Miss Kii Kalira,
Greetings from San d'Oria. This is Jenare Richille. If you remember, I promised to write to you after coming back home from Windurst. I decided not to be too late with it, so here is my letter.
Belated Valentione's Day greetings! The day flew by largely unnoticed for me, father and I did not arrive home until yesterday. Hopefully your Valentione's was more eventful than being confined on an airship. As amazing it is to see the scenery fly past, the airship is still a small space to spend a day on.
San d'Oria is as it always is, it never really changes. New buildings are built, old ones crumble, but the spirit of the city is always the same. It is more noticeable after spending some time in a city like Windurst, which always seems to be abuzz with something. At least that is the impression I have of it, having spent slightly less than one week in the city. Is your impression of it different?
I wished to write something meaningful in this letter, but it appears I am not capable of more than senseless chatter. But I think it will do for a first letter. I hope you will decide to write back to me, I will be looking forward to it. Whatever you decide, hopefully you and your sister are doing well.
Respectfully,
Jenare Richille
The sun shining into Jenare's eyes woke him from his sleep. When he opened his eyes, he went through a momentary confusion. The surroundings did not look familiar to him, and everything was constructed in an unfamiliar way, out of unfamiliar materials. Then he remembered. This was Windurst, the capital city of the Federation of Windurst. The ancient capital of the tarutaru, mostly destroyed in the Great War twenty years past, but since rebuilt. The history of this place was overwhelming. He had been looking forward to this journey for weeks beforehands, even though a good portion of it would go to aiding his father in business matters.
Jenare smiled and dressed for the day. If all went well, his father would allow him the free time to look around Windurst today. Gervaine wasn't too interested in the history of other nations, even though he kept bringing up the grand history of their home nation San d'Oria. He was a true patriot, although sometimes Jenare thought his opinions about other nations and other races of the Goddess went too far. They were all the Goddess' children, there was no reason to shun others, even though their appearance was different. Personally, he felt curious about the other races. There had never been much opportunity for him to interact with them, other than with the occasional hume.
"Father? Are you awake?" Jenare passed the screen separating the space into two. Most likely he wasn't, as he would have waken Jenare up if he had risen already.
"Mmm. Ah. Morning already?" Jenare nodded seriously. Lately, his father had been sleeping more than before. He wasn't certain if it was serious, since it wasn't instantly obvious and happened only every now and then. Still, only several years before he had never caught his father sleeping, no matter how early he woke up himself.
"Shall I head down for breakfast?"
"You do that. I will join you in a moment. We have a lot to do today." Now that he had woken up, Gervaine was full of energy. There was business to be done, deals to be signed, and wares examined. Jenare smiled faintly.
"Alright." With that, he headed down the stairs to the eatery. Their lodging fee included a breakfast for every morning they would spend here, and one meal in the after noon. The rest of their meals they would have to take elsewhere. Jenare was already looking forward to enjoying the varied Windurstian dishes. That is, if he could convince his father to try out something a bit more foreign, which was not a given. Perhaps if they were unable to find a place in the near vicinity that offered something familiar...
Jenare looked over his shoulder. His father would take a little while to get ready yet. Feeling somewhat guilty about it, he inquired of the kitchen staff giving out breakfast for good places to try out Windurstian food. It couldn't hurt, and they didn't necessarily have to eat in these places. Nevertheless, it was good to be prepared. He listened attentively and memorized the names of the places the tiny tarutaru recommended him. This would quite likely turn out to be an interesting day. When his father came down for breakfast, Jenare was peacefully eating his breakfast, with only a slight guilt within him and several memorized recommendations showing he had done anything out of the ordinary. He hoped the tarutaru who had adviced him wouldn't give him away to his father.
Miss Kii Kalira,
I hope my letter finds you in good health. There have been some troubles here in San d'Oria. If you'll excuse me for being so abrupt, I'll explain it straight away. While I am not too eager to bring up the issue, you are aware of my father's thoughts of the other races of the Goddess, are you not? This brings him several minor difficulties in his trade, but it appears to bring me more grief than it does him. He managed to get his hands on your latest letter and read it, naturally discovering who you are and where you are from. As a result, he is now determined to never let me communicate with you again.
Please do not be alarmed, I have no intention of conforming to his wishes this time. I have explained the situation to my friend Endahren, and for now you can address your letters to him instead. He will deliver them forward to me. He truly is a real friend!
I will respond to your letter shortly, I must hurry in sending this note so it will reach you in time.
Please take care,
Jenare Richille
"He has no right..!"
"Of course he doesn't."
"It's my life! I can damn well do what I please!"
"Mm-hmm..." Endahren looked in fascination as his long-time friend paced the length of his room and glowered at the walls. What a rare sight. Something had actually worked up the ever-patient Jenare. "Can we go again over the part where you've been writing with a hot mithra chick?"
Jenare whirled around. "I have not been writing with a...!"
"A hot mithra chick? So, what would you call it then?"
Jenare sighed in frustration. "Just...don't refer to Kii Kalira as...that." He sat down on the room's other chair. "Why did he have to..I was doing nothing wrong. She's a friend, of course I'd want to stay in touch with her."
"A friend. Sure. That's why you've been hiding it."
"I have not been hiding it! I...merely haven't mentioned it. And now it's all finished, anyway. Father will confiscate all her letters."
"Jenare, dear friend... you need to get out more. One hurdle on the way and you're already giving up? We'll get you your girl, I promise."
Evening. The lights of Windurst shone down below, coming ever closer. The wind was cold, so Jenare drew his coat tighter around him. It was his first time seeing the city of Windurst, who sacrificed so much during the Great War.
"Don't wander too far, Jenare."
"I won't, father," he answered, turning respectfully to face the older man. The trip had been long, even with airships the distance between Windurst and San d'Oria wasn't covered too quickly.
"You be careful now. The tarutaru here never learned to be careful around their betters. They're running freely all over the place." Jenare just nodded, neglecting to mention that he had received this very same warning five times already since they had switched airships Jeuno. "And surely you know better than to interact with the mithra. Those tails are indecent!" This time, he nearly sighed. There warnings were worse than when they had first visited the Republic of Bastok.
"Yes, father. Shouldn't we go belowdeck to gather our belongings? We'll arrive soon."
"Yes, yes. Wouldn't want anyone wandering off with them. These foreigners, you never know," Gervaine muttered, and started making his way off the deck. Jenare could only follow, but before he did that, he threw one last look at the city. Despite the ever-present grumbling about foreigners, it might turn out to be an interesting experience.
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