Written By Rowan
Feb. 8, 2017, 5:44 p.m.(11/19/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Bianca
Interruption seems to be the theme of my meetings with Lady Bianca Wyrmguard, but that's no fault of her own. As adept a mind as she seems to be, I doubt that she has the mental acumen or the temperament to turn the day to fucking night, even if it might get her out of conversing with the likes of me. She's a steady thinker, and holds to the facts without being blown too far from the road by every curious wind. I'm glad to have made her acquaintance.
Written By Rowan
Feb. 8, 2017, 1:24 p.m.(11/18/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Aislin
We started at far sides of the same field. Dispute lead to debate, debate to discourse, discourse to discussion. There is more common ground between us than I'd have expected from the start, and though the paths we're taking are decidedly different, we seek the same place. For as long as our paths run close, I'll happily enjoy her company and insights.
Written By Rowan
Feb. 5, 2017, 10:42 p.m.(11/11/1005 AR)
Sage and Crow have arrived. The others will not be far behind. The Autumn always turns my mind to thoughts of home and family. The season has always drawn me back to them from my wanderings in the past. The twins have grown a great deal in their first year, and have brought smiles to the worried faces of many of my kin. Best of all, thought...There is no greater defense against a Muiryn than a chubby little babbling face with grabby hands. I might survive the year un-throttled.
Written By Rowan
Feb. 5, 2017, 10:33 p.m.(11/11/1005 AR)
A man had two daughters, and between the two of them, they were the whole of his world. The man had pleased the spirits, and they offered him a boon, and he wished to use it to the benefit of his dear daughters.
When he visited the first, a gardener and herbalist, he asked her what she might wish for. "All things are good with me," she told her father. "I only wish that there might be a heavy rain to see my plants through the season without wilting."
When he visited the second, a fine artist of pottery, he asked of her the same. "All is well," she told him. "I only wish that there that the weather be warm and bright, that my pots and bowls will dry without slumping."
Torn between the two, the man asked his own father, "If one child wishes for rain, and the other for dry weather, with which of the two am I to join my wishes?"
"There is nothing in this world that is the wish of all," he advised. "You can only do right by yourself, and be ready to help the ones who fall to hard times."
When he visited the first, a gardener and herbalist, he asked her what she might wish for. "All things are good with me," she told her father. "I only wish that there might be a heavy rain to see my plants through the season without wilting."
When he visited the second, a fine artist of pottery, he asked of her the same. "All is well," she told him. "I only wish that there that the weather be warm and bright, that my pots and bowls will dry without slumping."
Torn between the two, the man asked his own father, "If one child wishes for rain, and the other for dry weather, with which of the two am I to join my wishes?"
"There is nothing in this world that is the wish of all," he advised. "You can only do right by yourself, and be ready to help the ones who fall to hard times."
Written By Rowan
Feb. 1, 2017, 4:08 p.m.(10/26/1005 AR)
There is a song my father would sing before he returned to the roots alongside my mother. Though it has been years since I last heard him sing the words, the haunting tune of it, to lull my sister and me to sleep, it still comes to me in times of trouble.
Nature, nurture, spirits and home
Sum of all, and by them, driven
To conquer every mountain shown
But I've never crossed the river
Braved the forests, braved the stone
Braved the icy winds and fire
Braved and beat them on my own
Yet I'm helpless by the river
Spirits, spirits, what have I done?
I've faced the quakes, the wind, the fire
I've conquered mountain, wood, and tribe
Why can't I cross this river?
Pay no mind to the battles you've won
It'll take a lot more than rage and muscle
Open your heart and hands, my son
Or you'll never make it over the river
It'll take a lot more than your war drums
A whole lot more than riches and muscle
The hands of the many must join as one
And together we'll cross the river
Nature, nurture spirits and home
And together we'll cross the river
(( Modified from 'Humbling River' by Puscifer ))
Nature, nurture, spirits and home
Sum of all, and by them, driven
To conquer every mountain shown
But I've never crossed the river
Braved the forests, braved the stone
Braved the icy winds and fire
Braved and beat them on my own
Yet I'm helpless by the river
Spirits, spirits, what have I done?
I've faced the quakes, the wind, the fire
I've conquered mountain, wood, and tribe
Why can't I cross this river?
Pay no mind to the battles you've won
It'll take a lot more than rage and muscle
Open your heart and hands, my son
Or you'll never make it over the river
It'll take a lot more than your war drums
A whole lot more than riches and muscle
The hands of the many must join as one
And together we'll cross the river
Nature, nurture spirits and home
And together we'll cross the river
(( Modified from 'Humbling River' by Puscifer ))
Written By Rowan
Jan. 29, 2017, 4:22 p.m.(10/17/1005 AR)
I do not know the words that would describe these past weeks properly. I do not know the words for the drowning, crushing lows, or for the soaring, hopeful highs. I am exhausted through both my beings. Through it all, hope rises highest. Hope because where there is a seed, there is life, and we still have more than seeds. We still have trees standing tall to shelter us. Hope because through every trial, we learn, and we adapt. Hope because we are not alone and hope because You...
You have made a great mistake.
You have made a great mistake.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 27, 2017, 12:53 p.m.(10/10/1005 AR)
Baroness Kima is the Sword of Southport, and Lady Niamh is the Sword of Greenmarch, and more over, the Grandmaster of the Champions. Whatever my thoughts on this custom of the Compact, a duel between two of the best sword arms in the city is sure to be worth watching. I have no stake in what two Lycene houses argue between themselves, and one fighter is a friend, while the other my sister. Blood will have to prevail in where I place my wagers and who I root for.
Don't fuck it up, Niamh.
Don't fuck it up, Niamh.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 27, 2017, 12:40 p.m.(10/10/1005 AR)
Two men rowed a small boat around snake infested waters, for there were no safer waters to fish and their families needed food. As luck often goes for those of little option - for only bad luck sees them in the predicament in the first place - things went from bad to worse. They lost their poles to strong fish. They lost oars to the weeds.
On the shore of the waters, two other men spoke and laughed between the themselves over a picnic, with no notice of the boat men. The boat men called to shore, but the shore men were too busy to hear.
The men in the boat tried to paddle with their hands, but were seized upon by the snakes. When the boat men called again, one shore man took notice and laughed, "That was stupid! There are snakes in the water! Why would you do such a thing? Just come to shore, everything is fine here!"
The boat men tried to explain their plight, but the shore men had returned to their revelries, not understanding that the boat men's situation. While the shore men enjoyed themselves, the boat men tried to make the best of theirs. They argued ways to get to shore. They fought in the boat for desperation, and knocked small holes into the hull in the process.
Water flooded their stranded boat, and the snakes gathered around to wait. Their hands were swollen and bleeding. They called again to the shore, and the shore men took notice again, to condemn them putting holes in their boat. The boat was undoubtedly sinking, but they could not see the snakes or the wounds, did not understand their situation.
The men on the shore threw the boat men their spoons.
The boat men became angry, they resented the spoons they were given, but they did what they could with them. The boat continued to fill and sink. When the boat was nearly full of water and snakes were starting to slip through the holes, one of the boat men jumped out, and tried to swim to shore. Facing the snakes seemed more likely to him than help from shore. The other was certain that help would come from shore, and stayed in the boat, furiously bailing out with his spoon.
The shore men grew concerned with the splashing of the one trying to swim to shore, and stood to watch as he was overcome by snakes. "Why would he do such a thing?" they asked between themselves. To the man left in the boat, they called, "Have no worries! We will save you!"
"We should throw him a rope," said one shore man to the other. "A bucket would serve him better," said the other. And so they argued between themselves how best to help the man left in the boat, but it was all in aid too late. The man in the boat had been bitten long before, and was already resentful, and by the time the shore men had made up their mind, the boat was nearly sunk.
Looking between each other, the shore men asked of each other, "Do you know how to fish?"
On the shore of the waters, two other men spoke and laughed between the themselves over a picnic, with no notice of the boat men. The boat men called to shore, but the shore men were too busy to hear.
The men in the boat tried to paddle with their hands, but were seized upon by the snakes. When the boat men called again, one shore man took notice and laughed, "That was stupid! There are snakes in the water! Why would you do such a thing? Just come to shore, everything is fine here!"
The boat men tried to explain their plight, but the shore men had returned to their revelries, not understanding that the boat men's situation. While the shore men enjoyed themselves, the boat men tried to make the best of theirs. They argued ways to get to shore. They fought in the boat for desperation, and knocked small holes into the hull in the process.
Water flooded their stranded boat, and the snakes gathered around to wait. Their hands were swollen and bleeding. They called again to the shore, and the shore men took notice again, to condemn them putting holes in their boat. The boat was undoubtedly sinking, but they could not see the snakes or the wounds, did not understand their situation.
The men on the shore threw the boat men their spoons.
The boat men became angry, they resented the spoons they were given, but they did what they could with them. The boat continued to fill and sink. When the boat was nearly full of water and snakes were starting to slip through the holes, one of the boat men jumped out, and tried to swim to shore. Facing the snakes seemed more likely to him than help from shore. The other was certain that help would come from shore, and stayed in the boat, furiously bailing out with his spoon.
The shore men grew concerned with the splashing of the one trying to swim to shore, and stood to watch as he was overcome by snakes. "Why would he do such a thing?" they asked between themselves. To the man left in the boat, they called, "Have no worries! We will save you!"
"We should throw him a rope," said one shore man to the other. "A bucket would serve him better," said the other. And so they argued between themselves how best to help the man left in the boat, but it was all in aid too late. The man in the boat had been bitten long before, and was already resentful, and by the time the shore men had made up their mind, the boat was nearly sunk.
Looking between each other, the shore men asked of each other, "Do you know how to fish?"
Written By Rowan
Jan. 22, 2017, 4:02 p.m.(9/24/1005 AR)
Eagle is a proud bird. None would dispute Eagle's prowess at the hunt, how high it might soar, or how beautiful it shone under the sun. Eagle did not attend its weaknesses. It did not like to think that it could not see all from its vantage so high in the sky; that there might be things hidden from it, that it could be taken for fool, seemed impossible.
Eagle took the world for what it saw the world to be. When Deer and Bear and Rat warned of the sly Hunter, Eagle scoffed. Eagle was to clever to be taken by the Hunter, bound to the ground. Eagle underestimated the Hunter. Eagle did not think anything of a trade with the wayward traveler that wanted only a few of the fine feathers for a trade of fish; an easy meal for what seemed such a small trade.
Some days later, Eagle was riding the warm winds of the cliffs when it heard the whistle of an arrow from the shadows. It struck Eagle through the chest, and Eagle fell to the craigy ledges. As its life bled out across the stone, it looked to the arrow, and found it fletched with its own feathers.
Eagle took the world for what it saw the world to be. When Deer and Bear and Rat warned of the sly Hunter, Eagle scoffed. Eagle was to clever to be taken by the Hunter, bound to the ground. Eagle underestimated the Hunter. Eagle did not think anything of a trade with the wayward traveler that wanted only a few of the fine feathers for a trade of fish; an easy meal for what seemed such a small trade.
Some days later, Eagle was riding the warm winds of the cliffs when it heard the whistle of an arrow from the shadows. It struck Eagle through the chest, and Eagle fell to the craigy ledges. As its life bled out across the stone, it looked to the arrow, and found it fletched with its own feathers.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 18, 2017, 4:14 p.m.(9/12/1005 AR)
I wonder if the Crown will be providing for the salve that will be needed for the thorugh fucking the Nox'alfar have given the Compact after turning up skirt to them and asking nicely.
Now that the Compact has saved the Nox'alfar, perhaps now is a good time to see about saving ourselves. The Bringers of the Silence are still there. There is no reason I have been shown in the evasive half-answers given in the arguments in support of the Teind that says that their protection extends in anyway to us, that the Silence is not still a threat. Don't assume that we are safe from it. Keep looking for answers.
Now that the Compact has saved the Nox'alfar, perhaps now is a good time to see about saving ourselves. The Bringers of the Silence are still there. There is no reason I have been shown in the evasive half-answers given in the arguments in support of the Teind that says that their protection extends in anyway to us, that the Silence is not still a threat. Don't assume that we are safe from it. Keep looking for answers.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 18, 2017, 3:54 p.m.(9/12/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Fawkuhl
Tend to your flock, Dominus, before you dare to turn a judgemental eye on mine.
You speak of heathens serving the Oathlands, but know that not one of the Greenmarch heathens stood for the Teind, that as one voice Greenmarch spoke out against it, called for answers as to other ways, and even more gravely stood against the Compact condoning and being implicated in the practice. They have put the good of our world, our people, at the fore, and walked unafraid to take a difficult and right path ahead of an easy and wrong one. That is the legacy of House Greenmarch.
I do not believe that you can say the same for your own house, where so many were more eager to put their faith in another people's goddess and blood magic before looking to their own.
You speak of heathens serving the Oathlands, but know that not one of the Greenmarch heathens stood for the Teind, that as one voice Greenmarch spoke out against it, called for answers as to other ways, and even more gravely stood against the Compact condoning and being implicated in the practice. They have put the good of our world, our people, at the fore, and walked unafraid to take a difficult and right path ahead of an easy and wrong one. That is the legacy of House Greenmarch.
I do not believe that you can say the same for your own house, where so many were more eager to put their faith in another people's goddess and blood magic before looking to their own.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 13, 2017, 10:49 a.m.(8/24/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Monique
I imagine that if a squirrel drank themselves out of a pot of coffee, and then went on to eat all the beans left in the larder, it might compare to the raw energy and drive my dear cousin has.
I'm glad that the return to recognized nobility and something approaching propriety has not doused the fire that vexed so many over the years. I'm sure she'll do many a great thing here in Arx. I, for one, am glad all that damned energy is on my side.
I'm glad that the return to recognized nobility and something approaching propriety has not doused the fire that vexed so many over the years. I'm sure she'll do many a great thing here in Arx. I, for one, am glad all that damned energy is on my side.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 13, 2017, 10:43 a.m.(8/24/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Khanne
Some people just fit.
You meet them, and it's comfortable, and it's simple, and there's a natural familiarity like your spirits have known one another longer than you have.
Here's to you, Lady Stray, and the learning, rituals, victories, comraderie through the losses, stories, adventures, misadventures, familial disasters and rivers of whiskey to come.
You meet them, and it's comfortable, and it's simple, and there's a natural familiarity like your spirits have known one another longer than you have.
Here's to you, Lady Stray, and the learning, rituals, victories, comraderie through the losses, stories, adventures, misadventures, familial disasters and rivers of whiskey to come.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 11, 2017, 1:10 a.m.(8/17/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Muiryn
It won't be tomorrow.
It won't be the day after that.
It may not be for weeks, or even months.
But my revenge will be the wrath of the storm on your bacon-thieving ass.
It won't be the day after that.
It may not be for weeks, or even months.
But my revenge will be the wrath of the storm on your bacon-thieving ass.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 7, 2017, 12:44 p.m.(8/7/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Edain
I did not expect to be impressed with the Compact when I showed up in Arx, and as a whole, on the whole, that has proven true. The individuals have been impressive, but the whole is a tangled knot.
I did not expect to be impressed with the Valardin High Lord, and that has proven to be quite wrong. We couldn't be much more different in manner. We walk two different paths in belief. But those are trappings. When it comes to his actions, to the core and the values, to who he is, I see a man worthy of respect.
I did not expect to be impressed with the Valardin High Lord, and that has proven to be quite wrong. We couldn't be much more different in manner. We walk two different paths in belief. But those are trappings. When it comes to his actions, to the core and the values, to who he is, I see a man worthy of respect.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 7, 2017, 12:20 p.m.(8/7/1005 AR)
The decision has been slated to appease the Nox'alfar. It's not so rushed a decision as it might seem - those who made it before the Assembly and organized amongst themselves have known for some time - but that doesn't make it a right one. Too many questions have only been answered with only passing lip service and circular rhetoric, and seem to hinge on the word of beings with no respect for us, and no humanity or morality as we'd recognise it. We are a tool and a convenience to the Nox'alfar, a weapon at best, something that can easily be abandoned to the fight when it no longer suits the wielder.
The greatest folly in all this is not seeking our own way to protect ourselves from the Silence. Putting ourselves entirely at the mercy of another people for our protection, accepting that as the only way without even searching for another option, is in a word, elkshit. We are not a weak people. We are not an unskilled people. We are not fucking children.
While some have resigned us to the Teind and the Nox'alfar, others of us will continue to search for a way that allows us to stand on our own; look to our own gods - be they Pantheon or Old. There is a reason our enemies would weaken them, would water down our faith in them, and would try to cull them from the world. Because they can stand against this thing.
This decision has been made but it is not the end of it. The Nox'alfar's bandage soaked with Arvani blood can not be the end of it. A cure must, and will, be sought.
The greatest folly in all this is not seeking our own way to protect ourselves from the Silence. Putting ourselves entirely at the mercy of another people for our protection, accepting that as the only way without even searching for another option, is in a word, elkshit. We are not a weak people. We are not an unskilled people. We are not fucking children.
While some have resigned us to the Teind and the Nox'alfar, others of us will continue to search for a way that allows us to stand on our own; look to our own gods - be they Pantheon or Old. There is a reason our enemies would weaken them, would water down our faith in them, and would try to cull them from the world. Because they can stand against this thing.
This decision has been made but it is not the end of it. The Nox'alfar's bandage soaked with Arvani blood can not be the end of it. A cure must, and will, be sought.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 5, 2017, 10:18 p.m.(8/2/1005 AR)
I remember a night deep in the Greenwood, when a storm raged and I had to take shelter in a hollowed out great tree. It had been wounded by a lightning strike but struggled on. There were many things that had taken shelter in that tree - beetles and rodents, snakes and birds. That tree offered sanctuary from the storm. And then there was the badger that took a great, rancid shit at the opening of the hollow and waddled out, leaving the rest with the stink of it and having to track through the mess.
Perhaps it was prophetic. I hear the remainder of the Assembly went similarly.
Perhaps it was prophetic. I hear the remainder of the Assembly went similarly.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 1, 2017, 10:28 p.m.(7/18/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Drea
It has been a few years since my teacher told me it was time to learn from experience rather than from her, that it was time to find my own understanding of what it means to be a shaman. I have been doing that. I have been walking my own path, and it has lead me to Arx, to meet Mother Bear, and possibly the next guide through that part of my life. There is wisdom and there is experience and there is a quiet formidability in her presence. I look forward to learning from my works with her.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 1, 2017, 2:01 p.m.(7/17/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Kima
Here, try this, she says.
Why the fuck not, says I.
Come swim with us, says the mermaids.
Life's a shit show since the wife left, says Brother Mog the Sea Cow.
I woke up with a seagull trying to take strands of my beard and strange words in my head. Last night I learned: Beware accepting candy from Lycenes.
Why the fuck not, says I.
Come swim with us, says the mermaids.
Life's a shit show since the wife left, says Brother Mog the Sea Cow.
I woke up with a seagull trying to take strands of my beard and strange words in my head. Last night I learned: Beware accepting candy from Lycenes.
Written By Rowan
Jan. 1, 2017, 1:57 p.m.(7/17/1005 AR)
Blood begets more blood.
There is nothing good in this world that bargains on blood. There is no answer that is not extortion that marks its price in blood.
The person who would trust the men with the daggers to their throat, assuring them that they are the only ones that can keep them safe, is a fool. Simple acceptance makes us complicit in our own demise, in the poisoning of our guardians.
Don't look behind you. Don't look at what you've left behind. Don't look at what we're killing, that could threaten us, that could give you another option if only it were sought and strengthened.
If they were not forgotten.
It is in our blood. It is our birthright. It is ours.
There is nothing good in this world that bargains on blood. There is no answer that is not extortion that marks its price in blood.
The person who would trust the men with the daggers to their throat, assuring them that they are the only ones that can keep them safe, is a fool. Simple acceptance makes us complicit in our own demise, in the poisoning of our guardians.
Don't look behind you. Don't look at what you've left behind. Don't look at what we're killing, that could threaten us, that could give you another option if only it were sought and strengthened.
If they were not forgotten.
It is in our blood. It is our birthright. It is ours.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.