Skip to main content

To: The Duchy of Alzheim and Frankzonia

My Dear Duke of Alzheim and Honourable Highness of Frankzonia,

On behalf of Irwin-Amadeus II of the Grand Duchy of Stollen, I extend the sincerest and most heartfelt wishes to you and your respective subjects. Our Grand Duke trusts this letter finds you both well, in good health, and enjoying equally favorable relations with your subjects.

In light of the troubling recent developments farther to the west in apocryphal 18th century Europe, our ministers feel the most urgent need to contact you with the aim of strengthening the diplomatic and trade relations between our respective territories. The Grand Duchy of Stollen has no wish for war at the moment with any royal houses further a field. Indeed, we fear trouble is brewing closer to home, where the Electorate of Zichenau is concerned, right on our own doorstep. You may have heard of the recent suspected presence of Zichenauen agents, in fact military officers from that country, in Stollen through the press or diplomatic circles.

Given the small size and unprepared nature of the Stollenian army, we feel it would be in our best interest to avoid war at this time. With that concern in mind, we would like to exchange ambassadors and, before too much time has elapsed in the coming summer months, merchant retinues with both Alzheim and Frankzonia.

Further, we would like to discuss the possibility of establishing a trade and customs union with your territories that might also eventually include the Duchy of Mieczyslaw and the Electorate of Vulgaria. Stollenian ministers feel that such a block of countries, linked in a loose diplomatic and trade confederation, would be much less likely to be drawn into a wider apocryphal European conflict between more prominent political players like Gallia and Hesse-Seewald.

Of course, we have no wish to borrow trouble. By the same token though, the Grand Duchy of Stollen wishes to avoid war with and possible occupation by another country, or, indeed, a group of allied countries. We trust you understand our concerns.

Please indicate at your earliest possible convenience your interest in establishing the diplomatic and trade ties we propose. In the meantime, I remain your most humble servant.

With Sincerest Regards,

Udo Dirkschneider von Pfeffernuβe

Foreign Minister for the Grand Duchy of Stollen

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

And It's the End of September!!!

  Saxony's Ploetz Cuirassiers, an illustration lifted from the Kronoskaf website, which has thus far guided my spectacularly glacial painting of 30 28mm Eureka Saxon cuirassiers purchased all the way back in October 2016. A gray, cool Saturday here in Mid-Michigan with rain in the forecast. The Grand Duchess is away at a conference, so it's just "The Boys" here at home. The Young Master (almost 15) has retreated to his room for something or other following breakfast while I have stolen back down here to Zum Stollenkeller (masquerading as my office) with a second mug of coffee and both cats comfortably ensconced nearby. Enjoying the late morning and still in my pajamas! Not much planned for today beyond designing a couple of promotional flyers for workshops my department is presenting (small parties we will throw?) in October and November.  With maybe a bit of on the next podcast script. More important,  I am toying with the idea of returning for an hour or...

Happy September 2nd!!!

    T his weekend, the question of what, precisely, constitutes an "imagination" came up in an online forum of which I am a part.  To be fair, the issue originates from further afield in a Facebook group that I am not a member of, but I weighed in with my own view.  The following was in response to the question posed yesterday (Sunday) morning by an exasperated member of my own rather more gentlemanly town square, who had been met with a strident response to information he shared about his (admirable) hobby activities on said FB group.  Here is, more or less, what I wrote: To my mind, the concept of imagi-nation(s) is a broad one.  It can range from historical refights or what-if scenarios/battles/campaigns between armies of a particular era, to completely made up combatants operating in a quasi-historical setting, to the rather generic red and blue forces of the Prussian Kriegspiel that examine a particular tactical problem, task, or exercise.   ...