Leafiara (prime)/Saraphenia/Moot Hall Message Board Poster

(first posted on Ivastaen 2-3, 5124; later updated on the 4th and 6th)

On the message board, you see:

a leaf-framed white poster posted by Leafiara

The top half of the horizontally-oriented poster is occupied by a recreation of familiar campaign material:

Within a bustling tavern constructed inside a moored ship, a short but well-toned aelotoi woman dressed in scarlet and ivory wears an enthusiastic expression as she leans against a taller half-sylvan lady with cherry red hair. As much of the large crowd helps itself to food and drink from the bar, the aelotoi woman exchanges words with two sylvans, two dark elves, a half-elf, a giant, and an aelotoi couple while simultaneously signaling in still more guests from the dock outside with an energetic wave.

The bottom half of the poster contains a lengthy message:

Saraphenia, Aelotoi of Love,

We will miss you, but we will keep your spirit with us always. You touched lives in the Black Hand Trading Co, the Black Thorns, the Claws of the Drake, the Drakes Vanguard, Fenog's Regulars, House Onoir, Ord an Dragan, the Parliament of Rooks, Twilight Hall, and, of course, your beloved Raise Your Stout Krew in which you were a board member and had an immeasurable impact on its incredible growth in such a short time. I'm probably even underestimating how you touched other groups in which you weren't a member or that I didn't know of.

Organizations aside, you reached out to even the most unknown people on the streets. You found them in numbers I never understood and elevated them in ways I never matched, but I'm recommitting my efforts to try. My wedding ring will never leave me and, as long as I wear it, I'll work to honor your legacy. You're my inspiration to be so much better than I've been and to give to the world as you gave to it--by meeting people where they were, which was just how you met me, instead of waiting for them to come to you.

I'll have vastly more to say at your celebration of life and for years to come. I have so many plans and so much to share about the precious time that I'm blessed we had together.

For now, thank you, Phenia, my Dragonfly. My greatest source of strength was, is, and will always be your love, passion, and energy. As I wrote in *your* wedding ring, you have my whole heart for my whole life and until eternity. I love you and we will reunite one day.

To all,

In loving memory of Saraphenia, the Aelotoi of Love, RYSK and I invite you to join us in celebrating her remarkable life and accomplishments at the Rusty Cutlass on the 24th at 9 in the evening. Together, we'll honor her legacy, share fond memories, and pay tribute to a beloved soul who touched our lives with her kindness, grace, and unwavering spirit.

As important as the live gathering is, I believe that properly paying our respects to Phenia wouldn't feel right unless our tributes mirrored her life by making every effort to include as many people as possible.

Whether you can be at her celebration of life or not, if you would like to share a favorite story, memory, thoughts, or general impressions of her, please send them to me (Leafiara) by whatever means you feel comfortable with. Meet with me, send a missive, send mail, send a thought, whisper on the wind, anything. If I'm not awake, Julenne or Newsby should also be able to get the stories to me.

Every voice matters, regardless of whether you have long tale or a few words and regardless of whether your words are happy, funny, sad, or bittersweet. She would have wanted that. Ultimately, I'll compile these tributes and the spoken tributes from Phenia's celebration of life into a single record commemorating even a fraction of the lives she touched. Any stories shared after the 24th will be added too. There's no rush or deadline, so everyone has all the time they need to grieve and think.

Thank you all for enriching Phenia's last several years of life and fulfilling her dreams. Whether helping build RYSK from scratch as a board member, being elected the 5122 Frost Queen, being elected a Landing Town Councilor, finishing her 15-year training journey, or getting married and then renewing her vows, the seeds that Saraphenia sowed so long eventually grew to repay her. She overcame incredible challenges to build the place in life--the home--she always sought. That is because of her and that is also because of you and me. She'd have it no other way.

Leafiara Autumnwind, proudly and forever the wife of Saraphenia Autumnwind