Been reading this for a while, just never commented, very good AAR, may Thor protect you from the might of the Aztec hordes.
The Legacy of the Vogelius Dynasty - The Rising Raven
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Let's see if Hemming can lead Skane against the aztec invaders, or if the norse will have to bow to the Skraelings from the west.
Also, I knew picking that man for Trondelag was a good choice. Fylkir and everything!
Also, I knew picking that man for Trondelag was a good choice. Fylkir and everything!
You can do that with images uploaded to imgur as well. Just select the size you want from the selections under the list of of urls, then copy and paste the Linked BBCode (message boards)your post. Then you just need to add the file extension to the pasted url in the first part of the BBCode.
On another note, I spotted two errors in the events in the latest set of updates:
In this image, "chocolate" is described as sweet. However, the cacoa based drink made by the Mayans and Aztecs was actually rather bitter. In real life, when the conquistadors introduced the drink in Europe, they added large amounts of sugar to make the drink palatable to European tastes, greatly sweetening it.
In this image, the text reads "The voting is prolonged and it takes even days of arguments before a decision is made." It should probably say "seven", not "even".
That is a vanilla event
No that is correct, its meant to be it takes even days before they reach a conclusion and not as in a set amount of time. It's a reference to the Cardinals not being allowed to leave their chamber until they've elected a pope.
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The Skræling's start yet another war by invading the land of Northumberland of England, the Scottish join the war to try and defend their Anglo-saxon neighbor, In return the English King joins the war for southern Ireland and in response the Jomsvikings finally prepared and refilled with soldiers offer to join the war against the Scottish to defend the land of Milzas. For the English the winter proves itself disastrous for outsiders not used to it and thousands of men die to it.
However it does not look bright for the future of both the Scottish and the Norwegian wars so King Hemming does the only thing he can do, he surrenders to the Stenkillings and give them the county of Bergenhus in order to protect the ancestral land of the von Marienburg family. Now with a dim light of chance Hemming recollects his troops in Sjælland to transport them for another push into the Scottish army. Before leaving for battle Fate smiles upon Hemming as his wife tells him she is pregnant with his cihld.
As they travel along the North sea the Monghol Khanate converts to the Moslem faith. The liberation army finally arrives on the shores of Veisafjord and they immediately engage the Scottish to the south.
The Scottish King put up a valiant defense but King Hemming has a plan that with a stroke of luck will carry out without hitch. The right flank of the Scanians falls while the left one succeeds in pushing back the enemy right flank. As they enter into the bloodier phase of engagement the middle flank of the Scottish King completely collapses and the army is annihilated...
... and the King is captured as he flees by the right flank that routed earlier and he is forced to surrender the war! Milzasland is safe!
With Ireland now safe and out of harms way the Fylkir, furious over losing his land to the Catholic scums, declares a hoyl war of the same magnitude as the Catholics Crusades. King Hemming II protests against in the Allthing saying that we should not rely to the same methods as their enemies. However Hemming wants to be rather safe than sorry and spends a smaller fortune in improving the levies and military support of Piksborg in Värend.
Hemming pressures the Fylkir into agreeing that he shall not take the Kingdom for himself, but that rather it shall be given to a Stenkilling family member who worships the Æsir gods. The candidate being Ingvar Stenkilling. However this seems to be crucial for the Great Holy War as it persuades others lords to join it, to take up arms in name of the faith and solidarity of their brethren instead for the selfish claims of the current Fylkir.
Soon after the promised child is born without complications and its a healthy baby boy who Hemming names Jørgen after his late father who never got to be King.
Even though he disapproves of the war, Hemming keeps a clsoe eye on it, the Queen of Denmark pledges her support to the Catholic side of the Stenkilling family but She is still not done with her own internal problems and is not going to be a nuisance. However the the battles are quite Even all way until the Duke of Lymrek arrive, the warriors of the von Marienburg immediately start chasing down the Norwegian soldiers in the mountains. And the Fylkariate soldiers manages to turn the tide and win against the Norwegian soldiers they've engaged.
However the strangers from the west does not take pity upon their neighbors and not before long they invade the land that Hemming just managed to save, southern Ireland. It becomes quickly obvious that nothing can be done to stop them as well and as such Hemming surrenders The von Mareinburg family scatters all over Scandinavia trying to take refuge from being sacrificed to the Nahua gods.
During the short war Hemmings wife Tora became pregnant once again and upon signing the peace she gives birth to a healthy baby boy. With hopes that the troubled times has passed them Hemming takes up scholarship and start to study ancient tomes of both the old sagas but also anything from rest of Europe that he can gets his hands on.
The First Great Holy War started by Fylkir Vilfred is a success, taking the Kingdom of Norway and giving it to Chief Ingvar of Hjaltland, an infirm vassal of Palnatoke of the Jomsvikings giving a very interesting conclusion...
And in the year 1270 King Hemming passes laws through the Allthing to centralize the power to the King, obligating his chieftains to provide him with more levies in case of need, if the Skrælings ever decide to strike at their heartland.
Realms of 1270
Religions of 1270
Cultures of 1270
This is an excerpt from a paper published in Trelleborg University translating the old runic scriptures that was written by Thorbrand, Commander of Athlone during the first Nahua invasion of Europe and this paper was published in the late 19th century.
The land known in local tongue by Kildare was conquered during the reign of Fylkir Hemming 'the Fat' in the year 1257. In the same year our founder Palnatoke 'the Just' with help from the Fylkir seized the fortress on the west side of the river Shannon at Luan's crossing. The fortress by the locals was called Baile Átha Luain but for short we used the word Athlone. I was among the first Brothers to arrive at the site and I had been given the duty as Stjórnandi af Athlone. My first tasks when me and my retinue arrived was to usurp the administrations and prepare the fortress for the garrison dispatched from Jomsborg that would arrive in the coming month.
The architecture of Athlone is very similar to most other Irish Fortresses but being a natural convergence point for travel in the region it is quite wealthy and well built. These stone structures are very different from our own in the homeland and their constructions are much more advanced than anything we are capable to construct. I was ordered by Palnatoke to have our finest scholars study the fortress and I was been given lavish amounts of wealth to pay for any repairs or additions that we would need to have performed. Throughout the years the scholars learned much from the Irish constructions and plans were made to expand on the fortress and a formal request was given to his lordship Palnatoke to consider for Athlone's future. However given the peaceful state of the time in Ireland it was regarded as not necessary at the time to expand on the fortress.
It was quite peaceful for a long time in Ireland but there was indeed a noticeable tension at the border between the Scottish Irish demesne and the von Marienburg land to the south. Athlone was located exactly on the border and acted as Vanguard against Scottish incursion. I joined several parties that entered into Scotland on peaceful missions to study and learn about the Irish and the Scottish and it seemed as if the Irish lords didn't mind our presence even if the Scottish King had outright forbidden it. In the year 1259, a year after the ascension of King Hemming II, Athlone had started to have both Catholic and Norse settlers around the fortress as it had become a central hub of trading between the Irish lords to the north and the Danish lords to the south thanks to my neutral stance in the matter of the Scottish-Scanish tension.
However the year of 1259 is quite important. For some months before that new merchants had started to appear in Connachta who sold the most exotic wares I had ever laid eyes upon. They wore strange dressing featuring feathers and colorful patterns I have not seen before. However upon when dealing with these I couldn't help but notice how closely their naval vessels resembled our own longboats and one of my scholars at Athlone pointed out he has read something resembling these merchants in a passage from the Eric The Red sagas. The Skræling's he called them.
From these merchants I learned about the Far West and I even invited one of them to Athlone to have my scholars scribble down everything as we discussed our so vast apart worlds with each other. We learned they come from an Empire on the other side of the ocean that under it has several subject kings who must obey the administration of Tenochtitlan at all times. Its a wealthy land and through their wonders of floating gardens where they grow their crops throughout the empire their population has had a massive boom in the latest hundred years resulting in much of the neighboring tribes to have become displaced by the growing Nahua population. This has started to cause tension and strife in the latest of time and Tenochtitlan has been looking for ways to solve the issue of feeding these innumerable amount of subjects, failure to do so will most likely result in the implosion of the Empire.
Apparently the Emperor and his government in the Far West decided that settling in the fertile land of Ireland where they can grow their strange fruits of the dirt they had imported from a neighboring Empire equal to theirs, the Incas. In this year, 1259, the largest Armada that any man has seen in our World appears off the coast of Connachta. My scouts told me it mounted up to the thousands in longboats all filled to the brim with warriors sporting feathers, helmets that depicts birds and their strange weaponry of black sharp blades.
It was as if the gods had forsaken Midgard and let the worst of Yggdrasil enter our realm. Before the sun set the towns of Connachta had been emptied and its ground dyed crimson. The river running along Athlone was more blood than it was water. It did not escape any man on the island what had happened. The Scots and Irish did their best to stop the Aztecs to make landfall, fighting them on the shores but the Imperial Army of Tenochtitlan was too large to be bested by some petty kings. I can not even begin to count how many died on that wretched day [TL Note: The total death count of this conflict has been estimated to be ca. 800 000 thousand European lives excluding population that was killed by strife, famine, mistreatment and similar later.]
We honor the death in battle as a tribute to our foremost god Odin, but there was no honor or glory in how these Bird warriors fought. The horrors I saw those days are burned into my very being and neither me or my Brothers can ever forget what we witnessed. They saw no difference between man, woman or child nor did they spare the weak who could not fend. They would not rape or pillage but only burn and destroy within their path. An Irish young woman died in-front of our walls as we could not let her in. Her gut had been opened by the jagged black teeth of the Birds and in her hands she held her unborn child begging us to save it but we could do nothing but watch as she slowly faded. My Brothers had seen what terrors war could bring, but this was nothing like war.
When my depictions of what we've seen and what is to come reached our lord Palnatoke almost the entirety of the Order is moved to Athlone. Palnatoke had sworn upon formation of the Order that he would defend the faithful against any enemy and with the news of the Western invaders he decided that Kildare would be the frontier. He arranged massive amounts of wealth to be put into developing Athlone into an unbreakable fortress that would be able to withstand Ragnarok itself. He enlisted Scholars and Engineers from all across the world, hired to improve upon the walls and towers not caring for what their beliefs would be as long as they would work on Athlone.
When the Aztecs aim their eyes towards the south King Hemming the Second did his best to delay the Birds. In a scheme that would have made Loki proud he manages to trick the Nahua commander in Ulster to give them Kildare without opposition but still kept them unaware of the fortress being improved upon at Luan's crossing. When they however did realize several years later it was already too late to take it from our grasp and we could keep ourselves afloat by pillaging the rich supply train that the Aztecs had set up and incapable of defending. New recruits would be taken in from Jomsborg into the fortress in small warbands keeping a steady supply of manpower.
The Birds continued their expansion upon the rest of the Isles and we are now alone in Althone but we will hold steadfast. As rest of the land crumbled the stone walls of Athlone has kept the invaders at bay for almost a decade now. We've become a refuge for Christians and Norse alike, even several cross-worshipers have converted to join the order feeling their God have abandoned them. It does however worry me for what the future brings,, the walls might hold for now but the Birds are not a simple people and if they want to they will surely find a way to beat us. We must stay vigilant and be prepared for what they might bring. No matter what the walls of Athlone must not fall, we are the last guard before Ragnarok.
The Scourge gathers and my guard shall never end. I shall take no woman, hold no lands and have none offspring. I shall wear no family and I shall have no duties beyond the Order. I shall live and die at my station. I am the shield against ragnarok, I am the last wall against dispair. I pledge my life and honor to the service of Palnatoke and I forfeit my place in Valhalla as my guard of Midgard sees no end.
[TL Note: Later scriptures refer back to this passage as the 'Oath of the Jomsviking'.]
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There now everything from before the forum swap should be restored here so i can continue on my story, new update should be soonish
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It is what the explores of the Sagas called the Native Tribes they found in North America.
From Wikipedia, though keep in mind the word was first used to refer to the ancestors of todays Inuits and we have simply extended its usage to all people of the Americas
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I've almost covered 30 years, reaching 1300 today and will probably put up an update today when I get home covering those 30 years. King Hemming II is a greedy and scheming coward with a genius intellect so his rule will be kind of boring and will be mostly remembered as "that strange king that did nothing" (while what he did was actually make the Kingdom's income hit the +300/year mark)
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I'm guessing that having those resources to draw on were a major help to future kings' attempts to turn back the Aztecs?
Maybe we'll see, but the ones you remember in history are usually not the administrator type kings. Especially not when its a king in a culture that has grown very warrior like.
The Vikings themselves are not 100% all time war in OTL, but through the 300 years I've played the only thing that the Scanians know are war, the constant defense against cross worshipers at all times and as such that part of the culture has become much much stronger. So a King like Hemming II will be happy if he is even given a footnote (If you haven't noticed I've slowly changed focus on the nation over time in the writing and how I build it up to fit the culture and you guys by voting that a commander was to be given the duchy reinforced that culture shift and as we reach further ahead it will have more consequences like an even more bloody reformation than the 30 years war)
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The messengers from the Jomsviking outposts in the west carry no good news with them and it seems most of the Isles have fallen,all except the Scottish and Welsh Kings who hold against the invaders against all odds somehow. At home the young king is viewed as weak and a coward. He gave up the Milzas land in Ireland without even calling upon the support of his vassals to protect the burial site of a Dýrlingur. This view is so far spread so even the Fylkir openly expresses how Valentin, the brother of King Hemming II, should be King of Skåne. In case of civil war the core land of Skåne isn't that impressive in comparison to the rest of the Kingdom. As such
In the Allthing King Hemming is also at large not favored for the very same reasons. As such Hemming does his best to weasel himself into the court of the Nahua commander and eventually succeeds in marrying his daughter to the first son of the commander. To somehow strengthen his control of his realm he procures resources into establishing a stricter line of legal conduct which would in time give him more power over his vassals.
Not really being a man of war other interests catch the Kings favor and he starts an endeavor on observing Yggdrasil going so far to building an observatory in Trelleborg. So caught up in this new hobby of his he doesn't even notice that his second daughter is born, or that the Jomsvikings are expanding on the continent.
It takes almost a full year but finally the observatory is finished and Hemming can finally start his journey to explore the world tree. After their expansion the Jomsvikings are hit with some internal strife. The legal inheritor of the Norwegian land protests to a celibate life within the order and rebels against them. While the Fylkariate argue over what position they should take in the conflict, Hemming dedicates all his time to study and asking himself if there are more worlds on the three than the nine that is told about in the Sagas, are there beings out there with the power and wisdom of the Æsir or the Vanir? Will we ever leave Midgard ourselves?
The Jomsvikings make an expensive expedition to the land in the west and brought back news from across the sea. It nearly sounds like a fairy tale and most of the realm just dismiss it as such. However the same year as the news arrive Hemmings wife give birth to twins.
Hemming continues his studies and the thought of beings existing on Yggdrasil takes root in his mind and he can't shake the terrible thought of what would happen if these beings would defeat their gods. Scared by this thought he orders that the army of Trelleborg has to be improved to protect him and his family in case of whatever could happen.
The Estrid empire has now properly collapsed with the de-facto split of Denmark-Poland and Pannonia ruled by the old Árpád family. However these news barely registers in Hemming's mind as he is way to devoted to his research in order to for sure know what is out there.
The old Fylkir exploited his power quite well, especially when it came to courting young maidens in his castle and the realm. While the old commander who had served Hemming's father were absorbed by desires of the flesh the King was determined to find answers to what exists beyond their knowledge in Yggdrasil. It is a long trip to the Arabian peninsula but he got what he searched for.
However after acquiring the fabled book strange occurrences started to happen to Hemming in the observatory. With his paranoia and lack of rest he becomes stressed as his work has a toll on his mind. The widow of Hemming's Uncle find the King collapsed one night and forces him to rest and relax. But it doesn't last long until he continues to study the scriptures. Luckily though he is not driven mad by the secrets he book contains.
His devotion to studying the stars have learned him many new hings he wouldn't have considered and he feel somewhat trapped in this backwards world where the warrior holds the praise of the gods and society. The old Fylkir dies of old age and a new one is elected who immedietly goes to war for Jylland, a very short war which ends in defeat for the Fylkariate.
Hemming finalizes his hypothesis drawing conclusions from the old sagas of the gods war between the Æsir and the Vanir as basis for there existing more gods than the ones we know and he could even find similarities between the Arabic book's "The Old ones" and he asks himself the question what existed before the gods we know today? Its very clear the gods man worship protect Midgard from beings like Hrímthursar and it is not impossible that in the depths of the ancient Niflheim and Muspelheim or maybe even beyond those realms that there exists an ancient power equal to our gods.
Prince Valentin asks to join the Order to defend their realm from the Aztec invaders and fight on the walls of Athlone, the King gives his brother his blessing. The old western states of Europe has almost disappeared from the map altogether.
