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Writer's pictureL.L. Stephens

Grapevines, Arrays, and the Meeting of Minds

Updated: Sep 25


You’re in the world of the Triempery and you wish to share a bit of news. Good news about someone’s improving health, perhaps. Or bad news about an adversary’s scheming. It might be gossip or it might be important—or perhaps a bit of both. How would you get the word out?

 

Many means of communication exist in the Second Creation. Most are the usual methods familiar to any human, of course. Meet up somewhere where you can bend the other person’s ear, maybe in the village square or at a local tavern... go to the house or place of business of the other person... use a social event as an opportunity to get access to the other person—any of these ways allow a person to say a few words or pass along a bit of correspondence. Such grapevines are among the best ways to share news.

 

But what if the other person isn’t nearby, possibly not even in the same village or domain? You’re in luck! The Triempery—and the World it inhabits—may be vast, but posseses other means for getting your news out to those who need to know it.

 

Telepathy/The Mind. If you are Highborn (and only if you are Highborn), you may be able to communicate your news across greater or lesser distances by direct mental contact. Not every Highborn prince can do this. A sufficiently powerful Highborn empath can touch non-Highborn minds also, but cannot truly read thoughts—empaths primarily read emotion or physical states.

 

The collective consciousness of the Highborn race, i.e. the Mind, enables group experience of resonant or disruptive events, including deaths. Because of these gifts, Highborn learn or are taught early how to guard against other persons intruding on their feelings or thoughts.


Translocation. Translocation is an even rarer skill, but it is very handy! Want to talk with someone? Just pop in to have a conversation! Translocation is not limited to the Highborn; it can be achieved by use of powerful, paired lr (magic) crystals, which is how Nammuor and his mages do it. Nammuor aside, only a few people in the books ever employ translocation. For one thing, translocation if not done precisely is dangerous. For another, it takes a lot of energy to fold space like that. There are less taxing ways to let someone know what one thinks.

 

Couriers. Though all persons are free to employ a private courier (perhaps a relative, or a friend of a friend, or that kid down the road willing to travel to the next town) the Kingdom of Essera, Hierarchate of Sordan, and Nuarchate of Mormantalorus all operate reliable official and affordable courier services. Better yet, these services cooperate with each other to some degree. For a reasonable fee, that empire’s official service will carry your document or parcel to some other part of the Triempery or even hand it off to a foreign official courier service if available.

 

After Mormantalorus seceded from the Triempery, its courier service no longer delivered messages for Essera or Sordan, though it continued to do so for other nations wishing to communicate with the Nuarchate.

 

Essera’s Royal Couriers are especially well-regarded. Essera was settled earliest of the three empires and possesses a greater population, especially along the Dazun River. As a result, the kingdom developed an extensive network of courier routes. Sordan’s routes along the Sorand’ruil and around Lake Sarkuan are also famously efficient. Courier services in both Essera and Sordan continue to be overseen by Master Posts of the Royal Household, appointed by the ruling King or Hierarch.

 

 On foot, mounted, or by boat, couriers—an official and well-compensated position—carry letters and some packages. While most letters are sealed in envelopes, official or important communiques are contained in wooden or rolled paper tubes of various sizes. Most of these are sealed with wax. Cylinders—metal tubes with locking ends—are used by wealthier or noble patrons.

 

Kheld Old Mothers, and Kheld women in general, employ networks of women to carry messages between towns, families, and friends—and they do this often in secrecy and with remarkable speed. These networks are informal and cultivated privately. To tap into one you have to know the right women.

 

The Seven Houses and many aristocratic houses have also established private networks for conveying their communications.

 

Cylinders. Made of brass or other metals, cylinders can be carried by couriers or—more importantly—can be sent by means of array (see below). Cylinders range from small tubes holding a single slip of paper to tubes that hold maps, surveys, or other large documents. Because cylinders weigh more, fees are higher.

 

Aryati technology from the dawn of the Triempery created “magic” cylinders that can be used in communication array units. These handy arrays are location-specific devices. Cylinders with key-set bases can be coded to be sent by array, from which locations the cylinder can be either read on site or transferred to a courier for delivery to a destination.

 

The Highborn have another way of using cylinders. A Highborn prince trained in “sending” can direct an object to another person—also Highborn—or place. Cylinders, being of predictable size and shape, are the preferred means of this type of communication. Sending cylinders between individuals facilitates private communication and modest transfers of objects.

 

Communication Arrays. Anyone can seek to send communication by array—if they have access to the highest levels of society. Arrays are magic-powered devices created in the first age of the Triempery by the Highborn and mages of great skill who had been taught by the Aryati. Only a handful were created later. Communication arrays at some locations—Sordan, Mormantalorus, Gignastha—were destroyed during war or unrest. Current communication arrays exist at royal palaces in Stauberg, Aral, Trulo, Merath, and Kenelm. All arrays are controlled by royal administrative offices.

 

Why are there no—and have never been—communication arrays at Permephedon, Dazunor-Rannuli or Leseos? Well...

 

The Rill. In addition to instantaneous transmissions of data or voice, the god-machine of the Rill serves as the Triempery’s primary conduit of non-Highborn cylinders. Nearly every charys (Rill conveyance) carries physical communications. Crates and racks holding communication cylinders, bundles of letters, and other packages travel along with passengers or commercial cargoes. Every Rill port has an office that collaborates with that empire’s courier service to pick up, sort, and continue delivery of cylinders, letters, and parcels.

 

Because the Rill provides ease and frequency of physical travel, the Entity also facilitates in person communication. It is not uncommon for people from opposite ends of the Triempery to visit each other weekly or even daily—though only extremely wealthy or privileged persons could afford to do this that often. Even so, the Rill makes transcontinental meetings possible and easy.

 

Other. A few other means of communication exist and occasionally the books refer to these.

 

Ships. Lots of ships ply the ocean of the World. For people who live on the coasts, ships are a primary artery of communication. Couriers also use ships.

 

Mirrors. In The Kheld King, there are scenes set in Lahgael, along the Sorand’ruil river, which refer to signals sent by mirror. The land along the Sorand’ruil is mostly quite flat and the climate generally rainless, which allows for reflected light from mirror stations set up on elevations to be seen for great distances. These mirrors also will reflect man-made light at night. In this way Lahgaelan authorities on their side of the river—and Sordan authorities on the other side—communicate with ships on the water and also send news about events or dangers that occur.

 

Birds. Khelds raise and train what they call colum birds. These pigeons are carried by spies/agents to be handed off to informants or otherwise used to send back information to handlers in Amallar or Essera.

 

Whistling. Khelds living in the steep hills of Amallar communicate some messages by whistling. This is not referenced directly in the books.

 

As you can see, the fastest and most effective means of communication—arrays and the Rill—are controlled by the highest and most powerful levels of society. The average person is not born with the ability to share minds with any other person—far less several—and most will not possess the means to afford Rill communication (for which service Epoptes charge a fee) or travel (an even higher fee). Arrays solely channel communications for royal and administrative purposes.

 

There are other ways to get the word out, however, and people use them often. Taverns and meeting places are plentiful. Travel is safe for the most part and the roads maintained in good order. Couriers are reasonable and reliable, at least at the time when readers first enter the series. As can be expected, war later wreaks havoc.

 

It might be fun to consider each character’s communications options—and how those options contribute to that character’s worldview and relationships as well as their place in society.

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