Elegy for Francis, Duke of Dukes | An Alternate History

In The Aftermath

FINAL STANZA, VERSE I

Immediately following the death of Charles, the whole of Europe fell into a flurry of confusion. Like the bridges of Nantes back in that now-distant conflict, everything went flying into oblivion. The survivors fled for their lives away from the arrows falling around them, but to no avail. Destruction had come for them all.

First to feel the effects were the Dutch, who got exactly what they wanted. Independence allowed their nation to finally exert the influence their merchants had on the global stage. New horizons were opened up for the formation of an empire in the west and east.

Next came the English. Fighting continued for several months after the dictator's death, not knowing his claim was now invalidated. Key cities changed hands multiple times in that span. Once both sides realized the nature of the situation, they laid down their arms and returned to their respective homelands.

Germany rushed to find a new emperor. Spain began to drift from the Habsburg sphere. Burgundy found itself weak and destabilized. Forces from within and without threatened to tear it asunder, as eventually happened at the hands of France. Even after the conquest of Burgundy in the late eighties, the region remains a hotbed of political dissidence.