Chapter 9

A year passes by really quickly, when you have to gain and consolidate power within a short window of time. The Duke of Somerset's death was a power vacuum that technically would not be filled for many years in the normal course of history. Remember, the medieval and early modern periods did not have the convenience of modern communications, nor information disbursement like dedicated journalists. If you were a modern person with knowledge of future events and the right background, even with Eli's anatomical makeup, taking over as a custodial noble wouldn't be impossible.

Additionally, the geography I laid out works pretty well for Eli's needs. Somerset was largely agricultural with access to several water sources and would be a good launch point northward towards Gloucestershire and the future major seaport of Bristol. Southern Wales was one of the main sources of iron and coal during the industrial revolution, so it is ideal to bring those regions within your influence if not outright control. As a strategy RTS player would tell you, strategic resources need to be obtained and secured early on for future development, even if your civilization level isn't there yet. (Eli could rapidly industrialize, but he would need to keep under the radar and build infrastructure first)

As for Devon/Devonshire, the area is south of Somerset and the land was secured by Edward Seymore with Berry Pomeroy Castle being obtained from another noble family. However, the region is traditionally poor in terms of agricultural production due to its rough soil composition and relies on its copper and tin mines. Without modern agricultural techniques and technologies, many peasant farmers did starve and mining output was seldom enough to keep people fed due to the fluctuation of mineral prices.

As for the story of John Seymore and Caliban, it's fictional amalgamation of several famous stories during this era. Two people inspired me:

1. Gilles de Rais, a nobleman in France, active from 1432-1440, murdered over 140 children, becoming one of the most famous serial killers of the medieval world.

2. Gilles Garnier, a hermit in France hunter/farmer, active in 1572, who supposedly turned into a werewolf, then murdered, tortured, and cannibalized 14 children.

Most known serial killers and cannibals were documented in continental Europe, but I wonder how many unknown and undocumented cases existed in England during this era as well.

Another inspiration for the scenario came from the British Musical Sweeney Todd, the idea of killing innocent people for profit would fit the concept from the play. Instead of being butchered and ground 3-times to be part of Mrs. Lovett's meat pies after Sweeney Todd gives you the razor, these kids are literally used as farm animals, worked in the fields, and then slaughtered. I hope the medieval injustices of its treatment for those below you in social status as livestock could be emphasized here, just as the play looked at similar concepts in Industrial London of the 19th century with the power of elites corrupting justice. Also in the play, the poor were forced to consume each other due to low supply of meat; my point about offering the poor villagers their sons and daughters as food was a good reference. Consider it my homage to the play and English social commentary.

I mentioned the famous Chinese Forensic book, "Cases of Injustices Rectified" by Song Ci, which was one of the first collected works on the subject of forensic examination and crime scene analysis. If you are a fan of CSI or NCIS, this book was the grandfather of the forensic sciences.

By the end of this chapter, Eli has obtained territorial control over southwestern England and southern Wales across 4 modern counties. However, in terms of population, it was minor during this period compared to the rest of England and Europe. Remember the total number of casualties in Europe during the historical Wars of Religion during the hundred-year period this story covers reached close to 20 million with medieval weapons and early flintlock firearms.

This week's law of power: 12th law of power according to Robert Greene "Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim". The rule applies to all the peasants teens, who were lured in by false promises of a job and their villages with the wagon loads of cured meat. It's a gruesome example of this rule of power, but most con-men will offer you false promises and some rewards to lure you into a trap. Human trafficking in the modern world operate under this rule of power. It's very dangerous, but not unbeatable. Logic and skepticism are the two counterpoints to the "too good to be real" trick.

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Notes:

1. Yes, Bristol did become the third most populated city in the UK during the Industrial revolution. I have ideas for that city's future development, compared to London setting that most historical fiction writers take.

2. Smokeless gunpowder is a 19th century invention, where nitrocellulose plays a key role in the process. It improves the power of smaller firearms, making them more lightweight firearms and allowing for less gunpowder. The revolving pistol is one of the byproducts in this revolutionary development, a weapon that auto-loads in succession. A longer rifle version of this design was created by Colt in 1850's but suffers from various issues that made it less used than the bolt rifles of the following generation.

3. Caliban was a character in William Shakespeare Play, The Tempest, he was said to be wild and animalistic. Also, he attempted to rape Prospero's daughter Miranda and never exhibited any remorse for his actions, only plotting to do harm to everyone. There are some interesting notes that his name may reference cannibals according to some scholars, so it made him a minor villain.