[A sealed letter for Aubrey]

[cmenden]

Dear Aubrey,

I typically agree wholeheartedly with you on political matters and your judge of characters, which is why this elf you have chosen to derail our League's designs is confusing me.

If he primaries Arymathras then the League of White will lose this election.

He is entirely new to the Well. What do we truly know about him other than his smarmy disposition and desire to destroy the Vizier more than our true foes in Gold?

I believe this is a misstep and will take any steps necessary to ensure that Balstan not be reelected.

He has been a wretched Legate, a Gold Marcellus-but-worse!

I despise him and his ineffectual nature. I wish to see a Legate who will DO things.

It will take drastic decisive action to both protect the Well from this war and to spare it the Disaster to come.

Regards,
Estellise

[Pandip]

Estellise,

I am unconvinced that Arymathras is capable of securing a victory. Even if he was so capable, I worry tremendously whether he is in line with our wants and interests as a Legate. I have grown tired of half-measures; of compromises; of taking the least of three evils.

Both elves, admittedly, have a degree of vigor and unpredictability. Both elves are relative unknowns within the wider Well. Both of them may not be able to secure victory.

However, I am ever fond of men who demonstrate their personal truths through their actions. Vesryn leaped to the aid of the refugees during the crisis with the Arslan insurgents and has been uncompromisingly vocal in espousing our League's tenants publicly and privately. He was the singular individual who stood next to me against the mob when they demanded the deaths of the refugees in the Souk. He understands well that these refugees were innocent bystanders - those whose Gold-caused plight led to them being manipulated by the vicious Seekers-after-Death.

In comparison, Arymathras maintains tenuous Gold allegiances. His message, inconsistent. His allegiances, dubious. I have been told on a handful of occasions that the Gold League "could be split" by his presence in the general. I am in deep disagreement on this notion; I do not suspect there is any way the Gold League finds reason to abandon the hegemony Balstan established in favor of  an uncertain White League candidate.

If we cannot win with half-measures and compromises, then I would rather lose while planting our flag firmly. I have gambled that Vesryn is a worthwhile vessel with which we can plant that flag. Will he require careful guidance? Will he need lean upon our wisdom? Most certainly! Let us therefore give it to him in earnest. If drastic action is necessary, then let us enact it rather than waffling endlessly with men who have proven incapable of heralding change.

Balstan was new to the Well when he ran for his seat and won. He has proven that such is possible, with aid and support. Why can we not follow such an example in the League of White?

I am happy to discuss this matter more at length in person, but does this elucidate my thoughts on this matter thoroughly enough?


    -- Aubrey Domergue
       Lyrist of the Lost Hearth

[Pandip]

Estellise,

Why Arymathras? Are you truly so jaded that you believe a candidate with half of his foot in the Gold League is more worthy than a man who acts as he speaks?

How many more times must we do this to ourselves? How do you expect me to vote for Arymathras over Balstan?


    -- Aubrey Domergue
       Lyrist of the Lost Hearth

[cmenden]

Dear Aubrey,

I fail to understand your logic here.

You are asking me "Why should I vote for a White Candidate with ties to Gold (50% Gold) rather than a Gold Legate (100% Gold)?"

Is the answer truly so complicated?

Is Vesryn planning to vote the same? Is that why he speaks against the Vizier and the Dragon yet never your precious Gloomdeath?

Two paths lay before you:

1) Legate Arymathras takes the First Seat paving the way for Legate Vesryn to take the Second Seat
2) Legate Gloomdeath keeps the First Seat and the Dragon keeps his seat next election

I struggled even to pen this letter. The idea that you would be corrupted the moment you became the Lyrist was not in my calculations.

The fact that you would urge the Balladeers to vote Gold has me somewhat distraught.

I'd prefer to discuss these matters in person, but you ran out on me the second you heard Mirielle wished to speak. You are clearly leashed by the Banda Rossa at this point.

You did not fight for those they killed. You stand idly by as Balestriere Emilia continues to threaten and assault Acolytes.

You now vote as they demand.

I don't think we have any further words to exchange, Recluta.

Regards,
Estellise

[cmenden]

[A follow-up letter is sent, stained with wine in places]

Dear Aubrey,

I feel guilty for leaving it on that, but you're a hero to me, and seeing you profess to vote Gold has caused me a great deal of heartache.

Please, I implore you to vote for our League and get your subordinates to do the same.

We can win this thing and take him to task if he does not represent our League appropriately

The Glaziers and Rosey won't let him do anything less and the inertia of a White Legate could cascade to all those who abandoned the League

They thought our cause hopeless, so they departed because they wished to be on the Winning Team

You know as well as I do that GLOOMDEATH DOES NOT DESERVE THIS

He must be PUNISHED FOR HIS CRIMES

still, I'll get over this either way, but I hope you do this for me and yourself and all the other members of the League who value you as much as I do

[cmenden]

Dear Aubrey,

Forgive my prior letter. I had a bit too much to drink.

But if you do not take it from me, perhaps Her words will sway you:

I do not often take to the sending.

But I shall here and now. And I will speak plainly and truly, and give voice to something that I know to be true.

Balstan Gloamingdaith is the enemy of the people of Ephia's Well.

He has, with his works, forced chains of conscription upon the people of Ephia's Well. He plans even now to march them to death under Rennik Colmes' command.

He has, with his works, permitted the brazen murder and enslavement of the Voiceless, the ones we are charged with protecting.

I know not for whom you should vote. It seems to me all of these candidates are foisted upon us ignobly. But I speak plainly, once more, loudly and resoundingly: Balstan Gloamingdaith is the enemy of Ephia's Well.

I have been trying to explain this for weeks to you, the other Balladeers, and the Sisters.

What you have been supporting is truly horrid for Ephia's Well, and the mass slaughter of desperate, sick, and infirm refugees who have been Conscripted into the Banner of the Heron begins not two hours from when I pen this letter.

"Mir" Emilia will be goading them onward, and those who flee will be executed on the spot.

This is what has been voted for, and for what?

A piece of property? A District? A Chapterhouse?

I tried to warn you all.

Regards,
Estellise

[Pandip]

Estellise,

I have never supported Balstan.

I have ever been in pursuit of the League of White's wants.

But the Cinquefoil Rose has been doggedly insistent in besmirching these efforts. They have dismissed my concerns. They have called me crazed and senseless. They have marked me as an enemy of ration. This is among the Banda Rossa. This is among the Sibylline Sisterhood. This is among many of my more vocal associates in the Balladeers.

I have never been in support of this man. I have only taken what I can considering the circumstances of my allies - who have determined the path forward. I have mitigated the disasters in lieu of being able to prevent them.

I have told the Cinquefoil Rose innumerable times that this is the will of the People and the Grandmaster Elizabetha d'Auvergne herself. They - not only those insidious members of the Gold League, but my very companions in the Cinquefoil Rose themselves - claim that I mistake my vision for hers. That I put words into her mouth. That I am an arrogant, misled, and ambitious.

Let us pray that her public word sways them to the truth of mine.


    -- Aubrey Domergue
       Lyrist of the Lost Hearth

[cmenden]

Dear Aubrey,

Your letter contains many things that please me to hear, however you were going to vote for Gloomdeath.

Many within your organization still are going to, or have done so.

Selsi, for example, does not serve the Grandmaster, but rather a misguided notion that just because the Dragon and Gloomdeath consume the Drink, they are ideal for her purposes.

Those purposes must be extremely important to her indeed to be worth the high toll in blood that these Gold Legates ensure is spent.

It pains me to read that you gave up when all hands were raised against you, because I never would.

That is a lesson I learned from you, and I hope these events serve to remind you of your own agency.

You have bit your tongue and played nicely and now you stand as Lyrist.

Never let them forget that they are beneath you. If they do not follow the Grandmaster's vision or your own, then cast them out and find those who will.

Regards,
Estellise

[Pandip]

Estellise,

Why do you continue to presume I was going to vote for Gloomdaith? Every electoral activity I have busied myself with has been driven towards a singular purpose: Ensuring that there is a suitable replacement to challenge him in this election.

I am dejected to hear that you believe I have given up. That I am not emphatic in my efforts. That I do not understand the political battlefield as it presently stands.

Were you not the person who insisted to me that it was imperative I make niceties with the Cinquefoil Rose writ large rather than make enemies of my peers and associates? It is a delicate matter to navigate. The Grandmaster's pronouncements have given me a measure of leverage, but the reality still stands - if I burn every bridge surrounding me, I shall be on an island and continue to be powerless to enact change.

There is no clearer example of this than your refusal to follow my endorsement of Vesryn. The situation would be more tenable if you trusted me. But you did not. You defied me. As everyone else has in the past; as everyone else does so presently.

I asked you how you expect me to vote for Arymathras over Balstan. It continues to be a pertinent question. Will Arymathras give us anything other than a limp alternative? Will we truly ever be able to hold him to account? Mayhap. But does not seem interested in speaking with me or attending my desires; he certainly has not been malleable in the past. Will I be better positioned to force Balstan to adhere to my will, even after all this?

These are the questions I must wrestle with and consider seriously.

You tell me to not balk in the face of of many-handed adversities, but you seem just as intent to deny my autonomy as every Selsi or Mirielle or Balstan who attempt to smother my vision and mold it into theirs.


    -- Aubrey Domergue
       Lyrist of the Lost Hearth
                     

[cmenden]

Dear Aubrey,

I apologize if it seems I've been trying to manipulate you.

I truly wish nothing more than for you to do what you believe best. However, I could explain dozens of reasons why censuring Gloomdeath is necessary at this point REGARDLESS of whether he is "malleable" or not.

In truth, he is perfectly malleable to you, to your enemies, and to the enemies of Ephia's Well. That is precisely the point I have attempted to make! It is the same point the Grandmaster has now made, a point clearly falling on deaf ears if this "L" is to be believed.

You were right about Vesryn, however I implore you to find out where he acquired these court documents he spreads about.

He told me they came from the Hakem, however she denied it vehemently and blames Gloomdeath himself for sharing them.

If such is true then Gloomdeath tasked Vesryn with ensuring his victory.

Even despite these concerns, I have made clear that I will support Vesryn next election, so long as we can prove he is not loyal to Gloomdeath and the Gold.

However, I have just came out of one arrangement betrayed and do not wish another.

I humbly request that you ensure Vesryn win if I am to put myself on the line once more.

Nothing would trouble me more than to discover I was the only person voting for Vesryn while you cave to the pragmatic whims of Selsi and Mirielle.

Your greatest strength is your idealism. Leave pragmatism to those who have already given up on the future.

Regards,
Estellise

[Pandip]

Estellise,

Which court documents? Those regarding Arymathras' trial in which he admitted to being paid to vote for Argent? What falsehoods does Vesryn spread?

Even if I believed so ardently in Arymathras, you overestimate my power in this situation. I have no capacity to ensure him a victory in the present election; the opportunity for that has long since passed. I have no ability to ensure that Balstan does not win. I do not even know that I could scrounge together the support to bolster Marcellus' numbers enough to secure him a victory of spite!

You ask from me what I cannot even provide. You thrust upon me a burden I cannot carry. You have put faith in an idol only you seem to believe in - and haphazardly, at that.

The Cinquefoil Rose has committed itself to setting Ephia's Well ablaze in golden flames so fully that even the Grandmaster's cries seem to fall upon deaf ears. What would you have me do save desperately attempt to quench the fire - as I have done and continue to attempt do?


    -- Aubrey Domergue
       Lyrist of the Lost Hearth
                     

[cmenden]

Dear Aubrey,

I think there's a misunderstanding. I agree that Arymathras is a done deal. In truth, he ran a rather wretched campaign.

I am speaking of the next election. Legate Vesryn is a viable future path at this current juncture, but it will take your support to ensure it comes to pass.

I know you wished him to be Legate, so let us work toward that end now.

I truly wish you had more faith in yourself. This self-pitying tone is unlike you.

Regards,
Estellise