- username + id: feverdream + 412872
name: rowan
letter: ouaghhh my god mark...



You decided to spend the day at the museum, as you had heard they recently opened a new cultural exhibit that piqued your interest.
So, you hopped onto public transportation, pop in some tunes, and enjoy the ride to the museum.
You arrived at the museum and took a moment to look at the architecture with awe.
You walked up the tall marble stairs and enter the building. Lucky for you, it's free admission day!
The newest exhibit had a large crowd around the hall's entrance, so you decided to check out a few other exhibits first.
You toured the natural history exhibit, appreciated pieces at the art exhibit, and spent some time browsing the historical library.
You were on your way to the next exhibit when you noticed the newest exhibit was clearing out.
You decided to take advantage of the opportunity to check it out before the next rush of attendants crowded the space.
You toured the halls in awe, excited to see something new in the museum.
According to the placards distributed throughout the exhibit, you learn it features
what was once known as the continent of Elyndor during the age of Three Gilded Crowns.
You learned that during this time, three kingdoms ruled the continent: Hiraeth, Kyria, and Virelia.
The Kingdoms ruled for many centuries, during times of war and strife and eras of peace.
Hiraeth was rich with culture and documentation; many of the artifacts featured in the exhibits apparently came from this kingdom.
One set of artifacts was a series of letters. The letters came from one of the smaller kingdoms, Virelia, and helped
provide a glimpse into that kingdom during what appeared to be the edges of turmoil and a dark age without much records.
Curious to see more about what life was like during that era, you decide to read the first in the series of worn letters.
After reading the letter, you read a few placards and view some artifacts about the royal hierarchy in the age of Three Gilded Crowns. You read fun facts about Hiraeth being a mostly matriarchal society, while other kingdoms were much more fluid in who took over the throne. You read about how archeologists theorize that VIrelia was thrown into a short period of dark ages that started with the death of their beloved king Alaric. Records and art show that he seemed to be somewhat progressive for his time, but had been assassinated, leaving the throne to his young and inexperienced son, Seren. You happened upon the next two letters in the series, so you chose to stop and read it.
You noticed this letter had been addressed to a different recipient than the queen. Curious, you read the letter beside it in hopes for more context.
Desperate for further information, you continued to walk through the exhibit searching for letters. As you browsed, you looked at more items in the exhibit, this time learning about what daily life might have been like in the era. Each kingdom operated differently; the commoners in some kingdoms were treated much better than those who lived in a kingdom of poverty. The sweet spot, if one was not royalty, was to be a noble of some kind or serve the royal elite in some way. Royal Knights, Consuls and Advisors, and none more coveted than being on the royal court. In a time without democracy or equality, the royal court had power for their voices to be heard and sway those who made decisions. They were revered and treated with just as much respect, if not more in some kingdoms, than royalty. However, this position was hard to get and rarely awarded to new people.
At the very least, those who served in the castle received better benefits than commoners...
Lucky for you, just as you were growing bored you happened upon the next few letters in the series.
The first letter had two sprigs of dried flowers attached to it; it's a surprise that they preserved so well.
The next letter also had a sprig, but the contents were more interesting to you than the flowers at this point.
Your interest is piqued, and you decide to gloss over the rest of the exhibit in the hope of finding more letters. You skim through information about a Virelian Ceremony gone wrong, Hiraeth becoming a safe asylum for hurting commoners, and Kyrian's growing poverty gap and struggles. But you didn't care at this point. You finally found more letters. The placard beside them notes that they were the last in the series; archeologists were unclear if the disrupted correspondence was from a true gap in communication, or if the recipient had started destroying or hiding the letters after receiving them. A little disappointed, but prepared for an unsatisfied ending, you decided to read the last two letters anyways.
The first letter was written in a more formal tone, like the first few letters that had been sent.
The last letter was crumpled and tearstained.
You stood there for a bit thinking about what you had read. What happened to Aurelia?
Did she run away to Hiraeth like she so desperately wanted to? Was she able to see Aria again?
What happened to Virelia? Was it able to recover as a kingdom? Or did it crumble in its dark ages?
Did Virelia and Hiraeth make amends between the two kingdoms? Or went to war over a misunderstanding?
So many questions were left spinning in your head and you decided you had enough history and education for the day.
You walked past the historical library, the art exhibit, and the natural history exhibit and exited the museum.
And as you walked down the marble steps, you were still stuck thinking about the letters you had read it was only then that you understood: the greatest tragedies of history are not the wars that were fought or the fallen kings, but the stories they left unfinished.image credit bus ride pixel • museum pixel • art viewing pixel • letters made by me in canva
also note Aria is canonically an adult in my three gilded crowns lore, her growth is still a work in progress






Users browsing this forum: GoldenMystery, Google Adsense [Bot], GoogleBotOther, JolleeFroot, KathrynKat and 3 guests