Written By Lianne
Jan. 25, 2017, 11:02 p.m.(10/6/1005 AR)
Archscholar,
I completed my service with the Silent Reflections at the Shrine of the Thirteenth some weeks ago. The lesson was plain enough, a clear demonstration of the very real consequences of breaking this particular oath. Yet, I have hesitated to inform you. The task has felt unresolved, as if there were more I was not quite seeing.
Then, last week, I betrayed the trust of a friend. I violated a promise I made, believing the circumstances exceptional. It is a pattern I have seen repeated in recent months, in breaches of trust among friends and lovers, in breaches of faith among those who would protect us. Wherever there is a rule, we think ourselves wise enough to judge what merits exception. Yet, no matter the exceptional cirumstances, no matter our best intentions, oaths stand broken, trust remains betrayed.
This, for me, seems the more relevant lesson. It is one thing to know the consequences and another to understand that they will always apply, that no matter intentions or conditions: a breach of oath is a breach of oath. This is what I will carry with me.
Lady Lianne Pravus
I completed my service with the Silent Reflections at the Shrine of the Thirteenth some weeks ago. The lesson was plain enough, a clear demonstration of the very real consequences of breaking this particular oath. Yet, I have hesitated to inform you. The task has felt unresolved, as if there were more I was not quite seeing.
Then, last week, I betrayed the trust of a friend. I violated a promise I made, believing the circumstances exceptional. It is a pattern I have seen repeated in recent months, in breaches of trust among friends and lovers, in breaches of faith among those who would protect us. Wherever there is a rule, we think ourselves wise enough to judge what merits exception. Yet, no matter the exceptional cirumstances, no matter our best intentions, oaths stand broken, trust remains betrayed.
This, for me, seems the more relevant lesson. It is one thing to know the consequences and another to understand that they will always apply, that no matter intentions or conditions: a breach of oath is a breach of oath. This is what I will carry with me.
Lady Lianne Pravus
Written By Lianne
Jan. 20, 2017, 8:20 p.m.(9/18/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Sigurd
Wolf. You kept your smile while humoring my curiosity. You provided unexpected perspective which I carry with me still. You shamelessly used your friend in a bid for my attention. You heard me when I had no words and answered in kind. You gave me a sliver of your shame when I needed a shield. You showed me light when I was filled with darkness. You have proven yourself--repeatedly--a gentleman, a warrior, a leader. You have answered my every challenge. You have captured my attention. You *should* be afraid.
Written By Lianne
Jan. 18, 2017, 1:44 p.m.(9/12/1005 AR)
Our inability to change the past should not preclude our attempts to understand it.
Written By Lianne
Jan. 17, 2017, 8:23 p.m.(9/10/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Damon
I believe there is a fifty percent chance you are still alive. May Gild guide you to safety and fortune.
Written By Lianne
Jan. 15, 2017, 11:57 p.m.(9/4/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Elonso
The joy I felt upon your arrival from Setarco has turned dark and heavy and complicated. It feels appropriate. How often had we reflected together on our shadowed hearts?
You are loved, cousin.
You are loved, cousin.
Written By Lianne
Jan. 10, 2017, 3:01 a.m.(8/14/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Viviana
Arx feels more like home today.
Her smile makes me smile, her questions give me comfort, and her approval means the world.
For all that is wrong in the world right now, all is right in mine tonight.
Her smile makes me smile, her questions give me comfort, and her approval means the world.
For all that is wrong in the world right now, all is right in mine tonight.
Written By Lianne
Jan. 8, 2017, 12:11 a.m.(8/8/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Mirari
Each meeting is a new surprise. Most notable are the first, in the challenge you presented, and the most recent, in the kindness you offered. Thank you.
Written By Lianne
Jan. 7, 2017, 2:43 a.m.(8/5/1005 AR)
I thank Gild for the clear path and steady help.
I thank Petrichor for the cleansing wind and grounding.
I thank Mangata for this blessed, necessary emptiness.
I thank Lagoma for the flame, for the oil and ash.
I thank Tehom for putting that shadow back where it belongs.
I thank Vellichor for this awful knowledge.
I thank three more, unnamed.
I thank one more, left behind.
I thank Petrichor for the cleansing wind and grounding.
I thank Mangata for this blessed, necessary emptiness.
I thank Lagoma for the flame, for the oil and ash.
I thank Tehom for putting that shadow back where it belongs.
I thank Vellichor for this awful knowledge.
I thank three more, unnamed.
I thank one more, left behind.
Written By Lianne
Jan. 6, 2017, 4:42 p.m.(8/4/1005 AR)
Words I No Longer Care to Use:
Light, to refer to knowledge, truth and good.
Darkness, to refer to ignorance, secrets and evil.
Demons, to refer to any horror beyond our ken without proper study and classification.
Too easily, we let the connotations of these terms dictate our responses, unconsidered, unnoticed. I shall endeavor to speak more precisely, to say what I mean, unmuddled by these convoluted metaphors. We do not need light to banish the darkness; we need to question, to seek answers, to fend off ignorance and outwit those who would deceive us. We are beset by strange enemies which bear many faces and many names; we should call them what they are, distinct and different, and deny them the potency of myth.
Poetry has its place, after all this is done, when we can color our recollection any way we'd like. Now, as we face the unknown, we require clarity and concision to make it plain.
Light, to refer to knowledge, truth and good.
Darkness, to refer to ignorance, secrets and evil.
Demons, to refer to any horror beyond our ken without proper study and classification.
Too easily, we let the connotations of these terms dictate our responses, unconsidered, unnoticed. I shall endeavor to speak more precisely, to say what I mean, unmuddled by these convoluted metaphors. We do not need light to banish the darkness; we need to question, to seek answers, to fend off ignorance and outwit those who would deceive us. We are beset by strange enemies which bear many faces and many names; we should call them what they are, distinct and different, and deny them the potency of myth.
Poetry has its place, after all this is done, when we can color our recollection any way we'd like. Now, as we face the unknown, we require clarity and concision to make it plain.
Written By Lianne
Jan. 5, 2017, 12:29 a.m.(7/27/1005 AR)
Touch. You learn nothing by playing it safe.
Written By Lianne
Jan. 3, 2017, 3:06 a.m.(7/22/1005 AR)
The news seems always to go from grim to grimmer. There is always more darkness lurking around the corner, more trouble looming on the horizon. There is no end to the work which must be done and not nearly enough time to do it.
Still, I find myself in high spirits, my heart light, my smile easy. These are small blessings, those few happy things which fill my head, but I am grateful for each and every one.
For the smoke on the water.
For the fur on my dress.
For the promise of something new.
For the stargazing and chocolate.
For the strength and grace.
For the advice which set me straight.
It will get harder from here. These precious things will help.
Still, I find myself in high spirits, my heart light, my smile easy. These are small blessings, those few happy things which fill my head, but I am grateful for each and every one.
For the smoke on the water.
For the fur on my dress.
For the promise of something new.
For the stargazing and chocolate.
For the strength and grace.
For the advice which set me straight.
It will get harder from here. These precious things will help.
Written By Lianne
Dec. 28, 2016, 2:28 a.m.(7/3/1005 AR)
Kindness need not be gentle.
Written By Lianne
Dec. 27, 2016, 3:46 a.m.(7/1/1005 AR)
Not every problem can be solved with rigorous study.
Not every problem is mine to solve.
Not every problem is mine to solve.
Written By Lianne
Dec. 26, 2016, 1:07 p.m.(6/27/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Sigurd
Further, I am particularly grateful for the grace and good cheer with which Lord Sigurd endured my relentless questions about his companion. Most would not weather such curiosity so well.
Written By Lianne
Dec. 26, 2016, 12:57 p.m.(6/27/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Cassius
Lord Cassius,
I will say 'thank you,' for there was more than duty done. You and yours proved insightful, kind and capable. I was never made to feel out of place.
However, if you mean to challenge me further by extending invitation to all and sundry on my behalf, it is only fair that one of us make clear that I require a compelling puzzle to be coaxed into either the wilds or pants. Ours remains unsolved.
Lady Lianne Pravus
I will say 'thank you,' for there was more than duty done. You and yours proved insightful, kind and capable. I was never made to feel out of place.
However, if you mean to challenge me further by extending invitation to all and sundry on my behalf, it is only fair that one of us make clear that I require a compelling puzzle to be coaxed into either the wilds or pants. Ours remains unsolved.
Lady Lianne Pravus
Written By Lianne
Dec. 26, 2016, 3:48 a.m.(6/26/1005 AR)
Applications for bladed implements: cutting, scraping or otherwise collecting samples; dissection; surgical incision; slicing food; opening letters; cutting cloth; any number of other things which do not involve me attempting to defend myself or injure another.
I must adjust my thinking, approach this as I would any other experiment. Knowledge, in all its forms, merits diligent pursuit. Even this.
It is, at least, a rather lovely weapon.
I must adjust my thinking, approach this as I would any other experiment. Knowledge, in all its forms, merits diligent pursuit. Even this.
It is, at least, a rather lovely weapon.
Written By Lianne
Dec. 25, 2016, 4:17 p.m.(6/24/1005 AR)
I do not like what we've left behind. It has stood for a few seasons already, and I do not fear that it will be disturbed. I fear that it serves some purpose we do not understand and that leaving it unstudied and functioning--if it does, indeed, serve any function--may not be to our advantage.
I understand the reasons. A report must be provided first. We must prepare before we poke at such a thing. But sensibility and pragmatism offer little comfort in this instance.
I hope we're able to head up there again, undo all that awful work and find, in the end, that it meant nothing. Until such a time that its meaninglessness is verified, its benefit laid plain or its awfulness undone, it will itch at the back of my consciousness. It will burden my conscience.
I understand the reasons. A report must be provided first. We must prepare before we poke at such a thing. But sensibility and pragmatism offer little comfort in this instance.
I hope we're able to head up there again, undo all that awful work and find, in the end, that it meant nothing. Until such a time that its meaninglessness is verified, its benefit laid plain or its awfulness undone, it will itch at the back of my consciousness. It will burden my conscience.
Written By Lianne
Dec. 23, 2016, 7:11 p.m.(6/19/1005 AR)
I advised another to act with patience and distance today, fine tools of which I make frequent use.
The prospect of remaining patient and distant while I wait to see how that advice is applied leaves me anxious.
The prospect of remaining patient and distant while I wait to see how that advice is applied leaves me anxious.
Written By Lianne
Dec. 17, 2016, 7:25 p.m.(6/1/1005 AR)
Relationship Note on Cassius
Knight of Solace. Met at a lovely party back at home in Setarco which he absolutely loathed. Which, of course, made him the most interesting thing at the party. He bore my questions well, and continues to humor my curiosity.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.