Chapter 126: A Dark Reflection (1 June 962 to 23 June 963)
Previously, on Blut und Schlacht … Russia’s now strong support for King Steinn of Jorvik’s war in Wales continued. The decisive battle of Llanelwy in Perfeddwlad in April-May 962 had shifted the balance well into the Jorvik-Russian alliance’s favour. But a Pomeranian war to claim Stettin was the latest diversion to be reckoned with while the main Russian army was engaged in England and Wales.
The most important personal news of the recent period came on 24 May 962 with the former Trollmaðr of the Fellowship of Hel, Jarl Rikulfr ‘Ironside’ II of Austergautland, captured yet again but this time burned at the stake. Due to some timely actions in the lead up to this, Eilif was able to slip just ahead of his Hel Brother and competitor Knud to claim the mantle of Trollmaðr for himself.
And the Emperor was still trying to see his way to some significant legislative changes, in the face of Council opposition and some recalcitrant vassals.
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June-August 962
With the war still going in Wales and the recently declared conquest of Stettin to contend with, more distracting news arrived on 1 June with a large peasant revolt in Austerbotn. Such were the realities of a sprawling empire!
To add to Eilif’s distractions, word came around a week later of a plot by his concubine Aslaug to kill him! How naïve of her to think she could get away with it. Clearly, she wanted her only son Prince Styrbjörn, the heir to the Imperial throne, to inherit early! While giving her patronising credit for trying, Eilif told her to cease forthwith. While keeping her as concubine – his confidence and arrogance were growing.
Then on 12 June High Chieftess Ingrid ‘the Monster’ of Lithuania was mad enough to found a faction for elective succession in Garðariki. After having a good laugh, Eilif ignored it. Though Ingrid may well need to be either recruited into the Fellowship of dealt with …
somehow else in due course.
Over in Wales, victory came in the siege of Rhuddlan on 22 June
[warscore 59%], for no Russian losses. But Jarl Bertil’s well-progressed plans to conquer Lincoln came to an unexpectedly abrupt end on 1 July when a major revolt broke out in England and ownership of Lincoln went to the rebel faction – thus invalidating Bertil’s
casus belli.
9 July brought the liberation of Dunholm by Jedvard’s army, again with no Russian loss, meaning all of Jorvik’s home territory was now free again
[warscore 63%]. That force of 2,290 men then embarked on waiting ships the next day: he would head over to deal with the Stettin invasion while the bulk of the army (around 7,500 men in two armies) remained in Wales, conducting sieges.
In mid-July, an army of 1,581 Jorvik troops joined Hakon’s army of 4,448 men in Wales to reinforce the siege of Denbeigh, while Jedvard sailed for Pomerania. Denbeigh fell (no Russian losses) on 27 July
[warscore to 80%].
Four weeks later, victory came in the siege of Llanelwy (again no Russian losses) and with it, the enemy’s will to fight on broke. Negotiations – which would be led by King Steinn (now known as ‘the Butcher’), of course – began to formalise Jorvik’s conquest of Perfeddwlad. Eilif’s support would allow him to share in much of the glory
[41%] from the victory.
September-October 962
While Steinn’s discussions with King Pascueten of Breizh continued, the tribal holding of Austerbotn fell to the peasant rebels – who started slaughtering some of the inhabitants. The same day, Chief Skuli of Pinsk died, leaving his county to the Emperor.
This relatively poor county was not worth surrendering another – better – title for (Eilif was already at his maximum ‘reasonable’ holding limit). So he sought to heal his rift with Ingrid by granting her the title in mid-September, as Pinsk fell within her area of influence anyway. The Council – of which two members were now Loyalists – agreed with the grant unanimously.
Steinn’s conquest was formalised on 5 September. The relationship between him and his spiritual leader was cemented ever stronger.
On 19 September, Jedvard’s army of 2,284 men landed to the east of Stettin, which was at that time besieged by 1,233 Pomeranian troops, and began to regain condition after the voyage from Jorvik. With the peace in Wales, Eilif’s top commanders were free for reassignment: Jedvard was relieved and Hakon took command of the centre, with Virdyan on the right flank and Botulfr on the left.
Back in England, the elements of the main army were on their way back to Russian territory. With 32 ships left at the Dogger Bank off Jorvik, the first force of just over 3,000 men took ship on 23 September. The other 4,500 would need to wait for the next relay of ships, on its way back from Pomerania after dropping Jedvard off.
By this time, King Steinn was almost totally dedicated in sentiment to Eilif, though marriage ties, the honouring of the alliance, Eilif’s reputation as a Viking and now – more than any one of these – respect for Eilif’s position as Trollmaðr.
[Now a powerful reason for recruiting important characters into the Fellowship, it would seem.]
On 1 October, the first (3,000-man) Russian army to leave England was embarked and headed to Austerbotn, to deal with the rebel scum who were infesting it. Though by 11 October, the Ostrobothian Peasant Revolt (as it was known) army had moved on and was laying siege to Kexholm.
Of interest, at this time the Jomsvikings had been hired by the Germanic convert High Chief Pentti of Satakunta, who was in trouble in a war that had seen Uusimaa partly occupied by a Nylander peasant revolt. Palnatoke’s 7,700 fierce Germanic warriors were in Reval and approaching Narva by then, but had quite a long march all the way around the Gulf of Finland before they could come to Pentti’s aid.
Late October 962 brought the beginning of the reckoning with the Pomeranian invaders of High Chief Wratislaw in Stettin, with the start of the Battle of Soldin on 23 October.
The enemy’s force was overwhelmingly concentrated in the centre, with no troops at all on their right flank and few on the left. Soon both the Russian flanks had come to the aid of Hakon in the centre and Pomeranian morale was plummeting.
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November-December 962
The Pomeranians had broken by 10 November and the pursuit had ended on the 19th, with a clear Russian victory. As the enemy routed southwards, Hakon headed straight for Wratislaw’s capital of Rana.
Meanwhile, Eilif was very happy for his lover when news came of the birth of a daughter to Botulfr. For the Emperor, it was a familiar and happy example of duty (siring children and commanding troops in battle) and pleasure coexisting side by side.
Back in Jorvik, some winter attrition was beginning to gnaw at the troops left there. When the second Russian fleet (42 ships) arrived at the Dogger Bank on 27 November, the bulk of the remaining Russian forces (4,012 men) began to embark. The rest (482) would march south to Bertil’s county of Sussex, where the levies could be safely disbanded.
On 7 December, the 3,000-man army landed in Austerbotn, where Gunnar took command and began their recovery from the voyage while siege lines were drawn. Two days later, the last army from Jorvik (4,000 men) was on board and sailing home – to the Gulf of Finland.
A day later, Pentti lost his war to the peasants – the Jomsvikings hadn’t been able to relieve them in time. Though this may make the county an easier target for future conquest now a bunch of heathen peasants were in charge.
In Pomerania, Hakon arrived in Rana on 12 December and began a siege. But the general lull in action let Eilif indulge in a grand summoning that had been suggested by a Sister in Hel, Svanhildr. When told there were risks, Eilif was dismissive. The summoning took three days and was a success and presented the opportunity to kill an old rival for free: bonus!
Up in Austerbotn, on 19 December no assault was deemed necessary by Gunnarr against the small peasant garrison (only 94 men) as they would surrender soon from lack of morale anyway. And indeed it ended with no Russian loss on 30 December – a good end to the year. Botulfr (a better general than Gunnarr, who was more of a siege specialist) was now placed in charge of the 3,000 men and began marching them to Kexholm to confront the Ostrobothian rebels.
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January-March 963
The siege of Kexholm tribe was lost to the rebels on 15 January, but their greed had delayed their departure, as the army returning from Jorvik was passing southern Sweden and Botulfr approached from the north.
Over in northern Germany, the Pomeranian army (now numbering fewer than 800 men) had rallied and was heading back to Rana, but on 19 January blundered into a force of 825 raiders from an obscure Russian vassal (of a vassal), Chief Tóll of Reval! Hakon laughed heartily when he got this news up in Rana.
By the end of January, the Russian fleet bearing the last army repatriated from Jorvik started disembarking its human cargo in Kexholm, timed to coincide with Botulfr’s advance from Austerbotn. The rebels would soon be the meat in Russia’s salad sandwich!
Early February saw the latest assessment of Council politics regarding the prospects for the change to late feudal administration. With Jarl Gorm and Seer Hysing now in the Loyalist party, with his own casting vote Eilif only needed one more member to vote with him to pass the law. He reviewed options to sway various members, but thought the cost of buying favours a bit too high. Though a gift to the Marshal, Mayor Gnupa, was more affordable. He handed over the gold.
In Kexholm, the Battle of Raivola began on 6 February, with an attack by Botulfr’s army from the north. By 11 February, the ship-born contingent had reinforced the fight and the peasants’ centre had broken. They were all on the run by 18 February.
Though petty bickering between Marshal Gnupa and Spymaster Jarl Helgi
[still nominally a commander of Russia, apparently!] broke out on the 18th to sour the occasion a little..
Nevertheless, the rebellion was defeated by 22 February after the devastating victory in Kexholm. Another potential candidate for the next Blot soon wore chains in Eilif’s dungeon.
In early March, Eilif began standing down levies to save money, as the monthly deficit was running at a little over 14 gold (against a treasury of 520). But the 4,000 man army embarked their fleet again and started sailing down the Baltic to Pomerania: Eilif wanted to now make a rapid end to the last war of the moment. Certainly the Wratislaw’s small remaining army would not be causing any problems: on 550 were now left, having been defeated in their battle with the Russian freebooters and now in panicked rout westwards. The rest of the ships, at port in Finland, were stood down to save money and lessen the anger of the vassals who had provided them.
In the period from mid-March to early June 963, Spymaster Jarl Helgi excelled himself in Constantinople: three separate troves of papers were delivered to Nygarðr, boosting economic advances twice
[+100 points] and military learning once
[+50 points].
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April-June 963
The recent savings made in military upkeep meant the monthly deficit was down to just three gold by the beginning of April (treasury 517 gold).
On 26 April, the extra 4,000 Russian troops arrived by ship in Rana – and were immediately thrown into an assault on the walls of the castle of Rugard. It was expensive in troops, but quick and effective.
Its capture was not enough to enforce a complete surrender on Wratislaw. But it was enough to suggest a white peace – which would in effect be quite a handsome victory for Eilif, given the Pomeranian had been the aggressor. The offer was accepted on 11 May.
Though the note from Wratislaw was perhaps the most insulting ever delivered to Eilif. Had he known the dark powers now available to the Russian Emperor, he may not have made so free with his insults!
A week later, Gnupa came to Eilif with a proposal to improve security in Torzhok.
“Why not – see to it, Marshal Gnupa!” was the Emperor’s beneficent reply.
The main army was back in Werle from Rana by 21 May, allowing the levies to be stood down safely, leaving just the Imperial Guard, which soon embarked on the waiting fleet to make its way back to Mother Russia.
Eilif’s sometimes troublesome younger brother Prince Ingólfr, the recipient of a new city title the year before, disbanded his faction for elective succession in Russia on 24 May. By the end of the month, the Guard was sailing back home.
The most significant news though was that Marshal Gnupa had now come on board the Loyalist faction on the Council, without the need for any further influencing. This gave the Dark Fylkir his bare margin of support necessary to enact the institution of late feudal administration in the Empire. The law was passed two days later.
The same day, Ingólfr’s other faction seeking the Imperial crown was also disbanded. And the next day, Jarl Gorm declared another war of eastward expansion, taking on Cumania for Yaik.
Of course, the real reason for the latest legal change had been to pave the way for the introduction of primogeniture rule in the Russian Empire. Now only one disgruntled vassal stood in the way – Chief Kalle (the Younger) of Ingria.
All it took was an appointment as Merkismaðr to make him
just friendly enough to make the difference
[+1].
That day Eilif, Second of His Name, Emperor of Russia, Fylkir of the Reformed Germanic Faith and (in private) Trollmaðr of the Fellowship of Hel, proclaimed the change of the Imperial succession to primogeniture, with all four of his sons filling in the line of succession before his brother Sigurðr at fifth in line.
It was the second big recent development for Eilif, after becoming leader of the Fellowship just over a year before. In many ways, this latest triumph put him up as one of the great figures of the early Rurikid dynasty, alongside its founder Rurik and his grandfather Eilif I. His achievements made him appear in retrospect a kind of dark reflection of his illustrious namesake.
Eilif now reviewed his current position and holdings, as he found himself with two titles too many with the legal change. The bottom three in relative value – of the ‘wrong type’ as tribal holdings – were the recent acquisitions of Lappland, Smaleskja and Läänemaa tribes. Two of them would have to go.
A range of
de jure Ducal and other weak claims could be pressed if desired on the behalf of vassals, and the High Chiefdom of Pomerania could be usurped.
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The Great Þing of June 963 – an Assessment of the State of the Known World
Eilif’s next task was to consider the way ahead now that all his recent wars were over and his great legislative changes wrought. First, the state of the current Pagan and Christian defensive pacts was assessed. All the remaining Finnish counties remained part of the Pagan grouping, though ties with the other great Germanic realms meant Jorvik, Denmark, and Noregr were not. The Christian pact had shrunk considerably.
Only one small faction remained to trouble Eilif at home.
The main realms then bordering Russia proper were Cumania, Poland and the Byzantine Empire, which had expanded up to the north of the Caspian Sea. In the West, West Francia remained the largest nearby power, but they had been soundly beaten in recent years.
The main religious threats on Russia’s borders were both Christian: the Catholics in Western Europe and now expanding into Poland; and Orthodoxy in Byzantium, the Balkans and also spreading into Central Europe, though providing a wide buffer to Sunni Islam in the south. Germanicism had now spread widely in Russia and even into the Eastern Steppe. Two more counties had become Germanic in the last year or so.
Norse culture was far slower to spread, with little beyond the core counties of the Emperor’s demesne having converted beyond Scandinavia in Russia and a few patches in the Low Countries and England.
In trade and the economy, the Russian capital and surrounding counties were beginning to shine out as centres of wealth, slowly spreading in the backward Russian countryside from that centre. But access to the Silk Road and other major trading routes was not yet available to the Emperor.
In addition to the quest to create the Kingdom of Finland as a subordinate Imperial title, two others were possible right now, without any further conquests. Eilif was keen for the advice of the wise gathered for the Þing as to whether he should aspire to create either or both of these (he could if desired create one such title immediately). His preference for consolidation purposes was still to try to create Finland in the mid-term – but that could be done concurrently with creating say the Kingdom of Konugarðr.
Question for the Great Þing
Ch 126 Q1: The Way Ahead. The general question for the Þing is a broad one: whither next for the Russian Empire?
Q1A: Defy the Pagan pact and look to go conquering Finnish counties?
Q1B: Declare the Kingdom of Konugarðr?
Q1C: Start active recruiting to the Fellowship and/or start exercising some of those Dark Powers (once the Dark Power points to do so are there)?
Q1D: A Great Holy War declared on a suitable nearby target?
Q1E: Consolidation and renewed raiding for a while, as the threat reduces and the Pagan pact starts to dissolve?
Q1F: And of course, any other general advice or commentary on recent events or future options.
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Helheim: the most recent discoveries of the Rurikid scroll trove reveal Eilif II and his achievements in the first part of his reign to be great in many ways, if evil and abhorrent in others. Modern scholars consider him to be a dark reflection of his illustrious grandfather and namesake, the founder of the Russian Empire.
