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Irish (Wealthy and Warlike)

1 (7.1%)

Picts (Powerful and Poor)

0 (0%)

Saxons (Numerous and Next to us)

4 (28.6%)

Scotish (Rich and Raidable)

3 (21.4%)

Mercians (Tiny and Tenacious)

1 (7.1%)

Northumbrians (Big and Badass)

5 (35.7%)

Total Members Voted: 10

[hostergaard]

Eh, I don't have a funny name. But my real first name is Henrik. So if you go with the vikings that's a very appropriate name for a Nordic prince or something. Your call, you can also just go with hostergaard if you wish, or not at all, its not that important.

[USEC_OFFICER]

Turn 1

Spoiler: In the Beginning (click to show/hide)

The people in the town were abuzz with gossip. For the past three weeks King Sheb I of the Norwegians had been in the kingdom of Denmark, trying to merge the two crowns. The Norwegians had long dominated the Danish economically and militarily, yet the proud Danes still tenaciously defended their kingdom against all invasions. With the help of Sigurdr the Lawspeaker, King Sheb I had called a Thing with the King of Denmark, Sirus Eight-Fingers. Sheb was attempting to accomplish with law what he had failed to do with the sword, the unification of the two kingdoms. Yet negotiations had dragged, and the people were uncertain whether Sheb would succeed or not. Word from the Thing only confused matters further. Some said that the two Kings were in complete agreement, or that Sheb would hand over his crown to Sirus, or that one of the Kings was murdered by the other. Yet the outcome was more shocking than anybody had suspected. Sirus's generals, tired of constant war with the Norwegians, had forced their King to abdicate. The generals offered the vacant throne to Sheb, certain that they would be treated leniently. Yet Sheb hanged the lot of them, and made Sirus his lieutenant. Grumblings from the Danes were quieted by Sigurdr the Lawspeaker. For the first time in history, the two kingdoms were united.

Sheb started from his sleep. The air was filled with the shrill cries of women, and the neighing of horses. Certain that Sirus Eight-Fingers had betrayed him, King Sheb rushed from his longhouse, armed only with his axe. He stopped a few steps out of the door. Looming in the sky was a long and brilliant streak of light, almost streaming from one side of the heavens to the other.



"Are you certain about the portents?" King Sheb grunted to Sigurdr the Lawspeaker. Sheb had begun to suspect that Sigurdr was not the loyal follower that he seemed, and that he was only following Sheb because their goals had happened to cross.

"My lord and master, I am sure. The streak was heading towards Britain, and Odin had sent a similar sign in-"

"Spare me the details. Now what about my newborn son? Are the omens favourable for him?"

"They most certainly are, my lord. He will grow up to be a strong and mighty warrior, much like his father. He'll-"

"Hmmph. That's what you've said about my last two sons too. Bah, just go already. The Gods can send all the signs they want, but us men need time to prepare an invasion."

Spoiler: Destruction of the Seaxes (click to show/hide)

King Sheb was disappointed at the timidity of the Seaxe. He came to Britain to find glory on the battlefield, not empty villages and half-burned buildings. Still, the men of Seaxe were rich, and the men could not be disappointed with their share of loot. Sogirdr the Lawspeaker would be pleased with the plunder too. The finances of Norway were always weak, and could not sustain the burden of a large force for long. Despite Sheb's misgivings, Sirus had been left in Denmark.



Rumours held that Sirus was seeking to reclaim his throne, but Sheb's misgivings about Sigurdr had not disappeared, and he would not leave him in charge of the kingdom. Replacing Sirus's place in the army was Delta Foxtrot, a cowardly archer who none the less knew much about logistics and other matters important to the running of an army.

The Mercians, long-time enemies of the Seaxe, were impressed by the martial prowess of the Vikings, and offered an alliance between their two peoples.






Sheb had heard from his spies about the wealth and power of the Mercians, and knew that alone the Vikings would not be able to defeat them, especially when the lands of the Seaxe were still uneasy after being conquered. Having no choice, Sheb accepted.

Spoiler: Leaders of the Vikings (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Battle of Cantware (click to show/hide)

Hemmed in by the sea, the Seaxes had no choice but to turn and attack King Sheb's army, despite being nearly outnumbered two to one.


Still the Seaxes were not dismayed, for their warriors were easily a match for Sheb's Huscarles.


For the past few days the Seaxe army had been spotted by Sheb's scouts, and thus Sheb had ordered his men to march in formation, worried that the Seaxes may attempt an ambush at any time.


Sharp-eyed Delta was the first to spot the Seaxe army, but soon other brave warriors with keen vision spotted the enemy. With flashing blades and stout shields they advanced to meet the foe.


Yet as the shield-wall approached a wail of disappointment rose from those ranks. The band of enemies was merely a group of sodden and mangled peasants, armed with bows of yew.


The men of Seaxe were no match for the keen eyes and sure shots of the Viking archers, and soon they turned and fled towards a nearby wood. Impetuous Einar, emboldened by the peasants' retreat, urged his men onwards to punish the peasants for playing at war.


Yet clumsy Einar had walked into the Seaxe trap, and only quick thinking and fleet feet saved him from the Seaxe's fury. The Viking army laughed at Einar's retreat before rushing forward to his aid.







The fight was long and hard fought, but soon the men of Seaxe turned and fled from the onslaught.



Yet the men of Seaxe were not killed to a man, and they fled to strongholds dotted across the country, which had to be destroyed one by one.






Yet not even the bravest of men are proof against arrows, and it is said that even today the fields of the Seaxe still turn up arrowheads. Such was the number of arrows poured upon the defenders.



Thus weakened, they had no defence against the stout arms of the Viking raiders.




Impressed by the defeat of the Seaxes, other kingdoms of Britain began sending offers of alliance and marriage. Feeling generous, and knowing that his son needed a wife, Sheb accepted this offers, knowing well enough how fragile and worthless they would be.

Spoiler: Strengthening the Kingdom (click to show/hide)

Emboldened by the Viking onslaught, the Saxons declared war on their old enemies, the Mercians.


When the expected help from King Sheb I didn't arrive, several Mercian nobles deserted their King, and formed their own petty kingdoms.


Yet their split from Mercia only drew the attention of Sheb, and soon they too knew the oppression of the Viking boot.


Those men who could not flee holded up in a local stronghold, and soon drew the ire of the Viking army.


Under a hail of arrows the raiders charged, yelling furious warcries and terrible insults upon their foes.




Everywhere they were victorious, and they showed no mercy to the false men of Mercia.


Sirus Eight-Fingers had joined Sheb's army in early May, eager for a share of the glory. Yet he found none of it, for Sheb had placed him at the rear of the column, to purposely spite him. Yet Sirus would find his glory soon enough, for many of the false Mercians still roamed at large, and need to be dealt with.


Knowing that Mercian nobles were famous for their cavalry charges, King Sheb ordered that a levy of Seaxes should be made, and that they were to be armed with sharp spears and stout shields. For in his campaign against these people Sheb had seen the natural skill with which they handled the spear, and Sheb knew that even the bravest of riders would hesitate to charge into a shield-wall full of spears.


Upon spotting the false Mercian army Sheb ordered an advance to meet the enemy on the field of battle.


The Mercians traded arrows with Delta and his archers, yet they could not match their skill with the bow.


Riddled with arrows, they soon fled from the battle.

Sheb, every cautious about the Mercian cavalry, ordered the shield wall to advance close to the enemy, yet not to attack. Instead Delta's men would rain arrows upon the levies, to lower their resolve before the final advance. Meanwhile the Mercian general sent a portion of his men against the Seaxes on the right flank, to test their mettle.


Even fighting against such peasants the men of Seaxe showed their courage and their skill with the spear, and took many prisoners and thralls. Emboldened by the Seaxe's example, the shieldwall advanced into the teeth of the enemy spears.


In the shock and chaos of battle the two lines buckled and shattered, forming scattered piles of fighting men.


Yet even the flower of Mercian nobility were no match for the feats of Viking arms, and soon they turned yellow and fled.


Free of Sheb's petty jealousies Sirus acquainted himself well in battle, and is said to have killed two nobles single-handedly.

Spoiler: First Thing of the Twelve Bays (click to show/hide)

Yet the conquest of the Seaxes and the false Mercians had not strengthed the kingdom as much as Sheb had hoped, for the costs of raiding and conquering were only barely covered by the plunder they brought in. At the urging of Sigurdr the Lawspeaker Sheb called a Thing to decide the fate of the nation. All the Jarls from across the kingdom arrived at the Thing, and many freemen accompanied them also. The number of men that arrived was so large that their ships comepletely filled up twelve of the surrounding bays, and thus giving the Thing its name.

"For the Kingdom of the Vikings to survive a new target for raids must be chosen. Petty kingdoms like the Seaxes have been long gobbled up by other, greater kingdoms. Thus one of the seven great kingdoms of Britain must be conquered. Three we have alliances with, the Mercians, the Northumbrians and the Scots. Thus we cannot attack them, since doing so would be a flagrant violation of the law, and would earn us the contempt of all nations. Thus only four kingdoms are open to attack.

The Kingdom of the Saxons is at war with the Mercians, and therefore their attention would be split if we attacked them. Yet their armies are more numerous than ours, and we are less able to replace our losses as they are. The riches that could be gained from attacking them are great indeed.

While attacking the Picts is possible, it would be a foolhearty choice. They would outnumber us greatly, and the wealth that we would gain would be pitiful. However, our alliance with Scotland means that we would have help conquering them, but at the expense of making a future enemy stronger.

We know very little about the Welsh, yet how can they hope to match the strength of our arms? Our men are armoured, powerful and warlike. Even if every Welshman in the country was to rise up and attack we would still be victorious.

Ireland is rich and ripe for plunder. Its people are warlike, yet most are armed only with sticks. Even the greatest of their warriors, the gallowglasses, are no match for our warriors in the heat of battle. Unlike the Saxons or the Picts or perhaps the Welsh the Irish warriors are equal in number with ours. With such a parity of numbers and an advantage in training, how could we not win?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Blah, sorry that it took so long to post the turn. I wasn't sure how to handle the Thing (which is a meeting or assembly) and how to give out the various titles from all the provinces that we've conquered. I still don't know how to handle it exactly. Most of the titles are worthless, so I'll just hand them off to NPCs with high acumen, to get a highly important boost to income (we're looking at around -350 a turn right now. Not good). Other titles are much more valuable. The King of Cantware, for example, gives fairly large bonuses to all stats (+1~3, which seems underwhelming but is pretty awesome for a simple title). I was thinking of having Sheb hand these titles out, but besides the stat bonuses they wouldn't do much.  Maybe only the holders of these titles can lead armies? Maybe they get an extra vote in the Thing? I'll think about it.

Finances are bad, but we get crazy amounts of loot from conquering a province, so it's fine for now. We can barely support one army as it stands, but that army is pretty badass. Landsmen are good, and with their armour piercing axes they can take on all comers. Eventually I'd want to replace them with Huscarls or Joms Vikings, but that's far in the future. The two Viking Carls will be replaced with Viking Raiding Cavalry, since we can't really afford mercenaries and we need some form of cavalry. The three spearmen will eventually be replaced with armoured spearmen, which is basically a straight upgrade. Of course the Carls/spearmen won't be disbanded, but instead will form the core of the next army.

Sirus's seems to have died before (during?) the battle for East Engle, so we do know that commanders can die, which is useful to know. Since we don't exactly have Joms Vikings yet, I've used my magical stories powers and transmuted him into Ulf Bluetooth from Sven Eight-Fingers.

Anyways if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. After all, the fate of our nation rests on yoru shoulders (we're doomed). We need to keep on attacking to survive, and since almost all the rebel provinces have been conquered, we need to attack an actual faction. I'd suggest the Irish, because we outmatch them and Ireland is very wealthy. However we probably have the edge over everyone else in troop quality, so we should be able to cleave through everybody's levies. If you're wondering why we can't go after the Scots/Mercians/Northumbrians, breaking alliances reduces the loyalty of all of our generals, and the last thing that we need is a rebellion.

Bleh, I didn't miss anything, did I?

[Delta Foxtrot]

Definitely go for Ireland if you think Saxons will be unable to cause significant damage to us while we're out there raiding and plundering. With loot and experience of Ireland in our hands, how could the Englanders stand a chance against us?

[USEC_OFFICER]

Definitely go for Ireland if you think Saxons will be unable to cause significant damage to us while we're out there raiding and plundering. With loot and experience of Ireland in our hands, how could the Englanders stand a chance against us?

Actually, despite being allied with Mercia and all, we're not actually at war with the Saxons, oddly enough. If they were to attack us while we were out raiding, then southeastern England would be screwed, since we simply don't have the money to support two armies. Still, Ireland should generate us more money, so we should be able to bounce back fairly quickly. We'll see.

EDIT:

Spoiler: The Important Titles I Mentioned (click to show/hide)

[Stworca]

I went with Welsh, because :

- Saxons "don't mix blood".
- Picts will be a worthy foe later, not now.
- Irish would give you too much money.
- Someone in this thread is Welsh.
- Sheb wanted you to play as them.

[MonkeyHead]

Attack the Welsh. Just incase the universe is recursive... (I am Welsh, with Viking ancestors who settled here around 900AD following some good old pillaging in the Swansea area).

So, assuming my continued existance is confirmed, I would like to have one of my forebearers to mess around with. As long as you go burn Swansea.

[Sheb]

Yes, the Welsh are a natural target, and it'll allow us to take the saxon in a pincer movement.

I bestow the title of Kind of Cantwale on Sirus. He served me well and binding the sneaky bastard here is a good thing.

As King of Cantwale, he'll stay behind to defend Our holdings in England while I lead the attach on Wales.

[USEC_OFFICER]

Yes, the Welsh are a natural target, and it'll allow us to take the saxon in a pincer movement.

Pincer movements require us to have more than one army. But I suppose that we might be able to support another army with the plunder from Wales, at least for a time.

[Sheb]

Sirus can be the other side of the pincer. On his own.

[Sirus]

I have the disturbing feeling that my liege is trying to kill me

[Sheb]

Me? Trying to get rid of a traitorous bastards that betrayed all his own generals and quite possibly want my crown? Why on Earth would I want to do that?

[Sirus]

Um, no. My old generals betrayed me. Bastards shall rot in the coldest part of Hell for eternity.

Not that I would turn down your crown if it was offered...

[Sheb]

To my paranoid madman's mind, those are one and the same thing. Oh, look, a flying pony!


((Also, I think it'd be more fun and medieval-esque if the kingdom was composed of largely independent sub-units. So I'll let you manage southern england, and plot to use it as a springboard to the danish crown.

[NRDL]

Can I join?  I know your finances are bad, but it would be really, really nice of you to add me in as a mercenary general.  If it's really that bad money-wise, then please, just give me a normal viking general, with any men you can spare. 

But really, if possible, make me a mercenary general. 

[USEC_OFFICER]

Well, it appears that invading Wales is leading, so I might as well post my plan for the invasion of Wales. Mind you, if Ireland somehow manages to sneak out a victory, then the plan can easily be adapted.

Spoiler: Master Plan to Invade Wales (click to show/hide)

Y-Year - 5: Sirus and the two Carls will move to East Seaxe, while Sheb will probably remain where he is. Our spy will scout out the Isle of Man for a forward base. Our ships will start moving over Scotland Pictland into the Irish Sea. Norway starts to produce Berserkers, Denmark produces ships, and East Seaxe produces spearmen. The rest of the provinces will make garrison troops.

Y-Year - 4: Sheb will invade the Isle of Man if the rebels still control it. If the Welsh control it, then Operation: Welshman will come into effect¹. If the Isles of Man are controlled by another faction, then our spy will move to Cornwall to see if we can't turn it into a forward base instead. Our fleet will continue to Wales to scout the coast. Stables should be built in West Seaxe, so Viking Raider Cavalry will be produced. More garrison troops will be made.

Y-Year - 3: Depleted squads from Sheb's army will move to Norway to be retrained (a luxury we won't have for long). Berserker production will have finished, so Barbarossa will join Sheb's army. More garrison troops if we have the money.

Y-Year - 2/1: (Re)Training. Any ships that we can spare will head out to Wales if necessary. Contact wil Denmark or Southeastern England may be broken temporarily. If any Welsh ships are spotted, Operation: Welshman¹ begins. Otherwise, all available troops will head to the Isle of Man for the invasion.

Y-Year: If everything goes well, the invasion of the Welsh mainland will occur this year. Cornwall may be invaded as well if we have the troops/ships to spare (Perhaps Sirus leads that invasion?). Sheb will be 55 at this point, so the invasion of Wales will need to be conducted swiftly before he dies. Thus large numbers of garrison troops are necessary to keep the conquered provinces secured.
^{1. Operation: Welshman is the establishment of numerical parity with the Welsh fleet, should it exist. Our ships have the quality advantage, so victory is almost certain. The continued existence of the Welsh fleet will prevent us from landing/reinforcing troops in Wales, so it's complete destruction is necessary before invasion can begin.}

To my paranoid madman's mind, those are one and the same thing. Oh, look, a flying pony!


((Also, I think it'd be more fun and medieval-esque if the kingdom was composed of largely independent sub-units. So I'll let you manage southern england, and plot to use it as a springboard to the danish crown.

Well, if Sirus is going to manage Southern England, then I might as well ask him what he wants to focus on down there, either military, navy or trade. Military is the construction of buildings to produce/upgrade units, navy is the same but for ships, and trade focuses on ports and improving our trade income, which is the quickest and most efficient way to increase our income. Farms can be improved, but they are expensive, and take 16 turns to complete. With our vast navy, establishing a trade network is easy and much more profitable than farming.

Actually Sheb, I might as well ask you the same question as well, except for Norway/Denmark of course.

Can I join?  I know your finances are bad, but it would be really, really nice of you to add me in as a mercenary general.  If it's really that bad money-wise, then please, just give me a normal viking general, with any men you can spare. 

But really, if possible, make me a mercenary general. 

By the time that we can afford mercenaries, we should be able to support more than one army, so if you don't mind waiting a mercenary general is certainly possible.

EDIT: If Sirus is going to control Southern England, than the Kingship of East Seaxe should be his to give out.