An Open Letter to Bramblebury

[HalflingPrincess 411]

[!] A letter is nailed to Bramblebury's notice board:
 

An Open Letter to Bramblebury

Sun's Smile, 1817

 

Dear Bramblebury,

 

I write to you all for several reasons, first and foremost to announce that my family and I have returned from our ultimately brief holiday in the North to once again dwell in the village. I must admit that the years we spent up there were some of the most unpleasant I have had since we arrived in Almaris. Despite all the disdain I put into my letter of resignation, ultimately I love this village, and could not part with it for all that long.

 

That being said, I must acknowledge that things are not quite the same as they were when I left. My time in the chilly north was filled with little more than drinking homelessness, sleepless nights; and ample time to think and reflect. From what I have heard, I am only one of many people who decided to step away from the village, but unlike the others I did so noisily and from the position of being a recently elected official. For that I must apologize. I accepted the responsibilities the village gave to me and promptly threw them away. 

 

I will not say that my reasons for leaving the village were necessarily bad ones. I think much of what I said in that letter holds true. Regardless, I will admit openly that, as I often I do, I took it all far too seriously. I was tired, stressed, and admittedly a bit tipsy when I made the decision to resign, and I did so impulsively. Any positive reputation I had must surely have been destroyed by that letter, so I suppose there is no better time than now to be candid about my own faults and how they relate to those of the village.

 

As of this year, I have been meddling with the halfling government for over three decades. Though the details may have changed over time, my core intention has always been the same: to create and preserve a system in which we would choose some or all of our leaders democratically. While it may not have gone the way I intended it to, it would be disingenuous to claim that I failed to achieve that goal. In fact, I did everything I could make it happen, even when it meant siding with people I would otherwise disagree or with or going against my own friends. Politics is a dirty game, and as fun as it can be to play at times, it has done the village little good.

 

That is not to say that democracy itself is inherently bad; even now I believe that, had we decided to keep the mixed system in which a Thain still held some duties, things would have been just fine. I will admit, however, that this experiment of mine has brought to light a number of differences between halflings that shouldn’t ultimately matter. Why should we care if someone is proper or improper? Why should we care if they are a democrat or a Bernardist? For as much as I warned against partisanship, we have become a society of cliques. But can I really criticize anyone for being dead set on a certain vision for our village if I have acted the same way?

 

I don’t think many would disagree with the notion that I am vain. Though I have never sought power for its own sake, I have desired the respect of my people, and that surely played some role in my decision to begin a career in politics in the first place. I suppose I wanted to change Brandybrook for the better, even if I knew, ultimately, there was no dire need for change. Isalie was a fantastic Thain, and pushing her aside in order to prevent Bramblebury’s system of government from being modified by someone other than me is a mistake I have yet to forgive myself for. Even during Rollo’s time, our Thains have never been abusive or overbearing, something I cannot necessarily say for every Elder than has been elected in the past decade. These Thains may have been considered tyrants by textbook definition, but not by they way they led.

 

I cannot say what the future of this village will look like. In fact, I do cannot claim to speak about anything with authority. After all, I am not all-knowing; but I do carry with me the hope that we will finally set aside all our differences and work together in pursuit of peace, prosperity, and happiness. Ideologies have their place on paper, but the best ideas are ones that everyone agrees on, not just the majority. I recall the late days of Brandybrook and Bloomerville; they were not perfect, but they were times when nearly everyone was friends with nearly everyone else. Perhaps I am merely viewing those days with undeserved nostalgia, but if we can make Bramblebury more like that, it matters little who is in charge and how they got there. Make no mistake; I do not intend to tear down the system we have built once more, but if a more desriable option should present itself, then I am open to it. I do not know my place in the future; I have committed many errors and do not claim to be deserving of any great positions or privileges. I do, however, stand ready to provide whatever I can to my people. 

 

I remain as I have always strived to be, your most humble and obedient of servants;

[CopOwl 1707]

The young, earnest Asphodel Chubb reads the letter with a sad frown. Eventually she speaks, murmuring to herself.

"I can see you may have been... Unwise at times Greta Goodbarrel, but I can appreciate someone realising their mistakes."

 

 

[tazombo 248]

"Wha' in t'a world es a democrat?" Callum Fiddleberry wonders aloud, reading the flier over a nice plate of eggs and bacon in the morning. 

[salamanderfantasy 1340]

Upon reading his cousins' letter, Hawthorn Goodbarrel smiles brightly, but this soon fades as he remembers what a year of being treated as both a bachelor residence and temporarily housing for three rather threatening children has done to the family burrow. He could then be seen rushing about the village for the next few hours, disposing of empty wine bottles and crumpled, inkstained parchments, in a frantic but elated manner.

[Crevel 7557]

Grigory Grubb would read the notice as he took a solid bite of his shiny, red apple before holding it in front of him. He takes a look down at his apple, he glances back up at the notice and begins to mumble to himself, "'old on.. t'is don' mean I'm losin' me job, does i'?"