Prologue: Trouble in the Kingdom

As matters stand January 1, 1400

Although the ancient kingdom of Litolia has weathered many troubles before, a recent catastrophe has upset the kingdom like never before. In the late part of the 1390s, a deadly plague broke out and ravaged the kingdom, killing around 40% of the country's population. The disease hit the hardest in the country's capitol and the seat of the monarchy. Although the nobles fled to their countryside estates, it was too late for many of them and several noble families, including the royal family suffered great losses.

After loosing his father, mother, two older brothers, and younger sister, the young Jean-Luc de Lioncoeur was declared the king in 1398. He had survived the plague only by virtue of being out of the country at the time. Being the youngest son of the king, Jean-Luc had never expected to become king. He had spent his youth indulging in a lifestyle of comfort and pleasure and was unused to the worries that accompanied the crown.

Although he had been used to spending his time frivolously, Jean-Luc quickly matured to handle the weight of his new responsibilities. His court almost empty and the coffers of the kingdom running low, Jean-Luc was quick to align himself to the noble house of Le Blanc. The Le Blanc family had managed to escape the bout of plague relatively unharmed. Already wealthy and powerful before the disease, the family was now the most influential in the kingdom.

To secure the Le Blanc family as his political ally, Jean-Luc decided to arrange a marriage between himself and the youngest Le Blanc daughter, Anne-Marie. He had always been captivated by her beauty and charm and although he was not completely ready to settle down, he knew that a marriage to her would provide the kingdom with some much needed stability, and the two were wed quickly after his coronation in December 1398.

Now after over a year of marriage, Jean-Luc is growing worried. His young bride is prone to flights of whimsy and does not concern herself at all with the affairs of state. He desires a powerful queen who would be able to help him steer the kingdom out of peril and who the people would trust, but Anne-Marie has shown no signs of becoming such a lady. He is also frustrated with his lack of an heir as his year of marriage has produced no known pregnancies.

Navigating his marriage has also become dangerous thanks to the queen's brother, the Duke of Litolia, Girard Le Blanc. The second most powerful man in the country, Girard has become the King's chief adviser in all matters.

Although he trusts the clever Girard for now, Jean-Luc is unsettled by the idea that Girard's ambitions may get the best of him in the future and does not dare complain to the Duke about his problems with Anne-Marie. He can let nothing jeopardize his relations with the Le Blanc family for now and chafes at the realization that he is currently the pawn of the family's ambitions.

As he struggles to maintain his control of the throne and to restore glory to the devastated kingdom that he now rules, Jean-Luc clings to the hope that a male heir will provide security to his rule and keep the Duke's ambition in check.