Feather Writing

Written by Yerran

Feather Writing is a relatively new form of magic, having only existed in mainstream society for the last hundred years or so, though it has been used by magic users for a long time.

Inventor

It was finally brought into the public space by 'Chief Writer Adrian Featherfall' (self-appointed title). A young mage that struggled with most basic magics but found his gifts lay in the artistic manipulation of words and began with setting up a shop in 'The Towers of Valosh' in Rednan. He soon found that many wished for the ability to send messages faster than regular deliveries and across vast distances without interference.

After the success of his first shop, others began to appear across Lenwir, until almost every city and many of the major towns, now possess a 'Feather Writing' shop. Some government agencies have their own exclusive stations, but by the time they were adopted Adrian was unconcerned having made hundreds of thousands in gold coins and retiring to an extremely luxurious life in Goldrun, Nemir.

Utility

'Feather Writing' is an artistic magical form that allows a message to be scrawled onto any item, usually paper, though some places use stone or cloth if they are worried of the message being damaged in transit. This is done by those that work in the 'Feather Writing' shops or stations who are payed depending on the distance it must be delivered and the weight of the chosen material. The writer then uses magic to meld the words and the material into an animal of sorts, usually a bird and enchant it with protective wards and the ability to fly (the strength of the wards adds to the price). They then encode a destination and set it free. It will journey to its destination and revert to its original form, revealing the message. Usually destinations are other 'Feather Writing' stations or shops, but for an extremely high price it can be sent directly to a specific person or address should you supply an item of the person that belongs there.

Purpose

This process may sound complicated but it has developed because of the unreliability of other forms of communication. With planar realms sitting close to the mortal plane and cracks in reality caused by the Maelstrom, usual forms of magic communication like scrying through orbs or listening devices cause some form of infernal feedback, or often reveal aspects of different planes overlapping ours. This also happens with magic messages that usually pick up unknown voices or sounds from different planes. This problem doesn't often happen across smaller areas, but the further a message, scrying or listening must travel the more likely it will pick-up background or infernal interference.

Accessibility

In most major cities across Lenwir there now exists a 'Feather Writing' shop or station. Sometimes these are government run and sometimes they are privately run, but they are now used almost universally. There is some problems with certain remote outposts and dangerous climates as the messages can be damage on delivery, but with the chaos of the Maelstrom and the shifting planes, this form of communication if far more reliable than any other yet devised.

Feather Bandits

With the sudden shift in communication and the widespread use of this magical messaging system, many spies and agents suddenly found it very difficult to intercept and decode official documents. Some nations put great thought into how to interfere or target specific letters and documents, creating agencies to deal with this, and this is where the 'Feather Bandits' come in. They are a cabal of rogue mages that figured out how to target specific letters with a 20% success rate, one far beyond what the great nations have been able to, and have decided to charge for this service.

Flight Beyond Sight

Looking up you can scarcely see the tiny messages flapping furiously through the air. They are always small, the biggest about the size of a hand and usually meld seamlessly with the colour of the sky. They also move faster than any bird or creature, crossing large nations, like Sabal, in a days or two instead of weeks.