Messages

Much has busied me of late.. I look through this now and I wonder who wrote it. I suppose that is the point of why I began it in the first place. So much can change, so many events will transpire and perceptions will change.

Still.



Itaja the Cursebreaker
I suppose the Curse crafter now, nine times as long as he has drawn breath in the well will his curse affect us. Nine times as heavy does my heart grow knowing I had shared bread with this man on the road. The Bashmukar frighten me, I saw their temple and it made my skin crawl. Yet how many of my would-be friends have been seduced by the Wyrm and are now dead? "Ai-yat," I would scream.. then perhaps cry into the sands.

[The letter is mused over by an old chuckling Apothar as he drinks his coffee. He files it away into one of his many notebooks.]

I will make word for you, Soraya al-Shaher, when that we may meet and discuss your work and proposition.

Live and Learn,
~Apothar Azim al-Rashid

Anthology of Stellar Stories and Perspectives

With this collection I seek to ask the people who have come to Ephia's well what it is they see when they look at the Night Sky. What stories do they have from their life before now of those Stars above us? There a thousand way to see the world, and a million more to see the stars. I hope that these stories reveal to you the same beauty I see in each one of these people's minds.

My family, and those we know had rites and rituals of our own. Our belief is that there are powers in the world Ancient and inscrutable. They watch over us, providing Bane and Boon in even measure according to their own fickle whim. You may know them as the Fey, we knew them by other names, as many as there are grains of sand in the desert. The belief was that they held Court among the stars. Each little orb, a Manse unto itself. The brightest of them all belonged to the Ferryman.

Our tales claimed that the Ferryman was responsible for the safe passage of all who departed from this realm. Its star was their guesthouse. A place where the dead went to linger and be weighed. Judged. The verdict would determine which Manse they would go on to next, depending on the measure of their Vice and Virtue and the worth of the offerings given on their behalf. After all, the dead have no voices to speak with. The living must speak for them. This is why, incidentally, our funerals are such elaborate things, It is custom to burn a great deal of wealth, or cast it into the sea with the ashes of the dead.

There is a certain romanticism to the idea that all that is and shall be is written up in the stars somehow. In truth, I oft spent the clearer nights on the road flat upon my back, staring up and trying to make rhyme or reason of it all. They were a guide, and companion, at least for me. It seems so childish I must admit, to imagine that things hung in the firmament so distantly would distract themselves over our lives. Yet these are the sorts of things one uses to comfort themselves when the road gets hard and the times tough. I was told, once, that they were like distant eyes, watching us, guiding us so that we might find the road anew, when we get lost. Literally, and spiritually, at times. Though I know not if that is true, the notion is one I enjoy in my heart. it is good to have friends in high places, is it not? To be watched over, even loved.

In their simplest form, Stars are a guide. They can point in a certain direction or sometimes, even, tell us what season it is, what month. As the stars, much like the wheel, do seem to shift once in a while. There was always that question of whether there is a hidden meaning behind the stars. A way to interpret them, their glittering, the sudden appearance of certain colors and hues... Perhaps not the most apt comparison but it reminded me of fortune tellers, who would draw their cards to foretell one's future, or the result of great events... Here too, they draw symbols, and the cards can be interpreted in many ways, just like the stars... And each man looking upon the same cards, or stars, could draw entirely different conclusions.

Who is right in their interpretation, or is there no "right"? One could ponder on the symbolism many have drawn from events around them.  A man could say, a pot fell and crashed because it stood too close to the edge, and the forces pulled it to the ground, making it crack.  While somebody else could say, "It was my Grandmother's favorite pot, this is, for certain, an ill portent."

Hmm.  I would say I see the master painter's muse, or perhaps the celestial beings that live inbetween the void. What I will see in the stars will be pedestrian, however, to hear them. All things that are given life sing, and so, yes, the stars play their part in the Alem's ballad. Of course, even you at this moment play your role within the symphony of deafening melodies. In regards to the evidence for this, I challenge you to listen to the stars, and not see them. To hear  is to understand, and to know. Perhaps, I believe this concept could touch upon the very foundations of all truth then..   I know one thing. An undeniable truth..  A star's song is one that lasts millennia.. One that sounds through the annals of time.. 

~More to come

A book binder item, that is an empty book.

A note can be used on it to create a book copy.

Nadiri Estellise,

I have little patience for the dismissive or arrogant, I am here to collaborate and promote equally a shared understanding of the Celestial Disc.
When I hear Estellise speak, I hear the sound of an insecure woman who is desperately trying to prove something... Time will tell if they have it in their heart to be friends with a peer who is not interested in being under heel.

Nadiri Tallariel

Finally, a Nadiri who seems just as interested in collaboration and research as I am! I've had a very wonderful chat with him and look forward to a future together in the Tower where we promote each other's study. I can imagine I will be his friend for a long time indeed.

Nadiri Cosine

I have never met a man with ooze for a spine before. I can mark that off my list I suppose. He seems paradoxical to me, both an abused wretch and confident statesman.
He seems at the very least, interested in being a good person.. but I am no good judge of character and it would seem to me  to be as likely that he'd be as dangerous as Skaldorr if he grew a spine..

[Hear me! I Reach out to all those who share a connection to our World that they may help me. I seek to understand more about your disciplines and natural connections to our Disc, that I may better turn my efforts to preserving it! Send letter or word to Nadiri Azim al-Rashid at the Tower of Q'tolip that we may collaborate on restoring the sands with life.]

Hear me! I Reach out to all those who share a connection to our World that they may help me.
I seek to understand more about your disciplines and natural connections to our Disc, that I may better turn my efforts to preserving it!

Send letter or word to Nadiri Azim al-Rashid  at the Tower of Q'tolip that we may collaborate on restoring the sands with life.

Qasira,

A strange and in no small amount frightening sort of person. They seem straightforward, and admirably inquisitive... but I sense something mercurial underneath their  actions.
For good or ill, I won't deny them my ear.. they have certainly brought forward many interesting things already.


Lynneth,

A Waradim priestess, how wonderful! I am quite taken with the road and wandering in general, how fortunate I am indeed to be able to call one of Warad's own my friend. They are person of such kindness I would be a fool to ever upset them.  I will be their friend for as long as I can, and I hope that they may be an ever present part of my journeys.


Cesare,

A strange sort, I feel like there is something venomous under his smile.. but perhaps I am simply caught off guard by how gentle sounding I find such a rough looking man? He speaks of things that I am curious of, but I would be remiss to lend my ear too him overly long..

In further pursuit of applying Incarnum to aspects, I have taken the humble rock as my next subject. Stone is unyielding, solid, it weathers a thousand thousand times the bite of the wind and ash. The earth and stone have a powerful aspect in them, waiting to be unlocked and what better Incarnum to do so than the TOWER? If we are to foretell disaster and weather the storms of fate and causality then it seems only natural to combine these two.

Indeed I have even done so! Under a waning crescent moon I have chiseled the Incarnum of the TOWER unto a prepared slab of stone, and focused the celestial disc's light into my design. When completed, I can take pieces of this charged stone and transfer its empowered aspect into myself! Providing incredible protection, albeit temporarily, against physical harm.   

Add a spawn point to the Astronomer's of Q'tolip

Live and drink Estellise Azimi,

While I appreciate your time to read through my ongoing studies and take the effort to send me a letter with your review of it..

I don't know your name, or your works, or by what credit you have to discuss the topics I bring forward in my own works.
If you would prefer to sit down and talk about the ideas I have presented, and how I may better pursue my research I would be interested.

Otherwise, this will be the last reply I give the effort to send you.

Most humble regards,
Azim al-Rashid

I considered raising the suggestion that stellar blade was changed to 2 turn/level like flame weapon/darkfire but as it is.. It's a +3 magic damage buff everytime I cast it and it's not unreasonable to assume I could make that +4 in the future. It's already a far stronger buff than any of the elemental weapon buffs for a 3rd level spell.

Varin.

Varin is a good friend, easy to talk to and is comfortable outside of the city like me. He has a fondness for the world, the very world that I wish to explore more deeply.
I will be his friend for a very long time, I imagine, and beyond.


Aubrey.

The Club of Groknaks seemed to me at first quite silly and passionate, but I admire that passion now. There is something to be said for following ones heart, when inconvenient or otherwise.
She is possessed of good strength of character, and I would be grateful to have her friendship for a long time.

[The MOON]

I have had particular success in my recent efforts with the Light of the Moon in this land by working with its abundance of Sand.
By interposing the Incarnum of The MOON in my design across the sand's surface I was able to suffuse the area within my circle with a particularly fascinating effect of stilling. When confronted with radical changes in my psyche, the stilling effect re-stabilized my thoughts.

My reasoning for why I've had success in this process is that it is either that the Moon's visit on these lands each night bathes all of the world in its power very subtly, an energy which still resides in the land even when the Light leaves us and I draw it out again.

Or..

Alternative idea is that the sands beneath our feet are holding something within them, secret.  A secret they can spell out with the celestial disc's energy and with the right Incarnum it seems be possible to draw and filter the aspects of the world to provide different effects.

Day 4 since Arrival.

There has been much chaos since I first stumbled into Ephia's Well.

The only screaming I was accustomed to was on the wind.. the only crowds I remember were the quiet desolate groups of wanderers around the shrines I passed.

I did not ever consider how much I could miss talking to someone, or how much I would end up longing to return to the sands alone to enjoy its quiet.

I have met wonderful people.. I think I would like to make a record of these friendships. However long or short they last, I wish to always remember these moments.. in the event that I must wander again another 10 years and lose my mind.