My heart is broken.
We all suffer losses, and I have suffered a few that wounded deeply. But, with everybody that I have lost, Logan and Sophia were always there for me...Logan, with his strength and that dry wit of his...and Sophia, with her warmth and beautiful spirit. From the day I was born, they were an important part of my life.
I have always adored them. I learned from them what happens when a companionship is right...when there is love and respect and commitment. I had a stong and loving family of my own, but they were my example of how a mother and father can work together. I watched them raise their children, and I hope I can be half as good a mother as Sophia was. I already find myself doing some of the same things, and I can only smile when I realize it.
I spent much time at the Inne of the Black Larl. You never knew who you'd find there, but it was always fun and interesting. And the aroma of cookies baking or my very favorite stew on the hearth, the decor of the inne, the sound of Sophia's voice as she sang or hummed a tune, and Logan's rare laugh all combined to make me feel safe and happy from the very ihn I entered the main room. It's hard to believe they aren't there now...that I will never see or hear them again. But...I suppose part of them will always be here, in the city they loved.
My greatest comfort is that they went together...as if it was meant to be. I don't know how either of them would have survived the loss of the other. I wouldn't have been able to bear their sadness. And I know they would not want us to be sad forever. Those of us who were lucky to know them well will always hold them in our hearts. We will have our wonderful memories of them. We will think of them with affection when we hear the piping notes of a flute or the ringing clash of a sword. And we will always have their legacies...their children, the manor, the inne, the amphitheatre, and so much more...all the things they built over their years here.
I was reading for solace after I heard the news, and I ran across something that seemed perfect. This is what I think they would say to us all....
Do not stand by the Thassa and weep;
We are not there, we do not sleep.
We are a thousand winds that blow.
We are the diamond glints on the snow.
We are rays of Lar Torvis on ripened grain.
We are the gentle summer rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
We are the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
We are the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand by the Thassa and cry;
We are not there. We did not die.
[Adapted from "Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep" by Mary Frye]
There are no words to express the depth of the loss we've all suffered with this news. We've lost a great warrior and a great entertainer. But, more important to all of us now, we have lost wonderful Goreans, good friends, and inspirational mentors to the youth of Schendi. I have always admired both of them immensely, and I was very sorry to hear of the accident that took them from us.
My condolences to the family. If any of them need advice or assistance of any kind, I would be proud to help in any way I can.
Logan and Sophia, may we see you again someday in the City of Dust.
Logan and Sophia were an inspiration individually as they were as a couple. Sophia was one of the finest examples of what a Lady is and should be and I oft times learned from watching her. She had a delightful laugh and a humor I well appreciated. I did not know Logan as well but he was a man of honor and I never once saw him behave in any way to refute that. He was a thoughtful and kind man and during my worst of days he was there lending a kind word and seeing that I was treated fairly. I know I thanked him for his kindness and I hope he knows how much respect I have for him, he is a good man and I will never forget that. As a couple, they are a couple that all companions could learn much from and strive for that happiness. Logan and Sophia were the couple that I learned that loving is not all that frightening and watching them made me yearn for that myself, someday. I have missed their presence since my return to Schendi and am heartsick that I won't be able to sit with them in the Inne again. They leave a gaping hole in Schendi with their absence, they are Schendi. I will miss them greatly.
Farewell to Logan and Sophia. Logan, I always respected you as a warrior and a friend. To Sophia, the other beautiful lady in my life, your smile always brightened our day. May it continue to do so wherever you are now.
It is rare in this world to have a friend that you can always turn to; one who will always stand by your side no matter what the challenge; one who will give you love and care without question. I was blessed with two such friends.
My heart is truly broken at the loss of Logan and Sophia, my brother and sister in more than Home Stone and honor. If there is any consolation in this moment, I know that I have a home in the City of Dust waiting for me, and that my dear brother and sister wait there for the day when we all come to join them and we feast again.
Sophia always loved poetry. This one is for her:
With you a part of me hath passed away;
For in the peopled forest of my mind
A tree made leafless by this wintry wind
Shall never don again its green array.
Chapel and fireside, country road and bay,
Have something of their friendliness resigned;
Another, if I would, I could not find,
And I am grown much older in a day.
But yet I treasure in my memory
Your gift of charity, and young hearts ease,
And the dear honour of your amity;
For these once mine, my life is rich with these.
And I scarce know which part may greater be,--
What I keep of you, or you rob from me.
I love you both. Sweet rest, my dear friends, until we meet again.
Sadness reigns over Schendi with this terrible loss. Words cannot express my own profound sorrow that no longer will we see the smiling face of Sophie and the satern visage of Logan in the bazaar or streets. The sound of her voice trilling over the many gatherings and events in the city can never be replaced.
Sophia was like a mother to me and it has broken me some to hear of her death, and that of Logan who I respected greatly. I am grieved for them both, for their family and for the hole left in Schendi now that will never be filled. In my heart I thought they would just always be there, the only smile from this is the saddest one of all, the one that will and can... only remember them now.
I went to their inn and took a look around, it was quiet and lonely, it seemed as though the very walls themselves... mourned the loss of them and silence crowded the now dusty Inn. No more well cooked meals from Sophia, her smile and tenderness she doted upon me, will be missed sorely and grieved like none other in this life. I will grieve as one grieves for a mother he loves. The thick heavy weighted loss to Schendi has been great recently, even as Schendi continues to grow and prosper well, with new faces and cheerful laughter everywhere... I must then think of this place, this Inn where I stand now.
Part of me laughs with the crowd at some antic or funny thing, but part of me withdraws into the smaller place deep inside, while part of me will always stand still, right here and now, here in time in this Inn as I am now, seated at this lonely dusty table, for the first time, without the warmth of familiar smells that cast out doubts and hunted down anything but warm charms. Those light sounds of their easy comfortable voices, with Logan smelling like the forge, steel soot creased his laugh lines and Sophia always bathed in warm spices of food, and her fingers calloused from playing. Their places, Sophia and Logans, once filled with huge persona, now are two vacant and dusty chairs, frozen in the now dying light of lar torvis.
Part of me will never forget them, and the other part of me will be trapped here, sitting alone in this memory of a now empty silent Inn, like a grave of memory grieving the warmth I once took for granted.
They are already missed and will be, forever more.
I will miss you both.