(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_____