#postmasterwip

[elkieselkiewrites]

OC Height Tag

Thanks to @houndsofcorduff for the open tag! This was really fun and I'm definitely going to be doing this for my other WIPs at some point in the future.

I'll no pressure tag @ace-malarky and @bloodmoodtrash, plus an open tag for anyone who wants to give it a go :)

From this site

So, here we have the main Postmaster crew:

and for those who like a height difference (you know who you are) here are the romantic couples next to one another, so you can peruse.

Luus & Til:

Nol, Renia & Bolek:

and Fannan & Aarna:

(and for those interested, we also have a cheeky Girts & Bolek, because let's be real, that man deserves to be manhandled by a creature nearly a foot taller than him...)

[elkieselkiewrites]

Hey! I love the sound of your goose fantasy! The premise feels really fun and fresh! More fantasy should have geese in it tbh.

My main WIP The Postmaster's Apprentice is about a postal worker who is tasked to deliver a letter across the continent in the hope that she will get the position of Apprentice to the Postmaster upon her return home.

Unfortunately, things do not go to plan. Her horse is stolen, she gets poisoned and lost and cursed and arrested and shipwrecked, and that's all just in the first half of the story!

Through her misadventures she meets a cast of colourful characters who join her on her journey for varying reasons, ranging from "you saved my life and now I owe you a life debt" to "I'm bored at home and mum says I should get out and see the world" to "we're trying to save our failing marriage and a quest will totally help that"

The setting is high fantasy, with elves that are more like dryads, dwarves carved of real stone, riverfolk halflings look somewhere between moomins and squirrels, morally neutral magic with its morally dubious users, and lots and lots of obscure European folklore, myths and monsters.

There is no romance at all for our protagonist, her sole focus is getting the job done (and eventually helping her friends too), though some of the side characters are in established relationships and/or fall in love over the course of the story. So if you don't really fancy romance featuring too heavily in your fantasy, this might be a story for you!

If you'd like to know more about it, read snippets, see maps, and learn about the main cast, you can take a look at my Postmaster WIP tag here!

Looking for new writing friends!

I'm active again! Wahoo and everything! I'm looking for people who are also actively talking about their own stories on their blogs. Preferably fantasy with no romance, but if you think your story is fun/angsty and unique, please reblog this and talk about your story. Even if it is a romance thing you can use this post to talk about it! I'll start.

My story is about a prince who gets turned into a goose and his friend, the leader of a seaside clan who gets turned in a duck and the two have to try and stop a combined coup from happening. It's very silly and maybe inspired by the untitled goose game.

[elkieselkiewrites]

Magic System Tag Game

Thanks for the tag @pizzamanstan!!

Explain the magic system of your current WIP as poorly as possible. Bonus points if you use bullet points

I'm going to do this for Postmaster WIP!

All magic comes from space!

Magic is made of ~ waves ~ from the impact of a falling star

Soundwaves? Electromagnetic waves? Yes.

Magic waves resonate endlessly out from the point of impact

Magic waves woke up lots of stuff and made it sentient

Walking talking rock? Yes. Walking talking trees? Yes. Walking talking lizards with wings now? I guess so.

Too much magic = radiation sickness

Too much magic but not quite that much magic = mutations

Vibrations in the opposite direction can cancel out the magic

Anti-magic vibrations make people sick

So yeah, good vibrations make you sick and bad vibrations also make you sick

Nice, great design 10/10

People use magic by listening to "the song", only some people are in tune with "the song" and can channel vibrations through their bones

How does that work? I dunno...

Magic waves aren't super useful on their own, but people sure can create contraptions to make them useful, huh

Some scholars try to create artificial magic waves, with mixed results ("mixed results" here is code for "aberrations hitherto unknown to man")

Prolonged use of magic by people who aren't naturally "resonant" can lead to damage to bones, muscles and nerves, causing permanent physical and neurological disabilities

Again, great design 10/10

TLDR: space sound radiation magic is probably bad for your health

Tagging (only if you fancy it) @aether-wasteland-s, @ace-malarky, @i-can-even-burn-salad and @dragonfelling

Also open tag if you see this and want to give it a go!

[elkieselkiewrites]

Heads Up Seven Up!

Tagged by the wonderful @houndsofcorduff (thank you thank you)

A wee snippet from Postmaster for today :))

There appeared to be some commotion in the town square upon their return to Korsen. There was man in the centre sat astride a large bay horse, talking animatedly with the innkeeper and the ship captain, the former who seemed contrite, wringing his hands, while the latter stood defiantly by. As the crowd parted for their group, the innkeeper gestured towards them, and the man atop the horse followed his hand until his gaze fell upon them. He stilled for a second before dismounting hurriedly and approaching them with long, determined strides. The man was tall and grave, with a shock of dark hair tied back in a long queue, and wearing traditional Gorian robes and a fur-lined cape. He stopped just short of them, as though suddenly hesitant. "You are the group Anatol ferried from Grobstat?" He said in Imperial, his accent heavy and lilting.

I'll no-pressure tag @ark-inkweaving @bloodmoodtrash @indigowriting @abitscripturient @vacantgodling and open tag for anyone who wants to!

[elkieselkiewrites]

So elkieselkie... got any selkies in the postmaster project? or any other mer-people? What is in those oceans?

Happy STS!! Thanks for the question!

This is perhaps embarrassing for someone who had a genuine belief as a child that they would turn into a mer-person if they just found the right bit of water to swim in, but I don't really have any mer-folk in any of my WIPs...

I suppose the sea serpents kind of count? They are more like dragons who happen to hunt at sea, but live in sea-caves along the coast rather than in the ocean?

Then there's the Ganfer, but again, that's a creature that haunts the shore, not the sea itself...

There's the longwyrm that usually lives in a lake, so that's a freshwater creature, but a watery creature all the same. You can read a bit more about that here but as a bit of a spoiler, this creature usually lives in large lakes, but has been known to hide in wells and aqueducts too...

Perhaps I should add more water creatures to Postmaster. Maybe that's something that's missing!

[elkieselkiewrites]

My boy Fannan from Postmaster WIP! I could cry!

Really though, I'm so blown away by this, it's perfect, and it was such a great experience working with @eldritchgh0st (who is a top lad)

100/10 will commission again

commission of fannon for @elkieselkiewrites

comms closed for rn but will be open again very soon!

[elkieselkiewrites]

happy wbw Jas! i know for a fact you have worked up some heraldry, is there anything you can tell us about it for your various nations?

Oh hey Azzy, thanks so much for the ask!

There is tons of heraldry we can dip into for Postmaster, I mentioned the Rappenrath Ravens in this post but I'll post the fancier one here too:

The three-headed raven imposed on a sun in splendour, each head crowned, with a sword in one talon and a shield in the other, edged with a leaf crown and an oak wreath, and surrounded with a red ermine mantle topped with the Imperial crown. It might seem like a bit much, but this is pretty tame when you look at real heraldry...

The raven is the symbol of the imperial family, and the three heads are symbolic of the main branches of that family, but also the raven heads are looking in all directions at the whole empire as far as it stretches. Each crown represents one of the original 3 countries that made up the Empire, though it has now absorbed a few others.

The sword and shield are, of course, military strength. The sun is for the glory of the Emperor. The gilded leaf crown and oak wreath represent Munland, where the Empire began, and where the capital city and all main imperial business is based. The ermine mantle is a symbol of sovereignty, and paired with the imperial crown it shows that this is the heraldry specifically of the Emperor himself.

~*~

The Gorian royal coat of arms is known colloquially as "The Stags and Star" with the Stags being from the Gorian ruling family, and the Star being the older symbol for the land that Goria was before it became Goria, back when it was simply the closest place you could live to the Starfall without ... dying? The crown is, of course, what makes this the royal heraldry:

Then there's Vyskavia, which has consolidated the centuries of switching between Imperial and Gorian rule into the "Star and Three Ravens" as below:

Since Vyskavia is mostly mountains, their heraldry is representative of that, and beyond the mountains is where the Star fell, which ties the symbolism together quite literally in this case.

~*~

The Weterlands are not ruled by a monarchy, but rather a High Council. They have their livery here:

The Weterlands is a country that is governed by commerce, they also live on the waterways, so the ships, the water and the rope knot are all to do with that, but also the white and purple in the fabrics and the gold in the knot and helmet are all representative of quality, success and affluence. The hares are for peace and... fecundity...

Of course, each of the Guilds also have their own livery too, but there are approximately 100 of them, so I won't be designing them all.

I have a few more in my head, like each of the different countries within the Empire (Eathel, Rotherel, Luzzelmark, and Staithland), as well as Outer Goria, and the family crests for the Nedamovs, but I haven't actually made any of those yet...

[elkieselkiewrites]

The Postmaster Gang all work where you work now! Who does what job? Who is late to work every day? Who gets fired first? Who gets employee of the month? (Please continue adding questions to this exercise as you see fit!) Good luck!

Well, I work in public libraries, so I'll put a list of the things we normally do daily and who would be most suited to them:

Book checking - Renia and Til

Shelving - Ida and Bolek

Reservations - Ida and Aarna

Personal shopping - Ida and Renia

Bus pass applications - Renia and Nol

Toddler song and story time - Fannan and Neer

Phone and emails - Luus and Fannan

Book group - Aarna and Neer

Knitting group - Aarna and Nol

Arts and crafts - Neer and Nol

Stock work - Renia and Bolek

Cash work - Til and Renia

Customer stats - Til and Renia

Ida is all about the lists and the names and the dates and the organisation. She's great at making sure things are in the their place.

Renia likes the cataloguing and forms and spreadsheets, Dewey and LC are her best friends. She's meticulous, you know?

Bolek likes the mindless, manual tasks where no one bothers him for hours. Let him shelve those books, let him do the repairs and find the jackets.

Aarna is a peaceful, conversation-leading kind of guy. He works with his hands but he listens with his ears and his heart. You want him occupying the old ladies.

Fannan can answer an email so diplomatically you won't even remember what you were grousing about, and then turn around and lead the most heartfelt and engaging Bookbug sessions you've ever experienced. That man will be entertaining the babies with a ukulele and a tambourine.

Til is not just about the numbers, she's about the data. She'll analyse your footfall, she's down with the engagement. She'll make you a graph!

Luus is all about customer service. She has a customer service persona to rival all customer service personas.

Neer is your crafts guy, he's got a thousand crafts up his sleeve, you think you haven't got enough supplies to run a group? Wrong. That man will make an hour long craft session from a single piece of cardboard and some lollypop sticks.

Nol is also a crafts guy, but his crafts are meticulously planned and executed. They can't be thrown together with odds and ends like Neer, he needs the good stuff, because you'll go into that session thinking there's no way you'll be able to make anything as good as his example. But you will. You damn well will, because he's the Bob Ross of crafts.

[elkieselkiewrites]

A family doesn't always have to be a husband, a wife, and their kids.

Sometimes a family can be a husband, a wife, the wife's boyfriend who has a crush on the husband too, the husband's monstrous telepathic situationship sealed with blood magic, and their kids.

[elkieselkiewrites]

hey Jas! for the snippet ask game, 🐙?

From this list

🐙 share a snippet where the character is being a brat/smartass

Fannan is always a bit of a smartass, so have a little snippet of him teasing Aarna:

He absently toyed with one of the cascading umber leaves that fell about his face as he continued. "It is a shame that we are not more aesthetically pleasing. I am not like my kin who were birthed under Pine, Spruce or Elm, who are tall and long-limbed, and slender as evening shadows. Then again, neither am I thick, sturdy and long-lived as my brethren from Yew, Oak and old Sweet Chestnut. Nor do I have the eternal blossoming beauty of Cherry, Hawthorn or Elder. I am most Gallan in appearance, which is not well regarded amongst my people." "Do you mean to say that you are not considered attractive?" Luus cried. "Hardly! I am neither short nor tall, slender nor stout. I have no green about me like my other Poplar cousins who are known to be bright and fresh-faced all their lives; pleasant companions, mild mannered and joyful. Then neither is my colouring so unusual as to be splendid to set eyes on like those of Birch or Maple or Rowan. Truth be told, I am quite boring." "If you are not considered tall nor fair, then I dread to think the bewitching giants your betters must be." Aarna said, horrified. "Why, Master Molacan, that was almost a complement!" Fannan said with a mischievous laugh. "Do you truly believe me to be so handsome that to be more so my kin must employ witchcraft?" "I never said anything of the sort!"

[elkieselkiewrites]

Character Association Tag Game

Thank you @merlot-and-rainstorms for the tag! I'm going to do this for Ida, since I feel like she's not had enough love lately:

Seasoning - Caraway seeds

Weather - Warm but quite windy, windy enough that you don't realise how warm it actually is

Colour - Lapis blue

Sky - Clear, just after sunset, mostly stars but with a hint of pink left on the horizon

Magic Power - Astral projection

Plant - Juniper tree

Weapon - Switchblade

Social Media - LinkedIn (you know Ida is a rise and grind gal)

Makeup - A little kohl around the eyes

Candy - Honey pistachio nougat

Fear - Taphophobia (the fear of being buried alive)

Method of Long-Distance Travel - Horse-drawn cart

Art Style - Vienna Secession

Mythological Creature - Griffin

Stationery - Fountain pen with dark blue ink

Celestial Body - Comet

I'll tag @ark-inkweaving, @bloodmoodtrash, @houndsofcorduff, @ace-malarky and @dragonfelling if you'd like!

[elkieselkiewrites]

Last Line Tag

📝 Share the last line you added to a WIP (or a last chapter line, or the last line you edited, or the last whatever works for you)

Thank you to @rookitowrites for tagging me!

I'm afraid it's not a very exciting line, so I added the last 3 to give it some context:

~*~

There were clocks so small that several could fit on a table at once, each one crafted out of fine metal filigree so one could see the equally as fine mechanisms tick and turn within them. There were some in burnished bronze, some in blackened iron, and others in brilliant verdigris patina, but all were beautifully formed, their glass faces and precise hands all somehow moving as one, as if they were attuned to the same cosmic timepiece. Ida hadn't even known clocks could be made so small nor so accurate.

~*~

I'll tag @writingamongther0ses, @ace-malarky, @indigowriting and @bloodmoodtrash but there's no pressure to take part! Also open tag if you'd like to take part too!

[elkieselkiewrites]

Heads Up, Seven Up

Thanks for the tag @ark-inkweaving

Have some spraff from my last writing sprint. It's a little rough around the edges, but it's something new, which is exciting for me:

As they got closer, down what were now clearly streets lined with troglodyte houses, the details of their construction became more apparent, even in the dark. The windows were not carved as a stonemason might carve. Not rectangular nor arched, but rather following the veins of the stone, slivers here and great gouges there. They almost looked organic, as though the stone had simply split with time and pressure. It was excellent camouflage. Even the doorways, large enough to fit the tallest Ulfir with ease, looked as innocuous as any natural fissure. However, once inside, all thoughts of bare rock faces dissipated.

I'm tagging @magic-is-something-we-create, @indigowriting, @garthcelyn, @bloodmoodtrash if you'd like to :) and an open tag!

[elkieselkiewrites]

OC Kiss Week 25

Day 7: Caught

Ship: Renia/Nol/Bolek

WIP: The Postmaster's Apprentice

Warnings: Coitus interruptus, polyamory negotiations

~*~

It was still cold as they made their way down the mountain, but the deeper into the foothills they got, the greener things were becoming. Gone were the scree and crags, crevices filled with snow, instead there were trees and shrubs, some laden with bright spring leaves, others heavy with blossom. The road followed the river for a way and the banks were bursting with wild garlic, the smell unmistakable on the breeze.

They could all but see Thedenfast in the far distance, and spirits were high. They stopped at the place their mountain tributary met the river proper, to wash and refill their waterskins. Neer got a fire going to cook the last of the fresh provisions, while the others walked the banks to forage for whatever they could find.

Ida, Til and Luus went towards the shore, Fannan and Aarna towards the woods, while Nol and Renia made off at a leisurely pace back along the tributary's edge, picking garlic as they went.

Bolek watched them as they wandered from the sight of the campfire, his expression stony. Neer watched Bolek in turn.

"My cousin is a good Wey, Mister Bolek. You needn't worry for your wife's safety." He said.

Bolek's eyes fell to where Neer was stood. "I know that, Neer. He is kind to her, affectionate. She deserves affection."

Neer hummed as he sliced another carrot and dropped it into the pot. "As her husband are you not the one to give it to her then?"

"I squandered my chance at such things. She is happy with him in a way she never was with me. I shall not ruin that for her."

They were quiet for a moment, the sound of the water bubbling in the pot joining that of the river beside them.

"Nol is fond of you too, you know."

"I am glad of it. He is intelligent, and passionate about his profession. That is admirable."

Neer seemed to be looking at him expectantly. "He enjoys your company, and would do regardless of his feelings for your wife."

Bolek watched the fire silently.

With a sigh, Neer threw the rest of the chopped sausage into the pot, and wiped his hands on the rag in his belt. "I wouldn't ordinarily pry into other folks' business, but this concerns our Nol, so it concerns me. You are making yourself miserable, Mister Bolek. They have made their way off on their own somewhere, so perhaps you should take this opportunity to speak to them both away from prying ears. Even if the outcome is the very same one you are worrying over in your head, at least you can find some peace in certainty, hmm?"

Bolek regarded Neer carefully for a moment, before agreeing quietly and getting to his feet. "You are so often acting the clown, Neer, that I forget you have some wisdom between those tufted ears of yours."

Neer's face lit up, the aforementioned ears twitching. "It'd serve you well to remember that, Mister Bolek."

A small smile tugged at Bolek's lips, and he made his way along the riverbank towards where his wife and her beau had gone.

It didn't take long for the undergrowth to thicken, and the path made by two sets of feet to become clearer through the garlic and sedge. He followed the trail for a while as it wound through the spindly trees and into the thicket. Soon, between the rush of water and intermittent birdsong, Bolek could hear laughter.

He slowed as the voices grew nearer, and stopped beside a large birch tree when he finally caught sight of them. What he saw made his pulse jump.

In a small clearing dappled by the afternoon sun, were two familiar figures. Nol was sat astride Renia's lap and had loosened her long hair from its confines, running his hands through her curls. Her hands sat atop his hips and she was kissing him with fervour. Their kisses were peppered with words that Bolek could not hear, but Renia's smile was wide, and Nol's soft, and it made Bolek's heart ache.

Nol deepened the kiss, and Renia's hands drifted down to undo the laces that kept his hose together, sliding beneath the fabric to cup him there. Nol broke the kiss with a gasp, his hands falling from Renia's hair to undo the lacing in the front of her dress, then the bodies underneath until Renia's breasts could be freed from her shift.

Bolek realised with a flush of shame that he was voyeur to his own wife's affair. He was a cuckold, and yet the hot, tight feeling under his skin seemed to suggest he was not as upset at that prospect as he ought to be. He took a step, to make his way to the riverbank once more, when a branch beneath his feet snapped audibly.

He turned to see the two scrabbling to re-fasten their clothes as hurriedly as they could, and Bolek heard his name being called, though he could not tell in that moment which of them had said it.

Nol was the one to catch up to him first. "Bolek, could you wait a moment, please."

Dutifully Bolek slowed.

"I'm sorry you happened upon us like that. We hadn't intended to sneak off to do anything clandestine, I promise."

"You needn't apologise, Nol. I told Renia that she should have the opportunity to choose, and it appears she has made her choice."

Nol huffed, his tail flicking from side to side. "Bolek, do you love your wife?"

Bolek frowned. "I hadn't expected to, but yes, for what it's worth."

"For what it's worth?" Nol parrotted. "It's worth a lot! Do you think Renia indifferent to you? She allowed you a second chance, and you have given it up before you even had chance to try."

"She is clearly in love with you, Nol, and I do not blame her. Nor do I begrudge you her favour. You are a better man than I, and you both deserve what happiness this life can afford you."

Nol's gaze was heavy as he considered the man in front of him.

"I love Renia. I have never met another soul who fits mine so well. Were she free to marry I might have already asked her. But she is not, because of you. I thought I would resent you for that, but I do not." Nol sighed. "Against my better judgement, Bolek, I have grown fond of you too."

"I do not need your pity, Favalan." Bolek snapped.

Nol reached out towards Bolek's hand, touching his palm tentatively. "Do you not feel you deserved a second chance?"

"I squandered my first, caused pain and misfortune. She deserves to be happy."

Nol smiled. "So do you."

Their hands intertwined then and Bolek's gaze met Nol's, searching and uncertain.

"I had no reason to like you, Bolek, but I do. You are a good man under that Gorian chill. If you were to give up on us now, I would miss you very much."

"You would?"

"Renia would also, I suspect, but I cannot speak for her."

"I don't know what you are asking of me." Bolek said, breathlessly.

Nol beckoned him down to his eye level, and Bolek went. He was surprised at how flushed he felt with his face so close to Nol's.

"I'm asking for you to let yourself be happy, Bolek." Nol replied, running a thumb along his sharp cheekbone. "You make me happy, perhaps you'd give me the chance to make you happy too?"

Bolek swallowed thickly, eyes flitting between Nol's eyes and lips. Slow as cold honey he pressed his lips against Nol's, and Nol sighed into it.

"I see you two have had a conversation I was not party to." Came a voice from behind them.

Bolek tore himself away from the Favalan to see Renia, flushed and tousled, watching the two men with a fond smile. She walked towards Nol, kissing him softly on the lips, before turning to Bolek and kissing him in turn.

"You are not unwanted, Bolek." She whispered. "Perhaps next time you happen upon us in such a situation, you might join us instead?"

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Bolek kissed his wife again, almost frantically, and she laughed against it. "Come, I think I smell too much of garlic now to continue here."

"We had better take some back with us, lest anyone think we aren't pulling our weight with this foraging lark." Nol said with a sly glance to Bolek.

Joy began to bubble up from within Bolek's chest and he laughed brightly, taking Nol's hand in his own once more. "Well, we wouldn't want them thinking that."

[elkieselkiewrites]

~ a high fantasy story with dark folklore roots ~

Ida had always dreamt of running the Wariford Postal Office, so when the old Postmaster tasks her with delivering an important letter to the other side of the Empire, she is willing to endure that journey in the hope that she will be taken on as his apprentice. Unfortunately for Ida, the Rappenrath Empire is large and treacherous, and her journey is hampered by one misadventure after another. Ida finds herself off-course with a collection of colourful companions, fighting monsters and breaking curses, dodging pirates and political intrigue alike. Follow Ida on her travels to find out if she ever manages to deliver that letter and return home in one piece to finally become the Postmaster's Apprentice.

~ Characters ~

Ida Nikose - The eponymous (prospective) postmaster's apprentice, Ida got a job sorting mail when she was a child to supplement her family's meagre income. With a lot of hard work and a small amount of nepotism, Ida had gone from sorting the mail, to delivering the mail, to becoming one of Wariford's most trusted posties. She is dedicated and single-minded, but not at all prepared for the adventure she finds herself on.

Aarna - The picture of a grizzled dwarf, his skin speckled riverbed rock, moss growing long and thick on his head and face. Aarna is a merchant travelling from the Delflands in the far north to sell his timepieces in Theden lands. He is stoic and sensible, but has strong morals that he is willing to step out of his comfort zone to uphold.

Luus Haak - A Favalan merchant from the Weterlands. Wife of Til, sister of Neer, and cousin to Nol. Rambunctious and outgoing, Luus makes us for her lack of stature with a very big personality. She is the haggler, she makes everyone feel like her best friend and knows how to drive a bargain. She is an absolute wife-guy, is besotted with Til, and will tell anyone in earshot about how much she loves her.

Til Haak - Wife of Luus, Til is the brains of the business, shrewd and dry-humoured with a head for numbers. She is level-headed but sometimes loses this where Luus is involved. She is excellent in a crisis, but does tend towards "swords first, ask questions later".

Neer Haak - A cobbler, brother of Luus and cousin to Nol. He is as gregarious as his sister, but generally finds his outlets in taverns and gambling houses. This unfortunately means that he is often in trouble for gambling debts or riling up the wrong people. He is bright but a big softy with a weak heart, and is terrible in scary situations.

Nol Sloot - Cousin of Neer and Luus. He is unlucky and clumsy, but very kind-hearted too. He has an excellent eye for cloth, and a talent for clothing patterns. As a journeyman clothier he travels with his cousins to find inspiration for his Masterwork to present to the Guild upon their return.

Fannan a Monaru - A young diplomatic envoy from the Golden Forest. He is refined and suave, but with a bright laugh and a joyful heart. He delights in his job as a diplomat, but while he is clever, he can also be a little too earnest at times, and tends to take things at face value, which makes him a trustworthy but not so shrewd diplomat. Learning about the truth of people' hearts was one of the reasons his mothers pushed him to leave home and see the world.

Renia Nedamov - The young Baroness Nedamov isn’t exactly the picture of a beautiful aristocrat, but there is something lovely about her anyway. She has an affinity for mathematics and science, and always wanted to study at university, but was instead married off young. She is smart and stubborn, but desperately lonely.

Bolek Nedamov - Renia's estranged husband. Bolek was the younger brother of the previous Baron Nedamov, but when he got himself killed in a hunting accident, Bolek ended up inheriting and was not happy about it. He prefers working the land to managing it, he is a walking almanac and there is little he doesn't know about seasons and soil and crops. He is a distant husband and has made peace with his unhappy marriage.

~ Extract ~

The border between Eathel and Rotherel was nothing more than a nondescript waystone in places, there had been many a minor diplomatic incident when one farmer had mistakenly moved the stone to better plough the field it was placed beside and had inadvertently cause Rotherel to lose two feet of land. Or another, thinking little of borders and Empires, had thought the waymarker to be that of his neighbour's field, and had moved it to the left a little, or perhaps to the right, simply out of spite and overconsumption of wheat beer. This, however, was not the case along the postal roads. Emperor Gaspar had wanted, as he so often did, to quantify and delineate his rule. Ida hadn't thought much of it, but her father had once told her that it was what made Gaspar a more formidable Emperor than Ansgar; not his armies or battle prowess, but his staying power. Infrastructure, he said, made it difficult to simply wander in and take a place, as kings and counts and emperors alike were so fond of doing.

So it was that the postal road met the edge of her country at a toll gate. It was little more than ceremonial, anyone could simply take a less beaten path and bypass it completely, and the guards posted there performed their duties with little real interest. They asked perfunctory questions about why you were crossing and where you were going, but Eathel and Rotherel had been part of the Empire for long enough that the flow of peoples to and from was as regular as the tide.

"Ho!" Came a voice from the tollbooth. "A little nuthatch come our way! Come to drop something off? The fella the other side only came by Tuesday, those might be waiting a while."

"I can't discuss postal business, Erik, you know that well enough." Ida replied.

Erik, who Ida had come to know quite well over the years, was a welcome sight when so far from home. He was middle-aged but wiry and lean, with a wry smile and charm that gained him quite the reputation amongst the people of nearby Threston. There used to be a time when he had treated her simply as a child who rode in the wagon, tossing her an apple and a wink, but he had matured as much as she had in those ten years and treated her more as an equal nowadays.

"Come along, Ida! It's boring as sin today, give us some gossip." On second thoughts, Ida considered, perhaps he had not matured quite as much as she had remembered.

"That's Postal Courier to you," She chastised, though she couldn't help but bite back a smile. "And you know I don't gossip, you're mistaking me for Gero again."

"Ha! Couldn't mistake anyone for Gero with a nose like his." Erik barked, but he acquiesced. "Fair enough, fair enough. It's odd to see you alone, the Old Man isn't sick, is he?"

"No, though it's a wonder he isn't. He works himself too hard. I've just got some urgent parcels for Sudstowe."

He gave Bramble's satchels a cursory glance and nodded once. "Good enough for me. On you go, stay safe! I heard there are some unsavoury folk on the roads of late."

Ida flicked her cap in thanks and bid Bramble walk on with a nudge and a nicker. Sudstowe was another four day ride from the border, and Rotherel's terrain was only going to grow steeper and wilder. Where her home in the east counties of Eathel was rolling farmland, the hills and mountains only really dominating the west of the country, Rotherel was more mountain than anything else. She knew Bramble had done the journey before, and was happy to do it for the promise of fresh fruit and vegetables in with his oats, but she couldn't help but feel an itch of trepidation.

[elkieselkiewrites]

Off the back of @ace-malarky's STS question from waaaay back in January, I've been compiling some fashion inspo for my Postmaster societies.

N.B. Most of these are real, historical images, so it's not perfect as an illustration as it could be, but they'll do until I can bring myself to try to learn to draw historical clothing...

Also N.B. these are court fashion, and only the general shape and silhouette would have been emulated by everyday people, but again, it's all about the vibes.

~*~

While Imperial Rappenrath society is rooted in whatever is fashionable in Thedenfast, and Munland as a whole, but some of the other countries do put their own spin and style on the broad fashion trends of the Empire.

In Munland (and therefore the rest of the Empire), women tend to wear low-cut gowns filled with lace or a chemise to make them more modest day to day, with wide, flat lace collars, higher-than-natural waistlines and full sleeves. Colours tended towards the bold; blacks, reds, and golds, with little embroidery but plenty of ribbons, pearls and lace. Hair is worn loose or tied low and draped over one shoulder.

Imperial men on the other hand wear doublets with the same kind of wide, lace collars as the women, and breeches that reach the knees, colourful stockings, and heeled shoes or boots. It's not uncommon for men going to balls, and other showy court functions, to wear codpieces and ribbons on their shoes and stockings.

In Goria, women tend to wear colourful, embroidered gowns, with natural to low waists, narrow sleeves, and wide, starched lace collars. Up-dos are a must, and are often gathered and framed with lace caps or even a veil. It is uncommon to find Imperial fashion in the Gorian court, but so-called "Gorian Collars", starched upright to frame the face, have been becoming more popular amongst the Imperials in Vyskavia and Munland.

Gorian men, however, wear long robes in bright, bold colours, tied with an embroidered sash, and often a cloak with slit sleeves, or furs if they are expecting to be outside for more than a moment.

Now, Favalan (or Weys) society obviously has to have different fashion tastes because they are very different peoples. Favalan are short, furry, and have tufted ears and tails. As such, they need to wear clothes that allow for those things, plus the fact that they live on waterways, so need to be practical about getting wet, etc.

So regardless of gender, Favalan tend to wear pumpkin hose, with room for a tail between the legs of the hose (they were usually separate pieces, tied together. The short hose and long stockings also means that they can wear high boots, almost like waders, to keep their feet and legs dry when living and working by the water. Bodices have high necklines, slashed sleeves, and plenty of brocade and beading, again regardless of gender.

Muin (or Wodefolk) culture does not prize clothing as much as Favalan or Theden do. Most Muin clothes are made of bast fibre from nettles or flax, even their armour is usually a kind of linothorax - hardened layers of twined linen constructed like scales or plates - but that’s not to say it can’t be as intricate and beautiful as Theden designs.

The most common style of clothing is reminiscent of the Irish léinte, long linen tunics gathered into pleats and belted so that they fall to about knee-length. These tunics would be dyed with mushrooms and plants, so could come in colours anywhere from bright orange to muted blues to greens and browns and blacks, and would be decorated with a mixture of drawn threadwork and needlepoint embroidery along the neckline and edges.

Delvish fashion tends to move slower than other cultures, due to their longer lifespans, but also due to the fact that they are made of stone and the necessity of clothes is simply not there.

Because of that, the styles of dress popular among the Delvish seem somewhat outdated to many Thedenfolk. Also due to their a-gender nature, fashion is more fluid and gender distinction largely non-existent. At the time of the story, it is Delvish fashion to wear doublet and breeches similar to Theden men's fashion, but padded with wool to appear softer and less “stone-like”. Unlike Theden fashion, the doublet and breeches would be made of leather, likely pinked with intricate patterns of stars in homage to their origins.

Because of their stonework nature, Delvish hairstyles are not formed with hair, but rather cultivated out of moss and lichen like small gardens on the head and face. Again, due to the a-gender nature of the Stone Folk, traditionally feminine Theden hairstyles are frequently paired with masculine facial hair styles. Moss and lichen styling is a particular point of pride for Delvish society, and returning to the Delflands with large or elaborate styles after years in the South is a highly sought after achievement in the upper echelons of Delvish society.

And that concludes my relatively succinct description of the Postmaster world fashions for each of the main factions encountered in the narrative!

I hope that was as interesting for you all to read as it was for me to write!