Blackwater
Veteran
September 17, 1422
To the Illustrious Barone Deliquant, Lord of Jamiche Castle:
Greetings and Salutations! First, allow me to extend my congratulations to the expedition team you recently sent out under the command of Captain Antonin. I am elated to hear that they were able to return from their voyage to the New World with new information regarding that fascinating area of the world. In particular, it is reassuring to hear that a professional cartographer accompanied the crew and was able to more accurately map out much of the region, which will hopefully increase our understanding of the west. It is also my understanding that they returned with a new shipment of artifacts, for which I am certain the Museum of Zendar will pay handsomely for the opportunity to study.
Now, I also understand that in light of the new information you received, you have some questions and doubts as to the descriptions that I put down in my diary regarding my adventures in the New World. I would like to address these personally in an attempt to explain why some of the information contained within might seem confused or inaccurate when compared to this most recent voyage.
First, based on this new information, it seems readily apparent to me that the journey that I was a part of did not explore the entirety of the New World, but rather some of the outlying islands and part of the southern coast of the New World. Please note that at no point did I claim that we had discovered all of the New World. However, even then some of the information contained in my diary does appear to be inaccurate, and this is what I would like to address.
My descriptions of some of the early islands are based on information I gleaned from looking over the shoulder of then-First Mate Basim. You will note that the islands of Nova and Coats, in particular, are fairly accurate when compared with their current counterparts on the map. I note that New Praven has not been noted on the map, and this is because I believe I was confused when they were named. You see, it is my belief that what I called Nova is currently a small unnamed island on the map, and that the new Nova is what I claimed to be New Praven. Now, it is my understanding that on none of these islands did you find the lost city that I discovered during my own travels. The simple explanation for this is that you simply did not encounter it and that it remains in the jungle, hidden once more from the prying eyes of explorers.
However, to address a further point, you also claim that your own adventurers discovered a city similar to the one that I described on the main continent, a ways inland. First of all, I am ecstatic to hear this, as it gives us the chance to study another city and compare the two cities to see if they are indeed part of the same culture. Your linguist, however, claims that he spoke with local natives who also called the city Izto. I understand that this must be confusing to you, but there are a number of potential explanations. Perhaps Izto is simply a regional name for city, which differs from the Acztaoc word. Perhaps Izto were the name of the people, as they are, from what I can tell, a separate and distinct people from both the Acztaocs and the wild cannibalistic natives. Perhaps Izto was the name of some ruler that founded both cities. I cannot say for certain without further study, but the possibilities are exciting to consider.
With regards to the islands of Fernandina and Santiagon, I would like to remind you that during that portion of my journey, we were undergoing a mutiny and everyone was confused. Based on your description of Santiagon, however, it is my belief that the two islands I described are one and the same, and that in the confusion, we were turned around with regards to sailing and ended up landing on the same island twice by mistake. I would also like to remind you that I was delirious with fever at the time and was more focused on that than on descriptions of the islands we were exploring.
As for our adventures with the Acztaocs, I was a novice navigator at the time, and I was allowing our native guides to lead the way. I am ashamed to say, I was not keeping careful track of our progress, as I felt our guides understood the lay of the land far better than we did. I understand that you wonder how I could confuse an entire continent with an island, as I described our journey to Axtihuatl as traveling overland on another island, but I would like to remind you that we spent most of the journey aboard a ship and then traveling deep in the jungle; I would then suggest that you spend days buried deep in foliage so thick you can barely see the sky and tell me if you are standing on an island, a continent, a plateau, or what have you.
With regards to the return trip, I once again would like to remind you that I am, at best, a novice navigator and have no experience with cartography. The most reasonable explanation I can give as to the other islands I discovered is that I mistook islands we had already explored for new islands and incorrectly named them as such. You have mentioned, in fact, that I believed Aeric to have landed on one of the islands we discovered. Based on the new information we received, I will readily admit that I was almost certainly mistaken and that he instead explored some of the islands much further north, which considering his own point of departure and return seems far more likely. As stated above, I have very little experience with navigation. Frankly, the fact that we returned to Yalen rather than Zendar should be a clear indication of my poor navigation skills as well as the expertise of Captain Basim; given my own amateurish attempts at guiding the ship, it's frankly a miracle that we did not end up in the Sarranid Sultanate or the Nordic lands.
Now, I would like to address your accusations that because I did not provide accurate descriptions of the New World, your men were ill-prepared for their journey, and that I am to blame for the loss of two-thirds of your crew. While I will agree that I did not accurately map the New World, nor was I aware of the size and scope of it, I also provided numerous indications of how dangerous the land was. Time and again, I explained that the native peoples are not to be underestimated, no matter how advanced our technology is in comparison to the native weaponry. I went into great detail about the dangers of foreign disease - which I understand your men contracted and which contributed to a fair few of them unfortunately perishing. I also went out of my way to try and document a few food sources that would allow others to survive, such as maize and some of the fruits one can find. It is hardly my fault, then, that your men were near starvation when they returned. And finally, and most importantly, I made it very, very clear that one should not attempt to establish a colony in the New World. I admire the courageous spirit of those that attempted this on their ill-fated journey, but frankly, a mere two hundred colonists would have stood no chance against a horde of angry natives and the perils of the jungle. You would have needed a far more robust starting population and more materials to create a solid fortress to even have a hope of lasting a year, much less fighting off the army of savages you encountered. Thus, while I am sorry to hear about the catastrophic death toll your men experienced, I have to say that it is no more my fault that your men died than it's a blacksmith's fault if one of his swords is used by another for murder. Less, in fact, since I explicitly warned against many of the actions you endorsed.
If you wish to persist in your accusations that I intentionally led your men to their deaths, then we can certainly settle this in a court of law. I would even invite the King of Rhodoks to arbitrate, and I am certain that I would win, since no judge or jury in the world would consider your complaints any more than an attempt to pin blame where there is none. If you do not wish to pursue a legal course of action, then Iwould like to request that you desist slandering me and my work and allow me to resume my studies in peace.
Once again, congratulations to your remaining men on their safe return, and my condolences to the families of those that were lost.
Yours Sincerely,
Isen of Aldeburgh
