The Billet

The Billet Rider

Ride, ride through the night,
Bring billets to the lords and ladies,
But, don't forget me.
Ride, ride throught the night,
Fly through the dark woods,
Fight the howling wolves,
Bring my true love a letter from me.
Ride, ride through the night.

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Origins

Since Thingor Gremane created The Arkivon, two centuries ago, the organisation went from strength to strength, becoming at the same time the martial and bureaucratic hand of the Thanes of Alven.

The Arkivon is in charge of managing the The Great Hoard, another name for the Thane's and Alven's treasury. With peace and prosperity, the clans have been able to spend resources on the country's infrastructure.

The Arkivon's direct mandate from the Thane has allowed the organisation to expand their influence to the four corners of the clanlands. Over the last century, the Arkivon engineers have developed safe trading routes across Alven, ensuring a healthy flow of goods, notably between east and west as well as to northern regions such as Farden.

Roads, Inns and Stables

Stable Inn in Glasneuk - Sutherlands (image by bbhowdy)

With so many far-flung outposts, the Arkivon needed a reliable messaging system, and this is how the The Circle of the Billet was created fifty years ago. The Circle is in charge of communication between posts throughout Alven.

They employ local squads of journeymen to maintain the roads, called the Road Squad. Every village, every hamlet, has a Road Squad. The local Arkivon outpost ensures the Road Squad keeps the roads open and in good shape.

In addition to roads, the Arkivon have established stables at strategic points of the road network. Local outposts are built with decent-sized stables to accommodate the demands of the Billet Rider and their horses. Initially, Riders used to sleep and rest in small, cramped bedrooms built above the stables for that purpose. However, most of the Billet Stables soon grew in size to become inns. This explains why so many inns are called the Stable Inn or the Billet Inn throughout Alven.

The Billet's horses are bred specifically for speed and endurance. Most of the Billet Horses, as they are called, are bred and trained by Clan Hoershal, whose reputation for horse breeding is unmatched in Alven.

The Circle of the Billet

Initially, fully trained Arkivon Seers ran messages from one outpost to another. However, with the network expansion, the Circle also employs Billet Riders from outside the organisation. The non-Arkiven riders are recruited and managed by the Stewart of the Bill inside all Arkivon outposts. The Stewart also oversees the Road Squads.

The Stewart of the Bill is a junior position within the Arkivon. However, a few Stewarts are not what they seem. The position is ideal for collecting information on the local clans and/or spying on rival organisations.

Societal Changes

With such an effective means of communication on their doorstep, it was not long before the influential and powerful Clanbearers' families of Alven decided to avail themselves of the Bllet's network.

In addition, the Arkivon saw a golden business opportunity in leasing its facilities (stables, inns, even riders) to the wealthy clansmen. Within the last twenty years, the Billet has become available to organisations other than the Arkivon in exchange for hard cash.

Now, even wealthy merchants will regularly use the Billet under the guise of 'Clan business'. Some predict a time when the Billet will be made available to all and sundries.

A Billet Rider (P. Perav)