Elegy for Francis, Duke of Dukes | An Alternate History

Architects of the New Order

PENULTIMATE STANZA, VERSE IV

One of the conditions upon which Scotland entered the war was that the country annexed no territories. Our nation had no such obligations. In fact, William saw a bright future for that nation in his vision of a more ideal Europe. He wanted to right the wrongs and begin to heal the wounds his nation had created. Aquitaine would be given a road to independence amidst efforts to revive the original cultures of the region. France would be rebuilt town by town using local artisans. The Great Restoration, he called it.

Brittany-Normandy would no longer exist as an independent nation, having transcended into its true form as a union of brethren cultures. Celts would have a space of their own where no oppressors could abuse them nor could they oppress other groups like they did centuries ago. Most of these visions were shared with Francis. This fact turned them into fast friends. Both would stand fast against any enemy to create this better world they wanted so badly, even if it meant fighting people close to them.

Charles had a different vision of what Europe ought to look like. Under him, the whole of the continent would be under the supervision of but one man: himself and his kin. He believed that more should unite us than divide us, such as a common European culture, language, and religion. That religion just so happened to be Catholicism, with all other sects pushed to the side where they could practice undisturbed in some forgotten corner of society. Diversity of opinion was not a sign of a successful state but of a failed one. For that reason democracy was his enemy and he was its.