Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Two Hundred-Fifty-Six : A Very Young Despot
A Medieval Funeral
On the 12th of April, in the year 858 AD, scouts found a abandoned bandit camp. In it they found many dead Royal Guards and robbers mixed together. They also found the Queen's body.
It looks like the bandits overwhelmed the Queen and her soldiers. Then, realizing their leader was dead AND that they had killed the Queen, the bandits fled the county. From the look of their tents and equipment it seemed like they did so in a panic. The scouts carefully transported the Queen’s body, along with the dead soldiers who tried to protect her, back to the Palace.
The Queen had died in battle and had left behind her 5 year old son, Niphon, as the Despot of the Kingdom. The boy had inherited the Queen’s many artifacts but also had inherited some problems.
New Council members needed to be selected and he had too many lands for a such a young Ruler. At least the treaty with the Ming was still in place. Maybe the Regent could help him?
The Regency started the day after. A Regency that would end only when Despot Niphon became a young man at the age of 16.
The Regent, Doux Ioustinos of Bhutan, was very loyal. His titles, and continued existence, was due to the boy's mother and grandmother. He planned to do the best he could to make sure the next decade was stable and calm to return the favor.
The Regent first suggested to the Despot that he switch the Crown's focus to the County of Kamarupanagara. "We want to focus your business and attention on the Capital for now," he carefully explained to the young boy, "as we don't know which of the three counties we will be giving up. But we do know we would never give up the Capital-County."
The boy nodded his head though the Regent did not know if Niphon really understood or not. His face was red from the crying. It would take a long time before the boy, and his younger brother, recovered from the mother's death. The father was rarely around.
Next the Regent turned to the Council. All the positions but for the Upadhyaya were empty. Bhikkhu Pelagios of Madan Kamdev had stayed and, in fact, was still in Amdo trying to convert the unfaithful.
The Regent started combing the files and records of the Royal Court to find the best candidates for the seats.
Mayor Karz of Reting, who had BEEN on the Council before, was the best man for the job of Magistros. He was kept in the court to work on relationships.
Baron Eustathios of Nalrajar Garh, Cupbearer AND Commander in the army, seemed to be the best person for the position of Protostrator. He was assigned to organizing the military forces.
Dionysios Dysnomia, a Courtier in the Royal Court and cousin to the Despot, was picked to be the next Sakellarios. He was soon helping the Regent run the Realm and the Despot's many holdings.
The Mystikos, the last seat to be filled, was given to Wakhushakk of the House of Vijaya who was told to stay in the Palace where he could listen and scheme.
All the new Councilors had positive opinions of the Despot. Maybe not great opinions but the Regent felt they were good enough for now. A stable Council was better then none at all.
Next the Regent focused on the military forces. There was an empty position. The Regent picked the best military man not already in the armies. Mayor Supratisthitavarman of Itanagar had a bad opinion of the Despot. But the Regent cared nothing for that. Like it or not the man was drafted into the military for his skills.
Now to deal with the counties the Despot would have to give up. And who to give them to.
The County of Amdo was on the top of the list. Not on the Silk Road, with the wrong culture and wrong religion, it seemed like a good idea to give this property up.
Fortun, a Commander and Ex-Councilor, seemed to be the best person to hand it over to. It pleased him greatly and, as a skilled military man, it was unlikely any idiots would try to start a revolt while under his watch. The new Council agreed with his decision.
The County of Sakya was the next one on the list. It was not on the Silk Road and was also of the wrong culture. AND the populace was still "adjusting" to being "librated" by the Realm.
Varshasb Sangramazk, a Commander in the armies, seemed the best person to give the county over to. The Commander was happy with his new title and was more than capable of holding it with his military experience. And the rest of the Council agreed.
The County of Goalpara was the next on the list the Regent had made. Good old Goalpara. A county that had been fought over and marched over many times. Yet was, in the end, pretty worthless.
First the Regent pondered giving the county to Yajiyavati of the House of Birapalid. But her skills would have made her a horrible Countess. He then wondered if Arjunavarman of the House of Dasaratha would make a good Count. It seemed the one thing the man WAS good at was making money.
But his fellow Council members was split on giving the man a title. Maybe it was that he was the wrong religion? Or maybe the man's dislike for the Despot? The Regent withdrew the suggestion and looked for somebody else.(1)
The Regent searched carefully and then found the person he needed. Dirghanakhe Indratewesoya of the House of Urabo, husband of the Mayor Alexeia, was a content man with great skill at making money. He was also a Buddhist and the Council seemed to like him. He was made Count of Goalpara.
The next day the Regent woke up and started work compiling information about the Vassals of the Royal Court. He wanted to get an impression on who was with the Despot and who would be a trouble maker.
While there was many who disliked the Despot the most dangerous of the Vassals was the Duchess of Varendra who no doubt felt the crowns belonged to her. The Duchess of Nagchu, the Duchess of Qamdo, and the Bhikkhu of Para-Lauhitya also disliked the Despot but not so much that they could not be reasoned with. Or bribed.
The Regent then listed out the Bhikkhus according to opinion and looked them over. Most of the Temple Vassals had a low opinion of the Despot. But that made sense as the young lad had yet to have a chance to DO anything for the religious folks. Maybe when the Temple was completed the Despot could get credit for it?
Getting the lists together had taken most of the day and the Regent retired that night tired and wondering if he could do this for the next ten or so years?
The next day Regent, after a small breakfast, turned to the Realm's spies and agents. He wanted to see what plots and schemes were brewing within the Kingdoms. Likely, this took less time to gather then information about the Vassals.
There was still the plot by Ioannes to kill Count Theophylaktos. As Count Ioannes was not of the Realm he did not have to listen to the Spy Master's demands to halt his scheming. There was also the three Factions active but they were pretty weak and the Regent wasn't really worried about them.
And of course there were the "Four Traitors" in the dungeons. Three of which were pretty harmless. The Countess Anastasia still had holdings, three counties, and could still be a threat to the Despot. If she escaped.
So we close this chapter with the Regent trying his best to keep the Kingdoms under control as the two boys mourned their mother's death.
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Author's End Notes:
1. Acting Regents became members of the Council which could cause deadlocks in some decisions. Such as in this case where three voted no and three voted yes.
