Palace Intrigue in the Time of the Plague (M for F)

[TheOscan]

Hello everyone! I am currently looking for a lady willing to dive with me into history.

The setting:
Europe in the mid 17th century. The thirty years war has ravaged the land, the roaming armies and the plague have depopulated whole areas. Strife between Protestants and Catholics split families apart, religious paranoia and rumors of black magic lead to brutal witch hunts throughout the countryside. Peasants find themselves without nobles to keep them in line and nobles find themselves without peasants to rule. But amid all the chaos and death, there are always some people who manage to rise above. Per aspera ad astra, they say. Through hardships, to the stars.

The plot:
The idea was to see our characters start from (more or less) humble beginnings, ruling a few poor hamlets from a small castle, and through game-of-thronesy intrigues (aspera) have them rise to a regional power, or even to the throne of the Emperor himself (astra). Being nobles in the baroque, I imagine our characters to be in an arranged marriage. That type of marriage, in which you only know your spouse through a portrait painted years ago, before you finally meet them in real life. For initial conflict, it could be a strategic marriage between a protestant and a catholic family. Or maybe YC is a noblewoman accused of being a witch?

Of course, I'm open to discuss the plot details and contents. There could be multiple characters, world-building, noncon to con... Heavens, I even would be willing to change the setting to a different time frame altogether, if it interests me and you.

If you are interested, don't hesitate and write me a PM! I'm looking forward to hear from you.