Written By Dio
Jan. 26, 2021, 10:36 a.m.(10/26/1014 AR)
Relationship Note on Adrienne
I am filled with gratitude when I think of who I could have been save for my education. I hold no one in contempt for their way of life: some pirates and reavers are content to read the book of nature, and never lay a quill to parchment save to make an X. But for those who thirst for knowledge, learning to read has been the first step in a great adventure.
I read little before being enrolled in the School of Steel and Silk - which is to say, not at all. Even in my junior years, I loved the sea far more than the tomes we were obligated to read. It was not until I was expelled that I truly began to appreciate the gift I had been given. As a captain in the Black Fleet, I would occasionally come across letters that bore some intelligence relevant to the designs of our enemies, but I also encountered books: histories, guides, poems, lives and stories. Some I kept, and in the listless doldrums I would read in the shade of the mast, until the rum or wine would make the letters too blurry to continue.
What I read did not always make sense to me, and it was not until Owen of Farhaven came into my service that I began to keep a journal and a commonplace book, after the fashion of the scholars of the Northlands. I would record what struck me as most interesting, as well as my questions. As a lord of House Seraceni, I had the time and space to reflect and organize my thoughts, and began to see patterns in the ebbs and flows of history, like those of the Ischian tides.
Since the union of Prince Sebastian and Princess Adrienne, a great scholar has come into our midst. She shares from the great fields of her research blooms of knowledge that, however dreadful in bringing greater awareness, sharpen the soul to meet its trials. Nor is she merely a researcher, but a philosopher also, whose mind seeks even the opinion of pirate lords on matters of morality and duty.
Knowledge is a keen weapon. It allows one to strike with greater accuracy, to bear with dignified resignation the failures and setbacks of mortal life, and to foresee a path to ever greater prosperity. Pirates are optimists: the vast horizon promises greater spoils, new friendships and undiscovered beauty. Such optimism has lead many to an early death, though those who have tempered it with such knowledge as the princess provides, find themselves well equipped for even the most perilous adventures.
I read little before being enrolled in the School of Steel and Silk - which is to say, not at all. Even in my junior years, I loved the sea far more than the tomes we were obligated to read. It was not until I was expelled that I truly began to appreciate the gift I had been given. As a captain in the Black Fleet, I would occasionally come across letters that bore some intelligence relevant to the designs of our enemies, but I also encountered books: histories, guides, poems, lives and stories. Some I kept, and in the listless doldrums I would read in the shade of the mast, until the rum or wine would make the letters too blurry to continue.
What I read did not always make sense to me, and it was not until Owen of Farhaven came into my service that I began to keep a journal and a commonplace book, after the fashion of the scholars of the Northlands. I would record what struck me as most interesting, as well as my questions. As a lord of House Seraceni, I had the time and space to reflect and organize my thoughts, and began to see patterns in the ebbs and flows of history, like those of the Ischian tides.
Since the union of Prince Sebastian and Princess Adrienne, a great scholar has come into our midst. She shares from the great fields of her research blooms of knowledge that, however dreadful in bringing greater awareness, sharpen the soul to meet its trials. Nor is she merely a researcher, but a philosopher also, whose mind seeks even the opinion of pirate lords on matters of morality and duty.
Knowledge is a keen weapon. It allows one to strike with greater accuracy, to bear with dignified resignation the failures and setbacks of mortal life, and to foresee a path to ever greater prosperity. Pirates are optimists: the vast horizon promises greater spoils, new friendships and undiscovered beauty. Such optimism has lead many to an early death, though those who have tempered it with such knowledge as the princess provides, find themselves well equipped for even the most perilous adventures.
Written By Deimos
Jan. 3, 2021, 9:27 p.m.(9/9/1014 AR)
Relationship Note on Adrienne
I do not seek out the peerage, but I can't seem to help but find them in this latest trip to the capital. Some have been as expected: loud, flamboyant, a waste of energy. But others have surprised. They seek to do what is right and defy convention in order to further their chances of doing so. Princess Adrienne is a gift to her House. My only hope for the Oathlands is that they received fair recompense in exchange for Pravus taking their greatest treasure.
Written By Katarina
Sept. 29, 2020, 11:38 a.m.(2/11/1014 AR)
Relationship Note on Adrienne
I have received the invitation to my cousin Princess Adrienne's wedding to Prince Sebastian Pravus.
What she has inscribed upon this invitation, I cannot share. However, I will note to any scholar who reads this, any royal, any noble, any citizen, any set of eyes at all: Princess Adrienne Valardin is among the treasures of my heart, and even among that number, one of the most precious. I love her as closely and as fiercely as I would a blood sister, for indeed, no matter where we sit on the chart of the Valardin family tree, in my mind and my heart, that is what she is to me.
Thank you, Adrienne. I love you.
What she has inscribed upon this invitation, I cannot share. However, I will note to any scholar who reads this, any royal, any noble, any citizen, any set of eyes at all: Princess Adrienne Valardin is among the treasures of my heart, and even among that number, one of the most precious. I love her as closely and as fiercely as I would a blood sister, for indeed, no matter where we sit on the chart of the Valardin family tree, in my mind and my heart, that is what she is to me.
Thank you, Adrienne. I love you.
Written By Theophania
May 10, 2020, 10:02 p.m.(4/8/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Adrienne
I made the acquaintance of Count Philippe's niece recently! She seems lovely.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.