Field Naturalist

Monthly correspondence from the Pendleberry Archive, delivered by post.

It is my hope that these records find their way safely to you, wherever in the Outer Realm you may be reading them.

For many years, we believed the old correspondence routes between our realms had been lost forever. Imagine my delight when the first letters from the Outer Realm began arriving upon my desk once again.

Since then, I have made it my business to record as much of the Once Kingdoms as I am able, particularly our dragons, whose habits continue to surprise me no matter how many years I spend in their company.

Each month, Dragon Naturalists undertaking correspondence studies through Pendleberry Academy receive a parcel I have carefully prepared within the Pendleberry Archive, including:

• Illustrated Field Notes, documenting the latest dragon survey from somewhere within the Once Kingdoms.

• The Daily Pendleberry, a collectors' edition of the town newspaper, filled with local news, weather, notices and the occasional unexplained occurrence.

• A personal letter from yours truly, written from my desk at the Archive, or wherever the month's work has carried me.

• A collectible stamp, issued from a different corner of the Once Kingdoms each month.

• A Monthly Curiosity from the Archive, inspired by my latest discoveries and the current goings-on in Pendleberry and across the Once Kingdoms.

With your first dispatch only, you will also receive your Keeper's Record of Study.

Issued through Pendleberry Academy, this is your personal record of the studies you undertake as a Dragon Naturalist and Keeper of your Order.

Keep it somewhere safe, and record your work carefully.

Once your Record of Study is complete, you may present it to the Pendleberry Archive for formal recognition of your studies.

Every month's correspondence is folded, stamped and sealed in Pendleberry before beginning its journey across the old roads to the Outer Realm.

The Monthly Curiosity enclosed with each dispatch will change according to where the month has taken me and what has been unfolding here in Pendleberry. It may be something discovered during a survey, a sketch, a small object connected to a local happening, a replica from the Archive collections, or simply something curious I thought you ought to see.

One never quite knows what will prove important later, I rather find. Best to archive it swiftly.

It is my hope that, over time, your shelves will begin to resemble those of the Archive itself: a cabinet of curious things, a stack of well-thumbed field notes, and a growing collection of stamps from kingdoms many in the Outer Realm believe exist only in stories.

Do keep them well. They may be the only proof in the Outer Realm that the Once Kingdoms are still here, waiting just beyond the old roads.

It is a curious thing to hold in one's hands a letter that has travelled between worlds.

Happily, curiosity has always been my favourite flavour.

– Lune