A Chat on the Character of Early Kings

Anne arrived in Gresteinnham a week ago, Morag arrived a few days later, and Eava had been there for two weeks. Marian would have been there sooner, but she had spent a week at the Apuldredell Court seeking permission to enter their lands. Failing that, Marian had friends in the the Grey Court, so she sent word to them directly. She stationed her ravens around the gates, so if there was a sighting of the young people, she'd know.

She knew that Ylva and the others should eventually show up in Gresteinnham, so she went there. It didn't take long to find Eava. Anne and Eava had already found each other, and Morag found them a day later. That meeting had been interesting, Marian and Morag had been best friends 13 years ago, but they had very little in common now. Morag was here on a different errand, but as Marians friend, she agreed to help. Naturally, she expected help in return, eventually.

The Wolfs Den seemed like a good spot for a drink and some dinner. It was quieter than they thought it would be, which was nice. Anne couldn't handle big crowds right now, and Morag didn't want too. ever. Eava didn't even want to go to dinner, but Marian insisted she join them.


Lady Eava : We have to find Tom and Ylva. With or without permission, tomorrow, I'm going into the Grey Lands and finding my little girl.

Lady Marion: I may have news before that, I have feathers out everywhere, keeping their eyes and ears out for whatever information they can get. Let's just eat and relax and eat, before you worry yourself sick.

Lady Morag: This is where people gather, he may very well show up here, saving us the trouble of looking for him. So order something rich and sweet, my treat. You need a distraction. Distraction clears the mind when overthinking clogs it up, and you are overthinking so loudly that my head feels cluttered.

Lady Eava : How can I think about something else? My daughter is missing, because of me. That worry doesn't just switch off.

{b } Lady Marian We are talking in circles. What's going on currently in Menwolde, Last time I was there, a young nobleman called Robyn of the Hood was kicking up trouble for King John, who was ruling for his brother, Richard the Lionheart, who was away fighting in the crusades. I've heard bits and pieces since, but not much.

Lady Anne Not much has changed except fashion and slang. The times you recall happened more than a century ago. The year is now 1323, and the king on the throne King Edward II, King Johns great-grandson. There's continuous political unrest, King Edward II is still fighting with the nobles for power and the people continue to be overtaxed. The Magna Carta that King John was forced to sign then went back on is still the cause of continuous discord and hostility between the barons and the king. That makes it easy to cause a little chaos and keep them unstable. If they spend all their time and money fighting each other, they have no time or money to fight anyone else, including us.

Lady Morag Sadly, I heard that King Richard died. King John, King Richards brother, was no King Richard. At least King John wanted the job because Richard only accepted by default, he happened to be born first.

Lady Marian From what I've gathered, the feud between King John and the barons continued into the reign of his son, King Henry III, because King Henry III didn't have the stomach to stand up to the barons. Whatever power King John won back, was lost by his son. They say old Henry was a good man but a weak king, that may be a bit unfair to say. The problem was that he wasn't a warrior king at a time when one was needed. He did love his kingdom, governing with wisdom and fairness, that just wasn't enough.

Lady Morag To be fair, he became king at 9, when his father died in disgrace. The barons sought to control the boy king and didn't exactly encourage him to become the great king that he could have been. He was just a child who inherited a mess, without much training or preparation; and given the choice, he'd rather have been a man of god than a king. Ruling is harder than it looks. What King Henry III lacked in military prowness, he made up for in creativity. He had a fine eye for beautiful things, particularly buildings.

Lady Anne King Henry III invested too much in the arts and buildings. The people at the time resented the resulting taxation, even if future engliscmen would go on to see the lovely castles and abbeys as a source of national pride and a sound investment. Although, they hadn't had to pay for, just support their upkeep, which continues to be costly. His son, King Edward I was no better in this way.

Lady Marian The image of strength the castles and abbeys projected displayed to the world the soundness of the Englisc character. One could then say, that King Henry III was a man of strong and stable character, whether or not he was a military man. King Edward I, his son, just wanted to show off, but wasn't without character. He certainly had more character than his son has.

Lady Morag The Scots would say very different things about King Edward I. Wales wouldn't offer pretty words or high praise either, he chose their sacred and important sites to build his castles on to mark his territory there.

Lady Anne Most engliscmen, in Southern England, would argue that he was only looking out for Englisc interests and national security by getting Scotland in check.

Lady Morag They might think, but never say out loud, that he was also the one who riled them up in the first place and made them a threat that couldn't be ignored. Some of the Engliscmen in the North might well side with the Scots about the Longshanks character and legacy. Although, they certainly weren't fond of William Wallace or the Bruce during the short-lived Scottish Invasion, they understood the Scots motivation, and would've done the same in their place.

Lady Anne Most of them wouldn't have cared one way or the other about his Scottish agenda if they weren't expected to pay for it. They like a good fight, and the Scots gave them that.

Lady Morag Yes, they did

Lady Anne Now for more current events, the current king, King Edward II, is the son of King Edward I. He is another weak military leader. Unfortunately, he also lacks his fathers ability to rule over his people fairly, patiently, and effectively.

Lady Morag I met King Edward I, he was a terrible person, and a worse father, but not a terrible king. Prince Edward II always was just a frivilous, pampered boy. It didn't help that his father never thought much of him, and told him so. He may have turned out differently with a little support and encouragement. Some wise or practical guidance may have helped too. Now it's too late.

Lady Anne His biggest fault is that he leads with his heart, not his head. What he wants, he wants now and doesn't care how he gets it. That's fine when your a child, but not a king. He'd rather be sporting or feasting with his favorites than attending his royal duties, the barons and nobles had to take over, again.

Lady Eava Perhaps his mother who loved him too much, because his father loved him too little. Perhaps he's surrounds himself with favorites who flatter and praise him because they make him feel better, stronger, and smarter. I think that's sad.

Lady Marian I know it is, but he is a king now, and needs to grow up if he's going to run a country

Lady Eava Maybe he shouldn't be king then, so that he can live his life his way and no one gets hurt by it

Lady Marian That's not how it works, but I see your point.

Lady Morag Unless you've been a king or queen, you're not fit to judge them. It's hard, they need to blow off steam somehow, and why not. With all the responsibilities, come privileges. And it's not about than being popular, but without support, they can't lead. Although, I doubt that the Barons object much to getting more power and influence.

Lady Anne Instead of their learned council, he surrounds himself with louts and criminals that call themselves the Despensers. Hugh Dispenser Jr is kings new best buddy and frequent companion. He has become their puppet king, with Hugh pulling the strings.

Lady Morag Is it true that Hugh jr is his new lover? After that brutal affair with Piers, I thought he'd never recover his wits. Piers seems to be the only one that King Edward II ever truly loved. Sure, it was his down fall, but you can't question his loyalty to his love.

Lady Marian Where's his wife in all of this? Is it true, he married an Isabella? His great-grandfather had married three times, to two different Isabellas.

Lady Anne Yes, his Queen is called Isabella and they have four children.

Lady Morag He must be attending to his marriage duties with some regularity. How about mistresses and children outside the marriage? I can't imagine how she must be managing his affairs with Hugh and those awful dispensers replacing the influence she ought to have. From everything I have heard, she isn't a force to be reckoned with.

Lady Anne His wife, Queen Isabella, had no choice but to disavow their union and come out against him and his band of cut-throat thieves and greedy swine. They have no respect for anyone, least of all him, and will be the end of him if he isn't careful.

Lady Morag Did she stay in England or go home to France? I can see France taking this prime opportunity to press their influence and perhaps steal away the throne, again. King William I was a French man and if I recall correctly, a fine king,

Lady Anne At this point, the people would rather see a French king on the throne rather than their Englisc one. They would probably support his French wifes claim should she return with young Edward, his heir. Mind you, they have no love for the French, those hostilities go back centuries, they just hate him even more. Hopefully, young Edward III will be a strong king, only time will tell.

Lady Marion So now I am caught up, I see no reason to visit. I don't understand humans fascination with war, and why they waste so much time fighting amongst themselves.

Lady Morag With all that upheavel, it would be a perfect opportunity to do more than just keep them at each others throats, let's grab some power for ourselves. Think of about it. Other than that, I see no reason to care what is going on, not that anything new ever does.

Lady Marian Like it or not, our two lands are linked. We share a history as well as a future, and there is a fine line between one and the other. You know as well as I do that time and space aren't the only things that run up and down, side by side, in and out, and any other way for that matter. We mess too much with them, we will feel the backlash.

Lady Anne My Queendom has more crossover with the human world than yours does, so it's more relevant to us in Triduine, particularly in the Spiral City, where the First Circle stands.

Lady Eava First we lived alongside them, then we dwelt beneath the earth, in places deep and dark, and then we folded time and space to create a place apart, a new start where we could feel the sun and garden, well away from humankinde; then we got left way behind. I never dwelled in a human land, therefore I can't understand how it was in those past times, but I cannot imagine that it was only humans committing grave crimes, and justifying them accordingly. Perhaps if we were truly honest, we'd say, that there was no good or bad, only lots and lots and lots of grey...

Lady Marian I think so too, and with that, I think it's time that we all went to bed.

Lady Morag That's in interesting take on it, but the ruling classes and rulers have to see the black and the white, they need solid facts and figures, and nothing that they do will ever please everyone anyway. Grey-thinking is dangerous, it gets personal and emotional.

Lady Marian I think that we've had enough of heavy talk, we all need to get to get some sleep.

Lady Anne As Queen Katla is so fond of saying, "let rulers rule as they must, and all others trust that they are able and wise, unless they aren't and are caught in lies,,," Eava won't ever have to rule, so let's just go to bed.


Lady Marian I'll take Eava upstairs while you (looks at Anne) settle the bill.

Just as they were about to leave the pub, they bumped into a tall, handsome fellow. Eava looked up, "Tom", and he looked down at her, not believing his eyes, "Songbird?"