Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Character Biographies, Journals, and Stories

Moderators: Moderator, DM

Post Reply
User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image

OOC Note: This topic is made to be Runa Helvig’s IC journal. Here I may post past memories of her life, reports on current events of her time in the BG area, or even useless, cute sh*t simply because I feel like writing.
Image



To my muse, ere I pass

As we walk, my lover, through grove most green,
With ribbons of satin to flutter in breeze,
I swore as your king, to you, my queen,
That together we’ll be, through roots and trees.

To drink from crystal of most pure dew,
And jolly in revelry, no thought to think,
I sing, my lover, a chorus only to you,
So in beauty and passion I may forever sink.

Farewells are not goodbyes the least to me,
Though gone from this plane of fire and stone,
My mind most warm from passionate tea,
No matter how brittle shall become my bone.

I do ask, my lover, what shall ever stop us now,
When forever, my lover, is a most ever binding vow.





Runa would recite the poem to herself in the darkest of nights, one of the first melodies she learned, and one that meant much to the druid. She couldn’t remember where she learned it, but it was now hers, and she found comfort in that thought. Enough comfort to put her to sleep through the loneliest of windy nights.




Image
Discord: jojoelm
Brazilian Timezone (GMT-3)

Current Character(s):
Runa Helvig - High Druid of Eldath of the Green Enclave ( BIO | JOURNAL )
User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Re: Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image



Eleint 19th, 1357

Much has happened since I left my homeland, I’ve travelled for the better part of two years I think, and now end up here in this region. Never had I imagined I’d be so far south, but I do have to confess that I quite enjoy it here. Not only the wilderness can be breathtaking, but I’ve managed to find the druids of the region and they’ve accepted me with open arms, much to my delight. Much of my time is spent in the forest known as the Reaching Woods, as the shrine to my Goddess is there, and it does seem to need quite a bit of tending to.

Recently I’ve been exposed to the practice of druidic rituals, something a sister druid here, Iolanna, seems to be quite experienced at. Though I’ve performed my fair share of prayer and ceremony, to truly perform a ritual feels quite different. I do understand I need more experience, though, and I’ve been finding guidance through sister Iolanna. And so, for the past couple weeks now I’ve been collecting tokens of nature and carving into them the runic markings of the language. Hopefully soon I’ll have something to truly show as progress, and perhaps be capable of furthering the ways I practice my faith. That does sound quite pleasing.
Image


An Old Man’s Delusions

One night I saw the most beautiful sight,
Thousand flowing chains of pearly white;
Damned be the boy who stole it from me,
I swear to the gods by my bad knee,
Come back you little rascal, I want to fight.


User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Re: Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image



Nightal 22nd, 1357

The year is about to turn and winter carries on strong, though my body welcomes the cold as an old friend I can't deny I've grown to enjoy the greenery of the other seasons. It hasn't been that long since I came south, and yet it feels as if an eternity has passed. I find myself missing the idea of home, but I know my memory simply embellishes the past and tries to forget the pain. It's easy to forget the pain of a deep wound, but the scar forever remains.

Still, loneliness comes and though I find I thrive in it, as a decade of nothing but dark solitary nights have taught me, I can't quite continue to speak to the walls and idols without going down some sort of rabbit hole of lunacy. The benches of the Halls have been my nest for a while now, even if I'm not afraid of the shadows in the wilderness' sky anymore, my mind drifts and worries too much.

Recently I've come across a scene somewhat familiar to me when wandering the Sharp Teeth, the body of a hunted bear, ravaged by ones without care and now left for the woods to consume. A common tale, one I've heard many times, especially when close to the mother I find two cubs, starving and without direction. I can't help but see myself in those creatures, and even if others would say I'm projecting my own hardships on the bear cubs I still find it my duty to protect them.

I never imagined myself the mother bear, but I'm not surprised at how Nature hardly cares for what one thinks, things simply are and circumstances are presented in the rawest, most sincere forms. The beauty and gruesomeness of the Balance. Still, taking those two small cubs under my wings has been a strange yet rewarding experience. The High Druid has given me advice, as she cares for a bear herself, and taking it to heart I've been trying my best to tend to them. One is warm to me, and likes to cuddle, the other enjoys his space and keeps a distance, but whimpers if I ever step too far away. At least my nights have not been as solitary as the past decade, so I guess these cubs are caring for me as I do them, or at least that's a warming thought in this cold winter.

Image



Sleep Comes to All

To all of us who sleep tonight,
Away from those we dearly love,
No one to the left nor the right
Only cold emptiness above;

Do know you're far from alone,
Too many of us share your fears,
Though for two nights or one,
Or maybe for all of our years.


Last edited by renshouj on Mon Mar 07, 2022 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Discord: jojoelm
Brazilian Timezone (GMT-3)

Current Character(s):
Runa Helvig - High Druid of Eldath of the Green Enclave ( BIO | JOURNAL )
User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Re: Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image


Ches 5th, 1358

To "belong"... A feeling estranged from my repertoire of emotions, ever fleeting, nigh impossible to grasp or hold on to. I didn't belong back home, nor do I belong here, or at least it all leads me to believe so. A decade of loneliness brought upon me the blessing and curse of self reflection. I know myself inside and out, that is a certainty. But others? Too complicated, far too complicated.

Father would be proud of me, which is a thought that churns my stomach. How did I run so far only to end up being so close... I guess as a part of nature, family tends to follow family. Once again, that churns my stomach.

I feel all those books I read the past month have restored my mind to an academic state, and I very much realize I do not enjoy it. I prefer being alone, though I stopped feeling lonely long ago. I've bear cubs to take care of, and plenty of lavender tea to drink. I feel like I'd be happier somewhere else, so why does my heart still say that it is the will of my Lady of Waterfalls that I stay here. That's all I wonder.

I miss the snow of my homeland. Beautiful, pure, soft, unproblematic, and most of all familiar.

Image



To Watch The Sky Above

Stars shoot across the sky,
I can see them from the grass I lie,
Sun has set, appear the blues deep,
The trees slumber while I weep.

They come beautiful, twinkling lights,
Glittering diamonds, a beautiful sight,
So while I look up and just stare,
All of me numbs and I forget my cares.

For no one truly looks to me,
The real I none can see,
So I look up, and my eyes just roam,
As for now, the stars are my home.


Discord: jojoelm
Brazilian Timezone (GMT-3)

Current Character(s):
Runa Helvig - High Druid of Eldath of the Green Enclave ( BIO | JOURNAL )
User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Re: Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image
((Artist: Efflam Mercier))



Mirtul 19th, 1358

Responsibility has always escaped me, or maybe I've always escaped it. All those years ago I ran from a life I didn't want to live, of posture and status, of social games and favorable trades, of business above family above self, or rather, where those three things are seen as one. And yet, as much as I fled from that life, it has found its way to me.

I can't quite believe it to be destiny, no. If anything, this is a challenge, an obstacle. A lesson granted to me by the unpredictability of life, one I must surpass in order to one day become rounded as a person, as a faithful. With that thought, I endure it and accept it, as though I've ran from such things before, I understand this one can't be simply be tossed aside.

My life has gotten way busier the past year, and the decade of stagnation prior to that has left me rusty to face those challenges. However, as much as I detest it and can't help but think it, the social games of the city aren't nearly as difficult and life threatening as the winters of my homeland. Having that in mind, I'm able to garner quite a bit of strength. So now I put my plans into action and live the fast paced life of the city once more, as enduring it will make the peace that comes after that much more enjoyable, and the tea that much more satisfying.


Image



Tea with Fairies

Above our heads, along the canopy
Fairies laugh and drink their tea
With pretty mugs and pretty plates
Eating their fluffy fairy cakes

Their tablecloth a cobweb lace
Flowers and sugar at every place
Fuzzy moss the carpet's floor
All this inside the oaken door

Wouldn't all just love to be
One with the fairies having tea?


Discord: jojoelm
Brazilian Timezone (GMT-3)

Current Character(s):
Runa Helvig - High Druid of Eldath of the Green Enclave ( BIO | JOURNAL )
User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Re: Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image

Greengrass, 1348

The cold and frost of Icewind Dale are a tough mentor, winter had just passed and yet I saw no signs of the snow surrendering to spring. The critters of the woods yet hibernated in their caves and burrows, the pine trees frosted over as the landscape was nothing but the purest white, as it had been the past season. Few to none would survive these lands, and yet I've not quite been an addition to the bodies that lay beneath the snow just yet.

That winter my home had been a burrow just big enough for me, "Good", I thought, "It'll be just enough for me to keep my warmth", and thankfully it was, though I'm now thinner than I've ever been, and even if I hate to admit, I miss the fireplace of my old home, the warmth of the embrace of my little brother, the plentiful meals that only a successful house of merchants could afford amidst the harsh weather.

Many times I thought to return, many times I made my way through the snowy hills to see the walls of my city once more. But I was ever too embarrassed to go back... Or maybe too stupid, or too prideful, or a likely mix of all these feelings.

I didn't even know the date, even if I knew it was supposed to be spring, and as I gathered twigs and foraged for anything that could sustain me for that night, I encountered the sight that still pleases my dreams and fills my mind every time I close my eyes. The breaking of the ice cover that lay atop a waterfall. A sight I'd seen before, but now in a moment of need so great I didn't even realize. My days were rituals of boredom, and I'd surely have embraced the cold were it not for this. Such a significant moment for me, but simple, unceremonious, I saw the water running, the river thawed and fish sprung to life, a moment I sometimes wonder if it was even real, or a gifted vision of hope.

I saw the sun illuminate the face of a crying woman only to realize it was my own, she heard in the running water whispers of peace everlasting, she felt in its current life and joy, tasted the warming gift of laughter and bathed in crystals that cleansed her body. Like a stone that can be broken into sand to flow with the wind, that woman's life now suddenly one with the river's flow. She danced beneath the waterfall wearing nothing but newfound joy, and though this was Frozenfar, spring came to her and she felt not a fragment of cold.

That night was slept beneath the running water, and the next morning the woman woke up with the gift of peace.


-//-


Eleasis 8th, 1358

I can't help but feel that there is little to say or think about, even if the world is falling around us. I've lost friends, family even, I've lost a part of my own body, I've lost strength and I've lost a home. Still, I lay in the bed of a fancy room in the Vale Estate, and my mind fails to be filled with anything. My days are the same, they bleed together into one thing. I've little to say, so I don't leave the room.

...

But I yearn for things. For my prayers to be answered, for my friends to return. I yearn for the forest, for the Golden Sapling I planted in what feels like ages past, for the bear cubs I now raised into parts of nature. To feel the wind beneath my wings, gallop across fields and take a nap inside a tree.

The world is cold even amidst the summer. I see things frosted over even though the sun shines strong. When will I heal, when will the world heal. I'm left to wonder, though even that thought soon escapes my ever empty mind.



Image



Peace Under the Waterfall

Dear stream, dear bank, where often I
Have sated thirst and saw the sky
Beautiful element, pure and clear
My sacred love and cleanser here
Peaceful friend th'away my woes
Fountains of life wher'all wind blows
What noble truths and quiet themes
Live in thy mystical deep streams?
Such as dull man can never find
Unless that Faith may lead his mind

Upon thy face I see thy love,
No need I look too far above
At the roaring brook’s incessant fall
Plant and critter dwell in awe
A symphony of nature, I hear
Basking in waters ever clear
My mind a window to your prayer
Words of Peace, forever say Her
That harmony comes to us all
Beneath the tranquil Waterfall



((Credit for some lines of the poem and overall inspiration to Henry Vaughan's "The Water-Fall"))
Discord: jojoelm
Brazilian Timezone (GMT-3)

Current Character(s):
Runa Helvig - High Druid of Eldath of the Green Enclave ( BIO | JOURNAL )
User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Re: Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image

Rumours of a Druid's Path

It had been about 2 months since a strange event happened next to House Vale's Estate, when a strange creature attacked it. After that, the druidess housed there began being seen less and less frequently, locked away in her room.

A month ago, though, she simply stopped being seen. At first, the room was left alone, people may have thought she needed space. No more than a few days after, however, the door was opened to an empty and tidy space, the druidess nowhere to be seen.

That month passed, much has happened even within the Gate itself. The druidess still aludes the city's eye.

Bound to the ground by her maimed leg, she decided enough was enough, and soared away in fleeting wings. Away from her room, from the rubbles of what was once a home, from the city she learned to love. Back into the wild. Though the gods are silent, she hears that calling coming from her heart, and without hesitation she chooses to follow it.

Image
Discord: jojoelm
Brazilian Timezone (GMT-3)

Current Character(s):
Runa Helvig - High Druid of Eldath of the Green Enclave ( BIO | JOURNAL )
User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Re: Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image


Marpenoth 24th, 1358

Four months had passed since the gods fell silent, and that same day, quite literally, the sky crumbled onto me. A weight unbearable, both physical and spiritual, that bound me to the stone slabs of the city. Something I was okay with at first, but grew to understand how much I had changed, and how much that change saddened me. The chaos was but the latest thing tying me to the ground, before it was the duty to a place I called home, and before that it was the shadow of a monster that haunted me. All of that is gone now.

What use are legs, then, for one who can grow wings?

For the past few tendays I've been travelling in all shapes but my own, and though my Lady had not yet answered my prayers, it was almost as if I felt nature's connection becoming stronger with my own. Oh, how I lost myself. How I forgot the joy of the trees, supplanted by fears and anxiety inducing senses of duty. No more.

I fly, I soar, I watch from far above the things that I truly love. And they love me back. It is truly a play of the Fates, then, that now when I shed away my doubts of who I am, I now once more hear Her calling. We all do. Things are starting to go back to normal, I guess, though "normal" will never be how it was before. With Eldath's blessing, I am once more whole on the physical, a funny way to reflect my inner mind and soul, healed by the flora and fauna around me.

I see this as a new chapter, as life is but many of those in sequence. I won't miss the city, though I might miss those who I called family within it. My Lady's will calls, now, and many things need fixing, many gardens need tending, many groves need a light dusting.


Image



Sparrow's Flight

In vermilion light of setting sun
Air flows through clouds as a race begun

Higher and higher still, thy flight
A shooting star of heaven as your light

As a flower depetalled in leaves of green
Faint then scent strong to one so keen

Teach us to be half as wise
And we'll by threefold rise


Discord: jojoelm
Brazilian Timezone (GMT-3)

Current Character(s):
Runa Helvig - High Druid of Eldath of the Green Enclave ( BIO | JOURNAL )
User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Re: Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image


Hammer 15th, 1359

I've seen once more the face of old friends, now in my own element amidst the woods, instead of surrounded by the worked stone of the cityscape. The celebration of the Fourth Feast was held on time, just before the calendar turned, and it was truly nice, though at first intimidating, to see the people come to the celebrations. Next time I encounter the High Ranger I should thank her for it.

Deepwinter rears its head, and I can't say I'm too upset at it. I prefer the cold, though this coastal winter is nothing compared to even the Midsummer of my land, let alone the winter. My days have been spent in familiar solitude, tending to plants at the Grove and the Tranquil Pools, as I thank the Lady for such peaceful days of work and prepare myself for the time when such peace is shaken.

Until then, I'll water the plants, I'll feed the birds, I'll play with the dryads and clean the groves.


Image



Until Peace Breaks

MidWinter comes as gently sweet,
As flowers bloom and rivers flow,
Peaceful times run with quiet feet,
The drop of dew with wind it blows.

My warmth hidden in my breast,
Where love and lover hide within,
Time is now for peaceful rest,
Soon malice breaks it with a grin.


Discord: jojoelm
Brazilian Timezone (GMT-3)

Current Character(s):
Runa Helvig - High Druid of Eldath of the Green Enclave ( BIO | JOURNAL )
User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Re: Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image


Tarsakh 6th, 1359

To be raised in the ever snowy lands of the Icewind Dale is to be raised among a culture that has long lived from the fruits of the earth. In many occasions, we of the Ten Towns are known to trade with the underground dwarven settlements of the region, and due to this I have been immersed in a culture dotted by dwarven traditions here and there.

Yet, though I have heard and have read of the Morndinsamman, the dwarven pantheon, I had yet to truly pay respect to such deities.

Recently, I've found myself with an itch to revisit my childhood stories that told of dwarven craftsmanship and their connection with powers of the earth itself. Though I've never spent much time underground - not counting shallow caves -, I find myself curious of the power that gems and runes may hold. Iolanna, long ago, told me of the properties that tokens of nature held. Gems, most of all. Would it not be nice to further my ability to heal and help with such ancient methods?

For that, the past weeks I've been visiting the dwarven settlement of Kraak Helzak, as fate has fortunately put me close to it as I perform my given tasks, and have had pleasant conversations with the temple priests and priestesses regarding their dwarven faith. Most specifically, I find myself intrigued by the tales of the Watchful Eye, Marthammor Duin.

It has been nice to make use of my quite forgotten grasp of the dwarven language.


Image



All One Needs

A dwarf with a booze-filled pack,
Set out on a forest-bound track,
Through thicket and glade,
His journey he made,
And never did he once look back.


Discord: jojoelm
Brazilian Timezone (GMT-3)

Current Character(s):
Runa Helvig - High Druid of Eldath of the Green Enclave ( BIO | JOURNAL )
User avatar
renshouj
Custom Content
Posts: 201
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:18 am

Re: Musings of a Tea Leaf Reader - Journal of Runa Helvig

Unread post by renshouj »

Image


Eleint 17th, 1359

In just about half a tenday, the feast of the Autumn Equinox will take place, and I can't help but feel glad to see my growth this past year. Much has happened, even in the past few months I've been hard at work, my duties extend to much of the coast and I feel that my actions truly matter.

Much of my time in recent tendays have been spent by the Golden Sapling that we planted in the Sharp Teeth... I remember that day vividly, and our rituals of growth and protection. It fills me with joy to see it grow into another shining specimen of its breed, and soon I believe it'll be time to spread it further. Hopefully the Oakfather will bless us with a seedling.

...

I see no other ways to soften the words I now write, but a few days ago I found the lifeless form of a ranger by the Mother's Shrine, entwined by grass though with the expression of peace. I buried it and prayed for it so that it passed on with the peace that the Mother provides. And just last eve, a young woman bearing the symbol of Selune visited the Pools to see his grave.

I'm unsure if she remembers me, but I remember her, and how Yashe and I cut all contact the Halls had with the Whitewood Vanguard. She was a part of the organisation, then, and though it weighed heavily on my heart then to stop her from visiting a shrine to the Moonmaiden, the protection of the priestesses was of too much importance. I catch myself wondering, now, if back then things could've gone different. And if they could've, maybe this Selunite and I would've been friends.

Image



Celebration!

Underneath the moon's silvery light
At the grand faerie fest, all unite
With music and dance
In a mystical trance
Celebrating through the enchanted night!


Discord: jojoelm
Brazilian Timezone (GMT-3)

Current Character(s):
Runa Helvig - High Druid of Eldath of the Green Enclave ( BIO | JOURNAL )
Post Reply

Return to “Character Biographies and Journals”