Written By Aureth
July 4, 2019, 12:49 a.m.(5/24/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Juniper
There is nothing wrong with walking your own path on the road to the gods, provided it is a path that embraces the ideals of the Faithful. I was proud to stand with you and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
Written By Aureth
July 3, 2019, 8:10 p.m.(5/24/1011 AR)
I'm very familiar with the kinds of profit one can make spinning vaguely plausible but occultish-sounding nonsense for the credulous, but as a word of advice, from someone who has been there: pick your targets wisely.
To invite them indiscriminately can lead to unpleasantness, even if you're absolutely certain you're either harmless or correct.
To invite them indiscriminately can lead to unpleasantness, even if you're absolutely certain you're either harmless or correct.
Written By Aureth
June 30, 2019, 11:23 p.m.(5/18/1011 AR)
I understand that our Cardian guests were invited to discuss a number of subjects at the Academy, ranging in subject from ancient history to recent history, to of course, their outspoken contempt for the Faith of the Pantheon versus whatever outlandish sky worship they appear to follow instead.
I sincerely hope that those who listened to, or who now read, the words spoken at such an event remember the context in which they are given. As any Scholar would tell you, primary sources are an excellent source of study, but any material must be taken with a keen understanding of the nature of its source.
Study and learn; ignore no knowledge, for that would not serve either Vellichor nor your own understanding; but do remember your principles.
I sincerely hope that those who listened to, or who now read, the words spoken at such an event remember the context in which they are given. As any Scholar would tell you, primary sources are an excellent source of study, but any material must be taken with a keen understanding of the nature of its source.
Study and learn; ignore no knowledge, for that would not serve either Vellichor nor your own understanding; but do remember your principles.
Written By Aureth
June 30, 2019, 9:19 a.m.(5/17/1011 AR)
The other day I had cause to loan a book penned by Lady Aislin Ashford from our private library and I am newly reminded of that scholar's particular flair for titles.
Written By Aureth
June 28, 2019, 11:44 p.m.(5/14/1011 AR)
Once I gathered your tears in a jar.
I will not pretend mine have not fallen freely, but I am not forsook. I am beloved -- as are you.
This is a beginning.
I will not pretend mine have not fallen freely, but I am not forsook. I am beloved -- as are you.
This is a beginning.
Written By Aureth
June 26, 2019, 5:36 p.m.(5/10/1011 AR)
Each day can be a new beginning. All you have to do is embrace it.
Written By Aureth
June 24, 2019, 10:30 p.m.(5/6/1011 AR)
Many reams of paper and buckets of ink have been spent upon the truth and nature of freedom, since His Grace, the Prince of Maelstrom, informed the Compact of his future goal to eradicate thralldom. The full weight of the Faith of the Pantheon is and shall be behind him. As I write now, in consideration of this, I do not intend to extend further commentary upon the topic of thralldom. My opinions historically are wildly clear.
It is interesting to note that thralldom and slavery are not historically the same. That slavery has been outlawed in these lands since Queen Triscali. That though thralls are bound, there are restrictions placed upon that binding, and limits, and ultimately a pathway to freedom. It is important to recall that while we stride forward towards a future without indenture, slavery -- a concept that we ourselves have decried and eradicated -- continues to exist in this world, freely practiced beyond our borders.
There are souls out there in chains, beneath the whip.
I find it important to remember this while we argue amongst ourselves about the benefit and efficacy of abolishing thralldom -- a question which is, at this point, already resolved and we are arguing it after the fact; that is, presumably, even the most diehard conservative in the Mourning Isles still would not countenance slavery, and the historical record contains several examples of lords of Thrax who chose to execute people who were found to have committed acts of slavery.
It is a wide world full of darkness.
There is ugliness enough within our truth to last many lifetimes. Let us not make ourselves worse than we are.
It is interesting to note that thralldom and slavery are not historically the same. That slavery has been outlawed in these lands since Queen Triscali. That though thralls are bound, there are restrictions placed upon that binding, and limits, and ultimately a pathway to freedom. It is important to recall that while we stride forward towards a future without indenture, slavery -- a concept that we ourselves have decried and eradicated -- continues to exist in this world, freely practiced beyond our borders.
There are souls out there in chains, beneath the whip.
I find it important to remember this while we argue amongst ourselves about the benefit and efficacy of abolishing thralldom -- a question which is, at this point, already resolved and we are arguing it after the fact; that is, presumably, even the most diehard conservative in the Mourning Isles still would not countenance slavery, and the historical record contains several examples of lords of Thrax who chose to execute people who were found to have committed acts of slavery.
It is a wide world full of darkness.
There is ugliness enough within our truth to last many lifetimes. Let us not make ourselves worse than we are.
Written By Aureth
June 24, 2019, 3:14 a.m.(5/5/1011 AR)
One thing I have learned, since adopting a crow into my life, is that a surfeit of greed will make the most beautiful of creations seem ugly and petty.
A little thirst for acquisition is civilized; a little native ambition, healthy. But when to have is a lust that burns unquenched, whatever you scrabble for in your black little claws looks much the same as any other scrap of glittery trash in your hoard.
I find that Binky, at least, will keep himself entertained by stealing walnuts most of the time.
A little thirst for acquisition is civilized; a little native ambition, healthy. But when to have is a lust that burns unquenched, whatever you scrabble for in your black little claws looks much the same as any other scrap of glittery trash in your hoard.
I find that Binky, at least, will keep himself entertained by stealing walnuts most of the time.
Written By Aureth
June 21, 2019, 8:26 p.m.(4/28/1011 AR)
While the Church does encourage donations, I do suggest that if you are _making_ donations in any of our chapels, you do so by speaking with a priest or disciple in the usual way, as opposed to leaving random piles of money on the floor.
The spiders would prefer gifts of moths, anyway.
The spiders would prefer gifts of moths, anyway.
Written By Aureth
June 20, 2019, 2:27 p.m.(4/26/1011 AR)
When I was a boy, I was under the impression that being a gibbering moron was one of the hiring qualifications for Voice of a noble house.
Now that I am a man, in an adult life that has required me to work often and well with many powerful men and women, I'm relieved to report that I have found this to be the exception rather than the rule.
Unfortunately, the exceptions are exceptionally prolific from time to time.
Now that I am a man, in an adult life that has required me to work often and well with many powerful men and women, I'm relieved to report that I have found this to be the exception rather than the rule.
Unfortunately, the exceptions are exceptionally prolific from time to time.
Written By Aureth
June 18, 2019, 12:29 a.m.(4/21/1011 AR)
Be you the fool, or the madman?
Be you the one who questions, or the one who knows?
Do you know the path, or would you seek a map?
There is no shame in ignorance, for it is the absence of knowledge, and acknowledging that absence is the beginning. But remember that it is the beginning of wisdom, and not its end.
The art of teaching is, ultimately, an act of empathy. You must remember in your own heart the time in your life when you knew nothing, and remember the fear you had of asking a question.
The art of learning is, ultimately, an act of courage. You must set aside the shame in your heart that comes of looking foolish before your teacher, and remember that your teacher is there to help you.
Finally, I do not preach humility as the doctrine of a particular god, but that does not mean it isn't, occasionally, a good idea.
Be you the one who questions, or the one who knows?
Do you know the path, or would you seek a map?
There is no shame in ignorance, for it is the absence of knowledge, and acknowledging that absence is the beginning. But remember that it is the beginning of wisdom, and not its end.
The art of teaching is, ultimately, an act of empathy. You must remember in your own heart the time in your life when you knew nothing, and remember the fear you had of asking a question.
The art of learning is, ultimately, an act of courage. You must set aside the shame in your heart that comes of looking foolish before your teacher, and remember that your teacher is there to help you.
Finally, I do not preach humility as the doctrine of a particular god, but that does not mean it isn't, occasionally, a good idea.
Written By Aureth
June 16, 2019, 10:38 p.m.(4/18/1011 AR)
At times, I look upon the world, and see how many people surround me who are little more than teenagers, and I wonder what times we have wrought by weighting our youth with such overbearing significance.
When I was 22, I would not have trusted me to lead you to the lavatory.
When I was 22, I would not have trusted me to lead you to the lavatory.
Written By Aureth
June 4, 2019, 10:06 p.m.(3/22/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Joscelin
I strongly encourage any artisan to take the lessons of Myrinda Grayhope when it comes to customers of any kind who give you lip or treat you with less than the respect you deserve.
If they are unworthy of your art, deny it to them. Your clientele is entitled to nothing of you that you do not choose to give. If this makes it hard for you to have bread
If they are unworthy of your art, deny it to them. Your clientele is entitled to nothing of you that you do not choose to give. If this makes it hard for you to have bread
Written By Aureth
May 29, 2019, 12:30 a.m.(3/9/1011 AR)
How many words are spoken for the benefit of one's listeners, and how many are spoken merely for the dubious joy of hearing the droning of one's own voice?
I suppose the answer varies.
I suppose the answer varies.
Written By Aureth
May 21, 2019, 7:19 p.m.(2/22/1011 AR)
I consider the gentleness of my silvering to its present state to be a fine gift from Lagoma, following the changes of my seasons.
Written By Aureth
May 14, 2019, 8:51 p.m.(2/8/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Sparte
Given a task of humility, Sparte Fatchforth has performed it with grace and with dignity, without complaint. His penance is concluded in accordance with the laws of the Church and he is forgiven the trespasses that brought him to this point. I believe his penitence is more than a simple rejection of his flawed past choices, but instead, a renewal of his path, with a demonstrated willingness to seek correction from the Faith when he has erred.
It is with compassion and hope that I welcome him back to the grace of the Faith.
It is with compassion and hope that I welcome him back to the grace of the Faith.
Written By Aureth
May 9, 2019, 11:22 p.m.(1/26/1011 AR)
When I was a boy, we always had enough to eat.
My mother was one of the premier tailors in the city, a seamstress who looked out for me and my brother with the fierceness of a she-bear defending her cubs. She was a strong personality. I was also a strong personality, and I look back on memories of the ways we clashed with some regret. For one thing, she wanted nothing more than for Fortunato and me to be as far away from our father's life choices as we could, and I decided as a scrappy young man with a chip on my shoulder that I was going to forsake our pleasant house in the Upper Boroughs to rent a room On My Own in the Murder. Which wasn't one I ever had to pay a lot for, because I worked for the family.
I don't remember that much about those days. I was high a lot -- it was easy to be high, easy not to make waves, easy to avoid conflict, to avoid commitment. I know I hurt some people in my callow youth. I don't know if I'd take any of it back, because the choices I made then resulted in a few things that I would never unwish. Still... there are some things I'd take back.
I had the run of the Boroughs whenever I wanted it when I was a kid. Myrinda knew that there's few things about a boy that age that are more constant than that if there's a place he's not supposed to go or a thing he's not supposed to do, he'll become fascinated by it. She managed her hoard of hellions -- not just her natural children, but a few others who were in our little group of friends, others who fell under the mantle of her protection.
There were some children I played with who disappeared and I never saw them again. And the thing is, that wasn't unusual. Sometimes, kids in the Boroughs disappear. Adults too, for that matter. People just ... go away. You don't question it, because you don't really want the answers.
There are a few of us left, boys and girls who remember. We always had enough to eat. And now I have reached unasked for pinnacles of wealth, a surfeit of all I could ask.
So what do you do with time and wealth, when you've always had enough to eat, but you know people who didn't?
Whatever you can to give back. Build programs. Grow the Faith. Minister to the people. The people that matter. Because what a kid from the Boroughs knows is, that's all the people.
As it happens, that's what the Faith preaches, too. What the Mother of Beginnings says.
When you have an opportunity to give back, you do. I'm working with the other priests of the city to expand our efforts not only beyond the bounds of Arvum, in seraphies all over the Compact, but to remember the people at home. To support efforts like those of the Solace, and like Mae Culler's soup kitchen, and locally run shops through the crafter's guild and through my hard-working protege, Mayir Grayhope.
I was born in this city. It's Death's city. And I'll never forget that.
My mother was one of the premier tailors in the city, a seamstress who looked out for me and my brother with the fierceness of a she-bear defending her cubs. She was a strong personality. I was also a strong personality, and I look back on memories of the ways we clashed with some regret. For one thing, she wanted nothing more than for Fortunato and me to be as far away from our father's life choices as we could, and I decided as a scrappy young man with a chip on my shoulder that I was going to forsake our pleasant house in the Upper Boroughs to rent a room On My Own in the Murder. Which wasn't one I ever had to pay a lot for, because I worked for the family.
I don't remember that much about those days. I was high a lot -- it was easy to be high, easy not to make waves, easy to avoid conflict, to avoid commitment. I know I hurt some people in my callow youth. I don't know if I'd take any of it back, because the choices I made then resulted in a few things that I would never unwish. Still... there are some things I'd take back.
I had the run of the Boroughs whenever I wanted it when I was a kid. Myrinda knew that there's few things about a boy that age that are more constant than that if there's a place he's not supposed to go or a thing he's not supposed to do, he'll become fascinated by it. She managed her hoard of hellions -- not just her natural children, but a few others who were in our little group of friends, others who fell under the mantle of her protection.
There were some children I played with who disappeared and I never saw them again. And the thing is, that wasn't unusual. Sometimes, kids in the Boroughs disappear. Adults too, for that matter. People just ... go away. You don't question it, because you don't really want the answers.
There are a few of us left, boys and girls who remember. We always had enough to eat. And now I have reached unasked for pinnacles of wealth, a surfeit of all I could ask.
So what do you do with time and wealth, when you've always had enough to eat, but you know people who didn't?
Whatever you can to give back. Build programs. Grow the Faith. Minister to the people. The people that matter. Because what a kid from the Boroughs knows is, that's all the people.
As it happens, that's what the Faith preaches, too. What the Mother of Beginnings says.
When you have an opportunity to give back, you do. I'm working with the other priests of the city to expand our efforts not only beyond the bounds of Arvum, in seraphies all over the Compact, but to remember the people at home. To support efforts like those of the Solace, and like Mae Culler's soup kitchen, and locally run shops through the crafter's guild and through my hard-working protege, Mayir Grayhope.
I was born in this city. It's Death's city. And I'll never forget that.
Written By Aureth
May 5, 2019, 6:32 p.m.(1/18/1011 AR)
I believe it axiomatic that the 20 foot python can sleep wherever it wants.
Written By Aureth
April 9, 2019, 10:34 p.m.(11/22/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Jeffeth
For his service as an aid to the wounded, Jeffeth Bayweather is to be commended.
I hope it is not a skill of his I will require again anytime soon. I think he may still be grieved that I did not allow him to fling me over his shoulder like an unusually sparkly potato sack.
I'm not as young as I used to be but I'm told that, contrary to my whining on the day, my knee should heal given time and an absence of nonsense. Apparently I am not supposed to hike all over for a few days but instead take carriages and so on when going about.
I hope it is not a skill of his I will require again anytime soon. I think he may still be grieved that I did not allow him to fling me over his shoulder like an unusually sparkly potato sack.
I'm not as young as I used to be but I'm told that, contrary to my whining on the day, my knee should heal given time and an absence of nonsense. Apparently I am not supposed to hike all over for a few days but instead take carriages and so on when going about.
Written By Aureth
April 9, 2019, 10:12 a.m.(11/21/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Joscelin
It's fine. I didn't need that knee anyway.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.