Fb-fb:
Heh I share the concern that Edmund may not know what to do with her. She is red hot indeed. But I sense she will be an ally and not an adversary, and so they will work out together a good working arrangement.
Isabella is still somewhat naive and rude it seems. Not polished. Opinionated but not always fully informed. That may actually put her at a disadvantage with Edmund and assist in a balanced arrangement and sharing of many things.
The humor or teasing about the King of Spain was because Spain seems still more a notional concept?
Very interesting!
Rensslaer
Having already introduced Isabella, I didn't want to wait too long to bring her back. This scene seemed perfect and yet again is hopefully written in a very POV form even though Richard gets most of the the lines.
On Spain, see below.
A fine end to a chapter. Some things concluded but more setup and promised for the future.
Charles is playing a very poor hand quite well, while Isabella clearly has much to learn (about the EU IV game mechanics, because that appears to be the only reason Richard isn't putting France out of everyone's misery).
There could be an interesting race developing, will Enrique become King of Spain before Richard is recognised as King of France?
I am really pleased that the scene reads as such because there was a lot of ground to cover and yet I wanted to keep it tight...or as tight as I might. Isabella, Charles, Richard, Henry, Enrique, Norfolk...quite a few folks.
As to game mechanics, you are not wrong. However, I don't think an outright taking of the French throne would have happened like this in RL. If he had stated that as a war goal, maybe. But I tried to suggest within the scene that it would not be that easy. Again - Henry V did not take the throne himself in RL. He made a deal that the previous Charles would give it to him when he died. And then Henry died and it was passed to tiny baby Henry VI.
To be honest, given how reduced France has been, I don’t even think Coz’s England placing them under a personal union would carry too high an aggressive expansion penalty.
My suspicion is that Richard is getting up there in years and Coz isn’t sure he can make France loyal in the remaining time before the crown passes on to Edmund.
Richard isn't
that old. But the taking of all of France is a tall order no matter how reduced they have become. More below, but it has more to do with reality than desire.
Oh... Two things.
1) What's up with the flirtatiousness between Norfolk and Isabella? Is that a sign of possible future trouble, or is that merely the game played in noble circles?
2) A gentle reminder that the
Q1-2024 AARLand Choice AwAARds are entering their final 2 weeks (or less?) for voting, and not many readers of this thread have voted.
Rensslaer
Norfolk and Isabella...hmm. Could I have some thing in mind there? Maybe
Very much so. Charles is playing very dangerously just to survive. England is very much ascendant.
Is he trying to get killed so England gets wasted fighting the French remnant realms? Interesting strategy...
I can think of no other way that this Charles has lasted this long. But he has.
The Holy father would be delighted to see France die. They've been as big a thorn in the Papacy's side as the HRE, and far less viral to Papal affairs.
As for Scotland, there is nothing the Pope can do about them, and I doubt they'd care enough to try. Not when England is this powerful and has an alliance with castile as well.
I think the point Charles tried to make (since I wrote it for him) was that Europe..."Europe"...would not sit idly by while one kingdom swallowed another so easily and without trouble. The Pope may not care that "France" is gone but another would rise in its place and the balance of power disrupted. So too with the HRE or any other power surrounding these belligerents. In game terms, sure take it. But in RL I don't believe it would be that simple.
No...now I've seen the updated map, taking France piece by piece makes a lot more sense than killing the king and claiming it all right now. England would have to commit to another 50 years of war to get all the indepednants back under their control, and if they don't press those claims, they look weak.
Leaving France technically alive but practically dead is a better idea. Go home, annex Scotland or the lowlands of it, then spend the next few years creeping down to the Mediterranean. Something castile will support too. England getting the british Isles and slowly conquering France, and helping castile take aragon and the rest of iberia, is a nice symbiotic alliance.
I cannot say that will or will not happen. But claiming the throne of France was not a thing I considered at this time for reasons given above.
To call Enrique king of España makes as much sense as calling Richard king of Great Britain.
I'm at your service, my good sir.
I will surely take your word for it (and I may have attached a modern perspective on the writing) but historically Iberia was often called Hispania by the Romans. Sort of the "dig" Richard gives to Enrique. They (or he) may be over educated.
What does Aragon think of Enrique's claim to be King of Spain?
I love how Isabella totally dissed her trip and Richard in Spanish. That was hilarious. I wonder if the possibility of secret communications in a different language will become an issue later...
I cannot speak much for Aragon because they really have not done much in this game. Odd, because usually they are the trouble maker down there.
And I really appreciate you seeing that small part of the post. It was meant to build her as a character and I hope I got the Spanish correct (si o no,
@Kurt_Steiner?)
Haha!
@HistoryDude You made me look!
I have to admit, I passed over the Spanish previously because I know virtually nothing of the language. I'm better at French, and that's not saying much. But after you said this I checked it in Google translate and it's hilarious! Great work
@coz1! Sorry I didn't go to the trouble the first time.
Isabella's rant in Spanish, followed by her simple, contradictory statement in English, reminds me of a story my wife tells me. She's a nurse practitioner, and sometimes she would have to have a family member ask medical questions of their parent or relative who didn't speak English, and then the family member would relay the response. She said sometimes the non-English-speaking patient would go on for several sentences in their native language in response to a question, and the relative would say simply, "She says no."
Rensslaer
To follow on from the above, I appreciate this small tidbit being recognized. It is part of her character and I have to admit that I was/am not certain that the use of foreign languages works or does not as I have used them. It is a fine line and, of course, I would like to be as exact as I might. It has been a minute since
@The Number 9 corrected my French (too long and always appreciated) and as I have mentioned to Kurty, I hope the Spanish is as correct in both language and usage as possible. I believe it adds some verisimilitude, but I could be wrong and I imagine to a foreign (or native of those lands) speaker it may read poorly or wrongly. I like to use it, but it may not be perfected.
To all - So I have finished this chapter and then suddenly my own RL strikes. It happens. I have 8 of the 10 scenes of the next chapter already written and mostly edited, but my personal time has been greatly reduced of late and when I have it, my mind is not quite on writing. Also, the forum is doing a weird thing of late in letting me edit my first post (and some others.) But that is more annoyance than anything else.
This is some great feedback above and thank you to all. I'm not ignoring the forum. Just incredibly busy. And I want to start the next chapter soon but I want to have it in hand before I present. In the meantime, and as
@Rensslaer suggested above, we are near to the end to vote for the
Q1 AARland Choice AwAARds and voting numbers are low. If you are reading this and enjoy other works, yet have not voted? Please do so. I will say it forever - you should not feel any need to vote for this work. But please do vote for those writAARs and AARs that you enjoy. That encouragement is worth a thousand votes. A hard currency of AARland and greatly desired. It may lead to more writing, AARs and membership and that is how we thrive. Comment and vote. AARland thanks you.
