Chapter 20

Reputation is very important to leaders, along with a public image. People want to believe in epic struggles, conspiracies, and concepts bigger than themselves. However, there's more complexities in belief than mere idealism. Some bad blood remained despite being a century separated from the War of the Roses, where competing York and Lancastrian lines fought for the throne, only to be won by the Tudor branch, a minor spiinoff of the Lancastrian line. One of the interesting things that Henry VIII did during his reign was establish the loyalists in Wales to equal standing to English with Acts in 1542 and 1543. However, many of the principles behind equality for Welsh were tied in with the new regime and religious system that Henry VIII established, so in history, Mary I never dared to completely reverse all of Henry's reforms. However, in my story, she went one step further having seized power through force and enforcing a stronger Conter-reformantion, similar to those in Europe. By doing this, the Welsh were losing their new rights, so they were susceptible to Eli's propaganda information war against Mary, the Catholic Church, and the Yorkist connection that would still be deeply ingrained. It's an interesting historical What-if situation, when counter-reform affects something that most people nowadays don't even consider as being just an afterthought, but once upon a time the Welsh were 2nd class citizens compared to English, too.

Additionally, I brought up 2 famous historical figures in Thomas Crammer and Thomas Howard. Crammer is considered one of the quintessential martyrs of the English Reformation and Marian Purges. However, I wanted to showcase a push by Eli in this novel, a reformation within the reformation by establishing a "secular" martyr, someone willing to die for principles that could be useful for the kind of nation-state Eli would want to build. It's a push to establish check on the authority of monarchs and raise skepticism on the belief of orthodox religious thought. In addition, I also took inspiration for the Tongue reattachment surgery from Parallel World Pharmacy manga as most readers know I am a huge fan of Japanese/Korean/Chinese Anime/Manga/Manhwa, drawing much inspiration for this story based on that.

Finally, Thomas Howard is a microcosm of Henry VIII in terms of his own life and choices. I took inspiration from the real historical figure and his complex history with his wife, Lady Stafford who did love Lord Neville, and mistress Bess. In history, Thomas Howard tried to divorce his wife, but was unsuccessful, so he just separated from her. There's no historical evidence for why he did that, but in my story, I just took the idea of the wife committing adultery and ran with it. It's a complex situation, since Thomas Howard's family fortune is tied with illegitimate bastards, he is dyng with a lot of regrets, similar to how Henry VIII was portrayed in The Tudors.

For this week's law of power, 5th law, "So much depends on reputation, guard it with your life", if you do not protect you reputation, you may lose everything you possess due to public perception. Conspiracy theories and libellous claims can destroy individuals easily if you do not protect yourself, just as Eli is doing to Mary's cause along with Mary's own actions, alienating various nobles in her court.

Notes:

1. Yes, in 1556, Thomas Crammer did attempt to save himself through recanting his Protestant beliefs, but in the end, when Mary wouldn't pardon him, he made a major speech against Catholic Church and English government in protest. He was burned to death immediately after his declaration.

2. Stephen Gardiner was Chancellor to Queen Mary as well as a Catholic Priest during this time, he served dual roles as Bishop and leader of the government during the Marian purges.

3. Interesting bit of surgical knowledge, you can reattach a severed tongue with modern surgery or even create a prosthetic tongue depending on how much damage was done. I took the concept and the abilities of Robert and Eli to create that scenario.