Battle of Morgarten, 1315

October, 1315. Habsburg Castle, Switzerland.

In the keep of the somewhat-isolated stone castle overlooking the small village of Habsburg, two men were present. One of them sat on a small and unimpressive throne, known as Leopold I, Duke of Austria and one of the two claimants of the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. The other younger and quieter figure looking out the window was Roderich Edelstein. After a moment of silence, the latter decided to break the silence.

“Is there a reason why you called for me, your Highness?” The teenager asked, looking at the sitting Duke.

“There is, Sir Roderich,” Leopold began, leaving his throne and moving to the large feasting table, “Come here, please.”

The Austrian did as asked, finally leaving his place near the window overlooking the small and peaceful village and moved next to the Habsburg duke, who had taken out a large map roughly containing most of the Alps.

“As you know,” he began, “Since last year, my brother Frederick has been in conflict with the Ludwig of Bavaria as they both claim the Imperial Crown. Therefore, my brother has asked me to lead an army to crush a few rebellious Imperial Princes that have raided the Einsiedeln Monastery, to which we have pledged protection over.”

The duke pointed on the map.

“Gotthard Pass, sir?” Austria asked, somewhat puzzled.

Leopold nodded. “This pass marks the quickest route to Italy.” He said, pointed to where Italy would be if the map included it. “Sadly, not only have they raided Church Property, but these three counties (The duke points at the three counties) have pledged their allegiance on Duke Ludwig of Bavaria as the next Holy Roman Emperor. It is only logical that we must punish them as soon as possible for such profane and traitorous behaviour.”

“Uri, Unterwalden and Schwyz…” Roderich read aloud before he froze. “…Schwyz?”
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August, 1291. Habsburg Castle, Switzerland.

Roderich kneeled before the altar of the chapel. Rudolph I, his previous superior, had died barely a month ago. Nonetheless, he thought it would be a good idea to pay his respects to the man who gave him any significance in the Holy Roman Empire and turned Hungary into an ally, who finally stopped bullying him after so many years.

As he finished his prayer and was about to stand up, the chapel’s door opened. Deciding that he could never be too cautious, he reached for his blade that was hidden under his cloak, which sported the Habsburg coat of arms, stood up and turned around to identify the person who had entered the sacred place…