Story name: Intersecting Correspondance
Author: Charles Matthias
Publication date: June 2, 1999 (on TSA-List)
Date: early July, 706 CR
Location: Metamor Keep, the Åelfwood
Overview
Four short scenes about people receiving or sending letters.
Summary
Misha has given Charles a day off from training, and spends the day visiting friends and catching up on duties. On one such duty, he visits Raven at the temple and asks if she and her gods can help him send a message to his friend Jerome, who he believes is likely to be hiding in a Lothanasi temple in the Midlands. He describes Jerome to her, produces the sealed letter to her, and pays a fee of one gold. He sets out, hoping to play pool against Copernicus, and spend the rest of the evening with Kimberly.
Lindsey has taken the day off work, and so Michael visits to check on him. Lindsey explains he received a letter last night from his family. His younger brother has possibly been killed by Lutins. He throws and shatters his goblet on the wall, and Michael offers some sympathetic words. Lindsey heads to his bedroom to write a reply, and invites Michael inside. There, Michael finds several woodcuts made by Lindsey's father, and finds a hidden panel containing love letters from someone named "Felikaush". Lindsey is upset at first, but gently explains after she was changed by the curse, Felikaush moved in, but did not change to a woman. Lindsey asks Michael to leave, and to not tell anyone about it.
Hough is eating lunch when a surprise visitor arrives: Lothar, from his former diocese in Ellcaran. Lothar is amazed both by Hough's new form, and the new chapel built by the Keep itself. He has three messages for Hough, all from the Patriarch himself. First, the Patriarch has declared that Hough is still fit to serve as a priest, and will be the first official priest of Metamor Keep and its vassal states. Second, he confirms that an exorcism on the Chateau Marzac was successfully performed by Cardinal Geshter of Pyralis. Third, the Patriarch plans to personally visit Metamor Keep, to meet with both the Keep's Ecclesians and Lightbringers. Hough is stunned by this last bit of news, and reads the letter himself with growing excitement. He pockets the letter, and invites Lothar to spend the evening, as he is a friend he has not seen in months. Lothar accepts.
In the village of Ava-shåvais, Qan-af-årael receives a letter via carrier pigeon. He reads it, and his smile slowly fades as he reads it. He summons a young boy named Andares, and tells him to send a message to their "little friend in the north": "The three are one, and the south's enemy awakes." Though confused, Andares obediently leaves, and Qan-af-årael stares at the gathering clouds on the horizon.
Characters
Main characters:
- Charles Matthias: A Sondecki and a Long Scout in-training, a rat morph. He sends a letter to Jerome with Raven's help.
- Having satisfied the stealth requirements in "Hunt", Charles is now learning weapons in the Long Scouts — among others, swords, spears, knives, bows, and javelins. It will take weeks until he will feel confident with them.
- He keeps breaking his practice staffs, being used to the hardier Sondecki staves.
- Lindsey: A member of the timber crews, a male gendermorph. He received a letter from his family in the Northlands, and decides to write a reply back.
- One of Felikaush's love poems that Michael finds was in February of 698. This could be the most recent, or Lindsey's most favorite.
- At some point after February of 698, she traveled to Metamor Keep to be closer to the trading routes. She was accepted as a guard, and was present at the Battle of Three Gates.
- He is always seen wearing his shirt of mail, even at home.
- A carving of Lindsey as a young woman shows that she was rebellious but playful.
- Hough: The Keep's Ecclesian priest, a child morph. He receives three letters from the Patriarch, one affirming him as priest of Metamor, one confirming the exorcism at Marzac, and one announcing the Patriarch's plans to visit Metamor, giving him the responsibility of overseeing his entry.
- He invites Lothar to stay for the evening. After giving him a tour of the Keep in the afternoon, he will write his responses back to the Patriarch that evening and send them with Lothar in the morning.
- As a child, he is disciplined enough to not stutter or jitter throughout service, though he also enjoys playing with the other children, both child morphs and unchanged children.
- Kimberly visits him often in the afternoons, both for a friendly chat, and to learn more about Ecclesian doctrine.
Supporting:
- Raven: The Keep Lightbringer. She is busy studying a thick tome when Charles arrives. She tells Charles to expect the delivery within a week to 2 months, and sets the price at 1 gold.
- Michael: A timber man, a beaver morph. He lost his whole family to plague, and so sympathizes with Lindsey.
- Lothar: The Ecclesian priest of Ellcaran. He visits Hough for the first time since Hough's change, with three messages from the Patriarch. Hough invites him to stay the evening, and Lothar accepts.
- He also plans to visit Metamor Keep when the Patriarch arrives.
- He has short-cropped black hair, and wears a simple traveling smock. He is 10 years younger than Hough.
- He is a bit self-critical, believing the parishioners Hough gives better homilies.
- Qan-af-årael: The oldest åelf in the village of Ava-shavåis. He receives a letter, and sends Andares to deliver another message.
- He has shallow skin, long slender fingers, and angular facial features.
- He was old enough to see the first stones planted in Ava-shavåis.
Minor characters:
- Andares-es-sebashou: Qan-af-årael's student. He is told to give a message to a friend in the north.
- He is shorter and much younger than Qan-af-årael. He has a long black pony tail and gold eyes.
- He is rather bold for his age, unafraid to look at his elders in the eye, and very open with his emotions.
Prominent Mention:
- Jerome: Charles's good friend, currently somewhere in the Midlands, hiding from the Sondeckis. Since he is an Ecclesian, hiding from other Ecclesians, Charles suspects that the most likely place he would hide is in a Lothanasi temple. Therefore, Charles asks Raven for help from her gods to deliver a message.
- He is tall with wide shoulders, brown hair and a goatee, a sharp nose, and small eyes. He has a Southern accent, and will likely be wearing a black smock.
- Felikaush: Lindsey's former lover. He had been a merchant passing through to Arabarb. He and Lindsey fell in love at first sight. After Lindsey was affected by the curse, he also joined the Keep, but did not become a woman, which put an end to their relationship.
- The Patriarch: The highest authority of the Ecclesian faith. He sent a reply to two of Hough's questions, and announced to him his plans to visit Metamor Keep himself.
Important mention:
- Misha Brightleaf: Head of the Long Scouts, a fox morph.
- Garigan: Charles's student of the Sondecki, a ferret morph.
- The day after Charles discovered the Sondecki Temple, he showed it to Garigan. Garigan touched the angel, causing light to glowed throughout the chamber and the statue to appear to smile.
- He is currently working on controling and dictating his emotions.
- Andrig: Lindsey's younger brother, born in the autumn of 686 CR. Lindsey last saw him when he was just a child. He has disappeared recently, and is believed to have been killed in a Lutin raid. A woodcut of him give him an even more playful expression than Lindsey.
- Lindsey's father was a carpenter, and taught the rest of his family how to carve. The woodcut of him shows he had a thick beard with scraggly hair, a high forehead and nose, thick lips, and inset eyes.
- Lindsey's mother is depicted as stern, simple, and peaceful.
- Kimberly: Charles's beloved, and Hough's friend. She often visits him for a chat or for lessons on the Ecclesian faith.
- Cardinal Geshter of Pyralis: The man who, according to the Patriarch, performed a successful exorcism at Marzac.
Referenced:
- Will Hardy: The Keep jeweler.
- Copernicus: A lizard morph who is the Keep's best pool player.
- Tathom: Chief of the timber crews.
- Zhypar Habakkuk: A kangaroo morph.
- Loriod: The man who raped Hough.
- The "paraklyte of Eli", in Hough's words, apparently a term for the Spirit Most Holy.
- The "friend in the north", to whom Qan-af-årael sends Andares.
Locations
- The Lothanasi church, befitting its old and established presence in Metamor, is very regal-looking. A marble tablature stands over an ash and cedar door, its panels inlaid with gold gilding. The vaulted corridor to the Lightbringer's study has scrollwork on its walls.
- Raven's study has a moderately-sized chair behind the table, with a linen feather cushion bearing Raven's family crest.
- The Upper Midlands have some Ecclesian presence, but have a firmer Lothanasi establishment.
- Lindsey's house has a sparsely decorated living room with two bear rugs on the floor, and swords and axes neatly arrayed on the far wall. There are no chairs. Lindsey has wood goblets for drinking wine from a wineskin. A curtain leads into his bedroom; a hook beside it holds his plaid shirt for the timber crews.
- Lindsey's bedroom has clouded windows, green bed covers and curtains with tassels tied in fasces. Opposite the bed, below a window, is a writing table with legs carved like bear claws. A cupboard in the wall beside the window holds carvings made by Lindsey's father and possibly by Lindsey. A carving of Lindsey as a young woman hides a cache of love letters and poems to her from Felikaush
- Ava-shåvais is an Åelf village, somewhere in the forests of Åelfwood. Towers are mixed among the trees in a delicate array. The walkways and terraces are designed to appear sculpted from the land itself. They take great care to displace the animals living there. They also heal sick and wounded animals.
- Qan-af-årael's antechamber sits among the canopy of the forest, reached through an arched doorway in a tower. Inside is a birdcage with feed for homing pigeons; a red and gold drape for the cage is there as well. The marble windowsill has carving of animals, trees, and mountains in a "fin-de-siecle" arrangement.
Story Connections
- This story takes place a few days after Hunt.
- Charles last met Jerome in Dialogues.
- Raven is currently receiving offerings for the Yajii'kema sacrifice, July 20th, as seen in Rites of Ascendancy.
- Hough shows off the chapel that the Keep made, from New Beginnings.
- Hough receives the answer to his question on Chateau Marzac that he asked in Diplomacy.
Chronology
- Once the Long Scouts return from their assignments, Misha will have a semi-official ceremony to inaugurate their newly discovered headquarters.
Society
- Before the curse, Metamor Keep had female soldiers.
- The Åelf were driven into the forest years ago. Other non-human races were driven into the mountains or underground.
| < Second Cycle | Matthias's Third Cycle | Fourth Cycle > |
|---|---|---|
| Stories | Stories in yellow are not part of the cycle proper, but give important context for other stories. | |
| False Winds · Stepping Up to Destiny · Fingers in the Weave · Four on the Floor · Fireside · Hunt · Intercessor · Intersecting Correspondence · Jormugand · The Three Sides of Truth · Lawbreakers · Casualties of War · Killing Time · Legacies · Libraries · Four by Four · Liturgy of Blood · Longing · Nuptials · Relic · Wandering the Keep · Winter's First Chill · The Winter Assault | ||
| Major Characters | Charles Matthias · Garigan · Kimberly · Misha Brightleaf · Rickkter Akabaieth · Caroline · Gornul · Father Hough · Jessica · Kashin · Phil · Saulius · Thalberg · Duke Thomas · Vinsah · Wessex · Yonson · Zagrosek · Zhypar Habakkuk |
|
