Written By Isabeau
Nov. 16, 2018, 3:46 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Reports from the Lodge have been both hopeful and grim in equal measure. I have begun to prepare for the task of writing letters to those families beholden to House Valardin that have lost loved ones in this war. Sir Daemon Dracone's loss was difficult to read, as I am fond of his gracious patron and know that he will be greatly missed. Thank the gods that Prince Caius Valardin still breathes. I will include him in my prayers while he remains in the care of the Mercies. I also thank the gods that my sister, Sophie, is safe; the Mother Mercy's devotion to her service knows no bounds, even unto the perilous fray. May the gods grant their protection to those righteous souls who fight for those of us who cannot.
These last few weeks have been strange in many ways, but I would be remiss if I did not offer House Telmar my sincere praise and thanks for how warm and welcoming that they've been to me. I confess that one of the little stumbling blocks that married life has thrown into my path is the inability to correctly sign my own name. As with many things, it will take some time to adjust to my new circumstances.
These last few weeks have been strange in many ways, but I would be remiss if I did not offer House Telmar my sincere praise and thanks for how warm and welcoming that they've been to me. I confess that one of the little stumbling blocks that married life has thrown into my path is the inability to correctly sign my own name. As with many things, it will take some time to adjust to my new circumstances.
Written By Lance
Nov. 16, 2018, 3:26 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Artur
We met discussing some somewhat frivolous dreams, but... we should truly talk. I have some information I think you should be aware of before we begin our journeys.
Written By Lance
Nov. 16, 2018, 3:24 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Work on my first rubicund weapon is finally complete. It is a beautiful thing. It sort of scares me to touch it. It is inlaid with duskstones and adorned with stygian, making it truly dark, terrible and beautiful. Knotty is training well too. It's almost as if I'm a real knight. With the white dragon armor, Netherbane and a proper steed... Gods above I look truly stunning.
Written By Lance
Nov. 16, 2018, 3:22 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
After going to through some of the things at the Lair and hearing some of the stories about that Lodge happening, I'm starting to truly miss Acorn Hill. I feel that... things are moving faster than my patron and I realized. I rather wish I had stayed at home. This is the stuff of nightmares.
Yet, this is why I became a knight, right? To do something worth doing, rather than being a sleepy knight from a little barony nobody's ever heard of?
The more I learn, the harder I've been training. I think I actually pulled a muscle yesterday. Maybe I'm just sore. Either way, I hope I'm ready.
Yet, this is why I became a knight, right? To do something worth doing, rather than being a sleepy knight from a little barony nobody's ever heard of?
The more I learn, the harder I've been training. I think I actually pulled a muscle yesterday. Maybe I'm just sore. Either way, I hope I'm ready.
Written By Perronne
Nov. 16, 2018, 3:13 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Jordan
Oh dear. I have heard that Sir Jordan died in the recent difficulties in the forest. I met him, and spoke to him several times when I first came to Arx. I can't say we were friends; he didn't have much of a sense of boundaries, and he put me in a position I really didn't want to be in. But I do believe his intentions were sincere, and that he wanted to help everyone he met. I hope he finds peace with the gods.
In my travels through the city for work, I've run across far too many casualty trains and funeral marches. May the end of the year bring with it the end of this conflict, and peace well earned!
In my travels through the city for work, I've run across far too many casualty trains and funeral marches. May the end of the year bring with it the end of this conflict, and peace well earned!
Written By Vercyn
Nov. 16, 2018, 3:07 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Bliss
Which Lycene hero? The one who murdered scores of people and got away with it? You'll find that your moral standards will vary based on who's getting enshrined in the Hall of Heroes and who's not.
Do you only consider a man or woman a hero if they are enshrined? Do you truly turn up your nose at an individual's own reckoning? Is that what it means to be a Whisper; to force a person to go by your standards rather than their own personal feelings? You spoke of duty. Each and every one of us who defended the Lodge did so not just out of duty, but out of love, out of respect, out of a desire to see something important protected. Many fell in the line of those. I lost over six hundred of my personal army. Six hundred families lost sons and daughters. Six hundred stories cut short. Six hundred brothers and sisters. Six hundred friends. Six hundred who may have been husbands, wives, mothers, fathers. Letters I am penning. Families I am entertaining as I recover from my own injuries. Arrangements I am, with my lieutenants and captains, aiding in overseeing.
Men and women who, in the eyes of their families, are heroes. And I will be damned if you sneer simply because they are not enshrined.
You are not the end-all-be-all of who is or isn't a hero. Nor are you the end-all-be-all of who is or isn't worthy. Please re-read my original statement: even your greatest enemy is a mother's child and has friends. You may hate those he is associated with. It does not mean they also hate him because, again, you do not control other's emotions.
Stop trying to.
Do you only consider a man or woman a hero if they are enshrined? Do you truly turn up your nose at an individual's own reckoning? Is that what it means to be a Whisper; to force a person to go by your standards rather than their own personal feelings? You spoke of duty. Each and every one of us who defended the Lodge did so not just out of duty, but out of love, out of respect, out of a desire to see something important protected. Many fell in the line of those. I lost over six hundred of my personal army. Six hundred families lost sons and daughters. Six hundred stories cut short. Six hundred brothers and sisters. Six hundred friends. Six hundred who may have been husbands, wives, mothers, fathers. Letters I am penning. Families I am entertaining as I recover from my own injuries. Arrangements I am, with my lieutenants and captains, aiding in overseeing.
Men and women who, in the eyes of their families, are heroes. And I will be damned if you sneer simply because they are not enshrined.
You are not the end-all-be-all of who is or isn't a hero. Nor are you the end-all-be-all of who is or isn't worthy. Please re-read my original statement: even your greatest enemy is a mother's child and has friends. You may hate those he is associated with. It does not mean they also hate him because, again, you do not control other's emotions.
Stop trying to.
Written By Calaudrin
Nov. 16, 2018, 3:02 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
People want to revere the memories of the people close to them or who had an impact on them. Not sure why it matters to anyone else if some random person thinks someone is a hero. Let them have what eases their grief.
Written By Galen
Nov. 16, 2018, 2:44 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
One look at the Hall of Heroes for the Lyceum and I'm awed by the cunning in some of these stories. It seems as though the Compact's various regions enshrined their heroes for many different perspectives on what constitutes virtue! Who knew! I really like the one where Duke Orlando honored his House Words to the truest extent. Could someone make a play out of this? Who do I need to pay to sponsor a script?
Written By Ida
Nov. 16, 2018, 2:35 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Daemon
I am struggling to put my thoughts to words right now. I'm so furious and sad and... You know, it felt like a good-bye letter you wrote. Not on its face, not the words really, but something felt final in it. Maybe that's me thinking on it too much, with hindsight, now that word of your passing has come to Arx. I told you that you were to outlive me and you didn't listen. Oaths and steel, Daemon. What a wonderful knight you were, so bright and true. Never have I, or will I ever, regret our ride into that field. How reckless we may have been for it, but I would not change that for the world. Terrible times, but one of the most exhilarating in my lifetime. Your enthusiasm to do what might need to be done, even if we might face impossible odds, inspired me that day - though I never told you that. I wish I had. My heart feels rather broken by the news and I am sorry we might never get to speak again in this life. Dammit!
Written By Jeffeth
Nov. 16, 2018, 2:08 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Daemon
No!
Written By Edward
Nov. 16, 2018, 2:02 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Brianna
Ah a new friend to get drunk with. Looking forward to more empty bottles.
Written By Eleyna
Nov. 16, 2018, 1:34 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Audric
What do you do after you get vengeance? What do you do when you avenge their death but they are still -gone-?
Yes, I know the tired refrain to keep living day by day. I've repeated that tired refrain often over the past couple of years to friends and family as we have watched those we love torn from our lives.
It's not enough.
Yes, I know the tired refrain to keep living day by day. I've repeated that tired refrain often over the past couple of years to friends and family as we have watched those we love torn from our lives.
It's not enough.
Written By Skye
Nov. 16, 2018, 1:03 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Getting hit by a tree hurts! Especially when it's being wielded as a weapon.
Written By Alis
Nov. 16, 2018, 12:41 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
I think what we choose to remember of people reflects more on us than it does on them. All of us have good traits and bad, and display them for the world to see no matter what we think we keep hidden. I often remember my Father being exasperated with me, and the arguments we would have. And I can't quite regret the clash of wills between us, but I will always regret any disappointment he had in me. Those are because of my own mistakes to own. When I remember the quiet confidence of my mother, it is because I have the need to emulate it and find myself lacking.
And when I remember the advice of Vance, Valen, and Tabitha, it's because I want to do better. When I think of the pranks we would pull on each other, the things they let me pretend I 'won', the excitement of seeing them come home from some patrol or adventure, it is because I miss them and want to remember the best of them.
And when I remember the advice of Vance, Valen, and Tabitha, it's because I want to do better. When I think of the pranks we would pull on each other, the things they let me pretend I 'won', the excitement of seeing them come home from some patrol or adventure, it is because I miss them and want to remember the best of them.
Written By Adora
Nov. 16, 2018, 12:12 p.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
We make caskets.
Seems relevant.
Seems relevant.
Written By Morrighan
Nov. 16, 2018, 11:38 a.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Bliss
Initially I wasn't going to say anything, but the lack of class and overall tastelessness of your remarks doesn't settle well with me. I have to admit, your skill at putting your foot in your mouth is astounding. For a Whisper, I would expect better behavior from you, but that's expecting a lot, given past incidents where you speak without thinking. Who in the abyss do you think you are to complain about the way the people of the Compact choose to remember those who have fallen? Do you know the story of every single individual that died, how they died? Were you there? Do you know of every single accomplishment they've made or what efforts they put in while serving the Compact? I highly doubt it. Some believe that in giving their life so that others might live makes them a hero nonetheless in death.
As Duke Vercyn has said, those who may be viewed as heroes, they don't go around boasting or grandstanding to garner attention for themselves. They don't go around and shout at the top of their lungs what they've done and demand that people oooh and aah over them or slather them with praise for how spectacular and amazing they are. It is duty, to do what must be done, regardless of the danger. It is selflessness and sacrifice. It isn't about glory. What wars have you fought in? What have you done besides complain and berate others, going into a harangue because they have said or done something that you don't personally agree with? It doesn't matter if YOU believe so and so isn't deserving of being committed to memory as a hero. Mind your own matters and let people honor the fallen and grieve how they will, it is no concern of yours.
You do yourself a disservice by speaking ill of the dead. Who cares whether you liked them or not? It doesn't exclude them from being remembered fondly by those that knew them. There were some that fell that I didn't particularly hold warm feelings for, but I can honor and respect them for the sacrifices they made, for facing the abyss, for knowingly going into danger, at good or bad odds, knowing they might not make it out alive. Doesn't matter what I may have thought of them personally, they're still deserving of respect and recognition for their bravery. It is because of their efforts, and everyone else involved, that we have been successful so far.
You might have missed heroism while playing at it on the Champions stage, glamoured up like a doll, basking in the applause and attention of the crowd to further inflate your ego and misplaced sense of self-importance.
As Duke Vercyn has said, those who may be viewed as heroes, they don't go around boasting or grandstanding to garner attention for themselves. They don't go around and shout at the top of their lungs what they've done and demand that people oooh and aah over them or slather them with praise for how spectacular and amazing they are. It is duty, to do what must be done, regardless of the danger. It is selflessness and sacrifice. It isn't about glory. What wars have you fought in? What have you done besides complain and berate others, going into a harangue because they have said or done something that you don't personally agree with? It doesn't matter if YOU believe so and so isn't deserving of being committed to memory as a hero. Mind your own matters and let people honor the fallen and grieve how they will, it is no concern of yours.
You do yourself a disservice by speaking ill of the dead. Who cares whether you liked them or not? It doesn't exclude them from being remembered fondly by those that knew them. There were some that fell that I didn't particularly hold warm feelings for, but I can honor and respect them for the sacrifices they made, for facing the abyss, for knowingly going into danger, at good or bad odds, knowing they might not make it out alive. Doesn't matter what I may have thought of them personally, they're still deserving of respect and recognition for their bravery. It is because of their efforts, and everyone else involved, that we have been successful so far.
You might have missed heroism while playing at it on the Champions stage, glamoured up like a doll, basking in the applause and attention of the crowd to further inflate your ego and misplaced sense of self-importance.
Written By Leona
Nov. 16, 2018, 11:22 a.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Oh, heroes. Once again the people of the Compact strive against a foe who would destroy what is held dear. And once again there is musing on heroes. A hero is an ideal - it is something no one living can truly live up to, but it is not real. Even the greatest heroes of Arx were people with flaws and foibles, with weak moments and dark times. But those aren't the things that get remembered. Those aren't the moments that live on forever.
Alarice the Great wanted nothing more than to see what was over the horizon. She liked throwing vases, especially at her husband's head. She was, by all accounts, argumentative and occasionally pig-headed. None of that is on her statue in the Hall of Heroes.
We remember what we value. In the Hall of Heroes go to each individual Hall. In the Lyceum, those immortalized there were canny, crafty - snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by machinations and manipulation. Go to Grayson and you'll find the great diplomats - those who were willing to put Compact above self. Who were willing to sacrifice much in a practical attempt to save their people. Go on - each one will tell you what those people prize.
The only purpose a hero can serve is an inspiration to hold a specific value dear. Their flaws fall away, their quirks and idiosyncracies forgotten in lieu of the story that remains to be told. The inspiration to a thought, an emotion, a response.
But talk of heroes is not for the moment of mourning. The moment of mourning is a time to remember the person - with all their flaws and failures, all their dreams and successes. Heroes are not mourned, they are frozen in time. But they are not real. In this moment, as people fall in defense of the Compact take a moment to mourn, to grieve, and to remember the lives that were lived. Don't turn your dead into heroes too soon, lest you forget all the individual uniqueness that made them so loved.
Alarice the Great wanted nothing more than to see what was over the horizon. She liked throwing vases, especially at her husband's head. She was, by all accounts, argumentative and occasionally pig-headed. None of that is on her statue in the Hall of Heroes.
We remember what we value. In the Hall of Heroes go to each individual Hall. In the Lyceum, those immortalized there were canny, crafty - snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by machinations and manipulation. Go to Grayson and you'll find the great diplomats - those who were willing to put Compact above self. Who were willing to sacrifice much in a practical attempt to save their people. Go on - each one will tell you what those people prize.
The only purpose a hero can serve is an inspiration to hold a specific value dear. Their flaws fall away, their quirks and idiosyncracies forgotten in lieu of the story that remains to be told. The inspiration to a thought, an emotion, a response.
But talk of heroes is not for the moment of mourning. The moment of mourning is a time to remember the person - with all their flaws and failures, all their dreams and successes. Heroes are not mourned, they are frozen in time. But they are not real. In this moment, as people fall in defense of the Compact take a moment to mourn, to grieve, and to remember the lives that were lived. Don't turn your dead into heroes too soon, lest you forget all the individual uniqueness that made them so loved.
Written By Sparte
Nov. 16, 2018, 10:11 a.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
I finally saw one of the big ones. The really, really big ones. I froze up, I went chill, I felt fear. If it was not for Dame Esoka's intervention, I don't know if I would have shaken that sense off. We lost many valiant men and women on that soil, but without her it would have been far worse.
Written By Valdemar
Nov. 16, 2018, 9:12 a.m.(1/3/1010 AR)
Rather than speaking ill of the recently departed and hiding it behind long-winded "honesty", people might consider examining their own ships for leaks. Perhaps it will not net you the same amount of attention, but in the long run, you will be better for it.
Written By Soren
Nov. 16, 2018, 8:29 a.m.(1/2/1010 AR)
Relationship Note on Macda
You know, I might be not the brightest, but I'm pretty sure writing code in a white journal defeats the purpose of a white journal.
Or that's what a scholar told me years ago.
Unless you're looking to draw attention to yourself, in which case, have at it.
Or that's what a scholar told me years ago.
Unless you're looking to draw attention to yourself, in which case, have at it.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.