Isolde's Journal

[Isolde Seibold]

wynry

dark hair and grey-green eyes

skinny little thing, always small, just knees and elbows

freckled in the sun, especially just to the side of her nose and high up on her shoulders

climbing trees in bare feet, never wore shoes if she could help it, and you couldn't force her to wear a dress

in fact she was just so stubborn and prideful and always worried about keeping up

loved animals so much and not only just birds like her father, but all animals from snakes to horses

and the only thing better than animals, besides her father, was playing at knights; if she hadn't been a knight when she grew up she would have been a stable master for them, training horses and dogs and laughing at squires as they learned to ride

would never admit that she was afraid of anything, not the dark or thunderstorms or even Kale

always dirty somehow, especially her feet, and always trouble, especially that smile

[Isolde Seibold]

vaughn frostfawn

vantha eyes: green when he smiled, yellow when he laughed, orange when he was causing trouble, deepest red when he kissed me, brown when he concentrated, black when he was sad, grey when he was angry, white when he was frightened (or so he claimed), blue when he was serious, purple when he felt lonely especially for his home

black hair and beard with those odd-colored highlights in the sun, like the dark hues of indigo and deepest aqua in a raven's feathers

hands scarred from fire long ago, and the joking nickname firefawn

incredibly gentle despite being so big and strong; looked more suited to wolves or bears than birds and his scowl was so intimidating to those who didn't know better

carving by the fireplace, helping around the house and the Outpost, and not even the most gossipy crankiest old women could resist that grin

his smile was so much like wyn's, really, or probably the other way around

can't believe I ever mistrusted him, or thought him strange and discomfiting

[Isolde Seibold]

kieran skyglow

he was the burned man

melted face and body like he'd been dipped in fire (head, neck, shoulders and parts of his torso, left arm and hand), his features running into each other like soft wax and scarred, so badly scarred, causing him great pain though he never spoke of it; usually kept it all hidden underneath the cloak

magic user: initiation into reimancy and practicing as we traveled, he was so particular about getting it right; he could do such things with fire

other magics too, though he did not teach all of them

was protector and guide and friend as much or more than teacher, and never accepted slights, not by anyone

could have a terrible temper, turning oppressive with heavy anger and brooding silence; but then could also be very charming, though often times he seemed sad

when he couldn't sleep we would talk for bells, and then there were the times he would not utter a word for days

as good with birds as vaughn had been, or even better

[Isolde Seibold]

kale seibold

brown hair that streaked lighter in the summer, blue eyes, and skin that tanned dark, not like mine or wyn's

very teasing, mocking, especially when we were kids; always thought he would grow to prominence in the community, had huge aspirations though only when it came to Mithryn and his father's trading business

was a forward-thinker, a dreamer, and would get this look in his eyes when he was determined

very beautiful, very popular with the girls growing up

could be arrogant and show-offish, but never towards me, liked to test his skills against others and especially liked to start (usually good-natured) fights

there was this aura about him that went seamlessly with that cocky grin, like he was letting you in on a secret

my parents never liked him, thought he was a bad influence, and he was (skipping school and chores and sneaking into the woods) but back then it didn't matter

loved him since I was ten years old; he was my best friend for many, many years, even when he wasn't

[Isolde Seibold]

piper

my first pycon, a good friend of the burned man's and eventually of mine

fiercely loyal, we traveled with him for years from city to city, which suited his transient nature

could get a bit of a mouth on him (said it was from traveling with a group of svefra)

was an exceptional bard and creator of music; was best on the hand pipes and the ocarina, but he could play some lute, flute, and fiddle, and could sing with a voice so large you'd think it had come out of a mountain or so sweet you wondered if you'd heard it at all

once told me the instruments he had (smaller than usual and strange) were incredibly expensive, worth more than all our lives together, and he'd won the money to pay for them off a bloke in a competition

constantly composing in his music books and writing poetry and lyrics besides

always one to lighten the mood, a necessity considering the company; a caretaker, the one who kept everyone together and cool-headed

would go up in the sky on Eagle's back for bells a day, especially at sunrise or sunset when we were between cities, said he could see all the world

[Isolde Seibold]

family

mother-- small and sturdy, a rock of a woman, prematurely white-haired
entirely traditional, great with needlework especially with quilting

father-- tall and thin like a birch tree with a low sort of humor you could see in his eyes
gentle and hardworking; never met a person he didn't like, and was considered a good friend and great man by all

reigh-- grew up to be a knight; as strong as a man double his size; killed in duty when I was thirteen

alard-- much like reigh, wanted to be a knight, but decided to stay in mithryn to support the family

belamy-- something of a drunk and partier (lady's man) but never to excess; don't think he knew how to frown

fielder-- a social recluse, preferred to be off working or laying under the trees and hated being bothered

faron-- trusting and a good friend like father, and always willing to lend a helping hand no matter the price

jory-- a mama's boy, followed her around like a chick, but grew into an amazing cook if also a bit boastful

auden-- the most serious boy in all of the outpost even when he was a babe; sickly with seizures, had a natural gift with divination

[Isolde Seibold]

birds

caity-- a kestral and a lovely creature, well-trained and sweet
loved wyn, would perch on her shoulder or head and preen at her hair
went with vaughn everywhere, even inside the house and could do many tricks

eagle-- a golden eagle, the largest bird I've ever seen up close, just huge
sometimes moody even with the burned man, but had a soft spot for piper, maybe he liked his songs
would soar out of sight for days and days but always ended up coming when called
could lift goats or coyotes right off the ground; used him for hunting

[Isolde Seibold]

djed and reimancy

djed: what makes up a person. what you are. a person's core, but not their soul. a confusing topic, one I'm not sure I ever got the hang of. an energy?

res: a substance that seems to fuel or enable a mage's reimancy; the Burned Man had said it came from the djed, a manifestation of your will. highly personalized in appearance. the Burned Man's was like ethereal fire, almost alive in its movements... mine is most commonly a strange bluish-white mist and holds passive until I instruct it.

having experimented a little with my res, I can now change it from what I think of as its natural gaseous state to a liquid or solid. the liquid holds together in a blob, not breaking into droplets when touched or moved. the solid is odd, touchable and moldable and still somehow not. I get the impression that other people may not be able to touch it, only me. like it's only 'real' for me because I'm the one who created and controls it; that others could have no influence on it, nor the outside world (the wind or rain, for instance). though kouri... I might have hit her with it. so what of ghosts?

currently I don't understand how a mage's elements are chosen or in what order. wind was my original; earth my second. this despite how much I wish to wield fire, as the Burned Man did. Apparently intent is not a part of this process. perhaps it has to do with a person's emotions (emotional state) or more likely their particular djed or energy. the Burned Man could use at least three elements: fire, earth, water. I don't know if I ever saw him use wind.

overgiving: the consequences of accessing too much djed at once. my warning for reimancy is a growing pain in the abdomen, followed by uncontrollable spasms of the diaphragm. after that... I don't know. the Burned Man once said he watched his skin bubble and melt. I believe him.

[Isolde Seibold]

maybe I'm different; maybe other nuit chose to be nuit because they were already cold and gone inside. maybe I don't have to be like them in the end.

lean on others to help me remember? orin will help me if I ever lose myself, he promised. trust him. and the other squires, or the knights, lady freed... they might help me too, if they should become my friends and allies as I hope they will.

write about it all. poetry? remember these feelings, record them; words don't fade.

being down, hating myself, none of that will help me. or anyone else. I can get better. stronger. I can.


xxxxxx
lady freed said that I should be more confident. like razkar also tried to tell me, confidence in speech leads to confidence in self.

[Isolde Seibold]

entitled strawberries and cream, spring 515

strawberries dear, sweet wine grown

sweet wine, intoxicating
like the sound of wyn's breath as she lay sleeping
the curl of her fist in her blankets
how she sighed as she dreamt

strawberries dear
how she loved sweets, so like her momma
chasing down wild berries
her lips stained with delicate red

strawberries and cream; they taste like memories of a child long gone
but never gone as long as there are sugar and wine, cream, eggs, all the rest
strawberries
never gone as long as there are strawberries in the world