Days
Commentator
You know him as Prince Von Prussia, commander of the King's German legion, based upon an actual brigade that fought in Germany for the British crown in Napoleonic times. (I am violent_indigo, I am a sergeant for the 051st, an actual air wing under the German Reich in WWII; they were known for purposely sparing the enemy pilot in their kills). Okay, maybe you are not up on our gaming personalities, but many kids out there know us that way. Of course , we know Martin as the kid who lived across the court yard in our complex and hung out with Daniel, here in our living room. Years gone by.
They are both in college now. Daniel has his eyes set on the financial forecasting aspect of industrial engineering, so he's looking to pick up a math minor; industrial engineering major is so math intensive, he would only need three additional math classes to pick up the minor. Martin is already employed by the UN (yeah, that UN; the United Nations) bringing in folks legally from the war torn Congo. There are some 16,000 residents in the Chicagoland area from the Congo, that Martin tends to along with new comers. Martin is not yet 20 years old, so how on earth does he end up in a position at the UN, that he doesn't even have the schooling for?
Turns out one of the legitimate heirs to a throne absorbed into Prussia (became Germany) prior to WW I... hence, the Prince Von Prussia nickname... turns out that was on his mother's side. Meanwhile his dad is the ruling monarch of Congo; a nation war torn and beset with governmental absurdities from the Dutch and the British, always full of revolutionaries, always in a Civil War, and it is pretty intense at the moment. And, of course, the current government in power, as well as all the governments set up by European powers, treat the royal palace and bloodline to the throne with utter contempt. It seems the palace gets attacked from all sides. Warlords fire rockets at it, the government hurls measures and laws at it, but the people who live there still recognize it as the legitimate crown that it is. The first born male - that's Martin - becomes the next king. Since his dad is still alive, Martin is what is known as the crown prince... he has to attend a couple royal affairs every week, always dressed appropriately. Martin has a flair for outfits, he is big time into military re-enactments from all over history.
Daniel and Martin know an awful lot of battle history and strategy. For Martin, it's a functional necessity; all his cousins next in line to the throne, and living there in Congo, hate the government (everyone hates the government) and want to allign power with the rebels, join the forces on the ground to overthrow the capital. Martin lives over here, and he has a cooler head, he sees the perils of joining an armed revolt, so he has refused to do it. So, he gets Christmas cards, from his cousins, stating, "I can't wait for you to die, so I can take the crown over". kind of surreal. We all have our family struggles.
Daniel and Martin wrote a book together when they were 15. It was set in Napoleonic times. Their characters were officers in the military, of course. Wild imaginations rooted in real historic times. Today, they want to rewrite the book, fix all the historic flaws. I doubt they ever find the time to do so.
It was Martin who taught us all how to fly at War Thunder, and it was Martin who showed me that all my extra crew points are shared with the tank crews... hence, I set up those crews and now play the tanks as well as fly the planes. It was Martin that taught Daniel the war gaming set in Napoleonic and Roman times. One of Daniel's classes, this semester, is classic lit; history of the Roman Empire. Every now and then I get lectures on Roman politics and historic campaigns, which include the command structure for the legions in the field; it is fascinating stuff, and it sheds light on what's behind modern government. I thank Martin for placing it all in my life, I thank God for placing Martin into our family, we love him to death, and we hope that God keeps him alive, so we can go on loving him.
They are both in college now. Daniel has his eyes set on the financial forecasting aspect of industrial engineering, so he's looking to pick up a math minor; industrial engineering major is so math intensive, he would only need three additional math classes to pick up the minor. Martin is already employed by the UN (yeah, that UN; the United Nations) bringing in folks legally from the war torn Congo. There are some 16,000 residents in the Chicagoland area from the Congo, that Martin tends to along with new comers. Martin is not yet 20 years old, so how on earth does he end up in a position at the UN, that he doesn't even have the schooling for?
Turns out one of the legitimate heirs to a throne absorbed into Prussia (became Germany) prior to WW I... hence, the Prince Von Prussia nickname... turns out that was on his mother's side. Meanwhile his dad is the ruling monarch of Congo; a nation war torn and beset with governmental absurdities from the Dutch and the British, always full of revolutionaries, always in a Civil War, and it is pretty intense at the moment. And, of course, the current government in power, as well as all the governments set up by European powers, treat the royal palace and bloodline to the throne with utter contempt. It seems the palace gets attacked from all sides. Warlords fire rockets at it, the government hurls measures and laws at it, but the people who live there still recognize it as the legitimate crown that it is. The first born male - that's Martin - becomes the next king. Since his dad is still alive, Martin is what is known as the crown prince... he has to attend a couple royal affairs every week, always dressed appropriately. Martin has a flair for outfits, he is big time into military re-enactments from all over history.
Daniel and Martin know an awful lot of battle history and strategy. For Martin, it's a functional necessity; all his cousins next in line to the throne, and living there in Congo, hate the government (everyone hates the government) and want to allign power with the rebels, join the forces on the ground to overthrow the capital. Martin lives over here, and he has a cooler head, he sees the perils of joining an armed revolt, so he has refused to do it. So, he gets Christmas cards, from his cousins, stating, "I can't wait for you to die, so I can take the crown over". kind of surreal. We all have our family struggles.
Daniel and Martin wrote a book together when they were 15. It was set in Napoleonic times. Their characters were officers in the military, of course. Wild imaginations rooted in real historic times. Today, they want to rewrite the book, fix all the historic flaws. I doubt they ever find the time to do so.
It was Martin who taught us all how to fly at War Thunder, and it was Martin who showed me that all my extra crew points are shared with the tank crews... hence, I set up those crews and now play the tanks as well as fly the planes. It was Martin that taught Daniel the war gaming set in Napoleonic and Roman times. One of Daniel's classes, this semester, is classic lit; history of the Roman Empire. Every now and then I get lectures on Roman politics and historic campaigns, which include the command structure for the legions in the field; it is fascinating stuff, and it sheds light on what's behind modern government. I thank Martin for placing it all in my life, I thank God for placing Martin into our family, we love him to death, and we hope that God keeps him alive, so we can go on loving him.