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Kamine Waynn's Journal

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 10:42 pm
by GaretAthran
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THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO:
Kamine Waynn

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The following entries are written in a confident handwriting that is the result of years of practice.

13 Nightal 1356

Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 2:20 pm
by GaretAthran
13 Nightal 1356

I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have attempted to start a journal; how many times I have picked up a book just such as this one and made an attempt to keep to keep some great account of all the incredible things that I would do.

But what have I done?

I do not wish this tome to be an account of my many failures since my time here on the Sword Coast began. But neither can I deny their existence. They are just as much a part of my journey as the tiny successes I have managed to pull from the jaws of defeat. I have failed. Often. But that will not stop me.

My name is Kamine Waynn, daughter of House Waynn of Cormyr. This is my account of my life on the Sword Coast:

25 Ches 1357

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 6:44 pm
by GaretAthran
25 Ches 1357


I am going to ignore the irony of my last entry and how long it has taken me to write in this journal again. Instead I will pretend that nothing has happened and I have not neglected my responsibilities. When has that ever failed me?

Of late I am regularly confronted by a deep fear of mine; one that I have not openly mentioned to anyone until now.

I am terrified of failing to protect those I care for, and assume that should I fail to do that it will always end in the worst possible way. And I suppose this leads me to another fear that I can no longer hide from: loneliness.

The slow marching dread that one day I will be without the ones I hold dear is one that drives me to do the most foolish things. At times this fear has led me to search for companionship, and even love, in those who I have come to regret ever associating with.

My time at Candlekeep has led me to some of the best of friends, people who are better described as family, even. But as I grow closer to them, the fear that I will somehow fail to guard them in their time of need looms large on the horizon.

And so I feel driven to find ways to make myself a more capable defender of both them and my new home. No matter the cost.

4 Tarsakh 1357

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:36 pm
by GaretAthran
4 Tarsakh 1357


Look at that, another journal entry without waiting almost half a year to write it. Huzzah me.

A lot is happening on the Coast. Demons. Yuan-ti. And here at Candlekeep we have dragons of all things knocking at our gates. Dragons. As in more than one. One of them calling himself Mark of all things. But I suppose Mark is a less conspicuous name when one is trying to hide among the common-folk undetected. The other is apparently a blue dragon, with a more dragon-y sounding name that escapes me at the moment. I guess I'm taking being a guard more seriously than I thought because I like not the idea of either of them being in the Keep. But then again, it's not my place to say who comes and goes from the Library. I'm just a guard.

I'm having dreams lately. More than I usually do. Probably the first ones I can actually remember that aren't nightmares of what happened in Nashkell. These are more pleasant, but it's hard to be less pleasant than being surrounded by a sea of undead faces.

In these new dreams, I'm fighting against a foe I cannot see, all covered in shadows. Everything seems to be going my way, but then the ground beneath me opens up, and I fall. I'm not sure what to make of it, but there'll be time to ponder dreams and omens later.

The arrival of the two dragons has piqued my interest in them as a species, and I've been searching for any lore I can easily access—my position as a guard-in-training does not permit me access to the library proper, and I feel guilty for even thinking to ask any of the Avowed to find the information for me. They've enough on their plates. In the meantime, I'll look for sources myself—which should at least distract me from what are usually boring shifts at the gate.

6 Tarsakh 1357

Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:00 pm
by GaretAthran
6 Tarsakh 1357


I've taken my Vows and I am now a fully fledged member of Candlekeep. In addition the keep has two new probationary members of the Guard, Cyran and Cyllin. They seem decent enough, and should make fine guards once they take their Vows. I look forward to working with them.

Lately I've been thinking much about my faith. Since Nashkel I have experienced no end of doubt in myself as both a warrior and as a follower of the Red Knight. I think that my fear and doubt are holding me back from serving my deity to my fullest capacity. I was once her fearless champion, but now...

Prayer will only do me so much good. The Lady of Strategy is a deity of action not just planning. I must find my path back to the grace she bestowed on me, not merely sit here and write about it. There comes a time when planning and strategy must give way to action. And by Her grace, let that time be now.

16 Tarsakh 1357

Posted: Sat Apr 17, 2021 2:47 pm
by GaretAthran
16 Tarsakh 1357


Much has happened this last tenday that I have scarcely found time to stop to write anything down.

Cyran, one of our guards-in-training, has put forward the idea of repurposing the abandoned lighthouse up the coast into an outpost to help keep the Lions Way clear for travelers seeking to reach the monastery. It is a good initiative, and I am going to give him all the support I can. I've taken to calling it the Candlelight, given it's original purpose, but then I am a sucker for a catchy name. This has also prompted me to discuss an idea I had some time ago that I brought up to the Guide a few months ago, reviving the role of Protector within the hierarchy of the martial forces.
I cannot say for sure whether such a thing will pass muster with the Keeper of Tomes should he catch wind of it, but with there being no acting Gate Warden, I've taken the initiative.

In other news, I've taken on a student, which is something I've never imagined I'd ever say in my life. Arendyll, one of our Acolytes has expressed an interest in learning to wield a weapon. I was both touched and honored that she'd consider me a worthy teacher, and I've managed to begin her on a series of exercises to build the strength and endurance she'll need to handle a weapon in combat. She's also been a great companion over these last few days, and I have enjoyed her company more than I can put into words. It's...

*there is a splatter of ink where the writer apparently hesitated over the parchment for too long.*

It's nice to feel like I belong somewhere again.

19 Tarsakh 1357

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2021 11:21 am
by GaretAthran
19 Tarsakh 1357


A lot of my off time has either been spent helping Arendyll with her training or doing some training of my own; though perhaps retraining might be a better word.

I have spent a large amount of time in the library, going over treatise on tactics, anatomy, and even the nature of enchanted items. There is a wealth of information here in Candlekeep, information that could help turn the tides of a thousands battles; I would be a fool and a disgrace to the Lady of Strategy were I turned so blind an eye to its potential. While the Lord of Battles values strength of arm, the Red Knight covets the sharpness if mind in the heat of combat.

In a way I feel like I was guided here, to a place that could bring me closer to the teachings of the Lady. The longer I stay the more I am convinced that Candlekeep is where I am meant to be.

Another dream last night, but different than the last.

I am in a battle that stretches as far as the eye can see. All around me I hear shouts and cries to the Lord of Battles as steel meets armor and shield. Above the fight the skies are clouded and grey until all of a sudden a sound shakes not only the ground, but reverberates my very bones and down into my soul.
All eyes turn to to a hill that rises above the sea of combatants, atop which a woman stands, a sword held high above the crimson streak of her hair against the rapidly parting clouds. I feel the other soldiers and warriors, men and women of every shade and color, shrink back as the woman on the hilltop cries out again, and yet I do not feel fear. For the first time since Nashkel I do not feel afraid of what awaits me beyond the wall of sleep.

I feel welcome.

Re: Kamine Waynn's Journal

Posted: Mon May 10, 2021 3:14 pm
by GaretAthran
*The page is rendered unreadable by what appear to be water stains, perhaps from tears of the author in an attempt to write the entry.*

Re: Kamine Waynn's Journal

Posted: Mon May 31, 2021 2:19 pm
by GaretAthran
Mirtul 29 1357

These last two tendays have been a swirl of emotion and heartache, only to have them soothed and then brought back in new forms.

My time in Court has revealed much, and if things are as the Guide says then there are things that must be done to make sure that there is a bulwark against what's to come. Even if the Guide does not agree with my methods.

I have decided to refound my house here in the Western Heartlands, near Beregost, and with it found an order of knights to help the common people left in the margins between Amn and the Gate. And I'll do it with Arendyll at my side.

And now I must go to pray. I only hope She listens.

1 Kythorn 1357

Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 11:03 am
by GaretAthran
1 Kythorn 1357

Arendyll and I have scouted a number of places that might one day might make well defensible positions for a fortification that House Waynn and the Order can call home.

One such place is the ruined Chapel north of Beregost, though I have my doubts of its suitability given the damage to its undercroft and foundations, as well as the several levels if tunnels that the elementalist cult that currently calls it home have dug underneath. There is also the question of how thin the divide between that place and the elemental planes there is. It seems that one need only turn their back for a second before you're once more swarmed by mephits.

The second spot is a high bit of land just to the South of Beregost that overlooks the road, the canyons, and the trail to the Xvart village, with easy access to all three. With choke points at all three accesses to the spot that can be easily fortified, I think it might be a extremely important strategic asset. I will consider the costs and benefits of both, though I will admit I am leaning towards the area south of Beregost.

I must go and now and return to my devotions to the Red Knight. I keep her tenets and her dogma in my mind each day in the hope that once more I might be found, both by her and by myself, to be worthy once again to stand as her champion.

Re: Kamine Waynn's Journal

Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2021 10:32 pm
by GaretAthran
11 Kythorn 1357

The Lady has sent a priest to answer my pleas for atonement, who has seen to induct me into Her service as a Page of the Red Fellowship. I am humbled and grateful to be given this opportunity to once more prove my worth to her, and in doing so find myself once again.

I have been tasked by the Knight Captain with praying for guidance from the Crimson General and the Loyal Fury, Torm, as well as speaking with paladins from other faiths. The Knight Captain hopes that by speaking to the other paladins I will learn the role that one might play within the Red Fellowship and how a paladin of the Lady of Strategy differs from those of other faiths.

I have already begun to make inquiries with the Temples around the Coast in the hopes of having such discussions. In the mean time I will continue to pray and to study the oath of a paladin in detail to truly learn its meaning.

And then my trial begins.

May the Lady find me worthy.

Re: Kamine Waynn's Journal

Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2021 8:54 am
by GaretAthran
15 Kythorn, 1357

I continue to study the code of a paladin day and night, breaking only to seek out others who walk the path. And while my efforts to speak with them to find the place that a paladin of the Red Knight plays have been hindered by the workings of darkness, the opportunity to fight and bleed at their side has been an education all its own. For no matter whom a paladin servers, it is our place to strive and fight in the service of those who cannot protect themselves. It is an education I am grateful for.

The day of my final quest for atonement is drawing near. Soon I'll take the long walk north to the Citadel of Strategic Militancy and from there everything will be decided. I pray every day for guidance from the Crimson General and the Loyal Fury, studying their teachings to make them more apart of who I am.

I pray it will be enough.

Re: Kamine Waynn's Journal

Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 1:24 am
by GaretAthran
18 Kythorn 1357

This page too show evidence of the writer crying over it, however, there is one phrase written and clearly visible.

She is with me.

Re: Kamine Waynn's Journal

Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2021 6:01 pm
by GaretAthran
20 Kythorn 1357

Being accepted into the Grace of the Lady of Strategy is a sureal feeling after these last few years, but I know where I went astray, and will not so easily lose my faith again.

It was truly a gift to finally see the Citadel of Strategic Militancy for myself, and at long last I felt that I was truly one with my fellows in Her faith. I am blessed to have found a place as a Squire in the ranks of the Red Fellowship, and hope to make many joyous returns to the fortress-temple of the Red Knight in the years to come.

My atonement itself came in two parts, the first was a test of my strategic knowledge wherein I assisted a Faithblade of Torm, Saer Vonn, in planning his defense of a villain that has been beset by goblins raiding their outlying farms. I gave him council to the best of my knowledge, and while the Knight Captain and I both agreed that training the villagers would have been the sounder strategy, he and I both knew pressing the point would do much good in the tormtar's mind.

The second half of my atonement involved a ritual of communion with the Lady herself, one that lasted hours and took a great deal from Knight Captain Eveblade to perform. At its conclusion I was blessed with the words of the Red Knight herself, words that I will keep close until even after my dying days:

Trust in me.

And I will, in her teachings, and my code.

It is these beliefs that I will continue to conduct myself and my actions from now on. She is with me. And in Her name I will help and protect those who need my aid in both war and peace.

When everything was done, the Knight Captain welcomed me as a Squire and bestowed upon be a gift: an enchanted blade named Justice in Ice, with the symbol of the Red Knight fashioned upon its pommel. It is blade I will keep with me for the rest of my life, I feel, and will see it as the symbol of my atonement, a reminder of my place in her service.

((HUGE thank you to DM Ghost for working with me and my crappy schedule to make this even happen and for the entire plotline in general. You're an absolute champion.))

3 Flamerule 1357

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 5:12 pm
by GaretAthran
3 Flamerule 1357

I've resigned my place at Candlekeep and I've moved my things to the inn in Greenest. There are a lot of things that prompted the decision, but none of them matter in the face of my duty. I am a paladin first. Always.

I have offered myself in service to Dharva Scatterheart, the self-proclaimed Queen of the Greenfields. Her past aside, she has made a safe haven for the farmers here in the face of looming danger, and for that I cannot withhold my respect and admiration.

I await her reply, currently.

It is my hope to continue my service to the Red Knight by aiding these people in the continued preparation of their militia and defenses against the brigands and monstrous beings that haunt the Uldoon Trail. Every time I pass the burnt-out husks of raided farms I remember what these people have lost and, if I can, what I can possibly help to reclaim in time.