Written By Zara
Oct. 17, 2023, 3:41 p.m.(1/10/1021 AR)
It's hard to believe that so long has passed since I was last in the capital, but the work I have been doing on behalf of Valardin has been important. With so many of the houses sworn to us, and to our subjects in turn, having real concerns about the war in the Mourning Isles and the threat of Helena Thornweave, I set out to tour the Oathlands. I have put many miles behind me. And I have visited all of our lands in the years that have passed. The conversations have not always been easy; many have been some of the hardest conversations I can remember. When I returned to Sanctum recently, it was with a renewed understanding of the people of the Oathlands.
It was also just in time to see my cousin wed. It was a beautiful ceremony! And we are all lucky to welcome Prince-consort Edris to the family. Congratulations, Alis.
Now, I am here and have been able to share pleasant moments with family. Additionally, I spent some time at the Shrine of Lagoma and spoke with Archlector Roran on the nature of change. He put a kitten in my hands. I have a kitten now; his name is Purrince Catrick. It is true: Change happens in a moment.
It was also just in time to see my cousin wed. It was a beautiful ceremony! And we are all lucky to welcome Prince-consort Edris to the family. Congratulations, Alis.
Now, I am here and have been able to share pleasant moments with family. Additionally, I spent some time at the Shrine of Lagoma and spoke with Archlector Roran on the nature of change. He put a kitten in my hands. I have a kitten now; his name is Purrince Catrick. It is true: Change happens in a moment.
Written By Medeia
Oct. 17, 2023, 10:03 a.m.(1/10/1021 AR)
It feels odd to embrace the normalcy of winter routine and talking about the upcoming Blood Moon masquerade at the Velenosa estate. I realized that I had not attended one since before I was married! That is not so strange, I suppose, to have missed two, but I am struck by just how long it has been given the nature of the eclipses. I still remember that night, quite vividly. I wonder if I would only feel haunted by those that have been lost since? It is hard to walk a path strewn with so many memories.
And yet? Walking that path is how we are able to learn and grow, to do and be better. Without our memories, we are unable to compare where we have been to where we are and where we are going. Without our memories, our goals have less meaning, as they often are built upon a want to achieve more than what we had. How can we achieve more if we do not remember what there was?
But now, I think, I am rambling. I was talking about winter. And routine. Yes, it is nice to have the routine back, even in winter.
And yet? Walking that path is how we are able to learn and grow, to do and be better. Without our memories, we are unable to compare where we have been to where we are and where we are going. Without our memories, our goals have less meaning, as they often are built upon a want to achieve more than what we had. How can we achieve more if we do not remember what there was?
But now, I think, I am rambling. I was talking about winter. And routine. Yes, it is nice to have the routine back, even in winter.
Written By Mabelle
Oct. 17, 2023, 8:32 a.m.(1/10/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Cillian
I hope you finally found the peace you were longing for.
Written By Emmelline
Oct. 16, 2023, 10:54 p.m.(1/9/1021 AR)
I know I have been gone from the city long. I know that a lot of my friends and acquaintances have moved on from the city. And yet, today I found out that someone I considered a dear friend has passed away. On a mission. I do not know how long ago this might have been. How many years have gone by since his passing. Regardless, I find myself deeply saddened by this news. I have always hoped the best for those whom I considered friends, even though we've lost touch since I had left the city. But lately, I found out two people whom i considered close friends have gone. While I do make strides to build new friendships and connections, in this hour I feel so truly alone. I feel no one whom I might know, or no one who might remember me is in the city. All gone, passed away and disappeared into the wind. It makes me wonder, whether anyone will remember me when I am gone from this world. I am unmarried, no one to call mine, who might mourn my passing. I have always tried to have a positive outlook on life. But for this moment in time, I feel nothing but grief and true and utter loneliness. I am sure, this too shall pass, but I feel it with my whole heart now. I will allow myself to feel this sadness and grief, and to feel this loneliness. I will fully feel it, so that gradually, with time, I can move on from those feelings and leave them behind.
Written By Tesha
Oct. 16, 2023, 10:05 p.m.(1/9/1021 AR)
I am out of tears at the moment. It seems my every waking moment has brought some painful memory back or some morose episode grips my heart.
Written By Tesha
Oct. 16, 2023, 10:01 p.m.(1/9/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Khanne
I received one as well. It would appear that people are returning from the dead.
Or someone thinks they are very funny.
Or someone thinks they are very funny.
Written By Lys
Oct. 16, 2023, 8:09 p.m.(1/9/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Sen'azala
She returned something precious to me and I... don't know how to feel about it.
Written By Tanith
Oct. 16, 2023, 3:48 p.m.(1/8/1021 AR)
I don't recall ever feeling so exhausted, and I once midwifed between twin sisters giving birth to twins within the same hour.
Written By Khanne
Oct. 16, 2023, 3:44 p.m.(1/8/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Percephon
Is someone trying to pull a prank on me?
What is this message I received????
What is this message I received????
Written By Fairen
Oct. 16, 2023, 8:15 a.m.(1/8/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Iliana
What once seemed only a thorn in my backside has come around to a fondness that I cannot deny. The thorn is still there, but...
Written By Emmelline
Oct. 16, 2023, 6:15 a.m.(1/8/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Aksel
Met a knight in the hospital ward. He was grievously injured during the recent battle. Perhaps it is because of the duties that he must perform, but his outlook upon life is so bleak. Some might call it realistic, but I thought it was too bleak. he said that all that awaited him was a fiery death. That he has moments of happiness, but that they are always over and end. I tried cheering the man, probably giving him unwanted advice. I know that I cannot change this man's lived experiences, or the way he views his life and the world. But I ardently wish I could, to make it better even just slightly.
Written By Lys
Oct. 15, 2023, 11:41 p.m.(1/7/1021 AR)
For once I did not have nightmares. Instead a blissful, emptiness game to my dreams. No laughter, no hollow bells, only a soft warm silence. I know the reason why but it cannot be written down into words.
Written By Lys
Oct. 15, 2023, 11:40 p.m.(1/7/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Malcolm
Duke Shepherd has both given me a new puppy to help ward off my nightmares and taken me as a protege. We have a goal in mind now. And I think... it may be the most ambitious thing I have ever worked for.
Written By Sydney
Oct. 15, 2023, 11:19 p.m.(1/7/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Petraea
Petraea Livy.
Most did not know her face, only her reputation. Many will remember her with suspicion. She was, after all, the Tribune of Cardia. Some will remember her as uncompromising woman of ambition, ready and willing to use every tool in her arsenal if the ends justified the means, and they would not be wrong. That was all a part of her, but it was not what defined her - and I will not pretend I knew her half so well as I would have preferred. I know only what I saw, what I lived, and what I will always remember.
I remember a woman who could spin an intricate, nuanced web or become flash, flame and fury on the field of battle, but stumble when confronted with kindness. The sort of woman who wouldn't know what to do with herself if you hugged her, but who cared with a quiet ferocity that even she didn't seem to recognize. Her actions always spoke more than she ever knew, ever guided for the sake of the future, for the sake of family, even those who have long since passed.
I remember how she cared for a scrawny whip of a girl and made sure she was fed, clothed, and always had a safe place to rest. Plucked her up from a life scrabbling for coppers, shivering towards a cold death in some godsforsaken back alley in the parts of the Lowers that few would ever care to visit. She was clumsy. Awkward. She often struggled with how and when to show her love, but she kept her promises. She kept that girl safe, warm, and never wanting for a meal ever again. How she saved her life, time and time again, whether or not she knew it. That was the sort of woman Petraea was.
I remember just how much she sacrificed, what she left undone, what she meant to those she left behind to carry on after her. She left this world with an unequivocal act of heroism, something that has ever been second nature to her. So many times, she threw her life into peril to help those who may never know she ever lifted a finger. That she would never suffer past atrocities like Bastion and Artshall to happen again. She helped the armies of Arx win the day on the field of battle time and time again, until her last breath.
She burned brighter than any flame, lived a bold life, without compromise. Her long shadow was a place of safety for those who loved her, and a thing to be feared by those unseen threats in the darkness, keeping them exactly where they belonged. She held back the tides, and gave us all the gift of time, hoping that we would be strong enough to meet it when it arrived.
She trusted that we would live - and I hope to prove her that her trust was not misplaced. We live in a time where nothing feels certain, and it's altogether too easy to fall to sorrow, to be a prisoner to doubt. We must all face the things that are to come not with terror, but as she would. With fire in our hearts and fangs bared, even when the odds feel insurmountable.
Live. Fiercely. Brightly.
Look ever toward the horizon. Extend a hand to those you can lift up. Protect those that you care for. Do not shy away from doing what needs to be done. This is the Dream that Petraea gave her life to protect - and it is worth fighting for, always.
I will remember. Forever.
Most did not know her face, only her reputation. Many will remember her with suspicion. She was, after all, the Tribune of Cardia. Some will remember her as uncompromising woman of ambition, ready and willing to use every tool in her arsenal if the ends justified the means, and they would not be wrong. That was all a part of her, but it was not what defined her - and I will not pretend I knew her half so well as I would have preferred. I know only what I saw, what I lived, and what I will always remember.
I remember a woman who could spin an intricate, nuanced web or become flash, flame and fury on the field of battle, but stumble when confronted with kindness. The sort of woman who wouldn't know what to do with herself if you hugged her, but who cared with a quiet ferocity that even she didn't seem to recognize. Her actions always spoke more than she ever knew, ever guided for the sake of the future, for the sake of family, even those who have long since passed.
I remember how she cared for a scrawny whip of a girl and made sure she was fed, clothed, and always had a safe place to rest. Plucked her up from a life scrabbling for coppers, shivering towards a cold death in some godsforsaken back alley in the parts of the Lowers that few would ever care to visit. She was clumsy. Awkward. She often struggled with how and when to show her love, but she kept her promises. She kept that girl safe, warm, and never wanting for a meal ever again. How she saved her life, time and time again, whether or not she knew it. That was the sort of woman Petraea was.
I remember just how much she sacrificed, what she left undone, what she meant to those she left behind to carry on after her. She left this world with an unequivocal act of heroism, something that has ever been second nature to her. So many times, she threw her life into peril to help those who may never know she ever lifted a finger. That she would never suffer past atrocities like Bastion and Artshall to happen again. She helped the armies of Arx win the day on the field of battle time and time again, until her last breath.
She burned brighter than any flame, lived a bold life, without compromise. Her long shadow was a place of safety for those who loved her, and a thing to be feared by those unseen threats in the darkness, keeping them exactly where they belonged. She held back the tides, and gave us all the gift of time, hoping that we would be strong enough to meet it when it arrived.
She trusted that we would live - and I hope to prove her that her trust was not misplaced. We live in a time where nothing feels certain, and it's altogether too easy to fall to sorrow, to be a prisoner to doubt. We must all face the things that are to come not with terror, but as she would. With fire in our hearts and fangs bared, even when the odds feel insurmountable.
Live. Fiercely. Brightly.
Look ever toward the horizon. Extend a hand to those you can lift up. Protect those that you care for. Do not shy away from doing what needs to be done. This is the Dream that Petraea gave her life to protect - and it is worth fighting for, always.
I will remember. Forever.
Written By Ilmia
Oct. 15, 2023, 11:07 p.m.(1/7/1021 AR)
I have returned to the city. I arrived late to help defend, but I will do my best to help with research in the future.
Written By Jan
Oct. 15, 2023, 10:22 p.m.(1/7/1021 AR)
I fear I made the wrong choice. Next battle I will be where I belong.
Written By Raven
Oct. 15, 2023, 10:10 p.m.(1/7/1021 AR)
It is good to be back and see some of the family I serve has also returned.
Written By Emmelline
Oct. 15, 2023, 10:08 p.m.(1/7/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Gabriella
Was introduced to the Princess Gabriella today. She seems quite an intimidating woman. And she so happened to walk in, when I was teasing his highness the archduke. I can only hope she didn't take it too seriously, and that it hasn't put a black mark against me.
Written By Emmelline
Oct. 15, 2023, 10:07 p.m.(1/7/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Viviana
Was introduced to Viviana for the first time today. She seems such a delightful sort of person. I feel she and I will get on swimmingly, and pray that we might become fast friends.
Written By Emmelline
Oct. 15, 2023, 10:06 p.m.(1/7/1021 AR)
Relationship Note on Patrizio
Had a lovely opportunity to spend some time with the Prince Patrizio at the traders tavern. He is such a gentleman through and through, but I fear he takes the things I say too seriously. I hope I haven't given the man any offense, and hopes that he might realize that about ninety percent of the things I say, I say in gest. Perhaps that is a fault of mine, treating people with too much familiarity. But then if it is, it has always been so. I can only hope the prince will take it in with good grace, and that we will forge a strong friendship.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.