Fealty
If Floret was in chaos before, it was now in open panic. War has indeed come to Southsward for the first time in thirty seasons, and no beast was truly ready for it.
"You told me that war wouldn't happen!" Lord Garrion Swalestrom snapped at his father.
"I just told you that we would not start a war. You may recall that Garmund of Triel declared war on us. We are, in fact, not the aggressor. If any realm desires to check Trielian power, they would join the conflict on our side." Lord Becker has just finished his (not so) diplomatic to Arnet, and now he was under pressure from his family. All three of his sons have been recalled to Floret, and were indignant at being in the dark regarding their father's plans.
"King Gideon organised the assassination of someone close to Erlend, and he's now furious at us. All of us!" Becker exclaimed.
"What do you suggest we do now?" Lady Anezka questioned her husband. Judging by the fact that Lord Becker travelled to Reslen personally to ask for her hand, he and she were a good match, both personally and politically. She was tall for a Jaysian, and though she may not be as beautiful as some other noble ottermaids, her skills as a wife and parent were more than enough to provide a counterbalance.
On the more political side, Becker and Anzeka married to oppose the old king of Parma and his son-in-law. Infirm and weak, King Winchell Baleblood of Jayso is set to die without a male heir, and Anezka's two younger sons could claim either his insular realm or his Trielian duchy if he willed as such.
However, opening a second front against the Trielians was not part of Becker's plans now. He was much more preoccupied with the more defensive aspects of war.
"We hold the Greatrange. If that fails, we try to prevent total encirclement, but we will avoid pitched battles."
"Why avoid pitched battles?" asked Godred Swalestrom. Excelling in training with a sword or a bow, Godred Swalestrom was a born warrior, but without proper battle experience, it would be of little consequence.
"You should remember how the last war was lost. We arranged our forces into lines, we made sure we outnumbered the enemy, we charged - and we got hacked to pieces." Garrion reminded his younger brother. Having read all about battles, Garrion was definitely a self-taught tactician, who learned from the triumphs and mistakes of his forebears and long-dead rivals.
"Then how are we going to delay our foe?" Bedric piped up. Being the youngest of Lord Swalestrom's three sons, he resembled his father the most in personality if not looks. They were both bubbly and flighty otters, more suited at play than at work, and always managing to have fun whatever the circumstances. Perhaps that's why Mother fell for him, thought Garrion. Her brother is but an utter bore, and she would be quick to welcome a change of pace. She was lucky to walk a different path.
Garrion would certainly know much of marriage, seeing that he was the only married beast amongst the four siblings. Bellamy was to be betrothed to Sverker Crestworth of Doma, but the unexpected death of his grandfather quickly put an end to that. In Godred and Bedric, however, Anzeka and Becker decided to play their cards more carefully.
Ellisiv Rueford was a calm beast, well-read and cautious, never saying more than what should be said. Her father agreed to the marriage quick enough, with Erlend putting pressure on his territories in Dravania, foiling his plans for then.
"We stay in our forts and hold our chokepoints." Becker answered. "If the Trielians' supplies are cut, than they can do nothing against us."
"What about Erlend? He's the king of Garlesca now. Does that mean that the Garleans will be on their side?" Bedric continued to ask.
His sister decided to speak for the first time. "Queen Lorelei has another son from a prior marriage - Corrado, was it? Erlend's child with her would not be able to get his paws onto the Garlean throne, and he's Thordan! He wouldn't want to be king!" Corrado Truetide was married to Garrion's maternal cousin Eliska, so he would be a safe king if he finally receives his mother's inheritance, his father leaving everything to his elder son from a prior marriage.
Godred decide to give his own interpretation to Bellamy's explanation. "So if anything happens to Erlend or Lorelei, there would not be any Garlean support, wouldn't it?"
Lord Becker's face soured. "We would not try to slay our own kin, Godred Swalestrom! We are no vermin." Seeing that his son was now regretting his words, he continued. "We will try to devise the election of a Parman king friendly to us. He would restrain my traitorous kin. If that fails, we will still prevent the election of my nephew Thordan. He's too young to pose any direct threat to us, and he's as weak as any Swalestrom can be."
His wife contemplated for a while. "But what if Erlend himself becomes the King of Parma?"
Becker was surprised by the possibility, to say the least. "What? Erlend, King of Parma? By Great Seasons, I will ensure this will not happen!" He turned back to his children.
"Bedric, you will go back to the Greatrange. You are well acquainted with the terrain there, and Fort Tiernan will be receptive to you. After all, you have been there, and I'll ask Ralos to go with you once more." His youngest son nodded, prepared to follow orders.
"Godred, you will follow me to Dravania. We both know that your cousin Sigurd will put up a fight, and it will be a fight we will bring to him." Godred smiled, happy to do something for his father and kingdom.
"Garrion, your task is no less important." The firstborn's ears tensed, anticipating a mission with a large scale. Perhaps I'll lead a raid into Triel proper, or even get to wrest the Duchy of Obring out of Trielian paws!
"You are to defend Floret at all costs." Seeing the look of disappointment on his eldest son's face, Becker quickly added a few words to his orders. "Floret has never fallen since the days of the Foxwolf, and you are here to ensure that it will never fall since then. The life of your king, your wife, and your mother and sister rests wholly in your paws. If anything particularly bad does happen, I will return to help you. After all, Godred can manage in my absence."
"Bellamy, you will be safe behind these walls. Now may be too late for you to marry anyone of significance, but you will surely get your chance. Give your brother advice. He will need help from all sources, and you are certainly not dull."
Becker smiled at all his children. "Don't worry. I will return here safe and sound. I promise. Even if the worst happens, I'm proud of you four, and you can do more than I will ever do. And please don't follow in my pawsteps, and treat each other like your friends. It may be too late for me and Erlend, but your lives are just beginning, and you will not fail each other. Can you promise me that?"
A chorus of agreements erupted from the mouths of Lord Swalestrom's children.
Ralos was desperate.
He was expecting a war, but not a war so soon. The squirrel made his way towards the council chamber, and found that there were more lords than usual gathered there. It used to be just five. When has the number gone up to thirty?
Besides the Swalestroms (all four of them), old Lord Rueford was here, alongside his son. They must be glad to see their daughter and sister. Lady Ellisiv was a pact between lord and vassal, and Lord Becker planned this marriage well. Lord Strandsor was not seated next to the Ruefords as usual, but Ralos could not find him. There was simply no trace of the lords, father and son. Perhaps they were not called here.
A herald announced the coming of King Gideon, and the lords, whether mouse, squirrel or otter, all stood up to greet him, only sitting when their king commanded them to.
"It has come to our attention that Triel does not desire the formation of an independent Southsward, but for him to declare war of us is not an outcome we have guessed," the king announced. You have not guessed indeed. Sureluy you have planned for this to happen.
"Southsward is a kingdom, just like Triel. In fact we know that Southsward predates her sister kingdom by a hundred seasons, if not more! They have no cause to subjugate us, and they know this as well as we do! The truth is against their ambitions, so King Garmund and his henchbeasts saw fit to ignore it. The Peace of Uznair may be torn in two, like any scrap of paper, but the Trielians have not enforced its conditions, and they too have ignored its limits on their power. To summarise, they have broken the peace long before we were even born!"
Murmurs arose from the crowd. War was never a thing to be taken lightly, and most of the lords were content to see Triel held at bay, they do not know if war would be the best option. Ralos may have spent long periods of life in the field, but even he was not sure.
"So my lords, I implore you to stand with Southsward and me! All your obligations toward Triel are null and void, and Southsward will rise from the humiliation brought by her neighbour!"
A long silence followed, only broken by the sound of Lord Becker Swalestrom rising from his seat, and walking towards King Gideon. All the lords (Ralos included) waited wide-eyed as lord and king looked each other in the eyes.
The tension was only broken when Lord Swalestrom fell on one knee. He then opened his mouth.
"I, Lord Becker Swalestrom, Lord Skipper of the Southsward Otterguard and Lord of Hildrinn, shall let it be known that I have sworn, by my own will and volition, to render homage and fealty for my second time to King Gideon of Southsward. I swear once more to remain faithful to him, my king, to never cause him harm in any form, and to observe my homage to him completely and fully, against all beasts in good faith and without deceit. I also swear that I will destroy his enemies and their plans to the best of my ability. I will do so until the Crown does leave the throne, or if death shall take me, or the world end. This I, Lord Becker Swalestrom, shall swear on the life my children and the grave of my father!"
Ralos felt compelled to do the same, rushing out of his seat and knelt just like his predecessor had done. "Here do I, General Ralos of the Southsward Order of Defense, swear by mouth and paw fealty and service to the Crown and Kingdom of Southsward: to speak and to be silent; to do and to let be; to come and to go; to serve and to teach, in such matters as concern this Realm; in need or in plenty, in peace or in war, in living or in dying, until the Crown depart their throne, or death take me, or the world end. So do I swear on land, sea and sky!"
Lord after lord moved out of their seats and got on their knees.
"I, Lord Lorents Rueford, Lord of Svartemyrr shall swear on my House that…"
"I, Lord Francis, Minister of Coin does swear that…"
"I, Lord Garrion, Heir to the Southsward Otterguard swears that …"
After the lords gave their oaths, King Gideon decided to complete his speech.
"And these oaths do we hear. And we, for our part, swear fealty to these lords and peers of Southsward and to all their households; to protect and defend them against every creature with all our power, until we depart from the throne, or death take us, or the world end. So say we, Gideon, King of Southsward, and former vassal to the King of Triel. We shall do our duty as King and lords of Southsward, and defend the Southard crown and the Southard realm!" The last word of the speech was drowned by the cheering of the lords.
Ralos was the only lord in attendance that was lost in thought. So the war has begun, in the thunderous applause of the high and mighty lords - lords that have never tasted any war before.
May Great Seasons ward us from what is to come, for we walk the path to ruin.
A/N: Both kingdoms are now ready for the war, and suffering after suffering shall ensue for their inhabitants. On the other side of the Sound, Parma is suffering from a succession crisis, so they can do nothing until a king is chosen, and while their nobles start to take sides on their own.
Sebias: War? Peace? Bloodshed? Drama? All four.
Grey: I know how hard it is to write death scenes that shed tears in the first few chapters, but this is the problem with writing the first fanfic in a series of many. If you will try to read my future prequel, the emotional experience will be more striking.
It is completely normal that you were confused by the last three chapters. It may sound like a strange thing today, but war and shifting alliances were completely normal for medieval times. During my research, I have seen simple wars, and some really complicated ones. Even in medieval times, alliances were ephemeral and changed far too often. For example, in the War of the Succession in Champagne (yes, really), a few barons and Lorraine faced against the full might of Champagne (it used to be a county), Burgundy and Bar (also a county, subject to a few people walking into it). They lost, but not without trying. Not more than seven years later, Champagne decided to take on Burgundy and Bar, but this time with the barons and Lorraine on her side.
I will try to simplify things in the later chapters. Thordan will be back in Raevsvakt, and we shall see what the war's effects on the other side of the Southern Realms.
Chapter 5 (Weight of His Will) will be out on 15/16 May!
P.S. The oaths of fealty said by the Southard lords are all taken from reality.