The spring rains, Lillet Blan thought, might have brought the promise of rebirth and renewal for the land with them, but in the capital they were just as gray and dismal as those that fell in autumn. The downpour hammered on the pointed roof of the tower room like thunder, to the point that had there been any actual thunder it might well have been drowned out. Chilly drafts blew in the open windows, and occasionally sprays of water accompanied a particularly forceful gust.
"I appreciate your spending the time to hear me out on this, Mage Consul," Lillet's gray-bearded companion said. Royal Magician Lars Aquavit certainly looked the part of a wizard, with his steeple hat and long robe festooned with astrological charms, though his broad-shouldered build and square, hard features always gave Lillet the impression that he was a soldier or laborer dressed up as a magician for a masquerade.
"Not at all. The idea of using magical familiars to convey messages over long distances, much faster than the mail coaches or a courier, could be very useful. Not only would it benefit people, but if it ever became within the reach of less-skilled magicians it would be the kind of thing that would allow magic to start taking its place as an ordinary craft in society, an accepted part of mundane life."
Aquavit stroked his beard, thinking that over.
"I hadn't quite thought of it that way, but you've got a good point. Of course, this particular Rune is a little beyond the average hedge-wizard's level of ability, but the general principles..."
"And even at that level it could still be of service to the government, for urgent diplomatic or military communications. Or to merchant houses and joint-stock companies. Knowing the market prices in Albion or Lusatia might be the difference between rich profits and heavy losses."
"That it could." He said it heavily, probably because he hadn't thought of the kind of messages people would send with his idea. As a role, magicians tended to be scholars and introverts, for whom social and political considerations were afterthoughts. Lillet herself had been that way, something her commoner origins hadn't helped, but her time as a Royal Magician had proven to be quite an education. She still wasn't comfortable with her present role as Mage Consul, but then again who would be? "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown," and all that, which she supposed applied to ministers of said crowned head's Grand Council as well.
Thankfully, Aquavit distracted her from those thoughts before they started becoming depressing.
"Ha! There it is," he cried, and pointed out one of the windows. At first Lillet saw nothing, but then caught sight of a spark of orange light. It rapidly grew nearer, until with a flutter of wings a large bird rushed through the open aperture and settled neatly on a perch fixed near the room's center. It looked much like a large bird of prey like the gyrfalcons in the royal mews, but its plumage was a fantastic riot of reds and oranges shading through brilliant blues and pure whites. It was the various colors of flame, the hottest hues near its breast shading to the coldest by its wing-tips.
Ordinarily, the phoenix would have looked magnificent, but the rain had taken its toll, leaving it a mass of bedraggled, sodden feathers.
"Poor thing; it looks like a drowned rat," Lillet sympathized.
"Do not worry; the message pouch is made of waterproof oilskin to keep it safe." Aquavit pointed to the band on the phoenix's leg and the shiny, dark material of the small packet affixed to it.
"That's good, but is the bird all right?"
The phoenix shifted on its perch, then flapped its wings twice. Incandescent fire roared up, wreathing the bird and flowing over its body, sending plumes of steam hissing into the air. The flames vanished, and the now perfectly dry creature settled back and preened.
Ashes trickled down over the perch and drifted like snowflakes to the floor. The two magicians stared speechlessly for a moment, before Lillet found her voice.
"Master Aquavit?"
"...Yes?"
"I think before you try this again, you should figure out a way to also make the pouch fireproof."