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Chapter Six: Growing Up in the Middle Ages
The death of Uros II could not have come at a worse time. There was no king to unite the realm. Only the threat of the Mongol onslaught kept the kingdom together.
Nenad was untested and was just beginning to learn to count, but he had a loyal regent and the realm's treasury was full.
His regent's first order of business was to welcome the Jews back to the kingdom after they had been expelled.
Apparently I expelled the Jews earlier. Huh. It's a little disturbing how comfortable I am with doing that.
Meanwhile, the generals of Serbia continued the fight against the horde, capturing a high ranking chief.
But there were many in the kingdom who saw their chance to gain power. Duke Georgi of Karvuna, a relative of the old king of Bulgaria, declared that he was the true ruler of Bulgaria.
This proved to be a miscalculation, as Uros had left the kingdom with a substantial succession fund.
Georgi was thrown into prison, his fate to be decided when Nenad was old enough to take the throne.
Nenad was a very inquisitive child and asked his tutor all kinds of questions about life and nature.
Lucia's willingness to answer them led Nenad to trust all adults.
Fresh Bulgarian reinforcements helped to push the Horde further back.
This, combined with the sheer numbers of the HRE, convinced the Khan that he could not fight against both the HRE and Serbia. And thus peace was made between the Horde and Serbia, along with a healthy amount of war reparations.
The regent continued to fulfill all the matters of state, including strategic marriages. However, England was unlikely to help, given their distance.
As the forces of Egypt became overwhelmed by the Crusaders, the Sultan made one final plea to the Iron Khan.
The Khan decided to answer the call. Soon, hordes of warriors overwhelmed the Crusaders and drove them back into the sea. The Crusade was over.
Meanwhile, the regent continued to hunt down rebellious vassals.
But the greatest threat came from outside. The King of Trebizond, Pirvu, was married to the heir to the Bulgarian-Serbian throne, and he saw his chance expand his empire.
He would pull the same trick that Uros I had used - murder until his family was on the throne. Even more alarming was the amount of people he'd convinced to join in on his plot. The regent, in desperation, freed the Dukes of Epirus and Karvuna. Fortunately, this act of clemency convinced most of the realm that living under Nenad wouldn't be so bad, and the plotters (save for King Pirvu) withdrew.
Nenad was blissfully unaware of such things and spent his days in the kitchen, trying out new foods and drinks.
His tutor did little to reign him in and Nenad gained a considerable amount of weight.
Ninjahedgehog, after a failed attempt at persuading the regent, came up to Nenad and told him about some new organizational techniques he'd learned about. Nenad didn't understand a word he said but was aware that Ninjahedgehog knew a lot about swords and stuff, so he gave Ninjahedgehog permission to do what he wanted.
Speaking of the marshal, his son Deceitful Penguin came of age. DP had been trained in the art of bookkeeping and was known to be a humble, patient, hardworking, and chaste young man.
Nenad never bragged about his position to the other children. In fact, he never really bragged to begin with.
He was becoming less and less trusting. While he didn't know the whole story of how Pirvu tried to kill him, he was aware someone tried to kill him.
However, when he started raising doubts about God, his guardian took a rod and beat him. Nenad never raised questions like those again.
However, Nenad was determined to speak his mind.
But his guardian told him it would be better if he hid his true intentions. A king must be aware of plots and schemes.
The new Jewish steward managed to win several good trade deals for the kingdom.
As Nenad grew older, he wanted to meet more and more people.
But after meeting a man with a cold, Nenad caught it himself.
His new guardian convinced him that the king should not meet with people below his station unless absolutely necessary, lest things like this happen. After that, Nenad began to retreat to his room with a book in hand.
At the very least he recovered his health.
The day finally came when Nenad came of age. He was married to a young noblewoman with good stewardship skills.
The first thing Nenad did upon taking the throne was to declare that he would take a pilgrimage to Koln. There he hoped to learn answers about God, his destiny, and the universe.
Next Time: The Crusader King