Early the next morning, Harper set off towards the post office. She felt it necessary to tell her family of her uncle’s presence and ask for advice in the event that they met. Unfortunately, it would take a while. The mailing service between continents was known for its lethargy. She still hadn’t received her family’s response to her initial letter back to Magnon.


    Alric Henton was mother’s brother. Like Harper’s mother, he was a scion of one of the warring kingdoms of upper Magnon, the remnants of the greater Empire of Tavenoc. Henton was a powerful, if short-lived, dukedom on the northern coast. Her maternal grandparents and great grandparents had carved out their own territory by force, only to be shattered by a coup some decades later.


    Her mother and uncle were only children at the time, and fled to Quilen with a large portion of the house''s riches. Those riches were enough to ensure their survival, and eventual assimilation into the Waspen house. It was finalized when her mother and father were married, and her uncle went back to fight in northern Magnon under the Waspen banner.


    Harper didn’t know the reason, but at some point, they had a falling out and her uncle was exiled. It was not too dissimilar to her own circumstances she realized, except that her uncle’s exile was much more thorough. He had been stripped of the Waspen name and had no recourse to regain his lost standing. She only had vague memories of the man.


    Harper’s parents had thought he settled in south Zecura. His experience in warfare would serve him well there, and it would not have been too difficult for him to establish himself, being a powerful Magnate.


    Perhaps he did, and moved to Vanax later. Whatever the case, she needed to be cautious. She didn’t know how bitter their relationship was when they parted. It was very possible that he would prove hostile. Assassinations were not below the nobles of north Magnon if what she knew from the stories held any truth.


    In the worst case, her letter would give her parents some clues if she ‘mysteriously disappeared.’ Harper didn’t want it to come to that of course, but she could use her parents knowing his whereabouts as leverage in case he tried anything untoward. Her best defense currently was his ignorance to her presence.


    This is probably excessive, she thought. I don’t know anything about him. He may welcome me with open arms. Memories of the previous day’s ventures flitted through her mind. Of starved workers and the incessant crack of a whip. But probably not. I should keep my distance.


    Harper walked into the post office, well familiar with it by now. She had visited it both during her duties as a courier, and when checking for correspondence from her family. Mail distributed here was almost always of personal nature, deliveries to recipients in the city that weren’t important enough to burden the Governor’s couriers with.


    She made her way to the front desk, stamped letter in hand. “Good morning, Arvin. I would like this set aside for the next delivery north.”


    The clerk nodded and set her letter in a nearby pile. “Will do, Harper. Hold on a minute.”


    She tilted her head in question but he just vanished into the back. He reappeared a minute later, holding a letter with a wax seal over the top. “The letter you keep asking about just came in last night. I was thinking I wouldn’t see you again until your weekly check-in, but it seems you''re in luck.”


    A wave of relief flowed through Harper and tension she didn’t know she had eased in her shoulders. Thanking the clerk, she grabbed the letter and hurried to a nearby bench. With every passing week with no response Harper had gotten more worried. They had said they would exchange letters but what if her parents changed their minds?


    What if they had elected to make her exile like her uncle’s, completely cut off from the family. A lack of response from Corvin worried her even more. He would send something, even if her parents hadn’t, unless they were actively stopping him from doing so.


    Her worry was for naught it seemed. She had left a notice in the Porvus post office that she would be in Arboren. Maybe the trip in between had more stops than expected. Maybe the ship ferrying letters across the sea was delayed by bad weather. It didn’t really matter; the message had arrived.


    Harper sat and broke the seal, a familiar image of a dragon with an eclipsed sun and moon background. Two letters sat inside. The first was in her mother’s handwriting; the script was grateful and flowing, far different than her father’s clear and precise print. The second was in her brother’s messy scrawl. Their tutors never could get him to write his letters properly. Her own was closer to her father’s, print with the occasional flourish.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Dear Harper,


    We are glad to hear that you arrived in Vanax as scheduled. The opportunities should be plentiful and connections you form there could be helpful after returning home. I recommend building a relationship with Governor Mavian, if you haven''t already. She is supposedly the current foremost merchant on the continent; there is the chance for some very lucrative contracts.


    If you succeed in building a presence there, and achieve the goal we set for you, we may consider sending you resources to build an outpost for our house on the continent. Just something that would keep an eye on developments there and serve as a trade station. You might be able to come home not only having redeemed your mistake, but expanded the house and secured a potential investment.


    As for matters back in Quilen, your brother has officially taken heirship. Do not be too disappointed, prodigies of his level are quite rare. I know things didn’t turn out as any of as expected, but you need to remember it’s for the good of the house. His rise in power will benefit us all.


    Corvin has even caught the attention of the crown. We’ve begun receiving invitations for events above our rank. Even the dukes have started treating us differently, some as potential future allies, and some as potential rivals. If we play our cards right, the new territory in the north and dukedom is not out of our reach.


    There has even been talk of sending your brother north early. If he joins now and climbs the ranks before becoming a Magnate as is usual, he could earn the respect of the army. He’s already been given a core and grown most of his Alius. We had decided on a crushing monitor. It fits his fighting style well, and will leave him with a useful legacy trait as he moves on to more powerful creatures.


    The war continues on as always. Neither side is making much headway. We remain entrenched in what we’ve claimed and have not been able to push through. There’s talk of this next campaign being the one to do it, but such has been the rumor for years now.


    Your father and I are eager to see what you can accomplish on your own. Work hard, and seize any opportunity that arises. Be patient with the Domains, Sky will come for you when you are ready. It is notoriously tricky among the Domains. Make the house proud.


    Our warmest regards,


    Celvine and Dolvan Waspen.


    It was about what she expected. Her parents were never much for sentiment, and she supposed she wasn’t either. Some of the contents did surprise her, however.


    Harper’s parents had been wanting to move up for as long as she could remember. Both were personally powerful, and the house itself was on the larger end of viscounts and counts. Harper had expected that they would move onto marquess and marchioness at some point, but becoming a duchy? That was ambitious, and something she thought far from their grasp.


    Corvin’s talent was a bigger deal than she realized. That fact, and that he was given the core of such a powerful creature spawned a new surge of jealously in her. She pushed it down, and acknowledged that a crushing monitor was an excellent fit for him.


    Mundane monitors were large lizards known for their size and ferocity. The crushing monitor was known to amplify these traits; it was especially well known for its size and devastating bite. It was said to be able to snap the bones of even most Magnate creatures, should it clamp its jaws around them. Lesser creatures would be pulverized bite by bite.


    That Corvin may be joining the ranks soon worries her. She was surprised her parents would allow it; it seemed like too great a risk. With only one Domain, he may not even be joining as an officer, but as a foot soldier in the special forces. It would be fraught with danger.


    Harper reread the letter, grimacing at the mention of Governor Mavian. She had heard more about the Governor in her time here, and while what she heard was no doubt biased against her, being in another colony, all that she heard reinforced the initial impression and what that labuntan handmaiden had told her. What was her name again? I can’t recall, she thought, feeling slightly guilty.


    In any case, building a relationship with the Governor of Orosburgh was out of her reach for now. Nor did Harper want to stay any longer than necessary to build a branch of their house here.


    Harper moved onto the second letter. It repeated much of what the first said, going over new events and developments. His letter was more personal in nature. Unlike Harper and their parents, Corvin was more emotionally open. He expressed his sadness at her absence, emphasizing how their home felt less lively.


    There was an obvious conflict in his words of trying not to come off as gloating, but wanting to share his excitement for what was happening. He was extremely in favor of joining the war in the north, and was doing everything he could to make it a reality. Harper hoped he wouldn’t come to regret it.


    One section talked about the high-ranking events he had been invited to. Instead of focusing on the trading opportunities and political connections he had been able to form, he went on about the friends he had made.


    Corvin had always been like that. Something about his genuine personality and natural charisma enticed people, low and high ranking alike. Of course, for some, it had the opposite effect, them thinking him a fool. Yet he always seemed to manage fine.


    One paragraph in particular was spent gushing about a particular royal. One of the princesses in their age group that he had never met but had always seen from afar. Apparently, that had changed during a recent ball.


    She raised an eye in amusement at the praise he had given her. It seemed that she had entranced him. Hopefully she didn’t intend on using him as a piece in some political game or that he grew too bold. They were still only a countdom, after all. She was sure her parents were watching closely and would stop him from making any sort of political misstep. Harper fully intended in mocking him for his poorly hidden admiration.


    Smiling, she returned home. Harper had another letter to write.