A Song for Sollersby

*A Song for Sollersby* is a tragic political play written by Thassalian prodigy Lysander Aldonne. The play tackles the horrors of war, while maintaining a controversial anti-Whytehold stance condemning the Riverlands War as little more than a pointless land-grab which cost the lives of thousands of Whyteholder, Thassalian and New Havenite lives. Even its critics respect the quality of the writing and character work, though disapprove of its message. Nonetheless, it is widely considered Lysander's best work.

## Dramatis Personnae

Sir Julian Mendelle - The brave knight of Thassalus.

Zarielle Silverspear - A powerful New Haven sorceress.

Wanjelika Meisenberg - The Queen-Commander of Whytehold.

## Background

Lysander wrote *A Song for Sollersby* as a form of support for the ideas of the deceased Cesaro Charlemont. From an early age, Lysander grew up hearing about the Riverlands War from his father who fought in it, and from Sir Orelia Torvaigne, a knight in service to House Aldonne. While his father often discussed the glory of the war, he would occasionally mention the terrifying aspects of it and how it almost claimed his own life. Orelia similarly shared her own stories of the war, including how half her body was burned by dragonfire while her comrades were turned to ash. Her tale of determination and devastation planted a seed of anger in Lysander's heart that has only grown over the years. As Whytehold mounted more oppressive measures and continually failed to give Thassalus its proper recognition, the seed bloomed into a flower that became *A Song for Sollersby*.

In the process of writing the play, Lysander consulted veterans and the history books to get an overall impression of how and why the Riverlands War occurred. His examination revealed to him that the war, in his opinion, was another attempt to further Whytehold's hegemony using flimsy justifications concerning the tyranny of the dragonlords of New Haven. While Mirvalbadir and his coterie of dragons are certainly not positive influences for humanity, Lysander does not believe that Whytehold's war against New Haven was conducted on such principled grounds. Rather, he believes that it was done opportunistically to try to secure more territory in the homeland despite running two wars against the Izir Confederacy and the Calamaran Empire.

Lysander's connection to Orelia gave him insight into the plight of common people who were drafted or volunteered to enter the war based on the notions of honour and glory that Whytehold promotes. Many of Sir Torvaigne's friends died during the war, and they died for very little gain. So many parents, children and lovers all lost was a heartbreaking tragedy that Lysander could not help but despise. He turned his quill and ink to work, and penned the work.

*A Song for Sollersby* is not kind to Whytehold values, questioning how much honour matters when the honourable dead lie in the dirt, never to go back home. He questions the very value of a human life, arguing that Whytehold actually disregards its value and that its people are little more than cogs in a great war machine. Honour is the lie that keeps the machine turning as lives of friend and foe are churned up and ground down beneath it. Lysander places the struggle of those who are sent to die in war front and centre, watching the brave Sir Julian Mendelle fight his hardest for honour and for Thassalus despite the increasing insanity of the orders given to him, culminating in his crushing realisation that it was all a lie as he dies. Whytehold commanders are shown to either be incompetent or calculatingly ruthless in their expenditure of lives, but Queen Commander Anjelika Weisenberg is painted as an incompetent and petty land-grabbing zealot.

The heart of the play is in the relationship between Sir Julian and his soldiers. Their camaraderie is evident in every scene, with friendly banter between them even in the face of danger bringing the main comedic thrust in the play outside of the absurdist routine of the Whytehold command centre. The connections Lysander draws between his audience and Sir Julian's retinue bring the needed emotional investment to carry the story through. Meanwhile, New Haven Overseer Zarielle Silverspear plays the cunning commander, whose arcane power devastates the field and whose voice commands the stage. Zarielle is shown as an immovable force, whose defeat only comes at the highest of costs.

Finally, Lysander points out the absurdity that is Telmont emerging from this war as its own separate entity. The two mighty empires' clash created the first independent city-state in Tyrrus for generations and somehow neither was able to stop it. A small nation such as they should never have been able to form, and demonstrates the true impotence of both sides and the pointlessness of the war. All the war gained for Whytehold was another enemy who they cannot confront and embarrasses them every moment it still exists.