(The following letter is written in a sober, steady hand on pristine parchment.)

To Master Theo ab Kasmith of Savir, I, Argider de Roldan, send greeting from the north:

It is the month of Novembris, and a time for giving thanks.

Uncle, I do not know if you will understand this letter, but I admit that it is long overdue.  Since you were stricken with your illness – four years to the day, almost – I have found it very difficult to reach out to you.  I have never been good with words, like Arlais.  After all that had happened on the journey to Vavard, our struggles in Charalin, and the long road home… I had thought we would have more time to talk things over and to come to terms with what had happened.  Perhaps, if I had known you would become ill, I would not have wasted so much time in silence during our trip back to Savir.  Even worse, I worry that our troubles across the Sea may have put too much of a strain on you.  What if I had contributed to your illness, in some way?

But I know what you would say, and the purpose of this letter is not to burden you with my feelings of regret, Uncle.  You knew my father, so no doubt you understood why he and I did not get along so well together:  like my brother Harith, he was always business-minded and distant with his family.  But sending me to Abbas Hall was, at least so far as I’m concerned, the wisest choice he ever made.

I want you to know that I am finding some happiness and contentment in my life, Uncle.  I am a Knight of Lithmore, liaison to the Church and Her Holiness the Cardinal, and a Journeyman Blacksmith with the Merchants.  I have achieved much through hard work – with discipline and patience that I would never have possessed if not for you.  And soon, I am to be married to a fine young Lithmorran woman of many talents, not least of which is the art and science of brewing beer.   (A fact I have not yet mentioned to immediate family, for obvious reasons.  They know her as an expert rider and horse breeder, doctor, and herbalist.)  We plan to hold a small, private ceremony in a few months’ time, with Arlais in attendance, if late snows do not delay her on the journey from Talfore.  And you will be there, too, in spirit.  In every healed bone, scar, and memory, and in my sense of honor and self-worth, born out of hard work in your service.  You will be there.

I should have written sooner.  Every time I visit the post, I am certain I will receive word from your good wife that you have passed on from this Urth to join King Dav.  Someday, I will meet you there at his side.  But for now, I hope you understand this much at least:  how grateful I am to have been thrust into your path.  I would not be who I am today without you, Uncle.

May the Lord of Springs bless you and your family.

By my hand this evening of Arendas, Novembris 30,
In the year of Our Lord 357,

In faith, love, and service always,

A______ de R_____

 

(The following letter is written in a careful, precise hand, as though the author spent a great deal of time and effort to make every letter just-so.)

To my brother, the Master Jewelsmith Harith de Roldan of Montford, Farin,
I, Argider de Roldan, send greeting from the Capital of Lithmore:

Salutations, Harith.  I hope this unexpected missive finds you and the family in good health and good spirits.  Though it’s been a few months since my last letter, I write with news which I hope will make you think better of me, brother.  First, I have made the rank of Journeyman in the Merchants.  Though most of my orders have been for iron and steel, I have been diligently practicing my skills with bronze and silver, as well.  I assure you, despite the years, I have not forgotten the lessons you taught me about our family trade.  As proof of that, I have included with this letter a sampling of some of the items I hope to make available at the upcoming Merchants’ Fair.  Chief among them is a writing box, much like the one Arlais gave me for my birthday last sun cycle.  I do hope you approve of it.  If you should think of any suggestions for improvement, however, I would be  glad to hear them.  There is a Master Jewelsmith in the Merchants Guild, a Tubori woman, but she is also the leader of the Physicians.  I cannot in good conscience ask her for her time, unless I should happen to be gravely ill.  So I continue to practice and to study and to take notes on my findings, just as you – and father – once instructed.

I write, also, to inform you of my upcoming Knighting ceremony.  In these difficult times, with so few recruits, the Earl Marshall has seen fit to accelerate my promotion to Knighthood.  I can only hope that I am worthy of the title and that I will do right by it – and by the Oath.  However, you need not fear that I will sacrifice myself on the front as Baqir did.  I intend to stay in Lithmore for the foreseeable future, for a number of reasons that I will not belabor here, except to say that one is business, another duty, and one other is a special young woman, whom I’ve written about before.

Brother, do you recall in my last letter a mention of a potential business contact through a member of House le Orban?  I do not know if you have been in touch with that family, but I would like to propose that any business arrangements under consideration might be strengthened considerably by an alliance through marriage, between myself and Miss Shaylei le Orban.  Once I am Knighted, I will be able to court, unless my superiors should object to the union or to the lady.  In the hopes that they will not, I write to ask you for your permission to court Miss le Orban.  It is true that she is no Fariner, but that has not been an issue in our family these past two generations, no?  Father married a Vavardi woman.  Arlais was wed to a Lithmorran gentryman.  Daniyah, too, was wed to a foreigner, a man from Vavard, and our business has prospered because of it.  I believe that a union between myself and Miss le Orban would bring our family additional opportunities and would spread our influence further across the kingdom.  I hope you find such a notion attractive, brother, and that you will not discount the suggestion simply because it comes from me.

I will anxiously await your response.  In the meantime, I hope my sister-in-law will enjoy the additional gift I have included with this letter:  a basket of Lithmorran apples from the orchard next to my current residence and workplace.  They were hand-picked by Miss le Orban herself and represent the last of the autumn harvest.

May the Lord of Springs keep you and yours safe, brother.

By my hand this evening of Balasdes, Octobris 13,
In the year of Our Lord 357,

A______ de R_____