To the Legates of Ephia's Well, from the Court of the Sublime Garden [DM]

[DangerousDan]

A letter upon elaborate and expensive papyrus, inlaid with all manner of golden designs and illustrations, gorgeous calligraphy, sealed with the personal style of Osman VI al-Maribid.

Rectification of Certain Historic Injustices, in which Glories, Unity and Eminence are Exalted over Schismatic and Hungry Jackals

for the attention of the Legates of Ephia's Well, cc. Chief Scribe & Deputy Chief Scribe

Honoured Legates,

Now that the die has been cast, it has ocurred to we in the Sublime Garden, being the most glorious and shining of servants of He who sits upon the Eagle Chair, would profit from taking our hand - with all paternal and gentle affection - and place it upon the shoulder of the great Asterabadian experiment. In doing so, we should thereupon enlighten you (who are, after all, foreign to our Sultanate and its dazzling customs) upon certain matters of diplomatic protocol, which must be rightly observed in the inexorable and virtuous unification of an estranged appendage into the bosem of Mother Baz'eel.

To wit, the Emirate of Kha'esh must be formally and expressly informed of the moral and religious stance that has been adopted by the government of Ephia's Well with regards to the wellspring of the Tutelage, which is to say instead the Bronze Wadi, which is of course to properly say the City of Arslan; presently occupied by the Kha'eshi.

You must, in short and in fact, summon the representatives of Jaiyan Ibn Sharev, Emir of Kha'esh, before an Assembly of your people, and in that place make it known with your words that you, being the invested sovereigns of Ephia's Well, take objection to their continued exploitation of this Arslan, and demand its passing from their care into your own.

You may wonder, being (no doubt) beholding of no small measure of acuity and observance; why, when some decisive act against Schismatic and Hungry Jackals has been settled upon, you should alert them then to the contours of your thought? A fine question, and a subtle one indeed, yet one that nonetheless reveals your station as one estranged from the inner soul of Baz'eel that shines golden.

For it has ever been so, that in matters of dispute, that demands be made openly and without fear. This track is worn by convention, a highway befitting the dignity of a Legate of Ephia's Well and a servant of the sovereign in Baz'eel. This shall, no doubt, alert the Jackal to your ambition. Yet not, we pray, to your resolve. Indeed you must cloud this resolve, and speak only of deep and gentle sentiments and the steely demands that issue therefrom.

To allude to the Legions, which are without number, and of their stern power would be uncivilized and furthermore unwise, we should counsel against uttering such a barbarity.

You have made a decision, most momentuous: to assert yourselves as great satraps of His Great Sublimity,

Osman the Sixth al-Maribid;

Sultan of Baz'eel, Sultan of Qa'im, Sultan of Kha'esh, Sultan of Qadira, Sultan of Arslan, Sultan of Ephia's Well &c., Overlord of Il Modo, Protector of the Sea of Pearls and of the Satrapies, Grand Suzerain of Banafsi, Beloved of the Mother and of the Magi and of the Wheel Entire, Defender of the Orthodoxies and of Heterodoxies, Grand Chancellor of the Academies and of the Bright Madrassa, al-Nasr.

In this station you have claimed, you are most blessed. A twofold blessing, of glory and civilization. Make offerings at the Temple of B'aara, and wear no sandals when you do so. Ponder upon the mantle you have assumed.

It shall weigh upon you heavily henchforth.

In the Mother's Grace, in the service of He Most Sublime, we are

Siursum Avak Res,
Serene Majordomo of the Ecstatic Terrace

Ghur-Utal Pasha, 'Mekelglim'
Fifth Undersecretary of the Extant Adliye

Azmir ibn Kalam,
Secretary.

[DangerousDan]

A rough postscript is attached.

Legates,

Allow me to unspool this act of courtly rhetoric for you.

Baz'eel commands, in the name of decorum and civilization, that you summon the Ambassador and Envoy of Kha'esh to the Assembly Hall before the Voiced, decry their occupation of Arslan and demand that the City is ceded to the protection of Ephia's Well immediately.

And under no circumstances are you to threaten them with military force.

Good luck.

Ashbury
Chief Scribe

[VanillaPudding]

To the Most Serene and Erudite Representatives of the Sublime Garden,

Your words, resplendent as the banners of the Eagle Chair itself, reach us in their full opulent measure, enrobed in the silken folds of guidance and tradition. It is ever the fortune of those who dwell beyond the gilded spires of Baz'eel to be illuminated by the wisdom of its stewards, and thus, with all due reverence, we accept the touch of your paternal hand upon the trembling shoulder of our humble experiment.

The weight of your counsel is felt, as is the gravity of the path you urge upon us. The Legatine Council, in its wisdom and with all due ceremony, shall see to it that the will of Ephia's Well is voiced in accordance with the highest standards of diplomatic virtue. A summons shall be extended to the Envoy and Ambassador of Kha'esh, delivered with words as measured as they are unassailable, etched upon parchment that bears the weight of our station.

They shall come before our Assembly and stand beneath the gaze of Ephia's Voiced, where the matter of Arslan's governance shall be made plain to them. With courtesy honed to a sword's edge we shall declare our position that the land they till is not their own, and that the wellspring they have sought to claim flows not for them, but for the sovereign hands of Ephia's Well. This shall be done openly, as you so eloquently prescribe, with all the conviction of those who speak not in whispers, but with the measured cadence of those who have already decided.

Know that our words shall carry the weight of iron without ever striking the anvil. The resolve of Ephia's Well is no storm upon the horizon, but inevitable like the rising of the wicked idol of Pra'raj.

Thus, we walk forward, burdened by the mantle that has been placed upon our shoulders, but unbowed. Let this be known in the halls of Baz'eel, where the wheel turns and the Mother watches.

In firmest resolve, under the Grace of Civilization,

Legate Alexandria Sayburgh



Postscript to the Most diligent and decorous Chief Scribe Ashbury:

Be assured, I am quite able to read.

[crestfallen]

A long-winded reply is sent, writ formally, but with an unsteady hand.

FROM THE DESK OF LEGATE LHYRIAN

To the Most Exalted Servants of His Sublime Magnificence
Addressed with profound respect to:

Siursum Avak Res, Serene Majordomo of the Ecstatic Terrace
Ghur-Utal Pasha, 'Mekelglim', Fifth Undersecretary of the Extant Adliye
Azmir ibn Kalam, Secretary

Most Distinguished and Illustrious Servants of the Eagle Chair,

May the light of the Mother shine upon your words and deeds, and may the blessings of B'aara flow as freely as the waters of Ephia's Well itself.

We receive your counsel with humility and gratitude, recognising in it the wisdom accumulated through the golden ages of Baz'eel's magnificent civilisation. Though we of Ephia's Well may indeed stand at the periphery of our Sultan's resplendent domain, we aspire to conduct ourselves in a manner befitting those who have been granted the honor of his patronage and protection.

Let it be known that I, Legate Vellyn Lhyrian, having consulted with my fellow Legate in solemn conference, shall indeed summon before our Assembly the representatives of Jaiyan Ibn Sharev, Emir of Kha'esh. Upon the appointed day, with all ceremony and dignity becoming of our station, we shall pronounce our objection to their continued possession of Arslan—that jewel which you have rightly named the Bronze Wadi and the wellspring of the Tutelage. We shall, with clear voice and steady gaze, demand its transference from their keeping into our own.

In this most delicate of matters, we shall follow the conventions you have wisely prescribed. Our words shall carry the weight of our conviction, yet be tempered with the grace of diplomacy. We shall speak of deep sentiments and righteous demands, while maintaining the dignified reserve that befits representatives of His Great Sublimity, Osman the Sixth al-Maribid.

Rest assured that no mention shall be made of the numberless Legions or their stern power. Such unrefined allusions would indeed be both uncivilized and tactically imprudent, as your wisdom has cautioned.

We approach this momentous duty with full awareness of both the glory and the burden of the mantle we have assumed as satraps in service to His Sublime Magnificence. As instructed, we shall make offerings at the Temple of B'aara with uncovered feet, and we shall meditate deeply upon our newly claimed station and its profound responsibilities.

May our actions bring honor to the Sultan's name and further the righteous cause of unification under the benevolent embrace of Mother Baz'eel.

With unwavering devotion and deepest respect,

I remain your obedient servant,

Vellyn Lhyrian
Legate of Ephia's Well