Dated this 15th day of January, Anno Societatas XLIV, or 2010 in the common reckoning.

Unto your Majesties, Bèla and Anna, King and Queen of the Kingdom of the Outlands, and to her Excellency, Baroness Mary of Caerthe, do we, THL Johannes Rodenwerper and THL Meliore Gimigna Fioravanti, send Greetings and declare—

It is our intent to humbly submit our names as candidates for succession to the baronial seat of Caerthe as future Baron and Baroness.

Lord Johannes has been a citizen of Caerthe for 9 years and while Lady Meliore has only been a resident of Caerthe for 3 years, she has been a citizen of the Society, originating in Caid, for 24 years. In our years in the society we have been very active as officers, instructors, autocrats, and retainers, and are a mature, stable couple. Lady Meliore a founder of and is sole head of the household, Chateau Flammel and is an apprentice to Mistress Mary Taran of Glastonbury (Caid) and Lord Johannes is squired to Viscount Sterling the Leopard.

Over these years we have had many experiences that we believe are useful background toward the baronial leadership. We have served as retainers to royal and baronial courts, having had much exposure to what goes on behind the scenes to make the hierarchy run smoothly. And owing to the various offices and posts we have held, we are well versed in Corpora and Kingdom law and Financial Policy. In short we are drivers and project managers.

We also know too well the burden of duty upon any that serves as baronage, and the obligations of time, money, travel and energy that goes into it. We are prepared to manage that burden on behalf of Caerthe because it is our home and we love her people and want to make their experience the best possible for them. We feel this can best be done on our part as their Baron and Baroness.

Caerthe is a unique barony in that it is home to three cantons, in addition to her colleges. This can produce many different factions and micro-cultures. We are blessed enough to be members of two of the cantons and firm friends with the third, and so have great respect for their differences and strengths. We feel warmly welcomed in all three as well in the various martial communities. Lady Meliore is already very much an active proponent of the Caerthen Army, which is dear to her heart. This is but one project that we have ahead of us that we feel would be best served from this position of leadership and will provide growth to the barony and kingdom.

It is our dream to help usher in a Golden Age. All organizations wax and wane in terms of enthusiasm and activity on a cyclical basis, and Caerthe is coming around full circle to a very exciting era. Golden Ages are an exciting time in the SCA lifecycle and a pivotal one in terms of how the leadership steers the emerging group culture. We are a pair of theater types who love to set the stage and give people those rare glittery moments that keep SCA folks in the group.

Both of us bring to the table our many years in operating live action role-playing organizations where all of the participants are actors cooperating to help the story along. Now, we do that same form of interactive entertainment in the SCA to engage others in the game. These organizations are volunteer-based, as is MPI in which we are board members. We have become highly skilled at people management in volunteer environments, culminating in a 3-day 20th Anniversary Baronial Event run by Lady Meliore that with shocking success seamlessly managed 1100 attendees, a tavern and 2 feasts for 250 each on a shoestring budget raising the baronial revenue $6.5k. With a little management and people skills we can move mountains.

To this end, we wish to support that newly evolving age, and with the help of our very gifted populace and guilds, our Peers and your Majesties, we believe that Caerthe has great potential to blossom even more in the Arts, in our military complex and on behalf of our children and youth.

Attached you will find a comprehensive business plan for our proposed time in the office and our SCA resumes which detail our efforts over the years.

Yours in the hope of further Service,

THL Johannes Rodenwerper                                        THL Meliore Gimigna Fioravanti