Your Grace,
I am submitting the following collection of letters for consideration regarding their removal from the Military Archives. While you may peruse them at your leisure, I have done my best to read through them, and to provide a summary of the information contained within. While I understand that the Historical Preservation Project is of great import, I have some concerns regarding the potentially treasonous nature of the letters contained herein. These letters appear to have been written by one Kaldraf Eskir to one Maeve Selvig (believed to have assumed the name Maeve Dearg later in life). After some investigation into the personage of Private Kaldraf Eskir, it has been concluded that Kaldraf was an Antari conscript during the Ostamber campaign. Please note that the following has been edited, and that we do not believe everything contained within Private Eskir’s letters to be entirely true.
Your Humble Servant,
Kolfran Gildheim
- While The Ildrafn levies and conscriptions were implemented in an entirely fair and balanced manner, it is true that the Antari people within our borders were disproportionately conscripted. This was balanced by the fact that many Banteavans were able to demonstrate their devotion to the cause via substantial donations to the Duke of Ildrafn, vital to ensuring that Ildrafn soldiers were properly outfitted and supplied.
- Private Eskir’s allegations that Ildrafn officers were largely incompetent regarding combat on land are deemed to be wide of the mark. The Ildrafn Officers were appointed through merit, as every Ildrafn Officer came from Rhythavn’s esteemed Naval College, built in conjunction with House Oake - a symbol of the strength of our allegiance towards one another. Just as House Oake’s college of war is the preeminent university for military training, House Ildrafn’s Naval Academy ensures that Ildrafn naval officers are the most well-trained officers at sea.
- While Private Eskir suggests that the famine was particularly challenging for the smallfolk and the Antari within Ildrafn borders, it has been well-established that House Ildrafn fared better than any other Dukedom during the great famine. This is because of our superior flexibility and readiness to adapt. Private Eskir alleges that the levies severely diminished the Antari workforce, which would ultimately lead to many civilian uprisings.
- Private Eskir fails to address the fact that Ildrafn Officers and Scholars of The Naval Academy took detailed notes of Ostamber’s agricultural practices, particularly detailing their advanced irrigation systems. Officer Tolgar Kvotrafn phrased it particularly well in his own correspondence with Ildrafn leaders. “Where Sandoreale looked at the success of Ostamber and thought I must take that. House Ildrafn’s approach was more open-minded. We looked at Ostamber’s success and said We must learn that.” This willingness to learn allowed us to establish diplomatic relations with Ostamber, and through these relations, they were able to further improve our systems of crop rotations, allowing House Ildrafn to thrive in the wake of the war and famine, where the other Houses struggled to maintain stability.
- Private Eskir provides detailed, if unflattering, accounts of the military combat and strategies employed by House Ildrafn during the War in Ostamber, and while we are aware that House Ildrafn’s successes and fearsome reputation are both well-deserved, and the results of superior training, Private Eskir’s allegations are that our Naval Officers were woefully unequipped to fight on land, and that the only “sensable” [sic] thing they did was to quote “Allow the Antari soldiers to take the lead”. Private Eskir alleges that it was The Antari soldiers who first implemented the sashes that Ildrafn armies would come to incorporate into their military dress, and he alleges that Antari soldiers were solely responsible for the prowess shown in battle by House Ildrafn. Private Eskir’s assertions suggest that House Ildrafn’s Naval Officers would have taken to the field in rows of troops, were it not for the Antari changing to more aggressive (and dare I say, underhanded) tactics, of acting as a guerrilla troop, and specifically targeting Ostamber supply lines.
- These letters stopped coming two years into the conflict, and no further details are known regarding Private Eskir’s fate or whereabouts.
