The Witcher: Aethan of Cidaris

Chapter 1: The Final Journey Of Ethain the Magnificent

Here we go, the rewrite! This chapter does contain parts of the OG first chapter, but for the most part, it's a complete rewrite except for those parts. Now for like the first thousand or so words, there is no dialogue, but following that is a good mix of dialogue and no dialogue.

Enjoy...
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(Cidaris Castle, Cidaris Province, Kingdom of Cidaris, Northern Kingdoms, Witcher World)
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(Year: 1266)
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The First Northern War was long since done and gone, but King Ethain was dead, done in by an Assassin, now the Role of the Cidarian Kingship fell to his eldest child and only son, Aethan.

Aethan was far from unremarkable, being an accomplished duelist and warrior as well as a shrewd and diligent administrator, but he was often overlooked as relatively lackluster compared to his younger sisters Atthis, Elliana, and Margaery.

But Aethan's mind was especially sharp and was not of this world.

He planned to forge an Empire in the fires of War, sinews of Marriage, and bones of Alliances. Through his mother, he had a direct claim on Cintra and an indirect claim on Lyria, albeit both of those claims were very weak ones. Only two Kingdoms stood between Cidaris and Cintra, Kerack and Verden. Now coincidentally because of his strong ancestral claim on Cintra, he also held one on Verden as it was once Cintra's vassal, much the same as Brugge and the southern part of Sodden. But there was a way to get them that didn't involve a culling.

If he Conquered or annexed them he'd have a clear path to Cintra and would be able to facilitate his formation of an Empire. From there he'd have completely unified his portion of the coastline, and following that he'd target what was once upon a time the Kingdom of Emblonia. Of course, he'd only target the Temerian aspect following Foltest's death.

The trouble is that although his coffers are full and slightly overflowing, he has no interest in a protracted war since war bleeds the coffers the longer it drags on.

There was also the need to select a suitable bride. Typically a large dowry or mighty army at their back would be important, but Aethan was looking instead for a bride who had multiple claims on certain Territory. There existed three candidates that bore considerable consideration. Adda The White of Temeria, Gisele of Lyria and Rivia, and of course Ciri. Each required consideration, and each had their pros and cons. Now for an example, if he were to take Princess Adda the White to wife he would have unified some of his claims with hers, specifically those on Brugge and Sodden, and would have been able to lay claim to Mahakam, Ellander, and even Temeria itself through Foltest's Titles, and Ancestry following his death.

But then there was another matter, Aethan didn't have the manpower to take the Kingdom of Verden. He could absorb Kerack quite easily, and in fact, the simple matter of a direct siege and cutting Kerack off by sea meant they could only flee south to Verden, or east and risk offending the Dryads.

The Dryads wouldn't take your head unless you tried to go too deep into their forests. They occasionally made exceptions for elves so long as they didn't try to push into the territory. Like say, go right through the middle. Skirting the edge was acceptable, but cutting around too far from the edge inside Brokkilon was not.

Actually, it was more exact to say that the manpower in troops for Cidaris compared to Verden was actually relatively equal. Aethan specifically did not have the men to be able to win. He could drag it on for a couple of years, but unless he made use of a specific strategy, one Emhyr made use of, he likely wouldn't be able to win.

Anyway, as things stand, if he wanted to, Aethan also could take advantage of his sisters, each of them was strong-willed and had a good head on their shoulders. Margaery in particular was the most capable which was partly why Aethan considered his youngest sibling his favorite, but was also another reason why he'd been considering a suitable husband for her specifically. In fact, all three of his sisters had been of serious thought for him, but mostly Margaery.