((OOC: I assume that was meant to be "Summer 1184"? Unless you want to start the correspondance in this thread more than a year before the story begins. If that is the case, I will rework the text accordingly. For now I assume that this is written in 1184.))
A letter delivered to the Koblenz townhouse, adressed to "Brother Abelard", near the end of Summer of 1184
My good Abelard,
It is good to hear from you, my friend. It is my hope that these words find you in good health and with the light of God warming your days.
I was happy to read that you will finally be able to settle down at your new community. Although I will miss the tales of your travels, it is good for the soul to settle down in a routine of prayers and contemplation, which from what little I know is difficult when travelling the roads. I sometimes envy you for the gift you receive of being able to do both, for that has aways been beyond my own strength. Perhaps some day I too will hear the calling to spread the Word by example amongst the children of the Allmighty.
Brother Gregory, may his soul rest in peace, had struggled for the last few years with his duties as librarian of the Abbey. I have discovered with some dismay that there were donations made to the library after the passing of the Lord of Eltz half a decade ago. I found a note regarding the donation, but no sign of the books themselves. It took me some weeks before those were found in the back of a store room. I have started sorting through this legacy, but work goes slowly as some of the books are quite old and must be handled with care. The day-to-day needs of our community also come first. And the copying of Enchiridion calls me.
Someday, perhaps you will tell me more about your scholars and their new community. It all sounds very mysterious to me, for I have heard little of them except what you have told me. Maybe one day I shall gather the courage and the will to visit you, if that is what God's will. But this may never happen, no matter how much I will it. As Augustine wrote in the Enchiridion: "Sometimes, however, a man of good will wills something that God doth not will, even though God's will is much more, and much more certainly, good—for under no circumstances can it ever be evil."[sup]1[/sup]
Your friend in God's embrace,
Clement
[sup]1[/sup] An actual quote from Enchiridion, passage 101 (in the chapter "The Triumph of God's Sovereign Good Will").