Written By Gwenna
April 28, 2019, 1:21 p.m.(1/4/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Lorenzo
It does not seem possible that Lorenzo and I have been married only a year today. It feels like a lifetime ago that we seized that moment upon a ship headed back to Arx from Stormward, both a seraph and shaman aboard to perform the ceremony, not just a year. While I'm admittedly biased, I consider myself one of the luckiest women in Arx to have such an amazingly charming, caring, dedicated, and handsome husband. How fortunate I truly am to have him at my side and in my life, and I so very much hope to have many, many more years together to explore the world.
Written By Gwenna
April 16, 2019, 9:46 a.m.(12/7/1010 AR)
The 'who are you even' card is so delightful.
Written By Gwenna
April 15, 2019, 2:22 p.m.(12/6/1010 AR)
I suspect I may not truly be considered a courtier, if only due to lack of experience and education, but I am beyond glad to have attended the Courtier's Guild Gathering.
Firstly, one would have to nearly be insane to miss an opportunity to spend time with Radiant Bliss, especially at the Whisper House itself. As always, every detail was absolute perfection and every sense enchanted. Secondly, I made a few wonderful new acquaintances while discussing all sorts of things of serious, romantic, and fun natures. While duties necessitated my leaving before the events conclusion, the time I was able to spend there was /well/ worth letting a few piles of papers sit unattended for a bit.
Firstly, one would have to nearly be insane to miss an opportunity to spend time with Radiant Bliss, especially at the Whisper House itself. As always, every detail was absolute perfection and every sense enchanted. Secondly, I made a few wonderful new acquaintances while discussing all sorts of things of serious, romantic, and fun natures. While duties necessitated my leaving before the events conclusion, the time I was able to spend there was /well/ worth letting a few piles of papers sit unattended for a bit.
Written By Gwenna
April 7, 2019, 5:22 p.m.(11/18/1010 AR)
I've been allowed the opportunity to try a bit of something new, which is both somewhat terrifying as well as exciting. It is a reminder, perhaps, that sometimes I need to put the numbers aside for a little bit and paint, or do things that encourage my artistic side. If I do not do well as this endeavor, I can, at the very least, say that I tried and surely will gain a wonderful memory and educational experience from it.
Written By Gwenna
April 7, 2019, 5:10 p.m.(11/18/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Darren
I have always admired and respected our High Lord of Redrain, even while living those years in Farhaven. When I came to Arx, he put a lot of his faith and trust in me, assigning me roles I think I worked diligently on earning, even if it may have been after the fact. His counsel has so often been what I needed to work out some problem or issue, and I feel like I have learned a great deal over the years under his guidance and example. Then there are those times when it's not about ledgers or skirmishes on the borders, but family and those brief respites with family away from the responsibilities of the day. Days when I marvel at how affable and yet official he manages to be even in the most companionable company. It is a balance I envy and hope to learn to do myself some day. I am so very grateful to work with him as our Prince of Farhaven, but I am also exceptionally glad to call him cousin and friend.
Written By Gwenna
March 30, 2019, 2 p.m.(11/2/1010 AR)
Trust, once broken, takes a lot to mend, if it ever truly can be. It takes a brave and forgiving soul to trust their back to someone who stabbed it once already.
Written By Gwenna
March 20, 2019, 9:07 a.m.(10/9/1010 AR)
Princess Elgana truly outdid herself with the Taste of Arx event for House Redrain. The decor, the games, the prizes and gifts, were all like taking a small tour of all the Northlands. There is little wonder why she is the Minster of Fealty and I am grateful every day that we get to claim her as ours. Thank you, cousin, for creating such a grand party! Thank you as well to those who assisted her and made it truly a glorious evening I doubt anyone will soon forget.
Even when the shadows of our world seem ever-encroaching, spending a joyous time with so much close family reminds me yet again why we fight. Watching the merriment with my darling Lorenzo, seeing His Grace and the Princess-Consort playfully flirting, the easy comfort of dear and close friends, and the happiness worn on so many faces...
Yes. This is why we fight.
Even when the shadows of our world seem ever-encroaching, spending a joyous time with so much close family reminds me yet again why we fight. Watching the merriment with my darling Lorenzo, seeing His Grace and the Princess-Consort playfully flirting, the easy comfort of dear and close friends, and the happiness worn on so many faces...
Yes. This is why we fight.
Written By Gwenna
Feb. 16, 2019, 7:48 p.m.(8/2/1010 AR)
To say that the reception as hosted by Champion Bliss at the Whisper House's Arcadia was exquisite would to be doing the event so very, very little justice. It was both extravagant and humbling; a reminder of how precious this life is, of the beauty and value of love, joy, and even duty. That to stop living because of the shadows that worry us is to have already let the enemies win. That the tempest blizzards of the northlands can marry the hurricane summers of the southlands and work together in harmony.
On a lighter note, the chocolate fountain is a wonder that, I think, trumped even the icewine.
On a lighter note, the chocolate fountain is a wonder that, I think, trumped even the icewine.
Written By Gwenna
Jan. 31, 2019, 9:55 a.m.(6/26/1010 AR)
I am grateful for whatever choices, those deliberately made and those that perhaps 'just happened,' that have lead to the closeness I have with my family and pseudo extended family. My husband, my cousins, my dear Redrain and Greenmarch family, my confidence and trust in others that has been so quickly returned, these are all blessings. The terrors and uncertainties seem easier to face knowing we might do these things together. I am glad we have each other's backs.
Written By Gwenna
Jan. 27, 2019, 7:33 p.m.(6/18/1010 AR)
I have put no few wheels into motion this work, mostly personal and House business that idled during the cold months of winter. I am of the opinion that I do not visit the Whisper House /nearly/ enough and have promised myself that I will amend my ways in that regard. The beauty there and conversations are things I am also so grateful for, and I often find my steps are just a bit slower when it comes time to leave.
Written By Gwenna
Jan. 19, 2019, 9:23 a.m.(5/21/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Helena
My cousin, Princess Helena, has recorded a poem from one of her readings here that gave me pause, like I could almost see the images and feel the grief anew. With construction underway for our new library, it is my hope we might find someone to put those words to art so it can find a place of distinction there. Unless, of course, I might convince her to allow us to frame her original writing of it instead.
Written By Gwenna
Jan. 15, 2019, 2:07 p.m.(5/13/1010 AR)
It is, perhaps, better to have risked and lost than to never have even tried and left to wonder. I hope I have the courage to take the risks, when they seem necessary, in the plans I hope to achieve.
Written By Gwenna
Jan. 13, 2019, 12:22 p.m.(5/8/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Lorenzo
There are times that I struggle with my feelings and words. Not often, but a shadow will creep over me and threatens to crack my resolve. In so many of those times, my husband has been at my side and said something so elementary, so kind, that I marvel once again how lucky a woman I am. His passion in the project to bring copper and what it stands for to everyone is so admirable and when I think I couldn't possibly adore him more, I am proven wrong. I have a copper hued scarf, a design of Master Evaristo's I believe, that I will continue to wear as my own reminder - especially as times seem to grow more shadowed as of late.
Written By Gwenna
Jan. 1, 2019, 8:29 a.m.(4/12/1010 AR)
We had many big dogs in Farhaven, among all sorts of other pets and animals, and each with their own personality once you got to know them. Pup, creatively named by one of us when we were all mostly no more than knee-high, was the most loyal and patient hound I think I ever knew. He'd let us use him as a pillow at the fire and followed us around the forest no matter how long we were out, or cold it got. Twinkletoes, named for her white toes on an otherwise dark chestnut coat of fur. Her eyes were so beautiful, like the velvety black of midnight in summer. I swear no one could keep from slipping her treats from the banquet tables when she turned those eyes on them. So many, all with their own little anecdotes, though Tultus' might be the one of my favorite to tell.
All white, Tultus wasn't an old dog but had a lot of trouble seeing. No one really mentioned why and I guess, as children, we didn't think to ask. That was just How He Was. As I got older, I did wonder, as it seemed something must have happened to him to cause that and other odd behavior I didn't think much on back then. All the dogs would often get bones whenever there was a big feast at the castle. They'd gnaw off the meat, the marrow, and then maybe go bury them or the bones would end up tossed to the forest if one of the cooks or staff tripped on them enough times. Tultus, though, rarely would let a bone go. He would gnaw at his like the others, clean the meat and marrow and all that he possibly could from it, and then go bury it. Unlike most of the other hounds, though, he would inexplicably go back days, sometimes even /weeks/, later and dig it up for no reason anyone could understand. We would watch, often befuddled, as he gnawed on something we thought quite long buried. He never seemed to notice that it was odd behavior, poor dear.
All white, Tultus wasn't an old dog but had a lot of trouble seeing. No one really mentioned why and I guess, as children, we didn't think to ask. That was just How He Was. As I got older, I did wonder, as it seemed something must have happened to him to cause that and other odd behavior I didn't think much on back then. All the dogs would often get bones whenever there was a big feast at the castle. They'd gnaw off the meat, the marrow, and then maybe go bury them or the bones would end up tossed to the forest if one of the cooks or staff tripped on them enough times. Tultus, though, rarely would let a bone go. He would gnaw at his like the others, clean the meat and marrow and all that he possibly could from it, and then go bury it. Unlike most of the other hounds, though, he would inexplicably go back days, sometimes even /weeks/, later and dig it up for no reason anyone could understand. We would watch, often befuddled, as he gnawed on something we thought quite long buried. He never seemed to notice that it was odd behavior, poor dear.
Written By Gwenna
Dec. 23, 2018, 8:19 p.m.(3/22/1010 AR)
Sometimes I find myself filled with such hope and think perhaps there are things I can change, can /do/, that matter on a more meaningful scale. Just as soon, however, I feel rather tiny; a small breeze in a hurricane of doings and this world. In such times of conflicting thought or doubt, I try to remember a story told to me when I was just a girl in Farhaven by one of the Seraphs. I won't tell it half as well, but will hope the point still might be made.
A little girl was walking along a beach throwing starfish from the sand back into the ocean. It was a sad scene with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of starfish having been washed up onto the shore. An old man watched this fruitless effort for a time before walking down the dunes to speak to her. "You will never be able to save them all, you know," he told her. "Oh, I know," she replied and kept along her task. "It would take months," he noted further. "Why are you even bothering when it won't make a difference?" Without pausing much, she held up a starfish and said, "It matters to this one," before throwing it into the embrace of the waves.
A small effort, even unnoticed, matters to someone. That is the thing I try to always keep close to heart.
A little girl was walking along a beach throwing starfish from the sand back into the ocean. It was a sad scene with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of starfish having been washed up onto the shore. An old man watched this fruitless effort for a time before walking down the dunes to speak to her. "You will never be able to save them all, you know," he told her. "Oh, I know," she replied and kept along her task. "It would take months," he noted further. "Why are you even bothering when it won't make a difference?" Without pausing much, she held up a starfish and said, "It matters to this one," before throwing it into the embrace of the waves.
A small effort, even unnoticed, matters to someone. That is the thing I try to always keep close to heart.
Written By Gwenna
Dec. 11, 2018, 7:44 p.m.(2/26/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Lilia
Fascinating! I very much enjoyed puzzling out your entry and now I want to review the books here at the villa to see if they might have any intriguing little puzzles hidden away.
Written By Gwenna
Dec. 11, 2018, 7:13 p.m.(2/26/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Margret
Congratulations to Lady Margret and Lord Alessandro! Lorenzo and I can hardly wait to come meet Lord Marcus and see all three of you when you are up for visitors. Like my wonderful husband, I am quite excited to have a nephew! Aunt Gwenna. I am so very looking forward to being the best aunt I can possibly be for Lord Marcus.
Written By Gwenna
Dec. 1, 2018, 9:16 a.m.(2/5/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Lorenzo
Lorenzo and I have been married just over a month now and I still think myself one of the luckiest women in Arx. Truthfully, it seems like it must be so much longer than that, which I mean in the best way possible. Like my husband, I am so looking forward to the library we hope to create together and I swear we come up with new ideas for it each time we broach the topic. A few projects have me busier than I tend to be, but I'm grateful to assist on things people think I might be helpful on. I am very much looking forward to an upcoming recruitment trip as it will be the first I'll get to do beside Lorenzo. Surely after this winter in Arx, the weather in the north won't feel quite so cold for my dearest southern husband - right?
Written By Gwenna
Dec. 1, 2018, 9:10 a.m.(2/5/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Kenna
Should this esteemed beltmaker from Hawkhold happen to have matching flasks for his wares, I may find myself quite a bit lighter in silver after the fair. I am surely overdue to get myself one.
Written By Gwenna
Nov. 24, 2018, 8:11 a.m.(1/19/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Marian
I am often inspired by Princess Marian. Of course we heard the storied tales of her in Farhaven, and I was very excited to come to Arx and meet her in person. Since then, she has become like a sister to me; a confidant whose words are never disingenuous. If I struggle with a matter, she will give me her exact thoughts with a candor that I sometimes wish I could manage half as well. She is an exceptional War Chief, selfless in her duty and dedication to Redrain and her military, which I am thankful for every day. I feel quite lucky to call her both family as well as friend, which I surely do not tell her enough.
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