Written By Shard
Nov. 2, 2017, 9:09 p.m.(7/7/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Valencia
Imagine you had to carry it all with you for miles and miles, and at most you had one horse to help with the load.
That always worked for me.
That always worked for me.
Written By Shard
Oct. 31, 2017, 2:13 p.m.(7/2/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Halsim
Hm, yes. Best to come live inside the Compact where you'll insist they're still bandits at your table that can't be trusted. Prodigals certainly know where they stand with you, anyway.
Written By Shard
Oct. 31, 2017, 3:23 a.m.(7/1/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Skye
You make a good point about the rest of the Compact. You're right. The rest of this though...seriously? A lifetime (and it is, almost always, a fucking lifetime, with almost no chance for freedom) of servitude is your idea of a better, third option to those two choices? To raiders, Thrax might offer more; the rest of the Compact generally offers nothing more than the sword, and to some, maybe, maybe, a life of servitude at the hands of their enemies is better than a quick death. But you talk about bending the knee, and that is an option offered as an oh so wonderful beneficial kindness to the more peaceful Abandoned tribes the Compact encounters. And you're saying thralldom, usually a lifetime of thralldom, is better, because while they're washing your clothes and serving you meals and mucking your stables and farming your fields or digging your mines they can see what a wonderful generous fucking people you are? While they're torn apart from their tribes and their homes and their lands that you've taken for your own and carted off to wherever you please to take them, they can be grateful that at least you've allowed them to PAY BACK the debt they owe YOU for the war THEY forced on you?
Do you really fucking believe the utter bullshit that they were all raiders and bandits that attacked you first? Or have you somehow actually convinced yourself that all those Abandoned war thralls that show up in your House's care were all just asking for it by existing on your lands before you got there? You're welcome to this view, but don't write some nonsense essay about how you're so much kinder and more considerate to the poor mistreated Abandoned by dragging them into thralldom instead of murdering them where they stand or strong-arming them into giving up their freedom and way of life to swear fealty to a king and a people that are complete strangers to them. You aren't doing your side any favors.
Do you really fucking believe the utter bullshit that they were all raiders and bandits that attacked you first? Or have you somehow actually convinced yourself that all those Abandoned war thralls that show up in your House's care were all just asking for it by existing on your lands before you got there? You're welcome to this view, but don't write some nonsense essay about how you're so much kinder and more considerate to the poor mistreated Abandoned by dragging them into thralldom instead of murdering them where they stand or strong-arming them into giving up their freedom and way of life to swear fealty to a king and a people that are complete strangers to them. You aren't doing your side any favors.
Written By Shard
Oct. 30, 2017, 11:39 p.m.(7/1/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Daemon
I'm aware of what he did, but he's the one who brought up the imminent threat. If he's going to broach that topic, I'm going to point out the obvious.
Written By Shard
Oct. 30, 2017, 11:09 p.m.(7/1/1007 AR)
I don't expect random dukes to read the bullshit I write even if they hadn't already insisted they weren't going to read responses to things they'd flung out there, but I'm going to say what I think anyway.
Bad timing? Sure, I can see that argument. Shit's coming, maybe it's not the greatest time to start turning things upside-down when giant threats are bearing down on everyone. But you know what? One of those fucking threats is the centuries old Herald of the fucking Archfiend of Slavery, and maybe, MAYBE it bears a few moments of thought that facing him with your armies and navies standing on the backs of your own slaves--whatever cute little name and rules you've put on them to convince yourselves that's not actually what they are, no really, honestly, truly, that's why we're constantly arguing with a fucking god over the matter--maybe that isn't the greatest idea ever hatched on Arvum.
Arrogant mainlanders daring to come in and think they know best how you should live your life? I know, it's just inexcusable. I mean, it's certainly nothing the Thrax would ever do to others. Presuming how unknown peoples and lands should be governed? Perish the fucking thought.
The Liberators came in and fucking bought your thralls. Bought them. Gave thousands and thousands of silver for them. All legal, all according to the fucking rules laid out. Then they paid thousands more to get those thralls to new homes where they could actually build a damned life, with the help of Deepwood and others. Now some Thrax houses want to get rid of the bullshit--by their own fucking choice--and all you can do is shit on them and call them reckless and arrogant. They're playing by your rules, and a bunch of you are still not happy about it. Why is that?
You know what? Here's this stupid ignorant arrogant mainlander's opinion: thralls are a fucking crutch for Thrax. You pride yourselves on how strong you are, but you prop yourselves up with them, to the point it will hurt you significantly if you abolish the practice. It's been going so long you even think it's part of your strength. But every other Great House gets on without them, and they're not trailing you, are they? So what does that say about Thrax, really? What does it say when the first thing you do when a few of yours decide to stand on their own is turn on them?
Bad timing? Sure, I can see that argument. Shit's coming, maybe it's not the greatest time to start turning things upside-down when giant threats are bearing down on everyone. But you know what? One of those fucking threats is the centuries old Herald of the fucking Archfiend of Slavery, and maybe, MAYBE it bears a few moments of thought that facing him with your armies and navies standing on the backs of your own slaves--whatever cute little name and rules you've put on them to convince yourselves that's not actually what they are, no really, honestly, truly, that's why we're constantly arguing with a fucking god over the matter--maybe that isn't the greatest idea ever hatched on Arvum.
Arrogant mainlanders daring to come in and think they know best how you should live your life? I know, it's just inexcusable. I mean, it's certainly nothing the Thrax would ever do to others. Presuming how unknown peoples and lands should be governed? Perish the fucking thought.
The Liberators came in and fucking bought your thralls. Bought them. Gave thousands and thousands of silver for them. All legal, all according to the fucking rules laid out. Then they paid thousands more to get those thralls to new homes where they could actually build a damned life, with the help of Deepwood and others. Now some Thrax houses want to get rid of the bullshit--by their own fucking choice--and all you can do is shit on them and call them reckless and arrogant. They're playing by your rules, and a bunch of you are still not happy about it. Why is that?
You know what? Here's this stupid ignorant arrogant mainlander's opinion: thralls are a fucking crutch for Thrax. You pride yourselves on how strong you are, but you prop yourselves up with them, to the point it will hurt you significantly if you abolish the practice. It's been going so long you even think it's part of your strength. But every other Great House gets on without them, and they're not trailing you, are they? So what does that say about Thrax, really? What does it say when the first thing you do when a few of yours decide to stand on their own is turn on them?
Written By Shard
Oct. 25, 2017, 10:43 p.m.(6/19/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Driskell
Thank you, Master Creepy.
Written By Shard
Oct. 22, 2017, 2:43 p.m.(6/12/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Edward
But for the record, of course there is. Abandoned don't come in armies, they come in tribes, clans, villages. The wilds are a lot larger than I suspect most people around here realize. There are people out there. Thousands of people. They've been there forever, living and dying. The Horned One has been building his army for decades and more. Longer than Brand. Just because he's only been known to you for a few years doesn't mean he hasn't been out there making their lives miserable for generations. And just because you don't see or think about them until they're on your doorstep (or you theirs) doesn't mean they don't exist until they're drawing weapons to fight you across a battlefield.
Written By Shard
Oct. 22, 2017, 2:34 p.m.(6/12/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Edward
I'm wondering what you think the moral problem would be for the Compact in that scenario. I'm damned curious, actually.
Written By Shard
Oct. 20, 2017, 3:46 p.m.(6/8/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Halsim
We didn't see his converted armies. Not that last fight, in any case. Those were the people he lied to. The people he convinced that the Compact were responsible for the poison killing their shamans and their spirits and hurting their people. He convinced them you were their enemies, something that I imagine was ridiculously easy to do, considering everything else the Compact does to them without any need for the Horned One to lie about.
And then, for no other reason than because he fucking could, he killed every single one of them with a thought, in an instant--turned their bodies into insects because those people didn't mean anything more to him than they did to you.
And then, for no other reason than because he fucking could, he killed every single one of them with a thought, in an instant--turned their bodies into insects because those people didn't mean anything more to him than they did to you.
Written By Shard
Oct. 18, 2017, 1:50 p.m.(6/4/1007 AR)
I'm not dead.
Written By Shard
Oct. 15, 2017, 3:02 p.m.(5/26/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Samael
How do you feel about shouting matches?
Written By Shard
Oct. 15, 2017, 1:08 a.m.(5/25/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Samael
Oh I doubt I would be worth having an in-depth conversation with on this subject. I'm no scholar. What do I disagree with? If justice is the most important objective of the Compact--not only the Compact, but society in general--then all I can say is what I've already said: you could have fooled me. It's certainly not what I would have picked if I was asked what I thought the Compact's top priority was. Or the top five, for that matter.
Maybe I misunderstood you. Did you mean what you thought it should be? If so, good fucking luck to you.
Maybe I misunderstood you. Did you mean what you thought it should be? If so, good fucking luck to you.
Written By Shard
Oct. 14, 2017, 8:58 p.m.(5/25/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Samael
Really? Could have fooled me.
Written By Shard
Oct. 10, 2017, 11:20 a.m.(5/16/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Fortunato
You won't catch me singing the praises of cold weather. But I'll take it over the sticky, humid misery southern Arvum calls summer.
Written By Shard
Oct. 10, 2017, 2:50 a.m.(5/15/1007 AR)
I didn't realize how much I'd desperately missed the North until I was back there, even if that realization had to come on a damn boat in the middle of a storm tossed sea. There was nothing particularly enjoyable about the trip to miss, but there was something about the air. The quiet. The emptiness.
Naturally, everyone else seems to have found it mildly horrifying.
Naturally, everyone else seems to have found it mildly horrifying.
Written By Shard
Oct. 2, 2017, 12:05 a.m.(4/26/1007 AR)
Whatever happens, a lot more Abandoned are going to die in the next few weeks.
Written By Shard
Sept. 30, 2017, 2:27 a.m.(4/22/1007 AR)
A while back I wrote about how demanding trust from someone doesn't work; trust is something that can only be earned, never forced. That would probably sound reasonable to most people.
Loyalty, however, works the same way. You can pressure, even force oaths. You can bring every possible instrument you can think of to bear on someone to get them to do what you want; coercion, threats, blackmail, torture, persuasion, bribery, hostage taking...humans get very creative when it comes to pushing someone else into something, after all. But it the end, loyalty--true loyalty--cannot be bought, forced, or commanded. If it could, after all, Writs wouldn't need to exist. And attempting to force someone's loyalty, much like attempting to force someone's trust, often has the opposite result.
If all of that sounds strange coming from a sellsword, think about how strange it is being the sellsword occasionally saying it to people who should damn well know better.
Loyalty, however, works the same way. You can pressure, even force oaths. You can bring every possible instrument you can think of to bear on someone to get them to do what you want; coercion, threats, blackmail, torture, persuasion, bribery, hostage taking...humans get very creative when it comes to pushing someone else into something, after all. But it the end, loyalty--true loyalty--cannot be bought, forced, or commanded. If it could, after all, Writs wouldn't need to exist. And attempting to force someone's loyalty, much like attempting to force someone's trust, often has the opposite result.
If all of that sounds strange coming from a sellsword, think about how strange it is being the sellsword occasionally saying it to people who should damn well know better.
Written By Shard
Sept. 21, 2017, 7:53 p.m.(4/5/1007 AR)
For my part, I'm quite happy to repeat anything I write on some piece of paper to someone's face. It's entirely possible that in the delay I've thought up something extra to add on.
Words are words. If anything, putting them down in a journal that everyone can read should make them mean more, not less. It means I don't give a shit if absolutely everyone knows what I think on something. People can argue over whether that's wise, but it's strange to say it's cowardly.
Words are words. If anything, putting them down in a journal that everyone can read should make them mean more, not less. It means I don't give a shit if absolutely everyone knows what I think on something. People can argue over whether that's wise, but it's strange to say it's cowardly.
Written By Shard
Sept. 21, 2017, 1:33 a.m.(4/3/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Ira
Is it hard doing whatever it is you do with such poor reading comprehension? Or did you just skip over the bit where I referred to summary execution? Thanks for reiterating my point though, truly.
Written By Shard
Sept. 21, 2017, 12:24 a.m.(4/3/1007 AR)
Relationship Note on Ira
My favorite version of this not-slavery debt is the kind where they go out to Abandoned villages and drag off everyone who doesn't manage to die in the process, then tie a price to them. The big reform that's getting pushed, of course, is that this price actually has to be one that can be paid off in a lifetime. It's very generous.
But then, of course, the crime there is not being born in the Compact, one that tends to warrant summary execution often enough.
But then, of course, the crime there is not being born in the Compact, one that tends to warrant summary execution often enough.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.