Hello, my leathery friend. The one sat with me here at my deathbed. As expected, no family, friends doing theirs and me here, bedridden and infirm and only getting out to piss in a bowl next to my bed.. Quite a mess I will leave for others to clean, hah! Oh, I shall not lie, I do enjoy no one seeing me in this wretched state.. coughing phlegm and blood at every turn, but I should get on with this.. will.
This shall be my final will and testament, no longer shall I command the Dawners or punish them for their stupidity, no longer shall I go to the Pony for a drink and a laugh, no more women to bed, or bastards to father, no more shall I linger on this lovely patch of dirt called the Bree-lands and no longer shall insults be thrown in drunken stupor. It is funny when you think about it.. I have been beaten, battered, wounded and maimed, and now a damned cough will do me in. Always prided myself that death did not have the patience for me, and now.. my old friend has decided to play a cruel prank on me. The one to find this journal of mine, is also expect to deliver the messages held within it.
Firstly, I shall address Hyrien, as she has always been my one true right hand man woman, loyal beyond question at all turns. To her I gift.. or curse, depending on how you look at it, the command of the Bloody Dawn, I also gift her with the same dagger she gave me not long ago, the dagger that holds the sigil of the Bloody Dawn.. I have yet to name it anything, but the Bloody Blade. I will miss you, and I apologize for my nature which at times have led you astray.
Fiontann, Basaran and Rothlung, I expect you to make it easy for Hyrien, if you do not do this, I will come back and haunt you, and you perfectly well know I would be capable of finding you, even in death I will have my eyes on you. I have little to gift you, and I hope words will suffice. You have all been loyal to me, true men, good men and when your time is done, I shall drink well with you in the halls of the gods and share tales of our battles.
Neyaa, you were as close to a wife I ever had, and I did not treat you well enough, I wronged you while we were together, I knew of other women, though it was only in the start, I stayed true to you since then. You are the mother of one of my bastards, Branston, the Bastard of the Dawn, and as such I will gift him my sword, Dawnbreaker, which shall be renamed Dawnbringer for the hope of your future, my son. We had good times together, and we had bad, and I shall take the blame for a good part of the bad, I hope your new knight will keep you happy, even if I do not like the man.
Taala, Shirleigh, Branston, Aemalia, Lissbeth, Rycroft and to the rest of my children, alive or dead, I apologize for being the father I was, half of you I did not know before you were grown, and half of you I still do not know truly. Branston is the last son of mine that I know of, and as such he will be granted my sword. Taala, Shirleigh and Aemalia are all within rights to pick one thing of mine that shall be theirs from that hour henceforth. I hope this token gift shall be able to mend some of my faults, I will also command that you all shall have home beneath the roof of the Dawnhall. I apologize.
Seaver, Ardeghon and Galrandil I shall name you my friends, amongst many others, even if I have not always agreed with you. I beg of you all to keep my children safe, and you as well Blince, but if you raise Branston, or any of them like a Kolten, I will rip out your heart and eat it in front of you. Oh.. and I suppose I should confess that I have bedded your daughter, and I apologize if that has shamed you, I never intended to be your enemy, but you were just too much of an arrogant prick to be your friend.
Dernwynn, I apologize for the animosity that came between us, it was never my intention. The contract was brought to us, and I intended to do it, that was all. I know the Bard and Geirdrifa claim they protect you, but be wary around them. It is those two specifically who had me on the contract and on the leads that led me to you. I shall also remind you of the night under the tree, remember me like that, your friend and consort. Not as the enemy I became, I apologize for it all, even if I shall keep hating that halfling with a passion well beyond measure.
Sefa, you have been nothing to me if not one of my truest friends, I have drunk with you, I have shared a bed with you and I have laughed with you. Had it been another time, or had I been another man, I would have wedded you, regardless, I shall always hold you dear in my heart, do keep an eye on my daughters will you? As well as the lads, I ask of you to keep an eye on them in the Pony, after all.. you are guaranteed to see some of them there.
Bella, I gift you with a command, of a few of the Dawners, have them look for Rannie, you spoke with me not long ago on this matter, and I will not have you lose her as well, least of all will I look idly by while it happens, so you have a search party if you do wish for this.
Last of all, I shall ask forgiveness of all I have hurt in my life, be it the men I led to their deaths with the outriders riding blindly into an ambush, be it the men I have killed or punished or be it the families of the latter. The dead I shall meet in the halls, and I hope they will not spurn my apologies.
There is many and more I have likely forgotten that I should have written into this testament. I have loved and hated a good lot of you, and I hope you will at least keep a faint memory of me with you carrying on, be it with hatred or fondness.
That was a lot of ceremonial and emotional blabber, huh, lad? Do not grow sick from it will you? Hah.. You are a book after all, even if you have been my truest companion at times of doubt and fear. You shall be granted to be kept by one of my children, whichever one will claim you, Hyrien is allowed to claim it as well, but given that she is not that good with her letters, I will assume one of my daughters shall have it. It has been a pleasure knowing you, my leathery lad, interesting to know all of you.. from Hawthorns to Thalanduins, from beggars and whores to lords and ladies. I will see you again, when you ascent into the night sky.
(OOC)
Thanks for a load of great RP on Hardo, many of you have been a pleasure, and some of you a pain, but the past is the past, and I will eventually be around on other characters, so do not think you're entirely free of me. And sorry for the long entry, I know half of you won't really read it.
