Dear Gwen,

When I first realized I was meeting actual Venatori, I wasn’t sure what to think. I’d always heard a lot of conflicting reports about the Venatori and who and what they’re supposed to be. Some people say Venatori are useless and have no place in the Empire anymore. Others say they’re a necessity because there are still monsters out there. Before, I hadn’t really thought about any of that much. I’d never seen a monster in my life and figured I probably never would, even though I thought I wanted to. Then all that stuff happened, and we all know how that ended up.

Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I think you and Caiden must be pretty awesome to do what you do. Remember I’m a knight now, so that’s pretty high praise, by the way. I’ve read about monsters a lot, even though my father seems to think it’s all pretty silly and sometimes even childish. You know, fairytales and stuff. Sometimes I think he tries to keep me away from it. In any case, I never thought I’d see the real thing. They still haunt me, how creepy those beastmen looked and how they moved. An animal that walks upright and talks just isn’t normal at all. Doesn’t feel right somehow, like they really shouldn’t exist outside maybe some fay nightmare. I can’t imagine facing things like that as often as you probably do.

But hey, enough rambling about that, right? Scary monsters or not, bumping into Venatori at just the right time was a lucky break for me. I know I have you and Caiden to thank – you know, in part, at least – for my knighthood. I never could’ve done it without you. And the troll afterward was like a bonus.

Hope you’re hanging in there. Go on any fun hunts lately?

Yours sincerely,

Sir Tom Vincent Drake, Dragon-Blooded