Ever the Digger of Graves

[A brief poem, anonymously penned on a crumpled scrap of paper, looking decidedly out of place stuck into one of the great gilded volumes of poetry from Melehan's hoard. The writing is hasty, hurried-looking, nothing at all like the illuminated calligraphy of the volume it was found in. A dark reddish-brown spatter can be seen on one corner. Cuinn has teased it out carefully, smoothed it and pinned it above her writing-desk.]

Ever the digger of graves, not of furrows.

Ever the hand wielding the scythe,
or pressing the torch to the autumn chaff,
not the hand cupping the seedlings,
not the hand tucking them into moist loam.

Ever the black-wing'd buzzard
scouring the fields of carrion,
not the white-plumed dove heralding spring.

Am I not also needed?
Am I not also worthy of praise?
No bard will sing songs of my scythe
to hearty cheers before a tavern's fire.
No maiden will embroider my black wings
into her bridal gown.

Ever the voice singing to soothe the lame calf
before I draw my blade across its throat,
swiftly, mercifully,
not the voice singing lullaby
above my own babe's cradle.

SESSION 24 RECAP

Cuinn, Cathal and Mara inventory the massive hoard of treasure, artifacts, and documents Melehan revealed in the catacombs of the Keep. Of particular interest are many documents affirming that the House once ruled over Taeghas. Melehan's farewell letter, both to his sister Caedwyn, and to Mara, is also found. Furthermore, the amount of money within is substantial enough that they are no longer certain they require outside aid to raise an army.

Mara is haunted by strange dreams in which her former master, Harald Khorien, pleads to know the reason of her betrayal.

A surprise occurs: the unlikely trio of Tashairah, Gwenevier and Dvorak appear, bearing a gift: a historical runestone bearing sigils of the ancient alliance between the Fulcairns and their vassal families, the Haemings and the Morgenstanes. They hint the stone was acquired through less than overt means, and Cuinn states she doesn't wish to know more.

A council is called between the Fulcairns and their vassal houses: the Haemings, the Morgenstanes, the Rhodwalchs, and the Kerendreds. They discuss the political situation, and the heads of the vassal families urge Cuinn to turn down Archduke Boeruine's offer of help, but rather to strike out as Taeghas alone. Cuinn agrees; with the newly discovered trove, they are less reliant on Boeruine's resources. There remains yet the matter of breaking the geass they've sworn to aid the Archduke.

Sir Varyan returns to Fulcairn Keep. Mara avoids him, plagued with guilt over her necromancy. Cuinn is torn between her desire to see him and her growing feeling that the moral compromises required of her as head of the House will drive a wedge between them forever. Cathal quite happily spars with him.

A message bearing the royal seal of the Yngvi arrives. Bound in black cord, it bears ill news; Queen Freila has gone missing and is considered dead. According to tradition, the thanes of Hogunmark will meet and elect a new King or Queen. With news of a war host gathering in southern Rjurik, the reach of the White Witch expanding and the ambitions of the rival thanes once again taking root, House Yngvi is facing dire times.

On Being Far From Home (by the Khinasi poet Tashairah)

I wake to greyness.
On the grey waters of Tael Firth,
grey sails glide through grey fogs,
half-glimpsed like souls
mid-transit betwixt this world and the next.

I pull the grey furs closer about my shoulders
but the damp grey chill, I fear,
has come to dwell in my bones
like a beggar clad in grey rags
sleeps 'neath the grey thatch of the inn's back wall

And I wonder,
O Ariya,

Your shining streets, inlaid with mosaic
Avani's face and crown and gown, rendered
In chips of turquoise and gold and vermillion
Do they miss the caress of my shoes' soles?

Your purple figs, so plump they bend the boughs
Almost to the emerald orchard's floor
Your graven silver tureens of lemon and rosewater
Do they miss the eager press of my lips?

Were your colours ever so dazzling,
your scents ever so intoxicating?

Or has my heart, sick from your absence,
And stranded in a world of grey,
Merely laid an extra coat of lacquer
Upon your memory?

An Inventory of Fulcairn Relics

Found in the catacombs of Fulcairn Keep:

Books, Documents

• Great House Records & Genealogies - since the arrival to Anuire. 368 HC [Hogunmark: Magnild the Doomed]
• Poetry: Such as "A Snake From Within", "Hymn to Valor"
• Epics: Such as "Wraithqueen"
• Imperial Codex of Taeghan Archdukes - Fulcairns
• Honors for Moryn Fulcairn, Imperial Scholar
• Imperial Condemnation of House Fulcairn by Magnus II
• Guardians against the Manslayer - Precursors of the Ghosts
• A Letter of Regards from His Imperial Majesty Raesene Andu *cannot verify authenticity, M*
• House Valmyrri, rise and fall
• Local customs, dances and recipes
• Songs - Flower of the Gorge, The Lass from Bayside, The Bitter Bard
• Local folklore - The Silver Stag, The Guardian, Stone Trolls
• Taeghan Trade Treaties
• Military Documents

Coat of Arms

• Old Anuirean Fulcairn Coat of Arms
• Post-condemnation Fulcairn Coat of Arms

Paintings

• Taeghas Landscape: Imperial Manor view [Oil painting]
• Stormpoint Landscape: banners of Fulcairn on the walls of city [Fresco]
• Wilder's Gorge - Seamist mountains [Oil painting]
• Caedwyn, Lorran, Conor, Calindra, Clodagh, Melehan, Marigold Fulcairn portrait 
  
• Portraits of past Fulcairns [Medieval, Baroque, Renaissance]
• Portrait of first Fulcairn Bladesinger hunter, holding helmeted elf's head - Marella Fulcairn [Pre-Raphaelite]
• Portrait of Caedwyn, Vigraf, Sigrid [Baroque]
• Anuirean bust of Cardew Fulcairn, 1st Archduke of Taeghas [Early Medieval]
• Small locket of Marigold Fulcairn

Arcana

• Bloodline Magic Spellbooks
• Rare Spell Components
• Arcana Library - Realm Magic, True Magic, Lesser Magic
• A treatise for creating Magical Items
• Notes on Cerilian Awnsheghlien
• Ley Lines in the time of the Empire (approx. 710 HC)

Trinkets & Valuables

• Statuettes, toys, woodcarving, leatherworks
• Hnefatafl board
• Platinum, Gold, Silver Coins from the Imperial Era
• Gold, Silver Bars
• Precious & Semi-precious Stones
• Jewelry

Armory

• Apparel
• Chainmail
• Plate mail
• Leather armor
• Longswords
• Greatsword
• Axes
• Polearms
• Shortbows, Longbows
• Daggers
• Shortswords