Written By Max
Jan. 1, 2017, 12:27 a.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
Do not upset my sister-in-law.
Or I will upset your internal organs.
Written By Alarie
Jan. 1, 2017, 12:04 a.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
Written By Kima
Dec. 31, 2016, 11:59 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
Huh.
What? Yeah, that's all I have to say.
Written By Nekarris
Dec. 31, 2016, 11:58 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
Written By Lucio
Dec. 31, 2016, 11:35 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Costas
Written By Cassius
Dec. 31, 2016, 11:34 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Castor
It would seem to me he needs instead a lesson on being a man.
While his very presence, his demeanor, his persona, all of it makes me angry, I know that it is pious to do all that I might to see he learns, to see that he becomes a suitable heir. I will do all that I may to ensure the lessons I give are true and he learns all I can teach. I will then pray that the coming darkness does not make those lessons for naught.
Written By Lucio
Dec. 31, 2016, 11:33 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Aleksei
Written By Cicero
Dec. 31, 2016, 10:38 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
It's tread grows ever wider. Reaching forward still
Written By Cicero
Dec. 31, 2016, 10:34 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
Already far above me
Eager to see more
Written By Orazio
Dec. 31, 2016, 8:40 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Eleyna
It is harder to attend to the beauty of the deepest rivers. From afar, they can appear still, remote, and quiet. But the river dances, down where no one else can see, twisting and tumbling over itself in fast, graceful currents that the sun never quite reaches. The river works, doing its duty on the surface, and carving its own way down below, moment by moment, one grain of sand at a time. The river's beauty is immense and enduring, and worth attending to.
Written By Alis
Dec. 31, 2016, 8:38 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
I hope others take advantage of this opportunity as well.
Written By Orazio
Dec. 31, 2016, 8:16 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
Some have no doubt wondered to what end I have been turning myself since accepting the honorable and holy position of Legate of Concepts. Or perhaps I flatter myself, and no one outside of my rather small community of the Faithful has given it a second thought. I suspect the latter, to be honest - not out of any notion of humility, but simply because the Legates are not a very visible position in the world outside the Church. For those few who might be curious: as Legate of Concepts, it is my honor to stand over the priesthoods of Gild, Limerance, and the Sentinel.
It is quite the change. The priesthood of the Sentinel is actually quite small, and we spend - spent - most of our time mediating conflicts, passing judgement over crimes too minor for the nobility to wish to be involved, and advising judges and lawyers outside our own discipleship. Since the Inquisition acquired its current reputation, the Sentinel has not been the most popular god to devote oneself to.
Limerance and (particularly) Gild are an entirely different affair. Much larger priesthoods, with enough Disciples that I have not yet had the chance to meet them all even in the city, much less outside of it. I am still receiving letters of congratulations from our more farflung cities and cathedrals. And a knighthood: the honorable and esteemed Knights of Solace, who protect our pilgrims and travelers throughout the Compact. Since ascending to the position, most of my time has been spent simply learning about the organizations to which I have become steward and guide.
Having had the opportunity to settle in, I have embarked on a couple of immediate projects, with more to come:
* The repair and revitalizing of the orphanage in the Lower Burroughs of Arx. I have heard that the commons call it 'the Tragedy', and having visited the building, I can see why. It is better than nothing...but only barely. I have already begun soliciting some funds and supplies to bolster it, and it is my hope to completely refit the building, as well organize training and education for the children therein, ensuring them placement as apprentices, recruits, or if they wish it, acolytes or squires within the organization of the Faith.
* Considering the tragedy that took not only the lives of the previous Legate of Concepts and her retinue, but dozens of messengers in the legitimate business of the Crown, it is clear that security along the roads of the Compact could be improved, and more, could be done in a way to free up the standing forces of the nobility to push back the shav threats and deal with whatever threats may arrive. As such, I have proposed building hospice waystations along the major thoroughfares to house pilgrims, messengers, and indigent travelers on consecrated ground, protected by the Knights of Solace. Obviously, this is the work of decades, but I have already received permission from the Lady Regent to begin construction in the Crownlands. I will concentrate there, first, then expand outward as the Church's resources and the gracious permission of the nobility allow.
It is my hope that these small efforts will be a balm on the bodies and souls of the Faithful. I have other projects in mind, but they will require more preparations and greater knowledge of my new responsibilities.
Written By Calypso
Dec. 31, 2016, 7:53 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
I have also heard rumor that there are those who think such a facility is unfair. To those of you who may be reading this missive I challenge you to reach out to me and see what I can do to help you rather than complain from the shadows. I have and always will stand behind the defense of the Compact as a whole.
Written By Eirlys
Dec. 31, 2016, 7:20 p.m.(7/15/1005 AR)
We spent the evening with Princess Alis, Prince Aurelian, and Prince Tristram. There was a conversation that was hard to hear due to its nature. That was a hard thing to swallow, otherwise the majority of the Valardins I have met, have been nothing like my brother and I expected. This is a pleasant surprise, and one that was found us with many new friends.
Written By Serafine
Dec. 31, 2016, 4:17 p.m.(7/14/1005 AR)
Written By Ianthe
Dec. 31, 2016, 3:50 p.m.(7/14/1005 AR)
Written By Darrow
Dec. 31, 2016, 3:19 p.m.(7/14/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Percephon
Written By Aislin
Dec. 31, 2016, 2:26 p.m.(7/14/1005 AR)
THE NOX'ALFAR: A Guide to Hopefully Not Becoming King Calithex's Headless Inkwell
Ancient records teach us that there were three types of elves in Arvum. This particular treatise is focused only on the Nox'alfar, also known as the House of the Moon.
Dealing with the Nox'alfar is an interesting experience, as any who've had a chance to talk to them will attest. They're rude, sarcastic, and generally act slightly bored with life overall. Living an immortal and largely unchanging life can, apparently, become rather dull quickly.
The greatest offense you can give to a Nox'alfar -- especially to their king, Calithex Thex -- is seemingly that of being boring. Predicable. Being *interesting* is the best thing you can do... and yet there are lines one should not cross. (Though unfortunately, so far as this writer can tell, those lines are not always in the same place.)
And so the great Twilight Court of the Nox'alfar, reached through the Night's Grove, is a place that seems the embodiment of insanity. Architecture with bizarre lines that makes no sense, spiders the size of Arvani buildings, impossible spaces, and a festival air that seems to be a desperate, insane pursuit of /any/ sort of new experience. Among the dancers and merry-makers, it seems not uncommon to encounter elves on fire, engaged in being eaten by spiders, or any number of other things the average Arvani would consider unpleasant. In no small number of cases, it appears those two groups intersect, and you may find someone on fire /while/ dancing. Audiences with Twilight Court nobility may well involve interruptions to account for stabbings and other brief mayhem. A courtier might have their head removed to allow their blood to be used as an inkwell.
Further, blood magic is not merely practiced by the Nox'alfar, but nearly a way of life; merely to open the door into the Court involves using blood magic, and they wield it both openly and unashamedly. Using the blood from injuries -- or the dead -- is done as casually as an Arvani might pick up the pen with which I write this journal.
In short, for otherwise seemingly-immortal beings, the Nox'alfar seem to consider death to be a mild inconvenience at best.
This is perhaps because they have a firm belief in the concept of reincarnation. Their goddess -- the Queen of Endings, the Mother of Beginnings -- is the goddess of both death and rebirth. If you know your soul will come back soon enough in a new body, a new life, then death might well seem like little more than a chance to take a brief nap in the Shining Lands. It's important to remember this, because this embrace of death makes them careless with life.
Theirs especially, but likely those mortals who interact with them as well.
In conclusion, diplomacy with regards to the Twilight Court is something of a risky enterprise. The best advice seems to be a bundle of contradictions: be cautious but not boring, be irreverent but not outright disrespectful... and be cavalier but do not let yourself be killed.
Written By Aislin
Dec. 31, 2016, 2:22 p.m.(7/14/1005 AR)
And I still have no true answers.
Vellichor, in many ways, is the right fit; knowledge is the center of my life, and the Archives are arguably the space in this city closest to "sacred" for me. I try to do him proper honor by seeking things out for the Archives. But I also often worry that I'm too independent-minded... worried that the god would be somehow *disappointed* in my desire to dash off yet again to gods-know-where to do gods-know-what. So I don't quite feel... /right/, trying to pray to him for guidance, when I fear I wouldn't want what I'd be told.
Petrichor, then, perhaps? After all, I always feel better outside of the city walls, in the natural world. I do my best to pay proper honor to him as well, if not as highly as Vellichor. But no... I know those who feel Petrichor's call, and I don't feel the same. And I've never felt the same connection as to the Archives.
The spirits of the north, my mother's homeland? There's something to be said for finding your spirituality in everything around you. In treating the world itself as what you draw guidance from. I've spoken to several shamans lately, and while the exercises they've taught bring some comfort... I don't think the spirits are my path, either.
It's a strange thing in some ways: to explore so much of the world, but not to be entirely certain of yourself.
Written By Eleyna
Dec. 31, 2016, 1:30 p.m.(7/14/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Blacktongue
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.