Receiving news across the sea(1)

Alpheo sat in his workroom, the dim glow of a single lantern casting flickering shadows on the stacks of parchment spread across his heavy oak desk. He took a slow sip of honeyed milk, the warmth of the drink fighting against the bitter chill that crept through the stone walls of Yarzat's citadel. It was December, and winter had settled upon the city, its icy fingers slipping through every crack, seeping into the bones of those unprepared. 

Before him lay reports—documents detailing the state of the capital's crime under his rule. Alpheo's sharp eyes traced the carefully inked lines, reading the accounts of arrests, and reports about how criminality crackdown was going. The situation had improved, but the city had been a festering pit of lawlessness before his arrival.