So the battle for Staropramen came to an end and the surrounding states nibbled and bit off pieces of that once noble fiefdom's territory.
Crabbei seemed to have been the winner, quietly taking over towns in the south and east. In the north Guinness and Gelbhandtaschen fought each other to a standstill while battered Hoegaarden retired behind the walls of its citadel. Campari took the old Capitol and a thin salient of land. Feldschlosschen swept up towns fought over so many times in the northwest.
Peace returned to the states, and the hop harvest was surprisingly good, despite the devastation of war. Things seemed to have settled back into an idyllic bliss...
However in Crabbei events were, well, brewing. In a surprise move the Duke announced his abdication and subsequent retiral to a monastery to become a choirmaster! Needless to say the surrounding rulers were somewhat perplexed by the move and of course this meant a successor needed to be appointed.
The outgoing Duke nominated a young man from a cadet branch of his house and was supported in this by Campari ("Such lovely calves!" he muttered) and Feldschlosschen. However the Archbishop of Hoegaarden, Guinness and Gelbhandtaschen strongly disagreed believing the matter should be referred to a diet of states in accordance with ancient practice.
And so the lines are drawn....
It seems that peace will never last more than a fleeting moment. It is clear that the succession in Crabbei is being used as an excuse, the states all want to increase their lands and protect their gains. Alliances will shift, power will wax and wane, territory will be lost and won...who will emerge strongest?
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