Written By Jyri
Feb. 3, 2019, 3:39 a.m.(7/3/1010 AR)
I got some information yesterday that was quite intimidating and exciting at the same time. My vision and the information I've been told about the vision and the person it is about, well, I learned that my thoughts on it were actually quite right.
Not that this necessarily means we can do much about it, but it still felt good knowing I was on to something.
I need to sit down and read through all the notes I got about various things now, wondering what else I might've missed.
Not that this necessarily means we can do much about it, but it still felt good knowing I was on to something.
I need to sit down and read through all the notes I got about various things now, wondering what else I might've missed.
Written By Skye
Feb. 3, 2019, 2:36 a.m.(7/3/1010 AR)
When I took on the task of rebuilding Blackshore, I made a choice that it would be done without thralldom. That I would never permit indentured servants in my fealty. I have offered a home to orphans, prodigals, and ex-thralls who wished to relocate. With the Crafter's Guild's help, I have created work programs to help train those new arrivals in trade. Kind benefactors have invested in Blackshore's future by offering financial support.
Because my choice had financial consequences on my fealty. It has not been an easy road to take. Many Thrax traditionalists have pointed out that I've made things harder by taking the path less traveled. My fealty might have recovered faster if I wasn't so strong in my opinions on this matter.
It's a path that has been worth taking. I do not know right now the costs of making a change for other fealties, but I do offer to others my services if they need help reviewing their records to figure out how.
Because my choice had financial consequences on my fealty. It has not been an easy road to take. Many Thrax traditionalists have pointed out that I've made things harder by taking the path less traveled. My fealty might have recovered faster if I wasn't so strong in my opinions on this matter.
It's a path that has been worth taking. I do not know right now the costs of making a change for other fealties, but I do offer to others my services if they need help reviewing their records to figure out how.
Written By Shard
Feb. 3, 2019, 1:54 a.m.(7/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Willow
If a thrall has never known any other life, it's because they were either born into Thralldom or made a thrall so young they don't remember anything else. Think about that.
And if I have two coats, and give you a coat because you don't have one, then we both have a coat, and we're both less likely to freeze to death. That sounds like a practical solution to me. If I don't give you my extra coat and decide to keep it instead, it's because I value the coat I don't need over your life.
Think about that too.
And if I have two coats, and give you a coat because you don't have one, then we both have a coat, and we're both less likely to freeze to death. That sounds like a practical solution to me. If I don't give you my extra coat and decide to keep it instead, it's because I value the coat I don't need over your life.
Think about that too.
Written By Aleksei
Feb. 3, 2019, 1:32 a.m.(7/3/1010 AR)
There's a very old and very dry commentary written by a Senior Scholar Methrus the Pedantic, and man he sure earned that name. It's called "On Thralldom and Its Origins." In it, Methrus talks about how thralldom originally developed by slave owners loaning slaves to others in order to repay debts. At the time, it was seen as a form of temporary slavery during an age where slavery still existed at large in the Compact. Thralldom was practiced across the entire Compact, but it proliferated in the Mourning Isles, to Methrus's opinion, due to geography: it's simply harder to escape when you're stuck on an island. A number of Abandoned tribes on the larger islands likely had their start from runaway slaves.
Another text, "On Slavery and Thralldom," also brings up the fact that, in the early days of the Compact, the Mourning Isles had more contact with the nation of Eurus, where slavery was -- and is -- embraced as a way of life, and how that bled into the culture of the Isles. The practice survived, in part, because of how difficult it would have been to invade the Mourning Isles to force House Thrax to submit to ending it.
I'm starting this particular entry with all this mess of history to establish a few pretty important points. One: when thralldom began, it was freely acknowledged as a form of slavery. I will refuse to call it anything other than what it is. Two: its growth in the Mourning Isles is due, in part, to the Isles' contact with a nation that freely worships the inverse of our Pantheon. There is a reason why their city of chains is named Skal'daja, and why all their cities' names can sound so familiar as they honor the exact opposite of the virtues of the Faith. There is nothing about the origins of thralldom that is not steeped in darkness and evil. I can only assume that Queen Triscali, when she abolished slavery in the Compact, didn't have quite enough power to take thralldom down with it. Ending the common practice of slavery would have been an impossible enough task, and gods know I will honor her for that forever. We all do the best we can with the choices we're given or carve out for ourselves.
There's been a lot of _talk_ about thralldom, and about Brass, and about what his offer means. It's been about a year and a half since I left my post as Archlector of Skald. Three years since House Kennex abolished thralldom. And boy, has there apparently been talk about what happened in Stormward back then. I'm hearing gossip from meetings and parties about how _apparently_ abolishing thralldom will somehow...hurt? Thralls?
To which I say: bullshit.
When Kennex abolished thralldom, it was not long after the Faith had taken three million silver to the Mourning Isles to buy the debt of five thousand souls. (_Without_ inciting violence or economic upheaval, no matter what made up bullshit came out after, thanks.) Part of that process was establishing a new program for the Faith to nurture and grow. It was part of the dream I had that made me take my vows to begin with: helping those leaving the state of thralldom begin new lives. Those five thousand souls, all of whom had had choice stripped of them, were now given their choice of wherever in the Compact they wanted to go. Wherever they wanted to resettle, the Faith provided for their transport. It provided for their room and board when they arrived, and then we found them work in whatever city they had chosen, or we helped find them apprentices to build new skills. Until they were free and capable of supporting themselves. It was a program built on the fundamental idea that we owed these people more than just their state of freedom, as precious as that was. We also owed them the chance to take advantage of it.
This got...pretty tested when thralldom was abolished in Stormward. We weren't exactly prepared for that huge an influx so suddenly. But, shockingly, the Faith -- and the Compact -- didn't just throw up its hands and leave these people to their devices. I pulled in pretty much every favor I could manage, I flung myself on the mercy of the Compact, and you know what? The Faith gathered a huge fleet, and millions of silver, and we expanded that fucking program to handle all of those people. Some stayed in Stormward, and some decided to settle elsewhere in the Compact. All were given support. All were cared for.
There is no world in which the thralls of Stormward were better off as slaves. You know who was better off before thralldom ended? _The people who owned them._ That is who benefits from slavery: slave owners. I dare you to take a trip throughout the Compact and talk to some of the people who were freed that day and ask them if they were so very harmed.
I don't care how "well you treat your thralls." I don't care if you're really so heinous enough to talk about how you treat your thralls "like family."
You're just bragging about how well you enslave people.
I've also heard gossip about how abolishing thralldom would be harmful -- _damaging_, even -- to Civilization. With the large C, that is. And those people who know of its opposite will know what I'm speaking of. So I have to ask this: do people think that creating new laws is harmful to our society? That changing laws is damaging to civilization? Do they really think that _changing laws_ through our own system of rule and government is the same thing as breaking treaties and destroying tenets of civilization? Because that, frankly, sounds like fucking bullshit. And a disgusting misrepresentation of what Civilization really means, and what its _opposite_ means, in order to justify a monstrosity. Fuck that.
And now, of course, we have Brass. He was born a slave, to my knowledge. He lived as a slave. He has, in fact, lived a sort of slavery that I don't think any of us here could really fathom. I know what he's been guilty of in recent years. I know what he was planning to do.
I also know that he helped save the world. That he was one of the original members of the Metallic Order. That he fought in the _Reckoning_. That he has lived over a thousand years in his lifetime, and that he has never dimmed in his desire to see every chain of slavery broken. That he has probably _forgotten_ more about slavery than anyone in the Compact has ever _known_. Cardia hates him because he incited and equipped a slave rebellion in their lands, and you know what? That's a fucking _good thing to be infamous for_.
There will never be a day when it won't hurt to end thralldom. Never. There will _always_ be a cost. However many thralls are freed now, the houses of the Isles will always continue to create more. There is no magical number of years in which you won't have to sacrifice something. Wealth, prowess, money. There will never be a time in which it won't hurt. But you know what? All of the most important choices to make _hurt_. The greatest acts in our history have been those that come with a cost. Progress is never _easy_. People will always look for a way to put it off, to find the magical choice where they don't have to sacrifice.
It doesn't exist.
Ending thralldom will require sacrifice, and there will be no getting around that. Not now, or in ten years, or in a hundred. The question is: do you want to be remembered for freedom or for slavery? Do you want to be known for sitting on your riches while you talk about how you _can't afford_ to free the people you've chained, or do you want to be known for having the bravery and courage to do what's right _even when the cost is high_? Maybe you can save some of the silver going towards the fancy dresses and jewelry you're always throwing out for the commons to fight over.
And hey, you're at least getting a fringe benefit if you have the courage to do it now. It's not every day you have one of the heroes of the Metallic Order offering to literally arm you with magical weapons to help fight the enemies we have coming on the horizon. If you need a fucking bribe, there it is. You're not likely to get it again.
Thralldom is slavery. Don't dress it up, and don't excuse it. Own up to the fact that when you're defending the institution, when you move to speak about how its abolishment would be _too damaging_, that you're simply rating the prosperity of a few over the literal lives of many. Own up to what you're defending and why you're defending it.
It's easy to make excuses. It's harder to do what's right. That will never change. I have no doubt that Queen Triscali faced impossible odds to abolish the bulk of slavery in the Compact. I have no doubt that the same amoral arguments were made then. But she had the bravery and the courage to know that it was _wrong_. And that it would take someone with enough power deciding it was a necessary fight. That the Compact could not continue to grow on a rotten foundation.
Our ancestors fled here from the east _fleeing slavery_. We owe them better than this.
Do the hard thing.
Another text, "On Slavery and Thralldom," also brings up the fact that, in the early days of the Compact, the Mourning Isles had more contact with the nation of Eurus, where slavery was -- and is -- embraced as a way of life, and how that bled into the culture of the Isles. The practice survived, in part, because of how difficult it would have been to invade the Mourning Isles to force House Thrax to submit to ending it.
I'm starting this particular entry with all this mess of history to establish a few pretty important points. One: when thralldom began, it was freely acknowledged as a form of slavery. I will refuse to call it anything other than what it is. Two: its growth in the Mourning Isles is due, in part, to the Isles' contact with a nation that freely worships the inverse of our Pantheon. There is a reason why their city of chains is named Skal'daja, and why all their cities' names can sound so familiar as they honor the exact opposite of the virtues of the Faith. There is nothing about the origins of thralldom that is not steeped in darkness and evil. I can only assume that Queen Triscali, when she abolished slavery in the Compact, didn't have quite enough power to take thralldom down with it. Ending the common practice of slavery would have been an impossible enough task, and gods know I will honor her for that forever. We all do the best we can with the choices we're given or carve out for ourselves.
There's been a lot of _talk_ about thralldom, and about Brass, and about what his offer means. It's been about a year and a half since I left my post as Archlector of Skald. Three years since House Kennex abolished thralldom. And boy, has there apparently been talk about what happened in Stormward back then. I'm hearing gossip from meetings and parties about how _apparently_ abolishing thralldom will somehow...hurt? Thralls?
To which I say: bullshit.
When Kennex abolished thralldom, it was not long after the Faith had taken three million silver to the Mourning Isles to buy the debt of five thousand souls. (_Without_ inciting violence or economic upheaval, no matter what made up bullshit came out after, thanks.) Part of that process was establishing a new program for the Faith to nurture and grow. It was part of the dream I had that made me take my vows to begin with: helping those leaving the state of thralldom begin new lives. Those five thousand souls, all of whom had had choice stripped of them, were now given their choice of wherever in the Compact they wanted to go. Wherever they wanted to resettle, the Faith provided for their transport. It provided for their room and board when they arrived, and then we found them work in whatever city they had chosen, or we helped find them apprentices to build new skills. Until they were free and capable of supporting themselves. It was a program built on the fundamental idea that we owed these people more than just their state of freedom, as precious as that was. We also owed them the chance to take advantage of it.
This got...pretty tested when thralldom was abolished in Stormward. We weren't exactly prepared for that huge an influx so suddenly. But, shockingly, the Faith -- and the Compact -- didn't just throw up its hands and leave these people to their devices. I pulled in pretty much every favor I could manage, I flung myself on the mercy of the Compact, and you know what? The Faith gathered a huge fleet, and millions of silver, and we expanded that fucking program to handle all of those people. Some stayed in Stormward, and some decided to settle elsewhere in the Compact. All were given support. All were cared for.
There is no world in which the thralls of Stormward were better off as slaves. You know who was better off before thralldom ended? _The people who owned them._ That is who benefits from slavery: slave owners. I dare you to take a trip throughout the Compact and talk to some of the people who were freed that day and ask them if they were so very harmed.
I don't care how "well you treat your thralls." I don't care if you're really so heinous enough to talk about how you treat your thralls "like family."
You're just bragging about how well you enslave people.
I've also heard gossip about how abolishing thralldom would be harmful -- _damaging_, even -- to Civilization. With the large C, that is. And those people who know of its opposite will know what I'm speaking of. So I have to ask this: do people think that creating new laws is harmful to our society? That changing laws is damaging to civilization? Do they really think that _changing laws_ through our own system of rule and government is the same thing as breaking treaties and destroying tenets of civilization? Because that, frankly, sounds like fucking bullshit. And a disgusting misrepresentation of what Civilization really means, and what its _opposite_ means, in order to justify a monstrosity. Fuck that.
And now, of course, we have Brass. He was born a slave, to my knowledge. He lived as a slave. He has, in fact, lived a sort of slavery that I don't think any of us here could really fathom. I know what he's been guilty of in recent years. I know what he was planning to do.
I also know that he helped save the world. That he was one of the original members of the Metallic Order. That he fought in the _Reckoning_. That he has lived over a thousand years in his lifetime, and that he has never dimmed in his desire to see every chain of slavery broken. That he has probably _forgotten_ more about slavery than anyone in the Compact has ever _known_. Cardia hates him because he incited and equipped a slave rebellion in their lands, and you know what? That's a fucking _good thing to be infamous for_.
There will never be a day when it won't hurt to end thralldom. Never. There will _always_ be a cost. However many thralls are freed now, the houses of the Isles will always continue to create more. There is no magical number of years in which you won't have to sacrifice something. Wealth, prowess, money. There will never be a time in which it won't hurt. But you know what? All of the most important choices to make _hurt_. The greatest acts in our history have been those that come with a cost. Progress is never _easy_. People will always look for a way to put it off, to find the magical choice where they don't have to sacrifice.
It doesn't exist.
Ending thralldom will require sacrifice, and there will be no getting around that. Not now, or in ten years, or in a hundred. The question is: do you want to be remembered for freedom or for slavery? Do you want to be known for sitting on your riches while you talk about how you _can't afford_ to free the people you've chained, or do you want to be known for having the bravery and courage to do what's right _even when the cost is high_? Maybe you can save some of the silver going towards the fancy dresses and jewelry you're always throwing out for the commons to fight over.
And hey, you're at least getting a fringe benefit if you have the courage to do it now. It's not every day you have one of the heroes of the Metallic Order offering to literally arm you with magical weapons to help fight the enemies we have coming on the horizon. If you need a fucking bribe, there it is. You're not likely to get it again.
Thralldom is slavery. Don't dress it up, and don't excuse it. Own up to the fact that when you're defending the institution, when you move to speak about how its abolishment would be _too damaging_, that you're simply rating the prosperity of a few over the literal lives of many. Own up to what you're defending and why you're defending it.
It's easy to make excuses. It's harder to do what's right. That will never change. I have no doubt that Queen Triscali faced impossible odds to abolish the bulk of slavery in the Compact. I have no doubt that the same amoral arguments were made then. But she had the bravery and the courage to know that it was _wrong_. And that it would take someone with enough power deciding it was a necessary fight. That the Compact could not continue to grow on a rotten foundation.
Our ancestors fled here from the east _fleeing slavery_. We owe them better than this.
Do the hard thing.
Written By Victus
Feb. 3, 2019, 12:26 a.m.(7/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Reigna
It depends on what odds are being faced and how high the cost. Will the world be better for it when you are done? How long will it take to reach that desired result?
Do the 100 that die today save the 1000 for tomorrow?
What will happen if 1 to 1.5 million criminals are freed over the course of a year? Does what it represent outweigh the destruction?
Do you yank the evil by the roots knowing you may not survive, so that you can die without regret?
Will you carry the weight yourself or will you have another do it?
Those are just a few questions I've run into over the course of my rulership. The answers are never easy ones. Nor are they something one could easily quantify as good or evil. The higher the costs, the larger the ripples become. Likewise, the more significant the goal the more will your work be rewarded.
In my opinion there is no room for anything but staunch pragmatism when you are in control of other's fates. Sacrifices must be made to maintain an orderly world. Sometimes it only needs to be the materials of one's person. Sometimes it must be soldier's lives. Your successes and your failures will be what write your legacy when you are gone. There will need to be someone left alive to tell them. Until that day comes, the most important thing you can do is act with honor.
Honor to your goals. Honor to your people. Honor to your lands. These are the things you may think of before you choose to act toward any end.
Likewise, it is just as easy to fall into disgrace. If your mind only thinks of the end result, you may find that the path you take has left more destruction than your end can repair. I point to the example of the monster known as Abbas Crownsworn. A man who twisted an end-goal into pure, horrible slaughter. You can look to his tale for what precisely can go wrong when someone slips so far. What I find to be the most frightening aspect of that man's story, beyond my own pure weakness in not dispatching him sooner, is that there are still those who exist that truly believed in his vision. Believed that what he'd done was necessary. Would defend such senseless slaughter and pure, unbridled cruelty. Those are ripples we will still be feeling for years to come -- because of senseless action taken in pursuit of a goal slated to be righteous.
Darkness can come from anywhere, even from within yourself without you realizing it. It is up to us as individuals to be strong enough to recognize it and then destroy it. Do not dwell on 'will the ends justify the means', for it is not enough. Dwell on what you would see become of the world and then pick every step you take wisely.
An honorable goal reached by a path without honor is a worthless road to nowhere.
Do the 100 that die today save the 1000 for tomorrow?
What will happen if 1 to 1.5 million criminals are freed over the course of a year? Does what it represent outweigh the destruction?
Do you yank the evil by the roots knowing you may not survive, so that you can die without regret?
Will you carry the weight yourself or will you have another do it?
Those are just a few questions I've run into over the course of my rulership. The answers are never easy ones. Nor are they something one could easily quantify as good or evil. The higher the costs, the larger the ripples become. Likewise, the more significant the goal the more will your work be rewarded.
In my opinion there is no room for anything but staunch pragmatism when you are in control of other's fates. Sacrifices must be made to maintain an orderly world. Sometimes it only needs to be the materials of one's person. Sometimes it must be soldier's lives. Your successes and your failures will be what write your legacy when you are gone. There will need to be someone left alive to tell them. Until that day comes, the most important thing you can do is act with honor.
Honor to your goals. Honor to your people. Honor to your lands. These are the things you may think of before you choose to act toward any end.
Likewise, it is just as easy to fall into disgrace. If your mind only thinks of the end result, you may find that the path you take has left more destruction than your end can repair. I point to the example of the monster known as Abbas Crownsworn. A man who twisted an end-goal into pure, horrible slaughter. You can look to his tale for what precisely can go wrong when someone slips so far. What I find to be the most frightening aspect of that man's story, beyond my own pure weakness in not dispatching him sooner, is that there are still those who exist that truly believed in his vision. Believed that what he'd done was necessary. Would defend such senseless slaughter and pure, unbridled cruelty. Those are ripples we will still be feeling for years to come -- because of senseless action taken in pursuit of a goal slated to be righteous.
Darkness can come from anywhere, even from within yourself without you realizing it. It is up to us as individuals to be strong enough to recognize it and then destroy it. Do not dwell on 'will the ends justify the means', for it is not enough. Dwell on what you would see become of the world and then pick every step you take wisely.
An honorable goal reached by a path without honor is a worthless road to nowhere.
Written By Thena
Feb. 3, 2019, 12:25 a.m.(7/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Bliss
We have a nice little rabbit enclosure in Solace Square, if your bunny could use some company.
Written By Mirari
Feb. 3, 2019, 12:01 a.m.(7/3/1010 AR)
Sometimes, maybe we just need to take a leap of faith.
Written By Perronne
Feb. 2, 2019, 11:58 p.m.(7/3/1010 AR)
I got to dance tonight!
I danced with Shard, who is a mercenary and also sort of a Queen, which is a pretty interesting blend of things, if you think about it. And she's a very interesting person, and not nearly so scary as I thought she was at the very first - but I think maybe she was just very surprised (see above for 'sort of a Queen' for context of surprise), because she's actually very nice. I hope that we can speak again!
The dresses and outfits at the Grayson Ball were beautiful. A ball really is a special sort of place, with dozens or even hundreds of moving artworks mingling in a weird sort of harmony. I could watch people moving about like that for hours, just studying what they're wearing, how they're moving - and what both say about other things in their lives about the relative wealth of their estates, about who is contemplating alliance (or war!) with who, the political factions. It's always so grand and interesting!
And I got to dance, which I adore.
I danced with Shard, who is a mercenary and also sort of a Queen, which is a pretty interesting blend of things, if you think about it. And she's a very interesting person, and not nearly so scary as I thought she was at the very first - but I think maybe she was just very surprised (see above for 'sort of a Queen' for context of surprise), because she's actually very nice. I hope that we can speak again!
The dresses and outfits at the Grayson Ball were beautiful. A ball really is a special sort of place, with dozens or even hundreds of moving artworks mingling in a weird sort of harmony. I could watch people moving about like that for hours, just studying what they're wearing, how they're moving - and what both say about other things in their lives about the relative wealth of their estates, about who is contemplating alliance (or war!) with who, the political factions. It's always so grand and interesting!
And I got to dance, which I adore.
Written By Lucita
Feb. 2, 2019, 11:53 p.m.(7/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Preston
Good listener, good advice, good fighter and organizer. Pleasant personality and easy on the eyes, too. He makes meetings over distressing situations not as difficult as they could be.
Written By Bliss
Feb. 2, 2019, 11:46 p.m.(7/3/1010 AR)
Happy birthday, Queen Alarice.
Written By Ida
Feb. 2, 2019, 6:59 p.m.(7/2/1010 AR)
Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes? Not a fan of the creatures, I admit, but for whatever reason I couldn't get them out of my head. Really, as far as forging things from natural inspirations go, it's half a wonder I didn't think to twist hairpins in their likeness before now. Once again the cases in the shop gleam with deadly baubles that seem to be the main source of keeping food on the table. With the season turning to summer, I have to wonder if I'll be able to work as much in the forge as I have during the last several months. I keep wanting to make more rubicund pieces; swords of some great design. Inspiration for them have managed to utterly elude me though. Ah well. Hairpins in the meantime I suppose.
Written By Harper
Feb. 2, 2019, 6:55 p.m.(7/2/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Kenna
Two of my real good friends in the guard all married off. I sure hope you make each other real happy. Cause you both deserve it.
Written By Auda
Feb. 2, 2019, 6:39 p.m.(7/2/1010 AR)
Watching the 'votes' come in from my fellow commoners is.. both interesting and much what I'd expect.
The notes, in particular are what catch me. There's only been one so far that was unrelated, and all the rest have been quite to the point and honest.
If you're a commoner of the Compact, please reach out to the Council so your voice can be heard.
(OOC: Link to the vote form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdTZMKWtd73hpjCBaXmTasJT0HOtkz_HMF3BfhUEOAVXu2Pug/viewform )
The notes, in particular are what catch me. There's only been one so far that was unrelated, and all the rest have been quite to the point and honest.
If you're a commoner of the Compact, please reach out to the Council so your voice can be heard.
(OOC: Link to the vote form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdTZMKWtd73hpjCBaXmTasJT0HOtkz_HMF3BfhUEOAVXu2Pug/viewform )
Written By Joscelin
Feb. 2, 2019, 6:37 p.m.(7/2/1010 AR)
I love when I find time to create something, collaborating with brilliant artists and creative folk that borrow my hands and my talents to manifest the beautiful things in their minds. These days, I'm up to my shoulders in bureaucracy and it's nice to take a break and do what comes the most natural to me.
And then, to hear later about how well the project was received, loved, adored...? Sublime. Proud, even if all I did was provide the working space and materials. Bliss.
And then, to hear later about how well the project was received, loved, adored...? Sublime. Proud, even if all I did was provide the working space and materials. Bliss.
Written By Bliss
Feb. 2, 2019, 6:20 p.m.(7/2/1010 AR)
Lu,
I am sure you are somewhere out there, reading this. I sincerely hope you are enjoying your time basking on the beaches of the Lyceum, and learning how to relax - and you've earned this! You absolutely have. I miss you, but I know you're doing well for yourself.
But I'm never going to forgive you for this fucking rabbit.
I am sure you are somewhere out there, reading this. I sincerely hope you are enjoying your time basking on the beaches of the Lyceum, and learning how to relax - and you've earned this! You absolutely have. I miss you, but I know you're doing well for yourself.
But I'm never going to forgive you for this fucking rabbit.
Written By Duarte
Feb. 2, 2019, 4:44 p.m.(7/2/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Reigna
Any who advocate to the extreme that the ends do justify the means have also, to them, some 'means' which nothing would justify.
And further, none of those who assert such, when withdrawn from a field of battle or duel, would look you in the eyes in the final moments before their death, as blood spilled from their veins - caught completely unaware - and in fidelity with their own philosophy think to themselves, "Well done, you."
The assertion is specious and ultimately depends on the probable consequences one is willing to bare for self or witness in others, or the madness of their fixations.
And further, none of those who assert such, when withdrawn from a field of battle or duel, would look you in the eyes in the final moments before their death, as blood spilled from their veins - caught completely unaware - and in fidelity with their own philosophy think to themselves, "Well done, you."
The assertion is specious and ultimately depends on the probable consequences one is willing to bare for self or witness in others, or the madness of their fixations.
Written By Kedehern
Feb. 2, 2019, 4:30 p.m.(7/2/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Victus
I read a book once that had writings about a Eurusi weapon called a 'katar'. It's not a glove, but rather a blade that you hold and use like you were punching someone. It seems perhaps a more practical idea.
Written By Aleksei
Feb. 2, 2019, 4:08 p.m.(7/2/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Willow
And why do you think Shard speaks out in favor of dismantling thralldom with no care for what happens to those people? Do people really think _Brass_ doesn't care what happens to them?
When Kennex abolished thralldom overnight, the response wasn't exactly idle. The Faith had been building services to help support people who had recently been freed, and we sure weren't ready for twenty thousand of them, but we scrambled and we worked and countless people stepped up to help and we _managed_. The idea that the people who care the most about abolishing thralldom would then wash their hands after it was done and not care about the people who had actually been thralls is, frankly, bullshit.
I really done with the "but abolishing thralldom would be bad for the thralls!" shit that always goes around.
You know what's bad for slaves? SLAVERY.
When Kennex abolished thralldom overnight, the response wasn't exactly idle. The Faith had been building services to help support people who had recently been freed, and we sure weren't ready for twenty thousand of them, but we scrambled and we worked and countless people stepped up to help and we _managed_. The idea that the people who care the most about abolishing thralldom would then wash their hands after it was done and not care about the people who had actually been thralls is, frankly, bullshit.
I really done with the "but abolishing thralldom would be bad for the thralls!" shit that always goes around.
You know what's bad for slaves? SLAVERY.
Written By Cambria
Feb. 2, 2019, 12:45 p.m.(7/2/1010 AR)
Yet Will is not all that is needed. It is primarily manipulation, the more unscrupulous the better, that decides power struggles in this world. Arvani, then, may wish to pray for a little sympathy from the Thirteenth.
Written By Cambria
Feb. 2, 2019, 12:43 p.m.(7/2/1010 AR)
In politics, as in life in general, the most important thing is Will.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.