Letters to Riven

[Riven]

Riven's Mailbox

Hey! You can send your letters for Riven here, he'll get them at some point. Thanks for reaching out!

[Taelian Edevane]

28th of Glade, Year 120

My Arlaed, and most admired,

I write to you from the halls of Melitene, a fortress of magic and mystery. I've been residing here on and off for some time; originally only on occasion to practice magic with my friend and mentor, Eloise, but now far more often. In the last seven days, I and my Elainian brothers met with the threat of several Dranoch and nearly died. The Black Remedy cell here has all but been wiped out, and as I am now, I sometimes worry that I won't see you again. The consequences of that battle have been grim on me, but I am recovering. So these worries... I know they are an illusion of my fearful mind.

The truth is, Arlaed, I have been afraid since leaving your side. Afraid of where the world might take us, of the ways in which it may divide us through distance, necessity and time. I followed willingly the order of my people, serving their needs as I always have. I came with them here, to the city of Grimholdt, knowing that it would distance me from you. And I did so because I knew that I would love you even from afar, and that you would feel the same way towards me. That no matter what boundaries formed between us, we would eventually reunite.

But I began to feel a great deal of pain. The emptiness of awaking without you at my side -- the sorrow that I feel when I think of how you are not there, how I am deprived of you, how you are deprived of me. And then I think about my personage; how quickly you made me discover the man that Taelian could be. I never realized that I was capable of such complex emotions until you. And now, I can't seem to be rid of them. It's a beautiful thing, the change you've inflicted upon me. But sometimes, it makes me weep. Because I worry that the person who did this to me -- the man I love, who I will always love, who I will always long to be near -- may never be witnessed by my eyes again.

I've often come close to death in fighting the Dranoch scourge. They are a quick, lethal foe, and mortal life is frail. What I experienced now was perhaps the seventh time my life was a mere cut thread away from fading entirely. But what separates this time and others is the fact that now, I actually have something that I want to live for. With all of this being said... Riven, I have decided to disappear from the Black Remedy. The two members of my cell remaining are seriously ill, and may not make it as they are now. Wherever I go, they will not be able to find me. And should I reach them again, it will be on my own terms.

I have been living for this revolution for a long time. But the truth is, my Arlaed... I want to live for myself. And with you. The Remedy has taken everything from me -- my purpose, my sense of being, even the congruity of my soul. But you... you bring these things back to me, more and more, every moment I spend with you. I find myself finding not only one reason why I should be alive, but tens, and hundreds, and more.

I want to be with you again.

If you wish for me to return to you in Kalzasi, then I will. Send a letter in return to me, and I will come to you as quickly as I can. I've attached the location of Melitene below, so that you might find me. Otherwise, I've also attached another address: one in Loregard, where the Covenant has seen fit to place me into the court of a Finla. Whether I remain committed to this or decide to move on is my choice, and if there is some other place you want for us to be, that is happily where I will go. I love you, Riven, and I miss you. If you don't mind residing with me in Loregard, then come the moment you can. I will greet you with all the love I have dreamed of giving you for all of this time. My Arlaed.

Thank you for reading my words. By the time you receive this, I should be in Loregard, so send your reply there. Now,

From your companion in this life,
Taelian Ela'Rannoch
With all of his love.

[Taelian Edevane]

64th of Searing, Year 120

My Arlaed, and most admired,

I have a list of tasks I'd like to ask of you! The necessary repairs to the castle are as follows:

1. Broken tiles in the courtyard.
2. Dirt and weeds growing in-between stones and tiles in said courtyard.
3. The garden is abysmal! Make it pretty, my love.
4. The walls have degradation along them, especially at the top. Some of the parapets are partially whittled.
5. The gate is covered with thick rust.
6. One of the panels on the bridge to enter the gate is loose.

That's all I can think of for now, my dear.

From your companion in this life,
Taelian Ela'Rannoch
With all of his love.