Written By Esera
Nov. 6, 2016, 3:30 p.m.(1/17/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Myrinda
I am forced to admit I know far less about fashion than Myrinda Grayhope does. It is fair to say I know very little about fashion at all. But I do know that fashion is a weapon sharp as any blade -- in the Lyceum, and at Court. Through fashion, we create and recreate ourselves. Through fashion, we are illusion, and we are legend. There are few women in Arx so capable of illusion as Myrinda Grayhope, and so I have offered my patronage, and she has accepted.
Written By Esera
Oct. 24, 2016, 8:20 a.m.(12/5/1004 AR)
When I was younger -- just old enough to think I was the most beautiful and powerful girl in all of Lenosia, but still too young to realize I was neither -- I went down to the market with one of my cousins. She struck up a conversation with a silk merchant, a minor cousin of House Pravus. He was handsome beyond words. He could've sold poorspun linen to a princess -- any other princess but my cousin. The two of them got into a spat over a bolt of seasilk, and by the end my cousin was convinced House Pravus should be cast from the Lyceum and burned to the ground.
I told my mother -- I was outraged that a vassal should show my cousin so little respect. I was all but ready to go to war on her behalf. My mother laughed, and shook her head, and told me that if I fought every one of my cousins' battles for them, I'd never stop fighting. It was only a spat between a cousin of House Velenosa and a cousin of House Pravus. A minor thing, petty. Should my mother intercede, it would be transformed -- not a fight between cousins, but a fight between Houses. Not a spat, but a war.
"We make allies, Esera," she told me. "We do not make enemies. Our allies make us stronger -- our enemies only make us weaker. Which would you rather be?"
My mother knew the value of an alliance. She chose her own fights -- she allowed no one else to choose them for her.
I told my mother -- I was outraged that a vassal should show my cousin so little respect. I was all but ready to go to war on her behalf. My mother laughed, and shook her head, and told me that if I fought every one of my cousins' battles for them, I'd never stop fighting. It was only a spat between a cousin of House Velenosa and a cousin of House Pravus. A minor thing, petty. Should my mother intercede, it would be transformed -- not a fight between cousins, but a fight between Houses. Not a spat, but a war.
"We make allies, Esera," she told me. "We do not make enemies. Our allies make us stronger -- our enemies only make us weaker. Which would you rather be?"
My mother knew the value of an alliance. She chose her own fights -- she allowed no one else to choose them for her.
Written By Esera
Oct. 16, 2016, 11:48 p.m.(11/11/1004 AR)
Relationship Note on Blacktongue
He was my mother's jester, but before that he was her cupbearer -- her protector, in a world of peril and poison. He had a name, once. Something real. Now he has a lie. Blacktongue the Harlequin, you can bury your name, but you cannot bury the man you were. I will not forget your service to my mother. I pray I may earn your service, in kind. Your protection from peril, if not from poison.
Written By Esera
Oct. 9, 2016, 5:13 p.m.(10/18/1004 AR)
Relationship Note on Augustus
I have known him all my life, and all my life he has been a pillar -- something solid and certain, even when the world around me was not. I remember him, from a child's eyes, as ... Historic. A man who had seen and been a part of so much history. I am no longer that little girl, but he is still that pillar, and although I wish he could have lived the rest of his days in peace in Lenosia, I am glad to have him here in Arx. No man is ever free from duty.
Written By Esera
Oct. 2, 2016, 3:49 p.m.(9/25/1004 AR)
I grew up in Lenosia, in the City-State of Gardens. They say, in Lenosia, you may find any flower. The merchants bring them from afar, bring them as sprouts and bring them as bulbs. Among these flowers, some are long forgotten -- things of beauty, lost to time. Many others are named and known. If I am to be called the Archduchess of Flowers, I thought, perhaps, I might write about a few.
Fox Creep - An ivy with dusty purple flowers, dizzyingly sweet. They grow up the walls of my palace in Lenosia, and now they grow up the walls of my throne room in Arx, too. Careful you do not breathe too deeply of them, lest your head spin, and your heart warm -- they are intoxicating, a beautiful aphrodisiac.
Ardent Whisp - A bright yellow blossom made of a thousand tiny petals, it is rarely seen outside Sanctum. Yet, in recent years, some say they have seen it in Lenosia, little flashes of yellow that grow just outside the Palace. I wonder whose mischief this is?
Luminance - A pure white flower. Light-devouring, it shines gold under sunlight, ghostly silver under moonlight. You may never see one, never find one. Perhaps somewhere, in some lost corner of Lenosia, you will catch one blooming. Perhaps, more likely, they do not exist at all -- just a story told to young Lenosian ladies, who go 'chasing Luminance' in the dark of night.
Fox Creep - An ivy with dusty purple flowers, dizzyingly sweet. They grow up the walls of my palace in Lenosia, and now they grow up the walls of my throne room in Arx, too. Careful you do not breathe too deeply of them, lest your head spin, and your heart warm -- they are intoxicating, a beautiful aphrodisiac.
Ardent Whisp - A bright yellow blossom made of a thousand tiny petals, it is rarely seen outside Sanctum. Yet, in recent years, some say they have seen it in Lenosia, little flashes of yellow that grow just outside the Palace. I wonder whose mischief this is?
Luminance - A pure white flower. Light-devouring, it shines gold under sunlight, ghostly silver under moonlight. You may never see one, never find one. Perhaps somewhere, in some lost corner of Lenosia, you will catch one blooming. Perhaps, more likely, they do not exist at all -- just a story told to young Lenosian ladies, who go 'chasing Luminance' in the dark of night.
Written By Esera
Sept. 26, 2016, 10:44 a.m.(9/6/1004 AR)
Relationship Note on Darren
Prince Darren, High Lord of the Redrain, is not like other men of the North. I am sure he is brave, and bold, as they are. I am sure he is fierce. But the man I have come to know has learned to temper his passions -- to control them. I wonder if that is only what he has allowed me to see? My friend, we are bonded by will. We will stand united.
Written By Esera
Sept. 18, 2016, 11:07 p.m.(8/12/1004 AR)
I opened the doors of my estate to my Vassals, and my Vassals' Vassals. I opened them, too, to my friends outside the Lyceum. I protect and serve the South, but I protect and serve more than the South, too -- I protect the Compact. We are, all of us, partners in unity, and it will be a unity we must fight to protect. We must dig in our nails and fight harder than we have had to fight in a very, very long time. Oh, but the dinner was nice. There was boar.
Written By Esera
Sept. 11, 2016, 10:34 p.m.(7/19/1004 AR)
I love my sister, but she drives me mad. I don't think she drives anyone else half as mad, but I also don't think anyone else loves her half as much as I do. I will probably have to buy her a castle one day.
Written By Esera
Sept. 11, 2016, 10:17 p.m.(7/19/1004 AR)
Relationship Note on Jaenelle
She is a sweet girl. Sweeter than my brother deserved. Sweeter than most men deserve, in truth. She came to my family from House Thrax, and though her marriage was short lived, I pray her time as a Velenosa will last much longer. Last a lifetime, if she wishes it. She is welcome among us -- more than welcome. Loved. She has my protection.
Written By Esera
Sept. 11, 2016, 10:10 p.m.(7/19/1004 AR)
I lay awake at night, and the shadows in my room grow closer. Darker. I lay awake, and I swear that they begin to move around me. I can hear my heart beat in my ears. My breath, a whisper. The night is too long. It will only get longer.
Written By Esera
Sept. 4, 2016, 9:56 p.m.(6/26/1004 AR)
The Hollow of the Lower Boroughs is not a soft place, a place for lords and ladies -- but tonight it swarmed with them. Talen was there, and half the Lyceum was there, too. He lost his fight -- a pity -- but it was hard fought. You may have heard, at the end of the fight, that I rushed to his side, and kissed him. It's just, seeing him there, fallen, in the dirt and the blood and the broken glass ... he looked so alone. I could not bear it.
Written By Esera
Aug. 29, 2016, 12:04 a.m.(6/5/1004 AR)
Relationship Note on Torian
A man of the boroughs, he could blend into any crowd. He could convince you he is rabble, unclean. He is neither of those things. I know power when I see it. Influence. I saw the way the crowds in the Hollow moved around him. The way they listened to him. I was glad to share his arm, and his whiskey. Glad to whisper with him. But I know what I am to the people of the lower boroughs. Just another Silk.
Written By Esera
Aug. 28, 2016, 11:58 p.m.(6/5/1004 AR)
Relationship Note on Dawn
She shines with the strength and the warmth of the rising sun. She is a bastard, but she is more than that -- more than a title. There are people in this world who belong to greatness. You look at them, and you know it. Feel it in your blood. She is one of them. I will offer her my hand, and she will warm me; I will raise her up, and we will shine together, bright as flames. Unity is a beautiful promise, isn't it? So sweet.
Written By Esera
Aug. 28, 2016, 11:49 p.m.(6/5/1004 AR)
They took me to see my mother -- what was left of her -- her head, her shorn hair. Beneath her lashes, dark like my own, you could see them: the legs of a spider. I opened her eyes, and there they were. Not eyes, no. Not hers. Dead spiders. Large ones. Spiders ... The Spiders. Terrible things. How much have we forgotten, I wonder? How much must we still remember?
Written By Esera
Aug. 21, 2016, 11:01 p.m.(5/12/1004 AR)
Relationship Note on Audric
Audric, leader of the Valorous Few, is a man despised by as many people as he is desired. In a world of knights and valor, who would hire a Sellsword? Who would trust one? I would never trust him -- but I would use him. A pity he's more likely to put his sword through my heart than swear it to me.
Written By Esera
Aug. 21, 2016, 10:54 p.m.(5/12/1004 AR)
The beach was overtaken with flowers and silk, with couches and fine wine and Whispers. Oh, the beach parties in Lenosia were more scandalous, by far -- but in Arx, all cultures meet, and not all cultures are as daring as the Lyceum. Still, it was beautiful, and Lady Calista, my co-host, was beautiful in kind -- she shone bright as the stars overhead. She will rise high in Arx, I'm sure of it.
Written By Esera
Aug. 21, 2016, 10:37 p.m.(5/12/1004 AR)
Relationship Note on Acacia
She is my father's protege -- his flame, with hair bright as one. She is a beauty, and a poet. You would not expect her of the Lower Boroughs. Perhaps I am too far removed from them to know what to expect. She told me she was disposable. Is there such a thing as a disposable person? I don't want to believe there is. Naive, I know.
Written By Esera
Aug. 14, 2016, 11:10 p.m.(4/19/1004 AR)
The feasts of House Redrain are not like my own. They are earthy and glorious -- straightforward, never fancy. My Father was there, and my cousin, Luca. My Sword was there, too. He claimed me for a dance, and he swung me around the room, faster and faster, till the walls spun around me. Before my feet could fall out from beneath me, he picked me up and carried me away, and that was the last I saw of my dear friend Deva's feast.
Written By Esera
Aug. 14, 2016, 9:51 p.m.(4/19/1004 AR)
Relationship Note on Calista
She is so young, and so beautiful. In her eyes you will see all the temptation of the Lycem -- and all the danger of it. My sister is fond of her. I'm fond of her, too. She's a scandal, but who can resist her?
Written By Esera
Aug. 14, 2016, 9:36 p.m.(4/19/1004 AR)
Relationship Note on Caprice
I have known Caprice since we were both girls. She always had a better eye for beauty than I did -- inspired by Jayus. Chosen by him, too. All my loveliest gowns are of Caprice's making, but she means so much more to me than lovely gowns. She is one of my oldest friends -- she is family.
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