Written By Monique
Nov. 17, 2021, 5:12 a.m.(8/2/1016 AR)
One wick can light another
But the sun can't light the sun
And in this sultry summer
All flames die on our tongues.
I had to write it down. I don't want to forget it. And the whiskey is so good at that.
But the sun can't light the sun
And in this sultry summer
All flames die on our tongues.
I had to write it down. I don't want to forget it. And the whiskey is so good at that.
Written By Gio
Nov. 17, 2021, 12:21 a.m.(8/1/1016 AR)
This day's smoking blend - well away from the precious pages contained within the Archives and Stacks - because while I am a drug-indulged ass, I am a drug-indulged ass that respects books (only slightly more than - some - or most people.) There was added cat-mint, peppermint, spearmint, and lemon balm and lemongrass from the Seawatch gardens. It's wonderfully fragrant and seems to bring out a pine flavor out of haze that generally brightens my mood.
Written By Ramona
Nov. 17, 2021, midnight(8/1/1016 AR)
With the quill caught in my hair, I can now call the mess of it a bird's nest.
Written By Wren
Nov. 17, 2021, midnight(8/1/1016 AR)
My grandmother was a rose of Tor, bold and dazzling and devastatingly beautiful even into her later years. Where my mother's love comes cold as a wind blowing from the farthest reaches of the Northlands, my Granny's love was the balm of summer nights caressed with sweet, cool breezes. Few things were as pleasant as spending time with Granny Marta. She still baked then and would fill the entirety of her modest home with the redolences of vanilla and sugar, yeasty loaves of bread and chocolate. I blame her for the sweet tooth that has hounded me all my life. And as she baked, she would sing to the ingredients, to my siblings and me, and just to life itself. Some songs were beautiful stretches of pain and promise, life and love, of things children were perhaps far too young to understand and appreciate. Others were more feelings than actual songs, moving her to tears and smiles and us following right along with her even if we didn't quite grasp why Granny Marta and ourselves were laughing and crying simultaneously.
We always left Granny Marta's plumper than we came, filled to near bursting with sweetness and story, sugared by our grandmother's affection. Mother would find stray flour in our garments and hair, beneath our fingernails, for weeks no matter how much she scrubbed or how often she sent the laundry out. There would never be harsh words about this or even the clucking of an annoyed mother's tongue. It was an acceptance. Maybe even pride.
In the later years, Granny Marta ceased to bake, but she never stopped singing. We could find her in the garden day or night humming or singing to the plants and flowers, to her herbs and the cats that gathered on the garden wall. She taught us her songs, though, sad as it is for me to confess, I have forgotten them, but not the feeling they instilled within, for when I think back to her, that warmth fills me anew.
I'm uncertain just why I thought of her today while I stood in my garden, but I caught the smell of fresh bread, and for a second, I was transported back to those summer evenings and swore I heard my Granny singing. It was but a moment, a snatch of stolen time before the moment popped like a soap bubble, and it was just me in my garden. Alone.
We always left Granny Marta's plumper than we came, filled to near bursting with sweetness and story, sugared by our grandmother's affection. Mother would find stray flour in our garments and hair, beneath our fingernails, for weeks no matter how much she scrubbed or how often she sent the laundry out. There would never be harsh words about this or even the clucking of an annoyed mother's tongue. It was an acceptance. Maybe even pride.
In the later years, Granny Marta ceased to bake, but she never stopped singing. We could find her in the garden day or night humming or singing to the plants and flowers, to her herbs and the cats that gathered on the garden wall. She taught us her songs, though, sad as it is for me to confess, I have forgotten them, but not the feeling they instilled within, for when I think back to her, that warmth fills me anew.
I'm uncertain just why I thought of her today while I stood in my garden, but I caught the smell of fresh bread, and for a second, I was transported back to those summer evenings and swore I heard my Granny singing. It was but a moment, a snatch of stolen time before the moment popped like a soap bubble, and it was just me in my garden. Alone.
Written By Sorrel
Nov. 16, 2021, 6:38 p.m.(8/1/1016 AR)
Relationship Note on Cesare
We come and we go,
And through the bar we flow.
So pour the drinks and smile;
We'll sit here for awhile.
And when we're done, we'll leave.
But that's no cause to grieve.
For back again we'll come and go.
We might get drunk, we might fall down
But we'll rise again and go to town;
And soon enough the night is through;
And in the morning we'll feel quite blue.
But once the evening comes once more,
It's time again for drinks to pour!
And through the bar we flow.
So pour the drinks and smile;
We'll sit here for awhile.
And when we're done, we'll leave.
But that's no cause to grieve.
For back again we'll come and go.
We might get drunk, we might fall down
But we'll rise again and go to town;
And soon enough the night is through;
And in the morning we'll feel quite blue.
But once the evening comes once more,
It's time again for drinks to pour!
Written By Tikva
Nov. 16, 2021, 5:53 p.m.(8/1/1016 AR)
Which is worse, someone deciding to pickpocket an INQUISITOR, or the Inquisitor NOT NOTICING and the pickpocket getting away with it?!
My shame! My dismay! Laric is going to frown so severely at me for the harm to our reputation.
The charms were a gift from His Majesty, though. I'm both ashamed of myself and genuinely sad to lose them.
My shame! My dismay! Laric is going to frown so severely at me for the harm to our reputation.
The charms were a gift from His Majesty, though. I'm both ashamed of myself and genuinely sad to lose them.
Written By Zebulon
Nov. 16, 2021, 4:24 p.m.(8/1/1016 AR)
I seem to have blacked out -again. This time I lost an entire year. Where did it go? No idea. Arx feels very new to me, as if I'm exploring it for the first time. I'll get myself settled in the coming days and hopefully patch up the holes in my ship, before I break my unlucky streak and make everyone know Zebulon Whitewake. Why are there still birds everywhere?!
Written By Medeia
Nov. 16, 2021, 2:12 p.m.(7/28/1016 AR)
I have been named Voice of the Apothecary College in the wake of Guildmistress Auda's appointment to that most illustrious position. While the circumstances are not ideal - and I do hope Messere Orick recovers soon, it is an honor to serve the college in this way. I will, of course, still offer classes and share my knowledge as best as I can. I look forward to working with the guildmistress, my fellow professors, our students and community in this new role.
Written By Lou
Nov. 16, 2021, 8:09 a.m.(7/28/1016 AR)
I will be taking another group into Grayhold to see what lurks in the castle. I have two individuals express interest. I can take maybe up to three or four more. It is hard to say who might be available, as we have so many working to help Bastion. I suspect I shall be placing a classified ad soon, to see if there might be interest. Otherwise, I shall start working down my contacts.
We have no idea what is in the castle itself, only the crypts. I'm willing to take whoever is brave enough to attend, knowing the risks are exceptionally high.
We have no idea what is in the castle itself, only the crypts. I'm willing to take whoever is brave enough to attend, knowing the risks are exceptionally high.
Written By Lou
Nov. 16, 2021, 7:44 a.m.(7/28/1016 AR)
Just in case anyone is in need of a bit of adventure, I have offered the services of the Society of Explorers in the Arx Cares auction. One expedition of a user's choice, where they will be guided by 1-2 Explorers, and they may take up to 3-4 additional people themselves. I expect if they have not explored any part of the world before, excepting their trip to Arx, they will have a grand time with the expedition, and mayhap they'll find something interesting along their path.
For those of you who might wonder, as my sister Sabella often does, yes - you will get dirt on you if you go out exploring. Maybe even some cobwebs. The danger of an expedition depends on how careful you intend to be. The risks can be small or significant if you are not paying attention.
I look forward to seeing who has winning bid and, of course, all the stories that will come from the adventure of it all.
For those of you who might wonder, as my sister Sabella often does, yes - you will get dirt on you if you go out exploring. Maybe even some cobwebs. The danger of an expedition depends on how careful you intend to be. The risks can be small or significant if you are not paying attention.
I look forward to seeing who has winning bid and, of course, all the stories that will come from the adventure of it all.
Written By Duarte
Nov. 16, 2021, 6:40 a.m.(7/28/1016 AR)
Journal
Once it was done I knew what would come.
I had convinced The Merchant that the man was little more than a local competitor. His disappearance proved more trouble than it was worth but I was not available for the inevitable ire of The Merchant but I was well armed. It wasn't too long before inquiries turned up nothing in particular. In Setarco, people seldom talk. Not until the reward posters go up, at least. I knew who he would use for the abduction and I knew, as well, the schedule of vessels leaving the harbor.
It was the morning of Blood Moon when I first ever set foot on Pravus grounds - a far cry from the shy orphan boy I had been some years earlier. With document in hand I took my meeting with the Minister of Produciton.
Giovanni was austere and with an unforgiving mind for business. But he was also lycene, through and through. He knew what keeping a fleet meant in these waters and he was of course all too willing to let the merchants battle it out over territories and shipping lanes. But he would not abide the murder of someone so close. And while you, reader, might not consider the financial advisor of an underling's protege to be 'close' in on anything, in Setara a certain discretion is expected and maintained. Undercut and deceit are fine tools of competition, but if one wishes to simply exterminate a competitor outright it is expected the diligence is done to establish at least several degrees of separation from the nobility (5 is good, 6 is best) before any executions take place.
It only took one surprise inspection at the dock to find the remains of the man inside that barrel. It only took an hour after for The Merchant to be called to the manor. And it only took him three days to pass of thirst in the dungeon.
But what Giovanni wanted to know was how an errand boy positioned himself to not only have access to The Merchant, but also have his ear. "People like to feel important, my lord." And so Giovanni hired me to make people feel important.
---
The document I had to offer was the manifest of a ship that never left the harbor. I pointed out a rather odd item on the manifest - a careless code, truly.
Juniper berries. Really? No one drinks gin in Setarco.
Once it was done I knew what would come.
I had convinced The Merchant that the man was little more than a local competitor. His disappearance proved more trouble than it was worth but I was not available for the inevitable ire of The Merchant but I was well armed. It wasn't too long before inquiries turned up nothing in particular. In Setarco, people seldom talk. Not until the reward posters go up, at least. I knew who he would use for the abduction and I knew, as well, the schedule of vessels leaving the harbor.
It was the morning of Blood Moon when I first ever set foot on Pravus grounds - a far cry from the shy orphan boy I had been some years earlier. With document in hand I took my meeting with the Minister of Produciton.
Giovanni was austere and with an unforgiving mind for business. But he was also lycene, through and through. He knew what keeping a fleet meant in these waters and he was of course all too willing to let the merchants battle it out over territories and shipping lanes. But he would not abide the murder of someone so close. And while you, reader, might not consider the financial advisor of an underling's protege to be 'close' in on anything, in Setara a certain discretion is expected and maintained. Undercut and deceit are fine tools of competition, but if one wishes to simply exterminate a competitor outright it is expected the diligence is done to establish at least several degrees of separation from the nobility (5 is good, 6 is best) before any executions take place.
It only took one surprise inspection at the dock to find the remains of the man inside that barrel. It only took an hour after for The Merchant to be called to the manor. And it only took him three days to pass of thirst in the dungeon.
But what Giovanni wanted to know was how an errand boy positioned himself to not only have access to The Merchant, but also have his ear. "People like to feel important, my lord." And so Giovanni hired me to make people feel important.
---
The document I had to offer was the manifest of a ship that never left the harbor. I pointed out a rather odd item on the manifest - a careless code, truly.
Juniper berries. Really? No one drinks gin in Setarco.
Written By Ramona
Nov. 15, 2021, 9:54 p.m.(7/27/1016 AR)
Potatoes make for a poor substitute for a crossbow bolt.
Written By Gio
Nov. 15, 2021, 9:45 p.m.(7/27/1016 AR)
Notes for a scent: Toasted cardamom, salted orange blossom honey, a merchant prince's treasure trove of richer spices - among them cinnamon, cracked black pepper, and star anise. A splash of dark rum against sun-warmed skin musk, and a fleeting caress of aged black leather accord.
Written By Haakon
Nov. 15, 2021, 6:42 p.m.(7/27/1016 AR)
Been charged with gathering the sort of mad folk who would be eager to challenge powerful foes and strike them into pieces, until the bits stop moving.
Written By Bianca
Nov. 15, 2021, 6:12 p.m.(7/27/1016 AR)
If my Faith was never challenged, I would never have the chance to prove its strength, its endurance. In the last month, my Faith has been profoundly tested and I am pleased to say that it remains as deeply rooted as the day I took my vows.
We will rebuild more fiercely than ever.
We will rebuild more fiercely than ever.
Written By Mabelle
Nov. 15, 2021, 3:55 a.m.(7/26/1016 AR)
It is time to return home for a little while. A whole fornight.
I do not recall ever being away from the city for so long once I settled in it.
However, duty beckons.
I do not recall ever being away from the city for so long once I settled in it.
However, duty beckons.
Written By Mabelle
Nov. 15, 2021, 3:49 a.m.(7/26/1016 AR)
Relationship Note on Denica
I would never refuse a friend a bottle of whiskey.
Written By Lailah
Nov. 15, 2021, 12:48 a.m.(7/25/1016 AR)
Of late I have made more of an effort to go for walks within the city, especially in the early morning, noon, or mid-evening times when other duties have waned or do not yet call. I confess that for most of my life, walking was not a pleasure of mine, not when I could settle in with another book--whether an old friend or one newly discovered.
It is not terrible.
And I have made some enjoyable acquaintances, though I wonder if it was quite as enjoyable for them as I am not the most social of butterflies; they did not seem to mind and nobody took offense.
I wonder where others like to wander for a contemplative or enjoyable walk, or if they would enjoy someone to join in with them, for a little while. If anyone has any suggestions or would enjoy such a task and finds this journal, it would be interesting to hear from you.
It is not terrible.
And I have made some enjoyable acquaintances, though I wonder if it was quite as enjoyable for them as I am not the most social of butterflies; they did not seem to mind and nobody took offense.
I wonder where others like to wander for a contemplative or enjoyable walk, or if they would enjoy someone to join in with them, for a little while. If anyone has any suggestions or would enjoy such a task and finds this journal, it would be interesting to hear from you.
Written By Ramona
Nov. 14, 2021, 11:51 p.m.(7/25/1016 AR)
It's been difficult.
The concept drawing is golden, of course it is, but as always it's the testing - and implementation process that's the best. Worst. The borst, which is a little of each. I figured out the cranking mechanism - finally! There wasn't any strain on the bow once the bolt is locked into place - but! But the loam still doesn't have the proper consistency to maintain the molded shape of the bolt. Needs a spine - clay? Dung? Something that will hold shape when dry, but can provide fertilizer once they've been watered.
The vegetable seeds (green peas for the sake of this experiment) at the tip of the bolt work just as well as I thought they would, but I would also like to - (requires MORE TIME to plan) - compose tips loaded with wildflower seeds that will release in a spray once the bolt is loosened in freshly tilled soil. Hopefully I will have a full set of seeded bolts to test by the time it's time to start attending the blessings of the fields for spring planting.
Imagine how much easier it could be.
The concept drawing is golden, of course it is, but as always it's the testing - and implementation process that's the best. Worst. The borst, which is a little of each. I figured out the cranking mechanism - finally! There wasn't any strain on the bow once the bolt is locked into place - but! But the loam still doesn't have the proper consistency to maintain the molded shape of the bolt. Needs a spine - clay? Dung? Something that will hold shape when dry, but can provide fertilizer once they've been watered.
The vegetable seeds (green peas for the sake of this experiment) at the tip of the bolt work just as well as I thought they would, but I would also like to - (requires MORE TIME to plan) - compose tips loaded with wildflower seeds that will release in a spray once the bolt is loosened in freshly tilled soil. Hopefully I will have a full set of seeded bolts to test by the time it's time to start attending the blessings of the fields for spring planting.
Imagine how much easier it could be.
Written By Gio
Nov. 14, 2021, 11:11 p.m.(7/25/1016 AR)
The appearance of perfection causes envy.
As you rise in power - in glory - in notice on your chosen route through life, you will notice those eyes - the ever watching, never blinking eyes of your audience. The attention will then turn to you. In that case, you should definitely take your bow - but do remember that you not take all the credit. Be aware not to appear too perfect, it's important for your audience to believe you - to see the attainable within; a silver-edged ribbon of hope to tie a future on. Be approachable. This means when needed, you should sparingly admit to shortcomings and acknowledge faults.
Only the gods and the dead should ever be considered perfect -
As you rise in power - in glory - in notice on your chosen route through life, you will notice those eyes - the ever watching, never blinking eyes of your audience. The attention will then turn to you. In that case, you should definitely take your bow - but do remember that you not take all the credit. Be aware not to appear too perfect, it's important for your audience to believe you - to see the attainable within; a silver-edged ribbon of hope to tie a future on. Be approachable. This means when needed, you should sparingly admit to shortcomings and acknowledge faults.
Only the gods and the dead should ever be considered perfect -
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.