Written By Rysen
April 6, 2020, 11:29 p.m.(1/24/1013 AR)
My retainer Deor has taken the death of Marquessa Arcadia very hard. He has asked to leave my service and dedicate his life to protecting the marquessa's daughter Lady Genevieve. I have granted his request, and though I am sick at heart to see him leave, it is not without some glimmer of contentment to know that, if he is accepted by House Stahlben, Lady Genevieve will be vigilantly guarded as long as Deor draws breath.
Meanwhile the High Inquisitor, Prince Alistair has assigned me an apprentice confessor named Leonce. He is fresh from Sanctum and eager to prove his skills to the Inquisition. Given my current assignment, I half suspect Prince Alistair doesn't much like the young man.
Meanwhile the High Inquisitor, Prince Alistair has assigned me an apprentice confessor named Leonce. He is fresh from Sanctum and eager to prove his skills to the Inquisition. Given my current assignment, I half suspect Prince Alistair doesn't much like the young man.
Written By Rysen
April 4, 2020, 10:38 p.m.(1/20/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Niklas
I was surprised to hear that none other than the genius playwright Prince Niklas Grayson set out with the party to find us in the wildlands outside of Stormwall.
Let it be recorded here that, beneath his wit and charm, there burns within the soul of Prince Niklas inextinguishable courage, not least of which was displayed in his choosing to wear what Rukhnis accounts an outfit consisting of orange hued ironwool punctuated with teal hedgehogs.
Let it be recorded here that, beneath his wit and charm, there burns within the soul of Prince Niklas inextinguishable courage, not least of which was displayed in his choosing to wear what Rukhnis accounts an outfit consisting of orange hued ironwool punctuated with teal hedgehogs.
Written By Rysen
April 4, 2020, 11:19 a.m.(1/19/1013 AR)
I did not expect to be back in Arx, writing again for Vellichor's journals.
Lady Mikani has given birth to twin baby girls, Lady Emma and Lady Arcadia. It is an indescribable feeling to hold Nakoa and watch the girls sleep in their cradles, or in the arms of their mother or Lady Zoey. Our family, Master Jules and Mistress Svana have been very supportive, and I am truly grateful.
So many people strove to bring us back. Thank you. It is because of you that I remain in the Dream to love and be loved by my family, bearing witness to the miracle of new life.
Lady Mikani has given birth to twin baby girls, Lady Emma and Lady Arcadia. It is an indescribable feeling to hold Nakoa and watch the girls sleep in their cradles, or in the arms of their mother or Lady Zoey. Our family, Master Jules and Mistress Svana have been very supportive, and I am truly grateful.
So many people strove to bring us back. Thank you. It is because of you that I remain in the Dream to love and be loved by my family, bearing witness to the miracle of new life.
Written By Rysen
March 29, 2020, 5:31 p.m.(1/8/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Arcadia
Every time I think of her, I am overwhelmed. I cry - not the good kind of tears that might be sorrowful but sweet, nor the kind that bring any kind of release. They are tears of misery - the tears of one who will never again see the face, or hear the voice of one he loves.
Arcadia sent me a letter, and wrote that she hopes she will find me on the Wheel, that true friendships last forever. It will be so, yet still it is the cruelest and most painful wound to lose one whom I love and cherish, for even as the legates and archlectors tell us of the Wheel, I've no memory of my friends from previous turns. All before my early years is darkness, and when I pass, only the spark of my being will live on. What of the memories of this beloved friend? They will haunt me until I die, never being fully expressed, nor having coalesced into all our lives could have been had she lived longer, or had I been the one to fall to prove how much she meant to me.
I met Cady at a party for Lady Willow Nightgold's birthday, where, in my cups, I said we were so close to the Black Hall, that I could throw my whiskey glass and hit our estate. Cady dared me to try it, and I did - probably almost killing Rukhnis, who had no doubt been shuffling soberly back to her quarters from a long shift in the clinic.
When the apostate Ivan Helianthus sent the Undrowned Sons to raze the Northlands, it was Arcadia who joined our forces under Princess Marian with hundreds of archers and light infantry from House Leary. She fought in that battle herself, and sent many barbarous mercenaries to the Abyss, who'd otherwise have slaughtered innocents in Graywater Bay.
Though she never spoke of it herself, Arcadia was a deadeye with bow and crossbow. I heard that she shot an arrow out of Lord Michael Bisland's hand, and it was her arrow that saved my life in Gray Forest. She took down an Abandoned champion, and granted me time to reach Lord Ian and Lady Brianna.
She was also a merciless prankster, who was constantly harassing me with stink or glitter bombs, or some other torment she'd invented. Once, some hours before Princess Tikva Grayson held a birthday party for one of her children, Cady sent me a message that puffed a horrid cloud of glitter all over me the moment I opened it. I bathed, and scrubbed furiously, but I could not get rid of the glitter. So I went to the Great Gray Hall, looking like a complete glittery fool. It was the only time I met His Majesty King Alaric, and among the most embarrassing moments of my life.
But it's the quiet times I'll miss most. We used to walk in the Redrain Gardens, or she would sit beside me in the grass while I played my lyre. Or we'd talk in the stone pools of the Golden Hart about big things and small, about what we hoped for and what we came to regret. She danced with me once in the Black Hall, just the two of us. There was no music, just a slow dance of friends on a quiet winter evening, illuminated by white starlight on the snow outside the window, and the warm glow of the fire in the hearth.
She passed from the Dream in my arms, and I will carry out her dying requests. Never will I be able to put into words what she means to me, and I will remember her until the end.
Farewell for now, Beloved Friend. You have laid a strong foundation for your House, and sewn seeds of friendship that will live forever. Even still, I wake up to write to you, and fall into tears knowing my words will not reach you, nor will I receive a reply. I walk past The Spirits and do not hear your voice. I miss you, and I always will.
Arcadia sent me a letter, and wrote that she hopes she will find me on the Wheel, that true friendships last forever. It will be so, yet still it is the cruelest and most painful wound to lose one whom I love and cherish, for even as the legates and archlectors tell us of the Wheel, I've no memory of my friends from previous turns. All before my early years is darkness, and when I pass, only the spark of my being will live on. What of the memories of this beloved friend? They will haunt me until I die, never being fully expressed, nor having coalesced into all our lives could have been had she lived longer, or had I been the one to fall to prove how much she meant to me.
I met Cady at a party for Lady Willow Nightgold's birthday, where, in my cups, I said we were so close to the Black Hall, that I could throw my whiskey glass and hit our estate. Cady dared me to try it, and I did - probably almost killing Rukhnis, who had no doubt been shuffling soberly back to her quarters from a long shift in the clinic.
When the apostate Ivan Helianthus sent the Undrowned Sons to raze the Northlands, it was Arcadia who joined our forces under Princess Marian with hundreds of archers and light infantry from House Leary. She fought in that battle herself, and sent many barbarous mercenaries to the Abyss, who'd otherwise have slaughtered innocents in Graywater Bay.
Though she never spoke of it herself, Arcadia was a deadeye with bow and crossbow. I heard that she shot an arrow out of Lord Michael Bisland's hand, and it was her arrow that saved my life in Gray Forest. She took down an Abandoned champion, and granted me time to reach Lord Ian and Lady Brianna.
She was also a merciless prankster, who was constantly harassing me with stink or glitter bombs, or some other torment she'd invented. Once, some hours before Princess Tikva Grayson held a birthday party for one of her children, Cady sent me a message that puffed a horrid cloud of glitter all over me the moment I opened it. I bathed, and scrubbed furiously, but I could not get rid of the glitter. So I went to the Great Gray Hall, looking like a complete glittery fool. It was the only time I met His Majesty King Alaric, and among the most embarrassing moments of my life.
But it's the quiet times I'll miss most. We used to walk in the Redrain Gardens, or she would sit beside me in the grass while I played my lyre. Or we'd talk in the stone pools of the Golden Hart about big things and small, about what we hoped for and what we came to regret. She danced with me once in the Black Hall, just the two of us. There was no music, just a slow dance of friends on a quiet winter evening, illuminated by white starlight on the snow outside the window, and the warm glow of the fire in the hearth.
She passed from the Dream in my arms, and I will carry out her dying requests. Never will I be able to put into words what she means to me, and I will remember her until the end.
Farewell for now, Beloved Friend. You have laid a strong foundation for your House, and sewn seeds of friendship that will live forever. Even still, I wake up to write to you, and fall into tears knowing my words will not reach you, nor will I receive a reply. I walk past The Spirits and do not hear your voice. I miss you, and I always will.
Written By Rysen
March 28, 2020, 11:12 a.m.(1/5/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Arcadia
[The following was delivered to the Great Archive of Vellichor by Lygeia, the retainer of Lord Rysen Crovane. She affirms that the following was written by the hand of Rukhnis al-Katibi at the request of Lord Rysen. The script matches that of the Crovane Minister of Medicine, and the seal on the parchment is Lord Rysen's. It has thus been submitted to the White Journals as requested. - Scholar Rufus Winesop, Disciple of Vellichor.]
Marquessa Arcadia died in battle in the Stormridge Mountains during a rescue mission. Petrichor and Gloria have delivered her into the arms of the Queen. I will write more when I reach Stormwall and can hold a quill.
Marquessa Arcadia died in battle in the Stormridge Mountains during a rescue mission. Petrichor and Gloria have delivered her into the arms of the Queen. I will write more when I reach Stormwall and can hold a quill.
Written By Rysen
March 7, 2020, 2:49 a.m.(11/19/1012 AR)
Relationship Note on Arcadia
Marquessa Arcadia wrote to me regarding my decision to join the crusade. With her permission, I've transcribed her missive here:
Ry,
You're an idiot.
This crusade is not well thought out. It's fever and passion. While agree on the abolition of slavery, of mercy and forgiveness, I question the motives behind this. Do you think of who will you slaughter on the field? Are they fighting because of a cause they believe in or are they slavers who were told that their families will be murdered if they don't fight? Do you believe slaughtering thousands of people will cause the change you're looking for? Prism asked us to break the chains and to forgive. There's more than one way, and I don't believe a bloody battle based on a fevered speech at the assembly is the way to go. In some ways, this talk of war, the fighting, it only makes us as bad as them.
I'm not sure why I've even bothered to write you my thoughts on this. You'll just dismiss me like you always do.
Cady
My friend has asked good questions and I owe her and Vellichor a thoughtful response.
It is hardly a secret that Grand Master Preston doesn't have the highest opinion of the shaman of the Northlands, and there is hardly a place more steeped in the Old Ways than Stormwall. When I asked him once why he and his knights rode so far north to fight the forces of the Gyre, he said, as many heroic men and women do when asked similar questions in similar circumstances, that it was his duty.
To take Grand Master Preston's answer at face value does not do justice to the true courage it took to struggle in the face of horror and death when many other choices lay open to him. The Templars might just as well left the Northlands to fend for themselves, while protecting the most strategic of the Faith's cathedrals and churches. Or perhaps, he would have heard that the forces of the Gyre were leashed minions and slaves, whose wills had been stolen, and refused to raise his sword against them. Or he might have stayed in Grand Cathedral and prayed for Mangata, her seraph or some other divine being to deliver us. But he chose instead to fight on the beach and in the streets of Stormwall, and thousands of Templars, along with may other warriors and healers of the Compact, died to protect my people and my homeland.
I too think of those who have been coerced to fight for the slavers of Eurus. I do not begrudge those who pray for deliverance, wish for, or invest in freedom, or seek a peaceful means of protecting the Compact and liberating the oppressed, but the gods and their seraphs take no actions that go unnoticed by their reflections, and I believe the teachings of Gloria recognize the value of military actions in service to the Faith and each other.
A journal recently from one I respect suggested that spilling blood among those who might use it to fuel their arts is folly - but I ask whether it might not be better to shed that blood in resistance to tyranny, since failing to stand against such an enemy most certainly does not prevent them from spilling the blood of any they enslave, and only grants them the opportunity to ritualize the act unimpeded.
I once observed a boy who'd been enslaved by the Prophet, murder several of his fellow slaves in the Saving Grace Hospital, one of which was his own mother who loved him. There is nothing I will not do to prevent that fate from befalling my son and my wife. If diplomacy or divine intervention may prevail, I will be grateful, but if Prince Damik'uhl'daja attempts to force the chains of slavery on those I have sworn to protect, I pray to Lagoma that I might conduct myself by the example of Sir Preston and Goldenpyre. If my choice is to watch my gods and traditions be overthrown, and my people enslaved, or send to the Wheel those whose choices have been stripped from them to preserve the possibility of choice itself, I will choose to fight. In doing so, I hope I understand rightly the wisdom of Prism and Skald, the teachings of Gloria, and my duties as a knight.
Ry,
You're an idiot.
This crusade is not well thought out. It's fever and passion. While agree on the abolition of slavery, of mercy and forgiveness, I question the motives behind this. Do you think of who will you slaughter on the field? Are they fighting because of a cause they believe in or are they slavers who were told that their families will be murdered if they don't fight? Do you believe slaughtering thousands of people will cause the change you're looking for? Prism asked us to break the chains and to forgive. There's more than one way, and I don't believe a bloody battle based on a fevered speech at the assembly is the way to go. In some ways, this talk of war, the fighting, it only makes us as bad as them.
I'm not sure why I've even bothered to write you my thoughts on this. You'll just dismiss me like you always do.
Cady
My friend has asked good questions and I owe her and Vellichor a thoughtful response.
It is hardly a secret that Grand Master Preston doesn't have the highest opinion of the shaman of the Northlands, and there is hardly a place more steeped in the Old Ways than Stormwall. When I asked him once why he and his knights rode so far north to fight the forces of the Gyre, he said, as many heroic men and women do when asked similar questions in similar circumstances, that it was his duty.
To take Grand Master Preston's answer at face value does not do justice to the true courage it took to struggle in the face of horror and death when many other choices lay open to him. The Templars might just as well left the Northlands to fend for themselves, while protecting the most strategic of the Faith's cathedrals and churches. Or perhaps, he would have heard that the forces of the Gyre were leashed minions and slaves, whose wills had been stolen, and refused to raise his sword against them. Or he might have stayed in Grand Cathedral and prayed for Mangata, her seraph or some other divine being to deliver us. But he chose instead to fight on the beach and in the streets of Stormwall, and thousands of Templars, along with may other warriors and healers of the Compact, died to protect my people and my homeland.
I too think of those who have been coerced to fight for the slavers of Eurus. I do not begrudge those who pray for deliverance, wish for, or invest in freedom, or seek a peaceful means of protecting the Compact and liberating the oppressed, but the gods and their seraphs take no actions that go unnoticed by their reflections, and I believe the teachings of Gloria recognize the value of military actions in service to the Faith and each other.
A journal recently from one I respect suggested that spilling blood among those who might use it to fuel their arts is folly - but I ask whether it might not be better to shed that blood in resistance to tyranny, since failing to stand against such an enemy most certainly does not prevent them from spilling the blood of any they enslave, and only grants them the opportunity to ritualize the act unimpeded.
I once observed a boy who'd been enslaved by the Prophet, murder several of his fellow slaves in the Saving Grace Hospital, one of which was his own mother who loved him. There is nothing I will not do to prevent that fate from befalling my son and my wife. If diplomacy or divine intervention may prevail, I will be grateful, but if Prince Damik'uhl'daja attempts to force the chains of slavery on those I have sworn to protect, I pray to Lagoma that I might conduct myself by the example of Sir Preston and Goldenpyre. If my choice is to watch my gods and traditions be overthrown, and my people enslaved, or send to the Wheel those whose choices have been stripped from them to preserve the possibility of choice itself, I will choose to fight. In doing so, I hope I understand rightly the wisdom of Prism and Skald, the teachings of Gloria, and my duties as a knight.
Written By Rysen
March 5, 2020, 6:46 p.m.(11/16/1012 AR)
When I first joined the Gold Order, Paragon Alexis took me to the Order's library, where she showed me a copy of a journal from someone who witnessed the last duel of Lagoma's knight against his great enemy. I recorded the passage in my own journal, and transcribe it here again:
"But under it, beneath it, all I saw was a man, suffering beyond all endurance and challenged beyond all measure, who refused to die while we still needed him. The wonders and terrors of that day may fade into song and legend, but all that I will truly remember til my last day is the image of a single soul struggling to stand as all the Abyss sought to make him kneel."
With the blessing of my cousin, I soon leave to join the crusade with Grand Master Preston. May Our Lady of Change watch over me, and guide me. Let my actions bring honor to the Houses of Crovane and Redrain, to the Gold Order and the Inquisition. Let my wife, my son and my twins take pride in my actions. Let me stand while there are those who need me, though all of the Abyss should seek to make me kneel.
"But under it, beneath it, all I saw was a man, suffering beyond all endurance and challenged beyond all measure, who refused to die while we still needed him. The wonders and terrors of that day may fade into song and legend, but all that I will truly remember til my last day is the image of a single soul struggling to stand as all the Abyss sought to make him kneel."
With the blessing of my cousin, I soon leave to join the crusade with Grand Master Preston. May Our Lady of Change watch over me, and guide me. Let my actions bring honor to the Houses of Crovane and Redrain, to the Gold Order and the Inquisition. Let my wife, my son and my twins take pride in my actions. Let me stand while there are those who need me, though all of the Abyss should seek to make me kneel.
Written By Rysen
March 2, 2020, 6:42 p.m.(11/10/1012 AR)
Winter is coming.
Written By Rysen
Feb. 27, 2020, midnight(10/28/1012 AR)
Relationship Note on Zoey
I spoke to Lord Ian Kennex recently to thank him for his efforts in the Red River Valley, and for the love of the gods and all of our senses of smell, I am hoping Lady Zoey might prevail upon her husband - at arrow point, if necessary - to either cleanse that foul and desecrated rag he calls a scarf in holy water, and lots and lots of whatever Marquessa Reigna accounts the most capable cleansing substance known to humanity, or burn it.
On second thought, I'm hoping she can just convince him to burn it.
On second thought, I'm hoping she can just convince him to burn it.
Written By Rysen
Feb. 20, 2020, 12:22 a.m.(10/14/1012 AR)
Though others will know better, I believe Copper did not council the people of Arvum to join the Undying Empire. There are very deep consequences to answering the question of "Who are you?" with the response "I am a resource" whether or not one might append "I am a person" in some subordinate way.
Is it the case that Writs only exist in the Undying Empire in order to protect its resources from dangers? The ability to change and grow, so well represented in the fires of Lagoma, is smothered by the coercive effects of Writs. What does mean to be "of no use?" Who decides what is useful?
Surely it can be argued that giving up part of one's freedom to the Emperor is better than giving all of one's identity to the Traitor. But what if there's another option? A way that one could have even greater freedom, and share it with others? To find protection in liberation, in the full scope of what it means to be a being that grows and changes and chooses? Is that not the true legacy of the Great Unbound? The most creative weaver? Is that not, perhaps, what we are being offered by the Seraph Prism?
Is it the case that Writs only exist in the Undying Empire in order to protect its resources from dangers? The ability to change and grow, so well represented in the fires of Lagoma, is smothered by the coercive effects of Writs. What does mean to be "of no use?" Who decides what is useful?
Surely it can be argued that giving up part of one's freedom to the Emperor is better than giving all of one's identity to the Traitor. But what if there's another option? A way that one could have even greater freedom, and share it with others? To find protection in liberation, in the full scope of what it means to be a being that grows and changes and chooses? Is that not the true legacy of the Great Unbound? The most creative weaver? Is that not, perhaps, what we are being offered by the Seraph Prism?
Written By Rysen
Feb. 19, 2020, 1:43 a.m.(10.431537698412699/18.16611111111111/1012.7859614748677 AR)
Relationship Note on Alarissa
One of the many benefits of being married to an Islander, alongside dutifully producing heirs and sailing to exotic locals, is the opportunity of enjoying the hospitality of High Lord Victus and Princess Alarissa Thrax. Their conversation lacks no depth, nor does their table want excitement. The fare, also, is of the most interesting variety.
We eat a great deal of seafood in Stormwall. I was raised on cod and mackerel - even shark on occasion, but the cuisine of the Mourning Isles is something entirely different. Lady Catalana Kennex insisted, surely for the benefit of expanding my palate, that I try eel eye. I found it to be quite a delicacy - one that surely must not be overindulged in order to preserve its unique texture and flavor. Indeed, I believe it's taste so exquisite, that once in a lifetime will surely suffice.
Lady Catalana's great generosity was noticed by the Princess-Consort of Maelstrom, who showed me the greatest favor, by introducing me to an Island tradition. I was presented with a bucket of saltwater in which floated several small octopi. Princess Alarissa kindly offered me the following instruction: "bite them before they bite you," and "afterward drown them in rum." I remember little after finishing off the bucket, but the rum of House Thrax is second only to the company at its tables, and with a bit of Rukhnis's hangover tea, I can say that the next morning left me with happy, if partial, memories and only the slightest headache.
We eat a great deal of seafood in Stormwall. I was raised on cod and mackerel - even shark on occasion, but the cuisine of the Mourning Isles is something entirely different. Lady Catalana Kennex insisted, surely for the benefit of expanding my palate, that I try eel eye. I found it to be quite a delicacy - one that surely must not be overindulged in order to preserve its unique texture and flavor. Indeed, I believe it's taste so exquisite, that once in a lifetime will surely suffice.
Lady Catalana's great generosity was noticed by the Princess-Consort of Maelstrom, who showed me the greatest favor, by introducing me to an Island tradition. I was presented with a bucket of saltwater in which floated several small octopi. Princess Alarissa kindly offered me the following instruction: "bite them before they bite you," and "afterward drown them in rum." I remember little after finishing off the bucket, but the rum of House Thrax is second only to the company at its tables, and with a bit of Rukhnis's hangover tea, I can say that the next morning left me with happy, if partial, memories and only the slightest headache.
Written By Rysen
Feb. 16, 2020, 11:49 a.m.(10.247523561507936/14.861319444444444/1012.770626963459 AR)
I visited the Expanse at the invitation of the Rivenshari along with Mikani, Nakoa and Rukhnis. The evening of music, dance and storytelling took place amid the wild beauty of that place, adorned with lanterns, and in the center of which was a massive fire. The Rivenshari are well known for the bells they weave into their hair and clothing that grant them a musical quality when they move. These bells were freely granted to those who visited, and, to the delight of the children present, most of us wore them in our hair.
Pleasing and heartwarming it was to see the children of the Compact gathered to hear the stories told by Lord Maru, Lady Zoey Lady Oili, the songs of Marquis Athaur, Lady Mikani, and Scout Rowenova, and the dances of Nina, Rukhnis and Lady Eshra. The performances were awe inspiring and wonderful, and even more so to see them through the eyes of the children of Rivenshari, Kennex, Crovane and Stahlben families. The next generation of the Compact's leadership will be steeped in the deep wisdom and beautiful arts of our collective culture.
The cookies of the Rivenshari cook Amelia are delicious. Though I failed to acquire any myself, Lord Ian found the means to gather some, and showed god-like generosity in sharing. I am very grateful to the Rivenshari for welcoming us to the Expanse. The only shadow on the brilliance of the memory is that my friend Lady Willow Nightgold, who at previous celebrations danced as only a free-spirited Northlands artist can, was not present. Wherever you are out there in Stonedeep, My Lady, you are dearly missed.
Pleasing and heartwarming it was to see the children of the Compact gathered to hear the stories told by Lord Maru, Lady Zoey Lady Oili, the songs of Marquis Athaur, Lady Mikani, and Scout Rowenova, and the dances of Nina, Rukhnis and Lady Eshra. The performances were awe inspiring and wonderful, and even more so to see them through the eyes of the children of Rivenshari, Kennex, Crovane and Stahlben families. The next generation of the Compact's leadership will be steeped in the deep wisdom and beautiful arts of our collective culture.
The cookies of the Rivenshari cook Amelia are delicious. Though I failed to acquire any myself, Lord Ian found the means to gather some, and showed god-like generosity in sharing. I am very grateful to the Rivenshari for welcoming us to the Expanse. The only shadow on the brilliance of the memory is that my friend Lady Willow Nightgold, who at previous celebrations danced as only a free-spirited Northlands artist can, was not present. Wherever you are out there in Stonedeep, My Lady, you are dearly missed.
Written By Rysen
Feb. 12, 2020, 8:01 p.m.(9.986304976851851/35.233078703703704/1012.748858748071 AR)
Relationship Note on Gunnar
I must congratulate my cousin, now Marquis Gunnar Melaeris, on his union. It is good to have an excuse to visit Astarrea to see him, and of course he will forgive me the evenings I spend in conversation with Marquessa Llewella, going over in detail the wondrous tales of Gold and Arumadin, until the morning light spreads her rosy fingers forth to outshine the stars.
Written By Rysen
Feb. 11, 2020, 2:50 p.m.(9.795949074074073/24.57314814814815/1012.7329957561728 AR)
Relationship Note on Reese
The Boast
O fie! Fie on you bejeweled combs and pins
Of alaricite, or star iron rich!
With all your gaudy, pompous luster bright -
Never will rest in hair of Glory's knight!
While I, though of soft silk in blooming pink,
Do to a fall of purest gold yet cling.
While you at seasons end are cast aside,
I with my knight to holy battle ride!
You boast expensive jewels that richly gleam?
Only till you are junked, and they redeemed.
So silence! Give your snobbish airs a rest,
And weep that Jayus me has highest blest!
For while you rust, I for all history
Will be named with peerless Princess Reese!
O fie! Fie on you bejeweled combs and pins
Of alaricite, or star iron rich!
With all your gaudy, pompous luster bright -
Never will rest in hair of Glory's knight!
While I, though of soft silk in blooming pink,
Do to a fall of purest gold yet cling.
While you at seasons end are cast aside,
I with my knight to holy battle ride!
You boast expensive jewels that richly gleam?
Only till you are junked, and they redeemed.
So silence! Give your snobbish airs a rest,
And weep that Jayus me has highest blest!
For while you rust, I for all history
Will be named with peerless Princess Reese!
Written By Rysen
Feb. 10, 2020, 12:36 p.m.(9.71788029100529/27.2012962962963/1012.7264900242504 AR)
Relationship Note on Ryhalt
Though I could not be present I am grateful to Duke Ryhalt and Lady Mabelle for hosting a poetry competition in Bold Espressions. Coffee is a most excellent subject for poetry, and I was delighted to hear that Nina, Scout Rowenova, and Lord Strozza performed their brilliant verse.
They tell me Duke Ryhalt performed my poem with great eloquence, far surpassing that of its author. Though I must now see if Rukhnis can treat deep wounds to my pride, I am very happy the duke found it worthy of recitation.
For those of us who chase the laurel crown of poetic fame, such events are a true joy of life. I only wish I could have been there in person. One day, perhaps, my verse will reach the ear and heart of His Majesty King Alaric IV, and my dream of becoming the Court Poet of Arvum will be a reality. Then truly would my promise to Gianna Whisper be fulfilled. Until then, my muse and I continue to draw our inspiration from Nature and all our fellow poets to please whatever audiences we may find.
They tell me Duke Ryhalt performed my poem with great eloquence, far surpassing that of its author. Though I must now see if Rukhnis can treat deep wounds to my pride, I am very happy the duke found it worthy of recitation.
For those of us who chase the laurel crown of poetic fame, such events are a true joy of life. I only wish I could have been there in person. One day, perhaps, my verse will reach the ear and heart of His Majesty King Alaric IV, and my dream of becoming the Court Poet of Arvum will be a reality. Then truly would my promise to Gianna Whisper be fulfilled. Until then, my muse and I continue to draw our inspiration from Nature and all our fellow poets to please whatever audiences we may find.
Written By Rysen
Feb. 7, 2020, 8:54 a.m.(9.492869130291005/21.600671296296294/1012.707739094191 AR)
Relationship Note on Rukhnis
The Knight and the Physician
One day I hope the Grand Vizier
And the Prophet of the Sands
Will curse and rue their dire foe:
The Knight of the Northlands,
For word will reach their greedy ears
That countless soldiers he had slain,
Who from the cruel Eurusi horde
Had wished Arvani to enslave.
And with him was a woman strong,
Beloved by spirits and the gods,
Who no weapon save her wisdom used
To save many from Death's jaws.
"The knight and the physician,
Tore like Lagoma's her'tic flame
Through our mighty army,"
The Vizier to the Prophet said,
"Nor did they merely decimate
Our slaves from Skal'daja,
But welcomed those whom freedom called
From fetters, one and all!
"The physician is Eurusi.
Her people laid to waste.
She should cower and be hopeless,
Yet countless lives she's saved!
"And with her stood the people
Who'd called the Desert Kingdoms home.
She to freedom lead them,
And your will has quite undone!"
"Silence!" shrieked the Prophet,
And beseeching powers dark
Reswore to conquer Arvum,
But failing still to mark
The courage of her defenders,
Like the knight and healer free;
Its foundation is the gift of Skald
Which through the heart of Arvum beats.
The threat we face is dire,
And no illusions do I hold -
Yet offer up this soaring verse
In aspirations bold!
One day I hope the Grand Vizier
And the Prophet of the Sands
Will curse and rue their dire foe:
The Knight of the Northlands,
For word will reach their greedy ears
That countless soldiers he had slain,
Who from the cruel Eurusi horde
Had wished Arvani to enslave.
And with him was a woman strong,
Beloved by spirits and the gods,
Who no weapon save her wisdom used
To save many from Death's jaws.
"The knight and the physician,
Tore like Lagoma's her'tic flame
Through our mighty army,"
The Vizier to the Prophet said,
"Nor did they merely decimate
Our slaves from Skal'daja,
But welcomed those whom freedom called
From fetters, one and all!
"The physician is Eurusi.
Her people laid to waste.
She should cower and be hopeless,
Yet countless lives she's saved!
"And with her stood the people
Who'd called the Desert Kingdoms home.
She to freedom lead them,
And your will has quite undone!"
"Silence!" shrieked the Prophet,
And beseeching powers dark
Reswore to conquer Arvum,
But failing still to mark
The courage of her defenders,
Like the knight and healer free;
Its foundation is the gift of Skald
Which through the heart of Arvum beats.
The threat we face is dire,
And no illusions do I hold -
Yet offer up this soaring verse
In aspirations bold!
Written By Rysen
Feb. 6, 2020, 12:38 p.m.(9.43255042989418/18.222824074074076/1012.7027125358245 AR)
Relationship Note on Kaldur
I offer prayers to Lagoma and Limerance in gratitude that Duke Kaldur has joined our family. It is difficult to believe that the outcome of Prince Damik'uhl'daja's voyage to Sungreet will be anything other than the staging a massive invasion of Arvum, as the probability of House Helianthus's diplomacy turning back a fanatic and enraged enemy seems nigh impossible. Duke Kaldur's foresight is likely to be the great aegis of my people.
Deep scars are left on those who have seen the sorrowful fields of corpses, looked on flames consuming places once beheld in the comfort and happiness of childhood, sought for beloved friends and found them gone. Again a great and loathsome enemy, bent on destruction and enslavement, threatens the Isles, the Eastern Coast of Arvum, the Compact itself.
Duke Kaldur has worked tirelessly to prepare Stormwall for what is to come. He is an excellent military leader - an organized man of great energy, who has seen the axemen and women of Crovane receive expert training and well wrought wargear. I am grateful for his efforts and his genius in the arts of war.
As for myself, I will take up my swords and fulfill my oath made after witnessing the destruction of my homeland. Having no expertise nor talent for leadership of soldiers, I must make my mark on the battlefield. The great warriors of Arvum have trained me well, and made my body and soul a weapon for the protection of the Compact and the glory of our gods. Whether under the command of the Princess Marian, Princess Reese, Grandmaster Preston, or Prince Laric, it is my desire to fight from the beginning of this campaign till its end.
I continue my training with renewed vigor and purpose, and seek the blessing of the Mother Mercy, Sister Sophie, that I might be ready when the time comes.
Deep scars are left on those who have seen the sorrowful fields of corpses, looked on flames consuming places once beheld in the comfort and happiness of childhood, sought for beloved friends and found them gone. Again a great and loathsome enemy, bent on destruction and enslavement, threatens the Isles, the Eastern Coast of Arvum, the Compact itself.
Duke Kaldur has worked tirelessly to prepare Stormwall for what is to come. He is an excellent military leader - an organized man of great energy, who has seen the axemen and women of Crovane receive expert training and well wrought wargear. I am grateful for his efforts and his genius in the arts of war.
As for myself, I will take up my swords and fulfill my oath made after witnessing the destruction of my homeland. Having no expertise nor talent for leadership of soldiers, I must make my mark on the battlefield. The great warriors of Arvum have trained me well, and made my body and soul a weapon for the protection of the Compact and the glory of our gods. Whether under the command of the Princess Marian, Princess Reese, Grandmaster Preston, or Prince Laric, it is my desire to fight from the beginning of this campaign till its end.
I continue my training with renewed vigor and purpose, and seek the blessing of the Mother Mercy, Sister Sophie, that I might be ready when the time comes.
Written By Rysen
Jan. 22, 2020, 11:38 p.m.(8.394560598544974/16.09539351851852/1012.6162133832121 AR)
I had been gone a while, and it warmed my heart to return and see some of my friends and family again. I encountered my cousin briefly, and her kind words brought me all the happiness one feels in returning to a place where he or she belongs. I stood for a while gazing at the now empty chambers that I had prepared for my sister when she first arrived in Arx. Wherever she is, I hope she is happy and that Lagmoa's light guides her way. My wife told me she is for a second time with child. The news filled me with joy, and I cannot wait to meet Nakoa's brother or sister.
Marquessa Arcadia, too, I had the fortune of seeing, and with her help I prepare for a journey I have long hoped to make. The time has come, and I am grateful to have the Marquessa's support. She pledged it so long ago, and so much has happened in the intervening seasons since, that I scarcely expected her to face looming danger, with so little to gain, save on behalf of her friend. Yet she shows the immeasurable value of her honor and friendship when it matters most - and I will never forget it.
By chance I also had the pleasure of the company of Lady Colette Laurent, whose charms and daring reminded me of perilous quest we'd lately undertaken with the Gold Order. I could ask for no better company with which to enjoy some tea and conversation. I found myself looking for any excuse to ask her about the prized commodity of her homeland, just to hear her pronounce, in her beautiful Oathlands accent, the word "'oney."
Poet's hearts are wild, fiery things, and must be shielded from the public, lest the raw and uncouth energy of emotion shock and bewilder them. Thus I must leave my encounter with Rukhnis unwritten, save only to say that no man has ever experienced a more joyful meeting, nor a more sorrowful parting than when I saw her in the library of the Black Hall, or when she turned her horse from the wooden gates of T____ in the west of Stormwall.
Marquessa Arcadia, too, I had the fortune of seeing, and with her help I prepare for a journey I have long hoped to make. The time has come, and I am grateful to have the Marquessa's support. She pledged it so long ago, and so much has happened in the intervening seasons since, that I scarcely expected her to face looming danger, with so little to gain, save on behalf of her friend. Yet she shows the immeasurable value of her honor and friendship when it matters most - and I will never forget it.
By chance I also had the pleasure of the company of Lady Colette Laurent, whose charms and daring reminded me of perilous quest we'd lately undertaken with the Gold Order. I could ask for no better company with which to enjoy some tea and conversation. I found myself looking for any excuse to ask her about the prized commodity of her homeland, just to hear her pronounce, in her beautiful Oathlands accent, the word "'oney."
Poet's hearts are wild, fiery things, and must be shielded from the public, lest the raw and uncouth energy of emotion shock and bewilder them. Thus I must leave my encounter with Rukhnis unwritten, save only to say that no man has ever experienced a more joyful meeting, nor a more sorrowful parting than when I saw her in the library of the Black Hall, or when she turned her horse from the wooden gates of T____ in the west of Stormwall.
Written By Rysen
Dec. 28, 2019, 8:26 p.m.(6/17/1012 AR)
How does one destroy a Butcher?
The same way one destroys everything else: piece by piece.
The same way one destroys everything else: piece by piece.
Written By Rysen
Dec. 28, 2019, 10:08 a.m.(6/16/1012 AR)
Relationship Note on Fianna
When we were young, Dame Judyth used to make me, Locke and Lenne read _The History of the Leaders of the Oathlands_ by Scholar Abelard (though she allowed us to read the sagas of the heroes of the Northlands in the winter), and then compose arguments as to which leaders were best. Lenne and I unfailingly chose great warriors or adventurers, but Dame Judyth most often sided with Locke. Vision, patience and love of one's people are the greatest qualities in a leader, she'd say.
Growing up, it was easy to admire Asger and his limitless ambition. My love is with him still. As I grow older and hear the voices of our people, and think of the future in which my son's life will unfold, I recognize that my House is blessed with a truly great leader. My cousin Fianna has vision, and a patient wisdom, which forms a firm foundation for us all. When family members disagree, she listens to each and makes a decision such that all are treated with respect and dignity. It unites us. It gives us purpose. Her energy is spent in projects that benefit the lives of all who call the duchy of Stormwall home, and a deep and endless spring of strength flows within her.
When future generations read the sagas of the Northlands to compose arguments for the greatest leaders, whomever the brightest sibling chooses, Duchess Fianna Crovane will certainly be among them.
Growing up, it was easy to admire Asger and his limitless ambition. My love is with him still. As I grow older and hear the voices of our people, and think of the future in which my son's life will unfold, I recognize that my House is blessed with a truly great leader. My cousin Fianna has vision, and a patient wisdom, which forms a firm foundation for us all. When family members disagree, she listens to each and makes a decision such that all are treated with respect and dignity. It unites us. It gives us purpose. Her energy is spent in projects that benefit the lives of all who call the duchy of Stormwall home, and a deep and endless spring of strength flows within her.
When future generations read the sagas of the Northlands to compose arguments for the greatest leaders, whomever the brightest sibling chooses, Duchess Fianna Crovane will certainly be among them.
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