553 The Schleswig-Holstein Question

King Alvar of the Kalmar Union sat upon his throne with a stern expression, for the last few years he had maintained a peaceful co-existence with the Austrians, and although he had faced pressure from his more fanatical Catholic subjects to fund the Papacy's crusade against the German Reformation, he had abstained from doing so.

For a long time now, Alvar had maintained an attitude of disregarding southern affairs. After all, they were so far away from Austria and its neighbors that even trade between the two kingdoms was difficult at times. However, things were different now. Austria's territory grew with each year, to the point where a sizeable chunk of the western Baltic was now under their control.