Mead and Blood

[The Kingmaker]

“Conscience is but a word that cowards use, devised at first to keep the strong in awe: our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law.” - Richard III Act V, Scene III

INTRODUCTION​

As I was mulling over my pending updates in my other current AARs, Omentide and Sundered Nation, I found myself drawn back to Anglo-Saxon England, my "first love," historically speaking. This is not the first or even the second time I have pondered an Anglo-Saxon narrative, but it is the earliest chronologically. This is not the story of Harold Godwinson driving out the Normans in 1066, nor even of Alfred the Great beating back the Danes starting in 867.

The year is 757, and this is the story of the kings of Mercia and their tempestuous and bloody struggle to wrest the island of Britannia from the other kindreds and kingdoms. It is a tale of intrigue, betrayal, and war, and perhaps at the very end, of unity and hope.

As with my other stories, from time to time I will use narrative constructs to try to explain unusual in-game quirks, making it a combination of in-game events and my internal “head-canon.” It will be mostly narrative with sporadic history book updates and will feature motion picture stills and a soundtrack just like my other AARs.

***

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Æthelbald Gamol (716-757)
King of the Myrcna • King of the Southern Ængelcynn
Prologue: Æthelbald’s Wyrd
Lore: The Tribes of the Myrcna

Beornræd Swica (757- )
King of the Myrcna
Chapter 1: The Maiden
Lore: Noble Houses of the Myrcna
Chapter 2: A Fool's Hope
Lore: Anglo-Saxon Runes and Letters

***

SOUNDTRACK

Mead and Blood
Æthelbald’s Wyrd
Cynedōm Mierċe
The Traitor King

***

ACCOLADES

Weekly AAR Showcase - 3 December 2023
ACA Favorite Crusader Kings III AAR - Q4 2023
Character WritAAR of the Week - 31 March 2024

"Not sure what's more impressive: the prose, the detailed historical background or the fascinating linguistic breakdown." - @Lord Durham

"Hƿæt! Þæt wæs gōd spell!" - @Emissary of the Prophets

"[A] very interesting read… Wonderful, a true mark of a writAAR going above and beyond." - @Nikolai

"Awesome stuff, I always loved the Mercians." - @Flinteroon

“Lovely deconstruction of what should be a very familiar world.” - @DensleyBlair

"Magnificent wordplay and [an] unexpected tale… This could be the deepest thread in AARLand that I've found so far.
Learning something almost daily from reading just the comments here." - @Chac1

​

 

[The Kingmaker]

PROLOGUE: ÆTHELBALD'S WYRD

“And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” - Matthew 10:36

Music: Æthelbald’s Wyrd​

9 March, A.D. 757
Secandun, Mierċe

As the hearth light dimmed, King Æthelbald rubbed his left eye. He took another long draught from his drinking horn. Mead was the beverage of choice for most of his retainers, but he had always preferred wine, and regularly imported his favorite vintage from Francia at great cost.

He nuzzled the swan-like neck of the young woman seated in his lap. Æthelbald briefly thought about giving her another tumble, but it was already the wee hours and he was growing weary.

“Right, off you go,” he said, giving her an encouraging smack on her rear as she leaned over to retrieve her veil. The girl forced an awkward giggle. “My compliments to the abbess as always,” the king slurred.

The old lecher had a longstanding arrangement with Abbess Winefride, who regularly provided nubile young novices for the king to carouse with. In return, he enriched the nunnery with substantial “charitable donations” from the royal coffers.

He yawned loudly as the girl scampered off, her habit in a jumble and her veil askew.

Of course, not all of the clergy were so accommodating. That pompous windbag Boniface had even written him a letter accusing him of “deepest ignominy” before the old fool had gotten himself martyred by heathens. There was no merit in the accusation that their lord was a despoiler of churches—at least not when the prelates paid him his dues. Æthelbald smiled to himself. It was good to be the king.

The old man’s joints creaked as he rose from the table and staggered to the doors of the great hall. Nature called.

The king sighed as he relieved himself against the outer wall of the great hall. He had clearly had too much wine—was there even such a thing?

A twig snapped somewhere behind him, followed by a few soft footfalls on the grass.

“Give an old man some peace, Ordgar,” the king mumbled, assuming it was his manservant.

Hearing no response, the old man looked over his shoulder and was shocked to see about a dozen of his hearth-guards, armed with cudgels and daggers.

“What is this?” sputtered Æthelbald, fumbling for his belt knife.

A cloaked man shoved his way to the front of the small crowd, his sword drawn. “Milord,” the man smirked, giving the king a small, mocking bow.

“Beornræd,” spat the king, recognizing the man as one of his more troublesome nobles, “I should have guessed. So it’s treason, then?”

“Can it be treason when the king is an arrant knave?” scowled Beornræd, “A robber and a murderer? It’s remarkable how easily your hearth-guards’ loyalty was bought for just a handful of silver.” He gestured to his small band of supporters.

“Fools,” growled Æthelbald, “I could have paid you twice what this wretch can. I’m your king, for Christ’s sake! Now, I’ll have your heads for this treachery!”

“The devil take your silver,” said one of the guards, “This is for what you did to my sister!” The man stepped forward and rammed his long seax into the king’s belly.

Æthelbald gasped in shock and agony, warm blood suddenly bubbling to his lips. Another guard’s blow glanced off his ribs, while a third impacted between his shoulders.

As the king's lifeblood began to ebb away, the merciless faces of his erstwhile bodyguards began to blur, their voices a cacophony of enmity all around the old man as they struck him again and again with bludgeon and blade.

“…Murdered my nephew!” “…Stole my daughter’s maidenhead!” “…Refused to pay his wergild!” “…Disinherited my house!”

The world began to spin until something hard and wet rushed up to strike him in the face. The half-frozen mud felt surprisingly cold against the old man's cheek.

The traitors continued to spew invectives, but the fallen king was already beyond hearing.

***​

Author’s note: Æthelbald of Mercia was one of the longest reigning monarchs in the history of medieval Britain. By the end of his 41-year reign, he was overlord of all Angles and Saxons south of the River Humber. He was even toying with a new title: “Rex Britanniæ.” Although he was a powerful king, the chroniclers strongly condemned his hedonism and immorality. Among the many sins which St. Boniface recounts in his epistle to the king are adultery, fornication with nuns, homicide, plundering churches and monasteries, allowing his vassals to use violence and oppression against the clergy, and worst of all, his failure to marry. Given his less than sterling reputation, Æthelbald’s violent murder by his own bodyguards in A.D. 757 is not particularly surprising. Even so, this gruesome incident is but a shadow of the dark days that lie ahead for the Kingdom of Mercia.

 

[Emissary of the Prophets]

Hƿæt! Þæt wæs gōd spell! This period is a favorite of mine, as well.

 

[HistoryDude]

Yep, that assassination seems deserved. Anglo-Saxon England is a period that I don't know much about, but what little I do know seems fascinating.

I imagine that you will have to deal with the Vikings eventually.

Also, how are you playing in 757? A mod?

 

[Nikolai]

A despoiler of the clergy in itself is an affront to God, and thus deserving punishment. Surely the nobles were in the right.

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Emissary of the Prophets: Thanks for commenting, friend. I agree, it’s such a compelling period, with a lot of possibilities for intriguing narratives that have impactful consequences on later events. I’ve always been fascinated by their language and culture too.

@HistoryDude: Thanks for your comments! I hope this story will be an interesting introduction to the period for you then. You are correct in assuming that the Vikings will enter into this story at some point and will need to be addressed. As for the start, there is a CK3 mod that adds the 769 Age of Charlemagne start date from CK2, so that’s technically when the gameplay begins.

@Nikolai: Perhaps, although two wrongs seldom if ever make a right. Æthelbald was certainly a bad old man, but I neglected to mention that in that same epistle, St. Boniface also praises Æthelbald’s virtues: generous almsgiving; administering justice and quashing theft, perjury, and rapine; protecting widows and the poor; and establishing a long period of stability and peace. Can Beornræd say the same? Through his treachery and regicide, he has likely thrown the whole kingdom into anarchy and may have even caused a civil war, since the unmarried king had no legitimate heirs. We’ll have to wait and see what the full fallout of the king’s murder will be. As always, thanks for reading, my friend!

 

[Emissary of the Prophets]

I’ve always been fascinated by their language and culture too.

As a language nerd, it's unsurprising that their language, "rich and rolling in parts, and else hard and stern as the mountains," as the Professor put it, is no small part of what draws me to the period. (If you haven't read Tolkien's translation of Beowulf, I recommend it. I love Heaney's for its own merits and beauty, but Tolkien preserves the Anglo-Saxon feel of it better, which should come as no surprise.)

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Emissary of the Prophets: Well said. Although I'm sure even the Professor would agree that nothing matches the elegance of the original Ænglisċ:

"Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum, þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon..."

I regret only that I am not well-versed enough in the old tongue to differentiate between the Westseaxna and Myrcna dialects for this story.

Perhaps if there was a translation in the "original Klingon."

 

[filcat]

Glad that you have returned to the kingdom of ck3 for aars, though not caring about the setting (absolute nought interest for the anglo-saxons). Nevertheless, even more glad that it is a story (tired of seeing gameplays); very good opening, good characterisation, and fine music as a bonus. Kudos.

But does this mean that The Carolingian Renaissance is officially declared to be discontinued?

 

[The Kingmaker]

@filcat: Thanks very much for your comments and support. Sorry Saxon Britain does not appeal to you, but hopefully I can craft a narrative intriguing enough to hold your interest. Very glad you liked the music too. I’ve carefully chosen each piece to fit the mood, but sometimes readers scroll past them.

My current active AARs are Omentide, Sundered Nation, and this one. I may well revisit the Carolingian story at some point if I feel I can do it justice. I may even incorporate some elements I had planned for that story into this one if it’s a good fit. We are in the Age of Charlemagne now, after all.

 

[Nikolai]

@Nikolai: Perhaps, although two wrongs seldom if ever make a right. Æthelbald was certainly a bad old man, but I neglected to mention that in that same epistle, St. Boniface also praises Æthelbald’s virtues: generous almsgiving; administering justice and quashing theft, perjury, and rapine; protecting widows and the poor; and establishing a long period of stability and peace. Can Beornræd say the same? Through his treachery and regicide, he has likely thrown the whole kingdom into anarchy and may have even caused a civil war, since the unmarried king had no legitimate heirs. We’ll have to wait and see what the full fallout of the king’s murder will be. As always, thanks for reading, my friend!

Totally true. Just trying to be hyping it up here. Sounds like the king was a bastard, with a ticket to hell, so to speak. But murdering the king? Not a good start for any reign.

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Nikolai: Yep, exactly right. Beornræd has just flipped the proverbial table on the entire kingdom and there will certainly be repercussions.

 

[Flinteroon]

Will you continue the line of the legendary Iclingas as Offa, or will you continue playing as the usurper who is destined to get killed by Offa?

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Flinteroon: A very astute question. We'll have to wait and see what happens. All I can promise right now is that we will definitely see the major players from each of the prominent Anglo-Saxon lineages that you would expect to see in this period. Thanks for your comments!

 

[Nikolai]

@Nikolai: Yep, exactly right. Beornræd has just flipped the proverbial table on the entire kingdom and there will certainly be repercussions.

Somehow, Palpat....no, wrong story. I foresee a dire end for the regiciding madman, but not before a LOT of stuff goes wrong. Am I right?

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Nikolai: Haha! Well, this is the eighth century, after all. Not a whole lot of kings and lords tended to die in their beds back then...

 

[Chac1]

Glad I stumbled across this at the beginning!

Even so, this gruesome incident is but a shadow of the dark days that lie ahead for the Kingdom of Mercia.

Sounds like the king was a bastard, with a ticket to hell, so to speak. But murdering the king? Not a good start for any reign.

Perhaps not a great start for a reign but the perfect start for an AAR. What is it they tell us? Start with the murder, of course.
I will definitely be reading along, even if there are no Klingon quotations.

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Chac1: Glad to have you aboard! Thanks for your comments. I hope you enjoy the story. Maybe someday after ST:I gets a few patches, I will write that Klingon AAR that I was contemplating too. Gowron would be a superb protagonist!

 

[Chac1]

@Chac1: Glad to have you aboard! Thanks for your comments. I hope you enjoy the story. Maybe someday after ST:I gets a few patches, I will write that Klingon AAR that I was contemplating too. Gowron would be a superb protagonist!

Indeed. As I have said before, I promise to read it too. Until then, this one looks excellent. Great out of the blocks start.
(And my ST:I experience was poor at the start too. Coming back later when all the patches are in and it gets some of its ST-lore straightened out.)

 

[The Kingmaker]

@Chac1: Thanks so much for your support and your kind words. And agreed re: the need for some lore fixes in ST:I.