Breton Throne Room, January 1st, 1492
"Greetings! Have a seat, general."
General Morpheus saluted, then took an elaborately decorated seat. Duchess Anne of the Bretons addressed him once more.
"So, my friend, why is it that you have come to see me? It's New Year's Day, and surely you could be at a party or friendly gathering rather than coming to talk to me?"
Morpheus fidgeted slightly, then spoke. "Well, your highness, I have come to speak with you about the matter of the Breton Empire."
"Empire?" The duchess asked incredulously. "Ha! How can anyone call this poor rathole of a duchy an empire? We're lucky France has let us remain independent for so long!"
"That's precisely the point. We have no empire, just a pathetic peninsula watched over by Big Brother France." Morpheus twisted his face in mocking disgust as he said the name of Brittany's large neighbor. "This is a problem. National pride is at an all-time low, and many peasants, even some nobles on the border, are emigrating over to France. If this keeps up," the general said sadly, "we will lose all autonomy and become just another province of France!"
Morpheus stood and began pacing. "The only way to stop this," he mused, "is to gain territory. We have two options." He stopped walking. "Do you know what those are, Duchess Anne?"
The queen blinked several times. "No... Pray tell, what are these options?"
"Both involve great effort and hardship. Remeber that. Our first option is to launch an attack on England."
Anne laughed. "England? How can you consider that hard? With France on our side, we--"
Morpheus cut her off. "No. We cannot rely on France. For one, you know as well as I that King Charles thinks of himself first and only then of his allies and friends. If any territory is gained in England, he will not hand it over to us, but keep it for himself. Second, you must always remember England's navy. England possesses the most powerful fleet in the world. We barely have a fleet at all, and the French will not transport one of our armies on their ships. If we are to attack England, we must wait until our fleet is strong enough to withstand an assault by theirs."
"Oh, I see... So then, what is your other suggestion?" Duchess Anne inquired.
"To attack Big Brother France."
"No!" gasped the duchess. "We cannot strike at France, not when Charles and his predecessors have let our nation remain free all this time!"
"Those are our only options." Morpheus sighed, then continued: "France's army is very powerful, and we have very slim chances of winning in 1-on-1 battle, but, if we can strike when France is preoccupied with, say, Spain or Austria, we could raise our flag over a swath of territory from Armor to Paris, and even take Orleans! If we could acquire Orleans in a treaty, its goods could give us the capital we need to make a strong navy and attack England. In my opinion, this is the best option."
"I am unsure..." The duchess looked it, too. "Your plan seems to work in theory, but I don't know how the remaining nobles, not to mention the peasantry, would react to turning on our overlord and guardian.
"Do not worry, my lady." Morpheus smiled knowingly. "I have agents among the populace, as well as men close to the most powerful lords left in the nation, who are working to help create anti-French sentiment. If we are to turn on France, many of our people will rejoice rather than revolt."
Morpheus saluted again, then turned and left the throne room. Duchess Anne watched the general leave. She rose from her chair to follow, then thought better of it. Looking down, she set back to composing her next ducal edict.
