I dreamed of the Abbey. I have been for a very long time. There was a lapse for a while, then it returned even stronger and more deeply set than before. Like the boat that is nearly always present, it is there, in the background, in the foreground, always present.
I call it the Abbey, it's really a Temple of Life. Then again, the two are more or less the same thing, depending on to whom one speaks.
It sometimes changes form, although only slightly. There's never any major change in its design, not significantly so anyway.
Appropriately for this page, I had a bit of a chat with an apple tree not long past. An older tree, still full of life, yet it has been afflicted with some difficulties. Very much like all of us from time to time.
The Abbey has a grove of apple trees. Of course it does. There are several groves of various sort scattered about. Fruits, nuts, flowers, and of course trees just for the sake of trees. Other plants too.
Yes, the same Abbey where the Oathstone resides. It was once called the Oakstone, because an oak tree grows hard by it and some of its roots wrap about it, hence the Oakstone. The stone is quite large and it has, over the course of time, come to have Oaths of Moment carved into it, in symbols of course. That is why it is now the Oathstone.
It is still a very pleasant place. There is still a village not far away. Now, however, it is sometimes wreathed in mists and fogs. The great thorn and thistle hedge that surrounds it remains as vital as ever. There are still guest lodgings in the outer court. There are still no men allowed in the inner court and buildings. These things have not changed.
The Priory that once existed nearby is gone, tumbled and overgrown ruins. At the moment, I do not know what happened to it, only that it is gone and has been for some time. The Earth takes back what is Her own, surprisingly swiftly to some.
The great river that leads to the sea is still there, down the road from the hills about, the village lies there of course. It is a port town, after a fashion.
I live in the Abbey of course. I am the Abbess after all. It is still a very peaceful and pleasant life. It suits me well.
Artharian /|\
