The Great God Pan is Dead

[@sielaff2112]

bye forever dael. i was only watching for the bookcase.

[@cxfxcdude]

Oof

[@Speed001]

Same

[@Speed001]

First and last video

[@Prymalfire]

There's something emotional about having this small window we have into a person's life be deconstructed before our eyes. Safe travels, fellow human.

[@KBTibbs]

That was dramatic. I'm oddly emotional. Fantastic.

[@Thefurnaceguy8488]

Pan is dead, and the age of mythology in front of the shelf is ended.

[@jeremiahdriscoll9095]

In the middle of a nostalgia-tinged self-debate on the meaning of myth and the death of a god comes a most relatable line: "What am I going to do with all these Magic: The Gathering cards?"

[@barcodedm]

"My hockey stick is propped up in my gold D&D bucket, and it slipped and bumped into my skateboard". We're rapidly approaching the radness event horizon over here. The pairing of a story of a death of a god and the emptying of the bookshelf - it didn't hit me til like 2/3 of the way through the video, but it feels like such a fitting send-off. Also, how did I get here, why do I have any sort of sentiment for an internet stranger's bookshelf? Maybe to stay true to form and overthink things - it might have something to do with this channel being a place to come to for storytelling, and the bookshelf is like the campfire, or the third place, or something along those lines. Best of luck in the next chapter, godspeed adventurer!

[@MonarchsFactory]

Ahhh! My heart!??

[@jeremymorse713]

Absolutely! The multi-faceted nature of a bookshelf, holding books, boardgames, ttrpg, MtG alongside a hockeystick and a skateboard ... And then the bitter-sweet (swansong?) eulogy to said bookshelf, and Pan, and whatever this period of time is for Dael 😢 + 🎉 + (erm, no phoenix emoji ... inserting substitute ...) 🐣

[@Modgamers]

BUT DAEL, SHOULD I EMAIL THIS TO MY GRANDMA OR NOT?

[@mycenaeangal9312]

YOUR GRANDMA NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT PAN RIGHT NOW!! EMAIL IT!

[@Thefurnaceguy8488]

@@Modgamers Grandma already knows. She reads the obituaries.

[@CapnAlces]

THE GREAT GOD E-MAIL IS DEAD!

[@stewi009]

@@CapnAlces DID YOU SAY ISHMAEL IS DEAD?! I just want to make sure I didn't mishear you over the water.

[@buzzbros2002]

Tell her the news about Pan, but don't send the video to her. Her old heart may not be able to take watching the emptying of the shelf.

[@AlanW]

Ah, so this story is really about not the story about the god Pan and how it doesn't have to be a relation to a historical event, but about the god Bookshelf Backdrop, and how it was emptied out and declared "Dead"!

[@MonarchsFactory]

Exactly! We have fun here

[@DaveTpletsch]

The great God Bookshelf may now stand empty and barren, but the clutter remains, and will continue to encroach on other spaces. The wild places may be tamed, but they do not always remain that way. Pan is dead, but though there is not yet any story of his resurrection, there is still time. And there are still many stories yet to be told.

[@almitrahopkins1873]

@@DaveTpletschThat’s heresy. The bookshelf still remains, so it will be filled again after being stripped bare. This is the cycle of life. It is like the falling of the leaves before the frost of winter. When the spring comes, new clutter will appear on it.

[@soccerandtrack10]

But its just moveing,(unless its too heavy.). If nature dies=then its either death or probbally death because space nature"storms".

[@AlanW]

@@soccerandtrack10 I think the shelf itself is a built-in, so it's likely not coming with. She seemed to say that at the start.

[@goodlookingcorpse]

As I was sailing on a starlit sea a voice cried out across the waves to me. A grieving, golden voice, wine-wracked and broken. I saw no ship, and knew a god had spoken. It spoke but once, and this is all it said: "At Palodes, cry out 'Great Pan is dead.'" We came to Palodes at break of day and sailed into a darkly-wooded bay. Who dares defy the gods? And so I spoke though all that I could see was ash and oak but from those woods came wailings of despair of grief too great for human heart to bear. One man went mad, another fell down dead and we who lived took up the oars and fled.

[@CountsDigGraves]

Like my partner would say: "Good story! Nice and short. Short applause!" Good luck with the move! Oh, also, as someone who was trained as a historian: when asking the question "why was this story in particular told" I feel we should consider the vast abyssal chasm of time and how many books, stories, plays, have been told but never reached us.

[@MonarchsFactory]

So true! (Also, love the short applause 😂)

[@3nertia]

Just imagine thousands of years of "the telephone game" xD

[@XaleManix]

Something I have always found incredible and has kept me around has always been the level of emotion evoking you can pull, Dael. I was cheerily vibing along to this video, eating my lunch, and then you drop that 'Civilization... won." at 8:30 and suddenly I'm trying not to cry from the loss? I rate this video SSS-Plus, looking forward to the next one!

[@justforplaylists]

The great god Pan is dead; long live the great god Pan!

[@GutsyTen42]

That last shot of the empty bookshelf before you popped back into frame had me tearing up a bit. Great video

[@wakeful1710]

Bookshelves have always held a certain place of value to me, like a bed of a dead relative, or a table stained by years of family dinners. It holds more than books, it holds memories.

[@knucklesmarks]

Getting choked up about Pan and a bookshelf was not on my bingo card for today. Love this video!

[@gyrozeppeli8940]

I didn't even know he was sick

[@hunterdnd]

When you go to summer camp, and you get your room, and put down your stuff and troughout the days you slowly live the place in, it's nice. You have a presence there. But then your last day come, so you tidy up your clothes, bundle up your charging cables, put away ypur toothbrush (you wont need this again here after all), and then the next morning, you put everything back to your packs, and leave the room as empty as you found it...This is what the empty bookshelf reminded me of.

[@mhtlthm]

For “winging it,” this was so well-done and timed perfectly between your interesting discussion of a final myth and the deconstruction of the shelf.

[@FaustoPego]

hahah the little skeletal hand had me lol but I don't know why now

[@CapnAlces]

God rest ye merry bookshelf. We shall remember it fondly. But now, it's on to new things. Can't wait to see your next setup, Dael! Good luck moving!

[@Ramilkos]

the first Dael video i’m not emailing to my grandma

[@jjsnedgehammer]

I feel your pain. I too lost a great bookcase in my last big move. Fortunately for me, one of the local furniture stores had a great sale and I was able to buy new book cases that gave me more room and I was very pleased to discover I could place my whole Arthurian Lit collection in one bookcase and had plenty of extra room to add more books about Arthur and his Knights.

[@UrbanScalawag]

"My hockey stick is propped up in my gold D&D bucket, and it slipped and bumped into my skateboard." - the most Dael thing ever.

[@kikidilivery]

Popping in here after finishing the latest Beyond the Map adventure! Your character Cynthia was really fun to listen to. She and Hoop Cooper played off each other beautifully in a perfectly unpredictable blend of self serving, pragmatic, and scheming. There really was no guessing how those two would end their adventure! I'm looking forward to watching through your videos here on youtube - and I hope you get the chance to play on the podcast again 🌼

[@syncetia3881]

I only sporadically watch you and never commented before. But something about the way this video was done really spoke to me and captivated me from start to finish. Thank you.

[@potatocanonable]

Loved the dual message here

[@mudcrab3420]

Empty Bookshelf = You Need More Books!!! Quick, Dael, Make haste to the Bookery!!

[@DimaJeydar]

This was truly poetic. The shot of an empty shelf is like a Thomas Cole’s Desolation painting - beautiful on its own but the emptiness makes you think of the greatness that was in this very place before. And now it’s gone. Good luck in moving in/on and finding your new metaphorical shelf!

[@johnmrke2786]

Loved the way you presented your argument here against the direct correlation of all sources in myth. Very epistemological. Subscribed!

[@MrTheGadfly]

I have so many of the same books as you. Made me smile to see you pulling them from the shelves, even if pulling them off the shelves was somewhat cathartic.

[@Tzimisce]

I hope you have an equally amazing and sturdy bookshelf wherever you are moving.

[@DarthReluctant]

A fitting send-off to an old and good friend. May the bookshelf serve whomever follows you well.

[@bigsarge2085]

Bookcase, we hardly knew ye!

[@friendlyfiddler5727]

Dramatic, emotional, well performed and suitably vage and evocative. And, I guess, an appropiate way to bookend the familiar as you move towards the new

[@josephvedres3227]

Jarring and poetic, really enjoyed the ol achool dael natural string of thought RIP bookshelf, it was like a cozy campfire to the tales being told. Have am excellent move 🎉

[@foxcloak]

The last story of greek mythology makes for a killer first line to a new story.

[@coryhorton5837]

I’ve listened to your podcast with Brennan Lee Mulligan like 4 times. So good.

[@hazelhazelton1346]

There is something immensely sad about emptying a bookshelf. A book and his shelf are lovers, you know. Separating them is a cruel thing to do...

[@CorbiniteVids]

This was a damn good one. Really the vague and evocative philosophy in its purest form. This is how i try to write the mythology for my dnd setting (but never can quite reach)

[@scottsmartky]

As someone else also moving into a new house soon, congrats on your move and hope it goes well. RIP bookcase. Those of us G&S viewers saw you getting filled up over the years. Hope your new owners treat you as well. Hopefully you aren't as sick of staring at paint swatches, wall art, and area rugs as I am.

[@DoingMyBest_Steph]

This was absolutely captivating. Schrödinger’s God…beautiful!

[@orathaic]

The great God pan faking his own death, "tell them..." Because I'm going off to do something else...

[@romantheflash]

You can't handle the truth!!! Also happy move Dael!! Hope the new place is a great one!

[@sonnilowe8858]

Awe, thanks for letting us in on this little farewell to the bookshelf Dael. It's been a stalwart ally for so long for you. Can't wait to see the backdrop that will begin the next chapter. And good luck with the move, halfway through moving myself and my oh my, it does take some doing.

[@meurtri9312]

he is the god of wilderness lost, now, and can be worshiped or mourned nowhere but silently inside ourselves. edit : unless you get like real drunk.

[@joncooke158]

When I burned myself out on Lovecraft and Chambers, Arthur Machen was there to reawaken my sense of dread and wonder in the everyday.

[@TonyGarcia]

I so want your book shelf, with all the things on it!

[@DMRaptorJesus]

I'm sorry for your loss, pan was a great guy 🥲

[@kidtruck9157]

I remember first coming across this myth mentioned in the Percy Jackson series, and looking it up only to find not much about it. But it is interesting to think about how even at the time of the myth, there may have been a feeling that there were no more wilds. Hits even stronger now.

[@mennorach]

That was dramatic. Yeah. Very fitting. Good luck with the move! Hopefully the new place has something fitting for an aged backdrop look :)

[@mattmakermusic]

I don't think I ever felt so emotional after having watched a 10 minute video. What a fantastic and poetic sendoff to the bookshelf and all that was within it. Fantastic video, Dael

[@LukeLavablade]

We'll miss you, shelf

[@mikewilhelm2977]

I love how this, (what i assume is) the final video is the first time i have been recommended one of your videos. It is a shame, you will be missed by a fan, who never saw the times of... "life"(?). Alas... there's always reruns.

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

…how many of us are moving right now? 😂 Ugh, I'm so sorry because I can only imagine how long packing everything on that bookshelf will take! I'm definitely in the same boat right now with our move 🤪 But I'm glad we got one more Mythology with Dael and Stabbitha in front of your collection! 💕

[@MonarchsFactory]

It is starting to feel like a weird consipracy, lol - hope your move goes smoothly!

[@sukihornplayer4]

That WAS dramatic, that shot of the bookcase. ❤️ Also that story is super neat.

[@angelalewis3645]

Dael, so many chills. Something of what you said is capital t Truth!

[@angelalewis3645]

By which I mean Eternal Truth, not historical fact. 😂

[@rusty_juice_tin]

Stories about the loss of wilderness are interesting, and I feel like they are related to stories about the loss of magic. Civilization just keeps winning and we have beaten back the unknown into places never previously imagined.

[@p0etrygh0st]

I really miss your regular mythology stuff. I need to go rewatch.

[@fiercehummingbird947]

I'm remembering the fast cuts, hysterical Dael videos in front of this case.

[@JohnWheaton2PF]

Civilization has won. This reminds me of the struggle in Red Dead Redemption 2. The freedom of the wilds versus industrial Civilization.

[@BiggieZee]

This was epic!!! Also, reminds me of that old horror story, The Great God Pan 👍🏼 love this!!!

[@noahblack914]

So long, Bookcase. You served us well. Looking forward to whatever the new backdrop is gonna be though.

[@sandybarton1797]

I mean if your Magic cards are looking for a good home... Will miss the old bookshelf, this was a beautiful wee send-off for the old gal.

[@turnipslop3822]

I loved this video, and I think that was beautiful send off to your old place. Goodbye bookshelf, goodbye Pan, onto new and exciting things.... The Age of Civilisation has begun, let's see what it holds for the Factory of Monarchs.

[@kyhumphrey5247]

Email to your grandma that the great Bookshelf Backdrop is dead

[@johncloud3823]

I was thinking about this - it kind of really was a turning point. Humans constitute an estimated 35 % of all mammalian biomass. Our herds and flocks constitute an additional 60% of ALL estimated mammalian biomass. Out of all mammal…. Only 4-5% are…. Wild. There is no biome we haven’t touched, this epoch has officially been named the Anthropocene, our waste can be found from the highest peaks to the deepest trenches- we have seen the abyss and we have climbed to the stars. So, yes. The Wildness of the wilds… is mostly gone.

[@padenbryck242]

Congrats and good luck on the move! Great video, I always love hearing your thoughts on how we talk about myths and stories.

[@TalenLee]

For reasons that are somewhat cryptic to grapple with I was not exactly prepared for this channel to put up that subject line on this day as I'm reading Arthur Machen. Good luck with the move!

[@Scotsmind]

I will always remember where I was that day. Farewell book case, you stood well.

[@DrFranklynAnderson]

Silly Thamus, someone was just playing the Song of Seikilos backwards.

[@BigMitchyD]

I look forward to seeing our next iconic backdrop. The king is dead, Long Live the King

[@josephfernandez8015]

Great story for the day that Dael packs up her things and we say a final goodbye to the bookshelf. Good luck on the move!

[@demetrinight5924]

Very fitting to talk about a god's death and clearing off the cluttered bookshelf. The dramatic reveal of the empty bookshelf was actually jarring. It will be missed.

[@joshwarden2477]

So let me get this straight in one video we got a myth story video/TED Talk video/ D&D style video if you consider it to be a video of how history of a world informs the stories of that world this video truly is the Dael Kingsmill any % speedrun.

[@willemverheij3412]

A fitting story with clearing out a bookshelf, an end to the mythology. But I look forward to seeing your new home. Also, I bet you are just as excited as me or maybe more so about Age of Mythology: Retold releasing in a few weeks? It looks really amazing and there's going to be new gods and pantheons too. I'd love to hear your thoughts about it for sure.

[@TheNerdySimulation]

It is worth considering too that if Pan were the one to speak it, this could also serve as them taking on a metaphorical death in the same way some may transition out of an identity/name/habit/belief. A sort of acknowledgement that this world is (sadly) no longer accommodating or soon shall cease being so the answer is elsewhere. I'm moving myself, quite a significant amount which I haven't before, so I appreciate this video. I'll miss this bookshelf.

[@furnandochowski3254]

earnestly, I am so glad you did the thing at the very end. was getting a little too meloncholy

[@goininXIV]

Hey, Dael is back with a story! Great to hear from the old bookshelf one last time. Speaking of Persephone, I'm trying to remember: Have you ever done something about Hadestown? Sounds like it would be interesting to contrast that against the original myth.

[@jancatalan9719]

Just watched a bunch of your videos; fascinating. I find myself asking, again and again, "Runequest?"

[@xayidegreymind5782]

The band The Waterboys have song called "the return of pan" mentioning a version of the story

[@SpiritWolf1966]

I enjoy all of MonarchsFactory videos 🎉🎉😅

[@davidcassell4659]

Great discussion. I think you just wrote the last chapter of your doctoral dissertation.

[@Ahrpigi]

We'll all miss the bookshelf, and all look forward to what you set up next.

[@marks7037]

The end of an era. Best of luck with the move, please do not abandon us like Pan

[@FablesD20]

Moving is hard and emotional, best of luck on the adventure!

[@OnYourMarx]

10/10 end of an era, can't wait to see the next bookcase

[@tobiacancelliere6972]

I guess that's the difference between the Story and the History. How you can immerse yourself in the tale/book of your choosing and feel with the characters or(and) analyse the reason for why and how a certain Story is born from a culture. As many said already, good luck with the move! Hopefully you'll keep up the good work, I still use your travel and society-shaper guides for both dnd and just simple storytelling

[@gastonmarian7261]

This was art I love this story, it's always been exactly vague and evocative I like it as the death of the Logos, the Greek informing voice, out direct connection to nature. The transition from the age of Aries (goat-horned Pan, Alexander the Great wearing ram's horns, the martial period after the cow goddess worship of the previous taurean age) to the Age of Pisces (Christ who fed 5,000 on two fish). And with the coming Age of Aquarius, the return to air signs, the Voice can return, and we build an interface for the Voice of the Unknowable Other in countless ways. It's just nice when a period has a nice end. Books say "The End" and the Greek myths end with the death of Pan. It's simply iconic

[@rsparks1104]

If the voice really was Pan, maybe he was running a life insurance scam. I first heard about this story (like most myths) through Rick Riordan's work, and I gotta say, strong agree with the vibes there. Because Percy Jackson is an urban fantasy, the image of Pan slipping away into irrelevance surrounded by the choking artificiality of the modern city was pretty haunting for little twelve-year-old me. Them vibes was immaculate. It's also pretty cool to think about as one of the few myths that has become more relevant over time.

[@matthemming9105]

What a dramatic ending! All that was missing was a reference to having to re-record because of a mic issue 😂 I will miss that bookcase, but I am also excited to see your new set-up! I shall email this to my grandma ❤

[@grayearly3116]

I missed these videos fr

[@josephyoung2593]

Fred Botting says that mythology/folklore studies isn't about finding the original, 'correct' version of a narrative tradition, but observing that tradition grow and change as society develops and expresses its creative stake in a resonant idea.

[@chucklemagne]

I was drawn to this video by the odd coincidence of it popping up in my feed having just finished reading The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@ericgilbertson5785]

Thought this would be about the William Burroughs poem - still interested and enjoy your takes.

[@toddpickens]

Always a joy to listen to.

[@CJ-ur3fx]

It's only Dael flipping Kingsmill! What a great start to be three day weekend. Lets goooo!

[@townsendwright3999]

End of an era indeed, Dael. Good luck with the move!

[@limpirium]

The second be for you say "Why did it get so dark!?" I had that exact thought in my head...telepathy back through time? 😂

[@spacebadger21]

Man, the end of an era. I'm not crying you're crying.

[@matthewsnow-zj1cu]

Good luck with the move. Hope all goes well. It would be totally on brand for Pan, as a trickster god, to announce his own death then sit back for millennia with a popcorn bucket and laugh as mortals puzzled over the statement. It’s one way to go into pseudo-retirement, without all the paperwork. Pan for me isn’t dead, he’s chillin on a rooftop garden in the city, portrayed with charm and enigmatic intent by Khary Payton in Stray Gods. That’s my head canon.

[@gregputnam7243]

*Phew* I was worried about this video for a second. It has been a couple months since your last upload and I know the Story of the Death of Pan. I too think of it as the end-ish of the Greek timeline. When I first heard it, it was accompanied by my English teacher who taught us that it could symbolize the death of the old ways of believing, connected it to Christianity, etc. Etc. However I thought you were connecting this to your move. You mentioned how you won't be making myths in front of your bookcase anymore, it has been a while since your last upload, I have seen you popping up elsewhere with more D&D focused content... I thought you were saying good-bye to us Dael.

[@MonarchsFactory]

Times may be a-changin', but I've got some mileage in me yet