A Birthday Letter

"My love, you are the stars of my life. I look at you, and I know light and warmth and guidance in the darkest nights."
"My dear, you are wisdom. I listen to you, and I feel the comfort and peace of sagacity."
"May I never have to see a starless night."
"May I never have a wisdomless moment."

"May we never have to be apart."

--Words of two lovers, whose wishes were not granted.

Sometimes, for all the love that exists in the world, it can be impossible to show it. All the oaths and promises in the world can only stop the wheel of destiny so much. However, where the love between two people could not beat the waves of fate, the love a father has for his daughter will make him pull out every stop to do so.

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Purpose

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Baal Diomedes has always had to keep his relationship with Zahra/Eirian Scheherazade and her mother, Malika/Rhiannon Scheherazade, secret. But, with such a key moment as not only her 18th birthday, but also her coronation as Grand Seer, what good father could possibly avoid giving his daughter praise, congratulations, and words of encouragement?

Document Structure

Publication Status

The letter was written in secret, even to the point of being personally hand-delivered in the dark of the night, with the aid of some carefully applied Chronomancy. After reading, Grand Seer Eirian Scheherazade makes sure to keep it under the greatest lock and key, although she could never bring herself to destroy it.

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A Birthday Letter

"Dear Grand Seer Scheherazade,
I hope that I am among one of the first to refer to you with your new title, just as much as I hope you made that little wince you always do. As much as I'm sure the position will come to change you, and as much as you will grow and learn, I hope you still remain that young girl at heart that I know and love.
It's felt like ages since your mother was taken from us. To see the void she has left unfilled for so long, why, it felt that the emotional one would never be filled either. But just as you have risen to her station, my heart is filled seeing you take it. In my years of mentorship, I have only grown more proud of you with each passing year.
I'm sure behind the brave face you've put on since you were young, you're feeling a gamut of anxieties. I wish I could be there at your side to help assuage them, but alas, the same issues that plagued your mother and me still persist, and I cannot risk damaging your future for my own desires. But, allow me to share this, a final message before your mentor becomes your peer.
You have always been more than capable of this. Beyond what the Seers would praise of your erudition, your skills of rhetoric and reason, and your skills with learning new things, you have a strong heart full of justice and moral integrity. That will be tested, time and time again, but you have never once strayed from any path you have begun to walk down. Even when it felt like the world has been against you, you have stood up and fought the world, and I could not be prouder of you if I tried.
Even if I cannot be your teacher anymore, I will still always be here for you. An ally, a friend, a colleague, and as a father, in any way that I can. 
If I could wish all the ways in which I love you, this letter would be as thick as one of those dull textbooks, and I know you wouldn't have the time to go through all of that, so just know that for every star in the night sky, there is a reason in which I would give all of myself to see you happy, safe, and loved, my dear daughter.
The time must be coming soon, and sadly I can only be so present during the public ceremony, but I shall create the time to make sure this letter is delivered to your eyes only. Give the twins my love, and be sure to visit your mother's shrine after the ceremony, there shall be something she prepared for you there as well.
Since I doubt you'll hear anything other than your Erudite name for a while, let me say this here.
Happy Birthday, my beautiful Zahra. I am so proud of the woman you are, and I cannot wait to see the Grand Seer you will become.
With love,  Baal Diomedes the 3rd."

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Type

Text, Letter

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

11/14/1005 EE

Authors

• King Diomedes the 3rd