5 March 3015

My Dear Nephew Lysander,

Your letter of the 19th of February reached me yesterday, having made remarkably good time given the vagaries of sea travel at this time of year. I cannot adequately express my satisfaction at reading your acceptance of my offer, nor my pleasure at the thoughtfulness and thoroughness with which you have approached the decision. Your letter demonstrates precisely the qualities I had hoped to find in you—intellectual curiosity, careful attention to practical details, awareness of your own limitations balanced by determination to overcome them, and a genuine commitment to serving our nation’s interests with integrity. You will do well in this work, Lysander, of that I have no doubt.

Let me address your various questions and concerns in systematic fashion, as I believe that is the most efficient way to ensure I have covered all the matters you raised. I will then turn to some additional observations and recommendations that your letter prompted me to consider, and finally I will explain what I am enclosing along with this letter in response to your request for a primer on Bravian society.

First, regarding your language preparation and timeline. Your plan to achieve adequate proficiency in Low Bravian within four months strikes me as entirely reasonable. Mr. Henderson is clearly providing you with sound instruction, and his recommendation that you increase your lessons to five times per week is excellent advice. The daily journal in Low Bravian is also an outstanding practice—I reviewed the notebook you sent, and while you are correct that there are grammatical errors and vocabulary gaps, I was impressed by your progress and by the evidence of genuine effort. Your writing shows that you are thinking in the language rather than merely translating, which is precisely the right approach. Continue this practice diligently, and by the time you arrive you will have a foundation that will allow you to develop fluency relatively quickly once you are immersed in the language.

As for Middle Bravian, I concur with Mr. Henderson’s recommendation that you begin study of this language after your arrival. The two languages are indeed related closely enough that once you have a solid foundation in Low Bravian, Middle Bravian will come more easily. Moreover, you will find that many Bravians speak both languages with reasonable fluency, so even in regions where Middle Bravian predominates, you will be able to communicate adequately in Low Bravian while you are learning the local variant. I will arrange for you to have instruction in Middle Bravian once you arrive, and I expect that within six months of your arrival you will be reasonably proficient in both languages.

I should mention, however, that there are other Bravian languages you will eventually need at least some familiarity with, though these can wait until you have mastered the two most essential ones. High Bravian is spoken in the mountain regions and has a rather different character from either Low or Middle Bravian—it is derived from North Appalachian dialects mixed with Pittsburghese, and while you need not become fluent in it, some basic understanding will be valuable. There is also what the Bravians call Royal and Ecclesiastical Bravian, which is used in formal governmental and religious contexts and is essentially a prestige dialect that combines elements of Middle and High Bravian with extensive loan words from Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and various other languages. You will encounter this in written documents and formal speeches, and while you need not speak it yourself, being able to read and understand it will be important. I will provide instruction in these as your duties permit and your proficiency in the primary languages develops.

Your timeline of departing in early June and arriving in mid-to-late June is entirely acceptable from my perspective. In fact, it aligns well with my own plans for the embassy’s development. By that time I expect to have the basic structures of the embassy in place, including secure quarters for staff, a functioning office for conducting diplomatic business, and the initial protocols established for our interactions with the Bravian government. Your arrival will coincide with what I anticipate will be a period of somewhat less intense activity than what I have experienced these past months, which will allow me to devote more time to your training and orientation.

Regarding your journey from the Free Port of Bravia to the embassy, I will make all necessary arrangements from this end once I know your specific arrival date. You should plan to remain in the Free Port for two or three days after you disembark, both to recover from the voyage and to allow time for messages to reach me and for me to send transportation to collect you. I will arrange for you to stay at a modest but respectable inn near the port—not one of the grand hotels that cater to wealthy merchants, but a clean and comfortable establishment appropriate for someone in diplomatic service. I will also arrange for a guide to meet you upon your arrival, someone who speaks our language and who can help you navigate the city and ensure you encounter no difficulties during your brief stay there.

The journey from the Free Port to the embassy will take approximately three to four days under normal conditions. We will travel by vehicle along roads that are quite good by Bravian standards—indeed, the roads in the core regions of Bravia are among the best I have encountered anywhere. You will find the journey far more comfortable than some of the travels I have described in my letters to your mother. We will make the journey at a reasonable pace, allowing you to observe something of the Bravian countryside and to begin adjusting to your new surroundings without the pressure of immediate responsibilities.

Now, regarding the documents you asked about. I recommend bringing copies rather than originals of the family papers. The copies should be properly attested and sealed, which will give them adequate authority for any purposes we are likely to need them for, while leaving the originals safely with your mother. Given the political uncertainties at home that both your mother and I have discussed in our letters, preserving the originals in multiple secure locations is simply prudent. Have the copies made by a reputable clerk, ensure they bear appropriate seals, and bring those. Should we ever need the originals for some unexpected reason, they can be sent for, but I do not anticipate such a necessity.

As for personal effects beyond clothing, I would recommend bringing a modest selection of books that you find personally meaningful or useful. Space will be limited, so choose carefully—perhaps a dozen volumes that you genuinely expect to read or reference, rather than trying to transport an entire library. I would suggest including a good Bible in both our language and in Greek if you have one, some works of history and political philosophy that you have found illuminating, perhaps some poetry or literature that provides you comfort or inspiration. Books are available in Bravia, but selection in our language is limited, and while I am building up a reference library for the embassy, it will take time to make it comprehensive. What you bring should reflect your own intellectual needs and interests.

Regarding formal diplomatic attire, you will not need elaborate court dress of the sort required for formal occasions at home. The Bravians, as I have mentioned repeatedly, are remarkably plain in their dress, and showing up in the sort of ornate formal wear that would be appropriate for our own court would actually create a poor impression. What you will need is good quality, well-made clothing that is appropriate for formal occasions but without ostentatious decoration—precisely the compromise your mother has apparently reached. A good dark suit appropriate for formal meetings, proper shoes, appropriate undergarments and shirts, and perhaps one slightly more formal outfit for the most ceremonial occasions. That will suffice admirably.

Your mother’s suggestion about bringing small gifts is a good one, and not at all presumptuous. The Bravians appreciate such gestures, particularly when the gifts reflect the culture and craftwork of your home. I would recommend bringing a selection of items in various price ranges and levels of formality—some modest items suitable for thanking people who provide you with assistance or hospitality, some mid-range gifts appropriate for people you work with regularly, and perhaps one or two finer pieces that could be presented on more significant occasions. Local delicacies are particularly appreciated, as the Bravians are curious about other cultures and enjoy trying foods and drinks from other regions. Your mother’s instincts in this regard are sound.

Now I must address something in your letter that struck me as both encouraging and worthy of further discussion. You wrote with considerable candor about your struggle to understand how one can appreciate Bravian virtues while believing their ways are unsuited to our own country. You acknowledged that reading my descriptions of Bravian society made you wonder whether some of their practices might not be beneficial if implemented at home, while also recognizing that your youth and idealism might be leading you astray. I am glad you raised this matter so directly, as it touches upon what may prove to be the central challenge of your service here.

Let me be equally direct in response. Yes, you will find yourself attracted to aspects of Bravian society. Yes, you will wonder whether our own nation’s ways are truly superior to theirs in all respects. Yes, you will encounter Bravians who are admirable people, and you will observe a society that functions remarkably well despite—or perhaps because of—its radical differences from our own traditions. These are not signs of moral or intellectual weakness on your part. They are the natural and appropriate responses of an intelligent observer encountering a society that has genuine virtues.

The challenge is not to suppress these observations or to deny the genuine admiration they prompt. The challenge is to hold simultaneously in mind the truth that Bravian ways work for Bravians while also recognizing that transplanting those ways to our soil would likely prove disastrous. This is not moral relativism—it is an acknowledgment that political and social systems are not abstract ideals but are deeply embedded in specific historical, cultural, and circumstantial contexts.

The Bravians are who they are because of their unique history. They arrived in this land as exiles, already bound together by shared religious beliefs and a common experience of persecution. They settled empty lands where there were no entrenched elites to displace, no existing populations to accommodate or subjugate, no feudal obligations or hereditary claims to navigate. They could build their society from the ground up according to their principles, and those principles were themselves shaped by their religious convictions and their experience of exile. Their egalitarianism is not merely a political philosophy—it is a religious conviction born of their belief that all humans are created in God’s image and that their community is meant to be, as they put it, a kingdom of priests.

Our own society, in contrast, has developed over many generations through a complex process of accommodation between various interest groups—the crown, the nobility, the church, the merchant classes, the common people. Our system of governance has evolved to balance these interests and to maintain stability among groups with very different amounts of power and wealth. To suddenly introduce Bravian-style egalitarianism into this context would not produce a stable Bravian-style society. It would more likely produce chaos as various groups fought to establish new power relationships in the absence of the traditional structures that have regulated their interactions.

This does not mean our system is perfect or that it cannot be improved. It does mean that any improvements must be organic developments from where we actually are, not wholesale importations of practices from a radically different context. The Bravians themselves understand this, incidentally. They do not attempt to export their system to other nations, though they are happy to share it with those who freely choose to adopt it. They recognize that their ways are not universally applicable, and they do not view other systems as inherently illegitimate merely because they differ from their own.

I tell you all this, Lysander, not to resolve your intellectual and moral struggles—as you rightly note, those are things you must work through yourself—but to give you a framework for thinking about them. Your awareness of your own potential biases is itself a valuable protection, and your commitment to seeking guidance rather than simply trusting your initial reactions shows wisdom. Continue to observe carefully, continue to think critically about what you see, and do not hesitate to discuss your observations and questions with me. I will not judge you for having thoughts that might be considered heterodox by some at home. What I will judge you on is whether you can hold those thoughts responsibly, considering their full implications rather than merely their immediate appeal.

Now I must address a practical matter that has arisen since I received your letter and your mother’s letter. I have learned that there will be a formal presentation of credentials ceremony shortly after your arrival, where I will officially present my credentials as ambassador to the Exilarch and where the structure of our embassy will be formally recognized by the Bravian government. It would be highly appropriate for you to be present at this ceremony, both because you will be serving as my chief aide and because the Bravians will want to know who is part of our diplomatic mission. This means that your initial weeks here will be somewhat more formal and ceremonial than I had originally anticipated, and you should be prepared for that.

The ceremony itself will be relatively simple by our standards—the Bravians do not go in for elaborate pomp—but it will be conducted with appropriate gravity, and there will be speeches and formal presentations. You will be introduced as my nephew and attaché, and you will be expected to make appropriate responses to various officials. I am telling you this now so that you can prepare yourself mentally for stepping into a formal diplomatic role almost immediately upon arrival, rather than having a longer period of adjustment and orientation. Do not be overly concerned about this—I will brief you thoroughly before the ceremony, and the Bravians will not expect elaborate speeches or performances from someone in your position—but you should be aware that you will be on display, so to speak, from nearly the moment you arrive.

I must also mention something that has developed since I wrote to your mother, and which affects our family’s position here. I have been approached by several Bravian officials who have expressed interest in understanding more about our nation’s political system and social structure. This interest is not merely diplomatic courtesy—the Bravians are genuinely curious about how other societies function, and they ask penetrating questions that sometimes require careful responses. Your arrival will likely increase this interest, as the Bravians will be curious about the younger generation in our country and about what attitudes and expectations you bring with you.

I mention this because you should be prepared for the possibility that you will be asked direct questions about your views on various political and social matters. The Bravians value honesty, as I have mentioned repeatedly, and they can detect evasion quite readily. At the same time, you must be careful not to say things that could be construed as criticisms of our own government or system, as such statements could be reported back home and could create difficulties for our family. The balance you must strike is between being honest about your observations and questions while also being clear that you are here to represent your nation as it is, not to advocate for its transformation according to Bravian models.

I trust you to navigate these conversations with appropriate discretion, but I wanted to alert you to the possibility so that you are not caught off guard. If you find yourself in a conversation where you are uncertain how to respond, it is perfectly acceptable to say that you are still learning about Bravian society and that you need more time to develop informed views about how different systems compare. The Bravians will respect intellectual humility more than they will respect confident pronouncements on matters you do not yet fully understand.

Regarding the financial arrangements your mother and her man of business have been discussing, I think their approach is sound. Establishing a line of credit with a banking house that operates in the Free Port of Bravia is sensible, as it will allow you flexibility while avoiding the risks of carrying large amounts of cash. I will provide you with the names of several banking houses that I have found reliable, and you can direct your man of business to make arrangements with one of them. The Bravians have quite sophisticated financial systems, and their banks are honest and efficient—you need have no concerns about the security of your funds.

As for investments in Bravian property, I continue to believe this could be quite advantageous, but I strongly recommend that you wait at least six months after your arrival before making any significant commitments. You will need time to understand the Bravian property market, to identify which areas are likely to appreciate most rapidly, and to develop relationships with honest agents who can help you make sound purchases. There is no rush, and the opportunities will still be there once you have had time to learn the lay of the land. In the meantime, save what you can from your stipend and supplement it with funds from your mother as seems appropriate, so that when you do identify good opportunities you will have capital available to act on them.

I was pleased to learn from your letter that you have been speaking with Father Dominic about Bravian religious practices. His observations about the stability of societies that internalize moral standards rather than merely following imposed rules is quite perceptive, and accords with my own observations. The Bravian religious culture is indeed biblically grounded in a way that is both familiar and foreign to us. They read the same scriptures we do, but they interpret and apply them in ways that sometimes differ markedly from our traditions. Understanding this religious dimension of Bravian culture will be essential to understanding the culture as a whole, as religion is not merely one aspect of Bravian life but is thoroughly integrated into their political, social, and economic practices.

I note that Father Dominic assured you there was nothing problematic about Bravian religious practices from the standpoint of Christian orthodoxy. This is largely true, though there are some theological emphases that differ from our own traditions. The Bravians place great stress on Old Testament law and its application to contemporary life, which sometimes strikes observers as somewhat Judaizing. They observe several Old Testament festivals and holy days that are not generally observed in our tradition. Their church governance is quite different from ours, with less hierarchical authority and more congregational autonomy. These differences are not heretical, but they do reflect a different approach to Christian faith and practice, and you should be aware of them.

Now I come to the matter of the primer you requested. I have been working on this document since receiving your letter, and I am enclosing it with this correspondence. I have tried to provide a systematic overview of the essential features of Bravian society that you should understand before your arrival—their political system, their religious practices, their social structure, their economic organization, and their cultural values. I have also included sections on matters of diplomatic protocol and common mistakes that foreigners make when dealing with Bravians. The document is lengthy—nearly forty pages—but I believe you will find it both comprehensive and useful.

I recommend that you read the primer through from beginning to end at least once to get an overall sense of how Bravian society functions, and then return to specific sections as questions arise or as you need to refresh your memory on particular topics. The primer is not meant to be memorized but rather to serve as a reference that you can consult as needed. Bring it with you when you come—I have kept a copy for my own use, so you need not worry about returning it—and feel free to annotate it with your own observations and questions as your understanding develops.

I should mention that the primer necessarily simplifies some matters that are quite complex in practice. Bravian society has considerable regional variation—the High Bravians of the mountains are quite different from the Low Bravians of the coastal regions, for example—and there are subtleties of custom and practice that can only be learned through direct experience. The primer will give you a solid foundation, but you should expect that your understanding will continue to develop and deepen throughout your time here. Do not be discouraged if you encounter things that seem to contradict what you have read in the primer—it may be that you are encountering regional variation, or it may be that your understanding of what you have read needs to be refined through experience.

I want to say something about your mother’s miniature portrait of you, which arrived safely along with your letter. The artist has indeed done fine work, and while you worry that she has been more flattering than accuracy warrants, I see in the portrait a young man who is thoughtful, serious, and determined—qualities that I believe you genuinely possess, whatever doubts you may have about the gravity and confidence the artist has captured. I have already shown the portrait to several Bravian officials with whom I work regularly, explaining that my nephew will be joining me and will serve as my chief aide. They have expressed approval and have said they look forward to meeting you. The portrait has served its purpose well.

There is one observation I must make about the portrait that touches upon something important. The portrait shows you as you are—a young man of our nation, dressed in our fashion, with the bearing and expression appropriate to someone of your class and background. This is entirely fitting. When you arrive in Bravia, you will encounter considerable pressure, mostly implicit but occasionally explicit, to adopt Bravian ways—their dress, their mannerisms, their patterns of speech. I urge you to resist this pressure to a significant degree. You are not here to become a Bravian, or even to become a Bravian sympathizer. You are here to represent our nation while developing an understanding of Bravian society.

This does not mean you should be rigidly adherent to our ways in all circumstances. You will need to adapt to some degree—learning their languages, understanding their customs, behaving appropriately in their social contexts. But you should maintain your fundamental identity as someone from our nation, someone who represents a different tradition and a different set of values. The Bravians will actually respect you more for this than they would if you attempted to shed your identity and become like them. They understand that different peoples have different ways, and they do not expect or desire that everyone become Bravian. What they do expect is honesty about who you are and what you represent.

I raise this point because I have observed that some foreigners who come to Bravia undergo what I can only describe as a kind of conversion experience. They become so enamored with Bravian ways that they essentially repudiate their own backgrounds and seek to remake themselves as Bravians. This is neither necessary nor desirable. You can appreciate Bravian virtues, learn from Bravian practices, and work effectively with Bravians while still remaining firmly rooted in your own identity. Indeed, you must do so if you are to serve our nation effectively.

Before I close this letter, I want to address the personal matters you raised toward the end of your own letter. You spoke of the bond between your father and myself, of the stories your mother has been telling you, and of your hope that we can develop our own relationship beyond what we had when you were merely a child. I was moved by these sentiments, Lysander, more than I can easily express in a letter.

Your father was indeed my closest friend as well as my brother. We grew up together, supported each other through various difficulties, and maintained a bond that distance and circumstance could diminish but never break. His death was one of the great sorrows of my life, and there has not been a day since that I have not thought of him and wished he could have been spared to see his son grow to manhood. I have tried to honor his memory through my service to our nation, but more importantly, through my care for those he loved and left behind.

I see much of your father in you, Lysander—not merely in your physical appearance, though there is some resemblance, but in your character, your intellectual curiosity, your thoughtfulness about moral and political questions, your desire to serve something larger than yourself. Your father had all these qualities, and they served him well throughout his life. I have no doubt they will serve you equally well.

But I also see things in you that are distinctly your own—a kind of intellectual humility that your father sometimes lacked, a greater comfort with acknowledging uncertainty and limitations, a different temperament that may actually be better suited to diplomatic work than your father’s more assertive personality would have been. You are not your father, Lysander, and I do not expect you to be. You are yourself, and that self has much to recommend it.

I look forward to knowing you as an adult and to working with you in this important work. I believe we can indeed build something together that would make your father proud—not merely professional accomplishments, though I hope we will have those, but also a relationship of mutual respect and affection that honors the bond between brothers by extending it to the next generation. Your coming to Bravia represents many things—professional opportunity, family strategy, national service—but it also represents a chance for us to be family in a way that distance and circumstances have previously prevented. I value that opportunity as much as any of the others.

Now, I must bring this letter to a close, as it has already grown to considerable length and I have diplomatic business that requires my attention this afternoon. I will write again as your departure date approaches to provide you with final details about travel arrangements and to address any additional questions that may arise. In the meantime, continue your preparations with the same diligence and thoughtfulness you have demonstrated thus far. You are on the right path, Lysander, and I have every confidence that you will acquit yourself well in the challenges that lie ahead.

Study the primer I am sending carefully. Practice your Low Bravian diligently. Conclude your affairs at home with appropriate attention to those you are leaving behind. Prepare yourself mentally for a dramatic change in your life and circumstances. And know that when you arrive in Bravia, you will find not only a demanding position and a challenging assignment, but also a family member who is eager to welcome you, to guide you, and to work alongside you in service of our nation’s interests and our family’s welfare.

May God grant you wisdom, courage, and grace in the months ahead, and may He watch over both of us as we navigate the complex and sometimes dangerous currents of our time.

With deep affection and high expectations,

Your uncle,

Leonidas Smith
Ambassador to the Nation of Bravia

P.S. — I am sending this letter along with the primer by special courier, which should ensure rapid delivery and secure handling. The courier is a man I have used before and who has proven reliable. He will also be carrying some additional materials for you—a few books about the region that I have found useful, some maps of Bravia showing the locations of various provinces and cities, and a small Bravian-English dictionary that Mr. Henderson may find useful in his instruction. Consider these as tools for your preparation rather than as gifts requiring reciprocation.

I should also mention that I have made arrangements with a banking house here in Bravia to establish an account in your name, which I have funded with a modest sum to cover your initial expenses upon arrival. The details are included in a separate sealed letter that the courier will give you. This will allow you to have some funds immediately available when you arrive, before your line of credit from home is fully established, and will ensure you are not dependent on carrying large amounts of cash during your journey.

Finally, do not worry excessively about the formal presentation ceremony I mentioned. Yes, you will be on display, and yes, you will need to conduct yourself appropriately, but the Bravians are quite forgiving of minor mistakes made by those who are new to their country and their ways. Be yourself—courteous, attentive, thoughtful—and that will be entirely sufficient.

L.S.