Letters from Ambassador Tukufu

Gentle Readers,

Should we turn to the issue of the costs and prices for delving deeply into past accounts?

I personally have always seen the necessity to looking to the past. To me, even without a godlike mind or a third eye, it is self evident. Yet I have always received missives from different quarters arguing against further exploration or reinterpretation. Some of my allies, I have too few, have been concerned on my behalf. I remain grateful for their concern. Some enemies feel free to offer threats. They veil them to varying degrees. Some others are concerned that ancient secrets shared may cause harm to the relatively innocent alive today.

I admit, these are serious concerns. Well the last is. Concern for any real enemies should be dismissed since what they deserve is scorn. And while I appreciate the concern of friends, I can usually take care of myself, or lean on them for support. That leaves the issue of harming the innocent. A serious concern. Let me state that I try never to reveal information that may directly harm the innocent. The gift of knowledge comes from holy Altheres and to allow his gift to indiscriminately harm others is to profane that gift.

But I want to put to you an idea that more innocents are harmed by ignorance than by the revelation of the truth. Take the val Virdan family.

In the reign of Emperor Marelius val’Assante the Patriarch of the Mother Church, Hulantin val’Assante, was assassinated. Historical sources point to High General Erdul val’Virdan. This leader of the val’Virdan family commanded the Legion of Cleansing Flame and confessed to the crime. I should point out that the Legion of the Cleansing Flame was by all accounts an elite force and it served the Patriarch as elite bodyguards and agents much the same way the Legion of Vigilance serves the Emperor to this day.

Dig even a little deeper and oddities start to crop up.

First let me note that this event took place during a time of great turmoil in the Empire. Abessios was revolting, again, and had come within a few whiskers of expelling the Coryani. Second, Patriarch Hulantin was a popular, charismatic and experienced leader, while Emperor Marellius had just recently ascended to the throne. Third, High General Erdul previously had an immaculate record and there has never been a real sign that he or the Legion of Cleansing Flame had any motive to betray the Patriarch. Finally, from multiple sources we learn that Erdul went to a gruesome death with a smile fixed on his face. By gruesome I mean they spread eagled him on the ground and marched soldiers across him with hob nailed boots till he died. Nierites were rounded up and were banished to the farthest reaches of the Empire in what is today Canceri.

It was the repeated stories of the smile that caught my attention initially. That is not the usual action of a condemned man. So I would suggest to you that a more likely event was that Hulantin made a grab for power and Erdul and the Legion of the Cleansing Flame either acted to stop him directly or took the blame when the Legion of Vigilance intervened. In this scenario General Erdul does this to spare the young Emperor recriminations or divisions at a time when the Empire needed to be united. In this scenario General Erdul accepts his death either because he has failed his vow to protect the Patriarch, or to protect the Empire, or both. And dies smiling even under gruesome conditions because he knows his sacrifice will allow the Empire to consolidate its power base and deal with potential threats.

I cannot prove that the following story is true. But several men I respect are investigating it. And they believe it. There is also hope that General Sarenta val’Mehan, who served in the Legion of Vigilance at this time and was an eyewitness to these accounts, has left a journal of these events that remains secret to this day.

This was a forbidden topic to scholars for most of the Empires history. However the recent events of the civil war, which has obvious parallels, has reopened it as an area of speculation.

Now to circle back to the matter of innocents being harmed. Assume for a moment that this story, though unproven, is true. It is possible that at the time the Empire was fragile enough that Hulantin’s death might have sparked civic unrest, or that his die hard followers might have rebelled against an untested Emperor. If that is true then the deceit propagated saved lives at that time. But think of the harm done done the road. What if there had been no Nierites living in Canceri when Bercherk unleashed his heresies? Would the Empire have still lost the provinces of Canceri and Milandir? Do the val’Virdan to this day suffer a reputation for unprincipled violence? As for saving Abessios, the long history of rebellion has ended today with a new nation. And Coryani may honestly be better off without it. I cannot help but think that there has been a severe price paid for Marellius’ success. And who would be hurt now by revealing this truth? If truth it be? I see no one.

Further I wonder if this the only time the val’Virdan family has made a sacrifice for the greater good even at the expense of their own fortunes? I suspect not. Were we to dig deeply enough into the first Imperium I wonder what we would fine as the cause of the val’Virdan being relegated to the role of Janissary warriors.

Digging at a story like this is a worthwhile endeavor even if it garners me few friends. It may well be that there is a debt that is owed to the val’Virdan family. I would see such debts acknowledged. And to the friends I do have. Fear not. I will always be happy to join you at the games for an afternoon of relaxation. And for a time I will even set down my quill. But the whisper of the past always calls, and in my experience nothing is silenced forever.

To my friends, cousins, comrades and fellow scholars I remain your obedient scribe.

Tukufu, Ambassador of Altheria

Friends, Cousins, Comrades and all Gentle Readers,

Some of you have sent word to me privately asking if there is anything known about the “Destroyer” or the so called “God King.” Prophesies whispered at caravansaries speak of a calamity to be heralded into the world should this person sit upon the Throne of Man. As much as I would like to be recognized as one of the greatest researchers of this age, I have to confess that on this issue I am nearly as ignorant as the common man. Though I also hasten to assure you: this issue ranks very high indeed among the topics researched by myself and many others of the learned and wise!

I have only one area of facts that are worthy of current speculation.

From surviving, usually fragmented, texts we know only a little with certainty of how the First Imperium ended. One potentially interesting fact is that the last Imperator reacted with almost visceral horror to the idea that Leonydas val’Virdan as the Avatar of Nier, above and beyond the fear and horror that widespread due to the val’Virdan uprising. The Imperator had warning of both Leonydas’ invincibility and time to choose a course of action. The last Imperator could have presumably gone into hiding. There is evidence that the women and children of the val’Assante and val’Emman families did just that. The Imperator could perhaps have set up a government in exile and attempted to stage a mobile insurrection like the one later conducted by Prince Volthar val’Holryn.

Instead the Imperator chose to have twelve “indestructible” keys crafted. Each interacted with locks to slowly close the doors to throne room. Once all twelve were turned, the barrier would be complete and impenetrable until all twelve keys were collected again and used in the locks. Then the doors would open all at once. Until that day comes, the Throne of Man remains less accessible than the Moon Apperio. I have always found it strange that the highest priority of the last Imperator was to create an unbreakable barrier around the Throne of Man. I begin to wonder if they had this prophesy even back in the days of the First Imperium? And if so, did the Imperator fear that the Avatar of Nier could be the “Destroyer?”

That last bit is rampant speculation on my part. I am a little bit embarrassed to offer it in writing. However I set it to paper because even if it is far off the mark, it is indeed necessary for us to turn our attention back to Leonydas again. Something not commonly known is that while 11 keys were used and scattered to the winds, the last key was still being turned even as the Sword of the Heavens stormed into the Imperator’s palace and its bearer was cut down moments after turning the last lock. All sources available agree that Leonydas kept the last Key and hung it like a pendant on a chain around his neck.

Now as anyone who has been in the First City can tell you, it seems like every other dealer in antiquities has “A Key of Man” hidden in a back room with a long complicated tale of how it has come into his or her family’s possession. But where ever else the Keys are, the location of only the last one can be safely guessed. It is in the fell and silent Citadel of Nier, along with whatever secret fate befell Leonydas when he ventured there after his apparent resurrection Nishanpur. Whatever else we know about this “Destroyer,” we know he or she will need THAT key too. Only the complete the set of keys can open the Throne Room, and set this dire prophesy in motion.

I take some comfort in that. But I if someone is powerful enough to wrest the Key from what might be the most dangerous place known to man then I fear deeply for those of us who might try to stop them. Clearly it would prudent for those who are interested in such things to keep a watchful eye on any expedition that heads off in that direction toward the petrified forest who surrounds the Citadel of Nier.

My friends, some of you have also suggested, politely, that I m too long winded. So I will end here. I remain, as always, your obedient scribe.

Tukufu, Ambassador of Altheria

Friends and comrades, cousins and all gentle readers,

I see a friend and fellow scholar has left a note at the Crossroads asking: Who were the Key makers? It doesn’t take a third eye to see that is a very good question! Though sadly I can now tell you that the inquiry eventually leads to frustration.

The basic answer turns out to be simple. Who made the Keys? The Temples. All the traditions agree that each of the Temples of the Pantheon of Man produced one of the keys at the behest of the Imperator and the Hierophant. Even the Temple of Nier.

It might seem odd at first that the Temple of Nier would work against the interests of the Sword of the Heavens or that the Hierophant would act against someone recognized as the living avatar of a god. But it is important to remember that at this time the Temple of Nier was probably dominated by the val’Emman family since the val’Virdan family had been enslaved as Janissaries. Since the val’Emman faced an existential threat from Leonydas and the rebelling val’Virdan it is easy to see why they would be happy to oppose him. As for the Hierophant, he or she remains a more mysterious figure. But since sources agree that the Hierophant was among the victims of Swords in either in their initial invasion or soon after at the hands of the High Priest of the Pyre, who sacrificed thousands who refused to accept Nier’s preeminence, I believe we can safely guess that he or she had no desire to help Leonydas and his followers either.

History thus provides us with a “who” and political guesswork gives us a pretty good guess as to the “why.”

But the “how?” Now we reach frustration! How did the Temples fashion the keys? The keys are effectively indestructible, and we build in no such materials today. On this question I have, as yet, no good ideas. Nor do I know of anyone with greater knowledge than myself on the subject. Alas!

With celerity I did survey old manuscripts from the First Imperium that dealt with engineering and metallurgy. I was looking for clues to answer this very conundrum. Sadly I found nothing about the Keys’ construction or indestructible materials. But sometimes nothing is also something. I did discover a curious omission. Despite the proximity of the Fervidious Hills, Fervidite seems to have been unknown to the First Imperium as an alloy. Not one of the texts I consulted made mention of it.

Isn’t that curious! Maybe my sample of sources was simply too limited. Maybe their metal smiths really did know of this fantastic ore. Or perhaps the First Imperium was too busy conquering other continents and dimensions to worry much about digging in their own backyard? Perhaps. There is even some limited evidence that the Kurenthe Curse was even stronger one thousand years ago. So a hesitation to engage in local mining surveys is not impossible. But the simplest answer is that they knew nothing of this metal.

Or for all we know it could be something even stranger. Perhaps even somehow connected to the Voei. As ludicrous as that sounds on the surface, it turns out that the Voei aren’t mentioned in any of my First Imperium documents either. These documents include notes on the Sword of Heaven’s progress into and out of Khitan. I find that not only curious curious but also suggestive. After all, every modern army that passes through that region has extensive notes on their Voei encounters. Were the Voei there then? Perhaps I have missed something.

Well, I shall think of these many continuing mysteries as job security. After all, if history was clear as glass no one would need sages. So. As I leave you I remain as always your humble and obedient scribe…

Tukufu, Ambassador of Altheria

Friends, Cousins, Comrades and Gentle Readers,

Some of you have left me more practical questions about the present state of the Blessed Lands. “Tukufu,” you write, “rather than material about esoteric prophesies and notes on the distant past tell us what you’ve experienced there.” Essentially several of you have asked: What is the Blessed Lands and the First City like?

You could write a book on such a topic! I despair of answering such questions concisely. I gather too many of you have not yet been to the First City. I urge you to come and make the pilgrimage! Then you will see for yourselves. You will want a third eye to take in all the wonders and history openly on display. In the minds of Men, Elorii and S’sressen alike the First City has an almost mythical quality as the center of all our ancient empires. Did I say almost? I retract the statement. Of course the First City has a mythical quality. The gods of Men and Elorii walked its streets in antiquity!

For all that, it is also working city where people live out their ordinary days.

Let me begin by stating the obvious. The Blessed Lands are not lush and though the First City is favorably located for trade, the land remains scared from the eloran Kurenthe curse uttered more than 4,000 years ago. As a result foodstuffs, mundane and exotic, need to be imported and remain relatively expensive. Weather here is also its own adventure. I have had the dubious joys of learning firsthand about both “thorn stones,” hail that inexplicably has thorns in it, and the red “blood snow” which burns flesh. The blood snow in particular is dangerous and will kill anyone caught in it without shelter. Come prepared! While traveling the lands around the First City I and my companions came across even stranger and more disturbing signs of the curse. At one old campsite we stumbled across, we found the previous occupants and all their gear frozen solid. Even the yellow and orange flames of their camp fire appeared like so much colored ice. Since flame is not matter as I understand it, I am at a loss at what could cause such a transformation. And on a warm day! Suffice it to say I am a little in awe of the local people called the Andyar who somehow deal with these unpredictable and dangerous events to scratch out a living in their villages that dot the Blessed Lands.

Encounters with pilgrims are also frequent. I confess I have developed something of a dislike for pilgrims in general during several misadventures as an Irregular. And really, nothing I have seen here improves my opinion. I know I just urged you to come on pilgrimage in the salutation of this letter, but I expect you to come equipped, with weapons, and the means and ability to defend yourself. Too many seeking salvation either lack any training in defense or have taken oaths, sometimes even Sarishian Oaths, of non-violence and pacifism while traveling. Since the pilgrims also carry money for food, Inns, donations and relics they naturally form the bottom of a thrice damned food pyramid. Pilgrims then get preyed on by bandits of all stripes. Sadly I have to inform you that the banditry opportunities are so good that some of the “best” from the Hinterlands have packed up and moved west to take up their trade here too. This includes so called jackal men and the Ehtzara who lead them.

The Soldier Saints of Dadgha and the armed forces of Corayn and Khitan patrol. Certainly they help a great deal. But their numbers are limited. Coryan and Khitan are each limited to 500 soldiers each by the treaty that ended the second Coryani-Khitani war. Against these modest numbers there is, if you will pardon the pun, a lot of Blessed Lands to cover. And it turns out there are politics in the pilgrimages as well. The various Churches seek to protect their own pilgrims, and profits, first. Even at the expense of pilgrims of other faiths. So their front against the bandits is far from united. Sometimes politics depresses even me.

I cannot stress enough the importance of the treaty that ended the second Coryani Khitani war.
Today, the commonly accepted political order in the First City rests on it. After the deaths of Emperor Quarron val Dellenov and the execution of the Khitani Fens’ leader there was a lull in the fighting where I’m told the two armies glared at each other across some stretch of the Blessed Lands. That lull was an opportunity seized by the val’Abebi family and their strange Khitani counterparts the ul’Wei, who I note go completely concealed in robes wherever they travel. It is not clear that anyone directly empowered them, but the two families began to negotiate. From these negotiations a treaty was established. They must have gotten most of it right because it holds to this day. The key provisions of this treaty define the government and the power structure in the First City and by extension, the surrounding Blessed Lands. Reading the treaty itself is a tedious business of legalese that helped me fall asleep several night running. I will save you a similar effort by listing what I think are the key provisions: Self Determination, a Balance of Power in the region between Coryan and Khitan, Open Trade with all visitors, Freedom of Conscious to worship however one pleases as long as no one gets hurt, and the rights of all people to Make Pilgrimage to the many sacred sites.

On a day to day basis it is the merchants who hold the real power. Without trade it is my opinion that the First City would not be able to sustain its population. So it does not surprise me to see that the most powerful merchant families and cabals effectively run the city. House Varro is a vassal of the val’Borda family and controls most of the fervidite mining. If I had to pick out one of the merchant houses as the most powerful I would probably point there. But at best they are the first among equals. Another local power is the Toman Khan, or Regent of the First Imperium. Many of the Toman Khan’s powers appear ceremonial to me on the surface, but he undoubtedly has great influence on the native people. His position is hereditary and acknowledged in the treaty. I really have to do more research about him and his lineage.

Finally in this survey I wish to mention the “unclean” quarter of the First City. Though really it more like the a half of the City rather than a quarter. You see, only half of the city is fit for occupation. Or at least civilized occupation. The other half is barricaded away and guarded by those Coryani and Khitani not on patrol. You can look over and into the unclean quarter from rooftops and towers, though few do. The unclean quarter has a reputation for danger that is well earned. Lingering horrors from the past as well as undead and traps litter it. And treasures are there waiting to be unearthed. The Emerald Society, the Fellows of the Azure Way and the Jial of the Phoenix all send expeditions in. Not all come out. Sometimes I am told you can see strange figures moving around in the unclean quarter too, though to see them is thought to be unlucky. None the less I have spent many afternoons gazing into the unclean quarter from a temple to Altheres, trying to make plans to do a little poking around of my own. Once I thought I saw legionnaires from the Legion of Grim Lamentation hurrying somewhere. They always look distinctive with their masked helmets. But now looking back, I’m not sure that my imagination didn’t get the better of me. Certainly I couldn’t find any sign of them in any of the taverns that week. Or any other week. Though that might not prove anything. I don’t think I’ve ever seen members of the Legion of Grim Lamentation off duty anywhere. They must drink alone.

There is far more I could write but I will have to conclude this survey here. I wish you all safe travels. And I remain, your obedient scribe,

Tukufu, Ambassador of Altheria

Friends, Cousins, Comrades and all Gentle Readers,

Traveling in and out of Almeric while navigating the so called Pilgrims Way can be as grim a business as dodging Voie in the Fervidious Hills. Everyone in Almeric, who is anyone, is at war. They are at war with their neighbors. They are at war with their rivals. Many times they are at war with their own brothers and sisters. What a wretched state of affairs.

As best I can guess, they have decimated their population. Literally, not figuratively. Based on my informal survey of abandoned and burned out farmsteads I estimate that over the last twelve years Almeric’s population has shrunken by 10%. As institutions fail in Almeric that number can only go up as disease ravages overcrowded walled towns. Also aid from Coryan and Milandir seems less and less likely which will surely lead to famine in the first really hard winter. These terrors kill more than soldiers, and hit the weakest hardest.

So I have begun taking tiny steps toward a new diplomatic initiative while I crisscross the lands. I have hopes of nudging, cajoling or calling into being a Senate or Diet of Princes. And I ask for your help to bring such a thing about as well. Such a deliberative body might become a place where the Princes can coalesce into a national government while immediately solving some of the conflicts. I know many people have pinned their hopes on the creation of a King. But I have come to acknowledge what is true but unspeakable. There is no perceivable path that would unify Almeric under one ruler in our lifetimes. Elorii friends excepted. Possibly.

If you live in Coryan or Milandir, perhaps you think this extreme. Perhaps even radical. However I urge you to remember that the Republic of Altheria has done fine without a throne. While I cannot see a scenario where a King arises I can just barely envision a scenario where many of the Princes are assembled into one room to begin hashing things out. If worse comes to worse and they fight each other, at least then it would just be them shedding blood and not the whole damned country.

Yours in Haste,

Tukufu, Ambassador of Altheria

Gentle Readers,

As I travel through Almeric I worry sometimes about the ideas of permanence, mortality and immortality. This land used to be a stable bastion of civilization. Now it’s much less so. Will it even endure? As I have said elsewhere, I would dearly love to leave some enduring mark on the world, just to prove I have made some kind of difference and have not ghosted through invisibly. But against that I have a deep sense that nothing done by mortals is ever permanent. Permanence is the domain of the gods.

Or is it? Consider the elorii. Four of their gods are no more. So much for the permanence of Gods. Perhaps you wish to quibble. I believe the position of the Mother Church, to which I belong, is that they were great Elemental Lords and not exactly Gods such as the Pantheon of Man. Perhaps. But there are also the hinted stories that the OTHER destroyed the gentlest of the Pantheon of Man as well. So are the Gods themselves permanent? Had I a magical Third Eye to see the truth of that!

Let’s consider the elorii again. As long as they don’t die of violence they have the potential to live forever. I don’t really know what to make of that. As fellow Irregulars I’ve shared drinks with a few at the Rat. I enjoyed talking with them despite the difficulties between Altheria and Seremas. Always I learned interesting things such as why the Kio and the Tir Betoqi don’t talk to each other. But I haven’t yet gotten a good insight into immortality from them. My best guess is that none of them had a deep grasp on their immortality either. But then the Laerestri are all relatively young, so perhaps their situation has not really pressed itself upon their consciousness.

I wish I could question the former Emperor Nurion, whom the Sanctorum insists is still alive. Or his twin brother across the waters, Gemmalus. Each of them has been active in the world for about 500 years. That’s not true immortality but it’s longer than any of us will likely have. My elorii readers object? How often do you get into serious fights my friends? Those who live by the sword eventually die of it. If you keep putting yourself in harm’s way then your lifestyle is only somewhat less dangerous than that of the Malfelens. How many Malfelns do you know who reach 500 years of age? I fear none of us reading this will last for 500 years. Let us hope at east to be remembered. But

I suppose in time Matriarch Elandre will eventually be able to give an interesting lecture on permanence vs. impermanence should she choose. Though to be around to hear it, it we’d have to beat aging somehow too. Improbable.

Institutions have somewhat more permanence. The Mourners of Silence have supposedly been around since the end of the First Imperium putting them at a despicable, but impressive 2,800 years old give or take. Against that I find it depressing that the Mother Church only goes back about 1,000 year to the founding of the Coryani Empire. The Republic of Altheria was born in 805 I.C. Not so impressive in the big scheme of things. But on the other hand we are closing in our 300th Birthday. If I don’t get myself killed in some forgotten tomb reading more cursed hieroglyphics I should live to see that party!

If the histories and legends are true then the Sorcerer King and Deophilus both go back more or less to the fall of the First Imperium. That would again put them both around 2,800 years old and the oldest individuals I can attest to. The Sorcerer King may be older since that is the time he arrived on Arcanis. I wonder, did they ever shared a cup of wine and discuss world events together? Since Leonydas could still be alive somewhere in the cursed Silent Citadel I guess we should mention him too. Though he’s certainly missed most of the intervening time. Still I’d do that interview in a heartbeat if safe passage could be arraigned.

Families apparently last longer than institutions or legendary figures. All the major families, save perhaps for the val’Holryn, go back to when humanity first came to the shores of Onara. That would be just shy of 5,000 years. The val’Emman mentagi presumably has encoded memories going all that way back. To have access to such a device!

Cities may last even longer than families. The First City has been inhabited, more continuously than not, for at least 10,000 years. First by the Isorri and their Eladru allies. Then by the Ssethrics. Then their former slaves the elorii. And finally twice by humanity. So here we are.

And yet! 10,000 years is pushing what I can imagine, but it is surely not the age of the universe is it? When did it all begin? Is our time here a tiny sliver of some much vaster whole? Or is the very idea of linear time suspect?

Sometimes I fear everything we do is an exercise in futility. Still the gods will it don’t they? So what do They really want from us?

I remain your obedient scribe,

Tukufu, Ambassador of Altheria

Friends, Cousin, Comrades,

I return to the topic of the great crimes of our age. Recently I had the chance to discuss them as something of a party game during a reception I attended in Treslau. In my last letter I discussed the assassination of Gustov val’Tensen. Former Duke of Milandir and potential King of Almeric. It remains the classic sealed room murder mystery.

Today I turn to another former Duke. This time from Tralia. I speak of Sigmund val’Holryn who is, not was, the grandfather of Konrad, the current Duke. Sigmund is more commonly called Simon by the family, an affection that I believe is from his younger days. The mystery of Simon is that over 50 years ago he disappeared from within the Ducal Castle. No one saw him leave. With one possible exception. There was a noted city drunkard who swore he saw the Duke being carried off by two infernals up into the night sky. Most usually discount the witnesses’ testimony. I do not take it at face value either.

Now anyone who knows anything about Tralia knows it’s a city that sits on the border with Canceri. Its walls are substantial and have not been breached in the modern age. The Ducal Castle is the most fortified part of what is arguably Milandir’s most fortified city. That the Duke could disappear without a trace from it strains my imagination.

An important wrinkle in this story is the Duke’s mastiff. As a young man Simon squired and was knighted into the Order of the Phoenix. You may or may not know that the Knights of the Phoenix mystically bond to very large hounds. It is documented to my satisfaction that should a Knight of the Phoenix die, then their bonded hound bursts into flames and the knight is miraculously reborn in its place. While Duke Simon is gone, his mastiff remains in the castle to this day. It’s once black coat now entirely grey. Before she died the Duchess of Tralia, that is to say Simon’s wife, slowly went mad worrying about the safety of the Hound. As the Hound is alive logic dictates that Simon must also be alive. Somewhere. And he could somehow yet return.

That poor dog. I can’t help but digress and note that growing up in Semar we kept a dog called Drummer and I remember how ill and unhappy the animal was in its last year when it was 16 years old. I truly hope the bonding ritual bestows extraordinary vigor and longevity to the animal because it has been well over 50 years since Simon’s disappearance. That Hound is … really old.
So what really happened that night? And where is the now quite elderly Simon? For a magical third eye to see the truth! Speculation is not generally encouraged by my relations in Tralia.

I believe a big part of their reticence stems from the ugliness that followed immediately at
Brechau. Obviously it was a matter of great concern when Simon disappeared, there was panic in the court, and his oldest son was sought out. His name is now not spoken of by the family, so I will refrain from listing it here out of respect. This heir was nowhere to be found. This caused further consternation until it was discovered that he was seen riding hard out of the city in the middle of the night, with a small entourage, heading ultimately for Brechau. Duke Simon’s second son was thus sent to find his errant missing brother. His orders to bring him back and help restore some order in the Court. This second son was Victor val’Holryn.

Arriving late near Brechau, Victor allegedly sent one of his trusted aides to scout out the city to see if his older brother was actually there. Several different narratives exist for what happened next. But they all end with most of the city of Brechau burned to the ground. All that was recovered of the eldest brother was his signet ring, found on a charred skeleton amid the ashes of a burned out building. He was declared dead.

The official narrative is that there were cultists in Brechau. In the process of rooting them out, combat and fires spread out of control. The elder brother died in the fighting. Most people accept this, even if it does not explain what the eldest brother was doing there.

The next narrative is that the eldest brother resisted going back to Tralia. Victor’s emissary was a Nieirte, who is said to have lost his temper. A fight and a fire started, and before anyone could really react the town was burning. The elder brother died in a tragic accident and any cultists involved were incidental. The angry impulsive Nierite “patsy.” I’ve read this cover up ploy before. I almost reject this line of inquiry on that basis alone.

The third narrative is not commonly spoken of at all for fear of the wrath of the val’Holryn family. Still some quietly maintain that Victor led his troops into a pitched battle against the town after confirming his brother was in it. The assumption no one is willing to explicitly say is that Victor sought the title for Duke for himself and that the cultists were a pretext to make sure his brother never returned to Tralia.

A few insist that the eldest brother did not actually die at all in Brechau at all. The signet ring such people maintain, is thin evidence. Perhaps. But I note that Duke Victor’s testimony should not be lightly discounted either. If the eldest brother survived … where has he been these long 50 years and more?

Whatever the truth of it is, there is no doubt about the aftermath. Victor became the next Duke. And the people of Tralia never fully warmed to him. By all accounts while Duke Victor val’Holryn was a decent and honorable man, his reign remained tainted by the long shadow cast by his father’s mysterious disappearance and his brother’s mysterious death.

So what really happened? If kidnapping appears improbable perhaps Simon left under his own power? Maybe he got tired of the pressures of being the Duke. Maybe he wanted to escape from his allegedly unstable wife and live in peace with a mistress? Who knows? But if the Duke left under his own volition for some reason it wouldn’t explain the fact that his beloved and bonded Hound was left behind. And it wouldn’t explain the weird, almost simultaneous flight of his eldest son. And it does little to explain the events at Brechau. So I personally reject this line of thought.
Could Sarishian enemies in Canceri be responsible? This is the most popular answer, less from a drunkard testimony than the hatred that exisits between Milandir and Canceri. They would certainly have a potential motive. And Sarishians would also have the ability to summon infernals bound to their dark cause. Yet could or would they hold the Duke captive for more than 50 years? To what purpose? It is not impossible but I find this line of though improbable.

Could a conspiracy in the court coincide with the darker elements of the Temple of Cadic? I am willing to suppose this is possible too. But I have no idea why the court would turn against Simon or how they would find willing assassins. This scenario also leaves open the question of who is holding Simon? In both cases it would have been far easier to kill the Hound and Simon together.

I happen to know one additional fact that may shed light on this otherwise impenetrable conundrum. Two generations back it was well known that Simon val’Holryn, before becoming Duke, was an impulsive knight always looking for adventure. And though popular throughout the Duchy he was also known as a “sorcerous devil” that delighted in stirring up trouble almost as much as he loved challenging injustice. In other words, he had the arcane gift and was very public in using it. I do not know, but suspect that his eldest son shared the gift too.

With these facts an ugly new possibility opens up and things may fall into place. Think about it. I ask you to consider that in the dark of night Harvesters come for Duke Simon and his heir. Duke Simon holds them off while his son escapes, but Simon is captured. The Harvesters fly out with their prisoner on their floating disks. A drunk sees them fleetingly and says they are demons. The eldest son is tracked down not just by Victor but by Ymandragore as well. Fighting breaks out in Brechau. The results are the death of the heir, the death of the Ymandragoran “heretics,” and the destruction of the town. Victor survives and grimly takes up the Ducal seat. Everything is hushed up lest Canceri infer weakness on the border.

Is this what happened? We do not know.

Poor Simon, he is out there somewhere. One assumes, if my conjecture true, that he is a resident on the Isle of Tears. I wonder. Is he a human battery for arcane energy? Or has he been turned to “willingly” serve the Sorcerer King? And which fate of the two would be worse?
As a Coda to this account I note that Duke Konrad is not the eldest son of Duke Victor either. For the val’Holryns of Tralia, history repeated itself in the next generation. Aeorin val’Holryn, who was also a Knight of the Phoenix, disappeared without a trace. Aeorin led the Children’s Crusade against Canceri over 40 years ago and vanished from his tent outside the walls of Ventaka. I wonder what happened to his Hound?

I have probably gone on too long again. So I will end here. There is one mystery from my time in Treslau left. I will conclude with the tale of the Lazalo Wedding in my next letter.
I remain your faithful scribe,

Tukufu, Ambassador of Altheria