The Kingdom of Aarquitania- Alternate History with DVIP

Except from “No Rule But Our Own- A Comprehensive Study Of Aquitania’s Middle Ages” by Gervais Terceil, Chapter Three- Deceptions and Consequences​

Compared to the restless years of recent memory, filled with interminable war and other disasters, the next short period of Aquitania’s existence saw both the realm and its monarch generally at ease. In 1117 peace had settled across the land and, for the most part, the entire population shared in the fruits of the new calm. Trade returned to the cities and towns, new resources were exploited and the harvest was especially bountiful.



In order to celebrate the ten years since he had broken with the French crown, King Zavie organized another grand tournament to attract noble knights and free riders from across the realm. Held on an expansive pasturage near the old de Toulouse manse outside the city of Toulouse, the tournament offered plenty of entertainment and excitement for all involved. It was a chance for Zavie to meet with his more distant vassals and reestablish lines of friendship that might have been frayed by years of neglect. The Bishop of Albret, with whom the King had developed a close friendship, sat with the royal family as they watched the events.

The highlight of the competition was Girad de Montesquiou’s supreme skill in the joust event. The Aquitanian marshal coasted through all competitors by unseating several well respected knights and earning a powerful, well trained black charger and the King’s own compliment when he won the final match. As the festivities wrapped up, King Zavie felt subtly proud of himself for having recognized the young warrior’s talent back at the siege of Navarre.



Following the magnificent occasion, Zavie eventually settled back into the routine of ruling. That provided its own share of stress inducing events especially in regards to his chief stewardess, Alix de Baux. At council meetings, the King was constantly reminded by her of the incredible skill and effort it had taken to organize the grand spectacle of the tournament. She incessantly dropped remarks of how the running of the Kingdom’s finances depended on her superlative skills and Zavie knew she was right, none other in the court could match her ability to squeeze money from his holdings.



Taking the hint, Aquitania’s monarch ordered a rare text detailing the running of an estate recently acquired by Toulouse’s library copied and bound in the finest leather. He then made a great show of presenting it to Alix at their next meeting. While the item was of significant value, the stewardess seemed somewhat disappointed yet thanked her liege all the same.



It was not long before another event occurred to shake Zavie’s restful state of mind. Mateu Count of Lusignan, a young man recently ascended to his position wrote to his liege broaching the subject of a possible union between himself and Azalais. When the King first heard this message presented at a council meeting, he needed a few moments to restrain the growing anger within him. How dare the impudent whelp breach such a subject, considering the circumstances of Azalais and the continued upbringing of her bastard child!



Years had now passed since the late night meeting and the shame he still felt was a biting wound when the subject was brought up. Azalais had continued her isolation, rarely to be seen outside of the cluster of rooms he had set aside for her. Rosa’s agents within her serving staff reported that the child was a normal boy, active, growing and eager to play and explore his own small habitat. Zavie had seen his grandson even less than his daughter, sometimes running through the manicured hedges of the courtyard next to the rooms he shared with his mother.

As he thought the situation over, his anger towards the Count cooled. He was young, leader of a weak region and most likely ambitious. A marriage with the King’s daughter, no matter how ill favored she might be at court, would certainly do much to increase his prestige and standing within his own smaller circle of associates. Regardless, Zavie had a negative reply fashioned, citing his daughters uneven temper and illness as impossible barriers to the union.

The rest of the year passed indifferently, each day rolling to the next in an endless wave of meetings, decisions and plots. 1118 would be an active year for subterfuge, with Zavie authorizing several secret plans designed to undermine the Capet’s to the north. The King knew that regardless of any peace that might reign between the two counties on the world stage, this sort of low brow conflict would continue to be waged.

Firstly, Zavie gave the go ahead to a plot designed to sabotage a massive French irrigation project in their northern territories. Large amounts of capital had been sunk into the endeavor and every delay that the Aquitanian agents forced through the misplacing of orders, destruction of tools and bribing of officials set the project back months.



Additionally, Aquitanian spies had made contact with what could loosely be described as pirates preying on shipping within the English Channel and based in independent Avaranches. A substantial payment was all that was needed for an upsurge in attacks against French coastal shipping, another blow against the security of the Capetian state. It would take hundreds of ducats for them to replace the lost goods and form an effective defense against the raids.


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The year continued to bring good news and welcome opportunities with it. A landless knight of some martial acclaim was received by King Zavie after being told that the man was seeking a place within the household. If the King would grant the knight some land to establish himself on, the man would be happy to train Zavie’s son Guitard in combat. Ensuring through his sources that the man was no charlatan, Aquitania’s King agreed to the terms.



Zavie himself watched many of the lessons. Guitard was almost a complete beginner at the art, since most of his classes dealt with court based skills like conversation and diplomacy. Yet the boy was a quick learner and by the end of several weeks, he could see a marked improvement in his stance and technique. Proud of his son’s achievement, Zavie ordered a full mail suit to Guitard’s height and even practiced with the boy himself several times after the knight had departed.

In regards to his other son, Guiges, the King was also the recipient of excellent news. The monks of the monastery he studied within were in awe of the child’s ability for memorization and comprehension. In fact, the child had recently debated the fine points of Christian theology with a class of novices years his senior and come out on top. The abbot of the monastery wished to have the boy strenuously challenged in order to bring out the full potential of his genius. While he had not visited or seen his second son for over five years, Zavie still felt a well of pleasure rise within him.



To the south, the King’s holdings in Rioja were experiencing a steady pace of growth and economic expansion. A significant deposit of salt, essential for the storing of food for the winter, had been discovered and was in the process of being exploited while the other industries were also doing well. Alix de Baux’s careful handling of the regions growth was beginning to show real promise.



In a piece of international news, Rosa brought Zavie’s attention to developments in Scotland. The old King, crazed beyond any hope of recovery, had finally passed. In a surprising twist his last will, recovered from before his detachment with reality, stated that his lands would be split between his son and daughter, with the daughter holding the crown until her death. A queen now ruled Scotland, her brother controlling several key territories in the center of the Kingdom and retaining his Moray title.

The year faded once more and its turn also represented a shift in the King’s providence. The first issue dealt with the Kingdom’s chief stewardess, Alix de Baux. One of the critical objectives Zavie had assigned her was the relief and restructuring of Navarre province. Over the past years, her programs had seen the effects of its wartime occupation fade, then disappear. Life once again returned to the shattered land.



The problem lay in Alix’s methods. A cartel of influential merchants based in Bordeaux had slipped the stewardess significant cutbacks for preferential treatment in the assigning of reconstruction contracts. After the provinces recovery, these cartels had been in a prime position to completely dominate the local economy. Strong arm tactics, sabotage and even murder were used to secure their lofty arrangement.

The peasants of the countryside suffered the most. Their markets were limited and all controlled by the same merchant guilds that paid minimal prices for the farmers products. Complaints had recently been filed by several village mayors urgently requesting the King’s attention in the matter. Presented with the facts but unable to prove anything decisively against Alix, King Zavie sided with the peasants and ordered the monopolies outlawed.



Later that year, Rosa brought another matter to the King’s notice. In years past, a claim for the de Toulouse family on the title on Angouleme had been discovered. It was a tenuous thread based on the discovery of a single unverified document, yet it had been a possible weapon to use in the face of rebellion or an uncooperative count in the region. Rosa told Zavie how he would need to shore up the claim by other means if he wished to have it maintained, specifically through forgeries. Zavie decided against the measure, seeing no need to fret so much about a claim for such a poor and unimportant province.



As 1119 drew to a close, another minor turbulence arrived at the court. For years, Raolf Duke of Gascony had refused to shift his position on ruling law from the traditional custom to match Zavie’s more direct and authoritarian approach. The issue arose once again when the Duke refused to order the collection of tolls on a renovated bridge that had been customarily free from fees. The King was distinctly upset at the situation and relations cooled as a result of the series of angry letters that passed between the two.



In an effort to promote reconciliation, Zavie later invited the Duke and his family to attend Christmas at the capital, followed by a feast to repair their divisions. The invitation was extended to many other peers of the realm and several decided to attend. Christmas mass was heard with all due piety, then a sequence of entertainments and dinners were held over the following week.

It was at the end of one of these feasts that Zavie decided to take a walk through the eerily quiet corridors of the rest of the castle. Several guests had already made their way back to their chambers and would be departing on the morrow for their own fiefs. The entire staff was focused on the entertainment and food preparation, so the corridors were abnormally dismal and lifeless. Wondering aimlessly and followed at a short distance by his omnipresent guards, the King reflected on the past three years.

They had been peaceful, for one, no wars with any foreign power or infighting between the fiefdoms, one must certainly be thankful for that. In all, the land was generally stable, prosperous and safe. The few matters that had disrupted this tranquility had been quickly dealt with and offered no real threat to the security of the realm.

Passing a branching corridor, Zavie heard the distinct sound of heavy breathing. Pausing in his step, the King tensed himself and quickly looked back at his guards. Both were coming along slowly and, as they approached, they seemed to hear the noise as well. It continued as the three men keened their ears this way and that to try and make out more to the sound. The possibilities for its source were limited and an intruder in this deserted district of the castle was likely to be unfriendly.

Zavie, after a moments hesitation, signaled his men silently to explore the corridor. Both disappeared into the flickering torchlight and around a bend ten feet down the hall. Leaning against one of the stone pillars slightly damp with perspiration, the King heard the sound of a door being opened, then a pair of terrified screams mixed with the guards yelling. Sounds of a struggle ensued and confusion set in for Zavie. He yelled at the top of his voice for the household guards and the corridor was awash with armed men within seconds.

The King pointed down the corridor to the first arrivals and ordered them to find the cause of the interference. Others in the guard enveloped the King and set to scanning the area for potential threats. Many of the feasting party were arriving as well, drawn by the noise and ruckus. A significant crowd had gathered by the time the initial guards and their reinforcements, one of them limping markedly, dragged out the undressed Duke of Poitou and Bourbon along with a still screaming Azalais.