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Cher Journal,

I received and urgent letter from Pere today. The optiks house has received an order for several large luxary mirrors by a very notable aristocrat, he won't tell me who, but the delivery is a very short time table to support a planned soire of some nature. He is in need of my skills in mirror making and design and Fenn's in management of the workers to be able to meet this production deadline. I expect this will keep me occupied and away from Langeudoc for up to a fortnight. I am pleased to help Papa with such excellent, and profitable work, but I am naturally disapointed that I will not be able to pursue my own studies for a time at the Academie. I sense I am on the brink of new insights into the working of my adjustable mirror but that shall have to wait. It is the profits from these large jobs that allows my scientific endevours to be possible after all Fenn and I shall pack and leave tomorrow.

- E

Cher Journal,I have at last been formally accepted into the Academie of Science and Pierre has arrived at last with my precious crates! I was even more fortunate that Duc Panacek himself was at the academie when the cargo arrived. He expressed great interest in my work and I was very pleased to be so kindly received. I pray I can live up the expectations of so many great minds!I have already started unpacking, and although I've held my breath as we pried open each box thus far everything seems undamaged. At very least le Comte de Buffon's model mirror is intact which is the most precious thing to me of all of my experiments!- Evie

His Excellency, Dr. Franklin,We have heard that you have been once again elected President. Congratulations on your third win and presumably final year in the service to your state. I believe you indicated earlier that the constitution limited terms to 3 years.I write to you as the result of a delay by our esteemed friend, Madame Evie de Mailley Achemi, who was at last accepted to the Academie Royale des Sciences. As you know, her work is important for France to compete with the fine craftsmanship by the English instrument makers, who have far taken the lead in this area. Our poor directory of the Paris Observatory, Jean-Dominique, Comte de Cassini has tried in vain to find someone as capable as Madame de Mailley to produce optiks for his telescope. Alas, it is feared that the back roads in the Languedoc are in poor condition after yet another exceptionally harsh winter.This leads me to my concern that after speaking with Captians of ships that have sailed the world, that the earth continues to cool. It is as if we are experiencing a little Ice Age! Shipmasters have reported that glaciers at the foot of Franz Josef in the New Zealand Alps advanced into the rain forest in the last decade. Here in France, not only have the glaciers destroyed villages seemingly overnight, but we have experienced harsh weather that has destroyed crops, frozen our waterways as far south as the Languedoc and Provence, and consequently left many of our peasants dead.Last year was a good harvest year, but as you know, the government is severely in debt (needless to say that much of that was for your country's benefit). Our short-sited leaders encouraged exports of our grain reserves to other countries to help pay for the debt. Our farmers have yet to fully embrace the potato and enclosures as England has done, leaving us vulnerable should we experience yet another bad harvest year.It seems that our weather is dangerously unstable and could lead to mass food shortages, especially considering that our population has grown to an incredible 27 million! We can only hope that we do not experience another year as we did between 1693 and 1694 and again in 1709.Do you have any theories regarding this weather pattern? Are we to prepare ourselves for living in caves as many in Touraine have done?On a positive note, the day is crisp yet clear. The roads are drying, the fields are becoming green, and all signs of ice are now gone. We have seen many on a quest to find some broken shards of glass. Surely I am missing something, but my wife, the duchesse, has been sending them out and the people seem to be excited to swim underwater through caverns in near frigid temperatures, stand in mucky swamps, then track mud through the ballroom. Very odd behavior that can only be attributed to cabin fever.In any case, we are about to announce that we will resume the hefty RP$ prize for scientific achievements at the academy. Let us hope that Madame de Mailley finally makes it to the academy, since she is likely a leading contender, along with Dr. Adonis Adamski.Sincerely yours,Bedrich PanacekDuc de Coeur

Cher Journal,I received a disappointing letter from Pierre today. The snow and unusually hard freezes recently have sadly left the roads in poor condition with deep ruts that is forcing the cart to move very slowly so as not to crack a wheel. I was a little concerned about this possibility when Fenn and I rode back to the Langeudoc. While the weather was fair and allowed for brisk horseback I did note that roads have suffered deeply. He reports news of many carriage accidents and will take it slow so as not to risk my precious optiks. Pierre had further ill luck as the horse threw a shoe and he lost a full day getting to village with ferrier. He estimates it will be mid-week before he can reach us. I must be patient and hope for the best!- Evie

My dearest cousin,My hours have been filled with fruitless searching of a most frustrating sort. There has been announced a quest of the most robust proportions in the duchy of Coeur, and my susceptible soul has fallen to its mystery. I've searched high and far below for the first clue, but cannot get passed it's most obvious of inferences, though I have stumbled upon the fourteenth clue by mistake! Oh what puzzling will progress me through the next thirteen I do not know. I find myself lurking through sewers, taverns and stables in this quest. Pray for my poor soul in these sinful travels.Wish me luck, my dearest,Yours,J.

Cher Journal,I watched with care today as my optics tool were packed from my small workshop at the back of the mirror production house to be shipped to my new lab at the Academie of Science in Languedoc. Everything was packed with the usual care and handling I've come to expect from Pierre. I was pleased to find a time with good weather when father didn't have him shipping any new mirrors or goods to Paris this week and he even gave Fenn and I the family discount to ship my supplies! The lenses and tools are fairly hardy to pack and I will purchase tables and other general items from the well reputed shops in the Languedoc. I mostly wanted to personally oversee that the special mirror we are working on for le Comte de Buffon was packed carefully. The polish on the metal is very fine and it would be truly regrettable to scratch it at this stage of development. Fenn is working on new, finer pitched, adjustment screws for it as the trial one we have worked on do not have the range that I would like for this detailed work.Pierre said that the carts should arrive on Sunday so Fenn and I will have enough time to leisurely make it back to the Languedoc. I have my eye a lab on the second floor with closing doors and no fireplace. This should create a constant stable environment for my work without extra heat or air current (I must verify this hypothesis more later as I think it does affect the quality and variability of our finer products). There are some details I must still work out with the Duc regarding the lab but I hope that shall go smoothly. I do hope that my work will attract a patron or at least those interested in our other fine glass products as the membership fees for use of the Academie are going to be challenging for us bourgeoisie but I am certain the effort will be rewarding.- Evie

The Duché de Coeur announces its first RP Quest with a hefty RP$ Prize among the goodies to be found at the end. The Quest is expect to last several weeks and everyone is invited to partake in the fun!

We will be posting clues & information here so watch for more! Note that comments appear in reverse order so start from the bottom and read up.

I was so excited the other day to tour the gardens of Whitehall. Got to wear my blue and yellow baroque gown, and it felt so nice to wear my hair in ringlets instead of pouf!

Dearest Diary,We had quite an eventful Christmas at the Chateau. A beautiful snow had fallen and we awoke to a warm fire. Our party was full of cheer most the entire day. Late in the evening I had arranged to visit the poor in the village and bring fresh meats and cheeses. My niece, Princess Henrietta Marie, asked to stay behind. She looked quite pale and I thought the fire would do here well. Everyone gathered into the carriage and headed into Aquitaine from Touraine Coeur Ouest.I had been gone only an hour when my servant arrived on horseback to tell of Henrietta's poor health. She had fainted and the staff could not awake her! I quickly gathered my wits and called for a Duchy carriage. My party was to return in my household carriage after their visits. Grisham, my servant, informed me that Dr. Adonis Adamski had been called and was on his way with to tend to her health.

As we arrived at Chateau de Menars I ran quickly upstairs to her room where she lay pale as ghost! The house was in a great frenzy as the servants rushed to bring water. She had a terrible case of the vapors a few days prior but was quite well the eve of Christmas. I am afraid her travels from Luxembordeaux, in the damp weather, has brought this on. My brother should have known to send her earlier in the spring!Dr. Adamski arrived quickly with a potion that seemed to bring her health around. He was also kind enough to bring bread that brought color to her cheeks.

We are so thankful to the Duchy Doctor for his services. Thank goodness he was on call on Christmas! The doctor's fee was quite reasonable and I would recommend him highly. Though I hope my friends never need him!Mademoiselle is feeling better and sitting up for soup that her maid has brought her. I am afraid her entrance ball will have to be arranged for a date later than we had hoped. She is anxious to be received but I cannot risk her health.- Comtesse*this was all made possible with the Duchy RP system! quite a fun time (well not too fun for dear Henrietta!)*

Due to events in RL, both the director of the Academie Royale de Musique and the performer for this week's opening of the Duch de Coeur Opera House will be unavailable. Launcelot Tenebaum will be on hiatus for some time. However, Zachh Cale will return soon as one of the regular duchy performers. The Opera House Grand Opening will be rescheduled.