Heavy, the Church Bells Toll.

[CaptainHaense 1153]

Heavy, The Church Bells Toll
5th of Wzuvar and Byvca, 359ES

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnAyMl-JXYw 

The body of Koeng Josef being moved from Nikirala Prikaz to Saint Henrik’s Basilica

---

Josef never much enjoyed being King. To him, it was a duty he was beholden to, a calling that he could not ignore. Even as a child, a rift was driven between him and his siblings because of the position of their births. Whereas his siblings could live a quiet life if they wanted, Josef was destined to be at the forefront of the Nation.

 

He always dreamt that it would not be him, that somehow the burden of the Crown would pass to one of his siblings, Stefan perhaps, or even Aleksandr. Though he did not understand what wearing the crown truly meant, he saw the effects it had on his father - King Sigismund II.

 

While Josef was only seven years old, Sigismund II committed suicide in his office, feeling trapped by the duties he was surrounded by. If there was any doubt about whether or not he wanted to be King, they died with his father. “But look what it did to my Papej” now Koeng Josef lamented to his betrothed, Isabel “How do I know that it will niet happen to me too?”

 

The fact of the matter was that there was no way to know how he would fare as a Monarch. Despite being under the Regency of Konstantin Wick until he was of age, he still began to feel the weight of his new position.

 

All he wanted was to grow up as a regular child. He wanted to pet his cat, play in his sandbox,  eat snacks, fool around with his siblings. He didn’t want to be a regal head of state controlling the future of thousands.

 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, you have people who will help you throughout your whole reign.” Isabel tried to assure him when they were adolescents. It was true, most of his family was still alive, and he cared deeply for his betrothed and younger siblings. He could not imagine a version of his life where he didn’t have Isabel, or Juliya, or Franz to support him. 

 

But he never felt that any one person’s support could keep him on his feet. By the time he was of age and out of regency, he instead found a friend in liquor and food. He owned a notoriously infinite appetite. One could question whether he was truly eating everything he seemed, or if it was some sort of illusion played out as a joke.

 

Perhaps the happiest time in his life was when he was wed to Isabel, someone he had found great admiration and love for despite the marriage being arranged by his Mother years prior. His family life became an escape from the burdens of the Crown, where for even just one night he could pretend to live a humble life.

 

A young Koenas Isabel and Koeng Josef near their wedding day

 

---

Not long after his wedding, Haense became an independent Kingdom, separating peacefully from the Holy Orenian Empire. It was the most significant event during his reign, marking him as the first independent King to reign peacefully since Karl II a hundred years prior. Things began to look bright for his future. Even if he didn’t want to be King, he hoped to at least be appreciated by the people he served.

 

Independence was something he had long sought after. It had become clear to him early on that there could exist no working relationship between the Imperial and Royal governments any longer, and that the death of his Father years before had proven that. To him, independence represented a chance for the spirit of Sigismund II to finally lay at rest. A spiritual victory as much as a physical one.

Koeng Josef returning to Reza on horseback after gaining independence

---

He felt massively grateful that his reign saw no major armed conflict, that he found nothing but allies with regard to foreign diplomacy. Whether it be Norland or Urguan or others, both nations signing alliances and treaties with Haense represented a new era for the country on a global scale.

 

Even domestically, his reign saw major shifts and reforms, with the Aulic employing more people than ever before and offering elected opportunities to even the most discreet commoners. Josef was confident that his nation was as healthy as ever.

 

But this national confidence did little to stifle his episodes of self-doubt, his love for the bottle, or his destructive appetite for anything remotely edible. As he matured, he too widened with fat, and often reeked of alcohol.  It was the only way for him to fully escape from his reality. 

 

 

Even after establishing the prosperous Karosgrad and the birth of his three beloved children to his faithful wife failed to change his worldview. He was hopelessly hopeless. Whereas thousands would kill to be King, he would have done the same to not be.

 

The death of his Mother represented to him one of the final nails in the coffin. He locked himself away in the palace, isolating himself from even his closest family. Those around him most noted a shift in attitude, the laid back and lax Josef replaced by one irritable and drunken Koeng.

 

Finally, Josef passed the record set by his great grandfather, Andrik III, and became the longest reigning Haeseni monarch in history. Though he did not celebrate, instead continuing on as normal. To him it was no achievement to have simply failed to perish earlier. Perhaps he would have if he were more of a military man, or more of a daredevil.

 

 

---

 

Ultimately, his wretched lifestyle caught up to him. The plump and rotund Koeng, bloated from a large — though for him regular meal — climbed the stairs to his chambers late at night. He felt nauseous, and had more trouble ascending the steps than usual. He thought nothing of it, and continued to his room.

 

As he reached for the doorknob to his chambers, he felt a tight, squeezing pain in his right arm. Tired and somewhat drunk, again he ignored it. Once he hit the bed, he instantly was in a deep sleep. What he didn’t know was that he would never wake up again.

 

That night, a powerful heart attack ravaged his body. A man of his age who cared even minimally for his health would never have to worry about such a thing. But Josef did. Subconsciously, he felt guilty for leaving behind the family he loved so much, but some part of him felt ready to go.

 

Heavy is the head that wears the Crown.

 

The heart attack did not kill him instantly as he may have hoped. Instead, he lay dormant, comatose for months. Family crowded around his bedside day in and day out, wondering if he could hear their words, their prayers.  

 

No one proved as dedicated to being by his side in this time than his wife, Koenas Isabel. She maintained that her husband would wake up, that he could recover by Godan’s grace. She was not ready for him to leave. What would their children think? She thought of their eldest, now Prince-Regent Henrik, only fourteen. She recalled how Josef lamented at how many child Kings Haense had in modern times, and how deplorable it was to force such a young child in such a position.

 

A part of her felt angry, that Josef could be so careless and leave their entire family to pay the brunt of it. She had tried for years to try and slow Josef’s drinking, to make him eat healthier, encouraging him to exercise more. But he always insisted that his lifestyle was fine as it was.

 

 

---

On the fifth of Wzuvar and Byvca, as Isabel went to sit by Josef as she had been doing daily for the entirety of his coma, she heard a shout she had dreaded for years. A phrase that embodied everything cruel about the system she served in, one that she knew would change the dynamic of her family forever;

 

“The Koeng is dead! Long live the Koeng!”

 

She quickly pushed her way into the room, a crowd of physicians and doctors crowded around the bed in any last ditch attempt at saving the Koeng. She pushed some of them aside, hoping to get a look at her husband. What she saw immediately made her regret that choice. Whereas Josef looked peaceful and fairly regular during his coma — as if only laying down for a nap — he now appeared pale, oily, and decrepit. His mouth agape, dried lips cracking. He must have passed over night, his body already chilling.

 

Isabel; unable to stand the sight, quickly left the room. As she rushed down the hallway, her ears were assaulted with the simultaneous recitation of  the phrase “The Koeng is dead. Long live the Koeng.” She stepped outside the front entrance of Nikirala Prikaz, looking only for an escape from the immediate shock of the situation. But there was none in the city of Karosgrad, the great bells of the Basilica of Saint Henrik bellowing a sorrowful ringing to all that could hear;

 

The Koeng was dead. Long live Koeng Henrik II. 

 

[Juli 1340]

The now Queen-Mother collapsed to her knees outside of the Nikirala Prikaz, unable to suppress the trembles coursing through her body as tears welled up in her eyes after seeing her late husband's deceased body. Despite the hopeless looks she received from the many doctors who visited the palace, she spoke with confidence that Josef would recover swiftly, even when she deep down knew otherwise. 

 

It was unbearable to even imagine her life continuing without Josef by her side, but that was now her reality. They had an understanding of one another, both thrusted into a position they neither chose nor wanted. He kept her calm, taming her sometimes erratic temper and their family provided them both stability. 

---

The young King stood next to the hearth with Isabel seated across from him “But how am I going to be a King like my papej? He was the strongest man I know!”he’d exclaim in frustration, still a child and yet given the responsibility of ruling the kingdom. 

 

“Maybe we could jus.. pretend? Until ye are big and strong like he was, Joey”” Isabel suggested, the young baruch barely ten and now betrothed to the King. Both children giving a nod, promising to be there as support for one another. 

---

"May ye finally rest, joey." She'd mutter, her cheeks still stained from tears before departing back deep into the Nikirala Prikaz.

[Totalitarianism_ 478]

Sergey Kovachev welcomes Koeng Josef to Hell.

[The King Of The Moon 5119]

Lothar Vladislav, The Prince of Rubern, does a celebratory dance upon hearing the news.

"Now I shall rule Haense, and then, the wooooorld!" he cackles maniacally. 

[gavyn 855]

Reserved

[DahStalker 2843]

Hillith recalls having met the young King once within his youth, having the honor of serving him tea and a cheese platter in her old Haenseti home. With much sorrow the woman inhaled sharply with pursed lips, making a silent prayer for the deceased Barbanov.

[Coolcod77 586]

"The könig is dead, long live the könig." The former Duke of Reinmar and Lord Marshal of Haense would state solemnly, as he read the missive. 

[Drew2_dude 2130]

Ser Maverick Baruch, unable to forgive himself after the death of Josef I, would retrieve his sword and pull the sheets from his bed, going to the nikirala residential Garden. There he would spread out the sheet and fall to his knees, unsheathing his sword and thrusting it through his own body.

[1_Language_1 1670]

                      "With one king gone, another one comes. It's a vicious cycle. Haense has been much too kind to me." Wilheim gently tapped the folded letter against his hand, recalling the hospitality of Haense ever since Oren uprooted him from his home. "A king to his nation, is like a father to his child. In that case, it matters not that he died a good king. It matters that he died a great man and a great father." 

[MissToni 3487]

The young princess royal had been hoping, praying, that her father would wake up. She so wished for one last talk with him, one last laugh, one last hug. But she would never receive it. Instead the young girl walked into his room and layed next to his dead body after her mother had ran out of it. The many physicians trying to coerce her to leave her father's bed. But she would not leave it. 

 

Katerina Ceciliya uttered a few words "Vy promised me vy would dance with me during my Hauchmetvas papej... Why did vy lie to me and leave me. I needed vy there" she cried into his cold and dead body. 

 

The princess would never be the same again.

[Axelu 3691]

The Baroness of Woldzmir mourned the loss of her nephew, so soon after the death of his Queenly mother. She had oft praised him for his pride, his resilience, and his loyalty to both family and country. Even across the isles of man, it was ascertained that the scions of House Carrion-Tuvyic lowered their heads in reverence in honor of King Josef I, not only a dear neighbor - but an intimate friend. 

[GoodGuyMatt 7060]

Ser Brandt Barclay dips his head, signing the lorraine as he mumbled prayers for the deceased king "Krusae Zwy Kongzem." said the knight with a sigh, wiping a tear off his right eye, shed for the second Koeng he was able to serve under "Long live the king." he concluded then simply

[Sander 3155]

Ser Fiske Vanir stared out of the window in silence upon hearing the news of his brother in law passing away. After a while he sighed deeply, signing the Lorraine cross and uttering the ancient Vanir phrase "The Sea bows to None" Before preparing himself to tell his wife of the news.

[erictafoya 2302]

Upon hearing the grim news, Igor signed the lorraine for both the ascension into the skies for the deceased King, and for the new rule under King Henrik II. "You may have not been the perfect King, but you were still a good man. Krusae Zwy Kongzem, and Long Live the Koeng." said the Tribune, who continued on with his campaign.

[AnonymousAlexa 3877]

Aleksandra Ludovar gritted her teeth together and attempted to hold back tears as the news was relayed to her by town criers. Without hesitation, the pious Dame rushed to the Basilica to pray. "The Koeng is dead...long live the Koeng," she uttered, signing the Lorraine before she lowered herself onto her knees before the altar, beginning to mutter soft prayers for the fallen Koeng and for the success of the young Koeng Henrik.

 

Isabella Barclay allowed a few tears to fall down her cheeks as soon as she was informed of the grim news. "Oh, the poor Koenas," she mused to herself, before signing the Lorraine for the fallen Koeng.