Post by Bannanachair on Jul 25, 2017 10:34:08 GMT -4
31/3/2016
You awaken in your guest room in the palace in Drudovell, where you are for the peace accords. You heard the news three days ago about your uncle's death, and that your younger brother Rædhelm has taken the throne. You knew that Rædhelm has always had a close affinity with your uncle, but the complete and utter disregard for your dynastic rights is unforgivable. The only reason you haven't done anything sooner is because you had to finish this peace treaty.
Apparently, though, you're not the only one who thinks that Rædhelm's act of claiming the throne was preposterous. Your cousin's son (your grandfather's second son's grandson) has also expressed outrage from the southeastern border, and has managed to get Dukes Alric II and Sigebhyrt IX of Cetopia and Vacitia respectively to declare war upon Rædhelm on the behalf of their chosen candidate, Baldwin (who, by the way, is only ten, proving that those two dukes care more about personal power and ease of manipulating the monarch than they do about dynastic inheritance).
Taking advantage of the new civil war, Duke Æthelgar of Wægellia, who controls the northern half of Wrennia's western coast and a large peninsula that juts off of it, has declared independence using the claim that his grandfather Æthelstan ruled Wægellia as an independent kingdom. He has the largest navy of all the Dukes of Wrennia, due in large part to the peninsula that he controls adding greatly to his coastal area, and likely suspects that he can use this to his advantage to force a treaty during the dynastic conflicts of the new civil war.
Additionally, for the past several years, foreign ships from the southwestern part of the continent (reportedly slightly further west than where the Gronians originally came from) have come to raid towns and cities all along the Cavakrian coast. Although they occasionally conquered a town for a time, generally the local lords would quickly reconquer the town and send the foreigners on their way, but you fear that the political instability in Wrennia right now would provide ample opportunity for them to invade places for long enough to fortify their defenses, perhaps permanently.
However, Rædhelm isn't completely unsupported in his conquest of the throne. Three of Wrennia's Dukes, Wigfurth II, Swithulf and Æmbald III of Nithia, Trintia and Stomoria respectively, immediately pledged their support to your younger brother. Four more Dukes have signed treaties saying that they will not join Baldwin's cause, although they have yet to swear allegiance to Rædhelm, and there are two more who have yet to do anything. And then there's you, the Duke of Vetoria.
Thinking it through in your head as you lie in bed this morning, you decide upon something definitively - you're going to be the one to restore stability to Wrennia. You're going to swear yourself as a vassal to neither Rædhelm nor Baldwin, and instead you're going to see if you can get at least some of the six remaining Dukes to swear themselves as your vassals in an attempt to help you press your claim. The only question is this - what are you going to do first?
You awaken in your guest room in the palace in Drudovell, where you are for the peace accords. You heard the news three days ago about your uncle's death, and that your younger brother Rædhelm has taken the throne. You knew that Rædhelm has always had a close affinity with your uncle, but the complete and utter disregard for your dynastic rights is unforgivable. The only reason you haven't done anything sooner is because you had to finish this peace treaty.
Apparently, though, you're not the only one who thinks that Rædhelm's act of claiming the throne was preposterous. Your cousin's son (your grandfather's second son's grandson) has also expressed outrage from the southeastern border, and has managed to get Dukes Alric II and Sigebhyrt IX of Cetopia and Vacitia respectively to declare war upon Rædhelm on the behalf of their chosen candidate, Baldwin (who, by the way, is only ten, proving that those two dukes care more about personal power and ease of manipulating the monarch than they do about dynastic inheritance).
Taking advantage of the new civil war, Duke Æthelgar of Wægellia, who controls the northern half of Wrennia's western coast and a large peninsula that juts off of it, has declared independence using the claim that his grandfather Æthelstan ruled Wægellia as an independent kingdom. He has the largest navy of all the Dukes of Wrennia, due in large part to the peninsula that he controls adding greatly to his coastal area, and likely suspects that he can use this to his advantage to force a treaty during the dynastic conflicts of the new civil war.
Additionally, for the past several years, foreign ships from the southwestern part of the continent (reportedly slightly further west than where the Gronians originally came from) have come to raid towns and cities all along the Cavakrian coast. Although they occasionally conquered a town for a time, generally the local lords would quickly reconquer the town and send the foreigners on their way, but you fear that the political instability in Wrennia right now would provide ample opportunity for them to invade places for long enough to fortify their defenses, perhaps permanently.
However, Rædhelm isn't completely unsupported in his conquest of the throne. Three of Wrennia's Dukes, Wigfurth II, Swithulf and Æmbald III of Nithia, Trintia and Stomoria respectively, immediately pledged their support to your younger brother. Four more Dukes have signed treaties saying that they will not join Baldwin's cause, although they have yet to swear allegiance to Rædhelm, and there are two more who have yet to do anything. And then there's you, the Duke of Vetoria.
Thinking it through in your head as you lie in bed this morning, you decide upon something definitively - you're going to be the one to restore stability to Wrennia. You're going to swear yourself as a vassal to neither Rædhelm nor Baldwin, and instead you're going to see if you can get at least some of the six remaining Dukes to swear themselves as your vassals in an attempt to help you press your claim. The only question is this - what are you going to do first?