A Lowly Maintainer's Letter

Table of Contents
A letter sent to Op Etru from her lover Ed Obla.

Purpose

It was written by Obla for the first anniversary of the day when he and Etru met, about two weeks after an attack on the university had prompted her family to acquire a shelter in the Ralenlos Mountains and prepare for moving there. Knowing that he would not be welcome among her relatives, Obla instead suggested that the two of them might find a safe place elsewhere. Some lines could even be taken to imply that he wanted to cross the border and seek refuge in enemy territory.

Historical Details

Background

This letter was written during the Final War which concluded the long-standing conflict between the Rilanga Union and the Ran-E-Zu Confederation.   Both the author and the addressee lived in the nation of Leokolriz which remained neutral through most of said conflict but eventually joined forces with the Rilanga Union in the year 18 NZR. Even before that alliance, a considerable number of wealthy Rilanga families had been living in Leokolriz while people of Ran-E-Zu ancestry were rare.

History

Obla and Etru met in the spring of 2 NZR when the Final War had already been raging for two and a half years. He was working as an apprentice maintainer at the University of Kiv Mingumisel where she was already studying for an advanced degree in psychology.   He was repairing the electric wires for the lights in the library building when Etru tripped over his toolbox. After helping her up, he offered to invite her to lunch as an apology for leaving it in the way.   Etru soon realized that her family would not approve of this relationship. Her father came from a family of academics, artists and other mental workers, and therefore considered maintainers below their standard. At the same time, the fact that Obla's grandmother had been a Ran-E-Zu was not going to sit well with the conservative mindset of her grandparents and her brother.   Consequently, they kept meeting in secret. However, when the main auditorium hall was destroyed and the university was closed down, meeting there was no longer an option. They turned to communicating via letters and Obla learned that Etru's family was preparing to leave for a shelter in the mountains.   Etru took his letters with her to the shelter, but kept them well hidden. This one letter was especially dangerous to the relationship with her family, due to the implications that she considered not only leaving them for a lowly maintainer, but going as far as defecting to the enemy.

Public Reaction

The love letter was likely to change Etru's standing in the family for the worse. Although she had clearly made the decision to stay with her family, Obla's suggestions had the potential to raise questions about her loyalty.

Legacy

Long after the Final War, this letter found its way into the Denfa Sasmi Museum as a testament to the personal tragedies hidden within the global catastrophe.
Type
Text, Letter
Medium
Paper
Authoring Date
1 NZR, Uvonoma 12
Authors



Cover image: by Kathrin Janowski

Comments

Author's Notes

Whew, this was a tricky one - I had to find a proper balance between the modern-day perspective and the one for the Nonfi Nis game, without revealing the actual consequences of a family member finding this letter. Did it work?   I'll probably add the content of the letter later, but I have no idea how that would be counted towards WorldEmber so I'll focus on finishing the pledged articles first.   -----
Update August 8th, 2022: I have added the letter's content and translated it to Rilangun!


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Aug 13, 2022 20:01 by Nobody liveshere

Wow! You made up a whole language. I tip my hat to you. And by the way, I am left wondering what the final consequences will be if the letter is discovered.

Aug 15, 2022 09:05 by Kaleidechse

Thank you! I have a weak spot for languages, so it's a lot of fun adding flavor like that. ^^ I discovered the Vulgarlang tool when I explored the language template here, and it's really helpful for creating an initial vocabulary, getting inspiration for the grammar and stuff like that.   As for the consequences of the letter - I still need to figure that out myself, but it's supposed to be discovered some time during the "Nonfi Nis" game that I'm working on.   Introduction to "Nonfi Nis - The Empty Night"


Creator of the Kaleidoscope System and the planet Miragia.