I was contacted every few years by the Kings men over trivialities. It seemed the alliance with Sweden and Denmark was causing quite a few problems. Instead of an angry Novgorod declaring war on Norway, with Sweden and Denmark saving Norway, it was quite the opposite. It was Sweden who declared the wars, Denmark not doing a thing, and Norway always saving Sweden. Not the position we had hoped for. Thus, when King Jon I came in person to me in 1473, I agreed to help him. I gave up my eremite lifestyle and decided to move permanently to the Norwegian capital. Our first task was to keep out of wars with Novgorod and seek a more permanent alliance with other stronger countries. When Sweden declared war on Novgorod again in 1478, for the fifth time in 60 years, Norway didn't honour that alliance. We decided to opt for an alliance with England instead. Such an alliance would better suit Norways needs and it would give us a chance to get the Shetlands and the Hebrides back. After five months of negotiations, Norway entered the alliance led by England, with Castille on our side as well.
In 1498 the alliance was getting ready for war as France declared war on England. Norway sent troops to Scotland and laid siege to Inverness. The islands would be ours! France exited the war soon taking part of the treasury from England, but the war continued between England and Norway versus Scotland. In the south, England had captured Edinburgh and Glasgow and had beseiged Aberdeen. The sieges continued for almost a year when Aberdeen fell and Inverness was soon to fall. The English armies marched north to help our siege and to return the islands to us! Then when the armies of the English reached Inverness, their leader Norfolk had the nerve to assume control of the siege! The Norwegian commander was furious! Here they had helped our allies and only wanted what was ours, and the English come and steal the siege! We had little choice though as we were outmanned and tired. They had their siege and the Norwegians marched south towards Newcastle to board our ships for the journey home. Then, as Inverness fell and England pushed through a deal, Scotland survived! Edinburgh and the surrounding lands were still under the Scottish crown and they were still at war with Norway! Our armies were directed towards Edinburgh, and our ships did travel to Norway, but to get reinforcements. The siege of Edinburgh will be famous in Norwegian history, as it only took 3 months for Edinburgh to fall. The last part of Scotland was now in Norwegian hands, and we had the perfect point at which to expand towards the islands.
Three years later, Scotland emerged again, with it's new capital in Aberdeen. The highlands and Glasgow was still in English hands. When the English asked for Norwegian help, we agreed, seeing our chance to get closer to the islands. The war was short as the English captured Aberdeen easily, but one again Scotland survived. It was time for Norway to end that again, and thus Norway declared war on Scotland two weeks after the peace had been signed. The stability hit was tremendous, but it was decided it was worth it. The siege lasted for more than half a year, but finally Aberdeen and surrounding areas was under the Norwegian crown. We were getting closer!