Written By Kenjay
Oct. 4, 2020, 7:06 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
And so I find myself in the throes of an Arxian winter. It is both milder and harsher than the winters I remember in the north. Milder, for I remember how deep the snow fell and how much of it there was - and the chill of the wind from the Everwinter's heart, the lazy wind, the wind of knives, that cut straight through a boy rather than bother to go around. The winter is harsher than any I have ever known, though, for I was used to it as a boy, but this is the first snow I have seen as an adult, and in the same way that I had thought I would melt many times over until I became used to Skal'daja, I grow cold far more easily than I should now I have returned to Arvum. I am grateful, truly, that there is still warmth to be found within the Villa, and that this winter is still one I think of as mild. A proper Northern winter may take a year or two before I can live in it in anything other than pure misery.
I think I may join the children of the House for a snowball fight tomorrow. It will do me good to regain something of what I have lost, and aid me in acclimatising faster. I hope they will not mind my wearing gloves.
I think I may join the children of the House for a snowball fight tomorrow. It will do me good to regain something of what I have lost, and aid me in acclimatising faster. I hope they will not mind my wearing gloves.
Written By Philippe
Oct. 4, 2020, 6:41 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
Military briefings are greatly improved with white whiskey. At least the occasion allowed me to see some family members out and about. Being able to impart words of wisdom to newlyweds is one of the privileges of the old. Whether they listen is an entirely different matter, but at least I made the effort.
Written By Valerius
Oct. 4, 2020, 5:26 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
Relationship Note on Porter
Sir Porter, I look forward to being put on my back more often, if it means being able to laugh with you.
A good spar to bring my spirits back up in these cold and dark days of unknown certainties.
A good spar to bring my spirits back up in these cold and dark days of unknown certainties.
Written By Apollo
Oct. 4, 2020, 4:49 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
Everything made has history.
Written By Valencia
Oct. 4, 2020, 3:23 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
Relationship Note on Kastelon
It is not often that I am offered such excellent escort to an event, but I must say that Lord Kastelon of Keaton’s kind care and wonderful company left me with a smile upon my lips and a happy hum in my heart.
The poor unsuspecting gentleman was kind enough to attend lovely Marquessa Quenia Igniseri, Baroness Lucita Saik and Lady Yelana Igniseri’s most excellent dinner with me.
We arrived late due to a previous engagement, but thankfully our gracious hostesses were, as always, so kind and gracious to us. The company they gathered was excellent. Seeing Lord Ian, Lady Zoey and Lady Catalana was a delight. I was sad to not see Lord Wash. Lady Medeia was charming as ever and I was thrilled to see Marquis Oskar and his lovely wife the Marquessa Norah, their sweet baby and their formidable Voice, Lord Haakon, there as well.
To be true, it was such a fine group to keep company with and it is was so lovely to see such wonderful people again. I even suspect I might have made Lord Haakon smile, which for some reason tickles me greatly.
I grow fond of Lord Kastelon. He is honourable, charming and his humour is warm and never unkind. There is no arrogance about him. His calm, self-assurance is refined and a delight to experience. He is also and excellent climber of trees as I recently learned in the company of Missere Gerrick, Lady Gehenna and Lady Poppy.
I look forward to more time in his company.
~~~~~~~<~<@
The poor unsuspecting gentleman was kind enough to attend lovely Marquessa Quenia Igniseri, Baroness Lucita Saik and Lady Yelana Igniseri’s most excellent dinner with me.
We arrived late due to a previous engagement, but thankfully our gracious hostesses were, as always, so kind and gracious to us. The company they gathered was excellent. Seeing Lord Ian, Lady Zoey and Lady Catalana was a delight. I was sad to not see Lord Wash. Lady Medeia was charming as ever and I was thrilled to see Marquis Oskar and his lovely wife the Marquessa Norah, their sweet baby and their formidable Voice, Lord Haakon, there as well.
To be true, it was such a fine group to keep company with and it is was so lovely to see such wonderful people again. I even suspect I might have made Lord Haakon smile, which for some reason tickles me greatly.
I grow fond of Lord Kastelon. He is honourable, charming and his humour is warm and never unkind. There is no arrogance about him. His calm, self-assurance is refined and a delight to experience. He is also and excellent climber of trees as I recently learned in the company of Missere Gerrick, Lady Gehenna and Lady Poppy.
I look forward to more time in his company.
~~~~~~~<~<@
Written By Valencia
Oct. 4, 2020, 3:21 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
I adore it when someone’s work is appreciated and even more excited when the work done is in the name of raising spirits and support for good causes.
So, it cannot surprise anyone that the kind and talented souls who participated our Hart’s inaugural Winter Poetry Contest and Fundraiser hosted by the lovely Lady Emberly of Farshaw brings such joy to my heart.
The talent shared was excellent and the donations to support the orphans of Arx were very generous. Thanks to Lady Farshaw’s hard work and the kindness and care shown by our poets, guests and donors a remarkable sum of 317,000 in silver was raised for this very good cause
Even the King himself saw fit to come and not only attend but to share a poem himself. The talent of our other artists, Legate Ailith, Lady Amelie Wyvernheart, Misser Orick Rose, Missere Ripley Thornburn, Scout Rowenova, Marquis Valerius Malespero and Lady Emberly Farshaw – was also so inspiring. I know the decision to select a winner was difficult, but in the end, it was the Legate Ailith’s haunting and hopeful poem that captured the audience’s heart.
We have so many generous donors as well, though I hesitate to name them here as some may wish to keep their donations anonymous, but I would be remiss if I didn’t note the generosity of Duke Aiden Rubino and Marquis Valerius Malespero whose remarkable donation when tallied together represented a leonine 225,000 in silver.
I am always so grateful to see such generosity among our citizens and what can be done to help our realm when we all come together. Every silver helps in such things and thanks to this wonderful night so many children will be helped.
I also adore that I am be able to support Lady Farshaw in her fundraising efforts. She has a true talent for such endeavors, I think. I very much look forward to working with her in future. I think she will make a great difference to the Hart and to so many others. I cannot wait to see what she plans next.
~~~~~~~<~<@
So, it cannot surprise anyone that the kind and talented souls who participated our Hart’s inaugural Winter Poetry Contest and Fundraiser hosted by the lovely Lady Emberly of Farshaw brings such joy to my heart.
The talent shared was excellent and the donations to support the orphans of Arx were very generous. Thanks to Lady Farshaw’s hard work and the kindness and care shown by our poets, guests and donors a remarkable sum of 317,000 in silver was raised for this very good cause
Even the King himself saw fit to come and not only attend but to share a poem himself. The talent of our other artists, Legate Ailith, Lady Amelie Wyvernheart, Misser Orick Rose, Missere Ripley Thornburn, Scout Rowenova, Marquis Valerius Malespero and Lady Emberly Farshaw – was also so inspiring. I know the decision to select a winner was difficult, but in the end, it was the Legate Ailith’s haunting and hopeful poem that captured the audience’s heart.
We have so many generous donors as well, though I hesitate to name them here as some may wish to keep their donations anonymous, but I would be remiss if I didn’t note the generosity of Duke Aiden Rubino and Marquis Valerius Malespero whose remarkable donation when tallied together represented a leonine 225,000 in silver.
I am always so grateful to see such generosity among our citizens and what can be done to help our realm when we all come together. Every silver helps in such things and thanks to this wonderful night so many children will be helped.
I also adore that I am be able to support Lady Farshaw in her fundraising efforts. She has a true talent for such endeavors, I think. I very much look forward to working with her in future. I think she will make a great difference to the Hart and to so many others. I cannot wait to see what she plans next.
~~~~~~~<~<@
Written By Sorrel
Oct. 4, 2020, 3:12 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
Relationship Note on Ida
If one is going to ask for a sword design (and then a sword creation, though that part isn't quite finished yet), then Dame Ida Ferron is the person to speak to. Her work is unparalleled and I am looking forward to seeing the masterpiece that she creates from the drawing that she has offered to me. It's quite exciting.
Written By Kastelon
Oct. 4, 2020, 1:46 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
Finally owned up to my 'wager' (as it were, to be fair) about climbing a tree in the wake of Bessie's loss in the Grand Prix, with the Princess Valencia, Gerrick and Lady Gehenna in attendance. Ended up with a picnic in the trees, which I'm still not sure how we managed... but it was delightful.
Written By Rosalind
Oct. 4, 2020, 1:33 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
My birthday is coming soon.. Did you all hear that, yes! My birthday! I love getting older! I wonder if I should actually have a party, since I know people are so antsy.
Written By Tarik
Oct. 4, 2020, 1:29 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
All the marriage challenges have finally be completed. Now, we just need to go to where we are going to get married. I am thinking we might have a party for those who are not able to make the trip.
Written By Porter
Oct. 4, 2020, 12:49 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
While I've never enjoyed the ins and outs of paperwork or going to meeting after meeting, I do find that I enjoy the end result quite a bit. I've spent much of late autumn and early winter striving to get in contact with different ports (yes, yes, laugh) and dockyards around Arvum. I have a few more face to face encounters to figure out here in the city, but soon! Soon the construction will begin on a number of new vessels for the Knights of Solace, which in turn will of course be of service to the Faith. And where we're strong on the road, we can be strong along the major shipping routes of the Compact. There's a bit more fundraising to be done for the project, but it's nearly there.
Written By Aconite
Oct. 4, 2020, 12:35 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
Good soil isn't just something that is come by, certainly, it can be but it can to also be leeched quickly of all it's benefits. It can be abused and even made barren it's not cared for. Dead earth doesn't grow anything. So with great care and diligence, one should tend the earth in which the roots of one's garden grow.
Written By Porter
Oct. 4, 2020, 12:33 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
I've lost a bit of weight. Enough for people to probably have noticed. It's a strange thing to look in the mirror and see a face that's not quite the one that I'm used to, especially since it happened so quickly. There's a gauntness there that I didn't think I would ever see, I can only imagine what the parts under my beard look like. But I can feel it, if I press my fingers down hard enough.
I'm not sure that I would recommend suspending eating for a solid thirteen days. There were parts of it that were sheer torment and sleep doesn't come easy when you don't have a full stomach. Not that I've never been hungry, but I've never been /that/ hungry. It put things in perspective for me, sharply. Painfully. In a way that I'm likely not to ever forget.
And I won't forget the results either. I would do it again, if I needed to. Of course, the process is made easier when you have support. Having Bree and Aethan there were a blessing. I'm lucky.
I'm not sure that I would recommend suspending eating for a solid thirteen days. There were parts of it that were sheer torment and sleep doesn't come easy when you don't have a full stomach. Not that I've never been hungry, but I've never been /that/ hungry. It put things in perspective for me, sharply. Painfully. In a way that I'm likely not to ever forget.
And I won't forget the results either. I would do it again, if I needed to. Of course, the process is made easier when you have support. Having Bree and Aethan there were a blessing. I'm lucky.
Written By Sedna
Oct. 4, 2020, 12:22 p.m.(2/22/1014 AR)
I've been meaning to bundle up, brave the cold, and say my prayers along the beaches. The current piece I've been working on has dominated my attention, instead. I've let it. It's easier to bury one's head in tasks than look up to see the approach of an all too familiar suffering. My cousin, for whom I claim every fondness and loyalty, is at home in war. I no longer fault her for that, but I cannot pretend to be the same.
Having walked our shorelines all my life, having mourned beside the loved ones of our fallen, our tears disappearing into the low lapping waves and gathered seafoam, I cannot want what is coming. I cannot want my place in it.
I meant to make it to the beaches. The intention lingered in the back of my mind until this past evening, it manifested while I slept. I'll call it a nightmare because I don't believe in attributing power to things unduly and because the horrible vision that now clings to my every waking thought already has too much.. power.
Having walked our shorelines all my life, having mourned beside the loved ones of our fallen, our tears disappearing into the low lapping waves and gathered seafoam, I cannot want what is coming. I cannot want my place in it.
I meant to make it to the beaches. The intention lingered in the back of my mind until this past evening, it manifested while I slept. I'll call it a nightmare because I don't believe in attributing power to things unduly and because the horrible vision that now clings to my every waking thought already has too much.. power.
Written By Katarina
Oct. 4, 2020, 10:47 a.m.(2/21/1014 AR)
Today I bid farewell to Quiet, the Valardin champion who has served me loyally for years. It will be strange, when next summer arrives, to no longer experience being dropped into shadow when my giant champion steps into just the right alignment with the sun. His size and strength turn against him as he ages, particularly his knees, and each winter has found my poor champion requiring more and more visits to the Mercies simply to remain active in his training.
And so, I have released him from his duties. Quiet tells me that he has arranged for the purchase of a small cottage in the farmlands near Sanctum, and he plans to enjoy a retirement spent matching his peculiar name. I wish all the best for him, and will make sure to write. I have my worries about such a giant man describing his new home as a "small" cottage, but then, I am knee-high to the entire Blackram noble family and so my definition of "small" may be skewed.
In Quiet's place, I have found a man called Juba'al'samara, who served among the royal guard in my birthland, the Dune Kingdom of Suj'abbat. He has come to the Compact with the recent waves of refugees. He bore some despair, for a royal guardsman who is not guarding the royal palace, and is in fact a continent away, could be interpreted by some as having failed in his duties. I do not see it that way. As I told Juba'al'samara, just as he was one of many guarding me when I was small, and guarding my parents, now too he must guard me again. He sees this as atonement, but I see it as an oath still unbroken.
And so, I have released him from his duties. Quiet tells me that he has arranged for the purchase of a small cottage in the farmlands near Sanctum, and he plans to enjoy a retirement spent matching his peculiar name. I wish all the best for him, and will make sure to write. I have my worries about such a giant man describing his new home as a "small" cottage, but then, I am knee-high to the entire Blackram noble family and so my definition of "small" may be skewed.
In Quiet's place, I have found a man called Juba'al'samara, who served among the royal guard in my birthland, the Dune Kingdom of Suj'abbat. He has come to the Compact with the recent waves of refugees. He bore some despair, for a royal guardsman who is not guarding the royal palace, and is in fact a continent away, could be interpreted by some as having failed in his duties. I do not see it that way. As I told Juba'al'samara, just as he was one of many guarding me when I was small, and guarding my parents, now too he must guard me again. He sees this as atonement, but I see it as an oath still unbroken.
Written By Monique
Oct. 4, 2020, 3:04 a.m.(2/21/1014 AR)
I am capricious and jealous and materialistic. I can be cruel and temperamental and haughty. No one would ever call me humble. And in that spirit...
I am also generous and brave and determined. I have always been adventurous and confident. Above all, I am loyal.
I consider it a blessing. I love to be able to see my flaws and my strengths both. It is a constant balancing act, a dance of expression, never in stasis, always tilting to one side or the other. There is too much beauty to be found in imperfection for it to be any other way.
I am also generous and brave and determined. I have always been adventurous and confident. Above all, I am loyal.
I consider it a blessing. I love to be able to see my flaws and my strengths both. It is a constant balancing act, a dance of expression, never in stasis, always tilting to one side or the other. There is too much beauty to be found in imperfection for it to be any other way.
Written By Gerrick
Oct. 4, 2020, 1:54 a.m.(2/21/1014 AR)
A picnic in the trees. An amazing night with good friends.
Written By Zyanya
Oct. 3, 2020, 11:17 p.m.(2/20/1014 AR)
Blood on the snow spills the story of a man. Vivid calligraphy, this language of frost, of crimson, of screaming steel.
Snow falls again,
softly.
Snow falls again,
softly.
Written By Pasquale
Oct. 3, 2020, 10:47 p.m.(2/20/1014 AR)
Hope. The one thing that can revive, or break, a spirit in equal measure.
Written By Bahiya
Oct. 3, 2020, 10:38 p.m.(2/20/1014 AR)
I am thankful my cane was not heavier, nor sharper; that groundskeeper would like have lost an eye.
While I have no sight, scholar, my hearing is quite good. However, even I cannot hope to throw my cane as one might a spear, and expect it to strike true. I am only thankful no one was injured ... permanently.
Oh dear. Kenjay will laugh at me when he hears. I shall never hear the end of it.
While I have no sight, scholar, my hearing is quite good. However, even I cannot hope to throw my cane as one might a spear, and expect it to strike true. I am only thankful no one was injured ... permanently.
Oh dear. Kenjay will laugh at me when he hears. I shall never hear the end of it.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.