<The following is written in a new, larger tome.>
Entry #1, Day 95, Year 0 of the Third Age, new journal.
The old journal suffered plenty of water damage quite recently and I have had to replace it with this new one. It was probably a good thing anyway; the old tome was small and almost written out. This one should last me for years.
I've felt a bit empty ever since the war happened. Not because things are going bad for me – quite the contrary; I now have a beautiful daughter with my mate Hanuman, my training with my mentor Abbadon, has been steady in the past few years and I've gained a lot of new knowledge in the field of necromancy, and the diligent work I have done for the Temple has earned me a lot of respect among my peers. It is a good life that I have now, and I like to think that some people even look up to me, but it is not without its caveats; I have had to adjust my behaviour to accommodate these changes, and I find myself struggling with balancing my work and my family.
I have been named High Monk of the Temple by sister Mariah, though the official announcement has yet to be made & I am still awaiting the ceremony. My new role has offered many additional restrictions to my behaviour, and I hope I can live up to their expectations; I do want to prove myself worthy of such a title.
But nothing I have said so far would warrant this empty feeling I have inside of me when I look out across the island from my usual perch. It is an effect of the war itself, one that I had hoped to get over but alas, couldn't. I think it is from my inability to help defend the land. I was with child at the time – I am quite male as I write this however; never did I intend to remain a female – and I wouldn't be permitted to join in the fight. Though I know that there is nothing I could have done that would have made a difference, I still feel like I could have helped.
I guess in time, I will overcome this feeling.
On to more recent events, just a few days ago, I had to stitch up a leopard woman who had gotten herself injured. I am unaware of the details, but it was a good thing for her that she was an undead, otherwise we would have lost her in the time it would have taken to prepare our equipment according to our health standards. I had to sew her up rather roughly, but she is still 'alive' today. I should perhaps instead use the term 'animate'; she is not technically alive as we see it.
Her wounds shall not heal on their own however; if I cannot have Abbadon do it, I will need to at last confront my father and convince him to assist in knitting together the undead's wounds.
To confide my true opinion into this journal, part of me wishes I had left the undead where she had fallen to pass on. I dread to think of the agony that the body's original inhabitant may be in today. I will need to confer with my mentor about it.
On a different note, I haven't been able to resume my training with Dru yet. I am not sure if I will; what little free time I have left ought to be dedicated to my family. Perhaps I can work her into my Temple routines – that is, provided she will come here; I know quite well that she has a history with the Temple. Dru strikes me though, as a very emotional type of person, and it is with no small amount of regret that I fear she hasn't moved on in the years that have passed. We have all been through so much that old conflicts and grudges hardly matter. Then again, perhaps I am simply seeing the world in the way that I want it to be. And that hardly makes me any different from anyone else.
I wrote about Jade in my old journal. She is doing quite well and I like to consider us two to be good friends today. I met her again in my mentor's library when I picked up this new tome, and I am quite pleased to write that she appears to have finally shed the cloak and is at last embracing a more honest and open life. I feel as though she wants to settle down, which is good, and she already has gotten herself a steady job working in the library.
I wish her all the best, of course, though I will admit I have a sneaky suspicion that this is only a temporary thing. She appears to have lived such a long life with secrecy and deceit, I worry if she will be able to truly settle for this new path she has chosen. Time will tell.
For the sake of my chronicles, I will note her true name and appearance: She told me that her name is Louise, or Lou for short. She is a green and white wolf with average length, dark hair, and with jade-green hands. I estimate she is roughly 179-182cm tall, and she has a somewhat lean build but with powerful leg musculature. I noticed that she also possesses a pair of unusually protruding buttocks. She does walk a lot and clearly has plenty of exercise, but I found that hers looked rather unusual, even for an A-person who would spend most of the day in physical activity. Possible case of steatopygia?
I will have to check it if I ever get an opportunity to perform a physical on her. Steatopygia will more often than not result in back pains and knee issues. I cannot treat it, but I can medicate the pains when, or even if they occur.
I will concede the point that I can sometimes be a bit of a hypochondriac, and that I worry too much, but writing these thoughts down has given me an urge to do another physical on my family to ensure that they are all in perfect health. I will not, however; it is not even a month since last time.
~ Yamanu