Letters from The Empire - Part 2

*A letter can be found, old or worn, possibly brand new. Any could find them, they tended to show up in the oddest of places. The note was covered in glitter and bore a lip print on the fold. Inside was delicate and intricate writing. A first-hand account of the realm’s activities.*

To the soul or souls who find this,

I’m visited by so many every day: old faces, new faces. Faces I’ll never see again and others I can almost promise I’ll see dead before the end of all of this. Through it all, every face that comes to me and voice that chimes to me, I wonder to myself, “Will you be with us or against us?” Because that’s what this all boils down to. Whose with us and whose against us.

I personally feel like it’s not a huge choice to make. On the one hand, you have a cabal of freaks, weirdos, and overall strange folk. On the other you have a ruthless Lich wanting to enslave us all. The choice was easy for me. The former is far more preferable.

The war seems to have still enough for the holidays. A Yule Miricle, they keep calling it. Our troops prepare and feast and hunt for sport and sustenance. Across the realm, ease is settling in. Weddings, birthings, the beginnings of new love, and the extending of old. Families are uniting and growing in foundom or by just rutting too much—the celebrations of so many.

And yet, I’m filled with sadness. I can’t place a fear while everyone dances around me and sings to the holidays. The war is drawing on, the ever-changing current of darkness looming over all of us, and I, for one, cannot shake it. I try to revel as I used to, but all I can honestly do is hope the gods end this war and end it in our favor. All I can do is hope that we will prevail with all that I am.

And we must believe we will. 

Reports come to me every day. News across the realm of what’s happening from corner to corner. The new and old things that change and churn as this war does.

Sylfina came to see me the other day; we discussed much. Press this Gem to watch a magi-hologram of what she had to say. I feel I couldn’t summarize it more correctly than the memory itself.

*A gem the size of a half-dollar shines and, when pressed, shows the image of the meeting*

Sylfina smiled as she approaches TJ. "It is good to see you again!" her tone light and sweet. "I hope you had fun at our Yule celebrations." Her smile fades slightly with the fae's question though she gave a little nod. "We are generally good. Alvalorn is already walking and talking and this one..." she rubs her giant belly "...is almost ready to join us." A slight smile returned to her lips and she sighed deeply, leaning against the wall some to take a bit of the pressure off her feet. "I, like all of us, would like this war to come to an end soon. When I arrived here, via merchant ship in the spring, I had heard whispers and rumors, but paid them no real heed until I ended up joining the Priests' Guild." Pausing, she recalls that happy day where she not only found her way back to her goddess but also to her best friend. After a few reflective moments she goes on, "I ended up lodging in the Tower of Temples for those first few months and that's when I realized how serious things were. So I began preparing us. I made sure the Tower itself was physically reinforced. I balanced the finances..." she then quickly adds "...not that Thenan was mismanaging any funds, but I have a secret love of numbers..." she chuckles "...and I wanted to make sure that we, as a Guild, would be ready for when prices rose." Licking her lips, wrapping her shawl closer about her and she takes a breath before continuing, "I also made sure we were well stocked on herbs, bandages, bedding, extra clothing, food, holy water, weapons, and such. I am exceptionally proud that thanks to these efforts, as the situation has grown more serious, the Guild has been able to have a strong response and even share resources with the Healers' Guild, Embergrove, Isk'Waere, The Whispermere, and Vlorissfarne," her cheeks pink with blush at the humblebrag. "I am also happy to say that because all of this preparatory work, we have been able to continue with the seasonal rituals for the peoples of these lands." Her satisfied smile revealed her passion for organizing these celebrations, but her lips pressed together hard as worry entered her eyes. "I am happy to help where and how I can, but I truly wish I could be on the frontline with Thenan and our other brave warriors. Unfortunately, I cannot speak in any great details on how those battles have gone as I myself have not been there and can only go based on the reports I have seen. However, from those reports I know that those fighting with the Priests' Guild army have done well and with very few casualties." That proud smile again returns and she pushes herself up from the wall. With a deep sigh and hand on her belly, but still smiling, "I think I need to go sit some now. It was good to speaking with you when I wasn't run off my feet. Don't forget that my offer to come over to the house for dinner or at least tea still stands." Once the two bid each other farewell, Sylfina waddled off to finish her errands then return home.

War turns, and yet life moves on. Lyrid’rosvilmirev looms over our lands now, swooping down on our troops when we least expect it. And yet, the people continue. The celebrations continue, the levity continues. Life continues.

Perhaps it’s this. Maybe the truth of the matter is, the only way we’ll win this war, the only proper way, is if we continue to live despite what the dead would have us as. We continue to bask in the life they don’t have. We continue to fight for that life as one.

I just pray to all the gods who can hear, old and new, that we’re able to put aside old problems, new rivalries and continue to live. I can just pray that we find the moments to catch a look, a smile, a kiss from a friend, a lover, a stranger—anything to feel life in a realm that’s suffering under the threat and carnage of the dead.

All I can do, stranger, is remind you that you are alive. You have a life, and you can and will live it. All in this land will fight for your right as a person on this plane to do so.

More join us every day, but I wonder… Will it be enough?

Will the training, the preparation, the countless hours of work put in by the Priests, the Fighters, even the Rogues. Will the countless work and gathering of Vlorissfarne, Isk’waere, The Burrows, Hem Malduris, The Legion, The Watch, Whispermere, the Embergrove… Will our collective efforts be enough, or will we need more?

Soon, the key to Ra’altherus’s demise will be in our hands. We set out soon. But all I can do is prepare, as Sylfina and others so rightly did, and hope.

Hope and each other is all we have. Life is all we have. And we will not yield it or anyone to a dead man playing immortal.

New beginnings can still flourish. New loves and new passions. All we need to do is open our hearts to each other and fight for that. If nothing else.

Signed,

The Shinemera

💋

*There’s a doodle at the bottom of the page, it looks like happy families and new friendships and loves springing about throughout the realm. But in the distance, flames burned. Held back by a few hardy-looking people who seemed to refuse to let it touch those it sought.*