On the bed with Adi

Vel was lying on his back and his sister was curled up against him on his left side, her head resting on his chest. He had his left arm around her, his hand resting on her hip. In his right hand, he had Uncle Kal’s letter.

Aarvkash Velas

The twins smiled at each other after Vel read the greeting out loud. Their uncle always used the old Vashkai language to greet them and to sign off. The Toranian Empire, being an empire, comprised a number of different peoples, many of whom had their own languages. By far the most spoken in every province was the language known as Imperial Common, but other tongues persisted here and there. House Hothemer was of Vashkai descent. The Vashkai were, according to legend, tall and warlike conquerors who had come across the sea from lands far to the north and took the lands that now comprised the three northernmost imperial provinces for their own. They ruled those lands as warrior kings until the Toranians came knocking, and after a series of wars, a deal was reached, and the kings gave up their crowns and became exarchs. Many nobles in those provinces were still fiercely proud of their Vashkai heritage, and Uncle Kal was certainly one of them. After their brief moment of shared amusement, Vel read on.

I hope, as always, that this letter finds you well. These are exciting times in Western Aluv. The raiders from the Dross Isles grow ever bolder, and naval skirmishes have grown commonplace. It is my hope that the Empress will soon approve a military expedition to put them down, both I and my counterpart in Eastern Aluv are preparing for it. If it happens, I would dearly love for you to come along and observe your first naval and military campaign. I realize that you are ill-suited for life aboard a ship, but I am confident a solution could be found. A greater challenge would be convincing old Luthor to let you come.

Adeline snorted “He’s right about that, imagine what kind of reaction Father would have to letting you anywhere near a war. For once though, I am not sure I mind, I wouldn’t want you going away at all.” In reply, Vel gave Adeline’s forehead a quick kiss before reading on.

Further, for only the second and third time since I took over the mantle of Exarch, elven ships have docked in my port. The last time was over a decade ago, and it was a single ship only. Now, within the span of three months, groups of two and three ships respectively requested permission to dock. They were of course incredibly vague about their reasons and destinations, but it seemed they were headed east, so away from the elflands. Exciting times indeed.

“An elven delegation will be coming through here soon, and in the last three months Uncle Kal has seen 5 times as many elven ships as in the preceding decade. Surely that isn’t coincidence.” Adeline seemed to consider Vel’s words “Maybe not, but its probably not anything dangerous, right? The elves seem to prefer to avoid involvement in human affairs.” Vel nodded “Which is exactly why their sudden increased presence in our empire might be cause for concern.” Adeline looked unconvinced. Vel went back to the letter.

Veldred’s sister is carrying a foal. I have high hopes for this one. If it is a stallion, he will hopefully grow to equal his uncle. If it is a mare, she will likely carry in her womb the potential to produce an even finer horse. The father is a destrier that I had brought in all the way from Grinaia, and he was a magnificent beast indeed. Not quite as large as Veldred, but capable of speeds that I’ve never seen any other destrier match. And what a temper! Calm as anything with his handler, but damn near chomping at the bit to bite my face off! In other words, pretty much as Vashkai a horse as ever lived. I would love for you and Adeline to be here for the birth, but I realize that might be difficult. By the time this reaches you, the birth is likely to be 8 months or less away. Even so, I will write to my sister about it, perhaps we can turn it into a larger family visit.

“That would be nice, I would love to see Uncle Kal again, and it’s been to long since we saw Inaina and Aurina.” Vel agreed with his twin “I would dearly love to see Uncle and our cousins again, but not sure I love the family trip idea, I’d rather it was just the two of us.” “Hmmm, I’m not sure I agree, Vel. Dina and Lynn might learn a thing or two from Inaina and Aurina.” By this Adeline no doubt meant learning a thing or two about how to treat Vel. His cousins had been, as both Vel and Adeline knew, quite taken with Vel. Last they had seen each other they had all been teenagers, and the twins hadn’t exactly hidden that they both had crushes on Vel. “Our cousins were quite young last time we saw them, Adi. Don’t you think they’ll have grown out of a silly crush on their cousin?” “I don’t think so, they still ask about you in their letters.” This was a surprise to Vel, he hadn’t even realized Adeline was exchanging letters with them. “You guys write each other?” “Sure, not super often, but we keep in touch. I think Uncle Kal probably encourages it.” Vel wasn’t entirely sure what to do with this information, so he just went back to reading.

On the subject of sisters, I hope things are well with you and Adeline, and that you are taking good care of her. I don’t have to hope that she is taking good care of you, she definitely is. I know I say this in almost every letter, but the two of you should treasure the bond you share. It is a rare thing, even among family, and the two of you will have each other’s backs even if the whole world is against you. That is no small thing.

Uurw’iin

Uncle Kal

Vel put the letter aside and looked down at Adeline’s head on his chest, expecting her to be getting her own letter ready, but she had seemingly nodded off. Vel was quite surprised, they’d only been up for 3 hours at most, definitely a bit early for a nap. She looked so peaceful though, and so damn beautiful. He really didn’t want to wake her. He brought up his right hand and very carefully and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. Adeline sort of cooed in her sleep and nestled deeper into his side. Let her sleep, he decided, perhaps he could grab a nap too. If not, he at least had a nice view.