Armand’s First Letter. Amelia’s First Letter. Cathy’s First Letter.

24 July 1025, Bois-de-Bas

Dear Amelia,

Thank you for your letter; I am delighted to see my conjectures about the wizard’s intent as applied to the Iturian Relay borne out in practice, however unwittingly. And I am even more grateful that you sent me the bearer of your letter, for with Jérôme here we have all the masters of the Armorican Former’s Guild in conclave assembled. 

There are the five of us at present: myself, Master Luc, Master Bastien, Master Jérôme, and Master William, and a number of journeymen and apprentices. I don’t know if you’ll remember Master William, William Graves; John Netherington-Coates sent him to me as an apprentice, hoping he would do better here in Armorica rather than in Bois-de-Bas. He did splendidly after a rough start and a tangle with Patches the Goat. He hardly limps at all these days! He now resides in the old guild hall in Mont-Havre with his apprentice, offering forming services to the people of that city. 

Bastien, though a master, is now a “journey man” in truth; we built him a small caravan, and every few he weeks he travels a regular route through the smaller towns and villages in the area that surrounds Bois-de-Bas. In between he works with Luc at the wagonworks; and Luc, of course, also oversees John Gamble.

And so we five are now meeting at the wagonworks in theoretically solemn conclave to discuss the future of the Armorican guild, and to amend our guild laws as we deem appropriate. 

Our concerns are these: first, that the masters of the guild should strive to advance the state of the craft by means of study and practical trials; second, that the masters have a duty to share their discoveries with the other masters, rather than hoarding them and passing them down only to their own apprentices; and third, that we as a guild should work with the other streams of wizardry to the advancement of all. I do not wish to abolish the guild altogether, but my additional goal is that we should abolish the notion of guild secrets in favor of spreading knowledge more widely.

The last is the point of difficulty. As formers, we have the responsibility to see that our craft is used wisely and robustly, so that sky-ships do not fall from the sky, and the Queen of Provençe is not thrown willy nilly out of her badly-formed carriage into rushing rivers. (How is the Queen, Amelia? You have not mentioned her of late.)

Under the craft system, we can decline to grant mastery to any former who will not use the craft wisely or well. How can we provide the same oversight if the theory of forming is taught in the classroom? Yet provide it we must, for the preservation of life-and-limb.

It may become an issue of Armorican law, meaning that we will need to work with the Grand Parlement; I will need to speak with our local representative, M. Poincaré. I must also take this to the Council of Guilds in Mont-Havre. They will have views, and will be dead set against any abridgment of guild power.

I do not expect a quick or easy resolution; what we are about is unprecedented, and we owe it to our successors in the guild to get it right. Never fear, we shall return Jérôme to you in good time.

Would you please light a candle for Madame Truc and Jacques-la-Souris? Madame Truc has been ill these past weeks, and we fear for her life. She is not a young woman, she and Jacques having come to Armorica on the first ship, the Pont Neuf; and like all the first colonists she endured many hardships that aged her before her time. 

Annie and Margie are particularly troubled, for Madame Truc is their Mémé, their grandmother, though she is no relation; Amelie’s mother died when she was a child, and Madame Truc has lived with us all their young lives. Amelie and I are worried about poor Jacques—should we lose “Mémé” I fear he will not be far behind.

Your ambitious and apprehensive cousin,

Armand

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Photo by Silas Köhler on Unsplash