Fifteenth Day of the Fourth Month in the 114th Year Renę
Dophy gazed into the blinding blue sky. It was a clear day in the west, with no sign of storm or snow, perfect for his job. Climbing onto the second tallest tower in the city, Dophy panted before taking a small jug and taking some water from the bucket of water he had carried up. With his legs and arms begging for relief, Dophy emptied out the sack of ground up grain into the bucket of water, making a sloppy mixture. He proceeded to empty it out into the several metres long container, extending through some cages and into the open air. In minutes, birds emerged from the dark covered insides of the cages to enjoy their morning meal, with a flock of messenger birds joining them. With that, his first task of the day was done.Next, he needed to deliver any messages that had come in throughout the night. Stretching his hands to grab the tiny bird that had a cylinder tied to its feet, Dophy skillfully manoeuvred it to swiftly remove the message. This message wasn’t sensitive, seeing how it had been delivered through a normal messenger bird. Seeing no messenger hawk, Dophy removed another message from a second messenger bird and took to completing his second task of the day. Picking up the two messages, he headed to his master.
***
“Here are today’s messages, My Lord.” Dophy placed the two rolled up pieces of paper onto the heavy wooden table before stepping back and standing at attention on one side of the room. He had to wait for his master to write replies if needed and deliver them.
Naevren unfurled the messages, his eyes inspecting the paper as he read. In less than 5 minutes, he had read both messages. Taking out a thinner, but larger paper than the ones he had read, he used his brush to make a series of marks. Little dots, dashes, both horizontal and vertical, soon adorned the previously flawless white paper.
Rolling up the message, he stuffed it into an empty copper cylinder before handing it to Dophy. “Send this to Khira.”
The messages had come from the capital, in the east, and the state of Resnuit, in the north, but his master was sending his message to Lord Khira in the south. Confirming his master’s instruction, Dophy said, “Understood. Is there no reply to the other messages?”
“No, they don’t require a reply, but I have to start preparing things here.” Naevren replied with a slight smile.
“Was it good news, Your Highness?”
Naevren’s eyes met Dophy’s and glanced away. He was silent as he pondered the question. Finally, deciding he didn’t know the answer, he revealed the message to his follower. “Well, my marriage has been fixed.”
Dophy stared stupidly for a while, before coming to his senses. “Congratulations, Your Highness!” He congratulated, bowed and scrammed. Naevren watched his loyal servant make a beeline out to the door, knowing that the news would spread across the mansion like wildfire. It was just as well, maybe he wouldn't have to summon Jaermir after all.
His Highness’s marriage being fixed was a big deal. He was already twenty two years of age, yet the capital had delayed his marriage year after year. They could no longer bear to watch their master become an older and older bachelor whilst other men were married in their teens. With these thoughts, Dophy quickly took on the role of spreading the happy message. Ah, but he would do that after finishing his work. He wasn’t the kind to skimp out on work.
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