Set Me As A Seal (Upon Your Heart)

(takes place sometime during The 500 Years)

Brighid,

Many things have happened in the time that you have been away. It is my fervent wish that you also can claim the joyous privilege of having seen the same, though I know that such a whim, like so many others, is fruitless. Alba Cavanich, and Hardhaigh in particular, is beautiful in any season, but I especially enjoy the early winter as it turns to a brisk spring. It is the most...precious of all the seasons here on Mor Ardain; the least stark and thus, for me, the most enjoyable.

We, as Blades and as Ardainians, nay Alrestians at large, treasure absolutism, do we not? Thus, we must also seek out respite from it in equal measure at conscientiously chosen moments. But, now is not one of those moments. Let me, and therefore us, attend to the matter, or matters, at hand.

Our liege...that is, my liege, is still recuperating from this his and your most recent trial, lying weeks in the past though it does. It causes me great regret to see such suffering, but one may draw solace from the fact that at least it is over, even if only for the time being. You did not put him through it with any malice in your heart, I know. It is simply as these things must be.

His Majesty's stature remains hale. For that, I give thanks, knowing that I will be able to act as substitute scribe for your journaling for some time to come. The act is...calming, I must say. As much trepidation as I place on each word and phrase I utter, somehow entrusting them to this stable surface and not the open air causes them to flow much more freely than they ever have. I must only think of the sentiment to express first, however.

Then again, it is comforting to know that the words I speak, though carefully chosen, will only be heard once, and never again. Their impact lasts only in the minds and hearts of those who hear them. It is much like my water to your fire: in time, I may move mountains, but to the observer of a single moment, it is as but a merest drop in the vastest oceans of this life. Your flares, meanwhile, are immediate. Implicitly as much as explicitly, they are fiendishly strong, and one cannot help but see them, truly see them.

Our transience is all too real, I am afraid - even within ourselves. One has to wonder if someday you may lose your penchant for lockpicking - then, perhaps, you will no longer be able to sneak into my room and rearrange my...collection, when you think I do not know. In truth, I may not be as thankful for such an event as prudence may dictate. If it were feasible to posit that I could, I would miss it. Regardless, you and I will always love nature, in some capacity, I trust, and together we should make fine appreciators as ever, in any era.

I am...not as suited for this task of chronicling the palace happenings as I would like, despite my remarks of above. Even just the act of putting pen to paper is not one that reflects easily upon my ether. The lack of your elegant seals is a great one; hopefully a simple application of moisture and pressure will suffice. That all depends, of course, on how long it will be until your return. Do you know? Of course, you do not, and you could not dream to relay such information to me even if you did.

To speak of pressure...the Brionac and Lindwurm factions only grow ever more rowdy and audacious in your absence. I fear it does not bode well for the respect I should hope to earn as your equal, that they do not tremble before our imperial might as readily now. You won't begrudge me a little wallowing, will you? It is only in service of aspiration, after all. When the sword is sheathed, the shield should strike fear just as well, for its inmitable forethought and preparation...we shall only see what becomes of it in time.

Indeed, many things have happened in the time that you have been away, though I do not report of them as diligently as I once had. The things I speak of are not all material, you see. I know intimately, as always, that you can and do understand this reality. I only hope that when you return, it will be with much of the same noble spirit, so proud and inspiring, with which to greet them.

I express my most humble care and fondness as your eternal companion, through this life and all those that may follow,

Aegaeon

The seal was made as he had described: a careful, controlled spill of water spread from corner to corner on the envelope's flap, after the paper folded into even thirds had been inserted. Standing with silent, aquine grace, Aegaeon moved to the shelf and slipped this most recent letter to the bottom of the stack so artfully hidden behind the glass case where Brighid's Core Crystal lay in all-too-patient wait.

Aegaeon is a Good Boy and must be treasured. That is all.