- Pronouns
- They/Them
Brother,
Truly, I do not know whether this is all a species of your humor, brother, such as when you suggested that my pamphlets and broadsheets should all be in a phonetic rendition of our regional accent. But you have asked for rumors and news involving General Durand, and I cannot gather what your purpose is in this. And of course, we are probably behind on this matter. Your letter has arrived at the same time as news of General Durand's victory outside of Daurstein, but who knows what has happened since then! Perhaps my letter will find you in Engelsburg, though I will have to say I do not know who that would be popular with unless it was crowned by the kind of total success that forgives all sins. I cannot comment on the choices you have before you, you know I know nothing about military affairs.
Well, with regards to military affairs I had that one hilarious encounter, but I do not think you wish to know of your younger brother's picadillos. So, what do I know? I am regarded as rather provincial, and so that and my politics see me rarely dining in Constitutionalist circles. However, the rumors and calumny that have been spreading against Raka Durand among that circle has to be heard to be believed. Of course, the more refined people in the Convention would not dare to question her, but there is a royalist contingent in the capital, and one can only devoutly wish for their humiliation as they are forced to dance the Carmagnole in defeat when Citizen Clotaire is dismissed from his office, though you know that irony of ironies I feel as if execution is such a crude thing, and I cannot on a personal note approve of more than that.
I will say, recently some clever Royalist broadsiders have taken to invoking the specter of a mystical Kayzar, who legend says was a General whose military ambitions doomed Atlantis and with it the greatest hope for the world, which is something that is of interest to a few.
The Consulars, you summarized as not being very interested in Raka Durand either way, and perhaps this is mostly true. They are concerned, most of all, with the successful conclusion of the war and the establishment of a Republic, and are under the impression that her swift victories will surely mean that the likes of Norn will sue for peace any day now, ending the bloodshed as quickly as it began. I am not so sanguine on the matter, as you well known: we grew up in that area, and the Nornish are not going to surrender easily, ande neither are any of the other forces of reaction and backwardness.
However, among a few of them they have been hypothetically debating their "Consul" idea, and whether a military general would be too great of a risk to become Consul. Some say that such a person, if they were sufficiently wise, would not be able to overawe the Assembly and would fit well with the old theories of the "balance of powers."
Against these, in salons, are some Levelers both 'Right' and 'Left' who worry that a General cannot be trusted with absolute power based on both Elvish traditions of Atlantis, but also the old stories involving Halfling peasants' Republics, or even that the idea of a Consul was absurd and a sop to monarchists. These people still do tend to like Durand, even if a few of them worry about the possibility of the war expanding too far, but they like her as a General. I do not think you're sounding me out for a Military Coup ala the ancient history of Dythmarschien, and if you are you really are barking up the wrong tree, but it should be noted that the Levelers can only be so in favor of a general. The limit is simply that much of the history that Halflings write seems to teach them that Generals who are too powerful become Kings or would-be Kings. However, there are at least a few Levelers, including that friend of mine, that are curious about the General's politics. This is not because they are scouting her out for politics, let alone rulership, but because they think that this might be a 'way in' to the soldiers' vote, which by and large is monopolized, or so everyone believes, by the Liberationists.
She clearly has sympathies with the Levelers, so is she a country girl or a city girl? This is a question to ask, when the "Left" and "Right" of that loose confederation disagree on so much and cluster around a few champions and standard-bearers. Recently we've heard an argument made from Left Leveler to Liberationist that only through consistent reforms of our agriculture can provide the Republic with the food it needs to stabilize, and the popularity among the peasants it needs to both prevent revolt and raise more troops for… whatever ends.
Even Liberationists are not entirely convinced by the immediate feasibility of some grand march to conquer the whole of Norn. They think it will take time and that overextending could risk things. But it is likely that they are of the belief that making too many demands of Generals in the field is a good way to create the very conditions the Levelers fear.
As for other rumors? Well, there are always the absurd sex scandals which follow anyone of any popularity or prominence. To believe every one of them, General Durand could not have even been fighting the battles because she would have been pinned down to the matter of "congress" with bird, beast, man, woman, Devil and seven or eight Dwarfs with absurd names that come out as a biased caricature, presumably all at the same time. If this is the case and she is somehow still winning such grand victories for Arne, then may I say that all of our generals could apparently do with such a healthy sex life!
But I do not think it is so. As for other rumors regarding her past, a few questions have been asked, in a conspiratorial manner, about her survival of the storm that destroyed her unit in '31, or "Pre Revolutionary Year Negative Three." Yes, you heard that right, there are some who want to now view all of history as merely a means by which one tracks the time to the coming of the Revolution. Well, more power to them I would say! The questions about survival imply that somehow she might have conspired with enemies of Arne to guarantee her survival. But others survived, albeit none from her unit, and they all did the same way: they swam for their lives and got lucky that the sharks didn't get them.
I am sorry for being so brief on the matter, you know that I would write ten-thousand words if I had time, but I will try to wrap it up post-haste, so as to not destroy the back of the brave courier traveling all that way to supply you with my paltry words. At the moment, Madame Durand has little enough to fear that she would not know about. Of course the Constitutionalists hate her, and of course the Convention wants to view itself as the master in this situation. Indeed, they would take a dim view of too much of an overextension, and yet every time that Madame Durand has dared it has paid off. So, within reason, I do not think it will be a disaster to act. But then, "not a disaster" can cover many states, and it all depends on what she is doing and what her goals are. So long as her goals are to win military victories and she does so, I do not see how there can be problems? Wait, no, that is far too idealistic. In truth there are a thousand things that can go wrong.
Speaking of going wrong, our mother is in quite a state, our sister's engagement has been called off. What's more, she did it herself, saying that he was a dirty Royalist and not fit to touch her. Indeed it seems as if there is a rash of such events, a real revival of the Lisytrata tradition that had only ever been seen before in plays! This and other diverse events meant that this will be a summer of weddings, but of a different kind. Oh, to hear the people sing of victory and dance through the streets and volunteer to join the army. There are many tearful goodbyes too, for all that everyone is sure that at the rate we're going we'll have conquered all of Norn by no later than Year's End, and that only if we decide to be sporting and give them a breather of a few months.
I am not so optimistic, I still fear that it will get worse long before it gets better as the Nornish do as they have always done and grind us down. I remember our father talking about the old wars, and how many heroes flowered in that age, winning battles with vim and vigor but taking such casualties that the enemy simply regrouped, as they were always able to do, and attacked back again to win.
As for how he is doing? Poorly, as ever. He is an old tyrant and mother is too good for him, and I will not hear anything for him just as you will not hear anything against him. I doubt you are that kind of father to your men, and from your letters you seem to be adapting quite well for leadership. But enough of this! I bore even myself with our old arguments, and so I have to be boring you!
I wish you all the fondness this Spring, and please do tell me what the Nornish countryside is like. Surely there is beauty in this world that is not Arne, though many would say that this is impossible. Sister would love to hear descriptions of the wildlife, because having cast off one useless mouth to feed in the form of a husband, she has taken in several stray cats and set out supplies for the local birds. Soon she shall have an army equal to or greater than General Durand's, and one that mere mortal Kin cannot match!
On this note of joy and mirth, I part with you brother for now,
Your brother, Rolande Oberlin, freelance pamphleteer and gadfly
Truly, I do not know whether this is all a species of your humor, brother, such as when you suggested that my pamphlets and broadsheets should all be in a phonetic rendition of our regional accent. But you have asked for rumors and news involving General Durand, and I cannot gather what your purpose is in this. And of course, we are probably behind on this matter. Your letter has arrived at the same time as news of General Durand's victory outside of Daurstein, but who knows what has happened since then! Perhaps my letter will find you in Engelsburg, though I will have to say I do not know who that would be popular with unless it was crowned by the kind of total success that forgives all sins. I cannot comment on the choices you have before you, you know I know nothing about military affairs.
Well, with regards to military affairs I had that one hilarious encounter, but I do not think you wish to know of your younger brother's picadillos. So, what do I know? I am regarded as rather provincial, and so that and my politics see me rarely dining in Constitutionalist circles. However, the rumors and calumny that have been spreading against Raka Durand among that circle has to be heard to be believed. Of course, the more refined people in the Convention would not dare to question her, but there is a royalist contingent in the capital, and one can only devoutly wish for their humiliation as they are forced to dance the Carmagnole in defeat when Citizen Clotaire is dismissed from his office, though you know that irony of ironies I feel as if execution is such a crude thing, and I cannot on a personal note approve of more than that.
I will say, recently some clever Royalist broadsiders have taken to invoking the specter of a mystical Kayzar, who legend says was a General whose military ambitions doomed Atlantis and with it the greatest hope for the world, which is something that is of interest to a few.
The Consulars, you summarized as not being very interested in Raka Durand either way, and perhaps this is mostly true. They are concerned, most of all, with the successful conclusion of the war and the establishment of a Republic, and are under the impression that her swift victories will surely mean that the likes of Norn will sue for peace any day now, ending the bloodshed as quickly as it began. I am not so sanguine on the matter, as you well known: we grew up in that area, and the Nornish are not going to surrender easily, ande neither are any of the other forces of reaction and backwardness.
However, among a few of them they have been hypothetically debating their "Consul" idea, and whether a military general would be too great of a risk to become Consul. Some say that such a person, if they were sufficiently wise, would not be able to overawe the Assembly and would fit well with the old theories of the "balance of powers."
Against these, in salons, are some Levelers both 'Right' and 'Left' who worry that a General cannot be trusted with absolute power based on both Elvish traditions of Atlantis, but also the old stories involving Halfling peasants' Republics, or even that the idea of a Consul was absurd and a sop to monarchists. These people still do tend to like Durand, even if a few of them worry about the possibility of the war expanding too far, but they like her as a General. I do not think you're sounding me out for a Military Coup ala the ancient history of Dythmarschien, and if you are you really are barking up the wrong tree, but it should be noted that the Levelers can only be so in favor of a general. The limit is simply that much of the history that Halflings write seems to teach them that Generals who are too powerful become Kings or would-be Kings. However, there are at least a few Levelers, including that friend of mine, that are curious about the General's politics. This is not because they are scouting her out for politics, let alone rulership, but because they think that this might be a 'way in' to the soldiers' vote, which by and large is monopolized, or so everyone believes, by the Liberationists.
She clearly has sympathies with the Levelers, so is she a country girl or a city girl? This is a question to ask, when the "Left" and "Right" of that loose confederation disagree on so much and cluster around a few champions and standard-bearers. Recently we've heard an argument made from Left Leveler to Liberationist that only through consistent reforms of our agriculture can provide the Republic with the food it needs to stabilize, and the popularity among the peasants it needs to both prevent revolt and raise more troops for… whatever ends.
Even Liberationists are not entirely convinced by the immediate feasibility of some grand march to conquer the whole of Norn. They think it will take time and that overextending could risk things. But it is likely that they are of the belief that making too many demands of Generals in the field is a good way to create the very conditions the Levelers fear.
As for other rumors? Well, there are always the absurd sex scandals which follow anyone of any popularity or prominence. To believe every one of them, General Durand could not have even been fighting the battles because she would have been pinned down to the matter of "congress" with bird, beast, man, woman, Devil and seven or eight Dwarfs with absurd names that come out as a biased caricature, presumably all at the same time. If this is the case and she is somehow still winning such grand victories for Arne, then may I say that all of our generals could apparently do with such a healthy sex life!
But I do not think it is so. As for other rumors regarding her past, a few questions have been asked, in a conspiratorial manner, about her survival of the storm that destroyed her unit in '31, or "Pre Revolutionary Year Negative Three." Yes, you heard that right, there are some who want to now view all of history as merely a means by which one tracks the time to the coming of the Revolution. Well, more power to them I would say! The questions about survival imply that somehow she might have conspired with enemies of Arne to guarantee her survival. But others survived, albeit none from her unit, and they all did the same way: they swam for their lives and got lucky that the sharks didn't get them.
I am sorry for being so brief on the matter, you know that I would write ten-thousand words if I had time, but I will try to wrap it up post-haste, so as to not destroy the back of the brave courier traveling all that way to supply you with my paltry words. At the moment, Madame Durand has little enough to fear that she would not know about. Of course the Constitutionalists hate her, and of course the Convention wants to view itself as the master in this situation. Indeed, they would take a dim view of too much of an overextension, and yet every time that Madame Durand has dared it has paid off. So, within reason, I do not think it will be a disaster to act. But then, "not a disaster" can cover many states, and it all depends on what she is doing and what her goals are. So long as her goals are to win military victories and she does so, I do not see how there can be problems? Wait, no, that is far too idealistic. In truth there are a thousand things that can go wrong.
Speaking of going wrong, our mother is in quite a state, our sister's engagement has been called off. What's more, she did it herself, saying that he was a dirty Royalist and not fit to touch her. Indeed it seems as if there is a rash of such events, a real revival of the Lisytrata tradition that had only ever been seen before in plays! This and other diverse events meant that this will be a summer of weddings, but of a different kind. Oh, to hear the people sing of victory and dance through the streets and volunteer to join the army. There are many tearful goodbyes too, for all that everyone is sure that at the rate we're going we'll have conquered all of Norn by no later than Year's End, and that only if we decide to be sporting and give them a breather of a few months.
I am not so optimistic, I still fear that it will get worse long before it gets better as the Nornish do as they have always done and grind us down. I remember our father talking about the old wars, and how many heroes flowered in that age, winning battles with vim and vigor but taking such casualties that the enemy simply regrouped, as they were always able to do, and attacked back again to win.
As for how he is doing? Poorly, as ever. He is an old tyrant and mother is too good for him, and I will not hear anything for him just as you will not hear anything against him. I doubt you are that kind of father to your men, and from your letters you seem to be adapting quite well for leadership. But enough of this! I bore even myself with our old arguments, and so I have to be boring you!
I wish you all the fondness this Spring, and please do tell me what the Nornish countryside is like. Surely there is beauty in this world that is not Arne, though many would say that this is impossible. Sister would love to hear descriptions of the wildlife, because having cast off one useless mouth to feed in the form of a husband, she has taken in several stray cats and set out supplies for the local birds. Soon she shall have an army equal to or greater than General Durand's, and one that mere mortal Kin cannot match!
On this note of joy and mirth, I part with you brother for now,
Your brother, Rolande Oberlin, freelance pamphleteer and gadfly
Kayzar is of course this world's version of "Caeser", except apparently Atlantean myths are the more common thing and so I mixed things up there and mixed in some rumors about Dithmarschen as a Halfling story of a Republic corrupted and etc, etc, and the play about women withhold sex as a means of public policy exists in a slightly different version/name! I figured that classical references had to be real, considering we have "Consuls" being bandied about!
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