Application: Aenon Powers

A letter, written in a flowing, educated script, is delivered to the offices of the Confederacy by a paid courier. It is sealed with black wax.

The letter reads as follows:

"Monsieur,

I am writing to you from the port of Calais, this December the 29th, in the Year of Our Lord, Seventeen-Hundred Nineteen.

My name is Aenon Powers. For several years, my family has served the rightful rulers of Great Britain. Most recently, my grandfather served as an officer under the then Prince of Wales during the Anglo-Dutch Wars; later, my grandfather and my late father gave service to the King at the Boyne. My grandfather, my mother, and those members of my familuy who were able were with the large number of Jacobite followers who willingly went into exile in France, rather than serve the Hannoverian usurper.

Since reaching the age of manhood, I have given service to the French Crown as a an officer of the Royal Artillery. Recently, I have been offered the command of a small warship in His French Majesty's service and posted to the Colonies.

Not long after my selection, I was informed of the existence of your society through the agency of a "mutual friend", and told that you might have need of my individuals with my capacity and connections, such as they are, in the New World.

I make no warrant that I am a perfect soldier, though I am no stranger to the field of battle; nor do I pretend to be comfortable with the affairs of court, though I have managed to play the politics of Versailles well enough to merit this promotion. But you will find no more loyal servant of the Jacobite cause than myself.

With the agreement of my crew, and the approval of the Sovereigns to whom I have pledged my service,I therefore offer my service to your cause. The Caribbean is a dangerous place, and men of military experience can be of great aid to your endeavors - be they martial or otherwise. I can offer a loyal crew of men, a small but regular stream of supplies from the Crown, and the assistance of the support I manage to gather within the Fleet based here in the Americas.

With respect, I remain your most humble and obedient servant,

Captain Aenon Powers

OOC Section:

Player Description: My name is Alex. I am a thirty year old, long time roleplayer still searching for an MMORPG in which the "RPG" part of the term is taken halfway seriously by administrators!

Not sure what to say about myself, other than the fact that I think of myself as a decent guy. I'm an archaeologist and historian by training (working on my PHD), but I've also spent a lot of time writing, both for gaming purposes and pleasure, and would be quite content to do that for a living, as well. At the moment, I'm sort of between things. In my spare time, I'm also a miniature wargamer (both historical and otherwise), and I have a small collection of ships for our period.

Historically, ancestors on my mother's side of the family were overwhelmingly Jacobite, though I confess that some of us fought with the Dutch during the Anglo-Dutch Wars;). I am Hungarian, on my father's side, so not much connection to the Jacobites there, though I do have a great love of freedom, distaste for usurpers, etc...

Needless to say, James II has been one of the men I've admired most in my life. (Regardless of his faults, he was incredibly brave, and more than a little intelligent.)

I will simply say that, at this point, I am very familiar with the POTBS interface, so I understand how the game works, though I am still learning some of the eccentricities. Don't claim to be an expert, but I do enjoy the experience!

I currently live on the West Coast of the United States. Because I'm not working regular hours (most all of my work is freelance at the moment), my hours vary considerably, but you can count on me to be fairly active. I can probably manage at least one or two hours a day, most weeks, if not more as circumstances.

Profession:

I am leaning toward the Privateer profession with Aenon.

Official Forum Name: Honved

What is RP to You?

Interacting with other players in character, working together to plan military and commercial operations, taking an active part in the story line. All of these are RP to me. I enjoy the experience of "being another character".

Perhaps I'm spoiled, as I've done a great deal of tabletop, LARP, and MUSHing in the past, but I still think this could be our "holodeck" if we could just get the roleplaying to be more active, and less obnoxious, in the land of MMOs.

I suppose my one quirk about RP is that I don't like to exclude players. I detest elitism (so, for example, I'm less than thrilled with the so-called 'premiere guild' concept being promoted by certain groups over on the official forums), and I know what it's like to be excluded, so I try to be friendly and present a good face to those who may be trying to roleplay, or who aren't sure about what it is that we do.

Why would you like to join the Highland Confederacy?

Because I have some historical admiration for the Jacobite cause, and because this seems like a well educated, mature, but down to earth group of men and women.

Would add a new dimension to my POTBs play.

Hope to hear from you soon,

A.

I am honored to extend my welcome to yet another like minded spirit Mr. Powers!

Greetings sir, and do not be fooled or somewhat "troubled" by the fact that i am in fact a Dutchman by birth!
I have no particular fondness for my country, its rulers or its political affairs.

I have no doubt that we will meet someday in the West Indies as these islands seem to have become our home.
We should discuss the finer points 'o tactics as well as business someday if ye will allow me this little indulgence!

Sincerely,

Henk Owl
Captain

Monsieur Powers,

As Captain Owl’s remarks testify, your letter has generated great interest as it circulates from member to member in the Highland Confederacy. We be but a small group of loyalists to James III/VIII in the Antilles and to be quite frank your history, experiences, connections and willingness to join in our cause is most welcomed.

As a group of equals we have collectively agreed that the responsibility of Proprietor-General be given to Herr Wilhelm von Somborn; a German in whose heart burns the passion of a true Jacobite. It may be his current responsibilities delay him for the moment in responding to your post, so I wish to take the liberty of providing you a sincere welcome to the Highland Confederacy. Rest assured you shall hear directly from Kapitän von Somborn forthwith.

We meet often at an inn known as the Albatross which sits just outside of Forte-de-France on the island of Martinique. The Innkeeper, Willem McDough, be a Scotsman best described as having, shall we say, a rotund physical stature, a ready smile and helpful manner. He it will be who can connect you directly to our band of brothers and sisters.

Until we meet, I urge you have a care. We have cause to search the shadows for enemies who would crush us given the opportunity.

Your servant,

Captain Jack McBain
Commodore,
Highland Confederacy

ooc
Please make yourself at home here, Aurelian. Puruse the posts, contribute where you feel drawn. The inn keeper at the Albatross is an npc character of sorts and we all tend to put words into his mouth as the context directs. And again, welcome!
/ooc

Jack McBain wrote:

Monsieur Powers,

As Captain Owl’s remarks testify, your letter has generated great interest as it circulates from member to member in the Highland Confederacy.

And so it has!

Jack McBain wrote:

As a group of equals we have collectively agreed that the responsibility of Proprietor-General be given to Herr Wilhelm von Somborn; a German in whose heart burns the passion of a true Jacobite.

A Hessian?!


Come to think 'o it i yet have to make my introductions in The Albatross although i have visited that fine establishment once if i am not mistaken, it was there that i told my story as it were...

Ah well too much wine for me, i bid ye all goodnight for now!

Sitting at his desk, Wilhelm looks over the missive. After pondering over what manner of manipulation the exile must have taken to gain command of a vessel in the French Navy, he pens:


Émile,
I want you to look into this Captain Powers' past. Make sure that he is legitimate and see if you can find out the circumstances of his promotion. Methinks his skill in political games may be stronger than he admits to. If he is legitimate, contact him with details of naval operations he may assist us with.
WS


Sealing the missive, Wilhelm sends it off to the head of the Confederacy naval attachment, Émile de Montfort.

OOC: As a fellow tabletop player who shares your disdain for elitism, I welcome you. I hope that you find a place for yourself here. That said, I would appreciate it if you would write an in-depth story detailing how a non-French exile came to be a naval officer in the French navy. As you are aware, we are a primarily privateer/freetrader society, so we need some RP backup when we accept naval officers.

OOC: Thank you all for your warm welcomes and kind words. I
look forward to getting to know everybody.


Wilhelm: I was actually thinking more along the lines of privateer, but I can
easily do whatever you need me to do most:)

A Sealed Letter to Wilhelm von Somborn, from an agent in Paris

Monsieur von Somborn:

I have recently discovered a small amount of information regarding Captain
Powers and his claims. There is not a great deal of information extant, but
what we can piece together is as follows.

Aenon Powers appears to have been born in or around Cob, Ireland,
in 1690. The family may be related to the Power family of that same country, a family of minor nobility, some of the of
so-called "Norman Irish". By all accounts, the Captain was adopted
shortly after his birth by said-same family. While it is fairly likely that
Aenon’s father was Irish, Captain Powers has referred to an Eastern European –
possibly Hungarian – mother, and certainly spent time in that country after his
service in the recent European troubles.





Captain Powers’ adoptive family have been ardent Stuart
supporters since at least the First English Civil War. By all accounts, members
of the Powers family were part of the ‘Irish Confederation’ resisting Cromwell
in Ireland, while the Captain’s adoptive grandfather, Sir John Powers, served
under the then Prince of Wales, James II, during at least one major naval
engagement of the Anglo-Dutch Wars.





Both Aenon’s father, John ‘Jack’ Powers, and John Powers the
Elder, saw service at the Boyne, the same
year that Aenon was born, and subsequently, adopted. It is possible that his
biological father also served at the Boyne and
lost his life, as the Captain has often said that his natural father did not
survive to see James go into exile.





In 1691, Aenon Powers and his adoptive family fled to France with James II and his most ardent
supporters, though Jack Powers probably took part in the subsequent campaigns
in Scotland. At any rate, the Powers family continued to
pledge its loyalty to James II while in exile, and as a result of that loyalty,
Jack Powers was able to earn a commission for himself, and later his adopted
son, in the French Army.





Aenon served as a Captain in the unfashionable but vital
Artillerie du Roi following his education, and served on the continent during
the Spanish Succession. At Oudendarde, the Captain lost an eye, but continued
to serve his adopted monarch faithfully. He was decorated at least twice for
service, and his record is, for the most part, exemplary, though somewhat
lacking in the glamour and excitement of the sons of French notables.





Early this year, Captain Powers retired from the Artillery
at the age of 30 and was offered a letter of Marque by Versailles. He has spent the last several
months fitting out with a recently decommissioned warship, the Schooner “Aix la
Chapelle”, and is by all accounts a competent sailor. Many of his crew are
veterans of the recent War.





True to his word, the Captain has, indeed, recently been
granted leave to travel for the New World. He
appears to have maintained a steadfast, almost fanatical devotion to the
Jacobite cause. I can see no reason that he would not make a useful addition to
your august society of like minded men and women.





My warmest regards,





A.B.

((Whoops! Sorry, I assumed from your talk about being offered command of a warship and talk of a promotion as implying that you were an official member of the navy, seeing as most privateers used privately owned ships. Privateers are more than welcome. No problem there.))

Wilhelm von Somborn wrote:

((Whoops! Sorry, I assumed from your talk about being offered command of a warship and talk of a promotion as implying that you were an official member of the navy, seeing as most privateers used privately owned ships. Privateers are more than welcome. No problem there.))

I was perhaps a bit unsure, myself, but I think Privateer is the way I'd prefer to go, at this stage:) My thanks for the welcome!

-A.