Escalation Tendency (1)

A full month, that's all it took for the army and the navy to be mobilized and prepared for the state of war we were in. Lucy's capture proved to be just barely detrimental for the invading state that existed in the northern region of modern France, with their newest leader 'landing a hint' on my historical and mythological knowledge.

King Syagrus of the 'Roman Kingdom' of Soissons had been a rival to Lucy's rule when she managed to orchestrate the fall from power and demise of the man's father, Aegidius. A man that was as arrogant as tremendously blessed with unique support from the local Church and by many Romanophile bureaucrats in continental Europe. He represented the last bastion of 'the West Roman Empire' and thus was deemed a cause worth fighting together with. Sadly for the many people that were keen to see this guy 'do something' that, albeit ambitious, was doable, but not by someone like him, I had a big plan when it came to the downfall of his state and it all centered around one issue that his nation had. I knew precisely where his capital was and I knew I had the reach of the army to rush it before he could react to it. Any diplomatic endeavor had gone down the drain when a letter reinforced Lucy's claim, this time bearing the name of 'Imperator' Syagrus. Not a smart move considering that the production of the navy was intensified and the ships that would have taken longer to prepare had received more men to work on them. The fleet, albeit far from the massive ones that OTL's 1800s would see born, was still fairly large compared to other 'neighbors' and it quickly allowed us to gain naval dominance over the Channel Sea.

Despite having the means to exert a full-fledged blockade that would prevent any invasion preparations to happen on the other side, I ordered the ships to keep a defensive/coastal approach until the preparations for our own invasion were concluded. I had thought about weakening them now, but I knew that frightening off the shore would have just pushed them to entrench within the mainland. And that would make for a long campaign to accomplish. No, what I had in mind was a blitz from Normandy down to Noviodunum, the modern 'Soissons' and the enemy's capital, while the left side was taken care by King Leodegrance, his vassals and an army dispatched by Ria to 'aid him' led by Gawain. In the same letter where she explained this situation, she also added that her request to march together with her father-in-law was rejected on the basis that 'the man wanted to personally take care of the rest, now that his daughter's husband had protected her from sorrow'. An overprotective father with a fairly strong army and enough men to keep that side of the region an easy walk to conquer. I could sense a degree of frustration in that regard, and I could tell that she felt pulled aside when this conflict was also hers to fight due to the way it came to be first and foremost.

In the response letter I added to Ria something she was to tell to the guy regarding our own participation in the war: I wasn't going to lead the two main armies during the blitz. I further explained that this decision wasn't driven by worries tied to the homefront, but rather a strategic decision tied to something I expected to happen as soon as Soissons collapsed. It was tied to the Kingdom of the Franks and the chances of them joining the war as a third and uncomfortable party to face in the long-run. Marcus and Gaheris were put in charge of the armies, with the latter subordinated to Marcus' command while on duty. Splitting the twins was an upsetting decision, but I needed Gareth to stay behind as I knew that I would have to employ a large group of powerful warriors the moment 'something unpleasant' happened with the Franks.

Clovis I wasn't a joke, and I didn't plan to take him on as lightly as the original Syagrus had when he fought him to cement his rule. While Syagrus was a political heir to a dying and divided empire that was put there due to inheritance rather than legitimate worth, I was aware through Lucy that he wouldn't be able to field as much 'power' as she had. Even going through the lines tied to how 'cowardly and meek' the man was when under serious pressure. No magical tools, no real acceptance for magi in the army's ranks as Lucy had done with hers. When I asked her why she hadn't removed him if that was the case, she reminded me that many weren't that keen to accept a bloodthirsty ruler during this time of instability. Preserving Syagrus meant showing a 'benevolent' facade that managed to keep even the more ambitious generals in check from getting bad rep.

But Clovis? He was the Unifying King of the Franks and the one that easily carved the Frankish Kingdom out of the rump states formed at the fall of the Western Roman Empire. He conquered Gallia and effectively bitch-slapped anyone that tried to attack his people to try and unify Rome. Then there was this ace in the sleeve I knew he had that still had me the most unnerved. I wasn't completely sure of this, but after checking with some diplomats that have visited the Frankish territory in the last few years, there was a fair trouble in the form of how many Magi were employed in their armies. And the fact they had 'relatives' of Mya too working as part of the royal staff made the entire idea of fighting him not a pleasant ride in the woods.

It was indeed a worrying circumstance, so much that I felt quite legitimized to prepare a single but bigger army to intervene only and only if the Franks tried to play any trickery while the war was unfolding. The idea was enough to disgust a couple of people that had a strong attachment to honor, but it wasn't something that they could have expected being respected by Clovis considering he was no knight and so wasn't bound by any of the limitations tied to that set of conduct. My real worry was that facing the Franks now would be a detrimental war. Sure, facing the Picts proved that logistically-speaking this was doable- to face someone with a great amount of territories and people to field, but the issue was tied to the domino-effect felling both Soissons and the Franks would cause. There was a massive chessboard which I was really entering reluctantly- even though I had been so interested in the idea of stabilizing Europe myself. It was doable, but now that I had the papers in my hand regarding the multiple scenarios coming out of this very instance, I was already hating the pinball effect that could come out of this development would it come to happen.

For this occasion, I decided to sensibilize the armies that were employed on the frontline with a couple of modifications tied to recent technological upgrades. First, all infantry were given a combat kit similar to what the Roman had tried to standardize with their legions. It was quite an 'experimental' addition due to how limited resources were and how I didn't want to deplete all of them on the army of all fundable projects. Next, the blacksmiths had managed to develop an improved version of the available cannons, increasing the precision, and giving each shot the capacity to pack even more heat with a higher explosive 'blast'. The final, and perhaps the best addition due to how logistic was essential in this time period, was the heliograph and the currently-limited code it relied on. Way clunkier and bigger compared to the first one that would have been created in 1821, but the idea that stood with it was brilliant. The capacity to communicate quickly was essential, and while there were the connected books to allow rapid orders or messages to spread around, those proved to be ineffective in the middle of a battle where the pressure could easily mess up the chain of command if the orders weren't delivered as swiftly as possible.

The navy decided against asking for any, with the situation regarding naval warfare favoring more the connected books. The ones that seemed to actually grow particularly fascinated by it were the Magus Guild. Ever since the conclusion of the war of the Picts, there had been a large convergence of hermit magi deciding to flood Londinium to join the group there and effectively creating a bigger-than-usual organization. Altuos was baffled by the growth and had requested at once a meeting to see how this mess was meant to be handled without things getting out of control at once. The resulting discussion ended roughly three hours after it started and with Altuos leaving my office with two main steps to articulate a working plan.

Creating a centralized organization, especially considering how important the Magi were to the various communities around, wouldn't have been an effective method to properly harness that kind of potential. Instead, a convention was issued and the scope of this event was to determine 'leaders' to a new decentralized system which would see communities rally to specific cities depending on the regions they were the closest to. The idea was to provide a faster intervention capacity from Magic by allowing them to form Londinium-sponsored guilds across England and Scotland, with a single leadership elected here in the capital to act both as the bureaucratic center and… the educative one. We had to start developing a proper school to prevent any misuse of this kind of power. Altuos agreed on this last bit and I proposed a singular idea that had him taken on the matter. After the convention, a council of Magi was chosen from the various communities to represent them within the capital while Altuos was appointed as the first Headmaster of the Magus Academia.

Huge steps for a modern and regulated situation, but also one that presented me with the chance of actually reforming politics with something really clever. Taking 'inspiration' from the Romans, I created a Senate that worked more in an advisory function rather than a law-making focus. Three factions were given the opportunity to occupy thirty-three seats each, between Nobility, Clergy, and Peasantry. The representatives for the Peasantry were picked by those that were recommended by various chiefs of the important communities from the southern shore to the uppermost. These men didn't exactly have a solid understanding of laws, but were far from ignorant in grasping essential concepts that made it possible for them to know how to do their job properly and without clashing with the other representatives. The last member was a spokesperson for the king and acted on my behalf as a representative which was meant to bring up the most urgent affairs whenever I asked for a meeting with him, or if he decided to invite me for this predicament. I had to check through a lengthy list, but in the end I decided to settle for something safe.

Lycus Fimus, head of the House of Fimus, was a nobleman that had seen war and had been part of the armies that I led through northern England and then Scotland. He was a proud warrior, a loyal member of the Elite when it came to respect for my role and also someone that both Altuos and Felicianus had mentioned in a really positive light. Bald, slightly bulky, but not fat. He was eager to accept the offer and it took me a while to get him to stop thanking me profusely. I knew many nobles were seeing me in that extremely positive light due to the fact that the changes I was introducing to the peasantry to try and revolutionize their lives were also affecting them for the best. I was improving society 'together' rather than one class over the others. With a British Senate created, I knew that this was the first step into a constitutional reform. Not a close one, but I laid out the highlights of a skeleton which could be molded in the next few years to acquire substance and become an effective governing body that still had me as its head. No corruption, but perhaps a degree of minor nepotism. That was definitely going to be a challenge to face in the distant future.

Still, back to the technological importance behind the heliograph for the Magi was the potential to develop a weapon out of it. Inspired by old documents tied to Archimedes, several brilliant minds were employed to develop a devastating tool to decimate ships through the usage of the sun. By the blueprints, I knew this was going to be a version of the Greek fire… without Naphtha. Greek Fire itself was going to be developed roughly in the 680s and it was limited in the usage to the production of a special kind of inflammable liquid which had been lost ever since the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire. But with this project, the idea of creating this powerful tool of destruction through magecraft and the sun itself? It was too essential for me to just ignore or say no to. Experimentation was just starting, but I had a good feeling that this project was going to be beneficial not only in warfare but perhaps as a starting point for energy production for early industrialization. It was too early to say for certain, but the hopes were incredibly high at this point and I was willing to see how it would go with further testing.

And while the overall state of affairs tied to the kingdom was proceeding brilliantly and without much of an itch, this month proved to be tougher than predicted due to several circumstances that left me personally drained for numerous reasons, but still kicking and rocking my personality without any worry.

Of course, it was also the month where a little bundle of joy came to be, so it wasn't really that bad...

The situation back home was fairly complicated when it came to Lucy's situation. A prisoner but also 'technically' not by Roman rules. By becoming my 'slave', Lucy had effectively created the first 'paradox' between modern laws and Roman ones, setting herself in a predicament where she was not free, but also not restrained to a cell. She was a 'slave' but not, she was a prisoner but not- which meant I had to pull her around wherever I went while two guards kept her under watch while I moved back home.

Despite the convenience of this matter, I had to admit that Lucy didn't seem to grasp how this came to be herself. Her 'ambitious' plan was to be a slave for me and expected, after a proper life of work under my 'guidance', to be released as a free woman. I was familiar with the concept of human slavery, and while I knew that it wasn't necessary for slaves to be forced into tough works but rather follow what their 'masters' said, this didn't make it any more pleasant. I argued I wasn't tied to Roman rules, but she made a case, which proved to be compelling, that as a Roman she was to be subjected in this way. And while I reminded her this wasn't Roman land, she argued once again that if he wanted to be considered a potential Roman ruler. In the end, I had to concede to her point but also impose mine into it as a deterrent for her to push the argument any further.

While the Roman code of law would be respected, the laws of Britannia were also applied and thus had her as a prisoner. As simply as I could summarize: while the denomination held within the lands where Roman laws were applied, until she was in Britannian soil she was to abide by the ways this kind of prisoners were called, which was a War Prisoner. She was my prisoner which I decided to keep around rather than in a cell due to this ramification tied to Roman laws. It was a mess and I didn't feel any smarter when I ultimately branded this final compromise which Lucy ended up agreeing to.

During the walk back to Londinium, the woman was keen to be quite 'modest' about her situation and any discussion surrounding it. She knew when to brag, but also when not to. She had a switch she had over her personality from extremely frustrating and easily prone to anger, but she knew how to be surprisingly quiet and 'understanding' in her own ways. Much to my surprise, that didn't seem to extend beyond me. When it came to talking to Mya, Lucy surprisingly behaved 'threatened' to a fair degree despite the fact the young woman had done nothing to warrant that kind of attitude. Regardless of that, the 'coy' act she had around me was mostly out of annoying me rather than being a genuine one. She seemed genuine regarding the whole 'slave' thing and I had to brawl with her on each time this was brought up in any conversation. Really frustrating but… nothing I could do in that regard from the way she stubbornly clung on that.

What made things worse was that, by her logic, a slave should always be around their master, regardless of what the master was doing. And, in a very bizarre and creepy way, it meant that the redhead managed to convince her guards twice to get close enough to see me taking a break to the nature-provided toilet which were trees. Nothing was shown, she didn't see anything and yet I was modestly pissed she tried to pull that stunt. Something that actually warranted a bit of annoyance from Scathach too about the matter, but I wasn't sure for the same reasons. I wonder if this is somewhat tied to the chilling sensation of getting spied on from time to time.

Beyond that nuisance, her behavior further changed when we arrived back home. In her own words, this was definitely 'cleaner and more Roman' than she would have imagined a 'barbarian' nation to be able to get. At first Lucy tried to say it was due to the fact this was a 'city built from Rome', but then she realized that a good part of the architecture, like the full walls and the new buildings were of a style completely 'advanced' compared to what Rome was known to have within its city. Like a child being brought to a clean and modern candy shop, the girl looked and asked, profoundly intrigued by what she was looking at between buildings, guards, people, and even priests wandering around. She genuinely paused before a group of children, almost shocked by something unfolding about them and I discovered the element that caused her this distress only as she whispered to herself due to the immediate surprise she had about it.

"They look so clean," She muttered unconsciously, quite stumped by the fact the people here, those that weren't noblemen or even members of the military were devoid of filth as she would have expected. I could only guess Soissons didn't bother much checking on the livelihood of those living in the isles. Perhaps they didn't care enough about it, but it wasn't a bad thing to learn like that. It meant they were unprepared for what kind of equipment our armies could muster, and I was willing to say that the lightning campaign was going to be as easy and quick as predicted.

With the victorious stroll being received by a modest crowd of people, reaching the castle was imperative as much had to be done now that I could start dispatching orders on what to do in the war. And while I was busy with the bloody mess I ended up dealing with, I also had to think of a way to settle Lucy in the castle without giving her too many liberties. So I decided to give her a modest-sized room which she couldn't leave unless for breakfast, lunch, dinner, to bathe or at my request. I had thought about possible escape opportunities coming at giving her the chance to bathe in the female ward of the royal baths, but the place was devoid of reachable windows, and those that were there, weren't big enough to allow her any chance of escaping. I felt so convinced that she was biding her time that I also started to genuinely worry she wasn't planning to. And that I was wasting time doing this while she enjoyed the comforts she was provided even though it came at the cost of not training and not being able to be allowed to wander around without the two guards assigned to her.

All in all, a frustrating addition to the castle, but not one that really menaced my current state of mind beyond the usual talks I had with the girl when I needed some insight on her former country or if she demanded my ear by threatening, unarmed of course, any of the two guards. I tried to change the ones assigned to her twice, and yet the threatening factor was really too much for anyone sticking by her side. A Roman Pest…

But not all changes came at a bad time. Morgan went into labor just a few days after our return, managing to scream loud enough for the guards to catch their attention while she rested by the bed, her waters having broken. I was alerted quickly and I got woken up at 2 in the morning to handle this difficult circumstance. Mya decided to come and check too while I didn't bother 'waking up' the redhead from her slumber. Our dash to the witch's room was an uneventful one, but we ended up combining groups with Altuos as he too was pulled out of his bed to assist this matter. Medics and magi were enlisted to aid the pained blonde through the difficult delivery. The employed staff was working flawlessly, making sure the prisoner was kept in relative comfort, as much as she could in that very condition. She was going through the process well despite how draining it looked to be on her body, with her face red, gritting her teeth at the strenuous pain she was going through. The entire process wasn't exactly quick and hours went by as we waited for the miracle of life to finally fulfill with the birth of the long-waited girl.

Everyone was quite drained after six hours of waiting, but I remained attentive to Morgan, with the woman never once faltering in her effort as she ultimately succeeded in delivering the child. I blinked, awakened by the loud cry of a baby. Tensing up, I glanced at the doctors that had worked to get the child to finally be recoverable with their hands. The baby had just a small hint of yellow hair just above her forehead, her loud cries lasting for a while… until it stopped out of the sudden when she was passed to someone that wasn't a doctor.

After the medics were done cleaning the newborn, the child I was finally allowed to take hold of her and… I felt my throat tightening at the strange emotion I felt while holding the tiny child, the baby, almost realizing that she was no longer being held by those that helped with the delivery. Eyes still closed, she started to breathe quietly while unconsciously nuzzling closer to me as she was attracted to the warmth of my chest. I… I felt somewhat validated by what I was looking at. How I felt about it, the situation, and her, little Mordred- I knew that this was what I had been missing about the lack of closure to Morgan's own part of the bargain. Here it was, the little child that was going to be quite the troublemaker from whom she was spawned from, but also someone that had the potential to create her own positive ideals with the right attention and caring approach. So fragile, she looked to be a healthy baby and… yet I felt incredibly worried that something bad would have happened if I kept holding her. Yet it didn't.

But as I got accustomed to the bizarre tingle within my chest, I noticed that one of the medics seemed to be interested in talking with me.

"Y-Your majesty. I don't… I don't wish to be abrupt but Mordred's mother wants to see her. "

I glanced to the side and I saw Morgan staring back at me. Leaning on the soft pillow her head and upper back were pressing on, her gaze was devoid of major thoughts as she focused on one thing that felt so important to her in that very moment. Getting to see her own baby. My heart tightened at that idea, not because I felt confused by this request, but because I didn't know if I was to respect it or not.

While she should normally have the right to do so as her mother, I wasn't sure if giving her that chance would have been beneficial for anyone. I had to 'cut' that bond as quickly as I could to prevent any attachment from both sides. It was a must, a necessity- one that was unpleasant, but that the context justified way too well and it left me as infuriated to myself and the case itself. Why not Morgan too? Well, the woman didn't really seem to have concocted this situation on the spot since she had been in labor for almost seven hours and looked close to full exhaustion at this point.

I looked down to Mordred and… I made a decision I hoped to not regret in the distant future.

"Sure," I muttered dryly, stepping closer to Morgan, leaning a little bit down and allowing her to take hold of her child. Before I could step away, a tired voice had me stopping.

"Joseph?"

I froze mid-retreat and looked back at Morgan. "Yes?"

"I want to… talk with you."

…

I closed my eyes for a moment, sighing tiredly and… I nodded. "Okay."

There was a chair right beside her bed, so I could sit there while we discussed.

"I can tell you are worried. Of the chances of me… doing something stupid to keep you from her. From my Mordred."

"She is-" I tried to argue, remembering how this conversation had happened somehow before. Yet she jumped back with a sharp tone.

"My child. And… I don't consider her a tool. She can't be a tool. Not… with you around," She argued curtly. "No, I… I will not prevent this. I had been preparing myself for this very moment for too long. But… I want you to promise me something that I know for a thing that you will keep. If you were so willing to keep up with this entire situation without exploiting the matter to your advantage, then I know from the way you look at her, how you held her… that you will uphold this promise."

"Speak up then," I muttered calmly and she hummed, glancing down to her last child.

"My Mordred… I want you to put your life into protecting her from all the harm that might come her way. Some from those that hated me, Uther, Arthur- even yourself," She said with as much seriousness she could muster "I want you to fight for her wellbeing, to give her a chance to grow and be loved as you promised her to be under your care."

I nodded. "I will protect her and give her a chance to be the person she wants to be."

Her lips twitched, a pleased upward line confirming her current satisfaction with my response. Still, the woman looked back to her newborn and hummed. "I hate the way you handle my situation, Joseph. I hate how right it felt at times, how illogical and stupid it does feel… and then I hate how you handled the situation between me and my brother. I hate it so much, it's so infuriating."

Her proclamation left me perplexed by how she delivered all of that with a calm voice, but then I noticed how she was tending Mordred for me to recover. So I moved to get her back as carefully as possible, but… by doing so, I exposed myself for her unexpected move. A small push forward and her head slowly reached mine. Almost like a ghost touching my lips, I felt a bit of warmth there as I saw her swiftly retreat with a smile plastered on her face. One that almost exclaimed 'gotcha!' at first glance.

"But despite that, I don't hate you as a person, Joseph." She concluded with a quiet whisper before closing her eyes and… falling asleep.

I stared at her sleeping face for a while, shocked by what had just happened and how this was opening way too many messes at once. Instead of focusing too much on it, I remembered that I had someone rather precious in my hold and I had to pay utmost attention to her. My smile came back as I shifted my focus on Mordred, the baby still napping and enjoying the warm position she was in. I turned back to Mya and I saw how endeared to the baby she was. I gave her the chance to hold her and she was absolutely delighted by merely holding her. But as she did that, I couldn't help but stare glances at Morgan's direction as the woman was now fully asleep.

I guess… you're not half-bad yourself.