Dear Ms. Southerland,

I hope this letter finds you well. Let me begin by saying that I reach out to you with the greatest humility. Your reputation as a healer and a surgeon precedes you. But before I prattle on about my great admiration of your profession, let me first arrive at the point. I am in desperate need of your talents.

A sickness has decimated my staff, and just when I believed it had finished with me, my favorite servant fell gravely ill. I’d be absolutely gutted if he succumbed to it, and I’m already quite beside myself. While the local healers have done the best they can, they still have no idea how to cure him. Granted, this high in the mountains, it’s quite isolated (and isolating!). I find myself wondering what good any of our advancements are if they can’t save lives; all anyone seems to care about here is engineering. A horrible bore, believe me.

When I began inquiring about Danubian physicians, your name came up time and time again. I am not a man who believes in coincidences. Hence, this letter. What I propose is this: Come work for me. I will house you and entertain you when I can. You will treat his illness, and when he’s well, I’ll reward you however you please. While I am happy to send you on your way with wheelbarrows full of cash and my undying gratitude, I’ll be candid. I’ve heard of your, shall we say, misfortune, and I believe I can help you.

It may come as a surprise to you that we Cernosians do care about the plight of our neighbors. I’ve watched Danubians and Vesrians tear each other apart for nearly three decades, and this armistice filled me with hope. However, it seems tensions are running high again with the disappearance of your soldiers. Matters of state have never much interested me, but wars have bloodied this continent long enough. Even I can see it is time we set aside our differences.

I want to broker an alliance between our nations, and I have reached out to you to discuss the matter with the queen. Writing to her directly was too risky, lest this letter be intercepted and misinterpreted.

While we can never hope to compete with your magic, we do have funds and weapons to lend to your cause. Our support will bolster Danu’s military—and dissuade our Vesrian neighbors from any further acts of violence. Let us never forget who started this war to begin with, or whose god demands bloodshed. I fear unchecked, they will never stop.

Forgive me for being light on the details, but it is unsafe to discuss such sensitive matters over post. Please send a response to the enclosed address as soon as you can. If you accept, I’ll send a carriage to escort you here. I await your answer with bated breath. I fear my servant has little time left.

Warmest regards,
Lord Alistair Lowry III