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That out with the old, in with the new trend isn't a good sign for Eilif. Hopefully it spares him. The war is at least off to a good start.
Halla is doing good work, even if it is a dangerous one. Should you decide to wish to reappoint Helgi, it would be a better choice to secure a good groom for her instead of firing her from the council. She doesn't deserve that.
Lothaire the Avenger's lifestory truly would make for a great saga. Just don't end up like him, would be the message it conveys.
As for some gameplay notes, going after an enemy's ally's holdings isn't worth it. All it does is take out his source of income (so he'll run out of cash eventually - and his army, once defeated), but not adding any warscore. And you still need to beat his men, so you just prevent reinforcements.
Before feudalizing, it's a good idea to have as many tier II or IV buildings in your holdings as you can, as they'll upgrade to castle buildings. Makes the transition period smoother to have more men and income.
It really is hardly worth it anyway - you're better served with more troops from your demesne than the small boost. In my experience, either your band is small enough to be hired (and you'd need the men yourself), your band is too big (and you don't need any additional income anyway) or you are a merchant republic and run on mercs, so you don't use your personal troops that much.
Ch 109 Q2: Domestic Argument. I didn’t hear anything further of this one, but suppose there would be some kind of an event chain attached. Eilif had enough on his plate at that stage without risking a falling out with his possessed and unhinged (but effective and loyal) Chancellor and Regent!
Ch 109 Q3: Assault Result. The activity itself was too small to include in the narrative as a major battle with a screenshot, but this was both unexpected (falling so easily) and another of those instances when the report doesn’t really explain the full story. I’d be curious as to how to interpret this – and can provide a screenshot subsequently if more info is required.
Might be that the aforementioned local raiders had already lowered morale by quite a lot. Leofric, knowing that he's waging a hopeless war, then decided that he's just in it for the loot and wanted to secure his (surviving) men some more, so he assaulted instead of waiting. Just a guess though.
then there're too many tribal vassals. nomad horselords normally do not have holdings other than the capital so if you take the capital suddenly you take (nearly) all the holdings he holds. if he has some tribes as vassals (in fact we see this since nearly every province needed a siege and had a holding in it) then the value of the capital gets reduced to normal levels.
Without HL, Cumania is just another tribal realm though, so that doesn't matter.
But then again, you are right in that wars against nomads are best fought evading their doomstack and assaulting their tents.
That's not a question that can be answered really. Depends on a lot of circumstances. The plotter and his co-conspirators mostly. Also the target. If you've got a paranoid target, they'll be harder to murder. Even moreso if they decide to go into hiding.
Once again, there’s been a bit of a gap as other AARs have been updated, but the second part of the last session was already played and (due to me putting a big effort in for it before) all the images were edited as well, so writing up now shouldn’t take too long (relatively speaking). We’re coming to an interesting place in the story arc that is Eilif’s long reign …
Thought I’d telegraph things a little . You’ll soon see whether Eilif makes it … or falls at the last hurdle due to some unforeseen CK2 bastardry! [No that’s not necessarily a spoiler, just leaving the question open … ]
I think his wife always wanted to throw out that weird skull collection of the man, and he didn't let her. My grandmother also threw out a lot of my grandfather's curiosities after he passed.
Because Kinyak was a dispossessed refugee courtier, I suppose his curios would have been inherited by Eilif as his liege. The skull would have no doubt looked good on the mantelpiece
It's not one of the best buildings to improve for conversion purposes, but any building (except shipyard) that's an odd-level is better upgraded to an even-level as a higher priority so I advise to upgrade this to level 4.
Yes, but in this case I though feudalism would still be a long way off and Holmgarðr is actually the only decent revenue producing county in the whole eastern realm, so thought I’d give it a boost. What the heck, I thought.
A great episode! The war is going good, and if we can get rid of that Leofric we'll have more troops to chase the fast horselords. The empire crown is so much in sight now, I hope nothing goes wrong with Eilif's health and he gets to see the second fruit (first being the reformation) of his hard work!
Many thanks. His big two achievements so far have been the conquest of Sweden (his once in a lifetime subjugation war which added the second crown and helped pave the way for the Germanic reformation) and the founding of the Fylkirate. Empire, if he can do it, will be his third crowning (literally) achievement. But Cumania is a big target and proving difficult to put away … will the time taken mean the whole thing is undermined by a messy succession, leaving his heir is a real jam? The next phase will be revealed soon …
Taking the capitol county may not add much to war score depending upon how many counties the Khan holds, the real hope is to take some or all of the Khan's family as prisoner. Close family can give 5% war score each and if you snatch his heir it is 50% war score in your favor.
then there're too many tribal vassals. nomad horselords normally do not have holdings other than the capital so if you take the capital suddenly you take (nearly) all the holdings he holds. if he has some tribes as vassals (in fact we see this since nearly every province needed a siege and had a holding in it) then the value of the capital gets reduced to normal levels.
Yes, Cumania’s main strength here is first in the Khan’s tribal vassals (plenty of them) and then other Tengrists he’s able to bring into defend himself against the Holy War.
Another great episode. Love the humor. Love the [ ] info. Does anyone know the percentage of AI murder plots that succeed? Unless me, my ancestor, or my descendant is target, I use a 25/50 approach to plotting. If target has an opinion of me 25 greater than plotter's opinion of me, I ask plotter to stop. If plotter has an opinion of me 50 greater than target's opinion of me, I offer the plotter assistance. All others, I ignore as it gives them something to do.
Thank you! As a learning (not just for me, but for readers hopefully too) I o delve into things and ask questions one wouldn’t in a more strictly gameplay, history book or narrative AAR, though it does have a few of those elements. And if we can have a few little chuckles along the way, all the better! I see the murder plot question was addressed in the subsequent comments – it’s a mystery to me!
He’s rapidly becoming one of the last of what is now the ‘old generation’. How different from when he inherited the realm from Rurik all those years ago now.
Halla is doing good work, even if it is a dangerous one. Should you decide to wish to reappoint Helgi, it would be a better choice to secure a good groom for her instead of firing her from the council. She doesn't deserve that.
She is a good operator and trustworthy. I agree, she will be treated well – so long as Eilif is in charge, anyway! And hopefully a brother would be disposed to do the same, though one can never tell in the dark worl of CK2 court politics!
Very much so! That he’s out and about and still has one son alive and in power after all he must have gone through says something about his persistence and resilience.
As for some gameplay notes, going after an enemy's ally's holdings isn't worth it. All it does is take out his source of income (so he'll run out of cash eventually - and his army, once defeated), but not adding any warscore. And you still need to beat his men, so you just prevent reinforcements.
OK, thanks, but it was an easy enough conquest I suppose on the way over and ensures there wouldn’t be a pesky enemy haven behind the lines, but very useful info re warscore. In this case, it still worked out quite well, I think, so wasn’t a completely wasted effort.
Before feudalizing, it's a good idea to have as many tier II or IV buildings in your holdings as you can, as they'll upgrade to castle buildings. Makes the transition period smoother to have more men and income.
Yes indeed, will be aiming to do that with the market infra in Holmgarðr (doubt I’d build any more anywhere else for the foreseeable future, before feudalisation).
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Ch 109 Q1: Novgorodian Band.I know I’ve asked before, but I think it may be time to wind up the experiment – it doesn’t seem to be worth it really.
I always saw the mercenary bands as a way to give a son a title and let him gain prestige and possibly get improvements in skills/traits, without giving him a landed title and have him become involved in the plotting and intrigue in the Kingdom. This can some times backfire if he is killed or maimed, or comes back with bad traits.
It really is hardly worth it anyway - you're better served with more troops from your demesne than the small boost. In my experience, either your band is small enough to be hired (and you'd need the men yourself), your band is too big (and you don't need any additional income anyway) or you are a merchant republic and run on mercs, so you don't use your personal troops that much.
Thanks all, that pretty much confirms my impressions. It was an interesting experiment, but never lived up to my expectations. It looks like Eilif will likely have some housekeeping to do when he next gets the chance!
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Ch 109 Q2: Domestic Argument.I didn’t hear anything further of this one, but suppose there would be some kind of an event chain attached. Eilif had enough on his plate at that stage without risking a falling out with his possessed and unhinged (but effective and loyal) Chancellor and Regent!
Right, just one of those little flavour events, then. In this case, I just wasn’t willing to risk upsetting the delicately balanced apple cart that is the strange but effective Chancellor of Garðariki right now!
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Ch 109 Q3: Assault Result.The activity itself was too small to include in the narrative as a major battle with a screenshot, but this was both unexpected (falling so easily) and another of those instances when the report doesn’t really explain the full story. I’d be curious as to how to interpret this – and can provide a screenshot subsequently if more info is required.
Might be that the aforementioned local raiders had already lowered morale by quite a lot. Leofric, knowing that he's waging a hopeless war, then decided that he's just in it for the loot and wanted to secure his (surviving) men some more, so he assaulted instead of waiting. Just a guess though.
Once more, thank you for all of those who read and especially those who have commented – the latter is the icing on the cake for any writAAR: we all pathetically crave such friendly engagement and validation! Writing process now begun for the next chapter, which I hope shouldn’t take too long.
Thanks all, that pretty much confirms my impressions. It was an interesting experiment, but never lived up to my expectations. It looks like Eilif will likely have some housekeeping to do when he next gets the chance!
It's more a role play thing, and extremely useful for small realms with a lot of cash and no land for normal retinue or normal call up troops (that is to say, merchant republics or extremely small kingdoms like Brittany). It may have changed since, but in my Venice game, I made extensive use of two home-grown merc companies to build a tributary training empire and, because it was essentially a family owned private army, remove all my rivals in the Republic.
But since you are basically russia, you don't have much need of manpower replacement, presumably...
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Chapter 110: A Quiet Life (1 January 928 to 26 September 929)
Chapter 110: A Quiet Life (1 January 928 to 26 September 929)
Previously, on Blut und Schlacht … Eilif is in the middle of a Holy War with Cumania, trying to secure the four Russian counties that would allow him to declare the foundation of a new Empire. The first phase of the war progressed well enough, but the further into the steppe his forces go, the greater the attrition from living off the land, while casualties sieges and battles wear his forces down. And Khan Uzluk of Cumania has been busy trying to attract new Tengri allies to aid his defence.
There is also the distraction of the adventurer Leofric Henry, leading a substantial force of Eilif's troops on a merry chase. Leofric is proving hard to pin down, while raiding and adventuring forces large and small nip Eilif’s flanks. But, other than Cumania, the biggest enemy is time: Eilif fears he will be summoned to the halls of his ancestors before he can declare an Empire and safeguard the succession to keep Sweden in a cohesive realm. His very Germanic faith will soon be called into question ... by himself.
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General Military Situation
The end of 927 AD saw Eilif’s forces in Cumania divided into three armies. Hroðgar commanded a force of around 4,000 men (including allied vassal contingents). He was marching from Bolghar to confront a Cumanian army of around 1,500 men which had just taken Votyaki back from Garðarikian control on 29 December) – but in doing so had tarried too long to escape from the approaching Hroðgar.
Jarl Helgi had a second (mainly allied) force of around 2,700 men, which had recently taken Itil (called in as an ally by Uzluk) and was preparing to head east and invade the Cumanian heartland. A third smaller force of around 1,600 men was under the command of one of the new generals, Ragnarr, and was methodically reducing Cumanian counties in the west of that realm: he currently had Kerzhenets under siege.
Leofric had made a pest of himself in Ireland, where he had begun taking holdings in Hlymrek. Rikulfr (another of the two new commanders) had about 2,000 men – including the Royal Guard of 700, the rest levies from Naumadal and Flanders – who now had to sail from Sweden to confront the annoying adventurer and try to run him to ground.
In broad terms, thus sat the situation at the beginning of the new year of 928 as Eilif wondered what it might bring in the war with Cumania, which had begun on 30 August 926.
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January-February 928
While sieges progressed and armies marched, it was Uzluk who made the next move of any significance: he induced High Chief Etrek of Altay to join the Tengri resistance to Eilif’s religious aggression on their Cumanian brethren.
Note: a different Etrek to Uzluk's son and heir of the same name.
Then on 2 February, Hroðgar brought the main army to Votyaki. But Ingjald took forward the centre division even though he was no longer an active commander, taking his prerogative as the leader of his own vassal contingent. Almost all the Cumanian army was gathered directly opposite him, but fortunately he commanded the strongest of the three Garðarikian divisions. The victory took some time to win, but it was all over by the end of the month.
A day after the battle began, High Chief Tukiy of Itil died and passed his realm onto his young son Tähtaman – then a prisoner under Eilif’s supervision. It seems this triggered an automatic withdrawal of the small independent realm from the war.
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March 928
On 3 March, Hlymrek’s tribal fort fell to annoying Leofric [-10% warscore], though he lost 120 men taking it – just as Rikulfr appeared off the north coast of Ireland. Rikulfr would land to the north of Hlymrek, in Garðarikian Connacht, to regain organisation after the sea voyage.
On 4 March, a few days after winning the battle in Votyaki, Hroðgar was taking attrition and decided to assault the 100-man garrison rather than wasting any more time or men in a siege. The fort fell two days later [+45% warscore], at the cost of only 12 men. Still suffering attrition as the winter had not yet loosened its hold, he struck east, aiming to continue through Komi (already occupied) to secure the mountain pass at Ural. He now only had 2,840 men under his command.
Further west, Ragnarr – whose force was small enough to be able to forage without suffering attrition – finished its siege of Kerzhenets without loss on 10 March, leaving a garrison of 56 men and moving west to besiege Mari.
By 31 March, Hroðgar had still not reached Komi and continued to lose men to attrition (now down to 2,566 troops). By then, Jarl Helgi had around 2,500 men besieging Bilyar (with no attrition), to the south-west of Perm. He had sighted another new enemy army of 1,540 men heading north to Perm from neighbouring Bashkira. Hroðgar hoped to escape the crippling attrition in the desolate north and head the enemy off by diverting to Perm.
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April 928
As it happened, Helgi finished his siege in Bilyar on 13 April. Losing 191 men in the siege and leaving another 31 as garrison, he headed east to attack the now withdrawing Cumanian force in Bashkiria, now with a little over 1,600 men.
That same day, there was consternation when news was received that Leofric’s smaller army (642 men) had turned up in Vilnius and was heading east, apparently intent on attacking the lands around Smaleskja. Rikulfr had gained full strength in Connacht and was marching on the occupied holdings of Hlymrek – but Leofric’s other army (now around 1,000) had jumped on their ships and were nowhere to be seen by the time Rikulfr was approaching.
Then, on 26 April, with exquisitely bad timing (or good, depending on one’s perspective) a revolt broke out in Edla’s Jarldom of Lithuania: one of her chiefs, Sörkver, supported the claim of Edla’s sister Bodil claim for Edla’s title.
Noting however that Sörkver was also still loyal to Eilif and was at war with the nearby Leofric, the rebel chief was called to arms against Leofric – and accepted! He was ordered to attach to Ragnarr’s army – the closest Garðarikian force, currently besieging Mari. It was hoped this would divert him from attacking Edla and allow him to eventually be used against Leofric.
And a couple of days later, Ragnarr improved his skills [+2 to martial 21] under Marshal Barid’s tutelage. Even better, he became a siege master: very handy indeed, given his role at the time (and the fact that Sverker was getting a bit long in the tooth by then).
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May-June 928
But the midges and mosquitoes kept biting: on 8 May Pomorye tribe was sacked by raiding Karelians (them again)! And by 19 May, Leofric’s army was besieging Vitebsk. Alas, Sörkver’s men (he had 580 troops) had not responded to the order to join Ragnarr: instead, they were besieging one of Edla’s counties (Mstistlavl) – and ignoring Leofric's adventurers who sat two counties to the north.
At the same time, Helgi (most of whose army was made up of vassal allies) had caught the Cumanians in Bashkiria before they could escape. The enemy were once again soundly beaten – though it took over a month - and Uzluk was put under more pressure [warscore +57%].
The next irritation was in southern Garðariki: on 21 May 'Malyy’s Host' of 845 raiders had re-appeared to loot and pillage, this time in Pereyaslavl! Another impudent opportunist who would have to be ignored for now.
Over in Ireland, Hlymrek tribe had been retaken by Rikulfr, and Jarl Bragi’s army (still under orders to attach to Rikulfr from back in Sweden) had turned up by ship in Connacht to lend a hand! They were currently marching south to join Rikulfr, but wouldn’t arrive until 23 June.
The whereabouts of Leofric’s larger army became known in unpleasant fashion on 17 June: they had just landed in Ingria! Five days later, Ragnarr complete the siege of Mari tribe – and was promptly ordered west, into a holding position from which they could start to repel Leofric’s adventurers. Sörkver was still busy besieging Mstislavl, showing no sign of uniting with Ragnarr.
On 22 June, after nearly two years of war, the western marches of Cumania had been occupied by Eilif’s troops and they were pushing east on two fronts. The war was going well enough, but the distances were great, the elements harsh and it was all taking time.
Over in Ireland, Bragi’s army had duly arrived in Hlymrek on 23 June, so Rikulfr ordered an assault on the second holding of Killahoe, overrunning the garrison of 189 Leofric had installed for the loss of 52 of his 3,412 assault force.
Then the biting insects were out again: 475 raiders from Uusimaa turned up in Kexholm on 24 June to pillage the countryside.
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July-August 928
Rikulfr was boarding his ships in Hlymrek by 6 July, preparing for the long voyage back to help deal with Leofric’s host in northern Garðariki. He hoped Bragi’s army would follow along, as they had before. The same day, thousands of miles to the east, Hroðgar was in Ural with 2,200 men to lay siege the county that held the pass through the mountains of the same name.
Just two days later, yet another major distracting threat arose: Tuk’s Host – over 3,100 men – suddenly appeared without warning and seemingly out of thin air in Bryansk. But they seemed to be heading south, so they too were just allowed to do what they would for now.
Ch110 Q1: Tuk’s Host.A bunch of these large hosts seem to be turning up in the middle of the realm without any warning. Is that normal!?
On a more positive note, one of the projects commissioned earlier, the new weaponsmith in Ladoga, was completed on 30 July. Another would be finished in Torzhok on 1 August.
Leofric’s northern army had broken its siege of Ingria earlier in the month and on 31 July were in the capital county of Holmgarðr – but passing through, heading south to Toropets. It seemed they were intent on linking up with the other army besieging Vitebsk.
Helgi continued his one man show in the south, taking Bashkiria on 11 August – with another prisoner apprehended – and made straight for Khan Uzluk’s capital in Yaik, via Aqtobe. The war’s progress continued to build.
At that point, there were six prisoners being held from the current war – but none could be ransomed, principally through a ‘lack of interest’ on the part of their respective lieges. A little later, Ural fell to Hroðgar with no loss: after leaving a small garrison, the decision was taken to push through the Ural Mountains further east to Mansia, where the local chief was retreating east with a force of a little over a thousand men.
The same day, far to the west, Vitebsk fell to Leofric, for the loss of only 28 men, leaving 610 in that southern force. By then, Ragnarr was three counties to the north-east with around 1,700 warriors, as Leofric’s main force of about 1,050 continued south through Holmgarðr. Way to the west, Rikulfr was sailing home from Ireland with his army of 2,000, including the Royal Guard, heading for the Gulf of Finland.
On 20 August, Lefric’s 1,050 were in Toropets and heading to Vitebsk. With Sörkver refusing to join him, Ragnarr headed to Vyazma (two counties east of Vitebsk) with his men – very nearly evenly matched in numbers with the invading host. But more numbers were wanted to make sure of the fight against a well-armed foe. A loss could make things very tricky, with the rest of the army so far away to either the east or west at that point.
And the next day, yet another raiding band turned up (of course) – this one from Kola, hitting their favourite target of Austerbotn. There were only 164 of them, so they couldn’t take the tribal fort, but could certainly ransack the countryside. Four days later, another 480 raiders turned up to ravage Gent. Again, though without enough men to take the holdings, they were scouring the countryside instead.
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September-October 928
As if he didn’t have enough to keep him occupied already, Eilif discovered that a minor chieftain – one Frirek of Khopyor, a rather unpleasant, devious, cruel and angry 'pants-man' – was making a play for Ulfhildr, the wife of his son Styrbjörn. A pissed-off Fylkir, after facepalming himself, made arrangements to warn Frirek off. He would have to remember to check some time later to see if Ulfhildr had strayed.
As it happened, Leofric’s forces joined up in Toropets on 22 August. Ragnarr arrived in Vyazma eight days later, with about 80 more men than the adventurer. He began to advance on Toropets but, seeing it could hold out for some time, broke off and headed for Minsk instead, hoping his presence there might induce the recalcitrant rebel Sörkver to actually join him if he was physically present in the same county. [I had no idea whether this would work, so thought I’d try it, while Rikulfr sailed back from the west.]
The Uusimaan raiders had finished with Kexholm and arrived in Ingria on 1 October to scour the countryside there: though even with 465 warriors, they had too few to besiege the fort there. The north of Garðariki was now dotted with three raiding bands and Leofric’s host. Damned irritating to the Fylkir, for sure. His patience was being sorely tested.
As October ended, Hroðgar was a little more than halfway through his siege of Mansia when he became aware of an enemy pincer movement closing in on him from the south and east. High Chief Etrek had almost 2,500 warriors and was approaching from the east, due on 12 November. He would outnumber Hroðgar by 300, but would be forced to attack across a small river. Another force of 1,100 men under High Chief Koza was coming north from Tyumen and would reinforce on 25 November.
Rather than fleeing (breaking his siege and probably being caught before he could escape anyway), Hroðgar decided to stand and fight. He would try to largely defeat the larger force before the southern reinforcements could arrive. If things looked grim, he would flee back west over the Urals.
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November-December 928
News of this latest problem was the straw that broke the camel’s back of Eilif’s patience. Grudgingly using some of his still great prestige [almost 2,000 even after those earlier buildings], he summoned up a powerful tribal army in Holmgarðr on 5 November. With all his commanders committed, Marshal Barid was sent into the field to take command. They would first strike Leofric’s adventurers in Torzhok - with the strength of Thor’s hammer smashing the skulls of this human pestilence infesting Garðariki’s heartland.
On 9 November, the tribal hold of Mansia fell [bringing the warscore to a healthy 74%]. But the first Cumanian host would hit them three just days later. Meanwhile, two enemy contingents had slipped in behind the lines to start undoing the good work that had been done occupying the de jure Perm counties being claimed in the Holy War for the duchy. Helgi (off map below) was too far off to be off immediate assistance to the now beleaguered Hroðgar.
At that time, Rikulfr began unloading his 2,000 man army in Narva, while Barid still marched south to confront Leofric in Torzhok. Battle was about to erupt and the blood flow in both east and west.
The Battle of Yabin started in Mansia on 12 November: once again, Ingjald took over the centre division – but found himself up against a superior commander this time. Sverker had the left and Velmayka the right. The Cumanians were inching ahead in the opening skirmish.
As the month drew to and end, the battle continued; Rikulfr had just landed Narva and began marching south, while Barid joined battle with Leofric in Torzhok. Barid had smashed the adventurer’s army after a four-week battle. Wanting the whole thing wrapped up quickly given the news from the east, with the battle won Eilif offered a white peace to the defeated Leofric – who accepted five days later, on 1 January 929 AD.
In this case, a white peace was all Eilif needed: Leofric was taken prisoner, Vitebsk released without a fight and the remainder of the host disbanded. And the failed adventurer might regret his calling Eilif a ‘vile windbag’ by the time the next blot was held!
The grim news from the east was that Hroðgar had eventually conceded defeat and began withdrawing west back to Ural a week before the reinforcing contingent from the south arrived, hoping to keep his army intact and if necessary make a delaying stand while reinforcements came from the west.
But the enemy reinforcements arrived before the pursuit was done: by the time it was over, a quarter of the army had been killed. Hroðgar did not know it then, but this would prove to be the furthest east Garðarikian forces would make it into Cumania: a series of humiliating retreats would now follow as his withdrawal became a harrowing disaster, as much of the recent hard work was undone.
As the battle had raged, old Khan Uzluk had died on 20 November from a heart attack – to be replaced by none other than now Khan Etrek II of Cumania (not of Altay), soon to be the victor of the Battle of Yabin. A perfunctory exploration of Etrek’s attitude to continuing the war was made [still +77% warscore] but he let it be known that he would fight on: “I’m losing, but won’t give up yet …” was his reply. He was probably quite hopeful that Garðariki might be stopped – unaware perhaps that Eilif had summoned a new tribal army and had the forces of Rikulfr and Ragnarr, which were both now free to march east. Leofric was soon to be in chains and his invasion over. The problem for Hroðgar was that Etrek was hot on his heels, while those potential reinforcements were still a long way off.
By 26 December, Ragnarr was heading back to finish his siege work in Mari (a second holding). Barid was ordered forward to Bolghar with the recently victorious tribal army, while Rikulfr would scare the raiders off from Ingria and also proceed east. And the trusty Bragi had just landed in Narva with his 1,371 men who were still on orders to join with Rikulfr. Rikulfr didn’t even need to continue advancing to Ingria: the raiders were soon running north, so he made east as quickly as he could. So ended another tumultuous year as the war dragged on into a new phase.
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January-February 929
The new year began with yet another raiding host (3,190 ‘Raiders of Tolir’) appearing in Chortitza on the southern border with Bulgaria on 6 January. Yet another menace that would have to be left to do its dirty business un-bothered by a response from the hard-pressed Eilif.
More bad news followed soon after, with Votyaki falling yet again on 14 January to a 645 man enemy force. But the same day, Helgi won his siege of Yaik tribe [warscore still down to +63%]. He started heading west, to neighbouring Aqtobe, which he had passed through on the way to Yaik.
As January was ending, the rebellion against Edla was getting out of hand: with Eofric defeated, the rebels were neutral again, had taken Minsk and now had Pinsk under siege, while Edla’s forces were still committed against Cumania. This was not fair on her: it was time to enforce peace. It cost Eilif some prestige and a favour owed to Sörkver – one he thought it unlikely he would ever need to fulfil - as a subordinate vassal languishing in Edla’s prison. The rebels accepted the terms on 3 February.
Unfortunately for Hroðgar, because he had retreated in good order rather than waiting to be broken a have his force flee in panic, arrived in Ural on 2 February but was attacked before he could withdraw. His command started with only 760 men after the retreat from Mansia and was attacked by an army of 1,723 men under a Shaman Sektev. The rest of the enemy had stayed to retake Mansia. Although he ordered another retreat west to Komi as soon as he could, Hroðgar lost another 102 men in the pursuit by 10 February. The enemy only lost six.
The raiders down in Chortitza sacked the tribal fort there on 23 February. Things were going from bad to worse, it seemed.
“God’s preserve us!” cried Eilif with some anguish. “Odin, may your blind eye not be the one turned our way – your faithful warriors need you!”
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
March-April 929
But the Gods seemed to have been looking elsewhere. Ural fell on 31 March as an enemy army of over 3,600 men now mustered there. And Hroðgar was in Komi but still being chased as he tried to escape. [Again, in retrospect maybe taking the losses up front in a shattered retreat would have been better than quick retreats that let them be caught again, but I hadn’t realised that at the time.]
Helgi had taken the opportunity to besiege Aqtobe while he waited for the reinforcements from the west to arrive, knowing his force of now a little over 2,300 was too small by itself to take on the main enemy army chasing Hroðgar. But the siege was won on 3 April and he headed west again to Inder, intent on winning it too, to keep the bargaining pressure [ie warscore, now at +61%] on Etrek.
Hroðgar was caught again in Komi, losing 269 of his 658 troops between 16 April and 5 May to an attacking force of 1,838, who only lost 34 before the Garðarikians withdrew again, now to Votyaki.
All of this bad news had the effect of wearing away at Eilif’s hitherto zealous religious approach. Rather than ignoring it and taking the risk of falling into a depressive spiral (but without publicising it too much), Eilif’s journal at this time indicated he remained a good Germanic leader, but no longer a fully believing and zealous one. He didn’t really disbelieve it all, even if his previous unthinking devotion had been shaken.
Four days later, it became clear that High Chieftess Edla’s recent bad physical health had been accompanied by equally bad mental health as well. Even though the rebellion had been defeated and her title secured, it all became too much for her. She was dead, many whispering that it was at her own hand, though there were a number of possible or contributory causes.
The title went to Edla’s 14 year old son - now Jarl Dag, the son of her previous husband old Frirek Tolli. Dag was a good Germanic Norseman with a healthy regard for his Fylkir. Eilif was pleased with that much. But his regent was an Eastern Orthodox Christian, the Marshal of Lithuania, Chief Naruchad of Mozhaysk. That was not so good. But there was little Eilif could do about that. He hoped young Dag would become a good Jarl and have a long and loyal reign.
There was sad news a few days later, when Eilif heard that Hakon the Repulsive’s young daughter Gyrið, only 11 years old and of course a member of the Rurikid dynasty, died from the effects of dysentery. He wished such pain on no man, even his nephew and rival. At least, he heard after a discreet check, his daughter-in-law Ulfhildr had taken no lover and he thought well of her having rejected the attempted seduction [+10 opinion of Ulfhildr].
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
May-June 929
But the news remained poor in early May, with the large host raiding in the south (which it was discovered operated in the name of a Chief Gute Faste of Lukomorie – another name that would go into Eilif’s little black book of future targets for retribution) now moving on to pillage Pereyaslavl, unchecked.
A Cumanian army of 3,100 men had retaken Perm tribe by the 27 May and was now working on its other holding, while another 1,800 man enemy force besieged Komi[warscore now down to +56%]. Hroðgar’s once proud army had been reduced to just 372 stragglers limping along to Votyaki.
Helgi continued his siege of Inder, to the south – but now he rushed to assault the walls of the tribal fort there, taking it by the next day (28 May) then leaving the other holding to move north, having lost 109 troops in the assault and leaving another 22 as a skeleton garrison. He marched north to Bilyar (itself just south of Perm) that day with just over 2,300 men.
On 13 June, Chancellor Grimr and Spymistress Halla came in together to brief Eilif on a significant development in the Jarldom of Lithuania.
“Oh, what is Dag up to now?” said a weary Eilif.
“Not much,” replied Grimr, with a madly wicked gleam in his eye. “He’s dead.”
“What!”
“Yes, father, it’s true,” noted Halla. “There is no proven murderer, but the circumstances were definitely suspicious. And his Aunt Bodil – yes, the same one from the revolt earlier this year – is now High Chieftess.”
Eilif said nothing, though his eyes bulged. The Gods must truly have forsaken us, that it is coming to this, he muttered under his breath.
“What was that father?”
“Oh, nothing Halla, nothing at all,” the Fylkir said resignedly. “What can you tell me of Bodil?”
“She is Norse, Germanic has a good opinion of you, is unmarried, brave and trusting on the one hand. But gluttonous and ambitious on the other.”
“Hmm, I don’t like gluttons, but if there is no proof of her personal guilt in this matter and she remains loyal, I suppose there is nothing more to be done about it. Poor Dag.”
21 June saw the few stragglers from the east limp into Votyaki. They were sent south with a fresh vassal regiment that had been waiting there to the Jarldom of Bolghar, to try to rebuild their numbers. But Barid had arrived there with the 2,400-strong tribal army. Komi went back to the enemy on 24 June [warscore +54%] as their separate siege of Perm was nearing its end. Between them, the two Cumanian armies in Komi and Perm now numbered just over 5,000 men. And to compound the misery Pereyaslavl had been taken and looted by raiders at the same time.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
July-August 929
On 16 July, word came that yet another band of raiders had looted the German holding of Waren – taking over 23 in gold. And Perm had fallen fully back into Cumanian hands. But balancing that a little, the tribal army finished the latest siege of Votyaki, which once again was under Garðarikian control [warscore down to +43%]. Helgi was in Bilyar, awaiting word on plans for what was to happen next.
The answer soon came from Eilif, who had set up a forward base in Votyaki[non-game effect] but had not taken personal command of any armies. Hroðgar took over the tribal army in Votyaki and marched on Perm. Helgi was already marching on Perm from the south, as it would take him longer with a major river to cross. Barid took over Rikulfr’s army (which included the heavy troops of the Royal Guard), now reinforced to full strength, which had continued marching east and was approaching Bolghar (county). They too were ordered to Perm, though would probably arrive after any battle there occurred. By 24 July Sektev’s main army had detected this move and was trying to escape to Ural, but the other army in Komi was advancing on Perm from the north.
The broad plan was for Hroðgar to try to pin Sektev in Yugra, fend off any reinforcements from the north and wait for Helgi and then Barid to reinforce to win the battle. The tribal army would be at a numerical disadvantage but was well equipped with heavy infantry and light cavalry … and is expendable in the long run so can afford for it to soak up the heavy casualties, a harsh but accurate thought Eilif confessed to his private journal that night. He wanted to smash the enemy’s main field there at Perm and regain the initiative, but was running a serious risk in the attempt.
But as the plan was considered, leaving the tribal army exposed for that long before reinforcement was considered too great a risk, where defeat in detail may occur. This risk became greater when Sektev stopped his move to Ural: he would be joined by his own northern reinforcements before the end of August. The order of engagement was changed: Hroðgar was stopped and then started again. Helgi would hit first on 28 August, with Hroðgar arriving about ten days later (on 8 September), narrowing the gapt between the arrival of the two armies considerably. Barid would not get there until almost the end of September. If the battle was won by then or still going, all to the good. If lost, perhaps he could strike back for a measure of vengeance and to protect their fleeing comrades from slaughter.
It meant Helgi’s host would now take the heaviest casualties and be exposed the enemy’s full army for over a week before they would be reinforced – while attacking over a river! But Helgi’s army was around 80% allied vassal regiments – they are quite expendable too, thought a somewhat cynical Eilif, but the war needs to be won before it is simply too late and we have lost so much ground already. This may still take many years yet, even if we do win this battle. If they lost it, he may well have to sue for peace, or face the fact that the dream of empire would not be realise din his lifetime, with all that entailed for the immediate post-succession future of the dynasty. That was a thought he dared not share with his generals as they marched of to what promised to be one of the pivotal battles in Garðarikian history to that date.
As the armies marched to their fates, the Gods showed they may have been casting their eyes elsewhere, but still within the realm: on 8 August, the ever-diligent Seer Kolbjörn reported he had now succeeded in converting the important shipbuilding county of Narva to Germanicism. He was sent next to the ever-troublesome Memel: it was hoped a conversion of the peasants there to the state faith may help to decrease its propensity to revolt. And a week later, the county of Dal in southern Sweden also became Germanic. Perhaps the Gods had been working in mysterious ways after all. But the big test of the Gods’ favour would be in Perm.
The Battle of Perm began on 28 August, with Helgi’s army, outnumbered by well over two to one, attacking the combined Cumanian army while wading across a river. Helgi – the only full commander present – took the central division forward as bravely as he could. But his small left flank failed on the first day and his own division was pressed hard, outflanked and outnumbered by four-to-one. His attack only lasted until 2 September – six days before Hroðgar was due with the tribal army - by which time all his divisions had broken. Helgi had suffered heavy casualties, the Cumanians - now in full pursuit - hardly any. The battle had been lost before it had really got going.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
September 929
But Hroðgar was not halted at that point – a desperate Eilif instructed him to march on and continue the attack if possible, even though he would be badly outnumbered and ‘reinforcing a defeat’, which would be hard on morale. It was ‘all in’ now. The tribal army arrived on the battlefield on 8 September as Helgi’s last troops out – his right wing – were still being pursued and went straight into the melee. An advantage, as though outnumbered, Hroðgar had twice the heavy infantry of the Cumanians, though was outnumbered in cavalry, light infantry and archers (after the Helgi’s fleeing troops were subtracted from the total by 11 September). The evenly matched (in numbers) central divisions slugged it out; the Cumanians craftily narrowed their line and waited for their two smaller divisions to harry Hroðgar’s flanks. Casualties mounted drastically on both sides but Garðarikian morale held – just – and the enemy centre broke on 11 September.
But would it be enough? Hroðgar now had the numerical advantage, but the morale of his troops was precarious. He still had one flank enveloped and the two enemy wings remained comparatively fresh.
As the battle in Perm raged, Ragnarr finished his siege of Lopatino in Mari on 15 September – though not before losing 250 men in the process. Leaving a garrison, he also hurried east with around 1,300 men. He would be needed either to save the situation if Perm was lost, or begin the laborious process of retaking counties if it was won.
In Perm, the will of Hroðgar and the men of his tribal army remained hard pressed but unbroken. Unlike the enemy's, whose left and then right flanks had been hammered into the ground one after the other by 16 September!
“Thor is with us!” the general cried, as he led his men forward in the charge to pursue the enemy from the field. All the anguish and humiliations of the destruction of his army during the long retreat from Mansia were avenged.
And he had been joined in the battle by none other than Jarl Kezhevat of Yaroslavl, the ‘loyal usurper’ and Germanic convert Eilif had taken under his wing. Kezhevat had been the nominal Garðarikian flagbearer at the start of the battle and had stayed on with Hroðgar even after his own troops retreated when Helgi’s first assault had broken. Now Kezhevat was part of the chase.
As the enemy were breaking on 19 September, word came that poor old Syudbya the Hunter, the deposed High Chief of Bjarmia, had died landless and broken at the ripe old age of 77. Sadly, he had lived long enough to witness the end of his family’s reign over their ancestral lands.
The victory in Perm was finalised on 23 September. Both sides had taken heavy casualties and were left with almost identical numbers as the battle ended: but the field and the glory belonged to Garðariki.
Hrodgar’s first order, as soon as his troops were ready, was to launch an assault on the thinly defended walls Perm tribe. It took only a day to overrun the small garrison, with only two more troops lost in doing it. It was only at this point that the general saw a report that had been sent from Kezhevat two days earlier, as the pursuit in Perm ended.
I have captured Chief Girgen of Zyraine, was the simple message.
“Girgen, Girgen … who is he again?” said Hroðgar out aloud as he re-read the short note.
“He became heir to the Khanate of Cumania after Etrek took over!” exclaimed one of his officers, who hailed from nearby Bolghar.
“Which means …” said Hroðgar with dawning joy and amazement in his heart.
“Yes, sir, there is a Cumanian envoy outside, come to make terms!”
In fact, the warscore had gone to 100% when the Battle of Perm ended, but I hadn’t noticed immediately. It was only when I checked the warscore after the assault and saw it had unexpectedly gone to 100%, then looked at the pop-up reports to see Girgen had been captured. With the score already over 50% with the battle won, the heir’s capture was enough to finish it. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Jaws of defeat to victory and then that: the Gods had not forsaken the Fylkir after all! I thought I would have years more yet to win the thing, and who knows what could have happened in the interim.
And so, when Eilif was informed, he made haste to Perm to formalise the settlement. Almost exactly three years of war and drama on the steppe was over, suddenly and joyfully.
The peace was made and Eilif was now ruler of the de jure Duchy of Perm.
There would be no follow-on war this time. The brave warriors of the tribal army were released the next day, hailed as heroes and sent off with a lavish feast, gifts and the thanks of a grateful Fylkir. The vassal allied regiments – what was left of them – returned to their homes. The world now viewed Eilif as a mighty and dangerous threat. Which meant any attack on any pact member would now bring the wrath of the known world down on his head.
But Eilif didn’t care. The last major work of his life was done. He now had the territory, money and piety to declare himself an Emperor, with his prestige set to rocket higher than it had ever been – and it been very high before.
In a little over 60 years, the petty kingdom of Holmgarðr founded by his father was on the brink of becoming a great Norse Germanic empire based on the de jure lands of Russia, but Sweden and with holdings scattered all the way from the Cumanian steppe to the west coast of Ireland.
“There will be a great ceremony and much work to do afterwards,” he announced to his cheering men as they gathered around at the end of the victory feast. “And then, all I want is a quiet life for however long Odin gives me.”
This last was said with a wink, a laugh and the sculling of a horn of the best Irish mead his travelling courtiers could produce. It could have been fermented from Loki’s piss for all he cared at that moment!
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
Questions
Ch110 Q1: Tuk’s Host.A bunch of these large hosts seem to be turning up in the middle of the realm without any warning. Is that normal!?
Ch110 Q2: Declaring an Empire.This is a broad and open-ended question. Is there anything I should be doing, arranging or otherwise preparing for when the empire is formed? Anything procedural, strategic or technical, for the proclamation itself (or prior to it) or in general terms afterwards? General (normal) game strategy I’m happy enough to run with – I’ll just play it as I see it, but of course as always welcome any ideas or suggestions for ‘where next’ type of stuff. Mainly, I don’t want to bungle the proclamation or its immediate aftermath, or miss doing something I really should have.
Noting however that Sörkver was also still loyal to Eilif and was at war with the nearby Leofric, the rebel chief was called to arms against Leofric – and accepted! He was rodered to attach to Ragnarr’s army – the closest Garðarikian force, currently besieging Mari. It was hoped this would divert him from attacking Edla and allow him to eventually be used against Leofric.
In this case, a white peace was all Eilif needed: Leofric was taken prisoner, Vitebsk released without a fight and the remainder of the host disbanded. And the failed adventurer might regret his calling Eilif a ‘vile windbag’ by the time the next blot was held!
“Thor is with us!” the general cried, as he led his men forward in the charge to pursue the enemy from the field. All the anguish and humiliations of the destruction of his army during the long retreat from Mansia were avenged.
In fact, the warscore had gone to 100% when the Battle of Perm ended, but I hadn’t noticed immediately. It was only when I checked the warscore after the assault and saw it had unexpectedly gone to 100%, then looked at the pop-up reports to see Girgen had been captured. With the score already over 50% with the battle won, the heir’s capture was enough to finish it. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Jaws of defeat to victory and then that: the Gods had not forsaken the Fylkir after all! I thought I would have years more yet to win the thing, and who knows what could have happened in the interim.
Ch110 Q2: Declaring an Empire.This is a broad and open-ended question. Is there anything I should be doing, arranging or otherwise preparing for when the empire is formed? Anything procedural, strategic or technical, for the proclamation itself (or prior to it) or in general terms afterwards? General (normal) game strategy I’m happy enough to run with – I’ll just play it as I see it, but of course as always welcome any ideas or suggestions for ‘where next’ type of stuff. Mainly, I don’t want to bungle the proclamation or its immediate aftermath, or miss doing something a really should have.
None that I can think of at the moment, but at the moment I'm a bit hyped so maybe I'll remember something later
What a rollercoaster of an episode! Finally the empire can be declared. That was a great run! I also was getting hopeless seeing the tide turning in the east and gnats biting all over in the west. Now we can relax and feast
I can quite understand his frustration - so many annoyances! I really hope he finds becoming an Emperor worth all the hassle he has put himself through.
I would say it would make him old before his time, but given he is not precisely young right now...
All these setbacks made victory all the sweeter. Now Eilif can simply live out the rest of his days enjoying the fruits of his men's labour. And fill his coffers while he's at it.
The Lithuanian situation reeks of oppurtunism. First Bodil encites Sörkver to revolt in her name (and yeah, there's no way a rebel would commit his troops to someone else's war), then she likely murdered her nephew after being one of the main causes for her sister's bad health. One needs to keep an eye on her.
For a Germanic realm, yes. It is one of the religions (and Norse one of the cultures) which spawn adventurers even without claims. But you don't need to worry about them, as they leave their homeland to raid.
Ch110 Q2: Declaring an Empire.This is a broad and open-ended question. Is there anything I should be doing, arranging or otherwise preparing for when the empire is formed? Anything procedural, strategic or technical, for the proclamation itself (or prior to it) or in general terms afterwards? General (normal) game strategy I’m happy enough to run with – I’ll just play it as I see it, but of course as always welcome any ideas or suggestions for ‘where next’ type of stuff. Mainly, I don’t want to bungle the proclamation or its immediate aftermath, or miss doing something I really should have.
Well, if there's a law you can pass, now's the time. Creating a higher title resets the timer for a law change. Else there's not much of a change, as long as you don't intend to hand out kingdom titles.
As an emperor, any additional kingdom title is desired by (relatively) powerful vassals who hold land there, which causes a -25 malus. Thus it may make sense to distribute kingdom titles. On the other hand, you strengthen your vassals that way, and kings can always join independence factions, even if they are de-jure vassals and have your own culture. Then again, upon succession Styrbjörn's brothers would inherit the non-primary (Garðariki) kingdoms anyway, which strengthens the pretenders. There is no one right choice here.
I'm just going to do a short interim feedback post now, as this crucial (to the game) chapter went up right in the middle of the 'quiet period' and may have now gone off the radar. Either that, or I've lost a chunk of my readership, just as the Rurikids are reaching a new pinnacle of glory
Anyway, this is a bit of a 'bump' for that last episode, as I still have another AAR to update before I return to play the next bit of Blood & Battle then write it up. Any play or strategy suggestions still heartily welcomed! Don't read below if you want to avoid spoilers!
Comment Feedback
Anyway, a big thank you to those who have responded so far:
None that I can think of at the moment, but at the moment I'm a bit hyped so maybe I'll remember something later
What a rollercoaster of an episode! Finally the empire can be declared. That was a great run! I also was getting hopeless seeing the tide turning in the east and gnats biting all over in the west. Now we can relax and feast
Leofric - what a blood-sucking mosquito! The kind that whines around your head in the dark, just as you're trying to get to sleep on a warm summer night. You hunt for it, think it's gone, turn the light back out ... and a few seconds later there it is again. But he was finally swatted.
It was a real roller-coaster to play, so I'm glad that came across in the chapter.
I'm quite happy to see the Byzantines do all right, so long as they don't start declaring Holy Wars on me. Now that the empire is within reach, other than maybe physically linking the eastern counties to the motherland, I think my interest may start to swing more into the Baltic and Scandinavian areas. Especially with the threat of Aztecs and Mongols later on.
I can quite understand his frustration - so many annoyances! I really hope he finds becoming an Emperor worth all the hassle he has put himself through.
I would say it would make him old before his time, but given he is not precisely young right now...
Eilif has grown old before our eyes, born shortly after this AAR began and now approaching 60. I think he will be pretty happy with having reformed the religion and founded an empire, given how long it has taken and what it will do to strengthen (if not guarantee) the dynasty. But will the next generation be able to hold on?
All these setbacks made victory all the sweeter. Now Eilif can simply live out the rest of his days enjoying the fruits of his men's labour. And fill his coffers while he's at it.
The Lithuanian situation reeks of oppurtunism. First Bodil encites Sörkver to revolt in her name (and yeah, there's no way a rebel would commit his troops to someone else's war), then she likely murdered her nephew after being one of the main causes for her sister's bad health. One needs to keep an eye on her.
That sounds like the plan. He may wish to now do a bit of personal fighting, given he will be free of the concerns his passing before the empire was founded would have caused. He can face Valhalla a with a proud heart.
For a Germanic realm, yes. It is one of the religions (and Norse one of the cultures) which spawn adventurers even without claims. But you don't need to worry about them, as they leave their homeland to raid.
Well, if there's a law you can pass, now's the time. Creating a higher title resets the timer for a law change. Else there's not much of a change, as long as you don't intend to hand out kingdom titles.
As an emperor, any additional kingdom title is desired by (relatively) powerful vassals who hold land there, which causes a -25 malus. Thus it may make sense to distribute kingdom titles. On the other hand, you strengthen your vassals that way, and kings can always join independence factions, even if they are de-jure vassals and have your own culture. Then again, upon succession Styrbjörn's brothers would inherit the non-primary (Garðariki) kingdoms anyway, which strengthens the pretenders. There is no one right choice here.
Useful, I'll look into the legal options. And will consider any new kingdom creation (Konugardr is the option now) after founding the empire. And working out whether that should wait until after Eilif has gone, for a new Fylkir, or should be done beforehand.
Yes, he's worked hard to get where he is, that's for sure! The game does let you do quite a bit to improve a player character - if they last long enough!
I wouldn't think so, but maybe there's a holiday or something somewhere? I'm also surprised by the number of comments being lower than normal where there's a huge milestone like the empire and thus succession finally being secure.
Useful, I'll look into the legal options. And will consider any new kingdom creation (Konugardr is the option now) after founding the empire. And working out whether that should wait until after Eilif has gone, for a new Fylkir, or should be done beforehand.
Normally I do it afterwards since prestige cannot be inherited but money can, so instead of spending the money to create the title I let the money go to the heir and create the title after the succession so the new ruler has an immediate prestige boost. In the case of our succession law, creating it beforehand might also complicate the titles getting too spread out but I'm not 100% sure about that.
The law changes was a very good point as always by @alscon. I'd suggest going for the tribal organization to feudalize as soon as possible. One nice side effect of feudalizing would be that neighboring Romuva or Slavic or Suomeniskan realms would ask us to switch to our religion as we are an organized religion and they are not. That would create many county or duchy tier same religion neighbors and that means you can just ask them to be our vassal and they'll join the realm.
By the way, speaking about feudalizing, in this version what will be the available succession methods in the beginning? Since we won't have Late Feudal Administration, only elective monarchy and seniority?
Also, now that the succession is secure maybe we can have another look at our current heir. Does he have a wife/bethroted? If not, what genetic and dynastic options can we pursue? A claim on a title we covet and can press? A genius? Both?
I agree with the next expansion area being around Baltic and Scandinavia. I always like some clean borders and a contiguous realm.
Another momentous update will be coming up soon, with the next session played through. But as July winds down, @Nikolai has asked us to remind our readAARs of the H1 (Q1+Q2) 2020 ACAs (AARLand Choice Awards). He has gone to the effort of reviving them ‘under new management’ after a gap since last year. For those not familiar, it gives you the chance to recognise your favourite AARs, up to four per game category.
It’s simpler than you might think to vote: I find easiest done on a PC: put your watched list in one window and your vote post in another, then just copy and paste the links to your faves under each category (Done by current game version, with old ones like HOI3 etc caught under ‘other’). You don’t need to vote for this AAR, just any that you like that has published from Jan-July this year, up to the four per category. The authAARs appreciate it, it’s a great source of potential new reading material and a good turnout will reward @Nikolai’s brave effort to revive them.
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Chapter 111: A Crowning Glory (26 September 929 to 11 February 934)
Chapter 111: A Crowning Glory (26 September 929 to 11 February 934)
Previously, on Blut und Schlacht … Eilif has just brought the Holy War against Cumania to a rapid and victorious end, after his forces captured the heir to the Cumanian Khanate in after the epic and in the end decisive Battle ofPerm in September 929 AD. The battle had been won valiantly by Hroðgar and the tribal army, which grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat. It now remained for the Fylkir to put his administrative house in order and to found the new Russian Empire as a Norse, Germanic realm stretching from the steppe to Ireland, but with its heart in Garðariki and its spiritual home in Viking Scandinavia.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
September 929
On advice from the Þing, before the Empire was inaugurated, Eilif sought to change the realm laws of Garðariki to further increase the trend to centralisation, even though it meant granting more power to the Council. Given ‘unreformed tribal vassals’ – a category of subordinates Eilif had diligently and completely purged from the realm – were the only ones likely to be offended, he proceeded. The law change was formally approved a few weeks later.
While Eilif reigned, gaining Council approval would be no problem. A successor would just have to deal with the new system as best he could, as the current succession laws would necessarily decrease their personal holdings, so he believed that moving to a feudal arrangement, as applied in his Flanders holdings, would mean more liege levies could be mustered in war, without reliance on the less certain and more chaotic vassal ally arrangement that currently applied. He also hoped it would allow the dynasty to drag itself into a more modern and economically rich era, once the inevitable teething problems were dealt with. This was his hope for the Rurikid Dynasty, anyway.
Eilif wanted no delay in founding the Empire, so it was proclaimed in the palace of Nygarðr, it the capital county of Holmgarðr, on 26 September 929 AD. The only detail of the ceremony that has survived in the historical record is that as Fylkir and now Emperor, Eilif took up the imperial diadem and placed it upon his own head. Eilif was now Fylkir of the Germanic Faith, Emperor of Russia, King of Garðariki and King of Sviþjod.
This allowed him a second advisory position on the Council, for which he selected his 18 year-old son Tolir, Jarl of Tver, who he was convinced would be another very loyal presence on the Council (which he indeed proved to be). Something that remained important now they were being granted further powers, the overriding of which would brand the new Emperor a tyrant – something he had always striven to avoid.
Next, the four new counties of the de facto Jarldom of Perm had to be distributed. Although he could have kept one or two for himself as newly crowned Emperor, Eilif chose to give them all to his third surviving son Gorm, already Jarl of Bolghar in the east. He hoped it would make the young man more self-sufficient, exposed as he was in the eastern enclave of the Empire. Though to push it through, Eilif had to use his tie-breaking vote on the Council.
With no further ransoms payable, the prisoners held were whittled down to four adults, with child hostages being released. Unless any new prisoners were taken in the interim, these four unfortunates – including the thoroughly deserving Leofric – would be the stars of the coming Blot, which could be held any time from November to March.
These initial administrative tasks done, the Imperial levies and the tribal army dismissed and all the vassal allies returning home after the Cumanian War, a small campaign was launched to evict around 400 Karelian raiders who were plundering Pomorye. Around double that number of levies were called out from the Garðarikian heartland, while the Imperial Guard made its way back slowly from the east.
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October-December 929
A map of the Russian Empire, emblazoned with the new Imperial Crest [which I rather like], was produced in early October and presented to the Fylkir. It was found in the recently unearthed Rurikid scroll trove, and has been presented below in a modernised format.
On 7 October, Tolir confided to his father that he harboured the grand ambition of becoming King of Perm. What this might mean later regarding his brother Gorm’s ownership of those lands was currently moot, but could become a problem in the future.
The Great Blot of 929, held to celebrate the founding of the Empire, began on 22 November. By 2 December the loyal and faithful vassals had assembled (no ‘regrets’ were received). And between 7 and 21 December, the four prisoners were sacrificed to the Gods, the highlight being Leofric. The rest were unfortunate women seized in recent wars for whom no ransom could be found.
In mid-December, Eilif used his great prestige to initiate a grand building program for the four core ‘Imperial Counties’ of the Jarldom of Holmgarðr. The last of these – the upgraded weaponsmith in Holmgarðr itself – would not be completed until September 932. [Note: enough prestige was left in reserve to be able to summon a tribal army in case of emergency.]
Hroðgar took command of the army called out to expel the Karelians once it was assembled in Romny in mid-December (by which time reinforcements had boosted in to almost 900 men). They marched north to confront the invaders.
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January-June 930
The second phase of the Blot began on 26 December 929 and continued through until 20 January 930. There was much merry-making – which led to a couple of the Fylkir’s prominent vassals blotting their copybooks. But overall, the benefits would keep Eilif’s vassals very happy and his troops morale high for another year.
A battle against the Karelians in Pomorye between 5 and 26 January ended in an easy victory (22 Russian v 129 Karelian casualties). Hroðgar then pursued them into Karelia itself, under orders to do some raiding and pillaging along the way to replenish the Imperial coffers, while levy strength was slowly rebuilt after the recent heavy losses.
While that was playing out, the previously loyal and supportive Jarl Bragi of Sviþjod – now leader of a faction to make himself King of Sviþjod and an increasingly fractious presence [still opinion +32 at that point, with the recent Blot buffs still applying], increased his power, inheriting the Jarldom of Hälsingland (though not most of the counties) from the 11 year-old High Chieftess Rikissa on 6 January, when she died of camp fever.
At this time, Chancellor Grimr explored the possibility of inducing some independent de jure Rus rulers to voluntarily become vassal members of the new Russian Empire. Unfortunately, while they all feared and respected Russian power, religious and cultural differences were too great to overcome their base reluctance.
In March, High Chieftess Bodil of Lithuania released Chief Sörkver of Lyubech from the prison her predecessor had put him in: for fighting a war to put Bodil in the Jarl’s seat! And whose surrender had been ‘bought’ through Eilif granting him a personal favour. While Bodil’s mercy offset his traditional male bias against having a female ruler, Sörkver’s ambition for a seat on her council kept him unhappy at first, Bodil had made him Steward two months later, converting him into an ardent supporter.
As the raid of Karelia was begun, a new threat emerged in northern Germany. An adventurer, Eskild, approached Eilif with a proposition – that he found tempting on a few levels. Jarl Bertil II (still imprisoned in Irland after losing his war there some years before) owned Celle; which Eskild offered to ‘buy’ for over 300 gold and a guarantee to scare off any other adventurers for ten years. He asked nicely, the money would be very handy and it would have whittled down Bertil’s power a bit – though making him very unhappy, of course. And it would have dented the Emperor’s prestige a little, though that would have been bearable in return for so much gold. True, the man was a heretic, but could probably have been made to convert to true Germanicism after becoming a vassal.
But the main black mark against the deal was the fact it would make the rest of Eilif’s vassals very unhappy as well. That was the point that really swung Eilif against accepting the deal, as much as he wanted the money. It would be war: the rest of the Imperial levies were summoned and the vassal allies called out.
During this time, Eilif became even closer to his great-nephew and Seer Kolbjörn through their religious interactions. Offsetting the long enmity between Eilif and Kolbjörn's father Hakon the Repulsive, this blossomed into a genuine friendship that spring.
By 27 June, with the Imperial armies still assembling, Eskild had put Celle under siege with his host of a little over 2,000 men.
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July-December 930
After Ääninen was raided and plundered by Hroðgar, he moved onto Karjarla, where he again easily defeated the Karelians from 8 to 26 August and then set about reducing the tribal fort.
Steward Tolir died on 26 August, and Holmger – currently a commander but originally brought to the Empire as a skilled steward [18 stewardship] was his replacement. His political orientation on Council was as a Zealot. By then, the other six Council members were all Loyalists.
Young Gorm came of age on 4 September as a powerful lord of the Empire. And despite wanting a position on the Council and not being thrilled with the previous succession law change, he worshipped his father for all the lands and responsibility he had given him. He showed promise as a military leader and may well one day serve as a commander.
From September to December, the leading contingents of the Imperial Army gathering in northern Germany. By mid-December, a combined force of 5,000 Imperial troops (levies and allies) was in Altmark, two counties east of Celle. They began marching to confront Eskild and break his siege. At this time, Jarl Bragi had mustered troops to conduct some claim wars of his own in Germany. As a result, he had over 5,600 men of his own under arms, meaning his faction held 46.5% of Eilif’s strength at that time. His opinion of the Fylkir had dropped [to +18%], meaning his potential threat was on the rise.
On 29 December, the Imperial Army (led once more by Hroðgar) met Eskild’s Host at the Battle of Herford in Celle. It would be resolved in the new year of 931.
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January-June 931
When they clashed initially, Hroðgar had just over 3,000 men and Eskild 2,000. Before the battle ended, the other 2,000 Imperial troops had joined in. The Russian victory came on 26 January, Hroðgar losing just 132 of his 4,997 men, while Eskild had 844 of his 2,040 warriors killed [+75% warscore]. The adventurer retreated north towards Denmark, while Hroðgar stayed in place, expecting Eskild to return for another go.
But instead, by mid-February the adventurer had joined the sizeable fleet he had anchored off the coast of Denmark. With a stalemate in the war and not wanting another wild goose chase such as had been endured with Leofric, Eilif sought terms. The Emperor could not enforce a total victory [+200 prestige etc], but Eskild was beaten enough to submit to a white peace. he surrendered himself to custody by 1 March 931.
In Mid-April, Bragi’s Holy War for Alsace was in big trouble, with Count Markward of Sundgau having taken one of his holdings in Upland and working on the Temple of Uppsala. By early June, Bragi had come to terms with Markward. Eilif could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. This now thorn in the dynasty's side had been significantly weakened.
All during this time, the raids in Finland had been proceeding in a routine fashion. With Karelia mainly plundered, the Russian raiders had moved onto Uusimaa, by that time part of the High Chiefdom of Satakunta. Over 800 Russian troops defeated High Chief Pentti’s army of 300 men in Uusimaa between 25 May and 18 June 931 (24 Russian v 173 Satakuntan casualties). Another 935 Russian raiders were plundering Häme, to the north, at the same time. All this activity had kept the treasury going while the war against Eskild continued.
In important dynastic news, on 28 May Prince Styrbjörn and his formidable wife Ulfhildr had their first son, following a daughter who had been born a few years before. Styrbjörn named the boy Eilif, after his grandfather: he certainly knew the way to an old Emperor’s heart!
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July-December 931
Throughout these years, some large raiding hosts plagued the south of Russia, mainly in the lands of Eilif’s vassals, though his holding of Könugarðr did get some unfriendly attention as well. Often up to 3,000 men in strength, some did little damage and moved off, others struck the lands of Russian vassals and carried off plunder. They were generally deemed to be not worth the trouble and cost of mustering large armies to fight off and were too much for the local landholders to fight off. In the end, they were considered a cost of having a far flung empire. The same would happen regularly in the isolated Western Irish counties, which were regularly sacked by Irish and Norse British raiders.
Eilif was determined to use his prestige to improve the core Rurikid counties of Holmgarðr while he could, so in August another military infrastructure project was begun in Ladoga.
Then in October, with the realm at peace, the succession settled and with nothing better to do, Eilif finally felt free to take to the field: even without a current war focus he was a very effective commander (his greatest personal skill). On 6 October 931, at the age of 60, he took sole command of the raiders in Häme and marched them across to attack Pentti’s army, which had mustered to defend his home county of Satakunta. Meanwhile, some more troops were called up to assist with the siege of Uusimaa, which was just below the required strength to maintain it.
Battle was joined on 23 October and by 14 November, Eilif was celebrating a comfortable victory.
With the battle in Häme won and the siege begun, the fleet levy was called out across the Empire. When the two Satakuntan counties were thoroughly sacked, a new Great Raid would begin.
Worrying news came from Flanders in late November: a consumption epidemic that began in Dorset had spread across to Yperen. It certainly had an effect on tax revenues, and Eilif asked whether anything else (apart from people or troops living in or passing through affected counties) would be affected and whether these effects differed in severity between different types of epidemics.
Ch111 Q1: Epidemics.The screen shot shows one effect I’d captured later, after the epidemic had spread to Breda. Any other population or other effects from these epidemics and are some worse than others? So far, Garðariki/Russia have been hardly affected by them.
While Eilif was on campaign, foul deeds were done back at court. On 9 December, his daughter and ace Spymaster Halla was assassinated by agents traced back to the wretched Chief Vladimir of Vyazma. The man was not a direct vassal of Eilif’s, so it seemed his options for justice (ie revenge) were limited. After deciding to appoint another daughter (Holmfrid, whose loyalty was also unquestioned and was fairly well skilled in the Dark Arts of intrigue) to the vacancy, the Fylkir began a (probably forlorn) plot to have Vladimir killed.
In the event, he was only able to attract one more conspirator to aid the plot, which as things stood had little chance of success.
Ch111 Q2: Kill Vlad.Anything else much Eilif could have done here to take retribution on Vladimir or aid the plot?
Not long after this sad event, Eilif received a persuasive letter from High Chieftess Bodil. In a break from tradition, she sought to become Marshal of the Empire! And she had very credible skills for the job. Barid had done a great job, but Eilif’s preoccupation with shield-maidens (which he’d never managed to recruit) almost led him to give her the job.
But again, the break with tradition would have significantly damaged his standing with all the other vassals of the Empire, so he had to regretfully decline. Which naturally angered Bodil, but that was deemed the lesser of the two evils.
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January-December 932
As the two Satakunta sieges continued throughout early 932, the 17-year-old Jarj Gorm Eilifsson was appointed to a commander’s vacancy on 14 May (there were now eight such, not including the Emperor and the Marshal).
On the religious front, many counties had been converting to Germanicism throughout the period (there will be a summary map at the end of the chapter). Despite this, the small ‘Christian lobby’ sought to persuade the Fylkir to relent in his hostility to Christendom.
But, though his days of ardent zealotry may be over, Eilif could find no place in his heart for such sympathy. He thought it was a duel to the death over faith.
In better news, Stybjörn produced a second son, Sigurðr, in July 932 to further secure his own potential succession.
16 September brought another building project: a new practice range in Holmgarðr [300 prestige, from 1,182 ‘in the bank’], which would be completed in August the following year.
The final siege in Uusimaa was finished on 3 October: the Temple of Porvoo had yielded a surprisingly rich haul of over 31 gold. Eilif had joined the raider there by that time and they all now began boarding the 44 ships assembled in the Gulf of Finland, some of which had brought levies from Naumadal and Flanders while the raids were being completed.
Soon, almost 4,400 raiders had begun to sail via the Russian river system to the Black Sea for a hopefully far richer haul. And Eilif commanded the venture personally.
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January-July 933
As the fleet sailed south, Jarl Bragi’s accumulated grievances had made him genuinely hostile to the liege with whom he had once been on very good terms. At least the decrease in his military strength meant his faction was far less of a threat these days.
The new raid began in the Georgian county of Abkhazia on 15 January 933, with 4,363 Russian raiders landing. A wealthy province in a comparatively small realm, it should provide rich pickings. Eilif commanded the centre, with Rikulfr and the venerable siege specialist Sverker on the other flank.
Then, again with Eilif far away, another tragedy struck his family. And a controversial and confusing period of Rurikid dynastic politics began. Holmfrid, who had taken over from her sister Halla as Spymaster, was murdered on 22 January. And the historical record alleges this was done on the orders of none other than Jarl Helgi of Belo Ozero!
But it seems Eilif (and by extension his family) either didn’t realise this or somehow ignored it. No action was taken against the Jarl and powerful Rurikid magnate – who apparently remained on good terms with the Fylkir. [That is, there was no kinslayer malus for Helgi – she must have been a little too distant a relation for it to apply; and Eilif had no ‘the bastard killed my daughter’ malus against Helgi. It was like he had no knowledge of it. So I chose to play this episode as if it had been well disguised and Eilif, many thousands of miles away, was none the wiser.]
Not wishing to risk another close family member in this role (which had also seen Buðli killed many years before) – his wife, the now elderly Queen Ingrid, would have been well qualified – Eilif sought outside talent. Sveinn Bleik [Intrigue 21, opinion +33], then a Norse Germanic courtier in Gloucester, was invited to the realm and arrived [by extremely fast boat!] on 8 February. He would be a pragmatist on the Council, to which he was appointed as Spymaster the day he arrived.
The news of another daughter being murdered because of an appointment he himself had made clearly distressed the Emperor, robbing him of much of the enjoyment he would otherwise have gained from commanding troops in the field in foreign lands no member of the realm had ever visited before. He was now 62 years of age and it is perhaps no surprise that Eilif had a bad fall after leaving a council of war during the siege of Abkhazia on 21 February 933. He fell hard on his face, the taste of blood in his mouth and dizziness beginning to overcome him.
As he lay there, he could have called for help and hoped someone might hear him. Or, he could take his chances, not draw attention to himself or betray any weakness and try to get up himself. And truth be told, with his life’s goals achieved, his zealous faith a thing of the past and personal tragedy beginning to weigh him down, at that moment he had no great fear of death. Part of him looked forward to reuniting with his father in Valhalla and talking about the fortunes of the Empire their dynasty now ruled. He lay there, then tried to rise …
[Event: 10% chance of death, 30% wounded, 60% no effect]
… and pulled himself back to his feet, apparently none the worse for wear. If Odin did not want him to join him yet, he would fight on in this world instead.
As the long siege went on, great news came back from Ladoga: after decades of trying, the core Imperial county had finally settled a new Norse tribe and embraced Norse culture! This meant all four Home Counties, the very heart of the Empire, were now fully Norse and Germanic.
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July-December 933
The fort of Abaatha in Abkhazia fell on 13 July and the pickings were indeed rich. The fleet added another 72 gold to the 35 it was already carrying from the initial sack of the countryside. A prisoner taken was also ransomed for another tidy profit, at the cost of 341 men killed during the siege. Just over 4,000 raiders were left to begin the next siege, of Tskhoumi.
At this time, Eilif remembered to check something he thought had been done back when the Empire was founded and move things along to the next stage – as he had forgotten to do before now. But he was perplexed to find the Russian realm laws still only mandated a medium level of tribal organisation, when they had been previously taken to high level.
It seems the previous change, brought on for Garðariki before the Empire was founded and only approved for Garðariki afterwards had not applied to Russia after all!
Ch111 Q3: Law Change Technicality.I’m guessing that I should have waited for the approval to go through before proclaiming the empire, and that the change was therefore limited to the Kingdom or Garðariki rather than carrying through to the empire. Though I was partly afraid that Eilif might suddenly die in between calling the change and it being approved, and then would I have done a face-palm. And I didn’t think to check later, until now in the game. This isn’t such a big setback or delay in the broad sweep of things I guess, but if I’m right as to what happened here, then it is a good lesson for inexperienced players.
The siege of Tskhoumi was far shorter and even more lucrative than the last, ending on 31 August with another 91 gold hauled aboard the raiding fleet with no further losses.
Pitsunda yielded another 60 gold on 19 October, though another 341 troops had died during the siege. By 30 October all the available treasure had been scrounged from Abkhazia and the 3,724 remaining raiders took to the ships.
In mid-November, as the raid moved onto Beirut, Eilif sent back orders to expand the size of the Imperial Guard. Another ‘shock’ retinue would be recruited, while a new cavalry retinue – the realm’s first – would also be trained, to give the Guard a real combination of arms.
In December, ambition triumphed over familial bonds between the de Normandie brothers, with Tryggve declaring a claim war for Vladimir against Refil. Just a day after Chancellor Grimr had improved relations with the latter.
Ch111 Q4: A Coincidence?This seems to be an extraordinary coincidence: after all this time, war is declared the very next day!? Is there some mechanic at play here that might have affected the calculus, or just an outlandish coincidence?
As 933 ended, the raiders had passed by mighty Constantinople and were in the Levantine Sea, putting ashore in Beirut to top up the coffers before heading back hopefully loaded to the gunwales with treasure.
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January-February 934
In Beirut, on 21 January Eilif was surveying the exotic architecture of the city and its towering walls. The siege would be a long one, but should yield enough treasure to fill the boats so they could head back home by mid-year. In the meantime, the raiders were grabbing everything they could from the undefended environs of the county.
“Sverker, I’ve missed all this action since my youth, when I was the first commander of the Novgorodian Band,” said Eilif as he gazed across the foreign landscape. “Which is perhaps why I have let them continue these last years.”
[That is, I completely forgot to disband them, in the excitement of the founding of the Empire! ]
“It has been a long and glorious journey, My Fylkir, but with troubles along the way too. I am glad you have been able to lead us in this latest campaign. As your illustrious father did at the start of his career.”
“Yes, Sverker, I’ve thought of him much recently. I … I’m feeling a bit unsteady. This happened a few months back. I’ll be fine in a moment, I’m sure.” Sverker helped his Fylkir steady himself.
But Eilif would soon be dining with his father in Valhalla: as he keeled over dead, his open eyes staring at a very blue and foreign sky.
A very rapid carrier pigeon brought news of his death to the court. His son Styrbjörn became the third King of Garðariki and the second Emperor of All Russia on 21 January 934 AD. In the event, he retained the Two Crowns of both Garðariki and Sviþjod, as well as the ‘core’ Jarldom of Holmgarðr and the four counties within it, plus Hálsbitr[‘the Neckbiter’, the +2 Axe], originally found by Eilif in Britannia so many decades before. The rest of Eilif’s titles devolved to Styrbjörn's brothers Tolir and Gorm. Including almost all the shipyards of the realm, though the mobilised fleet currently remained under Imperial command.
Ch111 Q5: Ship Command Transfer.So I’m assuming (hoping, anyway) those ships stay under Styrbjörn’s command until they are dismissed, at which time they revert to his brothers’ control? So If I want to keep raiding, and can’t grab any new shipyards, I’d need to keep them continuously mustered?
The very next day, the Pope declared a Crusade for Italy, where the ten-year-old King Gacco of Italy had succeeded his Kharjarite father Louis III – and drawn the ire of the Pontifex in nearby Rome. And by the looks of it, Gacco’s now splintered and heavily occupied kingdom was in a desperate position even before the Crusade could gather steam. And better such things were directed at the Muslims - and not good, Gods-fearing Germanics.
The new Fylkir and Emperor was 26 years old on his ascension. He was considered a charismatic negotiator and most usefully was a diligent and content man by all accounts. The fact he was the child of a concubine counted against his diplomatic influence, as did his shyness. He was not necessarily the sharpest sword in the rack, but he was no incompetent and hoped to improve himself over time, as his father had done to overcome supposed ‘dullness’ to become one of the great men of history.
The Fylkir's brother Tolir owed him a favour - something which may come in handy later. Especially as on 2 February the much-disliked Jarl Eilif of Smaland started up a faction to make Tolir Emperor! [Though it doesn't seem the favour can be used to make him negate the faction founded on Tolir's behalf]. The blackguard also joined Bragi's faction for the Swedish crown. There would have to be a reckoning of some kind later - when the new Fylkir was in a position to enforce any threat he might make.
With the old loyalties of his father's reign largely dissolved, Fylkir Styrbjörn had to put together a new Council that relied more on reconciling and placating powerful vassals who had the requisite skills and loyalty to take a ‘working’ post. Or, with the two advisor slots, trying to keep powerful and potentially troublesome vassals in check. Chancellor Grimr was the only one who automatically retained his post, the rest resigning on the succession. By 2 February his new team was assembled.
All except Jarg Bragi – brought on as one of two advisors - were nominally loyal. Bragi would for now be a malcontent and part of an overall discontented Council (which would persist for another two years). Styrbjörn was (literally) banking on the current raid to start distributing largesse to some of the most powerful but least content of the vassals, starting with Bragi, whose factional plot continued.
Old and new faces were there, with Eilif’s Seer and Steward both reappointed. Sverker became Marshal; but the appointment which has most confused historians is the appointment of Jarl Helgi … as Spymaster! Whether Styrbjörn too was unaware of (or disbelieved) Helgi’s part in the death of his sister Holmfrid is a mystery. Thus whether the appointment was simply a reward for one of his more loyal vassals with good skills in the area; realpolitik to try to keep him on-side; or indeed a subtle revenge where he hoped the fate of Holmfrid and Helgi’s own father Buðli might be visited on the son is similarly unknown. Styrbjörn had to hope the different approaches of the Council could balance themselves out until he could build a more loyal base of support over time.
Gorm was reappointed as a commander and Jarl Þorfinn of Austergautland was also given command – both good soldiers and men the Fylkir hoped to keep as happy as he could. The raid in Beirut continued under new command (Velmayka leading, plus Rikulfr and Ragnarr, to ensure another siege master was present).
The new Fylkir’s first personal focus was on family, to boost his diplomatic capacity and hopefully build a strong relationship with his close family – his newly powerful brothers in particular. He hoped they would become close and work strongly together rather than become deadly rivals – as Eilif and his brother Dyre had been from the earliest days.
He wanted to see the Empire prosper and consolidate and hoped that would also act to suppress the risk of local revolts in the early days of his reign. He also announced he would seek Council approval to see absolute tribal organisation adopted – to make it possible for his father’s aim of bringing in a feudal system of governance to the realm. When the time was right, anyway – a matter for which he urgently sought the guidance and wisdom of the Þing.
Ch111 Q6: Feudalism – Timing.Something we’ve discussed before. In general terms, I think I want to implement it as soon as I can, plus any consequent legal changes. I’m assuming it will be one of those processes that would require support within the Council and/or the vassals as a whole before it and/or primogeniture inheritance (for example) could be enforced. Any more general advice or reminders on timing and precursors would be appreciated, in case decisions come up in the next session.
The treasury was a little low and the monthly balance in considerable deficit: another reason for wanted a full treasure fleet welcomed back home as soon as possible. His prestige was fair and would be boosted by the current raid. And the crown focus was applied to Ladoga.
The last few years had seen many conversions of counties to Germanicism, from Flanders to the more recently acquired Eastern Steppe counties of Perm.
Such was the state of the Russian Empire in the aftermath of the succession: it had stuck together without immediate discord, thanks to the great efforts gone to by Eilif the Just (considered by many to be ‘the Great’) to secure the dynastic position of the Rurikids.
The Russian Empire (excluding Irish holdings) in February 934 AD, immediately following the ascension of Emperor Styrbjörn.
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Questions
Plenty to ask this time, including some help for our brand new Emperor and Fylkir – only the third of this story so far in almost 70 years since the founding of the dynasty by Rurik in 867 AD.
Ch111 Q1: Epidemics. The screen shot shows one effect I’d captured later, after the epidemic had spread to Breda. Any other population or other effects from these epidemics and are some worse than others? So far, Garðariki/Russia have been hardly affected by them.
Ch111 Q2: Kill Vlad. Anything else much Eilif could have done here to take retribution on Vladimir or aid the plot?
Ch111 Q3: Law Change Technicality. I’m guessing that I should have waited for the approval to go through before proclaiming the empire, and that the change was therefore limited to the Kingdom or Garðariki rather than carrying through to the empire. Though I was partly afraid that Eilif might suddenly die in between calling the change and it being approved, and then would I have done a face-palm. And I didn’t think to check later, until now in the game. This isn’t such a big setback or delay in the broad sweep of things I guess, but if I’m right as to what happened here, then it is a good lesson for inexperienced players.
Ch111 Q4: A Coincidence? This seems to be an extraordinary coincidence: after all this time, war is declared the very next day!? Is there some mechanic at play here that might have affected the calculus, or just an outlandish coincidence?
Ch111 Q5: Ship Command Transfer. So I’m assuming (hoping, anyway) those ships stay under Styrbjörn’s command until they are dismissed, at which time they revert to his brothers’ control? So If I want to keep raiding, and can’t grab any new shipyards, I’d need to keep them continuously mustered?
Ch111 Q6: Feudalism – Timing. Something we’ve discussed before. In general terms, I think I want to implement it as soon as I can, plus any consequent legal changes. I’m assuming it will be one of those processes that would require support within the Council and/or the vassals as a whole before it and/or primogeniture inheritance (for example) could be enforced. Any more general advice or reminders on timing and precursors would be appreciated, in case decisions come up in the next session.
ᚔ ᚱᚢᚱᛁᚲᛁᛞ ᚔ
AuthAAR’s Notes: I could have neatly finished the chapter with Eilif’s death I suppose, but wanted to set things up for advice for the new Emperor and session that will follow. And also, I knew people would be curious as to how the broad strokes of the succession worked out.
The next main chapter will probably cover a little more on the most powerful vassals of the realm and what the range of their opinions to their liege is – as this will have an important bearing on what Styrbjörn can do soon and what he will need to work towards.
But he is very much contemplating a course of further consolidation and (where possible and prudent) internal reform plus some more raiding to build treasury and prestige. Perhaps too some marriage and foreign diplomacy to secure ties within the Germanic kingdoms too.
The next instalment will however be a special one: a review of the entire reign of Eilif as a ‘highlight package’, concentrating on a few major turning points, events and achievements. That is mainly done and might be out comparatively soon. Thank you all and stay safe!
PS: my working title for this chapter was ‘Three Funerals and a Coronation’, but I didn’t want to give too much away too early!
Far from being a mere dullard, Eilif has managed to carve himself an empire, reform the Germanic faith - his achievements will be the stuff of legends, definitely.
As to his last years, these were well-spent in enjoyment of his work. Even leading raids himself. Though of course, the murders of his daughters are black marks of that period. Those poor women, didn't even get their chance for a good marriage.
As for Styrbjörn, consolidating his father's gains is fully in-character. He doesn't look the conquering sort.
Ch111 Q1: Epidemics. The screen shot shows one effect I’d captured later, after the epidemic had spread to Breda. Any other population or other effects from these epidemics and are some worse than others? So far, Garðariki/Russia have been hardly affected by them.
So far, as a tribal realm, the Fylkirate has been spared by any epidemics - these only spread through feudal/iqta/monastic feudal/theocratic/republican lands. Once the Rurikids start living in keeps, that will change for them as well.
In any case, the effects of the epidemic depend on how severe and long they've been raging in the provinces. After some time, depopulation starts hitting the counties, and it lowers basically everything from that county. (Don't march your army into depopulated provinces, they'll fall like flies as the supply limit can be reduced to a mere 100.)
As you'd expect, there are differences between the diseases in how long it takes them to reap. There are also different outbreak sizes. The first plague outbreak is nearly guaranteed to hit everything hard, while other outbreaks can vary in intensity.
And naturally, being in a county with the outbreak increases a character's chance to fall ill quite a lot.
Not really, which is annoying. You know that this guy was responsible for your close relative's death, but you can't imprison him (nor worse). The best I can think of is to appoint him a commander, then send him on an extensive boat trip and let him die of scurvy.
Ch111 Q3: Law Change Technicality. I’m guessing that I should have waited for the approval to go through before proclaiming the empire, and that the change was therefore limited to the Kingdom or Garðariki rather than carrying through to the empire. Though I was partly afraid that Eilif might suddenly die in between calling the change and it being approved, and then would I have done a face-palm. And I didn’t think to check later, until now in the game. This isn’t such a big setback or delay in the broad sweep of things I guess, but if I’m right as to what happened here, then it is a good lesson for inexperienced players.
That's it. Only after the law is changed does it affect the new title. It can be seen as a setback though, lowering the (already impressive) number of accomplishments of Eilif - he could have feudalized in his lifetime, too.
That way at least, Styrbjörn's reign will be remembered for something.
Ch111 Q4: A Coincidence? This seems to be an extraordinary coincidence: after all this time, war is declared the very next day!? Is there some mechanic at play here that might have affected the calculus, or just an outlandish coincidence?
Coincidence. Without taking their vassals into account, Tryggve's far stronger and has probably been planning this for a while, just thought that now was a good chance to strike. Additional benefit of confusing chroniclers, I guess .
Ch111 Q5: Ship Command Transfer. So I’m assuming (hoping, anyway) those ships stay under Styrbjörn’s command until they are dismissed, at which time they revert to his brothers’ control? So If I want to keep raiding, and can’t grab any new shipyards, I’d need to keep them continuously mustered?
Yeah, they'll remain until you dismiss them (but you'll also keep paying for them). Once you've feudalized, you can have vassal fleet levies - and you don't need to pay them.
Ch111 Q6: Feudalism – Timing. Something we’ve discussed before. In general terms, I think I want to implement it as soon as I can, plus any consequent legal changes. I’m assuming it will be one of those processes that would require support within the Council and/or the vassals as a whole before it and/or primogeniture inheritance (for example) could be enforced. Any more general advice or reminders on timing and precursors would be appreciated, in case decisions come up in the next session.
Doing it now actually is a good idea. Feudalizing weakens your realm short-term, so it's best done while you don't plan any big war. Also, Styrbjörn has inherited good opinion modifiers from Eilif, so many of his vassals are probably on good terms with him, most importantly his brothers, the possible pretenders. The raised army is also still around raiding, so the vassals will need to take these numbers into account when judging strength. This army is also bigger than anything Styrbjörn himself could raise due to Eilif's higher martial stat. Reasons not to feudalize are the same as at any other time, possibly also waiting for buildings to finish.
As there are quite a few advantages to do it now, I'd advise to act. To feudalize, all you need is a fully fortified tribal capital/a castle capital and absolute tribal organization. Further centralizing gives them more power, so the council of a reformed faith doesn't oppose it.
All vassals who can follow that decision will eventually do so. They can if their capital's faith is their own.
Eilif went out on a high at least. And he did very well by his father. Will Eilif's son be able to claim the same when his time comes? We shall have to wait and see.
That is, there was no kinslayer malus for Helgi – she must have been a little too distant a relation for it to apply; and Eilif had no ‘the bastard killed my daughter’ malus against Helgi. It was like he had no knowledge of it. So I chose to play this episode as if it had been well disguised and Eilif, many thousands of miles away, was none the wiser.]
The old king built the empire but the new one has to forge it tightly together. Generally speaking if the son or grandson can't do the conversion to feudalism, all the claims and inheritances will be too split out/gone for a reclamation. So they have to get this right within the next few decades.
Russia looks plenty mighty though with its name, crest and huge tracts of land.
The family remains bound in one dynasty but only close family members get opinion bonuses/kinslayer traits for convenience.
On advice from the Þing, before the Empire was inaugurated, Eilif sought to change the realm laws of Garðariki to further increase the trend to centralisation, even though it meant granting more power to the Council. Given ‘unreformed tribal vassals’ – a category of subordinates Eilif had diligently and completely purged from the realm – were the only ones likely to be offended, he proceeded. The law change was formally approved a few weeks later.
If the counter will reset once we become an empire, can we go max centralization right away? That means we can feudalize right away if I'm not mistaken? That would be awesome!
On 7 October, Tolir confided to his father that he harboured the grand ambition of becoming King of Perm. What this might mean later regarding his brother Gorm’s ownership of those lands was currently moot, but could become a problem in the future.
In mid-December, Eilif used his great prestige to initiate a grand building program for the four core ‘Imperial Counties’ of the Jarldom of Holmgarðr. The last of these – the upgraded weaponsmith in Holmgarðr itself – would not be completed until September 932. [Note: enough prestige was left in reserve to be able to summon a tribal army in case of emergency.]
At this time, Chancellor Grimr explored the possibility of inducing some independent de jure Rus rulers to voluntarily become vassal members of the new Russian Empire. Unfortunately, while they all feared and respected Russian power, religious and cultural differences were too great to overcome their base reluctance.
Once we feudalize, since we're an organized religion and they're not they'll slowly turn germanic. Then we can ask them to be our vassals successfully. I'm copying below from wiki how our neighbors hopefully will turn Germanic:
Code:
Any tribal leader, whose religion is pagan unreformed, neighbouring a realm whose leader's religion is organized - e.g. Christianity, Islam, Eastern religions, reformed pagan faith, etc. - can ask the leader of this realm to help convert the tribal leader's realm to the organized religion. Benefactor needs to be non-tribal, non-nomadic, non-theocracy (so you can't ask Pope for mass conversion) king or emperor level
Ch111 Q1: Epidemics.The screen shot shows one effect I’d captured later, after the epidemic had spread to Breda. Any other population or other effects from these epidemics and are some worse than others? So far, Garðariki/Russia have been hardly affected by them.
The ruler of those lands get a decision to lock themselves up in the castle or keep living as normal. Both options have its pros and cons (starvation can even lead to cannibalism when locked in a castle but low chance of catching disease and vice versa)
… and pulled himself back to his feet, apparently none the worse for wear. If Odin did not want him to join him yet, he would fight on in this world instead.
Phew... it was a close call, but Eilif might still have a few things to do before joining his father and forefathers feasting in the halls of Odin. Maybe not keep him in the frontline?
Ch111 Q3: Law Change Technicality.I’m guessing that I should have waited for the approval to go through before proclaiming the empire, and that the change was therefore limited to the Kingdom or Garðariki rather than carrying through to the empire. Though I was partly afraid that Eilif might suddenly die in between calling the change and it being approved, and then would I have done a face-palm. And I didn’t think to check later, until now in the game. This isn’t such a big setback or delay in the broad sweep of things I guess, but if I’m right as to what happened here, then it is a good lesson for inexperienced players.
oh god I hate this kind of technicalities! it was still the good thing to do with the king so old. It's only 10 more years before feudalism, not a big deal but this probably means it will be Eilif's heir to feudalize the empire.
Ch111 Q4: A Coincidence?This seems to be an extraordinary coincidence: after all this time, war is declared the very next day!? Is there some mechanic at play here that might have affected the calculus, or just an outlandish coincidence?
I'm so sad now. I remember being sad for a whole different reason when Eilif became the king, I found him dull and useless after his eccentric father, but he turned out to be such a great ruler. He modernized the religion and founded an empire! He'll probably be go down in history books as the most influential ruler of the dynasty. Now I really feel attached to him. May his soul rest in Valhalla, spending all his time drinking mead and eating meat with his forefathers. May Heimdall guide the new ruler and make him as wise as his father.
The new Fylkir’s first personal focus was on family, to boost his diplomatic capacity and hopefully build a strong relationship with his close family – his newly powerful brothers in particular. He
I always begin with business focus to go for either the tower or maze event chain first thing, and then family or ruling but this is a good start as well, especially given the circumstances.
Ch111 Q6: Feudalism – Timing.Something we’ve discussed before. In general terms, I think I want to implement it as soon as I can, plus any consequent legal changes. I’m assuming it will be one of those processes that would require support within the Council and/or the vassals as a whole before it and/or primogeniture inheritance (for example) could be enforced. Any more general advice or reminders on timing and precursors would be appreciated, in case decisions come up in the next session.
I always push for any progress, but that's not a calculated thing and just an impulse. About the inheritance, I'm not really sure but I think it'll be elective feudal or seniority (oldest member of the dynasty) as starters though I'm not really a good source of info on this.
Such was the state of the Russian Empire in the aftermath of the succession: it had stuck together without immediate discord, thanks to the great efforts gone to by Eilif the Just (considered by many to be ‘the Great’) to secure the dynastic position of the Rurikids.
