The worldhopper`s letter

The letter oppened episode 1 of "Secrets In Stained Glass". It contains epositionary information for the game and present the current situation among the main houses, as well as explaining the known facts about the Elariel manor fire.

## The Corespondents

Both the sender and recciever of the letter are cosmere aware. The sender is well-versed in the politics of the main houses and was able to arrange an invitation to the Lord Elariel`s winter Solstice party. He referes to himself as the reciever`s faithful servant.

The reciever have traveled the cognitive realm and return to scadrial only recntly. He is interested in the Elariel family but did not know the current political situation. He is expected to attend the Lord Elariel`s winter Solstice party under one of his aliases.

## Content

"Welcome home.

I hope that your latest tour of the cognitive realm has been fruitful. For reference the year is 1010FE, and based on our latest projections Preservation`s perpendicularity should finish its replenishment in a decade or so.

The current winter has been the harshest and coldest in recent history. One barely notices the ash falling from the sky these days because of all the snow. The great houses are struggeling to keep major canals clear of ice. Houses that rely primerily on shipping and trade, such as Tekiel, are growing concerned about the timeline as autumn debts begin tpo grow stale. Agricultural houses, like Lekal, are worried about the shortend length of the upcoming growing season. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Venture has already addapted by having powerfull sledges along the frozen waterways of the Northen Dominance. While young Lord Straff is new to his role as head of house, he should not be underestimated.

As requested, I have secured an invitation for you to Lord Solis Elariel`s highly anticipated winter solstice party at the Elariel country manor on the banks of Lake Luthadel. You should be included on the exclusive guest list under one of your usual aliases.

In addition to the excitement associated with the dawn of the new decade, this is the first such event to be held in almost three years. Two years back a terrible fire consumed the entire Elariel estate and the lives of many senior family members were lost. Reconstruction has only recently been completed, and you will find the estate a little different from what you remember.

That got your attention, didn`t it?

I find your fascination with this family curious, but anticipate you will want an update on the status of your host. Lord Solis rules Elariel now and his mother was sadly among the casualties in the fire. The official story being circulated is that the fire was a terrible accident, but numerus rumurs abound about what really happened.

I have only managed to confirm the following: Two years ago, Lady Dianette, the former head of house, ordered her son Solis to cancel his annual party. She requested the presence of the entire immediate family at the estate to settle a long standing rift between her two eldest children, Solis and Petrine, and a bitter rivalry between her grandsons, Felix and Vasha. Unfortunately, Lady Elariel`s plans to unify her family never came to fruition. No one knows who started the fire, only that it destroyed almost everything in the estate, killing numerus servants and guards, as well as some of the senior family members. Prominent casualties included Lady Elariel herself, her youngest child Cassian, his wife Irene, their son Vasha, and his wife Blythe.

The loss of senior family members from three separate generations has been a significant blow to Elariel`s interests. Also caught among the casualties is Lord Rhys Hadrial, and his protege Lord Julian Lunarche, who were there advancing a business proposal. You might recognize Lord Julian`s name as he was attached to the Tekiel heir. And a final unexpected guest that evening was Lady Charisse Venture, the late wife of Lord Straff Venture. She arrived that night to confer with her sister Blythe, and sadly also lost her life, leaving her young son Elend without a mother.

The only known survivors who were on site at the time were Lade Elariel`s youngest grandchild Maevis, and her close friend and confidant Addison Tenebriene. I managed to borrow a couple of entries of Maevis`s journal, which provide her recollection of the night she lost her grandmother, father, mother, brother and sister-in-low. They are enclosed. If you wish to read more you will find her journal entries hidden with a book of amateur love poems that she keeps close to her person.

As I know you were close with the late Lady Elariel, I express my condolences, just in case you are still capable of grief. If it is a comfort, at the time of her death Lady Elariel was the eldest and longest serving of any great house head, and well respected by her peers among the nobility. She counted even the Lord Prelan among her close freinds. While the current batch of nobles are cautious and conniving, without Lady Elariel`s voice of moderation and experience, I believe another devastating conflict is all but inevitable.

I suspect you will find this missive lacking in depth and detail. I can relate, as I felt similarly disappointed on receipt of your last payment: Atium? Really? How unoriginal. The strange spores you sent the time before were much more intriguing. If you ever run out of curiosities from other worlds, stories of those warrior giants from the world of storms have piqued my interest. No need for a fresh specimen. You know my tastes.

Sinceraly, your ever faithful servant."