One Thousand and One Problems of Petra

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Nevrus
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One Thousand and One Problems of Petra

Post by Nevrus » Mon Jun 11, 2018 8:40 am

Hiya, me in the future! I'm here to help you keep track of all the things you need to do! Remember to say thank you!

In no particular order:
1. Anuia is a warlock! She's probably going to get her head cut off if we don't solve that problem fast, and teach her to not get in fights with Chancellors.
2. Sylvera is a warlock! She's probably going to get hunted down by that thing she's bound to, so we need to do something about that too! Before she joins the ranks of Anuia in terms of having made some people very aware she existed.
3. Tarrister is a warlock! He's less scary than the other two but who knows what he'll be forced to do if we don't intercede on that one.
4. Harvey is a warlock! Yes, future-me, I hope there's less than four warlock-related problems in your time! His patron's real scary, too, and more mysterious than the rest. That one is going to take the most pro-active defense to peel off.
5. I'm getting married! That in itself is wonderful, but there's wedding planning to do, and we need to get rings made, and outfits for the ceremony, and security because who knows what kind of riff-raff will want to crash it?
6. I need to get the Frostblades in order! We still haven't divvied up territory and people yet. Why's it so hard to track two bloods down at the same time without one of them running off after a woman?
7. I need to earn my Radiant Heart knighthood! I think I have the heads, so this is an easy problem to solve: Just wait.
8. I need to continue my paladin training! I've found the unity of my heart and mind, but I wonder what Mister Berenor's second task will be? It's also weird to me that I've killed multiple great wyrms and still have a ways to go, but that's life, I guess!
9. I need to keep helping Bendir! Talking with Rhaeg was nice. I should have been more aggressively pushing myself for priest-work. Regret's the seed that makes a person grow, so says Rhys!
10. I need to go see the Hells! Take that, mind, getting in between me and cutting a swath through those baatezu bastards like I wanted! I'll show you the truth of my feelings!
11. I need to help Brogendenstein overcome their diplomatic problems! We can't save Arelith from Amn unless everyone's bought in and working together!
12. I need to save Arelith from Amn! I hope meeting with their ambassador and swinging my name around will help with that!
13. I need to keep teaching Low how to speak Luiric! No more tripping over my words once I do!
14. I need Low. This isn't a long-term problem, that just got me thinking about him and now I want him close to me. I'm going to go give him a hug.
The hug was good.
15. I need to train Mach! He's snaked his way out of it so far, but until he learns the rules he's going to keep getting into trouble.
16. I need to start training more Hearthknights! With everything else going on I've barely had the mind to do it, but it needs to be done, because That's The Rule, and I don't break rules unless they're stupid rules I didn't agree to!
17. I need to learn more Arelith history! Can't get everyone to stop hating everyone (or at least pretend to and act like they don't) for the five minutes it will take to sunder Amn's war-fleet if I don't know why they hate each other in the first place!
18. Miss Vasarene still owes me tea! Her house is right next to Burrowhome, where is she!?
19. Figure out how to make Jadoth smile! I'm sure better people have tried and failed, but I'm not an idiot for nothing!
20. Figure out how to make Peregrine act like a living hin and not just a machine where you pull a lever and three to ten Banites die!
21. Do something nice for the Radiant Heart! They haven't really asked me to do anything other than look into that Blood Creek matter and I already told them the source, so what else needs doing?
22. Clean the house! I'm going to do that one next, I promise!
23. Get more notebooks and paper, and make more charters! I'm sick of having a huge portion of my pack devoted to keeping papers not mixed in with potions!
24. Pick up that cloak and dress I asked Bree to make! I bet the dress will look lovely!
25. Find another mithril dust for Drago, to replace the one he gave me!
26. Oh yeah, Mister Seel is going to have a funeral. I need to attend. Note to self: Make a black dress for the occasion.
27. Bree wants mojo! I need to pick fruit and gather gem dust.
28. Malachite for Suli! He did a lot for me, so I should repay that as much as I can!
29. Kill some kobolds! Don't know why they fear us in particular as dragon slayers, considering just about everyone pokes holes in that red dragon on that island for fun, but I'll prove that fear right!
30. See if Bisik's in the mood to reconsider his life choices! I bet going from being a bandit to being a bandit has him real miserable. Might be able to get him on the long road to redemption if I offer a hand!
31. Go have an audience with Lady Ghestelle in Darrowdeep! We're still supposed to do that at some point!
32. Go talk to the Thane and get the Frostblades a nice tower to call our own! Will make it a lot easier to wrangle the Blades together!
33. Visit Skal again in the summer, kill some minotaurs and thwack the master again for old times' sake. Hug Rhys.
34. Have Elder Mudagog show me around his camp! Going with Rhaeg was neat, but we didn't stay very long because we could have gotten in trouble. Rhaeg sure has a weird way of getting on EVERYONE'S bad side.
35. I need to eat dinner. I'm going to do that.
Not my best work, but my worst's on the level of mom's best. I miss her some times.
I cleaned the house. Thanks, past-Petra!
36. Need to help Low lay siege to Benwick so we can turn off the devil-puker. Day by day on that one.
37. Need to get those boots Korrix gave me enchanted to replace my old ones. Also need a new belt.
38. Need to explore the whole island as much as I can.
39. Need to start exploring under it, too! Those Underdarkers aren't so tough when you're well-prepared!
40. Need to start exploring the planes more. I wonder what's reachable from the Astrolabe other than the Abyss, Limbo, Arborea, and Celestia? I'll have to ask around!
41. Need to go with Low to the bathhouse for a nice romantic evening.
42. Need to kill a thousand foes in a day with Low for a nice romantic evening.
43. Need to keep being a good friend as prayer to my best friend Cyrrollalee!
44. I probably need to babysit Merry's very sittable little babies at some point!
45. Need to look into making my own! Still not sure on the physiology of that!

And that's all the problems I can think of for one day. Three of them are solved already! Just forty-two more to go, until I add more!
Ganus- Riding the Isle (Active)
Aura Bigstep - Got Out Ahead (Retired)
Egos Ironhide - Shelved
Consult a medical professional before believing anything Nevrus says.

Nevrus
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Re: One Thousand and One Problems of Petra

Post by Nevrus » Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:07 am

Thanks for writing all of this down, past-me! Let's see how many of these I managed to knock out:
3. Tarrister being a warlock: Apparently he's special so this one miiiiight be taken care of? Need to get someone magey to make sure!
6. Frostblade ordering: We managed to get it done, and now things more or less make sense!
8. Paladin training! I got the next thing to think about from Sir Berenor: "What defines a Knight, his deeds or his heart?" I'll tackle that one here in a little bit!
10. Hell-touring! Turns out, paladins aren't very welcome there! Not going back without someone who knows where the Hell (heeee) they're going in there, and how to deal with their actual built defensive lines!
12. Amn-Problems: Turns out the new Chancellor sent them packing and they realized messing with an entire nation of demi-gods was a bad idea! I'm glad they're gone but I wish I could have done more to make that be the case. Oh well, take wins when you get them!
20. Peregrine: We had a nice chat and I think we understand each other a little better now! I even saw his mug and got a laugh out of him, I bet I can get more! He's really handy to have around for tracking people down, too!
21. Radiant Heart Something-Doing: I helped Miss Kerri escort some recent imports from Skal to the Radiant Heart, and even let one of them stay in my place! Cyrrollalee's proud, I bet!
24. Bree's Order: They're soooo pretty, I love them so much! This dress will be with me until the end of my days, I'm so glad I went to her for it!

So, that leaves me with thirty four, but let's add new ones to the pile!
46. Chase Namlin into the Underdark! She's a cultist who started problems in Skal, and you don't mess with one of a Hearthknight's homes and get away with it!
47. Maybe deal with having an Underdark bounty placed on me! I hope it's bigger than Mach's! I bet if another guy joins his little harem he'll be thinking the same thing!
48. Train up my Frostblades! Now that they're under my command I need them strong and I need them feeding me things I need to know all the time!
49. Meet with Bree! Hopefully I can get her to tell me things better than Mach did!

50. Paladin Training Part Two! What defines a knight:

Definition 1. Cavalry
The first and most basic definition of a 'knight' is any heavily armored warrior who rides a horse. They serve as cavalry units, charging together with lances or spears to break up infantry formations. Often this training comes from high birth, and often they take up work as mercenaries to recoup the cost of their training, equipment, and caring for their mount, and potentially even turn profit. This definition is ill-suited for the question, because these aren't defined by "Heart" or "Deeds," but rather by equipment and training as mentioned. This must thus be put aside in order to come to a proper conclusion.

Definition 2. Nobility
"Knighting" is often used in human monarchies as a reward for service, to uplift someone outside of nobility into it. It allows the bearer to claim ownership over land when that is normally restricted, to call themselves Sir, Lord, Count, what have you, and to be recognized by other nobility and those of 'lesser' (Rhaeg would disagree!) blood for their station. This definition also fails to capture the intention of Sir Berenor, because this meaning of Knight is defined by blood or by gifted titles, rather than by "Heart" or "Deeds." I just got a letter saying my dad had this done and is now Baron of the Earthspur Mountains, but I wouldn't really call him a Knight!

Definition 3. Warrior
The word "Knight" is sometimes used to refer to heavily armored warriors. I've called Low my knight since before we became Forsts, but that was under a different working definition. This particular definition is defined by heavy armor and skill at arms, a sort of bastardization of the first in that it does not require any kind of mount to be considered. This does not truly imply "Heart" or "Deeds."

Definition 4. Champion
The definition that fits paladins and do-gooder warriors best. This meaning of knight is about honor, about the desire to protect others, to fight important battles in order to do so, to destroy evil that it not find roots. This is the one defined by "Heart" or "Deeds."

Which is more important, then?
"Heart" is the desire to do good for others. A pure, noble, selfless heart. One cannot be a Champion without possessing one of these. It's the guide to all actions, the motive to make the world a better place for those who lack the power to stand up to the monstrous threats that bite at the heels of civilization, and to stand up to civilization when it loses its way and seeks to bring harm for its own gain. Without a strong heart, a knight will falter, and will not accomplish much.
"Deeds" are what the Champion accomplishes. The list of victories, of kindnesses, of demonstrations of the goodly way to live. Deeds also take the form of how the Champion goes about doing things, of the honor they display and abide by.

Is one more important than another? A knight of a noble heart and impotent capacity will try very hard and might inspire a few people at their funeral, or at the funeral of those they failed to protect. A knight of great might and skill who lacks scruples, honor, or a moral path can only incidentally do good, and by this incident not be truly called a Champion.

The only answer, then, is the one that came to mind immediately when it was asked: They're both equally important. Easy one, Berenor! A true Knight, one that acts as a champion for justice, protecting the innocent and weak, and helping those around them uses their virtuous Heart to accomplish miraculous Deeds. Just like Low does nearly every time he steps out of his door. Just like Peregrine does when he defeats the Banites every morning before breakfast. Just like Kerri does when she shows the fruits of her labor, her Deeds in the form of the modern Radiant Heart, and impresses her virtues of Voice, Shield, Sword onto new generations.

Being a Knight is hard some times, but it's also fun. I'm glad I did this instead of rotting away in my burrow watching the gold pile up for nothing!

So... Yeah. Up to thirty-eight. Down three from last time, good job present-Petra! Hopefully we can one day see the high teens!

A drawing of a heart with P+L One Year!!! written inside of it closes the entry.
Ganus- Riding the Isle (Active)
Aura Bigstep - Got Out Ahead (Retired)
Egos Ironhide - Shelved
Consult a medical professional before believing anything Nevrus says.

Nevrus
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Re: One Thousand and One Problems of Petra

Post by Nevrus » Sun Jun 24, 2018 8:44 am

Well, this was a crazy couple of days, but it's only going to get crazier, so let's take the time we have and take stock!

Solved Problems:
1. Anuia's not a warlock anymore! That's down to TWO warlock-related problems, past-Petra!
4. Harvey's not a warlock anymore either! ONE! JUST ONE! I'm sure you're happy! I know I am!
11. Diplomacy's weird but there don't seem to be any real fires right now! Everyone's just flailing their arms trying to look big, but the trash-talking doesn't really matter because there were no strong alliances outside the Dominion anyway!
23. Finally made a bunch of Charters! Will need to make more eventually but we should be able to supply all the powers that be with them now!
29. The kobolds seem to have completely forgotten about us! Apparently Underdarkers tend to talk big and not follow through. I trust Jadoth on that one, because he speaks from experience. I'm going to call this one off until they start actually making more than vague threats!
31. Met with Lady Ghestelle, and even defended Darrowdeep during the siege earlier! This is going well!
32. I'm in the tower right now and it's AWESOME!
46. Namlin's apparently fled to the Plane of Shadows and her two friends are trying to help her be less of an awful, awful person. I'm going to call this a win because she's banished from everywhere and if she doesn't understand her life choices had real bad consequences and start to feel bad about them now, she never will!

So, old problems taken care of, that puts me down to 30! Only 21 more to go before I'm in single digits!

Buuuut new problems!
51. A drow assassin is after me! Jadoth says since I haven't been notified by the assassin's guild it's probably not going to go anywhere, but for a couple months I'm going to be a bit wary on that one!
52. I need to recover a real strong sword with all my Frostblade friends! It's going to be a fun trip!
53. I'm going to meet with Rhaeg in his... Farm? I guess? I'm looking forward to it, I like Rhaeg!
54. Need to earn up next year's tithe for Brogendenstein!
55. Need to keep earning rent, and make enough more that I can keep getting better stuff!
56. Need to teach the Ironmoor Brothers how to be better people! They already helped Felicia so they seem to be on their way. Just need them to apologize to Peregrine. That'll be my super-win.

New count is thirty-six. Down two! But two of the biggest ones are taken care of, so that's like, worth twenty in my book! Because this IS my book!
Ganus- Riding the Isle (Active)
Aura Bigstep - Got Out Ahead (Retired)
Egos Ironhide - Shelved
Consult a medical professional before believing anything Nevrus says.

Nevrus
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Re: One Thousand and One Problems of Petra

Post by Nevrus » Thu Jul 05, 2018 9:16 pm

57. I'm angry.

This isn't like the normal "Mach promoted Udunn as a punishment" kind of angry. This is way deeper. It won't go away.

It started when I received that messenger threatening Low. It hasn't stopped, even a little bit. I try to calm and it won't go away. I try to take it out on trees and monsters and it won't abate. Every thought jumping its way through my noggin is wrapping itself up in this anger like a free dress.

I hate this. I hate having to fight this every day. Without cease. It's been over a month and still I'm just furious. Is it me, or is Cyrrollalee filling me up with her wrath? Is my indignation at the thought of losing Low making me go crazy, or is this a message being sent that I need to follow through with my oath?

If I destroy her, will it stop? If I destroy her just to make it stop, is that right? Why has this not happened before? There was one time like it-

The Blackmanes. That was the same fury, but it abated after talking with Perin... Where'd she go? I miss her. Her advice wouldn't help here though. The Voice failed with Namlin. All that's left is the Shield and the Sword, and in this case the Sword IS the best shield.

I feel so unprepared for all this. That's the real problem. It's all beyond me. I have no control over the situation and only limited control of myself. My web of oaths has finally put me on one road I can't help but walk, and somewhere locked deep within my heart that black glimmer of fear threatens to spark up, drowned though it may be.

Not fear of Namlin, curse her name. Fear of what I've made myself.

I just pray Low stays safe. Everything else... Is secondary.
Ganus- Riding the Isle (Active)
Aura Bigstep - Got Out Ahead (Retired)
Egos Ironhide - Shelved
Consult a medical professional before believing anything Nevrus says.

Nevrus
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Re: One Thousand and One Problems of Petra

Post by Nevrus » Mon Jul 23, 2018 7:50 pm

58. Everything!

I cannot even keep track of all the things I need to do, all the people I need to help... I tried with this book but it's all spun so hopelessly out of control.

The Radiant Heart have been bribed, cajoled, and deceived into subservience for a conniving conman wielding power and influence beyond anything I've tried to tackle before, backed up by the most dangerous man for thousands of miles. He smiles and points those who could do something about him away, so they won't look through him, see beyond his mask. I think I scared him, but that fear will force his hand, and that hand can be traced back to him. Truth itself cannot be defeated.

The Underdark wants to kill Thaddeus and Taelina. Is that to prevent them from talking to me? To hide the truth away behind the mask of Qasi's lies? This was within days of my interview. The timetable is too suspicious.

How long until he puts out a contract on my head? Has he already spoken to Escott to twist him against me, another layer of his mask? Am I going to have the entire Order trying to kill me for seeking the truth?

I'm not afraid. I haven't felt that in a decade. I'm just going to continue doing the right thing relentlessly. Refuse to win less than I'm capable of. It's a capacity I don't know but will make itself apparent when the end of things comes.

This isn't the time to sweat small details or sweat what I'm going to lose to get this done. Being a paladin means I've made an agreement to live my life putting myself last. As long as I live I've not lost yet.

I'm starting to understand the broken people I keep meeting better. Betrayed and bittered by years of dealing with the same types of malicious monsters and the idiots who cover for them. I'm not going to wind up like them, though, because I refuse to live in the past. I need to live in tomorrow. That's what can make an actual change happen. I wish so many would do the same... The Thane, the Coronal, Rhaeg, Jadoth, the innumerable people who've built themselves up out of old slights and grudges, having changed from the person they were to become nothing but a pile of scars. I want to heal those wounds, but that takes time.

And it takes work.

And it takes perseverance.

And it requires there to not be other distractions.

I just want to finish this report, get the mess cleaned up, and throw a wedding that will shake the isle. I'm only a little selfish, and only as much as I need to be to keep myself from going crazy. I can't say that's wrong from any perspective, because I'm a mortal, and I have mortal needs.

I'm so glad my husband puts up with all the burdens fate places upon me...

No, that I've placed upon myself, because I thought I should.

I don't want to be scars. I want to be virtues and wisdoms. That's the perfect morality I seek.
Ganus- Riding the Isle (Active)
Aura Bigstep - Got Out Ahead (Retired)
Egos Ironhide - Shelved
Consult a medical professional before believing anything Nevrus says.

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