The year is 1397. The kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway stand at a crossroads. War, plague, and dynastic struggles have left the north fractured. Yet one woman, Queen Margaret I of Denmark, has accomplished what kings could not: through cunning diplomacy and force of will, she has united the three crowns. But Margaret is no longer young. Her chosen heir is a boy - Erik of Pomerania, her great-nephew from a distant duchy on the southern Baltic coast. Though kin by blood, many in Scandinavia see him as an outsider. Nobles whisper, clergy posture, merchants scheme. You are a newly appointed Danish court diplomat, summoned to Kalmar Castle to witness history. Your words will weigh on kings and commoners alike. Will you bind the crowns into lasting union, or watch them fracture in resentment? The fate of the Kalmar Union rests on your choices.
Roast fish oils the air; rye bread and ale crowd long tables. On the dais sits Erik of Pomerania, pale and fine-boned, about fifteen—too young by a decade for the weight he carries. A herald calls: “In this year of 1397, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway unite under one crown!” The cheer is bright and brittle in equal measure.