Swandona

In a world rather like our own, a man stands atop a hill at dawn. However, this is neither an ordinary hill nor an ordinary man. It’s a majestic hill in the center of the kingdom that the regal man atop it rules over.

The kingdom that he is surveying is an equally majestic, serene kingdom surrounded by several layers of walls on every side. Within the walls of the kingdom lies everything that the nation needs to sustain itself, from multiple fertile fields of grains and greens to mercantile pavilions housing the exchange of goods and ideas throughout the land to luxury goods sold out of shops of varying sizes. The kingdom has its own standing army, manned with natives and paid by month out of the treasury, and the walls are all kept and maintained well to ensure that there are no weak points for any potential enemies to assail. The economy is stable, the markets profitable, the goods well-made, the currency pure and trusted. It even produces a margin of surplus that can be exported to add money to merchants’ pockets (as well as the treasury, through tariffs).

The man standing atop the hill is broad-shouldered, tall, and handsome, just as a king should be. He has dark hair that waves and billows in a light breeze, piercing cobalt blue eyes, and a medium build that is kept in fighting shape with regular sparring sessions in the barracks with new recruits. His tunic and trousers are both close-fitted to his well-defined figure. Outside of this, he wears a long purple cape that doubles as a cloak and as a symbol of his status. The first function serves him well, as it is a day in early spring, with blossoms and flowers all around him, and the breeze is coming in from the north, making it a rather chilly day, especially on top of the tallest hill for miles. Cold aside, the hill is just outside the castle walls (a ring of walls that secures a second realm, a microcosm of the kingdom at large) and provides the optimal vantage point for most of his realm.

Thankfully, all is calm on the home front for this kingdom and its denizens. All is well as they go about their daily lives, taking their cattle out to the fields, waking their children for their lessons and chores, and going out to the markets for an honest day’s work. The sight pleases him, as it is a testament to his leadership skills. Still, he knows that it cannot last forever. It is this grim reality that has him standing on this hill at this early hour of this day in early spring.

“This is what I am obliged to protect. This is what I must strive to defend against those that would threaten it, at any cost.”

After a few more moments of contemplation, the king sighs and retreats from the hill, moving in the direction of the castle. There is a meeting he must preside over today that might decide the fate of his realm and his legacy one day, and he is determined to ensure the safety and proliferation of his people. It is his privilege, his right, his responsibility. He is Siegfried, king of the Empire of Eron, and if he knew just how soon his ultimate test would come, he might stay on the hill just a bit longer.

On his way to the meeting, long after he has returned to the castle, a woman that nearly matches the king’s dimensions falls into step beside him. Her gait is long and confident, her attire differing from Siegfried’s only in a deeper neck line and thinner cotton. Thus, her figure is more easily surveyed than the king’s, and is nearly as stout as well, if a bit sleeker and more graceful.

All in all and by and large, she is the strongest woman in the kingdom, and that is partially why she was chosen by Siegfried to be queen. While she is capable of being graceful and ladylike when the situation demands it, she otherwise fails to fit into any of the stereotypical roles of a loving queen. She detests being cooped up indoors almost as much as her husband, she can hold her own in a fight with most any man in the regular army (and win most of the time), she holds her liquor longer than most men including Siegfried, she absolutely hates dresses (claiming that they make her hips look too large while not mentioning that it is the impressive size of well-developed thighs that gives this impression), and she can prepare for her day quicker than Siegfried on any day where circumstance do not dictate that her handmaidens pour over her and make her seem like the dainty queen she’s “supposed” to be.

For her appearance outside of royal cape and form-hugging leather hides (which hold her form slightly tighter than Siegfried’s cotton), she has piercing sapphire hues and a long, flowing mane of crimson hair cascading down past her shoulders towards the small of her back. In contrast to her husband’s straight and narrow bridge, her nose is long, thick, and disjointed, having been broken several times in sparring sessions. Her lips are untouched by any such blemish, being of completely average size and shade, a spot of normalcy in her that makes the rest of her extraordinary existence seem even more so. But that is why Siegfried loves her; if she were ordinary, she would not be half so charming to him as she is.

“So what do you make of this meeting?” Eron’s stout queen asks Siegfried as they walk along.

“I don’t know, hon, but if she’s willing to convene in front of people, something dire must be happening abroad.”

“Probably, but don’t let it bother you too much, dear. You’ve done a marvelous job here—”

Before she could quite finish her glowing praise of her husband’s leadership qualities, several retainers (both male and female) emerge from a chamber to their left and block the path, the females being more vocal.

“Lady Kathryn, you must come with us: there is a crisis in the kitchens!”

Kathryn rolls her eyes; every time there’s an issue in the kitchen, or in any other part of the castle that is typically a queen’s responsibility, she is called upon to help, even if she would probably only make it worse. Still, Siegfried is more essential to the meeting than she, so she just nods and follows them off. Siegfried watches her go until she is out of sight, then sighs a bit. Though they’ve been married several years, he still loves her as if they met only yesterday.

After a moment’s reflection on romance, Siegfried shakes his head roughly and shoos off his retainers so he can proceed.

When Siegfried arrives to the double doors leading into the meeting room, he pauses for a moment. The contents of the meeting about to occur do not excite him in the least, but he knows he has to bite the bullet, and so he does, throwing the doors open before him and striding confidently through the room, all but ignoring the formal gestures from several advisors already seated around the elongated oval that was the war room table. He has eyes only for his seat at the end. When he sits down, all his other advisors, who had been talking quietly among themselves, sit down and look to him. Siegfried straightens out his cape and looks around his ovular table at his advisors and retainers. Several of them are typical courtiers, interested only in political favors from the king, but a few of them are worthy of note.

At Siegfried’s right hand sits a man that towers over everyone he meets. His head is shaved, his shoulders are broad, his chest a veritable barrel within which untold strength (and quite a few liquors) are stored. He wears simple attire made of hardened leather, clearly needing no further armor since no one he fights can swing a sword hard enough to make him feel pain. While his gaze is a bit vacant, he’s a good man and an honest man, and the latter is why Siegfried chose Paul to be the grand general of his army.

A couple spots down from the giant is a woman that looks like what most people in Eron probably think a queen should be. She has long, flowing, shining blond hair, bright blue eyes, a slender frame, and a generous bosom. She wears dresses and skirts almost exclusively, she acts like a complete ditz, and because the important word there was acts, that is why Emilia is the head of Siegfried’s intelligence network.

The last significant advisor is a frail, rather greasy looking old man with graying hair, a trimmed mustache, and beady eyes that were once vivid hazel, but have faded as he gets on in years. However, he advised Siegfried’s father in the ways of economy and international relations, and he knows what’s up, so Siegfried keeps him around. Sometimes he suspects the elderly man of trying to cheat him and Eron out of money, but never strongly enough to pursue him and risk his nation’s financial stability. Lucius dresses in scholar’s robes, usually dark brown or black, and he sits on the left side of the table.

There are other advisors, but they are either juniors, representatives of cities, or too insignificant to influence the kingdom in any perceptible manner. All the same, Siegfried nods gracefully to all in attendance, including these minor officials, before clearing his throat roughly.

“Alright, we all know what this meeting is about. This morning’s state of affairs review will be a bit different than most.”

With that, Siegfried nods towards Emilia, who stands and saunters over toward a large map hanging on the wall before them. She clears his throat (much more smoothly than the king) before starting her presentation.

Emilia clears her throat once more, then extracts a pointer from somewhere in her dress. Some of the more lecherous advisors and courtiers are fantasizing about being this pointer, but Siegfried’s eyes are firmly on the map.

The map of the continent is very detailed and well displayed, showing geographic, topographic, and even a bit of political delineation between nations, and since this information will be useful to know once Emilia starts in on her revelations, it will be useful to disclose to everyone beforehand.

The continent of Swandona is composed of five countries of roughly equal sizes. As Eron is the central nation on the continent, it shares the most borders with the other nations. Eron originated as a largely pastoral nation, which should be unsurprising to anyone with any sense, since Eron is smack dab in the middle of an expansive, fertile plain. The first citizens were farmers, and the first elders were those farmers that knew best what they were doing and could pass that knowledge on to subsequent generations. Once they discovered other peoples and could trade with them, the division of labor freed up workers to build walls from wood and stone. The first place they did this to is on the cleverly named Stone Mountain (which, in all reality, is just a big hill, but as close to a mountain as Eron has), and they constructed the fortress that would come to be the Eron nation’s seat of power. Eventually there would be several rings of stone and brick surrounding the castle, as well as a great stone construction project to build walls all around the borders to protect it from the outer nations.

The most notable and prestigious of these outer nations is to the west of Eron, and it is called Archentine. Bound to Eron by marriage (Kathryn is the daughter of Archentine’s king, Kenneth), the two nations have been long time allies for many generations. Archentine is the typical vision of a well-balanced nation. It has mountains, rivers, a vast coastline, a bit of plains, and even a swamp. Thus, Archentine has the greatest variety of citizens, from farmers to miners to hunters to fishers and everything in-between. Archentine also has the greatest scientific community of the entire continent, with advanced laboratories (for their kind) and studies into psychological and biological tendencies by scholars from all four major nations. Add onto that a prolific community of literary and historical aficionados, and Archentine is the place to be if you want knowledge about the world at large.

To the north of Eron is a largely barren winter wasteland known as Odovacar. Only about 5% of the land within the nation’s borders is populated, and all of that is only by the hardiest of folk. Over the years, evolution has dictated that the typical Odovacar be tall, broad, and stout. Due to her stature, many believe Kathryn to be of Odovacar blood, but no one has ever been able to produce proof of this. Kathryn’s fine with associating with these, especially the king, a giant of a man named Gisilfrid. A mammoth man with cropped red hair and piercing brown eyes, he is among the very few men that have bested Kathryn in battle, and it is perhaps this badge of honor that cemented the friendship between them, and thus an alliance. Others believe it is trade, which is reasonable; not much can be grown in Odovacar, but there’s plenty of game to be hunted, and so the bulk of meats sold in markets around the world are from Odovacar, or else the outskirts of a kingdom that borders it. Gisilfrid is careful to regulate hunting to prevent endangerment and extinction, but most believe that, much like the people, the game have evolved to be hardy and cannot be so easily overrun, given that so much of the frozen tundra is uninhabited by man.

To the east of Eron is the oriental kingdom of Seiryuu. A peaceful land of mountains and infertile hills, there is not much farming to be done here. There are a couple of plants native only to this territory that make good relations with the kingdom valuable, but no ruler has any agreement with Yopon any warmer than a basic trade agreement. Without much native production of essentials, Seiryuu must import food and other supplies. Because of this, they have become the most adept on Swandona at producing luxury goods, such as silk and jewelry. Thus, no one is willing to risk upsetting the cold, unpersonable emperor.

To the south of Eron is the desert nation of Rhodesand, ruled by the mysterious Shajiri. No one knows that much about the emperor of the desert, only that they tend to keep to themselves. How they manage to sustain themselves without interacting with the other nations is a mystery, but they manage it alright. Most suspect that they are supplied by wealthy nobles of the other nations, but as there is nothing illegal going on, no one has had the time or gumption to investigate, and since it is not important to us just now, we will not explore this any further.

After this reflection on the nations of his world, Siegfried nods to Emilia (who has paused to ask what was the matter with her lord) for her to begin.

“My sources are all in agreement, sire, that there is building tension between Kenneth and Gisilfrid. It’s likely an issue with overhunting the venison population on the border, as well as disagreements with their treaty regarding trade. If they are not resolved by the time the standing treaty expires, it could get ugly.”

“Such foolishness on the part of these two men,” one of the courtiers declares, all eyes turning to him. “Why not settle the dispute like the adults that they are?”

“Easier said than done, Ryan,” Lucius responds, wheezy voice penetrating the silence that immediately followed the idyllic and overall impractical suggestion. “Both men are older, and full of pride.”

“So?”

“That means they’re stubborn,” Paul responds, commanding respect and attention as he leans in on the now frightened retainer. “If either one of them was younger, they would relent and there would be peace, but both men are older and believe themselves to be right. I’d like to think they’d sort this out on their own as the treaty ran out, but we need to prepare for the worst.”

Siegfried nods, filing this away for his imminent decision. He looks to Emilia. “Anything else?”

“Well, my spies have noted mysterious movement in Rhodesand, but they can’t tell me anything about it. I think it best for us to concentrate on the conflict between Archentine and Odovacar, my liege.”

“I agree.” Siegfried strokes his chin, thinking. After a moment, he turns to the idiotic courtier. “Fetch my wife, Ryan. If she is not still taking care of the problem in the kitchens, search for her in the barracks, then in our private chambers.”

“Right away, your majesty.” Ryan bows as low as he can go, then rushes off. Siegfried continues to be pensive.

“I’m pretty sure I know what I wish to do…I just need to talk to Kathryn first. We will wait here for her.”

The assembled group nodded, and so they waited.

The conference stood quiet for an inordinately long period. No one really grew worried about Ryan or Kathryn, knowing it was all too likely that the queen had enlisted the messenger in whatever trouble was going on in the kitchens to help, thus getting them out of there faster.

After a moment of awkward silence, Siegfried looks to Emilia again, still standing with pointer in hand before the massive map. “Emilia, is there anything else we need to know about the political situation of Swandona?”

Emilia furrows her brow, pondering this for a moment. “Hm. Nothing truly important on my end. Some minor resistance groups budding in Archentine and Eron, but they have no real support from the people. Even Paul’s weakest unit could put down a rebellion by these nimrods.”

Siegfried nods, eyes pained. Even though he knows they are wrong and will ultimately fail, any news of resistance movements pains him, makes him feel as though he’s failed someone. Paul seems to note this and silently shakes his head at Siegfried, prompting the ruler to nod, smiling slightly. He turns to Lucius. “Anything concerning the Treasury?”

“Nothing truly of note, my lord. The coffers are steady, income is fine. The price of Seiryuu goods has risen slightly again in the last week, but not so dramatically as to suggest anything dire or sinister, and we can easily cover it by the profit from exporting our grains there.”

Siegfried nods at this as well. He was about to question someone else, but then the door burst open. Unsurprisingly, a flushed Ryan and the unmistakable form of the queen, still dressed in a tunic and pants similar to Siegfried, now having donned her equally vivid, if marginally smaller royal cape, are what lie behind it. Ryan immediately returns to his seat as Kathryn strides into the room, standing at Siegfried’s side as all eyes turn to her. She raises an eyebrow, then seeming to understand when Siegfried asks her to go back toward the middle of the room where everyone could see her.

“What? I know I’m late, but what is the meaning of this?”

“No mean ridicule, I assure you,” Emilia answered, bowing low and deep to her queen. (Many of the male courtiers with the proper angle try to sneak a peek down her dress, but her dress remains firmly against her chest, being pushed out by her chest but not low cut to see down it.) Once she has risen, she continues. “My lady, your father and your trusted friend and comrade are experiencing an increase in tension between their two nations.”

“Let me guess: you want me to try and facilitate a reconciliation between the two to avoid a worse conflict?”

Siegfried nods. “That’s the idea, but only if you’re comfortable doing so. I understand if you think it’s a conflict of interest.”

Kathryn shakes her head. “Well, it IS a conflict of interest, but I think they’re both smart enough to know that I’m going to have their best interests in mind.”

Siegfried beams up at her, but Emilia interjects. “You do realize that you’ll have to wear a gown to that sort of occasion, right?”

Kathryn rolls her eyes, looking at no one in particular. “Yes…”

“Just checking.”

Siegfried still smiles up at his beloved queen for a moment, eyes communicating his love and gratitude. After their eyes meet and exchange vows once again, he turns to his advisors and courtiers. “Alright, that will do it for today. Emilia, keep me posted on this.”

Emilia nods. “Absolutely, my lord.”

“Alright, dismissed. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me.”

With that, the King of Eron disperses his court; in short order, he is left alone in the large conference room with his statuesque wife. He kisses her gently upon her perfectly generous lips.