Johanna Christina Stephalina Gerolf hated Charlemagne. She’d never met him, but she hated him. He had conquered her land and her people. He had subjugated them. Everyone knew the stories of the Romans, how they had come and forced taxes on the people. How they had exerted their control, but the Romans never tried to make them Roman. But Charlemagne exerted his influence over the land turning all the people into “Franks.” East Francia they call her land now.
She was a Queen without a land, without a people, but she would never be without a fight. Her people were farmers, fishers and traders. There were few warriors among them. Johanna’s crown was lost, but the iron in her heart and the sword in her hand would serve her now…
The Knight
My Myth Taker Knight is based partially on history of Holland. You can follow the links in the text above to see the Wikipedia pages for the different subjects.
My Great-Grandparents immigrated from Holland in 1920 when my Great-Grandmother whose name was Johanna Christina Stephalina Van********* was pregnant with my Grandfather.
Count Gerolf is credited with creating the county of Holland in the late 800’s. Charlemagne conquered the whole of Western Europe during his reign 768-814. Unlike the Roman who has previously conquered the area, Charlemagne was interested in more than taxes. His goal was to totally reform Europe, religion, language and education.
My knight Johanna is placed somewhere in the late 850’s it’s the early Middle Ages in Europe. Charlemagne’s empire has collapsed. Vikings raid across Europe. And an ice age has begun.
If course this setting is just a background. My knight may face many dangers both of the real world and the mythological one.
The First Adventure
So what will Johanna face first?
- Will it be the Witte Wieven, the spirits of wise women who could either help or hinder her journey? If so my next post will be a continuation of the 40 Series with 40 Myths, Monsters and Legends.
- Will it be a Siren, a monster that could lure her off her quest and into dangerous waters? If so my next post will be a review of Tide.
- Will it be Phantoms, trouble making spirits who leave chaos and death in their wake? If so my next post will be a review of Feast of Phantoms.
- Or it will be an evil Count, trying to court Johanna and force her to be a proper wife/woman and suppress her desire to fight for her people? If so my next post will be a top 10 list of book bloggers I admire.
Vote by leaving me a comment or going to my Twitter poll. The adventure will continue soon…
My Myth Taker TBR
3 replies on “#MakeYourMythTaker Background Story”
First, I really like the art for your TBR.
I vote for option #2, the Sirens.
I think of my wife as kinda being a siren to me đŸ˜‰
For full disclosure… this is my husband commenting.
Ah, I saw (and voted on) the Twitter poll before I read this post. It makes more sense now, haha. I love the backstory you have your character, and voting for the first adventure to choose your next post is a neat idea.