Written By Percephon
May 24, 2018, 11:58 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
A reflection on Reflections: Always try to see the other, non-obvious side of an issue. Question norms and collapse cliches. Offer opinion rather than obviousness. Look for ideas others miss, and try to miss ideas everyone embraces. Be plain in the face of complexity. Find complex ideas where others see them as simple. If an idea is widespread, overturn it. If no one believes an idea, show how it serves as the foundation for everything.
Written By Driskell
May 24, 2018, 11:10 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
It is good that debate and discussion happens, where a majority say one thing and a minority say another contrary to them. That the highborn take to the whites and argue might by some be called petty and beneath them, but ultimately it teaches that one can have debates without immediately jumping to the passion of hatred or anger; if you can approach any discussion with an open heart to receive the teachings of the gods even if your position doesn't change, then I think that's a hidden blessing.
If thirteen wise men and women of honor and faith are in a room, and twelve agree upon the rightness of a cause, the persuasiveness of an argument, or the safety of a path forward, then the thirteenth must argue vehemently to the contrary. No truth, however elusive or unconvincing, must escape us due to a lack of scrutiny. The signs of the Reckoning were before us, and we neither saw nor heard, convincing one another we were safe. We failed to see the warnings once. We will never fail again.
If thirteen wise men and women of honor and faith are in a room, and twelve agree upon the rightness of a cause, the persuasiveness of an argument, or the safety of a path forward, then the thirteenth must argue vehemently to the contrary. No truth, however elusive or unconvincing, must escape us due to a lack of scrutiny. The signs of the Reckoning were before us, and we neither saw nor heard, convincing one another we were safe. We failed to see the warnings once. We will never fail again.
Written By Orazio
May 24, 2018, 10:47 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Arik
In regards to Lord Arik Halfshav's musings on the effects of manumission on the Compact:
There are a great many thralls throughout the Isles, even after the Kennex mass manumission and the reforms on the part of other Thrax houses. Which does not mean that the population could not be absorbed without significant issue by the Compact as a whole. But, it is important to remember, that is not a thing which will happen. Freed thralls, unless they /choose/ to leave, are still citizens and vassals of their lords. While many may decide to become Crownsworn, or to take oaths to another fealty at some point, there seems to be an assumption in some quarters that once a thrall is free, they are universally open to being shipped halfway across the Compact and resettled at random.
That is unlikely to be the case. So, while the Compact as a whole might easily absorb the total number of thralls, the impact of these new or returned citizens is likely to be concentrated in the Isles. Certainly, no one should be advocating resettling children across the continent from their families and everyone they've ever known unless there is no other way to keep them safe from exploitation and abuse. Thus, there is a benefit to considering the financial impact on their home lands even in our desire to ensure that justice is done.
There are a great many thralls throughout the Isles, even after the Kennex mass manumission and the reforms on the part of other Thrax houses. Which does not mean that the population could not be absorbed without significant issue by the Compact as a whole. But, it is important to remember, that is not a thing which will happen. Freed thralls, unless they /choose/ to leave, are still citizens and vassals of their lords. While many may decide to become Crownsworn, or to take oaths to another fealty at some point, there seems to be an assumption in some quarters that once a thrall is free, they are universally open to being shipped halfway across the Compact and resettled at random.
That is unlikely to be the case. So, while the Compact as a whole might easily absorb the total number of thralls, the impact of these new or returned citizens is likely to be concentrated in the Isles. Certainly, no one should be advocating resettling children across the continent from their families and everyone they've ever known unless there is no other way to keep them safe from exploitation and abuse. Thus, there is a benefit to considering the financial impact on their home lands even in our desire to ensure that justice is done.
Written By Gwenna
May 24, 2018, 10:46 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
I am both exceptionally excited and honored to record that I have been accepted as a member of the Gold Order as part of their support staff. To get to serve such esteemed knights, liaisons, and advisers is beyond words and I do sincerely hope I will be helpful in all that they do and hope to yet accomplish. While I've no skill with which to swing a blade, it is my aspiration that my abilities with words might aid them in some small way.
I've another interview coming soon for a similar role, possibly, which I am greatly looking forward to. It is a wonderful feeling, this potential to help in ways other than the martial, and I simply hope to do well enough to make even a small difference in some positive way.
I've another interview coming soon for a similar role, possibly, which I am greatly looking forward to. It is a wonderful feeling, this potential to help in ways other than the martial, and I simply hope to do well enough to make even a small difference in some positive way.
Written By Thena
May 24, 2018, 10:45 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Saoirse
Nah
Written By Arik
May 24, 2018, 10:33 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
I admit to being wholly uninformed about Thrax beyond their relative existence and their seafaring ways. I do record this question for the whites though in hopes future generations might find it useful and that I might find an answer myself...
Is the release of thralls such a great concern to the Compact itself when we absorb abandoned tribes so frequently? In the span of ten years how many shavs have bent a knee, how many tribe leaderships ennobled? I understand freeing a man and paying him a wage can wreak havoc on the finances of a domain, but to the Compact itself are the numbers so great they will affect the mainland?
Is the release of thralls such a great concern to the Compact itself when we absorb abandoned tribes so frequently? In the span of ten years how many shavs have bent a knee, how many tribe leaderships ennobled? I understand freeing a man and paying him a wage can wreak havoc on the finances of a domain, but to the Compact itself are the numbers so great they will affect the mainland?
Written By Saoirse
May 24, 2018, 10:28 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Thena
You are unequivocally missing the point.
Written By Thena
May 24, 2018, 10:26 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Saoirse
I really think you might want to educate yourself a bit more on recent history before you tell us we need to be considering something that has been under consideration for quite some time.
Written By Saoirse
May 24, 2018, 10:13 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Victus
Change coming slowly is, historically speaking, the safest route. But it certainly doesn't seem that this hundreds-of-years-old-tradition is being slowly changed at all. This seems quite fast. Which is my point: rapid change can be quite problematic. And not just for Thrax; this is something the entire Compact should be considering.
Written By Orazio
May 24, 2018, 10 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
To the Faithful Reader:
The recent proclamation by Grimhall has, it seems, turned the city's conversation towards thralldom again. This is not a bad thing - it is important to remember that this injustice continues whether the rest of us are thinking about it or not. But the way the conversation tends to turn to the negative effects of abolishing brings to mind a metaphor.
Imagine, if you will, a tree. A young tree, growing up straight and tall. Imagine, then, that men come along, and hammer a series of iron posts through the tree's trunk, creating ugly and painful wounds deep in the heartwood. Given time, and strength, the tree will gradually grow around these intrusions, although in doing so, it will deform itself and be twisted off the course that the gods would hope for it. Given enough time, and enough growth, the tree will even come to cling to these posts in its flesh, embracing them as a native part of itself so deeply that attempting to remove those posts WILL do more damage to the tree, and will open up wounds that will have to be tended carefully, lest they get infested by parasites. But, at the same time, the posts themselves are a poison, making the tree vulnerable over the long years of its age to infection after infection, and potentially leading it to rot and fall long before its time.
So, if one would save the tree over the long centuries, one must - with care and support - remove the posts that afflict it, even though doing so will lead to pain and vulnerability in the short term. Of course, if no one had hammered the posts into to the tree in the first place, none of this would be necessary, but we must deal with what is, not what we might wish to be. If one is not of an arboral personality, you can also think of it as a rotting limb attached to an otherwise healthy person; amputation is painful, and dangerous, but failing to do it because one is squeamish about the pain leads to a dead person, as does undertaking the procedure without due thought and preparation.
The recent proclamation by Grimhall has, it seems, turned the city's conversation towards thralldom again. This is not a bad thing - it is important to remember that this injustice continues whether the rest of us are thinking about it or not. But the way the conversation tends to turn to the negative effects of abolishing brings to mind a metaphor.
Imagine, if you will, a tree. A young tree, growing up straight and tall. Imagine, then, that men come along, and hammer a series of iron posts through the tree's trunk, creating ugly and painful wounds deep in the heartwood. Given time, and strength, the tree will gradually grow around these intrusions, although in doing so, it will deform itself and be twisted off the course that the gods would hope for it. Given enough time, and enough growth, the tree will even come to cling to these posts in its flesh, embracing them as a native part of itself so deeply that attempting to remove those posts WILL do more damage to the tree, and will open up wounds that will have to be tended carefully, lest they get infested by parasites. But, at the same time, the posts themselves are a poison, making the tree vulnerable over the long years of its age to infection after infection, and potentially leading it to rot and fall long before its time.
So, if one would save the tree over the long centuries, one must - with care and support - remove the posts that afflict it, even though doing so will lead to pain and vulnerability in the short term. Of course, if no one had hammered the posts into to the tree in the first place, none of this would be necessary, but we must deal with what is, not what we might wish to be. If one is not of an arboral personality, you can also think of it as a rotting limb attached to an otherwise healthy person; amputation is painful, and dangerous, but failing to do it because one is squeamish about the pain leads to a dead person, as does undertaking the procedure without due thought and preparation.
Written By Fortunato
May 24, 2018, 9:48 a.m.(10/24/1008 AR)
Skald is not much for prayers. But if I were to pray to Skald, it would be.
May I never be in a situation where the powerful sit in the whites and argue about how I would be most acceptably free without being truly free. May I never be in a situation where my limited power is so sapped that my future has nothing to do with my own will, but only with the high will of others.
May I never be in a situation where the powerful sit in the whites and argue about how I would be most acceptably free without being truly free. May I never be in a situation where my limited power is so sapped that my future has nothing to do with my own will, but only with the high will of others.
Written By Lisebet
May 24, 2018, 8:55 a.m.(10/23/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Ryhalt
I am certain that my seamstress would love to work with Clover. Do you want me to give the name to Clover or are you planning on purchasing a gift for your wife?
Written By Gianna
May 24, 2018, 8:29 a.m.(10/23/1008 AR)
There needs to be a place in which singers and musicians can learn; a Bard’s College, I think. A place to hone performance skills, but also a place where new songs and ideas could be shared. I may try to see if I can find a space near the Whisper House.
Written By Sina
May 24, 2018, 5:54 a.m.(10/23/1008 AR)
I have not been keeping up with my journal as much as I should. I often debate what should be written within these white pages, and what should be relegated to the black. Of late, my life has taken interesting twists and turns that make the two paths converge in ways that make it difficult to focus. Life has been considerably more complicated for me, and part of me wishes that I could go back to the simple, uncomplicated life of a handmaiden. It's easy to simply serve, quietly and unobtrusively, professionally. And yet, sometimes I wonder if perhaps there is something else I should be doing.
I find that I have strange dreams and memories. Things that happened when I was a child, now coming to the forefront of my mind, and I do not understand the things that I remember. But I remember a man with a mask on his face, and an oath of fealty when I was very, very young. Even from beyond the grave, I think perhaps the ghost of Prince Donrai Thrax still haunts us all in some ways.
I still cannot fathom what possessed him to take me into his House when I was but ten, to serve in the kitchens. I suppose I must be grateful, given what happened to my father's ship, and my father. The same thing that happened to many pirates who encountered the reavers of House Thrax. Death. Destruction. Loss.
Still, these days, I can't help but wonder why. Why did he spare me? Later, Princess Donella's father brought me up from the kitchens, and assigned me as her handmaiden. Then she married off into House Redrain, and I have continued to pursue the life of a handmaiden, having offered my services to Princess Consort Alarissa. And so I serve House Thrax still.
I have so few memories of my early childhood, and it is like pulling teeth trying to get them to come about. I remember being terrified of Prince Donrai... and yet, reading through the white journals of others, it seems he was worthy of respect as well. At least in the eyes of some. How can one man inspire such awe and fear in the minds of others? Respect, and scorn? Why does he now linger so in my memories and thoughts? Now I find myself wishing I knew more about him.
But he is gone, and it is a new era for House Thrax. High Lord Victus and Princess Consort Alarissa have been so very supportive of me and my choice to continue to serve House Thrax. And yet... I still feel that call to other things. I am more than a handmaiden. I am a Scholar of Vellichor and a Disciple of the Faith. I am an Explorer, and an artist. I am so many other things than a mere handmaiden. And yet, most of all, I am drawn to the Faith. My heart lies there and I am torn between duty, my own heart's desire, oaths of fealty, and memories.
I do know one thing: I do not think that I am destined nor suited to a life of marriage and babies. Such is not my lot, nor is it my desire. It may seem strange to some, for one as young as I, to be so certain of these things. My heart has known love, but I lack that desire toward motherhood, marriage, and familial bonds. Perhaps it is because my own mother, a thrall aboard my father's ship, was sold off when I was barely old enough to walk, and my father died when I was young. Family... blood family... is not something I have known much of, and so I would have no understanding, I think, of how a proper family works.
I shall pray to all the gods for wisdom and guidance in these matters that so trouble me and keep me up at night. Soon, I must come to a decision and stop dithering back and forth. What it comes down to is where do I feel most useful? My heart answers, "The Faith."
I find that I have strange dreams and memories. Things that happened when I was a child, now coming to the forefront of my mind, and I do not understand the things that I remember. But I remember a man with a mask on his face, and an oath of fealty when I was very, very young. Even from beyond the grave, I think perhaps the ghost of Prince Donrai Thrax still haunts us all in some ways.
I still cannot fathom what possessed him to take me into his House when I was but ten, to serve in the kitchens. I suppose I must be grateful, given what happened to my father's ship, and my father. The same thing that happened to many pirates who encountered the reavers of House Thrax. Death. Destruction. Loss.
Still, these days, I can't help but wonder why. Why did he spare me? Later, Princess Donella's father brought me up from the kitchens, and assigned me as her handmaiden. Then she married off into House Redrain, and I have continued to pursue the life of a handmaiden, having offered my services to Princess Consort Alarissa. And so I serve House Thrax still.
I have so few memories of my early childhood, and it is like pulling teeth trying to get them to come about. I remember being terrified of Prince Donrai... and yet, reading through the white journals of others, it seems he was worthy of respect as well. At least in the eyes of some. How can one man inspire such awe and fear in the minds of others? Respect, and scorn? Why does he now linger so in my memories and thoughts? Now I find myself wishing I knew more about him.
But he is gone, and it is a new era for House Thrax. High Lord Victus and Princess Consort Alarissa have been so very supportive of me and my choice to continue to serve House Thrax. And yet... I still feel that call to other things. I am more than a handmaiden. I am a Scholar of Vellichor and a Disciple of the Faith. I am an Explorer, and an artist. I am so many other things than a mere handmaiden. And yet, most of all, I am drawn to the Faith. My heart lies there and I am torn between duty, my own heart's desire, oaths of fealty, and memories.
I do know one thing: I do not think that I am destined nor suited to a life of marriage and babies. Such is not my lot, nor is it my desire. It may seem strange to some, for one as young as I, to be so certain of these things. My heart has known love, but I lack that desire toward motherhood, marriage, and familial bonds. Perhaps it is because my own mother, a thrall aboard my father's ship, was sold off when I was barely old enough to walk, and my father died when I was young. Family... blood family... is not something I have known much of, and so I would have no understanding, I think, of how a proper family works.
I shall pray to all the gods for wisdom and guidance in these matters that so trouble me and keep me up at night. Soon, I must come to a decision and stop dithering back and forth. What it comes down to is where do I feel most useful? My heart answers, "The Faith."
Written By Barik
May 24, 2018, 4:25 a.m.(10/23/1008 AR)
Today I braved the most daunting task I had ever braved. Or was it yesterday? I don't know, I had the wisdom of stealing not one, but two bottles of cheap rum from the hands of a certain nobleman whom's kindness had him turn a blind eye upon my deed, and with them I drank myself into forgetting the shame I felt. I sat on the chair of a certain Duke, at a certain feast, and there's no pride to be had in such affairs. It was my most idiotic deed to date, and if Vellichor truly judges- if he reads this with those beady eyes I imagine him to have, I ascertain he's judging me. He's judging me without hesitation. I pray to the Sentinel that there's no justice coming after me for such stupid deed, that Lagoma's flame doesn't give me away when I'm inevitably hiding in some alley avoiding the King's justice for nearly soiling my trousers while in the presence of nobility, and that the goddess Gild guides me into a more straight-backed path. Dreams and aspirations those are, Barik, dreams and aspirations. But what are dreams and aspirations, if not the foundations, yet not the fabric of its intended creation? I don't know. I suppose I'm not smart enough to know, either- all that time spent playing the baliset and meandering around the countryside made you soft in the head. I ought to thank a priest of Vellichor for learning me how to write, otherwise I'd be writing down my experiences in the form of glyphs. Very ugly ones, too.
Written By Ryhalt
May 24, 2018, 3:23 a.m.(10/23/1008 AR)
Your Highness,
What your propose is indeed something we can see come to pass. We in this regard are you very humble servants grateful for any introductions and your time you are willing to give either of us.
What your propose is indeed something we can see come to pass. We in this regard are you very humble servants grateful for any introductions and your time you are willing to give either of us.
Written By Katarina
May 24, 2018, 3:20 a.m.(10/23/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Ryhalt
You're beginning to sound suspiciously like a silver-tongued financier I'm acquainted with. Perhaps I should introduce the two of you and encourage you to have drinks with them in return for my going to dinner with Duchess Clover and facing my inevitable watery demise head-on.
Written By Ryhalt
May 24, 2018, 3:13 a.m.(10/23/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Katarina
Your Highness,
Abscond? I am wounded, truly. I as a merchant stand against outright thievery and all it entails. I merely would have her point out the many benefits and wealth to be had if such ships were to ever be put into our expert hands with trade. Once more a very sound investment we are.
Abscond? I am wounded, truly. I as a merchant stand against outright thievery and all it entails. I merely would have her point out the many benefits and wealth to be had if such ships were to ever be put into our expert hands with trade. Once more a very sound investment we are.
Written By Katarina
May 24, 2018, 3:10 a.m.(10/23/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Ryhalt
What terrible fate might befall me should I give into your rather persistent efforts to have coffee with Duchess Clover? Are you trying to abscond away with my ships?
Written By Ryhalt
May 24, 2018, 3:06 a.m.(10/23/1008 AR)
Relationship Note on Katarina
Your Highness,
Why should I stop writing? I have been told I am very good at it. House Farshaw is a progressive house for innovation an progression, with our eye towards expansion and the future. Are we perhaps the the very best investment in the Compact, I cannot say so with absolute certainty, but I can say with utter conviction you could do far far worse. Have coffee with my lovely and charming wife and you shall see.
Why should I stop writing? I have been told I am very good at it. House Farshaw is a progressive house for innovation an progression, with our eye towards expansion and the future. Are we perhaps the the very best investment in the Compact, I cannot say so with absolute certainty, but I can say with utter conviction you could do far far worse. Have coffee with my lovely and charming wife and you shall see.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.