The Diary of Verity, Viscountess of Seawatch
Volume II
This volume contains the early notes of Verity Touraine, then the Viscountess of Seawatch, as she began her exploration of occult secrets forbidden by the Church of Inner Light. It details her early years at the Castle by the Sea, and her early correspondence with a woman name Anastasia Issorat.
Possession of this tome is worth **** Research Points per session. If delivered to the Church, this tome is worth **** Church Prestige Point.
The following note is written in newer ink on the front page of the diary, as though it was added at a later date than the majority of the text.
Hear me, oh seeker into forbidden lore!
My name is Verity Touraine, and in life I was known as the
Duchess of Touraine.
I sacrificed my life to the pursuit of knowledge, out of belief
that truth is a virtue, and wisdom an honorable aspiration.
History will decide if I was a monster or a hero, but the truths I
discover will survive me. These texts contain all that I learned
during my life.
Read them and follow me in my journey through light and
darkness.
...
Five years have passes since I came to the Castle by the Sea. When I last saw him, my son was health and hale, crying as he took his first score breaths. I named him Yoin, lingering memory, but I do not know if those who raise him will allow him to retain that name. He would be five today.
I have mourned for long enough. It is time to live again.
...
Onyx, the first Duke of Touraine, built the castle that I now call home. It is said that he received our family's prophecy from the Damsel Garbed in Waves herself, and raised this castle from Mourn's bones to better understand the nature of the prophecy. The castle itself rises from a cliff like one of the shells the ocean tosses aside, and I fear that some day the waves will rise up and tear it down as well. A number of servants live within the castle, and I have observed their daily routine...
...
The castles is well-stocked with books, and I have struggled to read some of the library while I remain imprisoned here. Most of them are terribly esoteric, the sort of thing my father or my lost lover would doubtless understand. I found my ancestor Onyx's journal, though, and have studied it extensively. Most of it is arcane, dealing with people who have been dead for hundreds of years. However, I did find a section where Onyx wrote out the Touraine prophecy:
"When the sea's daughter bears a child by the earth's son, the Komaru will fall."
I plan to read more. There isn't much else to do.
...
While reading through grandfather's notes, I have discovered his summary of the prophecy. He breaks the prophecy down as follows: "The sea's daughter refers to the Mer, the ocean-dwelling creature that Mother used to use to scare me to sleep. The Mer are the Folk of the Sea. According to grandfather, who claims to have seen one, they are made of pure water below the waist and have the torsos of the most beautiful humans he had ever seen. He wrote that he had to avert his eyes, lest their beauty strike him blind. Of course, every child knows that the Mer keep the ocean free of humanity, sinking ships and producing humanity's strong aversion to open water. "The earth's son" is held to be any human, and this grandfather believed that when a Mer maid bears the child of a mortal man, the Komaru will lose their crown. I have taken to watching the sea for Mer. Perhaps being struck blind will make me less bored.
...
I haven't seen any Mer yet, but an interesting letter came today from a woman named Anastasia Issorat. She claims that she was a friend of grandfather's, and asked me if I could look up the answers to some questions in his old papers. Again, I have nothing better to do.
...
I received another letter today from Anastasia Issorat, and I must say that the woman is intriguing, She seems to have a detailed knowledge of the castle, and has given me directions on where to find misplaced letters written by my grandfather. The letters are intriguing. Grandfather was unarguably an interesting man.
...
Anastasia has told me so many things in the past year that I have had little time to record them in my diary. I have seen her, now, in a painting in grandfather's secret study. She is a magnificent woman, and her silver hair and sea-green eyes would have made me hate her when I was at court. Looking at the picture, I can easily understand grandfather's love for her.
...
Anastasia has asked me to come visit her, although she has warned me that she is very old, and in ill health. I have sent messages to the court, and I will meet this great lady attired in a fashion that will do her great honor. I have little time, though, and there are so many things that must be perfect if I am to impress her!
...
Paraceln has died, one hundred years after his Dream changed the world. Sometimes, I wonder what that truly means.
...
At Anastasia's hands, I have been granted true power! My research was not in vain, for now I have learned that there is true power within the lore of the ancients. This chapter of my life is at an end.