As a character, Nathaniel has kept a journal since he was 11 years old. As a player, I've kept that journal, on and off, for 10 years, documenting his various adventures, as a blog. I continue to do so, but rather than repeat myself, I will link to it from here, with maybe an extract of the full text...
A Man of Leisure - in which Nathaniel decides to see where his belover Gwyneth has gotten to, and visit this mysterious island of Callisto...
https://nathanielballard.wordpress.com/2023/08/29/a-man-of-leisure/
Perhaps then, it is time to take my leisure for once. And take my leisure as consort to the Queen. My beloved wife and my queen is taking a break from her pursuit of the latest in fashions and the documentation thereof to take a holiday in a strange land called Callisto. Not the moon of Jupiter, named for the unfortunate nymph of the Greek Myths, but an island far across the world. Well, a world, at least. It has been a while since we have had opportunity to spend quality time together, and now I am at liberty to respond to the subtle hints and join her. And so, I shall. At least, thanks to that rogue, Alec, it need not be an arduous journey. It has been a while since I exercised my ability to walk between the realms, but I am sure I have not forgotten, and navigation should be no problem, for there is none closer to me than my beloved Gwyn. I wonder what adventures await when I get there.
https://nathanielballard.wordpress.com/2023/09/25/hits-230901-lanterns/
When I was younger, shortly before my life was changed so dramatically by Katarina, I went with my parents, and my brother, Gilbert, into London. There was an exhibition in Knightsbridge, where they had created a representation of a Japanese village. We found it utterly delightful and fascinating, though how authentic it was I cannot say, having never visited Japan itself. We came away with many souvenirs – silks, paper, lanterns and such like, which my mother much treasured and kept in her library. I, myself, was fascinated by the architecture, exotic looking dwellings and shops, seemingly constructed of wood and paper, two of my favourite materials. Father was much impressed too, though, as he said at the time, it was not something suited to the methods of construction that he was used to.
https://nathanielballard.wordpress.com/2023/09/13/the-prince-that-was/
Memory is an unreliable witness. Recollection can be distorted by one’s own desires, prejudices, by a nostalgic belief that things were better than they were, or by denial of things one prefers not to remember. It is imprecise, corruptible, fallible, and malleable. Mother knew this, which is perhaps why she bought me my first journal on the occasion of my 11th birthday. That and the desire to provide an outlet for my musings, rather than scribbling in the margins of exercise books, and notebooks. I have kept my journal, more or less, ever since. Committing my memories to pen and paper before the passage of time causes them to fade. So, when recall fails me, I always have my journal to consult...
https://nathanielballard.wordpress.com/2023/08/30/under-another-sky/
I have, for some considerable time, found my travels to be remarkably, for want of a better word, mundane. Aside from the portal that takes me from Awenia to the mortal world and back, I have taken only such means of travel as are available to the ordinary folk of the world; the bus, the taxi, the train and such like. There are planes too, but they are not needed for my travels have always been within the city itself. I sometimes forget that I am privileged to have means other than these, for when I wish to travel further afield, such as to join my beloved wife in this place she tells me is called Callisto. Even there, I have options. I could, should I choose to, take the Shadow Roads, for those can take me anywhere I wish. That, however, holds too many memories of my Cait friends, and, of course, my much missed friend, and other Queen, Valene of the Cait. She, at least, I know lives, somewhere, and I sometimes feel her presence, if only by the faint scent of mint at times when there should be none present.
So, no, I opted not to go to the Shadow Roads this time, but to take advantage of one of the gifts that the much lamented Alec gave me along with that of making me my own anchor, that ability to walk between the realms. There, however, my navigational skills are less developed, for I do not use that ability often. That said, when it comes to finding places, or people I am familiar with, or have a strong attachment to, then there is no difficulty. And there is none so familiar, or more attached, than my beloved Gwyn, so that is the road I took.