Joan of Arc. The kingdom is in crisis, repeatedly defeated and partially occupied by a fearsome enemy, with weapons that have devastated noble armies. The greatest lord in the land has turned traitor and allied with the invaders. The rightful King cannot even be crowned because the sacred site is deep in the territory of his worst enemy.
Enter a teenage peasant girl, without rank, money or military training, who arrives at the crownless King's court to tell everyone that she has seen a vision calling her to save the Kingdom. She is so convincing - or they are so desperate - that they actually kit her out and send her to the battle front, where a key city is desperately holding out against the invaders.
No sooner has she arrived, than the demoralised defenders rally and start winning. Siege broken, she then sells everyone on a plan to recapture the sacred city - hundreds of miles deep in enemy territory - and duly leads the King to his coronation, routing the previously-invincible invaders along the way.
That's the sort of plot that would be considered unbelievable in a fantasy novel, never mind alternate history.
Enter a teenage peasant girl, without rank, money or military training, who arrives at the crownless King's court to tell everyone that she has seen a vision calling her to save the Kingdom. She is so convincing - or they are so desperate - that they actually kit her out and send her to the battle front, where a key city is desperately holding out against the invaders.
No sooner has she arrived, than the demoralised defenders rally and start winning. Siege broken, she then sells everyone on a plan to recapture the sacred city - hundreds of miles deep in enemy territory - and duly leads the King to his coronation, routing the previously-invincible invaders along the way.
That's the sort of plot that would be considered unbelievable in a fantasy novel, never mind alternate history.