Written By Miranda
Sept. 25, 2019, 8:12 a.m.(11/23/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Thea
From the Journal of Brenlin, Aide-de-Camp to Lady Miranda Rubino, Commander of the Gryfalcon Infantry, Voice, Sword, Knight of Gemecitta...
I have been observing My Lady this week.
Such beauty should not exist for it torments the soul.
It leaves you blinded with spots 'fore your eyes.
It drives a simple man to write bad poetry.
Her gold-flecked green eyes that light up in those rare moments when she smiles...
Her soft brown hair that makes you want to caress it...
The way her wit strikes you without warning...
A slender, beautiful blade that kills you...
And leaves you yearning for more...
Lady Thea Malvici... She is perfection.
I have been observing My Lady this week.
Such beauty should not exist for it torments the soul.
It leaves you blinded with spots 'fore your eyes.
It drives a simple man to write bad poetry.
Her gold-flecked green eyes that light up in those rare moments when she smiles...
Her soft brown hair that makes you want to caress it...
The way her wit strikes you without warning...
A slender, beautiful blade that kills you...
And leaves you yearning for more...
Lady Thea Malvici... She is perfection.
Written By Mabelle
Sept. 25, 2019, 3:34 a.m.(11/23/1011 AR)
I think it is time to travel.
If you have any recommendations - you are welcome to write me.
If you have any recommendations - you are welcome to write me.
Written By Caspian
Sept. 24, 2019, 11:28 p.m.(11/23/1011 AR)
So, I just went on a big donation spree. 500,000 to the Harlequins, 55001 to the Deathspeakers, 50506 to The Golden Hart, 50001 to The Court, 50001 to Blackshore. Hope y'all like your money!
Written By Rysen
Sept. 24, 2019, 11:05 p.m.(11/23/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Icelyn
Song of the Master of War
Woe to those who cross her,
The archer of Aviaron's Peak,
Whose arrows soar like falcons
That cut the air with wings and beak.
Sharp are all her senses;
Keen and supple is her mind.
Her courage in the darkest caves,
Yet like the golden sun does shine!
And when the choice befalls her
To play it safe or rise to meet
An opponent huge and hideous
That her wards should stand between,
Without a thought to her own safety
The hero races then to free
Those souls but for her valor
Soon a grisly fate would meet.
Her voice so like a clarion -
A call to rise and run -
And lo! she passed not into light
Till she'd saved everyone.
Such is the heart that beats inside
The Master bold of War
And let the bards yet sing her song
From Bonespire to Tor!
Woe to those who cross her,
The archer of Aviaron's Peak,
Whose arrows soar like falcons
That cut the air with wings and beak.
Sharp are all her senses;
Keen and supple is her mind.
Her courage in the darkest caves,
Yet like the golden sun does shine!
And when the choice befalls her
To play it safe or rise to meet
An opponent huge and hideous
That her wards should stand between,
Without a thought to her own safety
The hero races then to free
Those souls but for her valor
Soon a grisly fate would meet.
Her voice so like a clarion -
A call to rise and run -
And lo! she passed not into light
Till she'd saved everyone.
Such is the heart that beats inside
The Master bold of War
And let the bards yet sing her song
From Bonespire to Tor!
Written By Tesha
Sept. 24, 2019, 8:20 p.m.(11/22/1011 AR)
I should have expected things to go as they did. Not even a letter. I had to be told by someone else. I hope they fare well in whatever they are going to be doing.
Written By Violet
Sept. 24, 2019, 6:34 p.m.(11/22/1011 AR)
It is sometimes hard to believe how quickly time can pass. Thorley and I have been in Sandreef Point these last several months. Getting our hands dirty with building and infrastructure and, of course, security. Of course as the place becomes more refined and complete, so does the need for one of us to be present in Arx. Of course my departure was delayed numerous times by the first autumn storms. I look forward to seeing old faces and meeting new ones. And of course catching up on all the news that hasn't made it out to the far west.
Written By Martino
Sept. 24, 2019, 3:54 p.m.(11/22/1011 AR)
Having exhausted what seems like the last thread in the Archives here, down to Southport might bring the answers being sought out.
Just a note, a little one. A scant thing will suffice.
Just a note, a little one. A scant thing will suffice.
Written By Reigna
Sept. 24, 2019, 1:05 p.m.(11/22/1011 AR)
Love is such a funny thing. It exists within, sometimes hidden, buried so deeply it is thought lost. Time and bickering might obfuscate it, but the moment that that love is threatened, really threatened, it comes roaring out and has you riding your horse into an Estate.
Sorry again to the maids of Thrax Estate for the rugs.
Sorry again to the maids of Thrax Estate for the rugs.
Written By Arcadia
Sept. 24, 2019, 7:44 a.m.(11/21/1011 AR)
Change is all around us, but so rarely do we notice it about ourselves.
In the last few days, I have had more than a few make comments on who I am today, It's not a bad thing, it is just not something I had noticed, or expected.
I suppose change is inevitable, just some warning would of been nice.
In the last few days, I have had more than a few make comments on who I am today, It's not a bad thing, it is just not something I had noticed, or expected.
I suppose change is inevitable, just some warning would of been nice.
Written By Artur
Sept. 24, 2019, 7:15 a.m.(11/21/1011 AR)
Having found myself listless, I asked for help in finding something to focus my time and attention to.
I found it thanks to Princess Marian Redrain. Her project to help the Knights of Solace is something I can get behind and will be happy to support.
And I think I have a rather novel idea in a way to get the items that she's asking for. More details to come when Marian has permission from the Knights to start the project.
But for now, I need to find more booze for the project!
I found it thanks to Princess Marian Redrain. Her project to help the Knights of Solace is something I can get behind and will be happy to support.
And I think I have a rather novel idea in a way to get the items that she's asking for. More details to come when Marian has permission from the Knights to start the project.
But for now, I need to find more booze for the project!
Written By Victus
Sept. 24, 2019, 3:30 a.m.(11/21/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Alarissa
Some day, I'll gift you a shark's body. I'll kill it with my bare hands and then I'll stuff it. With teeth of rubies, hide of sapphire, eyes of stygian, bones of alaricite. Until everything it was is taken and everything that replaces it is beautiful.
But it will never be as beautiful as you are, even with what you're lost.
But it will never be as beautiful as you are, even with what you're lost.
Written By Skye
Sept. 24, 2019, 2:54 a.m.(11/21/1011 AR)
Darkness is terrifying enough between sunset and sunrise. I could not imagine if it became my constant companion.
Written By Preston
Sept. 24, 2019, 2:09 a.m.(11/21/1011 AR)
And so we return to Arx from the Oathlands. Another threat to the Faith extinguished, another person who lost their way on the path returned to the wheel. Everyone, thank the Gods, survived - though it was a close thing. I am glad we chose our companions as we did - each played a part and together these parts built victory.
My thanks go to Dame Ida, Princess Reese, Amund and of course to Lady Teagan, who first warned us of this danger. Blackram is well served by its lady, who has proven an ally of the Faith and with whom we hope to continue to work.
The long journey taught me two things. The first is that though I often think of the path of the Gods to be surrounded by dark forests, in truth the land around that path looks much the same. It is easy to be drawn from the true path by false signs and mistaken thoughts. You will not know you have erred sometimes even when the destination you approach is so clearly not that which you set out upon. It is why the Godsworn exist - signposts and beacons along those paths, with no distraction but to see travellers safely home.
The second is that power tempts everyone, that this is natural. True wisdom with power comes in knowing it’s costs, and bring frugal in its application. Power can tempt us with shortcuts - but shortcuts are where the bandits on the path lie.
My thanks go to Dame Ida, Princess Reese, Amund and of course to Lady Teagan, who first warned us of this danger. Blackram is well served by its lady, who has proven an ally of the Faith and with whom we hope to continue to work.
The long journey taught me two things. The first is that though I often think of the path of the Gods to be surrounded by dark forests, in truth the land around that path looks much the same. It is easy to be drawn from the true path by false signs and mistaken thoughts. You will not know you have erred sometimes even when the destination you approach is so clearly not that which you set out upon. It is why the Godsworn exist - signposts and beacons along those paths, with no distraction but to see travellers safely home.
The second is that power tempts everyone, that this is natural. True wisdom with power comes in knowing it’s costs, and bring frugal in its application. Power can tempt us with shortcuts - but shortcuts are where the bandits on the path lie.
Written By Cassandra
Sept. 24, 2019, 1:03 a.m.(11/21/1011 AR)
I have spent the better part of the last few days in my office, taking meetings. I would think, after enough time, that I would have learned to managed my time better. That seems to be, even now, a struggle that I continue to grapple with.
Eventually, I will need to find a better work/life balance. Today, it appears to me, is not that day.
Eventually, I will need to find a better work/life balance. Today, it appears to me, is not that day.
Written By Esme
Sept. 23, 2019, 10:30 p.m.(11/21/1011 AR)
I hate to admit failure. It is a horrid thing, even if it happens to everyone out there. This week, it feels as if I have said all the wrong things. Done all the wrong things. My words not coming out like they have in my mind. It's been broken. I don't know I was struggling so hard for what I needed last night. I went to the Hart with lovely people, but still, I could not feel that release that I normally do. I could not feel the rightness in my spirit. I am not sure any of you know this feeling and I'm sorry to drone on if you come across this entry.
This morning. I still felt lost. It was a humbling experience to say the least. Things were not as they were. Deceptions offered, but yet perhaps there was something good that came from it. I struggled so hard when my honor and my words were questioned. How does one prove innocence in a matter, even if one is truly innocent? It caused much frustrations. In my frustrations, I then vented to another. I vented like there has not been a vent known. I wanted to look at it from all the angles to see where I mis-stepped. Where did I error in action. In that discourse, it seems things went a little sideways again. I smoothed them over, but that means it was with my words. Twice. I am the common thread. The lesson was a painful one to have on both counts. However, it is finished. It is done. It is time to move past.
I went out for a bit today, but still was so restless. It was as if my spirit would not stop moving. I could not feel that calm that I always felt. So I found myself wandering. Questioning. Watching. I found myself at the shrine of Limerance, asking for what I'm supposed to be doing. What was the right way to go? Was it act? Was it halt? What was it? The answer came to me as a lightning bolt of knowledge. I was to wait. It was not the answer I wanted, but it was the answer I humbly received.
Things are not on our time. They are on the time of Gods. I lost a person but another came home safely. My heart broke, but it was healed in the calm. It is like that, our paths, we walk them and we hope we step well. Sometimes we tread off the path and lose our way, but we are always welcomed back. If anyone is feeling lost, know there is always hope. There is always a way back. People are put in our lives for reasons. It might be a smile at a time of need or a shoulder for tears. They make sow the seeds of love that will last forever. They may make you release your strengths, or your weaknesses. They are important. You are important. Love wins out. You just need to breathe and know it is not the end while you still have breath.
Thank you to those that have enriched my life in Arx. I give thanks for each of you that I have spoken to, spent time with, and I pray for those that I am yet to meet. May we do it with open hearts and open minds.
This morning. I still felt lost. It was a humbling experience to say the least. Things were not as they were. Deceptions offered, but yet perhaps there was something good that came from it. I struggled so hard when my honor and my words were questioned. How does one prove innocence in a matter, even if one is truly innocent? It caused much frustrations. In my frustrations, I then vented to another. I vented like there has not been a vent known. I wanted to look at it from all the angles to see where I mis-stepped. Where did I error in action. In that discourse, it seems things went a little sideways again. I smoothed them over, but that means it was with my words. Twice. I am the common thread. The lesson was a painful one to have on both counts. However, it is finished. It is done. It is time to move past.
I went out for a bit today, but still was so restless. It was as if my spirit would not stop moving. I could not feel that calm that I always felt. So I found myself wandering. Questioning. Watching. I found myself at the shrine of Limerance, asking for what I'm supposed to be doing. What was the right way to go? Was it act? Was it halt? What was it? The answer came to me as a lightning bolt of knowledge. I was to wait. It was not the answer I wanted, but it was the answer I humbly received.
Things are not on our time. They are on the time of Gods. I lost a person but another came home safely. My heart broke, but it was healed in the calm. It is like that, our paths, we walk them and we hope we step well. Sometimes we tread off the path and lose our way, but we are always welcomed back. If anyone is feeling lost, know there is always hope. There is always a way back. People are put in our lives for reasons. It might be a smile at a time of need or a shoulder for tears. They make sow the seeds of love that will last forever. They may make you release your strengths, or your weaknesses. They are important. You are important. Love wins out. You just need to breathe and know it is not the end while you still have breath.
Thank you to those that have enriched my life in Arx. I give thanks for each of you that I have spoken to, spent time with, and I pray for those that I am yet to meet. May we do it with open hearts and open minds.
Written By Lisebet
Sept. 23, 2019, 9:50 p.m.(11/21/1011 AR)
Spending my time catching up quietly with friends and research, not necessarily in that order.
And jogging again - I never thought I'd enjoy that, but it seems times change.
And jogging again - I never thought I'd enjoy that, but it seems times change.
Written By Helena
Sept. 23, 2019, 9:32 p.m.(11/21/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Elgana
Sweetest sister of mine,
I am not sure what I did to deserve such public praise today, but if I am any of what you say I am, it is because I have followed in your footsteps and learned from you along the way.
I am not sure what I did to deserve such public praise today, but if I am any of what you say I am, it is because I have followed in your footsteps and learned from you along the way.
Written By Reigna
Sept. 23, 2019, 8:43 p.m.(11/20/1011 AR)
What does it mean to be a good person?
I think many folks, myself included from time to time, tend to apply that to paragons. We raise those we agree with up to an unquestionable status, placing them on pedestals where in our eyes they can do no wrong. For if they can do wrong, if they are merely mortal with all the same flaws and foibles as the rest of us... then we lose some of the cachet that comes with agreeing with these paragons. For if they are flawless, then we, by dint of agreeing with them have reflected divinity.
I think this does a disservice, not only to ourselves and our own pursuits towards greatness, but even more so, is does a disservice to those we so admire. The pressure, even unmeaningly applied to their shoulders to be so revered, must weigh an unbearable amount. We strip them of their humanity and isolate them on high.
Our heroes, I think, should be flawed. For it is the flawed soul that fails and still tries again to be better that should truly inspire us. To be more than human, to be without flaw... where is the effort needed to do the right thing? Where is the cost, the pain, the sacrifice made to prove how much you mean to do the good you seek to do?
So if you are out there and you think you could not possibly be a hero because you have failed, or that you cannot be a good person because you have done things that you are not proud of -- I counter you with this:
If you struggle and you try and you continue to move forward, you continue to reach towards the light, then you are a hero. Then you are a good person. We all make mistakes in judgement. We all have flaws. We all succumb to vanity or envy or pettiness. To be human is to be flawed. But if despite those failings, despite those flaws you strive to make this world a better place, if you bleed, figuratively or literally, in your attempt to honor the gods and do what is right? Then you are good. Remember that, when your body aches, and fatigue makes your limbs too heavy to lift. When it feels as though your heart is breaking and darkness clouds your sight. Remember that even then... especially then, you are good. You have the choice to pick yourself up and move on. Being good is a choice. Just as doing nothing is as well.
I think many folks, myself included from time to time, tend to apply that to paragons. We raise those we agree with up to an unquestionable status, placing them on pedestals where in our eyes they can do no wrong. For if they can do wrong, if they are merely mortal with all the same flaws and foibles as the rest of us... then we lose some of the cachet that comes with agreeing with these paragons. For if they are flawless, then we, by dint of agreeing with them have reflected divinity.
I think this does a disservice, not only to ourselves and our own pursuits towards greatness, but even more so, is does a disservice to those we so admire. The pressure, even unmeaningly applied to their shoulders to be so revered, must weigh an unbearable amount. We strip them of their humanity and isolate them on high.
Our heroes, I think, should be flawed. For it is the flawed soul that fails and still tries again to be better that should truly inspire us. To be more than human, to be without flaw... where is the effort needed to do the right thing? Where is the cost, the pain, the sacrifice made to prove how much you mean to do the good you seek to do?
So if you are out there and you think you could not possibly be a hero because you have failed, or that you cannot be a good person because you have done things that you are not proud of -- I counter you with this:
If you struggle and you try and you continue to move forward, you continue to reach towards the light, then you are a hero. Then you are a good person. We all make mistakes in judgement. We all have flaws. We all succumb to vanity or envy or pettiness. To be human is to be flawed. But if despite those failings, despite those flaws you strive to make this world a better place, if you bleed, figuratively or literally, in your attempt to honor the gods and do what is right? Then you are good. Remember that, when your body aches, and fatigue makes your limbs too heavy to lift. When it feels as though your heart is breaking and darkness clouds your sight. Remember that even then... especially then, you are good. You have the choice to pick yourself up and move on. Being good is a choice. Just as doing nothing is as well.
Written By Bhandn
Sept. 23, 2019, 8:32 p.m.(11/20/1011 AR)
I woke in the morning as I have done for more days than I can count, and found myself not seeming to mind the cold of the autumn morning, with the sun no longer rising with me. The lad was asleep, as he usually was at that hour, and I didn't disturb him, but instead threw another blanket over him. How he can stay warm and asleep with only the one I still do not know, but it was a kindness he showed me during my troubles this past week and I could not help but do the same for him.
The morning was spent as it usually was, working myself into a heated sweat with a run, then other drills to remind my body of what I expect of it should I have need of my blade. That's become harder, the older I've gotten, and I can remember days of frustration over not being able to do certain exercises quite as well when I was younger, but that was not the case today. Today, I was determined to continue despite the slight aches that came from those simple warmup drills. I managed to finish them all completely, without stopping, and as I sat with the waterskin and its icy contents thinking on it, I couldn't help but smile. This morning, I felt younger by years, even though I knew I really wasn't.
I can still feel that grief that comes from Valena's death, with that desire to uphold that promise I swore to her grave, yet I no longer feel myself wishing she was standing next to me still, or that I need the taste or willowbark or some other foul thing on my tongue when considering what words to say. I can think of the words she would say to me, and instead of wistful bitterness, I found a smile instead. I will miss her. That feeling will never change, but the way I /perceive/ that feeling has changed. /I/ have changed, and I have a reminder of /why/ I have changed, what it means to change, and every time I look upon that reminder I think on the meaning of that change.
When I chose to come to Arx to stay, I was aimless, grief-stricken, and the sight of the roads nearly revolted me. There was even a time when I thought I would do the unthinkable, but I didn't. I came to Arx, and perhaps that was the beginning of that change, a seed that was meant to sprout but instead found itself lacking for nourishment and care. Perhaps in this metaphor it was merely winter, and I needed to wait until spring had arrived with the sun's warmth and the clouds' rainy depths. Whatever the reason, I can feel that warmth now, along with those drops running down my face, and now it feels like what it is that was lying dormant within for so long has at last begun to emerge from the soil and greet the world as it was meant to be.
I feel whole.
The morning was spent as it usually was, working myself into a heated sweat with a run, then other drills to remind my body of what I expect of it should I have need of my blade. That's become harder, the older I've gotten, and I can remember days of frustration over not being able to do certain exercises quite as well when I was younger, but that was not the case today. Today, I was determined to continue despite the slight aches that came from those simple warmup drills. I managed to finish them all completely, without stopping, and as I sat with the waterskin and its icy contents thinking on it, I couldn't help but smile. This morning, I felt younger by years, even though I knew I really wasn't.
I can still feel that grief that comes from Valena's death, with that desire to uphold that promise I swore to her grave, yet I no longer feel myself wishing she was standing next to me still, or that I need the taste or willowbark or some other foul thing on my tongue when considering what words to say. I can think of the words she would say to me, and instead of wistful bitterness, I found a smile instead. I will miss her. That feeling will never change, but the way I /perceive/ that feeling has changed. /I/ have changed, and I have a reminder of /why/ I have changed, what it means to change, and every time I look upon that reminder I think on the meaning of that change.
When I chose to come to Arx to stay, I was aimless, grief-stricken, and the sight of the roads nearly revolted me. There was even a time when I thought I would do the unthinkable, but I didn't. I came to Arx, and perhaps that was the beginning of that change, a seed that was meant to sprout but instead found itself lacking for nourishment and care. Perhaps in this metaphor it was merely winter, and I needed to wait until spring had arrived with the sun's warmth and the clouds' rainy depths. Whatever the reason, I can feel that warmth now, along with those drops running down my face, and now it feels like what it is that was lying dormant within for so long has at last begun to emerge from the soil and greet the world as it was meant to be.
I feel whole.
Written By Rysen
Sept. 23, 2019, 6:37 p.m.(11/20/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Olivia
Thanks again for the book you lent me. It's proven invaluable time and time again.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.