As fine as it can be

You had a brother and a sister, Sarmyar and Fagwyn respectively, both fraternals twins married off to more distant nobles in an effort to establish alliances with more powerful states; Sarmyar to Lady Devondra Lightfeather, serving under Lord Protector Faurael Blackhmmer of Triboar; Fagwyn to Lord Adriel Sunheart, serving under Lord Warder Dauner Ilzimmer of Amphail.

Though there were other nations more powerful than them, the two duchies served as ample protection for your fledgling nation in its early days. Fortunately, they still stood strong right now, housing sizeable populations of Wood Elves that served in their armies.

At the time of their marriages, they were only twenty – barely adolescents by Elven standards, but no one would wait a hundred years for an Elf to reach ‘full maturity’ in this cruel world.

Sarmyar had little talent, only fit to be a handsome groom for whichever noblewoman desired him to sire her children, but he was diligent and never protested against duties imposed on him – never when your mother Shala married him off, away from home. At fourty years of age, he was father of five children – three sons and two daughters. Amphail was now a city housing fifteen thousand citizens, a fortress-city.

Fagwyn, on the other hand, was the opposite: a talented stateswoman and politician that Dauner never was – the man loving horses more than people. Under her leadership, Amphail was expanded and fortified several times and was now a small city with a population of ten thousand, and few monster bands dared take on its defences. An equally loving and doting mother, she cares equally for her two sons and two daughters.

This, however, was not to say they were unaffected by the current political instability gripping the Savage Frontier.

“What did you say? Waterdeep is fighting a war with the Duchess of Daggerford?”

“Yes, My Lord,” Said the messenger, “Already, Duchess Morwen has assembled her armies and allies to march northward, and Lord Laeral has done the same with his. We believe a clash is inevitable.”

“Blast… to think we’d have a war so soon…” You muttered angrily, “Convey my orders: Keep a close watch on the clash down south and monitor our borders; make sure we’re not caught off-guard no matter what.”

“Aye, my Lord,” Said the messenger.

Daggerford was a town along the Delimbyr river – a remnant of the once proud Kingdom of Delimbyr in the Savage Frontier. It long held ambitions of being equal in splendour and power to its neighbour of Waterdeep – partly stemming from its bloated feelings of importance, but their Duchess Morgan Daggerford was a capable stewardess.

Still, as of late, you could not deny that its actions were concerning as of late; marshalling of greater armies, disappearances of opposition in the blink of an eye, erection of fortresses, and so on.

So, this is what they were preparing for… You thought, I would have liked for more time, but fate’s never so kind.

With this in mind, you began drafting a letter to your secret ally, Tyswaen of Dardath, the Dwarf Queen keeping correspondence with you through letters.

Dear Tyswaen,

I am glad to see you’re doing well despite the chaos gripping the Savage Frontier. I admit, I wish things could have gone better, but at least our realms continue to benefit from mutual assistance we’ve rendered each other since the building of our realms.

Now marks a year since the formation of our alliance – one that has seen fruitful benefit for both sides, with you managing to rebuild the deepfolk’s strongholds with the additional population given with the help of our Druids.

Yet, I must ask a favour of you now, my friend; in ten years’ time, we plan to **** the Sumber and Dessarin Hills to our east to further expand and secure our borders. I believe you know of the Dwarven ruins there as well, so I ask if it is possible for you to spare or direct Dwarven colonists to those areas. If you cannot, I understand.

May fortune favour you, My Lady.

Elaxalim

Folding and sealing the letter, you tie it to the leg of a messenger raven you kept in a nearby cage, then send it flying.

With this task done, you heave a sigh, then stand up and leave your office.

“I think I’d best start talking with Carberos about expanding our armies,” You said, “And perhaps enlist the services of Dwarven prospectors in the meantime.”