Royal Court of Lotharingia (Burgundy)

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The Kingdom of Lotharingia and the House of Berry

Le Grand Duché de Bourgogne - La Lotharingie Valoise

Le Grand Duché de Lorraine - La Lotharingie Impériale

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The House of Berry

Louis de Montpensier, King of Lotharingia

His Most Illustrious Majesty, Louis, of the House of Berri, by the grace of God King of Lotharingia, King of Burgundy, Duke of Burgundy, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Dynast of the House of Berri, Duke of Montpellier of Savona, Count of Montpensier, of Imperia, of Chiavari, Grandmaster of the Most Illustrious Order of the Golden Fleece. - born: 1403 Died: 1453 Louis is the second son of Marie de Berri, born of her marriage to the Duc of Bourbon. He was raised in his father's lands in Bourbonnais, until his death in 1420. Following this, he ruled the County of Montpensier for a few years. Having accumulated a fortune, he began working on the Directoire, the council of Lords of Lotharingia, in the regency of his half sister, Éléanore. After the marriage of his half-sister to Frederick, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, Louis inherited the throne via her abdication, in order to avoid the danger of another rebellion against a German king. Due to the fact that he has not overwhelmingly taken anyone's side in the Directoire, but has instead shifted from position to position, noone has any expectations for him to do anything overwhelming. However, it should be noted that even before his ascension to the throne, Louis de Berri was among the richest men in Europe, noted for his keen wit.

During the rebellion, his fortune suddenly vanished within the rebelling cities of the Low Counties. Having lost his grip on the Directoire, he is now in the difficult position of fighting a war with minimal levies and no fieffée. He died at the taking of Dijon in 1453, at the hands of Charles de Nevers, after signing his abdication to protect his familly.

Queen Anna

Anna de Savoy, Queen of Lotharingia and Burgundy, Duchess-Regent of Piedmonte.
The Crimson King, through force, guile and some degree of genuine attraction, has won himself a bride. The adopted daughter of Emperor Joachim, she was an unusual choice to say the least, being the widow of Antoine de Savoy. She is prone to many a black mood, although sometimes her spirits are so high that they can scarcely be contained. The Royal Court is still getting to know their new prima donna, but already her tendency towards depression and the color of many of her dresses has earned her the nickname 'The Black Queen', most fitting for a wife of the Crimson King.

Marie Antoinette Jeanne Joséphine de Berri - born: 1452 - The infant daughter of King Louis and Queen Anna, and heir apparant of the Crown of Lothair. The infant is well loved by her mother and father, and is housed in Dijon.

Queen Éléanore

Éléanore de Berri, Queen of the Romans, Wife of Emperor Frederick von Wittelsbach. Queen of Denmark and Norway, Gothia and Vandalia. - born: 1428 - Éléanore had been kept in bed ever since the assassination attempt during her coronation as queen of Lotharingia. Where she was once a healthy and vital young woman, the wound and subsequent sickness had destroyed her health. Her slow recovery was capped by a marriage with Frederick von Wittelsbach, although she was pressured into abdication. She helped her husband become Emperor and provided many potential heirs. Taking into consideration that her duties toward the Empire and the Wittelsbach was done, she turned once again to Lotharingia, in turmoil. She hopes that somehow, by being in Dijon, she will be able to help her half brother maintain Lotharingia.

Queen Marie

Marie de Berri, Queen of Lotharingia and duchesse de Bourgogne. - born: 1365 died: 1428 - Marie de Berri's life wasn't supposed to be very complicated. Marrying into the Valois line of Bourbon, she lost her first husband, Jean, before 1420. A few years earlier, she had also lost her father, and became duchess of Auvergne. Key player on the French side during the final steps of english dominance in France, she held a good name in the court of Charles VII of France, King John of England and even within the Empire. With a strange twist of faith, she claimed the Grand Duché de Bourgogne in 1426, and soon after was named Queen of Lotharingia. She died giving birth to triplets, from her second marriage into the Plantagenet english line. She left a Lotharingia on the brink of civil war, that would see the death of her husband, Alexandre de Beaufort, the rise of the Maid of Lorraine, Myriam de Montainblanc (her protégé), and the coronation of her daughter Éléanore.

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Le Directoire

"Show me power, and I will show you people trying to grab it by any means possible".

- Queen Marie de Berry, in a correspondance to Myriam de Montainblanc, 1425.

Le Directoire is simply the council of Dukes and Counts of high importance. Gaining in importance following the rise to power of the House of Berry, it has lead, in secret, Lotharingia since the regency of Myriam de Montainblanc, duchesse of Lorraine.

Le Directoire was under the influence of three "regional power" from within, the Flemish (Holland, Flandern, Zeeland), the French (Burgundy) and the Germans (Bern, Alsace). The addition of other provinces to Lotharingia allowed some regional power to gain power, mainly the French with Champagne, Savoie, and later, Nivernais.

It is with the disatisfaction of the Flemish power regarding the acquisition of Champagne in 1427, and then Savoie a year later, that the count of Artois, unalligned most of the times, allied with the Lower Counties to secede from the Crown of Lotharingia, with the result that we know today.

The advent of the Maid of Lorraine in 1432, and the campaign that followed, set aside much of the French/German rivalry, to concentrate the forces of the Dukes and Counts toward regaining power in the Low Counties and Artois. However, as soon as the Maid of Lorraine had ended her campaign, the directoire took over the regency, and the former heroin of Lorraine, regent, only had nominal powers over Le Directoire, and often found herself in the difficult seat of having to choose between her duchy and her regency.

Many saw the coming of Éléanore du Berry, future queen of Lotharingia, as a good way to centralize the power of the crown, and to lessen the suicidal tendencies of Le Directoire. Elements within Le Directoire itself wanted this centralization to happen. But some knew that the lack of experience of the young queen might actually do the opposite. After all, that is what happened with the regent. The assassination attempt toward Éléanore pushed back that centralization until Éléanore's mariage to the German Elector Frederick von Wittelsbach. A German king on the throne of Lotharingia would have brought a new civil war, and Louis de Montpensier, half brother to Éléanore, literally bought support within the Directoire. Éléanore was forced to abdicate, and Louis was crowned King.

The years of Louis de Montpensier bought many changes to the Directoire. First, the King centralized most powers to himself, relegating the Directoire to nothing more than a social club of aristocrats. Many structural changes were brought to the difference provinces of the Kingdom. Against the will of the Directoire, funds for castle maintenance were transfered to road building and palaces.

In the 1450s, the son of Maximillien d'Artois rose up to the ideals of his father. Having seen his father die in combat during the first civil war, he swore revenge upon the crown of Lotharingia and the House of Berry. Jean d'Artois thus managed to gather the support for his cause in two strong allies, Philippe du Berry, twin brother of Éléanore abducted at an early age and raised to hate his own familly, and Charles the Bastard, the Count of Nevers. While Philippe had a legitimate claim on the crown of Lotharingia, the Count of Nevers also had a claim for the old ducal crown of the Second House of Burgundy (from Philippe le Hardy, etc).

With civil war brewing again, and with the blockade of the rich nothern cities, King Louis lost a large part of his fortune, and stopped supporting many of the lords he was financing within the Directoire. At the time to call the fieffé and levy, he finally assembled the Directoire once again. The Directoire, pushing to exchange an agreement of levy for the royal seal upon a series of laws regarding decentralization of power toward them, finally dissolved itself, in the face if the King, thus preventing any kind of fief based support for the campaing.

Confronted to an absent Directoire, King Louis was left to fight the war alone.

The Directoire is composed of the following domains

THE DUCHY OF BURGUNDY:

Includes

• Dijon
• Chalon
• Semur
• Chinon
• Macon
• Beaune
• The region of Charolais
• The Abbaye of Cluny

The plains of Burgundy have been the hosts of many events, from their first settlers, the Burgundii, to the Kingdom of Burgundy Cisjurane. Under the Capetian, the region was developped thouroughly, including the main industry, wine making. The region holds the main city of Dijon, which is also the seat of power of Lotharingia. With the passing years, bureaucracy has developped to a certain level, which can now be considered as a second industry on its own.

The title "Duke of Burgundy" is reserved to the King or Queen of Lotharingia. As such, the House of Berry is in charge of this duchy. Louis de Montpensier, King of Lotharingia, is representing the duchy in the Directoire. The Dukes of Burgundy, and their counts and barons, always supported the House of Valois, and are greatly appreciative of the House of Berry's rule, though they often push their pro-French agenda to a point where the other factions of Lotharingia think that the House of Berry should have a little more imperial blood along the line in order to recenter its priorities.

THE COUNTY OF FRANCHE-COMTÉ

Includes

• Free City of Besancon
• Luxent
• Vesoul
• The County of Montbeliard
• Auxonne
• Pontarlier
• Poligny
• St-Claude

The real name of the Franche-Comté is County of Burgundy. It was always distinct from the duchy of Burgundy, under the French crown. The County of Burgundy was under Imperial rule, though as its name says, it was a "free county". Emperor Barbarossa inherited the county in 1155. King of France Philippe le Bel bought the County of Burgundy and granted it to his son Philippe le Long as his apanage. The name of Franche-Comté appeared for the first time in 1366. Philippe le Hardi, duke of Burgundy, inherited this County at the death of his first wife, and he and his successors always struggled against the people of Franche-Comté. The power of the Franche-Comté was mainly in its copper mines, and the mayors of the different cities, including Besancon, often stopped production of the important metal.

With the ascension of the House of Berry to the throne of Lotharingia, the situation changed in this province. First, Marie de Berry understood that the Houses of Franche-Comté had to be represented inside Le Directoire. Unfortunately, three Houses had traditionnaly governed the Franche-Comté. The first one, the House of Ivrea, was now extinct. The two other, the House of Chalon and the House of Hohenstaufen. During the civil war of 1433, both Houses were represented in Le Directoire as their lands were ravaged by the war. The death of the Count of Bern in the fields of Champagne in 1436 would see the transfer of the House of Hohenstaufen in Bern, and the final appointment of the House of Chalon in the Franche-Comté. The House of Chalon is mixed between pro-French and pro-Germen sentiments. In the end, it remains neutral on many issues, often going to the side that seems to have the advantage. As it stands right now, the House of Montbéliard now rule the Franche Comté, with the young Paul of Montbéliard being its leader.

THE DUCHY OF AUVERGNE

Includes

• County of Auvergne
• Dauphiné of Auvergne
• Bishopric of Clermont,
• Clermont
• Beaujeu
• Feurs
• Montbrison
• Thiers
• Montpensier
• Riom
• La Tour
• Issoire

Auvergne is of course Arvernia, the country of the Arvernes, Vercingétorix's tribe.
In 507, Clovis expelled Alaric and the Wisigoths from Auvergne after the battle of Vouillé (near Poitiers). In the Xth century, Auvergne was a possession of the Duke of Aquitaine, later divided into four parts:

The Land of Auvergne, except the County of Clermont, was conquered by King of France Philippe-Auguste in 1213 and granted as his apanage to Alphonse of Poitou, brother of Louis IX (Saint-Louis). In 1360, King Jean II le Bon transformed the County into a Duchy-Peerage, which he granted to his son Jean, Duke of Berry, and was inherited by the young duchesse of Auvergne. Her first years of ruling didn't produce much, as she followed the different kings of France to the letter. In the beginning of the 1420s, she took a more active part in the political matter of the Hundred Years war, interposing herself between the King of France and England. Forced to join the King of France in 1423, she declared war on England and the Confederation. Auvergne was part of the few lands that were kept under the French vassalship after the defeat. After the Succession of Burgundy by the House of Berry, the lands of Auvergne were lead by a series of short lived Houses lost in time.
The castle of Clermont-Ferrand was left empty, but the trade of iron and wood boomed, and Auvergne became an important center of trade for weapons and siege equipment.

It wasn't long before the House of Berry came after its loving Auvergne. When the regent of France proclaimed himself king of France, it was the duty of the House of Berry to re-instate the young Louis XI as king. More than that, Marie de Berry had been named Godmother of the young King. The war against the regent of France, had seen to victory of Burgundy and Aragon, despite the retreat of England from the war. France having no money left, it gave Auvergne back to the House of Berry, which was annexed within Burgundy. The House of Châteaupers, with a long history of service in the French army, was given the control of the duchy of Auvergne. The House of Châteaupers in pro-French, and believes in total independance from the Empire. It has sworn protection of the French Crown as well as the Lotharingian crown. Oddly enough, it is one of the most diplomatic house, and doesn't really attract much hatred from the pro-Flemish and pro-German factions.


A younger Phoebus de Châteaupers, circum 1430

Phoebus de Châteaupers, Duc of Auvergne - born: 1400 - Duc Phoebus is one of the most diplomatic of the rulers of Lotharingia. Ferociously pro-French, he was honored as duke for standing by the House of Berri during the Civil War, after the older ducal families were slain. It is no secret that Phoebus is fervently against any involvment whatsoever with the Holy Roman Empire. However, the Flems and Germans are so busy attacking each other in council that they ignore him altogether, and his relations with both factions are rather good. In recent years, the legendary captain is beginning to fail, and given his lack of a living heir, it is unsure who will succeed the old duke.

DUCHY OF SAVOIE

Includes

• Lake of Geneva
• Lausanne
• Faucigny
• Bourg
• Geneva
• Bishopric of Geneva
• Belley
• Annecy
• Chambery
• Ripaille

The House of Savoie was one of the most prestigious houses of the Empire. Savoie was part of Iron Crown of the Lombards, when it was conquered and integrated in the Carolingian Empire. Part of Lotharingia, it was granted independance from the crown in the beginning of the 1000s. Always at odds with Genoa, and most northern italian states, the House of Savoie had a legitimate claim over the iron crown of the Lombards. The rich duchy, with the provinces of Piemonte and Savoy, was an important center of trade, with dying facilities in Chambéry, and fishing facilities in Torino.

The madness of Amédée VIII le Paisible in 1427,which led to its alliance with the Duke of Bourbon against the French Crown, finished the dream of a grand Savoie. Without a fight, the troops of Savoie surrendered to the Burgundian armies, with the help of Bonne du Berry, sister of the Queen of Lotharingia. Soon after, Lotharingia annexed the french province of Savoie, and leaving the italian province of Piemonte to Genoa to vassalize.

The House of Romont, the second most powerfull House after the House of Savoie, was proclaimed ruler of the duchy of Savoie. After the defeat at Mousset in the Civil war, the Count of Romont defied the authority of the Duchesse of Lorraine, only to be killed by an arrow by Phoebus de Châteaupers, who would soon become the new duke of Auvergne. In his place, the House of Berry reinstated the former duchesse of Savoie, Bonne du Berry, sister of Marie du Berry. Useless to say that Bonne du Berry, and the House of Savoie-Berry is pro-Lotharingia, and will obey the House of Berry to the letter. The son of Bonne is now in charge.



Amédée IX de Berri, Duc of Savoie - born: 1412 - Amédée is the nephew of the deceased Queen Marie, and head of the House of Savoy, the most powerful of the noble houses of Northern Italy. Considered somewhat foolish but intensely loyal to his family and his lord, Amédée is considered by most to be in the inner councils of the King, although this is not quite the case. Amédée brings the sword of Lotharingia where it must be brought, and being a far more accomplished general than Louis, this is an arrangement that suits the King fine.

THE INDEPENDANT CITIES OF GENOA

Includes

• Genoa
• Oneglia
• Spezzia

Under the Romans, the city enjoyed municipal rights and exported skins, wood, and honey. Little is known of Genoese history from the fall of the Roman Empire (476) until the 11th century, by which time the city had become a maritime republic governed by consuls. Genoa then contributed ships to the campaign against Saracen corsairs in Italian waters. The Genoese, in alliance with Pisa, eventually drove the Saracens from settlements on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, which thereafter became prizes in a long naval war between the two city-states. In the 12th century the Genoese extended their mastery over the adjacent coast and nearby mountain valleys and laid the foundations of future naval greatness and prosperity. Genoese ships transported Crusaders to the Middle East and returned laden with booty. Genoese merchants, profiting from the newly awakened European demand for goods from the Middle East, were to be found in all the principal centers of trade. Genoese forts and trading posts spread through the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and eventually into the Black Sea.

Their trade, facilitated by friendly relations with the Byzantine Empire, brought Genoa and Venice into increasing rivalry, which broke into open warfare in the mid-13th century, just as Genoese power reached its height. At the Battle of Meloria (1284), Genoa crushed Pisa, the power of which thereafter declined; the Venetians were defeated at Curzola in 1299. The oligarchy of prosperous merchants and bankers that had ruled the Genoese Republic after 1257 subsequently dealt on equal terms with the courts of popes and kings. Genoese expansion, in fact, had been largely the work of citizens whose primary concern was the advancement of their private interests. As a result, the city was torn between factions contending for control of the government. The rival groups did not hesitate to call in outside powers to aid them. Even the dogeship, the institution of first magistrate, established in 1339, was unable to master the ensuing disorders. Although the struggle sapped Genoese strength, and despite continued bitter rivalry with Venice, the Genoese largely held their own for several decades. In 1380, however, their fleet fell into Venetian hands at Chioggia, a blow from which their naval power never recovered. Venice drew far ahead, and Genoese overseas possessions were lost one by one. Genoa regained some of its power in the 15th century, only to be lost at the hands of a series of rulers who found themselves loosing power and prestige toward the church and the Empire. After the Battle of Alessandria, in which it assisted the defense of its overlord, the Savoia, from the coallition of the Dual Crown, Genoa was conquered by the Lotharingian army. Promised at one time to the House di Savoia, the crown of Lotharingia seems keen to keep the rich cities.

For now, the cities are governed by a town council, who elect a governor to represent them at the Directoire. The chosen governor, up to now, has been Amédée IX of Savoie. But the cities still remain fairly independant.

THE DUCHY OF LORRAINE

Includes

• Nancy
• Blamont
• Vaudémont
• Bishophric of Metz
• Duchy of Bar
• Free City of Metz
• Free City of Verdun
• Longwy
• Bishopric of Toul

In 843, the treaty of Verdun divided the Carolingian Empire among the three sons of Louis le Pieux, Charlemagne's son and successor. Charles le Chauve, allied with his brother Louis le Germanique, forced their third brother Lothaire to sign the treaty. Charles le Chauve was crowned King of Francia occidentalis. Louis le Germanique, formerly King of the Eastern Franks, was crowned King of Germania. Lothaire, who had expected to keep the whole Empire for himself, received an area sandwiched between Francia and Germania, called Lotharingia, later Lothringen (German) or Lorraine (French). Lotharingia was slowly dissolved between the Empire and France, and became the large streches of forest known today as the duchy of Lorraine. Incorporated in the late 1410s by Philippe le Bon to Burgundy, it has provided the duchy with much riches from the iron mines that can be found in the southern fields.

In 1422, the ruling houses of Lorraine were in dissaray, and the House of Berry took their first decision in Burgundy by giving the ducal crown of Lorraine to the House of Montainblanc. Thus, the ambassador to England, current of the small house of Montainblanc, became Myriam de Montainblanc, duchesse of Lorraine. She reorganised Lorraine and centralized the power in Nancy, just in time for the civil war, and with the death of the Queen of Lotharingia, Marie de Berry, and her husband, the prince regent Alexandre de Beaufort, she was appointed regent of Lotharingia until the coming of age of Jean II du Berry, future king of Lotharingia. With the large ressources of Lorraine at her diposal, she turned the tide of the war, reunited Le Directoire (or what was left of it) to a campaing in the Lower Counties. This bold attitude, that she had learned from her years in England, allowed her to be associated with the old tale of the Maid of Lorraine. Her failure to protect the young king from death at the hands of the House of Artois has attracted much unofficial criticism from the Flemish and German factions. To prevent further rumors, Myriam de Montainblanc has left the ground free to Le Directoire, and her regency has seen under the past few years a large decentralization of powers toward regional more structures. The House of Montainblanc has always been pro-Berry, pro-French, from the days of the House of Berry in Auvergne.

In 1452, Lorraine reverted back to King Louis, following the announced death of Myriam. With her death, the seat of Lorraine is once again open to speculations.



Myriam, Duchesse of Lorraine, Comtesse of Montainblanc. - born: 1401 Died : 1452- Myriam took control of the reigns of power ever since the death of Alexander Beaufort, and wisely guided the kingdom through difficult and calamitous times, including several rebellions and a flareup of the war between England and France. Although she kept carefully neutral in the matters of international politics, she tirelessly fought to preserve the privileges of the Crown of Lotharingia at home and abroad. However, the assassination attempt on her beloved adopted daughter, Queen Éléanore, took a heavy toll on her. She became obsessed with finding any trace of Philippe, the last son of Marie de Berri and Prince Alexander. She grieved for much of her life over her two dead loves, Richard de Vere, a knight of the English crown, lost in battle in France, and King John II of England. In the early 1440s, as Louis I has taken the throne of Lotharingia, her rather substantial responsibilities fully dissipated. She was put under arrest in 1450 for obscure reasons by King Louis and was asked to stay in her own castle. She died two years later.

THE LANDGRAF OF BERN

Includes

• Mur
• Granson
• Ston
• Bishopric of Basel
• Free City of Basel
• Berne
• Grandson
• Murten
• Bishopric of Sion
• Free City of St-Jacob

Bern, as a city, was founded in 1160 by Count Berchtold V of Zahringia. It became a sovereign state in the Holy Roman Empire in 1226, and joined the Swiss Confederation in 1353. Bern was a major imperial power, conquering neighboring areas and forming its own regional alliances (including expansion into French-speaking areas) before it joined the Swiss. Annexed by Philippe le Bon in 1421, it was separated from Schwyz which was given to Luxembourg as a vassal. Schwyz was retreived as a vassal by Burgundy in the late 1420s under the rule of the House of Berry.

Ruled under a form of federacy, it was brought back into a feudal form when Philipe le Bon conquered the city of Bern. The death of the Graf of Bern in 1436 allowed to House of Hohenstaufen to take control of the mountain county. The House of Hohenstaufen, under Frederich von Hohenstaufen, is pro-German and pro-Imperial, and is often at odds with the Flemish factions, which they find unruly. The Count also didn't approve of the Armistice, and thinks the Flemish counts should not have been allowed to live, and even less to keep control of their counties.

Frederich von Hohenstaufen, Graf of Bern - born: 1408 - Graf Friedrich is probably the most conservative of the members of the Directoire. A staunch imperialist, he follows the lead of the Duke of Alsace in most things. However, he absolutely despises the Flemish, primarily due to their rebellion, and believes that Lotharingia would have been better served to execute them all. He is one of the least diplomatic of the major rulers of Lotharingia, and often squabbles with his neighbors in Franché-Comte.

THE DUCHY OF ALSACE

Includes

• Free City of Milhaussen
• Bishopric of Strasburg
• Free City of Strasburg
• Free City of Colmar
• Free City of Schleitstadt
• Free City of Hagenau

The treaty of Mersen (8 April 870) incorporated Alsace to Germania, later the Holy Roman Empire. Duchy under the Merovingians, county under the Carolingians, it was brought under the line of Valois through the conquest of Philippe le Bon, duke of Burgundy, in the early 1420s. Some say his goal was to bridge the possessions in the Low Counties with the southern provinces, and thus having a claim again on the Crown of Lothair. The assencion of Marie de Berry as duchesse of Burgundy, at first, and then Queen of Lotharingia, created much concerns in Alsace, alongside threat of secession by the House of Berry from the Empire in the early 1430s. To calm the ruling House of Alsace, the House of Wittelbach (a far subset of the ruling House of Wittelbach within the Empire), the Crown of Lotharingia granted to title of Duke to Karl von Wittelbach. The main city of Strassburg, sitting in the near the mountains, is home of the finest white wines production in western Europe. The inclusion of Alsace to Burgundy was very profitable, and allowed the formation of a stronger German influence within Le Directoire.

The House of Wittelbach, under Karl von Wittelbach, is probably the most pro-German and pro-imperial faction of Lotharingia. The House of Wittelbach stretches in many counties and duchies within the Empire, and has gained a large influence diplomatically. However, the subset of this house in Lotharingia is very detached from the rest of the House of Wittelbach, in Mainz, Pfalz and Bavaria most notably.



Karl von Wittelbach, Herzog of Alsace - born: 1399 - Karl von Wittelbach is the main Imperialist in all Lotharingia. He holds many lands in the empire, and has many friends throughout Germany. He constantly agitates for Lotharingia to make a closer stand with the Empire, and to become more involved in Imperial affairs, which has the opposition of many of the French and even some of the Flemish factions of the Directoire. He frequently sends emmisaries to the Imperial Diet, and his deep, booming voice dominates gatherings of the Directoire. Were the line of Berri to become extinct, as it so nearly is, Karl von Wittelbach would be a strong contender to be elected King, provided that a civil war did not tear Lotharingia apart first. Given the recent troubles between the House of Wittelsbach and the Emperor in recent years, his faith in the Empire has been shaken. The Royal Chancellor is now hardly willing to support the Emperor over anything. In these rebellious time, Karl has taken time to evaluate his allegiance.

THE COUNTY OF NEVERS

Includes

• Nevers
• Auxerre

The county of Nivernais is an uneventful piece of land that has always been linked to the Crown of France after the Treaty of Verdun. The county subsequently passed by successive marriages into the houses of Donzy, Chatillon and Bourbon. Mahaut de Bourbon brought the county of Nevers, together with those of Auxerre and Tonnerre, to her husband Odo (Eudes), son of Hugh IV., duke of Burgundy, in 1248. Her eldest daughter, Yoland, received the county of Nevers as her dowry when in 1265 she married Jean Tristan, son of King Louis IX. She became a widow in 1270, and in 1272 married Robert de Dampierre, who became count of Flanders. Her descendant by her second marriage, Marguerite, daughter and heiress of Louis II. de Male, count of Flanders, married successively two dukes of Burgundy, Philip I. de Rouvre and Philip II. the Bold. Philip, the third son of Philip the Bold, received the counties of Nevers and of Rethel and the barony of Donzy. Part of the land of Nivernais, however, remained to the French Crown. It is only after the war against the France-Orléanais war that Burgundy was given Nivernais in exchange for the capture of Orléans. With the inconclusive cancellation of the treaty of Verdun, the Emperor Joachim of the Greif tried interfere in the treaty, pleading that Lotharingia should not ask for more lands. Le Directoire were unanimous for once, and the transaction went without any problems.

The House of Nevers, long time in control of Nivernais, is still controling this province. The territory produces much needed grain in the Gaulia continent, and allowed Burgundy to become self sufficient for food.



Charles the Bastard, Comte de Nevers - born: 1402 - The Comte de Nevers is the last surviving blood relative of the House of Burgundy, being a bastard son of the Comte de Nevers, who was slain by the English. As such, there is a small faction who would have him restored to the Burgundian throne, despite his bastardy. Charles is always an enigma in the Directoire, always siding with different factions, and making his own way. It is known that he had a venomous dislike for the Regent, for some unknown reason. His dislike for the King is very well known, because he sees the Royal Family as having usurped his place. He is actively working with the rebels of the League of Arras.

THE COUNTY OF CHAMPAGNE

Includes

• Troyes
• Langres
• Brienne
• Part of the Duchy of Bar
• Bar
• Chalons
• Reims
• Vertus
• Pays de Rethel
• Grandpre
• Roucy
• Laon
• Guise
• Joinville

Champagne is known mostly for its principal cities, amongst which we find Rheims, and the pays de Rethel. First an independant Bishophric, it stayed independant in face of weak Caronlingians kings in France. During the golden age of the county of Champagne, the most famous commercial fairs of Western Europe took place each year in the cities of Lagny (December-January), Bar-sur-Aube (Jent), Provins (May-June, September), and Troyes (July-August-November). The Lombard and Tuscan moneychangers introduced modern techniques of finance and accounting in Champagne, and the currency minted in Provins was for a while the reference international currency. In 1253, the Count of Champagne would bear the title Count Palatine of Champagne and Rheims, and in 1284, through a series of succession, the land ended up under the French Crown with Philippe le Bel.

Charles VII, affraid to be crowned king during the 1420s, would have been crowned in Rheims after a successfull campaing against the English with Jeanne d'Arc. But 1423 saw the death of Jeanne d'Arc and the capture of Champagne, which fate would be sealed in the Treaty of Arras. Champagne would come back in 1427 under the Valois, when the King of England sold the province to Burgundy after a costly war. Champagne was of strategic importance to Burgundy, as it made a land bridge between the Low Counties and rest of Burgundy. Home of some fierce battle during the Burgundian civil war, it was the host of the fall of Chateau Guyon twice in 5 years. It is only after the civil war that the appointment of the House of Armagnac, subset of the main House of Armagnac in Aquitaine, was settled. The new House of Armagnac-Champagne, and its young head, Philibert d'Armagnac, was pro-French, and very religious, as it also had to share, somewhat, the power with the Archbishophric of Rheims.

Philibert d'Armagnac, Comte of Champagne - born: 1405 - Philibert is the great paladin of Lotharingia. As a youth, he went on crusade time and time again, hoping to win glory for the Catholic faith. It is entirely appropriate that he now rules side by side with the Archbishop of Rheims, whose see is surrounded by the County. Champagne is a strategic bridge for the kingdom, and so it only makes sense to have one of their finest knights as it's ruler. Philibert will always back the will of the Catholic church over all considerations, even his heavy pro-France leanings. He dislikes playing politics in the Directoire however, and so his influence is less than it could be.

THE COUNTY OF ARTOIS

Includes

• St-Pol
• Bapaume
• Arras
• Guinegate
• Agincourt

Artois was the gift the French kings gave to someone they liked, mostly their sons and daughters. Part of Flanderns at first, it was given in appanage to the first House of Burgundy in the 1200s, then to the second House of Burgundy (Valois) in 1384, through the mariage of Philippe Le Bon to Margaretha de Male. The main city of Artois, Arras, is a center of trade and art, and is the second court of the House of Berry. Here, also, are made some of the most exquisite clothing of Europe, including those of the Emperor, the Kings of France and England, and even the Pope.

The House of Male was reinstated when the House of Artois failed its duty toward the Crown of Lotharingia and marched with 50 000 men to Dijon in 1433. The Count Maximilien of Artois was the general in charged of the Royal Armies of Lotharingia and his son was in charge of the expeditionary forces that attacked Grenoble a few years earlier. The death of Maximilien of Artois at Artois in 1427 and the disapearance of his son left a void in the power structure of Artois. Julius IV of Male is now in power. The House of Male is pro-"Lotharingia", and remained loyal to the Crown even as a simple "seigneurie" in the middle of the County of Artois during the civil war.

It is now in full rebellion.

Julius de Male, Comte of Artois - born: 1420 - The line of de Male was rewarded with the County of Artois following the betrayal of it's former ruling line. Julius has just become Comte, but remains the strongest of supporters of the Regent and the Crown. However, although his father was a formidable fighter in the Civil War, Julius has yet to be tested. He is believed to have abdicated to Jean d'Artois.

THE LANDGRAF OF FLANDERN

Includes

• Ryssel
• Bruges
• Ghent
• Graveline
• Donai
• Antwerpen

Flandern has changed status many times throughout the years. First part of Champagne (second Belgium under the Romans), it was then established as a County under the Carolingians. Vassal of Francia Occidentalis under Verdun, it was competely vassalised to the Crown of France with the coronation of Hugues Capet. However, part of Flandern remained Imperial, thus the eastern part called "Imperial Flandern". It's trade power assured it an independant status during the Capetians and the Valois. Pro-German and English at times, it defied the French crown for a long time. Flandern came back under Burgundy with the marriage of Margareth of Flandern to Philippe le Hardi in 1369. The main city of Flandern, Lille, became even richer, with a rich court being established there. Antwerpen and Lille are both rich cities, where the clothing and dying industry are progressing steadily.

The House of Flandern still rules today, with a the great-grand-cousin of Margareth of Flandern, Peter of Flandern, holding the position of Graf. During the Armistice of 1437, the House of Flandern was forgiven for its participation in the Civil War, in exchange of more than 2000 ducats, which was easily obtained. The House of Flandern is historically pro-Flemish, though French settlement has allowed for a more neutral stance on many issues.

Peter, Graaf of Flandern - born: 1398 - Peter is the scion of the ancient line that has ruled Flandern since antiquity. He is extremely pro-Flemish, and is the leader of the Flems in the Directoire. Although he rose up in rebellion against the crown during the Civil War, he managed to ingratiate himself to the regent, and was forgiven following an extremely large ransom. The Graaf is proud, but after being defeated by Myriam de Montainblanc on the battlefield, he has turned his focus onto developing his lands and their revenues. Under his stewardship, Lille and Antwerpen have become extremely wealthy. After his long posting as the commander of Lotharingian troops in Denmark, the Flandern is putting the affairs of his County in order once again. Peter has surrendered to the League of Arras following his defeat at Ghent in 1452.

THE LOW COUNTIES

Includes

• County of Zeeland
• Bishopric of Utrecht
• Rotterdam
• County of Holland
• Amsterdam
• Hoarn
• Bergen

Zeeland and Holland have a rich history of trade and diplomacy within the Empire. Through the ages, they both have been independant at times, vassals at others. Under the rule of Philippe le Hardy, and subsequently Jean Sans Peur and Philippe le Bon, these lands were reattached to the Valois House of Burgundy. Agriculture is hard in these lands, but what they can't provide in wheat, fruits and vegetables, they make up in fish. Also, Amsterdam, and to a lower extent, Visslingen, are both center of trades along the rich trade lines that extend from Artois to the kingdom of Denmark.

In the days of the Dukes of Burgundy, the Count of Holland and Zeeland was given to the House of Beieren, which held the provinces since 1299, through its conquest by the House of Burgundy and the following inclusion within Le Directoire. Flemish by origin, the House of Beieren sided with the Count of Artois following the annexation of Champagne and Savoie. The House of Beieren is anti-French in the sense that it doesn't want the French faction of Le Directoire to gain more power. In a show of clemency, the House of Beieren was allowed to remain in power after the death of Jacoba van Beieren and the rise to power of his son, Jan III van Beieren. This toned down the criticism of certain counts and barons, and allowed a more constructive talk in Le Directoire. The alternative is bleak, as an independant Holland would probably revert to Gelre or Friesland, both claiming the province.

Jan van Beieren, Graaf of Holland and Zeeland - born: 1410 - Jan, the son of Jacoba van Beieren, has turned slightly from his fathers ferocious anti-French stance. Although he is wary of the intentions of the southerners, he knows that as an independent ruler, he would be thrown into war with the other Dutch counties, all of whom claim his lands. Thus, he is generally one of the regent's supporters on external matters, while opposing her on many internal matters. However, he will almost always oppose the French faction of the Directoire, regardless the issue. However, he was insured that his subject nobles pay proper respect to the crown, unlike his departed father, who was executed following the Artois Civil War in 1437.

[BusterBunny]

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The Battle of Ghent

August 14th, 1452.

http://politiquebec.com/BusterBunny/pal/Ghent.htm

[SaT]

La Reine Noire

It was yet to dawn when she woke up with a start, it was still dark. Her eyes wide open, all her muscles flexed, a frightened and scared Anna of the Grief gazed into this darkness for long moments, afraid of every shade.

The Queen then took a deep, shaky breath as she realized that it’d been only a dream, nightmare. “Oh, my God,” she whispered hoarsely, “oh, my sweet God…”

Short of breath, her mouth dry, Anna sat up in her bed; she remembered the nightmare very vividly, she was still under its effect, she could still see those dreadful scenes when she closed her eyes. “It’s just a dream, just a dream,” she tried to convince herself, whispering; she put her palm on her neck to appease her heart that was beating unendurably hard.

“Just a dream,” she repeated, this time loud, calming herself. Her fingers kept pawing the bed-clothes as she tried to get closer to the reality of her private chambers, of the room she loved, the room she did not share with her husband, the room that was her sanctuary, her asylum -- still, when she closed her eyes for a moment, Anna once again saw those images of terror… Louis lay half-dead on a table, his temples broken by a mace: he was still alive, she could tell from his glance, but his cerbera was drippling out; a tapestry caught fire, it was burning; some curtains torn down; Roxanne de Savoie being raped: she wore the white silken dress Louis had given her, blood stained it, virgin-blood; the red-haired witch and her red-haired brother stood hands in hands and watched; Joachim was garotted; Henryk, calm, was standing in the corner, watching the scene with his inscrutable glance, with his ice-cold eyes, waiting for the right moment to interfere; and Marie, Marie, the little Marie, they grabbed baby Marie-Antoinette’s legs and they hurled her against the wall, they hurled her against the wall once and twice and once again, so that her soft skull broke into a thousands of pieces…

Anna felt nauseous, her stomach turned. It was all very vivid, all very life-like… Shaking her head, she tumbled out of her bed, and lit all the candles and lanterns in her bedchamber and in the adjacent rooms: let everything be bright! And only when the darkness was defeated she sank into her favourite armchair, and began thinking of her dream.

She had seen such scenes indeed. She had seen the murdered babies, the killed men, the raped women, the human parts that were floating in the river Pò… Anna kept biting her lips as she remembered. But what could the nightmare mean? That the misery was starting again, obviously. That her life was turning into a nightmare again. She accepted this thought without much panic: it was, after all, obvious since a year now.

But only now she understood it to the fullest. Now, after this dream, now she was sure that the illusion of safety was really nothing more than an illusion. That she and her children were imperilled. Up until now, she’d had only very vague ideas about the dangers ahead; future would look after itself, she had thought. But this very night the perils had become clear.

Anna of the Greif took a deep breath, and tightened her lips; the peevish wrinkles in the corners of her mouth deepened.

Henryk… She often dreamt of him. He was, after all, her closest living relative, the only man who knew her well - who knew her so embarassingly well. Still, she hadn’t seen him since years. She felt they were growing distant in every possible means, and she trembled in fear at the thought, for she knew her brother, she could see through most of disguises. Somehow she always doubted she could rely on him; the dream only made her more sure of this. No, Anna thought, she had nobody to rely on, she had nobody to trust. As usually, she was alone, she had nobody to help her weathering this storm.

Louis… well, Louis had… changed. In the past months, he’d been completely beside himself. He had lost weight, he had grown hesitating, vacillating. As if he had been confronted with a problem he could not solve. The large, nerve-rackingly calm man of invincible strength, power and wits Anna had known was no more, and Anna often found herself staring at her husband with dismay, and her eyes urged him: Do something! You are the man, do something! But Louis did nothing, and the rebels took the North.

The rebels… according to the dream, Anna pondered, the leader of the rebels was indeed Éléanore’s brother, just as the rumours said. Or maybe he was only her pawn. A tool she was using to get Lotharingia back for herself. Indeed, Anna mused, in the dream they stood hands in hands, but as if Éléanore was leading the man… The pretty bitch would not let anybody else have anything - the pretty bitch wanted everything for herself, all the times. Anna had always suspected that Éléanore was behind the entire rebellion, and the dream made her sure of it…

The Queen sighed, closed her eyes. The nightmare now seemed very distant, unimportant. She felt but sleepy now, tired. She felt as she was sinking back into the lethargy that had been reigning over her since Manuel de la Braga had left, taking all the hopes

But all of a sudden, her throat constricted with an invincible spasm of fear. Her heart beating hard again, she sprung up; stopping only to get a shawl on her shoulder, she rushed out of her private chambers. At first only hurrying, soon she began to run. Her bare feet made no noise as, scared, the Black Queen of Lotharingia raced through the corridors of the Royal Palace.

“Marie?!” out of breath, she demanded from the nursemaid when she reached her daughter’s room. “Is she all right?”

The nursemaid glared at her sleepily. “M’lady…?” she muttered, blinking.

There were tears in Anna’s eyes as she ran to her youngest child’s bed; she almost fainted away at the shocking relief when she saw that Marie was indeed all right. Anna stared at the one year old baby, heiress of Lotharingia, for long minutes; a vein throbbed at her temple. And she wondered, would not it be better to flee to the Piedmont, to its relative safety? Leaving all the mess behind?

She took the baby up in her arms, shooting a glance of unjust hatred at the puzzled nursemaid. “She’ll sleep in my room tonight,” Anna said, and in that specific moment she was ready to fight any Charles, bold or not, or any red-haired creature that would seek her daughter’s inheritance.

[BusterBunny]

Outfoxed

"The snake is dreadful, poisonous, and very silent in its approach. The fox knows this, and will exploit the right moment to attack the snake. When the fox attacks the snake, you can be sure who will win, for the fox is patient."
- Cornelius von Adler to Frederick von Wittelsbach, in a hunt held in 1433.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitting on his chair, Louis looked at the table in front of him and the members of the Directoire sitting around it. Most were older than him, and they seemed all more interested in what their own counsellors were telling them.

Louis coughed lightly to have the members pay attention to him. The room fell silent in a few seconds. De Châteaupers addressed the king.

”I see the wind of the north brought his majesty a cold… Damn these northern regions.” he said, alluding to the rebellion in the Lower Counties. The members of the Directoire laughed discreetly. Not amused, Louis turned to the Duke of Auvergne.

”Pheobus… there is no joke in the fact that our richest counties are rebelling….” The Directoire fell silent again.

”Of course, your Majesty. We all understand that the blockades on trade in the Lower Counties are affecting all of Lotharingia… and also its king. I understand that Your Majesty had… personal interests in the North as well…”

Damn… they know thought Louis. His face went pale at hearing the Directoire possessed that knowledge of his personal fortune. The truth was that the personal fortune of King Louis, though still immense by all standard, had diminished considerably, to a point where the Lower Counties were probably richer than the household of Louis. To confront the self proclaimed League of Arras, Louis had to request a levy for mercenaries, and obviously a need to mobilize many urban militias in order to win.

Louis de Montpensier had bought the Directoire, literally, in order to depose of Éléanore du Berry. The claim was credible, though unorthodox by certain standard. The Emperor and the King of France had accepted the House of Berry to the crown of Lotharingia, and had even paid the Directoire to accept this House. Seeing how Éléanore had difficulties controlling Lotharingia, Louis had bought the Directoire, and had made sure the Emperor and King of France would not oppose this nor accept it officially.

”It is good that His Majesty wants to talk to us, because we’ve been wanting to talk to His Majesty for a long… long time…” added Amédée, duke of Savoie.

”I am terribly sorry, I have been very busy. I am sure your Lordships understand, yes?” the king asked, innocently. The truth was the Directoire had been trying to meet with Louis for the last five years. The king had denied these meetings to happen, as he simply didn’t see any need for it. In the end, the alienation of the Directoire wasn’t a terrible thing to Louis, as half of its member owed some of their lands, titles and even fortune to him.

”We have a few ideas of laws requiring the Royal Seal.” the Herzog of Alsace, Karl von Wittelsbach added, pointing to a pile of parchment on the table. ”These are a few ideas we had… as the years went by…”

Louis nodded. He knew very well what these laws were about. They were amendment to the Constitution of Lotharingia, giving many powers to the Directoire, especially the capacity to make their own laws without the need for the royal seal.

”We will see this after the Directoire will have accepted the Fieffé, the raise of levies to pay for mercenaries troops, and the access to the militias of the free cities.” With each demands, the Directoire shouted louder, to show their disagreement.

”We have barely enough money and supplies to live!” one of the less important counts shouted in the back. One of the consequences of the rebellion in the north was that many smaller dukes and counts were promoted to the Directoire. Small domains, such as the Duchy of Bar and Nemours, the County of Montbéliard and Rethel, the Bishophric of Basel, Verdun and Metz, were now part of the assembly.

”I would like to remind the Count of Montbéliard that I am still King!” Louis pointed out.

”Being King of Lotharingia seems to be something very popular these days… I can think of another man of claims the same thing” the slightly drunk Count said.

Louis never really had to confront the Directoire before. He was a man of power, but when that power was slipping, he felt completely lost. It was a first for him. He nodded to three of his personal guards. The lightly armoured soldiers moved to the Count, took his arms, and brought him outside of the room. Satisfied at this show of power, Louis added ”If there are any other Lords who want to discuss about my crown, I will gladly do so…”.

The Directoire fell silent for a few moments, as the image of the Count of Montbéliard in prison sank in their mind. Karl von Wittelsbach broke the silence.

”We have many laws to pass.” Irritated, King Louis answered ”And we have a whole KINGDOM to protect! What is wrong with you people? WHAT! This a kingdom we have tried to maintain, against the Empire, and the Plantagenet, and even the Valois! And we want to make this into a political issue?”

Louis shook his head. ” We lost the north. Ghent was a disaster; our troops couldn’t reach it in time…. Are we waiting for these rebels to burn our villages, our towns, our castles and domains?”

The Directoire seemed unimpressed. Louis didn’t know that the members of the League of Arras had promised not to touch the domains of the Dukes and Counts of Lotharingia. The goal was simply to remove Louis from power. Thus, protection was not needed for the members of the Directoire. Whoever won this war, the Directoire would not be affected. A levy was thus less important, and cities didn’t need to be disturbed for waging this war. Of course, this was a test of loyalty. The members of the Directoire didn’t need protection, and they weren’t attached to any financial obligation from King Louis.

Everyone knew that, except Louis.

The first to speak up was the representatives of the three Bishopric. The eldest monk announced: ”The Holy Church considers this matter to be an internal family issue, and it is not the place of the Church to take side. Consequently, we offer refuge to any fleeing Lords, but we will not offer any money to this war on either side.”

And so the delegations from Verdun, Basel and Metz left.

Looking at the other lords. ”Well, if anyone else wants to leave, this is the time to do it! You have a legitimate cause here, as the Holy Church doesn’t want to intervene. I offer to your Lordships to do the same, if you bear no loyalty toward the crown of Lotharingia.”

Karl von Wittelsbach laughed and pushed forward the piles of parchment in the centre of the table, indicating his price for his loyalty.

”Your Grace, I will not fall for threats and blackmail. Either the lords of the Directoire are loyal to the crown, or they are not!”

Karl stood up, combed his hairs with his hand, swept his sleeves, and left calmly the room, parchments in hands. Slowly, the other Lords stood up, and followed Karl von Wittelsbach outside of the room. In the end, only Pheobus remained.

”Well, you’re loyal, Phoebus… that is good… very good indeed.” Louis smiled.

”Loyal? No no no. I wanted to see the distress in your eyes when you lost all legitimacy in front of the Directoire. You bought us with money, and now you require money. The irony is so sweet, that I wanted to enjoy every moment of it.”

He stood up slowly, showing his age. ”You want my advice? They’ll make a martyr out of the Count of Montbéliard if you kill him. Free him, and you might at least have him respect you. Like for Myriam de Montainblanc. She wasn’t even a threat to you… that was not necessary.”
As if he was in control of the story, Louis said in a confident tone. ”Ah, but Myriam is dead, you see.” to which Phoebus answered ”Yes, and having her deep emprisonned in her own castle surely didn't help..”

Amazed, Louis answered ”How… did you know that… all was done at night… with my closest guards?”

”The important thing is that I know… we all know.” the older man said. ”But please, hear my advice also. Run. Run away. Don’t fight the League of Arras. Take Anna and Marie, and run away. Go to Piemonte. Go to France… leave for a while. No harm will come to you if you do.”

Phoebus put his hand on Louis’s shoulder. ”Your family doesn’t deserve all of this.”. He then slowly left the room.

Louis sat down on his chair, facing the empty table in front of him. If they believe I will leave without a fight, they’re dead wrong… I still have money. And if I win this… he thought.

[Lord E]

Travelling though Lotharingia

Jean Valois d'Orleans, Duc d’ Orleans, Comte d'Angoulême et de Périgord, Prince de’ France had ridden for several days trying to find a back road into Lotharingia since the main border had been closed. Having at last found the road they had been searching for the Duc now had the horses and men work at their hardest to make up for the time lost in the search. Therefore they where now galloping through the Lotharingian areas of Champagne.



“This used to be the land of the Kings of France, but now it is right in the frontline of a new civil war, life sure chances fast!”

Jean muttered in a low voice while watching the peasants along the road working on their farms, taking every concern possible to make sure this years harvest was to be a good one.
-Well it might be in vain if the harvest in not harvested before war once against harm this region.

Down through the lands of Nivernais, who had been French just until 15 years ago when Louis had traded them for Orleans it was clear that the land was still much in support of France, but also it seemed the nobles here might be in support of the rebels to the north. On their way news reached the company of Frenchmen that a great battle had been fought near Ghent to the north securing the totally devastation of the Count of Flandern and his forces who had been against the rebels. Hearing the news Jean decided they had to ride even quicker for now with the north secured the rebels would soon be travelling south to do battle nearer to the French border, but also to the Burgundian heartlands around Dijon.
The first Jean had though to visiting to speak about the current situation was Karl von Wittelsbach since at the time of their departure from Paris it had seemed like he was just as likely to take up arms against the King as to support him, but now news had told the party that he had returned to Dijon and it seemed like at least he was speaking together with the Directoire to the King. So therefore they rode for Dijon.

………………..

Dijon
Arriving in the capital of Lotharingia after a long journey through most of the lands on the Lotharingian border with France, and very exhausted after the long journey Jean and his companions found a quiet Inn where they hired some rooms, and then went up to rest for a while. But Jean knew that speed was of the essence and therefore he didn’t give himself much rest before he sat down at the table in the room, drinking some wine, and trying to figure out how to best approach his mission. The King had told him to try to keep his mission as secret as possible for as long as possible, for if anyone found out that the King of France was trying to find out who to support should this war erupt even more the situation might be bad for the relationship between France and Lotharingia, and besides, as Philippe of Grenoble had told Jean:

“Secrecy is an essence when dealing with such a dangerous game as war!”

So Jean pondered over the subject, sitting with the map of Lotharingia in front of him. If the rumours reached King Louis that the Duc d’ Orleans had arrived in Dijon he would knew that something was going on. But just a common French nobleman travelling light with a small party of servants and squires would not be noticed so much in a city like Dijon filled with people of both French, German, Dutch origin, even some Italian merchants should be able to find in the city without much trouble.
So Jean had decided not to act as the Duc d’Orleans, but as the Comte Comte de Périgord. After all a count was more “usually” than a Duke, but still jean knew that some of the nobles of the Directoire would knew that the Comte de Périgord was also the Duc d’Orleans so he would try not to create to much fuss. But anyway if he was to try to hide who he was that would be the most unknown of his titles he could imagine at the moment so he decided to use that while he was in Dijon.
Jean picked up a parchment and a pen dipped the pen in ink and wrote a small note. Then after writing for a short while, he took the paper and tossed it on the floor. It wouldn’t be possible for a common count to write a letter well enough to have a Duke meet him. Now he would have to do this in person, and besides while he was at the castle he hoped to meet with the old and wise Duke of Auvergne.
Now all Jean could do was wait, one of his servants had gone out trying to find the French ambassador to Lotharingia, Sir Armand de Eseniter. After some time of waiting the servant returned with Sir Armand. When he was showed into Jean’s room in the Inn he struggled for some moments for his eyes to get used to the dark inside the room, and then suddenly shifting to a moment of disbelief as he saw right into the face of the Duc d’Orleans.

“Your Grace!”

”Ah Sir Armand, it is an honour to see you again. It has been some years, but I trust you are well?”

“Oui, thank you your Grace. I am very well, and I trust your Grace is well as well. But excuse me for asking your Grace what are your Grace doing in Dijon?”

”Hehe, well there is no easy way to explain that Sir Armand, but I will do my best. His Majesty wanted to send something into Lotharingia to roam the country and try to get into contact with the different parties in the civil war. Also it is the wish of His Majesty to have someone who are able to issue His Majesty with more details on this matter, since you Sir need to stay here in Dijon, it was necessary to send someone ells.”

“Oh, now I see your Grace. I do think that is a very wise move of His Majesty! So I figure your Grace is not travelling as the Duc d’Orleans then? And that your Grace would like me to take your Grace into the castle?”

”Yes, that is very correct. We need your help since you are the one who best know Dijon, and I am travelling as the Comte de Périgord. So now if you are ready let us go.”

Sir Armand nodded and the two men exited the room with Jean’s servants accompanying them while speaking to each other.

……………………………..

After walking through the city for some time they arrive at the castle of Dijon. Here they walk in, and after passing through corridors they arrive at the cambers of the Duke of Alsace. Sir Armand stops on of ther servants and asks.

“Monsieur, would you be as kind as to ask if His Grace would be willing to see the Comte de Périgord and Sir Armand de Eseniter from France, wishing to speak with his Grace about a very important matter?”

[SaT]

No. I guess I couldn’t endure her. But she likes my music. Moreover, we often play chess.

- Michele d’Hallot to Ludovico di Saluzzo, about Queen Anna of Lotharingia, 1451.

D’Hallot raised an eyebrow. “Your Majesty asks me?”

Anna shrugged, and turned her attention back at the cheesboard, at that specific chessboard her cousin, Dorothea von Hohenzollern, had given her. “Why not?” she asked back, and moved her queen’s pawn a step forward, sacrificing it.

The troubadour smiled. “If I recall correctly, Your Majesty is the Queen, wife of the King of Lotharingia…”

“In the case of Louis and me, that doesn’t mean a lot,” she gave the reply rapidly, not without bitterness. “I’m allowed to bear children for him, but that’s just about everything.”

“But you have your seat in the Directoire,” he said, “so why should you ask me?”

Anna looked up at him, puzzled. “I have a seat in the Directoire?”

He hid his smile. “As mother and tutrice of the Count of Saint-Cloud…” he suggested, and accepted the pawn-sacrifice. “Check, yet again. And beware with the bishop.”

Looking lost and confused, the Queen looked back at the chessboard, her hands cupping her cheeks. She did notice d’Hallot’s trap. “I hate this game,” she muttered. “I really do.” She looked up. “And don’t avoid my question.”

“Well,” the trobadour began, “they say the Lords deserted him.”

Anna’s face was set. “How?”

“Literally. He didn’t give in to their demands, they didn’t give in to his demands. As a sign of protest, they left the hall.”

She blinked. “Without his permission?” To her, this seemed more outrageous than disobeyance. Disobeyance could be punished. The lack of respect was, however, the end.

“Yes. One stayed, though. The Duke of Auvergne.”

“Châteaupers is loyal, then,” nodded Anna, and smiled a little. She liked Phoebus, and Phoebus liked her, or at least seemed to like her -- in these times, nothing was certain anymore. They had often chatted about trivial things; the older man always adopted a surprisingly shy smile when meeting her. “Too bad Louis respects not even his allies,” she said, suddenly feeling sad. “He makes so many mistakes, all the times…” She then took a deep breath, and moved her queen forward, defending her king.

“Good move,” d’Hallot agreed. “But not good enough.” The trap within the trap was set off. D’Hallot’s king-castle took the queen’s place.

Anna didn’t seem to be aware of it. Her look vacant, she was staring at her own hand, pondering. And the more she pondered, the more invincible she felt the spasm of fear her throat, her stomach, her heart was constricted with. And not purely fear, but also the yearning to do something, a terrible urge to act. How nonsense, she thought with sudden rage, they want to kill me, my daughter, Louis… and we’re playing chess! And she bit her lip as her will to act was destroyed by helplessness. I’m wasting my life, she continued thinking, now more sad than angry. I’m wasting my life.

She glanced up at d’Hallot, and in a voice frail and thin, she asked: “What sould I do?”

Then outrage filled her as she noticed the apparent amusement in the troubadour’s dark eyes. “Funny, eh?” she rasped. “You find it very funny, eh?”

D’Hallot chose to disregard the question. “Your Majesty is the Queen of Lotharingia,” he said. “Why does Your Majesty refuse to make some use of it?”

She felt her anger diminishing along with the brief impulse of energy. “Stop talking crap,” she ordered him, and her heart sank as she remembered Frederick, Dorothea, Manuel: they all had said the same as d’Hallot. But the will to act had to fight with the lethargy, and her lethargy was -- invincible.

“As Your Majesty wishes,” the troubadour said. “Your move,” he reminded her.

Anna glanced at the chessboard, and she noticed the patterns immediately: two moves and checkmate. The king could not be saved.

“I’m tired,” she announced in an authoritive manner, and swept the pieces off the board with a surprisingly violent motion. “You may leave now.”

Michele d’Hallot, troubadour, warrior, confidant of hers, stood up with a sigh. He picked up a pawn that fell off the table, placed it back on the chessboard, and only then he bowed his head toward her.

At the door, he turned back. “If you don’t act, that is worse.” he said.

“I guess you’re right.”

Her answer surprised him. He stopped, and slowly smiled. “Should I get you Wojciechowski?”

Anna glared at him, as if weighing the question, her eyes wide open, her look vacant. “No,” she finally shook her head, and looked away. “Not yet.”

An hour later, a page delivered a message written by Anna to the King.

À Sa Majesté le Roi.


L.,

As long as you fail to ask, I cannot help. While I could. I have the money you need, I have the armies you need - in spite of all the things you have done against him, your stepson is still the first amongst the Princes of Italy -- and I am his regent.

You need but ask. And you might as well trust me.


Love,

A.

[BusterBunny]

Karl von Wittelsbach sat down, reading the report he had just been handed.

The rebels, who labelled themselves as the League of Arras, were amassing in the small corridor between Artois and Champagne. Soon, the Pays de Rethel would fall, and Rheims would be next. Rethel had important resources and capable men. Bribed correctly, these men would easily join the League of Arras, and provided a yet more formidable force.

Champagne would probably not oppose itself to the League, Karl thought. It had received enough garanties of no harm if it would not oppose the incoming hordes of rebels.

Karl was satisfied with the events. He didn't see himself following the King to war anyways. Not with the ressources in the hands of the League of Arras. He would roll with the wave. Should the King gain momentum, he would suddenly support him out of loyalty, with the large sums he could muster from his Imperial familly in Bohemia, Pfalz and Bavaria. Should the League of Arras win, he would support Philippe de Berry to become king, by pressing the matter to his cousin, the Emperor Frederick.

All contingencies were covered, it was just a question of getting in there at the right moment.

The silence of Karl's quarters was disturbed by a knock on the door. A messenger announced the arrival of Comte de Périgord and Sir Armand de Eseniter from France.

Ah, another factor to take into consideration... Karl thought, not knowing the importance of the Comte de Périgord. Low ranking nobles can upset the balance sometimes... let's use this to our advantage.

"Yes, yes, let them in, please." Karl asked the messenger.

[BusterBunny]

Just a night

”Antonio was like the night. It is not so much that I don’t like night time, but rather that I fear it. So I have a tendency to keep myself in the warmth of day. But when night comes, I am completely absorbed by its mysteries. It’s in my nature.”

- A conversation between Éléanore de Berry and Myriam de Montainblanc, following the Dijon Escapade with Antonio di Savoia.

---------------

October 5th, 1453 – 1:15AM

Like most of the larger cities of Europe, Dijon was a mess of urban design. The castle laid right at the center of the town, and the view from all but it’s highest towers gave only on the surrounding streets. The urban militia maintained the walls of the city, and much of the logistic was managed there, not from the castle.

Louis looked out the windows, only to see a militia sergeant walking down St-Isabeau street. The faceless street was quiet, all shops were closed. The window of Louis’s study room was open to let in the crisp October air in, and the sound of troubadours could be heard coming from an inn a few blocks away. Louis couldn’t figure out the lyrics of the song, but the melody seemed joyful. He smiled, and went back to his calculations.

Merchants had a tendency to make errors in their calculations. They too easily converted from one currency to another without making the appropriate change. For example, one of his merchant, in his last report before the embargo on the northern cities, had given a report where he announced having made a sale of 2 Flemish florins, and recorded two French ecus. This balancing was complicated, as the values were different from one city to the other.

Adding up the numbers, Louis came to the conclusion he was short of a few French ecus in the end. The number was the same as the last report. Half of the amounts were missing. Few merchants would have made a story out of it, but Louis was a man of precision, and he didn’t like to leave things unsettled. A regular merchant would see simply in his coffers what was remaining, and from there, he would plan for his next trip. But Louis didn’t make the trips himself, so he had to make sure no one was stealing money from him.

But, somehow, some of the money was missing. Louis had a good trade route he used to take, that took him from Montpensier to Nevers, and then to Bourges, Orléans, Paris, Amiens, and finally Arras, and Antwerpen. Most of his stocks were in Montpensier and Nevers, and Arras and Antwerpen. It seemed the irregularities were happening more and more often. Half of the money seemed to disappear out of thin air. But the errors appeared so natural that one would not see it from these documents, unless he had them all analysed for a long time. And that’s what Louis had been doing for a while.

So, without regards to the sums lost in the blockade of the north, Louis estimated he had lost a fortune in bad conversions and taxes not being returned to the coffers of Lotharingia. He had no problem paying taxes if they came back to him in the end. But somehow, they weren’t. Or at least, they weren’t recorded.

The progression of the League of Arras at the borders of Champagne was quick, and words had come to the king that the Pays de Rethel had surrendered without a fight. With the Directoire absent, no fieffé or levy could be raised, and most militias were out of reach. This left the King with only his own house to lead the armies, and mercenaries... costly mercenaries, to confront the rebels. The troops had left a month ago, a good army of two thousand men, highly trained, and highly priced.

Louis had no money left for now, but all was not lost. He would ask for a hard monetary compensation to the lords of the League of Arras, and this would allow him to buy back the Directoire. For now, he would have to sell some estates, and he would be ok to live. The good news was that all would be resolved in Champagne, far from Dijon.

The music stopped in the nearby inn and a cold wind forced Louis to close his window. It was late anyhow, but Louis couldn’t sleep. The numbers kept running through his mind, as he tried to figure out where that money had gone. He shifted through all the reports, and the legal documents. He came to a document with a ducal seal on it, and upon inspection, he found it to be the seal of Charles the Bastard, the Count of Nevers. The man had disappeared to the north, probably to take side with the rebellious hordes. Louis had assumed control of Nivernais and the surrounding cities. If all failed in Champagne, he would rely on the leaderless people of Nivernais to protect him. The seal was attached to a document stating that a new tax was introduced to traders working for Lords of different cities. The document was structured to give more tax to the Count of Nivernais depending on the numbers of the identified cities were visited previously by the trader. As he looked at the list of city, he recognized most of them to be the regular trading cities of his own traders.

That bastard decided to put a tax specifically on my traders! he thought. It was one thing to loose money to taxes, but it was another to fund a traitor. The thought made him suddenly furious.

”I just funded my own demise!” he shouted, throwing all his documents off the table. He admired the cleverness of the Count, and was loosing confidence in his own ability to foresee traps in advance.

”It is so basic...” he whispered.

With such funding, the troops of the League of Arras were at a clear advantage in Champagne. The troops of the Royal House would get massacred. Years of trade revenues were gone.

There was only one thing left to do. He would need help, and lots of it. He immediately took the letter of his wife Anna, lying on a pile of other letters across the room. Reading it again, he smiled. Yes, Anna, yes , yes and yes again! he thought. The small duchy was prosperous, and would definitely provide funding to his cause. And beside, I’m doing this for Marie... so it’s normal... he tried to convince himself it was only natural to do it.

He took a blank piece of parchment and some ink, and sat down. Not knowing how to begin his own letter, he shook his head. She’s just at the other side of the castle.....


1:55AM

Pheobus knocked furiously at Queen’s door. As it opened, he saw Anna in what seemed to be a confused state of mind.

He looked behind him and saw no one. That was good, it gave him enough time.

”Queen Anna. There is no time to waste. A coach is waiting for your and your daughter outside” the old man said quickly. ”There is no time to waste” he repeated again. ”Follow me!” he finally said, extending his hand. He turned back and heard footstep slowly coming in the corridor.

[SaT]

Anna recoiled when Châteaupers reached out toward her; his motion was too sudden and somehow overfamiliar, and not only that: that motion indicated that the hour she dreaded had come. It’s come to that this very soon? she thought, and shivered with fear. Her vision of the palace in flames felt very near now, the night felt heavy with a presentiment of peril. Peril!

“I---” She shook her head to get rid of the distraction, and took a step back. “I won’t go anywhere without my husband,” she said with sudden determination. Maybe she abhorred King Louis I, but she did like Louis de Montpensier, and she was ready to share his fate. But her daughter…

“But nonetheless we are grateful to Your Grace,” she continued, speaking very rapidly; she, too, heard the approaching footsteps, “and we wish to entrust our children to the good care of---” She broke off. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Châteaupers, her mouth a tight line.

Trap!

“Explain yourself, Duke.” she rasped.

[BusterBunny]

Just a night

The steps Phoebus heard stopped abruptly. There was silence for a few moment, and then the steps were heard again, running away.

"This is not good." the older man said, looking at Anna. He pushed her aside, and entered her quarters, then he closed the door.

"The news are not good...." he said, looking aroung the room.

"Where are the kids? We need to get your kids out of here. Marie, and the others as well." he said. He looked at Anna again. "And you! If they call you mother, people will know they're your children... if they d..." He stopped.

No need to make her see the worse... he thought to himself.

"My Queen... I am sorry. I was a fool... the Directoire, I stayed but...".

Anna looked puzzled. "I didn't support the king. We had received a note... and it said that..." He stopped again. "There's no time.... The league of Arras is in Dijon. They've entered the city. Someone let them in, the guards were bought. The doors of the city were left wide open. They got the King now, I saw Charles the Bastard of Nevers arresting the king."

He approached Marie, sleeping in Anna's quarters. "It is too late for her father. But there is still time for you two. You must go. Go to Geneva. We'll reassemble there. We need to meet there..." He said nervously. "There's not many there... but moving an army there is complicated and... There's just no time." he added, taking with him some clothes. "Get the bare minimum. The children, seals, we need you to be there... in Geneva, and... and we'll take it from there. I think Duke Amédée will be there. I don't know. he continued, going back to the door. "The coach will bring you to the Ouch River. There, you cross it, somehow, and you get to the estates of Mâcon by any mean possible... They'll be busy closing down the city and looking in the castle for you.....

He put the hood of his cape on. "I'll meet you in a month in Geneva. With some chance, he'll let me go. If not, tell Amédée things didn't go as expected."

He opened the door, looked on both sides. Seeing no one, he ended with a plea "Take the children, my Queen, please take the children. They're our only hope at this point... YOU are our only hope. Don't take the central stairs. They don't know about the small staircase leading to the servants area. Use that, last time I checked, it was still ungarded... I beg you, your Majesty, to leave at once."

He left and closed the door behind him.

[BusterBunny]

Just a night

October 4th, 1453 - 11:00 PM

Charles was standing at the front of the gate of Dijon. The troops accompanying him were in a long line, stretching far into the night. They had travelled for a few days from Nevers up to Auxerre, not to raise suspicions. They then turned toward Tonnerre, and then Semur, and finally, Dijon. The plan was not particularly brilliant, but it was bold, in a sense. Right after his victory at Ghent with mainly flemish troops, Charles and his League of Arras had moved against Champagne. The province had many castles, and it would be a very slow progression. Obviously, Louis would send troops, wait for spring to come back again, and then corner the League of Arras' troops in some town. There, they would fight.

That was the mistake of the last civil war. Maximillien of Artois was a man of the old school of warfare, a chivalrous man, in a way. Charles had nothing to with that. Jean d'Artois, the son of the Count of Artois, was not interested in these tactics. Philippe du Berry was raised to be impatient, and would simply follow the quickest route.

As expected, Louis had fallen in the traps laid in front of him. He had sent the few Royal House troops in Champagne, leaving an easily bribed urban militia in Dijon and the surrounding city. And the beautiful part of it was that part of the money to bribe the militias was simply trade revenues from the different merchants of Burgundy and France, including Louis himself.

A new era... Charles told himself.

The walls of Dijon were imposing. Slowly, the walls had been reinforced with the threat of the League of Arras. In the last civil war, Dijon was out of reached, but it came close to being overrun at least at one point. The lords of the city had decided to prevent any harm to the city, raising taller walls. Of course, no one was fooled by this. These new cannons would tear these walls to pieces in no time. But then, it gave the population a feel of safety, and that was perhaps the most good they would do.

Capturing Dijon. It was like cutting the head of a snake. The rest would pose no threat. Informants had told Charles that Louis de Montpensier, his wife and daughter were always in the city. In the past days, the main roads coming from Chinon, Baune, Semur, and the Imperial lands had been blocked. The troops at the command of Charles were not the best troops to fight a war. They were partly urban militias, and some low ranking nobles. There was a small mercenary band attached to the troops as well, and a siege engineer who could make a decent catapult or two, should it come to it. But for blocking roads, and capturing a city deprived of its regular troops, these men would do the trick. You can cut the head of a snake even with a dull knife... it just does a sloppier job....

The goal was to capture Louis, and his familly. With a threat to kill his wife and his daughter, he would perhaps abdicate. If not, Charles would kill the whole familly, and would claim control of Lotharingia. He would probably then move into Piemonte, capture Torrino, the Val D'Aosta, Nizza, and then leave the rest to some Lombardian lords for a good price.

Then, obviously, Philippe du Berry would become king, Charles would become Grand Duke of Burgundy, and inherit the french part of the kingdom, and Artois would gain control of Grand Duchy of Lorraine and have his place as a prince of the Empire. It somehow felt as a good compromise for everyone, as none of the men where strong enough, or had a claim good enough to push the Valois, the Empire AND the Church to accept the new reorganization.

A man began his watch over the wall. Seeing the line of Nivernois troops at the door, he signalled silently inside the walls to open the gate. The large wooden doors slowly opened.

"Good, the bribe worked.... Now, tell the men to be very quiet and to disperse. Everyone knows where they must go. There's 4 gates, and we need to see if there's no other smaller exists anywhere. I want no one in, and no one out." he said to one of his captain, who rode back to remind the orders to the troops. To another captain, he added "I don't want women shouting, and I want you to close all the inns and brothels in the city. If anyone screams, you kill them, but first take them aside, we don't want a riot..." He looked as some of his first light troops went in through the main gate. "I don't want any fire, and I will be the first to enter the castle. Remember, the urban militia troops are on our side. If you see troops from the royal house of Berry, alert the others, and overpower them. No one on one, we want them to surrender to us."

He nodded to some of his personnal troops, a few dozens of men, and moved slowly forward.

October 5th, 1:15AM

"My Lord, I have received news that the main gates are under control. We're investigating for other ways to exit the city, but this will take time. We don't have enough men to control the access to the river..." the guard explained.

Charles realized he couldn't do much about it. "Leave regular patrols in the area. Used the militias if you need to. Promise them some furniture from the castle of something like that." Urban militias had to be constantly bribbed to be used.

He looked on his right, one of his strategist and assistant, Jean de Lannoy was there. The de Lannoy familly had helped Maximillien of Artois at the time, and had helped the younger Jean d'Artois fund himself again. It is said that Jean d'Artois was supported by many rich northern famillies, and surely one of the most important one was the De Lannoy.

"Jean, dispatch the troops around the castle..." he requested. Jean looked at him. "My Lord, we will be stretched thin..."

The count assessed the situation. "Yes, you're right. Then, we'll have to rely on the information given to us by our informants. Send scouts to check if the queen is at her room... she apparently has her daughter all the time with her." A man ran up the main stairs, took a right, and went down the corridors.

He looked at the other troops and pointed two guards. "You two, guard the main entrance, and let no one in and out. The rest of you, with me..."

The climbed the main stairs, and took a left, then followed through the main corridor, to finally reach a series of rooms with guards. The men took their swords, but by the time they did, they were surrounded by the count's troops.

"You have a choice. You can do die, or you can follow me to your king...". The guards looked at him, and withdrew from the door. As he approached it, the door open, and Louis came out.

"Ah, excellent...I was looking for you, my dear Louis."

[SaT]

October 5th, 1453 - 6:30 AM

In the woods, 14 miles to the east of Dijon

The comb with the tiny eagle, she thought with sudden despair, I’ve left the comb with the tiny eagle in Dijon. There were tears in her eyes: it was such a sweet comb! There was an eagle carved in it, and the eagle’s eyes were two perfectly cut rubies. She was very fond of it; Louis had sent it to her five years before.

Anna bit her lip, holding her sleeping daughter more tight. I must not cry, she reminded herself, I’m a Queen. She had to remind herself of this fact many times; she would have forgotten it otherwise.

She shivered: it was cold out here, in the wilderness. The small campfire made barely enough heat. I’m fleeing, she thought, disgusted, and she fidgeted, nestling her daughter and herself in the enormous, hooded cloak Châteaupers’ carman had given her. I’m fleeing, hiding, fleeing…

At first she hadn’t really believed Châteaupers. But then she had heard the shouts, the screams… She had panicked, of course. “Get the bare minimum,” Châteaupers had said, but Anna took even less, she took her seals and her children and she ran, she ran, ran, ran away, with a whining Marie in her left hand, with her right hand dragging Raphael and Roxanne along, only hoping that Joachim and Victor would follow… They couldn’t have made it without d’Hallot.

Now, in the woods, Anna glanced at the troubadour, and she wished she could be like him. He seemed to feel just as comfortable here in the wilderness as he once used to feel in the Royal Palace. He was absent-mindedly plucking the strings of his lute -- but there was also the readied crossbow at his thigh.

They couldn’t have made it without d’Hallot. When Châteaupers’ carriage had unloaded them at the bank of the Ouche, it was d’Hallot who had stolen a fishing boat with which they had crossed the river and thus fled the city -- the conquered city. They couldn’t have made it without d’Hallot, really. The warrior-troubadour was the perfect man to the Herculean task of making the Queen and her five children escape from her country that fell into the hands of her enemies.

The unexpected -- that was what d’Hallot did to save them. They bought a cart from an innkeeper, and they set forth toward the south. And although she was introduced as the “Countess of Tedevalle”, the innkeeper did recognize Anna, and it was obvious he would inform the new lords of the country about her as soon as he would get the news of the change of power. Here came d’Hallot’s impudent trick: they travelled on the cart for two miles or so, and then left it behind, hiding it in the forest. The pursuers would follow the highway to the south -- while in reality the Queen and her children continued their journey toward the east-southeast, through the wilderness, on foot.

On foot. The Queen of Lotharingia and her children were travelling on foot. I must not cry Anna thought, I’m a Queen. Her feet were hurting terribly, there were rheumatic pains in her hips, in her waist, her abdomen. The October of the year 1453 was frosty and cold; it was freezing. But Anna was worried mostly for Marie: what if she would catch a cold? I must not cry, I am a Queen.

And she was worried for her older children as well, though she did not dare to show it, for fear they would take her worry a permission for whining. Not that she had a reason to complain about them; on the contrary she was proud of her children. Raphael accepted their calamity as an adventure. Victor accepted it as a responsibility: the seven years old boy acted as his family’s guard with the dagger d’Hallot had given him. Roxanne and Joachim endured the misery with some silent desperation that reminded Anna to Antonio. But after three hours of marching all the four children were whining and complaining ceaselessly. I must not cry, Anna thought as she looked at her children who were sleeping, huddling together.

“Tomorrow we’ll sleep in a barn,” d’Hallot had said. Probably he wanted to be encouraging, but the prospect of sleeping in a barn didn’t seem very bright to Anna. I must not cry… D’Hallot hadn’t told her his plan of how they would get to Geneva… or to anywhere else. And Anna could only hope that her troubadour did have a plan of some kind, and was not just pretending that he had one. She tried to be at least vaguely optimistic about her future, but she failed miserably. There were no havens for her in Lotharingia; no noble could be trusted, no place could be considered safe.

Anna took a deep, shaky breath, and she stared at the flames of the campfire, and continued to take stock of the things that were close to her heart, that she had lost. Antonio’s portrait, painted by Roger de la Pasture. And her favourite dress, the one made of dark-red velvet that matched the colour of her hair so perfectly; Louis had given it to her. And her falcon. The jerfalcon she called Fluffy.

She felt as a single teardrop rolled down on her set face. Fluffy, she thought, grieving, remembering that sweet summer of 1451 they had spent in Dijon with Louis. He’d given her Fluffy then. Then Stefan Wojciechowski came to her mind, her secretary: would they torture him, hoping to get informations about her? Probably they would. “Stefan,” she whispered to herself, and only now she realized that she couldn’t remember a single day in the past ten years she had not met the Pommeranian secretary.

And there were Louis’ buffoonish actors -- her heart sank. They were bad actors, any ther ruler would certainly sack them. And then they would die, they would die, while they had made her happy so many times. Louis’ buffoonish actors. Louis…

Michele d’Hallot chose that moment to start singing.

Take the highway to the end of the night.
End of the night, end of the night.
Take a journey to the bright midnight.
End of the night, end of the night.

The lute was moaning woefully, d’Hallot’s voice was full of the overtones of painful yearning.

Realms of bliss, realms of light
Some are born to sweet delight
Some are born to sweet delight
Some are born to the endless night.
O-h-h-h Lord, bring us now the end of the night!
O-h-h-h Lord, save us from this endless night!
Save us from the endless night.
Save us from--

All of sudden, he fell silent, and looked up at the silently weeping Anna.

“I’m thinking of Ludwig,” she said, striving against her tears. “I’ve never told him that I love him… And I fear it’s too late now.”

“Nothing is certain,” d’Hallot tried to encourage her, but his simple sentence only made her cry even more desperately, for he was right.

[BusterBunny]

Just a night

--------------------------------

October 5th, 1453 – 1:55 AM

Many had gathered in the great hall of the castle, to see what was going on. Charles had wanted to make a small show out of this, and allowed for anyone of importance to watch. These spectators would tell what had happened to others, and soon all of Lotharingia would understand the new order.

De Lannoy approached Charles and whispered ”One of our scouts reported a meeting between De Châteaupers and the Griffona in the west wing. There’s two guards at the door... we need 6 men...” Charles nodded ”Take the ones you need, and go with them...”

As the small band left, Charles turned to Louis. The king was sitting on a small couch, waiting for the judgment of his captor.

”Well... Louis de Montpensier... Of the line of Bourbon-Berry... my, you’ve fallen into one hell of an awkward situation...” Charles began.

”Look, we’re both reasonable men, there is surely a way to meet mutual benefit out of this situation...” Louis said, going back to those lines that worked so well when he was a merchant.

”Yes, yes, indeed, mutual benefit. I get to have a grand ducal crown, and you get to keep your life...” laughed Charles.

Louis protested ”I am Louis de Montpensier! I am King of Lotharingia!...”

Charles interjected ”You are in the custody of Duke Charles de Nevers, of the House of Burgundy, rightful ruler of Burgundy and all its appanage!

Louis went on even louder ”You are the BASTARD of the Comte of Nevers, who is now dead! That is your title, there is nothing more for you!”

”LIES!” screamed Charles, as he took out a dagger from his belt and pressed it against the King’s throat.

”Listen, you Bourbon moron” he said with a low tone in Louis’ ear ”I am the direct descendant of the House of Burgundy. My father was Philippe Le Bon... Duke of Burgundy, Count of Charolais, Tonnerre, Flanders, Artois, and so many other....”

Louis, feeling the cold steel against his throat, asked ”And who is your mother, Charles?”

”You’re playing with your coffin, old man...” Charles answered.

”You will surrender the crown to your half brother Philippe de Berry...” he said out loud, still pressing his dagger against the king.

”What? You’re asking me to give the crown to someone ELSE? What is this farce? I thought you hated the de Berry!” Louis asked in confusion....

”Yes, but guess what, that Berry is only interested in the Lotharingian title, that’s all.” he whispered to Louis. ”Your half brother was raised that way, you know... he is demanding to get what his mother had, and that is the crown of Auvergne, and the crown of Lotharingia.”

Removing his dagger, he added still in a low voice “You have to hand it to your mother, Louis, that wise old bitch did get one hell of a great claim there. That crown of Lotharingia...”.

Louis smiled. ”If you kill me, I’ll still have a daughter in your way.”

Charles knew Louis was right. ”Yes, well my guards are all over the city. So it is a matter of time before we find her. Apparently your wife is in the west wing at the moment, talking to de Chateaupers...”

Louis became suddenly nervous. ”You wouldn’t dare touch Marie and Anna!”

”I dared put a dagger to the most powerful king of humanity; you think I won’t dare killing a child?”

Charles turned to the crowd, addressing the soldiers. ”Get me Queen Anna and her familly at once!” he requested. And looking at some nobles, he added ”I will give 1000 florins to any one... ANYONE... who brings me the head of Anna di Savoia and her daughter Marie.”

”Murderer... you bloody murderer...” Louis muttered.

”You win... you win... you want me to abdicate? Fine, I abdicate!” he shouted to the crowd. ”Just don’t touch Marie and Anna... if I abdicate, I don’t transfer the claim to them, so you don’t have to kill them...just let them go... just... don’t touch them and don’t kill them... there’s no need now.”

Charles snapped his finger, and a squire brought a document with him. ”Excellent. Now, just sign here, and all will be over...” Charles said, presenting the treaty. Louis didn’t hesitate and signed.

”Now, let them go... don’t try to get them, let them pass freely to go back to Piemonte.” Louis requested again.

”Yes... of course, Piemonte...” Charles said, thinking out loud.

He shouted orders to his guards. ”Blockade all the roads to Piemonte, I want no one going through the Alps, close down the roads to Chinon and Mâcon and make sure regular patrols screen the border with the County of Imperial Burgundy... 1500 florins for their heads!” and the crowd quickly disappeared to bring the news to others, while a few guards remained.

Louis couldn’t believe his ears. ”You traitor! DAMN YOU!”

Louis had never been in any sort of swordfight before, except for the usual practices in the royal court. For him, wars were waged by rugged men, not by merchants or kings. It was thus surprising for him to see his father come to him, and take his hand, as Charles sword slowly entered his sternum. His breastbone cracked under the pressure and Louis tasted blood coming to his mouth. Jean 1er, his father, told him ”You did all you could... come, we have much to talk about”. Louis smiled, and dropped coldly on the floor.