It was not often that King Jakub would make his way from the palace to the Stade de Torgos, but with a light schedule this month, he had set aside some time to take his children to see a Wanderers' match. The entire family traveled with him, with his lovely wife Veronika as well as his sons Dražen and Dominik, as well as the youngest in his daughter Petra. They had their own suite in the stadium, it would normally be filled with other high members of the government or of the PFA, usually the latter trying to clamor for more funding, however he had kept the suite for just his family as well as a few friends for this visit. In a move to help alleviate the PFA numerous requests for more funds, he had given them approval to set up a series of home friendlies against high profile competition that was estimated to bring in over a hundred million ducats, which would cover their running costs for at least two years. Unfortunately, Jakub had read that the team had performed poorly in the series, with the lasting image of the team being thoroughly outplayed by the World Cup holders and hosts of the edition that this qualifier was for.
It was a sunny afternoon in Torgos today and the stadium seemed packed despite the Wanderers' poor performances of late, as he had read that the squad fell flat in their opener against Baptism of Fire champions Mavinet, a result that seemed to have shook the supporters quite a bit. The stadium normally would have been a deafening mess for a home opener of the qualifiers, and though while it was quite loud there was a different atmosphere than what the king was used to when he did make the trips to see the team in person. He fondly remembered when his adoptive mother had brought him to that first Wanderers' game nearly thirty years ago, shortly after he had been adopted into the family. That was when the Wanderers' were in their prime, under the leadership and example of Tobias Möller, though it was towards the end of his player career. The team then was vying with Osarius for World Cup titles and the Stade de Torgos was so loud on matchdays that one could hardly hear ones thoughts, such was how loud the singing and cheering was from the ninety thousand fans who had packed into the stadium. Now, he could hear his own thoughts and the chatter of his family with their guests.
Jakub watched the game unfold and looked at the team and how they played, at how the the matchday program described the team and he wondered if the team out on the field was representative of Pasarga as a whole right now. The nation had come out of their modernization looking a nation for the modern era but it seemed to be lacking some of its soul that had seemingly slipped away during the modernization period, that their allies in Eura had helped them through. The team out there on the field was filled with talented players through and through but that gritty determination and strength in the midfield that used to be the staple of Wanderers' squads was missing. Jakub wondered if there was a parrell in there somewhere, that for all the polish that was on the surface, if through their changing for what was they better that they had lost that little bit of something that had made themselves special? The squad was going through the motions and putting in a good performance, with their star strikers each getting a goal, Jager grabbing a brace as the second goal sealed the game up after seventy-three minutes, but there was something missing.
It was not his place to worry that greatly about the national team though, that is why there was the PFA to begin with. His worry was for that of his family and then the nation, the former of which seemed to have enjoyed themselves greatly with big smiles as the Wanderers' did a victory lap of applause after the match had concluded. He hoped that his children would come to remember experiences like this fondly the same way that he had with his mothers when they had brought him to such occasions. One day one of the three of them would be chosen to be the next monarch of the dual islands and help navigate it through the ever changing world. Happy memories like these were the ones that they would have to lean on to get them through the trying times, he certainly had during economic and political turmoil that had come during the modernization. There were still some both within and outside the dual islands that wanted to see the monarchy toppled completely even after the efforts to extend democracy further in the country. That was a worry for years later yet, for now he instead would focus on another happy memory made with his family and privately hope that both the nation and the national team would grow and thrive even under the pressures that were forced upon them.
36'
