An Uncle's Letter, 1719

[Piov 2643]

 

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X_2IdybTV0

@Emenzi

An Uncle’s Letter

10th of Sigismund’s End, 1719

 

 

To my nephew, Andrik,

 

I write to you with my mind on the great burdens that you will soon inherit. For when the time comes that I must pass this full responsibility to your hands, I look at you with a deep sense of empathy, for the times will test your will and strength unceasingly. However, I know in my heart that you possess a unique strength that will soon command the confidence of men and the people whom bound by oath and trust in you, shall see that you a resolute leader. I teach you our history so that you do not ever forget the legacy that you have been tasked to protect and pass on. Generations of kings who sat in your place, who mourned the problems of their time, have all been tested in each and every way.

 

Some were victorious champions of humanity like Petyr I. Some were ambitious but allowed their voracious appetite to treachery like Andrik II, your namesake. Some were humbled by crippling defeat like Marius I, which tempered the determination for Highlander unity. Some were adamant protectors of the faith in the midst of odds like Otto II. Some did whatever they could to protect the sovereignty of our kingdom from threats across like that of Otto III, Sigmar I, and Robert I.

 

Your father did what he could in the years that GOD bore witness to his life and I know fully that he would want you to stand brave and strong in the midst of all adversity. I am confident as ever that despite whatever plagues our time, GOD puts good and honest men to rise above the times and dispense what is right and just for all of our people. You, my nephew, have been given this extraordinary call to lead your people when it needs stability and certainty the most.

 

I have and kept my promise to your father to raise you and teach you what it means to rule. However, I have accepted the fact that I cannot do that until you learn on your own what it means to be a good man. Never look at your enemies with malice, but let prudent judgment and a steady hand in the battlefield and in the court be the arm with which you act against all who your people are harmed by. Seek the advice of those who love you, pray to the saints whose eyes watch over you, and seek inner strength from the generations of men who have stood in your place.

 

I seek only to be candid, Andrik, in telling you that the crown of kings is not unlike a crown of thorns which will inflict many wounds upon you, but it is out of love for your subjects and our duty to your ancestral roots that you wear it with honor and dignity. As you grow and when you read this letter one year from now, or five years from now, or fifty years from now, may you look at this as the words of a loving uncle who has always wanted what is best for you and for the family name of the great House of Barbanov.

 

With sincerity,
Uncle Georg