The War of Roses

Chap. 1 – Red Rose

“Rose of all Roses, Rose of all the World!
The tall thought woven sails, that flap unfurled
Above the tide of hours, trouble the air,
And God’s bell buoyed to be the water’s care”

- Yeats

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Henry I’s death was a tragedy, killed in a disaster on a boat, his death had thrown England into chaos. Because of his death, the only male heir to the crown had perished.

Richard II had claim to the throne because of his place as a son of an elder brother. But his uncles disputed that fact. In fact, many in the Kingdom disputed the fact that a minor could be made King. He was only 10 years old.

How can I not just get what is rightfully mine?

The conflict that came behind people disputing that Richard could be King made him cruel. He wanted to silence and destroy his disputers. The peaceful Kingdom couldn’t survive when people couldn’t obey orders. It would be during his reign that he would depose of the nobles that gave him trouble. Many wouldn’t even think of establishing him as King because of his birth in France.

Richard turned to his uncle, John of Gaunt, for advice

How can I make them listen to me?

Being a minor, he needed someone around who could tell him what to do. Every decision he could make would be clouded by anger. Clear heads needed to prevail, his uncle was a good man.

Start at the head and everything will follow

He had taxed the Kingdom as a way to exert his authority, the peasants had naturally revolted. In the mess of things, his uncle’s palace had been burnt to the ground. He now lived with the King and his power was greater than ever.

Help me make a list, uncle. Help me know which ones I need to take out.

It seemed odd to many in the Kingdom that John of Gaunt had such power over his ruling nephew. That’s why leaders had targeted him. Because the attempt on him had failed, they never imagined it would snowball into more power for him.

John of Gaunt smiled, this was his chance to vanquish those who spoke against him. Over the next few months, people who spoke out could be deposed and executed. That would teach them.

King Richard II smiled as he thought of his own power, with the help of his uncle, he would eliminate everyone in his path. Everyone looked down on him because of his age, but he would show them. He would show the Kingdom of England that this was a Monarchy, not a Regency.
---------------------------------



Neville opened the doors and walked into Pontefract Castle. They used to call this castle “The Key to the North”, there was so much history here. It was incredibly interesting how well everything seemed preserved in this area. There was something about a castle that made Neville incredibly happy. He imagined the days when England was one of the biggest forces in the world and seen as the dominating empire in the political climate. It would probably never reclaim that, but for awhile an island off the coast of Europe ran things.

This was the castle where King Richard II had lived after being deposed, and this was also the place he had died. That was quite a tragic story. Imagine being so young and being thrust into a position you weren’t ready for. Imagine having to carry a Kingdom and hear your dissenters for a job you never wanted. All at 10 years of age.

His Kingship had thrust King against Kingdom and nobility against the throne. It fractured the Kingdom rather than uniting it.

Neville thought of WarGames happening in the XWF right now. When a Kingdom is divided, it’s incredible what happens.

You all didn’t expect me to walk away with the title did you? I mean, I literally fought for the title as a warm up from my injury and still walked away with the belt. If that doesn’t go to show that I am the greatest TV Champ this federation has ever seen, I don’t know what would. It was literally a practice match to see how my knee would hold up.

Erik Black talked a lot of shit, and made me wonder if I could do it, but he, just like everyone else failed to keep me from the belt that was rightfully mine. So I enter WarGames in a place of power. I enter the battle as nobility within the XWF. I enter this match with a crown on my head.

Neville looks over at a restaurant now opened in the Castle – the Liquorice Café. He had half a mind to walk over and start destroying things, how fucking sad was this? On a national historic site that was crucial to the Kingdom, kids now had a chance to buy 25 different kinds of black liquorice? Neville wanted to hit someone, he would have to wait until WarGames. This was how people got arrested.

The interesting thing about looking at this match ahead, is that there really isn’t anything to fight for other than pride. No one’s taking my title, and there’s not a chance this could hurt my legacy. Even if my team loses, we can blame Drezdin or Peter and get the fuck on with life.

Yet, I still want to fight with everything I have because it allows me to fight for the most important thing I have – pride. Without pride, nothing matters. Without a feeling within myself that tells me I’m the greatest, I couldn’t walk around this federation with the swagger I do. People would start looking at me like a peasant, not a King. WarGames plays into all I hold important about myself and my career and allows me to relish in the fact that I can fight for it.

A tapestry hung on the wall in front of him depicting a rich noble history

It also allows me to fight for honour. I give my best because it is what I said I would do and my honour matters. People either love or hate me, and I’m ok with that, but I never want to leave a legacy here that doesn’t say that I’m an honourable man. Seriously, think what you want about me, but it has to be something that’s non-negotiable.

Honour is the courage to do what you think is right even when it costs you. For all the things said about me, that is always how I’m going to function. Even if this match doesn’t win me anything, even if I already have the title. I fight for honour at War Games, and that’s the most important thing I can do. This match matters to me.

A sign sits above a doorway that reads “Dungeon Tours”. It’s a tourist gimmick to be sure, but Neville kind of wants to see things. Imagine living a life of luxury and losing it all, it happened to Richard II and it could happen to anyone sitting in a high position. Society loves to see someone elevated that falls. Society has a funny way of raising people up just so they can knock them back down. That might happen to Neville someday, but he was going to fight as hard as he could to keep himself from getting there. He would not be society’s puppet.
----------------------------------------------------------------

“While hushed from fear, or loud with hope, a band
With blown, spray-dabbled hair gather at hand,
Turn if you may from battles never done,
I call, as they go by me one by one.”

- Yeats
------------------------------------------------------------------

Lancaster

The noblemen had called him over. Henry of Bolingbroke had been living in France since childhood and watching what was happening to the Kingdom he loved. Richard II had been making some big mistakes lately. There was word that the people of the Kingdom were going to depose him soon, because of his place in the Royal family Henry knew that he was next in line to be King.

He stood on the front of his ship and watched England in the distance. Soon enough this would all be his.

The cliffs on the edge of the shore came closer as the boat moved towards it’s destination. He knew he was heading into hostile territory. King Richard seemed just a boy, but his bloodthirsty vengeance had turned people off. His immaturity was astounding.

He also knew that people were turned off by his uncle’s rule over him. John of Gaunt seemed a heartless man, and Henry hadn’t had contact with him in years.


What am I getting myself into?

Though the people knew John of Gaunt as many things, Henry knew him as Father. He’d been sent away as a kid, but because of his place in the family, people were actually asking him to take the throne away from his own blood.

But he would do it for the good of England.

He would do it for those who feared persecution and imprisonment.

War sure made for some strange bedfellows.
----------------------------------


Neville had walked away from his tour group to glance at things on his own. He didn’t need some minimum-wage teenager teaching him a rehearsed history script. It was fun to be underground, thinking of the ways people used to punish dissenters and those who strayed from what they wanted.

A number of torture tools were featured prominently. As disgusting as these were, Neville could think of a few fun ways to use them.

I’ve never been one to work with a team. In fact, I hate working with other people. I’m a self made man who’s gotten to where I am because of how hard I work for things. So to be picked for teams like I was in grade school again felt like I had taken a step backward and was now reliving my greatest fears.

Yet, here I stand, knowing I’m on a “team” and hoping those fools won’t let me down. I’m out of my comfort zone, in many ways this feels like a cruel kind of torture for me. Why XWF officials think this is a good idea is beyond me, but they know I’m an honourable man, so I’ll give what I have for the cause.
That being said, I think of any team I could have landed on, I’ve gotten the one I’d want. I’ll spend the next couple of days dissecting why I think all the other teams are shit. I mean, I think it’s obvious enough, all you’d have to do is listen to a Grande Ricardo promo to find out what half- looks like. But I really am happy where I’m at, I feel like of all the teams picked, we have the potential to do the most damage. Again, I’ll dissect that later, but let’s take a closer look at my own team.

Peter Gilmour, our fierce leader. One of the most polarizing figures in the entire XWF. People genuinely dislike him and enjoy calling him out every chance they can get. Half the roster treats him like he’s a joke because his mouth gets him in more trouble than his body can handle. We’re never quite sure what Peter is going to show up, or even if he’ll show up at all. Remember guys, he works…. hard at what he does.

Yet, I feel an excitement in having Peter as our leader. The thing that drives people crazy is how much they seem to dislike him, and he uses that to his advantage. Peter Gilmour generates genuine heat and people emotionally react to them and show their own weaknesses. That’s an incredible strength. Peter doesn’t give a fuck what people think because he’s focused on winning and making a name for himself in this federation. He hasn’t changed or wavered in the time I’ve been here and that’s a hell of a lot more than can be said about other superstars here. He also continuously puts himself in the picture for a title because he wants it so bad. There’s a hunger there that goes beyond “Peter is fat” jokes. Truth be told, I don’t really like the guy, but I admire the fuck out of him. He’s genuinely trying to be the best wrestler he can be.

So Peter, if you’re listening. Keep generating the heat. Keep using your persona to piss people off and know that you’ve got someone here who is a master at exploiting those who get emotionally attached. We’ve got this. You’ve got another master shit-stirrer on your team, and I can’t wait to get in that ring with a giant “fuck you” from all of us. Also, you’ve formed one hell of a team. We may not have the history others do, but we’re the only group with two champions on their team. You bought low and watched the stock rise. Let’s do this, captain, let’s stir the shit!

Neville looks at a torture device displayed prominently on the wall. He knew it shouldn’t, but it immediately led him to thinking about another member on his team this week.

Which brings me to Miss Jenny Myst. I’ve stopped trying to keep up with who she’s sleeping with around here, which means I fast forward through a lot of her talks. I still remember the first time I won this title, it was me, her and Jack Cain. I was the massive underdog. Jenny was one of the favourites. Do you want to know which female superstar completely underwhelmed in her match? Ms. Myst. And I went home with the title. She’s the dominating force in a dead division, and it’s a well-known drinking game to take a shot every time she calls herself a bitch!

Yet, Jenny, of all the women in this federation, is the only one we actually fear and look forward to seeing. She’s taken a division of hopefuls and belittled them to the point that they know they can’t do this anymore. Think of how dominant Jenny Myst really is. Think of how she uses her bitch persona to not take shit from men that want to treat her as a lesser. In a federation of men that could look down on her, she keeps doing her thing. I actually have come to rather like Jenny Myst, she’s the only one who acts even cockier than I do.

Jenny, if you’re listening, we’re living in your world and it’s a fantastic place to be. I’m actually excited to see a lot of these chauvinistic assholes look down on you and get their asses kicked by “a girl”. You get inside people’s heads with an incredible feminine guise and make them your bitches. I’m not even sure half the people in this federation understands what happens when you’re in their heads but it’s a wonderful thing to watch. It’s like a firmly planted parasite living off a host and eating away at it, you destroy their self-esteem. As a team, we can’t help but appreciate having the bitch on our side. It’s a woman’s world now, and I’m excited that we get to be the team that has you. Let’s fuck them up.

Neville glances at a rack used to keep men bound. He imagined what it must have been like to conquer and destroy men who fought against them. He imagined torturing them would have brought a certain kind of rush to things.

Which brings me to Drezdin. I still don’t know if the guy has any grasp on the English Language, but he’s big. It’s like watching a trainwreck. He’s big, loud and and undeniably stupid. Seriously Drezdin, did you even imagine that you’d be taken next to last? In your head I imagine you thought you were a first round pick, only to be passed over to bring a late round value to an undeveloped team. If I had my choice, you wouldn’t have been taken at all, yet I have to succumb to the knowledge that you’re my teammate. No, we don’t expect much out of Drezdin, we never do.

Yet he’s made a career of fighting matches he’s been expected to lose. The very fact that he still goes out there and wins matches shows that this is a guy, who we make jokes about, yet can still come in and dominate matches when he needs to. The guy has made a career out of winning matches he’s not supposed to. In many ways, he reminds me of myself in that capacity.

Drezdin, if you hear me, if you even pay attention to this match at all. This is what we need from you. The XWF doesn’t expect much from you. Everyone expects you to be the one who loses this match for us. So please, take expectations that are handed to you and smash the fuck out of them. It might be hard to listen to you sometimes because what you say and how you say things drive me fucking nuts, but I genuinely do hope we hear your voice soon. You might not have the brains to do great things, but you can leave that to us, and we would love to be able to use your size and willingness as an asset.

Neville takes one last look at the dungeon before ascending the stairs.

WarGames had begun.

Educating the XWF since 06/08/17