Hello Sapience,

I am hearing from some pretty distant places that my little southern community of Saravoia is apparently on your city newsboards. I would like to explain the situation because I think a few things are misconstrued here. Number one, this wasn't a whim, it was a very intentional and thought out process with local partnerships and laid groundwork. Number two, prior to securing the land, I scouted extensively, and these hills were utterly unoccupied. I dug into history looking for someone who might be a prior owner or resident, and there was no one. And so I secured it, and got some builders, and we began to build.

It has been quite a journey. Many of you have come to tour it, and we are very touched by the overwhelming positivity we've received. We allow anyone who means us no ill-will to come visit, to use what we have, and to find us as a refuge for those who are so far from home.

And yes, it is organized as a county. I am a Countess, after all. Long before we began this journey we sought local guidance, and as of now, we've become a vassal of the Duchy of Aster Malik because we seek to be part of the community of Meropian holdfasts. This is very typical of all their structure, because we're trying to assimilate.

Some years have passed and Noyan Tokhta has proclaimed he owns it. He told me to disestablish the county, reducing it to a simple house, or he will do it for me. I went to him in person to discuss it, he was abusive to myself and a lady who went with me. I offered to try and work this out to the benefit of both, but he was disinterested. I offered him some horses from my stable as a gift to show good intention, he told me if he wanted my horses, he would take them from me, and there was nothing I could do about it.

He claims the Sarave belongs to the Chaghut but I have been around Sarave far longer than just the years I've been building and at no point did I ever encounter a Chaghut, save for the Daoric Plains. Further, they knew I was here, because I introduced myself to all of my neighbors, and I have been very open about who I was and what I was doing. It is only when it was announced that we were part of Aster Malik that now there is a problem. Only after we've poured all of ourselves into it that suddenly it is Chaghut land. I am not restricting their herds, I'm not displacing a single person, I'm not hostile to any Meropian community. The Chaghut didn't even visit and if they had, in no way do they experience any inconvenience.

Aster Malik set some borders in its proclamation intended to provide a bit of food-security to the Asteri people. At their request, I retracted the borders back until they hit structures I built. Apparently the Chaghut clans are gathering anyway.

We're already hideously outnumbered but apparently war-drums are pounding in various city-states and villages to help out the Chaghut army that is probably in the thousands or tens of thousands against this very tiny group of soldiers. They don't need your help. We didn't start a fight with them, we were friendly. Even after his initial threat we still tried to smooth it over. The list of demands and "helpful suggestions" are demeaning, no matter how dishonestly you claim you respect what I did while calling me a thief. There's also already been instances of Saravyn denizens being murdered by visitors from the Sapience, for a conflict that has nothing to do with Sapience.

I had to end our open borders policy because of the Chaghut aggression and restrict it further due to the homicides, apologies to the curious.

I keep being framed though as some massive monstrous consuming great army, but that isn't me, it is the other side. When my garrison gathers, my horses are not loud enough to hear all over the world, which is a pretty good indication of the scale I'm facing even if you don't jump to their aid. If you help us, I appreciate it, because they absolutely have the numbers. In spite of that, what good is it to attempt great things only to stop at first resistance? So I will fight, whatever it takes, because it is worth it.

I am chided that this is about my pride. It isn't. It is about the pride of those who seek to take my pride, Chaghut and Sapient alike.


Her Noble Serenity
Nezaya Visindi
Countess of Saravoia
Witch



Penned by my hand on the 8th of Miraman, in the year 993 AF.