The annual clerical summit of Becio has come and gone. For the first time, the event was held in Northern Becio, the side of the twin city more friendly toward the Saibhrean Isles merchants. In an unprecedented move, the hosts gave equal time to the bards of the Isles that they gave to the academic clerics. Because of this, the bitter rivals Professor Cesario de Torium and Professor Recamundus de Gelgadongo managed to find common ground after months of spiteful rhetoric tossed back and forth.
Below is the first communication between the two clerics after their fateful meeting that would mark the very beginning of their friendship which lasted the rest of their lives.
Revered Professor Recamundus,
Allow me to begin anew with our correspondence. After reading with new eyes the first letter I sent to you at the Academie, I must at last admit I was excessively critical with my initial concerns about your poetry. Perhaps if I had attempted to come to the defense of a fellow student of literary pursuits, rather than allowing myself to get caught up in the hysteria of the question of the merit of your work, I would have seen the words you carved from that event more clearly. It is with an encumbered mind that I must admit the blindness in my approach to your words, and for that I apologize greatly.
As you are well aware, I do not carry a reputation of light-hearted reception of the work of some who would consider themselves my contemporaries. Quite simply put, I pride myself on the work I have done in my lifetime to understand the greatest words spoken and placed on parchment, and to carve out for my own words a place amongst their achievements. I have seen others rise and fall in their acclimation and prestige, and none of them have stood the true test of the ages. For this reason, I have taken time to once again review all of the known literature from your life that is held within the library of Torium.
It is as if a veil has been lifted from my eyes, and for the first time I can see the truth and beauty in your words.
Your poetry has aged like a fine Gorzovan red, with every note contained within speaking another truth to my palate. I have vastly under-estimated your worthiness as a cleric and as an academic because I feared the topics you were willing to cover would stray too close to the emotional jabbering of the Saibhrean bards, but after witnessing first-hand what their ilk were actually like, I now know I could not have been farther from the truth. Instead, your work stands out as a great example of a new variant of our classical style, and it deserves all of the praise that it has gotten and more so.
Know that from the moment I saw you speak the truth of your poem at the forum in the Floundery, as you called it, that you have gained a new believer in your craft. I am terribly sorry I could not have seen it sooner, and I would hope that you would at your convenience accept my invitation to come to Torium and we can continue our discussions that ended much too soon.
P.S. Please note that now that I have appreciated the mastery you are capable of writing, I shall still watch your work and let you know if I feel any of it falls short of that level of achievement in the future. I feel it is my duty to do so, so that when we have gone from this world, your words will also persevere through the ages.
Your friend, Cesario
