1st Fire’s Wane, 5E 26 Dragon

I said goodbye to my mother today. In a few months’ time, I will have been farther from home
than I’ve ever been. She smiled at me as I stood before her, bags packed, wearing the Vorantene
legion armor, and holding the sword she’d commissioned for me so long ago. She left me one
more item to carry. Elean Waldryn’s necklace, the same one she’d caught me staring at in her
study far too often when I was a girl. Something to remind you of home, she said. And then she
held me. For the last time in a long time, I imagine. I pulled away and said my final goodbyes
while I still had the composure to do so.

7th Fire’s Wane, 5E 26 Dragon

That feeling came again. Since I was a girl, I’d always gotten this feeling of being watched while
I slept. Mother assured me it was nothing, some nerves. Perhaps a peculiarity of mine and
nothing more. Something to acclimate to, she told me, nobility has always been under scrutiny
since the beginning of time. Of course, this didn’t stop her from sending guards to turn my room
inside out the first few weeks it happened. They never found anything, no one ever did. Except
for one night, after waking up rather quietly this time to the feeling of being watched. Instead of
bolting up, I opened my eyes very carefully. I could see something on the ledge of my balcony. I
opened my eyes as slowly as I could and I saw the strangest thing. A tabby. In the moon’s light I
could barely make out anything more than its form but I could swear it seemed to be looking at
me with a strange intelligence. Almost as if it recognized me. I called out to my mother so that
she could see but by the time she and the guards arrived the tabby had leapt from my balcony.
My mother reasoned it might have been a dream, or the tabby simply climbed down. Of course,
she gave no explanation as to where it could have landed from my balcony which had naught but
a sheer drop to the ground, or how it could have possibly climbed up there to begin with. In all
fairness, I’ve never seen it again. But I’ve always wondered if that is because it was never there,
or had gotten better at hiding.

16th Fire’s Wane, 5E 26 Dragon

I met my direct superior a few days ago. A delight she has been, truly. She made it clear she’d be
tolerating no nonsense from some drip-nosed noble in fancy dresses, her words not mine. Even
the daughter of an old hero. Not that I intended on any nonsense during my training anyway. I’ve
big shoes to fill. The rest of the troops may have the luxury of forgetting who my father is, I
don’t.
I can’t say I’m surprised at the treatment. My family name is a bit of a double-edged sword in
these times. Waldryn-Derelyan, noble and hero, thief and legend, oppressor and savior. Mother
did her best to prepare me for the realities of the world outside Senrik. In Senrik, she’d done well
enough to maintain goodwill among the populace. Outside however, and her name simply
pointed to another greater noble house. Mud to the new rising political power in these times.
Mother always told me my father’s name would help alleviate the resentment. Venerated war
hero, friend to the emperor, one of those “blokes on the statues” as some Tothisians still like to
refer to him and his companions. As it turns out, doing one too many great deeds in your life
often breeds its own brand of resentment. Perhaps I’d give their opinions on my father more
credence if they had themselves fought a dragon with the emperor to put an end to a war.

23rd Fire’s Wane, 5E 26 Dragon

Natasha wasted no time in putting us all to work. Between loading supplies and gathering more
troops you’d think we were expecting a fight during this expedition. Speaking of expecting a
fight, it turns out she’s as much a slave driver on the training grounds as she is in command.
When I’m not helping along the caravan, she has me training in every weapon and every
technique. Swords, maces, axes, bows, crossbows, daggers, you name it. At first, she had me
show her what I was taught at the academy. Then after she was finished laughing, she had me
redo every drill from the basics. Until you can do it perfectly with your eyes closed, she said.

3rd Dusklight, 5E 26 Dragon

Training with Natasha continues. With the return to basics, I couldn’t help but remember Uncle
Jayn’s training in Senrik. The water on the coast was always so chilly and the cold air bit hard on
the skin. I’d come down from tutoring to catch him fishing near the shoreline. Mother would
have murdered me if she’d seen me eating fish roasted over a campfire. Jayn had always put a lot
of stock in practical training. Sprinting through shallow water, or swimming in it if it wasn’t cold
enough to kill you. Plenty of sparring. I always got the sense he wasn’t the type who’d learned
from a teacher himself. Considering the stories you hear about him even before meeting my
father, I suppose I’m not surprised. I can’t help but let my mind drift to these memories. Precious
few reminders of home out here.

17th Dusklight, 5E 26 Dragon

We passed Largsburg not too long ago. I’m glad to see it fade in the distance. The last time I
spared longer than a passing thought on Largsburg, Greward was still welcome in Tothis. He was
a distant uncle on mother’s side who’d had an eye for business opportunity. With nobility losing
favor with the public, mother needed his help to keep the family finances safe. With his distant
relation, he was able to oversee ventures for the family without raising the ire of the new money,
as mother called them. It was nice to know there was family nearby being so far from home
while studying. Othed, his son, was a comfort while I was in the academy. Even though he was
several years my senior. Well, that all went to all Nine Hells and back.
If I’d decided to go straight to dinner that night rather than go looking for Othed first, I wouldn’t
have found him nervously pacing holding that damned letter. He begged me to keep quiet about
it, but I wouldn’t let it go until he told me what had him scared. I think he might have forgotten I
was no longer the child he’d known when he first met me. He tried to keep it vague, perhaps
hoping I would not catch on. I knew enough to realize his father was up to no good and wrote my
mother but left Othed’s name out of it. Greward and his household left the city not long after and
that was the last I heard of them.
It’s been so long since I’ve even thought about those days. Mother and I never really spoke about
them afterwards. All she would say is that she did what she does and to leave it at that. She so
rarely keeps those kinds of things secret from me. It was years later that I would learn what the
name Shayd really meant. I never saw Othed ever again. Gods, wherever he is, I hope he’s
alright.

28th Dusklight, 5E 26 Dragon

The caravan halted near the outskirts of Bolm. No stop inside the city, just on the outskirts.
Natasha sent a few of her lieutenants off and they returned with a strange chest. She wouldn’t let
anyone but herself and her lieutenants near it. I wonder what it’s for. From the sound of it, it had
something inside. A weapon maybe?

12th Last Harvest, 5E 26 Dragon

Natasha has been showing me new techniques. Her years as a mercenary show, she seems as at
home with a dagger as she is with a war hammer. She changes tactics almost as fluidly as the
wind changes direction. I can’t imagine what facing her in combat would look like. She’s
instructed me to practice the movements and commit them to memory, for now. She says it will
be a long time before I’d even be able to use them effectively in a real fight. I understand now
why she had me relearning the basics to near perfection. I wonder what else she’s keeping up her
sleeve.

25th Last Harvest, 5E 26 Dragon

With our course turning sharply southwards, I can barely see the Alabaster Lyceum in the
morning sky. I’d only went and learned there for a spell. Gods, I can’t believe that pun is on this
journal for all eternity now. I wanted to try and learn magic like my father did. I was allowed, at
least, a chance. A little time away from the academy to show my potential. It became glaringly
obvious that I wasn’t as skilled as my father. I was always behind the rest of the class. I wouldn’t
say it was a complete waste though. It was there that I met Holly. As a person, she was always a
bit strange. But as a friend, she was one of the best. She’d done her best to help me practice some
of my spells. Even her assistance wasn’t of much help for such a hopeless case, but her patience
was a comfort.
It was a simple decision, then, when she came to me asking me for help. She’d had enough of the
Lyceum and wanted to go off on her own. She knew anyone who would help her would face dire
consequences, least of which expulsion. But I was already on my way out anyway, if my
performance was any indication. I asked mother for help and so we hatched a plan. One night I
would smuggle her out, making sure to keep a lookout for anyone roaming the halls, and bring
her to a private location where a wagon would be waiting for her. The last thing Holly told me
was that she planned to go somewhere south, to parts unknown. I haven’t heard from her since,
but if she was in any trouble in Tothis, I suppose no news is good news. Perhaps I’ll run into her
on the way. I would be glad to see her and thank her for showing me that I may yet do the good
my father did, even without his magic.

22nd Chill’s Gather, 5E 26 Dragon

Natasha has commanded that we move incognito moving forward. Our caravan has split up into
smaller groups and ordered to meet at a single destination only the lieutenants are privy to.
Strange for an expedition to move with this much secrecy. I march now with a smaller
contingent and Natasha. The chest still inside the wagon. No one else has yet to see the inside.

18th Vander’s Night, 5E 26 Dragon

We’ve boarded a small airship designed to move without drawing attention through the Lythese
skies. The whole troop has gone to great lengths to remain unnoticed. The chest has been placed
securely inside the hold until we reached our destination. Natasha said she would tell me at
dinner what this expedition actually is. I’m glad to have at least earned some trust.

2nd Frost’s Gather, 5E 26 Dragon

I see the landmass of Lyth beginning to grow in the distance. With luck, this “expedition” will go
smoothly. If this works, and Natasha believes it will, Vorantis gains a great boon. If it fails, we’ll
be fighting for our lives in a foreign land. Either way, I wager it will be quite the story.