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When Elizabeth Tudor succeeded to the throne in 1558, she found herself under assault from all sides, challenged by the legacy of her family’s actions.

Vivat Regina

Henry VIII severed ties with the Church of Rome. He made himself an enemy of Catholicism. Later, Elizabeth’s half-sister Mary sought to undo their father’s work. Amid widespread religious reform, upheaval in the palaces and pastures of Europe, and the spread of the written word of Protestant belief.

The barrier created by a wall of blind religious faith, maintained over centuries by the Church’s strength, wavered. The wider population saw the resurgence of Devils and the Fae as a byproduct of the malefic acts enacted by the opposing sides—Catholics, the distant Ottoman Empire, and darker forces beyond England’s shores.

Side view of adult dark brown horse with black straps on muzzle eating grass in field at sunset

Philip inherited the throne of Spain as well as the Netherlands and owns lands in the Americas that are a source of immense wealth. Unlike his father, Philip has made Spain his central home and under his rule, Spain is at the height of its influence and recognised as the most powerful country in the world.

But, relations between Philip and his neighbours are poor. Constantly in conflict with France, he has mismanaged the government of the Netherlands until there is open rebellion there. The powers of Europe are wary of Philip.

The most powerful Catholic ruler is Philip II of Spain. His father, Charles, was one of the most powerful men ever to have lived in Europe. Not only was he King of Spain, but also governor of the Netherlands and Holy Roman Emperor.

Queen Elizabeth in particular has tried to keep in check his wealth, and the potential threat Catholic Spain poses to Protestant England, by discretely authorising her sailors to pirate his ships as they come from America.

William Cecil, the Queen's chief minister, does not approve of this.

But, capturing a Spanish ship laden with treasure improves Elizabeth’s finances, as it depletes Philip's and so perhaps stalls his often threatened invasion of England.

Meanwhile, in 1559 France was on the verge of rivalling Spain in power. When Henri II died abruptly in an inexplicable jousting accident, his son, Francis, became King, already husband of the young Mary, already Queen of Scots. Thus Mary was Queen of Scotland and of France, and a danger to Queen Elizabeth. Mary claimed to be Queen of England, and England is vulnerable to an attack and invasion from both France and Scotland.

The most important person to the Catholic states of Europe and beyond is Pope Gregory XIII. Catholicism is still the dominant European religion and the Gregory XIII, as its head, wields enormous power in Roman Catholic countries. Even in non-Roman Catholic countries such as England, the Pope is an alarmingly significant influence amongst those still adhering to the Catholic faith.

The Holy Roman Empire is a vast territory of land covering much of the remainder of Europe, made up of many provinces, each governed by their own ruler or prince. This Empire incorporated Germany, Austria, and stretches as far as Poland.

The Ottoman Empire is a considerable threat to Christian Europe (Christendom) and much effort is put into fighting them by Philip II (who also governs Poland). For a century Ottomans have taken land after land and added it to their vast empire. Now, under Murrad III and his cunning but aged Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, the diplomatic relationship with Elizabeth prospers while their sorcerous machinations throughout Christendom remain shadowed.

In 1563, the Queen passed an Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witch- craft. It made magick use to kill another a capital offence—triggered in no small part by a Catholic plot to assassinate the Queen through sorcery two years earlier. It also made a felony of the use of magick to maim, consort with evil spirits, provoke love, or seek buried treasure.

Now Queen Elizabeth’s realm lies vulnerable, not just to the Spanish or the French in their military might, nor the plague as it consumes towns and villages intermittently throughout England, but to diplomatic and occult forces perhaps more dangerous than either. Some of you perhaps manipulate these forces at the risk of torture — at the risk of your soul — but you must hold these threats at bay or see England consumed, and your beloved Queen Elizabeth destroyed.

Here Magick exists, and with it, the possibility that Angels and Daemons talk to those who understand them. But, technology and medicine still reside in the realms of wooden-block printing presses and seeking a balance of the elemental humours.

Huge political and military forces move in this world where individuals might just influence their conflicts and results…