Canon: Remove if not applicable.Astolphe remained in contact with Gralat, even after he returned home. As promised, he sent letters, and although Gralat’s writing was stilted and lacking practice or finesse, he did receive the replies he had been promised, without fail.
With his letters, Astolphe sent Gralat flowers that he pressed between the pages of heavy tomes. Sometimes he sent him books, mainly about warfare but also some prose depicting tales of adventure, or historical volumes that held descriptions of famous battles. Gralat wrote his honest opinions about the books, though he was not as avid a reader as Astolphe, and it took time for him to get through even one book. He would always be sent a new one, once he was finished, and those books were kept in Gralat’s own room, instead of in the family library or his mother’s office. Inside the books, Astolphe usually wrote a short note.
Gralat didn’t have anything in particular that he could send in return, but Astolphe understood that. He knew of Ellvaldez’s state, and knew that they did not have much to offer. Gralat did, in each letter, usually include an old folk tale or legend, or a relation of something that had happened, stories of the harsh mountains and the people who lived by tooth and nail in the most treacherous region of the Empire.
But Astolphe did receive one gift that he greatly treasured. It was only a simple bookmark, made out of cloth, but it was embroidered with care. The image was that of a snowdrop. A tassel that matched the stitching was attached to the top of the bookmark. Gralat had made it, specifically for Astolphe, and that was worth more than anything else that he possibly could have sent him.
They were unable to visit each other, because they couldn’t go alone at their age, but they had plans for the future.
Some years passed by that way, but abruptly, Astolphe stopped sending letters.
Because the war came, and the Empire took everything from him. He was unable to save any items, just as he was unable to save any person; all he could do was flee for his life as his past burned to ashes behind him.
It was only months later that Gralat heard about the demise of his friend’s household, and he was left believing that Astolphe was dead as well.
Until Zehir Zaganos emerged from Türkiye. It was a relief to see him alive, and a sorrow to see him reappear as an enemy.
It would take nearly two decades before they would meet again. And by then, things would never be able to be the same ever again.