Written By Celeste
Aug. 30, 2020, 12:36 p.m.(12/8/1013 AR)
There is something alien about the life I find myself in now. I knew there would be changes, but I expected them to be more changes of circumstance than changes in me. No matter, I must follow the guidance of our beloved Lagoma and seek to change myself for the better, and that's what I will do. Whether that means having my whims catered to by a host of servants or not.
And not is the way it works now. I won't use the Templars that have so recently been placed under command to do things like bring me another bottle of wine.
You know, Scholar, I should probably slow down how much wine I drink.
And not is the way it works now. I won't use the Templars that have so recently been placed under command to do things like bring me another bottle of wine.
You know, Scholar, I should probably slow down how much wine I drink.
Written By Celeste
March 22, 2020, 8:34 a.m.(12/21/1012 AR)
Relationship Note on Juniper
But I am a well so deep
Sweet is no longer a memory.
Sweet is no longer a memory.
Written By Celeste
Jan. 26, 2020, 2:17 p.m.(8.652413607804233/23.53516203703704/1012.6377011339837 AR)
Any day you can return to Arx after an epic battle is a good day. I'm proud of my soldiers; they all performed above and beyond what I had any right to ask of them. But they have proven what we have always said: House Pravus protects its own.
Written By Celeste
Oct. 14, 2019, 2:02 p.m.(1/6/1012 AR)
As a matter of clarification, the embargo against goods was declared against those from Eurus, not Cardia. I acknowledge my mistake in the previous journal entry, but maintain my point as to inviting slaves into the city via the Embassy.
Written By Celeste
Oct. 13, 2019, 6:30 a.m.(1/4/1012 AR)
While I missed the Assembly of Peers, it warms my heart in these cold months to see an open debate about the opening of an Embassy for two of our foreign dignitaries. The arrival of official representatives from both the Skykingdom of Cardia and the Eternal Empire of Jadarial has stirred the imagination of our citizens, from commoner to noble. Yet, we must proceed with this debate with a measure of a caution as well. Opening an embassy is no small thing. It is not just a building where a foreign dignitary holds meetings or resides. It is not just a place where members of a foreign power might come to gather.
An Embassy, by its definition, is an area inside our own borders that would effectively be owned and ruled by the foreign power that holds the Embassy. Inside its borders the Compact's laws and traditions hold no power. The Embassy would be ran in accordance to the customs, laws, and will of the Ambassador and their homeland. What goes on inside the Embassy would not be subject to our jurisdiction.
Let us take a moment to think about that, using Cardia as an example.
The Faith of the Pantheon last year declared an embargo against the importing of Cardian Steelsilk due to its manufacture using the labor of slaves. Cardia, as a nation, is heavily invested in the use of slave labor. Not just the practices of Thralldom of which so many of the Compact have already declared repugnant. Full, active, slavery. Give them an Embassy in Arx, and do you think it would not include slaves? Are you willing to invite them to openly display their slaves, bring them to Arx?
By law, no House of the Compact may ever have more than 100 armed retainers inside the boundaries of Arx. Yet an Embassy would not, technically, be Arx nor bound by its laws. What stops an Ambassador from calling more than 100 troops to reside in the Embassy, or using them if diplomacy fails? Do you wish to put that large of a foreign force inside the city, let alone inside the Crown Ward? It is a short march from anywhere across the Sovereign Bridge to the Palace and any skirmish would be well over before any other house could respond. And that assumes that the bridge is usable by any of the Crown's allied forces. It's an impressive choke-point; ask any strategist.
Now, if your response to these quickly-thought-of issues with an Embassy is that we can simply restrict them in the granting, then I would say this: If the rule of the foreign power's law is restricted in any way upon the grounds of their established embassy, it is no longer an embassy. That would be a Consulate.
This may seem like a pedantic distinction, but the precision of language must be used when constructing treaties. Ambiguities only lead to friction.
Lady Celeste Pravus
Fourth Reflection of the Mirrormasks
An Embassy, by its definition, is an area inside our own borders that would effectively be owned and ruled by the foreign power that holds the Embassy. Inside its borders the Compact's laws and traditions hold no power. The Embassy would be ran in accordance to the customs, laws, and will of the Ambassador and their homeland. What goes on inside the Embassy would not be subject to our jurisdiction.
Let us take a moment to think about that, using Cardia as an example.
The Faith of the Pantheon last year declared an embargo against the importing of Cardian Steelsilk due to its manufacture using the labor of slaves. Cardia, as a nation, is heavily invested in the use of slave labor. Not just the practices of Thralldom of which so many of the Compact have already declared repugnant. Full, active, slavery. Give them an Embassy in Arx, and do you think it would not include slaves? Are you willing to invite them to openly display their slaves, bring them to Arx?
By law, no House of the Compact may ever have more than 100 armed retainers inside the boundaries of Arx. Yet an Embassy would not, technically, be Arx nor bound by its laws. What stops an Ambassador from calling more than 100 troops to reside in the Embassy, or using them if diplomacy fails? Do you wish to put that large of a foreign force inside the city, let alone inside the Crown Ward? It is a short march from anywhere across the Sovereign Bridge to the Palace and any skirmish would be well over before any other house could respond. And that assumes that the bridge is usable by any of the Crown's allied forces. It's an impressive choke-point; ask any strategist.
Now, if your response to these quickly-thought-of issues with an Embassy is that we can simply restrict them in the granting, then I would say this: If the rule of the foreign power's law is restricted in any way upon the grounds of their established embassy, it is no longer an embassy. That would be a Consulate.
This may seem like a pedantic distinction, but the precision of language must be used when constructing treaties. Ambiguities only lead to friction.
Lady Celeste Pravus
Fourth Reflection of the Mirrormasks
Written By Celeste
Sept. 29, 2019, 7:07 a.m.(12/4/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Alrec
I make no secret that I never liked Admiral Alrec Magaldi. He was an obnoxious, overly-eager man who lived entirely on the philosophy of asking for forgiveness instead of permission. Or, if I am frank, mostly on doing what he felt best regardless of the opinions of others. But whatever my opinion of Alrec was, he served Pravus and Pravus takes care of its own.
Today we have the murderers of Alrec Magaldi in custody and justice will be served.
Today we have the murderers of Alrec Magaldi in custody and justice will be served.
Written By Celeste
July 22, 2019, 7:07 a.m.(7/5/1011 AR)
Some of my earliest memories growing up are spending time at the Shrine of Tehom being mentored by the men and women who wore the Mask there. It's easy to see that the Masks of different regions place different priorities on their approach to our sacred duty, but I still recall the lessons as they were taught to me.
1. Question everything. This isn't to teach one to be annoying, but to teach everyone to think for themselves. What are your reasons for this decision? Why did you allow that to happen?
2. Learn when it's appropriate to voice those questions. The dog that yaps all the time quickly becomes ignored and its legitimate warnings lost because of it. Forcing divisiveness is not the goal of the Mirrormask, but creating an environment where we can acknowledge the motivations behind what we do.
3. If you're going to Question, ensure you do so thoughtfully. If your contrary opinion makes others double-down on their decision or does not provide a counter-point from a place of strength, you have only wasted your breath and made us all look bad.
4. Question yourself first. Before you present an argument, think through what others will respond with and try to answer those questions first.
There were many other lessons, but these are the ones that have come to mind most recently.
1. Question everything. This isn't to teach one to be annoying, but to teach everyone to think for themselves. What are your reasons for this decision? Why did you allow that to happen?
2. Learn when it's appropriate to voice those questions. The dog that yaps all the time quickly becomes ignored and its legitimate warnings lost because of it. Forcing divisiveness is not the goal of the Mirrormask, but creating an environment where we can acknowledge the motivations behind what we do.
3. If you're going to Question, ensure you do so thoughtfully. If your contrary opinion makes others double-down on their decision or does not provide a counter-point from a place of strength, you have only wasted your breath and made us all look bad.
4. Question yourself first. Before you present an argument, think through what others will respond with and try to answer those questions first.
There were many other lessons, but these are the ones that have come to mind most recently.
Written By Celeste
July 20, 2019, 8:15 a.m.(7/2/1011 AR)
We have been holding a Bazaar in the Setarco Commons for a few weeks now, and it's been a remarkable success. The traders and crafters from Setarco have noted an uptick in their sales. The people who struggle to sate their hunger are finding food. We have sent scores of new recruits to train with the First Legion in Setarco. I'm pleased to see not just the effort but also the results.
Written By Celeste
June 13, 2019, 8:31 p.m.(4/12/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Cristoph
My beloved three year old nephew has apparently enjoyed the birds I sent a great deal. He has sent me a number of goats in return. This has led me to several discoveries that I will break down into two basic groupings.
People Who Want Goats
* The Marquis Consort of Deepwood
* The Crimson Blades
People Who Do Not Want Goats
* Belladonna
I have also been informed that a collection of goats is sometimes called a trip. We have realized why this might be.
People Who Want Goats
* The Marquis Consort of Deepwood
* The Crimson Blades
People Who Do Not Want Goats
* Belladonna
I have also been informed that a collection of goats is sometimes called a trip. We have realized why this might be.
Written By Celeste
June 12, 2019, 12:52 p.m.(4/10/1011 AR)
The thought of family has been on my mind much this past week. It made me think of Nicia, Cristoph, and their children. I haven't had nearly the chance to spoil my niece and nephew as I would like, so now i have remedied that.
One mating pair of each bird species native to Setarco will be delivered to Laurent later this week.
I confess, I hadn't realize there were quite so many species when I made the request. But, what's an aunt to do if not spoil her flesh and blood from afar?
One mating pair of each bird species native to Setarco will be delivered to Laurent later this week.
I confess, I hadn't realize there were quite so many species when I made the request. But, what's an aunt to do if not spoil her flesh and blood from afar?
Written By Celeste
June 12, 2019, 11:46 a.m.(4/9/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Elisha
An ageless woman weaves a massive tapestry, the warp and weft of too complicated for any to understand, the size so grand no one can see more than a few sections at a time. Each thread, delicate in its placement, woven from a new color, each a shade no word exists to describe. The dark strands are stark, their backdrop making the bright shades blossom like new suns.
Gentle shears cut a thread, ending its run through the grand image.
Years later the Weaver picks up her needle and begins a new line on the tapestry, this never-ending work. The color is similar to one used before, but the image drawn with it is new.
Somewhere else a man sweeps dust into his hand and a cosmos is found glittering in it. He dreams... He glimpses fragments of a whole...
He wakes with hardly the knowledge of how to describe what he saw.
Gentle shears cut a thread, ending its run through the grand image.
Years later the Weaver picks up her needle and begins a new line on the tapestry, this never-ending work. The color is similar to one used before, but the image drawn with it is new.
Somewhere else a man sweeps dust into his hand and a cosmos is found glittering in it. He dreams... He glimpses fragments of a whole...
He wakes with hardly the knowledge of how to describe what he saw.
Written By Celeste
May 28, 2019, 8:31 a.m.(3/7/1011 AR)
Let those who track the history of the Compact note that this March, 1011AR, marks House Tortorici's return to the Compact. No longer are they Shav'arvani, cast beyond the legality of the rightful domains of the Lyceum and the Compact. Their sins of the past have been paid for, and they have bent knee and sworn their service to House Pravus again.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.