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Jordarkelf- Excellent to have you back Jordarkelf! Thank you very much for the commenting and for reading the AAR.

I hope that your holiday was relaxing and fun, we all deserve that once in a while.

Indeed, Zavie's passing was a sad affair, but the story of Aquitania must continue without its founder. He had an excellent reign, saw the succession secured and left Aquitania in a more powerful place than where he started from. I like to think that he died with a smile on his lips.

Time will only tell where our new monarch will lead. Guitard has many paths open for him to tread, which one he chooses remains a mystery. Don't forget the catchphrase of old Uncle Ben, "With great power comes great responsibility"!

If I ever discover a new breed of dinosaur, I will be naming it Guitardus Rex, just so you know.

Again, very nice to have you back with us and thanks for your continued readership!
 
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Regarding ledger pages:

Personally I don't use F11 with my games. In EU2 (and I guess EU3) it doesn't like events, for example. I use Ctrl+Print Screen to copy a screenshot to my clipboard, then 'paste' it into paint or another graphics program, make any modifications and then save. I know other people use programs that help capture screenshots and some are freeware/shareware.

When I saw your post on vassals I thought "doesn't look good, but as I recall vassal loyalty should go up pretty fast." If you're telling me that there loyalty won't be growing very fast...if at all... then Guitard's reign promises to be very interesting.
 
Catknight- Thank you very much for the help over ledger pages! If your technique works for me, I will be sure to include relavent information from it later in the AAR.

Regarding vassal loyalty, I was indeed trying to say that Guitard's first years of rule would be difficult. If I could have posted the ledger page from the time, you would have seen no vassal with a loyalty increase of over 1% a month while several had negative per month balances. See the update a little later today for how it worked out!

Thank you once again for the help over the ledger pages thing and for commenting on the AAR!
 
Opening Moves part 1

Despite his surprise at the situation confronting him in the privy council room, King Guitard quickly reached a decision regarding how he was to marry. Following his choice on October 8th 1123, messages were sent to the Aquitanian ambassadors stationed at the Capetian court in Paris to formalize the union between the young King and Eve Capet. Knowing that the future of the realm might well depend on the execution of this duty, the envoys threw themselves into their work.

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Their efforts soon bore fruit, for Guitard and his councilors were not the only ones to sense that reconciliation between the two kingdoms would be served by the marriage. Eager in his own way to be done with the costly and wearisome shadow war between Aquitania and France, King Louis graciously accepted the proposals of the Aquitanian dignitaries with minimal addendums. Age had tempered the bellicose nature that defined his youth and the troubles within the borders of his country’s old ally Germany necessitated a shift in foreign policy, perhaps one closely tied with his neighbor to the south. Eve herself would depart with an entourage of baggage and retainers for her new home in Bordeaux within a month’s time.

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While they would not be united in any formal alliance, trade barriers that had stood between the two lands since Aquitanian independence fifteen years previous would be slowly dissolved to allow for increased commerce and economic cooperation between the states. Threat of war between the cousin cultures, which had hung over both lands for a decade and a half, was generally forgotten overnight as rumor gave way to fact regarding the union between the ruling houses.

Within Aquitania itself, King Guitard waited anxiously as the days for his bride’s arrival slowly passed. Numerous gifts of state from great personages and city councils across the realm flooded into Bordeaux castle in anticipation of the event, their givers usually attaching some note addressed to the King. A somewhat powerful Spanish baron’s well wishes and gift of a set of gilded plates attached to a request to have the King’s support in a feud over property with a monastery was an unexceptional example. Responding to his mother’s advice that a sign of generosity would endear the young King to the great nobles, Guitard actually returned most of the items sent, claiming that the support and loyalty of all his subjects would be more valuable than any gift he could ever hope to receive.

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As Eve’s date of arrival drew closer, preparations for a great feast in celebration of the event were proceeding apace. Faced with the large bill that the event demanded, Guitard’s chief steward, Flora of Bordeaux, recommended the implementation of a special one time tax on the peasant communities around the capital to help finance it. Guitard acquiesced to the advice and many peasant families were surprised to find that an extra five percent of their newly harvested crops would be taken in order to show their devotion and thankfulness to the de Toulouse line. Luckily, violence did not erupt in the local municipalities, most peasants took the arbitrary tax in stride and only a few more starved in the winter than was normal.

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Marc Kerne, King of Brittany, took the opportunity of the upcoming wedding to show his support and friendship to the Aquitanian throne. His ambassadors at Bordeaux quickly offered to renew the alliance between the two states as Guitard held court in the days before his wedding. Taking into consideration the growing power of the Breton throne in the south of Iberia and the help that such a position would offer in the event of another war with the Muslim powers there, Guitard replied that the alliance would be acceptable.

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The initial meeting between Guitard and Eve was cool, neither spoke the other’s language well and Eve’s accent made most of her sentences indecipherable to Guitard. It little mattered for the ceremony itself and the couple quickly settled into married life in their own way. Each kept mostly to their own, having little contact beyond state functions or the bedroom and it seemed likely to remain that way, since Guitard’s wife showed no interest in taking a more active role in the running of her new home. Good news arrived as 1124 dawned, for it was clear that Eve was carrying a child.

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The prospect of an heir so early in his reign set Guitard’s spirits to the highest they had been since his ascension. Events within the realm remained as stable as could be expected; no major crisis had emerged after the first harrowing months of his rule. While there were still several vassals, namely the Bishop of Zaragoza and Lleida, that remained seemingly halfhearted in their devotion to the new King, none was in danger of rebelling against the ruling authority. With these circumstances in mind and no longer troubled by the nightmares and day dreams of his father’s last minutes, King Guitard engaged in a series of policies that would indelibly leave their mark on the entirety of his reign.

In order to further ensure his stature in the eyes of his vassals, the Aquitanian monarch took the crown of the Kingdom of Navarre in addition to his other titles. Indeed, little but humility had stopped Zavie from adding the moniker to his name, but Guitard was easily persuaded by his mother and other councilors that the move would increase his prestige immensely. Setting aside a substantial sum for the ceremony itself, Guitard was crowned King of Navarre and the Basques within the Pamplona cathedral in the spring of 1124.

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News also arrived regarding Guitard’s brother, who he could recall only shadowy memories of before the second child was sent to the monastery. The monks congratulated Guitard on the recent events in his Kingdom and reported that Guiges was continuing his education at a prodigious rate. The youth had reapplied himself to the study of scripture and was now quite an authority on many fine points of ecclesiastical law. King Guitard was pleased with the news that his sibling was successful in his chosen field, but could not think within himself what to do with his estranged brother once the education was complete.

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Serving at court was currently out of the question, the Pope had recently sent a churchman of vast experience to the court of Bordeaux to finally replace Agostino da Romano, years after the former diocese bishop was appointed to the titles of Zaragoza and Lleida. Joccelin de Caumont was not exactly what Guitard had supposed a Bishop to be, a sense of unease over the man’s seemingly lightheartedness over several points of canon was troubling to the religious youth. But none could doubt the man’s experience and suitability to life at court; Guiges would not be assuming the man’s position anytime soon unless accident or age put an end to Joccelin.

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The months ticked by with Eve’s pregnancy growing nearer to term. Guitard continued to have limited contact with the French princess, most of his information coming from the physicians that oversaw the progression of her condition. Considering her state, it was forbidden to Guitard to lay with his wife and the restriction was driving the humours of his teenage body wild. While not an overly lustful person by nature and normally quite devout, he reacted on impulse when he caught sight of an attractive maid in his wife’s service. Weeks passed filled with the maid’s late night visits to his chambers, but cautious maneuvering seemed to limit the chances for Guitard’s wife to discover the adultery.

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It was not long before the King ended the affair and the maid set back to her regular duties in service to his wife, who remained seemingly unaware of any dalliance. After a difficult delivery, July of 1124 saw the arrival of Guitard’s first child, a daughter that he christened Margarida. Eve survived any danger of after birth fever and remained in high spirits, promising her husband a son the next time. The gender of the child was a disappointment, but Guitard was still young and his wife had proven herself fertile, time would certainly deliver him an heir.

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Within the Queen’s service, a maid began to show the first signs of pregnancy.​
 
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Yayz, the firts bastardizing!
Onwards with indulgencies! :D

Ah well, did you mod Navarra into the game?
And why do the bishops sent by pope allways suck. :D
 
Enewald- Great to have you comment as always!

Yep, Guitard has got himself a bastard on the way. How will it effect matters within the realm? Keep watching and see!

Navarre is a recreatable kingdom with the newer versions of Jordarkelf's More Kingdoms mod for DVIP. I had thought about creating it earlier, but Zavie was happy to just have things under control in Aquitania. Guitard will be a little more tempted by opportunities like this, since he has the proud trait.

You should write the Vatican regarding your last question, I don't have all the answers!

Thanks once again for reading and commenting!
 
Treppe- Welcome to Aarquitania and thanks for the comment!

Having a bastard before any male legitimate issue will indeed be a factor in my AAR in the future. All sorts of possibilities open up from civil war to infanticide! I certainly intend to make use of the little bastard when he arrives.

I hope that you continue to enjoy the story and thanks again for stopping by and commenting!
 
Ode to Zavie

O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,

You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.​

(The poem is "Oh Captain, my Captain" by Walt Whitman. It was written for and about Abraham Lincoln shortly after his assassination in 1865.)


I'm sorry I missed the poll on marriage for Guitard. I would've voted for the Godwinson girl. She was clearly the best choice from several angles - best stats by far - best traits - and her family would have been natural allies in their hostility to the Capets.

Regards,
Eikinskjaldi
 
Eikinskjaldi- Wonderful to have you back and thanks for the great poem and commment!

I myself have never been a very poetic person, but a few here and there have wormed their way into my heart. Perhaps my favorite is After Blenheim, about the consequences of a battle in the War of Spanish Succession. It is just very moving to me. "Oh Captain, my Captain" seems very good as well and fits its subject very well! Zavie would have been proud being honored in such a way. Thank you for posting it.

I honestly thought that the readers would go for the Godwineson as well for many of the reasons you mentioned. Eve Capet seduced them with her charming face! We will just have to see what happens next, wives do die in childbirth after all.

Thanks again for continuing to read and for commenting!
 
A daughter and a bastard?

Mary and Richmond, Tudoristically speaking? :D

Count Lake said:
Perhaps my favorite is After Blenheim, about the consequences of a battle in the War of Spanish Succession.

As the duke of Wellington said once: there is nothing worse that loosing a battle but winning one. Carnage and all that.
 
Kurt Steiner- Thank you very much for reading and commenting!

The situation with both Guitard's mistake and his legitimate daughter will hopefully not get too out of hand. The stability of the nation could suffer greatly as a result of his inpropriety! My update later today should add to this cauldron of theory and conjecture.

I myself, along with what I think are many others here on the forums, have a romantic and idealized image of war in our minds. Battle for me has always been watching pixels on a computer screen or a Hollywood production. The reality of any battle is surely much more terrible than these media can portray. I earnestly hope that I am never in a position to see the carnage of war firsthand.

Thanks once more for your readership and commenting!
 
Opening Moves part 2

Even while unaware of the consequences of his dalliance with Eve’s maid, Guitard soon found himself facing other challenges in the summer and fall of 1124. While spectating a modest tourney laid out on the fields outside of Bordeaux, King Guitard rose to refresh himself from the humid and still air by walking to one of the corners of the stand holding his dais and many other respectable nobles.

While passing behind the Duke of Aquitaine’s spot, Guitard thought that he could make out one of the party offer an insult subjecting the boy king’s ability to produce a son “on that French tart” to doubt. His hackle rising, the King immediately demanded to know who spoke such offense to their liege and whether he was man enough to admit the deed and accept punishment. The exchange became quite a scene for the rest of the gathered nobility and even the participants themselves, with the Duke insisting that no one had much such remarks and the King adamant that one of the group was guilty and would live only long enough to fully regret his tongues slip. A physical confrontation seemed to be in the making.

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Those seated nearby gently restrained the King and interjected themselves between him and the Duke until the temper flare subsided. Regaining control of his faculties, Guitard directly asked the Duke make good on his affront. Answering neutrally, Doumenge de Caumont regretted that his liege has misheard a remark and the trouble it had caused. Hardly satisfied, Guitard again railed against the Duke and it was likely only the latter’s quick departure and the soothing words of the King’s mother that saw the confrontation end quietly. Nonetheless, King Guitard would carry a strong sense of enmity towards the Duke for years.

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Weeks after the event, Guitard’s court in Bordeaux was visited by Raimond Trencavel, bastard half brother to Rainers Trencavel and lord of Montpellier. Their meeting during the lord’s audience with the King set both down the path of friendship as the Count’s wit and charisma was made evident when he argued his side in a land dispute with a minor baron. While dining with the Monarch, Raimond continued to work his way into the King’s graces by retelling stories of his times spent with Zavie on campaign, stories that Guitard stood entranced by.

After the matter to which Raimond had come to Bordeaux to decide was settled in the Count’s favor, Guitard insisted that the man stay to spend time with him in hunting. Accepting the offer, Raimond soon found himself listening to the King’s account of the tourney affair. The Count stood fully in support of Guitard, saying that he personally knew the Duke of Aquitaine from his years in battle and could not think of a man less suited for command or lordship. His own feelings justified by Raimond’s response, King Guitard found himself considering the Count among his closest friends. The departure of Raimond a week later was prefaced by a generous farewell feast and promises to return as soon as events allowed.

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Within the court, inconvenience struck once more when the head steward Flora of Bordeaux was found dead in her chambers one morning after being late for a council meeting. Initially suspecting foul play and murder despite Flora’s lack of rivals, Guitard ordered a full inquiry into the death and banned any from leaving or entering the castle until the matter was settled. The physicians soon reported that they could find no trace of poison and declared the death a natural act regardless of her relative young age. Thankful that no murderer lay among the courtiers, Guitard lifted the ban on travel and set to finding a replacement.

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Alais of Bordeaux, no relation to the deceased or Guitard’s mother, was promptly implemented as the successor to Flora. Only moderately skilled at finance, she was still the best option left to the King considering the rash of recent deaths at that position. When informed of her promotion, she promised to conform to her duties as best she was able and to serve the King loyally.

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Among the first projects she implemented was a program designed to irrigate and dam some on the streams and rivulets that crossed the King’s holdings in Rioja. A months long initiative using workers gathered from the peasant stock of the surrounding countryside saw immediate results. The marshy land that was cleared was sure to be quite fertile and productive, aiding the tax output of that land.

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It was early in the winter of 1124 that Guitard first became aware of the growing crisis his indiscretion earlier in the year had caused. Approached privately by his spy master Ramonda de Provence, the King was informed that a maid in service to his wife was until recently becoming noticeably rounded in her figure and was presumed pregnant by her friends and acquaintances. Taking the initiative, Ramonda had used her contacts within the Queen’s servants to discern from the girl that she thought herself to be carrying a royal bastard and was terrified that the affair would come to light.

The king’s face blanching at the revelation was all the proof Ramonda needed. Insisting that the situation could be taken care of, she laid out several options for the young monarch. First, herbs could be administered to induce a quick labor from which the child would be unlikely to survive. Second, the maid and her child could be moved to safety and have the babe in security with none being the wiser of its parentage. Lastly, the child could be kept at court and the pregnancy hidden from others by passing it off as illness, a poor excuse but enough scullions and servants had engaged in outside affairs that the maid’s would hopefully attract little attention if all the players kept their silence.

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Guitard was undecided for minutes, wondering aloud about the consequences each path would engender. Fearful of the wrath God might visit upon him for seeking to kill his own child; he rejected that option straight away. Regardless of the circumstances, the babe would be his own flesh, an heir in blood if not name to the de Toulouse’s. Lastly, if he was in some way unable to sire a legitimate son, this bastard might have a chance to rise beyond his inglorious birth; such an eventuality was troubling for Guitard to imagine. With Ramonda’s assurances of secrecy, he choose to have her make arrangements for the maid to be kept in the castle so that the child could be watched and kept under subtle guard.

The bastard son of Guitard was born in the first days of 1125.

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Enewald- Sacre Bleu! Your right about Enri being a slightly evil name, it is one of those that conjures up the image of a manic French mime or something. Glad you like it!

Thanks very much for the comment.

Another update will be here tommorow or so, thanks to everyone for reading!
 
Opening Moves part 3

It was a blessing for the security of Ramonda’s enterprise when the maid carrying Guitard’s bastard died from a fever brought on by her delivery. Seemingly, she had lost too much blood in the effort and was able to linger for only a few days in delirious pain before succumbing to the effects. It was a much too common occurrence of the times, new mothers failing to live long enough to gain the joy of maternity following months of preparation and hours of intense pain. The death raised few questions and none contemplated that the slow poison disguised in the water Ramonda’s agents among the midwives had used to cool the girl’s thirst had helped the process along.

Such action had not been mandated by the King, but Ramonda considered it essential nonetheless, the fewer players in the conspiracy the better and the girl had been foolish enough to get involved anyway. Matters would be less complicated now that there was no worry of the girl speaking out or demanding recognition from Guitard. The spy mistress had already set events in motion to see to the child’s future. A young unmarried nobleman of the court, known for his liberal sexual attitude and on whom Ramonda had plenty of blackmail to ensure his cooperation, quickly acknowledged the newborn child as his bastard and set to take care of young Enri's upkeep. Within the court, the fruit of the King’s indiscretion would never be far from the eyes of her agents.

The whole chain of events created only a modest stir within the court, with the courtiers quickly accepting the storyline established by Ramonda with careful foresight. Most commented that it had only been a matter of time before such a thing happened given the nobleman’s established history of seducing servant girls. Eve herself decried the fact that one of her maids had proved so loose in her Christian virtue, but immediately set herself to finding a replacement. King Guitard, anxious over how close events had come to disaster, paid as little public attention to the spectacle as was reasonable; the child would be raised not knowing his true parentage.

Events soon settled back to a comfortable norm. The Queen, having been devoted to a scripture based education at the court of her father, continued her study in her new home. Seeking the balance of how to lead a humble Christian life as wife and mother while also serving as one of the central figures of court, Eve was advised by her private confessor and members of the church community within Bordeaux. This interaction shaped her personality to a new level and she readily set about ensuring proper devotional forms for herself and the household staff.

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Spring in 1125 brought with it welcome news to the capital. Eve was once again pregnant and could barely contain her excitement as she brought the news to her royal husband. More than a year spent in Bordeaux had improved her command of the Occitan language significantly and King Guitard praised his wife at the news. The wheels began spinning in his mind shortly after she left, how would Enri be handled if the child was male? Would that not undercut one of the primary reasons he had decided to have the child kept close at court? In the end, he decided the matter would be dealt with in time after he knew the results of the pregnancy and could speak with Ramonda.

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Guiges de Toulouse, returning to his place of birth after more than a decade of time spent outside the capital, was greeted by the King in a fashion befitting their close relation. The two de Toulouse brothers embraced warmly in their first meeting in as much time while courtiers seeing the two together felt as though they were watching twins so close was the familiar resemblance. Walking with a noticeable limp and seemingly uptight with his new surroundings, Guiges remained mostly mute as he sat next to his sibling during the feast and entertainments conjured to celebrate his return to court. With the reunion came a matter of difficulty for the King, how to properly employ his brother in the coming years. The matter would have to be taken up later as Guitard came to better understand his brother’s capabilities.

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A more pressing crisis was manifesting itself in the city of Bordeaux. Church officials arrived before King Guitard in an audience to beg their liege to call for an end to the use of church squares as gathering places for peasant markets. They complained that the noise and refuse created by the events drove those within the churches to easy distraction and tread dangerously close to open commerce within the structures themselves. Another party representing the villages around Bordeaux that organized the markets retorted that the squares were by far the easiest to access from the city gates and that none were advocating the selling of items within the sacred ground of the churches themselves. Called upon to rule, Guitard chose to support the Christian faith and sided with the clergy, ordering the markets to be moved to subsidiary plazas and away from places of worship.

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Within the court, Guitard was confronted with yet another problematic situation. Rosa of Bordeaux, his mother and chief advisor in all things since his ascension to the throne two years ago, approached her son about how she greatly desired a place of retreat nearby the capital. Her efforts in assisting him in recent times, she said, had tried her aged body greatly and a manse close by would give her the chance to rest when court matters became to much to handle. Eager to please his mother and deeply thankful for the advice she had imparted during his reign, set about ordering the repair of one of the family’s country estates outside Bordeaux. Sparing no expense, work crews quickly renovated the abused manor and King Guitard was ready to present the furbished residence to his mother before the onset of winter.

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With his rule generally stabilized and the last threats of direct rebellion neutralized for the most part, King Guitard was ready to begin his first round of military affairs. Assisted in the most basic sense by the overly morose Marshal Girad de Montesquiou, Guitard quickly planned a small campaign for the next year. The independent sheikdoms of Empuries (brown) and Calatyud (dark green), both south and to the east of the bulk of Aquitanian territory were selected as the targets. They were formally allied with one another, yet even united they could not hope to stand before even a fraction of the Kingdom’s power. Presenting his proposed plan to session of the council, Guitard quickly ordered supplies in the border territories to be laid in for the campaign coming in the following spring.

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The rest of the year passed slowly for Guitard, waiting restlessly for the results of Eve’s second pregnancy and what effect a male heir might have on his hidden bastard. The time finally came shortly after the turn of the year when Eve collapsed with the first pains of labor. Nearly a day later, with the King exhausted from pacing and lack of refreshment, a physician arrived to tell him the latest news from the birthing room.

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Oi, gratz for the boy! :p

And more muslim conquests coming... Kingdoom of Aragorn? :D

I never thought that having bastards would be such a bit problem... in my game they just keep coming, no can do. :p