From Morgannwg to Glory! Er, that doesn't sound right...
So, here we are, on the lovely spring morning of April the third, Anno Domini 1072:
!!! William really does have it in for me it seems. It seems he also had the Bishop of Dyfed excommunicated. Hang on, the Bishop? Wasn't that place ruled by the Duke of Deheubarth?
Oh, Dyfed is way over there now? Apparently the cartographers have made a new map of Wales, so we now have 5 new counties in our glorious land. To my annoyance, I notice my territories are no longer considered part of the rightful lands of the Duchy of Deheubarth, so I can't claim to be the Duke of that anymore. They do, however, mention a couple of theoretical new Duchies, but apparently nobody has declared themselves as Duke of Morgannwg or Powys. Yet. We'll see about that! Hang on, Morgannwg? I thought we lived in Glamorgan? Oh well, I guess it's allright, it has Morgan in it after all! I have to say, i'm growing quite fond of this new map, there's apparently even some island with Welshmen living on it.
... But whoever embroidered these versions with the forts and Coats of Arms must have been either drunk, blind, or both.
The Duke of Dauphine offers to help with my English Problem, but what's he going to de with 2 provinces in the middle of France?
See? Excommunicated. At least we have something in common to talk about.
At least I still own Gwent, even if I don't have a claim on Dyfed anymore, but instead on these two new neighbouring provinces.
This man above is the former Count of Gwent, my rival, and currently the spymaster of some faraway Scottish Count.
What is it with these Spanish "Kings", didn't Navarra already ask me for an alliance? And now Aragon?
Instead, I ask Philippe Capet, the King of France, to ally with me against the English Menace, William the Conqueror. He declines, the frenchman that he is. Then I receive word that the King of Scotland has laid claims on my titles, the traitor! Why does a Scotsman consort with that Anglo-Saxon fiend?
In August, Battering Rams spread to Gwent. At first, some idiot at my court thinks it's some ferocious new breed of wild sheep, that charge wantonly at bypassers. Anyway, they tell me they were invented in Morgannwg sometime between now and April, but everybody forgot to tell me. This is good news, now knocking down those nasty fortress walls should be that much faster. The County of Morgannwg, Land of Plenty (tm) is apparently the only place in the British Isles that this technology is known in.
Us Welsh and the Scots apparently have a leg up on those English swine with defensive terrain, too.
There was some alarm and shouts of invasion when rumours spread of ships heading our way, but it seems the Duchy of Munster is actually attacking the Bishopric of Dyfed. Because they're excommunicated. I guess we should be scared after all.
Even Ulaid has laid claim to the County of Dyfed, so in return, I grab his title. I also set my regiment from Gwent to march west to Morgannwg and raise the regiment there. I'm told it's now quite a bit smaller due to the income of the province being smaller, which i'm told is because the borders were redrawn slightly. On the way I note that Deheubarth is now at war not only with Munster, but also with Connacht and Lothairn or Lothain or some similarly named Scottish place. All for defending his excommunicated vassal.
An envoy from yet another Spanish King (how many are there?) arrives, requesting I consider an alliance with his liege. I decline, because I wouldn't be able to beat even the weakest heathen realm bordering his.
I may be non-confrontational and a pretty nice, decent Christian chap all around, but I insist! These are my the lands that my great-great-grandfather united as one for the first time! The Duchy was named after him!
My bad reputation seems to cause some stress to my wife. She's my steward, not my chancellor. That solidifies my resolve to conquer Ulaid for a nice Irish getaway. Give her a taste of home. See, I raised those regiments for a reason, not just for parades. I send my troops sailing towards Ulaid, but . Him being Cú Uladh, Count of Ulaidh. Not quite as cool a name as Cadwgan ap Meurig Morgan, Duke of Morgannwg, but i'll let him in the Club. What club, you say? Well, read on...
Hm? Where was I? Anyway, while my troops are boarding the ships to Ireland, I receive word that one of my second cousins once removed has fallen ill, and it may be contagious. He's the third one on that list thing there. Only Hawis is mine. I therefore send envoys to the nearby Celtic Dukes, asking if they'd like to raise some of these children I have running around in my court. They must think i'm offering late-arriving Christmas presents or something, because it's the 27th of December, so during the next couple of months they all accept. I decide on a court education for Hawis, then send her to warmer climes in Bretagne.
Roger is the son of my old friend, William FitzOsbern de Breteul. Me and Fitz (I never call him William) are part of the Cool Names Club (yes, this is the Club). They're ok, even if they actually are loyal subjects (the Counts of Gloucester and Hereford, respectively) of the King of England.
As our ships pass the Isle of Man and approach Ulaid, I order a boat to be sent ahead with an envoy, informing the resident Count that he is now at war. Then I take a nap, so my admiral apparently goes looking for the Inner Hebrides but fails to find them, so we turn around, back towards Ulaid. Finally! A battle! It's been over two years since the last one, and I was MADE for leading from the front lines!
How will the battle go? Will Caradwg and his advisors be able to handle three counties with only the authority of a Count? How much debt will they occur from this war? Is the Conqueror sleeping on his throne, or poised to strike at the Welsh he has had excommunicated?
