Written By Wren
Oct. 8, 2019, 4:44 p.m.(12/23/1011 AR)
In earnest, I look forward to the first snowflakes to swirl over Arx, wrap it in that blanket of pure, soft white. Unsullied for a few precious moments like the most delicate bolts of aeterna before the world rallies to life to shake the frosty mantle loose. I do not look forward to the inevitable ice that will come with it to make my daily trips to and from the City Center perilous.
It is high time for new wintertime boots and dresses though one may argue I am slow in action as winter lingers closer than summer. No, this is the ideal time to practice and ply my trade. Soft furs from the North are very much in vogue, notably marmot furs from my understanding. Maybe some remain in the markets, and I can match them off with jewels that have long languished in their velvet boxes, ready to be made into something new.
And then perhaps some socializing as I owe some letters and calls. Not that I am ever in the clear when it comes to owing messages or calls when my family is concerned.
It is high time for new wintertime boots and dresses though one may argue I am slow in action as winter lingers closer than summer. No, this is the ideal time to practice and ply my trade. Soft furs from the North are very much in vogue, notably marmot furs from my understanding. Maybe some remain in the markets, and I can match them off with jewels that have long languished in their velvet boxes, ready to be made into something new.
And then perhaps some socializing as I owe some letters and calls. Not that I am ever in the clear when it comes to owing messages or calls when my family is concerned.
Written By Saoirse
Oct. 8, 2019, 3:26 p.m.(12/22/1011 AR)
I'm not Lady Monique with her Gilded Page but I've studied a great deal of literature and poetry and I feel I can say with good authority that That Poem was neither beautiful nor haunting.
Written By Astrid
Oct. 8, 2019, 2:38 p.m.(12/22/1011 AR)
Tonight I sat beside a woman I did not know and held her hand, told her stories, while she took her final breaths in this life.
Tonight I heard again how much I resemble a woman I don't remember.
I heard words in a language I had not spoken since my earliest days, hearing the cadence and twists in a tongue that my mother may have taught me.
Tonight I watched my grandmother pass away, believing me to be my mother. I found an aunt, a horde of cousins, the blood I never had. And I let them know that no matter how lost they thought I was to them, I was raised well here. I had family. I had a roof and food, teachers, adventure.
I've spent several decades as an oprhan, raised an Ulbran, and had given up on the ideas of being scooped up by the family that had lost me. I had gone through the angst phase of thinking about being abandoned. To find something of the past you never looked for is humbling. Confusing.
I am not resentful though. I am, instead, pleased to hear my mother followed the directions of Sklad her whole life. Maybe that life has ended. Maybe it has not. But apparently she had some great stories to go with it.
Tonight I heard again how much I resemble a woman I don't remember.
I heard words in a language I had not spoken since my earliest days, hearing the cadence and twists in a tongue that my mother may have taught me.
Tonight I watched my grandmother pass away, believing me to be my mother. I found an aunt, a horde of cousins, the blood I never had. And I let them know that no matter how lost they thought I was to them, I was raised well here. I had family. I had a roof and food, teachers, adventure.
I've spent several decades as an oprhan, raised an Ulbran, and had given up on the ideas of being scooped up by the family that had lost me. I had gone through the angst phase of thinking about being abandoned. To find something of the past you never looked for is humbling. Confusing.
I am not resentful though. I am, instead, pleased to hear my mother followed the directions of Sklad her whole life. Maybe that life has ended. Maybe it has not. But apparently she had some great stories to go with it.
Written By Eleanor
Oct. 8, 2019, 12:18 p.m.(12/22/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Alecstazi
To defend the system of thralldom without commenting on the heredity of debt is willfully blind to its cruelty. To declare that "by and large" thralls are deserving of the sentence is to declare that some children are born criminals, a stance I don't understand how anyone can possibly endorse.
Written By Elisha
Oct. 8, 2019, 12:05 p.m.(12/22/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Aleksei
The explorer who is not yet certain of the Faith awaiting him along his route wonders what the palace will be like, the barracks, the mill, the prison, the bazaar.
In every shrine of the Compact, every room is different and set in a different order, but as soon as the explorer arrives at an unknown cathedral and his eye penetrates the pinecone of spires and lancets and arches, following the scrawl of canals, gardens, rubbish heaps, he immediately distinguishes which are the princesses' balconies, the seraphs' lecterns, the tavern, the hospice, the slum.
This confirms the certainty that the explorer bears in their mind a Faith made only of differences, a Faith without figures and without form, a Faith of perfect parts which each individual faith only dimly reflects.
This is not true of the charlatan's chapel.
In every point of this storefront shrine you can, in turn, sleep, beg, sing, steal, fuck, reign, sell, and question false oracles. Any one of its dingy windows might open to the midwife's chamber or the thrall's fighting pit. The explorer roams the dusty corners and has nothing but doubts: as they are unable to distinguish the features of the chapel, the features they keep distinct in their mind also mingle.
You ask yourself this: What line separates the inside from the outside, the rumble of snoring from the thrusting of swords?
(One approach contains what is accepted as necessary when it is not so; the others, what is imagined as possible when, a moment later, it is possible no longer.)
In every shrine of the Compact, every room is different and set in a different order, but as soon as the explorer arrives at an unknown cathedral and his eye penetrates the pinecone of spires and lancets and arches, following the scrawl of canals, gardens, rubbish heaps, he immediately distinguishes which are the princesses' balconies, the seraphs' lecterns, the tavern, the hospice, the slum.
This confirms the certainty that the explorer bears in their mind a Faith made only of differences, a Faith without figures and without form, a Faith of perfect parts which each individual faith only dimly reflects.
This is not true of the charlatan's chapel.
In every point of this storefront shrine you can, in turn, sleep, beg, sing, steal, fuck, reign, sell, and question false oracles. Any one of its dingy windows might open to the midwife's chamber or the thrall's fighting pit. The explorer roams the dusty corners and has nothing but doubts: as they are unable to distinguish the features of the chapel, the features they keep distinct in their mind also mingle.
You ask yourself this: What line separates the inside from the outside, the rumble of snoring from the thrusting of swords?
(One approach contains what is accepted as necessary when it is not so; the others, what is imagined as possible when, a moment later, it is possible no longer.)
Written By Cassandra
Oct. 8, 2019, 11:18 a.m.(12/22/1011 AR)
Last night, I found myself going to the Queensrest, as I felt an obligation to least drop by to refill my stock in my office when work became far too stressful. What I walked into was a murder. I'm aware that Templars not exactly the law for matter not relating to the Faith, but with only two members of the Iron Guard present, I felt honorbound to assist as best as I could to protect those who were there.
What proceeds is a murder based on jealousy from the looks of it, with another woman being taken into custody. While I give thanks to my trio of Templars who travel with me, it was the actions of Officer Merek Black, Princess Reese Grayson, Lady Zoey Kennex, and Count Graham Byrne. They leapt into action when it was required.
Gloria bless them for their courage.
What proceeds is a murder based on jealousy from the looks of it, with another woman being taken into custody. While I give thanks to my trio of Templars who travel with me, it was the actions of Officer Merek Black, Princess Reese Grayson, Lady Zoey Kennex, and Count Graham Byrne. They leapt into action when it was required.
Gloria bless them for their courage.
Written By Teagan
Oct. 8, 2019, 9:45 a.m.(12/22/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Alarissa
I was recently able to spend some time with the Princess. It has been far too long since we were last able to sit and speak with one another and I do hope it will not be so long before the next.
We have both weathered too much in the time since. Far too much. We have seen too much. Bore too much. She does better than she gives herself credit for, but it is understandable given the circumstances and in time, she will see through to the other side. I believe it normal that we never know just how strong we are until we have set down the weight we are carrying.
She gave me some advice. Some of it more difficult to hear than the rest. I intend to see it through all the same.
We have both weathered too much in the time since. Far too much. We have seen too much. Bore too much. She does better than she gives herself credit for, but it is understandable given the circumstances and in time, she will see through to the other side. I believe it normal that we never know just how strong we are until we have set down the weight we are carrying.
She gave me some advice. Some of it more difficult to hear than the rest. I intend to see it through all the same.
Written By Amund
Oct. 8, 2019, 9:45 a.m.(12/22/1011 AR)
I need to stop getting these chills in the night; I dreamed of an unpleasant night visit, and the cold of the grave once more. A break from the usual, certainly, but more terrifying.
Written By Tyrus
Oct. 8, 2019, 9:31 a.m.(12/22/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Preston
That was the nuance I referred to, and you've clarified your point such that I've little to add or find issue with.
There are basic truths in this Dream. To doubt or deny them only risks a rude awakening.
There are basic truths in this Dream. To doubt or deny them only risks a rude awakening.
Written By Willow
Oct. 8, 2019, 4:36 a.m.(12/22/1011 AR)
**An entire page of her journals has been dedicated to a hauntingly detailed image of a wolf with black eyes and a raven perched on the overturned stone of a desecrated Shrine with triskelion etchings, the back of a head with long hair obscuring any profile of facial features as hair mingles with grass, the illustration set opposite text on the other page which reads:**
I will never forget what I saw at Twilight Dale, and can only imagine the wolf referred to by Arcadia and Rysen in the whites is the same one she saved me from. I would go a thousand times into danger to help someone in need, but I hope never to see that beast again.
I will never forget what I saw at Twilight Dale, and can only imagine the wolf referred to by Arcadia and Rysen in the whites is the same one she saved me from. I would go a thousand times into danger to help someone in need, but I hope never to see that beast again.
Written By Shard
Oct. 8, 2019, 3:08 a.m.(12/21/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Cahal
To be honest, I think I'd be concerned if someone was actually happy about it. I'm pretty sure I'd have been pissed off in anyone else's shoes.
Written By Mirari
Oct. 7, 2019, 10:38 p.m.(12/21/1011 AR)
It has been so long since I have designed anything for myself; perfumes, jewelry, clothing, daggers... I find myself staring at a blank page and wondering... Who am I? What could I adorn myself with to reflect who I am to other people. Who is Mirari Corsetina? What has she given to this world? What is her essence? What do I etch into mirror-silver to tell the world who I am. When I look into my heart there is a deep, empty well where love used to live. It lives there no more.
I set my sight upon my ledgers and they bring me no joy. I have no desire to clothe myself in silver.
For all my silks, for all my wealth...
I no longer have a sense of self.
I guess, instead, I shall turn to commissions for exclusive perfumes.
I set my sight upon my ledgers and they bring me no joy. I have no desire to clothe myself in silver.
For all my silks, for all my wealth...
I no longer have a sense of self.
I guess, instead, I shall turn to commissions for exclusive perfumes.
Written By Arcadia
Oct. 7, 2019, 10:36 p.m.(12/21/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Porter
Does anyone have a remedy to remove squid ink? My skin is a deep shade of blue.
I have tried bathing in alcohol and while it has lessened the effect of the ink. It's still there.
I will also pay if anyone can think of a prank that tops this.
I have tried bathing in alcohol and while it has lessened the effect of the ink. It's still there.
I will also pay if anyone can think of a prank that tops this.
Written By Cahal
Oct. 7, 2019, 8:26 p.m.(12/21/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Shard
You made the hard choice when we had reached stalemate in a difficult situation.
Whilst I am not entirely happy about you taking the decision without me.
You should know that I do believe it was the right one.
Thank you.
Whilst I am not entirely happy about you taking the decision without me.
You should know that I do believe it was the right one.
Thank you.
Written By Aureth
Oct. 7, 2019, 8:07 p.m.(12/21/1011 AR)
I strongly advise the public not to publicly profess adherence to the works of excommunicated heretics who have refused to repent.
I was going to write more, but honestly that's it. That's all I've got. Do not do this.
I was going to write more, but honestly that's it. That's all I've got. Do not do this.
Written By Cristoph
Oct. 7, 2019, 7:15 p.m.(12/21/1011 AR)
I celebrated another birthday this year, among friends and family. We had an excellent time jousting and while I didn't even make it beyond the first round at our little tourney, I was able to win against my sister and Lady Amari later on for fun. Which to be clear, is no small thing. Both are excellent riders, Lady Amari has clearly been spending more time with Baron Norwood.
Written By Sparte
Oct. 7, 2019, 3:48 p.m.(12/21/1011 AR)
I found Dame Tom, she's been raising a second litter of stoats out by the Lodge. She seems fine, but I figure too many people who adopted stoats last time were lousy parents to them. I won't be adopting them out to anyone this time, you want to win over a stoat you've got to do it yourself.
But if you're serious about it, I'll introduce you to the litter.
But if you're serious about it, I'll introduce you to the litter.
Written By Martino
Oct. 7, 2019, 3:44 p.m.(12/20/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Arcadia
The Countess is correct that jokes about people carrying bastard children are gauche, at best, and especially when rightly called out at the time.
To lie, however, to ensure protect yourself and to avoid an apology is an act of shameful, selfishness.
That, truly, earns a high mark of disrespect.
To lie, however, to ensure protect yourself and to avoid an apology is an act of shameful, selfishness.
That, truly, earns a high mark of disrespect.
Written By Preston
Oct. 7, 2019, 1:14 p.m.(12/20/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Tyrus
I think there are two points I would clarify. The first is that obviously I speak from the view of the Orthodoxy on that - there are variations in doctrine, that approach is my own. The second is that there is a difference, I think that you acknowledge, between asking questions for understanding and questioning the nature of something. The Godsworn are there to help guide people, to educate them on what things are with the divine, and the ways of our people - I would encourage all to speak to the Archlectors, the Legates, the other Godsworn in the city - it is a boon to have so many here, to be able to discover all the facets of the Gods from those most learned. It is questioning the nature of things, of doubting, those fundamental truths which gives me discomfort - that is all.
Written By Icelyn
Oct. 7, 2019, 11:15 a.m.(12/20/1011 AR)
I taste the ghost of the mountain air in Arx. But here the smells are chimney smoke and rotting leaves, no pine - no snow - no brittle shelves of ice.
I feel the need to go - somewhere. To do - something. To wake myself up while the rest of nature begins to fall asleep.
I feel the need to go - somewhere. To do - something. To wake myself up while the rest of nature begins to fall asleep.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.