28 January 3015

My Dearest Sister Elizabeth,

I write to you from my newly established quarters near the Royal Capital of Bravia, where I find myself in the peculiar position of having successfully negotiated our nation’s first formal treaty with this most remarkable and unsettling of peoples. The treaty has passed through all the Byzantine layers of Bravian consent—the Royal and Parliamentary Cabinet, the Grand Parliament, six provincial parliaments, and finally the votes of the people themselves in all six provinces—and I am now tasked with establishing a permanent embassy to manage our relations with a nation that grows stronger and more extensive with each passing month.

It is precisely on this matter that I write to you with some urgency, for I have a proposal that I believe will benefit both our family and our nation, while also providing your son Lysander with an opportunity that may prove decisive for his future prospects. But before I come to that matter directly, I must address another concern that weighs heavily upon my mind, one that touches upon the preservation of our family’s legacy and the security of our nation in these uncertain times.

You know, dear sister, that I have spent these past months traveling extensively through Bravia, witnessing their ways, observing their extraordinary capacity for expansion and development, and coming to understand—perhaps better than any of our countrymen—the true nature of the challenge they present to nations such as ours. In my dispatches to His Majesty, I have been candid about both the opportunities and the dangers that Bravia represents. I have detailed their military prowess, having witnessed with my own eyes the complete annihilation of our neighbors’ entire fleet without a single Bravian casualty. I have described their political system, with its bewildering layers of consent and its dangerous egalitarian spirit that threatens the natural order of authority upon which stable governance depends. I have explained their religious practices, their remarkable bourgeois culture that extends from the highest to the lowest, and their insatiable appetite for expansion into any territory they deem empty or inadequately settled.

All of this intelligence, Elizabeth, I have faithfully recorded and transmitted to the court. Yet I find myself increasingly uneasy about the security of these communications and the preservation of our family’s correspondence during these times. You are aware, I am sure, of the growing tensions within our own nation. There are factions at court who view any accommodation with Bravia as a dangerous concession, while others see in friendship with the Bravians the only realistic path to our survival in a region where they are rapidly becoming the dominant power. The treaty I have negotiated attempts to thread this needle—allowing trade and limited Bravian settlement in controlled enclaves within our cities, while preventing the sort of wholesale cultural transformation that has overtaken our unfortunate neighbors to the south.

But here is what troubles me, dear sister: in my time in Bravia, I have come to understand how deeply they value documentation, precedent, and the preservation of records. Every Bravian household maintains its own code of laws, negotiated and recorded. Every transaction is documented. Every treaty includes not merely the articles agreed upon, but extensive commentary explaining the reasoning and reservations of all parties involved. They are a people who believe that truth emerges through transparent documentation and that posterity has a right to understand the full context of decisions made by their forebears. While I admire this impulse toward honesty and preservation, it has made me acutely aware of how casual we have been about the preservation of our own family’s correspondence.

I do not wish to alarm you unduly, but the political situation in our own country has become increasingly volatile. There are those at court who view my success in negotiating with Bravia as evidence of excessive sympathy with their ways. There are others who consider any treaty with Bravia to be an act of treason, given the threat their very existence poses to our system of governance. Should civil disorder arise—and I pray daily that it does not—our family correspondence, including my detailed observations about Bravia, could become either invaluable historical documents or dangerous evidence of collaboration, depending on which faction prevails.

Therefore, Elizabeth, I urge you most strongly to take measures to preserve all correspondence within our family, particularly any letters I have written to you or to my brother, your late husband, and any replies you have sent to me. I recommend that you make copies of all such letters and store them in multiple secure locations. If you have a trusted friend or relation living in a different province or city, consider entrusting them with one set of copies. If there are any family documents that detail our ancestry, our property rights, or our service to the crown, these too should be duplicated and secured. The Bravians have taught me, if nothing else, the value of documentation and the importance of preserving records against the vagaries of political fortune and the ravages of time.

I am particularly concerned about the letters I wrote to you during my journey through North Bravia and my visits to the Forest people, as well as my dispatches from the Over-The-Eastern-River province. These contain observations that, while meant to inform our sovereign of Bravia’s capabilities and intentions, could be misconstrued by those who wish to see conspiracy where there is only honest reporting. They also contain personal reflections on our own nation’s strengths and weaknesses that I would not wish to see fall into hostile hands or to be used out of context to impugn our family’s loyalty.

Should disorder come to our land—and the signs are not encouraging, given the tensions I sense even in correspondence from home—these documents must be preserved so that future generations can understand the choices we faced and the reasoning behind the decisions we made. The Bravians have shown me that history is not merely what happened, but also why it happened, and that understanding requires access to the full record of contemporary thought and correspondence. Our descendants may one day need to understand why we chose the path of accommodation with Bravia rather than futile resistance, and why we sought to preserve our system of governance through careful limitation of Bravian influence rather than wholesale adoption of their alien ways.

Now, having addressed this weighty matter, let me turn to the more immediate and, I hope, more cheerful subject of your son Lysander and his future prospects. You wrote to me some months ago expressing concern about his career path and wondering whether my position in Bravia might offer any opportunities for him. At the time, I was not in a position to make any commitments, as my own future here was uncertain and the treaty negotiations had not yet concluded. Now, however, circumstances have changed dramatically, and I find myself in a position to offer Lysander an opportunity that I believe would suit his talents admirably and provide him with invaluable experience in the diplomatic service.

As I mentioned at the outset of this letter, I am now charged with establishing a permanent embassy near the Royal Capital of Bravia. This is no small undertaking, Elizabeth. The treaty we have negotiated requires not only an embassy here in the capital region, but also consulates in the Free Port of Bravia, in Port Esperance (to monitor developments in the Delta Province and the Over-The-Eastern-River province), and potentially in several other locations as Bravian settlement patterns become clearer. Beyond this, I have recommended to His Majesty that we station political officers in each of Bravia’s provincial capitals to provide early warning of any treaties or developments that might affect our interests.

In short, dear sister, we are building from scratch an entire diplomatic apparatus to manage our relationship with Bravia. This will require a substantial staff of people who can speak Low Bravian (and ideally some of the other Bravian languages), who can understand the complex workings of Bravian politics and society, and who can be trusted to report faithfully on what they observe without either excessive sympathy for Bravian ways or reflexive hostility toward a people whose culture is alien but whose power is undeniable.

I have given considerable thought to the qualities required for service in this mission, and I believe Lysander possesses many of them. From what you have told me of his education, he has a facility for languages and a quick, analytical mind. His temperament, as I recall from the time before I departed for this assignment, tends toward the reserved and observant rather than the impulsive—an essential quality when dealing with the Bravians, who value honesty but also require one to think carefully before speaking. Moreover, he is young enough to adapt to Bravian ways without being corrupted by them (I hope), yet old enough to understand the importance of maintaining our own cultural and political identity in the face of Bravian influence.

What I am proposing, Elizabeth, is that Lysander come to Bravia as an attaché to the embassy, serving initially as my personal aide and translator. This would allow him to learn the intricacies of Bravian society and politics under my direct supervision, while also gaining the sort of diplomatic experience that would serve him well should he choose to continue in the foreign service. I can think of no better training for a young diplomat than exposure to a society as complex and as powerful as Bravia, and no safer way to gain that exposure than under the guidance of someone who already knows the dangers and opportunities that Bravia presents.

I must be candid with you, dear sister, about what such service would entail. Lysander would need to learn not only Low Bravian—which is the most widely spoken of the Bravian languages and the one used in international commerce—but also at least enough Middle Bravian to understand the speech of the common people in the interior provinces. He would need to become familiar with Bravian religious practices, their political institutions, and their social customs, all of which are quite different from our own. He would need to travel extensively throughout Bravia, sometimes to regions that are rough and remote, with poor roads and primitive accommodations. The journey I made to Cueva Septimus in the Over-The-Eastern-River province was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life, and Lysander must be prepared for similar hardships if he is to serve effectively.

More importantly, Elizabeth, Lysander must understand the delicate balance we are attempting to maintain in our relations with Bravia. He must learn to appreciate Bravian virtues—their honesty, their industry, their genuine commitment to serving the common good—without falling into the trap of believing that Bravian ways are superior to our own or should be adopted in our country. This is perhaps the most difficult challenge for anyone serving here, because the Bravians are, in many ways, admirable people. Their egalitarian spirit, their respect for property rights, their insistence on consent and consultation in governance—all of these are attractive qualities, especially to young people who have not yet fully grasped the dangers that such principles pose to political stability and the natural order of authority.

I have myself struggled with this tension throughout my time here. I have been treated with consistent courtesy and respect by the Bravians. I have witnessed their remarkable organizational abilities, their military prowess, their cultural vitality despite the absence of a traditional elite. I have seen ordinary Bravians living with a degree of dignity, prosperity, and political voice that would be unthinkable for people of their class in our own country or in most nations of the world. And yet I remain convinced that Bravian ways, however successful they may be for Bravians, would be catastrophic if transplanted to our own soil. Our people are not Bravians. Our history, our culture, our political traditions are fundamentally different. What works in Bravia’s unique circumstances would not work for us, and attempting to import their system would lead only to chaos and the destruction of the stability that generations of our rulers have carefully built.

Lysander must be someone who can hold both of these truths in mind simultaneously: that Bravia is worthy of respect and study, but that Bravian ways are not for us. He must be able to work effectively with the Bravians, to understand their perspective and to represent our nation’s interests clearly and persuasively, while never losing sight of who he is and what he represents. This requires a mature judgment and a strong sense of identity, and while I believe Lysander has the intelligence and character to develop these qualities, they will be tested severely in the course of his service here.

There is another consideration I must raise, dear sister, one that touches upon our family’s position and future security. You know as well as I do that our standing at court has always been somewhat precarious. We are of good birth but not of the highest nobility. We have served faithfully but have not distinguished ourselves with military glory or accumulated the sort of wealth that commands respect and influence. My success in negotiating this treaty with Bravia has elevated our family’s profile considerably, but it has also made us vulnerable to accusations of being overly sympathetic to a foreign power whose very existence threatens our way of life.

In such circumstances, it is essential that our family develop expertise and connections that will make us indispensable to the crown, whatever political winds may blow. The relationship with Bravia is not going away. Indeed, it will only become more important as Bravia continues to expand and develop its strength. Our nation will need people who understand Bravia, who can speak its languages, who know how to negotiate with its government, and who can anticipate its moves. By positioning Lysander to become one of the foremost experts on Bravia among our countrymen, we secure for our family a valuable role that will be needed regardless of which political faction prevails at home.

Moreover, dear sister, I will speak plainly about a matter that you have perhaps been too delicate to mention explicitly in your letters. Lysander is your only son, and with my brother’s untimely death, he represents the best hope for continuing our family line. It is essential that he establish himself in a career that will allow him to make a good marriage and to provide for his future children. Service in the diplomatic corps, particularly service in an embassy as important as our mission to Bravia, can provide exactly that sort of opportunity. The stipend is respectable, the work is honorable, and the connections he will make could prove valuable both professionally and personally.

I have also given thought to how Lysander’s service here might benefit him in more tangible ways. The Bravians place enormous value on property ownership, and land in Bravia is readily available at reasonable prices, particularly in the developing provinces. While I would never recommend that Lysander seek to become a Bravian citizen—that would be a betrayal of his identity and his duty to our nation—there is nothing to prevent him from making investments in Bravia that could prove quite lucrative. The Bravians are scrupulously honest in their business dealings, and property rights are respected with an almost religious fervor. A young man who served here for several years and who used his stipend wisely to acquire property in one of the developing provinces might find himself quite comfortably situated when he eventually returns home.

I am aware that some at court would view such investments with suspicion, seeing in them evidence of excessive sympathy with Bravia or even of divided loyalties. I would argue, however, that such concerns are misplaced. The Bravians themselves encourage foreign investment and would think it entirely natural for someone serving in their country to take advantage of economic opportunities. Moreover, if our nation is to benefit from its relationship with Bravia, we need people who understand not just Bravian politics and culture, but also Bravian economic practices. Lysander would be uniquely positioned to provide intelligence on Bravian economic conditions and opportunities, intelligence that could prove valuable to our merchants and to the crown itself.

There is one additional matter I must address, dear Elizabeth, before I close this already lengthy letter. You asked in your last correspondence whether service in Bravia might be dangerous for Lysander, given the obvious differences between our two societies and the potential for conflict. I must be honest with you: there are risks, but they are not the ones you might expect.

Bravia itself is remarkably safe. In all my months here, I have never witnessed a crime, never felt threatened, never seen civil disorder of any kind. The Bravians are a law-abiding people with a strong sense of community responsibility and mutual obligation. Their property rights are secure, their streets are safe, and even in the roughest frontier provinces I have visited, I have felt safer than I do in many parts of our own capital. Lysander would face no danger from the Bravians themselves, who would treat a foreign diplomat with the same courtesy and respect they have shown to me.

The real danger, Elizabeth, comes not from Bravia but from the political situation in our own country. I have already spoken of the factions at court and the vulnerability of our family’s position. Should civil disorder break out at home, those serving abroad—particularly those serving in a country that some view as a threat to our way of life—might find themselves cut off, declared traitors by whichever faction seizes power, or even targeted for reprisal if they attempt to return home. This is why I urged you at the beginning of this letter to preserve our family correspondence. Should the worst occur, we will need documentation of our loyal service and our consistent efforts to serve our nation’s interests even as we sought to understand and work effectively with a foreign power.

But I must also tell you, dear sister, that if such disorder does come, those with knowledge of and connections to Bravia may find themselves in a position of unexpected advantage. Bravia is not going to disappear, regardless of what happens in our country. Indeed, if our government collapses into civil war, Bravia may become only stronger as it expands into the territories of weakened neighbors. In such circumstances, those who understand Bravia and have its respect could play a crucial role in protecting our people’s interests, negotiating on their behalf, perhaps even helping to broker a peace or to establish a new government that can work effectively with the regional power that Bravia has become.

I do not raise these possibilities to frighten you, Elizabeth, but to help you understand the strategic importance of what I am proposing. By positioning Lysander as one of the few men in our nation with deep knowledge of Bravia, we are not merely securing a comfortable career for him—we are potentially positioning our family to play a pivotal role in our nation’s future, whatever that future may hold.

I have arranged with His Majesty’s government for a stipend sufficient to cover Lysander’s travel to Bravia and his initial expenses here. Should you consent to this proposal, he should plan to depart as soon as the spring sailing season begins, which should be within the next two months. I would recommend that he bring letters of introduction from any influential persons at court who might be willing to provide them, as well as any family papers that establish his identity and good character. He should plan to spend at least two years in Bravia, though longer service would be even more beneficial to his development.

Before he departs, Lysander should spend some time improving his Low Bravian. I can recommend several tutors in our capital who have worked with Bravian merchants and who can provide at least a basic grounding in the language. He should also read whatever he can find about Bravian history and customs, though I must warn you that most of what has been written about Bravia is either outdated or inaccurate. The Bravians are not well understood by outsiders, in part because they change so rapidly and in part because their ways are so foreign to most people’s experience that observers tend to project onto them expectations and assumptions that bear little relation to Bravian reality.

I will close now, dear sister, though there is much more I could say. I hope you will give serious consideration to my proposal regarding Lysander’s future service. I believe it represents an opportunity that would benefit both him personally and our family as a whole, while also serving our nation’s interests. As for the preservation of our correspondence, I beg you to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We live in uncertain times, and the records we keep now may prove invaluable to our family and to future historians seeking to understand this pivotal moment in our nation’s history.

Please give my regards to all the family, and know that you remain constantly in my thoughts even as I labor here in this strange land so far from home. I await your reply with great anticipation and hope that it will contain the news that Lysander will soon be joining me in Bravia.

Your devoted brother-in-law,

Leonidas Smith
Ambassador to the Nation of Bravia

P.S. — I have enclosed with this letter a small package containing examples of Bravian craftwork, including some silk cloth from the Forest people and several carved wooden items. These are modest gifts, but I thought you might appreciate seeing something of the material culture of the people among whom I now reside. The silk, in particular, is of exceptional quality and might be made into something quite striking. I have also included a copy of a recent photograph taken of the royal palace here, so that you can see the austere but oddly impressive cave-fortress from which Bravia is governed. It is quite unlike anything you have seen, I assure you.

L.S.