First Report from Tira

Teacher,   The important things first: We’re safely past the barrier and we’ve made it to the capital. I’ve delivered medicine to Doraal and it seems like it’s helping. I’ve promised to help him write a letter of his own and I’ll include that as well. Alwen is well, so is your blood family. Nothing irrevocably tragic occurred on our arrival - everyone is more or less fine. I’m going to keep this a brief report, I know that the bird can only carry so many pages and I want to save as many as I can for the people who need to reach you the most.   Our arrival shook the capital. Tell Dendra her choices of folks to return were profoundly impactful, maybe more so than a pair of dragons descending on the imperial palace. We weren’t sure what to expect, but the Empress herself, in whose shadow we thrive, directed Onyx to bring us to the Moonlight Gardens. Onyx all but rolled over to be rubbed on the belly - I regret not having the courage to capture the moment to share with you.   The court has collectively lost their mind. Your letter caused a stir, which I doubt is surprising. The matter of a hundred heroes has become something considered vital to the survival of the empire. I fear that Haze and I will not escape involvement here.   Hella's meeting with the Empress went well enough. She's recovering from her injuries and should be back on her feet with a month or two - Alwen has offered the cottage he keeps in the northern jungle for her to recover and he's moved himself out there to take care of her until she mends. After that, he's been commanded to temper Hella until she can physically manage the amount of magical energy Kadia is capable of wielding. Kadia, for her part, was received with honor and recognition of her service to the empire. The court has been ordered to provide an appropriate domain and authority befitting her service.   Miriam, true to family tradition, got in a fight at school, though in this case she managed it before she even enrolled. You'd be proud - a few sons of court families tried to frame her as a political token unworthy of attending on her own merits. She insisted on taking the entrance exam and scored at Superior Distinction with notes that two of her solutions were sufficiently novel to require research validation. I have no doubt she'll be validated and will enroll with Outstanding Distinction even if she falls short of your Premier Distinction. The Honors students who challenged her got a pointed lesson in why your apprentices aren't to be trifled with.   My parents are fairly taken with Knotrael. Better, they're terrified of Alder. He won't tell me what he did, but they've promised to make no fuss when we marry and since he did whatever it was he did, I've stopped hearing nonsense from them about returning to the family to accept an appointment to the court. Haze and I are going to spend a term or two teaching about dragons and about the world beyond the barrier while they figure out what to do with a hundred heroes.   Finally, I've been commanded to convey this message: "The name you carried as a Dread Lady no longer suits you or your stature. Think carefully about how you wish to be known within the Empire." Her imperial majesty says that she will speak to you when you return to Deldrin or from the Ziggurat in Dreamfall, whichever you'll reach first.   Always your student, Tira