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| Details |
| Author: | Athena |
| Summary: | Avrenne writes Siamus back with updates of her initiatives with local pandaren, of the possibilities with the economical and political landscapes with Pandaria, of a charity social soon to come, and of the Fallon House family. 2800~ words. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Chain: Siarenne
September 24th, Year 29
Dear most appreciated Admiral of the Alliance Navy and Fallon Fleet,
Your letter arrived into a happy house, where we remain safe and secure from any troubles abroad. The delay of my reply should not be taken as a cause for concern, but out of an abundance of activity generated by the arrival.
I have had several fittings with Mr. Latour to put the silk to good use, and I hope you will find the results well worth the acquisition. Depending on how long this deployment might last – and by all accounts the expectations currently have been set for a lengthy one – I may have a portrait or two done to showcase it so you might see the fruits of your negotiation labours that much sooner, one that you may show to others, and another one that you may not.
As for the tea you sent, though I cannot possibly disparage the personal preferences regarding hay as a scent or taste in any form, I must admit that I only find hay pleasing when dry, and as a scent to be enjoyed for its familiarity within certain contexts. There is no immediate need to obtain substantial amounts of this tea for the general use of the household here, but I have considered whether it might be an appropriate gift for one such as Count Ridgewell, as a sign of appreciation for his efforts in the House.
I was enormously pleased to hear details of the resources of Pandaria, those both in abundance and in scarce supply, and I am grateful for your diplomacy and efforts to obtain more local information about them, and there is no doubt in my mind that you have charted a bold and exceptional way forward for a future cooperation with these people. I have always had a great admiration for your keen Fallon eye, and your business acumen for spotting that which is most important for the Alliance, which I know you hold ever forefront in your mind.
I have begun assembling some numbers and potential uses for what these trade resources might do, as well as factoring citizenship by the numbers of pandaren into the Alliance for tax purposes, for your perusal and approval for proposals to the House of Nobles that could create imminently necessary adjustments to our spending requirements. I have also been experimenting with mathematical models of adjusting the markets to reallocate previously single-use resources with multi-use resources of Pandaria. Even as little as 10% of substituting bamboo for another wood of exact needs, or 5% of ghost iron substituted for iron, would alter the entire weft and weave of materials currently so terribly gridlocked.
It is clearer than ever that a healthy trade partnership with Pandaria might yet see us turn the tides of our most pressing struggles, in no small part thanks to you, my tidesage. I cannot imagine a better Admiral to be at this front, and shudder to think what might have been if another had been there in your rightful place (especially with Admiral Taylor’s slow recovery; the man does seem to have the luck of a man born under an ill-fated star, if one believes in such things). There has never been a more deserving man of the position, and you make me so proud as your wife that I find it difficult to toe the line just before being perceived as boasting.
Your dedication to the bettering of trade and acquisition of possible resources has also in turn inspired me to press forward with my own goals here to locate Pandaren tradespeople to begin establishing secure lines of trade and improvement in our technology, and it has yielded results I find most promising, and I have now met with a few pandaren crafters.
The one I think you will find most intriguing on a personal level is Miss Dailu Summersong, a pandaren of the Wandering Isle (as they call the turtle island), who I located by her initiative of putting up a few flyers advertising a willingness to teach pandaren cooking methods (this is not the skill I think you will wish to speak at length with her on, only the introduction of why I invited her to the house to speak with her). Over the course of our discussion about the rituals and traditions of her people in regards to meals and teas (the details of which will keep for the time being), she revealed to me that she has possessed an affinity for water since she was a young girl.
She described it as beginning in her youth as an urge to be in water often, and a near sense of it “speaking” to her just outside her true hearing, and that this connection later manifested in certain abilities such as healing or creating bubbles, all of which came naturally with little training. Furthermore, she traveled with a water spirit of some variety, not dissimilar to a willfully bound water elemental. And she expressed that to her the feeling of water with its sense of guidance is more like that of a parent than an outside entity.
As you can no doubt imagine, I was struck by the similarities of a tidesage, as much if not more as when I have spoken to shamans who specialize in water, though she claimed she was not either a mage or a shaman, but another connected to the mists. It occurred me to that such a person with so much affinity for water, who is so accustomed to traveling through the sea, who has much experience in cooking with a travel set, and who can heal through this connection with water would be an exceptional addition to the Alliance Navy at large, and the Fallon Fleet in specific. I have encouraged her to consider the position of a ship’s cook, but even if she chooses another opportunity, I think you might still wish to speak with her, and perhaps introduce to her that those feelings and connections she has experienced have a name in the Tidemother.
Miss Summersong also prepared for me a tea called Turtle Gold, which I suppose I might say lived up to a certain evocative name for the flavor, as it did seem to have some relationship with the aquatic nature of a turtle. Someone of the Alliance who has perhaps a palette similar in nature to Shine described it to her as having a profile of ‘smoky with notes of cocoa and raisin,’ to which she said she could not confirm herself, having no familiarity with either, but in truth I suspect that the person who did the describing also has never encountered either flavor.
The ritual of the tea making itself though is of some interest for a rather different cultural take on the concept. It seems to be related in a way to the warding off of the sha passed down through many generations to become a meditative experience, a time of reflection and serenity, rather than a necessary partaking of sustenance in the midday.
Another Wandering Isle pandaren I met, Miss Xueye Jadepaw, has an innovative method for enchanting objects and clothing, which is interesting for its potential applications as well as what it might represent for the science of creating enchantments themselves. She stitches charms that are meant to be attached to activate the magic, and she graciously gifted two to me, one for the household’s spirit, and another one of which was made with you in mind. It is intended to be sewn into a cloak to grant protection with the inherent dangers of sailing, and thus she embodied it within the image of a turtle.
This form of charm enchantments has some possibilities for alternatives to enchanted vellum, particularly in localized markets more likely to be drawn to the artistic element, that could free up more resources for vellum to be better applied in mass production for military needs.
Additionally, Miss Jadepaw has a connection to a plum wine brewery on the Wandering Isle through her cousin. I am not entirely certain what another introduction of a brewery might do to the current system in Stormwind and Ironforge, but there’s something to be said about the power of alcohol in improving the reputation of a people among those who might otherwise be skeptical.
On that note, you may recall Miss Jenzelle Halveris, the young priestess Mr. Westwind has formed an attachment to, who is a most conscientious person and does credit to her profession. There has been a movement towards putting together a charity social at the end of October to benefit the two newest races to the Alliance of the worgen and the pandaren, an endeavor I find most significantly well-thought and well-timed. There will be booths, games, etc all meant to promote and foster a sense of cohesion and valuing other perspectives.
The name leaves a little to be desired, “Paws for Pumpkins,” but one of the early sponsors are the Wollerton Stead farmers inside Stormwind City who have graciously agreed to host the gathering on their land. For this reason of their generosity, I have not sought an alternative, but I have put House Fallon into the planning henceforth.
I intend to gather several other prominent families into the support, as this will provide a strong opportunity to further the inclusion and assimilation of both worgen and pandaren into the Alliance, and overcome biases for those two previously unknown peoples. Due to the nature of the event, I must coax both Captain Tyrrel and Lord Graves to attend, though I expect that each of them might succumb to the temptation to wish that there might be some localized sudden disaster that renders the farm unusable for the event, or personal crisis that will allow them regrettably bow out of attending. I don’t suppose either will find any comfort that I will be ensuring there are back up places for emergency use, and having ready a list of additional aides for their possible personal needs on the day of, but perhaps they might find some comforting of commiserating with the other on the downsides of my resolute nature.
Still, it is of utmost importance that this event proceeds smoothly, and with the greatest social weights that I can possibly apply to it. The bias against worgen in particular remains something of an uphill battle, but I believe we are at last seeing the fruits of our labor realized, particularly in the military, and I have high hopes for what might be yet accomplished by the efforts in the Blasted Lands with Surwich.
Of course, there is another benefit to the event, which is that with the subsidizing of the merchants and vendors through the charity social fund, they must submit an itemized account of their materials and their costs for reimbursement, which in turn provides me all the information I need for knowing not only what these resources are, but what they cost for a member of the community, so that I know exactly where to begin my negotiations, and through which suppliers.
It will also help me to identify where worgen are still being unfairly applied a tax of their curse by suppliers that I know the proper prices for, and I can begin to address this problem at their sources. Depending on some social positions of the worgen in question, I might utilize Milady Moth to shame those who will not respond to any other forms of persuasion.
And I know all too well from personal experience how much of a difference even the smallest extension of credit to create capital can make for those who have lost the bulk of their means of income. These are worthy people to invest in for what they might bring in the future to the Alliance.
In regards to the Harbor, I have attached all the latest written reports from Mr. McCall, and I have inspected the work of the Constellation and Crestfall personally, both of which I can say are closely adhering to the expected dates. I still cannot yet reliably prove from a mathematical perspective any reasonable numbers to improve on current projections for a ship’s construction in general, but that might change significantly with the influx of raw materials from Pandaria.
However, the townhouse in Stormwind City should finish construction fully in the next week, and the decorating of it will be finalized soon after, so that it will be ready for proper use before long into October. Finley is considering shifting his primary residence to it, as his work seems to require him in the city and over the continent more and more often. It will be a little strange if he does, I must admit. It has been a long time since he and I have not resided in the same house regularly, but of course, the townhouse is not so far from the main house of a simple journey to the city.
As for the rest of the children, we spent one of the last days of summer at the Darkmoon Faire the other day, and Ery uncovered a fossil within the sandbox, apparently a daily prize hidden amongst the sand. I had it identified by an expert, and I cannot but note the appropriateness of this particular specimen, for it is an imprint of a kraken tentacle, believed to be likely one of those who serve Neptulon in the Abyssal Maw. Naturally, this has become one of Ery’s most prized possessions, and she has had it set next to her bronze anchor pendant, to which she has led nearly all of the household to come view “Ery’s win kraken.” She has not quite perfectly mastered the sounds necessary for kraken, but Emelia assures me that Ery is well on her way to it, and may yet have it down correctly the next time you are home.
I must also note that the rule has been established that the fossil must remain in its place of honor after an incident with Ery and the boys where she attempted to play with the twins and the kraken fossil through an application of an aerial launch. I explained that the twins are not yet ready for such games, though they are both making excellent strides in grasping and releasing objects with purpose. To speak on progress, as expected, just yesterday, Elliot successfully crawled several feet. He has spent most of the day today in what I can only surmise is some step-by-step tutorial of babbling to Eamon on how to achieve this. Eamon has not yet managed, but I know he will soon with his brother’s support.
Ery’s support is a little more difficult to discern as such, but she has demonstrated her walking abilities in full view of the boys, which I must admit has grown significantly more sturdy than you will recall, and she is now capable of running short distances. Beyond this increase in physical ability, it should be noted that the clacker can, unfortunately, be clacked even faster and louder than previously experienced, which has delighted Ery all the more. There is something to be said of positive encouragement for improving her running capabilities. You may tell Shine that I have taken note of how beneficial loud toys are for young children in their growth and advancement, and will be glad for an opportunity to support his and Mrs. Shine’s children in a similar manner when the time comes.
Finley obliged me in providing another small study of a flower Mr. Larabie and Otto had been growing quite well this past summer, and I have added in a little in a light hand with what limited artistic capacity I do possess.
With fondness and gratitude,
Your wife,
Avrenne Esprit Fallon
PS: If you had wondered, perhaps, if Lord Graves had yet returned the token, the answer remains no, he has not as of this morning’s mail. I expect that you are not as surprised as I am.
Included with the letter are:
- A collection of all the reports on the two Fallon ships under construction, organized by date, and tab color coded by ship.
- A charm of blue silk with green stitching in the shape of a sea turtle.
- A simple pencil rendition of a single balloon flower. An astute observer might note that there is a white line on each side of a petal, and that on those sides the lines and dots that make up the texture of the flower petals appear unusually mathematically uniform.
A balloon flower.