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TheHeroOfRandom

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Dec 3, 2012
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  • Crusader Kings II
  • Europa Universalis IV
  • 500k Club
England is burning... The remaining kingdoms of the Old Saxon Heptarchy tremble at the might of the Sons of Lodbrok and their heathen armies.

As the Hammer falls on Northumbria and East Anglia, a fleet of fifteen battered ships laden with Saxon refugees sails down the River Rhine, searching for a new place to call home...


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Its been a while since my previous AAR failed and i've had this one planned for about four months now. The premise of Saxon Dogs is that a group of Saxons flee from the Great Heathen Army attacking East Anglia and flee to the realms of the Karlings to find a new home among the Frankish kingdoms. Here they have a chance to rebuild and regrow in power as a safe haven for the Saxons. Their future remains open to the turning of the fates. Will they fade from history as the world moves on unconcerned for the plight of Britannia? Or will they stand the test of time and possibly give rise to powers far far greater than they could possibly imagine? Only time (and my suffering laptop) will tell.

As it was before, throughout the Megacampaign I will be playing these games:
Crusader Kings II: 867 - 1444
Europa Universalis IV: 1444 - 1820
Victoria II: 1820 - 1936
Hearts of Iron III: 1936 - 1948

For at least the CKII portion of the Megacampaign, it will be written in the style of a journal kept by the current character. Afterwards for EUIV i'm not entirely sure if i'll keep using that writing style, i'll have to see how it goes. But anyway, the prologue should be up within a couple hours and the first part a few days after that. I hope that you'll enjoy it.

P.S: I apologise if the prologue has some weak writing in it, for some reason it was really difficult to actually get the story moving in a decent way. Later chapters will improve in quality.


Table of Contents

BOOK I: The Resettlement (867 - )

Guthmund



 
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This promises to be an interesting concept. I remember someone else tried something with a similar premise some years back, though both the year (1066, in the aftermath of the Norman invasion) and the destination were somewhat different, to my recollection. That said, I'll be looking forward to seeing how this saga unfolds :)
 
Prologue - December 866

Prologue
3 December 866
Julich, Kingdom of Lotharingia​


A royal congregation was something rarely seen by the villagers of Julich, the reason that the aforementioned congregation now stood waiting by the shores of the Rhine however was a thing unheard of since the times of Frankish expansion three centuries earlier. The ships that now floated on the western shore of the Rhine were of Viking design, but those who travelled within were certainly not. Indeed, had Norse raiders been on board instead of the assorted Saxon peasantry and tired and injured warriors, the county most likely would be burning by now.

The fifteen hundred strong refugees had requested asylum in the Kingdom and now approached the King, Lothaire II. At the front of the bustling crowd stood a tall, stoic man, a minor noble judging by the well kept appearance of his beard as well as the sword at his side. His eyes showed decades of experience in warfare and the wisdom from his sharp mind. His name was Guthmund, a former Huscarl exiled for cowardice and insubordination. Despite his alleged cowardly ways, he had returned to his old lands with a band of loyal huscarls, rescuing as many as they could before stealing a fleet of fifteen Viking ships on the coast of Kent and navigating through a deadly storm to reach the mouth of the Rhine. By his side was his wife Ealhflaed, a lass over twenty winters younger than her husband at eighteen, along with their two children, Aethelstan and Eadgifu, the latter of whom had been born during the evacuation.

As the crowd of refugees came to a halt before the royal bodyguard, Guthmund stepped forward to parley with the King, who was accompanied by a herald. The herald, having knowledge of the symbols of the Saxon peoples and their tongue, stepped forward to address the crowd with surprising fluency.

"You stand before His Majesty King Lothaire II, Sovereign of Lotharingia and Burgundy. He is intrigued as to why fifteen hundred Saxons, most of which are simple peasantry, have set foot upon the lands of the Karlings. Therefore, He urges you to state your intentions immediately, else there be reason for bloodshed."

Guthmund drew a deep breath before stepping forward again to give his response.

"Honor to you your Majesty. I am Guthmund, former Huscarl to King Edmund of East Anglia, exiled for the crime of attempting to protecting my kinsmen from the inevitable war against the Norse heathens that are ravaging the northern kingdoms of our homeland. I led a force of Huscarls to rescue as many as we could before stealing a fleet of Viking ships abandoned by the Heathen Army. We chose to sail into the Rhine as best we could, and claim asylum in exchange for servitude."

"You have warriors with you?"

"We do, three hundred Huscarls grown strong from the heathen attacks of the past few years. I'd wager that you've never seen a retinue as battle hardened as them in all of the west. All that we ask is that you give us a new home and we will serve you loyally."

The herald turned to the King, who was clearly pondering over his options. After a long pause, Lothaire gave a small chuckle and whispered his reply to the herald. The herald gave a shocked look to his liege before turning to the Saxon crowd.

"Let it be known that His Majesty respects the prowess of the Huscarls and accepts their pledge of service. In return, the county of Julich shall be given in its whole to the representative of the Saxon peoples known as Guthmund. His Majesty also requests that Guthmund takes on a noble surname so that He may formally grant the county to you and your heirs."

A resonding cry of joy echoed from the weary refugees. Their plight, for now, was at an end. Over the course of the month, construction plans were drawn up and temporary shelters were built to house the Saxons until Spring came. On Christmas Eve, A messenger brought news to Guthmund that he was to be knighted and given the title in a formal ceremony at Verdun, the capital of the Kingdom, on New Years Day.

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Guthmund at the turn of 867

The ceremony itself was a fairly standard affair. Guthmund chose his family name to mirror what many called his strongest asset, his quick mind, and named himself as Guthmund of House Wyse. He was given the title of Count of Julich as well as a payment of 42 gold to use as he wished.

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The county of Julich

Guthmund stood outside that night contemplating his next move. More Saxons would come to Julich once they learnt of the new safe haven he was building, and with East Anglia and Northumbria in flames and Mercia and Wessex likely soon to follow, the single county would not be enough to sustain them. Turning to look in the direction of faraway Britannia, Guthmund saw the storm brewing on the horizon and knew that he would do what he must to protect his people...

What Guthmund couldn't have known however, is that the storm brewing in Britannia was only the beginning...
 
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An ominous note to close on. Perhaps the Vikings have taken note of this band of exiles and followed them across the sea, hoping for easy plunder? (They're right across the river from a rather easy raiding target, after all...)
 
Any chance of them heading back to Saxony? :p

I actually do plan on reuniting the Saxons as a whole at some point in the future. It'll be a grand old family reunion to be sure!
 
I followed your last AAR and I'm happy to follow this one!
 
Chapter I - Settling In

Chapter I - Settling In​


The first year and a half of my reign in Julich was mainly dedicated towards the construction of a personal holding for myself and a settlement around it for my huscarls. My wife Ealhflaed and my newborn daughter Eadgifu seemed to be adjusting to our new home rather well.

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My yearling son Aethelstan however seemed unsettled by the stress of the last few months.

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During this time, my new liege, Lothaire II, was in a rather precarious position with four bastard children unable to succeed him.

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His brother the King of Italy dragging him into a war against Muslims in the south.

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And not to mention a potential threat in Hrorekr, Duke of Holland, a heathen convert who was making moves against him.

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Because of the threats to his rule, Lothaire had been looking to expand his control over his kingdom at the expense of his vassals, so it came as no surprise to anyone when Count Rainier of Luxembourg declared war against Lothaire in response to the King's attempts to revoke his county in mid April of 867.

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Rainier was killed during the early skrimishes, leaving his young son Sigbert in control of a rapidly collapsing rebellion. Despite this, the regent in control of Luxembourg due to Sigbert's infancy refused to surrender, leading to an extended siege to end the revolt. Hrorekr, taking advantage of the situation, pressed his demands for an elective monarchy system. Not wanting to risk all out war, the King chose to accept the terms.

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By the beginning of 868, Sigbert's forces finally surrendered the young lad to Lothaire, who promptly imprisoned the child.

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At the end of May, we received devastating news. Another ship laden with refugees arrived, among them was Leofwine, the court chaplain of East Anglia and an old friend of mine. His tale brought sorrow to all who heard it.

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East Anglia had fallen to the Norse hordes, King Edmund was dead and the villages that weren't already abandoned were burning one by one. A dark day for my people indeed...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One month later...

Midsummer's Eve 868
Julich

The Midsummer festivities were in full swing. Saxon and German peasantry intermingled in celebration of the completion of the expansion of the village. Also attending were the local burghers, the resident priest and Count Guthmund himself. Guthmund had busied himself that evening improving relations with his vassals as well as making plans with the council to expand his estate in preparation for the flow of refugees from East Anglia.

As the afternoon drew onwards, Guthmund found himself in the midst of the crowd, seperated from his family and his bodyguards. Just as he realised this, a brawl erupted between two groups of drunkards. The brawl grew in size as the town guards attempted to intervene to very little avail. Before Guthmund could join his guards, a man in a hooded cloak grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the crowd. In an alleyway nearby, the hooded figure stopped and lowered his hood.

Guthmund stared at the man who had led him away. "Leofwine? What's going on here?"

Leofwine gave Guthmund a morose look "I am sorry I dragged you like that Guthmund, but I'm afraid I don't have much time."

"What in God's name are you talking about Leofwine? What's going on?"

"I wish I could tell everything, but there truly is no time."

Leofwine gave a quick look around before pulling a large book from his cloak.

"Take this." Leofwine murmured "This book has been in my possession for a decade, before that it was held by the last two court chaplains and before that it was in the possession of the monastery of Lindisfarne before the heathens destroyed it seventy years ago. This book has existed for centuries, long before we Saxons knew the light of God. It holds an indecipherable scripture that some have believed to be a prophecy of the end of the world, others believe it to be a sign of the return of Arthur, nobody truly knows what secrets it holds."

Leofwine took another glance at with surroundings before drawing closer to the duke and lowering his voice to a barely audible whisper "What all the stories hold in common however, is that the day will come when the text will be deciphered. I give this book to you because I believe that you and your family hold the key to revealing the secret."

As Leofwine handed the book to Guthmund, the Count looked down at it. It was a plain black book, without any mark or title upon the cover. Looking back up at the former chaplain with a expression of disbelief, Guthmund let out a low chuckle "You know this sounds like sheer lunacy my old friend? What makes you think I wouldn't just throw this thing into the river without a second thought?"

The other man smiled at the Count "Because I know you Guthmund, you are too wise to pass it off as ramblings of a madman. I cannot guarantee that you will find the secret in your lifetime, but you must ensure that the book is kept safe by your family for those who follow to unlock the scripture."

Giving the book one last glance, Leofwine pulled his hood over his eyes and turned away from Guthmund "This will be the last time we meet. Do not follow me. Farewell and long life to you Guthmund Wyse."

With that, Leofwine walked out of the village and was never again seen in the West. Guthmund however rejoined his family and bodyguards, hiding the book under his cloak on the way back to his holding.


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It's fun to see history from the downtrodden's perspective. Subbed, and have fun making a name for yourself amongst the wilds of Germany!
 
I'm keeping an eye on this one. Saxons being exiled back to Germany by the Vikings is a great idea for an AAR. Break a leg.
 
Chapter II - The Need To Expand

I apologise for the long gap between this chapter and the last, a heavy dosage of personal life and work took its toll on me editing the chapter properly, not to mention planning for the writing contest. Regardless, heres the next chapter of the story, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter II - The Need To Expand​


For almost a year I studied the book and its cryptic messages, yet even after all that time the code is still not deciphered. There is something hidden deep within these pages that is beyond my wisdom to see, maybe if I had continued to study then I would've found the key. Unfortunately, events occurring in the wide world drove my thoughts on the book to the back of my mind.

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Stories from the east of the Magyars, a pagan tribe who had overrun the Carpathian Basin, were the first thing to draw my attention away from my studies. What kept my focus however was the situation in Julich, as with East Anglia's collapse had lead to an increased influx of refugees over 868 and 869. Whilst Lothaire had not voiced any concern over this, being much more focussed on being dragged by his brother the King of Italy into a civil war between the eastern Karling Kingdoms, I realised that if the number of refugees continued to grow, Julich would suffer heavily. I needed to increase the size of my realm at any cost. To that end, I sent my Chancellor Aelfmar, one of the Huscarls who accompanied me, to the neighbouring county of Loon to fabricate a claim on the county.

The first half of 869 passed quietly, I gave up on studying the book for the time being and took to spending my time sparring with my soldiers to ensure my martial prowess was intact. One morning at the end of February however my dear wife Ealhflaed decided to test my prowess in a different manner, leading to the discovery of her pregnancy three months later.

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In July, one of my training sessions was interrupted by Aelfmar barging into the room breathing heavily. He triumphantly stated that he had managed to find evidence dating back to the fall of the Western Romans that some of the ancient Saxon people once inhabited the area along the Rhine as far west as Hainaut before crossing the sea to reach England. He had managed to use this to fabricate a claim on Loon to reclaim it as ancestral Saxon lands. I congratulated him on his achievement before ordering him to head to the bishophric of Liege to alter the evidence to be used there as well.

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After spending another month preparing my men until we were finally ready to sieze Loon as my own. Lothaire was too busy fighting in Italy to intervene and although the forces I had were strong, they were not numerous enough to defeat that of Loon. To that end I borrowed some gold from a Jewish community in Julich to hire some Finnish mercenaries to tip the odds in my favour.

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My trust in the mercenaries was misplaced however, as the fools were not properly organised when we met the Loonish forces at the first Battle of Tilburg, leading to our defeat despite outnumbering the enemy by four to one. Despite the setback, we managed to properly coordinate our forces to seize victory in December at the second Battle of Tilburg.

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As my forces settled in to siege the county over the winter, news came from Julich at the end of the month that Ealhflaed had given birth to a healthy girl who she had named Hextilda.

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In April of 870, Aelfmar sent news that he had forged a claim on Liege, held by Cardinal Francon. Although warring against a Cardinal would normally be seen as sinful by the Pope, the previous Pope had died earlier in the year and the new Pope, known as Simplicius II, was not very pleased with Francon and would turn a blind eye towards him. With that in mind, Aelfmar was given the order to work on a claim to the county of Luxembourg.

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After several months of sieges, the last holding in Loon surrendered and the county was now under my control.

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At the same time, Lothaire sent news that he would respect my power gains as long as I recognised his authority as paramount. Julich and Loon will not be enough, more land would be needed with the steady fall of the Saxon Kingdoms. With that thought in my mind, I began to prepare for my next war.
 
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Glad to see an update. And progress in gaining power, too!
 
subbed

Crusader Kings II: 867 - 144

I believe this is a typo unless you broke time and the game is going backwards. :p
 
I believe this is a typo unless you broke time and the game is going backwards. :p
Wow, I didn't even notice the typo until you pointed it out! Thanks for subbing by the way.
 
Yup I'm liking this. Subbed!