Letter to Lady Valmer

[Hyllus Green 1]

 

Regent Valerie of Valjer,

As you may not receive many letters, I find that you’ll most definitely find yourself reading this one. I can’t help but think that your concerns for this town are becoming progressively detached from the people you rule. I give I would like to make myself clear that I am not questioning your position as Regent, but instead, I question your position in your priority as a Valjeric. I believe that some of your recent policy is out of touch and incongruous reasoning for their existence. When you first took the role of Regent, I was under the impression that you wouldn’t that you were interested in the success and well-being of your people. I believed that you valued the happiness and content living of the people in your care. However, various aspects of the decisions that I hear of in the tavern and the farmhouse have led me to the idea that just as Regent Bailey ruled with the full intention of prioritizing becoming the center of trade over his people, you have decided to expand west into Mount Fulgur. I see no other reason for how this policy could be of use. In this letter, I would like to do two things: Firstly, under the assumption that this is not your goal, I want to explain how your policy hinders the living of your people. Secondly, under the assumption that this is your goal, I would like to convince you that expansion isn’t a viable option for you or the people of Valjer. If the former is your stance, then I would like to point out that you may need to question the advice of your consultants. They may have other motivations in mind.

 

I would first like to speak of the new educational policies and the increased funding for physical enhancement. The reason given for this policy is unsubstantial. Your messengers explained that our youth must avoid becoming physically inept sounds like a baseless fear. They say that our youth is insulting the value of physical labor we uphold in Valjer with the increased popularity of explorative and musical interests. These values have no real hold over our traditions. Our youth knows the importance of physical labor more than they know their artistic magic. This increase in physical enhancement seems arbitrary and does not necessarily teach the value of physical labor. The enhancement exercise and hours look simulate a lot of what our military adopts as well as the practices of Bounty hunters. As a former bounty hunter, I can’t help but see the similarities in how I lived and how this new structure works. This structure doesn’t make the pupils value the importance of farming or hunting. Intense training is not needed or encouraging of working the hammer and nail. We have enough mercenaries in our town. I do not believe we should be home breeding them and dramatically complicating the already large quantity of dangerous labor, which is many steps away from being just physical labor. There is also the want for the construction of mountain-side villages that struck me as arbitrary and unnecessary. I can only assume that the “construction” is to gain more control of the area for the sake of expansion. We don’t need more ice and snow mines we have a surplus in our mines right now. I can only see this expansion as benefitting a control into the regions near the intersection. Along with the increased production in magi-tech, I can only imagine that these mini villages are checkpoints or armories.  These policies, at best, are unnecessary and at worst, are for creating a militant group of citizens that will be expanding into the territories in Mount Fulgur. The new structure of education is one that I find abhorrent because in your time of rule have radically changed the system of education in our town. This choice I one I find both contradictory and insulting to all you have done for the people and the youth in this place. You are restricting the educational freedom of our younger generations. This is stifling their potential at becoming the greatest storytellers, musicians, linguists, explorers, or writers. This funding is not helping our youth succeed or value physical labor. It is conditioning them to value combat and attack as some of the exercises are quick violent. With that said, I would like to question your decision on the assumption that your goal is militant expansion.

 

If this policy exists for that reason, I would first like to say that hiding this motivation from your people is unforgivable. You are harming them in doing so. It is their children who are being conditioned to fight for you. This choice is inattentive misuse of power and a violation of healthy transparency. Additionally, expanding to the territories over Mount Fulgur will start unnecessary tension between Valjer and Stormward. If you intend to make such an ambitious move, then I believe you will instigate a charged conflict which will not finish well for us. Invading Stormward would be an especially unwise idea. It would cause much unrest, which is more than anyone would be able to handle while in control of two very separated areas. This western expansion also makes us vulnerable to more attacks, as threats can raid these checkpoints with ease, despite how remote they may be. It is best to stay centralized and focus efforts on the safety and prosperity of the Valjerics. I get the feeling that as a well-intentioned ruler, you are not where these ideas originated from, but if you are, this will hurt us. These actions will hinder the living of the people I know you care for deeply. The expansion will strain the ability of the rangers and Wolfbane to defend this place. It will cause panic when the time to take over a whole mountain comes to pass, and the tension between cities begins to rise. This letter is a warning that whomever your advisors are, they are crafting a militia out of our people one rule at a time. For the sake of Valjer and the whole Cold South, I say remove the policies. Otherwise, I will have no choice but begin to raise my voice on the matter. Some of the Valjerics will surely listen when they are told that we will become more vulnerable to white wolves everywhere if we continue these unjustified choices. I care for this town and will go to lengths to halt any potential harm to it. I hope you find this letter helpful or alarming, depending on your perspective.

 

Respectfully,                                        

A Concerned Valjeric