Legends Never Die: Rolling Momentum (ch. 124)

It had been roughly eight months since I had assumed the mantle of King, and thus far, I had met my own expectations. There was, of course, resistance to the new practices and reforms that I implemented. More resistance than I would have liked, but still less than what I had prepared myself for, which made the transition go smoothly. 

The first of my notable projects had reached its first milestone -- the Kingsroad. A grand web of roads that flowed through all of Denmark, connecting to every city from the border of Saxony to Sjaelland. Come spring, while my armies marched out for war, those roads would have branches split off from them leading to the smaller villages, interconnecting them to every other village and city in Denmark. It would take a few years for the project to be finished in earnest, and it was no small expense, but it was one that was worth investing in early. Not only did it bind my kingdom tighter together, but it had the exact effect that I wanted it to have -- it proved that what I’d brought to Denmark would strengthen it. 

My palace had the same effect. I took no shame in admitting that I had taken inspiration from the Romans with how they had beaten me over the head with grand displays of obscene wealth and showcasing the pinnacle of their people's architecture. A single year wasn't enough to complete my vision for the royal palace, but it was enough time to build the core of it. I sculpted statues, commissioned tapestries, and discovered a new type of plaster art that I used to great effect. 

I could see it now, as I looked out at the crowd of nobles -- both those that had bribed their way in and those who I had invited. They had the same awe in their eyes as I had when I bore witness to the Hagia Sophia and the Hippodrome. I could see their minds turn over the idea that something like this could be theirs. No mere longhouse made of wood with a dirt floor that they had to share with animals, but a home made of stone. Something great and beautiful. 

It was a spark, but one that I hoped would catch into a flame. One that would spread across Denmark so that I wouldn't be the sole source of momentum in bettering our kingdom. 

Kingdoms, I suppose I should say. 

“Cute little buggers,” I heard Thorkell remark from behind me, leaning over my throne to see my children in my lap. Bjorn and Radahn -- they were both a welcome surprise to the celebration of my first year as King. Jasmine had begun her labor first, earlier in the day, and Astrid joined her not a few hours later. Both were fine and recovering, leaving the two princes to me to introduce to the court. 

He wiggled a finger before Radahn's face, and cracked a smile when the boy reached up with clumsy hands to do battle with the offending finger. All of my children shared my blood red hair, but Radahn's eyes were the same brown amber as Jasmine's while Bjorn had inherited his mother's green. 

“They’re happy and healthy,” I replied, looking at Bjorn, who seemed to be glaring unhappily at the guests in our hall. Barely a day old, and he seemed rather annoyed with people in general. “Shall I expect a playmate for them soon, Jarl Thorkell?” I asked, making Thorkell's grin widen. 

I had made Thorkell, Olek, and the others that had been the core of my armies into Jarls and Thegns. It was something of a dangerous president that Rome’s history had warned me about -- how the Roman legions continued to promise land that they didn't have to their soldiers, which fueled their expansion to the point of overextension. But it had been a necessary risk to take. I needed steady hands ruling my territory, those who knew my ways and who I knew I could trust. 

Thorkell had been made the Jarl of Hedeby, while Olek had become the Jarl Ribe. While Ribe was currently the more important settlement, as it was now the third largest settlement in my kingdom, Hedeby would grow in importance as time went on. It was the gateway into Denmark from the south, and the town would grow as Saxony and the other territories were integrated into my empire. 

“Seems so,” Thorkell admitted. He and Kassandra had been wed some months ago, and Morrigan had heard mutterings that she was pregnant. “That's some real politicking, huh? My kid is going to have a play date with a prince.” He sounded more amused than anything. 

I chuckled alongside him, relaxing into my throne. It felt good, I had to admit. I was proud of the progress that I had made so far, all the more so because I knew that it was only the beginning. From where I sat, I could see my other children -- Ragnar, Magnus, Scáthach and Aífe, all playing with a handful of other children. And I knew, somewhere, Morrigan was watching over the gathering with a raven. Or several. 

Just as she would be keeping an eye on the celebrations in Miklagard, throughout the city the Yule celebration was underway, and it would last for several days. The first night would be reserved for the nobles of my kingdom, but the rest of the celebration would be with the people. 

Miklagard had grown exactly as I’d hoped it would. The years dealing with Norland had well prepared me for building a city from scratch. Though there had been a small fishing village here initially, there was hardly a trace of it now. In eight months, the city's population had swelled to twelve thousand people. By this time next year, I expected that number to jump to thirty thousand. I made good use of the abilities granted to me by the gods to design what was a hair's breadth away from my ideal city. 

I genuinely couldn't wait to begin construction on my own Colosseum, or the other monuments I had set aside room for. They wouldn't begin for more than five years and wouldn't be completed for five more, but that hardly tempered my excitement. At long last, I was finally implementing the ideas that I had experimented with and nurtured for so long, and so far, I had been validated at every turn. 

Which brought my attention to my Legacies. 

Upon becoming King of Denmark, I had earned a significant portion of the ‘renown’ needed to earn a Legacy boon. Enough so that it had pushed me over the mark to earning one, but I held off on making a decision simply because I didn't know how many I would be able to earn over the course of my lifetime. However, upon Hoffer's confirmation that Norway would submit to me? 

I had earned enough for a third Legacy, and it was enough to convince me that I would see several of them in my lifetime, provided that all of my goals were accomplished. And now, as I held my youngest sons, I looked to what could help them secure their futures. 

Secure your Dynasty by giving your descendants bonuses that shall endure so long as your bloodline does.

Breeding II: Dynasty members have a 50% more effective immune system, making them more resistant to disease. Additionally, dynasty members will benefit from the Iron Stomach perk, which strengthens their resistance to poison. 

Customs: Dynasty members learn foreign languages 50% easier for their second language. Third language decreases bonus to 25%. Fourth language decreases bonus to 10%.

Martial: Children gain martial experience 15% faster between the ages of 5-18.

Diplomacy: Children gain diplomatic experience 15% faster between the ages of 5-18.

Stewardship: Children gain stewardship experience 15% faster between the ages of 5-18.

Intrigue: Children gain intrigue experience 15% faster between the ages of 5-18.

Learning: Children gain experience in all skills 5% faster between the ages of 1-18.

I was uncertain what the ‘immune system’ mentioned under Breeding was,  but I swiftly selected it. The resistance to disease gave an idea of what it was clear enough, but it was the resistance to poison that convinced me to take the second tier of the Bloodline tree. The thought that my children could fall prey to a sickness, or worse, poison like I had nearly perished from… I couldn't not take it. 

My sons stirred in my lap, and I wondered if they felt the choice take hold. My next choice in Legacy was less certain, all the more so because I couldn't select the third tier for Bloodline. Meaning I had to select the first tier of another tree. The first time I had selected a Legacy, it had been between two choices, and now that I saw how the second tier was increased, offering the benefits of a perk for my entire bloodline?

My second choice was Learning, which would grant my children all a 5% increase in learning speed, for whatever type of knowledge they set their sights on. It was a small boost, admittedly, but one that would work well with the other trees. All the more so as I expected that bonus to only grow the further down the Learning tree I went. Which promised to be quite far when I did some quick math for my Grand Quest -- a thousand Renown was offered for its completion, which would be enough to take me all the way down a single Legacy tree. 

I was satisfied with my choices, enough so that I nearly missed Thorkell continue. “When did King Hoffer bend the knee? Or is it Jarl Hoffer?” He asked, and the question did take the edge off my good mood. 

“He's still King Hoffer,” I answered. The displays that I put on had their intended effect on both King Widukind and King Hoffer -- they were awed by what I’d accomplished, wary of the might of my army, and impressed with how I was building up my kingdom in a way that they could only dream of. After correcting my mistake in not informing her of my plans, Astrid had used her influence over her father to great effect. He held out for around six months after I had been crowned King of Denmark, and in the few months since, we had been discussing the terms of what he would accept bending the knee to me for. 

A big sticking point was that he had to remain a king. Which was both a problem and something of a solution to another problem for me. King Widukind was carrying out his part in paving the way for the time when I would rule Saxony, but I couldn't deny that it still grated on me to strip him of his title after everything that he had done for the country. Hoffer's insistence that he remain a king enabled me to keep Widukind a king as well. 

The issue was what it meant for my own title. I couldn't simply be ‘King’ Siegfried, surrounded by fellow kings. That would imply that they were my peers, not my subjects. I was initially leaning towards the title of Emperor, but that was one that had very little relevance to my people. It was a title that could trace its roots to Rome and Augustus -- in Rome itself, or in Francia? It was a title with weight. Not so much in lands that had never been under Rome’s rule. 

‘King of Kings’ was something of a placeholder at the moment, but I had time to settle on what my official title would be once I finished my conquest of Scandinavia. I intended to have a second coronation with the rulers I installed across the lands in a display of legitimacy. 

“You don’t seem happy about it,” Throkell noted, withdrawing his finger from Radahn’s grasp, and earning his ire based on how his expression pinched. 

“I think Astrid was helping her father as much as she was helping me in the negotiations,” I admitted with a small sigh. I didn’t blame her for it. I’d even expected it. But, my grip wasn’t as tight on Norway as it was on Denmark, and I didn’t want the privileges that Hoffer still enjoyed to become a model to work off of. I didn’t have the same sweeping sway over Norway, nor could I wipe away the existing political structure to implement my own people to rule over the territories I redrew. 

Norway would be weaker for it, but I suspected that I could lean on the kingdom to do what I desired through economics. The other territories that I developed were experiencing an explosion of wealth and development. That wouldn’t be missed by the Jarl’s of Norway, nor Hoffer himself. 

Thorkell barked a laugh, clapping me on the shoulder. “There are worse problems to have,” he noted, and I nodded in agreement. 

There certainly were. There had been a part of me that worried I would have to force Norway's submission, and I vastly preferred the current circumstances compared to that. Because, in the end, the gods had granted me a Grand Quest to see all of Scandinavia united. I would sooner disappoint my wife than the gods. 

Bjorn’s face began to twist, sensing his brother's growing ire that he could only express through crying. Preempting it, I gave Thorkell a nod before I stood from my throne with my boys cradled in my arms. From where I stood, I saw Jill filling in for Astrid and Jasmine both, speaking and entertaining the noble ladies of my court. I saw the Jarls and Thegns start to make their move towards me, hoping to strike up a conversation, but they knew better than to do so with two squirming children in my hands. And if they didn't, Thorkell was there to run interference. 

Leaving the throne room, I walked through the halls of my palace towards the nursery. I could have left it for a nurse, or a servant, but… they were my children. A small smile tugged at my lips as I set them in the same cradle, and once the noise was gone, they began to settle for sleep. Perhaps it was selfish of me to present them to the court so early, but I was simply proud of them both. I wanted the whole kingdom, if not the world itself, to gaze upon them and know that they were my children. 

However, I wasn't so distracted that I missed someone approaching from behind. A quick glance warned me of who they were, despite her best efforts. “Morrigan,” I greeted her, looking over my shoulder to meet her golden gaze. “Find anything interesting?” 

“Beyond petty plots to climb into your bed or woo you with promises of men and wealth that you don't need? Not particularly, no,” Morrigan replied, leaning against the doorway of the nursery. “A few of the plotters have potential, though. I shall give them an opportunity and see what they do with it. Plotting and planning are most useless unless they have the will to carry out their plans after all. T'would be most disappointing if they couldn't accomplish at least that much.” 

I hummed in the back of my throat, watching my boys fall fast asleep. 

There were several frameworks for the empire that I planned to build which needed to be built first -- among them was a spy network. Morrigan couldn't keep an eye on the entirety of the empire alone, even with her ravens. Keeping an eye on just Denmark was already straining her abilities to the point of breaking. To that end, Morrigan had devised something of a test -- she opened the door to those that had no right receiving an invitation from the royal palace. 

A test to see if they had the cunning to get their hands on an invitation in the first place, the guile to actually show up, and to see what they would do with the opportunity presented to them. Some were lowborn, just as I had been. Others were former noble families that had decided against leaving the kingdom. It was to find promising recruits, and to weed them out based on why they were here in the first place. Social gatherings such as these made it easy for Morrigan to map out plots and the intentions of those who sought my favor. 

“Have your eye on anyone in particular?” I asked, my gaze lingering on my children for a moment more before I turned to the guards -- a dozen of them, each one of my veterans. They understood their charge perfectly, and I knew every single one of them would die before they let any harm come to my children. Their loyalty was absolute. 

“Just one at the moment,” Morrigan answered with a dismissive shrug, telling me that whoever it was had talent but they hadn’t managed to impress her yet. We left the nursery behind, and took the long way back to the throne room. “Though, I’m sure that Jasmine or Astrid will find use for the others.” 

I nodded in agreement -- talent was a well that needed to be found to be useful, and I had several irons in the fire when it came to finding the talented among my people and among those that would become my people. A spy network would only be a part of it -- finding those that were natural tricksters. Just as the Rangers found those that felt more at home in nature than they did in a home. Other groups like merchant associations would find and invest in those that had a talent for making piles of coin grow. Or my initiatives for teaching trades to my citizens shifting for those that had a natural talent in their chosen trade. 

It would take time for that talent to be nurtured. But I felt in my bones that when the time came, the reward would be well worth the investment. 

Morrigan was cultivating her spy network, which would spread across the territories I would add to my empire. Just as Astrid would soon start her own order of Shieldmaidens in the name of Lagertha Hare-Foot. Jasmine had developed a strong interest in trade, and she would oversee a merchant association that would sponsor voyages to her homeland. Meanwhile, Jill was cultivating diplomatic connections and diplomats for future use to help ease the transition of my conquest. 

“Have you carved your wish into a wishing log?” Morrigan asked me, and I chuckled in response as we walked down the halls of my palace. 

“Theres no need, this year. I already have all that I could want.”