Caroli
-a term I will use in reference to ‘sons of Charlemagne’. If you know anything about European history, you know practically every royal family can try to find him as their ancestor
So, the counts and barons also unite as a political unit known as the Diet. In similarity to England’s parliament and Poland’s sejm, they like to exercise legislative powers throughout the kingdom. It was informally created by the Golden Bull of 1222 which granted tax breaks for the nobility and clergy, legalized disloyalty toward the king in political and military matters, and equalized the status between barons, counts, and other noble titles. Of course the Palatine (Miklos) and King (Sigismund) should still be counted on having higher authority if one didn’t want to follow the second privilege.
The 7 year old Sigimund was wrestling with his younger brother Jan who was 5. Sigismund body-slammed the boy. Then they rolled and kept tussling until they came into the path of their step-brother who kicked them apart, “stop fighting”. Their bodies flew across the room. “I wanted to speak to father, you guys are always goofing off.” Wenzel was 14 and heir-apparent of Bohemia. He wore a purple tunic and gray skirt along with a cape showing the Luxembourg family’s Coat of Arms. Blue and white stripes serving as the background of a red lion on its hind legs.
Looking into the room were King Lajos Anjou of Hungary and Poland and King Karel IV Luxembourg of Bohemia and Germany. They were both tall but Lajos the taller one. Of Franco-Sicilian blood, the man held a square head and wavy black hair descending to his neck. He wore a royal blue robe over a red and white striped dress. His dear friend Karel had bright brown hair along with a full beard. He wore an elaborate gold robe over his clothing. They stood in the doorway just barely visibly, as if they were lurking. By being King of Germany, Karel was also the Holy Roman Emperor, Imperator Augustus, the central polity of Europe. But he did not have much sway over anywhere outside of Bohemia, the region of Czechs.
“He’s the only one with red hair,” Lajos said.
Karel slowly responded, “yeah, I’ve heard it can skip generations. You know, the people there have a nickname for him; liška ryšavá, ginger fox.”
“Are there foxes that are not red?”
Karel chuckled. “But he goes around Prague like a little fox, leaving pranks at anyone’s doorstep or just fooling around.”
It was 1375. The Anjou and the Luxembourgs were meeting in the snowing castle of Pozsony. It is in the north part of Hungary, closest to the HRE.
Behind the kings on the balcony were their wives. Elizabeta Kotromanic-Anjou was a pale blonde woman in a white dress lacking less color than her skin. She was breastfeeding the infant Hedwig while her first daughter, Katalin, held onto her second, the 3 year old Maria. In front of her was Eliška Gryf-Luxembourg. She held a bright face and wore a bright red dress along with blonde hair. She carried her sleeping infant Margarete and a large griffin sat behind her, asleep himself. Lastly, was the Princess of Poland, Anna Piast. She was a cousin of Lajos and so adopted into his family as her father is dead. Anna was 9. She looked out from the balcony to the mountains in the distance.
The Anjou were primarily French, from the city of the same name in western Francia. They recently became monarchs in the Kingdom of Naples, in south Italy. The Luxembourgs were Rhenish Germans from the city of the same name. The so-called ‘little castle’ would host one of the most influential families in the Holy Roman Empire, rivaling the likes of the Bavarian Wittlesbach and Austrian Habsburgs. The Bohemians would elect them to be their kings more recently, giving them ease in becoming Imperator. The Kotromanic family rules in Bosnia south of Hungary and the Gryfs are the rulers of the Duchy of Pomerania in the northeast corner of the HRE.
“Just daughters is kind of crazy Lajos. Who do you intend to hunt with or teach wrestling to?”
“Well Katalin certainly isn’t boyish. But it’s fine, you know I am busy running around and so they are quick to only take after their mother. That’s fine with me.”
“I understand. Of course, if you had a son, you would need to ensure more peacetime with your enemies like I do. I must keep them at bay for even just an extra day so that my boys know what a good father is and then keep that tradition to the boys they raise.”
“Indeed indeed.”
Wenzel pushed past the curtain to come outside. Then he noticed his father and Lajos, “ah you were outside! Well I wanted to stop babysitting. What kind of geopolitical ventures are we planning, father and King Anjou?”
The two exchanged glances and laughed loudly. Lajos said, “the boy thought we were scheming!”
Karel bent down to his son, “relax Wenzel, you’re even still a year away from worrying about adult matters. But we were all just waiting for the servants to bring the food.” Karel parted the curtains, “Sigi, Jan, come out and meet your relatives.”
They pushed each other off one another and marched out to the balcony. Wenzel shouted, “relatives!? Of what kind?”
The three boys walked up and sat beside their mother, well Wenzel kept standing, while the two kings still watched from afar. Sigismund asked, “more cousins?” Elizabeta gently smiled while the 5 year old dark haired Katalin frowned at the boys.
Karel clarified, “just relatives. I told you kids that the Caroli is a large family. You have cousins, and distant uncles, and in-laws, and such relatives that words have not yet been made yet. For Sigismund and Jan, if you remember Casimir, the previous King of Poland. He was your great grandfather and their great granduncle. See, too complicated for words.”
Sigismund said, “that’s a cousin.”
“Whatever.” Between Karel and Lajos, the two were brothers-in-law.
Lajos said, “my Katalin, let him hold Maria, see if they like each other.”
“He’s beat up.”
“Well, it’s fine, she won’t bother.”
“And he’s ugly. Why is he a redhead?”
“Oi, I will hold the child,” Wenzel said, snatching Maria.
“Hey!”
“Tak obtěžující,” Wenzel said and then handed Maria over to Sigismund.
Sigismund let the baby’s legs stand on the ground as he held its hands. The baby stared at him wide-eyed as any could be. “How old is this buffoon?”
“She will be four soon,” Elizabeta answered.
Sigismund let go and covered Maria’s eyes. Maria decided to fall on her behind but he still covered her eyes. Then she started to slowly cry and he removed his hand to show off a goofy face. Maria switched immediately into infantile laughter. The crowd’s hearts were warmed. And they kept playing around until the servants brought the food and the families enjoyed the meal together. They all shared childhood stories with each other and the dads recited their glories. Lajos was far more glorious. At night, Sigismund was allowed to sleep with Maria and Elizabeta. As he wanned in consciousness, he heard his step-brother talk to his father outside.
“Are you sure you two aren’t planning some great war? You deserve it!”
“Wenzel, we are two kings at the end of our careers. Our only task now is to make sure your successions pass with stability. We are royalty and heads of state but even we should have days to goof off with family. Go to bed now…”
Then Sigismund’s memory realized that only the adults knew what today was about while the kids were only having fun. For today was the day Sigismund met his future wife. A conniving family, Vlad thought. Now in the future, Sigismund would inherit the Margrave of Brandenburg from his father and the Kingdom of Hungary from his wife.
Three more years passed and Karel had died. He was mourned by parts of Germany, none including the Wittlesbach. He had ruled over the Kingdom of Bohemia, Duchy of Moravia, the Silesian polities, the Margrave of Brandenburg, the Margrave of Lusatia, and the Duchy of Luxembourg far in the west. His land would be divided between his sons and nephews. Bohemia went to Wenzel who was old enough to rule completely on his own. Being King also meant Wenzel had suzerainty over the other polities in Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia. Brandenburg went to Sigismund. Jan got a special new state, the Duchy of Gorlitz, which sits in Lusatia. He was still young and Wenzel acted as regent for him. And then Moravia was to be ruled by nephews Jobst and Prokop in tandem. Jobst was 34, much older than his cousins. And so he also received the homeland, the Duchy of Luxembourg.
Despite Brandenberg needing to see its new monarch, Sigismund would immediately be sent over to Pest in Hungary. Like Vlad, he would be tutored and indoctrinated in all things Hungarian. He would also be given the Regal Lessons, teaching him how to be king and after that Lajos taught him all of the Francian magic for him to be a European king….
“Okay, so what do you know about magic so far?”
“Nothing, and does it really matter?”
“Yes it matters! It is a noble’s power against peasants. They can always raise arms but only you and your trusted few can raise magic. I guess your father only taught Wenzel. Listen, it is a simple power brought to us only from God. In the past, pagans used to pray to false gods for magic power which was always inferior to what Jesus Christ brings us today. Secondly, magic will always travel as a beam of light, straight out of Heaven, and instantly effect things you wish it too. Lastly, it is very broad and you may meet other witches who use it without the name of our Savior and have interesting powers of their own. Nonetheless, do not be interested in what is heatheness for it will lead you against God where total obliteration lives.”
“Yeah but how do I shoot a fireball?”
“Be patient, prince.” A priest handed Sigismund a book and then cut Sigismund’s hand. The blood fell onto the book and the priest prayed.
Sigismund was befuddled but only asked Lajos, “why did you just let him murder me?”
“I told him to do so! This man has just bounded you a grimoire. It is the magic book where you can write all of your magical information, thusly sealed into your heart. And then I want you to think about simply hiding it. Imagine if you put it behind your back and it disappeared.”
“What are you talking about? The book would just fall on the ground.” Lajos put his hand behind Sigimund’s ear and pulled out his own grimoire. It was much more decorated, with pages falling out, the Anjou crest on the cover, and a blue feather pen sticking out. Sigismund’s jaw dropped as he knew no one was near him to give Lajos this book. Then Lajos casually tossed it behind his back and he stepped away showing it didn’t fall to the ground.
“Lift your jaw from the ground and do it yourself. While Jesus asks us not to be materialistic, a king MUST stay strapped. So you must always store your weapons and grimoire in your back pocket. When you bound an object to you, you can always call upon it from however far away and then you can tuck it into your ‘back pocket’.” Lajos raised his hands and they heard the sound of crashing from other rooms. Then screaming before finally a sword flew into his hand. Sigismund perked up. Lajos then took his hand and seemed to put his sword behind it but it disappeared completely. Then he brought it out again, “bringing an item out of that ‘other world’ is called equipping by the narrator.”
“The narrator?”
“But two more proven rules. Firstly, if you forget the item exists, it will fall out of your pocket. And then, if you die, all items in your pocket will fall out of you. Vikings and scoundrels will automatically loot you.”
“I see,” and then Sigismund opened his mouth and put his grimoire through his lips. Think about it going away. And then the book disappeared. Sigismund then farted and the book appeared under his butt.
“You did it!”
And then Sigismund would learn the base Francian spells for warfare. These spells most likely originated from the Hellenic and Persian empires of the Middle East, adopted by the Romans, traditionally practiced by Roman noble families in the discarded parts of Europe before being cemented by the Carolingians. And now, the Anjou family has brought it to the Magyar land. They are still in Latin:
Lucem- to light, makes a beam of light. The most basic spell. Can be used for illusions.
Flammo- to flame, engulfs the target in flames.
Levo- to float, makes the target float at least an inch off the ground. Can not rise but can glide with this spell. Must be encanted with a time limit.
Aspergo- to splash, engulfs the target in water. The water is safe to drink.
Congelo- to freeze, engulfs the target in ice. Difficult for warmer people to learn.
Protego- to protect, creates a defensive field of air around a person. The blue ‘armor’ will protect them from any one (1) hit. Can be used against other spells to negate them.
Malleo- to hammer, the target is struck with a shock wave. Created by King Charles ‘Martel’.
Percutio- to pierce, a spell that stabs the target like a spear/pike. Was the regular spell for any Roman Legionary.
Reficere- to rebuild. Puts a broken object back together. Does not heal but can close wounds.
Tempestas- to storm, engulfs the target in a bolt of lightning. It is one the deadliest and hardest to learn spells, seemingly invented by Alexander the Great. Easily learned by other ‘Conquerors’.
[from this point, the spells will be regulated one language and function]
Sigismund wrote these notes in his grimoire, “putting them there means you will never forget the spell and you can even add more to it however you like. I said magic needs prayer towards God and that is called mana cost”
“Like the bread in the desert?”
“Yes. Mana is a kind of fuel humans gain after fulfilling covenants from God. So you should also write simple covenants for each spell so that you can fire them whenever you like rather than just when you’re desperate. For example, my covenant with God was to pray 100 times a day and so I can use every spell in my grimoire.”
“A hundred times???”
…
“Then there’s you’re items. Besides the grimoire, magicians also have a wand and carry glass. Wands are any straight object, that you have to get enchanted, and can help your accuracy with spells. Not necessary if you have a good eye. Glass can be used to magnify or minimize the light of spells, changing the way it can act. Some master magicians carry this but you can also make spells stronger by sacrificing more mana than usual.”
After that, Sigismund also learned telekinesis, magic that spawned during the Justinian-Sassanid Period. “It will allow you to move objects from far away. Just send your magic over with the light spell and then move it. Of course, how heavy you can lift depends on your mental fortitude.” And with wands, one can also perform telepathy. “Doing this without the wand simply won’t work. Wands are enchanted to make this work with…something. But simply think something and then shoot the light spell at someone, it will give them your thoughts.”
And after mastering those, Sigismund learned about the other fields of magic. “There’s potions which the Cupbearer will be at the task of making. They use the properties of their ingredients to magically change a person. They can strengthen or weaken a person based on the ingredients. Water is always the base ingredient in a potion as water can be used to transfer magic. But again, you should just have your Cupbearer worry about them, I don’t know much alchemy myself.” Lajos had Sigismund try a few potions. There’s one that heals bones (using bone marrow and milk), one that makes a person faster (with quicksilver and a cup of sugar), and one that makes a person dizzy (using a certain fungus and fairy dust).
“Then there’s enchantments, the other side of alchemy. Goldsmiths will make them for you. Enchantments take the property of one object and apply it to another. With non-metal objects, it can still be done with water but metals must be smelted. Again, you shouldn’t have to actively worry about these things. In the Capet lineage, a noble’s sword is enchanted to ‘bloom’ multiple blades when attacking.”
“What object could possibly give it that property?”
“Flowers. Well I think, I didn’t watch the process. Would you like that kind of enchantment when you become king?”
“No…I’ll think of something else. I’m not Capet.”
“Fine with me. Enchantments can also be done on any thing. Like the conch shells.”
“What enchantment do the conch shells have?”
“An amplifier enchantment from God knows what, so one can use it to project one’s voice.”
“What? I thought that’s just how conch shells were!”
“Hahaha. So, enchantments are non-consumable, compared to potions. They’re just for objects. Potions are for people. Potions are temporary and enchantments are forever. And most armies have their soldiers fitted with one enchantment based on the 7 elements.” And so in Sigismund’ grimoire, he also had to learn about the 7 elements. “Alchemists have found that they each have a host star and each have several properties that can be used for enchantments.”
Gold for the Sun with properties of heat, shock, and light.
Mercury for the star Mercury with the properties of air, freedom, and invisibility.
Copper for the star Venus with the properties of lightning, flexibility, and light.
Silver for the Moon with the properties of water, fluidity, and coolness.
Iron for the star Mars with the properties of fortitude, magnetism*, and vitality.
Tin for the star Jupiter with the properties of magnetism*, force*, and death.
Lead for the star Uranus with the properties of poison, frost, and death.
[While basic magnets like lodestones are well known in this time period, gravity and electromagnetism is of course, not an understood thing and usually the characters will refer to as ‘force’.]
“And then lastly are hexes. Hexes are something you should only see once or twice in your life. They are long lasting curses put on a person, which will disable them in some way. It is only taught to the higher clergy like the Cardinals or the Pope. They like to use them when excommunicating a person, cursing them with an ironic ailment. I’ve also heard some witches know how to hex people but hopefully you won’t come across them. If you do, killing the caster will release the hex but it would be Christian of you to simply convince them to remove it. You shouldn’t be killing any of God’s servants. Witches shouldn’t be treated with any amnesty.”
“Yes sir…”
But everyday, after absolutely every training session, Queen Elizabeta would be overly distressed to see Sigismund hang out with Maria and Hedwig. He would play chase with them throughout the palace, or perhaps hide-and-seek. They would be under random bridges in town jumping on stones, and in pantries wrestling around. They also followed him on rabbit hunts, coming back wearing the ears of a pair of rabbits. “You two can’t keep hanging out with him!” she would say whenever she caught up with them. “But he’s our cousin…” they groaned as they were pulled away. And even the townspeople of Pest would be perturbed by Sigismund’s now magical pranks until the Szekelys pranked him back so horrible, it ended his career.
After a few years, Lajos admitted that Sigismund would be marrying Maria to inherit his Kingdom of Poland. “And since I have not much more to teach you, we have to send you to Poland so they can get used to you. I must stay here but you will be helped by my aids and Wenzel has also given your Brandenburg the city of Neumark. You can vacation there whenever you get too tired of being around Poles.”
“This…this whole time I was going to marry Maria??”
“Yes, she will be Queen of Poland at her side. It’s good you guys like each other already, even if my wife is so protective of her. You truly must take good care of her after I die. That will be the most important thing in your life.”
“Really? I already take care of her….okay I’ll keep it up.”
“Good.”
“But Poland? I think I like Hungary more.”
“Well, dem’s the breaks. But the Polish will also help you better master Congelar and the other colder magic. You can’t even give me a shiver but neither could I.”
tdwriter 