I enjoy your writing and am not impatient, so I would prefer three. However, if you would rather get on with things, I'd rather you did as you liked.
Consecrated blood waters my fields: a Hvitserk megacampaign
- Thread starter Avindian
- Start date
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Seeing as everyone else is saying one or three, I pick two. Equal balance of timeliness and detail. 
Thanks for everybody's input! It's always pleasant to see how many fans I have.
I'm going to start sorting through screenshots, then I will decide for sure on the number of updates.
I'm going to start sorting through screenshots, then I will decide for sure on the number of updates.
I noticed the early appearance of tomatoes, but that pales next to the revelation that Halfdan and his son Baldr were a 100% genetic match. Seeing as half of one's genes normally come from the mother, this would suggest that Baldr is a clone of Halfdan's. Was Halfdan working on his own army of Clone Troopers to save his ailing Empire?
Nitpicking aside, this was a great update and it's quite stunning to realize how brittle the Hvitserk Empire was in its last decades. A good starting point for Europa Universalis, for sure.
Pick however many updates you want to write. Personally, I'd like to see what you can do in EU, but tie up whatever loose ends needing tying up first.
I noticed the early appearance of tomatoes, but that pales next to the revelation that Halfdan and his son Baldr were a 100% genetic match. Seeing as half of one's genes normally come from the mother, this would suggest that Baldr is a clone of Halfdan's. Was Halfdan working on his own army of Clone Troopers to save his ailing Empire?
Nitpicking aside, this was a great update and it's quite stunning to realize how brittle the Hvitserk Empire was in its last decades. A good starting point for Europa Universalis, for sure.
Pick however many updates you want to write. Personally, I'd like to see what you can do in EU, but tie up whatever loose ends needing tying up first.
Your fancy "rules" don't apply to Hvitserks!
Looks like you folks will get two updates, based on screenshots. I know I normally do a great big wrap-up post too, but the last couple of Kings don't get a lot done, so we'll squeeze that in too. I'm hoping to give you guys the penultimate update this weekend!
Chapter 25: A king's adaptability
Suni III, King of Denmark (etc.), inherited an extremely unfavorable situation from his grandfather, Halfdan V. The once vast estates of the Empire of Britannia now consisted of a single Thanedom in Jorvik and a castle in Cornwall. For the first two years of his reign, Suni III had a Regent, Snofrid of Denmark, the Queen Mother. The King's Council was well equipped with a perfectly adequate Chancellor and a skilled warrior as Marshal, but the lack of landed gentry ensured that other positions were poorly represented. The King himself was hardly an inspiring leader, even after the day of his coronation on 26 March 1352. He envied the other monarchs of Europe, even the other monarchs of Britannia, but was incredibly shy. He was unexceptional in every way, which made his accomplishment as King all the more remarkable.
The Regent did very little in her brief period in office. Some say that Suni was actually running the tiny kingdom from the day Halfdan V died, but there is no confirmation.
Gandalfr the Seer constantly insisted that he was a wizard; some people were less convinced, principally because he was often seen trying to read books upside down.
Suni III's rather striking mustache was his most notable feature, by far. It took him two years to figure out which end of Skullsplitter to hold.
Suni's first responsibility was to ensure continuity; to that end, he and his Queen produced an heir, named Halfdan. With the future of the Hvitserks preserved, Suni III made it his mission to expand his realm. For that, he needed an army, which would take time and money. Multiple nobles offered him the chance to join their fights, but Suni III did not want to launch into warfare without careful preparation. After much internal debate, Suni decided that the easiest target was Dyflinn, Irland. Irland would be a suitable place to build up his power until he was ready to launch an invasion of England. What was more, even those who despised the Hvitserks acknowledged their claim to the Jarldom. This war, which began in 1354, initially went very well. Unfortunately, Halfdan V had not left much gold to his grandson, and the treasury was rapidly emptied. When the forces of Denmark were thwarted in battle, the King of Irland imposed a hefty sum on Suni, which effectively bankrupted the kingdom. Without money to pay troops, crime ran rampant. By 1357, after ruling for only seven years, Suni III was stricken with consumption out of the sheer stress being the King had imposed upon him.
The birth of Halfdan was such a joyous occasion that when the second son of Suni was born a few weeks later, Suni III didn't bother to give him a name. When the scribes asked him, the King replied, "Oh, any odd name will do." Thus, the second son was named Odd.
The first target of Suni III.
If not for the general's magnificent red beard, the loss at Dyflinn might have been total.
These three portraits were painted within two months of each other. Since Suni lacked the money to pay the artist for his commission, the artist used the same canvas three times and stole the paint.
What changed everything was, strangely enough, a visit from Odin. Odin rarely looked kindly on the Hvitserks, for whatever reason, but Suni was different. Odin not only healed the King of Denmark, he helped the Kingdom recover in its darkest hour. Given the next campaigns of Suni, however, it might be argued that Odin only wanted to prolong the suffering of the Hvitserks. An invasion of Dyfed, in Wales, went as poorly as the Irish expedition had gone. The King had no choice but to take the field, and fared predictably poorly. Suni III decided that he needed to get better at warfare, and started looking through the books of Erling the Great. Some of these books had gone undisturbed for decades, but instead of kindling an interest in the occult, Suni was enraptured by the accounts of the campaigns of days past, most of which have been lost to this day. The only reason modern historians know anything at all about some of the earliest wars of the Hvitserks is from Suni III's Commentaries.
In 1366, Suni III embarked on his third campaign: the capture of Dunholm. Dunholm had several advantages over his previous conquest targets, principle among them being the fact that the Thanedom was directly north of Jorvik. Without as far to travel, the royal armies were more rested, and struck several blows against the enemy. Unfortunately, generals died at an alarming rate. With no other options, Suni himself again took the field. He was once again defeated in battle, but the previous successes had earned enough credibility for the Kingdom of Denmark that Dunholm signed a White Peace. Suni III's pride was hurt, but nothing else.
"The Healing of Suni III" was originally painted by Suni's young son Halfdan. Halfdan was not the brightest child, and clearly painted his father as a woman.
This painting was hung in the Marshal's chambers of Castle Jorvik as a supposed inspiration for victory.
Suni III, unlike some of his predecessors, was not as thin-skinned, and accepted the juxtaposition of his own defeat in Wales with a portrait of him leading the charge with some grace.
The scribe who wrote the introduction to the Commentaries has never been identified. The artist was a bit of an idiot, deciding that the top of someone's head was more important than their face.
This series of paintings was commissioned by a wealthy Irish nobleman, who gave them to Suni III as a joke. The note accompanying it said "You bastards are about as likely to conquer Irland as I am to have pigs fly out of my ass."
Shortly after the signing of the Peace of Dunholm came the news that the Chancellor, Oddr, had died. Suni III tried to claim that Odd, his second son, was named after Oddr, but nobody seriously accepted that explanation, especially since Oddr and the King were never very close. In the short term, it meant that Suni lacked a capable lieutenant. Ivar Evangelosson was literate, but that was about the extent of his qualities. Holmger, the uncle of Suni, returned to Jorvik when his wife was arrested, and for a time, he served as Chancellor. Holmger is given credit for one of the most important decisions in the life of Suni III: the decision to stop fighting alone. Holmger convinced Suni that the reason that he had failed at Dunholm was not poor warriors; it was that the Thane of Dunholm could claim many friends, but Suni could claim none.
In 1370, Halfdan, Prince of Denmark came of age. Holmger was a capable tutor for the Prince, and Halfdan learned much under his leadership. Better still, Halfdan married the daughter of the King of the Sweden, cementing a powerful ally for Denmark. For all Holmger had achieved in his brief time as Chancellor, he was elderly, and before he died, he recommended to Suni a replacement: the uncrowned Emperor of Britannia, Halfdan VI. Halfdan VI had briefly served as Chancellor elsewhere, and he was well qualified to take up the position of Chancellor in Denmark. With the advice of Halfdan VI, Suni III won his first victory, conquering the Temple of St. Peters, which he gave to Halfdan VI as a present. Not everyone was pleased with the victory; Suni III found himself under the threat of assassination from his own son, who did not lack for ambition and wanted to be King himself.
Some historians have considered Ivar Evangelosson as the writer of the introduction to the Commentaries based on his haircut. However bright his haircut might have been, Ivar was decidedly an uninspiring leader.
If Holmger had been twenty years younger, he would have remained Chancellor for years. His decision to step aside and let a younger man rule spoke very highly of his character.
The presentation of Halfdan as a man was marked by some controversy. Instead of waiting for the Prince's marriage, which was a week after he turned 16, the artist insisted on painting Halfdan's portrait as rapidly as possible.
Halfdan VI learned much at the court of Halsten van Zierikzee. Specifically, he learned that there was a nobleman named Halsten van Zierikzee, which meant he knew more about that distinguished gentleman than most of Europe.
Halfdan VI shined as Chancellor. Even though he never officially considered himself anything but Emperor of Britannia, in reality, he and King Suni III made an excellent team.
The Temple of St. Peters remains one of the largest in England to this day, later consecrated as the official Temple of all the Hvitserks. Most of the Emperors were re-buried there over the years, as were the Kings of Denmark and their successors.
Suni III's reply to Rognfrid the Spymaster was a hearty "boys will be boys!" Halfdan, Prince of Denmark, never suffered any sort of punishment for trying to kill his father.
The second War for Dunholm was far more successful than the first. Suni was a big part of the reason why; he had carefully studied military treatise after military treatise, mastering the basics of strategy. He learned a lot from those study sessions, enough to command the left flank at the Battle of Skardaborg. That victory was enough to secure Dunholm for the Hvitserks, which led to a second victorious campaign in Irland. One more in Cumberland was enough to secure a capable buffer for Suni III, now called King Suni the Great. Teviotdale fell as well, as did Connacht. The Danish armies gained more and more steam, so much so that Halfdan VI was able to convince several lords to swear fealty to Suni III rather than risk bloody conquest.
Yet Suni's successes came at a price. Halfdan, Prince of Denmark, died of smallpox at the tender age of 29. The new heir to the throne, Odd, was totally illiterate but a skilled warrior. Suni had Odd plan some of the later campaigns to give him experience as a general. The Prince's lack of diplomacy had Suni prophesize many rebellions for his second son, and to fight them off and keep the new Kingdom of Denmark intact, Odd would need that experience. Suni III died at the age of 71, and while he had hardly created a new Empire for the Hvitserks, he had at least given them respectable holdings once again. It remained for his son to gain more even land, a difficult task, given how old Odd was when he took the throne.
The victory of Skardaborg made the otherwise obscure village a household name. Winning a great triumph, either in war or in life, became known as "seizing your Skardaborg."
Dunholm was the stepping stone to greater things for the Kingdom of Denmark.
The death of Halfdan, Prince of Denmark, was a terrible time in Suni's life. However, many historians have privately thought to themselves that his death at least made the issue of "which Halfdan are we talking about" a far simpler one.
Odd was so poorly regarded by his father and most of the Kingdom that this is the only portrait of Odd in his youth. The next portrait done of Odd would be at his coronation, at age 51. Odd had two things going for him: his impressive beard and his skill in combat.
The lands of the Hvitserks were not nearly as vast as they had been, but Suni III nonetheless was properly known as the Great. He took virtually nothing and conquered half of Irland and a good chunk of England.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special bonus images: the Hvitserks before Ragnarok! I took these because I was going to export the older save to EU IV.
One more chapter to go, everyone!
- 1
You gotta nab some more titles so that you can make people swear fealty to you. Or just beat them all up in war. That's probably more Odd's speed.
I just realized your Seer is named Gandalfr. You would think he'd have better stats with that name. Guess he just needs to become Gandalfr the White first.
The game is really making you work to get those titles back. I'm excited to see how the empire looks in EUIV.
The game is really making you work to get those titles back. I'm excited to see how the empire looks in EUIV.
I appreciated the character development around Suni III, and him loosing a lot of wars before getting skilled advisors does make sense from an RP-perspective.
The Fylkyrate and Empire will rise again !
The game surely was interesting to follow with the Empire crumbling like this and now watching the Hvitserk complete their domination of the Islands.
I also must praise the comedy aspect of the images description
The game surely was interesting to follow with the Empire crumbling like this and now watching the Hvitserk complete their domination of the Islands.
I also must praise the comedy aspect of the images description
Yeah, Odd is going to have a somewhat rough time of it.
I just realized your Seer is named Gandalfr. You would think he'd have better stats with that name. Guess he just needs to become Gandalfr the White first.
The game is really making you work to get those titles back. I'm excited to see how the empire looks in EUIV.
I am too!
The best part of writing these AARs is that I almost never consciously play an RP format, so I'm justifying everything after the fact. In reality, I just got into a bunch of wars I probably shouldn't have.
The Fylkyrate and Empire will rise again !
The game surely was interesting to follow with the Empire crumbling like this and now watching the Hvitserk complete their domination of the Islands.
I also must praise the comedy aspect of the images description
Thank you!
I am working on the final update as I write this!
Chapter 26: A bountiful harvest
Odd I of Denmark had waited a long time to hold power. While he respected his father's achievements, he thought that Suni III had been weak. Odd was a man of action, one who would never cow to outside forces. One of the long standing proverbs associated with his reign was that "Denmark has no friends; it has only brothers and victims." Odd was completely illiterate, and so many of the documents attributed to him during his reign were actually written by his son and heir, Prince Odd. The Prince had not completely digested all of the lessons from the Royal Chancellor, but he had learned enough to make himself useful. True to his word, mere days after Odd I took the throne, the King ordered an invasion of Breifne, which he won in due course.
Over the first few years of his reign, Odd worked on his ability to intimidate his enemies. What his father called "diplomacy", Odd called "do what I say or you'll get the business end of Skullsplitter." Both tactics were at least somewhat effective, but unlike Suni the Great, King Odd dealt with rebels throughout his reign. One of those rebellions was led by his wife, Queen Gjertrud. Never a man for great subtlety, Odd ordered the murder of his wife. Even when his Spymaster told him that such a move was premature and probably quite likely to fail, the King insisted. Sure enough, the Queen was killed, but the King's involvement was almost immediately detected. In the middle of a soon-to-be-victorious war with Viesafjord, the King produced his third son, the first with his new Queen: Halfdan.
The process of painting the royal coronation portrait was somewhat challenging because the artist could not confer to the King the idea of a "smile." The disgruntled smirk that did appear in his painting was the result of twelve canvases and thirteen artists. I should add that those were not done simultaneously.
The Prince's portrait, if possible, inspired even more terror than his father's. The sight of a completely hairless man signalled to many Norsemen a second Ragnarok.
The interrogation of the driver was a cause for concern for every single Norseman except one: the King. Odd had expected the driver to give up his name. Of course, that didn't mean that the driver didn't become personally acquainted with Skullsplitter upon his release.
King Odd's third son, Halfdan, was no more cause for celebration than any of his other children. Calling him a terrible father actually implies that he tried. The only sons he paid attention to were his adult sons, and even then with extreme reluctance.
In 1422, King Odd (called "The Unready" by a few politicos who rarely lived to make the joke twice) decided to embark on the path of knowledge, to learn how to read. The occasion of this decision was an uprising by Jarl Sigurdr of Hlymrek. In a rare decision that took place a few years earlier, Odd relinquished his title to the Kingdom of Brittany; Odd had never cared much for France and was perfectly happy to see the back of it. He did not want any more of France than he could help. To the Jarl of Hlymrek, it signalled weakness. The Irish Rebellion was not as easily won as his previous wars. To understand the mind of his enemy and learn how to achieve great victories, he wanted to read the Commentaries of his father.
Odd's victory was followed up by a second war to expand the realm still further. Odd personally captured the King of Bertangaland and imprisoned him, often taking time out of his busy day to torture the King. To prevent another war, Odd dissolved the Kingdom of Bertangaland (formerly known as Brittany) and refused to hear any more talk of it. His biggest war was with Sweden over some provinces in western England. During this war, Halfdan VI, the Last Emperor of Britannia, died of illness. Some claimed that the death of Halfdan VI weakened Odd's resolve. Indeed, Odd did sign a white peace treaty with Sweden rather than insist upon a victory. However, it was not the death of Halfdan that concerned the King; he simply strategically sought to expand in Irland, securing that island for the Hvitserks, rather than worrying about the less easily defended English coast. Despite being 75, Odd insisted on leading the expedition for Kildare himself. He was struck in the battle, fell comatose, and died a few months later.
"You're welcome to it, you swine," was Odd's response to Skuli of Hlymrek. He did kill the messenger out of general principle. "Always kill the messenger" was another of Odd's maxims that later rulers of Denmark took to heart.
The death of Halfdan VI was one of the saddest days in the history of the family Hvitserk. With Halfdan died the dreams of a massive Empire. The name "Britannia" was effectively erased from history, in what some historians later termed "The Turn to the East."
More than a few courtiers insisted on making sure that Odd wasn't pretending to be comatose before acknowledging that they were free from the terror of constant murder.
Odd II inherited, along with his various titles, a war. Odd II certainly didn't shy away from war, but neither did he embrace it. He was a more gentle ruler most of the time than his father had been, but when he was in a mood, he could be as vicious as anyone. The massive treasuries he took from his father were spent, for example, to assassinate uncooperative noblemen. Odd I preferred to keep his enemies in front of him; so did Odd II, only he wasn't as particular which way the person was facing. Odd II's unpredictable rages made him at least as feared as his father, if not more so.
One of his most important tools was his Spymaster and half-brother, Halfdan. After Halfdan died, however, murdered by one of the more recalcitrant noblemen, there was effectively no check on Odd II's madness. He fought rebellions and enemies with equal ferocity and viciousness. For all of Odd I's brutality, it was a soldier's brutality. Odd I could be cruel, but he also faced the same risks as the people he imperiled. Odd II did not.
Yet for all of his faults, Odd II did expand the realm. His people were reasonably safe, generally calm, and usually decent. Odd II in his worst moods was something to be feared, but in his best moods, he was a builder and a father to his people. Gradually, Odd's arbitrary cruelty lessened. Guttorm, the heir to the throne, took on some of the king's responsibilities. The transformation was so shocking that the name "Good King Odd" was seriously used for the second king of that name. He was as willing to use the axe to expand as he always had been, but he was a politician now.
No historian is quite certain what accounts for this remarkable turnaround, but everyone agrees that 1444 is when the change happened. The dream of Britannia was dead and buried, but the dream of Scandinavia, of uniting all the Norse under one banner... that dream lived on.
Odd II's coronation portrait is still sometimes covered in the more tasteful art houses of Europe. The idea of an entirely hairless Hvitserk was a nightmare to frighten children for some time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonus images!
The first map is the world map; please don't ask me which colors mean which countries, since I don't have CKII installed any longer.
The second map is the religious map of Europe; noble grey marks the lands of the Norse. Thus concludes this AAR. I hope you've all enjoyed it; I know I enjoyed writing it! The more alert of you will detect that my goals for EUIV have changed, at least somewhat. This is partially due to somebody else recently posting an AAR where the Norse took over the United States (unless I imagined it), but I'm also more intrigued by spending the first century or so expanding to cover (and form) Scandinavia. I found it in EUIV that I'm in the Eastern Tech group, which means I'm less likely to colonize, but you never can tell.
As far as when we sally forth into EUIV, I can't say for certain. I need to put my nose to the proverbial grindstone once again, in an effort to finish editing my dissertation so that I can get this thing defended and finished. I shouldn't think I'll be ready to write again until mid-March, but you never know. The prologue might be a bit sooner than that, as we explain some of the (minor) changes between this map and the map I end up with in EUIV.
Thank you all for reading!
- 3
1444 is indeed a time of change, the beginning of an era with Hvitserk men without spectacular facial hair ruling the kingdom.
Judging by what little I can garner from those messy maps, it looks like the Catholics of Europe are going to be hard pressed by Muslims from the south and Norse from the north.
I am willing to wait for the EUIV portion. Don't want it distracting you from your dissertation.
Judging by what little I can garner from those messy maps, it looks like the Catholics of Europe are going to be hard pressed by Muslims from the south and Norse from the north.
I am willing to wait for the EUIV portion. Don't want it distracting you from your dissertation.
Great ending to an equally great first installement of this megacampaign! You started of as Norse duke of Jorvik, but ended up as a Norwegian king of Denmark, so I guess Scansdinavian ambitions do fit in. Interesting to see what the second coming of house Hviteserk will continue to bring!
Messy CK2 maps as usual, but to which EU4 version will it convert? The latest?
Messy CK2 maps as usual, but to which EU4 version will it convert? The latest?
Bits and pieces everywhere... It'll be interesting to see what you can build from the rubble, once the Hvitserks return. All those centuries, all that work, and CK only grants you a paltry 10,000 points? That, and the remarkably long-lived Suni make me suspect there are some issues with that final tally.
Great fun to read despite some images not loading. Looking forward to the EU4 follow up.