A slow start in the new year
Morning light spills through the stained glass again—amber and lilac this time, softer than yesterday. The Ta’alaq is still asleep when I rise, but I like it that way. The silence before guests arrive feels like a kind of sacred hush, a space where I can breathe before the day begins.
Shared a pot of stormroot tea with a trader from the northern passes—kind eyes, too much loss behind them. She told me of a cursed Pillar no one speaks aloud anymore. I listened, as I always do, hoping for a thread, a symbol, something to stir the Raven Queen’s silence. Nothing. Still—
Sonnet was unforgiving today. He says my ascenders are crooked, and my flourishes have “the elegance of a limping beetle.” I didn’t argue. My wrist aches from holding the feather too tightly, and my left hand still forgets it’s supposed to lead. But something about "The Forgotten Prince" lingers. There’s sorrow between the lines. I think that’s the point.
No sign of a soulcatcher. No scent, no omen, not even a whisper in the temple. The Queen sends no dream, no vision—but I know this city holds something. Shal'Azura feels like a waiting place. Even the wind tastes patient.
I walked Dhakira - the Sea of Memories again—quiet as ever. The stones there don’t speak, but the air does. It shifts when I pass through, like something unseen is watching me back.
Trained with the blade this morning. My parries are faster now. I still prefer the Musket, but steel has its own voice, and I’m learning to speak it. Haiyeti was clear today. I floated on my back and let the sun paint lines across the water. For a moment, I could almost forget the cold and how heavy my Queen’s silence feels.
Dusk guests filled the Ta’alaq. A bard played something half-remembered from Shal’Azura, and it drew tears from a jewel merchant’s son. I poured tea, smiled, listened. That's my job. And when the candles burned low, I returned to my room, opened "The Forgotten Prince", and copied the next two pages in the Azuran script.
My wrist hurts again. But the letters looked less like failure tonight.
—Oro’thion
Continue reading...
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The Journal Entry’s title
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Lake Haiyeti
15th of Sharif 240 AC
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First strokes of the Feather
5th of Alnabil 240 AC
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Dragonfly
3rd of Mutaeawin 241 AC
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Sonnet Grich
19th of Sarim 241 AC
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A walk in Dhakira - the Sea of Memories
11st of Altajwal 241 AC
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Sylvester‘s Luck
1st of Basir 242 AC
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A slow start in the new year
18th of Basir 242 AC
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To the Named
23rd of Basir 242 AC
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And the Namless
24th of Basir 242 AC
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Know you the words that have traveled far?
1st of Hakim 242 AC
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Red Bananas and Dibarra, Tyrant of Memory
1st of Hakim 242 AC
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From Judgment to Passage
2nd of Hakim 242 AC
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From Pact to Oath
2nd of Hakim 242 AC
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Getting in the Tower
3rd of Hakim 242 AC
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Room after Room
3rd of Hakim 242 AC
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Justice for the children
3rd of Hakim 242 AC
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First Sleep in the Bed
3rd of Hakim
15th of Sharif 240 AC
5th of Alnabil 240 AC
3rd of Mutaeawin 241 AC
19th of Sarim 241 AC
11st of Altajwal 241 AC
1st of Basir 242 AC
18th of Basir 242 AC
23rd of Basir 242 AC
24th of Basir 242 AC
1st of Hakim 242 AC
1st of Hakim 242 AC
2nd of Hakim 242 AC
2nd of Hakim 242 AC
3rd of Hakim 242 AC
3rd of Hakim 242 AC
3rd of Hakim 242 AC
3rd of Hakim
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