<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/79/Tevinter-aesthetic.jpg)</div><strong> Ualan Yoson (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=274532.msg13563593#msg13563593)</strong><br/><strong>Location</strong>: Aka ka encampment, friendly territory<br/><strong>Tagged</strong>: Kogatana, Jaha Mizushima (both indirectly)<br/><hr/><br/>Six months! Ualan shook his head, supressing a sigh as he considered the flight of time. He’d been meaning to write the letter for six whole months, starting on the very week of the Emperor’s death, and for almost one hundred and eighty nights in a row there’d been some pressing need to put it off ‘one more day’. It couldn’t have been avoided – Ualan was rarely careless with his time, and the delay spoke more of his immense workload than any carelessness on his part – but even so, he felt a little pang of embarrassment as he decided how to start.<br/><br/><em>Jaha Mizushima, Honourable and Esteemed High Priestess of the Krai Folk…</em><br/><br/>The barking and baying of dogs was punctuated by a roar of laughter: seated in the middle of the soldiers' encampment, Ualan looked up from his writing to see how the match was progressing. Ordinarily, Ualan did not approve of bloodsports (at least not the variety that involved animals), but the Aka ka were a fierce people, and Ualan respected that. To amuse the troops, he’d arranged for some dog-baiting to be set up: in a large dirt clearing, a pack of five snarling hunting hounds were snapping and dancing around their chained quarry, dodging swipes to nip and bite whenever a flank was exposed. The soldiers were packed around the edge of the clearing with drink in hand, roaring with laughter and approval at the spectacle. Truth be told, Ualan initially had little interest in the bloodsport, and had only had his writing desk set up outside to take in the mild evening. To his surprise, though, he found he was starting to enjoy it. Ualan allowed himself a satisfied grin before returning to the letter, brush in hand.<br/><br/><em>… Prior to the dark day of the Emperor’s death, I had the honour of serving as one of his metsuke. In the troubled times that followed, I have since sworn service to the Aka ka Clan…</em><br/><br/>“Alright! Arrh, curse you, I’ll say it! Just call off the damn hounds!”<br/><br/>The frantic bellows belonged to the quarry, of course. Chained by the ankle to a stout post, and with nothing but a thin branch to ward off the bloodthirsty pack of hounds, there was a man stripped down to his fundoshi. His legs, torso, and forearms ran scarlet from gashes, but Ualan wasn’t concerned: he had an excellent understanding of anatomy, and knew the bites weren’t nearly as bad as they looked – or felt. There was no real risk to the accused, just some… discomfort. Ualan kept writing. He was almost done, anyway.<br/><br/><em>…Given the newfound proximity between Krai and Aka ka, there is every chance we shall meet in the coming days…</em><br/><br/>“OW! You win, you win okay?! I’ll say – OW! – damn you, I’ll say it!”<br/><br/>With the letter done, Ualan carefully dried and sealed the paper, then delicately set his brush aside. In no particular hurry, he stood from his little writing desk, and started to pace over to the chained, bloodied man. The hounds fells silent at their handlers' command; the crowd took a little longer to settle down, and were still smirking openly even when they did.<br/><br/>Ualan took a moment to consider the condemned prisoner before him. The man was a good officer at heart, but like many Aka ka he was naturally unruly, and someone had been whispering poisonous thoughts of mutiny into his ear. Ualan could’ve had him executed, but what would be the point? The interloper would simply look for a new catspaw, and they’d of lost a capable officer. No… a ‘stern warning’ would suffice, Ualan decided. The Aka ka weren’t so bad anyway: like all pack predators, they just needed to be reminded of the pecking order every now and then, that’s all.<br/><br/>“Do you have something you wanted to say?” Ualan prompted.<br/>The watching soldiers roared anew with malice and mirth. The scarlet-faced officer glared daggers at them all, but eventually gave a huff of resignation. He was lucky to be alive, and he knew it.<br/>“Kogatana is my…”<br/>“Pardon?”<br/>“KOGATANA IS MY LEADER!"<br/>“Good. I’m glad we managed to clear that up.” Ualan wagged a finger at the man, in parody of a tutor admonishing a student. “I’ll be watching, just in case you loyalties are ever confused again. Understood?”<br/><br/>Ualan gave the slightest of nods to a waiting guard, who moved to unfasten the prisoner’s chain. In the meantime, Ualan signalled one of his servants to scuttle over with a cup of sake. Raising it in toast, he grinned to the watching soldiers.<br/><br/>“To our glorious leader! And to the Aka ka Clan!”<br/><br/><hr/><strong>Letters</strong><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">To Jaha Mizushima</div><div class="spoiler_body">Jaha Mizushima, Honourable and Esteemed High Priestess of the Krai Folk,<br/><br/>My name is Ualan Yoson. Prior to the dark day of the Emperor’s death, I had the honour of serving as one of his metsuke. In the troubled times that followed, I have since sworn service to the Aka ka Clan. <br/><br/>I know your time is precious, so I shall not impose upon it unduly. The Krai Folk and the Aka ka have always been close, with only a narrow strait to separate the two, but with the recent shifting of borders even that barrier has vanished. Your people, and those of my commander, have become neighbours. <br/><br/>Given the newfound proximity between Krai and Aka ka, there is every chance we shall meet in the coming days. As a due courtesy, I take this opportunity to introduce myself in advance with this humble correspondence. Should I ever have the blessing of meeting you in person, it is my most sincere wish that we do so as allies or cordial trade partners.<br/><br/>Respectfully,<br/>Ualan Yoson </div></div>