A letter from Father

Date: 1 August, 5006
Destination: Vargo City
Location: Hazat Compound
Recipient: Baron Devante

My loyal and estimable vassal, Devante Juan Domingo Castillo de Dulcinea del Hazat de la Terra Sanctia de Honshu y Iberia y Marte, por titulo apropiado Baron Fuji, Colonel Castillo, whom I have the honor and pleasure to refer to as my son,

There are some who see honor as a condition, a state of being into which one is born. Any who find comfort in such thoughts may count themselves fools. Honor is something earned. Honor is a path, a road that one walks through life. The directions one chooses to take when confronted by each fork in that road, these determine your measure in the eyes of others - and more importantly, in your own eyes. One fork may appear easier, a smooth path that will go easy upon one's feet. The other may appear stony and steep, difficult to traverse. Yet that is the way of honor. To choose the easier path is to abandon one's integrity altogether.

You have walked a difficult road, my son. Yet it is the road that honor has compelled you to follow. Honor, and duty. The crossroads that were placed in your path might not be the ones you would have preferred, were it within your power to assign your own fate. Yet you chose from among those possibilities the turns that honor required of you.

Now, duty seeks to bind you intimately to the planet Vargo, and honor compels you to embrace that duty. My soul is torn by conflict at this prospect. I feel pride, to know that our glorious Prince has seen fit to bestow such responsibility upon one who is my son. Yet I am also troubled, for this Vargo is a world beset by dark forces, with a sword of Vau destruction dangling above by the most slender of threads. There exists great opportunity to prove oneself in service to our house. Yet there is equal opportunity to suffer inglorious defeat, perhaps more than you realize.

I send this missive with your sister, for I dare not risk it falling into the hands of others. Not even if those others are also Hazat. There are two matters that I must bring to your attention, matters touching upon conspiracies that run deep within our ancient and honorable house. The first of these is personal in nature, a family matter. It involves your sister.

As you are aware by now, he who was betrothed to your sister was slain, by assassins unknown. My agents have failed to ascertain the identify of those who took Ryland's life. I must assume they remain at large. Further, we have uncovered no clue to what their motives might have been. No one had reason to slay Ryland, so far as my agents have been able to determine. Since we cannot know why they killed him, we cannot be certain that Jadis' life is not also in danger. She may be a target, for the same reason that Ryland was killed, or simply because she bore witness to his murder.

I have dispatched Jadis to Vargo under the pretext of lending aid to your cause there, and I pray that she may be of help to you in that wise. Yet in truth, I sent her there for her own protection as well, for those who slew Ryland may yet seek a chance to do her harm. Sending her to Vargo may throw potential pursuers off her track, at least for a time. Yet if and when they trail her to Vargo, it would ease my concerns were her brother there to lend his sword to her defense. I urge you not to tell her of my suspicions, for they might serve to inflame her desire to avenge Ryland's murder and lead her into folly. Yet I urge you equally to watch her back.

The other matter I bring to your attention is no less grave, but is tied to matters beyond our immediate family. Our family has always been somewhat removed from the intrigues on Aragon, for our fellow Hazat often overlook their kinsmen upon Holy Terra when brewing their plots and schemes. Yet I am not without my ears at Prince Juan's court, and disturbing rumors have reached me regarding this planet Vargo. You must be aware that there were others in line to succeed Duke Alvaro, perhaps worthier than you. Yet they were hesitant to assume the burden.

I have heard the tale of these Imandura, the upstart Vargens who claim descent from Saint Emanuel himself. When word of their pronouncement reached Aragon, it was received with consternation. An atmosphere of suspicion and paranoia descended upon certain factions at court, as would-be conspirators gather in shadowy alcoves to whisper of their dread. It would seem these Imandura have unwittingly dredged up dark secrets that were thought safely buried. Secrets some would prefer remain buried.

The nature of these secrets remains known only to those who fear their discovery, at least so far as my informants know. Yet the desperation that rules the hearts of these whisperers is a palpable thing, evident to even the most casual of observers. Those who cling to shadows to conceal their shame may lash out against those who would drag them into the light. They might even kill to forestall their embarassment. Those who wish Vargo's secrets to remain in the dark represent a danger to anyone in a position to expose them.

I know not what so troubles the court of Prince Juan about Vargo and the Imandura, but I do know that my son has been thrown into the midst of this potential minefield. Tread carefully, my son, lest your path of honor lead you to step where danger awaits underfoot. These secrets that trouble the court might best be left buried, yet on the other hand, they might hold answers to the greater threat that hangs over the planet now. I can only urge you to remain vigilant, and to walk the path of honor, no matter how rocky it becomes.

Your father,
Raoul Juan Hector Castillo de Dulcinea del Hazat

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