Written By Juniper
June 14, 2019, 4:04 p.m.(4/14/1011 AR)
Petrichor was the first god we came to know in the mountains. There was no escaping him. Our camp had carved a little space for humanity out of rock and forest. When I was allowed to toddle from our hut for the first time, I was greeted by the purple mountains with their white caps, with the fervent green shadows of old trees and the sound of water trickling over stone. His cycle dictated our lives, as it did for all living things there. The clever goats with their crowns of horn were his, and the screaming cats, and the grumpy bears keen on sleep.
Petrichor was the first god we came to know, and the first god we came to take for granted-- and sometimes to resent, if a big cat took one of our scouts, or our tiny gardens failed to produce. Not all of us looked to the Faith there but those who did, I remember them grumbling about a poor harvest, or hissing grief over a person lost. Prayers or rage didn't matter. These things would happen, because that was the cycle, and the price of living surrounded by wilderness. We carved ourselves a little space but we only borrowed it from something greater than ourselves.
I always pictured him a distant sort of god. Not distant through distance but distant because nature is implacable and keeps to its rules, no matter what. It will have its way in spite of our best efforts. Its dream is a deep thing, slow and endless.
Petrichor was the first god we came to know, and the first god we came to take for granted-- and sometimes to resent, if a big cat took one of our scouts, or our tiny gardens failed to produce. Not all of us looked to the Faith there but those who did, I remember them grumbling about a poor harvest, or hissing grief over a person lost. Prayers or rage didn't matter. These things would happen, because that was the cycle, and the price of living surrounded by wilderness. We carved ourselves a little space but we only borrowed it from something greater than ourselves.
I always pictured him a distant sort of god. Not distant through distance but distant because nature is implacable and keeps to its rules, no matter what. It will have its way in spite of our best efforts. Its dream is a deep thing, slow and endless.
Written By Juniper
June 9, 2019, 6:21 p.m.(4/4/1011 AR)
Alright, Lagoma. Alright.
You set your mark on everything. Every choice made by Skald enacts your change, Gild's efforts in the world to civilize and improve bring about your will. You and Death are near sisters, handing to each other the care and growth of we who fall into your care, her care. The sealing of a vow to Limerance enforces change. Petrichor's dominion is governed by the cycle of your seasons. Even the Thirteenth, whose call to self-reflection and awareness, leads to those who answer it working to improve themselves. Gloria's honoured warriors rely on your healers to see them through their losses, and they and Jayus' inspired work to change and grow their abilities. All the others too... you're at the heart of the Dream, your touch subtle and inescapable. You are the light, and the warmth, and the comfort, ever in support of your brothers and sisters, always a beacon to us.
I understand. I answer.
You set your mark on everything. Every choice made by Skald enacts your change, Gild's efforts in the world to civilize and improve bring about your will. You and Death are near sisters, handing to each other the care and growth of we who fall into your care, her care. The sealing of a vow to Limerance enforces change. Petrichor's dominion is governed by the cycle of your seasons. Even the Thirteenth, whose call to self-reflection and awareness, leads to those who answer it working to improve themselves. Gloria's honoured warriors rely on your healers to see them through their losses, and they and Jayus' inspired work to change and grow their abilities. All the others too... you're at the heart of the Dream, your touch subtle and inescapable. You are the light, and the warmth, and the comfort, ever in support of your brothers and sisters, always a beacon to us.
I understand. I answer.
Written By Juniper
June 1, 2019, 4:36 p.m.(3/16/1011 AR)
Change is fueled by choice. No one chooses hoping for the worst and healing... healing is always change for the better. I chose to help the low, to heal with my own two hands, and left greater heights behind to do it. But from on high, the path is wider. More lives touched.
I have other choices to make. I want to make them. But I'm in the fire now and everything hurts. There's time. There will be time. I hope there's time.
I have other choices to make. I want to make them. But I'm in the fire now and everything hurts. There's time. There will be time. I hope there's time.
Written By Juniper
May 31, 2019, 4:58 a.m.(3/13/1011 AR)
Seeing to the wounded and ill, including myself, while limited to the use of one hand is... inconvenient. Another layer of empathy for those I look after. A better understanding of why patience frays, with body and self and those around.
Such unexpected lessons to be found in the unanticipated. Thank goodness for the constant that is a good Northern whisky, to help with the pain once all my chores are done.
Such unexpected lessons to be found in the unanticipated. Thank goodness for the constant that is a good Northern whisky, to help with the pain once all my chores are done.
Written By Juniper
May 26, 2019, 1:35 a.m.(3/3/1011 AR)
For my birthday, I caught a fish, met someone new, laughed with those I love and did /not/ fall into the river. I deem the coming year a successful one, all of the signs and portents are there.
Written By Juniper
May 11, 2019, 5:31 p.m.(2/2/1011 AR)
Hands blistered, feet sore, back aching, and still I smile to have the blessings I do in this life-- and all of them, or most of them, in the form of the friends who love me, and whom I love in return. There is no end to this feeling, no bottom to this well. I am the most fortunate of women.
Written By Juniper
May 3, 2019, 3:40 p.m.(1/14/1011 AR)
The hospice now has a floor of wood instead one of beaten earth! And the battle I waged with the spiders who had taken up in the hearth has also been won. They have been moved to the rear yard, where they are tucked into a tent that I stuffed with hay for warmth. I'm sure they meant no harm but it was extremely disturbing to be swarmed while attempting to clear out years of old ashes and soot from their chosen home. Luckily no one was present to witness my screams or contortions as they won the first battle of that particular war.
The windows have begun to go in, which means a great deal more light when there is light to be had... not always a certainty with the snow being a near constant. It's beautiful and reminds me of home, but it also reminds me that I need to be done in my renovation sooner rather than later. Every cot I open will be one less person found in the thaw come spring.
But I have my first client now, an old man named Layne. That's all I know of him /from/ him but from the scars he wears, and the tattered leathers he was wearing when he wandered into the hospice, I think he was a soldier, maybe, or perhaps a mercenary. Whatever he's seen, whatever he's done, and the combination of the years upon him has left him disconnected from the world. I've found some small ways to soothe his tremors and hope that now he's out of the cold, with a full stomach, and the little tasks he's capable of performing, he might achieve a little more stability. Failing that, he is at least safe, warm, and valued.
Though between his stoop and my lack of height, I'm glad I have other volunteers to help me with the painting of the walls. They are very tall and we are very not.
The windows have begun to go in, which means a great deal more light when there is light to be had... not always a certainty with the snow being a near constant. It's beautiful and reminds me of home, but it also reminds me that I need to be done in my renovation sooner rather than later. Every cot I open will be one less person found in the thaw come spring.
But I have my first client now, an old man named Layne. That's all I know of him /from/ him but from the scars he wears, and the tattered leathers he was wearing when he wandered into the hospice, I think he was a soldier, maybe, or perhaps a mercenary. Whatever he's seen, whatever he's done, and the combination of the years upon him has left him disconnected from the world. I've found some small ways to soothe his tremors and hope that now he's out of the cold, with a full stomach, and the little tasks he's capable of performing, he might achieve a little more stability. Failing that, he is at least safe, warm, and valued.
Though between his stoop and my lack of height, I'm glad I have other volunteers to help me with the painting of the walls. They are very tall and we are very not.
Written By Juniper
April 29, 2019, 6:02 p.m.(1/6/1011 AR)
With fondness and a little sadness, I've resigned my place at Whisper House. It has been my home for the years I've been in Arx and the people there, my duties there, have helped shape me from the optimistic girl I was to the confident woman I am now. I thank them for all they gave me and hope I was able to leave them a better institution as well.
But with my tenure done there, my surname surrendered and my place no longer among the titles and glittering, I turn to my true purpose: building a better world.
I've secured an old building beside the river in the lower wars. There I'll be overseeing construction of Elysian Hospice, a place where common folk like me can come to have their bodies, minds and souls tended to, at no cost to themselves. The poor, the cast off, the lost and hurt and hopeless, I will make a little sanctuary for them.
I was born to soot and mud. I remember the sourness of an empty belly, and winter-deep tears when the old and newborn were lost to ice and fever, and the walls of families whose strong young hopefuls were lost to the attack of wild animals or hostile tribes. I remember what despair looks like, how it bites deep into the spirit and touches everything else, mind, heart and body.
The work I've done before this is nothing to what I'll be able to do now, as just Juniper.
I won't do it alone though. Already to many have helped. Mistress Josephine, Sir Jeffeth, Sir Corbin, Marquessa Rhea, Marquessa Reigna, Master Dusk, Prince Laric, Duchess Vanora, Radiant Bliss... with donations, advice, counsel and encouragement, they and others have already done much to make my dreams into a budding reality. Thank you, all. You are dear and sweet and loved.
But with my tenure done there, my surname surrendered and my place no longer among the titles and glittering, I turn to my true purpose: building a better world.
I've secured an old building beside the river in the lower wars. There I'll be overseeing construction of Elysian Hospice, a place where common folk like me can come to have their bodies, minds and souls tended to, at no cost to themselves. The poor, the cast off, the lost and hurt and hopeless, I will make a little sanctuary for them.
I was born to soot and mud. I remember the sourness of an empty belly, and winter-deep tears when the old and newborn were lost to ice and fever, and the walls of families whose strong young hopefuls were lost to the attack of wild animals or hostile tribes. I remember what despair looks like, how it bites deep into the spirit and touches everything else, mind, heart and body.
The work I've done before this is nothing to what I'll be able to do now, as just Juniper.
I won't do it alone though. Already to many have helped. Mistress Josephine, Sir Jeffeth, Sir Corbin, Marquessa Rhea, Marquessa Reigna, Master Dusk, Prince Laric, Duchess Vanora, Radiant Bliss... with donations, advice, counsel and encouragement, they and others have already done much to make my dreams into a budding reality. Thank you, all. You are dear and sweet and loved.
Written By Juniper
April 27, 2019, 4:51 a.m.(1/1/1011 AR)
I have need of a new project. I have handed away all of my best ideas to others and left none for myself. I've conquered new languages, mended old rifts, brought others together, counseled others to (wisely) keep apart, and delivered fresh enthusiasm to ancient things. I've made a comfortable place for myself at Whisper House, and seen one confirmed wonder which few others have enjoyed. I've healed the sick of heart and sick of body, provoked smiles and maybe a few sighs. But I have fallen into the trap of looking at (or listening to) the achievements of others, long-winded and much celebrated, and find myself not at all content with the little I've achieved. I haven't left a deep enough mark.
I'm not sure what to do next. Twenty-one is a little too young to have peaked.
I'm not sure what to do next. Twenty-one is a little too young to have peaked.
Written By Juniper
Feb. 3, 2019, 7:09 p.m.(7/4/1010 AR)
I've found myself in possession of more silver than I've ever had before. In my heart of hearts, I'm not a woman who needs a lot. My wardrobe and jewelry box hold enough to keep me for years, since I don't mind wearing things more than once. Whisper House provides me with all else I need. I'm content!
So I solicit all reasonable suggestions and proposals on how to invest these funds. Send word.
So I solicit all reasonable suggestions and proposals on how to invest these funds. Send word.
Written By Juniper
Jan. 18, 2019, 4:21 p.m.(5/20/1010 AR)
As a commoner, it is very easy to feel that I will have no say in my own fate. What will be will be decided by those so far above my station that even I, as Whisper, have never met or interacted with them.
But the Commoners' Council exists so that our voices are not overlooked.
If you are Crownsworn, or if you are sworn to other fealties but of common birth, please /please/ reach out to the members of the Commoners' Council to express your views, concerns, and beliefs on the shape our future should take. You need not be named to anyone with power. You need not fear disapproval, judgment or sanction for speaking. That's why we're here. We will speak your views aloud and make certain that the highest of the high know and understand.
Reach out to us. Speak. Help us determine our future.
But the Commoners' Council exists so that our voices are not overlooked.
If you are Crownsworn, or if you are sworn to other fealties but of common birth, please /please/ reach out to the members of the Commoners' Council to express your views, concerns, and beliefs on the shape our future should take. You need not be named to anyone with power. You need not fear disapproval, judgment or sanction for speaking. That's why we're here. We will speak your views aloud and make certain that the highest of the high know and understand.
Reach out to us. Speak. Help us determine our future.
Written By Juniper
Jan. 9, 2019, 3:10 p.m.(5/1/1010 AR)
Due to the latest outbreak of hostilities within Arvum, and the timing of said outbreaks, I offer my services as Whisper's Peacemaker to any liege or vassal House interested in resolving these hostilities. I will charge only half my accustomed fee and will ask for payment only after treaties are signed.
If you wish to end this without further loss of life, please send a messenger to Whisper House, care of Juniper Whisper and the Radiants.
If you wish to end this without further loss of life, please send a messenger to Whisper House, care of Juniper Whisper and the Radiants.
Written By Juniper
Jan. 6, 2019, 6:26 p.m.(4/23/1010 AR)
I've discovered that learning one language leads to an increased desire to learn others. I've (mostly) mastered Northlands Shav'arvani (thank you, Lord Mirk, for being so patient a teacher!), I speak Oathlands Shav'arvani (though with a Southern accent? I'm not sure how that happened) and now I find myself looking to learn something more unique.
It will certainly help my diplomatic efforts, to have so many languages. When you learn a language, you also learn a culture, and take on a piece of that in yourself. Bridges are built with such empathy.
Also it's really fun to be able to swear in ways others might not understand.
Yes, Bliss, I swear!
Sometimes.
It will certainly help my diplomatic efforts, to have so many languages. When you learn a language, you also learn a culture, and take on a piece of that in yourself. Bridges are built with such empathy.
Also it's really fun to be able to swear in ways others might not understand.
Yes, Bliss, I swear!
Sometimes.
Written By Juniper
Jan. 6, 2019, 6:17 p.m.(4/23/1010 AR)
To have come from nothing to become a woman bestowed a title by a foreign power is not a leap I thought to ever take. To climb in the Compact, yes, and to grow within Whisper House... I want that and I mean to do it. But I hadn't thought to be acknowledged by peoples outside of the Compact first, and every time I think of it, I glow a little.
Juniper Whisper, Most Kind, Peacemaker.
I like it almost as much as I like being the First Among Plant Named Whispers. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
(This entry is ended with a tiny sketch of a little blossoming plant with glossy leaves and a smiley face drawn upon one of its flowers)
Juniper Whisper, Most Kind, Peacemaker.
I like it almost as much as I like being the First Among Plant Named Whispers. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
(This entry is ended with a tiny sketch of a little blossoming plant with glossy leaves and a smiley face drawn upon one of its flowers)
Written By Juniper
Dec. 23, 2018, 4:22 p.m.(3/22/1010 AR)
What a whirlwind the past week has been. But each time I've felt at my lowest a little light has come into my life to show me the way ahead. No matter what we each might feel, alone and in the dark, we as a people continue to look forward. What can we do but hope, so long as there's good still in the world? And there is good here, so very much of it.
Thank you to those who voted for me to take a seat on the Commoners' Council. When I submitted my name I did it without expectations and it was the surprise I needed to get through the despair-- and so really, in wanting to help others, you've helped me! Thank you. I'll do everything I can to make sure that your concerns, questions, and problems are heard and resolved.
Thank you.
Thank you to those who voted for me to take a seat on the Commoners' Council. When I submitted my name I did it without expectations and it was the surprise I needed to get through the despair-- and so really, in wanting to help others, you've helped me! Thank you. I'll do everything I can to make sure that your concerns, questions, and problems are heard and resolved.
Thank you.
Written By Juniper
Dec. 17, 2018, 6:52 p.m.(3/10/1010 AR)
1. Which projects are nearest and dearest to your heart, that you hope to see organized and realized through this board?
I have no personal projects planned and no intention to use the Commoners' Council as a means to promote my own interests. What I do intend is to use my own contacts, networks and resources to bring the needs of Arx's common folk to fruition. If a well has soured or a wall fallen, if there are shortages or desire for expansion, my strength lies in connecting the people capable of answering the need, and supporting them to make it a reality.
I listen, and I understand.
2. When you run into intransigent opposition - furious Peers, someone stonewalling you for their own political gain, injustices committed against you - how will you attempt to resolve these matters?
I also am very, very diplomatic! I've brought feuding nobility to the table and brokered peace or truces. I navigate bureaucratic mazes for others. I right wrongs, and heal, and improve. To be able to deploy these skills not just for the nobility but for those who were born to the same station as me is a joy. I've tried to do so, where I can, but this would certainly provide more opportunities.
3. What is it about you that should make us select you to represent our concerns over any of the other candidates?
The other candidates are all very strong, and very worthy. I can't argue that I'm a better prospect than any of them but whether I am voted in to take a seat at the Council or not, I'll continue to work to improve the lives of everyone I'm responsible for, the lives of everyone I meet.
I have no personal projects planned and no intention to use the Commoners' Council as a means to promote my own interests. What I do intend is to use my own contacts, networks and resources to bring the needs of Arx's common folk to fruition. If a well has soured or a wall fallen, if there are shortages or desire for expansion, my strength lies in connecting the people capable of answering the need, and supporting them to make it a reality.
I listen, and I understand.
2. When you run into intransigent opposition - furious Peers, someone stonewalling you for their own political gain, injustices committed against you - how will you attempt to resolve these matters?
I also am very, very diplomatic! I've brought feuding nobility to the table and brokered peace or truces. I navigate bureaucratic mazes for others. I right wrongs, and heal, and improve. To be able to deploy these skills not just for the nobility but for those who were born to the same station as me is a joy. I've tried to do so, where I can, but this would certainly provide more opportunities.
3. What is it about you that should make us select you to represent our concerns over any of the other candidates?
The other candidates are all very strong, and very worthy. I can't argue that I'm a better prospect than any of them but whether I am voted in to take a seat at the Council or not, I'll continue to work to improve the lives of everyone I'm responsible for, the lives of everyone I meet.
Written By Juniper
Dec. 13, 2018, 11:53 p.m.(3/3/1010 AR)
Happy birthday to me! Another year older and still a Whisper!
Sorry, Marquessa.
Sorry, Marquessa.
Written By Juniper
Dec. 12, 2018, 9:37 p.m.(3/1/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Gianna
Oh no! I'm going to have to redesign her Whisper House doll!
But it's a worthwhile thing to have to do. Congratulations to the newest Softest Whisper, I am so very much looking forward to seeing her put her own unique stamp upon the role. It's a tradition for our Softests to do so, after all!
But it's a worthwhile thing to have to do. Congratulations to the newest Softest Whisper, I am so very much looking forward to seeing her put her own unique stamp upon the role. It's a tradition for our Softests to do so, after all!
Written By Juniper
Dec. 11, 2018, 5:01 p.m.(2/26/1010 AR)
A little more than a year ago, I arrived in Arx. Had you told me then that I would be spending the days leading to my birthday-- last year spent in a whirlwind of dress fittings and social occasions-- neck-deep in copies of old journals, new maps, and fresh notes, I wouldn't have believed you. Paperwork! Me! But time changes a person, they say... and it must be true, because I'm enjoying the challenge of sifting through the past, in order to affect the future. There is no telling what next year will bring, what I'll look back on and think, "I couldn't have predicted that." How wonderful it is, to live and grow and move forward!
Written By Juniper
Dec. 9, 2018, 4:09 a.m.(2/21/1010 AR)
I've submitted my name for consideration as a member of the Commoners' Council! I hesitated at first-- little Juniper of the Mountains, come from a mining camp to sitting at Council with others to debate weighty matters which affect so many lives? It seemed too great a thing. But then someone said it wouldn't be a poor thing to have a Peacemaker at the table, and I do try to be that. So in my name went, and double the filing fee too, so that if there's someone else who might want to apply but can't afford it, their fee will be paid.
I'm not certain how to present myself as someone worthy of votes. I can spin an alliance between ducal Houses, soothe a soldier's troubled heart, or bring a smile from tears, but outlining why I deserve something more than someone else-- and there are some brilliant people stepping forward as contenders!-- doesn't feel as comfortable to me.
So I decided: from now until the vote, I invite questions as to my suitability. If there is a question you'd like to put to the eventual Council, I'll give my own opinion. If there's a hope you have for the future and want to know how I would help build it, write to me for an answer. If I accidentally stepped on your toe in the street and didn't immediately apologize and you want to know /why/, now's your time!
I will, as ever, be honest in expressing myself.
I'm not certain how to present myself as someone worthy of votes. I can spin an alliance between ducal Houses, soothe a soldier's troubled heart, or bring a smile from tears, but outlining why I deserve something more than someone else-- and there are some brilliant people stepping forward as contenders!-- doesn't feel as comfortable to me.
So I decided: from now until the vote, I invite questions as to my suitability. If there is a question you'd like to put to the eventual Council, I'll give my own opinion. If there's a hope you have for the future and want to know how I would help build it, write to me for an answer. If I accidentally stepped on your toe in the street and didn't immediately apologize and you want to know /why/, now's your time!
I will, as ever, be honest in expressing myself.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.