Aislyn's Notebook

by **Aislyn Leavold** on June 22nd, 2014, 11:31 pm

An Artist's Journals

Aislyn's journal is actually two books, one full after well over a year full of entries. The journals are nearly identical; nothing more than plain, titleless books with small emblems around the edges.
Inconspicuous to a point, Lyn hasn't written her name anywhere in them, though she does (occasionally) include drawings of herself and (more commonly) her illusions.

Entry 1-15 and all unmentioned entries through that date are marked up with red charcoal, certain details underlined and circled. This is curtesy of Nythis Drawne when he got his hands on Aislyn's journal during the Switch.

By the winter of 515, the first journal is full of entries, notes, and drawings, marking the beginning of the second book.

NOTE: Author of entries can be determined by the handwriting of the entry marker at the top of the page.

Aislyn's Handwriting (Left-handed)
Anjani's Handwriting (TBD)
Maya's Handwriting (Right-handed)
Thief's Handwriting (Ambidextrous)

I have written out the most prominent/important entries below.

Full Overview of Entries
Fair warning; it’s rather long.
Essentially a write-up of every page in Aislyn's journal, both written and unwritten.

Journal One :

House of Broken Mirrors

Naia Whitewater

Lani Stranger

Aislyn’s “male” illusion

birthday gift to Phobius

Kaleo the Mockingbird

the Eye

Alchemmia Alchea

Festival of Illusions

[Drawing -- Miss Rihea
Painting -- Miss Rihea

Journal Two :

by **Aislyn Leavold** on June 22nd, 2014, 11:32 pm

First of Summer, 514 AV

Entry One

I bought this journal about a bell ago, as a birthday gift to myself. Mother forgot it was my birthday, as usual. She hasn’t remembered it for the past, what, two years? Three? I’ve lost count. Anyways, it doesn’t matter much. If she had remembered it, I would have hurt her feelings by running off and disappearing into the city. My city. So, in a way, it’s good that she forgot.

Mothers’ forgotten a lot of things now, all she really remembers to do is get up in the morning and go sell pottery. Go make pottery. Go carve whatever it is she carves. She seems to like birds now. Another phase, I’d assume. Last time it was cats. Before that, leaves. There’s always some sort of trend, though they never last more than a season. At least she’s selling, though. It’s enough to get her by, though it isn’t enough to pay for both of us. I’ve let her have the majority of the food I’ve bought, though she never notices. I just tell her it’s even and she eats it, always happy.

Oh, wasn’t that good fish? She’d say, even when we’re eating sandwiches. I believe the city of illusions has gotten to her mind. Her mind is a city of it’s own, like Alvadas, full of illusions. I’d like to see what’s inside, see how much of it is full of Ionu, and how much of it is full of me. Sometimes, she doesn’t even recognize me. This worries me.

She always has a glazed look to her eyes now, smiling a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. I find her staring at a blank wall sometimes, laughing and muttering under her breath.
I don’t dare interrupt.

I’ve been practicing my illusions- If you could call it that. I’ve found that, with my mothers’ draining sanity, she doesn’t notice my illusions. This is good, since I can only affect one sense at a time. She never notices if I cause her dinner of stale bread to taste like cake.
I love making her happy.
If only I could make her sane.

by **Aislyn Leavold** on July 12th, 2014, 4:19 pm

First of Summer, 514 AV

Entry Two

Two entries in one day.
Today certainly is a special day.
I write this as I walk, wandering Ionu's great city once again, searching for the Bizarre. I usually have quite the luck with this, but today it seems every corner is the same. I've found some shops, now, but there aren't many people on this street. No, the Bizarre is usually much busier. I've dressed myself as a child, me as a child, if you really want to call names. I've taken a chance with this, changing height and weight, but it's only one day. What's the harm?

Then again, who knew? This is Alvadas, after all.

My mother hasn't sold much lately. I really must get a job soon. I'll visit the Sanity Center in a few days, see if there's anything I can get. I'm sure luck will be involved, but that's besides the point. I barely have enough money for thirty days of food, never mind the rest of the season. My mother told me to "Bring back more of those wondrous sweets" right before I left. I fear she's getting more unraveled by the day. I've never bought any sweets.

I'm sure she was eating raisins, with a few of my tricks tossed in. It's a lot like cooking, you see. If I make an illusion of taste, I have to know what it tastes like. So I can imagine the tastes of the sweets from my short childhood, then project that taste onto some crumbs of bread, or a hazelnut. Unfortunately, I know my own illusions so well that I can't make my own food taste better. Shame.

In all reality, I'm horrid at cooking, but I can throw together some soup, or make some bread. That's about the extent of my abilities, so most of my means I eat raw. Not that it matters, for if I burn a mean I can just give it to my mother, making it taste like whatever I had attempted to make. Recently, I learned from a food vendor about a type of tart made from rice. It seemed easy enough, so I plan to try it, even if it takes several attempts. Add some rice, some eggs, butter, almonds, put it in a crust, then set it under a fire for a bell.

Rice Tart Recipe

My favorite food is pineapple, with some honey drizzled on top. I've only had it once, as pineapples are so hard to come by, but it was by far the best thing I've ever tasted. I saw some pineapple in the bizarre the other day, some average sized ones, or at least what I suppose is average, selling for well over fifty gold. I've all but given up hope on tasting the sweetness of the fruit again.

I counted what money I have saved up. One-hundred gold mizas exactly. That'll be enough to get at least me through the season, though I'll have to make sure mother is still earning enough for herself. She used to be able to support both of us, but as her sanity drains she has become... Less inviting. Not as many people visit her store. This means that, as my mother's income goes down, mine must go up. I must support my broken family, even if it is only us two. I've given myself twenty five gold to work with once I find the bizarre, and I plan to use at least half of that to get my mother and I through the season. I've already gotten a large basket to hold everything in, and I've written up a list of what I plan on getting.

Shopping List

I've got enough ingredients on my list to make both the tart and some soup. My mother, before her mind went awry, taught me a simple recipe for soup, using vegetable stock and lentils. Only two ingredients, yet it tastes relatively good. It makes two servings, and my mother used to make it all the time.

[list]Lentil Soup Recipe- Makes 2 servings
• 4 oz Lentils
• 16 oz Vegetable Broth

Add lentils to boiling vegetable broth. Immediately raise pot away from fire, reducing heat. Allow to simmer for 15 chimes.

Vegetable Broth- Makes 72 oz
• 9 cups water
• 1/2 oz of mustard seeds
• 4 oz dried onion
• 1 oz Garlic
• 1 oz of dried thyme
• A few dried mushrooms

Boil water in a large pot over fire. Add all ingredients (crushed into fine powder) except garlic and mushrooms. Cut up garlic and mushrooms finely, adding them to the broth slowly. Stir until desired thickness is achieved.

by **Aislyn Leavold** on July 21st, 2014, 2:43 pm

Third of Summer, 514 AV

Entry Three

Today is the day.
The day my life turns around, the day that I finally start supporting my own weight in this small family. I'm already on my way to the Sanity Center, and I'm still praying to Ionu they have at least one job offering that suits me. Artist, maybe, or... Well, I'm not sure what else. It's not like I have a bountiful array of skills available. In any light, I'll be sure to record what information I can gather from whatever job I take, and if it's something bad... Well, one can never hope for too much.

Ask for ~~Kovarak~~ ~~Kularak~~ Kuvarakh at Wanda’s Alchemmia Alchae.

Nuit Transference Glyphs

Mind (Forehead)

Soul (Torso)

Ichor (Elsewhere)

by **Aislyn Leavold** on November 12th, 2014, 11:18 pm

Fortieth of Summer, 514 AV

Entry Four

I've just returned from quite an eventful night.
I'm still shaking, and it's taken me at least a bell to pick all the cobble out of my poor foot. That petching Dhani man- this is all his fault. He just had to stick his nose where it didn't belong, then he was surprised when I pushed him back. The nerve!
But I'd been so stupid as well. Let my guard down... Let him find out. I just had to prove myself right, didn't I? Throw around some words that immediately unmasked me. Petch. What if he's related to Kuvarakh? Or if he tells Zeke? That shyke…

For both of our best interests… That snake better not spread stories.

Other than the issue with the snake, the night was ~~pleasant~~ otherwise interesting. Hopefully I’ll be able to return to the tavern without issue. The days are growing colder… Reptiles hibernate, don’t they? Perhaps I won’t have a problem after all…
I really do want to go back to that tavern, meet Ruzekiel again- he does seem like quite a nice person- but hell, if Reysin tells him about what he discovered... It's just too risky. At least, too risky for this season.

But that’s alright.
I can wait.

by **Aislyn Leavold** on December 20th, 2014, 5:32 pm

Thirteenth of Fall, 514 AV

Entry Five

I did it. I went back to the tavern. I’m not sure what possessed me to do so, but I was passing by it on the walk home from exploring the city… And it just felt right. I could hear a string instrument playing, and of course thought that must have meant Zeke was there. So I went in, and said hello once again. He didn’t seem to remember me, though I didn’t expect him to- I was dressed up as Maya that time, whilst he’d first met me as ‘Nise’. Nonetheless, that was a huge relief for me. I had proven that people remembered faces over voices, and thus, that I was safe.

I don’t think anything particularly exciting happened for the rest of the evening- I think I might have drunk too much. I don’t remember much from the rest of the day, besides waking up the next morning with a murderous headache. But I was still alive, and still illusioned as Maya, so I decided that the night must have gone by without incident. Nothing to be worried about, then.
Right?

by **Aislyn Leavold** on December 20th, 2014, 5:33 pm

Twentieth of Fall, 514 AV

Entry Six

I’ve best get this on paper in case my memory fails me…

I met a face I’d wished never to see again today. Reysin Ekans, or whatever his real name is, this time in very, very different circumstances. I was called for by Kuvarakh- rather, Phobius- for help with some other artistic need. A mugshot, it was, though it. I’m still not entirely sure who the men I was drawing were, but I know they weren’t nice. That much was obvious when they came bursting into the Alch demanding to see “Kirby”.
I hate misunderstandings.

Kirby wasn’t there, obviously, as “Kirby” was really Kuvarakh, wearing Kirby’s body. As a Nuit, he tends to do those things. Taking bodies and such… I should know after transferring him into “Kirby”. Kirby was a petching bastard, anyways, from what I’ve heard… There’s no reason I should have been sad he was dead. But that’s besides the point. The ~~two men~~ three men- there was one waiting outside, as well as I can remember- wanted Kirby, and they wanted him badly.
After that, it’s all a bit fuzzy. I remember Rey- who’d been there for the sake of describing the thugs and being a bastard- was pushed up against a wall by one of them. I remember being gratified by that; The snake deserved it, didn’t he? And then I felt horrible. I was not on the same side as the thugs. And his god dang pleading eyes. I caved. I took the opportunity, got the thug off of Rey. Then the man came after me and…
Nothing. And nothing. My memory trails off after there.
I know there was yelling, then I ~~slipped~~ was pushed, and struck my head on a chair. It started bleeding and then I thought I was being attacked… Petch, my head hurt so much, I couldn’t see three feet in front of me. I sit at home now, left alone, and I still don't know what happened. I swung up a knife and it connected with something, but I still don’t know what- or rather, who- it was.
In hindsight, it was probably Rey.

by **Aislyn Leavold** on December 20th, 2014, 5:46 pm

Twenty-first of Fall, 514 AV

Entry Seven

oocThis entry is adorned with several rough sketches of various Alvadas-esqe things. Flowers, leaves, and, of course, illusions. This forces the entry into limited space, and thus, onto several pages, despite it’s small size.

I’ve started keeping this journal daily, as I have no doubt I’ll forget some things in the days to come. I have already- I wake up with no recollection of going to sleep, but the memory comes back to me as the day goes on. I suppose that means it’s getting better. Or worse. I’m not really sure- I’ve got no experience in anything medical. Petch. I’m going to have no mind left by the time this season ends. And to think I had a near perfect memory before. It’s such a shame.

But that’s not the point of this entry. The point of this entry is to record what I’ve done and plan to do. Which, for today, isn’t too terribly much. I’ve taken to going walking, possibly taking my notebook with me to sketch some things around the city. So far I’ve found fall flowers and leaves to be my favourite things to sketch. They’re quite pretty this time of year. Oh, and Ionu’s illusions. They seem unusually creative for such a normally monotone season. Not that I’m complaining. I’ve made quite a few rough sketches already, though I doubt they’ll ever be finished, considering the very temporary nature of the illusions. Nonetheless, they’re quite fun to draw, and even more fun to watch.

by **Aislyn Leavold** on December 20th, 2014, 5:47 pm

Twenty-second of Fall, 514 AV

Entry Eight

Another daily update. I’ve found them rather useful, especially as to explaining the strange drawings that keep appearing throughout my notebook with no recollection of me drawing them. This amnesia now only seems temporary, however, as it takes a few seconds to register, but I always remember afterwards. The fog is slowly lifting, though I still can’t venture back to the day on which the fog appeared. I doubt I ever will be. I’d ask Wanda about it, but then she’d know something was wrong, and, of course, would know that I had been lying to her when I said everything was fine. And for obvious reasons, asking Rey is not an option.
But anyways, as to the list of chores for today.

I’ve gone out for another one of my walks, though I didn’t draw anything today. I suppose I just wasn’t feeling into it. Rather, I’ve been feeling very out of it for the past few days. Not that I let that ruin anything. The most exciting thing I found to happen was that I found a crossbow for a fair price in the bizarre. I hadn’t seen one in absolute ages, so of course I was drawn to it… Petch, I even bought it. Twenty or so gold, it was, and I don’t regret one copper. It was a beautiful thing, and fired steadily, as far as I could see. I didn’t even care about the negative memories that came attached to the weapon. I wanted it, and it was right there, so I got it. Hopefully, this won’t be a decision I regret.

by **Aislyn Leavold** on December 20th, 2014, 5:48 pm

Twenty-third of Fall, 514 AV

Entry Nine

This will probably be the last daily- or simply last- journal entry for a while. Kuvarakh and Phobius came over today, knocked on the door while I was still sleeping. Woke me up, that did, and I barely had enough time to throw an illusion over myself before opening the door. They said they’d wanted me at the mansion. At least, that was what Kuvarakh said. I had a feeling he didn’t say the same thing to Phobius. Well, he probably convinced Pho to move in, though I doubt he’d stated it was for the same reason. I’ve gotten a sort of father-son sort of feeling from Kuvarakh and Phobius, and I understand why. Phobius just seems so easily hurt, it’s understandable to want to protect him. I know I do, but Kuvarakh’s idea of protection seems to involve crossing a rickety bridge hanging over lava, so I’m not so convinced his priorities are all straight.

Nonetheless, I accepted the proposition. I know there’s no way to keep up my facade if I went to the mansion- if the building was as alive as Kuvarakh made it seem, it would see right through me easily. But it was a matter of when, not if. Kuv had very heavily pushed the idea that I would die if I didn’t go with him, so it would be far too suspicious to deny his request. I had to say yes. There was no other option. We’ve arrived at the mansion now, and I’m writing this outside of their field of view. I can only hope the day goes better than I expect it to, or this may be the last time you, whoever you are, hear of me.