The Broken Gates

[Lord Durham]

Great opening, @Macavity116. This appeals to my Irish half. I can tell there's lots of goodness to come. As @HistoryDude alluded with Dagda, how prominent a role will the Druids play?

@Idhrendur this is my perpetual condition, these days, I'm afraid, even with my favorite authors. I just finished one of @Lord Durham's print stories yesterday.

Rensslaer

You mean Durendal, from Heroika: Skirmishers, the HUGO award winning series created by author Janet Morris? Don't be shy, @Rensslaer. I need all the publicity I can get .

Edit: Damn. Cross posted. Wasn't quick enough...

 

[Macavity116]

Great opening, @Macavity116. This appeals to my Irish half. I can tell there's lots of goodness to come.

Thanks for reading! Definitely starting to sweat under the collar now that a founding father of AARland has noticed me.

As @HistoryDude alluded with Dagda, how prominent a role will the Druids play?

For the moment, I'm planning on Aisling and her folk being part of the defense of Ulster Castle once the Norse come knocking. Also, Aisling gets to be part of the inciting incident for the whole story. She's been living in that hawthorn tree for a over decade and would be very upset if someone were to cut it down and turn it into a siege weapon.

 

[The Kingmaker]

Very glad to be onboard this one from the beginning.

 

[jak7139]

This is something that will probably be brought up later, but did cutting down Aisling's tree have any effects on her magic or health? Or was it just a home?

Also, I have to agree with Chosenpai about seeing some romantic potential (though maybe that's just the event of them rolling down a hill talking) between the new duke and Aisling. We'll see how that goes.

 

[Macavity116]

Very glad to be onboard this one from the beginning.

This is only my second attempt at branching out and away from Stellaris. Thanks for joining me for this experimental ride.

This is something that will probably be brought up later, but did cutting down Aisling's tree have any effects on her magic or health? Or was it just a home?

Quite right. Once we get out of Introductions and Worldbuilding and the story actually starts, I can start focusing on finer details. There's definitely got to be some kind of negative consequences for Aisling upon losing her tree, though.

Also, I have to agree with Chosenpai about seeing some romantic potential (though maybe that's just the event of them rolling down a hill talking) between the new duke and Aisling. We'll see how that goes.

Cho's definitely got a point, yeah. In gameplay, Aisling and Dermot gave me some trouble during setup. On my first attempt at running the game from the 1116 start date, I actually got an event to fire that caused Aisling and Dermot to develop a mutual crush on each other. Sadly, during the second attempt, I could not get the event to fire again and had to settle for "Rolling" which gave Dermot a one-way crush on Aisling.

Thankfully, I'm the one writing this tale. If Chosenpai had the pen, this would totally be a romance story instead of a survival story.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Pesky Norsemen. May a drip of Irish whiskey and a tale of blarney speed their way back to their frozen fjords. Thanks for updating

 

[Lord Durham]

Thanks for reading! Definitely starting to sweat under the collar now that a founding father of AARland has noticed me.

Please, no sweat. You'll bugger the keyboard. Just so you know, my mantra from the early days of EU (singular - back when it was the only title in town) was to encourage writing, regardless of talent. And talent is something you don't have to worry about. I may critique, if asked, but I'd rather encourage.

That said, I like the way you laid the groundwork. My only disappointment is you didn't chose 'Indigestion' for the Rolling event. Now that would have made for an interesting relationship going forward .

I have a correction from my last post. The 'Heroika' series did not win a HUGO. It was the 'Heroes in Hell' series by Janet Morris that won the prestigious award. I thought I should point that out in case someone in the know would accuse me of not knowing what the hell I was talking about. It was a seniors moment. Honest.

Oh, and I happen to have three stories in that particular series, but that's neither here nor there. Well, maybe it is, a bit...

 

[Chac1]

Pesky Norsemen. May a drip of Irish whiskey and a tale of blarney speed their way back to their frozen fjords. Thanks for updating

Because Fourth Wall-breaking is ahead, I hope you don't mind if a character from a CK2 AAR crashes the party early with a response to the comment from @Midnite Duke .

(It appears that comment has roused King Þorolfr, one of the peskier Norsemen, who will no doubt be watching what transpires here.)​

 

[Macavity116]

(It appears that comment has roused King Þorolfr, one of the peskier Norsemen, who will no doubt be watching what transpires here.)

Oh, Holy Jericho. Next week is going to be a freaking riot on this thread, isn't it?

 

[HistoryDude]

Chosenpai's hilarious at the end here.

At least these High Kings of Ireland will presumably be aiding you when you're attacked. That could be useful if Ylva attacks you first, and they aren't distracted by the threat to the south...

Do these new High Kings claim a relationship to the ones at Tara? If so, how do they justify the capital moving to Dublin? Does Tara retain a ceremonial position at all?

 

[The Kingmaker]

Chosenpai's hilarious at the end here.

At least these High Kings of Ireland will presumably be aiding you when you're attacked. That could be useful if Ylva attacks you first, and they aren't distracted by the threat to the south...

Do these new High Kings claim a relationship to the ones at Tara? If so, how do they justify the capital moving to Dublin? Does Tara retain a ceremonial position at all?

My assumption is that Tara is the ceremonial royal seat while the large Norse-Gaelic port at Dublin has become the de facto royal residence.

 

[Macavity116]

could be useful if Ylva attacks you first, and they aren't distracted by the threat to the south...

That distraction to the south could prove to be very significant.

Do these new High Kings claim a relationship to the ones at Tara? If so, how do they justify the capital moving to Dublin? Does Tara retain a ceremonial position at all?

Murchad and Cúanu claim be be a continuation the previous line of High Kings rather than a new one but don't have much beyond their words and bigger army diplomacy to back it up. Obviously, neither of them checked to see if the Stone of Destiny at Tara would react to their presence. (legend says it would react to the presence of the one true king)



In gameplay, The Earldom of Dublin traded hands several times during the 50-year period where I just sat back and watched as an observer. (1066 to 1116) Best I can tell, Murchad (operating out of Leinster) got a claim on Dublin at the same time as Duke Ruaidri of Connacht. The territory ping-ponged back and forth between them across two (possibly three) wars and a succession in Connacht.* Dublin was definitely not controlled by Murchad when he established the Kingdom of Ireland. He was still in Leinster at the time. By the time Cúanu took over about 5 years later, the capital had definitely moved. (Cúanu was holding Dublin at the time)

Please bear in mind, I am nowhere near as well-versed at CKIII as I am Stellaris. Each time I boot up the game I find something else I didn't know about before. I am very much still in the "new player stage" right now.




*So I booted up the game to double-check the rest of Ireland while writing this, and I noticed something rather frustrating. A couple weeks ago, I selected the Duke Tadg II of Connacht to be a minor character in this story. I hovered my mouse over Connacht just now and noticed the current ruler of Connacht is someone completely different. Turns out, Duke Tadg II "died of fatal apoplexy" while I was trying to figure out how to make Aisling join Dermot's court. I don't know how gameplay AAR writers can work around unplanned deaths so smoothly, but they've got a little more of my respect now.

 

[Macavity116]

My assumption is that Tara is the ceremonial royal seat while the large Norse-Gaelic port at Dublin has become the de facto royal residence.

Oh, I must have missed this. Yup. The Earldom of Dublin was flagged as having Norse culture in 1066 when the game started, but a quick look around the map, and I can't find any Norse culture left in Ireland.

 

[Macavity116]

Introductions: The Petty Kingdom of Ulster​

Let’s take a short tour of the player realm at the center of this story: The Duchy of Ulster. (sometimes also referred to as a Petty Kingdom)

Political Geography:

Ulster is located on the northern shore of Ireland, mostly bordered to the south by the Petty Kingdom of Mayo. There is also a short land border with the Petty Kingdom of Meath just north of Dublin. The Isle of Man is located in the Irish Sea to the east, while the Scottish barony of Carrick lies a short journey across the water to the northeast.

Physical Geography:

Ulster is home to Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles. Rocky sea cliffs and the Giant’s Causeway can be found at the northernmost reaches of the coastline. Hilly forests can be found throughout the interior, while the rugged Antrim Plateau contains many cairns and towers leftover from times even further in the past, some of which are thought to be overrun by the Sidhe.

Government:

A Petty King (or Duke) who is subordinate to the High King of Ireland rules Ulster. The Duchy is internally divided into three Earldoms: Ulster, Oriel, and Ailech. The Earldoms are further subdivided into Baronies.

The current ruler of Ulster is Duke DERMOT MAC CÚ-CAECH DÁL FAITACH, age 15. He inherited the Duchy after the battlefield death of his father, Duke Cú-Caech.

Duke Dermot is considered too young to rule on his own, so upon his arrival at Ulster Castle, his mother established a Regency Council to rule the Petty Kingdom in his place. Dermot’s mother and Regent is Princess AILEANN NIC MURCHAD, daughter of Murchad, the previous High King of Ireland. She rules Ulster in an Entrenched Regency alongside Dermot’s council:

• Bishop Rechtabra (Rapacious Villain)
• Chancellor Ánrothán mac Donn (Honorable Lackey)
• Steward Eadberht (Content Blackguard)
• Marshal Gilla-Brígte (Content Antagonist)
• Spymaster Dúngalach ua Máil Eóin (Godless Villain)

Demographics:

Ulster is an extremely rural and sparsely populated territory, with the exception of costal settlements at Dún Dealgan and Dún Pádraig, the latter of which is home to Ulster Castle. There is a castle on the northern shoreline, near the settlement of Dún na nGall, but ever since the Norse invasion, this castle has become difficult to reach.

The Christian holy site of Armagh is located in Oriel and is considered the Ecclesiastical capital of Ireland.

Economy:

Maritime trade connects Ulster to the rest of the British Isles, bringing goods into Ireland from Western Europe. Further inland, many farms can be found in the vicinity of Lough Neagh. The Duke extracts taxes from the local population. While he keeps some of this money to himself, the Duke’s own treasure is taxed by the High King as part of his vassal obligations.

Timeline of Recent Ulster History:

30 June 1102: Dermot mac Cú-Caech Dál Faitach is born to Duke Cú-Caech “the Trickster” of Ulster.

Circa 1107: The Fairy Aisling takes up residence in a hawthorn tree near Dún Dealgan.

Circa 1113: Dermot and Muadhnait become rivals.

2 August 1116: While attending a meeting of peers in Oriel, Dermot encounters and befriends a fairy named Aisling.

Late Summer 1116: Norse invaders overrun Ailech and cut the Earldom off from the rest of Ireland.

Late Autumn, Early Winter 1116: High King Cúanu begins to assemble an army at the Earldom of Mayo. Norse Armies move south into Mayo and abandon their foothold in Ailech.

4 January 1117: Duke Cú-Caech “the Trickster” of Ulster is killed in battle against Norse invaders. His 15-year-old son Dermot inherits. Too young to rule, a regency is established by his mother, Princess Aileann nic Murchad. (pictured below)

16 January 1117: "Lash Out" event occurs. Dermot insults High King Cúanu. Maudhnait insults Dermot. Dermot disinherits Maudhnait. Dermot starts a "Murder" scheme against Muadhnait.

2 February 1117: Princess Aileann betrothed Muadhnait, Duke Dermot’s sister and rival, to King William II of England.

9 February 1117: Dermot starts a "Sway" scheme against High King Cúanu

1 March 1117: Norse invaders cut down Aisling’s Fairy Tree.

 

[The Kingmaker]

I'm curious -- is Aisling the Sidhe merely a plot device to further your narrative or is she tied to some strange quirk of gameplay?

 

[Macavity116]

I'm curious -- is Aisling the Sidhe merely a plot device to further your narrative or is she tied to some strange quirk of gameplay?

Aisling is very much my own original creation. I've been planning for her to play an important role for about half a year now. She is the main protagonist of Last Days of the Emerald Isle and Deuteragonist of The Broken Gates itself... both stories will be located in this thread. How we're going to get there is another story.

 

[The Kingmaker]

I had wondered why "The Broken Gates" links to "Last Days of the Emerald Isle."

 

[Macavity116]

I had wondered why "The Broken Gates" links to "Last Days of the Emerald Isle."

Oh yeah... It's gonna get weird.

 

[Chac1]

Thanks for the contextual update.

• Bishop Rechtabra (Rapacious Villain)
• Chancellor Ánrothán mac Donn (Honorable Lackey)
• Steward Eadberht (Content Blackguard)
• Marshal Gilla-Brígte (Content Antagonist)
• Spymaster Dúngalach ua Máil Eóin (Godless Villain)

Guessing that you are tipping your hand a bit here. Not a CK3 player but doubt the game assigns villainy or other roles. Guessing you are getting to the action quickly so you don't want to waste time building up these supporting characters.

Aisling is very much my own original creation. I've been planning for her to play an important role for about half a year now. She is the main protagonist of Last Days of the Emerald Isle and Deuteragonist of The Broken Gates itself... both stories will be located in this thread. How we're going to get there is another story.

Ah, now there's a twist already. I had expected some of the characters of Song of the Solitaire to be the main protagonists and take over this thread. There's definitely more brewing here.

Oh yeah... It's gonna get weird.

So far a very basic set up and story that you might typically find for CK3, despite the fantasy elements. Yes, you have established a stable preface but hinted of the weirdness to come in your comments and briefly in the storyline. Yes, you have us primed for all hell to break loose, but guessing that comes after quite a few more updates. From this reader's perspective, you have us just where you want us.

 

[Macavity116]

Not a CK3 player but doubt the game assigns villainy or other roles.

It's a feature of CKIII that I'm having a little trouble getting used to. Each time I select a character, those personality summaries appear right next to their name. Hard to ignore, and when I read the tooltips, they summarize how each character is supposed to behave around myself and others. The PDX devs certainly put a lot of thought into character interactions in this game. (see the example below: Dermot's Spymaster)