It's good to see the return of the Finns. Asikko is very determined to make a Catholic North.
Reindeer, Reindeer Everywhere - A Finland AAR
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Awesome chapter! The conversion has started. Even though I really liked the heathen Finland, I think it will be fun to see you play as a Catholic.
I'm loving the depiction of the conversion to Catholicism for the Finnish people. Hopefully the skilled Taisto can keep up the work once he takes over.
Asikko has become very Catholic man indeed. I hope he succeeds in his goal to make the North Catholic
Thanks! I hope the Catholic Finland will be as interesting as the heathen one has been thus far.
Glad to hear you liked the depictions of the things that didn't really happen in-game
I think they make the chapters more interesting.I hope that Taisto will be a good leader. And hopefully he will be a Catholic...
Catholic he may be, but he's still raiding and he is envious.
Even the best of Catholics may have some cons
Though I think Asikko will stop raiding as there is no rich lands to raid anymore, but we can never be sure.
So far the conversion to Catholicism seems to be going well except for the rebellion, but your heir and future king will be someone important to sway over in order to keep the country Christian.
The Norse are being as expansive as usual, but this time you will hopefully be able to defeat them.
The Norse are being as expansive as usual, but this time you will hopefully be able to defeat them.
Asikko tries to make every member of his family catholic, so the Suomenusko would be forgotten. Sadly the commeners won't convert so easily...
I really hope we can beat the Norse people this time. Sadly as Asikko doesn't believe in the Suomenusko anymore, his soldiers suffered greatly of the defensive pagan attrition bonus in Livonian land
Gotta say it is super OP!
Chapter 8
Northern Powerhouse
Asikko only had about 300 soldiers. They were not enough. The Kingdom of Svitjod had just declared a war, and Asikko had to beat the Norse people... Luckily Asikko had money. A lot of money. He hired 1500 Finnish mercenaries to help him with the war.
With over 1800 soldiers Asikko left the capital. He headed to the County of Suomi, which was named the County of Finland, after the Svitjod had conquered it back in the days. Nowadays it is a county of Norrland.
Asikko had only traveled couple of days when a messenger came to him. He gave Asikko a letter. The letter stated that the county of Kalevan, the only country Asikko owns in the Estonian land, and the county Svitjod had started this war for, has been conquered by the Livonians. Asikko was losing against Livonians! The Kingdom of Finland has seen better days.
In the May of 910 Asikko finally arrived in the county of Finland. There he heard that a Norse army of over 1500 men was in the isles of Åland. They were coming to the Kingdom of Finland, and they could arrive any day...
But before the little Norse army came to the county of Finland, Asikko got new information from his spies. It seemed that there was coming way bigger Norse army than just 1500 men. Asikko couldn’t win them… But he wouldn’t surrender without fighting! He quickly wrote a letter in his tent to the Jewish merchants. He asked for a loan of 300 coins, and after couple of weeks they accepted it. IT was enough money to maintain the mercenary band. Asikko had so much money that he decided to hire another mercenary band, The Pecheneg Band. It had 1750 soldiers, so now Asikko had twice the amount of soldiers than before.
Sadly the new mercenary band wasn’t fast enough, and the Norse armies attacked Asikko’s forces in the county of Finland. Asikko lost over 700 brave men in the battle…
Now his soldiers were trapped. One big army of Norses were said to be in the county of Pohjanmaa, and another army, way smaller, was last seen in the capital, county of Käkisalmi. Asikko decided to attack the smaller one, without even knowing its exact numbers. Luckily, it seemed that Asikko had twice as many men than the little Norse army, so it was crushed. Asikko had became a patient person because of the battle, and because of the whole war. It took much time to get even little amount of information, and the whole war was mostly waiting for opportunities to attack.
Slowly Asikko understood that he needed allies to survive from the ever expanding Kingdom of Svitjod. He decided to betrothal his son Juhani with a daughter of the Scottish King. After the betrothal was signed, the two Kingdom signed an alliance.
Couple of weeks later, Asikko woke up to a huge uproar. He got out of his bed. He was going out of his tent. when suddenly one soldier ran into his tent and tried to kill him! Asikko barely dodged the attack, and killed the soldier. When he finally got out of his tent, he saw something horrible. The soldiers were fighting against each other. Asikko quickly found his armor bearer, and when he asked him what was going on, he answered that the mercenaries didn’t get enough money from Asikko, and decided to join the enemy side. Unfortunately it seemed that the Kingdom of Finland had ran out of money with this war…
The mercenary band won the battle, but at least Asikko became a master of rough terrain. He had learned many new tactics to use in forests, that would give his army a better chance to win the future battles.
Asikko marched with his armies to Northern Finland, to hide there. He had absolutely no chance to win the war. In October Asikko got really bad news. His home castle had been raided by the Norse. They had captured many relatives of Asikko. It was time to surrender… Svitjod got the only country Asikko owned in Estonia, but it was still embarrassing for the whole Finnish population.
Asikko was still at war with the Livonia, but he, nor the enemy, didn’t attack each other. They had equal armies, so it wouldn’t be wise to attack.
Next January Asikko received horrible news from the Northern Finland. His brother, Karhu, has died. The brother Asikko had been protecting all these years, died of illness. Simple illness… Asikko inherited the Duchy of Pohjoismaa. The two vassals of late Karhu, Count of Kantalahti and Count of Kola, were now vassals of Asikko. They both were still heathens, Suomenusko-believers. Asikko has to convert them someday...
In the middle of the next spring, Asikko sent a letter to the King Emund of Svitjod. He asked that his late brother’s daughter Aamu would be released for a ransom of 10 coins. King Edmund accepted the deal, and so Aamu was released. Asikko then sent another letter, this time to the King Hélie of Lotharingia. He was a powerful Catholic King, and he would be a good ally. Asikko proposed him a betrothal between him and Aamu. He accepted, but didn’t want to sign an alliance right away. hopefully one day though.
In the end of the same month, May, Asikko got a letter from his Scottish ally. The King Emund of Svitjod had declared a war for the northernmost province of Scotland. He was really becoming a big problem… Asikko had to join the war on the Scottish side. But he had little plan… He decided to try to assassinate the King Edmund. Sadly only one of Edmund’s vassals wanted to see him dead, so the chances to kill him was very low.
The summer, and the fall, went surprisingly peacefully. The Norse people didn’t attack the Finnish land. The King Edmund had taken all his over 5500 soldiers to the Scottish lands. Asikko’s ally, the King of Scotland only had little over 2000 soldiers. The war was lost for sure… The Kingdom of Svitjod has become a real powerhouse in the North Lands.
In November Asikko received really sad news. The Count Lalli of Uusimaa, Asikko’s lover, died a natural death at the age of 56. Asikko will miss him…
At the start of the new year Asikko’s Court Chaplain informed him that the Count of Satakunta had finally converted to Catholicism. Now Asikko had only two vassals that were still heathens. The majority of the Finnish nobility had converted to the true religion! Soon the peasantry will do the same! Asikko ordered the Court Chaplain to come to the County of Käkisalmi, and convert the peasantry.
Couple weeks after that, Asikko received a letter from Scotland. His ally, the King of Scotland, had finally surrendered. King Edmund got only one province, but with the power he holds, he can beat any of his neighbours.
Midway of February Asikko got more good news from his Court Chaplain. He had only been for a month in the county of Käkisalmi, but he already informed that the majority of the population has converted to Catholicism. It was the first province in the whole Kingdom of Finland to be considered as Catholic! Asikko was really happy about the development, even though it was not fastest possible.
Couple of months later Asikko’s son, 11-year-old Uoti, had started asking more and more about Catholicism. He seemed very interested in the topic, and soon he was considered as a proper Catholic. He understood the basics of Catholicism, and that was good enough for a boy of his age.
In April Asikko’s spies told him very worrisome news. The Jarl Helgi of Austergatland, was preparing an invasion for the Kingdom of Finland! The Jarldom of Austergotland is better know as Gotland, the little island in the middle of the Baltic Sea. The Jarl Helgi was not very powerful, but if he got time, he would be able to raise a big invasion army.
Asikko has to ready for the moment he attacks. Because of that, he finally signed a peace deal with the Livonians. The two sides had not fought in years, but they never had signed the peace, until now. Asikko had to give the Duke of Livonia some money, and admit that he had lost. It was another war lost for the kingdom of Finland...
In September Asikko decided that he should try to get more allies. As Uoti had just converted to Catholicism, he could be betrothed to one of the Western Kingdom’s great houses. After lot of searching Asikko found a good future wife for his boy. A Italian Princess, Argentina. Asikko proposed a betrothal between them, and the King of Italia accepted it. Another non-aggression pact was signed.
The next year, Asikko asked the King Hélie of Lotharingia, if he wanted a proper alliance. Thus far they had only had a non-aggression pact. Luckily he accepted, and so Asikko got a second Catholic ally, after the Scottish King.
In July 915, Asikko’s niece Aamu turned 16-year-old. She was betrothed with the King Hélie of Lotharingia, and so they couple weeks later got married. Aamu was the first Finn to be married with a Western Kingdom’s King. It was so amazing event. Aamu promised to write Asikko and the whole family as often as possible from the Lotharingia.
Asikko also finally got his oldest son, heir, Taisto to convert to Catholicism. Taisto saw that Catholicism was going to stay in Finland. He didn’t want to be considered as heathen anymore, so he decided to convert.
In the late spring of 915, Asikko sent a new letter to the King Edmund of Svitjod. This time Asikko wanted that his daughter 11-years-old daughter Tuija would be released. Edmund wanted 74 gold coins as a ransom. It was a lot of money, but Asikko still accepted it. He wanted more allies from the Western lands, and so he proposed a betrothal between Tuija and a Prince Archambaud to the King of West Francia. He gladly accepted the proposal, and so Asikko got a new non-aggression pact with a Western King. Maybe he could also become an ally one day.
New year came, and soon came 13th March 916. It was a really dark and cloudy day. In the afternoon Asikko received a letter from… the Jarl of Austergotland. The letter was a declaration of war… The Jarl was already coming with his armies…
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Wow, Finland is going through some tough times! But at least you're gaining allies. Can you try luring enemy armies into traps, say with your troops holding mountains during winter?
Bad time for Finland. It seems the Kingdom of Svitjod is going to be a problem for now... I'm sure you'll be able to deal with them down the line, especially if you keep making more alliances.
Very tough, but it is what makes it good.
You know - conquered this and that and that and this and then this more... gets boring quick
You know - conquered this and that and that and this and then this more... gets boring quick
I really hope the Karlings can help us, but we can never know of them. The worst thing that could happen is that they start fighting against each other.
Very tough, but it is what makes it good.
You know - conquered this and that and that and this and then this more... gets boring quick
I have to agree! If something goes badly in AAR, it is only fun!
Even as the player I enjoyed the events that happened!Thanks! We really need it.
Nice AAR, i'll follow. Well written
Welcome aboard lad! And thanks, I will continue this no matter what
Chapter 9
The Invaders
The Jarl Helgi of Austergotland had just declared a war for the whole kingdom of Finland. Asikko didn’t have any clue of how big the Jarl’s army were, or when it would arrive to Finland… Months passed by and nothing happened. Asikko had gathered his armies to the capital of Finland, Käkisalmi. His forces were unfortunately only around 1300 men.
Finally, in July, 4 months after the Jarl declared the war, first information of his army’s whereabouts reached Asikko. The army was seen sailing from the Åland to the once Finnish county of Suomi, nowadays a part of an independent Norse Jarldom.
The Jarl Helgi was said to have over 6000 warriors. That was way more than Asikko had. But he wasn’t going to surrender. All of his vassals were helping him, and he also had two powerful allies: The King of Scotland and the King of Lotharingia. Asikko had to play time, so his allies could come to help.
The Finnish commoners were scared: they had heard rumors of the Jarl Helgi’s army. Asikko didn’t want his subjects to know the truth, so he held a quick speech in the Käkisalmi. He told that there was nothing to worry about: “The Jarl Helgi’s pitiful army is way smaller than you might think! The Norses are just spreading rumors; trying to get us scared! But you can trust me when I tell you that we have nothing to worry about. This war will be won!” Some weeks later Asikko realized what he had said. No one were scared of the enemy army, until now. Some merchants and travellers from West had came to the Kingdom of Finland, and told about the huge Norse army. All the travellers said the same, and the Finnish commoners understood that the threat is real, and their King had lied to them. Asikko was little ashamed of his words, and promised to himself that he would never lie again...
Now that the commoners knew the truth, many of them wanted to help beat the Norse. Next weeks Asikko gathered many voluntary men for his army from the citizens of Käkisalmi. About 2500 men armed themselves and joined the army. It was an honour for a Finn to fight against the Norse!
Mid-August worrying news reached Asikko. Jarl Helgi’s armies didn’t stay in the West-Finland for long, as Asikko had thought. No, the enemy army was marching towards Käkisalmi! Asikko’s and his vassals’ armies combined had almost 4000 men. And over 2000 more were on the way to Käkisalmi. The Scottish nor the Lotharingian armies hadn’t arrived in the Kingdom of Finland yet, so Asikko had to face the Norse army alone…
In the early September the battle started. The Norse army had arrived in the Käkisalmi… The battle was tight at first, but after many weeks of fighting, Asikko lost the battle because of some bad tactical decisions… Almost 2000 Finns died in that battle. It was a sad event...
Asikko fled to North with his armies. The battle was extremely embarrassing for the Finns, and
the morale of the small army was low. But in the early December, on they way to Northern-Finland, Asikko got unexpected news. The Scottish army had finally arrived in Finland! They had landed in the county of Satakunta, a county in Western-Finland, that was currently under the Norse control. The Scotts conquered it back in couple of months, but at the same time the Norse army had conquered the capital and the holy church of Raivola.
Couple of days later Asikko’s spies informed him that the Jarl Helgi was heading with his army to the county of Pohjanmaa. And that was just perfect for Asikko: the county was exactly between the Scottish and Finnish armies!
On 11th of March, Asikko faced the Jarl Helgi’s army with his Scottish allies in the county of Pohjanmaa. The enemy had around 5500 men, while Asikko with his allies only around 4500. After about month of fighting, the enemy army surrendered and fled away! Asikko had won thanks to the experienced Scottish soldiers and the great Finnish tactics. The war had turned around! The Finns had the upper hand! And the morale was higher than ever before.
The Jarl Helgi fled to the Norse lands, and so Asikko decided to follow him. The chase continued for months and many Finns died of attrition. Finally, in September, Asikko caught the enemy army. But unexpectedly it had gotten a lot of reinforcements. A battle broke out in the Northern-Svitjod, and the Jarl Helgi won it with the huge superiority: Asikko had under 2000 soldiers at the start of the battle, while Jarl Helgi over 3000.
Asikko had to flee again. It was extremely foolish idea to go after the Jarl Helgi to the Norse lands. Many Finns thought that Asikko was getting too old for wars. After all, he had just turned 50 years old!
A new year came again, and Asikko got some new information. Firstly, almost 4000 Lotharingian warriors had arrived in the Käkisalmi! Jarl Helgi cannot win the war anymore, no matter what. Secondly, the King Emund of Svitjod had some weeks ago integrated the big Jarldom of Norrland to his Kingdom. This Jarldom had been independent for ages, but now is part of the ever expanding Kingdom of Svitjod. The Norse Kingdom was growing scaringly fast...
In March Asikko heard that the Lotharingian army had won a huge battle in the Western-Finland against the Norse warriors. Asikko can soon enforce the Jarl Helgi to surrender, but he still has around 2000 warriors. If Asikko could once beat the Jarl’s army, the war would be won.
In the next half an year Jarl Helgi’s army was not seen anywhere. It had fled to the Kingdom of Svitjod, but it never came back to Finland. Asikko waited for the Norse army in the county of Pohjanmaa. While there, Asikko’s son Uoti turned 16-year-old. Uoti was betrothed to an Italian princess, Argentina. Asikko sent a letter to the King Louis II of Italy asking if the young couple should get married now as both were adults. Asikko also proposed a proper alliance between the two Kingdoms; Until now they had only had a non-aggression pact. Louis gladly agreed to both of the proposals.
A new year came again: year 919. The Jarl Helgi finally decided come out of hiding. He was marching with his army to the county of Satakunta. Asikko decided to attack the Norse army from the neighbouring county of Häme. On the way to Häme he received information concerning his relatives. Asikko’s sister, Inkeri, was plotting to assassinate Taisto, Asikko’s first-born child! Asikko ruthlessly sent some of his men to imprison Inkeri, but unfortunately she got away and fled to East. At least Taisto was safe again.
A month later Asikko had finally arrived in Satakunta, where the Norse army still were. A big battle broke out, which Asikko won. He used some of the tactics he had learned from his Western allies. Surprisingly, he also did not lead his armies in the front this time. He was scared of getting injured. If he got injured, he wouldn’t probably ever fully heal as he was already an old man.
A day after the battle had ended, Asikko recieved a letter from Käkisalmi. It was from his wife, Nvega. She wrote that she has been sick for months. She has lost a lot of weight and the doctor said she has cancer... Asikko couldn’t do anything about it: he had an army to lead, a war to win. Asikko wrote back to his wife as soon as possible. Sadly, a month later, in June, he received another letter. This time from his doctor. Nvega had slept away…
Asikko’s wife had died. She had been sick for months. And Asikko, her husband, had been fighting a war: an useless war! From that on Asikko just tried to end the war. Sadly, it took another 12 months, and many battles before the foolish Jarl Helgi of Austergotland finally surrendered. The war had lasted for 6 years. And nobody achieved anything…
