He's Blonde, He's Pissed, He'll See You In The Lists, LICHTENSTEINNNNN! A Gelre AAR.

There isn't much to do in Gelre. We spies can enjoy ourselves by roaming the provinces and learning what we can, but for Ulrich, he must sit in his castle and think about how everything could be better. Ulrich could be richer. Ulrich could be married. Ulrich could have sons. Ulrich could have two counties. For the poor Count, his entire life is devoid of happiness. Seeing his liege like this gave Gijsbrecht an idea - what about a grant hunt? And so, with a heavy heart, Ulrich agreed to call a hunt. Soon indeed the deer was found, but rather than charge himself, Ulrich sent his friend Johann for the kill rather than endanger himself, preferring to watch from a distance while he contemplated how very fitting it would be if the deer got away.


"You can go first though..."

Johann of course, being of harder steel than poor Ulrich, caught the deer, to which Ulrich responded by taking the credit and declaring himself a great hunter. Everyone was very proud.

Except Ulrich. Something still wasn't right, he still wasn't happy. Nijmegen wasn't anywhere near where Ulrich hoped it would be, and he fell into depression.


"I had hoped for more in life than this"

The chancellor, Bartolomeus, organized a session to try and lift poor Ulrich out of depression - the Count would listen to the petitions of his court and grant judgement. In one case, Ulrich was offered a gift by a grateful courtier, no doubt another method Bartolomeus was using to try and give the Count hope, but it was not to be. Ulrich took the gift, but he did not become brighter, or more generous in return.


"I'll take your money, but I won't give you my heart"

All across Lorraine tales were told of the suffering of my Liege, and finally even Duke Gottfried invited poor Ulrich to a feast, an invitation he was pressured into taking by the court. Surprising even himself, Ulrich enjoyed himself at the feast - though not too much - and despite not recovering from his depression, he anxiously asked if there would be another feast soon. Happy to oblige, Gottfried would continue to invite Ulrich to his feasts in the next few years.


"Delicious but not enjoyable"

Finally came the day of Ulrich's wedding, which our master Hedwig had spent months pressuring Bertha into going ahead with, who was worried about the depression of the Great Count. Nevertheless, the day came and celebrations erupted all across the country - which of course, the grumpy Ulrich taxed heavily. Once again, he would take their money and not give them his heart.


"A little less than I'd hoped"

Bertha was the third in line for the Duchy of Holland, though her older brother would marry soon too, and though she was younger than the Count she fit Ulrich well. A hunchback with a stutter, she was perfect to make the Count feel better about himself, and soon enough she fell pregnant with the child that Ulrich was waiting for.

"Isn't she beautiful? What do you mean she walks funny?"

While Ulrich waited the precious nine months until he had a son he could devote himself to, he realised how terrible it would be if he were to actually die. His son would grow up like him, without knowing his father, and his wife would be laughed at for her "strange posture and funny accent" in the words of Ulrich. He quickly decided to hire a bodyguard, sating his paranoia for now - and giving it to his wife as well.


"Maybe I should get a full face helmet too"

At long last, Ulrich's wish was fulfilled, and his son was born. Bertha, who by now, was irritating Lord Ulrich, tried to convince the Count to name his son 'Albrecht', to which Ulrich refused and the child was named William. William Ulrichszoon von Lichtenstein, quite the mouthful yet Ulrich beamed, at least until he took William in his arms, at which point the baby started to cry, for William did not like Ulrich. Ulrich immediately threw the child back at his mother and stormed from the room, tears in his eyes and he locked himself in his chamber, crying "it's not fair" as loudly as he could.


"-1?! And he cries? Unbelievable"

Dovahkiing said:

Haha, I got the honor of being the first to comment on this awesome comedy! :smile:
Great work, keep it up. Also, this has the best AAR title in the WORLD!
One last thing: When you said 'see you in 1948' did you mean for this to be a megacampaign?

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Thank you for your response, it means a lot to get the encouragement!! We plan this to be a megacampaign but there may some technical hitches along the way, these include: not knowing how to play Victoria 2 or Hearts of Iron 3 and not knowing how to transfer saves, this will all be attended to in good time. And yeah, too right! GELDERLAND GELDERLAND GELDERLAAAAAAAND!

Juan_de_Marco said:

Thank you sir, for writing the AAR that I never did and that popped up as the first thing in my head back when I learned about the existence of CK1. Thank you!

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Thank you very much It makes me happy to see the first two people to respond both love the source material as much as us!

---


Ulrich continued to brood. How could this have happened to him? What had he done to deserve such an ungrateful son? Hedwig did his best to bring Ulrich tales of others misfortune, but still the king would not smile. Eventually Gijsbrecht managed to get the Count drunk once again, and took him for a walk of the grounds with Johann. While on this patrol, a naked man pushed through the councillors and dropped a book at the feet of the Count, while takling to himself in gibberish. Down Ulrich stooped to look at the book, unmarked and old, and in his strange state of mind, Ulrich took this as a sign from God. Study the book, and everything will become clear.

The Count retired to his chamber for a week, seeing nobody but Hedwig, only because she would not be refused. She told us that everything she entered, the Count would be in the same position, crouched forward over his desk and straining to make out the scribbles of the book. Eventually, Ulrich would emerge from his chamber and declare to his friends that the book was worthless to all, mere folk tales handed through the generations. Though it was not a sign from God, he would resolve to read through books until he found one that was. Ulrich was still unhappy.


"The Pardoner's Tale was my favourite"

The reason for Hedwig's visits was not clear to anyone until after these events, but it transpired that our Spymaster was setting into motion a plan to increase her master's holdings. She convinced the Count to have his wife Bertha's sister, above her in the line of succession to the Duchy of Holland murdered, Ulrich agreed and Hedwig was dispatched to the Kingdom of Swizterland to carry out the plot. Despite her best efforts, the loyalty of the courtiers prevented Hedwig making any true progress and she returned to Ulrich having failed her mission. Ulrich's wrath was later said to shake the walls of Nijmegen castle itself, but be assured by this author that is not the case. He drunkenly passed out in the wine cellar. Not long after the birth of Ulrich's son, Bartolomeus, the Chancellor, discovered that William Ulrichzoon was in line to the Duchy of Holland and Ulrich hatched an altogether more daring plan. Hedwig was this time sent to begin a plot in Vlaardingen, the capital of Holland. There she gained the trust and support of Simon, Mayor of Hoorn and Ulrich authorised funds from his own private treasury to be made available to Simon and Hedwig.


"Simon you beautiful bastard"

Duke Dirk V of Holland lay dead in his bed, his arms and legs twitching from the viper venom that infused his muscles and left him unable to carry his own weight or call for help. But Hedwig's job was not done and Ulrich's promise of further gold to Simon retained his services as a spy in the court of Vlaardingen. In the weeks that followed Dirk's death, the women of the court mourned from their private quarters before his infant daughter Aechte, emerged in the arms of her aunt Adela as the Duchess of Holland under the guidance and rule of a Regent Council until her sixteenth summer. Ulrich, although jubilant at the news of Dirk's death was consumed by guilt that he, an orphaned child himself, had created an orphan by his own hand. Despite Hedwig's protestations, Ulrich decreed that the only way to slake his guilt and regain his honour was to have the child Duchess murdered. Hedwig was not comfortable with her mission nor the relish with which her accomplice Simon took to the task and furthermore she was not happy that the Count's reasoning was based largely around a book of folk tales.


"It.. resonates.. with me"

It took Simon very little time to seduce one of the Duchess' handmaidens and convince her to murder the young Duchess with a pillow. Ulrich's spies were successful again but Simon's love for the handmaiden meant he did not finish the job and he allowed her to live, the handmaiden, consumed with guilt betrayed the plot before she was hanged.


"I saved her.. never killed her..."

In what was a torrid time for the people of Holland, their third leader was proclaimed in as many months and Ulrich again mobilised his men against this new threat. The aunt of Duchess Aechte and sister of Duke Dirk was now the Duchess, Adela I, Ulrich ordered Hedwig to give Simon the funds to place his wife on the throne of Holland and make his son heir to both the Duchy of Holland and the County of Gelre. Hedwig was growing worried about her association with Simon, the man was a liability and what had started as assassinations of necessity seemed to becoming his games of death. He was becoming more bold, first a viper, then a handmaiden and his new plot to kill Adela was his boldest scheme yet and Hedwig refused to have a part in it. Simon arranged for Adela to be shot by some practising archers as she hunted through the secure woods around her castle. Security around the Duchess was at its highest after the assassinations against her house and it is known to us now that Adela was sending her own agents against Ulrich after the handmaiden's confession. Simon's men were successful and Hedwig's last contact with the man was sending Ulrich's reward of 20 gold for his services. Hedwig was awarded the honourary title of High Almoner under Ulrich to allow her to retire in peace and prosperity.


"Not my favourite sister-in-law"

Ulrich's wife, Bertha, became Duchess Bertha I of Holland and moved to her court to Vlaardingen, her new capital. William Ulrichzoon stayed with his father at Nijmegen and Ulrich proclaimed him heir to both the County of Gelre and the Duchy of Holland. The people of Gelre cheered and celebrated long into the night at Nijmegen Castle. Their chants of "Ulrich, Ulrich, Ulrich" and "William, William, William" forever securing the House of von Liechtenstein as the greatest rulers of Gelre. In the weeks that followed, Ulrich took his son and retinue to Holland in a grand procession and show of strength to the people of Vlaardingen and had William proclaimed the official heir to the throne of Holland by his mother, the new Duchess.


"Big Bertha's Big Kingdom"

In February, 1075 Ulrich received news that his second son, Roland Ulrichzoon had been born in Vlaardingen just a month after Bertha's succession to the Duchy of Holland. Ulrich burst into life for the first time in months, organising betrothals for both his sons. William, the firstborn, to Sybille Billung, third in line to throne of Saxony and Brunswick and Roland to Ida Hendricksdochter, third in line to the throne of Brabant. Both these marriages could serve the House von Lichtenstein very well should the right circumstances arise.


"Finally, someone who likes me"

Meanwhile, Gijsbrecht oversaw the renovation of the buildings that surrounded Nijmegen Castle, the primary reason was to reorganise the land surrounding the Castle in preparation for the celebratory Fair in honour of Roland's birth. This work would also allow him to collect more taxes, more efficiently.


"They will ALL love me! And I will be paid for it."

The Fair of Roland gave the Duke more reasons to be involved in court life despite his depression. His increasingly erratic behaviour subsided in the wake of his second son's birth and he even stopped drinking heavily as he immersed himself in preparing for the Fair. Ulric would see no expense spared for the Fair and hired jesters, magicians, warriors and performers from across the Holy Roman Empire in order to make the day enjoyable for all. He even hired a bear from far off Sweden to be baited by his prized hounds. Otto von Zutphen was the only one to cast a shadow across the Duke's face, his constant complaints about the "poor" began to resurface the animosity between the Duke and his vassal.


"Doesn't he know I'm making them love me? Why doesn't he love me too?"

As the campaigning season came to an end, the low countries had managed to survive without any conflict apart from a swift quelling of Flanders' rebellion by the French King. But as the depths of winter subsided, a darker mood began to take hold of the land, Count Ekbert of Braunschweig, the Count of Friesland and Braunschweig rebelled against Duke Gottfried of Lower Lorraine, our liegelord, leading to war. Ulrich decided to stay out of the conflict directly, but sent the levies to the northern border to guard against Friesland entering Gelre. In February 1077, a retreating Friesland army crossed the border and Ulrich led his men to war. Ulrich, the happiest anyone had seen him in years, relished his place back on the battlefield where he had grown up. He led his men into battle, staunchly in the frontline as the armies clashed and the men of Gelre claimed their first victory in the reign of Duke Ulrich. After two more victories, Ulrich led his victorious troops home to Nijmegen and held a feast in their honour.


"This. This is what I love"

However, in the months that followed those great winter victories Ulrich's behaviour and rule again became more and more erratic and worrisome towards the nobles. In the end, Otto von Zutphen came to Ulrich with an ultimatum and implied to our Duke that he may considered trying to depose the mad Duke, Ulrich rule descended further into madness. Ulrich risked the wrath of the church by increasing their taxes by almost twice as much.


"They love me! I will tax them."

In December, 1078, Ulrich decided, after a drunken argument with Otto von Zutphen that he could no longer rely on his Baron to carry out his duties properly and took steps towards having him removed. The mad Duke Ulrich poisoned the Baron's cup whilst under the guise of a reconciliation much to the disgust of the court, but such was the fear of Ulrich's reaction, not a word was spoken to him in anger. But the whispers gathered.


"Hahahahaha, why didn't you love me Otto?"

Hedwig was still Spymaster in 1079 and it was in the month of March that Hedwig had the displeasure to come across an old enemy, Simon of Hoorn. Whilst acting as Spymaster for Duchess Bertha of Holland, Simon, in his quest for power murdered the Duchess. Although Hedwig uncovered this plot, it was too late to save the life of the Duke's wife, of whom he had become reliant in his madness.


"Big Bertha my love, where have you gone?"

Duke Ulrich was visibly distraught at the loss of his wife. He took his horse and immediately rode across Holland to reach her body, shooing those who came to him away and sobbed over her body. Later at her funeral in Vlaardingen, he read his eulogy to the fallen Duchess before apologising to the congregation and retreating hastily in tears to his quarters.


"I... May have loved"

He was followed by his close friend Gijsbrecht but Ulrich slammed the door on his companion in a fit of grief-driven rage. Gijsbrecht tried to talk to his friend through the door as Ulrich raged and destroyed his room. Gijsbrecht was shocked to see such a reaction from his Liege, unaware of the feelings Ulrich had had for his wife. Once Ulrich had grown silent, Gijsbrecht took his axe to the door and burst into the room to find Ulrich sprawled on the flagstone floor, blood seeping from his nose and his face swelling from the impact of his fall. The last grimace of the Duke still etched on his bruised face, staring with dead eyes at the cracked drinking horn just inches from his right hand. What was left of his last, poisoned drink soaking into the Duke's clothes blossoming like bloodstains on the tunic of his House.


"..."

Danasher said:

Ohh interesting I shall follow

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Thank you for the support, it gives us a lot of encouragement to see people posting their enjoyment!!!

Funnyman320 said:

Impressive use of assassinations to grab the throne. This is getting a follow

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Ahah, you call it impressive, we call it damn lucky! I'm glad you enjoyed it

--


Duke William I of Holland, Count of Holland and Gelre, Lord of Castle Nijmegen and Castle Vlaardingen, took the control of the family on the 13th March 1079. A boy of six, with his brother as the Count of Westfriesland, and Bishop Walter of Haarlem ruling as regent. Betrothed to Sybille, William's life was content. Under his estranged father Ulrich, William was sent to Duke Gottfried of Lower Lorraine to learn, and there he became German. But Walter, a proud Dutchman, would not stand for this and insisted the boy be taught by Gerda, a courtier that his father had invited to the kingdom - unaware of the value she would pose to his hated son.


"Ahh... Dadda"

Walter knew the importance of maintaining relations with the ancient home of Gelre, as well as keeping relations up with the von Lichtenstein's new holdings in Holland. The council appointments were made both with skill, and with a nod to the old order. Johann, Gijsbrecht and Onno would all keep their positions and their duties while Walter would appoint himself as chancellor, as you would expect.


"All those big nice men helping me rule"

Sadly with a transition to a new Duchy, the old laws of Ulrich have been lost to the ages, and new laws for a new kingdom are set by a watchful Walter.


"Walter what do these buttons do?"

After the death of such an important figure in the Holy Roman Empire as Ulrich, there could be nought but strife. As you would expect, in honour of Ulrich, Duke Gottfried of Lorraine decided now was the time to declare independence. With this, Walter watched carefully. The boy William cried of war, to emulate his father he didn't understand, begging for a shot at 'the big nasty men', but Walter calmed him and delayed, delaying delaying delaying until Lorraine was broken, and ready.


"What are all those pretty colours Walter?"

Meanwhile, Walter worked hard in Friesland to reveal a new toy for William to oggle. Walter managed to discover something that three decades of Ulrich's historians could not: That the county of Friesland has long since dated back to the seat of Gelre.


"IT WILL BE OURS!!!"

William, invigorated by the tales Walter tells him of state and being an adult, finds himself engrossed in the work of Gerda, and to the delight of all his vassals, William abandons his 'Germanic' culture and returns to that of his father, a Dutchman.


"I will honour my father"

It was Walter's turn now to be excited, the Bishop, upon seeing Lorraine's near defeat to the Kaiser, decided to launch the von Lichtenstein's into their first offensive campaign in history. With the total levy available to Lorraine at just over 250 men, even the small nation of Gelre would be able win a war against them.


"Let's have a bash"

Bizarrely and unexplainably, after the war had started, Walter decided it was a good idea to spend nearly the entire treasury on a construction project of the King's demesne, resulting in there not being enough to pay for any immediate mercenaries during the war. Bishop Onno, who was the leader of the armies, would have to rely on the personal levies of William alone.


"Walter assured me this was definitely worth it during a war"


While Walter was busy building castles, William was the only one able to respond when Steven, the new leader of our Order and Spymaster for William came to him with a warning - the Duke of Zeeland was trying to fabricate a claim in his land. William, being of the same blood as his glorious father Ulrich, realised the only option was to sentence the chancellor to death immediately. "Well done William", he could hear his father say in his dreams.


"I will become my father!"

The war had begun well, with Onno making vital gains against Lorraine, though Duke Gottfried had brought together enough levy to finally begun sieging Gelre itself, at which point William cried and cried until finally, Walter nearly broke the bank hiring Earled of York and his Saxon Band to fight the good fight. The 1500 strong men was immediately set to work assaulting Friesland, in order to bring down the cost of paying them, though Walter kept this to himself.


"I'm sure this will be worth it."

With the power of the Saxon mercenaries added to the salted army of Gelre, Onno was able to crush the remaining levies of Lorraine handily, and before too long Duke Gottfried, the nemesis of William's father, surrendered. With 100 prestige gained, as well as the vassalage of Prince-Bishop Willem, the future was bright for William of Gelre, first of his name.


"I have avenged my father, though I know not for or why"

Funnyman320 said:

Looking good! Another vassal for the mighty duchy of holland! Any designs on the imperial throne?

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Looking sooo good! We don't know about the throne. I've never played in the HRE before and I don't really know what it involves, and the two of us aren't particularly interested in it either. We're happy being a lowly duke for now!

crusaderknight said:

I saw the name and had to read it. Just finished Ulrich's reign. A little different from the Ulrich von Liechtenstein that we all know and love, but quite amusing. Looking forward to continuing the tale!

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Thanks for letting us know you enjoyed it! Yeah, Ulrich turned out pretty crazy in the end. Hopefully his son William can become the true Ulrich we know and love!

It brings a huge smile to my face to see people interested in the story, so if you read and enjoy the AAR please make a post! Suggestions, criticism, whatever, please get involved with the story.

--


The Regency of Walter was a quiet time for Gelre after the transfer of Prince-Bishop Willem to our kingdom, Walter was a careful man who was willing to keep watch and not interfere too much. With the protection of the Kaiser, Gelre was unthreatened by outside powers and it's only potential enemy within the empire, Duke Gottfried recovering from two devastating wars.

William continued to want to emulate the father he never knew and didn't understand - in October 1084 he grew so ill that he ran around the castle screaming "Please kill me!" for a good three months until he was able to recover, with his loyal guardian Gerda nursing him to back to health.


"Bring me the poison!"

William grew so dependent on Gerda that when the other boys asked him to go climbing with him, he said he wanted to stay in the castle with his 'Mum'. They laughed at him and called him craven, and ran off. Distraught, he cried to Gerda, begging her to help him. He sobbed onto her chest, "I'm not scared, I'm not scared!" until she finally told him to come down to the dungeons with her. They walked through the dungeons until Gerda found a spider, which she picked up and asked William to hold. His scream could be heard throughout the whole castle.


"I'm ain't scared!"

After those two bouts of near disaster, Gelre returned to normalcy, aside from William breaking and creating new betrothals and the construction of a Castle Town in Vlaandingen. In April 1088, William I of Gelre came of age, a charismatic negotiator with a high diplomacy that would soon earn him a call up from the Kaiser to become the chancellor of the empire.


"I always get what I want, if you know what I mean"

With the troublesome years of puberty and your late teens comes unexpected dangers and decisions. A holy man tried to spread heresy in Holland, to which William - a zealot - responded swiftly, imprisoning the blasphemer and earning the respect of his court. Soon, another problem would be thrust at William. His adopted mother, Gerda, despondent after the loss of her charge, eloped with Hendrik, two widowers from the reign of Ulrich.

William thought long and hard about what to do - after all, he had no wife, breaking three betrothals after realising they wouldn't benefit his dynasty. If he could live in celibacy (well, apart from the peasant girls), why couldn't Gerda? And isn't this an insult to God? William once again felt himself seething with rage, and ordered Gerda and Hendrik seized. Both were caught and William watched as they were lead to the dungeons, thinking carefully to himself.


"They insult God AND me!"

William soon realised it was foolish to not be married, what if he died? The von Lichtenstein's only had one other living family member, his brother Roland. He found a suitable pride in the heiress of Loon, Jacoba, whose father the Count had never remarried after the death of his wife. As an only child, she was guaranteed the county, and William saw that his own child would inherit after her. What better a marriage than that of dynasty, he thought to himself?


"First the Dynasty. Second me."

William soon forgot about the two elopers, busying himself in the business of learning to climb trees, until one day Gerda complained, begging to be released. William took mercy on the couple, releasing them both, and showing his compassion to the entire court.


"I.. I never meant to do this"

All this affected William deeply, and he thought and thought about how he should rule Gelre. He began to delve into the chronicles of his father, and more and more he was repulsed by what he saw. He saw his father favoured his brother, he saw his father murdered his childhood rival for daring to stand up to him, he saw his father's descent into madness and his father's suicide, leaving William an orphan at a young age.

William resolved to be better than Ulrich, to be more. To leave a legacy. William resolved to go to war.


"von LICHTENSTEINNNNN!"

Funnyman320 said:

Ah yes, the slaughter of those peasant levies will truly make you a great medieval ruler! Can we get a map of the duchy of Holland? I would like to see how far you've expanded beyonfd your de jure borders

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An updated map will come at the end of the update after this I'm afraid But I hope you find it worth the wait!! Thanks for keeping up support

ben_mit_b said:

hahaha, von Lichtensteeeeeeein :3

The movie actually was on german TV yesterday!

consider this a subscription

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Welcome aboard

--


William threw himself into the plans of war. Raise the levies he cried, summon the mercenaries he declared. Though the combined might of the forces of Gelre outnumbered those of Duke Gottfried, they were spread across the Duchy.


"We march my men"

William immediately ordered all his forces to converge at his castle of Nijmegen, but on the way, all the levies delayed at Zutphen and were caught by the army of Lower Lorraine. William couldn't believe that his incompetence had cost the lives of nearly 900 men, and very nearly the entire war effort.


"How could I let this happen?"

William gritted his teeth. He paced up and down. A single tear rolled down his cheek. He agreed to pay the 75 gold to hire another mercenary band, pained at spending more money yet ruthless in pursuit of the expansion of Gelre. With now 3000 mercenaries under the control of William, Gottfried could offer no resistance. A quick rout of the Lorraine army at Nijmegen turned into three terrifying fast sieges in Friesland, with William demanding assaults on the walls as soon as the armies arrived. Thousands died, but William got what he wanted.


"God loves you William, and so do I"

Buoyed by his victory, William met with a travelling caravan at his court, listening to stories of battles past and old. William is told the story of The Pardoner's Tale by the merchant, unaware that it was this very tale that turned his father to madness, but William reacted differently. Rather than embracing death, William saw the mistakes of the brothers and resolved to always be one step ahead of his enemies. The merchant nodded solemnly, before bringing forth a servant named Artemios and offering him to William, promising just what William desired. With the intense loyalty and dedication, the new spymaster would serve both William and our sacred guild well.


"Do you fear my gash, William?"

Taking note of the fast expansion of Gelre and the character of Duke William, The Kaiser invited William to serve as his chancellor, an invitation that could not be refused. Though it was a great honour, William found himself anxious and bored serving the Kaiser, desiring nothing more than to return to Gelre and continue his aggressive plans for the Duchy.


"This is nice, but how does it help me?"

Eventually William was relived of his duties and returned home, and as soon as he set foot in Nijmegen he realised one thing - he could not be satisfied with just the title 'Duke of Holland' any longer. It was time for a new dawn - and lo, the Duchy of Gelre was created.


"He's blonde, he's tanned, he comes from Gelderland"

Even at the height of the celebrations for Gelre's new status, there was tragedy however. Mayor Gijsbrecht, the lifelong friend and drinking partner of Ulrich, died after a long life as Steward. Still, William saw progress. A new time was coming.

"Alas poor Horick, I knew him Horatio"

William knew there could be but one course of action. He must unite all Gelderland under his banner, the county of Ostfriesland MUST become part of the kingdom. William saw that the Duke of Brunswick, Magnus I was embroiled in a war with the Duke of Thuringia, evening the stakes between Gelre and Brunswick somewhat. His ambition could not be stopped, despite the disadvantage in numbers, and the cost of raising more mercenaries, William went to war.


"WIIIILLLLIIIAMMMMMMMMM!!!"

Initially the war went well for William, Ostfriesland quickly fell, but without enough warscore to force a peace, Duke Magnus turned his gaze from his first war with Thuringia to defend his western provinces from the Gelrans. Desperately, William ordered an assault on a castle, but all that he succeeded in was thinning his troop numbers while the Army of Brunswick marched towards him. William retreated to Gelre and had to watch as all his early gains in the war were wiped away while he waited for enough gold to hire mercenaries once again.

Once the Gelran army was ready, William marched forward, routing the Brunswick forces and laying siege to Borkum, quickly taking control of the war.


"I will win, at any price"

Despite the gains being made in Northern Frisia, in the South tragedy would once again strike at the heart of the Duchy. Bishop Walter, the steadfast regent and guiding friend of William, was on a mission in Gent, but like his counterpart ten years before, Walter was killed.


"His replacement will be sent immediately"

Meanwhile, another member of William's council was causing trouble of his own. Dietmar came with an interesting proposition to the king: Exploit the peasantry in order to pay for the conquests of Gelre. William jumped on this chance, desperate for more income to pay his ruthless mercenaries with.


"War is expensive, too expensive for love."

William's determination paid off, and in March 1099 the child Duchess of Brunswick surrendered after her father, Magnus I was killed in battle. This completed the uniting of the Duchy of Gelre, but William was not satisfied with his kingdom, determined to expand further.


"Sweet sweet victory"

Days after the war concluded William returned home to find his bride ready to marry, and he joined his dynasty to that of the Countess of Loon, Jacoba, collecting a royal due from the nobles in celebration of his success.


"Plain, but useful"

Sadly, before the honeymoon of William and Jacoba had even ended, another tragedy struck the council, Bishop Onno had died. Onno was the oldest man in the kingdom, he had seen the rise of Ulrich I of Gelre from squire to Duke, and with his death the final ties to Ulrich's reign disappeared.


"My father is gone, but I will become more than he ever dreamed of"

Five months later Jacoba was pregnant, and William became a father in 1100 to a boy he named Ulrich, in honour of his own father. Two years later another son was born, this one named Geldric.


"Wait what, my kingdom will be split in two? This has to be stopped"

At the end of the Year of our Lord 1102, the Duchy of Gelre had grown far beyond the aspirations of Ulrich, being five times as large as it was in 1066.


"Gelderland Gelderland GELDERLAND"