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Hello everyone and welcome to my first ever ARR, hopefully you will get as much entertainment out of reading it as I get out of writing, with this ARR I have decided to try and focus on telling story based loosely on what I do ingame and whatever pop ups happens .
The story will be about the Oddi dynasty out of the county of Vestisland(Iceland) founded and lead by count Sigfus, a man that if legends are to be believed was larger then life and laid the foundation for a grand empire, but as it so often goes legends can be deceptive.
1st of January 1457: A picture based on stories of the legendary Count Sigfus, truly a man worth remembering.
The style of this ARR will be a lighthearted semi-diary style with hopefully some humor, I'll be using dates for each entry, everything have been run through spell checking but since English isn’t my native langue and I’m not really good at spelling even on my native language, you might experience spelling errors, miss placed words and just weird sentences while reading.
Personal journal of Count Sigfus, to be retuned unread to Reykjavik Vestisland if found.
15th of September 1066
Dear journal.
Although everyone know me far and wide in Iceland, as the both the count of Vestisland and the man with the sharpest haircut in all the realm, I must admit I have fears ...
Fears for the future, my liege duke Isleifur of Iceland is getting old and senile, I fear he will soon bow to foreign powers and accept vassalisation to the king of Norway, a warmongering beast currently in the process of invading England, I have many times tried to convince him we should stay independent and that even though the Norwegian culture is very close to our own, there is surely many fundamental differences...
I have always had a silent understanding with duke Isleifur, He ruled the east part of Iceland I ruled the west, but with the duke's new ideas I must prepare and wait for an opportunity to take his holdings as my own...
For this plan I have been considering my counsel of advisers, the are the best that this county has to offer but will the get the job done.
Torfinn is a mediocre chancellor at best, much of my plan hinders on his ability to fabricate a clam on duke Isleifur's lands, As my marshal I have mayor Arnkjell from the my vassal city of Alftanes he have done a fine job of keeping bandits in check in my holdings and I have faith he will train our troops well.
Alv my steward plays an important roll in my plans as well, he will have to insure we have the funds needed when we declare war on Isleifur, while I am pleased with both my marshal and steward the high light of my counsel is Gudmund my spymaster, he is very skilled and he have always been contend with my rule and never questioned me.
The last member of my counsel is our court chaplain also name Arnkjell, he is a terrible preacher and his nasty harelip always freak me out when I have to talk with him, also I also can just not get my self to trust a man from the Borg dynasty with a position of power, I can only hope leading our church will sharpen him up but somehow I doubt that will happen, Still he will have to do until I can find a better candidate...
Thoughts about my counsel’s ability to help me stop duke Isleifur weighs heavy on my mind, during these dark days the only thing that can lift my spirit is when I’m watching my son Saemunder grow up, I am sure one day he will turn into a master of intrigue under the tutorage of Sunniva, a fine young lass, here in my court she is well know far and wide for her skill at court intrigue, not even Gudmund can keep up with her schemes.
16th of September 1066
As I watched Saemunder play with Sunniva today it suddenly hit me that its been 10 years since Saemunder's mother died in childbirth, we where teenage sweethearts and at the time it was so hard getting over her death that I had to have her name and face removed from the family tree, I have to face the truth now however, I can't stay single forever and with the right marriage I could get a powerful ally in the coming war agents my liege.
16th of September 1066 - second entry
Gudmund our spymaster is a well traveled man and when I asked him about a worthy bride, he tells of a beautiful princess by the name of Sigrid, she is the daughter of king Svend of Denmark with his aid I could surely crush duke Isleifur.
22nd of September 1066
I finally got a reply from king Sven, my breath was rapid and my palms where sweaty as I tore open the fancy paper envelope which contended the letter that would finally tell me that I was getting a new wife and the help of one of the most powerful men in northern Europe to become the new duke of Iceland, the letter stated...
}}}To the noble count Sigfus, blessings upon you and your house.{{{
I like your Mojo but I can't just marry my daughters off to some nobody count in a far off frozen wasteland, come back when you the duke of Iceland and maybe we can talk.
KING Svend.
23rd of September 1066
I'm married!!!!????
I got really drunk yesterday after I read the letter from king Svend, when I woke up this morning Sunniva was laying with me in my bed and first thing she said was "morning husband", The only thing I remember from yesterday was meeting Arnkjell the Borg and him offering me a drink.
23rd of September 1066 - second entry
Its true, I'm married, my sons nanny Sunniva is now my wife, Arnkjell the couth chaplain married us yesterday right in the town squire of Alftanes, The mayor and the rest of my counsel not to mention the whole town was present there, The will really hurt my prestige but I can't back out now, Sunniva seemed very calm about the whole thing, she send out people to collect Royal aid duty, she talked to Saemunder about the marriage, she even had a double bed installed in my bedroom.
Coming soon...
Act I - Chapter 2: Count Sigfus get shanghaied(again).
Act I - Chapter 2: Count Sigfus get shanghaied(again)
24th September 1066
Today Gudmund arrived with bad news my worst fears have come true, Duke Isleifur have abandoned his Icelander proud and agreed to become a vassal of king Harald, it is surely only a matter of time before we get pulled into the king's crazy inversion of England.
22nd November 1066
I have done my best to tell King Harald that we are not interested in his war but today the King arrived outside my castle with his entourage, he told me that I had to ether raise my men and come with him to fight the English or he would orders his men to kill me and give my lands to Duke Isleifur, I have no chose even busy with his war there is no way I can withstand an attack by king Harald's forces, as I write this I am currently packing my things and kissing my Sunniva goodbye, despite the fast marriage I have grown very found of her in these last few months and she have proven to be excellent at the duties that comes with being a countess.
2nd January 1067
I have just arrived in York the fighting here is brutal, I had hoped to join the major Norwegian army and throw the English forces some mean looks from the officer tent but it seems being the count of Vestisland doesn’t count for much here, Harald forces me on the frontline of every battle we face, he says its because I need it to grow some chest hair, at least we are getting some reinforcement, I read a letter in king Harald’s tent the other day, it said...
>>>To the honorable King Harald, blessings upon you and your house<<<
You sure got some moxie invading England, I got your letter about that call to arms, rest assure I got your back buddy, the finest Danish knights and wet nurses are on their way.
KING Sven.
3rd March 1067
I have been stuck in this mudpool the call England for the last 3 months, I have seen good men cut down by the hundreds, I seen castle burn, I have seen the innocents violated, despite this my hate burns not for the English we are fighting, neater dos it burn for king that bullied me and forced me away from my people, no it burns for Duke Isleifur the man who sold out our freedom and condemned me and every other Icelandic man in this army to fight and die in this godforsaken war that we have no stakes in.
Today I got a letter from Torfinn my chancellor, he have managed to fabricate a clam on duke Isleifur’s lands, as I hold this letter in my hands a big smile grows on my face and my mind drifts back to Iceland and all the horrible things I am going to do my "liege" when I finally get out of this war.
20th March 1067
Back in Iceland!!!, its only temporary but it feel like a lifetime since I last seen my homeland, king Harald gave me and my men some time off, I suppose he was worried that one of the men was going to go over the deep end and running him though, the men seem to hate England even more then me.
We got strict orders to be back in 3 weeks time but right now I don't care I'm just glad for this chance to see Sunniva and Saemunder again, when I entered the castle courtyard Sunniva came running out and embraced me, a passionate night followed but the next morning it got me thinking while I have found love many of my men and still without soul mates, the men have bravely followed me to England at king Harald’s demand and the should be rewarded in some way for their faithful service.
23rd March 1067
People may not think of me as the most pious man but I do have a bit of piety in me and we just can't continue with this drunken priest of a Borg in the court chaplain position, I have send out a call for men whiling to take up the position but alas only two men showed up, fortunately one of them proved to be an excellent scholar very skilled in the act of preaching, Jon as the priest is named may have a desperado look about him but everyone agreed our new court chaplain is miles better then the old one.
2nd April 1067
As I was enjoying the cold wind at the top of my castle tower Sunniva joined me, after a long kiss she tells me that she knows of my hate for duke Isleifur and about my plans to take over his lands, she go’s on to says she know someone that could help in this matter, I ask “who would help me” she leads me into a room where none other then the duke Isleifur own son is waiting, Teitur Isleifursson is an arbitrary young brat that is tired of waiting for his chance to rule, Sunniva tells me that she have been keeping an eye on him for a while now and he have been working on a plan to kill his father but need support to pull it off, instead of informing the duke she have brought him here to me.
I am a little worried about this after all I want the duke title for my self not just to have it pass to Teitur, still Sunniva's advise in intrigue matters have proved invaluable in the past so I agreed to support Teitur's plot, after he leave I ask Sunniva about her reason for making me support the plot and she explain to me that although I would grain no lands from this plot the Austland troops and vassals will be much easier to take over if the old duke have just died, I must admit she has a point and if nothing else the idea that old tyrant getting killed by his son brings a smile to my face.
15th April 1067
I am Back in England helping with the siege of some duke with a funny name's castle at the behest of a king that think bleaching is an art form, but today I don't care, I got a letter from Sunniva telling me that she is with child and can't wait until this war is over and I can come back to her.
10th may 1067
I got two letters today, the first is from that old goat duke Isleifur he gives me the "honor" of being his court chaplain, I laugh at the thought if me running around and improving the culture of his holdings but before I can write a nasty reply to Isleifur I open the second letter it is from Sunniva.
She says she is in good health and although she is worried about me she knows I'll come back safely to her soon, the letter goes on to say Sunniva knows about the duke's offer and she advise me to accept it, as court chaplain I will have more opportunities to assist in the duke's assassination and I can make many contacts in the land I plan to conquer as always Sunniva got a good point, I get a pen and some paper, make up the nicest lies I can think off and send them back to duke Isleifur.
12th June 1067
The plan is well on the way Teitur have procured a slow poison and when I next return to Iceland I will let duke Isleifur drink from a poisoned chalice during a special sermon that I will hold in memory of the men that died in our pointless war agents England, the irony will be bitter on the old man as he die in agony thinking of the brave solders he send to their death, if only king Harald would let me get back to Iceland sooner but even now I can hear the trumpets calling me to battle.
Coming soon...
Act I - Chapter 3: The Widow diaries
I had some extra time this morning and got into the whiting mood, this is just a little extra bonus between chapters, chapter 3 should be up tonight where we will see what happens ib vestisland after Sigfus’s death on the battlefield, let me know what you think of this ARR.
Tent of King Harald
Harald is drinking heavy with his pal king Svend of Denmark when Alv the Icelander steward barge into the tent, he is clearly is distress.
After catching his breath Alv bows and says with a hidden spite, ”it’s Count Sigfus the English ran him though”
”Sigfus?? Is that one of yours Svend”
”Never heard of him”
”Surely you remember our lord from Iceland my king” Alv is clearly shocked by the two kings comments.
”Hold on a second, wasn’t there a Count Sigfus begging to marry one of my daughters” king Svend say after taking a drink from his mug.
”That’s him my lord”
”And he is dead you say”
”Yes” Alv replays belay holding back the tears.
”Hmm, maybe I should visit his widow and give her some comfort”
Alv faints.
”Guards get this fool out of my tent” Harald yells to his nearby men, ”And tell them to catapult that Sigfus guy’s corpse over the wall, maybe he will infect the English with some of those Iceland diseases”
Act I - Chapter 3: The Widow diaries - part one.
Private journal of Sunniva av Thingvellir, expect to be poisoned, assassinated or imprisoned if you some how broke the lock.
30th June 1067
It has been weeks since I got the news that my beloved husband died in battle agents the English forces and even now I can hardly stop crying, he may have been a gullible fool that I easily tricked into marrying me but he was MY gullible fool, these last few months have been the happiest of my life, but now my unborn child will grow up without a father, I may have been a schemer in the past but now I will focus all my efforts to raising and teaching young Saemunder to be a count worthy of following in his father's footsteps, he is only 11 now but already he has a far better understanding of intrigue then most people in Vestisland
3rd July 1067
The castle have been in an uproar since my husband's untimely death and everyone is concerned about having an 11 year old boy as count, the Vestisland will need a regent until Saemunder is old enough to rule him self, unfortunately since I am only the stepmother the law of the land forbids me from being regent, instead the choose will fall to one of the counsel members, I have grave concerns of my own about duke Isleifur as well, with my husband's death he is now the direct heir, should something happen to young Saemunder the duke will inherent the Vestisland, even as old and senile as he is I am sure he is aware of this and is already scheming, I must take an active hand in picking our regent.
4th July 1067
I have made my choose I shall support Gudmund as regent, he was always loyal to my late husband and I have been able to control him very well in the past, like back when I guided him to that Danish princess I knew would reject Sigfus, I am worried about having an person skilled in intrigue as regent but Gudmund always seems to be contend with his position, it won't be easy getting him elected though I know mayor Arnkjell and chancellor Torfinn are both eager to take on the "responsibilities" of being regent and the new court chaplain my husband found is a bit of a wild card, the counsel will meet on the 12th of July to pick a regent, I will have to think of a plan for the meeting.
11th July 1067
Success(as always), I managed to keep both mayor Arnkjell and chancellor Torfinn away from the meeting, Torfinn regularly enjoy the company of a young lady and I easily convinced her to slip a sleeping potion into Torfinn's wine, the good mayor Arnkjell was busy fighting off a bandit group that had somehow mysteriously believed a large chest of coin was passing though Alftanes on the very same day as the meeting, Alv our steward received a promises of a future title in return of his help, wither the promises will happen or not I don't know but he eagerly agreed to vote for Gudmund, Jon proved to be a humble man and was only interested in keeping his position as court chaplain, after I reassured him of that his position was secure and pointed out he has the best court chaplain this county have had in years he agreed to support Gudmund as well.
4th November 1067
It finally happened today, I gave birth to a beautiful little girl, I have never been so happy my whole life but also sad that she will grow up without a father, Sigfus always said he wanted her name Margrete if it was a girl, I never cared much for that name but it feels fitting to honour his wishes now.
12th November 1067
I got word today that Teitur have ending his plot to kill duke Isleifur, some how I find my self rethinking how I helped Sigfus in plotting with Teitur to kill the man's own father, it makes me sad thinking about now that I am a parent my self, I will have to keep an extra close eye on Isleifur now that he could target my own daughter as well as Saemunder, fortunately I know we have the military manpower to withstand an attack by the duke and my spy network are far superior to his.
3rd January 1068
The new year starts well, Margrete is in good health and Saemunder's education is coming along nicely, Alv our steward have even managed to collect a large sum of money with the new Sigfus memorial tax.
18th January 1068
Gudmund, that fool have somehow gotten it into his head that it was Sigfus's last wish that Saemunder married a Danish princess, I don't know if this is payback on his part or if he actually believes it, in any event his attempt failed, I gotten an copy of the letter Gudmund will receive from the king in a few days.
>>> To the glorious regent Gudmund Your wisdom and mercy are legendary <<<
More of these shenanigans, why would I bethrove my daughter to some boy count when his father didn't make the cut, please stop sending me letters or I will have my friend King Harald revoke your county,
King Svend
15th July 1068
I almost fainted today as all the bad memories from Sigfus's death came flushing back up in me when we got a letter from king Harald ordering us to send more troops to support his war in England, I shutter to think how many wifes have lost there husbands in this war, at least Harald appear to be winning so maybe our boys will come home soon.
Coming soon...
Act I - Chapter 4: The Widow diaries - part two.
5th January 1070
I can hardly believe that its been well over a year since my last entry, my time have been split between taking care of Margrete and educating Saemunder as well as constantly making sure duke Isleifur is kept in check, during this last year I have seem many Icelandic lads send off to the war in England and I have had to tell many women that their husbands and sons have fallen in battle, the war still drags on even as that brute Harald control much of northern England.
16th January 1070
Curses, I thought Gudmund have given up his crazy idea of marrying Saemunder to a Danish princess but he somehow managed to keep his plans hidden from me and now its to late, he found one of Sven's bastard daughters a princess Ragnhild, she is the former countess of Rogaland and Gudmund arranged a betrothal between her and Saemunder behind my back, I tried convincing him that she is far to old for Saemunder but he won't bulk on the subject and as regent betrothals are in his right.
25th January 1070
Saemunder asked why he had to merry some old women when he always had his homework finished on time, I couldn't really give him a good answer so I told me that sometimes things just don't work out the way we want them to, I fear this have had a negative effect on him.
24 July 1070
Alv our steward died today he never got that title I promised him, at the funeral the reality of my life suddenly hit me, I am a horrible lying women that manipulate people into doing what I want, I have acted shamefully and spend the whole funeral getting drunk and crying about Sigfus, it got so bad the nanny had to take Margrete away.
11 May 1071
Saemunder is having trouble with mayor Arnkjell, he thinks the boy shows to much weakness and need to toughen up, Saemunder is upset and says that when he grows up he is going have the mayor banished and take away his city and want to go tell it to Arnkjell's face, I tell him that would be the worst thing he could do, he should be humble and show respect to everyone, no one ever expect the humble guy to pull their titles out from under them, he seems to take my words to heart.
25 May 1071
Its over, king Harald finally won his war and stole the English throne, he still need to mop up some french duke I never heard off and restore order in England, still this is good news even now some of our troops are starting to return home to Iceland.
30 August 1071
That annoying french duke finally gave it up and the last of our troops are returning home, I have ordered a victory party for the men that returned home and I have commissioned a memorial painting of my beloved husband, the greatest hero of the Norwegian invarsion.
22 September 1071
A letter and a large box arrived today from king Harald it was addressed specifically to Saemunder, this is rare as most letters go to my self or Gudmund, The letter said...
>>>To the mighty and unbreakable count Saemunder, blessings upon you and your house<<<
Hey kid its your uncle Harald, I was your dad's best friend in the war agents those nasty English barbarians so sorry about him, please sign this letter so I can institute limited crown authority in Norway.
Your friend KING HARALD THE CONQUEROR.
ps. the sweets in the box are for you.
22nd September 1071 - second entry
I was just about to write a letter given that boar of a king a piece of my mind when Saemunder calmly walked up signed the letter and gave it back to the messenger, I told him that it was a bad idea and he should do everything he could to limit the king's power, but Saemunder stood tall and for the first time ever I saw him as a real man instead of the boy I knew and loved, he explained that he would need Norway to have limited crown authority if he was going to be able to go though with his plans to revoke the city from mayor Arnkjell.
1st January 1072
Saemunder is finally age 16 and ready to take on his fathers legacy, I have educated him as best I knew how in the art of court intrigue and he have proven him self a master of intrigue, as a graduation gift I had new robe with a hood woven for him, it go's great with the new beard he have grown.
Coming soon...
Act 1 - Chapter 5: The Vestislandic hope.
Journal of Saemunder, Count of Vestisland, Contend is private, violators will be imprisoned.
10th January 1072
I am getting married today, my bride arrived earlier and is in the other room getting ready for the ceremony right now, I know we have a betrothal but it doesn’t feel right marrying a women that is so much older then me, Gudmund says it was my father's wish and Sunniva suggest I get a few drinks in me and just get it over with, that have been her solution to pretty much everything lately, as much as I love my adopted mother I fear she is starting to have a drinking problem.
The bells are ringing, I suppose I should go meet my bride.
13th February 1072
As I was sitting and pondering the future of my rule I got a update message from my spy at king Harald’s court it seems the old man is at it again, this time he have gotten the Scottish king excommunicated, I laugh quietly to my self, I know my father hated the man and died in his war, Sunniva resent him for getting my father killed but I can't help but admire him, a man drives a kingdom into the ground before him and makes it his own is man to be respected.
I will be should a king one day I think to my self, but for now I have to consider my options as a count, Isleifur is my direct liege but my forces are not enough to overwhelm him, I will bite my time as the gold poll up in my treasury and when I have enough I will get a mercenary army and take the dukedom for my own with a fabricated claim, never letting anyone or anything stop me.
27th February 1072
I got a letter today, it seems my skill in intrigue have reached duke Isleifur's ears and he is offering to make me his spymaster, this is perfect it will give me control over what the duke hears and it will allow me time and quiet to find backers whiling to join my plot of fabricating a clam on the duchy of Iceland.
26th may 1072
The first independence wars break out in England, Sunniva and I had a bet going about when this would happen and although she wins this bet, I an at ease since king Harald seems to be relaying on his own troops for this war.
24th November 1072
Today I found Jon our court chaplain in the middle of what appeared to be an occult ritual of some kind, it got me thinking no one really knows much about the man, he came out of nowhere about 5 years ago and my father hired him because the former court chaplain was a drunken fool or something, I need to know I can trust the men in my counsel so I decided to confront him about it, after hours of excuses and talk leading nowhere Jon finally admit he is a member of the “Order of True Ice“, an ancient Icelandic sect that have existed for centuries.
It is dedicated to ensuring the glory of the Icelandic people, he goes on to say that the sect have been manipulating things behind the screens a long time and is very concerned about king Harald's reason takeover of the island, the knew off my father's plans to become the duke of Iceland and Jon was send to help my father, he says it was the sect that insured my father became court chaplain for the duke but my father died in the war before he could go though with his plans.
This all sound very far fetched but it would explain a few things like why the duke would make my father court chaplain, I tell Jon he can stay but I want to meet the leader of this sect, if the where whiling to support my father maybe I can get them to help me with my schemes as well.
24th November 1072 - Second entry
Jon lead me though a maze of stairs to an old room in the castle that I didn't even knew existed, I can hear strange chanting and my nose filled with a exotic aroma, when we entered the chamber a number off hooded figures looked at us and I got a bad feeling in my stomach, could this be a trap, would Jon and the other hooded figures murder me.
My thoughts got interrupted when Jon said “there that one she is our leader“, to my great surprise the Cult's leader was none other then Sunniva my step mother and mentor she looked just as surprised to see me as I was to see her, Jon walked up to her and whispered a few words after which she dismissed Jon and the other hooded figures.
Sunniva sad down with me and I asked what all this was about, how could she be the leader of an century old sect, she looks a little bit guilty and confide in me that the after I finished my education she had a lot of time on her hands so she invented the "ancient" Sect with the help of Jon, he was the perfect person to help her, a reasonably new arrival in the court with no background and accesses to many religious and occult texts, the story that Jon helped my father become court chaplain was her idea to make it seems like the sect had power far beyond Vestisland when in reality my father was just the best of a bunch of bad chooses.
I asked her why she had done all of this and she said it was for my father and all the Icelandic people that died in Harald's war agents England, she wanted to use the order to help me gain power and be able to declare independence from Norway.
I consider what she have said for a bit and while I don't think being a cult leader is a good passed time for Sunniva, I do need all the help I can get if I am going to be able to dispose duke Isleifur so I tell her that she and her cult can keep having their meetings as long as it don't disrupt the normal castle routines, she rapidly agree and gives me a long hug.
29th April 1073
We receive word that holy father have died, I have ordered Jon to prepare a memorial ceremony in his honor tomorrow, he nodes and mumbles something, I worry a bit about him and my mother with this cult the two of them got going, I have attended a few of their meetings and it seems to be more about drinking and making grand schemes then serving god and getting useful things done.
30th June 1073
Good news for ones duke Isleifur finally died at age 67, I hear one of his "nannies" found him bottom up in front of the toilet, although his sons bullheaded claim that the duke died in his bed sleeping faithfully next to his wife, Sunniva and her cult is having a big feast with a large stuffed dummy painted to look like Isleifur I head everyone is going to get drunk and take swings at it, normally I prefer to stay away from the cult but this sounds like it could be fun, Sunniva have been very effective in getting people from the court onboard with the "order" but honestly I think most people join more for parties like this then to restore Icelandic glory.
1st July 1073
The new duke Teitur is just as gullible as his father and imminently makes me his spymaster, I was never able to find any backers in my plot agents duke Isleifur and my chancellor had little success fabricating a claim ether, but now with a new duke things will hopefully get rolling.
2st July 1073
Its slim pickings but I do manage to get the duke's wife the countess Alfhild of Rogaland onboard, she seems to have an burning hate for her husband and during her visit to Vestisland Sunniva even invited her to one of the cult's meetings and the smashed pumpkins carved out to look like Teitur, this cult is definitely starting to get out of hand.
3rd July 1073
I got a fancy letter from duke Teitur today, it said...
>>>To the most Excellent Count Saemunder May you live in harmony and contentment <<<
I know we haven’t always gotten along but I really want to us to be friends especial since you are my spymaster, I am making your High Almoner, please like me.
You liege Duke Teitur
I write a polite thank you letter to the duke but inside I think "ha more money for me".
Will Saemunder ever success in fabricating a clam?, what happens with Sunniva and the Order of True Ice? and what about Saemunder’s new wife will she adjust to Iceland and give birth to his children, find out in the next chapter of The legend of Count Sigfus
Coming soon...
Act 1 - Chapter 6: Some Grand hunting
25th September 1073
My mood is at an all time low today, my schemes are currently not going anywhere and Sunniva's cult is starting to really get on my nerves, the cult have become much more open in the last year and even had a goat sacrificing in the castle courtyard a few weeks ago, I need to get out of this castle and do something else, I remember the stories my dad used to tell me about the grand hunts he went on before he was called off to war, Sunniva never toke me hunting she was scared I would get hurt, but I am a grown man now and even though my dad can't ride with me I want to try out some hunting.
9th October 1073
These last few weeks have been great, during my time spend in the woods I feel more energized then ever, every morning I get up and saddle the horses for the next day of hunting, its hard work but I feel a renewed joy in working.
29th October 1073
Today I came face to face with the largest boar I had ever seen, as we rode closer I ordered the men to hold back and let me face it alone, we both paused as I locked eyes the boar, after a few moments the boar charged me but I gracefully evaded him and drove my spear into its neck, the hunting party cheered and my body started to relax from the adrenaline rush, when we returned Sunniva the cult proclaimed me “Champion of the Boar” and insisted on cooking the boar with some strange spices from the mainland and serving it for their new master hunter.
2nd November 1073
The grand hunt is over and life is slowly returning to normal, these last few weeks hunting have the best weeks of my life but now its time to return to keeping order in the castle and scheming agents duke Teitur, I call Sunniva to me and inform her that I will no long tolerate her cult getting drunk all the time and trashing my castle, I grant her the use an old family estate our in the country side for her cult meeting but warns that any cult member practicing openly in the castle will be arrested, it feels strange telling my stepmother what to do but after the grand hunt I feel more mature and sure off my self, Sunniva agrees to my conditions but asks that I come to at least a few of the meetings, I agree and she gives me a big kiss on the cheek.
15th December 1073
I know its an age of blood we live in but never did I think I would see an assassination attempt inside my own castle walls the person behind it was none other then my wife Ragnhild, she was plotting to kill duke Teitur’s daughter and tried to assassinate Gudmund my spymaster to stop him from telling me, if this was anyone else I would throw them right into the dungeon but I fear this may partly be my fault, I never really spend time with my wife, our weeding night as awkward at best and after that we just never really spend much time together, this last year must have been extra bad for her I have been spending all my time ether scheming or dealing with Sunniva and her cult who's ridicule she is often a target off.
Never the less I can not ignore what she have done but I am no sure what to do ether, Sunniva and Gudmund what her executed but I worry that executing her would enrage king Sven and he would use his close friendship with king Harald to strike back at me, I place Ragnhild under house arrested for the time being, I doubt it will improve our relationship but I am not sure what else to do.
25th December 1073
I gave my Half-sister Margrete a book about great rulers and their raise to glory for chistmas this year, I have taken over much off her edcuation from Sunniva as she seems to be more interested in playing her new role of cult leader and a cult is no place for a young girl, Margrete seemed to greatly enjoy the book and have started making big plans for her own future, while I fear history will more likely remeber her as a footnote its good she sets goals for her self, I just hope one of those goal isn't to become a cult leader like her mother.
23th October 1074
The last year have been surprisingly uneventful, I have continued raising Margrete while Sunniva is getting more and more into her new role as the cult leader of the “Order of True Ice” with weekly meeting at the estate that I let her use, Ragnhild and I have only grown further apart in the last year, I have let her out of house arrest but she refuse to see me, my schemes have been fruitless but I continue to be hopeful.
I get news now and again about other peoples success and failures but here all is quiet.
18th January 1075
I gotten news that king Harald have instituted a minimal tax law for cities, it makes me take a closer look at my own tax laws and a plan to remove the thorn that is mayor Arnkjell from my side forms in my mind, I shall institute harsh taxes on Alftanes and blame it on Arnkjell's greed, when the peasant revolt I shall ride in as the savior, have Arnkjell banished and take the position of mayor for my self.
3rd September 1075
Still nothing going on, this is starting to drive me crazy, I need to clam my nerves somehow perhaps some hunting, yes this year I shall call an other greed hunt the one two years ago was a huge success but my reputation as a hunter is starting be forgotten its time to remind everyone what a great hunter I am.
19th September 1075
The hunt has been called and ones again I feel the call of the wild, today we have been riding for hours when finally we finally spotted a massive bear I immediately ordered the men to chase it, as we quickly cornered it a brawl broke out between the men about who would getting the honor of killing it, being a patient man with many past kills I order the men to get me the spear and stand back, my eyes lock with the bear and I feel a strange deja vu like my grand boar kill from a few years ago was just a few monuments ago.
19th September 1075 - second entry
The bear charge me, I dodge gracefully like with the boar and drive my spear into the bears stomach, it falls to the ground and I look up at the heavens taking a breath and reveling in the glory...
Hold on, the bear it still moving...
Huntsman, an other spear quick!!!...
AGHHH NOT THE FACE.....
2nd November 1075
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Coming soon...
Act 1 - Chapter 7: In the wake of a champion.
Sorry what taking this long to respond, I been trying to figure out how the quote feature worked, I hope you enjoyed what I written so far, Vestisland is a pretty slow area to start in so I haven’t had the opportunity to write a lot about battles but hopefully that will change in act II.
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Author note: This is where we start to get into the meat of real story, when I played I was pretty surprised to see both of my first two rulers die but I decided to go with it and try to create a story completely different from what happened to them in the history books, their short life did mean I couldn’t really expect people to get emotional invested in Sigfus and Saemunder but hopefully Sunniva and Margrete can make up for it in future updates.
Thanks to all the people that toke the time to read this far, while I don’t consider my writing to be no way nearly as good as in some of the really great ARR on this forum I do enjoy make crazy stories when I play CK2 and I think this story have the potential for some really crazy things to happen.
In case anyone is interested I finally came to a picture of Sunniva, I didn't take a screenshot of her before age 27, she was a characters I never really noticed much while actually playing the game but that I later choose to give a huge role in the story when I started to write.
PS. I have been writing and doing a bit of research on a more historical ARR with a different writing style, I am very happy with how it’s turned out so far and I will probably be posting it soon, I’m not sure what its going to mean for this the legend of count Sigfus, at worse it will be put on hold after act I and at best it will mean nothing at all, I have plenty of time on my hands right now so maybe I’ll just switch between doing updates for both ARRs.
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Act I - Chapter 7: In the wake of a champion.
Private journal of Sunniva av Thingvellir, exalted leader of the order of true ice, widow of saint Sigfus, mentor to the champion of the boar, mother to our supreme ruler countess Margrete.
3rd November 1075
I can still barely believe it, Saemunder is dead, he had been in a terrible mood since his face was torn up and his leg crushed by that bear, he have fell to his death after he insisted that he didn't need any help inspecting our castle defenses, that boy have been my heart and soul for over a decade and now god have taken Saemunder from me like his father, all my plans for the boy, all my hard work and scheming to help him ascent to his rightful place of power is meaningless now, I should feel a sense of grief and be in soaked in tears, the boy I raised and acted as a mother for is dead, but all I can feel inside me is a void and a feeling of hopelessness that all my carefully laid plans have been smashed to pieces.
My daughter Margrete will be our new countess, she is Sigfus's daughter and Saemunder’s half-sister but she have only just turned seven and is hardly ready to be a ruler, everyone is tipping over them self to have me named regent, as her mother it is with in my right even though I am a woman.
People both from the Order of True Ice as well as the whole county now looks to me to lead them though this time of darkness, I shall be a shining beacon of hope and bring the message of True Ice to everyone on the island.
That sure was a lot of writing, think I'll go join Jon and the others for a few drinks.
22nd November 1075
Margrete have been crying for weeks over Saemunder, I have been so busy taking care of the county that I hardly have had time to comfort her, we already had a falling out over the time I have been spending with the order and Saemunder had to over her education, but now I can't be both a ruler and a mother, the farmers and common rabble of Vestisland have nothing to teach my daughter I shall have to look outwards to find a suitable teacher, I know Gudmund spent a lot of time traveling around Scandinavia looking for a bride for Saemunder, I shall call him to me surely he will know of a talented person that can take care of Margret’s education.
22nd November 1075 - Second entry.
I want a mentor that will teach Margrete to be a master diplomat and Gudmund dos indeed know of a few suitable tutors, he presented me a list and four individuals stand out at the top as having been granted the gray eminence grade, Franseza is a no go, I don't want Margrete raised to act like a Breton, Torgil is a nice well around person but I worry that’s his content nature will rub off on Margrete‘s ambitions, that leaves the choose between Tryggve and Åmund, the are both ambitious like Margrete and each have a defined but useful skill set.
In the end I pick Tryggve, his stewardship skill and the fact that Åmund is to lustful makes Tryggve my choice, I mean what kind of mother would whiling send their young daughter to a lustful middle-aged man.
29th November 1075
Margrete left kicking and screaming from the castle today, I send Gudmund along to watch over her on the journey to Rogaland where Tryggve is waiting, Margrete is the last hope of the Order of True Ice, if she dies duke Teitur will have full control over the island and we will never achieve the freedom we dream off, I find it amusing that Margrete will grow up learning from the court people of duke Teitur’s own wife but given her hate of the duke I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she accepted the idea.
25th March 1076 "Letter from Margrete"
Dear mother
I think I am finally starting to fit into this place you have send me to, Tryggve is really nice man and he have been teaching me a lot, first I acted like Saemunder said and was real humble and respectful but Tryggve says that's not the right way to make friends. Margrete
26th June 1076
The beast is dead, King Harald died today during this last year he had turned into a Comatosed shell of his former self and one day he finally stopped breathing, ironically with the kings death his conquest of England go to his oldest son Magnus duke of Trøndeland while the lord of Norway have voted the king’s younger son Olaf to replace Harald as king of Norway, this result in a big mess that is sure to end in more blood, Magus still rule from his holding in Norway and Olaf retain the vassal contact of three English dukes due to the technicality that the are rebelling during the succession, already my spies whispers of the ambitions of both kings and of hidden loyalties among many of the dukes of Norway and England, let Olaf and Magnus tear each other apart all I wish for is a free Iceland.
At least with the old king’s painful death Sigfus is avenged, I shall arrange a most glorious feast for the whole order to celebrate Harald‘s death, it shall be even more glorious then the feast we had at duke Isleifur’s death.
11th April 1077
The first of the English dukes have folded, duke Magnus of Bedford son of the late Harold Godwinson have surrendered and been placed in Iron, hopefully this mean that the end of the other English duke’s rebellions is in sight, my heart break every time we have to send more troops to fight these poor people enslaved by Norway, It almost monthly we get a demand for troops from the king and duke Teitur is content to send off our youth to their death, the only solace I can find these dark days is in strong drink.
23th July 1077
"Letter from Margrete"
Dear mother
My education is proceeding well, I have learned a lot about how to speech with people from Tryggve, I miss Saemunder but Tryggve have explained that he is with father now, he also says I should ask you when he will get his next payment for tutoring me. Margrete
The order needs more and more gold every day, we constantly have to buy aromas from the far east, wines from France and Italy and various toilets shaped like King Harald and Duke Isleifur, I fear someone have been sending letters to Margrete telling her about my spending for the glory of the Order of True Ice, in time hopefully she will understand that it was all for the liberation of the Icelander people.
8th October 1078
Ogmund that fool, it would seem our steward have failed me, he have managed to upset the peasants and many are now refusing to pay their taxes, I shall have to have a very serious conversion with him, gold is paramount to the Order of True Ice and we must restore the peasants trust in my leadership, hopefully major Arnkjell can suppress any revolt before it start and the filthy peasants will not interrupt one of the parties I have planed for the order.
15th December 1078
Lately I have been thinking of Margrete, my daughter will need a husband one day and the marriage will need to carry Sigfus’s family name and at the same time bring land and troops that can help us push out the Norwegian oppressors, the problem is that no landed noble would risk losing their dynasty name marrying a countess, however I have come up with a cleaver plan to solve this problem, the most hated Duke Teitur have had a son named Gudmund the boy is still far younger then Margrete but he hate his father almost as much as I do, I shall send Teitur a request for a regular betrothal, he will accept thinking it a good chance to unify the island but when the boy come of age we will lure him here with gold and he won’t see the fine print of the marriage contract before it’s to late, it pains me that Margrete will mix our blood with that of Isleifur but we all have to make sacrifices for the glory of True Ice.
30th June 1079
"Letter from Margrete"
Dear mother
Last month Tryggve gave a book about Vikings from Iceland and told me that I should read up on my own history, I never knew how many heroes I am descended from and how many people use to travel to Iceland and pay tribute to the Vikings kings in the olden days, one day shall be queen of Iceland and everyone will have to pay tribute to me to. Margrete
Coming soon…
Act I - Chapter 8: The blood of Iceland.
22nd August 1079
Terrible news, our chancellor Torfinn have been murdered while on his holy mission convince the people of Austisland that Margrete should be the rightful ruler of the island, I will have put out a call for a new holy man to take up the mantle left behind by Torfinn.
16th September 1079
One of the followers of True Ice have stepped forward to take up the touch left behind with the untimely death of our Chancellor, Torbjørn is a fine Icelandic man from the city of Alftanes ready to serve the course of True Ice, I have ordered a grand ceremony to help him in his mission, Torbjørn will bathe in the blood of a goat while everyone shouts the name “Sigfus” to the heavens, my flock seems to be very impressed by blood sacrifices and other bodily acts, personally though I can’t stand the sight of blood, yet I need to put my own feelings aside for the good of Icelandic people, still maybe I can do better for Torbjørn then a blood sacrifice, I did hear we have got a strange letter from Constantinople the other day.
>>>>>>>>>>>>To the might and unbreakable regent of Vestisland<<<<<<<<
My dear friends in the north, it would bring me great pleasure if you would provide a husband for my precious daughter Theodora, she is a beautiful girl with strong legs that is sure to produce many children, please expect her arrival soon.
Basileus Konstantinos X, Roman emperor
I will never understand how the people of Byzantium can put so little value on family, the Danish king might have been mean but at least he had standards, no matter we will give the girl a good home married to our Torbjørn.
22nd January 1080
Jon, that loveable old fool just informed me that he had made ground breaking new advances to Church infrastructure, there are no churches in Vestisland, what are we going to use advances to Church infrastructure for, I didn’t have the heart to give him a scolding, after all he was the one that helped me start the Order of True Ice and he have been a good friend on many occasions, in the end I just congratulated him and told him the order would have an orgie to honor new advances, he seemed pleased.
25th April 1080
The king of dead, Olaf died at age 30 from a maimed leg, the news brought up bad memories about Saemunder and how he died so young, but I can’t think of that, I need to stay strong for the people of Vestisland and for my daughter, the dukes of Norway have convened and have elected the old king’s sister Ragnhild as the new Queen of Norway, I never thought the would choose a women to be their ruler, yet it would seem the shadow of Harald is still flesh on their mind, no matter how I feel about having a woman in charge she is a daughter of the beast the got my Sigfus killed so I will do what ever I can to sabotage her rule.
27th November 1080
More death, this time it was Tryggve, the tutor of daughter, Margrete have retuned to Vestisland for the time in years, but if she is going to become a worthy ruler I need to find a second skilled diplomat to teach her, no matter how much I wish she could stay here with me.
Fortunately I still have the list I got from Gudmund, despite his content nature I will choose Torgil the quick diplomat from Hedmark.
20th may 1081
News have come in from the south today, it would seem that the Muslim scourge have conquered the lands of Barcelona in a great Jihad of blood and terror, surely this is a sign of the corruption of the people on the mainland, I will have to work it into my speech at the next order meeting, I am sure I can turn this Jihad success to mean that our new queen is not pious enough, maybe I can even get her excommuniced.
30th September 1081
Teitur’s wife Alfhild have died, this is very bad news for us because it means her son have inherited her county, now there is no chance we can lure him here and forcing him into a matrilineal marriage contact, it would seem that I have no choice but to call off the betrothal, to be honest it is kind of a relief for me, the thought of Margrete fornicating with the grandson of the great betrayer fill me with vile.
16th November 1081
My spies in Teitur’s court inform me that he is looking around for a new wife, already he apposed the countess of Cornwell, she refused but never the less this is worrisome, if Teitur get the right marriage it would mean that he will have a powerful ally on his side ones the great uprising finally starts, action is needed. our murdered Chancellor Torfinn have left behind a widow, a lady Erumbrurga D’hauteville, she is a daughter of a duke and have been coursing trouble for the Order blaming Torfinn‘s death on me, I would say she is a perfect candidate to marry Teitur, her father is long dead and even if he was alive Teitur would not be able to call on someone from outside the realm of Norway.
3rd September 1082
Days keep passing by and nothing changes in Vestisland, we keep sending people to die in England I am not even sure what war is currently happing there, I keep running my daughter’s holding but it’s dreadfully boring lately, the Order is only thing that really keeps me going, we have finally started to get everyone in the court onboard and I have taken steps to remove the unbelievers, namely miss D’hauteville, I can only hope that one day my daughter will carry on the legacy of her father and use what I have build to crush duke Teitur under her heel, yet the letters I have gotten lately haven’t done much to foster those hopes, it would seem Margrete have the same fear of spiders that I do.
"Letter from Margrete"
Dear mother
I don’t like Torgil and this new place, can’t I please come home soon, I promises I’ll be good and do what ever you say, this place is scary, one of the boys but a pack of spider down my dress I started to cry but he just laughed and wouldn’t take them out again, please mom don’t let the spiders get me.
Margrete
8th January 1083
Gudmund is dead, my Loyal spymaster have been murdered by none other then Saemunder’s wife Ragnhild, she have tried to murder Gudmund in the past over some sort of minor plot that Gudmund discovered, Saemunder choose to put her in house arrest to avoid angering her father king Svend back then, I now face the same dilemma but far worse as she succeed in the murder this time, the people of the Order screams for blood to avenge their lost son but if I execute or even just imprison Ragnhild it could have serious consequences, king Svend is not know for taking his children’s safety lightly, yet something must be done.
9th January 1083
Eureka, I found the solution while going though Gudmund’s things, it would seem he had notices on many people both near and far, one set of notes speak his meeting with the spymaster of Armenia Minor, a man by the name of Avedis who suffered terribly from Syphilis, sounds like perfect husband for that Danish whore.
26th June 1083
Dear diary
I never though I would find anyone again after Sigfus but I have meet the most wondrous man, his name is Hermigio, he arrived in our court from far away Barcelona and is a refuge from the Jihad that devastated his homeland, he lost his wife when the Muslims stormed the city and he have been traveling the courts of Scandinavia every since, he is a lot older then me but we have both lost a spouse so it was natural we feel into conversation, I don’t know what it is about him but whenever we are together no matter if it having a morning drink in the dinning room or getting drunk in the wine cellar, I don’t think about Sigfus at all, even thoughts of Margrete and my responsibility as regent leave my mind when he is near, Dear diary I think I am in love.
27th June 1083
It was so wonderful, I told Hermigio about my feelings and he got down on one knee and asked me to merry him, I said yes, it just felt so right, like he told me life is to short to make second guesses when you find love, we are going to have the ceremony in Alftanes in the place when Sigfus and I got married all those years ago, its wonderful everyone in the order is constantly wishing me congratulation, I don’t know how Margrete will feel about this but I have to follow my heart.
4th October 1083 "Letter from Margrete"
Dear mother
I will soon return and take my rightful place as countess of Vestisland, I know you and I haven’t always seemed eye to eye, but I want you to know that I love you and I don’t blame you for Saemunder or father’s death any more, I had a bad start with Torgil but I have learned a lot about Justice and how to be good ruler from him, I look forward to seeing you again next month.
Countess Margrete
4th November 1083
The day have finally come, today is my daughter’s 16th birthday and she will soon arrive to take over her birthright of ruling Vestisland, on this day I found my self in Jon’s make shift church prying that I made the right choice in sending her away to be tutored in the ways of diplomacy, I pry that she will have the strength and wisdom to carry on her father’s legacy, I pry that one day she will free the Icelandic people from the yoke of Norway.
The adventures of the Oddi clan will continue in Act II, there we will find out what happen in Vestisland after Margrete takes over the reins, What skills did Margrete get? will she be a kind and just ruler or a ruthless tyrant? will she ever manage to take over the duchy of Iceland? and what happens to Sunniva and her new husband? all these questions and more will be answered in Act II - The birth of Sigfusisme
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Author note: And so we come to the end of Act I, I hope you all enjoyed reading it, I feel like it turned out aright, looking back there are a few things I would have done defiantly but I’m proud of how it turned out none the less, I know that I have been switching narrator a lot in Act I, it was mainly due to deaths but it might have been confusing to some people, in Act II, I will only be using Margrete and narrator and maybe add a ”Sunniva’s Diaries” bonus between chapters every now and again, I have also been thinking about trying out some other types narrator style, I’ll be keeping the date with every entry system but maybe I’ll add in a conversation in the diary or maybe use more of a observer style, this is my first ARR so I’m more prone to experiment, let me know what you think.
Thanks for the praise and I hope keep up the good work with your ARR
As for if I any time-limit plans, no not really, I’ll keep this ARR going until it come to a natural conclusion or the end date roll along, I knew being a count would make for a slow start so I decided to tell the story based more on pop up windows and my own imagination, it turned out good I think, still even when my own work turned out good, I always think it could have be done far better. ^.^
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In case anyone is wondering, the first Chapter of Act II should be up in a day or two, I had a few day where I wasn’t in the “zone” but it seemed to have passed.
In my eyes you did an excellent job in making the life of "boring" counts and countesses into an enjoyable fun and intriguing story. This should get a lot more attention than it get's at this point
Author note: From now on I will be splitting each chapter into two parts, the main part will be Margrete’s point of view and what she choose to do as the countess, the second shorter part is some journey entry’s from Sunniva point of view, Sunniva’s Journal will be more focused on what happens to the Order of True Ice under Margrete’s reign.
I will also be adding a spoiler containing descriptions of each the characters of this ARR at the top of each chapter from now on, hopefully it will be helpful as the story go’s on and maybe it will be useful to new reader trying to jump into the story, the list is pretty small right now but I’ll add more people to as the become relevant in act II.
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Act II - Chapter 1: Like mother, like daughter
Characters in this ARR
”Major Characters” Countess Margrete: The sole surviving child of count Sigfus, Margrete have spend her childhood away from Iceland being tutored by Norwegian tutors in diplomacy, in act II she retunes to take her rightful place and rule Vestisland, she never knew her father Count Sigfus.
Sunniva: Margrete’s mother and Sigfus’s widow, she is a master at intrigue and following Sigfus’s death she have started the Order of True Ice a cult dedicated to Icelandic independence, over the years she have suffered some physiological scar from having her newly weed husband die in battle and watching her adopted son fall to his death, at the start of Act II she seem to gotten her second wind when she fall in love with and merry Hermigio.
Sihtric: Margrete’s Husband, he is an Irish gentleman with great diplomacy skill and a strong claim on the isle of man.
”Minor Characters”
Duke Teitur: the current duke of Iceland, he is Margrete’s liege and is constantly worried(with good course) that she will rebel.
Queen Ragnhild: The queen of Norway, she is the daughter of Harald the conqueror and was voted queen after Harald’s son Olaf died.
Mayor Arnkjell: The mayor of the city of Alftanes, he is Margrete’s marshal and only vassal.
”Dead Characters”
Count Sigfus: founder of the Oddi dynasty and father to Margrete and Saemunder, he died after ruling for 9 month, he was killed in a one of the early battles in the Norwegian inversion of England.
Count Saemunder: Sigfus’s son and Margrete’s half-brother, he was raised by his nanny Sunniva and she acted as his adopted mother, after he turned 16 he ruled for 3 years after which he went on a grand hunt, got maimed and died 2 months later.
Duke Isleifur: Teitur’s father, Isleifur is the villain of the story and the Oddi dynasty hate him for swearing fealty to Norway.
Journal of Countess Margrete, no peeking.
5th November 1083
I am so excited, after over 8 years in foreign courts I am finally returning home to the land of my birth, when the people of Norway think of Iceland the think of a frozen wasteland but I grow up here, I remember the rugged beauty of the fjords and the geysers, I remember the warmth of the people and the sorrow of everyone when ever we had to send people to fight in England, I know everyone blame the old duke Isleifur for everything that have gone on the island, and the are right to blame him, Iceland should be ruled by Icelanders, namely me, Isleifur’s son duke Teitur is as unfit a ruler as his father was, Content with his Norwegian overlords, slothful and arbitrary people complain about him far and wide, when I arrive many things will change, I will take control of the island and I will guide it into a new a brighter future, nothing will stand in the way of my ambitions.
The first step will to cement my rule and insuring my subject is loyal to me only, I know that my mother have a strong grip on the people of my new court and while I don’t expect her to move agents me I need the people to know that I and not my mother am the one in charge of this county, to help me with this I have brought with me Sihtric, he is a charming young man from the isle of man that I became friends with during my studies in Norway, we have made arrangements and after I arrive in Iceland I am going to merry him, this will hopefully show everyone that I am old enough to make my own decisions without help or approval from my mother, while I do admire I find Sihtric attractive and I look forward to spending some time with him in private this is not a marriage of love or even of strategic importance, I just needed a man of noble blood whiling to accept taking my family name in marriage.
20th November 1083
I have spend the last few weeks surveying the county that is now mine to rule by birthright, what I have found is shocking, my Mother who was suppose to be regent for me have embezzled money to fund a crazy cult spreading some nonsense about how great my father was and how the Norwegian queen is the devil in disguise, on top of that now she is star stoked with some elderly man from Aragon, but wait dear diary it gets even worse then that, I found my half-brother and my fathers old journals, it would seem that their grand master plan was to fabricate a claim on Austisland and save up a enough gold to hire a band of mercenary to siege the duke’s holding when the press the claim, the critical error that both of these “brilliant stagiest” made is that there are no mercenary bands that is whiling to travel to our icy isle.
25th November 1083
This is so frustrating, I have nothing to work with here, even with my marshal desperately trying to recruit new troops we can barely field 300 men, it is enough to gain the upper hand if duke Teitur ever tries anything but its not enough to actually lay siege to the duke‘s holding, on top of everything my chancellor is terrible at his job, I found out that my mother have had him working on fabricating that claim for me ever since my Half-brother fell off that wall and she became regent, and yet he have never made any progress at all.
So far the only bright point to retuning home have been Sihtric, he have proved to be an excellent husband(and lover) we have a lot in common so there is always something to talk about, he also had to grow up without a father, in Sihtric’s case his father died of old age at age 72 but it still clearly affected him deeply, I only hope our children will never have to go though the same.
12th December 1083
I found the old book Saemunder gave me, I didn’t have it with me when I left for Norway but it inspired me to learn about great rulers though time and their rise to power, I use to read the book constantly and make grand schemes to emulate people like Alexander the great or Julius Caesar, I have been reading though this book ones again, looking for anything that could help me with my ambitions and I think I have finally found something, the men fighting in the armies of the greatest rulers always believed that it was their leader’s rule the world, the claim would come ether by blood or by the will of god, even today I can see this in the people around the world using those claims, the holy roman emperor claims his right to rule by will of the pope and god, the Russian dukes claim their right by the blood of the Viking king Rurik in their veins, even the caliphs of Egypt claim their right to rule by their direct decadency to the Muslim prophet.
I need to do the same, but while my blood gives me the right to rule Vestisland, convincing people that it gives me the right rule the whole island or even beyond will be a hard sell, I need to take the other option, god will be have to be my claim, but I can’t just convince people that god wants me to rule Iceland, no I need the right of blood also.
Divine blood.
A plan is coming together in my mind, already my Mother have unwittingly laid the steps for my ascend to power, her cult revere my father as a hero of Iceland and many people that hate duke Teitur is buying into the idea, but my father needs to be more then just a hero, I need to use my mother’s cult and make people believe that god granted Sigfus the right to rule and when he died he that he passed on to me, only when people truly believe in me will I have the many faithful followers will I be ready to take on duke Teitur.
I already have my first move in mind, I will rename the county to Sigfusfjell, it will surely raise a few eyebrows but as people slowly get used to the new name and start to use it commonly, it will be as constant reminder of Sigfus and with the cult spreading his praise I can hopefully turn him from a hero into a legend.
4th February 1084
Things are proceeding well, my mother was surprisingly helpfully with getting the cult onboard with me plan, she had some reservations but I think she see that it is for the good of the family, I have appointed Sihtric as my new chancellor and send him to Austisland to try and convince the people of my divine claim to Iceland, part the reason I choose to merry him was because I knew that his skill in diplomacy would come in handy when dealing with the nobles of the island, although the castle do feel a bit more lonely without him around all the time.
However the biggest news of the new year has to be our new military training ground that I have ordered to be constructed, it costed a great deal of money but right now the soldiers I can raise is little more then a few farmers that know how to use a sword, ones the training grounds finishes next year we can start to bring in men from all the small villages around and have them train in the proper use to weaponry.
8th February 1084
It is clear that duke Teitur is nervous, I just received word that he is granting me the title of High almoner, maybe he thinks that my time in Norway have made me soft and susceptible to flattery, no matter in time he will learn the error of his ways.
26th June 1084
The training ground is coming along nicely, this grand military undertaking have gotten me thinking of other ways to improve our chances in a battle, my mother never bothered looking for new technologies for our county choosing instead to drink her days away, I will not make that mistake, a quick inspection have showed me that we have about the same quality of armor as the soldiers I saw in Norway, it could always be better of course but we are lacking behind with our infantry’s weapons and we really need to focus on that, Castle infrastructure might no seem important right now but if we are going to expand beyond Iceland we need to build powerful castles, lastly I have ordered our court chaplain to focus on the spiritual arts, maybe he can find a way to get Sigfus sanctified.
Journal of Sunniva av Thingvellir, Peeking will lead to serious case of iron poising.
6th November 1083
I have to say that my daughter surprised me by bring that young Irishman Sihtric along and marrying him, she seemed to think that I would fight her for control of the county and she is using the marriage to show everyone her authority, maybe it is my own fault that she feel she the need to prove that she is in charge, at least Sihtric appear to genuinely care for her and she for him, in my younger days I would have be furious that she didn’t merry for an alliance or inherence but after I meet my Hermigio, I see that love must prevail.
14th December 1083
Something strange happened today, Margrete asked me to meet her in her room, when I got there she was staring at the memorial painting of her father that I commissioned after his death, it wasn’t a painting that was meant to show him as he was, it was a painting meant to show what he stood for, in it he was the hero of the invasion, bathed in light and fighting five men at ones.
Our conversation went something like this…
Margrete: Ahh Mother, can you guess why I called you here?
Sunniva: I don’t know dear, since you got back home you have spend very little time with your old mother.
Margrete: I been busy!, busy finding out what’s going on in the county.
Sunniva: I am sure you have, and what have you found?
Margrete: I have found out that gold have been going missing from my treasury while I was being tutored in Norway.
Sunniva: *gulp*
Margrete: Don’t worry mother I am not mad at you, I know what you have been spending the money on, but now its time for your little cult to pay back what it owe me.
Sunniva: It is a humble group meant to help your rule and spread the glory of you father, surely you can not blame me for trying to immortalize Sigfus.
Margrete: Indeed I can not, but when I said you needed to pay me back, I wasn’t talking about gold.
Sunniva: I don’t understand.
Margrete: I need you to take some real control of your cultists, cut the down on the stuff about Icelandic indepence and focus on making everyone believe that my father was chosen by god to lead Iceland into a new era of prosperity.
Sunniva: I see dear, you want to rule Iceland, like you father and brother also wanted.
Margrete: Yes, but I see the hold you over the people at my court, I want you to use that hold for me.
Sunniva: You are my daughter, all I ever wanted is for you to rule Iceland, you don’t need to blackmail me for my support anything I can do to help I will, you know I love, don’t you?
Margrete: I know mother, I know
Sunniva: I’ll arrange for you to join the order at our next meeting, we can meet a few hours before that and you can tell me how you want to use the order.
Margrete: That would make me very happy… and mother…
Sunniva: Yes
Margrete: Thank you.
_______________________________
Coming soon…
Act II - Chapter 2: The knights of Sigfus
”Major Characters” Countess Margrete: The sole surviving child of count Sigfus, Margrete have spend her childhood away from Iceland being tutored by Norwegian tutors in diplomacy, in act II she retunes to take her rightful place and rule Vestisland, she never knew her father Count Sigfus.
Sunniva: Margrete’s mother and Sigfus’s widow, she is a master at intrigue and following Sigfus’s death she have started the Order of True Ice a cult dedicated to Icelandic independence, over the years she have suffered some physiological scar from having her newly weed husband die in battle and watching her adopted son fall to his death, at the start of Act II she seem to gotten her second wind when she fall in love with and merry Hermigio.
Sihtric: Margrete’s Husband, he is an Irish gentleman with great diplomacy skill and a strong claim on the isle of man.
Hermigio: Sunniva’s Second husband, he is from Iberia fled to Iceland after the Muslim jihad for Aragon.
”Minor Characters”
Duke Teitur: the current duke of Iceland, he is Margrete’s liege and is constantly worried(with good course) that she will rebel.
Queen Ragnhild: The queen of Norway, she is the daughter of Harald the conqueror and was voted queen after Harald’s son Olaf died.
Mayor Arnkjell: The mayor of the city of Alftanes, he is Margrete’s marshal and only vassal.
”Dead Characters”
Count Sigfus: founder of the Oddi dynasty and father to Margrete and Saemunder, he died after ruling for 9 month, he was killed in a one of the early battles in the Norwegian inversion of England.
Count Saemunder: Sigfus’s son and Margrete’s half-brother, he was raised by his nanny Sunniva and she acted as his adopted mother, after he turned 16 he ruled for 3 years after which he went on a grand hunt, got maimed and died 2 months later.
Duke Isleifur: Teitur’s father, Isleifur is the villain of the story and the Oddi dynasty hate him for swearing fealty to Norway.
5th November 1084
A band of hedge knights came by today, god only knows how the traveled to our island but Sihtric have meet with their leader, he tells me that the hedge knights are a band of warriors that believes in the old Norse gods, while in search of a new home the knights have been ridiculed all over Scandinavia and Britannia, the have some rather esoteric views and Sihtric recommend we just send them on their way but I have a better idea, these knights got no loyalty to the lords of Norway or to duke Teitur and I am in dire need of more fighting men, if I can turn their zeal to champion Sigfus I could use them both to help train my people but also to inspire the people with the light of Sigfus.
I will need to make sure the worthy first though, I have ordered a tournament to see if these knights are really the warriors the say the are.
7th November 1084
The leader of the hedge knights got wounded in a one of melee round, he was fighting Sihtric and my husband’s military training came to full show in the battle as he left a deep scars on the hedge knight, I have never felt comfortable in situations of violence but even I could see that despite the wounds the hedge knights fought well.
I will let them stay in my castle while their leader recovers, hopefully I can convince him to stay on permanent, it probably won’t be to hard, Sihtric seemed to have gained the knight’s respect when he defeated their leader.
7th November 1084 - 2nd entry
I have talked with the leader of the hedge knights, he was whiling to stay with us permanent but only if Sihtric agreed to join and lead them, he tells me that it is the tradition of the knights that when their leader is defeated in Single combat, the one who defeat the leader have the right to take over the mantle of leadership, the leader of hedge knight is an old man by now and he feels that the only way his men will accept staying here and serving a Christian lord is if the get a leader from the locals and a ruler with an open mind.
I tell him that I do indeed have an open mind and I am sure I can convince Sihtric to accept the role of leadership, but some changes to the knights must happen, he agreed to my demand to change the band’s name to the Knights of Sigfus and agree to help spreading the ”divine legend” of my father in exchange for me letting the knights practice their believe in the old gods and perform their pagan rituals.
We quickly work out the details and it seems like a good deal for both parties, I only hope that we won’t have to many conflicts of religious nature in the county.
16th January 1085
The training ground is complete, from the window I can hear the sounds of Sihtric and his new knights training the peasants in swordplay, the transition for the knights have been surprisingly smooth and the have rapidly accepted Sihtric as their new leader, I think many of them where weary of the constant traveling and ridicule, I do admit I find many of their ritual strange but thanks to my mother’s cult me and most of my courtiers have gotten very used to strange rituals.
9th September 1085
Lately I have noticed that my mothers new husband, Hermigio, have been acting strangely, he seems to be hanging around the wine cellars all the time and is constantly doing nothing, I have also been told that he is sulking around when he should be helping the household, when ever I ask him about it, he gets very defensive and tell me that he is doing important business for the Order, I don’t know what to make of his behavior but lately I have been thinking I should give him a stern talking to.
10th September 1085
I don’t know what my mother see in this man, I talked to Hermigio but it have only resulted in him going out of his way to try ignore me, he just walk away when he sees me and whenever I am having dinner with my mother he never eats with us, I guess he is scared of my ambitions, there couldn’t be any other reason that he would ignore me.
Could there???
28th September 1085
The knights of Sigfus have proved a true boon to my little county, over the last year the have been using our new training grounds to give ever able man some basic training with the sword and the bow, the knights have become so popular that a small village have sprung up around my castle, it is filled with merchants selling their goods to the people that come here to train with the knights, many peasants have even started to take up residence in the new village, as a result our income have vastly improved.
7th December 1085
Today while I was trying to hunt down Hermigio and talk to him about something I needed him to do for the order, I noticed that Sihtric was training alone in courtyard, he only recently arrived back from his diplomatic duties in Austisland, we had only talked briefly after he got back, before that It had been a few months since I saw him last, I don’t know what it was about him but something was different, as I watched him fight of an imaginary enemy something changed, I started to think about how hard it had to be for him coming to Iceland with me, how wonderful he had been helping me getting the respect of the courtiers and how much he must have had sacrificed to be with me.
Finally he noticed me and I ran over and gave him a big hug, a first he seemed surprised by my affection but quickly he retuned everyone sign of affection and we spend the rest of the day in the master bedroom.
Journal of Sunniva av Thingvellir, the wrath of Sigfus will strike down anyone foolish enough to spy on these pages.
15th January 1084
The last few months have been very strange, I indoctrinated Margrete into the Order of True Ice, many of our members where surprised to see her at one of our meeting but it seemed that my choice to give her a diplomatic edcuation has paid off, she quickly enchanted everyone at the meeting with her speeches of Sigfus and the debt we owned the last “true defender of Iceland” In the weeks that followed that first meeting, Margrete’s ideas of a more aggressive path to bring freedom to Iceland have been getting more and more support in the Order.
Day by day, she is slowly replacing me as the leader of the Order, I can’t say I like it but she is determent to turn the order into a true religious group revering Sigfus as some kind of divine saint.
At least this give me more time to spend with Hermigio, I even had time to take on two young girls as my wards, the first Sunniva is a young girl who is named after me, she is the daughter of our late spymaster Gudmund, but if that wasn’t enough that her father was murdered her just mother died of depression a few moths ago, I feel bad for the girl but I most amide that she is no where nearly as skilled as my other ward, Eldrid is the daughter of Arnkjell Borg and Hermigio‘s daughter, but unlike her father and his horrible preaching skill, Eldrid is a quickly becoming a true master of intrigue, I haven’t seen a talent should as her’s since I was tutoring Saemunder.
Discontinued due to lack if interest - Sorry to any fans.
