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A like doesn’t do this justice.
Thank you very much. It was quite an emotional scene (series of scenes) to write. I wanted it to be powerful and a reaction like this lets me know that it was.
Nicely done. A chapter ends, though there's a couple of cliffhangers pending. Does Margaret escape? Where is Henry? (Actually, my guess Henry will be found in the nearest church doing what he does best these days.) The trial by combat was well executed. A nice touch had Richard removing his helmet, otherwise most of his dialogue would have been a series of mumbles
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When I began writing this chapter, I knew where I wanted to end up and then began writing backwards. I had to achieve a few things - Henry would be captured, Caen would fall, Somerset would die and Margaret would get away. See more on this below.
One minor nit. Not sure about the need for the cannons. The endgame was in play; the cannons would have caused unnecessary destruction. Of course, that doesn't detract from what a great job you did.
Certainly fair. I may have been "gilding the lily" a bit.
I wanted the scene to have a sense of chaos and the cannon quite literally poured it on.
p.s. One last thing. At what point does Margaret become superfluous to the story?
Perhaps not superfluous, but certainly she will start to take a back seat to other things going on. However, she still represents a threat along with a few other Lancastrians still out there. Certainly they are less than they once were.
@coz1 a magnificent series of scenes. Very poignant. The first scene I think most, with Henry showing more wisdom than the rest of them.
Brilliant scene with Exeter, Henry telling him “You are unloved because you do not love yourself as God would desire. He does provide, my Lord. Yet you do not wish it.”
I admit that certain things in my own life this past year colored how I wrote some of this. Exeter here is not so terribly different than my friend that I lost last March. Those thoughts continued to swim around in my head and much of this chapter was written during that time. As well, it just seemed to me that this is something that Henry's piety would suggest.
I'm sad for Somerset -- the final scene was also excellent. But it was one of only a few places this could have gone.
Interesting that Somerset half-told his brother about his OTHER brother, but didn't successfully communicate it. Not sure whether he might figure it out someday.
I do hope Henry makes it out to safety, just not to kingship.
Great work!
Rensslaer
In a lot of ways, this was Somerset's chapter. It is no accident that most of the longer scenes were his. He was working through a lot of pain and it took quite a bit to move through that. Again, more on that below.
That was excellent!
Is it just me, or did Richard sound like he was willing to get rid of Warwick?
Just another example of Richard's complicated emotions regarding Warwick. To be sure, there was no love lost between Richard and Edmund Beaufort, the former Duke of Somerset. However, it was Warwick's action that caused Henry Beaufort to carry this blood feud when otherwise he might have been a powerful ally (especially with his relationship with Edward.)
Also, is Henry considering finding Richard and surrendering to him? Would that end the conflict here, or would Margaret fight on anyway?
Indeed that was his consideration prior to his capture (at the start of the chapter.) Now he may get his wish. As for Margaret...she will make certain that the conflict is not over.
Yeah I sensed a deal might have been made. "Look, Somerset. If you come quietly I'll set you and Warwick up in an armorer's closet and we'll see who comes out."
I'm starting to wonder if Richard is actually afraid of Warwick, and maybe wants him eliminated.
Rensslaer
Not afraid, per se. However Warwick is not so instrumental anymore, at least to Richard. In many ways, he is just one more problem to solve.
I'll edit later to include comments on the most recent chapter.
Definitely the characters. They clearly haven't watched old Batman episodes, etc.
Well, the WotR didn't really treat too many people very well, so par for the course really.
I thought I read the young prince was 11 years old? And that's just this instance. Of course, many others haven't been uttered ever - like "I'm divorcing you Margaret, whether the Pope likes it or not!"
Prince Edward is indeed 11 at the time of these events. I was commenting on your further thought - it always takes Henry a bit too long to finally come to the right words.
To all - So a few things. As regards Henry Beaufort/Somerset, I considered his actions as sort of a medieval version of suicide by cop. As was hopefully taken from his behavior in the chapter, he simply could not move past what happened to Edward and his own part that he played in it. As much as he blamed Warwick, Richard or anyone else, he blamed himself and could not get over it. Yes, he felt a strong need to uphold his oath. But he was also at wits end and this was pretty much the only way it could go.
I should also say, this chapter represents a fusion of IRL and what happened in game. IRL, Somerset would die after the Battle of Hexham. Obviously things have gone a little differently here, but I still thought it was appropriate (even if sad.) Some could say it is a bit "Turtledovish" in that he is somewhat famous for taking real life events in his alt-history and merely changing the setting. Yet for me, it seemed a natural conclusion after the journey that Ned and Harry went on. That was, of course, entirely fictional (although based on not very well founded rumors of the time.) Point being that it seemed time for his arc to end. There was little else out there for him to do emotionally or narratively. I believe it also shows the ripple effect of Edward's death in this story. While not a minor change, that event had a subtle tail that is still being felt by many.
Of course, this is not the end of the war with France. But I did not think I should try and cram it all into one chapter. There was simply too much ground to cover. In truth, I probably could have stretched it even further to really get into these characters but at some point one has to choose the highlights unless they
really want to write forever.
Hopefully, I hit all the beats I needed to hit and this was the natural end for this particular chapter. I'm not sure how well I do in this regard, but as I have written this work, most if not every chapter has a theme to it. The theme to this chapter, as mentioned, was Henry Beaufort's journey.
Finally, I hope that I have woven the war with France into what remains a war against the still living Lancastrians. In truth, they really have nothing (or little) to do with one another. However it simply seemed natural that Richard's end goals were two fold. Richard certainly holds the motivation to regain Normandy and whatever else was lost when Henry was King. Yet he has not lost the very powerful motivation to rid himself of the threat of Margaret and hers. To speak again on
@Lord Durham's comment above, Margaret herself may become superfluous, but what she represents does not go away. As all know that have studied this period of history, anyone with a claim represents a potential enemy. And anyone with a desire for power could and will take advantage of that.
On a writing update, this end of chapter landed rather neatly just as I finished the chapter to follow. I have just moved past 1,000 pages in my document. And the plotting to come is mostly complete. While there will remain a few things that are more fusion of IRL events, the divergence will really come into play over the next ten years. As I did with Edward, I have a lot planned for what happens with Edmund. And of course, I have a lot of freedom there as Edmund never made it out of Wakefield IRL. I certainly hope it works and you good folks continue to read and enjoy. As always, thank you all for the amazing comments and readership. Your support continues to push me ever forward.
