Letter from the Sandstone College to the Astronomers dated 14 Hziran IY 7788

[Ziya]

14 Hziran IY 7788

ASTRONOMERS OF Q'TOLIP
Observatory of Q'tolip
Eagle's Mount

Attention: Apothar Cosine Mevura

Dear Sirs,

A COMPENDIUM TO EPHIA'S WELL – PATRONAGE TOPIC: "BROOKING"

1.   We refer to the conversation between your Apothar Mevura Cosine ("Apothar Cosine") and our Balstan Gloamingdaith dated 12 Hziran IY 7788.

2.   We further refer to Apothar Cosine's patronage of the Compendium to Ephia's Well (the "Compendium").

3.   As discussed, we are pleased to provide you with an advance copy of two pages of the Compendium relating to one of your indicated topics of interest, 'Brooking'. We enclose herein the draft pages (the "Draft Pages").

4.   We'd be grateful if you would let us know by 21 Hziran IY 7788 your proposed amendments (if any) to the Draft Pages.

5.   Please feel free to reach out to the Sandstone College if you have any query.

6.   In the meantime, all of our rights remain expressly reserved, including but not limited to the right to make any further revisions to the Draft Pages as we deem fit without reference to you.

Live and drink,
Balstan Gloamingdaith
The Sandstone College

enc.

[close]

[Stranger]

I reiterate my recommendation that the Ruinous Courts and their Princes are discussed as little as possible. The more that any one given person knows about the djinn, the more they will take an interest in that person; the more they "see," they more they shall be "seen." If you insist on having these descriptions, however, they should at least be made accurate. Read on at your own risk.

There are four Princely Courts, but infinitely many "pretender courts" ruled by divergent djinn who covet and seek to usurp the power of the godlike Princes. The most common pretender court encountered by the citizens of Ephia's Well are the esoteric "Salt Merchants," agents of Salt and Bone. There are proper names for each of these Courts and Princes, but to speak those names is to curse all who hear them, and to read of them is much the same for unfortunate eyes.

You seem to already hint at this in your draft, but it bears further emphasis: the names of evil must never be spoken; in particular, the name of the Wyrm, the name of the Ruinous Princes, and of any other foul thing.

Where humans are complex animals, with many primal motivations, the djinn only have one: hunger. Their sole purpose is to consume all things; all souls, all worlds, all realities. Although more powerful djinn exhibit greater intelligence, sometimes surpassing mortal genius, they cannot escape their fundamental urge to devour the universe. Everything they are, everything they do, comes back to the hunger. Their societal hierarchies and cultural trappings are little more than (increasingly sophisticated) strategies to optimize their cosmic gluttony.

The fate of all brookers is to be devoured, mind, body, and soul, by their masters. Their pacts (always, necessarily willing) forswear the protection of their Gods and forefathers. They cannot be redeemed. They must be destroyed as quickly as possible, to staunch the corruption they pour upon our world. Each brooker is a living doorway to the realms of evil that can only be closed by a prompt execution.

Djinn are in vicious conflict with each other, and in their presence you can expect their composite elements to never mix.

All djinn are dark spirits and do not need to physically manifest themselves. They can inhabit their associated elements, pass through them, control them, et cetera.

Djinn are liars. They are all deceivers, capable of mimicking the shape of anything they have eaten the name of. They hunger for names because these names give them the power to transform, to change, to imitate. They can mimic anything from treasure chests to innocuous fairies to actual humanoids. Anything could be a djinn, even the parchment you are reading right now. Commonly (but not always), there is some kind of "wrongness" or imperfection or deformity that gives the monster away.

I've known all four Princely Courts to come before the desperate, the dying, and the already dead, offering temporary salvation in exchange for eternal damnation.

I've also seen all four Princely Courts pretend, thinly, to be friendly and harmless pixies.

Of Earth and Flesh: These creatures tend to be the most "straightforward" djinn, offering sinister power or secret knowledge in exchange for servitude. They are known to have a gruesome affinity for chefs, butchers, and alchemists. "Fleshy horns" found in the wilderness are scraps of flesh djinn, intentionally left in the wilderness to tempt the feckless into djinn alchemy, which is capital brooking. The flesh djinn are often associated with a pulsing "heartbeat" in stone or clay, bizarrely deformed metal, and malformed lumps of meat and/or keratin.

Of Fire and Blood: These creatures revel in vengeance. They favor those whose hearts are blackened with hate and wrath and offer to fulfill their self-destructive malice in exchange for their souls. They most often appear as pact-driven assassins. They are often associated with disembodied music, unnaturally hot blood, and silent flames that do not crackle, snap, or pop.

Of Air and Shadow: These creatures are malicious tricksters known to compel mortals to play games with them. The rules of these games are typically unexplained and must be inferred by their mortal victim. However, because it is a game, it is possible to "win" and to "lose," and winning is usually not as bad as losing. Because of the infamous brooker, Yomar Kamarya, damning an entire moot of his people to their stomachs, it has become common for shadow djinn to wear the appearance of gnomes. They are often associated with disobedient mirrors, sussurating whispers, and crawling darkness.

Of Water and Light: These creatures are not any more "fae and mercurial" than any other djinn. That description is better assigned to shadow djinn. In reality, they are better compared to "angler fish," luring in the gullible with a display of false radiance and impersonated divinity. They have been known to deceive the zealous mortals by obliquely referring to their Prince as "the Mother," among other fraudulent suggestions that they are agents of B'aara. I have seen them lure out more than one devout inquisitor this way, into the waiting jaws of doom. They are often associated with dripping water, beguiling mist, and unwholesome glows.

Lastly,

Such offer a quick and convenience way to power that has attracted many to their untimely demise,

quick and convenient*

Apothar Cosine Mevura

[Ziya]

15 Hziran IY 7788

ASTRONOMERS OF Q'TOLIP
Observatory of Q'tolip
Eagle's Mount

Attention: Apothar Cosine Mevura

Dear Sirs,

RE: A COMPENDIUM TO EPHIA'S WELL – PATRONAGE TOPIC: "BROOKING"

1.   We refer to:

        (a)   Our letter dated 14 Hziran IY 7788 (our "14 Hziran Letter"); and

        (b)   Your undated letter received on 15 Hziran IY 7788 (your "15 Hziran Letter").

2.   Purely for the ease of convenience, we adopt the abbreviations in our 14 Hziran Letter.

3.   We are grateful for the views and insights in your 15 Hziran Letter and are reviewing the same. We will respond substantively to you in due course and/or make the necessary amendments to the Draft Pages.

4.   Please feel free to reach out to the Sandstone College if you have any query.

5.   In the meantime, all of our rights remain expressly reserved, including but not limited to the right to make any revisions to the Draft Pages as we deem fit without further reference to you.

Live and drink,
Balstan Gloamingdaith
The Sandstone College