Written By Amund
Feb. 6, 2019, 1:57 a.m.(7/9/1010 AR)
I do hope 'widespread famines', 'indiscriminate looting' and 'possible criminals of Shav origin and not on the loose' are part of the consideration of the offers on the table. Not that I believe disgusting practices need to continue, but I'm selfishly more than a little interested in the continued prosperity of these lands.
And, you know. You can't expect a chair with four legs to be upright once you smash one of its back legs. That's just silly.
And, you know. You can't expect a chair with four legs to be upright once you smash one of its back legs. That's just silly.
Written By Niklas
Feb. 6, 2019, 1 a.m.(7/9/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Saoirse
Well, I suppose it's a good thing you're taking some diplomats with you.
Written By Zeriax
Feb. 6, 2019, 12:24 a.m.(7/9/1010 AR)
Lady Fortune seems smitten with me, for immediately upon my return to Arx I was beset by revelry and free drinks. Next time I'll remember to stay on her good side, and 'Not' mix honeyed ale, spiced rum, and aged whisky in one night. The repercussions lingered for some time afterwards, despite my constitution.
Traders Tavern was my first stop on the way back, and it was there I was introduced to a number of interesting personalities, not all of whom I managed to speak with directly. Everyone seemed intent to pay for my company with alcohol, so it was only par for the course that after the third round, my attention would only be paid to those who were the loudest or, in the case of Princess Reese, the pinkest.
If only the rest of the population was as favoured by Lady Fortune as I. While in the process of making new friends, I learned of Copper's fall and the forum that came after. While I might be a man made for the life of a hermit, the gravity of the situation was not lost on me. Each choice presents a variety of lasting consequences. What struck me most was that none of the choices presented were 'good'. In fact, based off of what little information I had at the time, they were all 'bad', objectively speaking. What will come to pass is simply a matter of picking the best apple out of a bad batch and hoping that the resultant dysentery doesn't kill us.
While I'm certainly interested in discovering more about the intentions of the foreign parties, or how Ashe plans to empower us, the decision is ultimately up to our leadership. A task I do not envy. As I don't advise the King or his council, I thought it best to direct my attention to matters on a scale far removed from realm-shaking decisions...for now. Example; seeking entry into The Society of Explorers. Or, taking advantage of certain offers that had been extended to me by my new friends from the Tavern. There's still many mysteries for me yet to uncover, and my journey is far from over despite being back home. Let's see if the next few days prove to be as exciting as the last ones, shall we?
Written By Sparte
Feb. 5, 2019, 10:25 p.m.(7/9/1010 AR)
Wilhelm dug this up with the help of one of the house servants, because I did not have a copy. I'm writing it here again, to clear up some confusions that seem to have crept into the whites. I know there are those who will say this is not enough or that this is proof of progress. All I ask it be taken as is fact, for a more informed discourse.
The below was written by Highlord Victus of Thrax
'As of 3/9/1009 AR, the practice of pressing children into thralldom contracts is hereby outlawed within the Mourning Isles. Individuals below the age of 18 will no longer be eligible to have thralldom assigned as a measure of repaying debts for crimes against the Compact or Thrax. This does not exclude any other form of judgment levied onto those who break criminal laws within Thrax's domain however.
In light of this, new protocol is to be adopted in regards to regular combat conducted against Abandoned tribes. If a lord/lady sees fit to press a child's guardian into thralldom, the child will be exempt from the judgment and will be released back into the care of the surviving tribe-members.
However if there are no remaining members of a tribe able to take the child into their care, it will be the obligation of the lord/lady to ensure the child is released to an individual or group that can be entrusted to raise the child as a Prodigal. This process is to be done in full compliance with the Compact's standards for Abandoned bending the knee.
In the above case, House Thrax will personally cover the expenses of raising the child as to not impose any financial burden upon its vassals with regards to said children. The lord/lady will only be asked to send the appropriate information of where the child is fostering and who will be responsible for their growth and development to any lawyer employed by House Thrax.
This does not apply to thralls already within the system, only to the creation of new thralls.
Tears in our wake, never at our wake.
-High Lord Victus Thrax
Prince of the Maelstrom'
The below was written by Highlord Victus of Thrax
'As of 3/9/1009 AR, the practice of pressing children into thralldom contracts is hereby outlawed within the Mourning Isles. Individuals below the age of 18 will no longer be eligible to have thralldom assigned as a measure of repaying debts for crimes against the Compact or Thrax. This does not exclude any other form of judgment levied onto those who break criminal laws within Thrax's domain however.
In light of this, new protocol is to be adopted in regards to regular combat conducted against Abandoned tribes. If a lord/lady sees fit to press a child's guardian into thralldom, the child will be exempt from the judgment and will be released back into the care of the surviving tribe-members.
However if there are no remaining members of a tribe able to take the child into their care, it will be the obligation of the lord/lady to ensure the child is released to an individual or group that can be entrusted to raise the child as a Prodigal. This process is to be done in full compliance with the Compact's standards for Abandoned bending the knee.
In the above case, House Thrax will personally cover the expenses of raising the child as to not impose any financial burden upon its vassals with regards to said children. The lord/lady will only be asked to send the appropriate information of where the child is fostering and who will be responsible for their growth and development to any lawyer employed by House Thrax.
This does not apply to thralls already within the system, only to the creation of new thralls.
Tears in our wake, never at our wake.
-High Lord Victus Thrax
Prince of the Maelstrom'
Written By Cristoph
Feb. 5, 2019, 10:17 p.m.(7/9/1010 AR)
Against the advice of some very smart people, I acquired for my son, a cart that could be pulled by one of the dogs. Now, if anyone reading this hasn't had the pleasure of meeting Lord Eadric Laurent, they're in for quite the treat. At two and a half, he's truly a prodigy of mischief and chaos. He sat in the cart for all of five minutes before promptly squealing and taking off with it and the dog across the gardens at a breakneck pace.
Now, I've been getting rather soft in the middle these days. But still, I was able to pick up enough speed to catch up with them before the whole thing plunged into the pool. I detached the dog and while I was doing that, my son took off and began to climb one of the trellised walls. It took me several minutes fraught with dramatic wrestling moves before I was able to peel him away. He had several handfuls of plant leaves clutched in his hands.
I told him no. He then proceeded to have what I can only conclude to have been the world's most ferocious temper tantrum. He smashed the leaves into my hair. It was terrible. I'm still picking out pieces of it.
I was not prepared for any of this.
Now, I've been getting rather soft in the middle these days. But still, I was able to pick up enough speed to catch up with them before the whole thing plunged into the pool. I detached the dog and while I was doing that, my son took off and began to climb one of the trellised walls. It took me several minutes fraught with dramatic wrestling moves before I was able to peel him away. He had several handfuls of plant leaves clutched in his hands.
I told him no. He then proceeded to have what I can only conclude to have been the world's most ferocious temper tantrum. He smashed the leaves into my hair. It was terrible. I'm still picking out pieces of it.
I was not prepared for any of this.
Written By Cristoph
Feb. 5, 2019, 10:09 p.m.(7/9/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Norwood
Sometimes I forget that Baron Norwood spent a not insignificant portion of his life with his bees and hunting hounds. This also means that I forgot that plants, earthworms and bees are acceptable negotiation tactics.
Written By Lisebet
Feb. 5, 2019, 9:43 p.m.(7/9/1010 AR)
I had a lovely tea with Lady Jan and Lady Olivia, with a cameo by my sister and Master Cedric the other day. It was quite interesting and entertaining to sit, enjoy a brief respite and enjoy a few moments of ease.
Which led me afterwards to consider how many out there never get that same joy?
I believe that freedom is important and that all deserve the freedom to choose. And so I have started to help, by giving resources weekly, whatever I can. I have set myself a minimum goal, and if I can give more than that, then I do. But at the least, the minimum is there. It's something to do to end the condition for the Thrall children earlier than it might other be. One by one. It may not be fast enough, I don't know if it can ever be fast enough, but at least it is something to help.
Which led me afterwards to consider how many out there never get that same joy?
I believe that freedom is important and that all deserve the freedom to choose. And so I have started to help, by giving resources weekly, whatever I can. I have set myself a minimum goal, and if I can give more than that, then I do. But at the least, the minimum is there. It's something to do to end the condition for the Thrall children earlier than it might other be. One by one. It may not be fast enough, I don't know if it can ever be fast enough, but at least it is something to help.
Written By Teagan
Feb. 5, 2019, 9:35 p.m.(7/9/1010 AR)
If you are very loudly and vehemently opposed to something in public and then rapidly turn around in support of the very same thing (also in public)? You begin to craft an image of being untrustworthy. Of being two-faced.
How is anyone to trust you and what you say? What you do?
How is anyone to trust you and what you say? What you do?
Written By Lys
Feb. 5, 2019, 9:19 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
I think it might be time for a few new dresses. What with the price of Seasilk slashed by a third... How peculiar.
Written By Cambria
Feb. 5, 2019, 9 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
People need enemies and scapegoats. People need someone or something to hate. For there is meaning and vitality in hating. There is, above all, unity, especially in politics, defined as it is by conflicts and group interests.
Written By Teagan
Feb. 5, 2019, 8:23 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Vittorio
I foresee the Gilden Lord becoming a more regular companion in these coming days. Though I should not allow myself too many distractions, his own knowledge of ledgers and his insight into the economy (and how keen he himself is for finding ways to bring income to his household and his own pockets) might not cause me to stray too far off my own path.
In fact, in working together we may be an even greater strength than if we were to work alone.
In fact, in working together we may be an even greater strength than if we were to work alone.
Written By Skapti
Feb. 5, 2019, 8:15 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
Over the past few weeks I've seen several people discuss the issue of thralldom, but mostly silks, or the occasional well-off commoner who believes they know something of a thrall's life. Few have I seen in the writings been thralls themselves at one point, or spoken to a thrall about such.
My name is Skapti Thrallson. It is not perhaps an imaginative surname, but certainly descriptive as to the providence of my birth. In a sense, I am only here because of thralldom. Had they not been taken as such, my mother and father likely never would have met, and I would not have been born.
They were not criminals, but war thralls, taken during two different raids on Abandoned tribes. This is not to say they were somehow savages, as many of the Compact views Abandoned. My father was both a skilled luthier, and a master of the lute, the lyre, and the fiddle. My mother, who now lives as a freed woman in Escuma, is a seamstress, a painter, and a singer with a voice like a songbird.
Due to their skills, they were better treated than most thralls. Favored, even. This favor did not extend to myself. My father tried to pass on his craft, and his musical talents to myself, but I had neither the patience, nor the inclination, nor the deftness of finger for such. As to my mother, an unfortunate 'accident' as a child left me with a voice as if I'd been hanged, so singing was right out, and I have all the creativity and artistry of a blind idiot flailing his arms, so painting was never going to be my calling.
The lord who owned their thrall price recognized this even sooner than they did, and so he saw to it that while I was fed and clothed, there was little else wasted on myself, that could be better spent elsewhere. I spent my days in the village, trying to do what odd jobs I could to earn some coin to avoid adding to my parents debt, and at times, lessening it some if by the most meager of amounts.
When I was twelve, I took a berth as a cabin boy as a trader, trying to squeeze every last copper piece out of any silver I earned. It wasn't enough.
If you really want to make money on the seas, and you have to do it fast, there's only three ways about it. One of those requires you to already have some coin to begin with, and I was too busy sending everything back to my folks to try and buy off their price before it was passed on to me, because if that happened my freedom was gone and I would never be able to earn the coin for my parents. The second gets you hanged in pretty much any sea you care to name if you're caught. The third wasn't much better than the second, but it was all that was left, and so I joined a reaver crew when I was fourteen.
A crew much like the one that took my parents as thralls. A crew with which I helped make other thralls, and worse besides. I'm not proud of it, but nor do I regret it. My mother's freedom was important to me. Theirs was not. Maybe that makes me an arsehole. I do not care. I would do it again.
When my father died, crushed by a run away grain cart, while walking home, my mother's price had been paid, but his had not. I received the news of my new found status as a thrall when we entered port. I did not have enough silver to cover the debt. It was paid, anyhow. By men most would call heartless bastards, but that is not important.
I guess I'm writing all of this to say I know exactly the plight of most thralls. And I know it's a hard lot, and not easy to break free, but it can be done, with a bit of luck.
I should likely object to the practice, but I find myself only doing so to a point. If it weren't for thralls, my parents would have likely been slaughtered rather than taken. Most thralls in the Isles are Abandoned war thralls, but many others are criminals, guilty of crimes for which the alternative is the hangman's noose.
Many think the total abolition of thralldom a great thing, but even with what I've experienced, I disagree. I won't try to polish a piece of shite and call it a jewel, but if I were found guilty of a crime and given the choice between death and being a thrall, I know which I'd choose. And if I was an Abandoned, and the choice was a sword in the gut, or being taken as thrall, I'd choose the same.
You've already abolished debt inheritance. You've already abolished the making of child thralls. More or less, you've already won. All you do now by removing thralldom is sentence people to death that might otherwise not be. Rather than try to tear down the system as a whole, instead focus on what matters, which is the remaining forty thousand child thralls that were made before it was illegal. Work to free them if you will, but then let the matter rest.
My name is Skapti Thrallson. It is not perhaps an imaginative surname, but certainly descriptive as to the providence of my birth. In a sense, I am only here because of thralldom. Had they not been taken as such, my mother and father likely never would have met, and I would not have been born.
They were not criminals, but war thralls, taken during two different raids on Abandoned tribes. This is not to say they were somehow savages, as many of the Compact views Abandoned. My father was both a skilled luthier, and a master of the lute, the lyre, and the fiddle. My mother, who now lives as a freed woman in Escuma, is a seamstress, a painter, and a singer with a voice like a songbird.
Due to their skills, they were better treated than most thralls. Favored, even. This favor did not extend to myself. My father tried to pass on his craft, and his musical talents to myself, but I had neither the patience, nor the inclination, nor the deftness of finger for such. As to my mother, an unfortunate 'accident' as a child left me with a voice as if I'd been hanged, so singing was right out, and I have all the creativity and artistry of a blind idiot flailing his arms, so painting was never going to be my calling.
The lord who owned their thrall price recognized this even sooner than they did, and so he saw to it that while I was fed and clothed, there was little else wasted on myself, that could be better spent elsewhere. I spent my days in the village, trying to do what odd jobs I could to earn some coin to avoid adding to my parents debt, and at times, lessening it some if by the most meager of amounts.
When I was twelve, I took a berth as a cabin boy as a trader, trying to squeeze every last copper piece out of any silver I earned. It wasn't enough.
If you really want to make money on the seas, and you have to do it fast, there's only three ways about it. One of those requires you to already have some coin to begin with, and I was too busy sending everything back to my folks to try and buy off their price before it was passed on to me, because if that happened my freedom was gone and I would never be able to earn the coin for my parents. The second gets you hanged in pretty much any sea you care to name if you're caught. The third wasn't much better than the second, but it was all that was left, and so I joined a reaver crew when I was fourteen.
A crew much like the one that took my parents as thralls. A crew with which I helped make other thralls, and worse besides. I'm not proud of it, but nor do I regret it. My mother's freedom was important to me. Theirs was not. Maybe that makes me an arsehole. I do not care. I would do it again.
When my father died, crushed by a run away grain cart, while walking home, my mother's price had been paid, but his had not. I received the news of my new found status as a thrall when we entered port. I did not have enough silver to cover the debt. It was paid, anyhow. By men most would call heartless bastards, but that is not important.
I guess I'm writing all of this to say I know exactly the plight of most thralls. And I know it's a hard lot, and not easy to break free, but it can be done, with a bit of luck.
I should likely object to the practice, but I find myself only doing so to a point. If it weren't for thralls, my parents would have likely been slaughtered rather than taken. Most thralls in the Isles are Abandoned war thralls, but many others are criminals, guilty of crimes for which the alternative is the hangman's noose.
Many think the total abolition of thralldom a great thing, but even with what I've experienced, I disagree. I won't try to polish a piece of shite and call it a jewel, but if I were found guilty of a crime and given the choice between death and being a thrall, I know which I'd choose. And if I was an Abandoned, and the choice was a sword in the gut, or being taken as thrall, I'd choose the same.
You've already abolished debt inheritance. You've already abolished the making of child thralls. More or less, you've already won. All you do now by removing thralldom is sentence people to death that might otherwise not be. Rather than try to tear down the system as a whole, instead focus on what matters, which is the remaining forty thousand child thralls that were made before it was illegal. Work to free them if you will, but then let the matter rest.
Written By Valdemar
Feb. 5, 2019, 7:21 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
I begin to wonder if it is possible to choke to death on self-righteousness.
Written By Sparte
Feb. 5, 2019, 5:50 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
I lost someone very dear to me at a very young age, and for much of my life that left me with a hole I tried to fill. It is only recently I've realized sometimes the scars can't be erased from who we are. Instead of trying to fill it, I look at the ways my heart has been able to grow, and the bonds I have with others. I am incredibly fortunate to have the friends and family that I do. I hope they know what they mean to me.
Written By Saoirse
Feb. 5, 2019, 4:40 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
I, and several other notable diplomats of the Compact, will be heading down the Great Road to hear the wishes and wants of the Houses along it. The goal is to create a treaty of benefit to as many Houses as possible, with the understanding that the Road is here and we have to make the best of it.
Having studied diplomacy via books, I feel utterly confident that I'll solve this problem -Just Fine-, thank you.
Having studied diplomacy via books, I feel utterly confident that I'll solve this problem -Just Fine-, thank you.
Written By Delilah
Feb. 5, 2019, 4:29 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
And now, the Lyceum.
I've put this tour off for long enough. Setarco, Lenosia, Tor, Southport up to Brassfall, a dance through Bravura to Nilanza and stepping stone isles to quench a sense of wonder.
I have dreamed, and as I dream, so comes reality.
I've put this tour off for long enough. Setarco, Lenosia, Tor, Southport up to Brassfall, a dance through Bravura to Nilanza and stepping stone isles to quench a sense of wonder.
I have dreamed, and as I dream, so comes reality.
Written By Joscelin
Feb. 5, 2019, 4:22 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Kaldur
A shipment of black pearls was delivered to me this morning, a massive crate from the Seliki holdings, carefully packed with boxes padded and cradled with wool and dried kelp, cushioned and, I'm told, slightly oiled to keep the sea-gems from drying out.
I've learned more from my patron in the topic of pearls than I ever thought was possible. They come in almost as many colors as sapphires, and as multi-hued as some Gemecittan crystals. My fingers couldn't stop themselves, straying over the trays as they were spilled forth. So beautiful, so -rich-, hardy and yet soft enough to carve.
[a note is scribbled: carved pearls, pendants? the larger formed ones almost appear to have -faces- in them...!]
In the next fortnight, I may have more items to restock my shop, but with -pearls-, my dears.
-Seliki- pearls.
I've learned more from my patron in the topic of pearls than I ever thought was possible. They come in almost as many colors as sapphires, and as multi-hued as some Gemecittan crystals. My fingers couldn't stop themselves, straying over the trays as they were spilled forth. So beautiful, so -rich-, hardy and yet soft enough to carve.
[a note is scribbled: carved pearls, pendants? the larger formed ones almost appear to have -faces- in them...!]
In the next fortnight, I may have more items to restock my shop, but with -pearls-, my dears.
-Seliki- pearls.
Written By Joscelin
Feb. 5, 2019, 4:18 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Malcolm
I met Lord Shepherd today, officially, and he's exactly what I expected him to be. While his mantle is new and his responsibilities much, he isn't buckling beneath the strain, rather rising up to meet these new challenges as Mongoose does when she's ready to greet the day. It is natural to him, he does what he must because he must, and he takes pride in it. While I've seen it in others, it's still always refreshing to see, giving a measure of hope that the future is in good hands. I look forward to seeing what he makes of his new roles, as much as I hope to support him those endeavors as well.
Written By Joscelin
Feb. 5, 2019, 4:15 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Gianna
It always pleases me to know I've brought joy with my work, but it makes me even happier to hear Crafters praised for their endeavors as well.
You can't go wrong, collaborating with Crafters of such note and skill, respecting the artist as much as the art goes a very, very long way. I am proud of my Guild but prouder even moreso of the respect they've so rightfully earned.
You can't go wrong, collaborating with Crafters of such note and skill, respecting the artist as much as the art goes a very, very long way. I am proud of my Guild but prouder even moreso of the respect they've so rightfully earned.
Written By Joscelin
Feb. 5, 2019, 4:13 p.m.(7/8/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Selene
My face may stain this color, with the kind words of devoted customers, clients, friends, esteemed patrons alike. I don't hold to poetry most days, but to hear my work described thusly is quite a thing to experience. I thank you for your kind words, lovely Whisper, and hope to earn more such in the future.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.