Lady Death's Diary: Chapter 13.5

From the Personal Correspondence of Lady Vitrula Rhys

Dear Vitrula,

My mother wrote about what happened to you last month. As your own letter made no mention of it, I can only conclude that you do not consider escaping death to be very memorable. In case it wasn’t clear, I am chastising you, as I find myself rather invested in your continued survival and would like to be duly informed when its threatened. Who else would I discuss Ganderlon’s newest works with? Who else would dare to argue that such a renowned scholar is a charlatan? (I just checked your last letter, and it’s the exact word you used.) Should you perish, I’d be forced to turn to your brother for academic discourse—an outcome I suspect neither he nor I would much enjoy.

Don’t fret: I didn’t tell Theo. I know how much you despise him worrying about you (though in this case, his concern would be justified). Please consider writing to him about the fire yourself. He’s bound to find out eventually regardless of my silence, and I believe it best learned from you. Also, I don’t want to deal with the fit he’ll undoubtedly throw should he find out I already knew. Do us both a favor and make mention of it in your next missive.

You have no idea how eagerly your brother awaits your letters. We both do. I consider Theo to be one of my closest friends, but he possesses no interest whatsoever in recent publications. Recently, I found him ripping pages out of Reavely’s Accounts of a Sailor and folding them into paper boats. His argument? That his “art” was thematically appropriate given the text’s topic. Needless to say, I confiscated most the books in his possession after that. I also thoroughly trounced him when we raced the boats.

I’ve sent a copy of Reavely’s work for you (sans the first few pages of the introduction, which had a more nautical destiny). His musings on the nations across the Drimalan Sea are both informative and amusing. While most critics agree his narrative is sensationalized, I thought you might still enjoy it. Fascinatingly, magic practiced by those nations completely differs from the spellcasting found in Aelium. Reavely claims that these mages need no words but rather their sorcery is innate and controlled solely by their desires. Then again, Reavely also writes that the women in these nations stand twice the height of the men, a fantasy which several other adventurers (Biseal and Vernox among them) directly refute.

I look forward to your impressions on the work despite its narrator’s unreliability. In the meantime, stay safe and try not to set yourself on fire again. I’ve included a glowstone for you read by, in case recent events hadn’t yet convinced you to switch from candles.

Regards,

Xander