Contact: Communicate with (someone), typically to give or receive specific information

-

Somehow, Peter and Edmund leaving marks a change. A change in Caspian's and Sanya's education, yes, but also in their connections to the outside world.

Professor Kirke no longer lets Caspian and Sanya do as they please whenever they please. Sanya had adamantly refused to be subjected to any more schooling than she already had — yet again, Caspian is in awe of her.

Edmund's first letter is to Sanya, although she shows him a bit at the end addressed to him. All things considered, it's a nice thing to do. Caspian catches barely a glimpse of the rest of the letter, all love declarations and rambling updates. The part to him reads, "I know Caspian's learning history and English and that sort of thing — gosh, I hope I'm right—" —he was— "so tell him not to be surprised if Peter sends him a letter about it.  My foolish brother focuses on the things he'll need for medicine, and obviously I agree with the whole learn-in-school-what-you-need-for-the- rest-of-your-life idea, but it's hurting his grades. Don't tell Peter I told you that, though. Just... tell Caspian not to be surprised if there's a letter from Peter for him."

Even knowing that Edmund's words could prove true, Caspian is still... not shocked, exactly, but it's more of a feeling where you know that something is going to happen and yet it doesn't feel real until you're in the moment.

Peter's handwriting is more messy than Caspian would have expected it to be, enough so that he can't make out the blacked out pieces.

Caspian,
Edmund told me you're studying the arts. I̶ ̶h̶o̶p̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶'̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶C̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶I̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶e̶l̶p̶ Would you mind helping me a bit? I don't particularly find my knowing those sorts of things necessary, but my professors are saying that if I want to go into medicine I need to at least have 85s in my other u̶n̶r̶e̶l̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ less relevant classes. That means I have to have a "great understanding of the course curricula." So... there it is. I won't attach what I need to know here, that w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶s̶u̶m̶p̶t̶u̶o̶u̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶m̶e̶ wouldn't be fair to you; just know that I'd like your help assistance.
̶T̶h̶a̶n̶k̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶,̶
̶I̶ ̶h̶o̶p̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶r̶e̶p̶l̶y̶,̶
From,
Peter

The scribbled over bits nag at Caspian. He can't imagine what Peter could have crossed out that many times, Caspian doesn't know him well enough to sink into Peter's brain. He doesn't want to refuse though, not when he would get to discuss mythologies with someone other than Professor Kirke. He sits down — as soon as he can — when he has the time and energy to write his reply.

Peter,
Alright, I can help you. You mentioned mythology specifically. I know about the Norse, Egyptian, Roman, and Greek gods, though I ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶G̶r̶e̶e̶k̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶s̶t̶ am most familiar with the Greeks. Although they could be complicated, there's a certain theme — pattern, maybe? — to most of the myths. To be perfectly honest, the theme is often the gods being fickle and prideful.
Even if mythology is a small part of your studies, I ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ can help you with other things as well.
From,
Caspian

Peter pauses, gazing at the sign-off. There's no blacked out words before it. So Caspian didn't have any qualms about putting only 'from'. Peter remembers staring at the paper for what felt like ages before deciding also on 'from', but Caspian's letter is short and almost impersonal except for the single line about the gods. He stops himself from making a note to discuss Ancient Greece with Caspian.

If he wasn't glad to see any letter from Caspian at all, he would hate it for its length and tone.

Caspian,
Thank you. Here's the English & the History course requirements attached to the letter. I've summarized it here ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶, so essentially I need to understand these things:
- Timelines & cultures for Ancient Greece & Ancient Rome, specifically Athens and Rome, & their most-worshipped gods. (I need to choose a god to write an essay about as well)
- Past Queens & Kings of England
- Important battles
- Important political/social figures
- The Renaissance
From,
Peter
~
Peter,
How could you not be glad to study Athens! It was the very first thing Professor Kirke taught me, and I find it ̶f̶a̶s̶c̶i̶n̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ interesting.
Based on the lists you gave me, maybe we should start with the Greeks?
̶M̶y̶ ̶f̶a̶v̶o̶u̶r̶i̶t̶e̶ The most interesting god in my opinion is Poseidon, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes, and horses. He created horses in... a contest for patronage, I think you'd call it? Anyway, when the people of Ancient Greece were renaming their capital city, Poseidon and Athena competed for the city to be named after them. Poseidon gifted the citizens with a spring and horses, Athena with an olive tree. But, Poseidon's spring was salt water, and Athena's tree was declared a better gift. That's why the capital of Greece today is called Athens, not something attributing Poseidon.
That... was a longer paragraph than I intended. Well, Poseidon is intriguing and the myths are complicated. I suppose that answers part of your "most- worshipped" question, although Athena is revered more than Poseidon in the capital. Overall? Zeus (King of the gods & god of the sky), Demeter (goddess of agriculture), Apollo (god of... many things, including medicine and music), and Athena (goddess of wisdom) were probably worshipped -- or maybe liked? -- the most. Of course, the rest of the Olympians were deemed important as well, but these five are said to have had the widest range of worshippers, as opposed to the others with perhaps more dedicated but less followers. (The other Olympians are: Artemis, goddess of the Hunt; Poseidon, of course; Ares, god of war; Hephaestus, god of forges -- I always have to double check the spelling of his name --;  Aphrodite, goddess of love; and Hermes, god of travellers. There's a twelfth seat, given up by Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home to Dionysus, god of wine. She gave him her seat to prevent enmity.)
...Wow. I apologise, I got carried away. With how complex the myths are and how many there are, one could talk for days and maybe even years without getting through all of them. ̶I̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶.̶
But I'm running out of paper, so I cannot.
From,
Caspian
~
Caspian,
You needn't apologise. ̶I̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶g̶ ̶l̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ I appreciate the information you've given me. I think I'll choose Poseidon to write the essay on, though. ̶I̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶e̶n̶t̶h̶u̶s̶i̶a̶s̶m̶ ̶ You've convinced me that he's not half-bad.
From,
Peter

When Peter had reached out to Caspian the first time, he'd never intended to take it this far. But, by now, Peter's classes have completely finished Ancient Greece, as well as the Kings and Queens of England, and they've come full circle to Ancient Rome.

Caspian knows from Peter's letters that his grades are much better now, and he can only hope that Peter will keep sending him letters even when Peter doesn't need him.

Dear Caspian
We're beginning to talk about Greece's influence on Rome. There's one boy in the class who keeps answering every question about the Greek gods with a smug attitude, and I wish I could get rid of it. Anyway, I know that the Roman gods are often seen as merely renamed versions of the Greek gods. Is that true?
From,
Peter
~
Dear Peter,
Oh, no. Absolutely not. There are similarities, and the Romans were inspired by the Greeks, but the Roman gods are much more disciplined and war-like. The biggest example of change, although not one of more violence, is Athena versus Minerva. Athena is the god of wisdom, strategic war, and logic, but she is -- was? -- also the patron of Greece. So when she "transitioned" to Rome, she was diminished into a goddess of law and justice instead of her war-like side. It could have been an attempt by the Romans to crush the Greeks from a moral side of view, because they eventually did conquer Greece's former empire.
Also: if you wish to humiliate, or at least stop that boy from being stuck-up, bring up the fact that Zeus's bastard children (every child he had except Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus -- the name, again! --) were more worshipped/well-liked than his wife. Specifically, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, and Dionysus. I haven't enough space here, but... ah, you probably know enough from the letters I've already sent. Oh, but I don't know if you kept them... they must be at least a few weeks old by now?
Do tell me how the know-it-all reacts!
From,
Caspian

A/N:

Ouch, formatting those letters in Wattpad is a pain. In case it wasn't obvious though, by the end of this chapter approximately two months have passed since the winter break.

Next chapter either mid-August or the first few days of September!