Letter to Alwen

Alwen,   It is so good to hear from you. I have missed you and Tira dearly. I have become accustomed to unanswered questions, some of which it seems I left for myself! If this gate can be trusted to send information, I will take as much of it as you can offer.   Thank you for the news of my family. I know they are in good hands and that the choices they make are of great service to what we are doing. May the Empress’ shadows shelter them from harm.   Hella, my student, is making use of the books. She is fortunate to be guided by many skilled mages. The imperial sorceress Kadia, who has been entrusted with the guardianship of the forest surrounding Lone Mountain Keep, is one of them, and she will help interpret the third tome you sent. You would like Hella. I can’t wait for you to meet her. You would like all of the people I have gathered here.   One of them, a human Fatespinner taught by Thalien himself, has asked me to send this curious metal to you. If you can find information on how to work with it, he would be grateful. The people I have met here, both human and elf, are remarkable in their tenacity and courage.   As you know, the Barrier still stands. I have found that there was another war on this side of the mountains, long ago. The web of its after-effects entangles both my path, and the tasks that Lyssa is pursuing. I’m not interested in fighting two wars at once - the way forward may feel like less progress than simply attacking the wards directly, but it may gain us more lasting peace and a powerful ally when we need them. In any case, attacking over 20 anchor points in the Barrier is too much for me right now.   Lyssa is safe, though I’m not with her, and I won’t be for some time. The Storm is approaching her and her newfound people, and I can only hope that they are strong enough to withstand it. If you have a way of speaking to her, send her this information and my love.   As for the others we sent here, I am sorry to say that they are gone. Dal’s spirit was here, briefly, to meet me, and Thalien left an apprentice to stand in his place beside me. I know that we have all chosen this path for ourselves, but it does not lessen the pain of their loss. Grief must be a whetstone for us. There are still battles to be won, still blood to be drawn.   Always in her shadow, Heiassa