The anniversary has been and gone. New friends made, old friends returning...... all is well. Such a lot of work to do in our beloved library. I have spent much time there trying to make sense of what might stay where it is in the privacy of our tower for the deep scholar and what might live a more fruitful life out in the open where others can see them and learn from them. Some of the tomes are so precious: they will simply have to be protected in some way. I am sure if many eager hands, however tenderly, turn the pages of some of the older works they would disintegrate.

The work that Pallas has discovered and passed to us I am sure should be seen by all even if they cannot touch it. Precious indeed and sacred to the guild I am quite sure it will be.

Long have I wondered at the works going on to make all in readiness. Dearest Purazon I have not seen in.....many many moons. I miss him. It feels like when I have ranged over the mountains for weeks at a time and barely eaten - I feel lost and washed out with hunger. Yet even in those times food will come where dear Cory provides it and home is still here when I look for it.

I must not write longer - I still have many shelves to search through and have not yet even thought how on Valorn I could hope to pick and choose between dear Korba's maps....

Life should always be so.

Dearest Topaz looked so dedicated, so proud, as did all her dear brethren - many of them my brethren. The garden looked wonderful as I remembered it. Their words so solemn and heartfelt and somehow so full of quiet passion. I am glad I was there although I would be lying to myself if I said it was easy to be there. They are among the people I love best and I miss them every day. Yet to see their joy and the quiet pride in their achievement was a blessing and I thank the gods for it. Dear Jake - it was so good of him to accompany me. That roguish warrior! He let me take his arm and escorted me like the secret gentleman I have always known him to be. Beloved brother.

As yet, the rumours I had heard have come to nothing. I have heard from one or two others that yes, they had seen Richard. Yet I can find no trace. I wandered the grasslands again through the night in the faint hope that perhaps I might see him or even a trace that he had been there. But no, there was nothing. It surely could not be that people have been mistaken: no I do not believe that for dearest Purazon was one to have told me. No - patience is the thing I never have been able to master. I must be patient. Richard has been in a self imposed absent state for a long time - could it be he does not WANT to see anyone? If that is so then I must not rush to find him, though of course I long to. The wishes of one should not direct the actions of another. Now I think on it I should remind myself of that more often.....

Dearest Purazon's Clue contest has been a great success - despite my best efforts.... The guild are enjoying judging the other contests too.

Yes life should always be so - I have a healthy strong body that does as I tell it, I have a home, I have family, I have friends - and I can enjoy watching them grow together.

Thank you...

My heart is fluttering in my breast and I am in a state of excited anticipation. Much is taking place and much news have I heard. Thank the gods.

Things were so sad at times in the past year or so. People walked through our beloved gate into their new life where their fate determined they must be and I thought my heart would break over them. Yet what a terrible burden to place them under. I see them all well enough now: dear Topaz and Wyf and the strength of their Shieldwall - so soon to have its own anniversary; Sorynn’s heart as bright as a Kimald star within the bosom of that family. How good that she has felt she could come once more to our gardens. My beloved, dearest Korba - ah how hard that was to bear. I hear of his roguish exploits. I hear he has cut his hair and that the gentle traveller and wise cleric is gone. He has been replaced by a lean dash of a rogue and yet I know that in his heart shines the light of a cleric though she has long since departed and that his soul belongs to the gods. I remember the darkness of the day he left us. It nearly broke us all - yet a part of him will always be Kimaldian I truly believe. Everywhere I look in our Hall I see him. Maps, notices, Tomes - I even came across some notes of his when tidying the guild quarters the other day. I put them in the library safe on a desk that one day he might find them.

And yet there has been such joy at times too; in every face and message, in every song and story, in every ale shared, in every comfort given and received. In the eyes and voice, hand and heart of a dearest of ones.

6 years have passed by since the Kimaldians banded together in their new land. When I take a walk through the Guild Hall it seems impossible to imagine the humble, though proud and determined beginnings when looking at all that has been accomplished. You can tell a lot of what Kimald must have been before its fall just by being there. The Hall is so familiar to me I could traverse it with my eyes closed. I know each place just as surely as I know each scar my hands bear from my time in the fire caverns. But how much there is to discover, even for one who has lived in its safety so long, by walking slowly through it and properly looking about. The voices of many people whisper on the breeze and their steps echo in the tower. You can never really be alone here I have come to think.

They came to this land with nothing but what they could carry in grief, in anger and I think in guilt and shame. They should have felt neither, but the thought the land had fallen must have been hard for them to bear. And from nothing, they have created this place; this piece of Kimald. True, it was not done in a day, a week, a month or even a year. Nor indeed 6 years - it will never be finished. Over the years they have managed to collect artefacts and materials of their motherland. Theyhave hung old tapestries and made furnishings. They are proud of their heritage and tradition. Not in a vain way, but with love and respect. With honour and reverence do they remember their land. And though I never saw it, I am just as proud of it, just as Kimaldian as any with the rights of birth.

So what do I see when I walk through these beloved halls? I see a people who know what they believe to be right and that make it plain for all around to see. The gate makes clear the righteous intentions - no evil shall pass - and the walkway is straight and true. It is beautifully kept and the care and attention in its keeping shows me how dear the place is to those that dwell here. The pretty, uncluttered courtyard shows a clarity and that there are many parts to Kimald to be found if you should choose to walk the paths. In the House of Worship I see the depth of goodness and the faith of these people. After all they went through in their land they still kept their faith. The house of worship is clean and simple and is a place I find so comforting and tranquil. Leading to the garden beyond I find myself in the most emotionally provoking place within the whole Hall. The memorial garden is a place all Kimaldians find themselves drawn to. Whenever any of our family has weighty matters to think on, or a problem, or even when they are sad or distressed, somehow they find themselves sat here. It is a quiet place of great beauty but it is the statue that draws me to it. I look up at them and somehow all the trials and suffering of the land are poured into its beautifully cast form. And yet so too are all the hopes and dreams. For, yes, the land fell and there had been a hideous battle where death and carnage were all around, and yet - and yet they pull together and manage somehow to raise the Kimald flag and still hold it high. So was their journey to these lands I believe. Battered and broken, wounded and ravaged, and yet together they came to Valorn. Together they started the guild and together they still carry on. Together they fight and live and serve and love each other and all in the lands. Oh yes, that statue says much.

I remember being much surprised by the theatre when I first came to Kimald (for that is how I see our halls!). I do not know why….it was just not something I was expecting! This is a people that loves art and culture and spends time in writing plays and poetry to better hand down the lore and legends as well as the traditions of the land. It is a well planned and thought out theatre. Ah the memories I have of it. The year I performed I remember being nervous as a young girl meeting her intended for the first time (for that was the way things happened in my birth land). I remember the King, Kimaldian himself, sitting and watching though his time was short. I remember the god Darren appearing. I remember dearest Purazon playing such a commanding role….. what an odd memory that day is. The theatre is a good place. In a land such as Valorn everyone needs distractions and to remember.

The copse of trees with its beautiful rose arch tells me that Kimald was a physically beautiful land. That the roses they have managed to grow could be transplanted and carried so far is a blessing indeed. It shows a love of beauty too that so much trouble could be taken to bring these remnants of the land and not just the people. And the steps that lead up to the building hidden in the trees tell a lot: that learning is revered and to be undertaken with determined effort. ‘Reach high for learning and thereby understanding’. Do not expect knowledge to come without effort and do not expect to walk through life and understand all that may occur without knowledge. Many times have I stroked the wood with that carved upon it and thought well on the words.

Back through the courtyard then. What do I find? Bustling trading - ah yes the Kimaldians love to trade and haggle and find and experience things that cannot be found anywhere else! How grateful I am for this wonderful curiosity! Without it the Kimaldian merchants would not have been travelling when I was and would not have picked me up and taken me with them. How sad I was to leave them and yet how grateful and honoured to have been with them. They gave me a home and a family though they perhaps did not know it at the time. And it seems to live somewhere in each of them - how I remember dearest Purazon’s face as he turned over all the goods to be found in Ethucan. How he examined and checked and carefully weighed up each item to assess its quality and craftsmanship! A love of quality and care and respect for craftsmanship of course can be seen everywhere.

Ah yes! The Swashbuckler! What a den of iniquity and potential villainy it appears at first glance! Yet it is not. It is a hive of activity and gossip and more than that a place of enjoyment and exuberance and relaxation! Strange food and drink, interesting people….. yes, I love the Swashbuckler. I feel safe there, watched over in a way. The Swashbuckler is an excellent lesson in not taking things for granted or judging by appearances. The kitchens beyond are a testament to something most people know; my how the Kimaldians love their food. Be they initiate or Knight, food is a fascination and much more than just the means of sustenance. I never knew a Kimaldian who was not fascinated in the creation of new dishes and interesting ways to use ingredients. What a resourceful people and therefore land!

And the dock. What does that say? It shows a nation with a sea-faring tradition. A nation not afraid of its own borders but ready to embark upon the unknown if that is where its path leads. It also shows no fear of hard physical work or any desire to shirk work where it comes. It shows a desire to feed its people. It makes me think of journeys though it would not be a long one upon the lake to be sure.

I could go on for marc after marc were I to think of all that within the great tower means. For another day perhaps.

For now, I clutch delicious news and trembling happiness to me. The contests are closed and we will deliberate on the winners. Dearest Purazon will let us know about the Clue contest. That has been such fun seeing what questions folks would ask next! I wonder who will win!

And the news? - Jake is back. How I adore that rogue of a warrior. How I fall on my knees and thank my gods and the beloved goddesses for it. I have seen him with my own eyes and well he looks. And better and best and indeed blessed of all - news of another. I hold my breath in the hopes it might be true. Indeed I know it must be for dearest Purazon heard of it and sent messages. Yet I must see him - I must see him with my own eyes for I am told Richard is back. My beloved and dear brother. As dear to me as the blood in my veins. I have wept and keened for him, then looked desperately for him, then ached and quietly missed him - but he has not been from my thoughts even for a day. Richard de Ville the Hunter in Green, the Prince of the forest, dear friend. Please, please dear gods let our paths cross soon!