The King of the Northern Fells: The Chronicles of Mattias

By Douglas Roff

The King of the Northern Fells chronicles the rise of Crown Prince Harald Gunnarson as King in the Northern War of Succession following the death of his father, King Gunnar Alfreddson. The succession is rocky as Harald's youngest brother, Ragnar, has assassinated his two older brothers and plotted against his father and oldest brother, Prince Harald. 

Harald has spent many years in the unstable northern territories; the kingdoms, principalities and fortified cities that comprise the new colonies of the kingdom in its far north. As Harald assumes the throne, there are not only challenges within the kingdom, but threats from their longtime and historical enemies, the Southern Kingdom led by King Joachim in his capital city of Avil Baden.

The novel interweaves stories of family and love, with war and kingship, duty and honor, tolerance and acceptance.

The warrior Lesti, an all-female paramilitary militia, the Wiccan Witches of the Northern Fells, Pagans and intelligent Beasts are introduced, as are the intrigues, plots and conspiracies of the many men and women who seek power and wealth. The Lesti, and their Beasts, long the subject of arbitrary slavery and death in all kingdoms and realms, are rising to power, and to take their place among the free peoples. 

This is a new world, an ancient world of people, heroes and monsters all juggling for power and freedom.

Enter a feudal world, a chaotic and sometimes cruel world.  

Enter a world of strong and valiant women warriors who lead armies and struggle against the unspeakable horrors of slavery, servitude, and oppression.

Enter the world of the King of the Northern Fells.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Douglas Roff
• Release date: Apr 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215527856

Douglas Roff

Douglas Roff is a retired corporate executive. He has lived around the world working in various capacities for government and industry.  Doug has written twenty-nine novels to date, mostly in the mystery, paranormal and fantasy genres, but not exclusively.  He currently resides in Latin America, speaks Spanish, and is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.  

Book preview

Prologue

Present day

Lord Harald Gunnarson looked out over the vast river valleys of his kingdom in the early morning light, mounted on his massive warhorse, Valhalla. He had only recently ascended the throne of the Northern Fells, a kingdom of vast fertile lowlands situated between two mountain ranges bisected by the mighty River Tor. The death of his father, King Gunnar Alfreddson, had been sudden and unexpected; it threw the line of succession into chaos creating a contest no one wanted.

The Fells, as it was most often called, had been undiscovered and uninhabited for millennia until the arrival of a hearty people, independent and ferocious, who colonized the wild, frigid and uncharted lands fleeing oppression in the south. That was a thousand years ago; now the kingdom was a series of interconnected fiefdoms independently controlling large swaths of territory, each governed by vassals loyal to the king in the capital city of Fjallamenn, at the great hall of the King of the Northern Fells.

From his high vantage point, Harald watched the people of the capital going about their daily business.  He had been away for many long years subduing rivals and rebellious tribes in the northern reaches, and occasionally skirmishing with troops of the Southern Kingdom.  The south, always a rival and enemy, sought to push north looking for new lands for their expanding populations of unwanted castoffs. As these settlers entered the Fells in search of a new life, they sought unclaimed territory within the kingdom to tame, colonize and occupy. The endless tall grass plains outside and surrounding the vast kingdom were lightly populated, mostly by roving bands of brigands and thieves, and dispossessed nomads.

The lowland farmland of the Northern Fells on either side of the River Tor was fertile and rich with dark soil, producing all the grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables that would be canned and stored in anticipation of the cruel winter to follow. The tributary streams and rivers of the mighty Tor flowed west to east from the Western Cordillera Mountains, and east to west from the Eastern Cordillera Mountains. The watercourses teamed with fish; the surrounding mountains blessed with abundant wildlife. Farm animals grazed on the low green grasses of the valley floor; the Fells was blessed with immense natural resources.

The early inhabitants of the Northern Fells almost perished in that first brutal winter, but survived after discovering a vast cave system warmed by hot springs seeping to the surface from deep thermal wells below. The hot springs were heated by volcanic fissures created as tectonic plates collided, releasing magma upwards on the journey from the earth’s crust to the surface forming the mountains above. As their numbers grew, the Fjallamenn, as the colonists called themselves, the mountain people, eventually left the safe confines of their warm mountain caves, and their hunter-gatherer existence, to farm the rich and productive river valley below.

Over time, thermal waters were diverted to a series of linked lodges that became villages, and later cities. Farm animals were brought into shelter with the population in the warmth and safety of the village system; the people and animals adapted to harsh winter conditions, only coming out of their lodges when conditions permitted.

Winters, indoors or out, were brutal and long. Some died, but the Fjallamenn endured until their cadence of life embraced the winter weather conditions, and they acclimated. Tragic deaths of the weak and elderly were simply the price of independence and freedom from oppressive rule in the kingdoms from which they had fled. The people escaping the tyranny of the Southern Kingdom came north to farm the land, hunt the game, and make these valleys their home.

The Southerners overpopulated their own fertile lands, overhunted the mountains, and used up resources far more than their numbers could sustain. They employed ‘slash and burn’ farming techniques irrespective of consequence, unbalancing the ecosystem provided by nature.

No matter how challenging the conditions were in the Fells, it was a better, freer life than was found in the Southern Kingdom. Old ruling families in the Fells originally took power through force of arms, and controlled small kingdoms and principalities that were both independent and fierce. They warred with each other for wealth and influence, always keeping an appropriate distance from the king in Fjallamenn, and his occasional meddling in their internal affairs. But when faced with external threats, especially from the south, they united under the banner of the King of the Northern Fells and his army in Fjallamenn, their capital city and seat of power.

The new king was now Lord Harald Gunnarson who recently ascended the throne after the death of his father and the treasonous intrigues of his brother.

The vassals in the sparsely populated far north of the Fells were generally unconcerned about the politics and intrigues in the capital; these princes and their aristocratic families came late to the Fells and forged small kingdoms through perseverance and an indomitable spirit, without help from the king in Fjallamenn. They forged their own paths and did not feel that anything was owed to the king, so they sometimes had to be reminded of their pledged fealty to the crown in difficult times of war and conflict, or when taxes needed to be raised.

The army of the Southern Kingdom began raiding the north during the late reign of Lord Gunnar Alfreddson, King Harald’s father, attacking small outer settlements near their border on the Plains of Orr, the vast grasslands separating the two kingdoms.  The army of the south eventually worked its way North until they were ready to cross the mountains and attack the capital of Fjallamenn, then move to subdue the smaller and scattered kingdoms of the northern territories within. Harald, upon succeeding to the throne after a bloody contest of heirs, sought first to unite the fragmented kingdoms and principalities under his rule, then advance south over the mountains to address the threat posed by the invaders.

Harald didn't want an all out war, he wanted an end to hostilities. Peace, if it was to be had, would come later.

It took King Harald more than a year to unify his peoples under his strict martial rule; he later moved over the mountains to engage the enemy and disposess them of their squatters rights. The contest between the two kingdoms resulted in many battles and skirmishes, first with the squatters, then with brigands and roaming bands of nomads, then with the armies of the Southern Kingdom.

There was no decisive battle; the Southern army withdrew south much as they had when they feigned attack on the Fells as Harald was being crowned king. In each case, the south assumed chaos and weakness in the Fells. In each case, they were wrong.

There would be war, a decisive war, but not for many years.

The ununified kingdoms of the south were ruled by bellicose nobles who sought conquest rather than commercial trade, and who ruled by force and aggression. Their ways were antithetical to the Fjallamenn who elected their leadership, passed their own laws, and sought consensus rather than belligerence in settling disputes.

The system was imperfect, and strained at times, but strong leadership in Fjallamenn kept the kingdom together. Even the new king had to be approved in the various governing councils.

After defeating the various armies, militias, and roving bands of brigands and thieves, Lord Harald was summoned back to his capital city to restore order among the royals and ministers appointed to govern in his absence, preserve the peace, and maintain order. While Harald was in the field and at war, order in the realm rested in the capable and loyal hands of his family.

Years earlier

Harald Gunnarson was the firstborn son of the old king, Lord Gunnar Alfreddson, and was raised in the royal household in the capital city of Fjallamenn with his three brothers and two sisters until he was named Crown Prince as a young man. At that point in time, as Crown Prince, he was sent to live with the lesser royal houses of the northern kingdoms and principalities of the northern territories, all loyal vassals to the one true king in Fjallamenn. He did not return to the capital city until word reached him in the far north that his father had been killed in battle while defending the porous borders of the realm who invaded the kingdom seeking plunder.

Though kingship should have been his immediately by right, confirmed by a vote of the royal houses and the Assembly of the Commoners, his brother Ragnar spread the rumor that Harald was dead, killed by assassins from the south. By the time Harald returned home, his youngest brother Ragnar, having dispatched two of his older brothers, was readying to usurp the throne. When Harald arrived at the capital, the general populace, as well as the royal houses in the minor kingdoms, were split between supporting the young pretender, who they had known and feared for many years, and Harald, who had been away many long years and who was essentially unknown to the younger Lords and Ladies as well as many of the younger ordinary folk of the capital.

As Prince Harald approached the capital city, a small armed band of men approached his advance guard, advising him to turn back and relinquish any claim to the throne; the votes had already been taken in each governing body, and Prince Ragnar had been elected Thane of the Fjallamenn, pending votes confirming the decision in the lesser domains.

Harald noted in reply, The vote was illegal and premature under law, custom, and practice. You were obligated to await my return so we could meet in council to decide matters. This you have not done. Therefore, you must set aside the vote taken, sit in council with me, and decide the candidates who will comprise the ballot for kingship. You, my brother, are welcome to the throne if you win the vote of the councils, but not otherwise.

The reply came swiftly from Prince Ragnar.

You were absent and declared dead. That gave me the legal right to proceed; nothing has changed. The declaration was legal, and my name was the only one put forward for the Crown. You must disband your army immediately, return to your barracks, and swear an oath of loyalty to me, and the Royal House of Ragnar Gunnarson.

Harald replied, "It seems that you misapprehend the nature of my claim to the throne, and the choices that father made in naming me as Crown Prince. He sent me away to live among our vassals, to learn about and understand the many peoples and cultures I would need to govern. I can rule as an autocratic king; I must govern by assent of the people. You have always been a soft prince lounging in the comfort of the royal palace while father fought our eternal enemies and I maintained cohesion throughout the realm. You are not qualified to rule or govern. It also appears that our brothers, Olaf and Sven, have disappeared. What knowledge do you have of their whereabouts and what have you done to find them?"

Ragnar’s reply, They just disappeared one day. Probably lost in a crevasse hunting in the high mountains. They left together one morning to hunt and didn’t return. I have no knowledge of their whereabouts, nor does it matter. The vote has been taken. I am to be king, subject to formal approval of the distant principalities. However, they cannot prevent my coronation; neither can you.

You are but a pretender; I am the Crown Prince. You will yield the city to me and meet me in council, or I shall take the city by force. If you wish to meet me in single combat, or in a clash of armies, I am willing to accept your challenge. But if you fail to meet me, I shall bring my army into the capital and we shall decide the victor on the field of battle, or wherever you flee from my wrath.

Ragnar misapprehended the strength of his older brother.

Your army is small. It will never even reach the capital intact. I command superior forces; submit now while you still can. I will only banish you.

Harald replied, Brother, my army is bivouacked in the mountains of the Western Cordillera. They are ten thousand strong. We moved quickly, traveling fast and avoiding detection, thinking your treachery to be the source of ill tidings and even more foul events, including the murders of our brothers. I have followed your intrigues closely over the years; your betrayal of father, our family, and the realm has not gone unnoticed. I have been informed of your ties to the Southern Kingdom; you are a traitor on top of being a cruel despot. I have a report that Olaf and Sven were found in their beds, murdered most foully in their sleep, no chance for trial by combat and an honorable death.

Ragnar was in panic, Attack, then, if you think you have the army to support your boast. I’ll wait for you behind impenetrable walls, fully provisioned for a long siege, if that’s what you have in mind.

When the siege is lifted, if you are still alive, you will be put to death according to law. If you love your people more than the naked power to rule over them, you will meet me in single combat and we will decide this matter as men, not as cowards.

Do your worst. I am king; I’ll not relinquish the throne to you or any other claimant.

So be it. May I see our sisters?

"See them? You may have them both if you wish. I no longer wish to hear their constant braying and complaining. Their husbands were lost in the Southern Wars fighting alongside our father. I have no need for them, or their brats; they’re no longer valuable as trading assets to be used in sealing alliances. They are useless to me now. Spoiled goods."

Then send them out. And send me the families of the slain husband heroes, the men who fought bravely and nobly at father’s side.

You may have them all. They’re but traitors awaiting an opportunity to betray me and bring down my rule. Rich and powerful though they may be, they live only at my discretion and whim, and only so long as I sense they are caged and muzzled. But I assume they conspire with other traitors, perhaps even you. I would kill them but for the chaos that would cause within the palace walls and within the merchant, guild and landed gentry classes. I need them alive for the present; I cannot kill them, at least not now, anyway. But sending them away? That’s manna from heaven. I’ll send you our sisters and the two merchant families into which they married. And I thank you for this boon. I wish I could say I’ll reward your kind offer, but, when you’re dead, it’ll hardly matter. Nor will it matter for them when I get around to imposing my will.

Harald said coldly, Then send them, and prepare for battle.

Much to Harald’s surprise, Prince Ragnar kept his word to send out Harald’s sisters and their in-laws, the merchants Ravens Metterson, head of the Merchant’s Guild, and Lars Magnusson, head of the Craft Guild along with their families. It was common for the daughters of the Kings of the Fells to marry into the gentry and merchant classes of Fjallamenn society, whether located in the capital or in one of the minor principalities. It was important to have connection to the common folk, especially if they were rich, influential, and powerful. The kings of Fjallamenn felt that such arranged marriages strengthened the bloodstock of royalty and tethered the common folk to the land and the royal houses.

Many males of the gentry offered themselves in military service to serve their king, gain favor and attain status. Some were rewarded and elevated by royal edict which, in times of peace following war, made them a new breed of landed aristocracy though born a commoner. New replaced old in a system that survived and prospered under a just king’s careful and skillful hands.

Under King Ragnar, that system would be destroyed and replaced; monied, skilled and landed classes had nothing to gain and everything to lose with his ascension to the throne. If Harald meant anything to them, it was stability and predictability. To the commercial classes, that’s all they wanted. Ragnar represented despotic conditions along with arbitrary and ever changing rules and laws.

Such was the case with Hanna and Liesel Gunnarsdottir, Harald’s sisters. Though the marriages were arranged, the couples knew each other well, did not object to the arrangement; they were happy to be wed, uniting families. It was rare for the husbands to be killed in battle, mainly because, until then, there had been so few wars with pitched battles.

The reunion of the sisters with Harald, though a product of sadness, was nonetheless a happy event.

Lord, your sisters have arrived along with the leaders of the Merchant and Craft Guilds, and their families. What do you wish us to do with them?

Bring my sisters, my nieces and nephews to me directly; ask the merchants and craft folk to take their families to the accommodations we have arranged, get them settled, and attend to their needs. I’ll send for them as soon as my family is settled. My family is to share my quarters; send guards to attend to their safety and make sure their goods are brought to my tent.

They brought no luggage, and were not a part of a train. Same for the Guild families. They were summoned by Ragnar and told to depart immediately for your camp.

Their mood?

Calm. No doubt they would like a one-on-one with your brother to express their displeasure; both scions are rough men hardened on the field of battle by your father. They will support the true king; to them, that’s you.

I will see them directly after seeing to my sisters; we have much to discuss.

Hanna and Liesel Gunnarsdottir, along with their broods of children and family relations, entered the complex of tents set up on the plateau high above the valley floor and far from danger. Harald had the bulk of his troops camped on the inward side of the highest mountain pass in the Western Cordillera Mountains at the slope midpoint awaiting orders. Harald had been a bit disingenuous with his brother; he had an army of fifty thousand men, fully provisioned and in top condition at his beck and call. When they filtered down to the valley floor in formation, Harald expected Ragnar to flee. But Ragnar did have high city walls for protection; the Keep had never been breached. Ragnar was no warrior, and had no more than a few thousand men at his command. Those were mostly sycophants seeking favor with him on the assumption that Harald had perished in combat. When they heard that Harald was, indeed, still alive, they became nervous and began looking for ways out of the palace and the city as soon as possible.

For all of Ragnar’s bravado, he too had pinned his hopes on the cowardly assassinations of his two older brothers and the hope of Harald’s death in battle or by assassination. Ragnar had no way out now; he would play the hand he was dealt, but would cave in quickly and throw himself on his brother’s mercy if a hot war began. That is, if Harald would permit it. Harald himself didn’t have enough information to figure out what to do with his brother; he would get that from his sisters and another version of circumstances from the two guilds.

His sisters, Hanna and Liesel and their six children, entered Harald’s tent and military headquarters.

As soon as Hanna and Liesel entered their brother’s tent with their kids right behind them, they swept into his arms and rained kisses on him. As soon as the children saw their mothers doing so, they too rushed to the uncle they had never met, jumping on him and hugging him for dear life.

Harald tried to get up, but the sheer weight of his family members would barely allow him to move. The guards smiled, knowing this reunion was many years in the making, and that Harald had always had a soft spot in his heart for Hanna and Liesel. The girls always got in trouble, causing mischief everywhere they went in the palace and in town. No doubt they had passed on these horrible behaviors to the kids, but Harald didn’t mind.

Guards, guards, please help me, Harald said. These children are demanding candy to release me. I am most foully kept captive; the price of ransom is high. Can you do nothing to save me?

You’re the king. These are your loyal subjects. You’re on your own, but perhaps your sisters, the princesses, can rescue you.

It doesn’t look like it. I fear they’re in on the plot. They used to be little brats before I left. I think they’ve only grown larger, not nicer.

So true, brother, said Hanna. We have no need to misbehave any longer; we have children to do that for us now. For a price, we may help.

What? Anything. I feel my strength draining as my nieces and nephews make incessant and unreasonable demands. I’m not long for this world.

You’re such a baby.

You say that now, but when I’m king, I will be King Baby. My petulance and moodiness, my childish behavior, will be legendary.

Oh, Harald, said Liesel. How we’ve missed you. There has been no one to put up with our – behavior. You always kept us safe and made excuses to father for being horrible daughters.

Oh, don’t be silly. Papa knew all about your antics. Don’t tell the children, but our papa always approved of your adventures. He tasked me with watching over you, just in case.

In case what?

You were tomboys. He didn’t want you beating up the boys.

"Like the boys needed any protection. Our husbands loved us even then because we were brats, not despite the fact. When papa decided to ‘arrange’ our marriages, he just did as we instructed."

I wish I had been here. And here with mother. She was always the peacekeeper and the sheriff. Father never wanted to cross her; neither did I.

She was short, tiny, and weighed like three pounds.

Yeah, three pounds of pure mean and the evil eye. How soon we forget.

Liesel said, Children, time to let your uncle up. The guards will take you to our quarters; we have things to discuss with your uncle, the King.

The guards stepped forward, collected the children and guided them to their own rooms and sleeping quarters.

When they were gone, the sisters and Harald hugged for a very long while. They all cried; it had been so long since they’d been together. They were so close as children, and there had been so much sadness in their recent lives. Harald had not been around to protect them or their husbands, as the girls had always wanted and assumed would be the case.

After they had hugged it out, Hanna said, Ragnar is insane. With your return, I believe he’s scared witless and I fear he will make foolish decisions based on his cowardice. It will get people, good people, killed. We must stop him and insure your ascension to the throne as quickly as possible.

Any advice?

We’re glad you asked. We have a plan.

War?

Of course not. A coup, a bloodless coup. Well, maybe not completely bloodless.

Tell me more.

For that, we need to speak to the Guilds. They have a plan to make all these problems go away quickly.

What will it cost me?

Nothing. But do you remember the Metterson twins; those gangly girls, skinny as a rail and the bane of all boys in town?

I do. They tried to beat me up once upon a time. I had to run as fast as I could to escape. They weren’t girls; they were monsters. What about them?

Liesel said, They grew up.

Chapter 1

Within minutes, the guild leaders were summoned to the king’s tent to discuss matters of state with Prince Harald and his sisters. Harald wanted to speak to the two fathers to express his condolences on the loss of their sons. They were family, and, though he had not been in the capital for either wedding, he knew both grooms well growing up. He had long imagined that his father could choose other men as husbands for his girls to cement political alliances, but the sisters would only marry the men they chose. These men had been their choices since childhood; the girls had been wild and uncontrollable, but they at least listened to the boys they loved.

These boys, Manfred and Broddi, were martial boys, brought up to join the army and train. They began early and trained with the king, who favored them for their loyalty, steadfastness and courage. Hanna and Liesel could not help but fall in love with them; they were so beautiful, so courageous and so favored by their father. When the time came, Gunnar got no more than a few words out of his mouth when the sisters informed their father who they would consider for matrimony. Fortunately for Gunnar, the King, his list and the sisters’ choices were almost identical; only the order of ranking was different. He said he would carefully consider their request, then took more than a week to announce a decision that had already been made years ago.

Harald once asked his father about the decision and why he didn’t announce it right away.

One day you will be king and, the gods forbid, you will have daughters too. They will rule your life, be forgiven for everything, get away with murder, and presume heavily on your love and tolerance. When it comes time to choose their husbands, you will only be allowed to announce their choices. Making them wait is the best you can ever do. It may be childish, but it was my only revenge.

For what?

Loving them too much.

The party of seven arranged themselves comfortably around a large circular table. There was no need for introductions; those assembled had known each other all their lives, though the skinny twins had grown up to be beautiful women. Harald could not take his eyes off of them, which earned him winks from each. Harald collected his thoughts and shook his head, clearing his mind.

So, you have arrived in camp, Harald said. Things are tumultuous in the capital for those who would seek the crown.

Lord, began Ravens Metterson. There is much confusion and chaos in the city. Ragnar pinned all his hopes on your reported death and the murders of your two younger brothers.

Murders?

They didn’t exactly fall into a crevasse; their throats were slit in the middle of the night, then Ragnar took steps to suppress the truth.

How?

He murdered the entire palace staff who knew anything about the incidents.

No one said a word? No one spoke up?

Only your sisters. Everyone else was too afraid to speak up, but the rumors made the rounds. Ragnar signed an edict that anyone contradicting the official version of what happened to your brothers would be tried and hanged for treason against the Crown.

Why?

The unofficial version of the truth in circulation blamed Ragnar for the murders; the commoners, the gentry, the merchants and craft guilds, as well as many nobles, were all equally afraid. Ragnar controlled the army garrison. Murder as a path to kingship is not unknown, even in our domains.

I’m informed that he has a garrison of a few thousand. Are they loyal?

They were. Now, it’s hard to tell.

Do you have an exact number of those in the garrison?

Two thousand, more or less.

I have fifty thousand armed and battle tested men and women, plus camp followers. I’m guessing the garrison will surrender when we show up outside the city walls.

I’m guessing you’re right, said Ravens. But that’s not what Ragnar is telling his men right now. After all, he’s likely on his way to the afterlife; he has nothing to lose fighting you. His men do. They will all die.

Harald said, We can go to the walls of the city and ask his men to lay down their arms and surrender. I will guarantee their safety. No serious commander would send his men to their deaths unnecessarily under these circumstances.

What circumstance are you referring to?

Ragnar is outnumbered and trapped; we’re all fellow citizens. I grew up with many of his men, trained with them, and know their families. Why would they choose to die needlessly for Ragnar?

Lars Magnusson spoke up, Ragnar has told his men to hold out, that an army is coming from the northern territories to support them and break the siege. More likely he means an army approaches from the south. He’s told them that the relief columns will arrive within days.

He’s right that an army from the north is coming. The warlord Halvorson has sent his men; mostly untrained savages. But another army marches south; those are my reinforcements who were intending to go directly to the southern front in support of our soldiers in the field. They will stop here first. I was on my way there too when the news about my father arrived. I need to button this up and move to meet the enemy. If Ragnar keeps this up, he may find two armies outside the city walls.

You need to speak with Ragnar?

Will he listen?

Hanna said, He will not. He won’t sacrifice himself to protect others; it’s not in his nature. He’ll want to go down fighting, sacrifice his army, then try to flee. He’s weak and a coward. Father knew it, I knew it, and so does Liesel. If we are to succeed, we need to remove Ragnar and force his men to lay down their weapons.

I can try. I’m not sure how, but we’ll need to find some other way to get to him.

Assassination?

I’m not sanguine about killing my brother; I’d prefer to capture and banish him. He is my brother, after all.

Hanna said, Ours too. But he was going to kill us, and with us, the families of Ravens and Lars, including the twins here with us today.

Harald said slyly, Yes, I remember little Hilde and Lisbet. You were not very kind to me as children. What’s changed?

Hilde, the elder twin by minutes, said, We’ve grown up and have waited for our prince to marry. You did not. We wish to be considered as a mate; in exchange, we will rid you of your brother and get you on the way to our southern border to protect the realm. I understand the southern armies were intending to leave the front and return south to winter quarters, but some commanders view the death of your father as an omen. They want to make a final push during the chaos here before winter sets in. It’s in your best interest to resolve this situation with your brother, then blunt the attack that’s coming.

You know this how?

Spies and bribes. How else?

And my brother?

Does it matter?

It does to me. He’s an idiot, I’ll give you that. He’s incompetent and a coward, but he never had any real chance for the throne.

He’s planning to kill you. Surely you’re aware of that?

Hanna? Liesel?

She speaks the truth, said Hanna. He plans to ascend the throne then eliminate the rest of us, you first. We sisters are an inconvenient reminder of his duplicity, but not a priority for elimination; it’s the only reason we’re still alive. But you, brother, are for real. That’s a problem and one he needs to resolve quickly. He’s not a fool; he needs to address the border war soon without putting himself in harms’ way. I think he’d prefer to send you to the front to win the war, then kill you. He wasn’t expecting our father to die in battle. He was planning to kill you both when you returned victorious. Now, things have changed.

Harald said, My sisters tell me there’s a plan. Can I assume the plan comes from the gentry?

Lars said, You may. If you give the word, the guilds will capture or kill Ragnar, your choice, and you will be proclaimed king by acclamation. Then royal assent and vote of the commoners will follow in rapid succession. Forty-eight hours from now, you can move your forces south, win the war, then return victorious.

I must first bring the thanes of the Northern Kingdoms to Fjallamenn to accept their oaths of fealty, and be prepared to put down any hint of rebellion in the countryside engendered by Ragnar. In any event, I may be gone a while.

You need a regent. And you need a wife.

I will appoint my sisters as regents. I have no need for a wife at present.

You have male heirs?

You know the answer to that. I have my nephews.  Are they not royal enough?

They are, but they are not your children. So, for our realm, and for the people, you will need a wife and two regents. You will be away from the city for long periods of time and in very risky circumstances. The throne and the line of succession must be secure.

Hanna? Liesel? What about all this? You’ve been scheming?

Yes, we have our concerns. And yes, Liesel and I have broached the subject with Lars and Ravens.

And with Hilde and Lisbet?

They’re important to any plan.

Are they, now? How and why?

It’s their plan, for starters. I like it, and it has the support of the gentry class, the burghers and the guilds. In this plan, only one man goes away, and he’s a traitor.

He’s your brother.

Yes, the brother who wants to kill you, and who wanted to kill father. Let’s not weep for the child he was, but for the snake he’s become. He has to go. You of all people know this. What would father have done?

Banishment. Father was expedient and ruthless except when it came to family. Then he wanted the world to be as he wanted it, not how it really was.

Best argument for the plan. Be practical and let us end this quickly and quietly.

What else is in this plan?

You must marry.

Why?

Heirs, a continuation of the royal line.

You two have six kids; three boys and three girls. I’ll name one of the boys as Crown Prince until I produce an heir.

Which boy?

You girls decide. What does it matter? I’m not going anywhere.

It matters. You need sons.

"What else have you not told me?"

That Ragnar has been doling out land and benefices to all the gentry and the military. He’s not without his following, and his people collect only if you’re dead and he’s alive. Therefore, he must die and you must live.

OK. Why the wife, then? I cannot produce an heir overnight.

It’s the price of admission.

Who says?

Everyone who matters. Ragnar must go and quickly; once accomplished, we can all rest easy.

Including me?

We’re doing this for you. Let us help.

Who am I to marry?

Hilde.

I see.

And Lisbet.

What?

They’re twins, and close in all matters, and our laws do not forbid a king taking more than one wife. In this instance, we need both women to carry out the finer details of the plan.

You need twins?

"We need these twins, said Ravens. Hilde has a friendly relationship with Ragnar. So does Lisbet, in a sense."

Dare I ask?

If Hilde isn’t available to meet with Ragnar, then Lisbet fills in.

I’m not seeing the issue here. I have no need for a wife. If you don’t want to help, no strings attached, I’ll bring my army and burn the city to the ground if I have to. I don’t care what Ragnar has said about an army on the march; there is no real army coming from the north except mine.

But there is an army coming from the south, as you surmised. Ragnar has been in contact with the Southern Kingdoms and has been conspiring with them for some time.

You know this how?

Hilde conspired along with him, but reported to us.

And I know she’s loyal? How?

Hilde said, You don’t. I may be lying and trying to switch sides to the winner of this contest at the last minute.

Harald said, I agree. I’ll not take a wife I cannot trust. I appreciate your plan, but as king I'm not convinced that I should put myself in your hands. I’m much more confident in my fifty thousand troops. And, I’m not convinced that I can’t encourage the troops in the city to lay down their arms. They know who I am and what I can do to this city, and to them.

They aren’t the problem.

No? Then who is?

The one hundred thousand troops on the way from the south.

You said they were going home to winter quarters soon.

I did. But I also said there was a disagreement within the officer corps about going home now just before winter, or fighting.

Now they’re on their way here?

Yes.

How do you know? You guessed?

No, I just received updated intelligence. The army faction that wanted to make war before winter has won the argument. They see us as weak and divided; unable to defend after the death of the king. I want to end this war before it begins, just as much as you do. With Ragnar gone and you in control, the southern army will have no choice but to turn around and go home. Ragnar agreed to let them enter the city, to open the gates. It’s the main reason they were willing to come now.

Harald thought for a moment.

Guards, please escort these four to their quarters and post guards. They are not to leave their tents.

Lars Magnusson said, Don’t be a fool. We can eliminate Ragnar and deliver the city and the kingdom to you.

You may suggest more success than you can deliver. The kingship is mine by right. You cannot deliver to me what is not yours to give. As for you two, my sisters, how much of this did you know and not tell me?

All of it. We have the best interests of the realm at heart; you're being arrogant and foolish. Many will die unnecessarily now. Now there will be civil war.

Marrying these two? What purpose does that serve?

You need a queen, two if you can. Hilde and Lisbet may not be your dream dates, but they play modern politics better than you, big brother. They know the politics of Fjallamenn; you don’t. But if you want to go it alone, sis and I will travel north to the outer kingdoms. The southern army will get there last.

I don’t think so. Guards, place these two under guard also. They are not to leave their tents, nor are the children. If they attempt to flee, bind them. This includes the guilds, their daughters and their families. No exceptions. If any get away, heads will roll.

Yes, Lord.

Hanna said, You’re an idiot. We were so close to killing two birds with one stone. Now there will be war. Everyone loses.

Next time don’t try to manage your sovereign. I’ll arrange marriages for you single ladies. You mentioned the far north? Well, my traveling companion is from one of those outer kingdoms, a particularly hostile band of castoffs originally from one of the other minor kingdoms.

A voice was heard from within.

Were you talking about me?

A woman appeared in full armor and battle dress. She was tall and lean, though little of her could be seen, covered as she was covered in leather and iron, a scarf across her face, revealing only green eyes.

Ah, my general. May I introduce you to Inga Sigursdottir, my friend and companion of many years. I will speak to her and let you ladies know what I decide to do with you.

Inga had been listening secretly to the conversation, and did not hesitate.

We should consider the offer.

What’s changed?

Everything. There is a small rebel army marching south from the northern territories. I have just received word that the army of the south numbers over one hundred thousand. Those troops were returning home to winter quarters, but have turned around and are heading here. The return south may have been a feint.

Who marches south in our kingdom?

Halvorson, along with seven of the new colonies. They seem to still hold a grudge against you for defeating them in battle on behalf of my papa, King Sigurs of Halbren.

That was years ago.

"It’s a grudge. Grudges last long. You pissed off a lot of angry savages; now they think it’s their turn