Horseback Messenger

Humans didn't always live in massive walled cities. Even after the capitals of Allegri were built they only kept things out. How could a city cocooned behind stone walls thicker than the average horse is long keep a thumb on the pulse of what's going on around it? The terrain nearby was still wild and even orcs still roamed the prairies when the first company of horsemen began offering their services to anyone with the lats.

More commonly, these companies of explorers were actually secret adventuring guilds that had been outlawed with the signing of the Allegran Accords and unifying the governments of the three capital cities in 3746 NC. Even thousands of years ago there were ruins and abandoned towns littered across the continent. Many people felt that the Accords' ban on Adventurer's Guilds and the like was their attempt to control what was brought into the cities since some of the relics could be potentially dangerous and was entirely justified, however others felt it was a blatant power-grab and argued against their entire profession being labeled as looters, scavengers, and theives.

Operations

Tools

You can't be called a horseback messenger without your a horse. Some companies over the centuries have provided the riders with mounts but generally the individual looking to gain employment in the field likely already has a horse. The basics of training a steed have evolved very little over time but the physical gear used has been improved upon since the first messengers raced across the untamed lands of Allegri.

Many of the first saddles were cured leather with metal parts that would wear against eachother and could be unreliable. Modern riders have saddles and packs of tough fabric that's both lighter and more comfortable for the horse to bear. The clasps and latches are still made from metal but instead of being beaten into shape over a forge, these pieces are shaped with arcana and bear none of the irregularities their historical forebears had contained.

Provided Services

The horseback messengers originally only carried the obvious; messages. The funny thing about such a service at the time is that nobody really knew where anybody else was. There were still many small towns and communities spread out in every direction and half of them only existed because survivors on the road couldn't keep traveling and set up camp - and never left. If I wrote a letter to my brother and handed it to a horseback messenger, he'd have to find my brother before he could deliver the message. In many ways these were the first people to offer to help find the folk that got left behind, lost, or otherwise seperated from their kin during a time of great upheaval.

In modern Allegri the hoseback messenger is mostly a fond memory of what was once an integral part of keeping the capital cities in contact with eachother. The advancement of the arcane sciences has essentially made a physical message unnecessary and even when a physical object must travel great distances the mages and invokheir at the Dannamore can usually make it happen faster and with much less uncertainty.

Alternative Names

horsemen (said quickly as one word)

Type

Public Services

Demand

Dwindling