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English
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Part 8 of Warp and Weft
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Published:
2026-03-27
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1,151
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1/1
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I Wish You Were Better

Summary:

An incomplete correspondence between Calas and his first student from the day he first checks in on her progress to the first time Magnus' ships are spotted.

Pronouns note if this is the first entry you're reading in this series: Barbarus in this au doesn't so much use gender designation as work/career designation. Relevant to this piece:

 

Iré/irer/irir/irirself - someone who works with animal product, in this case a leatherworker but can include butchers and other professions
Wye/wyier/wyr/wyrself - Leader. Can be used as a modifier (eg: Wy'ir- as the base for the leader of a leatherworker guild), in this case being used to refer to the Reaper/Mortarion.
Ene/ener/enir/enerself- undesignated, used for those who do not belong to a specific profession. Pluralized form (Enyen/enyem/enyir/enyemseleves) to non-specific groups.

Notes:

If the letter is in italics, it's Calas.

If the letter is in bold italics and contains the most shorthand and misspelled words you've ever seen, it's Irmaya. (non-bold sections are written in by a third party).

If the writing is bracketed and struck-out, it's a thought they never sent out to the other, even if they wanted to.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Safehold, Calas, Reaper’s Right Hand

Addressed to: Irmaya Serra, Village beneath the formerly-Scholen Mountain

I hope you are still practicing your exercises like we showed you. Endure the hunger now, and behave. Write in regular reports.

- Calas Typhon, behalf of Reaper

 

IRMAYA SERRA, Vell-Schol Mt.

For: Calas of Safehold

MENTOR, PRACTICING AS INSTRUCTED. LETTRING DIFFICULT. MAMAI PAYED MESSENGER FOR WRITING WHERE TO SEND. WYTCHERY UNDER CONTROL. - IRMAYA SERRA Recipient added by Johen

 

Safehold, Calas Typhon

Addressed to: Irmaya Serra, Village beneath the Scholen Mountain

Good. Report regularly. - Calas Typhon

 

IRMAYA SERRA, VELL-Scholen Mt.

For: Calas of Safehold

MENTOR, PRACTICING AS INSTRUCTED. WYTCHERY UNDER CONTROL. - IRMAYA SERRA Recipient added by Johen

 

IRMAYA SERRA, Vell-Scholen Mt.

For: Calas of Safehold

Practicing as instructed. Wytchery under control. - Irmaya Serra Recipient added by Mirko

 

[I know I am a monster. The messenger only added the address when mamai took the letter out.]

 

IRMAYA SERRA, VELL-SHKOL MT.

For: Calas Typhon, Safehold

Practicing as instructed. Wytchery under control. - Irmaya Serra

 

[I am so hungry.]

 

[Enyen killed a child in one of the river villages. Ene was younger than you are. Tell me you’re still alive, just so I know this is not how it will end each time. ]

 

Irmaya Serra, Vell-SHKOL Mt.

FOR: CALAS TYPHON, SAFEHOLD

Practicing as instructed. Wytchery under control. - Irmaya Serra

 

Irmaya Serra, Vell-Shkol Mt.

For: Calas Typhon, Safehold

Practicing as instructed. Wytchery under control. - I. Serra

 

[Mentor, I cannot tell you without risking you telling wyier, and I have to be the one to speak for my own work. Forgive me if I damn us all by my action.]

 

Safehold, Calas Typhon

Addressed to: Irmaya Serra, Village beneath the Scholen Mountain

I wish you’d told me about being a clothier. Let me know how you fare, practice your codes, and record what you learn. - Calas Typhon

 

Irmaya Serra, Vell-Shkol Mt.

For: Calas Typhon, Safehold

Mentor, hope you well. Writing remains ChLGnning. Lerning trade codes. Attachd is 2ws warp lib-sil, weft wool. WoIL,SaL. Ff Outer tunic. Family thanks for funding. - I. Serra




Safehold, Calas Typhon

Addressed to: Irmaya Serra, Village beneath the Scholen Mountain

Are you well? Heard rumor of plagues near your mountains. I trust you know how to keep safe.  - Calas Typhon

 

Irmaya Serra, Vell-Shkol Mt.

For: Calas Typhon, Safehold

Alive, sicknss passd us by. Harvst low, but hungr no longr scratchs at my belly. - I. Serra



[Everything hurts. I am still hungry. The elders still stare at me as though I have not learned control, as though I am not starving each day I wake.]



Safehold, Calas Typhon

Addressed to: Irmaya Serra, Village beneath the Scholen Mountain

Serra, several of the Death Guard have requested your work. A local clothier had taken measurements for Yevil’s bonding ceremony and gave the list to me. You will find them on the back, and they appear to be in the trade codes. I cannot read them to confirm, but the clothier has impressed on me to mention cotton-wool for the material, and suggested for Morgax and Yevil’s trousers using only wool, as sheyir homes are colder than most. Each has sent along barter, which I have hidden in the bag of infested cloth the messenger will give you. Dispose of the cloth itself, it is coated in poisons. Write to stay when shéyen ought to expect the finished works. - Calas Typhon

 

Irmaya Serra, Vell-Shkol Mt.

For: Calas Typhon, Safehold

Trouser-tunic st approx moon cycle with detailing, half without. Lt know prfrns. Removd poison from cloth, srvs for apron tunic.   - I. Serra

 

[Half of the village still do not look me in the eye or trade with my family.Thank you.]



Safehold, Calas Typhon

Addressed to: Irmaya Serra, Village beneath the Scholen Mountain

Serra, the Reaper extends an offer in a more detailed letter, but I will summarize for you: Mentor other witches that will travel to you, and you can utilize the messenger networks to sell. Safehold will send you coin and supplies necessary to house your pupils. Reply to the official letter. - Calas Typhon

 

[Say yes. Say yes and show Mortarion once more that we are not monsters.]

 

Irmaya Serra, Vell-Shkol Mt.

For: Reaper, Safehold

I accept the mentor position. Gratitude for permission of mesgr ntwrk. - Irmaya Serra

 

[Sendak gifted me boots to ask for unity. I gifted iré a tunic for my reply. I do not know if I love irer, but iré is as close to my heart as family. Iré thinks of irir craft as I think of mine. Iré brought me scraps to practice on, when I had first started. Mentor, do you have someone like that? Someone who watches your works and sees your efforts when so many others shun? I hope you do.]

 

Safehold, Mortarion

Addressed to: Irmaya Serra, Village beneath the Scholen Mountain

Serra, we will be visiting within a dayscore to see your work with your pupils. Calas and other Death Guard will be present. - Mortarion, Reaper of Barbarus




Safehold, Calas Typhon

Addressed to: Irmaya Serra, Village beneath the Scholen Mountain

My experiments with gardening continue. I have developed several strains that may survive in more toxic regions, and discovered an odd glowing cotton-imitator. Attached is a bushel of the glowing harvest. Do with it as you wish. - Calas Typhon

 

[Do you ever climb past some of the mists to look at the stars? Do you ever get tired of enyir stares?]

 

[I have another trade network now. We will not starve if all else fails.]

 

Irmaya Serra, Vell-Shkol Mt.

For: Calas Typhon, Safehold

1ws rg-dyo-am. Warp cot, weft cot-im. WoCSa2W, disinfect by burning. Stabproof. Rovek agreed to cultivet further if sent instructions. - I. Serra





 Irmaya Serra, Vell-Shkol Mt.

For: Calas Typhon, Safehold

Mentor, bonding ceremony occuring. Welcome. Sendak pleasd with meeting mentor. - Irmaya

 

[Thank you. I’ve let irer care for me and iré lets me care for irer.]

 

Safehold, Calas Typhon

Addressed to: Irmaya Serra, Village beneath the Scholen Mountain

I cannot attend, though I am grateful you wrote for me. May your bond be as enduring as your handiwork. I have sent you a gift for this phase of your life. Take it, and know you do not walk alone. You’ve grown so much, Irmaya. - Calas Typhon

 

[I'm sorry. I’m sorry this is all you have. You thank enyem for scraps. Iré seems to be the only not-witch that knows you.]





[There are people from beyond the stars. A signal. A way out, perhaps.]

 

 Irmaya Serra, Vell-Shkol Mt., road to Safehold

For: Reaper, Calas Typhon, Safehold

Reaper, Mentor, the mesgr caym. En rout with supply caravan. Sending for pupils. - I.S.

 

[I promised you both I would not kill. I do not know if I can do it, but I will try if the new arrivals are our enemy. I understand if you need to execute me afterwards. I have served my people, and will meet my end without fear.]



Notes:

Irmaya is *barely* literate. Imagine all of her letters are written in significantly more code and shorthand, and have been translated for the sake of at least being somewhat comprehensible. She drops the letter 'e' a lot because in her mind that is the default sound and therefore does not need to be written out. Sendak isn't any better, although he uses an entirely different trade shorthand.

WoCSaW - Weight of cotton, Shields as Wool
Wing-span [w-s], lib - libian (a green, moss-like plant that is common near Irmaya's village), cot - cotton/the closest thing to cotton they grow on barbarus, sil - mothspin silk (misnomer for a bark-based cloth but that's a separate discussion), wool - wool
2ws Warp lib-sil, weft wool. WoIL,SaL. Ff Outer tunic. - 2 wing-spans of a fabric with libian and moth spin silk in the warp and wool in the weft that has the weight of linen and shields from toxins as well as leather.
1ws rg-dyo-am. Warp cot, weft cot-im. WoCSa2W, disinfect by burning. - 1 wing-span of a fabric with 3 dye colorations, a cotton warp and cotton-imitator weft, weighting as a cotton-mothspin silk would with the filtration capabilities of two layers of wool.

 

So good-bad news is my health took a major upswing shortly after New Years (I can walk!!! without braces!!! I stand for up to 40 minutes at a time regularly and have only minimal pain!!!!!!), and that tends to correlate with my writing lessening. Good news is that while I'm still healthy, I once again have the weft au on my mind, so I'm hoping to finish up some of the bigger bits. This kinda came into my head yesterday and I wanted to try it out. Calas doesn't visit often and Irmaya's not much of a traveller, but I imagine Calas has a wee bit of an attachment to his first pupil and he very much remembers that the first time they saw her, it was because someone in her village wanted to kill her for being a hungry little kid.

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