Written By Piccola
Aug. 14, 2020, 11:59 p.m.(11/5/1013 AR)
Every sword that is made, every cog launched, every arrow loosed, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. So I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality and stupidity.
But all free people remember that in the final choice a soldier's armor is not so heavy a burden as a prisoner's chains.
But all free people remember that in the final choice a soldier's armor is not so heavy a burden as a prisoner's chains.
Written By Esme
Aug. 14, 2020, 11:50 p.m.(11/5/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Svana
Legends were not born to be legends. They are merely writers of their own tale. Your tale is not over.
You may very well be the legend to those that love you. Your love could touch people in ways you do not realize. A moment of a smile is a lifetime for others. Do not compare your walk to the walk of others; your walk is your own. Your walk is special. There are so many in Arx, you are a rarity merely by existing. In life, that makes you a legend as well. For there is only one.
You may very well be the legend to those that love you. Your love could touch people in ways you do not realize. A moment of a smile is a lifetime for others. Do not compare your walk to the walk of others; your walk is your own. Your walk is special. There are so many in Arx, you are a rarity merely by existing. In life, that makes you a legend as well. For there is only one.
Written By Niklas
Aug. 14, 2020, 10:47 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Tikva
I wondered where Sheldon had got to!
Written By Svana
Aug. 14, 2020, 10:37 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Jules
I don't think he will ever stop being my own personal demon, no matter how many things of his I burn or give away.
Written By Caelis
Aug. 14, 2020, 7:48 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Edain
I need your help husband. You're not dead, but you are gone and the ghost of you is everywhere. Our battles, even when fought apart were fought together and you've gone to someplace I can't follow. Tell me what am I to do in a city where you haunt me in memory? How am I to live with the rather large knight shaped hole in our home where you aren't? The children miss you fiercely and the precious firsts you will miss.
May your hopes find safe harbors Edain, because I could fill a sea with misery.
May your hopes find safe harbors Edain, because I could fill a sea with misery.
Written By Sabine
Aug. 14, 2020, 6:29 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
It would surprise some that I do not consider myself fortunate, or blessed. My holdings prosper, my people are safe and contented, my family thrives and increases. But these things occur in spite of misfortune. These things occur because I do not count on good to come, or for good to last. I could lose it all to fire, to poison, to invading blades-- I have, we have, throughout the years-- and I would build it up again.
Success is a target for misfortune. The more one has, the more can be taken away. The storm does not care that it lashes at a nest perched on a tree limb. It will rage whether the nest topples or not. Precarious or sheltered, the nest is always at risk.
What they have taught me, the storms that came before and those that come now, is that when it all crumbles, I persevere. In later years perhaps my children will read this entry, looking for some sign of love. Perhaps it will sting them to read and realize that if I lose them, I will carry on. But my hope for them is that they understand that this dedication to increase, to improvement, to survival and strengthening, is my gift to them. It can all be lost and it can all be gained again, and more. As I have this gift so too do they. To crave a mother's love does not matter when that mother might be taken away. Love is transient. To crave improvement... that is eternal, whether success comes or goes, whether misfortune strikes, no matter who falls.
This is one facet of the mirror's lesson.
Success is a target for misfortune. The more one has, the more can be taken away. The storm does not care that it lashes at a nest perched on a tree limb. It will rage whether the nest topples or not. Precarious or sheltered, the nest is always at risk.
What they have taught me, the storms that came before and those that come now, is that when it all crumbles, I persevere. In later years perhaps my children will read this entry, looking for some sign of love. Perhaps it will sting them to read and realize that if I lose them, I will carry on. But my hope for them is that they understand that this dedication to increase, to improvement, to survival and strengthening, is my gift to them. It can all be lost and it can all be gained again, and more. As I have this gift so too do they. To crave a mother's love does not matter when that mother might be taken away. Love is transient. To crave improvement... that is eternal, whether success comes or goes, whether misfortune strikes, no matter who falls.
This is one facet of the mirror's lesson.
Written By Ridley
Aug. 14, 2020, 6:14 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
As taken from my lecture on the evaluation of emergent head injuries:
It is best to immediately establish a baseline from which a provider may assess the progression of any potential cognitive impairment.
Ensure that the patient is oriented to time, place, and person. Ask them to interpret proverbs and solve simple equations. Check the integrity of immediate and remote recall. Provide a description of mood, attention, and general awareness.
From such a foundation we may narrow down the differential and map response to treatment, if any is deemed medically necessary.
It is best to immediately establish a baseline from which a provider may assess the progression of any potential cognitive impairment.
Ensure that the patient is oriented to time, place, and person. Ask them to interpret proverbs and solve simple equations. Check the integrity of immediate and remote recall. Provide a description of mood, attention, and general awareness.
From such a foundation we may narrow down the differential and map response to treatment, if any is deemed medically necessary.
Written By Sydney
Aug. 14, 2020, 6:14 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Tanith
I'd hardly call that a negative trait.
Some sap is dark, sugary, and delicious.
Some sap is dark, sugary, and delicious.
Written By Svana
Aug. 14, 2020, 5:03 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
I cannot compete with a good deal of people in the Compact. Even people who I've only heard stories about.
Great fighters who move like waterfalls when they strike.
Those who have special relationships with their Gods and Goddesses, who are blessed.
Nobility who could be heir to anything. Princesses with riches and armies at their disposal.
People with talents beyond measure.
Princesses with ribbons wrapped them going into legendary combat.
Scholars brilliant beyond their time.
I am none of those people. I am a daughter of the Bonespire, take it or leave it. Somedays I am barely a seamstress, leatherworker, or even a mother, it feels.
Great fighters who move like waterfalls when they strike.
Those who have special relationships with their Gods and Goddesses, who are blessed.
Nobility who could be heir to anything. Princesses with riches and armies at their disposal.
People with talents beyond measure.
Princesses with ribbons wrapped them going into legendary combat.
Scholars brilliant beyond their time.
I am none of those people. I am a daughter of the Bonespire, take it or leave it. Somedays I am barely a seamstress, leatherworker, or even a mother, it feels.
Written By Valdemar
Aug. 14, 2020, 4:37 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
It would appear that someone chose the wrong Grimhall.
Written By Preston
Aug. 14, 2020, 3:40 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
At times you are presented with choices. One path may be safe, you can see that no harm will come to you, but the other? It is the paths the Gods' commands lead you down, and you can see the thorns and wild beasts along it. And you take that path anyway. Not because of what you see, but because of what you believe - the very act of Faith. If we embrace the notion that our lives are without value, without meaning, without the Gods - to fail them to save ourselves makes no sense. Instead then, the path with the risk of danger becomes the safe path, for it at least maintains your connection to the Gods' commands. And the path that appeared safe? That is certain doom, for it is devoid of purpose, of virtue, of value.
Written By Piccola
Aug. 14, 2020, 1:26 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
It is the burden of any good general to understand that all wars have been borne on the people at the behest of their leaders.
Yet for those who abhor the involuntary service of slavery and thralldom, war is an inevitability of the spirit. To wage war against these ideas, which are contrary to the freedom declared holy by the Gods, is to serve one's faith. In such wars, it is even more important for a good general to understand that at peril is not only the lives of those in their command but the souls of those they seek to unshackle.
Seek counsel, good general, from those sworn to study and uphold the ideals of the Gods, that you do not overlook the importance of victory, for such battles are not demanded by the wisdom or avarice of a ruler, but instead by Divine direction.
But do not forget: it is the people who fight all the battles; it is the people who make the supreme sacrifices; it is the people who freely shed their blood; and it is the people who furnish the corpses, never having a voice in either declaring war or making peace. The Gods demand the liberation of others, but cannot guarantee, when swords are exchanged for plow-shares, the security of a homestead or the protection of laws. These are mortal matters for which every good general must be concerned if she be worth the loyalty she fosters in those she leads.
Thus, a good general should protect the welfare of her soldiers in times of peace, even as she trains them for times of war.
Yet for those who abhor the involuntary service of slavery and thralldom, war is an inevitability of the spirit. To wage war against these ideas, which are contrary to the freedom declared holy by the Gods, is to serve one's faith. In such wars, it is even more important for a good general to understand that at peril is not only the lives of those in their command but the souls of those they seek to unshackle.
Seek counsel, good general, from those sworn to study and uphold the ideals of the Gods, that you do not overlook the importance of victory, for such battles are not demanded by the wisdom or avarice of a ruler, but instead by Divine direction.
But do not forget: it is the people who fight all the battles; it is the people who make the supreme sacrifices; it is the people who freely shed their blood; and it is the people who furnish the corpses, never having a voice in either declaring war or making peace. The Gods demand the liberation of others, but cannot guarantee, when swords are exchanged for plow-shares, the security of a homestead or the protection of laws. These are mortal matters for which every good general must be concerned if she be worth the loyalty she fosters in those she leads.
Thus, a good general should protect the welfare of her soldiers in times of peace, even as she trains them for times of war.
Written By Tikva
Aug. 14, 2020, 1:03 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
I have just received a letter delivered by an _adorable_ turtle. It is a petition from Lord Niklas Kennex to myself and to Prince Ainsley, putting himself forward as a suitor and seeking Princess Sabella Grayson's hand. As it happens, although neither Ainsley nor I is a Voice of Grayson at present, I am delighted to approve the match.
I am also tempted to appropriate this adorable turtle and place him in a cute turtle house with my lovely turtle, Lyric, I received as a gift, but I still need to have commissioned a grander turtle home and perhaps place it in the garden . . .
I am also tempted to appropriate this adorable turtle and place him in a cute turtle house with my lovely turtle, Lyric, I received as a gift, but I still need to have commissioned a grander turtle home and perhaps place it in the garden . . .
Written By Mabelle
Aug. 14, 2020, 12:38 p.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
Honey, Honey, Honey.
What can be done with honey?
Brace yourselves.
What can be done with honey?
Brace yourselves.
Written By Tyrus
Aug. 14, 2020, 11:36 a.m.(11/4/1013 AR)
Today would be my daughter Aelia's birthday.
It is pleasant to think of what could have been. How she might have grown, as Princess of Thrax. The friends she might have made. The new discoveries, for there would have been many.
After all, when one's life is limited to slavery on an island for three short years, there is much to life to discover.
Pleasant to see what could have been. Unpleasant to return to the reality of the Dream, to what is.
But what is may be changed. Has been changed. Will be changed. In that I find some comfort. In that I find strength.
It is pleasant to think of what could have been. How she might have grown, as Princess of Thrax. The friends she might have made. The new discoveries, for there would have been many.
After all, when one's life is limited to slavery on an island for three short years, there is much to life to discover.
Pleasant to see what could have been. Unpleasant to return to the reality of the Dream, to what is.
But what is may be changed. Has been changed. Will be changed. In that I find some comfort. In that I find strength.
Written By Eirene
Aug. 14, 2020, 9:18 a.m.(11/3/1013 AR)
Knowing myself all too well, I forewarned my friends that I would probably want to look deeper into the matter of the prisoner (name and reason withheld to ensure this journal doesn't get eaten - Yes, scholar, put that in.) And anyhow, I was realistically banned from the House of Solace until such time as he was properly handled. Which is, in hindsight, a damn good thing because I probably would have been there, and as I acknowledged, armor is paper to them.
I spent most of the night at the Saving Grace tending to the evacuated patients from the Solace, who Phee had the wisdom to move out of the building prior to the attack, so there's THAT confusion cleared up for you. I feel bad about the Knights of Solace who never stood a chance. The only thing I've ever found that would help combat these guys is 'Don't Mess with Them' followed by 'Run Away Fast'. Both of which are answers I happen to hate even if tactically sound. Neither is very realistic sometimes, however.
Know what, make this a White Journal. It's confused enough as it is but my ramblings deserve to be on public record.
I spent most of the night at the Saving Grace tending to the evacuated patients from the Solace, who Phee had the wisdom to move out of the building prior to the attack, so there's THAT confusion cleared up for you. I feel bad about the Knights of Solace who never stood a chance. The only thing I've ever found that would help combat these guys is 'Don't Mess with Them' followed by 'Run Away Fast'. Both of which are answers I happen to hate even if tactically sound. Neither is very realistic sometimes, however.
Know what, make this a White Journal. It's confused enough as it is but my ramblings deserve to be on public record.
Written By Baldessare
Aug. 14, 2020, 6:50 a.m.(11/3/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Narcissa
The Voice of Tor is not the kind of rose that typically grows in their gardens, at least at first blush. But take the time to get to know her, and you'll find that she's bloomed into something unique and wonderful on her own.
Written By Baldessare
Aug. 14, 2020, 6:49 a.m.(11/3/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Sedna
I did not know what to expect when Lady Sedna responded to my advertisement for a protege. I was prepared to have some vapid conversation or at least one about art that was over my head. What I found was one of the most sincere people I have ever met in Arx. I was inspired and moved by our conversation, and already I look forward to the next.
Written By Baldessare
Aug. 14, 2020, 6:47 a.m.(11/3/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Sunniva
This week I had the pleasure of meeting Marquessa Sunniva Harthall. She orbits the Oathlanders I have already had occasion to interact with. Friends with Norwood, for whom I have sat through lessons at the Academy. Friends with Marquessa Reigna Keaton for whom I have been, shall we say, penpals? But while I have found grudging respect with some of these people, the Marquessa Harthall has won that straight out. It was clear from our conversation that she cares deeply for her people.
And somehow she seems to have been born without a stick already placed firmly in her backside!
It is my honor to call her protege.
And somehow she seems to have been born without a stick already placed firmly in her backside!
It is my honor to call her protege.
Written By Cassandra
Aug. 14, 2020, 3:17 a.m.(11/3/1013 AR)
The Shrine of Gloria hosted a weapon's blessing ceremony tonight.
Hearing the stories of the weapons of those in attendance was inspiring and it was my honor to provide a path between wielder, weapon and Gloria.
I may hold another one in the future, but for the moment, I need to remember that I do have other duties. Other organizations that require my attention.
But it was still a good night.
Hearing the stories of the weapons of those in attendance was inspiring and it was my honor to provide a path between wielder, weapon and Gloria.
I may hold another one in the future, but for the moment, I need to remember that I do have other duties. Other organizations that require my attention.
But it was still a good night.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.