Brinja: Portrait of a High Sheriff by Aria Aspenleaf Quan
INTRODUCTION
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This series of High Sheriff Portraits has been completed with very few notes, mostly from memory. Any factual inaccuracies are my own; they are not intentional. Either I did not know or misunderstood the truth of specific events, or time has eroded my memory.
My goal is simply to preserve and illuminate the tenure of the High Sheriffs under which I served. All opinions, reflections, and insights about these High Sheriffs are my own.
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BRINJA'S ADMINISTRATION
First Term: 21-10-180 AR to 23-12-181 AR
Second Term: 26-3-182 AR to 13-7-182 AR
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Brinja came to Arelith from Luskan. She initially joined the Jotunhold making use of her formidable combat skills. Accustomed to hard work, she applied herself fully, helping to manage the Eagle Tavern under Max Storm. During Salah Al-Layth's administration, she was appointed Cultural Minister.
FIRST TENURE
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS
THE JOTUN ACCORDS
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It was High Sheriff Brinja who signed the Jotun Accords, Jotunhold was recognized as an independent entity governed by its own laws. The sole prohibitions were against slavery and the presence of drow.
For many years, a large stone, The Gift of Venn, sat in the Guldorand Statehouse as a reminder of the friendship between the two peoples.
STABILITY AND SECURITY
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Under Brinja's leadership, and alongside her husband, Chief Bailiff Kyelet Soris, the city government and Constabulary grew much stronger. Though many ministers were added, at this time government positions were unpaid.
Those who served in Brinja's government positions did so out of a sense of duty to the Republic.
Only Constables were paid wages and under Kyelet's command the Constabulary became a formidable force. Trainings were frequent and participation was at its highest.
RELATIONS WITH MYON
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Brinja continued the building of a more cooperative relationship with Myon. She assisted Myon with the investigations of an accused traitor, Ameline Madisone. Ameline was blocked from joining the Aegis and ended up defecting to Andunor, giving information and aid to Dhraknar, leader of the Sharps.
The Constabulary also investigated two Guldorandi women, Micah and Tirana, on charges of Necromancy.
Brinja held firmly to the Charter; while defending actions by Guldorand citizens that Myon deemed immoral or illegal, she helped bridge cultural differences between Myon and Guldorand. She navigated deals with various Coronals with notable grace.
DHRAKNAR AND THE SHARPS
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Brinja's term saw repeated attacks by the half-orc Drakhnar. His initial attack on Guldorand was to reclaim escaped slaves. Later, as a follower of the Darkbringer, he sought to spread Moander's Rot and launched further attacks.
Having taken control of the Sharps he led multiple attacks on citizens and travelers culminating in a major assault on the walls of Guldorand.
Yet, sometime after the Weatherstone Crisis, Dhraknar was finally gone. There was no definitive answer as to where he had gone. Some said he had been killed by his own troops. Others say he simply vanished.
Throughout this period, the Constabulary led the defense of the city repeatedly, and Guldorand fared much better than other settlements.
SECOND TENURE
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THE WEATHERSTONE CRISIS
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Brinja's second term coincided with one of the greatest disasters in Arelith's history, the Weatherstone Crisis.
A fey curse shattered the protective seal on the Weatherstone, releasing two bound elementals. The island's weather became violently unstable.
Blizzards buried the land beneath ice; volcanic heat caused people and animals to collapse from exhaustion and thirst. Flooding followed, and Freeport was completely submerged. Sharks swam through the streets.
Brinja's administration kept the citizenry and the city safe, taking in refugees in the Temple of Kelemvor. Maxine Majesta led a team of residents into the Freeport to rescue as many inhabitants as she could.
Once the crisis was over, the city had to be rebuilt. The repairs necessitated nearly the enwarehouse storage of wood. Yet, excellent city planning, and the tireless efforts of Brinja, Atticus Straatlace and others, kept Guldorand well prepared to complete repairs and swiftly recover.
CHALLENGES
THE ROGUES GALLERY RIFT
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A feud between Syracostra Magna and The Rogues Gallery erupted into citywide unrest. Unbeknownst to me at the time, deep animosity existed between Syracostra and Maxine Majesta. (1)
After becoming a city minister, Syracostra used her position to get information on the Rogue's Gallery, particularly Majesta, and used that information to taunt them. The Gallery assumed Magna did this with the Government's blessing. The Government assumed the Gallery was just stirring trouble.
After an investigation, Magna was chastised and eventually let go from her position (though that may have been under Rikus' administration), but the damage was done. The Gallery group rallied the Freeport residents against Brinja?s administration, even supporting the candidate Elias Akara to run against her.
THREATS AND ASSASSINATION
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An election was called and Brinja faced Elias Akara, supposed priest of Waukeen. But near the end of the election cycle, Brinja sent word she was being chased by Elias, but help did not reach her in time and she was assassinated. The gods returned her, but she was unable to continue the run for High Sheriff.
The majority of Gallery and Freeport members expressed disappointment and even disgust with Elias, but the damage was done. The rift between the Government and the Freeport residents widened and continued for many years.
After Lastar Bahdramot, the next High Sheriff stepped down, she ran and was elected for High Sheriff again.
UNDENDING ASSASSINATION CONTRATCS
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Brinja's second term was short. Not only did she work tirelessly to get Guldorand through the Weatherstone Crisis and the resulting wood shortage, she was faced with constant assassination contracts. No matter how many she paid off, there was also another placed within a trine.
It was suspected that someone with very deep pockets was funding the harassment. Brinja would not use taxpayer coin to pay off the contracts. The need to personally finance countermeasures, by dungeon delving, drained the time she needed to govern.
Because governing the republic had become nigh impossible due to the efforts of her detractors, in the interest of the Republic, Brinja stepped down.
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PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
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KYELET SORIS
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Brinja's tenure cannot be understood without understanding her husband, Chief Bailiff Kyelet Soris.
Much of what I know about Kyelet came from Syracostra Magna, a Red Wizard. Kyelet was a Thayvian Knight, sworn to protect a Red Wizard, the father of Nataliya Karenkina. Her father sent Kyelet with her to Arelith to protect her. At some point, Kyelet fell in love with Brinja and had to travel back to Thay to receive permission to dissolve his oath to Karenkina's father so they could marry upon his return.
Based on my personal observations, the shift in Kyelet's allegiance, from Nataliya's bodyguard to Brinja's husband, caused a rift to grow between the two women that worsened over time and affected Guldorandi politics for some years.
Kyelet not only ran the Constabulary with a keen eye for detail, he formulated an intelligence group that brought in information from any possible threats from Andunor, Sencliff, and Sibayad. He instituted rigorous trainings for Constables, likely drawing upon his Thayvian background.
Kyelet could be completely impervious to insults and unshakable in the face of threats, unless they were aimed at Brinja.
The constant hovering over Brinja led to some tensions between them. Brinja was quite capable of defending herself, and she sometimes chafed under his constant watch. Kyelet was also not as diplomatic as Brinja, and I watched his barely contained fury when situations demanded he stay silent as she sometimes curbed her own feelings in order to negotiate with representatives of other states when Kyelet felt they were rude or dismissive of her.
I witnessed that fury the first time at Salah's wedding. Though he would have defended Salah regardless, it was the danger to Brinja that drove him to desecrate the bodies.(2)
On one resource expedition, Dhraknar and his patrol caught Brinja, Kyelet, Nyle Sylzeiros, and Aleksander Hornraven. Brinja managed to escape while the others fought to keep Drakhnar from pursuing her. Nyle and Kyelet were taken captive and Nyle was released to bring word back to the city. He told me his blood chilled as Kyelet calmly described to Drakhnar all the vile things he would do to him once he was no longer bound. It was the rage of a knight whose charge had been threatened.
After her assassination, when I verified to Kyelet that Brinja's name had been removed from the election rolls, I saw his eyes blacken.
Later, I learned he had threatened the members of the Rogue's Gallery and even Constable Domila, who had tried to intervene. I was devastated. My mentor who had taught me to treat everyone fairly and with dignity. had succumbed to rage.
Only then did I truly understand.
Kyelet was not merely a Chief Bailiff defending a High Sheriff, nor simply a husband defending his wife.
He was still the Thayvian Knight defending his Red Wizard.
Kyelet was forced to resign as Chief Bailiff and became a Bodyguard for Government members, until he was reinstated as Chief Bailiff during Brinja's Second Term.
THE GALLERY AND THE FREEPORT
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The rift between the Gallery and the government was tragic. I often wondered if Syracostra had not caused such a rift, if things might have worked out differently. It was also sometime before I realized that another may have poured oil on the flames. (3)
Gabriel Freeman had been Magistrate when I first came to Guldorand, and was initially very open and friendly, assisting us many times. But he suddenly stepped down as magistrate and eventually left for a while. Some years later, I found his resignation note to the government. He apparently was annoyed with people "bothering him with small talk" whenever he sat in the public square.
When he returned to Guldorand, Gabriel began supporting the Gallery, initially with finances to help them with art lessons and with Maxine's wonderful magic shows.
But I began noticing odd things about Freeman. For one, he was one of the most ardent supporters of Elias Akara. In fact, he sat with Elias as he tribe to bribe me to vote for him, a crime in Guldorand. Gabriel seemed to think the whole thing was terribly funny. When it was shown that Elias had chased Brinja before an assassin found her, his regret sounded forced.
BRINJA
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Brinja was often wrongly criticized as always being in hiding. The truth was, she was always busy, always holding meetings. Brinja spent much of her time in a warded room in the Guldorand Meeting Hall. There she held meeting after meeting with other government members, ambassadors and others. Though she cringed with every Speedy Messenger that found its way to her, she worked tirelessly to handle all the business of the State that she felt needed being done.
If I were to name a fault in Brinja's style of government, it was competence. She trained others thoroughly, which for some personalities might come across as overbearing or condescending. Once someone proved their capability at the task however, Brinja was more than happy to give them full rein. She did expect others to work as diligently as she Kyelet, and Rikus did. I sometimes wondered if she ever relaxed.
Few people had the privilege of seeing how kind and patient Brinja could be in private. She assisted those escaping the chains of bondage. She firmly believed in second chances for those who had chosen poorly in their early life. She took tiny moments to connect with other employees and citizens, asking about their lives. She quietly gifted to those in need.
The one thing Brinja excelled at more than governance, was planning a social event. Weddings, festivals, even simple small gatherings such as a poetry readings benefitted from her touch.
I have come across many who felt Brinja was one of the strongest, most successful High Sheriffs that Guldorand had seen. It is fact that the Republic grew in population, and the other settlements began to show more respect for the fledgling Republic.
Brinja considered government service a privilege and a duty. She told me once,
"Sovereigns should remember they wear a crown because the people allow it."
History may debate her methods, but her impact upon Guldorand is undeniable.
I am proud to have served under her.
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FOOTNOTES
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(1) The rift appears to revolve around an attempted theft of a powerful artifact known as the Bone Lathe from Spellhold in the Arcane Tower, which was either by Maxine or by Syracostra. I have heard various accounts of the matter, each one blaming the other. While I lean toward the version with Maxine thwarting Syracostra's attempt to steal the Lathe, I do not have enough proof for a definitive assessment.
(2) See Salah Al-Layth: Portrait of a High Sheriff for details on the incident at his wedding.
(3) The Rogue's Gallery:
> Nitra, itinerant artist, moved into town and announced she would call the elections, but declared she would not run herself. I found her name while scouring the Government Archives. Though Nitra now appeared to be the bohemian wanderer, she had lived in Guldorand previously and run for Vice Sheriff with the Lord Marshall for High Sheriff, promising Law and Order. It was this act that made me realize that every election candidate and their platforms should be recorded.
> Bianca Wylder, constantly smoking and soliloquizing on beauty and truth, she sarcastically criticized the government and anyone who lived above the Beggar?s Gate or had more than two coppers in their pockets.
> Ivrathe Kazraat: Tall, pale, and a talented painter, she epitomized the melancholy artist suffering for her art.
> Maxine Majesta was a dazzling performer. She wrote and performed plays and gave amazing shows of magic and illusion, appearing to risk her life many times. I believe she attempeted to be as neutral aspossible, though she mostly sided with the Freeport.
> Laberia. She often spoke of Freedom Fighting and had an interest in the Netherese Empire. If circumstances had been different, I think I would have called her friend. But that was before we discovered she was a vampire.