Written By Preston
July 7, 2019, 4:41 p.m.(6/4/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Cristoph
It seems the last year my time is spent doing a tour of the Oathland houses, working with their nobles. Duke Cristoph has proven he is capable and devout. If he holds to his beliefs and his convictions, his land will flourish.
Written By Preston
July 7, 2019, 4:39 p.m.(6/4/1011 AR)
It seems every so often the whites circle around to some discussion of Abandoned and Compact. Some will say one side is being too general about the Abandoned, and then doing so will be general about the Compact. Or vice a versa.
The important thing is to remember Gloria's commands. You must protect the innocent, and fight with honour. But that does not always end well - when tribes in the Oathlands allied with our enemies, sought to sow discord, when they made it clear they had no intention of obedience to the Gods and laws, there was no choice but to end them. The Sentinel demands that we must ensure justice is done. Gloria demands our actions are honourable.
The important thing is to remember Gloria's commands. You must protect the innocent, and fight with honour. But that does not always end well - when tribes in the Oathlands allied with our enemies, sought to sow discord, when they made it clear they had no intention of obedience to the Gods and laws, there was no choice but to end them. The Sentinel demands that we must ensure justice is done. Gloria demands our actions are honourable.
Written By Domonico
July 7, 2019, 4 p.m.(6/4/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Martino
Brother mine,
I will always see you home safely, be it by ship, road or staggering along streets at night.
I also have some instructions from Leonaess as well for the morning you might heed to.
I will always see you home safely, be it by ship, road or staggering along streets at night.
I also have some instructions from Leonaess as well for the morning you might heed to.
Written By Malcolm
July 7, 2019, 2:22 p.m.(6/4/1011 AR)
So, ah, why does Skald's place have a wolf on one of the doors? Made me real curious, it has.
Written By Malcolm
July 7, 2019, 2:21 p.m.(6/4/1011 AR)
Still needing to find a protege. Though, reckon, that's a big ask and nothing to be taken light. As such, I'm in no hurry. There's still someone I need to talk to about it, and figure out how it'll be to the good for both halves. It's a cooperative effort.
Written By Malcolm
July 7, 2019, 2:18 p.m.(6/4/1011 AR)
Been made aware of a person. And White entries of note, lately, that I am keen to read and learn from. Got some learning and understanding to do, I know this, in order to avoid repeating Gregor's mistakes. Yeah -- the Duke was real stern, a martial sort -- which ain't bad at all. But he was also the sort that spilled the blood of so many Abandoned that he gained the name of Butcher. That ain't a legacy I want to follow. Fuck no --
Written By Ouida
July 7, 2019, 1:35 p.m.(6/4/1011 AR)
Perspective both illuminates and blinds, it seems.
No matter who you are.
It is not always easy to be willing to see and hold your shortcomings, how you have hurt others, the things done that will be unforgivable by some even as they are lauded or approved of by others.
But at the same time, if one spends most of the time looking down to see the old blood upon their hands, or over the shoulder to revisit the past, one might risk causing an even greater calamity that could have been averted by looking forward. It doesn't mean that one does not sit with the reality of what one has done, in the quiet moments, or before the next decision. Pain instructs. Regret instructs. As does grief. But it is important to heed that instruction and let it guide but not overwhelm. Those who allow it to overwhelm often become the most dangerous to those they love and indeed everything around them.
The fight is difficult, and often costs dearly. But it must be taken up, to move forward, step by step.
No matter who you are.
It is not always easy to be willing to see and hold your shortcomings, how you have hurt others, the things done that will be unforgivable by some even as they are lauded or approved of by others.
But at the same time, if one spends most of the time looking down to see the old blood upon their hands, or over the shoulder to revisit the past, one might risk causing an even greater calamity that could have been averted by looking forward. It doesn't mean that one does not sit with the reality of what one has done, in the quiet moments, or before the next decision. Pain instructs. Regret instructs. As does grief. But it is important to heed that instruction and let it guide but not overwhelm. Those who allow it to overwhelm often become the most dangerous to those they love and indeed everything around them.
The fight is difficult, and often costs dearly. But it must be taken up, to move forward, step by step.
Written By Alecstazi
July 7, 2019, 1:09 p.m.(6/4/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Shard
You hate butchers... And yet you willingly served under Audric de Lire? To be clear, I never met the man personally, but the stories...
Written By Cristoph
July 7, 2019, 11:21 a.m.(6/3/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Jael
I can't believe that we're only a few short weeks out from the fete and a journey back to Artshall. It seems very strange to me that I'll be witnessing Jael's marriage. Not that she'll be married, no, she'll be a fine partner for Prince Tyren. But that she'll be old enough to be married. It seems despite everything over the last several years, I've still kept my sister framed in my mind as 'my little sister'. I guess we've both grown older.
Written By Cristoph
July 7, 2019, 11:17 a.m.(6/3/1011 AR)
I wrote earlier that I wanted to begin hosting some smaller dinner parties and I'm glad to say that we did so last night. There were some very intriguing topics discussed and Aunt Aida was able to make the party.
Written By Cristoph
July 7, 2019, 11:15 a.m.(6/3/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Norwood
I'm deeply saddened to hear of Goodman Jethro Clement's passing. I remember him when I was a child at Artshall, he always seemed to be around. He looked old even then. And to think we were all just recently discussing him.
Written By Jasher
July 7, 2019, 9:47 a.m.(6/3/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Denica
Good paintings.
Written By Willow
July 7, 2019, 7:44 a.m.(6/3/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Kenna
It was so nice to see you and have the chance to talk somewhere peaceful. I look forward to the next time. And your cloak? Probably one of the single most beautiful things I have ever laid eyes upon.
Written By Ida
July 7, 2019, 7:41 a.m.(6/3/1011 AR)
I locked the (cursed wishing - Austen knows) door to the shop for a bit today so as to put out some bows, which I meant to do before the intriguing Festival project inspired me toward something else. Once I had them out, I thought maybe some swords and hairpins in matching hues would be nice, so I made those as well. Not that the items need be bought as sets, really, but they are available were one so inclined.
Written By Shard
July 7, 2019, 4:34 a.m.(6/3/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Alecstazi
I am a citizen of the Compact who grew up Abandoned. The Compact is never going to let that go, so I don't see why I should.
Every one of those things you listed are things the Compact is guilty of doing to the Abandoned in turn. Every last one. And while the Compact works as a whole, while the Compact answers to a single king, the Abandoned do not; but the Compact is perfectly happy to punish any Abandoned for any crime of any other Abandoned, no matter what their tribe or location. To the Compact, they are all guilty of every crime any individual may commit, and to the Abandoned, you are all guilty of every atrocity any one of you have dreamed up. Do you think they don't notice? Do you think they don't talk? Do you think there weren't constant stories told around the fire when the adults thought we were sleeping about what barbaric murdering thieves you all were? Do you think I grew up without being constantly warned about what would happen to me and all the rest of my tribe if I ever, ever did anything to bring your attention down on us? Do you think /we/ weren't afraid of infiltrators and spies?
I don't hold the Compact in contempt. I used to. I used to think you were all the worst possible people, more monsters than men, eternally hungry and eternally greedy and eternally growing and grasping to seize up every last thing from everyone else. You used to terrify me, I used to hate you. There were nights I went to sleep wishing you would all vanish into thin air or die of plague. You tried to kill me and mine, every last one, down to the smallest baby, because we were somehow in your way.
I don't hate the Compact. I hate butchers. I hate baby murderers. I hate people who massacre thousands of other people and then leave them to rot, or burn in a ditch, or nail them to trees. I hate people who drag other people off in chains to work their entire lives under the boot of their kidnappers. You don't need to tell me that's not all of you, or even most of you, because I've learned that. It took me a while, longer than it should have, but I learned it.
If I want the Compact to be better, to live up to what their stories say they are, to what the gods say they should be, to hold on to their honor, why is that disloyal? If I am loudest when something terrible has been done, it's because I want it to be realized, and to be remembered, even if I know there will never, ever be justice for it. Everyone mourns for lost Compact Houses. Everyone weeps for dead nobles, if they were remotely decent, and sometimes even when they were not. No one needs to be told those are sad things, terrible things. They don't need my voice on the pile, saying the same things everyone else is saying. But no one has been crying for dead Abandoned children, because their murderers made sure there was no one left to cry for them. And if the most anyone feels about it is annoyance that some mouthy Prodigal sellsword keeps bringing them up, then at least for a moment they were remembered, and maybe someone felt /something/ about it other than satisfaction at a job well done.
Every one of those things you listed are things the Compact is guilty of doing to the Abandoned in turn. Every last one. And while the Compact works as a whole, while the Compact answers to a single king, the Abandoned do not; but the Compact is perfectly happy to punish any Abandoned for any crime of any other Abandoned, no matter what their tribe or location. To the Compact, they are all guilty of every crime any individual may commit, and to the Abandoned, you are all guilty of every atrocity any one of you have dreamed up. Do you think they don't notice? Do you think they don't talk? Do you think there weren't constant stories told around the fire when the adults thought we were sleeping about what barbaric murdering thieves you all were? Do you think I grew up without being constantly warned about what would happen to me and all the rest of my tribe if I ever, ever did anything to bring your attention down on us? Do you think /we/ weren't afraid of infiltrators and spies?
I don't hold the Compact in contempt. I used to. I used to think you were all the worst possible people, more monsters than men, eternally hungry and eternally greedy and eternally growing and grasping to seize up every last thing from everyone else. You used to terrify me, I used to hate you. There were nights I went to sleep wishing you would all vanish into thin air or die of plague. You tried to kill me and mine, every last one, down to the smallest baby, because we were somehow in your way.
I don't hate the Compact. I hate butchers. I hate baby murderers. I hate people who massacre thousands of other people and then leave them to rot, or burn in a ditch, or nail them to trees. I hate people who drag other people off in chains to work their entire lives under the boot of their kidnappers. You don't need to tell me that's not all of you, or even most of you, because I've learned that. It took me a while, longer than it should have, but I learned it.
If I want the Compact to be better, to live up to what their stories say they are, to what the gods say they should be, to hold on to their honor, why is that disloyal? If I am loudest when something terrible has been done, it's because I want it to be realized, and to be remembered, even if I know there will never, ever be justice for it. Everyone mourns for lost Compact Houses. Everyone weeps for dead nobles, if they were remotely decent, and sometimes even when they were not. No one needs to be told those are sad things, terrible things. They don't need my voice on the pile, saying the same things everyone else is saying. But no one has been crying for dead Abandoned children, because their murderers made sure there was no one left to cry for them. And if the most anyone feels about it is annoyance that some mouthy Prodigal sellsword keeps bringing them up, then at least for a moment they were remembered, and maybe someone felt /something/ about it other than satisfaction at a job well done.
Written By Arcadia
July 7, 2019, 2:54 a.m.(6/3/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Magnus
Today my husband informed me that the way they woo in the north is to tolerate death threats from their wives.
I suppose this is lucky for me, as I have mentioned drowning, suffocating, stabbing, poisoning and bear wrestling as all possible activities for today.
I suppose this is lucky for me, as I have mentioned drowning, suffocating, stabbing, poisoning and bear wrestling as all possible activities for today.
Written By Alecstazi
July 6, 2019, 5 p.m.(6/2/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Shard
I have noted a propensity on your part to hold up your personal experiences and speak as they were not only the most common but the only truth. When in fact, MOST Abandoned peoples do not bear identifying marks such as facial tattoos or disfiguring scars. What makes the threat of them so insidious is that if they dress as members of the Compact they are virtually indistinguishable from legitimate commoners. They speak Arvani same as we do, they look like us, but they are not us. They do not honor our laws, they steal from us, they start on our lands and keep us from them. They steal and poach and murder us. They are the enemy. You frequently seen to forget that YOU are ostensibly a citizen of the Compact. A surprising thing, given how much disdain and contempt you regularly seem to hold it in. If you hate us so much, no one is stopping you from returning to your savage people... Or are you the sort that just wants to complain about things even while you enjoy the benefits and safety that are the results of the very things you most about?
Written By Acantha
July 6, 2019, 3:42 p.m.(6/2/1011 AR)
I have been tending to my plot in the Stone Grove and trying to get the other plants that I've been tending to in a good enough state to transfer to the stone grove when it is time to do things. I hope that they will love the pumpkins as much as I have.
Written By Evaristo
July 6, 2019, 3:29 p.m.(6/2/1011 AR)
What an interesting few weeks. First a total HAPPY surprise, Legate Aureth asking me to become the second First Harlequin. Haha, second first Harlequin. Also, Voice of the Voice of the Queen of Endings and Mother of Beginnings. The opportunity for fun titles are near endless. Shouldn't there be a Third Wheel title in the Harlequins by the way? I need to suggest this immediately.
Life is good. Death is amazing. The wheel spins on and I'm having a ball. Quite literally there'll be a ball coming up too, by the way. Oh, also a poetry reading in just a few days, led once again by the LOVELY and AMAZING Princess Helena Redrain. I even wrote a poem myself for it. The theme? Why, Death herself, of course.
The fashion show isn't far away either. And there'll be more events!
Life is good. Death is amazing. The wheel spins on and I'm having a ball. Quite literally there'll be a ball coming up too, by the way. Oh, also a poetry reading in just a few days, led once again by the LOVELY and AMAZING Princess Helena Redrain. I even wrote a poem myself for it. The theme? Why, Death herself, of course.
The fashion show isn't far away either. And there'll be more events!
Written By Miranda
July 6, 2019, 1:46 p.m.(6/2/1011 AR)
Relationship Note on Silvio
The Prince of Fashion by Miranda Rubino
Long, glorious tresses
Divine gowns and dresses
Lord Silvio Rubino knows styles
There are none like him for miles
He gracefully floats in
Impressing ladies and men
Turning this way and that
Never needing a hat
And if he should decide
To hop a horse and ride
All of Arx would show up
To hear him cry, "Giddy up!"
And when he graces our presence
With his indescribable sentience
We all sigh in delight
For none other have his might!
Long, glorious tresses
Divine gowns and dresses
Lord Silvio Rubino knows styles
There are none like him for miles
He gracefully floats in
Impressing ladies and men
Turning this way and that
Never needing a hat
And if he should decide
To hop a horse and ride
All of Arx would show up
To hear him cry, "Giddy up!"
And when he graces our presence
With his indescribable sentience
We all sigh in delight
For none other have his might!
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.