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Slasher

Second Lieutenant
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Jun 5, 2006
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Okay, I thought I would try this out, basically playing Crusader Kings on medium difficulty using Scotland. I am not too good at the game yet, but I will see how I go, I did good on easier difficulties but so far when I have played on medium difficulty I have pretty much spent my time trying to build up some resemblance of strength against the threat of the English. I will pretty much keep it fairly unhistorical, because Scotland got owned....so I will not be doing research on Scottish history etc. the images posted will mostly be in game images, I will try not to be text heavy, but we will see how it goes. Any ideas to make the AAR better or tactics etc. is greatly appreciated. If I do good and don't get bored a grand campaign may be in order...hopefully I am not eliminated in the first few years. I know that there is a Scotland AAR already on here, that's why I posted this on the RTR forums for the past few weeks, but I decided 'screw it' and decided to post...I am about up to chapter six on the RTR forums so I will post one chapter a day until I catch up.

Prologue: State of the region

Malcolm Dunkeld is the ruler of the Kingdom of Scotland. Below is his realm and the nobles which make up his realm.
malcolmcourt9ma.jpg

realm2hq.jpg

Neighbouring nation politics

England

The kingdom of England, the foremost nation in the British Isles is going through a time of instability. William the Conqueror has just take rule of the nation and aims to keep the Saxon people from rising up while still keeping control of the united England. This is done by dividing his land into vassals among his loyal nobles who helped him in the invasion of England. England, even though rich and strong will be forced to keep her vassals under control while still honouring her obligations to the world at large, either on the European continent where the lands of Normandy are in thier control, or through honouring thier nation and faith in crusades. When they get the chance they may attempt to bully the poorer nations around them, to gain more resources and land for thier purposes in the wider world.

Wales

Wales starts as a friendly group of provinces, waiting until the time they are united under a king strong enough to unite them all. They are much in the same situation as Scotland, sharing a land border with England and having limited resources to combat English aggression. Without acting smartly they may find themselves under the heel of the English. To survive they must be united under a king and expand into territories which are not in conflict with England.

The Irish states​

The island of Ireland is fragmented into a variety of regions, rarely coming to agreement on any issue, when they are at peace that is. They may become the exploding point of conflicts between the more organised nations of the region, as the nature of the states in Ireland could mean that stronger powers can pick them off one by one without the other Irish states doing anything about it, therefore their inaction may mean doom for thier own state, as they cannot possibly survive as the united nations of the British mainland in the broken up state they are in.

Norwegian Northern Scotland​

Somewhat of a peaceful region they are owned by Norway and could be a potential area for Scotland to expand into, even though the provinces are fairly poor the Norwegians coming to 'rescue' these regions would unworthy against the armies of Scotland, as the distance they have to travel to get a few poor regions is great and their travelling armies will be weak and tired by the time they get to Scotland. Included in this region is the Orkneys and the Shetland Islands.

In the throne room of Malcolm Dunkeld, King of Scotland, 1066​


Malcolm sat in the throne room as he often did pondering his nations future. His people were a proud nation of warriors yet were not blessed with the wealth they deserved, they had often survived in the past by raiding Northern England for its significant riches, yet Malcolm was now pondering a different course.
The new King of England was in the process of solidifying his rule and going through the process of linking his vassals to the English throne, as opposed to the relative free reign the Saxon vassals previously got, a noted example of this was the challenge the Godwinson family often posed to Edward the Confessor, which, in the new England the new king hoped that such strong vassals should be shut down, centralising the power in the English crown. This centralisation of English power would mean that raids on Northern England could mean that the power of Scotland would be crushed.

While deep in thought a courtier shuffled in, as he was called in a while ago by Malcolm earlier.

"You called for me your majesty?"
"Yes, I understand you are the senior of Scotlands courtiers is that correct?"
"Yes sir, as you understand we are the ones who take care of the business that your Highness does not have the time to take care of personally."
"Okay, well I would like you to do a job for me, it will change the face of Scotland and give your courtiers the duties that will help me carrying out my grand plans."
"Certainly your majesty, anything for our kingdom."
"I need you to form courtiers to carry out my plans in warfare, the economy, politics and in the, more dishonourable acts."
"A spy master my lord?"
"Yes of course, now come back with me once these people have been chosen, and I will tell them what must be done, and be quick about it, the longer we wait, the stronger our enemies get."

As the time passed Malcolm still sat thinking, the burden of a monarch is often unbearable, only the strongest of people can handle it effectively, Malcolms plan for the greatness of Scotland relied on the strength of his family line. A perfect mix between military prowess, diplomatic saavy and of course a little bit of religious enlightenment will keep his plan on track, to grow his nations strength until he is strong enough to take on the ultimate enemy, England, and then beyond to greatness, to the point where his nation is the strongest among all others. The Glory of the mighty Scottish people must be known among the people around the world, they must be feared and respected. This was his dream.

With thoughts of the grand Scottish empire running through his head a group walked in, accompanied by the head courtier.
"Your majesty, I have assembled the best courtiers in the fields you wanted to help you out."
"Thankyou, leave them here, I have plans to go over with them."
By this time it was late afternoon, while Malcolm and his new advisors sat around the table to draw up a plan that will hopefully make Scotland great. The plans put forward to the martial of the armies, the spy master and the steward in charge of the economy were basically a one for the future, the martial must train armies up so that in the future they will perform well and perhaps to prepare for campaigns in Ireland, which will act as a launching point for future invasions of England, the spy master must keep all foreign spies off Scottish soil, as well as stopping assassins, attacking spy activities or assasinations won't take place as of yet. The steward will act to keep the economy ticking yet still keeping thier vassals strong, hence vassal scutage will be eliminated. The chancellor has the most important job however, they must keep to English at bay and if they do in fact attack they must do all in thier power to cease the attack, whether it be giving away a province or paying them off. The chancellor will act to keep vassals happy while the Kingdom acquires and re-distributes thier land so as to be a better benifit to the kingdom and to the vassals themselves in the long run. Only time will tell. It was time to put the wheels in motion.
 
Welcome to the forum and good luck with your first AAR here. Scotland is always interesting to play.

Do you have any specific goals ? Besides beating England :)

And what is the RTR forum ?

EDIT
RTR = Roman Total War Realism
 
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Welcome slasher , i had a hintch you will come and join us :D
 
@Veldmaarschalk
Basically I aim to strengthen the Scottish Kingdom while also trying to make it an interesting read. I am also thinking of Grand Campaigning it if I get that far, I would love a mighty Scottish empire :p

@duhsveti
You guys followed me in starting a AAR of the RTR forums now I followed you to make it on the Paradox forums :p

Okay, I will have the first chapter soon enough.
 
Welcome to the forums. Good first post.
 
Chapter One:The Forging of a great nation

The Kingdom of Scotland, 1066
1066map6yr.jpg

This is how the Kingdom of Scotland looked in 1066, the dark green territorries are directly under the control of Malcolm Dunkeld while the rest are under control of his vassals.

King Malcolm was sitting with his new advisors talking about policy, they all agreed on two things, the need to centralise power in Scotland and the need to gain a powerful ally to deter England from attacking. A heavy weight was put on the shoulders of the chancellor, yet somehow the King thought that he would be able to handle it, the chancellor was his brother after all, Donald Dunkeld, the man Malcolm trusted so much he named his own son by the same name. As Donald walked off with his fellow advisors Malcolm gave him a pat on the shoulder as he walked past, him and his brother had never been openly warm to each other which caused simple displays as a pat on the shoulder to mean so much more. In Donalds mind this act showed to him that his brother respected and trusted him to do the right job, a King must stay restrained in all matters and this was out of Malcolms character. Donald was resolved to claim the lands off the vassals for the crown of Scotland, and who knows, if he does a good enough job perhaps he will get himself a County to look after, after all, Malcolm has always looked kindly upon family members.

The plan being put into action

Everyone was doing thier jobs, preparing, they were not sure what for exactly, but they knew whatever comes in the future needs to be met with a strong Scotland. Duncan had been busy indeed, forging an alliance with Norway, while watching them fight it out with Sweden and losing terribly, they sent envoys regularly to plead for support, and we sent them back saying they were already on their way, yet they never were, if Norway is bled dry we can take thier Northern Scottish colonies, yet if they still think we are on thier side for alot of the time they will help fend off the menace of England. Sources tell that the see-saw battle had come to a stand still until the Swedish eventually broke the back of the Norwegians, who were forced to give some land to the Swedish, yet such events do not concern the King of Scotland, he has other things to contend with.

18march1076foolishvassal1rm.jpg

The vassal situation has progressed greatly with many of Scotlands vassals agreeing to give up thier land for the glory of Scotland and the crown. Yet the Duke of Argyll, who ruled in the county of Moray, refused to give up the county of Ross. But sure enough on the 18th of March 1076 God showed his hand and the Duke had been struck down.

crusadeapr1810798wi.jpg

The Pope called for a crusade on April 18 1079 to free the Holy Land, although Malcolm agreed with the Crusade he could not possibly join, the treacherous English would surely attack his nation if he was not there, and he could not possibly allow that to happen, besides, a bishop has been appointed to Scotland by the Pope and the education of the children of nobles by the church has greatly helped the relationship between the church and the state.

It was September the 18th 1084 as messenger boy ran through the halls of the Scottish Kings palace. Malcolm was sorting through various information that had been given to him to make the best out of situations, in particular his alliance with Norway, pondering whether he should get involved and take some small county in disputed territory just outside of Norway. As he was drawing up logistical information to sort out the feasibility of the venture the double doors of the throne room swung open and a red faced sweaty messenger boy darted into the room. With a tremor in his voice he told ominous news.

"Your highness, England has declared war on us!"

sept181084englandwar5oy.jpg

With clear shock and anger in his face Malcolm stood up and stormed towards his throne.
"Is this some kind of joke boy?"
"Of course not your majesty, they are allied with Sweden and took the opportunity to claim for our throne. That is what Chancellor Dunkeld told me to say, he is currently in Cumberland pleading with the English diplomats for peace."
"Well you can tell my brother to no longer worry about it, we knew this day would come, and we cannot face it with cowardice, tell him to execute any diplomats, before you go send in my martial.

Within twenty minutes the Scottish martial swept into the throne room. Before the martial got the chance to speak Malcolm stepped up from his place on the throne out walked out of the room. The Martial knew better then to leave the room once he had been called by the King, as in situations such as these any monarch is in a foul mood. Within time out walked King Malcolm Dunkeld of Scotland in full battle armour, with a determined look on his face, and in a booming voice only a man of destiny could muster he announced.

"Prepare the troops....it's WAR!"
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Next chapter will contain the war with the English and the aftermath, and Scotland is hardly prepared for the battle that is coming yet they will have to summon all they can to ensure the survival of thier proud nation.
 
England's being adventuresome.
 
A classic opening move by Willy the Bastard, he will take Fife I am guessing :)

Or will the Norwegian vikings come to the aid of their Scottish ally, who has let them down in their war ?
 
COME ON THE BLUES!!!

Ayeshteni.
 
Interesting start. I always like to see AAR's of Celtic lands. War against England won't be easy. I hope that you didn't lose badly. Victory against England is hard to achieve in early stage of the game. I once succeeded in it, by attacking when most of English troops were in Jerusalem.
 
Chapter Two: The Rise and Fall of Legends​

King Malcolm Dunkeld of Scotland sat with his Martial for many hours deciding the plan of attack against the Kingdom of England. Thier enemies were definetely the better of the two forces, more money, more troops, not even the great fervour of the Scottish warriors could defeat such a force. Some of the commanders had supported defensive plans, paying off the English to not attack them and if that didn't work to fight defensively and trying to get off with as little loss as possible, whether it be land or money. But King Malcolm knew what such an action would do to the morale of his troops and the future of his nation, hence why he supported a vastly different plan. As the various commanders shuffled into the tent erected for the King and his planning duties the King sat silently on his large chair up the front of the room. When all had sat down the king still sat in silence, seemingly in a trance, finally after ten or so minutes the King stood up and begun to speak.

"I am aware that some of you have favoured defensive tactics and begging England for mercy. That will not happen in my Kingdom. I have devised a plan that will be risky yet bring glory to our nation for many decades to come if it is pulled off. Gentlemen, observe the plan that will save our nation."

With that a plan of attack was stuck to the board next to the king.

attackplan1uq.jpg

"At this very moment the finest, and not so finest, of fighting men are being called from all corner of the realm. The Scottish Grand Army shall cut through the fastest path to English home soil, the closer we get the more likely we can force a peace, with no tributes what so ever. The English in all thier cockiness will expect us to act defensively and beg them for peace until they can mass thier whole army and roll over our comparitively small army. This shall be thier folly. We shall bring the battle to thier very doorsteps, like the acts of Hannibal, we shall bring the fight to thier gates until they will scream that the Scots are coming!"

With that the commanders stood up in sheer exuberance, cheering at thier brilliant and hardy king, such an audacious plan, yet one that could work.The King spoke on.

"Gentlemen, your job is to keep your men in fighting condition at all times, we will be away from home for a long time and will journey far into enemy territory. You shall see many horrible things in battle yet we will cause the treacherous English to see even worse. For generations to come the English will be afraid, they will speak of thier defeat against a fierce race of warriors, of those who will become known around the world as the Heroes of the North!"

Deafening cheers were roused from the commanders, they, the leaders of the clans of Scotland, were eager for the blood of the English, thier fear had gone from the words of the King. They knew without a doubt thier Scottish fighting men would cause those English to fear any mention of the Scottish nation.

The Gathering of the Clans​

As the fighting men gathered in Cumberland with the King and the clan leaders the people left behind in thier homelands were in a tough situation, they had to take a fair load of the work left behind by the men who left to fight and also even if they wanted to they could not join the battle for the pride of thier nation. As the drums of war began to beat and the bagpipes played the men began to sing, to sing for thier nation, and the loves they left in thier clan lands. Some sang the same song, some others ones specific to thier clans, all saying the same thing, all of beautiful things in thier lives, the exact things many would die for. This went of for around half an hour as the men reflected on the things they were grateful for and then the things that were ahead of them. The drum beats quickened, the mens hearts raced, they were ready for all that faced them, ready for death...to cause death and to die themselves, the Lion of Scotland had awoken, and the English would face the wrath of these mighty warriors.

1085may21grandarmy8wz.jpg

As the grand army descended on the English territories the English were stunned, they had troops scattered all over the place and thier provincial armies were defeated by the courageous Scots. Yet as the Scots descended closer to thier goal the situation was looking dire indeed, surrounded on multiple angles with forces dwindling they needed thier forced peace, and they needed it before the English could get over thier inital shock. The Scots army was half of what it once was and the English had 1600 troops in the English terrirory ahead of them and were surrounded by multiple armies that would crush them within time. Donald Dunkeld was sent to use his superb diplomatic skills to force a peace, and with special instructions from King Malcolm that would help gain a peace. On October 7th 1085 the Kingdom of England agreed to a white peace with the Kingdom of Scotland, ending the war and granting peace for many years. It was just in time for Malcolm, his health had suffered, he was no longer a young man and his warrior mentality and his need to fight in battle had taken its toll, yet Malcolm only passed it off as being slightly stiff. And of course, if there was no peace his warriors could have perhaps been in dire straits.

1085oct7surrender1fr.jpg

Later on that day a scruffy looking martial of the armies walked in to talk with a jubilant Malcolm.

"Well, you certainly look worse for wear do you not, and to think you are supposed to be the Martial of the Scottish Army! Perhaps we should hire someone more distinguised!"
"Haha, well done sir, it certainly is a tremendous day for Scotland. I hear from some of the men that you gave a few words that decided the day in the acceptance of peace. What were these magic words?"
"Simple, I had him told that our army was but a probing force while we amass our army, and that we had gained much allies and were forced to crush his puny nation if he did not comply with our peace."
"And it worked?"
"Well obviously it did, I thought it would as well, the English were scared straight, keep in mind the Norman rulers have only ruled this land for around 19 years, they were afraid that the Saxon people would rise up against them if even thier home territories were not safe. "

With that the King big his martial farewell so the King could tend to the future of Scotland back in his capital. To his still united Scotland, where much of the country was now under his control because of his great loyalty of his vassals giving up thier titles for the glory of the Scottish crown.

1087map0nt.jpg


Attack of the Swedes

With the guarantee of safety from the English for the time being Malcolm started to look outwards towards expanding his land so that in the future if the English tried anything he could be in a position to match them one on one. First, the conquest of some Irish properties.

claimsept910867qs.jpg

Yet his plans were put of halt when the Swedes and thier allies decided that a time to attack was near, they must have heard the English had declared war on them and assumed that Scotland had been wiped out. The exuberant Scots were ready for the challenge yet as was shown in the case of the English, cockiness can be the ultimate folly. The defence did not go well.

swedeattack11aw.jpg

Eventually the small Swedish army was subdued and the Swedish King saw such hope in thier expedition that two more armies were sent.....Both were crushed instantly.

afterswedes5eg.jpg

The foolish Swedish allies decided perhaps they could defeat the Scots...not a chance.

ostattack4ux.jpg

A fire extinguishes

After the victory in England Malcolm and Donald Dunkeld were legends in Scotland, Malcolm for his visionary military tactics and Donald for his diplomatic saavy in acquiring a peace. Malcolm was a hero was all boys wishing to become a great warrior, yet Donald was a hero for those boys who wished to become a great thinker of the world. Yet these golden days were not to last. More then a decade after the great victory against England Donald fell ill, he still insisted on doing every one of his duties yet in 1097 he died of his illness, perhaps by his refusal to stop working.

donalddeath0px.jpg

Malcolm was heart broken, he had begun a military campaign against the prime Welsh province of Gwynedd and rushed home immediately to grant his beloved brother a full state funeral, some say that Malcolm was the man of stone, yet on the day of his brothers funeral many people noted when his brother was being lowered into the ground a solitary tear dropped down his cheek, falling onto his brothers resting place. Many years later a tremendous tree grew on the spot Donald was buried, some said it grew from the dreams of Scotland, from the dreams of two men bonded through brotherhood for eternity, and sparking growth from the tear from the greatest visionary Scotland had even seen. The tears ended for Malcolm, after his brothers death he became despondent, letting his commanders take over the Welsh War and retiring to his throne to wait, and finally he got what he was waiting for. The very same year as his brother, Malcolm Dunkeld, King of Scotland, passed away from old age, yet many have said since that without his brother he simply did not have the strength to continue, that he had died that day his brother was lowered into the ground.

malcolmdeath1zr.jpg

Long Live Malcolm Dunkeld, King of Scotland, may he forever flourish in Gods Kingdom.
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Does the death of Malcolm Dunkeld mean the end of a united Scotland, will the Welsh attack faulter, will civil war erupt over the succession. Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out!
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Survival is a win for me, so I am happy with the war result.
 
The savior of Scotland is no more. May his sons prove themselves worthy to his inheritance.
 
A resounding success for the Scots. Jolly good.

Ayeshteni
 
A pleasant victory, but will the next generation be brewed from the same stern iron?
 
Great victory against English. And I noticed that you did some expansion in the Celtic lands.
 
Chapter 3: Great potential wasted​
1097newkingduncan8st.jpg
The year is 1097 and Duncan Dunkeld has inherited the throne of Scotland. He has inherited a euphoric nation of great warriors with dreams of the Empire of Scotland. Yet after the death of the great Malcolm Dunkeld trouble was stirring. The vassals were asking for more land and asking for the the the new king to step down and grant his throne to the most powerful vassal. Duncan certainly had much on his hands. Malcolm had raised his son well, Duncan was perhaps an even greater man then Malcolm himself, and fitted the role of a nation builder well. Malcolm had always been rough around the edges which could be contributed to the days when he would conduct raids against Northern England. Yet Duncan grew up in the times when Malcolm was getting his dreams of grandeur, so Duncan saw was a ruled should be and strived to be better. Duncan was a military tactician, favouring the somewhat omniscient command of his troops then the rag tag in the thick of it such as Malcolm was. Not to say Duncan was not one to jump in the battle however, when commanding his armies when in Wales under his fathers rule if a section of his troops seemed weakened him and his crack troops would join in and often save the day.

On the death of his father Duncan was leading the troops in Wales, and he immediately called for more regiments to come relieve him, and they promptly went through neutral England to do so.

On returning to his court in Scotland Duncan was beset upon by all kinds of troubles, first the Marshal, Donald was to get Duncans time.

"Sir, we need to speak of the state of the war in Gwynedd"
"Yes, what is it you need to talk about? Is it not going expected?"
"No sir, it is going fine but the problem is we cannot afford to keep these veterans in a foreign war, the vassals are close to rising up, we need them to quell any rebellion."
"I would rather risk an internal rebellion then a war against an invincible England."
"What do you mean sir?"
"Have you not noticed the expanse of the English into Wales? They are advancing at a good speed and if we do not halt thier advance it could spell the end of our nation. The capture of Gwynedd means the capture of the most lucritive Welsh province and the premier one in Wales, without this province England will never be able to make peace amongst the other Welsh provinces, and this dissent will spread throughout the Saxon lords, and the crown of England shall disintegrate!"
"Genius your majesty!"
"Hmm, perhaps, it was my fathers original idea, good work on picking up the expanse of the English."
"Okay, well we will continue the attack then, should I send in the chancellor to speak about the problems with the vassals?"
"Yes, please do."

As the Marshal shuffled out in entered the new chancellor, Mary Forbes, who was the apprentice of Donald Dunkeld, the previous chancellor. She did not have the tremendous skills of Donald, yet she was all Scotland had. Mary was a short, chubby, sweaty woman, if you can call her a woman at all, even though she had once been asked to marry a young man many years ago, even though it was the famed Scottish 'Wolfman of the North'.

"Your majesty, terrible news!"
"Isn't that always the case, go on."
"Your vassals are close to revolt, we need to call all troops up to quell them, I cannot stop them by diplomatic means only!"
"Calm down, it'll be fine, what areas are of most concern?"
"Sir, definetely the Duchy of Galloway, they have been asking you to abdicate and give them the throne."
"Fools, tell them to try to take it, if they attempt it by force we will crush them, simple as that. Same with any other vassals who dare to challenge my throne. I need you to concentrate on repairing relationships with all other vassals and getting us up and running again, our piety and prestige has pretty much been nullified since my fathers death, and without repairing these we will be doomed to failure, so get on it immediately."
redo1.jpg
The news of the defeat of England and the growing of the Scottish power spread through the world, eventually gaining Scotland two alliances with the greatest empires in Europe. Scotland had become a true world player. While this was happening England vassals were revolting, perhaps because of the strife and dissent that was being risen in the conflicted Welsh provinces.
redo2.jpg
The joy did not last long when in 1107 Poland attacked. The Scots were caught unawares as the Polish Bishop had travelled far and the Scottish Vassals refused to lend support to the defenders. Defeat followed. Yet like all good leaders King Duncan came just in time and managed to attack the Polish before they caused permanent damage to the Scottish provinces. Victory followed as the keen military eye of Duncan Dunkeld can rarely be bested. The Polish were never to come back, as they had faced a rag tag group of demorilized Scottish troops led by a brilliant military commander and had been beaten back. They did not wish to face a strong Scotland under this supreme commander of Duncan Dunkeld.
redo3.jpg
In 1108 Duncan took the last Welsh province that still was independent. It was basically to keep it off the English and try to garner some more support among his vassals.
[
redo4.jpg
1110 was the year the Scottish provinces in Wales were attacked by Brittany, thier attacks kept coming until 1914 when they realised they could not possibly defeat the Scots in thier own provinces.

After the peace with Brittany Duncan organised a banquet for all the clan leaders. He had somewhat repaired the shattered relationship he had yet there was still a few problem vassals which he had to take aside that night. As the festivities died down Duncan called Gospatrick, Duke of Galloway over to his table.
"I understand you have a problem with your own nation Gospatrick?"
"I do not have a problem with the nation, I have a problem with you running it. I have kept my mouth shut long enough, my father should have been king, not you, and I want my birthright of the crown of Scotland to be granted, what do you have to say to that?"
"Even since my father died your family has acted like cowards, you are not fit for rule, you could not handle the pressure, the only reason you are still in place is because of your ties to the province of Atholl, and I don't want to embroil Scotland in all out civil war, we have greater enemies to face. Now stand down and revoke your claim to the Scottish crown or I will be forced to revoke your titles."
"By your hostile words I assume you heard about my intent for war, well you didn't know that my troops have already cut deep into your provinces to attack you without you expecting as much, not even you can save the day!"

Off stormed the Duke, leaving Duncan dumbfounded, a sneak attack without declaring war is an act which is never seen in war, chivalry it was not, the Duke had proven he was a man without honour. Before Duncan could get his troops together his outlying garrisons had been defeated by the Galloway troops.
galloway.jpg
Yet once again by sheer tactical genius Duncan swung the momentum his way and the Duke of Galloway sensed this, offering a peace to the King and offering to give up some of the claims if they can be independent from the crown.

This was not an option for the king, this cancer of a former vassal must be cut off and the lands incorporated back into the empire. The end was soon to come for Galloway. The Duke was exiled.

The strife inside Scotland had severely drained the resources of the crown, and not only in a monetary sense. The court of Scotland was dwindling and Duncan was getting on in age. It looks like his brilliance will be spent on keeping his disloyal subjects happy.
redo5.jpg
In 1124 Duncan Dunkeld, the King of Scotland could feel his life slipping away. He did not want to be known as the lazy king of Scotland. He wanted to be remembered for the acts he did. War was on the horizon, Western Ireland and the Duchy of Leinster was the target. With his troops of many campaigns Duncan Dunkeld personally led the attack into Leinster territory, and in true Duncan fashion smashed his enemy. Duncan had made the gains that would keep him remembered, at least for a while.
redo6.jpg
With the long journey back Duncan hoped that he would last the trip to see his family for one last time, to sit on his throne, and have a talk with his beloved wife, with the constant troubles of the Kingdom he had been given his wife and him hardly had time to just sit down and talk about life.

On return to his palace the king was in bad shape indeed, he could feel every second towards death. He summoned his wife into his presence, entered his throne room and took a seat on the throne to think about his life. Happier times. Back when his father reigned when the Glory of Scotland was at its zenith, when Duncan learnt from his father the ways of the world. These happier times had prepared him for the misery of his reign, he was a very sad man, and the view of the one thing he had left in this wife would grant him happiness in his few dying moments.

Duncans wife rushed to the side of his husband in hearing his bad health and his wish for her presence. On opening the doors of the throne room she spotted the King sitting on his throne seemingly deep in thought. As she approached him she noticed the lack of movement in Duncan. As the wails came out from the throne room the spirit of Duncan rose up above the clouds. He had died in 1125 and didn't even stay alive long enough to see his wife for the last time. It was a life of hardship and dissappointment, and his dying moment were no different.
1125kingdeath15tl.jpg
He died leaving a larger empire then his father yet it was in much worse shape for Duncans whole reign and was constantly on the verge of civil war. His brilliance alone minimised conflicts. It would take a miracle to change the fortunes of Scotland, yet the defeat of England shows that Scotland are more then capable of miracles, it will just take hard work from the future monarchs to get the Kingdom on the front foot.
1124empire7vx.jpg
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Will the next monarch face the problems that Duncan faced. Will they not have his skill and will the Kingdom break up. Scotland has hit a wall and drastic action must be taken to keep up the expansion, they should have been able to match England at this time through conquests, but it was not to be.

PS. Sorry about the images, had to keep it down so I would be able to post the chapter..also I had to delete a few images to keep it in...hopefully it is fine however....
 
King of Scotland, Ireland and Wales, thats what we want to see :D . Keep it up.

Ayeshteni
 
Ayeshteni said:
King of Scotland, Ireland and Wales, thats what we want to see :D . Keep it up.

Ayeshteni

Add duke of Bretagne to that list and then he rule all Celtic lands. :)
 
Olaus Petrus said:
Add duke of Bretagne to that list and then he rule all Celtic lands. :)

:nods:

yup, that would be great.

Ayeshteni