Sarshel - Praised Be

Highlander
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Re: Sarshel - Praised Be

Postby Highlander » Tue Jan 26, 2016 8:52 pm

If Maera's return to Sarshel one morning after her nightime patrols happens to coiincide with one of Artemis' sermons, she hangs around a bit on the periphery of those assembled, paying attention to how the Dawnbringer delivers her words, and how she engages with her followers.
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OldBear
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Re: Sarshel - Praised Be

Postby OldBear » Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:20 pm

Perry wanders by after hearing of the last merchant's meeting. He leaves word that he would like to attend the next one should his schedule allow it.

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Re: Sarshel - Praised Be

Postby Copper Dragon » Thu Jan 28, 2016 1:34 pm

The Priestess
Artemis D'Assanthe performs the sermons with great punctuality: she arrives timely before sunrise each day that she is present. She's reliable, accurate like Amnian accountancy, and she is there so as to greet the morning's first rays, whether they are hidden behind winter clouds or peeking through, pale and yellow and rosy pink. Colours that are not all too different from the Dawnbringer's appearance: for her skin is pale, touched by an elven heritage that can't be unnoticed; her ceremonial garbs, fine, long-sleeved robes that are flowing, bear the radiant colours of yellow-gold and spring roses.

Since her original sermons back in spring and summer, the Dawnbringer has gained accessories to the attire. Wrapped around her hands are prayer beads that seem to sparkle vividly in the faint morning light; one hand displays a ring that nigh-on seems to reflect the rosy-red of a rising sun, even when the sun is blanketed.

She speaks with conviction and love - a regal sense of joy on her features when she addresses the audience.

A Sermon
The City Square is taken once again by the Dawnbringer. Each sermon holds an uplifting message, and the theme is often similar, certainly for the winter months. Her voice carries well, her posture is elegant and straight, her articulation and punctuation are signs of a committed and practiced orator.

"I will speak of this again - for it is the key to a life lived successfully and with joy. Dear attendants - dear audience. The gods above welcome your prayers, bolstered in confidence, and in love, and in power from your faith. Revitalised by each word and thought given unto them. Your devotion to them returns to you; your gratitude and your pleas are heard, and they will provide, if you believe. But no one else, no power great or small, can help you achieve that which you ask for - if you do not commit to it, yourself.

No wealth, security, happiness comes to you sooner than the one You create. This is the Morninglord's way; this is His Enlightenment; His Gift. Those who seek to help themselves are helped most blessedly by Him. For in such actions He sees you have accepted a new, clear, and determined way of thought and a new, clear and devoted self-respect, who are components of the most fertile soil for any successful endeavour.

Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to light in this age... none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this: that man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.

As a being of Power, Intelligence, and Love, and the lord of his own thoughts, you hold the key to every situation delivered to you. Within yourself, you contain something magnificent; that transforming and regenerative agency by which man may make himself what he wills.

Man is always the master, even in his weakest and most abandoned state; but in his weakness and degradation he is the foolish master who misgoverns his household. When he begins to reflect upon his condition, and to search diligently for the Law upon which his being is established, he then becomes the wise master, directing his energies with intelligence, and fashioning his thoughts to fruitful issues. Such is the conscious master, and man can only thus become by discovering within himself the laws of thought; which discovery is totally a matter of application, self-analysis, and experience.

Today, I bring to your attention a most unconventional example, a creature who was the reason for division in your very own community before. The orc-blooded giant in our midst - Ornak: where others have shunned him, where others condemned him, where others judged his appearance before his deeds, he has risen above the beast he could have become if he had given heed to circumstance or experience. He chose the conscious path instead and sought out those that would benefit from his help: people whose lives were direly threatened, almost lost, and he worked to bring them back. His prowess served the people - rather than turned on them.

If one such as he, whom others have tried to undo, can stand up for a cause; what ever stops you from your daily goals? What does opposition, doubt and judgement truly mean; if not something that you can and should rise above?

Dear audience, dear attendants. Greet the morning with me once more, and greet with it the prospect of noble, better, kinder choices."
Plays:
Artemis D'Assanthe, Dawnmaster
Udhana, the Kinless
Dhovainithil, Silver Elf
Jhasira of the Bai Kabor, Dawnbringer (deceased)

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Re: Sarshel - Praised Be

Postby Copper Dragon » Fri Feb 05, 2016 2:00 pm

A Sermon

"Dear attendants, dear audience. Some of you come here because you doubt; some because you look for something to brighten your day; and some... to convince yourselves that these words are hollow, that your way of life cannot change. You come to watch in disdain that I speak of futile things.

And you are right, those who think so.

Because nothing will truly change until you accept that things can be different, and accept that not others, not ill fate, not ugly circumstance has the final say in your life - but you yourself. Accept, that you are responsible for the paths you trudge on. Accept, that if you wish to dream - you can and you must, because there is so much in you that you've yet to discover."


The priestess starts to walk through the audience. Her cloak and robes touch the snow, but lose none of their brightness nor does she lose regality in her steps as she touches one man's shoulders, smiles, and turns to the many gazes at her. Her voice is clear, her speech rich with inflection, rightly timed pauses, and a gaze that glimmers and captures.

"The dreamers are the saviours of the world. Not the ones trapped by their dreams into slumber, but the ones who are fortified by them, strengthened, striving. As the visible world is sustained by the Invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid businesses, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them in the realities which it shall one day see and know.

Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage: these are the makers of the world worth living for, the architects of heavens. The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, laboring humanity would perish.

He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. Captain Cordell so recently cherished a vision of another world, and he discovered it on the Trackless Sea*; Alaundo fostered the vision of a multiplicity of worlds and a wider Universe, and he revealed it; Sarshel Elethlim beheld the vision of a country of peace and austere beauty, and he defended it.

Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.

To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve. Strive for more than your daily duties and obligations! Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.

May the Morninglord give you the strength you need, the courage you longed for. May the Day be greeted, and may the Light be praised: for in the morning the path is clearer... and beckons to deeds."


Dawnlord D'Assanthe smiles brighter and warmer, her cheeks in the frigid cold blessed with a rosy pinch. If people approach her with questions, pleas or comments, she does not shy away from gently offering a touch on a shoulder, a hand or a youngling's cheek - a touch of comfort and reassurance, but surprisingly warm too despite the chill and her hands not wrapped in gloves. Once the sermon is done she walks away from the city square, likely to be seen headed to the Crowning Glory.

_______________________

*Cordell has discovered Maztica in 1361DR, very recently.
Plays:
Artemis D'Assanthe, Dawnmaster
Udhana, the Kinless
Dhovainithil, Silver Elf
Jhasira of the Bai Kabor, Dawnbringer (deceased)

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Copper Dragon
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Re: Sarshel - Praised Be

Postby Copper Dragon » Sun Feb 21, 2016 2:07 pm

A Sermon

"Dear audience! The winter flees, its hunger sated, and the year draws on to Life and Promise. Exhuberance! Exaltation! Excellence, are all awaiting. I will not speak of overcoming hardships today - nor of what you must do for your future. As winter's claws slowly but inevitably retract and darkness at last lessens its hold on us all, so are you no longer bidden to seek shelter in the visions of better, warmer days, of your goals and purpose; and so is there more freedom to enjoy the relief that comes after the frost-bitten nights.

I will not speak of the promises of the future, today. I bid you look upon this day! This stirring of Life, this opening of Promise. So fragile and brief if you let it pass - but so eternal and unshakeable if you make it completely, utterly, absolutely your own. In the moment lies the pinnacle of existence, the purity of potential, the bliss of growth; the glory of decision, the power of action, the splendour of beauty. The day upon which you live is the most blessed; for yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision... but Today well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of Happiness; every tomorrow a vision of Hope. Look well to this rising day!

Look well, as I do pray! For your mountain of peace, your ocean of serenity."


The Dawnbringer priestess looks to the horizon and raises her hands, her robes flowing in the mildest snowy wind. Her smile is heartwarming and at ease, her self-assured countenance extending unto those that surround her.

"Grant to us, Lord of Morning Light, the royalty of inward happiness, and the serenity which comes from living close to You. Daily renew in us the sense of joy, and let the eternal spirit of the Dawn dwell in our souls and bodies. Let it fill every corner of our hearts with light and grace; so that, bearing about with us the infection of good courage, we may be diffusers of life, and may meet all ills and cross accidents with gallant and high-hearted happiness, giving You thanks always for all things."


Artemis D'Assanthe finishes the sermon, wisely or talentedly - or mysteriously conveniently - choosing the moment to let her voice subside when the first few rays of sunlight pierce the clouds.

Additional Information
Artemis makes the announcement before the crowd disperses that the shrine to Lathander on the outskirts of the Silverwoods, will be welcoming any and all who make the pilgrimage with her for the first Song of Dawn of the year. This is to take place on the vernal equinox, and is thus roughly a month's time away.

Furthermore, the priestess has already announced to the audience sometime during the last tenday that Westin Highridge of Lathander walks the land of Impiltur now in the full title of Dawnguard. While he doesn't hold sermons, and isn't going to, he is a champion of the Morninglord, a sword of light against the dark. If ever people are concerned in matters that can be addressed with the sword, or protected from by the shield, they mustn't shy away from requesting his help.
Plays:
Artemis D'Assanthe, Dawnmaster
Udhana, the Kinless
Dhovainithil, Silver Elf
Jhasira of the Bai Kabor, Dawnbringer (deceased)

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Copper Dragon
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Re: Sarshel - Praised Be

Postby Copper Dragon » Sat Mar 26, 2016 8:21 pm

A Sermon

"Dear audience, dear attendants. The tides of winter yield one last, ugly effort - one last attempt to sway you into doubt, submission and unconstructive bitterness. Let none of these take hold of you as the Frostmaiden tries to whip you into despair; for She knows as surely as the Lady of Loss knows, that winter and night are bound to end and make way for the glory of spring. The season of light, love, and bloom is here upon the doorstep, and the Morninglord, the Lord of Dawn, He Who Brings the Warmth of Life, comes earlier unto the sky each day. Look for Him and look beyond the clouds. Hold yourself high and push through this last vain test of tempests, and the nectar of sweet spring will be all the more treasured and rightfully earned."


Dawnlord Artemis stands on the city square in her gold-trimmed robes, wrapped in her cloak against the snow and frost. She smiles as if the cold would be shrugged off as easily as with that gesture of her lips, and she turns enough to look listeners in the eye one at a time. She recognises most by now.

"Today, beyond these reminders that you must hold fast in the face of the chill, there is more of the Morninglord's Awakening Path that I wish to share with you. Today I wish to tell you more on the great wisdoms of Success and Splendour, and how some of us seem blessed by such while others seem cursed and deprived.

There is but a simple reason behind their fate. The gods have influence; the gods watch us and affect the path which we take in our life; some play their whims upon our souls; but none of them can determine it all, and none of them can completely hold you bound and shackled to misfortune, for such is not the law of the world. There is a far more powerful law that the world adheres, and it is a law that you may use to empower you, or ignore to weaken you."


A pause. "Success and splendour... The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a man grow rich, they say, "How lucky he is!" Observing another become intellectual, they exclaim, "How highly favoured he is!" And noting the saintly character and wide influence of another, the remark, "How chance aids him at every turn!" "

Artemis smiles and looks out over the audience, knowing. Her calm smile perseveres as she speaks again, "No: They do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these men have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised, that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable, and realize the Vision of their heart. They do not know the darkness and the heartaches; they only see the light and joy, and call it "luck"; do not see the long and arduous journey, but only behold the pleasant goal, and call it "good fortune"; do not understand the process, but only perceive the result, and call it "chance"."

Another pause. The Dawnbringer speaks with conviction and simple serenity. "Never give up. Never settle for pettiness and sloth. In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result. Chance is not. "Gifts," powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions... are the fruits of effort; they are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realised.

The Vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal that you enthrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, this you will become. Remember this in the face of obstacles, jealousy and hate. Give yourself no excuses - work diligently, and Prosperity shall be yours."
Plays:
Artemis D'Assanthe, Dawnmaster
Udhana, the Kinless
Dhovainithil, Silver Elf
Jhasira of the Bai Kabor, Dawnbringer (deceased)

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Copper Dragon
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Re: Sarshel - Praised Be

Postby Copper Dragon » Mon Apr 18, 2016 7:28 pm

A Sermon
"Dear audience - dear attendants. We pray for the good victory of the morning. We pray that warmth washes away the snows. 'Tis cold out, and His Majesty the King has passed away. If ever there felt a darker, more miserable spring, 'twould be this one. If there was a more prudent time for hopelessness and loss, 'twould be now. There is a time for grief as there is a time for night; a time for solemnity that joy mustn't interrupt or mock. But I will not let you drown in it: I will not let you succumb.

When you might give up on yourself and upon good faith, the Morninglord does not give up on you. He comes to shine every day, but more than that: He is there in the smallest things, in your very soul at every waking hour. When you create, craft, laugh, work, teach, learn, better your understanding or your body, He is with you, for He - is Life, and the breath of Light and Good and the glowing warmth of the Spirit.

Hope is not the denial of darkness and despair. It isn't self-delusion, which is for fools and men too weak or afraid. Hope is Lathander's domain, and Lathander is Strength, Vitality, and Willpower: the strength to surpass, the vitality to live fully, the willpower to accept one's troubles and overcome them. Hope is not always a grand gesture, nor does it need to face utter terror to be meaningful. Those of you who rose to your feet today, did so because there was something, no matter how small, worth living for.

What if today you woke up only with the things you thanked the gods for yesterday?"


The Dawnlord smiles, standing in the snow in front of the crowd. Snowflakes fall on her sunburst headpiece and her cloak.

"The soft warmth of your gloves, the delicious scent of bread, the comfort of a friend - even if 'tis just to complain to that friend. The roof above your home, the candle's glow upon the table, the smile of a stranger. A gulp of ale after a long day, a soothing song on the minstrel's lips, a pat on your shoulder or an embrace from your family. These and countless others - they are not only things to be grateful for; they are all signs of life, symbols of Human nature, of acting and doing and creating happiness where there was nothing before. This is the spark within Humanity, and Lathander, Lord of Dawn, Bringer of Renewal is the one who breathes it into our hearts.

When the outside world seems cold and forlorn, remember the divine spark of Hope - of Lathander's Domain - within you. When you falter, when your sorrow seems endless and your tasks hopeless, look to Him, and look for Him within you. There is strength eternal and replenishing, blooming within each of you, no matter the greyness of the sky or the frost upon the air - inside your heart His light may reign, if you let it in."
Plays:
Artemis D'Assanthe, Dawnmaster
Udhana, the Kinless
Dhovainithil, Silver Elf
Jhasira of the Bai Kabor, Dawnbringer (deceased)

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Copper Dragon
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Re: Sarshel - Praised Be

Postby Copper Dragon » Sat May 21, 2016 8:01 pm

The Priestess - Appearance
Since the ending days of Tarsakh (the fourth month of the year), the Amnian Dawnbringer held her sermons with a scar across her jawline. Previously, she has kept up an immaculate appearance - and indeed, the jagged, unpleasant scar was in discord with the rest of her image: that of a woman well-groomed, of upperclass tastes and warm mannerisms. She would have explained to the sermon attendants on multiple occasions on how she, too, has set out on so-called Adventures, and it wouldn't be hard to guess she gained a scar on one such expedition. All other times, however, if she returned to the city with mud, filth or wounds about her, they were quick removed, and naught would remain to be oggled the next day.

And this scar - risking drawing the eye away from her warm gaze - yet lingered.

No words were spent on the thing, and if asked, Artemis would smile silently in reply.

It is in more recent days, after the 7th of Mirtul, that (now) High Dawnlord Artemis D'Assanthe has seen the deformity lessened; it is still there, but on most days it is barely noticeable when holding the sermons. Her god is with her, perhaps, and His healing flows stronger through her faith in these dark times?

Sermon Topics
Above all, in the wake of the nightmarish events from the past tendays, Artemis beseeches her sermon's attendants to find unity and perseverence. Abandoning Sarshel now is to abandon each other; improvement of one's lot and of one's community are not achieved through avoidance, but facing troubles head-on. In the darkness that is this time, each willing heart is a candle, and the light of the many will bring about the dawn.

She has been known to be there for traders and craftsmen, and has had the good fortune of seeing a few children or youngsters - upon whom Lathander's blessings are surely gladly given. But any and all who hope to start a new endeavour or enterprise are welcome to meet her.
Plays:
Artemis D'Assanthe, Dawnmaster
Udhana, the Kinless
Dhovainithil, Silver Elf
Jhasira of the Bai Kabor, Dawnbringer (deceased)

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Copper Dragon
Posts: 537
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Re: Sarshel - Praised Be

Postby Copper Dragon » Sun Jun 05, 2016 8:03 pm

A Sermon
Artemis D'Assanthe comes to the city square as she nearly daily does. Her ceremonial attire and sunburst headpiece should be a familiar sight by now.
"Dear attendants, dear audience. We've trudged through to another day, and the days are piling up into new months. It has nearly been a month as well since the skies split above and Evil glimpsed at us and this fair city.

Impiltur mourned and prayed for us. We've had reason to weep, and the past tendays weighed on our shoulders heavily. But I do not see victims in the streets or here this morning. I see people who persevere.

Yes, some are sullen; beaten; others brave to stay. It is for themselves to know which reason fuels them. It does not matter. What matters is that these people - you, us all - are here through such atrocious times and carry on, rather than leave the city that has given unto them and whom they have given unto so much. They, you, have been knocked on the ground but you stand again and walk onward.

You who have remained are this city's future. Some of you wait for things to turn better, others have laid down their blade and stopped believing a greater, happier, brighter day will come. What has the Morninglord Lathander taught you? To wait and see? My dear audience: you know that He didn't. You know that neither He nor your life taught you such. You are more than victims, more than people who persevere and endure. You are people who act, who rise, who build, who dream, who work, who plan, who ask, who give... who believe... who hope.

Do not count the days now until a resolution. Make the days count. Some of you have carried on, but with your heads held low, your shoulders in, sunken by insecurity, by doubt. Act! Rise! Build! Be kind and helpful, strong and hopeful; be better than yesterday. Better yourself today so that all your tomorrows, and this city's, are blessed by your effort's fruit. And may Lathander reveal to you the light that is already within you."
Plays:
Artemis D'Assanthe, Dawnmaster
Udhana, the Kinless
Dhovainithil, Silver Elf
Jhasira of the Bai Kabor, Dawnbringer (deceased)

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Copper Dragon
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Re: Sarshel - Praised Be

Postby Copper Dragon » Sun Jul 03, 2016 8:04 am

Most recently the slightly pointy-eared priestess could have been seen in Sarshel in a simple gown. She walks the streets thusly, instead of what people might have been used to seeing her in - fine dresses and fashionable outfits.

The gown is of long flowing fabric, elegant perhaps in how it ripples around the priestess' feet, but it isn't even dyed; the only ornament it bears are at the trim of the sleeves and the skirts, embroidered in Lathander's rose colour.

If people look her way, Artemis D'Assanthe smiles kindly with a gentle sadness, and makes her way to the city square for her sermon.

Image

"Dear attendants, dear audience. My dear Sarshel, my Impilturan pearls.

I have heard the complaints of a new merchant who entered this city's gates, and thought of a barren womb, 'a forlorn fort', he said. I pondered on that; and of course I was ready to frown and disagree; but the first impression is not wrong in full. You are austere, ascetic, somber. It was my first thought of the City of Three Spires when I first arrived as well: oh, and I was overwhelmed by the rigidity. Rough and rustic, indeed.

Mayhaps on the surface, my new friend, this merchant who brought cherries and yellow melons upon an agreeable price, mayhaps he was right. The city is the shell of clam; do you see it too? It has been laid bare of soft sea moss and playful fish and creatures on the Seventh of Mirtul. Sarshel is unadorned by gold, not over-encumbered by refinement; and blanketed in the spiteful slush-like snow.

But I have come to love this city. I love the people in it - yes, under the shell, the simple, pure pearl. I let my friend know this much. But that was not enough, and shan't be. So let me from now on show you,"
the priestess gestures over her undyed, flowing, simple garments. "Look at these folds; do you see it too? They represent you. Your simplicity is sincerity. Your modesty is a blank slate. And your candor, is elegance. You do not need vanity to be dignified, but your bearing. It's from there that something new and wonderful can be built. No; not that we are building to something new and wonderful because we - you - are not admirable today, or because you should shun yourself. The pearl earns a necklace or beautiful ornaments around it not because 'tis not valuable and precious as 'tis. You build, you enhance yourself - like threads, beads, and patterns might this bare gown - because you can, and because you deserve brighter finer days.

I have given away my fabrics, my clothes, to tailors and families. They'll add my colours to your colours instead, provide soles and stuffing for boots, ward off the cold. Let my new merchant friend learn to know Sarshel by my small deeds and your great ones. And this gown? May it gain in splendour as the city does, and as you do. I will see it change with our home, and may newcomers see such and smile."
Plays:
Artemis D'Assanthe, Dawnmaster
Udhana, the Kinless
Dhovainithil, Silver Elf
Jhasira of the Bai Kabor, Dawnbringer (deceased)


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