Kun Zhao is a member of the Xun Gang in Ornsiire. His mother lives in The Piers of Lielun and he sends her regular letters describing, in great detail, the ongoings of his rather dangerous job. He sits on the bottom rung of the gang’s simple hierarchy and seeks to climb the ladder as quickly as possible. The letters are one avenue to do so by improving his literacy and rhetoric which his mother has told him since a very young age, is the path to success in any discipline.
A Letter from Kun
For Mother Yuan:
They finally let me into the “Mansion.” I’ve been hearing about this place for months from fellow turf beaters like myself who had been blessed enough to be invited once or twice. I was pounding the cobbled stones of this sprawling city when my vision was suddenly assaulted by sheer blackness. In an instant my world went dark and I was left to intake a subtle scent of Hajik as I was gripped firmly on either side and escorted away. I was forced to turn and spin many times as my captors certainly attempted to disorient me. It did little, I would not have known our final destination’s relation to where I was first bagged even if they had led me straight to it in Ornsiire so in that sense, their job was safe. I stood now in the Mansion. I did not know this at the time, instead a great fear was gripping my bowels as my stomach burned with intense anxieties. I was standing in a dusty barn, shafts of light forcing me to squint at the tattered roof and busted beams in the ceiling. I coughed as the subtle, earthy Hajik was replaced quickly with the sickly stench of rotting hay and wood. An old barn it appeared to be, and thankfully my humor was rescued as two familiar faces grinned at my confusion. Now that I was at ease I could enter the Mansion.While I’m running out of parchment I ask you to look forward to my next letter. The Mansion, was underground, hidden by the same rotting plant matter and carved out of the firm earth beneath.
- Kun Xun