Mela en’ coiamin,

These past few days since the clearing of immediate horrors from the ruins of Darviel Keep have been, I daresay, peaceful.  I have neglected to pour my thoughts into this journal…..well, I am not sure why.  All Dame Adelaide’s people, few in number though they are, have been hard at work, cleaning, building, planting, and where necessary, destroying…all in order to help re-build this ruined monstrosity of a castle.  The exhaustion and peace of such labor, combined with exploration of the surrounding territory have left little time for rumination of next steps in my quest.  A break, that I feel, was perhaps necessary.  Obviously, I have also attempted to advise Dame Adelaide as best as possible in the expectations of the nobility, but while she is a great leader with immense talent for direction of labor and trust, her knowledge of etiquette and, I daresay, the wealth necessary to properly interact with her new peers is understandably negligible.  Unfortunately, I am unsure if she truly wishes to educate herself on many of the traditions of nobility.  I also am not entirely positive that my advice will ring true, it has been a long time since we interacted with the nobility of Axana, and human traditions change so quickly, they can barely be so labeled.  

I know, nonetheless, that she will need a few things and relatively quickly to interact with her peers within this land.  I really am at a loss as to how to advise her in some of these areas, as there are no readily available sources.   I think the orchards and fish of the lake could eventually bring some solid basis of trade, and the surrounding territory looks of decent fertility for grains and crops, but these will be low wealth generated and of course she is going to need wealth quickly to hire the necessary labor to rebuild much of this keep.  I have some other thoughts I have yet to discuss with her, again long term wealth and as I mentioned in one of my other recounting, it may be possible for us to eventually found a small colony within her borders.  As potential allies, I am sure we could provide items of incalculable value to support her.  Our craftsmanship is so much higher in quality, that items would be of great value, but that is probably a couple of decades in the future.  Not long I realize, but not soon in the haste of the human time frame.

I think she needs human advisers familiar with the current drama of the surrounding lands.  As it happens, a human of the city Spiros, apparently a former adviser of high rank to one of the senior noble dynasties within that large dukedom, arrived earlier this afternoon.  It seems highly coincidental, and what little I know of this land, this Master Redwall would have had to leave Spiros immediately after any announcement that Darviel had been awarded to Adelaide.  I am trying to learn to avoid distrust, but Adelaide seems only too willing to dump many of her secrets to him immediately for his advice.  I believe it’s a bit of a test to determine his knowledge, which is to the good, and she has given him until morning to think of the problems she has posed to him.   I know she values my advice, but I am concerned that she is opening herself to easy access to spies from other realms.   I am perhaps being overly protective of my new friends.  I believe Eldan may be able to provide some discernment of untruth via his faith and the power of his relationship with the gods, so perhaps that will be sufficient.

As always, I long to see you again and yearn for your embrace.

 

Vanimle sila tiri ar lissenen ar’ maska’lalaith tenna’ lye omentuva —–Elyrienne