Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Dear Father: The Beginning

Dear Father,

I write briefly to tell you we are finally on our way. Obviously you new war was coming, since the Emperor had to petition the senate in order to carry out his campaign, but I wanted you to know we are now officially underway. We should be in Dacia by the end of the month if all goes well. Hopefully the Dacians will be there waiting for us, as we are all keen on a little action. There's only so much training and polishing a soldier can do before he begins to wonder if he'll ever have a chance to test himself in real combat.

I will hopefully write you again to keep you only to updated on my own condition, since you will undoubtedly hear all about the campaign in the senate. In fact, you may have a wider grasp of how things are going in Dacia.

Greet my mother, and my brother Quintus who I miss dearly. Greet Tiberus and Aulus as well, and Tullus if you see him.

Your son, Tertius



Dear Father,

Greetings. I know you did not expect to receive a letter so soon, but the King commanded me to write to you. He takes great pleasure in seeing his subjects reading and writing. It is all he talks about, even now as we prepare to embark on another campaign against the Saxons. I will not complain though. I know how good the King has been to our family, and you in particular, father, so if he wishes me to write, I will.

There is not much to tell. We had barely arrived in Lombardy when messengers brought us news of the Saxon revolt. They are rallying around a man named Widukind, and have destroyed the Fortress at Eresburg, but that is all we know. I am beginning to grow sick of the weather and people up there. It is a depressing place. The son never shines, the the people there never grow tired of war. Anyway, now we march north, hopefully for the last time.

Give my love to mother, I miss you both.

Your son, Landric



Dear Father,

The time has come it seems, for war, just as you predicted. Timur and his armies are on the move. For years it looked as though the Sultan would simply be content to exchange insulting letters with Timur, but he finds this last insult unbearable. After simply being content to by the loyalty of Bayezid's subjects, Timur has now openly invaded Anatolia. It is puzzling, the Sultan has not lifted a finger as Timur ransacked Baghdad, Aleppo, and Damascus, but for some reason Bayezid finds this invasion an unbearable insult. Anyway, we leave tonight at the head of an army, and I doubt you and I shall see each other for many days.

I have provided you with a list of my acquired possessions and estates. Since I have no heir, they are yours to rule until I return. I trust you completely, although should we fail in our counter-attack the things I entrust to you may be taken from you by force. There is little doubt however that we will succeed, and when we are done I will come home and begin working on that heir you always wanted.

Take care father. I will write you later, if I am able.

Your son, Kasim


Dear Pa,

We leave today Pa, for Fort Sumter. I wanted to tell you myself, but ma wouldn't let me in to see you, so I wrote you this letter. I hope you get it.

I know you don't like me joining the army, but I'm a man now, I can make my own decisions. You don't have to look after me anymore like a boy. You may not agree with what I want to do with my life, but it's my life, and I'll live it in the best way possible. I still love you Pa, and by the time this war is over you'll be proud of me, you'll see.

I've been assigned to a gun battery in Fort Moultrie. My Generals name is Beauregard. If you hear anything about Beauregard running roughshod all over the Yankee troops, you'll know that's us.

Tell Ma I love her too, even if she won't let me talk to you. I'll write you again soon. I'd appreciate it if you'd write back.

Your son, Jeremiah



Dear Dad,

Today is the first day I actually flew a Spitfire. After all the archaic flight modules and test flights in sputtering vintage aircraft, we finally got to fly the real deal. The Spitfires are challenging because the maneuver so quickly and precisely. The Hurricanes we flew earlier are stiff and lifeless, but the Spitfires respond to the slightest touch of the controls.

The RAF is eager to get us into action since the Nazis will likely be spilling over the channel any day now. Right now though, the war seems to be a galaxy away. A few of my friends from University are here as well, so there is never a dull moment. I would like to write you more, but I can't since the government placed a number of restrictions on the contents of our correspondence. In fact, someone else probably read this letter before you did, just to make sure it was safe.

Anyway, thank Mum for the sweater she sent me, and the new socks. I was in need of both. I hope you are both healthy. Say high to the Parish for me.

Your son, James

Hey Dad,

This is just a quick email to let you know that we're here. We touched down in Kandahar late this evening and will likely begin patrolling the day after tomorrow. It's been a long day, so I'm going to bed now. I'll email you again soon when I'm not drop-dead tired.

Adam

P.S

Did you see the Oiler highlights today? Not a bad start to the season, eh?

--BEGIN TRANSMISSION--

Dad,

Landed on Mars today. All is well. No combat yet. Further texting unlikely due to communication lock-down. Please pray for me and the unit.

Fenix

--END TRANSMISSION--