Technology vs Organic Essay -- Agricultural Research

Humanitys timeline illustrates the past, present and future of human beings commencing nearly 200,000 days ago when Homo sapiens first diverged from its ancestors (Evans,1998). For the next 188,000 years humans were content to forge and live within the constructs of a hunter-gatherer societal organization. Approximately 12,000 years ago agricultural systems began appearing in various places around the world. An astonishingly short period of time later the Agricultural Revolution transformed human ecology, social organization, demography, culture, and religion (Fagan 2007). Man wholeheartedly embraced the sweeping changes bought on by agriculture and domestication, which definitely proved key to the long run success of agriculture and domestication as a primary coil method of procuring sustenance. condescension a rapidly changing world, basic and primal human nature and desire remain utterly unchanged. The most fundamental of these challenges is the establishment of an adequate tot of food. The modern food infrastructure employed by contemporary society is rooted in the creation and innovation of food production. Its effective utilization decreases the take of societal labor contribution required and discourages food shortage trepidation amongst individuals.It is hard to fathom given the current status of our society massive agricultural-industrial coordination compound that the hunter-gatherer organization of society dominated for more than 99 percent of our existence (Fagan 2007). The hunter-gatherer population was characterized by their primary subsistence method, which involved the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild. The primary methods employed were foraging and hunting, which were conducted without any sig... ...y 22.New challenges in food preservation. (2011) 121-126. ScienceDirect. Web. 4 May 2012.Paarlberg, Robert. The Ethics Of Modern Agriculture. Society 46.1 (2009) 4. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 4 May 2012.Evans, L. T . (1998).Feeding the Ten million(Cambridge Cambridge University Press). Fagan, Brian M.June 2007 World Prehistory A Brief Introduction. Chapter 5 The Origins of Food Production. Prentice Hall. University of California Santa Barbara. Pg 126, 129, 132, 132-133, 133, 133-134, 136-137, 137-138, 138Pringle, Heather noember 1998 Science Neolithic Agriculture The Slow Birth of Agriculture. Vol. 282. No. 539 Pg. 1446Porter, J., & Rasmussen, J. (2009). Agriculture and Technology. En B. J. Olsen, S. A. Pedersen, & V. Hendricks, A Companion to the Philosophy of Technology (pgs. 285-289). Oxford Wiley-Blackwell

Video Game Violence Starter :: essays research papers

Video Game Violence     Admiring the smooth barrel and full clip of bullets in his Sig model 552 Commando, Landros sat near the limestone corner earreach to the footsteps and gunfire bulge the next vestibule. Making sure not to be caught off guard by a lone commando, he set down a few claymore mines in the corridor behind him. Listening to the screams of both Terrorist and Counter-Terrorist clicked something in his mind... Time to clean up     Sprinting around the corner, two Terrorist bodies lay with their closing weapons sprawled about. Three Counter-Terrorists were left alive but two terrorists down the hall were making a stand off with pistols.     "This could be a movie." He ruling to himself.      Hauling past the lead filled crates and two dead bodies, he stop and braced himself for the explosive recoil of his deadly tool. Shell casings littered the hallway like marbles in a kids movi e, making it extremely hard to walk. The first Counter-Terrorist, or CT, took three pierces from the 5.56 millimeter bullets then dropped to the floor. The middle CT did not notice his comrade drop because he was too far ahead, the one reloading his Colt M4A1 behind a crate however did and began to fumble the clip, he was quickly kill off of. The remaining Counter-Terrorist emptied his clip and took cover from the returning 50 calibers. Sensing his comrades had either left him or died, the latter being the most likely, loaded his Steyr AUG like a lightning bolt. Being fixated on the gun, he completely forgot about Landros standing upon the crate waiting to see the gaberdines of his eyes.      Like a badly timed black and white taking bullets from a LA gang fight, the map changes and the chance to take exact revenge is lost. But not for long.     Your probably wondering how a single-valued function change happens in a gun fight between Count er-Terrorist and Terrorist and how the Terrorist was able to acquire a Sig Model 522 "Commando" and Army issue Claymore mines. easy in the world of First Person Shooters (or Half-Life MOD Counter-Strike specifically) these are items that are readily available to the user with the required amount of credits.      Welcome to the conception of Gaming.          April 20th, 1999. Several small explosions rocked the entrance and surrounding area of Littleton, Colorados Columbine Highschool. Soon after gunshots and a stampede of screaming bodies flooded the hallways of the school.

The Life and Works of Walt Whitman :: Biography

Poets write various styles of poetry. They use their own personal experiences, ideas, and creativity. Walt Whitman used all of these styles in his writings. He had experienced trials and tribulations throughout his whole life. Whitman did a lot of moving during his childhood, and that probably caused his personality to be neurotic. There are a lot of things that he has do to change the writings of future poets.Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in Long Island, New York. He was the second son of Walter Whitman and Louisa Van Velsor. His father was a house builder. The family consisted of nine children (Whitman 1). The Whitmans moved to Brooklyn when Walt was only four years old (334). When he was only twelve years old, he began to learn the newspapermans trade and he fell in love with the written word, and became accustomed to reading the bible (para. 2).He did not have a formal education, and he read the works if Sir Walter Scott, Shakespeare, Homer, and Dante (Feldman 438). Whi tman had worked as a printer in New York City until a fire annihilated the printing district where he was operative at. When he turned 17 years old, he became a teacher in the one-room school houses of Long Island. Whitman continued to teach until 1841, he turned to news media and this became his full-time career (Whitman para. 3). Whitman founded a newspaper called, The Long Islander, and later on he edited numerous of Brooklyn and New York newspapers. He left Brooklyns, The Daily Eagle, to aim the editor of the New Orleans Crescent. He experienced first hand the cruelness of slavery in the slave markets of New Orleans. When he returned to Brooklyn, he found the Brooklyn Freeman and he started to develop a unique style of poetry (Whitman para. 4).Whitman had a unique sense of writing styles. muckle say that he had an original style of writing of Hebrew poetry and is based on the device of parallelism. Whitmans poetry contained elements of repetition (Unger 332). His character istics also had a lot to do with his writings. People say that in his own way that he was an intellectual, and was a highly unorthodox poet. He had a neurotic side. They described him as a diversify bisexual, quirky, elusive, and power-seeking (332). Whitmans sexuality had some influence on his writings. He had some difficulty with his sexuality.

A Farewell To Arms By Ernest Hemingway :: Free Essay Writer

In the beginning Frederic Henry, a young American ambulance driver with the Italian army in World War I, meets a beautiful English nurse named Catherine Barkley near the front between Italy and Austria-Hungary. At first Henry wants to seduce her, but when he is wounded and sent to the American hospital where Catherine works, he actually begins to love her. After his convalescence in the hospital, Henry returns to the war front. During a retreat, the Italians start to nightfall apart. Henry shoots an engineer sergeant under his command for dereliction, and later in confusion is arrested by the battle police for the crime of not being Italian. disgust with the army and facing death at the hands of the battle police, Henry decides he has had enough of war he dives into the river to escape.After swimming to safety, Henry boards a train and reunites with Catherine--now pregnant with Henrys child--in Stresa. With the help of an Italian bartender, they escape to Switzerland, and attempt t o put the war behind them forever. They spend a happy time together in Switzerland, and plan to marry after the baby is born. When Catherine goes into labor, however, things go terribly wrong. He attempts an unsuccessful Caesarian section, and Catherine dies in childbirth. To Henry, her dead body is like a statue he walks back to his hotel without finding a way to say good-bye.As the title suggests, A Farewell to Arms is in many ways an anti-war novel, but it is in no way like a call to end all war. Among the books morals, violence is not necessarily wrong Henry does not feel sad for shooting the engineer sergeant, and he tells Catherine he will kill the police if they come to arrest him. Furthermore, the novel glorifies discipline, competence, and masculinity, and shows war as a setting in which those qualities are constantly being shown.A Farewell to Arms is against the extreme violence, the massive destruction, and the sheer senselessness of war the mental effect it has on batc h and cities and the brutal change it arranges in the lives of its survivors once victory and defeat become meaningless terms. Unlike other books that glorify courage in battle and make everything come out ok for the brave individual, this book attempts a real portrayal of a different kind war, one fought with machine guns, in trenches, and with divide and lots of casualties.

Painting Interpretation :: essays research papers

Recently at the San Diego Museum of photographic arts in balboa park, there was an exhibition of Steve McCurrys, the national geographic photographer who took the famous picture Afghan young lady, on his photo tour of Asia. It chronicled in splendid detail everything from India, and the most holy places in the Sikh religion, to Tibet and to the traditions inherent in the daily lives Afghani bakers. The titles and the instructive text blobs dotting the walls told a story of deep spiritualism and introspection in the name of religion. The pieces all reflected on different religions but the theme remained and painted Asia as a place full of devout individuals who have found purpose in their respective theologies. Among these images of brooding eyes, silent prayer and reflection fell a comical image. It showed a young Uzbekistani boy waitinging a cigarette to the mouth of a statue the statue of a Buddhist spiritual guru.The image was funny. A burning Marlboro at the smiling stone lip s of a 700 year old priest was funny. But the question I posed was why. If humor is the human response to the uncomfortable, the awkward or the indecent, what about this image made my friend and I laugh. The answer lied in its comparison. It juxtaposed a devout spiritualism with commercialisation and addiction. Both things thought to be in stark contrast with the enlightenment that is supposed to be revealed to all sons and daughters of religion and especially the followers of Buddha. This image smitten a chord with me, even though I am not unearthly, and have taken resentment to the current upswing in the inquisition like militance that is now a part of the Christian faith in America, I have grown up in a religious society, a Christian society. My morals are based on Christian interpretations of right and wrong fore we both live in a country founded on such beliefs, and are now immersed in them. This image of comparison stuck with me because, our society is full of such parado xical situations. Christian doctrine dictates the negative outcomes of addiction, and guffaws at commercialism as an offshoot of materialism and greed, which is a mortal sin. But despite these things the world and America in particular are in a struggle hold with peoples desire for material wealth on one side and the planets well being and the worlds religious quest for balance in all life on the other.

Painting Interpretation :: essays research papers

Recently at the San Diego Museum of photographic arts in balboa park, there was an exhibition of Steve McCurrys, the national geographic photographer who took the famous picture Afghan Girl, on his photo tour of Asia. It chronicled in splendid detail everything from India, and the most holy places in the Sikh trust, to Tibet and to the traditions subjective in the daily lives Afghani bakers. The titles and the explanatory text blobs dotting the walls told a story of deep spiritualism and introspection in the name of religion. The pieces all reflected on various religions but the theme remained and painted Asia as a place full of devout individuals who have found purpose in their respective theologies. Among these images of brooding eyes, obtuse prayer and reflection fell a comical image. It showed a young Uzbekistani boy holding a cig atomic number 18tte to the mouth of a statue the statue of a Buddhist spiritual guru.The image was funny. A burning Marlboro at the smiling stone lips of a 700 year old priest was funny. But the question I posed was why. If humor is the human reaction to the uncomfortable, the awkward or the indecent, what about this image made my friend and I laugh. The answer lied in its comparison. It put a devout spiritualism with commercialization and addiction. Both things thought to be in stark contrast with the enlightenment that is supposed to be revealed to all sons and daughters of religion and especially the followers of Buddha. This image struck a chord with me, even though I am not religious, and have taken resentment to the real upswing in the inquisition like militancy that is now a part of the Christian faith in America, I have grown up in a religious society, a Christian society. My morals are based on Christian interpretations of right and wrong fore we both live in a country founded on such beliefs, and are now immersed in them. This image of comparison stuck with me because, our society is full of such paradoxical situ ations. Christian principle dictates the negative outcomes of addiction, and guffaws at commercialism as an offshoot of materialism and greed, which is a mortal sin. But despite these things the world and America in particular are in a struggle hold with peoples desire for material wealth on one side and the planets hygienic being and the worlds religious quest for balance in all life on the other.

Individual Differences

http//www. fla twainrldknowledge. com/pub/1. 0/ arrangingal-behavior/34685web-34687 Why Individual Differences Are Important * Individual differences render got a direct lay out on behavior * mint who perceive things differently be restrain differently * People with different attitudes respond differently to directives * People with different somebodyalities interact differently with stumpes, co springers, subordinates, and customers * Individual differences foster explain Why some mountain embrace change and others argon fearful of it * Why some employees will be cultivatable only if they argon closely supervised, while others will be productive if they atomic number 18 non * Why some workers learn novel tasks more mapfully than others Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) Cycle * Different pile atomic number 18 attracted to different lifes and make-ups as a g everyplacenment agency of their birth * abilities * interests * personalities * Organizations select em ployees on the basis of the inevitably the organization has * skills and abilities soulfulness attributes such as value and nature * Attrition occurs when * individuals discover they do not like be vocalism of the organization and elect to resign, or * the organization determines an individual is not succeeding and elects to terminate * Each phase of the ASA cycle is significantly fermentd by the individual differences of each(prenominal) person The Basis for Understanding mesh way * To understand individual differences a monitorr must 1. ob practice and recognize the differences and . study relationships surrounded by variables that influence behavior Individual Differences Influencing Work Behavior 1. Hereditary and Diversity Factors 2. genius 3. Ability and Skills 4. Perception 5. Attitudes Diversity Factors Primary Dimensions (stable) * Age * Ethnicity * Gender * Physical attributes * Race * Sexual / mintional orientation subaltern Dimensions (changeable) * Educati onal background * Marital posture * Religious beliefs * Health * Work pose Abilities and Skills Ability a persons talent to perform a mental or physical task * Skill a learned talent that a person has acquired to perform a task KEY ABILITIES 1. affable Ability 2. delirious Intelligence 3. Tacit Knowledge Attitudes * Are determinates of behavior because they are linked with perception, temper, feelings, and motivation * Attitude a mental state of deftness * learned and organized through experience * exerting a specific response to people, bearings, and situations with which it is related Attitudes Implications for the Manager . Attitudes are learned 2. Attitudes define hotshots predispositions toward apt(p) aspects of the world 3. Attitudes provide the emotional basis of ones interpersonal relations and identification with others 4. Attitudes are organized and are close to the core of temperament The Three (3) Components of Attitude 1. science (Beliefs and determine) My supervisor is un pretty. 2. Affect (Feelings and emotions) I dont like my supervisor. 3. Behavior (In tiped behavior) Ive submitted a formal request to transfer.Cognition * What individuals know about themselves and their environment * Implies a conscious process of acquiring knowledge * Evaluative beliefs favorable or unfavorable impressions that a person holds toward an object or person Affect * The emotional component of an attitude * Often learned from * parents * teachers * peer group members * The part of an attitude that is associated with feeling a real way about a person, group, or situation Cognitive Dissonance * A discrepancy amid attitudes and behaviors A mental state of anxiety * Occurs when there is a conflict among an individuals various cognitions after a decision has been made Personality * A comparatively stable set of feelings and behaviors that have been significantly formed by genetic and environmental factors * The relationship between behavior and per sonality is one of the around complex matters that managers have to understand * make up ones mind of characteristics that underlie a comparatively stable pattern of behavior in response to ideas, objects, or people in the environment *Some Major Forces influencing Personality 1. Cultural forces 2. Social class/group membership forces 3. Hereditary forces 4. Family relationship forces PERSONALITY AND BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS The risky flipper Personality Dimensions 1. Extroversion 2. amenity 3. scrupulousness 4. Emotional St capability 5. Openness to Experience How to Identify the Big Five Personality Traits * Extraversion * An extravert is talkative, comfortable, and confident in interpersonal relationships an introvert is more private, withdrawn and reserved. * Agreeableness An agreeable person is trusting, courteous and helpful, formulateting along well with others a disagreeable person is self-serving, skeptical and tough, creating discomfort for others. * Conscientiousn ess * A conscientious person is dependable, organized, and focused on getting things done a person who lacks conscientiousness is careless, impulsive, and not deed oriented. * Emotional Stability * A person who is emotionally stable is secure, calm, steady, and self-confident a person lacking emotional stability is excitable, anxious, nervous, and tense. Openness to Experience * A person open to experience is broad-minded, imaginative, and open to new ideas a person who lacks openness is narrow-minded, has few interests, and resists change. * Authoritarianism * the degree to which a person defers to authority and accepts status differences. * Machiavellianism * the degree to which someone uses forcefulness manipulatively. * venue of hear * the extent to which one banks that what happens is within ones control. * Self-monitoring * the degree to which someone is able to adjust behavior in response to xternal factors. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Basic Components * Self-awareness b asis for all other components, being aware of what you are feeling * Self-management control disruptive or harmful emotions and balance ones moods so they do not cloud thinking * Social awareness understand others and practice empathy * Relationship awareness connect to others, build dictatorial relationships, respond to emotions of others, and influence others Locus of Control * Locus of control of individuals Determines the degree to which they believe their behaviors influence what happens to them * Internals believe they are masters of their own fate * Externals believe they are helpless pawns of fate, achievement is due to luck or ease of task * Tendency to place primary certificate of indebtedness for ones mastery or failure either within oneself (internally) or on outside forces (externally) * Internal locus of control- your actions influence what happens to you * External locus of control- represents pawns of fate Self-Efficacy Feelings of self-efficacy have manageria l and organizational implications * Selection decisions * Training programs * Goal setting and performance Behaviors Influenced by Personality Authoritarianism = belief that power and status differences should exist within the organization * Machiavellianism = ladderency to direct much of ones behavior toward the acquisition of power and the manipulation of other people for personal gain Individual Differences determine and Personality - LEARNING OBJECTIVES . Understand what determine are. 2. Describe the link between value and individual behavior. 3. Identify the major personality traits that are relevant to organizational behavior. 4. Explain the link between personality, work behavior, and work attitudes. 5. Explain the potential pitfalls of personality testing. Values Valuesrefer to stable purport goals that people have, reflecting what is most important to them. Values are established throughout ones life as a result of the accumulating life experiences and list to be rel atively stable. 138The values that are important to people tend to affect the types of decisions they make, how they perceive their environment, and their actual behaviors. Moreover, people are more liable(predicate) to accept job offers when the telephoner possesses the values people care about. 139Value attainment is one reason why people stay in a company, and when an organization does not help them attain their values, they are more likely to decide to leave if they are dissatisfied with the job itself. 140 What are the values people care about? thither are many typologies of values.One of the most established keep ups to assess individual values is the Rokeach Value Survey. 141This survey lists 18 terminal and 18 instrumental values in alphabetical order. Terminal valuesrefer to end states people desire in life, such as leading a prosperous life and a world at peace. Instrumental valuesdeal with views on acceptable modes of conduct, such as being honest and ethical, and bein g ambitious. According to Rokeach, values are arranged in hierarchical fashion. In other words, an accurate way of assessing someones values is to ask them to rank the 36 values in order of importance.By comparing these values, people develop a sense of which value can be sacrificed to achieve the other, and the individual priority of each value emerges. Where do values come from? Research indicates that they are shaped early in life and charge stability over the course of a lifetime. Early family experiences are important influences over the dominant values. People who were raised in families with commencement socioeconomic status and those who experienced restrictive parenting often showing conformity values when they are adults, while those who were raised by parents who were cold toward their children would likely alue and desire security. 142 Values of a generation also change and rise in response to the historical context that the generation grows up in. Research comparing the values of different generations resulted in interesting findings. For example, Generation Xers (those born between the mid-1960s and 1980s) are more individualistic and are interested in working toward organizational goals so long as they coincide with their personal goals. This group, compared to the baby boomers (born between the 1940s and 1960s), is also less likely to see work as central to their life and more likely to desire a quick promotion. 143 Values will affect the choices people make. For example, someone who has a square stimulation orientation may chase extreme sports and be drawn to risky railway line ventures with a juicy potential for payoff. The values a person holds will affect his or her employment. For example, someone who has an orientation toward strong stimulation may pursue extreme sports and select an occupation that involves fast action and high risk, such as fire fighter, police officer, or emergency medical doctor. Someone who has a drive for a chievement may more readily act as an entrepreneur.Moreover, whether individuals will be satisfied at a given job may depend on whether the job provides a way to satisfy their dominant values. Therefore, understanding employees at work entreats understanding the value orientations of employees. Personality Personalityencompasses the relatively stable feelings, thoughts, and behavioral patterns a person has. Our personality differentiates us from other people, and understanding someones personality gives us clues about how that person is likely to act and feel in a variety of situations.In order to effectively manage organizational behavior, an understanding of different employees personalities is helpful. Having this knowledge is also serviceable for placing people in jobs and organizations. If personality is stable, does this mean that it does not change? You probably remember how you have changed and evolved as a result of your own life experiences, upkeep you received in early childhood, the style of parenting you were exposed to, successes and failures you had in high school, and other life planets. In fact, our personality changes over long periods of time.For example, we tend to find more socially dominant, more conscientious (organized and dependable), and more emotionally stable between the ages of 20 and 40, whereas openness to new experiences may begin to decline during this alike time. 144In other words, even though we treat personality as relatively stable, changes occur. Moreover, even in childhood, our personality shapes who we are and has lasting consequences for us. For example, studies show that part of our career success and job satisfaction later in life can be explained by our childhood personality. 145 Is our behavior in organizations dependent on our personality? To some extent, yes, and to some extent, no. While we will discuss the effects of personality for employee behavior, you must remember that the relationships we describe ar e modest correlations. For example, having a sociable and outgoing personality may encourage people to seek friends and prefer social situations. This does not mean that their personality will immediately affect their work behavior. At work, we have a job to do and a role to perform.Therefore, our behavior may be more strongly affected by what is expected of us, as opposed to how we want to behave. When people have a lot of freedom at work, their personality will become a stronger influence over their behavior. 146 Big Five Personality Traits How many personality traits are there? How do we even know? In every language, there are many words describing a persons personality. In fact, in the English language, more than 15,000 words describing personality have been identified.When researchers analyzed the terms describing personality characteristics, they realized that there were many words that were pointing to each dimension of personality. When these words were grouped, five dimensi ons come outed to emerge that explain a lot of the variation in our personalities. 147 grasp in mind that these five are not necessarily the only traits out there. There are other, specific traits that represent dimensions not captured by the Big Five. Still, understanding the main five traits gives us a good start for describing personality. A summary of the Big Five traits is presented inFigure3. , Big Five Personality Traits. Opennessis the degree to which a person is curious, original, intellectual, creative, and open to new ideas. People high in openness seem to thrive in situations that require being flexible and learning new things. They are highly motivated to learn new skills, and they do well in training settings. 148They also have an advantage when they enter into a new organization. Their open-mindedness leads them to seek a lot of information and feedback about how they are doing and to build relationships, which leads to quicker adjustment to the new job. 149When supp orted, they tend to be creative. 150Open people are highly adaptable to change, and aggroups that experience unforeseen changes in their tasks do well if they are populated with people high in openness. 151Compared to people low in openness, they are also more likely to start their own business. 152 Conscientiousnessrefers to the degree to which a person is organized, systematic, punctual, achievement oriented, and dependable. Conscientiousness is the one personality trait that uniformly predicts how high a persons performance will be, across a variety of occupations and jobs. 153In fact, conscientiousness is the trait most desired by recruiters and results in the most success in interviews. 154This is not a surprise, because in addition to their high performance, conscientious people have high directs of motivation to perform, move levels of turnover, lower levels of absenteeism, and higher levels of safety performance at work. 155Ones conscientiousness is related to career suc cess and being satisfied with ones career over time. 156Finally, it seems that conscientiousness is a good trait to have for entrepreneurs. gamely conscientious people are more likely to start their own business compared to those who are not conscientious, and their firms have longer survival rates. 157 Extraversionis the degree to which a person is outgoing, talkative, and sociable, and enjoys being in social situations. One of the established findings is that they tend to be effective in jobs involving sales. 158Moreover, they tend to be effective as managers and they demonstrate inspirational lead behaviors. 159Extraverts do well in social situations, and as a result they tend to be effective in job interviews.Part of their success comes from how they set for the job interview, as they are likely to use their social network. 160Extraverts have an easier time than introverts when adjusting to a new job. They actively seek information and feedback, and build effective relationshi ps, which helps with their adjustment. 161Interestingly, extraverts are also found to be happier at work, which may be because of the relationships they build with the people around them and their relative ease in adjusting to a new job. 162However, they do not necessarily perform well in all jobs, and jobs depriving them of social interaction may be a poor fit. Moreover, they are not necessarily model employees. For example, they tend to have higher levels of absenteeism at work, potentially because they may miss work to hang out with or attend to the needs of their friends. 163 Agreeablenessis the degree to which a person is nice, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind, and warm. In other words, people who are high in agreeableness are likeable people who get along with others.Not surprisingly, agreeable people help others at work consistently, and this helping behavior is not dependent on being in a good mood. 164They are also less likely to retaliate when other people treat them un fairly. 165This may reflect their ability to show empathy and give people the benefit of the doubt. Agreeable people may be a valuable addition to their team ups and may be effective leaders because they create a fair environment when they are in leadership positions. 166At the other end of the spectrum, people low in agreeableness are less likely to show these exacting behaviors.Moreover, people who are not agreeable are shown to quit their jobs unexpectedly, perhaps in response to a conflict they engage with a boss or a peer. 167If agreeable people are so nice, does this mean that we should only look for agreeable people when hiring? Some jobs may actually be a better fit for someone with a low level of agreeableness. Think about it When hiring a lawyer, would you prefer a kind and gentle person, or a pit bull? Also, high agreeableness has a downside Agreeable people are less likely to engage in constructive and change-oriented communication. 168Disagreeing with the status quo m ay create conflict and agreeable people will likely stay off creating such conflict, missing an opportunity for constructive change. Neuroticismrefers to the degree to which a person is anxious, irritable, aggressive, temperamental, and moody. These people have a tendency to have emotional adjustment problems and experience stress and depression on a habitual basis. People very high in neuroticism experience a number of problems at work. For example, they are less likely to be someone people go to for advice and friendship. 169In other words, they may experience relationship difficulties. They tend to be habitually unhappy in their jobs and report high roles to leave, but they do not necessarily actually leave their jobs. 170Being high in neuroticism seems to be harmful to ones career, as they have lower levels of career success (measured with income and occupational status achieved in ones career). Finally, if they achieve managerial jobs, they tend to create an unfair climate at work. 171 Myers-Briggs Type powerAside from the Big Five personality traits, perhaps the most well-known and most often used personality assessment is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). dissimilar the Big Five, which assesses traits, MBTI measures types. Assessments of the Big Five do not classify people as neurotic or extravert It is all a matter of degrees. MBTI on the other hand, classifies people as one of 16 types. 172In MBTI, people are grouped victimization four dimensions. Based on how a person is classified on these four dimensions, it is possible to talk about 16 unique personality types, such as ESTJ and ISTP.MBTI was developed in 1943 by a motherdaughter team, Isabel Myers and Katherine Cook Briggs. Its objective at the time was to aid World War II veterans in identifying the occupation that would suit their personalities. Since that time, MBTI has become vastly popular, and according to one estimate, around 2. 5 million people take the test annually. The survey is criticized because it relies on types as opposed to traits, but organizations who use the survey find it very useful for training and team-building purposes. More than eighty of theFortune100 companies used Myers-Briggs tests in some form.One distinguishing characteristic of this test is that it is explicitly designed for learning, not for employee selection purposes. In fact, the Myers & Briggs Foundation has strict guidelines against the use of the test for employee selection. Instead, the test is used to provide mutual understanding within the team and to gain a better understanding of the working styles of team members. 173 Positive and Negative Affectivity You may have noticed that behavior is also a function of moods. When people are in a good mood, they may be more cooperative, smile more, and act friendly.When these same people are in a bad mood, they may have a tendency to be picky, irritable, and less tolerant of different opinions. Yet, some people seem to be in a good mood most of the time, and others seem to be in a bad mood most of the time regardless of what is actually going on in their lives. This distinction is manifested by positive and detrimental affectivity traits. Positive affective peopleexperience positive moods more frequently, whereasnegative affective peopleexperience negative moods with great frequency.Negative affective people focus on the glass half empty and experience more anxiety and nervousness. 174Positive affective people tend to be happier at work,175and their happiness spreads to the rest of the work environment. As may be expected, this personality trait sets the tone in the work atmosphere. When a team comprises mostly negative affective people, there tend to be fewer instances of helping and cooperation. Teams dominated by positive affective people experience lower levels of absenteeism. 176When people with a lot of power are also high in positive affectivity, the work environment is affected in a positive manner and can lead to greater levels of cooperation and finding mutually agreeable solutions to problems. 177 Self-Monitoring Self-monitoringrefers to the extent to which a person is capable of monitoring his or her actions and appearance in social situations. In other words, people who are social monitors are social chameleons who understand what the situation demands and act accordingly, while low social monitors tend to act the way they feel. 178High social monitors are sensitive to the types of behaviors the social environment expects from them. Their greater ability to modify their behavior according to the demands of the situation and to manage their impressions effectively is a great advantage for them. 179In general, they tend to be more successful in their careers. They are more likely to get cross-company promotions, and even when they stay with one company, they are more likely to advance. 180Social monitors also become the go to person in their company and they enjoy central p ositions in their social networks. 181They are rated as higher performers, and emerge as leaders. 182While they are effective in influencing other people and get things done by managing their impressions, this personality trait has some challenges that need to be addressed. First, when evaluating the performance of other employees, they tend to be less accurate. It seems that while trying to manage their impressions, they may avoid giving accurate feedback to their subordinates to avoid confrontations. 183This tendency may create problems for them if they are managers. Second, high social monitors tend to experience higher levels of tress, probably caused by behaving in ways that conflict with their true feelings. In situations that demand positive emotions, they may act happy although they are not feeling happy, which puts an emotional burden on them. Finally, high social monitors tend to be less committed to their companies. They may see their jobs as a stepping-stone for greater things, which may prevent them from forming strong attachments and fealty to their current employer. 184 Proactive Personality Proactive personalityrefers to a persons inclination to fix what is perceived as wrong, change the status quo, and use initiative to solve problems.Instead of waiting to be told what to do, proactive people take action to initiate meaningful change and remove the obstacles they face along the way. In general, having a proactive personality has a number of advantages for these people. For example, they tend to be more successful in their job searches. 185They are also more successful over the course of their careers, because they use initiative and acquire greater understanding of the politics within the organization. 186Proactive people are valuable assets to their companies because they may have higher levels of performance. 187They adjust to their new jobs quickly because they understand the political environment better and often make friends more quickly . 188Proactive people are eager to learn and engage in many developmental activities to improve their skills. 189Despite all their potential, under some circumstances a proactive personality may be a liability for an individual or an organization. Imagine a person who is proactive but is perceived as being in any case pushy, trying to change things other people are not willing to let go, or using their initiative to make decisions that do not serve a companys best interests.Research shows that the success of proactive people depends on their understanding of a companys core values, their ability and skills to perform their jobs, and their ability to assess situational demands correctly. 190 Self-Esteem Self-esteemis the degree to which a person has overall positive feelings about his or herself. People with high egotism view themselves in a positive light, are confident, and respect themselves. On the other hand, people with low self-esteem experience high levels of self-doubt and uestion their self-worth. High self-esteem is related to higher levels of satisfaction with ones job and higher levels of performance on the job. 191People with low self-esteem are attracted to situations in which they will be relatively invisible, such as large companies. 192Managing employees with low self-esteem may be challenging at times, because negative feedback given with the intention to improve performance may be viewed as a judgment on their worth as an employee.Therefore, effectively managing employees with relatively low self-esteem requires discretion and providing lots of positive feedback when discussing performance incidents. Self-Efficacy Self-efficacyis a belief that one can perform a specific task successfully. Research shows that the belief that we can do something is a good predictor of whether we can actually do it. Self-efficacy is different from other personality traits in that it is job specific. You may have high self-efficacy in being successful academi cally, but low self-efficacy in relation to your ability to fix your car.At the same time, people have a certain level of generalized self-efficacy and they have the belief that whatever task or hobby they tackle, they are likely to be successful in it. Research shows that self-efficacy at work is related to job performance. 193This relationship is probably a result of people with high self-efficacy setting higher goals for themselves and being more committed to these goals, whereas people with low self-efficacy tend to procrastinate. 194Academic self-efficacy is a good predictor of your GPA, whether you persist in your studies, or drop out of college. 195 Is there a way of increasing employees self-efficacy? Hiring people who are capable of performing their tasks and training people to increase their self-efficacy may be effective. Some people may also respond well to oral encouragement. By showing that you believe they can be successful and effectively playing the role of a cheer leader, you may be able to increase self-efficacy. good-looking people opportunities to test their skills so that they can see what they are capable of doing (or empowering them) is also a good way of increasing self-efficacy. 196 Locus of Control Locus of control deals with the degree to which people feel accountable for their own behaviors. Individuals with highinternal locus of controlbelieve that they control their own destiny and what happens to them is their own doing, while those with highexternal locus of controlfeel that things happen to them because of other people, luck, or a powerful being. Internals feel greater control over their own lives and therefore they act in ways that will increase their chances of success.For example, they take the initiative to start mentor-protege relationships. They are more involved with their jobs. They demonstrate higher levels of motivation and have more positive experiences at work. 197Interestingly, internal locus is also related to o nes subjective well-being and happiness in life, while being high in external locus is related to a higher rate of depression. 198The connection between internal locus of control and health is interesting, but perhaps not surprising.In fact, one study showed that having internal locus of control at the age of ten was related to a number of health outcomes, such as lower obesity and lower blood pressure later in life. 199It is possible that internals take more responsibility for their health and adopt healthier habits, while externals may see less of a connection between how they live and their health. Internals thrive in contexts in which they have the ability to influence their own behavior. Successful entrepreneurs tend to have high levels of internal locus of control. 200 Key pointValues and personality traits are two dimensions on which people differ. Values are stable life goals. When seeking jobs, employees are more likely to accept a job that provides opportunities for value attainment, and they are more likely to remain in situations that satisfy their values. Personality comprises the stable feelings, thoughts, and behavioral patterns people have. The Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) are important traits that seem to be stable and can be generalized to other cultures.Other important traits for work behavior include self-efficacy, self-esteem, social monitoring, proactive personality, positive and negative affectivity, and locus of control. It is important to remember that a persons behavior depends on the match between the person and the situation. While personality is a strong influence on job attitudes, its relation to job performance is weaker. Some companies use personality testing to screen out candidates. This method has certain limitations, and companies using personality tests

Ancient Greek Music Essay

Ancient classical music was extremely popular in those times, and frequently used at ceremonies such as weddings and funerals. It was also contend a lot because the Greeks saw playing it as a way of righteousnessping the Gods, pipes and pans were played when worshipping Dionysus, the god of wine and partying and other puppets played for other gods. The word music comes from the muses who were daughters of Zeus and were known to be the goddesses of the inspiration of literature, science and the arts. Although no-one actually knows what ancient Greek music sounded like, they do know what instruments were played. There were The lyre- an ancient stringed instrument played by the Greeks, the word comes from the Greek The aulos- two double-reed pipes, played with a mouth stripes to hold the reeds steadily next to the musicians lips The kithara- also a stringed instrument, but more complicated than the lyre. Another difference was that it was played with a plectrum. The Hydraulis- Th e outset instrument,The LyreThe origins of the LyreThe Lyre was one of the first ever stringed musical instruments and was invented by the Greeks. Traditionally, the original lyres soundbox was made from a tortoise perplex and then two, sometimes hollow, wooden arms extended up. The origin of the lyre is even in with a Greek myth. When Hermes was born, he crawled out of his cradle and found a tortoise shell. He killed and then stretched a cow skin around the shell then stuck two horns in. Then to finish off he attached some strings to the instrument. When his parents found out they were very angry until they heard the music from the lyre and forgave him for killing the cow. There are several variants of the story. In one he steals an entire flock of cows. The Structure of a lyrePoor Greek musicians would have their instruments soundbox made from tortoise shells (these were called barbitos or a lyre) and richer ones would use wood for their sound box (these were called kitharas or phorminxes). Although the instruments had different names they were all essentially lyres, upright in different but similar forms.Mythology and the LyreGreek mythology and music were greatly related, mainly because people saw music as a way to worship the gods. The lyre was the most common in these stories.Orpheus and his LyreOrpheus is the son of Apollo, god of music, and therefore was gifted with musical talent. Apollo gave Orpheus his first lyre and with it Orpheus charmed everything animate and inanimate, from birds to rocks. He even helped the Argonauts on their journeys, speech their lives many a time with his music. He fell in love with a nymph called Eurydice and charmed her with his music. They were a very happy couple and decided to get married. But their love was short lived as after the ceremony Eurydice was bitten by a snake and died. Orpheus was terribly sad and mourned her death for years. Finally he decided to go to the underworld to get her back. He travelled do wn and got past Cerberus using his music. He played his lyre in front of nether region and the music was so sweet it even softened the lord of the deads heart.He begged hades to let him have Eurydice back and Hades say yes, but on one condition, on the way back up you must not look back at Eurydice or she will be stuck in hell forever. Orpheus agreed. On the way back he did not look back, even though he desperately wanted to. They were just at the mouth of the living world and Orpheus stepped out, happy that they had made it. He looked back to share this moment with Eurydice but she was still in the land of the dead and was direct dragged back to hell. Orpheus was sadder than ever and travelled aimlessly, his only companion his lyre. But he was murdered by a group of maenads who ripped him apart and threw his head and lyre into the river. His Lyre and head travelled down until it reached the shore of lesbos, whose people buried his head and threw his lyre up into the sky to make a star constellation.

Psycho Or How a Killer is Born in a Hitchcock Film Essay

Film analysis doesnt require a philosophy of deep thought, but scarce requires the participation of the viewer. In films the audience get out witness aspects of their own lives played out the actions, emotions and scenery draw from the viewer their frame of reference. The art of film tin can be analyzed finished specific scenes and the meaning they have in reality. For instance in the cult film psychotic person person the viewer is placed in third person point of view mainly focusing on the story of Norman Bates. The audience becomes part of the film because of the intrigue the writer, director and actors act upon to the screen.The feeling of loss of meaning is very prevalent in the duration of the film the antics of love, exploit, desire in the viewer and in the end of the film is tumefy orchestrated by the director Alfred Hitchcock. That is the purpose of filmmaking, to begin a story and have the audience become so engrossed in its unfolding that they turn a loss a sense of themselves in proportion to reality and completely step into the film, the character references triumphs and misdeeds become the audience processs own guilt, and as the story progresses, the audience forgets their own selves in tell to better become part of the caste of characters in the script.The following paper will analyze psycho as directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Alfred Hitchcock creates his scene through the use of different camera angles. In his other films as well as Psycho, he makes favourable use of the camera shooting from an aerial vantage point and he uses elements of the scene to be incorporated in the shot (Arnold paragraph three). This is seen in operate M for Murder in which the camera does an aerial angle from the ceiling and shoots Wendice and Captain Lesley (or Swann) discussing blackmail and the chandelier is use to be incorporated into the scene and it is used in Psycho in which the camera angle depicts Norman Bates and Marion Crane argon having a conversat ion in Bates taxidermy room and the camera shoots through the animals from a downward angle in order to create for the scene a sense of foreshadowing.Thus, the animals are a symbol of the emotions of the woman they foreshadow her death and eventual(prenominal) ownership through her death to Norman Bates. One element that Hitchcock utilizes in this painting is a symbol the phone. The phone is non only used as a transference of scenes but also as a revealing factor of the character the characters reveal their true intentions on the phone, their feelings, their desires, and it is with the phone that the plot progresses antecedent and things about the other characters are revealed to severally other, such as Marions boyfriend trying to get a hold of her, and the police detectives phone. Hitchcock uses other things that are of importance, that are part of the scene in his other movies such as windows in The Birds in which the characters can witness the danger personnel casualty on o utside but also have distance from that danger, whether or not that distance is false.Hitchcock uses the mother in Psycho for this revelation to characters and the audience same in that Bates dresses up as his mother, uses his mother, and her voice in a mis-in-scene in order to persuade characters in believing a lie instead of the loyalty the truth being that he dresses up as his dead mother and kills women whom he could potentially have a relationship with, or whom he likes. It is with these elements that the movie audience can have that voyeuristic sense of discovery of the characters intentions and plot development that Hitchcock creates and progresses the thriller movie genre.The psychosis of the character Norman Bates in Psycho truly takes on the development of a consecutive orca. There are sub-categories of serial killers visionary, mission oriented, hedonistic, power oriented, and among these there are organized and disorganized. For each of these types of killers there are certain character dispositions. The visionary types are compelled by voices or visions and are described as being psychotic. They will not choose a victim because the motives are outside of themselves (voices, visions). The mission oriented type kills people because they believe that the victim is unworthy of life this type is said not to be psychotic.The victim of this type of killer will fulfill a psychological need (as with Norman Bates character, in which he had to kill young women because his desire for them was overruled by his mothers overbearing personality even in death, and therefore Norman had to keep his mother alive in order to continue to rust his desire for cleanup position what he could not have, and in order to maintain the consistency his life had when his mother was alive and ruling his life by not allowing him to entertain or go out with girls). The hedonistic type kills simply for the high of killing and there are signs of sexual arousal come to with the killing (which could also be part of Norman Bates personality type as he killed as his mother for sexual arousal).A comfort killer is a subtype of hedonistic killer and they will kill victims with whom they have some sort of relationship (also as with Norman Bates whose victims were young women who stayed in his hotel). The power oriented killer kills for control, is not psychotic and is obsessed with holding the power of the victims life in his/her hands (in Normans baptistery however, the killer, him/his mother, killed in order to keep control over Normans actions, thus his psychosis could be persuaded by the issue of control but not control over his victims). normally each of these killers (excepting the comfort killer) will use a hands-on method of killing using weapons in violent fashion (In Normans case it was a knife). Each of these typologies involves either organized or disorganized killings. An organized killer is usually competent, intelligent, targets strangers as victi ms, uses restraints, and performs sex on their victims.The organized killer will be very aware of their crime and have no trace or evidence at the scene of the crime (this is what Norman did at the offset printing of the film, as is seen in the shower, and his clean up of the scene and dumping the car in the pool/swamp next to the hotel). On the other hand a disorganized killer will often be socially immature, whitethorn kill people they know, are often sexually inhibited, live alone and leave the scene of the crime full of fingerprints. (which also described Norman Bates). It would them seem as if Hitchcock created a serial killer in Norman Bates who epitomized every shifting of serial killing psychosis in point of fact, Hitchcock created the supreme serial killer, mixing in different elements of each sub- socio-economic class into the one character.Spatial mobility is also an area where serial killers differ (as seen with Hitchcocks keeping his scenes mainly in the hotel, or th e Bates family home, which is given its own character by the lighting and the silhouette in certain scenes). Among this category there are geographically stable killers and there are geographically transient serial killers. The geographically stable serial killer live in the same area for an extended amount of time and they will kill in that area and dispose of the body somewhere close to home or within the neighborhood (which is what Bates does with his victims cars). A geographically transient serial killer will travel constantly, killing from place to place to befog law enforcement agencies (here is an element of serial killers which Hitchcock does not give to Norman Bates).For, if a killer kills too many people in one area, the agency may believe the killer is from that specific area, and when the killer moves to the next town the same will happen so that there may not be a blatant pattern. As the number of crimes increase the lapse of time or cooling off periods decrease (as i s also presented in Psycho). There is a design of degeneration of personality and the crime scenes will show a high increase of violence toward the victim (another reason why female serial killers are not believed to be transient killers too violent of a personality). This is in correlation with the killer thinking that since theyve done this type of thing before and havent been caught then they are in a realm of invincibility.Serial killer studies have been attentive to whether or not a killer is psychotic or that they kill for a type of self-preservation. In the case of Bates, it seems that a lot of his aggression, and violent temperament came from his abusive mother. Psychosis has grounding in the idea of the suffer or nature of a person. Childhood studies bring up issues such as the stages of when a mother is detrimental to the healthiness and mentality of a barbarian and when a father is more apt to be an active participant for that child. The basis for the study is founde d on the idea of a person not all of a sudden waking up one day and deciding to kill (as has been thought in past studies). There is a fundamental concept of socialization involved with such behaviour.The idea behind the killers motive is almost certainly tied to how they perceive their surrounding environment and how they dont connect on the sequester level with that society. A Swedish study done conceives of the matter of killers being narcissistic and unable to comprehend society in something other than egocentric terms. A dysfunctional family is used as a frame of reference, and if that childhood is stressful, dangerous, or filled with lack of love, then a certain consequence will occur, be it introversion or to an extreme, the beginnings of go a killer, as is seen in Norman Bates.It is through this specific film that the audience becomes a part of the spectacle of the film through the characterizations, the plot, the point of view, and camera angles, and the development and pathologies of the serial killer Norman Bates each scene in this film aids in the development of the audience becoming immersed in the progression of the film. Each of the elements listed above is an enhancement to the story, and without the use of Hitchcocks birds eye view, and psychosis of the character Norman Bates as shown through the characters dramatic scenes and off camera mothers voice to enhance the scene, and the other film techniques used, this movies would not be memorable because the audience member would not be invested in the outcome.Thus, the audience is immersed in how Bates became a serial killer, how he kills, why he kills, and the psychosis behind his killing. The character, the development of the plot, and the lighting and camera angles each add to the psychology of the film Psycho. This film allows for a supreme suspension of disbelief and it is through this that the true Hollywood thriller is found.BibliographyPsycho. Alfred Hitchcock. Anthony Perkins. Janet L eigh. Vera Miles. ShamleyProductions. 1960.

A Game of Thrones Chapter Thirty-four

CatelynMy lady, you should have sent word of your coming, Ser Donnel Waynwood told her as their horses climbed the pass. We would have sent an escort. The spirited path is non as safe as it once was, for a patchy as small as yours.We learned that to our sorrow, Ser Donnel, Catelyn say. Some beats she felt as though her sprightliness had turned to pock six brave men had died to clear her this far, and she could not regular(a) find it in her to weep for them. Even their names were fading. The clansmen get at us day and night. We lost(p) three men in the first attack, and two more in the second, and Lannisters serving man died of a fever when his wounds festered. When we hear your men approaching, I thought us doomed for certain. They had drawn up for a ending desperate fight, blades in hand and backs to the rock. The dwarfaref had been whetting the edge of his axe and making some mordant jest when Bronn spotted the banner the riders carried out front line them, the moon-a nd-falcon of theater of operations Arryn, lazuline and white. Catelyn had never mootn a more wel baffle sight.The clans have enceinte bolder since manufacturing business Jon died, Ser Donnel said. He was a stocky youth of twenty years, earnest and homely, with a wide nose and a shock of thick brown hair. If it were up to me, I would cut a speed of light men into the freshets, root them out of their fastnesses, and teach them some intense les give-and-takes, still your electric razor has for loosenessden it. She would not so far permit her knights to fight in the Hands tourney. She emergencys all our swords kept close to home, to def barricade the vale . . . against what, no one is certain. Shadows, some say. He looked at her anxiously, as if he had suddenly remembered who she was. I fancy I have not spoken out of turn, my lady. I meant no offense.Frank talk does not offend me, Ser Donnel. Catelyn knew what her sister fe ard. Not shadows, Lannisters, she thought to hers elf, glancing back to w present the dwarf rode beside Bronn. The two of them had grown thick as thieves since Chiggen had died. The tiny man was more cunning than she uniformd. When they had entered the mountains, he had been her captive, bound and helpless. What was he now? Her captive still, yet he rode along with a dirk through his belt and an axe strapped to his saddle, wearing the shadowskin cloak hed won dicing with the singer and the chainmail hauberk hed interpreted off Chiggens corpse. both score men flanked the dwarf and the rest of her ragged band, knights and men-at-arms in serv folderol to her sister Lysa and Jon Arryns young son, and yet Tyrion betrayed no hint of fright. Could I be wrong? Catelyn wondered, not for the first metre. Could he be innocent after all, of Bran and Jon Arryn and all the rest? And if he was, what did that bushel her? sextette men had died to bring him here.Resolute, she pushed her doubts a expression. When we reach your keep, I would ta ke it kindly if you could send for Maester Colemon at once. Ser Rodrik is feverish from his wounds. More than once she had feared the gallant old knight would not survive the journey. Toward the end he could scarcely baffle his horse, and Bronn had urged her to leave him to his gamye, nevertheless Catelyn would not hear of it. They had tied him in the saddle instead, and she had commanded Marillion the singer to watch all over him.Ser Donnel hesitated before he answered. The peeress Lysa has commanded the maester to remain at the Eyrie at all times, to care for original Robert, he said. We have a septon at the gate who tends to our wounded. He elicit see to your mans hurts.Catelyn had more faith in a maesters learning than a septons prayers. She was about to say as much when she saw the battlements ahead, long parapets built into the precise stone of the mountains on either side of them. Where the pass shrank to a narrow defile scarce wide comme il faut for four men to ride abreast, couple watch editorials clung to the rocky slopes, joined by a covered bridge of wea in that locationd grey stone that arched above the driveway. Silent panoramas watched from arrow slits in tower, battlements, and bridge. When they had climbed nigh to the top, a knight rode out to meet them. His horse and his armor were grey, only when his cloak was the rippling blue-and-red of Riverrun, and a shiny black fish, wrought in golden and obsidian, pinned its folds against his shoulder. Who would pass the Bloody Gate? he called.Ser Donnel Waynwood, with the Lady Catelyn Stark and her companions, the young knight answered.The Knight of the Gate lifted his visor. I thought the lady looked familiar. You are far from home, little Cat.And you, Uncle, she said, smiling despite all she had been through. Hearing that hoarse, smoky voice again took her back twenty years, to the days of her childhood.My home is at my back, he said gruffly.Your home is in my heart, Catelyn told him. Take off your helm. I would look on your face again.The years have not improved it, I fear, Brynden Tully said, except when he lifted off the helm, Catelyn saw that he lied. His features were lined and weathered, and time had stolen the auburn from his hair and left him only grey, entirely the smile was the same, and the bushy eyebrows fat as caterpillars, and the laughter in his of late blue eyeball. Did Lysa know you were coming?There was no time to send word ahead, Catelyn told him. The others were coming up bottomland her. I fear we ride before the storm, Uncle.May we enter the Vale? Ser Donnel asked. The Waynwoods were ever ones for ceremony.In the name of Robert Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale, True Warden of the East, I bid you enter freely, and charge you to keep his peace, Ser Brynden replied. Come.And so she rode behind him, beneath the shadow of the Bloody Gate where a dozen armies had dashed themselves to pieces in the Age of Heroes. On the far side of the stoneworks, the mountains clear up suddenly upon a vista of green fields, blue sky, and snowcapped mountains that took her breath away. The Vale of Arryn bathed in the morning light.It stretched before them to the groggy cast, a tranquil land of rich black soil, wide slow-moving rivers, and hundreds of small lakes that shone like mirrors in the sun, protected on all sides by its sheltering peaks. drinking straw and corn and barley grew high in its fields, and til now in Highgarden the pumpkins were no larger nor the fruit any sweeter than here. They stood at the western end of the valley, where the high road crested the go away pass and began its lead-ining descent to the bottomlands two miles below. The Vale was narrow here, no more than a one-half days ride across, and the northern mountains seemed so close that Catelyn could almost reach out and touch them. Looming over them all was the jagged peak called the Giants Lance, a mountain that even mountains looked up to, its head lost in icy mists three and a half miles above the valley floor. Over its massive western shoulder flowed the ghost torrent of Alyssas Tears. Even from this distance, Catelyn could make out the shining silver thread, bright against the dark stone.When her uncle saw that she had stopped, he moved his horse closer and pointed. Its there, beside Alyssas Tears. All you apprize see from here is a flash of white every now and then, if you look hard and the sun hits the walls just right.Seven towers, Ned had told her, like white daggers thrust into the belly of the sky, so high you can stand on the parapets and look tear down on the clouds. How long a ride? she asked.We can be at the mountain by evenfall, Uncle Brynden said, but the climb entrust take another day.Ser Rodrik Cassel spoke up from behind. My lady, he said, I fear I can go no farther today. His face sagged beneath his ragged, newgrown whiskers, and he looked so weary Catelyn feared he might fall off his horse.Nor should you, she said. You have done all I could have asked of you, and a hundred times more. My uncle will see me the rest of the way to the Eyrie. Lannister must(prenominal) come with me, but there is no reason that you and the others should not rest here and withhold your strength.We should be honored to have them to guest, Ser Donnel said with the grave courtesy of the young. Beside Ser Rodrik, only Bronn, Ser Willis Wode, and Marillion the singer remained of the party that had ridden with her from the inn by the crossroads.My lady, Marillion said, riding forward. I beg you will me to accompany you to the Eyrie, to see the end of the tale as I saw its beginnings. The boy sounded haggard, yet strangely determined he had a fevered affect to his eye.Catelyn had never asked the singer to ride with them that choice he had made himself, and how he had come to survive the journey when so many braver men lay stone-dead and unburied behind them, she could never say. Yet here he was, with a scruff of beard that made him look almost a man. mayhap she owed him something for having come this far. Very well, she told him.Ill come as well, Bronn announced.She liked that less well. Without Bronn she would never have reached the Vale, she knew the sellsword was as fierce a fighter as she had ever seen, and his sword had helped down them through to safety. Yet for all that, Catelyn misliked the man. Cour get along he had, and strength, but there was no kindness in him, and little loyalty. And she had seen him riding beside Lannister far too often, lecture in low voices and laughing at some private joke. She would have preferred to separate him from the dwarf here and now, but having agreed that Marillion might have-to doe with to the Eyrie, she could see no gracious way to deny that same right to Bronn. As you wish, she said, although she noted that he had not actually asked her permission.Ser Willis Wode remained with Ser Rodrik, a soft-spoken septon fussing over th eir wounds. Their horses were left behind as well, poor ragged things. Ser Donnel promised to send birds ahead to the Eyrie and the furnish of the Moon with the word of their coming. Fresh mounts were brought forth from the stables, surefooted mountain stock with shaggy coats, and within the hour they castigate forth once again. Catelyn rode beside her uncle as they began the descent to the valley floor. Behind came Bronn, Tyrion Lannister, Marillion, and six of Bryndens men.Not until they were a three of the way down the mountain path, well out of earshot of the others, did Brynden Tully turn to her and say, So, child. Tell me about this storm of yours.I have not been a child in many years, Uncle, Catelyn said, but she told him nonetheless. It took longer than she would have believed to tell it all, Lysas letter and Brans fall, the assassins dagger and Littlefinger and her chance meeting with Tyrion Lannister in the crossroads inn.Her uncle listened silently, heavy brows shadowi ng his eyeball as his frown grew deeper. Brynden Tully had always known how to listen . . . to anyone but her father. He was Lord Hosters brother, younger by louver years, but the two of them had been at war as far back as Catelyn could remember. During one of their louder quarrels, when Catelyn was eight, Lord Hoster had called Brynden the black goat of the Tully flock. Laughing, Brynden had pointed out that the sigil of their house was a leaping trout, so he ought to be a black fish rather than a black goat, and from that day forward he had taken it as his personal emblem.The war had not terminate until the day she and Lysa had been wed. It was at their wedding feast that Brynden told his brother he was leaving Riverrun to serve Lysa and her new husband, the Lord of the Eyrie. Lord Hoster had not spoken his brothers name since, from what Edmure told her in his infrequent letters.Nonetheless, during all those years of Catelyns girlhood, it had been Brynden the Blackfish to whom Lord Hosters children had run with their tears and their tales, when Father was too busy and Mother too ill. Catelyn, Lysa, Edmure . . . and yes, even Petyr Baelish, their fathers ward . . . he had listened to them all patiently, as he listened now, laughing at their triumphs and sympathizing with their childish misfortunes.When she was done, her uncle remained silent for a long time, as his horse negotiated the steep, rocky trail. Your father must be told, he said at last. If the Lannisters should march, Winterfell is remote and the Vale walled up behind its mountains, but Riverrun lies right in their path.Id had the same fear, Catelyn admitted. I shall ask Maester Colemon to send a bird when we reach the Eyrie. She had other messages to send as well the commands that Ned had given her for his bannermen, to ready the defenses of the north. What is the mood in the Vale? she asked.Angry, Brynden Tully admitted. Lord Jon was much loved, and the insult was keenly felt when the king nam ed Jaime Lannister to an office the Arryns had held for near three hundred years. Lysa has commanded us to call her son the True Warden of the East, but no one is fooled. Nor is your sister only if in wondering at the manner of the Hands death. None dare say Jon was murdered, not openly, but suspicion casts a long shadow. He gave Catelyn a look, his blab out tight. And there is the boy.The boy? What of him? She ducked her head as they passed under a low overhang of rock, and roughly a sharp turn.Her uncles voice was troubled. Lord Robert, he sighed. Six years old, sickly, and prone to weep if you take his dolls away. Jon Arryns trueborn heir, by all the gods, yet there are some who say he is too weak to sit his fathers seat, Nestor Royce has been high steward these past fourteen years, while Lord Jon served in Kings Landing, and many whisper that he should rule until the boy comes of age. Others believe that Lysa must marry again, and soon. Already the suitors gather like crows o n a battlefield. The Eyrie is full of them.I might have expected that, Catelyn said. Small wonder there Lysa was still young, and the kingdom of Mountain and Vale made a handsome wedding gift. Will Lysa take another husband?She says yes, provided she finds a man who suits her, Brynden Tully said, but she has already rejected Lord Nestor and a dozen other suitable men. She swears that this time she will choose her superior husband.You of all people can scarce fault her for that.Ser Brynden snorted. Nor do I, but . . . it seems to me Lysa is only playing at courtship. She enjoys the sport, but I believe your sister intends to rule herself until her boy is old enough to be Lord of the Eyrie in truth as well as name.A woman can rule as wisely as a man, Catelyn said.The right woman can, her uncle said with a sideways glance. Make no mistake, Cat. Lysa is not you. He hesitated a moment. If truth be told, I fear you may not find your sister as helpful as you would like.She was puzzled. Wh at do you mean?The Lysa who came back from Kings Landing is not the same girl who went due south when her husband was named Hand. Those years were hard for her. You must know. Lord Arryn was a dutiful husband, but their marriage was made from politics, not passion.As was my own.They began the same, but your ending has been happier than your sisters. Two babes stillborn, twice as many miscarriages, Lord Arryns death . . . Catelyn, the gods gave Lysa only the one child, and he is all your sister lives for now, poor boy. Small wonder she fled rather than see him handed over to the Lannisters. Your sister is afraid, child, and the Lannisters are what she fears most. She ran to the Vale, stealing away from the Red Keep like a thief in the night, and all to snatch her son out of the lions mouth . . . and now you have brought the lion to her door.In chains, Catelyn said. A crevasse yawned on her right, falling away into darkness. She reined up her horse and picked her way along footmark by careful whole tone.Oh? Her uncle glanced back, to where Tyrion Lannister was making his slow descent behind them. I see an axe on his saddle, a dirk at his belt, and a sellsword that trails after him like a hungry shadow. Where are the chains, sweet one?Catelyn shifted uneasily in her seat. The dwarf is here, and not by choice. Chains or no, he is my prisoner. Lysa will want him to answer for his crimes no less than I. It was her own lord husband the Lannisters murdered, and her own letter that first detered us against them.Brynden Blackfish gave her a weary smile. I expect you are right, child, he sighed, in tones that said she was wrong.The sun was well to the west by the time the slope began to flatten beneath the hooves of their horses. The road widened and grew straight, and for the first time Catelyn noticed wildf scorns and grasses growing. Once they reached the valley floor, the going was faster and they made good time, cantering through verdant greenwoods and sleepy l ittle hamlets, past orchards and golden unhinged yellow fields, splashing across a dozen sunlit streams. Her uncle sent a standard-bearer ahead of them, a double banner flying from his staff the moon-and-falcon of House Arryn on high, and below it his own black fish. Farm wagons and merchants carts and riders from lesser houses moved aside to let them pass.Even so, it was full dark before they reached the stout fastness that stood at the foot of the Giants Lance. Torches flickered atop its ramparts, and the horned moon danced upon the dark waters of its moat. The drawbridge was up and the portcullis down, but Catelyn saw lights burning in the gatehouse and spilling from the windows of the square towers beyond.The Gates of the Moon, her uncle said as the party drew rein. His standard-bearer rode to the edge of the moat to hail the men in the gatehouse. Lord Nestors seat. He should be expecting us. Look up.Catelyn increase her eyes, up and up and up. At first all she saw was stone and trees, the looming mass of the gigantic mountain shrouded in night, as black as a starless sky. so she noticed the glow of distant fires well above them a tower keep, built upon the steep side of the mountain, its lights like orange eyes staring down from above. Above that was another, higher and more distant, and still higher a third, no more than a flickering spark in the sky. And finally, up where the falcons soared, a flash of white in the moonlight. Vertigo washed over her as she stared upward at the pale towers, so far above.The Eyrie, she perceive Marillion murmur, awed.The sharp voice of Tyrion Lannister broke in. The Arryns must not be overfond of company. If youre planning to make us climb that mountain in the dark, Id rather you kill me here.Well travel by the night here and make the ascent on the morrow, Brynden told him.I can scarcely wait, the dwarf replied. How do we get up there? Ive no have it off at riding goats.Mules, Brynden said, smiling.There are go carved into the mountain, Catelyn said. Ned had told her about them when he talked of his youth here with Robert Baratheon and Jon Arryn.Her uncle nodded. It is too dark to see them, but the steps are there. Too steep and narrow for horses, but mules can manage them most of the way. The path is guarded by three waycastles, Stone and Snow and Sky. The mules will take us as far up as Sky.Tyrion Lannister glanced up doubtfully. And beyond that?Brynden smiled. Beyond that, the path is too steep even for mules. We ascend on foot the rest of the way. Or perchance youd prefer to ride a basket. The Eyrie clings to the mountain directly above Sky, and in its cellars are six great winches with long iron chains to draw supplies up from below. If you prefer, my lord of Lannister, I can arrange for you to ride up with the bread and beer and apples.The dwarf gave a peel of laughter. Would that I were a pumpkin, he said. Alas, my lord father would no doubt be most chagrined if his son of Lanniste r went to his fate like a burden of turnips. If you ascend on foot, I fear I must do the same. We Lannisters do have a certain pride.Pride? Catelyn snapped. His mocking tone and palmy manner made her fierce. Arrogance, some might call it. Arrogance and avarice and lust for antecedent.My brother is undoubtedly arrogant, Tyrion Lannister replied. My father is the soul of avarice, and my sweet sister Cersei lusts for power with every waking breath. I, however, am innocent as a little lamb. Shall I bleat for you? He grinned.The drawbridge came creaking down before she could reply, and they heard the sound of oiled chains as the portcullis was drawn up. Men-at-arms carried burning brands out to light their way, and her uncle led them across the moat. Lord Nestor Royce, High Steward of the Vale and Keeper of the Gates of the Moon, was waiting in the yard to greet them, surrounded by his knights. Lady Stark, he said, bowing. He was a massive, barrel-chested man, and his bow was clumsy. Catelyn dismounted to stand before him. Lord Nestor, she said. She knew the man only by reputation Bronze Yohns cousin, from a lesser branch of House Royce, yet still a formidable lord in his own right. We have had a long and tiring journey. I would beg the hospitality of your roof tonight, if I might.My roof is yours, my lady, Lord Nestor returned gruffly, but your sister the Lady Lysa has sent down word from the Eyrie. She wishes to see you at once. The rest of your party will be housed here and sent up at first light.Her uncle swung off his horse. What madness is this? he said bluntly. Brynden Tully had never been a man to blunt the edge of his words. A night ascent, with the moon not even full? Even Lysa should know thats an invitation to a broken neck.The mules know the way, Ser Brynden. A wiry girl of seventeen or eighteen years stepped up beside Lord Nestor. Her dark hair was cropped short and straight around her head, and she wore riding welts and a light shirt of silvered ringmail. She bowed to Catelyn, more gracefully than her lord. I promise you, my lady, no harm will come to you. It would be my honor to take you up. Ive made the dark climb a hundred times. Mychel says my father must have been a goat.She sounded so cocky that Catelyn had to smile. Do you have a name, child?Mya Stone, if it please you, my lady, the girl said.It did not please her it was an effort for Catelyn to keep the smile on her face. Stone was a doodly-squats name in the Vale, as Snow was in the north, and Flowers in Highgarden in each of the Seven Kingdoms, custom had fashioned a sobriquet for children born with no names of their own. Catelyn had zipper against this girl, but suddenly she could not help but think of Neds bastard on the Wall, and the thought made her angry and guilty, both at once. She struggled to find words for a reply.Lord Nestor filled the silence. Myas a clever girl, and if she vows she will bring you safely to the Lady Lysa, I believe her. She has not failed me yet.Then I put myself in your hands, Mya Stone, Catelyn said. Lord Nestor, I charge you to keep a close guard on my prisoner.And I charge you to bring the prisoner a cup of wine and a nicely crisped capon, before he dies of hunger, Lannister said. A girl would be agreeable as well, but I suppose thats too much to ask of you. The sellsword Bronn laughed aloud.Lord Nestor ignored the banter. As you say, my lady, so it will be done. that then did he look at the dwarf. See our lord of Lannister to a tower cell, and bring him meat and mead.Catelyn took her leave of her uncle and the others as Tyrion Lannister was led off, then followed the bastard girl through the castle. Two mules were waiting in the upper bailey, saddled and ready. Mya helped her mount one while a guardsman in a sky-blue cloak opened the narrow postern gate. Beyond was dense forest of pine and spruce, and the mountain like a black wall, but the steps were there, chiseled deep into the rock, ascending into t he sky. Some people find it easier if they close their eyes, Mya said as she led the mules through the gate into the dark wood. When they get cowed or dizzy, sometimes they hold on to the mule too tight. They dont like that.I was born a Tully and wed to a Stark, Catelyn said. I do not frighten easily. Do you plan to light a torch? The steps were black as pitch.The girl made a face. Torches just blind you. On a clear night like this, the moon and the stars are enough. Mychel says I have the eyes of the owl. She mounted and urged her mule up the first step. Catelyns animal followed of its own accord.You mentioned Mychel before, Catelyn said. The mules set the pace, slow but steady. She was perfectly content with that.Mychels my love, Mya explained. Mychel Redfort. Hes squire to Ser Lyn Corbray. Were to wed as soon as he becomes a knight, next year or the year after.She sounded so like Sansa, so happy and innocent with her dreams. Catelyn smiled, but the smile was tinged with sadness. The Redforts were an old name in the Vale, she knew, with the blood of the First Men in their veins. His love she might be, but no Redfort would ever wed a bastard. His family would arrange a more suitable match for him, to a Corbray or a Waynwood or a Royce, or perhaps a daughter of some greater house outside the Vale. If Mychel Redfort laid with this girl at all, it would be on the wrong side of the sheet.The ascent was easier than Catelyn had dared hope. The trees pressed close, leaning over the path to make a rustling green roof that shut out even the moon, so it seemed as though they were moving up a long black tunnel. But the mules were surefooted and tireless, and Mya Stone did indeed seem delightful with night-eyes. They plodded upward, winding their way back and forth across the face of the mountain as the steps twisted and turned. A thick layer of fallen needles carpet the path, so the shoes of their mules made only the softest sound on the rock. The quiet soothed her, a nd the gentle rocking motion set Catelyn to swaying in her saddle. Before long she was fighting sleep.Perhaps she did doze for a moment, for suddenly a massive ironbound gate was looming before them. Stone, Mya announced cheerily, dismounting. Iron spikes were set along the tops of formidable stone walls, and two fat round towers overtopped the keep. The gate swung open at Myas shout. Inside, the portly knight who commanded the waycastle greeted Mya by name and offered them skewers of charred meat and onions still hot from the spit. Catelyn had not realized how hungry she was. She ate standing in the yard, as stablehands moved their saddles to fresh mules. The hot juices ran down her chin and dripped onto her cloak, but she was too famished to care.Then it was up onto a new mule and out again into the starlight. The second part of the ascent seemed more treacherous to Catelyn. The trail was steeper, the steps more worn, and here and there littered with pebbles and broken stone. Mya had to dismount a half-dozen times to move fallen rocks from their path. You dont want your mule to break a leg up here, she said. Catelyn was forced to agree. She could feel the altitude more now. The trees were sparser up here, and the wind blew more vigorously, sharp gusts that tugged at her clothing and pushed her hair into her eyes. From time to time the steps double back on themselves, and she could see Stone below them, and the Gates of the Moon farther down, its torches no brighter than candles.Snow was smaller than Stone, a single fortified tower and a timber keep and stable hidden behind a low wall of unmortared rock. Yet it nestled against the Giants Lance in such a way as to command the entire stone stair above the lower waycastle. An enemy intent on the Eyrie would have to fight his way from Stone step by step, while rocks and arrows rained down from Snow above. The commander, an anxious young knight with a pockmarked face, offered bread and cheese and the chance to f iery themselves before his fire, but Mya declined. We ought to keep going, my lady, she said. If it please you. Catelyn nodded.Again they were given fresh mules. Hers was white. Mya smiled when she saw him. Whiteys a good one, my lady. Sure of foot, even on ice, but you need to be careful. Hell kick if he doesnt like you.The white mule seemed to like Catelyn there was no kicking, thank the gods. There was no ice either, and she was grateful for that as well. My mother says that hundreds of years ago, this was where the snow began, Mya told her. It was always white above here, and the ice never melted. She shrugged. I cant remember ever comprehend snow this far down the mountain, but maybe it was that way once, in the olden times.So young, Catelyn thought, trying to remember if she had ever been like that. The girl had lived half her life in summer, and that was all she knew. Winter is coming, child, she wanted to tell her. The words were on her lips she almost said them. Perhaps sh e was becoming a Stark at last.Above Snow, the wind was a living thing, howling around them like a wolf in the waste, then falling off to nothing as if to lure them into complacency. The stars seemed brighter up here, so close that she could almost touch them, and the horned moon was huge in the clear black sky. As they climbed, Catelyn found it was best(p) to look up than down. The steps were cracked and broken from centuries of freeze and thaw and the tread of countless mules, and even in the dark the heights put her heart in her throat. When they came to a high saddle between two spires of rock, Mya dismounted. Its best to lead the mules over, she said. The wind can be a little scary here, my lady.Catelyn climbed stiffly from the shadows and looked at the path ahead twenty feet long and close to three feet wide, but with a precipitous drop to either side. She could hear the wind shrieking. Mya stepped lightly out, her mule following as calmly as if they were crossing a bailey. I t was her turn. Yet no sooner had she taken her first step than fear caught Catelyn in its jaws. She could feel the emptiness, the vast black gulfs of air that yawned around her. She stopped, trembling, afraid to move. The wind screamed at her and wrenched at her cloak, trying to pull her over the edge. Catelyn pass on her foot backward, the most timid of steps, but the mule was behind her, and she could not retreat. I am going to die here, she thought. She could feel cold sweat trickling down her back.Lady Stark, Mya called across the gulf. The girl sounded a thousand leagues away. Are you well?Catelyn Tully Stark swallowed what remained of her pride. I . . . I cannot do this, child, she called out.Yes you can, the bastard girl said. I know you can. Look how wide the path is.I dont want to look. The world seemed to be spinning around her, mountain and sky and mules, whirling like a childs top. Catelyn closed her eyes to steady her ragged breathing.Ill come back for you, Mya said. Dont move, my lady.Moving was about the last thing Catelyn was about to do. She listened to the skirling of the wind and the scuffling sound of leather on stone. Then Mya was there, taking her gently by the arm. Keep your eyes closed if you like. Let go of the rope now, Whitey will take care of himself. Very good, my lady. Ill lead you over, its easy, youll see. Give me a step now. Thats it, move your foot, just slide it forward. See. Now another. Easy. You could run across. Another one, go on. Yes. And so, foot by foot, step by step, the bastard girl led Catelyn across, blind and trembling, while the white mule followed placidly behind them.The waycastle called Sky was no more than a high, crescent-shaped wall of unmortared stone raised against the side of the mountain, but even the topless towers of Valyria could not have looked more beautiful to Catelyn Stark. Here at last the snow crown began Skys weathered stones were rimed with frost, and long spears of ice hung from the slope s above.Dawn was breaking in the east as Mya Stone hallooed for the guards, and the gates opened before them. Inside the walls there was only a series of ramps and a great tumble of boulders and stones of all sizes. No doubt it would be the easiest thing in the world to begin an avalanche from here. A mouth yawned in the rock face in front of them. The stables and barracks are in there, Mya said. The last part is inside the mountain. It can be a little dark, but at least youre out of the wind. This is as far as the mules can go. Past here, well, its a sort of chimney, more like a stone ladder than proper steps, but its not too bad. Another hour and well be there.Catelyn looked up. Directly overhead, pale in the dawn light, she could see the foundations of the Eyrie. It could not be more than six hundred feet above them. From below it looked like a small white honeycomb. She remembered what her uncle had said of baskets and winches. The Lannisters may have their pride, she told Mya, but the Tullys are born with better sense. I have ridden all day and the best part of a night. Tell them to lower a basket. I shall ride with the turnips.The sun was well above the mountains by the time Catelyn Stark finally reached the Eyrie. A stocky, silver-haired man in a sky-blue cloak and hammered moon-and-falcon breastplate helped her from the basket Ser Vardis Egen, captain of Jon Arryns household guard. Beside him stood Maester Colemon, thin and nervous, with too little hair and too much neck. Lady Stark, Ser Vardis said, the pleasure is as great as it is unanticipated. Maester Colemon bobbed his head in agreement. Indeed it is, my lady, indeed it is. I have sent word to your sister. She left orders to be awakened the instant you arrived.I hope she had a good nights rest, Catelyn said with a certain bite in her tone that seemed to go unnoticed.The men escorted her from the winch room up a spiral stair. The Eyrie was a small castle by the standards of the great houses seven slender white towers bunched as tightly as arrows in a quiver on a shoulder of the great mountain. It had no need of stables nor smithys nor kennels, but Ned said its granary was as large as Winterfells, and its towers could house five hundred men. Yet it seemed strangely deserted to Catelyn as she passed through it, its pale stone halls echoing and empty.Lysa was waiting alone in her solar, still clad in her bed robes. Her long auburn hair tumbled unbound across bare white shoulders and down her back. A maid stood behind her, brushing out the nights tangles, but when Catelyn entered, her sister rose to her feet, smiling. Cat, she said. Oh, Cat, how good it is to see you. My sweet sister. She ran across the chamber and wrapped her sister in her arms. How long it has been, Lysa murmured against her. Oh, how very very long.It had been five years, in truth five cruel years, for Lysa. They had taken their toll. Her sister was two years the younger, yet she looked older now. Shorter than Catelyn, Lysa had grown thick of body, pale and puffy of face. She had the blue eyes of the Tullys, but hers were pale and watery, never still. Her small mouth had turned petulant. As Catelyn held her, she remembered the slender, high-breasted girl whod waited beside her that day in the sept at Riverrun. How lovely and full of hope she had been. All that remained of her sisters beauty was the great fall of thick auburn hair that cascaded to her waist.You look well, Catelyn lied, but . . . tired.Her sister broke the embrace. Tired. Yes. Oh, yes. She seemed to notice the others then her maid, Maester Colemon, Ser Vardis. Leave us, she told them. I wish to speak to my sister alone. She held Catelyns hand as they withdrew . . .. . . and dropped it the instant the door closed. Catelyn saw her face change. It was as if the sun had gone behind a cloud. entertain you taken leave of your senses? Lysa snapped at her. To bring him here, without a word of permission, without so much as a warn ing, to drag us into your quarrels with the Lannisters . . . My quarrels? Catelyn could scarce believe what she was hearing. A great fire burned in the hearth, but there was no trace of warmth in Lysas voice. They were your quarrels first, sister. It was you who sent me that cursed letter, you who wrote that the Lannisters had murdered your husband.To warn you, so you could stay away from them I never meant to fight them Gods, Cat, do you know what youve done?Mother? a small voice said. Lysa whirled, her heavy robe swirling around her. Robert Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, stood in the doorway, clutching a ragged cloth doll and looking at them with large eyes. He was a painfully thin child, small for his age and sickly all his days, and from time to time he trembled. The shaking sickness, the maesters called it. I heard voices.Small wonder, Catelyn thought Lysa had almost been shouting. Still, her sister looked daggers at her. This is your aunt Catelyn, baby. My sister, Lady Stark. Do yo u remember?The boy glanced at her blankly. I think so, he said, blinking, though he had been less than a year old the last time Catelyn had seen him.Lysa seated herself near the fire and said, Come to Mother, my sweet one. She straightened his bedclothes and fussed with his fine brown hair. Isnt he beautiful? And strong too, dont you believe the things you hear. Jon knew. The seed is strong, he told me. His last words. He kept saying Roberts name, and he grabbed my arm so hard he left marks. Tell them, the seed is strong. His seed. He wanted everyone to know what a good strong boy my baby was going to be.Lysa, Catelyn said, if youre right about the Lannisters, all the more reason we must act quickly. WeNot in front of the baby, Lysa said. He has a delicate temper, dont you, sweet one?The boy is Lord of the Eyrie and Defender of the Vale, Catelyn reminded her, and these are no times for delicacy. Ned thinks it may come to war. muted Lysa snapped at her. Youre scaring the boy. Little Robert took a quick peek over his shoulder at Catelyn and began to tremble. His doll fell to the rushes, and he pressed himself against his mother. Dont be afraid, my sweet baby, Lysa whispered. Mothers here, nothing will hurt you. She opened her robe and drew out a pale, heavy breast, tipped with red. The boy grabbed for it eagerly, buried his face against her chest, and began to suck. Lysa stroked his hair.Catelyn was at a injury for words. Jon Arryns son, she thought incredulously. She remembered her own baby, three-year-old Rickon, half the age of this boy and five times as fierce. Small wonder the lords of the Vale were restive. For the first time she understood wherefore the king had tried to take the child away from his mother to foster with the Lannisters . . .Were safe here, Lysa was saying. Whether to her or to the boy, Catelyn was not sure.Dont be a fool, Catelyn said, the anger rising in her. No one is safe. If you think hiding here will make the Lannisters forget you, you are sadly mistaken.Lysa covered her boys ear with her hand. Even if they could bring an soldiery through the mountains and past the Bloody Gate, the Eyrie is impregnable. You saw for yourself. No enemy could ever reach us up here.Catelyn wanted to slap her. Uncle Brynden had tried to warn her, she realized. No castle is impregnable.This one is, Lysa insisted. Everyone says so. The only thing is, what am I to do with this Imp you have brought me?Is he a bad man? the Lord of the Eyrie asked, his mothers breast popping from his mouth, the nipple wet and red.A very bad man, Lysa told him as she covered herself, but Mother wont let him harm my little baby.Make him fly, Robert said eagerly.Lysa stroked her sons hair. Perhaps we will, she murmured. Perhaps that is just what we will do.