Written By Astrid
Jan. 24, 2020, 3:08 p.m.(8.512096560846562/15.677407407407408/1012.6260080467372 AR)
I walked out of my bedroom this morning to find a Knight at my door. I guess this is life now.
Written By Astrid
Dec. 13, 2019, 10:10 a.m.(5/14/1012 AR)
For many, dancing is seen as a set of formalized steps to be executed at certain events. Ritualized movements, performed better by some than others, that we break out when the right music plays, when the right event is hosted. For others, dancing is an expression of joy or sorrow, brought forth to express to themselves or an audience what their words never could with such eloquence.
There are people in the Compact and outside of it that consider dance something more than even expression or duty. They view it as a form of religious devotion. Each movement is chosen in the spur of the moment. Choices are made in every dance. In these cases, the dancer brings forth their emotions through physical movement and offer it up to the gods.
Or, in particular, they give their dance in praise to the god that gave them freedom. The Liberator. The First Choice. Skald.
They choose to break away from the formal strictures of a waltz or square dance. They choose to express themselves personally and translate that freedom into some of the most amazing sights you will ever see.
And so I invite you, readers, to do the same. Feel the inspiration of Jayus, make the choices that Skald encourages of you. Dance. Dance in gratitude for your freedoms. Dance in meditation through your uncertainty. Dance because you can.
Or don't.
Really, it's your choice. The First Choice does not demand that you worship him. He only encourages you to make your own decisions, your own choices, and not give them to others if you can help it.
So dance, or don't, as you choose. But know that dance can be as transcendent an experience as prayer.
There are people in the Compact and outside of it that consider dance something more than even expression or duty. They view it as a form of religious devotion. Each movement is chosen in the spur of the moment. Choices are made in every dance. In these cases, the dancer brings forth their emotions through physical movement and offer it up to the gods.
Or, in particular, they give their dance in praise to the god that gave them freedom. The Liberator. The First Choice. Skald.
They choose to break away from the formal strictures of a waltz or square dance. They choose to express themselves personally and translate that freedom into some of the most amazing sights you will ever see.
And so I invite you, readers, to do the same. Feel the inspiration of Jayus, make the choices that Skald encourages of you. Dance. Dance in gratitude for your freedoms. Dance in meditation through your uncertainty. Dance because you can.
Or don't.
Really, it's your choice. The First Choice does not demand that you worship him. He only encourages you to make your own decisions, your own choices, and not give them to others if you can help it.
So dance, or don't, as you choose. But know that dance can be as transcendent an experience as prayer.
Written By Astrid
Nov. 1, 2019, 9:27 a.m.(2/14/1012 AR)
These past weeks I have been sitting in meditation at the Shrine of the First Choice more frequently than before. It's still a little unnerving to have grown up in Arx, never remembered this place was here or that the tree grown so tall has clearly been there for decades, and yet remember none of it.
But the more I sit here, the more I see this tree growing through the roof as a symbol of the doctrine espoused. From shoot to giant, it represents our life moving through the course of team. Each branch a decision made as the tree grew taller. Each moment of its life spent reaching out towards the light of the sun, as the gods intend us to reach towards their light.
But the more I sit here, the more I see this tree growing through the roof as a symbol of the doctrine espoused. From shoot to giant, it represents our life moving through the course of team. Each branch a decision made as the tree grew taller. Each moment of its life spent reaching out towards the light of the sun, as the gods intend us to reach towards their light.
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 Astrid
July 30, 2019, 9:14 a.m.(7/22/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Zara
Her Highness, Princess Zara Valardin, encapsulated succinctly a lesson of life that I wish to remember. These are not her exact words, but this is the lesson we should recall.
It is easy to be thankful for the breeze during the hot summer. It is the true test of to be thankful for the breeze during the cold winter.
It is easy to be thankful for the breeze during the hot summer. It is the true test of to be thankful for the breeze during the cold winter.
Written By Astrid
July 30, 2019, 9:13 a.m.(7/22/1011 AR)
Providing comfort and advice does not have to come in a formal setting. It is not limited to shrines or confessionals, or even the quiet studies of nobility. I was reminded of this recently when I soaked away the day's walks in the welcoming embrace of the Grotto's pools. After a pleasant conversation I was asked if I had ever considered writing a book. I had not, but some lessons do bear writing.
We humans are mortal, fallible creatures. We are capable of great travesties and greater marvels on our own through nothing more than our human desires and human strengths. Some among us may be blessed with extraordinary physical strength, a knack for fighting, a personality so gifted they grow their friends and allies beyond measure, or insight to see through the false motives of others. No matter the gift, they are still human. Still fallible.
It is important that we remember that no matter how one of us is gifted, or blessed, the use of that gift is at their own discretion. At their own direction. Each application of the skill is human-driven, and human-fallible. Used for good or ill, it is the bearer of the gift and not Elyssia or the Abyss that needs to bear the credit or blame for the results.
The First Choice ensured that mankind had the greatest gift: free will, and with it the ability to choose. We choose what we do with what we have. We choose how we respond to the circumstances of our lives and the situations that result from them.
We humans are mortal, fallible creatures. We are capable of great travesties and greater marvels on our own through nothing more than our human desires and human strengths. Some among us may be blessed with extraordinary physical strength, a knack for fighting, a personality so gifted they grow their friends and allies beyond measure, or insight to see through the false motives of others. No matter the gift, they are still human. Still fallible.
It is important that we remember that no matter how one of us is gifted, or blessed, the use of that gift is at their own discretion. At their own direction. Each application of the skill is human-driven, and human-fallible. Used for good or ill, it is the bearer of the gift and not Elyssia or the Abyss that needs to bear the credit or blame for the results.
The First Choice ensured that mankind had the greatest gift: free will, and with it the ability to choose. We choose what we do with what we have. We choose how we respond to the circumstances of our lives and the situations that result from them.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.