The World of Layonara
Character Development => Development Journals and Discussion => Topic started by: Carillon on September 30, 2007, 05:35:00 PM
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*the following letters are written mostly in hesitant Elven, with the occasional Common word or phrase slipped in*
Dear Mother,
I am sorry I have not been to the temple this waxing and waning of the bright twin moons. Life has been busy on this side of the ocean. Adria grows so big -- I wish with all my heart that I could bring her to you! When I have a safe path found, or when her feet grow quiet enough so as not to attract the attention of the giants of the tall forests, then I shall bring her to you.
She is grown very pretty, and her hair has grown on her head at finally. It is raven wing coloured, and her eyes are blue sky. Here is a drawing I have had made of her by him who came into the Leringard Arms for a drink one night when she was playing there and I was working. From it you can see her beauty, and it is in truth very like to her. To him who made the drawing of person [in Common] (The portrait, that is) [in Elven] I give to him one free drink as a token of my happiness to him.
*the page ends, and placed between it and the next page in the stack is a lovely sketch of a pretty little toddler playing by a hearth. It has been done mostly in charcoal, but some pigmented substances of unknown origin have been used to give the hearth's fire and the baby girl's cheeks a rosy glow, and to hint at the toddler's azure eyes. The next page of the letter continues in the same tidy script and halting Elven*
Little Adria will not be little for very much longer. She grows so fast like the children of my father's people. For now, though, she is still a baby girl, and she is very dear to me and all of us at the Leringard home. She is greatly fond of her "uncles" and "auntie", but seems curious about her "Foli Granny". This is her name for you, as she knows you habit at the Temple of Folian. I think she does not know he is a god, howevers, as she also calls Folian the little wolf for holding that I have made her out of the overlefts of an armor wolf skins.
*a crude sketch of a little girl holding a fluffy stuffed wolf is added at this point, as if the author is aware of the dubious nature of her translation and wishes to make certain she is understood*
I am speaking of Elven whenever I have chances these days. Sometimes the patrons of the Leringard Arms are also speaking of Elven, and this gives me happiness. Times of other, I speak in mothertongue of Elven to travelling friends. Today I also met an elf in town named Ellena who was speaking of Elvens. She gives her home as Silkwood, and Silkwood, she is a very pretty forest. Soon, the human Ron who is also a ranger and myself, Arynne, will show others the beauty of her the forest Silkwood and others. All should know how Folian gives his beauty to the world, and share in his teachings and gifts. This is also how I serve the wolf god when I am not bringing gifts to his temples. I show others the path the wolf walks, so that they might choose also to walk the wolf forest path.
I shall stop my writings on this page here, as the candle time burns low and the moons shine high in the sky. I send you all the love of my heart on this page, and will visit you the next I come to Vale and the Folian Temple. I have things I wish to tell you that are best not written, in case other eyes look at these pages. But I will tell you that a deep worry lives in my heart these days, since I found a secret in the swamp near Katherian. When next I come to the temple, I will speak with her clerics and wise ones, and perhaps they can kill the worry that now lives in my heart.
I shall visit you soonest.
Daughter of yours,
Arynne
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*Written in Elven, the script appears slightly more hurried than usual, with a few words blotted out and rewritten where the scriber has clearly made an error. As always, the syntax of the letter would seem somewhat awkward to a native speaker of the Elven language, and the lexicon employed is more limited than might be expected from one who is truly fluent in the Elven tongue.*
My most dear mother,
It was so good to see you again this past time of visiting to the temple. I am most full of grief that my visit was so short in its length, but duty as both mother of Adria and worshipper of Folian called me to return to Mistone. I am undertaking to collect many donation for our much loved temple, so that all may have the opportunity to follow the wise Wolf God if that is the wish of their hearts. I have been found that coin of precious metal known as [in Common] Trues [in Elven] are much in weight and in difficulty to carry on travel. However, I also have been found that stones of value [parenthetically in Common] precious gems that is [Elven] are of ease to carry on journeying and are pleasing to his clerics. Therefore, I try to bring as many stone of value as I am of means to bring when each time I visit the Longstrider's temples. It is the wish of my heart to do even more for he the Prince of all Wolves, but I content myself with these small gift to him my god until another path becomes clear.
I was forgetting to tell you when I was with you, but I have gone on the forest walk that I spoke of. Few people of the city came to walk with us but it was most pleasing a short journey. Also, it gave me joy to show those who held not Folian in their hearts what happiness is in walking his forest paths. Adria with me accompanied and it was great pleasure given to me to show her the beauty of the forest. She speaks but rare words still, but her ears are more grown than her tongue is. By this, I mean of course, she has knowledge of that which is said to her even if she replies not. Therefore, I am deciding that next when I go with her in forests, I shall be speaking in some words the Mother tongue (by this I am meaning the beautiful Elven most certainly!). I speak now some words to her in Elven tongue and look for many pages together [this is crossed out and the common word "book" is written in its stead] in Elven of stories for children for reading to her. I am always most sad that my learning of your beautiful language was made incomplete by my leaving to find him my father, and the wish of my heart is for Adria to have not this regret of mine as her own. For me myself, I speak again in Elven tongue when I have chances. Again, this passing of time, I meet young elven girl. Her name I remember not, but we had pleasant talk of nothings in Elven, and this gave me joy.
I am needful to take my leave of lettering now, as I am missed at the Inn of working. With new position have come many tasks, among these being the lettering of new menus.
Love of my daughter heart unto yours,
Arynne
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*Written in the familiar hand, though it appears as if the quill shook slightly as the letter was penned, and the Elven vocabulary is somewhat simpler than normal*
Dearest Mother,
I write to you this day today to tell of a very bad dream that I walked in my sleep. I would not usually write to you to tell you of walking a bad dream, but this dream was very very bad. Importantly, I did not dream alone. There were others in my dream, and we walked in a dark land. There was a girl, with prettiness, who asked us to bring color of many to her, and there was a woman in a hood who ran through red light like fire into a land of fire. The others dreaming with me - I can say not any more clear, but I dreamed not alone - and myself followed the woman in hood through to the fire land. The air burned there but it did not hurt, and the woman, she spoke of warning, about the girl child. I did not note her words well, as I saw the dark one who walks under the sun at that time. I have spoken of the dark one to you before, and told you of the ship of fire and the escape, and think I that you will know she is not uncommon in the land of the dreams for me.
I do not remember all, but there was a monster, bound in some way, and a woman, with a girl baby. She - the woman - was taking the girl baby to be killed so she would not grow old and the monster would keep her young and her kind young. The dreamwalkers with me took the child from her, and slew the monster when the sun went down in the fire land and he went free. After the monster was dead, I took the girl baby to the mother, but she knew it not, like it was strange baby to her. She knew not even her own self. It was very strange dreaming. Then the dark came into the fire land, and ate it up, little by little. We went back through the fire light to the other place of darkness, with the child and the woman, but the woman did not come to the dark place. I hid the child so the girl of pretty would not see her, but she knew of her, and she froze me and the others to take the baby, and then turned her into a stone of value! And then we left the dream land for the real land.
I worry about this walking of dream, because the girl baby was like to me as Adria when first she was born, and the stone of value was like those I bring to Folian. Why does Folian send me a dream of my daughter child turning into a stone? And of mother who [here the writer seems to falter in Elven, and writes "sacrifice" in Common instead] her child to stay young? These dream lands trouble me, because they are like paths I already walk. Does Folian not want me to bring stones of value to his temple, if I must leave Adria at Leringard? Does he wish that serve him I do in another way? And I know I will grow old, while you my mother stay young, but I have only love in my heart for your long life. The dream lands I walked seem familiar, but they are dark. Please, cast what light you can on my path.
Love unto you,
Daughter Arynne