Written By Tesha
Jan. 30, 2024, 10:20 p.m.(8/25/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
In these last days I wish you were here. Not because I want you to suffer right along with us, but because a part of me is still that scared and naive girl that misses her Uncle.
For now, they'll just have to make do with me being the stern and scarred one.
For now, they'll just have to make do with me being the stern and scarred one.
Written By Tesha
Aug. 16, 2022, 6:23 a.m.(3/16/1018 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
Cora is being gracious and not yelling at me when I speak of battles to come as I sit here wondering what happened to the left side of my face. There will be more battles, because I have inherited my Uncle's Stubbornness and we fear no enemy.
Now if I could have inherited his battle prowess I might be doing better.
Now if I could have inherited his battle prowess I might be doing better.
Written By Talwyn
Jan. 28, 2020, 9:03 a.m.(8.779326223544974/23.642268518518517/1012.6482771852955 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
As seen in the Sleepless Knights, your wisdom and note continues to highlight how every movement in your life before the Wheel had you a man wise beyond your years. May your advice and words then guide us through the next few months.
People of the Oathlands,
War is upon us. For some of you, this is your first opportunity to fight for your high lord. For others, it will be your last. For an unfortunate few, it will be both. In the end, it is in the hands of the gods when we live and when we die. While we live, we do what we can to protect those close to us, punish the wicked, and uphold the just. Have faith in the gods. Have faith in your commanders. Have faith in your lieges. Have faith in your high lord. Have faith in yourself. Above all, have faith in the men and women standing beside you in the field of battle. It is these people to whom you will entrust your life and your mission.
We go to war not for the petty grievances of men but for the survival of our people against a wicked foe. They do not attack us directly, but should the Lyceum fall or the Mourning Isles, or the North, or even the Crownlands - the Oathlands could not stand alone. We have no peer in faithfulness nor knighthood, yet even a land as strong as ours would fall if isolated.
Clear your minds, warriors of the Oathlands. Toughen your hearts. Say goodbye to your loved ones. To those who sail the seas, remember the words of Farshaw - The Horizon is Ours. To those who ride to Southport, remember the words of House Laurent - Loyal to the Queen. To those riding north with our high lord, show our enemies that steel bends but honor holds. But above all, Oathlanders:
FEAR NO ENEMY.
Arn Telmar
Duke of the Telmarch
People of the Oathlands,
War is upon us. For some of you, this is your first opportunity to fight for your high lord. For others, it will be your last. For an unfortunate few, it will be both. In the end, it is in the hands of the gods when we live and when we die. While we live, we do what we can to protect those close to us, punish the wicked, and uphold the just. Have faith in the gods. Have faith in your commanders. Have faith in your lieges. Have faith in your high lord. Have faith in yourself. Above all, have faith in the men and women standing beside you in the field of battle. It is these people to whom you will entrust your life and your mission.
We go to war not for the petty grievances of men but for the survival of our people against a wicked foe. They do not attack us directly, but should the Lyceum fall or the Mourning Isles, or the North, or even the Crownlands - the Oathlands could not stand alone. We have no peer in faithfulness nor knighthood, yet even a land as strong as ours would fall if isolated.
Clear your minds, warriors of the Oathlands. Toughen your hearts. Say goodbye to your loved ones. To those who sail the seas, remember the words of Farshaw - The Horizon is Ours. To those who ride to Southport, remember the words of House Laurent - Loyal to the Queen. To those riding north with our high lord, show our enemies that steel bends but honor holds. But above all, Oathlanders:
FEAR NO ENEMY.
Arn Telmar
Duke of the Telmarch
Written By Bliss
Aug. 18, 2019, 10:37 p.m.(9/5/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
I could probably write rather a lot about the death of Duke Arn. I could write screeds of the echoing of his name, and his family name, in my mind for years and years. The way I could never quite separate him and his brother in my mind, until he proved himself cut from an entirely different cloth. The complicated feelings I have regarding him.
He wouldn't want that. Duke Arn Telmarch was an ornery man who died exactly the way he wanted. That's really all there is to say about it from me. Anything else would disrespect who he was and what he did.
He wouldn't want that. Duke Arn Telmarch was an ornery man who died exactly the way he wanted. That's really all there is to say about it from me. Anything else would disrespect who he was and what he did.
Written By Eshra
Aug. 18, 2019, 4:34 a.m.(9/3/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
I wasn't going top write about Duke Arn. I had no intention on doing so. I still can see him, defiant, stubborn even as he died. He did not surrender and refused death without getting his way first.
He would not die until his foe was dead first.
No, I wasn't going to write. Then this evening I woke up to the stillness and the heat, as I have so many evenings since that battle. Most those nights I wake up, trembling from the dreams of that battle but not tonight. Tonight I woke and yes as I lay there staring up into the darkness of the room. I find that my thoughts again turn to the Duke but not to how he died. Instead about the day we met.
I had decided that I needed a patron and I had decided that it would be Arn. Others warned me. "Arn won't take you, he doesn't like Prodigals." "Arn will not take you, he won't like someone who isn't going to run themselves ragged to please him." I decided to ask for an audience anyway.
He ignored the request, I sent another... and another. Third one I got a reply and we met. I can't say it was a long meeting or the Duke was warm or welcoming. What I can say is he asked what I wanted to talk to him about. "I have decided you need to take me as a protege." He stared at me for a long moment then asked "Why?" I told him that even if he didn't like prodigals, he had them as his vassals and that if we were going to find our way. We would need his help. That my being better would be better for him.
They told me, Arn won't bend. he doesn't change his mind. But I found out something that day. Duke Arn respected a logical argument. Even if he didn't like it.
I did become his protege that day. It wasn't hearts and hugs. It was a hard snort, a vague command and an expectation to follow along as he turned to leave. But it was never a what I would call a waste of time. Did we ever become close. No. But never once did he not speak to me with respect. I was his protege, I was his Admiral.
And he was one of the best teachers I have ever known.
Rest well my Liege.
He would not die until his foe was dead first.
No, I wasn't going to write. Then this evening I woke up to the stillness and the heat, as I have so many evenings since that battle. Most those nights I wake up, trembling from the dreams of that battle but not tonight. Tonight I woke and yes as I lay there staring up into the darkness of the room. I find that my thoughts again turn to the Duke but not to how he died. Instead about the day we met.
I had decided that I needed a patron and I had decided that it would be Arn. Others warned me. "Arn won't take you, he doesn't like Prodigals." "Arn will not take you, he won't like someone who isn't going to run themselves ragged to please him." I decided to ask for an audience anyway.
He ignored the request, I sent another... and another. Third one I got a reply and we met. I can't say it was a long meeting or the Duke was warm or welcoming. What I can say is he asked what I wanted to talk to him about. "I have decided you need to take me as a protege." He stared at me for a long moment then asked "Why?" I told him that even if he didn't like prodigals, he had them as his vassals and that if we were going to find our way. We would need his help. That my being better would be better for him.
They told me, Arn won't bend. he doesn't change his mind. But I found out something that day. Duke Arn respected a logical argument. Even if he didn't like it.
I did become his protege that day. It wasn't hearts and hugs. It was a hard snort, a vague command and an expectation to follow along as he turned to leave. But it was never a what I would call a waste of time. Did we ever become close. No. But never once did he not speak to me with respect. I was his protege, I was his Admiral.
And he was one of the best teachers I have ever known.
Rest well my Liege.
Written By Preston
Aug. 16, 2019, 10:57 a.m.(8/28/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
It is difficult to hear of losses, especially when it was places we had hoped to help but were unable to due to our commitments in other locations. I do not know if we could have altered the outcome of the battle at Highhill Crossing. Perhaps had we been more involved in the planning even if we could not attend, we could have warned away from some part of it. I doubt it though, I do not think changing Duke Arn's mind from anything is an easy task. Though maybe in future we will ensure even if we cannot help that we can provide advise as requested, and I will look to how that can be done.
My main encounter with Duke Arn was over the Telmar Sword and Bliss Whisper. As others have suggested, Arn's propensity to call all younger men boy was there - it made me smile. I do not think many call the Grandmaster of the Templars boy whatever his age, but it is true enough. Once he had his say, he listened. And though it took time he came to a right decision. But once he had made his mind up for certain, that was it, he wished to move on. Next thing. Next problem.
I am sorry I will not get to convince him of the wisdom of a Templar fort in the Telmarch. But, I will smile whenever I hear someone gruffly yell out 'Boy'.
My main encounter with Duke Arn was over the Telmar Sword and Bliss Whisper. As others have suggested, Arn's propensity to call all younger men boy was there - it made me smile. I do not think many call the Grandmaster of the Templars boy whatever his age, but it is true enough. Once he had his say, he listened. And though it took time he came to a right decision. But once he had made his mind up for certain, that was it, he wished to move on. Next thing. Next problem.
I am sorry I will not get to convince him of the wisdom of a Templar fort in the Telmarch. But, I will smile whenever I hear someone gruffly yell out 'Boy'.
Written By Vanora
Aug. 15, 2019, 4:29 p.m.(8/26/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
It has taken me time to consider what words to put to paper regarding the passing of Duke Arn Telmar.
I did not know the man at all, I met him a few times, introduced through the Great Grim Duke, and I can see how he and Harald considered one another birds of a feather.
Birds of a feather that we could all learn so much from. I am grateful I had the chance, even if it was brief.
I mourn him along with his family and ours.
Especially since these families are to be joined soon through marriage. One of Duke Arn's last political acts, setting up his daughter's future.
We will do him proud in Grimhall, I hope.
I did not know the man at all, I met him a few times, introduced through the Great Grim Duke, and I can see how he and Harald considered one another birds of a feather.
Birds of a feather that we could all learn so much from. I am grateful I had the chance, even if it was brief.
I mourn him along with his family and ours.
Especially since these families are to be joined soon through marriage. One of Duke Arn's last political acts, setting up his daughter's future.
We will do him proud in Grimhall, I hope.
Written By Isabeau
Aug. 14, 2019, 12:49 p.m.(8/24/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
Duke Arn Telmar was rarely approving or kind in his demeanor and words, but when I joined House Telmar, he welcomed me. For a brief moment, I was an orphan who had again found a father. I shall always remember him so.
Written By Rinel
Aug. 14, 2019, 12:39 p.m.(8/24/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
Duke Arn did not know me. My sole interaction with him was a letter sent requesting that I might be allowed to forsake my oaths of fealty if I were to become Godsworn, and his (as I have since come to learn) characteristically terse assent.
Yet I grew up in the Telmarch, and I knew the Duke Telmarch. All of us knew the Duke Telmarch. Did we fear him? Yes, a bit. How could we not? But we knew that if the shav'arvani were to attack, or the North to invade, they would break against the red walls of Telmar Keep, and that they would shatter forever against the implacable force of Duke Arn Telmar. He was a force of nature to us, a grey and stormy mountain from whose slopes great storms roll down.
And he was a man of honour. He did not surrender the Sword of his House to the Radiant Bliss because it was convenient. He did not do so because he sought the approval of others. I do not even know if he thought it proper. But I know he thought it the only honourable path open to him, and so he took that path.
Consequences did not matter.
Opinions did not matter.
Survival itself did not matter.
Only what was honourable. Only what was right.
I did not know the man. I knew only the figure. And I say, knowing only the figure, that the Oathlands has lost more than a man. It has lost a being of certainty, unstoppable in his resolve. The Compact is the weaker for it.
Yet I grew up in the Telmarch, and I knew the Duke Telmarch. All of us knew the Duke Telmarch. Did we fear him? Yes, a bit. How could we not? But we knew that if the shav'arvani were to attack, or the North to invade, they would break against the red walls of Telmar Keep, and that they would shatter forever against the implacable force of Duke Arn Telmar. He was a force of nature to us, a grey and stormy mountain from whose slopes great storms roll down.
And he was a man of honour. He did not surrender the Sword of his House to the Radiant Bliss because it was convenient. He did not do so because he sought the approval of others. I do not even know if he thought it proper. But I know he thought it the only honourable path open to him, and so he took that path.
Consequences did not matter.
Opinions did not matter.
Survival itself did not matter.
Only what was honourable. Only what was right.
I did not know the man. I knew only the figure. And I say, knowing only the figure, that the Oathlands has lost more than a man. It has lost a being of certainty, unstoppable in his resolve. The Compact is the weaker for it.
Written By Brigida
Aug. 14, 2019, 5:08 a.m.(8/23/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
I will never forget the 'Battle' of High Hill Crossing.
The death of Prince Caius Valardin there was sudden and bloody and still shakes me to remember. The same with the deaths of the Valardin knights, Blackram pikemen and Telmar infantry who all fell there.
Seeing Duke Arn die before me was one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever seen. Stupidly stubborn until the end. I will miss him as he is someone I have known and known of for many many years now, a constant in my life. He was a grumpy old bastard. A stubborn sod who should have known better.
It was not a battle, not even close. I have seen battles before. This was not one.
It was a massacre and what makes it worse is that I should have prevented it.
I'm so sorry.
The death of Prince Caius Valardin there was sudden and bloody and still shakes me to remember. The same with the deaths of the Valardin knights, Blackram pikemen and Telmar infantry who all fell there.
Seeing Duke Arn die before me was one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever seen. Stupidly stubborn until the end. I will miss him as he is someone I have known and known of for many many years now, a constant in my life. He was a grumpy old bastard. A stubborn sod who should have known better.
It was not a battle, not even close. I have seen battles before. This was not one.
It was a massacre and what makes it worse is that I should have prevented it.
I'm so sorry.
Written By Mabelle
Aug. 13, 2019, 5:19 a.m.(8/21/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
My only memory of Duke Arn is when he scolded me for being too cheerful.
He was right.
I will miss him.
He was right.
I will miss him.
Written By Cristoph
Aug. 12, 2019, 11 p.m.(8/21/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
I'm really not satisfied with my last entry on Duke Arn and would like to highlight these moments as well:
- The time he shouted at me when I was at the Gauntlet, 'does this look like an apiary, boy'. I was twenty eight years old.
- The time he insisted I come remove a beehive or he would shove it down my throat.
- The one time he seemed to like an idea I had.
- That time I jokingly asked how he'd like the horse's manes styled. This did not make him laugh the way it made me laugh.
- How our last exchange was downright amicable and good natured and I thought I could definitely manage another twenty or thirty years of him.
I hope you find some peace.
- The time he shouted at me when I was at the Gauntlet, 'does this look like an apiary, boy'. I was twenty eight years old.
- The time he insisted I come remove a beehive or he would shove it down my throat.
- The one time he seemed to like an idea I had.
- That time I jokingly asked how he'd like the horse's manes styled. This did not make him laugh the way it made me laugh.
- How our last exchange was downright amicable and good natured and I thought I could definitely manage another twenty or thirty years of him.
I hope you find some peace.
Written By Marian
Aug. 12, 2019, 4:31 p.m.(8/20/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
At the best of times we tolerated each other's company.
At the worst, he tried to run me through with a sword.
He was a stalwart ally and a challenging adversary.
I have known both sides of the coin.
Before I bent on knee, I knew what it meant to be on the opposite side of Duke Arn Telmar. He was not a man to be taken lightly, and many Abandoned were afraid when his banner was on the battlefield. I much preferred him as an ally even though that meant I couldn't bear steel after his cutting remarks. However, I must admit, despite just how different our backgrounds were, he always garnered my respect. He was a force to be reckoned with on and off the battlefield. While I shall miss his sharp words calling out across the Gauntlet, I can not help admire how this duke met his final charge. I wish him well on his next adventure. May the next turn of the Wheel be just as glorious.
At the worst, he tried to run me through with a sword.
He was a stalwart ally and a challenging adversary.
I have known both sides of the coin.
Before I bent on knee, I knew what it meant to be on the opposite side of Duke Arn Telmar. He was not a man to be taken lightly, and many Abandoned were afraid when his banner was on the battlefield. I much preferred him as an ally even though that meant I couldn't bear steel after his cutting remarks. However, I must admit, despite just how different our backgrounds were, he always garnered my respect. He was a force to be reckoned with on and off the battlefield. While I shall miss his sharp words calling out across the Gauntlet, I can not help admire how this duke met his final charge. I wish him well on his next adventure. May the next turn of the Wheel be just as glorious.
Written By Reigna
Aug. 12, 2019, 4:30 p.m.(8/20/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
I shall eulogize him as he'd want: He died.
For myself, I will add:
I always thought his grouchiness was an act. Irascible charm. I asked him for advice once, on how to be a leader and I shall never, ever, forget his answer to me. He said, to be a good leader, you tear your people down. Take from them everything that they are, beat them into the dirt, and when they are as clay, rebuild them into what you want them to be. He told me about his son Lord Ansel and what he did to the scholar that dared say Lord Ansel would make a good Scholar.
I stopped thinking it was an act after that exchange. And in many ways, that reply has shaped me into who I am today. How I choose to lead, how I choose to teach. Arn was a hard man. He was a man that could make decisions others could not. He knew that "right" was rarely "nice" and he molded himself into a shield of a man, a man who could do the things that needed doing when those of us with softer hearts would fail.
For myself, I will add:
I always thought his grouchiness was an act. Irascible charm. I asked him for advice once, on how to be a leader and I shall never, ever, forget his answer to me. He said, to be a good leader, you tear your people down. Take from them everything that they are, beat them into the dirt, and when they are as clay, rebuild them into what you want them to be. He told me about his son Lord Ansel and what he did to the scholar that dared say Lord Ansel would make a good Scholar.
I stopped thinking it was an act after that exchange. And in many ways, that reply has shaped me into who I am today. How I choose to lead, how I choose to teach. Arn was a hard man. He was a man that could make decisions others could not. He knew that "right" was rarely "nice" and he molded himself into a shield of a man, a man who could do the things that needed doing when those of us with softer hearts would fail.
Written By Rysen
Aug. 12, 2019, 1:16 p.m.(8/20/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
When I was younger, my mother sent me to foster with her family in the Telmarch. By that time, I had already attained some degree of raw proficiency in sword skill, but, as the Northlands has a newer and more heterogeneous chivalric tradition than than that of the venerable Houses of Valardin, I had what my instructor called a "mongrel" style of Oathlands footwork mixed with Northlands striking techniques, and furthermore, I had little physical strength.
One day Duke Arn was present while I was training swordsmanship. He ordered several of his own men to train me, and I fought several rounds against each in turn. Though I took many blows from training swords, I think perhaps I was doing better than was expected. Eventually a hulking captain of the Telmarch stepped in to the training grounds, and quickly struck me down. Even as I was struggling to rise to my feet, my muscles and lungs burning, the captain stood over me with his training sword. He swung with great force, probably trying to knock me unconscious. On instinct I raised my sword arm, but failed to get the blade between myself and the captain's stroke. My arm snapped, and I screamed, and scrambled to my feet in shock, while the captain laughed.
Duke Arn strode toward me, grabbed the collar of my surcoat and said, "Listen to me you mongrel cur - my cousin shamed the family by sending your mother to the Crovane, but I will not let one of my blood blubber on the field of battle. Fight!" I was in tears and must have said something about my arm being broken, to which Arn responded by tearing off my shield, and putting my training sword in my left hand. "The gods gave you two arms, damn you!" and he shoved me back toward the captain, whose laughter now faded, but whatever protest he might've made was silenced by the duke again yelling, "Fight!"
I swung my training sword left handed with all the fury I could muster, and the next thing I remember, I woke up some hours later in one of the estate's bedrooms. My right arm was in a splint and a physician was there watching over me. In the two years I was fostered in Telmarch, Arn didn't say another word to me. I never saw the captain who I'd faced again either. Word was that after they carried me away, Arn fought the man himself, broke his arm and dismissed him from his service.
Since that time, I've always fought with a weapon in each hand and, in the most dire tumult of combat, when the Queen stretches out her arms for that last embrace, I hear the steely voice of the duke surge up from the depths of memory, and it has been that unyielding battle cry that has allowed me to tarrying a little longer in this beautiful Dream.
One day Duke Arn was present while I was training swordsmanship. He ordered several of his own men to train me, and I fought several rounds against each in turn. Though I took many blows from training swords, I think perhaps I was doing better than was expected. Eventually a hulking captain of the Telmarch stepped in to the training grounds, and quickly struck me down. Even as I was struggling to rise to my feet, my muscles and lungs burning, the captain stood over me with his training sword. He swung with great force, probably trying to knock me unconscious. On instinct I raised my sword arm, but failed to get the blade between myself and the captain's stroke. My arm snapped, and I screamed, and scrambled to my feet in shock, while the captain laughed.
Duke Arn strode toward me, grabbed the collar of my surcoat and said, "Listen to me you mongrel cur - my cousin shamed the family by sending your mother to the Crovane, but I will not let one of my blood blubber on the field of battle. Fight!" I was in tears and must have said something about my arm being broken, to which Arn responded by tearing off my shield, and putting my training sword in my left hand. "The gods gave you two arms, damn you!" and he shoved me back toward the captain, whose laughter now faded, but whatever protest he might've made was silenced by the duke again yelling, "Fight!"
I swung my training sword left handed with all the fury I could muster, and the next thing I remember, I woke up some hours later in one of the estate's bedrooms. My right arm was in a splint and a physician was there watching over me. In the two years I was fostered in Telmarch, Arn didn't say another word to me. I never saw the captain who I'd faced again either. Word was that after they carried me away, Arn fought the man himself, broke his arm and dismissed him from his service.
Since that time, I've always fought with a weapon in each hand and, in the most dire tumult of combat, when the Queen stretches out her arms for that last embrace, I hear the steely voice of the duke surge up from the depths of memory, and it has been that unyielding battle cry that has allowed me to tarrying a little longer in this beautiful Dream.
Written By Lilia
Aug. 12, 2019, 11:40 a.m.(8/20/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
You were uncomfortable with peace.
You clanked around the Tower in your armor, warhammer never further away than your little dog, growling at people about everything from the weather to their fixation on white fights, but you were the one spoiling for a fight. You thought people were humoring you, unwilling to just let them respect you. You thought your time had come and gone, that you were useless, an old relic set aside to make room for younger men.
Nothing made you happy. Every best effort was just barely good enough. Reports were too long, details not specific enough, summers were too hot, rain was too wet. Everyone disappointed you. Especially us. Tobias, Ansel, Simone, Evelyn, Dulcinea, me; we tried so many different things to win your approval, to finally feel like we were good enough, measuring up to whatever invisible standard you'd hoped we would achieve. Invisible, not impossible, but otherwise the same. I know you didn't hate us, but even now I don't know if you ever really loved any of us, or if that part of you left with Mother.
When the Grim Duke died, I thought you were furious at him for dying first; when Count Steelhart and his family were killed, I thought you were righteously angry because they had all been slaughtered. Now I think the only thing you were mad about was being the last one left, about the possibility of dying at home, in your bed, surrounded by grandchildren.
I wanted to believe you would live forever, that you were too hard to die, with steel for bones and rubicund for flesh.
Instead, you went to High Hill with no fear of death, with no prayer on your lips for more time to live. You went out to seek justice for Steelhart, grieving them in your way, with violence. And you died there, in another catastrophic loss of life that might've been worse had anyone else been leading that column.
Now you are gone, and everything is different although nothing has changed.
I hope we do not disappoint you anymore.
You clanked around the Tower in your armor, warhammer never further away than your little dog, growling at people about everything from the weather to their fixation on white fights, but you were the one spoiling for a fight. You thought people were humoring you, unwilling to just let them respect you. You thought your time had come and gone, that you were useless, an old relic set aside to make room for younger men.
Nothing made you happy. Every best effort was just barely good enough. Reports were too long, details not specific enough, summers were too hot, rain was too wet. Everyone disappointed you. Especially us. Tobias, Ansel, Simone, Evelyn, Dulcinea, me; we tried so many different things to win your approval, to finally feel like we were good enough, measuring up to whatever invisible standard you'd hoped we would achieve. Invisible, not impossible, but otherwise the same. I know you didn't hate us, but even now I don't know if you ever really loved any of us, or if that part of you left with Mother.
When the Grim Duke died, I thought you were furious at him for dying first; when Count Steelhart and his family were killed, I thought you were righteously angry because they had all been slaughtered. Now I think the only thing you were mad about was being the last one left, about the possibility of dying at home, in your bed, surrounded by grandchildren.
I wanted to believe you would live forever, that you were too hard to die, with steel for bones and rubicund for flesh.
Instead, you went to High Hill with no fear of death, with no prayer on your lips for more time to live. You went out to seek justice for Steelhart, grieving them in your way, with violence. And you died there, in another catastrophic loss of life that might've been worse had anyone else been leading that column.
Now you are gone, and everything is different although nothing has changed.
I hope we do not disappoint you anymore.
Written By Cristoph
Aug. 12, 2019, 9:53 a.m.(8/20/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
I won't waste valuable paper speaking on the virtues and vices of Duke Arn Telmar and how his loss affects the Oathlands. He would have thought it a waste of time.
Instead I'll write on the first time I truly saw him. Which I'm sure he'd also think was a waste of time but not everything is about *you*, Telmar.
When my older sister left to follow her destiny with the Faith of the Pantheon and my younger sister was acting out belligerently (and managed to obtain a surrogate second father out of that behavior, for which I remain mildly jealous), I was being hauled from meeting to meeting and forced to stand around at court. The clothes were miserable, itchy and hot.
It was in some council get together of the High Lord and his ducal powers that I had the opportunity to see Duke Telmar up close. He seemed gnarled and grizzled even then. I witnessed him slam his fist upon the table while making a point, his manner so alien from that of my father.
The late Duke Edmund was poised and collected always, like a statue sometimes. He had almost no reaction to these antics and it's a behavior I've attempted to emulate myself. With Duke Telmar as well as other fiery individuals.
All that's to say that as a young man I found him to be incredibly frightening. And he remained this untouchable ferocious staple of the Oathlands to me up until his death. I'm not sure we'll see another like him.
Instead I'll write on the first time I truly saw him. Which I'm sure he'd also think was a waste of time but not everything is about *you*, Telmar.
When my older sister left to follow her destiny with the Faith of the Pantheon and my younger sister was acting out belligerently (and managed to obtain a surrogate second father out of that behavior, for which I remain mildly jealous), I was being hauled from meeting to meeting and forced to stand around at court. The clothes were miserable, itchy and hot.
It was in some council get together of the High Lord and his ducal powers that I had the opportunity to see Duke Telmar up close. He seemed gnarled and grizzled even then. I witnessed him slam his fist upon the table while making a point, his manner so alien from that of my father.
The late Duke Edmund was poised and collected always, like a statue sometimes. He had almost no reaction to these antics and it's a behavior I've attempted to emulate myself. With Duke Telmar as well as other fiery individuals.
All that's to say that as a young man I found him to be incredibly frightening. And he remained this untouchable ferocious staple of the Oathlands to me up until his death. I'm not sure we'll see another like him.
Written By Ida
Aug. 12, 2019, 8:16 a.m.(8/19/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
I met the Duke in my earliest days in Arx, shortly after His Grace, Prince Edain, invited me to come and serve as a smith for House Valardin. The Duke visited the shop and, in very few words, ordered a warhammer. He seemed pleased enough with the piece, which I suspect since he later had me replace it with one of rubicund. Surely that one got replaced along the way, but it was still a great honor to me that he trusted my work.
I lived in the Valardin estates for a time and I came upon His Grace and Duke Arn looking over a large map. His Grace invited me over and was very enthusiastic - as he often tends to be - about something or other. It was military in nature and the Gods know that's not my strong suit. I watched Duke Arn listen and consider what His Grace was saying and there was a moment there that made him so incredibly human, in a way I think he didn't realize at the time. The protector, the leader, the guider of Radley's kin. The second he looked at me looking, I quickly turned my eyes elsewhere. I can't say the man didn't intimidate me a little bit. Maybe a lot. Still, it's a memory I'll hold as dear as him calling me a probable drunk when he ordered that warhammer.
There's more I could try to write - the man was a legend of integrity and conviction - but inspiring words about people aren't a strong suit of mine. I've already read no few recollections about the Duke's honorable qualities from others that have been put so much better than I think I could even come close to, so my memory will serve, I hope.
I lived in the Valardin estates for a time and I came upon His Grace and Duke Arn looking over a large map. His Grace invited me over and was very enthusiastic - as he often tends to be - about something or other. It was military in nature and the Gods know that's not my strong suit. I watched Duke Arn listen and consider what His Grace was saying and there was a moment there that made him so incredibly human, in a way I think he didn't realize at the time. The protector, the leader, the guider of Radley's kin. The second he looked at me looking, I quickly turned my eyes elsewhere. I can't say the man didn't intimidate me a little bit. Maybe a lot. Still, it's a memory I'll hold as dear as him calling me a probable drunk when he ordered that warhammer.
There's more I could try to write - the man was a legend of integrity and conviction - but inspiring words about people aren't a strong suit of mine. I've already read no few recollections about the Duke's honorable qualities from others that have been put so much better than I think I could even come close to, so my memory will serve, I hope.
Written By Arik
Aug. 11, 2019, 9:52 p.m.(8/19/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
Duke Arn Telmar was a stalwart defender of the Oathlands and an uncompromising figure of his generation. Very few Nobles, Knights, or even Orthodoxy believers told the truth as brutally and with flair as the Duke of Telmarch. If I ever reach his age I can only hope that my own habit of being stubborn turns into a virtue rather than a vice. I hope to see his little dog chasing people to go faster through the gauntlet at his memorial.
Written By Corban
Aug. 11, 2019, 4:43 p.m.(8/18/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arn
How the Telmarch got its name is not widely known, I do not think.
It was the Recknoning and the First Knight, Valar's first general, rode to the North. There, at the Castle of the Northern March, he was approached by an old priest who came forward to speak for thousands of refugees from the northern regions.
"They say we have been abandoned," the priest said. That the path to Arx was closed, that the enemy was closing in, and that all would be left to die, and that none were coming to save them.
Valar's general looked around the great red wall on which he stood and took stock of things. He had made an oath. To defend the innocent. He had his company of knights with him. He knew that he would not survive the coming battle, but the refugees might. And he spoke.
"No. You are not abandoned. No one in the Northern Marches have been abandoned while we are here. Tell all the villages of the Northern Marches to gather here. Tell them that this march will hold. Tell them that we will gather here, and we will fight, and that no one is abandoned, and should make for the safety of this castle. Tell the march to fear no enemy. Tell the march."
Those words became my family name and its motto. Telmar: Fear no enemy.
Duke Arn lived those words until the end.
May Death welcome him, even if he will never laugh for Her jokes.
It was the Recknoning and the First Knight, Valar's first general, rode to the North. There, at the Castle of the Northern March, he was approached by an old priest who came forward to speak for thousands of refugees from the northern regions.
"They say we have been abandoned," the priest said. That the path to Arx was closed, that the enemy was closing in, and that all would be left to die, and that none were coming to save them.
Valar's general looked around the great red wall on which he stood and took stock of things. He had made an oath. To defend the innocent. He had his company of knights with him. He knew that he would not survive the coming battle, but the refugees might. And he spoke.
"No. You are not abandoned. No one in the Northern Marches have been abandoned while we are here. Tell all the villages of the Northern Marches to gather here. Tell them that this march will hold. Tell them that we will gather here, and we will fight, and that no one is abandoned, and should make for the safety of this castle. Tell the march to fear no enemy. Tell the march."
Those words became my family name and its motto. Telmar: Fear no enemy.
Duke Arn lived those words until the end.
May Death welcome him, even if he will never laugh for Her jokes.
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