Records: the French Deflection

## **Shouldering the Weight**

In the approach to the decision, it was coming up on two years since the Dominus Exorcus, the de-possession of Charles the would-be VI in Paris. It was an excruciating moment to witness as a father and as a Christian, made that much worse when his own son stood in defense of the soul-rending pain of the other boy. Then Edward himself did it, and finally his younger son nearly died conducting the Dominus Exorcus himself.

It was the reason King Edward IV had such a hard time going to Paris: the literal ghosts that he saw, the terror, the pain, the embodied karma of the death of war, plague and pestilence.

The more temporal, secular issues were nearly as heavy: the whole nature of the Royal Court had changed out from under him. In England, and through Plantagenet courts, it didn't have the social aspect it had just a decade prior. Now, it was matters of focused governance, every decision recorded, measured and judged.

Even as fast as they could expertly train people into position, it wasn't fast enough or good enough to keep up with the growing demands on the Crown. That meant King Edward IV was at the front lines of governance, and he had to present and visible from Penzance to Dover, from Arundel to York.

The same could be said for the Sovereign in France. It had been a massive effort through the end of 1380 and into 1381 to get France to adopt the Magna Carta, and further to jump into the CMC, and while that gave logical structure to government, they still didn't have the sovereign present enough to make the signature decisions and authorizations.

Slap the management of United Britannia atop England, and the slow movement of United Britannia toward the CMC (and it still wasn't as large or populated as France), and Edward was stretched far too thin.

His plan to relieve pressure was less than optimal, but he knew it could be done. But it could only be done by one person: *the same one who had conducted the Dominus Exorcus*.

### **A Transfer of Sovereignty**

The first official announcement was made in the newly opened Throne Room of Westminster. He had the chance to sit on the Grand Throne itself, complete with French counselors present, shoulder-to-shoulder with English counselors, even as "Prince" Rick was regent for the country.

Edward had soaked in the glory of uniting France and the British Isles. He lived to realize the drive of his father, but surviving... so much else had shaken him. It was time to make it official: *he who was currently regent, would be sovereign*.

A week later, Edward met Rick in Paris to perform a proper coronation. As Edward abdicated, deflecting the massive French responsibility, Rick accepted the responsibility. The ceremony was performed, and when no one else could hear, Edward gave his most honest blessing to his younger son: *God help you*.

## **Broad Shoulders of the Magus**

King Rick of Aquitaine, Arelat, Bohemia and now France, *has his hands full*. Stabilizing politics and bringing people together was one key objective, but it was only one among many.

The daily operations were in the careful hands of his ministers. Rick's trust was evident as his largest chunk of time is spent with the OM and the RANP. Further, for Rick and the perception of the Commonwealth, the 4-kingdom inventory of his personal Empire was dangerous. Given that France was just recently inducted into the Commonwealth, was he trying to add every component to his personal Empire? It was a ridiculous question for Rick, but it was every other king's benchmark for success.

*To the one who neither needed nor wanted it was it bestowed*.

### **Extended Purview of Aquitaine**

The CMC/Aquitaine reach went as far as the Black Sea, back through the Levant, up through the Aegean, North through Bohemia and way north again to a land from whence he'd "removed" the Teutonic Knights. It was the CMC/NP who had assumed technical management of Prussian lands, but the hand of the Magus was clearly seen as the news continued to ricochet through European courts.

Add the reach around to the Western Hemispere: the recent march duchies between the Aztecs and the Mayans, the Duchy of Beothuk and the Principality of Kaskaskia... the Ricardian Crown was already stretched to the breaking point. Add France... *because Rickard was the only person who handle it*.