Time didn't bring anything but trouble for Silvester, king of England. Silvester now aged 49 was aware of his growing madness. Or so he thought. He knew that he couldn't keep the kingdom together, and that's why he decided to do something drastic. He decided to abdicate. But that's where his brilliance came to an end because his madness came back. Instead of abdicating in his sons favour, giving his heir time to age up, he decided to kill himself. A civil war wasn't a possibility, Nero was the only male child of Silvester and Victoria, the people were satisfied and the nobles would be acting against themselves if they put England at war. And so, the rule of Silvester the mad came to an end. The mad king threw himself off the magicians tower which brought even more repercusions. After his death, Mustapha the black was executed because the nobles believed it was him that caused the suicide. In truth, they knew perfectly well Silvester was mad and very unstable, it was just a convenient situation to rid themselves of an undesirable man.
Nero, aged 15, returned from king Stéphanes court in mourning. With him came 3 men that he befriended while in Paris and which had no reason to stay in the french court. Jean de Lusignan, son of an impoverished french noble, Albrecht von Winterthur, bastard son of a german prince and Rodrigo D' Porto, castillian noble in exile were friends of Nero, and they would become important figures in both his and Englands lifes.
At the time of his ascension, Nero was in grief over both his mentor and his father. That was one of the factors that made him leave the matters of the state to the regency council which was in theory to help him rule for another year but in practice, because of his mourning, it ruled over England completely. As months passed Nero accepted the loss of two important figures in his life and turned to living on the edge. Young, rich and powerful he lived as he saw fit. Some say he did it to forget, some that he was taking life into his own hands for the first time. In either case, Nero became a thrill-seeker and mingling with the nobles, hunting and feasts were his pastimes. Two years passed as the king was living the life, and it was after those two years that a historic event happened. A thing that would have a pernament effect on the world. The nobles of England have petitioned the young king to sign a charter that would reinforce the nobles right, establish the three caste system in England again by making all of the original merchant caste as nobles with their own houses and official coats of arms, destroying most connections to serfdom established in Europe, turning all of the peasants into freemen that owed little service to their lords. This Great Charter also limited the kings rights although he was still above everyone but God. It's role was to protect the rights of the nobles, the merchants and the peasants. This charter was written in latin and is officialy known as Magna Carta. The king quickly agreed and signed it, understanding that he would be able to focus even less on the affairs of the realm.
Magna Carta
1176 Anno Domini
Three years passed and all was well. Nero, now 20 years old, was slowly changing his lifestyle to a more regal one but he was still a wild soul. The Magna Carta improved lifes of many people in England and things were well. But the king wasn't a man for peace. And so, Nero started a very long preparation for what was to be the biggest invasion and war the world has seen. He started to prepare a fleet and army to invade France. The slow preparation begun and it was to continue for 3 years before the phase of attack would begin. The nobles had no choice but to agree, they proposed a document that said every noble had to agree to a call of arms at least once every 5 years or be punished by both the king and the other nobles. Soldiers from all over England were being trained and equipped, outlaws were being trained and formed into special brigades with promises of amnesty after the war, mercenaries from as far away as Greece were brought to England to take place in the event to come. It was also then that the famous longbow brigades were created. Equipped with top-notch marksman longbows based on the welsh bows, they had the best bows in all of europe and maybe the whole world.
The longbow brigades or the "Welshmen" were a key figure in the war
As the armies ammased and the country prepared itself for war, Nero looked for allies. People that could help him in toppling the Franks. While the Holy Roman Empire was far from interested, being centered on the east and north instead of west, the Roman empire in Spain was a possible ally with lots of potential. The fact that the Byzantine emperor was a young man very alike to Nero, also hoping to gain power and wealth at the expense of its powerful neighbour. Nero was to travel to Cordoba by one of the newly created fleets with great gifts for the emperor Leo Dukas. An alliance would be benefitial for both nations but it were the medevial times, and the first impression of a nation kings could be more important for the talks than what the nations could gain.
----1169 A.D.----
Leo couldn't believe what has happened. Noone would be able to. In mere days, he went from being a prisoner sentenced for hanging to a ruler. While he was having his last meal, his father died because of his heart. And because the young empire hasn't really done anything on the succesion part, he was the heir to the empire. And as crazy as it may seem, the people supported him. He couldn't believe his luck.
In mere days Leo Dukas was crowned Basileius ton Romaion and became the ruler. And it has to be said he took the task placed before him with all of his heart. While he was still a care free, indulgent rogue, he also became an emperor that thanks to the extent of roman feudalism and burecracy didn't have many tasks. An emperor that wanted to take his nation to a better future, because as everyone knows, power and wealth are the best drugs. When you have a little, you always want more.