Written By Viviana
Dec. 6, 2021, 3:21 a.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
An incredible weariness, a growing desire for change, and -- a need for the company. Not a need. An ache. It's a pain, nearly, and one that cannot be ignored.
Written By Savio
Dec. 6, 2021, 1:21 a.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
Relationship Note on Amari
I looked into the distance
And saw the world in disarray
With every plan and promise
Gone to chaos and decay
The good and righteous forces
Lately never seem to win
And as the days grow shorter
Tattered hope is wearing thin
But in the midst of awfulness
Some pleasures do remain
Tiny secret treasured things
And joy amidst the pain
Sometimes just a simple sweetness
In a world that's gone so mad --
I have honey buttered bread,
Maybe it's not all bad.
And saw the world in disarray
With every plan and promise
Gone to chaos and decay
The good and righteous forces
Lately never seem to win
And as the days grow shorter
Tattered hope is wearing thin
But in the midst of awfulness
Some pleasures do remain
Tiny secret treasured things
And joy amidst the pain
Sometimes just a simple sweetness
In a world that's gone so mad --
I have honey buttered bread,
Maybe it's not all bad.
Written By Svana
Dec. 5, 2021, 11:09 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
Relationship Note on Asher
A second husband gone.
A mugging 'gone wrong' they say. I want his things back. I want some pieces of him material that I can hold dear.
Instead I must eventually explain to his children why I am crying and hugging them too hard sometimes. They lived for him. To see him come through the door. He was so good to them.
I hope that he finds peace in the Wheel in this time. No more nightmares. Goodbye, Asher. I love you.
A mugging 'gone wrong' they say. I want his things back. I want some pieces of him material that I can hold dear.
Instead I must eventually explain to his children why I am crying and hugging them too hard sometimes. They lived for him. To see him come through the door. He was so good to them.
I hope that he finds peace in the Wheel in this time. No more nightmares. Goodbye, Asher. I love you.
Written By Jaenelle
Dec. 5, 2021, 10:27 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
I asked people if they thought they could taste colors. The answers were quite interesting! Apparently there are a lot of alcoholics.
Written By Malesh
Dec. 5, 2021, 10:27 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
With half my siblings being of southern lineage, I've long held some curiosity for the ways of our southern peoples. They try many things first, new foods, new wines, and the like. They were the first to bring us the design of the Caravel, of which there has been much debate lately. They likewise also, under the leadership of the Archduchess, brought us the first new great house in many lifetimes.
Now it seems they are adopting a system whereby leadership is granted based upon merits rather than lineage, a very novel idea indeed. It will be interesting to see how such ideas play out in the future, and who will be determined judge of these merits. Perhaps they shall one day send a box from town to town, inviting all who reside there to name who they believe best deserves noble title, so that we can be sure the people are in agreement.
Now it seems they are adopting a system whereby leadership is granted based upon merits rather than lineage, a very novel idea indeed. It will be interesting to see how such ideas play out in the future, and who will be determined judge of these merits. Perhaps they shall one day send a box from town to town, inviting all who reside there to name who they believe best deserves noble title, so that we can be sure the people are in agreement.
Written By Khanne
Dec. 5, 2021, 10:07 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
There's an air of nostalgia about me for some reason. I have been thinking of a lot of people my life has crossed paths with lately. Some I knew briefly, like our paths simply just crossed. Some who I seemed to walk along the same path for a while. Then others, whose paths were entwined with mine.
They are bittersweet memories. They fill my heart with joy, make me smile, but then the pain of missing them cuts in... But even that is lovely in its own way, isn't it? Beautiful melancholy.
Many of returned to the wheel... but sometimes... sometimes I like to imagine that when I am thinking of the ones who are out there, alive, somewhere... that perhaps, they might feel it. Maybe they find themselves smiling for no reason they can discern. Maybe they have their own moment of nostalgia.
Or maybe they are just out there somewhere, living their best life without a thought to their pasts at all.
They are bittersweet memories. They fill my heart with joy, make me smile, but then the pain of missing them cuts in... But even that is lovely in its own way, isn't it? Beautiful melancholy.
Many of returned to the wheel... but sometimes... sometimes I like to imagine that when I am thinking of the ones who are out there, alive, somewhere... that perhaps, they might feel it. Maybe they find themselves smiling for no reason they can discern. Maybe they have their own moment of nostalgia.
Or maybe they are just out there somewhere, living their best life without a thought to their pasts at all.
Written By Cassiopeia
Dec. 5, 2021, 9:36 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
It's the things we do when no one is watching, that shows who we are.
Written By Jaenelle
Dec. 5, 2021, 9:18 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
I crowned six leaders of the Lyceum and look forward to see what greatness they can accomplish. Each showed a different view point a leader must face, and it was enjoyable to watch!
Written By Jaenelle
Dec. 5, 2021, 9:16 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
Relationship Note on Titus
Lord Titus has many talents, though he is an exceptional story teller. So much so that I look forward to anytime he has free time between duties to share one.
Written By Cosimo
Dec. 5, 2021, 9:08 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
I doubled down on my commitment to get out of my room, nay, the estate with greater regularity.
Just the other day I decided that I wished to review some papers, and elected to travel to the Black Fox for a change of scene. While I did get some productive work accomplished, I was eventually joined by the beautiful Baroness Calla, the charming Miss Ilira Starling, and the delightfully insightful Prince Patrizio Pravus. We shared drinks and words before I was required back at the estate. I do hope our paths cross once more.
And then just tonight, I met a quite interesting fellow. A mister Cesare of Whisper House. While our exchanges were fairly brief, between the storytelling put on by House Pravus, he struck me as a deeply knowledgeable individual and I feel that I have quite a bit to learn should he have the time, and inclination, to teach me.
Just the other day I decided that I wished to review some papers, and elected to travel to the Black Fox for a change of scene. While I did get some productive work accomplished, I was eventually joined by the beautiful Baroness Calla, the charming Miss Ilira Starling, and the delightfully insightful Prince Patrizio Pravus. We shared drinks and words before I was required back at the estate. I do hope our paths cross once more.
And then just tonight, I met a quite interesting fellow. A mister Cesare of Whisper House. While our exchanges were fairly brief, between the storytelling put on by House Pravus, he struck me as a deeply knowledgeable individual and I feel that I have quite a bit to learn should he have the time, and inclination, to teach me.
Written By Anisha
Dec. 5, 2021, 8:44 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
V,
What are you doing, these days? We write our letters, we dance our dances, but I don't know what you are doing. Are you happy? Content? Do you need change?
Do you need company?
Written By Duarte
Dec. 5, 2021, 8:40 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
The Lyceum is not a monolith. Generalized conceptions aside, there is a wealth of diversity of culture among the 100 or so sovereign cities that comprise the Lyceum. (I wrote about this somewhat extensively in my field manual, Treacherous Waters)
So while Setarco has its share of poisonings, what I most often observed were disappearances. This I found was especially true at court which seemed to have a high, shall we say, 'turnover'?
You often hear of subtly in the Lyceum and this is doubly true for Setarco. So while Belinha prepared me for the social graces and proper addresses and so forth, there was a whole other aspect of navigation entirely. Nothing was above board here. There seemed to be an ever shifting and changing code of communication and certain gestures meant certain things but nothing was explained. Social Warfare among those at Pravus Court would look, to the perhaps unindoctrinated, much like a jovial, affable engagement. But there's truly nothing light hearted about it. Even outside Setarco, any courtier can tell you the stakes are serious and for keeps. We played to stay in the House's favor, to be useful, and most of all, for that most desired prize: security. If a courtier can make themselves indispensable at court to the ruling family, that is a meal ticket for life with lots of upward mobility.
Unprepared as I was for this game entirely, I yet managed a somewhat lengthy welcome by relishing in obscurity. I would not dress so as to stand out. I would not utter a word unless it was the most mundane and safe thing to utter. When I did speak, I was careful to generalize my utterance so that I might remain vague in the minds of others. "Some people said...", "Many would think...", "Everyone I know believes..."
I watched and I learned.
And of what I learned by watching and not engaging was this: a pattern! A scandal, of varying salaciousness, would break out and be whispered and gossiped about by rumormongers, staff, lesser nobility, courtiers, etc. House Pravus is almost famous for its scandals, you know? And in the midst of the tittering and chattering, something else entirely would be afoot and it didn't always correlate to those involved in the scandalous dealings. Sometimes it was used as a catalyst. But never was the scandal the thing. It was usually planned, or merely convenient, to effect something else entirely.
That period of muted ambition, where I took that time to just pay attention, to observe, paid off. For when a particularly embarrassing scandal hit concerning the Minister of Production's son - one that promised an ousting for one and the denobling of the other (the son's misstep was caused by a yet unnamed courtier lacing his tobacco with dust) - I had already noticed his shelves growing bare and his trunks being packed no less than two weeks prior. The man who had brought me in was defecting. And if I didn't act fast, I had a feeling I knew who the unnamed courtier was going to be.
So while Setarco has its share of poisonings, what I most often observed were disappearances. This I found was especially true at court which seemed to have a high, shall we say, 'turnover'?
You often hear of subtly in the Lyceum and this is doubly true for Setarco. So while Belinha prepared me for the social graces and proper addresses and so forth, there was a whole other aspect of navigation entirely. Nothing was above board here. There seemed to be an ever shifting and changing code of communication and certain gestures meant certain things but nothing was explained. Social Warfare among those at Pravus Court would look, to the perhaps unindoctrinated, much like a jovial, affable engagement. But there's truly nothing light hearted about it. Even outside Setarco, any courtier can tell you the stakes are serious and for keeps. We played to stay in the House's favor, to be useful, and most of all, for that most desired prize: security. If a courtier can make themselves indispensable at court to the ruling family, that is a meal ticket for life with lots of upward mobility.
Unprepared as I was for this game entirely, I yet managed a somewhat lengthy welcome by relishing in obscurity. I would not dress so as to stand out. I would not utter a word unless it was the most mundane and safe thing to utter. When I did speak, I was careful to generalize my utterance so that I might remain vague in the minds of others. "Some people said...", "Many would think...", "Everyone I know believes..."
I watched and I learned.
And of what I learned by watching and not engaging was this: a pattern! A scandal, of varying salaciousness, would break out and be whispered and gossiped about by rumormongers, staff, lesser nobility, courtiers, etc. House Pravus is almost famous for its scandals, you know? And in the midst of the tittering and chattering, something else entirely would be afoot and it didn't always correlate to those involved in the scandalous dealings. Sometimes it was used as a catalyst. But never was the scandal the thing. It was usually planned, or merely convenient, to effect something else entirely.
That period of muted ambition, where I took that time to just pay attention, to observe, paid off. For when a particularly embarrassing scandal hit concerning the Minister of Production's son - one that promised an ousting for one and the denobling of the other (the son's misstep was caused by a yet unnamed courtier lacing his tobacco with dust) - I had already noticed his shelves growing bare and his trunks being packed no less than two weeks prior. The man who had brought me in was defecting. And if I didn't act fast, I had a feeling I knew who the unnamed courtier was going to be.
Written By Ryhalt
Dec. 5, 2021, 6:51 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
A taste of nostalgia in the morning and a draught of sorrow at night makes for a well-rounded day, I suppose.
Written By Lucita
Dec. 5, 2021, 6:47 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
Relationship Note on Thea
How nice to spend time with old friends, sit down, and puzzle out problems together.
Written By Deva
Dec. 5, 2021, 6:15 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
Relationship Note on Raven
I've seen her blade arm. She is ferocious and spectacular, and I am glad we are on the same side of this conflict.
Written By Avita
Dec. 5, 2021, 5:58 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
Well, fine.
Don't write to me, then.
You're all dead to me.
Don't write to me, then.
You're all dead to me.
Written By Cesare
Dec. 5, 2021, 5:57 p.m.(9/11/1016 AR)
Sometimes I think it's the most human of instincts to long for a simpler time. I can remember moments when I was a child that feel singular; sitting at the edge of the docks, eating a piece of fried fish, golden and fresh from the ocean, straight from the cook-fire, just as it had come from the pan. My legs dangling off the side of the dock but too short to reach the water then, except perhaps the very tips of my toes, if I stretched. I would have been working all day, running messages between sailors, sorting fish, gutting, descaling. Whatever they would have me do in exchange for a meal. Since sunrise. Often before. And when I bit into that piece of fish, I was tired, and so hungry, that it tasted like the best thing I had ever eaten. Someone would doubtless offer me a mug of ale, or cider, and I would drink it, and watch the sun in her slow transit as she moved to kiss her lover and sink below the sea.
Perspective is everything: the sublime nature of that moment is such largely because of the depravity which surrounded it. If I had not been so hungry, I would not have been so grateful for such humble food. If I had not slept on the streets, I would not have been awake to greet the dawn. And so on, and so forth. But knowing this does not diminish the pleasure found in that simple moment of sensual joy. And even now, while I am surrounded more than I could possibly find it in myself to want, I am blessed that those who make me feel most myself are those who value me not for my station, for my connections, or even for my cleverness. It is a unique privilege to have a few in my life who remind me of those simple, sublime moments. Who evoke those same feelings in me: moments that stand out, disconnected from context, as perfect.
Perspective is everything: the sublime nature of that moment is such largely because of the depravity which surrounded it. If I had not been so hungry, I would not have been so grateful for such humble food. If I had not slept on the streets, I would not have been awake to greet the dawn. And so on, and so forth. But knowing this does not diminish the pleasure found in that simple moment of sensual joy. And even now, while I am surrounded more than I could possibly find it in myself to want, I am blessed that those who make me feel most myself are those who value me not for my station, for my connections, or even for my cleverness. It is a unique privilege to have a few in my life who remind me of those simple, sublime moments. Who evoke those same feelings in me: moments that stand out, disconnected from context, as perfect.
Written By Amari
Dec. 5, 2021, 3:19 p.m.(9/10/1016 AR)
It's really easy to get bogged down in the negative and forget that there's still good in the world. Take a moment a think of at least one thing when you're being sucked into a whirlpool of awfulness. For me, it's honey and butter on bread still warm from the oven. That one alone is a sure sign that the world isn't all bad.
Written By Preston
Dec. 5, 2021, 12:28 p.m.(9/10/1016 AR)
Sometimes you seek to douse the fire, cover its embers in water in the hope it will not flare up again. Sometimes you isolate it, you dig a trench between the fire and what you love, what you wish to protect from its consuming rage. And sometimes you stride towards it, you run and leap through the tongues of its flames. Because you know that what is on the other side is worth the temporary pain.
There is honesty in battle, honesty in discontent. You do not need to hate the person standing across the battlefield from you, but you can know they are not your friend - not for that moment. You can know their aims, their goals, do not match yours. That is honesty. And I would rather have 10 honest foes than 1 false friend, who waits in peace to harm me. Who would swear their loyalty, their obedience, only to sunder such oaths and their honour for the chance to spill your blood.
There is honesty in battle, honesty in discontent. You do not need to hate the person standing across the battlefield from you, but you can know they are not your friend - not for that moment. You can know their aims, their goals, do not match yours. That is honesty. And I would rather have 10 honest foes than 1 false friend, who waits in peace to harm me. Who would swear their loyalty, their obedience, only to sunder such oaths and their honour for the chance to spill your blood.
Written By Sylvie
Dec. 5, 2021, 11:55 a.m.(9/10/1016 AR)
How would one protect, if you do not know how to wield blade or bow or any other weapon? What would you seek to learn to defeat someone who would call themselves a god? I know diplomacy; I know etiquette. I know how to lead and steward. I have a lot to learn about protecting.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.