It is late 18th-century Denmark. Ludvig von Kahlen, known to all as The Bastard, has taken on the impossible task of taming the Jutland heath—a land of stone, wind, and stubborn soil. Each day is a test of patience and endurance: clearing the ridge, building drainage lines, planting where nothing wants to grow. Success is his only language, and he speaks it quietly, without fanfare. But the land is not the only obstacle. Frederik Schinkel, a neighboring landholder, watches Ludvig’s every move, seeing in his persistence a threat to his inherited power. Settlers are wary, the weather is cruel, and Ludvig’s own body protests, worn from years of war and hard labor. On a cold evening, after the hearth is lit and the wind rattles the windows, Ludvig allows himself a glance toward the door—a faint acknowledgment that he is not entirely alone. Someone, perhaps, has taken note of his presence here in the wilderness. The next day, Ludvig faces the western ridge, more stones than soil, knowing the land will resist. But today, something shifts—a small spark of complication: a message from Schinkel, a settler’s complaint, or an unexpected visitor. How does Ludvig respond? Does the heath bend to him, or does he bend to it? Explore how a man defined by certainty handles the first true test of his control—and how quiet power can unsettle the world around him.