Records: House Plantagenet 1378

## **The Lines of Succession Had Nearly Been Tested**

London's Apocalypse had killed thousands – and the King and Crown Prince had nearly been among them. The lines of succession were on standby at that point, and given the Devil's Teardrop, the rules of succession were again reviewed, modified and updated.

Also, given the nature of *the Devil's Teardrop*, there was serious soul-searching by those in the line whether they really wanted to be there or not. It was a strong draw for temporal power, and an expected sacrifice to have to face the earthly Sword of Damocles because of it. It was something completely different when it seemed the Devil himself could be gunning for you.

### **Expanded House Membership**

There were a little over a hundred-twenty members of the House of Plantagenet now, still mostly in England, but some in Aquitaine and a few scattered through France. Some were sworn (but passive) higher-status members, others were employed by the House in various roles, from actual Household duties to training and placement into Royal Company positions, Sergeants-at-Arms roles, Royal Order of Merlin and so on.

Prince Rick, upon his return from Aquitaine, mentioned he'd tracked down at least a hundred more, from Anjou to Gascony. He'd gone back to other descendents of Henry II, including Richard I's illegitimate sons, and so on. Several of them were currently in the Anjou Platoon of the Sergeants-at-Arms.

And speaking of that...

## **The Plantagenet Reclamation**

Prince Rick had gone well outside of Bordeaux. That was restricted, bad, and also a serious no-no... but this was Prince Rick. Rick could, would and often did listen – but that didn't mean he'd follow.

This brought endless anguish to Edward (both of them). Beyond the verbal lashing that the senior Edward provided, there was praise. There was also nobody they could think who could handle themselves as Richard could. Still, as the Devil's Teardrop demonstrated, there were threats beyond any earthly foe.

As for the earthly foes...

### **From Glow Stones to Howitzers**

The Glow Stones had turned the tide in Aquitaine years ago. The application of howitzers, however; *that* sent a definite signal and it was sent by Richard himself.

There were already reports of Charles V recruiting against magic, and notes that it was working to some degree. It wasn't universal acceptance, but it was enough to show that battle lines would be drawn in places Richard wanted to avoid.

On the positive side: *Poitou*. That was massive. The reclamation of control over Edward III's lands had been impressive – and more so *how* it was done, than even that it was done. It hadn't taken an army of ten thousand, destroying the countryside. It took the finesse and benefits over fire and fear. It was a campaign that only Richard could wage in that way.

As for the howitzers, that bit of research and development made it back to England only a few days before Richard himself arrived. Not simply a development, but it was deployed and worked in the best possible way, on a battlefield, the first time. In war, nothing ever works right, much less works the first time. *That*, perhaps, was the deepest magic yet.

And used to strike a *coup de grâce* to Louis, Duke of Anjou.

It had been something of a long-term goal to reclaim Anjou (much less the rest of France), and base the noble House Plantagenet out of Angers. It was now within reach. King Edward expressly forbid Richard from personally participating in that battle. Prince Rick acknowledged the restriction.

## **The Plantagenet Expansion**

Following the success of the Royal Navy in Seville and the Aquitaine Arms against France, John of Gaunt was lobbying to leverage their recent success in a campaign against Castile. It made perfect sense, but exactly how that would be done was the missing magic of John's strategy.

John proposed enlisting Rick's Aquitaine Army, now dubbed the Palantine Arms, and leaning on them plus Lancastrian and Portuguese troops to take out Henry of Castile. All the way down in Seville, though, was a long way to go. This didn't account for certain "developments" Rick said were in the pipeline but they want to rely on that when it was otherwise untested and frankly terrifying?

Further, the Aquitaine Arms was used to moving and operating in smaller groups. The Poitiers battle had been the exception, and still didn't have the firepower of the new St. George Regiment.

...*Which Edward (and the rest of London) wanted to keep close*.

With Edward reticent and Rick hesitant, it wasn't looking good for John's Castilian campaign. That's when John threw down his bargaining chip: he'd hand over Lancaster to Richard if he helped him take Castile.

Intriguing, though not even King Edward was certain about that transaction. He'd approve it on principle for Richard, but Richard himself wasn't sure about holding so far and disparate. Still the door was open.

### **Laying the Groundwork for an Iberian Campaign**

Prince Rick agreed to look into venturing south, but wanted more from John. Not in terms of land or holdings, though John was heaping a Castilian duchy on his nephew, more that Rick wanted to know what kind of support John was going to want from the greater Plantagenet efforts. Would he want the Royal Company to trade there? To produce there? Would he want the magic of the Order of Merlin? Would he want access to the world-shaking technologies he'd brought and put in the hands of Royal Army?

Even John admitted that was too much to ask, but... *yes*.

That was honest of him, at least.

Assume that Aquitaine becomes a Plantagenet kingdom. England is a Plantagenet kingdom. By virtue of blood, Castile would become a Plantagenet kingdom. Current events and history alike were rife with stories of brothers and cousins who'd gone to war with each other.

Was that in the future for the Plantagenets?

John promised that it wasn't, but that promise could not be held to his sons, or grandsons or beyond.

There was, however, a way.

## **The Power of the Noble House**

John of Gaunt agreed both to regular contribution and binding arbitration between Plantagenet Crowns and Coronets... if the new House Plantagenet assisted him in obtaining that Royal Castilian Crown. But it was conditional: Richard had to agree to the same terms regardless if he remained a coronet or became a full crown of Aquitaine. Likewise, the Edwards had to agree to it for England.

Edward conceeded and Richard agreed. With that, John swore to it as well.

To Edward, this further increased the chance of bequeathing Aquitaine to his son not as the heritable principality he'd already delivered, but rather as a sovereign kingdom, where the lands were his own and they both paid mutual respect (if not technical homage) to House Plantagenet.

### **Britannia: England's Manifest Destiny...?**

The next key strategic question, at least for King Edward: *what was the long-term plan for Wales, Scotland and Ireland* (much less an agitating Cornwall)? Tempting though it was to simply roll through and establish absolute dominance, especially with a newly empowered Royal Army, Edward now had a higher perspective. He was looking at factors like language and culture.

* Wales spoke plenty of English but still spoke Welsh. There were enough distinct differences that it still had some separation as a principality, with the plan for a Crown Prince to be assigned to it until it was rolled back into the Crown upon accession. And so on.
* Cornwall spoke plenty of English but still spoke Cornish. It was more integrated, but not so integrated that it didn't rate a specific duchy to account for that identity.
* Scotland was... *Scotland*. In that respect, it may as well have been an attached Iberia. For long-term integration, it was tempting to roll through with force of arms and place a Plantagenet on the throne, *but that was not the Christian thing to do*. What if, instead of a "Lord of Scotland," they won the allegiance of a Scottish-accepted king and just called themselves an "empire"? In that respect, House Plantagenet would not assist with the Crown of Scotland (though might assist with smaller jurisdictions in Scotland if any were held).
* This held true for Ireland as well. The differences were enough that Statues of Kilkenny had attempted to suppress them, but that simply wasn't working. The Irish were a proud, stubborn group... and maybe the English could make that work *for them*. What if, instead of "Lord of Ireland," they found an all-Irish King that the locals loved who would swear allegiance to England?

A couple of things had to happen for any of this to be realized, starting with finding someone who could actually be acceptable to all the folk of any given area. Swearing fealty was easy, magically ensuring it was now possible, but unless it was earned, that would simply tear the Lords away from the Commons. So, for the long-term plan, that meant ensuring governing policy was something the people would accept.

Prince Rick laid it out the steps to make it happen:

* Recognition of regional identity
* Protection of the rights associated with that identity, and
* Installation of responsibilities that made them part of the whole.

Even before Edward IV's coronation, especially after the *Audit and Rectification*, the House of Lords had been looking for that Crown confirmation of the Magna Carta, with the royalty re-agreeing to the rights of the nobility. It was called a charter, but really it was a ratified treaty addressing specific grievances.

King John did the best he could, but it was time to overhaul the Plantagenet Family Document and include some theory of government.

This brought them right back to what kinds of political, philosophical commonalities they needed to have between Plantagenet Crowns or Coronets. Was it possible to have a true bond between an England that outlawed all forms of slavery with a Castile that still owned slaves? Or sanctioned against Jews (or anyone else)? What was the balance between regional identity and universal ethics?

These were *massive* questions.

### **Plantagenet: Command and Logistics**

As House Plantagenet formulated plans to support three different Crowns, Rick was looking ahead to the logistical, communication and political realities of what that meant.

It wasn't a technical Empire as House Plantagenet wouldn't be an imperial seat *over* the Crowns, but it would be a family resource and legally binding arbiter.

This brought ideas about Angers, Anjou, back into focus. Now, more than ever, they needed to reclaim the Angevin seat. It could not under an English-held French Crown. It could not be under Aquitaine. It had to be independent, but supported by all.

Richard was already thinking of the most efficient, stable way to make it happen.