Written By Tikva
Feb. 4, 2019, 1:35 p.m.(7/6/1010 AR)
As a Senior Inquisitor for the Crown, and as a Voice of House Grayson, I have had considerable reason to consider the matter of the administration of justice within Arx and the Crownlands. For us, thralldom has been unlawful for centuries, and it is easy to stand in this position, as a harbor for those thralls who escape their masters seeking freedom, and to make judgment upon our island neighbors for how they treat their criminals. Yet there is a compassionate argument that at least the thralls whose indentured labor is their punishment are better off than they would be in other areas. I read these in some consternation because I do not see that it does any honor to the gods or to your House to claim that requiring endless labor of a person is in some such way "better" as a punishment merely because the criminal continues to have a beating heart.
What do you do with those who break the law?
For a start, we execute murderers. We execute murderers cleanly -- or as part of their trial by combat, ofcourse -- for their pain is no gift to anyone, not even the families of their victims.
We execute those who venture into the realm of rapine and dishonorable marauding, for their crimes are an affront to the Gloria, and they are a blight upon the face of Arvum.
We execute traitors, for suffering treachery against an oath to the King is an affront to gods and men alike.
For those who break lesser oaths or conspire to treachery without accomplishing it, we may choose exile over execution, and deny those who do this the protections of the Compact. This ultimately most likely results in death.
For those who commit acts of grand theft, we require restitution entire, through the seizure of property, and if that cannot be accomplished because the crime is too great, it is up to the individual jurist to decide whether that requires a taking of flesh, or exile. Some judges take a hand, or a foot, but leave a person in such a state that they may continue to make a livelihood for themselves.
For those who commit acts of penury, simple assault, rampant disorder or riot, restitution may be sufficient, perhaps in combination with time in the stocks as a demonstration to the public that their crimes will not be tolerated.
If you would care, as essayists, to address the issue of what else to be done with those who break faith with the Compact, perhaps it can be done, but I frankly cannot imagine what you might propose.
What do you do with those who break the law?
For a start, we execute murderers. We execute murderers cleanly -- or as part of their trial by combat, ofcourse -- for their pain is no gift to anyone, not even the families of their victims.
We execute those who venture into the realm of rapine and dishonorable marauding, for their crimes are an affront to the Gloria, and they are a blight upon the face of Arvum.
We execute traitors, for suffering treachery against an oath to the King is an affront to gods and men alike.
For those who break lesser oaths or conspire to treachery without accomplishing it, we may choose exile over execution, and deny those who do this the protections of the Compact. This ultimately most likely results in death.
For those who commit acts of grand theft, we require restitution entire, through the seizure of property, and if that cannot be accomplished because the crime is too great, it is up to the individual jurist to decide whether that requires a taking of flesh, or exile. Some judges take a hand, or a foot, but leave a person in such a state that they may continue to make a livelihood for themselves.
For those who commit acts of penury, simple assault, rampant disorder or riot, restitution may be sufficient, perhaps in combination with time in the stocks as a demonstration to the public that their crimes will not be tolerated.
If you would care, as essayists, to address the issue of what else to be done with those who break faith with the Compact, perhaps it can be done, but I frankly cannot imagine what you might propose.
Written By Tikva
Feb. 3, 2019, 9:58 p.m.(7/5/1010 AR)
The first swaggering heat of summer is here, and I must say that it helps lift my spirits. I miss the brisk sea breezes of the summers of the Brighthold, or the lush greens of the Twainfort ... I'm afraid that the smells of Arx are not nearly as romantic.
Of course, there are compensations.
Of course, there are compensations.
Written By Tikva
Jan. 9, 2019, 4:14 p.m.(5/1/1010 AR)
I had no special gift of prescience that told me what the hazards were of this project; it was merely the application of common sense. Still, I lent my aid to it. It was my hope to mitigate the damage that would be done.
I don't regret that attempt. I cannot, for it was done in service of my House and my vassals and their lands.
I do wish that I had been more persuasive when I begged others to understand the ramifications of these efforts. Every missive that arrives describing these new fronts is one of cringing horror for me. I find that the taste of being proven correct is ... deeply unpleasant. I wish I had been wrong. I wish you all had proven me wrong.
It is to Gild I will pray tonight.
I don't regret that attempt. I cannot, for it was done in service of my House and my vassals and their lands.
I do wish that I had been more persuasive when I begged others to understand the ramifications of these efforts. Every missive that arrives describing these new fronts is one of cringing horror for me. I find that the taste of being proven correct is ... deeply unpleasant. I wish I had been wrong. I wish you all had proven me wrong.
It is to Gild I will pray tonight.
Written By Tikva
Jan. 3, 2019, 5:16 p.m.(4/17/1010 AR)
I once challenged Duke Arn to a duel for hating fun, and he refused, whereupon I branded him a funhater or some such. I can't recall, it was over a year ago. But I shall now publicly retract my comment from a year or so ago. I don't care whether he hates fun or not, or even if he is a grumpy gus.
He shows honor to Limerance and writes with skill in a hard place.
He shows honor to Limerance and writes with skill in a hard place.
Written By Tikva
Dec. 28, 2018, 6:19 p.m.(4/5/1010 AR)
I am now officially on the last year of my twenties. For those of you who didn't think I'd make it this far, the joke's on you!
Written By Tikva
Dec. 25, 2018, 6:37 p.m.(3/27/1010 AR)
Marriage isn't about love. It is about oaths.
If you have love, treasure it.
If you don't? Suck it up. You have an oath. If you can't hold to that one, what will you hold to?
Honestly, so much bellyaching! Your parents' generation never behaved this way!
I haven't even reached thirty yet and I don't sound a day under sixty-five.
If you have love, treasure it.
If you don't? Suck it up. You have an oath. If you can't hold to that one, what will you hold to?
Honestly, so much bellyaching! Your parents' generation never behaved this way!
I haven't even reached thirty yet and I don't sound a day under sixty-five.
Written By Tikva
Dec. 24, 2018, 11:08 a.m.(3/24/1010 AR)
It was tremendous fun to get the opportunity to hit the stage with our own Niklas's lovely work, and I'm sure that whatever professional performers take on my role in future iterations of the show, they'll have every bit as much fun as I did with it. I'm struck again by how much effort and energy can go into a work of pure entertainment for others, and I have made a large donation to the Bard's College in commemoration of that reminder.
Written By Tikva
Dec. 23, 2018, 9:45 p.m.(3/23/1010 AR)
Sometimes, a piece of news can melt away all the frost around you and leave you with nothing but delight.
Written By Tikva
Dec. 18, 2018, 6:42 p.m.(3/12/1010 AR)
I will write no dirge. It is not what I do. But there are other memories, other songs to hold, other songs to play.
I wrote this one.
______________________________________
Weep not, world, for hope lives
In each kindness your soul gives
In our courage to carry on
In her strength to build upon.
Weep not, Dream, for hope strives
In fierce hearts and bright young lives
In keen ears and focused eyes
In each new fragment of surprise
Weep not, child, for hope’s here
In an embrace that perseveres
In a remembrance we’ll hold close
In tale and legend, all engrossed
Weep not, friends, for lost hope
You know how she’d want to cope
If we stand together and be strong
Our hope, and hers, will carry on.
I wrote this one.
______________________________________
Weep not, world, for hope lives
In each kindness your soul gives
In our courage to carry on
In her strength to build upon.
Weep not, Dream, for hope strives
In fierce hearts and bright young lives
In keen ears and focused eyes
In each new fragment of surprise
Weep not, child, for hope’s here
In an embrace that perseveres
In a remembrance we’ll hold close
In tale and legend, all engrossed
Weep not, friends, for lost hope
You know how she’d want to cope
If we stand together and be strong
Our hope, and hers, will carry on.
Written By Tikva
Dec. 9, 2018, 8:54 p.m.(2/23/1010 AR)
I promise we will still do a snow sculpture competition! Terribly sorry for all who came hoping for fun and prizes and more orderly entertainment than a garden full of snow, absent hostesses! The baby took terribly ill and we simply couldn't make it down. She's doing much better now -- still fussy, but keeping down milk.
But I look forward to seeing what you all come up with once the day comes. Thank you all for understanding.
But I look forward to seeing what you all come up with once the day comes. Thank you all for understanding.
Written By Tikva
Nov. 25, 2018, 11:12 p.m.(1/22/1010 AR)
Love comes in shades and kinds, but I don't think there is any feeling on Arvum that compares with this one. The purity of emotion that comes with my children surrounding me, looking towards a bright new day; it's not much of a historical record, but when we look to the future, it must be with a powerful hope, built on the smell of baby hair and fresh soap.
Of course, then somebody spits up or hits their brother for no reason or tries to pull the ear off the dog and the moment shatters, but ... still.
Take hope. Have heart. We will build a future together. One sunrise at a time.
Of course, then somebody spits up or hits their brother for no reason or tries to pull the ear off the dog and the moment shatters, but ... still.
Take hope. Have heart. We will build a future together. One sunrise at a time.
Written By Tikva
Nov. 15, 2018, 1:57 p.m.(1/1/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Harald
I owe my life to Harald Grimhall. I will never forget that. Whatever legacy I leave upon this world, whatever gifts I grant, the life and health and strength of my family all come from the risk he took to protect me upon the field at Farhaven.
It is a debt I cannot repay, and can only pay on.
It is a debt I cannot repay, and can only pay on.
Written By Tikva
Nov. 14, 2018, 4:59 p.m.(12/27/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Gareth
Gareth dreaded the large wedding I was planning on inflicting on him. Not because ... he didn't want the marriage, because he seemed to want it entirely -- indeed, it was his idea -- but because the panoply and hoopla struck him as a kind of social purgatory to which I was going to subject him whether he willed or no.
As I look into the future of the social calendar of Arx and I think about what to do in honor, in memoriam, of a cousin I honor, I think: thousands of silver in commemoration, food and drink and remembrance? He'd hate it, but he's dead and wouldn't have to participate? Dozens of people coming together to deliver eulogies of a person who they remember largely as a grim, intense shadow?
In Gareth's honor, I will serve the Inquisition that he served with his whole heart. I'm not sure else I will do. I have to think on it.
As I look into the future of the social calendar of Arx and I think about what to do in honor, in memoriam, of a cousin I honor, I think: thousands of silver in commemoration, food and drink and remembrance? He'd hate it, but he's dead and wouldn't have to participate? Dozens of people coming together to deliver eulogies of a person who they remember largely as a grim, intense shadow?
In Gareth's honor, I will serve the Inquisition that he served with his whole heart. I'm not sure else I will do. I have to think on it.
Written By Tikva
Nov. 12, 2018, 2:52 p.m.(12/23/1009 AR)
For reasons, I embarked upon a brief quest to discover if mushrooms could be used to create a wine or beer or other liqueur, but apparently, not really.
Sad.
Sad.
Written By Tikva
Oct. 16, 2018, 3:18 p.m.(10/16/1009 AR)
I will note in excuse of scarcity that this baby, unlike my previous two babies, has some kind of personal vendetta against my bowels. I will not treat the scholars here to a litany of symptoms, or anything, but please if you are thinking of us, I beg you send fresh flowers to Ainsley in sympathy for having to live with me and whoever this little tyrant is going to turn out to be.
Written By Tikva
Oct. 15, 2018, 2:28 p.m.(10/14/1009 AR)
What is the value of a single person's honor?
How does one measure the stain on one's honor against the black mark against an entire family's?
It surely is tragic that the traitor Everard cannot be called to account. I pray that the wisdom of Limerance and the evenhandedness of the Sentinel will guide the hearts and minds that mediate this matter.
I have no pretty solution for this, or I would already have offered it. But I call for shame to those of you who write as though Bliss should simply be quiet and permit her honor to suffer forever. It's my thought that leaving the insult to her unaddressed would not leave House Telmar's honor clean at all. The stain would merely have been less visible ... but no less a wound.
The gods do not demand or expect perfection. But without acknowledgment there can be no redress. Without redress there can be no healing.
The fact that without position and friends Bliss might have been forever without platform to reveal the harm done to her does not mean there was no harm.
How does one measure the stain on one's honor against the black mark against an entire family's?
It surely is tragic that the traitor Everard cannot be called to account. I pray that the wisdom of Limerance and the evenhandedness of the Sentinel will guide the hearts and minds that mediate this matter.
I have no pretty solution for this, or I would already have offered it. But I call for shame to those of you who write as though Bliss should simply be quiet and permit her honor to suffer forever. It's my thought that leaving the insult to her unaddressed would not leave House Telmar's honor clean at all. The stain would merely have been less visible ... but no less a wound.
The gods do not demand or expect perfection. But without acknowledgment there can be no redress. Without redress there can be no healing.
The fact that without position and friends Bliss might have been forever without platform to reveal the harm done to her does not mean there was no harm.
Written By Tikva
Sept. 29, 2018, 12:59 a.m.(9/9/1009 AR)
There's nothing like stealing a few quiet moments to yourself in the woods, with no one around you but those closest to your heart, or your spirit.
I love you.
I love you.
Written By Tikva
Sept. 28, 2018, 12:36 p.m.(9/8/1009 AR)
Catfish are actually pretty disgusting because they're bottomfeeders. Catfish _can_ be delicious if cooked properly but many soldiers and scouts think they're better at this than they are.
If you're going to be hunting fish in a survival situation, freshwater fishes, especially -- since if you're eating catfish I assume you're looking at freshwater fishes -- I'd aim for trout or walleye, you can find walleye pretty reliably in the Mother and other more northerly rivers, and trout are a good bet in lakes and ponds. If you catch bluegill or other small fish, you can use them as bait to catch bigger ones that you can then use to feed more of your men!
Make sure you cook it, though. There are a number of fishes you can safely eat raw if you're hunting in the sea, but freshwater fishes will kill you!
As a note if you're going to be near the same body of water for a few nights, consider learning -- or having one of your men learn -- to weave a fish trap. It's much less time consuming than trying to hand- or spearfish if you don't have very good timing.
If you're going to be hunting fish in a survival situation, freshwater fishes, especially -- since if you're eating catfish I assume you're looking at freshwater fishes -- I'd aim for trout or walleye, you can find walleye pretty reliably in the Mother and other more northerly rivers, and trout are a good bet in lakes and ponds. If you catch bluegill or other small fish, you can use them as bait to catch bigger ones that you can then use to feed more of your men!
Make sure you cook it, though. There are a number of fishes you can safely eat raw if you're hunting in the sea, but freshwater fishes will kill you!
As a note if you're going to be near the same body of water for a few nights, consider learning -- or having one of your men learn -- to weave a fish trap. It's much less time consuming than trying to hand- or spearfish if you don't have very good timing.
Written By Tikva
Sept. 25, 2018, 1 p.m.(9/2/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Thena
I mean if we _all_ just become godsworn, where are all the new people going to come from? I've got new people to make here.
Written By Tikva
Sept. 25, 2018, 12:20 p.m.(9/2/1009 AR)
Not to contradict my comrades in arms in this particular army, but I believe the worst pregnancy is not so much the first, second or last; rather, the worst pregnancy is clearly the one that you are subjectively experiencing at the moment.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.