After three uneventful rulers, Simon I ascended to the head of the von Bergenz Dynasty, at the age of 28. He has been my most interesting character that I can remember. Scholarly and temperate, yet cruel and deceitful, I try to play my characters based off their traits as much as possible.
Previous events discussed earlier had caused the Duchy of Tyrol to become a vassal of Francia, but I was able to achieve independence without bloodshed when Emperor Carlomann (my uncle) agreed to avoid a civil war between France and Italy. Finally independent, I was able to conquer land from the heathen Pommeranian tribes. I formed the Duchy of Brandenburg, fought off a couple of revolts, killed the son of the rebellious Count of Luneburg which labeled me a kinslayer (I was later pardoned), and became known as Duke Simon the Cruel. I also had a couple of sons. I should have realized that it was a mistake to marry my Aunt (and the Emperor's sister), because my eldest son Karl turned out to be a major disappointment. A misguided warrior, I felt he would be unable to keep the two half's of my realm together. After sending him into battle on numerous occasions when he was clearly outmatched, I finally decided that enough was enough, and hired assassin's to end his life. With the deed done and my son dead, I forced his wife (the daughter of my Uncle Carlomann) to remarry a distant relative (Duke Siegmund II of Brunswick, he comes into the story later).
My other son Michael was the spitting image of his father. A scholarly theologian, he was the man I wanted ruling the realm. I awarded him with two counties and he managed to take one more by himself! Truly, he was the man that would be destined to rule after me. He ended up married to his brother's wife sister, and all was right in the world.
Time passed and my ruler grew old. I fought a war over Salzburg against King Udo II of Bavaria (my nephew) and won, and I amassed large reserves of gold. Unfortunately, Udo's supporters won a war against the Queen of Germany. Realizing that he would be eager to take back Salzburg, I swore fealty, losing my independence, but securing the safety of my realm.
That's when my descent into tyranny truly began. Michael would make a fine leader, but he was reaching 37 years old and without an heir. His wife was nearing thirty five. I like to think that I had no choice. Had I left matters alone, I would be passing the realm off to a distant cousin, or even worse, my first son's only child, an incapable daughter. Fearing that everything I had built would be lost, I took drastic measures. I imprisoned and executed his wife.
I like to think that it was this event which set the current state of affairs in motion. Duke Siegmund II Brunswick declared war over the County of Braunschweig which I controlled, perhaps in an act of revenge against his wife's executed sister. Suddenly, in the war's closing months, the unthinkable happened - Duke Siegmund II of Brunswick called my son into war against me!
After Siegmund sued for peace, I turned my wrath to my traitorous son. My marshall failed to capture him, so I was forced to put him down with force. I knocked down every castle and even managed to capture his second wife. The ***** had the gall to ask for leniency so I locked her up in chains. She died in my dungeons just before the rebellion ended. With my son and heir in chains, I had little choice. The penalty for treason is death. He sealed his fate when he supported a distant cousin over his own father.
Now, at the age of 67, the realm is in a precarious position. During this rebellion, my wife (and aunt) had passed away, and I managed to remarry the Queen of Asturias. Her realm had been losing ground to the moors for a hundred years, but she managed to give me another son before she died at the age of 42. Now he's four, he sits at the throne of Asturias, and one day, God willing, he will rule Tyrol and Brandenburg.
I wish I had thought to take screen shots of this whole event before it became the epic story that it now is, but I got a couple right after my son rebelled. Ultimately, I guess the moral of the story is don't have children with your aunt.
Duke Siegmund II right after the rebellion.
I like to think that the execution of my son's first wife sparked this whole chain of events.
His second wife is captured.
The rebellion (I was technically at war with Saxony to support Duke Siegmund, but only because I would take a prestige hit otherwise).
And now I go back to being a kinslayer.