In the year of 1066, the Duchy of Aquitaine was the largest and(with the exception of Normandy)the strongest of French vassals. It was led by Duke William VIII, who had developed a reputation for his skill in intrigue.The heiress presumtive was Aines de Poitou, a 7 year-old girl,and the Duke's wife was a useless woman with no alliances.
Aquitaine and its' Duke
Immediately, he got to business, ordering his Bishop to fabricate...erm, find old documents proving his rightful overlordship over Touraine, gave away one of his useless holdings, became the Royal Chancellor, and invited knights, who would play a larger role in the future. However, soon enough, the first flames would be stirred up over France.
The Duke of Anjou started a war against King Philip of France, who had tried to revoke his titles. In this, William saw an excellent possibility. Though he still disdained the French, he decided to help, as he knew that the King might give him some land in return.
The war begins
Hey, look, I'm helping!
Sure enough, this actually worked, as the King gave him Montaigu and Thouars as his vassals, thereby greatly increasing his strength!
Then, once the war predictably ended in a French victory, William was on the warpath once again, as his bishop had finished fabricating a claim on Touraine.
Thank you!
Obviously, he quickly went to war, invading Touraine and winning a complete victory over them at Tours.
Hey, look!We've captured Gargamel!
While the Duke was sieging down Tours, however, someone scary joined the war. Someone with the power to end Aquitaine once and for all.Someone with a mighty army: The devastated, crushed Duchy of Anjou.
I'm not sure if they're suicidal or just brave
However, by that point, it was already too late. Tours had fallen, and its' count had surrendered.
After the war, William gave the new county to one of his knights. While this was supposed to be a one-off, it actually became standard practice by the end of his reign.
Rewarded for service
Meanwhile on the Royal Council...Everyone, including the Duke of Aquitaine, was incompetent. Only the Duke of Normandy actually knew what he was doing.
Should have definitely made me spymaster.I could have killed you easier.
Meanwhile, Matheode had given birth to another girl, named Sancha. Damn it.
Glorious, another girl
In other news, William has learned the art of seduction.
Sure looks like a sexual predator, though
He quickly started putting his skills to good use, by sleeping with his knight.
NOW I learn I'm Bisexual?
Meanwhile in England, Duke William the Bastard is now King William the Conqueror of England.
The rascal did it, eh?
Also, Bishop Berengar fabricated yet another claim, this time on Toulouse.
Was kind of hoping for a duchy claim, but that's okay too.
The duke was lately occupied by his safety, and decided to hire some builders to secure the castle from potential assasins.
Leave no stone unturned!
Seeing the builders doing better than expected, he hired the chief, Adhemar, to stay at his cout, even making him Spymaster
Better than expected
Meanwhile, the Duke had been required to participate to a tournament, and was bored to hell. However, he overcame this by spying on the participants.
Tourneys can be useful too
After all was done, the Count of Angouleme offered to help the Duke with his administrative skills.However, William trusted none, and refused the offer.
See, if you had offered me intrigue, I might have accepted
At the same time, he found out that the Kaiser had cheated on his wife with a commoner. This was going to be tasty.
Yay, dirt!
In other news, William went to a feast.It was good. He found more dirt on people and his life was reaffirmed due to the food in there.
See?Feasts are useful after all!
Let's hope it wasn't human meat, otherwise he's screwed
Then, disaster struck.
The Duchess, Matheode, was yet again pregnant. However, William had suspicions about who was under/above Matheode when he/she was conceived.He asked her:
Are you cheating on me?
While she said the baby was his, the duke was still not convinced.Thus, he looked into the matter discreetly. The result was not-so-shocking.
Of course.
The king was cheating with his wife! Enraged, and not at all due to his disdain for France, he revealed this secret to the world. The king was now known worldwide as an adulterer, while William asked for a divorce. The result, yet again, was predictable.Meanwhile, Phillip's only response was that"she was good in bed".
Sorry, except screw you, filthess!
After this revelation, William talked to his own" friend",who was trying to improve his skill in intrigue.
Well, thank you.....I guess?
Yay, I passed the test!
Using the knowledge he got from there, he learned how to kill people better and faster than anyone else.
What immorality?
Also, by eating more food, he got really, really healthy.
Yum
However, in Styria, a new storm was arising. Iconoclasm, the religion that had divided Byzantium for more than a century, had reappeared in Styria, where duke Otakar had stepped upon all his icons.The first great heresy of Catholicism had risen.
I won't convert to anything unless it has Sacred Lies!
Next up: The war with Toulouse shall begin...
