The Yn'vylyn Book of Memories

[Nevrus]

Adar 15th.

Today, I celebrate three months of freedom. I wonder if I should have a 'freedom day' when I hit one year? I don't even know the date I was born, so that's the closest I'll get, I suppose.

How much can change in that time. When I arrived in the Well, I was drunk on possibility. A spite boiled within me, a spite for the world and an intoxicating sense of the inevitability of my rise to comfort and power.

Witnessing the forces at play that I now contend with has sobered those thoughts. A government built on deciding who gets to be one of the two unilateral despots, that sets them against each other. A legal system more often built on favors and popularity than actual legal facts. Bellicose foes on the field who have time and again brought me great injury. And it turns out the world itself is dying? They don't talk about things like that in the back-waters. I guess if local resources seem sufficient there's not much stock put in it. But the Sea of Pearls, which now feeds me, cannot live more than a decade before it becomes unnavigable.

So, here I am. Seeking power and strength and knowledge. To be promoted to Balestriere and know greater safety in that, and have more influence to move things about. To train unto death and become a fighter who won't get mugged in the fucking sewers. To understand the ancient things at play in the Ash Waste; Assuru, the Machine, the turning of ages. To find the Cup, that I might have the time to acquire that comfort.

I've found, in my experiences, that I seem to be a better person than I expected. I find it comforting to guard the refugees of the Drifter's Stockade. The cruel punishments dished out by power-mad Legates fill me with rage and despair; probably because they remind me of the lash I faced myself. Noble causes have started to call to me.

I suppose it's lucky that I heard tell of la Banda Rossa before the Balladeers got to me. Gods know when I take to the Mizzar pipe I get carried away; the hallucinogenic prophecy-drink would probably have stripped away everything that was Me for how much I'd be drinking it down. The Sisters and Balladeers are generally nice folk, though. Helpful allies to have, even if they come off as a little crazy. How much of what they believe is True, and how much is correlation being mistaken for causation? I suppose time will tell if they beat us to the Cup.

Today, I was officially barred from the upper board contracts. I suppose that's what has me feeling nostalgic enough to start writing things down. I've gone from making a speech begging people for money, to actually visiting the strangest and most dangerous places. Fighting in a War. Developing a reputation, if I can keep it up. Finding something resembling a Purpose, beyond rewarding myself for surviving. I feel like my time in the Well, and the people I've met, have started to make me more Sane. More like a person, and less like a slave.

I'm glad I'm just clever enough to sound like I know what I'm talking about. Here's to, hopefully, another ninety or so years of freedom.

P.S. If you're reading this while I'm still alive, fuck you. If you're reading this after I've died... Fuck.

[Nevrus]

Adar 15, II

The wistfulness takes me again tonight. I recruited Diego into the Wardens, finally, and won two spars against some newer refugees... They drank so many potions to enhance themselves, and I just relied on all the training I've been doing, and I took the victory. If I keep this up, maybe I'll finally be a worthy challenger to Linlett...

My inspiration for this entry is plays. I've never managed to read more than three pages of a play before I got my hand smacked, but it always opened up with a section explaining the characters, and I think recording my thoughts, at this point in my life, might be amusing if things change over time. We'll see how well my read of people is.

Dramatis Personae

The Banda Rossa
Condottiera Mirielle Rosseau
She's the real fucking deal. A demon on the field, generally a kind person... Fucking ruthless when people fuck with her. She's canny and a Cupseeker. She knows shit I need to know, and I'm searching for shit she needs to know. She recognizes and invests in the worthy, and she's taken a liking to me, which is good for my career. And my self-esteem.

Balestriere Kythaela Reithel
The word I'd use to describe her is 'rough.' Willful, opinionated, blunt. I don't recall having seen her fight, but if she's a Balestriere she's probably a complete badass. She's not around often, which is sad, because her words are trustworthy and she helps me understand where to push.

Balestriere Melody Stearwood
She literally killed someone and somehow survived the law coming for her. She's very transactional, always out for dinar and getting materially ahead. If I can pique her interest in exploring, a very useful person to have around. She mostly handles sneak contracts that I can't participate in, and I guess killing people? I'm not confident enough to try to kill people yet, unless I have a group for it. Can't really stop them from running away well.

Recluta Tomma Scamper
Reliable, quiet, helpful. Always hands me blur potions and schematics, very happy to call her a friend. She seems a little lost on what she really wants, and mostly does the thing that pays in front of her. Don't think she's gone out and landed a contract, but if I have sneak-work I need done, she sure fucking gets it done. I like her putting down flares for my artillery, she's good at it.

Recluta Linlett
Linlett is action. She goes right at things as hard as she can and gets it fookin' done. I've never actually had the chance to hand out a fine but she hands them out left and right. She lands contracts left and right too. She's the bad bitch I want to be, but I still need more training before I can call myself her equal. I land contracts for silly shit like poetry, but she gets the protection contracts that actually pay out well. She killed some dwarves because they fucked with me. Glad to have her as a friend.

Recluta Kazadun
Another rough soul. A priest of the Axe, always giving me blessings when I go out to do shit. Doesn't seem to like the Duunthal much, mostly concerned with getting paid and dying well. Reliable, but doesn't seem too ambitious. Mostly shows up to do the work, which I appreciate.

The Janissaries
Lieutenant Rennik Colmes
Recently had Durgin exiled entirely to try to undermine the Warmaster. Didn't even argue properly for the charge he was facing, coasted on getting a political favor from Dante to see it done. Total piece of shit. Can't be relied on to catch actual criminals, can be relied on to be sad and bitter about losing the Warmaster position he did almost nothing with. Fuck him.

Sergeant Rhuk Nor
I respect Rhuk Nor as a soldier. With his big fucking scythe he kills lots and lots of orcs. I don't respect him as a keeper of the law. He lets shit slide he shouldn't and acts like a pain in the ass for petty shit that won't require much effort. He enabled the Under-Spawns to run an extortion ring in the Gutters because he couldn't be bothered to deal with their 'shenanigans.' Having to be both war-fighter and town guard is stupid and the Janissaries shouldn't have to do that.

Izdihar
Total bitch. Hate her. She hates everyone else, too. Doesn't say anything that isn't insulting someone else. Third biggest bitch in the Well.

Other Janissaries
None of them actually matter.

Astronomers of Q'tolip
Apothar Estellise Azimi
Biggest bitch in the Well. She goes out of her way to piss off everyone she talks to. Seems to want to cause a bloody revolution, end society, and hope that will somehow... 'fix the timeline?' Batshit crazy. The fact that the Astronomers let her use them to play her political games while she doesn't do any real science, or actually accomplish anything other than being a massive pain in the ass everyone hates, disgusts me.

Apothar Margarethe
The spare Estellise. Judging by the fact that they always seem to say the same thing and their talk of timey-wimey bullshit, I like to imagine that she's just Estellise from a timeline where she was worse. Because she is the same person but less important, she earns a place as the second biggest bitch in the Well.

Apothar Zol Nur
Zol Nur seems to actually give a shit about what the Astronomers are about, which I like. He's learned and a great source of information. He's also dangerous in that he participates in the Tower's monopoly on everything related to the shit below. All they've accomplished with that law is making sure that NO ONE talks to them about all the Delving they do. I'm going to try to smooth talk him to get training on how not to die and permission to go down there with Nadiri so I can own a key and not be decapitated, or torture-killed depending on the magistrate or Legate who sees the trial.

Nadiri Selwyn
Selwyn is perfect. Mostly. They actually confiscate all the shit related to Delving, so I'm sad to have to hide what I'm up to from them, but if I can get Zol Nur's permission, maybe I can get away with it.

Nadiri Manos Cosmatos
Seems to actually be pursuing science, but I've barely seen him around. We went exploring a few times, it was fun. He makes me break my back to get access to the lab, unlike Selwyn who just lets me in. I wonder what he's cooking...

Sisters of the Sybilline Vine
Sister Selsi
She appears to be the head honcho among the group of Sisters that goes out and does stuff, and appears to be in charge of the Drifter's Stockade. I really have no idea of their internal politics, but she sells me at-cost brews, so I appreciate her. A bleeding heart and a good person, but I won't be drinking the Drink from her.

Sister Zoe
My interactions with Sister Zoe have mostly been in the Scald, outside of when she paid me to interfere with the Purple League's primaries. Seems to have a lot of pull in the White League, but doesn't seem to care that much about the proper operation of democracy. Maybe the Well has ruined her? Don't know much else about her other than that she dances the White League dance about the refugees.

Acolyte Narwen
Narwen woke up in a vat thirteen years ago, which is weird. This Disc is weird. She's quick to quote poetry, prophecy, and songs, which is charming. Always happy to do board-work with her.

Acolyte Seriyah
Seriyah... Is too sweet for her own good. The kind of weak and innocent that people love to bully. Her work to translate the Tales is interesting, and I wish her well, but I can't help but feel a prophecy that someone shitty is going to do terrible things to her some day while she's powerless to resist.

Balladeers of the Lost Hearth
Lyrist Aubrey Domergue
She mostly complains about the way things are and ineffectually tries to change them by complaining even harder. She fired Caddick at the first sign of resistance over her doing the obviously fucking deranged thing of voting for Achaeus. For all her talk of equality and morality, she's on a perpetual power-trip and everyone under her seems to hate her. She makes me glad la Condottiera is not an embarassing and useless person.

Balladeer Aeronwy Caddick
My third day of being a Recluta, she beat a fellow Recluta so badly that she killed herself in front of me. Not a good person, but at least consistent with her own beliefs, even when it hurts. For that I give her something resembling respect.

Balladeer Aurelio d'Lyon
The most... Knightly knight who I've ever seen knight. Mostly seems to concern himself with his quest, and I guess the ego-trip of having a squire to order around. Good in a fight, has his own horse, decent man. I don't think he'd beat someone so badly they'd commit suicide.

Student Tryggvi
Decent guy, very protective of Seriyah. Seems a pretty typical knightly sort, but I haven't seem him do anything artistic, so I don't know if he'll make Balladeer. With Caddick not being around much, not a lot happening on the stage these days...

Purple League
Achaeus Komemnos
The most notable things he's done in his life has been having people trying to kill him for being a piece of shit. Mostly certainly a sadistic and murderous piece of shit.

Marcellus Seanus
The nice old man with a horse. Reasonable, effective, probably going to be a Legate again next month.

Gold League
Dante Moretti
A man with too many strings pulling him too many directions. Doesn't want to step on any toes, but that leaves everyone unsatisfied. He saved Melody's life, and tried his best to get the Duunthal half out of trouble in a way that wouldn't piss off the Janissaries too bad. I tend to understand why he makes certain decisions, but a lot of his gambles seem to fail. A very good customer, a very good source of information on the more esoteric parts of this region, and generally nice to me. I want him to succeed just because I enjoy working with him, generally.

Zina Zizzo
The merchant of all merchants. Pretty nice to me. I wish I could figure out how to make decent traps to sell to her, but tinkering is a tedious and time-consuming process.

Dudley
The resident high priestess of the Axe. Has a very simple and reasonable mindset, which is always reassuring. Very trustworthy and forthright. I look forward to the next cult meeting.


With that shit-ton of writing, I think I'll put off other names for a different day. Many independents I have thoughts on, but I have to sleep sometime.

[Nevrus]

I take a break from the onorous duty of recording how I feel about people to record how I feel about the world around me.

The ring I come from - 81, 80, or 79, fuck if I know which - was not a good place. Compared to the Ash Waste, it was a lush place. There were seasons, of rain and snow giving way to warmth and growth. One could mark them by the air and by the trees. Time marched to a beat, slow and steady, and despite the King's prohibition of time-keeping, one could tell the passing.

The Sultanate of the Great Ring is not such a place. Its only seasons seem to be Hot and Hotter. In this place did civilization rise, at least one civilization. Did the Empress pre-date the Formorians? There's four thousand years of unaccounted-for history in the Imperial Year calendar. Did the Empress pre-date the King?

I travel hither and thither to uncover these truths. The Machine, still pumping Energy into Action, holds my fascination. I gleaned a fixture from it, a pearl of ancient technology that blinks like a dying torch and casts glamours upon me. I wear it about my neck to contemplate. What did the Svirfneblin who built it expect to happen? That their artificial, experiential paradise survive the inevitable upheavals of the Disc? Clearly, their plan failed. Supposedly, the Machine - the Central Cognition Core - still thinks and acts below the Well. The Hall of Calculations awaits my investigation, when stars align better in the midst of bitter War.

The grudges here are old. Hundreds or thousands of years old. Between the settlements, they are intractable, yet they have come together in Union to end the Orc threat. The Janissaries often taunt me over Banda history I am only vaguely aware of; how can disparate city-states within the domain of Baz'eel be wiser than soldiers who live and die on accurate intelligence?

I continue to search for the context necessary to understand this place. On this day I have visited great Kha'esh and humble Spring, and smoggy Tlonsiyya. Compared to the Well, they are hostile to outsiders. The rejection of refugees seems to have preserved their identity but stifled their potential. A great shame that the legendary, almost unrecordable shitshow that is Ephia's Well stands at the forefront of actual, tangible progress in all sciences.

The Legate Qari, who reigned before my time, has returned to the Well. I suspect it was him who taught Dante how to play the game, but perhaps his lessons could have been improved considering how that seems to be going. Dante's every gamble and ploy fails despite his good intentions. He provokes loyalty to himself as a benefactor, but not to the tenets of the Gold League. Compared to the Purples, who effortlessly huff "Wheel, Sultan" to garner votes, and the White, who effortlessly huff "Gold League evil!" despite not offering any tangible alternative, the Gold League is at least honest in its dealings. As a member of that League, I hope a solid platform can be created to express the Gold League's merits unto freeing the refugee from the indignity of charity-bound existence.

I've become a decent artillerist with great practicing. I just wish Colmes would learn what actually happens at the artillery position before he shoots off a flare every twenty seconds as though we can accommodate, or keep up with that.

I continue to fight in Agaslakku's name, against those who wield a different name of the same god as they go into battle. The Axe Weeps, said the throne, conveying words from elsewhere. Attack, defend, Charge, Flag. That is our fate too, is it not?

If I get to fire the Kusatma, Rhuk Nor will eat his sock. I want to see that.