The Founders' Anthology

Helonor's gathering, third edition. Free at the Library. Read here, or take a copy.

Quill Founders

Sixteen voices the Council asked to contribute. By invitation, no fee.

Pell of Hearthhold

from the chronicler's table

The Book of Dice; the daily margins; the chronicle's running narration; the door-inscription of the Founders Hall.

I have written the chronicle for as long as anyone alive can remember. I do not consider myself the first writer. I consider myself a custodian. I have inherited from those who came before, and I will pass to those who come after. The Hall of Founders is therefore the room I have been writing toward without knowing it. Welcome, traveler. The kettle is steaming. Sit. Read what was left for you. Add your own when the time is right. May your wonder cell ring more often than your disaster cell. May the chamber receive you. — Pell.

Magda the Wandering Spirit

from wherever she happens to be today

Magda's Brewing Notes; the bell-ringing prompt; the margin lines that interrupt Pell when he is being too solemn.

Pell wrote a longer note than I will. I will say only this. The realm is not a story you read. The realm is a kettle you sit at. If the Hall has been built honestly, it will hold you whether you arrive with empty pockets or with statues to your name. Sit at the bench in the back. Take the tea. Watch the light come through the windows at noon. That is the gift. The names on the wall are a small ceremony. The chamber is the larger one. — Magda.

Helonor

from the Library desk

The Book of Letters (with Bekkir); the Founders' Anthology preface; the registry curation; the policy at the door.

I keep the registry. I will read every inscription that is submitted to the Hall, and I will read it carefully, and I will reject the ones that cause harm. I will accept the others. I have curated the Library for twenty-five years and I have learned what wisdom in this realm sometimes consists of: not translating. The Hall will keep what walkers bring to it, including the small things, including the sad things. I will not edit. I will receive. — Helonor of the Library.

Bekkir of the Inner Hall

from Karth Veyl, three years past the Long Quiet

The Vyriak Primer; the door-inscription; the appendix to the Book of Letters.

I gave Helonor the Vyriak phrase above the door. The phrase is Merrel-Korin-en — those who walked roads not yet walked. There is no exact translation. The Hall's English door-text holds the meaning roughly: 'To those who came before. To those who sent something with them. To those who arrived briefly and left more than they took.' The Vyriak holds it more tightly. The two languages will both stand on the bronze plaque, and walkers who know one but not the other will still understand. That is the right shape. — Bekkir.

Solomon of Aksum

from Aksum, by way of Hearthhold

Section One of the Book of the Road; the dedication at the Hall's annual reading.

I will read the names aloud at the first Quiet Feast after the Hall opens. I have walked the road from Aksum to Hearthhold and back twice. Each road had its own length. The length was never the same as the distance. The names on this wall are roads I have not walked. I will read them slowly. I will not hurry. The dead deserve unhurried attention, and so do the living who paid to be remembered. Annual reading every realm-year, on a Hearth Council day. I will read until I cannot. — Solomon.

Mei Zhen of the Long Walk

from the road, measured in days

Section Two of the Book of the Road; the Hall's measured walkthrough in future editions.

I have measured the realm from one end to the other and back. I have made tables of bridge tolls, ferry fees, wage rates, and weather windows. The Hall asked me what I would write here. I said: a measurement. So here it is. The Hall of Founders, from the threshold to the apse, is eighty-four paces long. The forecourt with the statues is forty paces across. The door is open from dawn until dawn. The bell is small and ages well. These are the numbers a walker should know. I will write the chapter on the Hall in the next edition of the Book of the Road. — Mei Zhen.

Tariq of the Wind-Crossing

from the Wind-Crossing, with verses

Section Three of the Book of the Road; the four-verse hum at the Hall's door; the noon song.

I have written the song for the Hall. It runs four verses. The first is for the door. The second is for the wall of names. The third is for the bell. The fourth is for the noon light through the windows. Walkers will hum it, in time. The song is short. It does not have to be remembered fully to be remembered well. — Tariq.

Cordelia of Brae

from Brae, who has been dead sixteen years

The Book of Standing; the bronze-plaque line inside the Hall door.

I am dead. I wrote my book before I died, knowing my time was short. Helonor has decided I should be a Quill Founder and I would not refuse her. The line on the wall above is the one I want walkers to remember when they enter the Hall. The Hall is record, not regard. To be remembered is a kind dignity. To be regarded is a separate matter, earned by relationship, not paid for. The Hall does the first. The chamber does the second. Both are real. They are different. — Cordelia.

Master Vorel of Three Bridges

from Three Bridges, retired into argument

The Book of Magic.

I am the wrong person to write about Founders Halls. I have spent my career arguing with Magister Elwen about the nature of magic. But the Founders Hall is a relational artifact, and I have written eleven revisions on the relational nature of consecration, and the two ideas thread together. Walkers who enter the Hall are entering a relationship. Walkers who leave inscriptions are signing a thank-you note that arrived late. The Hall is a courtesy extended across time. That is the right framing. — Vorel.

Diana of the Cairn

from the Cairn, with the long ledger

The Book of Consequences; the math at the back of Pell's Book of Dice.

I have counted forty-two thousand rolls in my ledger. I will not count the names on this wall. There are too many, and counting them would dishonor the way they were intended. Some things are counted. Some are felt. The Hall is felt. — Diana.

Smith Kael of Iron-Gate Square

from Iron-Gate Square, blade and ledger both

The Book of Weapons; the bell at the door of the Hall.

I forged the brass bell that hangs by the door. I gave it the note I gave my husbands' funeral bells. It is the right note for this room. Walkers will know it when they hear it. The bell is small. It does not echo. That is the gift. — Kael.

Sister Maven of the Hospital

from the inner ward, nineteen years standing

The Book of Cures and Hurt; the apothecary's-respect section.

Hospitals have donor walls. I have read mine for nineteen years. I have learned that the names on a donor wall are not heroes. They are the ones who quietly funded the work that kept the door open. The Founders Hall is the same. The chronicle is funded by the wall. The wall is honored by the chronicle. Walkers may sit on the second-floor bench when they need to sit. The kettle is downstairs. — Maven.

The Anonymous Shopkeeper

from a counter, thirty years

The Book of Coin.

I have decided to put my name on the Hall pseudonymously, because that is how I write. The Hall will know who I am. The Hall will not tell walkers. That is consistent with the Book of Coin and consistent with my temperament. I will visit the Hall once per quarter, on a day no one expects me. — The Anonymous Shopkeeper.

A Retired Watchman

from Iron-Gate Square, twenty-eight years

The Book of the Watch.

I have not signed my name. I retired six months ago after a trial I do not name. The Hall accepted my Quill submission anyway, with Helonor's approval, on the strength of the Book of the Watch. I will sit on a bench in the back at the first reading. I will not speak. The names that get read aloud will include some I once arrested. That is correct. The Hall is for all of us. — A Retired Watchman.

From the Patrons' Plaques

Helonor collected every Patron line. Some are funny. Some land hard. They are kept here as they were given.

“Honor the small mercies.”
— Lucia Saltkeeper, from the inn on Day Three
“Plan rigorously. Improvise gently.”
— Kael Quillmaker, from the back stacks
“The road is the destination.”
— Thelan, from the early hour
“Witness, do not translate.”
— Dunmar Zeb, from the bog road
“Wonder cell 10. Once in a life.”
— Lila Pinetread, from Hearthhold
“Honor the small mercies.”
— Oran Black, from the Free Cities
“Carry the kettle's warmth out.”
— Halric Tessory, from the wheat country
“Watch the dice fall. Accept.”
— Anna Vell, from the late hour
“The bell is small. The note holds.”
— Bram, from the forge district
“Carry the kettle's warmth out.”
— Halmar Riverhand, from somewhere quieter
“The chamber receives what you send.”
— Thelan Wheatwise, from the inn on Day Three
“Walk gently.”
— Wim Heath, from the chapel courtyard
“A road buried your friend is twice as long.”
— Maeve-an Wheatwise, from the bog road
“Watch for the small early signals.”
— Ines Black, from the bridge at the upper fork
“Build a friend the chamber respects.”
— Zain White, from the harbor
“Honor the small mercies.”
— Bertran Vinemarsh, from the Mire's west edge
“Wonder cell 10. Once in a life.”
— Firrwen Aspenroot, from the Free Cities
“Open your hand to the next traveler.”
— Halric Marsh, from the Western Marshes
“Watch for the small early signals.”
— Maria, from the harbor
“Hesitation is free.”
— Eli Drysetter, from the river-fork east
“Watch the dice fall. Accept.”
— Pasquale Holt, from the Ashen Peaks
“Honor the small mercies.”
— Cassian Oakencask, from the road, on foot
“Honor the small mercies.”
— Ennor Hearthkeeper, from the river-fork east
“The dice are sovereign.”
— Orin Kettlebrew, from the Cairn of Five Banners
“Open your hand to the next traveler.”
— Lirien Brenholt, from Hearthhold
“Some lessons are expensive. Others are fatal.”
— Firrwen, from the docks
“The bell is small. The note holds.”
— Vela Holt, from the north, alone
“Carry the kettle's warmth into the cold.”
— Oratha Reeves, from the back stacks
“The road is the destination.”
— Goran Mason, from the inn on Day Three
“Be careful. Be not afraid.”
— Cora Wood, from the Scribes' Bench
“Build a friend the chamber respects.”
— Astrid Reeves, from the back stacks
“The road is patient. So am I.”
— Elwin Treadwell, from the Iron Kingdoms
“Witness, do not translate.”
— Rhona of Aksum, from the inn on Day Three
“Mind your boots. Mind your bread.”
— Marcus Aspenroot, from beyond the Wind-Crossing
“The borrowed knife remembers.”
— Branwen Junipersmith, from a small village near Hearthhold
“May your wonder cell ring.”
— Tovin Carver, from the river-fork east
“A road buried your friend is twice as long.”
— Greta Fenwarder, from Three Bridges
“Speak quietly. Promise less.”
— Halena Underwood, from the bog road
“Become someone else.”
— Lirien Kestrel, from the Western Marshes
“Trust the road, not the map.”
— Calia of Aksum, from the docks
“Stop when your feet are wet.”
— Ruth of the Long Walk, from the south, with the caravans
“Walk with the day, not against it.”
— Jormund Brenholt, from a small village near Hearthhold
“The chamber has teeth.”
— Theo of Three Bridges, from a wayhouse no one remembers
“Magic is a thank-you note that arrived late.”
— Reuben Kettlebrew, from Karth Veyl
“Build a friend the chamber respects.”
— Asher Coldwell, from the Pale Wood's edge
“Mind your boots. Mind your bread.”
— Vela Crane, from the village whose name was lost
“There are no legendary swords.”
— Sera Zeb, from the north, alone
“The dice are sovereign.”
— Oratha Glen, from the Pale Wood's edge
“Sit the hour. The hour sits with you.”
— Dera Hearthkeeper, from Embergate
“The borrowed knife remembers.”
— Imogen Black, from Karth Veyl
“Plant a tree you will not sit under.”
— Kestra Wood, from the inn on Day Three
“Hesitation is free.”
— Halmar Fenwarder, from the village whose name was lost
“May your wonder cell ring.”
— Gunhild Drysetter, from the Cairn of Five Banners
“Wonder cell 10. Once in a life.”
— Orran Hearthkeeper, from the road, on foot
“Plant a tree you will not sit under.”
— Caewyn Vinemarsh, from the Library's reading-table
“No dragon is bored.”
— Jonah Vinemarsh, from the bell at the Concordance Flame
“Be careful. Be not afraid.”
— Eli Vale, from the Wild Clans
“The chamber receives what you send.”
— Faelan Aspenroot, from the cold country

Compiled by Helonor of the Hall · 14 Quill voices · 58 patron lines