Chapter 2 - The Shepherd and the Ram
Inspired by the threat the Mormons present to the Empire, Prefect Graham arrives in Tuolumne to plead for King Pollock I to stop his petty squabbles with Emperor Elton IV and to bend knee to Imperial authority; the not so veiled threat is that, should the king not do so, then the prefect and his allies will rise up against him and force him to at the point of the sword. King Pollock I, of course, refuses.
Predictably, Prefect Graham gathers his supporters and declares war; King Pollock I is forced to choose between defending California or defending his throne. He makes the only sensible choice: he goes all in on defeating his half-brother.
In November of 2668, Emperor Elton IV publishes his first religious work in over a decade; it is a parable of a shepherd with a rebellious and contentious ram, who refuses to follow the kindly shepherd’s directives, only to be consumed by a pack of wolves. While King Pollock I is not directly named in the Wayward Ram, it is abundantly clear who the Emperor was writing about. King Pollock I destroys the copy the Emperor sends to him and bans the work from the Valley; this only causes more people to read it, making it into an underground hit with Valleyans.
A day before the start of the New Year, the Valleyan army clashes with Prefect Graham’s rebels, scoring their first victory against them, starting 2669 off on a happy note for the king.
This happiness doesn’t last long, as in February a group of peasants, under a zealous shepherd named Keith, rise up in Glenn; inspired by the Wayward Ram, they seek to remove King Pollock I from the throne and install Prefect Graham, his half-brother, as the new King of the Valley.
With the Valleyan army distracted by the Shepherd’s Rebellion, Prefect Graham’s forces manage to penetrate deep into royal lands and lay siege to Tuolumne. As soon as word reached King Pollock I, he turns his army around and quickly marches to break the siege. The resulting battle sees the death of General Herbert of the Central Valley, Prefect Graham’s most competent commander, and the injury of the king, who slips into a coma.
Teacher Khais, the man who slew General Herbert, is named the king’s regent. Not long after, Queen Kyra tells the court that she is pregnant; the court rumor mill goes into overdrive, claiming that the queen has found comfort in the arms of Khais.
The war against the prefect continues with another victory and soon peace negotiations are under way. In the end, Prefect Graham pledges his allegiance to King Pollock I and quits any claims on his throne; in exchange, he is allowed to keep his prefecture and remain out of prison. Nothing has been resolved, and tension still simmers between the Imperial Court and the Valley.
Not long after the war with Prefect Graham is over, the Shepherd’s Rebellion loses momentum and comes to an end with the capture of Keith in July of 2669. The Valley is at peace, once again.
In November of 2669, a son is born to Queen Kyra named Ansel; the royal court continues to whisper about the supposed affair between the queen and the regent, though there is still no proof.
December, usually a time of celebration in preparation for the New Year, is a somber time for the royal court, as King Pollock I’s condition continues to worsen. Finally, on December 7th, the king passes away in his bed. His son is crowned King Thao, but, as a boy of 15, is not yet fit to rule his inherited kingdom; Queen-Mother Kyra is made his regent, to rule in his stead until he reaches majority.
King Pollock I, commonly known as King Pollock the Ram, is remembered for his work in weakening Imperial Authority and his life long feud with Emperor Elton IV; a deeply cynical man, his influence in court would be felt for decades to come.