~(Continued Here there are a few pages scrawled in an elegant handstyle, the pages are soft with age, discolored around the edges from frequent turning of pages.)

Summer,
The Elders say that my Daughter is coming soon. Polaris~
I can't wait to meet you. And I know your Father is excited to meet you. He works Hard every day to bring you into a Place where we don't struggle to Survive.
The Food and Livestock are growing, the Crops are popping up, the Medicine is Plentiful. The Wildlife is Teeming.
Our Little Paradise on the Isle.

While the Men are away defending the Islands and the Fisherman are on the water... it really does feel like we could stay and Live here Forever.
That the Reach of the Tyrant Longclaws will never reach us here.
That the Children will Learn our ways and carry on our Traditions, even if those Traditions are being made and remade now.
One Day this will be Made History, and the Ursican Isle will be Legend to our People.
And then I will give it away to our Children.

~(Continued Here there are a few pages scrawled in an elegant handstyle, the pages are soft with age, discolored around the edges from frequent turning of pages.)



Late Spring on the Isle- The Ice has gone, the Trees are in Bloom,
the Women Garden and Children gather Herbs and Medicines while the Men Fish and Hunt.
The Northstar woman, Marilyn who is my Midwife, has a young Son named Arturo, He's about 5 now, he already displays combat prowess, he'll be a fighter one day.
By the Time the Ground dries, our Homestead will be able to sustain us All. The Builders have finished the wall,
and the Elders have a Hall large enough for all of us. A Barn has gone up for the Livestock, along with several Dwellings for our Bannermen.
updated list of our Clans:

Banners: (350+, Numbers Approximate)
Ursica - Myself and Dar. (Leaders and Lorekeepers)
Umbrose- 3 Heads of House. (Hunters and Trappers 100)
Brinebjorn- 6 Fisherman. (Majority of our Seamen 40)
Saltmate- Roper Stayed to Repair Boats (Majority still ferrying on the Sea 15)
Woodsward- Bordrey and Timber (Sentrymen and Rangers 120)
Honeyhand -4 heads of House. (Farmers 20)
Northstar - Marilyn and her Son Arturo (Nobles)

Elder Hall: 1
Barracks: 2
Barn: 1
Greenhouse: 1
Grain Silo: 1
Smokehouses: 2
Dwellings: 6

Horses: 4
Cows: 4
Chickens: 8
Goats: 4
Pigs: 6
Sheep: 12
Dog: 1

Top Left: High Lady Polaris Ursica - The Noble Brambjorn Ursica
Bottom Left: The Noble Tabbytha Woodsward - The Noble Arturo Northstar

(AI Generated, Do not own Rights to Images)

~(Continued Here there are a few pages scrawled in an elegant handstyle, the pages are soft with age, discolored around the edges from frequent turning of pages.)

Spring Break up has arrived, Our Fisherman have begun to clear a path to the Sea. Darius with them.
They plan to go back to the Mainland with the able-bodied men to see what Longclaws is up to.
I am confident it will be a safe trip, a short one. Dar assures me it's a simple reconnaissance mission, and that they don't plan to engage them.
I'm told that we've received several Raven's from our kin on the Borderlands, and a Scouting Party has been sent to retrieve more of our Elders.

In other news, our indoor greenhouse is flourishing, many of our Fruits and vegetables have survived the Winter, and our Food Stocks have over-doubled.
One of our Mares is almost ready to give Birth.

[The Page is horribly stained here, looks like something Food related]

[The Bottom of the Page looks as though someone were making an Inventory Count]

Horses \
Cows
Chickens \\
Goats \
Pigs \
Sheep \

Greenhouses
Grain Silo
Smokehouses

~(Continued Here there are a few pages scrawled in an elegant handstyle, the pages are soft with age, discolored around the edges from frequent turning of pages.)

Winter on Ursican Isle. It's Warmer than I thought it would be.
In the North Mainland, Winter was nearly unbearable. Long and harsh the blanket of ice and snow and frigid winds kept us in our homes until it was necessary to Hunt and Gather. Here on the Isle, the Children play in the Snow, Make Monsters of their Imagination and destroy them with wooden swords and spears. They Climb the tiny Mountains and tumble down like the Giants of old. Laughing all the while. Then, in the Evenings we gather in the Hall for Warmth and Tales from the Elderly. The Children learn our ways. The Elders Learn of Youth and the Future.

Darius is Confident Winter here will bring new ways to our People, and our First Born will Lead in a way never before seen in our clans. The people are seeing him less as a Cleric these days and more of a Prophet. Though he Still heals our Wounds and our Spirits, he is lighting a path to an Imagined outcome none of us could have predicted. He is well-loved and trusted, by the People, By the Bears, and even by the Spirits.

It won't be long now, the Elders say our Little Girl will Join us when the Summer Wanes.

Looking at the stars this Night has Inspired me to name her.. Polaris.

~(Here there are a few pages scrawled in an elegant handstyle, the pages are soft with age, discolored around the edges from frequent turning of pages.)

((TW: Colonization, Refugee, Deforestation))

Dark was the Forest awning, Looming over Us. Drowned out the Light of the Sky easier than two licked fingers and a Matchstick's head between them.
In the Forest where most would Withdraw from in Fear and Suspicion, We Abide. The Bears.
Seeking a place to rest, a place to dwell, to Inhabit, to Thrive.

The Isle which was meant to be our Downfall, bleak, soaked in brine and as Unforgiving as
The Northern Frosts- though much less cold. 'Dar' used to say, If we ever left- we'd be Southerners. I dare-say now that's what we are. (I even write like them now.)

He says now, we have a Quarter-Cycle to Hunt the Isle of it's Game.
The Walls are going up on the Cape of the Isle, Deforestation has begun and the Halls 'Shell' has been erected. For now it will House all the Men and Women Warriors, Animals as well as the Lords and their Ladies alike. The Hall has enough wood now to last us the Winter.
All in all, I think my Husband has chosen a fine place to build a Stronghold.

I am due for my Firstborn, in Half a Cycle, Darius prays to the Gods for a Boy.
Of Course, I want a Daughter.

~
Today I sat and watched the dock come to life on the Waterfront, I had with me an escort,
She tells me of the Progress, recites the Men's Discussions with uncanny Interpretation, (with, I imagine- "added" Song and Dance.)

The Tyranny of Longclaws has now Spread and taken over most of the Mainland.
For his claws are long Indeed, though he has not the Ships to carry his army along the coast now to where we have sequestered ourselves. Dar says soon, we will be fortified enough to withstand a siege. And that- we presume, Our Home has all but been destroyed. If we fair well for the Winter, we will expand and build, plant crops. Send for the Bannermen to join us when the Ice Freezes. And again when it Breaks.

In other Whisperings, I hear that the Bear Clans have diverged now. Many Mainland Bears have rallied to Longclaws.
-The Fen Longclaws and the Bogberns.
-The Northstars (at least half),
-Both Arbor River Clans, and all Four Elders.

Thus far the Ursican Hold still has the Banners of
-House Umbrose (and its Elders here with us on the Isle.)
-The Brinebjorns and Saltmates, (whom without which we'd never have Escaped.)
-Woods Clan, and Plains Clan are still on the Mainlands,
-One of the Three Fisher Tribes, and One of the Honeysower Elders, Location Unknown.

Many Bear Clans, Otter Clans and a Few Smaller Families have yet to be accounted for.
I Make Offerings to the Gods in hopes more will Join us soon.

-(The Name here has been scribbled out)

Page 2: After the Title Page with the House Heraldry, There is a Family Tree. Only Dating back to Polaris' Parents, However, New Names have been added Recently.




On the Left, On the Back of the Title Page, Polaris has Drawn a Picture of her Brother Brambjorn.

Inside the Title Page of the Tome is yet another Insert. Looks to be a Handmade Invitation~[I]



On the Back is an unfinished Guest List:
~ Amazons (Obviously)
Zelele is In Charge of Officiating, Telmacha makes the Dresses, Dolly and Topaz.
~ Brambjorn and Jaddus
~ Taven Deagan, Bram's Sponsor.
~Jonac is the Ring-Bearer.
~ Pallas and Elly
~ The Wolves (Jade, James, Thomas, Jasmine)
~ Aphidistra is in Charge of the Flowers, Arristable and Faunra.
~ Ominod Noxid
~Cliff Crimson
~
~
~