We have arrived in Sypher's court, and what a truly strange place it is. Goblins run rampant through the halls, uncontrolled and unchecked, and everyone seems quite in a hurry all the time. We have been shown to our requested space, which we are even now converting into our camp.

Sky and earth - not perfect, but quite adequate, I think.

And not without incident. We received a rather strange reception: a contingent of Sypher Knights to escort us the remainder of the way when we drew near. The Lord Chamberlain mentioned something of strange reports through the region of a creature, then seemed to think better of informing us; nevertheless, our battle dancers heard nothing but the normal whisperings of the night, so I suppose whatever this creature may be, it was not interested in our caravan.

This is certainly not the sort of reception we are accustomed to, as we were rather unceremoniously escorted to our space and left to our own devices. The Maistar alone seems unsurprised, as she has made this trip before; the rest of us were quite baffled.

We are to meet with the Royal Engineer as soon as our camps and equipment are set up; I estimate this to take less than two hours, so I suppose soon we shall be engrossed in innovation. The battle dancers are still on edge from the last leg of our journey, but I suspect even they shall soon relax and fall into their normal routines. Now we can only hope that our trip proves worthwhile.

We have traversed nearly all the land between our home and Sypher's court. The journey has been invigorating and exhausting all at once, though our seemingly tireless battle dancers have protected us from any creatures of dark and sorrow that threatened our progress. Though I have witnessed them in motion for many centuries, their graceful movements never get any less stunning - or any less fatal.

I cannot wait for our arrival at the gates. It shall be soon now, according to the cartographer. I have been quite remiss in documenting our journey, but truth be told, it has been largely free of incident. Some minor brutes and terrible wraiths have attempted to capture us in the night, but as I noted, our faithful battle dancers have protected us without a problem.

However, we did learn something quite unexpected of our sage leader. The Máistar shared with us a story of her youth around the stargazing apparatus last night, a story of her secret trip to Sypher's masquerade and the things which she learned there. She would not speak of how it all came to pass, nor of her adventures upon that night; all that she would tell us was her insistence on the idea of there being rules, unspoken and unheard but whispered on the wind. She seemed so desperate, so intent on getting some important message across to us, that we have never before seen her so impassioned. I am left wondering what it might be that the Máistar saw so long ago, and what it is she wishes to protect us from.

We will be setting camp for this night soon, and my scribing time is nearly at an end, as we must all assist in the setting up of the tents. I hope to write once more before we reach our destination, but we shall see.

Moídín Aislein
Starseeker of the Summer's Twilight
www.labyrinthmasquerade.com

I sent one last missive to the Lord Chamberlain before we departed. It follows here, in reply to what we last received.

Brightest Blessings to you, Lord Chamberlain,

We are leaving this very day, so quite soon now we may discuss these matters in person and with the full attention of our entire company. The Máistar herself shall be pleased to make your illustrious acquaintance and that of Lord Strider.

Thank you ever so kindly for your explanation of the Royal Engineer. Uncertainty is a strange feeling, and so it pleases us greatly to know a little more about the purpose of our long journey to your lands. We look forward to gazing upon his inventions, and carry with us the hope that he may help us improve greatly upon our stargazing devices.

I shall leave this missive brief, as I suspect you are quite busy with all that you must do in preparation, and join my brothers and sisters now as we make the last of our preparations and depart.

We look quite forward to meeting with you soon, and fear no beast or brute with our protectors close at hand. Thank you for all of your kind words, as before.

Moídín Aislein
Starseeker of the Summer's Twilight

Bright blessings to you, Lord Chamberlain,

It is a pleasure indeed to hear your assurances; though we are a private people by nature, our greatest concern is for our rather delicate equipment, which even the most well-meaning hands might by their good intentions set awry.

The Máistar is the Máistar - that is her title. This is a felicitous coincidence of language, as I believe you would consider her a "master" of her art, a rather similar-sounding word. Collectively we are the Moídín an Cruimme, and Moídín is a name which we all must take, much as you, David by name, have been blessed with the name of Lord Chamberlain through your great efforts and accomplishments, as all lord chamberlains must. In a sense, then, I suppose you might consider "Moídín" to be our title, though it is not precisely so, if it will aid you in your task.

Now it seems that it is my turn to request something of you. Might I inquire for more information regarding your strange little Royal Engineer? We are most anxious to meet with him, but find that we know little of his origins or methods.

With great regard,
Moídín Aislein
Starseeker of the Summer's Twilight

This missive was sent in reply to the Lord Chamberlain's latest message, which may be found here

We are almost ready to depart on our journey now. A few messengers have wandered astray along the way, and so our communications with the chamberlain of Sypher have been somewhat delayed. We had planned, alas, to be already upon our way. Nevertheless, it is a happy coincidence that our missives have been somewhat stalled, as some of the elders have decided not to make the journey after all, and so the Maistar has had to re-select a few members of the journeying party from among the rest of our number.

This bodes well for those of us who wish to stay awhile after our work is complete. Even our wise and careful Maistar may find it troublesome to deny the wishes of so many who would like to see this fabled masquerade ball. I must admit, I too am finding myself quite anxious to attend; perhaps the excitement of my brothers and sisters has infected me as well. The other day, I even overheard one of the youngest stargazers confiding her wish to be swept off her feet by a brave and handsome knight!

Perhaps we do need a bit of excitement and adventure from time to time. Perhaps the Maistar will allow us to stay a bit later than planned after all.

Moídín Aislein
Starseeker of the Summer's Twilight
www.labyrinthmasquerade.com

Below is our reply to the Chamberlain's second missive, which we received some days ago and have since sent a reply to. The preparations are nearing completion.

Salutations to you, honorable Lord Chamberlain,

We have heard many wondrous things of your Lord Strider and look forward to at last making his acquaintance ourselves; it is a pleasure indeed to hear that our words have been received so well.

For our encampment, we require very little - sky and earth; we wish to maintain our close ties to the earth while also maintaining a clear view of the night skies. On all other matters of our stay in your noble court, we are quite satisfied with the space for our camp and overjoyed to hear that this is possible. Though we are truly honored by the invitation of such spacious quarters within your realm, we are, as I have mentioned, largely self-sufficient, and accustomed to spending most of our time within our camp. Please, trouble yourself not, or if it would please you, offer our allotted space to an honored guest that wishes more space for their revels.

We are again touched and humbled by your care with respect to our protocols and forms of address, but truly we have dedicated ourselves so completely to the study of the stars that we utilize little in the way of either. We request a certain degree of privacy for our encampment, and Maistar Algiyvn may be addressed by the title already provided, or simply as "Maistar," but other than that, we are quite content to focus on our work. The night sky provides an infinite array of possibilities that keeps us ever dreaming of its latest mysteries.

Thank you once more for your kindness and your efforts on our behalf,
Moídín Aislein
Starseeker of the Summer's Twilight

As I write a reply to the Sypher chamberlain’s latest missive, I begin to realize how little we truly know of this place to which we plan on journeying. Certainly, we know the odd rumor, and are vaguely aware of the uncertainties of others - the lineage of Sypher’s Lord Strider certainly seems a heated topic among the sylphs - but who can glean the truth from so much falsehood and speculation?

And so, here is that of which we are already aware:

The court of Sypher is run by Lord Strider, who seems to be of dubious (but nonetheless, it is suspected, ultimately honorable) origins. He is served by the Lord Chamberlain and some manner of guard.

Sypher’s realm contains a great deal of goblins, which leads one to suspect that their laws and customs are quite tolerant, as how otherwise would those mischievous little creatures last even one solitary week without imprisonment or exile?

Many creatures from many realms attend this annual masquerade. What goes on there, only the Máistar knows, and she will not speak of her remembrances.

I should remember to ask the chamberlain for more information if the subject comes easily within a missive. This one is sealed and all but sent, and so perhaps it will be the next one, or the one after. . .

And you, our fair new friends in this strange place, have you any information to provide us with?

Moídín Aislein
Starseeker of the Summer's Twilight
www.labyrinthmasquerade.com

A few days ago, we finally received the long-awaited missive from the Lord Chamberlain. After exercising all due care and etiquette, we have sent this reply in return.

Greetings to you, honorable Lord Chamberlain,

The Moídín an Cruimme are most touched by your missive, and by your efforts on our behalf. It pleases us to impose as little as possible upon the resources of others, and thus I believe you shall find us largely self-sufficient. Indeed, we need only a bit of outdoor space within which to set up our encampment and nothing more.

Our only personage of note is our esteemed ambassador and leader, Máistar Algiyvn. Though we quite appreciate your efforts to accommodate our ways in even this regard, we do not place much emphasis on ranks aside from that already mentioned, so please trouble yourself not on our account.

We have been given to understand that the court of Sypher is expanding its realms as we prepare for our journey, and wish you all the finest prospects and new discoveries within that great task.

With gratitude,
Moídín Aislein
Starseeker of the Summer's Twilight

Gazing at the sky tonight, I saw something strange. A movement, of sorts, at first not unlike a comet or a meteor, but then... I hardly know how to describe it. Its movement suggested some sort of pattern, a strange little dance that stars are certainly not meant to do, but it disappeared before I could properly note and describe it. In its last moments, I almost saw a woman, or perhaps several women, dark and terrible and well-armed. I almost certainly saw the Q no, nevermind what I thought I saw. I have spent many hours within our celestial archives and never before have I read of any similar occurences on record. Neither have any of the other stargazers seen anything like what I have witnessed this night.

Defeated and puzzled, I asked the Máistar, and perhaps it was the moonlight, or my fevered imagination, but she seemed to grow somewhat paler. Recovering her composure quickly, as is her way, she simply stated that all will likely come into focus once Sypher's little goblin lends us his inventiveness and makes our equipment see further and more precisely.

I can only hope that all comes to pass in this fashion, as I find myself more than a little unnerved by what I have seen. Perhaps I was imagining it all; perhaps I stayed at the observatory far later than appropriate, and a small piece of my dream came to claim me when I did not come to it in time. Stars do not dance, nor do they have bodies. They are born, they glimmer, they sparkle, they fall, they grant wishes, they burn out, but stars do not dance, nor move in such a seemingly deliberate fashion.

Do they?

Moídín Aislein
Starseeker of the Summer's Twilight
www.labyrinthmasquerade.com

Today, the Máistar announced that we are to journey to the court of Sypher. We have heard stories of a strange little goblin whose creations might enable us to better see the stars we treasure, and this we certainly must see. It has been decided to document this rather strange adventure by means of a journal, and this documentation is here to be my happy task.

This is not only my first time as a scribe but also the first that I will venture out into the lands beyond the Summer's Twilight. There is as much apprehension as there is excitement here and perhaps, through friends and allies, we might learn more of these strange and distant lands.

I have been told to expect communications from Lord Strider's chamberlain, and so I shall.

Moídín Aislein
Starseeker of the Summer's Twilight
www.labyrinthmasquerade.com