Immaculate
Soph was not so naive to think her hand-written letter would ever make it to the eyes of His Majesty King Veruna. She had no doubt a secretary or other underling would receive it and perhaps pen a reply. Or just send a droid-generated standard comm response. And rumors abounded on how he felt about force users. She had enough diplomacy, gratitude, and manners to send a letter anyway.
Dear King
Aurelian Veruna
,
I apologize at the tardiness in getting a note your way sooner. When the Sith Covenant descended upon my home on Tapani, many worlds closed their doors. Some feared becoming the next target. Others weighed the suffering of strangers against the safety of their own people and concluded that distance was justification enough for inaction. Such decisions are easy to understand, even if painful to live through. I was at Frego when he High Republic chose differently. You chose differently.
You welcomed those who arrived with little more than the clothes they had managed to flee in. You offered shelter without first demanding that grief justify itself or that loss be measured before compassion was extended. To those who had spent days believing the galaxy had become indifferent to their survival, your world's generosity was more than relief. It was proof that civilization is measured not by its prosperity, but by its willingness to protect those who possess neither power nor leverage.
So, I wanted to say thank you.
Not merely for preserving lives and providing a safe place for my people to land, though that alone deserves remembrance. I thank you because every family given refuge remains a family that may one day laugh together again. Every child permitted to sleep without fear may yet grow into someone who contributes beauty to the galaxy instead of becoming another name remembered only through tragedy. These are futures that no military victory can ever claim as its own.
History often remembers kings for the wars they wage or the treaties they negotiate. I hope it remembers this as well—that when frightened people crossed the stars with nowhere left to belong, the King of Naboo answered with mercy.
On behalf of those who found safety within your fleet and the clear skies you provided, and as one daughter of Tapani among many now scattered across the galaxy, please accept my deepest gratitude.
With profound respect,
Lady Sophelia Ardemark of House Pelagia
Dear King
Aurelian Veruna
,I apologize at the tardiness in getting a note your way sooner. When the Sith Covenant descended upon my home on Tapani, many worlds closed their doors. Some feared becoming the next target. Others weighed the suffering of strangers against the safety of their own people and concluded that distance was justification enough for inaction. Such decisions are easy to understand, even if painful to live through. I was at Frego when he High Republic chose differently. You chose differently.
You welcomed those who arrived with little more than the clothes they had managed to flee in. You offered shelter without first demanding that grief justify itself or that loss be measured before compassion was extended. To those who had spent days believing the galaxy had become indifferent to their survival, your world's generosity was more than relief. It was proof that civilization is measured not by its prosperity, but by its willingness to protect those who possess neither power nor leverage.
So, I wanted to say thank you.
Not merely for preserving lives and providing a safe place for my people to land, though that alone deserves remembrance. I thank you because every family given refuge remains a family that may one day laugh together again. Every child permitted to sleep without fear may yet grow into someone who contributes beauty to the galaxy instead of becoming another name remembered only through tragedy. These are futures that no military victory can ever claim as its own.
History often remembers kings for the wars they wage or the treaties they negotiate. I hope it remembers this as well—that when frightened people crossed the stars with nowhere left to belong, the King of Naboo answered with mercy.
On behalf of those who found safety within your fleet and the clear skies you provided, and as one daughter of Tapani among many now scattered across the galaxy, please accept my deepest gratitude.
With profound respect,
Lady Sophelia Ardemark of House Pelagia
