The life
and Times of Maks Part 1
Walter
Buttler’s Dragoons
I,
Maksamyllyan Wulfrum von Schleuter, was born in the ruined town of
just
before the turn of our sad century. My father had wasted what was left of the
estate on wise womens, strange books and alchemy. I left for
well until a duel ended in a rapier in a duke’s
son’s death. Luckily he was a bastard son, so the ports
were clear to sail for
a Royal Prussia even more devastated by war. The Swedes were ravaging my
home lands
again. One of the few groups really doing anything to stem this flood of death
were the Lisowczyks, although to be fair they too tuned a tide of blood, not
always of the enemy! I had not
the funds to buy my commission with the
Hussaria, nor even the dragoons, so they were my only
option. I fought my way
up the ranks, became hardened to the darkness of war, and those who must
live
or die from the land. One small light was the friendship of of a fellow son of
the commonwealth,
Andrzej Kmicic.
After
the wars of the Dymitriad and even new horrors, we moved into the service of
the Imperial
armies fighting the Protestant Bohemians. At the battle of
with a troop known as Walter Buttler’s Dragoons.
The
colonel, Buttler, was of Irish decent, but born within the commonwealth, was
amiable to a few
of us joining, those with the gold to pay for commissions that
is. With this troop war became a most
profitable trade; soon I was Rittmeister then
even Major. I took my place in the regrettable death of Wallenstein. I say
regrettable for I now know a wider story.
The
stories of skirmishes against Swedes, Rebel Germans and most of all, when they
joined in the
wars, the French, are stuff of many a camp fire story. It was in
troops came to an end. Deep in French territory Andrzej and I came
upon a carriage with a fat French
marquees and a dowry chest of gold. After
loosing the rest of the troop, these two made for the Dutch
border where they
were captured by a Croat, or French Kozak troop headed by a Polish Noble by the
name of Bohdan Khmelnitsky. They bought their way to a parole and an end to
their war… in the West.
For the rest of the story see Kozaky