The Magus of Liphonyr

To the Magus Azdromel,

His Eminence King Serix, Ruler of Vestria and Lord Protector of the Outer Regions, issues you a summons to appear in his courtroom no later than seven days' time. Your assistance is required for a matter of utmost delicacy and urgency, one which may not be conveyed in ink. Being that this is an official summons, you may forgo the customary presenting of a gift or gifts to his Royal Highness upon entry to the palace. His Majesty understands the constraints of his summons, and has graciously pardoned you for this occasion. Fare well in your travels.

With respect,

Dorrick Pennifold

Faithful Servant of the King

Royal Scribe

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Dorrick, you old scoundrel!

I hope this crow finds you well. Firstly, I must congratulate you on becoming a Royal Scribe. The position could not have been bestowed upon a more mortal person, and I truly mean that. It is, however, with the deepest regret that I must inform you of my inability to be, how you put it, summoned. I am, at present, quite preoccupied with another matter; one in which I find myself completely and unavoidably obligated to devote my efforts toward at present. Terribly sorry about that. Please relay my sincere apologies to Archmage Vyrne, and assure him that I will be available for mage council on the king’s matters in future.

All the best,

Azdromel

Magus of Liphonyr

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To the Magus Azdromel,

I must thank you for your words on my promotion, though I was rather confused by your choice of compliment. My apologies if I was unclear in my previous scroll, so please allow me to clarify. Archmage Vyrne is no longer in the employ of His Majesty the King, and thus this request is not for mage council, but rather a summons directly from King Serix himself. I’m afraid there is to be no other engagement more pressing on your time than this summons. Given that there are now only five days remaining, I have counseled with the Royal Cartographer and several scouts to ensure you have sufficient time for travel. All have assured me that no more than two days should be necessary for you to make the trip from your sanctum in Liphonyr to His Majesty’s kingdom. Please make the appropriate arrangements for your travel, and we shall look forward to seeing you within five days’ time.

Respectfully,

Dorrick Pennifold

Faithful Servant of the King

Royal Scribe

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Dorrick,

I hope this crow finds you well. Believe it or not, it is the same crow as last time! We call her Trubolt the Quick, for she is. You needn’t have fear in regards to my other engagements. The simple fact is that I am unable to respond to a summons, when I am already otherwise summoned. I am indeed a powerful mage, but not even I have the knowledge to replicate myself entirely to be hither and thither at the same time. It is out of my magical hands, you see. As for Vyrne, what could possibly have happened to him? I know for a fact that his position in the king’s royal archives brought him the utmost joy. I cannot imagine he left for other employment? No, no, that simply would not be our Vyrne.

In my absence, please call upon Archmage Selemere of Whyst. I am sure he would be most willing and able to oblige whatever it is that his majesty the king requires of our mastery.

Best,

Azdromel

Magus of Liphonyr

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Azdromel,

You seem to be of the impression that a summons from His Royal Highness, King Serix, is second to any other obligation on your time. Allow me to correct this erroneous perception. A summons from the King Himself is also to be considered a command; which, if you recall, overpowers any other requests or prior commitments of your time. His Highness understands this must be an inconvenience; however, it is a requirement.

Regarding Vyrne, he left some time ago without a trace. We have had royal scouts searching the land for him diligently, but to no avail. On the topic of Archmage Selemere, he too has gone quiet in his correspondence, and thus left you to be the necessary Magus on which we must rely. I assure you that the matter for which His Highness wishes your illustrious presence is of the utmost importance. Allow me, once again, to advise that the topic is not one able to be conveyed in writing by carrier pigeon. Please proceed in making the necessary travel arrangements, as there are now only four days until His Majesty expects you.

May I just say - I do not know what your engagement is that has thus prevented you from attending to the King’s summons, however I would deal with it swiftly. The King is not a man to be trifled with, Azdromel. Consider this a word of warning from one old friend to another.

Dorrick Pennifold,

Faithful Servant of the King

Royal Scribe

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Dorrick, Dorrick, Dorrick,

Therein lies your first problem - you must get crows! I don’t know why the populus think crows a bad omen. They are far superior to pigeons in intelligence and speed. I am willing to wager you receive my scrolls the same day I send them. I cannot say the same for yours. For example, there are now three days until the king expects me, not four as written in your letter. It took your bird a whole day to arrive! But as soon as I give this parchment to Trubolt the Quick, it will be in your hands before days’ end. Mark my words. Crows.

And I appreciate your warning, old friend. But we must be older friends than you think, if you are forgetting already that I honor my engagements, regardless of the person’s rank, title, or coin. My deepest apologies; however, his highness must indeed wait as I have an engagement already scheduled.

I do find it most peculiar and unsettling for Vyrne to have vanished. Completely unlike him, and now Selemere too? I have sent a message via crow (for they are faster) to Whyst Tower. We shall see if we cannot recommence some communication between us. I shall let you know what I find, as I know this must be equally as disturbing to you as it is to me.

If his highness really is in dire need of assistance, please consult with the Royal Physician. As I understand, he is in possession of a number of medical salves that remove unpleasant itching and the like from all sorts of areas.

Ever so previously engaged,

Azdromel

Magus of Liphonyr

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To the Insolent Magus Azdromel,

It is with no pleasure that I remind you of the limitations of our King’s patience. Your insinuations are not only woefully misguided, but also dangerously accusatory. His Highness would never engage in activities unbefitting of his station, and to suggest such in writing is close to treason. What if someone intercepted these communications? You are reckless in your writing and foolish in your priorities.

I suspected some apprehension on your part prior to your outright declination of the royal summons. Though I wish it had not come to this, I sent scouts to Liphonyr to observe your sanctum from a distance. Do you know what they reported back? That there have been comings and goings most every night. Reports of barrels - no, cartloads of barrels of wine arriving constantly and at all hours. Sightings of a slew of women, completely underdressed for the weather, entering the premises. One wishes not to, but can only be forced to assume you are acquiring harlots for some drunken debauchery. This is not only a complete disgrace to your position as Magus, but also an inexcusable “engagement” for which to disregard a royal summons. You forget your place, Azdromel, and the King will not stand for it.

In three days time, you will be in the royal palace answering the summons. If you are not, I fear I cannot stand in the way of His Majesty’s orders. Orders which will likely involve a sum of gold for your head.

This is your last warning, Magus.

Dorrick Pennifold,

Faithful Servant of the King

Royal Scribe

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To the Royalest of Scribes,

I knew Trubolt would get the scroll to you the same day! But come now, let us not quarrel over my vastly superior choice in messenger birds.

Since we are done with pleasantries, I shall cut straight to it. Neither I nor any other mage shall be responding to the palace to attend to the coward you call your king. I did think it an odd thing when Archmage Vyrne ceased his communications with me, after having faithfully checked in each season for several years. I conveyed concern on this matter to Archmage Selemere two months ago, as his tower is closer to Vestria than my own humble sanctum, and he had a rather interesting bit of information to share. You will likely find this interesting. He informed me that not only had Vyrne disappeared without a trace, but a number of other local magi had also gone quiet. We have a network, you see, one in which we frequently share information and relay the general goings on. That is to say - we talk. Something I don’t think your king considered, when he signed the royal decree for the eradication of all magi in secret.

Don’t look so surprised, Dorrick, of course we know! For every spy your king employs, there are three informants loyal to the Order of the Magi. My only wish is that we had been notified sooner. Vyrne was a good man, and an excellent mage. He did not deserve to die at the order of the king he served so faithfully. Naturally, when I heard news of this devilish decree and of the disappearance of several members of the Order, I was curious as to what brought this all about. Why must all magi die? It was shortly after asking this question that I learned another fascinating fact: Your king had recently granted an audience with a woman named Sheiya. But Sheiya was no ordinary woman, no indeed. She was a self-proclaimed wise-woman, a mystic, a seer. Sheiya shared a prophecy with your king that he was to die a gruesome and prolonged death at the hands of a mage, thus planting a seed of fear in his simple and impetuous mind. Suddenly it all began to make sense - as much as any nonsensical action could. Your king acted in fear, signing a decree for all magi to be put to death, and thereby sparing his life from the prophecy foretold. There is, however, one glaringly large error to all of this. An error which, had it been investigated properly, would have avoided all our present troubles.

Sheiya is not a seer. Not of any kind. She happens to be a cunning and beautiful woman, which is perhaps why she was not properly investigated prior to her audience with your king. Had she been, you would have discovered that her whereabouts on any given night for the month prior could be narrowed down to one of three taverns in Vestria. Taverns in which she drank excessively, danced foolishly, and ranted loudly about the lover who scorned her for another. A lover who happened to be a mage.

I hope you see now the error of your king’s actions; however, the damage remains.

By Merlin, I have practically written a manuscript. I don’t know if Trubolt the Quick will be able to carry the weight of this scroll. Perhaps I will send Brogdin the Strong instead. He is quite a brawny crow who will no doubt carry it with ease. Regardless, allow me to finish this letter with all haste.

I have been aware of the scouts you sent to spy on my sanctum since their arrival. Not only because of the magic with which I infused the nearby land, but also because of the numerous fires dotting the hills after nightfall. It seems a bad practice for scouts sent to collect information in secret to then broadcast their locations each night. The smoke has also disrupted my view of the stars, and I would thank you to remind them to use sticks and not brush for their next assignment’s nighttime blaze.

Due to their undeniable presence around my peaceful village of Liphonyr, I had to alter my previous engagement. You know, the one which prohibited me from answering your king’s maliciously intended summons. Well, that engagement was a grand council meeting of all nearby magi. Since an outright gathering would have alerted your spies and thereby your king, we devised a plan to smuggle in the other magi. The cartloads of wine barrels that came and went at all hours? Those barrels held none other than the magi and Archmagi of all surrounding territories, as well as their families. Well, a few of the barrels were in fact wine, I will grant you that. But the vast majority provided sanctuary for those now being hunted by Serix's decree.

As for the women you called harlots, I’m afraid your scouts may have been focused on the wrong things. To sell this act of indulgence and debauchery, it was Archmage Selemere’s idea to disguise several members of the Order as women. Evidently all it takes to fool your king’s scouts is to keep the hoods of the cloaks up, raise the skirts to reveal some ankle, and position a pair of fruit inside a blouse. I found it a bit in poor taste, but we couldn't very well expose the true women of our families to their lecherous gazes. No indeed.

The council meeting is over now and we have all disbanded from Liphonyr, so there is no need to send any armed forces to the city. There would be no one to receive you here at all, not even the merchants or gardeners. I shall conclude my letter with this last note for you and your king:

We are coming. The Order of the Magi have deliberated, and judged your king unfit to rule. You will not find us before we find you. We will remove your king from his throne, the crown from his head, and his head from his corpse.

Choose your side carefully, Dorrick, old friend.

Azdromel

Magus of Liphonyr

Head of the Council of the Magi

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To the Magus Azdromel,

His Highness, King Serix, has received your letter and wishes most earnestly to prevent any further unnecessary bloodshed. King Serix wishes to correct any errant ideas about a perceived decree ordering the death of the magi, as this was never the purpose of the document. As an offering of peace, His Eminence is willing to provide you, as well as the other most esteemed magi, a sum of one thousand crowns apiece. In addition to this, and as a gesture of good faith, His Majesty also wishes to extend to you the position of Royal Archmage of Vestria. Your answer is expected in a personal meeting with the King no later than seven days’ time.

With respect,

Perci L. Bundry

Faithful Servant of the King

Royal Scribe

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AZDROMEL I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS

KING SERIX

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Archmage Selemere,

My friend, you were quite correct in your belief that there would be scrolls from the palace awaiting my return to Liphonyr. I did inform the coward that no one would be there, and yet they still sent their pigeons. Interestingly, the two scrolls carried vastly different messages. One, a peace offering and pitiful attempt to conceal their murderous actions. I was even asked to be the royal Archmage! I apologize for the ink blot there, I was laughing whilst writing the words. The second letter proved to be much shorter, and from the king himself no less! I believe it must have been sent after he found our sigil burnt into the stone in his royal chambers. A bit much, for my taste, but it suited our purpose quite nicely, and I don’t think he liked it one bit. Then again, magic always does elicit strong emotion from those not familiar with its whisper. I don’t think he cared much for us magi at all near the end, do you? I got the distinct impression, in fact, that we may have caused him to lose his head.

Apologies for the jest, I know it isn’t good to speak ill of the dead no matter how foolish, arrogant, and otherwise despicable a person they might have been. I shall endeavor to refrain in future. I look forward to seeing how Vestria prospers now that we have removed the sickness from her. Please do keep in touch going forward, as I would hate to have another of your disgruntled lovers cause an attempted mass execution of our kind.

Too soon? My deepest apologies.

Azdromel

Magus of Liphonyr

Keeper of the Crows of Liphonyr