Morgarten (Book 2 of the Forest Knights) (32 page)

Thomas cleared the dust from his throat. “I brought
your son,” he said.

“My boys are in Tasch,” the man said. His eyes
flicked to the box in the back of the cart. Thomas could see him
begin to panic.

“No, not one of them,” Thomas said quickly. “Pirmin.
I have brought Pirmin home.”

“Pirmin?”

The giant’s eyes went suddenly wide and one leg
buckled. He reached out to grab the side of the wagon. Thomas
stepped forward and offered his arm, but the man held up his hand.
He stared at the box for a long time before he spoke.

“You knew him?”

“Since we were boys,” Thomas said.

He reached into the back of the wagon and dragged
out Pirmin’s great ax. He stood it on end and leaned it over to the
older man. “This was his. I think he would have wanted you to have
it.”

Pirmin’s father pulled his eyes away from the casket
and looked at Thomas, the ax, then back at Thomas. He shouted out
to someone in the house causing Thomas to jump.

“Mattie! Come out here and meet your brother!”

The door crashed open and a young woman half-walked,
half-ran out to meet them. The speed with which she appeared, told
Thomas she had probably been watching them the whole time. Her hair
was the color of honey-dipped wheat, and where everything Thomas
had seen so far of this land had been hard and cold, she was the
exact opposite. She talked as she walked, the words bubbling out of
her in the strong sing-song Wallis dialect.

“Well, I know you Daddy, and I know Mama too. And if
this man is my brother, I swear I will milk the goats myself for a
week!”

She stopped in front of Thomas and fixed him with a
curious smile. Her eyes were the blue of a dawn sky, and her skin
had the healthy glow of someone who liked to be outside. Her face
was slightly flushed with excitement, which could have been due to
the rare events of the day, but Thomas suspected she always looked
like this. She was simply beautiful; like only Pirmin’s sister
could have been.

“Not
him
,” her father said.

Did Thomas detect a hint of disgust at the
thought?

“The one in the box.”

Keeping one hand on the cart, the old man walked
around to its side. He placed his massive hand slowly on top of the
pine box and spread his fingers.

“His name was Pirmin. And I sent him away before you
were born.”

The girl’s mouth opened as wide as her eyes. She
glanced from Thomas to her father, and bit her lip, waiting for
either one to speak. After a time, Pirmin’s father looked at
Thomas. The old man’s eyes were wet.

“What is your name, friend?”

His tone, the way he looked straight at you when he
spoke, the slight drawl to his words; Thomas saw so much of Pirmin
in front of him a lump formed in his throat.

“You can call me Thomi.”

“Can you stay with us a while, Thomi? I would like
to hear about my boy.”

And Pirmin would like nothing more, Thomas
thought.

He nodded, and followed the Schnidrigs inside.

Without resources, or any real desire to face the
Schwyzers in battle again, Leopold spent the next seven years
focusing all his energies on helping his brother regain the crown
of the Holy Roman Empire. Just when the war seemed to be going
their way, Frederich the Handsome suffered a crushing defeat in
1322. Louis the Bavarian took Frederich, and over a thousand nobles
from Austria and Salzburg, captive.

The Habsburgs were beaten. But Leopold continued to
resist, and by leveraging his political connections with the other
German princes, was a constant threat to the fragile Holy Roman
Empire which Louis now ruled. After three years of captivity, to
Leopold’s surprise, Louis suddenly released Frederich.

The last leaves of fall were on the ground turning
black when Leopold met Frederich’s escort at the gates to Habsburg
castle. The two brothers embraced and then Leopold stepped back to
appraise his brother’s condition.

For a man held prisoner for over three years, he
looked exceptionally well. Better, in fact, than Leopold
remembered. Frederich had put on some weight and his eyes were
bright, but that could be the glistening effect of the tears of joy
he was fighting back at being reunited with his younger
brother.

“You look good, brother. Louis treated you well
enough, I see,” Leopold said.

“Of course he did. Our cousin is a fair man, and we
were friends long before our disagreement over the crown.”

Fair man?

Two foiled assassination attempts in the last year
alone had Leopold believing otherwise. But he knew there would be
no point in telling his brother just yet. Louis had had three years
to shape Frederich’s mind to his cause, and Leopold suspected it
would take some time to undo the damage.

“No need to talk out here in the cold. Let us get
you into the keep in front of a fire, and put some good Habsburg
wine into your belly. Then you can tell me all about your time
away.”

Leopold took his brother’s elbow to lead him through
the gates, but Frederich pulled his arm away.

“What is it?” Leopold asked.

“I cannot go in just yet. We have something to
discuss first.”

“Surely that can wait until you have eaten
some—”

“No. It cannot.”

Leopold was afraid of this. Three years was a long
time.

“Very well,” Leopold said. “What would you have me
know?”

“My release was conditional.”

“On what?”

“I gave Louis my word.”

Leopold felt his throat constrict. Louis knew
Frederich’s weakness too well.

“Go on.”

“I promised to speak with you, and convince you that
Louis is the best suited ruler for the Empire at this time.”

“You are the rightful heir,” Leopold said. He tried
to keep his voice low, soothing. But his throat burned with the
taste of bile.

Frederich shrugged. “That no longer matters. We must
consider what is best for the entire Holy Roman Empire. The German
princes have been divided for too long, and as a result, everyone
has suffered. Not just our family.”

Leopold put his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

“Come inside. We can talk more after you have
rested.”

Frederich shrugged his touch away. “No. I swore I
would not set foot in Habsburg until you recognized Louis as the
legitimate ruler. I know this is difficult for you, brother, but it
really is best. For the Empire as a whole.”

Leopold could take no more. “Listen to yourself!
These are not your words. Your mind has been poisoned and turned
against itself. Think of what you say.”

“It is your own mind that swims in poison. Ever
since Morgarten.” Frederich shook his head and looked at Leopold
with sadness in his eyes. “That battle did something to you, Leo.
It turned you into a distrusting soul, jealous and petty. Here is a
chance for you to let go of all that. To be a true Prince of the
Empire once again.”

Leopold felt his fist connect square on with the
bridge of Frederich’s nose. The cartilage gave way with a grinding
pop and Frederich fell to the ground.

“Never!” Leopold’s clenched hand trembled at his
side.

Some of Frederich’s escort drew their swords and
held them pointed at Leopold, stopping him from advancing on his
brother. Leopold’s guards at the gate came pouring through, with
weapons drawn, and pulled their lord behind them.

Frederich sat up on the ground. Blood streamed from
his broken nose and his eyes were wet with tears of pain and
disappointment. He looked at his brother.

“NEVER!” Leopold shouted again from behind his
men.

Frederich pushed himself to his feet. He mounted up
and turned his horse away from the gates of Habsburg.

***

True to his word, Frederich returned to Louis and
confessed he had failed to win over his brother’s obstinacy. He
demanded to be put in chains. Legend has it that Louis was so
impressed with Frederich’s sense of honor, that he decreed they
both should rule together. Louis the Bavarian remained the Holy
Roman Emperor, but he agreed to give Frederich the title of King of
the Romans.

Less than two months after Frederich the Handsome
was crowned King of the Romans, his brother, Leopold I of Habsburg,
died. He was thirty-five years old.

Frederich was so upset by his brother’s death, that
he immediately resigned his regency as King of the Romans and
returned to rule over only Austria. Four years later, Frederich the
Handsome, was also dead.

Louis the Bavarian continued to rule the Holy Roman
Empire until his death seventeen years later.

Swiss Halberdiers and Pikemen

By the end of the fifteenth century, Swiss
mercenaries were the most feared and respected fighting units in
Europe. They were ruthless, loyal to their employer, disciplined,
and because of their exceptional mobility, revolutionized the use
of the halberd and pike on the battlefield. Their ability to change
up their formations quickly, turned the pike, which was
traditionally used defensively to repel cavalry, into a fearsome
offensive weapon effective against infantry as well. They were also
known for not retreating from a battle. Of course, their practice
of hanging the first man to run from his unit may have something to
do with this. For over two hundred years, there was scarcely a
battle fought in Europe where one side or the other did not enlist
the aid of Swiss mercenaries. Even the Pope employed Swiss guards,
and still does to this day.

Unlike other soldiers of fortune at the time, Swiss
mercenary units were raised and trained by each canton (state or
province). The canton arranged the contracts and received a cut
from each assignment. The mercenaries themselves had strict rules
they had to follow. These included:
Swiss do not fight Swiss, at
harvest time we go back home to work the fields, and “no money, no
Swiss”.

White Book of Sarnen

It is in the White Book of Sarnen that we first see
any mention of William Tell. So named because of its expensive
white parchment, it was compiled more than one hundred and fifty
years after the Battle of Morgarten (1315). Most historians now
believe William Tell was a fictional character created much later
than the tumultuous times in which he was supposed to exist.

Helvetia

The official name for Switzerland is
Confederatio
Helvetica
(the Helvetic Confederation)
,
which is why its
country code today is CH. Helvetia is the female personification of
Switzerland. A peaceful, yet protective figure, she is usually
depicted wearing a wreath in her hair and carrying a shield and
sword. Her image currently appears on everything from Swiss Franc
coins to postage stamps. In other words, the
Helvetii
are
still going strong to this day. As for the
Druids of the
Helvetii
, only one of their order could tell you of their
fate.

J. K. Swift
lives in a log house well off the beaten path in central B.C.,
Canada. He has worked as a school teacher, jailhouse guard,
Japanese translator, log peeler, accountant, martial arts
instructor, massage therapist, technical editor, and has called a
few Bingo games. He gets his story ideas while traveling in Europe,
feeding his chickens, and cutting wood.
He is currently
working on a prequel series to
The Forest
Knights
which follows Thomas, Pirmin, and the other Schwyzers
as they grow up in the Holy Land.

…
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J. K. Swift’s website
and blog:
http://jkswift.com/

The Forest Knights
website:
http://theforestknights.com/

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