Chapter 159: The Valkyries’ Friend Three: Die Hard with a Vengeance (March 1021 to June 1024)
Previously, on Blut und Schlacht … Russia remained at war with Duke Matfre ‘the Just’ (the leader of the large and simultaneously ongoing Aquitanian Revolt) for the county of Bourgogne. The long-running revolt against the King of Noregr was preventing the desired inheritance law change for France, which would safeguard all the development done of the crown holdings in won in the Great Holy War. Another revolt in Chortitza had just been defeated but one still needed dealing with in Karelia. Meanwhile, the alliance with Denmark had just drawn Russia into another Holy War in which the Danes looked to conquer Silesia from the King of Bohemia.
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March-December 1021: Tying Up Loose Ends
Chief Nuyaksha had just finished off the rebellion in Chortitza when on 6 March 1021 he received orders to march his army of 5,800 men over land through Russian and then Danish territory to the border of Bohemia. He wouldn’t be needing the half-fleet waiting in Lukomorie after all.
The pressures and travails of his work caught up with the Spymaster Snorri of Yperen when depression got the better of him in mid-March of that year. His place was taken by the highly competent (and appropriately nicknamed) Jarl Bo ‘the Spider’ of Vladimir, one of the influential de Normandie clan that had first been raised to their station by the founder himself, King Rurik.
Bo was a skilled, cruel and devious plotter, so Helgi thought it better to keep this venomous spider ‘bottled’ and in his employ than on the loose. Though he may have to do a bit to boost his loyalty further. Just to be sure.
Meanwhile, the
general Snorri had taken the other main Russian field army across from Kexholm to Onega, where the rebel scum were brought to battle – and surrender – in a decisive engagement from 12-25 April.
With tax revenues having replenished the treasury again, Helgi spent up on defences against one of the most dangerous enemies ever likely to attack his capital: disease and plague. The sick house of the hospital in Holmgarðr would be upgraded, at considerable expense.
Steward Borkvard was set to oversee construction, meaning it would be finished on budget and ahead of time on 16 November the same year.
A stalwart of Russian politics and the Rurikid clan over recent years, Jarl Gorm ‘the Evil’ of Bolghar, died naturally towards the end of April. His son Bersi inherited the main titles, but not the appointment Gorm had held as the Imperial Marshal. That went to the restored King Þorolfr of Sviþjod, a powerful and now even friendlier magnate, with marriage ties to the imperial dynasty and also a very accomplished soldier.
With his work done in Onega, Snorri’s army was also ordered to start the long march to Silesia for the latest Danish war in late April.
Little of note occurred in May and June of 1021, other than another report from Brabant of Jarl Bertil’s gruesome appetite for human flesh. This time it was a 48-year-old Finnish Suomenusko lowborn man. “Mutton dressed up as lamb,” was the quip reportedly circulating in the Brabant court at the time. Though by all accounts
not within earshot of the Jarl himself, lest the jolly japer become his next meal!
The first Russian army was in Krakau by 8 July, where Jarl Þorolfr took over command from Nuyaksha and advanced on the Bohemian army of around 1,700 men in Opole. The Danes (with around 1,450 men) were skirmishing with a small enemy detachment to the north-east in Lower Silesia at that time. Snorri’s army reached Ingria the same day, where the 5,800 men were put on board ships to hasten their passage to the war in Germany.
Þorolfr reached Opole on 29 July, but by then the main Bohemian army had attacked the now badly outnumbered Danes in Lower Silesia. Hearing this, Þorolfr wasted no time in marching to join that battle, where they reinforced the hard-pressed Danish line on 12 August.
This naturally turned the tide of the battle completely, with a big victory for the Alliance won by the 22nd. Most of the casualties had been suffered by the Danes earlier on.
Meanwhile, the second Russian army had arrived in the Gulf of Danzig on 2 August and began unloading in the Russian-held county of Stolp. From there it would be a relatively short march south to join the fighting and the troops could recover their organisation on the march. By 14 August they were all ashore and on their way to Kalisz, where the Bohemians had earlier occupied some of the Danes’ holdings.
After the victory in Lower Silesia (a Danish county the Bohemians had fully occupied earlier in the war) a siege of the small garrison ended on 29 August (Þorolfr couldn’t initiate an immediate assault himself on 23 August, as the Danes were in command of the siege). As it transpired, only a few days and no lives were lost.
Instead, the Russians marched back to nearby Opole, where they arrived on 12 September and launched a series of three assaults from 23 September (once their siege engines were ready) to 7 October, losing a total of 180 men to overcome 880 men in the three garrisons
(warscore to +85%).
By mid-October, the Danes were under attack in Lower Silesia again, this time by a Polish army of similar size. Nuyaksha had taken over the other army, which had not been needed to relieve Kalisz and had marched south directly instead to besiege Praha.
His work done on Opole, Þorolfr marched once again to the aid of Russia’s Danish allies, who were already winning their battle. He joined in two weeks later, though it only lasted another three days, the Danes already having done the hard work. This
almost brought the war to a close.
In mid-November, the Russian vassals were generally still unhappy about the length of time their levies had been raised
(most up to -20 malus). Though his general prestige and popularity mitigated this somewhat, Helgi began disbanding vassal levy contingents as soon as it was safe to. More would follow once the armies were repatriated from the current allied war to Russian holdings in North Germany.
With the completion of the expanded sick house in Holmgarðr on 16 November, another smaller building spree was initiated in four of the crown counties, mainly further improving fortifications but including an expanded barracks in Ladoga.
Þorolfr arrived in Praha on 27 November, combining with Nuyaksha to assault the walls with over 12,000 men. They defeated the garrison of 947 the next day for only 164 casualties and brought the Bohemians to the bargaining table of the Danish King
(100% warscore, 27% contributed by Helgi). The treaty was concluded on 5 December, earning King Sigtrygg a bold new nickname. The Russian armies headed back for home territory as quickly as they could, as winter foraging became difficult.
Two weeks later, news arrived of a somewhat disconcerting development: the English had won a quick war for Rennes, establishing their first presence on the French coast. This made the Swedish play for Anjou all the more crucial, otherwise the existing Russian holdings in Brittany would be cut off. The year ended with the Norwegian rebellion still dragging on
(+67% warscore).
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1022 – Scandi Noir
The Swedish war for Anjou was not going well by early January 1022. In response to that situation and the English conquest of Rennes in December 1021, when the Russian armies arrived back in north Germany in mid-February, they were redirected on a long trek to Brittany – now possible through almost uninterrupted Russian territory.
The ever-active Duchess Sif sought to expand her demesne (and the Empire) in Bulgaria in early January.
The services of the blind mystic Ottarr were never employed as Court Physician: he committed suicide in late March 1022. Another recruitment campaign was not possible, as it had been less than three years since the last one. With the payment of a small bag of gold, a suitable new physician named Folki was invited to the Russian court.
[His stats will be given when he figures in the story a bit later].
In April, a detachment of 1,000 Imperial Retinue troops was detached as the armies passed south of Denmark and sent up to keep an eye on things in Noregr: the rebels had again taken the tribal fort of Askershus in Raumariki with only 237 men
(warscore down to 41%), even though a Norwegian army of almost 1,200 men sat next door to it
[really not sure why they won’t attack].
Young King Sigtrygg did not get to enjoy his new nickname for long: on 5 May he was apparently murdered, succeeded by his brother Vagn. This broke the marriage alliance between the two realms (not necessarily a negative for Russia at the moment, which was trying to avoid more foreign wars to permit the French legal reform).
A month later, Vagn – the prime suspect in his brother’s death (very Richard III with the hunchback and all), though nothing was ever proven – had joined the Pagan defensive pact against Helgi.
On its way up to Noregr, the Retinue detachment under Vechkas encountered and helped to defeat (in combination with 1,000 Danish troops) a band of around 900 raiders in Sjaelland from late May to early June, before resuming their march to Raumariki.
The Swedes meanwhile were losing a major engagement against the Aquitanians in Anjou (probably starting armies of around 5,000 from Aquitaine against about 2,500 Swedes) by early July. From 1-24 August, Vechkas fought and defeated the Norwegian rebels once more in Raumariki at the Battle of Oslo (Russia 8/1,000; Rebels 120/236 killed). They would remain to retake the rest of the rebel-occupied holdings and then guard the county their allies seemed incapable of protecting themselves.
As the first Russian army under Jarl Þorolfr arrived in Maine in mid-August, the war was going badly for King Þorolfr: a mixture of two lost battles, occupation of one of his own French counties and failure to occupy Anjou. On the 22nd, the offer was made to the Swedish King to join the war and Jarl Þorolfr began marching towards Vendôme, which Aquitaine had previously occupied. He arrived on the 29th and Russia was formally invited into the war the next day.
Up in Raumariki, it would be a long wait (25 days from 24 August) before Vechkas could assault the small rebel garrison holding Askershus. A week later, King Þorolfr tidied up a long-standing loose end back in Sviþjod.
The twice-deposed and now quite degenerate Prince Snorri would not be troubling him again after being slain by Þorolfr in personal combat. A sad saga spanning more than three decades had come to its violent end. Snorri’s son would inherit his remaining county of Stahleck.
Jarl Þorolfr was able to start his series of three assaults to retake Vendôme, which was achieved from 14 to 23 September, the first assault being the most bloody.
The second Russian army (now under a new commander, Prusas) was approaching Anjou by then, which King Eustache had evacuated. Jarl Þorolfr marched to join him. Prusas would arrive first on 26 September and besieged the main castle of Angers.
With some more large sieges in prospect, a search for a new siege specialist was begun on 7 October. A suitable candidate was found working as a commander in Ryazan. Oddr de Normandie accepted his invitation and arrived directly in Anjou on the 21st, to take command of the siege.
On 12 October Aquitaine had 3,000 men arrive in Nantes to begin a siege there, while 12,000 Russian troops besieged Anjou by the 20th. At that stage, Prusas’ army of 4,800 (with Oddr from the 21st) remained to carry out the siege of Anjou, while Jarl Þorolfr took the chance to deal a blow to the enemy in Nantes with around 7,200 men.
The last assault to liberate Raumariki (30 Oct-1 Nov, 93 Russian casualties,
warscore back up to 76%) saw things restored in the interminable Norwegian Revolt. This time, Vechkas would stay on guard nearby until the end.
Back in Brittany, battle was joined at Redon in Nantes as Raumariki was being liberated. It was a heavy victory, which further offset the bargaining advantage King Eustache had held and rendered his largest field army ineffective.
More good news followed soon after this victory, with Duchess Sif winning her Holy War for Tirgoviste on 1 December.
Angers fell to the Russians when Jarl Þorolfr arrived back from Nantes on 10 December to join Oddr (who now commanded the siege), deciding to assault the walls to hasten the progress of the war further. It cost 381 casualties, but the garrison of 1,747 was destroyed on the 11th
(warscore -17%).
The year of 1022 ended with a report from the distant Arab Caliphate: a new sect of Islam had apparently arisen, though its effects were yet to be discernible. But any division among the Muslim infidels was surely a welcome thing for the Germanic Fylkir. And presumably the Orthodox Patriarch in Constantinople.
1023 – The War for Anjou
Saumur (garrison 1,238) in Anjou fell to Oddr’s efficient siege management on 17 January, with no further Russian casualties
(warscore -4%) as Jarl Þorolfr remained to assist. Cholet (garrison 1,548) followed on 24 April but this time 611 besiegers died.
With most if not all vassal levies repatriated, by 11 May their discontent had decreased considerably
(mainly -11 malus). But soon after, the doughty old campaigner Snorri of Skåne died a peaceful death after all those years as one of the Empire’s leading commanders. He bore the scars of his long service and some whispered he was ‘possessed by some Hel-ish dæmon’, but he had given great service over many years and would be sorely missed.
On 31 May Fontevraud (garrison 1,160) succumbed to the Russian siege (no casualties), followed by an assault on Vihiers (10-12 June, garrison 436, 67 Russian casualties), giving Russia full control of Anjou, another major turning point in the war
(warscore +19%). This must have been enough for King Þorolfr to start counting unhatched chickens, because he then launched a new Holy War for Alsace against the Count of Sundgau the very day Vihiers fell! Helgi would ignore that one for now. He just wanted to wrap this war up before the slow-burning Norwegian Revolt finally wound up.
At this point, the Russian armies split again, Oddr making for Thouars, arriving with his almost 4,800 men on 26 June, while Jarl Þorolfr headed to Poitiers, where he ended up on the 29th with nearly 7,000 troops. The Aquitanian Revolt was still going strongly at this stage, with a Revolt army of over 8,500 just to the south in Lusignan. But hopefully, though they were nominally hostile, each would stick to their respective campaigns against King Eustache. If trouble arose, Oddr would reinforce Þorolfr in Poitiers.
There was another change in the Imperial Council in July, when after only a short stint Godi Knut died from severe stress. The Court Physician Folki (who we met briefly before) was also a learned and zealous man, so he was promoted into Russia's top priestly appointment. At the same time, a ‘donation’ was made to Jarl Bo to encourage a higher opinion of his liege: having a loyal Spymaster was always highly desirable.
With the treasury at almost 2,600 gold and with a net budget surplus of around 67 gold per month, in early August a project began in Tana to improve the keep (to Level II) at this important trade outpost near the south-eastern border with the Romans. It would take around 22 months to complete.
In October 1023, Crown Prince Hroðulfr came of age. He was a very promising young man, with a great gift for diplomacy that should serve him well as Emperor, if such was his destiny. He was fairly competent in the other four ruling talents as well and he loved his father dearly, by all indications. Helgi in turn was gratified to have groomed his heir to adulthood. Cunning, brave and just, so far Hroðulfr seemed an exemplary young scion of House Rurikid. For now, no marriage plans were made for him.
In the war for Anjou, the castle of Thouars (garrison 2,004) fell to Oddr on 24 October, with no Russian casualties as the siege routine continued unhindered.
But back in Father Russia, some spice was added to religious affairs there when Olafr Borg, the chief of Lower Don, was declared Hel-worshipping apostate by the new Seer Folki. The evidence stacked up: the man was possessed and had the stench of the Evil Eye about him. That was enough for the Fylkir – there would be no mercy for the filthy Hellite, nobleman or not. The evil in him would be purified by fire.
Bad news came on 1 December, with a large Catholic revolt of around 4,500 militant heathens declared in the recently absorbed Teutonic stronghold of Oldenburg. At that point the Norwegian revolt was nearing its end
(warscore 91%) but the war for Anjou still had some way to go
(warscore 40%). At that time Jarl Bertil was fighting the Teutonic Order, with around 4,450 men besieging Luneburg.
To quickly counter this new threat, the Imperial and vassal levies in France were summoned the next day, with a total of 10,000 men ordered to assemble in Brabant. This still left over 11,500 men mainly Jomsvikings, Retinue of some of Helgi’s personal levies) to prosecute the sieges in Aquitaine. And that same day, the castle of Poitiers (garrison 1,826) fell to Jarl Þorolfr for the loss of 721 besiegers over the last few months.
The next news of note came from England. On 5 December the relatively new King of England, Einnar ‘the Butcher’, created and took the title of King of Skotland. A week later, La Rochelle (garrison 1,201) fell to Oddr’s siege in Thouars
(warscore 57%).
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January-June 1024: Denouement
Châtellerault in Poitiers had only a tiny garrison of 23 men, but the quick siege cost Jarl Þorolfr 485 of his troops by the time it fell on 8 January 1024
(warscore 68%).
In mid-January, Duchess Gurli of Lithuania’s latest attempt to expand to the west was thwarted when he Holy War for Mazovia was defeated by the Teutonic Order. Of the major Russian marcher lords, Lithuania had traditionally had the most trouble, often running into powers with more power than them. But at least they tried.
A few days later, England declared a conquest of Kernev from Breizh. It seemed Einarr the Butcher had embarked on expansion in France in some of the few small realms left for the picking. For now, with England Norse Germanic and usually friendly, this was considered only a minor irritation, rather than a serious threat.
Then as the month ended, Prince Gunnarr began a murder plot
(28.9% strength, no other conspirators yet) against his brother, Fylkir Helgi. With Gunnarr now in exile, Helgi couldn’t legally demand for him to stop. Helgi would just have to remain on guard and hope it never amounted to anything. He did not consider starting a counter-plot: he did not want to be known as a kin-slayer, or he would have put Gunnarr in the oubliette or had him strangled while in his dungeon, instead of banishing him.
In any case, late in January enough troops had been gathered in Breda to begin advancing along the coast to Oldenburg, where the Catholic rebels were doing their dirty work. The rest would follow and could contribute if needed.
Oddr’s efficient work continued in Thouars, with the fall of Luçon (garrison 1,328) for no loss on 30 January. The war was progressing steadily, with no hint of interference from either King Eustache or the nearby rebel army. St Savin (garrison only 50) fell in Poitiers soon after on 15 February (no casualties,
warscore 82%), completing the occupation of the county.
The army, now with Chief Nuyaksha in command, marched across to Thouars, arriving on 5 March and combining with Oddr to assault the walls of Châtelaillon (garrison 702) from 13-15 March (104 casualties,
warscore 88%) and completing the occupation of that county as well. Clearly, more siege work would be required to persuade the large Kingdom of Aquitaine, so they stayed together and marched for their next target: Aquitaine rebel occupied (but not manned) Lusignan.
While that had been happening, Jarl Þorolfr had taken over the levy army marching on Oldenburg. He waited for a few following contingents to join him before attacking the heathen rebels on 9 March. A few more arrived before the battle ended in a decisive victory on the 24th, ending the rebellion and boosting the Fylkir’s prestige and piety, together with the moral authority of the already ascendant Reformed Germanic Faith. All the levies were dispersed as soon as the rebellion ended.
Chief Nuyaksha showed himself to be an effective expansionist as well as an useful Imperial commander, with forces acting in his name completing their conquest of Constantia on 23 March, securing the internal lines of Russian Bulgaria.
Around this time, with a healthy treasury and a desire to celebrate his reign to date with something that would be a tangible and enduring asset for the Rurikid dynasty, Helgi sent out the call for a master smith to create a special set of armour.
Less than two weeks later, after having arrived in Lusignan on 3 April, the combined Russian field army assaulted the walls of Charroux on the 13th, as soon as the equipment was ready. The Aquitaine Rebel garrison of 628 was defeated by the 15th, for the loss of 766 Russians. A relatively expensive effort, but one that would bring the war for Anjou close to its end (
warscore 96%).
The next assault on Niort (garrison 265) did the trick, for the loss of only 36 more men. On 24 April, the peace was imposed on King Eustache and King Þorolfr was a very happy subject of the Emperor. And Russia’s possessions in Brittany were linked, reducing the scope for further English expansion.
For reasons not readily apparent, Gunnarr’s murder plot against his brother appeared to have ended by 3 May, further improving Helgi’s mood. Then up in Noregr, where the rebellion had been approaching its end, a small rebel remnant reappeared in Raumariki only to find Vechkas in the next province, ready to pounce. This small victory was enough to force the surrender of Emund, ending the revolt after five and three-quarter long, long years.
On 12 June 1024 King Starkaðr had his son and heir returned, Emund was jailed and Helgi’s murder plot was called off, never having been able to make a serious attempt.
[So I will never find out if it would have done anything useful if it had succeeded.]
During the battle, the amoursmith discovered by the thankful Marshal, King Þorolfr, had arrived at Helgi’s court in Nygarðr. Wanting only the best for himself and his future heirs, Emperor Helgi the Lionheart ordered the most expensive artefact ever commissioned by House Rurikid.
If one day he did feel the urge to go into battle personally, once his full succession was secured, Helgi would wear only the very best money could buy. And as an interesting aside, this massive outlay had come purely from normal tax and campaign revenue, even after all the previous building projects of the years since the last major raid. With 1,000 gold still left in reserve. The Russian Empire was coming of age as a medieval power.
The next celebration to be held was a Royal Wedding. It would be a match made for the bride’s skills and temperament rather than for diplomatic reasons. Beata af Vendel was a minor noblewoman, the daughter of one of Jarl Bertil of Brabant’s vassals.
But she was of a like age to the Crown Prince with excellent all-round skills that would complement Hroðulfr’s nicely, especially in martial matters. And her toleration of Christians may not be a bad attribute in a realm that still embraced many people of that faith. At least until they could be led to the Light of Odin. The marriage was celebrated in great Norse style on 30 May 1024.
Then with the ending of the Norwegian Revolt, there was nothing left to prevent the change of French succession law to Primogeniture, to match the rest of the realm laws within the Empire. Helgi’s powerful western demesne was now secured for his heir.
Though his second son Hakon would no doubt be unhappy about losing that inheritance, the two boys did remain good friends, so hopefully any destructive future rancour between them could be avoided. Unlike Helgi had found with his next oldest brother Gunnarr.
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15 June 1024: A Progress Report
Helgi decided on a new ambition
[the only one available to him] the day after this wedding: to see the realm prosper. Though it appeared unlikely the Emperor would avoid going to war within the next five years, he could at least aspire to it for now. And it would lower revolt risk a little in the interim.
With his Empire, prestige, religion and military power (approaching 40,000 men) at their peak, the French succession secured and still only aged 40, Helgi had a right to be well pleased with his achievements so far. What would come next? He could make plans, even if the Norns may have some other unknown fate in mind for him and his dynasty.
Recent years had seen further expansion of the Empire in Ireland, France, northern Germany and Bulgaria in particular. Allies and vassals had been assisted, tax revenue burgeoned, major building programs had been conducted, an heir successfully groomed and the French succession locked in. Helgi also looked forward to taking delivery of his new set of special armour, hoping it would live up to its enormous price tag.
Germanicism continued to expand rapidly in all Russia’s conquered lands and under English and Danish rule too. In the last three years alone, another eight counties had converted to the True Faith of the Old Gods: Dvina (northern Russia, August 1021); Kuban (southern Russia, October 1021); Liege (Brabant, November 1021); Veisafjorðr (south-east Ireland, December 1021); Dyfed (Wales, August 1022); Oriel (north-west Ireland, February 1023); Vendôme (France, 1023) and Friesland (Holland, April 1023).
The threat Helgi posed remained very high of course and various religious-based defensive pacts against him remained very comprehensive for now … but of course these did not apply to his ambitious magnates. Nor would they prevent a program of raiding …
if that was Helgi’s next course of action.
Postscript: A Dedication
I dedicate this chapter to the memory of our beloved and much-loved pet Gus, who was taken suddenly and way too early from us yesterday (Saturday, 27 August 2022). They are never ‘just pets’ and he was a particularly lovely, funny, playful and affectionate little character with many sweet mannerisms. Unusually for a cat, he was always wanting to be around people in general and us in particular. He was very friendly and cheeky but a well behaved and loveable companion for a retired couple whose children have flown the nest.
I’m sure he considered himself a small human … or us big cats! We were lucky to have him as our owner
for the seven years we had with him. Taken way too early by a very sudden illness (probably a stroke, we understand). Bright and sparky one day, sick the next, gone the following morning and despite all the care we could get for him.
R.I.P. my little friend. You have left a big gap behind, but we will remember you so fondly.
PPS: I don’t mean this to be a downer and doing this update has been an excellent distraction today. Life goes on and of course there are far worse things that happen in this world. But I just wanted to say something here.
