could have finished this match in one blow had he wanted to, like he had done in his last match.Fire rose in Ryn's chest, but he willed it down and breathed out, letting the energy dissipate through his nostrils. He wouldn't resort to it yet. He had more pride than that.He ran at Vish again, this time arriving with a jumping kick–another move the Shadowfinger had taught him.Vish stepped lazily out of the way and countered with a punch to Ryn's chest, quick and precise as a pistol-shot.This time Ryn hit the arena floor so hard that he bounced and flipped over, landing face down and seeing stone. Searing pain in his chest joined the pain in his stomach. Had Vish broken one of his ribs?“Three!” he heard the announcer call over the noise of the crowd. He hadn't heard the first two counts. Had he blacked out for a moment?“Four!”Ryn managed to force himself up by the count of “Five!”He gave a few agonising coughs and some blood came out of his mouth and ran down his chin. He wiped it away with the back of a hand.Vish stood a few paces away.“Are you sure you want me to fight you?” the Shadowfinger whispered, inclining his head. “It does not seem to be going very well for you.”Fire rose again. “Yes!” Ryn growled through gritted teeth.“Would you like me to hit you out of bounds to get it done quickly?”“Just shut up and fight me properly, Vish!” Ryn shouted, no longer caring if the audience heard. “Fight me as if I was a regular opponent! Treat me like a man, not a little boy!”Some people in the audience laughed.“Raaargh!” Ryn thrust out two hands and launched a fireball at Vish from only paces away.The Shadowfinger's eyes went wide and he cartwheeled to the side, turning over in the air as the fireball rushed through the air where he had just been standing and out over the heads of the crowd, who gasped and ducked.Ryn chucked another fireball at Vish as he landed, then another and another. He aimed them at Vish's feet so that when the Shadowfinger dodged out of the way of them they hit the arena floor, scorching it black.In moments Ryn had the Shadowfinger running and leaping around the arena to get out of the way of his fireballs, which he hurled again and again at him, listening with pleasure as the crowd now murmured and marvelled at his own attacks.Vish was incredibly fast and agile, but he couldn't keep this up forever. Could he?The Shadowfinger executed a leaping somersault to get out of the way of a fireball that came dangerously close to hitting him, sending him particularly high.Ryn saw where he was going to land.He flung his hand out, launching another fireball at the spot.Vish came down exactly where Ryn had predicted, and the fireball hit him in the legs, engulfing them in an orange burst for a moment.Vish cried out, and fell to the ground, rolling over a few times from the momentum of his leap, which also served to put out the flames around his legs.Ryn grimaced. His satisfaction at the hit had been immediately tempered by the worry that he might have hurt Vish.Some fighter I am.But the Shadowfinger quickly patted out the remaining flames on his trousers that hadn't been extinguished by his roll, then sprang back to his feet and ran back across the arena, straight at Ryn.Straight at Ryn, who was too shocked by the speed of Vish's reaction to get out of the way in time.Ryn lit himself on fire.Vish pulled up, stopping just in front of Ryn with his fist held back ready, but not following through with his punch.The crowd made admiring noises at Ryn, and he smiled. He couldn't help himself.“Ingenious…” Vish said, staying still as the flames flickered all around Ryn's body, enveloping him in a fiery aura. “If you are covered in fire, it will burn me to touch you. Although I might still be able to hit you hard enough once to knock you out of bounds or incapacitate you without burning myself too much. Is that a chance you are willing to take, boy? And what of your so-called ‘mana', that the old man is always talking about? How long before that runs out?”That was a fair point, but Ryn wasn't about to concede it openly. Now that he was using his fire magic he might actually have a chance against Vish, and at preserving his pride.“I think the real question,” he replied, “is how long you will last against me while I am using my fire. I've been working hard at training and getting stronger with it. And Nuthea told me that every time I've fought and pushed myself to my limit and used all my mana up, my capacity has increased afterwards.”Vish nodded. “Then this may be something of an even fight now.”Ryn bristled. What an arrogant thing to say. But he knew Vish was just stating a fact. It didn't seem in the Shadowfinger's nature to gloat.“Looks like it w–” Ryn started, but then Vish stepped forwards and followed through with his original punch, taking Ryn completely by surprise.He was knocked backwards, stumbling over his own feet, his fire-aura extinguished. His feet came to the edge of something and he teetered on it, waving his arms in circles to try to regain his balance..The edge of the arena! He was about to fall out of bounds!As he began to fall, Ryn put out his arms behind him, flattened his palms, and blasted fire from them.The audience gasped as the force of the flames thrust Ryn back into the arena.He kept on going, turning his propelled movement into a run, and lit himself on fire again.Vish had been shaking the hand he had hit Ryn with up and down, and now his eyes went wide with surprise.But Ryn was moving so fast he didn't have time to prepare a proper strike. Instead he just lowered his head and crashed into the Shadowfinger like a flaming human battering ram.“Ungh!” grunted Vish, from the impact or the heat of the flames, Ryn did not know.The Shadowfinger fell on his back and Ryn came to a stop standing over him, still on fire. Acting on instinct, he held out his hand where he stood, palm in front of Vish's face.The crowd cheered for him now.Please let Nuthea be watching, he thought.“One!” the announcer began his count since Vish was down and on his back.“Move, and I'll blast you with fire,” Ryn said through the flames that radiated from his body.Sweat trickled down Vish's forehead and into his eyes. “We both know you will not do that, boy,” the Shadowfinger said as he pushed himself up onto his elbows so that the announcer stopped his count.Ryn hesitated. It was true. But he was doing so well, and he still had the advantage.“You don't know that for sure…” Ryn said carefully. “Even if I hit you point-blank with a fire attack, Cid can always heal you afterwards...”“But do you know that for sure, boy?” Vish said. “What if you accidentally kill me? You've killed Imperial soldiers with fire attacks at greater distance. The old man won't be able to bring me back from death.”Ryn opened his mouth, but he didn't have a response to that.“Go on,” said Vish, more quietly this time so that only Ryn would be able to hear, fixing him with his grey eyes. “Do it. Trust me, boy, you'll be doing me a favour. I am probably never going to change anyway.”Ryn faltered. Was Vish seriously asking him to end his life? There was no way in Mid he would ever do that. He had made that decision once already, and that had been before Vish had fought alongside him and saved his life multiple times.Ryn sighed, though he still kept his hand held out in front of him. “Why don't you just yield, Vish? What other option do you have?”Vish snorted through his face covering. “I have more options than you think, boy. It is clever, setting yourself on fire, I will grant you that. But I discovered two things in our little exchange just now: One, you need to concentrate in order to keep yourself on fire. And two, if I hit you fast enough I can avoid burning myself too much.”Ryn gulped.Vish pushed himself up with his elbows and twisted, sweeping Ryn's legs with his foot.Ryn fell on his side, hitting the stone of the arena floor painfully. He had been caught so off guard he hadn't reacted in time.He scrambled back up as quickly as he could, but the Shadowfinger wasn't in front of him anymore.A black-clothed arm wrapped itself tightly around his neck from behind, trapping him in its crook.It was then that Ryn realised his fire had gone out again from the shock of having his legs swept.Poodoo.Vish strengthened the chokehold and Ryn gasped for air. He found some, but only a little.“See?” Vish said menacingly in his ear. “One quick little kick, a heartbeat to sneak behind you, and I have you.”Vish gave a little squeeze, showing Ryn that he could cut off his air supply completely if he willed.Ryn choked.The Shadowfinger loosened his grip again a fraction, just enough for Ryn to find some air.“There you go,” said Vish quietly. “I have done what you asked: I have fought you properly. I expect to be rewarded with poppy later. Now, I suggest that you yield, so that we can finish this in the smoothest possible manner.”Ryn gripped Vish's arm tight, trying to wrench it off, but the Shadowfinger was too strong. He kept willing for fire to explode out of his body, like it had apparently done when Rogar the Unsurpassable had squeezed him unconscious, but nothing happened. Maybe I'm out of mana. Maybe his concentration was too consumed by trying to breathe. Maybe he had to actually pass out in order to activate his secret reserves…“Vish…” Ryn croaked between frantic gasps for air. “Before…I yield…can I…just ask you…one thing?”“What?” said the Shadowfinger, vaguely curious. His grip loosened ever so slightly again–not enough for Ryn to break the hold, but enough for him to speak more clearly.“If Huld beats Sagar and ends up in the Final against you, do you think you can beat him?A pause. “I am not sure,” said Vish. “I have observed the monk, and he is an extremely skilled and well-trained fighter. And he possesses elemental magic. You have the magic but without the fighting skill. To face an opponent with both…I am not sure that I could win, no.”Ryn could barely believe his ears. “Why didn't you tell us this before?!”“You did not ask,” Vish said simply.“Do you think I have a chance against him?”“With your fire magic?” Another brief pause as Vish considered. “Against his ‘earth alignment' which the old man tells us is vulnerable to it? On that basis only, yes, even though he is by far the superior fighter: Yes, I do.”“So actually what you're saying is that I would have a better chance against Huld in the final than you?”“Yes.”Ryn couldn't believe that the Shadowfinger hadn't thought to tell him this before. He must be so preoccupied with his poppy obsession that he hadn't paid proper attention to the discussion. This was no longer about Ryn's pride–if he wanted to maximise their chances of winning the Earth Emerald, he needed to be in the Final.“Alright,” he said. “I've changed my mind.” He kept his voice quiet, hoping that the crowd, who had started to murmur and mutter to one another at this bizarrely long choke-hold exchange, would not be able to hear him. “I don't want you to fight me properly anymore. I want you to let me win.”“As you wish.”The Shadowfinger's grip began to loosen completely.“Wait!” whispered Ryn. “We need it to look good! We need to make it look like you didn't let me win!”“Alright…” said Vish. “That will be difficult, but we can probably manage. Do exactly as I say…”The Shadowfinger whispered some instructions to Ryn.“Okay, got it,” Ryn said.Then he passed out.Or at least this time he pretended to pass out.He shut his eyes and went limp, letting his arms fall to his sides.Vish lowered him gently to the ground and lay him there, for which Ryn was grateful as he wasn't sure that he would have been able to maintain his act had the Shadowfinger just casually dropped him.The crowd cheered, but a bit weakly, like their hearts weren't really in it, presumably because the match had apparently ended in such a boring way.Eyes still closed; Ryn heard the announcer begin his count: “One!”Then he heard Vish say, “Would you like me to stay in the arena until you complete your counting this time?”“Oh…” said the announcer. “Well, it is customary, if you don't mind. There is a chance he will get up again before the count finishes, isn't there?”“No. But I will stay anyway.”Ryn continued to lie still on the warm arena floor, watching the colours dancing on the inside of his eyelids and listening to the announcer's count and the mutterings of the crowd.“Well that was a bit of a disappointing ending…”“How come he didn't do his exploding fire trick like last time?”“The Aibarian was just too strong. He choked him out before he could do it.”When the announcer got to “Nine!” Ryn opened his eyes and sprang to his feet.The crowd inhaled collectively.Vish was standing at one edge of the arena, facing away from Ryn with his arms folded. He began to turn to see what had happened.Ryn was already running towards him.When he saw him, Vish held up his hands in what Ryn knew was mock surprise.Come on Vish, he just had time to think, at least try to look a bit more surprised.Ryn lit himself on fire and executed a leaping side-on kick.He hit Vish square in the chest between his upraised hands, and bounced backwards off him, landing on his back on the arena floor.Vish flew backwards from the kick in the opposite direction, landing in the sand that encircled the arena, out of bounds.The crowd exploded with noise, whether from approval, or outrage, or confusion, Ryn couldn't tell, though he hoped it was the former.And that was how he won his Semi-Final match against Vish. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sagaofthejewels.substack.com

Amardeep Parmar from Bae HQ welcomes Sagar Shah, Cofounder and CEO of Tano.Amardeep Parmar:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/amardeepsparmar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sagar Shah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sagarshahuk/Tano: ⁠https://www.tano.ai/

Previously on Saga of the Jewels…The life of seventeen-year-old RYN, bookish son of a wealthy landowner, changes forever when his hometown is destroyed by the EMPIRE and everyone he has ever known is killed. Ryn discovers that the Empire are seeking TWELVE PRIMEVAL JEWELS which grant the power to manipulate different elements, and that his father had been hiding the FIRE RUBY. He sets out to take revenge on the Imperial General who killed his family and retrieve the Fire Ruby, and along the way meets NUTHEA the lightning-slinging princess, SAGAR the swaggering skypirate, ELRANN the tomboy engineer, CID the wizened old healer, and VISH the poppy-seed-addicted bounty hunter. Together the companions decide to find all of the Jewels in order to stop the EMPEROR from finding them first and taking over the world. They have thus far succeeded in retrieving the Fire Ruby, borne by Ryn, and the Lightning Crystal, borne by Nuthea. They have now come to the land of FARR where they intend to compete in a hand-to-hand fighting tournament in order to attempt to win its prize, the EARTH EMERALD. However, the Farrian fighting-monk, HULD, has also entered, and has progressed to the quarter finals too…EPISODE FORTY-ONE: THE TOURNAMENT: QUARTER FINAL FOUR: HULD OF FARR VS. QENDRA OF FRIKIAThe brown-stone arena tiles warmed Huld's bare feet.The tiles had been baking in the sun all day, which was still bright and hot this afternoon, though strangely a clump of dark clouds had formed in one corner of the sky.It's not time for the rainy-season to arrive yet, is it? No, of course not.He dismissed the thought.Underneath the mostly-clear sky, thousands of his fellow Farrians stood watching around Tenkachi's arena, so many that he couldn't see beyond them.Boys with toothy, eager smiles plastered on their faces. Men with stony-serious frowns and folded arms, unmoving as boulders. Girls staring keenly, biting their nails or with both hands clasped together in front of their mouths like they were praying. Women murmuring silently or anxiously hopping from foot to foot. Wriggling babes in arms. Statuesque elderly. And all the ages in between.I must not let them down.All of the native Farrians who had competed in the Tournament's Quarter Finals thus far had lost. Although, to be fair, one had been a woman, which was Not Correct, and one had been a dishonourable exhibitionist fool–not a soldier-monk trained in one of the religious fighting-schools of Eto like Huld had been, but a sacrilegious free agent who made money out of his fighting.And, also to be fair, none of those losses mattered that much, anyway. This was Huld's tournament to win. That he won his matches, and won the whole thing, and won the prize for Farr, was all that really mattered.Huld needed to win this tournament, not only to claim the Earth Emerald, but also for the honour of his country–to show that the Farrians were the strongest, the greatest, the supreme people of Mid.That was what the Governor had told him, and what he knew to be true.“Are you ready?”Huld came back to the present with a jolt. The tournament announcer had asked him a question from where he stood at the side of the arena. The monk was vaguely aware that the announcer had asked him this question once already, but he had been lost for a moment in a rare drifting of focus.He looked over at his opponent standing opposite him.A tall, dark-skinned Frikian woman with a curiously shaved head, except for an asymmetric fringe of jet-black hair that on one side curved around to her left ear and on the other came down over her right eye. She wore a garment made of the skin of some spotted animal, which clung to her slim body, tied at the waist with a rope belt, leaving her smooth arms and legs bare. She winked at him.Another woman. Most strange. What were these tournaments coming to, that two women had made it into the Quarter Finals? And this one was not even a fellow Farrian, but a filthy foreigner as well! It was practically an insult for him to even have to fight her.Huld nodded. “I am ready,” he said levelly.“Alright…” said the announcer. “Then……BEGIN!”Huld dropped his weight into chocobo stance, bending his knees and resting his fists at his hips, taking a defensive poise to see how the Frikian would open.The Frikian did nothing at all. She just stood there watching him, a wry little smile creeping out from behind the overhanging half of her fringe.Then, slowly, deliberately, exaggerating the movements painstakingly, she lowered herself into chocobo stance too, still smiling.A muscle in Huld's jaw twitched. Does she mean to mock me? She can't know the Farrian arts. No master would allow a Frikian to train with him, let alone a woman… She must be copying me…Carefully, gaze still trained on the woman, Huld extended his fingers and pinched them together against his thumbs, putting a foot forward and bringing his hands up in front of him, one close to his chest, the other stretched further out. Crane stance. An investigative stance.In front of him, the woman did exactly the same, mirroring his movements exactly.Huld kept the irritation out of his expression. So she was copying him. Well, that was having some success in baiting him, he reluctantly acknowledged, but it would only get her so far. She couldn't mirror his every move. Not in the heat of battle.But then why is she still smiling?He took a step forwards, towards her, and the woman stepped forwards too.He took a few more steps, and the woman matched him exactly, the gap between them closing by degrees, about eight paces now.He took another step, but this time he walked diagonally right, no longer approaching her head-on but moving to one side, to flank her.This time the woman moved to her own diagonal right, Huld's left, keeping her mirror image of his movements so that the size of the gap between them stayed the same.Huld continued to strafe to his right, and Qendra of Frikia did the same, so that they circled one another across the stone tiles of the arena.As they did, Huld watched her lithe, toned limbs closely, looking for some opening or sign of weakness.The thing was, Huld noticed with a start that nearly made him misstep, the woman's stance was perfect. She wasn't just poorly copying his thousands-of-times-practiced poses and positions on the spot, apparently. Her arms were held out at precisely the right lengths, her legs moving in precisely the right sequence, her torso tensed in precisely the right way, for crane stance.Maybe she has been trained by a Farrian?But if she had, why mess around with this mirroring game? Why not open with a distinctive attack of her own, or put up a more conventional defence and let him come to her instead? It was like she was playing a game of Check where she had decided just to mimic his every move.Enough contemplation, Huld thought. It's time to put an end to this stage-play.He kicked off from the arena floor, launching himself at the Frikian with a crane-fisted strike from left to right aimed to hit the side of her head with the back of his hand.In the same instant, the Frikian sprang towards him with her own identical strike……then at the last moment dropped her body, ducking under Huld's blow. As he moved past her, she lashed out and up with her knee, catching him in the stomach. Huld doubled up, the wind knocked out of him, gasping at the sudden pain.The Frikian drew her leg back, then flicked it around her off-side in a vicious roundhouse aimed at Huld's face.He ducked the kick, thrust his legs back to press himself flat against the arena floor, then rolled away rapidly, spinning over several times before coming up into dragon stance, one fist held back, one up in front of him with two bent fingers.Opposite him, the Frikian already stood in exactly the same stance a few paces away.“What game are you playing?!” Huld yelled at her, ignoring the calls of the crowd, angry at what the Frikian woman was doing, angry that she had landed the first blow, angry that she had broken his composure–already. “How are you mirroring my movements so perfectly?”That irritating smile still mocked him. Her lips were cherry-red.“Well,” said the Frikian in a disturbingly confident and sensual voice, “that would be telling, wouldn't it now?”Huld moved forwards in dragon stance. The woman did the same. Dragon stance, at least, Huld knew had been exported from Farr by some travelling masters who had prostituted themselves by selling ancient fighting techniques to filthy foreigners. He had seen the fireboy use it earlier in his short-lived match against that Morekemian. But it wasn't just that the Frikian used dragon stance—she was still mirroring his every movement with complete precision.This time when he got close to her, he feinted with the beginning of a simple front-kick, then quickly brought his foot back down and flung out his left hand in a thrusting punch instead.The Frikian copied him exactly, right down to the feint, and flung out the start of the same punch, but then turned it into a feint of her own, suddenly slipping beneath his strike, spinning as she did so in order to throw out a fast-moving low sweep kick.This time Huld was ready for it. He jumped the sweep, then came down with a palm-thrust. The woman backed away, quick as a snake, then dodged his follow-up punch, and the one after that as well.She flipped backwards heels-over-head, and Huld thought he had her on the run, but as she turned over in the air her foot flashed out and caught him in the face.He staggered backwards, blinking away his surprise, then blocked every strike of her subsequent assault with his hands. She had underestimated his reaction speed.He made to grab her arm, missed, but when she pulled away in alarm he stepped up and followed through with an almighty punch from his other hand, hitting her square in the stomach.The Frikian grunted as she stumbled back across the arena. She landed on her back but managed to turn her momentum into another flip which got her on her feet again at once, where she adopted a stance Huld had not seen before–a low crouch with two arms outstretched to either side of her, pointed fingers and thumbs at the end of flat palms.“So you do have more than mirroring to you!” Huld called over the noise of the crowd. He was sure they were cheering for him.“Much more,” said the Frikian. Infuriatingly she was still smiling. “But ‘mirroring' seems to be serving me well enough.”No wonder this woman made it to the Quarter Final, he thought as he watched her crouched there, himself crouching and lowering his arms into monkey stance. On top of her mirroring trick, she is astoundingly fast, and deceptively strong. In terms of fighting skill, the two of them might even be evenly matched! He did not know how that was possible, but somehow it was. He had not thought a Frikian could be this skilled at fighting, let alone a woman.He would have to use a trick of his own in order to win.No, not a trick, a skill, he corrected himself.A skill he had earned.Huld broke his stance and ran straight at the woman. Predictably, she did the same, coming right at him.He thrust forwards with a straight punch, and the woman mirrored him, but then at the last moment caught his hand and jumped, pushing herself off of it in order to flip into the air again. Her feet came around in a circle behind her and back down towards Huld's head as she turned over, but he got his hands up and blocked the kicks, which glanced off them.The woman hit the ground in front of him with a wobble, almost losing her footing, and Huld saw his chance.He stepped forwards with another punch, moving just a fraction slower than normal.At the same time, he willed a section of stone tile just behind the woman to rise quickly to form of a small pillar, up and slightly at an angle.To Huld's great satisfaction, the woman stepped backwards out of the way of his just-a-bit-too-slow punch…and straight into the path of his earth attack.The rising pillar of stone smashed up into her, now making her lose her feet completely, connecting with her back with a dull thwack. It carried her along through the air for a moment, then, as Huld stepped out of the way and willed the stone to stop rising, the woman was thrown from it with an enraged grunt of shock.She tumbled in an arc through the air, flailing her arms and legs around desperately, then managed to turn her descent into a graceful dive, tucking her limbs into her body and trying to steer her descent.But it was no use. Huld's earth attack had taken her completely by surprise, and hit her too hard, and she came down several rows back in the audience, who yelped and hollered when she landed among them, throwing up their hands and scrambling to get out of the way.“Out of bounds!” cried the tournament announcer immediately from the side of the arena. “Huld of Farr is the victor!”The cheer went up, the loudest Huld had heard so far that day–a wall of noise that fenced him in.He exhaled relief, and looked over at his Lord Governor, sitting in his viewing box above the arena.The Governor was applauding like the rest of the audience, but he was not cheering. Instead, he sat close-mouthed, his stare intense.Huld nodded to him, tilting his head just a fraction. The Governor nodded back, just barely perceptibly.The monk became aware that the crowd were doing more than just cheering for him–they were chattering frantically about something.“How did he do that?” he heard someone say nearby.“More sorcery!” said someone else.“Is he allowed to do that too?”Huld realised that he had left the angled stone pillar he had made from the arena floor with his earth manipulation still standing.Ah. That was right. They had all seen him perform the earth attack with their own eyes, right in front of them. The chocobo was truly out of the stable now.Meanwhile, the Frikian woman had made her way back through the audience and was climbing over the wooden perimeter. She walked back into the arena, still smiling, and extended her hand to him.“Good match,” she said, for his ears alone.Normally Huld would not have condescended to clasp her arm, an unhygienic foreigners' custom, especially when bowing would have sufficed just as well, but to his own surprise he found that today he was happy to reciprocate the gesture. She had, after all, indeed given him a good match. An unexpectedly good match.“How did you do that trick with the floor?” the woman whispered to him as he clasped her arm.“How did you do that trick with mirroring my movements?” Huld countered, breaking the arm-clasp.The woman shrugged a shoulder. “Fair enough,” she intoned, her eyes gleaming a disconcerting milky white in the sunshine. “You keep your secrets, and I will keep mine.”Huld frowned. He couldn't admit it out loud, but he was deeply unsettled by this woman. She had nearly given him the fight of his life. A filthy foreigner had nearly given him the fight of his life! If he hadn't resorted to using that earth manipulation technique, the match could have gone either way. Now, how to explain that to everyone else?A collective gasp issued from the crowd, and Huld looked round.The Governor had left his viewing box and was walking onto arena.Now Huld did bow, low and long, before looking up again.The Governor strode over to Huld and the Frikian and held up his hands for silence from the crowd.Hush fell immediately.“People of Farr!” boomed the Governor. “People of the greatest nation of Mid! Your eyes are not deceiving you! What you have witnessed here today is a display of earthmoving!”The audience gasped again.“It has been made possible,” the Governor continued, “because one of our fighting monks recently retrieved the fabled Earth Emerald from its resting place in the Shrine to Eto! This is the same Emerald whose power was once used to build our mighty capital city of Shun Pei!”Chatter broke out over the audience like the after-tremors of an earthquake.“Did he really just say that?”“The mythical jewel–could it really be?”“I thought it had been lost!”Undeterred by the chatter, the Governor carried on loud and clear, and the crowd fell to listening again: “In view of this being revealed by our champion earthmover, Brother Huld, I am pleased to disclose that the prize for the winner of this Tournament will not only be one million gold pieces from Shun Pei's Treasury, but the gift of the Earth Emerald itself! The Tournament Winner can claim it for whatever nation they represent!”Yet more astonished gasps broke out across the crowd, chased by chatter.Huld's palms began to sweat as he watched the onlookers heatedly discussing this news. The pressure was really on now. It had already been on, given he was now the only Farrian left in the tournament, and the only one who had been personally entered into it by the Governor himself, but now the whole country would know that he was fighting for the Emerald. He was fighting for his people's honour. He must not let them, or his Lord Governor, down. He must not fail them.The Governor held up his hands again, and got the quiet he wanted instantly. “Furthermore,” he bellowed, “I have a second important announcement! It would appear, my fellow Farrians, that an unusually early rainy season is upon us!” He gestured up towards the sky, at the growing contingent of dark grey clouds that were gathering, blowing in from somewhere east. “Therefore, to avoid the Tournament being called off, I am exercising my Governing authority to decree that this Tournament will conclude today, so as to beat the rain! On with the Semi-Finals!”Huld's eyes went wide. The crowd erupted, shouting its approval. They were thirsty for more fighting.“Lord Governor,” Huld said quietly as he walked with the Governor and Qendra back towards the arena dugout, “are you sure you want to do that? There might be some wisdom in postponing the tourn–”“Do not presume to question me, Huld,” the Governor chastised him equally quietly, “especially in public. You forget your place.”Huld blanched. He had forgotten his place, momentarily–but the announcement had been so unexpected, and he was tired from his fight with the Frikian…“You can see those clouds,” the Governor continued, flicking his head upwards. “It is going to pour soon. The rainy-season seems to have come upon us unusually early this year. Our people will not want to stand and watch the fighting in the rain–they will leave, and travel home. But the Tournament is good for the economy, and for national morale. Best to get it over with today and to show those foreigners our supremacy as quickly as possible. That will send a message to the rest of Mid that Farr is not to be challenged. Can you do that for me, Huld?”“Yes, Lord Governor,” said Huld.“Good. Of course you can.” They had reached the tunnel to the dugout, and the Governor came down into it with them. “Now, listen to me. The Jewel-touched foreigners have a healer among them. I have made an arrangement with him. He will heal you now so that you are ready to fight straight away at full capacity in your next bout. You are to win it, and the Grand Final, using your earth powers, putting on a fine display just as we practiced, to show that Farr is supreme over all the other nations. Do you understand?”“Yes, Lord Governor,” Huld said aloud.But in his heart, as he watched the Frikian woman go ahead of him to gather up her things, he thought, But are we really supreme over all the other nations? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sagaofthejewels.substack.com

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Sagar Aryal, microbiologist, scientific blogger, and founder of Microbenotes, to explore the fascinating world of microbiology, bacteria, viruses, antibiotics, DNA, and scientific research in Nepal. Dr. Sagar shares how he became interested in microbiology, why many people misunderstand the field as being limited to laboratory work, and how the younger generation in Nepal is becoming more interested in science and research. We discuss what bacteria actually are in simple words, whether good viruses exist, the importance of good bacteria, and how antibiotics are discovered and developed. The conversation also dives into metagenomics, DNA, the process of medicine development, and dangerous infections like the Hanta virus. Dr. Sagar explains complex microbiology concepts in an easy and engaging way for students, science enthusiasts, and anyone curious about how the microscopic world impacts our daily lives. One of the biggest highlights of the podcast is the story behind Nocardia Nepalensis, the Nepali bacteria discovered through research, and how scientific papers are published internationally. We also discuss the research environment in Nepal, the future of microbiology, content creation through Microbenotes, and the importance of science communication. If you are interested in microbiology explained simply, bacteria, viruses, antibiotics, DNA, metagenomics, Nepal research culture, and scientific discoveries, this podcast is for you. GET CONNECTED WITH Dr. Sagar Aryal: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/microbenotes/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/microbenotes/videos/ LinkedIn - https://np.linkedin.com/company/microbenotes Website - https://microbenotes.com/ Website - https://sagararyal.com/  

Previously on Saga of the Jewels…The life of seventeen-year-old RYN, bookish son of a wealthy landowner, changes forever when his hometown is destroyed by the EMPIRE and everyone he has ever known is killed. Ryn discovers that the Empire are seeking TWELVE PRIMEVAL JEWELS which grant the power to manipulate different elements, and that his father had been hiding the FIRE RUBY. He sets out to take revenge on the Imperial General who killed his family and retrieve the Fire Ruby, and along the way meets NUTHEA the lightning-slinging princess, SAGAR the swaggering skypirate, ELRANN the tomboy engineer, CID the wizened old healer, and VISH the poppy-seed-addicted assassin. Together the companions decide to find all of the Jewels in order to stop the EMPEROR from finding them first and taking over the world. They have thus far succeeded in retrieving the Fire Ruby, borne by Ryn, and the Lightning Crystal, borne by Nuthea. They have now come to the land of FARR where they are competing in a hand-to-hand fighting tournament in order to attempt to win its grand prize, the EARTH EMERALD…EPISODE 40: THE TOURNAMENT: QUARTER-FINAL THREE: VISH OF AIBAR VS. LI OF FARRCid watched the plump man in green robes, the tournament announcer, stride to the centre of the arena, hold up his hands, and shout to the crowd.“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Quarter Final Three! Vish of Aibar versus Li of Farr!”The crowd cheered its deafening approval as the announcer walked back to the edge of the arena to referee the match.I don't see why they really have to announce what country each fighter is from, Cid thought, not for the first time that day. It just encourages prejudice. The Farrians all already know who their own people are and who to cheer for…Just then a man appeared from out of the dugout tunnel, literally backflipping his way up the short path that led to the arena, where he executed a particularly massive spring from his hands, twisted around several times in the air in a way that Cid couldn't follow, and landed with both his hands held out in a fighting stance, yelling “HYAAAAAAA!” at the top of his lungs.The noise from the crowd grew even more deafening.This must be Li of Farr, thought Cid. A medium-height, tanned Farrian in black trousers but with bare feet and chest, muscles honed to hard lines, and a bowl of short-cropped black hair. The audience clearly know him already. They had been angry at the defeat of the Farrian woman by Sagar in the previous match, but also somewhat confused that she had been a woman, and this was more familiar territory: a male Farrian martial-arts champion who knew how to perform for them.Little do they know, though, Cid thought, that young man Vish will be more than a match for him.Vish…Where was Vish, anyway?Li of Farr had finished his entry routine now and was standing over on one side of the arena awaiting his opponent.Moments passed.The crowd waited quietly, with baited breath.After a while, Li of Farr looked from the dugout to the announcer, cocked his head, and raised a quizzical eyebrow.The announcer shrugged, then shouted in the direction of the dugout, “I repeat, Vish of Aibar!”A pause.Cid could have sworn he heard the sound of crickets chirping somewhere.“Ha!” laughed Li of Farr all of a sudden, spinning around to address the section of the crowd nearest to him. “Stupid foreigner! He must be too afraid to even come out to fight me! Hahaha!”The crowd broke out into laughter too, mimicking the fighter. A forced, chortling, superior sort of laughter.Uh-oh, thought Cid.Young lady Elrann turned to him where she stood alongside. “Er, pops, where's bountyhunterman got to?”“Um…” said Cid, “I thought he was in the dugout with the other tournament finalists…”“But did ya actually see him go down there with farmboy and pirateman?”“Um…” Cid searched his memory, from which Vish was conspicuously absent. “Actually, I don't remember seeing him, not as such, no…” His heart sank.He looked past Elrann to the two newcomers, the hooded bard Quel and green-haired girl Riss. “Did either of you see our Shadowfinger companion come to the arena this morning?”Riss shook her head, tight-lipped and wide-eyed as usual.Quel said from within his hood, “Can't say I did, Master Cid. Apologies.”“Ah,” said Cid. “Poodoo.”“Where's princess-girl gone?” said Elrann. “Can we ask her?”“She went with young man Ryn to talk to the Governor about something. I don't know how we could all have missed Vish this morning... He must still be sleeping off his poppy hit from last night.” Or finding himself some more, Cid added in his head.Meanwhile Li of Farr had begun to prance around the arena floor performing a sequence of flashy fighting moves for the entertainment of the crowd while making more of those ridiculous high-pitched noises.He executed a series of three rapid kicks at nothing with the same foot in quick succession, leapt, turned over horizontally three times in the air, and came down into a series of punches, ending with an almighty quivering backhand strike as he yelled “HWAAAAHH!”The audience lapped it up, cheering and clapping.“It appears that young man Vish may have to end up forfeiting this round…” Cid said quietly. Damn. He was our best chance.“But isn't bountyhunterman, like, our best chance of winning this tournament thing and getting the Earth Emerald?” said Elrann, echoing his thoughts.“Yes. If he doesn't show up, we shall just have to hope that young men Ryn and Sagar continue to hold their own in the fighting…”Cid picked at his beard. Sagar and Ryn had gotten lucky so far, but he wasn't sure whether they would continue to do so as the Finals progressed. Yes, they had elemental projection, but they weren't the methodical, calculating, highly trained fighter that Vish was. When he wasn't laid out from a damn poppy hit. If only he hadn't relapsed. If only he had gotten further in his recovery…“Vish of Aibar,” the tournament announcer was calling one more time in the direction of the dugout, “if you do not present yourself for combat now then you will be forced to forfeit this match and your place in this tournament! I will give you to the count of ten: One!”A figure dressed all in black stumbled out of the entry tunnel.“Alright, alright, I am here,” grumbled Vish in his deep voice. He staggered slowly up to the arena, one hand clutching the top of his head. “No need for me to forfeit. I am just a bit late; that is all.”Cid's eyebrows rose.“Phew, there he is,” said Elrann.But Cid didn't know whether to be relieved or not.The crowd had quietened again. Apparently they didn't know what to make of this black-clad latecomer.Vish took his place on the opposite side of the arena from Li and stood facing him, swaying slightly on his feet, his hand still holding his head.“Alright then…” said the announcer from the side of the arena, unable to keep the uncertainty from his voice. “Now that you are both here…BEGIN!”“What's the matter, foreigner?” Li called out at once, voice rising and falling in mockery. “Were you too afraid to meet me in combat? Lost your nerve, did you?”The crowd chuckled.“Well, I don't blame you!” called Li, spurred on by their approval. “I would be scared to fight me too!”The crowd laughed.Li punched the air in his immediate vicinity a few more times, then threw in a few more kicks and a knee-thrust, displaying his skill now not just for the crowd but for Vish. He ended with a straight air-punch which left his arm fully extended and his fist pointed in Vish's direction. He rotated his fist so that his thumb faced upwards, opened his hand, and made a couple of ‘come here' motions at Vish, beckoning him to attack.“Come at me!” Li of Farr challenged.“Oh, just get on with it, would you?” said Vish, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I had a rough one last night. I have a splitting headache and I just want to get this over with.”Li's cocky smile transfigured into a furious scowl. “How dare you insult me?” he said, dropping out of his pose. “Don't you know who I am? I am the great Li of Farr! I have won twelve Farrian Fighting Tournament titles! I am a Grand Master of the ancient fighting arts! My students are feared and respected throughout the whole of Mid!”“I really could not care any less,” hissed Vish through gritted teeth. “I would rather that you just hurry up and get on with this fight, so we can finish it.”Li's eyes bulged.The crowd had stopped laughing.“Insolent foreigner!” Li screeched. “Fine! Have it your way! I will end this contest in one blow!”He pelted across the arena towards Vish with tremendous speed, screaming his head off as he went, “YAAAAAAAAAH!”He arrived at Vish with a humongous backhanded punch–the same one which he had shown off earlier.Vish caught Li's fist with one hand, stopping it in place in front of his head, at the same time punching him in the chest with his other hand, so hard it made an audible bang like metal on metal even though it was just a fist on a chest.Flecks of spittle and blood came out of Li's surprised mouth.The Shadowfinger let go of Li's fist, and the martial artist fell back onto the ground immediately, eyes unfocused with shock. He let out a quiet little whimpering sound, then lost consciousness and lay still, his eyes closing.Vish walked past him, rubbing the hand that he had punched Li with, back towards the dugout.For a moment everyone just looked on in silence, almost as stunned as Li had been, Cid included, only the sound of Vish's footsteps carrying across the arena.Then the announcer called out “One!”, remembering the tournament rules.“Don't waste your breath,” Vish called back over his shoulder as he reached the edge of the arena and walked off it, into the dugout, himself completely disregarding the rules. “He won't be getting up for a while. You'll need to carry him off.”The crowd was quiet. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sagaofthejewels.substack.com

Previously on Saga of the Jewels…The life of seventeen-year-old RYN, bookish son of a wealthy landowner, changes forever when his hometown is destroyed by the EMPIRE and everyone he has ever known is killed. Ryn discovers that the Empire are seeking TWELVE PRIMEVAL JEWELS which grant the power to manipulate different elements, and that his father had been hiding the FIRE RUBY. He sets out to take revenge on the Imperial General who killed his family and retrieve the Fire Ruby, and along the way meets NUTHEA the lightning-slinging princess, SAGAR the swaggering skypirate, ELRANN the tomboy engineer, CID the wizened old healer, and VISH the poppy-seed-addicted bounty hunter. Together the companions decide to find all of the Jewels in order to stop the EMPEROR from finding them first and taking over the world. They have thus far succeeded in retrieving the Fire Ruby, borne by Ryn, and the Lightning Crystal, borne by Nuthea. They have now come to the land of FARR where they intend to compete in a hand-to-hand fighting tournament in order to attempt to win its prize, the EARTH EMERALD…EPISODE THIRTY-NINE: THE TOURNAMENT: QUARTER FINAL TWO: SAGAR OF IMFIS VS. HIUNA OF FARRTen minutes earlier.Sagar strode out of the dugout shoulder to shoulder with his opponent.He felt almost naked without his coat and swords, but his shirt and trousers would have to do.As they reached the open air of the little concourse that led from the tunnel mouth to the stone tiles of the arena, people must have spotted them, because a wave of cheers and applause from the thousands-strong Farrian crowd swelled to greet them……then subsided again to about half its original volume, breaking into a buzz of confused chatter.No wonder, Sagar thought as he stepped onto the arena floor and began to make his way over to one side of it. I'm not a Farrian, after all; I'm another ‘filthy foreigner' you weren't expecting–just like the pup was.And his opponent was a Farrian–but she was also a woman. As far as Sagar understood, women did not normally become monks, or fight, in Farrian culture, as was quite right and proper. How this woman had managed to progress to the quarter finals, he had no idea. Maybe she had had a free pass like him, Ryn and Vish for some reason.He regarded her where she took her place now opposite him about fifteen paces away on the other side of the arena, standing in a simple stance with two fists bunched and knuckles-down on either side of the top of her hips. She wore a leaf-green robe liked the baldies did, tied with an earth-brown sash at her waist. Her build was slight and slender. Like all Farrian women she had dark hair, except it was cut short like a Dokanese man's. Only the femininity of her cheekbones betrayed her as a woman, but had you not been told you might be forgiven for mistaking her for a man.Why do I always get paired up with these women who act like men? Sagar thought. It was like someone was trying to teach him something. At least hopefully this one won't also turn out to be my long-lost sister.He had begrudgingly learned not to underestimate women who looked a bit like men from his experience with Elrann. But Elrann had so far only beaten men in drinking competitions (probably by cheating) and only been able to make a laughing stock of him when she had her firearms at her disposal. Elrann had never fought him hand-to-hand, and Sagar knew that if she ever did, he would win. Just like he was going to win in this fight against this Farrian woman.Because if there was one thing that growing up on his father's skyship had taught him, it was how to fight, with a sword–or without one. He hadn't needed the scumsucker's ridiculous ‘training'.So I'm sorry, little Farrian girl, he thought, still regarding her with his exposed eye, but there's not going to be any glory, or prize money, or Jewels for you today. Those belong to me.“Ready?” the announcer said to him.Sagar nodded, smiling.His opponent did the same.“Then…...FIGHT!” The announcer shouted the word so loud it rang out over the crowd, then immediately rushed off to the sand that bordered the side of the arena to get out of the way.The woman standing across from Sagar pointed a finger at him and called out in a loud, theatrical, somewhat angry voice:“Sagar of Imfis! My name is Hiuna of Farr, and I am going to win this tournament! My whole life I have sought to prove my right to fight alongside men, and in this tournament I am going to do just that, first by defeating you, Sagar of Imfis!”Sagar winced at the repetition of his name. Did she have to underscore that, when he was a man wanted by the Empire? The woman, ‘Hiuna', had shouted loud enough for the whole audience to hear. They went quiet in the wake of her strange announcement, tensing to see what would happen next.“Er…okay?” Sagar said at a normal volume. Who did she think she was to challenge him, a fearsome pirate skycaptain? “Show me what you've got, then,” he invited, beckoning with a finger.And then Hiuna was sprinting straight at him.“HA!” She gave an aggressive yell, then leapt into the air, aiming a flying side-on kick at Sagar's chest.He got his hand up in time to deflect it as he stepped to one side out of the way, but boy did it hit hard as it glanced off his palm, sending a ripple of shock down his arm.Hiuna landed, then immediately sprang back up and launched a barrage of punches at him. High. High. Low. Middle. High.Sagar blocked or dodged all of them, then jumped backwards to put some space in between him and the woman and buy himself some more time.But she didn't give him any. She ran forward at once, closing the gap, came in with another kick, another flurry of punches, more kicks.Sagar blocked them all, tendons tightening in his neck from the effort.Hiuna came out of a roundhouse kick and continued rotating with her body, spinning around with a wicked surprise punch aimed at Sagar's stomach.Time slowed.Sagar could see that he was going to be able to block the punch in time, but it was coming towards him with such force that the impact of it might just knock him backwards all the same…backwards and out of the arena, the perimeter of which Hiuna had driven him to with her barrage of strikes.His instincts activated.Just before the punch connected, Sagar summoned the wind.A localised gust of air rushed from the open palm with which he had been about to block the woman's punch, so forcefully that it stopped her fist in mid-air, then pushed it–and her–backwards.Sagar stepped into the gust and drove his palm forwards to conceal his wind attack, connecting with Hiuna's hand as it moved backwards and making it look as if he had somehow blocked her blow and followed through with a counter-strike in the same rapid movement.He extended his arm fully, and Hiuna went staggering back a few paces towards the centre of the arena, grunting, almost losing her footing and falling over.She regained her balance, then came back into a fighting stance, this time with her two fists held out in front of her ready to fend off whatever Sagar might throw at her next.But Sagar did not follow up with another attack…yet.He was trying to work out if he could win this without more obviously resorting to his wind power, or ‘projection', or whatever the princess called it.She had pushed him to use it so soon. Much sooner than he had anticipated needing to use it in this tournament.The Farrian's delicate face was still fixed in an angry frown of determination, but now her brows crinkled even further, betraying puzzlement.She knows something is amiss.“You have some skill!” Sagar called out so the nearby audience members would be able to hear, deciding to follow up with a verbal assault, “I'll grant you that. Not bad, not bad at all, especially for a woman who wants to be a man!”A few snickers fluttered across the crowd, reaching Sagar's keen ears. He needed to keep up this momentum.“But you're still outmatched, I'm afraid!” he yelled, baiting her for all she was worth. “I'll make quick work of you, woman!”“You got lucky, foreigner!” Hiuna shot back. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Good. “I almost had you beaten in ten strikes! You got a lucky hit in, somehow! I won't let that happen again!”Pounce when they least expect it, rang a remembered voice in Sagar's head. The voice of the man he hadn't known was his father until it had been time for him to say goodbye. When they're most riled up and ready, that's when you get the jump on them. It supposedly applied to bedding, but also to fighting.Sagar bounded forward, coming on with a vicious right hook aimed at the woman's head.She got her forearm up to block it, and he followed up with a left jab, which she smacked out of the way with her other hand.He kept the pressure up, bombarding her with more punches. She blocked three more, then danced out of the way of the next.Damn it, he thought as he kept up the barrage, unable to land a hit. She is skilled. And surprisingly strong. He wished that he could take off his eye patch to see with both eyes. He would have to resort to his other trick again.He counted one, two, three more useless punches, then suddenly crouched and spun, whipping out his leg like a dog flicking out its tail, bringing it around in a low, sweeping kick.As he did so he summoned the wind to assist him so that he spun round impossibly fast, his kick moving with the speed of a gale. A small whooshing noise followed his leg round.He felt the kick connect with the woman's legs before he saw it happen. The back of his calf blossomed with brief impact as he swept her legs out from underneath her and she went over on her back, smacking against the stone with a satisfying slap.Sagar came up immediately and sprang forwards, aiming a gut-punch at her prone form.Before he landed, the woman rolled to the side and out of the way, and he punched the air where she had just been, pulling back just in time to stop his knuckles from hitting the stone of the arena floor.He watched as the woman kept rolling, then pushed herself up from the ground with her hands and, keeping her momentum, twirled around several times in the air, before landing in her double-fisted fighting stance again some distance away.Well, that was pretty impressive, he supposed.The woman scowled at him, more furious than ever.“What are you doing?!” she called out. “I am your better many times over, and yet you keep scoring surprise hits on me! You are cheating, somehow, foreigner!”Sagar shrugged exaggeratedly, making a show of it. “You can think that if you like, lady! Whatever helps you to feel better about yourself!”“Raaargh!” she cried out in anger and rushed at him again, arriving with a furious punch which he parried. She kept on at him, throwing strike after strike, so that Sagar had to consistently use the wind to speed up his responses, to nudge himself out of the way of an attack, to nudge her slightly away from him.She was throwing everything he had at him, making him sweat now, too.And it would have been enough…were it not for his special ability.Sagar pushed one of her high punches further up, past his shoulder, then saw an opening. Her stomach was exposed.He brought his knee up hard, even harder than he could normally, by propelling it with a gust of air.Spittle and a humiliating “Urk!” issued from the woman's mouth as she took the hit, then flew backwards through the air and landed on her back on the arena floor again.The skypirate turned away out of embarrassment for her.To his great delight, the crowd was cheering his name.“SA-GAR! SA-GAR! SA-GAR!”Apparently they knew a good fighter when they saw one, ‘filthy foreigner' or not.“One!” someone yelled. The announcer beginning his count.“Save your breath,” Sagar said to him where he knelt in the sand at the edge of the arena near to where Hiuna had landed. “I hit her very hard. She won't be getting up any time soon.”“Two!” called the announcer.He turned back to the crowd and started motioning with his hands for them to cheer louder. They obliged him.“SA-GAR! SA-GAR!”He clasped his hands together and held them aloft, shaking them together to proclaim himself the champion.“Thre–oh!”The crowd gasped all of a sudden.“Huh?”Sagar spun round just in time to see Hiuna running towards him.She barrelled into him, grabbing hold of his arms and headbutting him in the face.Pain erupted across Sagar's nose. He went over backwards, the woman still gripping his arms.His hit the ground and on instinct rolled to the side, immediately hoping to pin Hiuna down just as she had tried to do to him.Instead they kept rolling across the arena floor, shoulders banging against the stone, as the woman kept converting their momentum into another roll, and he did the same in turn.Eventually, their momentum ran out, and Sagar found that he didn't quite have the strength left to bring her over in one final roll.He sank back against the stone, banging his head. The woman lay on top of him, her face close to his, bright bands of pain around his forearms where she still held them tight.Damn, but she's surprisingly strong.“I don't know what trick you were pulling, foreigner,” Hiuna growled, huffing and puffing right in his face, expression furious and determined, “but I'd like to see you try it while I'm holding onto you.” Her breath smelled of jasmine.Sagar tried to think up a response, but found that his mind–and his body–had suddenly become very distracted by something.He had a woman on top of him. This was the first time he had ever had a woman on top of him.He had dreamed about it plenty of times, of course, but this was the first time he had ever had a real woman on top of him. In real life. Reality. A woman.And she was quite beautiful, if you took the time to notice. Her cheek-lines had a kind of delicate defiance to them, and her eyes burned with a green fire.And through his shirt, through her robe and under-garment, he could feel pressing up against him the unmistakable shapes of two small, but nonetheless round and firm, breasts.His loins stirred. So what if apparently he had a thing for women that looked a bit like men? At least she was still a woman.Hiuna must have noticed something was happening because her frown deepened. A very pretty frown, really, if you took the time to notice. Above pink, inviting lips.The woman's face was just inches away from Sagar's.He tilted his head up a little, closed his eyes, and kissed her on the mouth.He felt her body tense with surprise. Then, after a moment, to his own surprise and delight, she relaxed, and kissed him back.A hot, sticky kiss. A passionate, heat-of-the-moment, wrestling-on-the-arena-floor sort of kiss.His first ever kiss.“Five!” the announcer shouted somewhere above them.What?Sagar managed to ignore his shock and continue kissing Hiuna, but only barely.“Six!”The announcer had started the count and he hadn't even noticed. That's right, he was being pinned to the ground, after all!Was that why Hiuna was kissing him back? To keep him pinned down?“Seven!”But if she was doing that, then why had she also relaxed her grip on his arms?“Eight!”Did he even want to win this tournament any more, or had he found something–someone–better to preoccupy himself with?“Nine!”But she might just be trying to win too. What was he thinking?! Of course he wanted to win this tournament. Death or glory!He brought his free hands in under Hiuna's stomach.Her eyes opened wide and her face spasmed, breaking the kiss, just before...Sagar pushed upwards.As he did so, he projected a gust of air, and managed to get his feet up and under her too to lend the appearance of a double-footed kick helping her on her way.Hiuna flew backwards off of him, over his head.Sagar managed to scramble up and twist his body around in time to see her arms and legs flailing wildly as she described a high arc through the air, turning over a couple of times, then landed with a thump in the sand to the side of the arena.“Out of bounds!” the announcer yelled immediately. “Sagar of Imfis wins!”The crowd roared.No sooner than he saw her hit the ground, a dread weight tugged down at Sagar's guts, and his head went foggy and dizzy.What was this feeling?Oh, poodoo.He hadn't recognised it at first because he wasn't used to feeling it.It was guilt.He had made the wrong decision.Had he? Hiuna had only been kissing him back in order to keep him pinned in place, hadn't she? Or had she?He sprinted across the arena floor to where she was standing up and brushing herself down, face set in grim fury.“Hiuna,” he said when he reached her, ignoring the announcer who was squawking something behind him. “I'm sorry!” The unfamiliar sound of his own apology astonished even himself, but he meant it. “I didn't mean to–”“Don't!” Hiuna burst out at him, voice atremble. She began to run towards the dugout, covering her face with her hands. Was she crying?“Wait!”Sagar ran after her, following her into the dugout. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sagaofthejewels.substack.com

Previously on Saga of the Jewels…The life of seventeen-year-old RYN, bookish son of a wealthy landowner, changes forever when his hometown is destroyed by the EMPIRE and everyone he has ever known is killed. Ryn discovers that the Empire are seeking TWELVE PRIMEVAL JEWELS which grant the power to manipulate different elements, and that his father had been hiding the FIRE RUBY. He sets out to take revenge on the Imperial General who killed his family and retrieve the Fire Ruby, and along the way meets NUTHEA the lightning-slinging princess, SAGAR the swaggering skypirate, ELRANN the tomboy engineer, CID the wizened old healer, VISH the poppy-seed-addicted assassin, RISS the spirit-summoning girl, and QUEL the water-projecting bard. Together the adventurers decide to find all of the Jewels in order to stop the evil EMPEROR from finding them first and taking over the world. They have thus far succeeded in retrieving the Fire Ruby, borne by Ryn, and the Lightning Crystal, borne by Nuthea. They have now come to the land of FARR where they are competing in a hand-to-hand fighting tournament in order to attempt to win its grand prize, the EARTH EMERALD…EPISODE THIRTY-EIGHT: THE TOURNAMENT: QUARTER-FINAL ONE: RYN VS. ROGAR THE UNSURPASSABLEThe crowd thronged and pressed against Nuthea.Even though she, Elrann, Cid and the two newcomers, Riss and Quel, had been given a place right at the front of it, next to the wooden barrier, she still felt hemmed-in.There were no seats for this spectacle, so they had to stand like everybody else. Behind and to either side of them, and in front of them on the other side of the flat stone squares of the arena, stood thousands of Farrians, and their children, and in some cases their animals–she had already spotted a cow, a cochobo, and several goats–going back as far as Nuthea could see, pushing up against one another and chattering. The entirety of Farr seemed to have turned out to watch this tournament.Nuthea caught a few sentences.“I heard Rogar made it through the heats,” said an enthusiastic young man somewhere just behind her.“That'd make sense,” said his friend. “He's been dominating on the circuit recently.”“He's my favourite to win.”“What about Li Ash-Tai?”“I don't know if he's even entered.”“If he has, he's sure to take the prize. He's beaten everyone on the circuit, more than once–including Rogar.”“He can't have. Nobody's beaten Rogar.”“I don't know how any of them will be able to fight in this heat, really.”“True. These fights will be endurance tests as much as anything else.”They were right about that. The heat was sticky and cloying. Sweat ran down Nuthea's arms and legs underneath her dress, making it stick to her skin. It never gets this hot in Manolia. She didn't think that Ryn and Sagar would be used to this sort of heat either. Though perhaps Ryn would be able to handle it because of his fire-alignment. That gave her some hope.She looked up at the sky. An unbroken, bright blue canvas for the sun, except for in one place where a single white cloud about the size of half her hand drifted.One God, she prayed. Please help us. Please give us success today. Please help one of Ryn, or Sagar, or Vish to win this.She returned to watching the slabs of the arena floor.If only I had been able to enter, I could have won this with my lightning…In the end she had had to reveal to the others that she was blocked in her lightning in order to explain why she wasn't entering. Elrann and Cid still hadn't wanted to enter either, and neither of the two newcomers were keen, so they had ultimately had to forfeit one of their four assigned places in the quarter finals. The Governor had taken no issue whatsoever with this, and said that there would be plenty of Farrians able to fill the vacant eighth slot from the tournament heats.So they had reduced their chances of winning the tournament already.But had their chances ever been that great? Could any of the boys really win this?Vish, she thought. He should be able to cope in this sort of heat, given that he was from Aibar originally. The Shadowfinger was probably their best chance of winning this tournament, since he was the most proficient hand-to-hand fighter among them by a long way.True, he did not possess any elemental magic, though, so that could tip the balance in Ryn's or Sagar's favour, if they ended up using it. Of those two, Sagar was the more skilled fighter, and had been fighting with his gift for longer.However, some of the Farrians might have elemental projection as well now, from the Emerald. That could mean that Ryn would have the advantage, if he used his magic, what with earth-alignment being vulnerable to attacks from fire-alignment, as they'd found in the Earth Temple.But they didn't want to use their magic unless they absolutely had to, as they didn't want to make their location known to the Empire. So far they appeared to have gotten away with avoiding that, since the audience at the Manyiro play seemed to have thought that Ryn and Sagar's powers were part of the show, though that had only happened last night. On the other hand, the Farrians were so skilled at hand-to-hand fighting that magic might not even come into it–in which case that brought her back full circle to Vish as their best chance.If Vish won, though, could they trust him to hand over the Jewel to the group for safekeeping? Could they really trust this former Shadowfinger whose life Ryn had spared, just because Grandfather Cid was supplying him with poppy, and supposedly helping him to ‘come off' of it? It wasn't as if he was even making much progress in doing that, given his own activities last night.Nuthea shook her head. Vish had proved his allegiance time and again on their journey, by fighting alongside them and stepping in to save their lives multiple times. Of course he could be trusted.Or at least, so she hoped…She lifted her eyes to the sky again.Oh, and One God, would you please un-silence me and give me back my lightning powers again?She sighed. What was the use? She had prayed this prayer many times, and it just didn't seem to be being answered. Or at least, if it was being answered it wasn't in the way that she wanted. Oh well. She would just have to keep praying it. That was all she could do.“Here we are,” said Cid at her side. “It's starting.”Nuthea looked.From the mouth of a narrow tunnel built into the ground in front of the wooden barrier at the far side of the arena strode a thick-set man with a shaved head in the green garb of the Farrian fighting monks.As soon as he became visible the crowd roared with approval, a deafening wave of noise that almost knocked Nuthea over.The man walked to the centre of the square arena, smiling at the cheering and applause. He had a wide face and a mischievous smile.He made a few rotations, clapping and cheering himself and making raising gestures with his hands. The shouts of the crowd grew even louder. He was whipping them up into a frenzy.Then the man held up both hands, and miraculously the crowd stopped cheering all of a sudden and went quiet.An eerie hush fell over the arena, almost as disturbing as the noise had been. Nuthea could hear her heartbeat inside her head. A mosquito buzzed past her ear, thrumming briefly before flying away.“Fellow Farrians!” the monk bellowed, voice carrying over the crowd. “Welcome to the One Hundred and Twenty-First Fighting Tournament at Tenkachi!”The crowd began to cheer again, , but the announcer held up his hands once more, calming them.“Please!” he yelled. “Save your adulation for the combatants! Many qualifying bouts have been fought, and we now have eight quarter-final contenders ready to fight for your entertainment today!”More cheering, and the announcer had to motion for quiet yet again. Nuthea was glad that the Governor had allowed Ryn, Sagar and Vish to bypass the heats and go straight to the final bracket, even if the Farrian crowds didn't know this.“As you know,” the announcer continued, “the rules of the tournament are simple: If a combatant falls out of bounds”—he indicated the dirt perimeter that bordered the arena in front of the wooden barrier that separated it from the crowd–“or if they yield, are incapacitated, unconscious or otherwise unable to fight for the count of ten, then their opponent is declared the winner of the round! Now, without further ado, I give you your first quarter-finalists: Ryn of Efstan versus Rogar the Unsurpassable of Morekemia!”The crowd cheered and applauded, though not as loudly as it might have. Nuthea was surprised to hear that ‘Rogar' was not a Farrian, but a Morekemian, but gathered from what she had overheard earlier that he was a foreign free agent who fought on Farr's tournament circuit. So not everyone who had progressed from the heats was a native Farrian—that must have irritated the Governor.She watched as Ryn walked out of the tunnel that the announcer had emerged from. His eyes found her at the front of the crowd, then quickly looked away. The boy took his place on one side of the arena.Nuthea winced. Ryn didn't seem to know where to put his hands, and ended up half-hugging himself with one of his arms. He looked hopelessly uncomfortable.Then ‘Rogar the Unsurpassable of Morekemia' walked out of the dugout.Oh dear, thought Nuthea.Ryn regarded the man standing ten paces away from him across the arena floor.About two feet taller than him, Rogar the Unsurpassable cast a shadow that almost reached the young Efstanish farmboy even in the midday sun. The man was a giant. He was even bigger than Huld. The difference between this man and Huld, however, was that whereas Huld's bulk was all honed muscle, Rogar's was fat.There was no other way to put it. A gigantic girth almost burst out of his trousers, which appeared to be made out of stitched-together sack-cloth, spilling over the top of them where they were tied together by a belt of rope. He was hairy- and bare-chested, except for a glistening black leather waistcoat which covered his nipples, but not all of the enormous rolls of fat that sat atop his belly like breasts, bigger than those of any woman that Ryn had ever seen.Most of Rogar's face was hidden by a thick mess of curly, deep-black beard which came down past his collarbone. Two mad beady black eyes peered out from above it, intensely focused on Ryn with a look of deranged glee. The top of his head was shaved, except for where a ponytail stuck out the back of it and hung down behind his neck.Can a man so fat really be so skilled at fighting? Ryn thought. He may be big, but I am sure I am younger, and nimbler, and faster. I'll use the techniques Vish has taught me to best him before he even has a chance to get a blow in. I'm not scared of him.Although, if he wasn't scared, then why was he shaking in his boots?Somewhere far off, as if from outside a pool of water that he was submerged in, Ryn was aware that the tournament announcer was declaring the beginning of their bout. He didn't fully heed it because all of his attention was focused on Rogar.Unexpectedly, the giant spoke. “Do you know why they call Rogar ‘Rogar the Unsurpassable', boy?” He had a deep, grizzly voice with a sadistic edge to it, and appeared to be referring to himself in the third person. He spoke loud enough that anyone in the audience, which had gone completely silent, would be able to hear him.Ryn thought about trying to make some witty remark about the man's size in reply, but his mind was fog and none came to him.The giant didn't wait for a response anyway. “It's 'cause Rogar has never been beaten in single combat. Rogar has been doing this for years, and he is much better at it than you are!”Ryn's mouth had gone very dry. How did the giant know that? He hadn't even seen Ryn fight. He's just making an unmerited assumption…isn't he?Now Rogar did drop his voice, so that only Ryn and the nearest audience members would be able to hear. “Rogar heard they even let you skip the heats for some reason. Why? You are clearly only a puny untrained insect. What do the tournament organisers know that Rogar doesn't?”Ryn had no reply. He could give none. He decided that he would let his actions, and his fighting, speak for him instead.Slowly and deliberately, he shifted his body into a fighting stance that Vish had shown them, standing facing his opponent side-on with his right foot forward, his left hand pulled back to his waist in a fist, and his right hand raised in front of his face with bent index and middle fingers extending slightly out from it, trying as hard as he could to hold himself so he did not tremble.Rogar visibly suppressed a laugh, then turned it into a wide grin, showing brown and rotting teeth through his beard.“Okay, Efstanish,” he said, back at his original theatrical volume. “You have some heart, Rogar gives you that. Rogar will give you one free blow. Rogar should warn you though, his other nickname is ‘Rogar the Insatiable'. Rogar eats children like you for breakfast. And once you have had your free blow, Rogar will eat you!”At this goad a large component of the assembled crowd cheered, so loud that the noise broke through Ryn's bubble of concentration. The cheer had bloodthirst in it.The thing was, Ryn could genuinely imagine this man eating children. But he didn't really do that, did he? That was just theatrics. That was just a taunt designed to unsettle him, surely?Rogar raised a tree-trunk arm and beckoned Ryn towards himself. “Come on, little boy!” He spread his hands in a gesture of welcome. “Take your free shot at Rogar! Please!”Ryn gritted his teeth. Pressure had built up in his groin–he needed to pee. Could the crowd see that he was shaking?It doesn't matter that he's taunting me, he thought. One of us needs to win this, and I'm going to try my hardest for it to be me. I just need to try not to use my fire projection if I can manage it, so as not to give us away.His eyes jumped to the place at the front of the crowd where he had seen Nuthea when he had walked out. There she was, hunched and tensed, both hands raised to her mouth. It looked as though she was biting her nails.He looked back at the gigantic form of Rogar the Unsurpassable, whose hands were still spread in invitation, presenting him with his opportunity of a free attack.Please don't me look stupid and be humiliated, especially in front of Nuthea.Ryn ran at Rogar across the square stone slabs of the arena floor.He pulled back his fist as he approached, but deliberately did not will fire into it.“Hyah!” he yelled as he punched, twisting his fist round as it moved through the air, just like Vish had taught them to do.Ryn's fist went right into Rogar's paunch with a dull thwap……and stayed there, buried.The folds of flesh just swallowed his hand up, accepting it, containing it, absorbing the force of the punch completely.“Ahahahaha!” Rogar laughed heartily, clutching his sides as his whole belly shook–Ryn felt the vibrations running from his hand down his arm, making his teeth knock together. “You want another free shot, Efstanish? Have one! Have two! Have three! Have as many as you want! Ahahahaha!”When Rogar spoke Ryn did not just hear the words with his ears, but felt them moving horribly from the giant's belly, through his arm and his whole body. He felt them in his bones.He heard the crowd watching them laughing too, somewhere.His heart sank within him.Mother. Father. Hometown. Found Vorr. Got Vorr. Killed Vorr. Find the Jewels. Save the world. Stay with Nuthea. Don't look like a fool in front of Nuthea. Get the Emerald. Beat this man.Damned if he was going to give up this easily.Ryn's temper lit, but he still retained just enough self-control to stop his hand from lighting on fire too. He hadn't completely exhausted the non-elemental approach yet.He pulled his fist out of the Morekemian's gut. It came out with a slippery squerching sound and Rogar's belly fat wobbled back into place after it.Ryn smashed his fist into the laughing man's nose, which he could just about reach.Without pausing, he followed up with an uppercut to Rogar's chin with his other hand.Then a kick to his leg, then another spinning kick to his side, then several more punches to his chest.Ryn had gained momentum now.He threw blow after blow at the man, hitting him all over his body, unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks on the massive Morekemian.Eventually, Ryn ran out of steam.He stopped punching and kicking and took a step back, huffing and puffing hard from the exertion.Rogar was laughing again.Ryn's attacks had had no visible effect whatsoever on the man. His punches and kicks had either bounced off Rogar's flesh without leaving a bruise, or been absorbed by it. The man did not even have any marks on his skin from Ryn's efforts, let alone bruises.Well, poodoo, Ryn thought. He might as well have been throwing pebbles against a huge hanging slab of meat.“Ahahahaha!” Rogar laughed, holding his heaving belly. The crowd were laughing again too, sadistic and relishing. “Now do you see why they call Rogar ‘the Unsurpassable', puny child? Rogar has shown you why, and now he will show you why they also call him Rogar the Insatiable!”Damn it, I need to use my fire, Ryn thought as the giant strode towards him.He threw another punch at the man's chest–this time lighting his fist aflame.Quick as a snake-strike, Rogar's hand shot out and grabbed Ryn's forearm, squeezing it vice-tight.Pain flashed along Ryn's arm so bright and sudden that it made his fire go out instantly.Before he knew what was happening, a strange weightless sensation took him as Rogar lifted him up from the ground by the arm……and then the arena floor slammed into Ryn's face.Shock reverberated through his body. His vision blurred. He tasted copper.The pain caught up to him. Pain in his nose, pain in his head, pain flashing along the front of his body. So much pain. He heard himself crying out with it.The crowd were cheering vehemently now, though Ryn could hear someone screaming too. Was that him screaming, or somebody else?The vice-grip still held his arm tight. He caught a blurry glimpse of some of the people in the crowd moving across his vision as Rogar lifted him into the air again……then slammed him back down against the stony floor.Pain, pain, so much pain.His vision blurred again, and yet new pain wracked him.The man was smacking him against the ground like some sort of plaything, Ryn understood somewhere in a corner of his mind.Fire… he thought dimly with what was left of his wits. I've got to use my fire…But then he smacked down against the ground another time and the thought was knocked out him.Up, down, up, down. He hit the ground again and again.There was a lull in the beating. Ryn's head swam and spots danced in his vision. He was aware of blood running down his face, into his mouth. He may have lost consciousness a few times, but the next thing he became aware of was that he was hanging by his arm in front of Rogar's horrible bearded face.Someone was still screaming somewhere in amongst the cheers of bloodlust coming from the crowd. Nuthea. Ryn didn't have the energy left to scream himself.“—quite tough,” Rogar's voice was saying somewhere. “Rogar will give you that too, Efstanish. Rogar would have expected you to pass out by now. The fact that you are awake is something. Oh well. Come here for a cuddle.”Amidst the pain, Ryn was aware of being pressed up against Rogar's flesh–against the sticky, sweaty, smelly flesh of his chest, and the curly chest hairs that tickled his broken nose and his bloody cheeks.Two impossibly thick cords of rope constricted around his arms and torso.No–not ropes. They were Rogar's arms. The giant had enclosed him in a massive bear hug.And then Rogar squeezed.“Aaaaarrrggghhhh!” Ryn screamed in a paroxysm of pain. He felt some of his ribs snapping.The spots in his vision turned black, and started growing, threatening to consume it.Fire… he thought vaguely, though the thought was almost entirely drowned out by the pain. I've got to use my fire…But it was no use. The pain was so intense, and the blackness in his vision so all-consuming, and it had spread to the whole of it. He had lost focus completely now, and his thoughts became very slow. He was about to lose consciousness.One God…help me…The crowd was roaring again.Only, it wasn't a pleased, triumphant kind of roar anymore. It sounded more like an angry sort of roar, punctuated by shouts of outrage and harshly-called phrases that Ryn could not make out.He opened his eyes and found himself looking up at the sky. Clear blue, with the bright orb of the sun off slightly to the side, except, curiously, for one small dark cloud that had formed.Nuthea appeared in his vision, brows knotted in concern. She looked pretty when she frowned. Then again, she always looked pretty.“Are you alright, Ryn?” she asked.He realised he wasn't in pain any more. That had been his most recent memory from before he had passed out: Pain. So much pain.“Yes…” he answered her. “Somehow…”He remembered what he had been doing before the pain.“Oh! Did I lose the fight? What happened to me?”“That horrible man squeezed you until you passed out,” Nuthea said. “But when you passed out, your fire-gift activated. Your whole body exploded with fire, so powerfully that it blasted him out of the arena, right into the crowd, and burned him–quite badly. Cid had to go and heal him even before he came and healed you.”“Cid?”The old man popped up next to Nuthea. “Hello.”“Oh. Thank you for healing me.”“A pleasure, young man!” Cid smiled, showing his teeth. “It took considerably less mana than I had to use on our friend Rogar the Unsurpasaable over there…”Ryn looked back to Nuthea. “That man was so strong… So…I lost the match, then?”Now Elrann appeared too, next to Cid. “No you didn't, farmboy! Didn't ya listen to what princess-girl said? You passed out, sure, but ya gotta be out for the count of ten before they make the other guy the winner. Fat-man landed out of bounds before you got anywhere near a count of ten. So ya won! Way to go. Pretty impressive that you managed to win and pass out at the same time, though. You're always passing out, ain't ya? It's, like, your ‘thing'. Fact, it had been a little while since you last passed out. I think you were probably due one.”Ryn couldn't help himself from grinning at her.“The crowd are pretty pissed off about it, though,” Elrann continued.“What? Why?”“Well, they thought Rogar was a dead cert to win, for sure. He's pretty popular on the regular fighting circuits apparently. And for most of your match he dominated.”Ryn winced at the memory of his useless blows bouncing off the man's flesh, of being repeatedly slammed against the floor and then crushed in a bear hug by the big Morekemian.“But then right at the end ya did something they ain't ever seen before, and you won unexpectedly, all of a sudden, without even being awake! They feel like you cheated. They feel cheated.”“But I didn't cheat…” said Ryn. “The Governor said we could use elemental projection if we wanted to. I just held out trying not to because of what Nuthea said about keeping it a secret for as long as possible…”“Yes…” said Nuthea. “Well, the chocobo's out of the stable on that one now, isn't it? I know it wasn't your fault though. We need to talk about this some more. But let's get you out of this arena first. Come on, they're waiting to start the next match.”She took Ryn's hand and helped him onto his feet. As he stood, the crowd immediately started to jeer and boo him. He saw faces scowling.“Cheat!” someone shouted.“Trickster!”“Charlatan!”“Sorcerer!”Poodoo to you, Ryn thought as Cid and Elrann returned to their viewing area and he walked with Nuthea back towards the entrance of the tunnel that led from the arena to the preparation chambers, the announcer ushering them off while making calming gestures to try to pacify the crowd as they continued to boo. I don't care if you think I ‘cheated', Ryn thought. Find the Jewels. Save the world. Stay with Nuthea. Win the tournament. Get the Emerald. At whatever cost. By whatever means.They made their way down the tunnel, and the daylight was blocked off, then replaced by lantern-light. Close air pushed in at Ryn inside the stuffy preparation chamber where he had waited with Rogar and the other combatants before going out to fight his match, carved out of the brown earth of Farr like so many of its structures.Sagar ran up to him straight away.“You won, pup?”Ryn nodded. He wasn't sure whether Sagar was concerned for him or for himself. “Yes,” he said, “But I had to use my fire. I wasn't planning to, it just sort of happened. So they know at least one of us has elemental projection now.”“Yes,” said Nuthea. “And news will travel. We need to get this tournament over with as fast as possible. You may want to use your gift too, Sagar, but remember you're wanted by the Empire as well, so you do so at your own risk.”Sagar set his jaw. “Got it.” He dropped his voice in a rare moment of seriousness. “It's easier for me to hide my projection than you, pup. But if I have to use it, I will.”From beyond the tunnel came the distant sound of a man shouting something very loudly. The referee announcing the second quarter final–Sagar's match.“Sagar,” Ryn said. “Be careful out there. The guy I fought was really strong.”The corner of Sagar's mouth twitched up, whether from amusement or because he appreciated the concern, Ryn couldn't tell.“Don't worry about me, pup,” Sagar said. His brown eyes twinkled. “I've got this.”The Farrian announcer appeared in the entrance to the dugout.“Sagar of Imfis?” he asked, looking around.“Here,” said Sagar, holding up a hand.“And Hiuna of Farr?” said the announcer.“Here,” said a defiant, distinctly female voice.Ryn turned to see a woman dressed in the same green robes that Huld and the other Farrian monks wore, tied at the waist with a black cloth belt, striding forward. He recognised her as one of the other quarter-finalists that had been gathered together in the dugout before his first fight with Rogar. It would have been easy to mistake her for one of the male monks were it not for her slightly-higher-than-male-pitched voice and her short dark hair. That by itself set her apart from all the other monks, whose heads were all shaven.“Godsdammit,” Sagar murmured under his breath, rolling his eyes. “Why do I always get paired up with these women who want to look and behave like men?”“Do you?” asked Ryn, confused.“Nevermind…” said Sagar. “I'll be fine.”“Don't underestimate her, Sagar,” Ryn said quietly. “I meant it: The guy I fought was really strong. Remember we got a free pass through the heats. That lady has beaten a load of people to get here, unlike us.” 111“Enough, pup!” Sagar brushed him off. “I've told you I'll be fine!”He walked out of the dugout shoulder to shoulder with ‘Hiuna of Farr' to go and fight his match against her.“Let's go and watch them!” Ryn said to Nuthea, still standing a little way away.“Not yet,” Nuthea said. “We need to go and talk to the Governor first.”“We do?”“We do. You showed the Farrian audience that you have the gift of fire. That's fair enough, given that you needed to use it to beat that man as there was no way you were going to beat him without using it.”Ryn fought back a blush unsuccessfully. His cheeks heated, and not from his ‘gift of fire'.“But word of this will travel,” Nuthea continued. “It may take a few days for it to reach Morekemia so many miles away, but we can be sure it will reach them eventually. We can't take any chances. We need to convince the Governor to get this tournament over with as quickly as possible. That way we can claim the Earth Emerald and get out of here with it as soon as we can. If the Empire send anyone here to investigate before we have the Emerald, it could be disastrous–if they have any soldiers left who can project fire, we now know that earth is weak to fire, so even if the Governor has used the Emerald to grant more of his monks earth projection, they wouldn't stand a chance.“Right,” said Ryn, grasping the seriousness of the situation. “Let's go and talk to him, then.”“Hold it right there, boy,” said a grizzly, hostile voice.Ryn, who had turned and been about to walk off, froze in place and looked up into the fat, frowning, bushy-black-bearded face of Rogar the Unsurpassable. His blood ran cold.“What did you do to Rogar?” the humongous Morekemian growled. “Rogar had you utterly beaten, Rogar had you crushed and soon to be out-for-the-count, and then all of a sudden you explode with fire on Rogar, and blast him out of the arena? What did you do, little boy?”Apparently Rogar referred to himself in the third person even off the arena tiles.“Er…” Ryn said. “I guess I can tell you, seeing as everyone will know before too long…” I'll probably have to use them again to win my next match anyway, he thought. “I have fire projection powers. I got them from a magical ruby which my father gave me just before he died.”Rogar looked at Ryn for a few moments with his beady, vein-riddled eyes, peering out over the mass of beard and fat.Ryn wasn't sure what was going on behind those eyes. Was the Morekemian angry, or confused, or had Ryn's explanation satisfied him? Was he about to congratulate Ryn, or try to continue their fight, or pick him up and eat him?Then: “Ahahahahaha!” Rogar burst out laughing, and slapped Ryn hard on the back with one meaty hand, knocking the wind out of him and making him put out both his hands to break his fall.“A magical ruby, he says!” Rogar guffawed, still laughing in between sentences. “That is a good one! Well, whatever you pulled out there, boy, I hope it takes you all the way to winning the final! Rogar thinks that his reputation will stay intact! Either you will beat everyone with your fire trick, or you will be disqualified for cheating and Rogar will be called upon again to fight!”With that, the giant stalked off.Ryn locked eyes with Nuthea from where he lay on the floor. She was suppressing a smile.“Well, that was interesting…” he said. “I guess not everyone out there knows about the Jewels. They might not understand where my fire attack came from.”“Yes,” said Nuthea, helping him to his feet for the second time that day, “of course not. But that doesn't matter. Even if people don't understand where your fire projection came from, they will still talk about it, and sooner or later news of it will reach the Empire. That's why we've got to go and talk to the Governor. Come on.”Nuthea walked with Ryn up the steps of the underground preparation chamber's back exit.This led to an area of the audience specially marked for combatants and their special guests to watch the fighting from.It also contained a wooden platform guarded by green-robed monks, on which sat a number of Farrian officials and, on an elevated chair, the Governor.Nuthea made straight for the platform. On the way she noticed that the lone cloud occupying the sky earlier had grown in size. Odd.The same sickly-looking Farrian minister who had originally granted them an audience with the Governor stood at the foot of the steps to the platform.“Not you again,” he moaned, rolling his eyes. “What do you want?”“We need to talk to the Governor,” said Nuthea.“Of course you do. And are you going to threaten me with magic again to do so?”Nuthea looked across her shoulder at Ryn, who immediately held out his hand, a small flame appearing on his palm.“Alright, alright!” snapped the Farrian. “Put it away. You've caused enough of a scene already today by doing that during your match. You can see him. But he won't be pleased at you interrupting his viewing.”The governor was leant forward in his chair, watching the current match intently, rubbing his chin with a chubby hand. He didn't even acknowledge Nuthea and Ryn.Nuthea could hear the crowd cheering and gasping at Sagar's match, but she couldn't bear to look. There was too much at stake and she was too nervous for the sky-captain.She just hoped that he wasn't being humiliated by his opponent, especially as he had opted not to receive Vish's fighting lessons with the rest of them over their past week in the manse in Shun Pei.“Excuse me Lord Governor, but I need to speak with you about something.”The Governor humoured her with the briefest of looks then returned to watching the fighting. “What is it? Can't you see I'm busy? There's a tournament going on here, for Eto's sake! Your Imfisi rogue is getting his backside served to him by one of our women. One of our women!”Oh dear, Nuthea thought, though she resisted the temptation to look. Sagar won't like that at all.She swallowed, ignoring the other ruler's rudeness. “Be that as it may, what I need to talk to you about is the tournament.”The Governor finally broke off from watching and looked at her properly. “What is it? What's so important that you need to interrupt my viewing of Farr's triumph over you impetuous foreigners?”Nuthea licked her lips. “I'm concerned that now Ryn here has made his fire abilities public, the Empire will get wind of them and come looking for him.”“So what? I fail to see the problem. Why would the Morekemians be interested in a single little Efstanish boy with a pyrotechnic trick? They won't care. Neither do I.”Nuthea decided she didn't need to mention that she, Ryn and Sagar–possibly Cid, Vish and Elrann too–were all wanted by the Empire with bounties on their heads.“But Lord Governor, remember the Empire have encountered the Fire Ruby before. They may even still have some troops that can use fire magic themselves. At the least, if they hear of another fire-wielder they will associate them with the Ruby and may come here looking for it.”“Let them come!” said the Governor, turning back to the match. He winced for a moment as the crowd cheered, perhaps because Sagar had taken a particularly nasty hit, but Nuthea didn't want to know. “Morekemia may be powerful, but the Emperor has never openly challenged the might of Farr. If he dares to do so, we will simply crush his forces. It will be especially easy now that we have the Earth Emerald back again.”“But Lord Governor…” Ryn chipped in, and Nuthea was grateful he did because she wasn't sure whether she could retain her politeness for much longer. “...don't you remember that earth-aligned people and creatures are vulnerable to harm from fire? That's the only reason we were able to retrieve the Emerald from the Earth Temple at all.”“Of that I am sceptical,” said the Governor. “I'm quite convinced that the only reason that you were able to retrieve the Emerald is because I sent Huld with you, from the way you told it. If the Morekemians come here with fire-hurling, as you are so afraid of, we will humiliate them with our greater mastery of earth. You will see, foreigners, that Farr reigns supreme when Huld beats all of you, and everyone else, in this tournament, elemental magic or not. That will put your little minds at rest.”Oh, for The One's sake… Nuthea pulled her lips in tight to avoid speaking her rare blasphemy out loud. She decided to try another approach.“But Lord Governor, even though Farr will doubtless claim victory in this tournament, I am not actually asking that it be called off.”“What?” barked the Governor. “What are you asking for, then? Why are you here wasting my time and distracting me from watching a fine fight?”A ‘fine fight'? That sounded a bit more promising. Maybe Sagar is holding his own after all…Nuthea was getting distracted. “All I am asking is that you consider just…speeding up the tournament a little bit.”“Speeding it up? Why in Mid would I ever want to speed it up? Half of Farr has come to watch, and as the tournament goes on over the next three days the other half will come to watch too, and that is very good for national spirit, and for our economy!”“Yes, Lord Governor, but the longer the tournament goes on for, the more likely the Empire are to hear about Ryn's fire magic. We can't let them get here before…” She broke off, realising she had been about to say something undiplomatic.“Before what?” said the Governor, daring her to say it.“...before we have had a chance to move on.”The Governor snorted. “Well, that is just a chance you are going to have to take, Manolian.” His eyes bulged at the match. “Oh! I wasn't expecting that to happen!”What to happen? thought Nuthea. Ryn looked round and gasped, but she kept her eyes straight ahead.The Governor leaned back in his chair and threw up his hands. “Now the match is over, and because of you I didn't even get to watch it properly.” He finally gave her his full attention. “Your suggestion is ridiculous, Manolian. Not least of all, the combatants need time to recover in between bouts. You can't expect the winners to fight a quarter-final, semi-final and final all in the same day.”“Ah,” said Nuthea “but I have a solution for that. Amongst our party there is a skilled healer, Grandfather Cid, who has the Jewel-imparted gift of being able to revive people from fatigue and injury in an instant. Cid can heal the winning fighters after their matches so that they are able to fight again immediately.”“Aha,” said the Governor, “so that is why you are so interested in speeding along this tournament! You seek to use your old man's tricks on your own combatants, at the expense of the Farrians! That's been your plan all along!”“Lord Governor, no! I would never even consider doing such a thing! That's why I'm telling you about Cid's Jewel-gifted abilities.”“Or so you say. What's to stop you only healing your own combatants, and just pretending to heal ours?”“Nuthea,” said Ryn, “I think Sagar might have actually–”“I wouldn't have even considered doing that,” Nuthea repeated, cutting Ryn off. “I am somewhat offended that you are suggesting I would even be capable of such a deception, Lord Governor. May I remind you that I am the heir-apparent ruler of a sovereign nation?”“Manolian,” said the Governor, “my answer is no. The whole idea is ridiculous. Take your irritating requests somewhere else–or in fact, just do away with them all together! I will not change my mind on this matter.”Nuthea gritted her teeth, and just for a moment she fancied she felt a current run along her arm, down to her fingertips, and that her lightning magic was returning. But then the moment passed.“Fine,” said Nuthea, imitating one of Sagar's less endearing mannerisms, but not caring. “If you won't be persuaded, we shall just have to win this tournament on your terms and take the Emerald away with us in three days' time. I just hope for your sake that the Empire doesn't get wind of our location and come here to find us before then. Come on, Ryn; let's go and find out how Captain Sagar got on.”She made a derisive “Hmpf!” sound, then turned on her heel dramatically and walked away, leaving Ryn to follow.“You show your true colours, Manolian!” the Governor called after her. “You think you can win this, but you cannot! None can compete with the might of Farr–Manolia or Morekemia alike!”As Nuthea and Ryn walked down the platform steps and back towards the entrance to the dugout, she noticed that the single cloud in the sky had now been joined by another one, and they were growing darker. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sagaofthejewels.substack.com

The landscape of hypertension management is evolving, and the 2025 guidelines offer significant updates since their 2017 predecessors. Our new video provides a concise overview of these changes, covering critical areas from detection and evaluation to new treatment strategies. We delve into updated measurement recommendations, the emphasis on primary aldosteronism screening, and revised treatment targets. This informative resource is designed to help you understand the latest insights and implications for patient care.Guests: Dr. McGinn, Dr. Sagar, and  Dr. Kavita Chawla, Director of EBM Education, Virginia Mason Franciscan HealthGuidelines:  https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYP.0000000000000249

As demand for DNA and RNA therapeutics continues to accelerate, manufacturers are under increasing pressure to improve efficiency, reduce risk, and scale production without expanding facility footprints. One emerging solution is the integration of traditionally separate downstream steps into a single automated platform. Asahi Kasei Bioprocess, has addressed this need with the THESYS® platform, a suite of oligonucleotide manufacturing technologies designed to streamline workflows from synthesis through downstream processing. In a recent podcast, Sagar Bhatt, Senior Project Engineer at Asahi Kasei Bioprocess America, discussed the development of an integrated system within the THESYS C&D/TFF system combines cleavage, deprotection (C&D), and tangential flow filtration (TFF), and why this shift represents a meaningful evolution in oligonucleotide manufacturing. Rethinking a Fragmented Workflow Historically, oligonucleotide production has relied on a series of disconnected unit operations. Cleavage, deprotection, ultrafiltration, and diafiltration are often performed across multiple systems, sometimes even in different rooms. “Cleavage and deprotection are often carried out using fairly basic setups… and in many cases, they still involve a lot of manual handling,” Sagar explained. “They also typically require additional equipment, like separate tanks, which adds complexity to the process.” This fragmented approach introduces several challenges. Material transfers between systems increase processing time and create opportunities for product loss. In addition, deprotection reactions, particularly for RNA, require careful thermal control due to heat generated during acid addition. “If the rate of the acid addition and resulting temperature rise are not controlled carefully, it can negatively impact the product… and damage product quality.” Facility constraints add another layer of complexity. Because oligonucleotide processing often involves flammable solvents, operations must occur in hazardous environments. However, traditional filtration systems are not typically designed for these conditions, forcing manufacturers to physically move material between areas. Recognizing these inefficiencies, Sagar and his team saw an opportunity to simplify. “By integrating these operations into a single physical equipment and related automation, we could potentially streamline the workflow, reduce handling steps, and significantly improve overall manufacturing efficiency.” From Concept to THESYS® Integration The idea of combining reaction-based and membrane-based processes might seem complex, but Bhatt emphasized that the separation of these steps is largely historical, not technical. “Cleavage and deprotection are reaction steps… whereas TFF is a membrane separation process,” he said. “Though there are different mechanisms involved, they can operate on the same product stream and can share the same fluid handling architecture if designed properly.” Within the THESYS® platform, this integration is enabled through automation and system design that bring multiple unit operations into a single, cohesive workflow. Advances such as closed-loop temperature control, precise dosing, and real-time pressure monitoring allow both reaction and filtration steps to be managed within one system boundary. Equally important was designing the platform for hazardous environments from the outset. “That eliminated the need for intermediate product transfers, which made this integration approach much more practical.” Engineering for Efficiency and Scale One of the most significant engineering challenges was balancing performance with practicality. “Designing the combined system to keep the footprint to a minimum while also taking operability and maintainability into consideration was one of the biggest challenges,” Sagar said. The team also focused on minimizing holdup volume, maximizing product recovery, and ensuring cleanability for GMP operations—all within a compact system design aligned with THESYS®'s broader focus on efficient, scalable manufacturing systems. The result is a platform that delivers efficiency gains primarily by eliminating transfers. “In traditional setups, the material moves between different systems and sometimes even between different rooms,” he explained. “Each transfer adds time, manual handling, and potential product loss.” By consolidating operations into a single THESYS-based system, manufacturers can complete processes sequentially without interruption, reducing both time and risk. Improvements in Safety and Process Control Beyond efficiency, integration significantly enhances safety and control. “Operators no longer need to move material between systems in solvent handling environments,” Sagar said. “Keeping everything inside one enclosed physical system significantly reduces exposure risk and handling errors.” From a control standpoint, a unified automation framework governs all stages of the process. “The same system carefully controls dosing and temperature during the reaction phase and also controls pressure and flow during filtration,” he noted. “The unified control improves reproducibility and helps contain the process within validated operating conditions.” Footprint and Operational Savings The benefits extend to facility design as well. “Instead of installing separate systems with their own vessels, pumps, and control panels, manufacturers operate one integrated system,” Sagar said. “This can free up valuable clean room space and reduce infrastructure requirements.” Fewer systems also mean fewer cleaning cycles, fewer validations, and less maintenance, resulting in meaningful operational savings over time. Designing for Flexibility: A “Built for You” Approach A defining characteristic of the THESYS® platform is its flexibility. The system is designed to align with each customer's process rather than enforce a rigid standard. “The system is designed to adapt to each customer's manufacturing process rather than forcing the customers to adapt their processes to the equipment,” Sagar explained. For example, the system can accommodate different filtration control strategies. “Some customers perform filtration using transmembrane pressure… while others use permeate flow. The system has the capability to operate on both.” Customer feedback also shaped physical design elements, including vessel sizing, filter configurations, and facility integration. “These kinds of small but critical considerations help the system fit naturally into the customer's manufacturing environment without major disruptions.” Validation, Compliance, and Integration Integration also simplifies GMP validation. “When you combine multiple operations into a single system, you reduce the number of vessels, process flow paths, and connection points,” Bhatt said. “That means fewer product contact surfaces to clean and validate.” The system uses hygienic design principles and recipe-driven automated cleaning cycles, with electronic batch records supporting compliance. Importantly, the THESYS®-based system integrates easily into existing manufacturing lines. “The upstream synthesis process does not change,” Sagar noted. “After synthesis, the product simply enters this integrated platform.” Because the system is designed for hazardous environments, it can be installed directly where cleavage and deprotection already occur, eliminating the need for downstream relocation. Industry Recognition and Future Impact The system's impact has already been recognized with an Interphex Innovation Award, which Sagar described as “a strong validation from the industry.” “The award recognized that integrating these steps… addresses real challenges that manufacturers face, like complex workflows and inefficient equipment setups.” Looking ahead, he sees integration—central to platforms like THESYS®—becoming a core design principle in oligonucleotide manufacturing. “As demand for DNA and RNA therapeutics continues to grow, manufacturers will need equipment that supports higher throughput, consistent product quality, and faster batch turnaround.” Integrated, modular platforms will play a key role in meeting these demands. “Over time, we are likely to see more compact automated systems performing multiple process steps… helping facilities scale production more efficiently and accelerate the development of new therapies.” A Shift Toward Smarter Manufacturing The integration of cleavage, deprotection, and TFF within platforms like THESYS® represents more than just a technical advancement, it signals a broader shift toward streamlined, automated, and modular biomanufacturing. By reducing complexity, improving safety, and enabling scalability, integrated systems are poised to redefine how oligonucleotides are produced, bringing the industry closer to faster, more efficient delivery of next-generation therapeutics. To learn more, please see Optimize Your Oligo Manufacturing

Episode 164 of The Naina Experience Podcast - and this one has been a long time coming. I'm joined by Ravi Sagar, founder of SPARXSYS, a software company based in London. Ravi and I have known each other online since the very early days of Twitter - we're talking 2007, when there were so few Indians on the platform that you just kind of knew everyone who was there. But we had never actually spoken to each other until this conversation. Worth every year of the wait.Ravi dropped out of IIT Delhi after just 6 months, finished his engineering degree in Delhi, worked at a few companies, got an offer to move to the UK, and took it. That was ten years ago. He now runs SPARXSYS, which builds software products including apps that work within Jira - the project management tool used by teams worldwide. He also talked about how his company is now using AI to record and summarise all internal meetings, so you can ask it what happened in an entire quarter and get one clean report back.We also had a really honest conversation about what it's like to leave India and build a life somewhere else. Coming from Delhi, London can feel quiet - even boring - at first. He loves going back to India, loves the food and the chaos of Delhi, but after about three weeks he's ready to return to the UK. That push and pull between two homes is something I completely relate to as someone who moved to Australia a year and a half ago.And then things got very meta - Ravi asked me about my content workflow and I ended up explaining exactly how I use Opus Clip and Claude AI to turn a one-hour live conversation into short clips, transcripts, and blog posts. So this episode is also a behind-the-scenes look at how this podcast gets made.Connect with Ravi Sagar:

Ab Chalakte Huae Sagar (quote) Har Qadam Par Nit NayeBaharon Se Kehdo Mere Ghar Na AayeinBadle Badle Mere Sarkar Waqt Ne KiyaWaqt Ne KiyaWoh Jo Milte The KabhiBadli teri nazar to nazare badal gayeWoh Din Kahan Gaye BataJaane Kahan Gaye (live)Nadan Mohabbat Walon Ke Arman Badalte Rehte HeinHum se badal gaya woh nigahein Ab Chalakte HueAbke Tajdeede Wafa Ka Nahin Imkan JanaUsne Jab Tyori Badal KarSupport the show

Learn the SEO and Blogging strategy to earn $6,000/month from Nepal. Dr. Sagar Aryal (Founder of Microbe Notes) explains how to build Digital Assets and a global income business without leaving the country.   Stop leaving Nepal. If you are a student or professional thinking about the airport, this conversation with Dr. Sagar Aryal is your roadmap to earning $6,000/month (6 Lakhs+) from your room. In this episode of The Doers, we break down how to stop the "Brain Drain" and start "Brain Circulation" by exporting digital assets instead of labor.   Dr. Sagar Aryal discovered a new bacterial species in Nepal, but it was his science platform, Microbe Notes, that truly changed his life. Reaching over 1 million readers globally, he is the living proof that a Nepali degree combined with the right digital strategy can outperform a job abroad.   We talk about:   The $6,000/Month Secret: How niche blogging generates a global income in Nepal. Stop the Brain Drain: Why you don't need a visa to compete globally. The New CV: Why creating content is more valuable than your university degree in 2026. SEO for Nepalese: Turning your local knowledge into a global asset. Nocardia nepalensis: The story of discovering a species and validating it in Germany.   Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro  01:39 – Journey: From Scientist to Millionaire Blogger 10:09 – Turning a Science Degree into a Digital Business 12:35 – The discovery of Nocardia Nepalensis 16:17 – Lessons from Germany: Validating your work globally 19:46 – Identifying a "Niche" with high market value 24:59 – Career Scopes in Microbiology 25:50 – Exporting Digital Content: How to earn Dollars from Nepal 35:15 – Step-by-Step: How Nepali students can start Blogging 43:20 – Content Strategy: How to diversify your income 48:35 – AdSense & Premium Traffic: Targeting US/UK audiences 52:26 – Niche Authority and scaling a Digital Brand 54:52 – SEO Masterclass: Understanding E-E-A-T for Google 1:01:45 – The $6,000/Month Blueprint for Content Creators 1:22:17 – Scaling: Turning Blog posts into Videos with AI 1:28:47 – Brain Circulation: Building a Global Asset from home 1:38:24 – The Daily Routine of a Successful Digital Entrepreneur   ____________________________________________________________ If you love reading, don't miss our newsletter on Substack Link: https://substack.com/@doersglobal?    Want to join us live in the studio as an audience member? Fill out this form: https://forms.gle/xZi8yptyoxkkc6aa8    ✉ Reach out to us at partners@doersnepal.com  

Featuring an interview with Dr Sagar Lonial, including the following topics: Phase 3 randomized study evaluating teclistamab and daratumumab versus investigator's choice of daratumumab and dexamethasone with either pomalidomide or bortezomib for patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma (MM) (0:00) Management of belantamab mafodotin-associated ocular events with dose modifications guided by standard assessments (3:15) Belantamab mafodotin in combination with bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone for transplant-ineligible patients with newly diagnosed MM (8:00) Other investigational strategies for R/R MM (12:55) CME information and select publications

Dr Sagar Lonial from Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, discusses recent clinical developments with BCMA-targeted therapy and investigational agents for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma presented at ASH 2025.CME information and select publications here.

In this episode of the Everyday Business Problems podcast, Dave Crysler sits down with Sagar Pandya, founder, AI strategist, and cybersecurity expert, to unpack why most organizations are approaching AI adoption the wrong way. After selling his IT and cybersecurity company, Sagar launched Special AI to help businesses adopt AI with confidence, clarity, and real-world results. Together, they dig into why the rush to implement AI tools without foundational readiness leads to wasted spend, failed pilots, and frustrated teams. Using real examples from manufacturing, finance, logistics, and service businesses, this conversation lays out a practical diagnostic framework and reveals why culture, not technology, is the true make-or-break factor in AI success. What You'll Discover: Why most organizations skip the diagnostic and jump straight to buying AI tools and licenses, and why that backfires. The three foundational questions every business must answer before adopting AI: data governance, security posture, and leadership alignment. How AI is creating a massive identity crisis inside organizations, and why employee fear and resistance are valid and must be addressed. Why the C-suite is often the most disconnected from how work actually gets done, and the risks that creates during AI rollouts. Real-world examples of AI use cases across three maturity levels: crawling, walking, and running with AI. How a transportation company is using AI to build a dynamic pricing engine with external variables no human team could process at scale. Why celebrating failures and lessons learned matters more than showcasing wins during change initiatives. The single most important piece of advice for operations leaders heading into 2026: talk to your employees, your AI strategy already lives inside their heads. If your organization is feeling the pressure to "do something with AI" but doesn't know where to start, this episode will help you slow down, ask the right questions, and build a foundation that actually leads to sustainable adoption.

Featuring an interview with Dr Sagar Lonial, including the following topics: KLN-1010: A novel, in vivo gene therapy generating anti-BCMA chimeric antigen receptor T cells (0:00) Phase III DREAMM-7 and DREAMM-8 studies of belantamab mafodotin-based combination therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma (MM) (5:37) Effectiveness of ciltacabtagene autoleucel for patients with R/R MM (11:04) Low-dose tocilizumab for mitigation of the cytokine release syndrome associated with bispecific antibodies (16:04) Talquetamab with teclistamab for patients with R/R MM in Phase Ib of the RedirecTT-1 trial (19:24) CME information and select publications

Dr Sagar Lonial from Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, discusses recent clinical developments with BCMA-targeted therapy and investigational agents for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma presented at ASH 2025.CME information and select publications here.

#206 - What if the voices you let in are steering your life more than your goals are? That question sparked a wide-ranging, grounded conversation with Sagar Soni—nuclear engineer, creator of Beyond the Speech podcast, and a traveler who learned the hard way that more content and more checklists don't equal meaning. We trace his path from bingeing self-help at 1.5x to a simple, liberating switch: trade “I have to” for “I get to,” and watch momentum return without the pressure cooker of perfection.We dig into overwhelm and how to spot it, the subtle difference between being burnt out and being avoidant, and why a little “productive negativity” can get you off the couch when motivational quotes won't. Sagar shares a daily two-part question—“How am I feeling right now, and why?”—that turns vibes into data and helps you find what drains your energy and what gives it back. We also talk books that endure, from Ryan Holiday's stoicism to Cameron Hanes' Endure, and how to move from collecting ideas to actually living them.Travel threads through the episode like a second heartbeat. Sagar reflects on early all-inclusives, photo-heavy Europe, and the trip that changed everything: hiking Hawaii's lava fields and practicing presence. The takeaway is clear and human: it's neither the journey nor the destination—it's the company. That conviction grew stronger through real hardship as he and his wife navigated miscarriages, using travel to reset, and later building guardrails like always answering calls from family and friends after moving far from home.We close by looking forward: Sagar's “three relationships” framework—self, purpose, and people—now guides his podcast and his next leap into public speaking, including a confirmed TEDx talk. If you've ever felt behind, flooded by advice, or stuck between big dreams and real life, this conversation offers practical tools and honest encouragement. Listen, share with a friend who grounds you, and if it resonates, subscribe and leave a quick review so more people can find these stories.To learn more about Sagar Soni check out his podcast Beyond the Speech wherever you listen to podcasts and be sure to give him a follow on Instagram @sagarsoni_1991.I would love to have you follow along on my Instagram account as well @humanadventurepod. Want to be a guest on The Human Adventure? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake 

Gur Sagar Ratani Bharpure, ਗੁਰੁ ਸਾਗਰੁ ਰਤਨੀ ਭਰਪੂਰੇ (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ang 685 Sabad 1830)

अमुक तमुक ला subscribe करण्यासाठी click करा: https://youtube.com/@amuktamuk?si=LCVcdLVB9KMPVHrkघटस्फोटाबद्दल बोलताना अनेकदा कायदेशीर प्रक्रिया नीट समजत नाही आणि गोंधळ वाढतो. खुसपूसच्या या भागात आपण घटस्फोटाचे Legal आणि technical मुद्दे समजून घेतो. घटस्फोटाची कारणं काय असतात, WhatsApp chats कोर्टात पुरावा म्हणून चालतात का, Judicial separation आणि divorce यातला फरक, तसंच Mutual divorce आणि Cooling-off period म्हणजे काय यावर आपण ऍड. प्रतिभा घोरपडे आणि डॉ. सागर पाठक यांच्या बरोबर चर्चा केली आहे. यासोबतच Maintenance, Alimony, स्त्रीधन आणि Joint property बाबतचे नियम यावरही चर्चा केली आहे. पूर्ण एपिसोड नक्की बघा. When it comes to divorce, the legal process is often confusing and hard to understand. In this episode of Khuspus, we discuss the legal and technical aspects of divorce in a simple way. We talk about the reasons for divorce, what cruelty means in legal terms, whether WhatsApp chats can be used as evidence in court, the difference between judicial separation and divorce, and how mutual divorce and the cooling-off period work. We also discuss the rules around maintenance, alimony, heritable and joint property. This conversation with Adv. Pratibha Ghorpade and Dr. Sagar Pathak helps clear common doubts. Do watch the full episode.आणि मित्रांनो आपलं Merch घेण्यासाठी लगेच click करा! Amuktamuk.swiftindi.com Disclaimer: व्हिडिओमध्ये किंवा आमच्या कोणत्याही चॅनेलवर पॅनलिस्ट/अतिथी/होस्टद्वारे सांगण्यात आलेली कोणतीही माहिती केवळ general information साठी आहे. पॉडकास्ट दरम्यान किंवा त्यासंबंधात व्यक्त केलेली कोणतीही मते निर्माते/कंपनी/चॅनल किंवा त्यांच्या कोणत्याही कर्मचाऱ्यांची मते/अभिव्यक्ती/विचार दर्शवत नाहीत.अतिथींनी केलेली विधाने सद्भावनेने आणि चांगल्या हेतूने केलेली आहेत ती विश्वास ठेवण्याजोगी आहेत किंवा ती सत्य आणि वस्तुस्थितीनुसार सत्य मानण्याचे कारण आहे. चॅनलने सादर केलेला सध्याचा व्हिडिओ केवळ माहिती आणि मनोरंजनाच्या उद्देशाने आहे आणि चॅनल त्याची अचूकता आणि वैधता यासाठी कोणतीही जबाबदारी घेत नाही.अतिथींनी किंवा पॉडकास्ट दरम्यान व्यक्त केलेली कोणतीही माहिती किंवा विचार व्यक्ती/कास्ट/समुदाय/वंश/धर्म यांच्या भावना दुखावण्याचा किंवा कोणत्याही संस्था/राजकीय पक्ष/राजकारणी/नेत्याचा, जिवंत किंवा मृत यांचा अपमान करण्याचा हेतू नाही.. Guests: Adv. Pratibha Ghorpade(Sr. Lawyer) & Dr. Sagar Pathak(Marriage Counsellor & Gynaecologist)Host: Omkar Jadhav.Creative Producer: Shardul Kadam.Editor: Rameshwar Garkal.Edit Assistant: Rohit Landge,Priyanka ThosarContent Manager: Sohan Mane.Social Media Manager: Sonali Gokhale.Social Media Intern: Anushri JoshiLegal Advisor: Savani Vaze.Business Development Manager: Sai Kher.About The Host Omkar Jadhav.Co-founder – Amuk Tamuk Podcast NetworkPodcast Host | Writer | Director | Actor | YouTube & Podcast ConsultantWith 8+ years in digital content, former Content & Programming Head at BhaDiPa & Vishay Khol.Directed 100+ sketches, 3 web series & non-fiction shows including Aai & Me, Jhoom, 9 to 5, Oddvata.Creative Producer – BErojgaar | Asst. Director – The Kerala StoryHost of Khuspus – a podcast on taboo and uncomfortable topics.Visiting Faculty – Ranade Institute, Pune University.Connect with us: Twitter: https://twitter.com/amuk_tamukInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/amuktamuk/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amuktamukpodcastsSpotify: Khuspus #AmukTamuk #marathipodcasts

Is the "Liberal World Order" officially over?

Divorce is not just a legal matter; it is deeply connected to people's emotions and relationships. In this episode of Khuspus, we talk with Adv. Pratibha Ghorpade and Dr. Sagar Pathak discuss how distance grows in a relationship, why communication breaks down, and why a relationship can fall apart even when everything looks fine on the outside. We also discuss how divorce affects children, how they often get caught in conflicts between parents, and how this can impact their future. The episode also looks at why anger, misunderstandings, and false accusations happen, and whether a relationship can still be saved even after a legal notice is sent. Do watch the full episode.Credits:Guests: Adv. Pratibha Ghorpade(Sr. Lawyer) & Dr. Sagar Pathak(Marriage Counsellor & Gynaecologist)Host: Omkar Jadhav.Creative Producer: Shardul Kadam.Editor: Rameshwar Garkal.Edit Assistant: Rohit Landge, Priyanka ThosarContent Manager: Sohan Mane.Social Media Manager: Sonali Gokhale.Social Media Intern: Anushri JoshiLegal Advisor: Savani Vaze.Business Development Manager: Sai Kher.About The Host Omkar Jadhav.Co-founder – Amuk Tamuk Podcast NetworkPodcast Host | Writer | Director | Actor | YouTube & Podcast ConsultantWith 8+ years in digital content, former Content & Programming Head at BhaDiPa & Vishay Khol.Directed 100+ sketches, 3 web series & non-fiction shows including Aai & Me, Jhoom, 9 to 5, Oddvata.Creative Producer – BErojgaar | Asst. Director – The Kerala StoryHost of Khuspus – a podcast on taboo and uncomfortable topics.Visiting Faculty – Ranade Institute, Pune University.Connect with us: Twitter: https://twitter.com/amuk_tamukInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/amuktamuk/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amuktamukpodcastsSpotify: Khuspus #AmukTamuk #marathipodcasts

This content has been developed for healthcare professionals only. Patients who seek health information should consult with their physician or relevant patient advocacy groups.For the full presentation, downloadable Practice Aids, slides, and complete CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA information, and to apply for credit, please visit us at PeerView.com/JGX865. CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA credit will be available until January 4, 2027.Many Roads to Myeloma Remission: Making Sequential Choices With BCMA and Non-BCMA Immunotherapies In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, and HealthTree Foundation for Multiple Myeloma. PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.SupportThis educational activity is supported by independent medical educational grants from Arcellx, Inc. and Kite, a Gilead Company; GSK; Johnson & Johnson; and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Disclosure information is available at the beginning of the video presentation.

This content has been developed for healthcare professionals only. Patients who seek health information should consult with their physician or relevant patient advocacy groups.For the full presentation, downloadable Practice Aids, slides, and complete CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA information, and to apply for credit, please visit us at PeerView.com/JGX865. CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA credit will be available until January 4, 2027.Many Roads to Myeloma Remission: Making Sequential Choices With BCMA and Non-BCMA Immunotherapies In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, and HealthTree Foundation for Multiple Myeloma. PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.SupportThis educational activity is supported by independent medical educational grants from Arcellx, Inc. and Kite, a Gilead Company; GSK; Johnson & Johnson; and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Disclosure information is available at the beginning of the video presentation.

This content has been developed for healthcare professionals only. Patients who seek health information should consult with their physician or relevant patient advocacy groups.For the full presentation, downloadable Practice Aids, slides, and complete CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA information, and to apply for credit, please visit us at PeerView.com/JGX865. CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA credit will be available until January 4, 2027.Many Roads to Myeloma Remission: Making Sequential Choices With BCMA and Non-BCMA Immunotherapies In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, and HealthTree Foundation for Multiple Myeloma. PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.SupportThis educational activity is supported by independent medical educational grants from Arcellx, Inc. and Kite, a Gilead Company; GSK; Johnson & Johnson; and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Disclosure information is available at the beginning of the video presentation.

This content has been developed for healthcare professionals only. Patients who seek health information should consult with their physician or relevant patient advocacy groups.For the full presentation, downloadable Practice Aids, slides, and complete CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA information, and to apply for credit, please visit us at PeerView.com/JGX865. CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA credit will be available until January 4, 2027.Many Roads to Myeloma Remission: Making Sequential Choices With BCMA and Non-BCMA Immunotherapies In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, and HealthTree Foundation for Multiple Myeloma. PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.SupportThis educational activity is supported by independent medical educational grants from Arcellx, Inc. and Kite, a Gilead Company; GSK; Johnson & Johnson; and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Disclosure information is available at the beginning of the video presentation.

This content has been developed for healthcare professionals only. Patients who seek health information should consult with their physician or relevant patient advocacy groups.For the full presentation, downloadable Practice Aids, slides, and complete CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA information, and to apply for credit, please visit us at PeerView.com/JGX865. CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA credit will be available until January 4, 2027.Many Roads to Myeloma Remission: Making Sequential Choices With BCMA and Non-BCMA Immunotherapies In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, and HealthTree Foundation for Multiple Myeloma. PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.SupportThis educational activity is supported by independent medical educational grants from Arcellx, Inc. and Kite, a Gilead Company; GSK; Johnson & Johnson; and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Disclosure information is available at the beginning of the video presentation.

This content has been developed for healthcare professionals only. Patients who seek health information should consult with their physician or relevant patient advocacy groups.For the full presentation, downloadable Practice Aids, slides, and complete CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA information, and to apply for credit, please visit us at PeerView.com/JGX865. CME/MOC/EBAH/AAPA credit will be available until January 4, 2027.Many Roads to Myeloma Remission: Making Sequential Choices With BCMA and Non-BCMA Immunotherapies In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, and HealthTree Foundation for Multiple Myeloma. PVI, PeerView Institute for Medical Education, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.SupportThis educational activity is supported by independent medical educational grants from Arcellx, Inc. and Kite, a Gilead Company; GSK; Johnson & Johnson; and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Disclosure information is available at the beginning of the video presentation.

A calm and clear conversation with Sagar, senior staff writer at The Caravan. We speak about why Bihar is more than a broken state, how caste politics really works on the ground, and how election season gets distorted by the memification of leaders who should not be elevated in the first place. He explains the gap between lived reality and the stories told by mainstream media, the truth behind the jungle raj label, and why Bihar has been misread for so long. Tune in for a grounded look at a state that carries more history, complexity, and dignity than the usual headlines allow.Watch Uncensored Cut and many other member only videos on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/video-new-member-138495655?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_linkOr on Youtube Membership: Support Us: Click JOIN button to become a member- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBnXbbY81TwRJ1DxsyKZV6Q/joinOne time Payment support to keep the podcast running: https://rzp.io/l/mAM9AWHnq BuyMeACoffee: buymeacoffee.com/Anuragminus Buy My Book: https://www.amazon.in/s?k=the+great+indian+brain+rot&crid=71NJPQUYH29W&sprefix=%2Caps%2C226&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_2_0_recent

Best friends Alisha Sagar and Natalie Gabrawi met at King's dental school and have remained inseparable ever since. In this episode, they share their journey from different backgrounds—Alisha's upbringing in Zambia and Natalie's roots in a medical family—to navigating their foundation years together. Their paths are diverging professionally, with Alisha drawn to implants and oral surgery, whilst Natalie gravitates towards restorative dentistry and aesthetics. Beyond clinical aspirations, they discuss work-life balance, the role of faith, and their commitment to giving back to communities that shaped them. It's a candid conversation about early career decisions, the pressure to succeed, and the power of friendship in weathering the uncertainties of young professional life.In This Episode00:02:10 - Meeting at King's 00:02:15 - Pre-dental school expectations 00:04:05 - Growing up in Zambia 00:07:10 - Coming from a medical family 00:12:30 - Different clinical interests emerge 00:15:25 - Specialising versus special interests 00:19:00 - Three-year career projections 00:26:50 - DCT plans and private practice 00:28:50 - Getting engaged during foundation year 00:34:20 - Work-life balance philosophies 00:44:00 - Entrepreneurial ambitions 00:50:00 - AI anxieties 00:57:25 - Faith and staying optimistic 01:02:10 - Darkest days in dentistry 01:03:50 - Blackbox thinking 01:07:10 - A smile transformation story 01:13:05 - Giving back financially 01:14:50 - Fantasy dinner partyAbout Alisha Sagar and Natalie GabrawiAlisha grew up in Zambia before moving to the UK for her A-levels and dental training at King's College London. Now completing her foundation year, she's discovered a passion for implants and oral surgery after shadowing clinicians in practice. She's recently engaged and balancing personal milestones with ambitious career plans that may one day lead her back to Zambia.Natalie comes from Derby and a family of doctors who actively discouraged her from following in their footsteps. After struggling with self-consciousness about her teeth as a child, she found her calling in dentistry. Now in her foundation year, she's drawn to restorative dentistry and is considering DCT training in the field, with aspirations towards full mouth rehabilitation work.

Discover the spicy journey behind Kaatil, the “killer” hot condiments brand, making waves in India and beyond! In this episode of "The Brand Called You," host Ashutosh Garg sits down with Sagar Merchant, Founder of Kaatil (Smerc Foods & Beverages), to talk about the inspiration, challenges, and vision behind India's own chili-forward sauce brand.Sagar shares his early career lessons from Google and the food experience studio Studio Flavor Diaries, reflects on transitioning from tech to food entrepreneurship, and dives deep into what makes Kaatil unique: regional Indian chillies, cultural authenticity, and a modern take on hot sauces. He explains the importance of taste, tradition, and health in product development, how to build trust with Indian customers, and why consistency is crucial in the food business.Learn how Kaatil balances being both a global Indian brand and serving the global Indian consumer, get insights on research & development, and find out which Kaatil product Sagar recommends for newcomers!

DK Sagar, AKA “Yadav Sarkar,” is an up-and-coming Nepali rapper putting Maithili rap on the map. Rising from Janakpur, he shot to fame with “Jan Chetna,” a breakout track that racked up millions of views. His earlier hits include “Futal Nasib” and “Xutkara”. Today, DK Yadav stands out as one of the most promising voices in the rising Mithila rap scene.

Myth or fact: One form of fall prevention intervention is superior to all others.Do you know which intervention reigns supreme? In this episode we explore diverse therapies and a recent systematic review and meta-analysis.Myth or fact: Comparing running vs. weightlifting. Is there one single "best" training regimen for weight loss and mitigating cardiovascular disease? Dr. McGinn and Dr. Sagar compare the evidence and effectiveness of aerobic, resistance, and combined training.Studies: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1616338 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0210292

In Episode Nine - the second in a two-part mini-series, and the final show in this series of Deep Dive podcasts - Steve and Becky dive deep into the story of another true Everton legend.  This time, it's Ted Sagar, the one-club goalkeeper they called The Boss. This time we look at Ted's life and career through the eyes of the person who knew him best of all - his remarkable wife, Dolly. Hear about their early days, and about how she supported him through his 24-year career at Everton. Listen to the story of their separation during World War 2, Ted's return to the first team in 1946, and how Dolly received the recognition of the Goodison crowd after Ted had passed away. Remember to subscribe to  @TheBlueRoomEFC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Episode Nine - the second in a two-part mini-series, and the final show in this series of Deep Dive podcasts - Steve and Becky dive deep into the story of another true Everton legend.  Available on The Blue Room from wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sukh Sagar Suratar, ਸੁਖ ਸਾਗਰੁ ਸੁਰਤਰ (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ang 658 Sabad 1731)

What if the biggest barrier to AI adoption isn't the technology itself, but our ability to learn, adapt, and reskill? That question sits at the heart of my conversation with Sagar Goel, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group, who leads the firm's global work on digital workforce development and reskilling. Speaking from Singapore, Sagar brings a rare combination of data, strategy, and humanity to the discussion on how AI is reshaping the global workforce—and why the frontline is struggling to keep up. Drawing on BCG's latest "AI at Work" research, Sagar reveals a surprising trend: frontline AI usage has stalled at around 50 percent for the first time. He explains why many companies are still approaching AI as a tool rollout rather than a behavioral and cultural shift. According to him, employees often don't know where or how to use AI effectively, leadership support is lacking, and training programs are too shallow to spark genuine adoption. The result is a productivity paradox—AI potential without real impact. Sagar also unpacks another counterintuitive finding: leaders are more worried than their teams about losing their jobs to automation. He attributes this to leaders' heightened awareness of structural disruption and their own vulnerability in adapting mid-career. Meanwhile, countries across the Global South are outpacing the US in AI adoption, driven by youthful populations, economic necessity, and a hunger for differentiation in tight job markets. Throughout the discussion, Sagar draws a clear line between upskilling and reskilling—two terms often used interchangeably but representing distinct needs. Upskilling, he explains, should embed AI fluency into daily workflows from the CEO down, while reskilling must redeploy people into new, higher-value roles as automation accelerates. He cites IKEA's decision to retrain 8,000 call center staff into design consultants as a model example of turning disruption into opportunity. We close with a candid reflection on leadership responsibility in the age of AI. For Sagar, the message is simple but profound: if skills don't show up on your balance sheet, they won't show up in your business performance. As the half-life of skills shrinks to five years, he urges CEOs to integrate workforce readiness directly into strategy, or risk being outpaced by those who do. This episode is a grounded, data-driven look at what it truly takes to prepare people—not just machines—for an AI-driven world.

In Episode Eight - the first in a two-part mini-series - Steve and Becky dive deep into the story of another true Everton legend. This time, it's Ted Sagar, the one-club goalkeeper they called The Boss.   Hear how his astonishing 25-year Everton career saw him lift two league titles and an FA Cup. Learn about his blind date in Stanley Park with his future bride, Dolly.  Discover his favourite pastime between being shelled during the Sicily landings in World War II. And find out why he became the succession planners nightmare at Goodison Park.    Among our sources for this show, we wish to thank Paul Owens. His book, ‘The Glovesmen of Goodison', can be found on Amazon at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glovesmen-Goodison-History-Evertons-Goalkeepers/dp/1836801645  Special thanks also go to Jamie Yates of the Everton Heritage Society for his additional research.  Remember to subscribe to @TheBlueRoomEFC and @EvertonDeepDive on X, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Episode 8, the first of a two-part mini-series, Steve and Becky dive deep into the astonishing 25-year Everton career of Ted Sagar- the goalkeeper known as The Boss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Please support this podcast by pressing the follow button and support Chinmaya Mission Mumbai projects taken up by Swami Swatmananda, through generous donations. Contribution by Indians in INR can be made online using this link: https://bit.ly/gdswatmanDonors outside India who would like to offer any Gurudakshina/donation can send an email to enquiry@chinmayamissionmumbai.com with a cc to sswatmananda@gmail.com to get further details.These podcasts @ChinmayaShivam are also available on Spotify, Apple iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Podomatic, Amazon music and Google PodcastFB page: https://www.facebook.com/ChinmayaShivampageInsta: https://instagram.com/chinmayashivam?igshid=1twbki0v3vomtTwitter: https://twitter.com/chinmayashivamBlog: https://notesnmusings.blogspot.comLinkedIN: www.linkedin.com/in/swatmananda

In this episode of The Corner of Story and Game, we sit down with Sagar Beroshi, Principal Narrative Designer at The Chinese Room. Together, we unpack what it really means to write horror when you're working without a blockbuster budget, and why narrative constraints can be an unexpected ally.Sagar shares the realities of writing in a system where your cutscene might get cut, your VO might vanish, and your fallback might be a single line of environmental text. But through all of it, one thing remains: the emotional core of fear and the creativity it takes to build it.From writing on a sliding scale of scope, to finding horror in humanity, to surviving the cascade of shifting narrative tools, this conversation is packed with wisdom for game writers navigating the edge between ambition and reality.Whether you're working on your first indie horror game or juggling narrative priorities in a larger production pipeline, this one's for you.Where to find Sagar:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sagarberoshi/The Chinese Room: https://www.thechineseroom.co.uk/Website: https://www.hellosagar.com/The Corner of Story and Game:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gerald@storyandgame.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#GameWriting #NarrativeDesign #HorrorGames #GameDev #StorytellingInGames #IndieDev #WritingForGames #NarrativeTools #EmotionalStorytelling #GameNarrative #CreativeConstraints #MakingGames #EnvironmentalStorytelling #PlayerExperience #HorrorNarrative #NarrativeCraft #VoiceAndTone #NoCutsceneNoProblem #DesigningFear #GamesThatHaunt

Dr. Dipti Sagar discusses Gastroesophageal Reflux with Dr. Ben Weitz. [If you enjoy this podcast, please give us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, so more people will find The Rational Wellness Podcast. Also check out the video version on my WeitzChiro YouTube page.]   Podcast Highlights         ____________________________________________________________________ Dr. Dipti Sagar is an Integrative Gastroenterologist who practices in Century City as an associate of Dr. Farshid Rahbar and reflux is one of the many GI conditions that she treats regularly in patients. Her website is LAIntegrativeGI.com. Dr. Ben Weitz is available for Functional Nutrition consultations specializing in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders like IBS/SIBO and Reflux and also Cardiometabolic Risk Factors like elevated lipids, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure.  Dr. Weitz has also successfully helped many patients with managing their weight and improving their athletic performance, as well as sports chiropractic work by calling his Santa Monica office 310-395-3111.

Text Jayanti Singh*Curator: IrfanWe're thrilled to launch our first regional language podcastin Bundeli, marking a vibrant new chapter in our Read Aloud Collective. Thisglobal community of voice enthusiasts comes together to read, record, discuss,and celebrate the power of words. Regional languages and dialects, rich withcultural depth, have often been mocked or sidelined by mainstream audiovisualcontent, particularly Bollywood. Our initiative aims to revive the authentictone, expressions, and profound wisdom embedded in these languages—reflectinglived experiences, idioms, and simplicity. In the first phase of our regional collectives, we inviteenthusiasts of Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Braj, Bagheli, Ruhelkhandi, Dogri, Punjabi,Sindhi, Haryanvi, Magahi, Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Bangla, Rajasthani, Angika,Kumauni, Garhwali, and Kannauji to join us. If you love recording your voicewhile reading in your native dialect or language, this is for you. This isn't acompetition or judgment—it's a celebration of the heartfelt sounds oftenovershadowed by urbanized Hindi, English, or Hinglish. Let's make our nativevoices alive, vibrant, and timeless, showcasing their true charm andsoul-stirring strength. Introducing Ranjana Mishra, the first to join ourRAC-Bundeli initiative and a standout among our Bundeli narrators. A teacher byprofession, Ranjana's sweet, nuanced voice blends lived experiences with afresh, modern subtlety that resonates with Gen Z from Bundelkhand, spanningparts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (including Banda, Hamirpur, Jalaun,Jhansi, Lalitpur, Chitrakoot, Mahoba, Datia, Chhatarpur, Panna, Tikamgarh,Sagar, Damoh, and Niwari districts). Currently residing in Rewa, MadhyaPradesh, Ranjana is leading the way in bringing Bundeli's unique sonic heritageto life.Intro-Outro Music Courtesy Kalpesh Ajugia from Pixabay

Nick is joined by Racing Post senior writer Lee Mottershead to discuss the latest from around the racing world. They chew over the latest declarations for Day One of York's Ebor Festival, plus hear from Lord Grimthorpe, who explains why Oisin Murphy has replaced Hollie Doyle as number one to Imad al Sagar, and - as Chair of the National Stud - hails the victory of Diego Velazquez in the Jacques le Marois. Also today, Ralph Beckett explains his decision to supplement Qirat for the City of York, while he has a strong say on the 'Racing Strike' and racing's position against the betting industry. Betting and Gaming Council CEO Michael Dugher gives his own robust response to racing's plans.

In this exclusive Paisa Vaisa episode, host Anupam Gupta sits down with Saga Kochhar, co-founder of Rebel Foods, the company that revolutionized the food industry with the cloud kitchen model. Sagar shares the strategic decisions and "lightbulb moments" that turned Rebel Foods from a single QSR chain into the world's largest internet restaurant platform, with a portfolio of over 30 successful brands like Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, and Ovenstory. This episode is a masterclass in business innovation, covering: Cloud Kitchen Unit Economics: How the multi-brand playbook optimizes costs. Data-Driven Brand Building: Using consumer insights to launch new brands. The Power of Scalability: Ensuring food consistency with "de-skilled" recipes. Pivoting for Success: The strategic decision to go all-in on cloud kitchens. Entrepreneurship and Strategy: Advice on "intellectual honesty" and product-market fit. Future of Food Tech: The grand mission to disrupt the global food industry. Whether you're a startup founder, investor, or simply curious about the business of food, this episode provides a rare look inside a company that is fundamentally changing how we eat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sagar Mehta is the Chief Technology Officer of OpenTable, a leading online restaurant reservations platform with over 60k venues worldwide. In this episode, we chat about the current restaurant reservations landscape, how the marketplace is uniquely leveraging generative AI, and the new types of products it's building to help restaurants grow within their four walls.Subscribe to the HNGRY newsletter