Royal Post

The Royal Post was established in 634 in Kaleina. In the past, mail that was too heavy to be carried by a Messenger Jay (or sent my someone too poor to afford it) was handled on an individual basis. A courier had to be found, or a merchant already heading that direction tracked down.   With the populace shifted to scattered islands in the lakes, transport between the islands became even harder to arrange, and mail difficult to organize. King Makoai established the Royal Post to connect the islands of Kaleina and facilitate trade.

Summer Operations

When the lake is unfrozen, the Royal Post operates 6 ships. Two of them are express, and the other four are islands hoppers. The express ships sail in a loop around Kaleina, hitting the major population areas. Their loop is staggered, so that they are always on opposite sides of the route from each other. The island hopper ships are localized to certain regions and stop at every inhabited island in their region.   Mail can be sent directly from one city to another that are both on the express route. It can also be sent directly on an island hopper within the same region. Or, it can be sent on a mixed route, so that the express ship takes it to the nearest city and then the island hopper picks it up there to continue onto its final destination.

Winter Operations

When the lake is frozen, the Royal Post switches from ships to caribou-drawn sleighs. At each express postal station, a fresh team of caribou is exchanged to keep them fresh, but they still can't match the speed of a ship.   Twice a year, there is a 3 - 4 week period in at the start of winter and the start of summer when the lake is too frozen to sail on but not frozen enough to safely drive a sleigh on. There is no inter-island mail delivery during this time.   Once it reaches the correct island, land-based postmen (on carts in the summer and sleighs in the winter) take the mail the rest of the way to its recipient.

Passengers

Though intended to ferry the mail, the Royal Post has come to serve double-duty as a transportation service. Passengers can purchase passage on a ship or sleigh to travel between the islands in the same manner as the mail. This form of transportation is used by those who can't afford to charter a ship, or are going too far to go by themselves in a canoe.