1169-1170: Walking in the footsteps of a legend
Reinhard inherited the Throne of Lithuania from his father, the Holy City of Jerusalem, a handful of vassals, and a tremendously high expectation from all of Europe. Reinhard wanted none of it. He had come to hate his father over the years, and hated the Crusades that destroyed him. Still, Reinhard was a wise ruler, and knew that failing to live up to expectations could bode great ill for him and his family. Reinhard had a particularly great expectation placed upon him by the Church. After the great number of people brought to Christ by the point of Folkmar's sword, the Chruch expected at least as much devotion from his son- particularly since the Church had chosen to cannonize Folkmar shortly after his disappearance.
Reinhard wanted to have nothing to do with crusading but he had to appease the Church, which he sincerely respected and believed in. His solution was both dramatic and pleasing to the Holy See- Reinhard gave away every piece of land he held save for the original lands of Luxembourg to the Mother Church. Eight Bishoprics were formed over a period of a few months. The Church was pleased.
Following that, Reinhard set about securing the loyalty of the few new vassals he had acquired from his father. King Reinhard's plesant disposition and impressive bearing quickly won them over. King Reinhard also settled peacefully with the remainder of the Russian lords that had rebelled against Folkmar. Most of them were blood kin to Reinhard, and all of them had acted justifiably in Reinhard's mind. He bore them no ill will, and pledged not to seek their lands.
During this period, Reinhard succumbed to his one weakness- his love of women. While touring new vassals and hosting ambassadors from the Church, Reinhard found himself drawn to a beautiful young handmaiden of a visiting noble. Roughly nine months later, that handmaiden returned with a son. Reinhard took mercy upon the boy, and brought him into his household. Reinhard's wife, a meek and forgiving woman said nothing. Reinhard had achnowledged several bastards during the course of their marriage. She accepted that Reinhard would never be faithful, though he knew it to be wrong, and lived with the consequences.
1170-1175: Reopening old wounds
Reinhard was no soldier. He had been trained in the Church as a scholar, a thinker, and a speaker. But Reinhard was also a Luxembourg. He knew from the stories told about his ancestors that the sword was not the only way a Kingdom could grow. A well-placed word or a clevel phrase could expand one's realm, as could a common enemy. Reinhard had both in the form of his family's old nemesis- the King of Germany.
Europe was impressed by the new King's quick transition and easy settlement of lingering hostilities against the Throne of Lithuania. They were further impressed at how quickly Reinhard moved from soothing ruffled feathers in his own court to inflaming the hearts of the rebel Dukes of northern Germany. Folkmar sent out envoys to German Dukes and Counts who, like the Luxembourgs, had broken ties from the so-called King of Germany. Though many were hesitant to bend knee before a new King, Reinhard's skill with words and reputation eventually wore down their reservations. 1171 saw Duke Tasilo of Schwabia, Count Albert of Metz, and Duke Rupert of Saxony pledge their fealty to Reinhard de Luxembourg. Reinhard pledged to defend them from the continued threats of conquest from the King of Germany. He also pledged to wrest from the unworthy hands of the House of Frankonia the very title that he used to claim the right to rule over them.
Following the swift expansion of his lands, Reinhard realized that he needed to take time. Europe's opinions had shifted from admiration to trepedation, and many began to whisper that Reinhard would make himself King solely to glorify his own name. This caused the Count of Metz to think twice about his oath o fealty to Luxembourg. Reinhard caught word of Count Albert's doubts, and before the Count could act on any doubts he might have had Reinhard had managed to wring out of him an admission that Reinhard himself would be a worthy Lord for the people of Metz. Albert realized only too late that his admission had opened the door for the King of Lithuania and Duke of Luxembourg to claim Metz for his own. After that, Albert kept quiet and supported Reinhard without complaint.
Reinhard did acquire one more vassal in 1172. Count Rudger of Bearn had a chance meeting with Reinhard at a tournament, and Reinhard mentioned to the Count his intention to challenge the House of Frankonia for the right to the title King of Germany. Count Rudger had long been an enemy of the Franconians, and lept at the chance to bite his thumb at them. Count Rudger soon became close friends with King Reinhard, and Reinhard gave him a ducal title as a sign of his esteem.
During this period of consolidation, Reinhard spent much time away from Lithuania. Reinhard's eldest son, Lothar, had been born from his first marriage and had no particular bond with his step-mother. Lothar had only one older sibling, his half-brother Agathe, but Agathe was both iligitimate and insane. All of Lothar's other siblings were too young, and all of the courtiers of Luxembourg were too intimidated by the young Prince's stature. Lothar began to feel isolated by his father, and developed several bad habits in order to incur his father's anger. Lothar felt his father's wrath was better than no attention at all, and thus began acting in a lazy and indolent manner. Unfortunately, even that failed to draw a response from Reinhard, as the King had another new son, who he named Gerlach, to fawn over soon after Lothar began displaying his bad habits.
Reinhard began to work the Cardinals of the Holy See, playing off the tremendous respect the Church held for his father. In January of 1174, Reinhard's plan proved successful. Reinhard had managed to buy or win the loyalty of the majority of the College of Cardinals, and thus gained a measure of control over the Papacy itself. Reinhard's first excersize of power came later that year in April, when the Pope died. Reinhard managed to engineer the eletion of his cousin, Mattieu de Luxembourg, the Bishop of West Dvina. Mattieu became the 6th Luxembourg to set upon the Throne of Peter. Reinhard's control over Rome only grew after that.
Reinhard's power waxed even more a few months later, when one of his younger brothers died in July of 1174. Folkmar II, a younger brother to whom Reinhard had never been that close, died without legitimate issue, and Aukshayts, Zhmud, and Osel reverted to the throne. Folkmar moved his court for a while to Aukshayts, in order to set in order his eastern holdings. Just before he departed, though, Reinhard elevated Count Meinhard von Sayen, one of his most ardent supporters, to the Duke of Brabant. He charged him to look after the House of Luxembourg's interests while they were in the east.
After arriving in Aukshayts, Reinhard set about setting this corner of his Kingdom in order. He found a good match for his unstable eldest son, Agathe, in the form of Maria Piast, a daughter of the King of Poland. He gave Osel to the newlyweds, and wished them well. He knew his son was unstable, but he still wanted to secure for him a comfortable life. Reinhard felt that giving him an island in the Baltic was the best of a bad situation.
Reinhard also found a match for his cousin, Boson de Luxembourg. Boson was, like many Luxembourgs, more than a bit touched in the head. Boson had never been right after his wife died. However, Boson was also one of the greatest tactical minds of his generation, and Reinhard was loathe to see such talent pass away. Reinhard found Boson a match with a daughter of the King of Bohemia, which served several purposes. It gave Boson a new wife and a new chance at having children, and it also brought the Luxembourgs and the Premsyls closer. In any war that may come in the future between Lithuania and Germany when Reinhard made his bid for the latter's title, Reinhard knew that having Bohemia with you could only help. They were wed on the 29th of April, 1175. Boson, however, wanted to have nothing of it, and quickly fell into a depression following his wedding.
Boson's depression was quickly followed by a deep depression by Agathe, who saw his infant son die to disease. Agathe found his grief too much to bear, and committed suicide in October of 1175. Reinhard recieved Osel back with a heavy heart, but knew there was little he could do for the troubled soul of his dead son.
1176: Fall from Grace
Following the suicide of his eldest child, Reinhard became quiet and reflective. He began to wander the north Baltic, reflecting upon his life and the lives of his children. He began to wonder why one who had so faithfully served the Church, such as the Luxembourgs have, would be so heavily put-upon with curses of madness and death. Doubt began to creep in Reinhard's mind, and his zeal for the teachings of Christ began to wane.
One day, in July of 1176, as Reinhard returned from a visit to Sambia, the King was awoken to a fantastical vision. Reinhard thought he saw a glowing cross- almost exactly the same cross his father saw before he went upon the Crusade that ultimately destroyed him in Reinhard's eyes. Reinhard felt a pull, as though he should follow in his father's footsteps. That feeling was countered by the long-supressed hatred reinhard felt for his father, as well as the doubt that had been eating away at him. Reinhard looked up at what he thought was the glowing cross, and shouted, "NO!" The image of the Cross faded, and Reinhard went back to sleep. When he awoke the next day, he was a changed man. His faith was gone.
Reinhard had a brilliant mind, and the emptiness of his dead spirituality needed sustinance. Reinhard turned to the writings of Aristotle, found among the many treasures brought back from the hands of the Saracens his father killed in days gone by. Reinhard found, as he read those tomes of learning, that his faith had been replaced by a healthy skepticism, and a growing interest in how the natural world worked. Reinhard comissioned the building of several schools of learning, and sent for the finest thinkers to fill them and to seek answers to life's questions in the natural world rather than in the bible. Such a shocking challenge to the total authority of the Church did not go unnoticed, and the Church made it's disapproval clear. Reinhard responded by aserting his royal rights to name bishops in his land. The support of the cardinals of the Church was lost to Reinhard after that, but he no longer cared for the approval of Roman potentates.
