Chapter Text
"About two hundred years ago, both kingdoms of Svealand and Norrland were united in one single realm. That was until a conflict arose between the King's children. Ebba and Erik were the same age, born from different mothers as the King used to have multiple wives, and both next in line for the throne. The King wanted them to rule together as a unit, but soon enough, they disagreed on various things. They tried to find a middle ground, but Ebba was firm in her traditional beliefs, claiming order and discipline were necessary for the kingdom, while Erik wanted to explore, to reconnect with the wonders of nature and to allow shifters to take part of society.
If Erik was so passionate about shifters being accepted, it was mostly because he was one of them. It was a well-kept secret, and the King did everything in his power to protect both Erik and his mother from being found out. But eventually, Ebba revealed the truth to gain the support of the people. The kingdom was torn between Ebba's supporters, and Erik's. After long battles and negotiations, it was decided that the kingdom would be split at the Dalälven, the river crossing it. Erik inherited of the Norrlands, with the high mountains and harsh winters, while Ebba set rule in the Svealands and its luxurious valleys and forests.
Erik started his own bloodline in the Norrlands, enforcing rules that were kinder to nature and a simpler life for himself and the people under his reign. Shifters got a safe space there, their abilities often used for menial work or army purpose, with the same respect and the same opportunities as any other human being. The kingdom thrived, its closeness to nature making it one of the most prosperous in the region, envied for its resources and peaceful living.
Ebba enforced her own set of rules, stating that all shifters were to be banned from the country, despising any form of magic in favor of science and military. She founded a dynasty, based on harsh ruling and discipline. Her reputation soon drew in multiple treaties from foreign kingdoms, offering luxury importations and the guaranty of security to her people. Living in the Svealands was synonym with hard work to take part in a society that valued labour and social hierarchy, but also a gage of security and abundance.
During Erik and Ebba's reigns, rumored to both have ended on the same year, no conflict arose between the two kingdoms, their only interaction being migration flux from one to another. But as the years passed, the rivalry between the two kingdoms became problematic. The Norrlands lacked a lot of arable lands to feed its inhabitants, while the Svealands were in dire need of the precious gems stored in the mountains to afford their lavish lifestyle. It led to numerous wars and battles no one could win, the sheer army power of the Svears being rivaled only by the Northerners use of shifters on the battlefields.
And then, the rival kingdoms were on the verge of war. To avoid a conflict that could easily destroy both of their kingdoms, Queen Kristina and Queen Linda agreed to meet on neutral grounds in the little bordering village of Bjärstad, situated on the river separating the two kingdoms. A week-long negotiation took place there, in the presence of both queens and their heirs.
In the end, both women came to an agreement to which I will spare you the details of, sealing a non-agression pact with a symbolic royal wedding. Both spare heirs were to be wed by the summer solstice, lest the pact would be void. This wedding wasn't meant to carry on the legacies of both bloodlines, but to serve as a symbol of an historical union between rivaling kingdoms. A statement of peace, if you will."
"But, did it work in the end? Because history tells us-"
"Let me finish my story, little one. That was just the context you needed to understand what happened between Simon the Fierce and Wilhelm the Devoted. Their journey began shortly after that pact was signed…"