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NexusSix

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Authors Note:

Was pretty gutted Knud got nailed actually ! I was enjoying him.
But, many brightsides for me to think about

1) Knud Knudsson is Arbitrary in nature so will really be at the mercy of his advisors. He is friends with the King of Norway, Hans and Dags eldest son Magnus, which closes this issue.
Dag more than Sigurd will surely push him back to being Catholic but then hes married to Sigurds Cornish daughter !?
Will Dag finally get his Catholic haven and will he start suckering in Italians left right and centre..., I sent his second son, Church Educated to Rome some 4 years ago ! Something Knud didnt know... was going to say he thought the child died at birth !
Or will Dag try to keep things Norse pure, which was one of the aims of Knud, although Knud got a bit wrapped up in his paganism towards the end.

2) Who killed Knud ??? There are a lot of different candidates from the obvious to the obscure !! He had a few enimies in Norway, has just over ran Scotland ?! Is it going to be the obvious brother Dag or the Vassal Niall or maybe a scared King of Scotland ?! I hope the AI gives us some clues !

3) Knud as mentioned above and quite rightly was alienating his whole court, it was a matter of time unitl a 0.00 loyalty Dag buggered off as well as quite a few others ! The loss of that Heretic trait has really stabalised the Duke title at least !

Anyways, The reign of Knud Knudsson will begin !
 

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Bye, Knud, hi, Knud...

Good story so far...:cool:
 

NexusSix

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Not sure yet, trying to RP the character a bit so Id expect Knud Knudsson will try to find who killed his dad as priority number one.
There are a lot of viable targets but ive now got a nice base in Scotland and can expand from there or from Norway depending.
Im gonna try to leave it to the AI really so will go with the opportunity rather than setting in stone a domination of Northern England.
Only oppertunities im gonna try to go easy on is the free land ie : Muslims and Pagans.

Glad your enjoying so far !
 

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The Duke of Moray : Knud Knudsson av Sola 1102 - 1130 : The Peaceful
Part 1: Love & Marriage & The Church

knudtheyoung.jpg

Knud Knudsson sat in the main hall of Moray Castle holding his head. By now it was spinning out of control, his father had been dead for less than 24 hours and already every vulture in the court was screaming for its piece of flesh no matter how shriveled.
Knud had grown up around the understanding that all decisions were made by a group so was quite an arbitary man. He had an opinion but in circumstances like this it was far easier to be a "yes man" than a "I really give damn ?" man.
He raised his head to see his uncle Dag stood before him with a long scroll. Dags words blured and Knud started to play a game where he counted the amount of times Dag said the word "Church" and "God". After reaching the count of 23 , Knud Knudsson finally signed the pieces of paper his uncle needed and eagerly awaited the next chore of Dukedom !.
churchspoils.jpg


The next person in line was Kund's mother. She now began an epic speach about how with the birth of young Halsten, Kund should really change the laws to protect the flow of titles and ensure his son inherited his titles. Kund Knudsson again smiled nicely and signed the doted line, instegating Salic progression. Through this he couldnt help but regard his wife Morwenna, although his cousin and an aranged marraige the two had formed a love and friendship that supassed the expected. He was quite relieved to have her, as well as thier newborn child, Halsten.
saliclaw.jpg


Knud looked down the never decreasing line and met the next person in line with a deadpan smile and a slightly sarcastic "What can I do for YOU..."
The advisor was his steward who quickly explained that the lands had become very prosperous and stable, which generated some hefty funds. His fathers decision to conquer the Dukedom had been a good one. Satisfied Knud sent orders back to Rogaland to construct a small castle in his home county. Un-fortunatly Moray was quite poorly advanced compared to Norway so there was still a lot of work before something quite as grand could be errected in their Scottish domain.
stablev.jpg


The next man in the line was somoene Knud didnt recognise. He turned to his chief diplomat, shis wife Morwenna, slipped her a sly wink and asked who the man with the silly chops was ! He was informed it was a Swedish count who wanted his sisters hand in mariage for his son. Sophie had always been a bit of a brat and a know it all. Knud gripped the mariage contract in his hands as he searched the room for his sister. He gave her a charming wave and then chuckled to himself with glee as he married her off hoping to everything that was holy that the counts son was inflicted with some hideous gas problem or something there abouts !
byesophie.jpg


Still smirking Knud looked down the line of people and realised he didnt recognise anyone else. Hmmm, he stepped out of his chair.
"Who is here for a marriage proposal ? Can you err raise your hands "
A sea of hands raised.
"Great" thought Knud as he sat back down , he already felt a migraine comming on.

Knud managed to however arange the following mariages. Of which some were significant, and others... not so !

baggemar.jpg

His younger brother Bagge, was set up with Ingred of Hedmark. She was the daughter of his mothers brother so some odd distant relation. Not that Knud could really complain about inbreeding.....

torbannamar.jpg

counttorben.jpg

His uncle Sigurds eldest son, Torben was married to Dags daughter, Anna. In another webbed toe of a gesture towards keeping a pure av Sola bloodline. Recognising the need to share the wealth of the family around he gave Torben the title, Count of Sutherland. This way, as his wife pointed out both Sigurd and Dag got a countship title, ok sure, so it was via thier married son and daughter but it was a title none the less !

islinmarr.jpg

His sister Ingeborg was married to Halsten av Freyser, an ousted noble who once held purchase in Orkney. Halsten was the only non av Sola related person in the court having been admited by the former Knud several years ago. His help and loyalty in establishing a Norse base in Scotland was rewarded with an av Sola bride !

katmarry.jpg

Sigurds middle daughter Kristina, (sister of Morwenna ) was married off to one of the sons of Dag Crovan, duke of the Isles. The Norse Galic Duke had been a good friend to the av Solas since thier arrival in scotland. This was also a return favour for the earlier marriage between Magnus and Affraic Crovan.

aletamar.jpg

Knud again enacted the av Hedmark link by marrying off his emo youngest sister Aleta. Aleta had been getting everyone down for months by being chronically depressed. The rumor was that she missed Norway, so Knud sent her packing. Married off to another Counts son with a cracking first name , Knud av Hedmark !

johanmar.jpg

Finally you had the mariage of Johan, Dags youngest bible thumping son. Magnus, Dags eldest was a military man and scoffed a little at his fathers religious fervor. Johan, who had been educated secretly in Rome behind Knuds back, was similar to his father. After 10 minutes in an official context with his uncle Dag, Knud quickly discovered why his father had been so eager to throw his brother from the highest turret. Knud also learnt the easiest way to get rid of Dag was to agree with him. So it was ! Johan was married to an Italian girl. An outsider in the court and strictly very "un-Norse" Knud already figured to attempt to keep his cousin and his pet forigner well clear from anything important ! Inter mariage with those of Galic blood was acceptable... Italian... damn near heretical ! Oh the irony !!

With that out of the way, Knud could (lol) now continue onto more pressing matters........
 
Last edited:

NexusSix

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The Duke of Moray : Knud Knudsson av Sola 1102 - 1130 : The Peaceful
Part 2: The King of Scotland

knudtheyoung.jpg



kingscots.jpg
The av Sola dynasty had spent quite a few years in Scotland now and the people had begun to accept them, somewhat. Knud was a benevalent ruler and was quite good to his people. The King of Scotland was to busy abroad to pay any real attention to his lands. This didnt mean that others had ignored Scotland.
scotswarcrown.jpg

The Duke of Lorraine siezed his opportunity and mounted a bid for the crown. A war in which Scottish army and continent were shattered. Many in the realm of Lothian and Moray were thankfull that thier Dukes had stayed well clear of the Scottish crown and were independent. Stripped of his title the former King became a vassel of the new , German King of Scotland, who to add former insult, relocated the crown to Germany.
godsaveking.jpg


During this time. Knud was progressing though his 20's with nothing really happening. He arranged some more marriages for various cousins and his uncle Sigurd, who's wife Melyor commited suicide. The cause of this was rumored to be the fact that her family, Cerniw seemed to be comming to an end as none of her relatives had married.
gustavwed.jpg

Sigurds second eldest son, Gustav, married a Scottish girl who's family had been kicked off to Ireland some generations ago. Knud was into winning over the natives so saw this as a good move. Gustav, being a holy man like his uncle Dag was not best pleased, but then Knud was starting to realise why his father had become a heretic !
sunnmar.jpg

Sigurds youngest daughter came of age and was married off to one of the Cerniw's in Norway. This was in honor of the wishes of her late mother. However the 16 year old married a man in his 40's so the chances of offspring were slight !
sigwifey2.jpg

Sigurd himself married a Gaelic girl with a tallent for money handling. Like his grand father he "took one for the home team" however things were good as she was a very attractive young lady still being only 19.

regalcont.jpg

Knud Knudsson, was also begining to realise something that his father had realised many years ago. The Catholic church was broken and power hungry. Firstly the church wanted to take power away from the people Knud had spent years winning over and put it back in the power of the Clergy. Knud Knudsson, like his father before him, refused point blankly !

sigurdmagic.jpg

To futher anoy the somewhat placid Duke of Moray, his cousin, Johan, ( bible bashing second son to Dag) accused his own Uncle, Sigurd of using dark magic. Sigurds new wife had fallen pregnant so evidently Sigurd had used dark magic to accomplish this ! Knud laughed in his cousins face following the accusation, however the dastardly Johan ensured his slimey Italian wife told a few conections. The next month the Pope excomunicated Sigurd !

Knud thought the whole Catholic rivalry thing had been put to the sword ten years previously and was somewhat angry. Although Dag had chilled out since the death of his brother Knud Sveinsson his youngest son Johan seemed to be just as bad ! Knud thought it high time he asked his uncle Dag to attempt to reign in his son when disaster struck.The youngest of the Sveinsson av Sola's died in his sleep ! Dag's body was taken back to Rogaland and given a Christian burial, 20 metres away from the Pagan one given to his murdered brother Knud. Now only Sigurd, still the official av Sola Marshall survied.
dagdead.jpg
 
Last edited:

Murmurandus

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The German King of Scotland... hahahahah...:D
 

NexusSix

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More updates to come tomorrow I hope, nothing majorly significant for mayb 20 years game time :( So im having to condence things, and people are not interested in every single marriage so im having to fit at least 20 years into an update, which will come soon :) Some very nice things in place but Knud Knudsson might develop the title "The mind numbingly dull"
 

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The Duke of Moray : Knud Knudsson av Sola 1102 - 1130 : The Peaceful
Part 3: The Wayward Sons

knudtheyoung.jpg

The years trickled on slowly and Knud Knudsson concentrated his time on building up his realm and building his family. The av Sola's Scottish and Gaelic neighbours had slowly accepted the Norse people into thier realms and eventually discovered that the Vikinger were actually not such a bad bunch. Broken and now without a King the Scottish people looked to the 3 powers of the north.
Knud Knudsson, Duke of Morray, Ferteth of Allerdale, Duke of Lothian and the dispossed former King Ruaidri Dunn Chaillean.
mightyfallen.jpg


Johan youngest bible bashing son of Dag decided following his fathers death that his duties in the court of his hated uncle were done. He had already caused enough trouble and was pretty much the most hated man in Morray at this point. Johan took his family and headed off to the court of his cousin, Torben av Sola, Count of Sutherland. Knud Knudsson was somewhat releaved to see the back of him and his silly Italian wife ! He replaced Johan with his Sigurd's second son, Gustav who was much more grounded in his religion. Before taking the job however Gustav did demand that Knud Knudson atone for his sins. Gustav had somewhat sombred regarding the marriage situation a few years previously but he was still going to milk it and make Kund feel bad. Somewhat grugingly Knud did as he was asked.
johantheass.jpg


The av Sola family had now grown somewhat ! The three brothers Knud, Dag and Sigurd had between them, 9 sons and 9 daughters. These sons and daughters had now come of age and those in the court had produced many , many heirs ! Most of the minor nobles were married off but a few important weddings took place, firstly. Knud's first born and heir, Halsten Knudsson was married.
halstenmar.jpg

Halsten had a real reputation as a ladies man, his sleak beard attracted many a young girl. Sunniva Knytling was picked as his wife. She was a beautyfull girl and their was a strong tradition with the Knytlings going back to Halsten Knuddsons Great Grandfather, Sven Aliksson.

nextswekingavsolbride.jpg

The other note worthy marriage was that of Magnus av Sola's eldest daughter Brigit. She married the hier to the throne of Sweden ! This was perhaps the most important marriage in the family's history. Also somewhat ironic that the first av Sola to become royalty would be Dag's eldest grandaughter !

Knud Knudsson av Sola had taken the title Duke of Morray at the young age of 18. He was now approaching his 41 st year. Many had complained that the arbitary Duke was not interested in conquest or glory. It was true that no land gain had taken place in over 20 years, however Knud would argue that no oppertunity had presented itself. The av Sola family held power on two contintents. Knud did not want to stretch his hand any futher and warring in Scotland would upset any work done in the last 20 years. Warring in Norway was not an option as like his father before him, Knud was devotedly loyal to the throne. Some people in the court had branded Knud a coward because of his lack of ambition, others simply saw him as a proud and just man.
Oppertunites however sometimes come along, and being a reckless oppertunist Knud was the type of man to grab them with both fists !

dukeangus.jpg

The oppertunity presented itself with the Count of Angus. The middle son of the former Scottish King proclaimed his independence from his father. Something which was not taken lightly ! Knud Knudsson quickly raised his army in the neighbouring Buchan and marched it south across the border while the Dunn Chillean family tried thier hand desperately at a little diplomacy. Angus was a really tasty target for Knud, as it lay directly through the heart of Scotland. It would also cut the Duke of Argyll's realm somewhat in half isolating Maer.
angusd.jpg

battleangus.jpg


The surprise attack mounted by the force led by Marshall Sigurd av Sola struck with devestating speed. The battle scared veteran Sigurd was such a sight that the young count of Angus sent his Steward to sign the terms of his surrender. The young Count was sent back to his father the Duke of Argyll. Surprisingly the Duke was very happy at the av Sola involvement, rumors were rife that he did not want to raise a blade against his son. Also the loss of Angus was not so bad, considering he had already lost a crown.
Knud and Ruaidri struck up a close friendship following this engagement. The future progression was yet to be seen, Halsten Knudsson however was not at all impressed with his father's willingness to befriend the former King.
 
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The Duke of Moray : Knud Knudsson av Sola 1102 - 1130 : The Peaceful
Part 4: The Knud, the Bad and the Ugly

knudtheyoung.jpg

As Knud Knudson reached his 43rd year a dangerous illness fell through the court at Morray. Mostly it was effecting children however Knud was one of the few adults to be aflicted. Still life continued. Tradgedy struck when Halstens wife Sunnivera died in child birth. Halsten was of the age where he selected his own bride, somewhat strangely he selected a German girl for his bride.
hal2ndwife.jpg

This was a real break from the norm. The av Sola family was primarily Norse with a slight Cornish bloodline. Over recent years due to living in Scotland there were a few Scottish and Gaelic av Sola's. The only exception was Johan Dagsson's Italian wife.

gaelicmar.jpg

The Gaelic link in the av Sola family was celbrated with the marriage of Enna Knudsson and BenMilde , youngest daughter of Sigurd. This marked a mile stone for the av Sola's as it was the first pure Gaelic - Gaelic marriage, it showed how far the family had actually come from thier meagre beginings at Rogaland.

The balance of power in Scotland had been pretty much equal and things peacefull during Knud Knudson's time. As a gesture of friendship and trust, one of Knud's son's Asjborn was sent as a fostering to the Count of Argyll. He returned deeply stressed and tragically took his own life shortly after returning to Morray. He had confided in his close freind and brother, Halsten that he had been treated badly in Argyll and despite the friendship on the outside the Gaelic nobles saw him as little more than an invader. His life had been a living hell, Halsten's very soul burnt for vengence.
asbjornsuic.jpg


Trouble also reached the courts when a courtier, Algot av Freysey, was brutally murdered. The only culpret was seen as Enna av Sola as the pair deeply hated each other. However there was no evidence and Knud, whos illness was getting worse did not want to condem one of his sons with no evidence, the death of Algot, who incidently was Knuds nephew didnt overly concern him. Thus Enna was cleared of all charges. Shortly after this time, Enna showed his raw military prowess and replaced his aging Great Uncle Sigurd as the av Sola Marshall.
ennamurderalgot.jpg


On a cold January morning of 1130, Knud Knuddson did not rise from his sleep. The physians ruled that there was no foul play in his death. Many put the death of Knud Knudsson down to a mixture of stress bought on by constant church attonement and illness. Knud left a Duchy that had not really grown in size since the time of his father. However he ensured that his son Halsten inherited a land which was rich ! Knud had built no fewer than 5 castles as well as many other advancements. He also ensured that the niche carved out in Scotland was solidified.
With the death of Knud Knudsson, Halsten Knudsson inherited his fathers titles. He cast a vengefull eye south on the rest of Scotland and called his advisors to him...
knudknudsenends.jpg

inherithalsten.jpg

.
 
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NexusSix

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Authors note:
I almost cheered when Knud Knudsson finally died, i felt a touch guilty as whenever i was able to "atone for my sins" happened 3 times... i took the Atone option simply because it gave -1 health ! I just felt that at the start i set out to assist the time line rather than force it and there was no reason why a man who really only wanted to sit at home with his wife and kids would go for an all out war with anyone. I was pretty happy though due to a stroke of luck i decided to blow my horded 680 prestiege, mainly because i Knud had just become modest and it was starting to trickle away, figured id grab a fat title now rather than get angry when i have to wait another 20 years game time to a mass that kinda title grabbing power ! I did manage to litterally build everything i was able to and im on a good 30 + gold a month now so it gives me quite a bit of power. No worries of the family dying out either as there are bucket loads of Av Sola's now ! Shame that the Count of Sutherland's eldest son is depressed and celebate married with no kids. But he should be a interesting foil for the lustfull Halsten, with any luck though Torben will still be about for a little longer

Still im kinda excited now as Halsten has got a rather epic beard ! And to make things even better, Halstens eldest son has got such a fantastic Viking name... im not going to spoil it though ;)
 

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Good to see that the conquering can now begin :) and its always easier to go to war when the economy is strong at home.

Do you mean to take the throne of Scotland? and perhaps after that the Norwegian throne aswell?
 

NexusSix

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Tommy4Ever : Not sure yet mate, I like to let the game lead me and give me possibilities. I also try to role play my rulers a little dependent on thier friendshiprs , attributes and events.
The former rulers were all loyalists so wouldnt have dreamt of moving on the Crown, Halsten is seems to be like a very angry version of Knud Sveinsson, so expect a very blood thirsty time with him. The crown of Norway is an option as is Scotland, but there is a lot of land and man power behind both these claims. Norway's throne is week but it will take time and money to get troops from Scotland to Norway as the av Sola's only have 2 provinces in Norway, Agder and Rogaland. They would potentially be kicked out of Norway !
Parts of Northern Scotland are rife for the taking and certainly on Halsten Knudssons hit list. Expect some bloody inroads to be made there, maybe not a crown yet but certainly some more titles ! :)
 

NexusSix

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The Duke of Moray : Halsten Knudsson av Sola 1130 -
Part 1: Cultural Reminders.

halsten.jpg

Halsten Knudsson had watched his fathers rule and was quite angry at some of the dealings regarding the av Sola's Gaelic neighbours, in particular the Dunn Chilliean family. He was bitterly angry and vindictive over the death of his brother as well as the fact that his father had not acted. It was however a shock to many that following the death of Knud Knudsson Scotland seemed to hit a turmoil. Already without a King, the Scottish people were genuinely lost and upset by the death of the Duke of Morray. To futher aggrovate matters Raudri Dunn Chillian was murdered by his own son shortly after Knud Knudssons death ! The somewhat rebelious Gillacomgail Dunn Chillian, Count of Mar had finally struck again. This act was viewed as an act of war by the new Duke of Argyll who raised his army. Due to the tactical oppertunity employed by Knud Knudsson, Mar was cut off from the Duchy of Argyll. Halsten, having been Duke of Morray for only a matter of weeks raised an army from Angus and marched into Mar.
kinslayermaer.jpg

battlemar.jpg
The battle of Mar was a quick faught and bloody affair. Led by Marshall Enna the av Sola forces obliterated the defenders. During the battle the Count of Mar fell dead, killed by one of Halsten's yonger brothers, Esbern av Sola. The defenders of Mar were left in total disaray following the death of thier Count and were quick to offer a peace deal ensuring not only the title Count of Mar, but also the entire treasury !
peaceoffer.jpg
This action was noted by the new Duke of Argyll, Raudri's eldest son and he politely asked Halsten to return the title to the Dunn Chilliean family, as thier fathers would have liked. Halsten simply laughed at him, somewhat rudely telling the young Duke that if he wanted Mar he should come and take it. For now, The Duke of Argyll backed off, but bad blood had already developed between the new Dukes a mirror image of the friendships upheld by their fathers !

Halsten returned to Morray victorious, rumors were rife that the people of Mar were also relieved to now be a part of the Duchy of Morray. Upon returning, Marshal Enna approached Halsten Knudsson. He was asking persmission to fight a dual versus his cousin, Sivard. The pair had hated each other since child hood and Sivard felt that he should be the marshall of the av Sola forces. Halsten agreed wholeheartedly, Enna was a strong warrior and a fight between two warriors would perhaps remind some of the family that the av Sola family were from Vikinger, not Scots. Although born in Morray, Halsten was proud of his family roots and still considered himself a Norse man ! The fight took place and Enna stood victorious, taking the life of Sivard with a well placed sword blow to the throat.
duelists.jpg


assassinattack.jpg

beheadedsvien.jpg
It would seem however that not everyone was happy with the new Duke of Morray. Halsten walked the battlements of Castle Morray in almost exactly the same place as his Grand father Knud Sveinsson when he was aware of an someone elses pressence. In an almost mirror image of years previous Halsten heard the assassins blade draw, with a roar of rage and defiance Halsten drew his sword and spun his blade at the attackers head, decapitating him with a single blow. Halsten's uncle Sigurd, who was only a few years his senior fell dead at his feet. Sigurd smiled realising he had survived this attack, Sigurd had made it very clear that he hated Halsten when they were young teenagers. To add fuel to the fire, Sigurds wife Kristinna Finne had recently given birth to a son who was rumored to have been sired by Halsten. Halsten knew full well that young Kol was his and enjoyed another inner laugh. The next morning taking the head of his uncle in his hand, Halsten marched into the audience hall of Castle Morray. He threw the head into the hall infront of the stunned courtiers.
"Does anyone else question my claim ?" He demanded.
His question was met with silence.
 
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NexusSix

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The Duke of Moray : Halsten Knudsson av Sola 1130 -
Part 2: The Domino Effect

halsten.jpg

Halsten Knudsson av Sola, was not the type of man to sit idle. Only a few years after capturing Mar he was still looking at expansion across Scotland.
Tensions had been growing for the past few years as the trouble between the Duchy's of Morray and Argyll began to boil over. The implecations of war between the two Scottish Duchy's had the potential to set in motion a conflict which could destroy the balance in not only Scotland but also Norway and Sweden.
lochpl.jpg

The Duke of Argyll, Lochalan Dunn Chaillean, eldest son of the former Scotish King Raudri Dunn Challiean was supported and allied to the King of Sweden, Hakon Stenkilsatten. King Hakon was married to an av Sola making the heir to the Swedish throne essentially a distant nephew of Halsten's. Although this heir was not an av Sola it still potentially meant that a war involving Sweden could unsettle elements of the av Sola's more directly related to Hakon's wife and heir.
hakdg.jpg

Halsten Knudsson was also still a subject of the King of Norway, Olaf Yngling.
olafy.jpg

If war broke out between Argyll and Morray there was a distinct possibility that the two Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway would find themselves at war to protect thier respective vassel and ally states. There was still also the futher posibility that Kings Hakon and Olaf would find diplomatic reason and decide not to become involved if war broke out. The lands waited with baited breath wondering if either Duke Lochalan or Duke Halsten would make a sudden move of aggression.

Halsten weighed up the possibilities, his thirst for revenge against the Dunn Chaillian family could result in a war of such proportions that it could rip apart the stability of the Norse Kingdoms. This did not overly bother him. Unlike his predecessors Halsten held no real extended loyalty to the Noweigen throne. He had been bought up in Morray and although he considered himself a Norse, by Norse standards he was perhaps considered Gaelic. Regardless of any implecations Halsten made ready his plans for war.
avsolarising.jpg
Halsten first raised the army of Angus, commanded by his brother Marashall Enna. Enna was ordered to march into Atholl to launch a surprise attack. In the mean time military action was focused in Ross, as Sigurd av Sola marched his forces to Morray. Sigurd was now aged in his late 60's and had been a part of every av Sola conflict. He had been implicated in black magic many years ago, although cleared he middle av Sola brother still held a strange vitality and guile. Despite his age he was still an able man and a fearsome soldier. People whispered that some of his daughters and grandaughters were witches who dabbled in black magic.
The Count of Sutherland, Torben also marched a small force south towards Morray. Once Sigurd and Torben reached Morray, Halsten would personally raise the army of Morray and they planed to march directly on Argyll.

The Duke of Argyll, Lochlan Dunn Chaillian was made aware of the av Sola troop movements in Morray and Ross but was caught completely unaware by Marshall Ennas blindsided strike.
6tee03.jpg

The Argyll Marshall, Emrys was in the process of raising an army when his av Sola opposite struck. The battle was fought on un-favourable terrain and despite the Argyll forces inflicting a numerical win in terms of soldiers killed in battle the army which comprised mainly of raw recruits were routed by the battle hardened av Sola warriors. This act was an evident declaration of war between the Duchies of Morray and Argyll.
j67701.jpg
This declaration was also met in kind by King Hakon who decalared war on Halsten Knudsson ! In defence of his vassal , King Olaf declared war on both Argyll and Sweden. Focusing first on each other the armies of Noway and Sweden ignored Scotland, the cause of thier war and began plans to march on each other !

As Halsten had delt the first blow he was far better prepared for war than his counter part, the Duke of Argyll. In a panic, Duke Lochlan raised his armies in the south while he held his lines in Argyll with just short over One Thousand men. When Halsten's army arrived in Argyll it outnummbered Duke Lochlan's force by nearly 10-1.
mcgiyq.jpg
The Argyll forces fought bitterly, led by thier Duke who exited the battle field towards the end of the conflict. Although his forces had been slaughtered they had held Argyll long enough to ensure that Carrick, Strachclyde and Galloway had mobilised a substantial force which was already on the verge of merging in Strathclyde. The battle had been costly in Argyll man power but it might have bought Duke Lochlan the precious time he needed. Also a cruel blow had been dealt to the av Sola forces. Count Torben av Sola of Sutherland had been struck in the face by a mace and was mortally wounded. Although alive he was only just hanging on, the av Sola doctors said that the Count had a few very painfull weeks rather than months or years of life left in him.

2zofdbp.jpg
As the av Sola forces lay seige to both Atholl and Argyll the beleagured forces led by Marshall Emrys found themselves in a pincer between the av Sola armies. Marshall Emrys tried to force his men south to link up with the fleeing forces of Duke Lochlan but found himself fighting a on-going rear guard against Halsten's massed army in Atholl. The retreat and series of small skirmishes as extremely costly to Marshall Emry's forces.

Once Atholl and Argyll had fallen under av Sola control, Marshall Enna was told to take his forces into Fife and claim those lands, in the mean time Halsten av Sola marched his forces into Strathclyde to face the now massed armies of Lochlan Dunn Chaillian. In previous encounters Halsten's forces had a substantial numeric advantage, this time the forces were a lot more even. However Duke Lochlan had gambled and not manged to win ! Firstly, his forces were mostly commoner's who lacked the will to fight in the army and had been forced marched at a moments notice. Thier morale was extremely low. The av Sola forces were a mix of Norse and Gaelic troops, thier commanders battle hardened av Sola warriors capable of installing fear in their enemies and inspiration in thier soldiers. When the battle lines were drawn the first few vollys of arrows streaked across the battle field the forces of Duke Lochlan were already showing thier fear. As the first few lines of av Sola warriors charged the Scottish troops they simply lost thier nerves and ran ! What had the potential to be the biggest blood bath in both Scotish and av Sola history resulted in nothing more than a total route of the Argyll forces !
anticlimax.jpg
Shamed, defeated and embarassed, Duke Lochlan was forced to seek terms with Halsten Knudsson. Duke Lochlan was permited to keep Argyll but gave to Halsten the titles, Count of Fife, Strathclyde and Atholl as well as the Duchy of Albany. The Dunn Chaillian family faced embarassment for the second generation at the hands of forign invaders and despite the Morray / Argyll conflict being over, for now war was still rampant across Norway and Sweden.
 

Murmurandus

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Bah, Perfidious Sweden...:mad:;)
 

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The Duke of Moray : Halsten Knudsson av Sola 1130 -
Part 3: Family Matters

halsten.jpg

With an unsteady peace settling over Scotland, the war in the Norse lands continued steadily. The King of Norway, Olaf Yngling fell in the fierce battle for Viken, which fell to the Swedish crown. King Olaf was replaced by his son Emund, a mere boy. The newly crowned King Emund had a lot on his plate and sought peace with Sweden, he also hoped to o reach his 30th birthday. It seemed that the throne of Norway was cursed as the previous Kings, Halsten, Hans & Olaf had not reached 30 before falling in battle !

Before making his next move in Scotland, Duke Halsten had to deal with his current realm. Firstly the count of Sutherland , Torben had died from his injuries and had been replaced by his son, Johan. Johan was a recluse, choosing to lock himself away in worship of god. In doing so he had isolated his family and the people who once were his friends. Upon taking on the County of Sutherland Johan started to give more power to the church and falling futher into himself. Something had to be done about him and quickly, rumors were rife that he planned on claiming his independence from the Duchy of Morray, something which Halsten Knudsson did not need. However, Halsten did not have to look very far for a willing and ambitious man to take over from the wayward Johan.
countofsutherland.jpg

Knud Torbensson av Sola was next in line after Johan for the Countship of Sutherland. With this and other promises made by Halsten, Knud took his sword in hand and slew his older brother Johan ! He then took his place as the count of Sutherland. Knud also claimed his bride, a distant cousin Ingfrid. Although reluctant to marry Knud, Ingfrid was not aware that she was part of the bargin struck between Knud and Halsten !
countofsutherlanddies.jpg

knudsprize.jpg


countmar.jpg

With the extra land gained in the war against the Duchy of Argyll, Halsten decided it was time to appoint his cousin Eystein Count of Mar. Eystein was the last male decendent of Dag av Sola remaining in Morray, the others now either dead or living in Sutherland.

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As Halsten began to over-see development in his new provinces the whole Duchy was rocked with dire and un-expected news.
Sigurd av Sola had died, aged 70 ! Sigurd was the last of the original av Sola brothers alive and his line and legacy was something which was almost as powerfull as that of his older brother Knud Alriksson. Sigurd's body was laid to rest in its rightfull place in Rogaland, between his brothers Knud and Dag.
As he had been ex-comunicated his burial was more of a basic pagan afaire, although rumors were rife that Halsten, who was not the most church loving man had given some family members permission to conduct a Christian ceremony in secret.

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Following the death of Sigurd, Halsten comisioned Norway's royal scribe to write a detailed history, time line and family tree of the av Sola family.
Within the chronicle the writer detailed 56 living female av Sola's and 53 living male av Sola's. This infomation did not even go into maternal relations !
The av Sola cultural break up was a little more condensed as until recent years av Sola males had only married Norse, Gaelic or Scottish women. The only exception here had been Halsten's German wife Sybille and Johan's Italian wife. Out of the 109 relatives, there were : 3 Scots, 2 German, 14 Gaelic and 1 Cornish, the rest being Norse.
Satisfied with the work done by the historian, Halsten put the work in the great libary at Rogaland. Despite the death of Sigurd there was still work to be done in Scotland and the church who was often at odds with the av Sola family had just delt the Duke of Morray an oppertunity that could not be missed !