Letters to a Northern King of Merit
penned by Lord Cafad Scratha during the reign of King Oruen
excerpted letters from the Royal Library's collection
May contain "spoilers"
for earlier volumes.
"Meanwhile, I enclose the first of several missives to come, providing an account of southland politics and history which you may find useful in avoiding egregious errors in the future. As a matter of policy, the desert Families have not provided this information to northern kings; you yourself must admit that the majority of the last few kings have not been particularly safe to entrust with any real knowledge. As examples I present Ninnic, who almost destroyed your kingdom in his madness; Mezarak, similarly if less strongly afflicted; and Dusty Rose, the king who not only brought a street whore into his court circle, but following her death took on her moniker as a way to honor her memory, shortly thereafter dying himself of the same foul rot which had taken his beloved streetwalker...
"As you, however, seem relatively sane and reasonably intelligent, I entrust you with this knowledge–not lightly, as the other Families are sure to be annoyed with me for defying their collective decision to dole out only what they feel you need to know–but with the certainty that if you are left in ignorance you will once again stick your foot in a pie of the type which is baked in no oven..."
A Discussion of Desert Family Structure, Leadership, and Hereditary Positions (excerpt)
"Each Family has its own distinct and unique command structure which has evolved, over the years, to best suit its specialties, ethos, and location. Many kingdom residents mistake one as representative of the whole, but this is absolutely not the case..."
Regarding Common Misunderstandings (excerpt)
"As the Northern Church has gone well out of its way in recent years to paint the desert Families as not only barbaric but cruel, a few of their common charges ought to be dismissed up front, to avoid tainting any discussion of southern holy days and celebrations..."
Desert Pride, Honor, and Death (excerpt)
"Another area in which the southlands differ dangerously from the kingdom is in the matter of death. Take, for example, Pieas Sessin’s death. One accustomed to northern ways might think that his uncle, Lord Eredion Sessin, would be furious; that Lord Eredion might set out to exact vengeance upon Lord Alyea..."
An Explanation Of Commerce (excerpt)
"As might be expected, the supplying of a large, well-populated stone fortress set in the midst of wasteland is a tremendous endeavor, and over the years an intricate web of agreements and alliances has formed between the major and minor Families to ease the process..."
Drugs of the Southlands (excerpt)
"There are three main drugs exported from the southlands to the northern kingdom: esthit, also known as dream-dust; aesa, also called dream-weed or simply weed; and dasta. Of course there are others, as varied and ingenious as the human race itself; but those main three, being of the greatest concern to your more conservative factions, should be addressed..."
Etiquette of the South (excerpt)
"It never fails to astonish me how widely etiquette has diverged between our two cultures, given that all life began here in the southlands. I suspect the advent of the Northern Church has done more to redirect notions of polite behavior than any other single influence..."
On The Matter of Ha’reye and Ha’ra’hain (excerpt)
"I mentioned, in an earlier letter, the extreme life span of desert lords and their offspring as compared to the general population. This is as nothing when compared to the ha’ra’hain, the mixed-blood descendants of ha’reye and humans..."
