Written By Michael
March 25, 2017, 9:28 a.m.(2/25/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Gabriel
It's been some time but Father and I managed to have a few moments to discuss the affairs of our House despite the demands on his time. I know others have written much about my Father's leadership ability, his steadfastness, and the manner by which he leads. So often I read such things, I feel the shadow of Duke Bisland loom over me.
But when we sit at our family table in our family home, I remember that he's my Father. I'm reminded of the man who put a sword in my hand for the first time and watched me struggle with its initial weight.
I'm reminded of the moments when I saw that small gleam of pride in his eyes as Lailah blossomed with her books.
And, I think, I saw a glimmer of it yesterday.
I may always have the weight of expectations in front of me, but gods, may I be better man for them.
But when we sit at our family table in our family home, I remember that he's my Father. I'm reminded of the man who put a sword in my hand for the first time and watched me struggle with its initial weight.
I'm reminded of the moments when I saw that small gleam of pride in his eyes as Lailah blossomed with her books.
And, I think, I saw a glimmer of it yesterday.
I may always have the weight of expectations in front of me, but gods, may I be better man for them.
Written By Selene
March 25, 2017, 4:16 a.m.(2/25/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Orazio
The Legate's strength is truly a marvel. I can see how such a man has been chosen to serve the Faith in such a high capacity.
He was entirely what I was not expecting.
It's a surprising fact that still this city holds this much mystery as to offer me a light such he in such a dark time as this. There are many things to be thankful for today. He is at the top of this list.
He was entirely what I was not expecting.
It's a surprising fact that still this city holds this much mystery as to offer me a light such he in such a dark time as this. There are many things to be thankful for today. He is at the top of this list.
Written By Clover
March 25, 2017, 4:07 a.m.(2/25/1006 AR)
*A sketch of a single feminine hand; the fingers curled closed. The lines are loose, wobbly, and not particularly good. The rings are there; the one with the rising dragon and the two crossed blades. The hand is not so much clenched into a fist as it is simply closed, thumb tucked underneath the fingers.*
Written By Dulcinea
March 25, 2017, 1:29 a.m.(2/25/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Valencia
Dear Me,
I met such a lovely person, this evening! Additionally, she's a princess.
I want to be a princess. Or a duchess. It seems in poor taste to wear a tiara, otherwise.
Of course this means I must marry up, up, up.
What an awful lot of effort.
Oh, but the princess! Silk and jewels and all in red -- boots to the thigh and silk stockings above. Dark and alluring and so /kind./ Honestly, the way she was dressed was absolutely scandalous -- but she /was/ born Velenosa. The Lycene are so daring. She said she's a Redrain -- that must have been an interesting transition. She does seem impervious to the cold.
She's very kind.
Oh, it's late. I'm so very tired. I've done a lot of shopping.
Speaking of that, I need to find Ansel and mend things.
Or throw more things at him. I'm not sure.
Love to Me,
Me
I met such a lovely person, this evening! Additionally, she's a princess.
I want to be a princess. Or a duchess. It seems in poor taste to wear a tiara, otherwise.
Of course this means I must marry up, up, up.
What an awful lot of effort.
Oh, but the princess! Silk and jewels and all in red -- boots to the thigh and silk stockings above. Dark and alluring and so /kind./ Honestly, the way she was dressed was absolutely scandalous -- but she /was/ born Velenosa. The Lycene are so daring. She said she's a Redrain -- that must have been an interesting transition. She does seem impervious to the cold.
She's very kind.
Oh, it's late. I'm so very tired. I've done a lot of shopping.
Speaking of that, I need to find Ansel and mend things.
Or throw more things at him. I'm not sure.
Love to Me,
Me
Written By Acacia
March 25, 2017, 1:03 a.m.(2/25/1006 AR)
I wasn't sure what to expect when I showed up to the Tournament Grounds for the event held by Princess Katarina and Princess Alis. A chance to cut through the anticipatory tension? A break from social monotony during these darker times? Keeping coin in my pockets after my terrible runs with wagers? I managed all three with their aid.
I was able to kidnap Mistress Sameera so we both could join Archduke Niccolo's team for the event. I couldn't quite see our competitors all the time, but from the sounds of it, their challenges were rough, hilarious and involved many snowballs. Mistress Sameera proved incredibly useful and while I've yet to actually shake her hand, the rare smile which she shed wasn't lost on me. She's stunning. Really. And probably will silently seethe that I'm spotlighting her in these pages. And the Archduke? Well. I'm his protege for a reason.
I, however, ended up drenched in Prince Edain's dream. Syrup and olives. Two things which... really don't go together. Or belong in a bath. And feels terrible once it gets into the pants and boots.
But for a non-bloody event which required perception and a bit of ingenuity, it was perfect for remembering that laughter exists in a time when it can be so easily forgotten.
I was able to kidnap Mistress Sameera so we both could join Archduke Niccolo's team for the event. I couldn't quite see our competitors all the time, but from the sounds of it, their challenges were rough, hilarious and involved many snowballs. Mistress Sameera proved incredibly useful and while I've yet to actually shake her hand, the rare smile which she shed wasn't lost on me. She's stunning. Really. And probably will silently seethe that I'm spotlighting her in these pages. And the Archduke? Well. I'm his protege for a reason.
I, however, ended up drenched in Prince Edain's dream. Syrup and olives. Two things which... really don't go together. Or belong in a bath. And feels terrible once it gets into the pants and boots.
But for a non-bloody event which required perception and a bit of ingenuity, it was perfect for remembering that laughter exists in a time when it can be so easily forgotten.
Written By Calaudrin
March 24, 2017, 11:31 p.m.(2/25/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Magpie
Suspicious. He's up to something. I just don't know what...
Written By Aureth
March 24, 2017, 11:19 p.m.(2/25/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Aleksei
The Faith has no idea how lucky they are to have him. That said -- I'm pretty sure the gods know.
It's going to be a whole new world, Aleksei.
But don't worry. You've got this.
It's going to be a whole new world, Aleksei.
But don't worry. You've got this.
Written By Valencia
March 24, 2017, 10:41 p.m.(2/24/1006 AR)
The city still sits on edge and I wished for breath and to escape this place in the best way I knew how. And so to the beaches I went, but this time not alone.
I am not yet a proper rider nor a very elegant one. Not yet. But today I rode. Not far and not as fast as I would like, but fast enough to take my breath and still make me want so much more. Gods above and below, the freedom in this I cannot explain.
My sweetest Cicero, you have given me the power of flight without wings. How can I ever repay you? Thank you for giving such a precious gift to me. Thank you for for all that you do. Words cannot express how much this means to me.
I may not yet have yet found my way onto the sea, but I now at least I can fly beside it. And maybe, just maybe, with luck I can fly away.
~~~~<~<@
I am not yet a proper rider nor a very elegant one. Not yet. But today I rode. Not far and not as fast as I would like, but fast enough to take my breath and still make me want so much more. Gods above and below, the freedom in this I cannot explain.
My sweetest Cicero, you have given me the power of flight without wings. How can I ever repay you? Thank you for giving such a precious gift to me. Thank you for for all that you do. Words cannot express how much this means to me.
I may not yet have yet found my way onto the sea, but I now at least I can fly beside it. And maybe, just maybe, with luck I can fly away.
~~~~<~<@
Written By Merek
March 24, 2017, 10:13 p.m.(2/24/1006 AR)
The event was quite amazing. Watching another sworn into the faith as a full Godsworn is a special occasion. It was also quite interesting and curious to see the oaths to the three that have returned to us. I am hopeful to see more ceremonies like this within the future. I've debated taking up the vows myself, although I'm honestly not prepared for that kind of commitment. There were a few things that made such a ceremony difficult, but I think that we must remember we are all human. As long as one is earnest in faith, it matters.
Written By Merek
March 24, 2017, 9:05 p.m.(2/24/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Umay
A Priestess of the Pantheon, and a kind one at that. She seems to be from Arx, and I met her at the Trader's Tavern. It is nice to meet more clergy in the city.
Written By Orazio
March 24, 2017, 7:24 p.m.(2/24/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Selene
The Compact exists as it does today because of the work of the Whispers. Many see them only in their brightest public guise - entertainers and trendsetters who fascinate all with their grace and composure. But those of us who are students of history recognize how often it has been the smile of a Whisper that has averted war, and the word of a Whisper that has created an enduring alliance. Sadly, underutilized in these recent days when they have been needed most, the Whisper House, and its Radiant, still shine.
Written By Zhayla
March 24, 2017, 6:32 p.m.(2/24/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Samantha
I've often thought it was luck that landed me at Deepwood where I knelt and entered the Marquessa's service, but sometimes I wonder if it might not have been some other hand.
I'm so grateful, either way, and I don't give thanks as often as I should. I'm just glad. I'm glad and I'm grateful and I'm happy that it _was_ Deepwood where I landed. From the first moment I took on the mantle of Prodigal, she has been nothing but kind to me, giving me opportunity -- giving me a home -- when she didn't need to give me anything. She trusted me when she didn't have to, when wiser people might've said 'let's not let the strange Prodigal with the giant sword wander around through our house and also give her a ROOM of her OWN'. But she did. She trusted me. And every day I try to live up to that trust.
I wasn't surprised when I heard of the huge numbers of other Abandoned that looked to her and saw someone worth following. I've never been more proud to serve Deepwood. I've never been more grateful to serve Deepwood.
I'm so grateful, either way, and I don't give thanks as often as I should. I'm just glad. I'm glad and I'm grateful and I'm happy that it _was_ Deepwood where I landed. From the first moment I took on the mantle of Prodigal, she has been nothing but kind to me, giving me opportunity -- giving me a home -- when she didn't need to give me anything. She trusted me when she didn't have to, when wiser people might've said 'let's not let the strange Prodigal with the giant sword wander around through our house and also give her a ROOM of her OWN'. But she did. She trusted me. And every day I try to live up to that trust.
I wasn't surprised when I heard of the huge numbers of other Abandoned that looked to her and saw someone worth following. I've never been more proud to serve Deepwood. I've never been more grateful to serve Deepwood.
Written By Leona
March 24, 2017, 4:42 p.m.(2/24/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Rymarr
I will miss the Lord Commander, as I missed my right-hand man when he was my First Captain. He goes off to follow other paths though, and those lead him away from the King's Own. He has served with honor and distinction, and while I will miss serving with him, I know this is better for him and also for the King. Yesterday he saved the King. Today he makes his way out of Crownguard tower for the last time. Even as I turn my attention to the leadership of the King's Own, I wish him well.
Written By Leona
March 24, 2017, 3:57 p.m.(2/24/1006 AR)
The Lord Commander's sword has come back to me. When I voluntarily handed it to Rymarr, it was for any number of reasons, but chief among them was that I was not the Lord Commander that His Majesty needed. The people needed a strong man of the Oathlands, and I had other concerns that may have endangered His Majesty were I still the Lord Commander. And so the sword passed, not only peacefully but - more rarely - without the death of the one who carried it.
And now I am once more the Lord Commander. This time, at Rymarr's determination. There was a vision, and there was an attempt that encroached upon the security of His Majesty, and now there is a new Lord Commander. It was a peaceful transition, but a difficult one. Watching Rymarr, who has stood at my side through so much for the last two years, step away from the King's Own is difficult. He does so with honor, but his path is moving away from the King's Own and what we stand for, and so I am feeling the loss of a strong right hand.
But that is the job I have sworn to undertake, and so I will. I wish Rymarr the best, but I also wish he were staying on in the King's Own. We need all the swords we can get, and our ranks are so green right now I look out over them and see a field of grass. Oh they're good, make no mistake, but they make me wonder - was I ever so young? The answer is, of course, yes. But such is life. They will learn or they will die. And in these difficult times, I very much fear the latter is far more likely than the former.
And now I am once more the Lord Commander. This time, at Rymarr's determination. There was a vision, and there was an attempt that encroached upon the security of His Majesty, and now there is a new Lord Commander. It was a peaceful transition, but a difficult one. Watching Rymarr, who has stood at my side through so much for the last two years, step away from the King's Own is difficult. He does so with honor, but his path is moving away from the King's Own and what we stand for, and so I am feeling the loss of a strong right hand.
But that is the job I have sworn to undertake, and so I will. I wish Rymarr the best, but I also wish he were staying on in the King's Own. We need all the swords we can get, and our ranks are so green right now I look out over them and see a field of grass. Oh they're good, make no mistake, but they make me wonder - was I ever so young? The answer is, of course, yes. But such is life. They will learn or they will die. And in these difficult times, I very much fear the latter is far more likely than the former.
Written By Donella
March 24, 2017, 2:06 p.m.(2/24/1006 AR)
It is my eve of my natality, tomorrow. It occurred to me as I was out, checking on the repair of our ward gates, and the state of out southern walls. It's not my family's way to mark such things with celebration, or gifts. Really, right now, marking it at all seems like the mind trying to distract itself, or looking for an excuse to eat sand peony cakes until I gain a stone of weight.
I told Prince Darren the other night, that I am becoming soft as a mainlander, that I fret for my friends or relations at war. The outcome is out of my hands—why waste time or sentiment on what you cannot do anything about? I know the war effort is in capable hands, and so far, things have gone well. Still, I lie awake in the bitter watches and wonder if these cavalier attitudes I have toward possible loss are faith, fatalism, or scar tissue?
My brother went away, and we took no leave of each other. None of us do, the cousins Thrax. He survived, of course, because he is fearless and fierce in battle. But what if he had not? Is there anything I could say to him, or to any of the others, that if they didn't return would make me feel better about those relationships in hindsight? No, not really, says my mind. But my heart — I assure you, I do have one, priest — aches to think that the reality is so cold; there is nothing that would make my grief less, if someone dear to me fell. I would toast them, and praise the virtues of a good death (if there is such a thing).
But I would not die of it.
If I am honest with myself, I don't think people really die of broken hearts; not really. I mean, they do if their chests are crushed or cloven through, or if they expire as the very old sometimes do, clutching at the organ. Sometimes I have even heard that some will refuse to eat and waste away, but that I think is stubbornness or narcissism. Otherwise we just persist, and learn ways to honor our dead, and transmute grief into something useful.
So I don't understand where this anxiety comes from. We win, or we all die. It's not much of a choice, so we must, we will prevail. And after...?
Cake, I think.
I told Prince Darren the other night, that I am becoming soft as a mainlander, that I fret for my friends or relations at war. The outcome is out of my hands—why waste time or sentiment on what you cannot do anything about? I know the war effort is in capable hands, and so far, things have gone well. Still, I lie awake in the bitter watches and wonder if these cavalier attitudes I have toward possible loss are faith, fatalism, or scar tissue?
My brother went away, and we took no leave of each other. None of us do, the cousins Thrax. He survived, of course, because he is fearless and fierce in battle. But what if he had not? Is there anything I could say to him, or to any of the others, that if they didn't return would make me feel better about those relationships in hindsight? No, not really, says my mind. But my heart — I assure you, I do have one, priest — aches to think that the reality is so cold; there is nothing that would make my grief less, if someone dear to me fell. I would toast them, and praise the virtues of a good death (if there is such a thing).
But I would not die of it.
If I am honest with myself, I don't think people really die of broken hearts; not really. I mean, they do if their chests are crushed or cloven through, or if they expire as the very old sometimes do, clutching at the organ. Sometimes I have even heard that some will refuse to eat and waste away, but that I think is stubbornness or narcissism. Otherwise we just persist, and learn ways to honor our dead, and transmute grief into something useful.
So I don't understand where this anxiety comes from. We win, or we all die. It's not much of a choice, so we must, we will prevail. And after...?
Cake, I think.
Written By Leta
March 24, 2017, 12:32 p.m.(2/24/1006 AR)
(In the sloppiest of handwritings.)
In celebration of our victory.
There once was a giant so tall
That its ass was once bound to enthrall,
But the poor misbegotten
Creature was so rotten
When it died it had no ass at all.
In celebration of our victory.
There once was a giant so tall
That its ass was once bound to enthrall,
But the poor misbegotten
Creature was so rotten
When it died it had no ass at all.
Written By Merek
March 24, 2017, 10:58 a.m.(2/23/1006 AR)
It seems that it will be within the next week that the forces will arrive. I have prepared all I need for it, for the most part. I imagine Arx will be under siege, which is a better outlook than actually being overrun. I have many people that I want to keep safe, so I believe I'll be doing what I can to protect others. The loyal citizens that remain in the city, are now where they have the best chance of safety, though I've seen a fair few take up their weapons to fight. Most wars, well... Victory and defeat come and go. Here? We have to win, and there isn't another avenue. Who will come to our assistance, and who remained to fight, will be the ones that decide our new future. I'm hopeful. Because I know that each man that comes to defense of Arx, is willing to give it all that we may win, and I will be honored to stand beside all of them.
Written By Arcelia
March 24, 2017, 4 a.m.(2/23/1006 AR)
I am happy for the success of the river attack but I am most glad that those I love have come home safe. I am glad that so many people returned home safe to their loved ones this time. But the danger of war is just beginning and there will be so many lives lost in the days to come. I pray that this war ends quickly and I will do anything I can to help that happen.
Written By Arcelia
March 24, 2017, 3:19 a.m.(2/23/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Orazio
I used to listen to Orazio talk about the Gods as a young girl, unable to sit still but still loving to listen. Event today I still like to sit down with him and have a good conversation, he has much wisdom and advice to offer. I would be a fool to dismiss him and I would never want to. I love my uncle dearly.
Written By Arcelia
March 24, 2017, 3:13 a.m.(2/23/1006 AR)
Relationship Note on Kima
We did not spend a lot of time together growing up but I have always admired Kima and I have respect for the path she walks in life.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.