The Legacy of the Vogelius Dynasty - The Rising Raven

[Groogy]

No their strongest allies are the Successor states of the Estrid Empire, Denmark and Pannonia.

 

[Groogy]

Fylka Åse 'the Usurper' is now rightfully queen of Milsarikí and pregnant with her second child as we enter the year of 1345. The old King Ingolf is banished to Færeyar where he is believed that he can cause no harm. In the middle of the summer, Queen Åse drunk on her power assembles the Allthing in Uppland to declare a Great Holy War for the ancient Kingdom of The Isles and Skotland. The Vogelius family being headed by the weak and craven King Jørgen the Second of his name their concerns of internal issues goes unheard by the Allthing.

Nonetheless the Vogelius pledges their support to uphold their honor and prestige within the Norse realms and they mount an army of 18 000 strong men who lands in Veisafjord. Many powerful lords in Skåne take advantage of this war, the royal armies presence in a distant land and a weak King on the throne. A faction lead by the Jarl of Trøndelag pushes for that the laws enacted by previous Kings to be removed and more power should be given to the local nobles instead. The King caves immediately.

Meanwhile the armies in Skotland are maneuvering around each other doing their best to avoid the large Scottish Army hoping to take them when they are at a disadvantage. Eventually in first of January the Scottish Commanders orders the army to march their army over the frozen sea between Strangfjord and Galloway to engage the Scanian army of 9 000. However the secret plan slip someones tongue and the Scottish realize that reinforcements of an equally large army is approaching from right around the corner and they decide to stop and wait in Strangfjord. So The Scanians transport one of their armies over the Irish Sea to Dublin to try and take the Scottish from the south where they won't expect them. The harsh winter has also started to bite in on the Scottish army and they can't supply their men with enough food.

The Scots manage to react to the approaching southern Scanian army sooner than what he Scanian commanders wanted them to and the second army in Skotland isn't close enough to join in on the battle and it looks grim for them as the Scots engage them in Oriel south of Strangfjord. Instead of fighting the enemy the Scanian commanders order a retreat back to Strangfjord where the reinforcement of 8 000 men wait for them, the Scots give chase.

Milish reinforcements are on their way to support the Scanian army but the heavy blow from the Scanian Housecarls steel prove too much for the Scottish to handle and they die by the thousands each day as engagements occur all over the countryside. But with such a difference in numbers it only amounts to a close victory and if it wasn't for the Milish reinforcements they would probably have been a slaughter of Norse troops. But with this major engagement won it looks like it will be an easy victory for the Norse in Skotland, if it wasn't for the old King in Færeyar wanting his crown back.

The Scots try to take a Milish Army of balance but the Scanians are in Argyll ready to reinforce. The Scots stand no chance. However with the revolt in Milsarikí the Great Holy war comes to a very neutral standpoint and eventually even the Kingdom of England joins the war on their fellow Catholics side. But the Milish lords have managed to mount a much larger force now so it doesn't look as bleak and the Ingolf Loyalist surrender in 1348.

The Welsh Jarldom of Deheubarth comes under siege from the English Army and an invading force of the great Queen Marchell of Arymôr. The Milish are advancing on them but they are taking heavy casualties on the way. They engage the English army and they have the number advantage.

During one of the war meetings discussing what to do next in the British Isles now that the much larger English Kingdom have joined the war effort, Prince Sigfred barges in unannounced and demands he is to be given land o govern himself but he is simply waved away by the King as he is too busy to bother with domestic issues. Soon here after he court learns that Prince Sigfred has left the realm. This also is seen as weakness from the King in the view of the other lords in the realm and it sparks a small revolt however this time the Cheiftains of Sjælland and Blekinge, long time strongholds of the most powerful branches of the Vogelius familiy, takes arms to fight and lead against the opportunists not wanting their family weakened even further. Luckily for them the Royal army has also just come back home from their tour in Skotland for reinforcements.

 

[Groogy]

The rebels are taken by suprise and caught in the fields of Nerke and are crushed within mere days. Even though of this quick battle a noble distinguishes himself and make himself a name on the battlefield. He will prove himself useful later.

But for the turmoil of the mid 14th century there is not much rest for King Jørgen as his dear brother makes his threats a reality and starts his invasion of his old home to claim the Kingdom for himself. He had gathered support from many lords viewing him as a stronger candidate for the throne and that King Jørgen himself was a disappointment to the Kingdom. To try and ensure stability in the realm the family of Vogelius marries the Heir Apparent with Sigtrygg of the family Bjærtrå. That family is the family in control of the Trøndelag Jarldom and the Jarldom of Dublin, a very strong and powerful family within the Northern realms. If you don't remember they were founded by the commander known as Vilfred 'the Sword of the Allfather' who was rewarded the Jarldom as reward for his services by vote in the Allthing. With that marriage guaranteed a lot of the support from the nobles in he realm dies and so does the strength of the ambitious prince.

Most of the princes in the previous revolt are still imprisoned and they are kept chained up to make sure the realm remain stable in this troubled time and with finally putting prince Sigfred in chains it truly becomes peace for the homeland and the King can put back the effort in the Great War against the Catholics in Skotland which is looking grim, and the war with the Kingdom of Arymôr is still ongoing.

It takes some time to find fresh recruits for the Scanian army as no one wants to fight with the weak King in Skotland. But eventually a large enough force is amassed and they make landfall on the eastern coast of Skotland. The Scots have a much larger force to the south but their Northumberland has been hit hard with the sickness Typhus and they are losing men by the day to it. As news reach them that a new force from the East has arrived on their doorstep and the Milish armies are marching to join with them the Scots move quickly to intercept them and the Scanians follow suit but the Milish got no chance to evade the Scots.

The Scots sure of their victory and wanting to chase down the last of the Milish soldiers split their army which gives the Scanians an oppertunity to trap a large part of their fighting force in Strangfjord. As soon as they realize their mistake they turn around trying to save their friends. But its too late.

A lot of smaller conflicts occur all over the Skotland countryside. One of the old rebel leaders have a close relative that negotiates for his release in the midst of everything. However the war for the land of Skotland is going well for the Norse Realms.

Soon enough the Scottish Queen has no option but to surrender her home and the Vogelius families swoop in and takes control of the Kingdom for themselves bypassing the Fylkariate mandate and the Allthing alltogeher. There was an uproar within the courts of the Northern Realms stretching even as far as The Order.

Realms of 1361

Religions of 1361

Cultures of 1361

 

[loup99]

A big victory for the Norse faith, although now comes the time to administrate all of the conquests.

 

[Groogy]

King Jørgen been so unwanted in the realm he develops a shyness to strangers preferring old company he knows he can trust. Being pushed around by the Grand Burgher's of Skåne and his health starts to take a toll as he becomes stressed from the pressure.

In the year 1363 the holy father in Rome declares a crusade for Egypt to establish a sister state to the failing Crusader State of Jersualem. But in the Norse realms they are too busy dividing the spoils of Skotland. Lothian and Albany was given to the two adult brothers of Jørgen, Balder and Uffe while the Brother Sigfred continued to rot in the dungeons. Galloway was given to a relative of the Blekinge branch of the Vogelius dynasty. Søreyar and the island of Mann is given to Thorolf af Arvika and Moray to Commander Ragnvald of Moray, both men who have served the Vogelius with loyalty.

After a year, in the hot summer of Egypt the invasion forces of the Catholic world have landed. Being Shia the divided Fatamids are alone in defending their home as the much larger Seljuk Empire adheres to the Sunni teachings. North of them the Turkestan Khanate have collapsed and is slowly being absorbed by Volga Bulgaria and Golden Horde

After two years the Crusade is declared a success and a Salian is hailed as King of the Egypts.

As Fylkir Åse was nearing her 60's the Thing convened on who should be her holiness successor and the initial talks pointed at the King being the best potential inheritor. Hower news come from Skotland as the old commander, Duke Ragnvald of Moray dies of illness and his estate is returned to the King.

The Cross-worshippers are celebrating on their victory and the Egyptian Kingdom is indeed a large and powerful one. But the Fatamids won't let them be beaten by the enemy on the other side of the sea and in the year 1366 declare their own Jihad to take back their Kingdom. This time the Fatamids weren't divided so both the previous Egyptian and the Arabian branches fight together side by side.

Eventually the stress comes to Jørgen and one morning he simply doesn't wake up when the thralls come to dress him. With no sons his inheritor is his daughter Kirsten who become the first Queen of the Kingdom. With this sudden death of the King the Allthing swtich their favor to one of the smaller nobles in the Realms. The Chiefain of Telemark in the Norwegian lands.

Queen Kirsten decide to focus on domestic development and go on improving the keep of the mighty fortress of Trelleborg and making sure she secure the future of the family. It was however a great scandal at the court when she decided to go against tradition and not name her first child either Jørgen or Hemming.

 

[Groogy]

News later reach of how the Milish Fylkir dies and a new one needs to be elected. Long live Fylkir Rolf! But immedietly upon his ascension he dies of old age and the Allthing decides that the Fylkariate shall go to his son and heir.

Returning to domestic affairs Queen Kirsten hears from nobles who have lent out fortunes to the Duke of Gotland that he now refuses to pay back feeling safe on his island in the Baltic. They demand actions to be taken and someone to fix that hole of debt. But for now Kirsten refuses as she feels is theirs problem and not something for the Royal Court to handle. Of course this didn't make people happy.

The Queen becomes pregnant yet again and give birth to another healthy baby boy she names Valentin. Same year the Chaliphate of the Shia Fatamids declare success in their Jihad for Egypt. Introduction of Asatrú is also steadily progressing in Skotland with a lot of people from Skåne and Ireland moving there to start new lives but also local populace who switch from the pressure of their rulers.

Soon enough comes the lords of the realm and try to press their demands. Kirsten is no craven like her father was. The Royals try and take the Scanian royal army while they are unprepared and victory is uncertain for the loyalists. But they manage to pull through the enemy lines and win.

But thanks to that the rebels have managed to consolidate their forces much more effectively and are vastly outnumbering the Royal army. They do their best to try and avoid confrontation but eventually they are captured on Sjælland. Queen Kirsten decide to call for her uncles help in Skotland.

The army in Sjælland is devastated and routed to Fyn where reinforcements from Pommerania is waiting and the Scotish fleet is about to enter harbor. With new forces the morale of the troops is revived yet again and they charge at the main rebel army holding a siege at the fortress of Trelleborg. Its a victory for the Queen but a costly one. But with that the momentum of the rebels are destroyed and shortly afterwards they give up.

Seeing how the lords of the realm still pose a threat to the crown Queen Kirsten order that the walls of Trelleborg are to be improved. She also banns peasants from the smaller farms to sell on the markets of cities in Skåne without using a Burgher as a middle man, making it much easier for her to tax it. The Order has as well managed to get a foothold in Prussia

Jarl of Søreyar adopts the title of Mann instead and moves his capital seat there. Meanwhile on the continent it seems the Danish King wants his Prussian land back.

Kirsten finally have enough of the nobles wanting action taken to the Jarl of Gotland so she finally does something radical. She absolved the loans and takes upon herself to fix the troubles this mans rule has done to the island.

And in year of 1380 the mighty Kingdom of Jerusalem is no more. And by 1385 the Order loses its ground in Prussia to Danmark who then donates the land to the Teutonic Order. Because of the issues of her father had ruling and that she had Queen Kirsten decided to spend considerable effort in establishing laws and customs at he courts of Skåne establishing the higher worth of a nobleman than any normal Freeman. Highest of course is the Royal court, ruling by Odin's will.

Realms of 1385

Religions of 1385

Cultures of 1385

 

[loup99]

Not the ruler with the best traits, that queen Kirsten. A shame that the Salians lost Egypt, would have been interesting to see more crusader states and the catholics turning towards the east.

 

[Groogy]

Not the ruler with the best traits, that queen Kirsten. A shame that the Salians lost Egypt, would have been interesting to see more crusader states and the catholics turning towards the east.

Agreed, I'm pondering on if I should declare Holy War on Jerusalem myself and spit in the Cross worshippers face as I establish my own Crusader State

 

[MiasmicMoose]

Jerusalem was actually one of the holiest places in Germanic worship, it's a travesty to allow the Cross and Moon worshippers to trample the places of Odin!

 

[Groogy]

So doing a small vote here now to decide what I'm going to do while I am playing for this chapter. You will get the results with the next update.

The Fylkariate has been assembled upon the request of Warchief Tegwyd of Jomsvikings, the Tenth Master of the Order and chosen by the late Master Grimr in he year 1397. Maser Tegwyd is a zealous warrior of Odin and before joining the order he was the son of a powerful noble in Milsarikí. The latest defeats in Prussia has taken a toll on the orders Prestige which he wants to rectify. His proposal is very unorthodox and much speaks against the whole scheme bu it is intriguing none the less and it appeals to many Thingemen in the Allthing.

Maser Tegwyd has been planning for a few years now a way to discredit the authority of the enormous German Empire to the south of the Norse believers and their entire faith. He wants the Norse realms, Skåne, Skotland and Milsarikí to join in a holy crusade against the Moslems of Særkland to take Jerusalem, the holiest city of our rivals and fill i with our own people by establishing a Norse Crusader State of Jerusalem.

This will of course mean that we will come in conflict with distant monolithic powers for a longer time. First the twin Shia Fatamid Empires of Egypt and Arabia and then potentially in the future the Sunni Seljuk Empire of Persia and Armenia. Not to say that the Christian world will most probably not let a slight like this go unpunished. But as long as the Norse realms stay firm and true to the Æsir's guidance we shall be an unstoppable force that shall overcome anything our enemies can throw at us.

The Fylkariate now compromises 4 realms, the Kingdoms of Skåne, Skotland, Milsarikí and the Jomsvikings Order. However there is still a culture of keeping the Thingemen close to Uppsala and as such most often the ones picked are from Skåne or the Order. None the less it is a grand coalition of various nobles and lords vying for power on a more global scale than ever before. It compromises the cultures of Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegians, Scots, Irish and even Prussians.

Currently it looks like one of the sons of dear Queen Kirsten is going to be elected he future Fylkir.

The country isn't as rich as it has been, the riches of the trade flowing along the Sound has taken a hit from the numerous Prussian wars between various Norse Jarls wishing to expand their power or the Polish-Danish Kingdom trying to reclaim heir old land. As such the Cities can't pay as much tax as they used to anymore.

But at this very moment the Kingdom is at its peak with the union of the crown of Skotland and Skåne. The manpower reserves have recovered and the Kingdom can field an impressive army of 40 000 total if needs be. Skåne has truly become a great power of the North being able to match its size with even the giants.

Since we are planning to fight the two largest empires of Midgard we have to take a look on reports of how the strength is measured between the realms of our world. We are not one of the weaker realms but together the Fatamids field an army much larger than the Norse but they are nowhere near us in technological advances.

Also even though the Ilkhanate has been absorbed by the mighty Seljuk Empire, the Golden Horde is still quite strong and are quickly advancing over the old Turkestan lands and is now facing against its successor state the Volga Bulgaria which is ruled by Muslim Bolghars.

And time for the vote. Shall we as a united faith declare a holy crusade in the name of Odin to claim the land most holy to the One-God faiths and do what none of them have managed, keep it for all time forward. Time limit is going to be 3rd of June, a bit short but I want to finish this chapter by then.
Remember to use the

symbol to make my job easier.

Crusade for Jerusalem

Option 1: We are no reason to take the land of another faith
Option 2: We shall prove the strength of our gods! We shall burn Særkland to the ground!

 

[sealy300]

Crusade for Jerusalem

Option 2: We shall prove the strength of our gods! We shall burn Særkland to the ground!

 

[alxeu]

Crusade for Jerusalem

Option 2: We shall prove the strength of our gods! We shall burn Særkland to the ground!

 

[MiasmicMoose]

Crusade for Jerusalem

Option 2
Let's show those who cling to the cross and the moon the power of the true gods!

 

[Attalus]

Crusade for Jerusalem :

Option 1
It seems to me that we should not divert our ressources for such a futile attack. A great raid would be enough to show our power !

 

[loup99]

Crusade for Jerusalem

Option 2: We shall prove the strength of our gods! We shall burn Særkland to the ground!

 

[The Number 9]

Crusade for Jerusalem

Option 2: We shall prove the strength of our gods! We shall burn Særkland to the ground!

 

[DKM]

Crusade for Jerusalem :

Option 1
We shouldn't divert our resources for such a pointless war and that's not mentioning the endless state of war that would be upon us by both the Muslims and Christians if we won. A great raid on Jerusalem would be enough to show our power!

 

[alscon]

Crusade for Jerusalem

Option 1: We have no reason to take the land of another faith

While it may look good to spit in the face of our religious enemies, our warriors would just face an eternal war far from home, leaving the Fylkirate weak. It would completely suffice to burn their holy city to the ground, as the worshippers of the cross did to Irminsul !

 

[Jorlem]

Crusade for Jerusalem

Option 1: We have no reason to take the land of another faith

A great raid will show our gods' superiority, without tying us down in the unbearably hot southern lands. We shall raid the treasures of Jerusalem, then Rome, parading the loot we have taken from Jerusalem in front of their Pope. Perhaps we shall visit the other places they think holy as well.

 

[Dirt McStain]

Crusade for Jerusalem

Option 1: Let us raid and burn their holy places to the ground instead. Capture their holy leaders and sacrifice them to the gods!