Letters to a Friend II

[Lani Stranger]

72nd of Fall, 518AV

It was late at night when Lani found herself shuffling down the corridors to her small apartment. She had woken up early to practice her stance with her Talon Sword, and then she was called to the Stables to help wrangle in the last shipment of hay for the season. It was a lot of heavy lifting to move the bales and make sure that they were properly covered for the winter season so that nothing but the horses were eating them. She had let herself grow weak, enjoying the relative ease of the scribe life. Although her mind raced daily on the new languages she learned and information she gained, the Chiet spent most of her energy on the work in her mind than with her arms.

As she unlocked her door, she nearly tripped over the scroll that was propped up against the frame. In an instant, Lani’s black eyes widened with anticipation. All traces of fatigue vanished as she realized who the letter might be from. It wasn’t as if she had anyone else to contact, or knew that she was in Wind Reach.

She stooped to scoop the scroll up and then pushing her door open. She let it shut behind her, nervous hands now shook slightly as she fitted the key back into the lock to close it for the night. She let her key and scroll rest on the table, immediately walking towards her pitcher of water, pouring herself a mug, and taking large gulps. She rested a hand on the counter that the pitcher, offering the scroll a concerned glare as it rested on her kitchen table. Her other stationary was scattered about her table, with her recent Nader-Canoch studies consuming her free time. Somehow the Lhavitian parchment didn’t seem to fit the studious background.

Still, Lani gave herself a few more chimes before she looked at the nerve-wracking note. It determined if Mads wished to share her thoughts and experiences with Lani, or if she had returned a cold rejection written in the perfect Craven script. Lani lit a candle, placing it on the table. She then retreated from the intimidating scroll to undress from her work clothes, slipping into a more comfortable shift, and pushing her calloused feet into stockings before she wandered back towards the table. Lani sat, leaned back in her chair, and looked at the scroll.

”Don’t let me down, Mads.” Lani whispered to herself, reaching for the mysterious note.

[Lani Stranger]

She examined the wax seal for a moment, noticing that Madeira had gotten her own stamp. Of course, she was an adult. Lani had procured a wax seal finally, with a simple ‘LS’ printed on it, but it was not fancy. Even with all the pinions in the world, the caste system restricted her from enjoying anything too luxurious. Cracking the wax back, she flattened the scroll on her counter, and began reading. Eager ebony eyes flew through the neat human script.

Lani found herself grinning at the information shared with her, and frowning when she found her assumption about marriage had been wrong. She had little knowledge of what the upper class did to secure renown, but Madeira’s explanation seemed perfectly fitting. She wondered if she had offended her childhood friend, before she forced her insecurities down.

When she reached the end of the letter, Lani set it down, smiling to herself. Madeira still remembered the fearless and reckless Leavou who was left wildly unsupervised in the illusory streets of Alvadas. Although she had always expected to travel across Mizahar with her mother at that age, she was young and naïve. What had changed? What had caused her to fold in on herself and question every decision? She should be comfortable with Madeira, who she knew at such a young age that she could not have hidden anything from her friend.

Lani stretched across the table to grab a capped inkwell, and a quill. She uncorked the thing with one hand, while reaching for a parchment with the other. Mads had given Lani much more information than Lani had given her, and with the warm return letter, the mixed blood was now eager to share with her old friend.

Dear Madeira,

Ah, you must forgive me because I assumed too much from the letter I received back from Alvadas. Your Aunt left me little detail. I am happy that you are not forced off to marry one you do not love, and even more pleased you found love in a Kelvic bond! I’ve only heard of the complexity of those connections, and I wish you the best in motherhood.

She had never expected Madeira to want to be a mother, even as a child, pumped full of family ideals, the ambitious child had never had interest in the compassionate lifestyle of caring for an infant. But Lani supposed bonds could change things like that. Or it was possible that Mads was still being too formal with Lani, it had been over a decade since they had spoken after all. So much growing had been done, so much time had passed, and so much about each of them had changed.

[Lani Stranger]

As she wrote, Lani still pictured the cold and ambitious little girl that had intrigued Lani in the first place. She had never known riches like this child had never known adventure. It had taken the half-Chaktawe some time to coax the luster into Madeira’s eye, but the girl, now a woman, she supposed, had harbored a fierce ambition and curiosity all her own. In that way, the two had been fairly similar children.

Of course, I expect any child of yours to be much of a handful for Lhavit.

I expect you to be too much of a handful for Lhavit. Lhavit was far too stable a place for Mads, but then again people changed.

You speak of the Dusk Tower highly, my mother had worked with them as well. She sought out Alchemy in the mystic peaks, but it was apparently difficult to find, so we did not stay in the Diamond of Kalea too long. I’ve traveled to Denval, Sultros, and Anvathal with R’yse after our years in Lhavit. I am sorry to inform you, she did not survive the journey from Anvathal to The Spires.

Lani sighed, reading through the letter that came from Lhavit once more. She wanted to share the tragic loss of her mother to the dangerous effects of overgiving, and the torment that the years living with a mad mage had done to her. She wanted to warn Madeira away from falling into the same fate, and explain why she had developed distrust for magic herself as a result, despite how much she knew. But Lani didn’t want to weigh her old friend down with such words after just reconnecting.

Magic is a gift and a rare disease; it takes a strong resolve to resist its effects, but not all bear that strength.

She let the single line rest, out of place in the rest of the context of the letter, but the most she was willing to say on the subject.

[Lani Stranger]

It was in the Spires where I met a kind Jamoura named Quett. He helped my readjust to life after the loss of my mother, and I chose the name Lani Stranger, which I am now known as. I believe in shedding the weight of the past, ridding myself of the era of my mother, and taking on my life as it is now mine and mine alone. I continued on to Zeltiva to receive a proper education, with Quett’s encouragement, but they did not have what I was searching for, so I am returning home, to The Spires.

Of course, when one travels as much as I do, the survivability of the travel becomes one’s only focus. It is a constant threat to make sure there is food, and water, and safety. It becomes easier for one to forget to plan ahead, lose track of their Mizas, and find themselves spending more than a few days restocking in a layover city. So here I am, settled among the Inarta in Wind Reach. I appreciate the rich culture of these bird-like people, but I fear I do not fit in here. If one who looks and lives like me can hardly fit in anywhere, Wind Reach is the least welcoming of homes.

By a miracle, Leth has blessed me with more than just the space to reflect on my own situation, but the ability to travel once more. Of course winter soon approaches (if Morwen is to return to her duty). Even if she does not come, as she hasn’t in the past few years, there are no ships travelling on to Anvathal, not with their mother’s refusal to participate in the natural progression of the seasons. Excuse the selfishness of this sentence, but the shunning of Morwen and her children is highly inconvenient to my plans.

Lani paused, lifting her quill from the paper. She had overshared, she had definitely overshared. But she supposed it didn’t matter. If her ultimate goal was the Spires, what was the worst thing that could happen? Madeira didn’t return her letter? That would not be fun, but what else. She was likely never to see her childhood friend again. The comforting reprieve of talking to someone she trusted did not guarantee a rekindling of their relationship, although she would hope that it could.

[Lani Stranger]

Alas, enough about me. I know we shared stories and adventures as children, and perhaps this is brash of me to say, but I am so happy that you returned my scroll. I fear that age has changed us both more than we wish to say. When I ask you about your current life, I hope for an honest response, and I do my best to give you the same.

Do you not wish to return to the city you love? Has Lhavit and this bondmate of yours, who I can only assume you found there, charmed you as much to entice you to live in a static city? I suppose the allure of open practices of magic would be strong for someone like you, Mads. And I suppose there is also the burdens of motherhood that you are now preparing to take on. I wish to hear more about your time in Riverfall, as I don’t recall it. According to R’yse I was raised to a toddling age in that city, although I remember none of it. So I look forward to any details you would be willing to share, and perhaps a story of the soul you put to rest there.

She had always been enamored with Madeira’s stories, the human girl had always been so good at telling them. Perhaps it was because she was raised to watch and silently listen, that Mads observed so much about the world around her. Lani had also been acutely unaware of the ways of the Craven manor, and as the young human was being groomed to carry on their matriarch, she could easily impress the mixed blood with her Spiritism stories. She had reached the end of the parchment, and had nothing more to say, but to wait for her new questions to be answered. Although she still wrote with the proper Common of one that was educated, a contrast to how her childhood friend might remember her, she had grown more confident in reading Madeira’s thoughts and words.

She expected there to be a small amount of distance between them, although Lani was not as used to acting removed, and it only took the one letter for her to share more, ask more, and announce her expectation of honesty. She was trying to be honest herself, after all.

Warm Regards,
Lani Stranger

She signed the letter with her new name, capping the inkwell once again and wiping down her quill with the spare cloth. It was too late to send the letter now, so she let it lay on her table. She had already been exhausted from the day, but the emotional tidal wave of guessing at her friend’s emotions through the removed frame of a letter had exhausted her further, and she slumped from the chair, crawling to the back of her room to collapse on her bed. The Wind Eagles would not be departing for another tendays, she would not hear from Mads again until winter, she would have to let the uncertainty rest and remain confident in the fact that she had gotten a response at all.

Word Count: 2,103

[Ssezzkero]

Endurance +1, Observation +1, Writing +4, Composition +4, Planning +1, Rhetoric +1, Collaborations of Lani and Madeira, Madeira Craven Nickname: Mads, Recognizing Madeira Craven’s Seal, Madeira: Sent to Lhavit to work, Madeira: Has a Kelvic Bondmate, Allister: Madeira’s Kelvic bondmante, Infinity Manor: Madeira’s Dwelling, Madeira: Pregnant, Allister: Father of Madeira’s Baby, Madeira: Has lived in Riverfall, Magic can lead to Overgiving, Madeira: A Spiritist,
+1 Signet Stamp, +1 Letter from Madeira
-5 Pinions