Written By Shard
Nov. 16, 2018, 10:58 p.m.(1/4/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Eleyna
I don't know the answer to this question. I don't think someone else can answer it for another person in any kind of satisfying way. People react in different ways, situations have different contexts. I don't know what I'd do.
But as for me, if I'm very, very luck and do everything right, maybe, one day, I'll get to find out.
But as for me, if I'm very, very luck and do everything right, maybe, one day, I'll get to find out.
Written By Shard
Nov. 16, 2018, 2:52 a.m.(1/2/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Bliss
No living person is a hero, not the kind of heroes built up in legends. A hero is a story and a set of ideals, someone trotted out again and again to admire and learn from. That's not how people are. People have flaws, they make mistakes, they betray themselves, they have stupid little habits that drive other people crazy. People can do heroic things. They do them more often than others realize. And most of those are forgotten and never recognized. They don't become stories. They don't become legends. The powerful decide who gets a statue in their honor. Bards and writers decide whose name comes up again and again. It's never accurate, so who cares if friends or family want to call their dead heroes? Not the dead.
Written By Shard
Nov. 11, 2018, 4:54 p.m.(12/21/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Audric
Exactly how drunk did you get last night?
Written By Shard
Nov. 7, 2018, 12:55 a.m.(12/12/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Lou
Some likely were, some likely weren't. I doubt it much matters to him who comes willingly or not, who comes knowing the truth and who comes because they listened to his lies out of fear and anger at the Compact and a desire for protection or revenge. Certainly not what happens to them after. He's been haunting the wild lands and the Abandoned tribes for a very, very, very long time.
Written By Shard
Oct. 23, 2018, 10:19 p.m.(11/12/1009 AR)
I don't see any meaningful difference between thralldom and slavery. It seems like bullshit semantics that because one is, usually, a nastier form of the other, the other can't be a form of slavery too. That is, obviously, an opinion that a whole lot of people don't share.
But the point is this: thralldom that does not have a chance of ending is fucking slavery. No semantics. No excuses. Thralls having the ability, at least in theory, to work their way out of thralldom is the entire thin-as-spider-web fig leaf for why thralls aren't slaves. And if you're willing to murder someone over that, you're not only a fucking murderer, you're also a fucking slaver.
But the point is this: thralldom that does not have a chance of ending is fucking slavery. No semantics. No excuses. Thralls having the ability, at least in theory, to work their way out of thralldom is the entire thin-as-spider-web fig leaf for why thralls aren't slaves. And if you're willing to murder someone over that, you're not only a fucking murderer, you're also a fucking slaver.
Written By Shard
Oct. 18, 2018, 2:42 a.m.(10/19/1009 AR)
Once upon a time, there was a powerful warlord that killed and enslaved people. One day, he did something he'd done hundreds and thousands of times before, and some people died. They left behind a little girl who was very sad and too young to know the world. The little girl fell asleep and had a dream, and in that dream a voice asked the little girl, "What are you going to do about it?"
And the little girl said, "I'm going to rip his fucking throat out."
And the little girl said, "I'm going to rip his fucking throat out."
Written By Shard
Oct. 15, 2018, 3:54 p.m.(10/14/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Vercyn
The idea that I'm only bothering to write about this because it's /Bliss/ /Whisper/ is fucking hilarious.
Written By Shard
Oct. 14, 2018, 8:06 p.m.(10/12/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Vercyn
The honor of a House's members reflects on the House. And he was hardly just a member, he was the Sword. He and that blade literally represented Telmar's honor, and he used it to try to win a bet, the cost of which, from what Bliss says, was her losing bodyparts. That's what he hoped to 'win' from her. That's what he was so confident about winning from her that he bet the House sword. It sounds like a stupid fucking bet on both sides, but no one forced him to do that, no one made him bet the sword. Even if your ridiculous premise were true, and some random duelist decided to set him up, his actions are his own. And so is the fact that he followed her after, ambushed her with backup, and stole the thing back. Stole it...which means he handed it over to her in the first place.
He's dead now, so Telmar needs to answer for what he did. It doesn't matter he was a piece of shit. They gave him that position and that weapon. Answer with the House sword? Maybe, maybe not. A lot of her demands sound ridiculous. But a promise was made, and she was wronged. This isn't /nothing/. And this guy got his House into this damned mess because of his own pride. His actions were his own.
He's dead now, so Telmar needs to answer for what he did. It doesn't matter he was a piece of shit. They gave him that position and that weapon. Answer with the House sword? Maybe, maybe not. A lot of her demands sound ridiculous. But a promise was made, and she was wronged. This isn't /nothing/. And this guy got his House into this damned mess because of his own pride. His actions were his own.
Written By Shard
Oct. 4, 2018, 1:22 a.m.(9/19/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Victus
Spend the season in or near the Everwinter with no permanent shelter and only the food you can find and catch (and don't become food yourself). I don't exactly miss Winter itself, but I'll admit it's not an experience you ignore or forget.
Arx winters are pretty. Far northern winters are pretty and will /end you/ if you fuck up, or just get unlucky.
Arx winters are pretty. Far northern winters are pretty and will /end you/ if you fuck up, or just get unlucky.
Written By Shard
Oct. 2, 2018, 9:37 p.m.(9/16/1009 AR)
My tribe had no dealings with the Compact, except to run and hide whenever we thought their soldiers were near. We were wanderers, and spent most of our time further north, away from any official holdings, but, of course, on land that is claimed by the Compact. All of Arvum is claimed by the Compact. There was no place we could wander, no matter how far north, no matter how hostile to living, to escape this claim. We spent many winters further north than we should have been out of fear of what might happen to us if we came closer to settled lands. More than once our tribe nearly starved to death because the herds dwindled or moved further south than we could semi-safely go. Even so, eventually my tribe was considered inconvenient enough to someone that sellswords were sent to kill all of us. This is what I remember when I read about the lives and responsibilities and 'comfortable living' of nobles. This is what I remember when people talk or write about Abandoned squatting on their lands. Hungry winters. Foreign would-be murderers.
The first description of the Compact that I remember is that of a massive, devouring beast that sought to eat everything and would never, ever be sated. It must have all lands and all peoples and it would do anything to get them. The worst thing that you could tell the Compact was 'no'. You could never defeat it. Never convince it. You could only go far away from it and try to stay beneath its notice.
Reality, of course, is more complicated than that. But when I lived with my tribe I didn't particularly care about those complications. It made no difference to my life or my tribe who the nobles actually were, whether they were born to it or raised to the Peerage, who was honorable and who was not, or which House was behind any particular horror story we had passed along when we met with friendly tribes. Of course we knew there were tribes who tried to fight the Compact...usually after they were either dead or absorbed or dragged into thralldom. Of course we knew about tribes that were hostile--we had to protect ourselves from them. Of course we heard tales about tribes that worshiped dark things, or made pacts with dangerous powers--they were even more dangerous to us. More than once we moved our trails to avoid them.
Why didn't my tribe come and bend the knee? Our ways were so different. Our living was so different. We valued our independence and freedom and we remembered stories about what had been done to the ancestors of the Abandoned. We wanted to keep to our spirits. We didn't want to worship strange gods that we only knew through the battle cries murderers would shout as they cut other tribes down. To join the Compact would be, at least in some way, to end the tribe, and while people here write of the responsibilities that nobles are taught from birth to the people they rule, we were taught from birth that we must work, and hunt, and sometimes sacrifice for the good of the tribe as a whole. There was no survival if we were not all working together. Our choices and our ability to make these choices were important to us, but the Compact has no interest in the choices of outlaws.
When I was young, I wanted to know why. When I grew older, I decided 'why' wasn't actually important to me. Now that I've lived here for some time, the only answer I've really received is that existing that way was and is some kind of threat. Most people here fear possible change, and, somehow, despite never really speaking, the Abandoned will force them to change just by being. The Prodigals will force them to change if they don't force them first. And if they don't have these things, if they don't have all the tribes and all the land of Arvum, the strength of the Compact's ways and Faith is just not enough.
There are good people here. Honorable people here. People who just want to live, and people who want to create, and people who devote their lives to what they believe, and what they believe is kind. It was hard for me to accept that. Harder when they reminded me of people I left behind.
The first description of the Compact that I remember is that of a massive, devouring beast that sought to eat everything and would never, ever be sated. It must have all lands and all peoples and it would do anything to get them. The worst thing that you could tell the Compact was 'no'. You could never defeat it. Never convince it. You could only go far away from it and try to stay beneath its notice.
Reality, of course, is more complicated than that. But when I lived with my tribe I didn't particularly care about those complications. It made no difference to my life or my tribe who the nobles actually were, whether they were born to it or raised to the Peerage, who was honorable and who was not, or which House was behind any particular horror story we had passed along when we met with friendly tribes. Of course we knew there were tribes who tried to fight the Compact...usually after they were either dead or absorbed or dragged into thralldom. Of course we knew about tribes that were hostile--we had to protect ourselves from them. Of course we heard tales about tribes that worshiped dark things, or made pacts with dangerous powers--they were even more dangerous to us. More than once we moved our trails to avoid them.
Why didn't my tribe come and bend the knee? Our ways were so different. Our living was so different. We valued our independence and freedom and we remembered stories about what had been done to the ancestors of the Abandoned. We wanted to keep to our spirits. We didn't want to worship strange gods that we only knew through the battle cries murderers would shout as they cut other tribes down. To join the Compact would be, at least in some way, to end the tribe, and while people here write of the responsibilities that nobles are taught from birth to the people they rule, we were taught from birth that we must work, and hunt, and sometimes sacrifice for the good of the tribe as a whole. There was no survival if we were not all working together. Our choices and our ability to make these choices were important to us, but the Compact has no interest in the choices of outlaws.
When I was young, I wanted to know why. When I grew older, I decided 'why' wasn't actually important to me. Now that I've lived here for some time, the only answer I've really received is that existing that way was and is some kind of threat. Most people here fear possible change, and, somehow, despite never really speaking, the Abandoned will force them to change just by being. The Prodigals will force them to change if they don't force them first. And if they don't have these things, if they don't have all the tribes and all the land of Arvum, the strength of the Compact's ways and Faith is just not enough.
There are good people here. Honorable people here. People who just want to live, and people who want to create, and people who devote their lives to what they believe, and what they believe is kind. It was hard for me to accept that. Harder when they reminded me of people I left behind.
Written By Shard
Sept. 30, 2018, 2:53 a.m.(9/11/1009 AR)
No one knows what killed the Marquis of Storm March and his warriors.
But one can make an educated guess.
But one can make an educated guess.
Written By Shard
Sept. 26, 2018, 8 a.m.(9/3/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Thena
That might get you better results in what's most immediately coming, but I'm not very familiar with trebuchets. I'd also pay to see it.
Naming one after the First Choice and then stating it fits because you're going to use it to remove the ability of other people to resist the Faith, on the other hand, is one hell of a fucking twist.
Naming one after the First Choice and then stating it fits because you're going to use it to remove the ability of other people to resist the Faith, on the other hand, is one hell of a fucking twist.
Written By Shard
Sept. 26, 2018, 3:56 a.m.(9/3/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Preston
One of the things I liked about Skald is that I'd never heard or seen him used for something like this. Or, more bluntly, that he wasn't used as a literal weapon by the Faith.
Written By Shard
Sept. 23, 2018, 11:29 p.m.(8/27/1009 AR)
In my tribe, there are the scars you earn from living, the scars you earn from hunting or battle, and the scars you earn from your people. These last are when you come of age, when you are no longer a child and are old enough to be counted as a full member. They are also not simply given to you; you must pass challenges for them that the elders decide on. And they don't come easily when you do earn them--pain is a part of growing up, and especially being grown. They can take months to fully heal. The woman who raised me used to tell me about how she got a high fever from hers, and dreamed all sorts of things. That's how she became a shaman.
Scars from living and hunting, scars from battle, those are unique to you. But the tribe's scars are all the same, even if the process of earning them is different for everyone. The wolf face for strength, endurance, and skill in the hunt. The raven face for wisdom and cunning...and a sense of humor, although I freely admit it doesn't seem like I learned much of that last. They sit together, forming a single design out of many different cuts, because that is the tribe. We were all ourselves, and we all worked together to survive.
There's a downside. You get used to those familiar faces. You get used to scars. Unmarked faces are slightly stranger, even if they belong to friendly tribes. It took me a long time after coming to the Compact to adjust to being surrounded by faces without those scars. It took longer to be able to trust any of them.
Scars from living and hunting, scars from battle, those are unique to you. But the tribe's scars are all the same, even if the process of earning them is different for everyone. The wolf face for strength, endurance, and skill in the hunt. The raven face for wisdom and cunning...and a sense of humor, although I freely admit it doesn't seem like I learned much of that last. They sit together, forming a single design out of many different cuts, because that is the tribe. We were all ourselves, and we all worked together to survive.
There's a downside. You get used to those familiar faces. You get used to scars. Unmarked faces are slightly stranger, even if they belong to friendly tribes. It took me a long time after coming to the Compact to adjust to being surrounded by faces without those scars. It took longer to be able to trust any of them.
Written By Shard
Sept. 19, 2018, 4:06 a.m.(8/17/1009 AR)
I remain convinced that things like collections are just attempts to fill up all the space in these enormous houses.
Written By Shard
Sept. 17, 2018, 5:58 a.m.(8/13/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Valencia
It doesn't matter either way, since I didn't win, but my reasons were actually incredibly selfish. There are things I want much more than money. Ask me sometime, if you're curious, and I'll tell you.
Meanwhile, I don't deserve praise for it.
Meanwhile, I don't deserve praise for it.
Written By Shard
Sept. 12, 2018, 10:29 p.m.(8/2/1009 AR)
I have no siblings, the tribe was my family. It's not the same, I'm sure, but there were children enough when I was growing up. We learned together. We played together. You hear nearly every argument and know everyone's business. A common thing to say in my tribe was that, for better or worse, there are no secrets when you live so close and depend on each other so much, although, of course, that's not true. Secrets are just much, much harder to keep when the only walls are made of hide.
Written By Shard
Sept. 11, 2018, 6:24 p.m.(7/28/1009 AR)
I don't believe in heroes. I've written this before. Heroes are stories. I believe in people...some specific people, anyway. But if I did believe in heroes, there are two people that would make the top of my list, and no one else's. Their names aren't known to anyone, their story is untold, they have no graves, and the place where they fell is unmarked. They will never have statues, for many reasons, chief of those being that their heroism didn't involve saving nations or slaying world ending villains. There are many people like that, whose stories I will never know.
Written By Shard
Sept. 7, 2018, 10:35 p.m.(7/20/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Corban
Faded or not, Silver /is/ remembered. But that specific promise to remember isn't unique to her, or your orders. Unfortunately, neither is the tendency to forget.
Written By Shard
Sept. 7, 2018, 1:09 a.m.(7/19/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Thesarin
I bang that drum often enough, yes.
But some things are enough to stand out, even past that.
But some things are enough to stand out, even past that.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.