-IS 501-
Sasarai-
Let me beat you to the punch when it comes to sending out the thank-you letters. After all, I was the first to take advantage of your hospitality. Tit-for-tat, eh?
Seriously, thank you for everything you've done. I mean, I've only had a surname for ten years--not even--and you treated me like royalty. This goes beyond sticking your neck out for me, this is like sticking your neck out with your face to a bonfire. I'd say I don't deserve it, but I know you'd do the same for nearly anyone. Nearly.
But still. You stabled twenty-one dragons for three months. That takes a pair. Not a lot of clergymen have that.
Believe me when I say that it's almost entirely thanks to you that I had such a great stay in the Valley. Not that the plays and the museums and the fights and tournaments and all that weren't stimulating--I just wouldn't have had a clue what to do if I was there as just a plain citizen. Nor would I have been able to do half the things I did, but that's beside the point. You showed me and my guards a damned fine time, your Eminence, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
And then it turns out no, it wasn't enough for you! You had to take me up on my offer to join us in Goya for the Eldest Living's birthday, which would of course pale in comparison to three months in Crystal Valley--especially considering that, by the nature of the ritual itself, I couldn't accommodate as many of your men as you did mine, and you probably would have needed a bigger guard than I did if your visit was public.
That's what I have to thank you for the most. You understood that I couldn't accept a courtly visit, but you still came. You literally paused your life for a month, for my sake. I don't think I've adequately expressed how honored I feel. I don't think I can.
That I didn't deserve. I mean, you did it for Hugo, but it was wartime and war calls for different things. You put aside your title and your allegiance in a time of peace for the sake of celebrating a culture that wasn't yours. I honestly didn't think a Harmonian would ever do that. Pardon the racism, but I've got a point, and you still blunted it.
Thank you, Sasarai, for joining us in celebration of the Eldest Living's three-thousandth birthday. I only wish he were turning thirty-five-hundred next year so I could make sure to get you back again.
-Futch
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Commander Schvarzeleber,
Crafty of you, "beating Us to the punch". Your letter arrived in Crystal Valley before We did. Our associates were unsure of what to do with it and, more importantly, of where We were. Our Divine Father was somewhat displeased.
We forgive you, though. The adventure and your company throughout it proved more than worth Our endurance of the resultant admonishment by Our superior. Besides, Our Divine Father understood the reasons for Our surreptitious departure and was content to accept the whole situation as a visit of state, though in Our heart-of-hearts We do not believe it such.
We are floored by your praise. That is as succinctly as We can express it. We feel such flattery is undue, as nearly all of it is reciprocated. We assure you that all actions taken on Our part for the purpose of maintaining your quality of life in Crystal Valley were worth Our efforts. Though you are correct in that We would have taken similar consideration for any other of Our guests, We remind you that We did not extend such an offer to any others, nor would we have.
And as for your feelings on Our accepting your reciprocal invitation, do understand the appeal of what you offered Us! Not only would We be permitted to continue Our exposure to your company, We could do so in the presence of an event We would likely never have the opportunity to witness again. In the face of such magnanimity what could We do but accept? So please, know of the limited selfishness of Our actions, and you need not be so aghast and humbled. You were worth Our decision. We are sure you know that in your heart-of-hearts and are merely trying to assuage Us with undue and uncharacteristic modesty. There is no need to feign ignorance of your own place in Our heart.
If anything, We ought thank you for your extending the offers of lifetimes and the pleasure of your company to such a dangerous person as We, and for complying with wishes both articulated and un-. You generosity is unparalleled, and We Ourself are overwhelmed by it, much the same way you claim to be.
We pray for your continued correspondence and health.
Fondly,
Sasarai I
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-IS 502-
Sasarai-
Sorry about the delay, but my boys have been having trouble in the Grasslands. I think you know all about that. In fact, I think you know more about it than I do. But I don't want to run the risk of turning these letters into something political, so I won't.
I'm good. I've been a bit occupied lately with the reconnaissance business, and a couple of other things, but since I'm holding true to your terms and can't go there myself there's a limit to what I can do. I'm sure that's why you put the ban in place--if I were you I wouldn't want me to find Hugo either--but I'm not you and I'm going to do everything I can to figure out what the Hell happened. Sorry.
You never said anything about recruiting allies that weren't my knights, so I kind of did that. They're not under my direct command, I'm not paying them anything, I barely even gave them the idea. I'm just endorsing their decision to pursue something that ultimately might coincide with my goals. Might, I said. They're following a lead, that's all.
The trouble was, of course, that I didn't want to get your sleepy dad ticked off at another country, since I don't want to be responsible for starting another war. Guess I got lucky that these guys passed through here last week bearing really bad news and looking for a good adventure. They're not affiliated with any country, so you can't legitimately start a war because of them--not that that would stop you--they work for cheap (cheap thrills, at least), and most importantly, they don't have any direct ties to the deceased. Just the bereaved. So we talked it over and they decided to look into one of the hints I gave them.
You know, their timing was perfect. They came on the heels of the on a pretty late realization on my part. I was going over reports from a decade ago when you were still at war, and looking for important names, commanders, runebearers, anything. I kind of expected you had Yuber on your side or something, but the words didn't smell like him. Besides, you'd never do that. And then said realization hit me, and I told these two guys and their talking sword about it, and even the talking sword was all for it.
Yes, I know they're supposed to be really old. One of them is. You seriously think that slows them down any?
Also, Humphrey's dead. That funeral I'm going to. These guys came back to get me since they knew I'd want to be there.
I'm giving the sword to his grandson. Thought you ought to know.
Keep well,
-Futch
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Commander Schvarzeleber,
We extend our deepest condolences to you with regard to the passing of General Mintz. It is Our hope that he is treated with the honor he deserves in the next world, if there is any means by which to secure such a vast amount of respect for one human soul. Having come to know this man almost entirely through your stories, We have come to believe that no quantity or quality of any love for him but yours is sufficient, even the welcome arms of the hereafter.
In light of this news, We have taken the liberty of sending kind words and prayers to the Mintz family, tardiness aside.
We are sure that this missive will await your return to Goya, and hope that said return is made with more hope and less grief than you are undoubtedly plagued by as We write.
Fondly,
Sasarai I
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Sasarai-
Thank you. I'm sure the family thanks you too, but I'm not in a position to say.
They didn't accept the sword. Yeah, shocked me too. They said that what Humphrey did was unprecedented--giving it to someone outside the family, namely me, while he was still alive, I mean--and that they had to honor his decision. I could tell they didn't like me very much, especially after I told them that it could very easily turn into four or five generations before I died, and that Humphrey probably hadn't known that when he gave me the sword in the first place. His wife just kind of sneered at that--you know the face, Luca Blight used to make it--and said that "Well, I guess by the time we get it back, it won't be a Mintz sword anymore." I told her where she could sheathe it if she managed to get it back this generation.
It was an interesting funeral.
His kids were a good deal nicer to me than his wife, and their kids were a mixed bag. The sword's supposed to go to the youngest in direct male line who can lift it. "Lift", not "heft". If it had been "heft" or "wield" I would have kept the sword anyway, since they're all pretty weak compared to Humphrey, but the guy that ended up fitting the "lift" criteria was a bad seed anyway. Dumb as a box of rocks, and I think that's a double insult coming from me. I'm not smart, just smartassed. Also, old, and the older you get, the stupider kids seem.
I should probably give them some credit, especially Madame Mintz. I mean, Humphrey married her, and there are little Mintzes puttering around Gregminster, so she has to have had, at some point, a redeeming quality. At least one. She may have lost it, but Humphrey loved her at some point, and she loved him. If I give her the benefit of the doubt, I mean. Which I'm doing. I'm just bitter, and so are they. Figures when I deal with grief around people I become a horrible person and when I deal with it alone...well, I just deal with it. Or I get sentimental to you.
Also, those guys I recruited are on their way now. Thanks for not saying a word in your last letter. That way I can pretend you don't know and haven't done anything about it yet. Frankly, I'm not sure I want to know what you think of or plan to do, so this way we're both happy.
I was hoping to find and contract a Silverberg at the funeral, but there weren't any. Since these letters aren't political, can you point me in the right direction? I mean, this kind of quest seems right up the family alley.
-Futch
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-IS 503-
Commander Schvarzeleber,
It is Our observation that you misunderstand the nature of "Silverberg". Given, your experience with the family has ever been from a greater distance than Ours, though nominally for longer. We will endeavor to explain.
The Silverberg credo has, in recent years, been thoroughly and meticulously violated, much to the chagrin of many, including Ourself. The schism of the brothers that aided us in the Second Fire Bringer War exhibits this at its most extreme yet, and has resulted in Albert's tenebrous imperialism in the apparent form of a self-imposed exile, and Caesar's deportation. Neither brother can be said to exemplify the foundations of the family.
You surely recall Lord Leon and Lord Mathiu. These great men are the source of the disparity, as you well know, at least upon reflection. By calling into question whether the strategist himself is above the fate of his troops, Mathiu disrupted the central pillar of the family's ideologies; its elitism. Silverbergs believed that the loss of the strategist was the effective loss of the army, hence their emphasis on the furthering of strategy as an art, and hence their subsequent fame.
The resultant deconstruction of that elitism perpetuated the nascence of other disputes and contradictions within the family's infrastructure; for instance, whether the burden of minimalizing casualties is more relevant than the creed to limit casualties to the military. It was raised, perhaps, "Is assassination an acceptable tactic if the target is civilian?" After that, "Is assassination an acceptable tactic if the target is a strategist?" And, "If the strategist is an acceptable target, is he not risking his life (and, by extension, the life of his army) by simply fulfilling the role of strategist?" And then, Mathiu was himself assassinated.
One debate leads to another in a family of that kind. They are intelligent, after all. And debate leads to camps of thought, and camps of thought oppose. The differences between the camps become their banners, and are emphasized until the point at which the original ideals, the similarities, are lost in favor of distinction. In the case of Lord Mathiu and Lord Leon, the recreated Silverberg philosophies became dependent on whether the strategist was above his soldiers, or equal-but-different. In as little as a generation, arrogant Albert ascribes himself to the first, and slovenly Caesar the second, and neither son is Silverberg in essence.
Albert emphasizes his superiority and Caesar his approachability. Neither of these qualities is a vaunted Silverberg trait--in fact, both go against the ideals of the credo as Lord Leon learned it.
As for the other points you addressed in your letter, We are sorry, though amused, that the rites of General Mintz played out as they did, and are relieved that the Muramasa was not passed to someone unworthy of it. We endorse your decision to withhold it and theirs to let you. Perhaps General Mintz's characteristics will skip a few generations, and you will find among his scions a worthy soul when Madame Mintz has long gone back to the earth.
We pray for your luck along your chosen course of action, and your health.
Fondly,
Sasarai I
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Sasarai-
In other words, I'm on my own. Ah, well. Thanks for the history lesson, though.
This is going to seem like an odd question, but you're probably a good person to ask it. Probably because my current Second-in-command has been acting strangely lately. I mean more than usual. Beyond the midnight flights and the dwarven ale.
There's a tradition among the Dragon Knight Captains. I think you remember the way I treated my Second and my Third when you were visiting, and I think it might have struck you as different than the way you treated your new Second. And I noticed you didn't have a "Third." Maybe it's because you're also a Second yourself. But do you remember that I wrote my Second and Third separate missives when I was staying with you?
The thing we Dragon Knights do about succession tends to seem weird to other people, especially ones from places that are ruled like Toran. One of the earliest Captains figured out that it was a bad idea to let the Second-in-Command be next in line for the position of Captain. For one thing, the role of a second isn't to be the ruler, it's to be the guy that stops the ruler from screwing up. The best Second is one who never has to stand in for the Captain in any way, really. It's kind of like during the wars, how the Tenkai sometimes existed for the explicit purpose of getting all the attention so the strategist didn't get assassinated. Not that it worked, but that was a special case and I still hope Sanchez burns in Hell for what he did. The point remains that unless the threat's an inside threat, the Second-in-Command should stay as far out of the limelight as possible.
That's why it's important that I have a Third-in-Command, and the tradition here in Goya is that the Third is the successor. This really makes a lot of things easier. For one thing, if the Third ascends, he'll get to have the same Second I did, at least for a while, and that way he can learn the ropes. If the Second tries to mutiny, the Third can stop him and totally veto it, and if the Third tries to mutiny, the Second's usually powerful enough to get him out of office. (And if the Second and the Third mutiny together, there's probably a damned good reason for getting the Captain out of power and I don't blame them a bit.)
But what do you do when you think your Second's going crazy? When push comes to shove, he's more important than your Third as long as you're alive and well. And a Third is easier to replace. The only times in Dragon Knight history that there have been coups, the Second was either behind it or completely out of the picture. My Second's getting old and getting crazy--what would you do in my position?
-Futch
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Commander Schvarzeleber,
So is Ours, when We think about it. In his case, though, he was already crazy, and We can do naught but let him remain so.
Come to think of it, Our position is very different than yours, in that Our Second is a more active in Our affairs than we are. The situation is not as it was with the Deacon Dios Eizal, and his replacement was not the first name to come to mind when you inquired as to Our "Second." I doubt he is viewed as such in the public eye. However, it seems natural that this body is not put into jeopardy by those to whom it matters more than Us, and that Our retainers enjoy greater liberties. You have confessed to feeling similarly about removing yourself for three months to visit with Us in Harmonia. It is the same for Us, different only in that it has always been so. At least we can be assured that Our Second will be around for years to come, provided he doesn't get impaled on a certain talking sword.
In your position, We would allow your Third to recommend potential advisors to be groomed. Given your race's history and the longevity of your past (and current) leaders, there is likely a precedent.
We pray for your health and that of your Second, and for the stability of your regime.
Fondly,
Sasarai I
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Sasarai-
You can't be serious. You think of Nash as your Second? When did that start?
I'm so glad these letters aren't political. Otherwise I could have gotten on your country's bad side. Remind me never to do that. Ever.
Unless, of course, the guys with the talking sword do what they said they were planning on doing. It'll be easier to get on your bad side then. I shudder to think what Nash does to people who put you off.
-Futch
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Commander Schvarzeleber,
So do We.
Do take care of yourself, friend. It is growing cold in Goya at this time of year, is it not?
Fondly,
Sasarai I
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