Written By Eleyna
April 2, 2017, 12:57 p.m.(3/14/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Joscelin
As usual, the Guildmistress' work is absolutely exquisite. The latest piece I've commissioned was more for function than beauty, but, even in that, Mistress Joscelin has created a work of art.
I was also more than happy to support her efforts to supply the city's medical centers as well. I might not be able to do much, but if honey infused soap can do it, it seems a ridiculously small price to pay compared to the efforts of others.
I was also more than happy to support her efforts to supply the city's medical centers as well. I might not be able to do much, but if honey infused soap can do it, it seems a ridiculously small price to pay compared to the efforts of others.
Written By Eleyna
March 26, 2017, 10:57 a.m.(2/27/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Talen
Not many. Then again, it seems they aren't man-babies in the Boroughs, either. Unlike some Velenosan princes of my acquaintance.
Written By Eleyna
March 26, 2017, 10:54 a.m.(2/27/1006 AR)
It's not over, but he came back home alive this time. I'm not sure what will happen now. The Bringers and their armies are still coming. I'm trying to be brave, but, after seeing firsthand what they do, it's difficult to not feel fear.
I knew what these things were in theory. I read reports. I sat in for lectures. But it's not until you see how they fight, the damage that they leave behind that it starts to sink in. The fear. The hopelessness. The rage. The horror.
There is a lot of talk about overcoming these things. Lovely speeches that I've heard. I'm not trying to overcome my fear. I'm embracing it. I'm facing it.
I knew what these things were in theory. I read reports. I sat in for lectures. But it's not until you see how they fight, the damage that they leave behind that it starts to sink in. The fear. The hopelessness. The rage. The horror.
There is a lot of talk about overcoming these things. Lovely speeches that I've heard. I'm not trying to overcome my fear. I'm embracing it. I'm facing it.
Written By Eleyna
March 26, 2017, 10:12 a.m.(2/27/1006 AR)
I helped put out fires and treat some burns in the Lower Boroughs last night. For once, I actually felt useful in this war, instead of sitting locked away, waiting for things to happen. I'm not sure why Uncle Niccolo is so annoyed with me.
Written By Eleyna
March 19, 2017, 1:31 p.m.(2/14/1006 AR)
Do you know how difficult it is to try to come up with the right shade of cosmetics to attempt to cover-up a black eye for someone who has a complexion many, many shades darker than yours?
It's damned difficult.
You owe me, Luca.
It's damned difficult.
You owe me, Luca.
Written By Eleyna
March 17, 2017, 7:38 a.m.(2/9/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Luca
Yes. You need ribbons and pink everything. I'll even help fund it. You'll look fabulous.
Written By Eleyna
March 12, 2017, 6:46 p.m.(1/28/1006 AR)
I woke up crying out in my sleep from strange, terrifying nightmares. That hasn’t happened since I was a child. I thought the dream was only the image of fear working on the weaker parts of my mind and yet, it seems many have seen these visions and had these dreams. They mean something.
That makes it even more frightening.
That makes it even more frightening.
Written By Eleyna
March 12, 2017, 6:45 p.m.(1/28/1006 AR)
This week, I shed my title of 'widow' and become a wife again.
I was an infant when my uncle won the tournament that secured him the right to marry my Aunt Carlotta. Theirs was a love story that I heard my entire life. Every bard, every poet, every musician that made their way to the Lenosian court had words to offer on it. It permeated my life and my dreams, creating a secret hope inside me that I would find my own great love who would defeat a string of Champions for the right to win my hand.
Of course, that is not how my life played out. My husbands were decent men, but there was little more than respect between us that grew into affection. But it was not passion. It was not love as all those poets and musicians had regaled me with when I was a child. As years passed, I thought such a thing would be closed to me. Niccolo and Carlotta were an exception, not the rule.
After Lodovico's death, it seemed as if the Gods had no desire for me to possess even the joys of children and stability, much less love. I came to Arx expecting that I would work for the good of my House and put such thoughts aside. I was prepared to be the 'Black Widow of Lenosia' until the end of my days.
And then, there was a chance meeting in the gardens. Talen irritated me that first meeting and irritated me for many after. Yet, over the course of every irritation, I found myself more and more drawn to him. And now...
I'm not sure I could imagine living without him, even when he’s being irritating. Especially when he’s being irritating.
He’s handsome, but he’s no charmer like Uncle Niccolo. He’s not a brave knight in shining armor, but I know without a doubt that he would lie, cheat, and steal to keep me safe, keep me happy, and give me whatever I desire. He didn’t fight a line of Champions, but he did volunteer to take a dangerous role in the upcoming battle only to prove himself worthy of me. It’s not a love story that a poet may choose to immortalize, but it is enough for me. More than enough.
I was an infant when my uncle won the tournament that secured him the right to marry my Aunt Carlotta. Theirs was a love story that I heard my entire life. Every bard, every poet, every musician that made their way to the Lenosian court had words to offer on it. It permeated my life and my dreams, creating a secret hope inside me that I would find my own great love who would defeat a string of Champions for the right to win my hand.
Of course, that is not how my life played out. My husbands were decent men, but there was little more than respect between us that grew into affection. But it was not passion. It was not love as all those poets and musicians had regaled me with when I was a child. As years passed, I thought such a thing would be closed to me. Niccolo and Carlotta were an exception, not the rule.
After Lodovico's death, it seemed as if the Gods had no desire for me to possess even the joys of children and stability, much less love. I came to Arx expecting that I would work for the good of my House and put such thoughts aside. I was prepared to be the 'Black Widow of Lenosia' until the end of my days.
And then, there was a chance meeting in the gardens. Talen irritated me that first meeting and irritated me for many after. Yet, over the course of every irritation, I found myself more and more drawn to him. And now...
I'm not sure I could imagine living without him, even when he’s being irritating. Especially when he’s being irritating.
He’s handsome, but he’s no charmer like Uncle Niccolo. He’s not a brave knight in shining armor, but I know without a doubt that he would lie, cheat, and steal to keep me safe, keep me happy, and give me whatever I desire. He didn’t fight a line of Champions, but he did volunteer to take a dangerous role in the upcoming battle only to prove himself worthy of me. It’s not a love story that a poet may choose to immortalize, but it is enough for me. More than enough.
Written By Eleyna
March 12, 2017, 6:44 p.m.(1/28/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Deva
From the outside, Deva Redrain and I shouldn’t get along at all. She’s a perfect Northerner. I exemplify my Southern heritage. She is fiery and passionate. I try to control myself and more than one has referred to me as ‘icy’. She says what she thinks. I calculate nearly every word before it passes my lips.
And yet, I find myself quite liking Deva. She reminds me of all the best parts of my sister and yet, within her, I see the same core of steel that resides within myself. Perhaps opposites are simply drawn to one another or, perhaps, the surface differences don’t matter that much. Not really.
And yet, I find myself quite liking Deva. She reminds me of all the best parts of my sister and yet, within her, I see the same core of steel that resides within myself. Perhaps opposites are simply drawn to one another or, perhaps, the surface differences don’t matter that much. Not really.
Written By Eleyna
March 5, 2017, 8:20 p.m.(1/14/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Juliet
As a fellow Lycene woman with a 'reputation' (although admittedly in a far different way), I've always felt a certain kinship with Juliet. I know what it is like hear whispers in your wake. It seems we've both done the thing we shouldn't and have embraced our reputations versus letting others define us. People don't tend to like it when you don't act ashamed. They take it even worse when you adopt their insults and turn them into something else altogether. Juliet does this even more beautifully than I have.
Despite the scandal, I think anyone that underestimates Lady Juliet is a fool. She's quicker than most. It almost makes one wonder if the 'reputation' is as accidental as it might appear to be...
Despite the scandal, I think anyone that underestimates Lady Juliet is a fool. She's quicker than most. It almost makes one wonder if the 'reputation' is as accidental as it might appear to be...
Written By Eleyna
March 5, 2017, 8:09 p.m.(1/14/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Serafine
You and I could not be more different. I am made of ice, you are made of fire. I have often allowed my head to overrule my heart. You jump into everything with your heart on your sleeve. You are dark and I am pale.
They say the only thing we have in common are our voices.
Yet, you are my sister despite our differences. We may not always understand each other, but the bond we share was forged to outlast any petty misunderstanding. Your joy is my joy. Your grief is my grief.
During the duel, even though you struck first blood on my intended, I was in awe of your strength and speed and the grace in which you handle a blade. I am so proud of everything you have accomplished since your return to us.
They say the only thing we have in common are our voices.
Yet, you are my sister despite our differences. We may not always understand each other, but the bond we share was forged to outlast any petty misunderstanding. Your joy is my joy. Your grief is my grief.
During the duel, even though you struck first blood on my intended, I was in awe of your strength and speed and the grace in which you handle a blade. I am so proud of everything you have accomplished since your return to us.
Written By Eleyna
Feb. 27, 2017, 12:42 p.m.(1/2/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Talen
The circumstances of my life have not made it easy for me to love. I lost my mother when I was young. My father hasn't always been reliable. I have married three times only to find myself too soon a widow in each of those cases. Through every loss, with every fresh grief, my heart hardened bit by bit until it became like a stone in my chest.
My sister always held out hope that someone would come along to soften me one day. She thought that it would take someone kind and loving and sweet-tempered to turn my heart from stone to flesh. She was wrong.
Instead, it took a mean-spirited cur to repeatedly annoy me into loving him out of spite. My stone heart couldn't have been softened by anything less than someone with a temperament whose effect on me is rather like the Caith nettles he wishes to use in his duel with my sister. He leaves me feeling frustrated, in pain, burning most of the time. But, above all, he makes me -feel-.
I am just as proud to be your intended as you are to be mine, my dark Prince. You are worth no longer being the Black Widow. I look forward to the new titles and paths the two of us will forge together.
My sister always held out hope that someone would come along to soften me one day. She thought that it would take someone kind and loving and sweet-tempered to turn my heart from stone to flesh. She was wrong.
Instead, it took a mean-spirited cur to repeatedly annoy me into loving him out of spite. My stone heart couldn't have been softened by anything less than someone with a temperament whose effect on me is rather like the Caith nettles he wishes to use in his duel with my sister. He leaves me feeling frustrated, in pain, burning most of the time. But, above all, he makes me -feel-.
I am just as proud to be your intended as you are to be mine, my dark Prince. You are worth no longer being the Black Widow. I look forward to the new titles and paths the two of us will forge together.
Written By Eleyna
Feb. 27, 2017, 12:18 a.m.(1/1/1006 AR)
Just for the record and for any Inquisitors who might be reading this:
I have never had anything to do with the untimely deaths of any of my previous husbands, as can be attested by the proper magistrates of those various districts in which the bodies were found.
I have never had anything to do with the untimely deaths of any of my previous husbands, as can be attested by the proper magistrates of those various districts in which the bodies were found.
Written By Eleyna
Feb. 26, 2017, 11:10 p.m.(1/1/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Talen
Finally.
Written By Eleyna
Feb. 22, 2017, 9:03 a.m.(12/19/1005 AR)
Truth is a potent thing. It has the power to change the course of a life, to change a destiny, to change the world. The truth of a father's weakness. The truth of love's reciprocation. The truth of a world that is stranger and more fantastic than most of us ever dreamed. There are reasons why some people avoid truth. If one is able to lie to everyone, including themselves, they don't need to confront the inevitable change that truth brings.
Those changes are not always positive. Sometimes, the truth can destroy. What does one do when facing that truth? Do you bear it and watch the world as you have known it burn? Do you hide it in hopes of protecting a fragile peace? Is there an answer that will ever satisfy?
Truth sits like a stone in my chest.
Those changes are not always positive. Sometimes, the truth can destroy. What does one do when facing that truth? Do you bear it and watch the world as you have known it burn? Do you hide it in hopes of protecting a fragile peace? Is there an answer that will ever satisfy?
Truth sits like a stone in my chest.
Written By Eleyna
Feb. 19, 2017, 11:42 p.m.(12/15/1005 AR)
Men are such babies. That sauce wasn't even that hot. You'd think they had been traumatized or something.
Also, Luca -ruined- that house plant.
Also, Luca -ruined- that house plant.
Written By Eleyna
Feb. 19, 2017, 7:33 p.m.(12/14/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Acacia
She's wickedly clever. That can be said without a single qualification needed due to her background and station in life. I never thought I would see the day that someone outsmarted Niccolo, yet that business with the sauce and the dare was brilliant.
I think the family and the Compact as a whole should be afraid if she and I figure out how to work together.
I think the family and the Compact as a whole should be afraid if she and I figure out how to work together.
Written By Eleyna
Feb. 19, 2017, 7:30 p.m.(12/14/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Luca
It's easy to be fooled by him. Lazy Luca. He's been indolent and lethargic since we were children, yet he's so charming that you can't really hold it against him. He does some impressively stupid things sometimes, but not because he's stupid necessarily. He just chases a thrill no matter what the consequences. He and I could not be less alike, yet, oddly, he's the one I find it easiest to spend time with.
He's also the only person in the family allowed to call me 'El'. None of the rest of you better get any ideas.
He's also the only person in the family allowed to call me 'El'. None of the rest of you better get any ideas.
Written By Eleyna
Feb. 14, 2017, 4:42 p.m.(12/4/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Pietro
Lord Pietro was once willing to fight a duel for me when he thought I had been insulted. I told him then that he was a fool and it was a waste of time. I couldn't tell him that it touched me. It's not my way. Not many seem to care much for my honor. Certainly, they do not care if I am insulted. Yet, he did. Perhaps it was just that he cared for my sister, but it was still appreciated.
And now he's gone and so is his brother. The Lyceum bleeds again when our previous wounds have barely healed.
And now he's gone and so is his brother. The Lyceum bleeds again when our previous wounds have barely healed.
Written By Eleyna
Feb. 12, 2017, 6:34 p.m.(11/28/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Isolde
I hate the circumstances that brought us closer together, but I cannot regret the chance to get to know her more as the women we are now than as we were as children.
Bright, fierce, utterly self-possessed. She doesn't flinch from darkness nor try to eradicate it. She embraces it and illuminates it, like moonlight sweeping over the world in the dead of night.
Yet, I also enjoy her humor and her wit. I love her because she's family, but I'm actually coming to like and rely upon her, which is altogether more rare.
Bright, fierce, utterly self-possessed. She doesn't flinch from darkness nor try to eradicate it. She embraces it and illuminates it, like moonlight sweeping over the world in the dead of night.
Yet, I also enjoy her humor and her wit. I love her because she's family, but I'm actually coming to like and rely upon her, which is altogether more rare.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.