The world of Trutina is full of people and those people sometimes wish to send messages to their friends and families who may live on distant lands. Whilst most people do spend their lives only knowing the people who live in the nearest few villages and can deliver letters themselves, some require the services of mailmen to deliver these letters and packages for them. Throughout the various nations and landmasses, the delivery of parcels falls mostly onto riders, carrying things from sender to recipient.
Atoras Empire
Perhaps the most sophisticated post system in the known world belongs to the twin empires. Originally created within
Ostatoras, the
Imperial Post is a government founded organization that handles the deliveries across the various kingdoms of both Ostatoras and
Westatoras. Large offices organize and distribute incoming mail in large cities and thousands of messengers roam the empire, collecting and delivering mail and packages. Sometimes they travel by cart, sometimes only on horseback, these riders brave the most treacherous paths to reach the smallest of villages that are known about. Due to the large bureaucratic system of the empire, there are very few settlements that require its citizens to leave their hometown. However, in the rare case that they do need to, a trip to the closest, larger settlement allows an individual to pass on any letters they might need to. This postal system is available only to the citizens of the Atoras Empire, but the couriers rarely investigate the citizenship of an individual trying to give them money in exchange for delivering something on their behalf. In case of more valuable deliveries, the Imperial Post can request the aid of a legion to provide escort for them or if that is not an option, they usually hire mercenaries to protect them on the road, although understandably, this latter option bears more of a risk. Besides the Imperial Post, there are various private organizations that also provide deliveries, although these rarely survive for long, given the vastness of the imperial service. Those that can sustain themselves usually involve magical or avian methods of communication, such as homing pigeons or spells capable of communicating small snippets of information over long distances.
Rest of the Orderly Kingdoms
Outside of the Twin Empires, such an extensive post system is only a distant dream. While the ruling kings and nobles have their own couriers and messengers, most people rely on the kindness of others to deliver messages. To most villages, a trader arriving in town can provide a rare opportunity to pass a letter on in hopes of it eventually finding its target. Some people have taken up the profession of delivering messages and parcels either individually or forming guilds where the demand for such services is much higher. For one to use their services, they must either travel to one of their guildhalls or wait for a courier to deliver something to their village and provide an opportunity to give them their own letters. A much more expensive alternative is once again the use of quicker and more direct modes of communication. In places such as
Flugburg or
Cirflucas, wizards can be found who can cast spells that allow them to reach out to distant individuals. Although the number of potential recipients of these spells is limited to the people that the wizard knows, if the recipient is close enough to the intended target of the communication, they can forward the message.
High value cargo is protected by mercenaries or in some cases, the members of the guild itself, who can afford to maintain armed guards for their services.
International Messages
When someone wants a message delivered far away, into another kingdom or realm, the transfer of information can be tricky. The Imperial Post does not operate outside of the empire and any letter they wish to deliver to another kingdom is handed off to another courier as quickly as possible. The other direction is a bit more complicated as there are a few locations in the largest cities of the empire that accept foreign mail. Although they do not stop outsider couriers from delivering a letter themselves, most messengers prefer to leave the job to the Imperial Post's capable hands. Any letter such received is processed, its origin documented and its contents searched and checked. If the package is a simple letter, it is often read as well to make sure it does not contain any illegal spells or information that threatens the security of the empire.
Handling mail between the kingdoms outside of the empire are more straigthforward. The messengers usually just deliver things to another known courier or guild who handles the rest.
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