Written By Lou
May 7, 2018, 3:30 p.m.(9/13/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Tomwell
The Scholars of Vellichor are paid to teach their students, with exception to a handful who refuse payment. The difference is, it's the Scholars coffers that offer payment, rather than the students themselves. If someone has something valuable to teach, they should be paid for that service. I imagine those crafts people and laymen who take on apprentices also charge for the teaching they give. If teaching is given freely, then it should be appreciated. But, it should never be considered a right to obtain free teaching from anyone.
And, if you want free teaching, then make certain to get on the list for the Scholars to be taught something. The Academy of Vellichor is open to everyone, but there /are/ long lines for certain, highly valued, skills. You might have to wait weeks, or in some cases months, to get that specially skilled teacher.
And, if you want free teaching, then make certain to get on the list for the Scholars to be taught something. The Academy of Vellichor is open to everyone, but there /are/ long lines for certain, highly valued, skills. You might have to wait weeks, or in some cases months, to get that specially skilled teacher.
Written By Lou
May 3, 2018, 1:49 p.m.(9/3/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Eirene
Oh. I cherish my husband, with every fiber of my being. That doesn't mean I don't get annoyed from time to time with smothering. But, far be it for me to be selfish about it. I'm willing to share his exuberance. I can send him to you for a time -- with a warning not to touch your stomach. I'll endure through that part alone.
Just let me know!
Just let me know!
Written By Lou
May 3, 2018, 10:09 a.m.(9/3/1008 AR)
Happily, Alarissa has agreed to start planning some social events for the Explorers. She has no idea how much of a relief this is to me -- though she'll assuredly discover it when she reads the whites.
Unhappily, Mason has become a bit insufferable of late. I'm starting to show outward signs of the pregnancy. You know, the signs where I start to slowly blow up like a whale? Yeah. Those signs. It's not that I'm not excited for this child. I am. It's a gift and I know it. It's that Mason won't let me do any damned thing myself. He has to do it all for me. So, I've been escaping to the Explorers Hall of late so I can actually manage to do a few things for myself.
Is it bad that I hope that it starts getting colder sooner? I know in the coming months that I'll want him to help a bit more with stuff. Just... not when I can manage it on my own.
But, in case he doesn't know, and he's reading this, I LOVE HIM TO PIECES. There's my PDA for the day.
(Please stop smothering me.)
Unhappily, Mason has become a bit insufferable of late. I'm starting to show outward signs of the pregnancy. You know, the signs where I start to slowly blow up like a whale? Yeah. Those signs. It's not that I'm not excited for this child. I am. It's a gift and I know it. It's that Mason won't let me do any damned thing myself. He has to do it all for me. So, I've been escaping to the Explorers Hall of late so I can actually manage to do a few things for myself.
Is it bad that I hope that it starts getting colder sooner? I know in the coming months that I'll want him to help a bit more with stuff. Just... not when I can manage it on my own.
But, in case he doesn't know, and he's reading this, I LOVE HIM TO PIECES. There's my PDA for the day.
(Please stop smothering me.)
Written By Lou
May 1, 2018, 3:25 p.m.(8/27/1008 AR)
My to do list is getting inordinately long. I suppose that means things are on an upswing for the Explorers. I have First Seekers, I have Seekers. Hoping to schedule a meeting soon. Just waiting on a handful more to let me know their schedules. Then, we get better organized.
Also, I shifted a few people around in the Explorers. Did not think our Supporters should be at the bottom of the rung. And, didn't want to strike people from the rosters who passed. They are part of our history.
I expect that we will be very busy in the days to come. There's just quite a bit to do.
Also, I shifted a few people around in the Explorers. Did not think our Supporters should be at the bottom of the rung. And, didn't want to strike people from the rosters who passed. They are part of our history.
I expect that we will be very busy in the days to come. There's just quite a bit to do.
Written By Lou
April 28, 2018, 8:18 a.m.(8/20/1008 AR)
There is no greater feeling than the ability to explore some place new, especially a place that's deeply rooted in history. Or, undertaking a journey that seems to have incredible odds stacked against you, and coming away from it safely. These are some of the things it means to be an Explorer, and yet so much more too. I hope that I get to discover a great many more things in the coming months, and even get to share those experiences with the young one that grows within me. What better way to grow the future's next little Explorer than to continue to do what one loves best?
But, there I go getting wordy. A piece of advice to future Explorers... bring the unexpected with you in your preparations. Sometimes, you never know when a plush fox, a carved dragon figurine, a few books, pie, some mead, and tea might mean to you or others while out on your journey. Not in any particular order, of course. And, not specifically those items. Make your own choices of unexpected things to bring, along with the usual Explorer gear.
Now I must prepare myself for my next great adventure. I will have to see who can teach me a bit more about linguistics so I can learn a few more languages. An Explorer's preparations never end.
But, there I go getting wordy. A piece of advice to future Explorers... bring the unexpected with you in your preparations. Sometimes, you never know when a plush fox, a carved dragon figurine, a few books, pie, some mead, and tea might mean to you or others while out on your journey. Not in any particular order, of course. And, not specifically those items. Make your own choices of unexpected things to bring, along with the usual Explorer gear.
Now I must prepare myself for my next great adventure. I will have to see who can teach me a bit more about linguistics so I can learn a few more languages. An Explorer's preparations never end.
Written By Lou
April 25, 2018, 11:43 a.m.(8/13/1008 AR)
Very soon, small groups of Explorers will be heading to Stormwall to see what heirlooms they can find that might have survived the great fire. It will be interesting to see how well they do over terrain that we know, before settling some in terrain we do not know. This is the first of many projects to come. I wonder how Cadenza is doing with her group of Explorers with Darkwater Watch.
Written By Lou
April 15, 2018, 7:40 a.m.(7/21/1008 AR)
Research. It's my bane. There are so, so many things I want to research, and there is only one of me. The latest topic? The symbols on the altar of Darkwater Watch. Well, at least, that's a small part of it. There's a much larger picture to be uncovered, but first I must uncover the things I'm looking into now.
Too many topics. Not enough time. And only one me. I might switch to the new topic sooner than later. We'll see.
Too many topics. Not enough time. And only one me. I might switch to the new topic sooner than later. We'll see.
Written By Lou
April 8, 2018, 9:52 p.m.(7/8/1008 AR)
FINE! I concede. I told Mason it /might/ be possible. But, if that's not the reason I've been sick -- he's going to be sorely disappointed, and then its on everyone else.
Don't break this man's heart, world. He wants this so very badly.
Don't break this man's heart, world. He wants this so very badly.
Written By Lou
April 8, 2018, 9:07 a.m.(7/7/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Sameera
I disagree. Your life has value, and you would be missed. You may not always see it. It's in the little things you do, that you don't think about. A spoken word here, a bit of support there, loyalty given to a family. Those sorts of things have ripples. Those tiny waves start small, and sometimes can have a staggering effect in the end.
I don't say these words lightly. I say these from experience. You were one of the helping hands that helped support a project of mine that will help make waves of its own. The Explorers will be able to purchase a boat because of the help you gave. And, there's so much good in the world we can do with that boat, starting with helping Stormwatch and Darkwater Watch.
So. Your have value. Your actions have value. And, you would be missed. We may not be close or friends, you and I, but I value you as a person. If there's anything you need help with -- ever -- just ask and if it's in my power I'll do my best to make it happen.
I don't say these words lightly. I say these from experience. You were one of the helping hands that helped support a project of mine that will help make waves of its own. The Explorers will be able to purchase a boat because of the help you gave. And, there's so much good in the world we can do with that boat, starting with helping Stormwatch and Darkwater Watch.
So. Your have value. Your actions have value. And, you would be missed. We may not be close or friends, you and I, but I value you as a person. If there's anything you need help with -- ever -- just ask and if it's in my power I'll do my best to make it happen.
Written By Lou
April 6, 2018, 9:17 p.m.(7/4/1008 AR)
I tell people I'm sick, and suddenly I'm getting congratulations and suggestions on baby names. I think the next person who does this, when I'm ONLY JUST SICK, might get punched in the nose. No, seriously. I'll do it. I might not be good at it, but I'll truly, truly do it.
Written By Lou
April 4, 2018, 9:07 a.m.(6/27/1008 AR)
I've been ill for the last week or so. My stomach is unsettled, and I have had the worst nausea. And smells. They are so much stronger than they ever were before, turning my stomach green by the mere odor of things. It's like I've gotten sea sick, but I did not know that sea sickness could come up well past the many weeks since war. Could it be that all of the death I witnessed is still affecting me? I'm not sure. But, I wish the topsy turvy tumbling of my stomach ends soon.
Written By Lou
March 17, 2018, 8:03 a.m.(5/16/1008 AR)
On another note, when I get back to the city I need to have a visit with Mistress Hana to repair my crossbow. A bolt got stuck and would not dislodge during the battle. And, I may have damaged it a bit further in hitting it against several sacks near to the end of the battle. What can I say? I was frustrated. I expect if the marinites had boarded our ship, I might have used it, instead, as a club because then I would be certain that something would be getting hit somewhere.
Mason will be glad to know that I did not yet get a chance to blood my new diamondplate sword that he got me for my birthday. But it is so, so very pretty!
Mason will be glad to know that I did not yet get a chance to blood my new diamondplate sword that he got me for my birthday. But it is so, so very pretty!
Written By Lou
March 17, 2018, 7:59 a.m.(5/16/1008 AR)
I did not write a will. It was, perhaps, selfish of me not to do it. However, every time I sat down to do it, I couldn't bring myself to bring quill to paper. I did not want to imagine a world where my husband had to live without his wife, and my daughter, my sweet sweet Safiyyah, had to live without her mother. I just couldn't. So, I didn't write a will. Instead, I prayed to the Gods to keep me safe in battle. And, so they did.
The battle was chaotic, messy, and full of sights I'd never seen before in my life. We were warned during some of the meetings about what we'd face, from those who experienced it first hand, but you can never be prepared for the horrors you'd be facing yourself.
Outside of nervousness over the battle, the first thing I experienced was a growing feeling in the pit of my stomach, and an overwhelming, almost supernatural sense of fear. And then, that fear washed away. Not to nothing. No never to nothing. It was there. Always, but it was manageable. It was /normal/, when it almost wasn't.
Someone must have done something in Setarco. I'm not sure who they were, but I am grateful to whatever aid they offered in beseeching the Gods to help us - for I cannot think of any being or creature other than the Gods that could have washed away those feelings of fear with the hope, peace, and confidence we needed to face the fight we fought. I will make sure to thank the Gods for their aid, this day, and every day, knowing that while arrows rained all around me, that I did not take a scratch of damage during the battle.
I also thank my sister, Reese, for lending me her armor. I fully believe if I did not have her steel set to use, that perhaps i would not have come out so lucky. I am also so very grateful that both she and Luca came out of this well and good.
As to the horrors we saw? Well... the ships that came upon us were not like anything you'd ever seen before. They resembled the ones that we used, of course, but they were damaged... broken... how they were sea worthy is anyone's guess, as they should have been at the bottom of the sea. And the smells that came off them? The people...? No, things... that we fought, might have once been human but I just don't know if they still were when we fought them. It was so very hard to tell. And, I put this here, in plain writing, because there were too many of us that saw what we saw and deny -- still -- that such things can't exist. These terrors do.
No longer can we hide behind superstition. With two battles so close to each other, only a handful of years of part, it is time to pull up our breeches and prepare for the things to come, and ensure that we not only fight for our home, but /win/ so that or home will stay safe. I will always fight to be free and safe, and so that my daughter might grow up in a world that remains free and safe.
The battle was chaotic, messy, and full of sights I'd never seen before in my life. We were warned during some of the meetings about what we'd face, from those who experienced it first hand, but you can never be prepared for the horrors you'd be facing yourself.
Outside of nervousness over the battle, the first thing I experienced was a growing feeling in the pit of my stomach, and an overwhelming, almost supernatural sense of fear. And then, that fear washed away. Not to nothing. No never to nothing. It was there. Always, but it was manageable. It was /normal/, when it almost wasn't.
Someone must have done something in Setarco. I'm not sure who they were, but I am grateful to whatever aid they offered in beseeching the Gods to help us - for I cannot think of any being or creature other than the Gods that could have washed away those feelings of fear with the hope, peace, and confidence we needed to face the fight we fought. I will make sure to thank the Gods for their aid, this day, and every day, knowing that while arrows rained all around me, that I did not take a scratch of damage during the battle.
I also thank my sister, Reese, for lending me her armor. I fully believe if I did not have her steel set to use, that perhaps i would not have come out so lucky. I am also so very grateful that both she and Luca came out of this well and good.
As to the horrors we saw? Well... the ships that came upon us were not like anything you'd ever seen before. They resembled the ones that we used, of course, but they were damaged... broken... how they were sea worthy is anyone's guess, as they should have been at the bottom of the sea. And the smells that came off them? The people...? No, things... that we fought, might have once been human but I just don't know if they still were when we fought them. It was so very hard to tell. And, I put this here, in plain writing, because there were too many of us that saw what we saw and deny -- still -- that such things can't exist. These terrors do.
No longer can we hide behind superstition. With two battles so close to each other, only a handful of years of part, it is time to pull up our breeches and prepare for the things to come, and ensure that we not only fight for our home, but /win/ so that or home will stay safe. I will always fight to be free and safe, and so that my daughter might grow up in a world that remains free and safe.
Written By Lou
March 3, 2018, 11:23 a.m.(4/17/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Cadenza
Thank you for your diligent work with the Society of Explorers. Last night's silent auction went off without a hitch. I am confident in my decision to have selected you as First Seeker, and know that together we will do many wonderful things. I am certain that Safiyyah will love the little carved dragon figurine when I present it to her. It will go very nicely with her dragon plushie.
<3 -- Lou
<3 -- Lou
Written By Lou
Feb. 17, 2018, 11:14 p.m.(3/18/1008 AR)
On the list of a gagillion and one things I have left to do prior to setting sail for war:
1) Upgrade Armor
2) Upgrade Weaponshave.
3) Tasks, Tasks, and more Tasks to pay for it all.
I'm fairly certain that if I'm going to be in the thick of things out on the sea, that I'll need better quality armor than what I have, and I refuse to take the spare set my sister has if she might even have the smallest of needs for it. Besides which, I don't move around in steel as well as she does. I'm meant for leathers.
So, who is the best leather working armor maker out there? Suggestions welcome! I might even have someone bake cookies for you.
1) Upgrade Armor
2) Upgrade Weaponshave.
3) Tasks, Tasks, and more Tasks to pay for it all.
I'm fairly certain that if I'm going to be in the thick of things out on the sea, that I'll need better quality armor than what I have, and I refuse to take the spare set my sister has if she might even have the smallest of needs for it. Besides which, I don't move around in steel as well as she does. I'm meant for leathers.
So, who is the best leather working armor maker out there? Suggestions welcome! I might even have someone bake cookies for you.
Written By Lou
Feb. 13, 2018, 9:07 a.m.(3/2/1008 AR)
Sometimes, the best thing to do is not say anything at all about certain situations. I have discovered this when I attempted to make an entry about Esra, and I've crumpled up each entry I started to make....
But, I'm not one to curtail my words. I seriously have to question the sanity of /any/ member of society who wants to travel to city of Pyre, and take other people with them. He asked the Explorers to do this. We politely declined.
I can only imagine what Esra was seeking, should he have ever managed to find a group of people to go there. It could not have been good.
But, I'm not one to curtail my words. I seriously have to question the sanity of /any/ member of society who wants to travel to city of Pyre, and take other people with them. He asked the Explorers to do this. We politely declined.
I can only imagine what Esra was seeking, should he have ever managed to find a group of people to go there. It could not have been good.
Written By Lou
Feb. 8, 2018, 8:05 a.m.(2/20/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Cadenza
I went through past journal entries. It was apparently Natalia who sent it to me. I still love that dress to pieces, and you know how I feel about dressing up. I think I can manage a mask. Possibly.
Written By Lou
Feb. 7, 2018, 4:28 a.m.(2/18/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Cadenza
Would you forgive me if I just came to your party as me? I could wear my murder, death, kittens dress and call that my costume. Yes. Yes, I do really own a murder, death, kittens dress. It's pretty awesome! I can't remember who gifted it to me.
Written By Lou
Jan. 24, 2018, 9:31 a.m.(1/11/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Reese
Princess Reese is the best person I know, who sacrifices all of herself for the military and the support staff every time she goes out in the field. She personally feels responsible for every death, even if those deaths are not something she can control. She is a true leader, who does everything she can to protect countless lives of not only the Grayson family, but the Compact itself. She also happens to be my sister, and I'm immensely proud of her and her efforts - otherwise I would not follow her into battle as often as I do.
Written By Lou
Jan. 21, 2018, 10:22 p.m.(1/6/1008 AR)
It seems there are an influx of new Explorers coming into the Society. This is somewhat refreshing after I did a reorganization of the charts of some of our former Explorers, and sad at the same time. The others will be sorely missed, and while the new people will never take their place, they will help fill some of our gaps. I can't wait to see what grand and exciting things they suggest we consider for our next big adventure!
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.