Written By Mabelle
Dec. 3, 2020, 4:54 p.m.(7/2/1014 AR)
Is awareness a blessing in disguise? Was I happier not knowing?
I was not.
I was not.
Written By Cambria
Dec. 3, 2020, 4:14 p.m.(7/2/1014 AR)
An immutable truth one should recognize and understand early on is that the future belongs to the winners of today.
For better or worse.
For better or worse.
Written By Ciro
Dec. 3, 2020, 4:09 p.m.(7/2/1014 AR)
I find myself time and again drawn to the water garden and its great map, Though I only left home weeks ago it makes me long for the shores of Ischia and the comfort of Braiga.
The time taken to craft such a vision surely great, and done by a skilled hand. The rivers and villages drawing forth memories from the past, Both distant and far closer to this time before the storm..
Perhaps after the trip to the Saffron I will make time to visit home, Even if for just a short time. I didn't say a proper farewell to its shore.
And I could use a good rum. I think we all could here in the city.
The time taken to craft such a vision surely great, and done by a skilled hand. The rivers and villages drawing forth memories from the past, Both distant and far closer to this time before the storm..
Perhaps after the trip to the Saffron I will make time to visit home, Even if for just a short time. I didn't say a proper farewell to its shore.
And I could use a good rum. I think we all could here in the city.
Written By Macario
Dec. 3, 2020, 12:46 p.m.(7/2/1014 AR)
I feel guilty over a terrible deceit. It eats away at me.
I’m not one to notice men’s facial hair, but I met a man with the most perfect beard. It’s glorious, truly. And the man happens to be taller than I. And instead of taking that at face-value, I told an incredible tale about how a man elsewhere in our world has a better beard. Well, if I’m honest to myself, it was the other that came up with this story but instead of denouncing his insecurities, I encouraged them. Now I fear he will take to the seas in search of a mythological person with a nicer beard. That person doesn’t exist. It really is an exquisite beard.
I’m not one to notice men’s facial hair, but I met a man with the most perfect beard. It’s glorious, truly. And the man happens to be taller than I. And instead of taking that at face-value, I told an incredible tale about how a man elsewhere in our world has a better beard. Well, if I’m honest to myself, it was the other that came up with this story but instead of denouncing his insecurities, I encouraged them. Now I fear he will take to the seas in search of a mythological person with a nicer beard. That person doesn’t exist. It really is an exquisite beard.
Written By Delilah
Dec. 3, 2020, 9:59 a.m.(7/2/1014 AR)
I shouldn't have an eye for such things, but I saw one of Mistress Aurora's gorgeous gowns the other day. Metal fashioned around the throat, long slit sleeves... the very thing of elegance and effortlessness. Commendable for such beautiful things to have a place on the brightest of souls, and that makes me so very happy.
Written By Delilah
Dec. 3, 2020, 9:48 a.m.(7/2/1014 AR)
Braumina has decided to eat my boots. Or try, anyway. How can something only a quarter their size inflict so much damage? Either way, it appears I'm off to the leather-worker's to find myself another good pair of such things.
Or more extravagantly, a bonanza of chew toys. These little clouds are a delight, I suppose -- having never grown up with so many pups about, I feel rather like a hawk or cat among a parliament of ravens. Still, these sweet little bundles of energy are far more exciting than croaking corvids, mostly because of the sheer furry intensity of them all.
Try watching a fat-bellied puppy climb over a mountain of its siblings to be the one to catch some passing bit of fluff, a dandelion's spark and you'll know what I mean.
Or more extravagantly, a bonanza of chew toys. These little clouds are a delight, I suppose -- having never grown up with so many pups about, I feel rather like a hawk or cat among a parliament of ravens. Still, these sweet little bundles of energy are far more exciting than croaking corvids, mostly because of the sheer furry intensity of them all.
Try watching a fat-bellied puppy climb over a mountain of its siblings to be the one to catch some passing bit of fluff, a dandelion's spark and you'll know what I mean.
Written By Medeia
Dec. 3, 2020, 5:35 a.m.(7/2/1014 AR)
Another fine dinner, Scholar. I even set aside the time to come recount it directly, given the dinner was also a fundraiser to help with the Great Cathedral restoration.
You see, there’s a wine my family produces that has been a family-only wine for a few generations now. Each vintage is usually a small run, and it takes at least eight years to go from vine to glass - so, I think we could be forgiven for coveting it. That coveting allowed the wine to be favored by my uncle. Some people know he carried a pouch of wine spices around to season his wine by the glass. Well, I was inspired to take his signature spice blend and use it to create an even smaller batch of a special blend of that coveted family wine. And then I released just one case, twelve bottles, to the public through a raffle.
I sincerely hope the winners drink the wine, at some point. I understand the instinct to keep it. Save it for something special. My uncle might have just called that “dinner.” (One bottle was opened just as soon as it was won; a bold move. I can respect that.) Congratulations to Prince Sebastian Pravus, Duchess Lisebet Ashford, Marquis Gaspar Tessere, Marquessa Norah Eswynd, Marquessa Tyche Inverno, Count Duarte Amadeo, Baroness Calla Vaevici, Lady Alessia Mazetti, Lord Ciro Seraceni, Lady Mabelle Laurent, Lord Orland Amadeo, and Samira Culler.
My sincerest thanks to all of them for participating. My additional, and equally sincere, thanks to Princess Adrienne Pravus, Princess Alarissa Thrax, Princess Natasha Thrax, Prince Patrizio Pravus, Duke Ryhalt Farshaw, Baroness Ember Redreef, Lady Piccola Tessere, and Lord Yuri Tessere for their additional contributions to the fundraiser.
You see, there’s a wine my family produces that has been a family-only wine for a few generations now. Each vintage is usually a small run, and it takes at least eight years to go from vine to glass - so, I think we could be forgiven for coveting it. That coveting allowed the wine to be favored by my uncle. Some people know he carried a pouch of wine spices around to season his wine by the glass. Well, I was inspired to take his signature spice blend and use it to create an even smaller batch of a special blend of that coveted family wine. And then I released just one case, twelve bottles, to the public through a raffle.
I sincerely hope the winners drink the wine, at some point. I understand the instinct to keep it. Save it for something special. My uncle might have just called that “dinner.” (One bottle was opened just as soon as it was won; a bold move. I can respect that.) Congratulations to Prince Sebastian Pravus, Duchess Lisebet Ashford, Marquis Gaspar Tessere, Marquessa Norah Eswynd, Marquessa Tyche Inverno, Count Duarte Amadeo, Baroness Calla Vaevici, Lady Alessia Mazetti, Lord Ciro Seraceni, Lady Mabelle Laurent, Lord Orland Amadeo, and Samira Culler.
My sincerest thanks to all of them for participating. My additional, and equally sincere, thanks to Princess Adrienne Pravus, Princess Alarissa Thrax, Princess Natasha Thrax, Prince Patrizio Pravus, Duke Ryhalt Farshaw, Baroness Ember Redreef, Lady Piccola Tessere, and Lord Yuri Tessere for their additional contributions to the fundraiser.
Written By Gaspar
Dec. 3, 2020, 4:06 a.m.(7/1/1014 AR)
Time continues to pass and each day continues to surprise. For the first time perhaps in my life, it feels almost complete. I have a purpose with my wife and will sing her praises long past the time I am hoarse. Our House will prosper, thanks to her vision and direction.
Blessings continue to find me and I continue to ask what I've done to deserve them. New people come into my life and they are eagerly received. They filled a need that I've had and haven't realized. Old relationships have been reconnected. Not as they once were, perhaps, but enough so that a healing may begin. Healing from a wound that I created. It has been a wonderful few weeks.
Now, if only these dreams would stop so that I could sleep with my wife undisturbed...
Blessings continue to find me and I continue to ask what I've done to deserve them. New people come into my life and they are eagerly received. They filled a need that I've had and haven't realized. Old relationships have been reconnected. Not as they once were, perhaps, but enough so that a healing may begin. Healing from a wound that I created. It has been a wonderful few weeks.
Now, if only these dreams would stop so that I could sleep with my wife undisturbed...
Written By Natasha
Dec. 3, 2020, 3:57 a.m.(7/1/1014 AR)
Once again, my sister-in-law's wisdom and experience prove accurate and immutable. As she has predicted, the number of correspondences I have received tripled overnight.
Thankfully, as I confessed to the Lady Monique Greenmarch just recently, I enjoy receiving and writing letters.
Thankfully, as I confessed to the Lady Monique Greenmarch just recently, I enjoy receiving and writing letters.
Written By Hamish
Dec. 3, 2020, 2:17 a.m.(7/1/1014 AR)
I have never seen such a thing.
I could have wept for its beauty or I could have wept for its pain.
The wars we face here affect all of those who stand against the Abyss, and their wars in turn affect us. We can, and should, not be one people, but we can, and should, support one another when we can. To help others is to help ourselves. To help ourselves is the help the world.
I could have wept for its beauty or I could have wept for its pain.
The wars we face here affect all of those who stand against the Abyss, and their wars in turn affect us. We can, and should, not be one people, but we can, and should, support one another when we can. To help others is to help ourselves. To help ourselves is the help the world.
Written By Tyrus
Dec. 2, 2020, 8:12 p.m.(7/1/1014 AR)
To be whole again... There is something powerful in being so, after having known what it was like to be lesser, to be only a piece of the true self.
Not to worry, I've learnt my lesson.
Not to worry, I've learnt my lesson.
Written By Yuri
Dec. 2, 2020, 5:52 p.m.(7/1/1014 AR)
A month or so on my own in the city bore its own set of trials and tribulations, but nothing I would not have been able to handle. Nothing that I have not handled already. I have worked up quite a list of friends and acquaintances. But, in my pursuit of an independent life, Mother was not written to once in two weeks. I will leave it in my erring that made her come to this decision, but apparently that was her final nerve!
And so, Bartolomeo was sent up from the south some time ago. He only recently arrived to the Villa this morning, of all things! I did not mind Bartolomeo back home but he was /too/ attentive. Always writing, always watching. Always clicking and tutting when there was a slight. Perhaps he's changed some but I can only imagine what his goal is here in Arx. Hopefully, on some parallel road, he, too, will find his liberation moving to the city.
Yet, of what I heard from the guards recently, I will be disappointed. Gravely disappointed.
And so, Bartolomeo was sent up from the south some time ago. He only recently arrived to the Villa this morning, of all things! I did not mind Bartolomeo back home but he was /too/ attentive. Always writing, always watching. Always clicking and tutting when there was a slight. Perhaps he's changed some but I can only imagine what his goal is here in Arx. Hopefully, on some parallel road, he, too, will find his liberation moving to the city.
Yet, of what I heard from the guards recently, I will be disappointed. Gravely disappointed.
Written By Ciro
Dec. 2, 2020, 5:21 p.m.(7/1/1014 AR)
The only drinking problem I've ever had is finding where my clothes have gone off to.
Written By Sunaia
Dec. 2, 2020, 1:16 p.m.(6/28/1014 AR)
I leave - I return.
I leave again - I return again.
I realize that dark, richly packed dirt and leaf litter and grasses are kinder on bared feet than the pathways of the city. Walk around long enough without boots and the soles of the feet get hard and calloused like the paw pads of the hounds I run with. With and alongside. We run. We hunt. We eat when we're hungry and sleep when we're weary.
I know it's a danger to be in the woods these days, but, when I think about how the dangers lurk everywhere around us - I would rather risk the freedom of forests than the confines of the city.
I leave - I return.
Yes, I wouldn't trade this freedom for anything.
I leave again - I return again.
I realize that dark, richly packed dirt and leaf litter and grasses are kinder on bared feet than the pathways of the city. Walk around long enough without boots and the soles of the feet get hard and calloused like the paw pads of the hounds I run with. With and alongside. We run. We hunt. We eat when we're hungry and sleep when we're weary.
I know it's a danger to be in the woods these days, but, when I think about how the dangers lurk everywhere around us - I would rather risk the freedom of forests than the confines of the city.
I leave - I return.
Yes, I wouldn't trade this freedom for anything.
Written By Amari
Dec. 2, 2020, 12:24 p.m.(6/28/1014 AR)
I'm for the north again. I never honestly thought I'd be seeing so much of my mother's homeland. Though I will always love the wild woods of Oakhaven, it's hard to deny the stark majesty of the Crovane mountains and the beauty of a world sleeping silent and serene under a blanket of pristine white snow. Unfortunately, I won't be there to enjoy the scenery.
The cruelty of the tidings delivered so unexpectedly shocked me to the core. My heart has become like a solid lump of ice in my chest. I still don't quite believe what's being presumed, and won't until I see it with my own eyes. No matter what, there will be an 'and beyond' to this story, I promise that. Whether it's written in blood, or howled with rage into the bitter Everwinter winds, it will be finished only when the crawling filth and rot responsible is scoured clean.
The cruelty of the tidings delivered so unexpectedly shocked me to the core. My heart has become like a solid lump of ice in my chest. I still don't quite believe what's being presumed, and won't until I see it with my own eyes. No matter what, there will be an 'and beyond' to this story, I promise that. Whether it's written in blood, or howled with rage into the bitter Everwinter winds, it will be finished only when the crawling filth and rot responsible is scoured clean.
Written By Sapphira
Dec. 2, 2020, 12:22 p.m.(6/28/1014 AR)
Relationship Note on Oddmun
I can scarcely believe Oddmun and I are wed at last. All the waiting, the courtship, every moment was worth it. It was a lovely private ceremony, as we could not bear to wait a moment longer. Our immediate kin were in attendance, and we look forward to a more public celebration soon. For now, we are enjoying the time together, and appreciating it for the miracle that it truly is.
Written By Bree
Dec. 2, 2020, 11:21 a.m.(6/28/1014 AR)
"The only books that the waves can read are made of stone and salt."
I have never been any good at riddles.
I have never been any good at riddles.
Written By Amari
Dec. 2, 2020, 11:15 a.m.(6/28/1014 AR)
I may have had the idea, but without others (you know who you are) seeing it through and being wonderful, it would have remained just that; an idea. It's very gratifying to see and I think in many cases so far, it's had the desired effect.
Yes, I know I'm being incredibly vague, but making plain all the details would ruin the fun of it.
Yes, I know I'm being incredibly vague, but making plain all the details would ruin the fun of it.
Written By Ember
Dec. 2, 2020, 10:53 a.m.(6/28/1014 AR)
I do not enjoy writing about my feelings, and yet my ladies-in-waiting insist that doing so may unburden me of their weight. I do so only to quiet their incessant "helpful" reminders, lest I grow irritated and unburden myself of my ladies-in-waiting. This year's group is particularly good and so I do not want to lose them prematurely.
In every arena of my life I stare down seas blanketed by the thickest of fog. What appears to be smooth sailing, I am told is perilous with jagged rocks. What appears to be certain doom, I am told is the way forward. Another voice speaks, to tell me that both ways are folly, and that the map I have trusted my entire life is written wrong, and has been misleading myself and others since the moments of our births.
Beyond this, there are the matters of the heart. Those who are most dear to me are those who are beyond my reach. Those for whom I would cast aside noble imperatives and consider the scandal of a marriage based on...
I have written too much and do not care to write anymore. My ladies-in-waiting will have to make do with the ink that is here, and no more.
In every arena of my life I stare down seas blanketed by the thickest of fog. What appears to be smooth sailing, I am told is perilous with jagged rocks. What appears to be certain doom, I am told is the way forward. Another voice speaks, to tell me that both ways are folly, and that the map I have trusted my entire life is written wrong, and has been misleading myself and others since the moments of our births.
Beyond this, there are the matters of the heart. Those who are most dear to me are those who are beyond my reach. Those for whom I would cast aside noble imperatives and consider the scandal of a marriage based on...
I have written too much and do not care to write anymore. My ladies-in-waiting will have to make do with the ink that is here, and no more.
Written By Piccola
Dec. 2, 2020, 10:17 a.m.(6/28/1014 AR)
Reflect, wise general, on your pain.
For as long as I could remember, I was abandoned. My siblings and I were taught that the strong survive to rule by parents who believed that the fate wrought by time should not be an impediment but merely a problem to overcome. When we were exiled, my father suffered his destiny but my mother chose hers, being nowhere when I was to learn how to be a lady rather than a survivor. And when the rest of my family scattered to the wind -- our pasts made it impossible to trust one another -- I too became a leaf on the wind.
And then I was summoned to serve my House once more.
But my House cannot be around me at all times. The nights in which I drank myself to sleep are not so far behind that I cannot feel their touch at the back of my neck. I feel all too much the sensation of being alone, but not lonely, in a crowd of peers who smile and laugh together, warmed by the sort of company they are familiar with. But I can neither attend dances surrounded by sellswords nor expect to be embraced by those who will judge me not on where I have been but where I have been. My hands are empty; my arms strained; and my eyes dried.
You must believe, wise general, that there is a greater purpose for your suffering than simply to be tempered by it.
For as long as I could remember, I was abandoned. My siblings and I were taught that the strong survive to rule by parents who believed that the fate wrought by time should not be an impediment but merely a problem to overcome. When we were exiled, my father suffered his destiny but my mother chose hers, being nowhere when I was to learn how to be a lady rather than a survivor. And when the rest of my family scattered to the wind -- our pasts made it impossible to trust one another -- I too became a leaf on the wind.
And then I was summoned to serve my House once more.
But my House cannot be around me at all times. The nights in which I drank myself to sleep are not so far behind that I cannot feel their touch at the back of my neck. I feel all too much the sensation of being alone, but not lonely, in a crowd of peers who smile and laugh together, warmed by the sort of company they are familiar with. But I can neither attend dances surrounded by sellswords nor expect to be embraced by those who will judge me not on where I have been but where I have been. My hands are empty; my arms strained; and my eyes dried.
You must believe, wise general, that there is a greater purpose for your suffering than simply to be tempered by it.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.