Part 11: Quiet

three updates in a row? unemployment rules.



"The remainder of my father's life was serene and peaceful. Nobody quite believed it."



"Widely renowned as the Tyrant, King Ernst was constantly expected to put on his dark black armour and human-skin cloak and stalk the streets of Fyn once again. But it never happened."



"Instead, King Ernst turned his attention to quiet contemplation and small acts of charity. It seemed impossible that he could ever achieve forgiveness for the horrible things he had done throughout his life, but he did not seek or expect it. Instead he contented himself that his brutal reign and many terrors had all been for a single goal, and now that goal was achieved he need do nothing more."



"He became content with what he had achieved and spent his remaining days tutoring grandchildren and holding feasts and festivals."



"He nearly had a heart attack, though, when he heard that I had been imprisoned by the Fatmid Sultan following an inexcusable blunder."



"He fell over himself to pay the ransom, even though the Sultan was renowned as a kind man who would likely have released me peacefully."



"And following this I was instructed to remain at home, with no foreign excursions whatsoever. A reasonable punishment to be honest."



"Mother died a few years later. Father had barely noticed her for much of his life, but he actually grieved to see it."




"Speaking of death, both of his prisoners died, and were replaced with sons too young and weak to challenge the King's rule. He was content to let them be."




"My sister was married to the King of Norway, cementing an alliance between our houses."



"Which was well timed, because the French King who had been an ally was overthrown in a bloody revolt. King Ernst never left his castle to help, believing the war was lost already and having no great desire to mutilate hundreds of foreigners for no reason."



"The paranoia that had driven a lot of his controlling attitude gradually slipped away. Years of peace calmed him."



"He could not even bring himself to inflict violence on the realm's petty disputes."



"Instead, he spent his time talking with the bishops of the realm, and surrounded himself with a few good and loyal friends who could see that he actually had changed."



"The rumour spread. The Tyrant really had changed, it went. People stopped flinching when he walked into the room. Gradually, gradually, people began to open up and realise this was the real King Ernst. Quiet and content."



"Those years of peace ended with a virulent plague breaking out in Denmark."



"It quickly claimed the elderly king's life.

"It cannot be overstated just how incredible my father's life was. When he took the throne he was the Count of a single province, a drunkard and a schemer and a fop with no self-restraint or self-awareness. He soon after won a bloody revolution started by his father, and immediately began a war against the southern pagans. In the flames of that war the spoiled child became a brutal warrior and the most feared man in Denmark. Re-forged like steel, he slaughtered his way to the throne. In his lifetime my family went from the rulers of a single province to an entire kingdom.

"And finally, after seizing power in blood and slaughter, King Ernst stopped. He proved that a man can change, and he ended his life a quiet and peaceful monarch. He left behind him a stable realm and a huge estate.

"I can hardly imagine how history will remember him."



"But if I have my way, I will have none forget that he was a father first, and above all."

TOTAL ASSETS:

- 100 Gold Ducats, +7 a month
- 1 Kingdom, 1 Duchy, 4 Counties, 1 Barony
- 12 Vassals - one of whom is Jesus
- Genius
- Married to a Genius
- Alliance with Norway


Question to the audience:

Wealth: The Hasanic Trading league has been destroyed by the Holy Roman Empire, leaving only Gotland to dominate Baltic trade. Queen Rikissa thinks it might be worthwhile to fabricate a claim on Gotland and invade Sweden in a moment of weakness, destroying the trade centre and recreating it under Danish rule.

Faith: The second option is to invade the Lithuanian Pagans when we have enough strength. The Lithuanians are hemmed in between Poland and Kiev, and Sweden has conquered much of Finland leaving them with few allies to call on.

Family: The third option is to focus on consolidating our rule over Denmark, revoking titles and installing family members into all positions of power. This will recreate the Ylving model of control by ensuring that every ruler in the country is related to each other, quenching the threat of civil war.