5 March 3015

My Dearest Sister Elizabeth,

I write to you on the same day that I have written to Lysander, having received both your letter and his within a day of each other. The courier service between our nations has proven remarkably efficient, and I am grateful for it, as it allows us to maintain a conversation across the distance that separates us with less delay than I had feared would be the case. Your letter of the 12th of February reached me with Lysander’s of the 19th following close behind, and I have spent the better part of two days composing responses to you both.

I must begin by expressing my profound gratitude for your letter and for the thoughtfulness, wisdom, and courage it displays. I had asked much of you in my previous correspondence—I asked you to risk your only son by sending him to a foreign land in troubled times, to trust my judgment about the strategic course our family should take, and to prepare for the possibility of civil disorder by preserving our family’s documentary heritage. Your response exceeded anything I had hoped for. You have not merely acceded to my requests but have anticipated needs I had not yet articulated and have taken actions that demonstrate a strategic acumen I confess I had not fully appreciated you possessed.

Let me address first the matter of document preservation, as it is perhaps the most urgent of the concerns we share. I am deeply relieved to learn that you had already begun this work before receiving my letter, and I am impressed by the thoroughness of your approach. The decision to create multiple copies and to distribute them to different locations—your cousin in the Northern Province, the Sisters of Saint Catherine—shows wisdom that goes beyond mere prudence. You have not only protected our family’s records but have done so in a way that ensures their survival even in the worst possible scenarios.

I particularly approve of your choice of the convent library at Saint Catherine’s. Religious institutions have indeed survived upheavals that have destroyed secular archives, and the sisters’ tradition of preserving documents is well-established. The sealed letter of instruction you are preparing is also wise—it will provide context for future scholars or family members who may need to access these records under circumstances we cannot now foresee. I would only add that in this letter of instruction, you might consider including a brief family history that explains our connections to various important figures and events, as such context may prove valuable to those who come after us.

Your observation about the political situation at home is both astute and alarming. I had perceived from my distance that there were factions disagreeing about proper policy toward Bravia, but your identification of a third group—those who see in Bravia a model to be emulated—is an insight I had not fully grasped. This development is perhaps more dangerous than simple opposition to my treaty, as it suggests that the very stability of our political order may be in question. Those who wish to import Bravian ways into our society without understanding either the context from which those ways emerged or the implications they would have in our very different circumstances could indeed prove to be agents of chaos, however well-intentioned they may be.

This makes your decision to support Lysander’s service in Bravia all the more courageous, and I want you to know that I understand the weight of what you are undertaking. You have correctly identified the multiple perils we face—being seen as too sympathetic to Bravia, being seen as too resistant to necessary accommodation, being caught between warring factions should civil disorder materialize. Your reasoning that expertise on Bravia will be valuable regardless of which faction prevails is sound, and your recognition that concentrating both Lysander and myself in the same position creates certain vulnerabilities shows that you are thinking strategically about our family’s survival in ways that do you great credit.

I want to address directly your concern about placing both of us “in the same precarious position” and leaving your family with no one positioned to navigate political storms at home. This is a legitimate concern, Elizabeth, and one that I have thought about carefully. Let me share with you some considerations that may ease your mind, though I cannot entirely eliminate the risks you rightly perceive.

First, while Lysander and I will both be serving in Bravia, our positions are somewhat different. I am the principal, the ambassador whose name is attached to the treaty and whose position is most directly tied to the success or failure of current policy. Lysander is my aide, important certainly, but also someone who can more easily distance himself from my decisions if circumstances require it. Should political winds shift dramatically at home, there are scenarios in which Lysander could return and position himself as someone who served loyally but who also observed firsthand the complexities and difficulties of dealing with Bravia, making him valuable to whatever faction comes to power.

Second, I want you to understand something about my own position here that I have not stated explicitly in my official dispatches but which I trust to you in confidence. My relationship with the Bravian government has developed to a point where, should the worst occur at home, I believe I would be able to secure protection and possibly even citizenship for our family within Bravia itself. This is not something I desire—I remain committed to serving our nation and hope fervently that civil disorder does not materialize. But I mention it because I want you to know that should you find yourself in danger, there is a place where you could find refuge, and I would be able to facilitate your arrival and establishment here.

I say this not to encourage you to make plans to abandon our homeland, but to assure you that the worst-case scenario—that our family is destroyed in political upheaval—is not as likely as it might seem. The Bravians, for all their alien ways, are protective of those they view as friends and allies. They would not abandon us to persecution if we needed their help, and my service here has positioned us to call upon that protection if necessary. This is, in its own way, a form of insurance for our family’s survival, however uncomfortable it may be to contemplate.

Now I must turn to a matter you raised in your letter that touched me deeply—the dissolution of Lysander’s understanding with Baron Rothwell concerning a marriage to his daughter Catherine. I confess I had not known of this understanding when I wrote my initial letter proposing that Lysander join me in Bravia, and I am troubled that my proposal has resulted in the ending of an arrangement that you had hoped would provide Lysander with social standing and financial security.

Your handling of this matter displays the grace and wisdom I have come to expect from you. That you would accept the Baron’s withdrawal from the understanding “with as much grace as I can muster” while recognizing that “it may ultimately prove to be his loss rather than ours” shows both dignity in the face of insult and clear-eyed assessment of the political realities we face. I am proud of you for taking this stance, Elizabeth, and I believe you are correct in your assessment that those who position themselves as implacable opponents of accommodation with Bravia may find themselves increasingly isolated as Bravia’s power continues to grow.

I want to offer you what comfort I can regarding Lysander’s marriage prospects, as I know this must weigh upon you as his mother. The loss of a connection to Baron Rothwell’s family is unfortunate in some respects, but I believe Lysander’s service in Bravia will actually enhance rather than diminish his marriage prospects in the longer term. Let me explain why.

First, Lysander will return from Bravia—assuming he serves for the three to five years I anticipate—with expertise that will make him valuable to our nation regardless of political circumstances. This expertise will translate into opportunities for government service or other positions of responsibility that will make him an attractive match for families seeking to ally themselves with someone of rising importance.

Second, and I mention this with some delicacy, Lysander’s time in Bravia may present opportunities for connections that would not otherwise be available to him. There are other foreign diplomats serving here, some representing nations of considerable importance, and some have daughters or other female relations. While I would not encourage Lysander to seek a foreign match if a suitable match at home were available, the possibility should not be dismissed entirely. International marriages have served many families well in cementing alliances and creating networks of mutual support.

Third, and perhaps most relevant to your immediate concerns, Lysander’s service here will allow time for the political situation at home to clarify itself. Baron Rothwell’s current opposition to accommodation with Bravia may soften over time, particularly as the benefits of our treaty become apparent and as Bravia’s power makes opposition seem increasingly futile. Or other families may emerge whose political positions are more aligned with reality and who would welcome a connection to someone with Lysander’s expertise and experience. Time works in our favor here, Elizabeth, though I know that as a mother you are naturally anxious about your son’s future settlement in life.

I was both amused and touched by your decision to have the Bravian silk fashioned into an evening gown for the Spring Reception at court. Your description of taking “a certain satisfaction in the knowledge that I will be wearing Bravian silk while Baron Rothwell and his fellow critics of your treaty decry Bravian influence” brought a smile to my face. Yes, dear sister, sometimes a woman’s small acts of defiance are indeed the only ones available, but do not underestimate their impact. You are quite right to take full advantage of such opportunities, and I applaud your spirit in doing so.

Your wearing of Bravian silk and your display of the carved wooden items in your drawing room serve multiple purposes beyond personal satisfaction. They help to educate your social circle about Bravian culture, they signal your family’s commitment to the accommodation I have negotiated, and they demonstrate that Bravian goods are of high quality and worthy of respect. In your own sphere, Elizabeth, you are conducting a form of cultural diplomacy that complements my more formal efforts, and I am grateful for it.

I note with interest your observation about the photograph of the royal palace and your friend’s comment that “they must be very confident in their power to feel no need to display it ostentatiously.” Your friend has indeed understood something essential about the Bravians. Their lack of ostentation is not a sign of poverty or weakness but rather reflects a different conception of power and its proper expression. The Bravians believe that true strength does not need to advertise itself, that genuine authority does not require elaborate trappings, and that the best rulers are those who serve rather than those who dominate. These are alien concepts to many people in our world, but they are deeply embedded in Bravian culture and help to explain why Bravia functions as effectively as it does despite—or perhaps because of—its apparent simplicity.

Your reflections on my account of the priest and his wife in New Porterville pleased me greatly. You understood precisely what I was hoping to convey—that Bravian society maintains cohesion and stability through mechanisms quite different from our own, and that these mechanisms, however alien they may seem, are effective in their own context. Your observation about women’s roles in Bravian society is also perceptive. Bravian women do indeed enjoy a degree of education, property rights, and public voice that would be unusual by our standards, yet they operate within a framework that is distinctly patriarchal. Understanding this complexity—that Bravian society is simultaneously more egalitarian and more patriarchal than our own, depending on how one measures these things—is essential to understanding Bravia as a whole.

I confess I was somewhat envious when you wrote that you found yourself “somewhat envious of such a situation,” referring to the respect accorded to women’s perspectives in Bravian society. This envy is understandable, Elizabeth, and it reflects well on your own intelligence and competence that you would recognize the value of a system that makes fuller use of women’s capabilities. I want you to know that I have come to believe, through my time in Bravia, that our own society’s limitations on women’s participation in intellectual and public life represent a genuine loss. We deprive ourselves of the insights and abilities of half our population, and we are poorer for it.

That said, I would not wish to see our own society simply adopt Bravian practices regarding women without consideration of context and consequences. The Bravian approach to gender roles has developed within a specific religious and cultural framework, and it works for them precisely because it is integrated into that larger framework. Simply granting women more rights or opportunities without the supporting cultural infrastructure could create considerable disruption. Still, your envy is not misplaced, and I hope that over time our own society will find ways to make better use of the talents of capable women such as yourself.

Now I must turn to the matter of Lysander himself and what I have written to him. I am enclosing with this letter a copy of the letter I sent to him, as well as a copy of the comprehensive primer on Bravian society that I prepared in response to his request. I thought it important that you see exactly what guidance I am providing to him, both so that you can be assured that I am taking his preparation seriously and so that you yourself can better understand the society into which you are sending your son.

The letter I wrote to Lysander addresses all the practical questions he raised about language study, travel arrangements, what to bring, financial matters, and the like. I have tried to be both encouraging and realistic—encouraging in expressing confidence in his abilities and commitment, realistic in acknowledging the challenges he will face and the mistakes he will inevitably make as he learns to navigate a foreign culture. I believe the letter strikes the right balance, and I hope you will agree when you read it.

The primer is a more substantial document—approximately forty pages covering all aspects of Bravian society from political structure to religious practices to social customs to common mistakes foreigners make. I labored over this document, Elizabeth, trying to distill what I have learned over months of careful observation into a form that Lysander can study and reference. It is not light reading, and it necessarily simplifies some matters that are quite complex in practice, but I believe it will give him a solid foundation for understanding what he observes when he arrives.

I want to draw your attention particularly to Section VIII of the primer, which discusses common mistakes foreigners make when dealing with Bravians. The final mistake I list—”becoming so enamored of Bravian ways that you lose your own identity and become an advocate for transforming your home country according to Bravian models”—is the one I have warned Lysander about most seriously. I have seen this transformation in other foreigners who have spent time in Bravia, and it is a genuine danger. The Bravians are admirable in many ways, and their society has genuine virtues, but those virtues work in the Bravian context. Attempting to transplant them wholesale to our very different circumstances would be, I believe, disastrous.

I mention this not because I fear that Lysander will immediately succumb to this temptation—his letter demonstrated appropriate intellectual humility and awareness of the complexity of the questions involved—but because I want you to be aware of this danger as well. Should Lysander’s letters to you begin to express excessive enthusiasm for Bravian ways or criticism of our own system, I would appreciate your bringing this to my attention. Not to censure him, but so that I can provide additional guidance and help him maintain the necessary balance between appreciation and critical distance.

In my letter to Lysander, I have also addressed directly the philosophical tension he raised—how to appreciate Bravian virtues while believing their ways are unsuited to our own country. I explained to him the importance of understanding that political and social systems are embedded in specific contexts, and that what works for Bravians works precisely because of their unique history and circumstances. I have tried to give him a framework for thinking about these issues that will allow him to observe carefully and learn genuinely while also maintaining his own identity and his commitment to serving our nation as it is rather than as some idealists might wish it to be.

There is one matter in my letter to Lysander that I want to discuss with you more fully, as it has implications for you as well as for him. I mentioned to Lysander that there will be a formal presentation of credentials ceremony shortly after his arrival, where I will officially present my credentials as ambassador and where the structure of our embassy will be formally recognized. I explained that he would be introduced and would need to be prepared to step into a formal diplomatic role almost immediately upon arrival.

What I want you to understand, Elizabeth, is that this ceremony represents not merely a diplomatic formality but a significant moment in our family’s history. We will be, in effect, announcing to Bravia and to the world that the Smith family has committed itself to serving as a bridge between our nation and Bravia. This is no small thing, and it carries both opportunities and risks that extend beyond Lysander’s immediate service.

The Bravian government will see us as interlocutors who can explain our nation to them and who can help them understand our interests and concerns. Other foreign governments will see us as having special expertise on Bravia and may seek to cultivate relationships with us for that reason. Our own government will increasingly rely on us for intelligence and advice regarding Bravian affairs. All of this enhances our importance and influence, but it also makes us vulnerable should political circumstances change dramatically.

I mention this because I want you to be aware that your own role in this enterprise is more significant than you might realize. You are not merely supporting Lysander’s career or preserving family documents. You are serving as the anchor point for our family at home while Lysander and I serve abroad. You are maintaining connections with important figures at court and in society, as your letters to Lady Margrave and others demonstrate. You are representing our family’s interests and explaining our perspective to those who might otherwise misunderstand our motives or our actions.

In other words, Elizabeth, you are functioning as an unofficial diplomat in your own right, and you are doing so with skill and effectiveness. I want you to know that I recognize this and am grateful for it. Your work at home is as essential to our family’s success as Lysander’s work in Bravia or my own work as ambassador. We are a team, the three of us, working together across distance to position our family advantageously regardless of how political circumstances develop.

I want to address one more matter from your letter before I close—your question about provisions that should be made should anything happen to me while Lysander is in Bravia. You were right to raise this uncomfortable but necessary topic, and I appreciate your practical approach to it.

I have indeed given thought to this matter, and I have made certain arrangements that I want to share with you in confidence. I have prepared a sealed letter that is held by my chief of staff here at the embassy, with instructions that it be opened only in the event of my death or incapacitation. This letter contains detailed instructions for Lysander on how to proceed in various scenarios. It includes information on which Bravian officials to contact for assistance, which of our own nation’s officials should be informed, how to handle the embassy’s affairs in the interim before a new ambassador is appointed, and how to secure safe passage home for himself and for you should that become necessary.

I have also made arrangements with a banking house here in Bravia to ensure that funds would be available to Lysander immediately in the event of my death, as there would likely be various expenses that would need to be covered before normal channels of support could be activated. The details of these arrangements are in the sealed letter, but I wanted you to know that they exist.

Additionally, I have had conversations with several senior Bravian officials—the Prime Minister, the Exilarch himself, and others—about the importance of maintaining continuity in our diplomatic relations regardless of personnel changes. While I have not explicitly discussed my own possible death or incapacitation, I have framed these conversations in terms of general principles about how diplomatic relations should be maintained across transitions. The Bravians have been receptive to these discussions and have assured me that they value stability in international relationships. I believe that should something happen to me, the Bravian government would work to ensure that Lysander and our embassy staff were treated well and would have whatever assistance they needed.

I mention all this not to be morbid but to assure you that I have thought carefully about contingencies and have made what preparations I can. Life is uncertain, Elizabeth, and those of us who serve in positions of responsibility in troubled times must be realistic about risks. But I want you to know that Lysander would not be abandoned or left without resources should the worst occur. He would have guidance, support, and the means to proceed in a way that protected both himself and our family’s interests.

Now, having addressed the weightier matters, let me turn briefly to some lighter topics before I close this already lengthy letter. I am pleased to report that spring is beginning to arrive in Bravia, and the landscape is becoming quite beautiful. The mountains that surround the capital are still snow-capped, but in the valleys flowers are beginning to bloom and the trees are budding. The weather has been mild, and I have been able to take walks in the afternoons when my duties permit, which helps to clear my mind and gives me time to think about the various complex matters I am dealing with.

I have also been invited to several social occasions by Bravian officials and their families, and these have provided valuable opportunities to observe Bravian domestic life and to build relationships beyond the formal diplomatic sphere. The Bravians are, as I have mentioned repeatedly, a remarkably egalitarian people, and I have found myself sitting at dinner with everyone from the Prime Minister to local merchants to craftsmen to farmers. The conversations are always interesting, the food is wholesome if plain, and the company is generally pleasant. I am learning much about Bravian life from these informal gatherings that I could never learn from formal diplomatic meetings.

I have also been exploring the capital region and observing the various aspects of Bravian life that I have described to you in my dispatches. I attended a session of the Grand Parliament recently and was struck once again by the remarkable openness of their political system. Representatives from tiny villages in remote provinces stand up and ask pointed questions of government ministers, and those ministers must answer forthrightly or face serious consequences. It is quite unlike anything I have experienced at home, and while I do not believe our own system should be remodeled along these lines, I cannot help but admire the accountability it creates.

I have been particularly struck by the role that religious services play in Bravian life. I have attended several services at various churches in the capital region, and I have been impressed by the seriousness with which scripture is studied and discussed. The sermons are long and intellectually demanding, the congregants follow along in their own Bibles and sometimes interrupt to ask for clarification or to raise questions, and the whole experience is quite different from the more passive worship style common at home. Again, I do not necessarily advocate importing this approach wholesale, but there is something to be said for a religious culture that expects its adherents to think seriously about their faith rather than merely to receive instruction passively.

I should also mention that I have been working on my language skills, particularly in Middle Bravian, which I have found somewhat challenging despite having a good foundation in Low Bravian. The two languages are related but have significant differences in pronunciation and vocabulary, and I have found that what I assumed would be a simple extension of my Low Bravian knowledge has required more effort than I anticipated. This has given me additional appreciation for the challenge that Lysander will face in mastering these languages, and it has reinforced my belief that his four months of intensive preparation before departure is time well-spent.

Before I close, I want to return to something I mentioned earlier in this letter but which deserves additional emphasis. You wrote to me that “the bonds of family are precious, never more so than in uncertain times,” and I want you to know how deeply I agree with this sentiment. Your brother—my brother—your late husband, was the person I was closest to in the world, and his death left a void that has never been fully filled. In you and Lysander, I see the continuation of what your husband and I built together, and I am grateful beyond measure for the opportunity to work with you both in service of our family’s welfare and our nation’s interests.

When Lysander arrives in Bravia, I will have the opportunity to know my nephew as an adult, to work alongside him, and to help him develop into the man his father would have been proud of. But I want you to know, Elizabeth, that I value equally my relationship with you, maintained though it is through letters across distance. Your wisdom, your strength, your strategic thinking, and your courage in difficult circumstances have impressed me greatly, and I am honored to have you as my partner in this enterprise we have undertaken.

We three—you, Lysander, and I—are bound together not only by blood but by shared purpose and mutual trust. Whatever trials may lie ahead, whatever political storms may arise, whatever challenges we may face, we will face them together as a family. And that, Elizabeth, gives me more comfort and confidence than any treaty or any diplomatic success possibly could.

I will write again when Lysander’s departure date approaches, and I will continue to keep you informed of developments here in Bravia that may affect our family’s interests. In the meantime, please continue your excellent work at home in maintaining our connections, preserving our documents, and representing our family’s perspective to those who need to understand it. Know that you are in my thoughts daily and in my prayers constantly, and that I am grateful for your support, your wisdom, and your courage.

May God watch over you, dear sister, and may He grant us all the wisdom, strength, and grace we need to navigate the difficult times in which we live.

Your devoted brother,

Leonidas Smith
Ambassador to the Nation of Bravia

P.S. — I am sending this letter along with the letter to Lysander and the primer by the same courier, which should ensure that you receive all three documents at the same time. I have instructed the courier to place them directly into your hands rather than leaving them with a servant, as the contents are of a sensitive nature and should be seen only by you and Lysander.

I am also sending with the courier a small additional package for you personally. It contains some Bravian tea that I have found quite excellent, as well as a small volume of Bravian poetry that I thought you might enjoy. The poetry is in Low Bravian, so you will not be able to read it without assistance, but I have included a crude translation I prepared of several of the poems. The themes are often melancholic—the Bravians, as I have noted, are a people with a deep strain of sadness running through them—but there is also beauty in the verses, and I thought you might appreciate seeing this aspect of Bravian culture.

Finally, I want you to know that I have opened an account in your name at the same banking house where I am establishing Lysander’s account. I have funded this account with a modest sum that is available to you should you need it. I do this not because I doubt that you are managing your affairs competently—on the contrary, I am confident you are doing so quite well—but rather as a form of insurance should civil disorder materialize and you need to leave quickly. The account can be accessed through correspondent banks in several cities, including our own capital, and I have included the necessary papers with this letter. I hope you never have cause to use this account, but I sleep more easily knowing it is available to you should the need arise.

L.S.