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.
The Archbishop of Lund rises slightly, just enough to command the room. “Unity fails without the church. Tithes must be kept, altars served, laws blessed. If one crown wavers, all three kingdoms shake.” His words hang heavy, each syllable a tolling bell.
Murmurs ripple through the hall. Nobles calculate the loss of coin, peasants think of barns half-empty, and priests picture darkened churches. The church’s role is clear, but so too is the cost of its upkeep.