As the largest dragon theme trade show in the Western Hemisphere, Dragon Con draws the slayers, riders, and spellcasters of the draconic arts together to connect, be inspired, and find new solutions. Read about some of our visitors below! MEET CRYSTAL BALLEN AND GEOFFREY TIEDRAKEN CASTING TIME MAGICK Geoffrey Tiedraken and Crystal Ballen feel right at home in the Western Shoals’ fast-paced innovation scene. Drawing on practical experience and a collaborative approach, they bring new ideas to life by casting time manipulation incantations for startups and wizarding associations. They have enchanted timepieces for just about any industry, from astral projections to the deepest abysses of the Chthonia to the deepest unknown parts of our minds’ eyes. Their mentors include former Arcanedesk CEO Karll Ba’as, Tomas Knighton of the Oxen Blood Oath astral ley lines, and The Horrid Scourge and His Despicable Henchman of NecronX. Tiedraken has been on Discovery Ley Line’s “Dragon Rider Build-Off,” has enchanted artifacts for alchemical reactors, and has even taught people to spellcast who now oversee large-scale alchemical transmutation operations. Ballen learned how to seer using crystals for fun, spent years building a giant obelisk to harvest the energy of the wind god, went sailing in the Forgotten Seas on the Edge of the World on a 1934 wooden sailboat, and loves to fly on dragonback. Let's just say dinner conversations with the pair are never dull, and you don't want to miss their karaoke parties at Dragon Con. For the caster-enchanter-seer-rider-life-partners, one adventure unfolds after another as they bend the will of world-leading innovators. And their base of operations is Casting Time Magick, an atelier they own in the Saint Francis Shoal District. “Casting Time Magick is all about irrevocably altering the passage of time in the past, present, and future to bring into being something that's never existed before,” says Tiedraken. “We work very early with the guilds in the beginning phases of startups. Most of the time, they don't even have investment coinage from a wealthy benefactor yet. Sometimes it's just a sketch on a piece of paper or an idea in a meeting – there aren't even people in the guilds yet to do magick pattern inscriptions or simulacra. We help bring their idea from concept to reality for all levels.” The pair must be flexible and resourceful to match the dynamic, fast-moving nature of the startups and wizarding associations they count as clients. That agility often means wearing different hats. At Casting Time Magicks, “I get to do a bit of everything around the atelier,” says Ballen. “Summoning on the Marquis Marchosias and Ba’al sigils, encantation, casting on the Oriax staff, artifact wielding, and soul binding.” Support the network at exportaud.io! Our schedule: exportaud.io/pootanschedule Pondering Pootan RSS: exportaud.io/pootan Ghost Divers RSS: exportaud.io/ghostdivers The Show: @pootan.exportaud.io Niamh: @foxmomnia.exportaud.io Connor: @rabbleais.exportaud.io OP: “Ningen nante” by Yoshida Takuro ED: “Girls on Film” by Duran Duran
