When the regent Gontrand le Bien Bel didn't wake up the day after an especially outrageous party, nobody at court seemed very surprised. Indeed, everybody had known that the regent's continued excesses would eventually get the better of his fragile health.  Many were in fact relieved when they learnt the news; the regency was finished, at last the king would reign. After the accidental death of the previous king, Charles II de la Dure, in 2500, it was decided to nominate his brother Gontrand duc de Gascogne to be the kingdoms regent. If Charles II's only son to have survived the last outbreak of scarlet fever was legally old enough to rule, he nevertheless had never been prepared for that role.
The regency lasted much longer than had initially been planned. The kingdom, whose administrations were very corrupt and inefficient, was not going well. The word spread that Charles de la Tête d'Or preferred having fun at his uncles sumptuous parties than having to worry about his country's future. Discontent was very widespread, however the news of the regents death and the forthcoming coronation of Charles de la Tête d'Or made the people rejoice. For a while the general situation got better; excellent grain harvests in 2508 and 2510 enabled even the poorest to eat their fill, but this was not to last.

Assisted by the loyal Shallyan Cardinal Dumourieux, the young king of Bretonnia, Charles III de la Tête d'Or faces a difficult situation. In the south, war against Bilbali and its allies seems unavoidable. In the miserable suburbs of Guisoreux, the largest town in the country, outbreaks of violence are becoming more and more frequent. Governor Brossard has informed the king of this preoccupying situation by sending him many letters, as yet without reply. Throughout the country banditry is very widespread, making road travel dangerous. Pirates are a constant threat at sea. What's more existing taxes are overwhelming the people, the royal coffers are almost empty and the only way to fill them is to invent yet more taxes.

" The once virtuous and chivalrous kingdom of Bretonnia fares badly these days. A decadent nobility that spends much of the country's wealth on costly projects to promote its selfish ambitions and pander to its vain frivolities dominates Bretonnian society.
The small middle-class strives to earn enough money to buy their way into the nobility. I have found that they are often amongst the worst of hypocrites.
The common people are very unhappy, overwhelmed as they are by taxes. However this must not make us forget that in many cases they are just as perverted as their masters are.
The king stands above all men in the kingdom. He rules by divine right and his powers are such that he can have any he wishes imprisoned without redress. The king may have little interest in the populations' misfortune but one has to acknowledge that he has some good qualities. Namely he hosts superb balls, dances the minuet to perfection, is a generous patron of the arts and is said to excel at repartee. So it seems that in the end, not everything goes badly in the kingdom of Bretonnia."
        Written in 2511 by Helmut Ongt

The current Bretonnian king is Charles III de la Tête d'Or, aged 29. Charles is a rather tall man with long blonde hair and his clothes are always cut from the finest cloth.
The king enjoys courtly life and the attendant amusements but shows little interest in the misfortunes of his subjects. It is dangerous to contradict him, whatever the motive. Charles III is a direct descendant of Gilles le Breton and he intends to reign as an absolute monarch. That said, some of his counsellors have a great influence with him and are subtly responsible for most of his decisions. The king hates the concept of work, so Cardinal Dumourieux deals with much of the day to day management of the kingdom.

The king's current wife (his second), the oldest daughter of the Duke of Remas, is Tilean (his first wife was a Magrittan noblewoman who died of scarlet fever less than a year after arriving in Bretonnia). With this marriage, the Bretonnian king hopes to maintain a strong alliance with Remas.

Plot: Charles III's wives will not live long for some reason. Maybe someone doesn't want him to have any descendants?

# Cardinal Dumourieux (based on Cardinal Richelieu from Dumas), aged 45.

His first desire was to serve in the army, but he was forced by his family to join the cult of Shallya. This ambitious young noble from Couronne was truly more interested in politics than in religion and spent much time at the royal court during the reign of Charles II. After the move of the court to Oisillon, he managed to make it up to the rank of high priest in the corrupt Bretonnian clergy of Shallya. Cardinal Dumourieux then quickly accumulated a great personal fortune with the income produced by the vast estates of the Shallyan church all around Couronne.

- High priest of Shallya in Couronne.
- Member of the Shallyan concile, the highest authority of the cult of Shallya
- Member of the holy council, the highest religious authority Bretonnia
- He's not truly religious by any account. He can't use any clerical magic.
- Powerful and ambitious.
- Very rich

He plays the role of a prime minister since the end of the regency of Gontrand le Bien Bel. His birth doesn't enable him to claim the throne of Bretonnia for himself (he is not a member of the royal family). Howewer, he is very much the power behind the throne of Charles III. He is called the "Red Minister" because of the colour of his clerical robe. He is well experienced in the art of official duties (military, political and judicial).

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Last updated : 10/ DECEMBER /2000
This is not the final version of the document,
Please mail your suggestions and your remarks to
peter butterworth <peter.butterworth@ircom.unilim.fr>
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