A Letter from Rithe Fost

The following predates the beginning of Heirs of Mâvarin by almost exactly fifteen and a half years.

Masheldu, 6th Day of Genorem, 881 MMY

Dear Meligor,

You will be pleased to learn that my son was born yesterday, just as you predicted. The midwife tells me that the birth was among the easiest in which she has participated, although it did not seem that way to me. What matters is that he seems to be a completely normal, completely healthy baby. Dear Mâshela, may he always be as normal as he is now!

I have named him Rani Fost, since it seems foolish to give him the surname of a father he will never know. Rani is as dark as his dad, which will be a little awkward in this village where everyone is as pale as I am. Still, the people of Liftlabeth all seem to be friendly, tolerant people. They should provide a good environment in which to raise my son, far from the madness, the savagery and the magic I left behind. Mâshela willing, Rani will never need to know about any of that, much less experience it himself. He will obviously know of his Mugalan ancestry, but not about the terrible life that his father and I were forced to lead, the enslavement that had nothing to do with the color of his father's skin.

If your son survives, recovers his wits and comes to see you, please tell him to stay away from Liftlabeth. I have begun a quiet, stable life here. His arrival would compromise that. After what happened, I can't ever trust him to be around Rani. Even if he is fully recovered and stays that way, he will never be normal enough for Liftlabeth, and his belated appearance would invite questions that I'm not prepared to answer. Please tell him that I'm sorry. I know he is not in any way to blame for the attack, and I wish things were different. But that is how it must be, for Rani's sake.

The money Zagorni gave me is almost gone, but I'm now earning enough at market each Comerdu to get by. I have even started to get custom orders for clothing, especially dresses in the hard-to-get colors. My customers don't need to know how I produce the red, green, silver, gold and purple cloth.

Thank you for all you have done for us.

Rithe

Art by Sherlock