A letter from the Pile: Balladeers of the Lost Hearth (PC/DM)

[WriterX]

Balladeers of the Lost Hearth,

 As I have written to the other Accords, so to I write to you. Much has happened over the past months, but I know that there will no doubt be plans for the future. If any of them could be aided by the Pyramid I would wish to hear what they may be, especially if they are for the betterment of the Well.

 I know the times are uncertain, especially with what was discovered below, with Qa'im on the horizon, but if there is anything this servant of the Sultanate could aid you wish I would wish to head your words, so that at the very least we can discuss them.

Legate Marcellus Saenus

[Don Nadie]

My friend,

This letter comes a bit later than you or I hoped. I fear at the time I was under a brief bout of melancholy, and also awaited far too long for my colleague's feedback. All of this conspired for my draft not to be sent to you before the Assembly, even though I had written it long before. However, I still hoped to write to you on this matter, particularly since I have been doing a great deal of effort coordinating the Balladeers of the Lost Hearth after the loss of our brightest star, Lynneth.

As you may know, our call is the call of the Dakhwar, both finding it and being /worthy/ of it, with the hopes of Renewing the World. This does not mean that we are to be mere lonely hermits,  however. For the world to endure till the Dakhwar is found, hope and joy must be cultivated. In a world that is dying all arround us, no call is more difficult - nor more important - than ensuring people arround us are still willing to live.

Allow me to touch onto a few points of what the College is providing - and would hope to provide to a greater extent, to cultivate such hope and make the Well better for all.

Memory: In the past, as you well know, Balladeers have commemorated both the fallen heroes of the Well and the forsaken tales of its villains. We are even now hoping to raise monuments and give proper respect to those who perished in the Battle of the Red Star. For, what is of a city which forgets those who allowed it to still stand? Examples of this are my Thousandfold Tale and the Book of the Martyrs.

Art: This is oft dismissed as a secondary concern at best, by those who ignore the important of the Arts in both the morale and the prosperity of a City. If empowered and aided financially, we'd love nothing more than to raise monuments that would turn Ephia from a small city in the Desert into a beacon. Merchants would come from afar to gaze upon our glories, sultans and rajs would seek crafstmen. Give us the coin, empower us to enliven the common spaces of the Well, and the City may someday be a jewel beyond compare. Examples of this are my Thousandfold Tale and Narwen's poetry recitals.

Archaeology: This, I shall admit, is a bit of my own personal influence in our poor little College. Particularly after the death of Pirouette, I took upon myself to rebuild the Competition. While I am no Jamileh, I think I have done much to advance the study of our common past. Not only that, I have also ensured that relevant information reaches those it must. In stark contrast with the Tower, who so desires Archaeological licenses, I have also made sure to be a responsible scholar and one who helps introduce new aspiring archaeologists to the work. As such, you can expect the College to continue leading excavation efforts into the future. Examples of this are my publically announced expeditions, the last one taking place on the 1st.

Escort: As many of us take the mante of knight-errants, we have often offereed to escort our Ashfolk population and other civilians on trips to learn of the desert. Those services are standing - for many of us believe it honors Warad to aid others see further. Currently, one of our newest Balladeers is also working on re-awakening the martial side of our merry College. You can certainly expect that, with support and under his leadership, roads will be made safer... For what we lack in the numbers of the Banda or Janissaries, we make in honor and gallantry. The most recent example of this was my escorting Bashir to the Rampart Nusrum on the 2nd.

Errantry: What we lack in numbers we make up for in quality. We cannot face an army, but you shall find no group more ready to jump into action when the situation requires brave fighters ready to give up their life for a noble cause. Our blades and magics have been at preventing many a disaster for the Well, many an attack to caravaneers. The most recent example of this, to my knowledge, is the brave defense of the Red Hill, in which Lyrist Lynneth and Elle gave their lives to ensure your plans came to fruition.

Education: Hope lives too in imagining a different future, and nothing spurs the imaginations of people about what their lives /could/ be like as much as education. You know of our direct support of the Whiltmore Library, of course, but you may not know that I have taken upon myself to introduce many an Awoken to the general history and customs of the Great Ash Desert. In the future, I would like to organize such events more directly - specifically, lessons on general history and roundtables of questions cattered at Awoken - to ensure that they do not succumb to the melancholy of seeing their homes and memories ever-further. Examples of this are every time we meet newcoming refugees, and happily dedicate our time to give them drinks and answer their questions.

Harmony: Wereas many other factions have delved and encouraged strife, biting at one-another like rabid dogs, I think it is not unfair to claim that the Balladeers of the Lost Hearth have worked towards common ground - if only to best follow the guidance of our wise and kidly Sisters. The Cure - for which the College kindly contributed - is the most shining example of our endeavours.

I hope this helps get an idea of the kind of services we provide the City. I know they can seem minor, few as our blades are, empty as our pockets get. But in a world that is ending, the heart, the hope of a better future, and the example of kindly knights does much to ensure the success of our city.

Yours,

Alejandro