Jaysehn (prime)/Reflections/EternalLightmyFriend

Jaysehn scribbled quick notes over the trade manifests before him. Crate by crate, each one had to be logged, sorted, counted and assigned to a ship. It was drudgery. Normally, it was the sort of thing Akenna excelled at. She was far better at this sort of organization. In other times, he would have passed the work onto Senzai, who was technically in charge of this level of trade minutia for the Fleet. But, the comprador was off in the East, assisting with textile distribution to the gnomes near Vaalor. So, the work fell to Jaysehn himself. Commodore Jaysehn, Lord of the Ledger. He was annoyed by all of it.

The bleating sound of a terrified animal scream from under the floorboards of Commodore Hall caused his quill to slip and the magical darkness flowed erratically from his valravn quill, darkening a wide swath of the page with scattered markings. Jaysehn hissed and pounded the floor with his boot.

"Eat faster, damn it!", he called to his yierka, who dwelled in the chambers under the Hall.

He was interrupted again by a flurry of activity as Henso, the livered erithi servant who tended Commodore Hall for the Fleet, ran into the Hall being chased by a trio of dock orphans who were trying to snatch one of the brass buttons from the servant's coat. He cursed at them in Erithi and then armed himself with a copy of Akenna's 'novel' from a nearby crate. Holding his ground, the servant counter charged and the children fled the Hall in a chorus of giggles and taunts.

Jaysehn didn't even look up.

"You really should not tolerate them, Commodore.", the erithi scolded. "They are a nuisance."

"They are children, Henso."

"Children do not behave as such in Eloth-Ra."

Jaysehn exhaled, leaned back in his chair and let his gaze slip out from under the brim of his hat. "What can I do for you, Henso."

"Mail, Commodore."

He rolled his eyes and gestured dismissively towards the table. He was about to return to his now ruined page of the ledger when the scent of one of the letters in the pile caught him by surprise as Henso set them down.

Mournbloom?

He reached over and picked up the letter bearing the scent. It was neatly folded into a non-descript golden-hued envelope. Opening it with the point of a nearby knife, his eyes fell immediately to the warm and all-too-familiar greeting that occupied the header of the page.

Eternal Light, my friend....

Jayshen's eyes hardened into slits as he read the letter. He read it again to be sure and didn't move in the slightest as he did so. The tension in his form was palpable enough for Henso to take notice and stand, awkwardly, nearby.

Finally, satisfied that he did, in fact, understand what was written before him, Jaysehn spoke.

"Henso. Send for Orlov....no, no time for that. Find him and TELL HIM. I want all of our ships back. Even the ones in Vaalor. All of them. To Solhaven. Immediately. He is to drill the men today. Twice. Tell him to purchase the shot and powder himself if he has to and we will cover the costs as soon as Senzai returns. And send for Senzai....he needs to be back here now."

"Sir?"

Jaysehn stood up. "I have to find my wife. Have Kilvath ready Onyx Eclipse."

The Erithian looked stunned, particularly because he had never been asked to do any of those things and wasn't 'entirely' sure which of the dwarves serving on Silver Sun was actually Captain Orlov.

Jaysehn didn't stay to clarify. He was already three steps out of the Hall, letter in hand, calling out for one of the grooms to open the gates to his yierka's pen.