Written By Bliss
Aug. 23, 2018, 11:32 a.m.(6/13/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Talwyn
If you are really looking for inspiration for a song, I suppose I could be bothered to try to be your muse. Do you mind competing with Nox'Alfar artists and writers? I really hope you don't.
Written By Helia
Aug. 23, 2018, 11:03 a.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
Reminder to self: Father is right. Coffee does not agree with me. Drank several cups today and spent the following hour or two sitting on the deck of the ship, wrapped in a blanket, gently vibrating.
It might also be the result of all the excitement that has been building within me having finally come to its peak. RedTyde is reborn as a county, and peacefully at that! Father, of course, is delighted and and overjoyed for what the future holds. It's fantastic to see him looking so happy.
Things are looking up, to say the least! So many plans to made, projects to work on, ambitions to be fulfilled. So many wonderful people have helped to bring the house to this point, and I thank them for it with all my heart. Hopefully I can be of aid to them in return, in whatever way I may be able.
Now I'm going to get a nice and incredibly watery cup of tea and try to calm down, because Gods know I need to. Many apologies to those I may have overwhelmed with my exuberance and hyperactivity since I arrived in the city.
Actually, no, not really. No apologies. I regret nothing!
It might also be the result of all the excitement that has been building within me having finally come to its peak. RedTyde is reborn as a county, and peacefully at that! Father, of course, is delighted and and overjoyed for what the future holds. It's fantastic to see him looking so happy.
Things are looking up, to say the least! So many plans to made, projects to work on, ambitions to be fulfilled. So many wonderful people have helped to bring the house to this point, and I thank them for it with all my heart. Hopefully I can be of aid to them in return, in whatever way I may be able.
Now I'm going to get a nice and incredibly watery cup of tea and try to calm down, because Gods know I need to. Many apologies to those I may have overwhelmed with my exuberance and hyperactivity since I arrived in the city.
Actually, no, not really. No apologies. I regret nothing!
Written By Eleyna
Aug. 23, 2018, 10:40 a.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Berenice
The first time I met with her in Arx, she took my breath away. Not just because she is beautiful, though she is. Not just because she's confident, though she -definitely- is. It was that when I looked at her, it was like seeing the ghost of someone I once very much loved.
It's not in the way she looks. It's in the way she carries herself. The way those eyes can shift from sultry to wicked to friendly to bemused in the space of a heartbeat. The way that she can command a room with a smile and a lift of an eyebrow. The way she can wear a dress like it is a second skin without a trace of discomfort or awkwardness.
I wonder if she realizes how much she resembles Esera in those moments. The Esera that I remember when we were girls together. Wicked, funny, charming, but with an edge that made you hold your breath if you happened to upset her in any given moment. The Esera that was before she assumed the mantle of power and had to temper that tempestuous Lycene streak with gravity.
Of course, there are differences. No one could ever be Esera in her entirety and I think Berenice is just as unique in her own ways. But the memory is there. Perhaps it should make me miss Esera more, but, quite to the contrary, it just makes me very glad that Berenice is here.
It's not in the way she looks. It's in the way she carries herself. The way those eyes can shift from sultry to wicked to friendly to bemused in the space of a heartbeat. The way that she can command a room with a smile and a lift of an eyebrow. The way she can wear a dress like it is a second skin without a trace of discomfort or awkwardness.
I wonder if she realizes how much she resembles Esera in those moments. The Esera that I remember when we were girls together. Wicked, funny, charming, but with an edge that made you hold your breath if you happened to upset her in any given moment. The Esera that was before she assumed the mantle of power and had to temper that tempestuous Lycene streak with gravity.
Of course, there are differences. No one could ever be Esera in her entirety and I think Berenice is just as unique in her own ways. But the memory is there. Perhaps it should make me miss Esera more, but, quite to the contrary, it just makes me very glad that Berenice is here.
Written By Talwyn
Aug. 23, 2018, 10:17 a.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
It has been some time since I set forth my thoughts in my journals. I do so now after a few weeks settled into Arx properly.
There simply was less need to write when I spent my winter in Gemecitta, away from the trials and tribulations of the capital. To be sure, Arx somewhat agrees with me. It's perfectly beautiful there in the middle of the coldest season further north. I love Gemecitta for its colour and fury of impressions. The assault on the senses enthralls me. The way the water smells different and clean in the morning, full of a different promise when I walk the quiet streets. Threads of yeasty bread sweep out from the bakeries as the city stirs itself. You can hear the birds singing in the thickets, and enjoy the heady flowers blooming with their spiced perfumes before anyone has really roused themselves. The heat sinks into my bones as I walk over the old cobbles, the ruts telling me stories of those gone away.
I am a Valardin in character but Lycene in looks. It never fails to impress me the diversity of the Compact, but the Lycenes will let me play for my supper or breakfast without caring for my rank. They sigh when I spin melancholy tales, and rage joyously with me when I spin tales of treachery and desire. They have always been the finest audiences for sudden turns. The complexities of my work get a polish in Gemecitta. I spent too long there in the torpid wastes, but that's not to be a cause for trouble.
I always remain a son of the west, proud of my heritage. The achievements of my forebears sing through the cairn, and they look out the eyes of my cousins and dear sister. There is nothing I would do to trade this confluence of happy measures, where the passions and unbridled love for the world meet with the upstanding honour that underpins the Valardin name and kin.
It's good to be back.
There simply was less need to write when I spent my winter in Gemecitta, away from the trials and tribulations of the capital. To be sure, Arx somewhat agrees with me. It's perfectly beautiful there in the middle of the coldest season further north. I love Gemecitta for its colour and fury of impressions. The assault on the senses enthralls me. The way the water smells different and clean in the morning, full of a different promise when I walk the quiet streets. Threads of yeasty bread sweep out from the bakeries as the city stirs itself. You can hear the birds singing in the thickets, and enjoy the heady flowers blooming with their spiced perfumes before anyone has really roused themselves. The heat sinks into my bones as I walk over the old cobbles, the ruts telling me stories of those gone away.
I am a Valardin in character but Lycene in looks. It never fails to impress me the diversity of the Compact, but the Lycenes will let me play for my supper or breakfast without caring for my rank. They sigh when I spin melancholy tales, and rage joyously with me when I spin tales of treachery and desire. They have always been the finest audiences for sudden turns. The complexities of my work get a polish in Gemecitta. I spent too long there in the torpid wastes, but that's not to be a cause for trouble.
I always remain a son of the west, proud of my heritage. The achievements of my forebears sing through the cairn, and they look out the eyes of my cousins and dear sister. There is nothing I would do to trade this confluence of happy measures, where the passions and unbridled love for the world meet with the upstanding honour that underpins the Valardin name and kin.
It's good to be back.
Written By Talwyn
Aug. 23, 2018, 10:10 a.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
Today I sent word to the Champions to see whether they might hold the key for my next composition. Not that I am stymied for ideas in Arx. Try walking two blocks without finding something to whet creativity against. But the act of honing any musical work to sharpness is another matter entirely.
The act of composition can be a solitary one. Too often I find myself bent over a desk, picking out notes. Hours spent bent over lutes or glitterns plucking out rhythms isolate a man. The spirit flies free when I am in front of a piano. It does return yearning for companionship, another ingredient in the eddying mass of ideas churning in papers scattered throughout the music room. But this foray I haven't made in some time, not since last year.
I hope to find something brilliant in the ideas of another, a bombastic creation that trends to daring heights. The Champions themselves epitomize the soaring movements and the powerful heights this music covets to aspire. It's not a quiet nocturne but a storm brewing in clamor and shining wrath.
Maybe I'm merely looking for an excuse to unleash the fire in my blood.
The act of composition can be a solitary one. Too often I find myself bent over a desk, picking out notes. Hours spent bent over lutes or glitterns plucking out rhythms isolate a man. The spirit flies free when I am in front of a piano. It does return yearning for companionship, another ingredient in the eddying mass of ideas churning in papers scattered throughout the music room. But this foray I haven't made in some time, not since last year.
I hope to find something brilliant in the ideas of another, a bombastic creation that trends to daring heights. The Champions themselves epitomize the soaring movements and the powerful heights this music covets to aspire. It's not a quiet nocturne but a storm brewing in clamor and shining wrath.
Maybe I'm merely looking for an excuse to unleash the fire in my blood.
Written By Thena
Aug. 23, 2018, 8:50 a.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
Please take care who (or what) you name in the White Journals. Our enemies can read them as easily as the rest of us.
Written By Edward
Aug. 23, 2018, 8 a.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
Jakric Hullman, one less pawn off the board. Great job to the sailors of House Grimhall and the Isles Canines.
Written By Ronja
Aug. 23, 2018, 7:20 a.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
That settles it. No more placing bets on my own fights, I never win them. Also, there's someone called 'The Slaver' apparently attacking the Petrichor Lodge soon. Anyone with a name like that is on my shit list, and since the Order's involved, I have an in for the fight if I want to help. I just don't know if I'm ready. I've spent days at the training center and just keep getting pummeled into the ground by everyone I come across. It's embarassing and infuriating, but mostly it keeps me humble. Maybe I shouldn't go to war just yet.
Written By Bedivere
Aug. 23, 2018, 2:35 a.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Silas
Baron Silas Whitehawk is my generous nephew (who kindly ennobled me as the Marshal of Hawkhold), making sure my two children and I would be taken care.
Written By Cadern
Aug. 23, 2018, 2:15 a.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
I was promoted to Docent this week. It took awhile to find out who to approach but the Marquis Fairen had an interesting set of questions for me. I was able to answer one entirely based on my existing research. For the rest I approached a few Scholars but Lord Corbit Leary was particularly useful. Even if I think he may have raised more questions than answers. I've realized that my knowledge of the Metallics is far lacking and there are more enemies than I cared to realize.
Written By Vanora
Aug. 23, 2018, 12:29 a.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
The sky is dark and the hills are white
As the storm-king speeds from the North to-night
And this is the song the storm-king sings
As over the world his cloak he flings:
"Sleep, sleep, Little One(s) Sleep"
He rustles his wings and gruffly sings,
"Sleep, Little One(s) Sleep"
I don't sing as well as my husband or Father Harald, nor any of their kin really. I can manage to sing to my boys though and not sound terrifying.
This old Isles lullaby the Grim Duke taught me the melody and words to myself. I made 'little one' into "Little Ones" so that both twins could be included.
It doesn't work nearly as well as when their Papa or Grandpa sings them lullabies, Valdemar is often the only one who can get Arkyn to settle into sleep.
Even a month old...they have the same ear as their paternal kin. Impressive.
As the storm-king speeds from the North to-night
And this is the song the storm-king sings
As over the world his cloak he flings:
"Sleep, sleep, Little One(s) Sleep"
He rustles his wings and gruffly sings,
"Sleep, Little One(s) Sleep"
I don't sing as well as my husband or Father Harald, nor any of their kin really. I can manage to sing to my boys though and not sound terrifying.
This old Isles lullaby the Grim Duke taught me the melody and words to myself. I made 'little one' into "Little Ones" so that both twins could be included.
It doesn't work nearly as well as when their Papa or Grandpa sings them lullabies, Valdemar is often the only one who can get Arkyn to settle into sleep.
Even a month old...they have the same ear as their paternal kin. Impressive.
Written By Tikva
Aug. 22, 2018, 11:50 p.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Saoirse
I accept all blame as is my due.
Written By Saoirse
Aug. 22, 2018, 11:48 p.m.(6/12/1009 AR)
Please do not send me your children.
I do not know how. I do not know why. But for some reason, the streets of Arx are talking about how I "took the time time to talk to" the city's troubled youth. This is a misconception. I scared the shit out of them.
Please do not ask me to mind your children.
Please do not continue to ruin my reputation with this "talked to".
Please.
(Tikva, I blame you.)
I do not know how. I do not know why. But for some reason, the streets of Arx are talking about how I "took the time time to talk to" the city's troubled youth. This is a misconception. I scared the shit out of them.
Please do not ask me to mind your children.
Please do not continue to ruin my reputation with this "talked to".
Please.
(Tikva, I blame you.)
Written By Lumen
Aug. 22, 2018, 9:51 p.m.(6/11/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Tomwell
This evening I watch a man I care for so deeply take his Godsworn vows. Though I think him worthy of a great many things beyond what his capacity for humility allows him to see, I have the greatest admiration for him, this choice, and all the sacrifices that come with a life offering succour to the many, and the Gods.
Written By Ian
Aug. 22, 2018, 9:16 p.m.(6/11/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Anton
So my cousin Anton is dead. With his parents dead, I'm not sure many people aside from my brothers and myself knew him all that well. He sailed with us for a few months, back in the day. One of the people sent to Aethan to learn to sail. Anton never really liked sailing. He liked buildings.
First time we were in port after he joined us, we all went out to tour the local taverns and bars. We woke up the next day, looked around, and realized Anton was gone. We'd lost him over the course of the night. We thought back and realized the last anyone had remembered seeing him was when we passed by the mansion belonging to the island's governor, so we went back there.
Sure enough, there he was, wedged into an alcove, still passed out, with an empty bottle of rum and his sketchbook. Porter had to carry him back, his legs were so cramped. Drunk as he was, the drawing looked like the mansion.
I never got what he saw in buildings, but I know what it is to be called by something. Anyway, I still have the sketchbook. Not really sure what to do with it.
First time we were in port after he joined us, we all went out to tour the local taverns and bars. We woke up the next day, looked around, and realized Anton was gone. We'd lost him over the course of the night. We thought back and realized the last anyone had remembered seeing him was when we passed by the mansion belonging to the island's governor, so we went back there.
Sure enough, there he was, wedged into an alcove, still passed out, with an empty bottle of rum and his sketchbook. Porter had to carry him back, his legs were so cramped. Drunk as he was, the drawing looked like the mansion.
I never got what he saw in buildings, but I know what it is to be called by something. Anyway, I still have the sketchbook. Not really sure what to do with it.
Written By Calista
Aug. 22, 2018, 9:15 p.m.(6/11/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Barric
Regret. I do not have many, but once upon a time, when we knew one another better, I regret saying we were too young, we had more time.
When my life changed, it drove a great divide between us and again I regret not maintaining our friendship. How hurt you were when I announced my engagement and regret washed over me again.
It has been a few years since then and you found love in Princess Coraline. The announcement of your engagement brought me joy. But instead I heard news of your passing. Again, I am filled with regret.
I pray you are resting easy.
When my life changed, it drove a great divide between us and again I regret not maintaining our friendship. How hurt you were when I announced my engagement and regret washed over me again.
It has been a few years since then and you found love in Princess Coraline. The announcement of your engagement brought me joy. But instead I heard news of your passing. Again, I am filled with regret.
I pray you are resting easy.
Written By Riagnon
Aug. 22, 2018, 8:59 p.m.(6/11/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Jasher
Maybe contrary to all likelihood, his highness and I have been getting to know one another better over the past few weeks. It's a comfort to find someone here in Arx to talk to, and not talk to as it were. Alright so... he mostly doesn't talk.
Written By Richard
Aug. 22, 2018, 8:29 p.m.(6/11/1009 AR)
It seems like Arx confronts a new threat in the form of this Slaver. Apparently he intends to defile the Lodge of Petrichor. I certainly will be there up in the defense. Merely a time to figure out what strategy will be followed for this battle. Thus I am training a bit more so as to be ready for such a moment. I must remain strong and vigilant, so that the Compact may go onward.
Written By Sunaia
Aug. 22, 2018, 8:22 p.m.(6/11/1009 AR)
Where in the Abyss did this clock tower come from? Scholar? No? You're no help.
Written By Rymarr
Aug. 22, 2018, 7:03 p.m.(6/11/1009 AR)
Relationship Note on Jyri
I'll only tell him one of those things and even then with a slight adjustment to the phrasing.
Rarely is it not helpful to have a horse nearby. Unless you're actively hunting something that prefers the meat of a horse. Then it's not as useful to have a horse nearby.
I have no need of 'I told you so' or 'Nothing is ever that easy'. The solutions to complicated or dangerous things are rarely simple, but there are frequently easy answers to basic problems. We live, we learn.
Rarely is it not helpful to have a horse nearby. Unless you're actively hunting something that prefers the meat of a horse. Then it's not as useful to have a horse nearby.
I have no need of 'I told you so' or 'Nothing is ever that easy'. The solutions to complicated or dangerous things are rarely simple, but there are frequently easy answers to basic problems. We live, we learn.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.